Glancing into the window that held her client, Brix stopped in mid stride. “Wow, she’s so pretty,” she said in a hushed tone.
Pushing the door open and setting her things down, she quickly introduced herself after getting the woman’s attention.
“Hello, I’m Brix McQueen. So nice to finally meet you,” she said, holding her hand out.
The woman took her hand, with a smile on her face. “Nicole Wright. Nice to meet you as well.”
Pulling the necessary paperwork from her bag, Brix began to set up shop. Budgeting wasn’t something she had always been good at, but tough times called for desperate measures. She perfected her skill even more once her father died, and she was more than grateful to be able to help others. Finally having everything laid out, Brix asked the first question she asked every client.
“Tell me a little bit about yourself and why you need help budgeting.” It may sound like a simple question to some, but for others, it made them cringe hearing how bad they were with money. That’s what she wanted people to feel, and then move on from there. Hesitantly, Nicole started to talk.
“I’m twenty-eight. Married with two kids. I’m a personal trainer at my own gym and I love what I do. The main reason I need help budgeting is because my husband loves to spend the money, before it even makes it in the door,” she said, chuckling. “It’s like he knows we’re going to make the money back or we have enough saved away, but that’s not good enough for me. I have babies, and if something were to ever happen, I want to make sure we are financially stable.”
Brix jotted the notes down on her notepad and looked up. “Certainly understandable. What is your husband’s occupation?”
“He works in sales,” Nicole stated simply.
With a look of confusion on her face, Brix asked, “Sales as in auto, real estate, telemarketing? The list could go on here.”
“Just put distributor.”
With a nod of her head, not wanting to dig any further, Brix jotted the husband’s occupation down as well. It wasn’t a big deal if she didn’t know, but it would help her help them better understand the money they were both bringing into the home. Handing her a few handouts, Brix began to explain what they are.
“I handed you a checklist with your financial goals you would like to meet. When I first started, it was to learn how to manage my money better, pay my bills on time, develop a savings plan and to learn how to invest my money. Your goals may be similar or totally different, but they are for you.”
Nicole looked over the paperwork and began to fill it out. She wanted nothing more than to be able to do this for her. She would then pass her skills on to her husband along the way. As much as they discussed the issue, Omar wasn’t up for financial etiquette. He felt like there was no need. He was making money fast, but spending it even faster. Yes, working in the family business had allowed them to see more than enough money, but to Nicole, that’s not what it was all about.
She had already invested in her own gym, but who’s to say that would always be around. Her children were at the age where she wanted to start putting money aside for their college fund, and there was no way she could do that with Omar spending like crazy. They have been married for six years and it hadn’t hit her until recently that she needed to get her priorities together for her babies.
Her oldest, Amani, just turned six, and her youngest, Nya, was three. Investing in their future was something she had to do. Just last week, her mama was complaining because her younger brother had taken out a loan for school and needed help paying it back. She would have gladly given him the money, but she wanted him to learn on his own. Hell, she needed to learn herself, and that’s why she reached out to Brix.
Finishing up the paperwork, Nicole smiled. “Thank you Brix. I’ve never just sat down and actually saw why I need to budget or what it was doing to me financially.”
“You are more than welcome. I know how discouraging it can be at first, but believe me, it will all pay off in the end. Before we meet next week, I want you to read The One Week Budget by The Budgetnista herself, Tiffany Aliche. It’s clear-cut and to the point of what it is you are trying to accomplish. Although it may take more than a week to meet your goals, we all must start somewhere,” Brix said, handing her the book.
Nicole had already paid through PayPal for five meetings, so Brix decided it was no biggie to give her the book, even if she didn’t decide to come back. She had already gotten paid and if and when Nicole decided to work on her financial goals, she had somewhere to start.