Doug and the Three Ghosts
The Stacking Benjamins Show
Joe Saul-Sehy and Josh ‘OG’ Bannerman, CFP
4.4 • 2K Ratings
🗓️ 18 December 2023
⏱️ 57 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
One snowy Christmas Eve in Texarkana, Neighbor Doug settled into bed in his snazzy Superman Footie PJs (Amazon affiliate link), still buzzing on Joe's Mom's eggnog... Today's special holiday episode recounts a completely original tale of Doug and the money lessons learned when he's visited by three ghosts—past, present, and future.
Make peace with your past, clean up your past mistakes, and learn from them
Especially when it comes to past credit mistakes, what's done is done. Whatever method works best for you (debt snowball or debt avalanche), do that one. Come to terms with your bad money habits and realize that you can't outearn them. It's on you to fix the bad money habits of your past. Focus on what's current and fix what needs fixing today.
Live in the present
Don't get caught in the trap of lamenting your past nor only planning for the future. Our only truly limited resource is time. Balance living for today with planning for the future. Remain in the present - especially when spending time with your loved ones - while keeping a vision in mind for your longer-term future plans. Be intentional about your plans and actions today and timeline what you want to achieve in what time you have remaining.
Plan for the future
Communicate on a regular basis with your "team" (loved ones) about your financial goals, progress, and situation. We recommend scheduling a weekly Family Budget Meeting. Automate as many of your financial decisions as possible today so you never have to think about them again in the future. Commit to paying off that mortgage early, ramp up those retirement savings contributions, stack those Benjamins for your kids' college savings. Decide where you want to be financially in the future; face reality of where you are currently (we like our sponsor, Monarch Money, to track where you are); and take the necessary step to make that future a near certainty.
Takeaways
Remember that time is the one commodity that's finite for all of us. Value your time and experiences while staying responsible to your present and future self. Remember and learn from the sins of your past to build on your strengths; focus on living in the present and building your financial foundation; and head into the future with more confidence that Joe's Mom's Neighbor Doug during the annual Sun's Out; Guns Out El Camino Competition at the Sizzler.
FULL SHOW NOTES: https://www.stackingbenjamins.com/doug-and-the-three-ghosts-1450
Deeper dives with curated links, topics, and discussions are in our newsletter, The 201, available at https://www.stackingbenjamins.com/201
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | It's Monday. You know what that means. Like all of you to raise your mugs, your glasses, |
| 0:06.1 | whatever you've got in your hand, or just raise your hands and say, big salute to our troops this |
| 0:11.8 | week. Thanks for keeping a safe all weekend. Because of you, I had another phenomenal holiday |
| 0:16.8 | season weekend. On behalf of the men and women at Navy Federal Credit Union and the men and women |
| 0:21.3 | making podcast to Mom's Basement, here's to you. Thank you so much for your service. So I'll go |
| 0:27.9 | stack some Benjamins together now. The following is a special episode of the Stacking Benjamin's show. |
| 0:35.8 | Our tale opens like any classic holiday drama, a cold evening in Texarkana, |
| 0:43.7 | snow gently falling on the street where Joe's mom lives. The camera zooms in on a house, |
| 0:50.4 | a typical ranch with lights behind curtains, where surely a family is gathered together |
| 0:56.9 | celebrating that finally they've arrived at Christmas Eve. |
| 1:02.4 | To be clear, this is a tale like no other. |
| 1:06.2 | Sure, once a long time ago, one very little story was written, which may be sound slightly similar. |
| 1:16.4 | One story indeed that also featured a chap who exclaimed... |
| 1:20.6 | B'n humbug! |
| 1:22.1 | Quite frequently, and we will concede that, just like that other tale you may have heard, in this classic, |
| 1:29.3 | our hero is visited by three ghosts in a single evening, one by one. |
| 1:36.3 | It's an epic story, and so, so, so, completely original. |
| 1:43.3 | Can I stop saying how original this story is? |
| 1:47.0 | Oh hell! As long as I'm getting paid, let's get on with it. |
| 1:52.0 | ... So, it is Christmas Eve, and far beyond the usual quitting time for most Texanians, |
| 2:27.8 | which was typically 3pm, but Joe's mum's neighbour Doug was only now arriving back home from a long day toiling in Joe's mum's neighbor, Doug, was only now arriving back home from a long day toiling in |
| 2:37.2 | Joe's mum's basement. |
... |
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