Is Budgeting a Bad Word with Kayla Francis - 154

[00:00:00] Budgeting. Does the sound of that dreaded word during this spooky season make you tremble and shake?

[00:00:06] Well, we're diving headfirst into debunking whether or not budget is a bad word in today's episode.

[00:00:12] Welcome to Money Talk with Skyler Fleming. Making sense of your money, one money talk at a time. Let's get talking.

[00:00:18] Welcome to today's episode of Money Talk with Skyler Fleming. In today's episode, we're talking about a bad, bad word. Budget.

[00:00:25] Does the sound of that make you shiver and quake and tremble in your boots? Well, if you really hate the word budget, then today's episode is just for you.

[00:00:34] We're going to talk about control that you have to have over your money because of budgeting and tracking.

[00:00:38] You may feel like budgeting is like dieting and Kayla Francis and I talk about just that in today's interview.

[00:00:44] How can you avoid that bad diet feeling with your budget? Learn how in today's episode.

[00:00:49] Also, I have a brand new thing to offer each and every one of you listening. A free money talk.

[00:00:53] I set up a link in the show notes or at moneytalkwithskylerfleming.com slash chat so you can schedule a time with me for a money talk.

[00:01:01] Schedule a money talk today and let's talk about whatever financial situation you're going through.

[00:01:05] The money talking points for today's episode are how can you incorporate a money date into your week?

[00:01:11] And two, how can you get to the point where you're in control with your money?

[00:01:15] With the money talking points in mind, let's get talking.

[00:01:27] Hello, everybody. Welcome to today's interview on Money Talk with Skyler Fleming.

[00:01:31] Joining me today to talk about that bad word you all know and love, budgeting, is Kayla Francis.

[00:01:36] And I'm excited for this interview.

[00:01:38] But Kayla, would you kick it off by introducing yourself to everyone?

[00:01:41] Yes. Thank you for having me.

[00:01:42] My name is Kayla and I'm a financial self-care coach, if I could get it out.

[00:01:47] And essentially what I do is I help overspenders learn how to trust themselves again with their money

[00:01:52] and control themselves when it comes to their finances.

[00:01:55] I help them eliminate money stress, the shame, pay off debt, confidently save, and ultimately use their money as a tool to have a lifestyle that they love

[00:02:05] and actually enjoy being able to use their money the way that they want to.

[00:02:09] Yeah. Well, there's a lot of that out there.

[00:02:10] There's a lot of financial stress.

[00:02:12] Everyone's dealt with it.

[00:02:12] So there's definitely room for coaches of all sorts in the financial space.

[00:02:16] So glad to hear that.

[00:02:18] I'm sure you're helping a ton of people.

[00:02:19] So that's great.

[00:02:20] But let's kick it off talking about that bad word.

[00:02:23] Why does budgeting feel like a bad word to people?

[00:02:25] What's so wrong about it?

[00:02:28] Yeah.

[00:02:28] So budgeting tends to have a negative connotation.

[00:02:32] It has such bad energy about it when people think about it.

[00:02:36] And so I think most of the problems that or I guess what people tell me is that it feels restricted.

[00:02:42] It feels like a diet.

[00:02:43] And a lot of people, they don't want to go on a diet.

[00:02:46] They don't want to have to restrict themselves.

[00:02:48] And so in essence, it's like a financial diet that limits their ability to truly enjoy their life.

[00:02:55] So if you compare it to food, not being able to eat what you want to eat is the same as not being able to spend your own money on what you want to spend it on.

[00:03:03] So when people hear budget, that's what they're thinking.

[00:03:05] They're thinking restriction.

[00:03:07] And so I think that's why people have such bad ideas about budgeting.

[00:03:12] They're automatically thinking this is going to be a financial diet.

[00:03:15] I'm going to be restricted and I'm not going to be able to spend my money the way that I want to.

[00:03:20] Yeah.

[00:03:21] I mean, that makes sense.

[00:03:21] That's exactly what I expected you to say.

[00:03:23] Like so many people find it as this just tiring, continue saying, oh, I can't purchase this because of my budget.

[00:03:30] And then you get to the point where you're like, screw the budget.

[00:03:32] Like I want to purchase this.

[00:03:33] And then it breaks down and everything comes flying back at you.

[00:03:37] So how do you handle your money?

[00:03:39] This is what I always like to learn is do you have a budget?

[00:03:41] How do you handle it?

[00:03:43] Yes, definitely.

[00:03:44] So it's hard to teach other people about budgeting if I don't do it myself.

[00:03:48] So I do budget.

[00:03:49] I used to use a spreadsheet, but now I use a budgeting app and I incorporate money dates into my week to ensure that I'm actually keeping up with it.

[00:03:58] And so what I like to do is I like to keep it simple, stupid.

[00:04:02] I keep things very simple when it comes to my budget because there's really no need to overcomplicate it.

[00:04:06] And I have main categories that I try to stick to.

[00:04:10] So I have my fixed expenses, everything that has a set date and a set amount.

[00:04:15] I have my savings contributions.

[00:04:17] And then I have a category for debts and obligations that I owe back, discretionary spending.

[00:04:22] And then I have like a splurge category for where I can actually make sure that I have money put aside for when I do want to have splurges or I feel the need to go outside of my budget.

[00:04:31] But technically it is within my budget.

[00:04:34] Awesome.

[00:04:35] So you're telling me we don't have to have a billion different categories.

[00:04:38] It can be pretty simple, even if it's still a budget.

[00:04:42] Definitely.

[00:04:43] Yeah.

[00:04:43] And I that's what I encourage, especially when people just start budgeting is to start simple.

[00:04:49] You don't have to overcomplicate it.

[00:04:51] Keep it to what you need.

[00:04:53] So don't look at other people's budgeting methods or categories and feel like you have to follow it.

[00:04:59] It's mainly what you need to work for you and what's going to allow you to stick with it.

[00:05:04] Yeah, I love that.

[00:05:05] Make sure it's what works for you.

[00:05:07] And that's why I think budgeting is so great.

[00:05:09] I love it.

[00:05:09] I think it's great.

[00:05:10] It's simplified.

[00:05:11] I'm I'm someone who likes it a little complicated.

[00:05:13] I probably have too many categories for my own good.

[00:05:16] But people often start out worried.

[00:05:18] They're worried about budgeting.

[00:05:20] They're worried about it right now.

[00:05:21] How do they get to the point like you and I who love budgeting?

[00:05:24] How do they get to that step?

[00:05:27] Yeah.

[00:05:27] And that's a really good question.

[00:05:30] For me, it was all about mindset and realizing that I had to make changes in order to get to where I want to get with my goals.

[00:05:37] It's okay to start small.

[00:05:39] And it's okay to start where you are.

[00:05:42] So budgeting will feel overwhelming and stressful if you jump into the deep end.

[00:05:48] So like I say, start small.

[00:05:50] And I appreciate it when people do get excited and they are ready to budget.

[00:05:54] But take those baby steps.

[00:05:56] Just get a notebook.

[00:05:57] You don't need a fancy dancy budget journal.

[00:06:00] You don't have to buy an expensive app.

[00:06:02] Start with a notebook and just literally jot down everything that you're spending without any judgment.

[00:06:07] And you can start there.

[00:06:09] And once you have a clearer financial picture, you actually are seeing where your money is coming from.

[00:06:14] Where is it going?

[00:06:16] Then you can start setting goals and then just add the steps, the different steps that help you stick to that budget as you go along.

[00:06:23] Yeah, I can't emphasize the power of starting small enough.

[00:06:27] Like you just said, you don't need the fancy apps.

[00:06:29] And I tend to do this in my life where I go out and I buy the fancy software or I sign up for all the free trials where sometimes just going down to your local grocery store or whatever and finding that like 98 cent little notebook is all you need.

[00:06:42] Like you just got to get started with something.

[00:06:44] And honestly, I think that's where people get overwhelmed.

[00:06:46] Do you think there are lovely tools out there, but do you think some of them can be overwhelming?

[00:06:52] Oh, yeah, they can be complex, especially for people just starting out, which is why I say just start with a notebook or a piece of paper, because you don't want to get in there.

[00:07:02] Start with the tool.

[00:07:03] And it's the tool that's overwhelming you.

[00:07:05] That will stop you from what the main purpose of why you're even budgeting in the first place.

[00:07:10] And it's really not the tool that you need.

[00:07:13] It's just the numbers.

[00:07:15] It's your actual financial picture, which you don't need a tool for that.

[00:07:18] So there are some tools that are helpful.

[00:07:20] Depending on, I guess, your own goals, but you don't need it to get started and it can be a distraction.

[00:07:27] Yeah, I completely agree.

[00:07:29] You don't need the tools.

[00:07:30] Just get started with some your own thoughts, write down your feelings about your money and get the simple path rolling.

[00:07:36] But budgeting can often spread into other areas of our life and help us out in a whole plethora of different ways.

[00:07:43] What are some other areas that budgeting can help with our money that maybe people might not be aware of?

[00:07:47] I think the main thing that people forget is that budgeting is not just about cutting out your expenses or saving money and sticking to categories.

[00:08:00] It's about creating that space for opportunity.

[00:08:03] And that's how I used it.

[00:08:04] I was like, I have these things that I want to do.

[00:08:07] I have a lifestyle where I'm, I guess you could call it a semi-freedom lifestyle.

[00:08:11] I'm just doing so many different things in my life and I need to make sure that I'm financially secure while I'm doing it all.

[00:08:17] So if you're not paying attention to how your money flows in and out, it's going to be really hard to see where you have space for opportunities.

[00:08:26] So a person may actually find that budgeting frees up their money to invest in different areas such as personal growth, their passion projects.

[00:08:35] They may realize they have extra money to go buy tools for something that they want or new paint brushes for their art projects.

[00:08:43] And then there's also the mental health aspects of it all, which I think people don't consider is that being able to see where your money is going and having that control reduces anxiety so much.

[00:08:56] Just having that sense of control back is, it was a huge game changer for me for not being anxious all the time and not realizing, oh, I have $30 coming out tomorrow or $300 coming out.

[00:09:08] And then I go in my bank account and I only have $6 left that I didn't remember about.

[00:09:14] Yeah, I love the idea that it opens up opportunities.

[00:09:16] And in a second, I'd love to hear maybe what's an opportunity that it's opened up for you.

[00:09:20] But for me and my wife, I wanted to share a little bit about how our budgeting allowed us.

[00:09:25] We went to Hawaii recently, about a month ago, somehow a month ago already.

[00:09:29] We moved right after we got back from Hawaii.

[00:09:32] So the time just flew by since we've gotten back.

[00:09:35] So we went to Hawaii and our budgeting allowed us to save over years.

[00:09:40] And I've said this on multiple episodes now, I think.

[00:09:42] But we spent almost without a care because we had that budgeting already in place.

[00:09:47] Our care was taken way in advance of the trip.

[00:09:51] And that's, I think, the opportunity you're speaking of.

[00:09:53] But what do you think about that?

[00:09:56] Or what do you think about your opportunities that you've seen budget opening in your life?

[00:10:01] Yeah, for me, I think it's being able to continue to live the freedom lifestyle that I want to live.

[00:10:07] So I'm a freelancer.

[00:10:09] I also have a part-time job.

[00:10:11] And now I'm starting a new venture right now.

[00:10:14] And so because I've already put into place these systems that have helped me, I guess, build up a savings is pretty much what has helped me.

[00:10:24] Having that extra money there and then knowing how to save for the specific things that I want, I'm able to put money aside from my business opportunities that I want to work on now.

[00:10:33] So I don't know if I necessarily recommend switching career paths or new businesses all the time.

[00:10:40] But that's something that I enjoy doing in my personal life.

[00:10:43] And because I have the money put aside for it, I've been able to do that.

[00:10:47] Yeah, interesting.

[00:10:48] You start talking about career switching because I'm doing a little bit of research about becoming a CFP, which is definitely not my original career path.

[00:10:55] So hearing you say that, too, and like the freedom that a little bit of budgeting and planning ahead of time provides you to make those pivots.

[00:11:02] Honestly, that's inspiring for me.

[00:11:03] So thanks for sharing that because you're getting my mind working a little more there.

[00:11:07] So if there's anyone listening that's maybe thinking, how do I even get started with that?

[00:11:12] Maybe it's going to be overwhelming and it's going to be a month or two down the road and they want to give up.

[00:11:16] How have you stuck out budgeting for the long term?

[00:11:22] Again, saying start small.

[00:11:25] Don't jump into the deep end.

[00:11:27] You don't have to have everything perfect.

[00:11:30] Just because an expert says this or that does not mean you have to follow it to the T.

[00:11:35] And don't be too harsh on yourself.

[00:11:37] When you're budgeting, I always like to say it's okay to be flexible.

[00:11:41] We're human at the end of the day.

[00:11:43] And so you want your budget to have enough room to where if there are life changes or things that you want to adjust, you should be able to do that.

[00:11:51] Don't have a strict budget where if you slip up a little bit or if you need to make an adjustment, something happens.

[00:11:58] You're going to completely get derailed because you don't have that extra room to deal with that emergency or that mishap.

[00:12:05] So if you have to even have a separate, you can call it a splurge account or a safety account just there for any moments that kind of you feel overwhelmed or like it may cause you to derail.

[00:12:19] Have that money where you pitch in maybe $5 a week, $5 every month.

[00:12:23] Just whatever you can.

[00:12:25] Pitch in a little bit to those accounts as like safety nets.

[00:12:28] Do you have an example of how that's, I guess, benefited you in your life?

[00:12:32] Is there like a time that comes to your mind where you needed that extra category?

[00:12:37] Yeah, I'm laughing because this actually happened to me recently where I have a business cushion money account where I've been pitching into as I've been with my different businesses and my freelance work.

[00:12:50] And I was not paying attention.

[00:12:53] So I was a bad girl and I didn't complete my money date or my business side.

[00:12:57] I did it for my personal but not my business side.

[00:12:59] I realized that I didn't have as much money as I thought in my business account because I wasn't tracking it.

[00:13:05] So my next client payment wasn't coming in until another five days and I needed $30 to pay a subscription fee.

[00:13:13] So what I did was I had that business cushion money to pull from.

[00:13:17] So I wasn't panicking.

[00:13:18] I'm not like, I have to use a credit card for this.

[00:13:20] I don't have to pull from my personal account.

[00:13:22] I have my business cushion money account that I pulled that $30 from and it was taken care of.

[00:13:28] How do you think you would have reacted if you didn't have that cushion?

[00:13:30] Like I can hear the edge of stress that you were on.

[00:13:33] What would it have been like without that cushion in your budget?

[00:13:36] I probably would have been triggered.

[00:13:38] I think so.

[00:13:39] I probably would have went back to my old self of being like, you suck with money.

[00:13:43] You're horrible.

[00:13:44] Why didn't you do your money date?

[00:13:45] I probably would have went through this whole cycle of where I was before where I would get easily triggered and just beat myself up about it.

[00:13:54] And I would not be able to think logically like, it's okay, Kayla, you have money in your personal account.

[00:14:00] You can pull from there if you need be, or you can just figure something out until that next client payment comes in.

[00:14:06] I probably would have went full on panic and not be able to think logically is what I'm thinking.

[00:14:12] Yeah.

[00:14:13] So I hope everyone listening is thinking back to that most recent moment where they lost that logical thinking ability because of a surprise bill, a flat tire in your car, and you got to pay a quick repair bill.

[00:14:23] Things like that can all be what sets you over that point.

[00:14:26] And if you have that little bit of a cushion because of your budget, it's just so much simpler.

[00:14:30] So that's fantastic.

[00:14:31] But you mentioned in the beginning, budgeting can a little bit feel like dieting.

[00:14:35] So how do we avoid that diet cycle with our budgets when things aren't going quite right or we hit that point we need to use the cushion?

[00:14:42] How do we avoid just giving it all up and losing our progress?

[00:14:46] Yeah.

[00:14:46] So I think it comes back to knowing that you're human and that you probably are going to slip up.

[00:14:54] So like I said before, you can't be too harsh on yourself.

[00:14:58] Things happen.

[00:14:59] Life happens.

[00:15:00] So if you could have some type of guilt-free spending card or a guilt-free spending savings account or just something where that money is there for moments where you feel like you see a new dress and you want to go buy it or you want to take your coffee trips.

[00:15:16] Like I would never deprive myself of coffee trips.

[00:15:20] So I always make sure I have money put aside for that.

[00:15:23] And if we bring it back to dieting, I think the main problem is that if you cut everything out, you will eventually binge.

[00:15:33] And that's what causes people to give up because they start feeling negative about themselves.

[00:15:38] And just like that trigger cycle I was talking about where you start feeling like I can't do this.

[00:15:42] It's not working.

[00:15:43] You start telling yourself it's not working.

[00:15:45] I'm stupid.

[00:15:46] Just all these negative things.

[00:15:47] And at the end of the day, you have to realize that it's about progress and not perfection.

[00:15:53] So just feel free to give yourself that self-compassion and that grace.

[00:15:59] Just be mindful with the way that you're spending and keep moving forward.

[00:16:04] Yeah, I'm hearing it again.

[00:16:06] Take small steps.

[00:16:07] Do little things that you need to in order to begin progressing.

[00:16:10] If let's say someone's already been burnt once by cutting everything, they got their budget down to that bare bones point.

[00:16:17] And maybe it wasn't healthy for them to be that low.

[00:16:20] How do you kind of restart the engine if you've already been burnt by budgeting once?

[00:16:26] I think it would go back to going back to the basics.

[00:16:30] So let's start over, which that's totally okay.

[00:16:34] Starting over is fine.

[00:16:35] You don't have to give up because you've gotten this far and it's like, oh my God, I did this for two years.

[00:16:40] I fell off the wagon and now everything's horrible.

[00:16:42] It's okay to start over.

[00:16:44] And so if you have to go back to being as simple as just tracking where your money's coming from

[00:16:49] and then all of your expenses, where it's all going, go back to the basics and start over if you need to.

[00:16:56] It also helps, I think, to talk about it and figure out what went wrong.

[00:17:01] So what was your experience like during your budget journey and what happened to cause you to slip up?

[00:17:09] Fantastic.

[00:17:10] I love that.

[00:17:11] Yeah.

[00:17:11] Start back from square one, realize it's okay and just keep moving forward.

[00:17:16] Yeah, that was fantastic.

[00:17:18] So we crushed it.

[00:17:20] You did a fantastic job.

[00:17:21] That was a great conversation about budgeting.

[00:17:23] That was fun.

[00:17:23] I guarantee people learned a lot and I appreciate you sharing your experiences with your budget as well.

[00:17:28] But let's begin to wrap it up here.

[00:17:30] And of course, if you have any other thoughts that come to mind, feel free to share them.

[00:17:33] But how can people find you online?

[00:17:35] And then I do have one final question that I ask every guest.

[00:17:37] But first, where can people go to find you?

[00:17:40] Yeah.

[00:17:41] So right now I'm on Instagram and you can go to at Calm Money Collective, where I share tips on financial self-care pillars, budgeting for conscious women and men, and aligning your finances with your passions and your lifestyle.

[00:17:54] Then I'm also partnered with a budgeting app called My Budget Coach.

[00:17:58] So you could just go to mybudgetcoach.com and you can also find me there under Kayla Francis.

[00:18:04] Awesome.

[00:18:05] And then the last question that I ask every guest is if you were to go back in time, so to speak, you had the time machine and you could tell yourself something earlier.

[00:18:13] What is one thing you wish you had known sooner when it comes to money?

[00:18:17] Yeah, I love this question.

[00:18:19] Definitely that money is a tool.

[00:18:21] So I wish I had understood the importance of combining the practical with the spiritual and using money as a tool.

[00:18:30] So I was super into manifestation, bringing money into my life, loving up on money, but I was neglecting to actually take the tangible steps and looking at my numbers.

[00:18:41] But my numbers weren't where I wanted them to be at the time.

[00:18:43] So I was like, I'll just sit here, meditate, write in my journal.

[00:18:47] That does not work if that's all you're doing.

[00:18:49] You have to actually look at your numbers and set a budget and just all the things that come with it, set a goal, set goals, financial goals.

[00:18:57] Once I blended my spiritual practices with those tangible practices, it became a huge game changer just to have those systems.

[00:19:06] And I kind of mixed it all together.

[00:19:08] So I think just realizing that money is a tool, but you have to put more steps into it, more into it than just wishing for more money and hoping that it happens.

[00:19:18] Yeah, you got to not only wish for it and take the steps to make it happen and make money come into your life, but then you got to make sure it's being directed towards your goals.

[00:19:26] I love that.

[00:19:26] That's a fantastic place to leave it on.

[00:19:28] Kayla, thank you so much for joining.

[00:19:30] This has been a great conversation.

[00:19:32] Thank you for having me.

[00:19:33] It was fun.

[00:19:43] Thank you so much to Kayla for coming on today's episode and for that great interview.

[00:19:47] Let's dive headfirst into the money talking points today and get the money talks rolling.

[00:19:52] The first money talking point is how can you incorporate a money date into your week?

[00:19:56] Well, a great way to start out with this one is to set a specific time for you to sit down and look at your finances.

[00:20:00] There's a lot of great tools out there that you can connect your accounts to and that you can like overview your entire financial situation.

[00:20:09] But if you only have a few accounts, it's likely great that your credit union or bank will have a tool built into their mobile app or even on their website.

[00:20:16] So use that just to get started.

[00:20:18] Find a quick tool like personal capital or I think it's called empower now.

[00:20:22] Find a tool like that where you can connect all your accounts and get a quick overview of what you're looking at with your finances.

[00:20:27] It'll show you recent transactions, breakdowns by category, things like that.

[00:20:31] There are a lot of great tools out there, so be sure to use one.

[00:20:34] Set a specific time and stick to it.

[00:20:37] Clear everything else off your schedule.

[00:20:38] Make sure it's a time where you know you won't be pulled on by other things.

[00:20:42] Things a Sunday afternoon is a great time, very likely for you to sit down and have this money date.

[00:20:47] I'd recommend coming up with a few prompts or questions to ask yourself during this money date.

[00:20:52] Especially if it's your first one, these examples will be really helpful.

[00:20:55] First, how did this purchase make me feel?

[00:20:57] Think about it.

[00:20:58] Every single purchase you go through or if you're looking at a money date for the last week, think about your purchases.

[00:21:04] How did they truly make you feel?

[00:21:05] This is where a notepad and paper can come in handy because it can help you write down where you spent your money and how it made you feel.

[00:21:11] The second one is where did I spend my money over the last week?

[00:21:14] This is good to just know in general, but especially if you don't know where you're spending your money,

[00:21:19] connecting your accounts to these various tools is going to help a lot with just identifying where you're actually spending your money.

[00:21:25] And then you can tie question one and two together.

[00:21:28] How did this purchase make me feel?

[00:21:29] How did spending money at this specific location where I spent money last week make me feel?

[00:21:33] Those sort of things can be enlightening towards saying,

[00:21:36] yeah, I don't really like spending money at that store, so I'm just going to stop driving by there on my way home.

[00:21:41] I'm going to take a slightly different route or I'm just going to keep going and not turn.

[00:21:45] Maybe something as simple as maybe you're in a different lane now and you pass that place so you can't dart over and make that easy right hand turn into the gas station to pick up a coffee or a soda.

[00:21:54] The third prompt that I would recommend everyone ask themselves is,

[00:21:57] do I feel like my spending was on purpose or on accident?

[00:22:00] This one's going to unlock a lot of great insight for you.

[00:22:03] Was it on purpose?

[00:22:04] Did you actually spend money you meant to spend or was it on accident?

[00:22:08] Did you find yourself just suddenly spending a ton of money on soda or something specific during the last week?

[00:22:13] Was it on purpose?

[00:22:14] Did you mean to make those purchases?

[00:22:16] That is a great unlock to understanding how budgeting can be helpful for you.

[00:22:20] Where did you enjoy spending your money?

[00:22:22] Was there some transactions on the last week or last month, however you're doing this money date?

[00:22:26] Were there some transactions on there that you said, yeah, that was awesome.

[00:22:29] That was a fantastic way to spend money.

[00:22:32] That's a great way to set up your budget around something that you want to do and that you're looking forward to.

[00:22:36] So if you, let's say you did have a trip or you had some sort of recreational activity you did in the last week and you're like, that was awesome.

[00:22:42] I would love spending money more in that way.

[00:22:45] Well, there you go.

[00:22:46] There's a target or a goal to start budgeting towards.

[00:22:48] Maybe it wasn't super expensive, but each month you can set money aside to do that exact thing or something very similar so that you can find joy in your spending.

[00:22:56] And then the last prompt I want you to ask yourself is where did I do good with my money?

[00:23:00] And the reason I want this to be last is so you can focus on this one to give yourself some motivation before diving into budgeting.

[00:23:06] These prompts can be helpful when reviewing your spending so that you know how exactly you spent your money and give yourself some motivation here at the end with where did you do good with your money?

[00:23:15] Maybe you did really good not eating out a whole ton and you saved yourself a lot more money than you expected by not going out to eat.

[00:23:22] Give yourself a pat on the back.

[00:23:23] That is awesome.

[00:23:24] Now you can use that motivation to set a strict budget and say, I'm only going to spend $45 eating out this month because I know I can do it.

[00:23:31] I just did it recently.

[00:23:33] And that's some great prompts that I think you can go over to help you have a little bit of a better money date.

[00:23:39] But the next money talking point, well, it's how can you get to the point where you are in control with your money?

[00:23:45] Take baby small little steps.

[00:23:47] Don't buy any fancy apps or big notebooks or expensive courses.

[00:23:52] Start simple.

[00:23:53] Get a simple picture of where you want to be.

[00:23:55] Set some simple goals.

[00:23:57] Use that last question that I asked in your money date.

[00:23:59] Where did you do good with money?

[00:24:01] Use that as a simple picture to say, here is a goal I want to set.

[00:24:04] I don't know how to budget.

[00:24:05] I've never really done it before.

[00:24:07] Here's a simple goal to get started with.

[00:24:09] The other thing to be careful with is do not let tools be the reason you aren't able to gain control with your money.

[00:24:15] Don't feel like you have to figure out how to run these complex budgeting apps or that you have to figure out how to code an entire spreadsheet and a bunch of automations like I say I like to do.

[00:24:24] Don't let that be the thing that stops you from gaining control of your finances.

[00:24:28] Start simple.

[00:24:29] Take small steps.

[00:24:30] Whatever tool naturally pops into your mind to help you fix a problem you're facing, go with that one.

[00:24:34] And then figure it out from there.

[00:24:36] What is something you want in your life?

[00:24:38] And then how can financial control help you with that?

[00:24:40] A couple questions to ask yourself.

[00:24:42] What is something you want soon?

[00:24:43] What is something you want in the next year or two?

[00:24:46] How can financial control from budgeting or from just keeping track of your money and having regular money dates?

[00:24:52] How can that financial control help you gain that thing you want in your life?

[00:24:56] That's going to do it for the money talking points for today's episode.

[00:24:58] I hope you enjoyed that conversation.

[00:25:00] I hope you were able to take those points and talk with someone else.

[00:25:02] But let's wrap up this episode next.

[00:25:14] Thank you to everyone for listening.

[00:25:15] And thank you to Kayla Francis for coming on today's episode.

[00:25:18] To wrap it up, make sure you're getting started with budgeting to get in control of your money.

[00:25:22] If you really hate budgeting and this has been like a terrible, terrifying episode for you,

[00:25:27] well, listen to my recent episode about the anti-budget with Julia Carlson.

[00:25:31] The idea is just to get control over your money.

[00:25:33] However you do that, the real point is to make sure you have control so you can start to move towards the goals you want to hit.

[00:25:40] Control and budgeting can open up opportunities for you and really expand what you can actually do with your money.

[00:25:45] So set a money date, especially if you're married.

[00:25:48] If you're married, make sure you have money dates on the calendar.

[00:25:50] But if you're not married, consider a money buddy.

[00:25:53] Consider me.

[00:25:54] Reach out to me and say, hey, can we do a first money date together?

[00:25:58] Let's talk through my finances and maybe you can help me with answering some of those prompts.

[00:26:02] I'd love to sit in a conversation, which, of course, you can find at moneytalkwithschuylerfleming.com slash chat.

[00:26:08] And I really appreciate everyone listening.

[00:26:11] So be sure to share with a friend and have a money talk.

[00:26:13] If you're married, share this episode with your spouse to learn a little bit about how to start small and budgeting and then set a money date.

[00:26:19] And remember, there's that brand new link available in the show notes that will allow us to schedule a quick money talk.

[00:26:25] It's moneytalkwithschuylerfleming.com slash chat.

[00:26:28] Go click it, schedule a meeting, and let's have a money talk together.

[00:26:31] But thank you for listening to Money Talk with Schuyler Fleming.

[00:26:34] I'm your host, Schuyler Fleming.

[00:26:35] Have a great week.

[00:26:36] Thank you for listening to Money Talk with Schuyler Fleming.

[00:26:39] This show is provided for informational and entertainment purposes and may not be specific to your unique situation.

[00:26:45] Please be sure to do additional research before making any financial decisions.