Transcript
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Ralph: Ever find yourself halfway
through the month and wondering
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where all your money disappeared to.
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You're not alone folks I've
been there and I've done that.
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Did you know that one little daily habit
could be sabotaging your savings plans?
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Ready to turn news leaks in your
budget into a waterfall savings.
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well get ready to slay those
money, wasting habits and
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reach your financial dreams.
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Hey there, friends and welcome
back to the Ask Ralph podcast
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where we're on our wacky Wednesday.
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Your one-stop shop for financial
wisdom, with a healthy dose of faith.
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Let me tell you today's episode is all
about saving your hard earned cash.
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From those sneaky money monsters
lurking in the shadows of your budget.
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Now listen, before I forget.
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Subscribe to our show and join our
email list at askralphpodcast.com.
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So you don't miss tomorrow's show
when we discuss simpler IRS notices.
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That's one you don't want to miss folks.
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So we were talking about money wasters,
and I said, Don't be afraid of the monster
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lurking in the shadows of your budget.
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These monsters, aren't going to jump out
of your closet and steal your wallet.
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Of course with teenagers in your house.
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Sometimes it may feel that way.
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We're talking about the everyday
expenses that seem harmless.
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But slowly drain your bank
account, like a leaky faucet.
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Except instead of dripping
water, it's dripping lattes.
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And costing you money.
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So before you find yourself saying adios
to your financial goals because of a
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surprise subscription box addiction.
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Let's dive into the top money wasters
and how to stop them in their tracks.
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Grab a pen and paper or fire up
your favorite note taking app.
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You don't want to miss this because
we're about to become financial ninjas.
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I told you today's wacky Wednesday.
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So bear with me.
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All right.
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Money, monster.
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Number one, impulse purchases.
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We all onew the drill.
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You're strolling through the store.
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Minding your own business when suddenly
a sparkly unicorn pool float with a built
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in margarita holder catches your eye.
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Next thing, you know, you're
justifying why you need.
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This inflatable masterpiece.
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Even though your backyard pool situation
is a plastic wading pool for the toddlers.
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It's kind of funny if you think about it.
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Well, here's the antidote folks.
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The 24 hour rule.
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I live by this myself.
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Before you swipe that plastic.
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Fantastic.
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Take a whole day to mull it over.
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Will you still love that
sequin through pillow tomorrow?
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Chances are the unicorn pool.
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Float will lose its luster by then.
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And you'll be thankful you saved your
money for something more practical.
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Or maybe a real vacation instead of
a staycation with a blowup unicorn.
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Let's move on to money.
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Waster.
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Number two, subscriptions gone.
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Wild.
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truth is folks.
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We live in a subscription
for everything world.
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Streaming services.
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Meal kits, meal planning that
monthly box of beard, all
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your certificate, other needs.
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they all add up.
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I've had clients tell me that they
were paying for the same subscription
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two times over maybe husband and wife.
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Well, how do you fix that?
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You do what I call I've ruthless
audit of your subscriptions.
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Are you actually using all of them?
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Can you consolidate some services?
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You know what I found I
was paying for Netflix.
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And I don't remember one or the other
services, but when I went on to my
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Verizon wireless bill, I found that
I could get those things for free.
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Remember, you can always cancel
and resubscribe later, if
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something truly sparks joy.
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Speaking of joy.
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Let's not forget money.
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Monster number three.
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Keeping up with the Joneses.
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Social media paints a picture of everyone
living their best, most expensive lives.
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Hey, if you're scrolling through Tik TOK.
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Or scrolling through.
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Facebook or Instagram.
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you'll see, everybody's got
something you got to have.
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Well, don't fall prey
to that comparison trap.
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You have to focus on your own financial
goals and what truly brings you
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fulfillment, not the latest gadget,
your neighbor just flaunted online.
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Speaking of phones, money, monster
number four, unnecessary fees.
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We've all been there.
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Late payment, penalties, bank, overdraft
charges, those mysterious fees on your
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phone bill, you can't quite decipher.
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These add up folks, be proactive, set
up automatic payments for your bills.
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Monitor your account activity regularly,
and don't be afraid to call service
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providers and negotiate those pesky fees.
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If you don't ask for a reduction in
fees, you're never going to get it.
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You might be surprised at what you
can save with a little phone call.
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I mentioned this a couple of days ago.
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I think.
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We have Sirius XM in one of our vehicles.
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I just let the thing expire because
now I know when I call in, I'll be
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able to negotiate a fantastic deal.
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Now here's when it might hit close to
home for all of you coffee aficionados.
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Money monster number five,
that daily latte habit.
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Now I'm not a coffee drinker.
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So this one is difficult for me.
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I get to my office in the
morning before I do my recording.
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And I have a hot tea, but I've never
been one to, frequent the latte places.
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Now, listen, there's nothing wrong
with treating yourself occasionally.
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But that $5 latte every single morning
can put a series dent in your budget.
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Think about that.
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It adds up.
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Try brewing coffee at home
and bring a thermos to work.
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You'll save money.
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And maybe even impress your
coworkers with your barista skills.
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Or at least your commitment
to financial responsibility.
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You don't have to have that
Starbucks cup sitting on your desk.
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Finally, let's talk about money.
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Monster number six.
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Emotional spending.
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And I think we've all been guilty of this.
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There've been times in my life.
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When I've been going through a
tough time and I pop onto Amazon or
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Walmart or target, or one of those
places and, do some retail therapy.
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And it may feel good in the moment.
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But it's not a sustainable
way to manage your finances.
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If you're feeling stressed.
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Anxious or bored.
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Find healthy coping mechanisms that
don't involve swiping your credit card.
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Well, what are those Ralph?
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We'll take a walk.
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Call a friend.
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Call your mom or dad, call
an aunt, her sister, brother.
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Or channel your inner artists with
some free adult coloring pages.
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My wife loves to do with
adult coloring books.
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Because let's face it.
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Adulting is stressful.
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I remember being a kid, you know, I
couldn't wait to become an adult, man.
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I would love to go back
and be a kid again.
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Didn't have a care in the world.
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all right, friends, let's turn this
financial knowledge into action.
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I would like to give you action steps
in some practical things you can do.
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So here's some practical
steps you can take right now.
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to slay those money monsters
and become a financial ninja.
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It's got a cool ring to it.
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Doesn't it.
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Number one.
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I mentioned this in my book, mastering
your finances, which you can find on.
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askralphpodcast.com/store.
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It's a 47 page.
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Life changing financial book.
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Track your spending.
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Awareness is the key.
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For a month or 45 days track
where every single penny goes.
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There are plenty of free budgeting
apps available, or you can
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create a simple spreadsheet.
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seeing your spending habits laid
bare can be eyeopening can be scary.
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It can be difficult.
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It's, you're opening it up.
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you might be surprised how much you're
spending on seemingly insignificant things
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like daily snacks or eating out for lunch.
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Listen.
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I had a client a few years ago.
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They came in for financial counseling
that's something I do offer clients.
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If you're interested you can
book a session with me anyway.
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They came in, they sat down with
me and they said, Ralph, we don't
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understand where our money goes.
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Now, these two people were making well
over $300,000 between the two of them.
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So they were by no means, just scraping by
the top, but they said, listen, we never
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have any money at the end of the month.
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I said, well, here's the
easy thing that you can do.
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For the next 30 days, I want
each of you to write down
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every single dollar you spend.
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And he looked at me like, oh, well,
that's going to be pretty easy Ralph.
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That sounds great.
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So I encouraged them to
write it down, you know?
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Every single dollar.
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Well, they came back about 45 days later.
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We had our followup meeting.
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And they had made all kinds of lists
and, you know, here's what we spent on
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this and here's what we spend on that.
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I got to the bottom and
I saw ATM withdrawals.
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And I said, okay, well, what's this.
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And they say, oh, that's the ATM.
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We know we go there.
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We need money for certain things.
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I said, okay, well, it looks
like you spent $3,000 at the
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ATM machine in the last 30 days.
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Dead silence.
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And I said to him, okay,
well, where did that money go?
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Well, that's our fun money.
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I said, what do you
mean at your fun money?
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Oh, well, you know, that's kind of,
you know, if I need to get something,
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you know, I hit the ATM machine
or, you know, I can't remember
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the couple's name to be honest.
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Well, let's say Joe, Joe
hits the ATM machine.
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I said, oh, where, where
does that money go?
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Well, you know, I might by this by this.
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I might buy that.
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And I said, do you understand
what you just told me?
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You deduct $3,000 from your
monthly budget in ATM transactions.
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That's $36,000 in a year
of unaccountable spending.
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Where does that money go?
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Well, you know, that's none
of your business, Ralph.
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I said, that's fine.
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It doesn't need to be my business,
but it needs to be your business.
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If you want to fix your financial
situation, you got to start
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being honest with yourself.
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And the truth is I never
saw those people again.
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So my, my goal was to track their
spending and make them aware, but they
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didn't want to know about that awareness.
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So let's move on to the second action
item and that's embrace the power of no.
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This one might sound simple.
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But it's surprisingly difficult.
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You need to learn to politely
decline impulse purchase.
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You remember a polite?
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No, thank you.
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Is way cheaper than buyer's
remorse or that credit card
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balance, it keeps going up or the
interest that you're going to pay.
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So you got to embrace the power of no.
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Another action item
become a savvy shopper.
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it's so easy to just click on
buy when you're doing your online
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shopping or when you're in the store.
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But have you done any research?
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Are there any coupons or
promo codes available?
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Could you find a similar item
for less at a discount store?
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Is there a used version
available in the marketplace app?
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You know, if you're not taking
the time, you know, this goes
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along with a 24 hour rule as well.
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Become savvy, do some research.
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do you really need it?
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Or at least, look online
or there com coupon code.
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one of the things that I use is a product.
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called Vista print.
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they do business cards and
all that sort of thing.
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Well, it doesn't take, but about
two minutes to find out that Vista
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print constantly has coupon codes.
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Some of them as much as $25 off 25% off.
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And I'm not promoting
Vista print, but Hey.
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Look around and see if there
are any coupon codes out there.
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Another action.
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Step embrace the.
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Do it yourself.
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Life.
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Now, listen, I have said many times
I am not mechanically inclined,
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so be very cautious on this one.
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But if you are mechanically inclined
or you can find ways to do things
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yourself, by all means, do them yourself.
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Instead of paying someone
to mow your lawn, wash your
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car, or fix a leaky faucet.
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Consider tackling these tasks yourself.
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You might be surprised
by your hidden talents.
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And the extra cash you'll
have in your pocket.
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Another action item is
entertainment on a budget.
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You don't have to be a hermit
to save money on entertainment.
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Check your local library or your local
town for free events, movie nights in the
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park or museum days of free admission.
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plan potluck dinners with friends
instead of expensive night outs.
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Remember it's all about the experience.
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Quality time with loved ones.
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Doesn't have to come
with a hefty price tag.
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And another action item embrace the
power of free financial resources.
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There's a wealth of free
financial advice available
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online and at your local library.
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Check out reputable financial websites.
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Listen to my podcast.
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Now that's a shameless plug, but the truth
is I give free financial advice that if
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you listen to it and put it into action.
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will change the dynamic.
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you can also attend free
financial workshops offered by
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your bank or community center.
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The truth is this knowledge is power.
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And financial knowledge can empower
you to make smarter money decisions.
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And don't, we all want to make those.
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Another action item is to
review your bills regularly.
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Don't be a passive consumer when it
comes to your bills, look at them.
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Review them.
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Look for hidden fees or outdated
plans, negotiate your cable package.
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Remember.
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The threat of cancellation
can be a powerful tool.
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they have those.
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People that are in retention
to try to save you.
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Well, guess what?
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They've got tools in
their arsenal to do that.
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Shop around, one of the big things
that people don't talk about is
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shop for better insurance rates.
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Don't be afraid to switch providers.
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If you find a better deal.
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Another action item is
embrace the envelope system.
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Now, my grandparents used to do this.
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If you're a tactile person who
struggles with digital budgeting, look,
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everything doesn't have to be digital.
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I'm a digital guy.
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I'm a techno nerd.
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Everything I do is digital.
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It doesn't have to be that way.
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You can use what's called
the classic envelope system.
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Well, how does that work?
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Will you allocate specific amounts
of cash for different categories?
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You have an envelope for groceries?
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You have an envelope for gas,
you have an envelope for it.
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Entertainment.
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And you store them in separate envelopes.
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And it's really simple folks.
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Once the cash in an envelope runs
out, you know, you've reached
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your spending limit for that
category you're done for the month.
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Or you're done for the week.
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It might sound old-fashioned.
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But for some people, the physical presence
of cash can be a powerful motivator.
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And listen, this is another action item.
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And this one is huge.
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Set financial goals for yourself.
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I say this all the time,
what gets measured.
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Gets done.
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Having a clear vision for your financial
future can be a powerful motivator.
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Do you dream of a debt free future?
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A dream vacation.
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Retirement on a beach somewhere.
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Write down your goals and
create a plan to achieve them.
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Knowing what you're working
towards can help you stay focused
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and avoid impulse spending.
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It's the same thing with
your finances again.
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I'm going to shamelessly plug my book.
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They're mastering your finances
available at askralphpodcast.com/store.
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It all starts with a budget.
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It all starts with measurement
or starts with setting a
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course to where you want to go.
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And finally, and I can't
stress this one enough.
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Celebrate your wins.
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Financial fitness is a
marathon, not a sprint folks.
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Acknowledge your progress.
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You know, did you pay off a credit card?
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Did you stick to your
budget for the month?
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Treat yourself to a smaller
reward for your accomplishments.
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If you really liked that
latte, do it once a week.
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You know, do it every other
week, do it every other Friday.
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Do something, treat yourself to a
small reward for your accomplishment.
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00:14:21,979 --> 00:14:22,639
Just remember.
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Keep the rewards proportionate
to your accomplishments.
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A celebratory cupcake, not a
weekend getaway, you know, it's
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gotta be small, but measurable.
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00:14:32,629 --> 00:14:34,939
Now, before we wrap up on remind
our listeners, I haven't told
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00:14:34,939 --> 00:14:38,399
you already to visit our podcast
page askralphpodcast.com.
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00:14:38,419 --> 00:14:41,329
There you can leave us a review, share
your thoughts, or even send us a message
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00:14:41,329 --> 00:14:42,919
with questions for future episodes.
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00:14:43,819 --> 00:14:47,239
Maybe you've got some great ideas
for people to save money, record
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00:14:47,239 --> 00:14:48,649
those for me, send them in an email.
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00:14:49,189 --> 00:14:50,929
I'd love to share those with other people.
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00:14:51,289 --> 00:14:54,559
And while you're there, make sure you
join our email list every week, we're
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00:14:54,559 --> 00:14:57,439
doing a $25 Amazon gift card drawing.
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00:14:57,769 --> 00:14:59,989
And if you're not a member list,
you have no chance of winning.
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00:14:59,989 --> 00:15:01,909
So sign up yourself and tell others.
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00:15:02,689 --> 00:15:04,729
And like I said, you can also
schedule a consultation with
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00:15:04,729 --> 00:15:05,989
me right there on the website.
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00:15:06,039 --> 00:15:09,459
Well, folks, I hope you're inspired
to take on those sneaky money wasters
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and turn them into financial wins.
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Remember this.
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Mastering your money.
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Isn't about deprivation.
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00:15:16,179 --> 00:15:18,789
It's about giving yourself the
freedom to live the way you want.
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So just to recap.
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Today, we talked about tracking
your spending to see where those
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00:15:22,989 --> 00:15:24,309
hard-earned dollars are really going.
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00:15:25,029 --> 00:15:28,179
Learning the potent power of
saying no to impulse purchases.
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00:15:28,899 --> 00:15:32,139
Embracing savvy shopping habits at
comparison, shopping and coupons.
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00:15:32,739 --> 00:15:35,619
Discovering the joy money
saving magic of do it yourself.
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00:15:36,129 --> 00:15:39,339
And finding fun and creative ways to
enjoy budget-friendly entertainment.
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That's a lot.
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00:15:40,689 --> 00:15:44,529
But if you put these things in
action, you will see huge results.
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00:15:44,529 --> 00:15:45,039
Remember.
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Small changes today can have a big
impact on your financial future.
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Keep being financially savvy friends.
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And as always say, God
bless you abundantly.
