“If you cannot control your emotions, you cannot control your money”

- Warren Buffet

In my line of work, I have had the privilege of working with young married couples who are in love, broke, saddled with much student debt, and begin to feel a rhythm until babies arrive, at which point they are again broke, saddled (often) with some debt and begin to learn another new rhythm. Many couples have done extremely well, devising a plan, learning how to work as a team and often do insanely well. Along the way, they discover the relationship between their emotions and money. Not only are the "young and in love" couples often blind-sided by what money revealed about them, but almost every married couple that has ever walked the face of the earth has had to come to terms with their emotions towards money and how it effects their relationship(s). According to a recent article with carefully collected data commissioned by Forbes Advisor with OnePoll, one of the top leading causes of divorce is financial stress and financial problems. Not having a financial plan is a plan for financial disaster. As a pastor for over 15 years, I have seen this at times, and we have seen many avoid divorce, fix the issues and come out on the other side quite well.

https://www.forbes.com/advisor/legal/divorce/common-causes-divorce/

Making our money behave, telling it to do what it's supposed to do, takes personal, behavioral work. Learning to be intentional with money, devising a plan and sticking to it is really the only way to ensure financial peace and well being. The word that comes to mind is a word we all love to hate, "Discipline."

Living in such a way that our future self thanks us will require sacrifice and careful planning. Telling ourselves "no" and learning to save and invest for the long-haul takes creating habits, which takes time, energy and effort.

The issues is this... what I have described as the recipe for financial success is not how our culture operates or works in general. What is normal is not actually helpful. Our culture is bent on being perpetually amused and having everything now. Our microwave, insta-pot culture, where dopamine hits are ever-present, where our every desire can easily be fed, goes against the grain of discipline, faithfully plodding along, saving a little bit every day, and investing for the long-haul (Not so sexy or "fun"). Our emotions and feelings are the driving force behind most of the decisions that our culture makes, rather than objective, disciplined, fact-based, careful planning.

Warren Buffett, the god-father of value investing is also quoted as saying

"the key to success is emotional stability."

Emotionally stable mindsets are the key to stable financial plans. At TerraWealth White and Associates, we give emotionally stable guidance and advice that seeks to educate the client to make a well informed decision, one that teaches the need for a long-view. No, my method is not sexy, but it's stable and reliable.

So, in a world where it's cool to be an emotional Basket Case (as cool as this song is)

let's make reliability a thing again.