Ep 28: Finding Financial Confidence with Jane Helm of Money Mentor Group
I'm joined by Jane Helm, founder of Money Mentor Group. We're talking about the taboo surrounding money conversations in many households and Jane's journey from financial struggle to financial confidence. Jane details her nine years of experience helping clients achieve financial calm and confidence, the psychological and emotional aspects of money management, and the importance of understanding both mindset and mechanics in handling finances.
We also touch on the challenges of credit card debt, the temptation of modern shopping habits, and tips for empty nesters re-evaluating their financial priorities. Jane offers insights into her services, which include personalized financial strategies and debt management coaching.
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Christine Van Bloem: 0:23
So today we are talking money, right? And I have got the lovely Jane Helm from Money Mentor Group here to chat. Hey, Jane.
Jane Helm: 0:36
there. So glad to be here today. I love talking about money, the gasp,
Christine Van Bloem: 0:41
It's so funny, right? Because I mean, my parents were definitely like, we never talked money. Don't ever, like, it's none of your business. It's none of anybody's business. Don't talk money. So, you know, that has come hard into me, but I have always said when I'm teaching my classes, when I'm doing my thing, I'm like, I love money. And you can tell people, like, sometimes they, they physically
Jane Helm: 1:09
right?
Christine Van Bloem: 1:09
at it. They gasp, they gasp. And I'm like, well, why wouldn't you? My mother in law used to always say, handy stuff to have around.
Jane Helm: 1:20
And that's so true. It's always handy to have money.
Christine Van Bloem: 1:24
It's always, so you're you're the owner, the founder, the grand pupa of Money Mentor Group. Tell, tell me what that is.
Jane Helm: 1:34
So I just celebrated nine years of being a money mentor group, being the money lady to a lot of people. And what it means is for me, it's what I eat, breathe, and sleep. Because. Like you said, a lot of us grew up with money is taboo. We don't ask people about money. We don't ask how much they make, how much, you know, anything. It was, my parents never talked about money. And so it, when, when we're raised that way, I will say we have a lot of. misconceptions about what's going on. And we haven't learned anything. We just, we just kind of imagined things or we had, I talk money stories all the time. So we come into adulthood and we're like, Oh, we have bills. We have taxes taken out of our paychecks. We have to, We have to pay attention to it, and we don't like it, and we sometimes don't have enough of it, and it creates all kinds of emotional responses, right? We need money to live, and we go into adulthood without the lessons and it is It creates, it's created a business for me, actually.
Christine Van Bloem: 2:50
I, I love that. So what exactly do you do in your business? What does Money Mentor Group do?
Jane Helm: 2:57
Well, I am someone that creates financial confidence. And that's two words I put together, calm and confidence with my clients. So if you can be confident with your cash flow, then Your world just opens up, right? You, you become someone that isn't, I'm not worried about the stock market because I have belief in it. You know, I'm not worried about my cash flow because I have a plan and that plan works. And I want people to know that I give them direction sometimes. I do a lot of education on how money works. So many people don't understand how money even works. Lots of rumors. Lots of, I don't know, just false information. I provide personalized strategies to get that cash flow in order. Accountability is a big one. Big part of what I do, and I'm your chair leader. So people come to me with their money struggles and that's the hardest part is reaching out, and we take where they are and get them where they want to be with a plan that, that they can manage going forward.
Christine Van Bloem: 4:16
but you are not a financial
Jane Helm: 4:19
I am not a financial planner or advisor. I came from that world. I was in that world for about 15 years. And that's what, part of what sparked me to do what I do. You know, I'd be in front of clients in the financial advisory space that both of us would consider had a lot of money. Millions of dollars, right? But when it came to managing their everyday money, it was a struggle for them. I could see that they were afraid to spend, and they had millions of dollars, right? So a lot of it is psychological, a lot of it's emotional, and I kept seeing the need for what I do on the everyday side of money.
Christine Van Bloem: 5:01
Oh, that's so interesting to me. How did you, how did you get here? How did you get to the point where you wanted to do
Jane Helm: 5:09
Well, when people ask me that, I say my whole life really led me to it. My own messy money story, my own journey with money. I was a hot mess with money. I put my family in a very precarious situation. We almost lost our home. We had 60, 000 worth of credit card debt. But if you looked at me from the outside, everything, I looked like I was so put together. I had it all. I had cars. I had a beautiful home. I had, but I wasn't sleeping at night. I was doing math over and over trying to figure out how to pay all the bills, and I did not want to stop spending. And that whole journey of learning How to get out of that debt because back then there were no financial coaches And I certainly wasn't going to a financial advisor like hey, I need your help there was so much shame so my own story then being Almost by accident, landing in financial services, learning how money worked, seeing how these clients were amassing money a little bit at a time. All came together for me. And I have my degrees in social work and psychology. So I will say the short story is my whole life led me to this and. Towards the end of my career in financial services, I just kept seeing it over and over and over that people needed help understanding why they did what they do with money and understanding the psychological part of it because I combine the mindset and the mechanics of money. So when we can get those two working together, those two ingredients, Then, we have a recipe for success.
Christine Van Bloem: 7:02
Oh my gosh, Jane. So you've worked in financial services previously, and it was really your own story that kind of brought you around. And that's so interesting because I think, you know, everybody looks at the outside. I finally, I mean, now that we're Empty Nestery, I feel there is A big shift in perspective that comes once your nest has emptied because you're back. I mean, not that you're not thinking about your kids. You're always thinking about your
Jane Helm: 7:32
Always, forever, it's a lifelong thing. I thought I was going to be a mom for like 18 years. You know, I was worried for 18 years. That's not true. Don't believe it.
Christine Van Bloem: 7:42
it's so not true. So I think my perspective has shifted so much and I realize that what I see on the outside really doesn't matter. Also, I'm like, my neighbors finance it. They don't matter. What do I care? You know, it has nothing to do with me.
Jane Helm: 8:00
Well, you have turned a corner.
Christine Van Bloem: 8:03
I have turned a corner. I will say I have turned a really big corner in the past couple of
Jane Helm: 8:08
Mm
Christine Van Bloem: 8:08
Just all over the
Jane Helm: 8:10
hmm. Mm hmm. And so you've turned the corner where you don't care what your neighbors are driving. You don't care what their house looks like. The outside stuff just doesn't matter. And so many times we're trying to keep up with the Joneses and we don't know what the Joneses are really doing or how they're doing it. And that comparison is the Thief of Joy. It really is.
Christine Van Bloem: 8:35
it really is. I, I, I think you're right, Jane. I, I don't know. I have had a huge perspective shift. I mean, really colossal perspective shift. And I'll also say that where the shopping and the Target run and all that used to bring me joy. It brings me no joy now.
Jane Helm: 8:58
Well, we joke about Target and Costco. No. Right. People tell me I can't leave Costco without spending a couple hundred dollars. Yes.
Christine Van Bloem: 9:06
Well, I mean, that's actually true,
Jane Helm: 9:08
No, it's not.
Christine Van Bloem: 9:09
No, it is,
Jane Helm: 9:10
I can tell you Even I have a chef in my house too, but you know, it's making a decision It's all about financial decision making and learning what You value. What do you truly value? And,
Christine Van Bloem: 9:26
tell you, you're right. I'm sorry to interrupt. Go ahead.
Jane Helm: 9:30
thank you. I
Christine Van Bloem: 9:31
I'm sitting here being blown away. I'm sitting here being blown away, Jane. I just love this.
Jane Helm: 9:36
Yeah. And you know, I'll just use an example. I used to have a weakness, I'll say, for purses. I don't know. Has to do something psychological. And when I started shifting my spending habits and, and really trying to do my own journey with my own struggles with money, that was one area I really had to face. I decided I was no longer going to go to that part of any store. Why? Because I could justify buying a purse. It was the right size, the right color, the right style, the right whatever. So I had to put blinders on, literally like a horse. I'd put blinders on and wouldn't even go to that part. So, when people talk about not being able to stop spending, you have to make the decision that you want to. What do you really want? And it's, it's a lot of mind tricks. It's a lot of mindset. That's why I combined both of them. You know, I can create a plan for anybody. Give me a half hour, an hour. I can put it together, but it's not going to matter if you don't have the right mindset. And that mindset is really, should be based on what you value and what brings you joy, what you want the money to do for you.
Christine Van Bloem: 10:53
I love that. And I will tell you that I can go into Costco now and I can get what I know I need. I mean, I still have half a cooking school in my basement. So I need, I need nothing food related, right? I just whipped out my mom's old bread machine and she
Jane Helm: 11:12
I saw that. Yeah.
Christine Van Bloem: 11:13
Oh my gosh. I just whipped it out yesterday and it was, I it wasn't all together. So I had to find the part that goes in the center, like where the pan for it. And it became like a panicked moment for me because I've locked this bread machine into my memory of my mother, who I don't remember ever using it. Right? And I know she did, but it became so vital and then I dropped something and then I broke something and glass shattered everywhere and I was like, it's not your mom. So I see where people attach all of these things to money.
Jane Helm: 11:54
Well, you know, money touches every area of our life. We need it. Right, it's how we pay for the roof over our head, it's how we pay for our needs and our wants, so a lot of coaching is Life coaching now because I'm talking about each client's life You're talking about your mom and that bread machine well, you know you attach that that memory or that object right and So yeah, I totally get where you're coming from My mother passed several years ago and I still have certain objects of hers, little things, her salad bowl, right? Nothing tastes better than a salad out of my mom's salad bowl, right? So we do attach things to our emotions.
Christine Van Bloem: 12:43
Oh, all right. So if you were gonna give let's say Let's say that you are a person and you don't just handle empty nesters. You do that you run the gamut You run the gamut of social economic Right. The whole thing there. So you've got that. And let's say you've got someone who comes in who is a new empty nester and college is done, whether they paid for it or whether they went into a lot of debt to help their kids. College is over. What kind of tips do you have for someone that's maybe in that situation?
Jane Helm: 13:22
Well, first of all, I think it's a opportunity. I viewed being, becoming an empty nester as an opportunity. It's a life event. We've launched our kids or they've launched themselves. Thank goodness. Right. It's an opportunity to really re examine who you are, what you want for the next however many years you have and again, going back to what you value. What is it that you value? A lot of people value travel. I want to make sure we're earmarking money for that. No matter what your situation is, we're earmarking something, right? Because life is not just about earning money, paying bills, and dying. Life is about enjoying yourself, but it is the time to re examine your values. It's a time to, if you're confused about any part of your money, to get that education. You know, we have the internet now, so you can educate yourself on so many aspects of money. I would say Empty Nesters today are much different than our parents were. Both of my parents retired like mid sixties and they weren't like, now what, as far as income, right? But now we, we all can have a side hustle or we can, we have so many opportunities available. So look at those opportunities, right? We, we can go on an elder hostel and get educated on something or we can We have a lot of opportunity, but it's also a time to take a look at your estate planning. I don't do that, but I do recommend that, you know, it is that time to kind of re evaluate a lot of parts of our lives, thinking about, you We're going to live longer than our parents did probably so looking at your health care options. I know I had the joy of signing up for Medicare last year
Christine Van Bloem: 15:23
Oh
Jane Helm: 15:24
and I consider myself pretty educated and that was huge trying to understand it all and navigate it. So that was a huge educational. experience for me. So
Christine Van Bloem: 15:36
I have friends that have said that, that have said like, they have done the research, they have dug in and. You know, luckily I have an Elaine in my life, and Elaine does the work. She does all the research to
Jane Helm: 15:52
get an
Christine Van Bloem: 15:53
figure out how that
Jane Helm: 15:54
Yeah, I got an expert because I tried to do it on my own and I, again, I understand money. I'm, I'm educated. I'm literate, you know, but That was huge. And I finally went and got an expert. So get expert advice if you need it. Don't be embarrassed. I have a lot of women come to me, actually that have never managed the money and now they're widowed or they're divorced and they don't even understand what they have, why they have it, and they're scared. And And they're ashamed. So there's so many of us out here in the financial world, advisors, bankers, me that want to help you. So don't be embarrassed of what you don't know. Start somewhere. Get that education. I would also say Take a look at your cash flow, because you'll want some expenses to say the same, but some expenses are going to change, and dialing up some of those and dialing down some of those is going to be important.
Christine Van Bloem: 17:00
it is, it is. We're looking at it now, and my husband is planning on retiring in a year. And I'm panicked because I'm looking at all of the expenses and, you know, we live in a really expensive time.
Jane Helm: 17:19
Yes, we do. Here's what I'm going to say, though. Everybody has been talking about inflation, right? I talked about it, I feel it, I think we all do. And at the same time, people are creating their own inflation. If you're carrying credit card debt that's at 26. 9%, 30%, whatever, you have created more inflation than anything at the grocery store, okay? So we are responsible for How we manage our money and, you know, people are like, do you know what I paid for eggs? And I'm like, yep, I do. Cause I paid the same thing. But what if we paid for whatever you bought on that credit card?
Christine Van Bloem: 18:03
Yeah.
Jane Helm: 18:04
Right. So I'm a, I'm, I, I think we create some of our own nightmares.
Christine Van Bloem: 18:10
Wow. So, I mean, credit card debt is a, it's a big thing, right? It is Big thing. And I, what did I look at the other day? I don't know. Some, some credit card offer came across somewhere and I'm extremely judicious with this. I am, this is not an area I play around in. And I think the interest rate was like 32%.
Jane Helm: 18:38
That's pretty standard now.
Christine Van Bloem: 18:41
Oh my gosh. Are you kidding me? I don't even pay attention because we don't carry a balance, right? That's, I am very hardcore on we just don't carry balance. We use it very little, all of that stuff. But I was shocked. I can't imagine. I can't imagine. I can't imagine Being a kid who gets out of college, who graduates college, and you know they're all over them to get the credit cards. I mean, you're going to be in credit card trouble in seconds. It's going to take you a month.
Jane Helm: 19:19
It's going to take you a lot longer than a month to get out of that. But
Christine Van Bloem: 19:23
Well, I mean, you're going to get in trouble in one month, you know, immediately.
Jane Helm: 19:28
it's the credit card companies have made it so easy for us. We don't even need to swipe a card and we can tap a card. We can use our fingerprint and, and so our buying habits have changed and retailers. are capitalizing on that. We're tempted, we're tempted every day. You know, you get emails, you look at something on a retailer's website, even if you don't buy it, they're like, take another look, come on back. Did you want to take another look at this? Or they'll say, that item you looked at four months ago is on sale now, come on back, right? Tricks that they play, the word sale will motivate somebody just to buy it because it's on sale now, right? So there's there's all these psychological things that people aren't thinking about they're not being mindful about it to me It's a game, right? I love these games I've gamified it, but it's taken me a long time. It took me a long time to get there
Christine Van Bloem: 20:29
Yeah.
Jane Helm: 20:30
know and Like I said, shopping is so different. We can have something tomorrow, the immediate gratification, right? We don't want to wait for something, right? It can be on our doorstep. We don't even have to leave the house for groceries. We don't have to even leave the house. We can have anything we want almost immediately. So learning delayed gratification is a skill I teach my client.
Christine Van Bloem: 20:54
Yeah. That's amazing. That's amazing. I, I mean. I, the Amazon. I love the Amazon. I love. I know they're the evil empire.
Jane Helm: 21:04
no, I don't consider them evil. They've made themselves very rich because they know how to do it. They've set up a business, like, I don't blame them, right? Like, we're built on a capitalist society. So, you know, they have they've made the, they've made the mark. It's us
Christine Van Bloem: 21:24
All right.
Jane Helm: 21:25
problem, not them.
Christine Van Bloem: 21:26
Well, I feel much better and I can tell. I share an account with our daughter and I get a notice whenever she's, you know, You know, getting something. And I'm very judicious. Again, except cookbooks. Forget it with cookbooks.
Jane Helm: 21:42
at least you know that.
Christine Van Bloem: 21:44
Forget it. I, and I'm so much better than I used to be, but it's a good way to support small creators or, you know, so I love that. But I have gotten so much better with it. I'm really proud of it. I'm really proud of doing that. So, Here's another question for you. How do you how do you work with people? Do you do it, is it all one on one? Do you have group programs? Like, what do you
Jane Helm: 22:11
Most of my coaching is one on one. Most of it, I work, I offer group coaching on a quarterly basis. And right now it's, you know, getting out of debt, how to get out of debt. Because there are different strategies to, that you can use and. Learning to stick to a strategy. is the only way to do it. Learning how to beat the credit card company at their game is how you do it. And so, so many people struggle with debt because it's so easy to get into debt now. So that's my group coaching. And that makes it very affordable for people, more, much more affordable than one on one. So that's my group coaching, but most of my coaching is one on one and I get most of my clients. From advisors, because I used to be in their world and I know what they do. And once they know what I do, they're saying, Oh, these clients really need to be putting more money away for retirement, or these clients can't afford the insurance they need. And so I help them be able to afford it. We find that money with a plan.
Christine Van Bloem: 23:21
that's so
Jane Helm: 23:22
Yeah, full circle for me.
Christine Van Bloem: 23:24
it is full circle. And you, are you in South
Jane Helm: 23:28
I am. I, as an empty nester, by the way, decided I was tired of winter. So I, I just couldn't stand it. From October to May, I would be cold. So we ended up in South Carolina. We are Everybody thinks I'm in Myrtle Beach, they can think that, but I'm really not. I'm much further north on the coast, but it was an empty nest move for sure, a pre retirement move. My husband's younger than me, so he has a couple more years of work, and it was a perfect time for us to move
Christine Van Bloem: 24:02
So do you take clients from all over the
Jane Helm: 24:05
all over the country, yes. Even international.
Christine Van Bloem: 24:10
Really? Well, I have a listener in Germany.
Jane Helm: 24:15
Well,
Christine Van Bloem: 24:16
So,
Jane Helm: 24:18
Yeah, I was trying to think of the word. I was trying to think, how do you say hello and Oh,
Christine Van Bloem: 24:24
Bitte. Bitte, I believe, means please. So, I remember learning that. They made us take German in eighth grade.
Jane Helm: 24:31
wow,
Christine Van Bloem: 24:32
Isn't that crazy? We had to take German, French, and Spanish
Jane Helm: 24:36
I had to take all three. Oh,
Christine Van Bloem: 24:39
like to give you a taste so that when you went into high school, you knew which language you wanted to take.
Jane Helm: 24:45
okay. Yes, I have worked with people all over the country. All of my clients meet with me on Zoom. And we get a lot done that way. You know, some clients when they first meet with me, we meet very regularly. And then a lot of clients stay with me because they've met some goals and now they want to reach new ones. So by having me as a sounding board, they have decisions coming up all the time. We meet once a month. And just go through that goal and our next action step. And I'll tell you, I have clients that have been with me five and six years. What they have accomplished has been mind blowing.
Christine Van Bloem: 25:22
Really? Can you give me an example?
Jane Helm: 25:24
Sure. I had a client that came to me in credit card debt and didn't know how she was going to get out of it. Right. So we worked on that and that happened. And now she is able to take four cruises a year. She is, blowing the doors off of her job because I, we learned how to negotiate that rate, right? And is now going to start her own business on top of everything else and has a savings account that is a year's worth of her expenses.
Christine Van Bloem: 26:01
That's incredible!
Jane Helm: 26:02
It is incredible and she did the work. I just guide people. You know, I'm not taking any, I'm taking some credit for it, but it's more about the accountability that I offer. It's them doing the work. That's how coaching is. It has to be both of us, but they do the work.
Christine Van Bloem: 26:20
That's awesome. That's so good,
Jane Helm: 26:23
It is so good then and I'm so happy for them, right? I'm so happy for her. So yeah, it's, just a shift in mindset. That's the biggest part.
Christine Van Bloem: 26:35
That's
Jane Helm: 26:35
Understand your why. What is your why and why is that important to you?
Christine Van Bloem: 26:41
Yeah. That is so good. Jane, you're amazing. Thank you so
Jane Helm: 26:45
Well, thank you. I love starting my day hearing I'm amazing.
Christine Van Bloem: 26:51
Well, I tell you, and we talked a little before we started, but you know, You know, my whole goal is really cool Empty Nest ladies, and you are right up there, baby.
Jane Helm: 27:01
Well, thank you so much. Back at you.
Christine Van Bloem: 27:04
ha ha ha ha! So, if you are interested in talking to Jane, or even just finding out, like, what she's doing, I am going to put a link to her website in the show notes. Jane, what is your web address?
Jane Helm: 27:19
It is www. moneymentorgroup. com.
Christine Van Bloem: 27:24
Moneymentorgroup. com. There it is. So I'll have a link to Jane's socials. You can just scroll down through the show notes. Check it out on the main page on my website. And Jane, thanks so much for coming on and talking to us about the money.
Jane Helm: 27:39
Thank you. It's been a pleasure.
Christine Van Bloem: 27:42
Thanks, Jane. All right, everyone. As always, I hope everything is awesome for you and I will see you in the kitchen.
