6 Ways to Earn and Save $1 Million

Tell me something: Are you working on your first million or your next? Either way, stacking cash in emergency funds, investments, and real estate are your best paths to peace of mind in this unsteady job market and economy.

Last week, I attended a powerful wealth-building session with female financial execs from Fidelity. They dropped straight 🔥 about how to elevate your net worth to seven figures and beyond. So this week, I’m paying it forward by sharing their wealth of knowledge with you. Here’s what to expect in this issue of The Financial Glow-Up:

✅ 6 proven steps to grow your money

🎥 2 motivational YouTube videos to shift your money mindset

💰 Grant opportunities for women entrepreneurs + creatives

💹 Billionaire insights on what’s really going on in the global economy amid tariff wars.

Let’s dig in…

💸 6 Steps to Saving $1 Million:

1️⃣ Plan Like a Millionaire
If someone asked you, “What’s your plan for becoming a multi-millionaire?” what would you say? Take five minutes this evening to jot down three realistic strategies that could get you there—without counting on a 9-to-5. That job (which isn’t even a 9-to-5 if you’re in corporate, non-profits or education) is your bill-paying plan, not your wealth-building plan. For generating some real money, start to think about: real estate, investments, entrepreneurship, or lucrative side hustles with serious potential.

2️⃣ Save Smarter, Not Harder
Pay yourself first—even if it’s just $10 a week. Small, consistent deposits into your savings = long-term wins. Better yet, make it a high-yield savings or investment account to help your money grow faster.

3️⃣ Invest for Growth
Stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) can help you reach $1 million faster, but don’t go it alone. Tap into free financial advisors through your bank or brokerage firm for guidance.

4️⃣ Cut the Crap
If you’re serious about getting your money up, then cut the crap! Cancel your unused subscriptions. Audit your expenses and stop spending on stuff that brings no return—financial OR emotional.

5️⃣ Automate Your Savings
Set up auto-transfers from your checking to investment or savings accounts. Make wealth-building a mindless habit, not a chore.

6️⃣ Move in Silence & Protect Yourself
Ever heard the saying rich is loud and wealth is quiet? After you enact steps 1-5 and once the money starts adding up, you need to protect it. You can do this by diversifying your income and investments. Also, get solid insurance, and zip your lips. Let your bank account flex, not your TikTok feed. Otherwise, you’ll have cousins and randoms asking to dip into your millionaire fund left and right!

📩 Want the full slide deck from my millionaire session? Reach out to me directly at [email protected] and include a screenshot of you sharing this newsletter with a friend or posting about it on your social media, and I’ll send it to you. You can also find this information online at Fidelity Investments.

🎬 And Now It’s Time for a Million-Dollar Motivational Moment

💰 Grants to Know About

🍪 Famous Amos "Ingredients for Success" Grant
Three $50,000 grants + mentorship + resources
Deadline: April 23, 2025
👉🏾 Apply now

💼 WomensNet Amber Grant
$10,000 every month to women-owned businesses
Deadline: April 30, 2025
👉🏾 Learn more

🎬 Chicken & Egg Films Grant
$40,000 for nonfiction women filmmakers
👉🏾 Apply here 
Deadline: April 29, 2025

📍 Job Fair!

If you are in the DC, Maryland or Northern Virginia area and you're looking for a job, then check out the following in-person event hosted by Congressman Glenn Ivey.

Date: Thursday, April 17
Time: 12:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Location: The Show Place Arena, 14900 Pennsylvania Avenue, Upper Marlboro 20772
Who Should Go: All job seekers, including displaced federal workers.
RSVP: [email protected]

Job seekers will have access to employers across multiple industries, including employers from the following sectors:

• Local Government

• County Government

• State Government

• Education

• Utilities

• Public Safety

• Private Industry

💵 How to Make Money During a Recession

From the moment I discovered Vivian Tu, a.k.a. “Your Rich BFF” on Instagram, I have liked her. She gives clear, no nonsense advice on how to manage your money. When I recently read her book, Rich AF: The Winning Money Mindset That Will Change Your Life, I was shocked to learn she was making $600,000 as an ad sales exec in NY before the age of 30! I thought, I could learn somethin’ from a sistah and she seriously made me question what I was doing with my money. But I also started to seriously examine ways I could also generate the kind of income that would make me Rich AF, like her. So, being the generous person that I am ;-) I’m sharing one of her latest posts that resonated with me. I genuinely want all my friends and community members to be rich. It’s more fun that way!

If this video or any of the information so far will help someone you know, then collect some good karma and forward this email to her right now.

 💹 What Billionaires Are Saying

While I love highlighting smart money mavens in this newsletter, I also think it’s important to pay attention to what financial experts who could not be more different from me and you are saying. How are the richest White men in the world talking to each other about these financial times from their helipads or the golf course in Augusta???

Here’s what Billionaire Ray Dalio, founder of the world’s largest hedge fund, just warned on NBC’s Meet the Press.

• “Right now we are at a decision-making point and very close to a recession.”

• “We are going from multilateralism, which is largely an American world order type of thing, to a unilateral world order in which there’s great conflict.”

👀 Translation? The U.S. may no longer be the dominant global power and if we’re not prepared, we could get left behind.

Watch the full billionaire interview here.

Real talk: Do we need to start learning Mandarin or Russian? 🤷🏾‍♀️

📣 Poll

If languages aren’t your thing and there’s a topic you would like to see featured in this newsletter, send me a note at [email protected] and let me know how.

If anything in this issue inspired you, helped you, or made you say, “Yaaassss,” then don’t keep it to yourself. Forward this message and bless a sister with knowledge.

Was this forwarded to you? 📬 Subscribe to The Financial Glow-Up and never miss a money gem again.

Keep glowing,
Markette Sheppard
Founder, Glow Stream TV
@glowstreamtv and @markettesheppard on all the socials!

P.S. — Here’s a reminder of how you can make an impact by giving to the next generation. Donate to the Mason Jones Memorial Scholarship Fund. Your 100% tax-deductible contribution will support two young women scholars in their pursuit of college degrees in journalism and the health sciences. Find out more about the inspiring life stories of Eunice L. Mason and Cora Dee Jones and donate here.