Financially Fit with Britt

Sourdough bread making is time consuming but SO worth it.
Making it costs so much less than buying it. And it’s so much better for you when you make it with ingredients you know and can pronounce 😂

Ingredients:
Starter
Flour
Salt
Water

Hope you are getting financially fit!

Was Disney World worth it?

We finally got to go on our debt free celebration vacation that we originally had planned for the year 2020. Obviously Covid happened and then we ended up moving across the country and had another baby so life was so busy.

We went to Disney World in November and finally got to celebrate all the hard work we put in the last several years.

Thousands of dollars spent later - so was it worth it?!

Yes BUT it would not have been worth it if we used debt to go there. This is not a cheap vacation you guys, and it requires way too much planning IMO.

Will we go back?

Maybe… in like 4-5 years 😅 Disney World with young kids is a lot.

If you would be interested in the cost breakdown of a Disney World trip for a family of 5, let me know in the comments below and I might make a separate post about it.

Hope you are all putting in the hard work to be Financially Fit!

This pregnancy has me craving so many different things.
Yesterday, I wanted pizza but I didn’t have money in the budget to go out and buy pizza, so I made a homemade one and y’all… IT WAS SO GOOD!
I found a quick pizza crust recipe on Pinterest (life saver) and used ingredients we already had to make a BBQ chicken pizza.
I had it made in an hour and it cost less than $10 in ingredients to make.

✔️Definitely saving this recipe for later.

Another extension
They are extending the student loan payment pause through August 31st.

I highly encourage you use this time to get them out of your life.

Having zero debt has absolutely changed my life and my marriage with my husband. We live with so much more peace and money stress doesn’t exist.

I want that kind of peace for you too.

Get Financially Fit! 💪🏼

Sometimes when we get new information or when circumstances change in our lives, our plans will change too.
It doesn’t mean you failed your goals, it means you are pivoting and making necessary changes to accommodate new situations.

The last few years have been unpredictable and no one should feel defeated if you didn’t stick to plans you had before 2020. 😅 But don’t forget to look at the bigger picture. Those goals and plans that have changed should still align with the overall big picture you have for your future. Consistency is key.

We have made a few pivots over the last few years and some goals have changed slightly, but here is what remains consistent 👇🏼

👉🏼We are still debt free
👉🏼We are still investing
👉🏼We are still budgeting EVERY month

Costs are going up, so make sure you make those adjustments and don’t let it discourage you from the big picture. Stay consistent. You’ve got this!

Get Financially Fit! 💪🏼

I’ve been so absent from this page for a few months and this is partly why.
The last 4 months I have been SO sick with morning sickness. Which, let’s be real, it’s ALL day sickness… at least for me it is.
With the move, house projects, and the pregnancy, I have been pretty busy.

So how are we preparing financially for this little peanut?
👉🏼We are putting $125 per paycheck into our HSA to cover medical bills
👉🏼 I am stalking Facebook Marketplace and budgeting for the few baby items I am planning to buy
👉🏼 Next month we are going to start stocking up on diapers and wipes

So excited for this little one’s arrival!

🖤Like if you have some big goals for 2022

A reminder to myself and anyone that might be setting goals for next year.

If a goal doesn’t have a plan of action then it’s not likely it’s going to get accomplished.

How to turn a goal into a plan of action
👉🏼write it down
👉🏼give it a timeline
👉🏼make it specific
👉🏼make sure it’s attainable and realistic for your situation

👉🏼Another tip is to have an accountability partner for your goal

I can’t wait to see what you all will accomplish in 2022. 💪🏼

❤️Hit that like if you love the Roth option!

One of the best parts of utilizing the Roth option, either the 401k Roth or Roth IRA, is that you pay taxes upfront and then it grows tax free! So when you want to start taking your money out, you don’t pay any taxes on all that growth. So amazing! 🙌🏼

So if your company offers a 401k Roth option, take it! And especially if it includes a match. Always invest up to the match so you get that free money. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

If you need guidance with your investments and investment strategy, message me!

Hitting the pause button!

I’m taking a break for a little bit to make a few changes and to prioritize other things.

✌🏼

Back in 2017. This is the year we got really serious about getting our finances in order.
I was a new mom and my husband and I were fresh out of college with student loans.
Making just 32k that year, we decided to jump into this financial journey.
I was longing to be a stay at home mom and we needed to make some changes so I could do that and we could live comfortably.
👉🏼20 months, hard work, and a few income jumps, we paid off $40,000.

A few years later, another kid, bigger income, and we are so thankful we chose this journey.

All this to say, start now. It doesn’t matter what income you have, you can have a debt free life and build a foundation to give you financial peace.

No excuses, you’ve got this! 💪🏼

Hitting retirement with no debt, a paid for house, and investments generating enough income to replace a job is the ultimate goal.

With just a few steps and an intentional plan you could retire MUCH earlier than 65.

Financial independence is key. Build your investments to replace your job’s income so that you don’t have to work a 9-5 if you don’t want to.

Retirement is not an age, it’s a financial number. 🙌🏼

🖤 Hit that like if you agree!

Part of developing a healthy financial mindset is letting go of a broke mentality.

When you take out a loan for something you don’t own it, the bank does.

Let’s not be in the business of making banks more rich, let’s be in the business of creating wealth for ourselves.

All the money you spend towards interest could be making you money in investments.

Having no debt will lead you to build wealth faster.

Pay off that debt, build that emergency fund, and invest!

Get Financially Fit! 💪🏼

🖤Hit that like if you agree!

I don’t like that our culture puts out this idea that one day you will just arrive; after getting the job, getting married, buying a home, driving nice cars, and having a few kids, you will somehow be at the top. It implies that you will no longer look to improve or change. It’s just not realistic.

I will always make an effort to improve myself whether it be with finances, my faith, my marriage, my relationships, my health, my parenting, etc.

If I want an area of my life to improve, I need to work hard at it. And when I need answers and more information, I look outside of myself to find it.

🥂 So here’s to never “arriving”. I’ll be over here working on myself.

Swipe to see our progress!
This camper remodel is so close to being done!

One of the side hustles my husband and I took on was flipping campers. One day we want to do houses and figured this would be a great start and would be great experience.

This one was almost a complete gut job. It’s a 1975 vintage camper and we had to completely replace the ceiling and siding, as well as have the electrical and plumbing replaced.

So much work! But it’s looking so good.

I will post before and after photos soon.

And you don’t even need a large income to experience it. 🙌🏼

There is so much peace that comes with having no payments and money in your savings.

I’ve been in a place where we had debt and a stack of money set aside, and it just isn’t the same. There is something peaceful about having no debt and being able to tell your money where to go instead of sending it all to payments and wondering where it went at the end of the month.

👉🏼No debt
👉🏼Solid savings
👉🏼Strong investments

It’s possible for anyone!

Message me if you need a coach to help you get there.

Get Financially Fit! 💪🏼

Can you believe how quickly this year is going by?!

I spent yesterday reviewing accounts and evaluating our progress on our financial goals.

A semi-annual financial check up includes:

Reviewing all accounts (savings, checking, investment, HSA, FSA, etc) calculating your net worth, and reviewing the budget.

Evaluate your progress and make sure your financial decisions match with your goals and direction for the rest of the year.

Making adjustments when things change is a part of this process too. Your goals and timeline may shift depending on life changes and decisions and that’s okay.

Once this is all complete, take a deep breath. Chances are, if you are paying attention and have a plan, you are doing a great job!

Have you done your financial check up?

Get Financially Fit! 💪🏼

Throwback to the one day I felt confident enough to take a picture with no makeup on.
Adult acne is the worst 😩👎🏼

Something that I’ve struggled with is spending money on myself. I always feel like that money could go towards our goals or something for my kids and I forget that a HUGE part of living with financial peace, it to be able to enjoy some of your money without feeling guilty.

I’m working on not feeling guilty when I spend money on myself.

I could drop hundreds on my kids and not feel an ounce of guilt, but for some reason, spending money on myself is such a struggle.

Can anyone else relate?

Everyone should have one

A common question is how much should it be?
Typically you want 3-6 months of expenses set aside in a savings account.

There are some factors that can change this answer such as:
👉🏼Single or married
👉🏼Kids or no kids
👉🏼Health issues
👉🏼Inconsistent or unreliable income
👉🏼Homeowner or renter
👉🏼Impending birth or adoption of a child

A well funded emergency fund can prevent so much stress.

If you need help deciding how much you should save, message me and we can schedule a coaching call.

Get Financially Fit! 💪🏼

🖤 Hit that like if you agree!

A budget gives you freedom to spend. It’s only as restrictive as you let it be.

Living on a budget means you will have to plan ahead and likely make an adjustment if you forget something important. But that’s okay!

Having a plan for every dollar is so important. It means you are living and spending intentionally. It should reflect your plans, goals and direction for your life.

You (and your spouse) get to decide what your budget looks like.

If you need a coach to help you with budgeting, send me a message!

Get Financially Fit! 💪🏼

Growth happens when change happens.

Sometimes we change our perspective when we receive new information and sometimes it is recognizing that we need more information. It takes a strong mature person to reflect and realize that they were wrong about something and seek to be better and do better.

This was me with finances. I used to live without a plan, without a direction. The only goals I would make would be the unrealistic ones I thought up on New Years and never kept up with past February. We didn’t have a plan for our money and we had debt. We were living with no intentionality.

👉🏼Something had to change

🙌🏼 We got new information and we changed our perspective.

The reality is that living a life with no debt, an emergency fund, and a plan gives you peace and gives you options.

The windshield on our Jeep cracked the other week and instead of getting frustrated, I laughed and put it in the budget for next month.
I didn’t have to stress it for 1 second.

That my friends, is peace.

Get Financially Fit! 💪🏼

🖤 Hit that like if you are building a life you can be proud of

A life I can be proud of includes building a financial foundation that allows a feeling of security and includes generosity.

Paid for cars, paid for house, paid for rental properties, investments that are working for me, incredible generosity, honoring God with the money he trusted us to manage, and generational wealth.

These are just some of the things I want to build into the life I am proud of.

Get Financially Fit! 💪🏼

This may be an unpopular opinion

A no-spend challenge is a short-term goal of deciding over a specific period of time to not spend any money on anything other than essentials.

While these challenges are popular in the finance community, and they may work for some people, here’s why I don’t like them 👇🏼

Research has shown that to make long-term changes, focusing on developing healthy habits is important. A no-spend challenge forces you to make a dramatic short-term change to somehow make a big impact overall.

If you operate under a budget and actually follow it, then you decide how much you spend. You don’t need a challenge like this because you can give yourself permission to spend as much or as little as you want.

If you have a spending problem, your answer won’t be a no-spend challenge, you need to get to the root of a spending problem. Forcing yourself to follow a challenge won’t fix that. Focus on your why. Why are you wanting to get your finances in order? Why is it so important to you?
Sometimes unhealthy spending is masking a much bigger problem underneath, you need to address the bigger issue before you tackle the spending.

I want to hear your thoughts! Let me know what you think about them below. 👇🏼

👉🏼What are your favorite side hustles?

One of my side hustles is flipping campers.

With the help of my awesome brother, my husband and I find run down beat up campers and renovate and remodel them.

The dream is to eventually flip homes and sell them or turn them into rental properties. This is our first step towards this dream and it will take us a long time, but we are willing to be patient and put in the hard work to get there.

I picked up some items to stage the camper we are currently remodeling and we should be done with it in the next few weeks.

I’ll post before and after photos once it is done. 🖤

I wanna know your favorite side hustles! Drop them below 👇🏼

🖤 Hit that like if you agree!

Whatever part of your life you focus on, you will win at.
-Want an amazing marriage? Put time and effort into cultivating a strong relationship with your spouse.
-Want to be successful with your finances? Spend some time learning and putting effort into building a strong financial foundation.
-Want to be fit and healthy? Spend time eating right and working out.

If you want results, you need to put the work in.

Get Financially Fit! 💪🏼