The Rachel Cruze Show - How the Global Economy Is Affecting Your Bank Account

Episode Date: May 30, 2022

You guys, this stuff can be really heavy and confusing—but we’re going to unpack it in a simple way so you can use this info to help you save money. We’ll talk about how you can protect your bank account even when the global economy and inflation are making things feel unstable (plus, we’ll go over some tips for saving on groceries)! And we’ll wrap up by talking about how to beat the cycle of living paycheck to paycheck, no matter how much money you make. In this episode: Why the Global Economy Means More to You Than You Think How to Beat Inflation at the Grocery Store with Frugal Fit Mom Why Wealthy People Are Actually Living Paycheck to Paycheck Helpful Resources: EveryDollar Christian Healthcare Ministries Sponsors pay the producer of this show, The Lampo Group, LLC, advertising fees for mentioning their services or products during programming. Advertising fees are not based upon or otherwise tied to any product sale or business transacted between any consumer or sponsor. The following sponsor has paid for the programming you are viewing: Christian Healthcare Ministries. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

And if you've never paid attention to your grocery budget, I feel like it's time to start now. I noticed a couple of days ago the five dozen box of eggs from Walmart a couple of weeks ago was like $5,6. And yesterday, it is 12. Hey guys, welcome to this episode of the Rachel Crewe Show podcast. I'm so glad that you're here. And in this episode, we're going to talk about how the global economy is affecting your bank accounts. We'll go on to talk about the craziest. Stett in America, so you don't want to miss it.

Then you'll hear a conversation I had with YouTuber Christine from Frugal Fit Mom, and she is great at giving just practical advice on saving on your groceries. So we'll talk about all things grocery shopping during inflation. But first, let's talk about the global economy and how it's impacting you today. So crazy things are happening all over the world, so whether it's conflict, financial, trouble, shortages, all of it. It doesn't just affect that region of the world. It affects the entire globe.

The global economy means that our finances are impacted here in the U.S. So you probably know a lot of retailers and other big companies have completely pulled back and stopped business in Russia because of their conflict with the Ukraine. And we're talking about huge corporations like Apple, Nike, IKEA, Netflix, Disney, Starbucks, American Airlines, Exxon, Shell. Goldman Sachs and most of the major tech companies and a whole lot more. So the U.S. has placed sanctions on Russia's central bank and immobilized the reserves it held in the U.S. financial system. So the U.S. has also banned the import of Russian oil, natural gas, and coal into the U.S. And those are just some of the high-level highlights of what is currently being sanctioned

because of the conflict. So what are sanctions? What does that mean? Well, sanctions are commercial and financial penalties that one country puts on another country to have them to stop acting aggressively or break international laws. And so we're doing all of that right against Russia because of what they're doing to Ukraine. And we're doing that hoping that it hurts the Russian economy and so that they back off. And if enough countries do it, you want that pressure on that country. but the sanctions in Russia create a lot of downsides for the global economy as well. So, for example, there's reduced exports of food and important agricultural-related goods that lead to higher food costs for us.

Like bread, for instance, a lot of grain, a lot of wheat comes from Russia. And so now you look at our bread prices because we're not getting that from them, and our prices go up, up, up. And sanctions may also lower corporate profits in the U.S. and Europe. partly because of the rising energy costs and technology firms that have pulled out of Russia. So, how do consumers like us feel the impact? Well, this is where inflation comes into play, which we are all seeing. And the current inflation that we're facing right now, yes, has to do with Russia and Ukraine,

all of that. But also, guys, we're coming out of a pandemic. So it's kind of like the perfect storm. So the supply chain challenges and shortages that companies are facing cause prices to go up, which means we pay more, which means our wallets, our bank accounts, our budgets, we all feel it. But there's also a possibility that countries who are receiving the money that was being directed towards Russia, not anymore. So the money is now being directed at other places. Those countries may actually see their economies grow.

And it's more likely that some of the foreign money that would have flowed into Russia is going to come back to the U.S. instead, which is a good thing. but we can only make predictions on what will happen because we don't know. We don't know the future. We don't have a crystal ball. And the reality is no one knows how this crisis is going to escalate where it's going to go from here. And I know a lot of people are concerned and they're anxious about the future, which is totally understandable. But we have to take a deep breath and think about what we can control right now. We don't want to just sit here and fear wringing our hands on things that we have no power over.

So again, focusing on what you can control because we can't change the fact that prices will go up, prices will go down, scary things are happening all over the world. But again, we can control our money habits. We can control the money that flows in from our income. And all those things are so, so important to focus on. So when things are uncertain like this, do not pull money out of retirements. Okay, don't freak out and watch. Remember, your retirement, your investments are for the long term.

stay in it. Also, do not panic and buy and overspend on stuff that you don't need just because you're freaked out. Also, don't be so paralyzed in fear that you refuse to buy anything. If it's in the budget, it's okay. You can still live. Also, do not just throw your budget out the window. Oh, my gosh, what's the world coming to? I'm going to just do whatever I want. No, no, don't do that. Also, don't put all of your money in cryptocurrency or other trendy investments because you're scared. Don't use credit cards as a form of security thinking, this is going to save me in the long term. Okay, so just focus again on what you can control. So, stay calm. Make sure that you have an emergency fund in place.

If you do not have cash saved, whether it's your starter emergency fund of $1,000, or if you're out of debt and you have your fully funded emergency fund, make sure you have cash. If something happens or when something happens, you have money. Also, stay on top of your budget. If you are not someone that's very intentional with where your money goes, this is the time to do it, okay? We're all feeling it, inflation, everything going on. Control your income, and the best way to do that is with a budget.

Also, if you're kind of feeling, you know, the budget, you're like, oh my gosh, like we're spending a lot on groceries, a lot on gas, the margin we used to have, we don't have anymore. Look around your house and sell stuff. It's amazing the amount of stuff we have in our homes that we do not use. it and make some cash. Even downsize or downgrade, if you need to on anything, whether it's a home or a car, if it's something that you're like, wow, I'm living way above my means. You may have to make some big calls to say, okay, what can I do to lower, whether it's payments and sell a car,

or even if your house payment, you guys, is like 40, 50% of your take-home pay, you have too much house. So some big changes may need to be made. Also, make sure that you have things like health insurance, you have a will, these are really important things to have. Also, I would say keep investing. If you are completely debt-free and you have your fully funded emergency fund of three to six months of expenses, which that's Baby Steps 1 through 3, if that's covered, keep investing. Don't stop. Don't freak out. Trust me, over the long term, because of compound interest, you're going to want to be investing. Also, get help if you need it. Okay, so if these basic things of personal finance, whether it's budgeting or investing or saving, getting

out of debt and you're like, oh, I'm overwhelmed, I'm confused, then have someone in your corner who can help you. You can use a financial advisor. I would say take a financial peace university class, whatever you need to do to get the information you need, do it. Okay, so much is going on again. I feel like there can be a lot of fear, a lot of uncertainty, but remember to control what you can control. And so that's going to be your mindset. That's going to be your habits. That's going to be what you put inside of your brains. If you sit there and watch the news 24-7, probably going to go crazy. So just watch what you're doing. Watch what you are putting in your brain, because it's eventually going to come out somewhere. So be wise about it. I don't want you to just

put your head in the sand. I want you to be educated and know what's going on. But I also don't want fear and things, again, that you can't control, affect your daily joy in living life. I don't want you to be paralyzed by fear. So there's a lot of peace in life when you say, okay, here are things over here that I just have no say over. I can't change that. I can't do that. So I'm not going to worry about that. What are things that I can control? And I'm going to focus my time and my energy on that. That, you guys, is how you have peace when it comes to your money and your life. Hey, guys, I'm so excited because my guest today is Christine, who is frugal, fit mom. Many of you follow her stuff, but she is a wife, a mom of four, and she is an expert. She's so good about talking about

food on a budget. So, Christine, welcome to the show. I'm happy to be here. Thank you so much. So starting out for people that may not be familiar with you, kind of what do you do? How did you get started with all of this? What's been your journey? So interestingly enough, my journey started with your dad as we were trying to do a debt-free journey and read the total money makeover way back in the early 2000s. And I was a stay-at-home mom. My husband was a school teacher, so we didn't make very much money at all.

You know, in the days kind of before social media and didn't even have Internet at my house yet, it was just learning skills to survive, honestly, as we try to pay off student loans and buy our first house. And over the years, I just took those skills and started putting them online, the things that I learned, and people seem to like it. It's so good. Well, it's such great content because you are so good

at giving tactical advice, being really specific. And as a mom, who's not like the most wonderful cook in the world, it's always when it gets to dinner time, especially, and you're like, oh, my gosh, what do we do? So to have people out there who this is like the content they put out to the world, it is so helpful. So thanks for all you do it because it really does it. It is so helpful for families out there. So inflation obviously has become like this massive point of conversation and reality in a lot of our lives.

Plus our food budget. Christine, for the first time, and probably, well, the past two months, really for a long time, but I had our food budget nailed. Like we have a grocery category and a Costco category. And so I, I mean, it was nailed. I never went over. And actually, in fact, I always kind of prided myself and, like, I'm, like, really good at grocery shopping and look at the prices.

In the last two months, I've been like, I don't know what's happening to the world because I'm buying the same stuff. It's not like I'm buying this crazy new, you know, I don't know, thing or whatever. It's the same groceries, and it is crazy. So everyone's feeling it. So my question to you is, I know that you've talked about this, but I want to know from your perspective, like how much you're feeling it, how much you're seeing it, And what we can do if we have large families, you know, if someone's listening that has six,

seven kids, to those that, you know, maybe only have one or two kids, but have to cook for a family. Like, what are the tips and tricks nowadays because of inflation? I'd say first of all, I'm impressed you didn't have an Amazon line. I should. You just had groceries and Costco. That's pretty good. My advice would be the same with a big family, a small family, single people. it's all the advice works for everyone and if you've never paid attention to your grocery budget

I feel like now is the time like it's it's time to start now I noticed just a couple of days ago the five dozen box of eggs from Walmart a couple of weeks ago was like five six dollars and yesterday it is 12 oh my gosh so it is more than double like your basic basic ingredients which is really shocking. Every time you go to the store and you're like, what, what happened here? So there are so many tips I've given on my YouTube channel on all kinds of different ways. Number one, I would say, is to look at your food waste. It's probably the number one expense in your grocery budget is just what you're throwing away. Like you buy what the spinach with good intentions and it sits in your fridge for two weeks, then you throw away a slimy mess. So like really reevaluate

what you're buying and what you're throwing away. And if you notice yourself throwing way the same things. Let's change the way you're shopping a little bit. And if you have never shop sales at a grocery store, it is time to start now. Like, don't go and just buy the asparagus because you always buy the asparagus or the organic raspberries because that's what you always buy. Look at the prices because those two things do go on sale and that's when you're going to buy them. And when they're not on sale, we're going to skip on that week and try something else. And also, don't be afraid of frozen fruits and vegetables. A lot of the time, they can be cheaper per pound. a lot longer, and then you don't have that food waste that we're talking about.

Yes, that's so smart. I mean, I hate to say it, that that is so true. Literally today, this morning, I went to our back pantry, and I found this bag. I was like, what is this bag? It was a produce bag. With, like, three lemons that were growing, all green. Like, it was disgusting. I was like, how have we not seen that this bag?

When did I buy lemons? I don't remember buying lemons, but apparently I did for probably something. I saw somewhere or whatever. But it's so true, the amount of waste, you can cut out so much of your budget. if you literally just eat with what you have. And forcing yourself to do it, which I know can be really hard. But if we're looking to save money when it comes to groceries, you have to do that kind of thing, which is so, so important.

So I also know where you shop is a big deal. It's a different price tag depending on the grocery stores. What's your favorite grocery stores to shop at because their prices are more inexpensive? I like a variety of grocery stores. I actually like to pick and choose depending on the week. No one store will have the cheapest price on everything ever. So even if you have a discount store like a Walmart or a Winko or Aldi, I don't happen to have Aldi in my area, so I have to go with some of the other ones.

There's still things that are going to be cheaper at another store, especially if you go to like a more expensive store. So mine's Fred Meyer, which is owned by Kroger, and they have fabulous sales. Just in their weekly ad, and with their digital coupons, there's every single week. There's at least one to five products that are excellent in price. So I look for those first, like, what's a really, really good deal this week? And then I kind of meal plan around that. Okay, so that's a question I have.

So do you look at, okay, what coupons do I have, what's on sale, and you make meals around those things? Is that one of your, like, tried and true ways of saving money? Absolutely. Or maybe, let's say, I don't know, chicken is on sale this week or whatever. And you're like, it's 99 cents a pound, which I haven't seen in years at this point. But let's say it was, you'd be like, I'm buying 50, pounds of chicken. And you just put it all in the freezer. And so maybe this week or next week, there's no deal on chicken, but I stocked up when it was cheap and saved it for later,

which is another tip I like to use. It's kind of reverse meal planning. For sure, no, which works so well. So you mentioned couponing. If someone has never really done it, they've never entered that world. What's a couple of things or tips to get them in that rhythm that really can help save money? Okay, so step one is don't watch extreme couponing. The TV Yes. Why? Because it's crazy and it's like, no, that's not realistic. It's, yeah, it's so dramatized for the show and it's just, I just don't think it's like that anymore. I was an extreme couponer back in like 2007, but it's just not the same anymore. The two things I would say now is your stores that do digital coupons, like my Fred Meyer, like I talked about,

I think Albertsons does. I don't know all the grocery stores that exist, but if they do digital coupons, they can really save some dollars. So just check it out. It's a little tap, tap, tap, easy, peasy, don't do anything else. And then any of your cashback apps, my favorite one is I bought it. I've been using it since 2012. So we're sitting at 10 years now. And I don't buy everything that's on there. But once in a while, I'll go on and be like, they're giving me $3 off a box of cereal. Like, why not? Try it out and get a box for a dollar for my family. So good. And you mentioned a little bit, too, of buying in bulk, right? Like if something's on sale, go ahead and just like buy it, freeze it if you can, and then you can use it.

So when it comes to buying in bulk, what are things and tips that you look at when it's smart, when it's not smart to do that? Definitely know your prices per unit, price per ounce, that kind of thing. Any of your standard baking or basic ingredients are excellent divine bulk, rice, beans, flour, sugar, honey, probably, oils, things like that that you can just use for anything. And everyone should have anyway, just as a basic pantry staple. where I live, they do something called case lot sales. I know that's not everywhere in the United States where they sell cases of peanut butter and pancake mix for a discount. So those are always good to look for as well, but it's usually your simple basic ingredients. Okay, when it comes to like the amount of grocery shopping, when do you grocery shop?

How often do you grocery shop? Is it like once a week, every other week? Where do you kind of lead people in that direction? So I can tell you what I do. however, I don't think it's a blanket statement for everyone because everyone's situation's different and it's going to work different for everyone's food goals. For me, I'm a once a week shopper. It's my favorite way to do it. If I go more than once a week, I tend to overbuy. And I also don't do very well on the once a month, which I know some people love. Just for me, it doesn't work that well

because I tend to run out of like my salad ingredients a lot. And then maybe I want to change meal plan next week and then I can't because I decided not to go back for another month. So for me, it's a once a week. But whatever works for someone's family is going to be the best for them. It doesn't have to be the way I do it. For sure, for sure. I know you just, you've gotten in such a good rhythm because of all the stuff that you do. I'm like, man, she just like, she knows so much. And I know for me, if I have to keep going back and back and back and back, I do find myself saying, oh my gosh, I'll pick up that, extra that, you know. And if I can make myself do once a week, because I usually just do once a week. It does. It's so helpful.

because I'm like, I have to have everything planned. I have to know what's going on. And then from there, it sticks. But anything longer than that, especially, yeah, I don't think really works for our family as well. So that makes total sense. So, okay, so with recipes and meal planning and all of that, are there certain meals just off the top of your head that you're like, oh, yeah, these are really easy, really, you know, price efficient, all of that that people can use. So back in the day, when I was really on the tight budget, trying to pay off all the debt and save up to buy a house, I tried as much as possible to take whatever proteins I was eating and not have it be just like a protein and sides. I would cut it small and stretch it out.

So you're thinking about stir fries. You're thinking about soups, something where you can add a lot of sides to it and kind of stretch your chicken breast or your pork roast or whatever protein that you happen to love to feed more people on less protein. because back then that was definitely one of the most expensive pieces. And sometimes I could even eat shrimp instead of eating like a big pile of shrimp. Yeah. You put it on top of a lot of other stuff and it goes a lot further. That's so smart or casseroles or whatever it is. But that makes so much it's okay.

You know what I used to do with it? I would get from Costco mostly our chicken and back when my kids were small. It's not working as efficiently these days, which I'm kind of getting mad about. I'm like, what? You're not full. But I would like take a chicken breast and cut it in half and be like, all right, we have two chicken breasts. instead of one. And I was like, it was some mental game because I'm like, they ate it and they were fine. And now that they're getting older, they're like, we're still hungry.

And I'm like, dead gum it. Do you need more? Yeah, you need more chicken. And now I'm like, dang it because I hate, you know, I'm thawing more because I'm like, I just see it dwinds. The protein's always hard for me because I will buy those in bulk. Yeah, usually from like a Costco or something. So when it starts to get low, I'm like, oh, man, what can we do to be creative to get us through the end of the week? So that's so good. I'll give you a perfect example. Yeah. When I only had two small kids. I was maybe a little judgey of moms who had older kids or more kids than me, just because I wasn't there and I didn't understand. And so a friend was like, yeah, we go through two pounds of ground beef on taco night.

And I was like, what? That's crazy. Okay, well, now I'm here. And I have four kids, three teenagers. And yeah, it's two pounds of ground beef for taco night. And there's no leftovers because they eat it all. But instead of tacos, I found a taco salad. you know, you're taking your protein and you're sprinkling it out over your lettuce and beans

and rice if you want to do it and sour cream and chips and they can build it however they want and you actually can use less meat. And the ground beef prices, hello, they are high. Oh, I know. Oh, it's crazy. It's so crazy. It's a nice way to stretch it. Yeah, that's so smart. Okay, so what's one thing if someone's watching or listening and they're thinking, okay, I want to start something new with my, our food budget's out of control. I feel like I'm spending a ton at the grocery store. What's like one tip that they can do right now this week that they could see a difference in the money that they save. Okay. This is a really hard question because I have two that are both. Give us both, Christine. Give us both. Okay. Okay. So the first one is going to be to meal plan.

I definitely have a friend who was like, just went to the store and just threw things in the cart and then didn't know what to make for dinner. She spent thousands of dollars on groceries, right? You go with a plan in there and you stick to your list, stick to the list. You are going to say, some money, guaranteed. The other one, which people are going to hate this, like they really are, is you're going to have to stop buying junk. Like, have you seen the price of ice cream? Chips, have you seen the cost of a bag of chips? It's terrible. Yes, it's terrible. It's terrible. It's terrible. Step away from the Oreos, you know, and let's go buy some potatoes or something. Instead, you're just going to get a lot more for your money. And if you do have to cut the grocery

budget, it's an excellent way to cut. That's so smart. That's so good. So, so good. Okay. Christine, you are full of so much wisdom, so much knowledge when it comes to this stuff. So really, thanks for coming on and sharing all of this. I usually ask all my guests one question, and that is what's one thing that you're doing with money that's creating a life that you love? Well, first of all, we paid off our house three days ago. You did? That's really exciting. Yes. Oh, my gosh. You have no debt. You are like really completely. You're done. We're done. Completely. It's, it feels weird, actually. I bet. Yeah, that's amazing. That's amazing. Congratulations. I should probably buy a new couch.

Yeah, you're like, I can do stuff now. I can do stuff now. That's a bit, congratulations. I can do stuff. That's incredible. Absolutely incredible. And so anything else going on? Yeah. So one of our big things is we like to spend money creating memories with the people that we love, my mom, my sister, my kids, just creating family memories instead of, I probably won't buy a couch, you know, because I'll probably rather do something with my family. Yes, I love that. Yeah. experiences and memories, all that stuff. That's so great. That's awesome. Well, where can everyone find you? My YouTube channel is Frugal FitMom. I have well over 800 videos on there, so you can waste a lot of time there. I'm also on Instagram at Frugal FitMum 6. That's more workout outdoorsy stuff. And I also have a website with a couple recipes on it, frugalfitmom.com. Amazing.

So thanks again, Christine, for coming on and for you guys listening and watching, hopefully these tips helped you make sure to check out all that Christine's doing because again it's such practical, tactical content when it comes to food and our budgets and all the things. So today we're going to talk about a tough subject and it's one that a lot of people are facing and that is living paycheck to paycheck. So as inflation continues to be an issue, 64% of the U.S. population is living paycheck to paycheck. And even a among the people that are earning six figures, 48% of them now are living paycheck to paycheck. According to a report from financial services website, personal capital, Americans are now saying

that they need to make about $122,000 a year in order to feel financially secure. And that's more than twice the national average salary, you guys. So it's a big deal. And people are feeling the crunch. And I know it's a really difficult time right now. Inflation is making things even harder. And it feels like the cycle that you just can't get out of, right? It's like this wheel and you're just in it.

And you're like, how do I break the cycle? But you need to break the cycle of living paycheck to paycheck in order to win with money. And there are people that are just trying to make ends meet and they're feeling overwhelmed. They're behind on bills. And they don't even know where to start. when their money comes in. So here is what you want to do. And it's going to involve some strategy and also a lot of sacrifice. It's going to be hard. It's not going to be easy, but I'm telling you, it's these things you have to do for a short period of time in your life in order to get your head

above water and start to actually win, and then later you get to reap the benefits of it. But if you keep doing what you've been doing, you're going to keep getting what you've been getting. So you have to change not only how you think about money, but also what you've been doing with money. So, first and foremost, before you do anything, the baby steps that we're going to talk about anything, you need to catch up if you're behind on any bills. Okay, so I want you to do this by budgeting. I want you to do this by cutting expenses that you maybe have never cut before.

I want you to do anything to bring in extra income so that you can put all of that money, again, to get current on your bills. And some big things you can also do is I want you to put. pause retirement. So if you still have debt and you don't have an emergency fund, I do not want you funding retirement. Pause that. So that can actually be money back in your paycheck that you're going to get. So pause that. Also another big place to earn some money or to get some money back in your paycheck and into your life is look at all of the insurances that you have in your life. So this could be home, auto life insurance. This is one part of your life that you may just have,

maybe you got it years ago in that policy, and you just keep paying it and paying it, but you can actually get far better rates, way cheaper coverage, and that will save you. I mean, even if it saves you $100 a month, that's $100, that is not there right now, and it gives you margin. So those are a couple of big things you can do

to put money back to get you current. Okay, then the next thing I want you to do is knock out baby step one. And this is we're going to save $1,000 for your starter, emergency fund. And I want you to do this quickly. And when I say quickly, I mean like 30 to 60 days. I want you to save $1,000. Now, that seems impossible. If you're someone living paycheck to paycheck right now and you're behind in your bills, you're thinking, I can't even catch up what I have currently. How the heck am I going to save money? Well, again, putting those things in place to get

caught up, I want you current. And then the same sacrifice you were doing to get current with your bills, I want you to keep making those sacrifices. I want you to keep saying we're not going to pay for cable. We're going to cut subscriptions. Any membership we have is going out. We're not going out to eat. We're not going on vacation. Like, we're doing nothing. And then we're going to bring in more income than we've ever brought in. We're going to get extra jobs, do what you can to get that thousand dollars. And again, doing this quickly is important for a couple of things. One, if you don't have savings, I want money in the bank for you. But I also want you to start to feel these quick wins. I want you to be like, okay, I can do this. Like, once you get current on your bills,

you're going to feel like the weight of the world is like, okay, I'm actually above water. then when you actually have money saved in the bank, you're going to feel on top of the world, like, okay, I can do this because it is so important, so important to get those quick wins. And so again, during this process of getting that $1,000 emergency fund, I also want you to look into term life insurance if you don't have that. Life insurance is so key to have if someone is dependent upon your income. It's really important for you to have that. And also get a will.

This is really inexpensive, but it's one of those things that you want to have in your life again in case something happens. So being intense about getting $1,000 is really important. And what's going to help with that, too, is your budget. Doing your budget and saying, okay, this is what we have and we're sticking to this. When the money runs out of a category, we're not borrowing from other categories, we're not changing it. No, this is the budget.

I want you to be so disciplined in the beginning and really get this under you because it's going to give you control. And again, the goal for you is to have more income coming into your bank accounts than going out of expenses every single month. So cut out whatever you can. So if you've tried all of this and you truly don't have anything left to cut, it might be time for you to think about

some bigger and more drastic changes. So that might include getting a completely different job with a higher salary. It could be taking on a second job. It could even be moving someplace where the cost of living is lower. And I know a move is a really big deal, but you don't even have to leave

the state you're currently in. So for example, here in Tennessee, housing is really expensive in cities like Nashville and Franklin. But if you drive just 30 minutes down the interstate 65, down the highway to a smaller town like Columbia, Tennessee, the prices are so much better. So it might mean more of a commute or being a little bit further out than what you expected, but it is worth it to have margin. So it might take some shopping around and looking at downsizing, but it really can help. All right, for high-income earners out there, remember to keep your lifestyle in check.

If you are earning a high-income, but you still find yourself living paycheck-to-paycheck, that might mean that you have something called lifestyle creep. We talked about this in a previous episode, but this is a real thing. As you earn more money, you just keep buying more and more and upgrading more and more. And this is where the lie comes in,

and people say, well, if I just had more income, I would be okay. But listen, the habits that you have with a lower income are going to be the same habits you have with a higher income is just going to be more expensive. And so you want to be able to change your habits no matter where you are. But that has to be important, you guys. You have to be able to say, okay, yes, we earn this amount, but we are still living paycheck to paycheck. So cut the crap, cut the stuff that you're like, why do I feel like I need that? If you have two car payments sitting in your driveway, if you're living off credit cards and you're just like, well, we can just buy whatever we want whenever we want.

No, you have to be disciplined. I don't care how much you make. People think, well, if I just made this much, I would not have debt. And that's not always the case because, again, your lifestyle just keeps inflating if you don't keep it in check. So if you get a raise, and that's what's crazy about the world today is people are getting paid more than ever when it comes to their jobs. Like, it's insane out there, the salaries that people are making.

And so be aware of that. And yes, the expenses are insane as well with inflation and all of that. But be aware, okay, just be aware that when you are making a great income, take advantage of that. And you may be cutting things that you thought, oh, we could be able to afford it, and it's not a big deal. But if you're living paycheck to paycheck,

that's not the case. You can always live above your means, and I don't want that for you. I want you to live below it. So make a plan. And the other thing is, no matter what range of income you make, you work hard for that income,

and you want it to go as far as possible. So don't stick in the cycle of debt. Don't stick in the cycle of, well, I'll just worry about that later. you know, I'm going to just enjoy life. If you want to win, you guys, you have to be intentional, regardless of the income you make. And yes, do people have bigger shovels in life

because of their income? Absolutely. But it doesn't matter. Your habits are what are key. We've done study after study of babysubs millionaires who have done this stuff, and they're on a teacher salary. I mean, they're a police officer.

They have these jobs that are not a doctor or a lawyer, but they have the habits that allow them to be stable and in control and build wealth. And that is what I want for you. So if you are living paycheck to paycheck, no, you can break the cycle. Okay, there is hope. People do it every day. But it's going to take a different approach and a different way of looking at your money and controlling your money. And that's going to be uncomfortable, but it's going to be worth it. So again, you guys, it's not about the amount of money you make. It's your money habits. So, so crucial. All right. So one thing I am loving right now. I got a third earring, y'all, if that makes sense. So my daughters

really wanted their ears pierced. And so we've been talking about it. And I'm like, yeah, it's great. We just haven't had time. It's kind of one of those things. So on Sunday, I was like, girls, let's go to the mall and let's get your ears pierced. And so they're kind of like, they wanted to, but nervous. And I was like, listen, I'll do another one. I'll get a third. So I sat down in the old Claire's seat at the mall, kind of sketchy, probably. going to be infected later in life, but I did it, and I was like, oh, yeah. And then they got their ears pierced, and it was so cute, so fun. So, you know, I'm not like a normal mom. I'm a cool mom. Mm-hmm. Yep, it's great. I think I even told you all a few episodes ago that I had like double ears pierce,

but I never put an earring in that second hole. And so I did that a few months ago, and I don't know. Who knows what's going to happen told Rachel. I don't know. We'll see. All right, one thing I am at learning right now, I'm very excited to say, I am learning how to drive a Tesla. Yep, I have wanted a Tesla for like two to three years. And I've just wanted one forever. And the passion, the longing never went away. And so I pulled the trigger in October, ordered a Tesla. And it just arrived months and months and months and months later.

But I have it, and I'm basically driving in a computer. It is the greatest thing in the entire world. I was joking with Winston where I was like, I know that stuff does not buy happiness, but I'm really happy. I'm really, really happy in my Tesla. And the fact that gas prices are out of control, I like will never go to the gas station.

Like, that's insane to me. That is insane to me. So I'm plugging in these days, you guys. I got a garden. I got a Tesla. I'm just going green. I don't know what's happening. But I am a hippie.

I have three ears. in my one ear. That's what's happening. Crazy, crazy, crazy. All right, you guys, well, thanks for listening to this episode. Thanks to Christine for being on and being such a great guest. And if you guys have not hit that follow button and subscribe to this podcast, make sure to do that. And if the spirit leads, you can leave a review. As always, make sure to take control of your money and create a life you love.