You earn more than enough—so why doesn’t it feel that way? Join 1,000+ high earners reclaiming control over their money. Real stories and simple insights from me and my clients that will change the way you feel about money—1st & 3rd Thursdays.
My Furnace Broke Down 🥶
My Furnace Broke Down
Do unexpected expenses ever derail your financial progress?
My furnace stopped working last week when it was 13° F outside.
Great.
As I awaited the diagnosis, I wondered how much it would cost and began to regret dipping into my emergency fund recently for some very, um...non-emergency purchases... 😬
I tried to play it cool as I asked the technician, "Worst case scenario, how much does it cost to replace the system?" I tried even harder to seem calm when I heard the answer. "Starts around $12,000."
I hadn't felt so nervous about affording something I urgently and unexpectedly needed for quite a while. It was a terrible feeling.
Look, it's not really fun to save for things like HVAC systems, broken pipes, or car repairs. But when we don't, we risk sacrificing our financial peace. My financial peace was interrupted by the mere thought of being out an unplanned twelve grand.
Fortunately, this incident ended up costing a couple hundred dollars instead of thousands. But it was a great reminder that it pays to sacrifice a little bit of fun now to prevent devastating setbacks in the future.
Dodged this bullet. We'll see what life has in store next.
Hopefully, I'll be better prepared.
Quote Of The Week
Brian P. Moran: The 12 Week Year
Reading List
- Book: The Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn*
- Article: The 5-Minute Budget Routine
- Article: The productivity tax you pay for context switching
*Books stay on the list until I'm finished reading them. (This one's gonna be on here for a while...it's like 2,000 pages long. But so good!
Something Fun
Hope you enjoyed these little tidbits. Hit reply to let me know how you've been and what's on your mind.
Tyler
Please consider inviting someone you know to subscribe. ❤️
Unsubscribe from Tyler Smith Consulting LLC. | Budget Coaching
Main Street, Lehi, UT 84043
Stop Feeling Broke.
You earn more than enough—so why doesn’t it feel that way? Join 1,000+ high earners reclaiming control over their money. Real stories and simple insights from me and my clients that will change the way you feel about money—1st & 3rd Thursdays.
You work hard. You make good money. So when you see something you want, it’s easy to think. "I deserve this." And you do! But here’s the tricky part...if every purchase is a reward, your expenses will always rise to match your income. I literally wouldn't have a thriving money coaching practice if it weren't for this apparent law of the universe. This is how lifestyle creep sneaks up on people. You get a raise, a bonus, or a higher-paying job, and without even realizing it, your “normal” gets...
Many people think managing money is about self-control. Resisting impulse purchases, sticking to a budget, and having the willpower to say no. But personal finance isn’t about willpower. It’s about decision making. Think of it like a muscle. If you’ve never actively decided how to spend your money, if you’ve never practiced weighing trade-offs and making intentional choices, then that muscle is weak. And like any weak muscle, it won’t magically get stronger on its own. I see this firsthand...
Last month I sent an email about the small, frequent, forgettable purchases that quietly drain your money. I concluded that the best way to stop the leak was awareness. But since then, I realized I don’t actually agree with myself. Awareness is valuable, but knowing where your money went after you spent it isn’t the same as stopping the leak in the first place. The real problem isn’t that spending is invisible. It’s that we don’t decide before we buy whether a purchase aligns with what we...