Let your money ‘yes’ be YES and your ‘no’ be NO

My professor was full of memorable maxims and wisdom

(3.5 minute read)

One of the phrases he integrated into his teaching that still rings in my ears was: "Let your yes be yes and your no be no".  This particular professor was also steeped in Biblical knowledge, so if you're curious about his source & inspiration - look no further than Matthew 5:37 (a snippet part of Jesus's famous sermon on the mount and a caution against swearing & making oaths). 

As for us - we could sum it up by one word - integrity. 

But how can we mean what we say and say what we mean?

How can we be certain to follow through and commit in this uncertain world?

Especially when considering money decisions and the many competing interests vying for our attention and dollars at any given moment?

Everything has a cost and an opportunity

OK - ya got me -- yes, I'm talking about opportunity cost....that boring term from economics class.

When considering time and money, we need to be clear that for every 'yes' we make, we're saying 'no' to something else.

We can say 'yes' to staying up late to watch the show ... but that might mean we're saying 'no' to a good night's sleep. 

Of course - the converse is true too: a 'no' to something may be holding space to make the right 'yes' to something better!

This is a deeper evaluation than simply dollars and cents 

It's critical that we can distinguish between being able to 'PAY' for something vs. being able to 'AFFORD' something. 

✨PAYING for something simply implies we have a payment method available to cover the price. This could include paying outright, paying on credit, or paying in installments.

          This approach in the decision-making process typically looks at bank balances and credit limits. 

✨Evaluating if we can AFFORD something is a much more meaningful process. This looks at the bigger picture. Sure we look at what we have in the moment - but also at our upcoming short-term and long-term commitments and goals.

      This approach mindfully connects our resources and actions to our values to ensure they align with what's important to us. 

This takes real consideration - especially under pressure.

Just yesterday my family 'casually' went 'browsing' for a vehicle. (haha! Is there any such thing?!). It turned out to be an intense, time-consuming, and shocking experience: the biggest surprise was that they wanted $10,000 over the sticker price! And then there were the never-ending negotiations...

We walked away. The dealer's 'yes' and 'no' didn't bear much weight to us - we knew their prices were wishy-washy; they were hard to trust (not to mention that today they've called us to announce they've changed their price once again!). 

In the end, the price just wasn't a fit for us. We could 'pay' for it in installments, but those payments didn't fit into our big picture in terms of affordability. In this case - we had peace that our 'no' needed to be 'no', so we can make a better 'yes' when the time is right. 

Getting clarity is easier than ever before

Clarity and conviction in our money decisions are possible. With a little effort up front - the peace that follows is worth it!

Having a baseline available against which to weigh financial decisions can become invaluable to feel good about our choices and not experience 'buyer's remorse.' I've found that using YNAB (You Need A Budget) has done just that for my family. It helps us see the big picture in one place. 

Now I hope to pass my knowledge forward and be your professor: 

****Drum Roll please****     

****Big Announcement loading****

I've created a workshop series that will guide you through setting up and using YNAB successfully one step at a time. Let's learn together!

Time and money no longer need to stand in the way with short 30-minute sessions and a cost that will never be this low again: $14.17 (register before October 30th, 2023.  See the syllabus now and give yourself the gift of peace!