[Music] I recently saw a list of 10 things the middle class won't be able to afford within a decade and I'll be honest some aren't a cause for major concern quite yet but others could be a real challenge if this actually happens so we're going to talk through this list I'm going to give you my opinion on what I think but we're also going to talk about how you can change your financial situation for the better so make sure to like And subscribe and share the episode with the friends all right let's get started so one thing to keep in mind is you can be making six figures and feel like you still are living paycheck to paycheck and you can earn a modest salary your whole life and still retire comfortably so I want you to know like regardless of where you are so much of your mindset and your money habits is going to be a huge part of you winning but anyone could win or lose with money at any income level okay so just always know your income is going to be growing over time but also what you do with your moneyy is really really important so here's again the list of what someone was saying and claiming that the middle class will not be able to afford within the next decade number one is to retire comfortably so the article States numbers from different states around the country so for example you're going to need over $53,000 a year to retire in Florida based on the cost of living which adds up to $736,000 to cover retirement for 20 years or 1.1 million to cover retirement for 30 years so listen I mean math is math and so if you look in to say okay here's how much I need to live off of and you have to be able to say yeah with you know inflation happening over the course of time do I have enough to retire the sad thing is you guys you know middle class or not like we get calls on the ramsy show all the time of people in they 60s sometimes in their 70s and they don't have money for retirement so what I want you to remember number one is with the Ramsay plan we want you to pay off your house and baby step six so that means when you're going into retirement like in a perfect scenario you don't even have a house payment which means what you need for retirement is going to look a lot different versus if you were deeply in debt not only with a mortgage but car loans and credit card debt and all of it so that's part of the ramsy plan is to get yourself in a position where you have the means to be able to live off not as much as you may need today because you're debt-free and you don't have those payments so again these estimates are probably possible and and honestly could be very realistic but I also want you to think about over time what do you need to live off of and start saving now get out of debt and start that retirement savings number two is private education for kids so this is obviously a preference doing private education it's not a necessity and if you are in the middle class yeah I mean tuition whether it is talking about Elementary Middle High School of private schools all the way into college tuition is very very expensive and so this is something again that I know people prioritize in life which is fine but if you are in a position that you don't have the margin to do it and again when you are talking about the middle class like yeah maybe you get to a point they like yeah that's not worth it for me to spend $8,000 or whatever the tuition is for school for my sixth grader and so public education again depending on where you are is going to be different but for instance like where we are in Nashville we go to public school like I grew up in public school my kids are going to public school so like there's an element to that this idea of private education can be put so high up on a pedestal and so let's just like take it down and talk about the humanity of life and have some common sense around it number three is high-speed internet and premium streaming subscriptions okay I think the middle class is going to be able to afford this like I do I think internet is probably something that is a necessity these days to be connected but all these subscriptions no I mean I think they can be a waste for anyone whether your middle class or upper class or whatever class you're in and so again it's the idea to know what is needs versus wants and having tons of subscriptions it's not a need so if you are trying to get out of debt and sacrifice this is a great place to cut number four is Personal Fitness and Wellness services and so I would say that this is you know more in the luxury if you will because you can go run and walk and like buy some weights and do some stuff at home you don't have to have you know this extensive health plan but again Health has kind of become I feel like even more of like a fat of like coal punches and Sonet and working out and Shakes and Vitamix and like all the things to keep ourselves healthy and that's all great but we want to do it in moderation with what we can afford and so over time I think the middle class if you want this a priority I think that can still be a priority for you to be healthy and that's totally great but it may look different if not like the super fancy gym somewhere you know that may not be in your budget and that's okay you can still be healthy without it number five is specialized Medical Treatments and so as we age medical services are going to become more and more of a necessity and so what you want to realize though is taking control of your money now so when you get to be an older age you have the ability to pay for those services but when we do talk about health care in general medical bills all of that it usually comes at a very steep price this is one area we do find that you can negotiate a lot of the times uh but yeah this idea that I mean gosh medical expenses they just are so so expensive for for everyone and so for quote unquote the middle class you know yeah I mean I think that is a time and place to say okay we have to be able to prioritize and know ahead of time we're probably be paying for some medical expenses so let's start saving now and speaking of health care costs now is a perfect time for me to tell you about one of our amazing sponsors Christian Healthcare Ministries health insurance costs are only moving one way and that is not down the wait times are longer it's harder than ever to get anything approved and if you feel like the system is working against you try Christian Healthcare Ministries it's a biblically based alternative to health insurance chm is a health cost sharing ministry that's helps hundreds of thousands of families like yours take care of health care costs stay true to their values and avoid being tied down by miles of red tape chm Program start as low as $98 a month so find out more and join at chministries.org budget that's chministries.org budget number six is organic food so again wanting to be healthy if you will you know people are looking to organic foods now grocery prices have gone up and and we see this you guys and I always tell you where you shop is going to be really important you can go to the fancy organic grocery store and it's going to be more than going and shopping at Walmart right and if you actually look at what's going on like I think some of the generic brands you know they're they're great and listen generic brands are pretty much made at the same Factory as the products of organic Brands okay so like it it's amazing how deceiving some of these labels can be overall I'm kind of at this point like nitpicking different ingredients I'm like kind of exhausted by to be honest and overall I'm like let's just eat healthy let's just eat Whole Foods like right more fruits and vegetables and meats and all of that like overall we can be healthy regardless of what class you are in I think prioritizing your health in general not like the specific brand of fancy thing but just in general eating healthy overall it's a great course of action number seven new technology and gadgets listen I get it iPhones now cost what a laptop used to cost and we are not all Silicon Valley billionaires over here this idea of feeling like we need the newest and fastest Gadget all the time like the moment it comes out that's a silly way to live regardless of whether you're middle class or upper class or whatever so this idea of chasing the newest great thing with technology don't be running that race okay when it's time to upgrade you can upgrade but if you feel like you have to upgrade every time something comes out yeah I don't think majority of people are going to be able to handle that because majority of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck and stuff is so expensive including technology so be content with what you have and when it's time to upgrade save up and pay for it number eight is eco-friendly home upgrades so this is like sustainable cars and organic products and solar panels and all of that and I think you know some of these things will become more affordable over time it's kind of like that supply and demand idea that over time I think there's going to be more options in this world if you want to do it so yeah I'm not going to say this is Out Of Reach for the middle class number nine is a comprehensive insurance plan so a lot of people feel like they are paying more for less and this is a big shift insurance has gotten very very expensive whether it's homeowners or car insurance and so we are seeing those prices go up these kind of things are very variable depending on where you live what part of the country even State specific the insurance company you're with and all of it so this is one place that is hitting everyone really really hard especially the middle class so yeah this is hard this is a hard one number 10 is home ownership this is like the biggest pain point right now for so many people is that it feels like it's impossible to own a home but let me just tell you over time it may take longer than you realize and it may not be like the quote unquote dream home that you want but getting into the market is something that should be a priority for everyone and so again it may be a slower process it may not be the exact home you want but I do think that this is something that everyone can achieve at a point in their life and you need to home ownership needs to be part of your financial plan whether you're in the middle class or not which brings me to two proven solutions for you if you are facing these challenges number one is to do a budget doing a monthly budget you guys is going to help you so much I love every dollar every dollar is an incredible budgeting app and it helps you really get in control of your income which is the thing that's going to propel you for forward if you are intentional with your income you will be intentional with your money overall and so every do helps you customize really your spending through the month and so you're able to really plan and stay organized I'll put a link down in the description next is what you want to do is follow the seven baby steps so the seven baby steps is getting a $1,000 emergency fund baby step two is getting out of debt number three is a fully funded emergency fund then you're going to fund retirement help fund kids college pay the house off early and then at the very end baby step seven is build wealth and give so there is this plan of action that you can take with your money to get in control of it so make sure that you are have a plan that you're intentional with this part of your life now some of you may be wondering I don't even know if I'm middle class like what class do I fall into well if that's you make sure to check out my episode right here what income puts you in the upper middle and lower class or if you're listening on podcast you can click the link in the description all right you guys remember to take control of your money and create a life you love
