“A Dollar a Day” — A BlackDad Reflection on Financial Leadership

By Justin Hill.Ai

Recently I had a moment. It was one of those quiet revelations that hit you when you least expect it.

I was looking over our bills to include the mortgage, utilities, groceries, daycare, etc.. But this time, I wasn’t just looking at them as monthly numbers.

I broke everything down into what it costs us per day.

And when I saw that our mortgage alone cost $95.55 a day, my first thought was simple and raw:

“Damn.”

That’s a lot of money every single day! At least to me it was.

But then something else hit me. It was the realization our mortgage was our biggest expense. When I broke down every other bill, they were mostly just cents on the dollar each day. This changed how I saw it all.

Because if the majority of our life costs just cents a day and our biggest expense is something that’s building equity, safety, and long-term value then the question became: Why aren’t we saving even more?

That’s when it clicked for me. We don’t have a money problem. We have an awareness problem.

The Shift

Most people think budgeting is about cutting back or doing without. But when you start seeing your life by the day, not the month, you realize money isn’t just about transactions, it’s about perspective.

Looking at our life this way gave me clarity. It made money real, tangible, and made every choice feel intentional.

Every dollar suddenly had a name, a purpose, and a direction.

This isn’t about balancing a spreadsheet; it’s about building a system of stability for the people who depend on me most.

Financial Leadership & Awareness

For me, financial leadership is an extension of fatherhood. Money determines our level of access in this world: access to safety, opportunities, and peace. Income is a reflection of how hard we’ve worked and how consistently we’ve shown up.

The shame isn’t in not making money; it’s in working this hard and not having anything to show for it. When I lead my family wisely, not just by earning, but by managing, my kids inherit something bigger than wealth: options, freedom, and a blueprint.

When juggling wants vs needs, family vs me, or future vs present, I realize these are the real battles.

The key is awareness. When you understand where your money actually goes on a micro level, you start choosing better, not because you’re scared, but because you’re clear.

Where I Come From

I come from parents who grew up in the projects. People who didn’t have much but somehow made sure their children never felt like they went without.

My parents made sacrificial choices, the kind you don’t understand as a kid, but you feel the weight of when you become a parent yourself.

I’ve seen both sides of life: the single-parent struggle and the two-parent structure, the bright side of discipline and the dark side of bad choices.

That balance gives me clarity. I know what poor decisions get you and I know what sacrifice builds.

Our System

Here’s how we do it?

When most people budget, they start with the month. They list their bills, subtract from their income, and hope there’s something left. But that approach is too distant and too broad. Life doesn’t happen once a month. It happens every day.

So I flipped the whole process. Instead of asking, “What do I owe this month?” I asked, “What does my life cost me today?” I took every single expense: mortgage, utilities, insurance, groceries, streaming services, even our allowances, and divided them by 30. That gave me a daily cost of living. Then, I did the same with our income. I figured out what we earn per day. When I compared the two: what we earn daily vs. what our life costs daily, the picture got clear real fast. I could see how much room we had for savings, how much flexibility we had for wants, and exactly how much of our effort went toward essentials. That’s when it hit me: budgeting isn’t about control. It’s about awareness. Because when you know what your life costs by the day, you stop spending money blindly. You start seeing it as a trade — time for value.

If my mortgage costs $95.55 a day, that’s my home’s “daily rent.” It’s not a number that surprises me. It’s a number that grounds me. It reminds me that for every sunrise, my first job is to protect that investment. And when you see that, you realize how small most of your expenses really are and how big your potential to save actually is.

That’s the real game-changer.

Once you’ve calculated your daily expenses, you can reverse-engineer your lifestyle.

You can ask:

• What can I cut without feeling it?

• What can I add that brings peace or joy?

• And how much should I be saving every single day to move us closer to our goals?

Even our allowances and high-yield interest get folded into the plan because it’s all part of the same ecosystem. Nothing is “extra” and nothing is simply “whatever”.

Every dollar has a destination, even the ones that come back around. This is how we stay consistent. Not because we’re chasing perfection, but because we’re chasing clarity.

That’s how you build systems, not feelings. That’s how you create freedom, not frustration. And that’s how you lead a household, one day at a time.

 The Bigger Picture

Every time I look at our finances now, I see my parents’ sacrifices, my children’s futures, and the life we’re building dollar by dollar.

Peace doesn’t come from abundance.  It comes from order. Being a man isn’t about control. It’s about clarity. Money isn’t the measure of your worth. It’s a tool; one that can buy freedom, safety, and opportunity when used with discipline.

A New Kind of Awareness

Every dollar we spend is a reflection of time we’ve already traded;  hours of work, days away from home, years of discipline. If I worked for it, I should make it work for us.

Every dollar has a job. Every expense has a reason. Every day has a value. When you start living like that, you stop feeling like money controls you and start feeling like you’re in control again.

The Message

“Leadership isn’t loud. It’s consistent.”

The world might see you as just another man trying to make it. But your family sees you as their foundation. Being that foundation means budgeting, planning, and thinking ahead, even when nobody’s clapping for it.

When you realize how much it truly takes to build a life, you stop wasting both your time and your money. Both are sacred. Both are limited. And both are yours to lead with.