Tonya is the author behind the PF blog Budget and the Beach which she started since her life turning point after losing her job and realizing the importance of learning how to budget her money.
Flash forward a few years and she has been featured all over the place!
Including Rockstar Finance, Lifehacker and Hello Giggles.
Welcome!
[3:41] Tell us about your financial rock bottom
· Thresholds for money pain are all different
· Always worked full time- easily finding jobs
· 2008 recession hit- Tonya lost her job and got severance
· Took up freelance work- thought it was so easy
· After the recession hit- jobs became scarce
· February of 2012- had to get her car out of “car jail” after getting towed and check from work only just covered the cost
[9:47] What was the hardest part about becoming a freelancer?
· You are responsible for everything
· Figuring out estimated taxes
· Trying to stay organized
· Having to hustle for everything
[12:15] What steps did you take to get your budget together?
· Take income over course of several months and figure out average
· Simple spreadsheet can work really well
· Entering stuff manually works
[13:20] What advice do you have for someone who is also in a financial mess?
· Baby steps are keys
· Challenge yourself to cut down grocery spending
· Checking in often
· Keeping track of what’s coming in and going out
[16:21] Where did the name of your blog come from?
· Similar to a friend’s site
Sponsor
[19:58] Check out Katie’s new ebook- only available to podcast listeners! (you’ll need to listen to get the URL)
Value Link Round
[18:24] Why do you think people struggle to achieve their dreams?
· People are bad at figuring out what they want
· You should have dreams and try achieving them
[19:54] What other books or podcasts can you recommend?
· Martini’s and your money
· Your money or your life
[21:28] Do you have a favorite quote?
· Sports don’t build character it they reveal it- replace sports with anything
· I’ve had some terrible things happen to me and some of them actually happened
[23:20] Any last advice?
· YOLO and FOMO are not your friends- stop living for just today
· You don’t have to sacrifice a huge amount now to be happy later
