👋 Meet Sarah

Sarah is a recent MBA graduate with a good salary but still had a scarcity mindset.

She didn't have a budget in place, was unsure about investments, and was not maximizing her work benefits. In October 2023, she signed up for Doing Well and was able to track her expenses better, paid off loans, invested in ETFs, reduced her monthly spending, maximized her employee benefits, and saved for future goals. This resulted in a 22.36% savings increase and boosted her credit score to 803.

🚧 Challenges Faced

Sarah was caught up in her work and career, found herself overwhelmed and unable to effectively manage or track her finances.

• Spending Habits: She lacked clarity regarding her monthly spending habits and did not have any spending limits
• Debt: Unpaid loans she wasn’t aware of were negatively affecting her credit score
• Investment: Unsure about making investment decisions, missing out on investment opportunities
• Budgeting: Without a budgeting plan, it was challenging for her to align her expenses with her financial goals
• Employee Benefits: Unaware of the full range of benefits offered by her employer

🎯 Goals Set

Sarah needed help organizing her finances to gain awareness of her monthly spending and achieve her financial goals.

• Save More Money: Put aside money regularly for future needs or emergencies
• Pay Back Loans: Pay back the money she owed from student loans and medical bills
• Invest Better: Adjust investments to make more money in the future
• Stick to a Budget: Create and follow a budgeting plan to spend wisely and save more
• Be Independent: Rely less on her family and become more self-sufficient‍
• Simplify her Financial Life: Close any bank accounts she didn't need‍
• Cut Unnecessary Subscriptions: Review and cancel any subscriptions she didn't need

🚀 Progress Achieved

In just 5 months of working with Doing Well, Sarah was able to build her savings and emergency funds, put in investments for the future, and made progress towards a house downpayment.

• Understanding Spending: Learned more about how she spent money and created a plan to track expenses better
• Paying Off Loans: Paid $15,000 towards her loans, boosting her credit score to 803
• Investing Wisely: Learned how to choose the best investments and invested $70,500 in ETFs with monthly automation
• Budgeting Intentionally: Reduced her monthly spending from $6,000 to $4,000
• Getting the Most from Benefits: Made sure she was maxing out her employer match and utilizing all the employee benefits she had
• Saving for the Future: Saved $14,000 towards a house payment and established a $30,000 emergency fund
• Increasing Net Worth: Increased her net worth and savings by 22.36%
• Simplify her Financial Life: Closed any accounts she didn’t need

❓Questions & Answers

1) How did your upbringing influence your financial decisions?

I remember my parents arguing about money when I was a young age and that always stuck with me. I feel like I had a scarcity mindset for most of my life and I was scared to take control of my money. I did not know where to start. I just wanted to break the cycle and become more financially secure.

2) Could you share your financial progress and current goals?

My goal is to maximize all my retirement accounts and continuously contribute to it. I hope to be able to buy a house within the next 5 years so I also have been saving up for that as well. At the root of it, I just wanted clarity over my current financial situation right now to lower my stress about the future and enjoy my life more.

3) What money habits have you adopted to improve your finances?

Every month, all of my expenses are categorized and organized for me so I am much more aware of my spending. After realizing I had spent $300+ a month on Lyft/Uber, I stopped using ride-sharing apps as much and opted to drive more or carpool with friends. I also cut a lot of monthly subscriptions that I did not need, especially from Apple. I am most proud of the fact that I am automatically contributing $1,000 to my Roth IRA every month.

4) What advice would you give to others facing financial challenges?

Be kind to yourself and focus on progress over perfection. Don't beat yourself up for past mistakes because you cannot change them. It is better to focus on the future and start making things better today. Rather than struggling by yourself silently, ask for help and receive guidance from experts. Life feels so much better after getting clarity over your money.

5) What inspired you to embark on your Doing Well journey?

I was tired of living with a scarcity mindset. I could talk to my therapist or family about my feelings towards money but they could not really help me in a concrete way - what was the first step? That is why I sought out the help of Doing Well.

💬 A Message From Sarah

"Like everyone else, I didn't have much time to deal with money stuff. I kept kicking the can down the road. Getting coached by Doing Well allowed me to understand where my money was going and how to make it work better for me. Now that my finances are handled, I feel more confidence to achieve larger goals in life."