October 14, 2025 • 27 mins
Free Budgeting Workshop: https://www.debtfreedad.com/budgeting-workshop-evergreen-optin
Subscribe to Simplify My Money: https://www.debtfreedad.com/newsletters/simplify-my-money
In this episode of the Debt-Free Dad podcast, hosts Brad Nelson, Amber Taylor, Chris Hawkins, and Katie Hatfield discuss the common reasons why most budgets fail. They emphasize the simplicity needed to create a sustainable budget and share personal stories of overcoming financial challenges and achieving debt freedom. The episode includes actionable advice on how to get started with budgeting, the importance of setting financial priorities, and focusing on behaviors, habits, and choices rather than restrictive plans. Additionally, listeners are encouraged to utilize free resources such as the 'Totally Awesome Budgeting Workshop' to make their budgeting journey more effective and manageable.
The Totally Awesome Debt Freedom Planner https://www.debtfreedad.com/planner
Connect With Brad
Website- https://www.debtfreedad.com
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/thedebtfreedad
Private Facebook Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/debtfreedad
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/debtfreedad/
TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@debt_free_dad
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@bradnelson-debtfreedad2751/featured
Thanks For Listening
Like what you hear? Please, subscribe on the platform you listen to most: Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Spotify, Tune-In, Stitcher, YouTube Music, YouTube
We LOVE feedback, and also helps us grow our podcast! Please leave us an honest review in Apple Podcasts, we read every single one.
Is there someone that you think would benefit from the Debt Free Dad podcast? Please, share this episode with them on your favorite social network!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Brad Nelson (00:00):
So if you've ever tried budgeting and felt like it
just doesn't work for you,you're not alone.
You know, most people don'tfail at budgeting because
they're bad with money.
They fail because the systemthat they're using is probably
too complicated, toorestrictive, and it doesn't fit
the real life.
And in today's episode, we'regoing to be showing you why most
budgets fall apart.
And some of those mightsurprise you.
(00:21):
And we're also going to besharing some first steps on how
to finally create one thatsticks.
Now, you don't need anotherspreadsheet or an app, although
those can be helpful tools.
But what you do need is just asimple plan that actually works
for you to get started.
Announcer (00:37):
You're listening to the Debt Free Dad podcast with
Brad Nelson.
Brad and his co-hostsexperience the anxiety of living
paycheck to paycheck beforelearning the fundamentals of
financial success.
They are now on a mission toempower regular people to pay
off their debt for good andenjoy happier, less stressful
lives.
Keep listening forinspirational interviews, tips,
(00:59):
tricks, and practical advice togain financial freedom.
Brad Nelson (01:12):
I paid off about $45,000 in debt.
I've been debt-free now formore than 11 years outside of my
mortgage.
I've also helped thousands ofother people save and pay off
tens of millions of dollars withthe work that we do here at
Defree Dad.
Amber Taylor (01:24):
I'm Amber Taylor, and my husband and I saved and
paid off $54,000 in just 20months.
And we've been living debt-freeoutside of our mortgage since
2018.
Chris Hawkins (01:33):
My name is Chris Hawkins, and my wife and I
started our journey way back in2005.
And for three years from 2005to 2008, we paid off just under
$100,000 worth of debt.
And we've been debt-free exceptfor our house ever since.
Kati Hatfield (01:48):
And I'm Katie Hatfield, and I am actually
still on my journey to debtfreedom.
I have been doing that forseven years.
And in that time, I have paidoff over $235,029 in medical
debt, credit cards, studentloans, car loans, all that fun
stuff on a single income.
Brad Nelson (02:08):
Now, guys, after listening to this episode, if
you're ready to take things tothe next level, you want to
break free from living paycheckto paycheck, you want to reduce
financial stress, build yoursavings, and finally pay off
your debt for good.
But maybe you're just not surewhere to get started.
We've created some incrediblefree resources to help you get
there.
And I'll share some detailsabout that later on in today's
episode.
(02:28):
So, guys, today we are talkingabout the swear word of all
swear words when it comes tofinances, especially for people
who are brand new and for a lotof people who live paycheck to
paycheck.
The budget is probably one ofthe scariest things and the
scariest words because of all ofthis nonsense marketing.
We're going to talk a littlebit about this as we get started
(02:50):
with budgets failing, but justthis nonsense marketing on
budgeting is negative.
It's restrictive.
It means you're cheap.
It means you're broke.
And a lot of people look at itas just this negative thing.
And I'm excited to talk aboutthis because a lot of people,
especially when they're firstgetting started, this is one of
the biggest things that theystruggle with, is from a
technical side of just getting abudget going and getting a
(03:10):
budget started.
Kati Hatfield (03:11):
It is definitely a swear word most of the time.
Brad Nelson (03:17):
I mean, you said today, I mean you've paid off
over what $220,000, $230,000.
$235,000.
Um she's like, get everydollar.
Kati Hatfield (03:29):
I definitely am better at sticking to a budget.
Am I good at making a budget?
No.
After seven years of doingthis, no, I'm not.
So it's just, but it helps.
It's there.
I try to stick to it.
That's the hard part issticking to it.
Chris Hawkins (03:45):
Well, you mentioned that along with the
budget means you're cheap.
You're broke.
And I've been doing a budgetnow for 20 years.
And yes, I still may be cheap,all right?
Because that's one of thethings that came out of paying
off all the debt and learningthat, hey, if I hold on to this
money, I can do some really coolthings with it.
But I'm no longer broke, I cantell you that.
(04:07):
So I think it just depends onwhat part of your journey that
you're in.
But regardless of whetheryou're just beginning or whether
you've been doing this for 20years, you should be doing a
budget.
But at whatever stage you arein life, I mean your goals or
your outcome, why you're gonnabe budgeting is gonna change, if
that makes sense.
Kati Hatfield (04:25):
And you're not cheap, you have learned from
your mistakes.
You are wise and frugal.
Chris Hawkins (04:31):
Actually, frugal frugal is the key word there,
all right?
So frugal, frugal, I mean,people think that that means
being cheap.
And in fact, it really meansgetting the most out of every
dollar.
So sometimes when you spendmoney, you should spend more
money to get better quality.
And that's sort of what I amwhen I do spend money.
(04:51):
But I'm very over analyticaland I do put a lot of thought
into when and where and how Ispend money.
But when I do, a lot of timesit is for nicer things, yes.
Announcer (04:59):
Yeah.
Amber Taylor (05:00):
Well, I think a lot of people think that a
budget is super restrictive whenin reality it's really, and I
think we're gonna get into this,but it's based on you know what
you put your priorities into.
Yeah.
Brad Nelson (05:10):
And yeah, so I'm gonna piggyback off what you
just said, Amber, because one ofthe questions I have for you
guys is when you guys were firststarting, I mean, we all failed
at this.
Katie, you just said evenbudgeting now is still not
exactly exciting.
We don't always get it right.
But I think where I failed themost and why my budget always
failed the most when I first gotstarted is because I'd sit down
and do a budget, but then Ididn't have the behavior and the
(05:32):
habits to really back up theplan that I was trying to put
together.
And so I had, in my opinion,and this is one of the reasons
on this podcast and what we dohere at Defree Daz, we focus a
lot more on behaviors, habits,and choices first before we even
sit down and talk about abudget.
Because without actuallyrecognizing your habits, your
behaviors, the things that gotyou stuck, like it's hard to
actually sit here and now take alook at this plan because it's
(05:53):
gonna be exactly what you said,Amber.
You're gonna feel thatrestriction because now all of a
sudden it's I gotta cut outthis, I gotta cut out this, I
gotta cut out this.
And when you don't have thebehaviors and habits to do that,
or the reasons why you want todo that, it can feel restricted.
And a lot of people, I think,push away from it initially when
they first get started becauseof that.
Chris Hawkins (06:11):
But let's face it, when do most people really
think about starting to do abudget?
When everything's going wrong,right?
Yeah, right.
It's it's more out ofnecessity, and it's at that
moment when everything seems tobe going wrong.
You're searching for answers,and all of a sudden, one of the
first things you're being toldto do is to sit down and do a
budget.
And of course, along with thatcomes analyzing your spending.
(06:31):
Where have you been spendingyour money?
How much debt do you reallyhave?
How much is coming in, how muchis going out?
And there's usually that, oh,it fill in the blank with
another dirty word.
Okay.
And then you realize how bad itis, and then you're like, okay,
I got to do this thing called abudget.
And then all of a sudden thenumbers don't add up, and that's
why the restrictiveness seemsto come in.
Like, I can't do this, I can'tdo that.
(06:53):
And yes, early on, that's theway it's probably going to be.
You're going to have to say noto a lot of things, but
eventually, as Amber mentioned,your budget can eventually
become the tool by which you sayyes to the things that are most
important.
Right.
Kati Hatfield (07:07):
I would say the natural thing is not to jump in
and say, I'm going to do abudget because things are going
terribly.
That was not my first thought.
I think that the naturalreaction is, I'm just going to
ignore everything and forget itexists and just keep doing what
I'm doing and hope that one dayI win the lottery or something.
(07:27):
Like that just seems likebudgeting is not the thing, but
it is the key to getting ontrack and figuring out where
your money is going and to stopdoing those things.
It's a guideline to help youfor sure.
Brad Nelson (07:42):
Yeah.
Well, and I think going on tothat restrictive side too, a lot
of people tend to forget aboutplanning because they get so
like, I gotta get like, youknow, if you're going through
tough stuff right now, let's sayyou're behind on bills, maybe
your income got cut because ofyou know lost hours at work,
whatever it might be.
And all of a sudden we get thisidea that we got to get on this
budget, and we got to cut outeverything reasonable inside of
(08:04):
that budget, real life stuff,birthdays and like just kids'
stuff, things that we just don'tthink that we need or think
about.
Oh, we can do away with thatuntil those things show up, and
then all of a sudden it's wedon't have any money for this,
right?
And then our budget is brokenbecause we don't actually look
at our budget and be realistic.
And that is one of the reasonswhy a lot of people fail.
They'll cut out everything funin their life altogether,
(08:25):
they'll go like that scorchedearth mentality.
And for a lot of people, youcan live like that for a little
while until all of a suddenyou're sitting on your couch,
you're like, My life sucks, man.
We can't do anything.
You're looking at your spouseor your partner, you guys are
ready to kill each other, you'reready to kill your kids, and
before you know it, you're like,This budget sucks.
And when we go out and we justbust it, anyways, because life
(08:45):
happens and we just got to golive a little bit as well.
So you have to be realisticwith it, too.
Amber Taylor (08:50):
Well, I think a lot of times when you don't plan
for everything and then you gooff course, I find that's when a
lot of people go, Ah, I'llstart again next month, right?
They just throw up their handsbecause they messed up one
little area.
And I think that if you try andstay focused, you won't fail in
that way, even if you do haveto go over budget for something
(09:10):
that you might have forgotabout.
Chris Hawkins (09:12):
I think the the most important thing to mention
is when you start budgeting, youare going to fail.
Yeah, it is not going to workthe first few months.
Okay.
Now, why do I say that?
It's not to discourage you fromdoing one.
It's so that when you do oneand when it doesn't go
correctly, when you forgetsomething or you blow it, or
(09:36):
whatever happens to your budgetbecause it's going to you need
to remember that I told you, weall told you, all of us here are
probably agreeing that it'sgoing to fail.
And that's normal.
Okay.
It's to be expected.
And so when it happens, you go,hey, they told me this was
going to happen.
Let me do the best I can to fixit.
Next month I'm going to be alittle bit better, but it's
(09:57):
probably going to fail in someregard the next month.
But by the time you've done itfour or five, six months, you're
going to have most of itfigured out.
And you're going to startfeeling the traction and you're
going to start feeling theconfidence.
So when you fail, rememberwe're telling you you're going
to fail.
And it's not meant todiscourage you, it's meant to
encourage you so that you justremember that and go, okay,
(10:19):
that's part of life.
That's part of what's to beexpected.
Let me pick myself up and keepgoing.
Kati Hatfield (10:24):
And I would say it is better to do something
poorly than it is to do nothingat all because you're like, if I
don't do it 190% and have itjust perfect the first try, I'm
not gonna do it at all.
Like, just do something, tryit, just give it a try.
Brad Nelson (10:43):
I guess you're just a real personal story.
I just I just had to have thisconversation and lesson with
Avery today.
She has some special needs, soshe does OT therapy in the
morning virtually before shegoes to school.
So she had to cut out apumpkin, which she's fine at
cutting things, but she wantedto make a dog pumpkin.
This kid's crazy about dogs, sothis pumpkin has ears.
Well, as she's cutting thecircle of the pumpkin, she
accidentally just skips the earand cuts the ear off.
(11:05):
Well, as she gets her pumpkindone, she looks at the paper and
she realizes that the ear isstill on the part of the paper
that she cut off.
And what does she say?
She's like, I can't do this.
I cut the ear off.
This isn't a dog pumpkinanymore.
And I'm like, that's okay, wecan just tape it, it'll be fine.
So, what does she do as anormal child?
She crosses her arms, turns herchair away from the computer.
(11:26):
I'm not doing this because I amperfect at it.
And I did, I had to sit downand have the same conversation
like we're having right nowabout budgeting.
It's like, look, you're notgonna be great at this at first.
You have to practice, like youjust missed it.
You can go back and fix all ofthose errors the next time.
Like that's the only way thatyou get better.
And you guys are absolutelyright.
I think that's one of thereasons why most people fail in
(11:47):
general is because they quitbefore they actually even get
started, really.
Kati Hatfield (11:50):
And that pumpkin's gonna be real cute
with like one lopsided ear.
Brad Nelson (11:53):
Oh, yeah.
Right, right.
But it's crazy, even as adults,we still struggle with some of
this stuff.
As a dad, I'm gonna give myselfa pat on the back.
I gave a great lesson today.
That doesn't happen very oftenas parents, where you feel like
you did a good job, right?
All right, so let's talk aboutguys now.
As you guys got started withbudgeting, what were some
things, simple things likeremember?
(12:15):
We're going back to you, we'rejust getting started again.
What do you guys feel were somesimple things that you guys did
to be able to get started withbudgeting and what helped you
the most?
Just some real simple thingsagain for people who are
listening to this who arestruggling with a lot of things
we're talking about.
What would you give some adviceon?
Chris Hawkins (12:33):
Which time?
The first, the second, or thethird time.
Yeah, right.
Okay, because the time that itfinally worked, which was the
third time, which has continuedfor 20 years now, the number one
thing was to simplify, to notovercomplicate.
I thought of my household and Ithought of my finances as a
business, as a corporation.
(12:53):
And when you do that, you canreally overcomplicate things in
a hurry.
And that's why the first timeit didn't work, and that's why
the second time it didn't work.
And so we talk about failures.
I failed at it multiple times,but when it really began to work
for me is when I said, let'sjust keep this simple.
Because as Katie mentioned, theonly wrong budget that you do
is the one that you don't do.
And to this day, you look at mybudget and how it's much
(13:14):
different than probably mostpeople do.
It has evolved over the years,but it is ridiculously simple.
Okay, if you can buy it at thegrocery store or you can go out
and eat it, it's consideredfood.
Even though I buy cat litterand dog food at the grocery
store, that goes under my foodcategory.
Now it may seem weird to somepeople, but it's just one last
line that I gotta worry about.
(13:36):
So it's all aboutsimplification for me.
Amber Taylor (13:38):
Yeah, I think for us it was not being super strict
because at the beginning wewere really, really strict, and
then we had to realize that thisisn't gonna work, and we had to
add a little bit of fun intoour budget.
So we started adding a fun lineinto our budget so that we can
just go out and have fun and sayyes to friends when they asked
us if it was in the budget.
Kati Hatfield (13:59):
Priorities, you have to set your priorities so
that the house or rent, yourutilities, your food are all
like the first thing that youpay, and everything else comes
after.
You do have to look at veryseriously at some things that
like okay, is this a want or aneed?
And then when you're at thestore, when I was getting
(14:22):
started, it was what would Braddo, the WWPD um move that our
roots group had like startedchanting.
So I was like, is Brad gonna bemad at me?
Would Brad be mad if I boughtthis?
Is this a want or a need?
And then the 24-hour rule, justwait, put it in your cart, but
then walk away from the computerand don't hit you know, submit
(14:45):
on the order.
Will I even come back to thatwebsite?
Will I even remember it?
Yes, because they will send mean email the next day saying I
think you forgot something, butI I don't get those emails
anymore because I don't even putit in my cart.
I'll just like shop and belike, nope, don't need that.
So you just have to prioritize.
Brad Nelson (15:04):
Yeah, I think for me, I I always struggled when I
first started budgeting with Ididn't think I had money to
budget because I always justfelt broke.
And you guys know we talk aboutthis a lot here at Defree Dad,
is one of the first things.
Like, if you feel like youdon't have money to save, you
don't have money to pay offdebt, you don't have money to
like we talk about, even goingout and to have fun, is to
really take a really close lookat your past spending habits.
(15:27):
And that to me, yes, it was asickening feeling at the same
time.
It wasn't easy, it took alittle time to do.
But again, go back and look atthe last three to six months of
your bank, your credit cardstatements, any digital wallets
you're using, like PayPal, CashApp, Venmo, and really get a
good understanding before youeven budget.
Like, where has all your moneybeen going to begin with?
And if you're anything like meand most people who do this, you
(15:49):
you do get a little sickeningfeeling of like, ugh, I can't
believe I spent this on this andthat, and I can't believe how
much we're spending here.
But that is also a really greatwake-up call because it made me
realize I do actually havemoney to pay down more of my
debt or to put more money in mysavings account or to put more
money towards a vacation that Iwant to take.
I just had a, like you said,Katie, I had to prioritize where
(16:12):
my money was going.
And it was going everywhere andanywhere because of, again, the
behaviors, habits, and choices.
So once I actually sat down andlooked at everything and saw
the numbers in plain sight, forme, it became easier to budget
because I could say, well, I nolonger have to spend money here,
I no longer have to spend moneythere, I instead want to spend
money over here.
And it gave me more empowermentof my money rather than feeling
(16:35):
like my money was constantlycontrolling me.
Chris Hawkins (16:37):
Yeah, I think another thing for me is you got
to find a why.
You got to find a purpose,you've got to find a reason.
And the third time that I didit, I had a very good reason to
budget, which was I had asignificant amount of debt that
was due in about nine months,and I didn't want to borrow more
money to pay it.
So along with my budget was aplan to pay that debt off within
(17:00):
the nine months.
And so I had to do the budgetto help me figure out how to
come up with the money that ittook to meet the cash flow or
the debt payments to get itdone.
And we ended up doing that inabout six months because I had a
strong enough purpose and astrong enough why and a strong
enough reason.
And then it became a game forme.
(17:22):
We've talked about gamificationa lot.
It's like, wow, if I can dothis, what else can I do?
And that's how within threeyears we paid off just under
$100,000 worth of debt.
But you've got to ask yourself,what is my goal?
What's my end game?
And it can't just be somethingsimple like to not have
pressure.
It's got to be somethingbigger, something more
meaningful.
And over time that will change.
(17:42):
And for me and my wife, thatcertainly has been the case as
well.
Brad Nelson (17:45):
Can I also just add in one point?
And maybe we can hand just thisa little bit, is that we talked
when you know we opened up theshow, we were talking about
advertising, marketing.
You got to ignore what mostpeople are talking about when it
comes to budgeting.
You have to ignore it.
You know, find some good,relatable people, people that
you can follow on social media,listening to this podcast,
whatever.
But don't listen to your brokefriends, family, and coworkers
(18:08):
because when you start saying,like, hey, I'm getting out of
budget, most of them are gonnabe like, Why?
Or budgeting sucks.
Budgeting means you're broke,like you're gonna get all this
negative talk about budgeting,and that does not help you.
You need to ignore what themajority of people are doing
with their money because themajority of people are broke,
and that's another reason why Ithink for a lot of people, most
people don't do budgets or don'tstart budgets, is because of
(18:30):
what their social circle is alsodoing with their money, which
isn't a whole heck of a lot.
Chris Hawkins (18:34):
Well, I would say then if you're listening to
other people and that's whatyou're telling they're telling
you, ask yourself two things howmuch better are they than me?
And is it worth givingsomething different a try
because what I've been doinghasn't been working?
Right?
Listen, folks, there's plentyof episodes of this debt free
dad podcast where Brad hasinterviewed people who have
(18:55):
gotten out of debt, people whohave gone through your program,
right, Brad?
Yeah, oh yeah, and I would Iwould venture to say if you
listen to every single one ofthose episodes, at some point in
the conversation, they're gonnatell you the power that
budgeting played in getting outof debt.
Kati Hatfield (19:10):
And you do have to adjust over time because when
I started, I was going throughlike the grocery receipt, like
Christy talked about, you justthrow everything in there, even
the cat litter and dog food.
I was like, Nope, I have to belike, here's my healthcare and
beauty products, and here's myyou know, household things, and
here and like, nope, gotta juststop doing that and make it
(19:30):
simpler over time because thatmakes it easier.
And then your priorities doswitch a little bit over time
too.
So it's kind of like, okay, Ihave a little bit extra nowhere.
Can I put this?
And you get addicted to payingyour bills, which is like a
weird addiction, but it ispeople are listening, going, No,
you don't.
Amber Taylor (19:49):
No, it's it's true for me.
It is me too.
Brad Nelson (19:54):
I can't tell you how many people I have I've had
email me, message me over thelast 10 years that say, Brad,
paying off debt and managing myfinances now become a like an
addiction.
Like, I'm so addicted to it, Ijust can't stop doing it.
Because most people don't everget a taste of actual winning
with their money, and when youfinally do, and you look at your
bank account, you look at yourdebt going down, you look at
your savings count savingsaccount growing, it's freaking
(20:17):
exciting, you know.
That's really fun to see.
And most people never even geta hint of what that feels like.
Chris Hawkins (20:23):
Well, and for me, it's now what do I do with all
that money I don't spend on debtanymore?
Yeah, I'm not gonna go into toomuch detail here, but I've been
able to do some really, really,really cool things both in my
personal life, but alsoinvestments, real estate, things
that I never would haveimagined 20 years ago that we
would be able to do.
And it's all because I learnedthat if I don't give it to the
(20:46):
bank, I can save it and investit and do other pretty cool
things with it.
And so it's still a game, itnever goes away.
When you've got money in thebank and you've got savings and
investments, you start to say,What else can I do?
There becomes no limits, yeah,or very or less limits, I should
say.
And it drives my wife nutsbecause she's like, You're
always going from thing tothing.
(21:06):
I'm like, Yep, isn't it prettycool?
Brad Nelson (21:08):
Yeah, right.
And it's not coming from aplace of like bragging either.
I want everyone listening tothis, it really is.
We all started exactly whereall of you are starting, where
everyone is right now.
There's nothing that reallymakes us special except for the
fact that we all said we'regonna do this work, we're gonna
figure it out.
And we did, we just committedto it, and that's the only thing
that separates us from peoplewho are living paycheck to
(21:30):
paycheck.
That's really it.
You look at someone like Katie.
I mean, when you started doingthis seven years ago, you were
making 13 bucks an hour.
Yep, and 13 bucks an hour as asingle person, yeah.
Kati Hatfield (21:38):
And this has all been on a single income.
Yes, I have taken a new job andgotten promotions and raises,
but not like astronomical oranything, but not included in
that $235,000 that I've paidoff.
I've also saved over $85,000 inretirement and my sinking funds
(21:59):
and my HSA and all these thingsthat I didn't even have a
savings account with a comma init, but when I started this, I
was lucky if I had any money ina savings account when I started
this.
So this is like budgetingworks, I promise you.
Just try it.
Brad Nelson (22:15):
All right.
Lastly, guys, and I'm gonnashare if you're listening to
this, we got a resource.
We've got the totally awesomebudgeting workshop that's gonna
show you step by step on how toget your budget started.
I'm gonna share that resourcehere in just a second.
But one thing I just want toask all of you, because again,
I'll share in that workshop whathelps me.
But what I love from all of thethree of you is just to share.
Once you got your budgetcreated, what has helped you
(22:36):
stick with it over the years?
And again, especially whenyou're getting started, it's a
little bit harder.
But what do you think that'shelped you the most stick with
your plan that you put intoplace?
Chris Hawkins (22:44):
I think for me, when you see results and you
continue to see results, andwhen you have less debt, less
money goes out the door.
That's less lines on yourbudget, it becomes even more
simple.
Okay.
And my budgeting for me now,it's really just a few minutes a
month.
It really is.
Maybe 30 minutes a month worthof budgeting and tracking
(23:05):
because of how simple everythingis.
And so the answer to yourquestion though is because I get
results from it, even today,even though I don't have debt to
pay off.
I've got other goals, otheraspirations, other things that
I'm trying to accomplish.
And I know that's the only wayto get those results.
Amber Taylor (23:23):
I think for us, what made us stick to it was
definitely the support andaccountability that we got from
just joining roots.
We've tried it before in thepast, before that, and we kind
of had each other to go, oh,well, maybe we should get this,
and then we'd like to sabotageeach other.
So when we had somebody elsekind of accountable where we
were meeting every week, that'swhere it really helped us.
Kati Hatfield (23:45):
And I would say it kind of ditto to both of
those ideas.
I saw that it was working.
I was the queen of overdraftfees, and I started not having
overdraft fees anymore.
So that was one like of thefirst things being able to
actually put money in a savingsaccount.
Hadn't done that before, andjust seeing those results, and
clearly it's worked mypriorities.
(24:06):
It made me kind of evaluate mypriorities in life in general.
I have less stuff, I have lessstress.
It just makes life better.
Brad Nelson (24:15):
Awesome.
All right, so if you're readyand I hope this episode has
encouraged you to get startedwith your first budget or to at
least try budgeting again.
And again, if you want somemore direct help, you want all
of our budgeting forms, guys.
This workshop is free.
It's called the Totally AwesomeBudgeting Workshop.
It's on our website.
Go to defreedad.com, click onthe free resources button at the
(24:36):
top of the page, and it's justa scroll down and you'll see the
workshop right there.
This workshop is about 50minutes long, and it's going to
give you everything you need toget your first, and like Chris
said, your first crappy budgetdone.
And then it's just month aftermonth, you'll continue to get
better.
If you're ready to break freefrom living paycheck to
paycheck, reduce financialstress, build savings, and
finally pay off debt for good.
(24:57):
But again, maybe you're notsure where to get started.
Don't worry, we've got youcovered.
Simplify My Money is sent toyou each and every Sunday to
your email.
It is your step-by-step roadmapto better financial control.
You're also going to learn someeasy to follow strategies to
manage your money moreefficiently.
And you're going to help it'sgoing to help you have
stress-free money decisions.
This is going to help yousimplify your financial life
(25:18):
with proven tips that actuallywork.
And you're going to gain thetools and confidence to tackle
your financial goals head on.
You can sign up for Simplify MyMoney by clicking the link at
the top of the show notes.
Announcer (25:37):
Let's talk about all the good things.
Amber Taylor (26:07):
Also using the envelope system.
Brad Nelson (26:09):
Yeah, that's awesome, Jordan.
Great celebration.
And you know what?
It's not a coincidence that Iput that way in here because
that's what it's all about.
Melissa Baker starting rootsagain.
Her husband is not really onboard.
Hang in there with him.
He'll get there.
Her goal is to get her creditcard paid off in the next two
and a half years so she canhalfway retire.
(26:32):
Awesome goals, Melissa.
Amber Taylor (26:34):
And Claudien has continued eating at home and not
going out, paying bills ontime, using cash for groceries,
and passing by all theadvertising on Facebook and
Instagram.
Brad Nelson (26:45):
Yeah.
Awesome wins.
Hey guys, as always,congratulations to all of you
guys who are taking a stand foryour financial life and you're
wanting better.
Hey, we get that getting out ofdebt, it isn't easy.
But with our help and with yourconsistency and discipline, we
promise you guys this will besome of the best work that you
guys do in your entire life.
Thanks for joining us ontoday's show, and we will see
you guys on the next episode.
Announcer (27:10):
Thanks for listening to the Debt Free Dad podcast.
Connect with us on Facebook,TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram.
Just search Debt Free Dad.
If you found value in today'sepisode, please leave us a
rating and review.
We so appreciate it.
For resources, show notes, andlinks mentioned in today's show,
visit debtfreedad.com.
(27:31):
Catch you next week.
So if you've ever tried budgeting and felt like it
just doesn't work for you,you're not alone.
You know, most people don'tfail at budgeting because
they're bad with money.
They fail because the systemthat they're using is probably
too complicated, toorestrictive, and it doesn't fit
the real life.
And in today's episode, we'regoing to be showing you why most
budgets fall apart.
And some of those mightsurprise you.
(00:21):
And we're also going to besharing some first steps on how
to finally create one thatsticks.
Now, you don't need anotherspreadsheet or an app, although
those can be helpful tools.
But what you do need is just asimple plan that actually works
for you to get started.
Announcer (00:37):
You're listening to the Debt Free Dad podcast with
Brad Nelson.
Brad and his co-hostsexperience the anxiety of living
paycheck to paycheck beforelearning the fundamentals of
financial success.
They are now on a mission toempower regular people to pay
off their debt for good andenjoy happier, less stressful
lives.
Keep listening forinspirational interviews, tips,
(00:59):
tricks, and practical advice togain financial freedom.
Brad Nelson (01:12):
I paid off about $45,000 in debt.
I've been debt-free now formore than 11 years outside of my
mortgage.
I've also helped thousands ofother people save and pay off
tens of millions of dollars withthe work that we do here at
Defree Dad.
Amber Taylor (01:24):
I'm Amber Taylor, and my husband and I saved and
paid off $54,000 in just 20months.
And we've been living debt-freeoutside of our mortgage since
2018.
Chris Hawkins (01:33):
My name is Chris Hawkins, and my wife and I
started our journey way back in2005.
And for three years from 2005to 2008, we paid off just under
$100,000 worth of debt.
And we've been debt-free exceptfor our house ever since.
Kati Hatfield (01:48):
And I'm Katie Hatfield, and I am actually
still on my journey to debtfreedom.
I have been doing that forseven years.
And in that time, I have paidoff over $235,029 in medical
debt, credit cards, studentloans, car loans, all that fun
stuff on a single income.
Brad Nelson (02:08):
Now, guys, after listening to this episode, if
you're ready to take things tothe next level, you want to
break free from living paycheckto paycheck, you want to reduce
financial stress, build yoursavings, and finally pay off
your debt for good.
But maybe you're just not surewhere to get started.
We've created some incrediblefree resources to help you get
there.
And I'll share some detailsabout that later on in today's
episode.
(02:28):
So, guys, today we are talkingabout the swear word of all
swear words when it comes tofinances, especially for people
who are brand new and for a lotof people who live paycheck to
paycheck.
The budget is probably one ofthe scariest things and the
scariest words because of all ofthis nonsense marketing.
We're going to talk a littlebit about this as we get started
(02:50):
with budgets failing, but justthis nonsense marketing on
budgeting is negative.
It's restrictive.
It means you're cheap.
It means you're broke.
And a lot of people look at itas just this negative thing.
And I'm excited to talk aboutthis because a lot of people,
especially when they're firstgetting started, this is one of
the biggest things that theystruggle with, is from a
technical side of just getting abudget going and getting a
(03:10):
budget started.
Kati Hatfield (03:11):
It is definitely a swear word most of the time.
Brad Nelson (03:17):
I mean, you said today, I mean you've paid off
over what $220,000, $230,000.
$235,000.
Um she's like, get everydollar.
Kati Hatfield (03:29):
I definitely am better at sticking to a budget.
Am I good at making a budget?
No.
After seven years of doingthis, no, I'm not.
So it's just, but it helps.
It's there.
I try to stick to it.
That's the hard part issticking to it.
Chris Hawkins (03:45):
Well, you mentioned that along with the
budget means you're cheap.
You're broke.
And I've been doing a budgetnow for 20 years.
And yes, I still may be cheap,all right?
Because that's one of thethings that came out of paying
off all the debt and learningthat, hey, if I hold on to this
money, I can do some really coolthings with it.
But I'm no longer broke, I cantell you that.
(04:07):
So I think it just depends onwhat part of your journey that
you're in.
But regardless of whetheryou're just beginning or whether
you've been doing this for 20years, you should be doing a
budget.
But at whatever stage you arein life, I mean your goals or
your outcome, why you're gonnabe budgeting is gonna change, if
that makes sense.
Kati Hatfield (04:25):
And you're not cheap, you have learned from
your mistakes.
You are wise and frugal.
Chris Hawkins (04:31):
Actually, frugal frugal is the key word there,
all right?
So frugal, frugal, I mean,people think that that means
being cheap.
And in fact, it really meansgetting the most out of every
dollar.
So sometimes when you spendmoney, you should spend more
money to get better quality.
And that's sort of what I amwhen I do spend money.
(04:51):
But I'm very over analyticaland I do put a lot of thought
into when and where and how Ispend money.
But when I do, a lot of timesit is for nicer things, yes.
Announcer (04:59):
Yeah.
Amber Taylor (05:00):
Well, I think a lot of people think that a
budget is super restrictive whenin reality it's really, and I
think we're gonna get into this,but it's based on you know what
you put your priorities into.
Yeah.
Brad Nelson (05:10):
And yeah, so I'm gonna piggyback off what you
just said, Amber, because one ofthe questions I have for you
guys is when you guys were firststarting, I mean, we all failed
at this.
Katie, you just said evenbudgeting now is still not
exactly exciting.
We don't always get it right.
But I think where I failed themost and why my budget always
failed the most when I first gotstarted is because I'd sit down
and do a budget, but then Ididn't have the behavior and the
(05:32):
habits to really back up theplan that I was trying to put
together.
And so I had, in my opinion,and this is one of the reasons
on this podcast and what we dohere at Defree Daz, we focus a
lot more on behaviors, habits,and choices first before we even
sit down and talk about abudget.
Because without actuallyrecognizing your habits, your
behaviors, the things that gotyou stuck, like it's hard to
actually sit here and now take alook at this plan because it's
(05:53):
gonna be exactly what you said,Amber.
You're gonna feel thatrestriction because now all of a
sudden it's I gotta cut outthis, I gotta cut out this, I
gotta cut out this.
And when you don't have thebehaviors and habits to do that,
or the reasons why you want todo that, it can feel restricted.
And a lot of people, I think,push away from it initially when
they first get started becauseof that.
Chris Hawkins (06:11):
But let's face it, when do most people really
think about starting to do abudget?
When everything's going wrong,right?
Yeah, right.
It's it's more out ofnecessity, and it's at that
moment when everything seems tobe going wrong.
You're searching for answers,and all of a sudden, one of the
first things you're being toldto do is to sit down and do a
budget.
And of course, along with thatcomes analyzing your spending.
(06:31):
Where have you been spendingyour money?
How much debt do you reallyhave?
How much is coming in, how muchis going out?
And there's usually that, oh,it fill in the blank with
another dirty word.
Okay.
And then you realize how bad itis, and then you're like, okay,
I got to do this thing called abudget.
And then all of a sudden thenumbers don't add up, and that's
why the restrictiveness seemsto come in.
Like, I can't do this, I can'tdo that.
(06:53):
And yes, early on, that's theway it's probably going to be.
You're going to have to say noto a lot of things, but
eventually, as Amber mentioned,your budget can eventually
become the tool by which you sayyes to the things that are most
important.
Right.
Kati Hatfield (07:07):
I would say the natural thing is not to jump in
and say, I'm going to do abudget because things are going
terribly.
That was not my first thought.
I think that the naturalreaction is, I'm just going to
ignore everything and forget itexists and just keep doing what
I'm doing and hope that one dayI win the lottery or something.
(07:27):
Like that just seems likebudgeting is not the thing, but
it is the key to getting ontrack and figuring out where
your money is going and to stopdoing those things.
It's a guideline to help youfor sure.
Brad Nelson (07:42):
Yeah.
Well, and I think going on tothat restrictive side too, a lot
of people tend to forget aboutplanning because they get so
like, I gotta get like, youknow, if you're going through
tough stuff right now, let's sayyou're behind on bills, maybe
your income got cut because ofyou know lost hours at work,
whatever it might be.
And all of a sudden we get thisidea that we got to get on this
budget, and we got to cut outeverything reasonable inside of
(08:04):
that budget, real life stuff,birthdays and like just kids'
stuff, things that we just don'tthink that we need or think
about.
Oh, we can do away with thatuntil those things show up, and
then all of a sudden it's wedon't have any money for this,
right?
And then our budget is brokenbecause we don't actually look
at our budget and be realistic.
And that is one of the reasonswhy a lot of people fail.
They'll cut out everything funin their life altogether,
(08:25):
they'll go like that scorchedearth mentality.
And for a lot of people, youcan live like that for a little
while until all of a suddenyou're sitting on your couch,
you're like, My life sucks, man.
We can't do anything.
You're looking at your spouseor your partner, you guys are
ready to kill each other, you'reready to kill your kids, and
before you know it, you're like,This budget sucks.
And when we go out and we justbust it, anyways, because life
(08:45):
happens and we just got to golive a little bit as well.
So you have to be realisticwith it, too.
Amber Taylor (08:50):
Well, I think a lot of times when you don't plan
for everything and then you gooff course, I find that's when a
lot of people go, Ah, I'llstart again next month, right?
They just throw up their handsbecause they messed up one
little area.
And I think that if you try andstay focused, you won't fail in
that way, even if you do haveto go over budget for something
(09:10):
that you might have forgotabout.
Chris Hawkins (09:12):
I think the the most important thing to mention
is when you start budgeting, youare going to fail.
Yeah, it is not going to workthe first few months.
Okay.
Now, why do I say that?
It's not to discourage you fromdoing one.
It's so that when you do oneand when it doesn't go
correctly, when you forgetsomething or you blow it, or
(09:36):
whatever happens to your budgetbecause it's going to you need
to remember that I told you, weall told you, all of us here are
probably agreeing that it'sgoing to fail.
And that's normal.
Okay.
It's to be expected.
And so when it happens, you go,hey, they told me this was
going to happen.
Let me do the best I can to fixit.
Next month I'm going to be alittle bit better, but it's
(09:57):
probably going to fail in someregard the next month.
But by the time you've done itfour or five, six months, you're
going to have most of itfigured out.
And you're going to startfeeling the traction and you're
going to start feeling theconfidence.
So when you fail, rememberwe're telling you you're going
to fail.
And it's not meant todiscourage you, it's meant to
encourage you so that you justremember that and go, okay,
(10:19):
that's part of life.
That's part of what's to beexpected.
Let me pick myself up and keepgoing.
Kati Hatfield (10:24):
And I would say it is better to do something
poorly than it is to do nothingat all because you're like, if I
don't do it 190% and have itjust perfect the first try, I'm
not gonna do it at all.
Like, just do something, tryit, just give it a try.
Brad Nelson (10:43):
I guess you're just a real personal story.
I just I just had to have thisconversation and lesson with
Avery today.
She has some special needs, soshe does OT therapy in the
morning virtually before shegoes to school.
So she had to cut out apumpkin, which she's fine at
cutting things, but she wantedto make a dog pumpkin.
This kid's crazy about dogs, sothis pumpkin has ears.
Well, as she's cutting thecircle of the pumpkin, she
accidentally just skips the earand cuts the ear off.
(11:05):
Well, as she gets her pumpkindone, she looks at the paper and
she realizes that the ear isstill on the part of the paper
that she cut off.
And what does she say?
She's like, I can't do this.
I cut the ear off.
This isn't a dog pumpkinanymore.
And I'm like, that's okay, wecan just tape it, it'll be fine.
So, what does she do as anormal child?
She crosses her arms, turns herchair away from the computer.
(11:26):
I'm not doing this because I amperfect at it.
And I did, I had to sit downand have the same conversation
like we're having right nowabout budgeting.
It's like, look, you're notgonna be great at this at first.
You have to practice, like youjust missed it.
You can go back and fix all ofthose errors the next time.
Like that's the only way thatyou get better.
And you guys are absolutelyright.
I think that's one of thereasons why most people fail in
(11:47):
general is because they quitbefore they actually even get
started, really.
Kati Hatfield (11:50):
And that pumpkin's gonna be real cute
with like one lopsided ear.
Brad Nelson (11:53):
Oh, yeah.
Right, right.
But it's crazy, even as adults,we still struggle with some of
this stuff.
As a dad, I'm gonna give myselfa pat on the back.
I gave a great lesson today.
That doesn't happen very oftenas parents, where you feel like
you did a good job, right?
All right, so let's talk aboutguys now.
As you guys got started withbudgeting, what were some
things, simple things likeremember?
(12:15):
We're going back to you, we'rejust getting started again.
What do you guys feel were somesimple things that you guys did
to be able to get started withbudgeting and what helped you
the most?
Just some real simple thingsagain for people who are
listening to this who arestruggling with a lot of things
we're talking about.
What would you give some adviceon?
Chris Hawkins (12:33):
Which time?
The first, the second, or thethird time.
Yeah, right.
Okay, because the time that itfinally worked, which was the
third time, which has continuedfor 20 years now, the number one
thing was to simplify, to notovercomplicate.
I thought of my household and Ithought of my finances as a
business, as a corporation.
(12:53):
And when you do that, you canreally overcomplicate things in
a hurry.
And that's why the first timeit didn't work, and that's why
the second time it didn't work.
And so we talk about failures.
I failed at it multiple times,but when it really began to work
for me is when I said, let'sjust keep this simple.
Because as Katie mentioned, theonly wrong budget that you do
is the one that you don't do.
And to this day, you look at mybudget and how it's much
(13:14):
different than probably mostpeople do.
It has evolved over the years,but it is ridiculously simple.
Okay, if you can buy it at thegrocery store or you can go out
and eat it, it's consideredfood.
Even though I buy cat litterand dog food at the grocery
store, that goes under my foodcategory.
Now it may seem weird to somepeople, but it's just one last
line that I gotta worry about.
(13:36):
So it's all aboutsimplification for me.
Amber Taylor (13:38):
Yeah, I think for us it was not being super strict
because at the beginning wewere really, really strict, and
then we had to realize that thisisn't gonna work, and we had to
add a little bit of fun intoour budget.
So we started adding a fun lineinto our budget so that we can
just go out and have fun and sayyes to friends when they asked
us if it was in the budget.
Kati Hatfield (13:59):
Priorities, you have to set your priorities so
that the house or rent, yourutilities, your food are all
like the first thing that youpay, and everything else comes
after.
You do have to look at veryseriously at some things that
like okay, is this a want or aneed?
And then when you're at thestore, when I was getting
(14:22):
started, it was what would Braddo, the WWPD um move that our
roots group had like startedchanting.
So I was like, is Brad gonna bemad at me?
Would Brad be mad if I boughtthis?
Is this a want or a need?
And then the 24-hour rule, justwait, put it in your cart, but
then walk away from the computerand don't hit you know, submit
(14:45):
on the order.
Will I even come back to thatwebsite?
Will I even remember it?
Yes, because they will send mean email the next day saying I
think you forgot something, butI I don't get those emails
anymore because I don't even putit in my cart.
I'll just like shop and belike, nope, don't need that.
So you just have to prioritize.
Brad Nelson (15:04):
Yeah, I think for me, I I always struggled when I
first started budgeting with Ididn't think I had money to
budget because I always justfelt broke.
And you guys know we talk aboutthis a lot here at Defree Dad,
is one of the first things.
Like, if you feel like youdon't have money to save, you
don't have money to pay offdebt, you don't have money to
like we talk about, even goingout and to have fun, is to
really take a really close lookat your past spending habits.
(15:27):
And that to me, yes, it was asickening feeling at the same
time.
It wasn't easy, it took alittle time to do.
But again, go back and look atthe last three to six months of
your bank, your credit cardstatements, any digital wallets
you're using, like PayPal, CashApp, Venmo, and really get a
good understanding before youeven budget.
Like, where has all your moneybeen going to begin with?
And if you're anything like meand most people who do this, you
(15:49):
you do get a little sickeningfeeling of like, ugh, I can't
believe I spent this on this andthat, and I can't believe how
much we're spending here.
But that is also a really greatwake-up call because it made me
realize I do actually havemoney to pay down more of my
debt or to put more money in mysavings account or to put more
money towards a vacation that Iwant to take.
I just had a, like you said,Katie, I had to prioritize where
(16:12):
my money was going.
And it was going everywhere andanywhere because of, again, the
behaviors, habits, and choices.
So once I actually sat down andlooked at everything and saw
the numbers in plain sight, forme, it became easier to budget
because I could say, well, I nolonger have to spend money here,
I no longer have to spend moneythere, I instead want to spend
money over here.
And it gave me more empowermentof my money rather than feeling
(16:35):
like my money was constantlycontrolling me.
Chris Hawkins (16:37):
Yeah, I think another thing for me is you got
to find a why.
You got to find a purpose,you've got to find a reason.
And the third time that I didit, I had a very good reason to
budget, which was I had asignificant amount of debt that
was due in about nine months,and I didn't want to borrow more
money to pay it.
So along with my budget was aplan to pay that debt off within
(17:00):
the nine months.
And so I had to do the budgetto help me figure out how to
come up with the money that ittook to meet the cash flow or
the debt payments to get itdone.
And we ended up doing that inabout six months because I had a
strong enough purpose and astrong enough why and a strong
enough reason.
And then it became a game forme.
(17:22):
We've talked about gamificationa lot.
It's like, wow, if I can dothis, what else can I do?
And that's how within threeyears we paid off just under
$100,000 worth of debt.
But you've got to ask yourself,what is my goal?
What's my end game?
And it can't just be somethingsimple like to not have
pressure.
It's got to be somethingbigger, something more
meaningful.
And over time that will change.
(17:42):
And for me and my wife, thatcertainly has been the case as
well.
Brad Nelson (17:45):
Can I also just add in one point?
And maybe we can hand just thisa little bit, is that we talked
when you know we opened up theshow, we were talking about
advertising, marketing.
You got to ignore what mostpeople are talking about when it
comes to budgeting.
You have to ignore it.
You know, find some good,relatable people, people that
you can follow on social media,listening to this podcast,
whatever.
But don't listen to your brokefriends, family, and coworkers
(18:08):
because when you start saying,like, hey, I'm getting out of
budget, most of them are gonnabe like, Why?
Or budgeting sucks.
Budgeting means you're broke,like you're gonna get all this
negative talk about budgeting,and that does not help you.
You need to ignore what themajority of people are doing
with their money because themajority of people are broke,
and that's another reason why Ithink for a lot of people, most
people don't do budgets or don'tstart budgets, is because of
(18:30):
what their social circle is alsodoing with their money, which
isn't a whole heck of a lot.
Chris Hawkins (18:34):
Well, I would say then if you're listening to
other people and that's whatyou're telling they're telling
you, ask yourself two things howmuch better are they than me?
And is it worth givingsomething different a try
because what I've been doinghasn't been working?
Right?
Listen, folks, there's plentyof episodes of this debt free
dad podcast where Brad hasinterviewed people who have
(18:55):
gotten out of debt, people whohave gone through your program,
right, Brad?
Yeah, oh yeah, and I would Iwould venture to say if you
listen to every single one ofthose episodes, at some point in
the conversation, they're gonnatell you the power that
budgeting played in getting outof debt.
Kati Hatfield (19:10):
And you do have to adjust over time because when
I started, I was going throughlike the grocery receipt, like
Christy talked about, you justthrow everything in there, even
the cat litter and dog food.
I was like, Nope, I have to belike, here's my healthcare and
beauty products, and here's myyou know, household things, and
here and like, nope, gotta juststop doing that and make it
(19:30):
simpler over time because thatmakes it easier.
And then your priorities doswitch a little bit over time
too.
So it's kind of like, okay, Ihave a little bit extra nowhere.
Can I put this?
And you get addicted to payingyour bills, which is like a
weird addiction, but it ispeople are listening, going, No,
you don't.
Amber Taylor (19:49):
No, it's it's true for me.
It is me too.
Brad Nelson (19:54):
I can't tell you how many people I have I've had
email me, message me over thelast 10 years that say, Brad,
paying off debt and managing myfinances now become a like an
addiction.
Like, I'm so addicted to it, Ijust can't stop doing it.
Because most people don't everget a taste of actual winning
with their money, and when youfinally do, and you look at your
bank account, you look at yourdebt going down, you look at
your savings count savingsaccount growing, it's freaking
(20:17):
exciting, you know.
That's really fun to see.
And most people never even geta hint of what that feels like.
Chris Hawkins (20:23):
Well, and for me, it's now what do I do with all
that money I don't spend on debtanymore?
Yeah, I'm not gonna go into toomuch detail here, but I've been
able to do some really, really,really cool things both in my
personal life, but alsoinvestments, real estate, things
that I never would haveimagined 20 years ago that we
would be able to do.
And it's all because I learnedthat if I don't give it to the
(20:46):
bank, I can save it and investit and do other pretty cool
things with it.
And so it's still a game, itnever goes away.
When you've got money in thebank and you've got savings and
investments, you start to say,What else can I do?
There becomes no limits, yeah,or very or less limits, I should
say.
And it drives my wife nutsbecause she's like, You're
always going from thing tothing.
(21:06):
I'm like, Yep, isn't it prettycool?
Brad Nelson (21:08):
Yeah, right.
And it's not coming from aplace of like bragging either.
I want everyone listening tothis, it really is.
We all started exactly whereall of you are starting, where
everyone is right now.
There's nothing that reallymakes us special except for the
fact that we all said we'regonna do this work, we're gonna
figure it out.
And we did, we just committedto it, and that's the only thing
that separates us from peoplewho are living paycheck to
(21:30):
paycheck.
That's really it.
You look at someone like Katie.
I mean, when you started doingthis seven years ago, you were
making 13 bucks an hour.
Yep, and 13 bucks an hour as asingle person, yeah.
Kati Hatfield (21:38):
And this has all been on a single income.
Yes, I have taken a new job andgotten promotions and raises,
but not like astronomical oranything, but not included in
that $235,000 that I've paidoff.
I've also saved over $85,000 inretirement and my sinking funds
(21:59):
and my HSA and all these thingsthat I didn't even have a
savings account with a comma init, but when I started this, I
was lucky if I had any money ina savings account when I started
this.
So this is like budgetingworks, I promise you.
Just try it.
Brad Nelson (22:15):
All right.
Lastly, guys, and I'm gonnashare if you're listening to
this, we got a resource.
We've got the totally awesomebudgeting workshop that's gonna
show you step by step on how toget your budget started.
I'm gonna share that resourcehere in just a second.
But one thing I just want toask all of you, because again,
I'll share in that workshop whathelps me.
But what I love from all of thethree of you is just to share.
Once you got your budgetcreated, what has helped you
(22:36):
stick with it over the years?
And again, especially whenyou're getting started, it's a
little bit harder.
But what do you think that'shelped you the most stick with
your plan that you put intoplace?
Chris Hawkins (22:44):
I think for me, when you see results and you
continue to see results, andwhen you have less debt, less
money goes out the door.
That's less lines on yourbudget, it becomes even more
simple.
Okay.
And my budgeting for me now,it's really just a few minutes a
month.
It really is.
Maybe 30 minutes a month worthof budgeting and tracking
(23:05):
because of how simple everythingis.
And so the answer to yourquestion though is because I get
results from it, even today,even though I don't have debt to
pay off.
I've got other goals, otheraspirations, other things that
I'm trying to accomplish.
And I know that's the only wayto get those results.
Amber Taylor (23:23):
I think for us, what made us stick to it was
definitely the support andaccountability that we got from
just joining roots.
We've tried it before in thepast, before that, and we kind
of had each other to go, oh,well, maybe we should get this,
and then we'd like to sabotageeach other.
So when we had somebody elsekind of accountable where we
were meeting every week, that'swhere it really helped us.
Kati Hatfield (23:45):
And I would say it kind of ditto to both of
those ideas.
I saw that it was working.
I was the queen of overdraftfees, and I started not having
overdraft fees anymore.
So that was one like of thefirst things being able to
actually put money in a savingsaccount.
Hadn't done that before, andjust seeing those results, and
clearly it's worked mypriorities.
(24:06):
It made me kind of evaluate mypriorities in life in general.
I have less stuff, I have lessstress.
It just makes life better.
Brad Nelson (24:15):
Awesome.
All right, so if you're readyand I hope this episode has
encouraged you to get startedwith your first budget or to at
least try budgeting again.
And again, if you want somemore direct help, you want all
of our budgeting forms, guys.
This workshop is free.
It's called the Totally AwesomeBudgeting Workshop.
It's on our website.
Go to defreedad.com, click onthe free resources button at the
(24:36):
top of the page, and it's justa scroll down and you'll see the
workshop right there.
This workshop is about 50minutes long, and it's going to
give you everything you need toget your first, and like Chris
said, your first crappy budgetdone.
And then it's just month aftermonth, you'll continue to get
better.
If you're ready to break freefrom living paycheck to
paycheck, reduce financialstress, build savings, and
finally pay off debt for good.
(24:57):
But again, maybe you're notsure where to get started.
Don't worry, we've got youcovered.
Simplify My Money is sent toyou each and every Sunday to
your email.
It is your step-by-step roadmapto better financial control.
You're also going to learn someeasy to follow strategies to
manage your money moreefficiently.
And you're going to help it'sgoing to help you have
stress-free money decisions.
This is going to help yousimplify your financial life
(25:18):
with proven tips that actuallywork.
And you're going to gain thetools and confidence to tackle
your financial goals head on.
You can sign up for Simplify MyMoney by clicking the link at
the top of the show notes.
Announcer (25:37):
Let's talk about all the good things.
Amber Taylor (26:07):
Also using the envelope system.
Brad Nelson (26:09):
Yeah, that's awesome, Jordan.
Great celebration.
And you know what?
It's not a coincidence that Iput that way in here because
that's what it's all about.
Melissa Baker starting rootsagain.
Her husband is not really onboard.
Hang in there with him.
He'll get there.
Her goal is to get her creditcard paid off in the next two
and a half years so she canhalfway retire.
(26:32):
Awesome goals, Melissa.
Amber Taylor (26:34):
And Claudien has continued eating at home and not
going out, paying bills ontime, using cash for groceries,
and passing by all theadvertising on Facebook and
Instagram.
Brad Nelson (26:45):
Yeah.
Awesome wins.
Hey guys, as always,congratulations to all of you
guys who are taking a stand foryour financial life and you're
wanting better.
Hey, we get that getting out ofdebt, it isn't easy.
But with our help and with yourconsistency and discipline, we
promise you guys this will besome of the best work that you
guys do in your entire life.
Thanks for joining us ontoday's show, and we will see
you guys on the next episode.
Announcer (27:10):
Thanks for listening to the Debt Free Dad podcast.
Connect with us on Facebook,TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram.
Just search Debt Free Dad.
If you found value in today'sepisode, please leave us a
rating and review.
We so appreciate it.
For resources, show notes, andlinks mentioned in today's show,
visit debtfreedad.com.
(27:31):
Catch you next week.
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Ruthie's Table 4
For more than 30 years The River Cafe in London, has been the home-from-home of artists, architects, designers, actors, collectors, writers, activists, and politicians. Michael Caine, Glenn Close, JJ Abrams, Steve McQueen, Victoria and David Beckham, and Lily Allen, are just some of the people who love to call The River Cafe home. On River Cafe Table 4, Rogers sits down with her customers—who have become friends—to talk about food memories. Table 4 explores how food impacts every aspect of our lives. “Foods is politics, food is cultural, food is how you express love, food is about your heritage, it defines who you and who you want to be,” says Rogers. Each week, Rogers invites her guest to reminisce about family suppers and first dates, what they cook, how they eat when performing, the restaurants they choose, and what food they seek when they need comfort. And to punctuate each episode of Table 4, guests such as Ralph Fiennes, Emily Blunt, and Alfonso Cuarón, read their favourite recipe from one of the best-selling River Cafe cookbooks. Table 4 itself, is situated near The River Cafe’s open kitchen, close to the bright pink wood-fired oven and next to the glossy yellow pass, where Ruthie oversees the restaurant. You are invited to take a seat at this intimate table and join the conversation. For more information, recipes, and ingredients, go to https://shoptherivercafe.co.uk/ Web: https://rivercafe.co.uk/ Instagram: www.instagram.com/therivercafelondon/ Facebook: https://en-gb.facebook.com/therivercafelondon/ For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iheartradio app, apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.