Where Is All My Money Going? How One Mom Found $1,000 in Her Budget | 574

0:00Michelle, we have you back on Financial Coaching for Women. We're so excited. Michelle is from Office Hours. She is amazing. She really helps you guys week to week learn how to maneuver your budget. You're able to ask questions. And she listens to every single one of our podcasts. Wow. She does. I don't do that. She's amazing. And she really wants to make sure she gets, you know, she is our coach. She works for Budget Besties and with us. And she wants to make sure she gives you the right information all the time, especially, you know, because we just started this new annual bills checking account, right?

0:29So she's always going to make sure she has the latest and greatest information to be able to give you during office hours. Well, and everybody loves you, Michelle. They absolutely love you. You are out there serving people and really, really changing lives. So we are so grateful to have you. 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? If you don't already know how to budget or if you're using credit cards to get through the month.

0:59If 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.

1:34We want to help you take the guesswork out of your budget, improve your marriages, and even bring your kids in on a conversation. We can help you no matter where you're at, whether you're the single mom who's never had$500 in their savings account, or the millionaire who's paid off four real estate markets. 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. By the way, office hours, talking about serving people, let's just say real quick, why don't you tell Michelle people that you decided to help be so sweet and help people with an evening option too?

2:09Michelle:Yeah, we added our evening option. It'll be the first Wednesday of every month at 6 p.m. Central Time. So those folks that just can't make it work or just want to drop in because it's an evening session and have a different little peek, maybe have some questions that have come up. We've got people around the world too that are looking for that. And that might help with some of those folks that are on different times. You're an international financial coach. We have our friend in Australia who's going to tune in. I love that. So yeah, so normally office hours are every Wednesday at 12 central, noon central.

2:44But now, like you said, Michelle, the first Wednesday of the month will be 6 p.m. central to accommodate people that can't make it to 12. So perfect. That's so

2:53Michelle:kind of you're so nice oh it's so much fun they they they're the best they're nice and you know really it's about spreading the word and it's also an extension of your hearts because we know that you want to teach more people and we know that you're you know you're you're in it to to help these people along the way and this is really an extension of what you're doing and it's it's just me and in your spot well and it's i think it must be so rewarding to have these people because you know that if they're showing up and you're, they're asking for your help, they're actually doing it. Like you have this fantastic story from this, this person that came to office hours, hit the ground running.

3:32So tell us a little bit about her.

3:35Michelle:Oh my goodness. She is amazing. Amazing, amazing, amazing. So she jumped right in, joined office hours, started asking some questions about the budget system because she'd been listening to the podcast and what you guys were saying and how the system is set up and and the automations and the simplifying and organizing it absolutely clicked with her she just is she's a young mom a military family with some kids and they are busy just like every young family right they're super busy and she just knew this was something that they she needed, she wanted, and she just jumped right in with both feet for everything she could find and to figure out how to get it going.

4:24Michelle:We set her up with a link to purchase the budget system in that very first office hours call. She bought it that day and just absolutely jumped in. So, you know, it first resonated on the podcast and then she booked that call and she just couldn't wait for the call, right? So she jumped to office hours, bought the system. I mean, she was just, she was just getting stuff done, right? And her biggest issue she had besides the disorganization and the overwhelm was they're making this giant move, right? It's hard to move. I don't care if you move from one town to another, one state to another, she's moving from overseas back to to domestic USA and, and, and thousands of miles and, you know, those military families, they, they are amazing.

5:17Michelle:Right. And they know how to know exactly how to do that, but it's still overwhelming. It doesn't matter who you are. It's still overwhelming and it's a lot of work. And that was really concerning her. So what, what I suggested her very first thing she should do is after she got the budget was to pull up the mock budget page and put in what it was, what her budget is now versus what her budget will be in her new place, just to give some clarity because cost of living was going to change for her drastically. There was going to be some income changes. It was going to look just like a completely different budget, right?

5:56Michelle:So that's that's what she wanted to do is to be able to see it and plan forward. Well, and I think that it doesn't matter how many times you've moved, the situation may be different every single time, right? Based on where you're going, like you said, job change, family change, all of that. And so being able to plan it out every time you're doing that and having this area of like the mock budget section that we have, and you can duplicate those pages, that doesn't in the simplified budget system, you can continue to make more of those if you want. Like it just allows you to go in it knowing that it's going to be okay and not second guessing anything and the amount of money she was going to save for that.

6:30I love it. Tell us when she started making the budget, what did she start seeing in her finances?

6:37Michelle:Wow. That 90 day review, right? So of course we don't want people to do this ongoing, but that first crack at building your budget, when you do that 90 day review, it's just so revealing. It's just so eyeopening for everybody. Right. And what she found was there was$1 ,000, not$10, not$20. There's$1 ,000 extra she had that she did not know existed. I mean, that's huge. And so she was like super excited about that. She also found those things in her budget, the subscriptions that were either not being used because they set them up one time ago and quit using it or they were doubled up. I've had that happen where they doubled up.

7:19Michelle:So she was able to save, I think it was$200 a month. On top of the thousand? Just in that. On top of the thousand, right? And then I know it was crazy. Just she had a big amount, but it was revealing to her because it gave clarity to what they cost. Exactly what you guys say all the time. What does the family cost, right? And so she found those things, weeded out the things she didn't like, kept the things she wanted. And then with her mock budget, she found that they could actually build up a buffer of over$3 ,000 by the time they needed to use that. And that money was so important because when you're going and setting up a new home somewhere, you're going to have all those things, those deposits on utilities.

8:04Michelle:You're going to have all the extra things that you have to get to set up a new home. and you know you might have some extra eating out or you might have some extra trips to the store just to just to get started right yeah we've always said whatever you think it's going to cost just double it don't just let one right but you know this is obviously near and dear to my heart i talk you know we talk about mock budgets all the time it's such a good thing to to just put some peace into a situation that might feel like it's uncertain this is like the math that doesn't lie and then you can deal with all the other emotions of of whatever store mode thing you might be in.

8:38But I always say that when my husband was going to retire, we looked at that mock budget. He looked at it 13 times a day, you know, just to make sure the math was still mapping like from 10 minutes ago, last time he looked. And so it's just really good to give you some, like some actual data, you know, no drama data. So, so love that. Love that she's using that and she's just a go getter. So super pumped about that for her. Yeah. She was also able to what save about$500 a month for a Disney cruise on top of everything else that she was doing.

9:05Michelle:yeah because she's she wants to be bougie right just like all of us we all have our bougie things right and but but the cruise was already booked that was the thing it was already booked she wasn't going to back out of it it was already something they planned for the family right and so she realized she was able to stash away that five hundred dollars a month right to be able to do that so it was giving her peace of mind that she was able to cash flow it basically yeah well yeah because you know now like you i guess you told you told us that she was up doing this right when she bought it and and the peace of mind that she was trying to find it sounds like it hit her like a wave of relief you know like really hard once she saw everything right yeah and i see that in a lot of people but what she said is she stayed up till i mean it's all hours of the night, right?

9:59Michelle:Because she was probably scared, right? As you get to be when you're overwhelmed and you're stressed and you have this huge life change in front of you. And it's not just you, it's your entire family going through it, right? Yeah. You know, and you just, you're, and especially if she's working so hard to make sure that they can get through this, she wants to have that peace of mind. And so she stayed up all night basically and, and worked on this. And when, when the math looked, when looked back at her, when she, you know, when she said math is facts, right? So when it came back at her and she looked at that, it just absolutely was peace of mind that they had it, they were good and they were going to be just fine.

10:45Michelle:And it was that validation she needed, that proof that she needed that they were on the right track and they They were going to be able to make this move and this transition a lot easier than maybe what she had thought about before. Sometimes we overcomplicate things or we make the story in our heads a lot more dramatic or worse than they really are. 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.

11:27You 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. So 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. 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.

12:00Six months from now, you'll wish you started today. What was the funny thing she said about comparing the purchasing the Simplified Budget System to going to Target?

12:13Michelle:well she said that that 200 it was just absolutely the best value and it was better than any target run she'd ever said and you know i think it's great because we have talked about that before it is basically a target run a costco run it's less than a costco run i'll tell you that right now right absolutely it is absolutely and it was the best money spent for that peace of mind and for bringing the clarity to the finances that she needed. Well, that's what I was going to focus on is, you know, whether you're military or not, you're a mom. There's so many moving parts. There's so much going on.

12:51There's so much that you have to figure out. And we're all keeping it in our head because that is safe. Nothing could possibly go wrong. And so for her, you know, it sounds like, you know, and she's a lot like other women where they're not, they've never seen it all on one piece of paper. They've never seen everything on in one place and been able to contrast and think. And what if I do this and actually see what the full picture is on one piece of paper, which is also a spreadsheet, by the way, it's on it's online. But I'm saying like one piece of paper, one one page and actually know everything.

13:24And when she finally was able to do that, she can get it out of her head, out of the I don't know. You know, maybe I think you said she was kind of feeling sick about stuff. You know, all of that, too. I know this at least this thing, the numbers I know. And not only do I know now because I did that, I can afford to pay cash for my Disney. I've saved. I've decided to cut these subscriptions. I have extra money every month that I can put somewhere on purpose. Like not only do I know and I don't feel so stressed about everything anymore. Now I can actually make like progress and start to really take control and over.

13:56And that's so important in life where it feels like there's so many areas you don't have control. Like what time you get home from baseball the night before and you still have homework like like Vanessa is dealing with. Right. You don't have control over that. But the finances, I can actually, like she said, math is facts. Yeah. And I've never had a target run do that for me.

14:14Michelle:Right? I know. It never gives you the peace of mind that you want it to, right? Well, it's never like the dividends, like on the ROI on a target run has never done what Shana just said to me. And so I love that. I think that's so funny. Well, wait. So she said she was feeling sick like just a couple months before about money, right? Yeah, she really was. She was feeling sick because she knew the money was going, but she didn't know where it was going. And once she's got the system, she's got it on paper, she sees the numbers and the numbers aren't lying. She's like, well, I know where it's going now because I'm telling it where to go.

14:51Michelle:And, you know, you get rid of the things you don't need and you'll be able to save for the things you want to save for. Yeah, that's so good. um what when she came to office hours was she one of those that kind of like sat in the back first because remember office hours is free for everyone and so did she kind of sit in the back or was she like listen I'm new hello look at me I need help what can you do well you know I love the folks that just jump on and ask questions and just have no shame because I don't want you to because there is no shame there's no judgment there's no shame jump in and say hey I'm new and tell me what is this and why are you guys all here and what are we using it for because a lot of folks will come and not turn on the camera and just listen in and that's okay you say that and the thing is lurking is allowed just in case yeah absolutely i i've done that plenty of times so i totally get it where you just want to like soak it in you know by osmosis but jump in and ask a question no she was definitely a jump in first day this is i i want to know i've got I have these burning questions and let's, let's get to it.

15:57And I love that she told me her story and what she wanted to accomplish and what her

16:04Michelle:plans were. And, you know, she's just on it, right? Cause she didn't have time to lose. She needed to get going. And one of the things she said that to me was very powerful. We were having a, a, quite a, a very emotional meeting. Everybody was working on mindset kind of things, right? What she said was growth and comfort can't live in the same house. And I think that's beautiful. And I've always related to a quote like that. The way I have heard it is growth and comfort zones. You can't be in a growth zone when you're in a comfort zone and vice versa, right? But she basically said that. And I think it's beautiful because it applies to a lot of the people that you likely see in coaching, as well as the folks that are joining us on office hours or listening to the podcast because if they want to make a change it's not necessarily going to be comfortable in the short term but in the long term it's gonna it's gonna be absolutely one way that i say it a lot is like rip the band-aid yes we know that it's not comfortable but just rip the band-aid and do it and we just we just had a call with a couple and they were they were speaking to that like they don't they didn't want to deal with it but they knew like they knew what it was going to be on the other side and i feel like for this particular person it's the same like uh maybe she maybe she didn't know what she didn't know what she didn't know because it sounds like she's so proactive she would have been willing to do it if anybody had ever told her right but the the growth is totally worth it the peace that she's going to have knowing and then and this is just the beginning right it's it's like what she's been able to accomplish in a couple months and figure out and like get her peace and get a plan for this big deal that's happening in her life that's just the beginning.

17:44You have years and years and years and years of knowing what's going on with your finances ahead of you now that you have a system.

17:52Michelle:Exactly. And she's already talking about teaching her kids as she goes. She's already talking about it with the family and passing it on to that next generation. It's very empowering. Yeah. She was lovely when I spoke to her on the phone. And so I'm excited for her to continue her journey with the system and group coaching now that she has a system. And then obviously weekly office hours, Michelle, thank you so much for sharing her story with everyone. We know that if she has questions about stuff and she's able to accomplish what she's accomplishing, we know that the next person's going to be able to jump on office hours, get the help that they need to be able to move further faster.

18:27So we will see you at the next budget besties office hour podcast. If you make good money, but have nothing to show for it, this quiz will help you figure out what's really going on with your money and what your next step should be. You'll get a personalized result in a simple action step to help you feel more organized and less stressed. Go to budgetbesties.com forward slash quiz and take the free quiz today. That's budgetbesties.com forward slash quiz to find out what's really going on with your money.