Meaning Over Money

In a world filled with financial illiteracy, we unknowingly find ourselves taking financial and career advice from people all around us who struggle with money and hate their jobs.  It's no wonder why so many people struggle with these things.....we're walking the same shaky road so many others are following.  Friends, family, co-workers, and many more.  In today's episode, host Travis...

Teachers (and the teaching profession) get a bad rap in our culture, and we think it's unfair and unwarranted.  Specifically, we want to address something we refer to as "the teacher myth."  The narrative in our culture tells us teachers don't make much and will always be poor, thus discouraging current and future teachers from using their unique gifts to bless our children.  In...

In episode 25, host Travis Shelton explained why he believes women are generally better at handling money than men.  In that episode, he argues men are indeed more emotional with money, for two primary reasons: 1) men use money as a scorecard, and 2) pride and ego.  We've received a lot of reactions and responses since that episode launching into the world.  In today's episode, we share so...

Have you ever asked someone a question where their words and their tone gave two completely different answers? In today’s episode, host Travis Shelton explains why this often happens when we talk about our jobs, why we often lie to ourselves, and how others can spot the real truth. This may sound like a trivial topic, but really engaging in this exercise has the potential to change everything!  Th...

No matter how good we're doing in a particular area of life, there's one thing that always has the power to knock us down:  comparing ourselves to others.  Unfortunately, there's always going to be someone smarter, funnier, better looking, making more money, having more opportunities, and one step ahead of us.  It's so easy for us to have a pity party and get frustrated.  In today&...

"My spouse and I are on the same page with finances, but he/she isn't engaged with the budget."  This is one comment we hear over and over.  In fact, this is a very common trend in families today.  Even for couples who budget and are on the same page, some spouses exclude themselves from the process and instead put all the trust and responsibility on the other spouse.  Big mistake!  ...

Young couples today are facing two really important questions: "Do we want one spouse to stay at home with the kids?", and "Can we afford for one spouse to stay at home with the kids?"  The first question is a deeply personal one, and every couple needs to seek out the right answer for them.  But the second question is a lie our culture tells us.  Staying at home with kids isn&...

One of the stories we tell ourselves is that our financial stress would go away if only we made $____ more money.  So we work, work, work, for that next raise or promotion.  Then when it finally comes, the financial stress lingers.  So we think to ourself, "ah, it must require $____ more to reduce the stress."  Thus the cycle continues.  Bad news: no amount of income can eliminate your f...

Studies show 4PM on Sunday afternoon is the most depressing hour of the week.  Our weekend is almost over, and we're starting to dread what tomorrow will bring.  Sound familiar?  Considering 70% of Americans either dislike or hate their jobs, there's a pretty good chance this idea of dreading Mondays may hit a bit close to home.  Here's the good news:  it doesn't have to be this wa...

We live in a culture that's obsessed with small things.  "Quit buying those coffees", "you don't need that extra pair of shoes", "that concert is wasting money", "get rid of Netflix".  We think this is ridiculous....and short-sighted.  In today's episode, host Travis Shelton explains why we need to stop obsessing with the small things and start p...

This is going to sound backwards, but we don't think decisions should be judged based on outcomes.  Sometimes good decisions have bad outcomes.....and sometimes bad decisions have bad outcomes.  Truth is, when we make a decision, all we can do is make the best decision with the information available to us at the time.  Hindsight is always 20/20, so it can be easy to beat ourselves up and play...

We live in a culture that obsesses with credit scores and the idea of "building credit."  We think it's ridiculous, unhealthy, and ultimately a fool's game.  In today's episode, host Travis Shelton explains why he thinks we need to stop worrying about credit scores, why not having a credit score can be a good thing, and some of the implications (positive and negative) involve...

Let's talk about the elephant in the room.  There's a common belief in our culture that we need to choose between pursuing meaning and pursuing money.....and conventional wisdom says to pursue meaning.  Or if you identify with the FIRE movement, we're led to believe we should pursue money today so someday after we've selfishly hoarded enough money, we can pursue meaning.  In today&...

Sacrifice is hard!  A sustained period of intense sacrifice is even harder!  This is one of the main reasons why people are unable to gain meaningful traction in their finances and careers.  In today's episode, host Travis Shelton explains how we can shift our perspective of sacrifice, and view it through a different lens.  When we look at life in terms of seasons and wrap our head around the...

We're coming at you with another Q&A session.  This time, we answer questions about host Travis Shelton's experience as a financial coach.  We share stories of the best and worst parts about coaching, the hardest advice to give, and some of the best accomplishments by his clients.  He also reflects on a a few questions about his podcasting experience so far.  We hope this episode adds...

Sometimes when we're trying to do this money stuff right, it can feel like so much pressure.  Things like "what if I mess up?", "what if I make a mistake?", and "I'm scared to have a setback" start going through our head.  Bad news: you are going to mess up, make mistakes, and have some setbacks." Good news: that's ok!  We can't do this stuff perf...

There's a well-known saying that goes something like this: you become the average of the five people you spend the most time with.  This applies to in-person relationships, but we also believe it applies to online connections.  One of our favorite things about young adults is their willingness and desire to absorb other people's ideas and perspectives in the name of personal growth.  YouTu...

Whenever we try to do this money stuff well, especially budgeting, things seem to go pretty well until the moment it doesn't.  And that moment is usually tied to an unexpected expense that hits us out of nowhere.  We can have all the momentum in the world, then wham (!!!), something unexpected stops us in our tracks.  In today's episode, host Travis Shelton explains how sinking funds can m...

There are a lot of generalizations and stereotypes about the differences between men and women.  Some are good, some are bad.  When it comes to money, we think our culture has mislabeled and misidentified these gender-specific generalizations/stereotypes.  In today's episode, host Travis Shelton shares his experiences working with hundreds of men, women, and couples, and tries to clarify commo...

We love your questions!  In today's episode, host Travis Shelton answers some of the questions recently asked by you, the listeners.  Here's a rundown of what you'll find: 1) How to deal with judgmental peers and family who criticize our financial and career choices. 2) Should we pursue advanced degrees? 3) Is buying a house always a good financial decision? 4) What's the differenc...

Budgeting is typically viewed as something necessary for people who are doing somewhere between “bad” and “ok”. In today’s episode, host Travis Shelton explains why budgeting is important for everyone, but even more important for people who make good money. A good income + intentional budgeting = game over! People don’t know what they don’t know, so we are going to provide some real-life examples...

It can be really hard to prioritize our financial goals in life.  This is true for everyone, but especially so for young adults.  After all, young adults are experiencing many significant life changes......and life is moving fast!  In today's episode, host Travis Shelton discusses the 10 things we can do to help us successfully prioritize the right goals for YOU.  You may not nail all 10 of th...

Hot Take: We don't think you should do your own taxes.  We think it's one of the biggest financial mistakes most people make.  We know, we know...this is a controversial perspective.  But we hope you'll at least hear us out before rejecting this notion.  In today's episode, host Travis Shelton explains why it's a typically a mistake when we decide to do our own taxes.  He expla...

We live in a culture that tells us to seek security, comfort, and steady.  We couldn't disagree more!  In today's episode, host Travis Shelton discusses why saying "yes" to doing weird things can change everything.  He explains the potential benefits of doing weird things, shares a handful of personal examples, and shines the light on others around him who are living out this ide...

As a follow-up to Episode 10 ("What About Crypto?"), host Travis Shelton discusses why the creators of Robinhood are geniuses, what makes it different than other platforms and other points in history, and some of the inherent risks of the platform.  We also provide an update on Travis's young client who invested $6,000 into crypto a few months ago.  Lastly, Travis shares about his ow...