The #1 Money Mistake Keeping Women Stuck Right Now (Your Money Questions Answered) | 540

0:00Today we're excited to come and answer your questions directly that you send in. These are questions that you guys either send in through our Facebook group or through email. And we just want to take a minute to dive in and answer them so you get direct coaching from us. 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.

0:30Hey, 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. 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.

1:07We 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. All right, so Shana, one of the questions that we were asked was, what is the biggest money mistake that we're seeing right now?

1:38I bet people would think it's something like, oh, you're not investing in the right fund or you're not using the right credit card to get your travel points or whatever. But I think, because we see budgets every day, I think what I'm seeing is people completely avoiding looking at their numbers. You can be investing. You can do all of that stuff. But if you don't actually know your numbers because you're avoiding them, that is the biggest mistake. And it's such a mistake because when we look at them, Vanessa, it's not that bad. And you have an instant solution there. You have instant data that you can take action.

2:07You can find some solutions. You can start to correct some things. But if you refuse to look at them, obviously that can't happen. And that's what I see. Once we put the numbers on it, it's like, oh, and it's why. I can actually go out to eat. Yeah. Like, why are you avoiding it? I understand. but like that stop avoiding it so i had a new not a new client a client that returned back after i think i had she graduated about a year ago and she's completely changing jobs there's a huge career shift and she said hey i just need to come back for a little bit and i need to look at the numbers because i had set her up on automatic look she had a business so her business was automatic all of her her payments and her transfers and so was her personal and she loved it so much and now that everything's changing she needed to adjust and she said i said when was the last time you pulled us up?

2:50And she said, I haven't. And I said, oh, great. But I think to our point, to her point was she didn't have to because everything was automatic. It was done for her. But, and she said in the call, I have been avoiding looking at this. I don't, I didn't want to look at it because I thought I was going to be way worse than what you just put on. And she said, thank you so much for laying it out for me and making a plan because now I know what's going on. And we changed her transfers in the call. We did all that. And she was so excited. But like you said, they don't want to look at it because they're scared to death.

3:16But once we make it, once you make the plan and you look at it, it looks exciting. Yeah. So I guess the solution there or your call to action then is to look at it. Get our one page budget template, get our budget system better off because then it'll do the math for you and everything. And just look at it. It's not as bad as you think. And it's definitely making it worse, not looking at it for sure. This is your money. This is your life. Take control, take some ownership and let's look at the numbers. Yeah. That's just keeping you up at night. The unknown, right? It's that worry, the fear. But once you put everything on paper, and again, if you're a digital person, do it digitally.

3:48If you're a paper and pencil person, do it that way. It doesn't matter. But our budget template, like Shana said, it's budgetbesties.com forward slash budget template. So if you use that and put it all on one sheet, it can't be that scary like we said because it's five simple columns all together and you can see it. And we guarantee that it will not be as bad. You got to try it. Yeah, you have to try it. Okay. Vanessa, I have a question for you. Why do I keep using credit cards for groceries and gas, even though I hate myself when I do it, or I hate doing that. I think this kind of goes along with the question that we just had too.

4:21It's because you don't know what's going on. Normally people have one account, a black hole of transactions, right? So you have your mortgage coming out, you got medical bills coming out, you got your kids' soccer fees, you have your Starbucks, you have your pedicures, you have all this stuff coming out of one account, And you're sitting there in the line at the grocery stand going, what is still pending? What do I still have to pay? What hasn't come out? I had a lady on a call yesterday. She's a brand new client. She's showing me her planner that she has everything when everything is due because she's still paycheck to paycheck, like thinking in her mind.

4:54She doesn't have to be, but in her mind, she's thinking she is. So she's, if I have$5 at the end of this time that I know I can spend it, it's just a mess. So really, they're putting it on a credit card because of the unknown of this black whole of transactions in one account, they don't know how much they have to spend. Yeah. And I think that it's, there's this concept out there that grocery, like you have no idea because every week is different or this or whatever, but actually it's not. It's actually ends up being consistent and you can choose for it to be consistent too. As you set a number for how much you're going to do groceries a month, and then you can divide that by weeks or biweekly, whichever way your budget, you want your budget to go, you make it consistent and you make it work.

5:29We don't want you to do unrealistic, but let's say you say$250 a week or something. Then you'd have to stick to that. And you just, it's, that's all you have to think about is I'm not going to spend more than$250. There's$250 in there. That's what I'm going to spend. And maybe at the end of the week, you have clean out the pantry or whatever. You do something, but that, it like, it's like a forcing function, forcing mechanism to make you stick to your own budget. But you can have a regular budget. It's not like the groceries and gas just have to be this like, I don't know what's going to happen this month.

5:54It's going to be weird. It doesn't. It can be very consistent. I think that's a good point because last week in our grocery budget, and we have a pretty decent grocery budget because we have two teenagers in the house. They're hungry all the time. They're playing sports and everyone's always eating. We have a decent amount of money that we spend. And we do our transfers weekly because my husband gets paid weekly. Last week, so actually this week, everything replenishes for us on Thursday. So Wednesday, we had$33 in our grocery fund. And my husband said, we need a couple things. I was like, okay, I'll go to the store because I love him so much.

6:22But I know he won't work. He wants to get extra things. So I wrote down exactly what we needed and knew that I wasn't going to go over$33. And so this is the point. Like even us, we are following what we are preaching to you guys. The idea is to pick a certain amount of money that you know that is going to work for you. And I, the amount of money that we have in our grocery budget is fine. Okay. We know that it's enough. I don't need more just because I was like, oh my gosh. Just because I knew I had only had$33 to spend at the grocery store. And when I went guys, me and Bo goes, I saw so many things that I wanted.

6:52Tunnel vision, tunnel vision. And I was like, I'm only picking up these four things. Right. Because I knew tomorrow when everything replenished, then I could go grocery shopping and get everything I wanted then. But it holds me accountable. It holds my husband, my family. It holds us accountable to saying, this is what we want. This is what our goals are. This is what we said we wanted, and we're going to stick to it. Yeah. And so it sounds like we should do a whole episode on this. That's what I'm thinking because we have a lot that we can offer with that. But you're using credit cards, like Vanessa said, because you don't know how much you have.

7:20So the solution here quickly is to open up a gas and groceries account, set aside a certain amount, each paycheck or each pay period, and move it over there and start living there and knowing how much you have for gas and groceries. It's that simple. Okay, so do that and then we can work on the next problem that you have. All right, Budget Besties, it's time for some real talk. You don't need another budget. You need a budget system. Our simplified budget system is what you've been looking for. 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.

7:56And 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. 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.

8:29Now back to today's show. Okay. So Shana, another one that we get asked is, why do I feel so guilty using an emergency fund for an actual emergency? Oh, I know exactly how this feels. It's because we've had clients go through this a lot and it's, I set this money aside for an emergency and now I don't want to pull it out to use it for said emergency. And I think it's because this is your little nest egg. This is what you feel really comfortable and secure seeing it built up and seeing it there. So we're just going to have to let you know that it's okay to use it for an emergency. That's exactly what it's for.

9:02And then what we do with our clients is we put it in the budget to pay it back after you use it. It's there for an emergency. It's there for last minute when it's something you haven't been able to budget for on purpose. And then all you can do the next month is just pay it back. So it's not like it's never going to come back again. And the other part to this is if you have savings buckets the way we teach, then you won't feel guilty at all because you have so many different things saved up that you're going to be like, I'm basically amazing and I don't feel bad about it. And I think this is – the savings bucket thing is the key here because the question is an actual emergency.

9:34We would define an actual emergency different than maybe some other people would define what an emergency is. And so what we're saying is this is a true emergency, something that was unplanned, something that you need. Like if your refrigerator breaks, that is an emergency. If your dishwasher breaks, that is different. That's optional. That is something that you want to use, but not necessarily that you have to use. But like Shana said, your savings buckets for medical co-pays, for your child's soccer fees, for Christmas, vet bills, things like that. If you are saving for those are non-emergencies.

10:04Those are unexpected expenses that pop up throughout the year. But we want to have those separate. Those are completely separate than your emergency. Yeah. Yeah, and so if you have those, then you will feel good because a lot of those things that pop up are already covered. And then you can use your emergency fund to cover actual emergencies, and then you can pay it back. You don't have to feel bad about it. You did this for a reason. You saved it up for a reason. Good job on you, and now you will be able to pay it back. It's not a one-and-done-only everything. So the solution here is set your emergency fund separate from your savings buckets.

10:35Figure out how much you actually cost in a year and what you need to plan for the unexpected expenses. and so that way when you do need to use it for an emergency you feel good knowing that it's a real emergency and then you'll just pay it back in the upcoming months when you need to put the money back for that yep okay so last question for today so why is it so hard to stick to a plan when life is non-stop so i feel like this is a two-fold question here because there's probably a couple i was gonna ask you did you feel personally attacked about the life and being non-stop okay sorry i picked this question i was like and this is relatable but okay so there's two things here.

11:08One of the things I feel like is the problem is because you don't have a plan. So if you think you have a plan and things are nonstop, it's usually because you don't, you haven't actually looked at the plan. If you said it like three years ago and you're wondering why it's not working, it's probably because it's not relevant to what's happening right now. The other part of that, I believe, is because you're maybe trying to do things manual and you're trying to do transfers, you're trying to pay bills, you're trying to set yourself up for success this way. When really, if you set everything up automatic, which is what we love, then your life can go about knowing that everything is happening for you because you took the time to set it up in the beginning.

11:42Yeah. Life is life being life and life will be life and life being nonstop does not allow you to do anything else. That's the problem. That's why you can't stick to anything because your plan has you having to go in and do something manual. Your plan has you having to track this and that and the other. Your plan has you having to go through and do math in the moment instead of being able to just know that you have money to spend. That's not that's nobody has time for that. Nobody in this room, nobody listening, nobody has time for any of that. What we want you to do is be able to make these micro decisions.

12:13That's what our system really does for you is, hey, I'm at the grocery store. Okay. I have$33 because I get more money tomorrow or whatever. Or, hey, I'm at the grocery store. Every Sunday, I know I have$250 in there because it just got funded or whatever. And that's when I do my shopping. Like those are the micro decisions. Okay. I'm window shopping. I'm browsing. I want those boots. How much do I have in my personal spending. Those are micro decisions. You don't have to think about anything else. And then your bills are being paid by themselves. And then the other fun one that we've taught you lately is the kids account, right?

12:43They can make their own decisions. And that is like when those things are happening, you don't have to do anything. There's nothing for you to stick to. You actually would have to spend more time unsticking to the plan by going in there and cheating and messing something up on purpose, on manually, because it's already all taken care of for you. Yeah. And this is part of adulting, right? Like setting these systems up in place, setting these guardrails up for you so that way you're not using credit cards. How easy it would have been for somebody in my shoes and not on that Wednesday night having$33 in their grocery account going, you know what?

13:13I actually just want to spend more. No. You set this plan up for yourself and you want to be successful. So you're going to stick within that because that's what your desire is. And it's so easy to use a credit card and just swipe it and pay for it later. But we really have to step in and go, nope. I'm going to stick to the plan because I have a plan and it's automatic. And I think knowing that everything is happening for you, like we had a client say one time, knowing that her money was coming and was always going to be replenished, kept her from overspending. So I think always knowing that my grocery budget, that my kids account, that my personal spending money, all of that is being replenished all the time.

13:49It keeps me in check and keeps me from wanting to go above and beyond. When you're talking about that, what I was thinking is you could have created a problem for future you. If you decided to just go use a card or figure it out later. I'm just going to swipe from the bills account or whatever. That's what not adulting is. And that's not very nice to future you then because then you're just setting your future you up to have this problem to solve. Don't do that. Vanessa said, use your guardrails, have the system, be an adult. And it's really not like honestly about being an adult, but being nice to yourself, being kind to yourself, get the system set up.

14:20So you don't have this anxiety. You don't have this back and forth constant thing going on throughout the month when it comes to your money and your budget. Yeah. And I threw a toddler temper tantrum about work the other day because I was recording. I thought I was recording a video and I wasn't recording for an hour. So I had to rerecord this training video that was an hour long. It's fine. I refused to do it for the whole 24 hours. That's where like my brain was going. But this is the same thing. Don't allow yourself to throw a temper tantrum in the moment and be like, I'm just going to swipe or I'm just going to use the bills card, which you shouldn't have on you to begin with.

14:52Listeners, we love you so much. We do love you. So just allow yourself in the moment to say, no, I'm not going to do this. I decided in the beginning when my brain was in a good place that this is what I wanted to do. And you're going to continue on this route because you've set those guardrails in place for yourself. Indeed. Okay. So if you actually have questions, like specific questions, first of all, you can come on a live call, budgetbesties.com forward slash live call. You can come talk to us and we'll talk to you specifically. But if you just want to submit a question, you can go to budgetbesties.com forward slash ask and we'll be excited to answer your questions for you.

15:24If 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. 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.