Let's Talk Midlife Crisis Podcast

Facing Financial Insecurities

• Ashley and Traci • Season 1 • Episode 34

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Ever felt the weight of financial stress creeping into your everyday life? Join Ashley and Traci for a heartfelt conversation on Let's Talk Midlife Crisis, where they open up about how financial insecurities affect not just bank accounts but mental health, sleep, and even appetite. From coping with inflation and job loss to the unexpected pitfalls of hidden subscription charges, you'll hear personal stories that highlight the critical importance of vigilant financial management. This episode offers a candid look at how economic pressures are shaping the lives of midlife Americans and provides actionable advice to help mitigate the stress.

Discover why using credit cards for online purchases can be a safer bet than debit cards and learn practical tips for managing your finances with straightforward tools like Excel spreadsheets. Ashley and Tracy also discuss effective ways to reduce utility bills, especially during harsh weather conditions, and spotlight financial assistance programs for those struggling to keep the lights on. By sharing strategies like acclimating to local climates to save on energy costs, they aim to arm you with knowledge to take control of your financial well-being.

Finally, delve into the complex relationship between financial stress, anxiety, and the current political climate. Hear about the physical manifestations of anxiety and the role of financial advisors in navigating these turbulent times. The episode also covers creative financial strategies, such as borrowing from retirement funds or home equity, and underscores the importance of community support during midlife crises. Don't miss out on this opportunity to connect, share, and find solace in a supportive network. Join the conversation on our website and social media platforms and let's navigate this journey together.


Sources: 

You can always contact your debt provider (mortgage company, auto loan, etc.) and ask if you are able to skip a month payment or push one payment to the end of the loan or if they have any other hardship programs you may qualify for.

https://www.calm.com/blog/money-anxiety#:~:text=Money%20anxiety%20is%20a%20persistent,to%20improve%20your%20financial%20wellbeing

https://cccsonline.org/

Best Debt Relief Programs in 2024
https://www.usatoday.com/money/blueprint/l/best-debt-relief-programs/?utm_campaign=20265458398&accountid=3959048705&utm_content=149645835306&utm_term=kwd-31919761&network=g&device=c&placement=&location_physical=9030217&device_model=&creative=661478524252&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwhIS0BhBqEiwADAUhcz39zmFdI5OKcpoEKqvKSKbUEOABZg_sokdlqvnlfefd7wIbgw5LNRoCeAQQAvD_BwE

https://www.bestguide.com/compare/debt-help/?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwhIS0BhBqEiwADAUhcxAApbjCHBzwuyiAI4fzJsOS3z9I1DPYcTCrLH66t9MDfSkceAVJbBoCsAEQAvD_BwE



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Speaker 1:

Hello and welcome to let's Talk Midlife Crisis with your hosts, ashley and Tracy. Pull up a chair for your seat at the table. As we talk about facing financial insecurities Just seems like this is an appropriate topic for this week's discussion. Due to the economy and everything that we currently have going on in the US right now, it looks as though Americans' feelings of personal financial insecurity are on the rise, and one-third of adults say they do not feel financially secure in the US. So that's kind of crazy. A third, that's a lot. Yeah, the US doesn't feel financial security. I know I am feeling the pinch.

Speaker 1:

And I know we've touched on it in previous episodes, because it kind of trickles into everything.

Speaker 2:

Yeah.

Speaker 1:

You're talking about anxiety or stress? Stress or anything like that but um definitely been feeling a lot more of it lately, you know, and it really can deeply affect your life absolutely all around.

Speaker 2:

I mean, it affects your mental health. It affects, you know, the sleep that you're getting, um your appetite, because it is, you know, something that if you're struggling financially or trying to figure things out, it can just consume you and that's all you think about. Yes, you know. Yes, a hundred percent, and it definitely affects every aspect of your life. I I'm you know. They always say money doesn't buy happiness, but it sure does make life a little easier.

Speaker 1:

Well, the persistent worry right, like there's always that persistent worry um that you have, if you know, and especially even if you're working with the inflation and the economy the way that it is now. But there are those that also have lost their job Right or, you know, are still struggling to get back into the workforce, yeah, and possibly taking jobs paying a lot less than they're used to, right. Which is something that I did a couple years ago, and that's challenging.

Speaker 2:

You know, in the economy years ago. You know, usually you have some wiggle room so it's like, okay, I'll take a job making less money, right, because I, you know, I'm comfortable and I can afford now with the rising costs of everything yeah whether it be insurance, groceries, car payments even mortgage taxes went up absolutely.

Speaker 1:

Homeowners insurance, my water bill I just paid it and it's like 20 higher. But it all just adds up. It's like 20 here, 50 here. Yeah, my mortgage went up 50 and it's because of property taxes, yeah, and that doesn't even factor in in october. Um, any kind of renewal that I have on my homeowners insurance that might also reflect that payment.

Speaker 2:

And, like you said, it's $20 here, $50 there. As my kids were growing up and getting jobs and learning how to manage their money, I would explain to them yeah, it's only $20. But when you do that five times, you just blew a hundred bucks. So it doesn't seem like it's only $20. But when you do that five times, you just blew $100. Right, so it doesn't seem like it's a lot, but when you put it all together, it's significant.

Speaker 1:

It adds up. It does it adds up. And I did take a pay cut a couple years ago and, honestly, a couple years ago it was fine.

Speaker 2:

Right it was fine.

Speaker 1:

And then I finally received a pay increase, a merit increase, and it was fine. And then I finally received a pay increase, a merit increase, and it was three and a half percent. And although I was super grateful to have that, it was kind of a joke because that has no reflection on the inflation right or anything else that we're going through right now. So, um, but again I am grateful that I got it. But you know, I do start to worry a little bit now and it's like, well, you know, maybe get creative and stuff like that. So again, it seemed like a really good topic for us to talk about today and hopefully we'll be able to provide some means to kind of ease the worry and ease the stress you know as we roll through this podcast, Because you know we can all talk about, you know, all day long, about how we got to this place.

Speaker 1:

Right, right and sometimes I don't make the best decisions when it comes to money. I think we're all guilty of that.

Speaker 2:

Impulse buys right.

Speaker 1:

I am so notorious for doing that One thing you said find ways to get creative.

Speaker 2:

One thing I did recently, in the last year or so, and I still continue to try and do it I start looking at my subscriptions. Yes, and you know, just like things, like it's like oh I have Netflix, I have Hulu. I have Max, I have Paramount.

Speaker 1:

This is insane. And again it's like oh, it's $10. It's $5. It's no big deal.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, but, yeah, but you know the reason years ago I got rid of cable was because it was so much more affordable to stream. Yes, but then all these platforms came out and. I signed up for all of them and here I am paying what I paid for cable Right.

Speaker 1:

No, yes, and it's funny because I just paid bills. It was the beginning of the month Well, it's not quite the beginning of the month, it's the weekend before but my paycheck already dropped and I was like, oh well, let's just pay bills.

Speaker 1:

And so I was paying bills and one of my credit cards was supposed to be paid off and there was a charge on it which is the only reason I even caught it right, because if there was a balance on there honestly it was like 10.95 or something I would never have caught it. Yeah, and it was an apple charge. And I was like, oh, all frustrated, and so I call them up and I'm like there's a charge on my credit card and blah, blah, and they're like, oh, ma'am, that's for your apple tv subscription and I was like, oh snap, do I even watch apple tv?

Speaker 1:

and that's exactly what I thought. But then I did tune in and there was a new show and I thought, okay, we'll keep it for a little while longer right, but it's just funny. That's just one of the things and, like I said, I didn't honestly realize it was there, but I I put more of my subscriptions and those types of things on credit cards because I think it's easier to dispute them or dispute anything. Yeah, if you have to, without getting like a whole new debit card.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, it's definitely safer, I think, to, to use a credit card for any purchases online or subscriptions. It's just safer because it's not direct access to your cash, right, so right it's better to do that than a debit card?

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and if you have to dispute anything, if you dispute anything on your debit card, immediately they shut it down. You know, and for me that just affects everything my auto deposits and my auto payments and stuff like that. So it's just such a big hassle.

Speaker 2:

Yeah.

Speaker 1:

But it is funny that I don't, and in my budget budget, because I do have an Excel spreadsheet with tabs for every month and it goes year over year.

Speaker 2:

I'm so old school a lot of people do you know, more sophisticated, like QuickBooks, which I do use for my business, right?

Speaker 1:

I was gonna say well, you have the business, so but for my, personal. It's a very generic, yes, simple Excel document mine too, and then it carries over month to month and then year to year and and for taxes. When I go to fall taxes right, or just to reference something, because, like I said, I realized that my mortgage went up and I was like, well, wait a minute.

Speaker 1:

So I, you know, tab back a couple months and I can see consistent, right, consistently. You know what that um debit was and how it went up. So then I had to go to you, you know the website, the mortgage website, and figure out what you know, find that detail of where it's increasing. But unfortunately with that you don't. Your hands are kind of tied.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, there's not a lot you could do with that but there are ways you know, just like looking through your subscriptions. Um. There are ways to help with you know your utilities, um. You know there's things you can do to help with you know your utilities. Um. You know there's things you can do to help with you know water use, um, which is one of my bills that went up and shockingly enough.

Speaker 1:

I was afraid to pull up my electricity bill because we're in arizona. It has been 110 plus it feels like um. For the entire month of june. Right's just been crazy. Very humid too. And very humid for us, dry in the desert. But I feel like my AC is running 24-7. And I'm just thinking, oh my gosh, what's this going to look like? But it still was pretty reasonable. It was like 250. For me that's fine. It barely drops under two.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I noticed. Yesterday my AC was set at 76, but it was 84 in the house, oh no. And I was like, oh gosh, this is not going to shut off, it's never going to cool down. So I had to go through. I have blackout curtains throughout my house and I had to go through closed curtains, you know, and just kind of help the house cool down and it worked, oh, but again, those are things that you can do okay yeah, um, yeah.

Speaker 2:

Here in Arizona, that is a huge thing for us and for people that live in cold weather states.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, right, the winter months are their big, you know, impact on the utility bill, right months. But some things you just can't help and you just can't control. But I do know that in arizona there is a fund that you and I pay for that everybody pays for, that pays their electricity bill and it's for and it's a, again, you know, relatively small what I'm air quoting on, relatively, because it all adds, adds up. Maybe you know three to five dollars a month that they tack onto your bill, but it is to help pay for people that can't afford their electricity bill Because they do work with those people.

Speaker 1:

I mean, you can't go through a summer without, so you may want to check with your electric company if you're struggling to pay that bill and reach out to them, and yeah, there are programs out there that might be able to assist you at least immediately, right?

Speaker 2:

and they also have here different rate plans. And I'm on the one where between 4 pm and 7 pm you don't want to run any large appliances like washer, dryer, dishwasher, right um, because the rate goes up during those three hours same one, yes so I do not use any of my large appliances during that time. Um because the rate is higher.

Speaker 2:

It changes, so there's a lot of different um programs out there to help and um and there's ways just to be more conscious of it Right, so you don't get that sticker shock when you open the bill or you know, oh gosh, I'll never forget when I first moved to Arizona, I was 21. My husband and I moved here with our three-year-old son and we had no idea what we were getting into. We lived in an apartment on the top level, so you know, obviously, heat raises All the exposure.

Speaker 2:

yeah so and we were used to pretty mild summers in utah, um, so we were just cranking that ac all day and all night, had no idea, and we get our bill and it's like 500 and we were young and broke and it was like oh, no, oh no, this is not gonna work right, and that was years ago and I'm sure that there's been so many more increases to oh yeah, you know that same amount of power I'm sure we had it set like 69 or something.

Speaker 2:

You just have to acclimate. You get used to keeping your home a little warmer. Wear less clothing in the winter. Keep your home a little cooler and wear more shirts.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, there's just simple ways that you know. And again, every dollar saved helps. I know for me a lot of when I said you know that I don't, I don't. I have a budget, I'm wonderful with it, I've been that way for decades, right, and I'm so religious about it. But what I'm not religious about is like curving off that amount to spend for myself, whether it be entertainment or clothes, or you know, food, which is, you know, maybe going out for happy hour and things like that.

Speaker 1:

So I don't specifically have a budget for that, which I do need to get better on um personally. But I also know myself and I'm an impulse buyer and so often now I try to have this 24-hour rule, like you know what, just sleep on it and if you feel the same way tomorrow, then get it.

Speaker 2:

Yep, you know, and it was like my new patio furniture out for outback, yeah, yeah and I had it in a shopping cart.

Speaker 1:

It was actually for weeks upon weeks, because I kept trying to shop for the best deals and all that kind of stuff and finally I pulled the trigger. But generally, especially with big purchases, but even with the small ones, and my youngest, who still lives at home, will drag me out shopping and she's like, hey and, and I have no intention of buying anything. And then I get in the store and I just start yeah, throwing stuff in the cart.

Speaker 1:

So for me it's the impulse buys that kind of really take a hit on um. You know my finances so I have to. I have to say I've gotten pretty good about that.

Speaker 2:

I was for quite a while there, probably addicted to thrifting yes, and it wasn't just things for the house, it was clothing, it was anything I love thrifting yes, which actually is good, I guess, because it's cheaper.

Speaker 1:

Right Already, I'm saving so much yeah.

Speaker 2:

But it gets to be ridiculous when I'm buying things I don't need. Yes. So I've really gotten good about saying do I need this? Is this something I really need or want?

Speaker 1:

yeah, and clearly defining the two.

Speaker 2:

I used to spend a lot of money buying coffees in coffee shops, right that's easy to do.

Speaker 1:

I don't drink coffee, but I can imagine.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, it can get ridiculous um, and I would just do it all the time when I was out and about and I honestly can say I don't remember the last time I bought a coffee from a coffee shop. So I've gotten really good about that Because, again, it adds up Right. Even though you're buying a $5 or $6 latte, it doesn't seem like that much. But when you're doing it five, six times a week, Right Again, it adds up Times four.

Speaker 1:

Yes, you know, it adds four. Yes, yes it adds up so those are all kinds of things and also um fast food, the price of fast food has gone up so much yeah so you know I'm trying to, as well as groceries. I mean everything has gone up, but it's like ten dollars for a burger at a drive-thru that's just crazy. So I just I try to eat more at home and have the planned meals and but you know, sometimes at the end of the day you're just tired.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, you know, or the kids come over with the grandkids and it's like spontaneously.

Speaker 1:

Yes, Are you craving something? So you know, and I used to use coupons a lot, and even though you know we're in the digital age now, you can't still apply coupons. Yeah, absolutely, absolutely to. If you shop at a particular grocery store, right often you can put them like in a wallet, so to speak, but so that when you know, you can just clip them all. Maybe you have 20 coupons in your wallet and then when you check out, maybe there's only 10 of them that you bought but it'll apply.

Speaker 2:

Apply to your, automatically.

Speaker 1:

Apply to your purchase, so I used to pride myself myself with coupons back in the day?

Speaker 2:

Oh, my gosh, I remember. Do you remember, like the wallets? The Sunday newspaper? Yes, there was a wallet, specifically, and it had dividers. It was specifically for coupons.

Speaker 1:

My mom had one, yes, but I prided myself and I'd get the Sunday paper and I'd cut them all out.

Speaker 2:

But, never.

Speaker 1:

I tried never to buy anything, no matter what the coupon was right if I wasn't getting it anyway right. I wasn't one of those extreme coupon people that you would see on a reality show or something, but but I used to just enjoy doing that right. And as the years went by and you know, my salary increased, I did that less and less, yeah why, I don't know, I'm just leaving money on the day, you know, I know giving money away, so but I think that that's something that, um, everyone has.

Speaker 2:

You know an area there where they can right try to improve, to help their yeah, there's, I mean there's a lot of most retailers have apps and, um, I know it, it's really annoying, but it's the way it is now. If you become a loyalty shopper, then you get perks to that, you get coupons that not everybody else would get. There's also, I mean, watch for sales Right, even when it comes to, like, buying flights. Oh yeah, you know there's certain days that are better I think it's Tuesdays and Saturdays to buy tickets for flights.

Speaker 1:

And often, if you're checking on a flight, it'll give you flex dates. So, it'll show you what you had put in and what specific dates you requested, but it will show dates where the fare is different. Exactly Front and back of those dates, right If you have flexibility with your trip.

Speaker 2:

Exactly. So yeah, there are a lot of things like that, pretty much for anything. I mean, if you're an Amazon shopper, they have. I know Amazon Days is coming up pretty soon in July, oh right, and they have great prices when they do those big sales. I think they do it a couple times a year, but yeah, there's, I mean, there's definitely ways to kind of beat the system, if you will.

Speaker 1:

Right, yeah, but sometimes for me too, too, it's like I get this pit in my stomach. You know it's just the anxiety and, um, you know the physical symptoms that come along with it. Right, it's not just mental. It ends up, you know, being a heavy weight on my body as well, with different, you know, like I said, a pit in my stomach, and maybe for me it, you know like I said a pit in my stomach, and maybe for me it's, you know, lack of appetite, those types of things where other people it might be the exact opposite, where they would, you know, want to, you know, binge on a bag of potato chips or ice cream or something like that.

Speaker 1:

But you know physical symptoms and mental health it. You know the money. Anxiety is just. It's very high and I think that a lot of people, most people now, are experiencing it, and especially in the US. We're in a political year and everything just seems to go to shit in a political year if you live in the US and everybody's banking on the outcome. But for me, my mentality is you know what I put on my pants, one leg at a time, no matter who is. You know what happens at the end of an election, right, but for whatever reason, the economy just goes into the toilet during a political year. So I think a lot of people in the the us are also feeling the pinch and experiencing yeah definitely um couples typically in in um election years.

Speaker 2:

They you know interest rates will go down on mortgages, but I'm hearing that might not happen right this year well, knock on which I just bought my house a year and a half ago, so I was really hoping it would and it just might.

Speaker 1:

You never know, yeah, you never know, and I would just not give up hope on that. Yeah, no.

Speaker 2:

I you know, with COVID, um, like you mentioned, a lot of people lost jobs, um a lot of jobs were affected in different ways and the the business that I'm in, I'm strictly Commission only right and and I'm in the grocery industry and you know, while groceries were still selling, it was there were certain categories that weren't performing as well and most of the product that I sell is in health and beauty care, and that was one of the areas where I wasn't doing as well, because people were now buying on Amazon or other avenues and they weren't buying and and honestly, their job and just weren't buying those Right.

Speaker 1:

They, you know they needed bread and milk right you start to give things up.

Speaker 2:

So it it. It impacted my income dramatically, um, over the last four years it's really been impacted, which is another reason that I'm looking to go into a new career path. I'll do both still, but they'll both be commission only. But that can be a really stressful thing. I don't have benefits. I don't have 401k options. I don't have things like that. I do have them right. Fortunately, my partner, her company, allows to have me on her insurance. I do have a financial advisor, so I have a retirement account that I I was going to touch on that later.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, not everybody even has. I remember being younger and hearing all this advice from people you know like a financial advisor like you and I are in that place right now and maybe a lot of people are age and midlife are, but I I believe that there are a lot of people that aren't in that you know you're living paycheck to paycheck, if that and a financial advisor when I was in my 20, I had three young children that I was taking care of by myself Financially.

Speaker 2:

I wasn't getting child support, I wasn't getting any kind of excuse me help, and so, yeah, it was literally paycheck to paycheck.

Speaker 1:

It was terrifying and I'm not saying that I'm far from that now, right, however, but I am maybe much further later in life that I think about having a financial advisor, or you know my 401k, but I've had to cash out my 401ks before.

Speaker 2:

Oh yeah, I've taken loans against it, yeah.

Speaker 1:

I've done and I, when I left jobs, switched jobs. It's like, well, you know, and you just go into survival mode, which is actually the smartest way.

Speaker 2:

So, if you are in a position where you need some money, um, whether it be something medical, or maybe you got into in over your head with credit card debt um, those interest rates are insane, yeah, especially right now. Um, the best thing to do is borrow from yourself. That is, those, those 401ks, any kind of retirement account that you have, the they almost all of them allow you to take loans out and you do pay it back, but it's a much lower interest rate. Um, it's very doable and you're just taking your own money, you're not, you know. So, yeah, if you have things like that, even your house, if you need to take out a second mortgage, right, you're borrowing from yourself.

Speaker 1:

I mean, and oftentimes you have to just be smart about it and think you know any credit card unless it's a zero percent. Uh, you know, it's in the 20s percent of interest so you can probably get six to ten, maybe even six to fifteen, six to twelve percent interest rate, if you were to borrow from yourself borrow from yourself, right?

Speaker 2:

yeah, so you're definitely saving money that way, um, but yeah, there, there's a lot of different ways to get creative. I, uh, my financial advisor, shout out to john um, he's with raymond james, he's amazing. I pay very little right for his help and I have a, a portal that shows you know, I load all my information in there. It shows my net worth, does it say how much you need to retire.

Speaker 1:

It's so funny because I have it.

Speaker 2:

It doesn't. I don't have like goals in there right now, right, and I don't, but I think it's because of my age, but I can. Yeah, and you're like, oh how much you need to retire and it's like you know it's crazy, which is funny.

Speaker 1:

The running joke in my house is my son is gonna um support me through my old age and every time I give him money. I'm like you know what this means, doesn't it?

Speaker 2:

he's like yeah, mom, I'll, I'll take care of you I think right now, if I were to tell my kids, you might have to move back in with me right now they'd be thrilled because the economy. I don't know if they would in 20 years.

Speaker 1:

They might be like I don't think so, or if you would want them to, but I've been watching this show on Netflix about the most horrible roommates. Something about roommates oh gosh, worst roommates in the world. You should watch it. It's crazy, but it's so scary, I mean, wild stuff is happening. A lot of people die and I thought okay, I am never taking in a roommate. Children are one thing, right, right, taking in a roommate.

Speaker 2:

Children are one thing right, right, right, you know family are one thing, but some cases you know, people try to airbnb a room out and stuff like that.

Speaker 1:

So those are options, but just err with the side of caution. Yeah, absolutely, if at all possible, but but you know, try breathing exercises and meditation if you're overwhelmingly you know.

Speaker 2:

Obsessing, obsessing About, yeah, your financial situation If it's just a dire financial situation and you know you need some help.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, look for help and maybe create financial goals, set clear, achievable objectives, and there's a lot of free resources, so don't hesitate to reach out Google's your best friend there and make a budget. I think that's one of the most mature things and most financially smart things that I've ever done for myself is make a budget. Yeah, I did it basically, so I don't forget to pay a bill.

Speaker 2:

Right, right, you don't forget to pay your electric bill, but I don't think I had one when I was married to my first husband. I mean, you know I got married at 17 and we were just trying to figure it out, and I think you know we were married for six years. I think after we split up is when I created the spreadsheet that I still use today. Yeah, 30 years later.

Speaker 1:

So yes, it's pretty crazy. Mobile apps, you know, for your banking and stuff it allows you to track your track, your spending.

Speaker 1:

Yeah. So that's really good and there's even some apps out there that will, that are specifically for financial planning and awareness and all of that kind of stuff. But make sure that you allocate funds appropriately, um, you know, and regular, regularly review your financial situation. You know, every month, or what have you um and and, if needed, again get professional help right, consult a financial advisor or therapist. Those are, you know, some great, great um resources, you know and you know, to help manage your stress and money anxiety. But there's just so many things. Breathing exercises, again, if you find yourself just, you know, crazy, overwhelmed with stress, the pit in your stomach, and you know, I've had terrible times, you know in my life, because when you're a single, you know mom've had terrible times you know in my life, because when you're a single, you know mom, and you don't get child support one income, you know, and it can create a huge, huge problem If you are married or have a partner money, I think, is probably the number one thing why people get divorced or argue Right.

Speaker 1:

They argue or get divorced or what have you and um, but here are some coping um skills that we would like to relay to you, and all of this will be um in the description, so don't hesitate to click on that. But stay active, you know, keep seeing your friends, you know, and and keep trying to pay the bills.

Speaker 2:

Don't just give up yeah, and don't don't think that you know, if you feel like you're floundering, and don't think that you know people won't work with you. I know credit you know, yeah, you can, and you can call your cell phone company and say hey. I can't do the whole thing. Can I pay this much now and then? Or credit card companies on my next? And there's also companies.

Speaker 1:

So you know, try calling your credit card company asking them to lower your interest rate. That used to be something that worked a couple decades ago. Not so much anymore I was like but um, but try contacting them. Or if it's just out of control, you know, there's uh consumer credit counseling. There are companies that will negotiate with your credit card companies. I think credit card debt is probably one of the most significant things.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I think that's the biggest challenge that people face, Because then you end up when you start falling behind. You end up living off your credit cards, and then it's just domino effect right, yeah, a lot of those companies will work with you. You know the consolidation companies to help you consolidate your debt again if you have. You know any other.

Speaker 1:

Like I said, your retirement fund something like that that you can borrow from yourself to pay that off but then be very, be very good about prioritizing like cut your credit card if you have to. You know, don't use it once you pay it off, don't use it.

Speaker 2:

I always tell my kids your credit card is for emergency that's what I say to you easier said than done it is.

Speaker 1:

And then often, like, I have a cash back card.

Speaker 2:

So then, I'll write it on there.

Speaker 1:

It's like well, why wouldn't you do this? Because it's just leaving money on the table.

Speaker 2:

Well, it is. But then going back to me and it sometimes I lag on that, so I've gotten better but it is with those ones where you get, you know, let's say, sky miles or cash back.

Speaker 1:

It is actually good to use those for daily expenses, as long as you pay it off.

Speaker 2:

Right if you're going to use it for grocery shopping for gas for all your and then, but you need to pay it off every month and you can also look for a zero percent transfer.

Speaker 1:

So if you do have credit card debt, try to, you know, find someone that you can transfer it to for zero percent interest right because that makes a huge difference 12 to 15 or 18 months yeah, you'll actually see, and everything will go to principle exactly exactly, um, and one of the things that we also want to, you know, highlight with coping with financial worries is try not to again, try not to drink too much alcohol.

Speaker 1:

Well, it's only going to cost you more that's true that's true, but many other problems too you're just like whatever, and it's not to say don't drink your eyes away do that, but maybe just do it once, right, and then you know, but just try not to drink too much um alcohol and don't give up your daily routines, you know, don't let it debilitate you and, you know, keep you from doing your daily routines right, make sure that you continue to do your daily routine and um, those things, um and as always, reach out to us. Um, we don't have all the answers, but we're happy to hear from you. You always have a friend and we'll help advise you in any way possible, if we have any. Sometimes it's better to brainstorm with people, absolutely.

Speaker 2:

I agree yeah.

Speaker 1:

And that just about wraps it up for today. Thank you for joining us on let's Talk. Midlife Crisis Embrace the change.

Speaker 2:

Join the conversation on our website at letstalkmidlifecrisiscom, or our Facebook or Instagram and YouTube channels. We'd love to hear from you guys.

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Ashley & Traci

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