55% of Americans Say Money Is Their Biggest Stress — Here’s What’s Causing It | 546

0:00Did you know that 55 % of Americans say that money is the biggest source of stress in their lives? because we did a national research study, and that is one of the biggest stats that we found. It was huge. What are the other options? Health, your career, your work, your kids, your marriage. I don't know what else other options are. Money is the number one. I think this is where we see that money ties back to every area of your life. And so, again, it becomes this major stressor in your life if it's not handled properly. Yeah, absolutely. And honestly, it doesn't matter if you have a lot of money or a little money.

0:30It's still this source of stress across demographics, which is really interesting. We're going to talk about that today. We're going to talk about why that is what's happening. And we're going to give you some ideas on how to not stress about money or what to do so you don't feel so stressed about money. Do you make good money but have nothing to show for it? Are you tired of living paycheck to paycheck? Do you have big dreams for your financial future? Do you want to get debt free but you don't want to live on beans and rice? When you don't want to give up those pumpkin spice lattes? Hey, it's okay if you don't already know how to budget or if you're using credit cards to get through the month.

1:03Hey, it's okay if you want to seem like you have your finances all together or you're not on the same page with your spouse when it comes to finances. We know what you're doing probably isn't working, but guess what? You're in the right place. We're Shana and Vanessa. We're best friends, business partners, and master financial coaches trained by Dave Ramsey. We've been in business since 2019, helping hundreds of amazing people like you create budgets, get out of debt, stop living paycheck to paycheck, and know exactly what to do with their money. In this podcast, we'll share with you everything we know plus everything we're working on with our clients so that you have the best chance at reaching your financial goals.

1:39We want to help you take the guesswork out of your budget, improve your marriages, and even bring your kids in on a conversation. We can help you no matter where you're at, whether you're the single mom who's never had$500 in her savings account, or the millionaire who's paid off four real estate loans. And we're not going to shy away from the tough love. We'll tell you what you need to hear and encourage you at the same time. This is the Financial Coaching for Women podcast. So even if you're not thinking about it, okay, if you feel like you're not thinking about money, oh, it's fine. We believe that there's still wrecking balls in your mind, in your brain, if you don't have it written down.

2:17Yeah. If you're not, so a lot of people will be like, I don't care about that. They just, they like stiff arm their money or their finances. And they're like, see, I'm not stressed. And we're like, we don't believe you. We know it's happening in here. We know what's going on, even if you don't know it. And we know that, like Vanessa said, it's just wrecking your brain, but in the background. So you just like always running on this background stress that even if you're not facing it, even if you're trying to pretend like it's not there, it's there. Yeah, it is. And we also know that people are losing sleep over this as well.

2:43We hear a lot of times it's keeping me up at night. As soon as you hit the pillow to go to sleep, your mind is racing about all the things that are going on in your life. Usually, what did you do today? What do you what didn't you get done? What do you have to do tomorrow? But money seems to be the one that lingers. That's another stat that we found in our national research study, Vanessa, is we're losing sleep over their finances. So we know this is a deal. This is why we do what we do. Because not only do we know it's the deal, but also we know like the simple solutions that we can help you with so that's not it there is enough drama stress all different things in your life that are going to come that you can't control this one you can control and you can fix and you can not stress about on purpose and we know that right now in the day age that we're in prices keep going up on everything every single year my health insurance goes up every single year auto insurance my internet i just had to call and get that lowered that goes up, your phone bill, groceries, gas, everything seems to be going up.

3:38And like Shana said, it's, there are some things that you can't control, but we know that handling your finances, making sure that those are under control are things that you can handle. And we want you to be equipped with the tools and everything that you have, the knowledge, the information. So that way, when things like this happen, when prices increase, you know what to do. Yeah. I also think an element of this, Vanessa, is the tension in between spouses. We're already stressed about it. Maybe Maybe our spouse is stressing about it. Maybe every time we bring it up or we try to broach the subject, there's a fight or it leads to something that feels like a fight.

4:08Or maybe we're just avoiding it altogether because we know that it's going to lead to a fight. All of that is also gets another addition to the stress level about money. I even think that they're not talking about it with each other because they know it's going to cause a fight. So it's not worth it to them. In the end, they just don't discuss it, which means it's getting worse in the background because we're just pretending like it's not really there. We're pretending like it's a fake issue. and then all of a sudden when you do come time to talk about it because there will be a time where you and your spouse do need to sit down and talk about finances whether it's in passing or in text you're going to explode you're going to have this massive fight and it's not going to be good no and you know what i want i want a 3d printer because i want to print out an ostrich i don't know how it works but i want to print out an ostrich with their head in the sand so it can be our mascot yeah and it's like our before mascot because we don't we want an after for you but that's what happens.

4:57We're just putting our head in the sand and just technically everything's working. Technically it's like I'm sailing into each month anew, but you're stressed and you're unorganized and we don't want that for you. That is not a way to do it. Yeah. And one of the reasons why you're stressed, why are 55 % of Americans stressed about their money is because they're disorganized. What we've seen, it's not usually like we said before, it's not usually an income problem. It's not necessarily even maybe an expense problem. It is your money is disorganized. You You have no idea what's happening in your bank account.

5:27Money's coming in. Money's going out. You don't know where it is and why it's going. And then you make good money. You have nothing there to show for it. Yeah. And we do budgets for people who are bringing in like$6 ,000 a month. And we do budgets for people who are bringing in like$40 ,000 a month. Like either way, that's how we know it's not actually really an income problem. It is an organization problem. It's a not knowing your numbers problem. And that's what we're here to solve. And so what we've seen is this disorganization is it adds to the stress, right? Yeah. So you have the stress that's because of the money, like paying your bills, having money, whatever.

5:59Then you have this fighting with your spouse. Then you have, I don't actually know what's happening with money. I feel disorganized. Like all of that is compounding on each other. Have we really beat the dead horse? I think so. Now if you weren't stressed, if you didn't know that you were stressed, if you weren't actively currently feeling stressed about the money, now you are. Did we help? Did we help you? I hope, yes. So that's the first part of the podcast. And then hopefully from here on out, we're going to help you fix that, right? Yes. Yes. Okay. So the actual solution, it reminds me of the saying, put your big girl panties on, is to face the music, is to look at your numbers, which you think is not the solution.

6:35You think when I actually look at them, it's going to make it worse. I'm going to feel worse, whatever. But what we know is it's worse in your head than it is actually usually on paper. And actually having knowing and looking at your numbers is going to start to relieve some of that. Because if you don't know them, Vanessa, how do you know how to fix it? How do you know if there's even a way to solve it? How do you know what the problem is? None of it. So taking your head out of the sand. So remember, we're going to have that was that one mascot. And then we're going to have the other, the giraffe.

7:01The giraffe was standing really tall, looking up above. He can see everything. And I love how you frame that is what you think is happening and what we know. And Shana said, you think it's all this drama in your mind going on. It's the wrecking balls. And it is all that because you don't know your numbers. However, every single time we've been doing this for years. Put our clients' information down one-on-one page budget. We see all the numbers. We can see it. And they go, oh, it actually isn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. And are you sure I'm going to have$2 ,000 extra this month? And we're like, yep, that's what it says on paper.

7:37Because guess what? Numbers don't lie. They're black and white. And it's really easy to be able to see your money and what's happening with it throughout the month. So yes, we want you to just note if you face the music, it won't be as bad as your mind is making it out to be. Yeah, absolutely. I think that's so true. And it gives you some agency. So what you're thinking is it's terrible. It's awful. If I look at it, it's gonna be worse. But once you put it on paper, then yes, Vanessa said people are like, Oh, I can afford my life. Yes. Now the problem is you are disorganized. And you're maybe you were spending more over here or doing that doing this incorrectly or whatever.

8:11And that was actually making it feel like it was worse than it was. But what this does is putting it all on paper, seeing what can work is going to give you some control. Like, oh, so you're telling me if I only do$500 on eating out a month, then I could be saving money and I could be paying off debt? And then you might actually want to do that on purpose because now you can see what's possible. And so it really is about facing your numbers, looking at them really does become the game and gives you the catalyst, the beginning to start to stop feeling so stressed. I love how you said it because you can fix the problem.

8:43You can actually see where you need to move money around or adjust things, if that's the case. Sometimes people don't need to adjust anything. They just didn't know what was going on with their money throughout the month. And sometimes it's, hey, listen, you're spending$2 ,000 a month going out to eat because you're not home or different situations are going on. And so we just need to look at that. And then they go, oh, I had no idea that I was spending that much. I want to throw up, which is one of the things that Shana's client said. I want to change that. So when you know what's going on, you can make some really good decisions on how you want to move forward based on what's important to you.

9:14We talk about being bougie on a budget, what your version of bougie is. We want you to put that on paper, but do it on purpose. Yeah. Cause if you're, if you don't put it on paper, then you're, I feel like you're living in purgatory because you get, you're getting all the stress, you're getting all the feel, all the bad, and you're thinking it's really bad, but you don't, there's no way to move forward or make any progress. You're just keeping yourself there. And then, like you said, once should we put it on paper? For the most part, you guys, when we put it on paper, you can't afford your life, but there is usually one or two things that you can start to fix.

9:43Vanessa said the eating out or maybe we have duplicate subscriptions. You had a client that was paying insurance for a year on a car that they didn't have anymore. Okay. But you won't know it until you get it all on paper. You look through, you take the time to actually look at your numbers and then you can see, oh, oh, if I, maybe my problem is my insurance. If I go get it, like you can actually have some data to make some conclusions and action steps out of. Yeah. And maybe you don't know how much you're spending on your kids every month. Maybe You don't know how much they're taking from your budget, okay?

10:12Yeah. So again – That's 100%. No. Okay, fine. Is that a personal attack? No, 70 % of people are like, I spend how much on them? I'm like, yeah. They don't know. Yeah. They're what is breaking your budget. We love them, but we just need to put things into perspective. You work really hard for your money. We want you to keep your money or spend some of it at least on you and not all of it going out the door to other people. Yeah. So again, writing everything down, it's just data, not the drama. We're removing all of the wrecking balls in your mind that the enemy is telling you that it is versus just writing it down and then you know what actually is going on.

10:46Yeah. And I do love that. It's just numbers. And the numbers don't lie. They're not judging you. You can put that judgment onto yourself. The client that said, I want to throw a Vermont. But the numbers don't do that. They just say, I have a client. Literally one of your entire paychecks pays your mortgage. Now that I'm thinking about that in those terms, now I know why it feels tight. And now maybe I can change some things if I want, but that's just data. It's not judgmental. It's not, there's no need to create any drama about it. It gives you facts to see what can I do about it? What can I do to change things?

11:15To make some decisions. All right, Budget Besties, it's time for some Real Talk. You don't need another budget. You need a budget system. Our simplified budget system is what you've been looking for. It's going to allow you to be bougie on a budget. You'll be able to easily set up a system that runs automatically and shows you exactly where your money is going. And it's going to give you permission to spend. Everybody loves that. Yeah. It's straightforward, pretty, and packed with walkthrough videos that break down the exact methods we use with our clients to get out of debt, set up a bills account, separate spending, build savings buckets, and end the paycheck-to-paycheck feel.

11:53If you're new to budgeting, this is the perfect way to jump in. And if you're already a budget nerd like us, you're about to meet your new obsession. This is the upgrade to your finances that you need right now. Yeah. So head on over to budgetbesties.com forward slash budget and grab yours. Now back to today's show. Listen, maybe you've made budgets before and you're like, look, I've tried this. I've tried to put the words and numbers on paper and it doesn't work for me. Okay. If you're just putting words and numbers on paper and calling a budget and then you go about your life and do nothing about it and you don't change anything, then yeah, nothing is helping you.

12:26But what you need is a system to help you through this. so you can set it up to help work with you, not against you. I love that you said that, Vanessa, because what I want to tell people is our budget, we did create a budget, like Vanessa said, words and numbers on paper. But it is very specifically designed to tell you exactly what to do with your hands and your money. Exactly. Like, it's one page. It's five columns. You can make it in 20 minutes. You can make your budget in 20 minutes. We have a seven-minute quick start video. And we are training. You go to budgetbesties.com forward slash start.

12:56We'll teach you in 20 minutes how to set up your budget. And then to Vanessa's point, we do give you some pointers and some tips to put that budget into action so that it happens and you can start having a system which is going to be different than anything you've ever done before. So you need to go get that training. You need to start. You can either just go get our budget. Like Vanessa said, we have a seven-minute quick start video and then all kinds of other training in there very in-depth at budgetbesties.com forward slash budget. But if you need a free start and you want to get a budget done in 20 minutes, budgetbesties.com forward slash start.

13:23We will teach you. And it's in the title. Start. Just start. Yeah. And like the thing is, our budget shows you it's very simple. It's very easy. 20 minutes. And then once you separate things, Vanessa, that's like you have to do the 20 minutes. That's like super simple. And then the next step is to separate. And that's really going to make the big difference for them. Yeah. So when you make your budget, it's five simple columns. You have your income, your debt payments, your bill payments, your spending and your savings. So you fill that out and then you separate your money. Guys, this is the key.

13:51like the number one thing that helps everybody is splitting and separating your spending from your bill. You want to have an account just for your bill and all your bills, which include debt payments, right? So one account pays all of that and you always have money in there to pay for bills. Imagine, imagine knowing you can go about your life, your day, your month, your vacation, whatever you want, knowing that you have money in this account. It's all it's doing is paying bills. Nobody's double dipping in there. Nobody's spending money out of there. It's safeguarded. Then you have your spending accounts over here.

14:20Gas and groceries is one. Restaurants going out to eat is another one. Each of your husband, you and your spouse is spending money. And then kids. That's it. All of that mini budget is created for each of those categories. And you know exactly where your money is, why it's there, and how you can spend it. Yeah. So the first thing, making the budget, helps you to stop stressing. Because, okay, I can afford my life. Or all I have to do is just change this, pay this one credit card, and then we're going to be easy. So that helps that stress. The separating is helping the stress of being disorganized.

14:49That is adding to the chaos. The chaos you feel is what's fueling your stress, right? Separating is going to make it super simple. But then the other thing is having this data that's on one piece of paper and your spouse and you having separate spending accounts and separate spending money, those two things are going to completely change the dynamic that you guys have going on when it comes to like fighting or tension about money or finances. Those two things are going to be really a game changer for you. So you've now solved the problem about the general stress about money. You've solved the problem from the disorganization about money.

15:22And now you've solved like that marital discord that you have going on about money. Yeah. So you're welcome. Okay. So remember we were super depressing in the beginning. We helped. We helped right now. Yeah, absolutely. And now you don't have one account with endless transaction and you don't know what's going on, why things are coming out, when they're coming out, if you have enough to go to the grocery store. And then you stop this, this idea and this reality that you have to rely on credit cards because you don't know what's happening in your bank account, right? That's the whole idea is when you simplify your budget on one page, separate it into separate accounts.

15:56Shana said it stops this disorganization issue. Now you guys can have real conversations about what's happening with your money because you know what's happening with your money and you know how to spend your money. Then you don't have this one account where you don't know what's going on. Well, And as you were saying that, Vanessa, I was thinking another thing that kind of stresses people out are the unexpected expenses. For you guys not watching, if you listen, I use quotation air quotes for unexpected. But she used them right, not like Joey. Oh, yeah. He used them incorrectly. Yes, he did. And it was really cute, and we loved him for that.

16:27Anyway, unexpected expenses, which until you learn our system, they do feel like that. But they have a habit of derailing your entire budget. And so that's something that also is probably stressing you out. And our budget system is going to help you learn how to save for those things so that you have money set aside when they come up and you're no longer stressed. See, it's a foolproof plan. We're really helping them. It really is. And yeah, this specific topic we're talking about, separating your money. But like Shana said, the savings part for the unexpected expenses. Anybody can make a budget, guys, for bills, groceries, and gas.

16:56Okay, that's so easy. We're not talking about that. Your budget is so much more than that. But unexpected expenses, what is an example of that? Your child's birthday, that's every single year that we forget about. Oops. that vet bill that you have annually, those auto insurance that you pay every six months, right? That HOA fee that's due every January, whatever, all that. Those random things that pop up, baseball fees, all that. You forget about them in the moment because you're going about your life, but we want to make sure that we keep an eye on them and that we are saving for them because that is part of the whole system.

17:24You need to really see how much you cost in a whole month and a whole year to be able to live your life knowing that you're spending your money on purpose because you're going to reach your goals. Okay. So money is the number one source of stress. That's what we started off with. We've helped you. We've given you a couple clues on why that is and what to do about it. Your next step is to make a budget and then separate your accounts. This is really going to help you. And if you need help with that, we already told you the best place to start is budgetbesties.com forward slash start because we're going to explain it all.

17:54Yep. You're going to come to our how-to budget training. And Shana said 20 minutes. You're going to sit down. You're going to print out. We have a printable there. You're going to be able to make your budget. see it all on one paper, get the drama out of your head, put the data on paper and be able to make decisions. If you're tired of feeling like your finances are all over the place and you're ready for a simple set it and forget it way to budget, we have something special for you. Watch our automate your budget masterclass at budgetbesties.com forward slash automate. We'll show you step-by-step how to finally organize your money, how to set up your account and put your budget on autopilot.

18:29So your bills, saving, and spending run like clockwork. Imagine less stress, more savings, and the freedom to spend money without having to track every dollar or babysit your bank account. Go to budgetbesties.com forward slash automate to start today.