There’s a Hole in the Boat!
Do you ever feel like you're living month-to-month or paycheck-to-paycheck with your money? You're trying to make progress, but there's just not enough money to make it happen? You try to cut back and create margin, but it's just too dang hard? You're not alone! This is the plight of millions of Americans.
I have a little secret for you. You might not believe me at first, but I'm dead serious. You probably have more margin than you think. The money that you've been looking for is probably already in your paycheck. But there's a problem: There's a hole in the boat!
One of my favorite parts about starting a new coaching relationship is the first spin through their monthly budget. They've already provided me with all their monthly needs, wants, and debt payments. I digest all this information and visually lay it out on the screen. Then, we go through it, line by line. I encourage them to jump in if we're missing anything or need to edit a particular item. Then, the grand finale that I always eagerly anticipate is the moment we hit the bottom of the budget, only to discover hundreds or thousands of dollars left over.
There's a moment of confusion and bewilderment, almost as if they forgot to include their mortgage payment or grocery expenses in the above information. But they didn't. It's all been accounted for.....and there's still a ton of money left over. Sometimes, a family has $500 of unexpected margin......sometimes it's $5,000. Most families have $1,000-$3,000. But whatever it is, the look on their face is priceless. It's the look of hope and optimism. There's also some embarrassment at play, but here's my encouragement: They aren't alone! You aren't alone! So many other people are dealing (or have dealt with) the very same thing....myself included.
The hole in the boat is us. We're the hole. Impulse buys, friction in our day-to-day lives, the pursuit of convenience, external forces, forgetting upcoming items, lumpy expenses, or underestimating how quickly small things add up. Each of these factors leads us down the road of a leaky boat.
Good news, though! We can plug the hole. It's simple and effective. A budget! A budget is a surefire way to plug the leak. Not to rob ourselves of fun and enjoyment, but rather to harness that margin for what's most important. If you want to save up for a big family trip, plugging that leaky hole may be THE answer. If you're trying to save for retirement or your children's college, that leaky boat may be the reason you never get there. If you want one spouse to stay at home but can't make the numbers work, fixing that leak may be what the doctor ordered.
Once we fix the leak, we regain control. We're the boss. We get to determine the fate of that money. It's going to go somewhere, so we might as well be the ones directing traffic.
Plug that leaky boat! Lean into YOUR values.