Organize Your Money with Budget Besties Shana & Vanessa

Hey Friend!

Today, we’re chatting with Budget Besties, Shana and Vanessa, and they’re going to help you organize your money. Friends, it’s going to be so juicy! 

No matter how successful you are, you’ll spend every dime you make if you can’t budget or organize your money. Been there, done that! 

When you organize your money, you want to be intentional about it to get out of debt, save big, and tithe. We should strive to wisely steward what He has given us so we can create abundantly more for His kingdom.

I believe this begins with knowing how to set up your finances correctly and organize your money. 

And by the way, these Budget Besties are not against the occasional splurge! Want to enjoy a run to Target, get a latte, or buy a super cute shirt? That’s okay – they’re not mad about it! Shana and Vanessa teach you how to organize your money intentionally so you can be wise stewards, but still have fun with the money you’ve worked so hard to earn.   

Let’s dive into the conversation!

Stef: Two of my absolute faves are here with me today! Shana and Vanessa, welcome to the party!

Shana & Vanessa: Yes! We’re so glad to be here to discuss the “B” word today. 

Stef: What “B” word are we talking about? This is a G-rated podcast!

Shana & Vanessa: We’re here to talk about the budget! Yep, budget is the “B” word. It has become a taboo word, so we’re here to make it less scary. 

Stef: I love that, and I will also learn from you today! I may or may not have a great personal budgeting system, so I need this, too. I think it’s critical what you two are doing in the budgeting space. 

Budget Besties Organize Your Money: Podcast to Profit Students

Stef: You two were students of mine not too long ago! You were also on my podcast, episode 686, where you shared about your success (give it a listen!). Tell us about what it has looked like since our conversation. Has it been hard to stay the course? Has your business grown? 

Shana & Vanessa: When we went all-in on our podcast, it was our only funnel for our business. Before joining your course, Podcast to Profit,  we simply wanted to get in front of people and talk about how to organize your money, so a podcast was the perfect fit. Since taking your program, we have grown our podcast to 671,000 plays! Not downloads, but plays, and that’s an important detail. Based on what you taught us, plays are better than downloads. 

The Compound Effect

Shana & Vanessa: We want to ensure we mention that there’s a compound effect to the system you teach. We did exactly what you told us in your course and we keep the systems you’ve taught us in place to this day. Because of this, our podcast is still growing every day! We could put more effort into it, but our current podcast and offer keep us busy.

Regardless, we are still growing with what we’re doing! We have about 15,000 plays per week. It’s awesome to see the outcome of this hard work. 

The Facebook group we’ve somewhat ignored still has 1,700 members without advertising for it. Currently, 57 people are waiting to join the group and we have to approve them using the method you taught us. Everything is happening organically.

Our email list is the same – we don’t actively do anything to grow it, and it still has 2,500 people. It was only at 160 when we started! That just goes to show you that Stef’s program works! 

Stef: That is insane, and I’m so here for this! I love the concept of doing less, better, and being too busy fulfilling your offers that you don’t have time to get distracted. Imagine that, friends!  

Budget Besties Organize Your Money: Micro-Niche Down

Stef: You Budget Besties are very niched-in, and that’s part of why you’re successful, so tell us what you do and how you help other women organize their money. 

How the Budget Besties Help Women Organize their Budget

First of all, we’re very niched-in because we took Podcast to Profit. I remember the day we figured out who we were talking to. We aimed to mimic what our mentor, Dave Ramsey, was doing. We were on a coaching call with you, Stef, and we realized our avatar desired to get out of debt but not give up their pumpkin spice lattes. Nobody is giving up their lukewarm coffees or pumpkin spice lattes. 

All: Cheers to lukewarm coffee! 

Shana & Vanessa: That’s what we learned in Podcast to Profit. Our avatar makes good money but has nothing to show for it. She wants to get out of debt but doesn’t want to get rid of her pumpkin spice lattes. Or, she wants to get her hair done and be a little bit “bougie” in her budget. 

Find Your Own Way

Shana & Vanessa: When we first started our budgeting journey with our clients, we were teaching a system that was taught to us. The more we discovered our own vision, the more we could relate to our own avatar and speak into these women.  We determined that we could budget well and still live a fun life, so that’s what we teach in our budget system. 

Stef: When you finally understand who you serve, you create something that makes them feel perfectly seen. I’ve never stuck with a strict budget because I want to buy fun, unnecessary things sometimes. However, I never found that freedom in another course. 

When you go through Podcast to Profit, you go deep into market research to uncover what you need to tweak in your system. We dive into podcast analytics, chat within our group, and gain loads of clarity. Once you have more clarity on who your person is, how can you tweak this to make this your own method? That’s what you two did and created this secret sauce called the Simplified Budget System. Tell us more about this unique take on budgeting. 

Budget Besties Organize Your Money: The Simplified Budget System

Shana & Vanessa: We learned that people don’t need another budget. What they need is a system. Not only does a budget not work for people because they don’t want to cut out their kombucha or lattes, but they also don’t have time to crunch numbers. 

This reminds us of a story about curling our girls’ hair. We’re both girl moms and in middle school, our girls had dances and recitals every weekend. They always wanted their hair curled and we had to figure out a way to do it often and quickly! 

So, the girls’ grandmother bought an automatic hair curler. It automatically winds your hair around the barrel and sets a timer according to the type of curl you want, all while preventing any burns. It was so amazing to get hair done in 10 minutes or less! We moved away from the manual, antiquated system of curls that we dreaded doing, and into a more efficient system. That’s exactly what we’re looking for in a budget. 

Many of us still operate in the same budget system we set up when we were 18. You’re probably making more money than ever before, so it’s time to level up. 

What if you could do something a little different? What if you had multiple checking accounts telling your money where to go – some going towards debt, some savings, and some for spending? 

Stef: I imagine your system is automated, too.  

Shana & Vanessa: Yes, to save you so much time. 

Budget Besties Organize Your Money: The Process 

Stef: Let’s say someone wants to purchase the Simplified Budget System. Take us through the process and steps someone might go through.  

Start Strong

Shana & Vanessa: The first thing you’ll receive is a beautiful budget, which may seem minor (or even “bougie”), but we designed this for women who appreciate pretty things. The budget does the math for you, and it’s very simple – a single sheet with checkboxes. 

We will walk you through it step-by-step. There are a few different account buckets: bills, spending, and savings. Bills get funded automatically, and you know exactly how much you can spend when you walk into Target. Your savings will grow automatically once that’s set up and running. 

Stef: Some people might worry about the time it takes to get that set up. What would you say to that? How long would it take to get this up and running? 

Shana & Vanessa: It’s worth spending time on something today that makes tomorrow easier. If you can take one afternoon to look at your budget, make notes, see where your money is going, and set up some automations, you’ll be on your way. You need to see where your money is going to know where you want it to go. 

Shana & Vanessa: The more you touch your bank account, the more chances you have to make mistakes. That’s the beauty of having your budget automated. As we said earlier with curling hair, I can’t manually curl my hair without burning myself. Having something do it for me is life-changing. It’s simple, beautiful, has check boxes, and does all the math for you. 

People are also naturally living paycheck to paycheck. Another thing our system does is tell you what to do per paycheck. It takes all the guesswork out of organizing your money. 

You Can’t Afford Not to Budget

You don’t have time NOT to do this. When we started Podcast to Profit, we had to make the time to do it, and set up the system, and it’s growing every day. Organizing your budget works in the same way. You’ll save time and money in the future. 

For those of you who are thinking, “I make enough money, I don’t really need a budget.” We know you want to be a good steward of your money and you could be doing so much more. Many of us have just one checking account with hundreds of transactions, and you never know what’s happening. We want you to be the CFO of your finances.

We’re not 18 anymore where we’re budgeting out of scarcity. Now that you have more money, you want to ensure you’re a good steward of what God has blessed you with. 

We just did a podcast about this and budgeting with an abundance of money is so much fun!  It’s wonderful to look at your money and see what you can fund in your life! You are your own bank and you’ll always have the money to fund your lifestyle, without feeling restricted.

Save Up for Something Big

Stef: I love that you mentioned that! I’ve had multiple students who have come to Podcast to Profit who worked with you to save up for my program! Can we talk about how a budgeting system helps you save, or how it could help you pay down debt if that’s what you dream of? How does a tool like this help you reach those goals?  

Shana & Vanessa: Mostly, we don’t know what’s going on with our money. Even if you’re not living paycheck to paycheck, you’re spending as if you are. We help our clients organize and then have lightbulb moments from the organization. For example, if you tell your money where to go, you can pay for something like Podcast to Profit.

It’s not that you don’t have the money, you just don’t see where it’s going. It’s a lack of organization. Once you reprioritize, you can meet all of these audacious goals. 

We work with clients that make $7,000 monthly, and others that make $30,000 to $50,000 monthly. It’s not that the money isn’t there, they’ve just never looked at what was available to them. 

Stef: It’s a lack of awareness. In my business, I’m all over my budget, but in my personal life, I’m far less organized. I can see so much value in what you’re saying. There are also things people don’t know about, like high-interest checking accounts, that you shed light on. That takes the guesswork out of it and allows us to tithe without worry and be better stewards of our money as Christian business owners.   

Budget Besties Organize Your Money: Favorite Client Wins

Stef: Tell me about some key transformations from your clients. 

Shana & Vanessa: We love our clients! Most of them pay off or save about $20,000 in six months. That’s at the low end of some of our clients! Some clients have driven that number up a bit more. 

As Budget Besties, we feel like our clients are our best friends. I recently chatted with a couple from our program, and they have paid off 7 credit cards and $22,000 of debt. We made a mock budget of their plan going forward — he wants a new truck and she wants to start vacationing more. They also have daughters, so they want a bigger clothing budget. It’s so rewarding to see them grow in their marriage by setting goals together and creating a new trajectory in how their family lives. 

Budget Besties Organize Your Money: A Special Treat 

Stef: We have something fun for everyone! If you’re in my community, you’re one of my “Lolas” (my avatar’s name), and we Lolas are unabashedly obsessed with coffee. So, if you want to grab your Simplified Budget System, we have a fun surprise for you!  

By the way, the value of the price is insane, as in, one trip to Target. That’s all it will cost you to organize your money – just once – with lifetime access!   

Shana & Vanessa: We have listeners and clients who still tell us what we said in our intro really stuck out to them. When we say, “I want to get out of debt but I don’t want to give up my pumpkin spice latte,” they say it feels like we’re looking into their souls.

Coffee, Anyone?

Shana & Vanessa: We want to give a fun treat to your audience! If you go to Budget Besties, we’ll give anyone who purchases the system a free pumpkin spice latte. You can sip on your delicious drink while you organize your budget!

Stef: We have so much fun together! Don’t forget to have fun in your business, friends. It permeates through your episodes, the connections you make, and the friendships that you curate. Yes, budgeting is a serious subject, but we’re also going to have a ton of fun while we do it. 

Once again, head on over to Budget Besties to grab your bundle. You can make a beautiful investment in yourself this season. I cannot attest to more qualified, intentional, and kingdom-minded coaches. I know there will be exponential favor over your budget and business with these Budget Besties. 

Tell us a little bit about your podcast and where we can find you. 

Shana & Vanessa: Our podcast, Financial Coaching for Women, can be found anywhere you listen to podcasts. Our success is because of what you taught us in Podcast to Profit and we are forever grateful! We love having fun and taking the shame out of this budgeting game. It’s always a lighthearted conversation over on the podcast, so please join us!

Stef: Go grab the Simplified Budget System and get your free latte, you won’t regret this! Thank you, ladies, for hanging out with me today. I’m so excited for everyone to connect with you! 

Take the Next Right Step in Your Finances

Well, friends, I hope you’ll accept their offer for free coffee! More importantly, I hope you’ll dive into the Budget Besties’ budgeting system and take the next step in becoming an intentional steward of the blessings God has poured into your finances. 

Until next time! 

APPLE PODCAST | SPOTIFY | YOUTUBE

---

---

LISTEN TO RELATED EPISODES:

LIVE Podcast Audit: How to Make Sure Your Podcast Is Clear and Niche

The Easiest Way to Make Six Figures Online in The Next 12-24 Months

10 Reasons Podcasting is the Best Way to Make Money Online

---

WATCH RELATED EPISODES:

Make THOUSANDS with These 4 Podcast Monetization Secrets

How we went from 6K-15K months using a podcast!” Shana Roberson & Vanessa Porten

Financial Business Basics Made Simple With Hilary Hendershott & Stefanie Gass

---