That first article – Be Aware or Beware – was inspired by a question I was asked while sitting on an interview panel during a Sunday morning church service. I was asked,

“What is the number one mistake you see people make with their finances?”

Tough question, right? My whole career revolves around talking to people about their money, and I’ve seen some wild mistakes and missteps along the way, but here I was challenged to narrow my answer down to the most common financial blunder.

Hmmm…

My answer was simple. It was awareness. I felt like, in aggregate, most people didn’t have an awareness of how much they spend. When you boil personal finance down to its basic tenets, it really is just income minus expenses and what to do with the leftovers (hopefully, there are leftovers). Most people have an intimate understanding of how much they make (income), and they take great pride in knowing this figure. But with automatic payments, a handful of credit cards, multiple spenders in the household, etc., there is a major lack of awareness around how much is actually spent monthly and annually.

Links mentioned in this episode: