?? Celebrate 3 years of KTC with me

?We are approaching 3 years of Keep The Change hitting kiwis inboxes.

The very first edition of Money Mail went out on the 22nd of May 2020.

I was going to write about this next week but we may have something special in the upcoming budget to discuss.

There were 201 recipients from people who had signalled interest in learning.

Things looked a little different back then as we navigated a pretty unique time.

3 years on, there are now over 7,500 readers each week via email and LinkedIn.

Obviously, audio is the fashionable thing, so I knew I needed to start recording podcast versions.

The first of those was published on the 18th of May 2021. Basically a year later.

I had to sit down and record 52 lessons to play catch up. That’s a grind, but locking me down couldn’t keep me from working.

There were over 27,500 listeners to the podcast in April 2023.

What have we learnt from 3 years of KTC.

For you, I hope, plenty!!!

One thing that has become clear to me is that financial literacy is more important now than ever before.

It has been incredibly rewarding to see the progress a number of you have made & to be able to provide some financial warning before the testing times of inflation & higher interest rates arrived.

Many of you have moved from pay check to pay check living and instead have a buffer in your emergency fund.

You know what the official cash rate is and who the Reserve Bank of New Zealand is.

Some of you have braved it and put yourself out there for a pay-rise, a new form of income or asked for help.

Action is the antidote to anxiety; it is so cool to see so many people taking some form of action.

I can type, verbalise and throw my pen at the camera as much as you like, but the real change comes from your action.

The most rewarding thing for me to see is people changing their beliefs.

Whether it be about secondary/double tax (grrrr), getting ahead, what is actually possible or just being empowered to look at finances differently. That inspires me. You have to believe things can be better first.

OK, for some people, they can’t and won’t believe things could be different due to that being a pretty true reality for them. BUT our welfare system picks up so many of these people and provides for them in ways other countries don't and can't.

For a lot of us reading, we have no excuse NOT to believe & to dream. Where the fark did our belief in ourselves & each other go? We are so powerful & capable of so much more than we think.

Many people have installed the wrong money software and their output reflects it. Instead of keeping it to themselves, they try and install it in other people too.

Get rid of that sh!t that slows you down in your money journey too. The software you downloaded that doesn’t serve you well. That steals your belief.

This weekly writing has also encouraged me to stay consistent and think about showing up for you all every Friday for 3 years. It has also made me think about what questions you’d want answered when I interview people or research financial situations.

Opportunities are coming out of the reach of the content too, which is exciting for me and I am sure these will only get bigger.

KTC reminds us all that by helping other people, you can help yourself. That is incredibly important to remember.

The more people you help, the more people will want to help you in return.

A brilliant reminder for us to consider helping other people, especially as we go into further testing times where it can be hard to think of others when we are trying to keep ourselves in good stead.

Over the last 3 years, I have learned so much too and like to think I have grown as a writer and producer, so thank you.

The world of finance and economics can be boring, complex and intimidating. I have tried to simplify these concepts and make them accessible to all of you, and I hope that I have succeeded in doing so.

More than that, I have constantly tried my best to provide you with practical tips and advice that you can use in your daily lives. This is the piece I believe is usually missing in finance stories.

When people give me the ‘easy for you to say’ BS, I get to give them the video or podcast where I explain how many people can too.

One thing that became clear quickly is the importance of community. I am constantly inspired by the engagement and support of all of you.

I am 1 person. I want to inspire 100,000 people. 100,000 of you can inspire 10 people each. That’s the true value of KTC, not me!

The comments, feedback, and questions I receive from you motivate me to keep writing and producing content that you find valuable.

I am truly grateful for all of your support and for your attention. I do not take this lightly.

Before we get stuck into year 4, I want to remind you. I am not perfect. I am not your minted inspiration. I make mistakes. I did dumb sh!t and still do. I over indulge. I don’t know everything & I don’t claim to. I try to learn every day. I try to teach every day.

I am on my journey and I have set that. You need to go on your journey. You have to set that. I am just here to encourage you to do so.

What are you fluffing around at? Get stuck in,

Luke

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Did you know:??it would take you over 4x 40hour work weeks to listen to the entire Keep The Change podcast catalogue.??

I want to tell you my financial story:?https://forms.gle/zigWGaC2RUQpGZdV8

[$49]?KTC Night School:?https://www.keepthechange.co.nz/nightschool-v2

Forward?this link to a friend to sign up and learn?www.keepthechange.co.nz/moneymail