Ep #128: The 3-Step Fix for Money Messiness

Hey, beautiful coach. 2026 has such a different energy. I feel it, you feel it. It's full of bigger opportunities, higher standards, and it's full of a you that is ready for more. And that means it's time to look at something simple that will support you, which is cleaning up money messiness. I'm Kendall, and in this episode of The Money Coach School Podcast, we're naming what money messiness actually looks like right now, why cleaning it up in early 2026 will change your momentum immediately, and I'm giving you three simple steps that restore clarity, self-trust, and forward movement with money fast.

Because this year, of course, is not about pushing harder. It's about capitalizing on the energy of the year to really transform your relationship with money so that your next level feels elevated, supported, and inevitable. It's all here for you inside this episode of The Money Coach School Podcast. Let's dive in.

Welcome to The Money Coach School Podcast. To really excel at coaching women, you have to be skilled, confident, and even fearless at money coaching. If you're passionate about women holding genuine money power and love supporting women entrepreneurs, then this is the show for you. Now, here's your host, money feminist Kendall SummerHawk.

Hello, beautiful coach, and welcome back to The Money Coach School Podcast. 2026 is such a different year. It's different energy. There's a different trajectory happening, different opportunities. I mean, it's so exciting. I am just in love with this year. And all of this means it's time to take a fresh look at what money messiness might look like for you in 2026 and more importantly, how to clean it up quickly so that you can make the most of the energy of this year so that you can really ride this wave.

The money messiness I'm talking about today is a very particular kind of money messiness that shows up often when you're in the middle of becoming something bigger. Now you have depth, you have experience, you have capability that hasn't fully translated into income at the level that you aspire to now. And I get that because no matter how much money I make, I know that there's a next level that I aspire to as well. And you feel that gap, and that's okay. The gap is a good thing.

That space between what you know you're capable of and what your bank account currently reflects. Like that's the gap that we're talking about today. Now, I see that space as the threshold between who you've been and who you are becoming. And I love that. It is so exciting.

Now this season, early 2026 at the time of recording this, is all about strengthening the habits, the decisions, the financial leadership that earning at a higher income level really does require from you. Because you're capable of earning much, much more than you currently are. No matter what the number is, you're capable of earning much, much more. And that means more clients, higher rates, stronger months, real savings, profit that feels intentional instead of accidental.

So let's name what money messiness looks like right now in this season of 2026. Because it's not always full of drama, you know? It's often really subtle. It's that extra subscription that you never canceled. It's the savings account that you keep meaning to fund, but somehow it never happens. Maybe the savings account doesn't even exist yet. It's the rate you raised, but only for one new client. It's the client who pays late and you just let it slide. It's the launch that you did that you didn't debrief so that you could really learn and profit from it. It's the tax payment you're hoping will somehow magically work itself out. And it's checking your Stripe account even before you brush your teeth. Maybe it's avoiding money altogether.

So here's what I really want you to see. Money messiness, first of all, it happens to all of us. I stay on top of it, but it still happens, and that's why I have to stay on top of it. But the part I really want you to see is that money messiness, what it is, is emotional leakage. Ew, right? It's small decisions left incomplete. And here's why cleaning this up in 2026 is going to have an immediate impact. Your income, she's trying to grow. Your capacity is expanding, but money messiness creates drag.

So you end up feeling behind even while you're growing, or you feel tense even when you're capable. You feel pressure even while you're progressing. And I get that. Luckily, clarity restores power quickly. You might want to write that down. Clarity restores power quickly. So when money feels clear, clarity, you think better, you price better, you plan better, you sleep better. Oh my god, yes. And you move forward without all that internal background noise.

So let's clean it up. And before we dive in though, I want you to go ahead, do me a favor, click the follow button here, just right next to this episode. Click the follow. I am your money coach and every episode here is designed to strengthen your cash flow, your leadership, and your authority with money. So click that follow button. I so appreciate that.

All right, so here are three simple steps that will create immediate financial clarity and progress that you can actually feel. Step number one: Make the list. Oh my god, I so love a list. You give me a blank page and a list to quickly brainstorm and I am the happiest of girls. So I want you to open a blank page in your journal or on your phone and I want you to title it "Where my money feels messy."

And then you're going to list everything, business, personal, all of it. Unsent invoices. It was funny, one of the horse trainers I work with, we had a really rainy couple of days a couple of weeks ago and so we were late starting our riding that day and she got her invoicing done. And this is a woman who's, you know, very money focused, money conscious. She had not invoiced since last September. And this was late February. So for five or six months, she had not invoiced. Oh my god.

So unsent invoices, unclear payment plans, debt without a payoff plan, list it, list it, list it. Any kind of gaps in your savings, avoiding money conversations, underpriced offers, list it. Unused software, unreviewed expenses, income you haven't celebrated, money you feel weird about, right? I don't want you to analyze it. I just want you to list everything. Where my money feels messy.

Now what I love about this is when you put it on paper, you know what happens? It loses power. And you know what? This is just a list. No judgment. This list should take you like between five and 10 minutes. Let's say eight minutes. No longer. You're not assessing, you're not prioritizing, you're not stopping and judging and being hard on yourself. You're not doing any of that. No negative self-talk. Not in this exercise. And it doesn't matter how you got here. That doesn't matter. You're just listing. It's just a list.

Here's where you are. That's what this list is representing. Here's where you are. And the good news, because there is good news, is that you're likely going to notice something really, really important. Most money messiness is made of small, fixable things. How cool is that, right? Small, fixable things.

All right, that takes me to step two, which is to close three loops this week. You're not trying to fix everything at once. You're just going to close three loops, just three of those things. So for example, my horse trainer, it was sending out her invoicing, canceling a subscription. I just canceled something the other day that, you know what? I was done watching the series that was on that subscription. I don't need to keep it and spend the $9.95 a month. It's not about the money. Actually, it is about the money. It's about the messiness of it.

Maybe one of those three things is opening the high-yield savings account. Please, for the love of all things financial, you need to have a high-yield savings account. Setting up automatic savings where money automatically goes into that account, sending the invoices like we talked about, emailing that late payer, scheduling the call with your accountant, moving money into a separate account, adjusting a payment policy, maybe a payment policy that you're in or, you know, where you're the one making the payments, or adjusting the payment policy, cleaning it up with the client who's late, creating a debt payoff plan, something I help people do all the time, raising the rate for the next client.

And by the way, if you know a rate increase is overdue, hello, it probably is, and you want support thinking it through strategically, like how to structure it, how to communicate it, how to stand behind it, what actually that number is, that is exactly the kind of work that we do inside The Pricing Room. And this is my monthly membership. It's absolutely fabulously awesome. We workshop real numbers, we look at your offers, we coach in the moment, you get live coaching with me every month. So definitely go to the link in the show notes. I'll put it there and check that out. And the link is also KendallSummerHawk.com/pricingroom.

All right, so that's step two, three actions. That's it. Completed, finished. You know, money responds to clarity and it responds to speed. I've been saying this for decades. So doing just three actions this week creates an immediate visible progress for you. And I believe even more importantly, every closed loop restores your sense of self-trust with money. It strengthens your relationship. And that self-trust creates momentum in how you show up in your business, in sales, in pricing, in coaching or consulting delivery, whatever the service is you provide. And it shows up immediately because you feel different. You're more decisive, you're less hesitant, you're more connected, and I think have a greater sense of purpose, so you're more purposeful.

So that's step two. Now, step number three is create one clear money rhythm. Messiness happens, but it often comes from inconsistency. So I want you to choose a rhythm and I want you to protect it. Now let me give you an example of what this looks like. For example, every Friday, review your numbers. Okay, you have a weekly money date. On the first of the month, transfer money into savings. After every launch, debrief what worked and what can be improved next time. Quarterly, review your rates. Yes, really, that often. And if reviewing your rates feels unclear, that's what structured pricing training and live coaching are for, and that's what you get inside of The Pricing Room. We look at your whole pricing ecosystem together, what's aligned, what needs refining, what's ready to rise. So definitely click on that link in the show notes or go to KendallSummerHawk.com/pricingroom. Check it out. It's pretty awesome and cool.

All right, so those are the three steps. So to wrap up here, here's what's working beautifully right now in 2026. You know your baseline monthly number. This is the minimum revenue that your business needs to generate to operate calmly and cover you getting paid. By the way, I did a whole episode on "Owner's Pay 101." I don't remember off the top of my head what episode number it is, but I will link to it in the show notes for sure.

You track profit, not just revenue. Profit is queen, I love it. You save automatically. You plan for taxes in advance. You stand behind payment policies calmly as a leader, which you are. You increase rates with intention and you celebrate income milestones instead of just brushing past them.

Money messiness doesn't mean you're behind at all. Again, it happens. It means you're ready for an uplevel. And it's such a great, simple, straightforward way to feel in control, which is really important, and to demonstrate to yourself that your relationship with money is one that you're creating from a place of mutual respect. So, start with the list, close three loops, create one rhythm.

And that's how you step into the next level of your income this year, right now, while we're riding this incredible magical wave of energy in 2026. And you know what? You're more ready than you think.

All right. And if you're ready for your pricing to represent the true value of your work, not undercharging, then come join me inside The Pricing Room. The Pricing Room is where women like you align your rates with the transformation that you create and stop undercharging permanently. This is not about some random price increase. It's about looking at your pricing strategically, clearing the emotional blocks to charging more, because that's a vital part, and shifting your mindset about your pricing so that it supports the income that you want to be making.

Now, at the time of this recording, The Pricing Room is just $38 a month, or it's $380 for the year, which gives you two months free. There's no contract, you can cancel anytime. So if you're done earning below your vision of what you want your income to really look like, The Pricing Room is your next step. And you can go to KendallSummerHawk.com/pricingroom to check that out.

All right, thank you so much, my beautiful soul, and I will see you again next week for another episode of The Money Coach School Podcast.

Thank you so much for tuning into this week's episode of The Money Coach School Podcast. If you enjoyed this podcast, make sure you follow so you never miss an episode. Also, I would so love and appreciate if you would leave a 5-star review. Your review supports women just like you in discovering all of the juicy tips and insights I’m sharing here on how to coach women on money.

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