$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ WEALTH HEALTHY WOMEN [TM] Healthy Attitudes ==> Wealthy Women [TM] Volume 1, Number 1 September, 2000 $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ WELCOME to the launching issue of Wealth Healthy Women [TM], a free newsletter for women seeking greater financial freedom and well-being. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ IN THIS ISSUE: 1. Welcome Note From Your Editor, Lynne 2. Article: Getting Started on Your WealthHealthy Journey 3. Resource Spotlight 4. WealthHealthy Announcements 5. Upcoming Issues of Wealth Healthy Women [TM] ************************************************************ Welcome Note from your Editor Welcome! I'm Lynne Hornyak, founder of WealthHealthy.com, and editor of Wealth Healthy Women [TM] (WHW). Even though I've been out of school for years, I still have that feeling of anticipation as September approaches What new beginnings are in store for me?? So, September seems the perfect time to be launching Wealth Healthy Women [TM]. What is WealthHealth? It's a perspective - based on the core beliefs that: * The meaning that money has for you greatly influences how you earn, spend, save and invest it. * You have a relationship with money that can be satisfying, disappointing, secure or anxious - and that relationship can be improved and enhanced. * You don't have to be rich to be wealth healthy. * Becoming wealth healthy is a journey, not just a destination. This newsletter is dedicated to helping you achieve an empowered relationship with money. An "empowered relationship"means understanding what influences your relationship with money, knowing what you value in life, and then making healthy choices in the way you earn, spend and invest money in keeping with your values and goals. All of us are busy women. And, I assume that most of us want to pack a lot of learning and living into our short "24\7" weeks. So, 1. Please let me know your interests so that WHW can be interactive and responsive to you. Send your questions and ideas for newsletter topics to Lynne@wealthhealthy.com. 2. You can hear a concise 10-minute voice message that explains the WealthHealthy approach and available services simply by calling 1-212-461-2660. 3. I commit myself to producing short, informative newsletters! $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ Feature Article: Getting Started on Your WealthHealthy Journey * Are you happy with the way things are going between you and your money? * How much time do you spend thinking about money? * What do you actually think about when you think about money? To help answer these questions: 1. Block out 15 - 20 minutes of uninterrupted time for yourself, even if that seems hard to do. 2. Take the Relationship with Money Survey at http://wealthhealthy.com. Answer it HONESTLY. 3. At the end of the survey, you are asked to DESCRIBE your relationship with money. Words might include: positive, negative, nonexistent, frustrated, worried, happy, firm, shaky, burdened, secure, not secure, compulsive, just to mention a few. Write down all the words that come to mind so you know where you are starting from. 4.Then write down all the words that describe the relationship that you would LIKE to have with money. The following steps are not on the survey. You may want to set aside another 15-20 minute block of time to do them. 1. Write down the top five REASONS that you would like to improve or enhance your relationship with money. Be as specific as possible. 2. Write down the top five EXCUSES that you typically give yourself for not making changes in how you handle money (earning, spending, saving, or investing it). 3. Write down the top five CONSEQUENCES of changing your relationship with money. Remember, consequences can be benefits or drawbacks. 4. Write down the top five consequences of NOT changing. Again, remember that consequences can be benefits or drawbacks. Congratulations! You just delved into the first and second stages of change. "Stages of change" refer to a very important model that was developed by psychologist James Prochaska and his colleagues after studying thousands of people trying to change habits or addictive behavior. The model proposes that people move through five stages when they are altering some behavior or pattern in their lives. The first stage is "Precontemplation." If you are in this stage with your money relationship, others may be nagging or cajoling you to do things like balance your checkbook, organize your bills and receipts, read financial material, open a retirement account, ask for a raise. You, however, may be dodging their comments and are not intending to change your behavior in the foreseeable future. The first step in moving through Precontemplation is to simply begin thinking about how you handle money, which you just did by taking the survey. The second stage is "Contemplation." In this stage, you begin thinking more intently. You not only realize that you DO have a relationship with money everyone does, even if they don't think about it as such you also realize that you'd like it to be improved or more satisfying. You begin to define what would be more satisfying - which you did in the second set of questions. In the Contemplation stage, you know more clearly where you want to go but are not quite ready for action. That comes a bit later. The other three stages of change are Preparation, Action, and Maintenance. In the Preparation stage, you identify what you need to take action. With regards to money, you may need information, such as reading financial articles on different types of investments; you may need skills, such as learning to balance a checkbook or make a budget; you may need to find time in your schedule to work on your finances. In the Action phase, you have a plan as to how you want to save money, for example. You take the steps to put that plan in action. For example, one action step might be to arrange for a certain amount of your paycheck to be automatically deposited each month into your retirement account. Another step might be to challenge old thinking patterns that got you into overspending in the first place, such as "Shopping makes me feel better. I'll start saving money next month." In the Maintenance phase, you continue taking your action steps. While you do so, you review them to see if they are working, and fine tune your actions as needed. For example, you continue to have money automatically deposited in your retirement account, but adjust the amount based on developing your monthly budget. Or, you have cut back on "binge shopping" when you are upset, yet realize that you need to find other ways to make yourself feel better. We'll be talking about the many possible ways to move through Preparation, Action, and Maintenance on your way to WealthHealth in future issues of WHW. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ Resource Spotlight Are you interested in learning more about the "stages of change"? While it is not exclusively related to finances, check out the book "Changing for Good" by John O. Prochaska, John C. Norcross, and Carlo C. DeClementi. Written by three prominent psychologists who have studied how people positively change behavior patterns and bad habits, the book points out that lasting change does not depend on luck or willpower. It depends on understand the process involved - in other words, the model described in the feature article. The authors lay out their model in a six-step program that is easy to understand and apply in your life. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ WealthHealthy Announcements 1. Free WealthHealthy Preview Telegroups - Interested in experiencing a group coaching call? WealthHealthy Previews cover a money-relationship topic and are conducted like a typical 50-minute WealthyHealthy Telegroup call. Experience the energy and learning that can occur in a group of like-minded women - from the convenience of your own home or office! Previews are scheduled for Thursday, September 14, 8:00 pm (Eastern Time), and Tuesday, September 19, 6:15 pm (Eastern Time). Register by contacting Lynne@WealthHealthy.com. Please put "Free Preview" in the Subject box of your e-mail. 2. WealthHealthy Basic Program - Telegroups are forming for the Fall. Two groups will begin on Tuesday, September 26 - at 6:15 pm (Eastern Time) and 7:15 pm (Eastern Time). The Basic Program runs for six consecutive sessions, September 26 - October 31. You link into the group by a special telephone bridge number that you receive upon registration. The fee is $295.00, which includes six group sessions, a half-hour individual session with Lynne on your specific money goals, and materials sent to you via e-mail for the sessions. Groups will be limited to 12 members maximum to allow for interaction. Contact Lynne@WealthHealthy.com; please put "Basic Program" in the subject box of your e-mail. 3. To hear a 10-minute description of the WealthHealthy approach, as well as a bit about me, you can call 1-212-461-2660. If you are interested in coaching, simply leave a message for me, following the 10-minute message. Or, e-mail me at Lynne@WealthHealthy.com. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ Upcoming Issues of Wealth Healthy Women [TM] Regular issues of WHW are scheduled for distribution on a monthly basis. Upcoming issues will include interviews with top-notch financial planners and advisors, who will share cutting edge information and advise with WHW readers. Special issues of WHW will be issued for announcements of WHW events, as well as to alert you to pertinent events, opportunities and tips that come across my desk before the next regular issue is scheduled for publication. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ Pass this newsletter along to friends, family, and colleagues who also may be interested in moving toward greater financial freedom and well-being. They can get their own free subscription by going to http://wealthhealthy.com and signing up - it's as simple as typing in their e-mail address. Or, send an e-mail to whw-request@WealthHealthy.com with the word "subscribe" in the body of the letter. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NOTE: Wealth Healthy Women [TM] is intended for informational and educational purposes only. It is not a substitute for financial, legal, accounting, psychotherapeutic, or other professional advice and consultation. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Copyright 2000 Lynne Hornyak, Ph.D. All rights reserved. The above material is copyrighted but you may retransmit or distribute it to whomever you wish as long as not a single word is changed, added or deleted, including the contact information. However, you may not copy it to a website without my permission. Reprint permission will be freely granted upon request. Advance written permission must be obtained for any reprinting of this material in modified or altered form. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CONTACT INFORMATION Lynne Hornyak, Ph.D. WealthHealthy.com Phone: (202) 387-5923 Fax: (202) 986-8980 e-mail: Lynne@WealthHealthy.com Web: http://wealthhealthy.com