MY HEALTH JOURNEY & WHY I TRANSITIONED MY EATING HABITS

By Monnai McDowell Editor Health & Wellness www. seamossbyjcortez.com

In 2016, I had a revelation that forced me to change my outlook on my spiritual, emotional, and physical health. I embarked on a journey that included acquiring knowledge about plant-based diets; as well as learning about the power of herbalism from practitioners who resided in other countries. I was aspired to live a more healthy and happier life.

As I continued my journey; I realized that my aspiration also included a desire for helping others. My journey wasn’t, by far, the easiest. However, it was most definitely worth it.

Eating Habits

I decided to change my eating habits in 2018. Regardless of what others saw on the outside, I was unhappy within myself. I carried my weight well, so it never appeared to others that I had any issues with my personal health. People would often tell me that I looked fine as they compared me to their own declining physical states.

Challenging myself is the best way for me to overcome obstacles; therefore, I utilized a challenge to begin my transition with my eating habits. I dived right into a 30-day challenge, that I created for myself. This challenge consisted of raw fruits, vegetables,1 gallon of water daily and sea moss products from my website.

It was only until, after my transition, that others were able to relate to my story. Via my own physical transformation; I was able to help motivate others to take care of their temple, love themselves, and eat healthy.

By James L. Marshall, Jr. Financial Advisor/Financial educator/Author

The million-dollar question is where should I put my money right now? Savings and money market accounts are paying very low interest rates, bonds are not keeping pace with inflation and stocks are extremely volatile right now.

If I listen to business news channels on Monday, they might say the climate is good for investors; and on Tuesday they are saying run for the hills! There seems to be very conviction regarding investments at this time.

The key thing to remember is that you are not investing for right now; you are investing for 5 plus years from now. When it comes to managing your money, it is critical that you establish your parameters of money placement.

In plain English, where are you investing your cash, your taxable brokerage account, your 40lk or your IRA. Is your cash in a checking account earning you nothing? Or is in savings, money markets or CD’s giving you a little bit of a yield on your dollars.

Is your brokerage account being used to hold one stock or mutual fund; or are you diversified into 5 or stocks, 3 or more mutual funds and at 2 exchange traded funds.

And are you just using the age-based fund in you qualified retirement account; or are you actively managing it by reviewing all the investment options available to you. I realize this can be a daunting task; but you don’t have to do it alone.

That’s were professional financial advisors come in. But you have to address this issue of where should I put my money.

A tried-and-true process for doing this is the bucket system.

Bucket One:

How much do you need for emergencies or cash reserves? These funds are not invested for high returns; these funds are held in cash management accounts for accessibility. Accounts like:

● Checking

● Savings

● Money Market accounts

● Short-term CD’s

And should be no more than 12 months’ worth of living expenses. Emergency and cash reserve accounts are usually fully taxable and have no withdrawal restrictions.

These accounts are not invested; they are saved.

Bucket Two:

What are your intermediate term growth goals? This is money that you are growing for a fixed time period usually 3 to 5 years; with a defined accumulation goal. Such as college savings, business start-up or investment real estate purchase.

You can be a little more growth oriented with these funds; but you should not take on very much risk because the time is short and the cash out date is clearly defined. A good place to consider investing this money is:

● iBonds

● Short-term corporate bonds

● Diversified exchange traded funds

● Blue chip value growth-oriented index funds

Bucket Three:

Long-term goals are the most common investment goals, and the granddaddy of them all is retirement. This is where you want to take a more risk for the opportunity for more gains. However, just remember that risk you take must risk that you are comfortable with. When investing for your long-term goals like retirement, it is important that you know what rate of return you need to accomplish your goal based on the amount of money you can invest and the amount of time you can let your investments work for you.

The bottom line is exactly what your parents and grandparents have always told you; don’t put all your eggs in one basket. And make sure you are watching your eggs!

Until next time keep building wealth

Peace