A Friendly Reminder

This is just a friendly reminder that using credit cards in no way makes our life better. In fact, it brings a litany of negatives that range from minor inconveniences to utter destruction. This is an opinion I’ve had for more than a decade, and each week I get more convicted in it.

I have two clients that have made significant financial progress in the last few years. By “significant”, I’m referring to life-changing, trajectory-altering, “holy cow I can’t believe that just happened” significant. It’s worth noting both of these families made this progress after ceasing to use credit cards. It wasn’t a coincidence. Getting rid of credit cards is the gateway to finally gaining full clarity, control, and transparency of our finances. It’s an unpopular opinion, but I’ll die on that hill.

Then, something happened. Both of these families recently decided, for different reasons, to start using credit cards again. Nothing major. Just a few purchases here and a few purchases there. They’ll pay it off in a few weeks after xyz happens. Nothing wrong with getting some cash back. It’s “more secure” than using debit. They won’t pay any interest because they have the money to pay it off. You know, all the common tropes. It seems so innocent. No big deal. But in a matter of just a few months, a few things happened:

• They lost clarity in their monthly budget because using a credit card separates the purchase from the payment. Timing gets altered and it’s hard to keep track.

• They lost touch with what they were spending money on, as the credit card payment includes a myriad of different items all lumped together.

• They felt stressed out, anxious, and frustrated. Our meetings were different. They went from excited and optimistic to stressed out and nervous. You could cut the tension with a knife.

• The strong momentum they had previously experienced had slowed to a crawl as they had to re-focus their energies on getting clarity, control, and a zero balance.

These people aren’t dumb. They aren’t irresponsible. They aren’t negligent. In fact, they are some of the brightest and most successful people I know. They are well-known figures in their respective communities. They simply fell for the trap so many of us do. Their decision to start using credit cards again is like the person who hits the gym hard and eats healthy, gets extremely fit, then decides to stop going to the gym and eating healthy because they’re pretty healthy and don’t need to worry about it.

I know this is a controversial opinion, but they deserve better…..and you deserve better.

Gaining Control When It's Simple(r)

I recently met with a new 22-year-old coaching client. There’s something special about working with young people. They have big dreams, a ton of passion, and the energy to match it. They also have something else many of us more senior people don’t have: simplicity. Many young adults don’t have spouses, kids, houses, or weighty financial entanglements……yet. Instead, they have small bank accounts, a few assets, and a lot of time in front of them.

We, humans, are really good at making our lives progressively more complicated. These young adults will inevitably make their lives more complicated in due time, as well. However, I’m blessed with the opportunity to help some of them gain control of their finances where they stand today. This is a huge win, as it’s always easy to learn a new concept when it’s simple. Simple is good. As we parsed through his very short list of financial considerations, I knew something he doesn’t yet know. This is going to be a really easy process for him. Far easier than for most.

Many people come to me in their 40s, when life is anything but simple. Yes, someone at that stage can absolutely gain control and learn how to handle their finances better…..and I’m so excited for them when they do! Everyone can do it! But it’s trickier. There are more pieces to wrangle, less time to do it, and it’s tougher to gain control. That’s the beautiful part about being young. When you’re young, you have the opportunity to learn this stuff when it’s easy…..so that you can grow into it when life inevitably gets more complicated.

Today’s message is two-fold. First, it’s never too late or too early to gain control. your life is likelier simpler today than it will be in the future. So take control now and grow into your future life! Second, encourage the young people in your life to lean into these topics now, when they are young and life is simple. If they do, their future selves will feverishly thank their younger selves for the generous and sacrificial act.

Controlling What We Can Control

The world is a mess right now. War, political infighting, ongoing cultural battles, a faltering economy, and inflation……just to name a few components of said mess. It’s easy to feel like crap about it. We turn on the TV, only to feel angry, defeated, and helpless. When this happens, we often turn our attention to all the things we have no control over.

I talk to people every day who feel victimized and defeated by all that’s going on around us. They carry with them a sense of hopelessness and helplessness. I don’t fully blame them if I’m being honest. I can feel like that at times, too. However, we have to separate how we feel about it from what we do about it.

The way I see it, we have two choices to make. The first option is to raise the white flag and admit defeat.

• “I’ll never be able to get out of this debt”

• “I’ll be stuck in this job forever”

• “It’s impossible to make ends meet”

• “I’ll never be on the same page with my spouse”

• “Our government is making it impossible for me to get ahead”

• “Why bother trying when our country is imploding anyway?”

• “There’s no point in saving if I could be dead tomorrow”

These are all comments I hear on the regular. Each of them allows us to justify to ourselves to simply not try. After all, it’s not our fault…..so it’s not our responsibility to fix it.

Then, there’s the second choice we can make. We can let go of everything we can’t control, and lock into the things we can control. Getting control of the money I DO have. Paying off a little bit of debt this money…..then a little bit next month. Going to work and giving it everything I have each day. Grabbing a second (or third) income if I’m trying to close the income gap. Spending intentional time with my spouse to create unity and a shared vision. Choosing to make a positive impact on the people around me.

I’ll close with bad news and good news. Bad news: there are very few things in life we have much control over. Good news: we can spend the vast majority of our time, if we choose, on those few things. Every moment we spend worrying about what we don’t control is one less moment we have to spend on things we do control.

I hear ya on how bad things feel right now. It often feels like an unmitigated disaster. But today I’m choosing to let go of all the noise around me and simply focus on what I can control.