Latest / RealTalkwithMikeD / Episode 13 - Money

Transcript

Episode 13 - Money · RealTalkwithMikeD

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: Welcome to Real Talk with Mike D. What's up everybody?
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: Welcome back to Real Talk with Mike D. Where we
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: say what we mean and we mean what we say.
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: And we talk about the stuff that people sometimes don't
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: want to talk about. Today we're talking about something that
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: affects just about everybody at some point in their life. Money.
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: More specifically, we're talking about financial struggles. Because let's be honest,
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: sometimes life gets expensive. The bills keep coming, the paycheck
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: doesn't seem to go far enough, the credit card balance
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: gets a little higher, the car needs repairs, the house
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: needs something fixed, and suddenly you're sitting there thinking, how
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: in the hell am I going to make all this work?
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: I've been thinking about that a lot lately, because financial
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: problems aren't just about dollars and cents. They can affect
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: your confidence. They can affect your relationships. They can affect
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: your sleep. And sometimes... They can make you feel like
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: you're falling behind while everybody else seems to have their
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: life together. But here's the thing I want to say
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: right from the beginning. If you're struggling, you're not alone.
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: And struggling with money doesn't mean you're a failure. It
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: means you're dealing with something difficult. There's a certain kind
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: of stress that comes with looking at your bank account
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: and knowing that payday is still a few days away.
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: You start doing the math in your head. Okay, this
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: bill comes out Friday. I have to put gas in
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: the car. I need groceries. I have this payment coming up.
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: And suddenly you're doing financial gymnastics just to get through
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: the week. And what makes it worse is that we
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: live in a world where there are constantly being told
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: to spend. Buy a new phone. Get the new car.
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: Take the vacation. Buy the bigger house. Upgrade everything. And
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: social media makes it even worse. You see people posting
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: pictures from expensive vacations. New cars, new homes, fancy dinners.
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: And you start wondering, why don't I have that? But
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: remember something. You don't know what's happening behind the picture.
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: Someone can drive a $ 70, 000 car and have $ 75, 000 worth
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: of debt. Someone can live in a beautiful house and
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: be stressed every night about making the mortgage payment. And
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: someone can look financially successful and be one emergency away
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: from falling apart. So stop comparing your financial life to
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: somebody else's highlighted reel. You don't have to keep up
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: with anyone. You just have to figure out how to
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: move your own life forward. Now, let's talk about credit cards.
• 2:42
  Speaker 1: Credit cards can be useful, but they can also become
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: a trap. You buy something today because you need it,
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: or maybe because you simply want it, and you tell yourself,
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: I'll pay it off next month. The next month comes,
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: And something else happens. The balance doesn't get paid off.
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: Then you use the card again. Before you know it,
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: you're making payments on things you bought months or even
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: years ago. And that's when the debt starts controlling you.
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: The scary thing about credit card debt is that the
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: minimum payment can make it feel manageable. You look at
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: the statement and think, I can afford $ 75 a month.
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: But the question isn't just whether you can afford the
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: minimum payment. The question is, how long are you going
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: to be paying for that purchase? That's why getting control
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: of debt requires honesty. Look at every balance. Look at
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: every interest rate. Look at every monthly payment. Don't hide
• 3:39
  Speaker 1: from the numbers. Because here's the truth. You can't fix
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: a financial problem that you're afraid to look at. Sometimes
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: the first step isn't making more money. Sometimes the first
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: step is simply knowing exactly where Your money is going. Okay. Well,
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: I hope this found some of you helpful. And I
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: really appreciate you all being here as always. And I
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: will see you all on the next one. I hope
• 4:13
  Speaker 1: you all have a great night. Be kind to each other. Peace.
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: All right.