If you’ve ever hovered over the “Buy Now” button with a pit in your stomach and a credit card in hand, this episode is for you. In this episode, I sat down with my personal financial advisor, Michelle Taylor who founded Women in Wealth, to talk about the messy, emotional side of business spending.
From $997 unopened courses to aspirational hires we’re not ready for, we unpack how to tell the difference between a smart investment and a comparison-fueled expense. Michelle brings over a decade of experience in wealth management and shares both tough love and practical systems for spending with confidence, not guilt.
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Why Spending Feels Like Progress, But Often Isn’t
We’re wired to want momentum. Buying something can feel like taking action, giving us a dopamine hit and temporarily soothes the discomfort of being in the messy middle of business growth.
Michelle calls this the “false forward motion.” Spending doesn’t always equal progress, because if you don’t have a clear goal or problem you’re solving with the purchase, chances are, you’re buying emotion (not results).
“Spending is the fastest way to feel like you’re doing something—but it doesn’t always move the needle.” – Michelle
Social Media Is a Comparison Trap and Here’s How to Avoid It
If you’ve ever looked at someone else’s business and thought, “I should have that too,” you’re not alone. Michelle reminds us: Instagram is a highlight reel, not a balance sheet.
We’re often trying to reverse-engineer someone else’s success, mimicking their tools or team without understanding what stage of business they’re in or what’s actually working for them.
The key? Get clear on your own numbers, your own goals, and your own capacity. You don’t need to copy someone else’s path to build your own version of success.
A Simple Framework for Evaluating Big Purchases
Standing at the edge of a $997 course or a $10,000 branding package? Before you buy, Michelle recommends slowing down and asking three questions:
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What specific problem is this solving?
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What result am I expecting and how will I measure it?
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Am I buying this out of strategy, or out of stress/comparison?
If you can’t clearly articulate the return you want (whether it’s revenue, clarity, or confidence), it might not be the right time.
If you’re still tempted? Sleep on it. Michelle swears by the “maybe cart” method: put it in the cart, walk away, and see how you feel the next day. Most impulse buys won’t pass the overnight test.
Build a Spending Plan That Works For You
Budgets feel restrictive, so Michelle prefers the term “spending plan,” which is a flexible, permission-giving approach that accounts for real life, real values, and real growth.
Here’s her simple framework:
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Start with your average income (not your best month)
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Subtract fixed expenses (rent, utilities, software)
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What’s left is discretionary and should be divided across three areas:
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Joyful spending (yes, Starbucks counts)
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Debt reduction
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Cash reserves/savings
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The goal isn’t to nickel-and-dime your way to success. It’s to build a plan that reflects what actually matters to you.
What If You’ve Already Spent the Money and Regret It?
Michelle said something that stuck with me: “Nobody gets through this money world unscathed.”
We’ve all made mistakes:
- Bought the program that didn’t deliver.
- Paid for the coach who ghosted.
- Hired before we were ready.
The goal is not perfection. The goal is to learn, adjust, and give yourself grace.
Your past spending doesn’t define you. It teaches you.
Her recommendation is to use that data, get curious (not judgmental), then ask yourself, “What was I hoping to fix with that purchase? What can I do differently next time?”
Lastly, move forward.
Guilt-Free Doesn’t Mean Spend-Free
Spending in your business isn’t the problem. Emotional, unintentional spending is.
Michelle reminded us that you’re allowed to invest in yourself, but only when you know why you’re doing it, what you expect in return, and how it fits into the bigger picture.
Find It Quickly:
- 01:07 – System Reboot: Fun and Games
- 03:00 – Understanding Spending Guilt
- 04:53 – Smart Business Spending
- 14:26 – Building a Flexible Budget
- 18:57 – Dealing with Past Spending Mistakes
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21:49 – The System Shut Down
Connect with Michelle
- womeninwealth.co
- Michelle’s Podcast: talkwealthy.com
- instagram.com/women_in_wealth
Review the Transcript:
Julie: Welcome back to the System For Everything podcast. Today’s system tip that $997 unopened course. It’s not clutter, it’s a digital manifestation of your ambition. Today’s guest, Michelle Taylor, is the visionary founder of Women and Wealth, a transformative platform designed to empower women to take charge of their financial futures with over a decade of experience in wealth.
Management and consulting. Michelle is dedicated to bridging the wealth gap by offering essential financial education and fostering a supportive community for women from diverse backgrounds, whether guiding business owners or stay-at-home moms, managing household budgets. Michelle’s mission is to help women confidently and clearly define and achieve their unique financial goals.
Welcome, Michelle. Thank you so much. I’m so excited. Excited. A bit of transparency. Michelle is actually my financial advisor. She’s amazing. I am so glad you
Michelle: said it
Julie: because you know I love
Michelle: you.
Julie: All right, we’re gonna start, as we always do with the system, reboot. A quick reset to start our episode with some humor and humanity.
Michelle, what is one pair of shoes you would buy again, even if it meant eating ramen for a week? Can I say all
Michelle: of them? I mean, Michelle is a shoe junkie guy, as I had to ask, I shoe head to, I’m a shoe girl. I would say the last pair I bought that just took my breath away, there were these ballerina Christian Louboutins that I had, that Carrie Bradshaw moment where I walked by and saw them and then like took steps back and yeah, I love those.
I’d buy ’em again every day.
Julie: I wear sneakers. What is a totally average accomplishment of yours That you will never stop bragging about? An average accomplishment? Yep. Just like a weird one that you wouldn’t think it wouldn’t get you. The Oscar kind of thing.
Michelle: Oh, yeah. So many. I would say that I can, I mean, if in the, in the vein of being fun, I can pick up anything off the floor with my toes.
Oh, I love that.
Julie: Alright. This is ballerina
Michelle: toes. You know it’s,
Julie: yes, that. That’s why you had to get the shoes. Yeah. Alright. You also have a podcast. What a fictional TV character. Would you want to be your podcast host? Oh man.
Michelle: Or fictional book or movie? You know what? Fictional, and they would host my podcast.
I would have to say. I would’ve to say Carrie Bradshaw.
Julie: I mean, she’d be pretty good. I don’t know that I would trust her advice so much, but she would be entertaining. Yeah, she’d figure out a creative way to buy the shoes. Yes. Alright, everyone, you’ve met the personality. Now meet the powerhouse. Today we are talking about a topic.
Most of us try to avoid spending guilt, specifically, how to tell the difference between a smart investment and an emotionally charged expense. Or let’s be real, a comparison fueled panic purchase. Here’s my conversation with Michelle on the system for guilt-free business spending. All right, Michelle, we have.
All been there. I mean, the absolute high of buying something that that feels like momentum. You know, a new system, a new logo, a mastermind spot that you hope unlocks everything. But yeah. When does spending stop being smart and start being emotional? What emotional triggers do you see most often behind business spending for female entrepreneurs?
Michelle: You know, I think you hit the nail on the head with trying to, like the comparison game, I think can be really dangerous for people that are just starting out in a business and may look to a mentor or somebody else that they really admire that has done something similar. They may look at the team that they have in place, or the systems and processes and want to emulate that, but oftentimes that may come with a price tag that.
It’s hard to justify in a baby business. I, I mean, I see that all the time. I also see people hire people that they aren’t ready for because they, you know, are excited about what they’re doing or, you know, they’re hiring because they know where they are going in their head. But the reality is you have to be very careful.
Payroll is usually the, you know, biggest spend and expense for a business owner. So you need to hire smart and not be chasing something that you’re not ready for yet.
Julie: Why do you think we confuse spending with taking action?
Michelle: I think it feels, and I can even speak to myself, I mean, you’ve heard my story.
Spending was a big problem for me when I was younger and, you know, I, I’ve done so much an analyzing and deep thinking of why, and I really do think that it, it’s a. A quick hit, it’s an easy way to feel like you’re moving the needle. So I don’t know about you, but I have met with countless business owners that, you know, they, they have this big vision and they will think, okay, well I’m going to buy this system or do this thing, or buy a computer, or whatever it is, because that’s what my business needs.
It, it, they can’t confuse spending with true growth. You know, spending doesn’t result in real true like revenue growth unless it’s actually needed and can be justified. It’s, it’s just like with taxes, you know, people say, oh, well, you know, buy the, buy the expensive car, the GWA or whatever, because they get a tax break.
But if you don’t need to spend the dollar. Don’t spend the dollar to save 30 cents. So it’s like, yeah, it can be a good strategy. Yes. Buying a new, this is why prime day sales are a scam. People. Yeah. Buying new microphones or whatever you think you need. Like don’t do it if it’s not going to result in revenue for your business.
Can
Julie: you speak to how social media has made it even harder to kind of separate strategy from, I guess, fomo?
Michelle: Yeah. I, I’ve had this conversation so many times and I’m so thankful for this, but I feel like that is something that has, is broken in me in a good way where. I, I have not played that comparison game even with like looking at magazines with, you know, seeing somebody that has something because I know it’s a real true problem for so many people.
And you know, it goes back to main character syndrome, right? Everybody is putting their best version of their vacation, of their marriage, of their business on social media, because that’s what consumers want to consume. It creates like that. You know, fairy tale of everything is hunky dory. I want hunky dory.
But no one has it all figured out. Instagram is, uh, highlight reel people. Yes. I think we’ve all lost the, the, uh, self-awareness to realize that because we do it too, right? Yeah. I mean. I, I could post something on my social that is a vacation recap. And what it doesn’t show is like we got stuck because of weather delays and my kids were fighting and my husband and I were fighting, and the hotel was gross.
Like, who knows? But you’re not gonna post that because people don’t wanna see that. But I think that it’s, I, I’m the
Julie: person that does post that. I’m the, I’m the weirdo. You can follow if you do wanna see that stuff,
Michelle: but it makes you relatable and likable. So I think that, you know, like just, I think everybody needs to do a really, uh, good job at being conscious that what you consume assume you can’t let it consume you.
Ooh,
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Grab yours today@dallasgirlfriday.com before life throws a plot twist. All right, so let’s say you are staring down the barrel of a $3,000 course. You know the sales page sounds like it was written just for you. The testimonials are glowing. Your credit card is saying, you know, mission. Like what now? Like what’s a simple framework you would recommend for evaluating that ROI before saying yes to a big spend?
Michelle: Yeah. I would first take a breath, so I am a really good online browser. I am not that person that, you know, actually clicks checkout very often, so. What I always do is I put it in there and that kind of like checks the box of, oh, it’s a, maybe I even do, my mom laughs at me because if we go to, you know, we go shopping on the weekend and we’re at Home Goods, I get a cart and she’s like, oh, you’ve got your maybe cart.
And literally I put everything in there that’s a maybe and if I’m walking around and I can’t live without it, then I buy it. But yeah, I think we can do the same thing. On that said, course, you know again, are you a victim of marketing? Mm. Or are you really thinking and considering about buying something for a reason?
So I would challenge anybody to think, what problem is this going to solve for me? And you need to know immediately. And is it, you know, is it going to help you, um, be able to ask for more from clients or is it gonna be able to help you? You know, get on the straight and narrow if you’re, you know, not doing something in the best way possible.
I would look at anything that you’re buying as an investment into yourself, your business, your family. And if you truly can’t say that it is, then you shouldn’t buy it. So don’t be so fast to hit. You know, check out if you love it. It’s gonna be there when people are like, special offer buy now. You know that that’s all baloney.
Yeah. Come back to it. You know, it’s like, and oftentimes if you come back to a cart, and even if it’s been a few days, the item is still usually there.
Julie: Yes. And so how do you also coach people to, to weigh those non-financial returns? You know, I know in service-based businesses, the results can be really murky or maybe delayed, so things like clarity or confidence.
How do you advise for spending in those gray areas alongside hard numbers?
Michelle: That’s a great question because so much of somebody’s money story. Is emotional and not necessarily just going to be, um, tied to, is this going to produce something good in your life? Financial, you know, you and I can talk about that because we’re, we’re business owners.
But the other side of that, and, and I hate to say it, but really like spending time and reflecting and figuring out why, what is this doing for me? And I don’t know if I have. Like the actual silver bullet to that. I think it takes work. I think we all are always having to check ourselves. So even me going back to like my story and, and how spending was something that I was.
Out of control with, and, and inevitably led me here is when I was shopping, I remember saying, and it made me laugh in your, uh, in the beginning of the conversation to my cousin when I bought something. I said, I’ve never done drugs before, but I imagine this is what it feels like to be high
Julie: and to get that instant hit, you know, often.
Michelle: Yeah, you get that dopamine hit, right? Mm-hmm. So why are you chasing the dopamine hit? What, what isn’t giving it to you in other areas of your life? And even now, I mean, I recognize it now. You know, I climbed out of the hole. I righted the wrong. Now I do this for a living and manage other people’s wealth coach people on how to do better.
And even me, when I go to the store, I get caught up in the excitement of something and it’s like, wait a minute, why? But like. Do I really need this? So I, I really just think it’s self-awareness that there’s nothing you can do, but to actually check yourself and say, am I going to regret this later? Or am I going to walk away from this and be thinking about it constantly?
So whether it’s a course or a new pair of shoes, you know. You shouldn’t have guilt or FOMO about any purchase. I I, and it’s hard to not approach things with emotion. Yeah. But emotion is so good, right? It’s so good. It’s what makes us all human. But at the same time, there are certain decisions that you need to try and separate emotion from.
Julie: I wanna shift from regret to prevention. If somebody wants to spend more intentionally. Where do they even start? How can a, a business owner build a flexible budget that they will actually stick to?
Michelle: So I love this so much because I feel like in and of itself, a budget can feel restrictive. And listen, we can put a bow on this and call it different things.
It’s still a budget, right? But if you are somebody that. That reframing works on. Do what is going to work for you to get the result. So for me, I love to talk to business owners and individuals about shifting from budget to spending plan. So I would encourage anybody to understand what is coming in. And if you’re a business owner, don’t look at the best quarter, best month that you’ve had.
Look at like the average or look at the lowest depending on what your situation is, and then build from that accordingly. So I’m gonna use easy numbers, but if you have $10,000 a month coming into the house, what are your expenses? And this is where, and this all probably sounds familiar to you, but this is where like you think about.
You know, target runs or Amazon or DoorDash, like those things are discretionary and people will fight and say, yeah, but you have to, you have to eat, but it’s not fixed, right? Because you have a choice on how aggressively you spend. So look at the things that you don’t really have a choice on. So mortgage or rent, utilities, car payments, cell phone, all of those things, and figure out what that number is.
And let’s just say for this conversation, the 10 coming in, you have 5,000 left. That means that that $5,000 that isn’t going to fixed expenses is quote, unquote discretionary. So look at that number and then say to yourself based on the goals. So if you are a business owner and you’re thinking, I wanna grow and scale this company, I have enough in cash reserves.
’cause that’s always something you should look at. Um, figure out a way to check all the boxes. So of course have a little bit of fun, but you want to make sure that you’re investing. And building your cash reserves and paying down debt at the same time. One of those things does not take priority I, in my opinion.
I know other people may say different. I, I think that they all have the same, um, level of importance, right?
Julie: So your opinion is the one I
Michelle: pay for and trust.
Julie: So I’m gonna go with you.
Michelle: So for example, if you’ve got debt. Yeah, I mean, you wanna pay more towards your debt, but if you’re doing a ton towards credit cards and getting those paid down, and then God forbid something happens and you need something unexpected, now you don’t have a cash reserve.
So where are you going back to credit cards? Mm-hmm. So you wanna make sure that it doesn’t need to be split equally. Certainly. But it needs to, each of those things needs to be getting some attention. You know, so I would say that build out a spending plan, figure out whether you’re a business owner or just uh, in an individual trying to have a little structure.
Don’t get so aggressive with any of this that it becomes not fun. You know, it’s just like going to the gym. People get excited in January and they’re like, I’m gonna go every day. No, you’re not. You, you don’t go from never working out to going to the, the gym every day. It’s a slow burn, a slow hustle, build the muscle.
So I would say that everyone should say, don’t be aggressive or too aggressive, and then break it down. Give yourself some wiggle room to enjoy the fruits of your labor. Make sure you’re paying attention to investing savings. And, um, debt, if there is any. And give yourself permission to lean into that. And if that helps people not feel so restricted, then it’s a big win because, you know, there’s people out there that’ll say, oh, don’t go to Starbucks.
And I think that’s just absolute. Are we allowed to cuss on this podcast? Sure. I think it’s bullshit. Like if, if you. Love Starbucks. Go to Starbucks. But just understand based on that spending plan, what is important to you. If, if paying down debt and buying a home is important, then give yourself $500 or whatever you work into your budget to live and have fun and say yes to yourself.
Feel good saying yes to the the things so that when you do say no, it’s not like I’m saying no again, you know? Yeah, I
Julie: love that. All right. What if somebody has already made the mistake? You know, they’ve bought the course that didn’t deliver. They paid for the coach that ghosted the, they bought expensive branding that they never used.
Like what? Now, what do you say to somebody who’s ashamed of how they’ve spent in the past?
Michelle: So I would say the most important thing is give yourself grace because mm-hmm. I have sat down with, you know, probably 10,000 women, both business owners and non-business owners at this point, after a decade in this career.
And I can tell you that every single one. Has a moment of I did this and I shouldn’t have. Mm-hmm. Every single one when we sit down will say, oh, I spend too much on going out to dinner, or I spend too much on Amazon. Every single one has made money mistakes. So give yourself grace. Nobody gets out of this money world unscathed making all of the right decisions.
It’s impossible. And you know, that’s something for me that. When I first started in this industry, I was so worried to tell people that I had all of this credit card debt in college and I was opening up credit cards to get a free t-shirt and that I was buying things that I couldn’t afford when I didn’t even have a job.
And I really had to check myself and realize that my mistakes could be a roadmap for others. And yeah, it allowed other people to feel vulnerable in sharing because if I do this for a living and make mistakes. Then if they’re not, you know, in this world and making mistakes, then it’s okay. So give yourself grace ladies.
Do not be the jury and the judge. The world is tough enough. Like yes. Look through the, um, the, the windshield and not the rear view mirror.
Julie: Oh, that’s good. All right, Michelle, please tell everyone where they can find you online and how they can work with you.
Michelle: So I am on Instagram Women underscore Incore Wealth and doing a lot of really exciting things over there within that women and wealth community.
There’s some really exciting courses that are coming. Yay, and all of those things. I can also be found on my podcast, which I absolutely. Love, it’s called Talk Wealthy to me. And that’s on all the streaming platforms. And then of course, um, the website. It is women in wealth.co. Awesome.
Julie: Thank you so much, Michelle, for this conversation.
I know it’s gonna be very valuable to a lot of people. You are so
Michelle: welcome.
Julie: All right, let’s close our episode with something completely unrelated to business finances, because even budgeting Queens need a break. So here are five movies I will. Always rewatch, no matter how many times I’ve seen them, how chaotic the plot is, or how questionable my taste might be.
Number one, clue. The dialogue, the timing, the fla fla flames on the side of my face. I mean, this movie to me is Peak Comfort Chaos. Number two, galaxy Quest, A perfect parody with real heart. You are our only hope. Number three, the Ocean’s Trilogy. I live for a heist movie. Like my favorite comedy, like my favorite genre of movie is not comedy, it’s not action, it’s heist.
My favorite movies are heist movies and Ocean’s 11 will always be my very favorite. Uh, all of the Jumanji movies. Even the newer ones, sometimes you just need jungle bake based escapism and Jack Black as a teenage girl. And number five, John Tucker must die. I don’t know what to tell you. It’s terrible in the best way.
It lives rent free in my brain and I will not apologize for it. And if you are judging me, go rewatch John Tucker and try not to quote it. I dare you if you have ever hovered over the Buy Now button with a pit in your stomach and a credit card in your hand. This episode was for you. Michelle reminded us that smart spending doesn’t mean never investing.
It means knowing why you’re doing it, what you expect in return, and how to move on if it doesn’t work out. No guilt, just growth. If you love today’s conversation, make sure you’re following the show so you don’t miss what’s coming next. And hey, if this episode made you laugh or feel slightly called out, send it to a friend who needs the same reality check.
Until next time, check your budget, charge your phone, and maybe just maybe don’t buy another template you won’t use. See you next week.
