22
Without financial clarity, how do we nourish ourselves,
create safety, nurture our relationships, or explore
our potential?
Over time, I’ve come to see that our financial
transformation tends to unfold in four phases:
Phase 1: Survival
Where your only goal is stability.
• Build emergency savings
• Learn to budget and negotiate
• Understand credit and expenses
In college, I worked multiple jobs despite a full-ride
scholarship. I lived in constant “what if?”operating in
limbic survival mode, making decisions out of fear,
not freedom.
At 23, I bought my first house, not out of abundance,
but because I’d absorbed the immigrant belief that
property = safety. But I learned this: there is no one-
size-fits-all script. You must write one that aligns with
your values.
Phase 2: Stability
Where you shift into security.
• Begin retirement contributions
• Pay down high-interest debt
• Learn basic investing and insurance
• Create structure for longer-term planning
In this phase, I began to breathe again. By some margin,
my brain chemistry shifted. I wasn’t just surviving - I was
starting to think ahead. I didn’t always understand the
details of my 401(k), but I knew this: I was planting seeds.
And that was enough to create calm.
Phase 3: Growth
Where possibility expands.
• Diversify income and investments
• Make major purchases with confidence
• Explore aligned risk-taking
• Shift from reaction to intention
“I will never feel this helpless
about money.”