The Debt Wave, Giving Back, And Staying Human Anyway

Personal: Gratitude After Getting Dragged

This year has been a lot. Again.

We keep calling every year “unprecedented” and somehow the next one still shows up louder. Politics. Wages not keeping up. Grocery prices out the ass. Global tension. Markets acting drunk on Tuesdays for no reason. It adds up.

And yet, this time of year I always land in the same place: real gratitude. Not the “November Instagram caption” kind. The kind that shows up after you have been dragged for a while and are still standing.

What I am actually thankful for:

• My wife.
  She walked away from a stable PTA career and the predictable corporate track to come in as executive admin for Black Mammoth. That decision changed our daily life. The boys see their mom more. I get a partner inside the business who knows how my brain works and can catch the things that fall out of it. That has been huge for our family and for me.

• My boys.
  First year of tackle football for Lincoln. First year of flag for Croix. Soccer tournaments, medals, a 6 and 0 tackle season, games that were easy, games that were ugly, and losses that stung enough to matter. Watching them face actual adversity and not fold is worth more to me than any score on a board.

  

• My clients and this community.
  You trust me with your story, your money, your fear, your frustration, your tiredness, and your goals. That is not light. On the days I am exhausted or doubting myself, your trust is what drags me back into the fight. You give me a reason to keep saying the uncomfortable things into a microphone.

• The industry I love to hate.
  I have said often I loathe big chunks of this profession. I meant it. There is a lot of bullshit in financial services. But if the system did not exist, I would not have this lane to help people. I would not have these relationships. I would not have this mission. Even with bitcoin getting smacked, rates staying high, geopolitical nonsense simmering, and chaos as a baseline, I am grateful I get to wake up and do this work.

Here is the point. There will always be more chaos outside. There does not have to be more chaos inside your home, your relationships, your effort, and your gratitude. The world can look like a dumpster fire and you can still be quietly building something solid at your kitchen table.

Current Events: The Delinquency Wave No One Can Stimmy-Check Away

Now let us talk about the thing that actually matters for 2026.

Consumer debt is starting to crack. Not in theory. In data.

• Credit cards:
  Serious delinquencies are climbing at the fastest pace in about 15 years. People are leaning on plastic to survive and then falling behind.

• Auto loans:
  Subprime borrowers are missing payments at record levels. Repos are back near Great Recession territory. You do not have to read a chart to feel that. You can see it in your town.

• Mortgages:
  Delinquencies ticked up again in the third quarter. Almost 4 percent of loans are now behind. That is not “everyone losing their home” yet, but it is not nothing either.

• Student loans:
  Once reporting turned back on after the payment pause, delinquency rates snapped back fast. We went from basically zero to mid single digits and rising. Younger borrowers are carrying more and dropping off sooner.

What this means in plain English:

• We are walking into 2026 with a lot of people already behind.

• Behind on cars they need to get to work.

• Behind on houses.

• Behind on degrees that do not always translate to the income they were promised.

• Behind on credit cards that started as “for emergencies only” and then life became one long emergency.

There is no quick fix here. No magic program. No two thousand dollar stimulus check that makes this all disappear. This is a slow grind problem. It took time to build and it will take time to unwind.

So what do you do?

• If you are already tight, your job is to stay out of the delinquency bucket. That means knowing your payment to income ratio and attacking the worst debt first, not pretending it will all somehow “work itself out.”

• If you are in a stronger spot, do not get cute with leverage. Now is not the time to stack extra payments you do not need. Protect your margin.

• If you feel on edge about money, you are not crazy. You are living inside the data. Use that awareness to make moves, not to beat yourself up.

This Week’s Drops: Money, Holidays, And Real Planning

NoBS Wealth Collective

Let us be real. Thanksgiving can turn into a money minefield.

Old roles. Old power dynamics. Hot buttons. Passive aggressive comments. The relative who wants to debate your life choices between the mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie.

In this week’s episode, financial therapist Rachel Duncan and I talk about:

• How to stop the shame spiral when money comes up at the table

• How to set real boundaries without blowing up the whole holiday

• How to keep your peace without pretending nothing happened

If holidays are stressful, you are not broken. You are normal. That is exactly why we made this one.

Watch it here:

Let’s Get Real

Last week’s LGR episode went straight at a lie a lot of people carry.

You do not need to “earn the right” to get help with your money.

You need:

• A system

• Someone to help you stay accountable to it

I asked why people are not hiring planners and the answers were loud:

• “I do not have enough money.”

• “I had a bad advisor experience.”

• “I have no idea what a planner actually does.”

In that episode, I unpack all of that and walk through how real planning moves you from survival mode into strategy.

If you are a woman, minority, or LGBTQ entrepreneur building without a safety net, this one is especially for you. We get into behavior, trauma, cash flow, taxes, insurance, investing, benefits, and legacy. Not theory. What it actually takes to move.

Watch here:

This week’s LGR drops on Turkey Day. If you want the alert the second it hits, subscribe here:

Prefer audio for NoBS Wealth:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5hRolFyn4QkcTXPCqyDNbp?si=9928847f3f824ee7
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/nobs-wealth/id1598154326

If you have a question you are carrying into 2026 that no one is answering honestly, reply and send it. Taxes. Pricing. Marketing that does not feel gross. Money and mental health. Exit planning when you are done pretending you are not done. I want the unfiltered version.

Investment Opportunity Of The Week: Giving Back

This week’s “investment play” is not a ticker symbol. It is giving.

People almost never talk about donations as investments. They should.

Giving is capital you deploy back into your community. With delinquencies rising, food prices staying high, and stress everywhere, we need that capital badly.

Right now, in your own city, there are:

• Families who do not know where their next meal is coming from

• Survivors trying to leave violent homes with nothing

• Veterans sleeping in cars or on couches with nowhere stable to land

A few truths:

• A check to a food pantry is not fluff. It is meals. Directly.

• Money to a domestic violence shelter is not symbolic. It is beds, staff, locks, transportation, legal help.

• Supporting a veteran housing program is not “nice.” It is concrete. It is rent, utilities, case workers, medical support.

If you want a “returns” frame, here it is. You are investing in:

• Lower strain on your local systems

• Better odds your schools, streets, and small businesses function

• A safety net that may one day catch you or someone you love

Could it be tax efficient. Yes. Especially if you itemize, bunch gifts, or use a donor advised fund. But even if you never see a deduction, it is still one of the best uses of your money in a year like this.

End of year challenge:

Pick one local organization doing real work with real people and:

• Make a gift big enough that you feel it

• Treat it like a line item in your plan, not a leftover tip

Soul Check In: Warmth On Purpose

I want this to feel like you stepped into a warm kitchen, not like you scrolled one more cold feed.

You are doing more than you think. Carrying more than most people see. And you are still here, still trying, still caring. That matters more than your account balance ever will.

We need more humanity right now. Not performative, not curated. Just simple, grounded, real humanity.

Two moves this week:

1. Tell someone the truth.
   Reach out to one person who has held you up this year and tell them that. Text, call, voice memo. It does not have to be poetic. “Hey, you mattered to me this year. Thank you.” is enough.

2. Do one act of generosity you can feel.
   It might be a donation. It might be covering someone’s groceries. It might be inviting someone who is alone to your table or dropping off a meal. Something that reminds you that you are part of a bigger story than your own stress.

You do not have to fix the economy this week. You do not have to fix yourself this week.

You just have to keep choosing to be human in a system that keeps trying to turn you into a number.

That is enough.