Friday the 13th seems fitting for talking about the scariest financial reality most Houston families face: that one heavy money bag that’s been dragging down their wealth for years.
As a financial advisor in Houston, I see this pattern every day. Hardworking people across Katy, Sugar Land, Pearland, and The Woodlands carrying financial burdens that are literally costing them their future wealth.
You know the bag I’m talking about. It’s the one you’ve been carrying around, getting heavier and heavier, but you keep telling yourself “I’ll deal with it later.” Meanwhile, it’s costing you thousands of dollars and keeping you stuck in the same financial place year after year.
I’ve been doing financial bag checks with clients all week since my last blog post, and let me tell you – the stories I’m hearing from Houston area families would make you want to hide under your covers. But here’s the good news: once you identify which heavy bag is sabotaging YOUR wealth, you can finally put it down through proper wealth management in Houston.
The Houston Client Who Shocked Me This Week
Let me tell you about Marcus, a tech worker in The Woodlands. This man makes $120,000 a year working for one of Houston’s major energy companies. On paper, he should be killing it financially. But when he called me for financial planning in Houston, he said something that broke my heart: “I feel like I’m working harder than ever but going backwards financially.”
After we did his financial bag check through our money management Houston system, we found his heavy bag: lifestyle inflation combined with “fake wealth” spending. This man was spending $3,200 a month just trying to look successful. That’s $38,400 a year!
His heavy bag included:
- A $850 car payment for a BMW he couldn’t afford
- $400 a month on clothes to “look the part” at work
- $600 a month dining out because “successful people don’t cook”
- $200 a month on a gym membership he used twice
Marcus thought he was investing in his image. Really, he was investing in his financial destruction.
The 3 Heaviest Money Bags I See Every September in Houston
September is when the weight of these bags becomes unbearable for Houston families. Summer’s over, hurricane season bills hit, reality sets in, and you realize you can’t keep carrying this financial burden.
Heavy Bag #1: The “I Deserve It” Bag This bag gets heavier every time you justify a purchase you can’t afford:
- “I work hard, I deserve this vacation” (charged to credit card)
- “I deserve a nice car” (payment eating 30% of income)
- “I deserve to live somewhere nice” (rent you can barely afford in Houston’s hot market)
- “I deserve to not worry about money” (while refusing to budget)
Reality check: You deserve financial freedom more than any material thing.
Heavy Bag #2: The “Emergency Credit Card” Bag Y’all, this bag is DANGEROUS. It’s filled with:
- Credit cards with balances that never go down
- “Emergency” purchases that weren’t real emergencies (like hurricane prep items you bought on credit)
- Minimum payments that barely cover interest
- The lie that “I’ll pay it off next month” (for the 36th month in a row)
I had a client paying $847 a month in minimum credit card payments. Eight hundred and forty-seven dollars! That’s more than most people’s rent, going straight to the credit card companies every single month.
Heavy Bag #3: The “I’m Too Busy” Bag This might be the heaviest bag of all because it’s filled with procrastination:
- Bills you pay late (and the fees that come with them)
- Subscriptions you never cancelled
- Insurance you never shopped around for (especially important in Houston)
- Retirement contributions you “mean to increase”
- That emergency fund you “plan to start” (critical during hurricane season)
Being too busy to manage your money is like being too busy to eat. Eventually, you’re going to starve – financially.
Why September is Your Last Chance This Year for Houston Families
Here’s what’s coming in the next few months that will make your heavy bags even heavier for Houston area residents:
- October: Hurricane recovery costs + holiday spending pressure starts
- November: Black Friday and Christmas shopping at the Galleria and Premium Outlets
- December: Year-end financial stress peaks + higher utility bills from cold weather
- January: Credit card bills from holiday spending arrive + property tax assessments
September 15th was the deadline for third quarter estimated taxes. If you’re a Houston entrepreneur or contractor who missed it, you’re already carrying penalty fees in your bag.
September 30th is the FSA enrollment deadline for many companies. Miss this, and you lose the chance to save thousands in pre-tax dollars for medical expenses.
November 1st, healthcare marketplace enrollment begins. If you’re not prepared now, you’ll make expensive, rushed decisions later.
The weight of these missed opportunities adds up fast. And once we hit October, you’re in survival mode until January.
The Real Weight of Your Heavy Bag
Let me break down what carrying a heavy money bag actually costs you:
If your heavy bag is costing you just $500 a month in unnecessary expenses, interest, and fees:
- That’s $6,000 a year gone forever
- $30,000 over 5 years
- $60,000 over 10 years
- $120,000 over 20 years
But here’s what really hurts: if you invested that $500 monthly instead, with a 7% return, you’d have $1.3 MILLION in 30 years.
Your heavy bag isn’t just costing you thousands – it’s costing you your millionaire future.
Time to Put Down the Heavy Bag
I know what you’re thinking: “But how do I put it down? I’ve been carrying it so long, I don’t know how to function without it.”
That’s exactly why I’m hosting my “Financial Bag Check: Identify the 3 Bags Draining Your Wealth” webinar this Monday, September 16th at 7 PM. This debt management Houston focused session isn’t just talking about the problem – we’re solving it. I’m going to show you:
- How to identify your heaviest money bag (most people are shocked when they see what’s really in there)
- The exact steps to put it down without feeling deprived or restricted
- How to redistribute that weight into wealth-building activities
- The mindset shifts that keep the bag off your back permanently
Don’t Carry That Heavy Bag Into 2025
Listen, I used to carry multiple heavy bags. The “keeping up with others” bag, the “I’ll deal with it tomorrow” bag, the “I deserve nice things” bag. I know how exhausting it is. I know how it feels to work hard but never get ahead.
But I also know what it feels like to finally put those bags down and watch your wealth grow instead of your stress.
You have three days to register for Monday’s webinar. Three days to decide if you want to keep carrying that heavy bag or finally learn how to put it down for good.
We have both paid premium access with exclusive bonuses and free basic attendance options available. The content is going to be the same – life-changing. The choice is yours.
[Register here now] before all the spots fill up.
Your back is tired. Your future self is begging you to put down that heavy bag. Monday night, we’re going to teach you exactly how to do it.
Are you ready to finally stop carrying what’s been weighing you down?
P.S. – Can’t wait until Monday? Need help identifying your heavy bag right now? Book time with me at https://www.dickeyfinancialfirm.com/book-me/. Let’s lighten your load together.