Why Most Budgets Fail and How to Create One That Sticks
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If you've ever felt like budgeting just doesn't work for you, you're not alone. Many people struggle with budgeting because they've been led to believe it's overly restrictive and complicated. In reality, most budgets fail for being too rigid and not adaptable to real life. Today, let's explore why budgets often fall apart and how you can create a plan that works for you.
Why Budgets Fail:
Many people assume they fail at budgeting due to poor money management skills. However, the core issue often lies in the budgeting method itself. Traditional budgeting approaches can feel restrictive, making you feel cheap or broke. It’s no wonder people perceive budgeting negatively. To break this stigma, it's essential to shift our mindset: a budget isn't meant to confine you; it's a tool to help you prioritize your spending according to your values and goals.
The Importance of Simplicity and Planning
When starting with budgeting, simplicity is key. Avoid being too strict at first; instead, focus on incorporating a bit of fun into your budget. Prioritize your essential expenses like housing, utilities, and food, and allow room for enjoyment. Remember, the only wrong budget is the one you don’t create. Start simple and gradually build your financial acumen.
Practical First Steps
Evaluate Your Spending: Review your past spending habits over three to six months. This will help you identify where your money goes and highlight unnecessary expenses. Understanding your financial habits is a crucial first step towards effective budgeting.
Set Clear Priorities: Determine what's truly important to you and allocate your finances accordingly. Whether it's saving for a vacation, paying down debt, or setting money aside for emergencies, having clarity on your priorities will guide your spending decisions.
Create a Simple Plan: Once you've evaluated your spending and set your priorities, create a straightforward budget. Group similar expenses together to avoid overcomplication. For instance, consider all grocery, dining, and pet expenses under one category, "Food."
Expect Imperfection: Understand that no budget is perfect. Expect to encounter challenges and allow yourself room for adjustments. Budgeting is a learning process, and consistency over time will lead to financial stability.
Building Financial Confidence
Budgeting isn't all about restriction; it's about empowerment and making informed financial decisions. As you refine your budget, you'll begin to see positive changes—like debt reduction and increased savings—that build your confidence.
Staying Committed
Once you’ve created your budget, it’s essential to stick with it. Support and accountability, whether from friends, family, or an online community, can be invaluable. Celebrate small victories like avoiding overdrafts or finally having money in a savings account. These successes are affirmations of progress, and they help maintain your momentum.
Conclusion
Getting started with budgeting might seem daunting, but with the right approach, it becomes an empowering tool for financial freedom. By simplifying your budget, setting clear priorities, and allowing room for growth, you can transform budgeting into a rewarding practice. Commit to this journey, and you'll find yourself one step closer to achieving your financial goals. Remember, it’s not about being perfect—it's about making consistent, informed choices that pave the way for a brighter financial future.
Resources
The Totally Awesome Debt Freedom Planner https://www.debtfreedad.com/planner
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Transcript
Brad Nelson:
So if you've ever tried budgeting and felt like it just doesn't work for you, you're not alone. You know, most people don't fail at budgeting because they're bad with money. They fail because the system that they're using is probably too complicated, too restrictive, and it doesn't fit the real life. And in today's episode, we're going to be showing you why most budgets fall apart. And some of those might surprise you. And we're also going to be sharing some first steps on how to finally create one that sticks. Now, you don't need another spreadsheet or an app, although those can be helpful tools. But what you do need is just a simple plan that actually works for you to get started.
Announcer:
You're listening to the Debt Free Dad podcast with Brad Nelson. Brad and his co-hosts experience the anxiety of living paycheck to paycheck before learning the fundamentals of financial success. They are now on a mission to empower regular people to pay off their debt for good and enjoy happier, less stressful lives. Keep listening for inspirational interviews, tips, tricks, and practical advice to gain financial freedom.
Brad Nelson:
I paid off about $45,000 in debt. I've been debt-free now for more than 11 years outside of my mortgage. I've also helped thousands of other people save and pay off tens of millions of dollars with the work that we do here at Defree Dad.
Amber Taylor:
I'm Amber Taylor, and my husband and I saved and paid off $54,000 in just 20 months. And we've been living debt-free outside of our mortgage since 2018.
Chris Hawkins:
My name is Chris Hawkins, and my wife and I started our journey way back in 2005. And for three years from 2005 to 2008, we paid off just under $100,000 worth of debt. And we've been debt-free except for our house ever since.
Kati Hatfield:
And I'm Katie Hatfield, and I am actually still on my journey to debt freedom. I have been doing that for seven years. And in that time, I have paid off over $235,029 in medical debt, credit cards, student loans, car loans, all that fun stuff on a single income.
Brad Nelson:
Now, guys, after listening to this episode, if you're ready to take things to the next level, you want to break free from living paycheck to paycheck, you want to reduce financial stress, build your savings, and finally pay off your debt for good. But maybe you're just not sure where to get started. We've created some incredible free resources to help you get there. And I'll share some details about that later on in today's episode. So, guys, today we are talking about the swear word of all swear words when it comes to finances, especially for people who are brand new and for a lot of people who live paycheck to paycheck. The budget is probably one of the scariest things and the scariest words because of all of this nonsense marketing. We're going to talk a little bit about this as we get started with budgets failing, but just this nonsense marketing on budgeting is negative. It's restrictive. It means you're cheap. It means you're broke. And a lot of people look at it as just this negative thing. And I'm excited to talk about this because a lot of people, especially when they're first getting started, this is one of the biggest things that they struggle with, is from a technical side of just getting a budget going and getting a budget started.
Kati Hatfield:
It is definitely a swear word most of the time.
Brad Nelson:
I mean, you said today, I mean you've paid off over what $220,000, $230,000. $235,000. Um she's like, get every dollar.
Kati Hatfield:
I definitely am better at sticking to a budget. Am I good at making a budget? No. After seven years of doing this, no, I'm not. So it's just, but it helps. It's there. I try to stick to it. That's the hard part is sticking to it.
Chris Hawkins:
Well, you mentioned that along with the budget means you're cheap. You're broke. And I've been doing a budget now for 20 years. And yes, I still may be cheap, all right? Because that's one of the things that came out of paying off all the debt and learning that, hey, if I hold on to this money, I can do some really cool things with it. But I'm no longer broke, I can tell you that. So I think it just depends on what part of your journey that you're in. But regardless of whether you're just beginning or whether you've been doing this for 20 years, you should be doing a budget. But at whatever stage you are in life, I mean your goals or your outcome, why you're gonna be budgeting is gonna change, if that makes sense.
Kati Hatfield:
And you're not cheap, you have learned from your mistakes. You are wise and frugal.
Chris Hawkins:
Actually, frugal frugal is the key word there, all right? So frugal, frugal, I mean, people think that that means being cheap. And in fact, it really means getting the most out of every dollar. So sometimes when you spend money, you should spend more money to get better quality. And that's sort of what I am when I do spend money. But I'm very over analytical and I do put a lot of thought into when and where and how I spend money. But when I do, a lot of times it is for nicer things, yes.
Announcer:
Yeah.
Amber Taylor:
Well, I think a lot of people think that a budget is super restrictive when in reality it's really, and I think we're gonna get into this, but it's based on you know what you put your priorities into. Yeah.
Brad Nelson:
And yeah, so I'm gonna piggyback off what you just said, Amber, because one of the questions I have for you guys is when you guys were first starting, I mean, we all failed at this. Katie, you just said even budgeting now is still not exactly exciting. We don't always get it right. But I think where I failed the most and why my budget always failed the most when I first got started is because I'd sit down and do a budget, but then I didn't have the behavior and the habits to really back up the plan that I was trying to put together. And so I had, in my opinion, and this is one of the reasons on this podcast and what we do here at Defree Daz, we focus a lot more on behaviors, habits, and choices first before we even sit down and talk about a budget. Because without actually recognizing your habits, your behaviors, the things that got you stuck, like it's hard to actually sit here and now take a look at this plan because it's gonna be exactly what you said, Amber. You're gonna feel that restriction because now all of a sudden it's I gotta cut out this, I gotta cut out this, I gotta cut out this. And when you don't have the behaviors and habits to do that, or the reasons why you want to do that, it can feel restricted. And a lot of people, I think, push away from it initially when they first get started because of that.
Chris Hawkins:
But let's face it, when do most people really think about starting to do a budget? When everything's going wrong, right? Yeah, right. It's it's more out of necessity, and it's at that moment when everything seems to be going wrong. You're searching for answers, and all of a sudden, one of the first things you're being told to do is to sit down and do a budget. And of course, along with that comes analyzing your spending. Where have you been spending your money? How much debt do you really have? How much is coming in, how much is going out? And there's usually that, oh, it fill in the blank with another dirty word. Okay. And then you realize how bad it is, and then you're like, okay, I got to do this thing called a budget. And then all of a sudden the numbers don't add up, and that's why the restrictiveness seems to come in. Like, I can't do this, I can't do that. And yes, early on, that's the way it's probably going to be. You're going to have to say no to a lot of things, but eventually, as Amber mentioned, your budget can eventually become the tool by which you say yes to the things that are most important. Right.
Kati Hatfield:
I would say the natural thing is not to jump in and say, I'm going to do a budget because things are going terribly. That was not my first thought. I think that the natural reaction is, I'm just going to ignore everything and forget it exists and just keep doing what I'm doing and hope that one day I win the lottery or something. Like that just seems like budgeting is not the thing, but it is the key to getting on track and figuring out where your money is going and to stop doing those things. It's a guideline to help you for sure.
Brad Nelson:
Yeah. Well, and I think going on to that restrictive side too, a lot of people tend to forget about planning because they get so like, I gotta get like, you know, if you're going through tough stuff right now, let's say you're behind on bills, maybe your income got cut because of you know lost hours at work, whatever it might be. And all of a sudden we get this idea that we got to get on this budget, and we got to cut out everything reasonable inside of that budget, real life stuff, birthdays and like just kids' stuff, things that we just don't think that we need or think about. Oh, we can do away with that until those things show up, and then all of a sudden it's we don't have any money for this, right? And then our budget is broken because we don't actually look at our budget and be realistic. And that is one of the reasons why a lot of people fail. They'll cut out everything fun in their life altogether, they'll go like that scorched earth mentality. And for a lot of people, you can live like that for a little while until all of a sudden you're sitting on your couch, you're like, My life sucks, man. We can't do anything. You're looking at your spouse or your partner, you guys are ready to kill each other, you're ready to kill your kids, and before you know it, you're like, This budget sucks. And when we go out and we just bust it, anyways, because life happens and we just got to go live a little bit as well. So you have to be realistic with it, too.
Amber Taylor:
Well, I think a lot of times when you don't plan for everything and then you go off course, I find that's when a lot of people go, Ah, I'll start again next month, right? They just throw up their hands because they messed up one little area. And I think that if you try and stay focused, you won't fail in that way, even if you do have to go over budget for something that you might have forgot about.
Chris Hawkins:
I think the the most important thing to mention is when you start budgeting, you are going to fail. Yeah, it is not going to work the first few months. Okay. Now, why do I say that? It's not to discourage you from doing one. It's so that when you do one and when it doesn't go correctly, when you forget something or you blow it, or whatever happens to your budget because it's going to you need to remember that I told you, we all told you, all of us here are probably agreeing that it's going to fail. And that's normal. Okay. It's to be expected. And so when it happens, you go, hey, they told me this was going to happen. Let me do the best I can to fix it. Next month I'm going to be a little bit better, but it's probably going to fail in some regard the next month. But by the time you've done it four or five, six months, you're going to have most of it figured out. And you're going to start feeling the traction and you're going to start feeling the confidence. So when you fail, remember we're telling you you're going to fail. And it's not meant to discourage you, it's meant to encourage you so that you just remember that and go, okay, that's part of life. That's part of what's to be expected. Let me pick myself up and keep going.
Kati Hatfield:
And I would say it is better to do something poorly than it is to do nothing at all because you're like, if I don't do it 190% and have it just perfect the first try, I'm not gonna do it at all. Like, just do something, try it, just give it a try.
Brad Nelson:
I guess you're just a real personal story. I just I just had to have this conversation and lesson with Avery today. She has some special needs, so she does OT therapy in the morning virtually before she goes to school. So she had to cut out a pumpkin, which she's fine at cutting things, but she wanted to make a dog pumpkin. This kid's crazy about dogs, so this pumpkin has ears. Well, as she's cutting the circle of the pumpkin, she accidentally just skips the ear and cuts the ear off. Well, as she gets her pumpkin done, she looks at the paper and she realizes that the ear is still on the part of the paper that she cut off. And what does she say? She's like, I can't do this. I cut the ear off. This isn't a dog pumpkin anymore. And I'm like, that's okay, we can just tape it, it'll be fine. So, what does she do as a normal child? She crosses her arms, turns her chair away from the computer. I'm not doing this because I am perfect at it. And I did, I had to sit down and have the same conversation like we're having right now about budgeting. It's like, look, you're not gonna be great at this at first. You have to practice, like you just missed it. You can go back and fix all of those errors the next time. Like that's the only way that you get better. And you guys are absolutely right. I think that's one of the reasons why most people fail in general is because they quit before they actually even get started, really.
Kati Hatfield:
And that pumpkin's gonna be real cute with like one lopsided ear.
Brad Nelson:
Oh, yeah. Right, right. But it's crazy, even as adults, we still struggle with some of this stuff. As a dad, I'm gonna give myself a pat on the back. I gave a great lesson today. That doesn't happen very often as parents, where you feel like you did a good job, right? All right, so let's talk about guys now. As you guys got started with budgeting, what were some things, simple things like remember? We're going back to you, we're just getting started again. What do you guys feel were some simple things that you guys did to be able to get started with budgeting and what helped you the most? Just some real simple things again for people who are listening to this who are struggling with a lot of things we're talking about. What would you give some advice on?
Chris Hawkins:
Which time? The first, the second, or the third time. Yeah, right. Okay, because the time that it finally worked, which was the third time, which has continued for 20 years now, the number one thing was to simplify, to not overcomplicate. I thought of my household and I thought of my finances as a business, as a corporation. And when you do that, you can really overcomplicate things in a hurry. And that's why the first time it didn't work, and that's why the second time it didn't work. And so we talk about failures. I failed at it multiple times, but when it really began to work for me is when I said, let's just keep this simple. Because as Katie mentioned, the only wrong budget that you do is the one that you don't do. And to this day, you look at my budget and how it's much different than probably most people do. It has evolved over the years, but it is ridiculously simple. Okay, if you can buy it at the grocery store or you can go out and eat it, it's considered food. Even though I buy cat litter and dog food at the grocery store, that goes under my food category. Now it may seem weird to some people, but it's just one last line that I gotta worry about. So it's all about simplification for me.
Amber Taylor:
Yeah, I think for us it was not being super strict because at the beginning we were really, really strict, and then we had to realize that this isn't gonna work, and we had to add a little bit of fun into our budget. So we started adding a fun line into our budget so that we can just go out and have fun and say yes to friends when they asked us if it was in the budget.
Kati Hatfield:
Priorities, you have to set your priorities so that the house or rent, your utilities, your food are all like the first thing that you pay, and everything else comes after. You do have to look at very seriously at some things that like okay, is this a want or a need? And then when you're at the store, when I was getting started, it was what would Brad do, the WWPD um move that our roots group had like started chanting. So I was like, is Brad gonna be mad at me? Would Brad be mad if I bought this? Is this a want or a need? And then the 24-hour rule, just wait, put it in your cart, but then walk away from the computer and don't hit you know, submit on the order. Will I even come back to that website? Will I even remember it? Yes, because they will send me an email the next day saying I think you forgot something, but I I don't get those emails anymore because I don't even put it in my cart. I'll just like shop and be like, nope, don't need that. So you just have to prioritize.
Brad Nelson:
Yeah, I think for me, I I always struggled when I first started budgeting with I didn't think I had money to budget because I always just felt broke. And you guys know we talk about this a lot here at Defree Dad, is one of the first things. Like, if you feel like you don't have money to save, you don't have money to pay off debt, you don't have money to like we talk about, even going out and to have fun, is to really take a really close look at your past spending habits. And that to me, yes, it was a sickening feeling at the same time. It wasn't easy, it took a little time to do. But again, go back and look at the last three to six months of your bank, your credit card statements, any digital wallets you're using, like PayPal, Cash App, Venmo, and really get a good understanding before you even budget. Like, where has all your money been going to begin with? And if you're anything like me and most people who do this, you you do get a little sickening feeling of like, ugh, I can't believe I spent this on this and that, and I can't believe how much we're spending here. But that is also a really great wake-up call because it made me realize I do actually have money to pay down more of my debt or to put more money in my savings account or to put more money towards a vacation that I want to take. I just had a, like you said, Katie, I had to prioritize where my money was going. And it was going everywhere and anywhere because of, again, the behaviors, habits, and choices. So once I actually sat down and looked at everything and saw the numbers in plain sight, for me, it became easier to budget because I could say, well, I no longer have to spend money here, I no longer have to spend money there, I instead want to spend money over here. And it gave me more empowerment of my money rather than feeling like my money was constantly controlling me.
Chris Hawkins:
Yeah, I think another thing for me is you got to find a why. You got to find a purpose, you've got to find a reason. And the third time that I did it, I had a very good reason to budget, which was I had a significant amount of debt that was due in about nine months, and I didn't want to borrow more money to pay it. So along with my budget was a plan to pay that debt off within the nine months. And so I had to do the budget to help me figure out how to come up with the money that it took to meet the cash flow or the debt payments to get it done. And we ended up doing that in about six months because I had a strong enough purpose and a strong enough why and a strong enough reason. And then it became a game for me. We've talked about gamification a lot. It's like, wow, if I can do this, what else can I do? And that's how within three years we paid off just under $100,000 worth of debt. But you've got to ask yourself, what is my goal? What's my end game? And it can't just be something simple like to not have pressure. It's got to be something bigger, something more meaningful. And over time that will change. And for me and my wife, that certainly has been the case as well.
Brad Nelson:
Can I also just add in one point? And maybe we can hand just this a little bit, is that we talked when you know we opened up the show, we were talking about advertising, marketing. You got to ignore what most people are talking about when it comes to budgeting. You have to ignore it. You know, find some good, relatable people, people that you can follow on social media, listening to this podcast, whatever. But don't listen to your broke friends, family, and coworkers because when you start saying, like, hey, I'm getting out of budget, most of them are gonna be like, Why? Or budgeting sucks. Budgeting means you're broke, like you're gonna get all this negative talk about budgeting, and that does not help you. You need to ignore what the majority of people are doing with their money because the majority of people are broke, and that's another reason why I think for a lot of people, most people don't do budgets or don't start budgets, is because of what their social circle is also doing with their money, which isn't a whole heck of a lot.
Chris Hawkins:
Well, I would say then if you're listening to other people and that's what you're telling they're telling you, ask yourself two things how much better are they than me? And is it worth giving something different a try because what I've been doing hasn't been working? Right? Listen, folks, there's plenty of episodes of this debt free dad podcast where Brad has interviewed people who have gotten out of debt, people who have gone through your program, right, Brad? Yeah, oh yeah, and I would I would venture to say if you listen to every single one of those episodes, at some point in the conversation, they're gonna tell you the power that budgeting played in getting out of debt.
Kati Hatfield:
And you do have to adjust over time because when I started, I was going through like the grocery receipt, like Christy talked about, you just throw everything in there, even the cat litter and dog food. I was like, Nope, I have to be like, here's my healthcare and beauty products, and here's my you know, household things, and here and like, nope, gotta just stop doing that and make it simpler over time because that makes it easier. And then your priorities do switch a little bit over time too. So it's kind of like, okay, I have a little bit extra nowhere. Can I put this? And you get addicted to paying your bills, which is like a weird addiction, but it is people are listening, going, No, you don't.
Amber Taylor:
No, it's it's true for me. It is me too.
Brad Nelson:
I can't tell you how many people I have I've had email me, message me over the last 10 years that say, Brad, paying off debt and managing my finances now become a like an addiction. Like, I'm so addicted to it, I just can't stop doing it. Because most people don't ever get a taste of actual winning with their money, and when you finally do, and you look at your bank account, you look at your debt going down, you look at your savings count savings account growing, it's freaking exciting, you know. That's really fun to see. And most people never even get a hint of what that feels like.
Chris Hawkins:
Well, and for me, it's now what do I do with all that money I don't spend on debt anymore? Yeah, I'm not gonna go into too much detail here, but I've been able to do some really, really, really cool things both in my personal life, but also investments, real estate, things that I never would have imagined 20 years ago that we would be able to do. And it's all because I learned that if I don't give it to the bank, I can save it and invest it and do other pretty cool things with it. And so it's still a game, it never goes away. When you've got money in the bank and you've got savings and investments, you start to say, What else can I do? There becomes no limits, yeah, or very or less limits, I should say. And it drives my wife nuts because she's like, You're always going from thing to thing. I'm like, Yep, isn't it pretty cool?
Brad Nelson:
Yeah, right. And it's not coming from a place of like bragging either. I want everyone listening to this, it really is. We all started exactly where all of you are starting, where everyone is right now. There's nothing that really makes us special except for the fact that we all said we're gonna do this work, we're gonna figure it out. And we did, we just committed to it, and that's the only thing that separates us from people who are living paycheck to paycheck. That's really it. You look at someone like Katie. I mean, when you started doing this seven years ago, you were making 13 bucks an hour. Yep, and 13 bucks an hour as a single person, yeah.
Kati Hatfield:
And this has all been on a single income. Yes, I have taken a new job and gotten promotions and raises, but not like astronomical or anything, but not included in that $235,000 that I've paid off. I've also saved over $85,000 in retirement and my sinking funds and my HSA and all these things that I didn't even have a savings account with a comma in it, but when I started this, I was lucky if I had any money in a savings account when I started this. So this is like budgeting works, I promise you. Just try it.
Brad Nelson:
All right. Lastly, guys, and I'm gonna share if you're listening to this, we got a resource. We've got the totally awesome budgeting workshop that's gonna show you step by step on how to get your budget started. I'm gonna share that resource here in just a second. But one thing I just want to ask all of you, because again, I'll share in that workshop what helps me. But what I love from all of the three of you is just to share. Once you got your budget created, what has helped you stick with it over the years? And again, especially when you're getting started, it's a little bit harder. But what do you think that's helped you the most stick with your plan that you put into place?
Chris Hawkins:
I think for me, when you see results and you continue to see results, and when you have less debt, less money goes out the door. That's less lines on your budget, it becomes even more simple. Okay. And my budgeting for me now, it's really just a few minutes a month. It really is. Maybe 30 minutes a month worth of budgeting and tracking because of how simple everything is. And so the answer to your question though is because I get results from it, even today, even though I don't have debt to pay off. I've got other goals, other aspirations, other things that I'm trying to accomplish. And I know that's the only way to get those results.
Amber Taylor:
I think for us, what made us stick to it was definitely the support and accountability that we got from just joining roots. We've tried it before in the past, before that, and we kind of had each other to go, oh, well, maybe we should get this, and then we'd like to sabotage each other. So when we had somebody else kind of accountable where we were meeting every week, that's where it really helped us.
Kati Hatfield:
And I would say it kind of ditto to both of those ideas. I saw that it was working. I was the queen of overdraft fees, and I started not having overdraft fees anymore. So that was one like of the first things being able to actually put money in a savings account. Hadn't done that before, and just seeing those results, and clearly it's worked my priorities. It made me kind of evaluate my priorities in life in general. I have less stuff, I have less stress. It just makes life better.
Brad Nelson:
Awesome. All right, so if you're ready and I hope this episode has encouraged you to get started with your first budget or to at least try budgeting again. And again, if you want some more direct help, you want all of our budgeting forms, guys. This workshop is free. It's called the Totally Awesome Budgeting Workshop. It's on our website. Go to defreedad.com, click on the free resources button at the top of the page, and it's just a scroll down and you'll see the workshop right there. This workshop is about 50 minutes long, and it's going to give you everything you need to get your first, and like Chris said, your first crappy budget done. And then it's just month after month, you'll continue to get better. If you're ready to break free from living paycheck to paycheck, reduce financial stress, build savings, and finally pay off debt for good. But again, maybe you're not sure where to get started. Don't worry, we've got you covered. Simplify My Money is sent to you each and every Sunday to your email. It is your step-by-step roadmap to better financial control. You're also going to learn some easy to follow strategies to manage your money more efficiently. And you're going to help it's going to help you have stress-free money decisions. This is going to help you simplify your financial life with proven tips that actually work. And you're going to gain the tools and confidence to tackle your financial goals head on. You can sign up for Simplify My Money by clicking the link at the top of the show notes.
Announcer:
Let's talk about all the good things.
Amber Taylor:
Also using the envelope system.
Brad Nelson:
Yeah, that's awesome, Jordan. Great celebration. And you know what? It's not a coincidence that I put that way in here because that's what it's all about. Melissa Baker starting roots again. Her husband is not really on board. Hang in there with him. He'll get there. Her goal is to get her credit card paid off in the next two and a half years so she can halfway retire. Awesome goals, Melissa.
Amber Taylor:
And Claudien has continued eating at home and not going out, paying bills on time, using cash for groceries, and passing by all the advertising on Facebook and Instagram.
Brad Nelson:
Yeah. Awesome wins. Hey guys, as always, congratulations to all of you guys who are taking a stand for your financial life and you're wanting better. Hey, we get that getting out of debt, it isn't easy. But with our help and with your consistency and discipline, we promise you guys this will be some of the best work that you guys do in your entire life. Thanks for joining us on today's show, and we will see you guys on the next episode.
Announcer:
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