REMEMBER THE ROOTS OF PRIDE.

Hi friend,

I am so happy to be back in your inbox with a money love letter. I come with frustration and sadness, yet a whole lot of love for my queer siblings because this is quite a time for us.

This year, over 500+ anti-trans bills have been introduced in 49 states. 79 of those bills, have passed. 

This is unacceptable. 

A part of me wants to point my fingers and blame the republicans but really, it's not all on them.

It is on us, too.

I think we can get caught up on the harm being done. I certainly have.

AND. We need to move forward with what comes next: 

action. solidarity. transformation. repair. healing. liberation.

As I close my eyes and reflect on the roots of pride, I remember that pride was a riot.

Our ancestors fought for us to have freedom. The freedom to be who we are and love who we love.

This responsibility is not just on our cishet allies, either. We NEED you more than ever, yes, that is true. However, this is a shared and sacred responsibility of the collective.

A friend of mine, Aaliyah, said to me, “We need the world to be more human.” I felt that in my bones. All of this anti-trans legislation is rooted in not seeing our own humanity.

Because when we do not see our own humanity, we cannot see the humanity of others.

Hatred towards others is possible because of the hatred that is carried within ourselves.

We do need the world to be more human. 

We need to put our money where our heart is.

Our actions where our heart is.

It might look like hate is winning, but time and time again we have seen that love always wins.

Nicole of Anti Racism Daily said, “LGBTQ+ communities deserve not only to be celebrated but protected.” 

This Pride month (and beyond)…I invite you to reflect on how you are showing up (or NOT showing up) for the queer community. 

How are you celebrating AND protecting us?

If you don't know where to start, here are some resources:

These workshops by Schuyler Bailar are a great place to ground in your activism and ally ship.

You can put your money where your heart is with the following organizations that need your support:

• ACLU's Drag Defense Fund

• Transanta

• The Knights and Orchids Society

• The Marsha P Johnson Institute

• The Okra Project

You can use your voice and speak out towards these hateful bills and anti trans/queer rhetoric. Sometimes, it IS about having those uncomfortable and difficult conversations with the people you love.

And if you're feeling like all of the above efforts do not make a difference, I promise you…

It does.

For those that are on my newsletter, whether you've been here from the beginning or you're new:

My Gold Standard is a queer and trans owned business. It breaks my heart to see that this world wants to erase me and my queer and trans siblings. But I refuse to let this hatred seep into the deepest parts of me. I refuse to hide, or make myself small. I am here and queer, and I want to show my trans and queer siblings, whom I absolutely love and adore unconditionally, that you have a place here. You are worthy of love and protection. You are worthy of acceptance for who you are and who you love. I say these words to you, because these are the same exact words I need to hear myself, too. I love you.

I won't stop fighting for us until we are all free.

Until next time, friends.

Stay Shiny,

GENEROSITY WILL TAKE YOU far

Hello friends,

I wanted to pop in here and share my why behind the Finance 101 for Entrepreneurs workshop. 

When I was 24 years old, I had a dream to design an eco friendly, vegan, and ethically made backpack. I had never been to fashion or design school and I sure as hell didn't know a thing about business.

But the idea stuck. I couldn't get rid of it. All I could think, breath, and speak was this backpack idea. I didn't know how I was going to do it, or who could help me get there. I just knew that I HAD to do it. I had to make this backpack real.

Sure, I didn't know how to get started…but I knew how to talk about it. So talk about it I did. With EVERYONE. Every single person I met knew that I was on a mission to make this dream a reality. My family. My friends. Random strangers I happen to meet on the streets of NYC. I'd say this:

Hey, I have this idea…I am going to make a sustainably and ethically made backpack for people like me and it's going to be made in the USA, and eventually when I get this business off the ground the proceeds are going to support girls education all over the world. I didn't go to fashion school, I know nothing about how to design a backpack, and I know nothing about business. But, I do know this: I need to do it.

Everyone I met to my surprise was incredibly supportive. You see the movies in the fashion industry and how cutthroat it is, but I had the opposite experience.

It went a little bit like this:

I told someone my idea -→ they then told someone else -→ that someone else knew someone that could help me with [insert aspect of idea that needs support: sourcing fabric, the design part, the business part, the crowdfunding, etc] -→ they'd connect us and I made a new friend and connection to help me make this idea a reality.

Someone always knew someone, and that someone that always knew someone? They didn't hesitate to connect me to them.

Through this, I met everyone I needed to meet to support all aspects of this idea.

This led me to meet Priya Malani of Stash Wealth. She was speaking at a conference that I happened to be at thanks to the coffee roastery that I used to work at with my partner. (they hooked it up with a free ticket for me in exchange for a coffee sponsorship - again, more generosity wins!) I didn't know anything about the conference, or about Priya, and I still was lost around all the business finances of things. At that point, I had made the backpack and was about to do a Kickstarter launch and I was terrified that I'd receive all this money and not know what to do with it.

Priya gave her presentation and I was literally in awe. She wore high black spandex boots and exuded this confidence that I dreamed of having one day (still working on that one, lolz). She also had a WEALTH of knowledge. At the end of her presentation, she said to reach out to her if anyone had questions.

I was scared to talk to a financial professional if I am being honest. I went back/forth about walking up to her and asking if she had any business tips for me. I see all these other cool cats come up to her to ask questions and of course, spiraled with all these thoughts:

I'm not as cool as them. they are so cool. their ideas are probably better than mine and worth her time. you just have this stupid backpack. it's not even cute. who do you think you are? you don't know anything about money. you shouldn't be fundraising and asking people for $10,000 when you have no idea how to freaking manage it. you barely have savings! you didn't know anything she was talking about!!! you don't even know what to ASK her. THEY know what to ask her, that's why they are already TALKING to her and you're HERE just watching like a freak!!!!!!

Yes, my brain can be very mean to me under high stress situations like this one lol.

BUT, somehow, miraculously, my LEGS started moving. I was WALKING towards her. I couldn't believe it!

And before I could even open my mouth to ask a question, she spoke first.

“Thank you for coming to my workshop! I hope you got a lot out of it - do you have any questions that I can support you with?” 

wow….she is just as nice as she was in presentation mode 

“YES. Actually, so I have this backpack, here it's right here. ~shows backpack~  And I'm doing a Kickstarter for it and I launch next week and I have no idea what I'm doing but I know that I need to be prepared about the business finances and everyone keeps telling me different things, so I don't know what to believe, and I don't even know the questions I need to be asking you but I do know that I need to know this stuff…”

I was terrified by the way I rambled all of the above. Could she notice I was sweating profusely underneath this GARB?! The mean thoughts were beginning to kick in until…

“OMG, congratulations on started your business and making your idea an ACTUAL thing! I actually have a lot to say, here, take my email and we can hop on a quick call.”

I couldn't believe it. Even reflecting on this right now, with you all makes me SO emotional because her generosity changed everything for me.

A week later we hopped on a 20 minute phone call where she shared with me trusted free resources I could use to find information I was looking for. She recommended the Profit First book to me (which I live and breath by within my own biz finances still till this day). She taught me the power of an LLC and so much more.

And then a couple weeks after our call, I receive an e-mail from her in my inbox with the subject line: “Best of luck with the launch today!”

She remembered my launch day. 

I don't know if Priya remembers me anymore (it's been almost 7 years since then), but she changed the trajectory of my life.

I share this story with you because the generosity of the people got me to where I am today. This is what I'm bringing to this workshop. That same generosity that was given to me. 

You will get real value and education that you can take action on, a REAL human being (me, ha!) that actually wants to know you and your amazing businesses and business ideas, and a connection that will continue beyond the hour and a half we have together during this workshop.

Now that you know my why, if you want the recording of the workshop PLUS the 40 page pdf guide I used in my presentation you can get it right here!

Thank you for being here, in this mighty corner of the internet. :)

Stay Shiny,

RECLAIMING MY SPIRITUALITY.

Hi friend,

Ever since I can remember, I have always been a spiritual being.

I’d talk to the plants, the soil, the rocks in the garden of my childhood home when I was a little kid. I’d create my own rituals, bathe myself in mud, and make art with the flowers and leaves I had around me. My parents would say I had a big imagination, that I was an artist. Sure, that has truth to it.

However, what they didn’t see is that I was actually being in relationship with nature. Not because of my imagination but because I could commune with nature so deeply. I could feel their thoughts, their feelings, their words.

And they could feel mine.

As I grew older, my spirituality was now seen as an inconvenience. I never wanted to play on the playground with the other kids, I wanted to climb trees. I wanted to explore. I’d wander off and get in trouble for my curious mind. Instead, I was told to memorize the bible, demanded to go to church, and to stop questioning catholicism or else.

I let go of my spirituality, because my spirituality was seen as a sin. My ancestors went through this same exact story. I began to fear my connection with nature and even the after life. 

My connections became stronger the older I got. I began to feel the thoughts and feelings of souls in spaces. I told my Mom this, and her reaction was fear. She said to me an evil spirit was trying to posses me and that I need to pray more. I came home to find that she blessed my room with holy water so the evil spirits would leave me alone. I internalized this with deep shame. I suffered a lot from this.

Over time I did meet the right people. People who understood spirituality, communed with nature, and encouraged my clairvoyance. I was no longer a sinner or a freak, but someone who had a gift.

More and more people loved this about me. And it wasn’t just me. Spirituality became a humongous part of the wellness industry. A culture shift was happening. Everyone wanted to be “spiritual”, find their “tribe”, and would buy sage, palo santo, and crystals without taking responsibility in learning where these sacred rituals and practices come from. Spirituality began to be exploited and appropriated. 

I experienced this first hand with a company I used to work at. They began to use my spirituality as a way to lure in more customers.

“Stella is the woo woo one,” they’d say. My ancestors cringed, as did I. “Stella is the financial healer. Stella show them your crystals!”

I rapidly became one of the top performing employees with the most amount of clients. People would ask for me, specifically, because I had a spiritual and emotional approach to money.

This became incredibly burdensome. I was finally “celebrated” for this and yet, it felt….off. Why did it feel like my spiritual rituals, beliefs, and practices were not respected? Why did it feel like I was put on display for entertainment at a circus?

I since left that company, but sadly did not realize until I was at a cafe in Medellín, journaling about my existential crisis behind my life’s mission and purpose.

When I left that company, I put my spirituality to the side. I became very hyper vigilant about who I let into my world, in fear that someone or something would exploit it for their benefit and profit.

But since starting My Gold Standard, my spirituality yearned for me to embrace it. To embody it. To put it front and center of my work, of my life.

For the last several months I have been traveling in Latin America, and through my travels I have grieved, deconditioned, and decolonized more than I ever have in my lifetime.

I grieved the years I abandoned my spirit. I grieved the moments my spirit wanted to lead, yet instead I put it in a box. I grieved the colonization of my ancestors spirit, and mine.

I deconditioned from the westernization and appropriation of spirituality. I deconditioned from people pleasing, and allowing people to take my spirituality and use it for their own benefit. I deconditioned from the experiences of feeling like a commodity instead of a human being.

I decolonized my mind, my body, my heart, and my spirit…collectively. Because I know that there is not one without the other. I communed with my ancestors, embraced my spiritual rituals again, and opened up my soul to be with one with nature again.

My spirit is my guide. My spirit is my purpose. My spirit leads me to the most beautiful, abundant, and thriving places.

I know I am on a life long journey of grieving, deconditioning, and decolonizing.

And, I know that it isn't just me who is on this journey. It's all of us.

We all have spirit inside of us.

Stay Shiny,

THE FEAST & FAMINE CYCLE BEHINDENTREPRENEURSHIP.

Hi friend,

I write this money love letter from Oaxaca, in a beautiful airbnb, where i'll be spending the next week in absorbing all the art, food, mezcal, and beauty that is in Oaxaca. I hope that mercury retrograde is treating you well, and that any unpleasantries you may be experiencing is met with gentleness and lots of love. 

It's been sups fun for me (sarcasm) BUT, in a way where i'm definitely growing spiritually and emotionally. More on that in another money love letter because my goodness - the growth has been a LOT and I can't wait to let you all in on some of the growing pains, shifts, and changes that will be coming to My Gold Standard soon…

BUT that's not for today's money love letter. I want to tell you a story around the last few years of my entrepreneurship journey with My Gold Standard. Cause whew! A journey it has been. Even if you're not an entrepreneur, you might resonate with experiencing a ‘feast and famine’ cycle around money.

My Gold Standard was the first time I ever took the leap 100%. I quit my job and made the brave bold decision to go off on my own and cultivate the life I wanted for myself and start the business I dreamed of creating.

Transitioning into a life of entrepreneurship was the greatest thing ever for me. Gone were the times working that 9 to 9 (it really be like that out there) making someone else rich and their dreams come true. In fact, entrepreneurship was and still is, an act of resistance for me.

AND. I was also struck with the harsh reality that now, it’s 100% on ME to figure out how to make money and grow my business. I was so focused on generating revenue that every time money came in, I was just THRILLED to receive it. I was taught that in your first year of business, the best thing you can do is reinvest every single penny back into your business. So I did.

What I didn’t do was set aside an amount of savings for when my business would experience a season of revenue s l o w i n g down.

The way I see my business is how I see nature. Sometimes nature is in a state of flourish and growth. AND. Sometimes nature hibernates. Sometimes nature rests. Sometimes, your business is NOT in a season of harvest, but in a season of planting. Nourishing. And guess what? Waiting.

In my second year of business, My Gold Standard got to a point where I DREAMED of it being. I was able to finally cover all my business expenses, pay off my business debt entirely, hire support, AND pay myself $2,000 a month. I thought, “Damn, I finally made it.”

….only to find my 6 month streak come to a halt. My revenue decreased by 50% and I had no savings in my business account to cover my business expenses. The miracle that came through was I received a grant just in time to cover the next 3 months until I figured out my next revenue move.

I did not anticipate this revenue dip at all, when really, I should have. In the world of financial literacy we all sound like broken records when we speak of emergency/freedom funds lol, but as business owners, we need our own separate freedom fund to roll with the seasons of our business.

This month I went through yet another decrease in revenue. I am now in another season of planting, nourishing, and waiting.

But you know what’s different?

I made damn well sure to have at least 3 months of my business expenses in savings. My goal is to eventually have an entire year of run way in the bank and to have that include my salary, too.

So, you may be wondering…how the heck did I save 3 months of my business expenses?!

1. I looked over my business expenses and added up what I knew I needed to spend on my business each month. This amounted to $1,750/month. I multiplied that by 3x and made that my savings goal.

2. I slowly set aside 10% of my business revenue to this goal instead of taking 100% of my revenue and reinvesting in back into my business like I did in my first year. 10% isn’t a huge amount - but it certainly chipped away a good amount over time. A little goes a long way.

3. I put a majority of tax refunds (or tax savings I didn’t end up needing) into this savings bucket, too.

I am no longer operating from a place of feast and famine within my business revenue OR money for that matter.

I also don’t have the pressure of needing to make money, say yes to things I actually don’t want to do just to cover the bills, and work my ass off ASAP [or else].

I get to have choice. I get to have freedom. Because I planned for it.

Now, I get to shift my focus to →

Making new offerings that feel SO exciting because I truly WANT to do them vs need to do them.

Using the time and space I do have to experiment and tap into more creativity and play within my business.

Continuing to market/sell current offerings that I have a blast doing.

Resting and enjoying the remaining month of my travels in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Mexico with people I love.

Disclaimer: 

no. this is not me having scarcity mindset which I DO have sometimes because i’m human. This is simply me being realistic and HONORING the seasons of business.

Is it a scary feeling to see a dip when it comes to money?

Of course. My body/mind sometimes still struggle to stay within a place of abundance. 

However, i’m using this time to nourish my nervous system and build emotional resiliency around the ebbs and flows of my business revenue.

And guess what? This is possible for you, too. It just takes some time, planning, and of course, intention. ;)

If you're an entrepreneur, or an aspiring entrepreneur and need support in financially planning for your business (and let's be real, LIFE) finances…you're cordially invited to download my workshop recording and PDF guide: Finance 101 For Entrepreneurs.

And if you’re ready to take the leap and invest in a judgement and shame free personalized path around your finances plus some hand holding through the big money feels, I can support you and you don’t have to do it alone! 

Until next time, friends.

Stay Shiny,

YOUR GOLD STANDARD TRANSFORMATION.

When it comes to building financial resiliency in our lives, we think we have to do it alone.

I get it. Investing in support, or even receiving support [period] can feel so vulnerable.

For so long, I spent countless hours budgeting endlessly and aggressively trying to pay off debt only to find myself overwhelmed and stressed out over why I was having such a hard time figuring out how to reach my own financial goals.

To some extent, I did figure it out on my own. I began saving, the credit card debt went down, and I was able to somewhat budget with clarity.

However, I always had this voice inside of me that yearned for more. The “work” I was doing was without a spiritual practice and that was what I was missing on my own financial journey.

I realized that I needed to marry both financial literacy AND spirituality if I wanted to embody true financial liberation.

Because no matter how much money I had in the bank, it never felt enough.

Because I paid off credit card debt and instead of it feeling like a celebration, I felt empty.

Because I worked for places and people whom were poisonous to my spirit and the collective's spirit, but I was too afraid to leave because I relied on them for ‘financial security’.

Because for so long, I believed you had to work hard and hustle in order to “earn” financial peace and prosperity.

Because I repeated an ancestral wound over and over again by martyring myself through pouring from an empty cup.

So I created My Gold Standard. Not just for me, but for us.

Money is energy. It has a spirit. Of course it does. We are spiritual beings and money was created from us. Even our businesses have a spirit.

THIS is why I marry the spiritual and the educational when it comes to building wealth.

And through My Gold Standard's container, we get to do that together.

This is an invitation to…

✨ transform shame, guilt, and fear into radical self compassion and acceptance. you will understand that shame, guilt, and fear do not disappear, but you are able to build resiliency around it.

✨ spend a lot less money on things that don’t matter to you.

✨ start saying no more.

✨ take up more space by advocating for yourself and setting loving and supportive boundaries: whether it be raising your rates, asking for a promotion, quitting a job, and/or even taking a sabbatical to figure out what you want and need.

✨ reflect on how many experiences you *need* to have in order for it to be enough. Because even though you *have* the money to spend, doesn’t mean you *should* spend it.

✨ review your budget every week

✨ reflect on your spending every week

✨ go from a consumer mindset to an investor mindset with the awareness that investor does not just been investing in the stock market. it also means investing in yourself, your community, and our shared home: mother earth.

✨ learn and cultivate awareness around the way the system is set up: to manipulate you as a consumer and make you believe you are lacking. you will also explore and challenge the idea of scarcity, and how scarcity has been used to exploit and oppress.

✨ use your business as a vehicle for good in the world.

✨ decolonize your relationship with money in a way that honors you and your ancestors.

✨ rest a whole lot.

✨ get in touch with your truest needs and desires.

✨ begin to associate feelings of joy, peace, excitement, and pleasure around de-centering money.

✨ commit to yourself and take a step back from using money and success as a way to bandage your internal wounds.

✨ move towards using money and success (your own version) as a way to make your life and the world a better, more enriching place for all.

This is the transformation of possibility within my sacred 1:1 coaching containers where I teach you that your financial potential is possible in every way and that you do not need to compromise your spirit in the process.

If this is the year you want to transform your relationship with money and cultivating spiritual wealth is what you desire, my 1:1 Wealth Expansion coaching container is open for enrollment for entrepreneurs.

you receive:

✨ 6 months of 1:1 wealth coaching

✨ a personalized unique wealth roadmap for your business and personal finances

✨ money rituals

✨ transformative shifts

I have 5 spots available and enrollment is open from now until May 31st.

In all transparency, after May I will be closing up my 1:1 containers for the remainder of the year through 2024. If you've been considering working together - now is the time.

Click here to learn more and save your spot.

p.s. if the 1:1 coaching containers are not something you're interested, however, you DO want to explore other ways to work with one another check out my resources page here. I have plenty of options and even a free resource to get you started on your financial journey. 

Stay Shiny,

IT'S FINANCIAL LITERACY MONTH, AND I COULDN'T CARE LESS.

Well, I am sure this was not what you were expecting from me.

Last I landed in your inbox, I was about to embark on my journey doing the O trek in Patagonia. I ended that e-mail saying, “See you on the other side.”

This is the other side.

I am angry. I am filled with rage. There is SO much to be angry about. I've been holding off on sending a money love letter because truthfully, I feel like I am going to explode from the rage I am feeling about the current state of the world. 

To be honest, the world has always been upsetting. It's not that I wasn't angry before. It's just, for some reason…now I need to express that anger.

Spirit is calling me, too.

So what does that have to do with financial literacy?

Look. I'm not saying that financial literacy isn't important or vital to our wellbeing.

It is.

But because most financial literacy advice out there isn’t something a majority of people in this country (or world) can actually implement.

Did you know that the richest 10% own 76% of all wealth?

And.

Did you know that in 2022, three multibillionaires own more wealth than the bottom half of American society – 160 million Americans? 

You may have heard the saying, “You can't budget your way out of poverty.”

It's true. You can't.

How does financial literacy fit into the life of: 

• a single Mom who is a dv survivor and left the relationship that provided her shelter and money and is now on her own.

• a houseless person who aged out of the foster care system and was put on the streets

• a trans person who can't find a job in the South because no one wants to hire them because they are trans

Another truth is, a lot of wealthy folks aren't even financially literate.

What's fucked up is that the top wealthiest folks? Their financial illiteracy won't affect them because that is how the system is set up. They can “lose” a billion dollars, but they have hoarded SO much wealth that they can easily make that back (and even more) when the stock market enters a bull run again (for example).

This is not an issue of financial literacy.

This is an issue of policy.

And beyond policy, it is an issue of being disconnected for ourselves.  

I want financial literacy to be more than getting educated on what a high yield savings account is, what a 401k is, or how to budget.

Because to be honest, to me? It sounds tone deaf.

Here is what I want the world to have when it comes to money, wealth, and financial literacy:

• Spiritual wealth. What is spiritual wealth? It is the understanding that money can be one form of abundance (there are many currencies we do not talk about). It is also the understanding that poverty, climate change, and the racial wealth gap does not exist because there is a lack of resources. It exists because as humans we are disconnected from our own humanity.

• Relationship with nature. This is honestly an invitation to be in relationship with ourselves. We are nature. Connecting with the land, the sea, the trees…there is so much we can learn from nature itself. We need to spend a lot more time touching some grass and a lot less time on our phones. So, go touch some grass.

• Awareness on how the dominant culture sees us. We are seen as pawns in their own fucked up game of chess. They view us as consumers to sell to instead of human beings. How can we reclaim our own humanness from consumerism?

• Self responsibility. Yes, the world can be a fucked up place. But we engage with it. How are we responsible for engaging in ways that harm ourselves, each other, and earth? How can we take responsibility by disengaging and reducing harm? We can't control everything. I'm not saying that. I'm saying, let's explore what we can control and take responsibility for.

• Wealth redistribution. This is using money as a way to uplift, empower, and nourish the collective. Lack of wealth redistribution is part of why these income disparities exist.

• Collective/community made wealth. Wealth redistribution is a part of this. But I think financial literacy/money/wealth leans more towards individualism than it does the collective. I want to bring more balance to that.

• Ancestral wisdom and healing. To know history is to know liberation. I have been saying this for years. If we do not know our own histories, if we are not in relationship with our ancestors, we are not in relationship with our own selves.

• Rest. This is self explanatory. We are not machines. We need more rest. More leisure. More of the BEING in human being.

• Activism. This is how policy change is made. Perhaps this also stems from self responsibility…or, to be honest, I think activism can be inclusive of all the above. Sometimes we forget our power. Sometimes we feel hopeless. But Tyler Merrittshared, “I don't have the privilege to lose hope.” That spoke to me in ways beyond words could explain. Let our hope for change be the guiding light for our collective activism.

All the above was pure stream of consciousness. I want to be clear that I am not saying that financial literacy is not important. I just think it is so much more than that and so much deeper. 

My anger is sacred. 

My rage is sacred.  

And if you are angry, that is sacred, too. 

On a personal level, I don't know what My Gold Standard is going to be or evolve to as I process this rage and grief. It is a weird place to be. I love teaching and for the last 8 years I have been a financial literacy coach. As a financial literacy coach who started this e-mail saying, “IDGAF THAT IT'S FINANCIALLY LITERACY MONTH,” well, it gives me pause.

But here is what I do believe.

I believe that everything we need to make this world a more abundant, equitable, and thriving place for all is within. 

So perhaps, i'll be exploring what's already within.

I invite you to do so as well. 

I love you.

Stay Shiny,

LESSONS FROM MY SATURN RETURN.

I write this money love letter while on a plane, where I am headed to Chile to embark on the O Trek in Torres Del Paine.

I've been dreaming of this trip since 2015. Here I am, finally on my way. This trip will be 80+ miles of joy, tears, frustration, grief, and a shedding of the old and embracing the new.

I can't believe I am here. If only you new what it took to get here. No words could really explain or hold the journey of 2015 till now. My father passed, I fell in love, I got my heart broken, I entered an entirely new career path and passion, I moved back to California, and I started (and ended) a new chapter with therapy.

The last three years of my mental health journey have been the most work I have ever done. Three years ago, there would have been no way I could have done this trek. It had to be now.

Because now, I learned how to radically accept all the pain I went through and transform the trauma I endured into love, resilience, and compassion.

The pain is still there. The trauma still happened. There is still more work to do…

But I am the most free I have ever been in my entire life.

The other day, I had my last session with my therapist (for the time being) and we said our goodbyes. She said it was important for me to have this, this goodbye, because I never got to say goodbye to my father when he died. She asked me, “How do you want to say goodbye, here?"

I ruminated over that question for a whole month before our final session. I didn't want to say goodbye. I don't like goodbyes. Goodbyes SUCK.

But goodbyes are everywhere. We hug our loved ones goodbye after hanging out over a cup of coffee. We say goodbye on the phone after a nourishing conversation with a friend. People move away, and we say our goodbyes as we see them enter a new chapter of life. We quit our jobs and say goodbye to our coworkers and clients. We say goodbye to relationships through a separation. We say goodbye to versions of ourselves that we are outgrowing, many many times in life.

What is so wonderful about goodbyes is that they are accompanied with a hello.

A hello to a new chapter. A new life. A new love. A new you.

I was curious why this felt so full circle for me. I decided to check when my Saturn Return ended…

March 7th, 2023.

7 is a special number to me. My father was born on the 7th and died on the 7th. 

I have many ancestors that, too, were born and/or died on the 7th.

On March 7th, I landed in Puerto Natales, the town just outside of Torres Del Paine. 

I officially leave for the O trek on the morning of March 8th.

It's wild how all of this came to be. I feel guided by my father, my ancestors, my therapist, my loved ones (to all my clients, this includes you), and all the versions of me that coexists within and is making space for a new me to bloom.

I am feeling an immense amount of gratitude to all the above.

I am also feeling an immense amount of gratitude to money. Money being the tool that got me here. Hint: it was a lot of saving, planning, compromise, and saying “no” to make this even possible. Sometimes we have to say no in the present, to say yes to our future.

Money has been so symbolic for me. Ever since my father died, and I received a portion of what he had left in his 401k, never in my life did I think money meant anything until that moment. I knew that every single dollar I received from there on out I had to make matter. Not just for me, but for the collective. I knew that receiving ANYTHING at all from my father was a privilege. I don't know how 24 year old Stella knew that, but I am so grateful they did.

How has money been a symbol for you in your life?

What are ways money has shown up for you and been a tool to abundant, nourishing, and expansive experiences? 

I'd love to hear from you.

For now, I say my goodbyes to this chapter of my life.

I can't wait to say hello to you all on the other side. ❤️

Stay Shiny,

I HAVE TO BELIEVE.

I'm going to be real with y'all, I am not doing so well this week.

I mean, I'm also doing okay in some ways. 

But last weekend, and the start to this week was so heavy on my heart and soul.

I am heartbroken. Angry. Disappointed. Feelings of hopelessness have come up within me.

I usually try to stay optimistic, but my spirit is just tired.

All the mass shootings, witnessing how disassociated human beings are from one another, a protestor's death, and just taking all of that in and wondering if all this darkness in the world will ever transform into something better.

Because this week, I felt like it was all pointless and I have been contemplating if I had any more hope for the world.

The NRA has so much power.

Too much power.

I am on a rabbit hole search of how this came to be, why, and honestly asking myself the question:

Is it possible to beat the NRA?

I don't know. But I keep coming back to two things:

• We desperately, desperately need to heal.

• Money is a powerful tool.

The above are two things we actually can, to an extent, have some agency over.

There is no one size fits all when it comes to healing. But I do know this:

healing is something that is done, together.

You cannot heal, by yourself, on your own.

Healing is also not a destination. It's a journey. There is no “end” when it comes to our mental and spiritual health.

It is on going, and something that requires community.

So how do we claim our agency when it comes to healing?

I think that this will be different for everyone. I will speak from my own experiences.

My journey was always investing in my mental health by seeing a therapist. Therapy saved my life. Multiple times.

I am one of those friends that if anyone comes to me with any struggles they are having in their life or around their mental health I'll always ask, “Are you in therapy?” or “Have you tried therapy?”

I don't do this to be annoying. I truly believe in therapy because I would not be alive today without it and I know the benefits of therapy. Even when I am in emotional distress, pain, or experiencing a challenging moment - I know that I will get through it with all the support I've received in therapy.

Mental health isn't as accessible that it should be, I know that.

But there are free and accessible resources that do exist. 

I have known so many people that receive incredible therapy through Medicaid (myself included). I know there are some hoops to jump through when it comes to searching for a provider, but trust me. There are free resources and spending that time and energy on your search is not only going to benefit you, but it will benefit your loved ones. Your community. The world.

I deeply believe that if mental health was not a taboo, we'd see less violence, less mass shootings, and a whole lot more love and kindness.

Now of course, I've got to talk about the power of money as a tool.

It honestly ANGERS me SO much that money is so powerful. Because that's why the NRA is so powerful.

The NRA has a whole lot of freaking money!

The NRA also has a whole lot of freaking people!

5 million members, to be exact.

So, when you have money, and you have people, that come together for a cause (in this case, it's guns)…well yeah, it's going to be powerful.

The NRA buys politicians. The NRA buys organizations and corporations.

Money is powerful.

So how do we take our money, organize it within our community, and fight back for the world we so desperately need?

A world where children aren't being shot at in school.

A world where our elderly AAPI community can dance and celebrate the Lunar New Year together without being killed.

A world where every single human is not seen as disposable.

A world where we all heal together and thrive together.

We all forget that we can take responsibility.

Even if you might think that it doesn't go a long way.

My life's mission is to leave this world better than I was born into it.

I make every single dollar of mine count because I know that a dollar isn't just a dollar.

It's not just a piece of paper, or a number in my bank account.

It has meaning.

It has power.

And it can be used as a tool to ripple into our communities around us.

I'm here to tell you to make your dollar count.

Because I believe you can.

I have to believe it. For me. For us. For our community.

Now I want to hear from you.

How are you going to make your dollar count?

Hit reply to this e-mail with your reflection. ❤

Stay Shiny,

p.s. If you have the means, please consider donating to the victims of the Monterey Parkand/or the Halfmoon Bay mass shootings. Both fundraisers have been verified. Here is a resource from the folks at Stop AAPI Hate if you want to learn more about how you can support. 

CH-CH-CH-CHANGES

Today I am thinking about change.

Heraclitus, a Greek philosopher, is quoted as saying "change is the only constant in life."

And one of my old therapists said to me, as I was processing the grief I carried after my father died, “The only thing permanent is impermanence.”

People are so afraid of change. I get it.

Change isn't my favorite thing, either.

But change has always been there for me, well, since I was born. I embraced it and always knew, it would be there.

And I think it really slapped me in the face after my father passed. Change hits different, you know?

In a way, I see change as a friend. *sings ch-ch-ch changes by David Bowie*

There's a sense of wonder, openness, and opportunity with change.

Because guess what?

Nobody actually wants to stay the same.

It's kind of absurd, lol.

We loatheeeeeee change but we also crave it.

Nobody likes being in the mundanity of life for too long.

It's what makes us human.

Change has been on my mind so much because I am going through a LOT of changes right now.

I am currently putting up furniture for sale on Craigslist, packing boxes, reaching out to friends to foster my plant babies, and researching storage units while my partner and I plan the first leg of our life abroad.

I am also learning that my gender identity (or sometimes, lack thereof) is a shapeshifter. I am figuring out how to process each day, knowing that sometimes I wake up and feel both masc and femme, other days I feel nothing, and some days I feel a multitude of different expressive energetic beings in my body.

My partner and I are going on being together for ten years. Seeing old photos of us when we first met in our early twenties to now, finding white hairs and wrinkles and knowing that these physical manifestations are symbolic for how much we've changed. It is a miracle that we've changed so much together vs change so much apart.

My whole life is different from even just a week ago.

My partner and I spend our New Years Eve, doing our version of this incredible Life Audit.

I am going to take a risk and be extra vulnerable here, because I want to you to see what it's like being in my brain, heart, and soul. 

I want you to see how big I dream and how I give myself permission to dream THAT big. 

I hope this serves as inspiration for you to claim your dreams and aspirations.

This is my personal Life Audit, with 100 of my wishes I hope to see and experience in life.

Doing this Life Audit was eye opening. There were things that I thought would be way more of a priority to me, and I got curious…for example:

• I thought community and creativity would be much bigger, so at first I thought okay maybe this isn't as much of a priority to me as I thought it was

• Then I realized, it wasn't a priority because I already HAVE such a beautiful community in my life and I have and do practice my creativity each and every day. So of course, my cups are full on that end!

And of course, as you see in my Life Audit, wealth seems to always be one of the most important pillars to me. This was VERY affirming for me and the career/life path I chose, because at times I have doubted that. I also saw that my wealth wishes were not always tangible financial goals, but really about holistic wealth.

Doing this Life Audit made me realize one really huge transformation.

I am not afraid of my dreams.

And I am not afraid of the changes and risks I will need to make and take in my life to get there.

Sure, I have “fears” (don't we all?) about all these things…

Will people reject who I truly am?

Can I trust myself?

What if I fail?

But at the end of the day, I know that none of that is going to stop me from embracing my desires to get to where I want to be.

Even if it means, I have to change. 

Even if it means, I WILL change.

My whole life is already changing as I take one step at a time towards some of these dreams (like, hiking the O Trek in Patagonia an 80+ mile hike - which is happening this March🤯)!!!

So this money love letter is a cheers to change.

I'm so grateful for the changes in my life.

I don't think life would be worth living, if change didn't exist at all. :')

Stay Shiny,

MY GOLD STANDARD'S END OF YEAR REFLECTIONS.

What a year. WHAT a year it has been.

I am currently in a burrito blanket on my couch after a morning of intense boxing and honestly, I feel like this year I officially peaked.

You know what's wild though?

Nothing around me really changed. I mean, it did…but it's mostly because I changed.

I shaked shit up in my business. Most importantly, I shaked shit up in my life.  

At the start of the year, my word was expansion. This couldn't be more true.

I definitely expanded in ALL the ways this year.

Specifically, I learned how to thrive.

My therapist told me about “thriving” and I thought that was a whole bunch of hoohah or some kind of unicorn destination in life that wasn't really real or possible for someone like me (a person who lives with complex PTSD, depression, and neurospicyness).

LOL, whew I was wrong.

Because THIS year? I learnt that it was possible.

This was the money love letter I wrote at the beginning of 2022.

Now that i'm finishing up with My Gold Standard's 2023, I want this to be something I share at the end of each year.

My learnings, un-learnings, and all the things I am celebrating as I reflect on the last year.

So let's get into it, shall we?

#1. My relationship with money is the best it's every been.

I can't really tell you specifically why that is, but I sure will try. It's been YEARS in the making. I think it's because I knew that if I was going to be a full time entrepreneur, I really had to get my financial shit in order. The numbers were in order, but I was still carrying the past money stories I had to address with myself. A lot of these money stories were around suffering, martyrdom, scarcity, lack of financial security, oppression, and guilt. Yes, I too, have a lot of baggage around money! The real talk is that none of that stuff has gone away. I still get BIG MONEY FEELS (you'll see this again…hint hint) but the difference is that I am able to metabolize and move through it with resilience.

I worked hard to build this relationship with money. It takes work, discipline, and intention. Most importantly, it takes RADICAL self acceptance and compassion. This became my anchor. Through this, I've seen my own financial numbers change.

This year my business brought $65,571 in gross revenue compared to the $17,759 last year.

My business expenses totaled to being $39,975.

And I began to pay myself $2,000 a month.

I invested an average of $500 a month in my general brokerage account and Solo 401k (which I opened this year heyooo)! 

I paid off both my business and personal credit cards that were on 0% APR in time before interest kicked in.

And because of this my credit score went from 764 to 797.

I also raised my prices twice because I discovered that I was SEVERELY undercharging my services! My goodness was this was a kick in the ass to realize.

I went on three GUILT and financially STRESS free trips to New Orleans, Canada/Montana, and Italy. I saved so much money for these trips ($15k baby!) so I could fully enjoy myself without worrying if I had enough.

I took a total of 5 weeks off, made my first hire, and I paid all my quarterly taxes on time, too.

I feel EFFING amazing reflecting all of this back to you because people in entrepreneurship always talk about hitting six figures, $10k months, or even surpassing a millie (which is STILL a dream y'all) but nobody shares the journey before all of that. I'm so proud of this journey. 

I felt like this entire year, I stayed in integrity with myself and my business. Things did get hard. There were many months and quarters where it was looking real tight and I reconsidered going back to a 9-5 again…but I'm so grateful I leaned into expanding my window of resilience, got comfortable being uncomfortable, and embraced the seasons of my business revenue without having a meltdown.

Okay, maybe I had a meltdown or two. Who doesn't? BUT, I didn't make any rash decisions. 

#2. I advocated for myself, over and over again.

I used to be “shove it down and forget about all my feelings because I don't want to ruffle any feathers” ROYALTY, y'all. Like, I could REALLY withhold, suffer in silence, and nobody would have a clue because I was just that good at masking. This was out of fear. I hated hurting people, but most of all, when I HAVE spoken up in the past - it was always met with hostility.

This year, I spoke my truth…even if that truth hurt.

And I let go of being responsible for how other's received it.

I'll give two examples of this.

The first example is that I invested in a group coaching program and the facilitator made it very clear at the beginning that this was inclusive to female identifying and nonbinary people. 

But I was misgendered constantly by the facilitator. Instead of suffering in silence and saying “it is what it is” I actually said something. Both times I spoke up (because it happened multiple times), I was met with understanding, grace, collaboration, and even accountability. I knew the reaction could be a hostile one, but I still took that risk because to me advocating for myself, no matter what, is always worth the risk.

The second example is actually more personal. My relationship with my Mom has always been incredible nuanced. We were estranged for some time of it (I didn't speak to her for two years) and I never felt like I could be myself around her. But this year, I told her what I needed to feel good about having a relationship with her, and we reconnected. I even let her into my life more and more, and leaned on her for some things I needed support on this year. I never thought I could have a relationship with my Mom like this, and I feel the most closest to her now than I ever have in my entire life. Through her, I learned so much about my ancestors which was so, so important for me, too.

I have had a lot of bad experienced from speaking up in the past, but this year, I am really celebrating that I continued to speak up.

#3. I asked for help.

Asking for help SUCKS. It has NEVER felt good to receive because my natural tendency is to over give. It was always uncomfortable, feelings of unworthiness came up, and I just felt overwhelmed by it. Like, if I receive something….I am indebted to that person, place, or thing.

Also, it's because I felt guilty for having needs. I felt like my needs were too much.

This was also a vital experience and pillar in my relationship to money. I leaned a lot on my therapist, partner, friendships/community, and when I felt extremely burnt out by my business, I went and hired a virtual assistant. 

This year, I experienced being in receivership. I DO HAVE A LOT OF NEEDS! That doesn't make me too much. It's just what I need, right now. 

So, I asked for help. A LOT. 

I saw my therapist 3x a week. Shout out to all the therapists out there. You are the real ones.

I gave my VA a clear list of things I needed support with each week.

I cried to friends, my partner, and even my Mom about my struggles and challenges and they poured so much love, care, and support in me. :')

I am so grateful for all the people that showed up with me. If you're reading this, you know who you are. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Because I would not be here without y'all.

#4. I focused on my body.

Sometimes being in my mind for too long felt debilitating. I had to learn how to get out of my mind and into my body.

I expanded the months I spent sober. De-centering alcohol from my life was the best thing I ever did for myself. I have so much energy, a clear head, incredible skin (heh), and my mental health is thriving. Even when I am partaking in drinking, it is very, very limited and continues to become less over time. I honestly think that one day, I might eliminate alcohol completely from my life. We shall see. 

I also invested in a four week boxing bootcamp! For the last four weeks, I have showed up M-F at 6AM. NEVER in a million years did I think I was capable of doing this or that my body was capable of being SO resilient!! I officially completed the four weeks, and I am DEFINITELY celebrating that humongous milestone because getting into my body has been very hard for me to do in the past. But now?

I'm obsessed. I might even sign up for round two in January! LOL. Who am I?!?!?!?

side note: This boxing bootcamp was a total cost of $630. This was a milestone to mentally and emotionally move through. I went back and forth thinking this was way too “expensive” and “who am I to spend money like that” or, “what if I invest in this, and end up quitting?" But if you read my reflection above….there is no dollar amount that makes up the value of what it means to be reunited with your body, mind, and spirit. 

#5. I gave myself permission to experiment.

I don't need all the answers to roll up my sleeves and take the leap. I jumped into things not knowing if it was going to work out and I just allowed myself to play. This is what experimentation is all about. This is what creativity is all about.

You experiment by taking action, and that action is what brings answers. NO. 

That action is what brings clarity. 

Because usually I have found that I don't really need all the answers.

We put so much pressure on ourselves to know it all before we actually do something. Or, we end up not doing anything because we keep stretching on what it means to “be ready” to take the leap.

This doesn't mean I jumped into things without intention. I just made sure that my experiment, no matter the outcome, was worth taking that risk for.

To all my manifestors out there (human design, anyone?), you know how it is.

Last but not least, I really want to shine a light on My Gold Standard's clients. The financial milestones I got to witness were just beyond. The work they have all committed to this last 2022 year was not always easy either. However, they all continued to show up for themselves in all the ways: past, present, and future.

At the beginning of every financial journey, it always starts with a dream. But that dream doesn't feel realistic. To come full circle, it's almost like when my therapist told me about thriving. Pffft. Thriving? That's not real! 

But I hold each and every one of my client's dreams to heart and let them know: anything is possible, and if this is truly what you really want….here's how you make that happen. 

At first, they don't believe me. :P

I can share with you all the goals and financial milestones they've all achieved…but I want to share the biggest milestone of all within each and every one of my clients which is: 

They begin to believe in their dreams, too.

So shout out to all my clients, for being big dreamers like me. I love you all.

I never really liked new year's resolutions but I do love dreaming. I have so many dreams for 2023….and some are already in the works. I can't wait to share the journey of my dreams coming true with you all, and just know that when I'm typing out these money love letters, I'm holding all your dreams to heart, too.

I don't have to know what they are to know that they are possible for you, too. :') 

Cheers to our dreams, friends! I hope you have a happy holidays and a gorgeous rest of your year.

Stay Shiny,

ON BUILDING RESILIENCE.

I am sitting here, cozy in my sweat pants and hoodie, rocking my Black Sabbath t-shirt and devouring this cup of black coffee as I type this money love letter.

This will be the second to last money love letter of the 2022 year.

I am filled with gratitude. Thank you for being here. You have no idea how much it means to me for you to invest your time and energy reading these money love letters. Time is the most powerful currency, and it's one you don't get back. I say this because I REALLY mean it when I say how grateful I am for you being here. :') 

Today I want to talk about building resilience. I talk about this A LOT, but this is more of a personal journey for me. If you aren't following My Gold Standard on the gram' you probably don't know this but I signed up for a four week boxing bootcamp!

I am on my third week, and I feel like a completely different person.

Obviously, I know I am still lil ol' me! But what is different is that I am reunited with my body and it feels so, so incredible.

I never had a good relationship with my body. I have trauma, and developed CPTSD. My body = a cage and I spent most of my life completely disassociated from it.

When I was IN my body, even in really wonderful ways - I would weep. I remember a year ago, being on my yoga mat, and crying after practice because I felt how hard it was to be IN my body again. Back then, I wasn't ready to handle a boot camp let alone a 30 minute yoga practice. 

But this year, I really wanted to end 2022 with a reunion.

With commitment.

With discipline.

With a whole lot of self compassion.

With strength.

With love.

And that's how I've been feeling these last two weeks. I show up every day for this bootcamp, Monday through Friday, at 6AM. It is a ritual for my body now, and I never thought I was capable of doing any of this.

So what does being in your body have to do with money and wealth?

A whole lot I am learning.

Being in reunion with our bodies is such an important pillar within holistic wealth.

Holistic wealth is not a one size fits all. For me?

It's not restricting myself to a limiting budget, AND it's also being intentional with my spending.

It's facing my finances no matter how much I want to avoid them out of fear. 

It's prioritizing my financial dreams and aspirations.

It's taking responsibility for my mental and physical health. 

And it's believing I have so much financial agency and power, no matter how much this economic system tries to tell me I don't.

My body shows me how resilient I am. 

I think, “It's not possible” or “I'm not strong enough” and time and time again, as I am more in my body, I see how much I doubt…but my body is powerful.

“I'm the medicine, I have the answers,” my dear friend said to me this morning speaking for my/our bodies.

It's true. No matter the financial uncertainty, my body holds so much wisdom.

This is wealth.

I have a whole team that makes all of the above possible. 

I have a therapist, a business coach, an incredible virtual assistant, a boxing trainer, and a whole community (hi hello, it's you!) that holds me up and reminds me just how powerful I am/we are.

If you're struggling - trust me. I get it. 

The journey is not linear.

But I want to encourage you to do something this week, and perhaps, do this more and more in your life.

Ask for help. 

They say it takes a village, and that's because it's supposed to.

Receive the support you are so worthy of. It is easier said than done, but this year was the year of receiving more support than I ever have…

and it's been so beautiful to finally receive.

This is what holistic wealth is all about.

Reciprocity. :') 

Stay Shiny,

CELEBRATE BLACK HISTORY.

It's been awhile since I've written a money love letter. This community has been on my mind, heart, and soul and I've been meaning to write to you because I really do love being in this space with y'all.

If you don't know, I moved back into my childhood home this month and acclimating to a new environment has been super overstimulating. 

It's temporary…but even in the temporary, it is a LOT. I think I'm learning that I thrive when I have a routine and a familiar place to nest. Yes, I am a nester. I point this to my sun in cancer lol. 

I will here back/forth in this home for awhile as I embark on my journey abroad this year. It's been nice in a lot of ways, actually. I moved into my Dad's old room, and I feel a sense of closeness with him again. Seeing his cd's, or his signature on old receipts…it's these little things that feel like such a homecoming. 

But I don't want to spend this money love letter talking about that just yet.

I want to talk about Black History Month. 

My Mom has been watching what is on tv and a lot of the programming is only focused on the traumatic history of enslaved peoples.

Let me make this clear. I think it is important to look back, reflect, and know the history.

(my hope is that by looking back from that lens, we'd finally have reparations in this country…but that hasn't happened yet)

However, a lot of the times, the lens is always from a place of looking back at only the pain and suffering. America has a serious problem. Not only because of it's history…

but because America is obsessed with the pain and suffering of Black people.

Black History is more than slavery. Black History is more than trauma. Black History is more than suffering.

Black History has so much to celebrate. So much wisdom.

I don't want us to look at our Black siblings and only see a history and lineage of slavery.

I want us to look at our Black siblings and see a history and lineage of incredible entrepreneurs, musicians, athletes, chefs, activists, healers, and more.

We have to look at both ancestral trauma AND ancestral wisdom.

Let's celebrate the wisdom of Marsha P. Johnson who fought for LGBTQIA+ rights, or the incredible Madam CJ Walker for being the first female self made millionaire (NOT the first Black woman, but the first woman period). How about Eartha Kitt, who always spoke up on the injustices of the Vietnam War AND sang absolutely beautifully. Angela Davis who has always advocated for the abolishment of the prison-industrial complex. Oh, and let us not forget about the sensational Josephine Baker who was the first black woman to star in a major motion picture, or Toni Morrison, the first Black person to win a Nobel Peace Prize in Literature. Lucy Stanton (the first Black woman to graduate college), Athlea Gibson (first Black player to win Wimbledon), and Mae C. Jemison (the first black woman to travel into space). Last but not least, in most recent Black History is Andrea Jenkins who, in 2017, became the first openly Black trans woman elected in United States! 

I could go on and on, but I think you catch what I'm trying to say.

This is how I am honoring Black History. By seeing ALL of Black History.

And knowing that Black History is every day. 

Not just one month out of the year.

I enjoyed reading this article by Good Good Good on how to be intentional about the way we honor and celebrate Black History. I also want to recommend Anti Racism Daily's 28 Days of Black History newsletter, and Queerency's Black History Instagram series.

How are you honoring Black History?

Stay Shiny,

part two: LIVING ON LESS THAN $80K A YEAR

TW: this newsletter addresses the tragedy in Colorado Springs. Please prioritize your nervous system. <3

I want to address my queer, trans, and nonbinary siblings on this newsletter first.

I am completely shattered by yet another mass shooting of hatred against our community.

I hate that there are MANY people out in this world that want us dead because of who we are and who we love.

I hate that there are MANY people out in this world, specifically in the United States that want to tear us apart and rip our rights away. Rep. Lauren Boebert is one of many people.

I hate that we've been saying over and over that violence is coming for us, AGAIN, and our cries were ignored.

I hate that every time I go to a queer space to be open and free with my queer family and community, I do have fears that I won't leave this venue alive.

I hate that when I DO reach my bed after a beautiful time of dancing, laughing, and holding my queer loved ones….I feel immense relief.

It all hurts. I am hurting with you. You are not alone. The hate that is held towards us, I want you to know that my love for us is beyond what they can even comprehend. It is beyond the hate that they could ever have towards us. I see you. I love you. I am with you.

If you are an ally, please love on your queer/trans/nonbinary community. Put your money where your heart is. Because what you do with your money matters.

• You can donate to Transanta (this is personally one of my favorite organizations, shout out to Katie who told me about them), and/or you can donate directly to our queer family in Colorado Springs. These GoFundMe's are all verified.

Now onto this week's money love letter.

In my last money love letter I shared with you my grand plans to be work optional and live abroad.

Today I want to share with you my numbers. I got SO many questions around how the heck my partner and I live off of less than $80k a year, and your curiosities really inspired me!

But before I get into the deets, let me be honest.

While I was putting together these numbers, I KNEW i'd be sharing them with you all and it TERRIFIED ME. I never experienced this before. I've always loved sharing the BTS of my budget but this is the first time it has to do with money that I have made through My Gold Standard vs my employers paying me an income.

I don't know why this gave me very big feels - but I think it's along the lines of 1) for the first time in my life, I make less than my partner. I've always been the one to make more and 2) I spend a LOT (at least, what I thought) on my business expenses. It is a little more than half MGS gross revenue. This surprised me and definitely made me very self conscious. All the expenses are needs to run my business, I just really did not spend any time thinking about it on an annual level because I've been so wrapped up in the month to month of running this business!

See? I've got some mindset and emotional stuff to work on too within my own financial wellbeing! You're not alone. :o)

Now, onto the numbers. I use YNAB (You Need A Budget) to track my spending and create my budget. Here are our financial deets:

NEEDS

• Rent $2,700

• Therapy $1,100

• Utilities $230

• Subscriptions/Memberships $200

• Renter's Insurance $14

• Groceries $440

• Transportation $310

• Medical $65

• Laundry $35

• Wealth Redistribution $35

  • Total = $5,129

WANTS

• Nomz Out $480

• Shopping $190

• Booze $155

• Ride Share $60

• Dates $50

• Events $40

• Quality of Life $135

  • Total = $1,110

COMBINED TOTAL MONTHLY BUDGET

• NEEDS + WANTS = $6,239/month

  • Annual = $74,868

INCOME

Our total joint annual gross income right now is around $190,000.

I make around $65,000 and my partner around $125,000.

[note: my annual business expenses are $38,193]

This means...we save about 50% of our income annually.

OUR OWN FIRE NUMBER

$74,868 x 25 years = $1,871,700 TOTAL

The biggest takeaway from doing this ritual (looking deep into our expenses, income, spending) is that I don't feel limited….at all.

Let me explain.

Are there things, experiences, and times in my life where I say no to spending money on?

Absolutely. I do say no. I don't find NO being restrictive or limiting, because I am saying NO to something right now that is actually saying YES to my future.

I said no to a YSL bag I've been eyeing for the last year.

I said no to traveling to Europe again this year.

I said no to many dinners, events, and outings.

& I've said no to many business expenses that are not NEED to haves, but more in the WANT/DREAM to have categories…like dropping $1k+ to go to a conference.

I am not saying no forever, either. I will definitely buy that YSL bag eventually, and will definitely be traveling to Europe and countries all over the world multiple times a day. I also know I will certainly invest more into myself and my business.

But the timing really needs to feel right for me.

My partner and I went on a beautiful hike on Sunday, and we experienced so much wealth and abundance on our 12 mile excursion.

• We came across two logs COVERED in oyster mushrooms.

• The sun was BEAMING with joy.

• & the trail was relatively empty.

I shared with him my reflections on what the different paths are presenting me.

• Path 1: Increase our expenses, our income, and upgrade our life in the Bay Area.

• Path 2: Decrease our expenses and live very intentionally over the next couple of years to become work optional ASAP.

We both agreed we wanted to be work optional first and foremost.

He said to me, “We won't have it all, but we can have what matters.”

God, I love him so much.

We can have what matters.

I looked around Mount Tamalpais, looked at him, looked at the sky and took a deep, deep breathe and thought…

I already have what matters.

I write this money love letter with so much abundance in my heart and soul, even in the darkest of tragedies…and I feel so full.

So heartbroken, yet so beautifully full.

I already have what matters.

Do you?

Stay Shiny,

LIVING ON LESS THAN $80K A YEAR

WHEW. I am currently writing this money love letter from my bed. I went to a spooky show last night and was just FLOATING on cloud 9.

I don't know if it's just being in your thirties, or what it is, but there are moments where my inner child/teenager just comes out to play and last night was one of those nights. I had a blast. The music (shout out to Twin Temple and Bridge City Sinners) was incredible, and I even saw kids dancing and blowing bubbles in the crowd.

Going to live shows and traveling always remind me of how I actually want to live my life vs how I think I should be living my life.

So of course, it got me thinking.

If I wanted to retire early and not be beholden to working, what would that look like?

Look, I LOVE MY JOB. I do.

AND, I still very much dislike that I have to make money.

So, what would it look like if I was making money, but without the pressure or urgency of have to…

What would it feel like if work and making money in that form of exchange was….optional?

There are so many stories I see/hear about people that moved to another country, like this family who left the Bay Area and retired in Portugal, or this woman who moved to Mexico after she lost her job.

I want to let you in one a semi secret of mine…

I'm planning to live abroad, too.

After my partner and I spent two weeks in Italy, embracing complete hedonism…

guess what?

our budget stayed pretty much the same.

Each month we spend $6,300.

That is $75,600/year for two people in the Bay Area.

Some of you might see that number and think that's bonkers expensive. Some of you might see that number and think WOW that's SO little!

But when I saw this number, I was thrilled.

I didn't view it as anything but information.

I don't want to spend that money, living here in the Bay Area.

So I did a FIRE calculation. FIRE stands for “financial independence retire early” but for me, it just means work optional.

If I really wanted to, I could be work optional by 45. That's if I DO stay in the Bay Area.

This wouldn't come with any cost cutting. This is just based on our annual spending, each year.

If I moved to let's say, Portugal…and lived off of $3,000/month. Hell, Let's say $4,000. We could retire by 39.

I AM 31, Y'ALL.

When the FIRE movement became such a big thing, it didn't really appeal to me.

All I saw was a bunch of people moving into tiny homes, eating top ramen, and/or moving in with their parents.

There is no shame in that, but it's not something I wanted to do. Okay, maybe I do love a good tiny home…

But FIRE was not a goal of mine if it meant sacrifice. I didn't want to deprive myself of the things I desire.

Now, as I revisit this goal…to be work optional is the ultimate freedom in my heart and soul.

Next year, I plan to be in a different country every season. So far, here is what I'm thinking:

• Spring: Medellín, Colombia or Amman, Jordan

• Summer: Kalispell, Montana or somewhere in Europe (still debating this one!)

• Fall: Iloilo, Phillippines

• Winter: TBD

psssst….if you have any recommendations for any of the above places, or if I should add any locations hit me up!

I want to learn multiple languages. I want to eat delicious food from all over the world. I want time and space for leisure activities such as painting and writing poetry. I want to be immersed in nature. I want to be in WATER, a lot! I want real, authentic, and beautiful conversations with strangers AND loved ones.

This is my dream for 2023.

I know that there is still talks of a recession looming (or that we are in one already), but I want to make it loud and clear that I, and you, can still dream.

Not in the “I have dreams but it'll never happen” kind of dream.

I mean DREAM and that it is possible to make it a reality.

What's your dream? What's currently setting your heart and soul on fire?

Tell me! I want to hear it all.

Until next time, loves.

Happy Birthday, My Gold Standard!

I can't believe My Gold Standard is two years old. The journey it has been to get here is unreal and I honestly had moments if I ever would get here!

Entrepreneurship is not for the faint of heart. While I believe that anyone can be an entrepreneur, not everyone wants to be and that's okay.

I get it.

Everything is on you when you run your own business. There is no boss to complain about, no company or CEO, no corporate whatever to be angry at.

It's just YOU.

This was and has been very empowering for me to learn.

To learn that I do, have agency.

When you realize this, you take responsibility for your own life, your own business, and your own shit.

So in year two of My Gold Standard, here is what I have taken responsibility for:

💸 gone are the times of hustle culture. I went into starting my own company because I wanted to be a well rested entrepreneur. So, when I began to experience burn out I realized I didn't have a boss to complain about - it was me, myself, and I for not keeping to my boundaries and implementing a nourishing schedule for me to avoid burn out. This is where Nature Fridays came in and I began a four day work week! (the hype is real - a four day work week is where it's at!)

💸 I was not making an income to support myself, but I was doing so much free work, donating my time, and/or having a sliding scale when I was absolutely not in the position to do ANY thing for free or less than my full price. This was really hard for me to accept. As I have always told the clients I work with, “you can't pour from an empty cup” I realized that I had to embody that myself. I stopped my sliding scale and gave myself a boundary that once a quarter, I will donate my time and expertise. I will not be implementing any sort of sliding scale services or take on pro-bono work until I can stand on my own two feet within my business.

💸 Now calling myself out on my shit - entrepreneurs….we just LOVE to have control and do everyyyyyyyyything ourselves. Yet, we complain about being lonely, isolated, and overwhelmed by doing everything ourselves! Can anyone relate? 😅 I decided to stop complaining about this because I was the culprit. I was also making mistakes, losing money and time by doing everything myself, and became overwhelmed. I decided to make my first hire and have someone take over admin + operations and support me with social media. Surrendering control of your business has also been a humbling experience, and I'm excited to lean into that more as My Gold Standard heads into its third year!

💸 This one is hilarious, because I have been known for pricing and salary negotiation magic and here I was, undercharging myself. Undercharging = undervaluing. Now, I can't just say fuck it - i'm leaving to find a job that will SEE my value and pay me accordingly because this is a place where that ain't happening. LOL. It was ME!!! I AM THE BOSS. I had to have a real reckoning with myself and raise my prices when I saw what other financial educators were charging. (psssst. It was double my pricing) I felt salty about it, not towards them or towards my clients, but towards ME. I got over myself and raised my rates. And guess what happened when I did? I received a swarm of love letters from my clients affirming me and my decision. If y'all are reading this - you best know you made an enby ugly cry that day.

💸 This is last, and certainly not least. I have done a shitton of work when it comes to scarcity mindset and building a relationship with money. When I had a solid paycheck - I was feeling all kinds of abundant and really making strides on my own financial wellbeing. That solid paycheck and the nourishing behaviors I embodied around my finances is what enabled me to take the leap and start My Gold Standard! Entrepreneurship is a whole other level of being in relationship with money. It has exposed me to other limiting beliefs I thought I had already alchemized. I was surely wrong - especially when I was panicking about not having enough money to hire someone for support. Do you know what also happened as I was complaining? I was invited to apply for a grant. They informed me that I qualified for it and all I had to do was set aside four hours to do the application. Here I was, having a scarcity meltdown of “why is making money so hard” when I was invited to apply for a $5,000 grant. “But four hours is soooooo long!!! I have no time!!!” is what my brain told me. Well guess what? MAKE TIME. So I did. And double guess what?!?!?! They invited me to the next phase of the grant approval process. I am on track to receive the $5,000 grant. On a separate note, I also learned that to make money, you have to SELL. I had to get over that limiting belief quickly, too and find ways to sell that felt authentic and in alignment for my business. There is nothing that icks me more when someone is selling from a place of scarcity.

Reflecting on all of this has me more proud than ever of My Gold Standard. Proud of me. Proud of my clients. Proud of the work that we do together.

What I love about being alive is that we are in a constant state of learning and growing.

I have learned so much this two years and I have taken responsibility of the knowledge and wisdom I have received.

I have also learned so much from my clients, who have taught me just how valuable the work we do is. I sure as hell know that financial liberation is everyone's birthright.

But what my clients taught me is that I am worthy of financial liberation, too.

We all are. YOU, my friend, are certainly worthy of financial liberation.

I am not just talking about the numbers, or FI/RE, or having millions of dollars. To me, that is not what financial liberation is.

Financial liberation, in my opinion….the MY GOLD STANDARD definition, if I may:

to know that under any circumstances, abundance is all around us and it is within us. Money is no longer a weight nor has any power over us. It is recognizing the power that we have as individuals and as a collective, and using money as an abundant tool to nourish, heal, and provide. Financial liberation is ancestral liberation. It is an ecosystem of peace, prosperity, power, love, pleasure, and resiliency. Financial liberation is not only having your needs abundantly met, but your DREAMS.

THAT is what financial liberation means to me.

As children, we've all had big dreams.

There was a time I dreamed of being a painter. a poet. a songwriter. hell, I dreamt of being Britney Spears at one point in my life. I dreamt of being a pro surfer. I dreamt of being a politician that actually makes an impact. I dreamt of being a filmmaker.

I dreamt of being so many things…

When you dream big, especially as a child….you are met with resistance from those around you. You are told, “that's a nice hobby to have!” or “that's cute, but what about a real career path?” and my favorite, “that's really sweet but not very realistic."

I am here to tell you that dreams do come true.

A dream is defined as a cherished aspiration, ambition, or ideal.

I have seen within my business that dreams come true. Dreaming to quit a toxic job. To start a business. To travel the world. Pay for a wedding. Have a family. To have a place they can call home. To pay for graduate school without student loans. To pay off debt, invest, and redistribute the rest. To log into their bank accounts, face the numbers, and for the first time ever, feel at ease. To communicate about money in ways that feel liberating in their relationship instead of the thing that tears them apart. There are so many dreams I have seen, come true.

Well, here is My Gold Standard's dream. A birthday wish to share before I end this money love letter and blow out the candles. ;)

My Gold Standard is a multimillion dollar business, having given folks from all over the United States abundantly paid jobs with incredible benefits. As a company, we have impacted millions of humans. Every single human that walks through our door leaves forever changed and in complete embodiment of financial liberation. We have redistributed as a collective, hundreds of thousands of dollars to organizations, mutual aid funds, and causes we stand by and believe in. We host annual dinner events where we hold space for necessary conversations around money and wealth, and dream up together what our economic world could be like. As the CEO of My Gold Standard, I am holistically wealthy, well rested, and living a peaceful slow life in a beautiful home immersed in nature where I can hear the birds singing every morning while I indulge in a cup of coffee.

That's the dream, friends.

Happy Birthday, My Gold Standard. 🥳 I love you. I love my business. I love the work.

I love what My Gold Standard stands for. Financial liberation for all.

Thank you all for being here, celebrating with me this joyous milestone. Witnessing all my learnings and unlearnings. The evolution and growth. The wisdom. The dreams.

Now tell me, what are YOUR dreams?

As a birthday gift to My Gold Standard, I'd be honored to witness and affirm it.

Slide into my inbox with your dreams, hello@mygoldstandard.co.

I'll be waiting. <3

Defy the status quo.

Less is more.

It's not what you think.

This isn't about minimalism in the context of “stuff” and “things”.

It's about something I am learning and experiencing as an entrepreneur.

I do so much less…

and I make so much more.

This is something I could never have with working a full time 9-5 job.

My financial projections of My Gold Standard affirm that I will be continuing on this path of abundance and I honestly am still processing that this is my life now.

I know tons of entrepreneurs in the industry that I am in who are making $50k to $100k months, and a year ago I would've told myself, “Sure, that is possible for THEM but is it possible for me?”

I now know, that anything is possible in entrepreneurship.

It's not all rainbows and butterflies (queue Maroon 5)…

• every milestone I reach, I am always heartbroken by the grief I have that I don't really have parents to be “proud” of me. My Dad passed away when I was 24, and I am estranged from my Mom. I have an incredible support system of chosen family to celebrate these wins with, but it still feels incomprehensibly lonely. This month was HUGE for me, and I still ended up sobbing into my partner's arms how isolating I feel with the grief I have.

• I am still not in a place where I can be financially independent (yet). My partner covers most of the bills and I contribute to our savings and variable spending. BUT, I do think I am in a place where I could be financially independent if I lived in a low cost city. This makes me happy to know.

• Running a business is an investment. I invest about 60% of my revenue back into my business. 30% goes to taxes. Then, the remaining 10% goes to saving up for a cash flow buffer. I set that 10% aside because I know that there might be a time where business might be slower. For example, last month My Gold Standard's revenue was $2,225. This month, it was $10k. This isn't because I am in a scarcity mindset. This is just me honoring the seasons of my business. Some seasons are for harvesting, and some are for planting.

Even with all the above to consider and hold space for…I am not working myself to burn out and exhaustion.

I used to work 60 to 80 hour weeks, which resulted in $15 to $20 an hour. My body knew this was abnormal, but the work culture was very much affirming that “this is just how start ups are” and that “it will slow down when we hit x goal”.

There was always a new goal to hit, so yeah. It never slowed down, lol.

I was expected to make my whole life about the company. This was and still is, bizarre to me.

If I did not make my whole life about the company, I was painted as a “disloyal employee” that didn't “care enough” about the mission.

Even in my OWN business, I don't make it my whole life.

Now, I am reminded to honor my seasons.

There are seasons of doing

AND

there are seasons of being.

The first three months of the year is always the time where I feel the MOST creative, vibrant, and productive. I can do a lot and have an immense, unwavering focus.

As we transition into fire season, oddly enough, this is my season of being. I go more behind the scenes in my business.

For example, I am slowly down so I can take this time to learn more in my field. The world of financial literacy is always evolving.

I am also revamping my website and getting more clarity around what additional offerings I want to have.

Even though I am slowing down and heading into a season of being and “doing less” I know I am projected to still make more.

This feels really good. I feel hydrated. Balanced. Grounded. At ease.

This is why I love entrepreneurship.

It doesn't have to be your main stream of income.

In my case it is. However, there is so much freedom when you cultivate multiple streams and learn that you are capable of making money in creative abundant ways.

You are capable.

If there is anything to take away from this money love letter today, it's to never forget that you have power.

The system wants you to.

But don't.

Defy the status quo.

I'll be here in spirit, rooting for you.

The Imperfect Entrepreneur.

Entrepreneurship isn't easy.

Well, I suppose you could say that life isn't easy.

Ain't that the truth. I entered the path of entrepreneurship out of grief.

I have always had ideas that I wanted to bring to life, but I never had the guts to do them until I lost my father unexpectedly.

“What do I have to lose, now?”

Money, rejection, failure….all of those things felt irrelevant when you lost one of the most important people in your life.

I already lost, in my mind. In my heart.

Thus began my new path to actually doing the damn thing.

It's almost comical, to be in that state.

I remember my first business, ACE Backpacks, and how problem after problem, resulting in thousands of dollars of mistakes…

I just couldn't give up.

There were so many times I wanted to, trust me.

I especially wanted to give up when I actually hit my kickstarter goal.

I raised $13k in 30 days to do my first production run.

People actually invested in the thing I created.

I was honored.

Then, I realized that it was just me running this show and I'd have to box and ship every single backpack to these people.

I had to take multiple trips to the USPS store since I couldn't carry all 50+ boxes at once.

In New York City, for those of you who know, a trek anywhere outside of your apartment is a LOT.

But I did it, you know?

Same with My Gold Standard. This business wasn't even supposed to exist for at least a year. I felt powerless, and for the first time ever, was not bringing in any income.

I was under a noncompete and had to get really creative about how I could begin this business within those limitations.

I created PAY UP 1.0 out of it.

I made lots of mistakes, except, they didn't cost me thousands of dollars since I learned all the rookie mistakes the first time around.

A year ago, I would wait anxiously by my email to see if anyone inquired about working with me. For months, it was complete radio silence. I doubted myself. But I kept going.

One of these days, someone would say yes.

And I was right.

A year later, I have a sold out 1:1 wealth coaching program and a waitlist.

There were days within the wins, the losses, the mistakes, the lessons where the grief was so heavy I would spend hours, days, weeks, completely heart broken wanting to give up on whatever I was trying to make happen.

There are still those days, like today.

Nobody talks about the hard stuff. You just see the end goal, the highlight reel.

You never see the journey. The highlight “real” if you know what I mean.

So this is my highlight real. There is nothing special going on. I am not some extraordinary human being with magical super powers.

My success exists because I just don't give up.

I keep going.

They say, “It's a marathon, not a sprint.” And it's true.

I've been marathoning this whole time within my entrepreneurship journey.

Sometimes I pause and catch my breath. Sometimes I take a step back and hydrate. Sometimes things don't work out, so I pivot.

And sometimes, I just let go and surrender.

“Let the magic happen,” I say to the Universe.

Sometimes, you just have to let the magic happen, because you are the magic.

-

(p.s. if you watched my kickstarter video of lil 25 year old me - my given name is Danielle, my chosen name is Stella Gold - more on that in another money love letter)

Wealth Is Sacred.

I send you this money love letter from San Francisco, embodying the message above so, so much.

Wealth is sacred.

What do you feel when you read that? Do you believe wealth is your birthright?

I do.

I believe that wealth can, and should be, cultivated in nourishing ways.

I believe wealth is a resource that everyone should have access to.

I believe having wealth breaks the generational cycle within your lineage of not having enough.

I also believe that having wealth breaks the generational cycle within your lineage of having so much, hoarding it, and not using money as a tool that can heal. A tool that can nourish. A tool that empowers the collective.

It's both/and.

There is so much shame in making and having money. There is so much guilt wrapped around building wealth.

My last money love letter, I shared with you all my word of the year is expansion.

But really, it's not just for me.

Expansion is for the world.

When we embrace wealth as ours to have and ours to share, my goodness.

This world, y'all.

What's on the other side of this collective wealth?

I see more LIFE. I see more love. I see and feel hydration. I see FREEDOM.

This is my invitation to you, to make 2022 your most abundant year yet.

Then, ripple that abundance back into the world. Use money as a tool to replenish, nourish, and empower.

By the end of this year, I dream to have cultivated $1 million in revenue.

I already know exactly how I would use this money.

I would pay myself an abundant salary that makes me feel valued, appreciated, and enables me to thrive and reach my own financial goals. Right now, that number is $250,000.

I would reinvest $300,000 back into my business by creating sustainable job opportunities for QTBIPOC and pay each and every one of my employees a BEAUTIFUL income.

I would redistribute $150,000 into reparations, mutual aid, policies that I believe in, and other organizations that are creating a beautiful world/earth to live in.

What is your abundant dream? What does that look like? Most importantly, what does it feel like?

When I see mine, I feel nourished. This is why wealth feels so sacred to me. It is sacred.

& so it is.

Expansion.

Ooooof! I just realized that I haven't written a money love letter in over a month. I promise, I have good reasons. But, I have been missing this community and wanting to send my love to each and every one of you before we head into the ✨2022✨ year!

To be honest, I have been MIA because I have been resting at every down moment I have. The seasons always guide me to what I need. Summer and Winter are the seasons where I need to take it s l o w, pause, and reflect. Spring and Autumn are my seasons of BLOOM and harvest.

As I enter hibernation mode (yes, I am a bear) I wanted to pour my heart, soul, and reflections of this entire year into this love letter.

No financial advice this time.

Just, me.

The beginning of this year was definitely a trying one. I had what felt like the “dark night of the soul” and if I am being incredibly honest, I was afraid I wouldn't make it out. I mean, I was completely cracked open.

I was suffering. So many loved ones around me kept trying to fix it and make it better - relieve me of the pain I felt. I do love them for that….

But it wasn't what I needed. I needed to go through it.

The only way out is through, after all.

And going through it meant to just BE. Be where I am at. Be where I am.

No fixing, changing, or doing. Just being.

This was the greatest gift I received this year. Because even when I was “doing” it felt so organic and liberating. Starting My Gold Standard of course, took intention. It took showing up and taking action, even when I didn't “want” to.

I dug deep in those moments. Why were there times I didn't “want” to show up? Mostly, because I felt unworthy. (yes, I still have my own shadow shit to work with!) I knew that showing up meant being uncomfortable and to an extent, in the spotlight.

As a child, and even as an adult, this pattern showed up a lot.

Being in the spotlight was only an experience when I was humiliated and shamed.

OR,

I was in the spotlight because I was overachieving FOR someone else by being someone I was not.

Can you relate?

It hurts to meet your shadow and see these patters so clearly. It hurts because you know exactly what you need to do.

Sometimes what you need to do, is not what you want to do.

Read that again.

Each year, I choose a word. A word that represents everything that I am calling in.

For 2022, that word is expansion.

My Gold Standard is more than just a “financial literacy business”. It is a movement. An awakening. It is a revolution. Your revolution. Our revolution.

I am tired of being afraid to step into my power. Into my expansion.

I have beautiful, abundant, and expansive visions for myself. For this business.

And it's because I have beautiful, abundant, and expansive visions for YOU.

For us.

I think we must celebrate. I am celebrating you, being here.

The gratitude I have for you, reading this money love letter, is out of this world.

Thank you.

With this last money love letter of the year, I want to share all the things that I am celebrating with My Gold Standard.

I created a video of all my reflections and celebrations that you can watch below!

I would love to hear from you and what YOU are celebrating. I'd also love to know your word of the year. Hit the reply button. I can't wait to hear from you.

If I don't hear from you, I am wishing you a lovely rest of the year. I know the world is filled with so much heaviness right now. Feel it all. The only way out is through.

And remember, there is always a light where there is darkness.

Until next year. 😘

Announcements

My Gold Standard is in Google's Year In Search 2021 in collaboration with Pop Up Magazine!

A huge thank you to Jillian Anthony for such a lovely interview experience. Another thank you to Carlos Chavarría who made our photoshoot WAY too much fun and somehow got my awkwardness to fade away with our shared love for Star Wars and video games. Both of these humans are incredibly talented and I feel so honored to have shared space with them.

Check out the other 10 amazing people and businesses My Gold Standard is featured with by clicking the link below.

Diversify your income streams.

Take a look back on your educational upbringing. What were you taught about money? About business? About entrepreneurship?

When I look back at mine - it is a big pot of ol' NONE OF THAT!

I was taught that you go to school to get a job. To work FOR somebody.

Well, I am not in the business of teaching you how to “get a job”.

I am in the business in teaching you to MAKE a job.

Or really, teaching you to create your own business!

Why is this so important?

Because relying on one single job, one single income is VERY risky. We are taught to put our entire financial wellbeing (which is synonymous with overall wellbeing imo) in the hands of one employer.

“Just get a good, reliable job that will take care of you and your future,” they said.

In the financial literacy world, you likely have heard of diversifying your investments.

It is time that diversification includes your INCOME.

Take this pandemic for example.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 7.4 Million Americans are still unemployed. During the 15 weeks from mid-March to the end of June in 2020, Americans filed nearly 49 million new claims for unemployment benefits.

During this time, I have had dozens and dozens of clients who were laid off (some even laid off three times as they bounced from job to job) and terrified for their financial future.

Instead of just focusing on getting a new job, I also made sure our focus was to figure out a way to make income OUTSIDE of a typical job.

Here are some of the things people in my community did to diversify their income:

• Livestream on Twitch: a ton of musicians I know who were out of live gigs resorted to this. On average, they were able to bring $1k to $2k a month - more than they ever made playing live shows!!!

• Etsy/Depop shop to re-sell their clothes or products

• YouTube

• Copywriting Consulting business

• Virtual Assistant

• Participate in surveys and research studies

• Create a teach:able course

• Coaching: life, business, social media, finance, marketing, etc.

• Fitness instructor

• Selling art

• Create an e-book

• Meet Up Groups

And the list goes on!

If you're thinking, “Hey Stella, that's great and all but it isn't going to replace the income the job I did have.”

Well, not with that attitude!

Kidding, sort of.

To me, the goal isn't to replace the income of your job (although that would be STELLAR). The goal is to diversify your income streams and be your own economy.

Danetha Doe of Money & Mimosas shared that wisdom with me back in 2019 and I loved it so much I told her I wanted that tattoo'd on me.

THAT is how much I believe in diversifying your income.

You likely have incredible gifts that are not being utilized to generate abundance in your life! Gifts that you enjoy doing.

Why not make that gift, an income stream?

Just a thought.

We don't have a culture or education system that encourages us to work for ourselves.

So I am here to encourage YOU.

Remember, starting a business can be whatever you want it to be. I invite you to think about all the ways you can diversify your income streams and cultivate abundance in your life.

In big ways, small ways, and all the ways in between.