WEBVTT - BA Q&A: Eff Them Student Loans? 0:00:16.160 --> 0:00:19.360 It's time for the b a q a A the 0:00:19.400 --> 0:00:23.880 b a q A the b a qa Brian Ambition 0:00:24.239 --> 0:00:27.319 Question and Answer. You know, once a week. We'd like 0:00:27.360 --> 0:00:30.160 to jump on here and just do a que a 0:00:30.280 --> 0:00:33.919 quick b a q A me a manager are geared up. 0:00:34.040 --> 0:00:36.199 If you have a question on which you know you do, 0:00:36.960 --> 0:00:39.720 we love to hear them. You can send it to 0:00:39.800 --> 0:00:43.640 us via Instagram. Our instagram is what's that instagram again 0:00:44.120 --> 0:00:47.080 at Brian Ambition podcast, right, so just make sure if 0:00:47.120 --> 0:00:49.040 you want to be anonymous to say so, or you 0:00:49.080 --> 0:00:53.040 can send us a question via Briannabition podcast dot com 0:00:53.080 --> 0:00:56.520 and press ask us anything. There's a button there. Is 0:00:56.560 --> 0:00:58.240 there any other ways that people can kind of submit 0:00:58.320 --> 0:00:59.240 an answer a question. 0:00:59.600 --> 0:01:01.560 Oh, you know, you can hit us up at our 0:01:01.600 --> 0:01:04.120 AG's at Mandy Money or at the Budgetnista or did 0:01:04.160 --> 0:01:07.520 we already say brandabissionpodcast dot com, m h ask us 0:01:07.560 --> 0:01:08.960 anything ask us that's about it. 0:01:09.600 --> 0:01:16.759 Yeah, so you have not available career career questions, business questions, 0:01:16.920 --> 0:01:19.600 finance questions. You know we were here for all. 0:01:19.480 --> 0:01:24.600 Of it, you know, awkward relationship questions. We'll take those two. Okay, folks, 0:01:24.600 --> 0:01:27.920 I wanted to I saw a really cute email Brandabission 0:01:27.920 --> 0:01:30.479 podcast at gmail dot com is our email again. Really 0:01:30.480 --> 0:01:33.559 cute email from listener Kirsten who listened to last week's 0:01:33.600 --> 0:01:35.360 be A, Q and A, which y'all should go back 0:01:35.400 --> 0:01:37.800 and listen to if you missed it, No, no worries, 0:01:37.840 --> 0:01:39.880 you can still catch it wherever you listen to podcasts 0:01:40.000 --> 0:01:44.039 where we talked about black women and the struggle that 0:01:44.120 --> 0:01:45.800 you can feel when you were a black woman and 0:01:45.840 --> 0:01:47.800 an introvert. So I just wanted to shout her out 0:01:48.080 --> 0:01:50.680 and read this little message as she said that she 0:01:50.760 --> 0:01:53.520 sent us. So she says, hey, thank you for talking 0:01:53.560 --> 0:01:56.560 about introversion. I grew up in a super white community. 0:01:56.720 --> 0:01:59.160 Sometimes I was the only black student at school, and 0:01:59.240 --> 0:02:02.040 I struggled a lot with identity and my young adult years. 0:02:02.200 --> 0:02:04.480 I'm now in my mid to late thirties, and it's 0:02:04.480 --> 0:02:06.919 only recently that I've come to realize that I often 0:02:06.960 --> 0:02:10.160 don't feel black enough because they were such limited representation. 0:02:10.720 --> 0:02:13.960 Black women are expected to be witty, quippy, and funny. 0:02:14.200 --> 0:02:16.200 Of course, even better if you can sing and dance 0:02:16.240 --> 0:02:18.600 and me the life of the party, an assumption that 0:02:18.680 --> 0:02:22.480 clearly has its roots in Minstrelly. In Minstrelly and wait 0:02:22.600 --> 0:02:26.359 minstrelsy and I don't understand that yet. This caused much 0:02:26.360 --> 0:02:29.160 stress to my young self because Moesha and Brandy was 0:02:29.200 --> 0:02:31.720 probably the most famous young black woman on TV, at 0:02:31.800 --> 0:02:34.760 least in my community. So anyway, I felt seen. I 0:02:34.800 --> 0:02:37.720 wish my teen self had known you, barn Ambishen were 0:02:37.720 --> 0:02:40.839 out there. Thank you for the good show, the excellent discussions. 0:02:40.880 --> 0:02:43.720 I'm starting to dig into Tiffany's book, Get It with Money. 0:02:43.800 --> 0:02:45.960 It's going to change my life. I'm excited for your 0:02:46.000 --> 0:02:48.880 new venture. Mandy, and you're both such an inspiration. 0:02:49.440 --> 0:02:52.800 Oh, Kirsten as a Tello girl who literally like a 0:02:52.840 --> 0:02:55.519 super white community where I was oftentimes to the only 0:02:55.560 --> 0:02:59.320 black girl in school. I remem my husband first met me, Mandy, 0:02:59.320 --> 0:03:02.240 because I mean a lot of the I've got a 0:03:02.240 --> 0:03:04.440 lot more soul in my voice now. He thought that 0:03:04.520 --> 0:03:06.320 I was putting on an accent because I used to 0:03:06.360 --> 0:03:08.360 sound like this, Hey my name, I can't even do 0:03:08.400 --> 0:03:11.080 it m m oh no, yeah, my name is Tiffany, 0:03:11.240 --> 0:03:14.600 and yeah, so how like it was. But it was 0:03:14.720 --> 0:03:16.800 I was putting on. It was just I grew up 0:03:16.800 --> 0:03:18.560 in this neighborhood and that's what I sounded like. He 0:03:18.639 --> 0:03:20.600 was like, when are you gonna stop talking like that. 0:03:20.639 --> 0:03:24.280 I'm like, like what he's like, like, like that is 0:03:24.280 --> 0:03:27.240 that how you talk? For real? No, he's the literally 0:03:27.240 --> 0:03:30.080 have people come over with you, come eat her talk 0:03:30.720 --> 0:03:37.960 say something. I'm like, first of all, so because of 0:03:38.000 --> 0:03:39.800 my husband who he is, and living in New York 0:03:39.840 --> 0:03:41.280 for so long, I got like a lot more soul 0:03:41.320 --> 0:03:44.560 in my voice, you know, just because you know who 0:03:44.560 --> 0:03:46.760 you're around. You kind of like acclimate too. But I 0:03:46.840 --> 0:03:50.160 understand like because Mosha was, you know, that was the 0:03:50.160 --> 0:03:52.240 closest that I could see to like yes, like a 0:03:52.280 --> 0:03:55.840 black kind of like woman superhero where I was like, oh, 0:03:55.840 --> 0:03:56.880 I feel similar, you know. 0:03:57.360 --> 0:04:00.960 Yeah, well Mosha was on a tainable goal for me, 0:04:01.320 --> 0:04:03.400 at least now that it's like at least there's various 0:04:03.640 --> 0:04:06.840 different black like versions of black teens and versions of 0:04:06.960 --> 0:04:08.760 I was just talking to Tiffany about this movie, this 0:04:08.800 --> 0:04:11.720 new movie Vivo on Netflix, which is so cute if 0:04:11.760 --> 0:04:13.440 you have kids or not even with kids. I watch 0:04:13.480 --> 0:04:16.719 the Bout myself with a nice bottle of wine. 0:04:16.360 --> 0:04:17.880 And it was it was so cute. 0:04:17.880 --> 0:04:19.680 Well, when I loved about it was a central character 0:04:19.720 --> 0:04:23.800 as a young girl who is alternative. She's like very punk, 0:04:23.880 --> 0:04:27.039 she has bright pink, purple hair, and the whole movie 0:04:27.120 --> 0:04:29.560 is around how she does not want to conform to 0:04:29.600 --> 0:04:32.320 the other kids and she her Her signature song is 0:04:32.440 --> 0:04:35.839 Bounce to My Own Drum, and it's about bouncing to 0:04:35.920 --> 0:04:37.919 her own drum and it is such a banger. 0:04:38.040 --> 0:04:39.320 You have to lis this song. 0:04:39.440 --> 0:04:40.960 I have been dancing to it all day. 0:04:41.400 --> 0:04:42.359 But I was like, look at this. 0:04:42.520 --> 0:04:45.920 She's not the cute she's not like the shy, quiet introvert. 0:04:46.000 --> 0:04:48.680 She's not like you know, she's not awkward. She's just 0:04:48.720 --> 0:04:50.440 who she is. And she's like, I think I'm a 0:04:50.520 --> 0:04:52.640 fabulous I don't need a lot of friends. I just 0:04:52.680 --> 0:04:55.400 want to be here with my drum and my magical 0:04:55.440 --> 0:05:00.400 monkey all playing my music. So I love this and 0:05:00.440 --> 0:05:03.600 thank you. Thank you Kirsten for sharing that with us. 0:05:03.680 --> 0:05:06.119 That was really sweet. So we do have a quick 0:05:06.240 --> 0:05:09.760 question from Tracy in the d MB. Tracy, did you 0:05:09.760 --> 0:05:11.560 come see me sis because I was in your area 0:05:11.960 --> 0:05:15.640 this past weekend. Anyway, Hey, ba, is it a good 0:05:15.760 --> 0:05:18.960 idea slash even possible to open an IRA for my 0:05:19.040 --> 0:05:21.760 son who will be a college freshman in a few weeks. 0:05:22.160 --> 0:05:26.080 Thanks in advance, Tracy the DMV thanks to you. I 0:05:26.120 --> 0:05:27.839 know what that means, and it's not the Department of 0:05:27.839 --> 0:05:28.600 Motor Vehicles. 0:05:30.320 --> 0:05:30.599 Yeah. 0:05:30.640 --> 0:05:32.919 You know what, remember when I got this all confused 0:05:32.920 --> 0:05:35.479 before and thought that I could open an IRA for 0:05:35.560 --> 0:05:40.320 my toddler son. But little fine print there is that 0:05:40.360 --> 0:05:42.400 they have to be working age and able to earn 0:05:42.440 --> 0:05:45.000 an income at least, So I think, yeah, she should 0:05:45.000 --> 0:05:47.400 be able to open a if he's working IRA. 0:05:47.800 --> 0:05:51.040 That's the key he has to because an IRA is 0:05:51.240 --> 0:05:53.960 for those who don't know, it's an individual retirement account. 0:05:54.560 --> 0:05:56.760 And so you can only have a retirement account if 0:05:56.760 --> 0:06:00.000 you're actually employed. And so for example, like super Gris 0:06:00.279 --> 0:06:04.120 is fourteen and so Angelie who was my amazing financial 0:06:04.279 --> 0:06:08.000 planner certified financial planner, we're like, she's like, okay, what 0:06:08.080 --> 0:06:11.280 things does Alyssa do for the Vaginista? Because we can 0:06:11.320 --> 0:06:15.040 start setting aside, we can open ANGELI suggested a actual 0:06:15.080 --> 0:06:17.279 a wroth IRA for did she say a wrath ira? 0:06:18.040 --> 0:06:19.839 I don't remember her say that. Either way, an IRA 0:06:19.960 --> 0:06:23.080 wrath iras is money that she set aside after taxes 0:06:23.120 --> 0:06:24.800 are taken out, and the IRA is money you set 0:06:24.800 --> 0:06:27.480 aside in retirement before taxes are taken out. So anyway, 0:06:27.520 --> 0:06:29.400 she told me to set up an IRA, and then 0:06:29.440 --> 0:06:31.720 we can put up to I think I want to 0:06:31.720 --> 0:06:34.760 say six thousand dollars a year. I believe this is 0:06:34.800 --> 0:06:36.680 six or sixty five hundred, I don't know, because this 0:06:36.800 --> 0:06:39.560 is last year was six thousand. Sometimes they some of 0:06:39.640 --> 0:06:41.719 years they raise it. But basically I could put up 0:06:41.720 --> 0:06:43.360 the maximum a year, which at that time was six 0:06:43.400 --> 0:06:46.760 thousand dollars a year into a list of my stepdaughter's 0:06:47.640 --> 0:06:51.320 retirement account because she was actually working. So that's really 0:06:51.360 --> 0:06:53.880 the key is that, like if your child is working, yes, 0:06:54.080 --> 0:06:56.839 and she's at the time she was like, you know, twelve, 0:06:57.400 --> 0:06:59.800 so the age is not as much of a factor 0:07:00.080 --> 0:07:01.600 as is that child's working. 0:07:02.520 --> 0:07:04.920 Yeah. So if they're like a kid model or something 0:07:05.000 --> 0:07:08.760 like that, that baby on TikTok who eats food. 0:07:08.520 --> 0:07:12.080 And that baby is working, honey. 0:07:13.320 --> 0:07:16.400 But I would just say, if he's going to be 0:07:16.400 --> 0:07:18.760 a college freshman in a few weeks, make sure he's involved, 0:07:18.800 --> 0:07:22.080 because you know, they should understand he shouldn't because the 0:07:22.160 --> 0:07:24.000 only thing is if he if he doesn't know what 0:07:24.040 --> 0:07:26.520 you're doing, he can't appreciate the gains over the years. 0:07:26.520 --> 0:07:29.000 So maybe involve him, show him a little something. He 0:07:29.080 --> 0:07:31.320 might roll his eyes. I don't know, Maybe he'll be 0:07:31.360 --> 0:07:33.320 into it, but try to involve at least in the 0:07:33.320 --> 0:07:35.320 opening and explaining what or let him choose what he's 0:07:35.360 --> 0:07:37.480 going to invest in, you know, through. 0:07:37.320 --> 0:07:38.520 His account for sure. 0:07:43.880 --> 0:07:46.480 All right, Tiff, Now this questions a doozy. 0:07:46.240 --> 0:07:47.440 A doozy. I'm like, I'm tracking. 0:07:49.240 --> 0:07:51.360 I need to do a shoulder roll. It's a lot 0:07:51.360 --> 0:07:53.960 of words, yes, but I want to help her. So 0:07:54.040 --> 0:07:57.360 this is an anonymous b a q A question, and 0:07:57.400 --> 0:07:59.560 I'm going to read this slowly and thoughtfully, but it's 0:07:59.600 --> 0:08:02.840 a student loan versus investing kind of question. All right. 0:08:03.440 --> 0:08:06.360 So this listener says, I am currently renting out a 0:08:06.400 --> 0:08:08.640 condo that I bought when I was single and netting 0:08:08.760 --> 0:08:11.960 just under five hundred dollars a month. I want to 0:08:12.040 --> 0:08:16.160 maximize and leverage my profits. I'm considering a few options 0:08:16.200 --> 0:08:18.720 and need some help. I don't have any debt except 0:08:18.760 --> 0:08:22.280 for student loans and two mortgages, one on my main 0:08:22.320 --> 0:08:25.160 home and one on my rental. I owe about forty 0:08:25.200 --> 0:08:28.560 eight thousand dollars on my student loans, and I was 0:08:28.600 --> 0:08:31.960 silly and I refinanced out of my federal loans for 0:08:32.040 --> 0:08:35.000 a lower rate in twenty nineteen. My goal is to 0:08:35.000 --> 0:08:38.240 pay off my student loans asap. My payments are seven 0:08:38.320 --> 0:08:41.400 hundred and thirty dollars a month, but I'm considering refinancing 0:08:41.520 --> 0:08:45.400 again for more breathing room. So here are some options 0:08:45.520 --> 0:08:48.040 she's considering again. Her goal is to pay off her 0:08:48.040 --> 0:08:51.400 loans asap and try to leverage that five hundred dollars 0:08:51.440 --> 0:08:53.440 a month that she's getting from that rental all right, 0:08:53.480 --> 0:08:56.560 So she thinks she has four options. Option one, don't 0:08:56.600 --> 0:08:59.920 refinance the school loan. Take three hundred dollars from her 0:09:00.040 --> 0:09:03.080 rental profit and put that on top of her student 0:09:03.120 --> 0:09:05.280 loan payment, so she'd be paying about one thousand dollars 0:09:05.320 --> 0:09:09.439 a month instead of seven thirty. Number two, don't refinance 0:09:09.480 --> 0:09:12.320 a student loans. Take that three hundred dollars profit from 0:09:12.360 --> 0:09:16.320 her rental company and help that help to subsidize her 0:09:16.400 --> 0:09:19.640 seven thirty payment, which means three hundred dollars of that 0:09:19.720 --> 0:09:22.520 seven thirty would come from her rental profit and four 0:09:22.600 --> 0:09:25.960 hundred dollars would come out of her regular income. You 0:09:26.040 --> 0:09:30.000 still with me, all right? Number three, refinance to a 0:09:30.040 --> 0:09:32.959 payment around four to five hundred dollars a month. So 0:09:33.040 --> 0:09:36.120 she's talking about refinancing again to get a lower monthly 0:09:36.160 --> 0:09:39.200 payment and then invest three hundred dollars a month for 0:09:39.240 --> 0:09:41.839 a couple of years and attempt to bank a lump 0:09:41.840 --> 0:09:45.600 sum payment on her loans down the road, and for 0:09:46.160 --> 0:09:50.800 four say f them loans refinance to a payment around 0:09:50.840 --> 0:09:53.280 four to five hundred dollars a month, and then invest 0:09:53.400 --> 0:09:56.199 that three hundred dollars a month profit to save up 0:09:56.280 --> 0:09:59.840 and pay cash for my next car in a few years, 0:10:00.559 --> 0:10:03.079 I should add, she says that my husband and I 0:10:03.160 --> 0:10:06.760 are planning to start a family, but struggling with infertility treatments, 0:10:06.840 --> 0:10:10.920 so there's no guarantees. Also, I appreciate Tiffany's transparency so much. 0:10:10.960 --> 0:10:15.760 I never thought i'd cry during a finance podcast. You know, 0:10:15.760 --> 0:10:17.240 we laugh, we cry, We make money. 0:10:17.520 --> 0:10:19.400 Girl, all the things over here around here, with all 0:10:19.440 --> 0:10:23.040 the things, so all the things, I do you have 0:10:23.080 --> 0:10:24.120 a do you have a? Do you have? What you 0:10:24.120 --> 0:10:25.360 think of? What you want? What you want? What you 0:10:25.400 --> 0:10:25.880 want to say? 0:10:26.960 --> 0:10:30.200 I mean, where do we start? So she's already in 0:10:30.200 --> 0:10:32.679 the situation she is, where she's refinanced her federal loans 0:10:32.720 --> 0:10:33.680 to get the lower rate. 0:10:33.920 --> 0:10:36.360 So let's just start there and just tell people like, well, 0:10:36.600 --> 0:10:40.120 it's my opinion that for the most part, I really 0:10:40.120 --> 0:10:42.360 suggest people and this is no shame to you. We're 0:10:42.360 --> 0:10:46.560 gonna call you Brenda because Brenda had a baby and 0:10:46.559 --> 0:10:49.280 you gonna get that baby, Brenda. Okay, So for Tupac, 0:10:49.280 --> 0:10:50.959 for you, Tupaca Loves Branda had a baby. That's the 0:10:51.000 --> 0:10:55.679 song anyway, So Brenda. So this is no shade to you, Brenda. 0:10:55.840 --> 0:10:57.720 But this is a good lesson for everyone. One of 0:10:57.720 --> 0:10:59.520 the reasons why Mandy and I and Mandy, I've heard 0:10:59.559 --> 0:11:02.120 you say, well, I say this that I really don't 0:11:02.200 --> 0:11:05.040 like for people to refinance out of federal student loans, 0:11:05.559 --> 0:11:08.600 even for a lower rate. Oh, because although the lower 0:11:08.679 --> 0:11:13.679 rate is very attractive, that there are some rules in 0:11:13.760 --> 0:11:16.520 place that protect you with federal student loans that you 0:11:16.559 --> 0:11:19.360 can't get that same protection with a private loans. So, 0:11:19.400 --> 0:11:22.480 for example, now we have this moratorium where for over 0:11:22.480 --> 0:11:25.160 a year now you haven't had to pay any interest 0:11:25.240 --> 0:11:27.360 or any payment on your student loan. That does not 0:11:27.480 --> 0:11:30.680 apply to private student loans. This is only federal student loans. 0:11:30.679 --> 0:11:34.320 That's where that's where the federal government has agency over 0:11:34.679 --> 0:11:37.360 And so I just put that out there. So, I mean, 0:11:37.520 --> 0:11:39.240 I understand why you did it. You know, like you know, 0:11:39.280 --> 0:11:41.199 you wanted to lower your payments so I just want 0:11:41.240 --> 0:11:42.559 to put that out there first. 0:11:43.080 --> 0:11:45.760 Yeah. Absolutely, I mean, if she only just read, it 0:11:45.880 --> 0:11:48.640 sucks because you can only do You can make decisions 0:11:48.640 --> 0:11:50.200 based on the information that you have at the time. 0:11:50.280 --> 0:11:53.400 So in twenty nineteen, it probably felt perfectly fine to 0:11:53.480 --> 0:11:56.040 refinance her student loan out of federal debt with a 0:11:56.080 --> 0:11:58.280 private loan at a lower rate. But you know, if 0:11:58.280 --> 0:12:01.800 she had just waited till the pandemic hit and the 0:12:02.320 --> 0:12:05.640 White House, you know, stopped student loan payments on federal 0:12:05.679 --> 0:12:07.840 loans and also stopped interest from occurring, that would have 0:12:07.840 --> 0:12:10.520 been nice. But hey, she didn't. She is where she is. 0:12:10.880 --> 0:12:13.400 I would just wonder, you know how much I would 0:12:13.400 --> 0:12:15.080 do the math and you don't stay here. If you've 0:12:15.120 --> 0:12:19.120 actually shopped around refi rates, you actually can. I think 0:12:19.160 --> 0:12:21.800 a lot of refic sites will actually let you do 0:12:21.840 --> 0:12:24.000 a soft credit check to see what your rate might be, 0:12:24.440 --> 0:12:26.400 so see if you can actually save and get a 0:12:26.440 --> 0:12:29.120 lower rate. It's only been a couple of years, but 0:12:29.240 --> 0:12:32.000 we all know rates have been falling, you know, since 0:12:32.000 --> 0:12:35.440 the pandemic. So maybe you have such a substantial you know, 0:12:35.520 --> 0:12:38.319 savings that it would make sense for you to refinance again. 0:12:38.920 --> 0:12:42.040 But it sounds like she wants to not just refinance 0:12:42.040 --> 0:12:45.120 for a lower rate, but actually refinance and stretch out 0:12:45.200 --> 0:12:49.160 to a longer repayment term, because by stretching out the 0:12:49.240 --> 0:12:51.480 number of years she has to repay the debt, she 0:12:51.559 --> 0:12:54.800 could reduce her monthly payment, which would then free up 0:12:55.040 --> 0:12:58.400 an extra three hundred bucks which she could then put 0:12:58.440 --> 0:13:02.440 toward an investment or you know, her save up for 0:13:02.480 --> 0:13:05.320 her car in the future. Right, h So do you 0:13:05.320 --> 0:13:06.720 think about that if. 0:13:06.520 --> 0:13:10.000 It was me, Because you know, we're not financial. We're 0:13:10.000 --> 0:13:12.400 not your financial advisor, nor are we financial advisors. Were 0:13:12.440 --> 0:13:15.600 just two girls, two financial girlfriends. Okay, So if this 0:13:15.760 --> 0:13:18.400 was wa, I'm giving advice to not Brianda, but Tiffany, 0:13:18.760 --> 0:13:21.600 I would say, hey, tiff girlhead girl, you already refinanced 0:13:21.600 --> 0:13:23.240 out of the federal student loans, so we hear now, 0:13:23.280 --> 0:13:26.199 I would go ahead and refinance again because why pay 0:13:26.240 --> 0:13:29.040 more when I can play less? Hello? So I would 0:13:29.040 --> 0:13:32.320 refinance now. I would check to see I'd be hesitant 0:13:32.360 --> 0:13:35.000 to refinance for a longer term, but I would you know, 0:13:35.040 --> 0:13:37.280 I'd be open to refinancing for the same length of 0:13:37.520 --> 0:13:40.120 time and if I can save, you know, like an 0:13:40.160 --> 0:13:43.960 additional one hundred and two hundred dollars. That would be awesome. Now, 0:13:44.320 --> 0:13:48.560 I because student loans typically, especially if you're refinancing, Because 0:13:48.559 --> 0:13:52.160 student loans, the interest rates are typically reasonable. And I'm 0:13:52.160 --> 0:13:54.439 assuming if you left federal student loans to go those 0:13:54.480 --> 0:13:58.040 private student loans, they're fairly reasonable. Because federal student loan 0:13:58.080 --> 0:14:02.680 interest rates are fairly reasonable, not double digit interest. Then 0:14:02.880 --> 0:14:05.760 I would not, honestly, part of me says Part four 0:14:05.800 --> 0:14:09.000 at them loans partially meaning like sis, you're not getting 0:14:09.000 --> 0:14:11.800 no more than me than this minimum. Because girl, I 0:14:11.800 --> 0:14:14.400 have life to live. I would be giving my student 0:14:14.440 --> 0:14:17.640 loans this money. I would set it and set I 0:14:17.679 --> 0:14:21.120 forget it. I would use the excess money to grow wealth. 0:14:21.880 --> 0:14:23.800 I wouldn't even like, you know, like you know your car, 0:14:23.920 --> 0:14:26.320 that's cute, But honestly, I'd be using this excess money 0:14:26.360 --> 0:14:28.920 to grow wealth. You already have one investment property, maybe another, 0:14:29.160 --> 0:14:32.000 maybe put into the market. So that's what I would 0:14:32.040 --> 0:14:35.640 be doing. I would say, you know, I'm going to refinance. 0:14:35.800 --> 0:14:38.080 I'm going to give the loans whatever it's minimum is, 0:14:38.200 --> 0:14:39.640 you know, and I'm going to use This is what 0:14:39.680 --> 0:14:41.880 I did as a budgetista as well as Tiffany. I 0:14:41.960 --> 0:14:44.520 had was really aggressive with paying off my credit card debt, 0:14:44.760 --> 0:14:46.720 paid them off. I'm talking about aggressive all the money 0:14:46.720 --> 0:14:49.000 I had, and then I was like, dang, I really 0:14:49.040 --> 0:14:50.680 don't want to live in this room. I'd been renting 0:14:50.680 --> 0:14:52.760 a room because that's all I could afford. I don't 0:14:52.800 --> 0:14:54.040 want to be living in this room for the next 0:14:54.080 --> 0:14:55.880 another four or five years because I want to be 0:14:55.920 --> 0:14:59.000 aggressive with paying off student loan debt. That's not my ministry, 0:14:59.000 --> 0:15:01.160 and Brenda, I don't believe is yours as well. So 0:15:01.200 --> 0:15:03.120 instead of what I did was I paid the minimum 0:15:03.160 --> 0:15:05.760 to my student loans, I automated it, and then I 0:15:05.880 --> 0:15:08.320 focused my time, energy and the rest of the money 0:15:08.320 --> 0:15:11.000 I had left over on growing wealth. And in that 0:15:11.080 --> 0:15:13.160 same five years, I could have been living in that room. 0:15:13.600 --> 0:15:15.280 At the end of five years, I had my lump 0:15:15.320 --> 0:15:17.680 sum plus some so I was like, ooh, I have 0:15:17.760 --> 0:15:20.960 a business. I've got the mine was fifty two thousand. 0:15:20.960 --> 0:15:23.720 I have the fifty two thousand dollars plus an additional 0:15:23.760 --> 0:15:25.480 probably a hundred thousand dollars I think I had saved 0:15:25.480 --> 0:15:27.960 by then, so I had all the things. So I 0:15:28.040 --> 0:15:30.880 never think that focusing on debt is the right place 0:15:30.880 --> 0:15:34.520 to place your energy, because where your energy goes that's 0:15:34.560 --> 0:15:38.680 what grows, and so refinance, Tiffany. I'm not talking about 0:15:38.680 --> 0:15:40.160 ID because you know, we don't get financial vices in 0:15:40.160 --> 0:15:42.960 that way. Tiffany, I would refinance. I would take that 0:15:43.000 --> 0:15:45.360 extra money. I would use it to grow wealth, and 0:15:45.440 --> 0:15:48.040 over time, as I got my lump sum, you know 0:15:48.080 --> 0:15:50.040 that I could pay it off because I'd have My 0:15:50.080 --> 0:15:52.600 assumption is I'm going to have additional money, not just 0:15:52.640 --> 0:15:55.320 the lump sum for the student loan debt. Yeah, I agree. 0:15:55.320 --> 0:15:57.080 I mean I think the key here is that if 0:15:57.120 --> 0:15:59.640 you've refinanced to a longer term to lower your monthly 0:15:59.680 --> 0:16:01.760 payment and say you're actually doing something with that extra 0:16:01.800 --> 0:16:04.680 money and not just you know, pocketing it for for 0:16:04.920 --> 0:16:08.440 to you know, sustain your lifestyle or to improve your lifestyle, 0:16:08.480 --> 0:16:11.400 but saving it, investing it. Like you said, I don't 0:16:11.400 --> 0:16:14.000 know so much about like investing for a car that 0:16:14.000 --> 0:16:15.440 you're going to buy in the next few years. That's 0:16:15.480 --> 0:16:17.440 a I mean, that's a long ish but it's not 0:16:17.520 --> 0:16:19.800 quite long enough for me to say, yeah, maybe put 0:16:19.800 --> 0:16:21.880 that money in the market. But you know, you can 0:16:21.920 --> 0:16:24.000 set part of that aside for your you know, in 0:16:24.040 --> 0:16:26.480 a cash savings account for your new car and be 0:16:26.520 --> 0:16:28.600 ready for that in a couple of years and then 0:16:28.680 --> 0:16:31.200 you know, invest the rest into a brokerage account. And 0:16:31.240 --> 0:16:35.120 there's my child screaming in the background. But I think 0:16:35.120 --> 0:16:38.600 this is a This is a real complex and fascinating 0:16:38.800 --> 0:16:40.720 conundrum that I think a lot of people are in. 0:16:40.800 --> 0:16:43.760 But the key, like Tiffany said, is put that money 0:16:43.800 --> 0:16:47.000 to work and don't just use it to you know 0:16:47.360 --> 0:16:48.920 that that's the kind of thing where if you don't 0:16:48.920 --> 0:16:52.440 automate it, like Tiffany said, the money can easily disappear. Yep, 0:16:52.520 --> 0:16:56.280 three hundred bucks is like three you know, nice dinners 0:16:56.280 --> 0:16:58.080 out and I mean you'd be surprised how quickly you 0:16:58.120 --> 0:17:01.680 can go. So really really being yeah, really being thoughtful 0:17:01.720 --> 0:17:03.360 and putting that money into work is going to be 0:17:03.360 --> 0:17:04.080 the key here. 0:17:04.720 --> 0:17:06.360 And make the plan ahead of time. I tell this 0:17:06.400 --> 0:17:10.280 to everyone that I'm actually reading this book Atomic Habits 0:17:10.320 --> 0:17:12.040 right now. You've heard of it, right Mandy by James 0:17:12.040 --> 0:17:12.280 hor Are. 0:17:12.280 --> 0:17:15.080 She's reading another book, I know. 0:17:15.119 --> 0:17:19.399 I just finished David and Goliath by Malcolm Glad. Girl. 0:17:19.520 --> 0:17:21.600 I think all I can do to read my email. 0:17:22.160 --> 0:17:24.119 After this six weeks, I'm a change. Look at my 0:17:24.160 --> 0:17:28.280 skin glowing gla This six weeks off has changed me. 0:17:28.440 --> 0:17:32.680 So anyway, so I'm reading Atomic Habits, which is awesome. Well, 0:17:32.920 --> 0:17:35.160 Tracy always shades me. She said, you're not reading it, 0:17:35.160 --> 0:17:39.160 it's being read to you audible read girl. I hate 0:17:39.160 --> 0:17:40.200 it's always go they hate. 0:17:40.080 --> 0:17:41.399 Get her audiobooks reading. 0:17:41.720 --> 0:17:45.160 I hate trace the hater. Anyway, So I'm reading Atomic Habits. 0:17:45.320 --> 0:17:46.440 And one of the things that he said that I 0:17:46.440 --> 0:17:48.480 thought was really powerful. We can kind of like close 0:17:48.520 --> 0:17:51.600 on this is that people think that you have to 0:17:51.640 --> 0:17:55.840 have this like herculean discipline, right, And what they found 0:17:56.000 --> 0:17:59.480 with people who are quote unquote super disciplined is not 0:17:59.560 --> 0:18:02.359 that there's so disciplined, is that they have learned to 0:18:02.359 --> 0:18:05.120 create environments where they don't have to exercise discipline as much. 0:18:06.200 --> 0:18:09.119 You know. So it's not like, oh my god, you know, Mandy, 0:18:09.240 --> 0:18:11.520 you know you're you're so good at writing, You're such 0:18:11.560 --> 0:18:14.560 a disciplined writer. Yes you are, But you created your 0:18:14.600 --> 0:18:18.560 she shed cave, your she cave where then the zend 0:18:18.720 --> 0:18:20.760 I was like, what's the damn name? You created? What? 0:18:21.200 --> 0:18:23.879 You created a zen den? Which so if you have 0:18:24.240 --> 0:18:26.960 if you were, like say, writing at the dining room table, 0:18:27.119 --> 0:18:29.320 then you'd be less likely to write. But you've created 0:18:29.320 --> 0:18:32.240 an environment that's like, this is just for Mandra and 0:18:32.280 --> 0:18:35.439 this is this is a creative space where my juices 0:18:35.480 --> 0:18:38.240 can flow. So what I will say to you, Brenda 0:18:38.560 --> 0:18:42.760 and anyone listening, is that to before any money or 0:18:43.200 --> 0:18:45.760 or whatever comes in, to create the plan ahead of 0:18:45.800 --> 0:18:48.560 time and then set that automation up so you don't 0:18:48.560 --> 0:18:51.440 actually have to be as disciplined. You know that literally, 0:18:51.520 --> 0:18:54.480 automation is the new discipline. And Brenda, I'll say this 0:18:54.520 --> 0:18:57.119 because I know how hard, like you know the journey 0:18:57.200 --> 0:19:00.040 is with IVF. I mean, you know, I'm on my 0:19:00.160 --> 0:19:03.000 last last run as it is right now, and so 0:19:03.960 --> 0:19:07.719 I mean you're allowed to feel bad and terrible about it. 0:19:07.720 --> 0:19:09.280 You know, people will tell you like, oh, you know, 0:19:09.800 --> 0:19:11.680 it's gonna be all right, and I mean, I can't 0:19:11.720 --> 0:19:14.199 promise that it's gonna work out. I don't know, but 0:19:14.520 --> 0:19:17.199 I do know that, you know, lean into your partner, 0:19:17.280 --> 0:19:21.000