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Episode: 281 - Change Your Financial Mindset with Two Simple Words

Do you ever feel like each month’s financial situation looks exactly the same, like you're stuck in a loop similar to Groundhog Day? The culprit might be how often you rely on the word "but." Although it’s just a tiny, three-letter word, it can have a significant impact on your financial decisions. Let’s discuss how swapping "but" with two powerful words can transform your financial outlook. 

 

 

How "But" Blocks Financial Progress 

Think about a time when you dismissed a suggestion with "but." Maybe it was advice about saving for a big purchase or improving your credit score. Every time you use "but," you invalidate the progress that could have followed. This small word often blocks any real change. 

To gain control of your finances and live a more peaceful, happier life, shifting your mindset is essential. A great way to start is by adopting a technique from improv. 

The Impact of "Yes, And" in Improv 

In improv, a key rule is "yes, and." It’s designed to help performers accept whatever situation they are given and then build on it. When I joined Toastmasters in 2012, I learned this concept in an advanced club that used improv. If someone in a scene says, “Look at that zebra,” and you respond with anything but agreement, it disrupts the scene. By saying "yes" and adding "and," the story keeps moving forward smoothly. 

Applying Improv to Your Finances 

How does this improv technique relate to personal finance? Let’s say someone advises you to "pay cash for your cars." If your immediate response is, "but I can’t," you’ve just shut down the conversation. Instead, using "yes, and" can open new doors. Responding with, "Yes, that's a great idea, and how can I make that happen?" leads to a much more productive dialogue. 

Changing the Way You Think About Money 

Using "yes, and" helps you receive financial advice rather than rejecting it. For instance, when you hear you should start budgeting, instead of saying "but I don’t know how," try, "Yes, I need a budget, and I’ll learn how to create one." This small shift can break negative habits and lead to better financial choices. 

By welcoming expert advice and trying out recommended strategies, you’ll start seeing different, better results. Adopting the "yes, and" approach allows you to take ownership of your financial success. 

Embrace Financial Growth 

When you come across financial tips online, instead of responding with "but," try something new: "Yes, this could work for me, and here’s how I’ll put it into action." This mindset shift can significantly improve your approach to financial planning. 

Conclusion: Shift Your Financial Mindset 

The "yes, and" principle from improv can be a powerful tool in your financial journey. It helps you move from simply hearing advice to actively applying it in your life. This simple mindset change could guide you to a more successful, less stressful financial future. 

Start today by replacing "but" with "yes, and," and begin turning your financial obstacles into opportunities for growth and success. 

 

Resources Mentioned

Get better results with your finances in 30-60 days - GUARANTEED. Watch this video to learn how! - https://www.debtfreedad.com/payoff-debt-in-60-to-90-days 

Free Tools and Downloads at www.debtfreedad.com

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Transcript: 

Chris Hawkins:  

Does every month look the same financially. Do you feel like you're stuck in the movie Groundhog Day? Well, one reason for that just might be that you use the word but B-U-T, but too much. Yes, the word, but the one word that your English teacher, or maybe a grandparent, told you, erases everything that you said prior. If you want to change financially, you have to replace the word but with two other very important words. I'll explain.

Chris Hawkins:  

Coming up in this podcast, this is the Debt-Free Dad Podcast, where we help normal, everyday people like you take control of your finances so that you can live a happier, less stressful life. My name is Chris Hawkins and I will be your host for today's episode. From 2005 to 2008, my wife and I paid off just under $100,000 in debt and we have been debt-free, except for our house for over 15 years. Now I want to take you back to the year 2012. I had just finished my doctoral dissertation which, by the way, was in the area of financial education, and I had just started thinking about becoming a financial coach and I thought man, I want to go out and I want to do speaking engagements. I want to become the next radio host and I want to write books, become the next radio host and I want to write books. And I started looking for how to become better at public speaking and I joined an international group called Toastmasters. Now Toastmasters, it's a worldwide organization and it's designed to help people improve their public speaking and leadership skills. And so I joined a local club and about six months after I joined, there was a group of people who wanted to start an advanced Toesmasters club.

Chris Hawkins:  

We decided to incorporate improv, an advanced Toesmasters club. We decided to incorporate improv, and for those of you who may not be familiar with improv, think of if you've ever seen the show Whose Line Is it, anyway? Where they make up everything on the fly. And so we would do improv scenes as a way to build our humor, humorous skills, as a way to work on our body language, our vocal variety, our creativity. And so we learned that there are rules to improv. There are things that you have to do in order for a scene to go successfully.

Chris Hawkins:  

In the very first rule of improv at least the way that we learned it in that Advanced Toastmasters Club the first rule was yes and Y-E-S-A-N-D Two words, yes. And Now here's what that principle means In an improv scene. Let's suppose that I'm working with somebody and the audience suggests that we're at a zoo, and I open the scene and I say look at that zebra over there, and the person that I'm doing the scene with me says that's not a zebra. Well, what that person just did is they didn't say yes, they didn't agree that that was a zebra. So, in essence, by saying that's not a zebra, they have killed the whole scene. So if you watch really good improv, people do improv. Whatever the first person says, the other people go along with it and they elevate it. And so the principle of yes and means that in an improv scene, you agree, you don't disagree, because as soon as you disagree, you've killed the scene, there's nowhere for the story to go, and so you always have to agree by saying yes and then do something in response to that.

Chris Hawkins:  

Now, what the heck does this have to do with personal finance? Well, a few months ago my son, for Father's Day, bought me a subscription to Masterclass and I've been going through some of the courses on there and I saw one that was called Prepare to Be Unprepared by Amy Poehler, saturday Night Live theme. I think Parks and Recreation is another show that she was on, and I got excited because I'm like, oh, this is a course on improv. Well, she started off the first episode, or the first lesson, by talking about she was going to use the rules of improv, but she was going to show us that those rules can be used anywhere in our life, that they don't just apply to improv. And so she went through all the rules of improv and didn't teach improv, but rather taught a class or lessons on how to take each of those principles of improv and apply them to our life. And it got me thinking. Well, the first one is yes, and.

Chris Hawkins:  

And how many times in our financial life do we hear something like this podcast, like the Debt-Free Dad podcast, or something in the Roots course, or maybe something in one of the Facebook groups that seems to be a lot different than anything that we've ever heard? For example, why not pay cash for your cards? Well, if your response is, well, I can't, or there's nowhere for you to go, you have just stuck yourself in the status quo. So if somebody says, keep your car and save up money to pay cash and you go, but my car is beginning to break down, you've just used the word but, and what that means is you're more than likely going to go and borrow money to buy a car probably a brand new car and you're going to be stuck with payments and you're going to be upside down, meaning you're going to owe more for that car than it's worth and you've just dug yourself a bigger financial hole.

Chris Hawkins:  

A better response when somebody says hey, don't go out and buy a brand new car, keep your car, save what you think you have as the car payment to help you nine, 10, 12 months, maybe a year and a half, down the and how do I do it? And that is a way that you can begin to think differently. That is a way that you can begin to put new ideas in your mind. That is a way that you can begin to remove yourself from the status quo. That is a way that you can start to turn away from all the financial mistakes that you've made in the past. And so, when you see comments on Facebook groups, for example, one that I get is or I've seen quite a bit is how do I improve my credit score? And of course, inevitably there will be comments that say, well, don't focus on your credit score. And the person will say but I need to get my credit score up so I can buy a car Right there.

Chris Hawkins:  

Using the word but, whether it's spoken, whether it's typed out on a Facebook group or something, is your way of rejecting the advice that someone is giving you. So try using yes and meaning. When someone gives you some advice, or when you learn something in the Roots of Personal Finance course, or you hear something in the Debt-Free Dad podcast, don't dismiss it, don't say but Stop and say yes. So when we hear us talk about one of the best things you can do is start a budget, right, your response shouldn't be but I don't know how, right there, you just threw a roadblock up, you killed the scene. Nothing else is going to happen.

Chris Hawkins:  

Let's suppose that you don't know how to do a budget and you hear us talk about the importance of needing to do a budget yes, I'm going to start a budget and I'm going to learn how to do it. That's how you use yes, and, and I could go on with example after example after example of ways that we use, but that we really need to replace it with yes and Meaning. Don't reject the advice, don't dismiss it, give it a try, try something different, and when you try something different, you just might get a different result. And when you listen to people like those of us on this podcast, when you learn or take the lessons and the roots of personal finance, when you learn from the people who are in the Facebook groups and they have done what you want to do and they're telling you to do something totally different than what you think you should be doing, the correct response should always be yes, and so use those two words to change your financial trajectory and put you on a path to financial success.

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