322 | Hidden Savings: How One Call Could Reduce Your Monthly Bills
Ever feel like budgeting advice sounds too abstract or idealistic? You’re not alone. In this “Lessons from the Sessions” edition, we’re sharing some honest, practical insights straight from our client coaching sessions. These stories reveal actionable strategies that can help you make powerful changes to your monthly budgeting habits, improve communication around finances, and feel more confident in your financial decisions.
Key Takeaways
- Combine Finances for Clearer Goals: When couples share their financial goals and resources, they gain clarity, cohesion, and can set bigger goals together.
- Set a Non-Negotiable Income Target: Business owners and freelancers should know the minimum income needed to sustain personal and business expenses.
- Negotiate Your Bills: A simple call to renegotiate bills or lower interest rates can save thousands of dollars annually.
- Limit Credit Card Use: Start fresh by removing credit cards from your wallet to reduce spending temptations.
Why Combining Finances Can Strengthen Your Relationship
One of our clients, a soon-to-be mom, approached us with a unique financial situation: she and her spouse had always kept their finances separate. When we gently suggested she talk to her spouse about combining their finances, it sparked a powerful conversation.
Couples who pool resources and set shared goals experience greater alignment and focus. Why? It allows them to track progress together, which can strengthen trust and unity. Even if past habits are hard to break, just the act of asking “Why are we keeping our finances separate?” can lead to powerful insights and growth.
Pro Tip: If you and your spouse are still managing separate accounts, try discussing your long-term financial goals. Think about how much easier it might be to plan for big things together by uniting your resources.
A New Habit for Small Business Owners: Setting a Minimum Income Target
For self-employed clients, including hairdressers, salon owners, and other independent professionals, knowing how much you need to bring home each month is crucial. One client, a salon owner, discovered that defining a “non-negotiable” income target helped her set realistic goals for both her business and personal finances.
By identifying exactly how much she needs to support her household, she was able to set a baseline (“good”), a stretch (“better”), and an aspirational (“best”) monthly income goal. This clarity allowed her to plan her client bookings around specific targets, making her financial health feel more predictable and achievable.
Pro Tip: If you’re self-employed, start by calculating your personal and business expenses to set a monthly income baseline. Aim to meet at least the “good” goal each month, while working toward the “best” target over time.
Easy Wins by Calling to Negotiate Bills
One client couple recently saved over $4,000 annually just by making a few phone calls! After reviewing their expenses, they reached out to credit card and utility companies and successfully reduced monthly payments and eliminated interest charges, creating substantial breathing room in their budget.
With a simple call to negotiate their credit card interest, they secured a 0% rate, reducing their payments by over $220 per month. They also cut their phone and internet costs by reevaluating their plans, finding better options that suited their needs for less money.
Pro Tip: Take a look at recurring bills—credit cards, internet, phone—and make calls to negotiate for better rates. Providers often have promotional rates or lower-cost plans they don’t advertise.
The Simple Strategy to Stop Adding Debt
Credit card points and rewards might seem enticing, but they can also encourage spending. For clients trying to break the cycle of debt, we recommend taking credit cards out of their wallets (or removing them from online payment accounts). One client tried this strategy and found it immediately helpful, as it forced her to think twice before spending.
Relying on cash or debit forces you to stay within your budget and make more intentional spending choices. Even if you’re motivated by rewards, consider putting credit cards aside temporarily to build new habits. After all, the reward for avoiding debt is often worth more than any airline lounge access!
Pro Tip: Try a “credit card detox.” Remove your credit cards from your physical wallet and digital accounts like PayPal. Then, make all your purchases with cash or debit for a month to see the impact on your spending habits.
Final Thoughts
In this session, we shared real strategies that clients are using to take charge of their finances. If there’s one takeaway for today, it’s that small changes—combining finances, setting clear income goals, renegotiating bills, and limiting credit card use—can create a big impact on your financial journey. These practical steps can not only help you manage your finances better but also build healthier financial habits and strengthen relationships in the process.
So here’s your action item: Take a look at one aspect of your financial life today and make a change. Whether it’s combining finances, setting an income goal, or calling a provider to lower your bills, you’ll be one step closer to reaching your financial goals.
Full Transcript
All right. It’s time again for the lessons from the sessions. And so when we do these episodes, we just want to take the things that we’re working and talking to our clients about and bring it here to you so that it can help you with your monthly budgeting and your behavior when it comes to your finances.
Yeah. And we know that they are getting something out of this. We’re getting something out of this and we’re talking to them. And so we are hoping to bring that to you guys, like Shana said and we know it’s going to help you because we have heard time and time again, people ask us all the time, how do you get so much content for your podcast?
Listen, yeah, we have all these sessions with our clients and we bring that information back to our audience. Yep. So let’s dive right 📍 in.
📍 We are excited to bring another lessons. From the sessions. And when you guys, we have some great sessions with our clients, every. Single week, and we love to take that information. Share it with you guys. So hopefully you can get something out of it. All right. So the first contestant on the price is wrong. No, just kidding. The coaching is right, right. I’ll be the new, the new tagline. Okay. So I have a wonderful new client. She’s so sweet. She is about. Out to go on maternity leave soon. And, you know, when we were talking about her finances, that our very. The first session, she kind of alluded to the fact that they have. Have their finances separate.
And I kind of went through the first session, just gathered information. I just let her tell me everything that was going on. Well, this second session. That we had at the end of the call. I said, Hey, if you don’t mind me asking. You know, how come you guys have had your finances separate? Is this something that y’all have just. Done from the beginning.
Have you never really talked about it? Did you just never really think about. At it. And she said, actually, it’s just something we’ve always done is. They literally have not had. Had that conversation about combining finances, right? And so I just said, Hey, would you guys be willing to have that conversation?
Do you think. That you and your husband could sit down and just ask, why are we doing this? Do we like it? Do we not? Like it. And then maybe here are some things that we could do with our money. If it was combined. Cause you know, I kind of told her, we, you know, diluted focus brings a little recess. Yes.
Right. So when you have your money everywhere, You kind of miss. Miss the opportunity on what it can do as a whole for you, when you see it all pulled. All together. Yeah. Well, and the other thing that we talk about a lot is you don’t get. The benefit of working as a team and in your marriage on this particular. Issue.
And, and that sounds probably counterintuitive because. You know, we’re we think that a lot of times we fight about money or it’s kind of a. Stress point, but if you can get it all together and get it on one page and. And then, and be on the same page. The relationship building that happens. Happens from setting goals from doing the hard thing from from accomplishing. Goals and moving toward the desired life that you want together. Like, there’s nothing better than this.
It’s almost, it’s not like, but. If you think about like how kids you have to do it together and it makes you either a brake shoe. Or it makes you right. It makes you the couple that you, that you know, that you become is like, Such such a gift in that process as a partnership, raising children. It’s like a little teeny tiny version of that.
Like the teamwork it requires. The personal growth, the open communication, like. Just talking to each other, honestly, about what you want about what your. Yeah, maybe you each have a couple of bad habits or whatever. Just being open with each other. It just built. Builds that trust and builds the relationship.
And it’s, it’s just one of the parts of. Marriage that you might be missing out if you’re not doing it well. And we also like to say it’s so much. More about money and like what Shayna is talking about is that explanation. It is. Communication relationship building. You learned to be transparent. You learn to have. These hard conversations, if you’ve never had them before, when you’re working as a team, you’re focused on your. Our goals together doing it right. No next to each other.
So. I think that it is a good idea. If you guys have never, if there’s. Anyone listening. Who’s never had that conversation. You just naturally have always done it. Separate. Separate. Yeah. Think about maybe asking your spouse, why do we have our. Finances separate and Hey, what if we brought them together?
And this is what we could do with it. Instead, instead of looking at it separately. So yeah, I just brought that up to her and she was like, Yeah, actually, we’re going to talk about that. So I’m excited to see kind of where that conversation goes. I don’t. Our next session and kind of how we move forward.
Yeah. And the, the LA the last thing I’ll say is. I’m glad that it was amicable. Like sometimes it’s not right. Amicable. And I did tell her that I was like, this is actually a really great conversation. A lot of times that’s not. The answer. I got a lot of times it is something happened and this is why.
Yeah. Yeah. But even still, we, we wanna, we wanna, for the most. Pull them together. Vanessa and I like this image from it’s from. From the book of centralism or the book, the one thing I can’t remember, 20. But. Where, you know, it’s like the it’s like one line going straight. And connected all the way.
It goes way further, but when you break that line, Up into a million different directions. It can not have it can’t go as long. Right. Cause it’s It’s diluted, focuses, Xeloda results and the other graphic. That you might think that I just sent her, I think last week is. Like, if you have a bunch of a bunch of buckets and you’re trying to fill each one up. A little bit at. At a time instead of like filling one bucket up at a time and being done with that bucket and the next. Okay.
And it’s just, it’s going to take you longer. First of all, if you guys are. Having combined finances, you don’t have combined goals and that’s weird, right. And when you come together yeah. Coming together as one and you should be wanting. To do things as one, as a team to accomplish them. Yeah. And so, So when you have your income doing completely different things, then. It can’t do the cool, big things together that you might be able to when you combine it, like Vanessa said, well, And I love how you just said the big things, because a lot of times people, they can’t even. I think or dream or imagine the big things, because all they see are the, the little. Everyday things because they don’t have enough money or their money isn’t pulled together. To be able to make that even a reality.
Right. So. So what if you could dream big? What if you. Had these big visions, but you just can’t see it because you’ve never thought of it that way before. So yeah. Yeah. Okay. I have a really simple lesson, but it came from two recent. Sessions. And it’s called take your credit cards out of your wallet.
That’s the conversation. Oh, wait, can we add the bills account to that, to the bills account? No, you don’t get to intrude. All my credit cards, because I am literally talking about credit cards. Yes. Obviously take the bills and that. That is another conversation. I literally had yesterday, but did I have a session yesterday? I think so. Oh, I wouldn’t say that’s what I was like.
Okay. No, not the Bill’s cart, although that shouldn’t be normal, either credit cards now. To be fair. The one conversation I had this with was a brand new client. So this is allowed. She can slide for now. Yeah, you get a pass. But another one of my clients. She she’s trying. Some for the rewards and, but like the lounge you. You know how you get to go to an airport lounge or something? We don’t know about that life. You all, let us know. That way we just sit in the regular lobby. Anyway, it doesn’t matter.
And I told her I’m not, I’m not mad about that. That’s fine. But we really, it’s kind of like being an addict. Do you want just a little bit of a cocaine or, or just none at all? We’re going to go with none, right? And that’s where we really kind of have to start with the credit cards.
If. If it’s bad, maybe you’re not this bad and she’s not that bad, but it’s like we have. I have to stop the bleeding and it has to be like such a fi like a hard line. You know, That that we’re doing something completely different. Otherwise this wishy washy a little bit here, a little bit there. You’re not going to one.
You’re not going to make progress. And. And you’re not forcing yourself to grow and change and do new things, which the new things. Is what you need to do, because if, if you didn’t need them, what you were already doing would have been working in. It wasn’t right. So. Am I on a soapbox a little bit. Okay.
I. I don’t care about your points. Look, I’m. I see today. Okay. Don’t. We care about your airport lounge. I mean, I kind of do, if you’ll take me with you, I might change. I might be willing to be bribed. Okay. But anyway, now, Well, the point was like, if. If you, if you’re going to use it for the lounge, do you, do you have to like literally carry it around to Walmart? Walmart with you or target or wherever you go.
I don’t think you do. We want to take. Those out of the wallet and we have to stop. Like how many times do you have to say. Say it a lot because what does it say? Like seven times sometimes. For somebody, the brain. Needs to hear it before they get it. If you want to get out of debt, the first rule is you have to stop. Using that you have to stop creating debt.
Right. And that is much easier. To do. If you take the credit cards out of your wallet, do not keep them in your wallet. And Hey. Hey, by the way, also take them out of your digital wallet, right? PayPal. PayPal, Amazon all of the digital online access platforms. Yeah. Your training wheels. R to learn to spend cash, not credit. Yeah. And I will say we’ve been doing this for a hot minute guys. I don’t believe Shayna. I at least I know I haven’t.
I’ve had one claim. Client who wishes the opposite. Like who we got. Out of the credit card point. Era. Whatever it is. And then they were like, oh, I want to go back there. There’s not one. And usually no offense. It’s usually the husbands who are like really want points. Cause, like Shannon said. It’s again, gamifying it right. Which is fine, but when. When we explain. Our game. Our system. Yeah. The way that we’re doing things and the amount of money that they’re now building in their savings. The account and the interest that they’re making because of the accounts that were putting their money in there. We’re on board and they make way more money with our savings buckets are saving. The bucket system in a high yield money market or high yield savings accounts, then. They would with credit card points. Yeah. I love it.
I think people. It might just, it’s just like an identity thing. You just, you can’t see yourself. Herself as the person that doesn’t even care or rely or think about credit cards, because they’re just not there. Yet. Yeah. Right. But that’s where you can get a few, if you actually stick to the plan. And do the system. And with this with one of these clients. You know, Like I said, it’s not like you’re not actually an addict, but we. We, if you want to go back, like Vanessa said, let’s, let’s clean this up. They’re never. Gonna be like, oh no, I don’t want you back.
That’s not how it works. Okay. Let’s clean this up. Let’s do it this one way and see how it works. And then if you absolutely, your debt-free. Free you’re feeling really good. And you feel like I still want that airport lounge credit. Credit card. Then go back, but, but give the system a chance to work. And like Vanessa said, we haven’t seen because you get used to having cash and that’s better.
Well, and that’s usually. What I tell my clients, I’m like, listen, can you just, you’re here for coaching, obviously something isn’t working. Right. So let’s go through this system. You’re investing in yourself and your. Investing in your future. Let’s go through this. Let’s set the whole thing up. See if you like it.
If. If you hate it, go back. That’s totally fine. Not one of them has, so I can. I can just speak to what we, what we’re doing. It’s it is working and it, I believe it’s better. Better than the credit card. So you get that girl.
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Okay. So another one of my clients they’re so sweet. She’s a business owner. She’s also a hairdresser.
So she owns a salon where she rents all. The booths. They’re smart. They’re very baseline, but then she also cuts hair. So she. She has her own booth where she is cutting hair. So she, so the money that she’s making. From the rental booth states in the business, the money that she is making from hairdressing Mart. Comes home.
And that is their main source of income. Yes, it is. Very smart. However, they just opened the business this year. They did take out a loan. Was it. You know, investing in kind of setting that up. They also have some personal. Debt and some stuff that they’re trying to clean up and just get everything under control. What we did was we set a non-negotiable goal of how much money she. She had to make cutting hair to be able to cover her personal finances. It wasn’t like this.
I don’t know how much I’m going to make. I’m not sure how many clients I’m. I’m going to see it’s like, no, no, no, no, no. We need to know exactly just like a 40 hour week job. Right. We need to know exactly how much money that you are spending at home. And how much money you need to run your personal life.
And that way you can set a goal and go, I. I have to cut so many people’s hair off to make so much money. And. While I also told her, I was like, what if we did like a good, better, best? So the. The good is bare minimum. Like this is just going to get you by to cover your. You’re your minimal costs.
And then the better is like, okay, we can pay off a little bit of debt. At, or you can go one more time out to eat or something. Right. And then the best. It is, we’re doing a lot more with your money because we have more available. We can start maybe putting. Money and savings buckets and planning for travel and things like that.
So, Yeah, just set a non-negotiable especially you guys that are business owners, you have to know. No. How much your personal life costs you in order to be able to tell. Your business, this is how much money I have to bring in not only to cover business, but also. Also to cover personal. Yeah. Yeah. And I do that with my clients to. And it’s just, I think it gives you some clarity and I. I like how you said non-negotiable because that, that usually is the, the con the. A tough conversation that we have to have.
It’s like, here’s the reality. You have to make 10. $10,000 or whatever. In revenue in order to cover your business costs and. In your personal class or whatever, whatever it might be. And you need to know that because, and. And I actually don’t think it’s that scary it’s I would rather know. Right. Like know exactly. What needs to happen then be like, I don’t know.
I don’t actually know what that’s more scary to me. But that is something that, that really clarifies the situation. And so then, It’s just a numbers game, right. Then it’s like, okay, I, how many haircuts? So exactly. Do I literally have to book in order to hit this goal. And then you like, it’s actual. Numbers that you can do things. With, and that always makes me feel better personally.
Yeah. Yeah, for sure. I think that again, it’s like a checklist, right? So if you can break down how many. Do you need for the month that then you can break it down for how many you need for the week and the day and everything. And then. And then just make a little chart and you can just check off those heads if you’re a hairdresser or if. You’re a chiropractor or whatever.
We have a lot of massage therapists that are our clients as well. So just knowing exactly how many parents are parents. Patients you have to treat or who you have to attend to, to be able to. Hit your goal. It just really helps. Yeah, it does. All right, so I have a. A new couple and guess what? There’s they’re awesome. They’re so sweet. Yeah, they are awesome.
So that’s my word is they’re awesome. And you usually say sweet. I’m really excited. They come well split, especially the husband. Like she’s a little more. I think anxious. Yeah, but the husband comes and he’s like, so jolly. And like ready to go and he’s done all the things and he’s just, I think they’re both just so ready to, to get this taken. Taken care of, and, and it makes my job. My job really, really easy. But, and. And the way I know that is he did all the homework.
And they were like, they couldn’t wait to tell me, like, okay, okay. Okay. So anyway what it was their first session. So one of. The first things we’re going to tell you, dude, do is call these credit. Let’s look at this situation. Why is this. And, you know, it’s kind of nice to have a coach where we see all of the bills. We see everybody’s phone bills.
We see everybody’s. Insurance bills. Everybody’s internet. Internet bills and we can see it, but like that’s a little high. Why don’t you give them a level? Okay. So they did. We give, we give that checklist. And we say, call these people. And so they, he called The credit card has credit card company, which I actually think it was.
I’d have to go. I look it up, but they called them and he was able to get his monthly payment. Reduced by over $220. Wow. Citi bank has really, I think. It must’ve been them, but they have been helping our clients. Yeah. Yeah. And. They took it to 0% interest. So that, that was such a big. Deal. And it was only all he had to do is call well, actually he may have had to call one of the ones, but I think. Actually that was the at and T person they did.
So then, and I’ve had a, some. Clients like this when they actually do it, they go and they just like knock. So. So much money off their monthly, their monthly expenses. It’s crazy. And they’re so surprised that that was like a possibility. Yeah. It was just a phone call. So then they called or they went into 18 and T I can’t. I remember, and they were able to reduce that, which is our phone bill by $55 a. A month and then they decided they didn’t need the ridiculous. Internet, just the regular, not the ridiculous one.
And then that. Was $63 that they reduced their internet bill. And so this was one session. And they saved all of this money that Vanessa’s I am, I’m doing. The math on my phone. Yeah. Yeah. And it’s a savings of over $4,000. A year, Shayna. Yeah. That is huge. It is. And. And it’s going to really, it’s going to put them in the position to actually get ahead.
Right. And. So that’s invaluable like that. What does that discover commercial like priceless. Well remember. Where it lists everything out, how much it’s cost. So the $4,000, but then the. Ability to get your finances in control to actually use the budget to get ahead, to pay off debt. Like because you’ve created that wiggle room is priceless.
And so I was just really excited. For them. What people realize is that they don’t think they can help these conversations. They don’t think. That they can pick up the phone. Yeah. What is it, Alex? he always says everything’s negotiable. You live in the United States, you live in America.
Everything’s negotiable. But you know, I. I don’t think that there’s any harm in picking up the phone, especially. So my phone belly personal. For example. We had a phone plan we’ve had forever and I went to. The the company. And I said, Hey, what do you guys offer now? And they said, oh, We actually have a cheaper plan with more benefits that you could be taking. Advantage of, and I’m like, well, why didn’t I hear about this?
Why. I didn’t even tell me what they. I tell you, right? Exactly. So I was able to pay less money for more things. Yeah, right. And so just by opening my mouth and having that conversation. With them. The problem is, is we’re also busy. Yeah. I was just going to say that, that. That nobody. Has time to do that, which I understand, but you can, you can not get on Netflix one time. Okay.
And instead, make these conversations. I have these conversations and make the. Phone calls and just see what you can get. Yeah, I think so. What I think immediately. Well, if you would all just come coach us less, what it takes is somebody telling you to do it. Telling you what to do when to do it. And what order, right.
But we. Can’t coach everybody. So we’re coaching you right now. And your takeaway from this episode is to. I look at your bills and see which ones you can call and negotiate your credit. You can. I can negotiate many different ways. You can ask them to pause the interest so that you can focus. I’m paying it off.
You can ask them to defer a payment so that you can maybe pay off a smaller. Credit card or depending on how it is, or in many cases, they can reduce your minimum. The payment. Yeah, you might as well call. Okay. But then also look at your budget is your internet is. W you need to renegotiate your insurance.
Always the phone bill. One of my continued phrases and I’m sure you have the same thing as, oh, it’s. So nice that they raised that bill. Like, it’s just nice for them. Every every month, like, Oh, that went up, that went up and it’s like a dollar here, $2 there. And then by the, by the time you get through. A year it’s up.
So look at your bills, see what you can call and just make. Hey, if you’re like us, you’re Uber momming all the time. Do you want on the. A car, right? Just put them on your, your, what is it? Your through the Bluetooth. The phone and wait on hold forever in your life while your timing and that. We helped you two birds at once with one stone, right? You don’t have to make extra time to do it.
You’re already in the car and you can just get it done. And that way, by the time you get home, It’s taken care of. Okay. So we hope that these lessons. I have spoken to you that maybe some of it relates and maybe. You can take something from what we said and apply it to your financial life. Yes. And we’ll see you next time.
