Inspired By: Emma Johnson
“Most of us have little appreciation for our abundance.”
At a turning point in her life, Emma Johnson found that there were no voices speaking for her and her experiences. As a result, she decided to launch WealthySingleMommy.com to express her viewpoint and opinions ranging from marriage and parenting to work-life balance for entrepreneurs and family economics.
Q: How did your professional career begin, and how did you end up where you are today?
A: After a local newspaper reporter career, which took me around the United States and abroad, I landed in New York where I worked at the Associated Press’s financial wire. At the same time, I launched a freelance writing business, which quickly took off and became my passion, and 10 years ago I committed to self-employment. Four years ago I found myself as a divorced mom of two small children and I realized there were no voices out there that spoke to me as a professional, financially independent, single mom. I launched WealthySingleMommy.com in August 2012, and have been thrilled by the public’s appetite for my content — the popular media and readers of all gender and marital status engage with my ideas about marriage, divorce, work-life balance and parenting.
Q: Can you name a leader for whom you have great respect tell us why?
A: Tina Fey has a great thing going—her persona is relatable and lovable. She is a smart, influential businesswoman and also a wife and mom. She pushes the public dialog on family, career and politics while making us laugh and think. And she’s cute. What’s not to respect?
Q: What would you say is the largest misconception people have about managing their finances and how does that derail us from our goals?
A: People love to say they are poor. That they have trouble making ends meet or reaching their financial goals. If we are all so poor, who is buying iPads, $12 movie tickets, $600 pairs of shoes and all the restaurant food we consume? As a nation and individuals we are incredibly wealthy, but most of us have little appreciation for our abundance. As a result, we make lousy buying decisions and blindly buy, buy, buy.
Q: What’s the best piece of financial advice you’ve ever received and how has it guided you?
A: “The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.”
— Henry David Thoreau
This nugget puts into perspective that wealth is not about money in the bank: it is about the investment of time, energy, love and creativity and how those forces can build—or destroy—deeper happiness in all our relationships.
Q: What are you top three favorite web resources for personal and professional financial advice?
A: 1. Mint.com: A free, very easy to use site that gives you snapshot of all your accounts. 2. FolioFn: A brokerage service focused on low-fee ETFs. 3. SUCCESS magazine: A fantastic source of ways to grow as a professional, and grow your business (and where I am a contributing editor).
Q: What is the one thing you make time for in your daily life that helps keeps you refreshed and positive?
A: I try to exercise daily with running or yoga. And, I make sure to have real personal time for my kids, whether we are reading, going on adventures or just grocery shopping together.