369. Stop the Year-End Money Spiral: 6 Steps to End Strong Instead of Stressed

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You still have time to make real progress with your money before the year ends.  In this episode Amber shares six simple steps to help you finish the year strong even if you’ve fallen off track, overspent, or haven’t looked at your budget in months. 

No guilt. No perfection. Just a real plan that works. 

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Episode Transcript

Amber Taylor (00:00):
Let's be honest.
We are almost at the end of theyear.
Pumpkin spice is in full swing.
Christmas stuff is already onthe shelves.
And a lot of people havementally checked out of their
goals.
You might be thinking, I'lljust start in January.
But listen, you still have timeto make real progress before

(00:23):
the year is over.
60 days is plenty of time toturn things around.

Announcer (00:32):
You're listening to the Debt Free Dad podcast with
Brad Nelson.
Brad and his co-hostsexperience the anxiety of living
paycheck to paycheck beforelearning the fundamentals of
financial success.
They are now on a mission toempower regular people to pay
off their debt for good andenjoy happier, less stressful
lives.
Keep listening forinspirational interviews, tips,

(00:54):
tricks, and practical advice togain financial freedom.

Amber Taylor (01:00):
Hi, I'm Amber, today's host for the Deb Free
Dad Podcast.
My husband and I saved and paidoff $54,000 in just 20 months.
And we have been livingdebt-free outside of our
mortgage since 2018.
Today I'm walking you throughsix simple steps to finish the
year strong, even if you'vefallen off track, spent too

(01:25):
much, or haven't looked at yourbudget in months.
No guilt, no perfection, justsimple steps to help you feel
proud by December 31st.
Step one, get honest aboutwhere you're at.
You've got to look at thenumbers.
I know, I know.
It's not fun.

(01:45):
But this step alone gives youpower to pull up your bank
account, your credit cardstatements, all of it.
Face it head on instead ofguessing.
When I was deep in debt, Iavoided looking at my balances
because I didn't want to see howbad it was.

(02:05):
But once I did, somethingchanged.
I stopped feeling scared ofthis unknown number of what was
to come.
And I started feeling like itwas something that I could
actually fix.
You can't move forward if youdon't know where you're
starting.

(02:26):
Step two, pick one goal tofocus on.
Just one.
You don't need to fixeverything before the ball
drops.
Just choose one thing, onesmall goal that would make you
feel proud to say, I did thatthis year.
Maybe it's paying off a creditcard.

(02:47):
Maybe it's saving $500.
So you're not using debt forthe holidays.
Maybe it's simply sticking toyour budget every week through
December.
The trick is focus.
When you stop trying to doeverything, you finally start to
see results.

(03:08):
Step three, rebuild or boostyour emergency fund.
If you had to dip into it thisyear, no shame.
That's what it's built for.
But you have to rebuild it.
Having $500 to $1,000 tuckedaway will keep you from adding
more debt when life happens.

(03:30):
And let's be real the nextcouple of months are full of
life happens.
Holiday invites, travel, randomgifts, all of the little extras
that sneak up.
You don't need a perfectemergency fund right now, just a
small cushion that gives you alittle bit of breathing room.

(03:53):
Step four cut and pause oneexpense.
Just one.
This one's a quick win.
Look at your spending and pickone thing that you can pause
until January, or evenaltogether, because you haven't
been using it for a really longtime.

(04:13):
Maybe it's a streaming service,eating out less, skipping those
impulse Amazon orders.
You're not canceling itforever, of course, unless you
want to.
Even freeing up an extrahundred bucks can go straight

(04:42):
towards your goal or yourholiday budget.
And if you want a little extrahelp finding that first bit of
progress fast, grab our freeworkshop, find your first
hundred dollars.
It's going to show you exactlyhow to free up cash, start
saving, and building confidencewith your money again.

(05:04):
You could sign up by using thelink at the top of the show
notes.
Step five, make a plan forholiday spending.
If you don't plan it, it willplan you.
It's gonna happen whetheryou're ready or not.
Write down who you're buyingfor.
We literally just did this thisweek, my husband and I.

(05:24):
We planned who we were buyingfor.
We planned how much we werespending in total.
And now we just gotta focus onsticking with the budget.
So, what events do you have?
And roughly how much is itgonna cost?
Then divide that total by howmany paychecks you've got left
this year, even if you can'tcover it all, having a plan

(05:48):
stops you from using creditcards in panic mode.
And let me say this the peoplewho love you don't need
expensive gifts.
I'm gonna repeat that.
The people who love you do notneed expensive gifts.
They're still gonna feel loved,regardless of what you get
them.
They want you to be happy, theydon't want you to be stressed

(06:10):
about money.
So be realistic, not guilty.
Set boundaries that protectyour budget and your peace.
Heck, you could even giveholiday gifts that are homemade.
Get creative.
Look into experiences thatdon't cost a lot of money and
plan for that over the holidayseason with your friends and

(06:32):
family.
And step six, celebrate yourprogress, not perfection.
This one matters the most, Ithink.
You're going to make mistakes.
You're going to have weekswhere your plan just falls
completely apart.
That doesn't mean you failed.
It just means you're human.

(06:53):
Every little win counts.
Maybe you paid cash for giftsthis year instead of swiping a
card.
Maybe you finally opened upyour budget again.
Maybe you just showed up tolisten to this podcast.
That's progress.
But I challenge you to pick onemore outside of getting to the

(07:14):
end of this podcast.
You don't have to wait forJanuary 1st to feel proud.
Start right now.
So here you go.
Six steps to finish the yearstrong.
Let's recap.
Number one, get honest aboutwhere your numbers are.
Number two, pick one goal tofocus on.

(07:37):
Number three, rebuild youremergency fund.
Number four, cut out oneexpense.
Number five, plan your holidayspending.
And number six, celebrateprogress over perfection.
If you do these six things,you'll walk into January with

(07:59):
momentum instead of regret.
So you've got two months left.
Make them count.
Remember, you don't have to beperfect, just consistent.

Brad Nelson (08:11):
Now listen, if you're ready to break free from
living paycheck to paycheck,which if you're listening, I
hope you are.
You want to reduce financialstress, you want to build
savings, you want to finally payoff debt for good, but you're
not sure where to get started.
Don't worry.
We've got to cover here at DeafFreeDad.
Simplify My Money is sent eachSunday to your email.
We make it easy.
And Simplify My Money, it'syour step-by-step roadmap to

(08:33):
better financial control.
And you're also going to learneasy to follow strategies to
manage your money effectively.
You're going to get stress-freemoney decisions that will help
you simplify your financial lifewith proven tips that actually
work.
You're also going to gain thetools and the confidence to
tackle your financial goals headon.
You can sign up for Simplify MyMoney by clicking the link at

(08:54):
the top of the show notes.
Thanks for joining us ontoday's show, and we will see
you guys on the next episode.

Announcer (09:05):
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(09:26):
Catch you next week.