This past Saturday, I attended the Rainbow PUSH Money Matters Workshop. As a finance blogger, it is always refreshing to learn from other finance mavens in the industry.

I attended the Investing 101 workshop lead by Mrs. Gail Perry-Mason. I received a wealth of information about residual income and starting an investment portfolio. Although most of us work 9-5’s, there is a plethora of opportunities to make additional coins. She mentioned websites like RetailMeNot, Ebates, and Resturants.com where people can make and/or save money utilizing these sites. Diversified income was another great tip. She stated that we must  have at least 5 avenues of income. We cannot depend on one source of income because you never know when things shift and a person could lose their job. You must always have a financial back-up plan. There was also some great investment tips. Mrs. Perry-Mason stressed the importance of starting an investment account whether it is with your job (Think 401K or 403B) or on your own. Robin Hood is an app that she mentioned where you can buy stocks. I will be using that app real soon. I’ll be sure to write a later post about my experience with it, so look out for that.

The Chevrolet sponsored Empowerment Session, led by Reginald Humphrey, Senior Manager of Supplier Diversity, also provided great nuggets of wisdom. An important topic, Define Your Success Circle was especially interesting. It is important to remember that your circle of influence should be one that encourages you to strive for more. He also touched on Decision Making in regards to your finances. Make informed decisions that fit your financial lifestyle. He used the decision of buying a car as an example, which is great because no one loves the bus. It was suggested that you should never buy a car where the car payment and insurance is more than your rent or mortgage. This is called “living outside of means.” Living outside of your financial means you can do damage to your finances and credit score. And we need to keep that credit score up for when we’re ready to buy that vacation spot. (See: That villa in the Maldives I’ve been eyeing.)

Overall, I had a great time at the workshop and walked away with even more knowledge about making smart money decisions. I am excited for the year ahead equipped with some great financial tips. This DIVA is ready for 2016!