Do you ever feel like you wish somebody else was the adult in your house and you could just be a kid again? Or just go back to school and have everybody tell you what to do? As much as we all wanted to get out on our own, make our own money, make our own decisions and be the shot-caller, sometimes we realize that it stinks to be the one in charge.
As we meet with clients and brainstorm with them about how to manage their finances there are times when we sense what they are really asking is, “will you just tell me what to do?”.
And sometimes it is as easy as that. And we give them our opinion and move on. But sometimes it not that easy. I remember a young couple who came to me years ago and they had 3 big ideas on their financial horizon and they wanted to know what I thought they should do. To which (with all my vast wisdom) I replied, “I dunno!” I wanted to say, “I can barely figure out my own life much less yours” but I didn’t cause I am the financial coach and I get paid to help them figure out their stuff.
Continue reading “What should my Financial Priorities Be?”
Crisis come in all shapes and sizes. As I write this, the whole world is experiencing the Coronavirus Pandemic. We are all huddled at home watching the news trying to figure out when the government is going to give us the all clear. In this particular crisis we are all struggling with the vulnerability of our health and our finances.
It happens every year. I see the pristine Christmas scene and the doting husband who takes his unsuspecting wife outside with her hands over her eyes and surprises her with a new car. You know the one with the big red bow on top. And I daydream about replacing my wife’s 2007 Corolla and she thinks that I am the most wonderful husband ever. Until this year… 
“It’s the most wonderful time of the year…for the credit card companies. There is much jingle belling and hearts will be telling of credit galore. It’s the happiest season for more.” Ok, so I reworded the old classic Carole. But someone needs to say it, “don’t spend more than you can afford on Christmas- this year.” Reign it back in if you didn’t save well. 
I wasn’t sure if he was going to have a nervous breakdown right there at my desk or not. He kept saying over and over, “But they said that I could afford it.” His wife looked at me with pleading eyes to comfort him as she went in the other room to tend to their children. Finally, I mustered the courage to tell him what the numbers said. As gently as I could, I told him, “Buddy, I don’t care what they told you. Your housing expenses are a 42% of your income and the reason you are in my office today is YOU HAVE TOO MUCH HOUSE.” He left shortly thereafter and I never saw him again. He had gained the missing piece of the puzzle. 
My (Tim) wife and I have been married for over 30 years. And despite all her great strengths (which are many by the way) she struggles in the area of staying on budget in our household budget- or so it would seem. A few years ago, she returned from the grocery store and I could tell as she walked in the house that she was overbudget yet again. For 20 years we have had the same issue- she buys groceries, she overspends, I get frustrated, she feels bad, I look at that pretty girl who serves our family so faithfully and I overlook the overspending and we move on. Until that fateful Saturday. 
We all grow up dreaming of a Wonderful Life. Family and friends who love us. Good job. Nice house. Plenty of food. Enough money to take care of our needs and even some of our wants. When I got married one of my friends was asked to give us some marriage advice. His advice was classic. “Tim, give Terri everything she wants.” He added, “and Terri, only want what you need.” I can still remember his wife catcalling from the background about his bad advice. But, behind his playful banter was a principle. And the principle is this; for a family to be successful the family has to be on the same page and have a plan. Particularly in the area of money. Nothing will challenge a marriage more than how to manage the family resources. 
This is the year that I am going to clean out my garage. No, really I am! I say that every year and I piddle at it most of the time but this is the year that I am going to go for it. I am getting rid of the extra stuff in my house. I even have a box or two still unopened from when we moved in 13 years ago. I wonder what’s in there?
We see it every day. College graduates (some of them not so recent) saddled with the repayment of school loans that is quite frankly eating their lunch. It is becoming apparent to me that we are not doing a good enough job helping our students do the simple math of the loans. The simple math of how much to borrow and what is will actually cost you to repay the loans. Borrowing is the easy part, repayment is the bear. It is obvious that the lending institutions are expecting the student to figure out how much to borrow and the students still live in the la-la land of “someday they will be making it big and will have plenty of money to repay whatever loans they incur”. What is worse is that many parents are taking a cavalier attitude towards preparing their students to navigate the loan game. Seems that everyone these day put themselves through school walking up hills both ways in the snow with a full time job.