Liz & Paul Share Their Financial Breakthrough | Honest Client Review

Okay, well, hey everybody, thanks for joining me today. I am here with some of my favorite new clients, Liz and Paul, and they've agreed to share some of their experience about coaching. And, um, I would love to hear from you guys a little bit about where you were when you came here, what made you consider financial coaching, what maybe triggered like yes, it's worth it to do this. And then kind of the wins or successes that you've had, anything you want to share with somebody else that might, might be struggling with their finances or just want it to get better. So, um, I'll let either one of you jump in however you want to start.

Do you want to start?

No, go ahead.

Uh, so about a year ago, uh, we went on this journey with Penny Kidd and Essentially, we're both professionals, highly respected in our fields, um, one in teaching, one in healthcare. We're parents of a 9-year-old, and we're also homeowners, um, for nearly about 3 years now. So, um, one of the things that we experienced almost immediately after buying a home was we needed nearly $30,000 in upgrades almost immediately. Um, some of this was discovered during the inspection, some of it wasn't. Um, and I found myself on a daily basis worrying about where we were going to come up with all of this money after just buying a home. So, um, as time went on, as, as dealing with financial issues kind of bled into, um, my professional and personal life, uh, we decided that we should go see someone to help us with our, uh, impending issues and the issues we were currently experiencing with finances. So that's how we ended up with you.

Yeah.

Yeah. And part of it was this mentality of, well, we'll just put it on the credit card. We'll put it on the credit card. And, you know, um, you know, the debt grew and grew and, you know, we bought our house, home ourselves. We didn't have, you know, family or parents to help with, uh, you know, a down payment or anything like that. You know, we've taken care of our son ourselves. We just don't have a lot of family here to help. So very independent, you know, hard workers. But then we just realized that we were, you know, drowning a little bit. Um, you know, used up our savings, thinking about the future and how do we get to a place where we feel more comfortable, we feel more secure, we feel just better about our financial situation overall.

And those weren't feelings you had before you started this. You weren't feeling secure and comfortable.

No, no. Just kind of what's going to happen.

Yeah.

There, there was a sense of impending what could possibly be next and how are we going to be prepared for it? Again, working in our work environments. It's very important for us to maintain the highest professional standards because we're leaders in our fields. And I was feeling stressed, irritable, triggered, angry, hopeless. It was a really dire situation. And by being able to discuss with you, uh, at our first meeting our history with finance, our history with money, the fact that we had very little family support, and we just kind of felt on an island. Sharing that with you was very powerful, enlightening, and it's really set the stage for where we've gone in the past year.

Cool. So tell me a little bit about, like, did you have any fears around coaching that maybe have changed or, um, I, a lot of people don't even know what they're getting into when they're like, okay, I'm going to do this. What's she going to, you know, a lot of, I think people think I'm going to come tell them how to spend their money. So, um, tell me a little bit about that and what you experienced.

Well, your generosity just with the way that you interact, I think has been the biggest change and really showing us that it's up to us, right? It's your control. Here are tools, right? And that spreadsheet is magic for all of you watching this out there. You know, that's my favorite tool. Some things I have not attached, you know, themselves, but I think the pacing of, okay, first we'll do this, coming up with a plan, then we'll do this. And it, it's a humbling process, you know, looking at the number at the very beginning. But now we get to see the benefits of it and come up with a plan And we know that hopefully in the next few years, most, if not all, of our debt besides our house will be, you know, will be taken care of, which is unbelievable to get to that place. You know, we'll be in a position to buy a new vehicle and go on vacations and do things that, you know, that we want to do as a family. So to have that back is huge, but also just to have— there's no judgment. You know, it's, it's com— they're very open, supportive conversations about what we're doing. And when things come up, we have someone to talk to that can help us make a plan, but then also have that nudge that you need to move forward to the next step, right? Like, okay, this is, this is something else that I think that could benefit you. Let's, let's do that step. So I think that's been just such a huge, um, positive out of the process.

And huge.

Initially, I wasn't sure if you worked with, with men because I read your website and I didn't know, uh, which I get completely, uh, did not know if you dedicated your, uh, professional services to women. And so that was my biggest fear initially, but I knew that I needed to reach out to you to see where we would be going, either with you or with someone else. And I think once I communicated with you and we gained some more clarity regarding the situation, it opened my, my mind into so many different levels of, of the stages of the way we could make this happen. The biggest thing, though, was you opened up a window for communication between you and I and also between Liz and I. We were not communicating about all of the aspects of our finances and even some personal things that, that kind of came into play, our personal beliefs about money, our personal beliefs about how much to save and what to prepare for. So again, a whole new outlook.

That's cool. It feels like when I'm around you guys now that there's, there's a different energy, there's a calmer, less stressed, anxious kind of between both of you, really, that it's kind of like, okay, it's not all— we're not done yet. We still have a ways to go. But you see a plan. And I've heard Liz say something like, okay, cool. But by here, we should— we will have that met. Right. And there's something freeing in that spreadsheet that I know people sometimes have a love-hate with that. And not everybody in the world uses a spreadsheet, but that's how I budget. So we can see the numbers. And one of the things I do that I think might be different than some people think about budgeting is we budget by paycheck, right? Because you both, well, you have a more stable, Liz has more stable income, Paul's varies, but it's hard sometimes to get your head around, well, how do I budget when my income varies?

Yeah.

Well, we just put it in there and say, okay, we got the important stuff covered. And then the gravy gets to come from the irregular.

And that, that's the most helpful. Like I, I. You know, I check it daily. I manipulate it depending on what comes up. And it's nice to see that like, oh, I know by the end of the year we will have this much in our savings account, you know, after, oh, we just had to spend this much on the cars or this much, you know, for work, you know, or whatever happens in life because life's still going to happen. But knowing that we can save again, you know, and being at that point of like, oh wow, well maybe we'll have this much in there. And be able to pay this off, um, and to save towards things and to see that grow is really, it's, you know, it's so powerful.

Do you feel like it's been super restrictive and you haven't had any fun since you decided to start with your money? No.

I mean, there's definitely like, I'm not charging everything on the credit card. I haven't used my credit card in months, you know, um, which is really good. Um, no, still able to go out and budget for dinners. Um, you know, have people to the house, you know, make sure Quinn's needs are met, whether it's sports or clothes or other things as well.

Yeah. Yeah.

Hobbies, you know.

Well, we're spending money and investing our time and energy and money in the things that are really more valuable. And I mean, it would be great to go do 5 things a day. Um, that are just totally pleasing. I love to go to breakfast, lunch, dinner on my day off, you know. Um, I love to go to a show on my day off, or 2 or 3 on the weekend if I can. I'd love to buy more drums. I'd love to have a new deck, you know, all of these things. But it's preparing, and it's the mindset of let's be disciplined, let's communicate about this, let's negotiate over the negotiables and work your way through it. And right before, we were just placing a Band-Aid over these expenses. Once we got in a position where we had a house and we were living in it, we had to put Band-Aids on all these expenses. Once there was a need for clothes for Quinn, who's 9, you know, once there was a need for this birthday present for one of our friends or a relative, you know, we would just throw money out the window. We're looking at things entirely different in a different way for the last year.

So, yeah, I like to talk about being intentional with your money instead of just sort of letting life happen and somebody else being in your pocketbook, right? And telling you, you have to go do this and you should do that. And and yet that doesn't always align with your goals and your plans, right? Yeah.

And nobody's been upset that we've said no to things, you know, or, you know, we've been able to say yes to things too. So, which is really nice. And so, um, I don't know, because you're still very curious about the process. Like, I've talked about the process to people that I work with and, you know, my friends, and they're like, oh, how's that going? I'm like, it's going great. You know, it's going really well. We've paid off, what, $25,000 this year, you know, which is great and haven't accrued more, right, in the credit and all of that. So that's, you know, that's huge.

Yeah. And building savings in little things, you know, bigger, longer term and little what we call sinking funds, like you're saving for certain things, right? So that when they come around, they don't We have Christmas saved up for—

I've already bought a couple presents, but then we still have a good amount there. And then, you know, planning ahead, knowing Quinn's birthday will be a month after Christmas. Okay, great. So I wrote that into the budget and there's plenty, you know, to make sure that we're not— because I remember last year it was a stressor of, well, but now I'm like, oh, look at that. We can put this much towards his birthday and not have to—

and not miss it.

Yeah, well, but also just not limit it. I mean, obviously there's a limit on his birthday, but, you know, it feels reasonable.

It's a, it's a good amount that you feel like still loves him, but doesn't make you, you know, put things on credit cards that, or pay. The other thing I think sometimes we don't realize what, what our debt is costing us, how much interest we're paying on those things. It wasn't just the repair on the house, it's the interest. You're tripling the cost of things. When you're putting it on the credit card. So that's why I like to say, okay, first we stop the bleeding by stop putting them on the credit card, then we have the strategy to kill the debt, right? But so, and all the way along you've paid me. And, you know, people will say to me like, how, how could I pay you and pay off this much debt and save? This just doesn't make any sense. I didn't have any money begin. I don't know. I think it's because what we focus on grows, right?

And Yeah, well, and you have to reevaluate everything you're putting your money into. And absolutely, some of those payments we were making, we could have restructured them at an earlier time. But when we met with you, when we put our heads together, we made decisions, conscious decisions to not only change our behavior in terms of how we spent, but also who we paid first.

Yeah.

Who are we paying first? Why? You know, and we weren't prior. We weren't being disciplined at all regarding—

How's it helped your relationship with each other?

I mean, we communicate, um, almost on a daily basis in a positive way about a lot of things, but finance is absolutely one of those things. So, and I feel that a lot of the negativity that was associated with finances, uh, has either gone away or we address it in a more positive manner where there's a little less stress, a lot less frustration, concern on my end. I feel that way.

Well, it's hard too, because like, you know, one of Like, I— it's nice having everything come out of one account, you know, and then we still have our own, you know, independence of like money that we want to spend. But there's a lot— there is a lot of communication. But it's also like, I, I grew up in an atmosphere where talking about money was just pure stress and hate, and it just caused fights. And, you know, I didn't want it to be that way. So rather than not saying anything to cause disruption, you know, I'm feeling more comfortable being like, hey, You know, we only have this much to spend for this. So yeah, you know, and we still have a week left of, of grocery money or this or that. So that's something, you know, I, I feel more comfortable with.

That's cool. All right. Anything else that you guys want to share before we wrap up? Penny Kidd, any epiphany you've told your friends or that you would tell somebody considering financial coaching?

I mean, I just know that it's brought us together on another level where we really need— needed to address some of these things. And some of them were personal on my end, personal on Liz's end, and we were able to collaborate together through you, with you, with your support, um, knowing that we could reach out to you at any time. I've reached out to you on the weekend regarding automotive issues, just some choices I needed to make, we needed to make. But I feel like it is a we. I feel like when you're all alone and on that island and there's a lot of hopelessness out there, and I always try to remain hopeful. But it, it's hard on your own. And so you have helped bring us together, um, through all of what you offer, not just you, but the tools you offer and the, the guidance and support. And that's, I, I mean, I can't put a price on that, you know, that's good. It just, it means so much to us.

I appreciate that. No, it's been my joy and privilege, and, and I'm excited to see where the next year brings you because I feel like it's kind of like turning that ship. You know, it takes a little while. We're getting all the systems cleaned up and we're just, we're getting the behavior, but now we're getting there where like now it will go faster. I can almost guarantee that now we've got momentum, right? And, and you've done the hard work. And so I appreciate you sharing with, with me and with others because I know you've always said really great things when we're working together. I'm like, oh, I should hit record. So I'm really glad that, um, you, you agreed to come on today and do this with me. So thanks for sharing and your transparency. Thank you.

Thank you for what you do, you know, and listening to us and being patient. You know, we're not ready for every step right away, and I appreciate that you listen to like our pacing and what we want to do and, you know, but still having those nudges and it's just been, it's just been so positive overall. So thank you.

Definitely. Well, one other added value is our 9-year-old son has seen us go through this for the last year, and he is also more focused on, on every little thing that we do. And he's very grateful. He's very grateful for this little thing here and there. And when the big things happen, he's even more grateful. So he's seen the value. Of what we're doing. And he's also learned to appreciate the value of money a little more.

Yeah, I think it's huge when you can give this gift to your kids at this age. Imagine where they'll be by the time they're your age, right? So he's about the same age as my son was when we started this journey. And my kids talk differently about money. They, we have open conversations at this point as young adults and, and, you know, they have places to grow to. But, but it's sometimes we like to think, oh, I need to give my kid everything. Well, one of the gifts you could give them is no and or wait or save. You know, it's not always no forever, but it's like, okay, well then, or what are you willing to do to earn that? You know, so that gift of education and knowledge that you guys work hard for your money. Nobody's handing you it on a platter. So he needs to learn. That's part of being a grownup too. So I'm, I'm glad that he's, he's getting to do that. So that'll be exciting as he starts having access to, to money and things too. So yeah, awesome. Thank you. Okay, you're welcome. Thank you, appreciate it. I'll let you go for now. Be wise. Bye.