The Black Girl’s Guide to Financial Freedom

A reflection on Paris Woods’ book

Hello, my climate honey :)

As you know, one of my biggest dreams is to study abroad. I want to study for a master’s in the UK to achieve this mission and since last year I’ve been saving money and studying English.

I was navigating on Amazon website and I found a book that caught my attention. The Black Girl’s Guide to Financial Freedom: Build Wealth, Retire Early, and Live the Life of Your Dreams goes directly to the point that I was looking for: how to study the English language and save more money.

I didn’t think twice! I bought the book and started to devour the pages on my Kindle. The author is from the US, so, a lot of the content applies to US reality. However, we can always learn, principally when the topic is our freedom as black girls. So, I would like to share the insights that I captured from this book.

Let’s go? :)

Dear reader, firstly I have two questions for you:

• What would you do if you didn’t have to work for money?
• What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail?

These are popular questions that career advisors and life coaches ask when trying to help someone identify their true passions. If money doesn’t occupy the center of our lives and if we have the courage to do what we really want, I am sure that each of us will find our purpose, the mission of our lives!

In a capitalist society, having money and knowing your life goals with clarity open doors that guide you to freedom. If you are not being controlled by the system, you will have choices! This is the superpower that gives you the confidence to say no to people and to things that don’t align with your values. It gives you the space to take a break, breathe, consider what you truly want, and be brave enough to pursue your goals without fear.

“It’s about waking up each day and asking yourself what you want to do instead of what you have to do.” (Paris Woods)

Buuut, how can we get the freedom that money provides?

In the book, author Paris Woods offers some tips to avoid the money struggle. As I told at the beginning of this article, she speaks from the US reality, but there are a lot of points that every single black woman can apply to themselves:

1. Make a plan to pay all your debts: staying in the red sucks our money, so we need to develop a plan to come out in the black as soon as possible. Find a new job that pays better, start to work as a freelancer in your free time, and try to sell your knowledge (could you write a book? Paint a picture? Maybee you are an awesome cook and could make deserts?)
2. Avoid large installments, such as home, car, and university: instead of starting an installment that costs your soul, you could find ways to get what you want. Examples: make a plan to buy your house in 10 years, buy a used car, and research scholarships to make your graduation/master/doctorate.
3. Build your emergency fund: the emergency fund is a pool of money to save up in case something unexpected happens. It’s approximately 6 to 12 months of your life’s costs.
4. Invest your money: it’s time to let the system work for you, sister! In fact, savings and investments are the most important part of your budget. Set up a financial target and pay yourself first. Remember: every real/dollar you invest now represents time you don’t have to spend working in the future.
5. Create your job freedom plan: the first step is to determine how much money you need to have saved in order to feel comfortable when you decide to quit your job. This will give you the option and the freedom that comes from knowing you’re working by choice and not by necessity.

I know, this can be quite a lot, especially if you never took a deep look at your financial life. But breathe and repeat to yourself: I can make it! My ancestors worked a lot to give me freedom. I deserve to have all the money necessary to achieve my highest dreams. The key is to get started. Once you’ve established goals for your life and started taking steps toward making your dream come true, the most amazing opportunities arise. Pick a target savings number and start putting that money away today!

I’m a big fan of “walking” toward goals because it gives me time to appreciate the journey. You’ll meet people, have new experiences, come up with new ideas, and evolve as a person while you’re walking your chosen path. As author Paris Woods wrote in her book:

“Let’s start a movement and inspire a generation of Black women like you and me to break free and truly live. Today and forever.” (Paris Woods)

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Amanda Costa is a climate activist, young adviser to the UN Global Compact, founder of the Sustainable Perifa Institute, and presenter of #TemClimaParaisso?, a program about the climate crisis. Graduated in International Relations, Amanda was recognized as #Under30 in Forbes magazine, TEDx Speaker, LinkedIn Top Voices and Creator and in 2021 she was deputy curator of Global Shapers, the youth community of the World Economic Forum.