Negotiation skills are incredibly valuable, whether you’re negotiating a salary in a new job, or even deliberating with your partner about who’s taking the trash out.

If you’re looking to rev up your negotiation skills, then you likely intend to use them to deliberate with a potential new employer. However, your negotiation skills can serve you in many aspects of your life.

In today’s competitive job market, it’s more important than ever to have strong negotiation skills. Whether you’re negotiating your salary, benefits, or other terms of employment, you’ll want to come prepared.

In this article, I’ll share some simple ways you can use negotiation skills in your career, but in other ways as well. I’ll also tell you some of the key negotiation skills I’ve used to succeed in my interviews and in new hire conversations with employers.

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It wasn’t until I read Rich Dad, Poor Dad that I started to believe in the possibility of a FIRE lifestyle (financial independence, retire early).

It was as if a whole new world of possibility had suddenly opened itself up, though I was certainly skeptical of it, at least initially.

Like many others, I’d always believed that a fulfilling life meant a regular 9-5 job, a house with a white picket fence, and a herd of children. It didn’t occur to me before then that there were other ways to live. I’d always believed you had to work hard to earn a reasonable income.

It wouldn’t be until years later that I would begin pursuing a FIRE lifestyle. I wouldn’t even hear “FIRE” spoken as a financial freedom phrase until nearly a decade after I read Rich Dad, Poor Dad.

In this article, I’ll tell you how I began my journey to a FIRE lifestyle, some key lessons I learned along the way, and where the rest of my journey is headed.

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As I sat down in our tax accountant’s office, I looked down at the piece of paper I was holding in my hands. It was an important document that reflected what I’d paid in interest toward my student debt that year. 

I couldn’t believe the figure in front of my face, yet it was right there. 

In just one year, I’d paid roughly $3,000 of interest into my student loans. And that was only the interest for one year. It didn’t account for the amount I’d paid into the principal balances, or what my husband had paid into his student loans either. 

That $3,000 was all I was allowed to write off on our taxes.

I had just paid what accounted for a nice cruise vacation into my student debt interest, and it didn’t even help lower the balance. I would have rathered spent the money on that vacation instead, but here I was, holding the piece of paper that proved I’d done otherwise. 

That money was gone, wasted.

I shook my head before I handed the document over to the accountant.

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After I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, I feared I’d never be able to build a successful career, and it was a dream that greatly mattered to me.

After my diagnosis, it was hard to face the reality that I would likely live with a chronic illness for the rest of my life.

While I didn’t give up on my dreams, I knew that my plans would need to shift, at least to some degree.

When I was young I dreamed of becoming an astronaut. I went to college with that intent and by the time I graduated, I’d become quite familiar with astronaut requirements.

The requirements were strict and incredibly difficult to overcome, even for someone in perfect health, so I knew my chances of becoming an astronaut were essentially 0.

However, I knew I could still become a scientist, and I dreamed of building a successful career and making a difference through science.

As you’ll soon learn, my career didn’t go exactly as planned, and I never foresaw making a shift like I would eventually make, but I did manage to build a successful career. In this article, I’m going to tell you exactly what I did to build my career while managing Crohn’s disease.

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Investing 101 Introduction: A Pathway to Financial Freedom

It’s tough to balance a chronic illness with life demands, but somehow life finds a way.

(I know, I know. That was a terrible place for a classic Jurassic Park quote, but somehow it’s still fitting.)

In reality, you’re a warrior: a chronic illness warrior. Somehow, you do it all, and you and I know that life is tough even WITHOUT having to balance a chronic illness.

I get it, the last thing on your mind is probably your investing strategy. You have 1,000 doctor’s appointments, and you can’t quite remember when you last took your meds…

Speaking of which, I forgot to take mine. Hang on…

Where were we? Ah, yeah…

Your chronic illness takes a beating on you, and sometimes it’s incessant and unending. Sometimes your dreams feel impossible, especially when simply getting out of bed feels like you completed a marathon.

Yes, there are days when it’s a struggle, and there will be days when you feel like giving up. It’s totally understandable, and you absolutely deserve grace. 

You also deserve success, and success doesn’t get handed to any of us. You have to fight for it.

What does this have to do with investing 101, you might wonder? Keep reading on and you’ll find out.

In this investing 101 article, I’m going to provide you with 5 tips you can use to build a successful investing strategy, even as you balance the demands of your chronic illness.

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If professional development matters to you and you’re balancing a chronic illness, you’re in the right place.

It’s not easy to balance a chronic illness with your professional pursuits, but if career advancement matters to you then it’s important to consider your professional development.

So how do you balance your professional and health needs? It’s not an easy balance to achieve, and if you’re anything like me, then you probably have to make frequent adjustments on your journey.

You don’t need to sacrifice your health or your career, but achieving that balance is essential if you dream of advancing your career.

In this article, you’ll get 10 tips you can use on your professional development journey so that you can better balance your chronic illness and your career goals.

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If you’ve already started a side hustle, or if you’re considering starting one, then you know how difficult it can be to balance your health with your pursuits (personal, professional, or otherwise).

You might even be trying to balance a career on top of it, which might be a challenging act, one you may find is often out of sync.

But what if you want to grow a side hustle to a full-time gig? Perhaps your small business brings passion to your life in a way that your day job can’t, in which case you may dream of doing more with it.

It can seem daunting to turn your side hustle into your full-time career, but it’s definitely possible. With careful planning and execution, you can grow your business while still managing your chronic illness.

In this article, I’m going to give you 10 tips you can use to grow your side hustle into a full-time business while balancing the demands of your chronic illness.

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It can be a challenge to build wealth, but it can be especially difficult if you have a chronic illness. 

As a chronic illness warrior, it may be harder to work, earn money, and save for the future. Between the medical bills and chronic fatigue, among various other life challenges, it might feel impossible to get ahead.

If life was a video game, it would be like constantly playing on hard mode. The game might be harder, but it’s not impossible to beat.

With careful planning and execution, you can still build wealth and achieve your financial goals.

In this article, you’ll get 5 simple steps you can take to start a successful wealth-building journey. I’ll also share key investment strategies you can use to build a solid investment portfolio.

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Dream of turning one of your small business ideas into a profitable business?

If you have a chronic illness, it can be tough to make a living. You may not be able to work a so-called traditional job, or you may have to take time off work for doctor’s appointments or flare-ups. 

Even if you struggle to work, you can still start a business or side hustle and make some extra money. In fact, ramping up one of your small business ideas can be a great way to become your own boss and set your own hours.

In this article, I’m going to provide you with 10 key steps you can use to turn one of your small business ideas into a successful startup.

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Would you like to become financially free, but worry that your chronic illness may be holding you back?

If so, I completely understand how you feel, as I had the exact same concerns.

Living with a chronic illness can be challenging, both physically and financially (and mentally, spiritually, and so on, but I digress). Between the constant medical bills and physical symptoms, it can feel impossible to get ahead at times.

And let’s face it, at times an achievement for the day might simply be getting out of bed. When you live with a chronic illness, you constantly battle the demands of your illness and your dreams for the future. It isn’t easy, but somehow you find a way.

If your dreams include becoming financially free, then you’re in the right place. Keep reading on for 10 steps you can use to build your financial future.

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