We have so many more COVID-19 cases to contend with across the globe, a new U.S. Supreme Court Justice, the Dodgers aiming to win a World Series title since 1998 (yes, I’m biased since the Dodgers are originally from my father’s hometown of Brooklyn, NY), lots of activity in the stock market including the pending Ant Group IPO, and a U.S. election just days away.

Who needs to take some breaths? Me. Perhaps you do too.  

Well, I come bringing some good news because amidst all of the market news and trends, you must still go on living life to have the life you want. First, a fellow Charisse Says community member let me know that she got a new part-time job opportunity during this pandemic. She leveraged her skill set to bring more money in her market. Here’s what she said: 

“I cannot begin to tell you how helpful it is and will be in this pandemic to be able to still accelerate payments on my student loans. “

-Tosin O. 

Congratulations to Tosin as she is living into her purpose and making bold moves in the midst of it all! Do you have a success story during this time? Please share it on my blog or with me directly.  

Second, I want to share a few other places that should pique your interest and that you can take action on NOW:

1. Black Wealth Matters.  As a Black female who focuses on wealth creation for a living, I care about this topic A LOT. You may have already guessed this given my posts :). We should all care about Black Wealth given its impact on our entire economy. Money maven Farboosh Torabi, who I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know in prior years, released her Black Wealth album, a collection of 11 intimate conversations with leading Black and African-American individuals highlighting key issues at the intersection of money, race and racism. You will hear from a variety of powerful voices, from musician and actress Queen Latifah to bestselling author and entrepreneur Tiffany Dufu and star journalist. Farnoosh is amazing and has also done her part to raise consciousness on why Black Wealth matters. You will surely get some good tidbits here. Also ask yourself - are you doing anything to advance Black Wealth?  

2. Get Your Money Back. I recently read a New York Times article, “Help! My Travel Agency Shut Down and I’m Out $2,000,” which detailed the experience of navigating through getting money back for a defunct company. I think this story also applies to how you might get your money back (or get concessions) from credit card charges made with businesses that might have gone out of business during the COVID-19 pandemic period. As the article portends, you are somewhat protected by the Fair Credit Billing Act, which was enacted to protect consumers from unfair credit billing practices, and considers “charges for goods and services you didn’t accept or that weren’t delivered as agreed” one of several types of billing errors that consumers have the right to dispute. Also, if there is a dispute, you should also submit the dispute in writing, via snail-mail, to the address the card issuer specifies for billing errors. Finally, put the offending company on blast by posting on social media. You can say something to the effect of ‘Can you believe what this company did to me?’ Or saying, ‘I’ve been a cardmember for the last 20 years and I’m getting rid of it from now.’ That’s when you may get your money back. 

3. Celebrate the wealth wins. My husband got the opportunity to work on a new project to further his professional goals. That’s a wealth win! We celebrated that win with our 18-month-old daughter by taking her to a farm where she could get some fresh air and run freely. She enjoyed it and has also committed to stay in the driver’s seat of her own destiny! Whatever ‘wealth win’ you achieve, take some time to enjoy it. Life is too short not to. 

Whether it’s getting a part-time job opportunity, understanding and advancing black wealth, getting your money back, or celebrating or wealth gains with loved ones, you have agency to have the things you want. 

Now, go get ‘em. Enjoy the rest of the week. Happy Halloween too!