9: From Hating Math to Budget Nerd

From Hating Math to Budget Nerd - Audio

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Lindsey: [: 00:00:00

Speaker: Welcome to the Money Clarity Podcast. I'm your host, Lindsey Ciarrocca. I'm a YNAB certified coach and a certified money coach. And I am here to help you stop feeling stressed about money. Together we'll get your finances organized so that you can finally feel confident about not only spending and saving, but using your money as a tool to go after your biggest, wildest dreams.

Let's dive into today's episode.

Lindsey: like I mentioned in the intro, I hated math in school.

se I just didn't understand. [: 00:01:00

and I graduated to college in: 2008

eight years and worked a lot [: 00:02:00

pany at the time. This was in: 2015

We looked at her bank account, looked at her transactions, went over things line by line. I just showed her a couple things, was like, Hey, if you take this extra money that you're making from your second job, you could take that. Put it towards your car loan and you could have that paid off before you go to grad school in a year.

mment towards the end of the [: 00:03:00

Didn't know what I wanted to do with my life, but had always heard that phrase, do what you love, you'll never work it in your life. So I was like, okay. If that was my immediate thought when she said, I'm so sorry to make you work. I need to pay attention to this. I need to investigate this a little bit more.

because like I said, this was: 2015

I think it was that like later the next week to see if I wanted to do anything with that account. And I was like, no, but can we meet and have a coffee and can I ask you about this industry? So I did. And like I said, I met with a bunch of other advisors on, on LinkedIn. I connected with them, just send them cold messages and said, Hey, I'm looking to get into this industry.

t early November timeframe of: 2015

th,: 2016

Started working at my first firm. Like I said, I was full licensed financial advisor doing investment planning, retirement planning, all of those long-term pieces. But I kept coming back to the budgeting piece. People kept coming to me for help. People kept knowing somehow that I enjoyed budgeting and that I could help them, and I wanted to do more of it because that was what I really enjoyed doing.

lso during this time in early: 2017

Have basically been together ever since. So we started talking, we started dating, we started talking about work all the time, and spreadsheets and numbers and investments, and all of my friends were like, oh my goodness, you guys are perfect for each other because you're nerding out over spreadsheets.

So anyway, I knew I was gonna leave, be leaving my first firm that I was with at this point, and I was looking for somewhere else to go. And I did take a couple months to do some research. Interviewed with it. A couple different places, but again, this could be a super long story, but I'm trying to keep it fairly condensed for you.

he was at. This was August of: 2017

A couple months later, by this point, we knew we like this was it for us, me and him. We were probably gonna get married and we had this realization of we are working together, towards separate goals. Why don't we work together towards the same goals? So we decided to completely merge our businesses.

er. That was the beginning of: 2018

lping clients with it, but I [: 00:08:00

d. I started that business in: 2020

So how did you grow up with money? What are your beliefs around money? What are your habits around money today? And how does all of that affect how you deal with money now?

e of how to actually budget. [: 00:09:00

So I started trying to learn YNAB, and I will admit it was hard. It was difficult. There was a learning curve, but obviously I was a little more motivated than most people, so I. Watched all the videos, I took the classes, I poured my way through it to try to figure it out. And lemme tell you, it's a total game changer, but it's a budgeting tool, right?

it was simply a software, so [: 00:10:00

but if you don't understand why you have the habits that you do, you're not going to make changes. Or at least not lasting changes. So what I decided to do was take the best of both worlds. I took pieces of the certified money coaching program and I combined it with how to use YNAB as your budgeting tool.

And that has, is what has really made the difference. That is what I take my clients through. On a regular basis. But that's just really the short story of how I got to be this budget nerd. Like I just totally fell in love with YNAB, it totally happened by chance, you know, like I said, , I have a degree in graphic design.

I [: 00:11:00

Everything else had always been a job for now. Like maybe I'll be here in six months, maybe a year, but it's something I'm doing for now. It's not my long-term plan. But like I said, I'd been in the industry a month and I was like, this is it. This is what I love to do because it is so incredibly powerful to help people take control of their money.

rds their goals, that's just [: 00:12:00

And my hope here is that by sharing all of this, obviously that you've gotten a little bit of a better understanding of how I came to be this budget nerd. But I also hope that it gives you a little bit of inspiration. To show you that you don't have to be great with numbers or love math to be able to take control of your money because math still is different than money.

t on not only yourself. With [: 00:13:00

That's what lights me up. So like I said, you don't have to love numbers either. Maybe by being in my world, it'll rub off on you just a little bit enough to get you to where you you're going. But what you really need is the motivation. To get to a different place

and just by being here, you are already taking steps to get there. So congratulate yourself for that. Celebrate that little win. I'm all about celebrating the wins, and if you'd like a little bit more support, I would love to have you inside of my new membership, the Empowered Money Circle. This is a supportive space to.

ally feel confident managing [: 00:14:00

Thanks so much for listening to this little bit of a different rambling episode today. I hope you enjoyed it and got a little inspiration that maybe you can do this because I believe you can just by being here, you're already on the right path. As always, remember, your biggest, wildest dreams are within reach.

So let's go make some money moves so that you too can start to experience financial freedom.

urces both free and paid, at [: 00:15:00

You can also find that link in the show notes, and if you're enjoying the podcast, please leave a rating and review. It really helps the show reach more people just like you. I'll talk to you next time.