Greater Than Financial

12/18/2025

🍳 Episode 10: Let It Cook
Welcome to the final episode of The Wake Field Guide — the journey to waking up to the life your resources can build.
By now, you’ve gathered a set of principles — truths about money, purpose, and life that can bring real clarity and confidence. But here’s the catch: even the best principles take time to work.
We live in a world that wants instant results. But the best things — growth, wisdom, freedom — they all take time to cook. When progress feels slow or invisible, that’s not failure. That’s the process working beneath the surface.
So instead of rushing or quitting too soon, stay steady. Trust what you’re building. Let your consistency compound. Over time, the fruit shows up — stronger character, sharper judgment, deeper joy.
Give it time.
Let it cook.
And watch what happens.

12/11/2025

Episode 9: Tools — Finding What Works 🧰💡
If I told you to run a marathon tomorrow, you probably couldn’t — not because you’re not capable, but because you’re not prepared.
People who set that kind of goal do their research.
They train, they learn, and — importantly — they find the right tools: running shoes, training plans, good nutrition, and the right gear to make the journey sustainable.
That’s how it works with everything in life — work, hobbies, and especially money.
The right tools make progress easier, faster, and more effective.
The tools themselves aren’t the goal… but the right ones can change how far and how fast you go.
When it comes to finances, there are tools that help you:
💰 Track your cash flow — a simple spreadsheet or an app you’ll actually use.
🧠 Get perspective — from a trusted financial advisor who brings experience and accountability.
🤖 Use technology wisely — AI assistants, calculators, or software that clarify your next step.
🏦 Simplify your systems — with banks that serve you well, calendars that organize your time, and tax tools that ease the burden.
📈 Invest efficiently — through mutual funds or ETFs that give your money long-term leverage.
Because that’s what tools really do — leverage your effort so each step has more impact.
So take a moment:
1️⃣ Make a list of the tools you already use that make your life smoother or more intentional.
2️⃣ Then, identify one or two new tools you could add this week — tools that would help you manage your money, time, or energy with more clarity.
The right tools won’t do the work for you.
But they will make it possible to build something truly worth working for.

12/04/2025

Episode 8: Your Ready Fund — Building the Moat Around Your Future 🏰💰
Life is unpredictable.
Job changes. Medical bills. Car trouble. All of it seems to show up exactly when you least expect it.
When those moments hit, most people turn to high-interest credit cards, payday loans, or family help.
But people who win with money don’t rely on those options. They build a Ready Fund — a cash reserve that keeps them steady when life gets chaotic.
Think of your financial plan like a castle.
Your Ready Fund is the moat that protects it.
Without that moat, one unexpected storm can force you to raid your future.
With it, you have confidence, protection, and flexibility — no panic, no scrambling.
So how wide should that moat be?
➡️ Start with at least three months of your essential expenses.
Not your extras, just the basics — housing, food, utilities, insurance.
That’s enough to stay afloat, regroup, and recover without losing progress.
Yes, there’s a cost to holding cash.
Savings accounts and Treasury bills won’t earn what stocks do.
But the peace of mind — the ability to absorb a hit without going backward — is worth every penny.
A Ready Fund should be:
✅ Accessible first.
✅ Stable second.
✅ Earning smartly third.
Look for top-of-market guaranteed rates — FDIC-insured savings or short-term Treasuries backed by the U.S. government.
You can explore TreasuryDirect.gov or an online high-yield savings account (I use Flourish Cash with clients — simple and reliable).
Because here’s the truth:
If you don’t build your moat, life will eventually test your walls.
So ask yourself:
💭 If an unexpected expense hit tomorrow, would you be scrambling — or would your Ready Fund protect you?
💭 How much more peace and confidence would you feel knowing your future is surrounded by a financial moat you can count on?

11/20/2025

Episode 7: BUDGETING — The Freedom of a Plan 💡💰

Most people think budgeting is about restriction. About saying “no” to things. But the truth? Budgeting is freedom.

Because if you don’t decide how your money is used, someone else will.
Their ads. Their sales. Their urgency.
And while your money will get spent, it won’t necessarily build a life that satisfies you.

That’s why a budget matters.
It’s not boring math — it’s direction. It’s priorities. It’s peace.
It’s the difference between saying “Where did it all go?” and “I know exactly what my money is doing for me.”

Even the most talented people lose without a plan.
Mike Tyson made over $300 million in his career — and lost it all.
Not because he didn’t earn enough, but because he never told his money what to do.

You don’t need millions to live intentionally.
You just need a plan.
And that plan comes down to three simple moves:

1️⃣ Give every dollar a purpose.
Money with no orders always wanders.

2️⃣ Plan for what’s coming.
Most “surprises” aren’t surprises — they’re just things we didn’t plan for.

3️⃣ Roll with the punches.
Life changes. A good budget is flexible, not rigid.

And here’s the bigger truth:
Budgeting isn’t just about money.
It’s also about time and energy.

Use a calendar to budget your hours.
Care for your body to budget your energy.
Because just like money, those resources will get spent — the question is, on what?

So ask yourself today:
💭 On a scale of 1 to 10, how well are you using the resources that pass through your hands — your money, your time, your energy?
💭 And what’s keeping you from being the kind of person who’s truly in control of your cash flow?

11/13/2025

Episode 6: It's Simple

Most of us think life’s hardest moments come from the problems we face. But that’s not actually true. Problems can be good — they challenge us, sharpen us, and help us grow. The real enemy isn’t the problem itself… it’s complexity.

Complexity is what makes problems feel impossible to solve. It’s what keeps us stuck, overthinking, and overwhelmed.

Leonardo da Vinci said it best: “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”
When you strip away the noise and focus only on what truly matters, you gain clarity — and clarity creates momentum.

You can see this in money. Credit cards, mortgages, and financial products are often made intentionally complex. The more confusing it gets, the easier it is to lose track of what’s really going on. Complexity hides the truth.

But this isn’t just about money. Complexity creeps into every part of life — our relationships, commitments, and even our thoughts. We say things like, “It’s complicated,” when deep down, the issue is actually simple but uncomfortable to face.

So how do we break free from complexity?
We take things apart. Write down every moving piece. Ask: What’s really the issue here?
Most of the time, there’s one core decision buried under nine distractions.

Here’s the mindset shift: Anything that adds complexity to your life should be guilty until proven innocent. Only let something in if its value clearly outweighs the cost of complicating your life.

When you start living this way, everything gets clearer. You think better, decide better, and live lighter.

So ask yourself:
💭 What’s one complex problem in your life that you need to simplify?
💭 Where has complexity been sneaking in without you noticing?
💭 What would change if simplicity became your default posture — not just in money, but in every part of your life?

11/06/2025

⚡️Episode 5: Take the Chance ⚡️

Every one of us faces a choice:
Do I want a life that’s safe and predictable — or one that’s full of flavor, adventure, and growth?

Helen Keller said it best:

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.”

If you want true wealth — not just money, but the freedom to use your time and energy fully — you have to take risks.
Most people don’t live that kind of life because they’re unwilling to pay the price.

And yes, the price is real.
You’ll lose sometimes. You’ll get hurt. It’ll be uncomfortable.
But that’s the cost of becoming the kind of person who truly lives.

💡 Each time you fail and get back up, you gain something more valuable than money — experience.
Those lessons compound like interest.
Over time, you grow wiser, sharper, and more capable.
Failure stops being your enemy and becomes your teacher.

That’s the snowball effect — the same principle that builds wealth also builds wisdom.

So how does this connect to money?
Many people fear losing money so much that they never take the risks that could actually grow it.
Avoiding risk feels safe… but it’s often the most expensive choice you can make.

Because behind every opportunity for growth — financially or personally — is a simple truth:
💰 Money follows value.
🌱 Influence follows value.
🚀 Opportunity follows value.

When you wake up each day asking, “How can I make someone else’s life better today?”, you’re building something that compounds far beyond wealth — a life of impact and freedom.

🎯 Reflect on this:

What’s the worst that could happen if you took a chance — and are you more capable of handling it than you think?

Who do you want to become: the one who avoids risk for safety, or the one who leans into risk to build a life that matters?

Because the truth is — if creating value is your obsession, you can never truly lose.

10/30/2025

🎓 Episode 4: Experience > Education 🎓

Formal education can be valuable — even life-changing.
But its real worth depends on whether it produces experience.

Because the deepest learning doesn’t happen in a classroom.
It happens when you’re fully engaged — with your work, with people, with life itself.

Mike Rowe said it best:

“The idea that a four-year degree is the only path to worthwhile knowledge is insane.”

He’s right. Wisdom doesn’t just come from lectures and textbooks — it comes from doing.
From trial and error. From sweat, failure, and unexpected success.

But experience isn’t just hard work — it’s awareness.
It’s slowing down enough to notice:
👀 How people respond when you speak.
⚡ What excites or frustrates them.
💭 Where pain is shaping something valuable — and where it’s just keeping you stuck.

Experience is the teacher of a lifetime.
If you stop paying attention, if you think you’ve “arrived,” you cut yourself off from the very thing that makes you wiser, more grounded, more alive.

Education can hand you ideas.
But experience? It etches them into your being.

🎯 Reflect on this:
1️⃣ Where in your life are you valuing credentials more than experience?
2️⃣ What recent mistake or success is trying to teach you something — if you’d just linger long enough to notice?
3️⃣ What would it look like to keep pursuing experience as your greatest teacher, for the rest of your life?

10/23/2025

💡 Episode 3: The Power of Ownership 💡

If you don’t take full ownership of your financial life — every part of it — you’ll always feel like a victim.
And victims don’t move forward. They wait. They react. They give away power they already have.

Here’s the hard truth:
Even if it’s not your fault, it’s still your responsibility.

The job that doesn’t pay enough.
The student loan that weighs you down.
The fact that no one ever taught you how to budget.
You might be justified in feeling frustrated — but justified isn’t the same as empowered.

💭 Extreme Ownership means taking responsibility for everything in your world.
Not because you caused it all — but because if you don’t own it, no one will.

That shift — from “Why is this happening to me?” to “What am I going to do about it?” — is where real change begins.

It’s not about blame or guilt. It’s about courage.
It’s saying, “This is my life. My mess. My move.”

Because when no one takes ownership, things fall apart — whether it’s a broken sidewalk or a broken budget.
But when you step up and lead, things begin to heal.

🎯 Reflect on this:

What part of your financial life have you been avoiding responsibility for?

Where have you been waiting on someone else to fix what you know needs your attention?

What small action could you take this week that says, “This is mine now”?

Ownership is the turning point.
It’s where clarity begins and confidence grows.

10/16/2025

✨ Episode 2: Purpose ✨

Most people think the goal is money.
If you just had enough saved, invested, or earned, you’d finally feel secure.

But here’s the truth:
💡 Money isn’t the goal. It’s a tool.
Purpose is what gives money its meaning.
Without it, money just multiplies your distractions.

You don’t need your whole life figured out — just a direction.
Something that grounds you.
Maybe it’s “I want to build something that outlives me,” or “I want to be a steady presence for the people I love.”
What matters is that it’s real.

Because when your goals are tied to something that matters, achievement becomes alignment.
That’s where confidence and clarity grow.

And if you follow that purpose all the way down, it always leads to people.
Relationships are messy — but they’re what make life rich.
At the end of your life, you won’t wish for more stocks; you’ll wish for more connection.

So yes, get your money right.
But use it to build something greater than comfort — use it to build a life that actually matters.

🎯 Reflect on this:

What truly matters to you?

Who do you want beside you at the end of your life?

What kind of person do you want to become?

Once you know your “why,” the “how” gets a lot easier.

10/14/2025

Happening Wednesday, all are welcome.

Wakefield Hare, Founder of Greater Than Financial

Most financial advice is designed to be confusing, keeping you dependent on an industry that profits from complexity. Wakefield Hare started Greater Than Financial to do the opposite. He believes finance, when done right, isn't about chasing market trends or accumulating the most toys; it’s about funding a life of purpose.

Wakefield is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Professional, but more importantly, he’s a financial truth-teller. He challenges clients to consider that the most valuable assets they have—their time, skills, and energy—don’t show up on any brokerage statement. His process is built on a simple, powerful idea: give people clear, honest information so they can align their money with what truly matters and live a life that is greater than the one they're currently living.

He lives and works on the square in Savannah with his wife, Sara, and their family, where he puts these principles into practice every day.

10/09/2025

Most of us aren’t asleep financially — but we’re not fully awake either. 💤💡

Episode 1 of The Wake Field Guide is your wake-up call.
No budgets yet. No spreadsheets. Just honest awareness.

🎯 Take one quiet moment this week and ask yourself:
“Where am I—really?”

That’s where change begins.

08/30/2024

Be sure to check it out!