How Financial Freedom Leads to a Life by Design - Episode 75
Today, we are joined by our amazing guest, Kara Stevens. Kara shares her inspiring story of moving from New York to Ghana, finding joy, and creating a fulfilling life for herself and her family. We talk about the importance of financial intentionality, the benefits of living abroad, and how she balances her personal finance platform, The Frugal Feminista, with a more relaxed lifestyle.
About our guest:
Kara Stevens, founder of The Frugal Feminista, believes every woman is a revolution unto herself. Her self-help books have inspired thousands of women to improve their passions, finances, and relationships. Her relatable money and life advice has been featured in The Washington Post, USA Today, Women's Day, Yahoo Finance, Black Enterprise, and Huffington Post. When not writing about abundance and self-love, she enjoys quirky hobbies and laughing with friends over Sunday brunch.
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TRANSCRIPT:
[00:00:00]
Naseema: What's up, my financially intentional people. I am joined today with Kara Stevens. You guys are going to love her just like I do. She has incredible personal finance content and just an all around like incredible person. So thank you so much, Kara, for joining me.
Kara Stevens: Thank you, Nesima, for having me.
Naseema: Of course. And before we dive into your story, tell us all like how you ended up in Ghana, you're living there now, what's going on. We want to know the tea about that. Cause us girlies are always trying to be on that expat life.
Kara Stevens: Okay, yeah. My story started like in college when I went and studied in Ghana. And I loved it. And my family is from Antigua and I used to be shipped to Antigua during the summer times so my mom could have some peace. And so there were a lot of, similarities. So when the opportunity To study abroad came about one of my favorite professors.
I went to [00:01:00] Oberlin for undergrad. He was from Ghana, and I was a minor in African American studies, and he's like, you need to go home. And I was just like, you know what, I should, because it was between that and Japan, and he was looking at me like,
You need to go
Naseema: Is that really a choice? And
Kara Stevens: the similarities and a lot of questions around identity.
And it really helped me strengthen a pan Africanist perspective on the overall liberation of black people worldwide and what role I wanted to play in that. And so fast forward, I meet my husband and he's Ghanaian, but not in Ghana, but he'm in New York. And I was like, Oh, okay. Connected in the dots. And then I was a classroom teacher and then a school administrator for New York for 16 years.
And when Trump came about and the pandemic came about,
Naseema: you was in New York.
Kara Stevens: [00:02:00] what do we really want life to look like? And I also had a daughter by that time who was very Brown and very chocolatey. And being an educator and really seeing her options, it was almost, you had to have trade offs like, give her soul away for quality education and make her have all types of trauma.
And she'll have to pay for it in therapy, because she'd be the only dark girl, the only black girl in some of these spaces versus, some of the schooling for students predominantly that look like her may not have had the same resources and quality.
Naseema: Yeah.
Kara Stevens: so it was like, where can a black girl go seriously and have joy and be just a regular black girl.
And so those kinds of things that I wanted for her coupled with me coming to the end of being a vice principal and the frugal feminista growing on the side, it was really beginning to pick up. And my husband wanted to come back home because he hadn't been here for a while. With [00:03:00] Trump and all the other kind of political things that were going on in, in the country, it was, we really decided to get serious about what that meant.
And so we started to plan. We always talked about it, but when these kinds of things started to pop up and my daughter was getting older and questions around color were ultimately going to come up, that I wanted to spare her some of the things I had to go through growing up in the 80s in New York and So that was one of the decisions and a key part of that was the financial intentionality of what we want our exit plan to look like.
And so the reason we could leave was because we set up a runway for the money to be right to leave. And so that's how I got here and I'm hopefully I'm going to stay here. So that's the short end of it.
Naseema: I love it. I love it. So from New York to Ghana, like how has your day-to-Day life changed?
Kara Stevens: Honestly, they talk about, the soft life for black women and what that looks like or [00:04:00] slow mornings and things like that at first I was still in grind mode. I was like the frugal feminist that has to work. It has to be like this I have to do the same type of structure that I did as an administrator and do it here and lead all my Teams online and some of that still happens, but I exercise like consistently instead of in the corner of my room for 20 minutes and it was straight back onto the computer.
I take my mornings to take care of myself. And so my weeks look different. So instead of thinking of working, say, 40 hours a week, I think about what tasks are the most important to do. What can I delegate and how do I incorporate fun?
And how do I also incorporate? I take my daughter to school.
Speaker 4: even
Kara Stevens: And even the supports that I have, I'll be honest about that. We have a driver, we have someone that helps with cooking and cleaning. So I've outsourced that. So I have more time to be, I think, a nicer person, to be quite honest. I think part of the slow life people imply that it [00:05:00] makes you a kinder person, but I think when you have less to do, you have more time to actually be a less stressed version of yourself.
And so my day to day, honestly, is exercise in the morning and then I work for about three to four hours, and I pick up my daughter. And I also meet with my team twice a week, and it's not that I'm not putting in work, but, Managing like the frugal feminista and a job and then even having to think about what am I going to eat and even thinking about I got to pick up my daughter, there are people to help me so I could be driven while I think about ideas.
And so that's how life is for me and also being close to a beach and I'm not always at the beach, but my daughter wants to go. So I find that it's those little things that a lot of us talk about that. I must even admit, honestly, I was uncomfortable with before because it changes the level of privilege you have.
And being African [00:06:00] American or even Black in America, Our status in society has always been one of the underdog. And so to come here and then have a different level of privilege, it was a bit uncomfortable for me, but girl, I'm getting ready used to it. And I make sure that the things that I do still honor in terms of payment, in terms of treatment of people that, and I support an economy now that we hire people.
So that's what my day to day looks like.
So it's a different experience with class that people say they welcome, but I'm not sure. I've been getting used to it, but it was definitely an adjustment. I would say just coming from, being black in America. Yeah.
Naseema: especially like raising little Brown girls in America. My kids have never been to a country where the majority of the people look like them and to be able to give that to your daughter is a dream that in [00:07:00] order for me to give that to my daughters has been a dream for me.
For them to just have access to that because I think we don't Understand how important that is and just like you I was telling we were talking about this. Offline I did do a semester abroad in ghana when I was in college as well And that opened up my world the perspective broadly, but I want to give that to my kids earlier in life because I really feel like they just need to be exposed to something that's different for example, when I was growing up, I didn't think wealth was for me cause people that looked wealthy did not look like me, but when you go to Ghana, such tremendous wealth.
And this is Oats, oats, oats, oats, oats, oats, wealth, right? It's not the the depiction of Africa that they want you to see of just people living in grass villages and huts and all that kind of stuff. No, it's not that it is
Levels of wealth. And even if you're not wealthy, you still can afford a lifestyle where you [00:08:00] can own a home, you can have support staff, you can have a housekeeper and all of those things and.
As a black person in America that for the most part struggles, single dad, all that kind of stuff for me to see that was life changing about what I knew was possible for me. And to be able to give that to my kids is a gift. And again, it's about giving them the opportunity to opt out of a lot of the BS that we have had to endure growing up as black women through the 80s through the 90s being the only.
I'm tired of being the only in, 2024, still being the only in the 1st and 1 of a few people who have achieved certain things. In order to expand their horizons to be able to show them that. They can achieve so much by the people that they're surrounded with that look like them, that talk like them, that act like that, you know what I'm saying?
That they can relate to would be a dream to me. So I don't know how much people [00:09:00] like understand how important that is, but it's super important. And I actually just did a podcast episode on this. It's just like changing your circle of influence and how impactful that is on your journey through life period.
But especially if you're trying to be more financially intentional, right? But with all of those things, cost of living wise, what is the difference between Ghana and in New York?
Kara Stevens: Yeah. You said so many things I want to touch on, but I'll answer this question. I think a cost of living, so I know a lot of things people think is that Ghana is cheap. I would say it's cheaper. And so I think that's a big distinction because similar to the wealth that you talked about, you could live in maybe the way that you live in the States and have, the lattes and the brunches and even now that they're experiencing inflation and at the time of this conversation, the dollar is one dollar gives you 15 CDs.
And when I first got here about eight months ago, it was 1 [00:10:00] gives you 10 CDs. You could easily blow through, I wouldn't say a month's worth of pay in the States, but you can go through something comparable, depending on your circle of influence. So if you want to live the rich african life, you can definitely do that And then you may be back in the states trying to find some more dollars because the money I've seen it.
So to answer your question i'll share like how I still maintain like a level of Being intentional about money. So for example, you can go to a supermarket Which will have basically all of your what we would consider like a regular supermarket in the states or you can go to the market where which I love where the organic stuff in is run by market women and you have aisles and aisles of fresh produce tomatoes Onions all those things.
You could easily Oh spend about
Speaker 4: for our[00:11:00]
Kara Stevens: like your regular tomatoes onions cucumbers, like all the kind of green grocery stuff you would get. It's very inexpensive. So you would say I made a list. It's about maybe a hundred to 150 CDs, which is about $10.
And I'm talking about a whole bunch of stuff, like everything that can last you for at least two weeks. And if you go to some place like the supermarket and you get things that are similar, it would be two to three times the amount. So depending on the places that you want to roll and how you want to show up.
It really impacts how you can be sustainable. So Ghana could be at cost to a city, maybe not necessarily New York City or San Francisco, but a metropolitan city, if you don't check it. But if you're thoughtful about how and where you shop in certain places, there's that housing, which is another big thing in Ghana, you have to.
Pay rent a year in advance. So in the States, it's more of like month to month. You get a lease [00:12:00] and you pay month to month like, we want all our money now. Depending on where you want to live to rent is cheaper. I would say. 500 to 600 dollars. Can get you something very nice.
1700 can get you something really nice. And in terms of housing, something like 120, 000, depending on the community can get you something palatial. And so those are things like those big things would. Great way for African Americans or anyone who's listening to gauge. Is this something that I want?
Is this something that's possible? Home ownership may be a a big motivator for black people in America, especially in our most expensive cities. So, like I said, the cost of living and even just, they call it enjoyment entertainment. You could definitely blow a bag
Naseema: Oh yeah, and it is fun going out in Ghana
Kara Stevens: Right,
Naseema: Man. Mm
Kara Stevens: them. If you want [00:13:00] like massages, spas and nails and things like that, and then even luxury experiences, they're all there. So if you're able to think it is probably here and then there's a price tag for it. Yeah. But I think that's part of life is the trade off.
You want that, but the cost of living and other things are cheaper and even labor, I would say, arguably is lower cost. So you can get someone to deliver things to you, paint stuff for you, build something for you. That's custom made. That's much cheaper than in the States. So it's a trade off.
Naseema: And what about your monthly support staff budget?
Kara Stevens: Monthly support staff is, I would say less than. A hundred and fifty to two hundred dollars a month. And so I'll be transparent, we have a driver that is with us six days a week from morning to afternoon. And this is like fair prices and like even above market. So it's not like we're like trying to, squeeze somebody out their money.
No, we don't believe in that. And that's another thing is about like [00:14:00] being black and being sensitive to what it means to not be fairly paid. But also being an expat and knowing that people think you have money and sometimes you may not have as much money and then being a target for exploitation. So it's a balance. Yes.
Cause I can't give to everybody.
And so in terms of cooking, someone comes and cooks once a week for us and then someone comes and cleans twice a month. So Yeah, so it's about, I would say $150 to $200 for support staff of one full time and two part time.
Naseema: Wow. So your driver, what does he do when he's not driving? I
Kara Stevens: Chillin whatever he wants, as long as he's close by. And I think it's a good thing because, drivers have were previously Uber drivers here or Bolt or Yango, so they'll have to do a lot of driving around. So some people actually welcome just being a private driver. The trade off [00:15:00] with that is if the family leaves, then you're out of an income.
But if they're here long term, it can be something that really works for you.
Naseema: I love that. I need a driver.
Kara Stevens: No, I think we
all do.
Naseema: I'm serious. Man, I love it. I love it. Okay, so we talked about that. I know you wanted to touch on some other things about like just being growing up black in America versus being able to raise your daughter in Ghana.
Kara Stevens: Yeah, so when you were talking, it got me thinking like my perspective as an African American has been expanded living here, and I know sometimes when we think about the motherland or we think about Africa, some of us come from a place of cultural deficit, and I don't think that. We really understand how great we are until we live outside of the states.
And so my one of my biggest kind of [00:16:00] revelations or observations, I've always had it, but it's been solidified since I've been here, is that we can have two. We can be both firmly African American and what that means for us and fully embrace our African side without having to replace one with the other.
And in this sometimes hierarchy of blackness where African ness is put on this pedestal, living in Ghana has given me insight that if there's going to be a pedestal, we should all be on it because we have all contributed in the diaspora to what it means to be black, maybe not necessarily Ghanaian or Nigerian, but there's a blackness conversation.
The diaspora has to be at the table and be proudly sitting there with the contributions that we've made in so many ways with the few resources that we've had. And so I think that In thinking about our girls. And one of the things that I wanted to [00:17:00] remind my daughter recently is that it was Malcolm X's birthday on May 19th.
And that is part of your African American history. So it's the reverse that I have to remind her that while we are in Ghana and you learned the great things about what it means to be on the continent and embrace your Ghanaian side, is that you're an Antiguan girl and you're African American, and here's what that means.
Yeah. And so I want her to have a fully Pan African perspective and then she can decide for herself where she wants to be. But I think the larger conversation in the expat world of wanting to leave for the continent is that you're leaving. So you can return to your roots. And I think that your roots can be planted anywhere and that your roots from you from Oakland, or I'm from Hollis. That's very much a vibe. And so I can bring that fully who I am authentically and still like my name and, you know, I'm Monday born. So I'm Audra and I'm [00:18:00] Cabot from Hollis. And I think that the two are two great women and having that pride in who you are isn't only a black white thing.
It's also an African American in the diaspora thing. Like we need to be proud wherever we go of who we are.
Naseema: Yes. I love that. I love that. And not to overshadow y'all Antigua roots because those are super important too.
Kara Stevens: Exactly.
Naseema: Incorporate a little Carnival in there,
Kara Stevens: Exactly. Exactly. All those things. But I think that's the power of it that we were not from a deficit. And I think anywhere that we go, we need to come from a place of assets and even the world of money, thinking as someone in the, as a, in the diaspora, like, how can we begin to use the multi levels of assets that we have to generate more and including joy and peace and a sense of wellbeing for those that look like us.
Naseema: Yes, I love this. I love all this. And we can talk about that all day, but we need to dive into [00:19:00] how you entered into this personal finance space from being in education. How did you start your platform, Frugal Feminista? Yeah.
Kara Stevens: I started the Frugal Feminista because I was in student loan debt and I wasn't trying to pay it back and I was ignoring the bills and thinking that if I ghosted them, they will stop reaching out to me And I had credit card debt too, and I just thought don't they get it why they keep on sending me these bills They know i'm not gonna pay and so it's so true.
I was like in my 20s Now I was just like and I remember opening up one of my bills and the balance had gone up and I was like How are they asking for more money when the last time I didn't pay and my mom was there She was like girl, that's late fees You need to pay the money back And I was really just Oh, so this is not going to go away.
Like it just clicked to me. Oh, they're going to keep on asking for this money. So I was like, I should learn what this means. And so I'm so serious, and I went to the library. After I graduated from Oberlin with a degree in political science and [00:20:00] economics, by the way, but I was just like, you got books about money and they were like, ma'am, and I was like, yeah, do you have books about money?
They were like, over there. I was floored.
I read the whole section. called Personal Finance.
But there weren't that many books in this particular library. And the only book that was there was Glenda Bridgewood's Girl Get Your Money Straight. And it just opened my world up to this world of personal finance from a Black woman's perspective.
And that's how it started. I realized by reading that, I was like, wow, this money thing, I really gotta do something about it cause I have no job, I have all this debt and they want their money back. So I started reading and then started to find other black women like the OGs, Lynette Calfani Michelle Singletary, And I started a blog called girl, get your life together as a nod to Glenda's book and started sharing it with my girlfriends because they were like at that time, Glenda and that kind of cohort was like [00:21:00] 20, 30 years older.
So I had graduated from college. They were like far along in their financial journey and I was still starting. So that's how it started. And then it changed to fabulous and frugal. And then it became the frugal feminista and that's what we have now. And I started to find my voice. Around the things I wanted to say about money and then getting out of debt and realizing that I still had a lot of issues around money.
And that's where the healing around your relationship with money came because sometimes it is the amount of money, but sometimes it really has nothing to do. It's agnostic. You really have a lot of issues with like security, safety, love, and that's when it really started to make sense what I really wanted to share for people that look like me.
And that's how it started.
Naseema: Wow, that is amazing! That is First of all, hilarious. Like, why did they ask me to pay back this money? Okay, now I'm broke. I don't have no money. Stop playing. But I love that. But then you went on this journey, like full [00:22:00] circle. And let me just tell you, money trauma is real. And people just think that they can fix money issues by doing a step by step.
Okay, pay off this debt. Do that. But if you don't address those issues, these things are just going to recur. It just becomes cyclical. You're going to get back in those in debt. You're going to spend recklessly, like all of those things, like you have to heal that trauma and people hate when I say this, but most of the time you don't need a financial plan.
You need a financial therapist to work. Through these issues because they're deeply ingrained and sometimes you don't even realize where they come from like for me like growing up single dad Like I had to do everything around the house shopping and all that kind of stuff But then knowing that there wasn't enough money And having bill collectors call and having to tell them and lie and say my dad's not home You know what i'm saying?
Like all of that stuff triggers how you respond to money when it was time for me to go to college When I looked at the financial statements, I was like, I don't even understand how [00:23:00] much this is. And it was just like I guess I'll go, but not understanding, taking on that amount of debt, what that would mean in the longterm, because never having to even deal with that amount of money or even understand how that works, just like a whole bunch of things that can shape how you react to money as an adult. Those are things that need to be dealt with and healed in order for you to, be better with your money. And one of the ways, like even outside of therapy that I like to tell people, like I said earlier, is it's really about your circle of influence, right?
If you don't see people that look like you, similar backgrounds experiencing the financial success that you want to mirror It's hard for you to achieve that. And so just even changing your circle of influence can be part of that healing process. Ooh, I love it. I love it all. Yeah.
Kara Stevens: I completely agree. And I think that for a lot of us for those of us that can [00:24:00] actually Take a moment to stop and see what currently do I believe about money and kind of trace it back to that financial voice that might not even have been yours. And I think a lot of the work that I do with women is like what are your beliefs about money?
And where'd you first learn that? And how's it helping you now? And what would you like to believe? And what would it look like if you started to believe that? How would that impact your life and your finances? And even just create a space for us to dream differently about money is huge in terms of giving us an opportunity to build wealth, but in a way that doesn't seem so outside of ourselves, because sometimes the personal finance advice is just extremely rigid, extremely withholding and depriving. And that just triggers us even more. If you're going to tell somebody who's traditionally been the person that has been the source of security, that has been the responsible one that has been the one that has to do without and tell them they have to do that for another 10 years.
They're like, I'm good on wealth. I'm good. [00:25:00] I'll just have to deal with what I have right now because I can't do it. There's no joy. There's no fun. They're not going to do it. And rather than stop and say well, where are the ways in which that we can understand what your values are, understand what the trauma was, and we can't do anything about it, but we can actually speak to what will be needed at least in this point to stop the hemorrhaging, stop the bleeding, and attend to the emotional piece, or even, I'm not going to stereotype all black women, but hair is an important thing for us. You're going to try and tell me I can't do my hair every month, Sir, that is
not going to work. Right, right.
Naseema: or do it myself.
It does not work the same.
Kara Stevens: So I gotta do, I gotta do my micro locks or sister locks every month by myself.
And the 12 to 15 hours I can't be with my kids, can't have, that doesn't make sense. And so I think that's also part of it. A lot of the personal finance keeps telling us that we're wrong. You are wrong to wanna have hair like that. You are wrong to wanna have fun, you're wrong to wanna be human.
And [00:26:00] I think that is the big piece around this kind of element of healing is just wait a second. Where do I get to be centered in the conversation around money instead of me around the money? And I think historically. As people of color that has been as a revolutionary kind of concept to be like, wow, I get to be wholly and fully thought about and considered in this conversation about wealth and healing my way to wealth is a concept that I can actually feel good about, and that my feelings do matter.
And as with the econ background, people, I was taught that man by rational man, by nature is rational. I was like, who do you know? That's rational because it's not my family, show me and it's not the it's not the people in power They're not rational either when it comes to money. So y'all got it wrong.
And so when we start actually Being honest about the way emotions play and incorporate emotion instead of lie and ignore them then we'll be in a better position for everyone to have this kind of Stepping stone [00:27:00] towards wealth in a way that is sustainable
Naseema: I love that. I love that. And you have a community of women, mostly, I'm assuming, frugal feministas
Kara Stevens: Yes
Naseema: that you have cultivated. Talk to us about, the workings of that community and how you feel like people can benefit from being in it.
Kara Stevens: I think that if you're looking for a place where you can bring your whole self, you don't have to pretend that your finances are stellar because my finances were far from stellar and I've been able to redefine and reinvent myself financially and even emotionally. I would say then that is the place for you.
If you feel that you want to be held and to be seen and be heard. In all of your vulnerabilities, and then that be viewed as a strength and as an actual tool toward your wealth, then the frugal feminista community is for [00:28:00] you. We don't believe in shame and judgment. We allow ourselves to make mistakes, but also create plans of resilience.
And we understand that in any process that's worth, Achieving there's always going to be times when things aren't going to go well, and that's part of the journey. We're not looking for perfection. We're looking for progress. And I think that sisterhood and accountability are the keys to success.
And especially when you want to do it faster and you want to share ideas and you want to be celebrated and celebrate others. So I think that's what makes the Frugal Feminista community a special place because I really care about the private and financial lives of the woman that are in it. And sometimes, I'm not glad that the trauma happened to me.
No one's really glad about trauma, but that we are able to overcome it. And, just bask in the joy that we've been able to overcome. And I think there is a point where we'll always be a [00:29:00] work in progress, but there'll be a point like, you know what? I'm feeling a lot better. I'm feeling a lot more confident.
Like my accounts are showing it, my feelings around money are showing it. And so I don't think that you have to be in this healing phase forever either. So that's another big piece. we can get through this, the whole point is not to stay here, it's to go through it and be honest and open in order to get you to your North star, which is it will be the soft life, the fast life, whatever type of life you want, but it's the life that you want on the other side of that, right?
Naseema: I love that. And it seems to me when you were explaining the community is this place where you didn't know you needed to be there. And when you got there, you feel like in your soul that you are now complete that and then it just. Creates such a wonderful landscape to be able to heal and from that healing to be able to be in abundance and turn your finances around.
So I love that. And that's totally the vibe that I'm getting. So many people probably need [00:30:00] this and don't even know they need to be there. But I just, I remember being in one to one community and being there like, huh. This is what it feels like to be surrounded by excellence, but people that can turn up like me.
So people that I can aspire to people that I can inspire, but we can be our whole selves. It is so hard, especially as a black woman in America to be your whole self because of all the code switching that has to happen because of, all the different situations where, like we talked about earlier, you're the only it is so hard.
So the piece to know that you can have a community where you can fully be you and be honest and be open and know that people genuinely care is priceless. So it sounds like an amazing community.
Kara Stevens: Thank you so much, Naseema.
Naseema: Of course, but on top of like, all the amazing things you're doing with the [00:31:00] community.
You also have a phenomenal book that you're relaunching. Can you talk to us about that?
Kara Stevens: Yes. So I am relaunching heal your relationship with money. I wrote that book actually what I consider to be like a love letter to women that look like me around their finances. Cause there are a lot of us that extremely educated all the degrees. All the titles and inside we're still healing our inner child when it comes to money And so I wrote that love letter as A reminder that we're in it together You're not alone and here's some steps for you to really Self heal like here's some of the steps that you can take over a four week period to really think about the sources and the origins of your financial story, which often aren't yours because you are a child and understanding that even the people that.
Speaker 16: going to be for
Kara Stevens: Kind of you inherited their money story, having even compassion for them, for things that they may not have been able to teach you because they [00:32:00] didn't know, but then still also honoring that it wasn't taught to you. And so that there is a whole, and then be able to reconcile that. It's not an either or it's a both and then the second week.
Once you begin to understand what were the stories? What were the reasons that I do what I do now about money and what the sources of it, the second week really helps you really understand what is my financial voice. If I actually had more power to turn up that volume, like what has she or he, or they've been telling me this whole time that I haven't been able to listen to because of the other voices and the financial noise.
And then the third week, it's about building a systems and structures. To really amplify that voice and week four is just some of the other rituals and routines to help you maintain financial boundaries in your family or in your community. Now that you've been able to really reconnect with your financial voice.
And so people who've read it, we have like over a hundred something reviews on Amazon, mostly five star just trying to [00:33:00] put it out there. That really show that it's an easy read and helpful for. women to really think about their finances in a way that it's just not spreadsheets and deprivation and it explains why sometimes it's difficult for you to do what you do with your finances because the healing hasn't happened.
And for a lot of us, the
healing hasn't happened. And once that healing happens, your life is going to take off, not just in your finances, but in other ways. So I love this book. Um, and I'm glad I've been able hopefully to serve as a support for women and men. Who really want to get to the heart of why I feel that way.
Why I feel so much shame. Why I feel so much guilt. Why I feel so much anger, fear and confusion. And there's always a reason. There's always a reason. So give me an opportunity to not make you feel like you're crazy. It's an opportunity to validate your trauma and give it like a language to it.
Naseema: I love that. I love that. We can find your book on Amazon. Is that the best [00:34:00] place to get it?
Kara Stevens: Yes.
Naseema: Okay. So, I'll put the link.
Kara Stevens: That's the best place to get. I can also give you a link. to like the first couple of pages for free. And then, so you can
Speaker 15: Oh,
Kara Stevens: taste. Yeah. And yeah. And that will be helpful for you just to, be able to take your time and ease into the process. And then it'll direct you toward Amazon or wherever it's sold for you to get your own copy.
Naseema: I love it. I love it. So pick up the book on Amazon, check out her community, her amazing community. But Cara, I just want to thank you. Cause you're such a dope individual.
I hope people see this, see you shining through this podcast because I definitely feel it. And I'm just blessed to be able to be in your presence and to be able to get to know you better and learn all about your expat life in Ghana, because I will be there with you soon.
Kara Stevens: Yes. Come through. Yeah. I love it. And the more of us here, the merrier, honestly, because there's a lot of great things happening, a lot of great things that we can do and thanks for having me, that's the other [00:35:00] thing. Cause I, I've been a fangirl for a while.
Naseema: Oh, I'm in your fangirls. Oh, no. OG fangirl. From the beginning.
Kara Stevens: Thank you so much.
Naseema: But anyway, thank you so much, Kara. I really appreciate you. And I wish you all the best. And I'll see you soon in Ghana.
Kara Stevens: Yes. Thank you. Missy. Well, Thank you.
Hey there I’m Naseema
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