By Debra Wallace
Los Angeles, CA (The Hollywood Times) 1/20/22 – Dawn Santoriello CFP® is eager to inspire each one of us to reach a balance in our money dreams, especially as we begin the adventure of the New Year.
The author of the inspiring book The Spiritual Path to Prosperity: The Truth About Money Revealed, (July 2021), believes there are simple steps involving the laws of attraction that we can all take to guide us to our financial wellness.
“It’s all about getting out of your way,” says Santoriello, a Certified Financial Planner ® accountability coach, and an inspiring mentor. “We need to combine spirituality with the financial know-how to figure out how to manifest money, and properly invest it; I keep it simple and I know that it works.”
Santoriello, who currently resides in Yardley, Pennsylvania, has lived through her own financial difficulties. From growing up poor and living in and out of foster care as a five-year-old child, because her grandmother couldn’t afford to care for her, her sister, and brother. In fact, she developed a black hole in her front tooth because going to a dentist was considered to be an extravagance.
“I learned that I never wanted to be poor again, so I became fascinated with making and saving money,” she explains. “I also wanted to help and inspire others who may be in a situation that they think is impossible to overcome, and show them they can meet any challenge.”
By using tenacity, determination, and drive as an adult, she was able to turn her own finances around. In fact, her advice is not only sought out in the U.S. and Canada but is also appreciated as far as the Philippines, India, and Qatar.
“A few years ago,” Santoriello explains, “I was trapped in a parking lot with $200 to my name and I was a financial planner.”
“I knew how to make money for my clients and had all the analytical skills I needed, but because I was spiritually blocked around money, I wasn’t making it for myself,” Santoriello said. “Once I cleared my blocks, used the law of attraction, and used my own principles, I set forth my own financial health and began making 6-figures that year.”
How did she transform her own financial wellness? “I let go of my fear and I let my mess be my message. I am a spiritual/metaphysical person, so I’m not afraid to show that, and it has actually become my niche: combining spirituality and money.”
Her method was to let go of fear and have faith that everything would work out for the best. “The prayer that I teach in my webinars are, “Releasing the 5 Biggest Money Blocks That Are Holding You Back: How A Prayer for Abundance and Real-World Investment Strategies Changed my Life and Change Yours, Too!”
Santoriello is more than a typical financial adviser; she is a coach and a guide. For many individuals, this is an extremely confusing, complicated, and daunting process.
Through her in-person and online financial mentoring and coaching, she aims to help clients “reach their financial goals with peace of mind. “I simplify financial topics for my clients including budgeting, investments, and insurance. I educate them, and help them create a flexible financial plan that ebbs and flows as their needs change.”
She also helps her large variety of clients, with diverse backgrounds, implement the solutions that she recommends for them. “Money doesn’t have to be a scary or taboo topic. I am passionate about helping people gain confidence and clarity around their finances.”
What sets Santoriello apart from others in the financial planning industry is clear:
“I am passionate, as anyone who has spent 10 minutes with me can attest to,” she explains. “I am committed to the success of my clients and I put my whole heart into what I do. I help my clients with their money mindset, and I give them the tools to clear any of their money blocks.”
When she hears that her clients have made a major leap in their financial health, her heart swells with joy. “It is truly one of the greatest feelings when others achieve something based on my advice.”
What do we need to know about our financial wellness going into 2022?
Have your money work for you. Re-evaluate your spending plans to see if you can eliminate some expenses and increase your savings and investments. If there is a surplus no is a good time to rebuild your emergency fund that may have gotten depleted during the pandemic. Also, revisit your investment portfolio with a financial professional. Your needs may have changed and this plan may need to be updated. A great way to make your money work harder is to use an overfunded life insurance policy. This will multitask your emergency fund, enhance your retirement funds and you can easily access this money. During the pandemic, many people were waiting for unemployment and their PPP loans. My clients were able to access their insurance policies to cover this waiting period so their cash flow didn’t suffer.
Is this different from previous years?
The same principles apply to financial wellness every year. Spend less than you earn, evaluate your spending plan, build your emergency fund. What has changed is some people who have been out of work may have depleted their savings so it’s important to have that built up again.
How has COVID-19 impacted our financial goals overall?
If you were out of work your retirement has suffered because you have not been contributing to your retirement plan at work. Not only did you miss out on your contributions you may have missed out on the company match if your company matched your contributions. One area that may have been helped is if your child is going to college your lower income may have qualified them for need-based aid.
For the people who kept their jobs, you may have extra cash flow as you weren’t going out so now you can enhance your savings and investment strategy.
What financial and spiritual trends are you seeing right now?
One financial trend is that people are paying closer attention to their money and are seeking help which to find ways to enhance their financial position that they may not have thought of. Spirituality so that may not be the right terminology. People are becoming more interested in learning about the law of attraction and manifestation techniques. My class on this has become more popular as we closed out last year.
What questions are your clients asking right now about their financial wellness?
They want to make sure they are doing everything they can. Clients and prospects are asking me to purchase more life insurance. They are looking for ways to reduce their debt. Other clients are looking for a better return than a savings account so I show them how to do that. Others want to know how they protect some of their retirement money from market downturns. I help clients with answers to these concerns and continue to give them the financial peace of mind they are looking for.
How much does mindset affect your financial and spiritual health?
Your mindset effects everything. What you think about you attract into your life. Thoughts become things and your feelings(emotion) about that thing manifest it fairly quickly. So, focus on what you want and have rather than focusing on lack and what you don’t want. A positive mindset will always bring you positive results and a negative mindset will always bring you more negativity. There is only one thing in this world you have control over your thoughts and that is the key to manifesting everything you want in life. You are so powerful and some of you don’t even realize it. Everyone has this power-whether you are rich or poor.
How can we make sure we do everything we can to make 2022 healthy for us in our minds and pocketbooks?
Take care of yourself and let go of what you cannot control. When it comes to finances let go of that scarcity mindset. That one thing changed my life and brought more abundance to me than I could have ever imagined. Exercise, eat healthily, meditate every day, and work with someone like me.
What happens when we resist these techniques?
When you resist anything, you remain stuck. What you resist persists. If you neglect your finances, you will only be creating more problems for yourself that could have been avoided so just start working on your finances today not tomorrow. The first step is to work with an advisor. You will save yourself time and money.
Is there anything you want to add?
I hope you all have an abundant 2022! This will be the best year yet.
7 Tips for Your Spiritual Path to Prosperity in 2022:
- It’s important to have practical financial knowledge and the spiritual side of money. You need both. Know how to manifest what we want — learn the powerful manifestation tool that I use all the time to create my life.
- Learn how to clear the 5 biggest money blocks that are holding you back from living the life you want by changing your beliefs about money and re-writing your money story with action steps leading to your new money reality.
- Demystify Investments so you can grow your money using a simple, academically proven strategy that is known as Evidence-Based Investing and avoid costly mistakes that could stop you from reaching your goals faster.
- Learn how to become debt-free sooner.
- Learn how to make a Spending Plan that works for you and your life.
- Learn a long-term savings strategy that the wealthy use to be more efficient with their money and to create tax-free money in retirement.
- Using an advisor as a guide is very important because it will help you avoid making emotional decisions with your money.
Here is the website and social media links to reach Dawn Santoriello:
https://www.facebook.com/DSfinancialstrategies/
https://www.instagram.com/dsfinancialstrategies/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dawnsantoriello/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnN1ouX_Ew_hfqEfXlAGGkQ?view_as=subscriber
(*Investment advisory services offered by Efficient Advisors)