November 30, 2023 • 28 mins
Here, in today's episode of Motivation Zone I discuss having an attitude of gratitude as well as living within our means to live a better stressfree life. Alot of our stuggles today comes from simply (getting, getting, getting), but we need to be better planners and more strategic about how we spend our money. Let's Talk About It!
Write down our Daily/Weekly motivations with the Motivation Zone notebook and pen here: https://monicaenterprises.com/motivation-zone-shop/
To subscribe or leave a comment visit my Motivation Zone page here: https://monicaenterprises.com/motivation-zone-3/
Write down our Daily/Weekly motivations with the Motivation Zone notebook and pen here: https://monicaenterprises.com/motivation-zone-shop/
To subscribe or leave a comment visit my Motivation Zone page here: https://monicaenterprises.com/motivation-zone-3/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Hi, everyone, Welcome back toanother episode of Motivation Zone. It is
your host here, Monica. Superexcited to be with you guys. Now,
I have a subject that I wantto talk about. And I know
you guys are going to be like, oh, she just got into the
Thanksgiving spirit, holidays spirit whatever.That is a no. Okay. I'm
(00:20):
going to tell you guys what Iwas doing on Thanksgiving, but it was
not a traditional Thanksgiving for me.I'm not really that interested in holidays like
that. That's a whole another tipbefore another day. But I do want
to discuss having an attitude of gratitude. This is not about Thanksgiving, okay.
This is not just looking around andsaying, you know what, I'm
(00:43):
thankful during this season, during thisholiday. No. I have really,
for myself personally, been taking anassessment of my life, where I am,
how far I've come from where Iwas, or how far I've come
from, you know, setting certaingoals and achieving certain things, and you
(01:07):
know, just stepping out there anddoing things differently from what I'm used to
doing. And one thing about meis I cannot stand when my life seems
to be going in circles. Idon't like when conversations seem to be going
in circles, you know what Imean, Like I shouldn't be talking to
you about the same things this timenext year. You know, we have
(01:30):
to have had some new experiences,some new lessons. We have to have
had some steps forward, right That'sme. I love that growth and I
don't like my days and my yearsto look the same. Some people are
content, you know, with doingthe same things every single year, having
the same conversations, dabbling and dippingit and doing it with the same people
(01:55):
every year, you know, Andthat's fine. Everybody has their thing.
But for me, I am constantlytaking a look at where am I now.
Although I am grateful for where Iam, also where am I headed
that planning and making sure I'm beingdisciplined and applying what I need to get
(02:17):
to that next step. But thisis where attitude or gratitude has come in
for me. And I would saythis has probably been since October, I
want to say mid October for me. Where And I want to talk to
you guys who are out there whoare of the Christian faith, or you
(02:38):
believe in God, you believe inJesus. I want to talk to some
of you, guys, because sometimeswe get to a place with God and
I can speak for myself personally,where when I go into my prayer time,
I am doing more asking for things, you know what I mean,
Like, Lord, listen, thisis what I need, this is what
(02:58):
I have going on. Although Ido start off with thanking Him for the
day, thanking him for waking meup, Thank you Lord for helping me
to be where I am. ButI'm talking about strategically focusing on where God
has brought me, you know whatHe's kept me from, what he's delivered
me from, all of those things, to be strategic and have that on
(03:22):
top of mine. In my prayertime mid October, I was like,
you know what, I'm not askingGod for anything. And I'm still in
that same place. I'm still working, still doing a lot of things,
still hopeful for a lot of things, and there's a lot of things that
I would love to, you know, grab a hold of and change and
elevate in. But but I don'twant to ask for anything. I want
(03:46):
to focus on what I have andlet me explain to you guys what I'm
talking about. So right now,there's a lot going on in the world
of course, we have all ofthese wars and rumors of wars, and
then we have this, especially inthe United States, this market, this
recession, and you know, pricesgoing up through the roof and jobs are
(04:11):
forever changing. Pay is not youknow what I mean. So responsibilities are
high and we're gonna get into thistoo, because I want to get into
discussing with you guys, saving yourmoney and making sure you're focusing on why
you get up and work the wayyou do. That's gonna be a part
of this Motivation Zone podcast as well, and I'm calling it our twenty twenty
(04:35):
four living within your Means. We'regonna talk about this in this particular episode
because I feel like it's so important. But there's a lot going on in
the world, and I felt like, of course I want to achieve a
lot of things. But the pointof my gratitude and me wanting to deliberately
(04:55):
and strategically and you know, intentionallymet up tat on where I am it
is because if you have food onyour table and your refrigerator is full from
week to week, then that issomething worth being grateful for, not you
know, wishing you could eat.I guess you could say what the world
(05:17):
would consider the bougie as things oryou know, the better things, but
simply just to have food. It'ssaying something, you know. In twenty
twenty three, as we end thisyear, also having a roof over your
head is saying something. Right now, we're dealing with migrants coming into different
places. You have the homeless herein the United States who are from the
(05:41):
United States who are finding it hardto find shelter. There's a lot going
on. So just to have aroof over our heads it's something to be
grateful for. So in my mind, I'm thinking about my core necessities and
although of course as someone who's anentrepreneur, who's someone who's constantly building something
(06:05):
and trying new things, and who'sa creative I can say, yes,
I want this to work and Iwant this to be successful. But then
also I need to focus on whatI do have and what we can use
to get to where we're trying togo. A lot of the times we
will bypass the resources right at ourfingertips to move forward with something else,
(06:29):
and that's not the best way todo things. A lot of the times,
and even biblically, the Lord blessespeople who use what they have and
who are good stewards over what theyhave, you know. And so my
focus has been on are my coreneeds being met? What is it that
I truly do need to achieve justbecause you know, like say, for
(06:54):
instance, you don't want to getdeeper into debt. You may need your
car work on, you know,little things like that maintenance. Of course,
those are necessities, and we haveto make sure we're doing what it
takes to take care of those things. But in reality, what I'm saying
in my prayer time is, Okay, God, listen, thank you for
(07:15):
the things that I do have.Thank you that I'm able to eat,
thank you that I have a roofover my head, thank you that I
have clothes and shoes to put on. And then also furthermore, health is
another huge issue in America right now. It is so expensive right just to
take care of your health. Thereare a lot of people out here working
(07:36):
every single day just to pay amedical bill. And I just had someone
recently tell me they received a medicalbill in the mail that was eighteen thousand
dollars. You know, it's alot. And so being grateful for our
health and just waking up and justsaying you know what, Lord, I
(07:59):
appreciate where I am, and helpme to be a good steward over what
I have and to not undervalue thosethings. It's amazing how much we will
undervalue things until we lose it,and then we understand how important it was.
And I've heard several cases even recentlyjust in the medical industry where there
(08:24):
have been some diagnosis of different thingsthat could cause, you know, muscle
failure in the face and different thingslike that, where people are like,
I didn't even know how much myface did, you know, just to
be able to speak, just tobe able to smile, just to be
able to talk, you know.And so we are so at times disrespectful
(08:45):
towards those little joints that's causing everythingto come together and to work the way
it should, you know. Andthen the next thing is focusing on being
grateful for the people who stand inthe gap and rock it out for us
and hold up the fort when weare not able to do it all the
time, or backing your goals andyour dreams. These are some very important
(09:11):
people you know who look out foryou when you're not feeling at your best
and saying you know what, I'mgonna pick up this slack. I'm gonna
take care of this today. Itis a beautiful thing. So there are
people in our lives that we needto be grateful for and not to undervalue
them. And I want to saythat's probably one of the biggest things we
need to clean up in twenty twentyfour, because it's ugly in these streets
(09:33):
as far as the way we treatone another. We at like we have
every other problem in the world butone another, But we have a people
problem in America, true story,right, And so the best way to
counter these things, the best wayto grow and even to live happier and
(09:58):
to not be as stres that's outas we've been, is to look at
what we have and be strategic aboutwhat we're going after next. And that's
gonna pivot me into this conversation ofliving within our means in twenty twenty four.
Okay, So there is a lotgoing on financially with a lot of
(10:22):
us, right and just with America. And I can honestly and I've been
thinking about this, you guys,I really have I say, you know
what, I'm gonna keep looking,but I'm gonna end up planting my feet
in some politics somewhere because I don'tmind discussing politics and I don't mind having
(10:43):
hard conversations. This is something Ijust enjoy doing because I feel like change
comes from honesty, and change comesfrom those who are able to have a
healthy perspective of what solutions can helpus to move forward. I'm a little
annoyed right now with our politics inAmerica. I know you guys are probably
(11:09):
like, right now, you're justnow annoyed. No, but at this
time, what I'm saying is theway we do things in America is a
freaking mess. Right now. We'resending more money overseas than we are in
taking care of what America needs.And this is where I'm reaching out to
(11:31):
you guys and wanting to motivate andencourage you to not do this to your
own homes. Right So, thereis a time to give, for sure,
There is a time to watch outfor others who are not within your
immediate space, immediate home, media, immediate family. However you want to
(11:52):
put that, there is a timefor that, okay, but it should
not be happening when you overstep theneeds of your own So how can we
counter this as Americans, even thoughour politicians are making these stupid decisions for
this country. So I'm gonna putthis bug in your guy's ear. It's
(12:16):
a good bug, Okay, helpsyou counter some of these viruses and diseases
and stupidity and you know all ofthat, and give you some common sense.
Okay, take care of your homefirst, right. Home base is
important. And one of my biggestexamples of what I'm going into about living
within your means is I've noticed alot of families. This is, I
(12:37):
hate to say it, true story. Two adult homes are two parent homes
with children, and they have fourvehicles they're paying on right. And the
issue in the situation is they haveto work constantly and can't take any time
off because they have a lot ofthings things they're paying for, or a
(13:01):
lot of things they have to payoff, or a lot of things they're
in debt too. Okay, Sothe situation here at hand is how do
we counter what's happening, you know, on a government level or on a
full scale in the United States whenit comes to East pricing is to dial
(13:24):
back on getting into a lot ofdebt and doing a lot of things a
lot of people do a lot ofthings, especially with these cars and these
houses and clothes, shoes, bags. It's a thing for status, but
we need to understand that to havethat status means you're gonna need to be
(13:48):
working a lot. Okay, You'regonna need to have something going for you
and working for you on a fulltime, around the clock basis in order
to afford the lifestyle. So tocounter some of this recession and some of
these decisions these politicians are making withthe US funds, okay, is to
(14:09):
watch out for your home, dialback on your spending whatever you need,
sure, okay. And of coursesometime we want to have a good time.
We may even want to go places, but be strategic and plan those
things out. Try to avoid allof this debt that we're getting into personally
(14:30):
in our personal lives, and trynot to own so many things just to
own it, okay. And eventhough we can get in a debt for
things, we still don't own thosethings until they are paid off. So
in twenty twenty four, I'm reallyhoping and rooting for so many do I
(14:52):
say rooting, Oh, I guessit is with the team, but I
literally stress the t but I'm rootingfor people to really get it together twenty
twenty four and understand that the onlyway we're going to come up is if
we look out for ourselves as Americanpeople. Everything that's going on in society,
(15:15):
these issues that we're having, it'sgoing to start at home, even
with schools and all of these thingshappening with the children. Parents, you
all have a higher responsibility right nowfor your children. You are your first
line of defense when it comes downto teaching, helping them to understand what
(15:35):
they're going to go into the worldand see and even at by the time
there's certain ages what they may goout into the world and experience, how
to handle relationships, how to handleconflicts, how to negotiate, the way
to behave in public, how tounderstand or even discern certain things that you
(15:58):
need to pay attention to so youdon't walk in certain traps. This starts
at home, you guys. There'sa lot of issues going on with the
school systems right now. With theseteachers, they're under a lot of stress
and a lot of pressures parents.I've hearing stories of parents sending their kids
to school and it's like, justlet my child do whatever they want to
do. That's what we do.That's not how this thing is gonna work.
(16:21):
We have to get a hold ofthese things in twenty twenty four.
Yes, we are in a hightechnology era and state, but we don't
have to allow children to have somuch access to the stupidity and the things
that we see as adults. Wedon't have to do this. All of
these kids with tablets sell phones beforethey even hit five years old. Guys,
(16:48):
we have got to do better.And that's another thing you can save
your money on. Why do yourkids have iPhones and iPads before they're five
years old? Let's say some money. If you have any financial burdens and
heartaches, if you feel any stressfinancially or feel like you cannot stop working,
(17:11):
we need to look at what we'reobtaining, what we're spending our money
on, and why. Yes,money is being made to be spent.
I agree with that ten thousand percent, okay, but what we're spending it
on will help us to understand thelongevity of things, give us a little
(17:32):
bit more peace of mind, andallow people to relax a little bit more,
take a little bit more time offbecause they can afford to do so
and that is one reason why Ireally do respect the van lifers and tiny
house communities. And you know,people who have literally sold their major homes
to downsize. They've downsized their wardrobesand you know, where they live,
(17:57):
and they now have more land andthey're able to do more things. They're
able to do more traveling, youknow, or they're able to help more
people, They're able to help theirfamily, their children, whatever the case
may be. So that is reallya good thing. And I really do
respect those who have made those decisionsto kind of like downsize and collect their
(18:19):
things and their belongings and kind ofsee what they need to keep and what
they don't. That is a goodthing. And I'm just putting that out
there, you guys, because wecan keep spending spending, spending, spending,
and the problem with that is becausethings are just so uncertain in these
times. You can be up oneday down the next day. It's just
(18:40):
important to be strategic with that.And if anything, if you're not already
right, if you're in a homebefore you buy a new home or a
new car, in a home thatyou're still paying for, pay off your
house, do little things like thatwhere you have a better investment because with
the house, at least you're ableto ask for a little bit more than
(19:04):
what you purchase. Usually it dependson the times. Now, this is
not a buyer's market right now thatwe're in. It's a seller's market for
sure, So a lot of sellersare asking for a lot more, which
means that you could buy a houseright now as a buyer, but it
may be overpriced. So by thetime the market sells down a little bit,
(19:26):
you may not get out what youput into that house. So I
don't recommend it right now. Butwhat I'm saying is if you are in
a home right and you're still payingoff that home and you're renting, or
if you're renting, you get intoa home before you get into a new
vehicle, do something like that.Because with cars, they depreciate and in
(19:47):
value the moment we take it offthe lot. So if you're in something
that's forty plus thousand dollars, youcan guarantee you will not be able to
sell it for that same price.So invest in things that are going to
a increase in value over time insteadof depreciating value over time. Okay,
I'm telling you guys, I'm gonnacome back with more money talks because I
(20:08):
just enjoy them. It helps meout as well. Everything I'm telling you
I'm applying to my own life,trust and believe, and yes it's a
lot easier said than done, butit can be accomplished. Okay, So
look out for your homes, guys. Take care of home first. Make
sure you don't have any bills andstuff behind before you're out here. You
(20:30):
know, just breaking your neck togive everything that you have to other people
and then you're still stuck in abuy. We have to be strategic about
doing that. Of course, youcan still help others when you yourself are
in need of help, but thereis a way to do it, so
you guys just be mindful of that. And the next thing here really quick,
(20:51):
since we're on a money talk,we are living in an advertising world.
And I just recently realize this.Although I'm I'm a business myself,
I'm an entrepreneur. I guess Ikind of have always thought about my business
as being well, it's for whoeverneeds it, you know what I mean.
(21:11):
But recently I'm just looking around andI know you guys, like she
coming into a lot of you know, conclusions and details. Recently, of
course, this has been a thing. But what I'm saying is today,
since businesses and companies have so muchaccess to us, right we are constantly
(21:36):
being advertised to even more now backin the day. I'm an eighties baby,
so back in the day, ifyou were watching you know, regular
television or cable television as we callit back in the day. They may
still call it that. But Ihaven't had cable in my house literally in
sixteen years, well probably even beforethat, but I've always streamed or bought
(21:59):
DVDs or VHS tapes at some point, but I never had cable in my
house, not you know, forTV, course internet. But when it
comes down to the internet, cellphones, tablets, any of these things,
everywhere we go right now, whetherit's your social media websites, you
are on YouTube, wherever you are, you're being promoted to. Okay,
(22:25):
So when it comes down to finances, we also and I'm rooting for this,
twenty twenty four of you guys,let's make this a goal to control
our buyer impulses because we're being advertisedto so strongly right now, and I
don't know if you guys notice.But even on Instagram, if you have
(22:48):
an Instagram account, you're scrolling throughsomebody's profile, there's ads now on those
individuals profiles. So you're not justseeing ads on just your normal you know,
timeline or dashboard anymore. Now whenyou go to each individual profile,
you may end up seeing an adthere. And it's getting to the point
where these ad companies like Google arepromoting for so many businesses that they literally
(23:14):
have to find any pocket and windowor square or whatever to show that business's
advertisement because that's what they're getting paidfor. Right. So, controlling your
buyer impulses and you know, understandingyour budget will help you not to spend
unnecessarily. I'm not saying don't havefun, right, and I'm not saying
(23:38):
you won't have those moments where youjust buy something you want. I'm not
that girl, okay, But whatI'm saying is we can't be doing that
all the time. Not right now. Let's save up right unless buy smart.
We should do that for sure.So for me, I'm definitely sitting
on I've been telling my husband,so we're gonna be sitting at the round
(24:00):
table and we're gonna be strategically planningand doing certain things so that we can
be prepared for just all of theseshifts and turns that America's take. And
we don't know who's going to bethe new president. We're getting ready to
go through a presidential election which isgoing to be very very interesting. Who's
(24:22):
gonna be the president? You guys, I don't know, But what are
they going to be doing with ourfinances? Are they gonna do anything differently?
Joe Biden, when he got intooffice, it was all about making
sure that the working class Americans werepaying their taxes. And you know,
he ensured he hired more agents todig through working class Americans taxes to make
(24:45):
sure that you're filing on time andthat you're paying the money that you're supposed
to be paying, all that goodstuff. And so we're being punished,
the working class Americans a lot ofthe times for what big corporations refuse to
do because they have loopholes they're goingthrough where they're not paying any taxes.
Right, So we're constantly getting onsomeone like Trump for not paying taxes,
(25:07):
but neither is Jeff Bezos for Amazon, you know, and a lot of
other big companies are finding their waysaround these things and more. Bigger companies
also are hiring contractors, so alot of their tax responsibilities for employees and
stuff like that those they don't have. And I guess the more money you
(25:27):
have, the more ways you findout how to keep your money. I
guess that's a good thing too.And of course I need to do more
research, and when I do,I'll come back and talk more on those
points. But yeah, it's alot going on with that when it comes
down to these big corporations and theworking class Americans. So we need to
(25:48):
make sure that we're prepared for whateverchanges the next president is going to be
making. How what where will Americastand financially here? I've seen recently the
gas have gone down significantly in Georgiawhere I am. Where the gas prices
I want to say, I paidtwo thirty for gas recently, which I
(26:10):
was shocked. I was like,what in the world, And of course
I haven't seen any news on thischange, but it was good. I
was like, okay, cool,I'm thinking pumped eighteen bucks and I was
just about at a full tank,so I was like, okay, nice,
but what's happening with our gas prices? With our food pricing, and
(26:32):
you guys, I know some ofyou walking into your store and you saw
the price of eggs which went upto literally ten to fifteen dollars a carton,
and I'm like, wow, I'venever seen eggs so expensive in my
life. So, yes, whilewe work today and a lot of people
have that attitude to live just fortoday, remember especially those of you who
(26:56):
are parents and those of you whohave bigger families, remember that if you
only live for just today, thenyou're not leaving too much behind, and
you're not leaving too much for yoursiblings or your children to inherit. And
that I feel like we need togo back to as Americans. Some people
(27:18):
are getting it right and some peopleare not, and we just have to
work on that. So those aremy thoughts you guys. In today's episode,
I hit you all with my attitudeof gratitude and why I am there.
And I feel like the more gratefulwe are for where we are and
what we have, the more willcome. And we don't go into this
(27:40):
attitude of great gratitude for just more, but it's literally having such a thankfulness
and putting such a value on whereyou are already and noticing those small things
is very important. And then Itouch base on our twenty twenty four it's
(28:00):
so hard, I want to saytwenty twenty four. Either way, twenty
twenty four living within your means Youguys already know my tips on that,
if you need to re listen tothis so you can get some more motivation
on that. And then also,we're living in the world of advertising,
so please, please, you guys, work on controlling your buyer impulses.
(28:25):
And that's where I'm gonna leave it. If you have any comments or you
wanna message me regarding this episode,please do feel free to do so by
clicking the link in any of thedescription of wherever you're listening to this podcast,
and I'll be happy to check outwhat it is you have to say.
Remember to keep all of your commentsclassy and professional, because that's what
we do over here, because weare what grown. Okay, guys,
(28:47):
I'm gonna leave it right there untilnext time. Chat soon.
Hi, everyone, Welcome back toanother episode of Motivation Zone. It is
your host here, Monica. Superexcited to be with you guys. Now,
I have a subject that I wantto talk about. And I know
you guys are going to be like, oh, she just got into the
Thanksgiving spirit, holidays spirit whatever.That is a no. Okay. I'm
(00:20):
going to tell you guys what Iwas doing on Thanksgiving, but it was
not a traditional Thanksgiving for me.I'm not really that interested in holidays like
that. That's a whole another tipbefore another day. But I do want
to discuss having an attitude of gratitude. This is not about Thanksgiving, okay.
This is not just looking around andsaying, you know what, I'm
(00:43):
thankful during this season, during thisholiday. No. I have really,
for myself personally, been taking anassessment of my life, where I am,
how far I've come from where Iwas, or how far I've come
from, you know, setting certaingoals and achieving certain things, and you
(01:07):
know, just stepping out there anddoing things differently from what I'm used to
doing. And one thing about meis I cannot stand when my life seems
to be going in circles. Idon't like when conversations seem to be going
in circles, you know what Imean, Like I shouldn't be talking to
you about the same things this timenext year. You know, we have
(01:30):
to have had some new experiences,some new lessons. We have to have
had some steps forward, right That'sme. I love that growth and I
don't like my days and my yearsto look the same. Some people are
content, you know, with doingthe same things every single year, having
the same conversations, dabbling and dippingit and doing it with the same people
(01:55):
every year, you know, Andthat's fine. Everybody has their thing.
But for me, I am constantlytaking a look at where am I now.
Although I am grateful for where Iam, also where am I headed
that planning and making sure I'm beingdisciplined and applying what I need to get
(02:17):
to that next step. But thisis where attitude or gratitude has come in
for me. And I would saythis has probably been since October, I
want to say mid October for me. Where And I want to talk to
you guys who are out there whoare of the Christian faith, or you
(02:38):
believe in God, you believe inJesus. I want to talk to some
of you, guys, because sometimeswe get to a place with God and
I can speak for myself personally,where when I go into my prayer time,
I am doing more asking for things, you know what I mean,
Like, Lord, listen, thisis what I need, this is what
(02:58):
I have going on. Although Ido start off with thanking Him for the
day, thanking him for waking meup, Thank you Lord for helping me
to be where I am. ButI'm talking about strategically focusing on where God
has brought me, you know whatHe's kept me from, what he's delivered
me from, all of those things, to be strategic and have that on
(03:22):
top of mine. In my prayertime mid October, I was like,
you know what, I'm not askingGod for anything. And I'm still in
that same place. I'm still working, still doing a lot of things,
still hopeful for a lot of things, and there's a lot of things that
I would love to, you know, grab a hold of and change and
elevate in. But but I don'twant to ask for anything. I want
(03:46):
to focus on what I have andlet me explain to you guys what I'm
talking about. So right now,there's a lot going on in the world
of course, we have all ofthese wars and rumors of wars, and
then we have this, especially inthe United States, this market, this
recession, and you know, pricesgoing up through the roof and jobs are
(04:11):
forever changing. Pay is not youknow what I mean. So responsibilities are
high and we're gonna get into thistoo, because I want to get into
discussing with you guys, saving yourmoney and making sure you're focusing on why
you get up and work the wayyou do. That's gonna be a part
of this Motivation Zone podcast as well, and I'm calling it our twenty twenty
(04:35):
four living within your Means. We'regonna talk about this in this particular episode
because I feel like it's so important. But there's a lot going on in
the world, and I felt like, of course I want to achieve a
lot of things. But the pointof my gratitude and me wanting to deliberately
(04:55):
and strategically and you know, intentionallymet up tat on where I am it
is because if you have food onyour table and your refrigerator is full from
week to week, then that issomething worth being grateful for, not you
know, wishing you could eat.I guess you could say what the world
(05:17):
would consider the bougie as things oryou know, the better things, but
simply just to have food. It'ssaying something, you know. In twenty
twenty three, as we end thisyear, also having a roof over your
head is saying something. Right now, we're dealing with migrants coming into different
places. You have the homeless herein the United States who are from the
(05:41):
United States who are finding it hardto find shelter. There's a lot going
on. So just to have aroof over our heads it's something to be
grateful for. So in my mind, I'm thinking about my core necessities and
although of course as someone who's anentrepreneur, who's someone who's constantly building something
(06:05):
and trying new things, and who'sa creative I can say, yes,
I want this to work and Iwant this to be successful. But then
also I need to focus on whatI do have and what we can use
to get to where we're trying togo. A lot of the times we
will bypass the resources right at ourfingertips to move forward with something else,
(06:29):
and that's not the best way todo things. A lot of the times,
and even biblically, the Lord blessespeople who use what they have and
who are good stewards over what theyhave, you know. And so my
focus has been on are my coreneeds being met? What is it that
I truly do need to achieve justbecause you know, like say, for
(06:54):
instance, you don't want to getdeeper into debt. You may need your
car work on, you know,little things like that maintenance. Of course,
those are necessities, and we haveto make sure we're doing what it
takes to take care of those things. But in reality, what I'm saying
in my prayer time is, Okay, God, listen, thank you for
(07:15):
the things that I do have.Thank you that I'm able to eat,
thank you that I have a roofover my head, thank you that I
have clothes and shoes to put on. And then also furthermore, health is
another huge issue in America right now. It is so expensive right just to
take care of your health. Thereare a lot of people out here working
(07:36):
every single day just to pay amedical bill. And I just had someone
recently tell me they received a medicalbill in the mail that was eighteen thousand
dollars. You know, it's alot. And so being grateful for our
health and just waking up and justsaying you know what, Lord, I
(07:59):
appreciate where I am, and helpme to be a good steward over what
I have and to not undervalue thosethings. It's amazing how much we will
undervalue things until we lose it,and then we understand how important it was.
And I've heard several cases even recentlyjust in the medical industry where there
(08:24):
have been some diagnosis of different thingsthat could cause, you know, muscle
failure in the face and different thingslike that, where people are like,
I didn't even know how much myface did, you know, just to
be able to speak, just tobe able to smile, just to be
able to talk, you know.And so we are so at times disrespectful
(08:45):
towards those little joints that's causing everythingto come together and to work the way
it should, you know. Andthen the next thing is focusing on being
grateful for the people who stand inthe gap and rock it out for us
and hold up the fort when weare not able to do it all the
time, or backing your goals andyour dreams. These are some very important
(09:11):
people you know who look out foryou when you're not feeling at your best
and saying you know what, I'mgonna pick up this slack. I'm gonna
take care of this today. Itis a beautiful thing. So there are
people in our lives that we needto be grateful for and not to undervalue
them. And I want to saythat's probably one of the biggest things we
need to clean up in twenty twentyfour, because it's ugly in these streets
(09:33):
as far as the way we treatone another. We at like we have
every other problem in the world butone another, But we have a people
problem in America, true story,right, And so the best way to
counter these things, the best wayto grow and even to live happier and
(09:58):
to not be as stres that's outas we've been, is to look at
what we have and be strategic aboutwhat we're going after next. And that's
gonna pivot me into this conversation ofliving within our means in twenty twenty four.
Okay, So there is a lotgoing on financially with a lot of
(10:22):
us, right and just with America. And I can honestly and I've been
thinking about this, you guys,I really have I say, you know
what, I'm gonna keep looking,but I'm gonna end up planting my feet
in some politics somewhere because I don'tmind discussing politics and I don't mind having
(10:43):
hard conversations. This is something Ijust enjoy doing because I feel like change
comes from honesty, and change comesfrom those who are able to have a
healthy perspective of what solutions can helpus to move forward. I'm a little
annoyed right now with our politics inAmerica. I know you guys are probably
(11:09):
like, right now, you're justnow annoyed. No, but at this
time, what I'm saying is theway we do things in America is a
freaking mess. Right now. We'resending more money overseas than we are in
taking care of what America needs.And this is where I'm reaching out to
(11:31):
you guys and wanting to motivate andencourage you to not do this to your
own homes. Right So, thereis a time to give, for sure,
There is a time to watch outfor others who are not within your
immediate space, immediate home, media, immediate family. However you want to
(11:52):
put that, there is a timefor that, okay, but it should
not be happening when you overstep theneeds of your own So how can we
counter this as Americans, even thoughour politicians are making these stupid decisions for
this country. So I'm gonna putthis bug in your guy's ear. It's
(12:16):
a good bug, Okay, helpsyou counter some of these viruses and diseases
and stupidity and you know all ofthat, and give you some common sense.
Okay, take care of your homefirst, right. Home base is
important. And one of my biggestexamples of what I'm going into about living
within your means is I've noticed alot of families. This is, I
(12:37):
hate to say it, true story. Two adult homes are two parent homes
with children, and they have fourvehicles they're paying on right. And the
issue in the situation is they haveto work constantly and can't take any time
off because they have a lot ofthings things they're paying for, or a
(13:01):
lot of things they have to payoff, or a lot of things they're
in debt too. Okay, Sothe situation here at hand is how do
we counter what's happening, you know, on a government level or on a
full scale in the United States whenit comes to East pricing is to dial
(13:24):
back on getting into a lot ofdebt and doing a lot of things a
lot of people do a lot ofthings, especially with these cars and these
houses and clothes, shoes, bags. It's a thing for status, but
we need to understand that to havethat status means you're gonna need to be
(13:48):
working a lot. Okay, You'regonna need to have something going for you
and working for you on a fulltime, around the clock basis in order
to afford the lifestyle. So tocounter some of this recession and some of
these decisions these politicians are making withthe US funds, okay, is to
(14:09):
watch out for your home, dialback on your spending whatever you need,
sure, okay. And of coursesometime we want to have a good time.
We may even want to go places, but be strategic and plan those
things out. Try to avoid allof this debt that we're getting into personally
(14:30):
in our personal lives, and trynot to own so many things just to
own it, okay. And eventhough we can get in a debt for
things, we still don't own thosethings until they are paid off. So
in twenty twenty four, I'm reallyhoping and rooting for so many do I
(14:52):
say rooting, Oh, I guessit is with the team, but I
literally stress the t but I'm rootingfor people to really get it together twenty
twenty four and understand that the onlyway we're going to come up is if
we look out for ourselves as Americanpeople. Everything that's going on in society,
(15:15):
these issues that we're having, it'sgoing to start at home, even
with schools and all of these thingshappening with the children. Parents, you
all have a higher responsibility right nowfor your children. You are your first
line of defense when it comes downto teaching, helping them to understand what
(15:35):
they're going to go into the worldand see and even at by the time
there's certain ages what they may goout into the world and experience, how
to handle relationships, how to handleconflicts, how to negotiate, the way
to behave in public, how tounderstand or even discern certain things that you
(15:58):
need to pay attention to so youdon't walk in certain traps. This starts
at home, you guys. There'sa lot of issues going on with the
school systems right now. With theseteachers, they're under a lot of stress
and a lot of pressures parents.I've hearing stories of parents sending their kids
to school and it's like, justlet my child do whatever they want to
do. That's what we do.That's not how this thing is gonna work.
(16:21):
We have to get a hold ofthese things in twenty twenty four.
Yes, we are in a hightechnology era and state, but we don't
have to allow children to have somuch access to the stupidity and the things
that we see as adults. Wedon't have to do this. All of
these kids with tablets sell phones beforethey even hit five years old. Guys,
(16:48):
we have got to do better.And that's another thing you can save
your money on. Why do yourkids have iPhones and iPads before they're five
years old? Let's say some money. If you have any financial burdens and
heartaches, if you feel any stressfinancially or feel like you cannot stop working,
(17:11):
we need to look at what we'reobtaining, what we're spending our money
on, and why. Yes,money is being made to be spent.
I agree with that ten thousand percent, okay, but what we're spending it
on will help us to understand thelongevity of things, give us a little
(17:32):
bit more peace of mind, andallow people to relax a little bit more,
take a little bit more time offbecause they can afford to do so
and that is one reason why Ireally do respect the van lifers and tiny
house communities. And you know,people who have literally sold their major homes
to downsize. They've downsized their wardrobesand you know, where they live,
(17:57):
and they now have more land andthey're able to do more things. They're
able to do more traveling, youknow, or they're able to help more
people, They're able to help theirfamily, their children, whatever the case
may be. So that is reallya good thing. And I really do
respect those who have made those decisionsto kind of like downsize and collect their
(18:19):
things and their belongings and kind ofsee what they need to keep and what
they don't. That is a goodthing. And I'm just putting that out
there, you guys, because wecan keep spending spending, spending, spending,
and the problem with that is becausethings are just so uncertain in these
times. You can be up oneday down the next day. It's just
(18:40):
important to be strategic with that.And if anything, if you're not already
right, if you're in a homebefore you buy a new home or a
new car, in a home thatyou're still paying for, pay off your
house, do little things like thatwhere you have a better investment because with
the house, at least you're ableto ask for a little bit more than
(19:04):
what you purchase. Usually it dependson the times. Now, this is
not a buyer's market right now thatwe're in. It's a seller's market for
sure, So a lot of sellersare asking for a lot more, which
means that you could buy a houseright now as a buyer, but it
may be overpriced. So by thetime the market sells down a little bit,
(19:26):
you may not get out what youput into that house. So I
don't recommend it right now. Butwhat I'm saying is if you are in
a home right and you're still payingoff that home and you're renting, or
if you're renting, you get intoa home before you get into a new
vehicle, do something like that.Because with cars, they depreciate and in
(19:47):
value the moment we take it offthe lot. So if you're in something
that's forty plus thousand dollars, youcan guarantee you will not be able to
sell it for that same price.So invest in things that are going to
a increase in value over time insteadof depreciating value over time. Okay,
I'm telling you guys, I'm gonnacome back with more money talks because I
(20:08):
just enjoy them. It helps meout as well. Everything I'm telling you
I'm applying to my own life,trust and believe, and yes it's a
lot easier said than done, butit can be accomplished. Okay, So
look out for your homes, guys. Take care of home first. Make
sure you don't have any bills andstuff behind before you're out here. You
(20:30):
know, just breaking your neck togive everything that you have to other people
and then you're still stuck in abuy. We have to be strategic about
doing that. Of course, youcan still help others when you yourself are
in need of help, but thereis a way to do it, so
you guys just be mindful of that. And the next thing here really quick,
(20:51):
since we're on a money talk,we are living in an advertising world.
And I just recently realize this.Although I'm I'm a business myself,
I'm an entrepreneur. I guess Ikind of have always thought about my business
as being well, it's for whoeverneeds it, you know what I mean.
(21:11):
But recently I'm just looking around andI know you guys, like she
coming into a lot of you know, conclusions and details. Recently, of
course, this has been a thing. But what I'm saying is today,
since businesses and companies have so muchaccess to us, right we are constantly
(21:36):
being advertised to even more now backin the day. I'm an eighties baby,
so back in the day, ifyou were watching you know, regular
television or cable television as we callit back in the day. They may
still call it that. But Ihaven't had cable in my house literally in
sixteen years, well probably even beforethat, but I've always streamed or bought
(21:59):
DVDs or VHS tapes at some point, but I never had cable in my
house, not you know, forTV, course internet. But when it
comes down to the internet, cellphones, tablets, any of these things,
everywhere we go right now, whetherit's your social media websites, you
are on YouTube, wherever you are, you're being promoted to. Okay,
(22:25):
So when it comes down to finances, we also and I'm rooting for this,
twenty twenty four of you guys,let's make this a goal to control
our buyer impulses because we're being advertisedto so strongly right now, and I
don't know if you guys notice.But even on Instagram, if you have
(22:48):
an Instagram account, you're scrolling throughsomebody's profile, there's ads now on those
individuals profiles. So you're not justseeing ads on just your normal you know,
timeline or dashboard anymore. Now whenyou go to each individual profile,
you may end up seeing an adthere. And it's getting to the point
where these ad companies like Google arepromoting for so many businesses that they literally
(23:14):
have to find any pocket and windowor square or whatever to show that business's
advertisement because that's what they're getting paidfor. Right. So, controlling your
buyer impulses and you know, understandingyour budget will help you not to spend
unnecessarily. I'm not saying don't havefun, right, and I'm not saying
(23:38):
you won't have those moments where youjust buy something you want. I'm not
that girl, okay, But whatI'm saying is we can't be doing that
all the time. Not right now. Let's save up right unless buy smart.
We should do that for sure.So for me, I'm definitely sitting
on I've been telling my husband,so we're gonna be sitting at the round
(24:00):
table and we're gonna be strategically planningand doing certain things so that we can
be prepared for just all of theseshifts and turns that America's take. And
we don't know who's going to bethe new president. We're getting ready to
go through a presidential election which isgoing to be very very interesting. Who's
(24:22):
gonna be the president? You guys, I don't know, But what are
they going to be doing with ourfinances? Are they gonna do anything differently?
Joe Biden, when he got intooffice, it was all about making
sure that the working class Americans werepaying their taxes. And you know,
he ensured he hired more agents todig through working class Americans taxes to make
(24:45):
sure that you're filing on time andthat you're paying the money that you're supposed
to be paying, all that goodstuff. And so we're being punished,
the working class Americans a lot ofthe times for what big corporations refuse to
do because they have loopholes they're goingthrough where they're not paying any taxes.
Right, So we're constantly getting onsomeone like Trump for not paying taxes,
(25:07):
but neither is Jeff Bezos for Amazon, you know, and a lot of
other big companies are finding their waysaround these things and more. Bigger companies
also are hiring contractors, so alot of their tax responsibilities for employees and
stuff like that those they don't have. And I guess the more money you
(25:27):
have, the more ways you findout how to keep your money. I
guess that's a good thing too.And of course I need to do more
research, and when I do,I'll come back and talk more on those
points. But yeah, it's alot going on with that when it comes
down to these big corporations and theworking class Americans. So we need to
(25:48):
make sure that we're prepared for whateverchanges the next president is going to be
making. How what where will Americastand financially here? I've seen recently the
gas have gone down significantly in Georgiawhere I am. Where the gas prices
I want to say, I paidtwo thirty for gas recently, which I
(26:10):
was shocked. I was like,what in the world, And of course
I haven't seen any news on thischange, but it was good. I
was like, okay, cool,I'm thinking pumped eighteen bucks and I was
just about at a full tank,so I was like, okay, nice,
but what's happening with our gas prices? With our food pricing, and
(26:32):
you guys, I know some ofyou walking into your store and you saw
the price of eggs which went upto literally ten to fifteen dollars a carton,
and I'm like, wow, I'venever seen eggs so expensive in my
life. So, yes, whilewe work today and a lot of people
have that attitude to live just fortoday, remember especially those of you who
(26:56):
are parents and those of you whohave bigger families, remember that if you
only live for just today, thenyou're not leaving too much behind, and
you're not leaving too much for yoursiblings or your children to inherit. And
that I feel like we need togo back to as Americans. Some people
(27:18):
are getting it right and some peopleare not, and we just have to
work on that. So those aremy thoughts you guys. In today's episode,
I hit you all with my attitudeof gratitude and why I am there.
And I feel like the more gratefulwe are for where we are and
what we have, the more willcome. And we don't go into this
(27:40):
attitude of great gratitude for just more, but it's literally having such a thankfulness
and putting such a value on whereyou are already and noticing those small things
is very important. And then Itouch base on our twenty twenty four it's
(28:00):
so hard, I want to saytwenty twenty four. Either way, twenty
twenty four living within your means Youguys already know my tips on that,
if you need to re listen tothis so you can get some more motivation
on that. And then also,we're living in the world of advertising,
so please, please, you guys, work on controlling your buyer impulses.
(28:25):
And that's where I'm gonna leave it. If you have any comments or you
wanna message me regarding this episode,please do feel free to do so by
clicking the link in any of thedescription of wherever you're listening to this podcast,
and I'll be happy to check outwhat it is you have to say.
Remember to keep all of your commentsclassy and professional, because that's what
we do over here, because weare what grown. Okay, guys,
(28:47):
I'm gonna leave it right there untilnext time. Chat soon.
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