Client Story: Savings Strategy Of Her First Rental Property

0:00Maybe you've been telling yourself, it's too late, and I'm unable to achieve what I want to achieve for retirement. but I want to show you that it's not. My client, with the same perspective, the same thoughts, was holding her keys to her first investment property six months sooner than she ever thought possible. Welcome to the Wealthy After 40 podcast, the show for Gen X women and couples who are ready to ditch financial stress and feel confident about retirement. I'm your host, Daylene Higgins, financial and retirement coach, helping Gen Xers master their money and create a personalized retirement plan so they can stop spinning their wheels and step boldly into their dream retirement.

0:48If you're feeling behind, don't worry. Continue listening to this podcast, as well as be sure to grab your free guide, 5 Must Do Steps to Start Retirement Planning Now at elevatefinances.us backslash must do. And remember, let's make retirement possible together. Welcome to the episode. And like I said, instead of just thinking it's too late, it's time to take action like my client. I'm going to share with you what impacted her how she was able to do it, all of the things. And because she invested in herself, she was able to buy her first investment property 12 months sooner than she anticipated.

1:38And it wasn't a quick decision to invest in herself. She said, man, I waited four or five years because I was scared. I wasn't sure. I didn't know if it would help. And she's like, I really wished I wouldn't have waited. And the thing with this client of mine, she knew, she knew exactly what she wanted to achieve. She had a goal in mind. She knew semi the steps to get there, but the support system to get there, the managing her finances just wasn't coming together. Now, let me tell you a little bit about her. But before I do, I want to remind you that I have my Make Retirement Possible challenge.

2:22It's a four-day live challenge where I will show you how to create 90-day wins. Very similar to what I did with this client because she came to me with a goal. But if you head on over to elevatefinances.us backslash challenge, reserve your spot. Small investment fee of$9. We'll spend four days together in helping you understand how to take what you know you want into actionable 90-day wins. All right, back to my client. She knew she wanted her goal, 100 doors, so investment properties, by the time she was 50. Now, her first problem was she wasn't able to handle personal finances in such a way to create the momentum in moving ahead to this goal.

3:13While she had this goal, she wasn't sure how to create that financial foundation. Now, this is not somebody who was not intelligent, was not smart. She was running her own business, just had accrued over$100 ,000 in doing this. She was a COO helping all sorts of businesses with their operations. She was a master. That was her skill. That was where her talents led her. But to actually work on her personal finances, there was a lot of struggles. And I wouldn't say it's because she didn't know what she needed to do. There was a lot that she was having to muddle through for different reasons. And so finally, her goal was she wanted to build wealth through real estate, but was feeling stuck.

4:05She did not even quite own her own home. So she's feeling stuck. She's like, you know, I've set that goal of 100. How am I going to ever get there? Her challenge was money felt messy. She didn't even know how to save or how to save enough. And most money decisions kept getting pushed off. Again, she waited four or five years before she took the time to invest in herself. She did have a small belief that she might have missed her chance, but she was so strong, strong-willed, very strong in that I want to do this. She was not going to let that happen. that's when she decided to take a chance and invest in herself and hire me as her financial coach.

5:01When she came to me, I walked her through my process that I walk all clients through. We walk through the same things, but the results, the impact, they hit different at different times just because everybody is so different. Money is personal. What you're struggling with and how you view things are so different. But making sure that we can build a system that will support you is key. So as I had gone through all of her numbers with her, that was basically our onboarding call. She was given an assignment just like everybody else as part of the process in managing the money, in the management system.

5:47And I said, I need you to make a bills list. I want you to write out every single bill, you know, by date and order, the amount, so that you can use this in the money routine and the payday moves we are going to create in a few sessions. As she came to the next session, number one, her list had titled Numbers Don't Lie. I love that she just embraced that. But then she said, well, I've gotten rid of these four things because either I don't need them or I can do them in a better way. I love that she said, I can do them in a better way. Looking at her bills, just writing them down, such a simple task had her seeing them from a different lens.

6:38Had her actually committing to every single bill and then realizing, man, do I need to do it this way? Yes, I need it, but I think I can do it better. That was step one that we were able to do, able for her to, you know, find freedom in the workings with her money. Remember, she struggled with trying to budget, trying to manage, working with a spouse, and then also supporting your children. A lot of my clients, they are wanting to be able to give their children a good life. And we all do. I think we all do. Step number two, as we continue to work along, we make those payday moves and those money routines.

7:23She actually created a money date with herself, blocked it out on her calendar, and really created ambiance around it. This was an individual who was scared to look at her numbers, didn't like to look at them when she needed to go make a major purchase, didn't like to look at them, was always afraid, fearful what she was going to find. She was looking forward to her weekly money dates, scheduling them on her calendar, creating it as a party. She's like, this is my money party. It's just for me. I get to enjoy what I'm seeing, what has gone on, and as I'm reviewing what has been and what will be.

8:03And I loved that she just grasped that moment and was able to, you know, make it her own. Most people think it's just a task and it might be to others, but to this client, she just ran with it and created it to be something she looked forward to. And she knew she needed to do that. The other thing she did that was so impactful for her, as we create the money management system. Again, I am about options. I give the options that will help support every individual. And for this client, and just know that this is not the only option, but for this client, she chose to use money envelopes. Now, if you listened to my personal story back when, that's how I got started.

8:54I have a love for them. And I know there's a lot of people that don't, and that is okay. But for this specific client, they gave her so much power, not only in that she could see and she had the money right at her fingertips, but she could show her children and her husband when they asked if, can we go do this certain thing? It became that communication key to be like, well, okay, I have this envelope. It's earmarked for this. It has this much. If we choose to do what you want to do, then this will be for, you know, just that communication space and being able to, number one, teach our kids, but number two, to have great conversations with our, you know, spouse, partner, significant other, just so that money does not become so difficult between the two of us.

9:51What made the biggest difference? because I said she was able to buy her first property, you know, 12 months sooner. She invested in herself, breaking free from the I can do this alone mindset and staying stuck and losing the embarrassment. I know there's a lot of clients who come to me and initially they are embarrassed. I support your backstory, but your backstory does not help me help you move forward unless it comes up as being a challenge within. Being able to invest in yourself and trust that a coach will support you in whatever you need and help you get out of this, well, I can figure it out.

10:35I'll just figure it out. I'm embarrassed and I don't want people to know. Sometimes we've got to break that down to jump ahead so much further. And if you remember, this client of mine, she jumped 12 months. Yes, she had delayed four years, but she jumped 12 months. The second biggest difference, biggest thing, you know, the thing that had the biggest impact on her was the clarity. When we sit down in that first session and we are looking at creating that three bucket budget, realizing that she had over$1 ,000 a month for savings, just light it, you know, lit her up. she realized, you know, man, okay, I have that money.

11:23I just need to use it in the savings priority, which is also what we create in that retirement roadmap session, that very first session. And so that$1 ,000 per month led to over$12 ,000 a year. So being able to be prepared for her tire repair, which I remember we had, but also being able to support her down payment and her closing costs for that first investment property. Knowing this money was there, knowing how to create the flow helped her realize I can make my first purchase. She went out and worked with the lender. She didn't even tell me she was going to do that and came back and said, yep you know two more months and I'll be able to go make that purchase and just realizing that that thousand dollars a month knowing it's there that clarity equals to 12 ,000 a year you know how much do you have and yes there's a priority to it but being able to fund whatever your ultimate dream is so just like her you don't need to figure this out all alone and inside the retirement roadmap session we'll get your clarities on your numbers.

12:41Let's find for you most of my clients are anywhere between$400 and$1 ,000 a month depending on the wage you're earning. Even on the low end my low income earner client that's$4 ,800 a year. What could you do with$4 ,800 a year? Finding clarity in your numbers, building your plans, and get you set up to start creating a system. But it is the first step in that financial reality checkup, just like with her and walking through those steps and getting those things clear. She started taking action on her own. Numbers don't lie. I can do these things better. You know, here's my$1 ,000. I can see how this is adding up.

13:27I'm going to go to that lender. Yep, he says I'm on board and in two months I'm going to be able to, you know, actively look for that home, go grab that home that I need. That's a whole different step. But being able to know you can go, go take that step. Go do those things that you desire to do, realizing you have that much money a year. rather than sit and wonder how much you have every month. And I've had clients say, I don't have anything left over. I don't make enough money. We always find money. We always find money. One client, no, two clients of mine in the years I've been doing this did not because circumstances were different.

14:13But eventually they will have a number just like this. It's not too late, but it is costly if you keep waiting. I invite you to a Clarity Connection call today. Again, you can find that at elevatefinances.us backslash connection. Let's spend 30 minutes and discuss what your dreams are, what your goals are. I would love to support you. But if you're ready to find clarity and find out how much money you have every year to begin funding your dream, go grab that retirement roadmap session. That's at elevatefinances.us backslash roadmap as well. And I invite you to do that today.

14:59Thank you for spending this time with me. If you're not already following the show, be sure to hit subscribe so you don't miss what's coming next. And I'd love to stay connected with you between episodes. So come join me inside my Facebook community, Retirement Ready Hub for GenXers. It's where we're having real conversations about money, sharing wins, working through challenges, and building a clear path toward retirement. And remember, retirement isn't just a dream, it's a plan, and you get to make it possible.