The Get Ready Money Podcast
The Get Ready Money Podcast with Tony Steuer features insightful conversations with thought leaders who are transforming how we think about money.
Each episode provides actionable tips and meaningful insights to help you ask the right questions, improve your financial conversations, and take control of your financial future. Whether you’re a financial professional or simply looking to strengthen your financial foundation, this podcast will leave you empowered and prepared.
“The litmus test for a terrific podcast has to be that you found yourself wishing you were ‘in the room’ for the conversation you're listening to, so you could participate. I had that feeling when Tony Steuer, CLU, LA, CPFFE and Bobbi Rebell Kaufman, CFP® were discussing the importance of understanding who you are taking financial advice from, and how much further in life just a little more intention can get you. Worth a listen!” – Karen Holland
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The Get Ready Money Podcast
Putting the Personal Back Into Personal Finance
On this episode of The Get Ready Money Podcast, I was joined by Elliott Appel, Founder of Kindness Financial Planning; Faith Teope, multimedia journalist and CEO of Leverage Retirement; Laura Adams, author and host of the Money Girl Podcast and Marguerita Cheng, CEO of Blue Ocean Global Wealth. We discussed putting the personal back into personal finance.
Here are some take-aways:
- Every woman needs to take an active role with her money.
- Think about goals first, what do you want?
- Be intentional and talk with your loved ones about money.
- Get curious, ask what am I missing?
- Figure out what is important to you and prioritize it, it probably costs less money than you think. (Elliott Appel)
- Create a life with your money, using it as a tool that brings you joy. (Laura Adams)
- You don't need to wait till tomorrow to enjoy your passions and priorities. (Marguerita Cheng)
- Take the time to really visualize how you want to live your life and then hold on to it. (Faith Teope)
Elliott Appel is a fee-only, fiduciary financial planner and the founder of Kindness Financial Planning, LLC, which focuses on helping widows and caregivers gain control of their financial life. In addition to writing regularly about financial planning strategies, aging, and caregiving, Elliott co-hosts a podcast called ME and Money. Elliott enjoys playing tennis, hiking, biking, photography, and cooking. He currently lives in Madison, Wisconsin to support his wife’s career in medicine, but calls the Pacific Northwest home.
Faith Teope is a multimedia journalist, children’s financial literacy author, and CEO of Leverage Retirement, a 40+ year-old TPA/Recordkeeper firm. She is known for being the host of the weekly podcast, Pull to Refresh: Where 401k experts get curious. Teope is the editor of The Naked Professional LinkedIn Newsletter and a contributor to Safe in Harm’s Way as a financial abuse advocate. Her new show, SAVVY, explores the systemic gaps in financial literacy and is scheduled to air in the fall of 2023. Teope's debut title is The Monster Job.
Laura Adams is an award-winning author, speaker, host of Money Girl podcast (43 million downloads), and founder of The Money Stack. She was named one of Empower's "Top 50 Women in Personal Finance" and is a Forbes Advisory Board Member. As a frequent source for the national media, millions of viewers and readers benefit from her practical financial advice. Laura’s mission is to empower consumers to make smart money decisions through her speaking, spokesperson, and advocacy work. She received an MBA from the University of Florida and lives in Vero Beach, Florida.
Marguerita (Rita) Cheng helps educate the public, policy makers, and media about the benefits of competent, ethical financial planning. As a Certified Financial Planner® professional Rita helps people meet their life goals through the proper management of financial resources. She is passionate about helping them navigate some of life’s most difficult issues—divorce, death, career changes, caring for aging relatives—so they can feel confident and in control of their finances. Rita is a regular columnist for Kiplinger and MarketWatch, and a past spokesperson for the AARP Financial Freedom Campaign. Rita volunteers her time as a
The Get Ready Money Podcast and its guests do not provide investment advice. All content is for educational purposes. Guest opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Get Ready Money Podcast and Tony Steuer.
Are you looking to get ready, be prepared and transform your financial future? Then you've come to the right place. This is the Get Ready Money Podcast with Tony Stewart, where Tony has insightful conversations with financial experts who are changing the way we think about money. Catch up on the latest financial trends and hear practical advice from Tony and his expert guests so you can build healthy habits that work, Be empowered with tips for implementing small changes that can have a big impact on your financial future. So sit back and get ready to hear from today's guest.
Speaker 2:Welcome to the Get Ready Money podcast, changing the way we think about money. I'm pleased to be joined today by Faith Taope, laura Adams, rita Cheng and Elliot Appel. In this special episode, we'll be discussing how we can put the personal back into personal finance. Welcome everyone to the Get Ready Money podcast. Thanks for joining us today.
Speaker 3:Thanks for having us, Tony, yeah great to be here.
Speaker 2:Awesome, Awesome. Well, let's jump in with a quick round of introductions. Maybe just let the audience know who you are, your origin story and how you're helping people change the way you think about money. Faith you want to kick off, Sure.
Speaker 3:Hello, I am ecstatic to be here everyone. I am Faith Chiope, I am the CEO of Leverage Retirement and I'm a multimedia journalist, so I love to use my outside voice, especially on difficult topics. I was recently at the Federal Reserve in Dallas for their financial literacy summit and spoke on the pervasive issue of domestic abuse, because financial abuse is the number one sign of violence to come. I'm also the host of the miniseries Savvy, exploring the systemic gaps in financial literacy efforts, and, among various publications launched, my newest are my children's storybook, the Monster Job If you think self-worth and money skills, you've got a bedtime story. And then my newsletter, fortune Air. That's designed for families looking for clever ways to lace money talk in everyday life.
Speaker 2:Awesome. Well, thanks for being here, Faith Elliot.
Speaker 5:Great. My name is Elliot Apple. I'm the founder and financial planner of Kindness Financial Planning and I worked for about a decade for a larger investment advisory firm and then moved across the country with my wife to support her career and moved to Midwest and launched my own firm, and it's been an amazing journey so far.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and what about your podcast?
Speaker 5:podcast. I do also co-host a podcast with Matt Feazell, and that is monthly, maybe twice a month, depending on what's going on.
Speaker 2:So it's called Me and Money. Nice, cool, cool, and I have links, of course, to everybody's content in the show notes. Laura, how about you?
Speaker 4:Hey everyone. I'm Laura Adams. I am a personal finance and small business author. I've written 10 books over the years. I'm the host of the Money Girl podcast We've had over 43 million downloads and I do money speaking and education. I publish a newsletter called the Money Stack, which is a sub-stack newsletter and just really enjoy also helping brands reach consumers, trying to help people get the good message about whatever you know financial products and services they're offering. So I do a lot of PR and marketing kind of in partnership with brands.
Speaker 2:Awesome Rita.
Speaker 6:Hello, hello, I'm Rita Chang. My opening line is I'm MCMC from the DMV. That's MC for Margarita Chang. Dmv is DC, maryland, virginia. I'm from the M, maryland, and I'm the founder of Blue Ocean Global Wealth Financial Planning, first, an investment advisory firm firm. I am passionate about ensuring everyone has access to competent, ethical financial advice, because we all deserve better outcomes in retirement, so I'm so excited to be here.
Speaker 2:Glad you could be here, all of you, so let's jump in. So the first question topic is do you all feel that personal finance is actually personal, or is it more generic? Anybody want to jump in with that?
Speaker 4:Sure, I'll start. You know, I used to think that it wasn't so personal. When I first kind of got into the personal finance world it was kind of like, oh, this is just math, this is just, you know, more income than expenses and investing. That has definitely evolved. My thinking has evolved so much over the years really to believe that it is very personal because it all depends on what your goal is. What are you trying to make your money do for you? And then you kind of work backwards into how you manage it and of course, there's some fundamental rules that are the same for everybody. But it does get very personal as you begin to really customize. What are your goals, short term and long term and retirement. So we're all unique and I do think we manage money in a unique way as well, and so we need advice tailored to our specific objectives.
Speaker 3:Oh my gosh, I love your concept of the goal and then working backwards. I love that so much. I think that some of these newer generations are getting better at at least being able to visualize what they want, because I think prior generations have always been told what they need to do, and so these younger generations who are, you know they're getting a ton of flack for pursuit of happiness and not wanting to take some job that doesn't satisfy their soul or something. I think that they're on to something, and if they could take your idea of visualizing that and then working backwards, it may be completing their vision a little bit further than one year from now, but I think that they could be onto something with turning it. Their personal finance is a lot more personal.
Speaker 5:I might add. I think it depends on where people are receiving personal finance and how they're thinking about it. I think there's a large portion of the population that's still not sure what that personal portion is. I mean, I remember working with a newer client recently and you could tell after a meeting or two the light bulb started to click of like what does that personal portion actually mean when you dive into it? So to your point Faith about how it just seemed to be a numbers thing. That was sort of their perception of what it was supposed to be. So they didn't know what personal finance was.
Speaker 6:I agree with all of you. I think that it's really important to incorporate both the personal and financial aspect, and all too often people go right to financial oh, here's what I know I need to do. This is what I heard and it's not about oh, where did you hear that? Who told you that? But just letting them have that space to share their experiences and where they're getting the information. I used to think that, oh, it's generic. But to Elliot's point, I also think it depends where people are getting that information and the messaging and the context.
Speaker 3:Well, and it gets further complex too, right I mean? Because even it's not just where they hear it, it's also what they're choosing to hear. And then, even if they know okay and even believe okay, I need to set aside money for my kids 529 account and my own retirement. They know that, but that gets really tricky when they don't really know why or have clear descriptors in their head of the power or the impact that will have on their life. So they can't really hold on to that vision. I mean they need to save for their retirement because they're being told you need to have X amount by the time you're 44 or something and you need to put maybe this much amount into your kid's 529. But why? You know digging, being able to dig into those whys. Why is that important to you? Why, why, why will that help you so much? It's just the kind of this loose so that your kid will be set up so you won't have to pull so much out of your whatever emergency savings. It's not really a very clear, defined vision for that.
Speaker 4:I also used to think that there was not a whole lot of difference between personal finance for men and women, and I've evolved entirely on that as well, really understanding, you know, the gender pay gap and how women can be a little behind in their income and therefore in their savings and retirement, and combining that with longevity and responsibilities that they may have in their families, Women definitely have a few more things to think about. You know, a little bit more carefully than men may, Not to say that we can paint with a broad brush here for either gender, but in general women do have some special needs and circumstances that they may need to plan for. So you know that's something that I've really kind of evolved and been a bit more educated about fairly recently.
Speaker 5:I see that in my work, laura. I work with caregivers a fair amount, and caregivers tend to be women on the whole, and that might mean taking time off, work part time. So there's a lot more things that we have to plan around for that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, there's also a substantial racial wealth gap for people who watch and listen to the podcast. You've probably heard Shahara Wooden. Romy Pickron talking about that. Like Romy talked about how black women have a larger share of college debt. The average college debt that they carry is higher than males. Shara Wooden talked about generational wealth gap with Black Americans. So you know, there are these differences, for where people start out, you know, based upon who they are, where they were born, you know, and all the different things, or culturally as well. Culture makes a huge difference, I think.
Speaker 4:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 3:And who they're surrounded by, because you could have people have the same start, you know, or the same lack of resources. But if one person is given a certain insight and then they're able to, inside themselves, have the intrinsic motivation to take note of it, even just take stock of it in their mind, to be carried later on they'll make a different decision. So it's not even a socioeconomic or a racial thing, it's also just the patterns that we're seeing with how they're being exposed to what insights.
Speaker 2:Yeah, 100% access to financial education materials. I saw an exciting statistic this morning that now 71% of women own stocks, according to a recent Fidelity study I don't know if anybody else saw that stat that just came out which is a 20% increase in the last year, which means that some of these efforts are actually paying off and we are making a difference, which is exciting because it's access and I think Faith, you know just to you, know like you to focus just for a minute you know what you were talking about. Pre-show how financial abuse is a precursor to domestic abuse and I think part of the financial abuse maybe and you can definitely clarify on this is because women sometimes let men lead the financial conversation in couples.
Speaker 3:It definitely leaves victims more susceptible if they are allowing relinquishing their control over the money, especially making that decision that he's better with the money. I'm not so good with it, but financial abuse can be way more. It can be more impacting even on people who have financial wherewithal too. So financial abuse isn't just on people who don't want to touch the money conversations or don't even want to understand what bank interest is. It's not just them and, yes, it is the number one sign of future violence to come.
Speaker 3:So I think I mean, if we're going to help spread the word about personal finances and getting people even just aware of the skills because, yes, it can be tailored to each person in their lives, but there are elements, like what Lauren said at the beginning. There are elements that are math. There are some clear this is right, this is not right, something doesn't feel right is what that turns into. So later, when you have conversations where something isn't quite sitting right, it can give us a signal and so in that way, our role as personal finance people or people, just professionals working in the finance services space, we have a huge opportunity to armor people against that kind of situation to happen.
Speaker 6:There's nothing wrong with having it, they happen to all be ease but engagement. So creating that opportunity for her to come to the table, right Education, informing her of options and having them come together to present and then like empowered. I mean there's a situation where I had to sit with a widow. She was 76 years old and it was the second marriage. She's not mad at me. She came to me because she Googled me and I had to tell her that in five years her pension would end because her husband selected a 20-year pension benefit. So at the age of 81, her pension was going to stop. And she's like, why would he do this had I known? And fortunately we had five years to figure it out. But this is exactly what I'm talking about and that story I share it Because imagine like if she didn't know that it's like all of a sudden this income stream stops. So I was telling no matter your age or stage, it's important to take an active role.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I think you're sharing that story. I mean you're right and it's not so doom and gloom. You're totally right, it's not. I hate the fear factor like mode of communication in the old world of finance, because you're right, it's just protecting ourselves from not being exposed to things and being the one in control instead of always having to play defense. I'm so glad you shared that story. It gave me goosebumps. I'm glad she found you.
Speaker 2:That's awesome and that gets to communication. I'm going to switch questions around a little bit. What conversations should people be having around money to help with this topic?
Speaker 4:And you know, I think at a basic level, we need to communicate more with our family about money. You know just parents speaking to kids, kids speaking to older parents, just opening up those lines of communication. I know so many people that have really never talked about money within their own family. So that seems like a logical place to start and, of course, having great conversations if you have a spouse or partner, making sure, as Rita said and we've been talking about the importance of empowerment for women making sure that as a couple, if you're part of a couple and you share an interest in your financial future, that you are regularly updating each other and you know the status, what's our? You know what's going on with our debt, what's going on with our income, what are our goals, are we on track for retirement? You know all these basic things.
Speaker 4:Time goes by so quickly and if you don't sort of put things on the calendar or make a point to have a monthly or a quarterly update, time will go by and you'll realize you haven't talked about these important things for a long time. So I do think being intentional, scheduling things, really putting it down, we're about to get into the holiday season. This is also a great time when you're visiting family and visiting friends to bring up some money conversations, you know, maybe even questions that you have about money with your parents. It could, you know, you might find a good time to bring up those topics in a non-threatening sort of casual way and get a little bit of peace of mind about what's going on with your family members.
Speaker 3:Yeah, what I'm hearing is people need to get curious Because, you know, asking those questions they need to feel curious about. Well, what am I missing, what do I not know? Or how should I be thinking about XYZ? I would love it if more people I had somebody come to one of our family gatherings and ask about stocks and I loved that. It was such a question that I would not have expected from this person and I was like, and in such a weird setting, I thought that was so great and it was her curiosity.
Speaker 3:And so I, tony, I know you talk about curiosity a lot and you make me think too in this question about your 52 week planner, your get ready guide, and it's organized by even things that are happening in our life. So I think there's some opportunity there to use resources like that. When it's, you can get curious, maybe on the fly, maybe something is happening and we can start looking into it, but it could spark planning in advance for other things. But I definitely agree with Laura, we definitely need to be talking about it more. In a family is a great way place to start.
Speaker 5:Yeah, I might just add. I know some people sometimes are hesitant to bring up these conversations. I always like to say blame me as the financial planner. Like I set the seed. Like hey, I was talking to my financial planner about X, y, z, or I read this article about this, or I was talking to a friend, you can make up the friend, it doesn't matter. I think that's a softer entrance than just randomly throwing it out, which I know some people are hesitant to do, which I love it when people do that. One faith when you were talking about stocks, like that'd be awesome if someone did that.
Speaker 4:I'd be excited about that, but everybody else might not be True. I love that, elliot. That's great. Put it on the planner, put it on the tax accountant, whoever you need to be the heavy to get the topic out there or ask the question. That's great.
Speaker 3:Blame the nerd.
Speaker 2:I love it out there or ask the question. That's great. Blame the nerd. I love it. Always blame someone else, not a good strategy.
Speaker 6:Rita, what kind of tips do you have here? Communication Well, elliot, I agree with you. I tell people blame Margarita. My daughter said this to me. She's like who needs finance bros when you have mama bear finance? Because I tell people I'm such a mom and I want to make sure that I care for people and I take care of this. So, yeah, I would say, in terms of communication, I always am really super mindful and I make sure that there's no judgment. So I think and here's what I mean If someone says something, that's totally crazy.
Speaker 6:And this is very much related to communication and the rise of finfluencers a lot of people. The thing about finfluencers is they are communicating in a way that's relatable and it's also accessible. So, while you may not agree with the message, I think it's important just to think okay, how did people access this information and, more importantly, why? So when I meet with a prospect, I ask them you know, what are you looking for in a planner, right? I never say have you worked with a prospect. I ask them you know, what are you looking for in a planner, right? I never say have you worked with a planner Because that's yes, no, what are you looking for? Share any experiences you have and they can tell me whether it's good or bad.
Speaker 6:And then, how do you think a planner can help you? And if we're working together, what help would you like? This is where I know that people like me to nag them right, like this one guy's like can I just give you power of attorney and you do everything? I was like no, you're 52. I know you're busy, but you don't have any cognitive decline. I will set monthly calls with you and we'll get through this, but I can't just take charge and do everything for you. So I think asking those open-ended questions has been really helpful. You know what prompted your outreach, what you're looking for. You know, based on your experiences, what did you like, what didn't you like, and that's where you know maybe they're like you know that person didn't engage my spouse or partner or that person you know just pushed insurance but didn't tell me why I needed insurance.
Speaker 2:So those are all the questions that I find to be incredibly helpful. That's awesome. That's awesome and, rita, that really sparked something for me is you know that so often people may not want to talk about money and I don't know if that was the issue with the client you mentioned but that money is sort of this like separate thing that people look at. You know that's not interrelated to everything else that they have going on. You know that's not interrelated to everything else that they have going on. I mean, do you think do you all think that's part of the conversation that people don't always understand that money is a tool that can help them with the rest of their lives?
Speaker 3:Ooh yeah, I mean I think people are not thinking about money as a tool. I do think that we are kind of crossing over a little bit of a generational discussion here too, because looking at the way that my kids' generation is talking about life and money, it looks a lot different. People, even in the Gen Z, where I've got some younger cousins even watching the way that they talk about life and money is very different. They're a lot more open and there's a lot less secrets, which I feel like is a little bit different there, because you can be transparent or honest without being, you know, revealing everything, but it's really interesting watching that. So I think some of our conversations with personal finance probably might apply to boomers or echo boomers and not so much to the younger generations.
Speaker 3:It makes me think about, even so, one of my kids she's very young, but she when I think about some of the Gen Zs and they do things to make them feel happy, they want to live a happy life, I'm all for that, but when I see it on my daughter I I asked her okay, now we need to start paying attention.
Speaker 3:How long were you happy when you spent $5 on Robux? How long did that happiness last, to get her to pay attention, because, since I have four kids, I have the pleasure of watching four different money personalities come out, and so it's really fascinating, even her older sister saying you know, you're spending everything that you're making, right? And it got her to think wait, am I? And so it's interesting, though, to get to a point with each of them to say, okay, what are you trying to do, what are you wanting to do, and see if they can even think about what it is that they want, or pay attention to their wants, and I think sometimes I get to enjoy those conversations, because they're really the exact same conversations you're having with adults, it's just different toys and you know different language.
Speaker 2:Well, different toys.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I think it takes a lot of maturity to kind of flip that switch from spending to saving, you know, and some people never flip that switch right or don't do it until very late in life. And I think the earlier that we can make that switch and understand that saving is spending, it's just spending on ourselves, it's spending on our future, future and kind of thinking about it in a different way. That I know for me personally, when I was in my 20s and I started to see the power of saving and investing, that was, like you know, a whole new mindset for me. So I think the earlier we can impart that reality and that insight, the better off our young people will be.
Speaker 3:Yes, I am all for that. My daughter they go to school together. She plays on a softball team and her dad gives her money every time she hits a home run. And so she was telling my daughter this I don't do special allowances like that. So my kids were like, their eyes were wide.
Speaker 3:But my daughter was like did you put it in your custodial? And she's like my what? And she's like where are you putting it? She's like my savings. And she's like and my daughter takes a piece of paper and she's like pretend this is your $100 bill. And she put it on the counter and she's like when you pick it up, it's still going to be $100. And I'm like blown away that she got to explain this to her friend. But she's like but if you put it into custodial, it'll be this plus. And she tears more paper off of another one. And her friend was like how do I get a custodial account? And so I think that if we can't introduce these concepts that we used to think were too heavy for little kids I mean, my six-year-old set up her own custodial account it's totally doable to have those conversations and I don't think we need to be finance pros to be able to have those conversations with kids.
Speaker 5:It's amazing Faith.
Speaker 2:That's awesome. Now we can talk about whether they should pay for defensive plays and making an out, which I think is probably the more important topic here.
Speaker 3:Yeah, or trying something and failing at it you know, and then picking yourself back up that I might pay for.
Speaker 2:But you know the custodial account's a pretty good point as well. You know the custodial account's a pretty good point as well, you know. But I think you make a really compelling point. You know, especially for those of us who talk about financial literacy for kids, that financial literacy is for everyone and that we shouldn't be intimidated because of who we think we are, that we can all learn. You know we all work with different demographics. I mean, laura, your podcast reaches millions of people, you know. So you know we're able to reach different people in faith. As you talk about, you're able to reach young ones, rita. You have your audience, elliot. You have your audience. You know, elliot.
Speaker 2:Just you know to focus on. You know, because I know you have a Widows Facebook group. Is that still you know? How do you? You know, because I know you have a widow's Facebook group. Is that still? You know, how do you think widows are doing? Because you know the statistics are. You know what that 80 to 90% of widows will leave their current financial advisor. I mean, what are you seeing?
Speaker 5:Yeah, I think when it comes to money as a tool whether it's for widows or not I think it goes back to our earlier conversation that people aren't sure what their ideal life looks like or how they want to use that money, and so it's just we kind of just go throughout life saying, oh, I know I need to save this, I know I need to accumulate it, but then what does it actually get used for?
Speaker 5:I think that's the missing piece for a lot of people and that if you don't have an idea of how you're going to use it, money can't really be used as a very good tool at that. So I think it's coming back to what's important to you and what is in your ideal life. What does that look like? And then how do I actually use that money to do it? Because in my experience, I think the things that people find most important most people could actually go do that. If that's the thing that they actually focused on, I think it takes far less money to go do that. But people think, oh, I need you know 10 different things and they're all equally important.
Speaker 3:And now I need millions of dollars to do it, when in reality that's a much smaller number for the things that are most important. Oh yeah, I think that would be a very grabbing conversation. Have you been able to talk like that, specifically to get people to pay attention? I mean, I am, I am in financial services and I'm intrigued to hear you talk more.
Speaker 5:I mean, I follow a life planning process, so we follow a series of meetings to figure out what does an ideal life look like. Can we go through exercises, inspirational work to actually figure out what does that look like? And it's fun when the light bulb starts to go off for people of oh I just I needed to hire a babysitter once a week, like that. That changed my life. You know, that's an actual client example that I had, um or I don't know. I just wanted to travel for two weeks, like that would be an amazing thing. I didn't know that it would only cost xyz. We found a way to do it, so it doesn't even have to be big things. In my experience it tends to be smaller things that actually drive the most impact be big things In my experience it tends to be smaller things that actually drive the most impact.
Speaker 3:Do you find it generational to that people don't know how to turn on the identifiers of? This is what makes me happy and this is the life I want to live, because they've maybe been denied the pursuit of happiness in the past.
Speaker 5:I'm probably the wrong person to ask on that, just because I don't work with younger generations very much. So most of the folks I'm working with are 50 plus, and so it's been interesting to hear about that younger generation and how they're thinking about it.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I'm so curious.
Speaker 2:Hey Rita, what do you think on this Money is a tool.
Speaker 6:Money is a tool. I do think I'm going to speak a little bit about younger generations. So I have three kids who are Gen Z. My oldest is like right on the cusp of Gen Z and millennial, and then my son is like right in the middle and then my youngest is 19. So they range from 19 to 27. And I think money as a tool.
Speaker 6:So my husband is on the auditor track, right Big four firm, and our oldest daughter graduated a degree in supply chain management, operations, sustainability, and he was crushed that she didn't go the big four track. Our daughter went in a different direction, working in sustainability and for big corporations and this is very relevant because I applaud that. She was very vocal about what she wanted to do, had to explain to my husband, her dad, that just because this is what you want to do and what you think she should do, that doesn't bring her joy and that's not what she wants to do. She's never asked us for money. She bought a car, she paid off her student loans and now she's in grad school almost on a full scholarship right.
Speaker 2:Wow.
Speaker 6:I think that kudos for to her for, you know, not doing what society and people wanted her, but doing what she wanted to do and it's not easy because there's a lot of peer pressure. So, like, I've always supported her. But it is true, like her friends and her peers, they're a lot more vocal about money, so they talk a lot more about it, whereas our generation we're like, oh well, you know what, I'm just going to be someone's bridesmaid but this is going to cost me a lot of money they're a lot more vocal about what they're going to do and what they're not going to do. So I think they do recognize that. And this is the conclusion of it.
Speaker 6:My daughter said I don't want to waste money. So I'm very intentional with my time because time is money. Like, I treat my time just as precious as money. So to me it doesn't matter if I have a job that's going to like pay X amount, if they're asking me to work 80 hours a week. I work one job and I have a part-time job, just because my friends work at that part-time job and I've had that part-time job. So that's what brings me joy. So I think that money is a tool I think the younger generation gets it and they're more comfortable, you know, going in a different direction, despite experiencing a little bit of pushback from, maybe, those close to them.
Speaker 2:That's awesome. And I think you mentioned something that I think is super important joy. What brings us joy and you know, in talking about personal finances, that's often overlooked is, you know, think about personal finances. That's often overlooked is, you know, think about what brings you joy. You know I mean, we all know that you're really popular financial advice give up your daily coffee. Well, you know what? I had a Starbucks cappuccino this morning. I love it. You know it's not the best way to spend my money, but I really enjoy it and I think that's important it's to talk about. And you know Faith to your point about Roblox. You know my son, you know, played Fortnite and Minecraft. You know he'd buy these skins. You know, just like, oh my God, but you know he enjoyed it. You know, and that's the thing is like, okay, maybe dial it back on how often you buy those, but you know they also enjoy those things.
Speaker 3:Yes, and I mean the joy works both ways. Do you? Do you take joy and having no money in your bank?
Speaker 4:account.
Speaker 3:I mean great identifier and at that really sinks us down like under the hood of. That whole thing is self worth and when I look across I've talked to several people who work specifically in people from other cultures or multicultural families and across that and across generations, we see that this self-worth piece is so interesting and such a big navigator in our money story. We don't know if we are worth spending the money on or we don't know if we are worth saving for our retirement. It's so fascinating.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that culture I mean self-identity is so important. So, you know, fortunately we have to start wrapping up this. You know we could probably talk all day. This is such a fantastic conversation. So to close out is you know, let's do a quick round robin of what our number one takeaway tip is today. Elliot, you want to kick off? Put you on the spot.
Speaker 5:Sure, I would say, figure out what is important to you and prioritize it it probably costs less money than you think.
Speaker 3:I love that.
Speaker 4:Yeah, laura yeah, I think, recognizing that everyone is different, we all have different objectives and goals and, you know, really really respecting that and speaking with people not from a judgmental angle, but really understanding that what you personally value and what brings you joy may be the exact opposite of what brings someone else joy, and so you know, I think our goal as educators is really to help people with the foundations, make sure you know they've got the savings and the investments that they need for a safe future. But when that's established, you know the spending that you do. You've got some leeway and discretion there to craft and create a life with your money, using it as a tool that brings you joy. I mean, that's, to me, is really what it's all about that brings you joy.
Speaker 2:I mean, that's to me, is really what it's all about.
Speaker 6:Awesome, rita. So I always talk about passions and priorities. When clients are going over their cashflow, I help them think about it in this way. I want you to think about your core and essential expenses. I didn't say fixed, and I do not use the word discretionary, because coffee for some people is discretionary, coffee for other people is essential. I had to wake up and get my kid to the pool at 345. I'm sorry, 445 in the morning. For me, coffee is essential to function.
Speaker 6:So I tell people once you know your core and essential expenses, then I want you to think about what Ellie was mentioning your lifestyle or variable expenses. Why do I want you to do this? Because I want you to know that you don't need to wait till tomorrow to enjoy your passions and priorities. So you take care of your priorities and you can do your passions today. And the reason why we want to know about your cash flow is not because for those you want to micromanage you. I want to make sure that you have the resources for your priorities and passions in the future. So, passions and priorities.
Speaker 2:Love it Faith.
Speaker 3:I want to absorb all of what you guys said and include mine. I think that we've all really said a lot of some similar things across the course of this podcast, but I think it's take the time to really visualize how you want to live your life and then hold onto it. It hold on to that belief that you can have that, and so don't stray, don't have apathy, because you have to keep holding on to that belief that you can have that life that you want and that way, all of your goals, all of your steps, all of your lattes, whatever it is, will keep you on the track to leading that life.
Speaker 2:So my big takeaway is, laura, what you were talking about is reframing that spending-saving point is that they're related. That saving is saving for your future, spending for your future, spend on yourself. And that gets back to that old adage of pay yourself first, make sure that you're spending on yourself. So I think that's just an amazing point. So I'm just going to take your point, laura, use it as my close, so you know where can people reach each of you. You know, to connect with you.
Speaker 5:Learn more about what you're up to, elliot uh, probably where you're healed for me the most is my newsletter, which is kindness fpcom slash newsletter if you want to sign up. I'm also hoping to do more in youtube. That's youtubecom slash at elliot m apple.
Speaker 6:Those are the best ways cool, cool, uh rita so I'm on linkedin margarita chang Also the website margaritachangcom or blueoceanglobalwealthcom. Those are the best ways to find me.
Speaker 2:Awesome Laura.
Speaker 4:Everything is at lauradadamscom, so information about podcasts, newsletters, books, it's all there and I'd love to connect.
Speaker 2:Awesome Faith.
Speaker 3:Yes, mine is also faithtiopecom and I love social media, but you can find all my things from my website.
Speaker 2:Awesome, awesome. And for everybody watching and listening as always, there will be links to everyone's resources podcasts, books and everything so you can get in touch with all the guests today. And thank you everyone for joining us today on this episode. Appreciate your time and insights.
Speaker 3:This is fun. Thanks everyone. Yes, Thank you, Tony.
Speaker 4:Thank you. It's been great.
Speaker 2:Yeah, thanks everyone. And thank you everyone, as always, for tuning in to this episode of the Get Ready Money podcast. If you learned something today to change the way you think about money, please be sure to subscribe and to tell a friend. Until next time let's change the way we think about money. Thank you.
