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Financial independence gets framed like something you either figured out early or didn’t. That framing isn’t helpful.
Most people weren’t making bad decisions. They were making decisions without full information. No one explained how flexibility is funded, how tradeoffs compound, or how to think long-term without turning money into a full-time mental load.
The reality is that financial independence is built step by step. Not by being perfect. Not by timing things exactly right. But by asking the right questions in the right order.
Here’s how I think about it:
Step 1: What kind of independence are you trying to buy?
Financial independence doesn’t have to mean opting out of work entirely.
For some people, it means choosing work instead of needing it.
For others, it looks like stepping into a lower-paying role that fits better, taking time away during certain seasons, or having room to take risks without financial stress dictating every decision.
Before you think about numbers, get specific about the outcome. Ask yourself:
You don’t need a polished vision, just a working one.
Step 2: Are you prioritizing the right money moves right now?
Don’t try to optimize everything at once. What works better is prioritizing based on where you actually are.
A few common patterns I see:
If your money feels scattered month to month
Start with cash flow. Stability makes everything else easier, including saving and investing.
If you’re only investing through work
Learning the basics of investing outside of an employer plan and automating contributions can meaningfully change your trajectory.
If you’ve handed everything off to someone else
Start getting involved. Understanding what’s happening and why is part of long-term security. This isn’t about doing more. It’s about sequencing.
Step 3: Do you have a concrete long-term target?
Before you map a path toward financial independence, you need a destination.
A commonly cited guideline is:
Projected annual retirement spending × 20–25 = a ballpark FI number
It’s a starting point, not a strategy. Without modeling your future more specifically, it’s easy to misread progress or miss changes that could shorten your timeline. There’s a real difference between reacting to money and making decisions with context.
Using a free retirement planning tool to see whether you’re on track is exactly what we’ll walk through step by step in my upcoming live workshop for The Assist community:
Road to Financial Independence: See If You’re On Track and How to Accelerate Your Timeline in 2026
You’ll leave with:
Date: January 7
Time: 8:00 pm ET / 5:00 pm PT
👉 Save your seat here if you want clearer direction heading into 2026.
Financial independence isn’t about predicting the future. It’s about understanding how today’s decisions will help you get there faster.
— Tess Waresmith (Accredited Financial Counselor® and founder of Wealth with Tess)
Even the most organized teams fall into these common project management traps, and they can quietly derail progress if left unchecked:
1. Too Many Tools, Not Enough Clarity
When tasks live in one app, timelines in another, and updates in a third? That’s a recipe for confusion. Instead, use a system that brings everything into one customizable workspace: tasks, timelines, conversations, and data all in one place.
2. One-Size-Fits-All Workflows
Not every project runs the same. Rigid templates and generic tools force teams to work around the system instead of with it. Look for a platform that lets you tailor workflows to match your unique processes, no dev team required.
3. Blind Spots in Progress Tracking
If you can’t quickly see what’s blocked, overdue, or at risk, you can’t course-correct in time. Smart dashboards that update in real time give everyone instant visibility and help you spot bottlenecks before they explode.
The right setup adapts to you, not the other way around. And that makes all the difference.
GIRL, we freaking did it. We made it through another year!
It’s New Year’s Eve, and you’re probably thinking about all the magical things you want to accomplish next year. Maybe you’re feeling a little disappointed about some of the things you didn’t achieve this year, but let’s pause and remember some things you’ve probably forgotten.
Let me remind you…
We’re five years into a global pandemic. We’re living in a time where women are finally living independently: financially, emotionally, spiritually.
We’re working and raising children, and challenging a society that wasn’t built for us.
We’re taking care of aging parents, adopting puppies, volunteering, advocating for rights, and investing in our mental health. We’re looking healthier and younger than ever.
We’re absolutely crushing it. If you really take a step back and look at us, we’re doing unprecedented things.
It’s been an emotional year.
And yes, this year has felt heavy.
The world has been through hell: mass shootings, wars in the Middle East, rising antisemitism, racial divides, domestic tension, challenges to women’s rights, and public acts of violence that made it feel like ugliness was everywhere you turned.
When the world feels like that, it’s easy to turn the weight inward. To feel like you didn’t do enough. Like you should’ve been more, done more, handled it better.
So instead of treating New Year’s Eve like a rushed reset or a checklist of resolutions, look at it differently.
This is the culmination of a chapter. Not just this year, but the last five years of becoming.
There’s a new chapter coming.
Astrologically and numerologically, there’s a lot shifting. 2025 is a Year 9, which represents completion, closure, and endings.
And 2026 opens as a Year 1. A beginning. A clean slate. A new era.
We are starting over.
Not in a way that dismisses what you’ve lived through, but in a way that honors it.
Everything you learned. Everything you survived. Everything you carried when it would’ve been easier to quit, shrink, or disappear.
This next chapter is about stepping forward with the past, wiser and more rooted.
Be excited about the future. Be inspired by your own voice. Be enamored with the unique gifts you bring into the world.
There’s only ONE of you.
There is literally only one of you on this entire planet. Out of billions of people, across all of history and all of time, there has never been another you, and there never will be again.
You have a unique purpose. You have specific gifts. Ways of seeing, thinking, creating, loving, building, leading, and contributing that no one else can replicate.
The next twelve months are an invitation to live that out more fully.
It’s your invitation…
To step into what you’re meant to do.
To stop being afraid of challenges.
To stop being afraid of being seen.
To stop downplaying your brilliance just to make other people more comfortable.
I invite you to feel the power of a true beginning and be empowered by the closing of one chapter and the opening of another.
Be genuinely pumped for what’s coming!!! (Yes, that required three exclamation marks because it’s going to be THAT good.)
So tonight, we won’t spiral on what didn’t work. We won’t fixate on the mess. We’ll step into this new era together, grounded in everything that got us here and energized by everything still ahead.
We’re more than ready for it!
Thania (TA Content Mgr)
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If a medical provider decides prescription treatment is right for you, you’ll get a personalized plan built around your goals, medication management, progress tracking, and education that actually makes sense.
It’s clinical. It’s customizable. And it’s made to fit real budgets.
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1 Disclaimer: Compounded drug products are not approved or evaluated for safety, effectiveness, or quality by the FDA. Prescription required.
2 Disclaimer: Based on self-reported data from approximately 1525 Hers customers on a personalized treatment plan including compounded GLP-1 injections, along with a reduced calorie diet and exercise. Customers reported their weight at their initial medical consultation and check-in approximately 2 months later.
Not available in all 50 states. Weight Loss by Hers is a holistic program that includes nutrition support, technological tools, and medications prescribed based on what your provider determines is medically appropriate and necessary for you. See website for full details, important safety information, and restrictions, including online provider consultation requirements.
🍗 The roaster + rack that guarantees juicy meat and crispy skin every time.
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