Retire Confidently With a Money System That Works

0:06Welcome 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, Dailene Higgins, money coach and retirement strategist to help you gain clarity and confidence with your money by creating a spending plan that aligns with your financial goals and dreams so you can spend intentionally, save consistently, and feel at peace about your future. Join me every week to understand your money, simplify your decisions, and take intentional steps toward the life you want.

0:48Welcome to another episode on the Wealthy After 40 podcast. So I know I've talked about money systems before. In fact, if you're new here, I would love for you to check out episode 172, which is titled A Money System for Practical Spending and Stress-Free Saving. I'll give you a view of how I help clients set up a money system. But today I'm going to talk about the difference between a system and a spreadsheet or an app and what a system looks like when it's working. So you might be wondering, I have some stuff, I think it's working, but we're going to cover that as well in this episode. So to start off, I want you to know a system has moving parts, a money system.

1:41And I know that might be like, I'm not sure, right? But it does. It has moving parts. It shouldn't be clunky. It shouldn't be hard. And a system is going to help you take control of your money, not only physically, which is why we have moving parts, but mentally as well. So if you listened a couple of episodes back, episode 195, where I talk about quiet signs of money stress, you'll understand better about what I mean with mentally as well, because that is key. Managing money isn't just practical, it's also mental. We've got to get our brain believing that what it's seen is what is true and not give us those, it's not working, you're not doing it right, all of those things.

2:30We've got to have a system that we trust to put those thoughts at bay so that we can continue to make progress with our money. So a spreadsheet or app helps you create a budget, which is also known as a spending plan or a money plan, and you track your spending against it. So this could be a Google sheet, an Excel sheet. It could also be an app such as EveryDollar or YNAB. There's many of them out there. I think Rocket Money is a new one. Those are all apps and spreadsheets, but what they do is they help you control your spending within categories. You're able to say, okay, that's where I spend it.

3:17I'm still within budget. But typically, it's in a reactive state. Even if you have it tied to your bank account, there's going to be a delay. And really, are you going to your app before you're going to make purchases? So that's all it really serves is that here's your money you've spent within reason. You're good to go for this payday. Let's do it again. A money system, guide your money from deposit to goal. So your deposit can be any form of income, and you want to be able to take that to a goal. Now a goal can be just as simple as I need it to pay my bills, I need it to give me grocery money, fuel money, but it also is going to be able to prepare for those unexpected expenses as we call them, those future expenses, those one-off.

4:10It's also going to help you prepare for the things you want to do in the upcoming year, three years, five years, whatever it is. A system also helps you make a decision when something truly unexpected comes up. The money system should be able to show you and also allow you to put in scenarios to be like, okay, this is going to happen. Maybe it's a job income loss. Maybe it's a pause. I don't know, furloughs of something. Maybe it is a true layoff. A money system is going to help you make decisions to get through that situation. Whereas a budget app, it's going to track your money, but you can't plan and prepare.

5:01So on my journey, I did use a tracking app. I used YNAB. I loved it, but that wasn't the only thing I used. I used a, what I call budget, I know with my clients now, I call it a budget outline. It is a hard copy, a static representation of your income and your expenses. This is truly important to have. If your income changes up or down, how is that affecting your expenses? And how can you have it affect your expenses? This could be a piece for that decision making. If it's not too big and not too great, that's a very good place to start. But I also tracked other numbers to make sure I was making progress.

5:49Now in one of the last episodes I talked about, we're so focused on the pay period or the month that we never are able to look ahead. That is typically because you're stuck in the cycle on a spreadsheet or a tracking app with just that information. A system helps you start seeing down the road. What is it doing? What is it growing? What is it building? So I was tracking other numbers such as net worth, savings percent, my debt payoff. And so the system helps you have ultimate control. It doesn't just tell you what has happened. Now, I have used my journey to help with the way I teach clients and the way I create for them.

6:36And I lean into what works best. So I did track my net worth for a while, but I found at some point it did not mean a thing to me. It was not supportive. So don't track anything that isn't giving you output, meaning I can make a decision off of that. So just also know that you might have an app that has some of these things, but if it's not allowing you to maybe project futurely, then it's time to get rid of it and find something else. So the lack with your tracking apps or your spreadsheet is they don't give you an overall picture. We talked about they're very good in the moment, in the pay period, in the month, to allow you to not overspend.

7:25Making sure that you add that element in with the other pieces relevant to your situation gives you knowledge of not only where you are, which an app is so good with that, but where you're going. And remember, I know most of us here are on our retirement journey. We were thinking about retirement. And so being able to look ahead and get further ahead, we talked about that last episode, you need a system that is going to support that. So how do you know a system is working? I want to share that first, before I get into specifics with you, how my clients saw that their system was working. One client, she was able to save $11 ,000 in 90 days because the system was working and telling the money where it needed to go.

8:19She was saving this money for upcoming home remodels, as well as upcoming expenses into the next year, some taxes, some insurance, that type of thing. In fact, I want to read you her words. She sent me this message 10 months after our very first session. She says, Ron and I find ourselves in an amazing place with our finances. We have all of our big yearly payments set aside. Buckets for travel, medical gifts, home repairs, car, etc. are filling up quickly. We are pleased with the method you educated us on to help us organize and feel ease and confidence with where our money is going. We are no longer holding our breath with pressure about our future finances, but taking deep cleansing breaths each month, we gain more confidence.

9:14So those are my amazing clients, Erin and Ron. She was very open to me with me sharing those names, as not all of my clients are quite that comfortable. So I don't, I respect that. So she, they have found success. They have found some stress relief. Another client, she was able to pay off$5 ,000 in debt and save$2 ,500 in 90 days. Now she came to me because her credit card, she was using them all the time. She thought she was overspending, but her system wasn't working. Once she had the knowledge of supporting upcoming expenses, so she didn't have to turn to that credit card, she was able to, in that 90 days, pay off$5 ,000 in debt and save$2 ,500.

10:02She did the both because that was important to her and something we set up. Another client is saving$3 ,000 a month and is structurally seeing how this can support her through the next three to four months. And every month she will get further and further ahead so that she can begin setting aside savings, not only for those upcoming expenses, but for enjoyable vacations, things that they want to do, her goals, increase her retirement savings, whatever it is. That$3 ,000 is her savings number every single month. And knowing what to do with it and how to have a system to guide it there is also crucial.

10:47So your system should tell you at least three things. How much do you have to save after covering bills and spending? And where does that need to go? Does your system tell you if it needs to go to savings, debt, or retirement savings? But the key there is just like my client who knows she has$3 ,000 every month. That would be the main piece. What do I have available for savings? And then a system develops it into where does that need to go? Your system should also be telling you if you're consistently saving every payday and or paying down debt beyond the minimum payments and that the money you save stays set aside until it's needed for its intended purpose.

11:48In the last episode or two, I can't remember exactly which one it was, we talked about when something shows up and you know you have the money, but it's in the places that weren't earmarked for that. And so it really takes you down and the progress I've been making is going to be, it's going to set me back, Your system should be able to show you and tell you and help you not be in that situation. And the third thing is that your system should tell you exactly what your cost of reality is. Now, what is your cost of reality? This is your life, your living, what it takes for you to enjoy life and be prepared for emergency expenses every single year.

12:34And with that, you are more accurately able to estimate your retirement number. Okay, so quickly those three things. How much do I have to save? And am I having that money saved every payday and staying set aside until it's an intended purpose? And last, I know exactly what my cost of reality is. Those three things at a minimum is what your system should be telling you. Now, if your app can give you, that's great. But I'm guessing there's a few other pieces that need to come into play. And the other thing I would hope that your system is very simple. It shouldn't be complex. It shouldn't be complicated.

13:22And in fact, these are words of a newer client. She says, the new system is simple and seems to be working. seems to be working because we were early. She said it involves less tracking than my old system. I remember her saying, I don't spend as much time. She had more time because she wasn't spending hours and hours tracking and trying to figure out what those numbers meant. That's the piece that usually those spreadsheets or apps are missing is, okay, but what does this mean? and how do I reach my goal? So if you're looking for a system that will give you that and more with less than five minutes a day, remember it's really super easy, like my client said, I would love for you to book your retirement blueprint call.

14:14You can DM me over on Facebook, DM me blueprint, or there's a link down in the show notes, get scheduled, and we'll uncover what might be missing from your system. Let's see if I can help you solve that. And then if you need more, we can talk about what it would look like to help you put this system into place and help you build it to support you on your retirement journey for the next six months. I hope this episode was helpful. Money systems are important. The change I have made in my coaching program is that instead of building first, we are building and taking action. So if you are somebody who is a fast action taker, you want to jump in.

15:01While you're building your system, you want to start taking actions to retirement. My six-month coaching is going to be perfect, but you need to schedule that retirement blueprint call first to chat and make sure that number one, I can't just help you solve something simply and what six months would actually look like for you. So thank you for listening and we'll see you next week.

15:28Thank 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.