Words & Banter

Life Happens … **IT HAPPENS

Life rarely goes as planned. Sometimes, unplanned events only cause minor adjustments. But sometimes, they can put you in “crisis mode” and might require major transformations. Like the rainy Friday when Red’s husband came home and told her, totally unexpected, that he had been fired. In a split second, her life went from fairy tale to nightmare.

So, whether you freak out (Red’s default setting) or are feeling overwhelmed and uncertain where to start, when we relaunch this site in the New Year, there will be a section called **IT HAPPENS. Filled with tips and tools (and, of course, food for thought), we hope it will help you survive and thrive during even the most stressful life events.

Because we’ve experienced them, we know that a “crisis” can come in many different forms (financial, work, relationship, health, natural disaster, the list goes on), and what starts as one issue often impacts many aspects of your life. But, as Black recently explained to Red,

Every situation is different, but you can approach them in a similar way, although I did not tell you that at the time. I did not even let you know we were going through the steps one-by-one because, in your case, I knew we first had to deal with the emotional aspects. And, when I told you I thought your “crisis” would be the best thing that ever happened to you, you thought I was being nice. Even though I do not do nice.

Well, Black may not “do nice”, but she did help Red through her “crisis”, and along the way, managed to help Red see that adjusting her mindset and perspective could make all the difference.


However, if you’re currently in a difficult situation (or just curious about how Black guided Red), knowing what’s coming next year doesn’t help you now. So, we hope the following posts might help make things a little better.

P.S. – In case you missed it, here’s a link to the description of THE DAILY HELP, which includes helpful hints you can use now.

At one point, we were going to call this section "Retro" because initially it only contained videos created by a high school senior (Thanks, Aurelio) back when we keynoted at YES Prep High School in 2012. And, at the risk of sounding arrogant — we’re still amazed that his videos have been viewed over 800,000 times — and have stood the test of time.

Plus, we were hoping we could use our animated “creatures” instead of appearing live, but then how would you know we were real people? So, we started recording our weekly team Zoom meetings, and our social media guru has taken segments and turned them into short videos (and suggested, on more than one occasion, that we should do a podcast).

FROM INSIDE THE PRISON WALLS

We never expected to go to prison (technically, it was our bestselling book, but we did visit a few of the units), and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice allowed us to send a film crew in to interview the men and the chaplain who piloted the first of many Red & Black Personal Finance & Life 101 programs. Be prepared to hear powerful voices and unexpected messages that will stop you in your tracks. And begs the question, “Why are these things not taught in school?”

WANT MORE VIDEOS?

We’ll start loading them on our YouTube channel, and you’ll be able to click VIDEOS for an assortment of short videos and social media posts. And, of course, they’ll be scattered throughout this site based on subject matter, while some will be “sneak previewed” in our weekly newsletter, so …

Register for our newsletter on the “sticky bar” at the bottom of the page.

P.S. – If there’s a topic you want us to talk about, please email us at Banter@RedandBlack.email.


RED+BLACK - A Floor Filing System?

Overwhelmed by piles of paper? Well, if you’re like Red, longing for a perfectly clean desk, you might use filing cabinets or, at least, neatly stacked file folders. But a filing system that uses the floor of your workroom? And what happens when you run out of floor space?!

Curious about Black’s advice? Check out this book excerpt …Too Much Paper — Not Enough Time.


RED+BLACK - All These Missing $20 Bills

Red’s missing money?! Black has no clue what she’s talking about … but it would have helped had Red explained it was the $20 bills she gets from the ATM. The ones that then “magically” disappear ...