Hi everyone. Welcome to The Thing We Never Talk About Talk About. Money's weird, right? It touches almost every part of our lives from the work that we do to the places we live, to where our kids go to school. Money plays a part in pretty much everything, but we don't really talk about it.
People love talking about their jobs, which is of course the way they get money, and most people are fairly happy to talk about the things they do with their money, like the vacations that they take or the kind of car they drive, or even sharing photos from fancy restaurants they frequent, but talking about the nuts and bolts of how we use money is pretty much off the table. It's tacky, it's disrespectful. It's a déclassé. It's a private matter, thank you very much. Mind your own business.
If you have money, you risk sounding like you're privileged or entitled. If you want money, you risk coming across as greedy or maybe overly ambitious. And if you need money, like genuinely need money, you risk revealing a potentially embarrassing secret to the people around you. Disagreements about money cause relationships to end. They drive friends apart and create rifts among families that last generations.
A lot of people would rather suffer in silence for years than discuss difficulties with, or even questions about money. Something that impacts nearly every part of our lives should not be so off limits that it prevents us from moving forward. Okay, maybe don't share your bank account balance on social media or bring up your 401k at dinner, but does it really need to be such a stressful topic? So let's talk about money. Money is potential, plain and simple. It's opportunity.
It's the ability to trade something you have now for something you will have later. It's a tool, a means of getting what you want and what you need, and that's not so scary, right? A drill is a tool for making holes, but we can talk about drills without being nervous or anxious. A car is a tool for getting from one place to another. I don't mind talking about that at all.
Toasters, vegetable gardens, gym memberships, they're all just ways to change what you have now into what you want to have later. And money's no different. Being good at managing money isn't about making an awesome spreadsheet or doing what your parents did or pinching every single penny. It isn't about measuring up to your neighbors or driving an expensive car or prioritizing making money over every other thing in your life.
It's about recognizing what is, what you would like to be, and how money can help bridge that gap. Aligning your money with the life you want both today and 20 years from now is one of the most important things you can do to build financial stability. The reason I started this podcast is to talk about the topics, questions, and concerns that will help people better understand and manage their own money.
I really believe that if you can get just a few simple rules right, you can master almost any aspect of your personal finance. Here are the four rules that I recommend: Spend a little less than you want. Save a little more than you have been. Pay off debt a little faster than you need to. And invest in things that you can own for the rest of your life.
I want you to notice that none of those things depends on what kind of job you have, what you do for a living, what car you drive, whether you went to college, et cetera, et cetera. Managing your money doesn't require a lot of complicated strategies or hot stock tips. What you need are simple strategies that you can understand and stick with for a very long time.
I'm gonna repeat those rules one more time because I think if you can master them, every other financial decision becomes much, much easier. Number one, spend a little less than you want. Number two, save a little more than you have been. Number three, pay off debt a little faster than you need to. And number four, invest in things you can own for the rest of your life.
If you have a money or finance question you'd like answered in a future episode, please drop me a line at podcast@iselerfinancial.com. Again, that's podcast@iselerfinancial.com and Iseler is spelled I-S-E-L-E-R. I think more people should be talking about money and I'm happy to help you in any way I can on this show. Alright, it's time for some disclosures. I. The Thing We Never Talk About about is for educational and entertainment purposes only. It's not legal, investment, or tax advice.
All right? People on the show, including yours, truly may have interests for or against any investments discussed, so do yourself a favor and don't make any decisions based on what you hear on this or any podcast. If you like what you hear, please subscribe to and like this show wherever you get your podcasts. And you can get my insights on money and more delivered directly to your inbox by subscribing to my Keep It Easy newsletter at iselerfinancial.com/newsletter. Thanks for listening.
I appreciate you.