Every Monday morning at 8AM, I do a 30-minute "Rock the Week" call. Use this time to map out your game plan for the week, get your head on straight, and get motivated for what's coming up for you. Tomorrow is the very last day of my 30s! I don't have any specific agenda planned, but I'd love to see you there. Drop a comment below and let me know if you can make it! 👇

Let's give a warm welcome to @Peter Ferreira, @Krista Brea, @Iva Thelen, @Demetra Lambros, @Jeff Baer, @Nate Lasko, @Saadia Caudle, @Erica Severson & @Mary Fischman 🙌 Some of you are already super active and I love that! So excited to have you all here and learn more about your financial journeys. Feel free to tell us a bit more about yourselves here

This is what I'd do. Budgeting gets a bad reputation because most people treat it like punishment. Like it’s a diet. Like it’s a list of all the things you’re “not allowed” to have. But here’s the truth most people never get taught: a budget isn’t restriction... it’s direction. And if I had to start all over again, rebuild my entire financial system from scratch, this is exactly how I’d do it. Step 1: I’d Get Brutally Honest About My Income Not the “I think I make around…” number. The real number. Take-home pay. After taxes. After insurance. After retirement contributions. Most people fail at budgeting because they start with a fantasy income and then wonder why the math keeps punching then in the throat. If I had to start again, I’d sit down with every pay stub, every deposit, and calculate exactly what’s coming in each month. No guesswork. No rounding up. No delusion. Step 2: I’d List Every Single Fixed Expense (Without Judgement) Rent, utilities, insurance, car payment, phone bill, subscriptions (yes, even that sneaky one you forgot about), debt payments, childcare, pet care... everything that hits the same time every month. I wouldn’t label anything “good” or “bad.” I wouldn’t shame myself for the totals. I’d just write the truth down. Because a budget built on lies collapses fast. Step 3: I’d Get Realistic About My Variable Expenses Groceries, gas, eating out, Target runs, Amazon “oops,” random kid emergencies, dog emergencies... basically, life. This is where most budgets die. People try to become a brand-new person in one month: “I’m going to spend $30 on groceries and never eat out again!” Yeah… no. If I were starting over, I’d look at my actual spending for the last 90 days and average it. Because you can’t change what you refuse to look at. Step 4: I’d Add Sinking Funds Immediately (Not ‘Someday’) Future expenses are real. Pretending they aren’t is why people swipe the credit card every December and cry on January 2nd. Christmas happens every year.

Let’s talk VSLs -- Video Sales Letters. Basically, it’s the short video that introduces what you offer, who it’s for, and why it matters. It’s not about being “salesy.”It’s about being clear, human, and intentional -- putting your message in motion so people feel it, not just read it. I just finished my first VSL with Steve Gast for How to Rock Your Finances, and honestly? It was such a learning curve. There are already a few things I’d do differently next time, but that’s kind of the point... you don’t really know what to tweak until you’ve done the first one. Getting it out there forced me to: 🎸 Tighten my message 💡 Simplify my offer 🎬 Get comfortable talking about what I actually do in my own voice For this one, my focus was simple: 💰 Make money feel approachable 📊 Show that financial literacy doesn’t have to be boring ⚡️ Help everyday people build confidence with their cash That feels aligned with the How to Rock Your Finances course... but I’m curious: 👉 Do you think this message hits right, or would you shift the focus a bit? 👉 Have you ever made a VSL (or thought about it) for your business or community? If you have one, drop the link below! I’d love to see how you approached it. Also, if you're looking for your own VSL, I can't recommend Steve Gast and his AuthorityCam community enough: https://www.skool.com/authoritycam/about?ref=32b0b96b60084c30b1d99f8dc941ae52

I wouldn’t really say this was out of my comfort zone.. meeting internet strangers in real life isn’t new to me. But recording myself on camera professionally? That definitely pushed me a little! Skool is all about building real connections, and this week was a great reminder of that. I made a post on the Skoolers page about how I use the whiteboard in my kitchen to plan out my activities. A random person commented, which sparked a great conversation -- and before I knew it, I learned there was an in-person Skool meetup happening in Chicago on Sunday. I knew I had to go. And it was so worth it. We recorded our very own VSL, shared insights, learned from some seriously talented people in this business, and wrapped it all up with an amazing authentic Greek meal. The vibe was genuine, inspiring, and just plain fun. If you’ve ever thought about doing your own real-life meetup, I can’t recommend it enough. There’s just something about taking those online connections offline -- it makes everything feel more real, more personal, and more powerful. How was your weekend?