Scarlett Cochran - Its Not about the Money: A Proven Path to Building Wealth and Living the Rich Life You Deserve

Its not about the money...

... because youre here to change your life.

Maybe you dream of that white-picket-fence house in the suburbsor that in-walking-distance-of-everything condo in the citybut you dont know how to get there beyond save a whole lot of money. Maybe you have big plans to launch your own business and need a firm financial foundation to make the leap. Perhaps youre about to start a family and want to be able to spend on memorable family experiences with your children while theyre young, while also building their college funds so that they can attend their dream college like you did. Maybe youre doing well financially but feel theres more you could be doing, if only someone would just sit down and show you the ropes. Maybe you make ends meet every month but are frustrated that your money doesnt go as far as youd like it to and wish you could retire your credit card and student loan balances faster. Perhaps you just want to feel more confident and in control of your money, knowing that youre on track to build a retirement nest egg that will support your ideal lifestyle in your golden years. Or maybe a global pandemic made you realize that you could lose your joband your paycheckat any time. Or you may have a big goal that requires money, like traveling around the world.

Whatever is going on, whatever your big dreams and desires for your life may be, and wherever youre starting out, this book is for you. My mission is to show you that its possible to live your life the way you want to while also being able to meetor exceedyour financial goals.

Because the truth is that you get to choose. Just like no two people are alike, no two lives are exactly alike. Not everyones financial priorities are, or should be, the same. What you want to spend your money on, what you decide to save for, and what you put first are all individual and completely up to you.

Ive spent the last two decades learning every possible thing about how money works, both as a banking and finance attorney and as a single mom struggling to make ends meet, trying to give my child a good life. Today, I help people of all income levels take control of their money and live their best lives now while still building wealth for their future. Some of my wisdom is self-taught; I spent many a night in my twenties learning basic concepts like budgeting and how to write a check (remember when those were a thing?). Then I put myself through Yale Law School so I could make more money to support my family. I spent years shaping policy at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)the major federal bank regulators in the United States.

Im also a single mom who got pregnant at eighteen and had to learn how to manage the little cash I had, fast. Who has been married and divorced and remarried. And who, despite the odds against me, went from living paycheck to paycheck to building a multiple-six-figure nest egg while working a regular nine-to-five public interest job. I have studied or worked in finance for almost twenty years. Long before Id taken a single law class, I found that I had a knack for intuitively understanding complex financial jargona talent that came in handy when a shady mortgage company tried to trick me into an adjustable rate mortgage when I was twenty-two years old. And over the years Ive also discovered that I can explain these complex financial topics to other people in a way that makes money feel approachable and even funa talent that has helped me to build a successful company, One Big Happy Life, where Ive helped millions of people take control of their finances and start using their money to build wealth while creating lives that they absolutely love. And in this book, Ill be sharing these essential keys to holistic wealth building so that you can not only master your money but enjoy it, too.

The first thing I want you to know about this book is that its going to take a completely different approach to money and building wealth than youve heard before. Thats because so much of the conventional wisdom about personal finance is outdated or not grounded in solid financial principles, or is just something someone made up that got repeated enough times that we all started to believe those rules of thumb are the one and only right way to manage money effectively. I know from my own experience and through working with thousands of our members inside Wealth Builders Society that you dont have to follow specific budgeting ratios, be uber frugal, be debt free, or sacrifice your life today in order to be financially secure tomorrow.

The truth is, you dont have to subscribe to anyone elses rules. Its possible to enjoy your life and build a future thats fulfilling, flexible, and free. I say often that life is the things that happen between your goals. Small changes that are sustainablewhich for most of us does not mean pinching every pennyare what will actually stabilize your finances. And the best part is, you wont have to give up the little and big things that make your days enjoyable.

Trust me when I say: You can find your own answers.

Your own path. Your own way of managing money effictively.

And, like me, you can create a life that you truly love to live while also growing the financial wealth you need to support that life for the rest of your life.

You might already have a mental image of what that life looks like for you. And if you dont, no worries; well figure that part out together, too.

I know what its like to dream of waking up each day feeling excited and energized and in love with the life youve created for yourself. I know what its like to really, really desire financial freedom, to feel supported and stable. And I know what its like to dream of moving beyond stability, to want to create real wealth and to leave a legacy for your family or community.

If youre anything like me, its been a long road already.