It’s been in the back of my mind, an inkling, this idea about starting a blog series for writers to help them master money. I’ve procrastinated primarily because, I have a lot on my plate right now—two jobs, my own writing goals, a few personal and business ventures… But even before the devastating impact of COVID19, I remember hearing about the financial struggle of writer friends of mine, describing their secret distress from payday to payday, the anxiety with every “unexpected” bill—what I personally experienced about a decade ago after my family lost our home to a friend who turned out to be a professional conman. Reflecting on the stress, the shame, the depression I’d felt in my times of hardship, but especially the fact that I can now look back from a place of empowerment and financial confidence, I’m reminded that it’s a responsibility to share the knowledge I’ve gained that’s turned my circumstances around Alhamdulillah.
As some of you may know (or if you’ve stalked my LinkedIn Profile), Pure Mathematics is actually one of my uni majors. Although Creative Writing has been my life-long passion, I’ve actually never formally studied Writing because of my apprehension to share my works with others. Maths, on the other hand, happens to be another of my loves. I’m fascinated by numbers, finance and investing to the degree that I did a Diploma in Financial Planning a few years ago, not to become a Financial Planner but just for the knowledge—learning being yet another passion!
Also, I have an obsessive personality. So during that period when I was in very tough times, after making the decision that I was going to flip my financial situation around no matter what, I lived, breathed and devoured whatever knowledge I could gain on personal finance and wealth creation.
Now before I dive in, I need to make some disclaimers. I am not a qualified Financial Planner (they require a few more years of study for that title). So any information I share is not to be taken as financial advice. Rather, I’m just sharing useful things I’ve learnt over the years in hopes that it might help my friends live a more comfortable and financially empowered life. While I don’t know your personal circumstances, if you need one-on-one help, I do know some great people in the Personal Finance industry I can recommend.
Also, I’m crafting this blog series especially for writers who are working a day job(s) while pursuing their writing. The information, however, may be relevant to other groups of people, so feel free to share it with others.
I’ll be updating this post as I go with links to each topic in the series, so add this page to your bookmarks, click the “Mastering Money for Writers” category for the latest posts and/or follow my updates on social media!
Sincerely
Raihanaty A Jalil