She paid off her car!

Next up in the wonderful world of #WCW is Darlene! Darlene hails for the Big Apple, but now calls Charlotte, NC home. She is an attorney and is learning to put the same faith in herself that her clients place it her. Self-awareness is a big freaking deal, people!

All of the fabulous females we have featured in this blog have a least one thing in common. They are on a journey. Their journeys are different, but joining others down this path has proven to be both empowering and eye-opening. “Seeing other women just as smart and powerful as me in need of guidance in this area has been so helpful. I don’t feel alone or embarrassed for not knowing as much as I'd like about finances.” Once again Bernadette is taking away the shame and uneasiness about discussing our finances openly. We are learning to own it!

I was in a group with Bernadette and about a dozen other women this week and was empowered enough to share a major financial milestone. I could not have imagined doing that a year ago. Darlene shares that she too has seen significant changes in her way of thinking about money and finances. “The biggest change in my money mindset is I now trust myself with my money way more than I ever have. I didn’t realize how much I didn’t trust myself to make smart decisions with my money.” By having this faith in herself and her decision making, Darlene just paid off her car early. That’s a big damn deal that comes with a lot of freedom!

“Seeing other women just as smart and powerful as me in need of guidance in this area has been so helpful. I don’t feel alone or embarrassed for not knowing as much as I'd like about finances.”

Paying off her car is just the beginning. Darlene is living one of the key concepts in Bernadette’s CRUSH program—Reverse Engineer Your Goals. She is looking at the endgame and working backwards to reach those goals. “Ultimately I want freedom to do the things that matter to me and the time to be with the people I love. My goals are a lot less materialistic. I still want nice things, but ultimately, I want to be in a better position to give freely. To give my time to things I love, instead of things I feel obligated to do to survive.” Darlene is putting her money where her mouth is—literally. She is following a passion and will soon have her first children’s book published!

 Along with writing, Darlene is focused on other things that bring her joy and travel is at the top of the list. We have talked a lot about being able to spend unapologetically on the things that are meaningful to us and Darlene has firmly embraced this key CRUSH value. “I’ve stopped apologizing and feeling guilty for spending on travel. I spend unapologetically on travel!” Darlene is clearly making mental health a driving factor in her financial journey. 

Besides seeing the world, where else does Darlene find motivation? Brace yourself folks. This one is a shocker—budgeting! Who knew?! “I love to budget! I always ran from it, but knowing what I have and don't have, what I can spend and what I can’t spend has been so helpful. It’s motivation.” I can personally relate to this. I’ve done half-assed budgets for years, but Bernadette has really helped me pin that stuff down and this same sentiment has been echoed by many of the women we have featured here. 

“My legacy will be one of kindness, philanthropy and impact. That has always been my goal, but this program has given me a game plan to get there.”

Setting aside all the financial talk, Darlene has also realized how she wants to be remembered and it is not for her great wealth or million-dollar yacht. “My legacy will be one of kindness, philanthropy and impact. That has always been my goal, but this program has given me a game plan to get there.”

Would you like some encouragement on fulfilling your dreams and planning for the future? Join Bernadette and her amazing squad and start your journey. Get the details of how to begin at https://www.crushyourmoneygoals.com/. We will be back here next week with another bad ass woman. In the meantime, check out my previous blogs at https://www.crushyourmoneygoals.com/blog and feel free to follow me on Instagram @kyspiritsgal for booze, dogs, knitting, food and whatever other nonsense I can come up with!