#127: Transforming Your Personal Finances: From Debt to Abundance with Rachel Luna

Do you ever feel like your personal finances are a mystery you'll never solve? What if you could completely reframe your thinking about debt and wealth building? 

In a riveting conversation with the brilliant Rachel Luna, a renowned international speaker, certified master neuroscience coach, and bestselling author, we uncover the transformative power of rethinking our personal finances.

Rachel's journey is one of resilience and grit, overcoming adversity to become the influencer she is today. She generously shares her personal experiences, insights, and strategies, drawing from her empowering book, "Permission to Offend." 

This book is a beacon for women, particularly mothers, nudging them towards a life of authenticity and abundance. Rachel's insights are steeped in empathy, and she underscores the importance of daily self-check-ins, a crucial step towards acknowledging our inherent value, independent of our bank account or net worth. 

In our exploration of personal finance management, we challenge old habits and mindsets, particularly those influenced by trauma. Rachel's candid discussions about overcoming debt, not once, but twice, are particularly enlightening. 

She offers a fresh perspective on how to navigate the feelings of shame, guilt, and blame that often accompany debt. With her valuable insights and actionable advice, you'll learn how to reframe your own narrative about money and debt. So, ready to transform your personal finances and live a life of abundance? Listen in!

• Amazon Affiliate Link for Rachel’s Book: https://amzn.to/3NWLkjc

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Transcript

Rachel Luna: 0:00

people say that to me, like I've done everything, and then I'll say, oh, let me look at your journal entries, let me look at show me your work. I read the book, but did you do the alignment opportunities? Did you do the exercises? I joined that program. Show me where you did the worksheets that came along with that program. Well, I didn't have time so you didn't do anything, you just learned. And here's the problem with overconsumption is that then you have too many options.

Allison Baggerly: 0:30

Hey, this is Allison and welcome to the Inspire Budget podcast, where we talk all things budgeting debt and saving money. Today I am thrilled to introduce our guest, rachel Luna. I met Rachel at a conference in Puerto Rico and I knew immediately that she needed to be part of the Inspire Budget podcast. Rachel is a beacon of resilience. Rachel's journey from a US Marine to a highly sought after international speaker, certified master, neuroscience coach and bestselling author is nothing short of inspirational. Rachel's book Permission to a Vend encourages women, particularly mothers, to confidently express themselves, ushering them toward a life of authenticity and abundance. In today's episode, we'll uncover the richness of Rachel's personal journey and how we can rethink our personal finances, especially debt. Let's welcome Rachel Luna. Hi, rachel, welcome to the Inspire Budget podcast.

Rachel Luna: 1:27

Hello hello, I'm so excited to be here with you today, allison.

Allison Baggerly: 1:31

I'm excited you're here too. We got the chance to meet in Puerto Rico and immediately I was like we need to have her on the podcast, because I was able to have lunch with you one day and you were like speaking to my soul. So I knew I wanted my podcast listeners to get to hear from you as well. So can you just share a little bit about your journey, including some of the adversities that you have faced and really how they have shaped you to be who you are today? Because I'm guessing who you are today is not who you were 10, 20 years ago.

Rachel Luna: 2:03

I mean.

Rachel Luna: 2:04

Who I am today is arguably not who I was yesterday and I think that's one of the beautiful things about life is that every single day, we get to choose who we want to be for that day, and I really like to teach. That is decide who you want to be today, wake up in the morning and just check in with yourself. And, by the way, alison, these are things that I did not do growing up. As you mentioned some of the adversity, if you look at my track record, I just have a whole lifetime of adversity, starting from before I was born. I'm going to tell my story in bullet points, because my story is so complex and so many twists and turns and so much we would take the full hour and I really want to talk about money and all the other good stuff, but the bullet's cliff note is that I like to say to people that I have been fighting to live since before I was born, because my biological mother considered aborting me and it was my godmother, who would then go on to raise me later on, who petitioned for my life, and I share that with you. To remind you that there are people petitioning for your life, petitioning for your dreams, that you don't even know about yet. You don't know the hand of the people that you're going to meet and how they're going to help, in a sense, save your life. So my biological mother did have me. I had three older male siblings from her, and she did not want any more children. She only wanted a girl. And so my godmother said to her that's your daughter, that's Rachel. And my biological mother said, well, if it's a boy, you're keeping her. Thanks, my word. She was prophetic.

Rachel Luna: 3:41

Fast forward. Three and a half years later, she finds out that she has AIDS. She passes away very quickly. And my father? He also had HIV at the time. Later on it developed into full blown AIDS, and so he made the decision to give me to my godmother, who at the time, was living her most fabulous single life. She was going to go into the Peace Corps. She didn't even want a kid, and so I think that it's important to note that there are people who are always willing to make sacrifices on your behalf because you are worthy and can you give yourself permission to accept that you are valuable and you are not defined by your budget or your bank account, which was something that in my earlier years in entrepreneurship I really struggled with.

Rachel Luna: 4:25

I felt like I couldn't be taken seriously. As a coach I couldn't be taken seriously, or that people wouldn't want to work with me because I wasn't making as much money as other people. And I was forgetting that I just wasn't making as much money as other people because I was new, I was still learning how to build the business, but I still had the expertise in what I was offering. And what I really want to normalize, that is, leaning into your expertise and recognizing your inherent value, not your value based on your bank account or a net worth. I love that. So because my father gave me away and I use those words and air quotes I grew up with a lot of feelings of rejection and abandonment. And again, years later, I came to learn and recognize that those feelings of rejection and abandonment were not because of what my father did, rather because of the stories I was telling myself and the meaning I was assigning to my father's actions and his behaviors.

Allison Baggerly: 5:25

Whoa. Did you have to go to therapy to figure this out? Like this is like full blown, like everyone, get out your notebooks because that was so much you were feeling that way because of the feelings you were assigning to your father's actions. I want to know, because you did I mean already, and we haven't even touched on the rest of the bullet points but did you go to therapy to uncover this? How did you do this work?

Rachel Luna: 5:50

So I have been in therapy since I was five years old, essentially since my biological mother died, or maybe first grade. I should say that's where it was a court, not a court appoint excuse me, a school appointed therapist. Actually, my therapist and I were not dealing with my mother at all. We were dealing with abuse that I had endured and occasionally like talking about your feelings, about your parents, who came here and there. Therapy did not actually help me discover any of what I now know. No, because so much of therapy at that time.

Rachel Luna: 6:25

Now there are so many advances in therapy now, like EMDR is a therapeutic practice that I have been through that I highly recommend. For anyone that's dealing with PTSD or some sort of trauma that you just can't get over, I highly recommend EMDR. But back in the day talk therapy was very popular and I think that talk therapy does have its benefits. The problem is that the way the brain works and I have a master's certification in neuroscience is that the way the brain works is the more you talk about what's already happened, the more you solidify those neural pathways and so that story becomes encoded. And if part of your talk therapy isn't centered around forward motion and future action and creating a new neural pathway and new belief around the story, then you sort of get locked in time.

Allison Baggerly: 7:15

Right, living in the past, right you do.

Rachel Luna: 7:18

And not only living in the past, but the past informs your beliefs about your present and your actions towards your future. This is the way that the brain is designed. The brain is designed to look for all of the evidence, the experience from the past, to deduce whether or not the action you're about to take is safe. And Because, right, the brain's job is to keep us alive, so it's only doing what it's been designed to do, but it's also a processor, and so you have to feed it. Think of it like chat GPT. Right, the quality of the question and the prompts that you put into chat GPT will deliver the outcome. Same thing with your brain. So what happened with me being in therapy for all those years is that I just kept talking about my trauma and staying in victimhood, and Let me say this very clearly Sometimes it can be a little polarizing, so I'll do my best.

Allison Baggerly: 8:14

It's okay to be polarizing. Well, I'm, I'm here.

Rachel Luna: 8:16

I teach being polarizing right my book permission to offend, but I want to say this in a way that's not gonna cause harm, and there's a difference between being polarizing and causing harm. Okay, so when I say that I was really living as a victim, is I really had this Belief, this arrogance around me that people should treat me differently, that they should be kinder to me, they should be more understanding, they should be more empathetic, because, you know, I was this little orphan girl who was abused and had eating disorders and and was an alcoholic and you did not know all the things that I went through. My father abandoned me and my mother died and everyone lied to me about my mother's death, that I Talk about that in my book.

Rachel Luna: 9:00

So, we won't hash that there, but I had all these stories and talk therapy just helped me feel validated in those stories, and what I want to say about victimhood is that you can Acknowledge your victimization without holding on to your identity as the victim. That is critical for healing and setting yourself free. I was victimized multiple times throughout my life. I'm not a victim, I am crazy victorious. When you look at my life, I'm a magnet for miracles. I am evidence that you can heal, that you can have transformation. I am evidence that it doesn't matter the adversity that you've had to overcome if you're willing to do the work and yes, there's community, there's opportunity.

Rachel Luna: 9:49

I don't necessarily believe in luck. I believe in God appointed blessings, but you get to choose your own belief right. So it's not that it was a straight, narrow, perfectly decorated path. There's this idea that I keep seeing floating around that if you've had any kind of adversity and you've overcome it, it's because something special happened to you. Like you're this unique unicorn and because you're so privileged and it was your privilege that helped you overcome.

Rachel Luna: 10:20

What privilege I'm a Puerto Rican girl from New York City from to migrant parents from Puerto Rico. Like what privilege. The privilege is that my parents, while my mom, who raised me, worked very, very hard and she made sacrifices and I worked very, very hard and I've made sacrifices. So I I do believe that privilege exists. It does, yeah, but we can't keep using that as an excuse for not pulling ourselves up by the bootstraps and Changing the way that we think. Now your question was Was it therapy? So it was a combination of talk, therapy, emdr, life coaching, neuroscience. It has been a journey, so I have done every kind of work that you can think somatic therapy a lot of. I'm a woman of faith, so a lot of it has been prayer and fasting. So it's not one thing, and I think people need to stop looking for the one thing, because magic the magic wand.

Rachel Luna: 11:24

There's no magic wand doesn't exist that pill is not out there, and so I know we'll talk about my book in a second. But, like you, everything that I've done I've put into this book. Can you see? I don't know if there is play like even in my own book? If you're looking at this on YouTube or something, I have flags left and right. I wrote every single word of this myself, but I still do the work. Even though I wrote the book, I still go back. I still have to remind myself like, oh, you know what, I'm stuck in a story loop. I'm. I'm stuck in not moving forward. I've got to do the all outcomes matrix from chapter 7. I'm telling myself a story. Let me use my framework for freedom so that I could get out of this loop and I can actually move forward. So it really is the willingness to take everything that you learn, not just to consume but to implement.

Allison Baggerly: 12:18

Because, wisdom is the application of knowledge, yes, and if we just keep consuming and consuming and learning, and learning, and learning and we never implement, then we get stuck in this, this space where we say, well, I, I did all this, but none if it works for me, oh, I hate what I hear.

Rachel Luna: 12:34

There are very few things that I hate in life, because I think you know, hate is such a strong word, mm-hmm, but I really do. I hate when, when people say that to me like I've done everything, and then I I'll say, oh, let me look at your journal entries, let me look at, show me your work. I read the book, but did you do the alignment opportunities? Did you do the exercises? I joined that program. Show me where you did the worksheets that came along with that program. Well, I didn't have time so you didn't do anything, you just learned. And here's the problem with overconsumption is that then you have too many options, you have much information and you don't know what to do first, because you could do so many different ways.

Rachel Luna: 13:17

I was teaching a class yesterday. I have a program called permission to make bank, where I help people Get through their mindset stuff so that they can market and sell their services right, very, very little. It's very light on marketing strategy, sales strategy, although I love teaching sales. So it's. But it's all the stuff right, mm-hmm, the mindset, it's the mom. Well, it's not just the mindset, because I think, when I think that that word has been overused so much that people think like oh, it's just what I'm thinking. No, it's what you're doing about those thoughts. It's the work that you're doing with those thoughts. It's not just recognizing that you have a thought and that you have to think differently. It's recognizing that there's actual physical work. There's like pen to paper Work. Right, there is. There are physical actions that you need to take if you want to change your thoughts, because the way the brain works Like you need a certain amount of dopamine to get going. Some people don't naturally produce dopamine, cortisol or serotonin to actually have the get up and go. We're gonna get super nerdy here. Let me just dial it back, but I really.

Rachel Luna: 14:26

What I'm really trying to say is we were talking in this program yesterday and the girl was like I feel like there's not a lot of marketing strategy in this program. I said okay, cool, you want the marketing strategy here? I'm gonna tell you everything you need to do to get your webinar off the ground, from soup to nuts, a to z. Right, I only get through the fourth little thing that they could do to have a successful webinar launch and I'm seeing the chat. Oh my gosh, I'm already overwhelmed.

Rachel Luna: 14:54

Oh my gosh, this is so much. I said exactly. You think that this is so much and you don't have the capacity because you haven't done the work that I'm telling you to do. First, because when I look at this webinar, I think it's not too much. It's like, oh, these are all these great action steps and strategies and the reality is that you could do a webinar launch, you could do a an application launch, you can do an email launch. All of those will work because you've consumed so much. Right, I'm all stuck and like which is gonna work for me All?

Rachel Luna: 15:25

of them will work. Yes.

Allison Baggerly: 15:27

Paralyzing. It can be paralyzing and you're like, oh, I can't do any of it. I know I have felt like that before just in, not even related to, like, business ownership, but like even parenting. Like oh my gosh, there's so many different parenting techniques Like let me just keep doing what I'm doing, which, by the way, isn't really working sometimes, because just try trying and implementing when you're consuming too much can be so overwhelming. So I agree with you 100%. Today's episode is brought to you by my budget to build wealth. Here's the truth.

Allison Baggerly: 16:05

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Allison Baggerly: 17:26

I Do want to know, because I know that there are people that are listening, and I hear from a lot of women specifically who feel very overwhelmed with their financial situation, especially when it comes to debt, and I feel like you could help them, maybe see where they are in a different light, because I know for me, when I found myself in debt Like I'm almost embarrassed to admit this, but I was like angry, I was like I don't deserve to be here, like I went to college, I did my thing, like like whoa is me, now I have to do all of this so-and-so was born into a rich family and I wasn't born into a rich family. I couldn't have. My parents couldn't afford to pay for my college and I had to get myself out of that place and just be like Well, allison, this is what you were handed, let's let's do something about it. And I was able to do that.

Allison Baggerly: 18:17

But I know so many women feel very overwhelmed with their debt. They feel like it's never, they're never gonna be able to get out of it and, honestly, it's a math problem, right, but it's so much more than a math problem. So what would you say in terms of helping people change the way that they're thinking about that so that they can overcome that hurdle of just feeling bad about themselves, shameful, guilty? I've had women write to me and say like I don't think I'll ever find a partner because who would wanna take on my debt that I have? I mean, it's really really so much. So I'm wondering what can you offer anyone that might be feeling that way, specifically about debt and having debt, that they can overcome that, so that they can take the necessary steps to get rid of it?

Rachel Luna: 19:11

Well, first of all, I've never had any debt whatsoever, so just kidding, are you? Crazy. I had so much debt. In fact, if I look at, I've probably had more than $100,000 of debt that I've clawed my way out of two times.

Rachel Luna: 19:28

I had over $40,000 in debt two times right, you would think that after the first time I got myself out of that debt, I would be like Betty budget and on my P's and Q's and never gonna do that again. And I wrote down as you were talking. It's a math problem, it's a mental math problem, right? So it's mental and it's math and you have to figure out. So we'll break that down. I wanna go back to what the last part that you said about the woman who said who's gonna wanna take on my debt. I think it's all about how you think about your debt, because I've been married for 14 years. I have had debt. My husband has had debt. Never once have I ever thought that my debt was my husband's responsibility. Never once has he said to me babe, we gotta pull our money together so we can pay off my credit cards. So I think it's how you think about the situation and my personal belief. This is where. So one of the things I teach you is to figure out what you believe and what you value so that you can have these conversations. My personal belief is that my personal debt that I brought into this marriage is my responsibility and my husband's personal debt is his responsibility, and then we have shared expenses but having an honest conversation around who's gonna pay for what. That solves that. And then whatever's left over I'm gonna put to my debt. You go, put it to your debt, let's chip away at this. Or maybe we have the conversation of like, let's chip away at one debt together, who has the highest interest rate, whatever. But those are conversations For that person. They're not taking on your debt, they're going into partnership with you and you are worthy, like you are magnificent, and if maybe that's the entry fee to have access to have you in their life forever.

Rachel Luna: 21:25

I'll just tell you my debt story and releasing feelings of shame, guilt, blame. First of all, shame is not who you are. It's the result of an action that you took, and the reason that we experience shame is because it's the brain's way of alerting us of something that we don't wanna keep doing. So the brain is trying to tell you hey, maybe let's not do this again. This wasn't a really good idea. And so anytime you feel shame, blame, anger, fear, that's an opportunity for you to ask questions Like okay, what is this emotion trying to tell me? What is the root? What am I believing about this experience? What story am I telling myself? What meaning am I assigning? So now we look at debt. What are you making the debt mean? The first time I found myself in over $40,000 of debt, I didn't think about it until I had to think about it. So for me, I was that girl that the bills would come in the mail, allison, I wouldn't even open them, I would just throw them in the trash.

Allison Baggerly: 22:31

Oh my gosh, I have done that before.

Allison Baggerly: 22:33

No, I have, because it's like hard to. A lot of people do that. I will tell you right now. A lot of people do it because you have to face it right. It's like you have to open the doors and look at all the quote unquote skeletons in your closet and it can be scary. And that's when you're like, oh my gosh, if I open this and I look at it, that means I have to do something Right and I have to confront what I believe to be bad behavior.

Rachel Luna: 22:55

Yes, I have to confront what I believe to be wrong with me, right. And nobody wants to be wrong. There's this inherent desire for us to be right. This is why we get into fights with people, because we want to be right. And so one of the things I always say is like, can you just give yourself permission to be wrong? Because if you can give yourself permission to be wrong in arguments about your money situation, about the meaning that you're assigned man, you're going to live such a much more free life.

Allison Baggerly: 23:23

Okay so now.

Rachel Luna: 23:25

I contend oh my God, I have so much peace I'm. One of my favorite things to say is I'm available to be wrong, and I say it every day. Yesterday I was having a conversation with my daughter and I. She did something and I felt rejected and I can't remember the other word. But I said to her I said, honey, I know that you're not choosing, that you're not making me feel anyway, right, you're doing something, but I'm feeling rejected and I'm telling myself a story. That and I kind of reflected back to her. What I was thinking, I said, is that what you're thinking? I'm available to be wrong. So please, I am so willing to be wrong in this. Let me know what you're really thinking.

Allison Baggerly: 24:05

Yeah, you're like, I actually want to be wrong.

Rachel Luna: 24:07

I want to be wrong. Please, please, let me be wrong. And here's the thing when you say I'm available to be wrong, it immediately diffuses the situation. And if you're having a conversation with another person and you're arguing I'm available to be wrong, tell me your side. Immediately it disarms them because it gives them the opportunity to feel seen and heard and, hopefully, understood. Okay, so now let's go back to the money thing, right? So you're looking at this debt. What are you making it mean? When I first started to pay off my debt, I decided you know what? I think that the result of this debt is that I just don't know how to manage money. I'm not good with money, and so if I pay off this debt, I'm just going to rack it back up. So it's almost safer for me to not pay off the debt so that I don't have much wiggle room on the card to charge it back up. Isn't that crazy?

Allison Baggerly: 25:05

I've never heard that before. It's like you're almost like self-sabotaging out of fear that you'll continue to make the choices.

Rachel Luna: 25:17

I actually think it wasn't self-sabotage, it was self-preservation.

Allison Baggerly: 25:22

I was saving myself, it was a protection right, it was protection, but you didn't actually know if you needed that protection.

Rachel Luna: 25:30

No, I wasn't even consciously thinking I'm protecting myself. Now, it wasn't until I did the work of, like, I have to examine this, okay. So then I realized like, oh, I don't trust myself. I don't trust that if I pay off this debt, I will remain debt-free, because I have this belief that everyone is in debt. Right, this is like. Everyone has credit cards, everybody uses credit cards. No one ever sat me down to teach me how to use a credit card. By the way, I believe that as long as you paid it off eventually, nothing bad would happen. I didn't know that you were supposed to pay it off every single month or you were going to accrue interest. I didn't understand how interest worked, like all of that right. So it's very, very ignorant, and nobody wants to feel ignorant, nobody wants to admit that they don't know. So really paying off your debt is a journey of self-discovery and figuring out what you know and what you don't know. Can you love yourself through your ignorance? And ignorance simply means not knowing.

Rachel Luna: 26:31

It's not a bad word the way that we've made it mean, because now people use it as a you're so ignorant.

Rachel Luna: 26:38

Right, it's a put down now. It's a put down, right, like through society, but really, if you look at the definition of the word, it just means to not know. Okay, so now let's change the meaning. I paid off that debt, by the way. I was like you know what? I'm just going to pay this off, I'm going to fresh start clean slate and I'm going to be responsible, and I did, and it was great. And then, little by little, I started racking up the debt, racking up the debt, and I'd have these high low moments. I would feel bad about it. And then one day I said you know what? I'm just starting my business. This was in the earlier years of my business. I need to put things on credit cards. I don't want to feel bad about it anymore. What's a better thought? You know what? I started looking at my credit card bills as what Evidence of blessings already received. Wow, right, so because you can blessings already received.

Rachel Luna: 27:30

Because you could see like oh, I got a laptop. Oh, I got a piece of software. Oh, I got to have a fun family night out. Oh, I got the new belt or the shoes or whatever. And then the other meaning I assigned was I am so trustworthy that these companies are willing to lend me money over and over and over again. Wow, I'm a trustworthy person and every time I get a bill in the mail it's an evidence of blessings already received.

Allison Baggerly: 28:01

How did you then say, like, okay, but, but I can go ahead and pay this off and make sure it was a priority.

Rachel Luna: 28:08

So here's the thing I had a season where I didn't feel that it was a priority. It wasn't. I just said you know what? Paying off this debt is not a priority. It doesn't mean anything about me. I'm using the good credit that I've earned, I'm using the value and the trust that I've built up with these banks and I'm just going to honor myself. So I'm going to make my minimal monthly payments, but I'm going to keep using my cards and I'm not going to feel bad about it, because this debt does not define me and it didn't put you in a negative like no it didn't put me in a negative.

Allison Baggerly: 28:41

No, it didn't put you in like you couldn't pay your mortgage or your light bill or anything like that because of that.

Rachel Luna: 28:48

Right. So I and, by the way, that's not to say that I didn't have months where things were very lean Right, there were months when things were very lean and I had to like I'm going to be honest, there were some times where I would completely forget to pay my credit card and then, like after, I think it's like after two months, they send you a little email that says like hey, hey, you better do something about this. And then when I'd get that like hey, hey, email, I'd pay it Right. But I never made it mean anything about me, and I think that that's the most important part, because the reason that so many people feel bad about their debt is because they're making it mean something about who they are. I made it mean nothing. It was neutral. I love that. Yes, there was a moment where I was like, okay, you know what? When? When that moment came, when I noticed how much money we were paying in interest and fees. At one point my debt was so high that I was paying $900 a month in interest alone.

Allison Baggerly: 29:48

Gosh, and then you're like I don't want to do that anymore. No, what am I doing with my life? This was it.

Rachel Luna: 29:55

Now this actually doesn't make any sense, especially because by that time, allison, my financial situation had changed and I was making more money. Here's the thing about evolving and growing and making more money If you don't get a hold of your patterns and your habits, the more money you make, that doesn't change, right? So I was still. When I was making multiple six figures, I was still treating my money with the disrespect that I had when I was making no money. Right, even when I was making multiple six figures, I was still waiting to get that email like hey, hey, you better do something about this. Yeah, even though I had the money.

Allison Baggerly: 30:37

Yeah, you had to respect your finances.

Rachel Luna: 30:40

Well, I had to break the pattern that my brain had created.

Allison Baggerly: 30:44

Right, and I guess that pattern like was that hard because I guess you had been in that pattern for so long. It's hard to break those patterns that we've maybe been accustomed to for years.

Rachel Luna: 30:56

Yes, it was very hard for multiple reasons. Number one, because I already had the habit and the pattern of not paying my credit card bill on this day. I already had the habit of waiting for someone to tell me it was time to pay my bills and I didn't realize this then.

Rachel Luna: 31:14

But awareness is coming in right now, because I had so much trauma growing up and I always wanted to be saved, I wanted to be rescued from all the bad things that had happened to me in my life. As an adult, I was still looking for someone to take care of me, to take care of my finances, to tell me it's time for you to pay your bill here and hold your hand while you do this, because I know this is very scary for you, right? So then I had to figure out ways to neutralize even the act of paying my bills, neutralize the act of even opening up my bank account. Right and honestly, allison, I hate to admit this, but I will, for the sake of our listener, make great money, okay, fantastic money, because there are still roots of old patterns and habits. There are some days where I go to open my bank account and I noticed that my nervous system goes, and then I have to remind the like relax, we make money. Now we're good.

Rachel Luna: 32:15

You're not going to see anything crazy here. You're fine, right? So I just want our listener to understand that sometimes that will still come in. It doesn't mean anything about you. It's just an old habit or pattern. So I had to change, and the other reason why changing my habits and my patterns was so difficult is because I have ADHD and dyslexia.

Allison Baggerly: 32:37

Okay, I have ADHD, yeah.

Rachel Luna: 32:39

But you're so good about having like systems and structures Like I have the other kind of no, I have the other kind of ADHD where, like, I like the idea of a system and a structure, but it's so if I can't see it. I have that ADHD where you have to see all the things all at once, because if you don't see it, it doesn't even exist. The problem is that when you have all the things like you should see my desk right now like when you have all the things it's overwhelming.

Allison Baggerly: 33:07

And yeah, it feels like chaos, right, it feels very chaotic.

Rachel Luna: 33:11

So I had to figure out, like, how do I do this? So for me the easiest way was to set alarms on my phone.

Rachel Luna: 33:21

And then it helps. Like I have an alarm on my phone on the day each card is due and I this is not bad. But there's a story in my head that's saying oh my gosh, rachel, that's so bad. It's not bad, it's just what I need. I actually have an alarm that goes off at like 1150 PM on the night that the payment is due that says like hey, it was due today. If you don't pay this right now, you're going to get it. Backup alarm. It's a backup, it's a backup.

Rachel Luna: 33:52

It's a plan feel and then wait, there's more, when I was paying off my debt. Thank God, I'm debt free now, but, by the way, the only reason I say thank God is because I'm not paying the interest, not because having the debt was bad. Okay, yeah, I actually still use my credit cards every single day for all my purchases, because I like the points and I like the little benefits and stuff that you get. I'm getting my Delta miles all the way up, but I don't like paying the interest. Here's the thing. When it comes to taking control of your money, what are you choosing? Are you choosing to take strides to be towards to be debt free and if so, why? What are you making that mean? Are you choosing to just let it ride and celebrate the fact that someone trusts you and you have this credit card and you're going to use it and do it how you want? What are, what are you choosing today, and what are you making that choice mean? That's it.

Allison Baggerly: 34:49

I love it. Oh my gosh. Okay, rachel, tell us more about your book Permission to Offend and where people can get it.

Rachel Luna: 34:56

Okay. So my book Permission to Offend, the Compassionate Guide for Living Unfiltered and Unafraid, is really the book that I created for my clients who constantly said I wish I could put you on my pocket, like I wish I could just take you everywhere with me. It's every single tip, tool, strategy that I know works. It has been tested and proven not just by me but thousands of clients that I've worked with over the last 13 years as a coach. There are neuroscience tips in here. What I want to say about this book is that if you do the work, you can apply it to every area of your life your finances, your business, your marketing, your sales, your relationships.

Rachel Luna: 35:38

I had one woman send me a message and say your book literally saved my son and my life because there's a section about boundaries there. And she said after she read that she had the courage to set a boundary with her abusive husband, file a TRO and get her and her son out of that dangerous situation. I had another husband and wife send me a message and say that they read the book together and their communication has never been better. Oh, I love it. So I mean I could go on and on, but if you go to Amazon, you'll see there's over a hundred reviews, five star reviews, with actual testimony of what this book has done, and I truly believe that this is the kind of book that, if you do the work, your life will change. You will actually be free to be who you've always known or desired to be, without worrying about the opinions, the judgment, the rejection of other people family, friends, strangers on the internet. So I highly recommend it's in English and Spanish. I love it.

Allison Baggerly: 36:43

It is available in audio Kindle all the things, all the things, and we'll link to that below. Get your copy. So at the end of all of my interviews, I love to ask my guests three questions, just to get to know you better. Don't think too much about these, okay. So my question is what is one thing you're looking forward to? Oh, retirement. Do you have a timeline for that?

Rachel Luna: 37:18

No, I'm very intuitive. I feel like I'll just know, and I'm looking forward to that because I think that there will be another layer of joy when I do. I don't think I will ever stop coaching but, when I do it not for business, but just for fun.

Allison Baggerly: 37:38

So my second question is what's and you might you might have already answered this, but what's one money mistake you've made that you would tell everybody to avoid?

Rachel Luna: 37:48

Oh, I wish I had invested sooner and left my money in my 401k. When I left corporate America I took all my money out and I went like on. I don't know who knows what I did with that money, but I would have invested. I would have set that up automatic Like just take it out, don't even let me see that money Exactly?

Allison Baggerly: 38:08

I don't think it's not even there. It's got future, rachel. Yes.

Rachel Luna: 38:11

I hear that a lot. Retired Rachel.

Allison Baggerly: 38:13

Yes, exactly. And the last question isn't a question at all. Just finished this sentence. My favorite thing I've ever spent money on is breast cancer treatment.

Rachel Luna: 38:23

Oh, and we didn't even get to talk about that we didn't get to talk about that, but I'll just quickly say I'm a triple negative breast cancer survivor and thank God I had the money in my bank account to pay for life healing treatment. I'm not sure where I am four years later breast cancer free.

Allison Baggerly: 38:40

Congratulations. That's the best. That might be the best answer that anyone has ever given on this podcast. I will tell you that. Well, thank you, rachel, so much for joining us. This was so wonderful, and we'll link to your book, we'll link to your website and you have a podcast too.

Rachel Luna: 38:57

I do. It's called permission to offend, so if you're already listening, go ahead and follow it, and I can't wait to support you over there. Thank you so much for joining us. Thanks, allison.

Allison Baggerly: 39:07

I hope you enjoyed today's episode, as always. If you're enjoying the Inspire Budget Podcast, it would mean the world to me if you would leave a rating and a review. I read every single review and it really helps other people find the Inspire Budget Podcast. I'll be back next week with another brand new episode. See you then.