The Best Financial Investment

When people ask what I have spent the most money on, the answer is not clothes, houses, or trips. It is my brain.

I started investing in it when I was young, walking into bookstores and buying hundreds of dollars of books when I did not have hundreds of dollars to throw around. I saw those purchases as investments.

The information helped me learn, grow, build a business, and create content for my students. I believe it has been the best financial investment of my life.

When you think about your budget, do you think about your brain that way?

Consider what appreciates

My approach to money is to invest in assets: things that can make me money. Once my expenses and investments are taken care of, I can buy things that depreciate.

A regular car, a purse, or clothes may be worth less immediately after you purchase them. Other assets may increase in value over time.

I want my money working as well as me. But one asset people often overlook is their own knowledge.

I am talking about a financial investment, not only the free information available to us. Free learning is wonderful. I also believe in spending money to develop my brain.

Looking back, I would rather have lived in a one-bedroom apartment and taken the courses that helped me grow than lived in a gorgeous house without that education.

Knowledge does not disappear after one return

I took a course with Amy Porterfield that taught me how to run Facebook ads. I took Todd Brown's E5 Method. I invested in courses and a mastermind with Russell Brunson. I hired my coach Frank to learn from his experience.

Those investments helped me apply ideas in my business and create financial returns. But the best part is that I still have the knowledge.

It was not something I bought, used for one year, and lost. I can continue using it.

That is why I think about learning as compounding interest in the asset that is my brain. What I learn becomes part of what I know. Then I apply it, gain experience, and add more knowledge.

The original investment can keep contributing to my work for years.

A course does not have to be a perfect fit

Not every course I have purchased has been right for me.

I once invested thousands of dollars in a course about growing a YouTube channel. When I got into it, I quickly knew it was not the right course for me.

I did not blame the person teaching it. I moved on and saw it as part of investigating and learning.

That does not mean I need every course to be perfect before I sign up. I try to get as much value as I can. It might be one idea, one piece of advice, or something I notice about how the course was sold.

Think about college. Some classes may not have been great, but they were part of your education. I use a similar way of thinking about my ongoing learning.

Study the money you manage

When I think specifically about financial knowledge, I want to understand money: how it works, how to invest it, and how taxes work.

That matters whether someone earns $50,000 a year or $15 million. Continuing to educate yourself gives you more understanding of the finances you manage.

I am frustrated by how little financial education we receive. And I want women to hear an alternative to the message that we should not care about money or becoming wealthy.

Financial independence matters to me because it lets us make choices based on what we want, rather than depend on a boss, husband, parent, or caretaker to provide for us.

I believe investing in our brains is an important way to work toward that independence.

Bring your knowledge into the conversation

When I bought a Bronco as a graduation gift for my niece, I asked questions about markups, insurance, fees, and the additional purchases being offered.

The person helping us seemed surprised that I understood those things. I had educated myself, and I wanted good value for the money I was spending.

It should not be surprising that a woman has knowledge and an opinion about her own money.

As a businesswoman, I also think about providing value for the money customers pay me. Studying money helps me understand both sides of that exchange.

Decades of knowledge are available to me when I make a decision. That is part of the value of investing in my brain.

Application adds another layer of learning

Taking a class is one part of the investment. Applying what you learn gives you experience.

Suppose you study mutual funds and then invest in one that loses money. You have a financial loss. You also have experience you did not have before.

That experience can add to what you learned in the class. You now know something more about your decision, and you can carry that knowledge forward.

I see this as continuing to appreciate the value of my brain. I am learning from execution as well as instruction.

Keep learning after formal education ends

Early in life, we focus on learning. After college, many people stop considering education a priority in their spending. Houses, cars, and trips take its place.

I want you to keep considering your brain an asset worth investing in.

That includes understanding your mental and physical health. Studying my thoughts and feelings, learning to coach myself, and becoming certified as a life coach have helped me care for myself and do my work.

Learning about your body, working with doctors and specialists, and understanding your own health are also investments in knowledge.

Financial independence, mental health, and physical health are important areas of our lives. We can take responsibility for continuing to learn about them.

Look at what you are willing to spend money on. Is your own knowledge on that list? Think about how you can keep investing in a brain that continues to appreciate.