What does it mean to achieve real wealth?

This is a space for people who want to think differently about money.

Welcome to The Real Wealth Project, where I explore what it really means to live well with money. This is where I write honestly about what I’m learning as I train to become a financial coach, and how I’m rethinking my own financial journey. If you find value in this work, you can help sustain it by becoming a paid subscriber.

Financial literacy is a superpower, and it can be learned.

I’ve spent almost 20 years creating macroeconomic and business content for Fortune 500 companies. I’ve written, edited and produced thousands of articles, podcasts and videos that high-level business executives used to grow their business.

But I realized after years of crafting and fine-tuning macro content on GDP, inflation, and investor and consumer sentiment that I knew very little about personal finance. I had only a vague understanding of how credit scores and retirement plans worked. At one point, I found myself with $15k in debt and no long-term financial plan (and no short-term financial plan, come to think of it).

I spent my life until my late-30s feeling like I didn’t understand money. I thought I “wasn’t good with money”. It wasn’t until I found a money management platform seemingly designed for me that I figured a few things out. From there, my interest in personal finance turned into something of a healthy obsession.

The more I learned, the more I was able to get my finances under control. I started saving money and eventually paid off my debt. I knew where my money was going. And most importantly, I started spending money intentionally, on things and experiences that were truly important to me.

Eventually, I started to see money as a tool to live my ideal life, and I started to see it as a source of joy. But that didn’t happen overnight. In fact, getting there took a couple of years of “doing it the hard way” and learning everything on my own.

So many people, maybe even you, have deep-seated beliefs about money, or their relationship to it, that bring up feelings of shame, embarrassment, anxiety or confusion. Believe me when I say this: the problem is not you.

Most of us out here are just doing the absolute best we can in a system designed by and for the privileged few. Inequity and inequality are real, and when I talk about “the system”, I’m talking about a financial system built by and for the most privileged among us. About a structure of working that no longer works for more and more people. And media that tell you that if you could only cut your daily latte habit, you’d have enough money to buy a house.

And while there is little we can do individually to solve the inequities in our society that lead to jobs that don’t pay a livable wage, in a country where vital necessities like health care are tied to our ability to work, there *are* things we can do to work within that system and make our lives as good as they can be.

Money is a powerful tool to build the life we want. It can be used as forms of expression, activism and freedom. No matter how much or how little of it you have, or how much or how little you think about it, there is no escaping the fact of it. It’s time we started to change the way we talk and think about money so that we can build real wealth in our lives.

Real wealth is a state of mind, not a specific number. Achieving real wealth is about meeting your own personal money goals, whatever they are. For some people, that means having a certain amount saved for emergencies. For others, it’s maxing out their 401(k) every year. For some, it means the ability to grab a $7 latte on the way to work completely guilt-free.

My goal is to help people achieve their own version of real wealth. Whatever your vision of that is, I hope you join this space so we can build it together.

If you’ve ever wondered what financial coaching could do for you — or might want to work together once I’m certified — click below to stay in the loop.

Barbara J. Isenberg is a Certified Personal Financial Education Instructor and financial-coach-in-training. She writes about money, meaning, and mindful spending at The Real Wealth Project and is proud to live in Hell’s Kitchen.