Words by Anna Lee Vaughn | Image by Justin Hunter
“Knowledge is not power. Applied knowledge is power,” says Vivian O’Neal as she passionately speaks on the necessity of being financially literate.
Vivian is a financial expert certified by World System Builders to coach individuals on the importance of financial literacy and how each person’s current financial state impacts that of tomorrow.
Vivian continues, “April is Financial Literacy Awareness Month, but every day should be about financial literacy awareness. Everybody should understand that they don’t just have to work for money; they can make their money work for them.”
Vivian travels to communities around Alabama to educate students and community members on financial literacy with a curriculum designed by World System Builders. Through this curriculum and her own experience and knowledge, Vivian emphasizes these core principles in her lessons:
- Compound interest and the Rule of 72 – How many years will it take you to double your investments at any given rate?
- Build a strong financial house with proper protection – Health, assets, investments, and retirement.
- Pay yourself first – Take one hour’s worth of pay each day and put it towards savings, investments, and your future.
- Educate your children on financial literacy – Children can only give what they have been given. Prepare your children so they can prepare theirs.
- Get insurance – Insurance has many “living” benefits to your finances.
- Don’t be afraid of the stock market and investing – There are many safe and successful ways to invest and grow your assets.
- Take advantage of time – Time is money. Start your financial literacy journey as early as possible to maximize your assets.
- Budget – Whether you make $7 per hour or $50 per hour, budgeting ensures you will have money when you need it.
Vivian offers her expertise to the Jasper community to help individuals make the best of their decision to be financially free. Through World System Builders, Vivian presents the following workshops at the Jasper Civic Center each Tuesday from 5-7 p.m.:
Workshop 1: Building Savings & Wealth – Learn how to identify your goals, the Financial Foundation mindset, the Wealth Formula, Rule of 72, taxes, & understanding the effects of time and inflation on your assets.
Workshop 2: Increase Cash Flow & Manage Debt – Discover $100 or more that you didn’t know you had & how you can apply it differently, figure out where your money is going, build a plan to be debt-free faster, and how to increase cash flow.
Workshop 3: Preparing w/ Proper Protection – The X Curve concept, why proper protection is the foundation of a solid financial structure, the value of properly protecting your assets & liabilities, how this benefits your overall financial strategy, & most common questions and mistakes.
Workshop 4: Your Health & Wealth – The financial importance & impacts of your health, strategies to transfer and preserve your wealth, ensuring that your last wishes are prepared and carried out, & understanding the inevitability & impact of medical expenses.
Workshop 5: Understanding Asset Accumulation Strategies -accumulating wealth and cost of waiting, looking at historical returns, average returns & your returns, and strategies & minimizing risk.
Workshop 6: Fulfilling Long-Term Goals – pensions, IRAs, annuities, rollover options, understanding the Tax Impact, and planning for the cost of Higher Education.
Workshop 7: RSSA (Registered Social Security Analyst) – Optimizing Social Security, what to prepare before you retire, how social security fits into your retirement plan, planning for your life expectancy, and how optimizing properly could increase benefits as much as $200K or more!
“Financial independence is not a dream. It’s a decision,” she says. “Is financial freedom possible? Yes! The real question remains: will you take advantage of these valuable resources and truly embrace financial literacy?” WL
Contact Vivian O’Neal at (256) 848-0225 to learn more about attending local financial literacy workshops.
