E is for Excuses to let go of

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Today we are going to unpack excuses that you might be making in your life – excuses to let go of in order to start winning with your money!

Some of the reasons people have shared with me about why they are struggling with their finances:

“It’s too hard!”
“I needed a new car.”
“I don’t want to.”

Whatever the reason, you’ll NEVER get out of debt and Reach your best life if you don’t take ownership and STOP making excuses. Today we are going to dig deep into the excuses that are holding you back from financial success, in the hopes of inspiring you to take charge and make change.

Excuse #1: The universe is out to get me.

First on the list – blaming the universe for your poor financial choices.

Bad things happen. Bad things happen to everyone. Sometimes it probably feels like bad things are happening to you more often than anyone else. Your car broke down, and then three days later you got an unexpected bill in the mail, and the week after that a brand new pair of red socks landed with the whites in the washer, and now everything is bright pink!

Bad things happen!

They happen to me too.

But, believe me, when I say, the universe/God/Ala/whatever you believe in, is NOT out to get you. These are obstacles. Challenges that will make you STRONGER. In my experience, the more kindness and good I put into the world, the more good that comes back to me. The more I focus on gratitude, the more I have to be grateful for. The harder I work on my finances and mindset, the more opportunities the universe provides.

YOU are in control of your life.

How you deal with the unfortunate circumstances will decide how successful you will be. Stop blaming the universe for your choices. Pull up your socks, work past the struggles, and start Reaching for More.

Excuse #2: It’s too hard.

It. Is. Too. Hard.

Guess what? It is EASY to use your credit card to buy the things you want. It is EASY to finance a new car, or use a line of credit to pay for your vacation, or spoil your kids with money you don’t have. Yes, you are right. That IS easy.

Turning around those bad habits, changing your relationship with money, getting out of debt? Those things ARE hard.

But guess what? Nothing worth having comes easily. The struggle is what makes you stronger. If you are facing down a mountain of debt, you can’t turn your life around by snapping your fingers. You need to put your head down and do the hard work. Make the sacrifices.

For example: decide that you don’t NEED a new purse. Skip the vacation. Stop eating out. Finally, stop wasting your hard-earned money on things you do not need, to impress people you don’t even like.

Excuse #3: I’m not ready.

Yeah, I hear you. I wasn’t ready either. I wanted to wait until after Christmas to start, so we could have one more indulgent holiday season before we tightened up the belt and got down to business. But if we had waited, do you know what would have been facing us after the festive season passed? More debt AND something else to wait for.

Stop putting this off. Stop telling yourself you’ll start next month. Or next paycheque. Or next year. Start right now. Every day that goes by is another day you are going to pay interest, another day you are going to live with that stress in your stomach, another day you are going to lose sleep worrying about how you will make rent or buy groceries when you don’t get paid until next week.

Don’t wait another day. Stop telling yourself you are not ready. That is an excuse. No one enjoys living with the kind of stress money can cause. No one WANTS to make cutbacks to their lifestyle or changes to their habits.

Decide, right now, that you are worthy of the best life possible and then start working your butt off to get it.

"If it is important to you, you'll find a way. If not, you'll find an excuse." -Ryan Blair
Quit making these eight excuses to start winning with you money and reaching for more with your life!

Excuse #4: I don’t want to.

“I don’t want to be debt-free.”

If this is the lie you are telling yourself, you are not alone. But, I’m not here for it.

Firstly, in the words of the almighty Rachel Hollis – don’t be dumb. Saying “I don’t want to be debt-free” is the same as saying “I like paying more for the things I buy!” or “Checking my account balance before I buy groceries makes me feel great!!”

Nope. Sorry.

You do WANT to, you are just scared and making excuses.

There are things you want more than paying off your debt and being financially independent.

For example:

You want to go on vacation MORE than you want that freedom.

You want to be indulgent MORE than you want to be debt-free.

I get it. You might want other things MORE than you want financial success, but don’t say “I don’t want to be debt-free” because that’s a load of garbage.

You will not be successful in this work until you stop telling yourself this lie.

Decide that you want financial freedom, that you want to stop living with the anxiety of your debt, that you want to stop fighting with your spouse MORE than you want the purse/vacation/car.

Excuse #5: I need to have debt to have good credit.

This is a myth. I don’t carry debt, and I have excellent credit. So does my husband. We DO use credit cards, but we pay them off immediately. ALWAYS.

I’ll be honest; I don’t know how the system works exactly. If you listen to Dave Ramsey, you already know that he says you only need credit to get credit. So you have to borrow money in order to borrow more money. And if you are like me, your life goal is never to borrow money ever again, then why do you need good credit? With that said, getting a mortgage is easier with good credit, and I have heard (but not confirmed) that in Canada you can’t wind up with zero credit the same way you can in the states.

So, we continue to use our credit cards. But we never carry a balance, and we never pay a penny in interest, and we get great rewards back on them.

What we do not do is carry a car loan, just to keep our credit up. I don’t care HOW low the interest is, any interest is too much.

We do not use a line of credit and pay it off over a few months or years.

We don’t buy into the whole story of needing to owe money to ANYONE. Ever.

Inspirational Quote: Results or Excuses. You Choose.
Read these excuses to let go of to start winning with your money!

Excuse #6: I don’t know how to do it.

If this is your excuse, then I’m so glad you found Reach. Because we didn’t know how either. We had tried to turn ourselves around MANY times before we finally did it. We didn’t know where to start, and we didn’t know what to do. And now, our mission is to teach YOU how. Times have sure changed!

Using the excuse that you don’t know how to do something might have worked fifty years ago. But hello!?! It is 2019, and you have google at your fingertips.

You can learn how to do ANYTHING, for free, on the internet. You can watch videos on YouTube, listen to podcasts, read blogs like this one. So “I don’t know how” is not an excuse. It’s time to learn.

And we have resources!

Do you need to get out of debt? Here’s how.
Want to start a budget? Check this out.
Save a thousand dollar emergency fund? Right here.

Excuse #7: I’m not good with Math.

Got a smartphone? Yah, you have a built-in calculator in your pocket all day long. You don’t have to be good at Math to learn how not to spend more than you make. A bit of adding and subtracting is all it takes, and that calculator app has your back. And, if you set up your budget online (for example, via EveryDollar, Mint, or YNAB), those snazzy programs do the math FOR you! Problem solved!

Excuse #8: I don’t make enough money.

Money is tight at the end of the month. So, it feels like you don’t have enough.

All the more reason to go on a budget! People who successfully manage their money don’t wait until they have a lot of it to start a budget. They use the budget as a tool to get it! This isn’t a chicken or the egg debate – the budget will help you have more money.

When we started budgeting, we honestly felt like we had gotten a raise. All of a sudden, we started paying attention to where our money was going and spending it with intention, rather than wasting it. And at the end of the month, we were amazed that we still had money leftover!!

Do you want to have money left over at the end of your month? To pay off your debt, or once that’s gone, to save for things you want? Yes – of course you do! Use a budget as the tool to get you there.

Looking for more info? Sign up for our Budget Bootcamp email series:

Wrap Up

In conclusion, if we hit a nerve with you today, if you are finishing this up feeling irritated and wondering why on earth you keep reading this blog – take a minute to reflect on that. Maybe we hit a nerve because we touched on an excuse that you have been making?

Making a change in your life takes a bit of reflection, and it doesn’t always feel great. It’s in that discomfort, where we own our mistakes and make plans for the future, that change comes. You’ve got this!

Finally, if you like what you read or you know someone who could really benefit from taking a look at their excuses, we’d love it if you would pin it and share it on social!