332 | Do the Best Next Thing

If you keep consuming personal finance information but don’t feel any closer to your goals, there’s one key thing you’re missing: action.

Once you have it, you’ll get out of the trap and start moving forward.

In this episode, let’s talk about why you don’t need a perfect plan and how choosing one doable next step will help you build momentum.

• • the common trap of consuming personal finance information without taking action

  • why choosing one manageable step can help you stop overthinking and get started

  • how taking action provides feedback and allows you to adjust

  • examples of simple next steps to move you forward with your finances

Episode 329: “Don’t Make This Big Mistake with Your Money”

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You’re listening to Personal Finance for Lawyers. I’m Rho Thomas, and as a busy wife, mom, and former Biglaw associate, I know all too well the tension between the culture of the legal profession and pretty much everything else you want to do in life. That’s why each week, I’m bringing you the information and tools you need to improve your money mindset and manage your money to create true wealth. Because ultimately, it’s not about the money. It’s about the freedom and flexibility the money affords.

Hey friend. Welcome back.

Today we are talking about doing the best next thing. Let me ask you a question: How long have you been listening to this podcast, or watching YouTube videos about personal finance, or following the personal finance creators on Instagram or TikTok or wherever?

Now, let me ask you: What have you done with the information that you’ve learned? Because the thing that I see often is people will consume all of this information. They’re following the most popular personal finance people. They’re saving the posts. They can quote the statistics. They can tell you the interest rate of this and the whatever of that, but nothing in their finances has changed because they haven’t done anything with that information.

You can learn all the information you want to, but information doesn’t change anything. You have to do something with it, and I think people get overwhelmed with consuming so much because there are so many different ways to do this personal finance thing.

I say all the time, personal finance is personal, and these different creators are often sharing the methods that have worked for them. At least I know that’s the case for me. What I say on here is stuff that I have done, and it’s worked for my husband and me, and I share it with you so that you can try it with your own finances.

But I think when you are constantly consuming from all of these different people, it can feel overwhelming. It feels like there are so many different options, and you don’t know which one is the right one, the “right” one to choose, and you’re trying to make the perfect plan. Consuming the information feels like you’re doing something. It feels like you’re making progress because you know all of this stuff, but knowing it and doing it are two different things.

If you are watching the videos and you’re reading and all of that, but you’re not taking action, you’re not really doing anything. So, what I want you to think about is not picking the perfect plan or choosing the right strategy, but choosing the best next thing for where you are. Just that next thing that moves your finances forward toward those goals that you have.

Because it’s the action that’s going to create the progress, that’s going to create the results that you want. When you take action, you learn what works for you. So maybe you try something that this author or this content creator or this podcaster says, and you’re like, you know what? I actually don’t like that. I’m gonna try this other strategy, this thing that I heard from this other person, and you decide that this other strategy maybe works better, and so you see by taking action that this strategy doesn’t fit your life as well as maybe this other one does, but you never get that feedback if you don’t take action.

It’s like trying to steer a parked car. Like, have you ever heard that saying, “You can’t steer a parked car”? If you’re just sitting there, you know, sitting in the driveway. You can’t do anything. But when that car is moving, even if it’s just moving slowly, now I can turn to the left or to the right.

Same here. When you’re just sitting here consuming information, you can’t make any adjustments. But once you decide to choose one of these options, put it in motion, now I can pivot if I need to. If this strategy isn’t working how I want to, or I don’t like it, or whatever.

Having that real, concrete data of how this strategy works with your finances is so valuable because you’re no longer just theorizing. You’re no longer just thinking about these things conceptually. You’re seeing what’s happening in your real life, and so you’re able to make real decisions. If you’re just planning and you’re consuming and you’re not taking action, you don’t get that feedback. So taking action, even if it’s imperfect action, even if it’s not the best strategy or it’s not the thing that some guru would have told you to do or whatever, you’re still making progress. Don’t wait until you’ve got everything perfectly planned out. Take the best next step.

So, what is that next step for you? It could be anything from just opening your accounts and looking at your finances. It can be mapping out your spending from the last 30 days. I’ve told you that I have my clients do a look back at least a month of their spending, but ideally three months of spending because you’re able to see patterns and you’re able to see… like you get a good average of how much you’re spending in these different categories because a lot can happen in a quarter of a year, right? So maybe it’s looking at your spending.

Maybe it’s getting all the details of your debt together so you can decide how you want to tackle it. Maybe it’s opening an account, like we talked recently about high yield savings accounts. If you’ve still got an account at a brick and mortar bank and you’re earning pennies, maybe it’s as simple as opening a high yield savings account where you can earn a little bit more interest. Maybe it’s calling your credit card company and asking about lowering the interest rate. Maybe it’s setting up an automatic transfer so that when your paycheck comes in, you automatically transfer some amount of it to your savings.

Whatever it is, that best next step moves you forward with your finances. You’re implementing the things that you’ve learned or the things that you’ve heard from other people over the years, or over the months, or however long it’s been for you, and you’re creating momentum. Momentum is always better than sitting still and planning and trying to create the perfect strategy.

So think about what that next step is for you, and take action to do it. Do not sit and overwhelm and thinking, overthinking, trying to figure out the best thing, just take that next step. Figure out what that next step is for you, and do it. You don’t need a perfect plan. You just need the next step.

And remember this: consuming information does not change anything. Action changes everything. And if you need help figuring out your next step, apply for a session at rhothomas.com/apply. I’m always happy to help.

All right. So that is it for this week’s episode. Please take a second and subscribe to the show. Leave a review if you have not done so already. Those things help the show to be seen by more people. It helps it to be recommended in the podcast apps. And as always, I appreciate your support.

As we close out, friend, I pray that you take the information you learn here, apply it in your life, and open up to the realization that wealth is available to you. As you do that consistently, week after week, you’ll continue to take steps to take back control of your time, build wealth, and live the life of freedom and choice you deserve. Talk to you later.