finances | Perspective Confessions

A Story About Joe – Family, Values & Principles

My Dad and Uncle’s first cousins grew up in close proximity to one another in Kossuth, MS. Their physical proximity was simply an outward representation of their relational closeness. And still is today.

Even though life has taken them to places like Nashville, TN; Sikeston, MO; Tyler, TX; Corinth, MS; and Kossuth, MS to name several. They all still stay in touch.

They gather together at least once a year. Texting and calling, too, to stay connected. And when they are gathered together under one roof, it’s like they’ve never missed a beat!

I’ve had the privilege to be in the room with them several times as an adult. It’s always a treasure. They are a fun group! They pick on each other, laugh, and share stories about the mischief of growing up. I love the insights I get about my Dad from their stories. I also enjoy hearing about my family, about where I come from, and about my roots.

They have a tradition of going to Canton, TX for the first Monday flea market in the fall. My Uncle has planned the once a year gathering for many years. They rent a big van, meet up in Corinth, all pile in, and make the ~8 hour trip to Canton for a weekend.

Read another story from their 1st Monday flea market trip here!

This flea market is something to experience. It’s acres upon acres of flea market finds. Jeff and I have even joined them a time or two.

Last May, I went home to Iuka, Mississippi for a quick weekend to celebrate my grandmother’s, Grannie King’s, birthday. She was turning 96 and my Dad and Uncle had summoned the family together to celebrate.

Once we were all settled into the living room after birthday food and cake, the story telling began again. One story has stuck with me since then.

Joe Garrett told a story about a time he was going to get a custom suit made. When the quote came back for the suit, it was going to cost him $750. He declined it and went on his way.

He explained to us in the room that is wasn’t because he couldn’t have afforded it. He replied in his easy going way, “I could buy each one of you a suit at that price.”

He went on to connect the principle of not buying the suit to a childhood memory. He had grown up poor. Anything he had was marked by hard labor, such as cutting ditch banks down by hand with a kaiser blade. He earned just twenty-five cents an hour under the hot sun for his work.

“When that’s where you came from, you know how hard and how long you have to work to buy a $750 suit. Then, you decide if its worth it or not.” Joe explained.

Those long days had shaped his view of money, work, and what really mattered. Spending that much on a suit simply didn’t sit right with the boy who once worked for quarters an hour.

This story impacted me. It’s such a stark contrast to today’s world. New gadgets, clothes, and luxuries are purchased almost without a second thought—Joe’s decision felt almost radical.

We live in a culture of consumerism, where society measures success by what we own. Many people have forgotten what a dollar really represents and how hard it was to earn. But Joe hadn’t forgotten. He carried those ditch-bank days with him, and they guided his choices.

Joe’s restraint wasn’t about deprivation. It was about wisdom. Remembering where he came from and those principles guiding him. He didn’t need possessions to prove his success. Joe was always the same person and a steady constant.

And as I remember him, I’m reflecting on my life and the principles that I have learned through hard times. Am I letting the world change me? Do I value what I already have, or am I always reaching for more? Do I pause to consider the story behind each dollar, or do I spend without thought? What I know about Joe’s life reminds me to slow down, to choose gratitude over more stuff, and to remember that true wealth has nothing to do with what we own.

Joe’s story is a reminder that true wealth isn’t about what we can buy, but about living with values that are priceless.

How to Save Your First $1,000 Emergency Fund

Before aggressively paying down debt, it’s smart to build a small emergency fund. This $1,000 acts as a financial safety net. It protects your goals when life throws the unexpected your way, like a car repair or medical bill. With this cushion, you can handle surprises without derailing your progress.

Check out my recent personal story and why I was so thankful we had our emergency fund in place.

Why $1,000?

It’s enough to cover most small emergencies, giving you breathing room and reducing the temptation to reach for credit cards or loans.

3 Ways to Save Your First $1,000 Emergency Fund

1. Cut Back on Expenses:

Skip eating out for a month — potential savings: $250–$500
Have a “no spend” month (necessities only) — potential savings: $150–$250
Pause online shopping — potential savings: $200+
Discontinue subscriptions (streaming, etc.) — potential savings: $90 – $100

2. Side Hustle for Extra Cash:

Babysitting — $15–$20/hour
Dog walking — $15–$25/hour
Rideshare driving — $18–$25/hour
Freelance work (writing, design, admin) — $20–$40/hour
Grocery or food delivery — $15–$25/hour

3. Sell Stuff You Don’t Use:

Host a garage sale — potential earnings: $200–$500
Sell on Facebook Marketplace — potential earnings: $50–$300
List items on eBay or Poshmark — potential earnings: $50–$200

Putting It All Together:
Combine strategies — cut back spending, pick up a short-term side hustle, and sell unused items. You could reach your $1,000 goal in as little as 4–6 weeks.

Bottom Line:
Your first $1,000 emergency fund is your buffer between life’s surprises and your financial goals. Build it fast — and watch your confidence grow as you tackle your debt next. This will build momentum as you tackle your next financial goal!

6 Ways to Know If Coaching is Right for You?

Meet My Ideal Client

You don’t need to be in crisis to benefit from coaching. You do, however, need clarity, curiosity, and a desire to grow. Whether you’re navigating a career pivot, leading a team, getting your finances in order, or simply longing for a more grounded life, the type of coaching I offer creates the space to pause, reflect, and move forward with purpose.

So how do you know if coaching with me is right for you?

Let’s take a look.

You Want to Grow, Not Just Survive

You may feel capable, but also stuck. You’ve read the books, listened to the podcasts, made the lists, and still aren’t moving the needle the way you hoped. Coaching helps you break out of survival mode and step into strategic, intentional growth.

You’re Ready to Get Clear and Take Action

Many of my clients come to coaching with vague goals. They express a desire such as “I want a better job.” Some say, “I need to stop overspending.” Others mention, “I just want to feel more at peace.” Coaching helps define what “better,” “stop,” and “peace” actually look like, and then map a path to get there.

You’re Open to Support and Feedback

Coaching is not consulting or therapy; it’s a collaborative process. I’ll ask the questions you may not have thought to ask. I’ll notice patterns, challenge assumptions, and offer frameworks to help you see and move differently. That works best when you’re open to honest reflection, feedback, and practical support.

You Want to Lead, Communicate, and Live with Integrity

Whether you’re leading a team or leading your own life, how you show up matters. I help you improve communication with peers, teams, and senior leaders. We work on presence, empathy, clarity, and confidence…not as buzzwords, but as daily practices.

You’re Done Hustling Without a Plan

You don’t have to white-knuckle your way through life. If you’re tired of feeling busy but ineffective, you’re in the right place. If you want to shift from spinning your wheels to seeing real progress, this is where you belong. We’ll use proven tools to help you slow down, set intentional goals, and make peace a priority.

What You Bring to the Table: The Client’s Role

Great coaching is a two-way relationship. If you’re considering coaching with me, here’s what I ask of you:

Have a goal in mind that you want to achieve.
Recognize that you haven’t been successful reaching it on your own.
Be curious about what’s missing and open to support.
Show up prepared to discuss your progress and challenges.
Be ready to apply the resources and tools we discuss.
Be open to transformational change and the work required to get there.
Be willing to experiment with new strategies.
Be committed to your goals, and persistent in pursuing them.

If that sounds like you, coaching can be a powerful catalyst. Let’s get started!

If you’re not quite there yet — that’s okay too. Sometimes readiness is the first step.

Let’s Talk

Curious if coaching is right for this season of your life? I’d love to hear your story and explore how we might work together.

Let’s connect and start mapping your next step with purpose, clarity, and momentum.

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What is Coaching?

Think of a coach you’ve had in your life or maybe your kids’ life. What did they do that was so effective? Coaches do many things, like:

Encourage
Teach techniques
Improve Performance
Identify gaps in performance
Challenge
Inspire
Hold you Accountable
Create a plan (or playbook) to reach your goals
Build trust
Unlock the next level

What else would you add to this list?

I am not a sports type of coach, although coaching for me started in the fitness industry. Read more about that here. While coaching began for me in fitness, it has evolved into Financial Coaching, Career Coaching, Leadership Coaching, and coaching on Personal Wellness. Most people would attribute the bulleted list above to a sports coach…these descriptors also describe what I do in coaching clients about their finances, careers, leadership, and personal wellness.

This type of coaching is a one-on-one conversation with a purpose. I don’t use equipment outside on a field in my coaching. Although I do have different sets of tools and resources to help you achieve your goals. I teach you what the tools are and how to apply them.

Financial, Career, Leadership, and Personal Wellness coaching focuses on the individual. I coach the whole person. What does that mean? It means that I aim to not only help find solutions to problems, but to facilitate transformational change. Focusing only on finding solutions would limit the depth of change for clients. Humans are complex beings made up of emotions, values, systems of beliefs, etc. These parts must be considered in the foundation of how we make decisions and take action. Otherwise, real change may be limited.

How does it work? If you decided you wanted to be coached, we would first meet to discuss your goals. Then, we would get very specific on what that goal is, and determine how we would measure progress. From there, we would map out a plan to get you to your goal. This plan would let us know how many coaching sessions would be needed.

As Your Coach, You Can Expect…

My job as a coach is to identify gaps and equip you with tools and resources. Educate you on how to apply the tools and resources. I ask you powerful questions to unlock self-discovery and insight. I hold you accountable and shift your mindset. I listen and build trust with you. I walk alongside you and give you feedback on what’s working well and what isn’t. I inject hope, encourage you, and challenge you. I inspire you to get out of your comfort zone and achieve your goals!

Expectations of the Client…

Your job as the client is to:

come to the coaching session prepared to discuss progress and challenges
apply the resources and tools
be open to transformational change and the work to get there
be open to experimenting with new strategies
put in the hard work
be committed to your goals
persistent in achieving your goals

Are you ready to get after your goals? Fill out the form below and let me know how I can best coach you. Let’s go!

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Thank you for your response. ✨

What is Perspective Confessions?

Hi! I’m Carlynn creator of Perspective Confessions. Welcome! I’m so glad you are here! The idea of Perspective Confessions was born in 2015. Writing has been a practice in my life starting in grade school and it made sense to create Perspective Confessions to be able to share articles, journal entries, musings, etc. about topics such as career, financial health, and overall wellbeing with all of you. When I write, I am able to connect with myself, unearth hidden truths much more easily than when I’m talking to a friend. Did you know that truth telling = confession? To confess is to tell the truth. Most, if not all of us, don’t stay connected to ourselves all the time. Our lives are filled with distractions and it takes work to get connected back up with yourself to understand how you might feel about something, know what decision to make, or to get connected to what’s true. Writing helps me do all those things. At some point, the writings in my journal shifted from writing just for myself to writing so that others could read it too. The truths that I’ve unearthed for myself I want to share it more broadly because my words might be the words that someone else needs, can relate to, and/or help them think about a situation from a different perspective. By the way, the quote below is from an amazing book, Living Fearless by Jamie Winship. Highly recommend!

“Truth always sets you free. Hiding truth always makes you a slave. If you will not tell the truth, you’re in bondage to the lie, the deception, and the rationalization.” – Living Fearless by Jamie Winship

Coach

As my professional life has advanced, I received my Financial Coaching certification and in my full-time Corporate America job, I am a Leadership Coach. You can learn more about financial health here, and you can read more about my experience with coaching in this post. Whether it be with writing or working one on one with others, the commonality is that I enjoy helping and connecting with people.

Career Confessions

Before I was able to climb the corporate ladder, I struggled mightily. A lot with anxiety. In my mid to late twenties, I went through some big life changes that included moving from a small town to a big city, combating severe anxiety, losing my mom, and divorce. I wrote a full series on my Career Confessions that you can read about here. I share tips about how I found new ways of working with anxiety, shifted my mindset, and slowly climbed the career ladder.

Wellbeing

Yes, writing about all those struggles makes me vulnerable. I hold the belief that we can learn from one another. Sharing helps us not feel alone or like we are the “only ones”. I listened to a podcast a long time ago that said we would not need therapists or counselors if we lived in good, healthy community because that good, healthy community would give us supportive and constructive feedback, come alongside the hard parts of life, share tools to help with life, etc. I believe that is true. The vast majority of us, though, live in isolation especially with today’s technology. And because of that, the need to be mindful and intentional with our wellbeing is paramount.

I’d love it if you’d join me as we learn about career, financial health, and overall wellbeing. Curiosity is key in exploring differing perspectives…zooming out to see the big picture and zooming in to look at things more closely. It’s the push and pull of these vantage points that we can learn the most. Perspective Confessions is the source for inspiration for those who want to learn and grow. I am continually growing and learning; unearthing discoveries, and sharing truth or confessions I’ve learned along with the way from varying perspectives.. Perspective Confessions is about getting to the root of challenges as it relates to career, financial, and overall wellbeing and creating a toolbox of resources from what’s learned to equip you for the next step. If you want tools to manage your career and finances, value slowing down for a better quality of life, and aren’t afraid of being challenged; then you are in the right place.

If you know of someone that:

is struggling with their career,
struggles with anxiety or with big life changes,
wants to get their finances back on track,
wants to find a better balance in their life from the fast track, fast paced life they’re living, please share perspectiveconfessions.com with them!

And by all means, don’t miss any Perspective Confessions posts. Make sure you subscribe!

Tag: finances

A Story About Joe – Family, Values & Principles

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