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7 White Lies That Can Destroy Your Finances, According to Rachel Cruze and George Kamel
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Being honest isn’t always easy — especially when money is involved. However, it’s often easy to tell white lies that seem harmless but can be detrimental to your health. finances.
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On a recent episode of the “Smart Money Happy Hour” podcast, Rachel Cruze and George Kamel discussed several common white lies that can cost you dearly. Read on to learn more. find out if you are guilty of making these false allegations.
“It won’t take me long to pay this off.”
It’s not uncommon for people to make a purchase they can’t afford under the pretense that they’ll pay off the balance soon. Whether the balance is put on a credit card or a loan is taken out, this white lie is essentially an excuse to buy something you don’t have the funds to cover at the moment.
Instead, Cruze and Kamel agreed that the best course of action is to save up and make the purchase when you can actually afford it.
“I’ll start investing later.”
If you’re not currently investing, Cruze and Kamel said it’s easy to keep putting it off. You may say you’ll start investing later, but they said it may never happen, leaving you full of regret later in life.
Getting started can be challenging, so they said to make today the day you start. This ensures you’re making your future a priority.
Despite this advice, they agreed that it’s okay to stop investing while you’re getting out of debt or working to build an emergency fund.
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“The government will eventually forgive my student loans.”
This has been a hot topic in recent years, but the government isn’t going to pay off your student loans. Instead, Cruze and Kamel said you need to take personal ownership and responsibility for your student debt.
You’re the one who accumulated this debt, so they said you need to fix it — that is, pay off the debt.
‘I’m going to eat less so I can buy _____.’
It’s not uncommon to claim that you’ll cut out a necessity like food, shelter, utilities, or transportation costs to pay for something you want. However, Cruze and Kamel said this is a sign that your priorities are out of order.
If you have to sacrifice necessary things to pay for things you want, you probably shouldn’t make the purchase.
“Next time, it’s on me.”
When dining with friends, coworkers, or family, it is common for one person to pay the bill.
If you’re like many people, you may feel uncomfortable with this generosity. It may cause you to try to pay your share anyway or declare that you’ll pick up the tab next time.
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Instead, Cruze and Kamel said to simply accept the gift and thank the other person for paying their share. If you want to pick up the tab next time, you can do that, but this can help avoid any anxiety around the reciprocation situation.
“Anyway, I’ll give most of it back.”
If you’re like many people, you buy online — or in-store without trying it on — and justify any overspending with this white lie. Cruze and Kamel said this is an excuse to blatantly overspend now and procrastinate on fixing the situation.
In fact, they said you might not even end up returning any of these items. Even if you do, you can just consider the money as a credit to buy more.
So they told you to put the items back if the total amount in your cart is not within the budget.
“I’m just not good with money.”
It can be easy to rationalize constant spending mistakes when you ignore them as just being bad with money. Cruze and Kamel said this is just a disguised excuse to avoid being honest with yourself about your bad money habits or educating yourself.
Instead of hiding behind this white lie, they told you to own up to your mistakes, be responsible for your spending, acquire the necessary financial knowledge, and create good habits.
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This article was originally published in GOBankingRates.com: 7 White Lies That Can Destroy Your Finances, According to Rachel Cruze and George Kamel