WEBVTT - What Your Future Self Would Want You to Do Right Now 0:00:00.180 --> 0:00:03.000 Hello and welcome to A Little Bit Richer, with me, 0:00:03.000 --> 0:00:06.510 Iona Bain, brought to you by Legal & General. Now, when 0:00:06.510 --> 0:00:08.460 it comes to money, a lot of us have a 0:00:08.460 --> 0:00:11.940 story we tell ourselves like, I can't afford to plan 0:00:11.940 --> 0:00:14.730 for the future right now, or, I'll think about saving 0:00:14.730 --> 0:00:18.180 later. We're so focused on getting through the month and 0:00:18.239 --> 0:00:20.910 when we're living like that, it's hard to think about 0:00:20.910 --> 0:00:24.119 the future. But the choices we make today, where we 0:00:24.120 --> 0:00:27.810 live, how we spend, what we save, they're all quietly 0:00:27.810 --> 0:00:31.470 shaping the life our future selves will inherit. So today 0:00:31.470 --> 0:00:35.430 we're exploring the idea of present you versus future you 0:00:35.430 --> 0:00:38.010 and how the decisions we make today, big or small, 0:00:38.190 --> 0:00:41.280 will shape the opportunities we have later. Joining me today 0:00:41.280 --> 0:00:45.810 is financial educator and content creator, Tolu Frimpong, who has built 0:00:45.810 --> 0:00:49.830 a community helping people rethink their relationship with money. Tolu, 0:00:49.830 --> 0:00:51.090 welcome to A Little Bit Richer. 0:00:51.330 --> 0:00:52.349 Thank you for having me. 0:00:52.440 --> 0:00:57.720 Let's start with a 30- second summary of why looking 0:00:57.720 --> 0:01:00.510 after your financial future is so important. Are you ready? 0:01:00.570 --> 0:01:02.070 Oh my gosh. The pressure. 0:01:02.580 --> 0:01:04.620 You'll smash it, I'm sure. All right. Go. 0:01:04.980 --> 0:01:07.770 Your financial future is so important because the reality is 0:01:07.770 --> 0:01:10.140 time is going to pass irrespective of how we spend 0:01:10.140 --> 0:01:12.959 it. It's so important for present you to really think 0:01:13.110 --> 0:01:16.050 and prepare for future you. So the lifestyle you want 0:01:16.050 --> 0:01:17.580 to live, the house you want to live in, the 0:01:17.670 --> 0:01:19.410 activities that you want to be able to do later 0:01:19.410 --> 0:01:21.180 on in life, all of that is shaped by the 0:01:21.180 --> 0:01:24.240 decisions that you make today. Yes, whilst life is happening, 0:01:24.270 --> 0:01:26.640 cost of living is high, we need to really think 0:01:26.640 --> 0:01:29.280 about what we're doing here and now so that later 0:01:29.280 --> 0:01:30.420 on we get to enjoy it. 0:01:30.930 --> 0:01:33.691 Oh, yes. That was absolutely spot on. Yeah. 0:01:33.690 --> 0:01:34.590 Very good. 0:01:34.590 --> 0:01:37.890 Brilliant, brilliant stuff. And very, very inspiring as well. That's 0:01:37.890 --> 0:01:40.890 exactly the right tone, I feel, to start our conversation 0:01:40.890 --> 0:01:44.940 because you yourself have made quite a big financial decision 0:01:45.030 --> 0:01:48.930 in recent times. Could you explain to me why you 0:01:48.930 --> 0:01:52.680 decided to move you and your family out of London 0:01:52.680 --> 0:01:55.380 and what impact that's had on your finances? 0:01:55.650 --> 0:01:58.110 So my husband and I made this decision a couple 0:01:58.110 --> 0:02:00.720 of years ago to move outside of London. It wasn't 0:02:00.720 --> 0:02:03.450 a decision that we took lightly because I'm a Southeast 0:02:03.450 --> 0:02:05.760 Londoner at heart, born and raised, and I've always loved 0:02:05.760 --> 0:02:08.400 living in London. However, I really had to start thinking 0:02:08.400 --> 0:02:11.100 about the future that I envision for my family, for 0:02:11.100 --> 0:02:13.680 my children, what I want our lifestyle to be like. 0:02:13.680 --> 0:02:17.580 And unfortunately, it was just becoming unaffordable to stay in 0:02:17.580 --> 0:02:20.130 London just because of the rising costs. Our mortgage was 0:02:20.130 --> 0:02:22.740 rising. Our cost of living was rising. Everything was just 0:02:22.740 --> 0:02:24.900 going up and there wasn't enough of a gap between 0:02:24.900 --> 0:02:27.060 our income and our expenses. So we really had to 0:02:27.060 --> 0:02:29.520 have a tough conversation about, okay, if we want to 0:02:29.520 --> 0:02:31.650 be able to continue to live a certain lifestyle, we 0:02:31.650 --> 0:02:34.440 really need to re- strategize and start thinking about, okay, 0:02:34.440 --> 0:02:36.870 what can we do to widen that gap? And we 0:02:36.870 --> 0:02:39.750 made that tough decision to uproot our family, make our 0:02:39.750 --> 0:02:43.230 children change schools, change home and move outside of London. 0:02:43.230 --> 0:02:45.720 And it's been an incredible journey so far. Initially, I 0:02:45.720 --> 0:02:48.030 was a bit nervous and skeptical about doing it because I've 0:02:48.150 --> 0:02:50.669 never lived outside of London. However, I'm glad we made 0:02:50.669 --> 0:02:53.190 that decision because it saved us a fortune and it's 0:02:53.190 --> 0:02:54.720 just given us a better quality of life. 0:02:54.810 --> 0:02:55.859 So no regrets? 0:02:56.070 --> 0:02:58.260 It's only coming on to a year now since we 0:02:58.260 --> 0:03:02.130 made that decision to relocate. And yeah, so far no regrets. 0:03:02.460 --> 0:03:06.480 But that's really interesting that you were thinking ahead and 0:03:06.480 --> 0:03:10.049 able to really plan for the future. We know people 0:03:10.050 --> 0:03:13.230 do tend to be quite focused on the present for 0:03:13.230 --> 0:03:17.370 very understandable reasons, but why can that be a bit 0:03:17.370 --> 0:03:19.260 of a problem when it comes to our finances? 0:03:19.950 --> 0:03:22.380 The reality is that we focus on the things that 0:03:22.380 --> 0:03:24.900 are urgent rather than the things that are important. So 0:03:24.900 --> 0:03:27.120 because we're focused on here and now, I need to 0:03:27.120 --> 0:03:29.550 feed my children, I need to pay for groceries, I 0:03:29.550 --> 0:03:32.010 need to pay for the afterschool clubs, et cetera. There's 0:03:32.010 --> 0:03:34.830 always something right now demanding our money and our attention. 0:03:35.010 --> 0:03:37.080 So we focus on that without looking at the bigger 0:03:37.080 --> 0:03:39.720 picture and what we want our future to look like. 0:03:39.750 --> 0:03:41.940 What we end up doing is missing the opportunities for 0:03:41.940 --> 0:03:44.160 the better life that we could create for ourself because 0:03:44.250 --> 0:03:46.260 we haven't lifted our heads above the parapet. 0:03:46.950 --> 0:03:48.540 We almost get stuck in survival mode. 0:03:48.540 --> 0:03:50.490 Exactly. Survival mode. Yeah. 0:03:50.580 --> 0:03:53.760 So how do we shift out of that and start 0:03:53.760 --> 0:03:54.930 thinking more about the future? 0:03:55.830 --> 0:03:57.060 There's a lot of things that we can do. I 0:03:57.060 --> 0:03:59.850 think number one is really understanding our numbers and really 0:03:59.850 --> 0:04:03.660 having honest conversations with ourselves about where we are and 0:04:03.660 --> 0:04:05.640 where we want to be. So like for myself, we 0:04:05.640 --> 0:04:08.130 had to have that difficult conversation about moving outside of 0:04:08.130 --> 0:04:10.530 London. For somebody else, it might be we need to 0:04:10.530 --> 0:04:13.470 downsize our house. I need to sell my car or 0:04:13.560 --> 0:04:16.349 choose alternative modes of transport. What can we do to 0:04:16.620 --> 0:04:19.349 reduce those expenses so that we can put money towards 0:04:19.350 --> 0:04:21.480 the things that are more important to us? And yes, 0:04:21.480 --> 0:04:24.150 there are so many external factors beyond our control, but 0:04:24.330 --> 0:04:26.610 the things that are within our control, let's focus on 0:04:26.610 --> 0:04:28.919 that and make decisions so that we can do the 0:04:28.920 --> 0:04:31.350 best that we can with the resources that we have available. 0:04:31.680 --> 0:04:34.680 So for you, the decision to move out of London 0:04:34.680 --> 0:04:36.630 cannot have been an easy one. It's where you were 0:04:36.630 --> 0:04:40.440 born and brought up. How do you separate the practical and 0:04:40.440 --> 0:04:44.250 financial considerations from what can be quite an emotional decision 0:04:44.250 --> 0:04:44.880 to make? 0:04:45.300 --> 0:04:47.310 We used to live five minutes away from my in 0:04:47.310 --> 0:04:49.050 laws. So my mother- in- law, father- in- law, were 0:04:49.050 --> 0:04:51.930 literally around the corner. So we had that option of 24/ 0:04:51.930 --> 0:04:54.270 7 support for the children and we had to give 0:04:54.270 --> 0:04:57.150 that up. So that was a big emotional decision to make 0:04:57.150 --> 0:04:59.190 because my husband's super close to his parents and I'm 0:04:59.190 --> 0:05:01.140 super close to them as well. We lived with them 0:05:01.140 --> 0:05:03.870 for three years when we first got married. So very close- 0:05:03.870 --> 0:05:06.270 knit family. So making that big decision to move out 0:05:06.270 --> 0:05:08.880 of London wasn't one we made lightly, but we really 0:05:08.880 --> 0:05:11.010 did need to think about our children and the future that 0:05:11.010 --> 0:05:12.930 we wanted for them. And we knew that as much 0:05:12.930 --> 0:05:15.839 as it was something we wanted to do emotionally, stay 0:05:15.990 --> 0:05:19.589 close to family. We knew that financially just didn't make the most 0:05:19.589 --> 0:05:21.690 sense for us to stay and we needed to make 0:05:21.690 --> 0:05:24.089 that sacrifice for the future that we wanted for our 0:05:24.089 --> 0:05:26.070 family. So it wasn't an easy one. It was a 0:05:26.070 --> 0:05:29.039 very emotionally draining one. And it is one to this 0:05:29.040 --> 0:05:31.050 day that I'm like, it would be so nice to have them 0:05:31.050 --> 0:05:33.419 close by. I'm still hoping that we can convince them 0:05:33.420 --> 0:05:34.770 to move down eventually. 0:05:35.460 --> 0:05:36.690 That's a long- term plan. 0:05:36.690 --> 0:05:38.550 Yeah, exactly. That's the long- term plan, to get them to 0:05:38.550 --> 0:05:41.010 retire and move to Ken. I think sometimes we do 0:05:41.010 --> 0:05:43.980 need to separate the emotion from the practicality and think 0:05:43.980 --> 0:05:46.230 about what actually makes the most logical sense. 0:05:46.529 --> 0:05:49.950 I completely agree. And my parents have downsized, which is 0:05:49.950 --> 0:05:53.520 a big financial decision to make, and they moved halfway 0:05:53.520 --> 0:05:56.279 across the country as well, partly to be near me 0:05:56.279 --> 0:05:58.980 and my brother, but also partly because it made financial 0:05:58.980 --> 0:06:01.919 sense for them. But again, it's not easy. They were 0:06:01.920 --> 0:06:04.109 in that house that they were in for 30 odd 0:06:04.110 --> 0:06:07.320 years and therefore I'm very admiring of people who can 0:06:07.320 --> 0:06:10.589 make those big decisions, but it is easier said than done. 0:06:10.589 --> 0:06:13.469 So what would your advice be to anyone who is 0:06:13.560 --> 0:06:17.640 thinking about making a really big decision that would benefit 0:06:17.640 --> 0:06:21.120 their finances, but is going to represent a big change in their life? 0:06:21.720 --> 0:06:24.120 I would advise them to sit down and write the 0:06:24.120 --> 0:06:26.219 pros and the cons of this decision that they're making, 0:06:26.220 --> 0:06:28.440 because I think when you actually take the emotion away 0:06:28.440 --> 0:06:31.380 from it, when the pros strongly outweigh the cons, it 0:06:31.380 --> 0:06:33.450 makes it easier to make that decision. You can come 0:06:33.450 --> 0:06:35.850 back to that. Exactly. You can come back to it. It's like, okay, 0:06:35.880 --> 0:06:39.390 yes, this is hard. However, we've made this sacrifice because. 0:06:39.630 --> 0:06:41.820 And so for my family, it was the best option, 0:06:41.820 --> 0:06:44.520 but also we were considering things like secondary schools for 0:06:44.520 --> 0:06:47.039 my children. And just recently, my son got into his 0:06:47.040 --> 0:06:49.500 first choice, secondary school. So it was little things like that, 0:06:49.500 --> 0:06:51.990 that give you that reassurance that, oh, okay, actually we 0:06:51.990 --> 0:06:54.390 have made the right choice for our family. So yes, 0:06:54.390 --> 0:06:57.000 it's not easy, but nothing in life is easy, so 0:06:57.000 --> 0:06:58.200 you have to choose your hard. 0:06:58.350 --> 0:06:59.670 Yeah. Embrace change. 0:06:59.700 --> 0:07:00.570 Exactly. 0:07:00.750 --> 0:07:05.040 And there will be people who are wondering about making 0:07:05.040 --> 0:07:07.410 a change in their finances when it comes to their 0:07:07.410 --> 0:07:11.790 pensions or maybe starting to invest, but they don't feel 0:07:11.790 --> 0:07:14.010 like they've got enough money. And for some people, that 0:07:14.010 --> 0:07:17.160 is a reality. For other people, it may be more 0:07:17.160 --> 0:07:20.489 of a perception rather than the reality. So what would 0:07:20.490 --> 0:07:22.740 you say to anyone who doesn't feel that they have 0:07:22.740 --> 0:07:24.870 any money to spare for those sorts of things like 0:07:24.870 --> 0:07:26.280 a pension or investments? 0:07:26.490 --> 0:07:28.470 Yeah. I would say that you can't afford not to 0:07:28.470 --> 0:07:30.690 do these things. So if I give myself, for example, 0:07:30.690 --> 0:07:33.540 I opted out of my workplace pension when I first got 0:07:33.540 --> 0:07:35.220 my graduate job and I worked at that job for 0:07:35.220 --> 0:07:37.590 10 years. So I missed out on all of my 0:07:37.650 --> 0:07:41.250 employer's contribution, my employer's match, and plus the compound interest 0:07:41.250 --> 0:07:43.320 that I could have been making on that pension for a 0:07:43.320 --> 0:07:46.290 decade. And that's because I thought I needed that money. 0:07:46.320 --> 0:07:47.910 I want to go on holiday, I want to travel, 0:07:48.060 --> 0:07:49.440 I want to save for a new car. All of 0:07:49.440 --> 0:07:52.260 these things that I thought were a priority then. Fast- forward 0:07:52.260 --> 0:07:54.720 to nearly 40 year old me, and I'm kicking myself 0:07:54.750 --> 0:07:56.970 at that decision that I made back then to opt 0:07:56.970 --> 0:07:59.430 out, because yes, you may think you can't afford to 0:07:59.430 --> 0:08:01.890 pay into these things, but it's for your own betterment 0:08:01.890 --> 0:08:03.360 and for your own benefit. So you're paying for your 0:08:03.360 --> 0:08:06.000 future self. Right now you think that, okay, this is the 0:08:06.000 --> 0:08:08.790 best decision, but actually you're only doing yourself a disservice 0:08:08.790 --> 0:08:10.800 later on down the line. So all you're doing is 0:08:10.800 --> 0:08:11.730 you're delaying your heart. 0:08:12.600 --> 0:08:14.850 And part of the problem is that presumably at that 0:08:14.850 --> 0:08:17.160 point when you were deciding whether to stay in the 0:08:17.160 --> 0:08:20.130 pension, you weren't really being told what the benefits are 0:08:20.130 --> 0:08:22.560 staying in that pension long term were. So do you 0:08:22.560 --> 0:08:25.455 feel that sometimes people don't get given the kind of 0:08:25.455 --> 0:08:28.050 information that they need to make an informed choice? 0:08:28.170 --> 0:08:31.320 Oh, absolutely. I didn't know what pensions were. All I 0:08:31.320 --> 0:08:34.170 knew was that it was another deduction from my payslip. 0:08:34.380 --> 0:08:37.770 I'm seeing national insurance, I'm seeing pension, I'm seeing student 0:08:37.770 --> 0:08:40.469 loan, all of these deductions from my salary. And I'm like, " 0:08:40.800 --> 0:08:42.780 Why are all these people taking my money?" So we 0:08:42.780 --> 0:08:44.880 didn't have that education. It's not until I went on 0:08:44.880 --> 0:08:47.760 a whole journey with money, getting myself into debt and 0:08:47.760 --> 0:08:50.010 paying off that debt that I learned about the value of 0:08:50.010 --> 0:08:51.959 things like pensions. And that's when I'm like, " Oh my 0:08:51.960 --> 0:08:54.510 gosh, Tolu, you've made a big mistake here by opting 0:08:54.510 --> 0:08:57.030 out." So definitely I think it's the unawareness that people 0:08:57.030 --> 0:08:59.940 have about the importance of things like your pension and 0:08:59.940 --> 0:09:02.490 investing. So you want to make those decisions today so 0:09:02.490 --> 0:09:05.160 that future you can be comfortable because the reality is 0:09:05.160 --> 0:09:07.110 that time is going to pass regardless of what you 0:09:07.110 --> 0:09:09.449 do with it. And I can't believe I'm going to 0:09:09.450 --> 0:09:11.550 be turning 40 soon. I thought I was going to be 0:09:11.550 --> 0:09:13.110 a baby girl forever, but here I am, barely 40. 0:09:14.130 --> 0:09:15.210 It's a shock, isn't it? 0:09:15.210 --> 0:09:17.640 It's a shock and it comes by so quickly. So 0:09:17.640 --> 0:09:19.740 you want to really make sure you're putting things in place and 0:09:19.740 --> 0:09:22.469 preparing financially so that you are in the strongest position 0:09:22.470 --> 0:09:24.179 you can when you meet future you. 0:09:24.630 --> 0:09:27.960 Absolutely. And how important is identity in all this? Because 0:09:28.200 --> 0:09:30.990 we have previously covered the book, Atomic Habits in our 0:09:30.990 --> 0:09:33.390 book club episode, and that talks a lot about how 0:09:33.390 --> 0:09:38.280 identity drives current and future habits. So how would you 0:09:38.340 --> 0:09:42.630 apply that thinking about identity and how you see yourself 0:09:42.780 --> 0:09:45.780 to motivate you to really act in your best interests? 0:09:46.200 --> 0:09:48.059 Identity is a big thing. And I think it's one 0:09:48.059 --> 0:09:49.650 of those things that hold a lot of us back 0:09:49.650 --> 0:09:52.890 from becoming the best versions of ourselves. So I like 0:09:52.890 --> 0:09:54.690 to say that saying all the time where if you 0:09:54.690 --> 0:09:56.700 believe you can or you believe you can't, you're right. 0:09:56.940 --> 0:09:58.949 So if you don't think you can save money, you're 0:09:58.950 --> 0:10:01.380 not going to save money. So I've always said, I 0:10:01.380 --> 0:10:04.770 can't wake up early, but having children, I've had to 0:10:04.770 --> 0:10:07.829 become a morning person by force because they're morning people. 0:10:08.100 --> 0:10:10.080 So it's like all those years of me saying I'm 0:10:10.080 --> 0:10:12.360 not a morning person wasting all those hours early in the 0:10:12.420 --> 0:10:14.820 morning when I could have been productive, working on my 0:10:14.820 --> 0:10:17.700 business, et cetera. Had I have had that identity shift 0:10:17.700 --> 0:10:19.980 back then, I could have achieved a lot more. Likewise, 0:10:19.980 --> 0:10:22.350 when it comes to your finances, saying, " I can't save. 0:10:22.350 --> 0:10:24.210 I can't invest. I can't pay off debt. I can't 0:10:24.210 --> 0:10:26.550 do all of these things." You're never going to start 0:10:26.550 --> 0:10:29.820 taking the steps required to then achieve those things. So 0:10:29.880 --> 0:10:32.400 the book, Atomic Habit that you mentioned, he talks about 0:10:32.400 --> 0:10:35.040 starting small. So you can't go from saying, " I'm not 0:10:35.040 --> 0:10:37.199 a saver," to, " I'm going to save 1, 000 pounds a month." 0:10:37.500 --> 0:10:39.900 That's not realistic. You're setting yourself up for failure. But 0:10:39.900 --> 0:10:41.819 what you can do is say, " Okay, every time I 0:10:41.820 --> 0:10:44.490 spend 10 pounds or 9. 50, I'm going to save 0:10:44.490 --> 0:10:46.350 the 50 pence and I'm not going to touch it." 0:10:46.350 --> 0:10:48.900 And then you can build on that little habit incrementally 0:10:49.050 --> 0:10:51.630 week on week, month on month until you look back 0:10:51.900 --> 0:10:53.520 at the end of the year and you see how 0:10:53.520 --> 0:10:55.320 much money you've been able to save. And then you 0:10:55.320 --> 0:10:58.140 have that evidence that, oh, actually I can do that. And 0:10:58.140 --> 0:11:00.300 then that identity becomes more real to you. 0:11:00.480 --> 0:11:04.590 Yeah. And it's really interesting because potentially from that small 0:11:04.590 --> 0:11:07.710 behavior change in the beginning, further down the line as 0:11:07.710 --> 0:11:11.010 you develop that identity of someone who is looking after 0:11:11.010 --> 0:11:13.559 your future self, you're then in a position to make 0:11:13.559 --> 0:11:16.439 those bigger changes perhaps that will really, really add up 0:11:16.440 --> 0:11:18.660 and compound over the long term. So there's that kind 0:11:18.660 --> 0:11:21.750 of relationship from the small habits right up to the 0:11:21.750 --> 0:11:22.559 big decisions. 0:11:22.590 --> 0:11:25.590 Exactly. It's baby steps, but it all compounds over time 0:11:25.590 --> 0:11:26.070 for sure. 0:11:26.580 --> 0:11:31.650 And how does somebody move away from thinking, I'm always 0:11:31.650 --> 0:11:34.920 broke. That's just how life is. That's my situation, to 0:11:35.370 --> 0:11:37.770 I'm somebody who builds wealth? How do you make that shift 0:11:37.770 --> 0:11:39.689 from one identity to the other? 0:11:40.110 --> 0:11:43.110 So it's going back to building evidence in support of 0:11:43.110 --> 0:11:45.540 this new identity that you're claiming is yours. So if you're 0:11:45.540 --> 0:11:47.670 saying you're not somebody that can save money, if day 0:11:47.670 --> 0:11:49.860 in, day out, you're saving 50 piece, saving a pound, 0:11:50.010 --> 0:11:53.460 five pound, 10 pounds, eventually over time that money compounds 0:11:53.460 --> 0:11:55.679 and then you realize, oh, actually I can save. I've 0:11:55.679 --> 0:11:57.900 been able to achieve this goal of maybe paying off 0:11:57.900 --> 0:12:00.780 this amount of debt or opening my investment account finally. 0:12:00.960 --> 0:12:02.820 All of these little things, you build up that evidence. 0:12:02.820 --> 0:12:05.670 I think also what we say about ourselves becomes true. 0:12:05.670 --> 0:12:07.829 So be mindful of the words that we speak. So 0:12:08.040 --> 0:12:10.650 saying I'm lazy, saying I'm broke, saying I'm never going 0:12:10.650 --> 0:12:13.410 to be rich, saying only a certain demographic of people 0:12:13.410 --> 0:12:15.420 can be wealthy. All of these things that we say 0:12:15.420 --> 0:12:18.809 and that we consume in our content, all those things shape 0:12:18.870 --> 0:12:21.600 our identity. So when you don't think you can see 0:12:21.600 --> 0:12:23.790 yourself in a certain space or you can't see yourself 0:12:23.790 --> 0:12:26.370 achieving certain things, it's never going to be a reality. 0:12:26.370 --> 0:12:28.620 You've kind of set yourself up for failure even before 0:12:28.620 --> 0:12:29.490 you've got started. 0:12:30.120 --> 0:12:34.050 So how did you go from being somebody who made 0:12:34.050 --> 0:12:37.500 these decisions like opting out of your pension and tending 0:12:37.500 --> 0:12:39.450 to think about the here and now to somebody who 0:12:39.450 --> 0:12:42.900 clearly thinks very, very deeply about the future? 0:12:43.620 --> 0:12:46.170 I think it's life. Life happened. I got myself into 0:12:46.170 --> 0:12:47.370 a lot of debt and I went on a whole 0:12:47.370 --> 0:12:49.709 journey of learning about money. So a lot of the 0:12:49.710 --> 0:12:52.890 content I started consuming was more about people starting to 0:12:52.890 --> 0:12:55.710 budget, people paying off debt, people learning how to invest. 0:12:55.710 --> 0:12:57.630 And I'm seeing women that look like me who are 0:12:57.630 --> 0:13:00.660 now investors that have huge amounts of wealth that they've 0:13:00.660 --> 0:13:03.030 been able to accumulate, not because they were born into 0:13:03.030 --> 0:13:06.179 money or because they earn a high figure, but because 0:13:06.179 --> 0:13:08.699 they were just really good stewards of their finances and 0:13:08.700 --> 0:13:10.860 they were able to make their money grow. And so 0:13:10.860 --> 0:13:13.320 for me, seeing them being able to do it said 0:13:13.320 --> 0:13:14.819 to me okay, if they can do it, there's no 0:13:14.820 --> 0:13:17.130 reason why I can't do it. My mom always says 0:13:17.130 --> 0:13:18.870 to me, " They don't have two heads," and it's so 0:13:18.870 --> 0:13:21.330 true. They don't have two heads. So they're showing me 0:13:21.330 --> 0:13:23.729 the blueprint as to how I can also do it. 0:13:23.880 --> 0:13:26.250 I think before there was a lack of knowledge, so 0:13:26.370 --> 0:13:27.630 I didn't know what I didn't know. 0:13:27.690 --> 0:13:30.000 It's interesting because some people might see that content and 0:13:30.000 --> 0:13:32.400 think it's a little bit daunting, but you saw it 0:13:32.400 --> 0:13:33.870 and you were inspired by it. 0:13:34.440 --> 0:13:35.550 Very inspired. Yeah. 0:13:35.760 --> 0:13:39.270 And do you feel like the information that you receive 0:13:39.270 --> 0:13:43.170 is also incredibly important to you cultivating that new identity? 0:13:43.620 --> 0:13:46.320 What advice would you have for people who want to 0:13:46.320 --> 0:13:49.260 improve what they see around them? Because that was clearly, 0:13:49.260 --> 0:13:50.730 really, really crucial for you. 0:13:50.820 --> 0:13:53.940 Yes, absolutely. I would say be mindful. So if you're 0:13:53.940 --> 0:13:56.370 just seeing people live these lavish lives, but they're not 0:13:56.370 --> 0:13:58.470 showing you how they've been able to do it makes 0:13:58.470 --> 0:13:59.969 it seem like, oh my gosh, I'm missing out. What have 0:14:00.030 --> 0:14:01.710 I done wrong? Why is my life like this? And 0:14:01.710 --> 0:14:04.050 there's this like that. But when you're following accounts of 0:14:04.050 --> 0:14:06.840 people that look literally just like you, ordinary everyday people 0:14:06.840 --> 0:14:09.630 that just make better money decisions and they're able to 0:14:09.630 --> 0:14:11.970 pay off debt, they're able to save, invest, et cetera, 0:14:12.150 --> 0:14:13.949 it makes you think, okay, if they can do it, I 0:14:13.950 --> 0:14:16.140 can do it too. I think the books and a 0:14:16.140 --> 0:14:20.010 podcast and everything that we consume can help shape us 0:14:20.010 --> 0:14:21.540 for the good or for the bad. And I think 0:14:21.540 --> 0:14:24.090 for me, I was just consuming a lot of materials 0:14:24.090 --> 0:14:27.150 that helped change my money mindset and helped me get 0:14:27.150 --> 0:14:29.550 better with money and enabled me to start a platform 0:14:29.550 --> 0:14:30.600 that I ended up starting. 0:14:30.660 --> 0:14:33.000 Yeah. It's a really good point because for me, I 0:14:33.000 --> 0:14:36.630 have to balance news about how difficult the economy is. 0:14:36.870 --> 0:14:39.240 But I know that if I consume too much of 0:14:39.240 --> 0:14:42.570 that, it then starts to influence my perception of my 0:14:42.570 --> 0:14:45.390 finances and I start to get things out of perspective. 0:14:45.390 --> 0:14:48.960 I then have to balance that with information that actually 0:14:48.960 --> 0:14:51.240 helps me to be more positive and constructive and helps 0:14:51.240 --> 0:14:55.080 me to keep the news in perspective because otherwise it 0:14:55.080 --> 0:14:57.060 can get to you. We are in tough times at 0:14:57.060 --> 0:14:57.510 the moment. 0:14:57.750 --> 0:14:59.910 Tell me about it. No, we really are. I like 0:14:59.910 --> 0:15:02.880 to focus on what I can change and not things 0:15:02.880 --> 0:15:05.490 that are beyond my control because it makes me kind 0:15:05.490 --> 0:15:08.280 of feel helpless. Whereas when I'm consuming stuff like, okay, 0:15:08.280 --> 0:15:10.140 I can apply this, those are the things I tend 0:15:10.140 --> 0:15:11.220 to lean more towards. 0:15:12.030 --> 0:15:15.300 And if somebody maybe doesn't feel quite ready to make 0:15:15.390 --> 0:15:18.150 a big decision about their finances, whether it's starting a 0:15:18.150 --> 0:15:20.340 new job or moving to a new place, whatever it 0:15:20.340 --> 0:15:23.370 might be, what kind of one or two things could 0:15:23.370 --> 0:15:26.580 they start doing today that could really add up and 0:15:26.580 --> 0:15:27.900 make a difference over the long term? 0:15:28.440 --> 0:15:31.080 What you don't know, you can't change, right? So just 0:15:31.080 --> 0:15:33.600 learning about money. Listening to podcasts like this, this is 0:15:33.600 --> 0:15:34.560 a great step as well. 0:15:34.590 --> 0:15:34.591 Absolutely. 0:15:34.591 --> 0:15:37.410 But not just listening to it, but actually taking one thing 0:15:37.560 --> 0:15:39.000 and saying, " Okay, this is what I'm going to apply 0:15:39.000 --> 0:15:42.180 today." Whether it's opening that savings account, whether it's opting 0:15:42.180 --> 0:15:45.180 back into my workplace pension, whether it's starting to invest. 0:15:45.180 --> 0:15:47.610 Whatever it is, just make that decision. I think that would be 0:15:47.610 --> 0:15:49.770 a great place to start. I would also say, look 0:15:49.770 --> 0:15:52.860 at what you can do about your financial circumstances. So whether 0:15:52.860 --> 0:15:55.920 it is skilling up, whether it is speaking to employer 0:15:55.920 --> 0:15:57.780 about a pay rise. You've been in that job for 0:15:57.780 --> 0:16:00.270 five years and you've only had a pay rise once. Why 0:16:00.270 --> 0:16:02.550 is that? And just add value to yourself even within 0:16:02.550 --> 0:16:04.950 the workplace. So maybe you've asked but your employer said 0:16:04.950 --> 0:16:07.830 no, maybe ask, " Okay, what can I do?" And make 0:16:07.830 --> 0:16:10.080 that your mission over the next six months to position 0:16:10.080 --> 0:16:12.989 yourself in a way to revisit that conversation and get 0:16:12.990 --> 0:16:15.180 that pay rise. So what can I do within my 0:16:15.180 --> 0:16:18.300 control to improve my financial situation? And then once I've 0:16:18.300 --> 0:16:20.280 made that improvement, what am I going to do with that 0:16:20.280 --> 0:16:20.790 extra money? 0:16:20.880 --> 0:16:23.670 Yeah, because it's not just about saving money. It's also 0:16:23.670 --> 0:16:26.340 about investing in yourself because then over the long run, 0:16:26.340 --> 0:16:29.220 that will obviously have a really, really big dividend. So 0:16:29.280 --> 0:16:31.710 after this episode, if folks want to go away, have 0:16:31.710 --> 0:16:33.810 a cup of tea, whilst they're waiting for the kettle 0:16:33.810 --> 0:16:36.870 to boil, what's one thing that they could do to 0:16:36.870 --> 0:16:38.820 try to make their futures better? 0:16:39.390 --> 0:16:41.250 I think one thing is come up with a plan. 0:16:41.250 --> 0:16:44.100 So sit down, write down what future me wants to 0:16:44.100 --> 0:16:46.740 look like and what steps I can take towards making future 0:16:46.740 --> 0:16:49.170 me a reality, whether it's opening a savings account or 0:16:49.350 --> 0:16:53.280 opening an investment account, opting back into your workplace pension, 0:16:53.490 --> 0:16:56.160 just making a decision today that future you is going 0:16:56.160 --> 0:16:56.970 to thank you for. 0:16:57.120 --> 0:16:59.640 I feel really inspired now to go and do that 0:16:59.790 --> 0:17:01.260 and have a cup of tea at the same time. 0:17:01.320 --> 0:17:01.591 Love it. 0:17:01.591 --> 0:17:01.801 Thanks, Tolu. 0:17:03.000 --> 0:17:03.750