It's that time again... open enrollment season and with it, a lot of decisions to make for the upcoming year. Today, we're going to go over how you can maximize your benefits, especially when it comes to health, dental, and disability insurance! Choosing Your Health Insurance, Dental, and Disability If there's one area of finances where families have a hard time -either they're not maximizing or they misunderstand it- it's open enrollment season. It's that time of year where HR sends you a packe...
Sep 29, 2021•20 min•Transcript available on Metacast How are you feeling about your progress this year with your financial goals? Are you frustrated because you're not hitting them as fast as you had hoped? Do you feel like managing money is a chore? Believe it or not, these problems are connected. Today, I'm going to break down and show you how to build a flexible financial system that will get you to your goals faster! Keeping Your Budget Flexible and Fun Recently I had a chat with rich Jones for the Paychecks and Balances Podcast . The theme of...
Sep 22, 2021•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast Are you frustrated with your debt and feel like you’re stuck in this rut? Today we’re going to see how you can negotiate your debts to lessen the stress and get you closer to your debt free goals! Paying Off Your Debts and Dealing with Debt Collectors Usually when people make money goals for the year, paying off debt is in the top three but many struggle to achieve that goal. Depending on where the pandemic caught you on your financial journey, you may have had an extra struggle. Perhaps a drop ...
Sep 15, 2021•16 min•Transcript available on Metacast Want more options and time to do more for the people and projects you love? Learn how to create a path to financial independence that is flexible and fun! Finding the Right Pace and Path to Financial Independence As a kid, one of my favorite kinds of books to read were those choose your own adventure stories. Do you remember those? No, it's pretty much began the same, but based on the choices you made you could go on so many different adventures. Some of them had dozens of different endings. You...
Sep 08, 2021•30 min•Transcript available on Metacast Can parents pursue financial independence with kids at home? Today we’ll go over the five biggest myths and show how to enjoy parenthood and FI! Are Financial Independence and Parenthood Compatible? Even before we were familiar with the term financial independence, we were intrigued about this idea of gaining flexibility and freedom. When we were first married, we had two immediate financial goals – getting rid of the car loan and building our emergency fund. Our car payment wasn’t a huge burden...
Jul 08, 2021•20 min•Transcript available on Metacast Expecting a raise or bonus soon? Learn how to make the most out of any extra money you have coming in! Couple's Guide to Optimizing Your Raise or Bonus Even though I do believe that diversifying your income is a smart money move, let's not ignore the most common one that most people have – your nine to five job. This is a steady paycheck for work that you hopefully enjoy. Besides the paycheck, things like benefits can be a huge plus for you. Depending on where you work, you could also receive bo...
Jun 30, 2021•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast Real estate investing can be a way to build up a passive income, but is it the right move for you? Learn about some of the different options you have and what you need to discuss before jumping in! Is Real Estate Investing Right for Us? We've been talking a lot this season about building and diversifying your income streams. Part of it is in reaction to the past year or so we’ve had. With some industries being hit hard with job losses and hours cut, having another source of income – even if not ...
Jun 23, 2021•31 min•Transcript available on Metacast It's June. The year is halfway over. Now is the perfect time to hit pause and do a midyear review to see how you're progressing with your goals and make sure that your accounts are moving in the right direction ! Why Financial Reviews Matter While we automate much of our finances, especially the tedious parts. It really does pay to have these times where you sit down. In review the numbers. And having a financial checkup mid year is a fantastic opportunity. Not just to look at your day to day ac...
Jun 16, 2021•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin doge coin, and Ethereum are a part of the mainstream conversation and in the news but should it be a part of your investment plan? We're going to decode the terminology and explore the tech so you can weigh whether or not it's the right option for you! Should We Invest in Cryptocurrency? We’re talking about a topic that’s been popping up all over - cryptocurrency. Just this year alone, BitCoin, Etherum, and others are on a roller coaster ride. Coinbase went public j...
Jun 09, 2021•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast Learn how you can protect your family’s finances and open up more opportunities by diversifying your income! Why You Need to Diversify Your Income Diversifying income is something every family should consider. It can not only give you a bigger safety net, but it does give you some more options no matter what stage you are in your financial journey. Here are a few scenarios where diversifying and increasing your income can be helpful. We're still not out of the woods when it comes to the financia...
Jun 02, 2021•31 min•Transcript available on Metacast We're all looking to reconnect and have fun this summer. Today, we're going to go over ways to enjoy family barbecues, give some ideas on great outdoor ventures you can go on, and offer tips on how to grow your savings this season! Make This a fun Summer of Savings For many families, summer is the season. Especially after the year we had in 2020, many of us are eager to embrace the warmer weather and be outside and go on vacation. As we mentioned last week, it's possible to have fun and still sa...
May 26, 2021•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast We’re all looking to get the best value, but how can you balance saving money, hitting your financial goals, while still having fun? Today we’ll go over how you can master the art of being frugal! Can Being Frugal Make You Rich? Whether you’re pursuing a debt-free path , financial freedom , or independence, there’s one skill that can help you hit your goal faster – being frugal. I’m not talking about being cheap. I’m talking about living a rich life without spending a ton of money. When I say fr...
May 19, 2021•36 min•Transcript available on Metacast With credit card fraud and identity theft happening more frequently, we all have to step up our game. Learn keys ways to protect your finances and identity! Fraud Protection I hope you never have to deal with identity theft, data breaches, or fraud but chances are you will. There were 4.8 million identity theft and fraud reports received by the FTC in 2020 , an increase of 45 percent from 2019. The Ascent from Motley Fool reported that credit card fraud was the most common type of identity theft...
May 12, 2021•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast Around 82% of Americans said their finances were affected by the pandemic and the fallout according to a recent Fidelity survey. If you’re planning on retiring in a few years, that can be a really scary thing. Today I want to share a resource that can help you get back on track with your retirement plan! The 5 Years Before You Retire: Retirement Planning When You Need It the Most How comfortable do you feel about your retirement? You’re not alone if you’re worried about it. 36% of Americans are ...
May 11, 2021•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast Many families are looking for getaway this year. We'll go over flexible, memorable, and affordable family vacation ideas! Planning a Family Vacation in 2021 How do you plan for a year where you don't know exactly what to expect? I think that's been the unofficial theme this season. We've been talking about how to create a budget that's flexible enough? How do you figure out your schedule? Now I'm hoping maybe a little cautiously optimistic, how do we plan some family fun, maybe some trips if pos...
May 05, 2021•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast Need a boost with your income? Learn how to find the best paying side hustles for you! Finding the Best Side Hustles That Pay Well Sometimes to hit your goal faster, you just have to earn extra money. Of course that’s not the only thing you’re doing. If you’ve taken my Free 5 Days to $5K course, then you know we look at three pillars when it comes to ‘finding’ money. First we optimize your budget, evaluating expenses to see if they are necessary or they bring you joy. Second, we uncover ways to ...
Mar 10, 2021•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast Getting ready to start house hunting? Get tips on how you find and buy a house you love that is still affordable! Are You Ready to Buy a House? Right now with the national median listing price in December was $340,000 , chances are buying a house – it’s typically the biggest purchase a family makes. Depending on where you live it can be a hot seller’s market, making it even more difficult to find a place that you love. That’s why it’s so important to go in prepared not financially, but with an u...
Mar 03, 2021•43 min•Transcript available on Metacast Thinking of selling your house? Today we’ll go over how to prepare your place so you can get the best price for it! What You Need to Know to Sell Your House for More Selling a house, especially when it is your first place, can be overwhelming. Even in a seller’s market like we have here in Raleigh, you have work to do. You have to fix up your space, stage your house, and have it ready for showings. Let’s not forget this added layer of social distancing and safety we need to practice while we dea...
Feb 24, 2021•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast Who doesn’t love a good DIY home project? But how do you take what you see online or on television and translate that into your home, especially when you are not naturally handy? Today, we’ll look at what you need to know to get started and build up your DIY skills! How to Get Started with Your DIY Home Projects Last week we were talking about being a frugal foodie, home brewing, and having a garden at your place. These are some of my favorite topics. I enjoy talking about how to save money and ...
Feb 17, 2021•20 min•Transcript available on Metacast Just because we’re at home doesn’t mean we can’t still be frugal foodies. Today, we’ll look at how you can jumpstart a garden and start making craft brews at home! Frugal Foodie at Home Frugal foodie is back! If you’re new to this series, it’s where we explore ways you can eat well without breaking the budget. For some though, when you hear frugal. It means cheap. I get it. Maybe, you know, someone who brags about getting the absolute lowest price on everything. Whether it’s good or bad. While y...
Feb 11, 2021•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast Tax season is here. How prepared are you? Today we’ll go over how to make filing your taxes easier and less stressful! How to Make Taxes Less Stressful Between the paperwork you need to track, tax terms that are dry, and the eye-opening nature of going through your finances for the year, taxes can understandably make you anxious. If you’re looking to optimize your finances, you have to get your taxes done right. Today, I want to give you a quick and easy guide on preparing for your taxes. In thi...
Feb 03, 2021•14 min•Transcript available on Metacast How can you plan and budget for a year when there are so many things up in the air? Today we’ll go over how the two of you can create a plan and budget so you can hit your goals while being flexible enough to switch gears if needed! How to Hit Your Money Goals During a Uncertain Year This first month of 2021 is just about wrapped up and already it's been an eventful year! A huge challenge we faced in 2020 and it looks like for a good part of this year, it's going to be creating plans when there'...
Jan 27, 2021•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast For many families, 2020 threw us for a loop. Today we’ll look at how you can revamp and build your budget so you can hit your financial goals faster! Revamping Your Budget I think it’s fair to say that last year did not go as any of us planned. I’m not going to recap the year – we were all there- but honestly, we had a lot curve balls thrown at us. Because we had to make so many changes with how we worked, did school, and more, our day to day routines changed and our budgets did as well. While I...
Jan 19, 2021•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dealing with debt can be a grind, especially if you have a ton of debt or if it is high interest. Today we’re going to see how the debt lasso method can speed things up with credit card debts and we’ll get tips on how to pay off over six figures of debt without sacrificing fun! Creating a Plan to Pay Off Your Debts One of the most popular goals families make when it comes to money is paying off their debts and with good reason. Even before the pandemic, debts were a considerable chunk of an aver...
Jan 12, 2021•37 min•Transcript available on Metacast Most parents have their hands full and too many times our finances, health, and homes don’t get the attention they should. We go over how you can reset your habits so you simplify your finances, home, and lives to enjoy some big wins this year! Reworking Your Habits For multiple reasons, 2020 was a challenging year. Even if you weren’t directly affected by the pandemic or managed to avoid the financial fallout of it, chances are you were impacted by what was happening. If you’re a parent, you ha...
Jan 05, 2021•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast Has 2020 thrown you off your FI course? Today we’re going to tackle how you can get back on and knock out a goal before the year is over! Knocking Out a Money Goal Before the Year Wraps Up I’m going to take a guess and say that 2020 has not gone the way you thought it would back at the beginning of the year. Looking at the first half of the season, you probably remember that we started off the year with some big purchases when we had to replace my husband’s car into we did a kitchen update. Now,...
Aug 26, 2020•15 min•Transcript available on Metacast Before they leave the house, how can you prepare your teen to be money savvy? Today we go over the five essential skills they need to know! Teaching Your Teen About Money and the Real World Last week, Kristia shared how she’s helping her girls become more savvy and thoughtful with money . We also go into how to start the conversations so your kid can begin to pick up crucial money habits and learn how to spend, save, and give wisely. Because even though money is not the most important thing, und...
Aug 18, 2020•16 min•Transcript available on Metacast How can you help your kids to be thoughtful and master money? We’ll go over key things they need to know about how to save, spend, and give! Teaching Your Kids About Money Teaching Your Kids About Money In a way, I feel like 2020 has kind of given everyone a sense of how time works with parents. On one hand, you look up at the calendar and are amazed at how quickly things have flown by. I mean it’s already August! And yet on a weekly level, there’s this rhythm that somehow makes you think things...
Aug 11, 2020•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast Should We Hire a Contractor or DIY This Home Project? If you had to rate yourself on a scale of 1-10 on how handy you are, what would it be? First off congrats if it’s a seven or higher. However, even if you’re more in the one to three range, chances are you had those moments and conversations about how cool it would be to tackle some projects. It could be as simple as a splash of paint, switching up the decor, okay sprucing up a room, or even tackling a renovation. Maybe it’s because you’re stu...
Aug 05, 2020•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast With the market not seeming to match what we see around us, how can we invest wisely? Today we’re digging into what mistakes to avoid and how to be a wise, effective, and efficient investor! How Not to Stress Out with Investing With so many things going on this year, it is understandable to wonder if right now is a good time to invest. Back in March, with things shutting down around the country and parts of the world, the S&P dropped more than 30% . While it’s climbing back up, it’s not been a s...
Jul 28, 2020•16 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
