How My Client Learned to Spend More On Herself

Last week I talked about how my client was avoiding budgeting because she was worried about missing out on the fun that she was giving herself and her family. But when she started working with me, she realized she wasn't actually treating herself. Giving herself the fun that she truly thought she was. Today's episode is an interview with this specific client. Her name is Angela and she's willing to share what she was experiencing before she worked with me, before she joined my signature program, her biggest takeaways in the program, and how she is doing now six months post completion. This is wealthy after 40 the podcast to help you overcome financial challenges by learning to be your best financial advisor. My name is Dalyn Higgins, your financial coach and podcast host. Before we dive into the interview, I just want to remind everyone that I have four spots open in my signature programs. My 60 day financial freedom jumpstart to help you solve your management issues. And my three month financial freedom accelerator to help you grow to your financial goals. I do have spots available in my 90 minute intensive, so be sure to check out that link in the show notes below and grab yourself a spot before they disappear. Now to the interview. Okay, Angela, thank you for jumping on this interview with me and so we're just got six questions to ask you about your experience and working with me. And so the first one, what were you struggling with prior to working with me? I was struggling with, um, sticking to a plan and I won't even use the, like the B word of a budget of like, we've attempted those, but it was even more of just the plan that was going to help us accomplish our goals. My husband and I would have conversations. We would be inspired. We'd be on the same page. And then it would pretty much fall on me to be the implementer just because I handle our finances. And For whatever reason, the plan just never quite stuck, whether it was to, um, take out a certain amount of money and use that for certain items on like a budget line throughout the week, or if it was to just have me monitoring our expenses, um, and knowing. like sending out the family text as we got close to quote unquote limits that we had identified for those things like whatever ideas we had come up with that we thought could work just they they didn't it wasn't sustainable and it just wasn't meeting our goals of creating um more savings and not having to dip into savings to cover, um, you know, expenses, whether unexpected or, or not unexpected, but just sort of like unmonitored. Yes. Yes. Good. So, um, how did you know you were ready to invest in yourself and take that step? I knew that we were ready to like, seek outside help. Um, A, like when I just kind of getting to know you and coming across your content, like the way that you were presenting it was all, was making sense to me. And it was like, okay, that doesn't sound overwhelming. This sounds doable, but it also kind of sounds similar to some of the things that I have come up with or tried on my own and just wasn't successful with keeping sustainable. And so for me, it was more like, I knew we were ready because it was like, We were getting to the point where it was necessary. Like with my, I had a shift in careers that led to a reduced, um, influx of income or and definitely an unpredictable influx of income. And we had a pretty healthy savings when that decision was first made, but we definitely, um. were using it at a much more rapid pace than we had anticipated. And so there was kind of this like almost panic moment of like, I don't want to have to go back to work and get a quote unquote real job with a consistent paycheck. But if I don't do something different, I don't know how we're going to be able to avoid that. And, um, and so seeing your, your content and having the offer that you had for that sort of, um, that three month, package was perfect timing. I love that. Yeah. Thank you. Um, did you have any concerns or fears? Even though you, you know, you felt good with the content, you knew you were ready. What concerns or fears did you have? Um, I think one of my concerns was again, like, is it, Am I the problem? Like, am I gonna, you know, like, is this person gonna even be able to help me do something? Cause I had, I felt like I had tried a lot of things. I felt like I had a decent amount of knowledge already in my mind. And so then one of my concerns was like, it's not going to work after we're done working together. Like at the end of the three months, now what? Um, And so that was kind of one of my concerns going into it, um, was that if this is going to just be kind of a band aid, um, and then the other one was, was that sort of fear of like, what is our reality? How much have we been spending without monitoring it in specific areas, especially like food budget and those online purchases like Amazon and different things. I mean, I have. Teenagers that all have access to our Amazon account. And sometimes they'll say, Oh mom, I need this, can I order it? And sometimes, a lot of times I would, the beauty of technology is I could just jump on my bank account and be like, Uh, not till next week. Or, uh, you know, um, Hold off on that one. Or yeah, sure, that's, you know, it's whatever, 20 bucks. Um, but clearly, like, that system wasn't really working because the savings were still being dipped into on a much too frequently of a basis. And so I think part of my fear was what is that reality and maybe potentially even like embarrassment around that reality once we did crunch those numbers. Well, and I know on your intake form, you said, I don't want a restrictive budget and I don't want to miss out on the fun. And so going through the program, with that being your initial, how did you feel at the end of the program? Um, like, like, great, because the reality was not any of the things that I feared and we didn't really have to give anything up through this whole process. In fact, It created a system that helped me see future forward of like where the money comes from to be able to continue to have those enjoyable experiences like nights out with friends or my husband and I like to try to do a you know a weekend short weekend getaway every couple two to three months and so it really helped me see that using the plan ahead method spreadsheet, but also just having the different monies in the different accounts and you and I identifying how much was needed in each of those accounts made it so easy for me to just recognize like, okay, so if I'm paying for this, I use this card. This one's only all for bills. And so I could, it just, yeah, it didn't, it really didn't impact our lifestyle in a negative way at all. We didn't really have to give up. Anything that meant anything. Yeah, I love that. I love that. I know a lot of people are like, Ah, I don't want to give up anything, and I'm like, That's not how I approach this, right? So, what was your favorite thing or your biggest takeaway through that program? I have two. The, the plan ahead method spreadsheet, uh, it's like, once I figured it out, which, as you know, it took me a little bit of time. Figure it out. And you were very patient and like explaining and re explaining and getting hopping on with me in our bit in our sessions to like do it together a couple of times. But now that I have the hang of it, like. I, I actually love using it. It's like kind of fun for me. And I love seeing that balance carry over to the next week and like have a healthy number attached to it and not be down to zero, um, or even under a hundred dollars, um, which prior to working with you, I did, there was many times where it was that paycheck, paycheck to paycheck feeling, um, So that is one of my favorite things. And then the second one is when we did the values activity where we looked at the, um, like where I had been spending and, and how, and is it an alignment with my values and getting to see. that it was, but also getting to see a few little areas where maybe it wasn't quite as aligned as I had initially thought it was. So it was just a very eye opening activity, but also a very affirming activity. So I loved, like, attaching spending and bills and money and, like, our finances to our values. And that really helped, like, validate. Where we've been spending our money, but it also helped me, like you asked, you know, like we said about, like, I was afraid of missing out on like the enjoyment pieces and having that helped me see that like where we did make some sacrifices, it wasn't hard to make because it wasn't, it wasn't one of our top values and it wasn't a high priority for us in the first place. It wasn't an alignment with what we really, truly cared about. Um, And so then it was like, okay, no brainer. So now I know too, like if we ever get to the point where I need to cut back, um, for whatever reason, I know immediately how to do that because I could just pull that values activity out and look at our expenses and be like, Oh, well, this is like number nine on the list of 10. So boom, first to go. Yeah, yeah. So good. So good. I love that you shared that. Um, because it is one of my fun ones to actually have and work with clients. So, all right, final question. What do you want listeners to know about working with me? I think the most important thing for you to know is that working with Daylene is It's comfortable. It's safe. Um, it's fun. We had our moments of just like laughter and like I would, you know, be able to just make jokes or we could talk honestly about things and then, um, there was never any judgment on any of it. It was always just receiving information and I could literally see you or if listeners, I could see Dailene. I could literally see her like saying, okay, I know this is important to her. So how can I help her make this a reality? Or how can we make sure that this isn't an outcome that needs to happen based on whatever I, Came to you with, and there was times where I, where we would have our check-ins and I would have to, I would, I would have to let you know that like I had overspent and I had used the wrong card, or I had done this and this was the impact that it had and this is how I decided to fix it. But I don't know if I did that right, and just like having those coachable moments, it was so easy to come to you with all of it. I never felt like I needed to try to hide something from you. I never felt like I needed to try to pretend that I understood something if I truly didn't understand it. Um, like that is what I think people need to know is just if they're considering working with a financial coach or a financial advisor, um, just that. that safety aspect of like the comfortability and knowing that you can be super transparent with Zaylene with zero judgment and truly just like a heart to serve and to help you accomplish your goals um and and in a way that isn't overwhelming and when you do feel overwhelmed you're super patient and just Go, you'll even go back to the very beginning and just rewalk you through step by step or ask some really key questions that helps me see it from a different perspective. So there's a lot, there was a lot in there, but it's all true. And, um, and it truly, especially with money, like you just, that's so important to know that you're going, you're coming to somebody. that you can be comfortable with and that you can trust with the truth. Well, thank you. Thank you for that. Um, and before we finish up, I know I said that was the last question, but you're about post six months from having worked together. Um, how is it going? How do you feel about your quote transformation? And just let listeners know what it's done for you. Yeah. Um, so I mentioned the plan ahead method sheet already. And the other piece, the other, if there was three main takeaways that I could share, the other piece was the concept of having a high yield savings account. Um, and using that for things, expenses that you only have occur every six months or once a year, or things that you're trying to save up for like a big vacation or things like that. And then having that money. For me, having that be in a separate account, um, has worked really well for us, because, as you can probably infer from my testimony, if the savings account is attached to my checking account, it's not necessarily safe. It's not very protected, because I do see it as a usable source of funding. And I sometimes will make judgment calls on like, Oh, I can just transfer 300 and then I can go take this weekend away or, you know, like, or we can have this dinner out, like it's fine. And that's, that was my problem. Like that was how little by little our savings would just dwindle. And then those big expenses would come up and it's time to pay property taxes or it's time to pay, you know, car registration or insurance or home insurance or some of those really big items. And I would, we would find ourselves without the necessary amount in savings and So we would have to put it on a credit card and then just chip away at it and that never really feels great So for me like that has been One of the best outcomes that I've been able to sustain is I'm using the plan ahead method sheet, which helps me I have the numbers right there in front of me I've already plugged in all my bills that I know are coming for a month, two months, even three months ahead of time with the anticipated paychecks for each of those months. And so I can look and I can see, Oh, okay. Um, I can take out 500 now, move it to that high yield savings account, because that's gonna, if I do that three times between now and October, I'll be ready for that bill that's coming in October. And that high yield savings account, having it not be attached to a checking account at all, has been a huge game changer for me because it's kind of like out of sight out of mind until I need to use it. And so that's really helped us be more prepared for bigger, um, you know, once or twice a year expenses and not have to put them on a credit card. Right. I love that. I love that. I know that method is such life changing and supportive and giving that future look on money as opposed to reactive, which I think is what we're so used to. So thank you for all of your words. Thank you for sharing your testimonial today and listeners. Um, I hope you were able to glean some information of this and I appreciate everyone. Thank you. I want to thank Angela for her willingness to share and be open about who she was before and now. So if you're interested in what your transformation might look like, be sure to schedule a free budget breakthrough call.