Invest In Your Life

Losing your sense of taste and smell actually leads to craving. This also applies to how we relate to our stuff. James is recovering from COVID and has lost his sense of taste and smell. In spite of this, his brain is still craving comfort food that he can't taste. If there was ever a time for him to be pounding kale, this is it.  Once we get the things we think we want, we lose the sensitivity to...

Have you ever had someone give you the helpful advice that you should just slow down and rest? That's great advice, but when you have a million things swirling in your head when you lay down at night, it's just not all that helpful.  James dives into an article about how to rest when you are too tired and busy to rest. He talks about how trying to rest just adds another thing that we are failing a...

Negativity schema is a pattern of negative thinking that assumes failure and prevents people from trying. Experiencing negative schema is having a negative, self-defeating attitude. This type of thinking can be incredibly destructive when it comes to money. Negative thinking is powerful and hurts progress and success.  Our brains are wired to look for threats and even biased toward bad outcomes. T...

Is there a correlation between happiness and money? We've talked about how having money does make people happy, at least up to a certain threshold. Once all of our needs are met, the happiness brought by money begins to diminish. More and more money does not necessarily bring more and more happiness, but could more happiness bring more money? James talks about a recent study that shows that people...

James recently read an article about millionaires spending their time differently, which made them happier. It's not the money that makes them happier. It's how they spend their time. James has noticed that clients who aren't millionaires and spend their time the same way also seem happier.   These three things might surprise you. James talks about what they are and how you can spend your time in...

Loss aversion is a cognitive bias that is frustrating regarding money. James has talked about loss aversion and cognitive bias in previous shows. Today he is going to couple loss aversion with benefit discounting and how this can create a toxic financial mix. Humans will prioritize avoiding loss over achieving a gain.  This can ultimately lead to bad decisions and losing even more in the long run...

We are talking about something that has been going on quietly behind the scenes at many employers, and that's the idea of quiet quitting. Coming out of the great resignation, there is a trend where employees are intentionally shutting down and doing less because they're burnt out, struggling, and frustrated.  We've talked a lot about the toll that burnout can take on us psychologically, but does q...

It's a new year, and we should be kind and compassionate toward ourselves. Sure, everything may not be perfect. Maybe we've already failed a new year's resolution or goal. Perhaps we feel regret over our Christmas spending or credit card debt. There are so many things that can allow our inner critic to take hold and wreak havoc on our minds.  I'm going to talk about ten ways to manage that inner c...

This is our 200th Episode of The Rich Life Podcast. Thank you for listening and celebrating this milestone. We've been trying to change the conversation around money just being math. We talk about what makes money hard, and it's not math. James will talk about where we've been and where we're going with this podcast.  It's taken four years to get through 200 episodes. We've talked about cognitive...

We're in a busy season with a lot to get done. You know that feeling where you have so many things swirling around inside your head that you can't relax, that's what I'm talking about today. I recently read a Psychology Today article called The Tyranny of Getting Stuff Done which sums up my point perfectly.  We need to give ourselves permission to just be in the present moment. We don't have to pr...

Sometimes, when talking with my clients, I have these exceptional and authentic moments. I'm going to share one of those today. This topic affects a lot of couples, and it affects my client. When he and his wife were first starting, they had nothing. They lived a simple life and were deeply engaged in each other because they had nothing else to define them.  This is a familiar story where couples...

We are heading into the holiday season and the buying, spending, and marketing is strong. The Black Friday data shows that in spite of high inflation, people are spending record amounts of money. In this episode, I'm going to talk about why it might be time to take a step back and have an open and honest conversation with your family about Christmas and spending. It's easy to fall for the pressure...

It's common for people to treat being busy as a badge of honor. There's guilt associated with not being productive and getting things done. This episode is about the overlooked importance of play. One of the reasons that people are so burned out and miserable is the lack of play, especially quality play with the ones they love.  Our book club just finished Brene Brown's The Gifts Of Imperfection,...

Does money buy happiness? Absolutely yes, and definitely not! Depending on your money experiences growing up, your answer may fall on either side of this equation. Whatever your situation was, you may have evidence to back up either answer. Both sides are right.  James dives into the aspects of happiness that money can buy and how having more and more money does not lead to experienced happiness....

Financial infidelity is a problem that can start small but create issues of trust and ruin relationships down the line. Open, honest conversations about money are the best way to deal with spending, saving, earning, and debt in relationships. Minor omissions and lies about finances can lead to trust issues down the line. These issues start small but fester over time.  James dives into what financi...

Financial decisions can be tricky. Some people buy whatever they want no matter what the consequences. Others won't spend on anything unless they need it, even if they have the funds. Other people feel like they should do certain things and follow an invisible unwritten rulebook. Other people reward themselves whenever they need a little boost, even if their hard work or exhaustion isn't correlate...

So much of our lives are intertwined with money, but relationships truly make us rich. Loneliness and lack of connection have worsened as we've come out of the pandemic. James finds this alarming yet fascinating. He talks about how to foster connections and experience the richness of relationships and connections in our workplace and communities. Relationships are so meaningful that we need to spe...

Are your kids economically literate? This is a question that James has been asking himself lately. Do they understand economics? It's critical to comprehend economics for everyone's future success. James is going to talk about why being economically literate matters and how to become economically literate. There is so much negative information being put out there about our economy. James isn't afr...

James talks about behavioral design, also known as the architecture of choice. Sometimes this has been thought of as a way to control people, but it's a fascinating psychological area. It profoundly impacts how we make decisions in our purchasing and our spending. In general, it's how we frame our choices. It turns out that the way we frame something will affect our decision even though the cost o...

We recently received a listener question from a couple that's just getting started in their marriage. They wanted to know how to manage their finances. Should things be managed separately? Should they split the bills? What's the right way to approach finances as a married couple? This is a topic that James runs into quite a bit as he meets young couples that are just getting started. Older generat...

Sunk costs are a mental trap that we can easily fall into. We can convince ourselves that we somehow have to make up for or recover from some mistake that we've made. We must make good on that deal or fix that problem before moving forward. The ultimate irony is that focusing on sunk costs keeps us from moving forward. James will talk about why sunk costs are such a block for us and how to get to...

Inflation is a constant conversation right now. It's all over the news and media. People want to know how bad it will get and what it means. What is the Fed going to do about it? James will talk about the practical understanding of inflation and how to think about it in this environment.  We also need to understand what this talk about inflation does to our minds. We need to realize how it impacts...

Retirement is a big step. Some retirees transition to this season of life very well, while others struggle. If you are beginning your retirement phase or getting close, this episode will help you avoid some of the biggest mistakes so that your retirement is healthy and happy. The thought of retirement is a happy time, but fear and uncertainty are lurking in the background.  A little planning can h...

What makes relationships work? The answer, as it turns out, isn't that different across personal and professional relationships. In this week's short and sweet episode, James discovers the Gottman Ratio and what it means for your relationships. Listen now!   To learn more about The Rich Life Book + Coaching, visit www. LivingARichLife.com.  This podcast is brought to you by Wealthquest. Learn more...

Go forth and get nothing done, James says. You might have expected a post-pandemic, post-lockdown world to move a bit slower, but it somehow pushed us deeper into the need for productivity! In this week's episode, James looks at the ways we define ourselves by our output, how we can go against this impulse, and 4 questions to help you maintain a healthier mindset. Listen now!   To learn more about...