Being Fearless with Your Finances with Lori Atwood

“You spend less than you earn every month . . . This is the basis of all personal finance.” –Lori AtwoodFeeling behind with money? Money stuff = anxiety for too many of us. There’s shame and guilt involved, and a sense we don’t know what we should know.At 50, I have a gazillion questions and it’s time to stop fretting and start learning. Lori Atwood, founder of Fearless Finance, is here to answer questions, no judgement. First step, stop comparing yourself to others. Start here: spend less than you earn every month. This is the cornerstone to personal finance and Lori talks about how to make sure you are there. Lori tells us about the other four basic building blocks of personal finance.We talk about:How to deal with income fluctuations we often see as entrepreneursDealing with flux moments, like being between jobsSeparating personal and business moneyPaying off credit card debt starting with the lowest amountWhy to merge finances in a family Getting past guilt and shameABOUT LORILori Atwood is the founder and CEO of Fearless Finance and a CFP® professional. Lori created Fearless Finance to make expert, fiduciary, hourly financial planning accessible to everyone with no sales, no minimums, and no judgement. Lori’s been in finance for over 25 years starting in investment banking, asset management and private equity before starting Fearless Finance in 2016.LINKSfearlessfinance.comhttps://www.instagram.com/fearlessfinance/https://www.linkedin.com/company/fearless-finance/https://www.facebook.com/fearlessfinancehttps://www.tiktok.com/@fearlessfinanceDOABLE CHANGESAt the end of every episode, we share three doable changes, so you can take what you've heard and put it into action. Action is where change happens.Even though we want big change, it’s really little things done over and over that make the difference. So pick a doable thing. Put it in your calendar. Weave it through your days for a week and then move on to the next one. It will have a snowball effect.Here are three Doable Changes from this conversation:SPEND LESS THAN YOU EARN. Add up all your household income. Add up all expenses. Check your checkbook and credit card statements for things you might have missed. Subtract expenses from income. If you get a negative number, you’re spending too much. Look at where you could cut back to bring spending under earnings.CHECK YOUR 5 PILLARS. Spending less than you earn is the most important piece, but there are 4 other pillars to check. Do you pay yourself consistently? Do you have an emergency fund — and is there enough in it? Do you have a rainy day fund? Do you know the difference between the two? Are you saving (enough) for retirement? Do you have debt? If so, do you have a plan to pay it down?PAY OFF A DEBT. It’s hard to get in front of debt. Stop using a card with a rotating balance. Try paying off the credit card that has the lowest balance. This gives you a little win that can help you keep going to get debt down. Can’t pay it all off now? Decide how much you will start paying monthly until it is paid off.