Budget Divas: Recent Episodes
Jenn Trinidad
We discuss money mindset strategies to keep you motivated and focused on your debt-free journey while living on a sustainable budget. Each week, we discuss tips on how to change your mindset about money through good money habits and tactical steps. Listen in as we discuss real-life strategies to get out of debt and achieve your personal finance goals.
Ep #71: What if it was true, that you could have your cake and eat it too? What would it mean for you to enjoy the finer things in life WHILE still paying off debt?
In this episode, you'll hear my personal journey of rediscovery, financial empowerment, and a unique approach to overcoming debt while living your dreams. My own story of how mystery shopping became the catalyst for transformation, even in the midst of debt.
We are all familiar with the struggle of balancing the demands of everyday life while grappling with a mountain of student loans and credit card debt. Despite passion for dining out, traveling, and spending quality time with loved ones, debt seemed insurmountable. Options for indulging in the things I loved were limited, leading me to extreme frugality and unconventional money-saving methods.
But then, a chance conversation with a colleague introduced me to the world of mystery shopping. It was a revelation - the opportunity to enjoy her favorite activities without the crippling cost. Through mystery shopping, I began to dine at high-end restaurants and experience luxurious outings, all while getting reimbursed for expenses. Even more thrilling, I could bring her husband and son along on these adventures.
In this episode, you'll hear the true power of mystery shopping to manage your finances better. With the additional income from mystery shopping, she could tackle her debts systematically. By creating a detailed budget, it allowed me to enjoy life while also making significant strides toward debt freedom. Through patience and discipline, I resisted overspending, making mindful choices that aligned with her financial goals.
As a result, my debt began to shrink, and financial freedom became a reality. In just one year, our family paid off a remarkable $41,000 of debt, all while enjoying the experiences we cherished. Mystery shopping not only provided financial relief but also opened doors to new adventures and introduced her to incredible people in the industry.
If you're eager to learn more about accelerating your debt payoff journey while enjoying the things you love, I'd love to invited you to a free training session at www.budgetdivas.com/faster, providing invaluable insights and strategies for financial freedom without sacrificing your lifestyle.
So, remember, it's never too late to rewrite your financial narrative and turn your dreams into reality.
You're Invited to a free LIVE training: How To Get Out of Debt Faster With Mystery Shopping.
Mystery shopping? What's that got to do with my finances? Mystery shopping isn't just about scoring free meals or testing out luxury cars; it's a powerful tool that can turbocharge your journey to financial independence! Imagine paying off your student loans, credit card debt, or that pesky mortgage years ahead of schedule! Head over to www.budgetdivas.com/faster and secure your spot. Seats are limited, and you won't want to miss out on this life-changing event. It's time to take control of your financial future and unlock the potential within you.
Ep: #70: In this episode, we welcome communication and conflict resolution coach Vince Abramo. She is a brain health trainer working closely with Dr. Amen. Vince emphasizes a holistic approach to well-being, focusing on the complete picture of an individual, including diet, environment, and social interactions. Her approach extends to working with teams and organizations, emphasizing improved teamwork and interactions for enhanced performance.
As we navigate our busy lives, Vince sheds light on managing negative thoughts, which can be triggered by various factors. She stresses the importance of recognizing that there's no universal "normal" and encourages embracing individual uniqueness. Negative thoughts often stem from past experiences or external influences, and Vince offers guidance on challenging and replacing these automatic negative thoughts, a process that can benefit from professional help.
In the context of hectic routines, such as returning to school and work, Vince provides valuable insights on managing mental energy effectively:
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Setting boundaries and time limits, especially for activities like excessive screen time or social media, can prevent mental exhaustion.
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Finding sources of joy, laughter, and beauty in life is essential, as they boost serotonin and dopamine levels, promoting mental well-being.
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The importance of avoiding significant decisions when fatigued and maintaining proper sleep patterns for optimal brain health.
To learn more about brain health, listeners can take a free assessment test at brainhealthassessment.com. For information on Vince's services and workshops, visit her at https://www.bambooshoot.co/.
This episode encourages prioritizing mental well-being and provides practical tips for maintaining a healthy brain.
Free On-Demand Mini Training: "Unveiling the Secrets: Master the Art of Mystery Shopping and Earn While You Shop!" Click here for the class: https://www.budgetdivas.com/mysterytraining.
Ep #69: In this podcast episode, we discuss the exciting world of mystery shopping and how it can be a rewarding opportunity for various individuals, including moms, dads, and military spouses. We highlight the financial benefits of mystery shopping, from saving money on everyday expenses to earning extra income. Listen in as Nadia shares personal experiences and tips to make the most of mystery shopping, including:
- Overcoming Fear of the Unknown: Don't be afraid of trying mystery shopping. The task is easy if you're observant and can write clearly. It's an opportunity that can fit a wide range of people.
- Starting Small and Local: Start with mystery shops close to your home to minimize expenses and make it convenient. Trying out shops nearby is a great way to get started without overcommitting.
- Focus on Similar Types of Shops: Choose a certain type of shop and do multiple of the same kind on the same day. This helps streamline the process as you become familiar with the requirements, making reporting more efficient.
Mystery shopping can have a positive impact beyond personal gain. Nadia shares stories of how she's used her mystery shopping experiences to give back to her community by providing food to those in need and surprising hardworking individuals with gifts.
Hear Nadia's advice to use mystery shopping as a flexible and rewarding side hustle. This episode highlights the practicality of mystery shopping and its potential to contribute to financial goals while making a positive impact on others' lives.
Free On-Demand Mini Training: "Unveiling the Secrets: Master the Art of Mystery Shopping and Earn While You Shop!" Click here for the class: https://www.budgetdivas.com/mysterytraining.
Ep: #68 Picture this: A world where your dreams of homeownership are no longer distant aspirations, where the car you've always wanted becomes an achievable reality, where unexpected financial emergencies don't send you into a spiral. This world is within reach, and it starts with understanding and improving your credit.
In this episode of the Budget Divas podcast, Rhonda Alexander Monkres, the credit coach and owner of Kūpa'a Consulting Services, discusses the important topic of credit. Rhonda shares valuable insights and tips on maintaining, establishing, and improving credit scores.
Rhonda introduces herself as a credit coach based in Maui, with a mission to help Hawai'i residents improve their credit scores and achieve their financial goals. She compares credit scores to adult report cards, ranging from 350 to 850, reflecting creditworthiness. Responsible credit use, keeping balances under control, making payments on time, and managing inquiries are essential practices for demonstrating creditworthiness.
Rhonda emphasizes the significance of credit monitoring and explains the difference between FICO and Vantage credit scores. Monitoring credit helps detect unauthorized accounts due to identity theft, and Rhonda provides guidance on reporting and protecting against identity theft.
Rhonda illustrates the substantial difference in interest rates for someone with a 500 credit score compared to someone with a 750-800 credit score when applying for loans, such as car loans and home loans. Rhonda offers actionable steps to improve credit, including maintaining low credit card balances, making timely payments, avoiding unnecessary credit inquiries, and becoming an authorized user on an account with excellent payment history.
Rhonda's expertise sheds light on the crucial role of credit in financial stability and the steps individuals can take to manage their credit effectively.
To learn more about Rhonda and get a free credit review, visit her website at https://kupaaconsulting.com/.
Free On-Demand Mini Training: "Unveiling the Secrets: Master the Art of Mystery Shopping and Earn While You Shop!" Click here for the class: https://www.budgetdivas.com/mysterytraining.
In this solo episode, we'll be focusing on one of the biggest budget busters: the grocery budget. Many individuals and families struggle to balance their budget each month, and a significant portion of their expenses is often spent on food.
Food is not only essential for nourishment and energy but also plays a significant social role in our lives. We celebrate special occasions, spend time with loved ones, and enjoy potluck dinners or eating out. However, overspending on food can hinder our ability to get out of debt and build wealth.
In this episode, hear a powerful example of how using a debt snowball calculator to illustrate how paying extra towards credit card debt can drastically reduce the payoff time.
To take control of the food budget and stop overspending, we discuss three key tips:
- Implement a cooking schedule
- Take a monthly inventory
- Use mystery shopping to save on food
These changes will take time and practice, but they will eventually become habits that lead to positive changes in your time management and budget.
Remember, one step at a time, you can take control of your food budget and improve your financial situation. Keep moving forward and taking positive actions on your journey to financial success.
Free On-Demand Mini Training: "Unveiling the Secrets: Master the Art of Mystery Shopping and Earn While You Shop!" Click here for the class: https://www.budgetdivas.com/mysterytraining.
Ep: #66 Do you remember when you were a child and had childlike faith and trusted that everything was going to be alright?
In today’s podcast, my guest is Jimmy Yamada. Jimmy Yamada, Jr. is the chief executive officer at A-1 A-Lectrician, a third-generation electrical contracting firm started by his father in 1957 and now currently run by his son. He is the founding pastor of Cedar Assembly of God in Honolulu, Hawaii. He is the author of God’s Hand in the Life of an Electrician, How to Thrive in an Economic Disaster, God’s Hand in the Life of a Dreamer, and God’s Hand in the Life of a Pastor.
Jimmy gives us insight on the blessings and miracles that unfold when we surrender our financial worries to God. From overcoming life and financial struggles to witnessing unexpected provisions and opportunities, Jimmy reminds us that God's wisdom and provision extend beyond what we can imagine.
It's easy to find ourselves constantly worrying about money. Whether it's managing bills, meeting financial obligations, or striving for a secure future, the burden of financial stress can weigh heavily on our minds. By shifting our perspective and cultivating a deep trust in God, we can break free from the cycle of worry and experience true peace and contentment.
Highlights from today's episode:
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Reflect on God's Faithfulness:
Take a moment to reflect on your past experiences and how God has faithfully provided for you. Recall instances where you thought there was no way out, only to witness miraculous solutions and unexpected blessings. -
Develop a Gratitude Practice:
Gratitude is a powerful antidote to worry. Cultivate a daily gratitude practice by listing three things you're thankful for each day. This simple exercise helps shift your focus from scarcity to abundance, reminding you of the countless blessings already present in your life. -
Seek Wisdom in Financial Matters:
While we place our trust in God, it's essential to exercise wisdom in managing our finances. Create a budget that aligns with your income and expenses, and seek financial advice when necessary. -
Surrender Control:
One of the biggest barriers to trusting God with our finances is our desire to maintain control. However, true trust requires surrendering our need for control and recognizing that God is ultimately in control of our lives. -
Embrace God's Promises:
The Bible is filled with promises of God's provision and faithfulness. Spend time studying verses that speak to His care for His children, such as Matthew 6:25-34 and Philippians 4:19. Meditate on these promises, internalize them, and allow them to shape your mindset. -
Engage in Generosity:
Counterintuitively, practicing generosity can alleviate financial worries. When we give generously, we acknowledge that everything we have belongs to God, and we trust that He will continue to provide for our needs.
Worrying about money can consume our thoughts and drain our energy, hindering our ability to live fully and embrace the present moment. By intentionally shifting our focus towards trust in God, we can experience freedom from financial worries. By reflecting on God's faithfulness, practicing gratitude, seeking wisdom, surrendering control, embracing His promises, and engaging in generosity, we open ourselves up to a deeper sense of peace and contentment. Trusting in God's divine provision allows us to release the burden of worry and live with confidence, knowing that He is faithful to provide for all our needs.
Free On-Demand Mini Training: "Unveiling the Secrets: Master the Art of Mystery Shopping and Earn While You Shop!" Click here for the class: https://www.budgetdivas.com/mysterytraining.
Ep #65: What are some common money stories that we tell ourselves, and how can examining and reshaping these narratives lead to a healthier relationship with finances? To be able to let go of the weight of suppressed feelings and emotions, and fostering an environment where people can be authentic and shed the need for phony masks and walls, we can create a space where individuals can grow and thrive.
In today’s podcast, my guest is Peggy Easterling of the Mindset School. At the age of 8, Peggy became the victim of abuse by her grandfather. This led to a consistent state of fight or flight, wiring her brain in self-protection, and pushing away authentic relationships due to distrust. Although God used her to do some amazing things in her early life in spite of her skeletons, it was not until her 40s that Peggy became fed up with the fake, phony smile. With help, she finally unpacked and surrendered the basement of her heart to Christ, learned to smile from within, and have fun and enjoy life again. Peggy is making it her life’s mission to help other women smile from the inside out. She wants to wrap loving arms around the child still balled up in darkness within women and show them they can have fun, be playful, and love to live again. She founded The Mindset School to forever be a student of renewing her mind the way God intended and to help others do the same.
Highlights from this episode:
- Valuable insights, practical tips, and heartfelt encouragement as we explore the connection between our mindset, personal stories, and financial well-being.
- Reshaping your money story can pave the way for a brighter, more fulfilling future.
- How to smile from within and create a life where you thrive!
Free On-Demand Mini Training: "Unveiling the Secrets: Master the Art of Mystery Shopping and Earn While You Shop!" Click here for the class: https://www.budgetdivas.com/mysterytraining.
Ep #64: Single mothers face unique challenges when it comes to managing finances while also juggling the responsibilities of raising children and pursuing dreams. In this week's podcast, Gail Clifford provides practical guidance, insightful interviews, and actionable tips specifically tailored to the needs of single moms.
Gail became a single mom after losing her husband when her daughter was just a baby. She was determined to make the most of her financial resources and create a thriving life for herself and her daughter.
Gail has spent the last 30+ years as a highly-paid Internal Medicine Hospitalist for hospitals across the midwest, Arizona, and Washington State and knows the ins and outs of the pain of being a single mom and balancing a crazy personal and professional schedule.
I remember when I was a single mom. It was incredibly rewarding and challenging. And when you add budget constraints to the mix, it can sometimes feel like an uphill battle.
Throughout this podcast, we'll be exploring a wide range of topics, all centered around managing your finances, stretching your dollar, and finding creative solutions to everyday challenges. We'll discuss practical strategies for budgeting, saving, and investing, as well as ways to maximize your income and tap into available resources. We'll dive deep into the emotional aspects of single parenting on a budget. We'll explore self-care, mental health, and building a strong support network that understands and embraces the unique journey you're on.
Free On-Demand Mini Training: "Unveiling the Secrets: Master the Art of Mystery Shopping and Earn While You Shop!" Click here for the class: https://www.budgetdivas.com/mysterytraining.
Ep #63 I’m excited for you to listen to a webinar that I recorded two weeks ago on how to get unstuck with your finances and how to stop pinching pennies without sacrificing your social life. This was part of a 5 day summit with other coaches to help us get unstuck with money, mindset, time management, and all that stuff that prevents us from living the life we want to curate for ourselves. This webinar got so much attention and positive feedback that I wanted to share it with you all on this podcast. Since this was a webinar there will be times when you’ll hear me say that I’m sharing my screen but the information given has all of the content you need to get unstuck with your finances so you can start moving forward one step at a time.
Please enjoy this webinar on how to get unstuck with your finances and stop pinching pennies without sacrificing your social life.
You will hear exactly how to change the narrative from “I can’t afford it” to “How can I afford it”.
You can use these techniques to get unstuck with the money stories that may keep you from moving forward with your financial goals in the next 3 – 6 months!
You will learn how implementing side hustles can breakthrough the logjam of a scarcity mindset and turning it into an abundance mindset
In fact, here's just a sample of what we covered on this breakthrough summit training:
* How to identify the source of your stuckness
* The reason why our personal God stories are so powerful
* Easy ways to try something new to break out of a rut
* The solution to break free from the chains of debt
* Cool insights, tips, and tricks I've learned over the last year of implementing daily habits
You get the basic FOUNDATIONS you need to get unstuck with money and finances!
Get unstuck with money and achieve financial success!
Free On-Demand Mini Training: "Unveiling the Secrets: Master the Art of Mystery Shopping and Earn While You Shop!" Click here for the class: https://www.budgetdivas.com/mysterytraining.
Ep #62: Medicare is an important program for money savings, as it provides access to affordable healthcare for seniors and people with disabilities. With healthcare costs continuing to rise, Medicare helps to offset these expenses and provides a safety net for those who would otherwise struggle to pay for necessary medical care. Medicare coverage includes hospitalization, physician services, and prescription drug coverage, among other things.
In this episode, my guest is Christine Go from Insurance Options Hawaii. Christine has been in the Insurance industry for over 25 years. She found her passion guiding Medicare beneficiaries through the complexities of Medicare since 2006. Christine is committed to helping those who are eligible for Medicare or retiring soon to understand their Medicare Health Plan options that are most beneficial for their needs.
Takeaways from this episode:
- Medicare helps to save money is by providing preventative care services that can help identify and address health issues before they become more serious and require costly treatments.
- Medicare provides access to a broad range of medical providers and services, which helps to increase competition and drive down costs.
- Medicare is an essential program for ensuring access to quality healthcare for seniors and people with disabilities, while also helping to save money by providing preventative care, negotiating rates with providers and drug companies, and increasing competition in the healthcare market.
To connect with Christine and her team, reach out to her at https://www.insuranceoptionshawaii.com/contact-us
Feeling stuck?? I'd love to invite you to a FREE virtual UNSTUCK Summit April 30-May 4th that I'll be doing with a group of women. Each night, we'll have coaches sharing strategies and tools to get unstuck in a different area of your life. No matter where or how you're stuck we've got you covered. It's going to be a powerful week of finding freedom!!
https://www.themindsetschool.net/unstuck
Ep #61: In today’s podcast, we are talking about maximizing your compensation package. Whether you work for a small family-owned company or a big corporation, do you know what your employee benefits are and are you taking advantage of not only the wellness benefits but also enrolling in benefits that can save you money on taxes?
In today's competitive job market, companies are recognizing the importance of offering comprehensive employee benefits packages as part of their overall compensation package. Employee benefits are non-wage compensation provided to employees in addition to their regular pay. They are designed to enhance the well-being, satisfaction, and productivity of employees.
Today my guest is Mislyn Alensonorin of Vantaggio HR. She is the Manager of Hawaii Operations and Sr. HR Consultant She is responsible for providing human resource and management consulting to companies of all sizes. Some of Vantaggio's services include recruitment, compliance, employee handbooks, compensation, employee benefits, training and organizational development.
Highlights from the show:
- Health Savings Account (HSA): Employees who are enrolled in high-deductible health plans can contribute pre-tax dollars to an HSA to pay for qualified medical expenses.
- Flexible Spending Account (FSA): FSAs allow employees to set aside pre-tax dollars to pay for eligible medical expenses or dependent care expenses.
- 401(k) or other retirement plans: Contributions to retirement plans are generally tax-deductible for employees, and earnings on the contributions are tax-deferred until they are withdrawn.
- Employee discounts: Some employers offer tax-free employee discounts on products or services offered by the company.
These are just a few examples of the many tax-saving benefits that employers can offer to their employees as part of their compensation package.
After you listen to this podcast, don’t forget to get a copy of your employee handbook from HR so you can review your benefits and make the necessary changes. Alright lets welcome Mislyn to the show.
Ep #60: In the last episode, we talked about setting up the foundations for reconciling your budget and I would highly encourage you to listen to that episode then jump into this one.
Reconciling my budget hasn’t always been my strongpoint because it takes time to plan and to actually sit down, look at my receipts, and cross-check every dollar that was spent with my budget. Even though I’ve been doing this for years, it’s still one more thing that I need to do on that never-ending to-do list.
Last year was a really busy year for us. Alden and I were juggling our businesses, our 9-5 jobs, and picking up extra side hustle work where we could because we were saving for a bigger place. In the busyness of it all, some things that to give in order to make space for another. I heard this analogy from one of my coaches – it’s like you have 16 pots and only 4 burners on the stove. You are trying to fit all 16 pots on the stove but there is no place for it, except for 4 of them. So you have to decide which 4 are going on the stove first, then second, and so on. And this is exactly what we were doing with our time last year. We were so busy with work that something had to give. And the #1 way that I ruin my budget is eating out. Can you relate to that? Even though we can’t see each other, nod your head and smile if you can relate to this.
I honestly love to eat out. Whether it’s sushi, thai food, or a good steak…. Dining out at restaurants is my favorite way to reward myself but it’s also my biggest budget buster AND last year because we were so busy, we were eating out all the time. Now, I am not opposed to eating out if it’s in my budget and planned but last year (especially in the summer and during the holidays when my son was home from college) we ate out a lot. On top of that, we also bought a ton of groceries thinking that I would cook at home. It was definitely a double-whammy. So the extra side hustle money that we were earning to go towards our savings ended up going to our grocery and dining out categories.
This is the reason why I’m so passionate about reconciling the budget. When you reconcile on a weekly basis, you know how much money have left to spend for the following week. If you’re not one who loves to meal plan or eat the same thing everyday, adjust your budget accordingly to allow more money towards your dining out category, so as long as it is within the means of your budget.
This is really where the magic happens when you reconcile your budget. You can evaluate your spending habits and see where exactly your money is being spent.
Now that you understand why it’s so important to reconcile your budget, here are the action steps to take to do exactly that so you’ll always be living within your means, have savings tucked away for a rainy day, and be able to pay off debt faster than you can imagine.
Before we start the show, I wanted to invite you to a free masterclass I am hosting next week Wednesday, 3/29 and 4/5 – all about setting up the foundations for your budget and creating a plan that works so you can pay off debt quickly without pinching pennies. There will be new content, new strategies that I’ve been implementing lately, and of course I will cover the details on my favorite side hustle – mystery shopping and how it has helped not only our family but members in the Budget Divas Community pay off hundreds and thousands of dollars in debt. Register here: https://www.budgetdivas.com/money-masterclass
In this series we’ll be talking about good old-fashioned money habits that we need to revisit from the generations before us. The same good old-fashioned money tips that our parents, grandparents, and even great-grandparents used in their everyday life.
People want that magic pill that is going to take away all their problems. But let’s be honest here. Imagine for a second, someone that is not very good at money and they were given $50,000 to pay off their credit cards. And lets just say they did – they actually deposited that check, went online to pay off that bill, and was now completely debt-free.
Now, this person has a pretty decent income but has not learned how to manage their money correctly. In your opinion, do you think that person will be back into debt in the near future?
If you answered yes, I completely agree with you.
It’s interesting because when I hear stories on social media, the first thing that comes to mind is “if only there was a magic wand that could completely wipe out my debt, I’d have a clean slate and I’d be better off.”
But most times, that is not the case at all. Think about this for a second. There are so many diet fads out there that promote this magic pill that will instantly help you to lose weight, curb your appetite, and make you eat less. these diets may lead to rapid weight loss in the short term, they are not sustainable over the long term. But what happens once they stop taking that magic pill? Many people end up going back to their previous eating habits once they stop following the diet, which can cause them to regain the weight they lost or even gain more weight than before. We hear stories like this ALL the time and that’s why they call it fad dieting.
When I talk to people and ask them what keeps them up at night, the most common response I hear is - My spouse/partner and I make a really good income but we don’t know where our money is going. It seems like money comes into the account and goes right back out and we don’t have any money until the next paycheck.
The short answer is the fortune is in the follow-up. This term is widely used in business but has the same effect when we apply it to money habits. If you create a budget and don’t look at it again until the next month, that budget is no good to you at all. You are pretty much left with a pretty template that you downloaded online with your budgeted numbers in it.
The first habit to becoming good with money is to reconcile your budget. Reconciling your budget involves comparing your actual income and expenses to the budget that you have set for yourself, identifying any discrepancies, and adjusting your spending or saving habits accordingly.
I’m going to give you three easy steps you can do right now:
1) Pick a day and time that you will reconcile your budget
2) Dedicate a space for your monthly receipts
3) Go through your receipts and only keep the current month’s personal spending receipts in that dedicated space
Stay tuned because in the next podcast, I’m going to tell you step-by-step on how to reconcile your budget so that you can get it down to one hour per week. Until next time, keep moving forward one step at a time.
If you want tips on how to improve your finances this year, you can grab my free guide at https://www.budgetdivas.com/fivesteps.
Ep #58 When presented with legal papers or documents, you often need a notary. But have you ever thought about what precisely a notary is and what it is that they do?
Mobile notaries are in high demand and can earn a good income by offering their services. It can start off as a lucrative side hustle to earn extra income on the side to becoming a full-time job!
In this podcast, we're having a discussion with Janae Blatch of Florida Academy of Notaries. Janae is a fun, faith-filled educator who loves teaching and being a Notary Public. She enjoys helping others learn and grow. Her background in mental health counseling and education has perfectly prepared her for this task.
Passionate about helping others enjoy financial freedom, Janae is here to equip Notaries to deliver exceptional service, every time!
While running a successful Notary business, alongside her husband of more than 10 years, David Blatch, Janae places priority on raising their three children which was the catalyst for her starting in this industry.
Main takeaways from this podcast:
- How to get started as a mobile notary
- How to grow your book of business with real estate agents, title officers, and mortgage professionals
- How this can start as a side hustle and becoming a full-time career
To connect with Janae, check out her links below:
Email: support@flacademyofnotaries.com
Instagram: janae _blatch
Website: www.flacademyofnotaries.com
If you want tips on how to improve your finances this year, you can grab my free guide at https://www.budgetdivas.com/fivesteps.
Ep #57 Are you planning to travel this summer? Have you considered traveling in an RV?
RV travel can be a fun and exciting way to explore new places and experience the great outdoors.
In this week's podcast, Christine Swartz of RV Mama of 4 explains how to start RV'ing in style while on a budget.
Christine's goal is to help you gain the confidence, knowledge, and skills needed to purchase, drive, and set up your RV from start to finish.
She wants you to create the life you desire by connecting with nature, spending quality time with your kids or pets without the distractions of a busy life, and engaging in sight-seeing and activities you don’t normally have the opportunity to do!
Main takeaways from this episode:
- Flexibility and Freedom
- Comfort and Convenience
- Bonding with Nature
- Community
To learn more about RV'ing, connect with her here:
You can get my Ultimate Guide to RVing Solo or with Your Kids at https://www.rvmamaof4.com/RVingSolo
Website: https://www.rvmamaof4.com
You can join my RV Mama of 4 Facebook group at www.facebook.com/groups/RVMamaof4
In the RV Mama of 4 Adventure & Community, you will receive the coaching and community you need to get out there and experience the beauty of the outdoors in a unique way...in an RV…so you too can make memories that last a lifetime, one mile at a time.
If you want tips on how to improve your finances this year, you can grab my free guide at https://www.budgetdivas.com/fivesteps.
Ep #56 Have you ever felt frustrated with your budget?
Frustrated that …
…there’s not even enough money to pay the bills each month
…money runs out as soon as payday hits
…you feel you are spinning your wheels trying to make more money each month with little to no progress
When we first started our debt-free journey, this was a frustration that would run through my mind daily. It seemed like no matter how hard we worked, there wasn’t enough money to last the entire month. I was afraid to open the mailbox and see the stack of bills in it, and it seemed like Dooms Day was everyday.
There were more stressed out days than there were happy days. Even though we tried as hard as we could to hustle our way out of debt, we ended up feeling frustrated, depleted, and sick to our stomach because the debt wasn’t going down fast enough.
Whenever I rush the process on anything I do, it always ends up being a bad decision. There are only so many hours in the day and trying to cram everything in a short amount of time usually means sleepless nights, multi-tasking without getting anything done, and more ugly crying nights than anything else. You know that ugly cry where you cry your eyes out and can’t even breathe.
Can you relate to that?
If you’ve ever felt like your heart is racing all the time, stressed over money woes, and all you want to do is close your eyes and hope that it all goes away, there is a money challenge that works every single time to recalibrate my mind and my spirit.
Whenever I do this challenge, I feel more relaxed as it forces me to slow down and it’s like a detox that is getting rid of the toxic thoughts in my head that causes me to feel frustrated with money.
And that challenge is a no spend challenge.
What exactly is a no spend challenge?
It is a personal challenge in which you set a goal to not spending money on non-essential items within a certain time period.
The goal of the challenge usually targets areas to reduce unnecessary expenses, increase savings, and improve financial health.
During this challenge, you set your own rules so that it’s meaningful to you.
Some of our goals for our no spend challenge -
- Spending money on essential bills - housing, utilities, and transportation
- Avoiding non-essential purchases - clothes, electronics, and entertainment
- Using up items that have already been purchased before buying more – groceries, toiletries, personal items
- Looking free or low-cost alternatives for leisure activities
Whether you decide to do it on a weekend, 7 days or even for an entire month, the transformation coming out of it will be so powerful. I’m cheering you on friend. You got this. You may feel frustrated now but I know that it’s only for a season, and this season won’t last forever.
If you want tips on how to improve your finances this year, you can grab my free guide at https://www.budgetdivas.com/fivesteps.
Ep #55: In this episode, let’s talk about making a plan for our savings goals. Now if you are starting to cringe because savings is not your love language, I totally hear you. Spending money is much more fun than putting my hard earned money into a savings account and letting it sit there. In fact, if you were to give me $100 right now and give me a choice to deposit it into my bank or spend the entire $100 at Target, I would 100% go to Target and happily spend it.
We all know that savings is definitely an important part of our financial journey so on today’s podcast, I want to give you some tips on how you can put those savings to good use in 2023.
What I wanted to talk about today is planning your savings for the entire year. The reason to do this is because it will allow to slowly save a certain amount of money every single month for important life events that happen in the year. For example – birthdays, anniversaries, school uniforms and supplies, family trips, Christmas and so on. Not only does this eliminate the stress of having to come up with the money the month of or the month before the event happens but because you have already budgeted and planned ahead for that money, it will be guilt-free.
When we started implementing this strategy, it was a game changer for our budget. We no longer felt money stressed during the holidays because we knew we had the money saved in the account. It eliminated the money fights and we actually looked forward to the events instead of cringing because we had to put it on our already maxed out credit card and pray that the credit card company would push the transaction through. It made us excited to take that saved money out of the bank account and freely spend it however we chose.
So I want to give you four tips on how you can implement this strategy into your budget without breaking the bank.
The 4 things you need to do to plan your yearly savings goals:
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Make a list of all the events happening throughout the year
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Give each event a set amount that fits within your budget (and just know that you can always increase the amount if you make more money)
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Add the total for each month and then the yearly total so you’ll know how much you need to put away each month
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Store it in a bank account that is separate from your main checking and savings account. This will help you to treat it like a bill and you won’t be tempted to dip into that account.
That wraps up this episode for our Back to Basics Money Series. Also if you want tips on how to improve your finances this year, you can grab my free guide at https://www.budgetdivas.com/fivesteps.
It will outline the tips we have covered in our Back to Basics Money Series plus give you quick action steps that you can start doing right now.
If you have enjoyed this episode, would you be so kind and leave a review on Apple Podcasts? I’d love to hear from you. Until next time, keep moving forward one step at a time.
If you want tips on how to improve your finances this year, you can grab my free guide at https://www.budgetdivas.com/fivesteps.
Ep #54: How do you know God's calling for your life?
Have you ever struggled with this question? Is God calling you to step out of your comfort zone and into ministry?
In this episode of the Budget Divas podcast, my guest is Francine Ivey.
Francine Ivey is an Executive Coach and Founder of Consumed Coaching, LLC. She helps entrepreneurs, coaches, and influencers grow in their personal and professional lives through her faith-based coaching program. Francine is certified as a Master Level Life Coach with International Christian Coach Institute, Sales and Leadership Coach, and Coach, Speaker, and Trainer for the John Maxwell Team.
She is a powerful speaker who challenges her audiences to believe bigger and to walk in confidence. She has coached individuals in many industries and Fortune 500 companies, as well as boutique companies and non-profit organizations. Her clients appreciate her ability to cut through the noise and help them focus on what is most important to them.
Top 5 takeaways from this episode:
- How to let the Holy Spirit lead you into finding your spiritual gifts
- When God turns the unimaginable into a beautiful love story
- What it means to be a Kingdom Coach
- Overcoming self-sabotage, negative thinking, limited beliefs
- Questions to ask yourself before becoming a coach
To learn more about Francine, visit her podcast and website here:
Consumed Coaching Website: https://www.consumedcoaching.com/
Book a FREE call with Francine: https://www.consumedcoaching.com/site/contact
Calling Over Comfort Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/calling-over-comfort-with-francine-ivey/id1589661975
If you want tips on how to improve your finances this year, you can grab my free guide at https://www.budgetdivas.com/fivesteps.
Ep #53 How to live on a budget without going scorched earth. If you haven’t heard of this term before, basically it means to remove all discretionary spending from your budget. So think of it as the only things in your budget are the money to support your four walls – shelter/utilities, food, transportation, and necessary clothing. So this means getting rid of all the extra spending in your budget – cable, dining out, any subscriptions, gym memberships, lattes, and anything else that would be considered as a non-essential expense.
So we did this in the first 2 years of our debt-free journey. I was OBSESSED with finding every article and YouTube video that I could on how to live on practically nothing. In the first few months of doing this, it was kind of fun because it was like a challenge. Like oooh let’s see how many days I can go without spending any money. And I would read all of these articles and watch these You Tube videos of how people were walking to work, DIY’ing everything they could, learning how to cook recipes from their kitchen inventory, making their own laundry soap, and so forth.
But as time went on, what happened is that my family and I were just miserable. I would feel so guilty everytime we left the house to do something fun because that meant using gas and spending money on going out to eat when I knew that the money should be going to our debt instead.
It was only in that third year of our debt-free journey that I started to turn things upside down and that’s when life got really fun and I started to actually enjoy the debt-free journey instead of frantically wanting to be at the finish line. The end result was that we made so much progress in that third year of our debt-free journey, to the tune of paying off $41k in 12 months.
So in today’s episode, I want to give you some tips on how you can also pay off a lot of debt but also enjoy the journey along the way. We’re always in such a rush to get to the finish line that we forget to be present and enjoy what’s happening around us.
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The first tip is to make a list of what you want to keep in your budget. Most people start working on their budget the opposite way. They start slashing their budget to practically nothing only to burn out in the end.
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Cut out everything else in your budget that is no longer a necessity or is draining your budget
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The last tip to living on a budget without going on a scorched earth budget is to find a side hustle that you love to increase your income. For us, it was mystery shopping. We wanted to find a way to have our cake and eat it too and mystery shopping allowed us to enjoy the debt-free journey. In that third year of our journey we discovered how we could get paid to shop and reimbursed for our purchases. If you’re interested in learning more, you can access the free on-demand training at https://www.budgetdivas.com/mysterytraining. This is a mini training that is an introduction to the mystery shopping course that I’ve put together if you’d like to become mystery shopper.
If you have enjoyed this episode and are getting value from the Budget Divas podcast, I would so appreciate if you left a review to let me know that you’re enjoying the show and also share this episode with someone who can benefit from these tips.
If you want tips on how to improve your finances this year, you can grab my free guide at https://www.budgetdivas.com/fivesteps.
Ep# 52 January is my favorite month of the year because it means new beginnings and fresh new ideas. It’s a time when I don’t reflect on what I didn’t accomplish in the previous year, but rather, focusing on what I do want to accomplish in the current year.
The same goes for budgeting. So in today’s podcast, we’re going to talk about the budgeting basics – from creating your budget to streamlining the process so that you’ll actually stick with it instead of wanting to throw it out the window.
The first tip is to get organized with your finances.
1. Gather your documents
The very first step to creating your budget is to get your income and expenses statements. This may mean logging on to your employer’s website and printing out your paystubs, rummaging through your drawer for those documents or if you are self-employed looking through your client invoices to see what you got paid. If you have an inconsistent income, I recommend printing out at least 3 months worth of statements so you can get a good idea of the average amount you bring in every month.
Then you’ll want to gather all of your expense statements. So this means any bills that you pay for each month. To make this a little easier, start with monthly fixed expenses. So this means rent/mortgage, household utilities, internet/cable, daycare, car payment, and anything else that you absolutely have to pay for to run your household. Next, grab your bank and credit card statements. I highly recommend printing these out and keeping it in a folder because in the next few podcasts, we’ll talk about how we are going to analyze these documents.
2. Write it all down
Everyone has their own budgeting style preference – whether you like pen/paper, spreadsheets, or apps. But if you’re doing a budget for the first time, I highly recommend just getting a sheet of paper and writing it down. This will make it so much easier plus you can keep adding to that list as you find more income or expenses when you go through your paperwork. Once you have it all down, then you can decide if you want to use a budgeting template, spreadsheet, or an app. I also have a free budgeting template that you can grab for yourself and you can access it at https://www.budgetdivas.com/budgeting-template.
3. Automate your bill payments
When we first starting getting our finances organized and started budgeting, I noticed the fees I was paying for late payments.
You can also automate your bills for your utilities. Most companies won’t charge a fee if you’re debiting it from your checking account and some companies don’t even charge a fee for using for your card. The main thing is to automate as much as possible so you’re not having to worry about incurring late payment fees and it doesn’t hurt your credit history.
If you want tips on how to improve your finances this year, you can grab my free guide at https://www.budgetdivas.com/fivesteps.
Ep #51 How do we let go of past hurts that keep us from moving into the role we were meant to play?
In today's podcast, my guest is Bridget Lynch. After overcoming fears and anxieties from trauma and abuse, Bridget wants to help you do the same. We are not what happened to us, we are daughters of the King of kings. We are chosen, called, accepted, beloved, cherished, loved, equipped, and so much more!
You don't have to walk alone through your healing journey when you join a community of women. You get to come together in a safe and secure place, receiving the prayers and support you need as you heal.
It took Bridget years to heal from her past, and she wants you to know that it's ok if it takes you that long too. Healing is a process, and it doesn't happen overnight. She will come alongside you to help you find your identity in Christ and see who you truly are - healed and whole in Christ!
To learn more about Bridget, visit her website: https://www.inthelightcoach.live/
If you want tips on how to improve your finances this year, you can grab my free guide at https://www.budgetdivas.com/fivesteps.
Ep #50 Are you ready to finally start that business you've been thinking about?
In this episode, my guest is Nichole Mengiles of The Stim Clinic. This episode is filled with great tips to stop overthinking when starting a business, start taking action on that side hustle turned into full time business, and overcoming mindset obstacles that will stop you from pushing through.
When you change your mindset, you can change your life. Your mindset is the difference between those who succeed and those who don’t.
When you are serious about success in your professional and personal life, mastering your mindset is a must. By changing your thinking, you can change your actions because more action means more chances of success.
As you change your mindset, you change your behavior. When you say that you can't, you won’t succeed. Imagine what you can achieve, and the results will follow.
Takeaways from the show:
- Defining your purpose in life
- Creating success because it doesn't just happen
- Choosing to be positive every day and have a good attitude
- Focusing on others and not your own thoughts
- Building grit in your life
- Building a business from nothing to a million dollars
The Stim Clinic has helped over 3,500 families. They work with massage therapists, chiropractors, physical therapists, nonprofits, and military personnel.
There's help if you are suffering from back pain, sore muscles, stiff neck, or stress. The portable, compact, and rechargeable devices interrupt pain signals to the brain, stimulating & relaxing the muscles through safe electrical charges to the pain area.
To learn more, visit their website: https://www.thestimclinic.com/
Interested in making money as a mystery shopper? Get access to the FREE training here: https://www.budgetdivas.com/mysterytraining
If you want tips on how to improve your finances this year, you can grab my free guide at https://www.budgetdivas.com/fivesteps.
Ep #49 For most, the holiday season is filled with joy and happiness. But for others, it may be associated with negative memories such as tragedy, grief, and loss. This episode, we’re diving into how to deal with negative emotions and find healing despite hardships.
The healing journey is a process that consists of actions you take to let go. Kate explains how to embrace things that empower you. The paths you take after the trauma, the goals you set to keep moving forward, and life experiences that you create during the journey — their impact is part of the process of healing.
Kate Conwell is the founder of the Journey Beyond Betrayal—an online membership community that exists to ENCOURAGE, EDUCATE, EQUIP and EMPOWER women as they walk through the pain of marital infidelity and find healing. Kate launched the community out of her own story of overcoming the pain of infidelity five years into marriage—turning her deepest pain into a God given purpose. Kate’s husband also pursued his own healing, and through God’s redeeming power they have now been married for 15 years! Together they have two energetic and athletic boys—who she cheers on at whatever sporting event the season brings!
To learn more about the Journey Beyond Betrayal Community and get 5 Tips to Move from Hurting to Hope visit: https://www.journeybeyondbetrayal.com/FREEBIE
Website: https://www.journeybeyondbetrayal.com
Instagram: @journeybeyondbetrayal
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/journeybeyondbetrayal/
If you want tips on how to improve your finances this year, you can grab my free guide at https://www.budgetdivas.com/fivesteps.
Ep# 48 Are you ready to become a homeowner in 2023?
In this episode, my guest is Brad Shinagawa of B&B Mortgage Solutions. This episode is filled with great tips on how to start planning for pre-approval, getting your credit right, and mindset solutions to get you in the right headspace to be able to take on a mortgage.
Takeaways from the show:
- How to budget for the mortgage payment
- What you need to know to get pre-approved
- Establishing a strong and honest relationship with your mortgage officer
Established in 2007, B&B Mortgage Solutions opened in the heart of the largest mortgage and real estate meltdown ever seen. Through their local values and exceptional reputation, B&B was not only able to survive, but flourish.
Through the ever changing lending environment and the mortgage industry thriving again, B&B Mortgage has been repeatedly recognized as one of Hawaii’s top Mortgage companies. That, largely due to them following their motto of treating every client as if, “was my aunty.”
Through listening to their clients’ needs and educating them on the lending process, the licensed professionals at B&B Mortgage will tailor the most suitable, and often times “Out of the Box,” financing structure. So, whether buying your first home or refinancing your tenth home, The B & B Team will find the right loan for you through the variety of home loan products available to them.
To learn more, visit their website: https://www.bbmortgagehawaii.com/
If you want tips on how to improve your finances this year, you can grab my free guide at https://www.budgetdivas.com/fivesteps.
Ep #47 Do you want to kickstart your career into high gear in 2023? Do you want to ensure you stand out from the rest of the crowd? If you said yes to any of these questions, here’s the most important question. Do you know how to properly brand yourself? When you get clarity and can articulate your personal brand, you can make sure everything you say matches what you want to be known for.
In today’s episode, my guest is Patricia Ortega. Patricia is a career coach and is also the host of The Uncommon Career Podcast. Patricia uses her master’s level training and decades of experience to help faith-based professionals find and follow their calling, overcome challenges, and land fulfilling, well paid positions. She was nudged by Christ’s faithfulness to her own calling, and quit a 6-figure position to start this faith-based company, coaching others to walk out their career God story.
To learn more about Patricia Ortega, visit her links below:
Website: https://www.theuncommoncareer.com/
Link Tree (for mobile): https://www.theuncommoncareer.com/LiB
The Uncommon Career Podcast homepage: https://theuncommoncareerpodcast.podbean.com/
Interested in making money as a mystery shopper? Get access to the FREE training here: https://www.budgetdivas.com/mysterytraining
When was the last time you reviewed your insurance coverages to make sure you are properly protected? Your insurance company may not know about any life changes happening in your life such as getting married, having a baby, moving to a new area, or changing jobs. It’s always a good idea to review your coverage with your current provider or shop around to see if you can get a better rate with the exact coverage you need.
Having an unbiased resource that can review your policy and make sound recommendations based on your needs is like talking to a mentor who can give you professional advice. Working with agency means they work for you, not the insurance company – giving you the power of choice.
Mallorie is an Associate Account Executive at Atlas Insurance Agency, Inc. Born and raised in Hawai'i, she earned her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa. Mallorie has been in the Property & Casualty Insurance Industry since 2013 and holds the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) designation. She works with clients to customize an insurance plan that best fits their needs.
Since 1929, Atlas Insurance Agency has been providing property and casualty insurance solutions for the people and businesses of Hawai'i. Atlas is currently the oldest and largest insurance agency in the State, taking pride in giving the best service, the best coverages and the best rates possible.
To learn more, check out Atlas Insurance here: https://www.atlasinsurance.com/
Interested in making money as a mystery shopper? Get access to the FREE training here: https://www.budgetdivas.com/mysterytraining
Ep #45 In today’s podcast, we’re talking about how to get scrappy with side hustles. Whether you are trying to find time to work on your passion project while juggling your 9-5 job or looking for ways to earn extra income to pay down debt, there are ALWAYS ways to make extra income. This is one of my FAVORITE podcasts because we talk all about mindset, time management, motivation, and inspiration.
Today's guest is Cesar Tauyan. Cesar is the grownup kid who struggles with adulting. At a young age he realized his education and upbringing did not prepare him for real life, which is the system of going to college, working a job you hate for the rest of your life, drowning in debt, and feeling unfulfilled. He discovered side hustles and passion projects as a way to separate himself from the system and live life to its fullest. Cesar grew up a military brat. He now lives on Oahu with his wife and kids. He loves playing the piano, watching combat sports, and morning coffee chats with his wife.
Your passion project could be a side gig that you want to eventually turn into a full-time business. It is something that makes you feel invigorated, happy, and sparks joy in your life.
"Getting Scrappy" means finding creative side hustles to fund your passion project. This may mean cutting the neighbor's grass, running errands for other people, freelancing on Fiverr, etc.
Listen in as we discuss the importance of starting a passion project and why you need to start one today!
Interested in making money as a mystery shopper? Get access to the FREE training here: https://www.budgetdivas.com/mysterytraining
Ep #45 In today’s podcast, we are talking about how stress affects not only our physical and mental health but also our financial health. As we are approaching the holiday season, there may be things that are stressing us out – family, travel, money, and juggling so many priorities.
In today’s podcast, my guest is Jedd Ramos. Jedd is the Founder, Visionary Leader & Owner of KaiZen FITNESS. He is a certified, educated and experienced fitness professional that specializes in life-changing fitness that creates limitless transformations. Jedd synergistically fuses modern science with ancestral wisdom. With over 12 years of experience within the health, fitness and wellness fields, Jedd utilizes scientific, evidence-based methods to holistically serve each client in mind, body, spirit, heart and soul, so that his clients live a more healthy, fulfilling quality of life.
To learn more about Jedd and his services, check out his links below:
Email: Kaizen.ESS@gmail.com
https://kaizen-ess.weebly.com/
https://linktr.ee/kaizen.fitness
https://www.facebook.com/jedd.ramos.45/
https://www.instagram.com/saiyajin_son_goku/
Interested in making money as a mystery shopper? Get access to the FREE training here: https://www.budgetdivas.com/mysterytraining
Ep #43
How would your life change if you had thousands of dollars extra in your bank account each month? What if it was to the tune of $15,000 per month?
In this episode, Skye Andrade explains how you can make money with Turo. What it is, how to start, and how much money you can make per month. This episode will inspire you to take action and consider Turo as a side hustle.
Main takeaways:
1. Creating your listing
2. Making your listing stand out from the rest
3. Outlining the process
4. Starting a fleet
5. How much you can earn with Turo
6. Tips and Tricks
Skye is a wife, mom, and has two fur babies. She is a 101 Financial consultant, a flight attendant with Alaska Airlines, and is also a licensed realtor in California and Hawaii. Her burning desire is to to leave a legacy of generational wealth so her family can have the means to impact the community, their friends, and family in a positive way. Her key to success is to stay loyal and connected, be down to earth and consistent, and HAVE FUN AND LAUGH OFTEN!
Learn more at https://turo.com/.
To learn more about Skye Andrade, check out her link here: http://instructors.101financial.com/skye101
Interested in making money as a mystery shopper? Get access to the FREE training here: https://www.budgetdivas.com/mysterytraining
When Diana Gremillion lost her hair and her chef career due to burnout, she decided to follow her dreams, quit her 9-5, and move to Hawai'i to start her own business. As a chef, international speaker, serial entrepreneur, and 9/11 survivor, Diana loves helping people heal their past and achieve post-traumatic growth, so they can build their dream future. In the words of Lisa Nichols, Diana’s dynamic stories and insights are "food to my soul."
When you think about your relationship with money, does it produce positive or negative thoughts?
In this episode, my guest is Jennifer Constantino of Infinite Ascension. Jennifer has been in the health and wellness field for over 17 years. Her health philosophy is all about aligning your physical body with your mental, spiritual and emotional bodies for higher vibrational living. She started out as a massage therapist and in the past 3 years, she has really tapped into energy healing because she finds that her method of healing is a lot more powerful than a private massage session. As a massage therapist, she sees a lot of people with chronic pain and issues.
Because of her intuitiveness, she realized that a client’s emotional health has a direct influence on your physical health and when emotional trauma is left untreated, it manifests itself into physical pain. Having gone through her own spiritual awakening and journeying through one of the toughest year of her life, it had forced her to take responsibility of her actions and really take inventory of what she was going through and make that commitment to create a different life where her past no longer had power over her.
Here at Budget Divas, because we are learning to master our finances, I come across people who have money blocks. Let’s find out more about healing surrounding money blocks with Jennifer Constantino.
She has an upcoming class called Abundance Alignment that you can register for on her website at www.infiniteascensionllc.com specifically on beliefs surrounding money blocks, success and wealth. You can also book a discovery call with her.
In this episode, I wanted to talk about our debt free journey. It was seven years ago, officially that we started our debt free journey.
In 2016 when I had changed jobs, I was just done with being sick and tired of being sick and tired. And so my husband and I were really determined to stick to the plan, and we went hard. We decided we were gonna do a "rice in beans, beans and rice: diet, if you're familiar with that term.
We didn't go on vacations. We hardly ever ate out. We basically just lived under a rock. We love Dave Ramsey and his Financial Peace University. His plan works for most people, but the way that we did it was we did it really, really hard. We did it in a way that we sacrificed so much that we were just not having fun anymore, even to the point where our friends and our family were asking us if we were okay.
I really had to change my mindset about money and also my habits. My husband and I sat down together and we decided we were going to find creative ways to have a life and still get out of a lot of debt. In 2019, we were able to pay off $41,000 in 12 months, and that's what today's podcast is all about.
It's all about the mindset shifts that we have to go through, the habits that we had to change. And so I'm so happy that you're here today because this podcast is going to get real. It's going to be raw, and I'll tell you the five main things we did to pay off $41,000 in one year.
In this episode of the Budget Divas podcast, my guest is Brandy Shumate. Brandy is an Account Queen and handles bookkeeping and financial advisory services.
Brandy graduated with an accounting degree and has continued her education by taking bookkeeping and financial advisory courses over the years since college.
If you work in the gig industry or have a side hustle, you will love this episode.
In this episode, you will learn:
- valuable tips on how to keep personal and business expenses
- how to stay organized with business receipts
- tips on tax write offs that are legal with the IRS
- how to create good recordkeeping habits
- what to look for when outsourcing bookkeeping tasks
Brandy loves slaying all of your bookkeeping dragons! Account Queen provides a professional, prompt, and accurate financial reporting service all while building a relationship that goes beyond just keeping your books. Some of their add on services include payroll, inventory management, sales tax, weekly AP management, and tax services starting January 2023.
To learn more about Brandy's services, visit her website at https://www.accountqueennow.com for more information and to schedule a free consultation meeting.
Ep #38 This week's podcast guest is Kate Conwell. As a family of four, Kate and her husband love their family, love their friends, and love Jesus. They are both graduates from the University of Washington, where they competed in track and field, and studied business and geography. They enjoy traveling and utilize Airbnb as hosts and guests to make that happen!
A host can rent out an entire house, room, apartment, or even a shed on the property that's suitable for travelers that are passing through or want a cozy or unique vacation rental.
In this episode, Kate discusses things to consider before hosting such as how much you can earn, understanding the costs of hosting an Airbnb, and setting your own rules and expectations.
If you've ever wondered what it take to become an Airbnb host and how much you can earn, listen in as Kate covers all of those questions!
To learn more about Kate Conwell's listing, visit this link: https://www.airbnb.com/users/show/40744023
Want to try out hosting? Air BnB has a great referral program for hosts! Check out Kate's referral link below: www.airbnb.com/r/williamc503
Now that summer is long gone and the fall season is kicking in, what does your after-summer September reset look like?
Before the year ends, September and October are two perfect months to perform a reset of your goals and start thinking about what you wish to accomplish before the holidays come. Here are three tips to crushing your end-of-the-year financial goals!
- What fills your joy tank? In other words, what are things in your life that bring you joy? For example, it could be that cup of coffee that you get from your favorite local coffee shop in the morning. I always hate it when financial advisors say, "If you wanna be rich, don't spend money on frivolous things like a $7 latte. Drink coffee at home." But what if that latte brings you joy? Or alternatively, what if visiting your favorite cafe and working or studying there for an hour or two is what brings you energy? Why would you want to take that away from yourself?
As a real-life example, someone I was talking to mentioned that she's never gotten her nails done, but would like to accommodate and make room for that in her budget. So she did just that-- allocated enough money in her budget that she could get her nails done every few weeks. And it brings her joy every single time.
Therefore, make a list of things that you would like to keep in your budget that keeps you motivated towards your goals. These don't have to be daily or even monthly things, but could rather be one-time short-term or long-term goals, like a vacation, new kitchen appliance, or even a new electronic!
2. What doesn't serve you anymore? This next step is to ultimately do a budget audit-- essentially, what are some things in your budget that just simply doesn't bring you joy anymore, and therefore you no longer use or need?
Another real-life example, someone I spoke with told me how he canceled his DVR subscription which was about a little more than $200 per month, and he wasn't using it anymore. Therefore, he canceled his subscription and ultimately followed tip #1, and used that money to fund a hobby he genuinely enjoyed, like golfing!
In practice, this could be cancelling your gym membership that you barely use anymore, and utilizing your free time to go outside and exercise by hiking, running, swimming, or simply walking your dog.
Just open your bank account and make a list of things that are coming out automatically out of your budget that no longer are useful to you. And then with that money, you can decide how that money will go to paying any debt payments and to something that fuels your joy tank.
3. Find an accountability partner. It is so important to choose and to be selective of who your accountability partner is. Choose only a person that has your best interests at heart. Then, when you find that person, be sure to be transparent; tell them what's going on, the struggles that you're going through, your goals for the future, your wins, and most importantly, what they can do to encourage you.
My accountability partner is my husband, Alden. He's my encourager, the one who's constantly telling me and reminding me why I started budget divas in the first place. There are times when things get hard and maybe a launch didn't go as exactly as I planned. And some days I think that it might be easier if I just focused on my nine-to-five instead of my business, but then he reels me back in by telling me, "you have to remember why you started this in the first place. You started it because you wanted to change lives."
Another one of my accountability partners is my son, Brandon. He is my structured accountability partner. He's the one who pushes me and who tells me, "Mom, you need to do this. You said that you're going to accomplish this goal by this date."
Ep #36
Have you ever worked really hard at work to get a promotion or raise just to go unnoticed and overlooked? This can be the worst feeling ever and often discourage many people from putting in more effort in the future. Oftentimes, going the extra mile is not enough—in order to truly stand out, it feels like we have to go another extra nine miles.
Oftentimes, going the extra mile is not enough—in order to truly stand out, it feels like we have to go another extra nine miles.
But this doesn’t have to be the case—rather, you need a strategic plan to increase your likelihood of getting noticed at work (and no, it doesn’t include doubling down and taking on more work than you can handle).
This week on the Budget Divas podcast, my guest is Steven Foust of NCO Success Academy. Steven served 13-years on active duty in the United States Army. After leaving the active service, he joined the United States Army Reserve and completed an additional 8 years in multiple leadership roles before retiring from the Army with more than 20-years of total service.
In this episode, Steven shares his strategy tips on how to get noticed at work. Main takeaways: making sure that you have meaningful 1-on-1’s with your supervisor, creating important connections with them, and being intentional of what you ask of your supervisor regarding performance evaluations, room for improvement, and showing your commitment.
To learn more about Steven, visit his website at https://www.ncoonfire.com/
You’ve probably heard the old saying, “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time!”
One of the main reasons people don’t finish big tasks is not due to laziness. It's not that they don't have the desire or the willpower either. Many times it comes from self-doubt and feeling overwhelmed by a BIG task.
In this week's episode on the Budget Divas podcast, my guest is fellow Budget Divas member Marilyn Lamer.
Marilyn discusses the importance of breaking down our big goals into bite-sized goals that are realistic and attainable. We also discuss how perfectionism can lead to procrastination and feeling paralyzed. Marilyn gives us tips to focus on our next step instead of the big goal.
Marilyn Lamer is from Honolulu, Hawaii. She is married and has two sons. Her oldest son is autistic with ADHD. Marilyn has a huge heart for helping families with children with autism. Empowerment and positive mindset are two topics Marilyn is passionate about.
As a promoter with Innov8tive Nutrition, Marilyn is passionate about showing people how they can take and absorb their nutrition with nanotechnology body applications or patches. Marilyn likes to say that the wonder of your wellbeing is within your control!
34 John Gephart's passion is Oahu real estate. Born in Honolulu and having lived here for much of his life, John has seen first-hand the changing urban landscape of Honolulu and its suburbs and is excited to share his knowledge of Oahu's neighborhoods with those he meets.
As an experienced real estate broker, John truly lives a rewarding, yet challenging life. He enjoys immensely aiding his clients in finding their ideal new home or investment property or seamlessly selling their property to its maximum potential. He also specializes in helping clients purchase new development projects throughout the island of Oahu.
The countless referrals and testimonials lay testament to his warmth and compassion. His knowledgeable yet personable nature allows his clients to feel comfortable and at ease when making such an important decision in real estate.
In this episode, John shares his best tips on how to prepare your finances to buy your first home and how to choose the right real estate agent or broker that's right for you.
To learn more about John Gephart, visit his website at https://www.urbanoahu.com/.
Disclaimer: This episode focuses on maximizing credit card points
Ep: #33 Have you ever wanted to travel the world without spending a ton of money? How about receiving an upgrade worth thousands of dollars with points and miles earned?
In this week’s episode on the Budget Divas podcast, my guest is Eli Tsukayama. Eli is a marketing professor at the University of Hawaii and holds a PhD in psychology. When he is not working at his full-time job, he enjoys traveling around the world. Eli’s hobby is travel hacking which allows him to travel elite without spending a ton of money.
Eli first learned about travel hacking through a grad student who told him about travel hacking. Eli first thought this was too good to be true but soon learned how to maximize his credit card points to get the best travel deals including incredible airline upgrades such as private rooms with amenities that most airlines do not have.
In this episode, Eli shares tips on how to travel hack and get the most bang for your buck.
Some of the highlights in this episode:
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How to find the best sign-on deals with travel point bonuses
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How to determine if travel or cash back points are best for your lifestyle
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Ways you can transfer your points to international partner airlines to maximize your benefits
To follow Eli on his travels, you can find him at https://www.instagram.com/elit808/
Can you identify a difficult person in your life? Sometimes no matter how hard we try, we are not able to get our point across in an effective way that puts the other person at ease or gets them to respond in a non-threatening way.
How do you respond to difficult people? Is your response to fight, flight, or freeze? Our body is designed to respond to perceived threats to keep us safe from danger, whether it would be physical, mental, or emotional danger.
Vince Abramo is a certified coach and trainer through the John Maxwell Team. She specializes in helping people achieve their personal goals. Vince has a degree in Public Administration and certifications in conflict resolution, nonprofit management, and volunteer management.
In today's episode, we discuss the mindset changes needed to work through conflict resolution and how we can find common ground with difficult people to achieve a shared goal, especially with the people that are the closest to us. Vince discusses the types of communication style and how we can work with others when their style differs from our style.
To learn more about Vince's company and upcoming classes, visit her website at https://bambooshoot.co/ or https://www.facebook.com/bambooshoot.co.
In today's episode, we celebrate fellow Budget Divas Community member Cindy Abe! Cindy joined the Budget Divas Community in the Fall of 2021 and since then, she has paid off $41,700 of debt in seven months!
Cindy is an implementer. Even though she had some fears when starting her debt-free journey, she took action each week to produce massive results.
In this episode we discuss:
- the heaviness that debt brings every single day
- how to start taking bite-sized action steps to produce massive results
- how to step out of your comfort zone and get scrappy
- why support and accountability is critical for success
Learn more at www.budgetdivas.com.
Do you struggle with perfectionism and people pleasing? Have you ever declined an invitation with friends or gave up learning a new skill because of the anxiety of perfectionism?
In today's episode, my guest is Mindset Makeover Coach, Chasidy Wright. After years of struggling to feel comfortable in her own skin, she finally decided to do something about it. Chasidy is a licensed therapist and "people pleaser in recovery" that used to think she had to be perfect to be accepted. Through journeys of self-awareness, Chasidy now teaches others how to unravel perfectionism and reveals the myths that were disguised as truths.
Listen in as we discuss the dangers of perfectionism and people pleasing and how we can authentically show up for ourselves.
To learn more about Chasidy, visit linktr.ee/thinkingwithatwist and register for her upcoming Workshop: Coloring Outside The Lines - 3 Ways To Challenge Your Perfectionism
When's the last time you sat down with your spouse to discuss your personal and/or business finances?
My guest this week is Noel Remigio. Noel is a partner with Hui Upside, a business consulting firm that focuses on working with small businesses and non-tech start-up ventures who provide products and services.
In this episode, Noel discusses the importance of having recurring meetings with your spouse when it comes to personal and business finance decisions.
Whether you are the CEO of your business and/or home, it is important to have these conversations about money so that you can handle budgeting and investment decisions as a team.
Noel and I focus on three major points in this episode:
1) Strategize and dream together to achieve a major financial goal
2) Include your spouse in every single business decision
3) Divide and conquer - share the responsibilities evenly with business and household tasks
To learn more about Hui Upside, visit https://www.huiupside.com/
Have you ever judged a stranger on the street by the way they presented themselves in public? Have you ever purchased a product to impress your peers then instantly regretted that purchase?
We all make judgments about ourselves and each other. It's human nature. But can also affect the way we view and spend our hard earned dollars.
Money is a topic that is rarely discussed in public because we fear we will be judged. From how much we earn to how much we have saved in the bank, our relationship with money affects our financial decisions.
In this podcast, we'll discuss the judgments that we struggle with and strategies to overcome feelings of insecurity so we can live a rich and fulfilled life.
Before we start the show, I wanted to invite you to a free training on Tuesday, April 12th at 7pm HST.
I’ll show you three steps you can start doing this week.
Go to www.budgetdivas.com/money2022 and register for the free training now.
Have you ever felt stuck in a rut? I was talking to my friend about this recently and she described it in this way: It’s like there’s a hurricane around me and I’m in the middle of it.
Think about that for a second.
What does that mean to you?
Do you find that it’s difficult to start on the tasks or dreams that you want to accomplish?
Julia Vergara, originally from Colombia, is a Holistic Emotional and Spiritual Coach. She gives tools and techniques to her clients to keep themselves Aligned with their life purpose, Balanced in their life, and Connected to their hearts.
At one point in her life, she was feeling stuck and that nothing was going the way she wanted it.
She had come back to her ex-husband and she was questioning many things including her "poor" decision-making.
Guided by her first coach then and by a couple of healers, she learned about the spiritual connection we have with everyone we meet and how they are here to teach us lessons. She healed her relationship with her ex-husband. She started her real spiritual journey. She got so connected that she decided to move from Miami to Hawaii with a baby.
Her daughter became her GPS. The lessons that she came here to learn through her relationship with her.
She inspired her to write her best-selling book: Awaken Through Parenting.
She became a coach because she wanted others to have the kind of transformation she had and live their life on purpose consistently as she does.
She teaches a free class every other month called “From Alignment To Action” (April 18-25, 2022) and a free webinar for men called “The Aligned Way” (May 7, 2022).
IG: juliavergaralifecoach
FB: julia vergara
LinkedIn: julia vergara
026: Have you ever wondered how certain people are able to maintain a positive outlook on life even when life hands them challenges?
As March marks the 2nd anniversary of the coronavirus pandemic, thinking about this month 2 years ago can be haunting nightmare.
This week on the Budget Divas podcast, my guest is Johnanes Atlas.
Growing up being a voice of reason, Johannes Atlas has always had a heart to serve. Being born with Poland’s syndrome, Johannes rigorously hid his hand in his pocket from being teased in grade school, quickly discovering his insecurities, his abnormality unconsciously became the source of his greatest strength. Regardless, Johannes played numerous sports.
Beginning his journey in business, Johannes became an Ambassador with the Riverside Chamber of Commerce and learned from successful business owners. Now being a national speaker & founder of the organization Speaking To the You In You and the Pressing Toward the Mark event, has set out to free those dealing with emotional baggage and the chains of life, as he has discovered the formula to be independent of his unconscious baggage and the chains of life. Welcome to Soul Work!
Throughout this episode Johannes shares detailed examples of his faith in God helped him push through and overcome the challenges that he dealt with growing up.
Johannes also shares tips on God’s purpose for our life, walking with Him even when we are in the deep valleys, and surrounding ourselves with high vibe energy people that bring value to our spiritual, emotional and mental wellness, as well as championing our successes.
"I'm grieving" is probably one of the hardest words to say.
Losing a loved one is one of the hardest moments we deal with in life.
We first experience shock, anger, and denial.
Thoughts that you may experience:
Would others feel sorry for me if I cried?
Would they view me as a weak person?
Would they treat me differently?
In this week’s episode of the Budget Divas podcast, my guest is Melinda Chinen of Melinda Chinen Coaching.
Melinda is a certified professional life coach and grief coach. Her fundamental belief is that when we aren’t afraid to grieve, we aren’t afraid to fully live. And to make space for our sorrow as much as we make space for joy.
Melinda and I go deep in this episode on how to navigate and process our feelings with grief.
If you are dealing with painful emotions or grieving the loss of a loved one, visit Melinda’s website at https://www.melindachinencoaching.com/ to learn more about her coaching programs.
After a successful career in the Air Force, Axel Meierhoefer started learning about real estate investing around 2009. After diving deep into the exchange, Axel found that he had a real passion for real estate investing. Sooner than later, he had developed and grown a real estate portfolio that turned into passive income.
Now, Axel wants to share that same passion with others through his program, Ideal Wealth Grower. Axel realized that people would succeed faster with a mentor to guide them through the process and help them overcome any obstacles along the way.
Tips that we will cover in this podcast:
- How to reach the goal of time-freedom and no longer have to exchange time for money
- How to start investing in real estate even with a small amount of money
- How to set up your retirement portfolio without waiting until retirement age
Want to learn more about his program? Schedule a free consultation session with Axel here:
https://idealwealthgrower.com/
Sign up for my FREE masterclass on Friday, February 18th at 9am HST: https://www.budgetdivas.com/budgeting
What is the fear that is keeping you from achieving your goals or your dreams? Since February is the month of love, I’m reminded of my first date with my husband Alden. Alden and I had been friends for a while (you know the texting each other, commenting on each other’s Facebook, hanging out together in friend groups)… you get the idea.
In one of our conversations I mentioned that I always wanted to learn how to paddle board, specifically learn how to stand up paddleboard. I don’t remember if I was just trying to be cool but I was like yeah you know I love to go to the beach, and swimming in the ocean is so much fun. And then the next thing I know, Alden tells me that he has a stand up paddleboard and we should go on Friday which was only a couple of days away.
Now here’s the catch – I can’t really swim, in fact, I don’t go past the point of my feet touching the ground. But I really liked this guy and really wanted to impress him so I said yes and that became our official date.
What is the fear that is keeping you from achieving your goals or your dreams? Is it the fear of embarrassment, shame, or simply feeling like there’s no way you can accomplish that goal?
Are you also willing to fall forward?
Here are three tips to overcoming these fears.
- Feel afraid but do it anyway
Have you ever heard the term do it scared? If you were to watch any movie, the protagonist is scared but does it anyway because he or she knows that they need to do it. If you’re wanting to start a budget but you’re scared because you don’t know how to do it or your scared of looking at the numbers, just do it anyway – scared, terrified, and afraid. Because when you do, the hardest part will be over with. Now you can form a plan of action to get you to that goal. When I was learning to stand up paddleboard, the hardest part was finding my balance – learning where my feet should go to steady the board so it wouldn’t fall.
- Surround yourself with a guide
If you are working towards a goal (fitness, finance, career, personal) you need someone in your corner that’s going to be right there with you to pick you up when you fall. Who will tell you it’s okay to fall as long as your falling forward. Moving in the right direction. Still scared but doing it anyway. On our first date, I knew that if I fell, Alden would be right there to pick me up. By telling me it’s okay to fall, I no longer felt embarrassed or scared to fall in the water. So you need someone that knows the ropes, has been through the trenches, and knows exactly what you need to achieve that goal.
- Celebrate your wins
We live in a performance driven world. That whatever we do is never good enough and we always need to do more. I don’t think we celebrate our wins enough. Did exercise one more day than the week before, cut something out of your budget, or learn a new skill? I want to encourage you to write it down and celebrate that win. Because there is no such thing as a small win. A win is a win. And on our date, even though I didn’t stand up on the paddleboard that day, it was still a win for me. I got in the water, I got on the board, and I was willing to fall and feel embarrassed.
Just to recap, the three steps are:
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Feel afraid but do it anyway
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Surround yourself with a guide
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Celebrate your wins
Ep: #022 How To Deal With Debt Collectors - With Marc Billard At Met Credit
Collection calls can be scary. Perhaps you've heard stories of how debt collectors threaten to empty your bank account, come to your working place to embarrass you, or ruin your life.
Not only does it cause financial stress, but it also creates mental and emotional stress.
The first step is understanding how debt collectors operate and your rights in the process so that you are fully equipped to have a positive conversation with a collection agent.
In this week's podcast, Marc Billard of Met Credit shares his insights on how to not avoid the collection calls and how to deal with them when you're on the call.
Marc is the Vice President and General Manager of Met Credit, a leader in Canadian consumer debt recovery and commercial collection.
Please give it a listen as Marc shares how debt collectors operate, how to have a successful call, and financial tips on how to proceed if you cannot pay the balance in full.
For more info, please visit https://www.metcredit.com/.
You're invited to take part in this month's FREE Masterclass: How To Create A Budget In One Night And Have Time To Sleep
Register here: https://www.budgetdivas.com/budgeting
Ep: #021 I’m so excited for my guest today, the amazing and beautiful Melanie Yamaguchi.
Melanie and I met back in 2008 or 2009 when we were both working in HR together for an insurance company and we’ve been friends ever since. Melanie is one of the sweetest and most caring people I’ve had the privilege of meeting.
When I opened up the BDC -(Budget Divas Community) in April 2021, I was super excited when Melanie said yes and joined in that first month.
When we first started working together on her budgeting goals, Melanie said she felt “overwhelmed, stressed, and hopeless.” But Melanie took action every single week and paid off her student loan debt in just eight months – 15 months sooner than she anticipated.
Listen in as Melanie shares her story, the mindset obstacles she overcame during her journey, and the great advice she gives at the end of the show on how you can achieve your goals too.
If you'd like to join a great group of women who are crushing their financial goals, paying off mounds of debt, and living on a budget that works for them, I'd like to invite you to join the Budget Divas Community.
Join now: www.budgetdivas.com/join
For travel tips around the world, visit Melanie's blog: https://outofstate-outofmind.com/
Ep: #020 My guest today is Debi Carlin Boyle of Balanced Life Connect to a Healthier You at https://www.balancedlifebydebi.com/.
Debi is a full-time Health, Nutrition, and Fitness Coach and helps others see results that are lasting and sustainable for a continued healthy lifestyle.
Debi started her health journey by drastically altering her eating habits from processed foods to whole fresh foods. As a result, she became more energetic, eliminated brain fog, and started making self-care her number one priority.
In today’s podcast, Debi shares how to start small by changing our habits, one bite-sized habit at a time so we can start getting healthy in 2022.
To get your free copy of the Winter Detox Guide, go to https://www.balancedlifebydebi.com/
Ep: #19 Have you ever wondered how you could make money using your talents and experience?
Do you have a dream of one day quitting your 9-5 job to work for yourself?
In this week's podcast, Dominic Rubino of the Profit Tool Belt podcast explains how he started using his skills and experience to earn money to build his business dream. The hardest part is getting started.
Dominic shares his tips on how to get started one step at a time, overcome imposter syndrome, and how to keep getting back up after failing multiple times.
Since 2000, Dominic has built and sold 2 different multi-national companies. One was a large mail order retail/pharmacy company ( 140 employees) and in the other, it was the global franchisor for a business coaching company, built on the materials and expertise of Brian Tracy (237 Franchisees).
Ep: #018 When’s the last time you found yourself struggling to teach your teen about the value of money and that it doesn’t grow on trees?
For some of us, teaching our teens about money can be an awkward conversation. Most of us did not learn about money from our parents and it wasn’t a subject that was taught in school. We kind of winged it as we got older.
The topic this week on the Budget Divas podcast is how to teach your teen about money with Rachel Murphy. She shares valuable money tips from her new book, I Am Not Your ATM: A Practical Plan For Teaching Your Teen To Manage Money.
Rachel is the founder of Rachel Murphy Coaching and focuses on helping parents have those important conversations with their teen.
Rachel shares the importance of changing the narrative from, “I can’t afford it” to “How can I afford it?” and works with parents to teach their teen to make their own money. As parents, it’s natural to want to give good gifts to our children and bless them as God does with us. Having conversations about how to manage money will instill confidence and independence in our children. It will also help them make better financial decisions in their adult life.
To learn more about Rachel Murphy’s book, click the link here: https://rachelmurphycoaching.com/divas/
Ep: #017 Can you believe we are already in September? I know I say this every single year but this year is flying by especially fast.
And this year was supposed to be the recovery year from 2020 but we are definitely not out of the woods yet.
How are you doing with the goals you’ve set for yourself this year?
If you have accomplished almost everything on your list, I applaud you because you’ve pushed through all the obstacles and overcame the mindset issues that many people are dealing with this year.
I am not immune to that.
This year was a hard year on many many levels.
But the good part is that the year is not over yet.
So if you have goals that you want to achieve until December, you still have time to do them.
So today, I want to talk about a September reset and we’re going to talk about three ways to finish the year strong.
Some people call it the “second new year” because there is something about September that gets us into the habit of wanting to finish the year strong until we hit the following year.
Every year in December, I map out my goals for the following year in different areas: spiritual, physical, personal, financial, and career goals.
Last December, I had decided to join an intensive mastermind coaching group to help me with my business. Even though it costs me thousands of dollars to join, I knew that the investment would pay off because I would have 1:1 coaching time with a mentor for the next six months.
So I remember because there was a monetary investment attached to the goals, I was really motivated to get the most out of my investment. So every single week when we would meet, I would make sure I had something to present to show that I was doing the work.
There is something about attaching money with a goal that just motivates me to keep going because I don’t want to feel like I’m throwing money down the drain.
And then summer came and it was like all of that motivation just disappeared.
I love summer but I’m not really focused because all I want to do is be outside and go to the beach and eat ice cream.
That is exactly what happened. While it was nice to take a break, I could have achieved more of my goals if I just stuck to a weekly schedule.
You know it’s like the tortoise and the hare. You just have to keep moving even if it’s slow and steady.
So… now that it is mid-September as of this recording, I am soooo ready for a September reset.
I think the months of September to December are my absolute favorite because of the holidays. I love September and October, right before the holidays because it’s like my brain has reset and gets back to good habits.
I call it my catch-up resolution time because even though I try to be consistent with my goals throughout the year, there is something about the lazy-hazy days of summer that makes me not want to do anything except go to the beach.
So now that it is officially fall, it’s time to get back on track before year-end.
What are your goals from now until the end of the year?
Here are some tips
1. Write down all your accomplishments you’ve done throughout the year.
It is easy to write down the things that you haven’t done yet but we all know that list could go on forever and ever. We are not going to beat ourselves up. We have grace on ourselves and if we slip up, it’s OK. We’ll just try not to do that again or do better next time.
Write it down on paper and hang it somewhere so you can see everything that you accomplished this year, big or small.
- Did you get married?
- Did you have a new baby?
- Did you get a new job?
Start a new hobby?
Celebrate all of it
Ep: #016 How To Get Into Real Estate Investing With No Money - With Jon Ortega
Jon started https://offmarketninja.com/ to teach people how to get started with wholesale real estate so that they can make real money online and eventually quit their 9-5 job.
In today's episode you'll learn:
- Where to start if you've been doing research about real estate wholesaling and still have no idea where to begin
- How to get results without spending a ton of money on expensive programs
- Where to get guidance and mentorship in order to get ahead in your wholesaling journey
- How Jon made $8,000 in TWO weeks!
Resources mentioned in the podcast:
Chris Bruce: https://www.youtube.com/user/swaggercheckKING
Jerry Norton: https://www.youtube.com/user/Jlnorton1234
TJ Hines: https://www.youtube.com/user/mrflipperhouse
Adam Dushman: https://www.youtube.com/user/adushman1984
Adam's Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@howtowholesalerealestate
Finding Leads:
Propstream.com
Propelio.com
dealio.com
Want to learn more? Join Jon's free Facebook group and get started today:
Real Estate Wholesalers Wholesaling Real Estate: https://www.facebook.com/groups/3385666664886385
https://www.facebook.com/offmarketninjadotcom
Contact: ninja@offmarketninja.com
015 Everyone needs life insurance, even if you are still paying off debt. Life insurance is a necessity because your loved ones will be covered if something ever happened to you.
My guest today is Bryson Hiro of Bryson Hiro LLC. Bryson is passionate about educating and showing people options they didn't think were available. He prides himself in being honest and upfront with my clients and working with them to figure out the best options.
If you would like a FREE consultation to discuss the options available to you, head over to his website at https://www.brysonhirollc.com where you can schedule a FREE consultation call with Bryson.
Note: This is not sponsored.
014 In today's episode, college student Kiana Vallente shares her story of how she is paying for college out of pocket while raising her 8-month old son with her partner, juggling two jobs, AND studying for her real estate license.
Kiana was not taught financial literacy while growing up. When she was in high school, her teacher introduced her to Robert Kiyosaki's book, "Rich Dad, Poor Dad", where she learned how to change her mindset from scarcity to an abundance mindset to help her reach her financial goals.
Her story will inspire you because she does not make any excuses! She does not let her circumstances hold her down from reaching her goals. Instead, she focuses on all the opportunities that she has now and will have in the future.
Grab a pen and paper and take some notes because this episode is full of great mindset tips.... especially for those in their 20's!
013 Many of you tell me that budgeting is so hard. The number one reason is that it is overwhelming, stressful, and downright boring.
And I completely agree 100%. Looking at your budget on a daily basis, reconciling your expenses and income on your budget tracker is not fun.
I would much rather be watching something on Netflix or Disney Plus than look at my budget on a daily basis.
Today, I share three tips on how to overcome budget burnout and overwhelm.
012 In today's episode, Bryant Cabrera shares his incredible story of how he paid off over $100k of student loan debt!
Bryant didn't win the lottery, get an inheritance, or have a magic wand to make it disappear. He made a budget and decided to take CONTROL of his destiny. He got laser-focused, worked like crazy, and surrounded himself with positive people.
This is an amazing story of how you can WIN with money by being intentional.
The three pillars to financial freedom is to live on a budget, cut your expenses, and increase your income.
If you don't have a budget yet, grab my free template at www.budgetdivas.com/free.
Start taking action today!
011 Now that the world is opening up again and returning to some sense of normalcy, you must be anxious to take a much-needed vacation somewhere.
But if you’re not a frequent traveler or just can’t make up your mind, then today’s podcast will be of use to you! In this podcast episode, I am joined by my good friend Melanie Yamaguchi, who is an avid travel junkie.
By day, Melanie is a senior digital producer and by night, she is a travel blogger at https://outofstate-outofmind.com/.
In this episode, she talks about the benefits of hiring a tour company versus going a la carte. Although it may be expensive upfront, we talk about how it saves a lot of time, money, and headaches.
We also talk about her personal experience being shanghaied in China, and the lessons she learned to prevent it from happening again.
So get inspired by checking out the podcast episode and read her blog at https://outofstate-outofmind.com/ where she blogs about her travels to different places.
Whether you are planning a near vacation or just casually browsing, her blog paints a detailed picture of every place she writes about.
Check out the links below that we mention on the podcast:
Searching for flights:
Skyscanner - https://www.skyscanner.com/
Google Flights - https://www.google.com/flights
Expedia: https://www.expedia.com/
Travel companies:
Trafalgar - https://www.trafalgar.com/en-us
TravelChic World - https://www.travelchicworld.com/
Discover Digest/KJ International Tours - https://discoverdigest.com/
Accommodations:
Airbnb - https://www.airbnb.com/
010 In today's episode, Sarah shares how the National Guard allowed her to gain valuable work experience while going to college 100% debt-free.
Sarah shares how members of the National Guard are eligible for tuition assistance.
Depending on your home state, each state offers its members state funded education incentives based on state guidelines and eligibility.
If you or someone you know would like to gain work experience AND go to school debt-free, this episode is for you.
For more information, click this link to learn more: https://www.goang.com/
Do you have a budget but want personalized help to fast-track your success? What would it feel like if you were debt-free sooner than anticipated?
Join my membership and get 30 days for FREE!
Click here to learn more:
https://www.budgetdivas.com/membership
009 On this episode of the Budget Divas podcast, Angela Leahey shares how had her "sick and tired of being sick and tired" moment (Dave Ramsey reference). She decided to pay off the remaining $20,000 of her student loan debt and achieved that during a pandemic!
She has an amazing story that will motivate you to take action and start getting on a budget to get out of debt and reach your financial goals. She provides her best tips to stay focused and how to surround yourself with the right people to help you on your journey. Angela has so much positive energy and is all around an encouraging and uplifting person.
Stay tuned because this episode is pure GOLD. I had so much fun talking to Angela!
P.S. If you want to start taking action today, I have a free budgeting template that will help you get started. Would you ever take a backpacking adventure without a GPS? What if I told you that if you don't have a budget, it is like you are lost in the woods. A budget is like a GPS for your money. It will help you get back on track and ensure that you stay moving in the right direction in the future.
Go to budgetdivas.com/free and get your free copy today.
008
Today's guest on the Budget Divas Podcast is Sam Feeney of madetothrive.coach! Sam is a certified college funding specialist who is passionate about equipping parents with the right tools to help guide their student along the college planning process.
In today's episode, Sam shares his expertise on how to select the right college and how to pay for college without incurring a lot of student loan debt.
Sam is also the author of the book, Choose the Perfect College: Help your child ask the right questions, take control of the process, and find the best schools... for them!
007
Every year I pick a “word of the year” and in 2021 it was margin. In the past, I’ve stretched myself so thin by burning the candle at both ends that my body shut down and made me lie down and rest.
Having margin gives us that wiggle room to BREATHE. Not only in our finances, but in our self-care, and in relationships.
I’ll be honest. I took my relationships for granted, thinking that when I reached my goals, THEN I would spend more time with my family and friends.
Well…
2020 happened and it was taken away from us.
I cried…
Not only because of the world’s situation, but because I couldn’t physically see my family and friends.
I’m a hugger and I couldn’t do that.
Zoom was a nice option but it wasn’t the same.
Then…
I found a podcast by Brooke Castillo called “Throw Away Your To-Do List.”
https://thelifecoachschool.com/podcast/261/
Totally changed my life.
The sentence I stopped saying was “I’m so busy.”
Here’s what happened:
· My relationships got stronger
· My brain felt at ease and I could BREATHE
· I stopped working about the little things and focused on what mattered.
In this podcast, I share my experiences after I implemented the process.
006 Feeling overwhelmed just by hearing the word budget? Start here.
Budget overwhelm is a real thing! Especially when we try to do too many things all at once.
Today we are talking about what to do when you feel overwhelmed by that dreaded B word – budget.
Our world is filled with information overwhelm. When you google ANYTHING, ANY TOPIC at all, you will come across hundreds of websites giving you a ton of information.
Should we save for a house first? Should we continue to contribute to our retirement? Should we live off the grid and under a rock until our debt is paid off?
We were in this scenario too.
I remember having this conversation with my husband when we first started budgeting. The interest rates were really low and all of our friends were buying a house. I remember scrolling through the real estate websites just infatuated with the idea of owning a place we could call home.
Then I heard this little voice on my shoulder say – FOCUS ON ONE THING AT A TIME. BECAUSE IF YOU TRY TO JUGGLE TOO MANY PLATES AT ONCE, you know what happens? Those plates will come crashing down. It won’t be pretty. It won’t be music to your ears. You’ll be left with a mess to clean up.
So in the back of my mind… I tried to justify it.
· I NEED a house. It makes sense to buy when the market is good.
· I NEED to save for my kid’s college.
· I NEED TO save for my retirement.
· I NEED TO BE DEBT FREE.
So then I made a mock budget. If I saved this much per month for our house down payment, it will take x amount of months until we can get a house.
Then the remaining can go to debt. So if I allocate this much, I will be debt free in about 7 years.
Then I need to save for my kid’s college. Ok, so I can do this much per month and then he’ll have x amount by the time he heads to college.
Oh wait, I still need to put in money for food, current housing expenses, maybe a date night once in a while… gas for our cars… and … wait did I say food?
It was so overwhelming and all I wanted to do was curl up in a corner with a bag of Doritos and take a nap.
Let’s scratch all of that. The trick is SIMPLICITY. Focusing on one thing at a time.
So if you’re feeling overwhelmed, don’t worry. I’m going to give you three tips that you can do starting right now.
002 - One of the things that I always hear is, "When I make enough money then I will start a budget." It is possible to start and live on a budget on any income. In this episode, I share three ways on how you can stop believing this myth and make your budget work for you.
In today’s episode, we’re talking about a mindset obstacle that keeps people from reaching their financial goals.
That is that you need a big income before you can start budgeting.
We believed this lie for so long. I had actually started researching how to budget and how to get out of debt way before we started our debt-free journey. But I kept telling myself that we didn’t have any money left over at the end of the month and a budget would only work if we had a bigger income.
The truth is that budgeting works on any income and here is why. When we started budgeting, we were a two-person income household but we didn’t have a lot of extra money left over to spend after we paid our monthly bills. In fact, my idea of a budget was making sure all the bills were paid and none of those bills were going into overdraft.
But once I started writing down everything we were spending, I realized that the small $5 and $10 daily purchases were the reason why I didn’t have any money. The problem wasn’t our income at all, it was the fact that we were spending way above our means.
So here are three ways that we changed our mindset and realized that a budget could work for us.
001 - Running to the debt-free finish line can be exhausting and tiresome. In this episode, I share why you need a tribe of cheerleaders in your corner and how to deal with the negative people around you.
Example: Say your baby is learning how to walk and by some miracle, your baby can talk like a 5 year old. We’re just pretending. Stick with me. As your baby is learning how to walk, he complains that he keeps falling down every time he takes a step or two. He continues to say that it is too hard and he doesn’t want to try anymore.
As his parent, do you allow him to quit? Do you tell him that you know it is hard and that he should stop trying?
No, because you know how this is going to play out. You know that with encouragement from you and with constant time and practice, his legs will get stronger, his balance will get better, and he’ll learn to walk. With time, it becomes second nature. He won’t even have to think about which foot to use first when he stands up. It’ll just come naturally.
We can use the same example when it comes to budgeting. When you first start out doing a budget, it won’t come naturally to you. You WILL have things that you’ll forget to put in your budget. Things like school supplies and field trips.
One of the biggest mistakes we made was calculating how much we needed for groceries every month. We had previously been spending about $800 a month, we could live off of $200 right? Nope, that was a budget buster for sure.
You’ll have to move money from one category to another to make it fit just right. It usually takes about three months until you get pretty comfortable with your budget.
So like our baby example, the key is to be consistent and keep doing it. Give yourself grace and know that the more you keep working at it, the more confident you’ll become. For us, we’ve been doing a budget for over 5 years now and it’s like second nature to us. There’s not a lot we need to change every month because our expenses are pretty much the same every month.
I’m going to give you three tips on how you can stay motivated and focused on a long debt-free journey.
005 - The Joneses are broke and are living a lie! In this episode, I share three ways on how to stop playing the comparison game and love the life you were meant to live.
If you’ve ever watched the movie “Keeping up with the Joneses” with Demi Moore and David Duchovny, you know what a mess it turned out to be in the end. Without giving too much information away in case you haven’t seen it, they are a fake family that moves into a wealthy neighborhood who tries to get their neighbors and friends to spend lots of money.
Does that seem familiar? I mean we are surrounded 24/7 with advertisements on social media by influencers, friends, and marketing companies to buy their products.
While some of the products and services are very helpful, most of the time it’s to promote the FOMO in us. The fear of missing out. The fear that you won’t be relevant anymore if you don’t have the latest iphone, the luxury car, or have gone on an amazing trip.
Today I want to give you three tips on how you can stop the cycle of Keeping up with the Joneses and live the life YOU want and were meant to have.
004 - In this episode, we talk about how to get your spouse on board without being pushy or controlling. We'll discuss why it is important to lead by example, get your spouse's input, and dream together.
When I first heard about Dave Ramsey, I was so happy and so sure that
I was crazy gazelle intense about it.
I was talking about it all the time, I was listening to Dave Ramsey on my commute to and from work, and watching influencers on You Tube who were going through Financial Peace University and doing the plan.
But for a long time, it just talk. I was making the monthly payments on my student loans but the balance wasn’t going down because I was only paying the interest. I was still shopping and going out to eat a lot and wasn’t making much progress.
Here are the three ways that I finally got him on board and showed him that this plan was going to work.
003 - Give yourself permission to say NO so you can say YES to the important and memorable things in life. In this episode, I share three tips on how you can say NO without ruining your life or your relationships.
“I don’t want to cut my expenses because I like my current lifestyle. I don’t want to say NO to my spouse, kids, friends, etc. What will they think of me?”
Saying no is one of the hardest words to say because of the repercussions it has. It sounds negative, restrictive, harsh, evil, etc. But you need to take a long look in the mirror and realize that you need to say no to get ahead and saying no to certain things does not have to be forever. The shame and guilt that comes with saying no probably stems from negative past experiences. Getting over that hump is hard, but the ones that truly love you will understand and support you.
When we first started out on our debt-free journey, I had a hard time saying “no” to my loved ones because I didn’t want them to think I was poor or not good enough. This is the lie that I told myself – “I will only be worthy if I have money and can lavishly spoil my loved ones with gifts”. Our son, Brandon, hardly ever asked for anything and when he did I caved in because I didn’t want him to miss out on what his friends had. I would buy expensive clothes for myself and my family members because I thought that’s what they wanted. But I love how Dave says, “Live like no one else so that later you can live like no one else”.
When I started to believe this and recite it over and over, it gave me hope that saying no to certain things would only be for a season and not forever. Instead of showering my loved ones with gifts, I found other ways to show them that I cared. Before we started this journey, we said yes to practically everything and anything. We went out to eat with friends all the time, went shopping like it was pay day every Friday, and didn’t think twice about an expensive purchase if we wanted it that badly. We didn’t think about the financial ramifications. We lived in the moment and enjoyed every moment of it.
When we started our debt-free journey, we realized that our lifestyle was not working for us anymore. We were severely out of control and we needed to learn to say no so that we weren’t spending more money than our budget allowed. It was not easy. It almost felt like we were breaking up with our friends because we could no longer afford to go to expensive restaurants or entertainment places like we used to. We felt embarrassed and made excuses as to why we couldn’t hang out anymore. We weren’t brave enough to be honest and tell our friends that we just didn’t have the money to do the things we used to do.
Listen in as I share three tips on how to overcome this.