Hi, I'm Rick Kahler, thanks for joining me.
I recently wrote a column about an aging
friend of mine who after years of doing it himself
hired someone to clean out his gutters.
His reasoning was that at this stage in his life
he had more money than energy.
One of my retired clients, this past March,
bought the second brand new car of her life.
Though not a luxury model, it was sporty
and bright red. Between the time she ordered it
and the time it arrived, the COVID-19 virus pandemic hit.
For the first several weeks that she owned the car,
it stayed in the garage, in part because of the
stay-at-home restrictions but in part because she
felt embarrassed to drive it.
Each of these stories could be just the tip
of a money script iceberg.
Some people hate tasks like cleaning gutters
or house cleaning and they could afford to hire it done,
and yet they still choose to do those chores themselves.
Some people find it difficult to spend money on things,
like new vehicles, that they could easily afford
and would enjoy and use.
So why? Well, here's some of the reasons
they might give if anyone were to ask.
"I can't afford to hire someone."
Another might be, "Hiring someone to do
household tasks I could do myself is really wasteful."
Or how about, "Chores like this just come along
with owning a home."
Or maybe, "It's faster to do it myself rather than
find somebody else to do it."
Or, "I shouldn't have a new car when so many
others are losing jobs and struggling financially."
Or maybe, "I shouldn't have bought a car;
with the economy so uncertain,
I might need that money."
These money scripts are all internally driven.
They're held in place by what you think,
feel, or believe about your money behaviors.
Other scripts are driven by what you believe
other people or society may think
about your money behaviors.
For example, this thought, "Only rich people have
someone else do their house cleaning
or yard work."
Or, "If I hired these things done
my neighbors would think I was trying to
be better than them."
Or, "If I drive a new car,
people will think I'm a selfish rich person."
The "what would other people think (WWPT)"
money scripts are often externally driven
and really cultural.
We tend to associate with and live near people who
mirror our financial circumstances and money scripts.
Such a "financial comfort zone"
is shared by people who tend to have similar income,
lifestyles, spending and saving habits,
and beliefs about money.
These zones are artificial financial boundaries
that we impose on ourselves or others.
They're not necessarily defined by what we can
or cannot afford or even by what we really want.
Yet we, and those around us, can become
uncomfortable if we move too far outside
of those boundaries.
Certainly, people can and do expand
their financial comfort zones.
Children who grow up in low-income families,
for example, might be able to get an education
and go on to careers that bring them
financial success far beyond that of their parents.
Often, these that leave the financial comfort zone of
their peers are ostracized unless they mend their
ways and return to the beliefs and behaviors of the zone.
It's no wonder that many people,
coming into unexpected wealth,
unconsciously feel a need to get rid of it.
It's one way to get back into the familiar zone
where they know how things work, they are comfortable,
and they belong.
The money scripts around
something as simple as whether to hire
help for household tasks or buying a new car
can be amazingly complex.
Paying attention to what we imagine
other people are thinking about our decisions
can give us insight into our internal
relationship with money.
Thanks for joining me.