Rebecca Jameson

Money Coach

Priority One Financial Coaching

Edition No.1 | Issue No. 8

The Financial Beat: Insider Tips for Law Enforcement Families

Are you stuck in this cycle? You're working OT, whether voluntary or mandatory, you make purchasing decisions based on the fact you're working OT (and you deserve whatever it is that you want to buy as a way to make up for how much you're working). And then you find yourself in a position where you HAVE to work OT to afford those decisions you made yesterday, last week, last month, or last year...

When your lifestyle expenses increase 📈 at the same rate as (or exceeding) your pay 💰that is known as lifestyle creep. Lifestyle creep is what leads us into the repetitive cycle 🔁 I've dubbed The Overtime Trap.

It happens to the best of us. I've been there 🤚🏼 (well, my husband has been there at least).

In mid-2021 we found ourselves asking where all our money was going 🤷🏼‍♂️. My husband was working anywhere from 30-40 overtime hours per pay period.

I was working full time as a department director for a school district 🏫 and made a modest salary myself.

We made good money. Even by California standards.

But, we had no grasp ✊🏼 on our money. We would put money in savings, only to have to take it right back out 🏦.

We'd make extra payments towards our debt 💳, but couldn't seem to move the needle on our debt free goal.

Our retirement was an afterthought. We knew we both had a pension and that was all we knew.

Does any of this resonate with you?

How can you determine whether or not you're stuck in the OT Trap?

3 Signs you may be in the OT Trap:

When the topic of money 💵 is brought up, it causes a stress 😰 reaction or at the very least your fight 🥷🏼 or flight ✈️ sense is triggered. If you're in a relationship, this topic usually leads to some type of argument or conflict 🗣️ that seldom gets resolved.
You will not take a sick day 🤒, even when you need to, for fear of loosing income. Some agencies will penalize you for taking sick days where any OT hours you work in that pay period becomes straight pay, which leads to officers ignoring their physical or mental health in order to keep that time and a half rate.
You have at least 1 debt 🚙 that you could not afford if your overtime went away. Overtime is not guaranteed. You are one injury, one budget cut, one IA investigation away from losing access to overtime.

If you are relying on overtime each month to pay your bills 💸, this is a slippery slope that could lead you to financial collapse if you're not careful.

What can you do to uncuff yourself from overtime?

First and foremost, you need to get honest about why you're relying on overtime in the first place.

For some, it's debt. Or the inability to save money at a rate quicker than you're spending it.

For others, there is a deeper identity that is attached to the job. Maybe you're the sole provider for your family 👮🏼, and any time you're not "picking up an extra shift", you feel guilty.

Maybe it's a combination of both.

Whatever your reason, you need to identify it and figure out the next steps.

It's time to educate yourself.

My husband and I started from ground zero 0️⃣. We were $120k in consumer debt and had blew through over half our savings in a matter of weeks.

We were two ships 🚢 passing in the night, with a two year old and baby #2 on the way.

We had no idea where to start. But now, if you're reading this newsletter 📰, you will know exactly where to start.

If you're a DIYer, pick up one of these books 📚 (or audiobooks). Either one of these will show you where to start and what to focus on based on your specific challenges:
- Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey: Dave Ramsey created the 7-Baby Steps to building a strong 💪🏼 financial foundation. While some find his rhetoric controversial, he's helped thousands, if not millions, of people get out of debt and secure their futures.
- I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit Sethi: If you don't want to live on beans and rice as Mr. Ramsey suggests, then this book will be great for you. Ramit Sethi takes you through the red flags 🚩 of credit cards, the benefits of compound interest, and a "budget-free" way to manage & spend your money based on the values you have in life.
- Smart Couples Finish Rich by David Bach: This book is perfect for those couples 💑 that can't seem to get on the same page with money. David Bach really dives into the relationship and mindset of money and has some great strategies for couples to implement.
If you're looking for some specific guidance on paying off debt, The Mind Your Debt Course might be the perfect fit for you. I created this course based on the exact system my husband and I used to pay of our $120k of consumer debt in just under 3 years. Click the link above to get lessons 1&2 completely free so you can try it out.
And lastly, if you think one-on-one guidance is the route you want to take, click the link below to schedule a free consultation call with me to see how working with a financial coach can help you create the financial stability you're looking for.