If your first thought was, "I don't have a lot of money so I wont worry about this right now." This is especially important for you!

Let’s be real, Social Workers are great at emotions, but not exactly known for being great at numbers and finances - for better or worse. We are not taught about finances in school and we don’t know what we don’t know. No judgement here! I’m with you.

In this episode we ask a financial advisor, what are the top 3 things we need to know about money (even if i don't have much of it)?

We cover:

- If I don’t have a lot of money, then why would I need a financial advisor?

- How do I prioritize expenses between retirement, student loans, credit card payments, and saving for life events?

- Can I get financial advice with no upfront costs? Yes, do these 3 things to be prepared:

Get financially organized - get those documents out of your “junk drawer” and get your financial statements into one place. Income sources, salaries, insurance information, bank account information, loans, interest rates, health insurance, home/rental insurance, etc.

Know where your money is going and be as honest as possible with yourself. Go back 3 months and categorize your expenses into separate categories. Next you want to look for and identify patterns & specific spending habits that are working and not working for you.

Save for Retirement, NOW. Start small then gradually increase over time to get the most benefit from compounding interest.

Alex Casella, Personal Finance Professional, has worked in the financial services industry since 2009 and over those years has recognized financial literacy needs of social workers and mental health professionals. Alex has developed a comprehensive understanding of financial services through his training and time working alongside successful advisors in the financial planning industry.

Download the Empower Financial Guide:

https://www.alexcasella.com/empower-guide

It’s Catherine here; let’s get connected and if it feels right, check out these other amazing resources that will help you in your social work career…

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