Today, I want to invite you to the second episode of my Money Files Series with my client Katie.
I created this series to give you a firsthand account of the power of financial coaching. It is easy for me to share stories with you about the transformations my clients have had, how they’ve rewritten their money story, or where they really were before we got started but I would much rather have my clients share their unfiltered experience – and results – firsthand.
Katie found me after she realized she needed help saving more and spending less and it led her to a Google Search for a financial advisor. She no longer wanted to be stressed out about how she was going to pay her bills and keep up with everything. Katie especially wanted to work on her habit of using her credit card to fund purchases between paychecks because she’d run out of money before the next payday.
I invite you to tune into our conversation to find out what happened next.
Here are just a few things you’ll learn when you tune in.
- How Katie has gone from having $10 in her bank account between paydays to paying her bills in advance
- The mindset shifts she’s made to release the overwhelm, shame and guilt she felt around her finances
- The progress she’s made in improving her relationship with money so she can now indulge in the things she cares about most
- How she’s refocused her priorities to focus on the things she wants to invest in the most
- How gaining control of her finances has helped strengthen her relationship with her partner
- How the changes she’s made have impacted other areas of her life such as less stress and the the ability to focus on other things because she isn’t stressed about her finances
- Her goals and how they’ve shifted while working with me
- Katie’s experience of learning to identify her spending triggers and how it helped her stop overspending
- How she’s learned to check-in with her accounts and have money dates with herself
- Katie’s advice for those who might be skeptical about financial coaching and whether this is the solution they really need
You do not want to miss this conversation. This episode is for you if you’re skeptical about whether financial coaching will help you pay off your debt, save money, and allow you to stress less about money.
And if you’ve been on the fence about whether financial coaching is right for you, let Katie’s story be an example that your life – and your finances – can change in the next month, six months, and beyond. Let’s schedule a call so you can rewrite your money story and reach your financial goals.
Listen to Katie’s Money Files episode
Inside the episode
In this week’s episode of Money Files, Katie told you she previously thought she couldn’t budget because she had tried it in the past and nothing seemed to stick. The only solution she knew to make it between paydays was to open up a new credit card or take out a loan to cover her expenses.
As her coach, I was able to see exactly where Katie was getting stuck. Katie had built the belief that budgeting would never work for her. She told herself time after time that she’d failed. If she overspent by $5 on groceries or had to use her credit card before the end of the month, it validated the limited belief she held – I’m not good with money.
Well today I want to tell you about how Katie went from going further into debt and just making ends meet to being the kind of person who is building a savings account, having more than enough money in her bank account before payday, and having transparent financial conversations with her partner. All in less than 8 weeks.
In my one month intensive, I asked Katie two questions that helped her rethink her finances and reframe her thoughts about what it means to manage your money well.
What are you spending?
What do you want to spend your money on?
These two questions put Katie in control of her money and in control of her spending.
Those questions helped her see that it wasn’t about shame or what happened in the past. It was about creating a path forward.
I worked with Katie to…
- Create a plan to save consistently.
- Put a system into place so she knew what money she had for bills, how much she had to spend guilt free, and how much she wanted to set aside for the little goals in between like setting aside money for clothes, travel, giving to others, and Christmas.
- Plan for how she wants to use the extra income to pay down past debt and build her emergency fund.
In a little over eight weeks, she has saved over $800 and stopped relying on her credit cards.
Because Katie has created a system for her finances, she’s now able to see where she is investing her money AND how she is investing her money.
In the past, Katie had never been able to see a spending plan (budget) as a tool she could use to be intentional with her finances. A tool that would equip her to talk about money with her partner. Now, Katie literally knows where every dollar she has earned is working for her.
So, where is your money going?
Maybe Katie’s story resonates with you. Maybe you’ve never felt like there was a clear path forward with your finances because there’s a cloud hanging over you from what you consider to be past money mistakes.
I would offer to you today that there is a way forward and you don’t have to wait a year, five years, or even ten years to get relief and results. (Remember Katie saw incredible progress after working together for just 8 weeks.)
The liberation you deserve is right in front of you. You can gain the confidence you desire with your finances while still paying down debt or learning to live a life of abundance. If you’re ready to rewrite your money story, schedule a call so we can talk about what’s possible for you.
The transcript
Keina:
Hi, my name is Keina. Thank you for joining me for another candid conversation in my Money Files series today, I am joined by my client, Katie and I told her I’m going to go ahead and let her introduce herself.
Katie:
Hi, my name is Katie. I am 33. I live in the DMV area. I work as an assistant at a law firm and I am in law school part time.
Keina:
So I would love to just have you share, how did you find out about my services?
Discovering Financial Coaching
Katie:
So I think I told you this on my first call, I was so nervous, but I realized that I needed help, that what I’d been doing was not working at all for me. And it was just getting worse and I felt very underwater. So I started Googling like financial advisors in DC.
You know, DC and seeing like what came up. And I had a pretty good idea of what I did not want. And then I finally, I saw you and I was like, looking on your website and like looking at the comments, people that were posted there. And I was like, you know what, I’m going to try her because I’m going to get someone who is more likely to understand where I’m coming from in my life and is hopefully not going to judge me for all of the mistakes that I made up until this point.
Keina:
I remember we actually talked on a Friday and I usually do calls on Monday. So I shifted things around. I would love it if you even, I remember a part of that conversation, but if you would share a little bit more, one of the questions I’ve been asking is like, how bad was it really? And just sharing more about, where were you when we started working together?
Katie:
So when we had that first intro call, I did not even have actual totals for you to tell you how bad it was. It was all estimates. That’s like how it was for me. I didn’t even know how far into debt I was and like how much I was spending per month on all kinds of stuff. So I felt very, very stressed all the time about my financial situation.
I was worried all the time about paying all my bills and like keeping up with everything. So I think one of the first assignments that you had me do was go through and fill out this form where you have to like. Have a come to Jesus moment where you are filling in the totals of like how much you owe.
And that was a really horrible task to do and to like, see it in paper was terrifying, but then you get through it and you have a good picture of where you’re coming from that foundation. And so now I’ve been able to see progress. I know all the numbers now.
The Start of Our Work Together
Keina:
So I wanted to talk to Katie because Katie did the one month intensive and then we went into like a partnership together.
So we’re like, we’re very early on in our work together. And one of the things that I wanted to elevate for people that are listening is that I wanted to show you across different clients that I work with the change that is possible for me, it’s important for people to know that if you’ve followed any like hashtags on the internet, like debt-free journey or debt free community, sometimes we see people where they’ve talked about how much debt they paid off in such a short period of time.
And I think that that can feel really deflating. And I always love to focus with my clients on like, There’s some mindset shifts that can happen immediately, like that you get immediate release that takes you out of l the overall, the shame and the guilt. And so even you just talking about like, Oh my God, I have to face all my numbers and to have this come to Jesus meeting.
But if you just want to dive in to, like, what was that first call? Like? How did you feel?
Katie:
feel?
Keina: Yeah. Like from, I guess, like, what were your expectations in the beginning? And then what, what happened? And what is happening.
Katie:
Yeah, I was super, super skeptical that you are going to be able to actually do anything for me, but I was willing to put up the money to try.
It was only a month. Like I can’t get an idea of what you’re all about. See what you’re going to say. I was really, really worried that there is nothing you are going to be able to do for me anyway. And that I just was like so far in that, that I couldn’t fix anything, but on our first call, like it was a lot of, it was like real talk.
It was like, what are you spending? What is actually important? What are the goals that you want to spend your money on? And I think it was during that first call that we talked about, what are you investing your money in and not like stocks and bonds, but like, what are you actually spending your money on?
Shifting Her Money Mindset
And is that what you want to be spending it on? And so from the first call, my mindset has definitely changed and it hasn’t been just about paying off debt and having a budget. It’s definitely. Changing my relationship to my money and even like my relationship with money as it relates to others. You and I have talked a lot about how I have had multiple conversations now with my boyfriend about finances, which is something I had never done before, because I was very worried about being transparent about where I want us financially. So I wouldn’t even say that my successes are my spending is now under control. And like, I am making progress on my debt.
It’s that, I know where I stand financially every day when I go to a store when I’m shopping online, I know money that I have. And I was never really in a position for that before. And I think we talked about yesterday, I now have savings and I am building savings and that’s such a huge success.
And. I am putting money where I actually want it to go, not on frivolous, splurges, whatever. So that’s been really, this has been an empowering process and I know that that’s kind of like were whatever, but I feel like I am making more progress than just the budget on the chart.
Keina:
You said something yesterday in our coaching call.
And I don’t, hopefully you remember that you said it, if not, we’ll pretend. Um, one of the things that you said, we were actually talking about how you wanted to invest extra funds.
And like, I can’t remember exactly the question that I asked you, but you started to talk about like, the things that you thought were important in the beginning aren’t important anymore.
Do you remember that conversation?
Focusing Money and Budget Priorities
Katie:
Absolutely. And it’s so true. Like I look back from our day one chart that I had to fill in and I think about like, why did I even think that I should put money aside for this I’m like that it’s just not. Like, it’s not part of the goals that we talked about. It’s not, it’s like lifestyle stuff, but it’s not really stuff that I even care about.
You know, like I, my priorities and where I want to put my money have definitely been really focused. And are not like keeping up with what I just did because I started doing it and just never stopped regardless of whether I could afford it or not.
Keina:
Yeah. I love just hearing you talk about that yesterday, because I remember in the beginning you were like, Nope, this is really important to me.
Nope. This is really important to me. And literally we got to a point where I was like, okay, well you have extra money. What do you want to do with it? And you’re like, Well, I don’t want to do any of those things because they’re not important to me.
Katie:
I think that shows the progress. When we talked about extra money, it didn’t go to my clothing fund and it didn’t go to like help move my like skincare fund to be bigger.
It was like, no, this is going to go in my emergency fund. That’s a huge, huge change. If you had asked me on day one, I definitely would have gone to something else, something like that.
Keina:
I just thought that that was like such a cool thing to hear you talk about like, No, this is how I want to invest my money. And I want to go back to one of the things that I’ve heard as we work together is you having money conversations.
And I know the people listening and people that I work with people in general, especially women. There’s a fact that like 61% of women would rather have a conversation about their death and money. And you.
Katie:
Yeah, I was definitely in that camp for sure.
The Power of Money Conversations
Keina:
And yeah, one of the events that I have is called Mimosas and Money Matters.
And the whole reason I created this space was so women could come together. Men are welcome as well, but I predominantly work with women so we can have money conversations. And money conversations. Doesn’t always look like how much debt are you in? How much money do you make? I think like that’s our fear.
But I would love for you to just share what money conversations have you had, what was your entry point? Like, have you seen a change? Just, yeah. Talk more about having those money conversations.
Shifting Your Spending Habits
Katie:
Yeah. So I think we’ve talked about before how I come from a household that was not about saving and not about being responsible with one’s money.
So I didn’t grow up with like a lot of talking about money and how much things cost. And do you have enough and that kind of thing? That was kind of like unfamiliar territory for me to begin with and because I had gotten myself quite into debt. I definitely don’t want to talk about money. I didn’t want to tell my friends if I couldn’t afford something, I would just work it out.
And I would ask them, my sister has loaned me money or my brother or whatever, lentt me some money so that I could make sure that I was keeping up, but actually talking to you and not receiving any judgment back, helps alleviate a lot of the shame that I had about where my financial situation was and how I was feeling about it because you forced me to be open, but also there was no negativity about it.
Any of it, I felt a lot more comfortable and I also felt so much more knowledgeable. About my own financial situation, that it made me feel a lot more. Yeah, confident talking to my significant, other about what our […], where for money and like, what are we willing to spend on groceries each week and how we divide it in our bills.
But it’s also opened up conversations with my friends. Like I have been very open about the fact that I am working with a financial coach and like, there are certain things that I can’t afford to do anymore or don’t want to afford to do anymore. It’s helps me be confident in what I know. And so that has made it a lot easier to talk about money because I’m not coming from a place of like, just shame about my debt and that I don’t know what I’m doing.
Keina:
How have you seen that impact other areas of your life?
Katie:
It has made me feel because I won. I have so much less stress. So that I’m able to like focus on other things and put more energy, because I know that I have my budget and I know my numbers, so I don’t have to put as much like brain power into that.
It is also, there are fewer, like little tiffs about buying tide, laundry detergent versus store brand. Like even like little things we’re not. We both are on the same page about money. So it’s become, it’s made our relationship better. And I think with my friends, it’s been kind of eye opening to them for me to be like, I can’t afford this, or I’m working with financial coach and they’re like, Oh, maybe I shouldn’t be online shopping then because I really can’t afford this.
It’s just, there’s a lot more honesty and openness in the relationships, which is nice.
Keina:
Awesome. And I know we talked about like having money conversations with your, with your friends. I know I shared a story about one of my girlfriends asking me to be in her wedding and she’s I asked her, how much is that going to cost?
But she knew exactly like kina is going to be like, how much do I need to invest to be in your wedding and not in a negative way. But I do talk about money with my friends and they already know like my boundaries and where I am when it’s. Like when it comes to how I want to invest in different things, because the reality is I can’t say yes to everything and also be in alignment with my goals.
And I’m okay with the trade offs at times, but I’m always thinking about what are those trade offs and is this a trade off that I actually want to say yes to? Or is there something else that’s ahead that I might want to say yes to later? And I remember you. You definitely talking about you are now going to be that friend where they’re like, okay.
Katie:
That’s like my goal is to be the one where they know that if they’re going to ask me to do something that there’s a chance I’m going to say no. And it, I think it’ll only help them as well, because they will start thinking more about their financial situation and whether they can afford this, whatever it is.
Keina:
Cause the reality is, is like we are in friendships relationships and everybody’s saying yes, but not everybody can afford it, but we think that, well, if they’re saying yes to the trip, or they’re saying yes to the expensive dinner, like multiple times during the week, multiple times during the month, then if they have it, then I should probably have it.
And I like need to, to follow the crowd. Instead of like bringing, like, bringing that money conversation in one of the things. And I don’t know, I think we’ve talked about this as much, probably because you’re in the middle of quarantining. One of the exercises that I’ve done with other clients is like really thinking about what is it about that experience that you enjoy and is there another way to get the quality time that you want with your friends, without it also costing you $200, right.
So for anyone listening, I would just offer that to you. Um, in case you’re not listening to this when we still are in quarantine, but thinking about what is it about that experience that you enjoy and thinking about? Is there an alternative that supports you and your financial goals and where you are?
Developing a New Relationship with Money
You’ve kind of touched on this a little bit, but what would you say, like you believed about. Like yourself and your relationship with money. And what do you believe about your relationship with money now?
Katie:
Previously? I just thought that like, I could not do this. I could not figure it out. It just, the only solution seemed to be open a new credit card, take out another loan to cover the basis and I’ll figure it out later.
But to later never came and, you know, time glee still hasn’t come. I felt really like unable and in apps, like I did not have the tool set to do this and know I try keeping a budget before, but like it never worked out or like, it was like this one purchase will be fine. It, you know, like I didn’t have the self control to do this.
Um, and doing this process, that’s obviously not true. This the way you’ve set it up is, is tailorable to anyone and their needs. But also it’s really simple. You plug in what you spent and you plug in what you make and you either have them money or you don’t, and you have to figure it out if you don’t. So I think now, That like, I can do this.
I can budget this. I’ve had to make sacrifices like you do, but not in a way that my quality of life has deteriorated or even decreased even a little bit. Quarantine probably helps that. But yeah. Yeah, I would just say that now. I feel like I have the tools that I needed and probably could have figured out eventually, but this has been a lot more helpful.
Keina:
And I remember in the beginning, I would love for you to just talk, like, what were your goals in the beginning when we started working together and how have you seen your goal
Katie:
shift? My goals in the beginning. Were to lessen my stress about money, to figure out a way to actually manage money, money, and to start dealing with the debt.
And so far I have made progress or achieved all of those things. So now my goals are continuing to work on the debt, but also to like master this process to master the chart and the formulas and like getting it so that I. Know where every dollar is. I am confident if I do have extra money where it’s going to go and building up that
Keina:
savings.
And what would you say are some of the mindset shifts that you adopted in this process that have impacted like where you are? What I think we’ve been working together probably about eight weeks.
Katie:
Yeah. The biggest thing is not feeling like a failure anymore. I’m doing this and I’m putting in the work.
You know, I have a policy that if I’m gonna pay for something I’m gonna like do it. I don’t want to waste the money. So I have been trying very hard to do all the things that you ask of me and to keep up with all of the things that I need to do so that when we meet together, it’s not wasted time. And by doing that.
I have gained so much more knowledge about what is going on with my bank accounts and my savings accounts and what I spend every month. And I’m still learning about my habits, but I’ve also become very aware of what my triggers are and my weaknesses are, and kind of figuring out how to deal with those.
Keina:
Talk more about those triggers and weaknesses and, and dealing with that.
Katie:
One of the things we definitely talked about because we started working together while I think we were all in quarantine. So I think this whole process is brilliant management in quarantine. And so I’ve had a lot more time on my computer at home.
And one of the triggers for me is if I didn’t have something to do, I was online shopping. I just go from site to site, bill card slip, and in the past I would buy that stuff. And I would be like really excited about it. My bank account wouldn’t be so things that we’ve talked about is recognizing the trigger of like boredom shopping, and just like not going on the sites or finding other things to do so that you are dealing with the Fordham in another way.
Keina:
Yeah, so important that you’ve said so many great things and I’m excited for whoever’s listening, especially I told you that one of the questions that I got from someone who follows me on Instagram was like, how long does it take to change your relationship with money or change your habits and just talking to you.
And like I told. Those that are listening. We’ve been working together for eight weeks and just hearing you elevate. Yeah. It’s not just about my debt or having a budget, but there’s a lot of, I think, tangible and even in tangible results that you’ve highlighted for people that may be on the fence about like, can I really, is this really possible for me?
Because I’ve tried so many times before, like you said, like, I don’t even know how much debt I’m in. Right? Like can Keene actually really help me or can what helped me at this point? I think that’s definitely, I hope whoever’s listening that that’s encouraging for you to hear, because one of the things that Katie also talked about when we were, I think in the first like one or two calls that we had.
That you were just like, I want to have money in my bank account before my next paycheck hits and it not just be like $10. Right. Like I, yeah,
Katie:
because I first called I had like $10 in my account. And that was like my status quo. That was my regular life I would get paid and all the money would be gone before the next paycheck.
So even like we started making shifts in that first call that I saw impacts by call two and was thinking differently by call too. And I have been able to achieve that goal of not having just $10 in my account every week, since that first call.
Keina:
He is, I don’t think you’ve used her. Like you haven’t used your credit card either.
Katie:
Nope. I have been really good about keeping to the money that is actually like my money borrow money.
Keina:
Yeah. And I know that. Yeah. I remember us talking about that too, which I think is the audience that I serve. We always talk about like the overspending or there’s people that come to work with me where it’s like, Towards the end of the month is usually when I start using my credit card.
Cause I don’t have money in my bank account. And like, how did you even make the, I think like that’s a shift that people would love to hear about is like, how did you go from you have $10 in your bank account to now you, you said what you have money before? Like, yes, payday is a thing, but like payday is not the thing that like, you’re like, please Lord, please send my paycheck.
Katie:
Right? Like I have all of my bills covered. Like before paycheck, I have the money ready. So I am definitely the person that would spend all their money before the next paycheck and use their credit card. Before I started working with you. And the change was. Filling in the chart and seeing where my money goes and knowing exactly what I was spending money on each pay period, if you will, because that was really eye opening and having to say, okay, Keina, I’m going to spend $170 every two weeks on groceries and that’s it.
And. Knowing that like, I just, I don’t even have the money to go over that. There is there at the beginning, there was no extra money to go anywhere. There was not enough money. So I think one time myself, if I’m going to do this, I have to put the credit cards away. And I have to keep to the budget. I set myself, you didn’t do it for me.
I chose where the money went and keeping to that was how I’ve been able to now rack up more debt on credit cards by staying pretty true to the system, which is hard.
Keina:
Yeah, it’s definitely, I know that in the beginning you talked about how challenging it is and. I would underscore here, like Katie and I have been working together for probably about eight weeks.
And she’s definitely still working towards her goals, but there’s so many things that she’s already accomplished in the last two months. And I talk about it on an Instagram all the time. Like, people are like, Ooh, you’re saving money because you’re staying at home and that’s not true for everyone. Like theoretically, yes, you’re saving money because you’re not driving to work.
But if you are online shopping because you’re bored. You don’t have any evidence that you’re actually saving money because you’re not being intentional about shifting that money into a savings account or seeing like, how do I realign, how I want to invest the money that does come to me and my paycheck and how I want to plan to actually spend that money.
Right. I know one of the things I asked you to do at the end of the month was to reflect on like, what went well, what didn’t work. Um, what do you want to do differently is, and you were just saying, that’s how you feel like you prepared for our conversation today. Is there anything that you would like want to elevate from your reflection?
Katie:
I think some of the things that. I have been thinking about in reflecting on how the us has been going is one. I think it’s gone really well because I’ve really tried to stick to what the system is. Um, the things that didn’t go well for me is that I actually wrote them all down because I wanted to make sure that I remembered things.
So things that I didn’t do well for. I think I went over my grocery spending like every week and I freaked out about that at first. And you’re like, Katie is, Oh, okay. It’s it is like a number you want to stick to, but going over $5 is like the end of what I was so freaked out that I went over my budget, but that reflects like kind of how my mindset has changed is that I know what’s going on so well, I know if I’m $5 over.
And I never would have known that before. If I spent over my allotted budget, the things that I would do differently, I would honestly be more prepared when I go grocery shopping. I typically have a list, but there are just so many tempting things or like, Oh, I should really get this because I’m here today.
So being more prepared or thoughtful when I do go out and go shopping. This is something I actually have started this week is you suggested doing scheduling money dates with yourself. And I am a person who definitely needs to do that because I would procrastinate, procrastinate, procrastinate, and I could end up like two months from now and my chart would never have been updated.
So I want to take the time to, and it doesn’t take very long. It’s like 10 minutes to have that check in with my accounts and make sure that everything is looking right. And that I know where I am. And
Keina:
Katie and I, we also, you opted to set up multiple lists account in money. How’s that working
Katie:
for you?
I’m still figuring it out. But I do really like that. I have things account that like is kind of untouchable to me right now. The money goes in, direct deposits it. I don’t have to think about it and it’s never in my spending account. So I never think that that’s money I actually have. And then I have a guilt-free spending, which is for the things like groceries.
And if I have to go to the hardware store or pick up something from target. But that is separated from the things that I am saving for that I will eventually spend for and from my bills. So having the amount separated out is really helpful because it’s never tempting to be like, Oh, I have $600. I could spend it.
If I wanted to, you only have $170 in your account for a girl. That’s all you see. So that’s all you think you have to spend.
Keina:
It helps, especially when you’re shifting from like bank account budgeting, really being intentional to giving every single dollar a name. Is there any advice that you would give to listeners?
Um, that may be in a similar situation as you were, when we started,
Katie:
it was a lot of money to put up maybe well, for this service, but. My way of thinking about it. And I think you actually told me this is that this is an investment in me and you don’t really do that very often. You don’t invest in yourself very often before I was in school and I was just working.
I wouldn’t say I invested in myself or like truly. Improving on something at all. You know, I had a gym membership or whatever, but this is like really an important thing. That’s going to set me up for a very long time. So if I think about the return from the cost of this service, I’m the winner here. Um, so that was kind of a roadblock.
And I have, I really want my sister to hire you as well, but that is her robot then I’m like, no, you don’t understand what you’re going to get for this. You’re actually going to get all of these skills and tools that like you need.
Keina:
Yeah. I love that. Cause we’ve even talked about it. Doesn’t matter how much money you make.
You need the same set of skills regardless. And you’re in law school now. And we talked about what does that mean when you make more money when you’re out of law school, or even like we talked about in our coaching call last night, like you’re earning extra income and the job that you’re at now, but because you have this plan, you know where to put that extra income and it’s not just money.
That’s going to evaporate for lack of a better word where you’re like, yeah, I know that I was making, I got like 300 extra dollars for the last four months, but I have nothing to show for it, but I’m like extremely confident, even, even the plan that we talked about last night, where we went back to like, let’s actually go back and look at your goals and what’s important to you.
What do you value? And now let’s make a plan. You know, if you get an extra hundred dollars a month or $200 a month, where do you, where do you intentionally and how do you intentionally want that money to serve you? And moving ahead,
Katie:
and as a, as proof of like what this can do in like eight weeks, I, when we were talking about this extra money that I made it, it didn’t get spent.
It sat in my account for a good week before we even talked about it and not just get spent. And it still hasn’t been spent because it’s been put in an emergency savings account. So like, I am, that is not, I was before it’s absolutely spend spent like immediately, as soon as yeah, it hit my account. So this is like, this is.
A way to change your habits, your spending habits, for sure.
Keina:
I’m laughing because I’m thinking about you yesterday. You also said like, Oh, Keina in the beginning, I didn’t have enough money and now I have this extra money and I don’t know what to do.
And just, yeah, I, I hope that whoever’s listening to this and I’ve said it to you numerous times. Like, I just love hearing the wins that clients have and working with them and just being able to literally like Mark shifts along their journey, where your words and your actions literally change. Because one of the assignments that I know I asked you to do, as well as like name five reasons that you can trust yourself, because I want you to know, and I want you to believe that you know how to manage your money and you can know how to manage your money while you’re still learning how to save consistently while you’re still paying down debt.
Like all of those three things can coexist. And it’s okay. So you’re doing a great job.
Katie:
Thank you. Is there anything more than $10 in my account? I’m doing better than day one, for sure.
Keina:
Like you were even one of my clients and a lot of people are like this where you’re like, Nope, I get paid on this day and I pay my bills on this day because the money stays in my account.
It may not be there when the bill is due. And just being able to allow you to have some breathing room around that, because you can trust yourself and you’re like, no, the money, the money can stay in your account. That’s okay. You can choose to pay it, but know that you’re, you’re the one making the choice, the money isn’t like controlling you because you’re scared that you may not know where it went and a bill may not be paid,
Katie:
right?
Yes. I was definitely that person. And now it doesn’t, I just don’t have the paranoia. Anymore, because I know that the money is in the account. So like I don’t have that fear of paying things immediately on payday.
Keina:
I love it. Well, is there anything I should have asked you, but I didn’t
Katie:
for people who are out there who may or may be contemplating this, it is not easy, but it’s not hard either.
If going to Starbucks every morning is your thing. And you want to keep doing it that like you still get to keep doing that. There is a way to make that work. There may be that you may have to give up something else. But if that’s your thing, you can keep doing it. So it’s not like punishment. It’s not draconian ways to budget your money, but in my, you know, and it’s also not like a quick fix because as my dad all paid off, no, it’s not, but I have a plan.
And that for me, it makes a huge difference because I now know what I’m doing and where it’s going and how long it’s going to take. And before it was just like, perhaps you, like, I have no idea when this will ever all be paid off. But as we talked about yesterday, like I have a timeline now of when my emergency fund is going to be in a great place.
I know when credit cards are going to be paid off, which is really stress relieving, and really, really nice to know. I can make plans around that. And I didn’t feel like can make plans like they financial plans before. Well, thank you,
Keina:
Katie so much. I hope everyone listening has found some nugget that Katie shared with you.
Um, whether you’re a client, mine, or you’re just tuning in, because you found this episode somewhere that you can take and apply it to your financial journey, because I really think that she shared things that you can use no matter where you are, whether it’s like, Ooh, let me actually tighten up on how I’m managing my finances or let me actually ask for help.
Because I want to dig a little bit deeper to provide myself with some skills that I know are going to being part of what I like to think of as generational change, because it’s not just going to be about me and how I manage my finances, but. I can help people that are in my family. I can help future members of my family or even friends that, um, are in my sphere of impact.
So as I said, my name is Keina and I’m a financial coach with both of her. Now, if you would like to learn more about how you can work with me, you can visit my website at www.wealthovernow.com
