Money, With Clarity

Part 1 of 2 A while back, we paid off the last of our debt. No parade, no applause. Only the two of us and a mimosa, early one quiet morning. Here is the part I never told anyone outside our family. Dave Ramsey often says that once the last debt is gone, the grass feels different under your feet. We live in California, so my husband tested the theory in December, barefoot. He stood on the lawn and shouted it loud enough for the whole street to hear. We're debt free! We did no

Part 2 of 2 If you missed Part 1, start there: The Grass Really Does Feel Different. Last time I told you about the barefoot scream on the lawn, the trip to Nashville, and how strange the freedom felt at first. Here is the part that surprised me most. Debt freedom is not the finish line. It is the starting line. Paying off what you owe clears the table. It does not tell you what to make for dinner. You are not doing it wrong if reaching the goal left you unsure what comes nex

A while back we decided to buy a camper. Not a small one. We wanted to stay flexible enough to still tow our trailer and the Sea-Doos, so after months of research we picked the largest model Lance made, an in-bed camper with dual slide-outs, big enough for three kids and a dog. We sold some stock and had saved enough to pay cash, so we signed. But the camper needed something to carry it. So we also bought a brand-new Dodge Ram 3500, a diesel dually with the right towing capac

Most of us think of an emergency fund as money for the bad day. The blown transmission. The furnace that quits in January. The paycheck that does not come. We picture the disaster, and we picture the money riding in to cover it. That is part of it. But it is the smaller part. What My Son's Accident Taught Me My son was recently in a car accident. He is okay, and that is the first and biggest thing. His car was towed, and he owes a deductible on the claim. Here is what I keep

For years, here's how I pictured paying off debt would feel. A number hitting zero. A deep breath. Some kind of celebration, the sort people post about. Here's how it actually went. It was December 2021. Everyone was still wearing masks, and the bank was empty except for a few workers and us. We made the final payment in person. No fanfare, no parade, not even a clap from the teller. We walked back out to the parking lot, and for a moment, nothing felt different at all. Then

You are not fighting about the money. Most money disagreements between two people sound like they are about a number. The vacation that costs too much. The savings account that never feels full enough. The purchase one of you would make in a heartbeat and the other would never. But listen a little longer, and the number is almost never the real subject. One of you wants to book the trip because time together is short and the memories matter more than the balance. The other wa

When people hear the words "financial coach," they usually picture something else entirely. Someone who sells investments. Someone who manages a portfolio. Someone who hands you a strict set of rules and expects you to follow them. That's not what I do. A financial coach is not a financial planner or an advisor. I don't sell products, and I don't manage your money. A coach isn't a therapist either, though feelings and old patterns come up often, because money is rarely only a