The Money Hawk

I like Papa Johns’ pizza. On Sunday, I really wanted to order some. I was headed up to a friend’s house for a day at the pool and I hadn’t eaten since before church (it was now close to 3:30pm and my wife and I were starving).

The phone conversation didn’t go as planned.

We wanted to order in the car so it would get there around the time when we were planning on arriving. We’re not familiar with the area my friend lives in, but we had their address. We decided we’d call information, ask for a Papa Johns in their city (not a huge city by any means), and hope to get directed to the closest store that would deliver (or get lucky and call the one we needed).

My wife called and information connected her. Here’s the gist of the conversation:

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I am not stupid. I want to make that clear because I often feel that way when I sabotage my finances and I don’t know why I do it.

I understand financial concepts. I know how to save money and I understand all the good advice that is available. But despite all that, I find ways to sabotage my finances just when I think I’m going to finally get then in order.

I had finally saved up a $1000 emergency fund that I knew that I needed. I felt relief knowing that money was there and it was important for me to have it there. Then a friend asked me to go on a trip with her. I knew that I couldn’t afford it and that I should say that I couldn’t go. But I did and I spent the entire emergency fund. Even worse, I didn’t even enjoy the trip because the whole time I knew what I was doing was wrong and that I would have to start the emergency fund all over again. But I still did it any way and I can’t explain why.

This is just one example of how I constantly sabotage my finances after making progress on them. I think I may have a financial sabotage gene in my body. Is there anything I can do about it and does anyone else have a similar problem that they are fighting?

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I hate banks. Really, I do. I’m waiting for a bank to come around that actually pretends like they appreciate their customers. People always tell me, “go to a credit union, they’re so much better!” But better is relative. I’ve used credit unions; they’re friendlier, but they’re also inconvenient (in comparison to banks).

The average bank overdraft fee is $30 (from the first source I found). I believe it. I’ve personally never been charged anything under $30. And the way they pile on the overdraft fees is pretty shady. If you haven’t figured it out yet, they order the transactions to maximize the fees. Most of them won’t admit to this, but it’s a little secret that most of us are aware of.

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Is it worth spending three minutes of your life to learn the secrets of success? I think so. Take a look at the following video; I thought it was very well done and very motivational.

Richard St. John’s 8 Secrets of Success:

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Sam has a net worth of one million dollars. He has recently become disabled and has no earning power.

Johnny has a net worth of $200k. He currently has a cashflow surplus of $15,000 a year that he is able to invest.

They are both 35 years old.

Who would you rather be?

What does net worth have to do with anything?

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