Welcome to the latest episode of season 3 of Legal Well-Being in Action. Today’s episode, Affordable Well-being is another installment of this year’s theme Well-Being: A Deeper Dive. For this episode Bill Slease speaks with Hannah Bell a lawyer, an accredited financial consultant and coach, and the founder of Bottom Line Personal Finance. Hannah talks about the challenges lawyers face when equating happiness with the accumulation of money, the stress associated with believing that you never have enough, particularly in the face of debt and an idealized lifestyle, the freedom that can result from taking inventory of your core values and reconciling your relationship with money to align it with those values, and how making informed, intentional choices about how and how much money you earn and spend can give you greater satisfaction and improve your well-being.
Episode Bio:
HANNAH BELL, Esq. AFC, is a financial wellness consultant and the founder of Bottom Line Personal Finance. She holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of New Mexico and a law degree from the University of New Mexico School of Law. During law school, Ms. Bell started a company helping attorneys conduct focus groups and prepare for trial. After years of operating that business, Ms. Bell decided she wanted to practice law. While practicing law, Ms. Bell explored many areas including personal injury, criminal prosecution, and government law. Ms. Bell currently co-teaches Mediation to law students and community members and has previously taught Interviewing, Counseling, and Negotiating as an adjunct professor at the University of New Mexico School of Law. Ms. Bell’s financial wellness journey began early in her law career when she realized her family was trapped by student loans and car debt. Determined to change this situation, Ms. Bell set out to learn everything she could about personal finance. Within 24 months, Ms. Bell and her husband successfully paid off over $90,000 in debt. Through this process, Ms. Bell discovered, first-hand, the freedom of living debt-free, and the importance of creating financial stability and practicing mindfulness around money. By combining two of her great passions-- financial fluency and teaching-- Ms. Bell helps her clients adopt a practical budget and find the framework to afford a happier life.