natalie@vitalfinancials.com        Click Here for 30 minutes with me!

 

 

Stacey's Story
A Testimonial

 

Three gold boxes, all different sizes, sit neatly stacked on the bookshelf by my
bed. Every day after work, toting a small stack of cash tips from my job at a local
brunch spot, I take out the boxes and spread their contents on the floor around
me.

Inside are my “Funds,” separated by small sheets of white paper, each paper-
clipped to a stack of cash. There’s a fund for Tithe, one for Travel, one for my
pup, Shiva, and one for Plugger (my aptly named pickup truck). There are also
funds for Groceries, Gas, and Vitals (for everyday essentials like body care
products). And of course a Flex Fund, for those purchases that don’t fall neatly
into any of the other categories.

Once I’ve tallied up my [earnings], I pull out the pencil and pad of paper that lives
in the largest box and enter the numbers into my cash register. Then I divvy up
the cash to the various places it needs to reach. It’s a fully self-created process,
individual to me, and rooted in my own personal money realities.

My paychecks cover my monthly fixed expenses (rent, utilities, etc.), loan
repayment and savings, and my cash management system gives me the
satisfaction of knowing that my day-to-day wants and needs are covered. All of it
feels powerful because it allows me to experience my money in my hands. I feel
responsible for its creation, and for its use. And, when it comes to money, feeling
structured, prepared and empowered is a pretty new experience.

In 2014, I showed up to my first meeting with Natalie lugging a monstrous blue
binder containing the years of financial baggage I’d been too overwhelmed and
clueless to deal with. Letters from creditors about accounts in default.
Notifications of missed student loan payments. Bills, balances and court
judgments. I had no idea where to start cleaning up the mess, I just knew I
couldn’t keep moving through life with my head in the sand. It was time to do
something different.

That was just over two years ago. Since then, my journey toward financial
wellness has led me from that place of scattered but determined uncertainty, to a
place of calm confidence around my money’s present, and future. It’s a whole
new way of Being with my money: confident, secure, and authentic.

When I first lopped that binder onto the table Natalie and I shared during our
initial consultation, I was looking for answers. I believed I had no idea what I was
doing. I believed that transforming my financial life came from deferring to the
wisdom and expertise of certified Money Masters. “Here’s the mess I made.
Show me, oh Wise One, how to clean it up.”

But. What I’ve discovered during my time with Natalie is the answers aren’t “out
there” at all. It’s me who has had the tools and wisdom all along. With that
wisdom, I’m now able to channel what I do know—like what I want, what I love,

and what I’m good at—into creating a life that honors who I am and what I’m here
for.

 

And that is a spectacular place to stand.