Ep35: The Art of Frugal Finance with Lauren Beltz Finding Financial Freedom with The Frugal Physician

Lauren Beltz, also known as The Budget Boss shares her journey from growing up in an accounting family to carving her niche in bookkeeping and finance for small businesses. 
She discussed The Budget Brigade, her initiative blending education and personal finance. Lauren emphasized the importance of budgeting and recounted her own experiences with managing finances, including the challenges of budgeting on a variable income and the importance of frugality and intentionality in spending. She also talked about her personal life, including her plans to move to Colorado and her strategies to avoid lifestyle creep. Additionally, Lauren provided insights on the emotional aspects of financial planning, the significance of enjoying life without overspending, and the importance of setting realistic financial goals.
Learn more about Lauren Beltz: Lauren grew up in a family surrounded by accountants. She learned from prepping 1040 returns at a young age that she did not want to follow the family trend.
She ended up becoming a bookkeeper instead, working in finance and helping small businesses since her teenage years.
Lauren has always been fascinated with numbers and patterns. With over fifteen years of experience, she is excited to take the knowledge she’s learned in industries spanning from aviation, investment firms, motorsports, and retail and focusing it to where her true passion lies – personal finance, sole proprietorships, and small businesses.
She is a previous Financial Peace University coordinator and loves helping friends and colleagues with personal finance questions. It became an inside joke at her last corporate position that an unofficial employee benefit working there was free access to “Budget with Beltz” which has now become The Budget Brigade.
Lauren splits her free time between her two passions: money and stories. When she isn’t working the analytical side of her brain at The Budget Brigade, you can find her spinning up her creative side, writing and editing at Lauren Beltz Writes.
Looking for something specific? Here you go:
00:00:00 - Introduction to the Podcast
00:00:11 - Introducing Guest Lauren Beltz
00:00:21 - Lauren's Background and Expertise
00:00:42 - Lauren's Storytelling and Financial Education
00:01:03 - Budgeting and Personal Finance
00:03:27 - Lauren's Upbringing and Frugality
00:04:42 - Lauren's Budgeting Techniques
00:06:02 - Budgeting on Variable Income
00:06:15 - Lauren's Engineering Background
00:07:27 - Family Plans and Financial Freedom
00:08:16 - Moving to Colorado and Cost of Living
00:10:15 - Selling a House and Financial Planning
00:10:26 - Lifestyle Creep and Financial Mindset
00:12:15 - Contentment and Spending on Experiences
00:13:05 - The Fire Ladder Concept
00:14:01 - Finding Contentment in Personal Finance
00:15:24 - Lauren's Personal Spending Habits
00:16:05 - The Importance of Experiences Over Things
00:17:03 - Lauren's Financial Freedom Plan
00:18:10 - The Fire Ladder Explained
00:19:13 - Setting Financial Goals
00:20:47 - Achieving Financial Independence
00:21:09 - Mindset and Financial Management
00:22:02 - Realistic Financial Expectations
00:23:15 - Learning from Budgeting Mistakes
00:24:09 - Disha's Personal Debt Experience
00:25:12 - A Year of Finding Contentment
00:26:06 - Decluttering and Enjoying What You Own
00:27:01 - Avoiding Lifestyle Creep
00:28:02 - The Peace of Financial Stability
00:28:40 - Balancing Professional Success and Finances
00:29:28 - Work-Life Balance and Financial Freedom
00:30:10 - Unchaining from Debt
00:31:14 - The Power of Financial Stability
00:32:07 - Lauren's Consulting Work
00:33:01 - Handling Life's Financial Challenges
00:34:01 - Balancing Work and Financial Goals
00:35:00 - Consulting Success Story
00:36:36 - The Impact of Financial Stability
00:37:47 - Handling Medical Emergencies Financially
00:38:14 - The Flexibility of Financial Stability
00:39:06 - The Budget Brigade Online Pre