Welcome back friends. We're diving deeper into the emotional side of our personal finances. For those of you just joining the conversation, please know this: you don't have to carry this burden alone. We don't judge or shame here; we share, listen, and support. The first time you join us, you're our guest, but when you come back, you're officially one of us.

This week we're going to shine a light on the biggest lies we've been told about our money. I feel like they're so common to us they don't even feel like lies anymore, just a part of life. Like breathing. Like that's just how it works.

But honestly, it's not how it has to work.

The Original Deception

Before we get into the financial lies, let's go back to the very first lie ever told. Genesis 3 tells us about the serpent in the garden. He didn't come to Eve with obvious evil. He came with questions, with doubt, with a promise of something better. "Did God really say...?" he whispered. "You won't die. You'll be like God."

The tactics were simple but devastatingly effective:

• Question what you've been told is true

• Make the forbidden thing look appealing

• Promise it will make you better, smarter, more successful

Think about credit card commercials. They show you celebrities dining with world-famous chefs. Couples on dream vacations to exotic destinations.  Experiences that look magical, luxurious, effortless. And the message is clear: "Use our card and you can live like this too. You can have these experiences. You deserve this life."

They make it look so easy. So attainable. Just swipe the card and suddenly you're sipping champagne on a beach in the Maldives or getting reservations at that impossible-to-book restaurant. They don't show you the interest charges. The minimum payments that never seem to make a dent. The stress of carrying that balance month after month. The way those "amazing experiences" end up costing you three times what you paid because of compound interest working against you instead of for you.

They sell you the dream and hide the cost. Just like the serpent in the garden.

Proverbs 14:15 warns us: "The simple believes everything, but the prudent gives thought to his steps."

So let's give some thought to our steps. Let's look at the three lies that keep the financial machine running and keep us trapped in debt, stress, and the endless cycle of payments.

Lie #1 The Predatory Lie: "If You Can Afford the Payment, You Can Afford the Thing"

This is the one that got me. Hard.

I was fresh out of college, working my first real job at an investment group, and I needed a car. My mom, God love her, was trying to help. She asked me, "How much of a monthly payment can you afford? That will tell you what type of car to look at."

She wasn't trying to deceive me. She believed that. That was how she bought cars, how her friends bought cars, how everyone she knew did it. And so, naturally, that's what I did too.

I walked into that dealership thinking about payments, not price. I drove out in a 2012 Buick Verano with a $400+ monthly payment. It was a nice luxury car. I felt successful. I felt like I'd made it.

Fast forward a few years. I'm pregnant with my first baby, and suddenly that $400 payment felt very different. That was daycare money. That was diaper money. That was "present me" money going to pay for a decision "past me" made without really thinking it through.

Here's the truth they don't tell you: when you can "afford the payment," you don't own anything. You're just renting with extra steps.

We had car loans, student loans, personal loans, credit cards, and furniture financing. We were making payments on everything, owning nothing, and calling it adulting. This lie kept me stuck longer than any of the others because it didn't feel like a lie. It felt normal. Responsible, even.

But Proverbs 22:7 tells us the real story: “The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender."

Slave. That's the word God uses. Not "customer." Not "borrower with good credit." Slave.

When I finally saw it, I couldn't unsee it.

Lie #2 The Paralysis Lie: "You Have to Earn a Big Salary to Be Rich"

This lie did two devastating things to me.

First, it had me chasing bigger salaries without counting the true cost. I was working at that investment group, watching the men and women around me. Long hours. Travel. Missed family dinners. Missed bedtimes. Missed life. And I kept thinking, "Well, if I want to climb the ladder, if I want to make real money, this is what it takes."

I was willing to sacrifice my present for a future salary that would supposedly make it all worth it.

Second, this lie made me a little depressed. I'd look at my salary and think, "Well, I don't make that much, so I won't be able to afford all these cool things later. I won't ever be wealthy with this salary." It felt hopeless. Like the game was rigged and I'd already lost before I started.

Here's what broke that lie for me: Dave Ramsey's study of over 10,000 millionaires for the book Everyday Millionaires. Want to know what he found?

Nearly 80% of millionaires in America are ordinary, everyday people. Teachers. Janitors. Auto mechanics. Electricians. Not doctors. Not lawyers. Not movie stars. Just regular people who didn't fall for the lies, saved consistently, and retired as millionaires. Almost none of them inherited their money.

Lie #3 The Scarcity Lie: "Money is a Pie, and Someone Else Got My Slice"

This one is sneaky because it sounds almost noble. "Well, I'm not a doctor or a lawyer, and they have all wealth, so there isn't any for me."

It kept me bitter. Competitive. I'd compare my salary to coworkers and think, "If they're making that much, there isn't room for me to make the same or more." Like wealth was a pie, and the bigger someone else's slice, the smaller mine had to be.

I'm not proud of that. But I'm being real with you because I'm tired of the pretty, polished version of life we see on social media. Let's be honest: a lot of us have thought this way and just never said it out loud.

Here's the truth: wealth is not a pie. Wealth is created, not taken.

When you build something, solve a problem, add value, create a business, save wisely, invest consistently…you're not taking from anyone. You're building. You're creating wealth that didn't exist before.

God doesn't have a limited supply of blessings. He's not up in heaven rationing out success like there's a shortage. Proverbs 10:22 says, "The blessing of the Lord brings wealth, without painful toil for it."

This lie keeps people from even trying. It keeps them stuck, resentful, and convinced the deck is stacked against them. And while yes, there are real challenges in our world, this particular mindset will keep you broke even if every door opened for you.

The Hard Truth: You Made a Choice (But You Were Lied To)

Here's where I need you to hear me clearly: you have to take ownership that you made choices that got you where you are.

I know that's hard. I know it stings. But it's also the key to your freedom.

Because if you can own that you made the choices, you can also own that you can make different choices going forward.

But, and this is equally important, you also have to allow yourself some grace.  You were given bad information that influenced those choices. You were deceived. And that sucks. No one wants to admit they fell for a lie or got taken advantage of. Our pride hates it.

But the reality is, we all have. Anyone who has had a car loan, a student loan, a credit card…we've all been lied to about the "benefits." We've been told we need them to build our credit score (actually a debt score, but that's a topic for another day). We've been seduced by the "points" or "cash back" and didn't look into how that really works or what it really costs us.

We've convinced ourselves that those points and benefits are how we can go on vacation or buy the big thing or whatever we tell ourselves. But they're all lies.

When I think about my mom giving me that car-buying advice, it breaks my heart a little. She wasn't trying to hurt me. She loved me and was trying to help. But she had been lied to too. And her parents before her had probably been lied to as well, right around the time credit cards and car loans became mainstream in the 1950s and 60s.

I used to wonder how she got there. What happened that made her generation so different from my great-grandparents? They didn't have a lot of money or nice things, but they had a happy family and got what they needed when they needed it. They lived on practically nothing and seemed content.

Somewhere between their generation and ours, we traded contentment for payments. Ownership for financing. Simplicity for "keeping up."

And we've been paying for it ever since.

Breaking Free From the Lies

So what do we do now?

We do what the Proverbs 14:15 says—we stop being simple and believing everything. We become prudent. We give thought to our steps.

We name the lies for what they are. We stop defending the system that's keeping us broke. We stop making excuses. We get honest about where we are and how we got here.

And then? We start walking a different path.

The path our great-grandparents walked. The path God laid out for the Israelites. The path of living on less than we make, saving for the future, giving generously, and building wealth slowly and steadily over time.

It's not sexy. It's not Instagram-worthy. But it works.

And my friends, it brings peace. Real, deep, "sleep through the night" peace.

Your Turn

I want to hear from you. Drop a comment below and tell me: which of these lies surprised you? Or if you're ready to be real, which one did you fall for?

No judgment here. Just honesty and community.

And if you're ready to break free from these lies and start living a different way; if you're tired of the payments, the stress, the feeling of being trapped; click the button below to schedule a free call with me. Let's talk about where you are and where you want to be. You don't have to do this alone.

Next week: The Identity Crisis of Money—separating your worth from your net worth.