Welcome back to the Kaizen Gal Podcast!

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Happy New Year!!!! I am grateful we all made it to 2024 and I am equally excited about what the year has in store for us.

I am passing by to drop a few info:

• Why I went AWOL in 2023
• What I'll focus on in 2024
• What you can expect on the podcast

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Want to learn more? Take a seat!

If you have questions or topics you'd like me to address, email me at info@thekaizengal.com --- Don't forget to subscribe ^^

And if you haven't written a 5-star review yet - don't be shy: it's painless and free!

Welcome back to the Kaizen Gal Podcast!

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Disclaimer:

The Kaizen Gal Podcast should not be taken as an investment or financial advice. I am not a financial planner, nor do I pretend or intend to be one.

I am sharing what works for me, that is specific for me and for the stage of life that I am in.

--> Always make sure to do your own research and due diligence before making any investment or financial decision.

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The goal of the Rags to Riches series is to share tips and habits I picked up in order to help me manage and automate my personal finances. Financial anxiety is real while scarcity mentality will hinder you from expanding the reach and ROI of your money. So here is my rags to riches story, except I am not that rich...yet ^^

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There we go: the last episode of the series Rags to Riches!

Context:  In early 2019, I started to think about taking a sabbatical year. To take a break from life.

My plan was to buy a house upon my return. Then the pandemic happened.

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The last episode of the series is about BUYING A HOUSE.

There are a few things to know and think about, in my opinion, before even starting to look at houses:

1. Where you stand regarding typical wealth ratio
2. Where you can afford to go
3. Reverse Engineer cost to budget AND budget to cost

This will lead you to ask yourself many questions. A sample of the ones I asked myself:

• What is the ratio of my cost of housing against my budget?
• What is the ratio of my cost of housing against the cost of housing in my neighborhood?
• Where do I stand against benchmarks/recommendations of specific personal finances ratios: 1) Price to rent ratio and 2) Housing expenditure ratio
• What is the impact, over 5 years (the loan term I was looking for) and 25 years (the amortization period I was interested in) of putting down a 5% down payment VS. a 20% down payment on my 1) Monthly payments and 2) Short-term and long-term goals
• What is the minimum price of the house I can afford with my current lifestyle without making crazy sacrifices and/or altering my savings objectives?

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Want to learn more? Take a seat!

If you have questions or topics you'd like me to address, email me at info@thekaizengal.com

Don't forget to subscribe ^^ Last but not least leave your a 5-star review anywhere you're listening to this podcast.

Welcome back to the Kaizen Gal Podcast!

---

Disclaimer:

The Kaizen Gal Podcast should not be taken as an investment or financial advice. I am not a financial planner, nor do I pretend or intend to be one.

I am sharing what works for me, that is specific for me and for the stage of life that I am in.

--> Always make sure to do your own research and due diligence before making any investment or financial decision.

---

The goal of the Rags to Riches series is to share tips and habits I picked up in order to help me manage and automate my personal finances. Financial anxiety is real while scarcity mentality will hinder you from expanding the reach and ROI of your money.

So here is my rags to riches story, except I am not that rich...yet ^^

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This is the 4th and second to last episode on the series Rags to Riches: basically the story of habits I built that led me from being broke and in debt to being a homeowner and financially stable in 7 years.

• The 1st episode of the series covered how to manage or pay down debt
• In the 2nd episode I talked about paying yourself first
• And in the 3rd one, I suggested ways to get the most out of the expenses you have make anyway

This episode is about TRAVELING.

I love to travel and I did not want to sacrifice it in order to save more money. For me, it’s about going at it strategically in order to enjoy it without breaking the bank. Main points:

1. Ways to save money while traveling
2. Tips for planning your trip
3. Personal examples

---

Want to learn more? Take a seat!

If you have questions or topics you'd like me to address, email me at info@thekaizengal.com

Don't forget to subscribe ^^ Last but not least leave your a 5-star review anywhere you're listening to this podcast.

Welcome back to the Kaizen Gal Podcast!

---

Disclaimer:

The Kaizen Gal Podcast should not be taken as an investment or financial advice. I am not a financial planner, nor do I pretend or intend to be one.

I am sharing what works for me, that is specific for me and for the stage of life that I am in.

--> Always make sure to do your own research and due diligence before making any investment or financial decision.

---

The goal of the Rags to Riches series is to share tips and habits I picked up in order to help me manage and automate my personal finances. Financial anxiety is real while scarcity mentality will hinder you from expanding the reach and ROI of your money.

So here is my rags to riches story, except I am not that rich...yet ^^

---

In the first 2 episodes of this 5 part series, I talked about paying yourself first and paying down debt (or like I like to say it “managing debt”).

The third episode of the series is about loyalty programs.

You see, I am part of numerous fidelity programs. Many of us are actually: reports say that North Americans have an average of 13.5 loyalty cards in their portfolio/wallet. Main points:

1. A quick rundown of how they work (different ways to accumulate points or dollars, to spend or redeem those points/dollars, etc.)
2. How to choose the right one
3. My own experience

---

Want to learn more? Take a seat!

If you have questions or topics you'd like me to address, email me at info@thekaizengal.com

Don't forget to subscribe ^^

Last but not least leave your a 5-star review anywhere you're listening to this podcast.

Welcome back to the Kaizen Gal Podcast!

---

Disclaimer:

The Kaizen Gal Podcast should not be taken as an investment or financial advice. I am not a financial planner, nor do I pretend or intend to be one.

I am sharing what works for me, that is specific for me and for the stage of life that I am in.

--> Always make sure to do your own research and due diligence before making any investment or financial decision.

---

The goal of the Rags to Riches series is to share tips and habits I picked up in order to help me manage and automate my personal finances. Financial anxiety is real while scarcity mentality will hinder you from expanding the reach and ROI of your money.

So here is my rags to riches story, except I am not that rich...yet ^^

---

First and foremost, before diving into today’s episode, make sure you listen to the previous one on “paying and managing debt” and that you implement or at least understand what I suggested there.

The second episode of the series is about the importance of paying yourself first. You are your FIRST employee.

1. Use different accounts for different types of transactions, or transactions of different purposes.
2. Save for retirement!
3. Invest, no matter how small. What matters is consistency and time, rather than temporary intensity.
4. Set up an emergency fund
5. For any plan or dream you have for the year, set up a separate automated transfer

Combining and revisiting my different accounts, I regularly save between 38% and 52% of my net income each month.

External factors may impact that % month over month but my savings ratio for the year is 41%.

---

Want to learn more? Take a seat!

If you have questions or topics you'd like me to address, email me at info@thekaizengal.com

Don't forget to subscribe ^^

Last but not least leave your a 5-star review anywhere you're listening to this podcast.

Welcome back to the Kaizen Gal Podcast!

---

Disclaimer:

The Kaizen Gal Podcast should not be taken as an investment or financial advice. I am not a financial planner, nor do I pretend or intend to be one.

I am sharing what works for me, that is specific for me and for the stage of life that I am in.

-->> Always make sure to do your own research and due diligence before making any investment or financial decision.

---

The goal of the Rags to Riches series is to share tips and habits I picked up in order to help me manage and automate my personal finances. Financial anxiety is real while scarcity mentality will hinder you from expanding the reach and ROI of your money.

So here is my rags to riches story, except I am not that rich...yet ^^

---

The first episode of the series sets the stage of my financial journey and briefly details my main tools, dare I say weapons, on that journey.

In a nutshell:

1. Budget
2. Negotiate
3. Understand credit cards
4. Track your expenses
5. Set up an emergency fund
6. Automate bill payments

The resources I mentioned in the episode

• Patricia Bright’s Youtube episode about budget: https://youtu.be/CC5dXZYTO1A
• Patricia Bright’s budget template, if you’d rather pay for it than make it yourself: https://www.thebreakresources.com/products/budget-planner
• One Big Happy Life One Year Spending plan: https://onebighappylife.com/the-one-year-budget/
• Steph & Dennis budget planner: https://stephandden.com/resources

---

Want to learn more? Take a seat!

If you have questions or topics you'd like me to address, email me at info@thekaizengal.com

Don't forget to subscribe ^^

Last but not least leave your a 5-star review anywhere you're listening to this podcast.

Welcome back to the Kaizen Gal Podcast!

---

Today's episode is the 8th and last of the series on time and priorities management.

The goal of the series was to help you effectively prioritize and adopt consistent time management strategies. I will expand on these strategies but they include:

• Learning to reconcile time management with that of your personal or professional environment
• Identifying your strengths and weaknesses and build a time management strategy adapted to your personality
• Optimizing time and energy management
• Maintaining and increase your credibility and control in managing demands and priorities.

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Today I want to talk about the root of all derailments : the unexpected.

In Agile project management, we call it “unplanned work”. Work that takes away resources from what was planned. And we try to mitigate the impact of these interruptions by planning provisions for it.

Life works the same way: however hard we try to manage our time, it always throws curveballs at us. So today I’ll give us ideas to help manage these curveballs and continue forward towards our goals.

Main Points:

• Four skills to manage the unexpected – 1:10
• Saying no – 3:15

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Want to learn more? Take a seat!

If you have questions or topics, you'd like me to address, email me at info@thekaizengal.com

Don't forget to subscribe ^^

Last but not least leave your a 5-star review anywhere you're listening to this podcast.

A little interlude in the series on time and priorities management to explain how me being MIA for close to 10 days could have been (and will be) avoided in the future. God willing 🙏🏾

I messed up. Not a big life-and-death situation mess up but it is worth mentioning

....Welcome back to the Kaizen Gal Podcast!

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Today's episode is the 7th of the series on time and priorities management.

The goal of the series is to help you effectively prioritize and adopt consistent time management strategies. I will expand on these strategies but they include:

• Learning to reconcile time management with that of your personal or professional environment
• Identifying your strengths and weaknesses and build a time management strategy adapted to your personality
• Optimizing time and energy management
• Maintaining and increase your credibility and control in managing demands and priorities.

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Today’s topic is…a story time of how I failed at managing my time and energy well.

Because NOBODY, including me, gets time management right all the time. So today I will share three mistakes I have made around time management and how I intend to fix them; at least do better next time.

Main Points:

• 3 Mistakes – 0:30
• 3 Fixes – 9:27

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Want to learn more? Take a seat!

If you have questions or topics, you'd like me to address, email me at info@thekaizengal.com

Don't forget to subscribe ^^

Last but not least leave your a 5-star review anywhere you're listening to this podcast.