Game Time Budgeting

Life, like money, is full of highs and lows.

I was out of town for 10 days doing five speaking engagements in five different cities.

While traveling, I found out I was being honored with an Economic Empowerment Award. 🏆

I came home feeling pretty good about things.

Then I opened my office door. 😳

This is what I saw.

My ceiling had collapsed because of water damage.

I couldn't do anything about the leak. That's the property owner's responsibility.

But I could gather my belongings and move them somewhere safe.

So that's what I did.

Less than 48 hours later, my wife told me about a Delta flash sale. We used some of our miles and booked a trip to Paris. 🇫🇷✈️

Our taxes were only $464.

Four things happened in a matter of days:

🏆 I won an award.
🎤 I completed five speaking engagements.
😳 My office ceiling collapsed.
🇫🇷 We booked a trip to Paris.

One of those four things was bad.

I could have spent a lot of time being frustrated about the ceiling.

But what would that have accomplished?

The leak wasn't something I could control.

What I could control was my response.

Personal finance works the same way.

Unexpected expenses happen. Life happens. Things don't always go according to plan.

Financial wellness isn't about making sure nothing ever goes wrong.

It's about having the resources, systems and mindset to deal with what happens when it does.

Sometimes you simply have to ask:

“What can I control right now?”

Then do that.

And keep moving.

To your financial fitness!

💰 What’s Your Wealth Per Year Lived?
We’re all familiar with net worth. But I recently came up with a different way to think about wealth.

I call it Wealth Per Year Lived.

Here’s how it works:

I’m 51 years old. If my net worth is $1,000,000, I can divide my net worth by the number of years I’ve been alive.

$1,000,000 ÷ 51 = $19,608 per year lived.

Now, I’m not suggesting this is a scientific measure of financial success. It doesn’t account for inheritances, investment growth, life circumstances, or the many other factors that influence wealth.

But it does raise an interesting question:

What has your financial journey produced relative to the time you’ve been on this earth?

And perhaps an even more important one:

👉 Are you using the wealth you’ve accumulated to make the most of the life you have left?

Because building wealth is important. But so is enjoying the life that wealth is designed to support.

Just a little financial food for thought from Game Time Budgeting.

To your financial fitness! 🏆
https://gametimebudgeting.com

People often say, “It’s not black and white. There’s a lot of gray area.”

When it comes to personal finance, I’m not sure I agree.

There may be gray areas when it comes to financial decisions.

But when it comes to financial math, there really isn’t.

If you bring home $4,000 a month and spend $4,000 a month, the math may work today, but it leaves little room for tomorrow.

Why?

Because you haven't saved anything for the unexpected.

And if your house payment, car payment, student loans, credit cards, and other debt payments consume 50% or more of your take-home pay, you may be making it extremely difficult to afford the retirement lifestyle you hope to enjoy.

That doesn't make you a bad person.

It doesn't mean you’ve failed.

It simply means the math isn't working in your favor.

Personal finance isn't about making everyone follow the same formula. Life is too complicated for that.

But there are some financial realities we can't negotiate with:
Income - Expenses = Cash Flow

Cash Flow + Time + Discipline = Wealth-Building Potential

The sooner we stop trying to find the gray area in the math and start asking, “What can I change?”, the sooner we can change our financial trajectory.

At Game Time Budgeting, I believe financial wellness starts with four things:

MINDSET. BEHAVIOR. SYSTEMS. RESULTS.

Sometimes the most important financial conversation isn't about finding a better answer.

It's about being willing to accept the answer the math is already giving you.

What’s the point of building wealth if you can’t enjoy it? 🤔💰🌴

While Lesia and I were in Bermuda celebrating our 24th wedding anniversary, I asked her where she was thinking about going for our 25th.

Her response?

“I don’t know, but it’s gonna be BIG!” 😂

That got me thinking…

What if we could use some of the income our investments generate to help pay for our 25th anniversary adventure?

So I made a small change to our investment strategy.

No, we’re not selling investments.

No, we’re not taking on debt.

We’re simply giving some of our investment income a new assignment.

And that got me thinking about a bigger question:

Are we building wealth just to watch the number get bigger, or are we building wealth to create the freedom to enjoy life, too?

That’s the focus of this month’s Game Time Budgeting newsletter.

Inside, I also share:

🏆 Why you should pay attention to your financial streaks
📺 My recent Cincy Lifestyle segment on WCPO-TV9
💰 Why being in the black or in the red is about more than just the numbers

Because financial wellness isn't just about having money.

It’s about being intentional about what your money is supposed to do for you.

And apparently, some of ours are being asked to take us somewhere BIG. 😂🌴

👉 Read the September Game Time Budgeting newsletter:

What's the Point of Building Wealth If You Can't Enjoy It? Email from Game Time Budgeting, LLC A BIG anniversary plan, a new financial streak, and a reminder that your money has a purpose. What's the Point of Building Wealth If You Can't Enjoy It? While Lesia

We often think about debt in terms of monthly payments.

But what if we looked at debt in terms of time?

Some debt helps you build an asset or invest in your future. Other debt can force you to work longer than you planned.

What would you rather spend your retirement years doing: enjoying your time or paying for your past decisions?

What are your thoughts?
https://gametimebudgeting.com

It’s always a pleasure to visit WCPO TV9 and have a conversation about money! 📺💰

I recently joined Michelle Hopkins on Cincy Lifestyle to record three upcoming guest segments covering topics that affect all of us:

🎓 Saving for College: How parents can prepare without putting their own finances at risk.

💳 Your Credit Score Isn’t Your Financial Report Card: Why having a great credit score doesn't necessarily mean you're financially healthy.

📱 Subscription Services: How Much Are You Really Spending? Those small monthly charges can add up quickly!

I don't have the air dates yet, but I'll share them when they're announced. And once they air, I'll share the interviews here too!

A big thank you to Michelle Hopkins and the Cincy Lifestyle team for inviting me back and giving me another opportunity to help make financial wellness conversations practical and relevant.

Stay tuned! 👀📺

https://gametimebudgeting.com

Credit Karma recently celebrated one of my financial streaks:
6 months of on-time credit card payments. 🏆

It got me thinking...

We have financial streaks, too.

Some are worth celebrating:

🏆 Contributing to retirement every paycheck
🏆 Building an emergency fund every month
🏆 Paying bills on time
🏆 Paying credit cards in full
🏆 Investing consistently
🏆 Contributing to a sinking fund

But we can also have financial streaks we'd rather break:

⚠️ Not having a spending plan
⚠️ Not saving for retirement
⚠️ Carrying a credit card balance month after month
⚠️ Keeping subscriptions we rarely use
⚠️ Spending more than we planned
⚠️ Waiting until the end of the month to save what's left
⚠️ Increasing our lifestyle every time our income increases

Here's the good news:

You don't have to keep a bad streak going.

You can break it.

Start a new streak.

Save $100 every month.
Pay your credit card in full.
Increase your retirement contribution.
Create a spending plan and stick with it.

One good financial decision repeated consistently can change your financial game.

What's your financial streak?

And more importantly...

Is it a streak you want to keep?
https://gametimebudgeting.com