In today’s podcast I’m interviewing my client Lisa and you might relate to her story more than you think. Before working with me, Lisa would go on vacation and assess the damage when she came back. But what Lisa has figured out after a full year of working the system we implemented is that she doesn’t have to figure anything out anymore.
Thanks to the Three Money Bucket system, the money is already there.
Lisa started working with me about a year ago, right before her 40th birthday, with about $40,000 in credit card debt that she couldn’t seem to shake, and a savings account that wouldn’t grow despite making good money. She would say she felt like she was just above water, and she knew things didn’t add up.
In this episode, Lisa shares what a full year of using the Three Money Bucket system actually looks like: $15,000 paid off, nearly $7,000 saved across multiple accounts, another $7,000 in her bills account, and a Disney cruise paid in full. She also talks about what has surprised her most from our work together and how budgeting has helped her elevate what she values financially.
Listen to this episode as Lisa shares her transformation and answers questions about her experience……
[01:35] What has a full year of budgeting been like?
[03:37] What have you adopted since we started working together?
[07:52] How do you make decisions and trust that you made the right ones?
[14:32] What was your journey with debt like?
[24:14] How coaching paid for itself
[27:20] How has your relationship with your son changed when it comes to finances and how you want to support him?
[30:36] What was the missing link when it came to savings?
Tune in to this episode of Money Files as Lisa and I discuss her journey to financial freedom.
If you are ready to, apply to work with me. I’ll help you build a budget that fits your actual life so you can manage your finances intentionally.
If you loved hearing about how to get out of the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle and build savings, check out episode 190 – Lisa’s Story: How Lisa Stopped Using Her Planner To Budget.
Transcript for “How Lisa Paid Off $15,000 in Debt and Built $7,000K in Savings in One Year”
Intro: Hi, and welcome to Money Files. I’m Keina Newell from Wealth Over Now. I work everyday with professional women and solopreneurs to help them get out of financial overwhelm and shame so they can experience more flexibility and ease with their finances. Are you ready to gain confidence and learn to manage your finances intentionally? Tune in and grab financial tips that will help you master the way you think about and manage your finances.
Keina: Hello, and welcome back to another episode of Money Files. Today I’m going to do what are my favorite episodes, and that’s talking to clients. And I’m actually interviewing a client that worked with me. Lisa, we started working together in what?
Lisa: April of last year.
Keina: Was it April? Dang, and you were on it too. Excuse me. I was like, was it February? But no, it was April. Okay.
Lisa: I think I reached out in March and then we had our first…
Keina: That’s what it was. Okay. So it was April of last year. It’s been a complete year. And I feel like I can do all the talking that I want to do about like what actually happens. And then there’s like, okay, Keina, but what about this? So I just wanted to have you back on the podcast because I want to say we talked last year right after we finished. And so that was in like August or so.
Lisa: Yeah.
Keina: That I think that podcast came out and then you’ve emailed me a couple of times. Everytime I see your email, I’m like, oh, good job, Lisa. So if you’ll just update us, I have been through a full year of budgeting. So yeah. What are you celebrating? Who are you now?
Lisa: Okay. So it’s been a full year. And in some of the updates I’ve told you, there’s been some big changes. Mindset I think is probably the biggest change. Of course, when we started this journey, I told you I would,had that birthday coming. And I was like, maybe I should have waited until I blew all my money on my birthday before getting my life right. But again, you out the gate made sure I got to do what I wanted to do for my birthday. And I was like, okay, a little buy-in. And then there was a little work at the beginning, just kind of getting used to like the money days and understanding this new system that I was implementing because we’ve talked about it. I had the calendar system, which was not really a system that worked well for my income. Maybe if I was collecting allowance, it would have been perfect. But my old systems weren’t working for my new circumstances.
And so flash forward to now that I’ve had a full year to work this system, I definitely see the benefits. One thing that stood out to me at the end of last calendar year was Christmas. We’d started my Christmas budget in April. And then by the time I got to Christmas, I had more than enough money to do shopping for everybody and not conservatively. I was able to get them like, this is really what I want to get them. And I can get it. And I had money left over. That told me I can maybe reallocate that savings to a different area of savings. But it also just reassured me that, okay, by the end of next year, by the time I’ve had a full year to work the system, all of my pots will be like this. All of my pots will have a little overflow if you will. And I was just encouraging to continue the process. So that’s pretty much where I am now.
I’m encouraged. I’m still sticking with the system. My stress is far less. I think you get used to living with stress and you don’t identify it as stress. So when I go on vacation, I’m like, I’ll work it out when I get home. That’s still a stressor, because now I have something to do when I get home. But now when I go on vacation, I had a whole pot for it. I don’t have anything to work out when I get home. I can simply enjoy the vacation. I don’t have any looming concerns. Just everyday stress is a lot less. I love it.
Keina: I’m glad you love it. I’m curious with, so like, I feel like you took on the full system, which I teach, which is like, here’s your money for bills. Here’s spending, here’s saving. But like, have you adapted anything since we worked together? Like, I want to take this in what Keina as taught me. Here’s what I’ve changed or anything?
Lisa: So early on, I like my money, which is why I was scared to give it to you. And it was a big investment, but it was such a worthwhile investment. And what I would say to anybody who’s kind of even on the fence about it is, I think it paid for itself more than enough. I can see why it was what it was. Because this really truly is kind of like a lifelong journey and it’s set me up. So with the system, the only thing I’ve done was add a few things that make it easier for me. So alongside the spreadsheet, I keep a running document. So when I do my money days, I enter exactly how much money I wrote in there because some of the things with the banks is, sometimes what’s pending isn’t what’s going to post. And then it throws off everything and you sit there for an hour trying to work it out. Ask me how I know.
And so I’ve gotten specific with that. And again, at first it felt like a chore and now it’s just second nature. It doesn’t take me long to get through my money dates. That actually makes everything go a bit faster because I can go through, put that in, put that in, put that in, put that in. If I make a mistake, I can go back to Google history, see where I was in, fix it quickly. Another thing, and I told you about it, but I think what I’ve done with adapting this system is applied it to my fitness journey.
Keina: I was hoping you were going to, I was like, I’m going to ask about it if she don’t say anything.
Lisa: I’m going to share because, so I started the gym in April as well last year, right? As soon as we started my budget, we went ahead and put a little pot for the gym. And my whole thing with the gym was just be consistent. I wanted to give myself three days a week of consistency. And if I could just do that, that’s a good start. Because starting the financial journey and the fitness journey at the same time is a big journey. But once I got my footing with the financial journey, one of the things I noticed and I’ve talked to you a thousand times about is, and I think it is also related to the little stress that I don’t count is the weight loss journey that comes with it. And I didn’t set out to meet a number on the scale, but I have noticed as I got more comfortable, my weight went down.
It went down to fitness, plus my fitness journey. I did it three days a week, but flash forward to, in January, I’m like, you can do hard things. You can stick to a system, you can adapt, you can adjust. You can get a speeding ticket. You have the money for it. You don’t like it. But again, it doesn’t throw off your whole system. Might throw off that moment of the day. And so with that mindset and understanding that I had the capacity to work hard, that I had the capacity for things to get easier because I’ve worked at it. One of the things I wanted to do and I’ve always had in the back of my mind was a half marathon. And so in January, I’m not a runner. So yes, big goal for no reason.
In January, I decided I want to run a half marathon and I found my little money in my system to sign up for one, register for one. So I’ll be doing that in October and I’ve been training for that. And even with that, some days are hard. Some days feel easy. Some days it rains. I’ve had to figure out how to adapt. Got me a little hairbrella so I can still get out there. Some days it’s just not feasible to go outside at all. And just coming in the house and what else can I do to deposit something into my fitness journey to keep me on track? Because I don’t want to get off track. I want to stay on track. I want to stay working towards my goal. And like money, like fitness, sometimes I don’t feel like it.
I have to operate in discipline because the motivation is not there. Sometimes I want to crash out and spend all my money, but I have to remember that there’s an ultimate goal. And every time I choose the right decision, I feel a lot better. I never save money. I’m like, dang, I saved so much money. I’m mad. Like that never happens. I never go on a run and be like, I feel so terrible about life now. So kind of just work hand in hand. I’ve been very excited about both journeys. And all my friends hear about both journeys.
Keina: One of the things you said is like you choose discipline over motivation, which I feel like is one of those like poster type of things. I feel like I understand what you mean, especially thinking about, I work out, I love working out. And I definitely am in a space where I’m like more discipline based versus motivation based. It’s just something you wake up and do. But you talked about like choosing the right decision. And I’m thinking about this journey over the past year and all the decisions that you’ve had to make. And I guess like, how do you know if you’re making the right decision? And if you choose that right decision in the moment, but then maybe in a week, I’m thinking about like where people experience like anxiety about whether or not it’s going to be the right decision in a week from now or a month from now. Like how have you kind of dealt with that roller coaster within this financial landscape of choosing the right decision and being able to trust yourself that you’re making the right decision?
Lisa: So over the course of just our time together and working together, one of the things that I think this system has helped me with is really revealed my value system and what’s really important to me and what is sometimes I just like it. And I think as far as the right decision goes, it’s because I have now much more highlights over the things that are important to me. I’m able to sometimes tell myself no to the little things that I like, to wait for the thing that I love.
Keina: What are some of those? Can you give us some examples if you have any?
Lisa: For example, I like vacations. I like a little luxury. Not too much, but I like to vacation. And so maybe I don’t go out to seven restaurants with my friends this weekend. Maybe I just pick one so that I can go on vacation and have a little lux on the vacation or go to the restaurant that I want to on vacation. Who wants to fly halfway across the country to only go to do the smallest thing. So to really have the experience here, maybe I lessen my experience here. I can still see my friends. I have a house. You can come over here. Finding creative ways to get stuff done. I wanted a garment, found an app where I watch a thousand ads and I got a discount. So I’m able to get the model that I want because I got it at a price that I was willing to pay. And that goes into the financial. Like I had a system for saving for it because of that value system. I feel comfortable with it. Maybe if this wasn’t the right one, I got it and I didn’t love it. It’s okay. It didn’t throw off my system. I have a means of upgrading, a plan of upgrading, but I’m also practicing that waiting, not the instant gratification and I’m okay with that. And I think that helps because I also take time to make decisions.
Keina: Did you take time to make decisions before working with me?
Lisa: 10, 15 minutes, maybe. But now I really do, like I’m interested in this. If there’s not a significant like there’s not a deadline, I’m making a decision, then I don’t give myself a deadline. I can wait to make this purchase. I can wait to save up for this thing. By the time I save up for it, maybe I want something else. Instead of having something that was temporarily okay. Now I’m getting exactly what I wanted because I took the time to wait.
Keina: So you’re seeing a benefit in waiting.
Lisa: Yes. Absolutely. Some stuff I wait and I’m like, I don’t even want that. I didn’t need that. Alright, just kidding. I don’t need it. And in some cases, like with my fitness journey, I have these goals. And again, I can’t stop talking about my fitness and my money with people. I love it. I have like a wish list and people will hear my passion, my dedication, my effort. They see the work I’m doing. And next thing you know, it’s a gift.
Keina: I love it.
Lisa: And I’m not asking for it, but they just see it. And so, again, the waiting has benefited me.
Keina: I love that reflection because I feel like I try to describe some of the like, I feel like people associate budgeting with restriction. And it’s slowing yourself down. But in this day and age where there’s so much instant gratification, I feel like we have to put financial speed bumps in our way because you literally don’t have to wait for anything. Like you said, you needed Q-tips, doordash them. Like you said you wanted a burger, doordash it. Like everything can be at your house within two to 24 hours. And so I feel like it’s built an unrealistic expectation for how quickly we should get things. And so I’ve been calling it like, we have like frictionless spending. And I don’t think we’re, like, it’s nothing personal. Like people shouldn’t feel shame about it as though like we’re the reason that’s happening. It’s just like, literally, if you compare and contrast the way in which you were raised and like I watched my mom use Layway, we had to use coupons. Also like I did a podcast on frictionless spending and I was talking about, even I remember her ordering clothes out of like Chadwick Spiegel, like those big magazines.
You had to write the check, put the item number, you had to put the, whatever it was in the amount, and send it off. Like it was going to come back in six to eight weeks. So there was space in between you and when you got the thing, or even like as teenagers, we went to the mall. You had to go try things on. You ain’t got to go to the mall, you just go to Zara.com. And so like just recognizing how the world has changed and not associating, telling yourself no with like, oh my goodness, I feel like I can’t have anything. I’m like, no, we’re set up to have everything. And we truly need to investigate the things that we’re saying yes to because are these things that we actually want to say yes to?
Lisa: And then the other side of that with the saving and buying, because we had conversations about credit cards and I get my cash rewards, but now I save for what I want. Then I wipe it on the cash rewards and then I pay it off and get my cash rewards, but I’m ahead. I’m always ahead. I’m never just falling behind. But again, that waiting, that saving is still turning into money on the other end. Even if it’s nominal but it’s money.
Keina: So just kind of segueing then to, you had some credit card debt to pay off. I can’t remember your numbers and where you were, but like, can you just kind of tell us your journey with debt?
Lisa: Yes. So when I started with you, it was a constant, and I think you’ve talked about it a bit on your page and in your podcast prior, but you do end up in this cycle where you pay off your card, but then you keep swiping and getting right back up. And so you just stay in this cycle and that’s kind of where I was. And I think I told you the last time we chatted on the podcast, I always felt like I was just above water, but I was just above water. And I knew that what I made didn’t make any sense to always be just above water. And so I ran up credit card debt. Some of it was from circumstances prior to being in this position where I’m making this money, but I didn’t have a system to get out. So I was approaching it with what I knew, but obviously that wasn’t working. So I needed help.
Somebody less invested in my money, but invest in my money, right. But I had credit card debt. And I had kind of, I can transfer it, pay down the balance, transfer with the zero percent APR and move on. But while I was doing that, I was still racking it back up on this other side. Again, it was a system I didn’t know how to get at. I knew it was a strategy, but I didn’t know how to work the strategy. And so with you, you helped me understand the strategy for the long term and then create an approach for using said strategy. So now I have the one card that will be paid down next month and then I can transfer my last balance over and then pay that down over the course of the year with zero percent APR. Both were on promotion. You talked about the promotional cycles with the different companies.
And I was like, never noticed that before. Now I’m getting the mail. I’m like she said, right on cycle. And in the other one, like she said, nothing all crickets. So it made, again, it just helped to find a coach who understood, you’re in this, you’re paying attention to this. I’m not, I just know what I see at the time. And so I have again a system for paying down this credit card debt. And as much as I’d like to not have it, I feel so much better about it because I’m watching it go down. I get all the credit alerts. My identity has been compromised a thousand times being a government employee and every other week, like your credit score went up. I’d be like, thank you.
Keina: I love it. How much credit card debt have you paid off in the last year?
Lisa: Oh, probably about 15,000 maybe.
Keina: That’s awesome. And you traveled at the same time.
Lisa: And I traveled and I was thinking about the net zero. Towards the end of our journey, we were like what’s your net zero and it wasn’t zero anymore so that was progress. But I think I told you immediately 7,000 in the bank account. And just the other day I was doing the math on both of my saving accounts versus because you know I’m doing both sides to save accounts over here. And I was like, why don’t we hit net zero into account?
Keina: What’s your savings at right now?
Lisa: It’s just under 7,000 with a little over 3,000 of that being just the emergency fund. So can’t math, but that’s again, I was saving nothing before. So that’s progress, but that’s just one of the savings accounts. And I told you worst case scenario, I’ll throw all my savings to emergency because the savings are while I like having them, there’s vacation, it’s Christmas, it’s birthday. Those are nice to have, but they’re not requirements. So I was like, I’m good over here.
Keina: I mean, like when you have gone from, I don’t know how to save, I can’t ever say. When you have these like thresholds that you can’t get over and passed, for anybody listening to this, like having $7,000 spread across multiple accounts, whatever, that you just know is like, this isn’t even bill money because actually what Lisa’s telling you, she has access to $14,000 worth of cash right now in between like, if I, if I’m hearing you correctly.
Lisa: Yes.
Keina: In between bills and your savings, you have five figures worth of cash that you can access. So if you lost your job tomorrow, you can rework some stuff and let me knock on some wood because Lord knows I’m not trying to make you lose your job, but like you actually have some ability to pivot and to flex. And so I can’t see into the future, but my goal is always to be like, I want to make sure that you know where your money is, that if push comes to shove you know you’re going to be okay. Your light’s going to be on, your car is paid. You got gas, etcetera. And you have a son. I want to make sure he’s taken care of, like all of those things. So you have access to $14,000 worth of cash. You’ve paid $15,000 off. Like that’s incredible work in a year.
Lisa: Yeah, I was happy to see it happen.
Keina: And it compounds like it’s only going to get quicker. Like once you pay off your credit card debt and you finish, because how much do you have left?
Lisa: About 25.
Keina: 25 left?
Lisa: Yeah.
Keina: But like you could probably get that paid off in another year, year and a half.
Lisa: Yeah because I’ll throw what I’m paying on the current card now.
Keina: And so it’s gone. And now that money is going towards other goals.
Lisa: Yes. And another thing I would like to mention overall is I also find myself. I don’t know if empowered is the word. It feels like such a buzzword, but empowered. So early on we had like our medical something pop up and you’re like, call them, see if they can do this. Okay. No, they can’t. They’ve been actually very difficult. But I’ve been very diligent about just everything. If I can ask, is there a way I can make this lower? I’ve been asking, is there a way I can do this? I have been okay with asking. And in some cases, with my internet, it lowered my internet. Actually cut my internet bill in half. Just randomly calling people throughout the year. And hey, you need promotions. We can lock in. My phone bill is, you didn’t even know my phone bill is in half right now. My medical stuff. They made a mistake. I’m calling and calling and calling about it. They sent me to collections. I was like, hold up, who’s office I need to show up at? Next thing you know, they fixed it. Zero balance. But I’m just asking more questions, even with my job.
So it’s not, no way being in flux with government contracts and the world upfront. Hey, Mr. Manager person guy, you know, what’s going on, and you talk about what severance might look like should this be the outcome? Just to go ahead and get that conversation started. I’m like, because I want to know, I want to prepare. And I know like with severance, I had at least three months of savings where I could survive in a decent cushion. And then also with the system where, you’ve done the numbers. I was about to take credit. I ain’t come up with none of those numbers.
Keina: You did because I watched your life and I was like, this is what makes sense.
Lisa: But putting a little extra. And I do look at that. I don’t move the money. What did you call it? I forget what you called it. Squirreling.
Keina: Oh yeah. Yeah. When you be siphoning off stuff, y’all be financially grazing is my other word.
Lisa: Yeah. Grazing. I don’t do that. Except for out of areas like child.
Keina: Oh yeah. Your son, you’d be like, he don’t need this money. I’m like, are you sure?
Lisa: He’s not going to earn it? We can use that for something else. Little stuff like that. But when it comes to like electricity bill, I see like a whole bunch of money sitting there. I leave it. When it comes to the phone bill, even though I lowered the bill, I left it at what it was. And so what I see now is again, if something were to happen, already just in this line, I’m going to have a couple months ahead in some areas. And again, which the job stuff, while there’s some concern, I’m not stressed because I’m also delusional now thanks to you. I read that book.
Keina: Gosh, what is the book called? The six figure earner.
Lisa: Yeah. Overcoming under earning.
Keina: Yes, yes, yes.
Lisa: It’s right over there. So I read the book and I’m operating in delusion and that’s how I’m applying. And that’s how I’m moving. Even if I don’t know, it doesn’t have to be real for me to feel that way, but that’s how I’m kind of moving. And so there’s no need to be concerned.
Keina: That’s how you position yourself though, to be ready to accept an opportunity. Like my, I don’t think I talk about this enough on my podcast or in working with clients, but my goal is always to get people to earn more. Like we can cut everything, but at the end of the day, I want to, like we’re talking about you being able to build wealth and contribute to your retirement and do these things that you desire to do. I’m like, what’s the number, where do we want you? How much money do you want to be making? And I definitely want women not to be underearning. And I want them to understand your peer next to you is making 175. They’re make in 220, they’re making 300. And like, those are real numbers that people are out here making. So let’s put that Delulu in your brain so you can say yes to it. Yeah. Because otherwise if you’re not mentally prepared, you’ll be so stunned when you see an opportunity like that come your way. And I mean, I love for you that you didn’t wait until like, I’m going to make more money and then get it together because I feel really confident that when you make more, it’s like same system, new numbers.
Lisa: But yeah, I just have that. I don’t know. The delusion is that’s how I talk on the phone with the people now. Like I am an asset. Like I am an asset, whether or not they see it. It’s okay. I know that. I know my experience. I know my worth. I know my value, but I have to stand firm in that.
Keina: I mean, you listen, we’re like two decades into this adulting or whatever. So you got to claim it and y’all need to put some zeros and commas and make some stuff work. They are paying people for far, far less.
Lisa: They are.
Keina: You said earlier, and I wanted to circle back to this if you remember, you were talking about like coaching, having paid for itself. In your words, I’m curious. How has coaching paid for itself?
Lisa: So I think it’s easy to reduce what you’ve given me down to a spreadsheet. She gave me this spreadsheet. And I think a lot of people use apps and things like that, but again, it goes, I said it a bit earlier like I had my approach. I’m a smart person. I had something, but I wasn’t getting the results that I wanted. So clearly my approach and all of my knowledge and wisdom isn’t what’s necessary for this circumstance. And so I have this spreadsheet that you could say I paid for, but I also paid for the coaching. You also had me think about things long range that I had not considered. Retirement ways to increase my contributions to my 401k. Again, calling these companies and going like, what can I get for less? How can I keep this, but not pay this, just little tidbits of information, gems, that I would not have considered. And I think over the course of what is it? 15 weeks, that’s time for things to happen. That’s time for things to be like, Oh, this is what’s happening. You can be like, ah, this for that. I have this resource for that.
And so I still have some of the resources that you sent to me. I still have my dream spending. And do I look at it every time I do money date? Absolutely. Do I see how close I am? No, but I know that that’s still the goal. That’s still the dream. That still feeds the delusions that I need. That keeps me empowered. That keeps me moving. But the spreadsheet, again, I’m looking at that same spreadsheet. I’m looking at the same system. And I’m looking at how much money, I have on it now than before we first started, that’s definitely covered itself. That’s covered the investment, the less stress. Listen, I’m okay with paying a little bit of money to feel how I feel. The fitness journey, just being able to draw the correlations between both journeys. Like you didn’t know he was helping you with my fitness journey.
Keina: Listen, but I have been told on numerous occasions, like Keina I lost weight since working with you. I need not as much. Like I’m more mindful and intentional.
Lisa: It’s really what it is. I’m not eating out as much. It’s just the value. Like I might eat out and the meal is not going to hit every time, even from my favorite place. So why am I doing that? But also I’m looking at my grocery bill and not letting food go to waste just because I could go out and just buy more food. I can’t just eat what I have. And that’s okay. And I don’t shop until I’m running low. Like even my son knows. He’ll go in there and be like, oh, we ought to finish this. I’m like, sorry, there’s no cheese in hand to put between it, but he’ll make you do it but I got jelly mom.
Keina: Right, right. You can do a peanut butter and jelly.
Lisa: But he’s learning too. He’ll ask to go to our favorite ice cream spot. And he’d be like, wait, do we have money for this week? Like he’s mindful of it. You hadn’t set up an account with him and he’s mindful of his spending. If I tell him he’s using his own money, suddenly he’s like, I only want this one and that’s enough.
Keina: Right, right, right. Your selectivity changes.
Lisa: But ultimately it started with this initial investment and it’s continuing to benefit so I think it’s paid for stuff a few times over.
Keina: I love that. One of the things too, I wanted to ask you is I’m curious how your relationship has changed with your son, when you think about like finances or even just how you want to support him. I mean, he’s 10 right now. But like supporting him in being someone that grows up in a household where his mom is financially astute. And she’s paying attention to what’s going on. And how has that relationship changed?
Lisa: So we’ll start with my childhood. I think I was taught financial literacy to an extent because my parents, well my dad, he enjoys this money stuff. He likes paying bills and fixing the numbers and stuff. It doesn’t excite me, but it is what it is. They gave me allowance and they had me budget my allowance. They had required spending what you have to pay for and everything goes is on you. But that was a different time so if you gave me $10 and only cost me $10 to fill my gas tank, I give two friends some rides and my tank is full and I still got $9. It was just a different time. And I really got practice on a different scenario. So I was good with my money when I was in college and I was still on my parents’ insurance. Cell phones were barely a thing, but I was still on their plane. I just didn’t have a lot to manage, but flash forward to now I have so many more responsibilities, so many more nuances, things that catch me off guard that I just wasn’t prepared for.
And again, my old systems didn’t work for this one. So I think with my son, what I can do is also continue helping him at his level, but I have a better understanding of how he’ll need to adapt his financial literacy to match his current circumstances. And I don’t think my parents did me any disservice. I think they just hadn’t considered it because they figured it out on their own. They’re from a completely different time. So they figured it out, but they didn’t know to, okay, let’s help her adapt. Let’s help her change her system because they’re not using this spreadsheet.
Keina: Even what we were talking about, like our parents had access to Layway. And so they may have told us like don’t use credit cards because credit cards are bad. But the extent of the teaching may have stopped there. And I love what you’re saying about adaptability because your money does have season. That’s why I always want people to know like you, a lot of people that come to me do have a former life where they manage money well, but then something happened, like I got sick. I lost my job. I got divorced. I had a baby. I got married. All of a sudden I moved to an expensive city, like there’s something that disrupted their flow. And so then they start experiencing what I call system shame. And they’re like, I don’t know if anything’s going to work for me again, like this planner used to work or using cash used to work, but now it just feels like it’s broken and I don’t know where to start and now I’m overwhelmed.
Lisa: And I think that’s exactly why I was just above water. I’m not going to let a bill go unpaid, but something was amiss.
Keina: And you’re like at this big old age, I know I should be doing something different.
Lisa: I should be doing something different. Really, it was a savings. There’s no reason I don’t have savings, but how come I can’t figure out how to save.
Keina: I’m just curious from your perspective. I know you said that I did all the numbers, but what was the missing link for you in terms of saving, like if you could go back until at least a year ago, like, oh, here’s how you’re going to save money?
Lisa: I think before you see like your debt, you need to pay your debt. You need to pay your bills. You want to continue enjoying life. You get overwhelmed. I’m just going to get this thing because I want it. But I think again, it goes back to that patience. Like we started and you’re like, this is what you’re going to pay towards your credit card. And I’m like, so we’re not going to just give everything that’s left. You’re like, no, because if we give everything that’s left, you don’t have anything for what you need. And it’s like, okay, this makes some sense a little bit, right? But it was kind of like you said, it feels restrictive when you don’t have the broader picture. It feels like budgeting is just going to be restricted and that’s not really sustainable. And so I couldn’t figure out anything that felt sustainable. And so what you gave me was, we’re going to pay this because ultimately you’re still going to be paying this off. That amount doesn’t change. And I think we talked about, I went through the cycles and I’m like, this debt is just what it is. It’s just what it is. I have the fruits of that debt. I’m using it. I own it. I really just pay for stuff too soon.
Keina: I like that framing.
Lisa: It’s stuff that I feel benefited from, stuff that’s still sitting in my house and so it’s okay that I’m taking the time to pay it off because I still had to pay it off regardless. And paying it off while saving for myself while really investing in myself upfront and then paying off the stuff that I bought too soon. So I think just coming from that place of slow down or you don’t have to throw everything at everything. Like you can figure this out. You can take your time. You can pay what’s necessary here. And so on and so forth. It’s was a system that matched my entire circumstance versus what’s looking at me in the face that day.
Keina: You making isolated decisions?
Lisa: Yes.
Keina: You just solidified that I actually do know what I’m talking about. She does. I think like too, when you haven’t seen it, it’s really hard to believe. And I feel like I have to just tell people, just trust me, which I’m sure I’ve told you several times.
Lisa: And even coming up with the numbers, I think sometimes there’s something to be said for somebody just simply making a decision for you. I probably could have come up with some exact numbers, but I would have just questioned why did I do this or did I do this correctly or did I, but with you coming in and be like, put this here, put this here, put this here, put this here, you know what, I’m going to just try it. My way wasn’t working anyway. And so you took the think work out of it for me and then it made everything else a little bit easier to approach.
Keina: And it doesn’t mean you won’t do your own numbers at some point.
Lisa: No, because I’ve since got a cost of living adjustment and I was able to go in there and fix my stuff. I’ve seen like car insurance went up and I’m like, okay, this is how I can fix this and make sure I put a little over because I was going to go pick it next year. And I was just able to adjust it, but like comfortably.
Keina: I mean like the thing that I’m also hearing and you’ve named, and I just want to like say it out loud too, is the time in which you see that something needs to be adjusted and your ability to execute on that seems relatively short now, whereas in the past you were potentially not even recognizing it or you saw it, but it was something that felt very stressful and overwhelming so you’ll get to it when you get to it. And now it’s a bigger problem. This week, I’ve been talking on Instagram about the intention tax. And I’m saying like, with especially six figure earners, I’m like, it’s the highest tax you’re going to pay. And you have money that’s stuck out there that you can reclaim, but you don’t know where to start. And like, there are things that have happened. You have decision fatigue. Like there are so many reasons why.
And so really just taking the time to be like, let me ask for help. Even maybe you don’t even see how the help could like help you exactly. But that’s where I’m like, book the consult because you don’t realize how much money you’re sitting on, not just in this current moment, but year after year. Like, as I’m hearing you be like, oh yeah, I changed the insurance. And then I went back and I made sure I flipped this and I did that. And I called about this bill. Like when you don’t take months, years to make decisions about what needs to happen, or even maybe you’re someone on the flip side of that, where you’re like, Keina, I don’t take a long time to make decisions. I got the parking ticket and I just paid it and I’m going to figure it out later, which that can be equally detrimental because that parking ticket money was supposed to actually go to the electricity. But now you’re paying half the electricity bill because you had two parking tickets. Like there’s just so many different configurations. And so I’m excited that your implementation in your execution is short because I know that right there is literally saving you thousands of dollars.
Lisa: It saves a lot. It even, like I said, it’s empowered me to talk to people. I don’t let people pressure me into decisions. If that can be the price today, that can be the price tomorrow. I can add on to different vacation themes. Like when we were working together, I went on like 26 nights of vacations. It was a lot. It was like seven last summer. But then since then I went on a Disney cruise and I paid that up front. And in the end I looked at my vacation pot and I was like we can actually spend some time at the park too. And so we were able to do that. And then we had money set aside for food and souvenirs and things like that. And again, came back already putting money into the pot for the next vacation. I got my Broadway subscription for next year secured. I’m going to see Bruno Mars, Ed Sheeran, all the people. I saw Beyonce. Like I saw everybody, but I’m more picky about my concerts too. I’m also getting good seats and I’m still not at zero. So again, it’s feels restrictive maybe in the moment when you want to buy something random, but ultimately I’m enjoying my life a lot bigger.
Keina: I would argue that the people that are doing the things that they are living in this freedom, they’re not actually free because you’re coming back and it’s like what is that experience when you get the credit card bill, what’s the experience when you open up or don’t open up the banking app because you’re frozen from it. And so, yeah, in the beginning, like I’ll be honest, I think for some people you’re like, oh, I got to like tighten this belt a little bit but it shakes out. I would say within the first 30, 60, 90 days where you can start to see like, oh, there’s light at the end of the tunnel when you need to pay your car registration and the money is there. You have a copay that you couldn’t have predicted. And you’re like, oh, okay I got some money I can flip to pay the copay. So you start to see that’s why I had to kind of tighten up a little bit. But now I’m experiencing less pressure and more peace of mind about the decisions that I’m making.
Lisa: Absolutely.
Keina: I wrote this down while you were talking because I think in your email, what’d you do? You told me you got your eyebrows done or something.
Lisa: Yes I feel like the last thing we talked about at the last meeting, I was like, I really want to get my eyebrows done. And even with that, I did. It’s not a firm. It’s something like a firm, but just because I had the money there. But we got a slow release. I was like what if I don’t like her and I don’t want to pay her? But I did that, no interest or anything, I was able to pay it off as soon as the procedure was done. But I did get them done and I was pretty excited about it. And I had a little pot. I made it a little pot and then I’ve also got Zumba certified. And so I made a little pot to pay off my monthly costs associated with that. And really went from eyebrow pot to Zumba pot. And that’s like my little pot. I call that my little, my next small, big thing that I want. I put that money there.
Keina: Your little personal investment pot.
Lisa: Yeah.
Keina: But like being able, I think like I wanted to highlight that because being able to respond to things that maybe feel like a little like spontaneous, or I didn’t know that I wanted to run a marathon or a half marathon, but there is still space for those things. And being more thoughtful and understanding your own values, I would always argue that it gives you more space to be able to show up in the ways that you desire to show up.
Lisa: And going back you asked about me adapting my spreadsheet some ways I’ve adapted it. And one of the things I think we talked about earlier, you gave me these lines and I was like, tolls, we don’t have tolls here, but I kept the toll line there. But once you get to a certain number, I’m like, this is ridiculous. If I go anywhere, I’m paying 300 in tolls. I’ve done too much. I should have flown at that point. But for me, I keep the money going to that pot. And now that pot is now my tolls and parking. So when I go out, I have parking money because I’m also, there’s how much is the park? I don’t want to go that badly. Because Atlanta is insane about it.
Keina: I was about to say you’re in a big city like me. Yeah. And you’d be like, oh, $40. Let me go home.
Lisa: You draw the line because sometimes parking is higher than the ticket and it’s not, I don’t even want to go. Or I’ll park way over here and I’ll walk, but I’ve adapted like that pot. Or when I started with you, I had the car wash membership, got rid of that. And now my auto maintenance fund is so high because I got rid of it because I don’t get my car washed every month. I park in my garage. I don’t need it. So now I take the money out of my auto maintenance fund, but that’s like four times a year at maybe 30 something dollars. Right. And so I’m like, it’s not really debilitating that fund. It’s keeping the ecosystem moving. Now, should I decide to sign up for membership again, I never got rid of the line I just got rid of the money going to it. But just those are little ways I’ve adapted the spreadsheet. You had my school miscellaneous fund. I’m like that thing goes faster than everything. Glad she put it there because these little schools, they will eat you up a little at a time. But now I’m also more mindful of how much I’m spending in that area. So it’s just been helpful to really spotlight where my money is going. Where I thought it was going and it wasn’t. Dang, I was doing something here I’m not, I’m wasting it over here.
Keina: When you get to become intimate with your spending, you’re like, oh, interesting. And my favorite thing is, yeah, when people tell me they don’t spend on something or I’m not spending that much. To your point about the school miscellaneous, which I’m sure you probably told me, oh, Keina, we don’t do things that often. I’m like, watch the next time you got a field trip. And then you over here talking about parent, teacher or teacher appreciating or fifth grade alone. Yeah. We like or whatever it is.
Lisa: Fifth grade picnic.
Keina: Yeah. You just aren’t paying attention to it or you haven’t estimated he’s going to be in a new grade, with that new grade comes new opportunities, after school, whatever.
And just being able to be thinking ahead is a lifesaver. Well, is there anything that I didn’t ask you or maybe what you were thinking about that you want to share?
Lisa: No, ultimately I would say this was, like I said, just a worthwhile investment, even if it’s daunting up front. We had the conversation up front and I was like, look, if you don’t get paid it’s because you didn’t help me right and I’m sorry. No, but ultimately I think this was a great decision that I made. I think at the time that I made it, I was just absolutely over myself. I was over the struggle of not feeling like I was where I knew I should have been. But again, I think it’s bled into other areas of how I approach life is really just the, I highly recommend it. I told you, I picked you off of your website, but now that I’ve worked with you, I would highly recommend you.
Keina: You did. You found me online.
Lisa: I was like, Oh, okay. You have a really nice credible looking website. We’ll try it. And I’ve referred some friends. I don’t know how many have reached out, but I will refer again and again. I think it was a worthwhile investment.
Keina: Well, thank you. I mean, I’m so excited for you because you’re only a year in. And so just to think, where you’re going to be three years from now, even five years from now, I really appreciate that I’ve been able to stay in touch with a lot of my clients and just to see the trajectory that people are on because the next time you’d be like, oh, Keina, I increased my salary by like 60 K and I’m like, okay girl.
Lisa: And I’m running the marathon.
Keina: Yes, so, you know, I’m going to be like, yes, yes, Lisa. Yes. Because it’s just nice to know that you are still working a system and that system is going to work for you and you basically having to budget for the last time in terms of thinking about where you. Not that you don’t touch your numbers, but thinking about where you were prior to working with me and then where you are now. So thank you so much for joining me. I appreciate it.
Lisa: Thanks for having me.
Keina: And if you’re listening to this podcast and maybe you see yourself in Lisa’s story, I would definitely encourage you. You can go to my website, which Lisa just said was beautiful. You’ll see me smiling there. And you can apply at the top. It just says book a call, but until next week, have a great week.
Thank you so much for listening to money files. If you’re ready to take the next step to reach your financial goals, head to www.wealthovernow.com/appointment and let’s get started.
