Episode 194 - Do You Have Personal Finance Herd Mentality?
Welcome to episode #194 of the Debt Free Dad Podcast. So, what exactly is herd mentality? Well, to put it simply, it's the phenomenon where people tend to follow the crowd or conform to the behavior and opinions of the majority, often without critically evaluating their choices. Perhaps it's that instinct to buy that car or product just because "everyone else is doing it." Or do you find yourself saying things like "There is no way to get a college education without student loans" or "Used cars are a bad idea due to repairs" or "credit cards are for emergencies, you'll always have one!" In this episode, we'll examine real-world examples of herd behaviors when it comes to your personal finances, both positive and negative and offer suggestions on how you can overcome this in your life.
What You'll Learn
- Are you tired of making financial decisions based on what everyone else is doing? Learn to break free from the cycle of blindly following the crowd.
- Explore the episode where we challenge conventional wisdom and question common financial norms.
- Dive into real-world examples of both positive and negative herd behavior in personal finance. Hear stories of individuals who successfully resisted the temptation to conform and those who faced challenges due to following the crowd.
Resources Mentioned
- Brad's Totally Awesome Debt Freedom Planner
- For more help, and a step-by-step process to get started, enroll in Brad's FREE online course, LIFE WITHOUT PAYMENTS.
Free Tools and Downloads at www.therealdebtfreedad.com
Connect With Brad
- Website - https://www.therealdebtfreedad.com
- Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/therealdebtfreedad/
- Private Facebook Group - http://www.facebook.com/lifewithoutpayments
- Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/brad_nelson_debt_free_dad/
- TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@debt_free_dad
- YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtbAadBrWLL81CZbA6sI5pg
Thanks For Listening
Like what you hear? Please, subscribe on the platform you listen to most: Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Spotify, Tune-In, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, YouTube.
We LOVE feedback, and also helps us grow our podcast! Please leave us an honest review in Apple Podcasts, we read every single one.
Is there someone that you think would benefit from the Debt Free Dad podcast? Please, share this episode with them on your favorite social network!
Episode Transcript:
Brad:
Hey everybody, welcome to episode number 194 of the Debt Free Dad Podcast. So what exactly is herd mentality which we've talked about on this show? To put it simply, it's the phenomenon where people tend to follow the crowd to conform to the behavior and opinions of the majority, often without critically evaluating their choices. Perhaps it's that instinct to buy that car or product just because everybody else is doing it, or do you find yourself saying things like there is no way that I'll ever get a college education without student loans, or my kids will get a college education without student loans, or used cars are a bad idea due to repairs, or credit cards are for emergencies You'll always have one. So in this episode, we're going to examine real world examples of herd behavior when it comes to your personal finances, both positive and also on the negative side, and we're going to offer some suggestions on how you can overcome this in your own life. Stay tuned.
Announcement:
Practical Advice to Gain Financial Freedom 1.9.5.
Brad:
So we're talking all about herd mentality and, Ryan, actually you put this episode together and you had mentioned we're getting a lot of posts lately, so let's just talk a little bit about this before we start getting into some of this stuff.
Ryan:
Yeah. So I thought it would be good to just you know. When you introduce the show you kind of gave a short explanation. I'm going to bullet point this. I would encourage people to just Google herd mentality. There's a lot of fascinating research out there. I think the biggest thing to understand about it when we say it you might read it might be a little like what's he talking about? Herd mentality? I'm not a follower. It is like it's human nature. Herd mentality is just how we've survived as a species. If you go back, it's like how we banded together. So it's not necessarily bad. It can be bad and it can be good. But, as you kind of break this down a little bit, it's the tendency of individuals to conform to the behavior, beliefs or opinions of a larger group. People often follow the crowd without critically thinking or independent judgment. It just means, like you know, hey, everybody says this. It must be the right thing to do. So. Therefore, I think this and I do this and you don't really go out and research it or do your own kind of. You haven't come to the conclusion on your own. You've been influenced by the masses as to why you think this way. It can lead to collective decision making, sometimes driven by emotions or social pressure rather than rational analysis. I mean we see this in spending money all the time. I mean 100%, I mean driven by emotions and social pressure extremely. It can influence various aspects of your life, from consumer choices to financial decisions and even political beliefs, and it can have both positive and negative outcomes. So some of the you know we've posted a number of things. You know we've been posting a lot of TikTok. We post our podcast on YouTube and we do get comments. You know we get. We recently posted a post on TikTok about cars. Anytime we post anything about cars explode.
Brad:
Yes.
Ryan:
The claws come out. You know for people defending or not to. You know all of that.
Brad:
But one of the big can we just say wait, wait, wait? Can we just say real quick when we say, when we talk about the claws coming out, people get legit pissed at each other on these guys. I'm like we're just talking about cars people like it's okay, like they get just pissed at each other. It's amazing. Yes.
Ryan:
And I think sometimes, when we so some of the comments we've gotten, like use cars are just as expensive as new cars, like just flat out, there's no discussion, there's no put, there's like 100% the used car is more expensive than a new car.
Brad:
Kati is like biting her tongue so hard right now. Look at her.
Kati:
And I had to buy a new car last week. You had to, I had to. Well, I had to buy a car because mine was not going to run anymore on the road. So unless I was Fred Flintstone in it, it was not going to work, and I had done a lot of research.
Ryan:
Yes, and this is not to shame anybody if you're buying a new car. I think the idea behind this is if you find yourself saying that and I think this comes to personal finances and for me, this was a big eye opener for me as I got out of debt is why do I think and believe the things I think and believe? Is it because I really think and believe them and I know them to be true and I've done my research? Or do I think and believe them because all these outside forces, especially nowadays with social media, if you go on tiktok and you go on our posts, you're going to find thousands and thousands, hundreds of thousands, probably millions of people that are going to agree with that statement that used cars are just as expensive as new cars.
Chris:
And we're talking about, like a used Lamborghini versus a brand new Honda Accord Whoa.
Ryan:
I think that that's where. That's where we get this irrationality about things right. It's just a flat out statement and like, no amount of like. Like if you say, well, here's an example of this used car that costs this much versus this new car of the same model, well, I'm not talking about that car, that car is not. Well, then you can't say every car you know, right, we have this mindset. That is just like. Every car is that way, because that's what everybody is saying Right. The other big one is used cars are not reliable and costs more to keep running than a new car. That's probably one of the biggest ones we've seen yeah.
Brad:
Which is repairs. Yeah, I think it's completely false. And again, I get that there are cars that you can get yourself into, especially used ones, that can have a lot of problems, but there's also new ones too that you can get into, that have a lot of problems too, but this one I just I from experience and I just, yeah, I mean, there's repairs, but it's not cheaper than you know. A new car is not cheaper because of repairs. I think the reason why a lot of people get into this mindset is number one most people don't have the money to repair their car, right, so they just finance it because it's like well, I don't have the money to spend 1200 bucks on a repair, so I'm just going to finance the repair and we're going to then rename repair depreciation over over years, right, that's, that's essentially what what we're doing. But a lot of people get themselves into that and they say, well, you know, new cars are used cars aren't reliable. I'm just going to get myself a, you know, a new car. The reality is you're still paying it, you're just paying it. A lot of depreciation. Now and again, if you're listening to this, you're like, well, not all, because there's a lot of used cars, and this is a very unique situation, guys. The way we're right now, with the way the economy is, the way used car prices are Okay, you probably could talk to the sum of this, because you just did this. You know we're seeing used cars at a pretty high rate. Right now, cars are holding their value a little bit different than they used to, but I'm here to tell you, guys, that that's not going to last. I can't see the current automotive industry stay in the way that it is. I think we're just in this unique situation, but I think over time we're going to go right back to it. There are still plenty of people that I talked to and work with that are so upside down on their vehicles. So it's still happening. It's just doesn't happen to everybody the way that it used to. As far as depreciation and how sharp depreciation was, especially in those first few years, no, but I can't see that lasting. It'll eventually probably work itself out where things will go back to somewhat normal. I think that's just me.
Kati:
Right. Do you want to see an example? Just real quick, because I pulled one up. So this is a used car. It's a 2021 HRV. I bought a 2024. It has 22,052 miles on it and it costs $25,639. My car, brand new with four miles on it, was $28,000 and change and I'm just like, well, would it be ridiculous to spend the extra $3,000 right now and get all the inclusions and the warranty, versus the $7,500 transmission that needed to be repaired and my car wasn't worth that much for my old one. But I took the time to actually compare things. I really tried data. I used one.
Brad:
What did you say?
Kati:
Chris.
Chris:
Well, I was going to say can I jump on her comment there? Yeah, this is not to beat you up, Kati.
Kati:
I could have gone the A-1 for $3,000.
Chris:
The statement was that used cars are not reliable and cost more to keep running.
Kati:
That I don't believe.
Chris:
So, using your example, then this is why I want people to think about the example you just used. Yeah, you saved $3,000 by buying a car with 22,000 miles on it, but a car with 22,000 miles on it is not going to be any more or any less reliable than the car that you bought Absolutely not.
Kati:
So it is an example.
Chris:
Right there you have. I mean, I think it proved the point that unless there's something wrong with that 22,000 mile car, it's going to be just as reliable. But there's the blanket statement that Ryan is talking about, that people will only buy brand new cars because they have warranties, like you mentioned, Brad, and because a warranty means my car is going to get fixed because I don't have the money to fix it. It doesn't make the car not reliable, it's just you're right, Brad, you don't have the money to do it. But, Kati, I think that you would agree that both of those cars are going to be very reliable Once.
Ryan:
They're probably not going to be any more reliable than the other one there's just the safety net there of the warranty Right.
Brad:
Yeah, and I definitely don't want to turn this into a used car episode.
Kati:
Correct, but we've done one of those before.
Brad:
Yeah, but I would definitely say, like, if I was looking at that and I was in Kati's situation, I'm the thing that would come to my mind is warranty for $3,000. I'm going to get a three year warranty. What kind of warranty did you get? 100,000 miles, ok, so I mean.
Kati:
And 10 years.
Brad:
If I'm definitely going that high of a price of a car. Now, me personally, I'm different than Kati. I don't spend that much money on cars Like I'm OK driving around a $5,000 car. It could be the worst POS on the car on the street, I don't care, just as long as it gets me to where I'm going. I don't care right. But other people are different. So, but it doesn't mean that you can't like I see people commenting on TikTok and just as it goes back to this, this mentality of used cars aren't reliable, it's, it's done. I mean I've pretty much all I've bought. I think the most expensive vehicle I bought Well, it was my Jeep most recently, but that doesn't count, I think it was. That was a completely different thing, but it was used. But like my truck, my pickup truck was the one that I have now was like $7,000. And I've had that truck now three or go three years and I've had very In fact, this past year is probably the most I've had because I haven't been driving it because of my Jeep, and not driving it is actually costing me money now because I've got to repair it, because the thing just sits there. So I got to make a financial decision about that. But anyways, like I don't spend that much money, nearly that much money, on used vehicles and I've had very good luck, you know finding very reliable vehicles in a price range of anywhere between 3000 on the low end and I get things have changed up to $7000 and paying cash for those vehicles. So it's just a different perspective.
Chris:
Some people are and I was going to say that $3,000,. You could argue that it's maybe a better value OK, but you cannot argue that it is more reliable. I don't think it's all.
Kati:
I'm going to say Right, no. And this is the first brand new car that I've gotten since 2004. So it's been a long time since I've actually purchased a brand new car. Everything else has been used in between there.
Brad:
All right, let's get off the cars, let's go to the next one, the politics.
Chris:
You mentioned a couple of other roles. One of the one the one the first ones you mentioned, Ryan is that I had a comment, but I don't.
Ryan:
Yeah, so like this, this isn't so much probably on a post that we've made, but one of the biggest, you know, I think, myths and misconceptions in this day and age, and something I think everybody is. Just we latch on to these numbers or these ideas that you can't get a college education these days without student loans. Ok, that is just an impossible feat and I think that one grinds me the most, because I have a son who did it and by no means and I think the biggest, the biggest thing I get frustrated with is that is like when we talk about these things it doesn't mean we don't mean everybody, we don't mean like because I did it, every single person can do it. That's not what this is, but I do know that there's a lot of people that jump on this bandwagon of there's no way you can do it. So when you think that if you have that mentality that there's no possible way, it means you're not open to like how can we do this without debt? How, what? How can we do this? So we don't saddle you with 50, 60, 70, 80,000 dollars in debt? We just say there's no way because that's what everybody says. And then you go to school 50, 60, 70,000 dollars in debt and then we say, well, there was no way. And I'm telling you there's ways. You just have to think about it and get out of this mindset of like what everybody tells you, that there's no way to do it Right.
Chris:
Taking the time to address it, I have two children myself, who also graduated with no student loan debt, so it can be done. Now, the difference is we help them out. Some. Now they paid for part of theirs as well. We wanted them to have skin in the game. Okay, so they contributed towards their own education, but we helped them. But maybe, Brad, this is something I think that we ought to do a whole podcast episode on is what are some different thinking differently in terms of college education, and you probably have already done one, but it may be a good time to do it again. Yeah, there is a college in Georgia here that their nursing program is one of the top ranked in the country. Their MBA program is one of the top 50 public MBA programs in the country and nobody's probably ever heard of them. Their name is Kennesaw State University and if you make good grades in high school here, you can graduate, go on to we have a Hope Scholarship program here in Georgia and if you live at home I did the numbers two years ago you can get a whole college education Four years, not one, not two years, not three, but four. Tuition fees, books for $11,000. Wow, but you've got to be willing to look for those types of those opportunities and stop the mentality of well, if I don't go to a really good school, my life is over and I'm going to be a failure in life, or if I go start at a junior college which is significantly cheaper and then transfer to that bigger college. There's so many different paths and no two people who walk across the stage on the same day pay the same amount for that piece of paper. No two people. Every decision you make whether it's the type of laptop that you buy, the dorm that you live in, how many times you go back and forth to and from home, how many times a week you get out, I should say, versus the dining hall all of those decisions add up to how expensive that piece of paper or how cheap that piece of paper is. And so you're right, Ryan. If it's important to you, you can graduate from college without a student loan debt, and it's important for people to hear that this is a good episode about not having the herd mentality. Look for yourself, look for the problem solver and look for ways to do things differently that most people aren't doing, and your life is going to be significantly better.
Ryan:
Now the other one that goes along with that is like you know, it's popular now student loans. Just kick back in the payments, just kick back in to start, and I think everybody's feeling it. But I think there's just this idea that you know you just never going to be able to pay your student loans off. We have people that have done it, right, I mean again.
Chris:
That's the way it's saying that we have people that have done it.
Ryan:
We have the proof of people doing this. So it's like when you say it can't be done and then we see people doing it, it's like, do you really like? You've internalized that and you've made yourself believe it? It's impossible and it will be impossible because you believe now it's, it's part of who you are. You believe that there's no way I can do it. And again you're just adopting. And again, when you go on to tiktok, when you go on to social media, when you go and you surround yourself with people who are all there's no way to do it. It's not fair. All this stuff, all you're doing is just feeding that comfort level, that herd mentality of like I'm surrounded by this group of people. We're all comforted by each other, we're all in this together. It feels good. But then you're stuck because you don't, you can't get yourself out of it because you're just surrounding yourself with those kind of people.
Brad:
Yeah Well, there's a lot of people I've worked with that have just said, they've said and I've heard it multiple times I'm going to die with my student loans. Right, I'm going to die with them. And I mean, how many people have you heard just say that about debt in general? I'll die with my debt, I'll never pay it off, right? So that whole mentality that you're always going to be there. By the way, we did do an episode back in season one, episode number 41. We had Jocelyn Penita Pearson on the show and Jocelyn still runs this program today. She calls it the scholarship system and she runs an entire membership program, amazing program that helps students find scholarships to go to college debt free. But you know how many people are actually going to take the time to do that? I mean, if you think about it, a lot of people, I should say a lot. I don't know how many people, but there are people out there that like to give their kids or get their kids to go to work right and learn how to work. And what about if their job was just to apply for scholarships and we're able to manage? Think about the money that they are making per hour for these scholarship awards that they can get. And we're talking about all sorts of different scholarships that Jocelyn helps you get. So again, that's just another unique thing that's out there that most people aren't doing. I mean how many scholarships that are out there that don't even get rewarded because people just don't apply for them, right? I mean that is a thing. So she helps people do that. So make sure you guys check that out. Episode 41 on the podcast.
Ryan:
Yeah.
Kati:
And there's a quote I've heard If you, whether you think you can or you think you can't, you're right. So it's kind of what is your mentality? What's the best that can happen, what's the worst that can happen? Which way are you going?
Brad:
Right, yep. So what are some of these other ones?
Ryan:
So, yeah, a few, a few more, just common ones that we've always seen. You'll always have a credit card. Credit cards are for emergencies, you know, and I think I think so. These, these are the ones that are fascinating to me, because these are the ones that have been ingrained in our society and if you look back to like when credit really started to take hold, like in the 50s and 60s and 70s, this is what they started training us to believe, and so now you have generations of people who believe this and it's just like I, like I was when I was in debt, I was. We are their own marketing arm to some degree, like they don't even have to sell it anymore. They literally have millions upon millions, upon millions of people that will convince you that you should use a credit card to increase your credits to use the product. But there was a commercial, I think, that's floating around on Tiktok for Burger King about how when the Burger King started offering credit and this was in the 90s and everybody thought it was just like crazy that you would use a credit card to buy fast food, and this was in the 90s, and now we're in 2023 and you think, like you can buy now, pay later, your food now, and nobody thinks anything of it. Like that's fascinating to me that that's where we've become as a society and that's just like that's how well we've become trained to just use credit. We don't even think about it the marketing machine over the years.
Chris:
I don't want this to come across sarcastic, but there's only really one way to say this You're only gonna have a credit card if you ask for one. So the argument that you'll always have a credit card no, you won't. If you don't ask for one, you'll never have a credit card. I didn't have a credit card when I was 15. Okay, I don't have a credit card now and I haven't had a credit card since 2005. And again, I don't want this to come across sarcastic or in mean in any way, because I was in the same shoes as a lot of people out there listening to this podcast 18 years ago when I said enough's enough, because I knew I couldn't control use of a credit card. And I have not had a credit card since 2005. That is 18 years. And, by the way, emergencies have come up. I'll be able to handle them without a credit card. I've been able to travel without a credit card. Folks, you can do it. That's the point where you don't understand. You don't have to have a credit card.
Brad:
Yeah, I want to say like I Could be wrong, but wasn't like. Wasn't it like the diners club card? That was started because the guy forgot his wallet, had a restaurant or something and he was so embarrassed because he didn't have any cash and and that's how the card I want to say, is that how that started?
Chris:
Well, it was diners club was the first credit card. Now, how I started, I don't know.
Brad:
I could have sworn. That's how that's how it started, and like he had forgotten his wallet. He was so embarrassed he never wanted to be put in that situation again and that's what. That's how that credit card. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure that's what I heard, that from a history standpoint where that one came from. But it's interesting though. But again, card is for emergencies. What if you forget your cash? Right? Here is your credit card right.
Ryan:
And I think it's just so for me, like when we talk about herd mentality, I'm just, I really never thought about it much until I really got out of debt and I really started to just Start doing some of my own education and start reading, like you just start like, if you think of, like the discover card, like oh, there's a discover card that's everywhere, but it's like it came out in the 80s. It's not like it didn't come out like 150 years ago, it came out like 30, 40 years ago. And now these things that are just so ingrained and I just I think the biggest part of me is, like some of these other statements are You'll always have payments renting as a waste of money. You'll only live once. You can't take it with you when you die. You know it's. You know this person's fault or inflation's fault or all these like this. This Big thing right now, I feel like, is like we love to just figure out who's to blame and point our fingers at it rather than saying, okay, yes, they're to blame. I'm not saying there's not problems, but now what, what can I do about it? What, what can I take? What's the next and I think, a big thing to break free from it, from personal finances, do some education, get out from feeling comfort and good with all the people and Start doing your own research and get around other people. And I think you know, Brad, you asked this question was asked in Roots right Recently. You know we asked people in our Roots program Can you share a Moment or experience when being a part of this community? And the incredible members have helped you, stay accountable and provided the support, and I mean we. How many comments did we get? I mean I think we got we got a ton of comments. That's quite a few on there, you know, but this is like the side where it's like okay, you. That's kind of the negative side, what we just talked about now. The positive side is when you get around a group of like-minded people, like in Roots, like when everyone else in the world is giving terrible advice and leading me down bad roads. Lots of credit card debt is fine by a brand new car is fine, sorry. It is nice to come back to this group and remember why I started this journey, remembering the stress and anxiety I left behind. Another person had said I had never thought about money, habits and psychology being so interwoven until Roots and I'm finding out that I'm not the only one who has these weaknesses and roller coasters ups and downs the compassion and encouragement that everyone shares with each other. I Was lost, feeling alone and overwhelmed prior to joining. Now I'm making progress, feeling hopeful and knowing I'm not alone in this journey. Every moment with this group is a great one. I mean, I think that's like the positive side of like herd, herd mentality. Like when you, if you're around people that are trying to make strides to get out of debt, do the right things with their money, it's gonna rub off on you. Just like, if you're around people who are saying, like credit cards are great and you should use one, that's gonna rub off on you and by far More people. Our credit cards are great in this country. I mean you're gonna find that. I mean most people are gonna say that. So you got to seek out and find people that Are sharing the positive side of personal finance right.
Brad:
Well, it's like Chris, I know we talk with me, we've talked about this for years, but it's the whole idea of just being willing to Put yourself out there and think different than other people, yes, and challenge yourself too. That's hard right. We all had to. I mean, I remember the day that I told Ryan I was getting out of debt like he was. Yeah, he was like you're freaking nuts, like you never do that. Who does that Really? But that's what it was like, you know, way back then, when I was getting out of debt. I've dealt with a lot of that, but you know it was reading those books, opening those books that most people aren't reading, most people aren't looking into this information, most people aren't trying to learn. You know what other people are doing and if you're willing to look, put your ego down and put your comfort level down a little bit and get outside the box, it's amazing what can happen and, like Ryan pointed out with some of these comments, on the positive side is it can be life changing in so many ways.
Kati:
I would say another herd mentality to add to this list is I have to work a nine to five job that I hate, day in and day out, versus kind of the entrepreneurial spirit of I have this problem in the world that if I could solve it, you know and be passionate about it and love it. You never work a day in your life. But you actually work harder when it's like your passion, your baby, your business, so like you don't have to work for somebody else, you can do your own thing. If you have a great idea, like, put it out into the world and run with it. Those I mean. There's a lot of different ways to just think about all the things.
Brad:
But think about that. You know I oh that is a hard one, cause you know, stepping out of your own is hard. That's what I had to do, yeah, but most people do not. When it comes to leaving a nine to five job and starting in your own business, most people, they're like, they're like good luck but that's it, because most people are too scared to do it. It's hard stepping out doing your own thing and that being sucked by that mentality of you know we always got to be working a nine to five job or always need that salary. That's a hard one to break away from, cause most people are too scared to take any sort of risks. But also most people are too broke to try to take any risks too Right.
Ryan:
I think that's probably like that. The side of it where it's like that herd mentality is I'll always have bills, I'll always be stuck working this job, I'll always like I just got bills to pay. But if you can break out of that, maybe it's not starting your own business, but maybe it's like making a total 180 on your career, because what you're doing you hate but what you really love like yeah, you're going to have to take a pay cut to do it, but you're going to love doing it.
Chris:
And you mentioned think differently. Read, read, read, read a bunch of books, articles, listen to podcasts on this topic. It doesn't mean that you have to agree with everything you read. It doesn't mean that you have to believe everything that you read. So we're sitting here talking about in this podcast about think for yourself, don't follow the herd mentality. The same thing when you read a book. You may not agree with the vast majority of the information in that book, but that's OK because you're at least challenging your thought, you're making yourself think. But even the worst book I've ever read on personal finance, there was one nugget in that book that I have found to be one of the most valuable pieces of information I've ever used. Right Now. The rest of the book I thought was awful. So there may be. You read We've talked about this before Even the worst book. There can still be something good that you get out of it and you add a little bit to your knowledge base. Every time you read something different and it begins to shape how you think about different topics, different things, particularly financially, and it helps you move away from the herd mentality and start developing your own plan, your own path, your own why in life so that you can maybe branch out and do the business that you've ever wanted to do or live somewhere different those types of things and have experiences that you never would otherwise.
Ryan:
Yeah, heck, just being able to breathe Right.
Kati:
I just like to know the different sides to the story. So I like to talk to people, as long as they can have a nice, civil, respectful conversation, not just yelling at each other and calling names. But I'm like I want to know what your point of view is, because maybe I can think about something different than I would have before, because that's just how I was raised or that's what I've always believed, or whatever.
Brad:
So I think that there's no problem in talking about it All right guys, we're going to take a quick commercial break and I'll be back with some celebrations. So the totally awesome Debt Freedom Planner is helping so many people make consistent progress with their finances, whether that be building emergency funds, paying down bills, budgeting, tracking paydays, saving up for larger purchases, goal planning and planning for those irregular yearly expenses that always seem to catch you by surprise. Now the Debt Freedom Planner will help you take the stress out of managing your money and if the thought is running through your mind, hey, I just need to have a simple tool to get my finances together, this planner is perfect for you. Head over to therealdebtfreedad. com, click on the Debt Freedom Planner in the menu at the top of the page and order your Debt Freedom Planner today.
Chris:
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Let's talk about debt baby. Let's talk about your money. Let's talk about all the good things, all the bad things that may be. Let's talk about debt.
Brad:
All right, that's all means it's time for the celebrations of the show, and today we're kicking off with Marla Alberti. A huge win this week for me was slicing my interest rate down to zero on one of my credit cards and put me on a plan to get that thing paid off. Way to go, marla. That's great.
Chris:
And Esther Rodriguez needed some work down on my house $1,300 worth, but no credit cards used. We decided not to go on a planned and not yet paid for trip this month. The word no N-O is so powerful when you're trying to pay off debt. Also, I paid off an $8,000 business loan. Good job, esther.
Brad:
Yeah, those are some incredible wins. Wow great job.
Kati:
Yeah, awesome. And then Christina Dameron, over the last few weeks was able to save $3,200 for her dog to get surgery and she did use her $1,000 emergency fund because the total was $4,200., but she was thankful to be able to pay it in cash and was able to replenish her emergency fund today when she got paid.
Brad:
Yeah, awesome, awesome, awesome win.
Ryan:
And Lauren Strode. I bought plane tickets for Christmas with real money. I remember that feeling when I made it. I remember when we went on a first vacation with cash. It was like, wow, I never knew you could do this. Also had to fix a crack in our foundation, but I was able to use our emergency fund.
Brad:
Yeah, that was awesome, awesome win. Congratulations you guys. And if you're just getting started with our podcast or maybe you've been listening for some time and you're interested in how you can get started on the road to financial freedom, go to our website at debtfreedad. com and sign up for my free Life Without Payments workshop, where I'm going to show you the first steps that have helped tens of thousands of people just like you and I kick Financial stress and worry for good. We'll see you guys next week.
Announcement:
MUSIC. Thanks for listening to the Debt Free Dad podcast. Connect with us on Facebook, tiktok, youtube and Instagram at Brad Nelson Debt Free Dad. If you found value in today's episode, please leave a rating and review. We so appreciate it. For resources, show notes and links mentioned in today's show, visit Balancedcents. com. That's Balancedcents.com. Catch you next week. Music.
