Category Archives: 3 Ms of Money

8 Years of Managing, Multiplying and Maintaining Money

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February 27, 2014 marked the 8th anniversary since I started to write all about the 3 M’s of Money. It has been my pleasure to share my thoughts, ideas and knowledge with my readers over the years.

Many of you have emailed me with your money problems and concerns and I hope that my advice has been helpful. A few of my readers have even become business colleagues or treasured friends.

The great news is that my LONG-awaited book, The 3 M’s of Money: How to Manage, Multiply and Maintain Your Money is just about complete!

It has been a labour of love writing this story, as it not only represents all I know about the topic, but it gives you a personal insight into my eventful journey of discovery about money. I have not spared any details as I recollected all the mistakes and miscalculations I made with money.

I hope that you all will be encouraged that no matter the state of your finances today, it is possible to make a fresh start and become financially smart.

Keep reading to find out when the final publication will be ready!

What should the The 3Ms of Money look like?

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Hello friends and readers!

I need your help in deciding what the cover of my first book, The 3 Ms of Money, should look like. If you have not already joined the 3Ms of Money Facebook fan page, please click on this link to see the 4 designs that have been created by the talented Leon Robinson of Insight Studios.

I’m running a little competition to see which design is liked by most people. You can help me make this important choice by carefully looking at the 4 options, and clicking ‘like’ under the design that you prefer. The winning option will be used on the cover of the book.

Thanks for all your help. The 3 Ms of Money will be landing sooner than you think!

Mistakes, Miscalculations and Memories about Money

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As I reflect on all that’s happened in my journey to financial freedom over the past nine years, I realise that most of the important lessons that I have learned have come from some major mistake or miscalculation on my part.

Today, I’m not afraid to share with my clients, readers and audiences some of the stupid things that I’ve done around money (some of which leave me wondering, “What on earth were you thinking, Cherryl”?) I know that my openness to admit my financial mess-ups will give them the freedom to know that they too can learn and rebound from their own money mistakes.

Although making mistakes can have consequences that are often painful to deal with, don’t be ashamed of your financial past – what’s done is done. The important thing is to understand where you went wrong, make amends if necessary, and resolve to do the Financially Smart thing in the future.

Looking forward to sharing more of my mistakes, miscalculations and memories in my upcoming book, The 3Ms of Money!

The 3 Ms of Money Gone Caribbean!

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It’s been really exciting seeing the development of the personal finance industry in Jamaica over the last eight years. As I write my memoirs about my past money mistakes and the strategies I used to turn around my financial situation, I remember the days when I felt like a lone voice in the wilderness, talking to people about the importance of proper financial habits.

Ever since I learned that the key to money success was all about knowing, understanding and doing the right things with money, I have been committed to spreading the ‘3 Ms of Money’ message – how to manage, multiply and maintain money.

Today, there are more institutions passing on information about the right money habits for success, although there’s still a lot of work to be done. It’s also encouraging to see the focus on financial literacy education in agencies around the Caribbean. I am actively building my audience in the Caribbean, and I have recently been included as a feature writer on the regional website http://financialliteracycaribbean.com.

I’m looking forward to taking the ‘3 Ms of Money’ all around the Caribbean very soon!

Keep being Financially S.M.A.R.T.

Become of Fan of the 3 Ms of Money

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Writing the ‘memoirs of my money madness’ is now a bigger task than I first imagined. As I dig deep to recall all the challenges I faced with money, I realise that so many others today are suffering from the same issues that I had to overcome.

As a coach, speaker and newspaper columnist, I interact with many people who are on the brink of financial disaster, and generally clueless about what they need to do to turn around their money situation. The level of financial distress is increasing across all sectors of Jamaican society.

Sometimes it feels overwhelming to figure out how to address the financial concerns of so many people. Although I’m really dedicated to helping people deal with their money issues, I am just one person. This is why I am writing this book, The 3 Ms of Money hoping that it can reach a whole lot more people than I can speak to individually.

The intention is to inspire others to believe that, YES, it is possible to live within your means, dig your way out of debt, start a savings habit, learn about investing, and achieve your goals. Trust me, if I can do it, then ANYONE can!

I’ve created a Facebook fan page to help you keep track of my progress along the way. Please click here to join the 3 Ms of Money Fan Club!

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3 Ms of Money- Dealing with Debt

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Writing my first book, The 3 Ms of Money, has allowed me to take a look back in time at all the BIG money mistakes that I have made. One of the worst wrong turns I have made is to think that having access to other people’s money (OPM) would make life easier.

Borrowing money can be a very destructive practice, as it lulls you into a spending lifestyle that isn’t sustainable. When you are dependent on a source of income that doesn’t come from you, you lose sight of the fact that you are living beyond your ability to produce. As your desire for credit grows, eventually the monthly payments become too high to manage, and then your debt mushrooms beyond control. Then you have to keep on borrowing to stay afloat. Very often at this point, you can’t access any more credit and your entire financial well-being is impacted.

The Bible says that the “borrower is servant to the lender” (Proverbs 22:7). I have found this to be true. For years I worked hard to pay off thousands of dollars in loan interest. And for what? Useless trinkets and idle entertainment that were long forgotten!

I teach people that debt is not only about borrowing money. It’s any obligation where someone else has delivered their part of the deal, and you have not. Just recently, I almost got tempted to take a great mobile phone offer where I could get a ‘FREE’ Nokia E71. In return I would have to sign a 3-year contract with the mobile company. After thinking about it some more,I realised that I would only be selling myself into 3 years of slavery to pay for this ‘free’ phone. What if I hated their service? What if they raised the monthly cost? I couldn’t complain because they had supplied their end of the deal.

I decided I would just save up and pay for it in CASH, thank you.

Anyway, you can read more about my misadventures with debt and what I had to do to get myself out of the mess I had created when The 3 Ms of Money is published.

Keep thinking and acting Financially SMART!

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Mission: The 3 Ms of Money

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I am really excited that I have now begun to compile eight years of learning and teaching the principles of money into my first book, The 3 M’s of Money: How to Manage, Multiply and Maintain Your Money.

As you may already know from reading my Author’s Bio, for most of my life I was a financial mess – I had never saved, was over my head in debt, and was generally clueless about how money worked. After getting a job at one of Jamaica’s largest financial institutions, I started interacting with financially savvy people and then determined that I would learn the secrets of money success for myself.

The 3 Ms of Money is basically a tell-all of the financial mistakes I have made and the lessons I learned which helped me to change my financial situation.  As I started teaching others the principles that I had applied in my life, I realised that they also saw positive changes in their financial and personal lives. This observation led me to start Financially S.M.A.R.T. Services with the mission to be Jamaica’s number one source for practical, down-to-earth and independent answers to all questions about personal finance.

So keep looking out during the month of November, as I will share with you my progress in writing The 3 Ms of Money.  I hope that publishing this book will inspire many people to believe that they too can win the money game!

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