The Daily Meaning
Take your mornings to the next level with a daily dose of perspective and encouragement to start your day off right. Sign-up for a free, short-form blog delivered to your inbox each morning, 7 days per week. Some days we talk about money, but usually not. We believe you’ll take away something valuable to help you on your journey. Sign up to join the hundreds of people who read Travis’s blog each morning.
Archive
- November 2026
- October 2026
- September 2026
- August 2026
- July 2026
- June 2026
- May 2026
- April 2026
- March 2026
- February 2026
- January 2026
- December 2025
- November 2025
- October 2025
- September 2025
- August 2025
- July 2025
- June 2025
- May 2025
- April 2025
- March 2025
- February 2025
- January 2025
- December 2024
- November 2024
- October 2024
- September 2024
- August 2024
- July 2024
- June 2024
- May 2024
- April 2024
- March 2024
- February 2024
- January 2024
- December 2023
- November 2023
- October 2023
- September 2023
- August 2023
- July 2023
- June 2023
- May 2023
- April 2023
- March 2023
- February 2023
- January 2023
- December 2022
- November 2022
- August 2021
- November 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- October 2019
- September 2019
Confronting Fear Head-On
I’m scheduled to deliver two talks this week. One is at a high school youth group and the other is a keynote address at a high school leadership conference. I couldn’t be more excited about these opportunities. They also kick off a series of speaking engagements I have lined up for the spring.
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.
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.
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.
"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.
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.
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!
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
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.”
“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?”
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.
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).
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.
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.”
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!