Welcome back to the Burnout Breakthrough series! Today’s guest, Natalie Kime, brought incredible insights into the connection between financial wellness and burnout. Natalie is a financial professional who specializes in empowering individuals and families to navigate their finances with confidence and clarity.

In this episode, Natalie shares her personal journey, expert advice, and actionable steps to manage financial stress—especially during the holiday season. Let’s dive into her wisdom and discover how small steps can lead to big breakthroughs in financial and emotional well-being.

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Watch this episode on Kathie’s YouTube Channel

Listen on Kathie’s Coaching Podcast

The Intersection of Financial Stress and Burnout

Burnout isn’t limited to your workplace or home life—it often extends to your finances. When money is tight or financial uncertainty looms, it can lead to prolonged stress that impacts every area of your life, including your mental and physical health.

Natalie’s story is a powerful testament to resilience. As a single mom navigating job loss during the 2008 recession, she experienced financial stress firsthand. From living in a one-bedroom apartment with her son to eventually buying a home, Natalie’s journey is a reminder that tough times don’t last, but tough people do.

Her advice? “Money isn’t the solution to happiness, but it can give you the freedom to create happiness.”

How to Tackle Financial Burnout: Natalie's Step-by-Step Plan

Face the Numbers

• Start with a budget. Write down what’s coming in and going out each month.

• Identify areas to cut back—subscriptions, dining out, or unnecessary expenses.

• Clarity on your financial picture is the first step to reducing stress and taking control.

Prioritize Action, Even Small Steps

• Save $5 from each paycheck or redirect small amounts toward paying down debt.

• Small wins build momentum and boost your confidence.

Ask for Help

• Reach out to community resources, family, or financial professionals like Natalie.

• Many schools, nonprofits, and local organizations offer holiday support programs.

Focus on Making Memories, Not Material Gifts

• The holidays aren’t about how much you spend but the memories you create.

• Consider low-cost or free activities like crafting decorations, movie nights, or family game days.

• Kids may not remember the gifts, but they’ll cherish the time spent together.

Natalie’s Holiday Survival Tips

Natalie shared these specific holiday tips to help navigate tight finances:

• Shop Smart: Visit consignment stores, dollar stores, or local resale shops like Free Frisco Resale (in North Texas) for affordable gifts and necessities.

• DIY Gifts: Homemade decorations or baked goods can be heartfelt and budget-friendly.

• Set Expectations: Be open with loved ones about your budget and focus on meaningful exchanges.

She emphasized, “The things your kids hold on to are the memories, not the wrapped-up gifts under the tree.”

The Importance of Financial Wellness

Financial wellness isn’t just about dollars and cents—it’s about creating stability and peace of mind. Natalie encourages taking the following actions to prevent financial burnout:

• Reach Out to Experts: Work with professionals who can help you develop a tailored financial plan.

• Embrace Community Support: Many resources are available for those willing to ask for help.

• Shift Your Mindset: Financial setbacks don’t define you. Small steps forward are progress.

Key Takeaways from Natalie’s Episode

1. Take Action

   • Avoiding your finances only adds to stress. Start small, but start today.

2. Create Memories Over Material Gifts

   • Memories outlast material items. Focus on shared experiences with loved ones.

3. Ask for Help

   • Financial challenges are common, and resources are available.

4. Be Kind to Yourself

   • Give yourself grace. You’re doing the best you can with what you have.

Connect with Natalie

Natalie’s expertise and approachable coaching style make her an incredible resource for financial wellness. Here’s where you can find her:

• Podcast: Nickels and Dimes: Finding Financial Freedom (available on Apple and Spotify).

• Social Media: Follow her on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn as Natalie McPhee Kime. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/natalie.mcphiekime Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nattykime/TikTok LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natalie-k-9491091/ 

• Live: Join her Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings at 8 AM CT as The Financial Caretaker. https://www.tiktok.com/@thefinancialcaretaker

Your Quick Win for Today

Take 15 minutes to write down your monthly income and expenses. Highlight one area where you can cut back. Whether it’s skipping a subscription or swapping takeout for home-cooked meals, every small change adds up.

Financial burnout doesn’t have to control your life. With Natalie’s practical advice and a little courage to take action, you can start moving toward financial stability and peace of mind.

If you found this post helpful, share it with someone who might need a little extra encouragement this holiday season.

About the Author:

Kathie Owen is a seasoned corporate wellness consultant, life coach, and former fitness and wellness director with over two decades of experience in creating healthier, happier workplaces. With a psychology degree from the University of Houston and a passion for motivation, Kathie has dedicated her career to ending toxic workplace cultures through holistic wellness programs that truly make a difference.

Having worked in both corporate and fitness environments, Kathie blends her expertise in employee engagement, leadership development, physical health, and mental well-being to design programs that prevent burnout and inspire thriving teams.

She’s been a certified fitness trainer since 2002 and has personally coached hundreds of individuals to reach their wellness goals. Now, she’s on a mission to share her strategies with companies that value their people.

Through her 12 Days of Burnout Breakthrough series, Kathie combines personal stories, expert insights, and practical tips to help you recognize, prevent, and heal from burnout. Her goal? To show you how a little bit of wellness can transform not only your workplace but also your life.

When she’s not leading workshops, coaching aspiring wellness professionals, or writing her next blog post, you’ll find Kathie walking her dog Rusty, diving into her favorite self-development books, or dreaming up her next big idea to inspire and uplift others.

Follow Kathie on Social Media

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Transcript

Kathie: 0:00

Welcome back to Kathie's Coaching Podcast and my YouTube channel. And today we are talking another day of burnout breakthrough. And I have a very special guest and very good friend of mine, Natalie Kime. And before we even get started, just like with everybody else, I'm going to have Natalie introduce herself to you and tell you a little bit about what she does.

Natalie: 0:26

Yes. Hello, Kathie thank you for having me as a part of your burnout breakthrough program. I'm really excited to share some information today. So I am Natalie Kime I'm a financial professional. So I own my own business, really focused on providing financial education, which is something we don't really get in schools. And maybe we learn a little bit from our parents based on what they know. And, The rest of the time we're figuring it out as we go. So I really focus on providing that education, understanding what people's financial goals are, and then helping to curate a plan that is tailor made to them to help them reach those goals. So, We may start with a basic budget, focus on paying down debt, starting to save, or I may be working with somebody that's close to retirement and wants to make sure they're not going to outlive their money. So everything from A to Z when it comes to your finances, I'm your partner to help you out, help you answer questions, and most importantly, help you understand the process so you can make educated decisions that are best for your finances and your family. Allright good!

Kathie: 1:38

We could all use that advice. It sounds like you do A to Z with, money and finances. And we all experience burnout, different types, we call it different things. And. I brought on Natalie. She's one of my expert panelists inside my corporate wellness programs, and she works with people on their financial wellness. That's something we want to focus on we want to consider, but we're working through burnout, and I want to Maybe talk about how Natalie coaches somebody through a burnout aspect and what it might look like when it comes to our finances.

Natalie: 2:16

Yes. Thank you, Kathie so I'm excited to share a little bit with you guys today. You know, you hear a lot of, I don't know, I think they're called colloquialisms or, or little one liners quotes about money. And I always tell people money is not the solution. Money does not provide you happiness. What money can provide you is the freedom to do the things that create happiness. So spend time with loved ones, travel the world, you know, buy that home that you've wanted for yourself and your family, whatever it might be. And so when it comes to burnout, In finances, it's usually, it usually comes down to an extended period of financial stress that somebody's going through. Um, I'll give an example of myself. Um, so my son is almost 24 years old. When he was nine years old, I was a single mom, not getting regular child support and had been laid off a couple of times, uh, at 2008, 2009. So rebuilding my career, trying to rebuild my income, trying to keep a roof over our head and food on the table. And I took a temp job making 15 an hour cause I knew I could do that. I could pay the rent and I could buy groceries, basic groceries, but I could buy them. And I moved my son and I into a one bedroom apartment. Again, he was nine years old, so he was old enough to know that he shared a room with his mom, but it was what I had to do for a period of time. And over the next couple of years, continued to struggle financially. Just seemed like one thing after another was happening. And I, I could barely keep my head above water. And then finally got to a point where things started to change. And so if you're experiencing some kind of extended period of financial stress due to job loss, just due to the economy and inflation, things cost more than they do this time of year, especially with the holidays coming up on top of Inflationary issues, job loss issues, things like that. I run into a lot of people who feel like they, they can't keep their head above water. They don't know how to plan for the holidays. They don't know, you know, where the next solid paycheck is going to come from sometimes. And it can actually impact you physically, that level of stress. And. It can impact every area of your life. And so you're not showing up as your best self. You're not maybe as plugged in and trying to find that next job. And when money is tight, one of the last things you want to do is look at money. But one of the most important things that you can do. is look at your money. And what I mean by that is the number one way to begin that breakthrough is to create a solid budget. Know exactly what you have coming in, exactly what you have going out. And the reason that's so important is because the first thing you can identify with those details on a piece of paper, in a spreadsheet, something like that, are the things that you can cut out What can we go without right now to give us some breathing room? And then you build from there. Do we have debt we need to address? Okay. Well, how can you apply some of that extra you have from cutting things out? Or maybe you do have a few hundred dollars extra at the end of every month. How do you apply some of that to debt? How do you apply some of that to savings? But I want to focus specifically when it comes to the holidays. I've had this conversation several times in the last month or so. And look, we can't do it all. And at the end of the day, If you are parents out there struggling, a single parent out there struggling, you're wondering how you're going to make an amazing Christmas for your kids, I promise you one thing, that your kids are going to grow up and they're going to remember you, not the things. And one of the things I always tell people is there's only one thing we can take with us, and When we graduate life and it's the memories and those are the things that our kids grow up hanging onto. So if you're struggling trying to figure out how you're going to get through Christmas, focus on making memories because you can do things to make memories that cost you absolutely nothing. You can make decorations from your house from scraps of paper with your kids. You can go to, uh, consignment stores. I'm trying to think, um, like we have one. I'm in Frisco, Texas, in North Texas, and it's called Free Frisco Resell. And so it's a place that people donate good quality things from their homes, clothes, toys, things like that. And on a budget, still be able to provide a couple of nice things for your kids or necessities. for your children. Um, the year that I moved into that one bedroom apartment with my son, I had to get help for Christmas. I got help for Thanksgiving dinner, and thank goodness I am in a city that had resources available for that. My son's school district had some resources available to help with Christmas, and so my son did get some nice things for Christmas, but I had to ask for help. And that's, that's the next step. Start with knowing what your numbers are and ask for help. Ask for help from your community. Ask for help from your family. It's okay to admit that you're struggling right now. It may be within your control because you made some Not as wise as you would like financial decisions, but a lot of times when life happens, things outside of our control put us in difficult financial situations. And so be willing to ask for help to let people know where you are and where you're struggling, reach out and find out if your community, has different programs that can support during the holidays, reach out and see if the schools in your area offer special programs. And so with both of those things, like I said, my son had a wonderful Christmas. It wasn't until he was older that he really understood the situation that we were in at that time. But I'll tell you something else. My son has since told me That, um, it was actually, he was a high school senior. It was senior night for football and all the boys were introducing their mom or their dad. And my son introduced me and said, my mom is my hero. Because when I was nine years old, we were almost homeless. And two years ago she bought a home that we could live in and a place that I could always come back to. So that's where I mean that the things your kids are going to hold on to is the example you set, not the things you wrap up, put a bow on and stick under a Christmas tree. The other part of asking for help is reach out to somebody like me. If there's somebody in your life that is in the financial world, ask them to sit down with you. When I work with clients, it does not cost my clients anything. It's why I work with the company that I do, so that I can work with anybody that needs my help. And if it's starting with a budget, that's where we're going to start, and it's not going to cost you anything to do so. You can also look at what you do have in place. Are you on the right track? Do you need help with building more towards retirement or setting up a savings for special occasions like birthdays, Christmas, and things like that? And, you know, Go to stores like Five Below or the Dollar Tree. When my son was little, I would take him there and I would give him 20 and whatever he could buy with that 20, you know, that's, that was his birthday a couple of times. Um, or those were the gifts that he gave to his friends, little things he could find that way. And it's more about the heart that's behind something than the thing that somebody holds in their hands. And trust me, I've been that person that it's so hard to see, see that. It's so hard to feel that in the world we live in today. People appreciate the effort more than the thing, but it really is true. And another side of that is if they, if they appreciate the thing more than the effort, then maybe they're not somebody you should be giving to in the, in the first place. I have learned that lesson a lot in life too, but I think when it comes to overcoming burnout, again, it's know your numbers, ask for help from your community, Ask for help from people you know, like myself, that can sit down, take a look at where you are financially, and help you figure a way out. There is always a way forward. The longer you wait to take action though, the further behind you get. And then you face bigger things like bankruptcy or having to sell things or, you know, those kinds of situations. But the sooner you ask for help, the sooner you can get headed in the right direction. And that is honestly the thing I love to do most is just help people get a clear look at where their finance is at. And even if you are behind the eight ball a bit, which I have been again, a couple of times in my life, um, just knowing where you stand, And starting with one tiny step can make all the difference. Even if it's saving 5 a paycheck, it all adds up. So as much as it adds up when you spend it, it adds up when you save it too. So starting small is okay, but this holiday season want to remind you that Making memories and, you know, having a game day, having a Christmas movie night with your families. Those things mean so much and they represent traditions you can carry on forever. And it's not about the money. So it's easy for me to say stop stressing. And if you're in a tight financial situation, you're not going to stop stressing. I understand that, but give yourself some grace. Do the best that you can. And most of all, make sure that the people you care about most know how much you care about them. Because at the end of this life, that's the best gift you can give to anybody. So I hope this information helps somebody. Again, you know, You can reach out to me. Uh, you can reach out to somebody in your community. There's tons of people that will help if they know that you need it. And sometimes asking is the hardest part. But I promise you it's the first step forward into relieving some of that stress that you've been carrying.

Kathie: 12:33

Wow. I I'm like, I got tears in my eyes. I've heard Natalie's story before and it's just so profound. I put myself into that story too. I can relate. And Natalie has even helped me and some of my clients through their financial wellness. That's what this is. This is financial wellness and health and taking care of yourself. It's a resource that you can have. And what I love about what her main. Point in her message is taking action because action is going to help you feel a lot better, even if it's just a small step, even if it's just reaching out to Natalie in a, um, a DM or an instant message and saying, I'm kind of struggling here and I can relate to your story. So. Where do I get started? It's as simple as that and taking that action is going to relieve like that pressure and you'll have a little bit of relief. Another thing I want you to take from her message is it's about the memories. My kids don't remember gifts that they were given when they were seven, eight years old. They're 20 years older than that now. They do remember the memories. They do remember things that happened or, you know, fun times that we had and we laugh about stuff that happened when they were kids. And, It was tight. Money was tight, but that's the whole point of this is your wellness and your breaking through that stress is so much more important. You're going to be more present with them and you're going to have a better time and you're going to feel better about yourself. So I can't stress enough that I appreciate Natalie for this little episode. I, I know it's going to help someone and that just makes my heart so happy. So. Natalie, um, before I get to you real quick, I always include a blog post on every video I do that has bonus resources. It also has notes that you could like refer back to on the episodes. It will have contact information on any guests that I have on my show. And so I will have that in the link in the show notes and description below. But before we go, I'll just have Natalie tell us real quick, how we can find you, where we can get in touch with you, and I'll turn it back over to you.

Natalie: 15:09

Thanks, Kathie. Yes. Um, so to reach me, I mean, you can follow along on social media. I'm Natalie McPhee Kime on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. I also have a podcast called Nickels and Dimes, where I share all different kinds of financial information and education. So you can find that on Apple, Spotify, Spotify. It's nickels and dimes, uh, finding financial freedom. And then I'm on TikTok. Uh, one of my business partners and I on Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays go live on TikTok at 8am central time. And you can find me there as the financial caretaker.

Kathie: 15:45

Awesome. I love it. So cute. I love the name of her podcast too. It's very catchy and you're not going to forget it. So that's our episode for today. I will be having Natalie back on here. I'm quite sure because financial wellness is super important in our corporate wellness holistic program. And. I really appreciate you Natalie for being here today. I trust that you found this helpful. And if you know somebody who can benefit from this, please share it with them. And until next time, I will see you next time. Peace out and Namaste.