Sylvie testimonial

OK, so we are recording. So, hey everybody, it is Penny with Pennywise Coaching and I am here today with one of my awesome Clients, Sylvie, and she agreed to let me interview her a little bit about her experience with coaching and kind of just share a little bit about what that has been like. So, Sylvie, would you tell us a little bit about kind of why you came to coaching, how that occurred and kind of what your state of mind was in your situation at the time? Yeah.

So, I came to coaching because I decided late or early 2019 that I wanted to kind of get things in order a little bit. I started by just kind of deciding I was going to like get an accountant and then things kind of like snowballed out from there. And I had decided I was going to start working with a personal finance advisor to help me just understand a little bit more about my money and what was going on. And he talked to me a little bit about just kind of what he does versus what we wanted to do to kind of start things off. And one of the things that was really clear was that it didn't make sense to do any personal finance things until I didn't have debt. And I had kind of been operating for a while under the, like, as long as everything clears, it's okay. And not really understanding, like, that as I kept using my credit card and then would kind of freak out that it was like I was about to max it out, that I need— and then I would like pay it all off and like use some of this money that had been like left to me from a family member that then all of a sudden that that probably wasn't the really healthy way to deal with it. And it clearly meant that I was not really like within my means of doing it. And so, and I just realized too that no one had ever taught me about budgeting and I didn't really know what to do. And I was like embarrassed to talk about it. And so that kind of led me to realize that I think I needed some more expert help and I needed just some guidance to get to a place where it felt a little bit more comfortable and a little bit better about what was going to happen. And someone that could help me build the tools to be able to keep doing this afterwards.

So when you first met me, it's been just about 6 months ago. Tell me what your emotional state was at that point around that.

So I think I was definitely something where I, I think I was, I was always anxious about money. Like I used to not ever like to look at my bank account. I would look at my bank account like maybe like one or two times in the month and just be like hoping that everything was working out. And I didn't really like have a budget for anything. I just was kind of like, I have some money. I think that it's fine. And I think that it was something that I didn't realize was causing me a lot of anxiety. I remember after one of the first times we met, kind of after having done like the deep kind of look at things, being like, I feel like I have— I remember like writing some notes for myself. So I was going to make sure I talked to everything. And I remember writing like, I feel like I have this big monkey on my back that I'm just like never going to get off and I'm going to carry this around with me for the rest of my life. And that was kind of scary to kind of come to that realization that that's like where I was really feeling.

Right. Well, and you were maybe in a different position than somebody else where you had a little bit of inheritance. But so that probably gave you some false sense of like, I have money, but then all of a sudden you were finding it going faster and faster.

Yeah. And I think I kept looking at this like that. It is my safety blanket and it, and it is, but it was something where it's like I wasn't using it. Because something happened and I needed it. I was just using it because I wasn't taking charge of what else was going on with me.

I remember you feeling like when we first got started that there were certain things that you wouldn't, you didn't want to give up or that you, so did you feel like coaching was maybe going to be really punitive or that I would be telling you how to spend your money or?

Not necessarily because you were really good about saying like, I am not going to tell you how to spend your money, but I am going to encourage you on where you could like look to kind of cut things. But I think one of the things that had always really thrown me off from budgeting, um, and a lot like, you know, people often refer to it like dieting was like, I feel like I would fall off the wagon a little bit or I would mess up or something would come up and it would happen. And I just would be like, oh, whatever, it doesn't matter now. Everything is ruined. There's no sense going back to it. And I feel like that was more, that was something that I was more afraid of happening was that I was just going to like keep kind of putting myself in this place of like, oh, I've already ruined it. Let's just like leave it be ruined and not come back to it and not try and like fix it up or anything. Right.

What were some of the things that you've done over the last 6 months that you think have helped you improve your situation?

Yeah. So I think there's a couple of things. One of the things was I definitely looked at like the things that I was spending money on and said like, does this matter to me? Like, is this something that's important to me? If it is, like then yes, try and find money to do it. Like I have a pretty expensive exercise habit, but it's something that makes me feel good and is good for me. So that was something that I really knew that I wanted to keep doing. But I looked at other things and was just like, no, I don't necessarily need such an expensive food budget. I can eat, you know, a little bit more beans and rice type diet if I want to do that. Or I don't necessarily need to like go out all the time. And that really helped me to kind of trim things down. And I, I live in San Francisco, so it's pretty expensive here. And so I had to really like look at like, okay, do I want to go socialize with my friends or do I want to like get my nails done? And that was something where I was like, I'd rather socialize with my friends than do this. And then I think one of the other things too is like, you know, we're definitely in a place where there's a lot of ways to kind of make extra money. And so I really looked at like what I was doing on where I could kind of make some extra money and, and where I could do that. So like I, I've sold clothes, I've rented out my car. I just have really like looked at all of the different places in my life that could kind of make me some income at the moment to really like kickstart me on doing this.

Yeah, I think that is one of the most impressive things I think about you is that, you know, kind of started out like, like there's no way I'm going to ever get out of debt and I can't, you know, make any changes. But in a very short period of time, you made some kind of dramatic changes to driving and parking and nails and things that really helped move the needle. And they probably were an inconvenience for you, but it seems like you also were able to do some fun things along the way.

Yeah, I've gone on a couple of vacations. I went to a music festival. Like I did, I got to hang out with my friends. And I think it really came down to like, yes, I've had a little bit maybe more of a more contracted social life and had a little bit more of a like a lean look on things that are going on. But I feel like that's really made it so that I could pay off all of my debt in 6 months. And I think that that's something that's really powerful and something I'm going to keep in mind going forward.

Do your friends think you're weird?

Yes and no. I think some of them are like, wow, I'm very impressed. And some of them are like, whatever, I don't want to hear you talk about this anymore.

Because you have to tell everybody.

Yep, exactly.

So yeah, you skipped right over that, but you have a big announcement today. Like yesterday you texted me, how much have you paid off? And what she's—

I have paid off over $14,000 in just various debt that I had in about 6 months.

That is amazing. And so today you stand debt-free.

Yep, exactly. Which is so exciting. I didn't think that I was going to get here in 6 months, let alone like ever. And, and I do think that part of it was like, I really decided that I want it. Once I realized I thought I could do this within 6 months, I was like, I'm going to throw everything at this and really just like push through and do this.

Yeah, you really started picking up the pace the last few months too, didn't you?

Yeah.

Once you saw it really melting and like, that's a real thing. Because I think you had— so today is November 19th or 20th. And we talked last month and we thought you'd be debt-free by January. And all of a sudden, you know, here you are.

Yeah, and I really, I think it was something too that was really like, I really appreciate that you held me accountable and like having to check in with somebody and kind of say like, this is what I've done, this is what I've done, without any judgment too. Like that was, I think, really important and it made me feel too that I could be more open about the different things that were going on and also to try and be more open in the rest of my life about like, this is really important to me. And so Most of my friends knew that I was not really keen to do a lot of going out. And that was fine. And we just kind of adjusted and figured things out.

Because you still managed to build relationships and have fun with your friends, right? You just maybe didn't do it in the same places or spend money doing it.

Correct? Yeah. And I also really looked at like, you know, I wanted to go out to eat. It's like I needed to go out to eat with my friends. I didn't really, you know, unless in case of special things, didn't really be like, okay, I'm going to order takeout for myself or grab lunch at work. It was really just like prioritizing. If I'm going to spend money on this, it needs to be more of a social interaction. So I'm getting something from that.

And then you didn't feel guilty when you did it because you had a plan for it, right?

Yeah.

Did you also have some wins as far as like saving money?

Yeah. So I saved for a couple of vacations. So that was pretty exciting. And then I have started to build a very tiny, very, very tiny emergency fund that I'm hoping now that I don't have to pay off any debt, that I'll start kind of really snowballing most of the money to go there that I now have extra in my budget.

And you're what, 30?

I'll be 30 in April. Yeah.

This year. Yeah. Yeah, so that's huge, and I think you're setting yourself up for an awesome future in retirement, and whether you stay in an expensive part of the country or you move around to somewhere else, I think it seems to me like you'll have choices now. So that seems really exciting.

So I agree. Thank you.

Is there anything else you want to share with people that might be contemplating coaching?

And yeah, I think that it's something that it feels really scary. And I think especially like money is a scary and anxiety-producing thing. And I think that it's something where you said this to me and it's really resonated with me in the same way that I want to invest in my career and my education and things like that. I also need to spend some time investing in myself. And that's really clearly what this was, was an investment in myself that I know I'm going to be able to kind of keep doing as I go forward. And And I often analogize this a lot too with working out where it's like, it feels really hard the first couple of times that you go to the gym and then it feels a little bit easier and then sometimes it feels a little harder and sometimes it feels a little easier and that's really what it was, was just like forming the habit and sticking to it.

True. Well, and I feel like, you know, I'm what, 15 years ahead of you in the game, but it doesn't, you still fall down sometimes, right? And you don't do it always perfect, but if you can at least start thinking ahead, that's when you start winning the race instead of just letting things happen to you. Right.

Yeah. That control has been really beneficial to me and I no longer feel like, I no longer feel super anxious about my money and I feel like I have a very good idea. You know, like I basically keep my spending spreadsheet up all the time and, and I'm just like, you know, as things are happening, looking back on it and trying to like make adjustments and make plans and just be really like on it of like, I know where I can account for all of these different things and how it's happening.

Well, I'm super proud of you and I'm so excited to be a part of your journey and to watch you do it so quickly is pretty amazing and all the creative things that you've done. So thanks for being willing to kind of share it with my people and share it with your friends and we're going to change the world one person at a time, right?

So I totally agree.

Yeah, I'm super grateful. So thanks and allah. I'll talk to you soon.

Sounds good.

Bye.