January 4, 2024 • 19 mins
Hello! Welcome to the first episode of "Elevate Your Paycheck" for 2024, and we have an exciting start to the new year for you! This episode is filled with bites of wisdom that will set your financial game on the right path.
Today, we're taking a break from our usual budgeting and saving tips to dive into something equally crucial – understanding and managing your financial health. It's not just about numbers; it's about empowering you to make smarter financial choices!
We walk you through the ins and outs of conducting a comprehensive financial health checkup. Think of it as a routine wellness visit, but for your finances. Whether you're adjusting to a new job, a changing family dynamic, or just trying to make more informed decisions, this episode is your guide to staying financially fit.
In this episode, you'll discover:
- Why knowing your net worth and reviewing your credit reports is vital.
- How life changes demand adjustments in your financial plans.
- Overcoming the anxiety around financial planning.
- Practical steps for a thorough financial assessment.
- Recognizing red flags in your finances that you shouldn't ignore.
- The fun and effectiveness of "money dates" for financial review.
Tune in and get ready to elevate your financial wellness in 2024! This episode is your launchpad for achieving financial stability and growth.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
You're listening to Elevate your Paycheck, the
podcast that is dedicated totransforming your financial
journey.
I'm Carolyn, your host andmoney coach, that will guide you
out of that paycheck topaycheck cycle and on to a path
towards financial independence.
Are you ready?
Let's do this.
Hey guys, welcome back to theshow.
(00:25):
I'm Carolyn, your money coach,so I hope you have had a restful
holiday and, if you are backinto the swing of things, I hope
it wasn't too much to overcomeheading back into the daily
routines of life.
But there's something aboutJanuary.
It seems to have this, you know, ability to give us that fresh
(00:47):
start.
We talked last week aboutresolutions and making goals and
creating a strategic plan andhow to do that.
I hope you guys listen to thatepisode.
If not, then head back anddefinitely check that out.
But the new year kind of givesus a fresh look at what we're
currently doing and how can wechange to improve.
(01:11):
So, once we have our plan kindof in place, what do we do?
How do we take the next step toimproving our financial health?
You know, when it comes to ourhealth, we automatically book
these routine checkups with ourphysicians just to make sure
that everything is still a okay,whether it's blood work or
(01:33):
x-rays or different things thatthey do.
It's a way to monitor to ensurethat you're instilling good
health and there's no concerns.
Well, why don't we schedule afinancial checkup?
Money is the number onestressor for most people, and it
is so important to really kindof assess how our money
(01:55):
situation is so we know where weare currently and where needs
improvement or where is a redflag and we need to kind of
watch out for it.
Or when do we need to bring inthe professionals?
Right, there's all these thingsthat are very so closely tied
to our physical health.
I recently was putting togethera vision board, and one of the
(02:19):
sayings that I have on my visionboard says health is wealth,
because health is so important.
Right, we can't have wealth, wecan't have the things that we
want in life if we're nothealthy, and that includes
financial health.
So let's look at some of thecommon mistakes that people make
that kind of lead them intofinancial trouble.
(02:40):
The first one is reallyneglecting to regularly review
your financial position and yourcredit reports.
When I say financial position,it means your overall financial
health.
Now, there is a formula thatyou can use that will determine
what your overall financialhealth is, and that's called
(03:02):
your net worth.
What it's doing is it's lookingat your assets versus your
liabilities and telling you.
You know what.
This is where your position is,and that number can be recorded
from year to year and used as acomparison to see if you're
improving, your net worth isgoing up or your net worth is
going down and you're buildingtoo many liabilities.
(03:23):
So think of this as the bloodwork test, right, your doctor
takes some blood and they do allthese measurements to see is
your cholesterol high?
How is your blood sugar?
You know there's so many thingsthat they kind of take out from
that one sample of blood.
Well, the same goes for yourfinances.
You take this one formula andyou can measure it over and over
(03:44):
again to see what your positionis and if you're improving or
not.
And then there's your creditreport.
This is what the banks use tokind of judge you.
Right, they are looking at thatscore and they're saying, okay,
how trustworthy are they?
Now, another common mistake thata lot of people have is really
failing to adjust theirfinancial plans.
(04:07):
Now, what I mean by that isthere are so many things in life
that change, right.
Perhaps our employment canchange, the economy can change.
I think that's what we'reexperiencing right now, which is
increased prices.
Your debt load can change.
You may have some familychanges, like perhaps having
(04:29):
children or taking care of anelderly parent.
There are so many things thatcan change in life and one of
the biggest mistakes that peoplemake is that they don't adjust
their financial plan or positionto accommodate for these new
things.
So I'm just going to take theexample of the higher grocery
(04:50):
prices and the cost of living.
We can't spend the same way weused to.
We just can't.
If your budget is, let's say,$400 for groceries for the month
, you can't keep it the same.
Right?
If inflation has happened andthey're more expensive, then
your grocery budget either needsto increase or you need to
(05:13):
spend less.
And it's not likely that you'regoing to spend less because
you're in a habit, right?
These are the things that youbuy on a regular basis and it's
very difficult to really scaledown on a grocery budget.
Take out, that's another story,but groceries, it's kind of
essential.
So that grocery budget needs tobe expanded to, let's say, for
(05:38):
50 or 500 dollars, depending onthe situation.
Right, if your income hasn'tincreased, then there's a
disparity, there's a shortfallin the amount of money that you
have, and what can happen isthat money ends up being turned
into debt.
You use credit to kind of getyou through because things are
(05:58):
more expensive and you don'thave any more cash available.
Now the extreme example was theone where you know you've lost
an income.
Now that in itself, sometimespeople don't make those
adjustments three months in,right, because they just figure
oh you know what, we're gonnafind another job or it's gonna
work out, and they just keepspending the way they're
normally spend, and all of asudden the debt load just keeps
(06:20):
getting higher and higher andhigher.
And in the example of having afamily change, babies cost money
.
We love them, they're supercute and you know we wouldn't
trade the world for them, butthey cost money, right.
There's diapers, there'seducation, there's so many
things that come up when havinga child.
(06:40):
So it's something that you haveto accommodate for it,
definitely.
And the same goes for an agingparent.
Maybe the parent didn't providefor themselves while they were
working and so now the burden ison the child to take care of
that parent, and that can becomea financial burden as well.
So I'm just saying there are somany things that can change
(07:02):
within a span of a year that thebiggest mistake that people
make is failing to adjust theirfinancial situation and plan.
Now, the other thing that kindof comes up are fears.
Right Now, let's go back to ourdoctor example of our checkup.
Now, how many of you havefeared making that appointment
(07:25):
for the regular checkup?
I know I have, and that is onlybecause maybe you weren't
following exactly what thedoctor has said all along.
And now you know, perhaps yourblood pressure is a little bit
higher or your sugar lovers arehigher, definitely after the
holidays, right?
So you have a little bit offear and anxiety about actually
doing the checkup in the firstplace, which is kind of silly
(07:48):
because it's really just apinpoint of where you're at in
time.
And the same goes with yourfinances.
Ignoring your problems,ignoring credit card statements,
ignoring the bills that arecoming in, leaving them unopened
, it just leads to moreadditional problems and it's
that downward cycle of justcreating more debt, feeling more
(08:10):
anxious and afraid about yourfinancial situation, and it goes
on and on and on.
So what do people really want?
Honestly, it's really thedesire to have an understanding
of their financial health and tobe able to make informed
decisions.
That is what people want.
They want clarity, they wantthe freedom to be able to make
(08:33):
that decision based on theknowledge of where they're at.
And that's one of the reasonswhy I am so passionate about
this, because just beinginformed, improving your
financial literacy, doing thework to make sure that you're in
a sound position to make cleardecisions, is really more than
(08:56):
just about finances.
It's really about your health.
Okay, so how do we do it?
What do we do Now?
I mentioned before that thereare some tools, obviously, that
you can use the formulas ofchecking your net worth,
checking your credit score,understanding what that means.
But you also want to assessyour current situation.
(09:19):
And how do you do that?
Well, you need to leaveeverything on the table, and
that means all your debts.
So pull out those credit cardstatements.
Understand what the interest isthat you're paying on the
credit cards.
Pull out the line of credit.
Make sure you understand whatthose interest rates are.
Your mortgage understandingwhen it's up for renewal, what
(09:43):
are the rates that you're nowgoing to be charged?
Because I can guarantee youthat they are not going to be
the same as when you firstnegotiated that mortgage.
And so what's that going tolook like?
How's that going to change yourfinancial position?
And then, when you've looked atall your liabilities now, let's
take a look at some of yourassets, right?
What's the value of your houseright now?
(10:04):
Or your property?
How much savings do you reallyhave?
Do you have an emergencysavings fund?
What level is it at?
Are you prepared if you were tolose your job, let's say, or
something were to happen withyour property?
Do you have the funds readilyavailable?
And then there's yourinvestments as well.
If you are closer to retirementage I would even say between the
(10:28):
ages of 45 to 55, you need tostart thinking about retirement
and what that's going to looklike.
You may think you can workforever, but is that the reality
, right?
And do you have enough saved ininvestments or in RSPs, in
different things, in a pensionthat's going to be able to
(10:49):
provide for you after you're,after you're no longer working?
So, once a year, I highlyrecommend that this is something
that you do is revieweverything.
So that's your debt, yourassets, your income, your
savings and your investments.
Okay, now you're saying butCarolyn, we, you know, I have
all this on the table.
I already know all of this.
(11:09):
Well, have you identified anyred flags?
So we're going to go back toour doctorate example.
They've taken the blood work,they've done the tests and now
we're going to see whether ornot there's something that needs
to change.
Do you need to go on medication?
Do you need to do an exercise?
You know what is the story.
That is what you're looking forAny signs of red flags or
(11:33):
financial trouble.
So, again, looking at thatcredit, the credit is a big one.
I know a lot of people they areliving with this burden of debt
and there is a big reliance oncredit cards to kind of be part
of the income right, and helpthem along when there's things
that happen.
So that number one is a big redflag If you are unable to save,
(11:57):
if there's an inability to savebecause there's just nothing
left over at the end of the day,there is another red flag,
right.
So these are the signs that sayyou know what?
Something is wrong.
We need to take assessment ofwhat's going on and we have to
make change.
I titled this podcast Elevateyour Paycheck, because I wanna
(12:18):
make sure that the money thatyou're bringing in is really
working for you, and if you'reliving paycheck to paycheck,
then that's not the case.
And I know that there is a lotof anxiety around this and a lot
of fear, because, for somereason, talking about money is
very difficult for most people.
(12:38):
It's difficult to share withtheir loved ones, it's difficult
to talk to financialinstitutions, it's difficult to
reach out for help when they'rein a position where they don't
know what to do.
And I don't know really whythat is about money because,
again, we have physicians, wehave doctors, we have
professionals in so many otheraspects of our lives, but when
(13:01):
it comes to money, there's realshame.
That our judgment, that peoplefeel when they are in a
difficult situation.
So I wanna be clear when I saythis, and I hope that this
resonates with all of you thatthere is no shame.
It's funny, because I alwayssay this to my clients, that
you've done the hardest part.
(13:22):
The hardest part is actuallyjust reaching out for help Right
, acknowledging that there's aproblem, but yet they found the
courage to stand up and reachout and try and find the
solution that's gonna work forthem.
So if this is you, I want you toat least download the free
(13:44):
toolkit that I talked about lastweek.
That toolkit contains a videorecording of me talking about
how to create a financial goal.
So that's the first step reallyjust understanding what your
goals are and it has a worksheetthat you can fill in and
complete.
It makes it easy because itasks you several questions and
(14:04):
then it also has a habit tracker, right.
So this is something thatyou're gonna look at daily.
You're gonna say did I do this,this and this and this?
Because this is the route, thisis the method to get to where I
wanna go.
We oftentimes have routines forso many different things.
We get up in the morning, webrush our teeth, we put our
(14:25):
clothes on, we go to work orwhatever it is.
So, whatever your routine is inthe morning and you don't think
about it, it's second nature,it just happens and that is how
we wanna treat our financesDoing these financial checkups,
reviewing our situation andreally putting in place the
(14:48):
routines that are going to getus to those goals.
One thing that I talk about alot is to create money dates.
Let me just kind of go over howto set something like this up.
The first step is to actuallyschedule the date.
What you want is a regular timeand place that's relaxing and
(15:08):
free of distractions.
Really, it doesn't have to beweekly.
This can be something thathappens bi-weekly or even
monthly.
It really just depends on yourfinancial situation if it needs
review or not.
What you want to do is actuallytreat it like a real date.
You want a comfortable spot athome, or you want to go to a
cafe or anywhere where you'regoing to have a positive tone or
(15:33):
a positive feeling going intothe meeting.
The second thing I need you todo is to prepare in advance
Gather all your financialdocuments like bank statements,
bills, your budget, any kind oftracking tool that you perhaps
use.
You should come prepared withthese things and maybe questions
(15:57):
or topics that you want todiscuss on that particular date.
You don't have to addresseverything in one date.
You kind of want to create atopic, create something that is
specific to that particular datethat you're going to address.
By doing that, you can set agoal.
You can have a little agenda.
(16:18):
You can start by reviewing thefinances, reviewing your
position, review any upcomingexpenses, what your savings are
looking like, what your RSPs arelooking like, and kind of track
things from week to week, frommonth to month.
How is it improving, or do youneed to give something a little
bit more attention?
Once you're prepared witheverything, now you can go ahead
(16:41):
and discuss.
You want to discuss your budget.
You want to look at yourspending, where you did a great
job and where you overspent.
I just want to preface this bysaying that you don't have to
have a partner or spouse to goover these kinds of things or
have money dates.
You can either do them on yourown just as a simple review, or
(17:03):
you can actually bring in yourBFF or someone that you trust to
do this kind of exercise with.
You just want someone that'sgoing to hold you accountable.
Oh, and this is also a goodtime to talk about the
unexpected.
Maybe something's come up sincethe last time you had a meeting
.
Having those discussions earlyon can prevent the blame that
(17:23):
can come, with one person makinga decision and not discussing
it with their partner.
And I did talk about making itin a safe space where it is a
positive tone.
People are not accusing oneanother.
It's really a time to justdiscuss and plan for the future.
An easy way of making thathappen is to tie something
(17:44):
enjoyable along with the moneydate.
This keeps it up with apositive tone.
Maybe it's going for dinner ora walk in the park.
This really does help toassociate the money dates with
something that's positive andenjoyable.
And then, finally, you want toend with some action steps.
Right, each money date shouldcome with some clear takeaways
(18:07):
that you're going to do, and youcan even assign
responsibilities to the otherperson.
You do this, I do this, and youcome together the next time and
see how that has worked out.
This process is really going toget you to the next level.
Discussion, open communicationis going to take away the blame,
it's going to take away thefear and it's going to make
(18:31):
managing your money somethingthat is an enjoyable process and
it's going to keep you on track.
So I hope this has been helpful.
I'd love to hear your feedbackon this.
If you want to send me a messagethrough Instagram, or even just
an email message, I'm happy todiscuss anything with you.
(18:51):
Please feel free to do so.
Take care, and I hope you havea great week.
Thanks for listening to theElevate your Paycheck podcast.
If you love this episode andneed deeper support, head to
thefinancialmomentcom backslashsupport to see how we can
support you, no matter where youare at.
(19:12):
Today.
We help our clients organizetheir finances, create savings,
eliminate debt and create aroadmap to their financial goals
which makes them more incontrol than they've ever
dreamed possible.
So head tothefinancialmomentcom, backslash
, support and make this the nextstep in your financial journey.
You're listening to Elevate your Paycheck, the
podcast that is dedicated totransforming your financial
journey.
I'm Carolyn, your host andmoney coach, that will guide you
out of that paycheck topaycheck cycle and on to a path
towards financial independence.
Are you ready?
Let's do this.
Hey guys, welcome back to theshow.
(00:25):
I'm Carolyn, your money coach,so I hope you have had a restful
holiday and, if you are backinto the swing of things, I hope
it wasn't too much to overcomeheading back into the daily
routines of life.
But there's something aboutJanuary.
It seems to have this, you know, ability to give us that fresh
(00:47):
start.
We talked last week aboutresolutions and making goals and
creating a strategic plan andhow to do that.
I hope you guys listen to thatepisode.
If not, then head back anddefinitely check that out.
But the new year kind of givesus a fresh look at what we're
currently doing and how can wechange to improve.
(01:11):
So, once we have our plan kindof in place, what do we do?
How do we take the next step toimproving our financial health?
You know, when it comes to ourhealth, we automatically book
these routine checkups with ourphysicians just to make sure
that everything is still a okay,whether it's blood work or
(01:33):
x-rays or different things thatthey do.
It's a way to monitor to ensurethat you're instilling good
health and there's no concerns.
Well, why don't we schedule afinancial checkup?
Money is the number onestressor for most people, and it
is so important to really kindof assess how our money
(01:55):
situation is so we know where weare currently and where needs
improvement or where is a redflag and we need to kind of
watch out for it.
Or when do we need to bring inthe professionals?
Right, there's all these thingsthat are very so closely tied
to our physical health.
I recently was putting togethera vision board, and one of the
(02:19):
sayings that I have on my visionboard says health is wealth,
because health is so important.
Right, we can't have wealth, wecan't have the things that we
want in life if we're nothealthy, and that includes
financial health.
So let's look at some of thecommon mistakes that people make
that kind of lead them intofinancial trouble.
(02:40):
The first one is reallyneglecting to regularly review
your financial position and yourcredit reports.
When I say financial position,it means your overall financial
health.
Now, there is a formula thatyou can use that will determine
what your overall financialhealth is, and that's called
(03:02):
your net worth.
What it's doing is it's lookingat your assets versus your
liabilities and telling you.
You know what.
This is where your position is,and that number can be recorded
from year to year and used as acomparison to see if you're
improving, your net worth isgoing up or your net worth is
going down and you're buildingtoo many liabilities.
(03:23):
So think of this as the bloodwork test, right, your doctor
takes some blood and they do allthese measurements to see is
your cholesterol high?
How is your blood sugar?
You know there's so many thingsthat they kind of take out from
that one sample of blood.
Well, the same goes for yourfinances.
You take this one formula andyou can measure it over and over
(03:44):
again to see what your positionis and if you're improving or
not.
And then there's your creditreport.
This is what the banks use tokind of judge you.
Right, they are looking at thatscore and they're saying, okay,
how trustworthy are they?
Now, another common mistake thata lot of people have is really
failing to adjust theirfinancial plans.
(04:07):
Now, what I mean by that isthere are so many things in life
that change, right.
Perhaps our employment canchange, the economy can change.
I think that's what we'reexperiencing right now, which is
increased prices.
Your debt load can change.
You may have some familychanges, like perhaps having
(04:29):
children or taking care of anelderly parent.
There are so many things thatcan change in life and one of
the biggest mistakes that peoplemake is that they don't adjust
their financial plan or positionto accommodate for these new
things.
So I'm just going to take theexample of the higher grocery
(04:50):
prices and the cost of living.
We can't spend the same way weused to.
We just can't.
If your budget is, let's say,$400 for groceries for the month
, you can't keep it the same.
Right?
If inflation has happened andthey're more expensive, then
your grocery budget either needsto increase or you need to
(05:13):
spend less.
And it's not likely that you'regoing to spend less because
you're in a habit, right?
These are the things that youbuy on a regular basis and it's
very difficult to really scaledown on a grocery budget.
Take out, that's another story,but groceries, it's kind of
essential.
So that grocery budget needs tobe expanded to, let's say, for
(05:38):
50 or 500 dollars, depending onthe situation.
Right, if your income hasn'tincreased, then there's a
disparity, there's a shortfallin the amount of money that you
have, and what can happen isthat money ends up being turned
into debt.
You use credit to kind of getyou through because things are
(05:58):
more expensive and you don'thave any more cash available.
Now the extreme example was theone where you know you've lost
an income.
Now that in itself, sometimespeople don't make those
adjustments three months in,right, because they just figure
oh you know what, we're gonnafind another job or it's gonna
work out, and they just keepspending the way they're
normally spend, and all of asudden the debt load just keeps
(06:20):
getting higher and higher andhigher.
And in the example of having afamily change, babies cost money
.
We love them, they're supercute and you know we wouldn't
trade the world for them, butthey cost money, right.
There's diapers, there'seducation, there's so many
things that come up when havinga child.
(06:40):
So it's something that you haveto accommodate for it,
definitely.
And the same goes for an agingparent.
Maybe the parent didn't providefor themselves while they were
working and so now the burden ison the child to take care of
that parent, and that can becomea financial burden as well.
So I'm just saying there are somany things that can change
(07:02):
within a span of a year that thebiggest mistake that people
make is failing to adjust theirfinancial situation and plan.
Now, the other thing that kindof comes up are fears.
Right Now, let's go back to ourdoctor example of our checkup.
Now, how many of you havefeared making that appointment
(07:25):
for the regular checkup?
I know I have, and that is onlybecause maybe you weren't
following exactly what thedoctor has said all along.
And now you know, perhaps yourblood pressure is a little bit
higher or your sugar lovers arehigher, definitely after the
holidays, right?
So you have a little bit offear and anxiety about actually
doing the checkup in the firstplace, which is kind of silly
(07:48):
because it's really just apinpoint of where you're at in
time.
And the same goes with yourfinances.
Ignoring your problems,ignoring credit card statements,
ignoring the bills that arecoming in, leaving them unopened
, it just leads to moreadditional problems and it's
that downward cycle of justcreating more debt, feeling more
(08:10):
anxious and afraid about yourfinancial situation, and it goes
on and on and on.
So what do people really want?
Honestly, it's really thedesire to have an understanding
of their financial health and tobe able to make informed
decisions.
That is what people want.
They want clarity, they wantthe freedom to be able to make
(08:33):
that decision based on theknowledge of where they're at.
And that's one of the reasonswhy I am so passionate about
this, because just beinginformed, improving your
financial literacy, doing thework to make sure that you're in
a sound position to make cleardecisions, is really more than
(08:56):
just about finances.
It's really about your health.
Okay, so how do we do it?
What do we do Now?
I mentioned before that thereare some tools, obviously, that
you can use the formulas ofchecking your net worth,
checking your credit score,understanding what that means.
But you also want to assessyour current situation.
(09:19):
And how do you do that?
Well, you need to leaveeverything on the table, and
that means all your debts.
So pull out those credit cardstatements.
Understand what the interest isthat you're paying on the
credit cards.
Pull out the line of credit.
Make sure you understand whatthose interest rates are.
Your mortgage understandingwhen it's up for renewal, what
(09:43):
are the rates that you're nowgoing to be charged?
Because I can guarantee youthat they are not going to be
the same as when you firstnegotiated that mortgage.
And so what's that going tolook like?
How's that going to change yourfinancial position?
And then, when you've looked atall your liabilities now, let's
take a look at some of yourassets, right?
What's the value of your houseright now?
(10:04):
Or your property?
How much savings do you reallyhave?
Do you have an emergencysavings fund?
What level is it at?
Are you prepared if you were tolose your job, let's say, or
something were to happen withyour property?
Do you have the funds readilyavailable?
And then there's yourinvestments as well.
If you are closer to retirementage I would even say between the
(10:28):
ages of 45 to 55, you need tostart thinking about retirement
and what that's going to looklike.
You may think you can workforever, but is that the reality
, right?
And do you have enough saved ininvestments or in RSPs, in
different things, in a pensionthat's going to be able to
(10:49):
provide for you after you're,after you're no longer working?
So, once a year, I highlyrecommend that this is something
that you do is revieweverything.
So that's your debt, yourassets, your income, your
savings and your investments.
Okay, now you're saying butCarolyn, we, you know, I have
all this on the table.
I already know all of this.
(11:09):
Well, have you identified anyred flags?
So we're going to go back toour doctorate example.
They've taken the blood work,they've done the tests and now
we're going to see whether ornot there's something that needs
to change.
Do you need to go on medication?
Do you need to do an exercise?
You know what is the story.
That is what you're looking forAny signs of red flags or
(11:33):
financial trouble.
So, again, looking at thatcredit, the credit is a big one.
I know a lot of people they areliving with this burden of debt
and there is a big reliance oncredit cards to kind of be part
of the income right, and helpthem along when there's things
that happen.
So that number one is a big redflag If you are unable to save,
(11:57):
if there's an inability to savebecause there's just nothing
left over at the end of the day,there is another red flag,
right.
So these are the signs that sayyou know what?
Something is wrong.
We need to take assessment ofwhat's going on and we have to
make change.
I titled this podcast Elevateyour Paycheck, because I wanna
(12:18):
make sure that the money thatyou're bringing in is really
working for you, and if you'reliving paycheck to paycheck,
then that's not the case.
And I know that there is a lotof anxiety around this and a lot
of fear, because, for somereason, talking about money is
very difficult for most people.
(12:38):
It's difficult to share withtheir loved ones, it's difficult
to talk to financialinstitutions, it's difficult to
reach out for help when they'rein a position where they don't
know what to do.
And I don't know really whythat is about money because,
again, we have physicians, wehave doctors, we have
professionals in so many otheraspects of our lives, but when
(13:01):
it comes to money, there's realshame.
That our judgment, that peoplefeel when they are in a
difficult situation.
So I wanna be clear when I saythis, and I hope that this
resonates with all of you thatthere is no shame.
It's funny, because I alwayssay this to my clients, that
you've done the hardest part.
(13:22):
The hardest part is actuallyjust reaching out for help Right
, acknowledging that there's aproblem, but yet they found the
courage to stand up and reachout and try and find the
solution that's gonna work forthem.
So if this is you, I want you toat least download the free
(13:44):
toolkit that I talked about lastweek.
That toolkit contains a videorecording of me talking about
how to create a financial goal.
So that's the first step reallyjust understanding what your
goals are and it has a worksheetthat you can fill in and
complete.
It makes it easy because itasks you several questions and
(14:04):
then it also has a habit tracker, right.
So this is something thatyou're gonna look at daily.
You're gonna say did I do this,this and this and this?
Because this is the route, thisis the method to get to where I
wanna go.
We oftentimes have routines forso many different things.
We get up in the morning, webrush our teeth, we put our
(14:25):
clothes on, we go to work orwhatever it is.
So, whatever your routine is inthe morning and you don't think
about it, it's second nature,it just happens and that is how
we wanna treat our financesDoing these financial checkups,
reviewing our situation andreally putting in place the
(14:48):
routines that are going to getus to those goals.
One thing that I talk about alot is to create money dates.
Let me just kind of go over howto set something like this up.
The first step is to actuallyschedule the date.
What you want is a regular timeand place that's relaxing and
(15:08):
free of distractions.
Really, it doesn't have to beweekly.
This can be something thathappens bi-weekly or even
monthly.
It really just depends on yourfinancial situation if it needs
review or not.
What you want to do is actuallytreat it like a real date.
You want a comfortable spot athome, or you want to go to a
cafe or anywhere where you'regoing to have a positive tone or
(15:33):
a positive feeling going intothe meeting.
The second thing I need you todo is to prepare in advance
Gather all your financialdocuments like bank statements,
bills, your budget, any kind oftracking tool that you perhaps
use.
You should come prepared withthese things and maybe questions
(15:57):
or topics that you want todiscuss on that particular date.
You don't have to addresseverything in one date.
You kind of want to create atopic, create something that is
specific to that particular datethat you're going to address.
By doing that, you can set agoal.
You can have a little agenda.
(16:18):
You can start by reviewing thefinances, reviewing your
position, review any upcomingexpenses, what your savings are
looking like, what your RSPs arelooking like, and kind of track
things from week to week, frommonth to month.
How is it improving, or do youneed to give something a little
bit more attention?
Once you're prepared witheverything, now you can go ahead
(16:41):
and discuss.
You want to discuss your budget.
You want to look at yourspending, where you did a great
job and where you overspent.
I just want to preface this bysaying that you don't have to
have a partner or spouse to goover these kinds of things or
have money dates.
You can either do them on yourown just as a simple review, or
(17:03):
you can actually bring in yourBFF or someone that you trust to
do this kind of exercise with.
You just want someone that'sgoing to hold you accountable.
Oh, and this is also a goodtime to talk about the
unexpected.
Maybe something's come up sincethe last time you had a meeting
.
Having those discussions earlyon can prevent the blame that
(17:23):
can come, with one person makinga decision and not discussing
it with their partner.
And I did talk about making itin a safe space where it is a
positive tone.
People are not accusing oneanother.
It's really a time to justdiscuss and plan for the future.
An easy way of making thathappen is to tie something
(17:44):
enjoyable along with the moneydate.
This keeps it up with apositive tone.
Maybe it's going for dinner ora walk in the park.
This really does help toassociate the money dates with
something that's positive andenjoyable.
And then, finally, you want toend with some action steps.
Right, each money date shouldcome with some clear takeaways
(18:07):
that you're going to do, and youcan even assign
responsibilities to the otherperson.
You do this, I do this, and youcome together the next time and
see how that has worked out.
This process is really going toget you to the next level.
Discussion, open communicationis going to take away the blame,
it's going to take away thefear and it's going to make
(18:31):
managing your money somethingthat is an enjoyable process and
it's going to keep you on track.
So I hope this has been helpful.
I'd love to hear your feedbackon this.
If you want to send me a messagethrough Instagram, or even just
an email message, I'm happy todiscuss anything with you.
(18:51):
Please feel free to do so.
Take care, and I hope you havea great week.
Thanks for listening to theElevate your Paycheck podcast.
If you love this episode andneed deeper support, head to
thefinancialmomentcom backslashsupport to see how we can
support you, no matter where youare at.
(19:12):
Today.
We help our clients organizetheir finances, create savings,
eliminate debt and create aroadmap to their financial goals
which makes them more incontrol than they've ever
dreamed possible.
So head tothefinancialmomentcom, backslash
, support and make this the nextstep in your financial journey.
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