3 Financial Habits That Helped Kendra Y. Hill Earn $2 Million in One Year

• Entrepreneur Kendra Y. Hill has made $2 million in less than a year during the pandemic.
• Before becoming his own boss, Hill struggled to manage his finances.
• Five financial habits, like setting notifications for purchases over $10, help her maintain her wealth.

Although she started her first business in 2011, entrepreneur Kendra Y. Hill had to work for nine more years to achieve multimillion-dollar success — and maintain it.

According to records seen by Insider, Hill earned $2 million in 2020, at the height of the pandemic, from Kendra Scale My Business, a consulting firm that helps social media creators monetize their content.

Before becoming his own boss, Hill struggled to manage his finances. “I grew up very, very poor,” she told Insider, “and that poverty mindset stuck with me.”

When she was 18, she had large credit card debts and struggled to pay them off. “Once I decided to take generational wealth building seriously, I had to stop first and say, ‘I forgive myself for what I’ve done,'” she says.

Now Hill swears by five money habits to stay rich.

1. She checks her cash flow monthly and creates a compensation plan for each week

Most people on a fixed income start creating their budget based on their income, but Hill does things differently.

“At the end of each month, I plan what I’m going to sell for my business the following month,” says Hill, whose monthly expenses are around $12,000. “Then I plan, week by week, what I’m going to sell? What are the prices? How can we promote this on social media?”

On top of that, she’ll make a list of fun expenses she wants to add and figure out how to increase her business income from there.

2. She gives herself a big discretionary spending budget each month.

In addition to $12,000 in monthly expenses, Hill allows up to $30,000 per month for discretionary spending, money in your budget specifically for fun things, like going to the movies or eating out.

“Even then, I try not to spend that money,” she says. “If I want to do something more, I take it out of that money. I’m not someone who believes in depriving yourself of things.”

Having a big discretionary budget gives Hill peace of mind that she can do whatever she needs to do to be happy. Much like a dieter who might be in a cycle of restriction and binge eating certain foods, being too restrictive with their discretionary spending can create an unbalanced relationship between Hill and her money, she says.

3. She intends to keep her business and personal expenses separate

Some business owners count travel and meals as business expenses to pay less tax at the end of the year, but Hill says that method doesn’t really help.

For example, Hill just wrapped up a tour of the country to promote his new book, “Purpose-Driven Enterprise: Finding Your Purpose and Making It Your Paycheck.” Instead of spending the whole tour through her company, she says, “I paid for this whole tour out of pocket.”

She adds, “Sometimes when you want to test something, don’t put it on your business to test it. Invest your own money. The more you invest your own money in things, the more you feel accountable for your own victory. .”

4. It sets SMS notifications for every credit card transaction over $10

Hill sets an alert for any transaction over $10 to track his spending. “For a person with a lot of money, $10 is nothing,” Hill says. “But I keep myself in that space because it keeps me humble.”

Hill says she grew up in poverty and struggled to manage her finances in the past. SMS notifications from his bank prevent him from overspending and reverting to his old ways.

She says, “Just because you have money doesn’t mean you have to spend it all or hoard it all. There has to be a balance between overspending and overhoarding, because both are bad.”

5. She donates 90% of her clothes once a year

Hill was a fashion designer, which means her closet is stocked with designer clothes and high-end pieces. Every November, Hill makes it a point to donate or gift almost anything in her closet to welcome abundance. “I don’t mean sell clothes on Poshmark, I mean literally giving “, she says. She donates her clothes to friends, Goodwill or other organizations.

She adds, “If you hold onto your money and material possessions so much that you never release them, you literally have no place to receive.”