WEBVTT - Matt's $ Origin Story (Bestie Ep) #695 0:00:00.240 --> 0:00:00.920 What's going on? 0:00:01.040 --> 0:00:02.840 Buddy? Hello, my friend, how you doing? 0:00:03.000 --> 0:00:06.640 I'm great? So this is a besty episode. Wanted to 0:00:06.680 --> 0:00:08.840 let folks know. So we do this for a couple 0:00:08.840 --> 0:00:13.040 of reasons. One because we are both out of town. Actually, 0:00:13.039 --> 0:00:14.560 we need to share why it is that you're down 0:00:14.960 --> 0:00:17.279 down in Florida. Maybe we'll do that next week, okay. 0:00:17.640 --> 0:00:20.239 But another reason we run Besties as well is because 0:00:20.280 --> 0:00:22.800 we know that there are a lot of new listeners 0:00:22.840 --> 0:00:25.439 out there. And even though you get to learn a 0:00:25.480 --> 0:00:28.400 decent bit about who we are, who I am, Matt's 0:00:28.440 --> 0:00:30.720 and who Joel is sitting here across from me, usually 0:00:30.720 --> 0:00:33.680 little drips and drabs along the way, little anecdotes, little 0:00:33.720 --> 0:00:36.240 examples that we give in the episodes. A couple of 0:00:36.280 --> 0:00:38.360 years ago, I think it was we did we dedicated 0:00:38.360 --> 0:00:41.280 two entire episodes for us basically to tell our story, 0:00:41.320 --> 0:00:44.879 our money story, our financial history, and some of the 0:00:44.880 --> 0:00:47.440 things that helped make us to who we are. 0:00:47.520 --> 0:00:50.000 Well, you also reveal your deepest, darkest secret in the land, 0:00:50.040 --> 0:00:52.479 which I mean everybody could say everybody wants want us 0:00:52.520 --> 0:00:55.040 to know that. I want to make it like clickbaity. 0:00:55.040 --> 0:00:57.920 It's like you won't believe what happened next, Matt did 0:00:57.960 --> 0:01:00.800 these three things right, Well, I wanted to share something 0:01:00.800 --> 0:01:02.880 with you as well. And that Guinness book a world 0:01:02.920 --> 0:01:06.440 record that you said that that's really impressive, Well something 0:01:06.480 --> 0:01:08.840 that actually did happen, and I wanted to You don't 0:01:08.840 --> 0:01:10.640 know about this, but I wanted to share as a 0:01:10.680 --> 0:01:11.720 little note of encouragement. 0:01:11.760 --> 0:01:14.600 A friend of ours I was chatting with him and 0:01:14.720 --> 0:01:16.720 he said him and his wife they were planning to 0:01:16.800 --> 0:01:20.880 buy a newer suv. But then he heard us on 0:01:20.959 --> 0:01:23.560 either side of his on his shoulder, like as his 0:01:23.760 --> 0:01:28.080 financial subconscious two angels right instead of proverbial angel death. 0:01:28.120 --> 0:01:30.720 That's true. So he went and looked up an episode 0:01:30.720 --> 0:01:32.880 where we talked about cars, and guess what he did 0:01:33.000 --> 0:01:34.960 instead of buying a new fancy suv. 0:01:35.080 --> 0:01:36.640 Please tell me he paid cash for a great use. 0:01:36.720 --> 0:01:40.000 He got used an older used suv, saved a ton 0:01:40.040 --> 0:01:42.399 of money. And he was just like, I just want 0:01:42.440 --> 0:01:44.200 to let you guys know, y'all are and this is 0:01:44.240 --> 0:01:45.880 what he said. He said, y'all are doing the Lord's work, 0:01:47.600 --> 0:01:51.960 which not quite We're certainly not saving souls or anything 0:01:52.040 --> 0:01:53.480 like that, but we are trying to make sure that 0:01:53.560 --> 0:01:56.680 you are making wise financial moves and you know what 0:01:56.760 --> 0:01:58.880 I could have saving your money, soul well, I could 0:01:58.920 --> 0:02:00.720 have saved my own money soul well had I heard 0:02:00.720 --> 0:02:03.080 this advice back when I was younger. This is actually 0:02:03.120 --> 0:02:05.760 a part of my story when the Wisest, when it 0:02:05.800 --> 0:02:08.200 came to some of the different vehicles I purchased. But 0:02:08.360 --> 0:02:11.840 you'll get to learn about that right now. Welcome to 0:02:12.080 --> 0:02:14.400 How the Money. I'm Joel and I am Matt. 0:02:14.520 --> 0:02:17.280 Yes he is, and this episode today, all we're talking 0:02:17.320 --> 0:02:22.560 about is Matt. We're covering Matt's money origin story. 0:02:39.080 --> 0:02:41.240 Okay, So my desire to do this episode or not, 0:02:41.480 --> 0:02:45.079 is that a reflection of my own vanity, whether I'm 0:02:45.080 --> 0:02:48.840 willing to talk about myself for anywhere between thirty and 0:02:48.960 --> 0:02:51.400 forty five minutes. Yeah, we'll we'll see how long this goes. 0:02:51.440 --> 0:02:53.919 But no, I am looking forward to this though, because 0:02:54.440 --> 0:02:55.840 like I'm in the hot seat a little bit. Actually, 0:02:55.840 --> 0:02:58.120 I started to perspire a little bit. I feel like 0:02:58.160 --> 0:03:00.360 you've turned the tables, You've turned the microphone on me. 0:03:00.440 --> 0:03:02.600 Even though I do talk into the microphone every week, 0:03:02.639 --> 0:03:04.840 it does feel a little bit different here talk to 0:03:05.160 --> 0:03:06.639 the spotlight specifically. 0:03:06.800 --> 0:03:08.280 Yeah, well, I think it's I think it's gonna be 0:03:08.280 --> 0:03:10.560 fun and we're gonna we're gonna dive into my money 0:03:10.560 --> 0:03:12.919 origin story next week, and so the tables will be turned. 0:03:12.919 --> 0:03:15.760 I will feel the heat then, issue, But I think 0:03:15.840 --> 0:03:17.360 this is, this is gonna be good. It's, you know, 0:03:17.639 --> 0:03:20.160 still the beginning of a new year, and there are 0:03:20.320 --> 0:03:22.840 a lot of How To Money listeners who know quite 0:03:22.840 --> 0:03:24.400 a lot about you and I. At this point, we 0:03:24.720 --> 0:03:27.400 divulge a fair amount of information about how we live 0:03:27.440 --> 0:03:30.919 our own lives and how we handle our personal finances 0:03:30.960 --> 0:03:33.280 on the show, but we've never really done a deep 0:03:33.320 --> 0:03:37.440 dive into either of our money origin stories. And anybody 0:03:37.440 --> 0:03:40.280 who's been listening, some people from back in the day episode, 0:03:40.320 --> 0:03:44.120 you know, the single digit episodes, they they will find 0:03:44.120 --> 0:03:46.560 some of these things familiar, but they will also unearthed 0:03:46.600 --> 0:03:49.800 new territory about the man, the myth, the legend how 0:03:49.800 --> 0:03:50.119 to Money. 0:03:50.160 --> 0:03:53.480 Matt. Yeah, we're gonna weave it all together because I 0:03:53.520 --> 0:03:55.840 do think that, Yeah, if you've been listening for years now, 0:03:55.920 --> 0:03:59.600 you probably have maybe a loose understanding of my past 0:03:59.640 --> 0:04:01.800 of yours as well, because we you know, we sprinkle 0:04:01.800 --> 0:04:04.000 in little bits of our history into every single episode. 0:04:04.080 --> 0:04:07.120 We try to find ways where it relates to our listeners. 0:04:07.320 --> 0:04:09.040 But this will be fun to kind of pie it 0:04:09.040 --> 0:04:11.080 all together and for folks to have a clear understanding. 0:04:11.160 --> 0:04:13.360 This will be a kind of a more conversational episode 0:04:13.400 --> 0:04:16.000 as opposed to one where we're diving into specific topics 0:04:16.080 --> 0:04:18.840 or teaching something. Yeah, this is maybe truly what it's 0:04:18.920 --> 0:04:20.640 actually like if you're having a beer with us. So 0:04:20.680 --> 0:04:24.040 we kick back. But dude, Okay, before we launched into this, though, 0:04:24.040 --> 0:04:27.320 I wanted to share with you, Kate got me an 0:04:27.360 --> 0:04:29.880 amazing Christmas gift to spend a couple weeks now since Christmas, 0:04:30.240 --> 0:04:33.320 and you might remember back we had Marshall Allen on. 0:04:33.640 --> 0:04:35.880 We talked about healthcare, crazy high cost of Hell, still 0:04:35.920 --> 0:04:38.479 one of my favorite interview episodes we've done. Fantastic episode, 0:04:38.480 --> 0:04:43.320 and his splurge was coffee, specifically, he roasts his own coffee, 0:04:43.839 --> 0:04:45.720 and I kind of nerded out. I started to ask 0:04:45.800 --> 0:04:47.960 him a bunch of questions, realized that we couldn't include 0:04:47.960 --> 0:04:50.760 all that in the episode. I dialed it back, but 0:04:50.800 --> 0:04:53.440 I was really interested in his ability to roast his 0:04:53.480 --> 0:04:57.480 own coffee really nice, like world class, high end coffee 0:04:57.640 --> 0:04:59.359 for a fraction of the price, and to get it, 0:04:59.440 --> 0:05:01.960 you know, for super cheap, super fresh at home. 0:05:02.279 --> 0:05:03.960 Yeah, that's the thing is like the best of both worlds, right, 0:05:04.040 --> 0:05:06.920 it costs less money and it's better the best stuff exactly. 0:05:06.920 --> 0:05:09.000 So I meant, you know, after that interview I mentioned 0:05:09.040 --> 0:05:11.760 that the Kate didn't think much of it. Well, sure enough, 0:05:11.839 --> 0:05:15.000 Kate got me basically a coffee roasting kit for Christmas. 0:05:15.440 --> 0:05:19.520 And the best part is one of the easiest and 0:05:19.800 --> 0:05:21.040 cheapest methods. 0:05:20.640 --> 0:05:22.200 Of like an easy bake oven for adults. 0:05:22.320 --> 0:05:24.960 Yes, seriously, one of the easiest and cheapest ways to 0:05:25.000 --> 0:05:28.320 actually roast the coffee are is to use a popcorn 0:05:28.440 --> 0:05:30.640 air popper. Oh really, you know, it's just like this 0:05:30.680 --> 0:05:34.320 little appliance and you kind of got the spoon of corns, 0:05:34.440 --> 0:05:36.760 kernels or whatever. You drop down in there. You flip 0:05:36.800 --> 0:05:38.159 the thing on and it starts popping popcorn. 0:05:38.240 --> 0:05:38.440 Huh. 0:05:38.440 --> 0:05:40.400 Well, you do basically you do that exact same thing 0:05:40.520 --> 0:05:42.320 with the coffee beans. You do it outside because it 0:05:42.360 --> 0:05:44.520 creates a big mess in the you know, and it's 0:05:44.520 --> 0:05:47.560 still there's a decent amount of smoke. But you do that, 0:05:47.600 --> 0:05:48.800 you keep an eye on it. You get it to 0:05:48.839 --> 0:05:51.080 the color the roast you know that you want, whether 0:05:51.080 --> 0:05:54.160 you're looking for like a lighter medium, darker medium, or 0:05:54.240 --> 0:05:59.760 darker roast, and dude, it was phenomenal. I was surprised 0:05:59.760 --> 0:06:02.200 at how easy it was to make really good coffee 0:06:02.200 --> 0:06:03.479 at home. I've got to get you some. 0:06:03.720 --> 0:06:04.920 Yes, I would love to try it. 0:06:04.920 --> 0:06:07.560 It's just like, like we said, the ability to buy 0:06:07.680 --> 0:06:10.640 a pound of raw coffee. I guess that's what you 0:06:10.640 --> 0:06:12.920 call it raw. I'm still working on the kit beans 0:06:12.920 --> 0:06:15.360 that Kate got me, four different samples basically, and we're 0:06:15.440 --> 0:06:17.280 kind of cycling through them right now. But it is 0:06:17.320 --> 0:06:20.320 definitely more affordable than buying the really nice stuff at 0:06:20.320 --> 0:06:22.720 the store. How much more affordable, I'm not totally sure. 0:06:22.880 --> 0:06:25.200 I will report back as I kind of dial in 0:06:25.240 --> 0:06:29.200 my coffee roasting escapades there we go, but but yeah, 0:06:29.240 --> 0:06:31.279 I'll definite rist them up for you. I look forward 0:06:31.320 --> 0:06:32.680 to trying it, and yeah, I think that's cool. I 0:06:32.760 --> 0:06:36.160 was kind of fascinated by the fact that Marsha Allen 0:06:36.240 --> 0:06:38.840 revealed that he roasted his own beans. I didn't know 0:06:38.880 --> 0:06:40.080 that was a thing. As soon as he said that, 0:06:40.120 --> 0:06:41.640 I was like, Okay, this is gonna be a problem 0:06:41.640 --> 0:06:42.359 for me. All right. 0:06:42.400 --> 0:06:43.960 We got to reach back out to him like, dude, 0:06:43.960 --> 0:06:45.359 we're doing it. You're doing it. 0:06:45.400 --> 0:06:48.440 But anyway, maybe I'll link to the air popper. It's 0:06:48.480 --> 0:06:51.200 just a standard like popcorn air popper that Kate got me. 0:06:51.480 --> 0:06:53.840 But that plus this book she got me, and plus 0:06:53.839 --> 0:06:56.040 some sample coffees, that's all you need. But yeah, I'll 0:06:56.120 --> 0:06:56.599 keep it posted. 0:06:56.760 --> 0:06:59.080 Sounds good. Looking forward to hearing more about your coffee 0:06:59.160 --> 0:06:59.760 roasting adventure. 0:07:00.080 --> 0:07:02.400 Good. Actually, one time right now, even though we're drinking beer. 0:07:02.240 --> 0:07:05.520 We should like Instagram live you roasting your own coffee beans. 0:07:05.080 --> 0:07:08.320 It's really boring. Put in there, turn it on and 0:07:08.560 --> 0:07:09.200 watch it turn. 0:07:09.080 --> 0:07:10.600 Right now, we could like turn the camera around and 0:07:10.600 --> 0:07:12.760 you're smiling like a giddy school boy. 0:07:13.560 --> 0:07:14.160 It's that great. 0:07:14.600 --> 0:07:16.400 Well, let's move on, Matt. Let's mention quickly. The beer 0:07:16.400 --> 0:07:19.120 that we're having on this episode. This is Athena Paradiso 0:07:19.200 --> 0:07:22.960 with BlackBerry, black current and ambrosia. This is by Creature Comforts, 0:07:22.960 --> 0:07:25.760 which is just an awesome brewery out of Athens, Georgia. 0:07:25.800 --> 0:07:27.800 Will give our thoughts on this beer at the end 0:07:27.800 --> 0:07:30.600 of this episode, but for now, Matt, let's get on 0:07:30.600 --> 0:07:32.880 to the subject matter at hand. And the subject matter 0:07:33.000 --> 0:07:36.440 is you. Like we're talking about your money Rigson story. 0:07:36.480 --> 0:07:39.040 It is all about you today, and so yeah, I've 0:07:39.120 --> 0:07:41.880 kind of come up with some questions like kind of 0:07:42.200 --> 0:07:44.960 the things I want to ask you about your money 0:07:45.000 --> 0:07:47.160 history so that our listeners can learn more about you, 0:07:47.200 --> 0:07:49.120 but then also just learn more about kind of how 0:07:49.160 --> 0:07:51.560 you've grown with money, how you've handled it. Hopefully there 0:07:51.600 --> 0:07:55.400 are not not just human interest here but also actual 0:07:55.440 --> 0:07:58.360 money tips and takeaways totally. But like we said, it 0:07:58.400 --> 0:07:59.920 is I think helpful for you to get to know 0:08:00.080 --> 0:08:01.760 us better as people early on in the new year. 0:08:01.880 --> 0:08:04.560 Year and Matt, January tends to be a month where 0:08:04.680 --> 0:08:07.560 how the Money gets more downloads than usual because people 0:08:07.640 --> 0:08:09.400 are like, I got a New Year's resolution, I want 0:08:09.440 --> 0:08:10.880 to do better with my money, and so they're seeking 0:08:10.920 --> 0:08:15.640 out a podcast some similar to ours or ours in particular, 0:08:15.680 --> 0:08:18.840 and they're hoping that it will help and hopefully hearing 0:08:18.960 --> 0:08:21.960 Matt's story will provide some inspiration along with yeah, some 0:08:22.040 --> 0:08:25.440 of those tactical, practical takeaways. But yeah, let's let's get 0:08:25.440 --> 0:08:25.560 to it. 0:08:25.600 --> 0:08:25.760 Matt. 0:08:25.760 --> 0:08:27.760 I want to kind of like start start young and 0:08:28.040 --> 0:08:30.320 not like baby young, like when you came home from 0:08:30.360 --> 0:08:32.559 the hospital or anything like that. But I do want 0:08:32.559 --> 0:08:35.760 to hear about my first dollar. Is it your parents 0:08:35.760 --> 0:08:39.360 started that allowance really early? But yeah, let's talk about 0:08:39.559 --> 0:08:43.960 maybe when you the first conversations you remember about money 0:08:44.040 --> 0:08:47.880 in your household, And what always sticks out to me is, 0:08:48.200 --> 0:08:50.680 and we'll get this next week, but coming from a 0:08:50.720 --> 0:08:54.480 house where money either just wasn't talked about, or when 0:08:54.520 --> 0:08:57.360 it was, it was always in like a frustrated way, 0:08:57.520 --> 0:09:01.000 or there just wasn't a whole lot of like practical, 0:09:01.000 --> 0:09:03.079 helpful talk when it came to the subject of money, 0:09:03.200 --> 0:09:06.520 you come from a household that has a pretty healthy 0:09:06.559 --> 0:09:08.640 relationship with it, it seems like totally man. 0:09:08.760 --> 0:09:11.000 Yeah, So I credit a lot of that to my dad. 0:09:11.120 --> 0:09:13.200 So he grew up in the Midwest, and I feel 0:09:13.200 --> 0:09:15.520 like he brought over, you know, from the Midwest to 0:09:15.640 --> 0:09:18.320 the South, like a lot of that Midwestern like work ethic, 0:09:19.040 --> 0:09:20.800 and I think he sort of translated a lot of 0:09:20.840 --> 0:09:25.400 that towards handling your money well. Also, But as early 0:09:25.440 --> 0:09:27.400 as I can remember, I always had an allowance. I mean, 0:09:27.440 --> 0:09:31.040 like some of my earliest memories regarding money were receiving 0:09:31.080 --> 0:09:33.320 a bunch of dimes and then being taught how to 0:09:33.520 --> 0:09:35.120 save a portion of it, how to give a portion 0:09:35.200 --> 0:09:37.320 of it away, how to you know, have it, you know, 0:09:37.400 --> 0:09:39.920 the rest of it for spending. But that plus like 0:09:39.960 --> 0:09:41.880 a piggy bank made out of like a two liter 0:09:42.360 --> 0:09:45.120 cook bottle. That also, I will say, my dad like 0:09:45.640 --> 0:09:47.640 he taped over it so you couldn't see the money, 0:09:47.720 --> 0:09:50.000 which always like, even now looking back, I'm like, well, 0:09:50.160 --> 0:09:52.960 isn't the ability to see it kind of like fun? Yeah, 0:09:53.040 --> 0:09:54.679 like kind of getting you excited about it being a girl. 0:09:54.800 --> 0:09:56.600 But he was just like, no, no, no, like you were 0:09:56.600 --> 0:09:59.440 gonna not We're gonna pretend that doesn't exist. And so 0:09:59.600 --> 0:10:01.040 I don't know, maybe there's a lesson there that he 0:10:01.080 --> 0:10:02.920 was trying to teach me, But a lot of my 0:10:03.000 --> 0:10:05.960 early memories around money had to do with just not 0:10:06.000 --> 0:10:09.120 only the responsibility of handling my money well, but also 0:10:09.520 --> 0:10:11.480 doing the chores I needed to do around the house, 0:10:11.480 --> 0:10:13.200 because it wasn't just an allowance that I received, no 0:10:13.240 --> 0:10:16.160 matter what it was, because there were certain jobs that 0:10:16.200 --> 0:10:18.760 I had that I had to perform in order to 0:10:18.800 --> 0:10:21.120 receive that money. And so in that way, it was 0:10:21.240 --> 0:10:23.439 less I guess, like an allowance that I was entitled 0:10:23.480 --> 0:10:25.720 to and more like something that I did have to earn. 0:10:26.080 --> 0:10:28.280 And you've really taken that sort of idea about money 0:10:28.360 --> 0:10:30.760 into how you teach your kids about it. Well, we'll 0:10:30.760 --> 0:10:33.000 get to that later, but you really do you value 0:10:33.040 --> 0:10:35.720 you think and this is just true in the real world, 0:10:35.800 --> 0:10:39.160 right that when we work, we get money, and those 0:10:39.200 --> 0:10:41.040 two things are just highly correlated exactly. 0:10:41.240 --> 0:10:43.120 I think that's my biggest problem with calling it an 0:10:43.120 --> 0:10:44.679 allowance because it just feels like it's something that you 0:10:44.720 --> 0:10:46.640 get no matter what. It's like a stipend or something. 0:10:46.800 --> 0:10:48.920 As long as you're breathing, you get some money. It's like, well, 0:10:49.200 --> 0:10:51.560 I don't know, I really do like the idea that 0:10:52.080 --> 0:10:54.840 you receive money when you perform a job, or do 0:10:54.880 --> 0:10:57.920 a job, or perform a task. I do think like 0:10:57.960 --> 0:11:00.400 a lot of folks will argue that, well, no, certain 0:11:00.480 --> 0:11:03.280 chores that your kids do no matter what, and I agree, like, 0:11:03.320 --> 0:11:04.839 there are certain things that my kids will never get 0:11:04.840 --> 0:11:07.240 paid for because you're not gonna get paid for being, 0:11:07.480 --> 0:11:10.040 you know, listening to mom and I on making your bed. 0:11:10.080 --> 0:11:11.680 But yeah, like these are things that you should be 0:11:11.720 --> 0:11:14.000 doing no matter what. But for me, you know, the 0:11:14.000 --> 0:11:16.760 allowance that was huge another sort of lesson, and this 0:11:16.840 --> 0:11:18.880 is I guess as I got a little bit older, 0:11:19.400 --> 0:11:21.280 but I remember getting my first credit card, like I 0:11:21.280 --> 0:11:23.000 remember showing up in the mail. I was still living 0:11:23.040 --> 0:11:25.280 at home, and this is you know, this is years ago, 0:11:25.679 --> 0:11:27.840 and I swear I was like I was either eighteen 0:11:27.920 --> 0:11:29.960 or even younger, and I may have been sixteen years old, 0:11:30.280 --> 0:11:31.920 and it was a card, and I mean it was 0:11:31.960 --> 0:11:33.839 a pre qualified letter, it had my name on it, 0:11:34.160 --> 0:11:35.960 and I remember showing it to dad and be like, hey, 0:11:36.160 --> 0:11:38.000 this is my credit card now, right, and he's like, yeah, 0:11:38.040 --> 0:11:41.160 it is. And I thought, wait, what He's like, Well, 0:11:41.200 --> 0:11:43.200 as long as you whatever you use it for, as 0:11:43.200 --> 0:11:44.920 long as you pay it off every month, there's no 0:11:44.960 --> 0:11:47.840 reason that you can't use his credit card. And so 0:11:47.960 --> 0:11:50.000 I think that stands up in my mind as well, 0:11:50.200 --> 0:11:53.120 and that might be part of my affinity towards credit 0:11:53.160 --> 0:11:55.960 cards even today, because I mean he was taking advantage 0:11:55.960 --> 0:11:58.960 of cash back bonuses and different things like that starting 0:11:59.000 --> 0:12:02.000 back in the eighties. But I think that that also 0:12:02.040 --> 0:12:04.760 had a pretty large impact on my ability to think 0:12:04.760 --> 0:12:07.760 about finances maybe in a different way than other kids were. 0:12:07.800 --> 0:12:09.800 Yeah, well it sounds like two. What your dad was 0:12:09.840 --> 0:12:12.520 instilling was a sense of autonomy, right where where like 0:12:12.520 --> 0:12:14.959 you're sixteen and your dad's like sure, yeah, it's your 0:12:14.960 --> 0:12:19.800 credit card. And we've talked about how helping your kids, 0:12:19.840 --> 0:12:22.320 allowing your kids some of that leash to make mistakes 0:12:22.320 --> 0:12:24.440 while they're still under your roof is actually the best 0:12:24.440 --> 0:12:27.199 time for them to make mistakes and to learn while 0:12:27.200 --> 0:12:29.440 you're there to protect them while the mistakes can be minor. 0:12:29.480 --> 0:12:31.240 And it seems like your dad was kind of setting 0:12:31.240 --> 0:12:32.559 you up for that ability too. 0:12:32.880 --> 0:12:35.320 Yeah. Absolutely, they were all about allowing me to make 0:12:35.360 --> 0:12:38.640 the mistakes with like tens and hundreds of dollars as 0:12:38.640 --> 0:12:41.560 opposed to like thousands and ten thousands of dollars that 0:12:41.720 --> 0:12:44.840 oftentimes those are the lessons we learn further down the road, right. 0:12:44.960 --> 0:12:47.840 But also I do want to mention my mom because 0:12:48.200 --> 0:12:50.240 even though like more of the day to day you know, 0:12:50.320 --> 0:12:53.400 nuts and bolts of handling money, well came down to 0:12:53.520 --> 0:12:56.120 dad and what he taught me. But I think one 0:12:56.160 --> 0:12:58.199 of the things my mom instilled in me. I mean, 0:12:58.240 --> 0:13:01.160 of course, like she's Asian and so like all Asian parents, 0:13:01.160 --> 0:13:03.040 she wanted me to be a doctor or a lawyer. 0:13:04.120 --> 0:13:05.880 But one of the things that always stood out to 0:13:05.880 --> 0:13:07.079 me because I knew what a doctor was and I 0:13:07.120 --> 0:13:09.760 knew what a lawyer was. But she would also always 0:13:09.840 --> 0:13:13.440 mentioned entrepreneurship, like owning your own business, and that really 0:13:13.440 --> 0:13:15.120 does as I think back, that stands out to me 0:13:15.440 --> 0:13:18.559 because at the time, you didn't really know what that meant, right, 0:13:18.640 --> 0:13:20.839 Like all you knew was at their stores. And then 0:13:21.000 --> 0:13:23.719 I guess there's a business owner and so, and specifically 0:13:23.840 --> 0:13:25.839 Mom had and she still does have a lot of 0:13:25.840 --> 0:13:28.040 friends who owned their own businesses, but a lot of 0:13:28.120 --> 0:13:30.400 them were like brick and mortar shops and so. But 0:13:30.480 --> 0:13:33.120 even then, I mean, I didn't necessarily want to be 0:13:33.200 --> 0:13:35.120 like the owner of a Korean food store. 0:13:34.880 --> 0:13:38.240 Like, but the ideal time, buddy, I want, hey, I 0:13:38.440 --> 0:13:41.880 could man or your own coffee roasting company. Maybe so, 0:13:43.200 --> 0:13:46.240 But the idea of being able to do whatever it 0:13:46.280 --> 0:13:49.320 is that I wanted to do with my time, for 0:13:49.360 --> 0:13:51.280 me to be able to set my own rules, I think, 0:13:51.320 --> 0:13:53.760 even at a very young age, that that kind of 0:13:53.800 --> 0:13:56.000 turned something on in my head, right, Like it flipped 0:13:56.000 --> 0:13:58.400 the switch, Oh, I don't have to go work for 0:13:58.440 --> 0:14:01.240 somebody else, I can create my own provis Yeah. 0:14:01.280 --> 0:14:02.839 Yeah, I think that had a lot to do with too. 0:14:02.960 --> 0:14:05.160 Just how I mean, I literally only lasted like a 0:14:05.240 --> 0:14:07.240 year and a half, two years in the corporate world 0:14:07.640 --> 0:14:10.400 right after college, before I started my own business, before 0:14:10.640 --> 0:14:12.679 doing other things that were a little less traditional, and 0:14:13.120 --> 0:14:16.119 as I think back, I mean, there weren't many influences 0:14:16.120 --> 0:14:18.960 in my life to owning your own business except for 0:14:19.000 --> 0:14:21.280 some of those early conversations we had and thinking that 0:14:21.320 --> 0:14:22.600 I might own a food store. 0:14:22.720 --> 0:14:26.200 Yeah, all right, So so I feel like, yeah, we 0:14:26.240 --> 0:14:29.080 talked about how your dad in particular, was such a 0:14:29.080 --> 0:14:31.800 great influence your mom in regards to pushing you towards 0:14:31.920 --> 0:14:34.200 entrepreneurship or at least opening your eyes to the reality 0:14:34.280 --> 0:14:36.760 that that is a legitimate way to move forward in 0:14:36.760 --> 0:14:39.360 this world, to start your own business. But what about 0:14:39.360 --> 0:14:41.880 like maybe a biggest money fail or something like that, 0:14:41.920 --> 0:14:45.200 like or biggest money struggle early on, because you know, 0:14:45.440 --> 0:14:47.360 even today, it's not like you're rolling in the dough. 0:14:47.400 --> 0:14:50.040 But but where I'm sitting, from where I'm sitting, you've 0:14:50.040 --> 0:14:53.360 been just so incredibly intentional for a lot of years 0:14:53.360 --> 0:14:55.880 with your money and that's paid off, like you we 0:14:56.240 --> 0:14:58.000 mentioned in this on the show, but you have your 0:14:58.000 --> 0:15:00.600 budget down to the penny, like what you've spent dating 0:15:00.600 --> 0:15:03.720 back fifteen years. So it's not without like a lot 0:15:03.760 --> 0:15:06.320 of effort and intentionality that you've gotten here. But I'd 0:15:06.320 --> 0:15:10.520 love to hear what my robotic friend Matt like that 0:15:10.560 --> 0:15:13.640 you're a real human being who potentially occasionally also screws 0:15:13.720 --> 0:15:14.320 up so totally. 0:15:14.360 --> 0:15:17.240 I mean, I don't make the always make the wisest decisions. 0:15:17.320 --> 0:15:19.359 And I will say I mean I've become more methodical 0:15:19.400 --> 0:15:23.520 and responsible as I've gotten older, but especially dude, I 0:15:23.560 --> 0:15:26.520 mean in high school and college. You know, I wouldn't 0:15:26.520 --> 0:15:28.000 say that these were struggles at the time. Like at 0:15:28.000 --> 0:15:29.600 the time I thought I was just living my life 0:15:29.600 --> 0:15:32.240 and making great decisions. But the amount of money that 0:15:32.320 --> 0:15:35.440 I spent on cars specifically, and we've kind of hinted 0:15:35.480 --> 0:15:39.280 at this before, but early on I had this old Jeep, 0:15:39.400 --> 0:15:42.160 this old Jeep Cherokee that actually was pretty great. It 0:15:42.160 --> 0:15:43.800 was a pretty great car as well maintained. We bought 0:15:43.800 --> 0:15:46.600 it from some folks we knew. But then I saved 0:15:46.680 --> 0:15:49.320 up some more money sold that Jeep. Took that money 0:15:49.320 --> 0:15:51.600 that I earned from that sale and plus the additional money, 0:15:51.640 --> 0:15:54.040 and I bought a nicer Jeep, like a newer Grand 0:15:54.400 --> 0:15:56.479 not just regular Cherokee, a Grand. 0:15:56.160 --> 0:15:58.160 Cherokeere you go, did the upgrade and fancy. 0:15:58.880 --> 0:16:02.960 And then in college I actually sold that one and 0:16:03.000 --> 0:16:05.960 got an older range Rover, which was also a very 0:16:06.520 --> 0:16:10.160 sweet sweet ride that was very expensive to maintain. A 0:16:10.240 --> 0:16:11.240 terrible gas mileage. 0:16:11.240 --> 0:16:13.920 You obviously didn't check the consumer reports reliability ratings before 0:16:13.920 --> 0:16:14.360 you bought. 0:16:14.200 --> 0:16:16.720 That, But I mean I did this multiple times over 0:16:16.760 --> 0:16:19.400 the course of a number of years, and just every 0:16:19.440 --> 0:16:22.240 time you do that, there's just transaction costs involved, not 0:16:22.400 --> 0:16:25.360 to mention just getting it to a level of running, 0:16:25.440 --> 0:16:28.320 you know, like a level of dependability. Plus I would 0:16:28.320 --> 0:16:31.160 also put a decent stereo in. I wasn't like going 0:16:31.200 --> 0:16:34.000 around blasting music, but I liked having you know, some bass. 0:16:34.200 --> 0:16:36.600 I liked having a sub back there. But I would 0:16:36.600 --> 0:16:38.560 do that every single time. And so it was just 0:16:38.600 --> 0:16:43.000 this money that was just essentially hemorrhaging towards transportation that 0:16:43.080 --> 0:16:45.960 just wasn't all that necessary in my life. Like I 0:16:46.000 --> 0:16:49.120 look back now in retrospect and I kind of cringe 0:16:49.280 --> 0:16:51.160 at what I could have done with that money had 0:16:51.160 --> 0:16:53.000 I invested it. Say, you know, like we give these 0:16:53.040 --> 0:16:55.880 examples all the time, how if a teenager when they 0:16:56.000 --> 0:16:58.360 are sixteen or eighteen years old, if they started investing 0:16:58.360 --> 0:17:00.720 that money early on, what that money it could turn into. 0:17:00.880 --> 0:17:05.280 And I couldn't imagine the fortune, the amount of wealth 0:17:05.280 --> 0:17:07.560 that I would have had I done that. But those 0:17:07.560 --> 0:17:09.399 are lessons though that I learned along the way, because 0:17:09.640 --> 0:17:11.199 after that period of time, I was able to look 0:17:11.240 --> 0:17:13.200 back and think, oh man, that was kind of dumb. Yeah, 0:17:13.240 --> 0:17:16.360 like it was fun, but it was very expensive fun, 0:17:16.560 --> 0:17:19.800 you know. And again these weren't really nice, brand new, 0:17:19.840 --> 0:17:21.960 fancy sports cars or anything like that. These were old, 0:17:22.240 --> 0:17:25.960 old cars relatively not an expensive cars relatively speaking. But 0:17:26.080 --> 0:17:27.800