Dalene Higgins is a money coach and retirement strategist who helps women and couples over 40 stop worrying about retirement and start taking action so they can create the retirement they want sooner while still enjoying life today.

Dalene Higgins Vroom Vroom Veer Summary

In this episode of Vroom Vroom Veer, Jeff sits down with Danlene Higgins of elevatefinances.us to talk about building real retirement confidence — especially for women and couples navigating their forties and beyond. Danlene brings a unique lens to money coaching: nearly two decades split between a local police department and a county sheriff’s office, the second half spent as a budget manager overseeing tens of millions of dollars and a team of twenty-two.

Danlene walks through her path from an introverted high schooler on the drill team to a career handling subpoenas, arrest warrants, and search warrants alongside detectives — work she says gave her an unvarnished, “dark side” view of the world that TV cop shows never quite capture. That same analytical, numbers-driven mindset later shaped how she approached her own retirement and eventually became the foundation of her coaching business, which she launched the same summer she retired.

A big chunk of the conversation digs into how government budgeting actually works behind the scenes — the pressure to spend down leftover funds, the culture clash between departments that reward saving versus those that punish it, and the odd incentives auditors create. Jeff and Danlene trade stories from their own experience with purchase cards and program funding, offering a rare inside look at how public money really moves.

From there, the conversation shifts to what Danlene sees most often in her coaching practice. Her take may surprise people: most of her clients aren’t actually overspending. The real issue is the lack of a system — something that turns vague financial anxiety into a clear, confident plan. She’s especially focused on helping clients plan for irregular expenses (think annual insurance premiums or quarterly bills) that don’t line up neatly with a regular paycheck.

She’s also skeptical of leaning too hard on budgeting apps, arguing that they mostly just document history rather than help you build a path forward. Her preferred approach: define where you are today, define where you want to end up, and build the plan that connects the two points.

Key takeaways from the episode:

Most financial stress isn’t caused by overspending — it’s caused by not having a system Planning for irregular expenses (insurance, quarterly bills) is one of the most common gaps Danlene sees Subtract guaranteed income (like Social Security) from expenses to find your real retirement gap The biggest limiting belief clients face is simply: “I don’t have enough”
Most clients are working within a 5–20 year retirement horizon

Practical strategies Danlene shares:

The “savings percent challenge” — increase your savings rate by one percentage point at a time until it feels tight, then hold steady before pushing further (Danlene used this to grow her own savings rate from 12% to 22% over 13 years)
Set retirement contributions as a percentage of pay, not a fixed dollar amount, so raises automatically boost savings without requiring a new decision

Regularly scrutinize recurring bills — insurance, phone plans, subscriptions — for savings opportunities
Find small, enjoyable ways to embrace frugality, from homemade soap to smarter shoe-shopping to lower-cost phone plans

Danlene also opens up about the emotional side of retiring — how even after running the numbers again and again, actually deciding to walk away from a paycheck is a psychological leap. A simple piece of advice from her nephew (“you can always go get another job”) ended up giving her the confidence to finally set a date, which she timed perfectly to enjoy a full summer off.

The episode also touches on how forced slowdowns, like pandemic lockdowns, can reveal how much discretionary spending was more habit than necessity — and how that awareness can translate into lasting savings.

Danlene breaks her coaching philosophy down into a few core “levers” for retirement progress: income, savings, debt, and expenses. Her goal with clients isn’t just spreadsheets — it’s translating financial and audit-speak into plain English people can actually act on.

Where to find Danlene:

Website: elevatefinances.us
Podcast: Wealthy After Forty
Facebook community: Retirement Ready
Free monthly webinars available through her website

If you’re feeling behind on retirement planning, or just want a clearer system for handling day-to-day money decisions, this episode is packed with grounded, practical advice from someone who’s lived both sides of the budgeting world — government and personal.

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