[00:00:06] Viktoriia Miracle: Hello. Hello and welcome back to happy time happy money podcast and today we have Brie Sodano. Brie is a personal finance expert and the founder of Sheep to Shark. She has developed a process that helps clients learn to accurately assess beliefs about money that affects the way they behave identify and implement solutions to the disappearing money syndrome, align their actions with goals and embrace habits that build wealth. Hi and welcome.

[00:00:43] Brie Sodano: Well, thank you so much for having me. I'm excited to be here.

[00:00:46] Viktoriia Miracle: Absolutely, and I'm excited to hear more about you about your story. What has you got started and what inspired you to do what you are doing right now?

[00:00:56] Brie Sodano: So when I finished college, I was working in the, at like a local boys and girls club.

[00:01:03] So it's a nonprofit, so I was hardly making any money and I got married young, so we had kids early. And so I was like, twenty-something I had a house and a mortgage and that was in Connecticut, which has a high cost living. So they're making like $30,000 a year and so what, that didn't work for me. So I taught myself how to trade stock option.

[00:01:23] And that was kind of like how I learned how to do money. So I started reading all these books about stocks and bonds and that's where like I started. And at some time later I'd kind of outgrown. I outgrown the position, I'd outgrown, you know, the boys and girls club. And so I was whining one day talking to my mom and she said, well, you already know how to stock option.

[00:01:45] So maybe be a financial advisor that seems like the best, the best way to go and so that's what I did. So I got my series seven and my 66 and all my insurance licenses and I was highly credentialed and I started building my business and it was going really well. Except for that, I kept, kept, kept bumping into clients whose problems were not solved by better mutual funds.

[00:02:10] You know, their, their problems were way different than I could help them with different investments. You know, most people were coming to see me they're like Brie. I got credit card bills older than my kids, and they're about to go to college or Brie, I make $200,000 a year and I'm still broke like, what's wrong?

[00:02:27] Like what's it going on? So I started working with my clients on habit work. Well, first we started with budgets and that totally didn't work because people don't stick to them. And then we started working on like the habits that go underneath the budgets. And then we started working on the mindset that goes underneath the habits.

[00:02:44] And then we started working on like all the feelings that are, that come with the mindset. And then we started to see clients change like people being happier in their marriages you know, clients having money in the bank for the first time ever paying off, you know, and it's not just those financial goals.

[00:03:00] That's the thing that you get because you have your money stuffed together. and so in 2017, I started Sheep to Shark and since then we've grown, I have a team to have a little team and we do good work and that's it.

[00:03:13] Viktoriia Miracle: Oh, I love it. I love how you're saying right. The budgeting. It doesn't work, but then once it goes under it and then goes under it, why do you, so you don't believe in budgeting, you think there is not working?

[00:03:27] I hear a lot of gives advice, so like, okay budget, budget, budget, budget.

[00:03:32] Brie Sodano: Yeah. So here's the, where budgets kind of dropped the ball. So people may go so we have our conscious minds, like you're the part of your brain that like winter school, the party brand that can read a spreadsheet is your conscious mind.

[00:03:43] Your subconscious mind is in charge of your body, your emotions, like all your heart beating and so what we ended up doing is our conscious brain. We'll put together a plan that then our subconscious brain has to execute, but we never got the buy-in from the subconscious brain. So if you've ever, if you've ever continue to eat food. After you knew you were full and said to yourself and your brain, I'm full now, as you stuffed more food into your mouth, that's like, that's the disconnect, right? That's like the, like everybody has that example. Everybody's done that at one point or another, but that's like where the disconnect happens.

[00:04:23] So when you're managing your money, you really want to, you really want to understand how your mental accounting works cause it does like budgets or there's too a good budget for a household that has like at least a hundred moving line items. It's too much to mentally keep track of it. So what ends up happening is at the time you need the budget, when you're actually at the store with your debit card out and you read it to spend your money, don't.

[00:04:50] This thing's not up-to-date and I don't have it in my brain so. All right, well, I need this stuff, so I'll sort it out when I get home. And that's kinda, that's basically how, how it all starts to fall apart. And then, and then also another reason why budgets typically don't work as they require a lot of energy output or time output and most of my clients come see me and they're already stretched too thin. They've already got too many things on there like the mental load is already too heavy. Their time is already stretched. So thin that one more thing to have to do. And one more thing to have to keep track of doesn't actually work for them.

[00:05:27] Viktoriia Miracle: Beautiful. So interesting and I totally get this. I mean, the feeling in the moment that you want to get it and like, oh, but like I can make the work. It's probably a way more powerful than just like thinking, okay. I'm on the budget when your friend is saying, let's go there and you like in the fun, you're like, oh no, I'm in the budget.

[00:05:50] I've never heard anyone say that. So makes sense.

[00:05:56] Brie Sodano: Yeah. Yeah. Budgets. You have to just be careful because if you do something that's too restrictive, it bounces back anyways. It doesn't work.

[00:06:06] Viktoriia Miracle: Exactly. I know you work a lot with entrepreneurs as well. And so what do you think like what's how budgeting works in business?

[00:06:15] Like if there is any way to budget things in business, so like, is it important or it's also all about habits?

[00:06:23] Brie Sodano: So budgeting and business is honestly, I'll tell you, I'll tell you this system that I use, that I teach in that household. And I have, I do have many clients that use it for, for their businesses. It works very well up until about like $750,000.

[00:06:41] And then after that, you're going to need a more complex system. So it will just put that out there. So once you're making more than like three quarters of a million, the system I'll, I'll teach doesn't work and I'll explain it for households and I can modify it for business. Alright. So what basically for households, the way that I explain it is you need five different types of accounts.

[00:07:00] So you need a three different types of savings, one for planting. So it's going to be like your retirement money, money that you're going to drop into the ground and let it grow, being prepared. And so that's what I call working capital. And that's what you'd call working capital in your business too. And that's the money like in your household would be for new tires, oil changes, you know, the foreseeable disasters, the irregular expenses, that family obligations, and like that self care that doesn't happen every single month, but it happens right.

[00:07:30] Like I used to be blind and that was like, you know, a couple of hundred bucks, but not every single month and so those sorts of things. So you want to add all those things up and then you want to have a savings account for pleasure, you know, your vacations, your household upgrades, whatever, whatever, like makes your nerdy little heart sing whatever's important to you. Then you want to have two different accounts that you spend from, so you want to have your bills account and that you will just put money in, put your, pay your bills, and then that money or that bank account will, will mostly be like pretty close to empty. You know, you'll build up a little reserve in it, but pretty close to empty most of the month.

[00:08:06] And then you'll have your pocket money or that's where you'll put your debit card and that's where you'll buy your groceries, your gasoline, margarita is out with the girls, you know, whatever. And that's typically the way that I suggest doing it, because what it does for you on that household level is it makes it, so that way everything that you need for the year is taken, you know, it's taken care of.

[00:08:31] And the only mental number you have to keep track of is that pocket money accounts, how much you're gonna, you know, it's how much left do I have to spend between now and my next paycheck. So that's a way easier to keep track of so when your business, depending on where you are in your business, you may or may not be starting to invest.

[00:08:49] You may not, you may or may not have a 401k or a simple or SEP, but if you do, then you want to, you want to set that money aside, then you will also want to have it, your operating expenses, and that's going to be where you pay your bills. And, you know, you just pay her, pay your expenses. Most of my clients like to have a separate, a separate account for payroll, just because the, the flow of payroll happens a little bit, a little bit faster than the, than the flow of the bills accounts.

[00:09:17] And then you want to have that working capital account. So like your annual subscriptions, if you're in, you know, Your taxes or things like that. And then also you want to be saving for your profit and your taxes. So that's like actually the first thing you want to do is you want to set money aside to be profitable, because the thing is, is if you don't set that money aside, like as the money comes in, it's very easy to spend all your money in a growing business because the business always needs something.

[00:09:43] So when you set your profit and your taxes aside first and then the money will go in to your payroll and you're working, you know, you're operating and then you'll save also in your working capital for the business. So you want to be thinking about your annual expenses.

[00:09:59] Viktoriia Miracle: I think this is brilliant, such an easy system like I've heard so many and, you know, interview. I think this is really, really good. Thank you so much for sharing and the last question that I have for you and this podcast is that I always ask fill in the blank for me even in the statement. If you really knew me, you will know that I am blank.

[00:10:25] Brie Sodano: I love llamas. I love llamas

[00:10:31] Viktoriia Miracle: They smell good. I just got an with a llama on it by the way, a couple days ago. I'll show you after winter. Thank you. So I know you have an amazing friendship, so share, share with our audience. What do you have prepared for us? For my audience today?

[00:10:49] Brie Sodano: Perfect. So we have a financial freedom quiz, so you can go, You know, you can go and get it, and it will, there's seven different levels and like building a relationship with wealth.

[00:11:01] So you can answer a few questions and then we'll give you an indication as to where you are in those seven different levels and what steps you can take to like become more more wealthy.

[00:11:12] Viktoriia Miracle: Oh, I love it, and we will link everything in the episode page. So if you're watching or listening to scroll down, there's going to be a link to the episode page and there, everything you can find in show notes, also watch all really sent to this episode, read the transcribed and share with your friends.

[00:11:29] If you find that helpful and somebody needs to know how to manage their finances better in business, I'm pretty sure you have those girlfriends or friends and leave review subscribe like the and send message to Brie or me about how you like it or any feedback that you have and thank you so much for coming over Brie.

[00:11:50] And thank you so much for listening and watching and I'll see you next time. Bye.

[00:11:57] Brie Sodano: Bye.