Step 1 - list all your debt! * Credit cards * Personal loans * Student loans * Mortgages * Car loans * Lines of credit * For each one, write: * Current balance * Minimum payment * Interest rate (APR) Step 2 - do the math: - Annual interest cost =Balance × Interest rate - $10,000 at 20% → $2,000/year - * That’s ~$167/month just in interest (before touching principal) Step 3 - Categorize: high vs low interest High-interest debt (typically 10- 30%+) - Credit cards - Many personal loans - Some private student loans→ This is financially corrosive→ It compounds against you Moderate-interest (5- 10%) - Auto loans - Some private loans→ Neutral to slightly negative depending on context Low-interest (0–5%) - Mortgages (historically) - Federal student loans - depending when you went to school

How we spend our money is actually a record of our priorities! There are 2 things here: our behavior and money. It’s much harder to track behavior (although you can), it’s much easier to track and calculate how much and where money was directed towards. So for today, I want us to think about what our spending says about our priorities. Our spending patterns show us our true priorities. Misalignment isn’t the problem - it’s only when we don’t see it. What are your top 3 priorities? Where does the highest percentage of your money go to?

Like any old pattern, there’s usually a cue that leads to the behavior. We have an idea of what categories we overspend on, what about what time of day or emotional state? Late night, in bed, when willpower is the lowest? Midday, when we we feel physically sluggish and want to reward ourselves that we’ve done some work? When we’re bored at the airport or waiting for a friend? When we’ve got some anxiety and need a distraction? If we can notice the pattern, we can stop the pattern (that is, if you want to). Let’s hear about WHEN you’re spending unconsciously.

Unconscious spending is not about amount, it’s about lack of awareness at the moment of decision Most financial “leaks” happen in micro-transactions, not big purchases. If you didn’t consciously choose it, it’s running on autopilot (habit, emotion, or the environment you’re in) Common Categories of Unconscious Spending 1. Convenience Spending - Food delivery, rideshares, last-minute purchases - Paying to avoid discomfort, time, or effort - Question: Am I buying ease or avoiding something? 2. Emotional Spending - Shopping when stressed, bored, lonely, rewarded - Temporary regulation, not real resolution - Question: What was I feeling right before this purchase? 3. Subscription Drift - Apps, memberships, auto-renewals you forgot about - Individually small, collectively significant - Question: Would I sign up for this again today? 4. Lifestyle Creep - Gradual upgrades without conscious decision - “This is just what I do now” energy - Question: When did this become normal for me?

A few categories usually dominate 60–80% of total outflow. Identifying your top 3 categories gives you the highest leverage for change. 1. Look at the last 30 days of total spending 2. Look at your categories (housing, food, lifestyle, debt, etc.) 3. Add totals for each category 4. Rank from highest to lowest 5. Identify your top 3 - Your largest categories reflect your current lifestyle - not just your habits - Big categories = where small percentage changes create massive impact - You don’t need to optimize everything - just the biggest flows