The Average American

It is time we take a hard look at our financial situation and what we are doing about it. America holds so much consumer debt, it is literally in the trillions of dollars. We have mortgages, student loans, car loans, and of course credit cards. We love to put things on credit and worry about it later. When almost 8 out of the 10 people you know are living paycheck to paycheck, something is wrong with the way the average American is handling their money. Are you one of them?

7 out of 10 couples don’t budget consistently which leads to them not being on the same page about where their money is going. We all know that one the top marriage issues is money, but how can we expect anything different when spouses are not even talking to each other about their budget? When you sit down with your spouse each month and plan out your expenses, just imagine what it can lead to! When you face your money and tell it what to do while being on the same page with your spouse, you may be less stressed with your monthly expenses, have less fights with your spouse, and maybe even have the courage to open that banking app.

Now maybe you have planned your monthly budget but what about when an emergency happens? More than half of Americans are not able to handle a $1,000 emergency if it came up. Think through emergencies in your life and how you handled it. Did you freak out? Were you stressed out? Did you put it on a credit card? Or were you calm, cool, and collected because you had savings for it? For 66% of Americans it is going to be a big stressor that they are going to struggle paying for.

Unexpected things are always going to happen whether that is the AC unit going out, washer or dryer breaking down, emergency room visit, window breaking, etc. You don’t know what or when it will happen, but you know it eventually will so plan for it.

Remember, this is the average American. You don’t have to be average. You don’t have to walk through life with this being your reality. You can make a change. Be intentional, make a plan and stick to it. If it was easy, more people would be doing it but nothing good in life comes easy. Now go get it!