

In 2020, it is no secret that we all want to secure the bag. In fact, when it came to tackling debt, saving money was one of the top resolutions that millennials made this year. But the truth is, only 8% of people that commit to a money resolution will keep it.
Why is it so hard to get our money together?
Achieving wealth is a mindset shift and the truth is that a lot of us are not willing to develop our mindset around money and success. We look at material things like finally affording the dream car or house, but through my own resolution to get out of debt, I've found that wealth is so much more than money.
This is why nearly one-third of lottery winners eventually declare bankruptcy. Even with more cash than they could every dream, studies have shown that having money doesn't necessarily make you happier or healthier. Being successful and taking care of your debt and money is much more than the currency. It's about being completely secure in your lifestyle and character.
If you are ready to attract wealth that will not only transform your bank account, but your life, here are seven suggestions on where to start:
1.Quit The Procrastination
Image by Getty Images
Don't believe the lie that "someday" you will try to start your goal of taking care of debt and money issues. Procrastination is often our little way of avoiding change or difficulty. In fact, studies show that people procrastinate because of the fear of failure and addiction to complacency. When you feel yourself sinking into procrastination, take a moment to get to the root of your delay. People of wealth are also people who have mastered the art of taking action.
2.Master The Management
Image by Giphy
There is a quote by basketball coach John Wooden: "Big things are accomplished when we master the little things." It's time to stop stressing out over the massive mountains and start in small, digestible steps. When it comes to money, large amounts of debt can be overwhelming. But as you continue to develop discipline and stay committed to your money goals, it is inevitable that you will begin to attract even bigger opportunities.
3.Commit To Education
Image by Shutterstock
A lot of times people stay in debt because they simply don't know where to begin. To level up wealth in your life, commit every day to learning. When you observe wealthy people, they are always seeking knowledge to expand their minds or spark ideas. For my own debt-free journey, I researched tons of articles, podcasts, books and YouTube videos on debt. The more I read (our article "10 Personal Finance Books Every Woman Needs In Her Life" is a great place to start), the more my confidence started to grow in understanding difficult subjects like retirement, credit cards, and investing. Seek knowledge always and you will begin to see a shift in the way you handle money and even the unexpected happenings of life.
4.Create Your Vision
Image by Giphy
What could you do or become if you didn't have debt in your life? The Bible says, "Where there is no vision, the people perish." When you have no amazing reason to get out of debt and seek knowledge, it's extremely hard to stay focused and inspired. Whether it's creating a vision board or putting your dreams on your mirror, continuously remind yourself that your goal is always for something bigger than the struggle right now. You are not only trying to build wealth for yourself but generations to come. Remain committed to the big picture and read it daily to remember.
5.Evaluate Your Circles
Image by Giphy
Have you ever noticed that a lot of our favorite celebs or influencers all seem to know each other? I believe that you are who you hang with and sometimes we allow people into our life that will shoot down our goals or distract us from our true callings and purpose. A part of wealth building is being influenced by people who share the same values and goals with you. These are your ride or dies, the ones who you can trust with your vision.
If you surround yourself with friends who always want to spend money, gossip, shop or indulge excessively, or other bad habits, you will soon pick up the same patterns. Take some time to see who is really bringing you value into your life and slowly disengage with ones who aren't.
6.Defeat Your Indecision
Image by Giphy
From large life-changing goals to picking the right ice cream flavor, I am not fond of making a decision. I am often paralyzed by the fear of pursuing the wrong thing and that leaves me stuck, stagnant, and not growing. To walk in the victory of wealth, you must make a decision that paycheck to paycheck will no longer be your life. You will start to commit to things that align with your goals and leave everything and everyone behind that only distracts you from achieving them.
7.Choose Gratitude, Always
Image by Giphy
Tackling large amounts of debt can be overwhelming. When I started my own journey to eliminating debt and gaining wealth, I struggled with the frustration of not seeing the numbers move quickly enough. This showed up in other areas of my life like being annoyed at work or developing envy when I saw other people being successful.
To truly attract wealth in your life, you must be humbly grateful for your small beginnings.
Take some time to practice awareness of all the blessings you have in your life right now. This could be through journaling or volunteering with others in need. Operating out of a spirit of gratitude will invite more amazing experiences, wins, and people that will help you build a life you love.
Walking in wealth and abundance comes well before you receive the cash. It is a constant awareness of your actions and choices and is worth way more than material things. Commit to growing and learning and the level up will come knocking at your doorstep.
Want more stories like this? Sign up for our newsletter here and check out the related reads below:
Why Estate Planning Is The Secret To Building Generational Wealth
8 Ways To Effectively Reduce Or Eliminate Debt
According To The Budgetnista, The Secret To Becoming A Self-Made Millionaire Starts With One Seed
Featured image by Shutterstock
- How To Break Free From A Broke Mindset & Attract Abundance ... ›
- 4 Ways To Attract & Manifest More Abundance Into Your Life ... ›
- Mindset Shifts To Make To Earn Six Figures - xoNecole: Women's Interest, Love, Wellness, Beauty ›
- 27 Creative Ways to Attract Abundance - Sarah Prout ›
- 11 Ways to Attract Abundance in Your Life | SUCCESS ›
- How to Attract Abundance Into Your Life by Wayne Dyer - Beliefnet ›
- 5 Soulful Ways to Attract More Prosperity and Abundance Into Your ... ›
- 4 Ways to Attract Abundance Into Your Life | HuffPost Life ›
- How to Easily Attract More Abundance Into Your Life - YouTube ›
- How to Attract Abundance in Life? (5 Ways) ›
- Wayne Dyer - How to Attract Abundance into Your Life - YouTube ›
- How To Attract Abundance In Your Life ›
- How To Attract Money and Wealth With The Law of Attraction ›
Alaina is a Las Vegas freelance writer and founder of the website GlowSZN, a post-grad survival blog for the lit and educated. Embracing the raggedy moments of adulthood, she is always looking to push the narrative of growth in God, becoming financially free and owning your truth in your 20's. You can follow her on Instagram or Twitter at @hotlaina_.
'He Said, She Said': Love Stories Put To The Test At A Weekend For Love
At the A Weekend For Love retreat, we sat down with four couples to explore their love stories in a playful but revealing way with #HeSaidSheSaid. From first encounters to life-changing moments, we tested their memories to see if their versions of events aligned—because, as they say, every story has three sides: his, hers, and the truth.
Do these couples remember their love stories the same way? Press play to find out.
Episode 1: Indira & Desmond – Love Across the Miles
They say distance makes the heart grow fonder, but for Indira & Desmond, love made it stronger. Every mile apart deepened their bond, reinforcing the unshakable foundation of their relationship. From their first "I love you" to the moment they knew they had found home in each other, their journey is a beautiful testament to the endurance of true love.
Episode 2: Jay & Tia – A Love Story Straight Out of a Rom-Com
If Hollywood is looking for its next Black love story, they need to take notes from Jay & Tia. Their journey—from an awkward first date to navigating careers, parenthood, and personal growth—proves that love is not just about romance but also resilience. Their story is full of laughter, challenges, and, most importantly, a love that stands the test of time.
Episode 3: Larencia & Mykel – Through the Highs and Lows
A date night with police helicopters overhead? Now that’s a story! Larencia & Mykel have faced unexpected surprises, major life changes, and 14 years of choosing each other every single day. But after all this time, do they actually remember things the same way? Their episode is sure to bring some eye-opening revelations and a lot of laughs.
Episode 4: Soy & Osei – A Love Aligned in Purpose
From a chance meeting at the front door to 15 years of unwavering love, faith, and growth, Soy & Osei prove that when two souls are aligned in love and purpose, nothing can shake their foundation. Their journey is a powerful reminder that true love is built on mutual support, shared values, and a deep connection that only strengthens with time.
Each of these couples has a unique and inspiring story to tell, but do their memories match up? Watch #HeSaidSheSaid to find out!
Let’s make things inbox official! Sign up for the xoNecole newsletter for love, wellness, career, and exclusive content delivered straight to your inbox.
Feature image screenshot/ xoNecole YouTube
I’ve gotta say that, for the most part, my friends are pretty damn chill. There is one (major) exception, though — and it’s an odd one. Even after all these years and countless times of me giving them the same answer, if there is a time when they think they are my mama, it’s when they see an email come through at an odd hour of the night. Then, all of a sudden, here they come asking me when do I get sleep if I’m emailing at (say) three in the morning.
Again, the answer never changes because, if there is one thing that Shellie Reneé Warren is gonna get, it’s 6-8 (sometimes nine) hours of sleep. However, since my chronotype (check out “Ever Wonder What Personality Traits Make Someone A 'Morning Person'?”) means that I like/prefer to write in the wee hours of the morning, sometimes I will sleep for the night for five hours and take a nap in the day. And y’all, that is just fine with me because I am well aware of the fact that napping does everything from give me more energy, heighten my alertness and even make me more creative to decrease stress levels, strengthen immunity, and reduce my chances of experiencing a heart attack or stroke.
My problem is I will oftentimes go “overboard” with my daytime zzz’s. What I mean by that is, in order to get the most out of a nap, they say thatyou shouldn’t sleep for longer than 25 minutes or so; otherwise, you could wake up feeling sluggish (I don’t but…). Also, it can make resting, soundly, at night a bit of a struggle.
So, what are you saying, Shellie? We should get quickies in? Yeah. And it’s funny that the word “quickie” would come up because just like a sex quickie can do wonders for you (and it can — check out “12 Super Solid Reasons To Have A Quickie Every Single Day”), it’s a full-circle moment when I say that something that can improve the quality of your sex life is to have a power nap (a nap that lasts between 10-30 minutes).
Wanna know how the two things correlate? Honestly, it’s no secret that sleep and sex work together to optimize both (check out “6 Fascinating Ways Sex And Sleep Definitely Go Hand In Hand”). Today, though, we’re going to tap into how a nap, specifically, can have you partaking in some of the best sex that you’ve experienced in a minute. I’ll explain.
Naps Reduce Stress
If you’re feeling super stressed out right now, you are not alone. There is plenty of data out here that says that most of us are stressed for at least a couple of reasons at a time — and that can impact your sexual health on a few levels. For one thing, it can bring about feelings of depression and/or anxiety. Stress can also throw your hormone levels off (including your cycle) which can weaken your libido. Stress can make you want to put distance between you and your partner (yes, literally).
Stress can also make it challenging to get aroused or to have an orgasm. And just what can help to decrease stress? Taking a nap. Since sleep has a way of helping you to “get off of the clock” and relax a bit, that can lower your stress levels and “reset” your body so that you are calmer — and that, in turn, can do wonders for your sex drive and ultimately your sex life.
Naps Improve Your Mood
There is one person in my life, and fairly 80 percent of the time, she’s in a super good mood. Oh, but let that girl go without sleep, and…who is this woman? LOL. There’s research behind why this happens. When a person is sleep-deprived, it messes with their brain chemicals, and that can amplify emotions like anger, restlessness and sadness. In fact, one study revealed that people who had their sleep disrupted throughout the night, they ended up having their positive outlook on life reduced by about 30 percent.
And geeze, who wants to have sex when they’re not feeling very good? Anyway, since serotonin is a neurotransmitter that helps to regulate your moods, your sleep patterns, and your libido and sleep is what helps to keep it in balance — by taking a nap, not only can it help you to feel better, it can also increase your desire for sex (it can also build up your endurance which is also…sexually beneficial).
Naps Increase Your Focus and Concentration
Something that some of my clients bring up is how, when it comes to having sex, sometimes the flesh is willing while the spirit is weak because, although the desire for intimacy is there, so much is going on that they aren’t able to get still enough to focus on experiencing copulation with their partner. This also tracks because, when you don’t have enough rest, your brain finds itself not working in harmony and that can make it hard to do everything from approaching life with a sense of flexibility to making necessary decisions.
Certain data also reveal that a lack of rest can cause you to have a really poor attention span and not process things in context (the more you know). So, if you really want to get some yet it’s hard for you to focus long enough to make it happen, ask your bae to lie down with you and take a nap. Between the sleep and the snuggling (check out “Fall's Coming: 8 Wonderful Health Benefits Of Cuddling”) — you may wake up with your mind and body totally on the same page. #wink
Naps Can Make You Feel Better About Your Body
Even if, overall, you feel really good about your body, I think that we all have moments when we feel less attractive than others — and who wants to have sex when they don’t really feel…very sexy? Well, something else that sleep, in general, can do is increase your confidence in your body.
For one thing, if you want to lose a few pounds, sleep can actually make that happen by helping your body metabolize the glucose (sugar) that’s in it so that you can better manage your appetite. Other studies go on to share that since sleep deprivation can impact one’s mental health and emotional stability in a negative way, of course, getting enough rest would increase body positivity.
Shoot, science even goes so far as to say that insomnia can cause people to have an elevated level of dissatisfaction when it comes to their body image. Don’t take their word for it, though. Look in the mirror before a nap. Then look in a mirror after waking up from me. Do you feel better? I’d be surprised if you don’t.
Makes Your Brain Bigger…Which Could Make Your Orgasms Better
I saved the best for last by design. Now if you’re wondering how in the world a nap can improve (and possibly increase) your orgasms — oh, there is a method to the madness…trust. For starters, the saying that your biggest sex organ is your brain? That isn’t a myth. Long story less long, the brain is what houses your central nervous system and that is what controls how men and women sexually function (yes, literally).
And since the brain also releases feel-good chemicals like dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin during sex and brain activity significantly increases in women during sexual activity (especially right before she orgasms) — well, would it trip you out to know that when you take a nap, your brain actually expands? A bigger brain (that’s healthy) can potentially intensify your sexual experiences (and your climaxes) — and who doesn’t want that to go down?
____
Like I said earlier, I never have to be convinced to get a nap in. However, if your sex life has been a bit stagnant lately, you’ve been feeling a little sluggish and you’re not sure what to do — I’m hoping that a nap can get you right.
There’s enough science to prove that it can. All you need to do is give it a shot.
Now where’s your pillow and sleep mask, chile?
Let’s make things inbox official! Sign up for the xoNecole newsletter for love, wellness, career, and exclusive content delivered straight to your inbox.
Featured image by FG Trade/Getty Images