About 18 months ago, I joined a gym. At the time, I’m not quite sure why, but there was a promotion and I was passing by. I used to laugh at what I called the “fitty mcfits” exercising at 7am as I drove past and now I am one of them and I get it.
I work out 6 - 7 days a week, I no longer have to drag myself out of bed, and I love it!
I go to work out, but the real reason is the shower at the end. There’s something indulgent about stepping into a freshly cleaned space, enjoying a hot rinse in a bathroom that I do not have to clean. I have the world’s smallest, darkest, coldest bathroom with dreadful water pressure at home. Even standing outside under a drain pipe would be an upgrade.
That gym shower is my little luxury, and it’s taught me a lot about money, especially when it comes to using other people’s money, in a healthy, positive way.
Exercising every day keeps me grounded. It clears my head. It strengthens my body and my mind. It gives me structure and routine in all areas of my life.
If you are a woman in your 40s, earning well but struggling with overspending and credit card debt, you are not alone. You are successful, you make huge decisions every day in your professional life. However, when it comes to your teenage children asking for something, you may find yourself being overly generous and not setting healthy boundaries. Is there a guilty voice in your head saying? “I should be able to get this under control.” You may simply be stuck in a cycle.
You are doing the work, but the work is not working.
My favourite part of exercising is that luxurious, hot, uninterrupted shower. I have all the benefits and none of the heavy lifting and you can too.
That’s how credit cards should work.
When you use them with a clear conscious spending plan and pay them off in full each month, by direct debit, you are getting a free short-term loan. You are using the secrets of successful banking, learning to use other people’s money responsibly and ethically.
However, if you are carrying debt, you are not using a clean shower. You’re standing in the one at home that has not been cleaned in three weeks. And you’re still paying for the gym membership on top of it.
Life can get loud and busy. Teenagers push buttons. Online ordering is easier, and that’s ok, I’m a big advocate for ways to make life easier. The trick is using other people’s money to your advantage and making a conscious spending plan.
Just like fitness is about consistency and intention, so is money.
Just like daily exercise helps me feel stronger, clearer, and more in control, so does taking daily action on my finances.
You don’t need to be perfect. You need a system and structure. Ironically, structure gives you freedom.
Credit cards are the enemy. Debt is not failure. You have the power to use other people’s money wisely. And when you do, you free up your mental energy, your income, and your future.
Tomorrow is 1st January 2025 - for some, it's a new day, a new year and a fresh start. So many of us wait for the right time to start, the right time to do something new, the best time. Believe it or not, the best time is generally now. The best time is when you make the decision to make the change.
In November 2024, I decided I wanted to improve my gym technique. I know how to work out. I know how to lift weights. I know how to exercise but I wanted to get better because there is always more to learn. I could have waited until January when most gyms are full to the brim, I could have waited until I felt ready, I could have just waited. I decided to hire a trainer to work with me one to one and help me make subtle changes.
There is power in decision. There is power in momentum. Even if you already know how to do something, there is always room to improve.
Happy New Year 2025 - decide to take action and then take action today.
Book in for a chat to see how hiring a money coach can help you make subtle changes to improve.
Would you like a simple script that will save you hundreds if not thousands of euro every year? If so, keep reading.
Renegotiating utilities can be a bit of a chore, so why not make it fun?
This simple sentence will change everything.
Step 1 - Every time a utility or insurance is due for renewal, I ring them up and say, "Hi, how are you? Can you remind me how long I've been a customer of yours, please?" I already know, but I want them to look up my file and realise how much I have spent so far.
Step 2 - They give me the answer, for example, 4 years, and I say "wow, that long, I wonder if we can make it 5?". Prefixing your question with "I wonder" presents an element of curiosity and the other person's subconscious mind is starting to wonder too. Asking powerful questions results in powerful answers.
Step 3 - Silence! That's it, stop talking, don't say anything, tape your mouth shut.
In most cases, you will be offered a further discount. If not, don't panic, there is always another supplier more than happy to take your business. In the words of Jack Canfield from The Success Principles, SWSWSWSW - some will, some won't, so what, someone's waiting.
One of the most common questions I am asked is "What should I invest in?"
My answer is always the same. It depends on what you value.
I enjoy art and art galleries. I invested in a year's membership of the National Gallery in Ireland. This gives me free access to paid exhibitions, a discount in the cafe and the shop (very handy for last minute unusual gifts), and so much more. Most of the National Gallery is free anyway but membership gives me a few little extras.
Sunday is my switch off day. One of the ways I switch off is to walk around a gallery or museum.
If there is a location or activity that you enjoy and go to regularly, why not consider an annual membership if it is available? It often works out considerably cheaper and gives so much more. Many years ago, when I lived close to Dublin Zoo, I had an annual membership so that my son and I could visit as often as we wanted at no extra cost.
As Ramit Sethi, the author of I will teach you to be rich says, "spend extravagantly on the things you love and cut costs mercilessly on the things you don't".
This does not mean you ignore your basic utilities, however, knowing your values and understanding what is important to you will help guide your spending decisions.
My working day starts at 8.30am. I get up at 6am, do some journaling, drink a green smoothie before heading to the gym.
My secret to motivating myself to go the gym every morning at 7am is that I get to have a gorgeous, long, hot, uninterrupted shower at the end in a bathroom that I do not have to clean. I have lots of space to do my hair and make-up. My house has the world's smallest bathroom.
Leveraging resources is one of the key steps towards financial freedom.
Using a credit card properly is one way to use other people's money for free. I am a big fan of credit when used correctly.
The more I move my body, the more flexible I am. Your personal spending plan should not feel restrictive, it's yours, you designed it. By taking a more zen approach to life in general, your physical and financial fitness will improve.
The other hidden benefit to being a regular gym visitor is that I get to wear fancy yoga pants.
Facing fears is always easier said than done.
I finally faced my fear of the tax office and spent 2 hours on the phone ironing out a small thing that had been following me for ages.
Fear of the tax office is a common fear. We often use the expression "The Tax Man" as if one person is waiting to pounce if we make ourselves visible. My grandfather's tax affairs took over 30 years to iron out posthumously. There was nothing wrong; he died very suddenly and was not the most organised person.
Even though he died long before I was born, I subconsciously inherited this fear of dealing with the tax office. Generational and ancestral trauma is real. We inherit memories at a cellular level.
My tax returns are always submitted on time and usually in advance. I am always 100% compliant but one small outstanding issue had been dragging on for months. I kept putting it off, then I tried to call without success. I then tried to raise an online enquiry that fell into a black hole.
Finally, I decided to call in and just get it done. The person I spoke to was not able to help but gave me the right phone number to ring. I installed myself in a coffee shop, got comfy, put my headphones in and sat on the phone with a helpful, patient woman in the right section. I had been dealing with the wrong section all along.
She explained everything to me, talked me through what I needed to do, used clear language and offered me helpful advice. She also made me feel good about myself. She said that she deals with tax experts every day who have questions. No one knows everything.
I had been beating myself up that I should know how to figure this out, I should know how to manage my tax affairs, I should be able to navigate the website, I should be able to understand the calculations, I should be 100% compliant and up to date.
The reality is that this was a tiny oversight that had just been overlooked in error. No one was at fault. I did not owe any money. I use an accountant to help.
It's safe to ask for help, it's safe to hire a team, it's safe not to know everything. It's safe to face your fears. It's safe to set yourself up for success and have good systems in place. My favourite success system for money management is YNAB.
We cannot see our blind spots. If you feel you need to reach out, why not book in for a chat?
After a very long, horrible flu that lasted 
almost 4 weeks, I finally went back to the gym today. I would normally exercise 6 days a week like clockwork because I like it and it's my comfort zone. I have trained myself to wake at 6am every day and I go to bed at 10pm. This routine gives me freedom and structure.
Many years ago, my comfort zone was debt because I had unconsciously trained myself for that space to be my comfort zone. That was my economic zero. The place that felt normal to me.
I have subsequently retrained myself to feel more comfortable building wealth and having positive, healthy bank balances. That is now my new economic zero. Even though my income suffered because of simply not being available, I have been able to maintain myself and my business without undue distress.
My question to you is - what is your economic zero? What is your money comfort zone? Once you identify it, you can push through it. Repeat after me "It's safe for me to be financially independent, it's safe for me to build wealth, it's safe for me to have more because the more I have, the more I can give and the more I give, the more I can have."
What I have learned from being sick recently.
If you have been following me on social media, you will know that I have been smacked over the head with some smelly virus and have been quite unwell for a few weeks.
