This might not be a surprise..

But your dollar is not worth as much as it was 5 years ago.

How much less?

About 20%.

That means if you were spending $60k in 2021… You’re spending $72k in 2026.

That’s $1k per month for the same exact thing.

And so rather than saying,

“Dave Ramsey is out of touch!”

“Life is impossible!”

“I wish I was born rich!”

Let’s talk about some tactical things that every couple should be doing.

1. Track Expenses

I’m not even saying you need to budget forever.

But if you can at least track your spending for 2-3 months, you’re going to be shocked at where some of your money goes.

Right now, I’m trying to improve my Triglyceride levels (cholesterol). And so I’m tracking a lot of what I eat.

I was surprised by how much sugar I ate on a regular basis. Despite feeling like I was really healthy.

You’ll start to find similar patterns in your own life. Whether that be how much you eat out for lunch. How much you spend on random Amazon purchases. And maybe even a few subscriptions that you don’t use anymore.

Don’t do this exercise to shame your partner; do this exercise to get your priorities in line and get on the same page.

Your partner has a different view on how you both should be spending money, a budget is an opportunity to understand eachother’s viewpoint.

This can be a challenging conversation; treat delicately.

2. Pause Investing and Attack Debt

It’s easy to have FOMO when we see that stocks are up 40% the last two years.

Or when someone like Dan the Budget Man tells us about 10.8% average returns from the S&P 500.

But I want to make sure you understand that the average return is based on an extended period of time.

Meaning the likelihood you get an average of 10.8% annual returns increases as you extend the number of years you’re investing.

So the odds that you get a 10% return this year are about 52%. Basically, a coin flip.

The odds that paying off your debt frees up more cash flow… 100%.

And given the uncertainty in the market, taking a guarantee in 2026 is pretty appealing.

Use any extra money you can to attack one of your debts. Unless we’re talking about a mortgage, then go ahead and invest.

3. Downgrade Your Life

This is going to be a tough pill to swallow for many of you.

But you probably don’t need multiple cars.

Katey and I shared one car for the first 5 years of our relationship until we could finally afford to pay cash for a second car.

You also might need one less bedroom than you want.

Katey and I lived in a one-bedroom apartment for the first 3 years of our relationship.

And one of those years was 2020…

Maybe start by just making sure you only have one Amazon Prime Account, one Spotify account, etc.

I promise the best way to upgrade your life is to actually downgrade it.

4. Make Side Income A Team Project

We don’t have the best jobs market right now.

And I hate to be pessimistic, but I work at a software company that helps companies with AI adoption.

The conversations I have with them are about how they can use AI to reduce their workforce over the next two years. Pretty depressing.

72% of workers are already supplementing with side income.

Now there are two ways you could view side income.

1 - An opportunity to accelerate your financial journey (build an emergency fund, get rid of debt, etc)

2 - An opportunity to build financial freedom (working on something you own and control)

I like ‘em both!

I worked 4 different side hustles while getting out of debt. And Katey and I walked dogs, worked events, and picked up odd jobs while we were building our financial base.

We also lived on a shoestring budget while Katey was starting her business. And now 3 years later, she’s making 6 figures from her own company!

But that required me being at a stable job and us living within our means along the way.

One partner is base, one partner is the moonshot.

And roles can change over time! We’re actually starting to pivot to me being the moonshot :)

5. Live off 80%

70% of families are living paycheck to paycheck.

The only way to not live paycheck is to force yourself to save.

And the only way to force yourself to save, is to do it right when you get paid.

Don’t design a financial plan off of 100% of your income.

Design your financial plan off of 80%.

I couldn’t fathom doing that in 2016 when I sat down to make my first budget.

I wasn’t even making enough money to pay just my bills every month.

But 6 months later….

I had sold my car, was driving a paid-off van. Had gotten 5 roommates and cut my rent down to $500/mo and had 2 side hustles I did on the weekends.

My north star was 80%.

For most of us we’re not going to arrive at that destination tomorrow.

Just keep focusing on the north star. Opportunities will come your way. And if you’re focused, you’ll see them very clearly.

That’s it for this week.

I hope this was helpful. I wrote this on very little sleep, so I apologize for spelling issues.

The Stride Neighbors Team

P.S.

If you could, please check out my YouTube channel. I’m trying hard to grow this.