Meaning over Money
With 280+ episodes and a 5.0-star rating on Apple Podcasts, we provide concise, straight-to-the-point, short-form episodes centered around money...except it's not really about money.
In each episode, host Travis Shelton dives into cultural trends, current events, and behavioral nuances revolving around work and money. We often dive into topics such as investing, budgeting, relationships, behavioral science, careers, generosity, and much more. Are you ready to redefine the role work and money play in your life? More importantly, are you ready to be challenged toward a more meaningful life?
Most episodes are 10-20 minutes, conducted solo by host Travis Shelton, but we also bring in special guests who we believe can add value to our audience.
Listen along and share with a friend. Our followers aren’t shy about giving us feedback, so send us an e-mail or DM to ask questions, suggest topics, or challenge Travis’s perspective!
Archive
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075 - Parents, Your Kids Deserve Better (On Sending Kids to College Without Student Loan Debt)
Recently, host Travis Shelton had the opportunity to host a workshop for parents and teens on the topic of launching young adults into the world without student loan debt. Rampant student loan debt is crushing this young generation, crushing aspirations, dreams, and opportunities with it. We believe young adults deserve better than this. However, many of us had to feel the burden of college debt ourselves. It sucks and we've had to figure it out. With that in mind, here's a profound thought: our kids deserve better than what we had to go through. Just because we had to experience the bondage of student loans, it doesn't mean our children have to. In today's episode, we discuss the various nuances of this idea, why it matters, and how to take steps to give our children a future they deserve.
Recently, host Travis Shelton had the opportunity to host a workshop for parents and teens on the topic of launching young adults into the world without student loan debt. Rampant student loan debt is crushing this young generation, crushing aspirations, dreams, and opportunities with it. We believe young adults deserve better than this. However, many of us had to feel the burden of college debt ourselves. It sucks and we've had to figure it out. With that in mind, here's a profound thought: our kids deserve better than what we had to go through. Just because we had to experience the bondage of student loans, it doesn't mean our children have to. In today's episode, we discuss the various nuances of this idea, why it matters, and how to take steps to give our children a future they deserve. Also, please hear this. We aren't saying every parent has a responsibility to pay for their children's college. Far from it. Rather, we argue parents have a responsibility to help their children create and execute a plan to go to college without debt.
You can find the Meaning Over Money podcast wherever you listen to podcasts, including:
If you have questions or would like to connect with us outside of the podcast, here's where you can find us:
Podcast website: https://www.travisshelton.com/podcast
Daily Blog: https://travisshelton.com/blog
Subscribe to the Daily Blog: http://eepurl.com/gB07Ef
Podcast Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/370457478238932
Travis’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/travis_shelton_
Travis’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/travissheltonco/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCasnj17-bOl_CZ0Cb9czmyQ
074 - Life Gets More Complicated AFTER the Debt is Gone
Paying off debt is simple. If there is extra money each month, there's only one place it goes: to the debt! It's a tough journey to become debt-free, but it's also a very simple one. Something happens when we get out of debt. We think life will get easier and simpler. Truth is, it becomes more complicated. Instead of having one very clear option on what to do with extra cash, the world opens up and there are so many amazing opportunities in front of us. In today's episode, host Travis Shelton explains this odd phenomenon of life getting harder when it should be getting easier, and how to embrace the amazing opportunities in front of us. Being debt-free is awesome, but not always as simple as we might imagine.
Paying off debt is simple. If there is extra money each month, there's only one place it goes: to the debt! It's a tough journey to become debt-free, but it's also a very simple one. Something happens when we get out of debt. We think life will get easier and simpler. Truth is, it becomes more complicated. Instead of having one very clear option on what to do with extra cash, the world opens up and there are so many amazing opportunities in front of us. In today's episode, host Travis Shelton explains this odd phenomenon of life getting harder when it should be getting easier, and how to embrace the amazing opportunities in front of us. Being debt-free is awesome, but not always as simple as we might imagine. All that being said, it's worth it! So let's make the best of the situation to pursue work that matters and find meaning in all we do!
You can find the Meaning Over Money podcast wherever you listen to podcasts, including:
If you have questions or would like to connect with us outside of the podcast, here's where you can find us:
Podcast website: https://www.travisshelton.com/podcast
Daily Blog: https://travisshelton.com/blog
Subscribe to the Daily Blog: http://eepurl.com/gB07Ef
Podcast Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/370457478238932
Travis’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/travis_shelton_
Travis’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/travissheltonco/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCasnj17-bOl_CZ0Cb9czmyQ
073 - 'Tis the Season to Exercise Your Giving Muscle
We love generosity! We believe all year long is a season to give, but the holidays tend to be the time where many people start to think about generosity. In today's episode, host Travis Shelton discusses why it's so important to exercise what he refers to as the "giving muscle." After all, generosity isn't something we do, but rather who we are. That may not feel like your reality today, but by practicing and exercising our giving muscle, we can work our way up to so much more generosity than we ever imagined. After you listen to this episode, we hope you are inspired to find some pretty amazing giving opportunities in this season and beyond.
We love generosity! We believe all year long is a season to give, but the holidays tend to be the time where many people start to think about generosity. In today's episode, host Travis Shelton discusses why it's so important to exercise what he refers to as the "giving muscle." After all, generosity isn't something we do, but rather who we are. That may not feel like your reality today, but by practicing and exercising our giving muscle, we can work our way up to so much more generosity than we ever imagined. After you listen to this episode, we hope you are inspired to find some pretty amazing giving opportunities in this season and beyond.
You can find the Meaning Over Money podcast wherever you listen to podcasts, including:
If you have questions or would like to connect with us outside of the podcast, here's where you can find us:
Podcast website: https://www.travisshelton.com/podcast
Daily Blog: https://travisshelton.com/blog
Subscribe to the Daily Blog: http://eepurl.com/gB07Ef
Podcast Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/370457478238932
Travis’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/travis_shelton_
Travis’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/travissheltonco/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCasnj17-bOl_CZ0Cb9czmyQ
072 - Do the Hard Thing!
The culture tells us to pursue the easy path, the comfortable path, the path of least resistance. We choose the comfortable path in our careers, in our relationships, in our money.....everywhere! In today's episode, host Travis Shelton talks about how a recent speaking engagement affirmed once again how doing the hard thing ALWAYS wins! Comfort is the enemy of progress. It can often feel like some people are born to do hard things and some aren't. We believe it's an acquired taste and a learned skill. It just takes practice and repetition, and soon enough doing hard things becomes the normal thing.
The culture tells us to pursue the easy path, the comfortable path, the path of least resistance. We choose the comfortable path in our careers, in our relationships, in our money.....everywhere! In today's episode, host Travis Shelton talks about how a recent speaking engagement affirmed once again how doing the hard thing ALWAYS wins! Comfort is the enemy of progress. It can often feel like some people are born to do hard things and some aren't. We believe it's an acquired taste and a learned skill. It just takes practice and repetition, and soon enough doing hard things becomes the normal thing.
Coldwater Foundation: www.coldwaterfoundation.org
You can find the Meaning Over Money podcast wherever you listen to podcasts, including:
If you have questions or would like to connect with us outside of the podcast, here's where you can find us:
Podcast website: https://www.travisshelton.com/podcast
Daily Blog: https://travisshelton.com/blog
Subscribe to the Daily Blog: http://eepurl.com/gB07Ef
Podcast Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/370457478238932
Travis’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/travis_shelton_
Travis’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/travissheltonco/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCasnj17-bOl_CZ0Cb9czmyQ
071 - We Just Hit Record High Debt - You Deserve Better Than Normal
The culture tells us to pursue the easy path, the comfortable path, the path of least resistance. We choose the comfortable path in our careers, in our relationships, in our money.....everywhere! In today's episode, host Travis Shelton talks about how a recent speaking engagement affirmed once again how doing the hard thing ALWAYS wins! Comfort is the enemy of progress. It can often feel like some people are born to do hard things and some aren't. We believe it's an acquired taste and a learned skill. It just takes practice and repetition, and soon enough doing hard things becomes the normal thing.
As we move further and further away from 2008's Great Financial Crisis, memories fade and a younger generation has risen to adulthood. With that comes mountains of new debt.....record levels of debt! In today's episode, host Travis Shelton discusses some of the newly released information about household debt and shares his thoughts on the situation. Just like 2008 and every meaningful recession before it, so many people will get crushed in due time. Lucky for you, you don't have to be one of them! There's a better way, and you deserve better than normal!
You can find the Meaning Over Money podcast wherever you listen to podcasts, including:
If you have questions or would like to connect with us outside of the podcast, here's where you can find us:
Podcast website: https://www.travisshelton.com/podcast
Daily Blog: https://travisshelton.com/blog
Subscribe to the Daily Blog: http://eepurl.com/gB07Ef
Podcast Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/370457478238932
Travis’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/travis_shelton_
Travis’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/travissheltonco/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCasnj17-bOl_CZ0Cb9czmyQ
070 - 5 Signs You Should Get a Different Job
The idea of changing jobs is scary! Especially when it feels secure. Especially when it pays well. Especially when you've been there a long time. But many of you need to leave your job yesterday. In today's episode, host Travis Shelton shares the 5 signs you might need to get a different job. You may relates to some of these and haven't even considered them signs. Why? Because they're so common in our culture it just feels normal. This episode is going to hit pretty close to home for some, and we encourage you to at least give it can honest consideration. Which ones can you relate to?
The idea of changing jobs is scary! Especially when it feels secure. Especially when it pays well. Especially when you've been there a long time. But many of you need to leave your job yesterday. In today's episode, host Travis Shelton shares the 5 signs you might need to get a different job. You may relates to some of these and haven't even considered them signs. Why? Because they're so common in our culture it just feels normal. This episode is going to hit pretty close to home for some, and we encourage you to at least give it can honest consideration. Which ones can you relate to?
You can find the Meaning Over Money podcast wherever you listen to podcasts, including:
If you have questions or would like to connect with us outside of the podcast, here's where you can find us:
Podcast website: https://www.travisshelton.com/podcast
Daily Blog: https://travisshelton.com/blog
Subscribe to the Daily Blog: http://eepurl.com/gB07Ef
Podcast Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/370457478238932
Travis’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/travis_shelton_
Travis’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/travissheltonco/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCasnj17-bOl_CZ0Cb9czmyQ
069 - "Is It Ok to NOT Find Meaning in My Work?"
One really deep question we often get asked is, "is it ok NOT to find meaning in my work if I have meaning outside my work?" The short question, is of course, yes. We aren't here to tell people what to do and everyone needs to find their own way in this crazy life. However, we think people deserve better. It's awesome to have meaning (lots of meaning!) outside of work! But why not have both? In today's episode, host Travis Shelton explains why you don't have to choose between meaning in work or outside of work. If we can find meaning in both, it significantly compounds our joy, our purpose, and the fulfillment we get each and every day.
One really deep question we often get asked is, "is it ok NOT to find meaning in my work if I have meaning outside my work?" The short question, is of course, yes. We aren't here to tell people what to do and everyone needs to find their own way in this crazy life. However, we think people deserve better. It's awesome to have meaning (lots of meaning!) outside of work! But why not have both? In today's episode, host Travis Shelton explains why you don't have to choose between meaning in work or outside of work. If we can find meaning in both, it significantly compounds our joy, our purpose, and the fulfillment we get each and every day.
You can find the Meaning Over Money podcast wherever you listen to podcasts, including:
If you have questions or would like to connect with us outside of the podcast, here's where you can find us:
Podcast website: https://www.travisshelton.com/podcast
Daily Blog: https://travisshelton.com/blog
Subscribe to the Daily Blog: http://eepurl.com/gB07Ef
Podcast Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/370457478238932
Travis’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/travis_shelton_
Travis’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/travissheltonco/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCasnj17-bOl_CZ0Cb9czmyQ
068 - Just Because Advice "Works", It Doesn't Mean It's Good Advice
Often, people will share financial advice and conclude with the line, "well, it worked for me." It's great if a certain way of doing things "works" for someone, but it doesn't mean it's good advice. In today's social media world, bad advice is flying at us left and right, disguised as sound wisdom. In today's episode, host Travis Shelton rants about this cultural phenomenon and provides some tips on how to assess whether or not to apply the advice you're hearing (including the advice coming out of his own mouth).
Often, people will share financial advice and conclude with the line, "well, it worked for me." It's great if a certain way of doing things "works" for someone, but it doesn't mean it's good advice. In today's social media world, bad advice is flying at us left and right, disguised as sound wisdom. In today's episode, host Travis Shelton rants about this cultural phenomenon and provides some tips on how to assess whether or not to apply the advice you're hearing (including the advice coming out of his own mouth).
You can find the Meaning Over Money podcast wherever you listen to podcasts, including:
If you have questions or would like to connect with us outside of the podcast, here's where you can find us:
Podcast website: https://www.travisshelton.com/podcast
Daily Blog: https://travisshelton.com/blog
Subscribe to the Daily Blog: http://eepurl.com/gB07Ef
Podcast Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/370457478238932
Travis’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/travis_shelton_
Travis’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/travissheltonco/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCasnj17-bOl_CZ0Cb9czmyQ
067 - Investing, Even When Things Get Weird
After a decade of the stock market going up, up, and up, people are starting to see the end of the run is coming. Well, the wise people are anyway. After all, there are lots of things to be nervous about in our country and our economy. With that naturally comes the question, "well then, what should we be doing to prepare?" In today's episode, host Travis Shelton unpacks this question and explains some of the risks and perceived risks we face.
After a decade of the stock market going up, up, and up, people are starting to see the end of the run is coming. Well, the wise people are anyway. After all, there are lots of things to be nervous about in our country and our economy. With that naturally comes the question, "well then, what should we be doing to prepare?" In today's episode, host Travis Shelton unpacks this question and explains some of the risks and perceived risks we face. In short, there are two groups of people: 1) those who are invested simply and broadly who shouldn't worry one single bit, and 2) those who think they are smart by buying and selling individual investments.....who should be worried a lot! When this market crashes, many people will get crushed. Ironically, the "smart" ones who think they know what they are doing will likely be the biggest casualties.
You can find the Meaning Over Money podcast wherever you listen to podcasts, including:
If you have questions or would like to connect with us outside of the podcast, here's where you can find us:
Podcast website: https://www.travisshelton.com/podcast
Daily Blog: https://travisshelton.com/blog
Subscribe to the Daily Blog: http://eepurl.com/gB07Ef
Podcast Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/370457478238932
Travis’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/travis_shelton_
Travis’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/travissheltonco/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCasnj17-bOl_CZ0Cb9czmyQ
066 - We ALL Need a Team: We Aren't Meant To Do This Alone
In our culture, we tend to put a lot of value on independence, self-sufficiency, and individual achievements. So much so that it can oftentimes breed a sentiment that we SHOULD do it all on our own. Life, money, career, parenting.....you name it. It can be a lonely road, but luckily it doesn't have to be! In today's episode, host Travis Shelton explains why he believes this is a false and destructive narrative. Instead, each one of us should spend some of our time, energy, and humility assembling a team of people around us. After all, we can't be experts at everything. When we take a different approach and are willing to bring people alongside us to help us on our journey, life looks (and feels) so much different. We are so very grateful for the people on our teams, and we hope maybe you'll consider building (or expanding) your team after listening to this episode.
In our culture, we tend to put a lot of value on independence, self-sufficiency, and individual achievements. So much so that it can oftentimes breed a sentiment that we SHOULD do it all on our own. Life, money, career, parenting.....you name it. It can be a lonely road, but luckily it doesn't have to be! In today's episode, host Travis Shelton explains why he believes this is a false and destructive narrative. Instead, each one of us should spend some of our time, energy, and humility assembling a team of people around us. After all, we can't be experts at everything. When we take a different approach and are willing to bring people alongside us to help us on our journey, life looks (and feels) so much different. We are so very grateful for the people on our teams, and we hope maybe you'll consider building (or expanding) your team after listening to this episode.
You can find the Meaning Over Money podcast wherever you listen to podcasts, including:
If you have questions or would like to connect with us outside of the podcast, here's where you can find us:
Podcast website: https://www.travisshelton.com/podcast
Daily Blog: https://travisshelton.com/blog
Subscribe to the Daily Blog: http://eepurl.com/gB07Ef
Podcast Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/370457478238932
Travis’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/travis_shelton_
Travis’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/travissheltonco/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCasnj17-bOl_CZ0Cb9czmyQ
065 - Shedding the Lies of the Hustle Culture
If you're a young adult, you've likely been exposed to the hustle culture that permeates Instagram and TikTok. You know, go, go, go, more money, more money, more money. This never-ending pursuit of hustling for more. Then, it goes one of two directions: a) glorifying having more stuff and a fancier lifestyle, or b) glorifying an early retirement and a life of leisure. Both are as equally toxic in our perspectives.
If you're a young adult, you've likely been exposed to the hustle culture that permeates Instagram and TikTok. You know, go, go, go, more money, more money, more money. This never-ending pursuit of hustling for more. Then, it goes one of two directions: a) glorifying having more stuff and a fancier lifestyle, or b) glorifying an early retirement and a life of leisure. Both are as equally toxic in our perspectives. It shouldn't be about grinding our life away in the pursuit of more stuff or a life of leisure. The net result of this online culture is its making many people feel like they are "lazy" if they don't work 12-hour days or work 6 days a week, or if they don't have multiple side businesses, or if they have less stuff than their neighbors. We believe this phenomenon is shifting our perspective of work, balance, materialism, and the role money plays in our lives.
You can find the Meaning Over Money podcast wherever you listen to podcasts, including:
If you have questions or would like to connect with us outside of the podcast, here's where you can find us:
Podcast website: https://www.travisshelton.com/podcast
Daily Blog: https://travisshelton.com/blog
Subscribe to the Daily Blog: http://eepurl.com/gB07Ef
Podcast Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/370457478238932
Travis’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/travis_shelton_
Travis’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/travissheltonco/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCasnj17-bOl_CZ0Cb9czmyQ
064 - Don't Let Health Insurance Steal Your Dreams
Aside from fear, the perceived availability of health insurance is the #1 reason why people abandon their dreams. Yes, health insurance is important.....vitally important!!! But we oftentimes let health insurance dictate our career decisions without considering the bigger picture or the alternative options. It's a tragedy health insurance is tied to our employment in modern America, but we can't just let it rule our decisions. In today's episode, host Travis Shelton discussed how we got here, offers some alternative ways to approach health insurance, and discusses how he helps clients assess their various health insurance options.
Aside from fear, the perceived availability of health insurance is the #1 reason why people abandon their dreams. Yes, health insurance is important.....vitally important!!! But we oftentimes let health insurance dictate our career decisions without considering the bigger picture or the alternative options. It's a tragedy health insurance is tied to our employment in modern America, but we can't just let it rule our decisions. In today's episode, host Travis Shelton discussed how we got here, offers some alternative ways to approach health insurance, and discusses how he helps clients assess their various health insurance options. We certainly aren't going to solve our nation's medical crisis, but we can get a little bit better making decisions for our own family's medical needs.....and maybe hold onto our dreams in the process!
You can find the Meaning Over Money podcast wherever you listen to podcasts, including:
If you have questions or would like to connect with us outside of the podcast, here's where you can find us:
Podcast website: https://www.travisshelton.com/podcast
Daily Blog: https://travisshelton.com/blog
Subscribe to the Daily Blog: http://eepurl.com/gB07Ef
Podcast Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/370457478238932
Travis’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/travis_shelton_
Travis’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/travissheltonco/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCasnj17-bOl_CZ0Cb9czmyQ
063 - Investing In Memories: Twenty One Pilots Edition
As Travis's mentor Dr. Gary Hoag always says, we need to invest in mission and memories. Recently, Travis and his wife celebrated their 12-year wedding anniversary with a quick trip to Chicago to attend a Twenty One Pilots concert at the United Center. Aside for ranting about how amazing Twenty One Pilots is, Travis discusses the fact this 27-hour trip cost $1,000.....yikes! It's important for us to recognize the importance of memories, stop dwelling about money, and why there are broader implications in our finances and relationships. Money is NEVER about money....it's always about something bigger.
As Travis's mentor Dr. Gary Hoag always says, we need to invest in mission and memories. Recently, Travis and his wife celebrated their 12-year wedding anniversary with a quick trip to Chicago to attend a Twenty One Pilots concert at the United Center. Aside for ranting about how amazing Twenty One Pilots is, Travis discusses the fact this 27-hour trip cost $1,000.....yikes! It's important for us to recognize the importance of memories, stop dwelling about money, and why there are broader implications in our finances and relationships. Money is NEVER about money....it's always about something bigger.
Side note: If you get a chance to experience the Twenty One Pilots Takeover Tour, please do yourself a favor and buy your tickets now! Unreal!!!
You can find the Meaning Over Money podcast wherever you listen to podcasts, including:
If you have questions or would like to connect with us outside of the podcast, here's where you can find us:
Podcast website: https://www.travisshelton.com/podcast
Daily Blog: https://travisshelton.com/blog
Subscribe to the Daily Blog: http://eepurl.com/gB07Ef
Podcast Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/370457478238932
Travis’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/travis_shelton_
Travis’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/travissheltonco/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCasnj17-bOl_CZ0Cb9czmyQ
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@meaning_over_money
Full Transcript:
I have a confession to make. This weekend, my wife and I went on a 27-hour anniversary trip to Chicago. That's not my confession. My confession is we spent $1,000 on a 27-hour anniversary trip to Chicago. I want to unpack this because I was telling somebody about this the other day, and they looked at me as if I was absolutely insane.
As they shared with me their feedback on my decision to spend $1,000 on a 27-hour trip to Chicago, I was starting to think, this is worth talking about. Let's hash this out because I think there's something there.
So first, let me explain. My wife has been a huge Twenty One Pilots fan for many years. I am not in any shape or form, and don't even know their music. So over the last one to two months, my wife has been playing it a lot for our little kids. They were four and now they've just turned five. Now my little kids love Twenty One Pilots and my wife, Sarah loves Twenty One Pilots.
Sarah was looking and saw that Twenty One Pilots would be at the United Center on our 12-year anniversary. She said, “Travis, can we go?” I said, “Absolutely! Let's do it. We just have to find a babysitter.” We start thinking about the logistics and thus the planning begins.
We start to look for tickets for the show. We're talking about what kind of tickets Sarah wants. She had some preferences. So we ended up spending about $400 bucks on two tickets to Twenty One Pilots…a band that I didn't even really know.
And, by the way, can I just add a side note? I am now a huge Twenty One Pilots fan. I started listening a little before this trip, and I have a theory that live performances will either expose people for not having talent, or it will shine a light on how ridiculously talented somebody is. And I gotta tell you, I can not believe how talented Twenty One Pilots are. It's mind boggling.
As I listened to their album, their albums can't capture how talented they are. So I am sold, I've been converted to Twenty One Pilots fan. If you're listening and are a huge fan, that was awesome. That was truly an incredible show. Okay. End of tangent.
All right. So, we bought two tickets to Twenty One Pilots and now we needed to find a babysitter. One of our trusted babysitters, she agreed she was going to babysit which ended up costing us about 350 bucks. Now that sounds insane. Like, why would you pay a babysitter 350 bucks? Well, because we're not paying a babysitter 350 bucks, we're investing 350 bucks in our marriage.
And because it's a young babysitter that we care deeply about, we're investing in her. So I was more than happy to pay that because it mattered. It was an investment into my marriage so of course it was worth it.
Then the concert got over late, and so we had a hotel room in Chicago. We had gas, and we had some food. We left late morning on Saturday and we got home early afternoon on Sunday.
It literally costs $1,000 for a 27-hour anniversary trip. And I look at that and I say, “that's the biggest bargain ever.” Why? Because as my friend, Dr. Gary Hoag says, we need to “put our money into missions and memories.”
And as you know, I love generosity. I love missions, but this was for memories. My wife and I had a blast. She needed to get away. She was burned out and she loved it. She freaking loved it and I did, too. We just had a great time together.
I wish I could say we were rested when we got back. We weren't. We were more exhausted than ever, and she actually had to turn around and leave town the day we got back. So we were definitely not rested, but the memories that we created on our 12-year anniversary, nobody can ever take that away from us.
Several years from now, if it weren't for this podcast, I wouldn't even remember how much we paid for that trip. That will fade away because ultimately money doesn't matter. Handling it well does. And I would make the argument that was an amazing investment into my marriage.
Now a lot of people would say, “Well, Travis, if you invested a thousand dollars at blah, blah, blah percent, over this many years, you would have this much money.” I don't care. Yes. We need to invest. Yes. We need to save. But this was about creating memories with my wife.
It's important. It has to be important. If we lose sight of that, and all we do is dwell on the money, we dwell on the math, we dwell on the finance, we're going to lose out on something so truly important to us.
So I thought that story was worth sharing because we all have our own versions of that. I'm not telling everybody to go spend all their money on a Twenty One Pilots concert. That's not what I'm saying, but find what adds value to your marriage. Because mission and memories are what matters. Go enjoy, create those memories, build those relationships, because that's ultimately what matters.
If we're talking about meaning over money, relationships, our marriages, being a good parent, being a good husband, being a good wife, those things. Man, a lot of people feel guilt….deep, profound guilt when spending money on those things. Some people feel guilty buying a pair of jeans or a new phone, or even going out to dinner. There's a deep guilt that comes with some of this stuff.
I think we've got to shake it. We've got to shake it. I have a young client, we just started working together, and she texted me saying, “Hey, Travis, I feel like I'm trying to beat my budget by cutting out all the fun. I feel like if I can cut back on all the fun stuff that I budgeted and have more extra at the end of the month, I've won. I know that's not true because I listened to the podcast.”
She said that she and I have talked about this enough that she knows that it's not true, but she says she can't shake it. Now she's going to shake it and she's going to succeed. But she recognizes the power that these feelings have on us. Even when she knows it's important to spend on things that add value to her life and create memories, it's still hard.
If that's you, I just want to say you got this. Give yourself grace along the way. It's not going to be perfect and you're not going to break it overnight. You're going to break it with one small purchase at a time.
One decision to invest in memories and in relationships. One small decision. Yes, with time you can overcome this, but don't feel like you need to conquer the world overnight. You're not going to, and if we think we're going to, and then we fail, we feel defeated and we just give up. Don't give up. This is too important.
Go invest in the things that matter.
062 - Get Back on the Bike (Even When You're Bleeding)
In the wise words of Steve Jordan, "never end on a miss." In today's episode, host Travis Shelton reflects back on the habits of his childhood best friend and how this silly and simple mantra has the power to transform our lives. Fast forward several decades, these same principles are carried forward to a new generation. When Travis's son Finn recently fell off his bike and tore up his leg, he needed to get back on the bike to prove to himself it's not as scary as it now felt. Never end on a miss! This same valuable lesson recently rang true when one of Travis's friends, Meredith, fell off her proverbial bike. Not only did she get back on the bike, she did so in a powerful and inspiring way. Now of course our adult lives don't consist of us parading around on literal bikes, but it's inevitable we will get knocked down, beat up, and feel defeated. That's not the end of the story.....rather, the beginning. So today's episode is brought to you by the wise words of Steve Jordan, the ripped up knee of a 5-year-old, and a young lady who refused to let embarrassment stand in the way of her call.
In the wise words of Steve Jordan, "never end on a miss." In today's episode, host Travis Shelton reflects back on the habits of his childhood best friend and how this silly and simple mantra has the power to transform our lives. Fast forward several decades, these same principles are carried forward to a new generation. When Travis's son Finn recently fell off his bike and tore up his leg, he needed to get back on the bike to prove to himself it's not as scary as it now felt. Never end on a miss! This same valuable lesson recently rang true when one of Travis's friends, Meredith, fell off her proverbial bike. Not only did she get back on the bike, she did so in a powerful and inspiring way. Now of course our adult lives don't consist of us parading around on literal bikes, but it's inevitable we will get knocked down, beat up, and feel defeated. That's not the end of the story.....rather, the beginning. So today's episode is brought to you by the wise words of Steve Jordan, the ripped up knee of a 5-year-old, and a young lady who refused to let embarrassment stand in the way of her call.
You can find the Meaning Over Money podcast wherever you listen to podcasts, including:
If you have questions or would like to connect with us outside of the podcast, here's where you can find us:
Podcast website: https://www.travisshelton.com/podcast
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Full Transcript:
Growing up my childhood best friend was named Steve Jordan. And I swear, all we did growing up was watch Bulls games, play basketball, and play video games. I feel like that was my entire childhood. We’d do these things and we'd always sleep over at his place. We'd play Goldeneye for hours and hours and hours.
And we'd go out to his driveway, turn the lights on, and we would play hoops. And we’d play more Goldeneye and we'd play basketball. We play video games. That's all we did. Now. Steve had this thing. Steve was obsessed with the idea that you can't leave the court until you make a shot, you never leave on a miss. And so that was something that I just watched him do over and over and over again, it kind of became a thing.
We kind of did it as a group. That was always the thing because Steve insisted you don't leave the court on a miss. And I didn't realize it until many, many years later, but I've really internalized this way of living. And I see it in my parenting more than anything. I kind of saw it myself, but I see it in my parenting.
And I see it, you know, when I'm playing catch with my boys. They're five now. Whenever we're playing, I won't let them end on a missed basket or a missed catch, a missed kick, whatever sport we're playing. We don't end on a miss. And lately I've been watching myself. And pushing the envelope even a little bit more in this regard.
And here's kind of what it looks like. For us, whenever something bad happens, I won't let it end. And so for example, I was playing catch with Pax with a football and I overthrew a little bit. I smoked him right in the face, blood dripping down his nose. He's hysterical, he's super mad at me.
And he starts screaming and runs away. And I say, no, we can't, we're not quitting on that. And so we get the blood to stop and we get back to playing. I don't make him play for a long time, but I do make him play at least long enough that we regain his confidence. I don't want him to end remembering when we play catch with a football, he gets a bloody face. I don't want that to be the memory that's sealed into his brain. So we get back and we play.
So the other day, Finn was riding his bike. I think he was….I don't know what he was doing. He's Finn, if you know Finn, Finn's crazy. He was riding his bike and he took a nasty tumble and he cut his leg badly.
It was pretty bad. And he, understandably, got up, he was crying. He ran inside and I walked inside and said, “Finn, let's go ride our bike.” And Sarah, my wife, said, “Well, no, he's hurt.” And I said, “Okay, bandage him up, send him back out. Because even when we're bleeding, we need to get back up on that bike.”
And I'm not trying to be that guy. I'm not trying to beat them down. Instead, what I wanted to show him was that even when we're bleeding, we need to hop back up on that bike. And so he was reluctant. Why? Because he was scared. He just took a whooping from that bike and he's got blood all over.
Now he's got bandages. And I said to him, “Let's get back on that bike.” He goes, “No, I'm scared. I'm scared.” I said, “Hey Finn, you got this, dude, you got this.” It took a little coaxing, but we got him back on the bike. And within two minutes, he was smiling and laughing again. And so I didn't want to end on a miss.
Even when we're bleeding, we need to get back up on that bike. I believe in this so much because knowing my kids and knowing me and how I'm wired and how they're wired, especially Finn, we can easily take a hard L and give up. That's ingrained in us. It's deeply ingrained in us.
And so I think back to my friend, Steve Jordan, and how he would refuse to end on a miss. Always end on a make. The reason I'm talking about this today, this was not planned, I was not planning on being here today. It's a Sunday. So I'm sitting in the middle of church, and my friend Meredith. You'll recall, I talked about Meredith and her husband, Jake, on a prior episode about just diving head first into life.
So something happened, and I hope I'm not overstepping my boundaries here, but recently Meredith was on stage. So her husband, Jake, is a worship leader. She was on stage, well she's gifted as well. It's ridiculous. She was on stage as well. And I didn't notice it because I'm not smart enough to notice things like this, but she made a mistake.
And I didn't notice it, but I guess some others noticed it and she certainly did. It crushed her, and I think she was embarrassed. She was humiliated. She was defeated. And I think a lot of people say, “Hey, Meredith, you got this…it's okay.” I reached out to her and I said, “Hey, Meredith, I don't even know what happened, but I just want to tell you, you got this, don't give up, don't quit.”
I don't know what her mindset was then. We didn't really talk about it, but I do know that there was a mistake and she was bloody, her leg was bleeding, so to speak. She could have gone one of two ways. She could have just walked away and said, “You know what? This is hard.” Or she could have said, “No, I do got this. I’m not going to end on a miss.”
So today, this is why I'm here. I rushed from church. I said, “Sarah, I'm sorry, can you take the boys home? Can I just go record an episode quickly? Because I am inspired. I want to talk about Meredith today.”
And so today, Meredith, not only was on that stage, but she led worship and she crushed it. She absolutely crushed it. She could've just walked the other way, but she didn't end on a mistake. Even when her leg was bleeding, she got back on that bike. And man, I'll tell you, she approached it with confidence and conviction and she was powerful up there.
I don't know about you, but when I'm on the heels of an L, when I mess up, when I'm humiliated, when I'm embarrassed, I don't feel like I always bounce back that strong. If I come back, I can feel sheepish or hesitant, or I have imposter syndrome. I feel like I don't belong here. I don't deserve to be here. I lost my right to have a place here on this stage. What's happened to me a lot in my speaking career, but here she was owning it because she got back on that bike, even though she was probably scared.
And so I think this is worth talking about, because we have this in our life. We all have it. Now, we might not be on stage singing or on stage speaking, or we might not actually be riding bikes like my son, Finn, but it happens to us. Things happen when we're embarrassed. We screw up, we mess up, we make mistakes.
We hurt somebody. And it's so easy to turn around and walk the other way. The easy thing to do is to quit. It is always the easier thing to do, to quit. And sometimes that's messing up at our job and sometimes that's making a mistake on our finances. Sometimes that's in our relationships. Sometimes we put ourselves out there to date somebody and it goes horribly wrong.
We just want to say, “You know what, forget this, I'm out.” But even when we're bleeding, we need to hop back on that bike. I've had so many presentations and client meetings over the years where I just whiffed. I didn't do a good job, but I got back up on the bike. Even when I'm bleeding, I'm getting back up on the bike.
Why? Because I don't end on a miss. I have a little Steve Jordan sitting on my shoulder saying, “don't end on a miss.” A lot of you are facing that right now. Maybe you've been rejected by company after company, after company, or school after school, maybe you decided, you know what? I want to get my financial stuff in order.
I want to do this right, only to fall flat on your face and make a mistake and take a giant step. Maybe some of you have tried to start something, a company, a nonprofit, a side hustle, something you feel the pull, you feel that itch, you feel that call in you to start it and you fail. And so what we do is we retreat back to what is safe and what is comfortable for so many of us.
This is what's stopping us from really following that dream, from following what we call our dream life, the life that we so badly want to live. It's on the other side of discomfort, it can be on the other side of getting back up on that bike and so many of us don't want to get back up on that bike.
I get it most days. I don't want to get back up on that bike whenever I get on Instagram or Twitter or Facebook and I see just brutal comments about me or about what I do. It's so hard, and I've learned to get a thicker skin.
Cole, my business partner and producer of the show, he's a kicker by nature. And by profession, he literally was a kicker for a D-1 college. He was ridiculously successful doing it. As he always tells me, he says, “Travis, you'd make a terrible kicker.” And he's right. He has to have thick skin because the only thing people notice about him is his kicking career, or his failures missing that kick. That's all that’s talked about.
So I've actually learned a lot from Cole over the years because I've had to develop a thicker skin because it's so easy to not get back up on that bike when nasty things are said to you or about you. But we have to remember what's important. Are the naysayers important? Are the people who criticize us and bring us down important?
Are they what's important? Or is it the people that we have the opportunity to impact? Take Meredith this morning: She could have not got back up on that stage, but because she did, what happened? Who was influenced by her? Who is inspired by her? Besides me? I was tremendously inspired by her. Who else was inspired by her?
I don't know. And I don't know if she'll ever know, but had she not got back up on that stage, got back up on that bike, it wouldn't have happened. So we all need to take a step back and really ask what bikes are we not getting back up on when we're bloodied and battered, when we've taken an L, what are we doing out of fear?
And so that's my encouragement, no matter what area of life we're talking about, whether it's relationships, career, ministry, finances, we're all going to mess up. We're all gonna make mistakes. We just do. I wish I could say I'm done making mistakes, but man, my mistake making career is just beginning.
And so I think we all need to really look at Meredith and use that as the model. And look at my friend, Steve Jordan, and look at that as the model. We don't end on a miss, even when we're bloodied and battered, we get back up on that bike because in those moments, that's what can change everything for us.
But we may be one decision away from changing the trajectory of our life. Now I'm not trying to say that Meredith getting on that stage today changed the trajectory of her life. I'm not saying that. I'm not saying that it matters back when I was playing ball in Steve Jordan's driveway, ending on a miss or not ending on a miss.
Did that change the trajectory of my life? No, probably not. But maybe. Or what about my little guy? When he fell off his bike and he ripped his leg up. Or Pax when I smoked him right in the face with a football. Would it change the trajectory of their life?
I don't know. Maybe not, but maybe. And so I want to take that seriously. I want to take that responsibility and the opportunity seriously to get back up on that bike, because frankly, for as much confidence as you think I have, for as much you think I’ve accomplished, or whatever you think of me in a positive way. Maybe some of you don't think highly of me at all, but if you think positively of me just know, I don't think that of myself. Most days, imposter syndrome leaks in…..every single day of my life. And it's a constant battle to fight and fight and fight and fight through that.
And so just know you're not alone. No, you're not alone. We can do this together. And when somebody messes up, encourage them, lift them up. That matters because there's enough people that are ready to attack you when you mess up and point that finger at you and say, “See, you shouldn't have done that. See, you shouldn't have left that job. See, you shouldn't have even had the audacity to think that you should have been on that stage.”
So when somebody fails and they fall flat on their face, lift them up. Tell them, they got this. Remind them they're not alone. Remind them they're not the only ones that are going to go through this.
Get them back up there on that bike. That's all I have today.
061 - Giving Different, Giving Better
If you're a regular listener, you know generosity is one of our favorite topics. This is Meaning Over Money, and very few things provide as much meaning as joyful and sacrificial generosity. In today's episode, host Travis Shelton discusses a unique way to handle our month-to-month giving that provides so much more freedom, intentionality, and flexibility. This method has changed his life, as well as the way many of his clients view and handle their own generosity. We hope this is the simplest, most impactful information you absorb all week!
Past episode referenced in today's episode:
026 - The Secret Powers of Sinking Funds (As Always, It's Not About the Money!)
You can find the Meaning Over Money podcast wherever you listen to podcasts, including:
If you have questions or would like to connect with us outside of the podcast, here's where you can find us:
Podcast website: https://www.travisshelton.com/podcast
Daily Blog: https://travisshelton.com/blog
Subscribe to the Daily Blog: http://eepurl.com/gB07Ef
Podcast Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/370457478238932
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YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCasnj17-bOl_CZ0Cb9czmyQ
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@meaning_over_money
Full Transcript:
As you know, I love generosity. Whenever a coaching client wants to talk about generosity, it's pretty much the highlight of my day or my week. I love talking about generosity and the question comes up and people ask, “how can we do this generosity stuff better?”
Now, part of better for a lot of people is increasing their generosity because more is always better with generosity. It just is. But they say, “how do we do it better?” And there's a lot of nuances that we talk about on that topic. How do we give better? And there's pieces of it, like we need to give for the right reasons.
We need to find out who to give to. We need to make sure that we're not giving out of arrogance or we're trying to gain influence. We need to make sure we're doing the right things for the right reasons, but logistically how do we give better? And so there's a concept that I talk about often, and I'm starting to have clients come back and say, “Travis, this is the best!”
Like this has changed everything. And so I thought, well, we just take a few minutes to talk about it because I think it's worth noting. It changed my life and I suspect it would change others’, but it's really starting to gain some traction with the people that I have the privilege of serving. We talked about sinking funds in a prior episode, and I'll link that in the show notes.
We give a certain percentage of our income to our local church or to you name it, whatever the causes or that thing. But what we don't ever think about is having a sinking fund for giving because giving is something we do all the time. So it doesn't make intuitive sense to have a sinking fund for giving. So I want you to hear me out on this. I am a big fan of this idea. I've done it personally for 15 years.
I have a separate checking account that's just for giving. So every month when my wife and I give, we don't give to our church or into these other organizations. We give it to our giving fund. And then from there, we give to our church or to those other organizations that mean a lot to us. And that might seem like we're splitting hairs in parsing words here, but it's not.
And I'm going to explain why. So we make that decision to give at the beginning. We know how much we want to give. And we're committed to giving it. The problem is once we're committed to doing something, life can still happen. And we may not know who we want to give to. We might know some of it, but we might not know all of it.
So I love this idea that when we say we're going to give we just go ahead and give to our giving account. Now here's the beautiful part. Once we give to this account, now there's really no barriers. All there is is generosity. So when a need pops up, like when our neighbor’s furnace goes out or when somebody loses their job or their kid gets sick or you fill in the blank, when then happens, you don't have to say, “oh, well, can we give, how much can we give?”
Where can we give, where do we give from, how's this going to work out? No, no, no. You've already said because you have a giving account and you've given to it every month. And so you may have some float in that account. And so when the neighbor's furnace goes out or their car breaks down, or their kid gets sick, you just act. You just act. There is no decision, you feel it in your heart, we need to act. And then you act.
This is an emotional game changer for a lot of people. And so I'm a big fan of this idea. And as I'm watching clients, it's becoming more successful than I even thought it was going to be. And for a lot of them, they'll say, “Travis, that's the biggest thing that's come out of this. That feels like it's changed our life. I never expected that for me. It just kind of feels like a little life hack that helps me process my giving and, be a little bit more, be more intentional, so that we can be more impulsive in our giving when those opportunities are.”
And there's something else that can happen. It's easier when we're doing this and we're doing it this way. It's easier to track our giving. It's easier to have an understanding of who we're giving to. And I love the piece of it when my wife and I get to budget for our giving and we just shoot high. We pick a number and we put that into our giving account. Then we just freely give from there.
And I think it's been a very unifying piece of our relationship. I don't think either one of us historically were very generous. I don't want to call her selfish, but I'll call myself selfish. I think I was, and something happened many years ago that triggered my generosity. And so this gives me life. Having money in our generosity fund always gives me life to be able to bless others.
And so that's just something to think about as you're kind of setting up your finances. I always say, we need to set it. In a way that's simple and that makes sense to us. And that doesn't drive us crazy, simple as always. Good. And so that may be one idea.
And so what it looks like for me, and for a lot of my clients, is we have our primary checking account in which our income flows into that. All of our income sources for both spouses flow into that, all expenses come out of that and then connected to that checking account will be a savings account for an emergency.
We want our emergency fund to be close. I don't care if it earns interest or not. I'm not going to dwell on $30 of annual interest when that money is needed, it's needed today and then connected to your primary checking account is a third account called our giving fund. And so that's how I structure it.
And that's how a lot of my clients structure it. I'm not saying it's the right way. I'm just saying it is a very simple way that works really, really well. I just thought I'd take a few minutes to talk about that because my clients are starting to say, “Hey, Travis, this is working so well for us.”
And it's opening up our generosity. And as you know it’s my favorite topic, I wish everybody would violently pursue unhinged generosity. And this is one way in which we can train ourselves to start heading down that road. So I hope this helped, I hope it added a little bit of value and maybe it's something you implement in your own journey. That's all I have for today.
060 - You Are the Author of Your Story
Sometimes crap happens! It always does. No matter how good things are going in life, finances, or career, some form of trouble is right around the corner. We don't say that to be pessimistic. Far from it! In today's episode, host Travis Shelton discusses the topic of turmoil. Whenever something bad happens to us (whether it's our fault or not), a story will be told. The beautiful part is we get to be the author of the story. We have a powerful and critical role to play in the narrative. We don't have the ability to control what other people do, but we have 100% control of our piece of it. Even if we are a victim, we don't have to be a victim. This idea has several implications and opportunities. If this is true, it can change the way we approach our finances, careers, and life in general.
You can find the Meaning Over Money podcast wherever you listen to podcasts, including:
If you have questions or would like to connect with us outside of the podcast, here's where you can find us:
Podcast website: https://www.travisshelton.com/podcast
Daily Blog: https://travisshelton.com/blog
Subscribe to the Daily Blog: http://eepurl.com/gB07Ef
Podcast Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/370457478238932
Travis’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/travis_shelton_
Travis’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/travissheltonco/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCasnj17-bOl_CZ0Cb9czmyQ
059 - Accepting and Appreciating the Role of Luck
When it comes to the topic of luck, our culture tends to have two polarizing views. One perspective is luck is totally random and completely unpredictable.....kinda like a lottery ticket. The other perspective is luck doesn't exist....."I earned it!" Here's what we believe: sometimes we get lucky.....and that's ok! In today's episode, host Travis Shelton reflects on a handful of his lucky moments in life (there are several, and they are life-changing) and explains why he's not afraid to admit the role of luck in his life. After all, we don't believe luck is totally random. We have a role to play along the journey, and if luck strikes, embrace it with gratitude and humility! Let us know: when have you gotten lucky along your journey?
You can find the Meaning Over Money podcast wherever you listen to podcasts, including:
If you have questions or would like to connect with us outside of the podcast, here's where you can find us:
Podcast website: https://www.travisshelton.com/podcast
Daily Blog: https://travisshelton.com/blog
Subscribe to the Daily Blog: http://eepurl.com/gB07Ef
Podcast Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/370457478238932
Travis’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/travis_shelton_
Travis’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/travissheltonco/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCasnj17-bOl_CZ0Cb9czmyQ
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@meaning_over_money
Full Transcript:
There's a proclamation I hear over and over and over in our culture. Sometimes it’s said to me, and sometimes it’s said to others. You are lucky, you're lucky, or you're just lucky. And it's a comment that acknowledges success. But it minimizes somebody's role in that success. Because when we can minimize their role in their success, it's easier for us to live with ourselves for not having success.
So first I need to name something. I'm just going to name it. Let's just put it out there. It's the elephant in the room. And I think in transparency, we just have to talk about it. I'm lucky. I am. I've been. On many occasions, I've told the story. I think back to when I was in college and I didn't like mock interviews. I felt mock interviews felt fake or pretend.
So instead of doing mock interviews, I went and actually interviewed for a few companies that I didn't care about as my practice. And lo and behold, I received an offer. I accepted an offer the next day for an internship in Memphis. For a job that I didn't really care about and a city that I knew nothing about, but I knew Memphis had barbecue and Elvis, and I thought, why not?
Why not go to Memphis? And so that's what I did. That felt lucky. That situation. It felt lucky to me. Fast forward into my career. I've shared the story of how everybody in my company got fired, except for me. That was a very sad and profound moment in my life, but the bright side is, for me, I received an offer to move to Des Moines, Iowa, to continue doing what I was doing.
And it was a combination of a few things. It was a combination of me being one of the few people who knew our entire real estate portfolio and the fact that I was still pretty cheap. I was a lot cheaper than some of the other people who knew the portfolio as well. So I got lucky. I gratefully took that luck and kept a job in the recession. When so many of my friends were becoming unemployed, hat was luck.
Fast forward, many more years. I remember I was talking to my boss at the annual review and he said, “Hey, Travis, what do you want? What's something that you care about?” And I said, “You know, honestly, I would really like to manage an international client.”
Up until that point, I had been managing portfolios of real estate investments for US-based clients, but I always kind of thought the idea of managing a non-US client sounded really fun. So I just threw that out there to him and he said, “Hey, thanks for sharing Travis. You know, maybe an opportunity over the next few years will come up, and I'll remember this. And maybe we can find a way to get you involved in that. So thank you.”
Well, it was probably not much more than three to four months after that conversation, when lo and behold, an investor from London stepped forward and wanted to invest with us. So my boss said, “Travis, we want you to take this.” There was some luck in that timing.
I was grateful for that. You know, this opportunity that I had to go help run an organization in the Southeast Asia. You know, that really stemmed from a chance meeting I had with a gentleman, who's now a friend and a mentor of mine, Dr. Gary Hoag. I had this meeting with him organized by a friend of mine. He had me over for dinner when he was around. He was doing a speaking engagement and then he and I ended up spending an afternoon together.
Just talking about this idea of generosity and stewardship. Then that led to a few months later, getting a phone call from him saying, “Hey, Travis, are you interested in coming to Hong Kong to interview for a board position?” So in a way I think that was luck. There was a lot of luck involved in that.
And again, I'm grateful for that. And then even Meaning Over Money. The whole thing was born out of it. My business partner, Cole, approached me in the beginning of COVID and said, “Hey, Travis, I'm not making any film right now.” He goes, “I know you're not speaking right now. Do you want to do something together?”
He said, “I've always dreamt of creating a video course, but I never knew what it was and now I do.” He goes, “I want it to be you. Can we talk about this?” Thus Meaning Over Money the course was born. Fast forward. Not that long, the Meaning Over Money podcast was born. And so there was some luck in that and I'm grateful for that.
Look, all of these things have an element to luck and all these things changed my life. These things played a big role in my life. And I'm okay with that. I'm okay with luck having played a role in my journey. Sometimes I say it's better to be lucky than good. And sometimes I feel like that statement is the hallmark of my life.
That it's better to be lucky than good, but here's the problem with our culture. We believe that it has to be one way or the other. Either it was luck or it was work. That leads us to deny the role of luck, which can breed arrogance and ego. And I think a lot of men struggle with this. I think I struggled with this for a season of life because we don't want to admit that luck played a role.
We want to believe it was all us. Everything we did was ours. I earned it. It's all me. But luck does play a role or it can lead us down a road where we believe everything is the flip of a coin. So why bother doing this? Either I'm going to get lucky or I'm not, and that can breed laziness and inactivity.
So here's what I believe. I believe they go hand in hand. I believe luck and hard work are closely connected. There's a quote that I've always loved. And I think I've internalized it more and more over the years, but the quote goes something like this: “Good luck is when opportunity meets preparation while bad luck is when lack of preparation meets reality.”
Putting in the work creates opportunities for luck. You know, you look back at the examples I brought up. You know, the Memphis situation I got lucky. I stumbled into this interview that I didn't even care about. And I was offered this cool internship in Memphis and the rest is history. And some of my closest friends come from that experience.
That was luck. But I had put in the work in my education up to that point. I had practiced interviewing. I had prepared. I had done the hard work so that when I walked into that interview, I felt like I gave it everything I could. I really did. And I didn't know how good that was, but I really believe that I put everything into that. When my company shut down and everybody was fired and I was made the offer to move up to Iowa, that was preceded by four really hard years of work and dedication.
I poured everything into that company, and I'm not saying the other people didn't, they did. We were like a family. We were in on this thing together. And so when that happened, there was luck, but I did what I needed to do before that to create that opportunity. Had I not performed well, had I not done a good job?
I would have been cut so fast. I might've been the first one out the door..
Or when my boss connected me with an opportunity to serve a non-US client, the London-based client, that was the culmination of almost a decade of my career. There was a track record. I had a strong performance, and I had a reputation for serving my existing clients. Had I not served my existing clients well, there's no chance that I would have had an opportunity to serve that client in London.
Or when I met my friend, Dr. Gary Hoag and this crazy opportunity to help run an organization in Southeast Asia came about that wouldn't have happened. Had I not put myself out there with him relationally. Now I didn't do any hard work in that, but there was an opportunity for me to spend some time with him. And I put myself out there. I was vulnerable. I was eager to learn and grow, and I really felt like I was humbled in that conversation. And I approached it with a humble heart. Had I not done that, that future couldn't have happened. It wouldn't have happened.
And Cole coming to me at the beginning of COVID. Now it was kind of luck that COVID shut down both his work and my work, and then he approached me, but it wasn't a coincidence. It was luck, but it wasn't a coincidence. I had equity with Cole. I've been coaching Cole and his wife, Kate, for a few years before then…..creating trust.
Cole believed in what I was doing, because he was experiencing it on his own journey. We were not necessarily friends yet at that point, but we liked each other and we trusted each other. That's what created that opportunity. Now luck struck and I'm grateful for it. Work and luck go hand in hand, but we can't dismiss it either.
And I'm not alone in this as I'm sharing this story. I hope you can look at your own journey humbly to acknowledge where luck played a role. If you ask any successful business owner or professional athlete or leader, and if they're honest, luck played a role and that's okay. Just because they were lucky, it doesn't negate the tens of thousands of hours that they spent learning and putting shots up in the gym, hitting the weight room. Luck doesn't negate that, luck comes because of that.
And I think this concept is especially relevant with my Christian friends. There are so many Christians who believe that we just need to have faith. God will provide. Yeah, he will. I believe God's going to provide, but when God provides it might not look like what we think it's going to look like.
And typically God providing looks a lot like us doing our role, us doing our part. He's probably not going to honor us if we don't even put in the work. If we just sit idly and we just say, “all right, I'm just going to stay and sit here. And sit here and wait and trust you will provide.” That might not go well.
I don't think that's the intent of this having faith piece. We need to put in the work. We need to do our part. And as we're doing our part, I believe that God's going to do his part. And remember that his part might not look like we think it will look. It will most oftentimes look different, but it will be better.
So as you're on your financial, your career, your life journey, embrace your part in this. Stay persistent, stay disciplined, do the hard work, keep doing the right things for the right reasons. That's all we can do, the right things for the right reasons. And it's amazing how good luck can strike us when we're busy doing the hard work.
And sometimes we don't even think about luck. We're just busy doing the hard work and luck finds us. That's a beautiful thing. And when it does hit us, when we get lucky, whether it's small luck or big luck, don't dismiss it. Don't negate it. Don't downplay it. Call it what it is. Enjoy it and make the most of the opportunity.
It doesn't minimize your hard work. It's often a product of hard work, and this is also important when somebody else gets lucky and it's all around us. We see it everywhere, especially with social media. When people around us get lucky, celebrate. Embrace it, encourage them, affirm them. It's not about you.
Somebody else's luck doesn't have a cost to you. When Cole or one of my clients or somebody I have the privilege of serving has something really lucky happen to them, that's worth celebrating. It's not worth being jealous of, because them winning doesn't mean I'm losing. So let's encourage each other.
Let's push each other. And when somebody gets lucky, let's pat them on the back, congratulate them. Be that friend, be that person, because they don't have a lot of that. People don't have a lot of people truly, genuinely celebrating them when they're succeeding, especially when they're lucky. So go celebrate the luck that you have, celebrate the luck that others have in knowing that work and luck go hand in hand. That's all I have for today.
058 - Guilt, Guilt, Guilt, Screw It
You know the person who bottles up their feelings over and over and over, only to eventually explode? I think we can all agree this isn't healthy. Well, there's a financial version of this person. After a fun conversation with a client, we coined it the "guilt, guilt, guilt, screw it" syndrome. We feel guilt so we don't spend....over and over and over.....until we reach a point where we say "screw it" and completely binge on spending. This isn't healthy, but so many of us are dealing with some version of this. In today's episode, host Travis Shelton explains how we got here, why it's not necessarily our fault, and the four very simple things we can do to get better in this area of our money and life.
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Full Transcript:
Welcome to meaning over money, a different kind of financial podcast where money is never about money.
Welcome. Thank you so much for tuning in. We are so excited to have you here. We hope you're having an awesome week. And regardless of when you're listing this, we hope it adds value to your journey. And if it does add value, it would mean the world to us if you would share with a friend, or if you use Apple, to rate and review our show. It makes a big difference.
Do you have a friend or somebody in your life and this happens to them? Whenever there's conflict or there's a situation, they bottle it up and they never seem to get mad. They just bottle it up and they bottle it up and they bottle it up and they keep it in and seemingly they're great. And then they explode, and it's a disaster now.
Maybe it's too late, but if that person is sitting next to you, don't look at them, don't make this awkward. But I think we all have these friends in our life. I think maybe there's a piece that we have like that in us at times, but it's a thing. And we know this and the reason I'm bringing this up is because we know what this looks like.
We've seen it. We've witnessed it. We might've experienced it first-hand. And both sides of this are unhealthy, the bottling it up in that expressing feelings and the explosion that comes on the backend, both of those are unhealthy. And I think most people would agree with that. People bottling it up. That's not healthy.
That's not productive that doesn't give you resolution and the exploding, well, we know what that looks like. We know what the explosions look like, but there's a financial equivalent of this. And here's what it looks like. We feel guilty about a purchase. So we don't spend, we feel guilty. We don't spend, we feel guilty.
We don't spend, we feel guilty. We don't spend. And then all of a sudden we say screw it. And we go all out and we just go crazy, completely unhinged. We just go wild with our spending and that's the equivalent. We feel the guilt and that's the. Bottling up. And then the screw it part is the explosion.
And so I was meeting with a client today and we were talking about this and she struggles with this and we name it and we kind of laughed about it, but we called it the guilt, guilt, guilt, screw it syndrome. And she really struggles with this.
The feeling guilt and not spending, feeling guilt, not spending, feeling guilt, not spending that is unhealthy, but so is the other side where you say, screw it and you just go crazy and you don't have a plan. You just go with your gut and you just go wild and you spend really impulsively….and she's not alone.
And I don't know if she felt that, but I helped reassure her that she is not alone in it. I would say maybe a quarter of grown adults struggle with this to some level. Now I think she might struggle a little bit more than others, but this is a thing in our society. This is a problem. And again, I'm saying both sides are unhealthy and here's why it's a problem.
Here's why it's become a problem because this is a product of spend shaming in our society. We live in a culture that says saving is good. Giving is awesome. And spending as irresponsible. And that weight gets put on us over and over and over from the time we're a little kid. And I talked about this on a prior episode, we did a whole episode about.
And it's crazy. The number of times a parent will come up to me and they'll say, “Travis, my kids are so good with money. They don't spend anything. But then I have this other kid and all they do is spend they're irresponsible.” They're foolish, they're selfish, they're greedy. And that narrative gets drilled into us over and over and over again from a young age.
It's no wonder why we grow up and we feel guilt in our spending. But it's not supposed to work like this, this isn't how it's supposed to be. Spending should be a good thing. It should be a positive thing. We should be able to spend on something that adds value to our life and just enjoy it and not feel the weight, not feel the guilt of it.
But so many of us struggle with that. I struggle with that at times, then I have to think it through. I have to mentally process this and ask myself, why? Why am I feeling guilty? Why can't I do this? And then we get to the other side, the screw it, and just spend it. And I see this a lot. This is kind of like the people that Yolo themselves into oblivion.
The people that say I could die tomorrow. You got to live for today. I'm not, I can't wait till the future. It's not about that. It's about being intentional. I appreciate it. I love the people that spend….like my wife. She's she's a spender. If I could say there's a spender, my wife Sarah is a spender.
That's not a bad thing. It's not a negative thing. In fact, she brings something out in me and there's a piece of me that has a hard time spending or at least used to, but being married to her, she has helped pull me towards her. Now I've also helped pull her back a little bit towards me, and I think we've pulled each other into probably a healthier middle ground.
So if you struggle with this, and a lot of people that are listening to this do struggle with this, the guilt, guilt, guilt, guilt, screw it syndrome. How do we get this right? How do we get this to go from a negative to a positive? I think there's four things we need to do in these four steps. They're very simple in, and you're going to listen to them and you're going to hear them.
You're going to be like, “Travis, that's not that insightful” Yeah, that's true. I'm not, I'm not a brain surgeon over here. I'm just trying to implement very simple, very repeatable things. None of this stuff is that complicated. I don't want it to be complicated. People always say, “Travis, you make things too simple.”
These things should be simple. If they were simpler, if we made them simpler, if we taught them simpler, then I think we would have more people doing these things in our culture, but we make them complicated and we, we make them confusing and we don't do it in a simple manner and thus, it feels daunting.
And we just say, “forget about this. I'm just going to go do what I want.” And so these are four very simple things I think we can do to help get over the hump. And these are the four things I walked my friend through this morning.
Number one, we need to recognize that we're doing it. If we're not aware that we're doing it, we have no chance of actually making it better.
So we need to have an awareness. And that awareness part of it might be self-perception. But we might need to take part of that and get it from somebody else. We might not know what our weak spots are. Everyone else does. That's the bad part about our weak spots is that even if we don't know what they are, all you have to do is ask and other people will tell you.
If you feel guilt in buying something that you can easily afford, that might be a sign that there's something going on here. If you can't go buy a new pair of shoes, you can't go to the store and buy some clothes. If you can't go out for a nice meal with some friends, then you might have some tie with guilt here that we need to address.
And that's okay. And that's okay. It doesn't mean there's something broken with you. It doesn't mean there's something wrong with you. It means you're human. And it probably means you've been talked down to for so long being told that that saving is good. Giving us awesome. And that spending is irresponsible.
And if that's you, then that's probably a reason. So step one is we recognize that we're doing it. We need to have an awareness. And once we have an awareness, now we can do something about it.
Step two, we need a plan. And in the world of money, that looks like a budget. I know the dreaded B word. But a budget can and should be an enjoyable part of your life. And I always say budgets only suck if we make a sucky budget. So let's not make a sucky budget, let's make a good budget. And when we do this, we need to name the thing that we want to spend on. And we think to ourselves, well, a budget’s to limit you.
Sometimes a budget is to make you spend on something that you want. Name it and put a dollar amount on it. So with my young friend, what we talked about today was going and spending money on clothes. She feels guilt spending money on clothes. And so, all right. Let's, let's put a plan in place, name it, put it on the budget, name, it, put a dollar amount.
There we go. I don't care what it is. And it doesn't even matter. This is your budget. You get to do what you want. And so if this person wants to spend a thousand dollars on clothes, put a thousand dollars in clothes. You want to spend $3,000 on travel? Great. You want to spend $2,000 on dining out? Okay. But put it in the budget, name it, but there's also something else that we need to do.
In this budgeting world and why budgeting is so important, especially for people that feel guilt, is that when we put this category on our budget and we name it, we have to know how it fits in with the rest of our financial life. Because let's just say you're going to spend a couple hundred dollars on clothes and that feels irresponsible to you.
Why? Because you've been told it's irresponsible your whole life. Maybe it is, but it's probably not. And so when we make the budget, we need to figure out how does that $200 fit with everything else in our life? What are our needs? How much debt payment do we have? Hopefully we don't have any, but if we do, name it. How much are we saving?
And so when you see this category in our budget and it's a fun. And you see that, oh, wait, I can spend this amount of money on clothes and I can take care of my needs and I can pay the debt and I can save money and I can give generously joyfully and sacrificially generously, and still do this thing.
It helps the guilt subside because if we can do these things, these fun things, these awesome things, and still achieve the things that we want to do, that's the win. But when we're not budgeting, these things feel heavier. They feel more irresponsible. You feel more guilt. You feel more shame because you don't feel like you can afford it, or you should be able to afford it.
But when you put the plan in place and you have a budget, you look at it and say “this is awesome. I can do it.”
Which gets us to step three. We need to do it. We need to follow through, we need to execute on the plan. You can't just say you're going to spend money on this thing. And then mid-month say, “you know what? I don't know. There are better uses for this money. I should do something else. If I save it, that's more responsible. Yeah, let's do that.” Or, I “feel guilty. I should give more. So I'm not going to, I'm not going to spend it on me. I'm going to spend it on somebody else.”
That's not how this works. When you make your budget and you say, you're going to spend this money, you have to spend it. And it works like that for the good things and the bad things. Budgets go two ways. So when we say we're going to spend $4,000 traveling, well, you should probably buy those tickets.
When you say you're going to spend $2,000 on dining out? Well, you should probably book some reservations and invite some friends. When you say that you're going to spend a couple hundred or $500 on clothes, then we best go to the store and go buy some clothes. That's how it's supposed to work. That's number three.
Number four. This one is very important. We need to find accountability. Now, if you're married, accountability is laying next to you when you wake up in the morning….it's not that hard. And hopefully we're enough of a team with this, that when we agree on a budget, we're going to hold each other accountable. Gosh, I know my wife does.
If I do something totally different than we said in the budget, my wife's going to call me out on it, especially because I'm the one who talks about money all the time and helps people. My wife's going to say, “Hey, what is up with that?” And maybe call me a hypocrite and vice versa. I hold my wife accountable.
When she says, “Hey, Travis, I want to do this and this and this”, I'll say, “well, that's great, but we didn't plan that this month. Can we do it next month? Let's put it in the budget.” And she was like, yeah, let's do that. Perfect. Now we have a lot of young listeners, a lot of young adults. And for many of you, that means you don't wake up staring at your accountability.
You're single. And so this is harder. And this is where my friend is at. My young friend that I met with today. This is where she's at. We need to create accountability. And so when she says she is going to spend this money, now she has me because she pays me as her financial coach.
And I'm going to hold her accountable to this, but that's not enough. That's not enough. In our meeting. I asked her for her permission, if I could text her friend who she said she was going to go shopping with and I asked her, “Hey, can I text your friend and make sure she holds you accountable?” And she goes, “yes, please do.”
So I texted her friend and I said, “Hey, I just met with so-and-so. Her and I put her budget together for the next month. And we decided she will spend this much money on clothes. And I heard that you might go shopping with her. And so this is my request. Can you hold her to it? Get her in the car. You guys go have a fun day, spend this money, enjoy it, get her some awesome clothes that I know she really wants. You know, she really wants that. Go do that with her. Have an awesome day doing it. No guilt, no stress. No remorse.” And she responded back immediately.
I'm excited. And there we go. There's some accountability. So we need that accountability because after all, as we always say, budgeting is not about spending less. It's about spending better. And some of us need to hear this. Some of us need better. We don't need less. We need. And so for some of you, it means spending less in areas that you don't care about so that you get to spend more on the things that you do care about.
And so I hope that helps. Number one, recognize that we're struggling with this. If you feel any sort of guilt or remorse with your spending on good things, having awareness, we need to look at in the mirror. Number two, have a plan. Put that number in the budget, name it, and then see what the rest of the pieces around it look like to see how itd fits. I can do all the things I need to do and enjoy some of the money I've been blessed with. Number three, we need to follow through. We can't change our mind. We have to go to through with it. Because we said we were going to do it. And then number four, find accountability. If you're married, that's probably your spouse. If you're not married, find somebody that will hold you accountable to your finances. And that's not just on the sucky stuff, but it's also in the good stuff. Have them hold you accountable to spending money on awesome things that you really care about. And so if we can do those four things we can do better, we could do better.
We don't need to repeat the guilt, guilt, guilt, guilt, screw it syndrome. We don't need to do that. You deserve better. My friend deserves better. My wife deserves better. I deserve better. So go out there, live with meaning, seek it out in everything that we do. Money's not going to buy happiness, but when we feel guilt and remorse and shame in our spending, it will zap the meaning right out of our lives. And so you deserve better.
057 - Travis Reacts to TikTok Comments on Dave Ramsey Car Payment Rant
We're doing something a bit different today. Cole recently walked into the office and said, "Travis, you gotta check out these comments on a TikTok video I saw." After pausing, he added "no, let's turn the mics on, then show you the comments." Thus, this episode was born. We aren't huge Dave Ramsey fans, but there is most certainly an overlap on some topics. In this particular video shared on TikTok, Dave Ramsey discusses the recent statistic about how the average car payment in America is $499/month, and the long-term opportunity cost of falling into this payment trap. In today's episode, host Travis Shelton watches the video and responds to some of the top comments made on it. We didn't know how this was going to go, creating an episode 100% off the cuff with no notes and no plan, but we'll let you be the judge of that! Your feedback is always appreciated!
Episode 009 - How Risky Is The Stock Market?
You can find the Meaning Over Money podcast wherever you listen to podcasts, including:
If you have questions or would like to connect with us outside of the podcast, here's where you can find us:
Podcast website: https://www.travisshelton.com/podcast
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YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCasnj17-bOl_CZ0Cb9czmyQ
056 - Planting Seeds
In the final episode of our in-the-wilderness series, we talk about the importance of planting seeds. The things we say, the behaviors we model, the decisions we make, the positive we try to instill in others. Oftentimes, it can feel like it's all for nothing. Then, every now and then, there's a moment we're reminded good has, is, and will come from our efforts. Not all seeds grow. Some wash away, some die, and some just never take root. However, some seeds thrive and eventually grow into something quite beautiful. In today's episode, host Travis Shelton shares parallel stories about how time in the wilderness was the catalyst for seeds being planted in him, and conversely how he unknowingly planted them in another guy. That's the funny thing about planting seeds.....we can simultaneously be the recipient and the planter, all without knowing either is happening.
Coldwater Foundation: http://coldwaterfoundation.org/
You can find the Meaning Over Money podcast wherever you listen to podcasts, including:
If you have questions or would like to connect with us outside of the podcast, here's where you can find us:
Podcast website: https://www.travisshelton.com/podcast
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