Episode 9: Click Here!
SHOW DESCRIPTION
In this episode I am taking a break from my preaching about money and budgeting and finances and I am opening up a little bit about me. My life, my family and what we have been up to. What 2023 has looked like for us. A BIG vacation we have coming up and sharing my gratitude for the blessings in my life.
If you are looking to learn a little bit about me, be sure to check out this episode! Sometimes it’s nice to compare and see how we are doing up against others, or to be reminded to just appreciate the little things, the quiet moments and the time spent with family and friends.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- What my family has been up to in 2023
- A BIG vacation announcement
- Gratitude for the blessings in our life
SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW
I would LOVE your honest feedback of the podcast @Successby1000wins as well as encourage you to subscribe and follow along. You can do so by going to – https://podcast.apple.com/us/podcast/success-by-1-000-wins/id1660569480
CONNECT WITH MICHAEL KOPANS
IF YOU LIKE THIS EPISODE HERE ARE MORE
Episode 7 (PART 1) – $1,000 Emergency Fund in 30 Days (30 Ideas for Creating an Income)
Episode 7 (PART 2) – $1,000 Emergency Fund in 30 Days (30 Ideas for Creating an Income)
FULL SHOW NOTES
Episode 9
Hello and welcome to the Success by 1,000 Wins Podcast. The show that encourages you to succeed with your money one win at a time. (property of @successby1000wins) I’m your host, Michael Kopans. And I invite you to join me each week as I give you actionable wins for your finances that help you to reach a millionaire dollar net worth. I have studied and learned from the greats. Money principles which I have implemented into my own life.
The millionaires have spoken and I have listened. The clues are out there. They have left the trail of breadcrumbs. The principles for financial success have been carved in stone. And they are achieved by one win at a time.
My belief is that winning, or wins, helps us succeed with our money. Sometimes it takes 10 wins, sometimes it takes 100 wins, sometimes 1,000. Succeeding takes consistency and an obsession to succeed, an obsession to carry on even when things get hard. Even when things seem to be going backwards or they seem like you haven’t moved forward in awhile.
This is episode 9 – Pause and evaluate, soak in gratitude and see how far you have come.
If you didn’t already be sure to go back and check out episode 8 – marriage and money, 9 questions teammates ask during a budget meeting.
I honestly believe that maybe the single most important episode I created and if I can ONLY get couples to listen to this, I honestly believe more couples would work together more, love each other more, sacrifice and contribute more.
And hopefully marriages might be saved through hearing the wisdom I attempt to bring in that episode.
It’s a great episode to turn on in the car with that stubborn spouse sitting across the way who has refused to get onboard with your family’s financial goals.
Just hit play and let me attempt to give them a nudge to growing up and being a grown up!
As I record it is Monday, February 20th. My family is in the heart of a much needed 4 day weekend, thanks to the kid’s school being out for teacher work days.
I am going to do something a little unusual here. After several months of throwing information and opinions and strategy your way, I wanted to take a pause, reflect on where we’ve been so far, and pretty much use this podcast just to share what I am up to.
Some may include financially, but to be honest, I just wanted to pause and share what’s going on in my life.
My traditional episodes don’t really do that, and I think it’s only fair to share once in a while, about me.
So, here goes. I am home alone today. A RARE day alone.
A typical day has me around hundreds of students, my own two children and my two german shepherds along with my little chihuahua. Not to mention the other dozens of people, both kids and adults from my kid’s activities and then church.
But not today. The only company I share is that of my two dogs, Cooper and Finn, who have been equally enjoying some peace and quiet as they roam the house around me and often plop down for a little nap in the middle of the kitchen.
My wife and kids are finishing up day 3 of hanging out just outside of Charleston, Summerville, where our best friends live and we often drive down to visit from Surfside Beach. Their home is our occasional escape from the mundane, routines of life.
I enjoyed 2 of those 3 however came back early for appointments
It’s beautiful out! Might actually hit 70 today I believe. If not, even in South carolina, 60 with sun feels pretty stickin’ warm!
I came home recently from a quick visit to Brook Green Gardens, down the road from us. If you have never been, especially to the yearly Lights of 1,000 Candles event, it is a MUST for everyones bucket list.
Absolutely stunning place. Gardens, food, a little zoo, an old castle across the street and a beautiful beach!
Today, for the first time ever, I even snapped a picture of an alligator just hanging out in the mud and tall grass.
I stupidly risked my life to get within 10 feet of the creature I fear the most in this world JUST to prove to everyone I know that I actually saw one in person!
For some people it is sky diving or budgie jumping. For me, it’s a picture 10 feet from a 6 foot alligator – which seemed like he could care less I was there, but, whatever.
I am going to avoid using the line, this year is flying by. I’ll let you make your own judgement on that.
But January is over. Looking back I am hoping you all got to check out episode 2 in which I laid out 8 important goals to set for this year, 2023.
And I look forward hearing stories about how this is going.
January for my family, probably like most, was pretty dull. Strictly getting back in the routine of life after December holidays. Celebrating King Jesus birthday.
It was a boring month. My heart yearned for some adventure outdoors and I oddly had a deep longing to visit our previous home town of Henderson, North Carolina, where we lived just outside of Asheville and where every drive had a scenic and stunning view of the mountains.
In 15-20 minutes you could find yourself in beautiful shades of green, a gorgeous blue sky and mountains forming from hills as you got higher and higher.
A big change from our flat terrain of Surfside beach where the highest hill is that of a red ant pile.
But don’t get me wrong, I LOVE Surfside Beach. I love the beach. I love our house, our neighborhood. And everything surrounding us.
With February came the anticipation of my 41st birthday. 40 is gone and I am entering the remaining 9 years of my 40s.
I joke with friends and family that as a youth I always remember thinking 40 year olds were SO old! Even in my 20s, it sounded so ancient.
And here I am.
What probably doesn’t help is being around middle schoolers all day, ranging in age from 11-14. Middle school feels like 5 minutes ago.
It’s amazing how life can be so brutal, so hard. The days can feel long, the years can seem to drag on some years, and yet childhood never seems to far off.
But I am thankful being around youth daily as it keeps me feeling youthful, with the exception of waking up with new aches and pains every day.
I always so, it’s amazing how you can lay down in a comfy bed, all of your weight sinking into a giant pillow and yet wake up 8 hours later feeling worse than you did when you went to bed.
So, 41 is here and I am fortunate to have a heart that desires to take care of my body – physical, mental and spiritual.
I don’t give up easily and I always say, thanks to my mom – really mom and dad – it is a natural daily effort for me to pursue healthy. Eating fruits and veggies. Daily walking. A mile on the elliptical. Waking up and stretching for 10-15 minutes.
I pity the person who hates doing these things.
My wife and I have talked money a lot this year. So many goals fill our minds and we have hit the age and status where so many “fun” things seem in reach of buying.
My wife and I are both on the same page that we would love to pay off our home early.
Neither of us want a mortgage going into the 2030s. That gives us 7 years to pay off a 15 year mortgage.
Another big goal is for me to buy a new car in under 2 years. We don’t do car loans in our family.
We don’t do debt in our family so, we will make a plan to utilize our income to upgrade me 5-10,000 dollars in under 2 years so I can replace the car we have had for probably 10 years now. Maybe a little less.
I can honestly say it is officially the embarrassing vehicle to drive.
Paint is peeling. The seats have officially begun to rip. The dash board has more cracks than a… okay, I”m drawing a blank on a witty comparison here. For those listening, I’d LOVE for some clever ideas on how to finish that.
Regardless, I’ve made big sacrifices for our family the past 5 plus years driving a car we had planned to drive to the very end. However, I suppose it still has quite a few years left in it.
It just won’t have me in it for those remaining years.
And lastly, probably the biggest news for my family is that we plan on taking a trip to New York sometime in the near future, prior to summer.
I will respect the privacy of my family and not say when but, it’s coming!
I haven’t been to NYC since I was 15-16 years old, when I joined my high school performance choir on our yearly summer trip to perform as well as soak in the sites and activities.
Although it is just beginning conversation, my wife and I decided that this would be a trip we would both enjoy for some upcoming time off.
It’s a BIG deal for us. The amount of money we will spend. And the fact that we have NEVER taken two large trips in one year – we typically save a big vacation for summers.
And probably the most amazing part of this trip we will embark on, it will be paid for in CASH!
Nope, not tax return. We actually set up our taxes this year that we OWED a little money. No letting the government borrow our money.
What it comes down to, my wife and I spend less than we make. We have for years! And this year, we are reaping the benefits of our sacrifices.
We’ve had quite a few years of sacrifices. It’s tough when you see your facebook friends each year visiting the mountains, the beach, cruises, exotic places, skiing over the holidays.
But we had goals to meet first and money didn’t stretch far enough for us to do these trips without credit cards to aide in them and as I say over and over again – we don’t borrow money in our household!
So, I am excited, honored and humbled in announcing a trip to NYC.
Beyond the adventure of it and exploration of this amazing city, this will feel like a hard earned moment in our financial accomplishments.
So, I’m sure more to come on that trip.
And I suppose lastly I will elaborate a little more on my time in Charleston this past weekend with my family and our friends.
Relaxing time sitting around and doing NOTHING! We didn’t go anywhere! We didn’t go out to eat, nothing!
We sat around, I slept in until 9 am, a RARE feat for me as most days my body wakes me at 6am.
We played cards, ate my wife’s DELISH homemade cheesecake that she makes me every year for my birthday.
It was chilly enough to stay inside with the rare exception of walking down to the lake outside our friends backyard where once again I spotted an alligator that hangout in their lake and made his way to the surface.
I witnessed history in the making watching Mac Mclung take away the trophy at the NBA allstar dunk contest. It was nice seeing a white guy win this since it hadn’t been done since 1996.
What an inspiring moment for my son, giving him hope that he too one day may be able to fly like the eagles and win a rare award.
We even had episodes of the office on in the background which I hadn’t seen since I think Netflix took rerun accessibility off.
And now I am home, writing and recording this episode before the nose of my family returns in the house this evening upon their return. Although I look forward to hugs, kisses and time together as I have a yummy dinner planned.
I don’t use this episode to brag. I am grateful for where my family is in our life, our journey. Life has been BUSY and this weekend feels like it was a moment for us to slow down a little.
We moved here last June and since then it has been go, go go! We have had 4-5 years of moving a couple times for careers and this moment feels like we are going to enjoy quite a few years here.
I am hopeful for 2023. Two months in and I am hopeful. I am thankful for family and friends. I am thankful for our church family and leadership.
I am thankful for God’s presence and blessing in my family’s life.
I am thankful for great coffee and the amazing foods that make it onto our dinner tables each night.
I am grateful for my children and their accomplishments in making new friends this year, maintaining above average grades and being two human beings that their teachers actually enjoy having come to school everyday.
Far too many kids can show up to school and rock the grades out, yet still be unkind and disrespectful or unfriendly to teachers. My children are loved, respectful, and leaders in the classroom and for that I am grateful.
I am grateful for a wife that is pursuing healthy in 2023 as well as leads quite a few people at her work, in her leadership role.
I am grateful for her constant desire to better herself through her reading. And especially grateful for her resurgence of desiring to help cook a little the past few weeks as her cooking blows restaurant food out of the water!
I am grateful for the beginnings of my garden – tomato, carrots, radish, avocado, and potatoes which will bring joy to my family over the coming months.
Cheers to 2023 and I pray for blessings on all of your lives, wherever you are on your journey, financially, spiritually, relationally.
I pray you lead well, love well, contribute and accomplish well and continue to reach for the stars no matter your age.
If you happen to be in the early phase of your financial journey, if you haven’t already, I hope you’ve checked out episode 7, $1,000 Emergency Fund in 30 Days, 30 ideas for creating an income, part 1 and 2 where I put together two solid episodes on earning a quick $1,000 for either an emergency fund, or perhaps kicking off your debt pay off journey.
And also be sure to go back and watch or review episode 2 – 8 Financial Goals you NEED to set in 2023 as I believe this is a GREAT episode for couples to work together or even if you are single.
Always remember, at the end of the day, I want you to win!
I believe in you. Someone in your life believes in you.
I know today you may feel like a loser. You aren’t the first and trust me, you won’t be the last.
But if you know how to lose guess what, you know how to win. So go out there and win my friends.
Go out there and have Success one win at a time. Go have Success…by 1,000 wins.
FEATURED IMAGE: Photo by Alex Block on Unsplash
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michael Kopans is here to share ideas for helping 1 million people reach a million dollar net worth by using money principles he’s learned over the years. Let’s talk money, budgets, becoming debt free, financial wisdom, financial principles that work.
money, budget, marriage, biblical wisdom
Success by 1,000 Wins 
Leave a comment