You know those home makeover shows on HGTV?…

…Fixer Upper…and Love It or List It…and Flip or Flop.

I’m completely OBSESSED with those shows.

There’s something so incredibly satisfying about seeing something sorta drab and dull transform into something shiny, sparkly, and new.

I could binge watch those shows for days and days…and never get tired of it.

It’s amazing to see the before and after images of those houses…and know how much work went into them…

…and see how a little TLC completely changed those houses and brought them to life.

At the beginning of each show, you can see that all those houses have good bones…

…so much potential…but there all kind of a hot mess.

You know there’s something missing…but it’s hard to put your finger on it exactly…

…and then Joanna Gaines or Hillary waltz in with their designer magic wands…

…and create this detailed plan for how to whip the place into shape.

I often look at the design plans with intrigue…but also a touch of confusion.

How is this all going to come together? What the heck is it going to look like in the end?

But they always pull it off…and the end result is always freakin’ breathtaking…better than I imagined it would be from the start.

I get all teary-eyed watching the homeowners flip out with delight over their new home…and examine every inch of the beautiful new space with sheer glee.

I’m just so damn happy for them! “Go enjoy that beautiful house, people! You deserve it!”

*Bawling*

I could never do what Joanna Gaines does.

She’s got an amazing gift…an interior design gene that I just don’t have.

And Joanna flexes her interior design muscles in lots of ways…and applies her gifts to a variety of projects…

…like Fixer Upper…and building her studio at The Silos…and designing the interior layout of her own magazine.

But I’m a lot like Joanna Gaines in a sense…because I help people redesign their lives….

…and I flex my design muscles in lots of ways and apply by gifts to a variety of projects…

…like counseling women through relationship issues…

…and helping them work through depression, anxiety, grief and loss, and life transitions…

…and designing entirely new financial lives.

Helping women transform their drab, dull finances into something sparkly, shiny, and new…

…just like you see on those home makeover shows…is my absolute favorite.

I’ve worked with so many awesome people over my 17 year career…and the before and after transformations I’ve had the privilege to see are just as breathtaking as the ones you see on TV.

Let me share some of them with you…

Meet Sarah

Sarah is a CRNA who was killing herself by working 60 hour weeks at the hospital because she was dependent on the overtime pay to afford her humongous house, hefty car payment, and minimum payment on her $160K of student loans.

When I met Sarah, she was sorta miserable (who could blame her with all that stress hanging over her head all the time!)…but I could see she had such great potential.

I pulled my design wand out, Joanna style, and created a plan to help her eliminate some of those expenses so she could work 35 hours a week instead of 60 and finally begin to enjoy her life again.

Similar to my reaction watching home makeover shows, Sarah looked that the plan with intrigue…and also confusion…wondering how the hell this was all going to come together.

But with a lot of hard work…and giving her money some TLC…she made the courageous decision to sell her house…

…move in with her girlfriend (who’d been begging her to do so for months)…pay off debt…

…and reduce her workload so she could have more free time to relax and play.

Meet Jennifer

Jennifer is an ambitious, 30 year old, engaged to be married…in the early stages of growing her small business as a graphic designer…and totally freaking out about how much her wedding was going to cost her.

Jennifer had “good bones”…and was really sensible when it came to money.

She knew the importance of saving and investing early in life so she could make the most of the modest $30,000/year she was bringing home from her business…

…and she was committed to making her business more profitable so she could live the lifestyle she wanted.

But she didn’t know how to increase profits and grow her business in ways that felt authentic and genuine…rather than salesy and sleazy.

And she was terrified that paying for her wedding herself would derail her progress in saving and investing…and she didn’t trust herself to not overspend or dip into her savings for the wedding.

Together, Jennifer and I examined every inch of her finances…crunched some numbers…created a budget for the wedding that felt good to her…

…and made a long-term plan for how to increase business profits in fun, pleasurable, and organic ways.

The thought of building a six figure business doing what she loved most lit her up like a firework…and she was so committed to bringing that dream to life…

…that she got this intense DIY attitude about her wedding…and did a lot of things herself to save money.

Jennifer came in under budget for her wedding and doubled her revenue in 3 months.

Meet Abby

Abby is an incredibly hard-working mother of three who works as a surgical device rep making $170,000/year…but absolutely hates her job.

Abby loves her salary and benefits…but she hates getting called into the OR in the middle of the night and working 22 hour cases that keep her from seeing her kids everyday.

Her dream was to start her own business as a Health and Fitness Coach…to help people live healthier lives…

…and to have the freedom and flexibility to spend more time with her family…while still making a good living.

She couldn’t see how this was possible for her.

She was drowning in debt…living paycheck to paycheck (even with a huge salary)…and there was nothing leftover once the monthly bills were paid.

When Abby came to me, she was skeptical that things could get better.

“How was this all going to come together? What the heck would it look like in the end?”

(Sound familiar??)

She knew something was missing from her life…but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.

It was like looking at one of those old, run down houses and thinking it’d be better to tear the thing down instead of fix it up.

But after really getting to know Abby…and her goals and dreams…I proposed a design plan for her financial life that got her doing backflips with excitement.

When our work together wrapped up, Abby had paid off all but $10K of her debt…

…saved 3 months worth of living expenses in an emergency fund…

…reconfigured her spending plan and trimmed back expenses to free up money each month…

…and started her own business as a Health & Fitness Coach.

She’s still working at her day job for now…but as soon as the rest of her debt is paid off…

…she’s giving her notice and making her business her full-time gig.

I get all teary-eyed watching my clients flip out with delight over their new financial lives…and examine every inch of their money with sheer glee.

*Bawling again*

I’m always amazed to see my clients transform…starting out as a hot mess…and then taking their potential and bringing it to life.

I get the same satisfying feeling seeing the before and after snapshots of my clients finances as I do seeing those home makeovers.

You might be looking at your finances like they’re one big hot mess too…

…and wondering how the heck you can redesign your financial life and make it into something shiny, sparkly, and new.

Maybe you’re holding a dream close to your heart…and believe you’ve got potential…but you don’t know how to create a plan that will get you from here to there.

It makes no different whether you make $30,000/year like Jennifer…or $170,000/year like Abby…

…you have the power to transform your finances and live the life of your dreams.

Just like those houses…your money might start out looking shabby and drab…

…but with a lot of hard work…and some TLC…you can walk into your new financial life bawling tears of joy.

“But HOW? I don’t have a Joanna Gaines to create a design plan for my money!”

That’s what I’m here for!

And I’ve been busy working on a master design plan for your finances for the past 8 months…

…it’s called MONEY THERAPY and it’s a year-long online program that redesigns your financial life and gives you all the tools and know-how to do it yourself.

When you enroll in the program, you’ll have me as your legit Financial Therapist…your very own Joanna Gaines…

…to help you transform your finances…build financial confidence…and establish good financial habits for life.

Enrollment opens in September, but you can get on the wait list for exclusive details here.

I can’t wait to see the before and after snapshots of YOUR financial life!!

Money love and hugs ($O$O$O)

Nicole

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What I’m Lovin’ Up On…

Music:

If you haven’t seen Chris Mann’s series of songs about Coronavirus, you need to stop what you’re doing right this second and watch them.

He takes popular songs like Vogue by Madonna and Hello by Adele and remakes them into parody songs about COVID-19. You’ll laugh your ass off…I know I did!

See them all here

Books:

The Book You Were Born to Write by Kelly Notaras is a must-have if you aspire to write and publish a book.

It delivers every step of the process in an organized way that will inspire you to pull up your laptop and get writing already. Kelly is a top-notch expert on the topic and also has a helpful Youtube channel that offers tips and advice on publishing your book.

Podcasts:

I had the joy of being interviewed on the MyDesignedLife Show with Tanya MFK…and it was deep dive into money for sure!

If you want to hear all the juicy details on dating your money…what my financial crisis looked like…and what I did to get out of it…tune in here: https://youtu.be/I_QyKzxLl_c

Art/Business Badasses:

Are you a Business Badass or Creative who’s got something swoon worthy to share?

Send me an email bragging about your awesomeness so I can check it out! If I love it, I’ll give you and your work a shout out in my upcoming newsletter.