The Real Reward for Taking Control of Money: A True Story

It was a lunch I’ll never forget. Just after I sold my first book to the publisher, I flew to NY and met my editor at a restaurant.

As we got acquainted, I asked if she invested. She got really embarrassed. I felt horrible.

”Oh no!” she stammered. “I have no money.”

I felt terrible and dropped the subject never to address it again. Two years later, after my book hit the shelves, she called me out of the blue.

“Remember that lunch when I told you I had no money. Well, I did, but it was sitting in cash in my retirement account,” she told me. “But after working with you, I realized how foolish that was.”

So she started educating herself, found an advisor and her 401 (k) was now fully invested. She even emptied her spare change into a jar every night and had invested that too.

I was really excited (and somewhat surprised) to hear this. But then she said what I hear all the time from women when they finally take the financial reins.

“I have to tell you, Barbara, I feel so powerful.”

And that’s why I do what I do. Why I’m so passionate about educating women financially.

It’s not about the money. It’s so every woman, like YOU, can say to herself with absolute conviction, “I feel so powerful.” And experience the incredible confidence that accompanies those words.

And here’s the good news. It doesn’t take a lot of time to get smart. It doesn’t take a lot of money to create wealth. And it’s never, ever, ever too late to start.

What are you doing to get smart (or smarter) about money? Leave me a comment below.

Comments & Feedback

  • Frieda Katz

    Hi Barbara,
    Thank you for your emails. I am 57 years old. Was divorced (stay at home mom) and recently (2 years ago) got remarried. My husband is wonderful but we both had no money saved for the future. We started investing slowly small amounts. I have a lot of fear because we are starting so late.
    I always was interested in taking one of your seminars but it was cost prohibitive.
    Thank you for all the encouragement.

    • barbara huson

      You’re doing it right, Frieda. Going slow. Investing small amounts at a time. And honestly, you have a good 10-20 years to grow your money…believe me, if you keep adding small amounts consistently, no matter what the market is doing, with the magic of compounding, you’ll be surprised how quickly it will add up. And thank you for your kind words….that meant a lot to me!

  • Lisa

    I usually experience the serendipity of relevant information arriving just when I need it.

    Happened to listen to a Graham Stephan video explaining about the stock market crashing in 2020 and why it was such a historical event while walking home. It was so easy to understand and I knew I had to take advantage of the moment!

    Then I went to McDonalds to get an ice coffee to go, and remembered writing ✍️ a micro economics paper about how McDonald’s went from a 40 grand business to a multi billion dollar enterprise that feeds more than 1% of the earths population. If only I could invest in a company like McDonald’s?

    To cut a long story short, I ended up buying cheap Starbucks stock. They are still worth a lot more than when I originally bought them considering the market has dipped. I get smart about money listening to positive information that energizes me. The Dave Ramsey stuff is focused on victimhood and struggling to get out of debt, not wealth building.

    • barbara huson

      Well done, Lisa! And very smart. Thanks for sharing. I agree about listening to positive info that energizes you…that’s so important.

  • Raven

    Hi Barbara, my story is less about investing, and more about your first tenet: it’s not about how much you earn, it’s about how much you keep. When I registered for your monthly wealth connection program 2 years ago I was carrying “just a little bit of debt,” about $1000 in consumer debt all the time, between $500 and $1000 anyway. I got down to zero 9-10 months later. It still goes up and down as I use and pay it off: it’s under $300 in this moment, going back to zero again soon.

    I was carrying “secret” debt in my business via one of my 2 business credit cards, about $2300. It always hovered between $2300 and $2800. I had the practice to pay it down by $100 a month, but then I used it so it always hovered there. This went on for many many years. During that time in your online program I took that debt on, too. I have been steadily paying $100 or more a month, as before, AND I stopped using it the same way. I am now down to the last $100 or so dollars, which I’ll pay off completely in March.

    Even though my business doesn’t yet make a lot of money, I track my incoming and outflowing with an aim to be “in the black” every month. I have been successful about 75% of the time since making that commitment to myself. Because I use an Excel spreadsheet, which requires manual entry of my income and expenses, it keeps me aware and mindful.

    Next stop, learning about investing in some manner that aligns with my values. I do put $100 /month automatically into my IRA account, and talk to my advisor once or twice a year, but this idea of letting my money earn money and being able to steer that ships is still new.

  • barbara huson

    I love that you’ll be debt free soon…and that you’re mindful about paying it off regularly. That’s awesome, Raven. And you’re mindful about what comes in and goes out. That’s so important. And congratulations on adding to your IRA automatically…you’re doing all the right things. I’m so happy to hear it. It’s fun to see all the progress you made!!! Well done.

  • Lisa

    Raven,

    You’re making really good, consistent progress!

    Hope this doesn’t come across as unwarranted advice. I would be using transitional time to day dream about what you would like to invest in, because you’re almost there!

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Meet Barbara Huson

When a devastating financial crisis rocked her world, Barbara Huson knew she had to get smart about money… and she did. Now, she wants to empower every women to take charge of their money and take charge of their lives! She’s doing just that with her best-selling books, life changing retreats and private financial coaching.

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