You’re going to pay for that!
We were sitting at a little Mexican restaurant which styles itself as offering ‘upscale street tacos’ for my birthday. My birthday comes at the end of the holiday season, so my husband and I were well and truly spent out – both in the party sense, and in the wallet!
We enjoyed the chips and guac with drinks as we waited for the tacos. When they came, I chuckled to myself. My husband had ordered 3; I ordered 2. He could have eaten each taco in a bite and a half – they were tiny little tacos!
As I took my first bite, I reminded myself of a life mantra: If I want to be healthy, I’m going to have to pay for it.
The taco was, true to their slogan, upscale and full of favor. I appreciated the quality of the food, and the experience of the flavor. I reminded myself that I could have asked my husband to go to any number of restaurants that would have charged us the same amount of money for far more food.
But eating too much at lunch would cost me in other ways, too. I would have to either restrain myself later, having indulged this time. Or I’d have to exercise for longer and harder (costing time and energy) for my decision to go big.
What does this have to do with financial coaching?
You’ll always pay for your financial decisions, of course. Literally, and figuratively. These are easy to list: You’ll pay money for the items you went big on, and then you’ll pay in anxiety and dread over the coming bills.
So how do you get out of paying in anxiety and dread?
The answer is found in an example that often leads me to think of my mantra: Paying for my health/workout trainers.
Many years ago, I realized that I don’t have the internal motivation or ingenuity to create challenging workouts that produce results. I just can’t do it on my own (That’s another phrase that goes through my mind a lot, in conjunction with this topic.)
Whether or not I like it, reality and experience tell me I have to pay for my health – specifically a trainer or app that financially costs me something – because it gives me what I need: creative workouts, challenge, and encouraging me to take ownership.
When we’re financially unwell, we’re ‘going to pay for it’. The same way I need a fitness trainer (virtual or in real life), you might need a financial trainer (online or in person).
Most of the time, we know what we need to do. But we need someone to help us do it.
The payoff, though, is that you’ll be in a financially better place, with less anxiety, and more financial strength. Instead of paying for stuff that makes you anxious for the bill, you pay for the trainer who encourages you in the right way, to do the right thing for you to be financially healthy.
