What was it originally that sparked your interest in helping and supporting the success journey of others?

I like to help others. I have a lot of life experiences, and I just want to share those things with other women to help them along their journeys. I think it’s important for us women to help each other along the way.

As a professional life coach, was there anything you had to do within yourself first, before you could serve the masses?

Absolutely. Prior to entering the coaching industry, I was on a personal transformational path. I wanted to improve my communication. I aspired to be more efficient, more secure, and healthier. I could not have given my best effort at life coaching unless I researched and discovered all of this.

In order to contribute selflessly to others, I had to search within myself to discover my actual purpose.

Simply Sheneka

Evolution is a constant in life. We are always evolving and learning. I make sure that all the women I assist understand this. Self-awareness and accountability are among the most crucial things. If you cannot be accountable for yourself, you will never learn and grow.

What is your take on the connection between mental and financial health? What are some ways women can get a better grip on the two?

I believe having a good grip on your mental health definitely dictates your financial health. Depression, insecurities, and compulsive behavior can manifest themselves as being reckless with money. Money is a tool that we utilize to live life as we very well please. It is not something that we should worship. Let’s say someone is sad, they may be inclined to splurge to make themselves feel better.

They could be missing opportunities to manage their money properly if they are constantly sad. Or if someone is not in a good situation financially they may latch on to a partner who provides them with financial stability, but only contributes to the relationship financially and not mentally.

A lot of people in our community do not come from backgrounds where we are blessed enough to have healthy relationships with money so as we get older, we have to learn how to manage that healthy relationship. If you can get control of your mental, you will have a better relationship with money.

Please talk to us about living a “Luxury Lifestyle”. What does that mean to you and how are you helping women to experience this space?

Living a luxury lifestyle is me living life on my own terms. That may look different for everyone. One of the most important things is having a peace of mind within myself, and allowing myself to enjoy life’s experiences with no regrets. Loving myself immensely & being confident with my choices. These are things that you cannot buy. It is something that you have to dig deep within to find and enjoy. I want all women to understand that a luxury lifestyle is simply what you make it. And only you have to be comfortable with that.

Tell us more about Women Financial Power. What are you guys doing to help women retire gracefully? How do you think overall retirement needs have changed over the past few years?

It is magical how we connected. I was at a stage in my life when I wanted to concentrate on saving money risk-free towards the future. As I already stated, every step of my path starts with myself and my own experiences. In other words, my company has expanded and I’ve been saving, but not at senior levels. Which is basically at the level my company performs. Let’s say I had a high level position at a bank, I would be saving because the bank valued me and offered me a retirement plan. I don’t work at a bank, I work for myself, so I had to be introduced to the ways people in similar positions save with no risk. Since Women Financial Power’s main objective is to assist women in understanding investing and retirement plan alternatives, I leaned towards them for guidance.

One of the first things I discovered was the variety of retirement savings alternatives. But I gained a lot more knowledge about finance. So many of us lack knowledge about our alternatives or we have signed up for things and don’t understand what we have. We must communicate with professionals who are committed to what they do, not those who are trying to sell us products to make a fast buck. This is why I love Women Financial Power because the CARE is there. So as soon as I finished my process I immediately shared the information.

As more women realize they are unprepared for retirement and desire to make the necessary changes in their lives, retirement conversations are evolving. And it’s clear how many people are starting their own businesses and earning six figures without any retirement funds. Avoid postponing your planning too long. When you’re young and healthy, it’s better to take on this challenge. Planning provides us with the peace of mind that we all need. I’m pleased that more women are eager to learn and to engage in these discussions.

I often tell women to prioritize their needs, and what better way to achieve so than with money? Simply being a part of this conversation makes me happy.

What are the benefits to making after-tax contributions to an IRS-approved retirement plan? What’s the less recommended alternative? Can you share with us the scoop on the “Own Banker” concept? What is that about and how can it be an asset to one’s plan?

Have you ever heard the story of the two farmers?

This is a story I learned from Sandra at Women Financial Power. Farmer A paid taxes on the seeds and when the harvest grew he didn’t have to pay any taxes on the harvest because he already paid them. Farmer B decided not to pay any taxes on the seeds but paid the taxes on the harvest. So, after the garden was flourishing, Farmer B paid taxes on the growth. The result of letting your money grow somewhere 20-30 years with no taxes is having to pay taxes on the earnings and I haven’t seen taxes go down every year, I’ve only seen them go up. So with the IUL you have that tax-free growth and tax-free distributions.

I don’t think there is a less recommended alternative, because it really is to each its own. I encourage people to do their research and decide what options are best for them. This option stood out to me because I wanted to do many things. It’s like an all in one for me. I can save for retirement, have cash in the policy for a rainy day like if I needed a loan to expand my business further down the line, but it’s still life insurance so I also have the death benefit that I can leave my loved ones and if something happened to me while I was living, I could use my death benefit while I was alive to take care of myself. Your family not having to create a go-fund-me, or having to spend lawyer fees to get your legacy is important.  

Being your own banker is the most common question, once you purchase your permanent life insurance plan (IUL), it starts to accumulate cash value. You can access this cash through policy loans and withdrawals, aka being your own banker, and you won’t receive any penalties for doing so. The money you borrow is paid back to yourself with interest, so you’re basically earning the interest that the banks would make. It is suggested that you wait at least 5 years before you borrow against yourself. Because the longer it sits the better.

This video explains this thoroughly:

What do you do ongoing, to ensure you are on top of the newest financial developments and options for WOC building wealth? How do you stay in the know to best help your network?

I make sure to stay up on my research and surround myself with those who are knowledgeable in the financial field. Honestly this is the best option. Your network is very important. The things I learn from people in the finance field always blows my mind.

Is there anything you’re working on or planning that you’d like our readers to know about? And how can we connect with you to stay informed and try out your systems?

I have many wonderful things in the works. I’m doing a complete re-brand of my AFTER7 THE LABEL brand as well as partnering with Women Financial Power to help more women secure their futures with life insurance and retirement planning.

We are putting something together that will help our women business owners tremendlesy be on the lookout for that. I also have my podcast that inspires thousands of women @goddessconfessions & you can follow me on IG @simplysheneka or visit simplysheneka.net for more.