The Rachel Cruze Show - The #1 Thing Keeping You From Building Wealth with Dr. John Delony

Episode Date: April 25, 2022

We all want to build wealth, right? But there are a few things that can either speed up or get in the way of that process—let’s talk about them. We’ll go over the reasons why debt is NOT a wealth-building tool, I’ll talk with my friend Dr. John Delony about something that’s super important to include in your budget, and we’ll compare the top budgeting apps so you can start taking control of your money as quickly as possible! In this episode: Why You Can’t Build Wealth With Debt Why Every American Should Have THIS in Their Budget with Dr. John Delony I Compared the Top Budgeting Apps (Here’s What I Found) Helpful Resources: Own Your Past, Change Your Future 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

for you to get these little $200 airline ticket that I get for free with these points that I've been saving up for years and years and years. You get that free because other people are not paying their bills. That's what's happening. So listen, it's just a game and I'm done. I don't want to be part of the game. I'm done. Hey guys, welcome to this episode of the Rachel Cruz Show podcast. I'm so glad that you're here. So in this episode, we're going to talk about the number one thing keeping you from building wealth. I'm also going to compare some of the most popular budgeting apps out there and share with you what I have found. Then I have a conversation with my friend and Ramsey personality, Dr. John Deloney, about therapy. Not to scare you off, but we talk about the importance of it

and building it into your monthly budget. But first, let's talk about how you can truly build wealth and it's not with this. So take a listen. All right, I'm going to throw out a kind of scary stat that I came across recently. According to a recent poll, only half of U.S. adults have more emergency savings than credit card debts. So the other half either have more credit card debts than savings or have no savings at all. So listen, in order to change this, you have to have a mindset shift, okay? the way you've been looking at your money and the way you think money works

and the way you've been doing life and all of it for more than half of Americans is not working. Because again, you don't have savings or you have more credit card debt. And that's not to just absolutely shame you, but I want you to think through what life would be like if you didn't have a credit card.

If you just said no, if you just drew this radical line in the sands, I'm going to cut up my credit cards, and I really am only going to use the money out of my checking account. Well, suddenly people are like, oh my gosh, my airline miles or my points that I'm going to get, all that. Okay, we'll talk about all that in a second.

But I really want you to kind of just get in that mindset of what life would be like. What would it be like if everything was taken out of your checking accounts? So one reason, though, people do go into credit card debt is because there's an income problem. They don't have enough money to support their expenses or to make ends meet. So they just say, okay, I'm going to go into debt for things that I have. have to have, like food and my electric bill and all of that, right? So if that is you, you have to remember that your income has to go up and your expenses have to go down. And I know that's easier said than done. But honestly, I want you to, again, look, have a different mindset and say,

well, what if I had a different job? What if I took on a second job? What would it even look like to move to a different area, like some big decisions in your life to get you back to where you can actually afford the life that you have by cutting expenses and upping your income. So that's one reason credit card debt exists. And then the other reason is just excess spending and people are like, oh, I'll pay it off every month. It's not a big deal because I get my airline miles and my rewards and all of that. And the truth is, people don't.

They don't pay their credit cards off every month. They keep a balance. They pay interest. And you live your life literally looking through a rearview mirror. And you're saying, okay, I'm going to take my paycheck that I've just earned and throw back things that, you know, food I've eaten, clothes I've already worn, vacations have already taken, all of it. Versus taking your money and say, hey, I'm going to go forward because you make different

choices when that is your mindset. And one of my friends, he was talking about his credit card, and it's an airline credit card, and he gets these rewards and these points, but they're a family of five. And he even mentioned, he was like, it takes a lot of money to spend for us to fly anywhere. And they've only used it twice over the five years they've had this credit card. And what it ends up happening is, and he said it, he was like, I almost become numb when I'm buying, and I'm like, yeah, I just don't feel it. It doesn't hurt because I know, okay, I'll have a bill. I'll have to pay. And then I have to work to catch up to make sure

I can pay that bill. And everything's in reverse. Like, I really, really want you guys to think, okay, if I just was spending my money, I'm going to have to plan forward versus planning backward. And you make different decisions. You do. Now, there are places when you just live with a debit card that it is. It's a little bit inconvenient, okay? So like rental car companies, all of this, people say it. But listen, there are places that will rent you a car with a debit card, okay? Wednesday night, we travel all the time, and it happens. We can still rent a car.

So, call the rental car company, and if they say, no, we just take a credit card, then go to the other eight that are there. Okay, you have options. So again, I would rather take the inconvenience on those kind of things and live with a debit card and know when I'm spending my money, it's my money. I don't owe anyone anything. and it just gives you a level of relief. It gives you a level of control.

It's amazing what happens because you spend differently, you think differently. And instead of me just trying to gain the system, which a lot of people do, and they're like, well, again, the airline miles or the points and all of this. I've reminded you before, but this is the truth, and this is what gets to me is the banks,

the credit card companies, they're not these, like, generous people that are like, oh, we would love to give you free stuff. Here's all of this money, because we are just nice and kind people. They have billions of dollars because people do not pay off their credit cards and they are paying interest. They are making so much money on loans and debt. That's why bank buildings are big and beautiful and nice because it's your money.

They're using your money to do all of that with. So for you to get these little $200, you know, airline ticket that I get for free with these points that I've been saving up for years and years and years, you get that free because other people are not paying their bills. That's what's happening. Listen, it's just a game, and I'm done. I don't want to be part of the game. I'm done. Got my little debit card, and I am happy.

I get to have Amazon delivered to my house. I get to go on vacation. I get to eat. I still get to do life. But I do it with my money, and it changes your perspective. So, again, some people are like, that's so radical. That's so crazy. Maybe it is.

Maybe it is. But you know what? I'd rather be on the crazy side that's not broke than the side that's just as normal and just doing what everyone else is doing. So change your mind. set. Think about it. Hey, just try it for six months. And if you hate it, you can go back. Just try it. Have a little experiment with yourself. It would be interesting. Today, I am pumped about this episode because I have my friend, fellow Ramsey personality,

Dr. John Deloney here with me. He's a best-selling author, a mental health expert, two PhDs and host of the Dr. Don Joloni. No, it's because my name rhymes with a lunch meet, man. It's a rough childhood. Deloney-Pollon. He never thought about it, John. That's why I work in mental health now. To really get through it all. Okay, so this episode, we're going to dive in and talk about therapy. Yep, and how to make room in your budget for it because...

I love this topic. It's very important. So, counseling, therapy, whatever you want to call it, I know there's kind of a difference, but the idea of getting help from someone else, there's not as much of a stigma these days, I feel like, I don't know. Maybe just because everyone I know does therapy or counseling, but there still can be a stigma. So walk me through how you would tell somebody, hey, it's actually a really good thing to do.

It's not because you're like this terrible person and you, which we all kind of are. So I don't know. You kind of are. So I think the stigma around mental health stems out of the great psychiatric institutions where you sent people away because they were, quote, unquote, crazy. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Or they were, quote, unquote, dysfunctional or broken. So we sent them away so that we could keep the perception that everything's okay here, right? Yes.

And our grandparents, they didn't know anybody who went to counseling, right? That was all quiet and hush-hush. Even our parents didn't necessarily know very many people who did. And so for us, it's all new. And we're living in a really lonely time. So our parents, they went to their neighbors. They went to their local church communities. They had hard conversations with friends.

We just move all over the country and everything's digital, and we have nobody to connect with. And so we've professionalized relationships in a way. Interesting. That's such an interesting point. And do you think social media has played a role in that? Because we stay hyper-connected. We stay hyper-informed.

That's a better way to say it. I know a lot about your life, but I don't know you. I haven't sat in a room with you while you're weeping and felt the weight of that room. I don't know how to do that. So now I'm at a place where I've got to go pay somebody to do that for me, right? Yeah, totally. No, that's a great point. Okay, so for someone that's like, okay, I mean, maybe it's an interesting thing.

Maybe I can go down that road. Like, what are the benefits? Because you've been in this world for so long. So to go to someone else, go to a third party, to talk about stuff. One of the cornerstones of life is grief demands a witness. Pain demands a witness. Life demands human interaction.

And most of us don't have it. Yeah. Right? Or we have a spouse that we love and we dump everything on them and unfortunately they become like a trash bin, right? They get all of the grumpiness at work, all the drama at work.

Can you believe such and such? And it's just, right? And that's not fair to them either. Right? So having somebody that I can process stuff, why do I think this way? why does this story come up? Why does my heartbeat fast when somebody cuts me off?

What is that about, right? Yeah. Somebody's going to help you pull the thread for those stories that are all the way back to when you're a child. Some of that happened a couple weeks ago, right? Someone's going to, it's a professional, it's going to walk with you. The same as you hire a professional, the same as you hire a professional to help you fix your iPhone, right?

This is somebody who is trained and skilled to walk you back and say, how does this stuff that happened back then affect you right now? Yeah, and a lot of it is going all the way back to those lies and those vows. but it is. No, but I'm like, I'm doing like real-time work through this curriculum thing. And Winston and I, we are fans of counseling. Like, we've been, we've been, like, we're in a season right now. I love it. So, yeah, I mean, but we do. We really do. When stuff comes up, we press in and I'm like, it's worth the investment for me to say I will cut things out of my budget because I want the relationships that are the closest to me, number one being my marriage, really, truly, to say, I want to connect with you on such a deeper way. And having someone that knows what they're talking about, and it's fascinating. Like our counselor always say, I love that you. said the thread, because that's, we'll come in, you know, disagreeing about, I don't know, it could be something like Instagram or whatever, like anything. And it's like he takes

this string and like pulls it and I'm like, huh, and you leave like five layers deeper of the, what I'm trying to get, you know, your motivation, all of it. But to have someone walk you through it, ask you questions that you have to answer. That you have to answer. I mean, it is. Give you homework assignments, things to practice out in the real world. So good. Yes. And here's the thing that I think is important about counseling. We thought people were crazy. We thought that they're unable to form connections. We thought that they had a dysfunctional brain that prevented them from it. You know what it is? A lot of it is is our brain trying to keep us safe. The same things that helped us stay safe when we were kids. Hey, dad's angry, you better disappear.

Or dad's angry, you better buck up because you got a little brother or sister that you got to protect. Those things kept us alive when we were young. They kept the house together and now they're really hard to be married to. They're really hard to help keep a job, right? And so some of these things It's just our brain trying to take care of us. And so when somebody can help pull that apart and say, hey, that worked for you then, it's hurting you now. Let's try something new. Let's teach your brain that you're safe now. And we're going to try other things.

What a gift, right? What a gift. Yes. I know the thing that I'm, like, working through literally, literally this week in my group, are the vows that you took in life. And I was like, I don't think I've taken many, like, hardcore. And I look back, I'm like, oh, God. Yeah. And if we were sitting down, I would tell you all about it.

But I'm like, yeah, there's like seven or eight things that I've said through my life that I will, whatever it is, fill in the blank, or I will not. And I have to protect myself in it. And you're like, man, so uncovering the stuff, you guys, it is. It's so good. I know it sounds kind of draining. And some people are like, oh, my gosh, everyone's just living in their emotions. It's not that. It is truly unpacking who you are because it affects all these other things in your life, including your money, including your money.

It comes out in that way, too. So, okay, so how, what can someone expect if they're like, okay, this sounds intriguing, you know, what you've said I relate to, I identify with. What can someone expect when they walk in to a session? I think it's important to understand why you're going in, because some of us, I've gone in because I'm so anxious, my body has spun completely out. And I need help right now. I'm not okay right now. Other times I've gone in my life, like right now, like you are, I want things to be better, right? We're fine. Things are good. I love my wife. She loves me most of the time. We're good. I want things to be better. And most importantly, I want

to protect my kids from some of the pitfalls that I've fallen into, right? So how can I model different ways of doing life? So it's a different access point for people, right? But when you go in, here's a couple of things to look for. Number one, is it a warm inviting place? Is the person kind? And I don't care if they're a man or I don't care anything about that. Are they warm and kind?

Do they invite you in, right? Number two, if they throw a diagnosis at you in the first meeting, leave. Because they don't know you well enough, right? Now, some insurance companies require that, and that's a whole different conversation. But if they're throwing labels at you instead of getting to know you, if they're trying to solve you before they understand you, that's usually a red flag that you've got somebody who's just trying to mill people out or somebody who's uncertain of how to walk alongside people and they're just going to put a label on it, right? Interesting. Yeah. The third one is, and this is hard for me, is when I sit down with somebody and I finally get the courage to go to therapy and they sit down and they start the session with, now before we start, here's my rules, here's how you're going to contact me.

I will not be available for you on these days. They're setting boundaries. And I hate that. I'm like, no, no, no. I'm paying you. I get full access to you. One of the cornerstones of being mentally well is being in relationship with other people who have boundaries.

And so boundaries from a counselor is a gift. And it drives me crazy. So when they come in and say, there's the confidentiality rules, this is this rules, that's a good thing. And I've got to fight my own temptation to be like, well, hold on it. No, it's so, so good, right?

And then here's the last one. When you go in, you have to feel like you can tell the truth. Because if you can't tell the truth in therapy, it's a waste of your time. It's a waste of their time. It's a waste of your money. Just leave. If you feel like I have to hide some of the things that I'm not proud of, some of the decisions I've made, some of the text messages I've said, all the stuff. If you can't be honest with your therapist, leave because you're wasting everybody's time.

So how do you find that person? Because I think for everyone, depending on where you live, access point, like, is there a difference between being in person with someone versus, like, a Zoom call? Like, walk me through, like, the best case. Well, I think right now we're at a cultural crisis when it comes to mental health. here. Most cities in most states have major wait lists, right? You and I were just talking before. The people that we see have just gone to cash and they really kind of name their price right now because their books are full, right? And so for those of people who are on a budget who are really struggling and they're working with their insurance company to try to figure out how to get,

the pool is limited, right? So it's tough. And so sometimes it's what can I have access to? And now groups like BetterHelp have come online where they're doing online therapy. Some are even, I'm so nervous to even go sit with somebody yet. They'll text back and forth. with you, right? So that's an entry way. It's not the best and it's not ideal, but it's an entry point, which I'm all about. Some, it can be on Zoom, on your screen, and your TV. Here's what I really love. People who work an hourly job, who have to leave their hourly job, catch a bus, go across town to sit for an hour in the therapy session, then catch a bus back to work. It's three hours. That's of lost wages. They can't afford to do that. Now you can do it on

your phone or your iPad in the parking lot during your lunch break, right? So it is a way for folks who are struggling to make sense of this financially, that they can do it. And it's usually access is almost instant and it's less expensive. Yeah, that's so good. So whatever mode works, go find somebody. Yes, to walk with you. And it is, like we were just talking before, but it can get price to you guys. So you do. It's one thing, you have to look at your budget and you have to be able to say, okay, what priority is this in? And when you're kind of in a crisis mode, if there is that, it's worth it. It's worth cutting things even more. Like taking care of. Like taking care of of yourself, it's worth it.

It's worth causing the baby steps if you're not well. If you and your spouse are falling apart, if you're struggling, if you've just had that new baby and you can't breathe, it's worth pausing and going to get the care that you need. That's right. And so figuring out a way to do that, and if there are less expensive options, whether it is the via the Zoom thing or whatever it is.

Can I tell you a couple other less expensive options that are great? Yes, yes, yes. Practicum students at your local university, and people say, I'm not going to go to a student. That's how I did most of my counseling. was I served people as a graduate student, and here's what's beautiful about that. It's free, or it's like 10 or 15 bucks a session, and you have a PhD person right behind the screen watching you or somebody reviewing the transcripts.

So you're actually getting two, sometimes three therapists for the price of a quarter of one, right? Is it scared you can get bad? No, because there's a lot of supervision going on, right? So that's a great place. And I did a lot of my practicum counseling at a local service that provides. or free for low-income people who needed support, needed counseling, or that were referred court order who needed to go stuff, they just have the money. So there is programs in local communities that can help. So good. I love it. Well, I love that you're on the team, John.

Seriously, I'm talking about this stuff because it is. It's so important and it used to be more taboo and now I feel like we are in it. Okay, my last question, I just thought of this though. Okay. Because I was talking to a friend and he made some comment. It's like, I just feel like everyone's just living in their emotions so much these days. Like sometimes it's just like, hey, just get up and seize the day, you know, that kind of thing. And I'm like, I get it, I get it. I do too. And all of this is not just about living in your emotions.

So talk to me through, like, oh, I don't want to, you know, even talking to your kids about stuff, like the way we go about parenting. I always wonder sometimes if we're, like, making them too soft. But I'm like, we're not. We're giving them the tools to understand what it is. So talk about that, like, stereotype. I love that question. So we've been given two paths in life.

Like, all of life's experience in the Western world, we've distilled it to two paths. The first path is you are the worst thing that ever happened. to you. You will always be some sort of survivor of X or Y or Z. You're the worst thing you've ever done. And since you're a victim, since you're the worst thing that ever happened to you, and you will never be able to rise above that by yourself, some government entity has to come in and save you. That's path one. And you get to invent truth along the way, how you feel about everything drives everything, right? So that's path one. Path two is the opposite. If you have a feeling, it's a character or moral issue. Navy SEALs don't have feelings. They do. I've worked

with them, right? But it's, if you have a feeling, suck it up, crush it, kill it, drag it, right? And that's life. By the foot straps. Go figure it out. And both of those are lies, right? And so that's why it's been a big deal to me to cast a new third way, which is, if you don't address your feelings, if you don't address those stories, if you don't address them, your body is trying to solve those. Here's one. If you were a six-year-old little girl and you had a cool picture and you just wanted to show Mommy, and Mommy was scrolling, and she was going, and uh-huh, that's beautiful. And she's saying, just look, just look, just look.

Look at this mom. And she's like, yeah, that's so good. That daughter knows mom's not plugged in. Yep. That daughter who's six does not know, mom needs to get off her phone. That daughter says something about that box is more lovable and important than me.

And that six-year-old girl will be about solving that gap for the rest of her life. And it's a chemical solution, it's cortisol, it's adrenaline, all the stuff. And if you don't deal with those feelings at 25, 35, 35, 45, 45, you'll eat you from the inside out. and you'll pass it on to your kids, right? So you have to deal with these feelings, and, like your friend said,

there comes a moment when you have to say, this happened. They treated me differently just because of the color of my skin. I was born into a family of poverty. All these things are real and true. Then you have to look in the mirror and say, and so what am I going to do now? Right? And that's the back half of I've got to get with a professional.

I've got to get with a group of people to do life with to say, we're going to be about changing this thing. This changes with me, this stops with me. And I'm going to make it different for grandkids that will never know me, right? It's both and. So good. And do you talk about that? That's the crux of the book, right?

Yeah, that's it. It split up in two halves. The first half is what we just talked about and the second half is what we just talked about. That's right. So good. Yep. You guys, own your past.

Change your future. It is out. And where can people buy it? You can go to John Deloney.com, Ramsey Solutions.com. And now it's so you can get it at the stores. Anywhere books are sold. Oh, well, I'm pumped about this, John.

Honestly, I think it's such good information. And it gives, again, people, this other tool to have in life. To be like, okay, I can walk through this crazy life and have some little bit of sense of stability and all of this. Can I give you one more counseling tip? Yes. When you go see a counselor, they should say in the first or second or third session, my job is to work myself out of a job with you.

My job is to equip you with tools so that you can go about your life. This is not something you're going to do. Some people have some really deep issues, right? Yes, yes. That's a great point. But most people, most of the time, need to go and learn some new tools and practice them and have somebody that can touch them. with and then head on about their life.

Yes, yes. It's not the ongoing. That's right. That's good. That's a great point. Okay, so John, one thing I ask, oh, my guess now is what's one thing with your money that you're doing that's creating a life that you live? I watched my friend George Camel do his paid off my house thing.

Yeah. And so we have, my wife and I have redoubled our already crazy efforts. And so we're treating our house payment as though we are in Baby Step 1. Oh my gosh, yes. And so the goal is to be done by the end of this year and we're cruising. We're driving hard. John, that's awesome. And so it's good.

And the second thing is, it's our 20th anniversary this year. And I am a notorious tightwad. Last year, our family vacation was a K-O-A, right? And this year, I gave my wife an obnoxious budget and said, let's go do the thing we've never done. And she was like, who are you? And what have you done with my husband? So for our 20th this year, we're going to go do it right. John.

I know, right? I applaud you. I'm so happy. I'm growing. Working next to you has taught me. Shiny thing and extravagance is okay every once in a while. Spend and enjoy. spend and enjoy, including therapy.

So always fun. Love working with you. Excited about the book again. It's own your past, change your future. John, thanks for being on. We're going to talk about budgeting apps. That's right. Because listen, budgeting is one of the best ways, if not the best way, to get control of your money.

If you have financial goals out there, if you just want to be intentional with your money, budgeting, it's your answer. It is. So I want to break down a couple of the budgeting apps out there. there because, again, it's a really important thing. And we live, you know, in 2022. So it's great. Our phones are with us. Apps are with us all the time. It's part of our world. So why not take the world today and budgeting and pair it together? It's like they had a baby and a budgeting app was born. Okay. First up, let's talk about Mint. Mint is a very popular out there. And one of the great things about Mint is that you can see multiple accounts at once. They're all synced there at

the same time. So their website says, from cash and credit to loans and investments, you can see your complete financial picture in Mint. Now, obviously, the whole like credit thing, not a fan of, right? But it is a great place to see all of your accounts. But again, this company, it does. It helps people find loans and apply for credit cards. So a lot of their ads are going to be exactly around that. So remember that. One thing I don't care for when it comes to Mint, is that only one user can have the account. And remember, I'm all about sharing your budget with your spouse, that you guys are on this together.

And if you both have the same budgeting app and the same budgeting platform, and you guys, when you change it, it changes on the other person's phone and all that. It's so ideal. So with Mint, I hate that you can't have two of those accounts. So just something to think about. Also, another feature of Mint is that it automatically categorizes

all of your transactions. and so they do this obviously for like ease and convenience, but a lot of times it ends up in the wrong budget category. And one of my things that I love is that you are very hands-on with your budget, that you know exactly where your money's going. And even if it's just dragging a transaction and dropping it into a category, it has the same effect of, okay, I just spent this money. And I have to now see in real time, yes, I spent that much money at public.

so I have to put that in the grocery category. Or I just spent that at Chick-fil-A. So I have to put it in the restaurant category. Like, feeling your spending is so key, and it's part of why I love using cash. We talk about cash a lot around here. But that is one thing that I love about cash is that you feel it.

There is an immediate transfer of the money you have worked for leaving your hands. And spending is not bad, but I want you to feel it. With debt and credit cards, you don't feel it as much. Again, when those transactions are just automatically dropped in a category, you don't really feel it. So I want you to feel it. I want you to feel it. All right, that's Mint. Up next is YNAB. YNAB is a very popular app. It stands for you need a budget. And it's very detailed, lots of charts and graphs and spending reports, net worth reports,

all of it. It's great. But it does not offer a free version. So remember that. Also, this app has auto categorizing as well, just like Mint, which again goes hand in hand with you don't really feel your spending, and I really do. I really, really want you to fill your spending. It's also not zero-based budgeting, so they kind of market it that it is, but what happens is your money still can roll over month to month, where what I want you to do is when you're budgeting that you know how much is left in the category and you take that category, especially those of you on baby steps one, two or three, which means you're saving up for an emergency fund, you're getting out of debt, or you're saving up for your fully funded emergency fund of three to six months of expenses. Any money left,

Any money left that was not spent in a category needs to go towards that stuff. Okay? So it needs to go towards your debt or it needs to go towards your emergency fund. It's very important. Now, once you're out of that step and you have extra money in each category, you can do what you want with it. It's probably going to be based on your money personality. I love to spend it.

I see it. And I'm like, oh, good. We have $18. Where can we spend those $18 to go out to eat? I'm all about it. All about it. Or Winston's like, no, just throw it in the money market again. and whatever. So again, I really like the idea of every month you're starting a new budgets.

Okay, your income minus your expenses equals zero. Every single month, it's a new clean slate. And why now you don't do that necessarily? So that was great. All right. The last budgeting app is every dollar. Yes, it's a Ramsey Solutions budgeting app. So of course, I'm going to be biased. And this is going to be my favorite. It really is because we built it around the principles we talk about when it comes to budgeting. So of course I'm going to like it because it's zero-based budgeting. You have to have your income every month. And your categories will roll over month to month with the amount that you have, but you still want to go through and say, okay, what am I going to change? But your money does not roll over. So you really do start with a fresh, clean budget. Now,

if you want to do a sinking fund, there is a place to do that where your money can roll over month to month. But you look at a fresh budget every month. I love it too because it's so user-friendly. It shows you everything. And when your transactions come in, a little bubble comes up with the number. This morning, my number was nine. I do it every day, and I love it. And you click on it, and it's like, okay, what is it? And you drag and drop that transaction to your category, and then you see that line of how much is left in it. I mean, it's so easy. It's so easy to use, and it helps you stay on track. And you can have more than one account. So if your spouse wants to download it, which they should, you guys can have the same account.

So if you're changing something and you're texting and you're like, oh, hey, I need to add this category. So I'm going to lower this category, this. And then, you know, your spouse is like, perfect. Things let me know. You update it. Updates on theirs. And you're synced up.

It is so easy. So, so, so easy. So again, you and your spouse can sync together and have it the same budget. It's so, so crucial. All right, another thing I love about every dollar is that there is a free and a paid version. So some of these budgeting apps we talked about earlier, you have to pay for it no matter what. Every dollar has a free version and it's amazing, it's wonderful, or you can upgrade and do the paid version, which obviously has more features

and it's wonderful as well. But you get two options, which I love. Now, I'm not the only one who loves every dollar. A lot of you love it too, and I know so many of you use it, which I'm so thankful because I know it's going to help you so much. And a lot of people in our Rachel Cruz Facebook community, they love every dollar as well. Here are a couple of the comments because I just couldn't help myself. One person said, I love that we can track our expenses for the whole year. It's great when you do taxes. I also love connecting to our bank. Nothing slips by us. Every dollar has a place. That's what Heather said. That's right. Beatrice says it's easy to use and I like the fact that I can control my money and my expenses

within the budget and different categories without too much math and it doesn't get too complicated. Amen. Crystal says it's easier for me to understand and plan ahead for the coming months more than YNAB. Katie says I have been on every dollar since beta testing. I've also tried YNAB, mint, and copilot, and none are as functional as every dollar. Every dollar hands down has the most user-friendly interface. I agree, Katie. And its usability is far and above the others in the market. I love it. So great. But listen to you guys, budgeting. I'm telling you, if I had to, like, live and die on one principle, oh, man, that's a hard one, actually.

I was going to say budgeting. But then I'm like, debt. Oh, there's so many other things. But it's one of the top. One of the top. If I had, like, three children when it comes to personal finance, budgeting would be one. Because really, it is that crucial. And I love it that much because it helps you stay in control.

So if you want to start budgeting or if you are budgeting, but you want to do it in 2022 on your phone or on your computer, you need to try. every dollar. So download the app, you guys. You can do this in the app store or go to ramsysolutions.com slash Ramseyplus slash every dollar. So I know it's not a shock that I love every dollar so, so much. But seriously, you guys, budgeting, it's one of the best things you can do when it comes to your money. All right. One thing that I am loving right now, and this is what it's titled, it's from Amazon. I don't know, but it's called thick, seamless hair ties. Okay, so I got my daughters, like a ton of them, or I didn't.

Santa did for Christmas, and I started stealing them because they're like, I don't even know. I don't even know what the material is, but they're so soft and they're so easy on my hair. And so I went and just bought a whole other pack from Amazon, and it came this week, and I'm just pumped. I'm pumped about it. I love finding these little things that just make your life a little bit better. So that's it for me. Thick, seamless hair ties. I wish I had the material name for you, but I don't, but just Amazon them.

They're great. All right, one thing I am learning right now. I am learning that I am low maintenance, you guys. I always considered myself a high maintenance person on certain things, which I think I still am. But I had a moment this weekend that I thought, wow, Rachel, you are really growing. So kids' birthday parties, you guys know, I mean, people just go over the top. And I'm not mad at them. If you can pay cash and that's your thing, go for it.

but for me, being creative and, like, hosting and thinking of things to do themed-wise, it stresses me out. I don't like it. And so Amelia's birthday was this weekend, and she asked me, like, two days before, she's like, Mom, what kind of cake am I going to get? I thought, oh, crap. Mm-hmm. Yeah, I have no idea, Amelia. In my head, I'm like, uh, didn't order you one, because I don't know, but around Nashville, if you want, like, a really fancy birthday cake, you got to order, like, three weeks in advance, so I already knew not going to happen. We looked at some Publix cakes online. She didn't really like any of them, but she was like, I want a unicorn cake, mom. I was like, listen, Amelia, let's just bake a cake, funfetti, and it'll be delicious, and we can get

unicorn candles. Thank you, Amazon for saving my life again. And it'll be great. She, like, was so on board, which is great. And I thought, thank you, seven-year-old. And we made this cake from a box, got the icing. I mean, I think the whole thing was like six bucks. Got some candles. They were probably like six bucks too. So $12, the cake with the unicorn candles. And it was amazing.

And I thought, this is my strength. Like, get me in a pinch. And I can pull out some budget-friendly ideas. So that's why I think I'm low-maintenance. That's right. I don't need some big frufey thing for my daughter's birthday. No, no, no. Give me a cake box and some cute candles.

and as a mom, I feel complete. I really just patted myself on the back. So that's one thing I'm learning, how to figure how to do more of that in life. That would be the goal. That would be the goal. All right, you guys, thanks so much for listening to this episode. I want to thank Dr. John Deloney for being on.

He's always so wonderful. And again, thank you guys for listening. If you have not subscribed to the podcast, make sure to hit that follow button. 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.