Spotlight - Stacey Lowman from Pachira Money for the Lockdown Interviews
Sometimes you meet someone in your life who will always be a changing force. This is usually a teacher or partner but for me Stacey has been one of those people who has had a profound effect! We underestimate how much our relationship with money can impact our lives - for the good or the bad - and having a coaching session with Stacey was the moment I got to grips with the emotion of money and for the first time in my 40 years on earth found some control of my finances.
It might not seem that a good relationship with money could have such a massive impact but it honestly transformed so many aspects of my life - being able to see a way out of debt and start planning for the future changed my attitude in so many ways and the impact of my relationship with money is still making itself known.
Stacey has ten years experience in finance and in the last few years launched Pachira Money. Stacey will tell you more about but if you want to feel good about your money Stacey is absolutely the person to help you with that. Over to her…
Hey Stacey, could you tell us a bit about you and about Pachira Money, how it came about and what it aims to do?
I'm a brighton-based freelancer who loves to listen, learn from and be inspired by others and the world. I'm a bit of a dreamer, I always try to stay curious, and I'm slowly shedding the old identity of being a 'banker' in London to build a more creative and meaningful career. I started Pachira Money in 2016 to help others develop a healthier, more meaningful and productive relationship with money. The aim is to help us all redefine what it means to be 'good with money': for ourselves, for others and for the planet. I believe that having a better understanding of the role you want money to play in your life provides the motivation and clarity needed to practise better money management, in a way that is aligned to your lifestyle, goals and values. I'm also a big advocate for sustainable money and I'm focusing more and more on sharing money habits that will help us to tackle the climate crisis.
I work with individual clients, lead group workshops and partner with schools, charities and organisations to deliver financial wellbeing to their communities. I also host a monthly Money Club at PLATF9RM. Alongside Pachira, I work with Escape The City and am the Co-Lead for their Career Change Accelerator, helping people transition into work that matters to them and the world.
How has the virus affected your business and the way you work (negative or positive)?
Gosh, in so many ways, like all of us. Some positive changes, some negative changes, and some changes where it's too early to tell what the longer term impact will be! Overall, this is a scary time for lots of people financially, so my money coaching skills are in demand and it feels good to be helpful to others right now.
From an income perspective, I have been more fortunate than other freelancers. I have temporarily lost one charity client that I work with in schools, but thankfully it isn't a significant portion of my income. Operationally, I have moved all individual coaching clients and group workshops online. This has opened up new markets for me as I now have clients from different countries and cities, which is fascinating! The way we think about and manage money is hugely influenced by the culture and society we grew up in, so that broader experience is helping me grow and giving me new insights to further develop my money coaching skills.
I've also been producing content for online communities that I haven't worked with before (some paid, some free). I have tried to avoid social media as a channel to build Pachira and prefer slow growth through word of mouth, so my main marketing strategy is finding communities to partner with that are aligned to my values and have their own online presence. I'm also trying to use this time to face my fear of writing so I've started a weekly newsletter and have written a number of blogs for various websites. My productivity comes and goes so I'm trying to reset expectations with myself and others on how much I can achieve each day.
Emotionally, I am still adjusting: being kind to myself when I don't have the energy, celebrating any small steps achieved, noticing the simple pleasures, and checking in regularly with myself and all the wonderful people in my life.
Corona virus has brought on such intense worry about money for so many and I know you’ve been busy with your community lending advice and support - do you have any general advice/good resources for people reading this?
Everybody's situation is unique, but generally, I would say:
1) no shame or blame. None of us could have predicted the speed and scale of the impact this virus has had on our finances, so none of us should be giving ourselves a hard time about the money situation we currently find ourselves in
2) get very clear on your own numbers: your expected income over the next few months, your expected expenses, your savings, your debt, any number that's important for your own financial wellbeing. This can feel very scary for some, but at a time of such uncertainty, being clear on what our own financial situation is one place we can find a sense of certainty. We also need an accurate starting point to be able to set specific and helpful actions that are relevant to us.
3) don't struggle with your finances alone, because you are not alone. We are going through this together, and there is more empathy than ever right now, including amongst our banks and financial providers! Call every organisation you have a financial relationship with and see how they can help you. Speak to clients, suppliers, banks. landlords and mortgage providers, bill and insurance providers, HMRC, your accountant, the council and government support helplines. You always have options. Some of them might not be options you like, but you always have options when it comes to your money. Lean on others to help you find and assess those options. And lean on friends and communities to help you manage the emotional impacts of those options.
You can sign up to my weekly newsletter at www.pachiramoney.com. It's designed to offer 2-3 actionable steps each week to help you manage your money, that take no longer than 25 minutes to complete. I also link to the most useful resources I have found on coronavirus and your money here. There's also a work-in-progress list of tips to help people cut costs in these tricky times.
If you could tell everyone to do one thing for their finances right now what would it be?
Get comfortable with your own numbers. Set some time aside on a regular basis to sit down and equip yourself by knowing the details and tackling each line of income, each line of expense, each unknown, step-by-step. It's a time to get specific and take action. It's less scary and more empowering than you think. And make sure there's a little reward nearby to celebrate every win, however small.
On a personal level have you got anything that’s helping you through this tricky time?
My magical family, friends and communities! I am so grateful for the people in my life who are still bringing so much love, fun, support and creativity into my every day. In terms of how I am helping myself, I'm exercising or connecting with my body for at least 30 minutes a day and I'm writing an hour-by-hour schedule with plenty of space for relaxation, getting outdoors and self-care time. And I'm allowed to reschedule my schedule as much as I want!
Taking a longer term view, the question I am trying to ask myself is: how do I ensure that I look back on this time in isolation and feel like it was time well spent? Sometimes that's too much pressure, but other times it's helping me to be mindful about how I'm spending my time.
While we can’t deny what a scary and hard time this is for everyone, everyone I’ve spoken to seems to have moments of clarity and gratitude. What have your moments of these looked like for you?
I'm grateful for mine and my family's health. I'm so grateful to have a home where I feel safe and can be completely myself. I'm grateful for the beach and Downs nearby, and our communal garden. We have the most gorgeous cherry blossom tree that's in full bloom this week, and my housemate and I have been recording the badgers and foxes in our back garden at night to share with our neighbours. I'm grateful for technology so we can stay connected. I'm grateful for the variety of food we still have available to us and the extra time we have to enjoy cooking and eating it! And I'm grateful for the time and space to reflect. It's funny how we always say we want more time and now some of us have it we realise how daunting it is to be in control of how we spend it! I'm trying to be still and reflect on the difficult life questions we usually distract ourselves from. I really hope we can all hold on to these moments of clarity and gratitude when we're through the other side of this.
Finally, if you could see one change come out of all of this what would it be?
Please can I have more than one? (Emma - go on then, as it’s you!)
That we (all humans) recognise that we are all connected, to each other and to the planet, and that we (humans, animals and the planet) all matter. That's my dreamer response, but I'm hopeful. In reality, I'd like to see this play out through governments, corporates and societies tackling inequality and prioritising the implementation of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. As a money coach, I'd like to see economies redesigned to prioritise planetary health over profit like we are seeing in Amsterdam, and our key workers paid a better wage that reflects the huge contributions they make to all of our lives. And as an individual, I'd like to see us all enjoying a slower approach to life, ditching our addiction to 'busyness' and taking care of our own wellbeing.
Amazing and insightful! Stacey’s website is here and Instagram.