Harman: Hello and welcome back, everyone. My name is Harman Singh, and I am an editor for the Canadian Youth Investing Journal. Today I have the pleasure of interviewing Deidre Cross, a personal finance influencer and coach who empowers individuals with effective budgeting solutions. So our first question for you is: What was the driving force behind creating your Instagram?
Deidre: Oh, this is a good question. So I've always been the type of person who likes to talk about budgeting and saving with my friends, even to the point where colleagues would come up to me and ask me about anything that they had relating to budgeting or saving or even investing. I was always the go-to person. But then when I would share advice with them, they wouldn't take my advice. They would listen, but they wouldn't follow through. So I was like, you know what? I'm going to create my own instagram and I can talk about budgeting, saving, all I want, and those who want to follow can follow. And then I also wanted to share my own personal journey with my finances as well. So that was the whole reason why I created OHHyoubudget.
Harman: That sounds really exciting. So maybe can you share a bit about your own personal experience with debt?
Deidre: Yeah, so, so far, I mean I started it last year in April, and it's been great so far. I really enjoy making, like, my little videos and sharing tips and tricks that I have tried out. So I usually try to do things... I usually try to share things that I'm already doing so people can see by example, like, okay, that's actually working. Like, okay, she's using points to save money on her grocery bill. That actually works. I can do that too. And that was a journey in itself. So I like to show by example and then also share things that l've done or things that I've learned because I used to be heavily in debt, so I came from that to being. um... y'know debt free. So I learned a lot.
Harman: Yeah, I really like how you were able to persevere through tough times, and I feel that our readers can also find it really relatable and learn from your experiences. So, moving on to the next question: What are some of the struggles you face as a finance content creator?
Deidre: Umm. I find that a lot of people... You know what it is? A lot of people have a money mindset that doesn't.. Okay, let me phrase it this way. So I find that money mindset is a big thing because a lot of people like to get comfortable in either complaining about, which is understandable, but complaining about like grocery prices are too high and inflation, and I only make x amount a month. This is kind of like, what can I do? People like to get comfortable in that kind of talk, and I'm the one over here trying to show you, like, okay, here's how I'm going to increase my income so that I can reach my savings goals faster. Or I'm going to do a no-spend challenge for the entire month so that I can reach my financial goals. And people are seeing that and they don't want to do it, but they'll still complain about not being where they want to be financially. So I find that that's kind of a struggle that I face, is just trying to show people that I'm doing X, Y and Z, and then they still want to stay comfortable and not doing anything.
Harman: Yeah definitely. It sounds like it's the two sides of a coin. Rewarding, yet challenging.
Deidre: Yeah.
Harman: So moving on to the next question: What is one common pitfall you see your clients fall into as they start to save their money? What advice do you have to overcome it?
Deidre: I find that people, when they start saving their money, they still have kind of bad money habits, and maybe that might be overspending or impulse shopping, things like that. So they're loving the idea of maybe building their emergency fund. But in my mind, I'm always like, oh, if you don't have an emergency fund, that's an emergency. So you need to build that up first. But in their mind, they're just like, I still want to shop at Sephora because there's a sale. I'm going to be spending extra if I don't buy during the sale. So things like that is more important to them. So I find that that's kind of a pitfall that some people might fall into, is just giving into their impulses while trying to save at the same time.
Harman: Yeah, that's a really insightful answer. I'm sure our readers will literally learn from your advice. So moving on to the next question: What is one key aspect of a successful budget that is often overlooked?
Deidre: I feel like everybody should have in their budget, a buffer. So having, like, a little pitfall, because obviously you're not going to budget everything perfectly. I've been budgeting for years and I'm short in some areas. I'm in red in some areas. But having a buffer, so an area, sum, of money where if you are short in certain categories of your budget, you can just pull from that to cover that. A buffer is a must. It's a need, because I found that when I didn't have a buffer, I was kind of like watching every cent type of a thing. If I went to a restaurant, say, budgeted $70 for a restaurant for that month, I'm trying to see, like, okay, let me see what I can order or how much can I tip so I don't go over budget? But I know now that I have a buffer, I can spend almost freely, knowing that buffer will catch me if I’m short. So a buffer is a must.
Harman: Yeah, I definitely agree that a buffer is a must because, like, the inflation is rising and it's definitely difficult. So every penny counts. So moving on to the next question: What are some ways to make budgeting a more engaging process so that more people will be more likely to stick with it for the long term?
Deidre: Oh, this is so good. I always start with having a strong reason why. And that's important because when you start thinking about your "why" compared like... having a "why" combined with a savings goal or a financial goal, that sometimes will be the motivation to not maybe give in to your impulses or to make sure that you're tracking your spending if you're the type of budget that tracks their spending. That's so important because, for example, I like to share my reason why, like I want to buy property in Toronto. That in itself is a process and it's expensive. So when I think about, okay, I want to have my nice house, I want to have a home gym in my house, I want to have a personal trainer to train me in my home gym, like things like that, I think about how I'm living now and where I want to be, and saving to get to where I want to be is so much more appealing to me than living the way I'm living now. So that in itself is like, makes me want to save money. So always have a strong reason why. You need to have that.
Harman: Yeah, that's a great answer. And I also agree that small things really do add up and make it worth the wait. So moving on to the next question: What are some of the ways you see your clients wasting money before implementing a budget?
Deidre: Oh, that's a good question. Umm… Wasting money. So losing their money before implementing, okay. Umm... I would say again, giving into their impulses and giving into their wants before.... Like it's the immediate gratification that's like kind of the society that we've always been in. It's just having the things that they want and they think they deserve it. And "I deserve this." "I work hard, so I'm going to get this." And I'm not against daily coffees or things like that. I'm all for that. I just think that you should budget for it. That way you're not pulling it from savings or you're not taking it from your savings goals or if you have financial goals that you want to hit, it's not taking from that. So I find that when you are giving into your impulses or you just think that like, oh, "I deserve this, I'm going to get takeout tonight, even though I should be grocery shopping." That's something you should definitely look into.
Harman: Yeah, definitely. That's very valuable information, and I feel like it's an eye opener to help our readers also avoid these pitfalls. So, moving on to the last question for today: What is one effective way to avoid unnecessary money spending habits, as you said, impulsive shopping?
Deidre: Yeah. So the thing about me is I used to be a huge impulse shopper, and I found that it works for a lot of people, too. So it's kind of building, like, a wish list in my budget. I have a section in my budget called the Pre-Budget. So I like to price out everything, whether it's the tip, the tax, the shipping. If I see something that I want to do or have, I price it out in my budget. And then when I go to budget, a brand new month, I look at that list, and then I incorporate it in my budget. If I can fit it into my budget. If not, then I don't. But most of the times, I don't even want it anymore. So having a list of, like, a wish list or something that you see, maybe you take a screenshot of, you see, like, a makeup product that you like. Screenshot it. How much does it cost? Have like, a whole… You can have it even in your phone, like an album in your phone, of all the things that you want to do or have. And then when you go to look at it, sometimes you don't even want it anymore. So that's definitely a good way to avoid unnecessary spending habits.
Harman: Yeah, definitely. That's really essential. And I feel like it's really important to instill discipline in ourselves.
Deidre: Yeah. Discipline is important too, because discipline also leaks over to other aspects of your life, like fitness and eating and stuff like that. So if you can control your money and your spending, watch that leak over to all areas of your life, it's golden.
Harman: I definitely agree with you. Yeah. So that is all the questions we have for today. Thank you so much, Deidre, for taking the time out of your day to be interviewed by me. And I know that the readers of the Canadian Youth Investing Journal will learn a lot from our interview today. You are an inspiration to many people in finance, and the work you're doing to help people become more financially literate is amazing.
Deidre: Thank you so much! Thank you.
How to Stick to Your Budget with Deidre Cross