PDX Money Coaching

12/02/2024

Business Owners: Make sure to file your BOI report this month!

There are also instruction on their site: https://boiefiling.fincen.gov/help

05/13/2024

For those of you who might be beating yourself up about renting right now, this might make you feel better!

Our calculator takes the most important costs associated with buying or renting and compares the two options.

03/01/2024

There are so many things I wish someone had taught me sooner in my journey as a business owner.

I'm not sure I would have been able to hear them, as there might not have been enough seeds planted beforehand to help them sink in.

I wish I'd know that I deserved:

1) To retire one day
2) To budget for my own sick time, and that of my kids
3) To budget for ample time off with my family, and just for fun
4) To charge for my services in a way that honored those beliefs

On March 19th I'm hosting another workshop for business owners to help them:

-Gain clarity on how their business is doing right now
-Understand what they are currently making
-Know what it would look like to structure their business around their long term needs.

If you know anyone who might benefit from this, please pass along!

https://www.pdxmoneycoaching.com/sustainablebusinessplan

11/16/2023

Where does all your money go?

I've been wanting to create group spaces around money for so long, and am finally starting to- I know how much I benefit from learning about money and what-could-be-possible from other people.

In December I'm hosting a workshop called 'Roadmap to a Sustainable Spending Plan' for people who really want to know where all their money is going, and how to create a plan for it that is:
-Thorough
-Realistic
-Represents their actual life and hobbies, values, who they donate to, etc.
-Plans for you to pay off debt while avoiding taking on new debts
-Makes it more clear how much you can invest or save for retirement based on your other desires to travel, fund summer school, etc.
-Balances all the things.

The live component will be 90 minutes and limited to just 8 people. There is an entire online course that guides you through the prep work required, which you can get started on as soon as you sign up.

At $249, this is what I wish I'd had sooner in my journey to learn the language of money and know what it would take to intentionally create my life.

https://www.pdxmoneycoaching.com/roadmapsustainablespending

07/20/2023

If you think you're eligible for student loan forgiveness, now is the time to take action! I highly recommend you:

1) Read the Student Loan Planners latest blog/announcement (pasted below)

2) Get on their mailing list if you need nudges to stay on top of whatever needs to happen to get those loans forgiven

3) See if you need to consolidate your loans to qualify, and even book a consultation with them if you need to. *I don't get any kickbacks for referring to them, I just know they are an awesome company with an awesome service!

From the SLP newsletter today:

"The Biden administration just announced that they're about to forgive $39 billion in student debt for more than 800,000 borrowers who have been in repayment at least 20 years.

Translation: this is the IDR waiver / IDR account adjustment actually happening (finally).

Keep in mind, they announced this program in April 2022, and it's only just now being implemented.

That tells you a lot about how backlogged Department of Ed is on everything these days.

But the good news is that it's happening.

A lot of our readers and clients forwarded us emails from Dept. of Ed saying that they qualified and would soon receive forgiveness. Folks wondered if those emails were fake.

I can confirm that they're true.

The other good news is that it's not too late to qualify. You have until December 31 of this year.

You also don't need to receive full forgiveness to still save a bunch of money.

The primary thing you need to do is figure out if you would get a lot of additional credit towards forgiveness if you consolidate.

You have to weigh that additional credit with losing your low IDR payment early (most people won't need to recertify until mid 2024).

Now for the bad news.

I think somewhere between 5 million and 7 million borrowers could qualify for this total forgiveness, but only 800,000 people are getting it.

Why?

Most borrowers need to consolidate to get the full benefits.

And that's a very active step.

Many borrowers are scared to give up a low interest rate or a predictable monthly payment for the unknown.

As with the PSLF waiver, most people don't do it, but you get these sunny press releases anyway that hide the fact that the majority of people who could qualify are being left out of the program entirely.

Why?

Because if they trumpeted the policy louder or tried to do it automatically, they'd probably entice a lawsuit that would block the relief completely.

So if you need to consolidate, just go to the federal website and get it done.

If someone at Dept. of Ed is reading this, please make it easier for borrowers to get to the consolidation page.

I assume a pirate must have designed the current process, because it's like trying to find buried treasure."

05/03/2023

As a parent, work/life balance has become the most important thing to me- a strong enough pull where I signed up for my first big-ticket coaching program to make sure I was honoring myself and my family as I continue to make my business and coaching offerings even better.

Investing in growth can be scary, but the sense of commitment it offers is, to me, awesome:) It lights a fire, and I love the outside accountability. I like knowing that someone else believes in my potential and will hold me to that vision regularly.

05/02/2023

You don't necessarily need a Team to run a profitable, sustainable business where you actually get free time.

If you enjoy working alone, I highly recommend a Company of One for inspiration about the benefits of being a one-person show.

It doesn't mean you can't hire contractors to do the things you don't want to do, or don't have time for- but you just may not need to hire actual employees unless that is in line with your bigger-picture vision for your business.

What I DO think is super important is to know how your business is doing, and whether or not you are reaching your own version of success.

04/28/2023

There is a point in coaching where pretty much every client tells me they are 'addicted' to checking on their money-

-Even if they were someone who used to wait a year to open mail, or go months on end without looking at their checking account.

It's so inspiring to know that all people need sometimes is to allow and process the initial feelings that arise when they face everything head-on. I know it can seem like such a hurdle, but/and, the fear is often worse than the reality.

04/27/2023

The key is not making any mistakes you've with money made mean something about yourself or your potential.

Financial coaching creates a safe place to share, learn from, and move forward from, any mistakes you may have made... as they most definitely do not dictate your future or what is possible for you.

04/26/2023

If you feel like it will take FOREVER to get your money in order... you are probably wrong:)

->Even if you feel like it's a 'mess.'

->Even if you have too many accounts/cards/etc.

->Even if you're trying to get out of debt while saving to prevent future debt.

->Even if you have no idea where all your money is going.

What continues to surprise me as a financial coach is how quickly we can take what seems like a whole bunch of overwhelm and confusion, and turn it into a streamlined and intuitive cash-flow system for someone to follow to meet their goals.

Yes, it takes work, and time... but often when it comes to finances, the required tasks DO go away once you do them. It's a short-term investment for a huge payoff in peace of mind.

If you're interested in a deep dive into your financial life and what your money could be doing for you, feel free to check out my Financial Clarity Intensive in my link in bio or at pdxmoneycoaching (dot) com.

03/13/2023

You Matter.

I was asked recently to reflect on a number of questions about my business and the work that I do. One was, 'What breaks your heart?'

Here is what absolutely breaks my heart as a financial coach:

-When someone doesn't believe that their actions today could positively, radically impact their future life for the better.

-Whey they don't believe that change is possible, that a different future is possible.

-When they think their dreams are impossible.

-When they think, 'This is just the way life is. It's hard.'

-When faced with a decision, they often say 'fu** it,' because it doesn't seem like those small decisions and changes will ever have an impact or amount to anything.

This breaks my heart because of my own experience. I have been there. I remember what it was like when my fixed expenses were only $1300/mo (yes, that's it), and yet I felt horribly hopeless and burdened, as I was not earning much money. Actions I took to pull myself out of the situation felt so futile at first, as I had debt and the money wasn't yet 'piling up.'

However, I wish I could go back in time and tell that younger self what I now know:

"One day, you will not only own your own home, but more than 1. Anything is possible.

-One day, you will learn so much about what it means to charge what you're worth. You could earn anything you set your mind to, if that was important to you.

-One day, you will not only live well below your means, but will never have to stress about taxes, funding your retirement, or paying for vacations with cash.

-One day, you will realize that money is NOT the most important thing... yet... to take care of it is really just one way that you take care of yourself.

-What you DO value- community, family, expansiveness, nature, quality food, etc- all of that translates one way or another into money. Money can simply be viewed as a tool to cast a vote for what matters to you. To cast a vote for the person you wish to become."

You matter- Your health, your stress levels, your work schedule, your relationships, your time off, your interests- it all matters.

If you find yourself hiding from or avoiding money, either in huge ways or little ways, remember that any attention you pay to it is like a little gesture of love to both your current and older self.

Some options for a more qualitative interaction with your relationship to money:

10-minute free-writes:

1) Close your eyes and imagine your 80-year old self, relaxing somewhere and reflecting on life. What would he/she/they wish that you knew now? Put yourself in their shoes and write a letter to your CURRENT self. What wise words and advice would you give them about how to view, respect, nurture, manage, etc., money?

2) Write a love letter to money. (I know, people do not like this prompt). What has money done for you? Provided you with? What experiences have you had? Now, you may have a bunch of negative thoughts immediately come up. Let's say 'money' was a person who was going to die tomorrow- you wouldn't share those negative thoughts:) Instead, focus on what you DO love about it.

My hope today is that if you've been feeling hopeless, perhaps there's a way to make even a small shift in that this week. Thanks for reading as always, -Emily

02/16/2023

Goals are sexy and exciting- The work it takes to accomplish a goal, however, is as un-sexy as it gets- small, consistent, daily actions that move us forward. To quote Atomic Habits, 'each small action is a vote for the person we want to become'.

Whether you're struggling with moving your body more, saving more money, sleeping more, or building your social life up-- the key is not doing something HUGE or INTENSE- but instead, focusing on what small, every day actions you can take- consistently- to keep moving forward.

The ultimate goal with money is to learn habits that stick which will inevitably lead you to success and financial peace of mind, whatever that means to you.

The goal is to make it easy, and no longer something you feel a barrier around.

What small moves could you make today?