The Vault with Financielle - How To Feel Financially Free | The Vault Episode 28
Episode Date: September 4, 2024Send us a textIn Episode 28 of The Vault, we discuss this week’s controversial opinion, “It’s okay to spend when you’re in debt”, before diving into our listener dilemmas:- I can’t give up... my bougie membership- I don’t feel as financially free as I should doWe celebrate a savvy community member’s win - they dodged debt by using their emergency fund to cover nearly £300 in car repairs, and they're now excitedly setting up a sinking fund to stay ahead of next year's MOT! 🚗💸If you’d like to share your money win, head to the community in the Financielle app or email thevault@financielle.comSend your (totally anonymous) money dilemmas to thevault@financielle.com and we may feature yours on a future episode 💌Thank you to our partner PensionBee, who are on a mission to help you build pension confidence and create a world where everyone can enjoy a happy retirement. With PensionBee you can combine, contribute and withdraw online. Join over 252,000 customers saving with PensionBee. When investing, your capital is at risk.Sign up and combine your pensions here 🐝Chapters:00:00 Introduction and Initial Thoughts on Bougie Spending00:26 Welcome to The Vault00:48 Fun Facts and Personal Stories02:23 Controversial Opinions on Spending While in Debt03:26 Discussing Debt-Free Journeys and Spending Habits07:54 Dilemma: Bougie Membership and Debt11:40 Financial App Promotion12:18 Evaluating the Worth of Bougie Expenses15:18 Designer Labels and Financial Perspectives17:33 Designer Gifts Only17:54 Balenciaga Trainers Story19:03 Emergency Fund Success21:44 Planning for Financial Freedom23:49 Building and Growing Wealth27:31 Financial Health and Fitness30:33 Final Thoughts and Wrap-UpThe Vault is an entertaining yet thought provoking podcast that answers our community’s dilemmas and confessions surrounding women and money.Visit https://www.financielle.com to download our app.Watch the podcast on YouTube.Follow Financielle for more:▶︎ TikTok▶︎ InstagramAbout Financielle:Financielle is a female focussed finance app helping women to take back control of their money, ditch debt, increase savings and invest in their future.Recorded and Produced by Liverpool Podcast Studios▶︎ Web ▶︎ Instagram▶︎ LinkedIn
Transcript
Discussion (0)
It doesn't seem overly bougie to me. She sounds like she's very much in control of her money.
She's even saying, she's in two minds because she's written a dilemma to be like,
I don't want to give up my bougie one, but then finishes it with,
I don't think it's very bougie after all. So she's kind of answered her own question.
That seems to me that someone might have planted the idea that that's quite a bougie expense.
And she's kind of gone, is it? Like, is that a bougie thing to do welcome to the vault with financial this is a safe space where we talk
all things life and money and no topics are off limits howdy howdy this is one of the first
episodes for those on youtube where we've not complimented each other not complimented as in
like this is very different colours look
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in case anyone
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ha A what? Her Royal Highness. H-R-H.
Holly Ruth Holland.
Don't steal my identity.
I have regrets now.
Thank you, Auntie Boo.
But yeah, H-H, just in case I forget myself. Mine are liver function test.
Or lateral flow test.
Oh my God.
Timely.
I thought you were just sharing your like...
I had a liver function test.
I was like
oh
no
her initials
and my sister's
ear nose and throat
ENT
are you
a family in the medical profession
by any chance
we're Nana
well I was LHA
and I always liked LA
because you could wear
one of those LA caps
oh yeah
obviously it's personalised
and I'm LP
like Lauren Perrier
oh
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I don't know if anyone
has compared mine to
what is it
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no
nine
that feels like
the type of initials
that may be on a Louis Vuitton case
do you know what you're
getting personalised
you can see it in the airport
when you get them
when people do
imagine HR how do you turn that oh it in the airport. When you get them, when people do. I don't have them. Imagine HR helped on that.
Oh, it's Licensed Manufacturing Warehouse.
There you go.
Get in.
Made it in life.
You are the vibe.
Made it in life.
Okay.
Controversial opinion.
Going to make someone very happy with this one
it's okay to spend
when you're in debt
absolutely not
joking
next
yeah
that was an easy one
what do we best spend
what do we think
like
that implies to me
go on
spending is inevitable like life costs money
there's a fine line between needs and wants do you need that nice apartment do you just need like
a basic one for now etc yeah it's a non-bougie spending there's different types of debt as well
so like student debt so okay spend when you're shooting debt lots of people will um have student debt hang around for
a long time with especially nowadays and so would you forego any type of discretionary and happy and
extra spending because you have student debt no you wouldn't forego it you do it and you know
car loans that tend to take lots of periods of time to pay off i think i think this is a way to reframe this is if you're on a debt
free journey if you decide i want to pay off my consumer debt you absolutely shouldn't be spending
excess money because it will take you absolutely ages and you're less likely to then stick to it
because it's just forever i just get it over and done with.
And so sometimes that pulling back on spending
and you get the,
especially if you're a dopamine hitter from a spend,
you get it from paying it off the debt.
But I think it's more connected to,
if you're happy to have that debt kind of hanging around
and you're not motivated to pay it off,
then why should you pull back spending?
Because what are you going to do with the extra money anyway?
Like save it.
You've got the debt and it's just all a bit. But if you want to pay it off then why should you pull back spending because what are you gonna do with the extra money anyway like save it you've got the debt and it's just a little bit so but if you want to pay it off
spending is going to slow you down quite a bit what do you think I think I like what we've said
in the past few episodes about sinking funds like it's the same concept like it's inevitable that
you're going to spend you need your your car fixed in. Obviously, insurance, not insurance, emergency fund, vital.
But it is like, okay, what's the minimum amount we can spend at Christmas?
We're going to have to buy people presents, children presents, whatever.
What's the minimum amount we can do?
Like, what is the minimum amount we can do for everything until we pay this debt off?
Yeah.
Going with a, like, you don't want to be in a lack mindset but you kind of want to be in a we have to
progressive yeah so are you saying if anyone is in debt i'm not talking like student debt i'm
talking credit card debt yeah yeah they're not allowed to go on holiday no I think they so I think I'm all about realism so the reason why I would say it's okay to have
a travel sinking fund if you're on a debt-free journey is because if you're going to go on holiday
you're going to go on holiday let's not pretend you're not because what happens
is if you don't have a travel sinking fund and you crack on and you go we're not going away this year
and then you get tempted to go away because everyone's going on holiday. You want a last
minute, you will put it on a credit card. And so the biggest thing we can do for people is really
help them to disassociate with credit as a means of funding things, which is why it's,
if you're going to go away now, again, this is all about choices. Do you go for a week in Spain
or a week in Dubai? Do you go for a weekend in Wales, which sometimes is expensive anyway, or, you know, do you go to America? Because there's,
there's choices within that. Any of you are going to continue to spend at quite a,
spend beyond your means whilst also thinking you're trying to pay down debt or just because
at some point in the future you'll pay down debt. You just add into it. And I think that's,
I can imagine this, it's been so long since I've used credit
that I'm trying to remember what it's like
when you have a balance on a card
and this just sounds so stupid.
You put more on it.
I can't, I really, I'm struggling to remember that time
where you were, and it might be because
you've not got any money in your
current account and you're using it to kind of fund the gap but sometimes about just because
you go I'll put it over there because then I don't have to deal with it yet and I just I'm
so naive to that now I'm so far from that that I would I have to really empathize better with
people that are in that situation I think if you've got a goal to pay
off the debt then it would seem a little bit strange to go and spend excessively on things
that are wants not needs whereas for a lot of people they don't have a goal to pay off the
debt and they're just living day to day so it's probably just the norm but it's um controversial
probably yes because 90% of the population
would be like
doesn't everyone
like function on credit
whereas us geeks
in the corner
are like
we don't have credit
what do you mean
so it probably
is controversial
because we're not
90% of society
where it's just
completely normalised
it's connected
to where it's conducive
to a goal
so if you want to
run a marathon
and you never do
a training run
it's probably going to be
a tough run why do they look at you and laugh you do lots of training run it's probably going to be a tough run you get lots of training but you're probably going to be a tough run isn't it you absolutely
trained for your marathon and ran it I just laughed at you oh my god I was going to correct
her then and say half like I still half still impressive Lucy it was only a half it was half
a marathon more than we ran so um but yeah I think it's about whether they do whether they're doing
the goal they're not because if they're not it's not controversial it's just a way of life for lots
of people um well i feel like this goes nicely onto our first dilemma so i can't give up my bougie
membership hi girls i have been on my debt-free journey for around six months which all started
with becoming completely teetotal which allowed me to get a grip on my life and free up time from drinking and being hungover to having complete handle on
my life and start tackling the £14,000 debt I have managed to accrue through spending way beyond
my means and racking up debt across several cards. I work in central London in luxury and I'm very
used to seeing clients spend hundreds of thousands on purchases throughout the year and I've become extremely desensitized to the value of things. I also spend as though I live
their lifestyle as I am very friendly with many people in these circles and they really are just
normal people who I get on with despite the huge differences in financial circumstances.
In this time I've also managed to get a promotion with a substantial pay rise which is due to me
getting my shit together.
My dilemma is that I'm part of a very bougie private members club in London,
which also has a gym, restaurants, country club,
and a space to work on my own business and meet clients.
The cost of this space is £250 per month, which seems reasonable to me.
What are your thoughts on whether this monthly expense is worth paying?
Really good dilemma.
She's done a lot in the last few months I replied to this actually because it was a community dilemma out in the open
so you can see my live response and other people's but um what I said the fact I really picked up on
the fact that she finished it by saying she meets clients there and that's how she grows her business
so if you split out if a gym is non-negotiable in her budget
and a co-working space is somewhere non-negotiable in her budget she's probably going to spend over
250 pounds in London a month on those things anyway so straight away I was like that's not
technically bougie and it's all relative a 40 pound gym membership a month for someone could
seem really bougie to someone that works out at home for free and would never dream of paying for a membership so it's really hard to be like is this bougie
well if it's in if it's in line with your budget and that's where your clients are it's arguably
business expense as well um so you can have a look at that but it doesn't seem overly bougie to me
she sounds like she's very much in control of her money she's even saying she's in she's in two
minds because she's written a dilemma to be like
I don't want to give up my bougie one but at the end finishes it with I don't think it's very bougie
after all so she's kind of answered her own question that seems to me that someone might
have planted the idea that that's quite a bougie expense and she's kind of gone is it like is it
is that a bougie thing to do yeah so if someone was spending 250 quid a month on a leased Peloton,
for those of you that do, that's what I'm going to say next. And you have 14,000 pounds of debt,
that will be on the list to go for me, whether you can or couldn't get rid of it. But that's
a kind of example where you, if you were in that amount of debt and you're, and you're serious
about paying it off and there's not a lot of room in your budget that's one of the like optional nice to haves in the budget
you know same as if you shop at m&s regularly and you can do a switch to a more affordable brand
you know those are the choices that we make when it's connect what i would say is
um and maybe why she's asking us this is
we can convince ourselves of anything so I need it for work then this is for probably more other
people listening because I feel like she's answered the question do you need it for work or do you
want it for work do you actually meet your clients there or do you not really how much do you spend
when you're in there I was just about to say because you said there's a cafe and I'm getting flashbacks of David Lloyd
when we were younger.
We all had a family membership
and my mum was like,
basically all we used to do
was go to the cafe and have tea.
So we'd pay to eat in a cafe
and pay for the cafe as well.
And the cafe was not cheap when you're in it.
No.
Just a quick one, Laura here.
If you're wanting to take back control of your money,
ditch debt, make better decisions and build wealth for the future, the Financial app is for you.
With Financial, you can track your spending on the go, hit your money goals faster and create
a realistic budget that you can actually stick to. Not to mention, you'll be part of an exclusive
money community who share tips, offer support and celebrate your
successes along the way. Click the link in the description to download Fan and Shell and start
your free trial now. This is your sign to take control of your money today. Okay, I'm done. Let's
go back to the vault. And so I feel like, again, where it's going to do, because the thing is,
she says she works in luxury and in my head, I was like, oh, does she have a job? And then this
is like an extra business or for my business or is her whole because the thing is she says she works in luxury and in my head I was like oh does she have a job and then this is like an extra business
or for my business
or is her whole business
the thing that she does
at the bougie club
do you know what I mean
well I asked her
was she employed
and could she charge
some of the membership
costs to her employer
she has to prove
that it's got a significant ROI
including all spend
100%
she needs to look at the
£250 monthly thing,
how much does she spend when she's in there
and prove to herself or the company that she works for
because it's not quite clear whether she's self-employed
that she gets the return.
100%.
Because if she doesn't, then it is a bougie thing
and you can go for a run around the street
and go meet your client in a coffee shop.
A very nice coffee shop.
Because surely, unless you can have guests,
the only other people can be people that are actually members there.
Yeah, a workshop.
I mean, listen, for a co-working space, that's cheap.
I was about to say.
For a space for a month, that is cheap.
With a gym as well.
So, you know, that even in the north, that would be...
Imagine taking a pal lunch.
Take it to work.
I would literally be like,
tinfoil.
And like, you water bottle. I have a cup of water please
Froob
a baby bell
country girl
get your baby bell out
your grapes
cut in half
no choking hazard
what do you do with the baby bell wax
you're like
it's a shuttlecock
I went to
when I went I met someone for a meet,
we met in a cafe last week,
but it was the cafe of a co-working space that we used to go to.
And I'd picked up lunch from M&S.
Yeah, I was with you.
And hadn't really thought this through and then was meeting someone in a cafe
and I was like, I'm getting it.
I cracked it open.
I cracked it open.
I got to the BBC.
She's like, can you give me my food?
I'm starving.
And so I'm like, do, do I cracked it at the BBC she's like can you give me my food I'm starving and so I'm like knowing that
it was cheaper
from where I got it from
versus in a cafe
and then I think I was like
we'll buy a coffee
one coffee between all of us
it was all blurred lines
because it's in a co-working space
so you're like
but it is the cafe
of the co-working space
what people are co-working
and
I think
the big message here is
firstly
well done for asking that question this is showing
questioning everything in your budget nothing is off limits everything gets a question because at
least you've covered it and then the second point is we can always convince ourselves of anything so
I need the peloton because of this I need that gym because of this and so if you were sat here
with us yeah and you like were happy to evidence it all out,
how would you feel?
You'd be in a torch in a face.
Like in a torture room.
How many clients did you meet last month?
The CCTV evidence shows that you...
How many croissants did you buy?
How much panel did you play?
It's that healthy challenge.
Healthy challenge, which is it might be absolutely worth it.
And it brings in that extra bit of revenue, happiness, whatever.
But what else can you be doing?
So it's bringing in more revenue.
Then how more quickly can you pay off your 14 grand?
And also just a slight nudge to the designer element, which is when people don't have as much and we want designer,
when you get a bit desensitized designer,
it's because of your space and that is really difficult.
And so you're going to have to try really hard to know that they're okay,
but I'm not them.
And that's not going to make me happy.
Being debt free is going to make me happy.
That handbag's not going to make me happy.
Like a house deposit is or a nicer rental place is,
that kind of stuff. The regrets we've got over designer handbags,
like just cannot be underplayed like they're literally taking space off in my wardrobe i can't be bothered to get off my ass and sell them and take the pictures how many conversations
have we had about this lucy's like give it to me i will take a percentage of me selling it for you because i'm bored of you talking about us they won't take mine call me but you know i am genuinely anti-label i am now i'm i try and actively find things that
don't scream a label and i think it's really hard nowadays because i don't i don't want someone
so i've got a chanelbag. We've both got one.
We both bought them when we were young.
And I've got friends that have them
and like each to their own.
I don't like using mine.
Firstly, I'm convinced I'm going to get robbed.
Secondly, I don't want someone else
to think I'm better than them.
And that you should aspire
to have this bag on their arm.
Because even though the prices have gone up ridiculously, you actually, the fun fact of it all is you can't sell them easily so it's not
this oh it's now worth eight grand no no it's not it's like you can't sell it for that um but
secondly it would have done as well if not better and i put that money in the market and no one
taught me that when i was younger and so it's usually poorer people and working class people
that aspire to have designer labels it's why they go and get fake you know stuff from here there and everywhere it's not impressive and it's this
chasing this thing that is not valued by wealthy people it's just they like high quality and they've
got it but they're not like living for the new bag not really and i'd much so i don't like wearing
labels because i don't want to inspire someone to want one does that make sense
yeah so much sense oh just only accept them as gifts right I'll give you the bag god's sake
no I would literally you would never catch me
buying my own designer item no No. It's only gifted.
Yeah.
I only accept gifts.
Literally.
And cash.
And the Balenciaga trainers.
They were gifts.
They were gifts you would buy them yourself.
Oh no.
Can we just talk about this?
Balenciaga trainers.
Had you only just got them
when you first started working with us?
Or did you have them a while?
No.
She was a trendsetter,
not a trend follower.
Got them for my 21st. I was actually, with us or do you have them a while she was a trend setter not a trend follower got them
from a
21st
I was
actually
hopefully
my dad
does not
listen to
this
I was
sick on
them
the next
day
so I was
drunk
you do know
that's going
to be cut
up as a
montage for
social
so he
couldn't
see you
but you
just said
it into
the microphone
don't look
at me
missus dad
don't listen
does your mum know?
don't get her in trouble
she does now
because I know
Jen listens
yeah I'm just a bit
of a wrecker
to be honest
of like physical things
like I just wear stuff
to the death
you're like the people
on
made evident
you're like the people
on TikTok
that they get an Hermes bag
and they just like
throw graffiti paint on it
oh do you not
use it?
yeah oh my Chanel box is literally a box up high People on TikTok, they get an Hermes bag and they just like throw graffiti paint on it. Oh, do you not use it? Yeah.
Oh, my Chanel wax is literally in a box up high, never to be seen again.
I sold a Chanel handbag and a Celine handbag to start a fashion show.
Really?
True story.
We'll go into it one day.
Not today.
That's incredible.
Okay.
Community win.
Emergency fund came to the rescue today my car had its mot and needed some work totaling almost 300 pounds without my emergency fund this would have previously
gone on either a credit card or monzo flex but i didn't have to resort to either i'm going to
start building a sinking fund for next year's mot from this payday too as well as building my
emergency fund back up so i'm not caught out again next year if you could bottle up the feeling of paying for your
first MOT new tires service bullshit with a sinking fund we would make a lot of money if you could
bother yeah it's like drugs don't do drugs kids Just pay up your MOT in cash. You can imagine it's like,
I would imagine it's like drugs.
But did you enjoy it?
Did you enjoy it?
Like, was it really weird?
Yeah.
Yeah, yeah.
Because it's not normal.
Yeah, no, it's like,
be your own sugar daddy in it.
Be your own sugar daddy.
But I think the people either
absolutely whack that stuff on a card
because there's not enough money in the account
because you didn't plan for it's not enough money in the account because you didn't um you didn't plan for it or you there is money in the account you pay
for it and you go oh i've got no money left like it's i hate paying for things from my normal money
i hate it so when money could come from a sinking fund we recently had two services last week and we
we spent 700 on two services and i
don't know what that bit i needed i didn't take it so whoever new tires new i was there new tech
okay new tires it's a family trip like seven of us took cars because everyone needed to give each
other a lift and it was all organized by my dad's big day out there was a plan there was a rotor to across days um but 700 right 700 out of our main budget would have massively knocked us off
like there's not 700 in the budget it's allocated towards different things and it's just paid done
not even and i like i said if you could bottle the feeling of the first time you do that
because i hate using savings for things that just feel like not important
and dipping into it. Just like life admin. And then otherwise you're adding it onto a card and
it's another thing to pay off so yeah we're bottling it we're selling it for Christmas.
Perfume. With Lydia's face on it.
If you'd like to tell us your win head to the community in the app or email it to the vault at financial.com.
Okay.
I don't feel as financially, financially, financially.
I can't write the word financial anymore.
Yeah, every time I type financial.
Yeah.
My laptop's like, financial, do you mean financial?
You're financial.
Okay, listeners, I've got a controversial money opinion from our friends at PensionBee.
Pensions can be sexy.
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Okay, I don't feel as financially free as I should do. Hi ladies, I'm planning ahead as I'm nearly
out of the survive phase and into the build phase. Yay! I can't wait to be debt free, but I feel like
that debt payment simply switches to a larger emergency fund payment. I'm worried it's going
to feel like I should have gained extra cash every month but in reality it's still going to be a large payment
each month where I don't feel as financially free as maybe I thought I would. How do you stay
motivated as this feels like a tough part of the journey as you still have to knuckle down and
reach that next savings goal? Where do you find the balance and the new dopamine hits. She's on the plateau. She's on the plateau of dreams.
It's like the come down after the high of,
like the debt-free journey is so intense, isn't it?
It's where you learn, doing all the learning.
It's where all the low hanging fruit, as we call it,
I can cut that subscription.
I can sell that on Facebook marketplace.
And so addictive, that survive part of the playbook, isn't it?
Yeah, yeah.
And I feel like
the word survive
talks about how
intense it is
survive versus build
like they've got
a different energy
we need to rename it
yeah
it's your butterfly
phase
you grow your wings
your financial wings
and fly
build
yeah we're marketers like come on now we need to work on
this no i think but i think i sympathize i think it's life i think i went through this a little
bit i think everyone probably does where we come out of there i've done it i paid off the debt
you're like pat yourself on the back i've always had loads of learnings and then you're suddenly
like oh i've not got loads of excess cash to blow on shit because that's what you want to do because you've not done it for so long um you've got you're going back into you
being like it's your sensible phase I felt like somebody can describe it but then it's not for
that long so one thing I would say if it's talking about building your emergency fund
whether you've bought a home yet because they're two big chunky things you have to split them up
don't you because it will then feel like a really long you've bought a home yet because they're two big chunky things you have to save. They are, but you have to split them up, don't you?
Because it will then feel like a really long,
you've got to set yourself maybe two goals,
like extended emergency fund or saving for a home
or whatever it might be.
But then when you're out there, you're into grow
and that's really exciting.
Grow is so fun.
So that's your sexy and your rap.
Grow.
Yeah, for those of you who don't know,
grow is when you are taking your excess cash to grow it so
you're investing you're overpaying your mortgage because it's bringing your net worth up
you are um hopefully and this is a bit in build as well which is another reason it can slow you down
so so we've got survive which is make sure you've got a one month's expense emergency fund minimum
bit more if you feel more comfortable and then let's get rid of your consumer debt. Consumer debt holds you back
massively if you want to be able to do most of the things in the rest of the playbook.
And once you've kind of done that, you move on to build. And build is your larger emergency fund,
which again is completely subjective. It depends if you are self-employed, if you have a stable
job, if you don't have a stable job, if you're a single income family, if you're a double income household, whatever, you pick your number. And you also at this point choose to save for a
home or a home renovation or a home upgrade if you wish to. So if you've sorted and you don't
need to, you can skip it. The third part of build is big life goals. And this is really important
because this is where you still need to save hard
for that emergency fund.
And if you want to save
for a house deposit,
really want to do it
as quickly as possible.
But at the same time,
we want you to nudge
your budget a little bit
and incorporate big life goals.
And they could be better travel,
like an increased clothing fund,
a house interiors,
like the stuff that you've been-
Like investment in yourself
if you've always wanted
to have it like a hobby. Gym, wellness, beauty, hobby, like the stuff that you have been investment in yourself if you've always wanted to have it like a hobby gym wellness beauty hobby just the things that you know the
extra subscriptions if you were like a netflix addict but you went without this is the time to
put those things back in and what that does is it shrinks your excess a little bit so there's got
twofold here one we want you to increase expenses and get you suspending again um because it's
really important that we teach people how to spend
and grow their money at the same time or spend and save at the same time.
It's still okay to do that.
It's not one or the other because I think life's a bit,
it would be very difficult if you just went all in on one of those
because you probably ended up in that situation
because you were the spend everything and not do anything,
which is why you started in Survive.
You would still like to think that even if you are increasing your spending in some areas, your excess will still be big because you've the spend everything and not do anything, which is why you started in Survive. You would still like to think that even if you are increasing
your spending in some areas, your excess will still be big
because you've no debt, you've no consumer debt.
So hopefully you're in this space and hopefully this space
you'll be able to invest in yourself and grow your income maybe,
you know, and have a look at that.
What would our tips be though for getting her to feel motivated
and not feel, I I mean we've talked
about this before financial poor haven't we which is like you're financial broke you put money into
your sinking funds so you're all prepared and there's a nice total over there but because you
can't see them you're looking in your bank account and you feel like oh I've done all this work and
all this stuff and I've slowly got like a small amount and it's because you're kind of planning
for stuff but I think we've talked before about mini wins yeah you have though it can feel like a long slog especially if
you just come out of a really intense time of paying down debt now you're like and now I'm
not going to see any benefit of it I'm going to save but those are goals in themselves
paying off debt is a massive goal and like I said it's very addictive but yeah you want to keep the
momentum going but I've seen a lot of people in the community say I just took a break
for one month
and after that month
they're like
oh that was really chaotic
I'd actually
you know like
give yourself grace
but then people then go
oh my god
I actually didn't like it
because
I didn't take a break
I thought I would
but I did it
so giving yourself permission
to take a break
could actually be quite good
imagine having a month
of like
no budget
you're not allowed to
you're not allowed to you're not allowed to
move any money
into any pots
it all has to stay
in one account
laughing like
this is crazy
we're the weirdos
madness
that's like saying
now we're
Laura's the same
been on a fitness journey
for like two years
where it's
minimum five days a week
probably going to the gym
and feeling like
really good for it
strong and healthy
and like a routine
which I've never don't think I've ever truly invested in before so if you like we're
going on holiday on saturday if you said to me you can't work out all week i'd be like okay
rocking in a corner because that habit has been like instilled into me it actually makes me feel
good it's the way you sort your day out yeah just like it's the way you sort your money out so when
some people when you go when you go back off holiday because everyone's got
these trackers so it's very similar to financial it's health and wellness kind of my zone yeah
you've got a my zone and people like they'll comment in the group like i thought you were
supposed to be on holiday why are you not taking it easy points means prizes well they don't mean
prizes it's just victory it's because it brings me enjoyment it's not because i feel like i need
to keep it up i would actually feel quite uncomfortable if you said to me you can't take your gym or running stuff on
holiday I would feel quite stressed about that it's like my safety blanket now and it's my habit
and it's my routine so I feel like tell yourself that you've got a month off and I bet you within
two days you're like I want to do my budget okay I'm back to it now like you just have options
retrain that dopamine yeah and also like let's think about these goals so if she's in
build it's a bigger emergency fund let's pretend that's ten thousand pounds chunky emergency fund
like a good emergency fund she could break that up into ten one thousand pounds or four two and a
half thousands and every time she hits two and a half which might take like four months say or
three months if depending on how aggressive she is or five months if it's a bit longer um bougie dinner make or like nice outfit like because you know
it's worth every two and a half grand spending a hundred quid do you know what i mean to kind of
and like keep yeah in the financial app you could have four mini goals rather than a ten thousand
pound goal tracker yeah because it's parcel one, parcel two.
You have it going, isn't it?
And a little picture
of what you're going to get yourself after.
Yeah, a picture of the thing
that you're going to get
and whether you get it or not.
Like at least it's just working towards those.
She won't get it.
She'll be like,
dang up the carrot.
Yeah, yeah.
Like one of those like,
fishing line.
Fishing line.
It's all like,
it's all up here.
It definitely is. It's all up here. You haveing yourself it's all up here it definitely is
it's all up here
but you have to do it
but also
I think
we've seen this before
you're not the only one
so in this community
everyone like
build people
should be
getting together
grow people
should be getting together
grow people
should be inspiring
the build
and the survive
we want everyone
to move up and graduate
everyone graduate
through the stages
oh my god
we should have a hat
you should have a graduation hat pink hat what they're called mortar mortar boards mortar board
best of all i went like this it's a very american oh yeah l woods oh you moved the tassel over
yeah survive to build so break it up let's let's celebrate pick some bougie things the little
treats whether you do or don't get them. Gamify it. Trick yourself.
Yeah.
I like that.
And make sure you're tracking your net worth because your excess should be bigger than
it was in Survive, even if you won't be spending.
That'll give you dopamine hits.
Yeah.
Seeing that go up.
Okay.
Any final words today?
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Well, for holiday, I think it's an interesting one with the
fitness connection I think more people should think if you're struggling a bit with your money
journey think of it a bit like a fitness journey like it's all about habit it's all about routine
it's all about the little dopamine hits it's how we trick our brains and it shouldn't be about
weight loss which is like the debt payoff when it's like health and wellness for life yeah it's building the habits it's yeah i was like enjoy the process yeah the journey
like i wish it was like when i was in debt are you kidding me but it's true all the good old
days when we had no money and we had to sell the couch and there was camping chairs you have that
like we're all coming together yeah yeah. Yeah. That's why the name Survival is really important
because it's like,
that's how serious
you're going to take it,
survival.
Yeah.
But let's see you graduate.
That's all for this episode.
The Vault is now closed.
Just a quick disclaimer,
The Vault is just a chat
around life and money topics
and we are not giving
financial advice.