💰 SOME PEOPLE HAVE A SPENDING PROBLEM.

💰 SOME PEOPLE HAVE A SPENDING PROBLEM.

Some people have a:

“MY RENT IS $2,500 AND I MAKE $45,000” PROBLEM.

Those are NOT the same thing.

I’m all for personal responsibility.

I’ve spent years telling people:

➡️ Watch your spending.
➡️ Stop financing things you don’t need.
➡️ Avoid lifestyle creep.
➡️ Build an emergency fund.
➡️ Invest for your future.
➡️ Live below your means when you can.

All of that matters.

BUT SOMETIMES THE MATH JUST SUCKS.

If you make $45,000 a year, your take-home pay might be around $3,000 a month, depending on taxes, benefits and deductions.

Now take $2,500 of that for rent.

You’re left with roughly $500.

And you still need:

🍎 Groceries
💡 Utilities
🚗 Transportation
🛡️ Insurance
🏥 Healthcare
📱 Phone
👕 Clothing
…and everything else life throws at you.

At that point, cutting out a $13 latte isn’t exactly the primary problem.

Could someone still make better financial choices?

Absolutely.

But pretending every financial struggle is caused by Starbucks, Netflix and DoorDash completely misses the bigger picture.

Sometimes the budget needs work.

Sometimes the income needs to go up.

Sometimes the housing cost needs to come down.

And sometimes…

ALL THREE ARE TRUE AT THE SAME TIME.

That’s why I believe financial conversations need to look at the WHOLE PICTURE, not just one expense on someone’s bank statement.

And when it comes to housing, the question shouldn’t simply be:

“What can I get approved for?”

It should be:

“What payment actually makes sense for MY life?”

RATE IS NOT STRATEGY.

A BUDGET IS NOT JUST A NUMBER.