Not Your Grandma’s Budget: How to Budget When You Hate Budgeting | Reair: Money Magnet Mama with Masha Goins | 559

19:30Masha Goins:And we need to break that down and put it in your budget. So that way you're prepared for this stuff. 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. It's a done-for-you system that actually works. You don't know what you don't know, and that's not your fault. And that's why we're here. Financial coaching with us looks like two coaching sessions a month, personalized recaps, and after-hour support, you can text and email.

20:05So you're never stuck wondering what to do next. Together, we're going to build your budget, set up your system, and tackle any challenges that come up along the way, which, by the way, they always do.

20:14Masha Goins:If what you're doing isn't working and you're tired of trying to figure it out on your own, sign up for financial coaching at budgetbesties.com forward slash coaching before all of our spots fill up, and we will help you go further faster. Six months from now, you'll wish you started today. I think that's exactly it. And thank you for giving the overview because I'm so deep into my love for it. I'm just like bathing in the budget. And yeah. And one of the things I was actually telling my dog Vixen, how excited I was that he's moving from the builds category into the annual savings bucket. He's going into his own, his insurance, like his, I'm going to pay for it like yearly.

20:55And it's coming up in January. And I was like, I can't wait to delete that one line out of my like monthly budget. things like that where I know his pet insurance is coming up every year right that is not an unexpected thing I just don't think about it every single day and then I'm like oh it's due oh gosh okay we're let me grab seven hundred dollars from over here and the same thing with like swim both of my kids are competitive swimmers and it's you guys have kids in sports as well it is cray cray right I was just thinking how much you spend on food for swimmers but anyway keep going Yeah, I, a lot.

21:29But that's why we got to budget it. It's the reality of your life. And that's what we're budgeting for. And that's the other thing I think that your listeners need to hear. A lot of times that restrictive budget that you've been used to trying and failing is unrealistic. It's not a budget based on reality. We want your budget to really, truly match your real life. And you love that your kids are competitive swimmers. It's making them into disciplined, amazing adults in the future. And it's awesome. And we want to be able to afford that. We don't want it to be like it's already stressful getting them for practice and back and forth.

22:00Some of that can be stressful. Let's not have the budget part of it also be stressful. Yeah, exactly. And I think that's the thing, like taking away that mental load. So you're not having to carry all these things that are rattling around in the back of your brain. Oh, the car, I think I need to bring it in. Like it's rattling again or I need to do this and that. You don't have to worry about that stuff anymore because it's just there on that piece of paper. and it is so clear and you have a plan for it and you know what's going to happen with it. And I think that that's the part that appeals to me as a planner, like so much.

22:31Like I, I am just like geeking out over that part immensely. Yeah.

22:35Masha Goins:Shana has a story about, we had a client who had a flat tire and she went in to get it repaired. And the guy said, actually, you need all new tires. You need four new tires. And she said, okay, here's my card. Here's my debit card. Because she had been saving for it in her vehicle fund. And the guy was shocked because most people put it on a card or they conveniently offer a credit card at the auto repair shop for you to just sign up for in case something like that happens. And when we have clients come on and they say, okay, I want my grocery budget to be$1 ,000 a month when they're normally spending $3 ,000 a month on groceries.

23:06Masha Goins:And we're thinking that's not the point you're missing it. We don't want you to be restrictive. We want it to match your life because the minute you try to cut back on what you've normally been doing, it's not going to work and you're going to hate it. And you're you when you're making a budget, put realistic numbers in there. Otherwise, it's not going to work. It's going to fail. And then you're going to feel like it's all on you. Yeah, exactly. It's like dieting, right? Only 3 % of diets actually work, right? And so I think that's why this is so different because it has the space for the life that you want to live now, as well as the life that you want to live in the next five years, right?

23:46It's got that space for both. And it has this amazing feeling of like we're working towards something. And I just want to give the example of how we're having our first credit card free Christmas. What we want you to do is set up a open a separate savings account called Christmas. Call it whatever you want. Santa's little helper, whatever it is that you need to do to make it. You can rename your accounts in case you didn't know. And then start setting aside right now. So you guys have worked really hard to have a credit card free Christmas, which is awesome. And we want all of your listeners to do the same.

24:17So again, look back. December was last month. So look back. How much did I spend, give or take? And then let's start setting that amount divided by 12 aside right now in January. And then you will be able to also have a credit card stress-free Christmas.

24:30Masha Goins:You can buy it all in July and be done if you want, girl. Because it's going to be fresh in your mind. You're going to know right now how much you had just spent on Christmas. So go ahead and take that number, like Shayna said, divided by 12, put it in your budget. So that way this may be, this upcoming 2026 could be the first time that you could pay cash for Christmas. And think of what a relief. Think of like the difference it's going to make for your life and your family. It's such a cool feeling. And honestly, there was no need to actually use the cards, right? It's like we all get sucked in.

24:57I keep seeing now, of course, that I'm on the other side of not using credit cards anymore, how they suck you in with their points and they're this and they're that. And like I was in HomeGoods spending my, like trying to do my personal, I have my MG spending and I was like, I have to use this money. So obviously I'm going to have a little home goods holiday trip with my pumpkin spice latte on my, by myself. Right. And I did. And then she was like, if you open a home goods credit card, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Right. And I was like, I could see how this is super appealing. You get 20 % off.

25:30Plus you get points every time you shop there. And I was just smiled and I was like, no, I'm good. Thanks. And, but that's how they suck you in with the cards. And then you can't keep track of it. And then it's like the rates expire. And it's like, it becomes this like super complicated system where you're trying to shuffle money around from the credit cards. And you're like, why are we even doing this to ourselves? Like you don't need to have them. And I think people always feel like I need to have a really good credit score. I need to have credit cards just in case.

26:02Masha Goins:It's a game that they want you to think that you're winning at, but you're, but it's once you're on the other side, it's like you've broken up and you're like, no, I see it. I get it. I'm not falling for this because it's not worth it in the end. Yeah, exactly. It's not worth it. And it's so nice. I also to just know that you have the power to do it all cash. And now when I look at my account, I can see like, how much do I have in groceries? And we're good. Like it just takes away that stress of everything is vague and mushy and foggy and I don't really know how much I'm spending on what. And real quick, again, for the listeners who aren't immersed in it, what did you get?

26:42Bathing in the budget. That's another B word. What we want to do is your spending is going to be separate from your bills, which is why she knows when she goes to HomeGoods that she has so much in her MG account that she can spend. And she knows there's money for groceries. There's money for kids to eat because they're so hungry. There's money for Christmas in the other account. There's money for gas. The bills are all getting paid and I have this sweet little account called MG and I can spend this all I want. It's very exciting. And so that's why it's different and why we're different and what we want for you to have that freedom, to have that easy decision in the moment to make, not having to sort through all of

27:15Masha Goins:these different things to see, can I get this pillow at HomeGoods? Yeah. So we've talked about simplifying it, seeing it on one page. Now the separation part is what Shane is talking about as far as having your bill separate from your spending, which is really the game changer. We have clients who join on and it's when they do that step when they do that and they actually separate everything That's when all the magic everything comes together And the last part of our system is to automate it because we want it to be as hands-off As possible and we know that if you're in it, we're in it We're messing it up because you don't have time for that and nor should you even need to feel like you have to be in it all the time But if you can automate everything and then you know It's running on autopilot and you can focus on your family on christmas time on the new year time setting goals You can focus on your business.

27:58Masha Goins:There's so many things that your time is already spoken for and you don't have to be in your finances and feeling like it's a it's a burden for you. Yeah, exactly. And that like my business budget now, it's all automated and it's so nice. And I just it gives me such a sense of peace and safety and comfort when I look at it. And I was thinking, like, I can't believe it. I could have had this feeling like the last few years as my business was growing. and I was doing well. And instead, like, I was like, yeah, I'm doing well. And then I'm like, oh, this came up. Oh, another tree is down. That's another 5 ,000.

28:35Like, now we've got to do this. Like, where we are, like, we have four acres where we live. And so we have storms all the time. As soon as a tree comes down, usually my husband like cuts it down if he can, depending on the size. But there are constantly things happening, right? And like maintenance of the property that you're like, wow, I didn't even think of that as an expense. And then it's, oh, that's another five grand and another five grand and another five grand. And now I don't have to feel stressed about it because I'm like, hold on a second. What did we actually do in the last year? What did we do in the year before?

29:07What do we expect is going to happen in the next year? So it's like you don't have to be reactive anymore. I think that's the key. It's like you feel this amazing sense of peace and clarity and control as well.

29:20Masha Goins:Yeah, no, that's good. I love how you put that. I think that's really important because you can gain control over it. And the fact that it's automated, like you were saying, and that you don't have to worry about anything. I think that really allows you to then, okay, so now your business is automated and now you're able to focus more on your personal because we're almost getting that part. It's like 99.9 % done. And so it shows you how your money is flowing from one to the next. But when you said that I could have been doing this all along, that's the point of coaching, right? I think you're in it.

29:48Masha Goins:It's your budget, it's your money, you're looking at it a certain way and only that way for so long, having, and that's the importance of bringing an outside person in, being able to look at it in a completely different light, being able to suggest different things that you would have never thought of. Because I'm sure when people join your program, Masha, they say the same thing. Oh my gosh, this huge light bulb moment happens. And they were like, I could have done this the whole time. No, probably not. Because this is something that you needed a coach for. You needed that outside person to look in and to help you see it in a different way.

30:17Exactly. Yeah. And I think that's exactly it. We need to not only accept, but seek out that help and support and stop pretending like we can figure it all out on our own because we're wasting so much time and so much money doing it, like trying to hack it ourselves. And that goes to like building a business as well as figuring out our finances around it. And I think that's part of the problem. Like people just thinking like The problem is not that I don't have a system. I just need to like make more sales or I need to get more clients or I need to do this. And it's a hold on a second. First, you need to get your socks organized and matched.

30:56And then we can talk about, do you need new socks? Do you need to upgrade your socks to like Bombas or whatever, like wool socks or something like Smartwool? Not down in Florida. You guys don't even know what that is. Hey, we're cold. I wear fuzzy socks in July. But anyway, yeah, I love Bombas. I have Bombas. So yes, let's move on from and put bomb us in the budget, whatever you need to do. All the me words are going in the budget. But I think when, when I hear you say, I just need to make another sale or get another client because a lot of our clients are entrepreneurs and we hear them say the same thing.

31:26And so how do you know? Like, you don't know what you actually need. Honestly, you don't really know. You just know more. And that's never, you're never going to be able to fill that bucket. That bucket is always going to have a hole in it. Right. But what we like to do is let's look at your personal budget. See, what do you really need? What does your business really need to bring in to the personal budget? And then we can look at the business budget because like you said, there's all kinds of, depending on how long you've been in business, you know, what kind of business you have, all kinds of expenses and we need to pay.

31:53Those have to get paid first. We need to know how much your business costs. We also need to know how much you cost personally. Then we know how many clients you need or how many more sales you need. You actually need to do all of that math so you can say, Hey, and I love to, I love doing this with our clients every month. Okay. You are already at 70%. You just need to go out and get one more client or you just need to make three thousand thousand dollars and you have and you're you're good for the whole month or whatever but having like ownership in those numbers knowing your numbers that that is part of the entrepreneur game I think we get into it and think I'm just going to do this one thing that I'm really good at but you need to be okay with owning your numbers and knowing your numbers and looking at your numbers the CPA can do the boring stuff but you've got to know that stuff yeah if you're

32:32Masha Goins:out there just trying to make money but you don't know for how much and for why and for how long it can get really exhausting. But when you know your numbers and you can say, okay, I'm doing it for this reason this month, or I only have to hit this goal or, and you have set those goals for your business, then it just makes it, it just brings it to life. I feel, and it makes it, it gives you a purpose for what you're trying to achieve versus this endless amount of money that you think you have to make because you don't know what's going on financially in your business. Exactly. And it's so empowering because it's not a black hole anymore, right?

33:02You're moving away from the the colander and you're actually getting to a place where you're like wow this is like super color-coded and organized and I actually don't need to do I'm actually doing really well over here so what about this and then you can start like doing the dreamy like vision stuff right okay I want to plan this next vacation I want to plan this next thing and I think that's really nice like that part where you can really start savings towards something specific because I think that's part of the problem when people are like, I know I should be saving, but it's so intangible.

33:37What are you actually saving for? And now, like getting your annual bills covered like that, and then going beyond that to like the fun stuff. I think that's so exciting. And the flip side of that really quick, and I say this all the time, maybe not necessarily to entrepreneurs, but to my, a lot of times to my husbands that are working overtime, or they're doing, they're picking up a side hustle, or they're doing this, that, or the other. I say, at least you know what you know exactly what you're doing that for. Every one of those dollars is going to your Christmas fund or every one of those dollars is going to pay off that credit card.

34:09And so when you're putting in that work, when you're working hard and you're maybe doing when you're not curled up on the couch, watching Christmas movies, making ornaments. No, just me. Okay. That's really what my goal is right now, but nobody will let me. Anyway, when you're not doing that, when you're working hard, you know exactly why and where it's going instead of the other thing, when you're working not 12 hours a day and nonstop, and you don't really, you're hoping that it's all for a purpose and where it's going. And instead, you're very clear on it. I think it makes it more motivating.

34:33Masha Goins:I have a husband right now, and I actually honored him on the call. And I just told him how admirable it was that what he's doing is because their budget works on his regular salary. But they know that every minute of overtime that he works goes all towards debt. And he worked on Thanksgiving. And his wife was a little sad. And he said, you know what, babe? It's fine. It's one day. And we need the money. It's all going to go for good. It's going to pay off our debt sooner. And it was just that moment that he had. This isn't forever. This is the short season that we're in. And they're a young couple trying to get everything in order before they buy a house and have kids.

35:08Masha Goins:And so they're just so excited to know their numbers and then to know their why. And they understand when they do work overtime or she takes because she's a teacher. So when they do, when she has like summer job, summer camp jobs and stuff in the summer, like she knows the reason she's doing it. And every single dollar extra is going all towards debt. And they can see that tangibly because now they know their numbers. Yeah. And the same thing with entrepreneurs, which I know is your audience. I have a client that worked on Friday. She was with her family. They enjoyed Thursday and they enjoyed Saturday, but Friday she was working and making calls and doing all of her things.

35:38And you know what it's for. It's not just wasted time when you take still time from your family and it's wasted because you're just whatever, but it's not wasted. You know exactly what you want to do and you know where the money is going to go when you make it. Like it's just a different feeling. And that's what we work for all of us. We want you to have ownership over all of this and be in control. like you said, peace, clarity, all of that.

35:58Masha Goins:And I will say really quick, our budget's so amazing that it works both for personal and for business. So just one thing in there. Exactly. No, and it's been huge. And honestly, talking about a waste of time, like that's the doom scrolling for seven hours that I know so many people are doing, even though they don't realize. But yeah, instead, you could be like clicking through on the super pretty like pink and green, mint green budget system and just geeking out on it. I just want to say thank you guys so much. And I want to have you come back because actually we didn't even have time to talk about the whole process of me and Bill merging our finances, which was a huge part because we always kept our finances separate.

36:36And I think that's something that will be really interesting for people to hear as well, because everyone has different like relationship challenges, but that's definitely been a huge part of ours. And it's been amazing to go through that. And Vanessa has been so incredible. And by the way, Vanessa have to say that you are like a name in our household. Bill's like, what would Vanessa think about this? And I'm like, yeah, do you think Vanessa would approve this one? So we're constantly like saying you're a name and vain. And it's so funny because we're joking about it now. Like it's, it's like a funny, it becomes this like thing that is not scary anymore, but you can just talk about it.

37:17Masha Goins:And I think the point of coaching too, is to, you have a coach that's going to ask all these questions and it teaches you to ask yourself those questions once you graduate. Okay, what is this new way? Because it's not just so I'm in for six months and I'm out and then I'm going back to doing what I'm doing. It's I'm in for six months. I'm learning a new way, new habits, new mindset, new all of this. And then that way when you go to do it, right, you're asking yourself those things so that way you know how to work through those situations on your own. And I think that's been the big benefit that we've seen from our clients when they graduate is they have all this knowledge and information, these tools in their back pocket from our conversations that they can now help make themselves make themselves successful or continue right for years to come.

37:56Oh, yeah, I am definitely like budget bestie for life. This is I'm just getting started. Like now that it's been unleashed, like I'm just getting started. It's so exciting. So thank you guys so much for coming on. I have been just loved listening to your podcast all the time. It keeps like new things come up all the time. Like this is a journey, right? It's not just you just learn the system and it's not boring. That's the thing. Like budgeting sounds so boring, right? If you're not an accountant, you're just not going to be excited about it. But this is something when you're a creative person, it's actually, there's a lot of creativity and beauty in it as well.

38:31Thank you. Yeah, I agree. I totally agree. I'm not into boring math either or boring number thingies at all, but this is a different, it's different for sure. Yeah. Thanks guys.

38:43Masha Goins:Oh, thanks for having us on. 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 to set up your accounts and put your budget on autopilot. So your bills, saving, and spending run like awkward. Imagine 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.