Nothing is Thrown Away

Nearly four years ago, I stepped away from my 15-year career in commercial real estate. It was an awesome career, and to be honest, I miss it some days. Everyone assumes I walked away from it disillusioned and angry, but I didn’t. There is probably an alternate reality where I happily spend another 10-15 years in that role.

After my resignation was announced, I received a LOT of feedback from my colleagues. Mostly good, a few bad, and a lot of curiosity about my thought process and next steps. A few people made a comment that stuck with me for months, “you’re throwing away your career.” Ouch!

At the time, even I wondered if I was throwing something away. After all, I built up skills, experience, influence, and relationships over more than a decade. But then, something happened. Sarah and I were on a long flight home from a trip to Asia. I shared with her my dream of writing, but also confessed I hadn’t written for maybe 17 years. It was going to be a train wreck of a process, but I would give it the ol’ college try. I spent a large portion of that 16-hour flight writing on my laptop. To my shock, the words flowed from the tips of my fingers and onto the screen. What the heck!?!? How could I feel this comfortable writing if I hadn’t written in nearly two decades? That’s when it hit me! In my career, a big chunk of my job was to communicate with my overseas clients…..over e-mail. You know, writing…..

Nothing is wasted. Not my skills, experience, influence, or relationships. I didn’t throw any of it away. It all matters. I may have left that previous career, but all those other things came with me. I get to keep those forever. I get to use all the things I acquired and apply them to the next chapter in my journey. I laugh sometimes when pieces of my old career intersect with my new career. Once I started to be aware of it, I noticed it happening daily. So much of what I did and learned in my previous career helps me each and every day. I’m grateful for that.

Someone needs to hear this today. If you make a big shift in your life, you aren’t throwing something away. You’re merely taking it with you and applying it to the next thing that matters. Your previous impact will be the springboard to your upcoming impact. You got this!

Giving What You Have: PTO Edition

In multiple posts, I’ve mentioned the words of my wise friend, Gary Hoag. “Give what you have, not what you don’t.” This simple saying has changed my perspective on life, as it has for countless others. When the topic of generosity comes up, people are quick to highlight all the things they don’t have. But everyone has something to give. We just have to each recognize what we’re blessed with and decide to share it with others.

This idea hit full speed today as I was chatting with a friend. My friend has been dealing with significant and scary medical issues. I’m sure it’s taken a toll emotionally, mentally, physically, and financially. It’s been a brutal journey and there’s no way around it. This situation has caused my friend to miss a lot of work recently. Luckily she has PTO (personal time off - i.e. paid vacation time), which has been a blessing. Unfortunately, her bank of PTO hours is waning, and more time off will most certainly be needed. Knowing this, their family has been preparing the finances to take unpaid time off to navigate the weeks ahead.

Recognizing this and also caring for their friend/colleague, her co-workers decided to step up. In a very creative idea, they volunteered to donate some of their own PTO time to their struggling friend, meaning their sacrifice allows her to get additional time off without losing her pay. I couldn’t have loved this story more! These people have zero obligation to her, surely have their own issues at home (financial or otherwise), and could have just kept doing what they were doing. But they didn’t! They had something to give, and gave it!

Such a beautiful model of what generosity looks like. They gave what they had, not what they didn’t. I hope you find some creative opportunities this week to share what you have.

The Joneses Don’t Know They Are The Joneses

Most of us know the saying, “keeping up with the Joneses.” It’s become the motto of modern-day American materialism, referring to the never-ending pursuit to keep up with the spending lifestyles of our neighbors, friends, and colleagues. The house we live in, the car we drive, the school our kids go to, where we go on vacation, the clubs we belong to……the list goes on and on. This phenomenon is a significant contributor to people’s decisions. We all like to say and pretend it doesn’t impact us, but I’ve spent enough time with clients to know we’re being naive if we think that way.

Here’s how powerful of a force The Joneses are in our lives. When we buy a house, we’re not just committing to a certain down payment and monthly mortgage payment. When we select our house, or more specifically, our neighborhood, we’re committing to a lifestyle. This singular decision about what street or neighborhood to move to has the potential to fundamentally change the way we live our lives. That’s a terrifying thought, but it’s as true as the sky is blue.

I want to share a story. It’s a story of four families. These four families are amongst a larger group of friends and neighbors. Through various odd circumstances and connections, I’ve had the privilege of spending time with these families in one way or another. Through conversations with the first couple, it becomes clear the pressure of keeping up with their neighbors adds a level of stress to their marriage. Then when I talk to another couple, they admitted some of their credit card debt is attributed to expensive meals and trips with their neighbors. Then when I interact with the third couple, they get frustrated by “having” to go to certain events (accompanied by a high cost). Lastly, the fourth couple admitted to making a few questionable vehicle purchases out of fear of negative judgment.

Here’s the kicker. Each of these families gets frustrated by trying to keep up with The Joneses (i.e. their neighbors), but to their neighbor, THEY are The Joneses. By trying to keep up with each other, they in turn become the thing each other is trying to keep up with. It’s irony at its finest.

Here’s the good news: every family has the power to hop off the Joneses train. It’s scary to be the first family to jump off, but doing so may give the second family the courage to do it as well. Once the second family does, it allows the entire Joneses structure to crumble.

Think about your own circle. Do you need to be the first of the Joneses to jump off the train?

"Excellence is Always Its Own Reward"

For the last few years, I’ve been in a book club of sorts with a handful of close friends. We all serve together on the board of directors of an international organization. While we may be geographically scattered around the world, technology allows us to come together to accomplish good work, encourage one another, and build meaningful relationships. This group has sincerely been one of the great joys of my adult life.

Every few weeks, we’ll get on a Zoom call and discuss the most recent reading. The meeting times are always inconvenient, as everyone has to make a sacrifice due to dramatically different time zones. However, it’s always valuable and it fills my tank. We’re currently reading From Strength to Strength, by Arthur C. Brooks. The book focuses on how we can find success, happiness, and deep purpose in the second half of our life.

As I was preparing for last night’s meeting, one quote stuck out to me. “Devote the back half of your life to serving others with your wisdom. Get old sharing the things you believe are most important. Excellence is always its own reward, and this is how you can be excellent as you age.”

I have to admit something. As the youngest member of this group, I initially treated the content as something I would someday apply to my life, when (far down the road) I started to age. However, I’m starting to recognize this book is indeed talking about me, too. The signs are there….I just don’t always like to admit it. Where I sit today, there’s nothing more fulfilling to me than serving others with my wisdom. Whether it’s public speaking, one-on-one coaching, podcasting, partnering in businesses, or being a youth group leader, nothing provides more satisfaction than serving others with whatever wisdom I have to offer. Some people think I’m an idiot and wouldn’t listen to a word I said if I was the last person on earth. Others pay me a pretty decent sum for my wisdom. Life is funny like that. We serve those who wish to be served.

As much as I’d like to believe I’m still a wide-eyed kid fresh out of college, I’m not. I don’t mourn what I’m not….I celebrate what I am. Today, I’m someone who serves others with my wisdom. Sometimes it pays well…..often it pays nothing. That’s not the point. Excellence is always its own reward!

No Thank You to No Spend Months

In the personal finance space, it’s popular to practice “no spend months.” The idea is simple. Pick a month, don’t spend anything other than needs that month, save some the cash, and just like that, you’ve magically made your financial life better. Some of the biggest money “experts" advocate for this type of thing, but I couldn’t disagree with it more.

The message behind no spend months is clear: spending money on wants is irresponsible, unimportant, and hurtful. Therefore, when we can muster the energy and discipline to not spend money on wants, our life improves.

Alternatively, I argue that spending money on wants is important. Not ALL the wants, but some wants. You know, the ones that actually add value to your life. If we have a healthy relationship with our money, we’re able to find a balance between spending, saving, and giving. Too many people are being told spending is bad, leading them down the road to hoarding. It’s tragic and destructive, and it needs to stop. No spend months are like a crash diet. Sure, we see immediate and seemingly impressive progress. But once we stop the diet, we’re likely to binge and catapult ourselves back to where we started…..or worse.

When you buy your Starbucks drink today, or grab a deli lunch with a friend, or snag a new pair of shoes, or hit the theater to check out the latest movie, I hope it adds value to your life. I hope you enjoy it, feel no guilt or regrets, and give yourself a fist bump for enjoying some of what God has blessed you with. That’s so much healthier than a ridiculous no spend month.

Busyness and Happiness: Round 2

One of my favorite parts about writing this daily blog is the slew of messages I wake up to each morning from readers. Some thank me for the content, others disagree with my points, and many provide their own perspective. A few days ago, I wrote about the connection between busyness and happiness. My new friend, Randy, shared some thoughts about the topic via e-mail. While technology can be used to isolate people and do harm, it also has the power to bring people together like at no other time in history. I met Randy through this blog and I’ve learned so much from him through our many e-mail interactions. Randy, I’m grateful for you!

Randy’s first point to me: If we fill our lives with things that provide meaning, it creates joy and energizes us rather than deplete us. I’ve thought a lot about this since his e-mail hit my inbox. This is indeed true in my life. Even when I’m on the busier side of the spectrum, if the busyness comes from intentionally meaningful things, it does energize me and provides so much joy. It’s those days/weeks when my schedule is filled with less-than-meaningful things where I feel burned out.

Randy’s second point: if we want something done, ask a busy person, as they know where their free time is. Randy recognizes this one can be a double-edged sword, but it’s so true at its heart. Busy people tend to be the ones who get things done. On one hand, we don’t want to put a new responsibility on someone’s already-busy shoulders. On the other hand, it’s not our job to be their gatekeeper. The opportunity at hand may be just what they are looking for. It’s not our job to pre-judge it or make the decision for them. How many potentially world-changing things don’t exist today because someone pre-judged the other person’s decision and robbed them of an opportunity to say “yes”? I’ve experienced both sides of this. I’ve had people make my decision for me by withholding an opportunity that could have been powerful. I’ve also had people present something to me with, "I know you’re busy, but……”, then it led to something that positively changed my life forever.

Like most things in life, work, and money, this stuff isn’t black and white. If it were, it would be boring! Instead, we’re left with a world of possibilities and a lifetime to figure it out. While we do, it’s a pleasure to have people like Randy to journey with. Have a wonderful day, everyone!

Self-Inflicted Wounds

It’s a practice as predictable as it is sad. We humans are really good at creating self-inflicted wounds in our financial lives. I’ll use an example. Let’s say Joe’s been working really hard at his job for the past few years. Blood, sweat, and tears, hoping to soon get that promotion so he can create some margin in his financial life. Finally, the day arrives! He gets that promotion, which comes hand-in-hand with a nice pay increase. After so much work and waiting, he finally gets to create some financial traction with his newfound margin. However, he also “needs” a new car. A week later, he’s driving a shiny new car with a fat payment to go with it. It’s ok, though….it was a need. And just like that, his newfound margin is gone. If you were to ask Joe, he didn’t have a choice. He “needed” a car, and he likes it a lot, so he successfully solved the problem. What Joe calls a win, I call a self-inflicted wound.

Fast forward 6 months, Joe’s back to feeling the same financial tension he did before the promotion. In an effort to improve his life, he sabotaged his quality of life. While he doesn’t see it that way, his words, demeanor, and stress say differently.

Fast forward a few more years, Joe climbs another rung on the career ladder. After all those blood sweat, and tears, he gets to create some margin in his financial life. Finally, the day arrives…..and it’s as sweet as he thought it would be. He’s proud of his accomplishment, and he deserves a house worthy of his new success. He doesn’t necessarily “need” it, but he can afford it and it will surely make his life better. And just like that, his newfound margin is gone. If you were to ask Joe, this makes his life better. What Joe calls a win, I call a self-inflicted wound.

Fast forward a few months, Joe’s back to feeling the same financial tension he did before the most recent promotion. Again, in an effort to improve his life, he sabotaged his quality of life. The stress builds, the burden feels heavier, and the pressure heightens.

This is the new American way. Every opportunity we have to increase our quality of life and create margin, we find ways to create self-inflicted wounds. Fast forward a few more promotions, Joe will be making several multiples of what he used to make but feel the same level of stress, pressure, and burden. This is why so many people making $300,000, $400,000, or $500,000 feel the same financial tension they did when they were making $40,000. We aren’t trying to hurt ourselves….we’re trying to improve our life. Ironically, however, we sabotage the very thing we’re trying to create.

Busyness and Happiness

As I was scrolling Facebook yesterday, I stumbled upon the words of my wise friend, Erin. “Don't confuse being BUSY with being HAPPY, and being HAPPY with being BUSY.” I think about this topic often, Not only do I agree with Erin, but I would argue there’s a inverse correlation. Based on my personal experience, and watching others, our happiness seems to be hindered as we get busier and busier. I feel like my life is one big endeavor to de-busy myself on the heels of busying myself. I never feel more meaning when I’m busier. Rather, when I’m busier, I feel more stress, pressure, fatigue, and overwhelmingness. I do a terrible job managing busyness during the work week, and a fantastic job managing it on the weekends. It feels like a life of extremes and contradictions.

When I’m living with peak meaning and happiness, it’s usually when I’m intentional with my “yes’s” and “no’s”, being mindful of my schedule, leaning into things that truly add value to my family’s life, and pulling away from everything else. To be honest, I think I get it right maybe 10% of the time. But that’s far better than the 0%-1% I used to get it right.

I don’t have answers today. Instead, I’m a work in progress. Most days, I feel like a mess. I’m going to leave you with a great little piece of advice I once heard from the great Jon Acuff. If someone asks you to do something down the road (one week, one month, one year from now), first ask yourself if you would say yes to it if it were tomorrow. If the answer is “no”, then you need to say “no”, as eventually it will be tomorrow. This advice has revolutionized my decision-making process.

Hope you have an awesome, not busy day!

We Can't Just Skip to the Good Part

A while back, I was talking to my Meaning Over Money business partner, Cole Netten. We were talking about the podcast and how much traction we’ve gained with it. In that chat, I made a comment about how, in some ways, I wish we would have just started our business with the podcast instead of some of the other less-successful endeavors. I quickly realized how naive this comment was. Truth is, the podcast couldn’t have existed had we not been through all the other things. The thesis behind Meaning Over Money wouldn’t have been vetted like it is now. I wouldn’t have been able to clearly communicate ideas via video and audio on the podcast had we not done some of our earlier media projects (I was a hot mess in our early productions!). Even the name Meaning Over Money wouldn’t exist had we not worked on those earlier projects. None of what we have today would be possible without what we went through. We can’t just skip to the good part.

Yesterday, the Des Moines Register did a full-page story about my friend and Northern Vessel business partner, TJ Rude. I was a bit surprised by how vulnerable TJ was about his past failures and burnout. The birth of his coffee dream was full of so much hope and optimism, but just two years later he announced the closure of his shop and the potential end of his dream. Today, not only is Northern Vessel back, but it’s taken our metro by storm. Four years after its original launch, TJ has created something truly special…..and there’s no telling where it will go from here. In many ways, I suspect TJ wishes he could have just skipped to the good part. However, none of what he has today, or even who he is as a person, would be remotely possible had he not gone through everything before it. We can’t just skip to the good part…..and we should be grateful for that.

Spending YOUR Values

As a culture, we’ve collectively decided what’s a “responsible” thing to do with money, and what’s foolish.

• Spending money on something you don’t need = foolish

• Buying a house = responsible

• Spending money on rent = foolish

• $30,000/year on college = responsible

• $300 at a nice restaurant = foolish

• Buying a new car and financing it = responsible

• Buying a big-screen TV and video game system = foolish

We hear some of these things so much that we often take them for granted and it quickly becomes a universal truth. As we do with many things, we turn money and spending decisions into a black-and-white conversation. This is one of the main reasons why most people don’t have a good alignment between their values and their financial behaviors. They say one thing, then do another. At the heart of this incongruency is the reality most of us lock into culture’s values instead of taking time to discern what OUR values are.

Here’s a very simple, but perfect, example. One of my friends shared that her family members often criticize her for her expensive gym membership. Now, it is in fact true her gym membership cost is higher than average. However, I need to add one relevant fact to the equation. She’s a fitness competitor, personal trainer, and model! This is literally what she does for a living…..and it’s her passion. Her expensive gym membership completely aligns with her values. For me, that gym membership would be absurd. For her, it’s perfect. Context matters!

Each person, family, situation, dream, calling, and value is different. Thus, each of us needs to make our own choices that align with these things. One family I know spends several thousand dollars per month on dining out because it’s the path of least resistance. When I ask them if they enjoy it, they say, “no.” It’s not fun for them, it doesn’t add a lot of value, and they worry about the health implications. Another family spends a similar amount, except the reason is different. They deeply enjoy going out to a nice dinner with friends, sharing a bottle of wine, trying new cuisines, and creating memories. For them, it’s one of the best things they do with money. In my opinion, I view this expense as responsible for one family and foolish for the other. Context matters.

What’s something you find valuable in your life that culture would say is foolish? Drop a comment down below. Have an awesome day!

Defining the Win

Later today, I’ll be coaching Finn and Pax’s 6-year-old basketball team. At this age, it’s a mess! Some can dribble, most can get the kid-sized ball up to the lowered hoop, and the defenders look lost. Even at this age, some of the kids obsess about the score. During last week’s game, I honestly don’t even know what the score was. I’m not sure it was even being kept. To me, that was completely irrelevant.

This brings to mind a crucial question I ask my clients early in the coaching journey. “What is a win?” It sounds like a dumb question, but the definition of a win can be dramatically different from person to person. In the case of my young basketball team, wins are defined as a) having fun, b) learning some basic fundamental skills, c) creating a culture of teamwork, and d) showing good sportsmanship. If these four things are accomplished, we’ve won. Keeping score and collecting wins shall come later when they get a bit older, but today we need to focus on these other wins.

Last week, I was sitting down with a new-ish client. They’ve amassed several million dollars of wealth over the past decade, and the conversation quickly went to how they could accelerate the process to garner a few million more. The elephant in the room, however, was a lot of discontentment with their careers and overall burdensome lifestyle. In the middle of this conversation, I asked again, “What do you REALLY want? What’s the real win?”

This unearthed an entirely new conversation that, instead of focusing on wealth and more, focused on being more present with their family, having the freedom to pursue more meaningful work, and waking up every day without a feeling of dread. It’s a chicken-and-egg scenario for many people. A commonly-held belief is that we need more money to create the life we want. Ironically, it’s often this pursuit of more money that creates the life we don’t want. Instead of running the race to financially create the life we think we want, we could simply take a different path and actually live the life we want….today. It’s not always that simple, but more times than not it is. Money doesn’t create meaning. Meaning creates meaning.

I guess I should answer my own question, “what is a win?” Here’s how I would answer it:

• I’m fully present for my family.

• I wake up every day knowing I’m about to do the work I’m called to do.

• I make enough money, this month, to earn the right to serve those who I wish to serve, again next month.

What’s your definition of a win?

A Fresh Start

I’m a big advocate for people creating a new budget each month. We don’t have to recreate the wheel each month, but every month is different. For most, it works well to start with last month’s budget and simply make some adjustments that are contextual to the month ahead. Doing this allows us to specifically plan for what life will bring us this month. Maybe it’s a trip coming up, a wedding you’ll attend, or some back-to-school clothes for the kids. So many different factors can play into what this month will look like.

But this post isn’t about the nuts and bolts of budgeting. Instead, I want to go a bit deeper. Some of the biggest issues we face in our finances are failure, guilt, and resentment. We screw up, then beat ourselves up, then get beat up by our partner…..and it lingers…..for a long time. This is one of the reasons why money-related issues are the #1 cause of divorce in our country. There’s so much emotion tied to it, and it’s easy for things to get tightly wound.

This is where the idea of monthly budgeting comes in. When we do it this way, sometime between 1 and 30 days from now we get a clean slate, a fresh start, and a blank canvas. It allows us to put last month’s mistakes behind us. It doesn’t make it disappear, but we learn from it, set it aside, and simply move on. This is a real game-changer for many people. That hard reset each month can be refreshing, and very much what the doctor ordered.

Though Sarah and I have been doing monthly budgets together for more than 13 years, sometimes we fail. Mistakes are made. Sometimes it’s negligence, other times it’s circumstantial, while occasionally we just get a bad break. Regardless, getting that fresh start the following month is a relief and provides us a sense of optimism.

Give yourself that fresh start. You deserve it!

Are You Tired?

After youth group last night, I was chatting with my close friends, Wendy and Heather. Mid-conversation, I asked, “Do you have any ideas for tomorrow morning’s blog? My brain feels empty…..I’m tired.” They quickly responded, “That’s your post right there. You aren’t the only one who’s tired.”

We’re in the second week of the year, coming off the heels of a 5-week holiday season, too much food, more travel than usual, winter break for the kids, and dealing with brutal weather throughout all of it. No wonder we’re exhausted! There’s something so exciting about a new year. A fresh start. A blank canvas. A clean slate. Endless possibilities! So when it seems like I’m limping into the new year, it’s embarrassing (and demoralizing).

I operate under the expectation that I must bring my best to the table each day. I’ve always been wired this way. Anything but my best feels like I’m cheating myself and those I serve. But as I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized something. While I still believe I must bring my best each day, I’m learning my “best” isn’t the same from day to day. Some days I have the opportunity to be the best Michael Jordan I can be, but there are other days I’m striving to be the best Ron Harper I can be. Ron Harper is no Michael Jordan, but he’s still pretty good and can make an impact. Today felt like a Ron Harper type of day. My peak wasn’t as high as I would have liked, but I think I reached it. That’s all I can ask for. Maybe my peak tomorrow will be Michael Jordan, but it might be Ron Harper (or even Jud Buechler). Either way, I owe it to myself (and those I serve) to be 100% of whatever that is.

Are you tired? You’re not alone. Whatever your peak is today, whether it’s Michael Jordan or Ron Harper, strive to reach it. Give yourself grace if it’s not a Michael Jordan sort of day. Maybe tomorrow will be, but today you may need to be the best Ron Harper you can be!

“Are You Comfortable?”

As I was on my way to a board meeting yesterday, I received a call from our Media Director, Rebekah. It was just a typical chat about a number of items on our plate, but she introduced the idea of me appearing on a fairly popular TV program. I think she could tell the other end of the phone seemed a bit too silent, so she asked the question, “Are you comfortable with that?”

My answer: “No, I’m not. Which is why we should do it.”

I believe comfort is a trap. It lulls us into complacency and provides an artificial feeling of security, sucking meaning out of our lives. Truth is, I’ll be utterly terrified if Rebekah ends up nailing down this (or any) TV appearance for us.

Anything can make us uncomfortable…..until we do it. The first time I recorded a podcast episode I was scared out of my mind. After a few episodes, it just felt like part of my life. The first time I spoke on stage in front of a few hundred people, I vomited in a trash can backstage. A few dozen talks later, it became one of my favorite things in the world.

One last thought about comfort. We don’t need to take extreme measures to push ourselves out of our comfort zone. Small steps can take us a long way. If we’re scared of heights, we don’t need to jump out of a plane. Maybe a good first step is to spend a few minutes on the balcony of a 10th floor residential unit. Just one small step at a time, then another.

As you venture into your day, ask yourself where you’ve become too comfortable…..then take a small step to get just outside that zone. It’s scary, but worth it!

The New Student Loan (Forgiveness) Crisis

We have a student loan crisis brewing in America. No, not the $1.75 trillion (and growing) of collective student loan debt that’s hindered the future of two generations. That crisis is well-documented, and tragic. The crisis I’m talking about today has more to do with the recent student loan forgiveness program.

Let’s rewind a bit, shall we? In March 2020, as COVID wrecked everything we knew as “normal”, the Federal government enacted a freeze on all student loan payments (and interest accrual). This has since been extended eight times, and payments are scheduled to commence on 9/1/2023 (barring another extension).

In the meantime, the Biden Administration launched a program to forgive $10,000 of outstanding Federal student loan debt (or $20,000 if you had Pell Grants) so long as your income is less than $125,000 (or a combined $250,000 if married). Millions of Americans immediately applied in late 2022 when the online application went live. Then just as fast as it launched, it was paused. Several lawsuits were brought against the Federal government, claiming the government didn’t have the authority to issue widespread forgiveness in the way it was executed. This sudden turn of events emotionally crushed many, causing widespread anger and dissension. But this isn’t the crisis, either.

Unbeknownst to most people, this same student loan forgiveness program applied to people who actually paid off their loans since the freeze began in March 2020. So instead of applying to have their loans forgiven, they were applying to get a refund for the qualified $10,000 or $20,000 sums. It’s difficult to discern how many people qualified for refunds, but statistics show approximately 9 million people paid on their loans since the freeze began. Many of my clients fell into this group, as they took advantage of the freeze to finally free themselves of the burden of their debt by aggressively paying them off. Amazing work!

This is where things get weird. Instead of going through the Federal government and waiting for their approval (which was obviously paused with the lawsuits), their respective loan servicers were the ones processing these requests. Lo and behold, checks started arriving. Hundreds of thousands of Americans (or perhaps millions?) have been receiving refund checks for their student loans. According to the texts, calls, and DMs I’ve been receiving, these checks are still arriving in people’s mailboxes.

Here’s the crisis. Many of these people have excitedly received these checks, then quickly spent them. After all, $10,000-$20,000 is a LOT of money. But here’s the new reality: if the lawsuit succeeds and the loan forgiveness program dies, these checks will turn into new debt. I’ve had multiple clients reach out and tell me when they log into their student loan account, they now have an outstanding balance that mirrors the checks they received. And just like that, after all that work, discipline, and sacrifice, many borrowers find themselves unknowingly back in debt.

If this is you, or perhaps someone you know, here’s what I recommend:

• Don’t spend it. This isn’t your money (yet).

• Don’t send it back. If the forgiveness goes through, you’ll be glad you already have this money. There’s no telling how hard it will be to get your money down the road if you have to re-apply for it.

• Put it somewhere safe….and leave it there. A savings account or high-yield savings account should do the trick. Just set it aside, and leave it alone.

Once all this mess gets sorted out in the courts, you’ll hopefully have a clear road map on how to handle your situation…..one way or another. But please don’t sabotage your financial life in the meantime. You worked so hard to get here. Don’t let this blessing turn into a curse.

Inflation and the Projection of Circumstance

The elephant in the room for the last year has been inflation. If someone didn’t know what inflation was before, and certainly never talked about it during the course of their day-to-day life, that’s probably changed. Everyone now has thoughts and feelings about inflation. Inflation is everywhere. We see it when we go to the grocery store, when we put gasoline in our vehicles, when we go out to eat, when we purchase vehicles, and in pretty much every other area of life (well, except for Costco hot dogs and Arizona Iced Tea).

I’ve watched a certain phenomenon play out in many areas of life for years, especially as it pertains to work and money, and the recent inflation conversation has shined a spotlight on it. Everyone seems to have differing perspectives on inflation, and they vary wildly. Now one would think their perspective would be correlated to their education and/or area of expertise. However, that’s not the case. Their perspective is more closely tied to their own experience with inflation. In other words, they are projecting their own circumstances into the broader discussion.

As I see it, and as I walk alongside several families in my coaching, most people fit into one of three different groups when it comes to inflation:

1) Lots of Margin - These people had lots of margin in their financial life. Recent Inflation has reduced their margin but they haven’t had to sacrifice much. Their basic needs are easily met and they can still buy pretty much anything they want. Instead of going on three elaborate vacations this year, they may only do two.

2) Some Margin - These people had some margin in their financial life. Recent inflation has significantly reduced or eliminated their margin. The result of this is a profound alteration in their life. They have decreased or halted their saving/investing, given up some of their wants, or have become quite intentional with their basic needs.

3) Little-to-No Margin - These people had very little margin to begin with, if any, and are now being absolutely crushed. Just putting food on the table, gas in their car, and a roof over their head have become a constant battle. Second (or third) jobs and credit cards have become a means of survival.

These are the lenses through which people see and experience inflation. It makes a world of difference. This isn’t my attempt to condemn anyone or make people feel guilty. Rather, I want to shine a light on this idea of projection and perhaps we can be more empathetic to other people’s journeys. We need to see past our own circumstances if we hope to understand what others are going through. Or even better, if you’re in group #1, find ways to give a financial hand-up to someone in group #2 or #3. This is a season - a tough season - that we all just need to get through. And there’s no better way than to get through it together.

The Chance to Make a Difference

I have several public speaking opportunities coming up in the next several weeks. I get equally nervous as I get excited, each and every time. The nerves and the excitement come from the very same place: knowing I have a chance to make a difference. Excited because I have a chance to make a difference, and nervous because I have a chance to make a difference. What an opportunity and what a responsibility.

There’s a chance I’ll fall flat on my face…..and that chance is far greater than 1%. I try not to think about that. I try to focus my energy on the chance I have to make a difference. That goes for these speaking engagements, but it also applies to the podcast, this blog, every client meeting, and even those moments I spend having coffee with a friend, stranger, or youth group kid.

When we wake up in the morning, there are a series of opportunities in front of us that day to make a difference. We won’t always succeed, but that’s not the point. The bigger question is, will I try? Will you try? Will we embrace that opportunity and make the most of it? Man, I hope I do. Please pray for me. I need it.

Let me know what you have coming up. I’ll pray for you, too!

You Can Always Go Back

I was days away from making one of the biggest decisions of my life. I was 99% sure I was about to resign from my career, make a complete 180-degree shift, and take a 90% pay cut to do something unconventional. To be honest, I was scared out of my mind. I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t eat, and my mind was continually racing. Then, I found myself sitting face-to-face with a trusted friend. Yeah, he too thought I was absolutely out of my mind. He told me as such, elaborated on why I was, then reaffirmed his opinion that I was, in fact, insane. But then, he added, “So what if you fail? You could always go back.”

Wow. I hadn’t thought of it like that before. In my mind, I was slamming a door in life, nailing it shut, then covering it with concrete. It’s as though I was forever locking my path in a new direction, for better or for worse. The reality is, I wasn’t. He was right! What’s the worst that could have happened? If push came to shove, and I fell flat on my face, I could always go back to my old career (or something resembling it).

While the idea of utter embarrassing failure didn’t necessarily give me a warm and fuzzy feeling, it did help put the entire situation in perspective. If my idea works, our family’s dream comes true. If I fall flat on my face, I eat a slice of humble pie and we move on to something else. The cost/benefit seemed obvious, though still scary.

3.5 years later, I’m living in both worlds. Our family is living our dream life…..and I’m eating little slices of humble pie along the way. It’s way harder than I could have ever imagined it being, but far more worth it than I could have ever imagined.

I’m not advocating everyone leave their career and take a huge pay cut to do something completely different. That just happens to be my story and I’m the one writing this. But you have yours. There’s something in your life you’re scared to do. You know what it is. Just a reminder: You can always go back.

Giving Money a Purpose

Yesterday, I was in the middle of a coaching session with a new client (they are awesome!) when a hugely important topic came up. I was walking them through the idea and execution of sinking funds (i.e. separate named bank accounts for specific categories - travel, house, car, medical, etc.) I don’t remember the exact wording, but to paraphrase, they were curious why someone would do it this way rather than just having all the money in one account and mentally earmarked for future use. I absolutely love this question!

In theory, having all the money in one big pot would achieve the same purpose….and be administratively easier. However, in practice, it makes a world of difference. Here are a few reasons why:

Commitment: If we house all our money in one big pot, we can just make an impulsive decision and mentally reallocate the funds from one use to another. It takes no energy or work to butcher months (or possibly years) of work. When we separate these funds into unique accounts that are specifically named for that use, we’re less likely to reallocate this money for a different use. Doing so requires us to consciously make a decision and physically transfer money from one fund to another.

Emotion: If we house all our money in one big pot, it’s easy for us to feel guilty or regretful about a particular decision we’ve made. For example, let’s say we’ve set aside some money for a trip to Disney. The moment we feel financial stress, we’ll think to ourselves, “well maybe there’s a more responsible use for this money. After all, I don’t NEED this trip.” And just like that, we’ve dismantled our trip and all the amazing memories that surely would have come from it. When we separate these same funds into our travel sinking fund, it’s clear what these monies are for. There’s no doubt about it. “Travel Fund.” It’s literally in the name of the bank account! When we do this, we’re emotionally able to let go of the guilt and the regret, and simply go enjoy that trip. It sounds silly, but it’s true!

Administrative: The idea of sinking funds sounds administratively difficult. After all, having multiple accounts seems more complex than having fewer accounts. However, the execution is an entirely different story. When we push money into these accounts each month as part of our budget, it’s clear where the money goes. When we want to know how much money we have for our next trip, there’s an account balance staring at us. And when we start spending these funds (plane tickets, hotels, gas, etc.), we always know where we stand with the remaining balance. In other words, we get transparency, and with that transparency comes better decisions.

If you’re interested in setting up sinking funds for your finances, most credit unions allow it. Most banks don’t, with one exception being Wells Fargo. If your bank doesn’t (like mine), CapitalOne 360 Performance Savings accounts work great. I’ve been using this platform for more than 15 years, as do many of my clients. If you want to hear more about sinking funds, we did a podcast episode about the topic back in June 2021. You can listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Have an amazing day!

We Don't Know What We Don't Know

As I always do, I recently asked a clear but open-ended question to a prospective coaching client, “why are you here?” The answer to this question tells me a lot about someone and the direction this conversation could/should go. Some people have a very clear objective, while others have more of a gut feeling this is a conversation worth having. On this particular day, the husband had a short and concise answer. “We don’t know what we don’t know.”

As we unpacked their financial lives and careers at a high level, it quickly became apparent to me they are doing better than probably 95% of people in this country. In most areas of their finances, they are thriving and have achieved tremendous success. To an extent, they are aware of this. However, they also don’t have much to compare it to. They explained how they try to do the best they can, but don’t always feel confident they are. I immediately confirmed how well they are doing, and tried to put it into a context that would move the emotional needle for them.

On the flip side, there are a few areas where they lacked focus, insight, and progress. Again, they weren’t really aware of how much they have fallen short in these particular areas. They immediately took note of these shortfalls, presumably for future reference.

When I asked what they attribute all their success to, they responded, “we don’t know what we don’t know, so we just keep asking questions and try to learn.” It seems a bit ironic: they know a lot about these topics because they humbly admit they don’t know a lot about these topics…..which enables and propels them to learn about these topics.

I know I’ve been guilty of feeling like I knew a lot about a topic, which caused me to stop learning and growing. I want to be more like this couple, though. Humble, curious, and open to grow. There’s always something to learn, and someone to learn it from.

What’s one area of life you want to grow in 2023?