The Problem With “Yabuts”: How Excuses Quietly Destroy Financial Success

by: Jeffery A. Keill, CFP, CIM, FMA, FCSI, CEA

Portfolio Manager and Senior Wealth Advisor

Do you remember watching Elmer Fudd as a child as he hunted the wascally wabbit Bugs Bunny?  The 1940 Warners Brothers production “ A Wild Hare” opens with Fudd walking slowly through the forest dressed in hunting attire. He stops and looks straight at you and whispers, “be vewy, vewy quiet.... I am hunting wabbits!” With notorious lines like, “What’s up. Doc?” like so many Lonnie Tunes cartoons, they have become entrenched in our popular culture.

Something else that has become unfortunately commonplace to some- not just wabbits, but also ”Yabuts”.

Every Wealth Advisor has heard them.

• “Yeah, but the market is too volatile right now....”

• “Yeah, but I don’t make enough to save consistently...”

• “Yeah, but I’ll start once things calm down....”

These are “yabuts”- the subtle, seemingly harmless excuses that derail even the most well-designed financial plans. They creep into conversations, paralyzing all those who succumb, and ultimately sabotaging long-term success.

Let me share what is an obvious truth that I have witnessed over my career: wealthy people don’t use “yabuts” in their language. Not because they’re lucky. Not because they’re special. Because they understand two things most don’t: excuses compound faster than interest, and fear is a quiet thief (more on this in another upcoming blog).

Why Yabuts are so Destructive to Long-Term Success:

1. Yabuts Kill Momentum

Life and your financial journey are about movement- small, consistent steps that build over time. A Yabut is a brake pedal disguised as a rational objection. It stalls momentum. Have you ever heard these phases?

• “Yeah, but I’m too busy right now to plan for tomorrow”

• “Yeah, but I’ll start next year”.

Momentum is everything. Yabuts are momentum’s enemy.

2. Yabuts Create  False Sense of Logic

Excuses feel rational. They feel justified. A cookie with 50% less fat or sugar does not mean you can benefit from eating two of them.

Yabuts are dangerous because a person can talk themselves out of progress while believing they’re being responsible. They use Yabuts to handle discomfort from doing something that would move them forward.

Wealthy individuals think differently. They ask:

• What can I control?

• What’s the next step?

• How do I move forward despite uncertainty?

They don’t wait for perfect conditions. They act.

3. Yabuts Turn Temporary Challenges into Lasting Personal Limitations

   
   

Life will always present obstacles because that is what happens as you journey down your own financial path- market swings, job changes, family needs, unexpected expenses. There are plenty of challenges along the way. Yabuts transform those temporary challenges into a permanent barrier.

Don’t kid yourself: the wealthy have faced the same obstacles as everyone else. They simply refused to let those obstacles become identity statements. They consistently persevere and learn from these challenges:

• “If you are going through hell, keep going.”

• “What can I learn from this?”

The difference is mindset, not circumstance.

4. Yabuts Slowly Erode Accountability

A financial journey is a partnership- between the clients and their family, the Wealth Advisor, and the future they’re building. Yabuts manifest as “its not my fault” and leads to misguided engrained belief that bad things happen to them. The wealthy shift this to believing things simply happen despite themselves and take accountability to change. Yabuts shift responsibility outward to statements like:

• The market is volatile

• The economy is bad

• The timing is just not right

• The job is not secure enough

Accountability is the foundation of financial success. Yabuts chip away at this foundation until the plan collapses.

5. Wealthy People Replace Yabuts with Actions

Here’s the real distinction:

Wealthy people don’t have fewer excuses- they just don’t use them.

They replace: “Yeah, but.... with “ Yes , and here's what I’ll do next.”

They understand that progress is built on both perfect and imperfect actions, not perfect conditions. They know that excuses to act cost more than mistakes.

The Bottom Line

Financial success doesn’t fail because of markets, income, or timing.

It fails because of the quiet, persistent excuses that prevent action to achieve momentum and the needed progress upwards. If you want to build wealth- real, lasting, generational wealth- start by eliminating the phrase “Yeah, but.....”.

At Keill & Associates, we believe that to be successful you would do well to learn to replace “Yeah, buts” with:

• “I’m ready.”

• “Lets start.”

• “What’s the next step?”

Be like Elmer Fudd and walk slowly, hunting down your own ”yabuts” in life. Your future self will thank you.

Posted March 2026