Today we’d like to introduce you to Roxanne Langley.
Roxanne, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
From my personal story, I knew I wanted to help other women navigate and learn about their money but not from the investment side. The woman I was had a life where everything was perfect, or so I thought. After a surprise divorce and little to no knowledge or guidance about my money, I was unprepared for the new financial pitfalls I found myself in. I made decisions based on feelings and guesses instead of facts or having a plan. At the time, I wasn’t even sure where or how to begin putting a plan in place for my daily spending. I believed what the experts and others said about me. You’re beyond help. You’re not smart enough. You might as well file for bankruptcy. I held those words to such a high level the thought of simply asking for help was crippling and ultimately landed me in front of the judge.
Sitting before a bankruptcy judge broken, humiliated, and alone was not the end of the story but the beginning of my interest and passion in becoming a Financial Coach. Shame and frustration were slowly replaced with knowledge and confidence. Now I am debt-free except for my home, have a fully funded emergency fund for the curve balls we experience, and began my business helping others, especially divorced women navigate and learn about their monthly spending.
Alright, 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?
When you are in the middle of an emotional event most decisions are made based on “what can I do the quickest to stop feeling or hurting right now?” At the time, I didn’t realize the long-term consequences and challenges of filing bankruptcy would make it tougher to overcome than the original debt. For a little over 6 years, it was almost impossible to find a creditor who would trust me enough to rebuild my credit with payment terms or an interest rate that was affordable. I learned the basics of saving money, even $10 for anything that might pop up.
When I needed to purchase an automobile it was through the help of friends as a co-signer I received a favorable interest rate on the loan. I learned the rebuilding process after divorce is much more challenging and shameful. It was about year 8 after the filing that I was able to truly begin rebuilding with small incremental steps with the first credit card with a $1000 limit. The next step was refinancing the auto loan to remove the co-signer and those two items helped begin the rebuilding.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
As a Financial Coach for Women, I know the shame, the doubt, and the questions they face every day when it comes to their money. Even though it has been several years since filing bankruptcy learning is still a daily part. Many times it’s the little things with our money that make the biggest impact and I show you it’s absolutely possible to start over and re-write the money story with a happy ending.
Whether I’m working with individuals or couples, each person has their unique situation and beliefs surrounding money. By working together, we craft the best plan for the particular challenges and long-term goals. 90% of women at some point in their life will be in control of the family finances, whether they want to be or not. However, only 20% of women feel confident in that role. The difficulty of being in a position where you don’t know what you don’t know is scary. I make sure we don’t just work on the numbers but the overall woman and her money beliefs. What is most important to her is most important to me.
By working one on one through bi-weekly or monthly sessions, I’m able to make money less intimidating by breaking it down into bite-size pieces. The first month or two is spent gathering and working on your monthly spending plan along with learning where you want to be a few years down the road. If you want to keep your credit cards then we learn how to correctly use credit to build instead of having debt which defeats us.
My clients have accomplished goals such as reducing their debt within the first 45 days, started saving for an emergency, raising credit scores, and communicating with their partners better. With focus and determination, one client even cash flowed their Disney family vacation with only 6 weeks of planning and saving.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
I love the diversity Houston has to offer whether you enjoy sports or the arts for which I’m a huge fan of both. At any time, I can stroll the Museum of Fine Art or cheer our Astros on. Another thing I enjoy is our incredible restaurants, especially all of our Tex-Mex choices. Several times a month you can find me at Superica in The Heights or discover a new wine bar throughout the city.
Currently, I would say the one thing I like the least is all the highway construction and in some areas where it seems it will never end.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://roxannefinancialcoach.com
- Instagram: @roxannefinancialcoach
- Facebook: @roxannefinancialcoach
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChXPeqeqi_PQ4-ckYUJQtfg/videos
Image Credits
Professional Photographs: Kelly Buckner
