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The Fiscal Fitness podcast is about money, saving, budgeting and debt from experienced financial coaches.
Episodes
Friday Jan 24, 2020
Friday Jan 24, 2020
It’s one of our favorite times of the month! It is time for the FC Beat.
That’s the Financial Coaches Beat, in case you didn’t know, where Kelsa and Jill are giving you the inside scoop on what’s happening, all things in the Fiscal Fitness world.
And of course our favorite part which is tooting the horns of our amazing clients, sharing the great work that they are doing and celebrating their accomplishments.
You’ve got to tune in for this one!
Monday Jan 27, 2020
Monday Jan 27, 2020
Oftentimes the initial thought when we learn we are getting a return is that it’s time to celebrate!
We want to do something big with it - like book the vacation we’ve want to go on, make the big purchase we’ve been putting off, do some home renovations, or even pay off debt - unfortunately, even though these are done with the thought that this is all “extra money” to do it with, we can often regret our choices when a whammy hits us on the back side. In this episode, Coach Jill gives you a few things to think about to make sure you are using your tax return in the best way possible.
Reminders of what to consider with your return:
- Resist temptation to do something “fun” with all of the refund. Think about using the 10/90% rule.
- First ask yourself what your initial plans with this money is - get clear on the various options.
- Consider whether a whammy, or a large unexpected expense, will derail this plan.
- Evaluate your current emergency fund and make sure you have a minimum of $1,000 saved for a true emergency.
- Consider any debt you may have and identify the order in which you will tackle them.
- Finally, you should consider what are the three most important things in your life. Make sure this extra money is truly going towards the things in your life that will give you the most fulfillment and make life most meaningful.
Related links:
Friday Feb 21, 2020
Friday Feb 21, 2020
It’s one of our favorite times of the year! It is time to chat about the New Year Money 21-Day Challenge.
The 21 Day Challenges are designed to help participants with saving money, gaining clarity, having fun, making progress, fine-tuning expenses and gaining insights surrounding their finances. The best part is the potential to even WIN money!
And of course our favorite part which is tooting the horns of our amazing participants and having them share the great work and celebrating their accomplishments along the way.
You’ve got to tune in for this one!
Wednesday Feb 26, 2020
Wednesday Feb 26, 2020
What are 5 quick activities you can do that will make an impact on your finances?
We get asked all the time “what are some things I can do to quickly make an impact”, so we’ve put together 5 things you can do right now to start to see a quick improvement in your finances! You don’t have to do all 5, pick one or two that make sense to try and give them a whirl. Of course, bonus points if you do them all!
Some takeaways from this episode:
- Try a spending elimination diet
- Get locked in on your day to day spending
- Plan your meals and groceries
- Organize your debt payoff plan
- Get help from a financial coach (Book your Eureka session!)
Resources/Related Topics:
Sunday Mar 08, 2020
Sunday Mar 08, 2020
Thinking about buying a house? Listen to what mortgage lender Jeff Quincey shares with Jill.
Coach Jill interviews mortgage lender Jeff Quincey of Fairway Independent Mortgage and they give you the scoop on everything you need to know about mortgages, refinancing and what to expect in the process.
This podcast is the perfect prep for our 4-week “Home Buyers” course that is about to kick off on Monday March 23rd, 2020 (postponed and new dates TBD). This live & interactive course is led by our own financial coaching experts Jill Emanuel and Kelsa Dickey. This course will help you feel more well-prepared and confident as you make the big decision to buy a home, which may very well be the single largest purchase of your lifetime. It only makes sense to invest a bit of time, effort and money to learn how to ensure your home is a blessing and not a curse!
Click THIS LINK to find out more and get enrolled!. The Home Buyers mini course is postponed and new dates TBD.
Episode notes:
- Jeff tells us what you need to know in order to qualify for a loan, do’s and don’t, how much you need for a down payment, where your credit score needs to be….and so much more!
- We talk refinancing - when does it make sense and when doesn’t it? What are some of the key things you need to evaluate to ensure you are making a smart decision?
- Hear some examples of past clients and the mistakes and successes that they experienced through the lending process!
We answered some questions from our Facebook Community!
- Janelle Asks: When should a mortgage be refinanced? At what rate difference is it “worth it” after all of the fees are added in?
- Matt Asks: Dave Ramsey says you don’t need a credit score to buy a house. Is this true? Can someone who has no credit history actually get a loan?
- Amy Asks: How does one go about refinancing in order to pull cash out for a home remodel/renovation? Can you elaborate on this? How much equity needs to be in the home to do a cash out, etc?
- Barbie Asks: Is it worth it to refinance a 15 year mortgage to another 15 year mortgage if the interest rate has dropped 1%? Not to add any more debt, but to lower the payment? (currently 14 years remaining)
- Ian Asks: What type of help can a first time home buyer get? And how do you know when you’re buying too much house for your budget?
Resources/ links related to topic/ mentioned in podcast:
- Monitor your credit score for free using Credit Karma at https://www.creditkarma.com/
- Pull your FREE credit report at https://www.annualcreditreport.com/index.action
- Looking for a great lender? Connect with Jeff here: https://www.jeffquincey.com/
- Join the Fiscal Fitness Facebook Community! It’s the place you want to be to ask questions, get answers and connect to a community of like minded financial rockstars!
Register for the Fiscal Fitness Home Buyers’ course!Click here to find details!The Home Buyer mini course is postponed and new dates TBD.
Tuesday Mar 24, 2020
Tuesday Mar 24, 2020
You can be really disciplined and still fall for temptations so today we’ll be covering 3 steps to conquering temptations once and for all.
Kelsa will be covering:
- How to identify when triggers happen for you - this awareness is key!
- Then Kelsa will discuss 13 ways you can reduce the chance of temptations tripping you up and essentially ways to prevent facing temptations to begin with. And then...
- How to have a backup plan of free activities so that when temptation strikes, you are prepared!
CLICK HERE to receive the 50 Free Activities handout!
Notes from episode:
- Identify your spending triggers that are pulling you off track
- Pick 2-3 changes you can make right away to curb your temptations
- Pick a minimum of 5 free activities you can do instead of spending money
Resources/ links related to topic/ mentioned in podcast:
- The Fiscal Fitness Podcast Episode 76 - Top 3 "No Brainer" Ways to Save Money Shopping Online
- The Fiscal Fitness Podcast Episode 50 - Cognitive Biases and How They Affect our Spending (Part 1)
- The Fiscal Fitness Podcast Episode 56 - Cognitive Biases and How They Affect our Spending (Part 4)
- The Fiscal Fitness Podcast Episode 43 - Hiring a Financial Coach is an Investment in Yourself
- The Fiscal Fitness Podcast Episode 72 - The 7 Things You've Already Tried That Simply Are NOT Working
- Spending Triggers: Why They Happen and How to Identify Yours
- Never Feel Buyer's Remorse Again
Wednesday Mar 25, 2020
Wednesday Mar 25, 2020
When there is so much uncertainty and things feel out of our control, it’s very easy to get sucked up in the worry and feel as if everything is “on hold” until this all blows over.
In this episode, Coach Jill talks about how important it is to keep morale high while living through this very uncertain time. We have the opportunity to choose or DECIDE what we really want to get out of this time, so let’s choose to make it a time that we can be proud of.
Notes from episode/ summary of major points/ etc:
- Ask yourself: “What would make me really proud to say I did during the Covid-19 quarantine?”
- Our level of productivity will translate to our mental health. Take care of yourself by finding a way to be productive.
- Declutter, find a fitness or nutrition challenge to participate in, learn something new, put your spending in check with a financial challenge, volunteer or donate your time, money or talents. All of these things will help you to feel productive and proud of yourself at the end of this.
Resources/ links related to topic/ mentioned in podcast:
- 30 Day Declutter Challenge: https://www.yourmodernfamily.com/decluttering-challenge/
- Peloton app at home workouts - FREE for 30 days: https://www.onepeloton.com/app
- The Betty Rocker FREE 30 day challenge: https://makefatcrychallenge.com/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMImcTf_M6x6AIVBdVkCh3TKAl2EAAYASAAEgIYsPD_BwE
- Improve your diet with the Whole30 Challenge: https://whole30.com/
- Article and links to cloth face mask patterns: https://www.forbes.com/sites/tjmccue/2020/03/20/calling-all-people-who-sew-and-make-you-can-help-solve-2020-n95-type-mask-shortage/#4696633f4e41
Tuesday Apr 07, 2020
Tuesday Apr 07, 2020
What are some simple activities that you can do that can have a quick yet significant impact on your budget?
Kelsa is going to share 5 of those actions!
Notes from episode:
- 5 Quick money-saving and confidence-boosting actions you can take today
- Why these things are more impactful than they seem on the surface
5 actions:
- Review your pay stub
- Is there anything you’re paying for that is optional that you’re not using?
- Is there anything you’re paying for that you can take advantage of - such as an Accident policy or Aflac type. Or a prepaid legal service where you can get a free will for you and your family?
- Does your pay look correct?
- Call to get a CC interest rate lowered
- Call in the morning when customer call reps haven’t been answering the phone all day and getting yelled at by cranky customers all day
- Use first names, thank them for their help
- The first couple times, you might hear no. Thank them for their consideration and hang up.
- Wait a week or a few days and keep calling back.
- Tell them you’re loyal and you are hoping they can work with you. You don’t want to have to transfer the balance elsewhere and you’re looking to see what they can do.
- Even if they say it’s temporary - such as we can lower it for 6 months, take it. Every little bit helps.
- Review your bank and credit card activity - NOT doing this can really bog us down mentally.
- We worry and question about what might be happening or clearing that we're not aware of. We start to think "Gosh, I'm sure I'm blowing money but I just don't have time to get organized." And these thoughts to lead us to feeling bad with money and the trickle affect can be damaging.
- So block off the time NOW to review all activity for the past 3 months on your credit cards and bank statements and even if you don't find anything wrong or that you can cancel, I promise that will be so reassuring and will be a huge boost to your financial confidence.
- Are you paying bank fees and you can avoid that by jumping through a hoop or two?
- Cancel a subscription you aren't using
- You can ALWAYS add it back later and chances are, they’ll even discount it substantially for getting you back.
- Make a list of free activities you would enjoy doing
- And don’t just make a list but do any research too. The idea is that if you’re tempted to spend money, you want these things to be as easy as possible to do. No burden of figuring out where to park or what the address is, etc. Planning ahead is the trick.
- List of 50 Free activities can be downloaded by clicking here: fiscalfitnessphx.com/episode82
Resources/links related to topic:
- List of 50 Free activities can be downloaded by visiting this link: https://fiscalfitnessphx.com/episode82/
Thursday Apr 16, 2020
Thursday Apr 16, 2020
It’s one of our favorite times of the month! It is time for the FC Beat.
That’s the Financial Coaches Beat, in case you didn’t know, where Kelsa and Jill are giving you the inside scoop on what’s happening, all things in the Fiscal Fitness world.
And of course our favorite part which is tooting the horns of our amazing clients, sharing the great work that they are doing and celebrating their accomplishments.
You’ve got to tune in for this one!
Related Links:
- The Fiscal Fitness Podcast Special Episode: Keeping Morale Up During Covid-19. https://fiscalfitnessphx.com/covid-19/
- Why It's Important to Know Your Net Worth and Savings Rate. https://fiscalfitnessphx.com/why-its-important-to-know-your-net-worth-and-savings-rate/
- Learn more about our Eureka Session! https://fiscalfitnessphx.com/services/individuals/
Friday Apr 17, 2020
Friday Apr 17, 2020
We were in a total funk for meals and found ourselves spending way too much on both groceries AND eating out! Here’s how we fixed it!
Notes from episode/ summary of major points/ etc:
- What being in a rut with food spending can look like
- Various strategies for getting a handle on your food spending
- One out-of-the-book solution you may want to consider
Additional tips/ strategies/ other things to consider/ etc:
- This wasn’t always a problem - it just sort of becomes a problem suddenly. In fact, we used to be really good at cooking, eating at home, etc.
- Practical tips for meal prepping and planning
Resources/ links related to topic/ mentioned in podcast:
- Episode 49 - Financial New Year's Resolutions Super Episode
- Episode 24 - Meal Prepping w/ Dr Mike Simon
- Korean Sloppy Joes recipe: https://whatgreatgrandmaate.com/paleo-whole30-korean-sloppy-joes/