Hormones & Your Budget: How Your Cycle Impacts How You Spend Money and What to Do About It with Leisha Drews | 533

0:00Hey guys, this is more of a female episode. However, if you want to stay tuned to maybe learn more about your wives or your daughters and maybe how they're functioning throughout the month, then you may want to listen.

0:11Leisha Drews:Yeah. 90 % of our audience, 95, 99 are women. So this is perfect for you. You're going to, you're going to really learn a lot, but if you're not like Vanessa said, feel free to skip it. But we are talking today to Leisha Drews, who is the host of the happily hormonal podcast. She's a nurse and she really focuses on hormones and figuring out all the things when it comes to that. Yeah, and she really believes that your hormones determine how you act throughout the month. It's fact, right? Your hormones determine your spending habits, your mood, just different ways that you are interacting throughout the month.

0:41And so we're just really bringing light to that here.

0:43Leisha Drews:Yeah, it was a really interesting conversation. We enjoyed it. We learned a lot. And she was just talking about when you're more rational about your budget, when you're a little more spendy, why you might be more spending, all those kind of things. It was really interesting. And it's totally going to apply and help you probably adjust some things that you're doing in your life. Do you make good money but have nothing to show for it? Are you tired of living paycheck to paycheck? Do you have big dreams for your financial future? Do you want to get debt-free but you don't want to live on beans and rice?

1:11Leisha Drews:Or you don't want to give up those pumpkin spice lattes? Hey, it's okay if you don't already know how to budget or if you're using credit cards to get through the month. Hey, it's okay if you want to seem like you have your finances all together or you're not on the same page with your spouse when it comes to finances. We know what you're doing probably isn't working, but guess what? you're in the right place. We're Shana and Vanessa. We're best friends, business partners, and master financial coaches trained by Dave Ramsey. We've been in business since 2019, helping hundreds of amazing people like you create budgets, get out of debt, stop living paycheck to paycheck, and know exactly what to do with their money.

1:47In this podcast, we'll share with you everything we know plus everything we're working on with our clients so that you have the best chance at reaching your financial goals. We want to help you take the guesswork out of your budget, improve your marriages, and even bring your kids in on the conversation.

2:01Leisha Drews:We can help you no matter where you're at, whether you're the single mom who's never had$500 in her savings account or the millionaire who's paid off four real estate mortgages. And we're not going to shy away from the tough love. We'll tell you what you need to hear and encourage you at the same time. This is the Financial Coaching for Women podcast. Hey, Lisha, welcome to the show. We're so excited to have you. All right, we're excited. You guys are about to get a wealth of knowledge And, you know, overspending, spending habits, kind of the emotional toll of money is something that a lot of you ask about.

2:32Leisha Drews:So we're going to get some real good insight from Leisha. She's amazing. Leisha, tell us how our cycle, our hormones, how all of that, does it actually affect our spending or is that all in our heads? I was really thinking about this just a few months ago and just trying to get into this piece of it because I've been working with women on hormones for years now. I've been like understanding, you know, how it affects our moods for one thing. But then I was like, this has got to affect spending. I actually was doing my budget with my husband. And I was like, why every month do I do this budget? And I'm like, yes, I'm on board.

3:06This is great. And then literally like a week later, I just forget. And I'm like, okay, so this is, we need to go into this later for myself. But I'm like, this thing is going on here. Like, I'm not like this forgetful, but just, it just doesn't seem like it matters that much, like a week later or two weeks later and we budget every month. And so I was like, you know, being who I am, I'm like, this has to do with this. There's got to be something hormonal here. So when I started to dive in, I found that there are some very predictable patterns with our menstrual cycles that if we know that they're coming, we can, I think, understand, not only understand them better, but actually make changes in how we're spending and making decisions because we know that they're happening.

3:48And it's not just this kind of, I know this, something changes throughout the month, but I'm not sure what it is like we can pinpoint so there is actually a very big link between hormones and neurotransmitters and our habits that really makes a difference in our finances I think what I hear from you is just being aware right being prepared knowing instead of like you said this cycle of this happens every month I don't really know why but I'll just see okay it'll happen next month and then just you go through this roller coaster but understanding and knowing your body and knowing that it's coming and that way you can be aware and be prepared for it absolutely

4:20Leisha Drews:All right. So I'm just thinking about me, but so I'm trying to get down to this because I do think that, you know, women will tend to blame a lot of things. And if they can understand themselves better, then they can prepare and they can, you know, hopefully have a little bit more grace. We hear all the time, you know, I have a spending problem. I'm bad with money. And we're so we try really hard to change that narrative for women. But now we can we can really get some some facts and some data about when maybe some of these things that they wish were different. why they're happening, when they're happening, and maybe they'll be able to combat that.

4:53Yeah. Yeah. So what I'd love to do is just go through the menstrual cycle, what that looks like so you can get a brief understanding, and then we'll talk about spending and how your brain works differently in the different phases of your cycle. So one of the big things that I want to say every time I'm talking to someone new is our hormones are not the enemy. I think that we have been told as women, it just sucks to be a woman. You get a period and it's terrible. Your mood's a mess. like you're crazy sometimes. Like I just think there's just like really negative narrative around women, around our hormones and just how we speak about them, how other people speak about them.

5:27And what I want to just say is a really core belief for me. And I've seen it be so true for so many of us is that when we understand our hormones better and we understand how our bodies work, we can see the gift that it is. And truly like the reason that we have hormones is so we can create new life. And that is a superpower that men do not have. And we don't appreciate it, to be honest. And we just look at these cycles as a pain and like something we have to deal with and a burden. And if you are having menstrual symptoms like PMS, mood swings, bad periods, hormonal acne, like all of these things that are not TMI on my podcast, but maybe a little TMI here, so I won't go into all of them.

6:08This is your body telling you that something is going on under the surface and it is not normal. Even if your BFF has it, even if your sister has it, even if it's always run in your family, you do not have to be stuck with hormone symptoms. So I'm going to come from a place of talking about just a normal menstrual cycle that does not include a ton of PMS or PMDD or those changes. I am going to mention that toward the end when they show up and how that does affect your habits and your spending. But I'm going to be talking about a menstrual cycle that is not a roller coaster ride. That's like whipping you around like crazy because that is not normal.

6:38and that is something I can help you fix. But I'm coming from a place of more of these gentle waves because we are different throughout the phases of our cycle, but it's not bad and it's just how our bodies work. And so we're coming from a perspective of your menstrual cycle can be more like these kind of like gentle waves at the beach and like things do change and they flow and they ebb. And like when you're at the beach, it's never the same. Like the sunset always looks different. The waves look different. Like it's always a little different, but it can be predictable and it can be like a pretty smooth ride is what I just want to like just cement in as we're starting this conversation.

7:11So what that can look like is throughout your cycle, this is for women who are cycling normally and are not taking hormonal birth control. It's a little bit just muted with birth control, but probably still there. So still listen. If you're past your periods, if you're in menopause, this doesn't affect you as much, but you think back to what it was like before. But when you start phase one is your menstrual phase. I'm just going to talk about four weeks of the cycle, essentially. So every phase I say, we're just talking about the week. So menstrual phase is when you're bleeding. Okay. And so what that means for your brain is that your estrogen and progesterone are lower, which causes some of your neurotransmitters to be lower.

7:52Okay. So dopamine is one that I'm going to talk about a lot. That's a neurotransmitter that is associated with this like thrill seeking. we talk about it a lot with social media and just if this you're wanting to seek some sort of even thrill is like almost too much of a word but some sort of like stimulation and so when dopamine is lower on your period what this does for your brain is that it is a really great time for you to be more intuitive more inward focused introspective and emotionally honest so this is a time where when we're talking money, this is the perfect time for you to be actually budgeting, to be making plans for your money.

8:31And you're going to come from a pretty realistic place. Now, if we just are being really honest, this is going to be the most, probably if you're someone who like has some ups and downs throughout your cycle or someone who might be like, like really social some of the month and really not social some of the month. If you're making your plans during your period, you need to account for the person that you are a couple weeks later. So just think about that. Okay. But during your period, you can make some really good rational plans. It's a great time for reviewing your spending from the last month and really thinking through things, being honest with yourself with what you've been doing and reassessing goals.

9:07So this phase is actually usually pretty good where we are not as tempted to be doing things like impulse buying or like social based purchases. We just have a little bit less social comparison typically during this time with the lower neurotransmitters. And when dopamine is low, new things don't feel as worth the energy. So you just may not be like as, okay, I need to try something new. I need to try this new thing and buy this new thing and that kind of thing. So that's the news one menstrual phase. Okay.

9:37Leisha Drews:So what I'm hearing is you just need to hybridate and make a budget. The one thing that I've - Naturally be good with your money during that week. One thing I've learned, which is not a lot because I'm kind of, you know, like a bull in a China shop, but it is be nice to yourself during this week. That's, that's what I've learned. Like you're, as you said, you're, you're going through a lot, like you're running a marathon, but you don't even know it. Right. So be nice to yourself. And so I think like, just be, give yourself some time off, like hibernate a little bit, snubble up, make your budget.

10:08Leisha Drews:Cause you're got, you got the good angel brain is what I'm hearing. And so I like that. What do you think? No, I think so too. And I loved at the beginning when you were talking because you said, you know, we make humans. We have hormones. There's a reason why our body does what it does because we're making humans. And I remember a long time ago, I saw this woman. She was very pregnant and she had a Halloween costume and it was Wonder Woman. And she had written on the belly, I make humans. What's your superpower? And I thought, we have a right to be sometimes a little crazy when we have things going on in our body because our bodies are literally made to make humans.

10:41And that is a lot. There's a lot going on there. But But to be able to understand, be aware and know what's going on is so helpful day to day. Right. And as you're living.

10:50Leisha Drews:Well, and I'm excited for you to dive into the next phases because maybe everybody wouldn't have thought that this week is the week that you're rational. I don't think I would have thought that at all. I don't know. And I don't want to I'm not being ugly to any of us. I totally agree with what you're saying. All of this is by God's design. Honestly, it's normal. It's great. We just have to figure out how to make it work for us, which is what we're doing today. But I'm just saying, honestly, I don't know if I would have put this week as the one like this is your budget week. But I do I do want to point out the thing that you said, which is the way I've heard it is don't write a check this week that two weeks later version of you won't want to cash.

11:25Leisha Drews:Right. So you're so when you say that, like you're saying, don't what do you mean by that? Exactly. Like you said, you said, well, I'll just let you answer and stop talking. Okay. So something that I want to say is there is always nuance to this. And I am trying to give you like the best snapshot I can in a short period of time. So if you're listening to this and you're like, okay, I really want to understand this more, come over to my podcast, Happily Hormonal, and just search like Happily Hormonal, cycle syncing, cycle tracking, something like that. I have many episodes. I also have a little cheat sheet guide that ends a lot of my show notes so you can download that like you'll see these are the episodes that I want on this.

11:59So I have so much more for you. With that being said, there is some nuance. What I see as like the lowest phase of the cycle mood wise, especially when some things are off minerals and like just hormones are off is it's really is that last few days before your period starts. And sometimes the first couple of days of your period. So if you're like, that's me, this is my low time, then that may not be the time that you actually have any energy to budget, but maybe like day three of your period, you're like, I'm back. Like I'm good. I'm very rational now. Like I've gotten through the rough patch.

12:32So use this information and test it on yourself because that is going to be the best case scenario. So what I meant with thinking about who you are two weeks from now, this is when we go into follicular and ovulation. So follicular and ovulation, this is just when your body is essentially getting that egg that you've had cooking in there for a long time, getting it ready to ovulate. So you've got eggs in both ovaries that are getting ready to ovulate and there's a little follicle holding each of these eggs and whichever egg gets biggest first and is ready to ovulate the hormones tell it to do it this little follicle will release the egg and so this is why it's called follicular phase and when that egg is released is when ovulation so your estrogen is rising that second week of your cycle say like past day seven to about when you ovulate which a lot of women ovulate somewhere around day 14 it does vary but somewhere around that middle of your cycle you've got a lot of estrogen rising that second week and this is the week where you are most fertile so if we think about you are most fertile it means you are most social you are yeah you're you're just glowing your skin looks great right because of the design of our bodies where they are made to be fertile and to produce new life like you are going to be most physically attractive most emotionally attractive like you're on this week.

13:50And this does continue a little bit past ovulation. So I'm talking about this follicular ovulation phase. I'm talking about around 10 days, about in the middle of your cycle. So say like day seven to 17, 18, something like that is this phase. This is a phase where you are a different person, maybe a little different or maybe a lot different than you were on your period. And so if you planned, your period brain said, I am rational. I don't overspend. this is me. This is when I budget. I just realized this a couple of months ago. And I'm like, I will not spend any extra money this month. I totally have this together.

14:27We're not going out to eat. When I'm follicular, I'm out with my kids. We're doing fun stuff. They're like, mom, can we buy this? And I'm like, I'm a fun mom. Of course you can. And that's who I really am at that point. But if I plan to be my period brain the entire month, which is what I've been doing, and then I forget who I am halfway through the month who is actually like my favorite version of me who wants to have some fun that version of me needs a budget that's going to have a little wiggle room for that's going to have that spending money available at that time unless I'm just going to blow everything and so what that means when we're follicular when we have this and ovulation we have higher estrogen we actually have higher testosterone as well we have more dopamine and stabilized serotonin you're going to be more curious more optimistic it actually is a great phase for researching and goal setting and planning because we have this like really optimistic brain but we keep it realistic but there is a higher reward sensitivity and higher social comparison again because if we're thinking about fertility we're thinking about being attractive being out being creative like all of these things there is a little bit more sensitivity to social pressures and things like that.

15:39And then even what I just said, you're feeling fun, right? You want to do the fun things. And so this is a highest risk phase for impulse buying, especially like over optimism. And then I loved this when I was doing this research. I saw this wording that this will change my life spending. Guilty. So guilty, right? And so it's okay. These things that you're like, in this moment, this feels like so important that it's worth changing my plans for. if you were to take a beat and say, hey, I'm going to make a choice to reassess this in a week versus spending now, that could make a huge difference. But even if you just know, like I said, this version of you is coming and this is a time you save your spending money for this time, right?

16:23And if this is when I get my spending money, because this is when I'm going to work, because it is a higher risk tolerance phase.

16:28Leisha Drews:I just heard someone talking about yesterday how they buy all these things or it was while I was at the beach this weekend she buys these things to solve problems in her life and this reminds me of this follicular whatever late yeah like okay I'm gonna I'm gonna fix the the beads on the couch or whatever and then I'm gonna do this I'm gonna do that and then just end up with all these things all these to-dos that you don't actually one know how to do or want to do once you're once you get to the point and so I was like, ooh, our listeners would identify with that. So to your point, Alicia, exactly.

17:00Leisha Drews:Put it in the cart. That's what we tell people. Put it in the cart and think about it. Give yourself a couple minutes to think if this is actually going to change my life or if I'm, like you said, I'm on this dopamine, this creative vibe, like, oh, life is going to be amazing. And just give yourself a minute. I think that would help. Well, that's what I was thinking too. This is where add to cart comes into handy, especially on Amazon. Just put that baby there, store it there for a little bit. But I think that this is so relevant for the conversations that we have with our clients. Because sometimes they're like, I don't need any spending money.

17:30And then like, I need all the spending money. There's nothing for me. So they go in these waves of wanting money for themselves to spend. And then they don't need anything. We're not going to spend anything. And we see it constantly because we meet with them on a regular cycle, the first and third weeks of each month. But that changes based on if there's four or five weeks in a month. So that is always changing as we're meeting with them. So their moods are changing. Their hormones are changing. The time of the month for them is changing. And so we have these wonderful conversations with our clients.

17:57And that's why we tell them spending money for yourself is non-negotiable. Because when you want to spend money, you need to have it there. Doesn't matter if the next two weeks you don't touch it. Doesn't mean you're not going to spend it. It just means you don't need it at that moment.

18:12Leisha Drews:Yeah. And also to make it automatic. So I think some of this learning about yourself and your hormones and your cycle, you know do yourself a favor and set some things up to where you don't have to you don't have to do anything in the moment you don't have to make these decisions yeah yes these decisions as you're changing use your better your your middle self i guess we got to find the middle self where you're you're a balance between rational and super optimistic right and and just come up with something that you can that you're going to stick with every month month after month so that you don't have to make the decision in the moment and that aligns with your fun mom that aligns with your your period your period self that's like trying to build a nest egg or something whatever she's doing and so but just set it and forget it because we don't want you to have to remember add another thing to your to-do list rely on willpower and but also at the same time we want you to have some spending money when you want you know so that that's kind of why we teach it that way yeah this is why the automatic the automatic part of our system is so important so there's no decisions required throughout the month right yes for when you forget who you were and are again All right, Budget Besties, it's time for some Real Talk.

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19:27Leisha Drews:It's going to allow you to be bougie on a budget. You'll be able to easily set up a system that runs automatically and shows you exactly where your money is going. And it's going to give you permission to spend. Everybody loves that. Yeah. It's straightforward, pretty, and packed with walkthrough videos that break down the exact methods we use with our clients to get out of debt, set up a bills account, separate spending, build savings buckets, and end the paycheck-to-paycheck feel. If you're new to budgeting, this is the perfect way to jump in. And if you're already a budget nerd like us, you're about to meet your new obsession.

20:00Leisha Drews:This is the upgrade to your finances that you need right now. Yeah. So head on over to budgetbesties.com forward slash budget and grab yours. Now back to today's show. Okay. I have one more phase that I'll go through really quickly. And so this is about the last 10 days of the month. So if we're talking maybe days like 18 through 28, something like that, depending on your length of cycle. And this is the luteal phase. And so this is the phase that comes from the follicle that I talked about. I just think this is cool to have to say this, even though it's maybe not so relevant to this podcast, but the little follicle that's holding your egg collapses and becomes a temporary organ that makes a hormone called progesterone for the rest of your month.

20:40For about two weeks, this is what keeps you pregnant. if you get pregnant. And it's just this teeny tiny little almost microscopic organ that's temporary that makes this hormone that makes such a difference in your mood, in your neurotransmitters, in your metabolism. It's such an important hormone for women. And so this hormone is supposed to be dominant in the luteal phase. If you have enough progesterone, you're not making too much estrogen, you're not having a lot of hormone symptoms, this can be a phase that is really stable and like a calm phase for your body. Many, many women do not feel that way because there are hormone imbalances.

21:15But what we see in the luteal phase ideally is that dopamine just drops a little bit. And so it's not high. It's not low. It's in this like happy medium range. Like you're saying, let's find this like medium place. This is the medium places. It's like especially early part of the luteal phase. And for many women who do have balanced hormones, It actually can be the whole luteal phase. But this is where you have a calm energy. You have follow through your task oriented. This is the best phase for staying the course. OK, you budgeted at the beginning of the month. You're 20 days in. You're staying the course, paying bills, executing, executing plans like just like executive function is high.