Tag: budget mindset

Mei ft. The Curated Drop: The Growth & Grind Report

May 31st, 2025
The thing about startups is… they’re exhausting. You know it, I know it, and that, I suppose, is why they’re not for the faint of heart. I mean, the moment we decide to start a project, that project becomes the thing that hijacks our mind; every thought thereafter becomes held hostage by the work — the vision, the pressure, and the hours you didn’t plan to give but somehow always do. It. demands. everything.

And the crazy part is, it always starts small, like a seed. You don’t notice it at first but different experiences that lead you back to that particular thought acts as a watering pail; slowly, that seed begins to sprout and from there, it’s only a matter of time before you have a nice view in your garden. One minute you’re thinking, “This could be cool,” and then it turns into a, “I need to write this down,” and then before you know it, you’ve written a whole outline on how to execute this vision- this, new dream of yours. You find yourself spacing out a lot more wondering when you’re going to be able to work on your new concept again and God forbid you have a better idea that’s more worthy of your time, because then the process starts over and that, is exhausting.

Uh oh, did I just out myself? I mean, here I am, spewing out blog posts, rambling on as I so often do for the sake of letting everything that’s going on in my head out.

You guessed it, I’m exhausted.

The truth is, I find myself restarting this process at least once a year. First, I wanted to start a podcast and call it The Big Shirt podcast because I wanted to wear big shirts and talk about the thoughts that stopped me in my tracks. Before that, I wanted to start one called Nonlinear You which would go over topics I’m pretty much going to cover in this blog, The Processing Mind. And before that, I wanted to make one called the Happy Body Podcast, because well, with the words happy body, happy soul being my tagline, I bet you can all assume that at the time, that’s exactly what I was looking for – and just like this blog, I wanted to share my journey to finding it with you as my audience.

From the Happy Body Podcast, I started a personal training business called, The Build Up Method, because I was freshly certified in fitness and nutrition and I wanted to educate people about getting healthy, the right way.

Before that, I wanted to make and sell pet products, so I made that idea official by calling my business, Say Fetch.

And earlier this year, along with The Big Shirt Podcast, I came up with another idea for ‘The Film Responder’ – my clever take on ‘first responders’, because I wanted to write reviews based on films and shows that covered, you guessed it, our heroes that don’t wear capes.

And the problem with all of these, is that I still think they’re all still really good ideas! I’ve made all the t-shirts, designed all the cover art, and publicly registered all the names, and yet here I am, doing it all over again because I thought this blog would be better.

And in all honesty, I don’t mind because I just really love coming up with names. Like, if I could make a living just doing that, that’d be enough for me. But that’s why I write, why I start over, and why this blog is called, The Processing Mind – because I am constantly looped in the process of my mind.

However, what I’m looking for now, is consistency. I want to do this. I want to make something of this, so there’s been a whole lot more planning in the background on this one. I like the name, I like what I’m doing, and I believe I have the stamina for it.

So, let’s dive in.

The Growth & Grind Report.

I’m going to keep this first one short because the truth is, this project is only a week old and I’m just warming up here.

The biggest victory I experienced in Mei is acknowledging that I have a problem, unfortunately in several areas of my life.
1. I don’t like where I’m at physically, with my weight.
  - After having my son, I became a very picky eater and suffer from many food aversions that have kept me from enjoying the foods I used to. I often find myself without cravings, too, which makes it harder for me to decide what to eat, leading me to wait until the last minute when my body is screaming at me for food and I give in to snacks and undesirable choices. So this, must change.
2. I’ve become lazy and unproductive.
  - My job is very hands-on and laborious so most times I use that as an excuse to do absolutely nothing on my down time. I love to sleep and watch tv and of course, that’s good in moderation, but my accumulation of hours on these two specific things are excessive. So this, must change.
3. The people I often choose to associate with, do not stimulate me.
  - Now, it’s important to note that although it’s not someone else’s job to stimulate you, it is important to hang around people who inspire and make you better. This is not to say that the people I tend to spend time with are not great people, because they are. I just feel like a lot of them are so comfortable with where they’re at in life that they’re merely sitting on the same steps I’m trying to climb. So this, must change.
4. My finances.
  - I’m 25, I’m married, and I’m a mom. I should know better. I have no savings, I spend too much of my excess income on things I don’t need, and I’ve recently stepped into the era of my life where travel doesn’t look so bad. The only problem is, I don’t have a handle on my finances. So this, must change.
I’m sure there’s more I can work on, but for the next year, these four will be my focus. My growth this month is the acknowledgement that change needs to happen and the grind is in the planning.

Although Mei’s come and gone, her epiphany remains.
I’m turning a new leaf, and this time, I’m setting the pace.
The air feels different, and the sun’s made her debut.

So, ready or not, everybody,
here comes Joon.
Mei, & The Financial Pivot, 3

May 30th, 2025
Tip, pay yourself first. Treat your savings like a bill. It’s not optional — it’s a future-you deposit.

I won’t hide from the fact that I grew up poor, but with parents smart enough to know how to work the system, we never found ourselves in a particular puddle for too long. Sure enough, wherever there was mud, there was also always a clean hose for us to wash off with. I’ve never experienced the poverty people like Viola Davis suffered through, such as having to go extended periods of time without access to clean and running water, but I’ve also never experienced her amount of success, so I wonder if that cancels anything out. I mean, if I ever became highly acclaimed in the exact career field I had always dreamed about, wouldn’t that be enough to lessen the blow of the earlier years where nothing went my way?

I surmise I’ll have to get back to you on that one.

The point is, I grew up poor. And you’d think my relationship with poverty would act as a driving force to secure a reasonable amount of savings, but the truth is, I hold all the red flags when it comes to being financially in control.

Red Flags
1. Lack of Financial Education — lack of learning the basics: budgeting, saving, investing, or credit management.
2. Scarcity Mindset — the belief that there’s never enough because there’s a fear that it could all disappear tomorrow.
3. Using Spending as a Coping Mechanism — Shopping can temporarily soothe, distract, or feel like a way to reclaim control or joy after years of deprivation.
4. Revenge Spending — buying things that were previously out of reach as a way of “making up” for the past.
You name it, I’ve got it, but the goal is not to anymore. So, here’s what I’m going to do.

Plan: I’m going to follow the 50/30/20 plan.

Here’s how it works: 50% of all income goes directly to bills, 30% is dedicated to groceries & gas, and the other 20% gets deposited into a savings account.

However, I’m going to slightly adjust these percentages in order to hit the number goals I have in mind. For example, I’d like to dedicate $200 biweekly towards my savings account, so instead of 20%, I’m going to direct 18.2%, add the other 1.8% towards my grocery & gas fund, making it 31.8%, and leave the 50 rule alone.

Of course, this plan looks good on paper, but what are my concerns?

My debt. How do I manage to consciously save while I’m in debt? I mean, won’t the interest rates eventually creep up on me and if so, wouldn’t having a savings actually be counter-productive? So, this begs the question, should you save while you’re in debt?

Yes, and here’s how:
1. Build a Mini Emergency Fund (MEF) First — Don’t attack your debt aggressively in the beginning, rather, manage to save between $500 – $1,000, or whatever will cover one month’s worth of expenses for you. That way you won’t have to use your credit cards for emergencies.
2. Once your MEF is situated, you can start confronting your debt more seriously. Instead of directing 20% of your income towards your savings, you could dedicate 18% to your debt and 2% to your savings (just to keep the flow going and your initial savings growing)
Because I am going to implement a shopping ban for the rest of the year, meaning I will not be allotting any money towards things as unnecessary as wants (i.e. – coffee runs, takeout, or miscellaneous items), I imagine despite the initial difficulty, paying down my debt should actually be a swift process.

Although, during my initial planning, another concern of mine was the fact that since my bills are scattered throughout the month — sometimes consuming more than 50% of my total biweekly income — I found myself wondering how to successfully satisfy paying all my bills without detouring away from the 50/30/20 rule. Here’s how:

How to Know When to Save (with Scattered Bills):

1. Create a “Money Map” system that breaks each paycheck into consistent portions — no matter when bills hit.
2. Keep 50% of total biweekly income in checking account for bills. If a bill isn’t due yet, just let the money sit there.

That way, each paycheck contains part of your savings + bills, instead of waiting until everything is due. You’re evenly pacing your month, rather than reacting to the calendar. This builds consistency. You’ll never have to scramble when a bill hits because part of each check is already covering it.

It’s almost as if I’ll be creating two separate MEF’s, one present in my checking account, and the other in my savings.

And the timing couldn’t be better. This specific paycheck was only intended to cover a small amount of my bills, which means instead of having to spend more than 50% just to cover it all, I only need 35% this round and can set aside the other 15% to start putting this new plan of mine into motion!

I know it’s easier said than done and not everyone can save the same way I can; I’m fortunate to have the support of my husband to cover the bigger ticket bills such as rent and utilities. Nonetheless, I’m determined to step out of this financial puddle I’ve fallen into and I’m excited to see where it leads.

Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right.

— Henry Ford

What’s a financial red flag you’ve had to overcome and how are you tackling your debt? Strategies? Approach? Tips and tricks? If you haven’t had those types of discussions, now would be a great time to start approaching the subject.

Tag: budget mindset

Mei ft. The Curated Drop: The Growth & Grind Report

Mei, & The Financial Pivot, 3