SPEAKER_00 0:35

Welcome. I'm Arissa Chadwick, host of the Resilient Faith Online Show. I'm an online marketing coach and certified copywriter. In this podcast, you'll find a different perspective to the external and internal challenges we face as online content creators. Join me for some inspiration and practical tips as we create positive change online. To connect with me and my private Facebook group, go to marissashadrick.com forward slash community. Hello everyone. How are you doing today? Marissa Shadrick here, and in this Resilient Faith Online podcast, I have a very special guest. And I am excited because she has overcome some huge obstacles in the area of finance. And she's going to tell us her story and her journey on how she was able to get out of debt. So welcome, Marie Sonoman. How are you?

SPEAKER_01 1:31

Thank you. I'm well. I'm so excited to be here.

SPEAKER_00 1:34

Hey, tell us a little bit about yourself. Give us a little bit of background and what you do and as far as far as the online space, how do you help people?

SPEAKER_01 1:43

Yeah. So my name is Marie Sonoman and I work in law enforcement and I've been in that for about 15 years. And I got into finances when I found myself in $106,000 in debt. And so that's what led me down the path to figure it out for myself and then figure it out for some family members as well. And that got me on the journey. And so ordinary to badass helps a majority of it is women to get out of debt and to live a life that they've always wanted to live.

SPEAKER_00 2:16

I love it. Taking control back of your life and not feeling like a victim, but saying, hey, okay, I'm in this situation, but I'm going to do something about it. So you said a hundred and six thousand dollars. You kind of gloss over that. So I wanted to sit on that for a second. Is that correct? Yeah. $106,000. Now I'm I'm guessing some of that was probably education, that kind of stuff that accumulated.

SPEAKER_01 2:43

No, I wish I had some great story about some great thing that I got. It was just um, some of it was cars or like a trailer. Um, but a lot of it was just debt that I accumulated on credit cards, and that's how I began paying stuff was just, you know, via credit card. And that's what I used to solve my problems, but it just created a bigger problem.

SPEAKER_00 3:05

Right. So what was the moment when you figured I need to do something different? I need to stop. When was that aha moment that you decided this has to change?

SPEAKER_01 3:20

Um, I think a big thing for me was I was married at the time and I got served with paperwork that um my ex or my spouse at the time, his house was going into foreclosure, his second house. And I had no clue about it, no idea. And so I'm like, I'm not the type of person to have a house go in foreclosure, but I got served with that paperwork, you know, and I'm not the type of person who wants to have to go to collections or have issues, um, file bankruptcy. Now, I'm not knocking people that have to do it because I was probably close, you know. Um, but that was really my wake-up call to say, okay, something's really got to change here.

SPEAKER_00 3:58

Right. All of a sudden it's like something you never expected that you would be facing, and now you're facing it, and it totally was like a reality check for you that oh my oh my gosh, you know, this is I'm hitting rock bottom here. I've got to do something different. So, how did it feel as far as stepping into whatever journey you decided to take to do that? Did it seem impossible? Did it seem like, okay, I'm just gonna dig my heels and work this out and figure this out? I mean, did you have hope of being out of debt, or was that something that I'm gonna try? And if it works, great. If not, you know, I'll try to spend less money. What was your mindset around that?

SPEAKER_01 4:41

The whole thing felt very intimidating. It felt overwhelming and intimidating, and I just didn't know where to start. Growing up, a lot of us aren't taught finances, you know, we're not taught what to do or where to save money. So it really just felt intimidating. And really the budget, creating a budget, anything like that felt so like out of reach for me. I was like, I was never good at math. How am I gonna do this? You know, so it was intimidating, but the pain was so strong of being a debt and the threat of like going to collections or having a house going to foreclosure. That was so big that I was like, I have got to figure this out one way or another. I'm gonna make a change.

SPEAKER_00 5:19

Right. So, regardless whether you had the skills or felt like you had the skills, I I can resonate with what you said. The pain was greater than the fear of moving forward and doing something different. And sometimes for some of us, it's a motivation of something that me we may want in the future, but oftentimes it's the pain of our situation. I mean, you can think of that in different scenarios, even with weight gain and those kind of things when people feel like I can't fit in my clothes anymore. This is my point of turning this around and changing what I'm doing, or whatever it might be, you know, some and any kind of addiction for that matter, um, could be a wake-up call where you decide, I'm going to change this and do something better. And it could be even being a workaholic of just working so much that you're not spending time with, I'm just creating these scenarios because we think, well, I'm not like that. But when you think about it, I have to guard against being a workaholic because I work so much and I have to make sure that I have an end time, that I have my goals and things that I have set each day, because that can become a sort of addiction where I'm not giving the time that I need to my family or my grandchild or whatever it might be. So we have to be careful, don't we, about how we spend our time and how we spend our resources?

SPEAKER_01 6:42

Yeah, absolutely. And I think that one area tends to bleed into another area, you know, like if we're not balanced with our work life, if we're not balanced with our relationships, our finances, our health, you know, it starts to create little bubbles or little problems in other areas of our life. So it's so important.

SPEAKER_00 6:57

Yeah, that's a great insight because did you find that the issue wasn't necessarily money, that it was something else, something deeper?

SPEAKER_01 7:07

Yeah, I it's a mindset game. It's completely a mindset game. Um, when I was upset emotionally, like I ended up getting a divorce, but I wasn't necessarily happy in my marriage and I wasn't taking care of that. And I think that that bled over to my finances. So, like I use my emotions to spend, to buy something on Groupon, to buy something on Amazon, you know. So it is so important to pay attention to all the areas of your life.

SPEAKER_00 7:31

That's true. That is true. Because I know when I've worked a long day and I'm tired, I feel like I need a reward of something that's not healthy for me to eat. Yeah. And those are the habits we want to break. When you think of it as counterproductive, why would I want to put junk in my body after I've worked really hard? But right, that comfort food, right? Oh my gosh. So, how long did it take you to get out of debt? $106,000 is a lot.

SPEAKER_01 8:01

I know it was just under two years, which absolutely blew my mind. But I just like bared down, knuckled down, it was like, I'm gonna get this done. And so I started working all the overtime that I could, doing everything that I could to just throw as much money at it. And then once I started to gain momentum, then it got exciting. And I probably gave up more and stopped doing less stuff, like started dyeing my hair at home instead of going to the salon, like those kind of things just because I saw the results. Like I was like, okay, I'm seeing movement, I'm getting somewhere now.

SPEAKER_00 8:31

Oh, okay, got you. So, how long before you started seeing momentum? Because it took you two years, which I think is amazing for that amount of debt. I think you just knocked it out like very quickly. So, um, when you actually saw like momentum building, where about on that scale from beginning to two years, did that happen?

SPEAKER_01 8:54

I think that it happened pretty early. I mean, the first time when I wrote everything down and I saw that it was $106,000, you know, I was overwhelmed and just like, oh my gosh, what do I do? You know? Um, so that felt like a lot. But then relatively quickly, I started to see like, okay, I have a plan. And I think that's a huge part of it, is just having a plan of what you're gonna do. And so I had a plan to pay off the smallest debt first, and that's what I started doing. Um, so relatively quickly, I started to see, okay, this is working. So I would say within a couple months.

SPEAKER_00 9:23

Oh, wow, that quickly.

unknown 9:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:25

So that's that's encouraging to just hunker down and to do that. So, did you deprive yourself of a lot of things or did you just do it differently? Because sometimes we're not depriving ourselves. There's just a better way. Like instead of eating out, we can make an amazing healthier meal at home. It just maybe will take us 30 minutes or 60 minutes to to do it as opposed to driving, which probably will only save you maybe 15 minutes because because you got to drive to a restaurant, you got to sit there, you got to wait for the waitress to to you know come and serve you. And by the time you're done, you got to wait for the checks. So it might be longer actually eating out than it is, you know, making something at home. Did you do things like that?

SPEAKER_01 10:11

Um, I think that I did deprive myself of some things, but it got more intense as time went on, like because I got so excited and I started seeing the results. So if are in the beginning, I was like, I'm not giving up my coffee, you know, I'm still gonna go to Starbucks once a week or twice a week, or you know, just a little bit. Um, and then as I started to see some momentum, then I was like, okay, let me just try creamer, you know, and so I do creamer and have that at home. And then, you know, I started moving away from some of the extra stuff that I would have done before, but it was because I started seeing results. And, you know, I'm not a big fan of depriving yourself completely. Um, I think that it is nice to pick one or two things that you want to splurge on. So if you want to get your hair done, you know, pick that. If one thing is your thing as long, as long as it's not like a crazy amount of money, you still should surprise yourself or delight in some of the small things, you know. Um, I don't think you need to completely restrict yourself.

SPEAKER_00 11:04

Yeah. Yeah. No, I I have to get my hair done. That's a must. So um that no, that one just is it's it's like eating and anything else and breathing. Child, eating and breathing. I gotta get my hair done. So so that's amazing. So I think the excitement and the momentum and seeing the results just you saw the the end. You saw the end of the tunnel. And you knew that if you continue to do this, it would continue. I mean, it's almost like accumulating the debt, how quickly we can do it, we can shave it off just as quickly when we're focused. That's what it sounds like you're saying.

SPEAKER_01 11:45

Yeah, I mean, you definitely do have to buckle down a little bit or have a plan going forward. But oh my gosh, if somebody had told me I could pay that debt off in under two years, I wouldn't have believed them. There's no way I would have believed that that could be true. Um, but it really can come off a lot quicker than you think.

SPEAKER_00 12:02

What was the the hardest part?

SPEAKER_01 12:06

Um sometimes people look at you like you're a little bit weird. Um, because I still went out to lunch at work and stuff, like with coworkers. And so people would ask me to go out to lunch, and it just it wasn't even that I wanted to go so much anymore, it because my priority was paying off the debt. But it is sometimes like people are like, okay, you can't go this one time, or how about I pay for your lunch? But that wasn't the point. Like I wanted to get out of the habit of spending all the time, you know. So that was a little bit different is just see if people look at you weird.

SPEAKER_00 12:38

Are they looking at you like a cheapskate? Like you don't even want to, you know, spend any money on a hamburger or something, right? Right.

SPEAKER_01 12:45

Because it's common culture, you know, just for people like at lunch or something when you're at work to just go out to eat together, and that becomes common. So when somebody's not, it kind of you stick out a little bit.

SPEAKER_00 12:56

I think that's a great point, though, to prepare yourself to realize you're you are going counter-culture. So it is there is going to be like an unspoken resistance because you're doing something differently. So um that could be also something that we could be aware of and prepare for, right? So I think that's a great insight that there can be, and it's not because people are trying to derail us from our goals, it's just that that's what everybody's used to doing. So yeah, for sure. For sure. So what was what was the feeling that you had when you were say one month before you finished paying off the debt? Like you saw it that close, you can almost reach out and touch it. How did that feel?

SPEAKER_01 13:44

Oh, I was so stinking excited. And actually, would you say that this was probably a little bit before a month, but I had a suburban and I sold the suburban and got like $14,000 um cash back. And so I remember I had to put that $14,000 towards debt, but I remember looking at it in my bank account and like taking a screenshot of it and being like, oh, I'm gonna remember this moment forever, you know. And I kept trying to picture the next time, like once I paid off my debt, being able to have that $14,000. Because I do think visualizing and picturing what you want is a good thing, and it's helpful. So every once in a while, you know, when I'd feel if I felt intimidated or doubt or anything, like I would look at that screenshot and I'd be like, oh yeah, that's where I'm gonna be.

SPEAKER_00 14:28

Yeah. So you didn't feel um, did you ever feel kind of sad or depressed? Because it sounds like you worked a lot of overtime. You took as much work as you could. So there's, you know, fatigue that happens when you're working a lot of hours. Do you ever feel like, gosh, I need a reward? Did you reward yourself in any way during that time?

SPEAKER_01 14:48

You know, I'm sure that I did. Nothing is sticking out as to what I did, but I think I just got so stinking excited. And the further it got in the process, the more I just like hunkered down, like, okay, let's get this out of the way. Let's get rid of this debt.

SPEAKER_00 15:02

That's so exciting. That's so exciting. So, how do you make purchases now? Do you wait until you have all the money before you buy something, or do you wait like two weeks before you purchase something to think it over? Or how do how are your buying habits now?

SPEAKER_01 15:16

Yeah, I definitely try to hold off. Um, and you know, it's still the same trap. Like sometimes you still get into a habit of, ooh, but I really want this, or this would be so good. And um, I had an RV and in the past, but it got totaled. Like somebody ran into it and it completely got totaled. Oh, oh my gosh. I mean, I had gap insurance, so it was all good. It, you know, I got rid of it, but I almost fell into that same trap. Like, even though I was relieved not to have that RV payment or anything anymore, you know, even after I was out of debt, it was like so tempting, like, oh, it'd be so fun to just go get an RV and to travel. That would have put me back in debt, you know? Yeah. And thank goodness I had my brother who knew how much I had worked so hard to get out of debt. And he was like, Marie, are you sure that's a good decision? You know, maybe you should hold off for a while. And thank goodness he said it and kind of not put me back in my place, but kind of reminded me of what was important to me. Um, so it's always something where you kind of have to say, okay, what's important? Why am I doing this? Um, because there's still going to be temptations along the way.

SPEAKER_00 16:17

Yeah, for sure. For sure. And if I see something that's, you know, maybe a larger ticket item, I I wait a little bit to see if it's that important two weeks later. And then I kind of figure out whether I really need it or not. Because you're right, there's a lot of things out there today that, you know, are are, for lack of a better word, are just plain old fun, you know, and we think, well, this we can rationalize why we need it. Let's put it that way. We can rationalize why we need it. Um, I like shopping a lot and I've curved a lot because during the pandemic, you know, a couple years ago when everything shut down, couldn't go shopping, couldn't get my hair done. I mean, I was kind of an eye-opener that, well, I really have enough clothes. I don't really need to buy more clothes. And this year I haven't really gone shopping a lot. I just uh I'm okay with what I have. And so um, so that makes me a little bit more selective to choose something rather than impulse, you know, when I find something on sale or something that I like, then you know, maybe I'll purchase that. But it used to be that I'd go shopping all the time, you know, was it was one like one of those habits, yeah, those addictions.

SPEAKER_01 17:27

Absolutely. But like honestly, I do look back at that time of getting out of debt as like one of the best times of my life, or like so happy because you have less things. And then kind of like you were saying, you realize that you don't need it as much as uh you think you need or as much as you want. And so sometimes less is more, you know, it's just you have to experience it to really realize, okay, yeah, that was a good time. You know, I did appreciate not having so much clutter or shopping so much.

SPEAKER_00 17:55

Oh my gosh, this is so true. Because the more you have, at least when you're okay, as you grow up and you get your job and you get married, and you know, you have a career, and then you know, the traditional thing is to buy a house and then you you buy the latest car, then the kids go to school and you pay for education, it really accumulates and it begins to at least the home it has a way of owning you instead of you owning the home. At least we lived in California. I mean, we had a pool and you had to maintain the pool, we had to cut the grass, we had to plant flowers in the spring. It was just there was always so much house stuff to do all the time. And um, and so we don't own a home now. We rent a home and we're thinking of moving again, but it's nice because I don't I've been eliminating stuff for the last like three years or so, slowly eliminating things that I don't I don't want. I don't want to I don't want to bring it along because moving is traumatic enough. But I really you have to clean it too. You have to dust it and clean it and maintain it. And it's just it does, it has a way of owning you. And I I'm not a minimalist by any by any means, but uh I'm okay with less because there's just less maintenance. I don't want to spend the time that I have any any free time cleaning or fixing or maintaining or any of that. I just don't want to anymore, at least, at least in this stage in my life.

SPEAKER_01 19:28

Yeah, I mean it's so easy to get caught up in the rat race or to want things, and I'm not saying that I don't still want things, you know, it's so easy to get caught up in that, but there is a beauty of the simplicity of not having so much.

SPEAKER_00 19:39

Yeah, yeah, for sure. So if someone say is listening to this and they're thinking, wow, I would love to be in the position that Marie is now, debt-free, but I just don't know. I can't work overtime. I don't know how I can even start. What would you suggest? Is there like maybe three tips that you can give them, a place where they can begin when they're just first starting to wrap their brain around the concept of getting out of debt?

SPEAKER_01 20:11

Yeah, I would say first start off with putting some money in your savings account. So um pay your minimum debt on all your bills, and then put a thousand dollars in the bank if you're single, fifteen hundred if you're married or have kids. Um, so make sure that you have money in the savings in case an emergency happens or a rainy day, something like your car breaks down, you know, just so that you have some extra money to pay for that. And then start paying the smallest bill first. And sorry, start paying the smallest bill first, and then after you get that debt paid off, pay the next smallest bill, the next smallest bill, um, and work your way up. It really is just finding that system, creating a plan, and then following it every step of the way. And so, yeah, just write down a list of your debts, smallest to largest, and attack the smallest one.

SPEAKER_00 21:00

Does it make a difference? I'm really getting into the nitty-gritty here. So say they have credit card debt. Okay, let's use that for an example. And they have a limited amount that comes in, they're living paycheck to paycheck, right? And they have maybe a hundred dollars that they've already put money in the savings. They have maybe a hundred dollars a month, and sometimes that's hard for people, but they have a hundred dollars a month that they can pay toward debt. Should they just make a bigger payment or should they make a payment and then in between statements make a payment? Is there uh is there a better rhythm to pay on principal as opposed to you know the principal and interest? Or is it just depends on the uh the in financial institution to figure out what the best way is?

SPEAKER_01 21:47

Well, I would just pay the whatever if you have a hundred dollars extra, I would just pay that on your smallest bill that you have and pay that off, you know, and then all of that money will then be going to the next bill above that. Um, I wouldn't worry too much about the interest. I know I always thought, like, oh, but I should be getting the higher interest cards first. You know what? You need the quick win. It's really important to have the quick win of paying that lowest debt off first. Yeah, um, and you start with $100, but it will gain momentum and get bigger as time goes.

SPEAKER_00 22:17

Yeah. How did your uh credit score change? It probably it probably bumped up your credit score, huh? Getting out of debt, not owing anything.

SPEAKER_01 22:28

You know, I think it it had to have. I've always had a high credit score, so it had to. To have bumped it up a little bit because I think having all of your credit cards so having a lot of money on each credit card, you know, tends to lower your credit, but I didn't see anything too crazy.

SPEAKER_00 22:45

Yeah, yeah. Did you get a lot of mail saying, Oh, you can you can have this, you've been pre-approved for this credit card. Once you started paying off everything, people trying to get you to open up another credit card because we get a lot of those. We get a lot of mail where oh, you've been approved for this, you've been approved for that, or consolidate your debt and all these other things. You just have to ignore all those things, huh?

SPEAKER_01 23:09

Yes, I say ignore those, and that kind of makes me think of another point too. When it comes to email, unsubscribe if you're getting any type of offers or if they're say, like I love Amazon, right? So I will unsubscribe from Amazon. I'm not gonna forget how to get to Amazon, you know, to their website. So just unsubscribe from it. You can still find it, but those sometimes they send you daily reminders, two or three reminders a day. It's like just get rid of it, it's one less temptation that you have.

SPEAKER_00 23:36

Yeah, Amazon is a temptation and it's so easy with that one click. Exactly. The one click is super easy, and everything is easy, and I think that's the problem. You want to watch a movie, streaming is easy, but of course, streaming is cheaper than going to the theater. But but everything is so easy with a push of the button. I think that's what happens that we leak out. Maybe it's not huge purchases, but it's all the little, little purchases that we're doing that accumulate. I mean, would you would you say that that's true? Because sometimes people are saying, well, I don't make really big purchases, but maybe there's a whole bunch of little purchases. Like there's go going to Starbucks, for example.

SPEAKER_01 24:15

Absolutely. And that adds up more than you even know. And if you're not paying attention and tracking it, then it's really gonna add up. And for me, this is gonna sound silly, but like grocery shopping is where I spend a lot of money. And it just makes no sense. So that is one thing I'm always gonna make sure that I have cash out each month for grocery shopping because it's like I know that that's where I would overspend. But if I just have a set limit and I only have cash for my groceries, then I'm more mindful of it.

SPEAKER_00 24:43

Oh wow, that's counterculture too. So you use cash. So see, I didn't I didn't catch that earlier. You use cash to buy some things.

SPEAKER_01 24:50

Yes, I do. Things that like are that I'm tempted to spend on, those are the things that I'm gonna try and use cash on.

SPEAKER_00 24:57

Oh, very smart, very smart. Um, yeah, because I hardly ever see cash. I just have my little debit card. So that's a that's a good tip to just use go back to cash and use cash. And once the cash is done, I think there was used to be like a the envelope system years ago. I don't know if it was um Dave Ramsey or somebody that used the envelope system where I remember when I was single, I used an envelope system before I knew of Dame Dave Ramsey, only because I only had a limited amount of cash when I was single and I'd put so much for groceries and you know, gas and that kind of stuff, and I'd wash my own car and those kind of things. But um, but that's a good way to to budget as well, is just give yourself the cash and not use. And did you cut up the credit cards? Did you just cut them up and not use them? Or did you did you freeze them and put them in ice or something in the freezer?

SPEAKER_01 25:55

Yes, I was terrified to cut them up because I was like, what if something happened? Like I just was too paranoid or too worried if something happened. So yeah, I did the freezer technique because those just wasn't quite ready to cut them up.

SPEAKER_00 26:07

So you did do the freezer thing. You just did you put the credit card in in a cup of water or something, or yeah, yeah, just in a little container of water and then put it in the freezer. Put in the freezer. Oh. So that worked because I guess it would take a while for it to thaw out and get to it. Gives you time to think. So you did everything you could to kind of uh protect yourself against any possible oopses while you were trying to get out of debt. You you knew yourself well enough and you gave yourself, you really um empowered yourself to be able to accomplish this. So be able to, you know, chip away at it. And I'm sure it probably got easier as you got closer to that goal. So but yeah, so I'm sure it absolutely got easier.

SPEAKER_01 26:53

And then also it's like surround yourself with people that will support you. Like my brother wasn't on the journey, but he would still support me, you know what I mean? Or like if I was tempted to do something, I might call him. Or at the time I was listening to Dave Ramsey's podcast all the time. Like I would have it on replay. But so if I felt tempted to go buy something, then I would be listening to that and I would hear somebody call in with a similar type thing. And so it's kind of a reminder like, okay, yes, don't go overspend because that's gonna be their result, or this is where it's gonna get you. So surround yourself with podcasts or YouTube channels um and people in your life that are gonna help support you with your goal, or with you.

SPEAKER_00 27:31

Don't you help people now to get out of debt?

SPEAKER_01 27:33

Yes, absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 27:35

That is so awesome. So um, do people need to have like a spreadsheet or something? Do you do you think it's a good idea for them to write things down, or how do they, when they create the plan, what's the best way for them to do that?

SPEAKER_01 27:48

Yeah, I have like a money owed worksheet. So on one worksheet, I have all the money that I owe, like the company name, what the minimum amount due each month, what the total due each month is, and then like their address, their phone number, what my account number is with them. It's just kind of a sheet that I could go to at any time. Say I didn't get a bill in the mail or something. I could go to it at any time and be like, what day is this due? What day of the month? And where do I send it to? You know, just a quick cheat sheet is helpful. And then from that, you can create a budget.

SPEAKER_00 28:18

That's awesome. That's awesome. So let's talk about a little bit about how you help people, because this is just one of the many things that you do. Um, because you have a career, but you also have uh an online presence as well. So tell us a little bit about that, how you started that process of you know, deciding to do something online to coach people. How did that because you're a you're a police officer, right? Or you're a sergeant or I'm a sergeant, yep. You're a sergeant. So that you've got a quite a career right there that's probably takes up most of your time, but you decide to do this other thing. So tell us a little bit about that. How do you help people?

SPEAKER_01 28:59

So I once I got done paying off the debt, I was kind of thinking, like, what do I do next? You know, and um my parents were in debt, and I was just worried, like, okay, they're gonna retire in a couple of years. What if they don't have money? What if, you know, they're struggling? And so I took it upon myself. I was like, I need to do something. And my brother was like, What if you be a financial coach? And so I actually got certified through Dave Ramsay to be um a master coach. And so I did that, and then actually I sat down with my mom, helped her create a budget. And then to my surprise, because I didn't work with her anymore, um, to my surprise, within a couple of years, she paid off her debt and her mortgage for her house. Um her and my dad were set to go. Yeah. So I mean, oh my goodness.

SPEAKER_00 29:47

That's amazing. So the system works. Not only did it work for you, uh nobody can say this is a fluke, because not only did it work for you, but you helped your mom create a plan and then she got out of debt within a couple of years.

SPEAKER_01 29:59

Absolutely, absolutely. So sometimes you changing yourself or changing your life helps like it's a has a trickle effect and can help other people too.

SPEAKER_00 30:07

Yeah, because by by that time, when you were helping your mom, you were already out of debt.

SPEAKER_01 30:12

I was, and I was a master coach at that time.

SPEAKER_00 30:14

Yeah. So she was saying, okay, if she can do it, I can do it too.

SPEAKER_01 30:19

Yeah, it just takes a little bit, like you just need the little bit of momentum going forward and have the plan, and then it can, I mean, you could set the world on fire.

SPEAKER_00 30:31

Oh, that's awesome. That's awesome. So your parents got out of debt too. So if someone wanted to say, oh my gosh, I need somebody like Marie to help me, do you do one-on-one or group coaching or do you have what what's your program look like?

SPEAKER_01 30:47

I do do one-on-one coaching and I also have a course called Badass Money School. And so if you want to be with a group of people, you know, and work with other people and have some accountability there, that would be for you. But if you want one-on-one focused attention, then um just come to me.

SPEAKER_00 31:03

That's nice that they have a choice because some people might feel bad about themselves or might feel guilty that they're in debt and maybe they want something more confidential. So that's nice that you offer the one-on-one. But you know, this is something like you said earlier, it's around us everywhere. I mean, there's marketing everywhere that we get it through emails, we get it in commercials on TV, we get it in the mail, we get we're inundated with it, right? So um, so I think many people have struggled with finances at some point or other, or sometimes it's an unexpected thing that happens and puts people in debt out of no fault of their own. You know, when you think of medical stuff, and if somebody for some reason, you know, had some kind of medical emergency or or surgery or something that's not covered by insurance, or they didn't have insurance, you know, that could really derail someone. So um, so I think it's great that you offer the one-on-one, and then you have also the training that they can do. Is there a community environment too for the for the digital training that you have for them?

SPEAKER_01 32:13

There is. Yep, there's a Facebook group that you could be a part of. And once you're in, you're in for life.

SPEAKER_00 32:19

That's awesome. Yeah, because once you get out of debt, you want to stay out of debt. So it's exactly good to have a community that you're in for a long time. Awesome. So if someone wanted to connect with you and say that next year is their year to get out of start getting out of debt, and they want to, they're figuring out now, because at the time of this recording, it's close to the holiday season. So we're coming up on 2022. So say they want to make some huge changes and they want to figure out how they can take the wages they make from week to week, how they can get out of debt. What's the best way for them to contact you?

SPEAKER_01 32:56

Yeah, ordinary to badass.com um or ordinary to badass on any social media. If they go to ordinarytobadass.com slash numbers, I'm doing it's not about the numbers challenge, and they could definitely join and become as part of that. That's awesome.

SPEAKER_00 33:12

That is awesome. I think this is so great what you're doing and what you did for your parents. Um, that is amazing. So I I think this program is sounds like an amazing opportunity for people to just even if if they're not uh really in debt, but the maybe finances are not where they want it to be, maybe they just really want to save money. I think this course could help them as well, even if they don't have maybe they only have a couple thousand on their credit card, but they can't seem to save money, right? They just seem to plateaued that this would be a good thing for them. So it's not necessarily sounds like it's not necessarily for people that are in debt, but people that can't seem to save or get beyond the same old amount of money that they have, they can't get any further ahead. Sounds like this could help them also kind of review things and budget and see where the leak is, right?

SPEAKER_01 34:04

Absolutely. And I was just working with somebody recently like that. Like she didn't have a lot of debt, but she wanted to plan for retirement. And so start saving and plan for the retirement in the future that she wanted, you know, we met and mapped out a plan. So it's definitely helpful.

SPEAKER_00 34:19

That sounds really, really good. So for those people that want to kind of map out their retirement and figure out where I can cut or where can I make adjustments so that by a certain time of year I have some revenue saved up. I mean, that would be really, really good because we've got people right now, you know, that maybe they were in corporate, maybe they had a pension, or maybe they didn't, because a lot of things have shifted and changed in corporate. A lot of people got laid off. So this is a great opportunity to really kind of assess where they're at and not be filled with fear, but look at it straight straight on and figure out what we can do to make this happen. So um, so that sounds really great. I may be contacting you too. I may be joining your because I think it's always good to plan for the future and see how we can use the resources that we have to its greatest potential. Let's put it that way, right? Yes, yes.

SPEAKER_01 35:16

And I would say let it be easy. It doesn't have to be as hard as we think that it should be. Um, let it be easy. Get a little bit excited about it because this is your future you're talking about. It can make crazy changes for your future.

SPEAKER_00 35:30

Yeah, yeah. So this has been so awesome having you on the podcast. Do you have any last comment or tip or encouragement for our listeners before we say goodbye?

SPEAKER_01 35:42

Yeah, I would say what I learned from the journey, and it is so helpful for you, is just to be consistent and persistent. Whatever goal you're going after, if it's your finances, if it's your health, just be consistent about it. Keep showing up for yourself. If you make a mistake, you make a mistake. Um you can, yeah, you can absolutely make mistakes and still pay off $106,000 in debt in two years or whatever obstacle you're trying to overcome. Don't beat yourself up over the small things.

SPEAKER_00 36:08

That's awesome. And give us the website again.

SPEAKER_01 36:10

Ordinarytobadass.com.

SPEAKER_00 36:12

That's awesome. Thank you so much, Marie. I think this is gonna help a lot of people out there that are listening. I think they're ready for some changes. And people are a little nervous about all the changes going on right now. And I think for them to feel like they've got a plan for their finances and for their future is gonna give them a lot of peace, a lot of comfort. So I think that's awesome. So congratulations. That's great.

SPEAKER_01 36:35

Absolutely. It's a new year, it's time to get started, and I would love to help you. And thank you for having me.

SPEAKER_00 36:40

Thank you. Take care, everyone. We'll talk to you soon. Bye-bye. Wait, before you go, if you found this podcast helpful, subscribe so you never miss an episode. Every subscription, review, or rating means so much to me. Remember, cultivate resilient faith online to create positive change in the world.