Welcome!

“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams.
Live the life you’ve imagined.”  ~Thoreau

What dream are you pursuing?
Are you living a life on purpose?
Are you tired of not having enough money to do either of those?

It’s time to stop living an ordinary life and letting time and money be the things that stand in your way.
It’s time to start living the life YOU want to live, pursue your dreams and discover your purpose and passion along the way.

Here’s the short version: 

I believe that we are meant to live extraordinary lives.
I believe that we are meant to live life on purpose.
I believe that if we have the faith as small as a grain of mustard, that anything is possible.  (Matthew 17:20)

I know that our dreams matter and we are meant to pursue them.

We are to GO, confidently in the direction of our dreams.
We will learn that our lives can be MORE than we ever imagined.  

Are you up for the challenge to go against the status quo and do MORE with your life than get up, go to work, pay bills and repeat?
Are you ready for a lifetime of experiences?
Are you ready to let time and money stop getting in the way?

Start HERE 

Want to know more? 

Here’s the longer version-

Hi!  My name is Melissa and I became debt free so I could pursue my dream of meeting Elton John.  Becoming debt free led me to be a financial coach, a speaker, and an author.
In October of 2017, I checked another item off my bucket list – to see Elton John in Vegas when I attended my 37th and 38th concerts!  That’s a total of 38 concerts in 25 years!    That’s right, I have been pursuing my dream to meet Elton John since I attended my first concert in 1992.

See me there, shaking Elton’s hand!  That moment was 25 years in the making! 

What’s the number one thing I’ve learned over the years?

Time and Money are no longer obstacles to pursuing my dream.

We all have the same twenty-four hours in a day.  How do you spend your time pursuing your dream?  Giving, saving, spending, planning are all important aspects of personal finance.

I’ve struggled with all of those areas.
Which area do you struggle with the most?

Welcome to Melissa the Coach, where I help you overcome the struggles of managing personal finance so you, too, can have money to pursue your dream!

My story begins with hitting financial rock bottom in December of 2009.  Since then, I’ve not only learned how to manage my money better, but I’ve learned how to manage my time.  Often, I am asked, “How do you find the time to do everything that you do?”   My answer is simple – I don’t “find” time, I make the time.   I live by a scheduled system I have created for my personal life, my business life and my family life.
I control my life, life does not control me.

I am a coach, a speaker, and an author.
I coach the way I live – to use money as a tool to have experiences, not debts. This means creating a budget that works for our family.  I’ll teach you how to do that, too!
I speak about my story, to encourage and inspire you along the way.
My first book, Building My Yellow Brick Road: Life Lessons from Pursuing a Dream is a memoir of the last 25 years I have spent pursuing my dream to meet Elton John, in person.

I believe in the power of discovering your God-given dream, pursuing that and letting nothing stand in your way!

I’ve been building better budgets since 2010, when I started with our own family’s financial mess.  Up until that time, my husband and I were living paycheck to paycheck, had no money in savings and no plan for our financial future.  I also discovered that we had just over $43,000 of debt, NOT including our mortgage.

We made enough money, we just did not manage it well.
We used credit cards for “emergencies” that were not true emergencies.
Between 2004-2006 we bought two new vehicles, a house, had two children and transitioned from a two income household to a one income household.
We were not financially prepared for any of those major life events.

Are you sick and tired of being worried, stressed and anxious about money?
Would you rather use your money to live a life of experiences rather than watch it all go to bills every month?

We were, too.  We found hope in the experience my friend had in going through Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University Course.    Although, at first, we weren’t open to really listening to her story.

I didn’t know ANYONE as excited to get out of debt and on a budget as she was – she was “weird” in her thinking, it was different. Have you had the experience of “not being to afford” to do things?
Have you said, “I wish I could but I don’t have the money?”

I did.  And, I finally decided enough was enough.  I did not want money to be the thing that stood in the way of pursuing my dream.

I found my reason to think differently about money and get out of debt.
My dream became more important than the debt.  

For 25 years, my dream has been to meet Elton John.  So far, I’ve been to thirty-eight concerts and met every member of the Elton John band – except for Elton.

That’s me, sitting at Elton John’s piano.  Yes, I’m wearing a shirt covered in sequins which is way outside of my normal wardrobe of jeans or khakis, a polo shirt, and my Doc Martens or my “Chucks”.

You know what else was way outside of my comfort zone? Acknowledging our financial mess, making a decision to become debt free and creating a plan to accomplish that task.

It seemed crazy at the time – getting out of debt and actually following a budget is not the norm of our society.  It’s weird and yes, it’s crazy.

But making that crazy decision, led to another crazy decision –
I started my own company.  I am the sole owner and operator of Melissa the Coach.
I’ve learned a lot about helping people overcome their financial struggles since I became an entrepreneur.  I’ve learned a lot about myself, too.  Mostly that being a business owner is not the only thing that defines who I am.

I’m a wife, a mom, a dog rescuer and an avid sports fan (football is considered the “5th Season” in our house), and I’m in a constant state of personal development.  It’s not unusual for me to be reading two or three books at once and I prefer cooking over baking.  My passion is education, especially for myself – I love learning!

I want everyone to be debt free and learn how to manage their money so they can use it as a tool to pursue dreams, help others and build a solid financial future.  I want that more for others than they want it for themselves.  That’s one of the reasons I do what I do as the owner of 1410 Endeavors, LLC dba Melissa the Coach.
1410 comes from 1 Timothy 4:10
“That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe.” (NIV)
Endeavor is a really strong word that signifies not giving up.
I believe that when we choose to be persistent in our endeavors, anything is possible.

I coach HOPE.
I speak HOPE.
My book is a story of HOPE.

On September 27, 2013, we made the last payment to Sallie Mae and successfully completed part one of our debt free journey –
We paid off $43, 544 of consumer debt; 6 credit cards, 2 vehicle loans, and my student loan.

Later that day, we called in to The Dave Ramsey Show and did our Debt Free Scream!
I was so nervous and excited to talk to Dave Ramsey!

We’ve been debt free ever since.
Since becoming debt free, we’ve saved and paid cash for two new-to-me vehicles, a complete kitchen renovation, vacation and yes, I’m now averaging three Elton John concerts a year instead of one a year.  I’ve been able to take my boys on some amazing experiences (#roadtrips) and we have been able to have financial security.

Everyone has a story.  I believe we are put on this earth to do more than just go to work, pay bills and HOPE we make it to retirement to live the life we’ve imagined.

I believe we are called to LIVE the life we have been given every single day and manage our time and money well so we can live a life on purpose.  We are the authors of our life and it’s never too late to yell “plot twist” and totally change the narrative.

I want to hear your story and help you create change –

Are you ready?  How may I help you?

Send me a text to (910) 338-9612 and let’s begin a conversation.  I look forward to hearing from you!