Meet Trailblazer Brianna Firestone

Today we’d like to introduce you to Brianna Firestone.

Brianna, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I grew up in a small farm town in southern Missouri but I always had big visions of living in the city. So, after college, I moved to NYC to go chase my dreams and I discovered some big lessons. By the time I was 23, I had racked up $30k in credit card debt, $20k in student loans, and I barely making $30k a year. I finally decided I was tired of writing in my journal about my money stress and became more courageous than my financial situation, gave myself a pep-talk, and set out on a journey to stop drinking fancy coffee, become debt free, and educate myself around my money and spending behaviors. I paid off all of the credit card debt in two years and lived with a budget and without using credit cards. I thought everything was just fun until eight years later, my husband and I were in a financial pickle and I realized that after we purchased our house, we got off track. I had to do something drastic and so I gave up shopping for an entire year and it changed my life. The connection between our happiness, emotions, self-worth and how those translate into our spending behaviors was like an alarm bell going off and I thought, “wow… why didn’t I learn any of this growing up!” Through the years, I had started helping friends and family create budgets and do their own no shopping challenges and on my second year of no shopping I decided, I need to teach this because these small actions that I did consistently had a much bigger impact than I thought and they completely changed my life.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
No one ever tells you that starting your own business will really be the biggest effort and test in self-development than you probably have ever conquered. Each day is a test of your confidence and determination. The biggest piece of advice I would say is don’t be afraid to work on yourself and remember the power of one thing. Focus on one thing at a time and stay the course. When you feel like you want to give up, ask yourself if you are focusing on the right thing and keep going.

Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
I teach women how to creatively manage their money, time and energy so they can live a badass life. These are our resources and so many of us don’t know how to manage them. And we need them! In fact… every.single.day. When you can manage these like a pro, it’s incredible what can happen in your life.

I don’t believe in money being serious. I think that is what has gotten us in trouble in the first place. We give money way too much emotional power over our lives and it allows individuals to ignore it and avoidance is the worst thing you can do.

I actually don’t believe in just selling a budget spreadsheet. All of my coaching and courses start with understanding your emotions, mindset, and habits around your spending. If you don’t know what those are, that budget isn’t going to do you much good. I always tell my students, “managing your money actually has very little do with your money and everything to do with your emotions.”

This is why I am also a certified life coach. When we start making progress in our money game, most students start unlocking curiosity around other areas of their lives and we can take the same principles around our money and begin applying them to their overall happiness. It’s magic.

I have a 6-week group & 1:1 coaching program called Fierce Finances as well as a highly successful self-guided course called The 90 Day No Shopping Challenge

So much of the media coverage is focused on the challenges facing women today, but what about the opportunities? Do you feel there are any opportunities that women are particularly well positioned for?
I think there are incredible opportunities for women to choose their own path in the most radical way. I meet so many women that have created incredible digital companies so they can make more money and spend more time with their families and take care of themselves.

Pricing:

• My self-guided online course: The 90 Day No Shopping Challenge is $247

Contact Info:

• Website: www.theschoolofbetty.com
• Email: hello@theschoolofbetty.com
• Instagram: theschoolofbetty
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bettyschool

Image Credit:
Ashley Kidder Photography

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