2 | The Kick Six and Your Money

In the 2013 Iron Bowl between Alabama and Auburn, the final play was a missed field goal that was returned 108 yards for a touchdown to win the game. Watch it here.

One of the most nuanced, random rules of football determined the outcome of the game.

Imagine if someone's introduction to college football was that play.

Very literally, imagine if someone watched that play with no prior context for the game of football and attempted to start learning how to play the game from there.

It couldn't be more misleading and disorienting.

There were no quarterbacks involved in the play.

The kicker would have appeared to bring greater risk to the situation than potential reward.

The "field goal return man" certainly would seem like the most important player on the team.

No part of the experience would contribute to the person knowing how to win a typical football game.

The novice spectator would be reviewing a case study in the PhD level course before they even knew they should enroll in the 101-level course.

Whether we realize it or not, it's too easy to engage with personal finance in the same way.

The different ways to invest and talk about investing are so nuanced, unique, and overwhelming that we get distracted or never even know what matters.

The different ways to save are so nuanced, unique, and overwhelming that we are led to believe that the way you save is more important than just saving.

Few parts of the experience emphasize the things that actually lead to a healthy relationship with money.

The kick six is a cool story. Most things in mainstream personal finance are more like a cool story than the secret to winning the game.