212 | Debt-Free Dreams

Thinking about the dreams you have for your life is an important aspect of your financial journey.

If being in debt is preventing you from doing things you want to do, use that to motivate yourself to achieve your goals.

In this episode, we talk about the importance of your dreams in your financial journey as well as some examples of my clients’ dreams that have been fulfilled since improving their finances.

• • why it’s important to think about your dreams in your financial journey

  • the dream that motivated my financial journey

  • some of my clients’ dreams that have been fulfilled since improving their finances

You’re listening to Wealthyesq. We are a community of lawyers who believe that true wealth is having control of our time. I’m Rho Thomas, and as a busy wife, mom and former Biglaw associate, I know all too well the tension between the culture of the legal profession and pretty much everything else you want to do in life. That’s why each week, I’m bringing you the information and tools you need to improve your money mindset and manage your money to create true wealth. Because ultimately, it’s not about the money. It’s about the freedom and flexibility the money affords.

Hey friend. Welcome back to the show. I hope you’re doing well and having an amazing day so far. Today, we are talking about the importance of thinking about the things you want to do when you get your finances in order, those things that you dream of doing or that you dream of having, but think that it’s impossible right now. I also thought I would share some examples of things that my clients have been able to do since getting their money in order as examples of the kinds of things that are possible for you. So first, let’s talk about the importance of this dreaming phase and thinking about the goal for your life and the things that you want to do. It is super important to have something that you’re working toward, something that you’re striving for, because that thing will keep you going when things feel hard, or when it feels like things are going too slow, or that kind of thing. The driving goal or the dream behind my family’s debt journey and our mission to get control of our finances was having the freedom to make decisions for our family without worrying about money. We have two kids now, and back when we had our first in 2016 I wanted to reduce my hours at work, but we couldn’t afford to do it at the time. One of the things that we talked about a lot during that time was being able to spend time with our kids and be there for their events once they started school and things like that, without having work in the back of our minds or without having to worry about money. That was a huge motivator for us, and it kept us going. Then in 2020 during the pandemic, we had two kids at that point. They were three and one, and I was working from home. They were home with me, and I was able to drop down to 50% at work. And ultimately I was able to leave the practice of law altogether to work on my business, helping lawyers get out of debt and get their finances under control. I didn’t see either of those things coming back when we started, but those were exactly the kinds of decisions that my husband and I had dreamed of being able to make all those years ago. So I share all that with you to get you thinking, what are the things that you want to do? What are the things that you haven’t been able to do to this point because your finances aren’t where you’d like them to be? What does achieving your goal of paying off debt or saving or whatever other financial goal you have? What would achieving that allow you to accomplish in your life? I ask some variation of this question to all my clients and potential clients, and some of the kinds of responses that I get are people wanting to be able to buy houses or take vacations or show their kids the world, put themselves in a position that they can take care of their aging parents, buy nice gifts for people without putting themselves in a bind, take a sabbatical. Right? Those things keep them going. They kept my clients going in the work that we did together, and many of them were actually able to accomplish those dreams in that time and then start working towards new ones. But it all started because they dared to dream in the first place, and they put in the work to get there. So think about it for yourself. What dream or goal do you have for your life that not having your finances in order is preventing you from achieving? Because again, having that dream and keeping it top of mind is going to help motivate you to stay on track as you improve your finances. All right. Now, as I mentioned before, I want to give you a few examples of things that my clients have actually been able to do because they got their finances in order and started getting out of debt, and it has been such a blessing to be there as they’ve been able to do these things. So I’m honored to share them with you. The first one actually isn’t a dream, but it’s something my client was extremely grateful for during the time I was working with this client, her father in law, passed away, and because of the work that she and her husband had been doing with their finances. Her husband was able to buy to be with his mother for an extended period of time after his dad passed, because she was in a different part of the country, but they also were able to take care of his mom’s expenses. And my client told me how grateful that she was that she had started that work on her family’s finances, because if all of that had happened before, her family wouldn’t have been able to respond in the same way, and it would have been a lot more stressful. So the work that we did together put them in this position where they could help take care of her mother in law in this time of grief, and it didn’t put a strain on her family. I also worked with a couple who was having their second baby, and they told me that the maternity leave with their first child was kind of stressful financially because they hadn’t prepared for the dip in pay that the mother was going to receive. So finances were really tight after they had their first child, and one of our main goals was making sure that they had enough in savings so that when the baby was born, they could enjoy a stress free maternity leave, or, you know, at least stress free as related to money, because they had the savings to take care of their expenses during the leave. By the time we finished working together, they hadn’t yet had the baby, but they were well on their way to having the amount that they wanted in savings to cover the maternity leave, and they were going to be in a position to have a much better experience this time around, I had another client who was in a relationship and was ready to get married, so one of the things that we worked on was saving for the engagement ring. He proposed during time working together, and she said yes, and it was just a beautiful experience like he sent me pictures after the proposal. They were like on the beach and all that. It was really nice. And he was able to fund an engagement and fly his mom and sister out to celebrate with them, and it was just really special to be able to help him with this plan to pay for everything, and they’ve since gone on to get married and start their lives together. But again, it started with getting his finances in order and being able to pay for this ring without having to go into debt for it. Two of my clients bought new cars during the time that we worked together, and they got these cars they absolutely love, and again, we planned for it so they were able to do that without breaking the bank or setting themselves back with their goals. Two other clients quit jobs that they didn’t like, and a big part of why both of them had stayed in their jobs in the first place was that they didn’t have insight into the finances and how much they actually needed to cover their expenses and achieve their goals. So because of the work that we had done, they knew exactly how much their lives cost. They knew how much they needed to be making in the new job. And they knew how to manage their money so that once they started the new job, they would still be able to achieve their financial goals and do the things that they wanted to do. Multiple clients bought their first house, either during the time that we were working together, or shortly after we finished working together, which was a huge accomplishment for all of them, and they were all so excited. And I love browsing Zillow and realtor.com in my free time, so it’s always nice to help my clients think through what to spend on their house, and click through what’s available in their price range, and then ultimately to get those pictures of the final houses that they chose. And finally, a number of my clients took some really amazing vacations. One of my clients took a huge birthday trip to Disney World with her husband and their friends. Another took a trip with her husband to this beautiful, all inclusive resort in Mexico to celebrate a milestone anniversary. And she was originally thinking that they weren’t going to be able to afford to do something like that, and she thought they were going to end up doing something domestic, so she was really happy that we were able to plan for that. One couple took their son to Scotland, which is something they had been dreaming of doing. Numerous clients took trips to various places around the US, just because they enjoy traveling, or maybe they were meeting up with friends. And then I helped a few clients plan trips during our time working together, but the trips were actually after we finished working together. So one of those clients was going to her friend’s destination wedding in Mexico. Another was going to Europe for a girls trip. Another couple was planning a trip to Jamaica to celebrate a milestone anniversary. And I’m sure there are other trips that I have forgotten about at this point, but the point is that in all these situations, my clients were able to take their vacations stress free and without having to worry about the money, because we put the trips in their financial plans. And to be clear, my clients have not paid off all their debt, like some of them have paid off all their credit cards or paid off significant chunks of debt, but none of them have completely paid everything off, and they still were able to make these things happen, because when you start to get that control of your finances, you’re able to do more of the things that you want to do, because you know how to direct your money in the way that you want it to go. So now it’s your turn. What dreams do you have? What things have you been putting off? What have you been unable to do because of your finances? What would you love to be able to do that you haven’t been able to do up to this point? Really think about it, because keeping those dreams in mind will propel you forward in your financial journey. And once you get on the path to getting your finances order, you will be well on your way to achieving them. And listen if you’ve had your dreams for months or even years, but you haven’t made progress toward them. Maybe you don’t even know where you start. You need to join my group program, The Wealthyesq Group. For six months, you’ll have me personally supporting you and teaching you everything you need to get out of debt, get control of your finances, and get on the path to achieving your dreams. So head to rhothomas.com/coaching to schedule your free consultation. All right, that is it for this week’s episode. Please share this episode with a friend or two who you think could use this information. That is how we grow the show and get this information in the hands of more lawyers. And I appreciate your support. As we close out, friend, I pray that you take the information you learn here, apply it in your life, and open up to the realization that wealth is available to you as you do that consistently, week after week, you’ll continue to take steps to regain control of your time, build wealth, and live the life of freedom and choice you deserve. Talk to you later.