Ask …. And You Shall Receive …. Answers to Your Questions

Ask

I get questions from people periodically. I thought there might be others that have these same questions. So, I wanted to share some of the questions, along with my responses, in my blog.

I hope you enjoy reading these.


Q: What’s the difference between money and finances?

Finances refers to the management of money, while money is the exchange mechanism itself. When I talk about money mindset with my clients, we talk about their mindset around making money, having money and their relationship with money. You can know everything there is to know about managing your money wisely, but knowledge is just one small piece of the puzzle. Just like we can know what it means to eat right and maintain healthy habits, but implementing that behavior is important. It’s really the same with money behaviors.

Q: How can I get it all?

The first step to having it all is knowing what it means to you to have it all. List the top five things you value in your life. Is it meaningful work? Is it a flexible work schedule? Is it freedom to be your own boss? Is it family and friend connections? Is it geographical location?

Once you understand what it means to you to have it all, determine why you value each one. Next determine what is stopping you from having each thing on your list. What do you have control over? What would need to happen to have that in your life? Determine what is the next thing you would need to do in each area to move closer to having that. Take tiny steps each day, each week, each month and keep evaluating the next step that would move you closer. Keep taking action until you get there.

Q: What is it my soul is really wanting?

Take some time in a quiet space to answer these questions:

  • What is it that I really want most?
  • Why do I want that most? What will it give me?
  • When I have this, what will my life be like?
  • When I have this, what will I be thinking, feeling, and doing?
  • How will this be the same? In what ways will things be different?
  • Why don’t I have this now? What are the obstacles I have faced that have prevented me from understanding what my soul really wants?
  • What conflicts exist between what I truly want and what I think is possible for me? Why?

Q: Why is running a business so hard?

Running a business can be hard when we don’t manage our minds around the challenges we face in building a new business.

What we can do frequently is to check in and notice, without judgment, what we are thinking, feeling and doing around our business.

  • What feels hard?
  • Why does it feel hard?
  • What would working in my business be like if I didn’t judge anything as “hard”?
  • What would I be doing? Why would I be doing it?
  • What do I want to accomplish through my business?
  • Am I willing to do hard things in order to accomplish it?
  • What could I do that would make it easier and more fun to work in my business?

When I check in with myself periodically and examine what is making it hard, frequently I find that it’s all within my control. When I take away my judgment, that alone will make things feel easier.

Q: How should I target paying off student loans?

Your strategy for paying off student loans really depends on your goals. When you make decisions about your financial and lifestyle goals, it will give you a filter for all your financial decisions. You can use this filter to design your personal approach to paying off debt.

  • What income can you devote to paying off the debt?
  • What is your timeline? Why?
  • What’s your compelling reason? Is it to avoid interest, to have more financial freedom, to save for your future, to have more flexibility and fun in your budget? Understand your motivation.
  • Is the need for this stronger than the need to spend money on what you currently spend it on?
  • Are there additional sources of income that you can tap into, even if temporarily, to build some momentum in paying off one or more of the smallest debts?

List your debts by balance from smallest to largest.

Determine the quickest way you can get the smallest debts paid off. Is there something you can do without for a couple months?

Is there additional income you can generate for a few months?

Is there anything you can sell to get a jumpstart? If you have any savings, could you use that to pay off the first one and build momentum?

Q: What are the best budgeting strategies?

The best budgeting strategy is one that you will actually use.

Budgeting decisions are very personal. I recommend that you first establish what they value most in their life. What are your non-negotiables? Things that you don’t want to give up? Why don’t you want to give them up? Do they match the person you want to become and the life you ultimately want to live? Why or why not?

Often, we don’t budget because we think that budgeting is about what we “should” do, which feels very restrictive. Budgeting is really about being more intentional. We don’t set out with the intention to go into debt, which might be precisely why so many do end up living beyond their means.

Most of us aren’t taught how to budget. There are lots of great resources out there for budgeting (check out DaveRamsey.com or Google “Zero based budgeting”). There are many apps you can use, some of which are free. Budgeting doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact, the more complicated you make it, the less likely you are to stick to it.

Get with someone that wants to budget and do budgeting together. This can be a spouse, significant other, a parent, sibling or friend. Set aside 30 minutes each week to check in with your budget and expense tracking. Instead of asking yourself what did I spend in the past, ask yourself what do I want to spend on this category? Tip: Don’t set your sights on perfect. Set your sights on intentional. Just like with a diet, you won’t always get it right. The goal is to become consistent with trusting yourself and doing what you say you will do. Don’t judge yourself. Instead ask yourself – how do I want to handle that going forward?


I loved answering these questions. I love getting your questions. If you have a question to submit, please send it to me at help@jillwrightcoaching.com and I will answer them in a future blog.

#JillTheMoneyCoach #MADEforMore

Are you prepared to fund a dream?

I want you to imagine the dreams you have for your family.

Are there dreams that God has put on your heart?

Does your son or daughter have a dream that is developing in them right now?

We have been at the Little League World Series this week. It made me think of all the kids that must have dreamed of being here in South Williamsport, PA during this two weeks of tournament games leading up to the Championship game on Sunday, August 25.

Imagine that your son or daughter had the opportunity to go to the Little League World Series. What would it cost? Would you be able to afford to take the time off work? What would you do? How would you pay for the travel? Would you take the whole family to support the one that was fortunate enough to qualify for such an experience?

When I was 11 or 12 years old, if I had the opportunity for such an amazing experience, my family would not have been able to afford for me to go, let alone the rest of the family. I can only imagine what it would have been like to have worked so hard to get good enough to do that only to learn that it wasn’t possible, at least not for me.

I recently listened to a podcast where the host talked about having the opportunity to ski on an Olympic team, only to learn that he couldn’t take advantage of the opportunity because his family couldn’t afford it. I can only imagine how devastating that might be — to work hard at something you’re so passionate about and to become successful, so successful that you are invited to compete on a world stage, then to have to say goodbye to that opportunity.

What we don’t realize is that some of us say goodbye to opportunities every day. There are all kinds of opportunities every day that we might come across that, for various reasons, we say no to. I can think of a number of opportunities that have come my way throughout my life that I said no to. I remember the regret that my mom felt about not going to college. You can probably think of opportunities in your life that you passed on.

If your son or daughter have an amazing opportunity, whether it’s the Little League World Series, the Olympics, or even just higher education, are you financially prepared to give them an unconditional yes? Are you in a position to be able to take advantage of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity or to help one of your children take advantage of this type of opportunity?

What would you do right now if an opportunity like this came along? How would you respond?  What can you do right now to be better prepared for an opportunity like this? As you read this you might be thinking to yourself that you don’t have anything on the horizon that you need to be prepared for. How do you know that for sure? We don’t always have advance notice of these types of opportunities. Imagine how you might feel if an amazing opportunity for you or your kids came up and you weren’t prepared to say yes? What would that mean to you and your family?

I have a friend that started out as a client when I was first getting certified. She wasn’t planning for any opportunities. She’s in her 60’s, she’s divorced, her kids are grown, she doesn’t have a lot of family. When I started coaching her, she would probably have told me that she didn’t need to plan for anything like that.

She didn’t have an opportunity, but she did have a few things come up that she definitely didn’t expect. One of them was a problem with her home. It resulted in some major renovations. Some of the cost was covered by insurance, but some of the cost had to come out of savings, savings she had earmarked for retirement. 

Then she had a health scare. She found a lump in her breast. She had a biopsy that turned out to be negative, but had it been positive, she would have had to take off an extended amount of time from work for her recovery. She was not financially prepared for this.

So, things come up — opportunities to experience freedom. Do you want to feel the peace of knowing that you can handle it? Do you want to feel confident in your ability to handle whatever comes up in your life?

It is possible. You can handle it. How do I know? Because every single one of my clients has been significantly more capable than they ever gave themselves credit for. I have been significantly more capable than I ever gave myself credit for. What if you’re significantly more capable of what you’re giving yourself credit for? What could you be missing out on?

I want you to be in a position to respond to your financial situation with confidence. I want you to feel freedom in making financial decisions, taking advantage of opportunities that come up. I want you to feel peace responding to challenges in your life. What do you want?

You can learn How to Take Control of Your Finances by downloading my free checklist here: https://jillwrightcoaching.com/takecontrol/