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 isnât about willpower. Itâs about decision making. Think of it like a muscle. If youâve never actively decided how to spend your money, if youâve never practiced weighing trade-offs and making intentional choices, then that muscle is weak. And like any weak muscle, it wonât magically get stronger on its own. I see this firsthand with clients who avoid looking at their finances because it feels overwhelming. Itâs not that they lack discipline. Itâs that they havenât built the habit of making financial decisions regularly. The more you practice making trade-offs, the easier it gets. Actually, I think it's kind of addicting once you get a taste of it...and you might be surprised what kinds of decisions you start to make and how you life will change... So instead of relying on willpower to âdo betterâ with money, start by strengthening your decision-making muscle. Make one intentional choice today. Maybe that means spending a lot on something you truly care about. Or maybe it means no more spending on something you've been doing out of a sense of obligation. How do you approach financial decisions? Do they feel empowering or exhausting? Hit reply and let me knowâIâd love to hear your thoughts. âTyler PS: These are a few of my favorite things (recently) đ I've had the album I AM: CELINE DION on repeat more than anything else lately. Yes, it's got some of her biggest hits, but I can't stop listening to the instrumental tracks (I find track 1 particularly entrancing). Funnily, I've never seen the documentary this is the soundtrack to. đ¤ ChatGPT. I started dabbling in AI use a couple of years ago (I started by publishing some truly horrific AI-generated blog posts on my coaching website). But since then, I've come to rely on ChatGPT to assist me in just about every area of life I can think of, down to planning Sunday School lessons and navigating difficult conversations at work. Best use case so far? Just chatting with it about the problems I'm facing in whatever area. If it's a writing task, I may use it to draft something and then export it to my favorite writing environment to polish it and make it my own. What's the best thing you've used AI for so far? đş This YouTube short about YNAB made me chuckle and feel not-so-alone in the universe. Though...maybe it should have made me feel more alone in the universe...đ |
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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 donât actually agree with myself. Awareness is valuable, but knowing where your money went after you spent it isnât the same as stopping the leak in the first place. The real problem isnât that spending is invisible. Itâs that we donât decide before we buy whether a purchase aligns with what we...
Last week, I asked: What would you do with $5 million? And wow. Your responses were incredible. Some of you mapped out every dollar down to the cent like one reader who planned everything from their exact mortgage payoff amount and finishing the basement to funding a sidewalk for their neighborhood. Others had a simpler plan: Half in Bitcoin, half in VOO. But the most fascinating part? No one said theyâd buy a mansion or a fleet of luxury cars. Instead, I noticed four big patterns: Financial...
Iâve been watching Beast Games. Go ahead. Judge me. As I watched contestants fight for a life-changing prize, I started wondering: What would I do with $5 million? Itâs more money than most people will ever see or earn. To put it in perspective, youâd have to make $125,000 a year (after taxes!) for 40 years to reach that number. So hereâs my question for you: If I handed you $5 million right now, would you know exactly how to use it? Most people think a sudden windfall would solve all their...