Don't talk about this at the dinner table
If you're like me, you've been told sex, politics, and religion are the 3 things you never bring up at the dinner table. You know what no one ever told me to not talk about? Money.
That's because it's an unspoken rule. There's a stigma around money that is stronger than these other issues. How crazy is that?
There's a ton of shame and fear around money, and it's part of my mission to change that.
Growing up no one ever taught me how to handle money. I was told "pay your bills on time" so I found myself really good at being a slave to paying bills. Can you relate?
I've never missed a payment in my life. Big deal... That's not a legacy I want to be known for.
I was still operating in debt, had no control of my money, and didn't have a penny in savings.
In 2003 (at age 23) I finally learned budgeting but not even that fixed my finances. Now I was just able to pay my bills ahead of schedule instead of just on time!
My habits and mindset towards borrowing and short-term thinking were still the same and the cycle of living paycheck to paycheck just continued.
Then in 2008 everything changed...
Right after the recession started my wife and I went through a local personal finance class and everything we knew was transformed.
We discovered how to become debt free... and we did it!
We saved like never before.
Our communication went to another level.
Our lives radically changed.
Fast forward to later in 2008. I found myself a product of corporate America. No clear vision for my life, underpaid, and frustrated. No one got a raise for at least 3 years, not even for cost of living.
The effects of the recession were a wake up call. We were secure financially but I started to believe there was a bigger purpose for my life than being a mule at a desk.
Over the next two years I found a new passion, telling everyone else how they can do what we did too.
This lead to many conversations with friends and family and their responses were pretty much universal…. complaining.
“I’ll never get ahead”, “I’ll always be in debt”, “It’s no use”, “Hopes and dreams? It’s too late for me.” and more.
What I found was that people had completely lost hope and when I shared about the power they had to change things forever, I saw the light bulb go on and suddenly the hope was rekindled.
I watched as attitudes began to turn from complaint and hopelessness to excitement and determination, all because of the power of hope and a plan.
After just a few of these conversations, I was hooked...
Seeing a life change because we simply showed them what they’ve never been taught their whole lives which breathed life back into their hopes and dreams? Sign me up!
From that point on I knew that this was what I was meant to do and since the spring of 2011 I’ve been on a mission to break the paycheck to paycheck cycle, save marriages, change family trees, and lead others to financial freedom one financial wellness habit at a time.
Now, it’s your turn, because complaining isn’t going to get you anywhere.
If you’re done complaining and ready to transform your life, join me.
Jeremy lives with his wife and two daughters in New Haven, CT. They are active members of their church community and love serving and helping others.
You can follow Jeremy on Instagram where he spends most of his time online, as well as Facebook. In his free time he's an avid lover of feature films and unplugs at the end of week by secluding himself at his local theater so he's forced to not work.
Jeremy also loves to follow technology, ride rollercoasters, eat BBQ and steak (it's the 6th love language!), and romancing his best friend. If you visit his office you may find a large container of his vice, Jelly Belly jelly beans, on his desk. Just ask if you can have some 😉.
