Achieving Financial Health: Bertha Winston's Proven Strategies and Personal Transformations

Welcome to "The Beauty in You," the podcast dedicated to helping women find inspiration and rediscover themselves. In today's episode, Bertha Winston and Chi Quita Mack have an empowering discussion on financial health and personal growth.

Bertha reveals her journey as a radio personality, author, and entrepreneur, delving into the tax advantages of business ownership and sharing successful financial strategies like maxing out 401ks, the 10-10-80 rule, and debt elimination. Chi Quita and Bertha also discuss the importance of finding one's purpose, overcoming fear, and the healing power of writing and devotion.

Tune in for practical tips, inspiring stories, and a deep dive into achieving financial stability and personal fulfillment. 

Remember to rate, review, and subscribe to "The Beauty in You" Podcast where beauty starts from within.

To work with Bertha Winston:
http://www.thewinstonexperience.com
www.retiredanddebtfree.com

To work with Chi Quita Mack:
Take Back Your Life 1-on-1 Coaching — Life Coach - The ChiQuita Mack
To Purchase The Beauty in You Workbook:
https://www.thechiquitamack.com/shop-tcm/p/the-beauty-in-you-a-guide-created-to-help-you-discover-the-best-version-of-you
Chi Quita Mack's Website: https://www.thechiquitamack.com
Chi Quita Mack Shop/ Merchandise: https://www.thechiquitamack.com/shop-tcm
Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thechiquitamack

Chapters

• 6:47 Overcome fear and seek out opportunities
• 14:13 Overcame fear and found healing through writing
• 19:49 Book came about, God makes a way
• 28:43 Pay yourself first, give to charity second
• 33:11 Minimize expenses, reduce debt, plan for retirement

Transcript

Jacqueline G. [00:00:01]:
Welcome to the Beauty in you podcast, a safe place created for all women to come relax, get inspired, and be constantly reminded that they have not lost the ability to be who they once were. Join us as we dive into the true meaning of rediscovery through inspiring guests and topics such as healing, self love, and creating a positive mindset. So sit back, relax and get comfortable as we dive into this week's episode. Here's your host, Chiquita Mack.

Chi Quita Mack [00:00:30]:
Hey y'all, welcome back to another episode of the Beauty and you podcast. I am super excited for today. I promise you are going to leave here with so much knowledge and things that you could implement today with an amazing career as a radio personality. She hosted the Eagle Kind radio broadcast on 13:40 a.m. wYCB for eight impactful years. She is a devoted wife and a proud mother of three accomplished adult children. Beyond her ministry work, she is the office manager for a prestigious law firm in the DMV metropolitan area. She is also a successful entrepreneur, owning several businesses, and has co authored three analogies.

Chi Quita Mack [00:01:16]:
Her latest achievement is her newly finished book, love like you've never been hurt. Welcome to the Deedee and you podcast. Bertha Winston. How are you?

Bertha Winston [00:01:28]:
I am fantastic and I am so excited and so thankful that you got me on your show today. I am delighted.

Chi Quita Mack [00:01:37]:
I'm happy that you're here. I'm so excited for what you're going to share with us today and what you're doing now. And you have such an incredible journey and I know that the lessons that you're going to talk about are going to be great.

Bertha Winston [00:01:51]:
Yes, yes, yes.

Chi Quita Mack [00:01:52]:
So with that being stated, as you know, this is called the beauty in you podcast, which means I got and get into that rediscovery journey. So can you please lead us on your rediscovery journey?

Bertha Winston [00:02:06]:
Rediscovery journey is growing up, I was grew up in North Carolina and when I was 16, I moved to Washington, DC, which was an experience coming from North Carolina. And I enrolled in the school in the district and that was a. A shock, I guess. A culture shock. Yeah, because when you were in the country and you transferred to the city, as they call it, it's adjustment. It wasn't an adjustment, but I did adapt to it and went on to finish school in DC. I've been here since I was 16 and that's been over 50 some years and it's been a journey I've enjoyed. I never went back to North Carolina to live after coming here and I've had some experiences along the journey, going to high school and then getting married and having a family.

Bertha Winston [00:03:07]:
So it's been a joy. I've lived life on purpose, you know, all of our lives. Are we a purpose? We're here for a purpose. And once you find that out that, you know, God have all of us here for a purpose. So we need to live on purpose and we need to fulfill that purpose while we're here. And that's my passion and that's my goal. God has been so good to me and done so many marvelous things and opening so many doors for me. So I'm just grateful to him that he has allowed me to be in the spaces that I am and that he has kept me and protected me and, oh, wow.

Bertha Winston [00:03:47]:
Being a born again Christian is a journey, and it's a blessing that, you know, I found him at the time. Well, he really found me. I didn't find him, but so that has helped my life tremendously, you know, with the decision that I made and, you know, raising my kids and now I got grandkids and I got great grandkids. So it's been a life of greatness. And I just, I could say, you know, he's blessed me with some great jobs and it's just been a great journey. I mean, I've had some challenges, but we all overcome them, you know, and move on because life, you're going to have challenges in life, so. But you just hurtle over them and keep it moving.

Chi Quita Mack [00:04:32]:
Absolutely. You said something that, like, really struck like, oh, yeah, purpose, purpose. It's so important that we realize that we are all here for a purpose.

Bertha Winston [00:04:45]:
Yes, we are.

Chi Quita Mack [00:04:45]:
And most of us spend our whole lives trying to find that purpose or fulfill that purpose and fulfill that void. What advice would you give to someone that is just struggling to find their purpose?

Bertha Winston [00:05:02]:
Well, first of all, I would say, you know, find out who you are. You know, we first got to discover who we are and, you know, why God placed us on this earth. And I would say, develop who you are. Ask God. He made you. Yeah, you know, and that's, you know, just seek a God and find out, you know, why am I here, Lord? What purpose? And who can, you know, who am I here to bless or who am I here to encourage or who am I here for to be a blessing to? You know, we're not here for everybody. Everybody has been assigned somebody and find out where your assignment is. God has placed me in ministry.

Bertha Winston [00:05:50]:
That's pretty much my assignment. And then not thinking that I was going to be an author. So now he had put me in that space. So I'm writing that I might encourage some people and heal them by my writing about my story. Cause we all have a story, and someone is waiting for that story. So I would encourage you to develop who you are. And once you find out, go for it. There's nothing that you can't do that you put your mind to.

Bertha Winston [00:06:22]:
Redirect, redefine and renew you wherever you are because you have a purpose and you have a reason for being here. And the sooner you fulfill that purpose, you'll be happy. You know, you'll be happy once you find out what you're here for and why and just do what you can do with the help of God. We can't do nothing without him.

Chi Quita Mack [00:06:47]:
We sure can't. And I agree with. I agree with that completely. It's so important. Like she said, you guys, you know, seek out, learn who you are and then go for it. Sometimes I talk to clients and they're like, I don't know what I should be doing. And I'm like, no, you know, you know what it is, but it's that fear inside of you that's holding you back. And so while you're the thought of what you should be doing, it's popping up.

Chi Quita Mack [00:07:15]:
You're suppressing it because you're afraid.

Bertha Winston [00:07:18]:
And it's real. Fear is so real. You're worried. I mean, we all been there, you know, I've been there. Still have some fears, but I've learned to just go walk over them because fear will hold you back.

Chi Quita Mack [00:07:33]:
Oh, yeah.

Bertha Winston [00:07:34]:
And you won't do anything. I'm so inquisitive sometimes about myself. I like challenges. I mean, once I get, once I complete one task, I'm ready for the next one and the next one. So that makes my life exciting because, okay, what am I? What you got for me next to God? You know? And sometimes I just have to say, okay, God, you moving a little fast now. Slow down.

Chi Quita Mack [00:08:03]:
Hold up, now.

Bertha Winston [00:08:03]:
Hold up, hold up. Now. Wait a minute. I gotta catch up with you. But that's what make life so great. You could do all things through Christ that strengthens you. And sometimes my husband, like, where do you get the energy? Where do you get the strength to do the things that you do? I was like, it's goddesse. And if he keep giving me tasks and challenges, I love it because I love challenges.

Bertha Winston [00:08:33]:
That's how I got hooked up with Taria.

Chi Quita Mack [00:08:38]:
Teria's amazing, by the way.

Bertha Winston [00:08:39]:
Like, she really, I've had some challenges working with her, but, hey, rafter, you could do it. You could do it. And she was right. I can, and I'm going to, you know, I'm not. I'm not a quitter, and I'm not a failure. I'm going to try it. And all they stand and say, nothing beats a failure, but nothing beats a. How does it go? Nothing feats a failure but a try.

Bertha Winston [00:09:06]:
I'll try it. I will try. I'm very inquisitive about doing things, and you tell me what you want me to do, I'm going to try it. If I fail, I just found I'm a trick, I'm a fail trying it.

Chi Quita Mack [00:09:22]:
And it's not even failure, you know, like, we will try it. Like, for me, I'm going to try it. And if it doesn't work out, I'm like, oh, there's just another way. I just didn't.

Bertha Winston [00:09:31]:
That wasn't for me. Yeah. Okay, next.

Chi Quita Mack [00:09:34]:
Let me go this way. That didn't work. Okay, okay, hold up. I'm gonna get it this time. I'm gonna get it this time.

Bertha Winston [00:09:39]:
Let me go this way.

Chi Quita Mack [00:09:40]:
It's so much power in just understanding that in life. You're gonna go through something.

Bertha Winston [00:09:47]:
Yes.

Chi Quita Mack [00:09:48]:
Nothing's gonna be perfect.

Bertha Winston [00:09:50]:
Nothing. Hey, that's okay. Yes. Just. Just do what you're doing. Get through it, you know, with the help of God. You gonna make it. You gonna make it.

Bertha Winston [00:09:59]:
Yeah. And that. That keeps me going, you know? You know, I'm very passionate about my walk with God, you know, and that really keeps me on the right path. And that's. That's what I've always wanted, lord, you know, lead me and guide me and direct me where I should be, who I should be with, who I should, who I should attach to, who I shouldn't. Those that I don't need to be a part of, shut the door, you know, those that I do, open the door. And that's what he would do. You know, he said, acknowledge him in all of your ways and he will direct your path.

Bertha Winston [00:10:36]:
And he is doing that. He's directing my path. I mean, it's like bam, bam, bamdez, bam. For the last two years, my life has been on a roller coaster. It really has. In a good way. Yeah, it's been on a roller coaster, you know, from writing the books, from being on podcasts, being on interviews, doing book signing, it's been a roller coaster. I mean, it's been nonstop.

Bertha Winston [00:11:00]:
Going to Dubai, going to Canada, going to Florida, going to Atlanta. It's been on.

Chi Quita Mack [00:11:08]:
I love it.

Bertha Winston [00:11:09]:
Until it was like, last week, last month, we had our family reunion. I was like, I don't want to go on another trip.

Chi Quita Mack [00:11:18]:
Like, I'm everywhere. Hold on, let me catch my breath on another trip.

Bertha Winston [00:11:23]:
I was like, I don't want to fly nowhere. I don't want to drive nowhere. And my kids were so stunned that I wasn't going. My grandson, he calls it, can't believe you're not going. You always go everywhere. I say, yep, I'm always going everywhere, but I'm not going this time. Yes, ma'am. And that's it.

Bertha Winston [00:11:45]:
Yeah.

Chi Quita Mack [00:11:45]:
And I think that. And I even think that is a lesson within itself to teach, because we do so much and we're always going so fast. We are for others and for ourselves sometimes. And it's okay to say, no, not this time.

Bertha Winston [00:12:02]:
I'm serious, and I don't regret it. I didn't go. And I was like, okay, y'all have fun. I'm not going. And I'm glad I. I don't. I don't have no regrets that I didn't go. I mean, I miss seeing them, but I just had to take.

Bertha Winston [00:12:19]:
I had to think about me at that time, you know, my body saying, no. I've been traveling since January, and I'm tired. I just need to. I just need not to go anywhere, you know? And that's what I did. And I'm proud of myself. My husband was proud, too.

Chi Quita Mack [00:12:37]:
I'm proud.

Bertha Winston [00:12:37]:
I'm proud of him. Cause he never travels with me.

Chi Quita Mack [00:12:42]:
It's such a.

Bertha Winston [00:12:43]:
You don't need to go. I know I don't need to go. Well, what stopped me, really, from going? Cause I was going. He was supposed to go, and my other daughter was supposed to go. Well, he backed out, and she backed out, and I was, like, driving 6 hours by myself. I'm just not doing it. And I do. And kudos is one of the young people in my BPC group with Tarea, she wrote a book called your anointed.

Bertha Winston [00:13:13]:
No, I love it.

Chi Quita Mack [00:13:15]:
I love it.

Bertha Winston [00:13:16]:
I said, that's my anointed no, no.

Chi Quita Mack [00:13:20]:
And it's a full sentence with no explanation needed.

Bertha Winston [00:13:24]:
No explanation. Because, like, my daughter said, well, why weren't you going? He said, I'm just not going. I don't need to give you no explanation. I'm just not going. That's it. Yes. So they had to accept it.

Chi Quita Mack [00:13:39]:
Yes. They had to accept it. And everybody's okay.

Bertha Winston [00:13:42]:
Everybody's okay. I saw pictures. I saw them I said, yeah. Y'all so happy. I'm happy, too. At home.

Chi Quita Mack [00:13:54]:
I love it.

Bertha Winston [00:13:55]:
I love it.

Chi Quita Mack [00:13:57]:
So I know that you are living like, you're just living so much, you're accomplishing so much in your journey. And you did mention about you being an author. What have you found special about now? Writing?

Bertha Winston [00:14:13]:
Oh, my. It has been special because I never expected to do it. I knew one day I was going to do it, but when I made up my mind that I'm going to do it, it was a fear. Echo that word. But my excitement overweight the fear. And I said, okay, I'm going to give it a try. And so the writing has been healing for me and I. I believe for other people as well, because I wrote about my life and my story, and this is something that people don't talk about, you know, and I knew it was time for me to put it in writing so that someone else could be helped and healed as well as myself.

Bertha Winston [00:15:03]:
And so it has been a journey and it has been a blessing. It has also been an encouragement to other people. They pick up the book and they read my life story, book love like you never been heard. And they read it in one setting. They can't put it down, you know, and I, and I think about what if I hadn't been obedient to God and did it? Some people lives wouldn't be touched. And mostly all the people that read the book, they never knew the story. So they are in shock. Yeah.

Bertha Winston [00:15:38]:
About my life. I known you for all these years and I never knew that about you. I said, yeah, it's something I didn't talk about. And then God said it's time to talk about it. And so that has been a healing and has been a blessing and has been. So that book has got me to nine books now. Just that one book has caused me to co author and write a more books. I'm getting ready to do a collaboration now on finances because that's what I teach.

Bertha Winston [00:16:10]:
So I'm spearheading that now, hoping that it'll be out in September. So once you start the journey of writing, it becomes easy and all it take is one. And then it just continues.

Chi Quita Mack [00:16:27]:
It does so.

Bertha Winston [00:16:28]:
And it's in this therapy as well, writing this therapy, you know, and all of us have a story and someone needs to hear your story. So that's what I realized when I wrote my book. This is going to help a lot of people be healed from the hurt and the pain that they have kept inside for all of these years. I mean, just think, I did the book two years ago. I'm 73 now, so look how long it took me to put this story in the book.

Chi Quita Mack [00:17:01]:
Yeah.

Bertha Winston [00:17:01]:
But since I did that, my life has changed. My own. My own life has changed. So it's a change, and it makes a change in you, and you appreciate what you've done and how you've done it and why you did it. So that's. Yeah, that's been my story.

Chi Quita Mack [00:17:21]:
I love it. I love it so much. There's so much power in words. There's so much power in our stories. And I found that, too, when I wrote my workbook. It was actually a composition notebook. I was healing, going through my healing journey, and I was writing down ways to identify my triggers and ways to work through my rediscovery. And I'm writing questions, and I'm doing it.

Chi Quita Mack [00:17:44]:
And it was literally like the black, old school, little, cheap, little copy book that I turned into a workbook.

Bertha Winston [00:17:50]:
And I'm like, no.

Chi Quita Mack [00:17:51]:
Wow. You know, I was scared at first. I was afraid to put it out there, but I knew how lost I was in trying to figure out myself. Yes, I know that there's so much hurt out there that we suppressed, and we found that this book can be a starter to your journey, a starter to get you thinking about those difficult questions and thinking about how to identify those triggers and thinking about accepting feedback and goal setting things that we don't, once we get through it all, but really digging into, am I happy? What's keeping me back from happy? Am I placing my happiness on other people? All those things to work out? And so I find so much power in that. And now I feel called to write another book.

Bertha Winston [00:18:38]:
Yes. Yes. Well, yeah, I guess I wanted to do. I wanted to do the financial book, because that's what I've been doing for the last ten years. And so I knew I would. I just didn't know when. And so it hit me three weeks ago. Okay, it's time for you to write that financial book.

Bertha Winston [00:18:59]:
I was like, hmm, okay, I'm gonna do this. And so I started, and, damn, it's in the fruition.

Chi Quita Mack [00:19:08]:
I love it.

Bertha Winston [00:19:10]:
And it's going very smoothly so far. I had my first Zoom meeting with the group last month. July 1. Yeah, Monday. And it's going very well. And I decided to do it as a collaboration, because in my circle, there are a lot of financial people that have tips on finances, on credit repair, on investment, on things like that. So I was like, well, you know, that would be good. For us to come together, since we're all in business together, come together and do a collaboration about our journey, financially, being wealthy, being financially successful.

Bertha Winston [00:19:49]:
And so that's how that book came about. Most of them was very, very excited and willing to do it. So I say God. And, you know, when you, when God gives you something, you know, he's going to make a way for it to be done and he's going to put the people in your path that needs to be connected to it. And that's what I love so much about it. If you seek him and ask him, you know, like he said, acknowledge him in all your ways and seek him, and you should find. So if we acknowledge him and put him in our decisions, then we can't go wrong. We cannot go wrong because he wants to be involved in our lives every day.

Bertha Winston [00:20:40]:
And that, that's what I do. And that's how. Where this book came from. Yeah. The glory of his presence. I do my devotion every day. And I send out devotions every day. Every day.

Bertha Winston [00:20:53]:
I sent out devotion on Facebook, I sent out a Bible verse, I sent out a thought of the day, and I sent out a prayer for the day. And I was like, wow, I should put that in a book.

Chi Quita Mack [00:21:06]:
Absolutely.

Bertha Winston [00:21:07]:
I do it every day. That's my life. That's my beginning of my day. That's how I start my day. So why not put it in a book so other people could start their day the same way? So that's how that book came about, the glory of his presence. And I read it. I read it every day, although I do my devotion. So it's like a 90 day devotional.

Bertha Winston [00:21:32]:
And that's a good way to get started. Your day, you know, always put God first. You know, you want to give him the best, the best part of your life, and that's when you wake up in the morning because nobody's bothering you, then you got the fresh, and he want you. He want the best of you. So how better way to give in the best of you is when you first wake up in the morning. And that's what I do. I love. That's what I do.

Bertha Winston [00:21:58]:
Yeah, I love that, too. It is like, people will call me and I don't even answer the phone. That's my quiet time with God. I don't answer my cell, I don't answer house phone. So when I get finished, I said, do you all know what time it is in the morning, right? Y'all know what I do early in the morning? Yeah, mom, you're doing your devotion.

Chi Quita Mack [00:22:20]:
My mom does too. So I know between seven and 745, do not call her. And sometimes I'll forget. I'm like, oh. And then she'll call me, like, you know, I was in my group, I'm.

Bertha Winston [00:22:31]:
Like, yes, yes, yes, yes. You know, I tell people, I said, don't call me before 11:00. Yeah, I don't schedule anything unless it's really an emergency that I really have. That's the only time I don't schedule anything before 11:00 because I know I'm gonna use time in the morning, you know, with God. That's just my life. That's the way I start my day. And it's, it feels so good because whatever happened, you're ready for it. Okay.

Bertha Winston [00:23:04]:
I've talked to God, I've told him, and he knows, you know, okay, this is my day, and I'm giving it to you. So the rest of the day, you have to do what you have to do with me and for me. And it never fails. So that, that's how that book came about.

Chi Quita Mack [00:23:21]:
I love that. One thing that popped in my head was like, when you want to do something, like you said, you, I'm going to write this book. And then it was like the Lord said, you know, it's time to write this book. There's times where I thought of, like, I felt overwhelmed with an idea, and I'm like, so frustrated and I can't figure it out. I'm like, you know what? I'm just going to put it to the side. And out of nowhere it clicks. Like everything falls into place. The people I'm supposed to be working with, I get phone calls and I'm like, yeah.

Chi Quita Mack [00:23:50]:
And I learned that, like, the Lord will not steer you wrong when the time he will not, he will note, be there.

Bertha Winston [00:23:58]:
It will. Yeah. And during my devotion, that's when I get a lot of instructions from God. Yeah, that's why I don't allow anything to interrupt it, because he gives me instructions of things to do. I was like, wow, I never even thought of that. And I, you know, write him down. And so, yeah, so that's why I'm so dogmatic over it, because God talks to me and gives me ideas about things for life, you know, and that's so important because I want to involve him in everything that I'm doing. So when he gives me these nuggets and do it this and drop something in my spirit, and I write, I said, okay.

Bertha Winston [00:24:42]:
I never even thought about that. But, yeah, so that's very important. You know, God said, if you stand still, you know that I'm God because he can speak to you while you are standing still. If you ripping and running and going here, there, God can't really talk to you. But if you just be quiet before him, before his presence, he will give you instructions and he will lead you and guide you in our truth. And that's what I do. I love it.

Chi Quita Mack [00:25:14]:
Oh, my gosh. I. I want to switch gears and I want to talk about what you coach and what you teach financially and those strategies. So talk me through what you're doing with that and what we should know.

Bertha Winston [00:25:28]:
Okay. So in 1960, when I was 62, I wanted to retire, and I started evaluating my finances, and I saw I wasn't financially set to retire because I didn't have, I wouldn't have enough money to sustain me to pay all of my bills if I retired at that time. So then I had to kind of like, change my mindset. Well, okay, you can't retire now, so now you need to plan your retirement. I didn't plan my retirement. So that's, I think Zig Zagley said, if you plan to fail, you fail to plantain, so you have to plan your retirement. If you had, and if you had an age, like, I was at 62, and I wanted to retire because I had mapped out that I was going to retire in 2020, that wasn't happening because I didn't have an emergency fund. I didn't have no investment.

Bertha Winston [00:26:30]:
I didn't. I was living paycheck to paycheck. My credit was jacked up. So I had to take all of those things into consideration. And my credit card was my emergency fund. So I had to read, I had to change my whole life regarding finances. So when I came to the conclusion and the decision, this is what I had to do. I had to begin working some strategies, some financial strategies.

Bertha Winston [00:27:01]:
I had to start cutting back on some things that I really didn't need. I had to max out my 401k. That was the first thing that I did because I had to find money that would be tax deferred so that I would have more money. So I maxed out my four hundred one k. And if you have a. If your boss or your company is giving you a percentage of whatever you put into your 401K, if you not taking advantage of it, you're leaving money on the table.

Chi Quita Mack [00:27:36]:
Okay.

Bertha Winston [00:27:36]:
So my company was giving me 4%. There are some companies that gives you a match. If you put in 30%, they put in 30%. But my company didn't do that. So I had to override what they were doing because it was my retirement. I'm the one going to be retired, and I'm going to need the money to retire. So I began maxing out my 401k, putting in. Instead of 4%, I started putting in 15%.

Bertha Winston [00:28:04]:
It was a sacrifice. But you got to do what you got to do, right?

Chi Quita Mack [00:28:08]:
Yes, ma'am.

Bertha Winston [00:28:10]:
And it was good because it was tax deferred. Uncle Sam wasn't getting that money. I was getting more money. You defer from taxable expenses, then Uncle Sam can't get it because, you know, he get his money on the top. So there was one rule that I discovered on this journey, the 1010 80 rule. You pay God his 10%, you pay yourself 10%, and then you. The 80% is for your bills and whatever else. No one teaches you to pay yourself.

Bertha Winston [00:28:43]:
No, nobody pays themselves. And I came to the conclusion, okay, if Uncle Sam gets his money off the top, then I need to be. I'm the one working, not him. I'm working for this. I'm working for my financial success, bro. If he's taking his off the top, then I need to give myself some money as well. So I encourage you, if you have a job and you are not doing this, 10, 10 80, if you are, you could, you don't have to. If you're not in church, then you could find a charitable contribution organization to give 10% to or 5%.

Bertha Winston [00:29:24]:
But don't shortchange. You always give yourself 10%. I didn't have an emergency fund, so I had to develop an emergency fund because emergencies are going to come. It's just when and are you prepared? 60 or maybe 80% of people don't have $500 in their account that they could go to for in emergency.

Chi Quita Mack [00:29:48]:
Yeah.

Bertha Winston [00:29:49]:
And so those are strategies that I had to develop. So I, you know, in an emergency fund, to me to start is at least $300, $3,000 or six months of your salary.

Chi Quita Mack [00:30:04]:
Your salary?

Bertha Winston [00:30:04]:
Yeah, yeah, six months. At least six months. Then my credit score was a mess, so I started working on my credit as well, and I started paying down all of my bills because my credit cards, most of them were maxed out. So I had to stop using my credit cards, put them away and don't use them and just pay them off. I did that. I started investing. I know anything about investing. Invest what I don't want to invest.

Bertha Winston [00:30:34]:
But when you look back, all the money you spend in coffee and coach bags and all these things that you really don't need because you make, always tell my clients, now you're going to make somebody rich so why not yourself? You know, all the Gucci's and all. You're making them rich, you know, so I teach strategies and we have systems that we use to help people and teach them how to eliminate debt. You have to eliminate your debt because if you are only paying the minimum amount on your credit cards, you're not paying on your credit card, you're really paying the interest and you're never, you're never finished paying for that card because the interest is all you paying. And if you don't pay over that amount, you're not really paying on the credit card. So you have to take control of your finances. Take control of your finances. The United States is the most consumable people in the world. The most consumable people in the world.

Bertha Winston [00:31:50]:
So the Bible says he gives you power to gain wealth. That is powerful in deuteronomy, he gives you the power to gain wealth. So it's in your power to take control of what you're spending, of what you are going to invest or what you are going to keep. Right. So those are the things that I teach. I teach people how to eliminate debt, how to repair their credit, how to become debt free and stress free. Because when you have a whole lot of debt, you are stressed out. You are stressed out.

Bertha Winston [00:32:34]:
Yes. And we teach people, not like on our credit cards, if you have a $5,000 limit, you only should be using 30% of the utilization of that card. Yep, we teach that. I learned that. Yes, yes. You know, we teach that. We teach you to pay your credit card off as soon as you get it, if you can. You know, that's what the rich does.

Bertha Winston [00:33:05]:
They don't let their card accumulate. They pay it off because they don't want to pay interest.

Chi Quita Mack [00:33:10]:
Yep.

Bertha Winston [00:33:11]:
So all the interest that you are paying out, you're losing money, you're giving money away. So we have systems where we teach you how to do this, how to cut back, how to cut back on your Netflix, on your car insurance, on your cable bill. You have to minimize your taxes. You have to minimize your debt. You have to, if you plan to get ahead in life, if you plan to retire and be debt free, you have to minimize your expenses and you have to plan for your retirement. So when you retire, you'll be debt free and stress free.

Chi Quita Mack [00:33:56]:
And stress free.

Bertha Winston [00:33:57]:
So that's what I teach. So that, that I was so passionate about that I was like, okay, if I'm in this situation, I know there's other people in this situation, too.

Chi Quita Mack [00:34:07]:
Yes.

Bertha Winston [00:34:08]:
So that was my passion, and that's how I got started, with financial successful, teaching people how to be financial success. You have. And people say, well, I don't have the money to do this. You do. You do.

Chi Quita Mack [00:34:25]:
Gotta scale back. Gotta scale back.

Bertha Winston [00:34:28]:
And if you look at your bank statement and see where all that money's going, you'd be surprised. But we don't think about those things because we have a nine to five one day. You're not gonna have that nine to five. What if you walk in the next day and they say, okay, this is your last day. I've been there. I've been rift three times on my job.

Chi Quita Mack [00:34:49]:
Wow.

Bertha Winston [00:34:50]:
Three times on a job and bam. What are you gonna do? Yeah. If you don't have an emergency fund, if you don't have no investment, if you're caught, if you. They already maxed out. Well, when you get laid off, where you going? So that's how I came to be passionate about helping people and showing them how to eliminate that. I think it's important to do it. You do?

Chi Quita Mack [00:35:18]:
Because especially in, in our community.

Bertha Winston [00:35:22]:
Yes.

Chi Quita Mack [00:35:23]:
We don't have all of the knowledge.

Bertha Winston [00:35:25]:
We don't.

Chi Quita Mack [00:35:26]:
Not talked about, like, it wasn't talked about when I was younger about savings and financially set. And I just remember, like, I watched my dad, retiree from the army. He worked so hard. He gave so many years into the military, and then he retired. He was like, what do I do? What do I do? You know? And I watched that. And because I saw how hard he had to work, even after he retired, I'm like, okay, I need to start now building. So when I retire, I'm good. Like, I don't.

Chi Quita Mack [00:35:56]:
I want to be able to retire and get done. And I remember one boss I had a few years ago, and he. He was so good. He had, like, everything set, like his house was. He said, my house. My house is ready. So that if one day I wake up in the morning and said, I want to sell my house, I can sell my house, I'm like, yes. And he would be like, or if I wake up in the morning and say, I want to go to Hawaii, I can go to the airport and buy my ticket.

Bertha Winston [00:36:20]:
Yes.

Chi Quita Mack [00:36:20]:
Taught me that. He taught me, like, oh, yeah. How you do it. This is what you do. This is how you become set, you know?

Bertha Winston [00:36:26]:
Yes.

Chi Quita Mack [00:36:26]:
20 years that you're here, you do this, you max this out. Wow. And in my mind, that's always been there. Yeah, we've been there. Because I'm like, okay, since I didn't have those conversations growing up, now it's my job to break generational.

Bertha Winston [00:36:40]:
Yes, exactly. They don't teach it in college or school.

Chi Quita Mack [00:36:44]:
No, they don't. And it's so important.

Bertha Winston [00:36:47]:
It is. If I'd known this 20 years ago, oh, my goodness. Oh, my goodness. I had never heard of this stuff. When I became a part of this company, I never heard of such. But I tell you what, when I found out I hit the road running.

Chi Quita Mack [00:37:05]:
Yes.

Bertha Winston [00:37:07]:
When I found out I hit the road running, I changed everything. It changed my whole life. It changed my whole outlook on finances, on bills, on everything, because I'm giving everything away, and I'm not keeping anything for myself. So the minute you start a job, you need to start paying yourself. Yes. If I knew this when I first started my first job, I will be a millionaire.

Chi Quita Mack [00:37:40]:
Gonna say, you'll be a millionaire already? Yeah.

Bertha Winston [00:37:42]:
Oh, yes. I would have been there. So I would, that shock wouldn't have hit me at age 62, because it was a shock. I was like, oh, my goodness, I don't have enough money to retire. Yeah, I got busy. It took me ten years, but I got it done.

Chi Quita Mack [00:37:58]:
I'm happy that you did.

Bertha Winston [00:38:00]:
You gotta start somewhere, and I always say you don't have to be great to get started, but you gotta get started to be great. You got to get started. Why not start now? You're not responsible for what you don't know. Once you come to the knowledge of it, then you're responsible. So you that are hearing me today, you heard it from someone who's experienced it. You won't have no excuse.

Chi Quita Mack [00:38:27]:
No, y'all better start implementing. You're listening to it. You're learning the lesson, and you're learning from someone else. So start implementing. Start now.

Bertha Winston [00:38:36]:
And, you know, it blew my husband away. Was, he was like, he didn't know either. So I taught him. And now he's, he's saying, he said, I didn't see it at first. I said, well, I didn't either, but I was determined I was going to do it, you know? And so after working those strategies, I paid off over $100,000 in debt. I eliminated all of my credit cards. I raised my credit score to 750 plus. You know, you have to do it, and you got to be consistent at it.

Bertha Winston [00:39:15]:
Don't start and stop. You got to continue to do it. So I didn't let nothing stop me. I went on and did that four hundred, one k. I was like, okay, if I don't, if I don't see it, if I don't get it, I won't miss it. You know, and doing these strategies and working the strategies that I work, it saves me at least $50,000 every year on my taxes. Wow. I mean, it's a.

Bertha Winston [00:39:42]:
Oh, it blew my mind. Every year before I start working these strategies and doing the things that I'm doing financially, I was paying Uncle Sam every year. I wouldn't file to the end of the last day. I knew I was going to owe. Now I'm rushing to file because I know that. And having a business, you know, it makes a difference anyway because you could write off things that you wouldn't normally to be able to write off if you're not in business. And I would highly recommend that to get a business because they want you to have a business because it just makes sense. You can't write off stuff if you don't have a business.

Bertha Winston [00:40:22]:
You know, if I go on a vacation, it's not a vacation for me. It's a vacation because I'm gonna write off everything that I did. You know, the bills, you know, I'm gonna write off my, my meals, my going to the airport, the mileage. It is a no brainer, y'all. If you, if you don't have any kind of business, you are missing out on tax advantage. You really are tax shelter. I never be without a business. I have Mary Kay, I have books.

Bertha Winston [00:40:52]:
I have my financial business. I would never, I have a venue.

Chi Quita Mack [00:40:57]:
I love it.

Bertha Winston [00:40:58]:
And I rent out 5000 sqft venue that I rent out every month, every weekend or in the week if I will always have a visit. And once you start, hey, it goes on. Once you start a business, then it's not going to be hard for you to continue because your mindset change. You're in another tax bracket and you don't want to go back to the old tax bracket. So, yeah, that's what I do. And I love it. I love it.

Chi Quita Mack [00:41:27]:
It's so much power. So much power in the mind. So much power. An inspiration. I want to thank you for everything you're doing for all of us. You're teaching us so much and you're taking your story and your journey and all of your experiences. Unless you're like, here, don't do what I did.

Bertha Winston [00:41:46]:
That's right. Exactly. Exactly. Yeah. And I'm trying to teach my children and my grandkids, but, you know, they catch on slow. And I was like, I said, I tell you what, what's going to happen when I pass on? They gonna say, that crazy woman really knew what she was talking about.

Chi Quita Mack [00:42:08]:
She's telling us. She's teaching us. Y'all better listen. She's telling us.

Bertha Winston [00:42:11]:
I know, I know. It's so hard to get people to break those habits. They are really habits. It's hard. It's very hard to break habits. Old habits, really. You just gotta change your mindset and you gotta be determined that, okay, I have to. If I keep doing the same thing that I'm doing, I'm going to keep getting the same results and that I came to that conclusion, okay, this is not working.

Bertha Winston [00:42:37]:
So I have to do something different. I have to make a change in my finances if I want to be financially successful. And that's what I did and that's what I'm doing. And I'm trying to teach the masses the same thing. It's hard to get through that brain.

Chi Quita Mack [00:42:56]:
It is.

Bertha Winston [00:42:57]:
Let's go.

Chi Quita Mack [00:42:58]:
It is, it is.

Bertha Winston [00:43:00]:
But that's what we do. Yeah.

Chi Quita Mack [00:43:03]:
I want to thank you so much.

Bertha Winston [00:43:05]:
Thank you.

Chi Quita Mack [00:43:06]:
A part of the meeting podcast and sharing your beautiful story. I am so happy that you were here today.

Bertha Winston [00:43:14]:
Yes, I'm excited. Sunday I'm going in the studio and do a docuseries.

Chi Quita Mack [00:43:21]:
I'm so proud of you. You're living.

Bertha Winston [00:43:24]:
That's what I'm telling you. God keep elevating. He keep opening doors. So Sunday I'll be in the studio. I'll be doing my docuseries. I'm so excited.

Chi Quita Mack [00:43:37]:
Keep doing it. I cannot wait. I cannot wait. I'm here in the DMV too, so I am. I'm in Clinton. You are. Okay, so we gotta connect. I can come see you, we get some brunch.

Bertha Winston [00:43:55]:
I've been in Maryland for 30 years. I was living in DC. Then when I got married, we moved to Maryland. But I was in Capitol Heights. I'm in district Heights. My venue is in Suitland.

Chi Quita Mack [00:44:08]:
Okay.

Bertha Winston [00:44:09]:
Right off of Sutland Road, right by the Census Bureau. There's a shopping center there. And my venue is in the back of the shopping center called the pavilion.

Chi Quita Mack [00:44:19]:
The pavilion. Okay, I need to write that down.

Bertha Winston [00:44:22]:
Yeah, it's right there.

Chi Quita Mack [00:44:23]:
I might need that venue.

Bertha Winston [00:44:25]:
Oh, yes. Oh, yes. Oh, we are neighbors.

Chi Quita Mack [00:44:32]:
We are neighbors.

Bertha Winston [00:44:33]:
Oh, my, that's exciting.

Chi Quita Mack [00:44:35]:
I know.

Bertha Winston [00:44:36]:
With a guy that's doing my docu is Shea Brown. You know him?

Chi Quita Mack [00:44:41]:
I don't think he lives in.

Bertha Winston [00:44:43]:
I think he live in Hydeville. Albemarle.

Chi Quita Mack [00:44:46]:
Okay.

Bertha Winston [00:44:47]:
Check him out. Shay Brown Taria bought the group to him in May, but I'm doing mine on my own. Good. Yeah. And he's powerful, too. He's powerful. And I get to have brunch with Cheryl woods in September.

Chi Quita Mack [00:45:06]:
You're doing amazing. You guys live your dream. She is doing a so much.

Bertha Winston [00:45:11]:
I'm just telling you, once you start, it just goes. You just never stop. We haven't brunched September 14 in Odorton. I am excited about that.

Chi Quita Mack [00:45:20]:
I am excited for you. That is awesome.

Bertha Winston [00:45:23]:
Yes. So I'm just. I'm just overwhelmed at all the things that, all the doors that God is opening for me. I really am. And I'm walking in every one of them.

Chi Quita Mack [00:45:33]:
Yes. I don't blame you. I would run, jump, skip.

Bertha Winston [00:45:36]:
I'm walking in every room. Yes, yes, yes, yes. I. That is so awesome.

Chi Quita Mack [00:45:44]:
Yeah.

Bertha Winston [00:45:44]:
We are neighbors, so you got to keep me in the loop.

Chi Quita Mack [00:45:46]:
I got you.

Bertha Winston [00:45:47]:
What's going on?

Chi Quita Mack [00:45:48]:
Yep.

Bertha Winston [00:45:49]:
I'll give you my phone number because I'm having a book signing August 30 at my venue. Okay, then one of the BPC members is having their book signing there. No, two of them. One is during September and one. Both of them during September. Yes. I'm gonna send you the info.

Chi Quita Mack [00:46:09]:
Yeah.

Bertha Winston [00:46:10]:
Thank you. Oh, my goodness. This is a blessing. You just made my day knowing that you are my neighbor. Yes. So can you not know that? Yes. Yeah. Okay.

Bertha Winston [00:46:26]:
Yeah. Anybody wants to get in touch with me, you could go to my website, retiredanddebtfree.com. there you go. There you will get a free ebook on how to retire, seven tips on how to retire and be debt free. That's www. Retiredanddeathreen.

Chi Quita Mack [00:46:51]:
Yes. And I will make sure that all of that is linked in the show notes. You guys, you can just go click join her community and grab that.

Bertha Winston [00:47:00]:
Oh, girl, you ain't gonna be able to get rid of me now. Oh, no.

Chi Quita Mack [00:47:03]:
We connected. I love it. I ain't trying to get rid of you. We about to build something.

Bertha Winston [00:47:07]:
Thank you so much. I enjoyed you so much, and I'm looking forward to working with you, doing some other things.

Chi Quita Mack [00:47:14]:
Thank you. All right, guys, thank you for tuning in. And until next time, thank you for.

Jacqueline G. [00:47:19]:
Joining us on this week's episode of the Beauty in you podcast. Don't forget to rate, review, and subscribe. Visit us at The Chi Quita Mack or join us on Instagram at the Chiquita Mack for your daily motivation and inspiration. Tell a friend to tell a friend. Until next time.