WHY DON’T YOU?

It sounds a little confrontational, doesn't it? Good. Because sometimes we need someone to ask us the question we've been avoiding.

Why don't you know where all your money is? Why don't you know what it actually costs to live your life? Why don't you look at the numbers you're worried about? Why don't you believe the numbers in your own business? Why don't you simplify the financial mess you've created? Why don't you know what's coming? Why don't you deal with the financial thing you already KNOW is wrong? Why don't you stop doing everything yourself? Why don't you use your money to make actual decisions about your life? And finally… Why don't you get help?

Those are the questions behind my WHY DON'T YOU? series. You won't find me telling you to stop buying coffee, pack your lunch five days a week or follow another cookie-cutter budget. There is plenty of that advice available already. I want to talk about something different. Financial organization.

I have spent years working with people's money, and one thing has become very clear to me: you can make a LOT of money and still be financially disorganized. You can own a successful business and not understand your Profit & Loss. You can have money in the bank and have no idea how much of it is actually available to spend. You can earn a great income and still not know what it costs to live your life. You can have QuickBooks and still not trust the numbers coming out of it. You can have retirement accounts, credit cards, investments, bank accounts and assets—and still not be able to see your entire financial picture in one place.

And then we wonder why money feels stressful. Sometimes the problem isn't that you need more money. Sometimes you need to understand and organize the money you already have.

That's why I'm asking WHY DON'T YOU? Not to shame you. To make you stop and think. Because there's usually an answer behind the answer.

Maybe you don't look because you're afraid of what you'll find. Maybe your business has grown faster than your financial systems. Maybe you've been so busy making money that you haven't taken the time to organize it. Maybe you're incredibly capable and have convinced yourself you should be able to handle all of this yourself. Maybe you've been taking care of everyone else. Maybe nobody ever taught you. Or maybe life simply happened. It defnitely has happened to me!

I understand that. But understanding why you're stuck doesn't mean you have to stay there.

The purpose of organizing your finances isn't to have perfect spreadsheets, beautiful reports or a color-coded filing system. It's so your money can actually help you answer questions. Can I afford this? Can I hire someone? Can I take the trip? Can I help my kids? Can I buy the building? Can I work less? Can I retire? Can I give more? Can I do the thing I've been dreaming about?

That's the point. Your money should support the life you're working so hard to create.

So I'm going to keep asking the uncomfortable question: WHY DON'T YOU? And when you finally know your answer, you can decide what you're going to do about it.

And if the answer is, “Teshra, I don't even know where to start,” that's okay too. Bring me the mess. We'll start there.