Hidden Money Habits Keeping You Stuck Halfway

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Ep. 230 Hidden Money Habits Keeping You Stuck Halfway

Do you start strong with your money — creating budgets, opening savings accounts, or setting up QuickBooks — only to stop halfway? In this episode of Money Simplified, Aimee reveals the six half-stepper money roles that quietly sabotage your progress and keep you from feeling financially free.

Discover which role you’ve slipped into — Safety Saver, Half-Step Strategist, Spreadsheet Dreamer, Card Juggler, Perfectionist, or Depriver — and the simple mindset and strategy shifts that build real financial momentum.

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Ep. 230 Resources:

Execution Lab – https://aimeecerka.com/executionlab
Money Mindset Playbook – https://aimeecerka.com/mindset
Instagram – https://instagram.com/aimeecerka
Podast Links – https://aimeecerka.com/podcastlinks

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Uncovering the Final Category: The Half Steppers in Money Roles

Have you ever started something with your money, like opening a savings account or creating a budget, only to never follow through? Or maybe you’re just the opposite, gripping so tightly to perfection that you eventually give up.

That’s the world of the half Steppers—the final category of money roles we’re diving into today. We’re sharing one small shift you can make if you’ve stepped into one of these roles.

Let’s get to it.

Welcome to Money Simplified: Transforming Female Entrepreneurs

This is Money Simplified, the podcast where I help female entrepreneurs go from stress and struggle to unstoppable with money.

Money is more than just budgeting and PNLs—and we’re going to take you through all of it. Here we blend proven financial strategy with mindset work and energetic alignment so you can create unstoppable finances, build an unstoppable business, and truly enjoy your unstoppable life.

It’s time to take my wisdom, my expertise, to help you simplify money and go beyond the numbers. I’m your host, Aimee Cerka.

Welcome.

I’m so glad you’re here.

Diving Deep Into Sabotaging Money Roles: Who Are the Half Steppers?

Welcome back to Money Simplified. Today, we’re diving into the final category of sabotaging money roles: the half Steppers. We’ve been pulling back the curtain on the hidden roles that we play with money.

These roles aren’t who you are. They’re just characters you’ve slipped into. The best part—you get to choose a new role anytime.

We’ll talk about the most common money roles in the half stepper category: how they show up in everyday life and how you can make small shifts to step into something healthier.

We’ve covered the earners who are leaking money, the avoiders, last week was overdoers. Today? The half stackers.

Half Stepper Examples: Safety Saver, Strategist, Spreadsheet Dreamer

The first half stepper I want to cover is the safety saver. The safety saver hoards cash but won’t invest. You’re sitting on massive savings but avoiding hiring much-needed support.

Refusing to invest in training or support despite having the money to do so? Stashing money in a low yield savings account and never touching it?

This one shows up all the time. Gone are the days where it makes sense to have six months worth of savings just sitting in a savings account. There are smarter ways to leverage your money—we are in 2025, after all.

But that fear shows up for the safety saver. It’s about safety—what if something happens and we avoid using the resources?

The root of the safety Saver is all about safety. There’s a fear you won’t be okay. There are ways to make sure you feel peace and stability. I’ve needed more to feel safe at times, other times less, and that’s okay. If you’re paralyzed by your need for safety, it’s time to make a change.

Your mini shift? Designate a small percentage for growth. It could be growing your support team, learning more, or investing in development.

Designate 2%, 5%, 10%—something for growth, whether for yourself, your team, support, or another area. This is built into my budgeting simplified system. If you’re finding yourself as a safety saver, set that small percentage for growth.

The next half stepper: the half step strategist. They start strong but stop halfway. You open a savings account but never add money. You get the new budgeting tool but don’t set it up. You sign up for a money workshop but never use it.

You get my budgeting simplified program or simplifying QuickBooks, but then just leave it sitting there. There’s almost this dopamine hit—woohoo, you did it! You started. But then fear shows up, or you get distracted. It falls by the wayside.

Mini shift for the half step strategist? You need accountability and follow through. What’s one thing you started but haven’t finished? Set a monthly reminder to do it. Execution Lab would be a great fit—designed to remind you to do what you need to with your money at least once a month. It helps keep you accountable, and I work to make sure you don’t get distracted.

Find Execution Lab at https://aimeecerka.com/executionlab. If not Execution Lab, set a reminder—make it a priority!

More Half Steppers: Spreadsheet Dreamer, Card Juggler, Perfectionist, and Depriver

The third for today is the Spreadsheet Dreamer. You love creating systems but don’t stick with them. I love a gorgeous spreadsheet too, trust me.

Creating is fun, but the problem is we don’t stick with them. You might spend all January making a beautiful budget, but forget about it by February. You color-code expense categories but never enter the data.

The issue? You love the idea of systems more than actually using them. There’s avoidance here. You get that dopamine hit from creating, but don’t want to use them and face the numbers.

Mini shift: Revisit one of your beautiful systems weekly, for 10–15 minutes. Execution Lab, again, is perfect because it helps you prioritize. Ideally, you’ll handle this with support to help you see your blind spots.

The next half stepper is the card juggler. You shuffle debt until one late fee throws everything off. Robbing Peter to pay Paul—shuffling balances and payments.

There’s activity, but little progress; you’re only treading water, and eventually, you’ll get tired and it falls apart. Mini shift? Cut a little spending on one card so you actually make progress. Pay a bill early. Do a balance transfer—but only if you’ve changed your habits. Otherwise, you dig yourself deeper.

Look at the habits that got you here. Is it spending you’ve avoided? Is it tight finances? Find a way to increase your income—host a garage sale, sell something. Find a little progress you can make. No shame, no judgment, just move forward.

The fifth role: the perfectionist. The perfectionist is obsessive about getting it right. When something isn’t perfect, you get stuck in shame and quit.

Maybe you miss a receipt in your budget, or are off by a few cents—so you give up. Maybe you refuse to splurge even when you have money, almost as a punishment. You try to make the budget or all things perfect, sometimes to the point of eating “crap foods” just to save money while overspending elsewhere.

Maybe you associate spending with failure and avoid even healthy purchases. Or you obsessively edit your spreadsheet for hours but avoid facing the numbers.

The underlying theme is you feel you must get it right—but when mistakes happen, shame stops you instead of looking for progress. The shift? Practice progress over perfection. What’s the “good enough” line? Find an area where you’re being a perfectionist and let it go.

Recap and Reset: Moving Beyond Sabotaging Money Roles

The last half stepper: the depriver. This one’s self-explanatory. You punish yourself with extreme restriction—no coffee, no takeout, no new clothes, because you “don’t deserve it.” It’s not really a half stepper, more of a too-far stepper.

Mini shift: Allow yourself one small joy. Maybe a dollar store candle, a single rose—let yourself have a little pleasure, money-related.

Reset mantra for half steppers: I finish this step, I finish what I started. My consistency builds freedom.

I finish what I started. My consistency builds freedom.

And the centering mantra:
I’m okay, I’m all right, I’m safe, I’m right where I need to be.

If you’re feeling dysregulated, use that phrase. So much here is mindset, beliefs, and how they affect your money actions.

If you want to finish this step with support and shift your beliefs, grab the Money Mindset Playbook—your guide to transforming the beliefs underneath half stepping so you can follow through. You can get it absolutely free at https://aimeecerka.com/mindset.

We also referenced Execution Lab often today (find it at https://aimeecerka.com/executionlab). Execution Lab is my monthly coaching and coworking membership—we get together once a month, work on our finances, answer your questions, help when you feel paralyzed.

If you have one of my workshops, great—Execution Lab makes sure it doesn’t just sit on the digital shelf. If you don’t have a product yet, Execution Lab is the perfect way to get started. Only $9/month, open membership, cancel anytime.

Consistent, Imperfect Action: Your Path to Financial Freedom

Remember: you don’t have to stop halfway or punish yourself with restriction. Freedom comes from consistent, imperfect action.

We’ve covered the sabotaging money roles: earners who are leaking money, avoiders, overdoers, and today’s half steppers.

Next week, we’ll dive into how to step into the money role you want to be in. We’ve identified who we don’t want to be and sat with the discomfort—now it’s time to embody the money role you’re called to have.

I’ll see you then.

Connect With Me and Take the Next Step

Thank you so much for listening to Money Simplified! My favorite place to hang out is on Instagram—find me at @AimeeCerka to catch all the behind the scenes in my stories, send a message to share your biggest takeaway, or just say hi!

I love hearing from podcast listeners.

When you’re ready to take action on your mindset, money, or systems, I’m here for you. Whether you want a free resource, explore a mini course, dive into the fundamentals with Money Mastery Academy, get support in the unstoppable experience, or schedule a bookkeeping consult—your next step is waiting at https://aimeecerka.com/podcastlinks.

We’ll see you next time!