The 3 M's of Money: How to Manage, Multiply and Maintain your Money

It was some time in December 2009 that I first announced to the readers of my weekly newspaper column in The Jamaica Observer that I was in the process of writing this book.

However, I had actually formulated the concept of The 3 M’s of Money back in November 2007 when I was asked to present at a mini workshop on financial planning to the Young Adults Group of the Webster Memorial Church located in Kingston, Jamaica.

The idea of grouping all the essential principles of personal finance came to me when I wondered, What are all the things that someone needs to know about being successful with money?

When I looked back at all the articles I had written since February 2006, I noticed that there were some recurring themes and I arranged them into common categories.

The concepts that I have discussed in this book are not new, and I certainly cannot take the credit for ‘discovering’ them. The 3 M’s of Money is intended to be a simple directional map that pinpoints the key guideposts along the journey towards financial security and freedom.

I hope that you will find all the answers to your own money questions right here in these pages!

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

There are so many people that have been instrumental to my success in completing The 3 M’s of Money. I am sure that I will probably leave out a few names, so let me apologise right now to anyone who has not been acknowledged here. To the best of my recollection, these are most of the persons to whom I am forever grateful for their efforts in helping me to write my first book:

Carmen Tipling – a formidable boss who took an inexperienced college graduate under her wing and taught her the value of a things-to-do list, and most importantly, how to write like a journalist;

Wayne Longmore – a family friend whose fortuitous words of recommendation for a new job changed my life forever and ushered me into my destiny;

Joan Duncan – a visionary extraordinaire who followed her dream and created a financial powerhouse that spawned my learning and development, and led to the financial betterment of thousands of persons;

Kellie Magnus – a talented friend and confidante who inspired me with her gift for the written word, and encouraged me to develop a column for a local Jamaican newspaper;

Novia McDonald-Whyte – the indomitable editor at The Jamaica Observer, who instilled in me the need to stick to deadline, and unknowingly motivated me to keep writing even when I was tempted to quit;

Douglas Lindo – a friend and business mentor who gave me priceless advice not to rush the writing of this book and to wait until the opportune time to have it published;

Terence Hanson – my father and the source of my love for reading, whose habit of turning the pages of a book rubbed off on me, and gave me an early appreciation of the beauty of the English language;

Merel Hanson – my mother and staunchest supporter, who never outwardly expressed her reservations about the questionable choices that I had made, and never doubted my ability to succeed in all my endeavours;

Michael Hanson – my brother who finally beat me at something by finishing his own inspired books, who reviewed my initial efforts and urged me to complete my long-awaited money memoir;

Victor Simpson – my husband and soul mate who showed me how to dream, who has allowed me to enjoy an abundant life in the wealth of his love;

Jon-Sebastian Simpson – my beloved son whose boundless energy and unconditional love has taught me how to live a life of passion and purpose;

Victoria Abigail Simpson – my second blessed gift from God and my heart’s desire.

To all the persons who have faithfully read my weekly columns and articles over the years, this book is dedicated to you. Thank you for allowing me to share with you all the things I learned about the mysteries of money success.

Above all, I thank God for giving me the talent to write, and for providing me with the insight to craft meaningful stories which can bless the lives of others. Without Him, I am nothing.

The Journey Begins

DESTINY

Good afternoon Mrs. Burgess, the teller said affably. Is everything okay with your transaction today?

My ears perked up at the mention of that last name.

As I waited patiently in line, listening to the casual banter between the dreadlocked lady and the customer service representative, it became obvious that Mrs. Burgess was more than a regular client. It seemed that she was employed to the financial institution in which we were all standing.

Hmmm…Mrs. Burgess?

Thinking that it was too much of a coincidence, I wondered if she could possibly be the person that I had been waiting on to give me a job. I moved a little closer, hoping to hear more.

Excuse me, Mrs. Burgess? I interrupted their rather revealing conversation with a quizzical look. Are you the person from the HR department that should have returned my call some time ago? My name is Cherryl Hanson Simpson, and I recently applied for a client relations position.

As fate would have it, Mrs. Burgess was indeed a human resource officer at Jamaica Money Market Brokers (JMMB), a large investment brokerage firm. With a rushed apology for her delay in responding to me, she invited me to come to an interview the following week.

Within a few days, after a barrage of IQ and personality tests, questionnaires, consultations and discussions, I was no longer just another ordinary JMMB client. I had been offered a job in one of their branch offices; I was now part of the JMMB team.

April 17, 2001 is a date that I will never forget. Not just because it was the first day in a new career; but because it heralded the beginning of major life changes for me. Although I didn’t know it at the time, I was about to set off on a journey to financial freedom.

Deliberation

I had always liked the old Arabic saying that ended, He who knows not, and knows not he knows not, is a fool. Little did I know how much significance this phrase would have in my own life when it came to my relationship with money.

My first job as a public relations agent came straight out of university. I didn’t make a calculated decision about choosing this field; my best friend had done a summer job at this company and liked it, so I figured I would too. It was just a job that paid a salary, and I wanted to work.

I really enjoyed the freedom of earning my own way and finally having my own money to do what I wanted with it. My pay cheque wasn’t a large sum; but for a single, fun-loving girl who had no expenses or responsibilities, it certainly allowed me to enjoy myself.

I really enjoyed buying shoes. After payday, I could often be found in a fancy shoe store that offered Italian and French imports, salivating on the latest work of art that I just had to own. It didn’t bother me that I hardly wore some of the shoes; it was enough that they were exquisite to look at.

And so my life continued throughout the years: working for a basic salary, spending all of the money I took home on beautiful things, going back to work to make more money to shop some more. The thought of putting aside money into a bank account didn’t enter my mind.

My desire for the finer things of life eventually outpaced my ability to earn. This financial reality led to my introduction to the world of credit cards and consumer loans. With access to other people’s money, now I could really acquire all the things my heart desired but my pocket couldn’t afford.

It didn’t occur to me that I would run into difficulties with this pattern of spending.

After getting married in 1996, I was no longer a single girl without responsibilities – now I had to take care of my own home. Instead of being a financial wake-up call, this move only increased my consumption as I fed the decorating desires that had been repressed in my parents’ house.

As the years went by I continued along the slippery pathway of borrowing to pay for my lifestyle. I was so clueless about my true financial position, that I really wasn’t overly worried when I eventually couldn’t pay some of my bills.

Yes, it was a pain having the credit card company call about overdue payments; but instead of being embarrassed, I took it as a wonderful reprieve when they wrote off my account as a bad debt.

Great, I thought, how nice of them to give me a break!

My runaway financial train finally came to a screeching halt. Sometimes life throws you obstacles not to hurt you, but to help you change direction towards a better future. In my case, an experience that should have brought celebration turned out to be the most challenging period of my life.

The year 2000 was one of eager expectation for me, as I awaited the arrival of my first child. However, my anticipation later turned into anguish, as in the delivery process, my son suffered birth trauma and had to be hospitalised.

Through prayers and faith he recovered well enough to go home within two weeks, but he would need constant observation to determine if there would be any lasting effects on his development over time. I decided to quit my job and stay home with him for a while.

Not being savers, my husband and I really had no money to allow me the freedom to do this; but as an eternal optimist, I figured we would find a way to make it work. Luckily, we were able to sell one of our vehicles and have some money left over after paying off the car loan.

After four months, my son seemed to be progressing well. This was great, because the proceeds of the car sale had run out and I had no choice but to find a new source of income. I didn’t want to go back to the stressful world of the sign industry where I had been working before my son’s birth.

True to form, I was clueless about the type of work I wanted to do; I just needed a job to earn some money. A visiting friend recommended that I apply to Jamaica Money Market Brokers as he thought it would be a great work environment that would fit my personality.

This was the institution in which I had deposited the excess funds from the car sale, and had found it a friendly place to do business. Not having any experience in finance, I wasn’t clear what kind of job I could get; but I figured it should be something I could learn to do.

The more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea of working at JMMB. Well, I don’t know anything about the money business, but I’ll definitely give it a shot, I told my friend. Do you know the name of the personnel officer to whom I should address my application?

Her name is Mrs. Burgess, he replied.

Discovery

I can vividly recall an amusing plaque that used to hang on the wall of a friend’s house many years ago. On it, a shabbily-dressed man sneered sarcastically, If you’re so smart, why ain’t you rich? I had laughed at it at the time, but years later the statement would come back to haunt me.

My entry into the world of finance was in many respects similar to Alice falling head first into Wonderland. A new world awaited me that was unlike anything I had experienced before. Like Dorothy in the classic film The Wizard of Oz, I realised that I was no longer in Kansas anymore.

My new workplace was an environment that fostered self-development and opportunities abounded for persons who had a desire to learn more. As I explored my surroundings with my usual naiveté and wide-eyed wonder, I was amazed that people could have so much money.

It was ironic that my job entailed advising persons on their investment choices. Painfully aware of my negative net worth and debt distress, I used to think to myself that it was my clients who should be teaching me how they acquired money because I certainly didn’t know how to do it!

After receiving extensive training, I began to understand the investing techniques used by some of my wealthy clients. While I became proficient on financial theories, I still hadn’t made the connection that would allow me to translate my book knowledge into money in my pocket.

I always liked to visit the trading department, where my colleagues often carried out million-dollar deals. I remember being amazed when one of the traders boasted of netting over US$20,000 in one investment transaction.

Twenty thousand US dollars in profit? I thought to myself. I don’t even know what two thousand US dollars looks like!

Then one day, the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back floated my way. A former schoolmate from high school came to my office to carry out his account transactions. I hadn’t seen him in many years, so we spent some time catching up and exchanging pleasantries.

As I opened his account details on the computer I almost choked. The screen revealed something that puzzled me immensely. I checked and rechecked the figure that represented his balance at the institution. I turned from the computer monitor and looked him straight in the eyes.

So, I said casually, what kind of work have you been doing over these years?

Very interesting work, it turned out to be. My friend had earned significant income, largely by distributing goods to stores across the island and by investing smartly in real estate. As he described his business ventures I reflected on our shared educational experience.

I had done well academically, always placing first in my class except for the initial term in high school. However, my schoolmate-turned-wealthy-client was usually on the opposite end of the scholastic rating scale. The tables were now turned.

My book smarts, recognised and revered at school, hadn’t taken me very far up the earnings ladder, but his street-smart money skills had brought him success in the real world. I pondered on the worth of all my years of ‘brilliant’ study.

If I’m so smart, then why am I not rich?

It finally hit me. The reason I had no money was because I didn’t know what it took to be successful with money. I had never been educated about one of the most basic abilities that I would need to prosper in life – how to handle my finances.

My former schoolmate was now well off because he knew how to do things with money that I had no clue about! I resolved at that point that I was going to find out what prosperous people knew about money that I didn’t know.

As a child, I had always wanted to be an adventurous sleuth like Nancy Drew of the popular teen detective novels. Now I was determined to solve the most important mystery of my financial life: What is the secret of money success?

Disclosure

In my new-found quest to learn more about how money worked, I used to watch The Suze Orman Show on CNBC. I loved her straight-talking approach to helping people solve their money problems. I could really relate to many of the issues that she discussed on the programme.

In search of solutions, I read Suze’s book The 9 Steps to Financial Freedom. It taught me how much your mind can control what happens with your finances. Many people struggle with money because they have unresolved issues from their past which influence their present actions.

It was such a revelation when Suze explained that your thoughts about money, good or bad, usually stemmed from experiences that are money-related. I understood that I had to go back in time to find out what had happened long