How to Budget When Life Hits Hard: Medical Bills + A Grocery Plan That Works | 545

0:00I also want to say is a lot of times people put a lot of pressure on that. Okay. I remember this is really a very silly thing to think, but I remember in Texas, now I'm from Texas, so this is a little different. You can get a pound of beef for 96 cents or something. When? When?

0:17Alana:Yes. When I first started grocery budgeting. These days, I don't know how much it is. Six dollars a pound. And so the point I want to make is if you have a mindset of my grocery budget, what it was before, and anything like what it is now, then you're going to put a lot of pressure and you're not the only one. A lot of people do this. You put a lot of pressure on your grocery budget. And I am here to tell you, it just costs way more now. It's not you. And like you're just buying chocolate chip cookies, which we know you're specifically not. But yeah, it's not you. It's the fact that the prices are higher and that budget needs to be a lot bigger.

0:50And that's got some shock value for those of us who have been trying to do this for a while. like you're trying to do better, but yet somehow it feels like the budget keeps going up. That's not on you. It's just reality. 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 when 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.

1:19If you want to seem like you have your finances altogether, 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 Francie. 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. In 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.

1:54We want to help you take the guesswork out of your budget, improve your marriages, and even bring your kids in on the conversation. 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 workers. 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. Alana, welcome to Financial Coaching for Women. We're so excited to talk to you today. How are you?

2:24Alana:That's a funny question because I actually just got back from the hospital. I was there twice in two weeks for two heart attacks. Yeah. So they told me just to do some light walks and I'm doing my light walk to get my circulation going and I can't lift anything over 10 pounds. And yeah, that's what I'm doing. I'm 36 and had two heart attacks, but here I haven't even processed. I know that was such a loaded question. That was a lot going on. Wow. We are smiling and you're walking. You are.

3:00So she's just with a little dance. Wow. I guess that is some goodness gracious. Yeah. So tell us about your financial situation so we can help. So that is not an area of stress

3:15Alana:for you yes now i'm like oh boy i can't wait to see my ambulance bill but i've been really disenjoying your podcast and it like the way that you guys address finances and i was telling my husband because there was another financial podcast i was listening to about budgeting and stuff and i just seemed like i just could not get it like i couldn't get into a good rhythm and a good budget and I was like done the way that they do it with like having different accounts for different bills makes so much more sense to me so I did that and because we have a two thousand dollar insurance bill that comes up twice a year for our car and then we have this random like trash sewer bill that comes quarterly but it seemed like every time those big bills came because they weren't a monthly bill we're like oh crap are we gonna have the two thousand dollars for that bill.

4:09Alana:And now I've created like the, my own accounts for those bills and each paycheck goes into a little bit of that money goes into that account for those big bills. And I feel so relieved. I'm like, okay, then that big bill comes. I'm not going to be like, ah, we don't have the 2000. Cause I have it each month. I'm like, this makes so much more sense to me to have different accounts for those different bills and a card to pay for that bill. So that's been helpful. And then we had, we created like a little like CD and emergency fund. So maybe that will help with my upcoming Dr. Bill. But I also just found out I got a letter in the mail yesterday that I qualified for disability.

4:51Alana:That actually happened. I applied for that prior to my heart attack that happened in June when I stopped working and got on medical leave. And then this came up and now I found out that I will be getting$1 ,500 each month for medical leave. I'm like, okay, we're going to be okay. Maybe that bill will come in. Yeah. Maybe that paycheck will come at the same time my ambulance bill comes in. But I'm like, I'm feeling good. I'm feeling good. This will allow some relief. Yeah, I'm sure. Yeah. Well, you have the most sweet, joyful, optimistic heart. So we just want to support you and all of that. And some of that does come from, like you just said, like actually putting on paper, having a plan, instead of it being like a question mark or something that you know is going to stress you out you know exactly what's going to happen now good it's also good that you have that disability check hopefully coming and depending on how long that lasts or whatever then that's more numbers you can put on paper and just do math problems that should be for the next two years it's supposed to come in the next two years and then you just re-apply for it if you still have your disability i'm like now i have scads which is like secondary cardiac artery blah blah blah whatever the doctor told me that i can put on there a lot of words yeah so So such a big deal.

6:06Alana:And then also it's scads. What? They told me that it 90 % of the time it happens in women in their forties with low body weight, low estrogen, Hashimoto's. I bet I met all the criteria, except I was like a little bit younger than typical, but they're like, Oh, you met the, no, it pegged you completely. And so I'm like, Oh boy. So now I'm having a, yeah, that's not the demographic you think of, right. Having heart attacks, but okay. So you've gotten a good start. you're so sweet about our podcast telling what did you say he was his name Jeff Madison John John you were telling John about the podcast and everything so where do you have any questions or do you have anything that's tripping you up that you wanted us to help with yeah we have a landline we got it for my children in case they needed to call 911 for mommy's health which we ended up having to call 911 twice gosh good thing we did that yeah anyways I still struggle with so I have a really restricted diet my son has a really restricted diet and my daughter has like a weird diet but not as restricted so we don't have a very in general like I feel like I spend a lot of money on groceries for all of our different dietary needs.

7:21Alana:And that's where I trip up. Like I feel like I don't really have a budget for groceries. I tend to buy things when it's on sale or as needed. And I'm going to the grocery store multiple times a week or having Instacart, especially now with being in the hospital and being home recovering. I used Instacart a lot, but I just don't know how to like dial in a food budget. Yeah. Have you looked at like true numbers, not what you want to spend, but actually what you've been spending in a month on groceries.

7:54Alana:No. Yeah, we know. So listen, you're not alone. I just actually had a free call with a lady yesterday and she said the same thing. They were struggling with their grocery budget. They have a lot of dietary restrictions as well. And I said, you're just not allowing your, you're not doing yourself any favors. You're putting an arbitrary number in the budget as to what you want to spend on groceries, but you're not able to stay within that, which is fine. It's not bad. Like you're not out there buying Kit Kat bars and whatever. You're just trying to buy a regular everyday food for your family to stay healthy.

8:24So I would say let's, and we're not about tracking, but this is goes into like the 90 day review situation where you really need to see and allow yourself to grace to know how much you're spending on groceries really in a month. So that way you can plan for that upcoming in the upcoming months. And then you're going to hit that number, right? You're going to stay within it and you're going going to feel good instead of putting a smaller number and feeling like you're a failure that the budget thing isn't working because you can't stay within that amount. Yeah. Yeah. And the other thing I would say is I don't have dietary restrictions, but I do try to think about like what the, like the repeatable things that I have to buy for groceries.

9:06And so with Vanessa's advice, you're going to go through and see what I did spend. So you might do three months and it might be 2000, 3000, 2500 or whatever. and you settle like probably on a$2 ,500 number and just say that maybe we can stick to that. But then I would say groceries is predictable. What's not predictable is why the prices keep going up and up, it feels like. But for our kids, Vanessa has two athletes and she buys very specific things every month that are probably heavier for the budget or every week. Like they're, right, they're always eating. And so you might be able to look at that for these, for you and your son, you said, right, that you both have, what do we need?

9:42What do I have to buy? because this is really all we can eat or this is what we like to eat over and over. And it can start to help you frame a, a rhythmed grocery budget. Maybe if you're doing it or in grocery shopping, like weekly, what can I just stock the fridge with? We always eat this. We know it's, we can, and we won't get sick or anything. And then the same for daughter and just have some, make it a plan instead of a surprise every week or every month, because that's also stressful to you, like to try to have to figure these things out. And I think we don't have to eat like this huge variety of things that we like, it can be like, if I can just stock the fridge, stock the pantry with the stuff that we know we eat.

10:18And then on the weekly basis, if I need to pick up something a little spicy or a little special, I can do that. But then I know that there's always food. There's always stuff in there that everybody can eat. Yeah. One thing I'll add to that too. I love a good deal. Okay. Yeah. And so my husband works at a grocery store that does buy one, get one free deals and not just on junk food, like actual really good nitrate, nitrate free, like organic products. And so I've actually started a savings bucket for my Bogo deal. I'm a nerd and I know that's true. I know it's true. Because like before school starts, they have really good back to school deals.

10:59Okay. I'm just going to use this as an example. I probably spent probably over$500 on just BOGO deals when all of that came into play for back to school. And then my kids weren't allowed to touch it until school started because they would eat, they would go through it in a day. But it was one of those situations where we stockpiled, we bought all the good stuff, all the organic stuff. We shoved it in all the fridges and freezers and cabinets. Yeah, we could, I still have some on top of my fridge. Don't worry. But it was the freedom to spend because I already was saving for it in a savings bucket.

11:29So just like you've been doing your annual bills and different things for that kind of stuff. Maybe if you start setting aside some money because you said you like to shop all the sales. So yeah, that way we, you can feel good when you, they have a sale and they'll help you stay within budget. And then you're saving for, you're saving for, to be able to spend on those deals. Yeah. It's time to enter your coaching era because making good money should feel like making good money. Yeah. Imagine six months of private coaching where we'll tell you exactly what to do. No guesswork, no confusion, and absolutely no judgment.

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12:39Six months from now, you'll wish you started today. Yeah. And then the other thing is you want, I didn't hear you say, do you have a separate account for groceries already spending account?

12:51Alana:No, it still just comes out of our checking. um i'm still tweaking our i actually right before my heart attacks got the account set up for our big because we had just paid the big 2000 let's do in october so i just paid that and then right afterwards i was like i had listened to one of your podcasts about the saving buckets i said oh john i'm gonna set this up so then next time six months from now in the spring when it comes up we're not gonna be like again because this time we were a little like yeah exactly we had it we did it, I was actually, he had just gotten his paycheck. And I was like, okay, we have the money in the account.

13:26Alana:I'm paying it now. But the next time I'm like, okay, I don't want to do that. Whereas let's just wipe out your whole paycheck just to pay this big insurance bill. So now that you're on track for that and that's what you feel good. And the next time that bill comes due, you want to set at least one extra spending account. We can start there. We don't have to get like crazy to begin with, but you want to put money in there. How often does he get paid? He gets paid weekly. Okay. So we're, you know, what I would say is we're going to put a certain amount of his paycheck in the groceries account every week.

13:55And you can start to play with that. Because yeah, what Vanessa said, you want to go back and look and see where you were, but then you also just have to be realistic about where you are and where you want to be. So if I can start to put a certain amount of pay, like if I, however much I think I spend a week in the grocery account each weekend, then I just have to stick to that budget. And I know that all my bills are in this build account and it's not messing with that. And I can just, I can start to get better at meal planning or grocery shopping or sales shopping or whatever, because I have this budget over here and I just have to stick to that.

14:25And then I don't have to think about the other decisions, the other problems that are in these other accounts, because those are separate. And this is all I have to solve is this groceries right here in this account. I think once you move everything in its separate account, it's really going to be a game changer. People try to do our system and half it just because they haven't had a chance to set it up fully yet. and it's that setting it up all the way that makes a huge difference. So I would say, yes, move that money over. And then that way you, it's like its own little, I don't know. It's just, it does something when you're spending money to know that this is what I have and it's not mixed in with everything else.

15:04It really is like a huge mindset shift. If you went, once you can do that and move that gas and groceries or just groceries or however you want to do it, money in its own account, it's going to give you the freedom to know that it's not messing with anything else. And this is all you have. I don't say that like negatively, but this is what you have for food.

15:21Alana:Yeah. My husband, he's a truck driver. So he's gone like Monday for Friday. So I'm pretty much like single mom Monday for Friday. When we first got married, I, we, I was like, Oh my gosh, we're spending so much money on food. Cause I was navigating like my meals, your meals. And then he's so sweet to just, okay, I'll just eat how you eat. I don't need to eat wheat and dairy and all this stuff. We'll just eat the same stuff. and so that was easy and he was so impressed that I cut our grocery bill in half I was so proud of myself I was I made a goal and I cut our grocery bill in half now we've adopted three kids now we're a family of five and it's oh and they have dietary restrictions too and he like I said he's gone all the time so I'm the one doing my finances I pay the bills I do the budget and I feel like I've been such an expensive wife partly just because of medical bills oh my god sorry here's a life life oh no i'm gonna i'm gonna pause you there it's his privilege to be able to make all these things happen for you and the kids like i i believe that especially after hearing what he did with the food like that's his privilege and a little bit of his burden but it's honor to do it so don't do that you're being a good steward you're doing the best you can and i think that and you're taking that on so that he doesn't have to worry about it which i think is wonderful and hey he's way more healthy probably because nobody needs to eat gluten and all that stuff anyway like y 'all are like way ahead of the game i'm saving his life and everything he said before he married me he only pooped once a week and now that he's married me it's every day oh my god that's life goals baby so proud of you but he's been so supportive of you know me i'm like i really want to get a handle of our finances i really want to budget well and just being with partnering with you guys he's like completely supportive of me doing that as he knows i'm the one doing the I'm the one buying all the groceries.

17:07Alana:I'm the, you know, I'm the financial manager of our house. Yeah. So I want to be able to do it well. And I need you guys to help me do it. Yeah, no, we're not like you have a good team. Yeah, yeah. And the other thing I also want to say is a lot of times people put a lot of pressure on that. Okay. I remember this is really a very silly thing to think. But I remember in Texas, now I'm from Texas. So this is a little different. You can get a pound of beef for 96 cents or something. When I was in. Yes, when I first started grocery budgeting. These days, I don't know how much it is. Six dollars a pound.

17:44And so the point I want to make is if you have a mindset of my grocery budget, what it was before, and it should be anything like what it is now, then you're going to put a lot of pressure. And you're not the only one. A lot of people do this. You put a lot of pressure on your grocery budget. And I am here to tell you it just costs way more now. It's not you and like you're just buying chocolate chip cookies, which we know you're specifically not. But it's not you. It's the fact that the prices are higher and that budget needs to be a lot bigger. And that's some shock value for those of us who have been trying to do this for a while.

18:13Like you're trying to do better, but yet somehow it feels like the budget keeps going up. That's not on you. It's just reality, you know?

18:20Alana:We also, we fostered to adopt. So I have three adoptive kids, but we didn't get them as babies. I remember when my youngest me did, my three-year-old. he can eat like crazy and i remember his first week there it was wednesday and i'm like whoa we're not gonna go i'm like it's not my shopping day but i guess i need to go shopping like doesn't get better that that would be really hard because with a baby you like your their appetite slowly grows and you can adjust slowly but that would be definitely very shocking guys Like full on tea. Here I am. I'm hungry. I'm like, oh, you eat a lot. Okay. So those tips, hopefully for the grocery budget, hopefully that will help you.

19:04Definitely separate the account. Yeah. And then that's the next step because you're taking like each little step at a time. Each little bit that you do is going to make it feel better. Yeah. Be more organized, more simple. So keep that up and then try to do the things that we said. And hopefully that will help. Okay. Feel free to check in our Facebook group or you can schedule another call in six months. We want to hear how it's going. Okay. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. And, and good luck with the scads. What am I even saying? My gosh. I'm sorry. Just do all the things to doctor. You're already doing all the healthy food stuff.

19:33So do all the other things and just keep on just on your walking pad. Well, yes, absolutely. Thank you. You're welcome. All right. Thank you for coming on the show. It was a pleasure and a privilege, and we'll hopefully talk to you again soon. Yes, I'm looking forward to it. If you're tired of feeling like your finances are all over the place and you're ready for a simple set-it-and-forget-it way to budget, we have something special for you. Watch our Automate Your Budget Masterclass at budgetbesties.com forward slash automate. We'll show you step-by-step how to finally organize your money, how to set up your account, and put your budget on autopilot so your bills, saving, and spending run like clockwork.

20:15Imagine less stress, more savings, and the freedom to spend money without having to track every dollar or babysit your bank account. Go to budgetbesties.com forward slash automate to start today.