MASTER Your Money

Is your money working for you, or are you working for our money?

In the wealthiest nation in the world, 58% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck.

That, according to a CNBC Financial Confidence Survey released April 11, 2023.

The survey goes on to report that nearly 70% of Americans feel stressed about money, due to inflation, economic uncertainty, and high interest rates.

The CNBC Study went on to point out that adults who are struggling to afford their day-to-day lifestyle feel even more under pressure. They are three times more likely to say a lack of savings or credit card debt is a problem and twice as likely to fear being laid off. They also are more likely to worry about healthcare costs and student loan debt.

Far too many Americans are in survival mode when it comes to money.

So, why is this happening?

You guessed it, it's a leadership failure when it comes to money.

Here's the problem.

People don't understand money and how to make money work for them.

Think back to your days in Jr High School, High School, and College. How many classes did you take that taught you the basics of effective wealth creation? If you're like most Americans, you'll answer that question with one word, ZERO!

All through my primary and secondary education, my teachers never taught me anything about finances. Well, I take that back. In the third grade, I was given a "Howdy Doody" plastic coin bank so I could save my pennies, nickels, and dimes. But no lessons on saving, investing, and what that could mean for me in the future.

In college, I pursued studies in Business, Economics & Finance, and even then very little time was spent teaching money basics - essential strategies and tactics to create, grow, and manage wealth. I spent a lot of time studying economic theory, business policy, general information on investing and banking, accounting basics, and business law.

It was a good education, and I learned a lot about business and economics, but very little about the practical application of finances that could position me to start achieving more money success earlier in life.

I was fortunate to have a dad who taught me early on principles of effective money management. One of the first books my dad gave me, at the age of 13, was "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill. He introduced me to other money-focused authors and cultivated a hunger to learn how money works and how I could make money work for me.

I was also blessed to have an Uncle, a tax accountant, who taught me about taxes, investing, insurance, banking, budgeting, and spending. I began to apply what I was learning...and teach others who were willing to listen and learn.

Why don't more parents teach their children how to be financially successful early in life? They can't teach what they don't know, and millions of them were never taught how money works and how to make money work for them.

The end result?

Far too many people go through life not knowing how to lead their money. Rather they allow their money to lead them. In fact, the National Financial Educators Council reported that 254 million Americans are financially illiterate, costing them $436 billion in 2022 alone.

When you don't understand how money works, you don't know how to make money work for you. And if you don't know how to make your money work for you, the odds are good that your money is working against you.

That's why, according to Real Life Management, 85% of Americans retire broke. It's why nearly 400,000 Americans file bankruptcy each year to discharge the debts they can't pay on their own. It's why the Federal Reserve reported Americans racked up a record $16.9 trillion in total consumer debt in 2023.

When you don't understand how money works, you don't know how to make money work for you. And if you don't know how to make your money work for you, the odds are good that your money is working against you.

I was having lunch this week and overheard a number of people talking about the inflation rate dropping to 4.9% in April 2023 from 9.1% in July 2022. They were pleased to see the inflation number coming down, but didn't understand why prices were still rising at a staggering rate.

So, I asked if I could join the conversation. I grabbed a napkin, pulled up the Statista.com website to find the monthly inflation numbers, and showed them how inflation works.

Most consumers don't realize that inflation is cumulative. It compounds. When I asked those at the table what a 5% inflation meant, they did the math in their head and said a $1.00 item now costs $1.05, an increase of a nickel.

That's right. Then I asked what happens if inflation is still at 5% next year. Again, the did the math and said a $1.00 item now costs $1.05. 5%, it's a nickel on a dollar. That doesn't sound like a big deal.

But that's not how compound interest works.

Let's assume an item cost $100 in 2017. The inflation rate in 2018 was 2.44%. That item now costs $102.44. The inflation rate for 2019 was 1.81%. That same item now costs $104.29. The inflation rate for 2020 was .58%. That same item now costs $104.90. The inflation rate for 2021 was 4.70%. Now, that same item costs $109.83. The inflation rate for 2022 was 6.5%, so that $100 item now costs $116.97.

That's a cumulative increase of 16.97% in just 5 years. And if core inflation remains stubbornly at 5% in 2023, that same item will now cost you $122.82.

Inflation eats away at the purchasing power of your money, making it worse less year after year. It's often described as a "hidden tax" on American consumers, and it harms low-income and middle-income earners the hardest.

An item that cost $100 in 1985 would cost $284.92 at the end of 2022.

And that's just one example of Americans not understanding how money works and how to make it work for them.

In 1997, I wrote my first book for a Seminary, "Dollars and Sense, ", teaching prudent money management principles to pastors, as many of their future parishioners will be coming to them with money problems soliciting their help. I I wanted to help empower pastors and church leaders to be able to more effectively answer those questions and give families the help they need.

This book, now in its fourth edition (and now available on Amazon) has gone into multiple countries to empower individuals and families who've read and applied these principles to enjoy more financial freedom and less financial stress in their lives. I've also been privileged to travel and teach these concepts in churches all over the United States.

It's about learning to lead your money well, making good money choices, and experiencing a better money outcome. That's LEADERSHIP!

We need to be teaching these Financial Success strategies and tactics to our children at an early age, giving them a head start on creating, growing, and managing wealth. But until parents learn these principles for themselves, and start to live them out, nothing is going to change.

Why?

People do what people see.

When our children see us spend tomorrow's money today by going into debt, they BELIEVE this is how money works. They don't calculate the staggering cost of interest over time, resulting in a massive wealth transfer from hard-working Americans to the banking institutions that issue credit cards and make loans.

They don't understand that compound interest, properly used to their advantage, can exponentially grow the value of wealth invested over time. Albert Einstein referred to this as the "eighth wonder of the world", yet far too many Americans don't understand how to leverage this to create and grow wealth.

And, I'm tired of people living life financially illiterate, struggling to get by, and not putting their hard-earned money to work for them so they can enjoy financial independence and financial freedom.

As I've traveled over the last several months and talked to people from all walks of life, from all over the country. I've talked to Baby Boomers, Gen Xers, Millennials, and Gen Zers. I've asked a lot of questions about money, where people are financially struggling, and why.

A common theme?

People don't understand money, how it works, and how to make it work for them.

It's financial literacy because our parents, schools, communities, and our government have failed us. But if those in charge never learned how to do this, how are they going to effectively teach and model that before us?

They aren't.

To me, that's not acceptable!

So, what's the answer?

How do you learn to MASTER Your Money?

For starters, you can read my book, Dollars and Sense, and apply the principles taught in this book. Even though it is written to a faith-based audience, over 90% of what I teach in the chapters of this book is relevant to anyone and everyone.

How to create a systematic spending plan, buy groceries, clothing, automobiles, and a home. How to get out of debt, save for the future, and create and leave a legacy for your kids and grandkids.

Those are just some of the topics in this book.

But I decided to take it one step further because a number of people said they don't like to read, or they struggle to read and comprehend what they read.

So, I decided to take what I've taught in personal and group coaching classes, in seminars and workshops, and what I've taught to hundreds of financial service professionals over the past 30 years, so they can better serve their clients and customers, and put all that information into an online course.

I've aptly titled it, MASTER Your Money.

You’ll find this resource on the COURSES section of my website.

One interactive video-based lesson, delivered digitally each week, for one year. The content is based on the feedback I've received from the many interviews and conversations I've had with everyday Americans and the topics they said were most important to them.

And to make it affordable, it's only $1.00 for the first month and $19.95 for the remaining 11 months. Best of all, you get LIFETIME ACCESS to this content so you can refer back to it over and over again, teach it to your kids, your grandkids, and your great-grandkids.

Those who've been reading my leadership posts for the past four or five years know I'm not the type of guy who is constantly hawking products and trying to "pitch" people in my newsletter. I share an occasional resource, refer you to other thought leaders whose work I admire and want to share, but that's it.

So please excuse the self-promotion here, but I'm angry. I'm sick and tired of talking to American families who are financially struggling and don't know where to turn. I'm angry at our institutions and how they are failing our families and our children by not teaching them the essentials of money, how it works, and how to make it work for them.

Somebody has got to do something to rescue American families who are drowning in debt, struggling to pay their bills, and not getting ahead financially.

So, I'm raising my hand and simply saying, you CAN learn to MASTER Your Money. Let me show you how to do that.

This is what LEADERS do. We teach what we have learned to others, so they, in turn, can MASTER it themselves and they can then teach it to others.

And, I'm not the only one out there who's doing that. There are other good men and women who are teaching financial success programs.

There are also good financial advisors out there who can help you as well. I know, as I've trained hundreds of them over the years to effectively do this. Just do your homework and make sure they're serving YOUR best interest and not their own.

Ok, let me land this plane...

If you need help in this area, find someone you have confidence in, and make the commitment to learn from them, to glean from their knowledge and expertise, and add it to your own.

This is how leaders learn, improve, grow, mature, and become better at who they are and what they do.

And when you learn how money works, and how to make money work for you, you can give your money a job and make it work FOR you, rather than you spending the rest of your life working for money.

Yes, you can learn to MASTER Your Money!

Are you ready to do that?