Own Your Wellness, Own Your Money, Change Your Life

What if one small promise could restart your entire life? We open up about the tiny, practical steps that led to a midlife glow up—starting with the skin-care rituals that build confidence fast. Lukewarm cleansing and a cold-water finish protect the barrier; a bedroom humidifier and mid-day facial mists keep skin hydrated in dry offices; and a simple, consistent AM/PM routine replaces complicated trends. The goal isn’t perfection. It’s visible progress that makes leaving the house without makeup feel easy.

From there, we move into wellness that fits a real workday. A sit-down job doesn’t have to mean a sluggish body: stand-up desk intervals, “movement snacks” every 30 minutes, and wrist weights on walks add strength and circulation without scheduling a full workout. Mental health days become an intentional tool—used to rest, reset, and return with focus. The theme is sustainable design: cues, routines, and self-respect instead of burnout.

Money health follows the same rhythm. We talk about staying literate with financial news and podcasts, hosting a once-a-year Financial Health Day to rebalance contributions, refresh estate documents, and review net worth, plus watching your credit reports, locking bureaus, and correcting errors quickly. If you’re single, partnered, or somewhere in between, financial awareness is leverage and safety.

We also tackle weight-loss medications with honesty. They can be powerful for those who struggle, but they work best alongside durable habits: protein-forward meals, fiber for regularity, daily steps, strength training, and plenty of water. Cost and access matter; if the prescription ends, the habits need to hold. Finally, we share the deeper engine behind real change: coaching, audiobooks, and daily practice that turn “I should” into “I do.” If you’re stuck, start small, curate your inputs, and value the process—it’s where the glow actually happens.

If this resonated, follow the show, share it with a friend who needs a reset, and leave a review—it helps more midlife women find tools that work. DM your questions and topic requests on Instagram so we can build the next episode together.

Chapters

• 1:36 Warm Welcome & Roadmap
• 2:15 Three Skin-Care Habits That Stick
• 4:20 Humidifier Routine And Midday Mists
• 6:10 Confidence Without Makeup
• 7:35 Wellness Habits At A Desk Job
• 10:05 Movement Snacks And Wrist Weights
• 11:30 Why Mental Health Days Matter
• 13:26 Money Mindset And Staying Informed
• 15:10 Annual Financial Health Day
• 17:00 Credit Reports, Locks, And Fraud
• 18:14 Weight Loss Meds: Pros, Costs, Habits
• 21:05 Building A Sustainable Health Routine
• 23:26 Hitting Bottom To Building Forward
• 25:10 Coaching, Certifications, And Momentum
• 27:12 Start Where You Are: First Steps

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 1:01

Hello everyone. Welcome to the Midlife Glow Report. So happy to visit with you today. I'm Jax, your host. So today's podcast, episode 23, is a good one. First, I'll be sharing some beauty hacks and tips. And then some wellness tips and money tips. Then we'll touch on the subject of weight loss medication and how I feel about it. Finally, I'll explain how life coaching and self-development saved my life. And if you are stuck, it can do the same for you. So we'll get started here right now. So now we'll get into three beauty hacks and tips that I swear by that you may be using or may not have thought of, may have heard of. So the first one is I avoid hot water when cleansing, when washing my face with my facial cleanser and the sink. I use luke water, lukewarm water to protect my skin oils. So when I clean my face, I use lukewarm water and then I splash my face with cold water to tighten up my pores and invigorate my skin. I do that at the end. I also sometimes will use a toner right afterwards, such as AQL or the ordinary glycolic acid exfoliating toner, that will also help tighten your pores and invigorate your skin. But I definitely use the cold water at the end of cleansing just to do that. So that's one tip. Then I use a humidifier at night in my bedroom to keep my skin hydrated and reduce dryness and flakiness. I use the canopy humidifier. I love this brand. It's dishwasher safe. It has a night light. I use the red light color. Um, it has uh a sound machine, so I use the sound noise. It also has an oil diffuser, which I use every evening. Um, so yes, I use the canopy humidifier every evening, like like clockwork. I use it all year round, not just during colder months. I love the humidifier and the canopy version so much. I bought one for my son's room. I bought one for my parents, and I bought one for my sister. So the canopy humidifier, and if you don't want that one, just you don't use a humidifier in general in the evenings when you sleep. It really makes a difference. Uh so finally, I use a light refreshing facial mist to hydrate my skin throughout the day while I'm at work or running errands. Uh, especially uh in the office, it's kind of drier in there. I use either the Evian facial mist or the La Rocher Passe Thermal Spring Water or even the Beekman 1802 Milkshake Hydrating Facial Mist. All three are great and they all do the job. I really try to take care of my skin. It is something, it's something I'm I really concentrate on. I never miss a skin cleansing time a.m and p.m. I never miss masks. I I really concentrate on taking care of my skin. And I do go to work with no makeup because my skin has improved so much, and I feel confident just wearing, you know, my skincare and no makeup to hide any discoloration or anything. It's really, really improved, and I'm really proud of what I've done. It's not maybe not the best, but for me, it's just it's a huge improvement than where I was. Uh, some other hydrating facial mist I want to try is the Avani Thermal Spring Water or Dr. Wick Deep Collagen Facial Mist. Finally, the Astra Otterberry or 365 Cream Mist 10,000 PPM Ceramides. Uh, those are three that I want to give a try. I'll probably buy one this week. I do change skincare all the time. I try new things. They come out with new and improved skincare products. So it's always important for me to keep fresh and try new things. Um, there's always something around the corner that could be better regarding skincare. And I do love uh Korean skincare, by the way. So those are three beauty hacks and tips that I swear by. So next are three wellness tips that I use. And so we'll get started here. First, while I'm at work, you know, I have a sit-down job, sedentary, and I am at my desk making phone calls, taking phone calls, uh, taking applications, explaining loan products. So I'm always sitting. So I did request a stand-up desk, and I do get up every 30 minutes throughout the day to reduce the effect of prolonged sitting and improve my circulation. I set a timer on my phone. When that goes off, I am up. I'm raising my stand-up desk if I'm in the middle of a phone call or looking up something. I am moving, I am uh swaying side to side, stepping side to side. I sometimes do lunges. I will take a stroll to visit a coworker. Instead of sending an email, I will take a stroll and visit their desk and their cubicle and relay the message that way and then maybe follow up with an email. I will take a stroll to the bathroom numerous times throughout the day. I will go to our lunchroom and I will fill up my water jug numerous times a day. I will get my bone broth and green tea a couple times during the day. And so I'm always moving. I'm trying to move. They say uh sitting is the new smoking. I don't know how accurate that is, but I feel terrible. My body feels terrible. My back feels terrible. My legs feel terrible when I sit too long. It's just not healthy. We are made to move. Uh, I wish I had a um headset that was wireless. We do not, and we're not allowed to get them. But um if I did, I would be walking around the office making phone calls with a wireless headset if I could. I did do that when I worked from home with Rocket Mortgage when I was an underwriter. I had a wireless headset. I would walk around the house, make phone calls. Uh, you know, I I put my dishes away, do my dishwasher, I put something in the crock pot. I'd fold laundry while I'm talking to um to brokers when I worked at Rocket. So I really try to move every 30 minutes at my current job. I set a timer and I'm pretty adamant about it. Next, I wear wrist weights when I walk. Sometimes I wear a uh a weighted vest, but I do wear wrist weights and I move my arms when I walk. I do this because my upper arms have plenty of flab because of the weight I've lost and the additional weight I have to lose. Uh there's fat and flab, and I'm trying to tighten that up as much as I can. And so I'm using wrist weights. Um, so that is another tip. And then third, I take mental health days all the time. If I have plenty of vacation time, which I do, I will use a mental health day to recharge. I show no shame. I will use it to rest, to do self-care that day, to maybe go for a shopping trip. I'll go shopping at the mall, or I'll go to a couple stores, or I will take an everything shower on my mental health day, and I will style my hair and I will use all the lotions and potions, and I will go to the gym, and I use mental health days. I, you know, at one time I was using once a month. I believe they're important. My vacation time is there for me to use as I wish, and I do buy extra vacation time at my job. I pay for extra vacation and vacation time, and I do use it the way I want to. So I do believe in mental health days. Take a break, recharge however long you need, and then get back to the daily grind. So mental health days are super important. So those are my three tips. So finally, three money tips that I use um throughout my journey here, and that I've used to improve my money situation, payoff debt, and just get a better mindset about money. First, I read financial news, I listen to podcasts daily, I read blogs, I read the New York Times, and I read local newspapers. I stay informed about investment opportunities and economic trends. One podcast I love is T-Boy's um podcast. It is entertaining as well as financial social news. It is a great podcast. Uh, I listen to her money. I listen to other financial podcasts. I browse the New York Times throughout the day at work online. I get it delivered every Sunday. And I read blogs, I read uh different financial sites, I stay abreast. I don't have a significant other or husband. And even if I did, I would not leave them to control our money. I work, I want to know what happens with my money, I want to know how to grow it. I do I know a couple women who depended on their husbands to handle their financial um business and they got burned. I know one who uh everything flew fell apart and she uh she went through divorce, but she didn't know she didn't know that her car was not being paid, the bills were not being paid. I don't think you should leave it up to anyone, no matter how much you trust them. You need to know what's happening with your financial affairs. Not just divorce, that person can pass away. What are you gonna do then? And there's many women who leave it up to their significant others and their husbands to take care of this. And I'm a big believer that that is a no-no. But um again, I stay abreast with financial news daily to keep myself afloat, to know what's out there, and um just news in general. Um, you know, I have a Roth IRA that is self-directed. I choose what I want to invest in and I want to know what's going on in the market in the news. So I stay abreast. So that's tip one. Second, I plan a financial health day, a big financial health day, once a year in January or early February. This is after I've gotten my raise and after I've gotten my bonus, and the new health care has kicked in, the new cost, and everything is getting reapportioned. I am reapportioning my 401k percentages, my Roth IRA, how much what I'm investing in. Um, I set new goals, I update my estate plans, I review my net worth. I will take a day off from work, and this will be my financial health day. And I will do this all day. I will brew about a pot of coffee, have my jug of water, have some fruit or vegetables to munch on, and I will sit on my desk and go through all my finances. And I do communicate this with my son. He is the one, he is my POA and the one to take care of my affairs if I were to pass away when I pass away. It's not if, it's when. And so I want him to stay aware with where everything is. I tell him what's going on. I have this is kind of off the subject, but I have a life binder I created recently. The life binder has everything, all my accounts, all my affairs, everything in a binder. It is locked away, but he knows where it is, he knows how to get access to it. It is perfect blueprint path instructions if I were to when I pass away, not if when I pass away. And so I want to make it easy for him. So all my financial information is in there, and I will update that come January, February. And so I really communicate and plus it's an open book, right? It encourages him to stay abreast on his financial health. And he's actually better than me. He is such a saver, and I don't know where he got that from, but um yeah, so financial health days once a year, a really deep dive. I suggest that. Finally, tip number three, review your credit report for errors and opportunities, you know, as often as you can to increase your score and make sure everything is tip-top shape and that you're timely with your payments. I have a membership with Experian and I uh review my credit report from all three bureaus from no mistakes. And I I have all my credit reports locked, but um because you know there is fraud, all my the three bureaus are locked, but um I do review my credit report to make sure everything's being reported correctly. You have companies who you're making payments to, sometimes they'll make a mistake, and then your credit score gets a hit. You want to stay abreast with that, you want to learn how to do that, and you can get a free credit report every year through annualcreditreport.com. It's through it's associated with the government free annual credit report. I don't quote me on that. You could Google it, but you get a free credit report every year, and I do suggest you do that at least. So those are my three money hacks. Keep up on financial news, have a deep dive financial health day once a year, and then uh review your credit report as often as you can. Those are my three money tips and hacks. So, next in this segment, I'm going to just briefly touch on weight loss medication and my views on it. Um, so I do believe weight loss medication is a blessing for those who have difficulty losing weight. You know, everyone's body is different, everyone loses weight differently. Some people are it's more difficult than others. Um, so I believe it is a blessing, and there is nothing, no shame, nothing wrong with taking weight loss medication. Um, I was on ventramine briefly. I was taken off due to blood blood pressure issues. I was on Zetbound for three to four months, and I stopped because the cost was just crazy and I was getting into debt. I lost about 30 pounds on Zetbound over those three to four months. Um, I wish it was more affordable. I would have continued to use it and I would still use it this day. It is not affordable for me, and I don't want to get in debt, but it did make a difference. Um, I when I was on Zetbound, I found it very easy to use. I had no side effects except instead of going to the bathroom once a day, I was going every other day. Um, so that did slow down a bit. I did increase my fiber when I started using Zetbound, and that definitely helped. Um, but even when I was on Zetbound, I was walking every day. I was going to the gym four or five times a week, like I do now. Uh, I was lifting, I was watching what I ate. I ate in a calorie deficit. I ate protein and fiber. I drank tons of water like I do now. I kept those changes going with the Zetbound. I did not get lazy. I think the problem with some people is they tend to rely just on the medication alone and not make those healthy changes in their life, such as nutrition and movement. I did not do that. And I think that is a big problem. I think I think this is very unfortunate when people do this. I think this is a drawback that will be a detriment to those individuals. I believe you need to make those healthy changes, not just rely on the medication. And that's what many people are doing. They are relying just on the medication, which is not good. I know one person who was on the medication because they were pre-diabetic. They lost a ton of weight. They did not make any changes. They were eating terribly, they were uh not moving, they were drinking all the time. And so, yeah. And when they were taken off the medication, they gained all the weight back and more. So, yes, I do believe that's a big issue with people who are on weight loss medication and not making those healthy changes. I think that is not right for them as a as on their weight loss journey. Um, I may consider getting back onset bound if the price goes down or if I decide to pay that outreach amount. I was paying$550 a month. Uh I we will see. I don't know if I will. Um, right now things are working slowly but surely, so I do have some time to decide. I'm still losing weight the the natural way, but we will see what happen what's what holds the future. Finally, one main thing I want to discuss today is how life coaching and self-development, self-improvement has changed my life. This is the reason I have had a midlife glow up and he have evolved into a better, healthier person and have improved my well-being and my wellness, self-improvement and life coaching. Um, I started reading self-help, self-help, and self-improvement books um at my lowest point back in May of 2022. Previously, I was into self-improvement books and courses when I was about 21 years old till about 26. Life just got busy and I stopped investing in my growth as a person. So spring of 2022, I started listening to the Life Coach School podcast. I started a subscription to um Audible and started listening to audiobooks. Um, I started listening to all different kinds of podcasts as I cleaned, as I drove around and did errands, as I ate, downtime at work. And then, you know, mortgage rates were climbing and in May of 2022 because the rates were so high and business was so slow. I lost my job as a senior underwriter with Rocket Mortgage. Um, that's when I was faced with no job, unhealthy and weighing nearly 400 pounds. That was 390. That was my highest, significant debt, no real friendships. All this came flooding into me. What have I done with my life? I had no skincare or style upkeep. Um I looked into myself and started to keep one promise, and that was the walking. And I really started diving deep into self-improvement and self-help books. Um, I would so I started walking every morning, and 10 minutes turned into 40 minutes, and then I started applying for jobs within three weeks. I got a new job. Uh, I started reading it more and more. I started listening to the podcast. I signed up for life coaching and I got a life coach. I began losing weight. I even got a second job to pay off credit card debt. I got a gym membership. I started wearing cute clothes and I got my hair completely recolored and cut into a new look. I made goals and I started achieving them. I kept my promises to myself. Light coaching and self-improvement gave me the drive and focus to improve myself, to keep my promises, to reach those goals, to work on myself and my life, to change bad habits into new positive ones, to keep me focused and hold me accountable. And it still does. Um, even to this day, I wake up early in the morning, I I have slow mornings, I, and I listen to self-improvement podcasts as I get ready for the day. I listen to audiobooks, self-improvement, self-help audiobooks in the car every day for my commute to work and as I run errands on the weekends. Downtime at work, I read, I journal, I make notes. I I've I got my life coaching tools certification back in May of 2025 so I could life coach. Right now I'm getting a wellness and nutrition certification through NASM. I signed up for my life coaching for all of 2026 next year, once a week, every week, life coaching, and I am so excited for it and looking forward to it. It is, I'm going to be coached by a life coach. So I'm really investing in myself, and it does make a difference. It really does. If you are stuck, start reading to and listen to uplifting podcasts, try the Life Coach School podcast, try look up life coaching or self-improvement, self-development podcasts, listen to audiobooks, read blogs, curate your social media to uplift you and to learn and to feel good. Um, I really highly suggest that. Uh surround yourself with the right people who are uplifting, who are positive, or gonna push you forward to achieve those dreams, to make those changes. Um so that you know, I just want to let you know that in you know, self-improvement and self-development. Start with that if you're stuck. And, you know, if you are on a journey of improvement, enjoy the process, not the end result. You become a better person as you climb that mountain, not when you reach that peak. It is the process that improves you, what you learn about yourself, what you can do to improve your life, all the tips and tricks you learn along the way. So if you are stuck in life, if things aren't going your way, try a self-improvement book or self-help book or a podcast. Focus on you. That's where you need to start. So that is my final thought for the day. So that's it. Thanks for following along, listening to this podcast, episode 23 of the Midlife Glow Report. As I mentioned, the last podcast, I am rebranding in the next couple weeks. The name will change, there'll be a different image, but still all the same kind of content. So watch out for that. It's still me, it's still Jack's. Um, so expect that in the next couple weeks. Um, I'm getting a new website uh that is coming along. Hopefully, in two to three weeks, it'll be up and running. Um, I'm rebranding my newsletter to match my podcast and the website. So that will be in the next two to three weeks. So just kind of a tweak. Get everything cohesive, everything matching. Um, right now it's a little scattered because it was bits and pieces along the way, but everything's gonna match. But yeah, you guys just have a great week ahead. Thank you for listening. Thank you for your time. You don't know how much I appreciate it. I hope these podcasts help you. DM me, send me a message, send me a text for this podcast. Let me know what you want to hear. Let me know if this is helping you. Are you learning anything? Uh am I wasting my time? All all information is welcomed with open arms. Um, if you do find this podcast helpful, a review would be greatly appreciated. It helps other women like you, like me, find this podcast. Um, it is small, slowly but surely growing, but a review would be so helpful if you have anything positive to say. But you guys just have a great week ahead. Watch out for the podcast for next week. And uh send me an Instagram message if you have any questions. I'm always on there. And you guys just take care. Thank you again. Love Jax.