A look back at #WCW and what this group of bad asses taught me

Can you believe we have been reading about the amazing women who are part of Team Bernadette for three months!? I have to admit, I was a little nervous when I started this process, but what a joy it has been (pun intended). The time has flown by, and in all honesty, the ladies I had the pleasure to learn about told their own story. I feel I did very little. That being said, I did learn a great deal. 

“I have stopped apologizing for my financial position, both good and not so good. When I joined the Debt Crushers, I remember carrying around a lot of baggage about how I accumulated debt. It was unproductive and the group, along with Bernadette, helped me to move past that.” --Heather

What was my biggest take away you ask? Well, I went into this thinking the big “B-word” was budgeting. However, after listening to these women (and reflecting on myself), I learned that it is really baggage—and we all have it! From my early FLOW days with Bernadette to the Chief Fire Officer program and right on into the Net Self Worth cohort, I spent hours with women I respected and admired and learned we are all carrying some sort of shit around that we need to unpack and get rid of for good. And these women are doing it. They are paying off thousands of dollars of debt, investing, living their dreams and working toward early retirement. It is a really big damn deal!

Here’s the thing: we all get stuck. At some point in our lives, we just need a good kick in the ass to get unstuck. Enter Bernadette. While Bernadette claims to be a financial educator (and she is certainly that), she is so much more. Not one of the 10 (11, if I count myself) women that I wrote about only talked about how Bernadette helped them financially. They all talked about how their time with Bernadette positively impacted other areas of their life and gave them confidence outside of financial planning. 

“I set a goal to celebrate my 36th birthday on 2/22/22 by treating my close friends to a beautiful beach vacation in the Bahamas and the house has already been paid for!” -- Quinn

You know what else is life-changing? All these women are paying off debt and saving money, but they are also learning to spend unapologetically. How’s that, you ask? Because I kind of lied. Budgeting still is a big “B-word.” But budgeting doesn’t have to be painful. I cannot emphasize this point enough: It is okay to spend money on the things that make you happy! This is one point Bernadette drives home repeatedly and it is really what won me over during our first conversation. I didn’t have to give up vacations or fancy pants yarn or good wine!

As I sat down to write this, I really thought about how much impact Bernadette has had in my life this year and how fate brought us together. I was just listening to a podcast in the parent pick-up line at my daughter’s school, and BOOM! This sassy little lady was in my head talking about how I needed to get my shit together, pay off my debt, retire early and live my best life. I thought, “well, that sounds nice” and scheduled a meeting. What started out for me as wanting advice on paying off a vehicle and our house became a friendship and this fun writing gig! I also got to meet some of the most bad ass women from all over the country and hang out with them every week. We learned, we laughed and I had several glasses of wine. Good times.

If you have been stalking Bernadette on social because she is so damn cute and impressive AF, don’t put off getting to know her any longer. She is the real deal. I swear. Go to her website and take that first step which is so very scary. (Insider tip: It’s really not that scary. Bernadette is super cool, welcoming and you will be chatting like old friends in about 10 minutes.) 

“I have literally rewired my brain so that my relationship is much healthier when it comes to my financial freedom. The biggest shift has definitely been recognizing that it is possible to release shame, proactively plan, grow wealth and still live!” -- Caitlin

As for me, I hope I can channel this momentum and continue to grow both my net and self-worth. I would also like to do some more fun writing for the world to see. If you like dogs, booze, food and/or knitting hit me up on Instagram @kyspiritsgal. I hope to have a kyspiritsgal website and Facebook page up soon too. Thank you so much for reading these blogs. I hope these women inspired you half as much as they did me. Cheers!