How I Think About Money (3 Minimalist Ways)

“Being rich is having money; being wealthy is having time.” — Margaret Bonanno

“The only man who never makes mistakes is the man who never does anything.” ― Theodore Roosevelt

Today, I wanted to let you into my mind and give you a peak “behind the curtain” of how I think about and manage my money on a daily basis. 

Before I dive in, let me outline 3 important bits of context, particularly if you’re new.

1. My unique perspective and approach with money comes from a childhood and early adulthood filled with lots of anxious struggles surrounding money. So, just know that I wasn’t always good with this stuff.
2. My story involves a massive financial catastrophe in my late 20s that lead to what I now call my “lost decade”.
3. My story is deeply intertwined with the exact process I discovered that lead to me pay off over $174,000 in debt in 2.5 years and then going on to save and invest over $500,000 in the following 5 years and ultimately to some semblance of financial independence or “FI” that my wife and I now enjoy.

So by God’s grace, the story has a happy ending, but the details are important to help you understand how and why I’ve arrived at my current financial posture.

And if you’ve hung around my platform for any amount of time, you’ll know I believe it’s super important to embrace these principles and practices if you REALLY want to change your financial situation.

In fact, it’s been my joyous passion to teach and lead students toward some modicum of what my wife and I now enjoy for over a decade.

My company is ZeroDebtCoach and we specialize in helping 5 and 6 figure corporate burnouts (like I used to be) escape their nightmare by teaching them how to effectively: 1) organize and optimize their financial lives, 2) eliminate debt and 3) accelerate toward financial independence by starting and growing an online business just like I’ve done. 

3 Main Ideas

So, there are 3 main points I want to cover in this video. Let’s rattle them off in rapid succession and then unpack them as we go.

1. Money Will Only Take You So Far.
2. Time Will Solve Your Money Problems.
3. How To Harness The Power Of “Next”.

Let’s jump into #1.

1. Money Will Only Take You So Far

Now, I know this may seem a little oddly contrarian coming from a money coach, but I think it’s a SUPER important point to start with this idea.

The Bible teaches us that THE LOVE of money is the root of all kinds of evil, so my approach has grown out of that very important and self-evident truth.

Here’s the specific quote from 1 Timothy 6:20:

“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.”

Thinking about this idea will hopefully awaken us to the incredible power of money and its potential to corrupt us.

Why is it that some of the wealthiest people in the world only seem to want to  acquire more and more power and wealth?

Have you ever thought about that? I have... a lot actually.

And don’t hear me wrong, I’m not saying that money or having money is necessarily bad. You have to listen for the nuance here (which I know is SEVERELY lacking in our current social environment).

As you move through your financial journey learning how to organize and optimize your finances, get on a budget, track expenses, sack debt and start building wealth, you WILL get to a point where money is not as urgent or will not need to be emphasized as much as maybe it is right now.

The point is that if you follow what I and many others teach about getting control of your finances, you will have more than enough at some point and the question is… what then?

Will you just go after “more and more” out of fear and greed like we see so many of the uber wealthy doing?

OR, will you use your wealth and freedom to serve God and to serve other people?

Obviously, my hope is the latter and that’s why it’s important to consider this question both at the beginning and regularly throughout your journey. 

2. Time Will Solve Your Money Problems

Well, that’s actually only half true, actually. Time WITH the proper mindset and practices will solve your money problems. 

Once you have the proper mindset AND practices, THEN time actually becomes your friend.

Now, if you’re multitasking, I want you to come back here with me for a second…

Time IS on your side IF:

1. Your finances are organized.
2. In a budget that you’re looking at daily.
3. You’re tracking expenses.
4. Actively working on obliterating any consumer debt, and
5. Constantly building your financial acumen toward saving and investing your way toward financial independence.

With these 5 principles and practices time IS on your side.

Conversely, time IS NOT on your side IF:

1. Your finances are in chaos.
2. You’re not living on a budget.
3. You’re not tracking expenses but just have a “vague sense” of inflows and outflows.
4. You’re living paycheck to paycheck and can’t pay all of your bills.
5. You have no plan to address any of these issues.

Time is definitely not on your side if you’re in this posture and I know I don’t need to tell you that because you’re probably feeling that pretty acutely as I outline these points.

Particularly if that’s you, do this immediately: Download my 100% FREE “Debt Elimination Quick Start Guide”.

Link is in the description to get you set off on the right foot to immediately change your situation.

3. How To Harness The Power Of “Next”

This is SUCH an important word and best put in the form of a question, “what’s next”?

What’s the next best thing you can be doing to move the ball forward in your journey. This will indeed change over time and as you progress through the stages of financial solvency toward financial independence.

It will require you to be flexible, creative, collaborative and even willing to surrender to a way of doing things you may currently know nothing about.

So that’s the question I have for you: “what’s next for you?”

Let me know in the comments section below and let’s continue the conversation.

Struggling Or Feeling Alone?

Join Our Private FB Group: Zero Debt Tribe

Now, if this decision process is something you struggle with and you constantly feel isolated about, I’ve got some great news for you and it’s free.

Our private Facebook group, ZeroDebtTribe. It’s a group of like minded people that are all somewhere along this P2P/debt-elimination/on their way to FI continuum. So click the image above and apply to join us. :)

How can ZeroDebtCoach help you? 4 ways...

1. Subscribe to our YouTube channel and click the notifications bell to make sure you get our new videos every week. 

2. Download one of our free personal finance guides. You’ll learn some of the exact strategies I teach my private coaching students on how to organize and optimize their finances, obliterate debt and move on to financial independence by starting and growing online businesses.

3. If you’re looking for a community of motivated and like-minded people, go ahead and get on the waitlist to join our private financial coaching community. We only open it for new students a couple of times a year, so make sure to get on the waitlist.

4. If you need some help right now because you’ve got a burning issue, you need a problem solved, you want to talk through a complex situation, click on the button below.

All that said, let's keep on building your financial acumen and make this your best year yet!

Thanks so much for reading and we’ll see you in the next video post!

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FOR EDUCATIONAL AND INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. NOT LEGAL OR FINANCIAL ADVICE.

The information provided in this video and on this channel is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for legal or financial advice that can be provided by your own attorney, accountant, and/or financial advisor. Practical Personal Finance accepts no liability whatsoever for any losses or damages arising from your own personal financial decisions. You are advised to consult with your financial advisor, tax professional, or attorney regarding any and all financial decisions involving your own income and taxes.