102. Fresh Start & Smart Money Moves in 2025!

In this episode of the Money and Career Mastery podcast, abundance and legacy coach Laura Sexton introduces a new era for the show, focusing on transitioning from overwhelmed to ownership in 2025. Laura shares insights on smart money moves, including building an emergency fund, paying down debt, and maximizing employer benefits. She also emphasizes the importance of leveraging technology for budgeting, investing wisely, and tapping into your network for financial and career growth. Tune in for practical tips and strategies to gain financial freedom, career clarity, and build a lasting legacy.

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Transcript

Laura: 0:02

hello and welcome to money and career mastery from overwhelmed to ownership. I'm Laura Sexton, your abundance and legacy coach here to help you navigate the world of money, debt payoff, and career growth with confidence and clarity. In this podcast, we'll tackle the financial and career challenges, holding you back, optimize your income and build the freedom that comes with true ownership. If you're ready to break free from overwhelm, create a budget that aligns with your values and design a legacy that empowers future generations. You're in the right place. Hello accelerators and welcome to the money and career mastery podcast. We are going to be talking about what it looks like to go from overwhelmed to ownership for the rest of the year. We're going to talk quickly about the beginning of this new era of the podcast. But then I'm going to get into smart money moves for you in 2025. This is all about a fresh start for you. And so we're going to talk about 2025, what it means for the podcast and what it means for you. This past year on the podcast has been absolutely amazing, and we've talked about all kinds of things. We have talked about sinking funds, which was the 1st episode of 2024. We have talked about a lot of different books as well that I have read that have been great for learning and growing. The Psychology of Money,""Die With Zero." There's so many, and I plan on having a lot more this year as we move into the career space, as well as just money space, we have gone on a journey. From scarcity to abundance, from overwhelmed to in control. And that is what we are going to be talking about this year. This last year, I have had lessons that I have shared with you from a Justin Timberlake concert from 7 Eleven, from the Declaration of Independence. We have talked about financial resilience and financial independence and financial introspection. And if you don't know what introspection is, you should take a long, hard look at yourself. Yes, it is one of my favorite jokes. We have been all about legacy building and nothing about that is going to change. This year in 2025, we're going to go from overwhelmed to ownership in our money, in our career. And in our mindset, we're going to talk about what it means to get all of these pieces under our control. When we own our decisions and our habits, we can conquer anything. And when we have money in the bank, we have real freedom. And when we have ownership of our homes, and ownership of our jobs, we get to be solely in charge. So I am shifting from accelerate your legacy to the money and career mastery podcast. And I'm so excited that you were along on this journey with me. There is a new name to this podcast, but the mission remains the same. We are working on financial freedom, career clarity, and legacy building. In 2025, we are going to focus on topics like debt payoff, optimizing income, career growth, and legacy creation. There are going to be some new things that we haven't had before. We're going to do some mini series. We're going to have interactive resources. I'm going to bring on more guest experts than ever before. But this episode isn't just about the new podcast. This episode is also about you. So let's get into it, guys. What are some smart money moves that you can be making in 2025? There are some practical ways to utilize your money and we're going to do it effectively. That's going to start with making sure you have an emergency fund by controlling what you can control. We can make most emergencies feel like an inconvenience. Last month, my husband was going to work. He leaves for work before the sun comes up. Usually, he leaves before five o'clock in the morning and I got a call from him at 515. I was like, well, that's really weird. And he called me and said, Hey, I'm on the side of the road. I've blown a tire. I need to call AAA. I just wanted to let you know. He, changed the spare, but the spare was low. So he had to call AAA for help. And it was just one of those things where I was so worried about him. I was like, if something happened to him, he's a very, very skilled driver. He's been through many different courses. And so he can drive around anything. And I was confused. I said, well, what happened? He said, there are about eight or nine cars on the side of the road. I called CHP, California Highway Patrol, and asked them to come clear the road, clear whatever this thing is. And apparently whatever it was, it took out about 10 different cars. Tow truck guy was feeling good that day, but the people on the side of the road were not. And when he took it to the dealership and they said 640, To get four new tires. I said, okay. We're at a place in our life where an emergency, what would have been devastating to us before, is now just an inconvenience. This is the power of ownership, friends. This is where we're going. So you need to have an emergency fund. This needs to be something that you have as a goal for yourself in 2025. Maybe 2025 is the year for investing for you. Are you ready to start putting money into the market and have it work for you? The returns last year were insane. There was something going on where interest rates were going up, but the market was too. And I don't expect it to be that way ongoing. There's always fluctuations in the market. It always goes up, it always goes down, but it always keeps going up. Maybe this is your year to get into investing, but before you get into investing, I want you to make sure that you have paid down all of your debt. Make sure that there's nothing holding you back, nothing that is taking control of you and tells you what you can and cannot do with your money. Get your debt paid off in 2025. Be debt free. Take a hundred percent ownership of the income that is coming in. Do not share it with the banks. It is your money. Another really great thing that you can do this year is go ahead and maximize the resources that you have at your job. You have employee benefits that you need to dig into and see what they have for you. My husband's company pays for membership, not only for him, but for myself as well. Is there something like that at your company? Does your company pay for a financial coach? Do you have financial wellness benefits? If not, you might want to reach out to me and let's figure out how we can get that as an employee benefit at your company. Working with a financial coach is something that a lot of companies would like to offer to their employees, but they just Don't know that financial wellness is a thing and it is. So utilize all the benefits that your employer has for you. That's not just your 401k, which I would love for you to be investing in. That's also your health benefits that could be any kind of other wellness benefit as well. See what they have to offer and utilize it. Pay attention to tax advantaged programs. If you do not work with a tax professional, this may be the year for you where you want to learn about what other tax advantages are right for you. Look into community programs as well. Are there resources around you that you can cut down some of your spending, give yourself some extra margin because you're able to use a community program instead of a private program. This year we are going to work on optimizing both our time and our money. There are tools and technology around that are here to help you grow your money without taking a whole lot of time. I recently had a conversation with a gentleman that was spending two hours a week on his budget. And it was because he was handwriting everything from his bank ledger and then implementing it into a budgeting software. There's so many apps that you can use that will put these things in for you automatically. Some of them will categorize them for you like YNAB. I highly recommend doing the categorizing yourself, especially in the beginning of your financial journey. But for right now, you are welcome to utilize these tools to serve you. Now, look, AI is wonderful. I have made a plan for this podcast for 2025, and I made it mostly with chat GPT. We've had conversations and part of me is like, are the robots coming to take over? And the other part of me realizes that I cannot be the guy standing on the side of the road yelling at cars because the horses need a job. Horse and buggy time has gone. The AI tools are here to help, so go ahead and utilize them for the things that they are good for. Realize there are things that they are not good for. They are not human interaction. It is not a human connection one to one. They are not going to be able to do that. They may be able to simulate it, but they're not going to be able to give you the things that you need. You have to be around people. This is your year to be around people. That's not in my notes, but that's for somebody. You have to be around people. Go ahead and utilize the technology that's in front of you. Get a budgeting app, learn the automations. You got this. The next optimizing tip tool that I have for you is to tap into your network for financial advice, job opportunities, and accountability. I am here to give you all the financial advice. I'm here to help you on your career growth, and I am here to help you stay accountable to the things that you say that you want most. But there are people around you that can do these things for you as well. This is the year to take control of the things that are most important to you. If you have someone in your network that's so good at money that you don't need to come to me because you have that person on your list, go to them. They're there to help you. All right, Accelerators, I would love to invite you to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review and share it with your friends, but also know that if you need help making that budget that we talked about, I have the Better Budget Bootcamp ready and available for you this year. It's 27, will take you 15 minutes a day for five days. And you will have a budget based on what your family values. Coming up on the show. I'm going to start doing coaching sessions live. Yes you can get free coaching. So take advantage of that program. If you would like to have a free coaching session with me here on the podcast, all you have to do is reach out to me. Hello at accelerate your legacy. com. Go out and make a difference. thank you for spending time with us today on Money and Career Mastery from Overwhelm to Ownership. Remember, your legacy isn't just about financial freedom. It's about living with purpose, taking action, and building a foundation that lasts for generations. Don't just listen, implement what you've learned and share it with someone who could use a financial or career breakthrough. If you found value in today's episode, help us grow by rating, reviewing, and sharing the podcast. I'll be back next week with more strategies to help you master your money and career. Until then take ownership of your future and build your legacy with intention.