Apathy
Apathy is the number one cause for not meeting financial goals.
I get it. Finances can be overwhelming. If you're struggling, it sucks to look in the mirror and be honest with yourself about where you are financially.
When people aren't doing well financially, it often leads to feelings of shame, overwhelm, anger, and apathy. It feels like driving across the country without a map or navigation. Nobody likes feeling lost.
I frequently hear statements like:
"There's no hope for me to buy a house, so why try?"
"I've already overspent this month, what's another purchase?"
"My first month of budgeting was a failure. It didn't work, so why try?"
"I have 40 years until I retire. I'll wait awhile before planning for it."
The reality is that these statements aren't rooted in fact—they're rooted in our emotions. Let's dig into how financial apathy affects us and a few action steps you can take this week.
The Cost of Financial Apathy
Stress
Do you control your money, or does your bank account control you? Have you ever wanted to go to a show or take a trip but weren't sure whether you could afford it when looking at your account?
This uncertainty stems from not knowing where your money is going. Here's the truth: a budget brings freedom, not bondage.
The word "budget" often brings feelings of dread. Initially, it feels like going on a diet, draining all joy the tacos bring to our lives. But after a couple of months, we feel energetic again. We’re lighter on our feet, more focused, and optimistic about the future.
A budget brings freedom, not bondage.
The same happens with budgeting. When money is tight, it doesn't immediately alleviate stress. Stress can temporarily increase when we face reality. But if we stick with it, we become resolved to stay on track so we can have the freedom to take that vacation, purchase a home, or achieve whatever financial goal matters to us.
Budgeting reduces stress, so start this week!
Action Step: Create your first budget
Create a comprehensive list of monthly bills and expenses by category.
Include a small "fun money" category if income allows. This helps you feel like you have the freedom to buy things you want without compromising the rest of the budget. The amount should be very small if you’re in debt — that should be a primary goal.
Commit to budgeting for 3 full months. Expect the first couple of months to not go smoothly. It’s normal!
Track expenses manually for the first month before moving to apps like Monarch or YNAB. Physically writing expenses makes it feel real. It gives us additional time to assess whether the purchase was worth it. Manually tracking every expense can feel like a lot of work, but you need to get close to the process. Feel the pain of overspending and the joy of a surplus.
The Debt Trap
Credit cards carry egregiously high interest rates, and for good reason. Unlike home or auto loans, credit cards are "Unsecured Debt," meaning there's nothing backing the debt except your promise of repayment.
Let's look at a real-world example of how accumulated interest can crush your financial goals:
Imagine charging $3,000 on a credit card with a 22% interest rate. Your minimum payment would be approximately $115 per month. Making only minimum payments, you would:
Take 38 months to pay off the debt
Pay an additional $1,344 in interest alone
That's $1,344 that could have been saved, invested, or spent on experiences that matter to you instead of being handed to credit card companies.
Action Steps:
List every debt you have. Write out the remaining balance, the minimum payment, and each card’s interest rate. Throw as much money as you can within your budget into either the smallest debt or the highest interest rate. We’ll cover more about debt reduction methods in another article.
Switch to debit cards or cash for daily purchases until the debt is gone. Now is not the time to get clever with points.
Before any purchase, ask yourself which budget category it must be deducted from. If you can't afford it the moment you swipe, don't buy it.
Missed Opportunities
Many employers offer valuable financial benefits that go underutilized, including:
Retirement accounts with employer matching.
Life and disability insurance.
Employee stock purchase plans.
Health insurance and HSA accounts.
Professional development funds.
While not every benefit may apply to your current situation, understanding what's available gives you options you may not know existed. If these benefits are available, not using them is essentially leaving money on the table.
Action Step:
Look through your employer benefits to see if there are options you aren’t utilizing.
The 20%
There's a productivity principle that states 20% of our efforts yield 80% of our results.
If you’re ready to take control of your finances, spend an hour or two this week and focus on these three topics:
Create a budget and be consistent through the first 3 months of the learning process.
Get aggressive paying off high interest rate debt (like credit cards).
Check with your employer for financial benefits you may be underutilizing.
There are 168 hours in a week. Spending just one hour (0.6% of your week) managing your money can make the other 99.4% more peaceful and enjoyable. That’s a substantial potential return on your time investment.