Money. Whether you like talking about it or hate talking about it, the simple fact is money matters. And it matters most when you’re in over your head in debt, swimming in declined credit cards and past due payments. No one knows the humiliation of having a credit card declined in front of friends and family quite like today’s guest, Kelley Olinger, who made a nasty habit of spending more than she earned (even when she was earning a lot!). Today on the She Rises Podcast, Kelley sits down with Giovanna to take a deep dive into the issue of money, and how budgeting is one of those key life skills rarely taught. They will also cover what it’s like growing up with a scarcity mindset, how people can suddenly become irresponsible with their funds, and how you can start climbing out from the pit of debt by making a few simple lifestyle changes.
Today’s guest is Kelley Olinger
Kelley is the first money guru on the show
Learning the hard way is how Kelley created the passion for what she does now
Started at residential real estate as an independent contractor
Got a mentor to help her with the business
But she didn’t learn how to manage the money she was earning
Overtime, her debt piled up because of credit cards
She couldn’t figure out what went missing and ended up with $77K of consumer debt
There was nothing left for her to borrow and nobody knew what was happening to her
A friend asked her to write on a piece of paper the amount she owed
Her friend, then asked her to write down her expenses
Kelley’s friend tried to help her cut down her expenses
The internal energy Kelley absorbed from her friend’s push helped her forward
Kelley admitted she didn’t know how to manage the money she was earning
She wasn’t a bad person—she just didn’t understand the concept of money
Most schools and households don’t teach their students/kids about money
Always be willing to admit your mistake and ask for help
Giovanna grew up in a scarcity mentality
Her parents were children from the great depression
Their experience made them cautious and fearful about money
Giovanna’s parents always argued about money
It was a toxic environment at home because of money
At 18, Giovanna’s parents went to Italy for vacation
She and her sister stayed at home and they were responsible with the bills
Giovanna saw how much money her father had in his bankbook
She was so angry because of her dad’s behavior of injecting fear of running out of money
Kelley never told her mom what was happening to her because her dad had cancer
Helping people get out of trouble does NOT create resilience
Kelley’s internal energy change played a huge role in helping her get out of debt
She worked 2 jobs – she worked in a development company during the day and worked as a server at night
Transitioning to work as a server made her feel like she failed in real estate
But, she was able to pay off her debts in 1 year and 10 months
In real estate, some of Kelley’s clients won’t let her get too close and some will tell her everything
The closer Kelley gets to her client, the better she can help them
Money needs to be aligned with personal goals
Even vet bills and vacation expenses are overlooked
Plan for the unplanned
When money has a purpose, creating it or finding room for it becomes easier
Trim on the expenses that you don’t really care for
Spend on the things that you really want
People get creative and resourceful when they have a goal to fund
If you don’t have a net, you’re forced to figure it out
Working with couples is absolutely challenging for Kelley
When couples reach out to Kelley, it’s a good sign that they BOTH want to fix something
You have to find out the end goal of the couple—that’s the common denominator where budgeting can start
A lot of people are arbitrarily freaking out about money because they don’t know their end goal
The fear to spend is usually rooted in something
Kelley helps couples build their savings for 1 to 2 months and then use the excess to fund something
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