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Episode 272 - The Shocking Statistics on Financial Stress in America

Financial stress is a pervasive challenge affecting millions of people. If you're feeling weighed down by debt or exhausted from living paycheck to paycheck, you're not alone. This comprehensive guide aims to provide you with practical strategies to alleviate financial stress and set you on a path toward financial freedom. By sharing personal stories, statistical insights, and actionable advice, this guide offers a roadmap to help you conquer financial stress. 

 

Introduction: The Weight of Financial Stress 

Financial stress is a significant source of anxiety for many people. Recent statistics reveal that nearly half of Americans in 2024 considered this year to be the most financially stressful of their lives. A survey conducted by the MarketWatch Guides team found that 88% of respondents felt some level of financial stress, with 65% identifying finances as their biggest source of anxiety. These numbers highlight the urgent need for effective strategies to manage and reduce financial stress. 

Understanding Financial Stress 

The financial landscape of 2024 is challenging, with high costs for essential goods tightening household budgets. Survey data shows that 47% of respondents found this year to be their most financially stressful. Many Americans avoid looking at their bank accounts out of fear, leading to further stress and anxiety. 

Key findings from the MarketWatch report indicate: 

- 88% experience some level of financial stress. 

- 65% identify finances as their biggest stressor. 

- 94% believe financial stress has adversely affected their mental health. 

- 92% say it has caused physical health issues, such as loss of sleep and headaches. 

Practical Strategies to Reduce Financial Stress 

Get Organized 

Review Expenses and Income: Examine the last three to six months of your bank statements and credit card bills. Track all your spending, including Cash App, Apple Pay, and any Buy Now Pay Later programs. 

Total Up Your Debt: Write down all your debts, including due dates, and organize them on a calendar. This provides a clear picture of your financial situation and helps you plan your repayments. 

Build an Emergency Fund 

Establishing an emergency fund is crucial for reducing financial stress. Start by saving $1,000. Having a backup fund for unexpected expenses can prevent you from relying on credit cards, thus avoiding additional debt and interest. 

Limit New Debt 

Commit to not using credit cards and avoid accumulating new debt. Focus on paying off existing debts by creating a repayment plan that prioritizes high-interest debts first. 

Create and Stick to a Budget 

Develop a monthly budget that accounts for all your expenses. Use tools like spreadsheets or budgeting apps to track your spending and adjust as needed. Consistency and discipline are key to successful budgeting. 

Educate Yourself and Seek Support 

Surround yourself with resources and people who are also working to improve their financial situation. Listen to financial podcasts, join support groups, and read books on financial management. Being part of a community can provide motivation and accountability. 

Celebrating Small Wins 

It's essential to recognize and celebrate small victories along the way. For example, meeting a budget, saving for an emergency fund, or paying off a significant amount of debt are all accomplishments worth celebrating. By acknowledging these achievements, you can stay motivated and continue making progress. 

Final Thoughts: Taking Control of Your Finances 

Achieving financial freedom is not easy, but with the right strategies and support, it is possible. By getting organized, building an emergency fund, limiting new debt, creating a budget, and educating yourself, you can reduce financial stress and pave the way for a more secure financial future. 

Remember, taking control of your finances is a journey, and each step you take brings you closer to financial stability and peace of mind. Start today, and over time, you'll find that the efforts you put in will lead to significant and lasting improvements in your financial health. 

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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Episode Transcript: 

Brad:  

Hey guys. So today's episode is all about conquering one of the biggest sources of stress in our lives. It's our finances, and if you've ever felt the weight of debt holding you back, or if you're tired of living paycheck to paycheck, this episode is for you. We're going to be diving deep into some practical strategies, some latest statistics on financial stress. Also, we're here to help you reduce a lot of that financial stress and sharing a lot of the personal things that we have done over the years to overcome our own financial challenges and stress. Stay tuned.

Announcement:  

You're listening to the Debt-Free Dad podcast with Brad Nelson. Brad and his co-hosts experience the anxiety of living paycheck to paycheck before learning the fundamentals of financial success. They are now on a mission to empower regular people to pay off their debt for good and enjoy happier, less stressful lives. Keep listening for inspirational interviews, tips, tricks and practical advice to gain financial freedom.

Brad:  

Hey guys, I'm Brett Nelson, founder of Debt Free Dad. I paid off about $45,000 in debt, have been debt free now for more than 11 years. I've also been fortunate to help thousands of other people save and pay off tens of millions of dollars with the work that we do here at Debt Free Dad.

Chris:  

And I'm Chris Hawkins, and my wife and I began our journey way back in 2005, almost 20 years ago and over the course of about three years, we paid off just under $100,000 worth of debt, and we've been living debt free since 2008.

Kati:  

And I'm Katie Hatfield and I am still on my journey to debt freedom and have paid off, over the last slightly more than six years, $174,968 on a single income.

Ryan:  

My name is Ryan and my wife and I paid off about $160,000 while raising three kids.

Brad:  

Now, guys, after listening to this episode, if you want to take your finances a step further and you'd like to get better results with your finances in as little as 30 to 60 days, we've got a great resource that we're going to be sharing later on in today's show. So, guys, to kick off today's conversation, obviously, financial stress I mean. We talk about it often on this show, but I mean just time and time again, especially over this past year, I've been seeing more articles, more studies, more statistics. In fact, we just recorded an episode not too long ago and not necessarily talking about the mental side, mental health side of personal finance stress, but it was more about the physical health side and just some alarming statistics there. But I also wanted to share this latest article and really hopefully provide you guys, as listeners listening to this, just some you know again, more or less just a summary of a lot of the things that we talk about here and some of the things that will help you, over time, reduce a lot of that stress. And one of the articles I want to read from is Market Watch. This was actually written on August 9th, 2024, and is written by Dahara Singh I believe is the name edited by Andrew Dunn. We'll try to have the link in the show notes here for this as well, but in the article it says in an era where high costs for essential goods are tightening budgets, nearly half of Americans right now 47% say in 2024 has been the most stressful year of their lives financially speaking. According to a new survey from the MarketWatchGuides team, another 42% say that they avoid actually looking at their checking account to balance out of fear.

Brad:  

The Market Watch Guide team surveyed 2,000 Americans about the impact of their finances on their mental health. We asked about people's biggest sources of stress, their money habits and how personal finances have affected their overall health, both mental and physical. And it goes on to find and it has some key findings in it 88% feel some level of financial stress and 65% say finances are their biggest source of stress right now. 58% admit to hiding financial stress from loved ones and 44% say that they will ignore a financial problem until it becomes a crisis. 47% say 2024 has been, like I said, the most stressful year for most. 94% say that they sacrifice their mental health to get by financially 94% you guys, with 92% saying financial stress has caused adverse physical effects easy loss of sleep, headaches etc. Says two and three personal finance. Or two and two and three say personal finances are their biggest source of stress. For most people we polled, nothing induces as much stress as managing money problems. According to our survey, nearly nine in 10 survey takers 88% reported feeling financial stress, with again 65% stating that their finances are the most stressful aspect.

Brad:  

Guys and I just want to stop right there because that's a lot of stuff right there I mean I'm I'm shocked at how many people just ignore their bank accounts right now. I mean if there was never a time to ignore it, it would be right now when the stress is high and things are as tight as they are. I mean you really want to be watching that. But again, I can understand and kind of go back to that way of living when things are tight, you put your head in the sand, you want to ignore it, but you guys know that just doesn't help. I mean we've all been there.

Kati:  

I feel like when I was in debt so bad that I was like literally checking my bank account all the time to make sure this didn't hit my account. This didn't come out, and then I'd have an overdraft fee, and then you just get even further in the hole, and so I feel like I actually check my account less now, because I know what's coming in and out all the time.

Chris:  

The three of the four of us are now out of debt. Katie, you're getting there. Hopefully you're getting close. For me it's been since 2008. And I have to be honest, and I have to be fair, that you know sometimes stressful things happen, but the level of stress compared to what it was like prior to 2008 isn't near as significant. So it's hard for me I don't want to say hard to relate, because I haven't forgotten how bad it was, but it's just something I haven't had to worry about and haven't had to think about. It doesn't surprise me. I guess that if I were still in debt, that I would probably feel the exact same way as all of those folks, but fortunately, because I've been out of debt since 2008, things just don't bother me as much. I guess when they happen you can get to the point where we are right. But it does take some action. It does take trying something different. Keep burying your head in the sand, hoping it'll go away. That's not the answer.

Ryan:  

It's kind of like this perfect storm of all of these things happening at once, right, I think even three, four years ago, when we got out of debt, or, if you look back at times when times got tough, we had the housing crash. There are certain things that have happened over the years, but rarely have I seen where it's like housing prices went up, interest prices went up, cars went up, everything all at once, and I think that that's a challenge. And I mean, we're out of debt. So is it affecting us? Yes, but it's not affecting us in that same way. Yes, but it's not affecting us in that same way. A lot of people are feeling the pinch right now of, you know, maybe realizing like, if you're not prepared for this, because we can't control this as much as we'd love to say that whatever we do, somehow we're going to be able to prevent this from happening again. It's going to happen again and the plan is that you have to be prepared for it.

Brad:  

Well, what's interesting, guys, is they have some more information here. They actually asked do any of the following habits apply to you? And I just want to kind of read through these and we're going to go from most to least. But it says habits that apply to you not using a detailed budget. So, of these 2,000 people, 58% of them admit number one they don't have a budget, they don't have a detailed budget.

Brad:  

58% of those same 2,000 people say hiding their financial stress from their loved ones, which we mentioned. 57% says procrastinating on important financial decisions. So again, more or less ignoring 44% overspending to cope with the stress. 44% ignoring a financial problem until it becomes a crisis. 44% making purchases I know I can't afford. 41% avoiding opening bills or reviewing bank statements. 35% using my credit cards irresponsibly. 30% overuse of buy now, pay later programs, which we've talked about often on this show. And 30% borrowing money without a plan to repay it.

Brad:  

I would say, outside of hiding my financial stress from loved ones, which I think is a pretty normal thing for most of us, I think we probably never told anybody how really bad it was, but all of those things are controllable in the sense of you can do better in a lot of those areas, like those, that all of those areas are something that you do have and you can have control over you. It's not out of your control. Like it's powered by inflation, like these. Are these things that people say are the worst habits, are the things that they could be like we're going to slow down on some of those things. So those, those are interesting. What is your guys' take on those?

Kati:  

I would say that's exactly how I got into debt. But also, brad, you'd be proud of me. I started the psychology of money and it's very interesting, even though I have to go back over it a few times because it's not exciting. But but when they were talking about if you were born in the 80s and 90s, we haven't had this kind of a financial environment with all the crazy like. Back when our parents were young, our age, they were like paying in the 20 percent of interest rates and now it's like, yeah, it's not that bad, but we have never experienced this before. And now it's our turn when we want to buy houses and cars and all the things and it it is. It's a lot all at once.

Ryan:  

It's a lot to go from. You know, before everything went up in price, we were all I think a lot of people were living the dream, living in the now, living for the moment. In that time, you could afford all that stuff. But, as we've said on the show and as we've talked a lot, when a crisis comes, like like then, all of a sudden it's like what do I do? What do I do? What do I do?

Ryan:  

And I think this mental health stuff, some of this stuff and I can relate to some of this of like there's this feeling I'm never gonna get out of debt. I don't even care, I'm just gonna buy it. Like what does it even matter? You know, um, I don't even care that I'm keeping a budget, like I'm just my, I'm just that's not where my head, that my head is, like I just feel so overwhelmed that I do want to just ignore it and pretend like it doesn't exist. Um, but it?

Ryan:  

I will tell you that we did that for years and years and years and it just led to more mental health and fighting and arguing, and it never really fixes the problem. You end up just more and more and more and digging yourself deeper and fighting and arguing and it never really fixes the problem. You end up just more and more and more and digging yourself deeper and deeper and deeper. Um, and I you know. So these numbers are not super shocking in the sense of and we've seen this I I would say that before all this happened, these probably numbers were probably pretty similar. I don't think there's a lot of people that were changing, and we've shared statistics that in 2018, when things were supposedly good, 63% of people couldn't afford a $500 emergency and today, in 2024, that number is roughly the same percentage, still the same, and it should be 30% back in 2018. If we're saying like the reason is because everything's more expensive, it's not really the reason. The reason is a lot of our own behaviors.

Brad:  

Yeah, because everything's more expensive. It's not really the reason. The reason is a lot of our own behaviors. Well, it goes on to say which of the following money-related issues cause your stress. Obviously, number one doesn't shock any of us. Probably high prices for essential goods, which makes sense, lack of savings, lack of income, my debt performance of US economy, housing costs, high interest rates and the uncertainty about retirement, which is at the end. So, again, a lot of people more focused on that day-to-day living, which right now, I mean it totally makes sense. But 41% of Americans say that their finances have destroyed which is a big word, mind you, have destroyed their mental health. Gen Z 53% of them agree with that. Obviously they're averaging all of these generations. But millennials 48%. Gen X obviously it goes down a little bit to 40%. Baby boomers, all the way down to 28%. So obviously they're doing better from a mental health standpoint.

Chris:  

But you listed off some things that started with 52% of people weren't doing a budget. Can you go back to that list real quick? Yeah, yeah, absolutely so list those off for me one by one, if you don't mind.

Brad:  

Yeah, absolutely so, the habits that apply to you. Do any of these following habits apply to you? So number one was not using a budget at 58%.

Chris:  

Okay, so I do not want to come across as arrogant here at all. That's sort of why I've been very quiet so far in this podcast, because that's not my intention. It is certainly not. If anybody out here listening to this podcast, you've got to know that I want your well-being, I want you financially to be where we are. I really do so. I have been doing a budget since 2005. Okay, so that first item on the list. Most people don't do a budget. I've been doing one. What was the next thing on the list?

Brad:  

Next one is well, it's hiding my financial stress from loved ones, which is understandable. The next one after that is procrastinating on important financial decisions, so essentially just ignoring them.

Chris:  

No, I deal with them right off the bat when they do come up, so I don't procrastinate. All right next. Next one is overspending to cope with stress. Every now and then we've all admitted we overspend. But I certainly don't overspend to deal with stress, and there's somewhere I promise where I'm going with this.

Brad:  

All right, so go ahead. Next one, at 44%, tied with that one is ignoring a financial problem until it becomes a crisis. I don't do that either. I would kind of throw that into the procrastinate one, but they're separated. I mean here in this point, 44%, again tied with these, is making purchases. I, okay, I don't do that either. 41%, say avoid opening bills or reviewing their bank statements.

Chris:  

I review my bank statement every couple of days. I'm like you know, katie, I stay so on top of it. I'm probably I am not a type A personality other than with keeping on top of my finances.

Brad:  

Yeah, last, our next one is using my credit card irresponsibly. Don't have one Overuse of buy now, pay later.

Chris:  

Chris, you've never done it, no, no.

Brad:  

And then last one borrowing money without a plan to pay it back.

Chris:  

Don't borrow money. Okay, so that whole list was me prior to 2005. Okay, so that whole list was me prior to 2005. Yep, okay, that whole list since 2008 for sure is not me Prior to 2005,.

Chris:  

I had lots of stress Since then, a lot less stress, okay, my point of this is it took me realizing that everything that you listed there are things that I could change, those are things that I could do different, and those were things that was bringing stress on myself.

Chris:  

And I came to the realization that the stress was there not because of something that somebody else had done to me, or not because of any external influence such as the economy, right, but those were problems that I had and that if I did something about them and changed them, I'd have a different outcome.

Chris:  

And I am very happy that I made that decision to realize that I was my own worst financial enemy and that if I'm my own worst financial enemy, I'm also the solution to the problem. But that is going to take thinking differently and doing different things, as I mentioned earlier, and so my message would be if you're worried about the economy, who cares? It's out of your control. If you will get yourself where you're out of debt, where you've got savings, where you've got an emergency fund, where you begin to invest, then you're in a position where, regardless of who wins an election or regardless of what's happening in the economy, you can sort of pivot, make adjustments and adjust in a way where it doesn't really bother you that much, and I hope that doesn't come across this area and that I'm better than anybody else. I'm not.

Brad:  

No.

Chris:  

I am just like everybody else out there. I just made a decision one day, almost 20 years ago, to do something different.

Brad:  

Right, and the odd thing, the funny thing is, is that do something different is do the complete opposite of what this list says and things will improve, which is which is fascinating. And it's interesting that I'm reading this list because then, if you look at some of the tips that we're going to share here in just a second, they are all of these. The first one that I have is getting organized and getting yourself on a budget and how important that is, and we talk about this all the time. It's crazy to me how similar the statistics are of people who live paycheck to paycheck, which, depending on what statistics you look at, is either six out of 10 households or seven out of 10 households. There's some that even say eight out of 10 households.

Brad:  

And then, if you look at the statistics of people who don't budget, right here you got almost six out of 10 households that don't budget. I mean, for me, those, those are just too similar. It's like there's there's too much of a of a coincidence there. Like if you budget eventually not overnight, like you mentioned, chris, early on in this episode like not overnight, it's not going to happen overnight, it's going to take time, but if you have a budget and if you're willing to be consistent with it and disciplined with it over time, you can end paycheck to paycheck living. It's just.

Kati:  

It's the time part that you need to get over and just understand that that's going to take time, and I would say I was probably one of those people that waited until it was a crisis, but I knew it was happening In the back of my brain. I'm like I don't have the money to do this. I don't have the money to do this. And yet I just kept spending the money or swiping the credit card until it got to a point where it literally was do I pay rent and groceries and my light bill or do I pay my credit card statements? And it was just like. At that point, I feel like that was my rock bottom and I'm like okay, something has to change, something has to give. And it had to be me. I had to be the one that gave like okay, I have to change my habits, I have to not wander the aisles of Target, I have to stay home and not shop online. And it was just making that decision and saying I don't want to live like this anymore.

Ryan:  

I can't live like this anymore and actually taking action yeah and I just say, before you get into the tips, I want to just say, as we get into these tips about what you can do, try not to use the excuse of well, you guys all did it before things got bad. You have no idea how it is right now, because I know that that is a, because it's the same. When I was in debt, I was always looking for something to blame. Some reason it was the job, it was a million things, that was the problem reason. It was the job, it was a million things, it was the problem. But I really want you to know, like we are helping people now, right now, every day, every month, that are having success, and those are people that are taking responsibility and if you take responsibility, things can get better, even now when things are more expensive.

Kati:  

I'd like to remind everyone that six years ago, when I started this journey, I was only making roughly $13 an hour and I paid off over $22,000 in my first year of doing this by making changes, by cutting out subscriptions all the things that we're going to talk about like those steps.

Brad:  

Yeah, which is incredible. Yeah, that's incredible progress. And so I mean I think the first thing and guys, I mean feel free to share like what's worked for you. I mean, obviously I think we can probably all agree on some of these that we're going to share here quickly but the first one is obviously to reduce a lot of the financial stress. I think one of the best things that you could do when getting started is just to get organized.

Brad:  

I think where a a lot of financial anxiety, a lot of uncertainty, a lot of worry comes from, you just have no idea what's going on. I mean, we just mentioned the crazy is over 40% of people not checking their bank accounts right now. That, in and of itself, causes stress, causes anxiety. All of a sudden, a non-inspective bill comes up and you have no idea what's going on in your bank account. You have no plan, like instant anxiety, like I can feel that anxiety still to this day just thinking about it. So get organized.

Brad:  

So start reviewing your expenses, start reviewing your income, as we always talk about on the show. Go back and look at the last three to six months of your bank statements, your credit card statements. Anywhere you're spending money PayPal, cash App, apple Pay, buy Now, pay Later I mean anywhere cash. Start tracking where all that money is going. Make sure you work on totaling up all your debt. I know that can seem overwhelming, but it is also really stress relieving when you actually total it up and see it on paper, because now it's like okay, how do we start putting together a plan where we can start attacking some of this and reducing some of it? When you don't know the total, it's easy to ignore it.

Kati:  

In my opinion, I'd say that was the hardest point. And then it was like, okay, that was the absolute decision that I have to stop this. Whatever point I was at, I'm just like this has to end, and it has to end right now.

Brad:  

Yeah.

Brad:  

So when you're totaling up your debts, obviously writing down your due dates super important. Get out a calendar, write down your budget sheet, however you want to do it, but just write down all your due dates. Look for bottlenecks inside your budget. If you've got certain times of the month where you've got a lot of bills coming out versus other times of the month, you can call creditors or people you owe money to utility companies. Find out if there's other due date options where you could spread those bills out a little bit more, easing a little bit more of your stress throughout the month. And then, once you know your expenses, you can start to figure out like what am I going to keep, what am I going to cut out and what are some things that I can start shopping around to get better prices on. And I man I can't say it enough just without everything else that we're going to share here real quick, just doing this can feel really good in the next 30 to 60 days by just getting all this stuff in one place and getting things organized.

Chris:  

It's important for you out there going back to totaling up your debt. When you total it up, yeah, it's going to be bad. Okay, and it's going to be bad, okay, and it's it's going to seem scary. But, brad, you and I've done financial coaching for a long time and I can promise most of you out there we've probably seen significantly worse than what you're facing. I've seen some absolutely crazy amounts of credit card debt, brad, I'm sure you've seen six-figure credit card debt yourself. Oh, yes, for sure, probably more than once.

Chris:  

All right, so I don't want it to sound like that's normal, but you almost have to think okay, I'm normal, I've got a lot of debt. Let's write it down on paper, let's admit to it, and you're right. Write it down on paper, let's admit to it, and you're right. There's sort of a freeing moment that comes with I can at least breathe and say I'm not at least staring at it. Okay, and I'm not the only one that's done it, but Brad has people. Katie, you're going through it right now. What'd you say? $170 something, thousand dollars.

Kati:  

Hold on. Now you have to make me 174,968.

Chris:  

Listen, folks, that's 174,000 dollars, and you made how much when you started, per hour 13.

Kati:  

I think it was like 1323. Can we agree?

Chris:  

that. That's about $28,000 a year. Yeah, it's about I mean that's almost the poverty level to some degree, right? So Katie can can face that fear. Yeah, it's about. I mean that's almost the poverty level to some degree, right? Mm-hmm, so Katie can face that fear because you wrote it down at one point, right?

Kati:  

Yes.

Chris:  

And it was pretty bad.

Kati:  

It was sickening. Sick to my stomach, gross.

Chris:  

But at that moment when you finally did it, at least you knew what you were dealing with, right, exactly. And is there some level of I don't know what the word I'm trying to relief is probably not the word but at least some level of okay, now I know what I've got to do. Yes, exactly. And does that not, by itself, at least give you a tiny bit of hope?

Kati:  

Yeah, I was like I have to do something. I don't know what I'm going to do, but I got to do something.

Chris:  

And so that's the point I want y'all to realize is you got to put it on paper, you've got to get yourself organized, and it's not going to be pretty, but that's your starting point. You know what you've got to accomplish now. It makes it easier to create a goal to have a number, and easier to create a goal to have a number. And then, like Brad said, you've got to start then doing a monthly budget. Right, you've got to do that, and it is going to be ugly the first couple of months. It is not going to be perfect.

Chris:  

There is no one right way, and we've said this many times on this podcast, but it is worth repeating every time this subject of a budget comes up. You're not going to get it right the first three or four or five months, but you're going to get better at it, and what works for you is not going to work for me, what works for Brad is not going to work for you. All right, there's no one right way to do a budget. There's only one wrong way, and that's to not do it.

Kati:  

I was a big fan of the spreadsheet. I know Chris is a pen and paper guy, but also, you have to stick to the budget. You have to actually look at the budget and say, okay, this is how much I have to spend and then try to spend that. But it's not just the first three or four months, it's six months, 12 months. I still would say every month I do a crappy budget and I've been doing this for six years, but I do it.

Brad:  

That's right, that's what we call them Crappy budgets. But it takes, you know, it takes the stress off of it, like you got to get a perfect. No, it's not about getting a perfect, it's about getting it as best as you can and, uh, you'll be so much better off with it. What about emergency fund guys? Real quick and I want to just be real quick on these points because we got a couple more I want to share here but building an emergency fund and I think a lot of people skip over this and don't understand the importance of having a savings and how stress relieving that can be Can you guys just quickly share either one or two of you just share what that's done for you once you built that?

Kati:  

After I got that big ugly gross number of how much I was in debt, building an emergency fund was probably the second hardest. This is impossible. I have never had $1,000 in savings. How am I possibly going to do that? And yet I can say guaranteed. This is the number one reason. How I got out of debt is having a backup of emergency funds and, yes, it was not easy to build, but because I would go to that instead of oh, I've got room on this credit card, I'll just swipe that and then you've got interest and compounding and all the things that work against you. Having that emergency fund and rebuilding it so many times I can't even count is the key of me getting out of $174,000, almost $175,000 in debt on a single income.

Brad:  

Yeah, this next tip, guys, I have reduced that, but honestly I've really messed that up. Let's not worry about even reducing it. If you're getting started, let's just take a break.

Brad:  

Let's just not add to the total, and I think having a plan and an overall goal to reduce your debt is great, but I think when you're getting started and you look at some of the statistics that we shared just in this article that we had, where you still have upwards of close to 50% of people admitting that they're using credit cards irresponsibly, they're doing buy now, pay later, they're going into debt for things that they don't have a repayment plan for, I would say right now it's just make a commitment. We're not going to go into debt anymore, we're not going to use it. We need to focus on cleaning up the stuff that we have and I think that right there, that commitment is a big win right off the bat.

Kati:  

I would say some people say when they're like I need to go on a diet, I just need someone to knock all the junk food out of my hand, have your partner or your child knock your credit card out of your hand at the checkout and just be like all right, you're right, I didn't need that.

Brad:  

Can you imagine the fights in the checkout, knocking credit cards out of their hands?

Kati:  

It's a new TikTok trend. Let's do it. It's a new TikTok trend.

Brad:  

Let's do it. And then the last one, guys, I just want to share is education, you know, and getting yourself and this is one of the reasons why we do this podcast getting yourself around. You know people who are having these discussions, people having these conversations Time and time again on social media, like there's this, this going trend of you know, everyone's broke, everyone's living, paycheck to paycheck. There's no hope, no one's ever going to get ahead, and if you continue to keep following that, you're always going to believe that lie. And the truth is, is that normal, everyday people are improving. Is it more challenging today? Yes, 100%, but they're still improving, they're still getting out of debt.

Brad:  

We're sharing those success stories and those wins on this podcast all the time, and so if they can do it, there's no reason why you can't do it. And the only difference between what they're doing and what you're not doing is you are. They're making education. They're making, they're understanding that support and accountability is super important. I think this is one of the secrets that's often left out of most people's plans, because we are terrible accountability partners to ourselves.

Ryan:  

We tend to take advice from the people that are closest to us, and the reality is is most people that are close to you are broke. Even the people that you think aren't broke, I would say probably there's a good percentage of them that are really broke. You just don't know it. I was, I was probably one of those people that most people thought we had it all, but behind closed doors. It was like just a lot of stress and a lot of anxiety to keep up the facade of looking like we had it all.

Ryan:  

And I think you have to get out of that mindset. You got to get away from those people who are trying to tell you what to do, who don't really have the proof of it tell you what to do who don't really have the proof of it and I think that's for me and I think we see it with people is just when you do that, you are what you hang around. I think that's just if you hang around a bunch of broke people, most likely you're going to be broke with them. If you hang around a bunch of people who are trying to get out of debt and doing the right things, you're probably going to be starting seeing success with your finances.

Chris:  

So, to add to that, learn to be skeptical of everything. Okay, Part of educating yourself and I did a podcast episode a couple of months ago on how to ask great questions and learning how to ask great questions means you've got to question everything and, Ryan, you mentioned the people you hang around who are giving you advice. Question yourself is that the right way to do things? So start questioning and being skeptical of everything you've ever been told about money. Look for answers, look for solutions, like Ryan said, from people who've been successful, who have gotten themselves out of debt, who no longer have this stress. Whether it's this podcast or Brad, you have a lot of people who come on this podcast as guests who tell their story A great way to learn and you may not trust Brad, you may not trust Chris, any of us, but those are people who've done it and if you'll listen to their stories, you're going to hear a common theme and that common theme is going to go against everything you've ever heard, everything you've ever been taught about money.

Brad:  

All right, guys. If you want to pay off debt, save more money and take control of your finances and start seeing some amazing results here in just the next 30 to 60 days like having a heck of a lot less financial stress and worry, like we talked about on today's episode All you have to do is head over to debtfreedeadcom, click on the green button at the top of the page and I'm let's talk about death.

Chris:  

Let's talk about death, tune into Death Free. Death, tune into Death Free.

Brad:  

Death. All right guys. That sound means it's time for the celebrations of the show, and today we are kicking it off with Nicolette. Nicolette says my partner and I were under our budget that we created for our road trip, which is awesome Way to go.

Chris:  

And Christina says she has her monthly budget started. Did y'all hear that Started? She got caught up on everything and is now tracking her spending and she finally feels like she's back on track.

Kati:  

Yeah, that's awesome, what a great win and Steven says so far paid off $4,900 and have $1,300 saved up. I also stopped buying stuff in gas stations. That is a great tip because it's always double the price in the gas station.

Brad:  

And this is someone Steven is someone who just got started in the last few months and going crazy selling stuff on Facebook marketplace really motivated and results are proving that. That's awesome.

Ryan:  

And then we have Tara met my goal for my side hustle and I put that right into savings. Now I'm going to work on my budget and see how much debt I can pay off this coming month.

Brad:  

Awesome job, Tara. As always, congratulations to all of you guys who are taking a stand for your financial life and are wanting better. Hey, we get that getting out of debt isn't easy but hopefully, with our help and with your consistency and discipline, we promise you guys this will be some of the best work that you guys do in your entire life. Thanks for joining us on today's show and we will see you guys on the next episode. Take care.

Announcement:  

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