Beauty is not just physical. – Halle Berry

I agree that beauty is not just physical. Beauty has many forms, and I feel that confidence, self-respect, and loving yourself are some of them.

These are some other beautiful things to behold:

• A child at play; while living in a safe neighborhood.
• Reading a book on a beach at 1 o’clock in the afternoon.
• Taking a nap in a hammock.
• Walking in Central Park.
• Seeing the sun come up while vacationing on the lake.
• Seeing the sunset on the beach.

However, all of those beautiful things, albeit free; still cost money to be able to do and enjoy them.

Many of these things require that you have some form of prosperity or relative financial cushion to enjoy creature comforts that can easily be taken for granted such as taking a nap in the afternoon beyond the age of five.

Instead of having some semblance of wealth, you will need to actually have a few coins in the bank in order to have any sort of comfort EVER.

That being said, I had to stop and think. Why Do I Save So Much?

I remember reading an article in which they decided to pose this similar type of question to Academy Award winning actress Halle Berry who is worth an estimated $80 million.

She answered that the reason she saves is because she knows the business she is in (showbiz) this Hollywood stint may all come to an end one day. Specifically, she says that she saves because she never knows “when this trip will end.” And that she wants to have enough savings to make sure she is secure, comfortable, and financially independent when the paychecks stop pouring in and the fame starts to wane. In addition, she carries tons of life insurance.

I too carry tons of life insurance!

If it’s good enough for Halle, then it’s good enough for me.

Halle is a saver.

Here is why I am a saver too.

WELCOME TO THE GOOD LIFE

When I was a kid, my mother told me that if you could not be a good loser, then there’s no way you could be a good winner. – Halle Berry

There’s a place in me that can really relate to being the underdog. – Halle Berry

I always had to prove myself through my actions. Be a cheerleader. Be class president. Be the editor of the newspaper. – Halle Berry

By the time I left school, I had a lot of tenacity. – Halle Berry

If you think money will change who you are, then think again. Money just gives us a bigger stage to project who we already are.

Will Smith said it best: “Money and success don’t change people; they merely amplify what is already there.”

Many people may not know this but Halle Berry was elected Homecoming or Prom Queen at her high school. It was predominantly white. Not believing that she had won, the other contestant asked for a recount. Halle agreed. Halle won again. She demanded another recount. Halle refused. Halle then graciously accepted her crown.

If you think about that, you can see from a young age that Halle has always had to work for what she’s got. Being PRETTY is not enough!

I actually was on my school newspaper. It was one of the only times in high school that I did not feel like I was being judged and I had some say in what was going on around me. I too have always had to prove MYSELF!

I get it. No one believes what they can’t see. Seeing is believing.

However, I was actually working towards my goals – buying a home, getting a bachelor’s, finishing a Master’s – all tangible things that people can observe my actions and see me doing such as studying, house shopping, and walking across the stage to accept my diploma.

It was not until AFTER I had done all those things that people started to take me more seriously and show me SOME RESPECT!!

It just would have been nice to get a little more of it while I was the UNDERDOG and working towards MY GOALS with people around me that had WAY MORE PRIVILEGE.

I paid WAY LESS than $50,000 for a degree.

I paid WAY LESS than $1 million for a home.

I did that because I knew what I could afford and that I didn’t want to be in debt forever.

I wanted freedom. And that doesn’t come cheap. You have to EARN your freedom through work.

CAREER IS IMPORTANT

Career is important, but nothing really supersedes my roles as a mother. – Halle Berry

I never wanted to be a model. My modelling career was nothing but a stepping stone to my acting career and that’s all I ever saw it as. A pointless rock in the river that has to be stepped on in order to get to the meaningful oasis of acting. – Halle Berry

Throughout my career I have been talked out of things I wanted to do, and when I look back, I think I should have followed my instincts. – Halle Berry

What’s the worst that can happen? If it doesn’t do well I can put on my big girl panties, deal with it and move on. – Halle Berry

I have learned that having a CAREER and not just a JOB is important.

A job is what you do to pay the bills.

A career is what you do when you have passion for something and can skip to work.

I decided at the age of 15 to get my degree as a STEPPING STONE towards a career. I ended up working in Financial services which is right up my alley as you can tell from this blog. 😉

However, I have mostly done the things I wanted to do and rarely let myself get talked out of those things. Maybe that is why I am so happy.

The secret to happiness: Do the things that make you happy and don’t do the things that make you unhappy. The End.

No matter what. Good or Bad. MOVE ON. Keep moving forward. It’s like Ariana Grande says, “thank you, next.”

I knew if I wanted to make more than minimum wage that I had to get some skills or education. Not knowing what trade to do I went for the degree. I knew not to just drift or stand still.

I didn’t want to end up at 35 with no savings, no home, no family, and no decent job.

I had no shame working as waitress to make ends meet until I could do better. I was making about $2.39 an hour plus tips.  

Now I’m making and saving more than 40% of my income.

All things come in time.

BEAUTY FADES

Let me tell you something – being thought of as a beautiful woman has spared me nothing in life. No heartache, no trouble. Love has been difficult. Beauty is essentially meaningless and it is always transitory. – Halle Berry

While being called beautiful is extremely flattering, I would much rather be noticed for my work as an actress. – Halle Berry

A person’s self-esteem has nothing to do with how she looks. – Halle Berry

Your preaching to the choir. Tell me something I don’t know. Beauty is transitory alright meaning it is not permanent. CORRECT.

As you age, you will change. It is inevitable. So you need to be able to do something more than stand still, look pretty, and to quote Miss Congeniality, “be on stage with nothing to do but convert oxygen into carbon dioxide.” Haha

So enjoy your life! And pass me some more pizza 😂

INNER PEACE

The first step is clearly defining what it is you’re after, because without knowing that, you’ll never get it. – Halle Berry

If you set out to do something and you give it your all and it doesn’t work out, be willing to modify your goal slightly. Have the ability to look in another direction. A small shift could guide you to the real purposes of your life. – Halle Berry

There have been so many people who have said to me, ‘You can’t do that,’ but I’ve had an innate belief that they were wrong. Be unwavering and relentless in your approach. – Halle Berry

I’m not afraid of portraying anything on-screen. – Halle Berry

I’m just going to live my life and be who I am. – Halle Berry

If you are a wrestling fan, then you have heard of the moniker BE FEARLESS from the Bella Twins.

And that is how you should live your life. Be fearless. Be relentless in your pursuits. But always try to do the right thing.

During an interview for the cover of the April issue of InStyle, which hit the Internet on March 12, Ciara said, “If you want to get somewhere in life, you’ve got to have a compass. You’ve got to know where you really want to get to.”

I have a pretty strong professional and Morale Compass. I try to, like Spike Lee says, “Do the right thing.”

If you read my last post on The Rock, then you know that being who you are can get you far in this world, but nothing happens without a dint of hard work.

See my post on The Rock

Academy Award winning actress Catherine Zeta-Jones said in the book Rise and Grind that she informed her parents at a young age she wanted to be an actress. They did not approve until she got them an appointment with her school guidance counselor.

They informed her parents that Catherine would never be satisfied with being an accountant as she is too artsy. Let her PURSUE her passion. Since Catherine was a good child and student, they agreed to let her pursue her dreams and would support her!

At that point my mouth drops open. You could hear crickets and a pen drop. I could not believe it. All that from a conversation. WELL DONE! Never underestimate the power of your words.

AGE AIN’T NOTHING BUT A NUMBER

I see women in their 30s getting plastic surgery, pulling this up and tucking that back. It’s like a slippery slope – once you start you pull one thing one way and then you think, ‘Oh my God, I’ve got to do the other side.’ – Halle Berry

I’m not sad at all about turning 40. – Halle Berry

I’m not a fanatic about exercising. For me, it’s about moderation and balance. – Halle Berry

I think I am at my best when my hair is short. It’s easier to take care of and more of who I am. Women are conditioned to think we need long hair. – Halle Berry

I think it’s always best to be who you are. – Halle Berry

Be who you are.

If you ever saw the 1997 movie Selena starring Jennifer Lopez, then you may remember the scene where Abraham Quintanilla (played by James Edward Olmos) says that he learned a very important lesson in life, which is that you have to be who you are.

That is not just wisdom in old age talk. That is the TRUTH.

Everything  have that was GOOD came from me being WHO I AM. Whatever you do or whomever you are…OWN IT!!!!

SUCCESS AT LAST OR IS IT?

Don’t take yourself too seriously. Know when to laugh at yourself, and find a way to laugh at obstacles that inevitably present themselves. – Halle Berry

I know I’m only one human being and I’m only making one tiny contribution and it’s nothing more than that. – Halle Berry

I think there’s a certain level of trust that I have with women. I’ve always been honest, even when I haven’t had good times in my life or my movie bombed or I’ve had great success. I’ve owned up to all of it. – Halle Berry

People win Oscars, and then it seems like they fall off the planet. And that’s partly because a huge expectation walks in the room and sits right down on top of your head. The moment I won the Oscar, I felt the teardown the very next day. – Halle Berry

I repeat, whatever you do…OWN IT!

I’m told that I am sassy and dominating. I take that as the compliment I know it is supposed to be. 😉

Well this sassy Miss started doing the following with her money:

Savings Year	Monthly Savings Amount	End of Year Total Savings
2013	$50	$600
2014	$100	$1200
2015	$150	$1800
2016	$250	$3000
2017	$333	$3996
2018	$1,111.04	$13,333.06
2019*	$1,211.09	$14,533.06

As of this writing, I am on track to save $15,000 for 2019.

I have already set a saving goal of $16,000 for 2020.

I always look to the future because it is coming one day after all. So I set savings goals for the coming years of 2021-2025 of $17,000+ each and every year. My ultimate goal is to save $20,000-$25,000 each year. That would allow me to save $100,000 every 4 to 5 years.

I also believe in donating money to good and charitable causes like Halle.  

This is what Halle told MainStreet: ‘Many people utilize charitable giving as a great tax write off, and it is. But more than that, for me, charitable giving is a financial investment in the human spirit. When we invest in each other, we invest in ourselves. There is no single investment that I have pursued that has brought a greater return, than helping someone who needs it.’

Well said, Ms. Berry.

So now you know why I save so much and how much I save.

And why you should too.