subscribe & listen on your favorite app!

create a system that works for your brain

If you want to run away whenever someone asks about managing your business or personal finances, then this post is for you. 

After reading this post you’ll walk away knowing:

• It’s okay for you and your brain to work differently

• How to stop fearing your finances

• The way most creatives sabotage their finances and how to stop it

After learning how to shift your money mindset, it’s time to get excited about learning how to manage your finances. I swear it’s not as hard or scary as you think. 

I spent years with blinders on when it came to finances. I avoided them at all costs. In my personal life and in my business. And it led me to do some very embarrassing things…

So buckle up friend and let’s dive in to…

The Importance of Money Management: 3 Easy Tips to Understand Your Finances

I want you to know that if your “money management” is a shoebox filled with crumpled-up receipts, or if you avoid looking at your bank statements because it’s just “too scary”, you’re not alone. 

When I first started out, I didn’t have a single clue how to manage my finances. So we’re gonna travel back to 2010 for a moment so I can share my most embarrassing money-management fail…

Everyday Money Management (Or Lack Thereof)

I was just starting out, all on my own and I’d never done it before. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. I had a vague understanding that I was now required to save my own money for taxes, so I had been consistently putting aside some money for that. 

Fast-forward a bit to the start of 2011 and I was newly divorced, forced to move and needed to buy a new home. And the idea of starting over was so enticing. I ended up finding a house and falling in love with it. 

I thought: “technically, I have the money for it…” and I ended up stealing $20,000 from my business to pay for the down payment on the house that I loved. 

I didn’t really think about it (which, in hindsight, was definitely an error). 

It was only January, I still had another month before I had to pay for my taxes, no biggie, right?

WRONG! Tax season arrived and when I needed that $20,000, I didn’t have it. Cue the nervous sweats and the panic attack. How in the heck was I going to pay for all that money?!

The thing is, I didn’t really understand finances. Although I knew I was putting money aside to pay for my taxes as a self-employed business owner, I didn’t really know much about it at all. 

It was just like all of a sudden I got this MASSIVE tax bill for $20,000 and I didn’t have that money. 

I’m the kind of person who absolutely hates being in debt, it stresses me out. 

How to Improve Your Finances

Not only was I $20,000 in the hole, I also had a brand-new mortgage that was out of reach and I didn’t have a single clue how I was going to pay for that. 

I needed to learn quick and I created a system to not only pay back that $20,000 but also save up enough for the following tax season. 

I always found that I had trouble working with a lot of accountants. They would speak accountant to me and my creative, ADHD brain would completely go blank and I’d stare at them totally confused. 

Tell me if this sounds familiar: tax season, numbers, and finances make you feel dumb? I know that’s how it’s been for me for most of my life!

Each year during tax season I would be completely overwhelmed, wondering if I should just admit defeat and go back to being an employee. 

It wasn’t until I found people who spoke my language that I was able to create a system that actually worked for me. 

Finance Tip #1: Your Brain Works Differently & You Should Too

Stop trying to use a system that works for other people but doesn’t work for you or your brain. There are so many different bookkeeping apps, money management softwares and systems. 

Part of the reason I created Rock Your Business was to create a system for budgeting and finances that works for creative brains. 

It took me years of trial and error and changing the way I did things until I finally found a system that works for my brain. You’re allowed to find the one that works for you. 

Finance Tip #2: Get Comfortable Looking at Your Money

An easy way you can stop fearing your finances and a way you can actually improve your finances is by creating awareness and knowledge. 

By checking your bank account every single day (even if you have one eye closed and you only look at it for 10 seconds) you’re creating awareness and you’re gaining understanding of where your money is going. 

The more you know where things are instead of turning a blind eye, you’ll start to get more comfortable being aware of where your money is going and what your money is doing. 

All of a sudden by seeing where you’re spending your money, you’ll be able to silent that little voice in your head that tells you you have no control on your finances. 

Finance Tip #3: Stop Over-Complicating It

I am the queen of over-complicating things and that includes managing my finances. 

With my ADHD, I need to make everything into a game or a challenge to keep my brain interested and actually wanting to do the thing. 

And so I’ve had to do this with my finances. Sometimes I challenge myself to see how little I can spend each week, or seeing how much I can save in a month: it gives me the motivation to make it happen.

I want to remind you not to beat yourself up if things that are “easy” for others aren’t easy for you. Remember, you are allowed to find a system that works for your brain, even if it isn’t the “typical” way of doing it. 

It’s time to stop constantly changing your systems and buying things that you think will be the “quick fix” and instead work on finding a process that works for your brain and is sustainable. 

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, you get to pave your own path to success and that includes finding a money managing system that works for you. 

Don’t think you need to have it all figured out in order to start, keep it simple and just begin. That’s the most important part. 

If you need a little more guidance with finances or raising your prices, check out my FREE Raise Your Prices mini-series. It includes templates and scripts and I’m giving you a special bonus offer for you. 

I hope you’re walking away from this post knowing how to improve and understand your finances a little bit better and knowing that it’s okay that your brain works differently, you can work with systems that work for you. 

Can’t wait to see ya in the next one, friend.

Let’s be besties?