financial literacy starts with this (but everyone skips it)

most people do this in the wrong order, too | fhg #83

Happy Sunday financial hotties,

This week I’m writing a short issue to you from the depths of the Peruvian desert. I have had minimal WiFi this week, and I haven’t had the broadband strength for my usual graphics, charts or diagrams… so you’re getting this issue straight from my journal and Apple Notes.

So while this issue is about nailing your foundations, I also want it to be a live demonstration of a Financial Hot Girl rule: show up anyway. Financial Hot Girl has been growing at a really exciting rate, and that’s all because I have been sloppily showing up even when I don’t have the motivation, the wifi or the branded graphics!

I have a commitment to you every Sunday, and nothing will get in the way of that. Sloppy action > perfect inaction. Every time! Now let’s get into it 📩

𝜗ৎ In this issue:

• Your body always knows first

• Money loves this

• A practical Financial Hot Girl audit

Your body always knows first

This week, my time of the month arrived 6 days early. My Whoop even picked up that my body temperature was slightly higher, and that I could be due early, but not 6 days early.

And this whole thing reminded me of how often and how easy it is to forget the basics. Over the last month, my sleep, stress or nutrition — or some combination of those things — must have been slightly off. My body knew it, but I didn’t.

And I was still there trying to optimise everything without realising that. I was trying to eat my protein, lift heavy, batch film content, furiously catch up on emails, forgetting that a 15 hour bus journey destroyed my sleep and I would likely therefore burn out and think I’m a terrible person.

And most of you reading this are doing exactly that: trying to optimise your finances on top of a truly chaotic life.

Money loves structure

I honestly think that where there is structure, there is money. And that’s what makes financial literacy a very non-linear journey, because you always have to check in on your structure. It’s not something that’s one and done, like a checkbox.

And when I say money, I also mean in a broader sense: income and wealth-generating behaviour.

Now, structure here isn’t being organised and Type A. What I mean is:

• Consistently sleeping well

• Making sure you’re not stressed all the time Lifting heavy 2-4x a week

• Drinking water throughout the day

• Getting sunlight

• Eating protein & fibre

I don’t want you to roll your eyes while you read this because it sounds like generic wellness advice. I know that when you do all of these things consistently, you feel on top of the world, for reasons other than a slight superiority complex…

Financial Hot Girl was born out of the fact that when I did these things consistently, my financial and entrepreneurial habits dramatically changed. I build the transferable discipline and courage to take risks that allowed me to transform my net worth and my body and my mind.

And science backs all of this up, which is all the more reason I urge you to focus on these things. When you are tired, stressed or low in self-esteem, your brain defaults to behaviour that is financially less favourable: impulse spending, disregarding the benefit of long-term investments, not being confident enough to ask for a raise, or simply not wanting to deal with money at all. I did these things, so I know they happen.

Layer this onto your financial season and you’re onto a winner: you can optimise your structure based on what season you’re in.

For example, if you’re leaning into your Earn season — I’d be ruthless about sleep and physical energy so you look and feel your best, and your self-esteem is at an all time high.

The only part that’s eye-roll worthy is that this list of things has to be done regularly, which is why they’re easy to forget and hard to be disciplined about. For example, walking and eating enough protein is a daily requirement rather than a weekly quota to average.

But this is exactly why the Financial Hot Girl always comes back to the boring foundations: financial literacy is built on top of them.

A Financial Hot Girl audit

I’ll be asking myself these questions this week as a reflection on my cycle changing. While I’m giving myself a little grace for being out of routine while abroad, remember to do the same depending on what you’re in the middle of as you read this. Do the same, and score yourself from 1-10 based on how often you do each thing.

• Do I sleep well most nights?

• Do I move my body most days?

• Do I have quiet thinking time?

• Do I scribble down my worries, thoughts or observations at least once a day?

• Do I know what exactly I earned last month?

• Do I know roughly what I spent last month?

• Do I drink at least 2 litres of water a day?

• Do I have protein and fibre with every meal?

• Do I avoid my phone first and last thing everyday?

Anywhere you’ve scored yourself a 6 or under is a guide on where to focus your energy for the rest of this month, and are also likely priorities for you in Q2.

Remember financial hotties, wealth starts with getting your life in order. Nailing the foundation that you can then build financial literacy and growth on. That way, the legacy you build for you and those around you lasts a long time, and you enjoy the process of building it.

— Dev xo