Stop Comparing Your Financial Journey to Others

[@YNABofficial]

Alternate title: "What Getting Smoked by an Elderly Lady in the YMCA Lap Pool Taught BenB About Avoiding Comparison" 😂

[@ering7733]

😂😂😂

[@thatdooddillon]

Got clapped 👏😂

[@ggppccvv]

BEN, you have NO IDEA how helpful the pool story was. Besides making me laugh all the way, the reflections are so valuable - the fact that some people have "invisible" help, that perhaps some help IS available (if you look for it/notice it!), that even after having some help it still means you may have to work hard (probably in a different way). Everything is very helpful for those of us navigating financial wishes/goals and wins in a world of oversharing and excessive information from absolutely everyone else in the world (those who have more and those who have less than you). It's hard to fit yourself in the global story of wealth, but this helped a ton. Thank you.

[@YNABofficial]

"that perhaps some help IS available (if you look for it/notice it!)" Oh man, that's a whole OTHER layer to the analogy I hadn't thought of! ~BenB

[@jennivanhart3016]

I often have a similar conversation with my kids as they observe their friends' families making financial decisions that don't jib with our family's values. We talk about "we don't know their story" and "everyone makes decisions based on their beliefs and values". Personal Finance is PERSONAL and they don't need to share how/where/why they are doing what they are doing. ❤

[@teaisfortania]

I love how hard Ernie is working to keep Ben on track in this episode 😂. Thanks for the laughs, guys. Also, to update you, I FINISHED my Budget Nerds binge today, listened to all of them. I have learned so much and my budget looks so different since I started episode 1 a few weeks ago! I may relisten to my favorites, because I can't imagine having no Ben and Ernie in the car while I drive

[@YNABofficial]

If it weren't for Ernie, I'd still be recording this episode. ~BenB

[@arubafanatic]

Dude, I learned this lesson in my early 30s. I live in TX where it's too hot to walk in the summer so I would go to the mall in the a.m. before the stores would open. These little elder ladies would be fast walking 🚶‍♀️ I COULD NOT KEEP UP. They were in crazy shape and they were retired.

[@rivasoucie]

Beautiful story. My win is my entire financial journey. I started with nothing on a dirt road in eastern Canada in the 1980s. My farming community had no stores, schools, churches or government. There was rampant poverty, underemployment, addiction and abuse. I am a first generation college student whose father repeatedly told her she was wasting her time. Still I constantly won awards for creative writing and went on to become one of the most decorated PhD students in the country. Approaching my mid 40s this year and we have huge retirement investments, college funds, property in two countries, and zero debt except a 15 year mortgage which we choose to keep so we can fund more lucrative investments first. I never wore a financial fin in my life (except I was white and born in a developed country). But I have practiced all four strokes with every fiber of my being for every second of my adult life. And it’s been awesome just to be in the pool. I never thought I’d even have the chance to get wet. Thank you for sharing the story that has been living in you. That is the purpose and power of the storyteller. To make meaning with words is a high calling, and you two are both quite extraordinary at it.

[@dawnkoplitz1825]

You are someone with grit! I applaud you for your persistence, despite the barriers within your environment. Many people can’t see past the barriers, thusly, they stay in that environment and blame it for preventing them from reaching their dreams. You’re an inspiration! 🙌🏼👏🏼🙌🏼👏🏼🙌🏼

[@nsane4twain212]

I really loved this format and would love for you guys to do it again. The message is such a good one because I think it’s so easy to forget how much work you’ve done to get to whatever point you’re at in your journey. Love you guys!!

[@MrRutty1984]

Love the budget nerds show and have been using YNAB's method with pen and paper for about a year and yesterday just created a YNAB account and filled my budget and I love it. Keep up the great work YNAB and Ben and Ernie.

[@LeahBBeavers]

Comparison is inevitable in my brain, but I am super glad for the reminder that even if it looks like someone is ahead or has had help you never know how bad their legs may be burning! There is no way to know someone's full story at a glance. In a world where we don't talk about financial health, I find myself comparing often to try to understand if we are on track. I hope the longer I am with YNAB I will start to feel comfortable with our financial future and feel less of a pull to compare.

[@YNABofficial]

I think that's a good point, that it is inevitable. The important thing is to place everything in the right context! ~BenB

[@arubafanatic]

Buy the scuba/wet shoes! You wear them in the pool. I wear them in the Caribbean to avoid the shells and rocks and the concrete is HOT!, but they are also great for public wet spaces. You rinse them off before you get in and when you get out. Then I would have an extra towel and plastic bag. I would put the towel on the floor to stand on when I took them offhand my feet wouldn't touch the ground while I got dressed. Then after I put my shoes on I'd wrap the wetshoes in the towel and put them in the plastic bag and toss all the stuff in the washer as soon as I got home.

[@arambladen3087]

This episode was very refreshing!!! 🤗🤗 I, too, have fallen into the comparison trap long ago, which resulted in me taking a break from all the noise on how fast/short amount of time people got rid of their debts and saved thousands of dollars!! It was driving me crazy and that was not healthy for me!!

[@MindyTunnell]

There are no bad foods, Ben. Food doesn't have morality. 😊 She might have IHOP. Cause pancakes are delicious.

[@GMPetti]

Amen! All things in moderation

[@YNABofficial]

Well said, indeed! ~BenB

[@stars_stripes28]

I joined the local YMCA two months ago and love it SO MUCH. I probably sound like Ben singing its praises. I put off joining for years because I didn't want to spend the money (we also have a local gym membership for half the price) and was worried I wouldn't go enough to make it worth it. YNAB helped me reallocate funds from less important priorities and now I'm at the Y 2-4 times each week!

[@valerieproctor517]

I love this analogy as well because while you saw her fins as a tool for speed, she may have seen her fins as a tool for resistance and drag, optimizibg her workout...and the speed was just extra. But in that first meeting, you saw how fast she was going and that's why you tried him the next time. I feel like there's a good analogy here - trying to keep up with the Joneses and failing, or using your money the way that makes you happy! Afterall, it's one of the core foundations of YNAB! Hmm... Maybe I need a sauna in order to think deeper!

[@YNABofficial]

Oooh, love it! I love that so many are adding to the analogy. That's why BN listeners are our people! ~BenB

[@mbergen2]

I really enjoyed your latest podcast. Makes me want to rejoin the y and see if they have swim fins. Very entertaining

[@smbaya1]

Ben I just saw an article claiming that Americans throw away 68 million dollars in change each year. I remember sometime ago you complained about change and thought you appreciate this article. The article is in the Wall Street Journal.

[@dawnkoplitz1825]

Ben, great analogy and storytelling. It hit a home run!

[@neoknowmore]

It is so much more satisfying to give money gifts to people who use the money to get ahead or even to have planned fun.

[@ximenamejiabastos3955]

My brother stays at a YMCA when he goes to NYC. The have a hostel there. We also have YMCAs in Montreal, they are good💗 But we also have the neighborhood pools that are free for residents!

[@Natazavrik]

How many people went to look at their local Y as they listen to this? 😂

[@conureron3792]

The YMCA in Sarasota FL, back several decades ago, was the absolute best gym. Had the best racquetball courts I’ve ever encountered. They don’t construct them like that anymore.

[@GMPetti]

Ben, your hyperbole in this was making me laugh out loud. Also, i am the low key competitive person at the gym too. Loved this whole analogy and how it evolved

[@mwedzi]

Oh, I stayed at a YMCA in Durban, South Africa for weeks! A private room no less. It was a bit different, though, and I don't remember there being sports stuff there, just a general community center. They had both bed and board, so I could eat there too! So jealous your YMCA has a sauna! That's probably pretty rare. The nicest YMCA I went to was in Salt Lake City, so clean. Anyway, such great analogies and stories.

[@lovesgoodstories2551]

You may know this by now Ben but you can get prescription goggles for swimming. Love the podcast guys keep up the awesome work :)

[@YNABofficial]

I did NOT know that and you just blew my mind! ~BenB

[@wordstowordlessthings]

@@YNABofficial when i was a kid i was afraid to swim in the Big Pool not because it was deep but because there were GIANT SNAKES at the bottom and no one seemed to notice! (they were the lane lines and i had astigmatism 😂😂)

[@dpstitches]

I believe the online glasses companies also do these. I was seriously looking into them before I hit my mid-40s and started needing a new prescription every year.

[@smbaya1]

YMCA member here!

[@PaigeReyes-me8lb]

We spend all summer at our YMCA - they have outdoor waterparks with inner tube slides and wave pools! Love our local Y's!!

[@Our22qJourney]

Yes.. for the homeless.

[@bjbarlowe]

First!

[@JK13A]

This is why its so offensive to be told you have white priviledge and is the only reason you may be where you are. I work hard to be where I am. Yes, I have advantages that my parents worked hard to be able to provide to me as well.

[@elizabethgadsby9641]

I love the beautiful working of Ben's mind in the sauna ❤