WEBVTT - Joel's $ Origin Story #464 0:00:00.120 --> 0:00:02.760 Welcome to How the Money. I'm Joel and I am 0:00:02.880 --> 0:00:05.240 Matt's and that's right. The day has come. It is 0:00:05.280 --> 0:00:27.800 now time for Joel's money origin story. That's right, buddy. 0:00:27.840 --> 0:00:32.479 Today on the show, it's all about me time. Hooray. No, 0:00:32.880 --> 0:00:35.639 I'm I'm looking forward to a chat and and kind 0:00:35.640 --> 0:00:37.880 of diving into some of my money backstory. You got 0:00:37.880 --> 0:00:40.319 to tackle yours last week and it was a lot 0:00:40.320 --> 0:00:41.879 of fun. I learned a little bit, I hope our 0:00:41.920 --> 0:00:45.360 listeners learned a lot. And yeah, this week it's my 0:00:45.400 --> 0:00:47.680 turn in the hot seat. Does everything feel backwards because 0:00:47.760 --> 0:00:50.120 I kind of announced the actual title of this episode. 0:00:50.159 --> 0:00:52.160 You brought us back from the break with the music 0:00:52.640 --> 0:00:55.720 left his right and up is down exactly, which makes 0:00:55.720 --> 0:00:58.280 me think of those bicycles were like they're engineered so 0:00:58.280 --> 0:01:00.480 that if you steer left, it actually goes right. Have 0:01:00.600 --> 0:01:07.440 you seen these it's mind cluster where like you literally 0:01:07.480 --> 0:01:09.640 can't write it and it takes I don't know, like 0:01:09.640 --> 0:01:11.240 like tons of practice. I think it would take a 0:01:11.280 --> 0:01:13.800 long time to retrain your brain exactly, because what you've 0:01:13.840 --> 0:01:16.600 been doing something for so long, it's it feels really awkward. 0:01:16.640 --> 0:01:21.240 Sometimes just a small thing like who introduces the podcast episode. Yes, 0:01:21.680 --> 0:01:24.080 but before we get to my money story, and yeah, 0:01:24.120 --> 0:01:25.920 there's a lot I think we're gonna cover. I don't know. 0:01:26.000 --> 0:01:27.479 I mean, it's really it's up to you, so we'll 0:01:27.520 --> 0:01:30.400 see where it goes. But I wanted to mention one 0:01:30.480 --> 0:01:34.800 thing quickly that one of my friends, his name is Brennan. 0:01:34.800 --> 0:01:39.480 He goes by the Moniker budget dog, Instagram and Twitter. Yeah. Literally, 0:01:39.520 --> 0:01:42.160 I asked him how how he got that name, and 0:01:42.280 --> 0:01:45.440 he was like sitting there with his dog while he 0:01:44.840 --> 0:01:47.440 came up with it. So it just like really was 0:01:47.720 --> 0:01:51.400 like budgets exactly. So he's a he's a good dude 0:01:51.400 --> 0:01:54.200 and he's doing a lot of great work with a 0:01:54.320 --> 0:01:57.480 d A W G. Sadly, no, he did not, you know, 0:01:57.560 --> 0:02:00.520 that's how it goes. But he mentioned the other day 0:02:00.600 --> 0:02:02.520 on Twitter and I've not heard of this company before, 0:02:03.120 --> 0:02:06.120 a company to help you roll over your old four 0:02:06.160 --> 0:02:09.760 oh one k and it's called Capitalize. And I looked 0:02:09.760 --> 0:02:11.520 into this because I was like, all right, Branda knows 0:02:11.520 --> 0:02:13.280 what he's talking about. What is this thing? And it 0:02:13.400 --> 0:02:15.920 is this cool? It's actually Capitalized was named one of 0:02:16.000 --> 0:02:19.359 times top and mentions one and it is this site 0:02:19.400 --> 0:02:21.520 where you get to go roll over your four oh 0:02:21.560 --> 0:02:24.320 one K for free into an IRA. And there are 0:02:24.360 --> 0:02:25.760 a whole lot of reasons to do this, Like we 0:02:25.760 --> 0:02:27.720 could get into all the nuance. We're not going to 0:02:27.760 --> 0:02:30.799 because that's not what this episode is about, but we'll 0:02:30.840 --> 0:02:32.840 link to it in the show notes. And it's just 0:02:32.840 --> 0:02:35.440 one of those cools. Yeah, if you have an old 0:02:35.520 --> 0:02:38.160 retirement accounts sitting somewhere else and you want to move 0:02:38.160 --> 0:02:41.320 it to a place with lower fees and better fund options, 0:02:41.680 --> 0:02:43.320 a place I Capitalized is gonna help you do that. 0:02:43.320 --> 0:02:45.840 They're gonna handle the paperwork, which is like, for me, 0:02:45.960 --> 0:02:49.080 the most annoying part usually, And so yeah, it just 0:02:49.360 --> 0:02:51.720 it seems like this cool new service, and I wanted 0:02:51.760 --> 0:02:53.600 to mention it. Will will again put a link to 0:02:53.639 --> 0:02:55.880 the show notes. And yeah, if you if you're one 0:02:55.919 --> 0:02:59.320 of those people who's like dreading doing the annoying intricacies 0:02:59.360 --> 0:03:02.200 of first I'll find it's something as dorky as you know, 0:03:02.320 --> 0:03:04.320 rolling an account over from a four one K into 0:03:04.360 --> 0:03:07.520 a new I RA technical, yes, yeah, but ultimately not 0:03:07.560 --> 0:03:09.720 that hard. But Capitalized makes it even even. Also first 0:03:09.800 --> 0:03:12.120 rule problems, right, like are you over here Joe complaining 0:03:12.160 --> 0:03:14.239 that you've got too many four own ks and previous 0:03:14.240 --> 0:03:17.320 employers that you have to keep up with. Oh what 0:03:17.400 --> 0:03:19.960 a hard life that is from somebody who's never had 0:03:20.000 --> 0:03:22.920 a four week Right, But we did say simplification is 0:03:22.960 --> 0:03:25.720 a huge part of making personal finances better for people. 0:03:25.960 --> 0:03:29.000 And if this helps you simplify things, combine everything into 0:03:29.080 --> 0:03:32.239 accounts with fewer companies and and and also reduce you 0:03:32.240 --> 0:03:34.119 can get it that drag of fees at the same time, 0:03:34.280 --> 0:03:37.720 Like it's well your time. If you're with a provider who, yeah, 0:03:37.960 --> 0:03:40.160 does not give you the best investing options, you know, 0:03:40.200 --> 0:03:42.280 I will say if you are able to maintain those 0:03:42.280 --> 0:03:45.400 accounts and if the investing options are equivalent or similar 0:03:45.400 --> 0:03:47.800 across the board, there's there's no magic to combining all 0:03:47.840 --> 0:03:50.240 your accounts into a single giant account. Right, You're gonna 0:03:50.280 --> 0:03:52.720 earn the same types of returns. Uh, If you've got 0:03:52.720 --> 0:03:55.360 a hundred thousand dollars that's spread across three accounts, the 0:03:55.360 --> 0:03:57.240 same returns that you'd see if all of that money 0:03:57.280 --> 0:03:59.360 was just in a singular account. But like you said, 0:03:59.360 --> 0:04:01.040 it's more of like a mental thing. And if that 0:04:01.080 --> 0:04:03.720 helps you as an individual, then go for it. Yeah, 0:04:03.720 --> 0:04:06.640 as long as they're in the same fun choices right, 0:04:07.080 --> 0:04:09.280 uh for sure, So yeah, we'll link to it in 0:04:09.320 --> 0:04:11.080 the show notes. But Matt Let's mentioned the beer that 0:04:11.080 --> 0:04:13.800 we're having on this episode. We're drinking a beer called 0:04:13.800 --> 0:04:17.080 Woodland Pursuit. It's a New England I p a from 0:04:17.080 --> 0:04:20.000 the folks at Humble Forager and I'm looking forward to 0:04:20.080 --> 0:04:23.440 drinking this one while we share my money origin story tonight. Right, 0:04:23.480 --> 0:04:25.440 and I picked this one out especially for you, and 0:04:25.440 --> 0:04:27.480 we'll talk about why. I guess at the end of 0:04:27.520 --> 0:04:30.680 the episode. Sounds good. Well, like last Wednesday's episode, it is, Uh, 0:04:30.720 --> 0:04:32.880 it's time for your listeners to really get to know 0:04:33.080 --> 0:04:35.440 us on a deeper level. Last week, yeah, you got 0:04:35.440 --> 0:04:38.480 to hear my money story and the experiences that impacted 0:04:38.760 --> 0:04:41.200 how it is that I view money. And now it's 0:04:41.279 --> 0:04:44.760 Joel's turn, pailing from the Pacific Northwest, weighing in a 0:04:44.920 --> 0:04:49.239 like a h eighty pounds maybe okay any nine? Also 0:04:49.279 --> 0:04:52.920 the very you're the tallest half Norwegian, but yeah, you 0:04:52.960 --> 0:04:54.960 were raised here in the South. My best friend, Joel, 0:04:54.960 --> 0:04:57.440 ours guard. He uh might might have been the cheapest 0:04:57.440 --> 0:04:59.720 guy I've ever met, which is why I think we 0:05:00.000 --> 0:05:02.200 really hit it off when we first met around a 0:05:02.200 --> 0:05:04.400 decade ago. I think it also helps a ton our 0:05:04.440 --> 0:05:07.360 wives hit off as well. But I had never met 0:05:07.360 --> 0:05:10.839 anyone cheaper than me, and that's saying a lot. And 0:05:10.880 --> 0:05:13.560 it's no wonder that we were destined to start a 0:05:13.600 --> 0:05:16.560 personal finance podcast together. There truly is so much that 0:05:16.640 --> 0:05:19.240 already know about you. But like any good story, you 0:05:19.320 --> 0:05:22.760 start at the beginning. And I realized that I don't 0:05:22.839 --> 0:05:26.000 know what your first money memory is, and so, yeah, 0:05:26.040 --> 0:05:28.840 do you have a clear moment when you grasped the 0:05:28.839 --> 0:05:32.359 concept of money? Also, did Joys prefer the Kirkland signature 0:05:32.360 --> 0:05:35.000 pizza even as a toddler or there was that a 0:05:35.360 --> 0:05:37.400 more of an acquired taste. Yeah, now that was later 0:05:37.440 --> 0:05:40.200 in life. Really, that was more more recent occurrence. Uh. 0:05:40.200 --> 0:05:42.320 And and I will say, actually I talked about this 0:05:42.560 --> 0:05:46.120 recently on Twitter with somebody how Little Caesar's raised the 0:05:46.160 --> 0:05:50.080 prices of their pizza that inflation robbers meeting the road. 0:05:50.600 --> 0:05:52.680 But like, it's too short to really eat cheap pizza 0:05:52.800 --> 0:05:55.880 too frequently, so I usually spring forth the nicer stuff. 0:05:56.360 --> 0:05:59.360 But yeah, I guess when it comes to first money memories, 0:05:59.640 --> 0:06:03.440 probably first money memory is my parents had like this, uh, 0:06:03.560 --> 0:06:06.599 this cardboard cut out with like little dimes and nickels 0:06:06.600 --> 0:06:08.159 and pennies and dollars. Did you ever have one of 0:06:08.160 --> 0:06:10.480 those where it's like it's like a little learning way 0:06:10.520 --> 0:06:13.680 to learn about money. And so I remember seeing that, 0:06:13.760 --> 0:06:15.560 and it was this tangible thing where I got to 0:06:15.880 --> 0:06:18.600 group them and do additional subtraction and kind of get 0:06:18.640 --> 0:06:20.360 to figure out how money works. Okay, I do remember 0:06:20.360 --> 0:06:23.680 doing that in elementary school, like the same cardboard, like 0:06:23.720 --> 0:06:25.800 really to learn time and stuff. So your parents like 0:06:26.000 --> 0:06:28.960 stole it from the elemarry exactly. Actually you preat your 0:06:28.960 --> 0:06:31.560 older sister probably ganked it and you got to take 0:06:31.600 --> 0:06:33.240 a look at it. She was a bad one, you know. 0:06:33.440 --> 0:06:35.360 I learned a lot from that. So yeah, I think 0:06:35.360 --> 0:06:38.840 that was probably the most early memories I had is 0:06:39.080 --> 0:06:43.200 kind of playing with those physical cardboard cut out of money. 0:06:43.279 --> 0:06:45.400 But but then I think the kids had g I Joe's, 0:06:45.440 --> 0:06:48.279 and Joe had dollar bills on the shelf all lined up. Yeah, 0:06:48.480 --> 0:06:50.479 not necessarily know. I was not like roomed to be 0:06:50.560 --> 0:06:53.800 some sort of personal finance nerd. But I think the 0:06:53.800 --> 0:06:55.520 the other thing that sticks out in my mind when 0:06:55.520 --> 0:06:58.159 I'm thinking about the earliest memories I have of like 0:06:58.279 --> 0:07:01.880 actual money was when my parents I had to have 0:07:01.920 --> 0:07:05.000 conversations about in particular, the shoes that I wanted to buy. 0:07:05.040 --> 0:07:08.520 I was like super into the fancy basketball shoes of 0:07:08.560 --> 0:07:11.040 the day, the Scotty Pippens, the Michael Jordan's, all the 0:07:11.320 --> 0:07:13.160 all the good stuff that Charles Barkley's. They all had 0:07:13.200 --> 0:07:16.040 great shoes. Man, speaking of investments, if only you had 0:07:16.080 --> 0:07:17.760 gotten a couple of pairs of those that never worn 0:07:17.840 --> 0:07:19.920 them in the box, you, I mean, you'd be a 0:07:20.000 --> 0:07:23.400 multi millionaire thousands at least, right, Yeah, So that's a 0:07:23.440 --> 0:07:27.000 good point. Uh, But yeah, having there was always a 0:07:27.000 --> 0:07:29.360 conversation between my parents and I because they said, listen, 0:07:29.360 --> 0:07:31.440 here's a limit on what we're willing to spend four 0:07:31.520 --> 0:07:33.840 shoes for you. If you want, we can get you 0:07:33.880 --> 0:07:38.640 these like rebox and you're gonna and you can wear those. 0:07:38.880 --> 0:07:41.880 But if you want those nicer shoes, you you're gonna 0:07:41.920 --> 0:07:43.400 have to bring some of your own birthday or or 0:07:43.880 --> 0:07:46.239 Christmas money to the table in order to make it happen. 0:07:46.560 --> 0:07:48.800 And that was the first time I think I realized 0:07:49.080 --> 0:07:51.240 trade offs and how important tradeoffs are when we're talking 0:07:51.240 --> 0:07:54.600 about personal finances. And sometimes occasionally I did opt for 0:07:54.640 --> 0:07:56.360 the fancy shoes. I put my money where my mouth 0:07:56.440 --> 0:07:57.880 was and I was like, this is worth it. And 0:07:57.920 --> 0:07:59.840 I still remember that pair of Scotty Pippins and they 0:07:59.840 --> 0:08:02.280 were worth it. Uh it felt so good on your feet, 0:08:02.320 --> 0:08:04.480 they were so good. But most of the time I 0:08:04.520 --> 0:08:06.800 opted to say I'm gonna get to get the free 0:08:06.800 --> 0:08:08.400 shoes that mom and dad are gonna buy me. But 0:08:08.440 --> 0:08:10.280 that's one of those, I think first memories I had 0:08:10.280 --> 0:08:12.040 where it was like I have a decision and I 0:08:12.080 --> 0:08:15.200 have money that I can choose whether or not this 0:08:15.280 --> 0:08:16.880 is worth it or not to me. Yeah. Well, I 0:08:16.920 --> 0:08:18.400 mean I love what your parents did there as well, 0:08:18.440 --> 0:08:21.200 because essentially what they're doing is matching you right like 0:08:21.240 --> 0:08:22.920 they're kind of meeting meaning you. I don't know exactly 0:08:22.960 --> 0:08:25.000 how much they're willing to, you know, bring to the table, 0:08:25.520 --> 0:08:28.040 but the ability for them to kind of incentivize you 0:08:28.160 --> 0:08:31.120 to alter your spending, your behavior a little bit, because 0:08:31.120 --> 0:08:32.680 you could have taken out money and been like, yeah, 0:08:32.760 --> 0:08:34.680 I really want those shoes, and then you go blow 0:08:34.760 --> 0:08:37.920 the rest of the money on your say a dreamcast 0:08:38.000 --> 0:08:40.880 or whatever. I remember you buying from the yard sailor 0:08:40.960 --> 0:08:44.320 or something. But yeah, because I love when parents are 0:08:44.360 --> 0:08:48.559 able to mimic the different types of patterns and behaviors 0:08:48.559 --> 0:08:51.400 that we're going to encounter in real life. And so this, 0:08:51.600 --> 0:08:53.240 I mean, I love that your parents did that, and 0:08:53.240 --> 0:08:54.800 I look forward to being able to do that with 0:08:54.880 --> 0:08:56.440 you know, with my kids. I'm sure you you're looking 0:08:56.440 --> 0:08:58.360 forward to doing the same as our as our kids 0:08:58.400 --> 0:09:00.720 get older, So kind of moving along. You know. One 0:09:00.760 --> 0:09:03.920 of the things that I think is really impressive about 0:09:03.920 --> 0:09:06.240 you is the number of different, like different jobs that 0:09:06.280 --> 0:09:09.400 I've heard you had while you're in high school. Like 0:09:09.440 --> 0:09:11.320 I only worked at the local golf course, but you 0:09:11.360 --> 0:09:14.640 had a quite varied work history. So yeah, tell us 0:09:14.679 --> 0:09:17.400 about that in specifically, did you have a favorite job 0:09:17.440 --> 0:09:20.800 that you held? Okay, so yeah, I had a bunch 0:09:20.880 --> 0:09:23.760 of different jobs growing up, and and some of them 0:09:23.800 --> 0:09:25.840 before the age where you're legally allowed to work just 0:09:25.920 --> 0:09:28.440 stuff in the neighborhood, like mowing lawns, right, And that 0:09:28.520 --> 0:09:31.160 was like literally my first introduction to making my own money, 0:09:31.440 --> 0:09:34.080 and that was empowering. And my dad was just a 0:09:34.120 --> 0:09:36.320 big help in helping me get that business off the ground, 0:09:36.360 --> 0:09:38.800 Like had just a few yards in the neighborhood, and 0:09:38.840 --> 0:09:40.960 he was always willing to help me on a Saturday, 0:09:40.960 --> 0:09:43.480 which is huge, Like he wasn't just like, alright, go 0:09:43.520 --> 0:09:45.320 pound the pavements on. He was like, I know, he 0:09:45.360 --> 0:09:47.160 was dead tired from working all week, and he still 0:09:47.200 --> 0:09:49.680 came with me to mo those lawns, which awesome. I yeah, 0:09:49.760 --> 0:09:52.920 major props to my pops. But uh yeah. Then, at 0:09:53.000 --> 0:09:55.280 at fourteen, the earliest age you could start working in 0:09:55.280 --> 0:09:57.600 the state of Georgia, I started working at Chick fil A, 0:09:57.920 --> 0:09:59.839 and right across the street from my high school was 0:09:59.880 --> 0:10:01.400 the easiest place to get to, so I could walk 0:10:01.440 --> 0:10:04.240 straight across and work for three hours before I would 0:10:04.280 --> 0:10:06.440 go home for the evening. And I still remember my 0:10:06.480 --> 0:10:09.280 starting wage five dollars and fifteen cents an hour, which 0:10:09.360 --> 0:10:10.880 was the bare minimum you were allowed to get paid, 0:10:10.920 --> 0:10:13.040 the far cry from what they're paying today. But I 0:10:13.040 --> 0:10:16.920 think my favorite job overall in those years between, like 0:10:17.160 --> 0:10:19.400 you know, growing up and then and then getting to 0:10:19.559 --> 0:10:22.000 to college was working at the Eckerd Photo Lab. Okay, 0:10:22.440 --> 0:10:24.720 that was just like a fun job where I was 0:10:24.760 --> 0:10:27.199 like getting to interact with people who had just got 0:10:27.200 --> 0:10:29.240 a vacation and they turned in their photos. And do 0:10:29.280 --> 0:10:31.480 people even still do that anymore? I don't think so, 0:10:31.880 --> 0:10:33.920 there's not like a photo person, well they do. I 0:10:33.920 --> 0:10:35.880 mean they've got the printers, but you just sent in. 0:10:36.360 --> 0:10:38.280 They don't bring in the roles of film exactly. They 0:10:38.320 --> 0:10:40.040 sent it in from their phone. But me, I was 0:10:40.080 --> 0:10:44.280 like manning the machine and changing changing tones. I got 0:10:44.320 --> 0:10:47.199 like an old school version of photoshop. And then I 0:10:47.200 --> 0:10:48.680 would get to talk to people about the photos I 0:10:48.679 --> 0:10:50.840 had seen, because because you've seen it and you kind 0:10:50.840 --> 0:10:52.920 of know who's about to walk into exactly because you've 0:10:52.920 --> 0:10:54.439 been staring at pictures of them. Yeah, I'm like, hey, 0:10:54.720 --> 0:10:57.240 Rome looked like it was fun. Huh, how about it? Like, dude, 0:10:57.240 --> 0:10:59.840 stop being a creed? So that was a fun trying 0:10:59.840 --> 0:11:02.280 not to be the Robin Williams from One Hour Photos. 0:11:02.320 --> 0:11:05.240 But um, I mean, so you just enjoyed that. That 0:11:05.280 --> 0:11:06.599 was just a I mean it sounds like it was 0:11:06.640 --> 0:11:09.319 fun from a social standpoint, and knowing you obviously that 0:11:09.360 --> 0:11:11.360 doesn't surprise me at all. Yeah, just get the way 0:11:11.360 --> 0:11:12.880 I got to interact with people was probably the most 0:11:12.920 --> 0:11:14.280 fun part of that. Did you did you ever have 0:11:14.320 --> 0:11:17.719 like a really amazing boss or manager? Um? Who, I 0:11:17.760 --> 0:11:20.040 don't know. I feel that in the past when I 0:11:20.080 --> 0:11:22.280 look back to some of the different folks who influenced me, 0:11:22.320 --> 0:11:25.160 they were always really good teachers. Uh, And so for me, 0:11:25.240 --> 0:11:27.480 for whatever reason, that's something that would stand out to 0:11:27.559 --> 0:11:30.880 me is the ability to not just do the job 0:11:31.000 --> 0:11:33.160 and get some get some stuff done, but the ability 0:11:33.360 --> 0:11:35.840 to grow as an individual and to learn. I'm curious 0:11:35.880 --> 0:11:37.680 if you had some different jobs where you had an 0:11:37.720 --> 0:11:39.840 individual that stood out to you. I feel like I've 0:11:39.840 --> 0:11:42.760 always been lucky to work for awesome people for the 0:11:42.800 --> 0:11:44.280 most part. Like there are a couple of bosses I 0:11:44.280 --> 0:11:45.840 can point back to and be like, not my favorite, 0:11:46.120 --> 0:11:49.440 but but for the most manager you know, they were. 0:11:49.480 --> 0:11:51.840 They were great, honestly, And it's one of those situations 0:11:51.840 --> 0:11:55.680 where when you're fourteen fifteen and you're completely immature, you 0:11:55.720 --> 0:11:57.439 need someone who's going to give you like a whole 0:11:57.480 --> 0:11:59.880 lot of grace as they're kind of helping you grow 0:12:00.040 --> 0:12:02.560 been to an adult. And that was just a great 0:12:02.640 --> 0:12:05.160 learning experience for me having a job early on. But 0:12:05.160 --> 0:12:07.800 but yeah, I think the managers there were super helpful 0:12:08.040 --> 0:12:10.360 and it was a great experience. I don't know, probably 0:12:10.400 --> 0:12:12.680 my favorite boss was was at the radio station I 0:12:12.679 --> 0:12:15.840 worked at for like fourteen fifteen years, and just because 0:12:15.840 --> 0:12:17.920 he was such an encourager and he was such a 0:12:17.920 --> 0:12:21.440 believer in your talent, and abilities, and he was always 0:12:21.520 --> 0:12:24.200 encouraging not not just me, everybody in in the building 0:12:24.679 --> 0:12:27.040 about what they could do. And I remember reading something 0:12:27.080 --> 0:12:29.600 actually from a friend recently who she she is a 0:12:29.600 --> 0:12:32.360 writer and she writes all the time, and she points 0:12:32.360 --> 0:12:34.240 back to pointing back recently to this high school teacher 0:12:34.280 --> 0:12:36.040 who told her you're a great writer and like you 0:12:36.040 --> 0:12:39.040 can do this, and that's still is in her mind, 0:12:39.320 --> 0:12:41.760 motivating her to write to this day. And I think interesting, 0:12:41.760 --> 0:12:43.400 I look back to some of those conversations when I 0:12:43.400 --> 0:12:46.120 was working at the radio station and my boss saying like, 0:12:46.320 --> 0:12:48.480 you got this, you got talent, and like you need 0:12:48.520 --> 0:12:50.840 to keep working at this, but like I like what 0:12:50.880 --> 0:12:53.600 you're doing, and that goes a long way in helping 0:12:53.600 --> 0:12:55.559 foster someone's career. And if you can be that person, 0:12:55.600 --> 0:12:58.360 I think to tell somebody that that they're on the 0:12:58.440 --> 0:13:00.320 right path, or that you like what they're doing, you 0:13:00.360 --> 0:13:02.600 never know how far those words of encouragement are gonna go. 0:13:02.640 --> 0:13:04.840 That's funny. Yet, as you were saying that about your 0:13:04.840 --> 0:13:06.280 friend who was a writer, it made me think back 0:13:06.280 --> 0:13:08.720 to when I was in college. One of my professor 0:13:08.880 --> 0:13:11.800 what I was taking advertising classes. I remember her specifically 0:13:11.800 --> 0:13:15.160 talking about photography because essentially we had to come up 0:13:15.160 --> 0:13:17.920 with our own little campaign, and she was like, hey, 0:13:17.920 --> 0:13:20.640 this this is a pretty great concept. You know, the headline, 0:13:20.720 --> 0:13:23.920 like the copy is great, but these images are awesome. Uh, 0:13:24.040 --> 0:13:26.520 She's like, have you ever thought about photography? And thinking back, 0:13:26.559 --> 0:13:28.439 I realized that maybe that may have been what kind 0:13:28.440 --> 0:13:31.240 of pointed me in the direction of focusing more on 0:13:31.320 --> 0:13:33.880 photography as I got into graphic design and all always 0:13:33.920 --> 0:13:37.120 had a more photographic lean to it, and then obviously 0:13:37.200 --> 0:13:39.600 got into photography as well. And we are actually going 0:13:39.640 --> 0:13:41.640 to talk more about, you know, your history there at 0:13:41.679 --> 0:13:44.240 the radio station. I think I'm gonna have a question 0:13:44.280 --> 0:13:47.719 maybe about the same boss who you mentioned perhaps, But 0:13:48.200 --> 0:13:50.120 before we get to that though, like before we get 0:13:50.160 --> 0:13:51.800 to that stage of your life, you know, I think, 0:13:52.160 --> 0:13:54.160 like here on the show, you've only really just touched 0:13:54.200 --> 0:13:56.680 on the fact that, like, it wasn't all smooth sailing 0:13:56.840 --> 0:13:59.040 at home as a kid when it came to money. Uh, 0:13:59.120 --> 0:14:00.760 do you want to share know what I've heard you 0:14:00.800 --> 0:14:05.079 describe before as perhaps your most pivotal money moment. Sure, yeah, 0:14:05.120 --> 0:14:07.440 I mean I think this is really when if there 0:14:07.520 --> 0:14:11.160 is a inflection point in my personal finance trajectory it 0:14:11.280 --> 0:14:15.319 was growing up age basically twelve or thirteen, when my 0:14:15.360 --> 0:14:19.200 parents ended up filing for bankruptcy. And at the same 0:14:19.240 --> 0:14:23.640 time after that, the our car got repossessed, and it 0:14:23.680 --> 0:14:25.440 was one of the things where we knew it was 0:14:25.480 --> 0:14:29.000 going to happen, we just didn't know when. And one 0:14:29.080 --> 0:14:31.040 day we were expecting it to happen, and it didn't happen, 0:14:31.040 --> 0:14:33.360 didn't happen, and then it was gone one morning. And 0:14:33.360 --> 0:14:35.160 it was one of those things where I just remember 0:14:35.160 --> 0:14:36.800 as a kid, was kind of like looming over our heads. 0:14:37.120 --> 0:14:39.240 And at the same time it was money was a 0:14:39.240 --> 0:14:43.360 constant source of friction in the house. And so yeah, 0:14:43.800 --> 0:14:46.360 I think I was also at this important age where 0:14:46.360 --> 0:14:48.400 it left this indelible mark on me where it's my 0:14:48.480 --> 0:14:50.440 younger sister, she was a little bit younger than me, 0:14:50.480 --> 0:14:53.680 maybe couldn't not not quite old enough to realize exactly 0:14:53.720 --> 0:14:56.200 what was going on. My older sister was in high school, 0:14:56.240 --> 0:14:59.080 she was like dating and working, and I was just 0:14:59.120 --> 0:15:02.720 at this like hyper impressional age where that left a 0:15:02.760 --> 0:15:06.400 major mark and I think has probably still contributed to 0:15:06.840 --> 0:15:09.920 how how I view money today and just how maybe 0:15:09.920 --> 0:15:12.600 how intentional I am with it. Uh, But yeah, that 0:15:12.680 --> 0:15:14.280 was that was the point. It was that it was 0:15:14.320 --> 0:15:16.520 that age and it was those things happening in my 0:15:16.560 --> 0:15:18.680 family's life that made me say, like, you know what, 0:15:18.720 --> 0:15:19.960 I want to be good with money. You know, you 0:15:19.960 --> 0:15:21.200 know what, I want to be good enough with money 0:15:21.240 --> 0:15:23.760 where I don't ever have to argue about money with 0:15:23.840 --> 0:15:26.080 my spouse. Um. And it's not that you know, Emily 0:15:26.080 --> 0:15:28.960 and I don't still have money disagreements from time to time, 0:15:29.160 --> 0:15:30.840 but it's one of those things where we don't want 0:15:30.840 --> 0:15:32.960 to have get to the point where we're not sure 0:15:33.000 --> 0:15:35.000 if we're going to have enough, and that leads to 0:15:35.320 --> 0:15:38.160 conflict or us having to do things that we don't 0:15:38.160 --> 0:15:41.280 want to do in order just to secure more money. Um. 0:15:41.320 --> 0:15:44.000 But yeah, that's definitely the probably the most pivotal point 0:15:44.040 --> 0:15:46.120 in my life when it comes to how I think, 0:15:46.160 --> 0:15:48.720 in view and do money in personal finance. Yeah, I 0:15:48.720 --> 0:15:51.520 mean we we always are going to have disagreements oftentimes 0:15:51.520 --> 0:15:53.480 with our partners when it comes to money, but you 0:15:53.520 --> 0:15:56.200 just don't necessarily when all of your conversations to be negative. 0:15:56.320 --> 0:15:58.960 Right like, like hopefully you all are in a position 0:15:59.520 --> 0:16:01.360 where you can sit down and when you talk about money, 0:16:01.400 --> 0:16:04.120 it's it's a very good conversation. It's this thing that 0:16:04.160 --> 0:16:06.200 where maybe you're cracking out, you know, a craft beer 0:16:06.280 --> 0:16:08.400 or bottle of line. You're having this meeting with your 0:16:08.440 --> 0:16:11.320 partner because you are wanting to look ahead at the 0:16:11.320 --> 0:16:13.560 different goals that you share or that you're you know 0:16:13.600 --> 0:16:16.160 that might be looming on the horizon. But you know, I, yeah, 0:16:16.200 --> 0:16:18.880 I think it's hard to fully understand and you know, 0:16:19.160 --> 0:16:21.560 the impact of an event like that, like as we're 0:16:21.560 --> 0:16:24.040 growing up, even you know, when decades have passed and 0:16:24.080 --> 0:16:27.280 we have the benefit of hindsight, do you ever wonder, like, 0:16:27.320 --> 0:16:30.000 what would have happened if that repo had had never happened? 0:16:30.120 --> 0:16:31.880 Do you think that maybe instead you would have been 0:16:31.960 --> 0:16:34.320 kind of like spend thrift Joel, Like there would have 0:16:34.320 --> 0:16:38.200 been this alter ego honestly bizarro Joel probably think so. Yeah, 0:16:38.200 --> 0:16:39.680 I think I do think so. I mean, I don't 0:16:39.720 --> 0:16:41.520 really think about it like that very often, but I 0:16:41.520 --> 0:16:43.240 do think that left such a mark that I am 0:16:43.240 --> 0:16:45.280 a different person because of It'd be a sneaker head, 0:16:46.400 --> 0:16:48.720 and I don't think, yeah, maybe maybe I would be 0:16:48.800 --> 0:16:51.040 one of those guys spending all his money on fancy sneakers, 0:16:51.080 --> 0:16:54.640 spend more on shoes than I do yes, But I 0:16:55.280 --> 0:16:58.160 also I don't think of it as this negative experience 0:16:58.240 --> 0:17:01.120 that I would go back and change. Even though at 0:17:01.160 --> 0:17:03.400 the time it was difficult, I feel like what it's 0:17:03.480 --> 0:17:06.480 led to has been something really good and yees. So 0:17:06.520 --> 0:17:07.880 I don't think of it as something that I want 0:17:07.920 --> 0:17:10.040 to go back in a race. But at the same time, 0:17:10.040 --> 0:17:12.000 that doesn't that doesn't mean it was easy while it 0:17:12.080 --> 0:17:13.960 was happening. Sure, it's not something that you would wish 0:17:14.119 --> 0:17:16.280 that that you're planning to happen to your family, you know, 0:17:16.320 --> 0:17:18.639 it to your kids. All right. So I feel like 0:17:18.640 --> 0:17:20.720 we've kind of covered young Joel. We're gonna get to 0:17:20.800 --> 0:17:22.760 a slightly older Joel. We're gonna get to Joel as 0:17:22.760 --> 0:17:26.240 he entered adulthood. And I've got several other questions, including 0:17:26.280 --> 0:17:28.880 some question about college, and we actually get to that 0:17:29.160 --> 0:17:40.240 right after this break. All right, so we are back. 0:17:40.240 --> 0:17:43.440 We're doing a special deep dive episode on Joel's money 0:17:43.480 --> 0:17:46.159 origin story. Uh, and Joel, you just shared the experience 0:17:46.160 --> 0:17:50.040 of having a family car repossessed, but ultimately that that 0:17:50.160 --> 0:17:52.840 wasn't a decision that you yourself made, right, it happened 0:17:52.840 --> 0:17:54.840 to you. You were kind of more in the passenger 0:17:54.920 --> 0:17:57.480