2026.04.10

Full Transcript

Christa Hudak: Hi friends. My name's Christa with CoCreate Financial, and today I want to talk to you a little bit about the issue of overspending, and we're going to talk about it from a little bit of a different angle. But first, let me set this up for you, because as a financial advisor, I have the opportunity to engage with a lot of different people in a lot of different scenarios.

And there are some really interesting things that emerge, especially as we look at the concept of overspending and what that can look like in different scenarios. And I first want to start on the positive side, which is that I encounter a lot of different individuals at all different income and asset levels who are very content and do not overspend. It is truly incredible to me. Sometimes I encounter people with very, very modest incomes who don't feel like they need anything more, and often are saving significant amounts. And I have other clients who have significant resources and lots of income who who manage that very well.

And so we see people successful in their spending levels at a huge range of income levels. On the flip side, we see something very similar with overspending. Um, And this can look like accumulating consumer debt or maybe even just spending at a level that you're always a little bit behind. You know, maybe you don't have a mounting consumer debt issue, especially at those higher income levels.

But maybe there's nothing to save and even small things that throw you off financially and small little emergencies, like needing to fix your car, become a big thing because you don't really have any reserves, even though there's a significant amount of income. And what's interesting is that there's no income level where these things disappear and it's really easy to you know, take a look at your budget, take a look at your spending and say, hey, all I need is $500 more a month, or I need a thousand dollars more a month. But we consistently see when people have a spending problem that the increase in the money doesn't fix it. And that really should give us pause and say, what's really going on here?

Because if it was as simple as, you know, this amount of money is not enough. I just need a little bit more, a little bit more money should fix it. But that's never what happens outside of a different strategy. And that's why I want to posit to you today that an overspending issue isn't actually a math issue.

It isn't actually an issue of how you're organizing your finances necessary, though, that can definitely help and that can bring these things to light. The real issue is actually a heart issue, and it's a condition of what you're longing for and what you're chasing. So let's unpack that a little bit more.

When you are overspending, it's because you're desiring for something more and you're not connected with what's really going to bring you fulfillment. And so you're always looking for that in financial means, which is a pretty radical statement to say that it's not just as simple as I need more money and that's going to fix it.

But we know that can't be the answer because people continue to overspend even as they have significantly more money. So with this, if this is something that you're struggling with, no matter where you fall on the income spectrum, I would just encourage you to you know, first of all, do the due diligence.

There are so many, so many resources about managing a budget and not overspending. Do those things to evaluate what you're spending and how you're spending it, but then to ask the questions of what's really behind this? And why am I unsatisfied? What's going on in my heart, in my relationships, in my situation, that is driving my desire to spend money on things that I know I can't afford?

And to reorient yourself because this is not an issue that's just going to go away. It's not going to get fixed with making more money, and it actually gets a lot scarier as you make more money because you know when, when you're living on a modest income and overspending, you're going to have this mounting credit card debt, and that can is obviously very, very problematic.

But something happens as you get into higher levels of income, which is that lenders will give you even more. And more and more. And those things can snowball really quickly into actually significantly worse situations and more difficult situations to get out of. So I would just encourage you to ask this question, what's really going on?

And you know, if you're married, have a conversation with your spouse and start unpacking. The truth of why you are struggling with spending and that, and the recognition that it's not a simple math problem, it's something going on on a much deeper level. I hope this is helpful for you today and encourage you to just take the time to reflect.