Where were you ten years ago? Where will you be ten years from now?

In the pastor’s message a few Sundays ago, he asked the question “If you could go back to any age, what would it be?”

I answered 32. My friend asked why I chose 32. I had to really think about how to answer her. It really was just the first thing that came to my mind in that split second.

When I thought about it, though, that was about the point that my life took a pretty significant turn for the better.

I had struggled for three or four years before that through a very tough season in my life that included surgery, a car wreck, a divorce, a break up and mountains of debt and poor choices (at least it felt like mountains). Age 32 was when I “came to” and started turning it all around. I landed a job with a significant increase in pay in a really nice city with a lot of promise. I started becoming myself again after wandering aimlessly for a few years “trying to find myself”.

After that, it was not all positive, it wasn’t all rainbows and daisies, but I definitely moved the financial needle over the next several years, in partnership with my current husband.

I don’t know that I would go back to that age, because I really like my life right now. But if I had to go back, I think it would be around that age. There are some money decisions I would do differently, assuming that I could do them differently. I would have to know what I know now in order to do that.

A lot like most of my clients, at that time I wished I was further along. The thing is, we’re always exactly where we are. Instead of focusing on how I should be further along, I could be figuring out the next step, which would make sure that I’m progressing. If I’m always thinking I should be further along, I never actually get where I want to be.

So stop looking back — in other words, stop thinking you should be further along. Instead look ahead — focus on where you want to be and keep figuring out the next step to get there.

Take the example of paying off debt, which is a goal that many of my clients have. If you want to pay off debt, the first step is to figure out what debts you have. Do that first step first. Stay focused on it until it’s done.

Figure out the next step. When you know what debts you have, pick the smallest debt and stay focused on getting that to $0.00 — keep visualizing that statement with that $0.00 balance until you get that statement with that $0.00 in the mailbox.

Then work on the next smallest debt and do this until you have all $0.00 balances. When you focus on the $0.00 balance, you get closer to having that $0.00 balance. Stay focused on the $0.00 balance – the balance you want – instead of focusing on the balance you have. When you focus only on the balance you have, you keep getting that balance.

I promise if you focus on creating a $0.00 balance, that is exactly what you will get. That’s exactly what your brain will create.

Decide what you want more of and then decide to focus on that. Stay laser focused on exactly what you want. Visualize what it will be like when you have it. Imagine what it will feel like when you have it. Do this every day.

Imagine yourself 10 years from now. What do you want to be thinking, feeling, doing?
If someone asks you what age you want to go back to, what will you tell them?

If you want more help making what you want inevitable, book a free 45 minute call with me and I’ll show you how you can do this.
http://jillwrightcoaching.com/work-with-me/

#FocusOnMore #HaveMore #JillTheMoneyCoach #ChristianMoneyCoach #MoneyAndLife

Is Your Financial Health an Indicator of Your Emotional Health?

The way I use my money is an indicator of my emotional health. My bank accounts reveal everything that needs to be said about my goals, priorities, convictions, relationships, and even the way I use my time.

When you look at your accounts — your checking account, your savings accounts, your debt, your credit card statements, your investment accounts, your emergency fund, your sinking funds, your estate plan, your insurance policies — all the indicators of financial health, you also see indicators of your emotional health.

You see what you’re currently valuing in your life.

You see opportunities …. opportunities to make conscious decisions about what you want to value in your life.

If any of these feel out of control, if they feel somewhat chaotic, you probably notice that your financial health isn’t what you would like. And if your financial health isn’t where you would like it to be, my guess is that your spiritual health and your emotional health is also not where you would like it to be.

What is the connection? What we value is what we spend time on. What we value is what we spend money on. So if you’re not where you want to be spiritually, emotionally and financially, it’s because somewhere along the way your time and your money got out of alignment with what you truly value or what you truly want to value in your life.

Imagine if you’re not valuing your emotional health, if you’re not valuing your physical health, if you’re not valuing your financial health, you’re probably not focusing on those things. Because you’re not focusing on those things, you may even be avoiding those things, you’re not going to get where you want to go.

Have you ever been driving somewhere and gotten caught up in your head, distracted by something that’s troubling you or daydreaming and all of a sudden you realize that you’ve missed your exit or are headed in a completely different direction from where you need to be to get where you really wanted to go?

Sometimes in our lives, we do the same thing. We say we want to become financially healthy, we want to build wealth for our retirement or we want to buy a home or we want to pay off debt, but then we don’t focus on that. Instead, we focus on how much of a mess we think we are, or how hard we think it is to achieve what we want, we lose track of where we’re going.

If this is you, you can just do a hard reboot. You can shut down your computer (your brain, your mindset) and reboot it at the beginning of the path you want to take. Then you can check in with yourself every day. What do I want? Why do I want that? What is one thing I can do today to keep moving in that direction?

The other thing you can do is decide on purpose what you truly value. Then focus on those things every day. If you miss the mark one day, don’t make that mean anything about you. Instead, just notice what worked and what didn’t. Life is just one big experiment. There is no owners manual for our life. We just have to experiment and adjust, experiment and adjust.

The goal is not to be perfect. The goal is to get where you want to go. And where you want to go is unique to you, so no one can truly tell you how to get there. And that’s okay, because you were designed with what you need to fuel YOUR journey. And when you stay focused on YOUR journey, you will have the answers precisely when you need them.

The best thing you can do is start to tune into what you’re thinking and what you’re feeling and how that’s driving what you’re doing with your time and money and other resources. Do this every single day – it only takes a few minutes of your time. Do it as soon as you wake up in the morning. This will tell you what you need to adjust.

I would love to teach you more about this. And what’s great is that it won’t cost you anything but less than an hour of your time.

Let me give you some insight into what you’re thinking and how that’s keeping you stuck in the same old patterns of emotional and financial decisions. Book a free coaching session here: http://jillwrightcoaching.com/work-with-me/

We’ll talk about what you’re currently struggling with. I’ll show you why you’re struggling and give you some things you can try on your own. You could just need me to help you see a few small things you can change to be living your best life. Whatever you need, I know I can help. I’ve never done one of my free coaching calls that didn’t help.

#LiveYourBestLife #YourMillionDollarLife #JillTheMoneyCoach #ChristianMoneyCoach #RebootYourLife #ReconnectToYourBestLife

What is your money goal?

My mission is to help women stop the guilt and shame of overspending, change their money mindset and become millionaires that operate in integrity with their own Christian belief system. I want to help them see that they can have wealth that doesn’t feel bad.

What is overspending? How do you know that you overspend?

The definition of overspending, according to Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary is “to spend or use to excess, or exhaust“.
Another definition I found says it is to “spend more than the expected or allotted amount“.

So overspending is spending more than you expected to, planned to or wanted to. It doesn’t have anything to do with how much money you have. Whether you have $10 million in the bank or 10 cents, you have overspent when you spend more than you wanted to.

In order to know if you’re overspending, you have to know two things: (1) how much you want to spend on a particular item or a category of items (clothes and shoes, groceries, house payment, etc.) and (2) how much you actually spent.

But the majority don’t know these two things, so the majority don’t even know when they’re overspending. The majority also don’t have money goals. When you have money goals, when you’re deciding on purpose how much you want to spend, and when you’re tracking how much you actually spend,
then you are in a position to make progress on those money goals.

AND you’re in a position to reach those goals.

But when you don’t have money goals, you don’t know how much you want to spend, you don’t know how much you actually spend, how do you know where you’ll end up and when you’ll end up there? You could be bankrupt or a millionaire – tomorrow or in twenty years. Are you sure you want to leave your future to chance or happenstance?

You are worth more than that. You are worth everything. You can totally do this for you and for your family. Money really is not rocket science. What’s happened for others – financial freedom, peace, the security of knowing you can trust yourself, independence? All of that is completely possible for you – just as it was completely possible for women that had the courage to believe in themselves.
Women like:

  • Dorothy: “Working with Jill has been LIFE CHANGING. Jill gave me the tools and insight to have decisions made ahead of time.  I went from feeling stressed about money and dreading looking at it to being excited about how I was going to work with my money to get the results I wanted in my life!“
  • Bev: “Before starting this program I was always worried about my money. Jill taught me how to rewire my brain.“
  • Christie: “My view of “money” has changed. And not because MORE money is coming into my life, because my view is becoming clearer.“
  • JM: “I had constant anxiety about money and was overwhelmed with guilt and worry. Jill helped me get focused, organized, and take the actions to be more successful with my financial goals.  She showed me that I am not broke by teaching me how to make an intentional, realistic budget.“
  • Kate: “Through Jill’s program I feel more confident, in control and not so alone with overcoming challenges.”

These women were no different than you. You can do this! How can I have so much confidence in you when we’ve never met? Because you are fearfully and wonderfully made by a loving God. You are a reflection of His energy going out into the world. You have nothing to fear.

Right now you think this will be impossible. Trust Him. Anything is possible with God. By the end of this year you could feel in control and on track to a future that is secure and full of hope where you can achieve the dream you once thought was impossible. There is only one step between here and there.

What is your money goal? Why is that your goal? When do plan to reach that goal? What is your progress? Are you behind, ahead, right on track?

What is standing between you and your money goal?

Don’t let anything stand in your way. If you want help getting started, download your free checklist here: http://jillwrightcoaching.com/takecontrol/

#DontWait #ChristianMoneyCoach #JillTheMoneyCoach #Nothing2Fear #NotBroke #OneStep #MoneyGoals

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/