Speaker 1: It's time for the b a qa a to b
Speaker 1: a q a with Tiffany, to b a qa usually
Speaker 1: with Manday, but to be a qa just made today.
Speaker 1: So I'm here by myself because Maddy had mom things
Speaker 1: to get to.
Speaker 2: But that's what right I thought.
Speaker 1: She will be back in black and brown as ever,
Speaker 1: but it is Made Whole week. My new book Made
Speaker 1: Whole came out earlier this week, and to celebrate, I
Speaker 1: am going to be answering questions that you can also
Speaker 1: find the answers to in part in Maidehole, my new
Speaker 1: book a little bit about Maidhole.
Speaker 2: It is going to teach you in.
Speaker 1: Ten steps how to create financial wholeness for yourself. That is,
Speaker 1: financial holeness is the financial foundation for the rest of
Speaker 1: your life. If you achieve these ten steps, budgeting, savings,
Speaker 1: that credit, income, investing, insurance, your financial team, net worth,
Speaker 1: and estate planning. If you learn to manage and maintain
Speaker 1: those ten steps, things can happen externally to you financially,
Speaker 1: but you'll be okay, Meaning what session can happen, you'll
Speaker 1: be okay. Job loss will happen, you could be okay.
Speaker 1: Inflation happens, you could be okay. If you master those
Speaker 1: master and maintain those ten steps, and inside of Made Whole,
Speaker 1: I walk you through, step by step by step how
Speaker 1: to do so. It is the workbook version the companion
Speaker 1: book to my New York Times bestseller Get Good with Money.
Speaker 1: It is more concise. It allows you to do the
Speaker 1: work with each and every step right away, so you
Speaker 1: don't forget the work itself. There's in real life stories
Speaker 1: of people who completed these steps via its sister book
Speaker 1: and Get Good of Money, so you can be encouraged.
Speaker 1: And I also have quick steps where if you don't
Speaker 1: want to do the whole step because you feel a
Speaker 1: little overwhelmed, if you do this one thing, it will
Speaker 1: make a huge difference in your financial life as related
Speaker 1: to that step. So that's how Madehole is a little different.
Speaker 1: So let's get into some questions. But remember this then
Speaker 1: I'm answering questions. But I'm not your doctor, your lawyer,
Speaker 1: your mama, your father. No, I'm just a smart brown
Speaker 1: girl who have some opinions that you're going to take
Speaker 1: with the smallest grain of salt.
Speaker 2: Then you are going to lean into somebody that you
Speaker 2: pay for advice. Okay, okay, let's start all.
Speaker 1: Right, So we have some. I think I might do
Speaker 1: three in you know, because it's made whole, made whole week.
Speaker 2: Okay.
Speaker 1: Oh sidebar also too, made wholes available wherever books are sold.
Speaker 2: But also you can go to.
Speaker 1: Mad Whole Workbook dot com, Maid Whole Workbook dot com and.
Speaker 2: Get yourself a copy.
Speaker 1: Okay, all right, So question from Terry from ig Terry says,
Speaker 1: good day, ladies, or anyone on the team who might
Speaker 1: be not identifying as a lady.
Speaker 2: Okay, I love that.
Speaker 1: I have a very important question that I'm sure parents
Speaker 1: are listening. Would love to know. I'm expecting my first
Speaker 1: child in three weeks. Can congratulations?
Speaker 2: Terry?
Speaker 1: Oh well you wrote this a little while ago, so
Speaker 1: the baby's here already. Congratulations. And after looking at stocks
Speaker 1: like Amazon and others, I would love to know what
Speaker 1: are things I can do to get her invested into
Speaker 1: this economy. So she's having a girl, she will absolutely
Speaker 1: be a beneficiary on my assets.
Speaker 2: Awesome. But what are some things I know to open?
Speaker 2: She said?
Speaker 1: What are some other things she said, I know to
Speaker 1: open a wrath? And when she starts to have earned income,
Speaker 1: and maybe you could speak to that as well. I'm
Speaker 1: here for any advice please and thank you love the show. Okay, first,
Speaker 1: congratulations because I know baby girls here because you wrote
Speaker 1: this to us a little while ago. So some things
Speaker 1: that you want to consider is one, what does your
Speaker 1: life insurance policy look like, Terry like, have you updated
Speaker 1: your life insurance policy? Your partner do they have a
Speaker 1: life insurance policy? How is baby girl provided for in
Speaker 1: the life insurance policy?
Speaker 2: So that's one. Is it enough? Do you feel?
Speaker 1: Here's a rule of thumb directly from Made Whole. So
Speaker 1: in the I will tell you right now and made
Speaker 1: hold of the book, I told you.
Speaker 2: This is the main whole episode.
Speaker 1: Okay, the chapter eight it's called Get Good with Insurance, right,
Speaker 1: So in it I talk about how much life insurance
Speaker 1: you have should have basic kind of where you are
Speaker 1: in life. If you have children, you want to try
Speaker 1: to provide for a minimum ten years worth of you
Speaker 1: financially supporting them. So however, you if you the rule
Speaker 1: of thumb is, let's just say you make one hundred
Speaker 1: thousand dollars a year. Ten years times one hundred thousand
Speaker 1: dollars is a million dollars. So you want to try
Speaker 1: to get a policy, ideally a term policy for a
Speaker 1: million dollars or more so that way, if you're not
Speaker 1: here for ten years, the finance, the finances that you
Speaker 1: brought into your daughter's life will still be able to continue.
Speaker 2: Does that make sense, you know?
Speaker 1: So that's one, making sure that your life insurance policies
Speaker 1: are all the way together to make sure she's looked after. Two,
Speaker 1: what does your will look like if you have a
Speaker 1: child you needed a will like yesterday? You know, like
Speaker 1: if something happens to you, something happens to your partner,
Speaker 1: you know, where would that money go or who would
Speaker 1: be looking after her?
Speaker 2: In what way?
Speaker 1: What do you want to set aside for her? So
Speaker 1: consider those things. Also, you also want to consider that
Speaker 1: the issue with just a life insurance policy directly to
Speaker 1: your daughter, if something were to happen to you, the
Speaker 1: state where you live might hold that money until she
Speaker 1: turns eighteen. So one, what that means is that money
Speaker 1: won't be as helpful to her because she's still really young.
Speaker 1: And two it might she might be getting too much
Speaker 1: money when she turns eighteen.
Speaker 2: So consider.
Speaker 1: Potentially, I don't know, like what your financial situation looks like,
Speaker 1: a trust as well, because then you can make the
Speaker 1: trust the beneficiary to that life insurance policy and then
Speaker 1: it can be pieced out to her as you as
Speaker 1: you consider, as as you deem necessary. So some to
Speaker 1: look after her while she's still young, maybe some for
Speaker 1: like you know, when she is ready to go to
Speaker 1: college or otherwise, and some beyond.
Speaker 2: So consider that as well, Terry.
Speaker 1: And another thing, I know you talked about considering maybe
Speaker 1: getting a raw iray for her and so IRA as
Speaker 1: an individual retirement account. And the only way to have
Speaker 1: a retirement account is that you have to be earning money.
Speaker 2: The great thing is is that maybies.
Speaker 1: Can earn money. So let's just say, you know, I
Speaker 1: don't know, like your child was a child model, like
Speaker 1: she could have a raw IRA because she'd be earning
Speaker 1: income as like a baby model.
Speaker 2: You know.
Speaker 1: So my step daughter works for me from time to time.
Speaker 1: I opened up an IRA for her, so I pay
Speaker 1: her and I pay her enough to make sure she
Speaker 1: can fully fund her wrath IRA every year, you know,
Speaker 1: under my guidance and the guidance of my financial advisor
Speaker 1: on Julie. You know, so consider like you know, you
Speaker 1: don't have to wait till your daughter's grown for her
Speaker 1: to have that wrath IRA. And so earned income is
Speaker 1: just that they are working. You obviously have to prove
Speaker 1: that it makes sense. I have my own business, so
Speaker 1: it's a little easier, but that's one of the ways.
Speaker 1: And lastly, consider opening. I have this for both Alyssa,
Speaker 1: my bonus daughter, but also my niece and my nephew.
Speaker 1: I have something called a not lastly, but I have
Speaker 1: something that I prefer right now over a five twenty
Speaker 1: nine plan, although five twenty nine plans can be very helpful.
Speaker 1: So just for clarity, a five to twenty nine plan is,
Speaker 1: let me get the right wording for you. Five twenty
Speaker 1: nine plan. Okay, So a five twenty nine plan is
Speaker 1: a college savings plan and it's states sponsored. It enables
Speaker 1: you to save money for beneficiary and pay for educational expenses.
Speaker 1: So the good thing is not just college expenses. You
Speaker 1: can set aside money and pay for educational expenses too.
Speaker 1: You can withdraw the funds tax free to cover nearly
Speaker 1: any type.
Speaker 2: Of college expense.
Speaker 1: Right. So what that means is is that you put
Speaker 1: say money right now into a five twenty nine plan.
Speaker 1: Not just you, but other people you know can contribute
Speaker 1: to this five twenty nine plan. Grandma and grandpa, aunties uncles,
Speaker 1: and then when it's invested and when it grows, ideally
Speaker 1: you could pull the money you put in and the
Speaker 1: investment that it's grown to out for expenses. A lot
Speaker 1: of laws have changed where it's not just for college
Speaker 1: expenses that they're even letting you use five twenty nine
Speaker 1: plan money for other educational expenses, you know. So some
Speaker 1: of the advantages are you have some federal income tax
Speaker 1: benefits and some state benefits. It's low maintenance, high contribution limits,
Speaker 1: semi flexible. And then some of the cons are the
Speaker 1: funds must be used for education, there are limitations on
Speaker 1: tax benefits. There's no self directed investment, so there's not
Speaker 1: investments that you can kind of choose yourself. There are fees,
Speaker 1: and there are some ownership rules. Although there are favorable
Speaker 1: financial aid treatments, meaning like if you have a lot
Speaker 1: of money in your five twenty nine plan, it doesn't
Speaker 1: mean that your daughter won't be eligible for financial aid treatment. Okay,
Speaker 1: But the good thing, the tax benefit that I really
Speaker 1: do like about the five twenty nine plan is that
Speaker 1: you can use it for college tuition fees, books, supplies,
Speaker 1: some room and board costs, and up to ten thousand
Speaker 1: dollars in K through twelve tuition per year, and you know,
Speaker 1: and up to ten thousand dollars in student loan repayment
Speaker 1: per beneficiary and per sibling.
Speaker 2: So that's pretty good.
Speaker 1: But the reason why I didn't open a five twenty
Speaker 1: nine plan for my nieces and nephews and my stepdaughter
Speaker 1: is because I felt like it was a little restrictive
Speaker 1: for me. So instead I have a custodial account for them.
Speaker 1: And so basically this is just an investment account that
Speaker 1: I am the custodian of and I will sign over
Speaker 1: to them or they are the beneficiaries of it when
Speaker 1: if I'm not here, and so basically it's just a
Speaker 1: brokerage account where I'm investing. I put money every single
Speaker 1: year year across the board to all four of them,
Speaker 1: and as the money grows, you know, it's for them,
Speaker 1: and then I can decide when they'll get that money
Speaker 1: while I'm here and when I am no longer here,
Speaker 1: I haven't because though the beneficiaries of that custodial account
Speaker 1: actually goes to the trust, and the trust says the
Speaker 1: money will be divvied out at age eighteen if they're
Speaker 1: going to college twenty one if they're not, and then
Speaker 1: age twenty five and then finally aged thirty. So that's
Speaker 1: how the custodia account money pays out to my nieces
Speaker 1: and nephew and Alyssa if I'm not here. If I
Speaker 1: am here, then I will sign it over to them
Speaker 1: as as I find they're responsible enough to use that
Speaker 1: money in a responsible way. So Custodial Account in five
Speaker 1: twenty nine plans the last piece of advice. So hopefully
Speaker 1: that was helpful to you. Tarry another parents, I'm gonna
Speaker 1: take you know what. I'm not going to take a
Speaker 1: quick break just yet because I want to answer this quick, quick,
Speaker 1: funny question from Ohio Raised and Cali Living. Going to
Speaker 1: take a quick break, okay, Ohio Raise in Kelli Living,
Speaker 1: says Tiffany Mandy. My company offers a five hundred dollars
Speaker 1: reimbursement on things I spend for my wellness. I'm talking
Speaker 1: from facials to student loan payments. Your girl was in
Speaker 1: it was all here for it until I read the
Speaker 1: reimbursement is taxable income. It feels like a payday loan.
Speaker 1: Am I trip in financial godmothers love that all ears
Speaker 1: Ohio Rais and Kelli living.
Speaker 2: So this is funny. Here's the thing. There's no such
Speaker 2: thing as a free lunch.
Speaker 1: I know it sounds like, wait, what, There's no such
Speaker 1: thing as a free lunch because if they reimburse that
Speaker 1: money to you, what the government says, federal and.
Speaker 2: State is that you made money. It says that you
Speaker 2: made money.
Speaker 1: So a reimbursement is still considered money being made.
Speaker 2: And one thing that this United States.
Speaker 1: Of America does not want to do is see you
Speaker 1: make money and they don't make no money off the
Speaker 1: money you made.
Speaker 2: So it's not that your company is doing something wrong.
Speaker 2: Is that.
Speaker 1: Yes, they're offering you this five hundred dollars reimbursursement, and
Speaker 1: if you use that reimbursement, it's made money. So for example,
Speaker 1: it's similar to if I get something forgiven. So this
Speaker 1: is what they were fighting about in the federal government
Speaker 1: about Biden forgiving the student loans. So some people wanted
Speaker 1: that student loan forgiveness to be taxed because they're like,
Speaker 1: you made money, like in outside of student loans, if
Speaker 1: you get anything forgiven over six hundred dollars, Like there
Speaker 1: are people who had their they lost their home to
Speaker 1: foreclosure and they still owed on it, and they got
Speaker 1: that forgiven, especially during the recession, right, and they had
Speaker 1: to pay taxes on the money that was forgiven, you know,
Speaker 1: because they lost it to foreclosure and as a result,
Speaker 1: you know, it's like, wait, I lost my house, I
Speaker 1: gave it up, I still owed one hundred thousand dollars
Speaker 1: on it, So you mean to same, I got to
Speaker 1: pay tax on one hundred thousand dollars And the government
Speaker 1: is like yes, because that forgiven money is still earned money.
Speaker 1: So reimburse money is considered earned money either way. So
Speaker 1: it's not your job that's doing that, it's the it's
Speaker 1: USA who.
Speaker 2: Is doing that.
Speaker 1: So hope that makes sense, Ohio, Rais and Kelli living
Speaker 1: that your job is trying to do something nice by
Speaker 1: giving you that money. But here's the thing, like paying
Speaker 1: taxes on it doesn't mean that you're gonna pay the
Speaker 1: full five hundred dollars in tax. So let's just say
Speaker 1: your tax rate is twenty percent, right, So if your
Speaker 1: tax rate is I don't even know, like them, that
Speaker 1: might be kind of low.
Speaker 2: Say your tax rate is thirty percent. I'm just making
Speaker 2: it up, right, So.
Speaker 1: Five hundred dollars point times point zero three taxes. That's
Speaker 1: fifteen dollars of taxes paid on five hundred dollars, So
Speaker 1: you're still are coming up. You just would have to
Speaker 1: be paying the fifteen dollars on the five hundred.
Speaker 2: Does that make sense? Hopefully that's helpful.
Speaker 1: All right, We're gonna take a quick break and we'll
Speaker 1: be back back and brown again. Okay, Hey, all my bad.
Speaker 1: So you know your girl is in her soft life error.
Speaker 1: So you might have heard some chit chat in the background.
Speaker 1: That is my cleaning lady, Ingrid and her sister. They're
Speaker 1: cleaning up by beautiful home to get it ready for
Speaker 1: Thanksgiving because I'm taping on Monday. You heard in the background.
Speaker 1: That's because your girls living good. Okay, so judge a mama.
Speaker 1: I'm just joking, but no, it really was InCred I
Speaker 1: will have to be like senior out get to please
Speaker 1: perform vod cilensia before please. But they're really dope though,
Speaker 1: So I just wanted to apologize and advance. All right,
Speaker 1: and let's get back to our final question.
Speaker 2: But see, here's the thing.
Speaker 1: You know, like, I'm giving you all three questions answer,
Speaker 1: So I mean, can you really be Manna?
Speaker 2: You can't this question is for Monique. Hey, Monique says, Hey,
Speaker 2: Tiffany and Mandy. My name is Monique and.
Speaker 1: I absolutely love your podcast. Thanks Monique. I listen faithfully
Speaker 1: every week because I'm trying to get these coins all
Speaker 1: the way together. I have several retail credit cards that
Speaker 1: I am paying off right now because I had a
Speaker 1: terrible shopping addiction.
Speaker 2: Okay, thank you for being candid.
Speaker 1: I know that credit cards can be closed if you
Speaker 1: pay them off and never use them again, which I'm
Speaker 1: assuming can affect my credit score.
Speaker 2: This is true.
Speaker 1: What is your advice regarding maintaining my credit score once
Speaker 1: I have paid off these retails cards in the future,
Speaker 1: if I do want to open cards, I only want
Speaker 1: to use cards that I can pay off monthly and
Speaker 1: then offer traveling points and rewards to think y'all. Okay, Mony,
Speaker 1: this is great because this is I can give you
Speaker 1: an answer directly out of my new book, Maidhole, the
Speaker 1: credit chapter, which is chapter chapter five, page ninety one
Speaker 1: if you have the hardcore book. Okay, so yes, if
Speaker 1: you close. So you said retail let me make sure
Speaker 1: you said retail cards. Now here's the thing. I am
Speaker 1: not a fan of retail cards. I'm not I am.
Speaker 1: I am not.
Speaker 2: Anti credit cards.
Speaker 1: I believe credit cards can be useful tools, but the
Speaker 1: problem with a general like a general credit card, to me,
Speaker 1: is better than a retail card because with a general card, you.
Speaker 2: Can use it anywhere, and you can you can.
Speaker 1: It's easier to be a little more responsible because if
Speaker 1: I have a retail card, say, for example, I have
Speaker 1: a Target credit card, like because Target only wants you
Speaker 1: to use at Target, so I can't just use it anywhere.
Speaker 2: Where with a retail card. With a general card.
Speaker 1: I can use it anywhere, and I can even use
Speaker 1: it in a way Like I tell you in the book,
Speaker 1: I teach you how to raise your credit score fairly
Speaker 1: quickly by doing this method of paying off a small
Speaker 1: balance of your card every single month, I can say, Okay,
Speaker 1: I'm going to put my Planet Fitness ten dollar membership
Speaker 1: on this card, or I'm going to put my Netflix
Speaker 1: membership on this card and paid off every month in
Speaker 1: full to see my credit score grow. If I have
Speaker 1: a Target card, then I have to buy something from
Speaker 1: Target every single month in order to do so. So
Speaker 1: that's an additional expense when I'm already I already have Netflix,
Speaker 1: I already.
Speaker 2: Have the gym membership. Does that make sense?
Speaker 1: So I would pay off these retail cards and quite honestly,
Speaker 1: I will close them. Now you have to know this.
Speaker 1: Then thirty percent of your score is really your balances.
Speaker 1: So when you close your cards, it is going to
Speaker 1: likely lower your score temporarily and pretty significantly because you
Speaker 1: won't have any limit to out to outweigh the balances
Speaker 1: on your card. If that makes sense. So I'll give
Speaker 1: you an example. Thirty percent of your score. I'm looking
Speaker 1: like directly from for those of you who might have
Speaker 1: the book in hand, let's look at it.
Speaker 2: I'm looking at.
Speaker 1: If you have the physical book, which is my favorite
Speaker 1: when it comes to a workbook. I'm looking where am
Speaker 1: I looking at the investment chapter? Girl?
Speaker 2: Give yourself offway together tipically.
Speaker 1: Earlier sis earlier, So I like, what did I tell
Speaker 1: you what page the credit chapter is on? And made
Speaker 1: whole page ninety one? Oh kind, I'm here now, okay, okay, okay, okay,
Speaker 1: reduce your amounts old? Okay, we're looking at page ninety nine. Okay,
Speaker 1: And so really I said the word amounts old or
Speaker 1: your balances.
Speaker 2: Another word for that is utilization.
Speaker 1: So thirty percent of your score is how much if
Speaker 1: your cards are you utilizing. You don't want to utilize
Speaker 1: too much of your cards. The magic number is nothing
Speaker 1: above thirty percent, but really you want to be utilizing
Speaker 1: even way less than that, like even under like fifteen
Speaker 1: to ten percent. What that means is, if you have
Speaker 1: a credit card with the balance of one hundred dollars,
Speaker 1: you want to keep the with the limit I'm sorry,
Speaker 1: of one hundred dollars, you want to keep the balance
Speaker 1: under fifteen dollars. Thirty dollars is the max fifteen ten
Speaker 1: dollars ideal paying it off even better? You know that
Speaker 1: is how you're going to raise your credit score. But
Speaker 1: the problem is with retail cards, you would have to
Speaker 1: buy something just to navigate the keeping your balance is
Speaker 1: low or paid off, and I don't want.
Speaker 2: That for you. So I want you to pay off
Speaker 2: these retail cards.
Speaker 1: Then when you feel like you're more responsible and you
Speaker 1: can automate the payments, then you can look for a
Speaker 1: regular credit card that offers travel warpoints, like for business
Speaker 1: I use AMEX. I also have a personal like gold
Speaker 1: car for AMEX, but I have a silver, not so
Speaker 1: or platinum car for business AX because I found that's
Speaker 1: my favorite card for business, but also too my personal
Speaker 1: card because I like to travel. I have where's my
Speaker 1: Let me see if I find it. Mandy always last
Speaker 1: at me because I always call it the wrong thing.
Speaker 1: So I have my wallet here. Let me call it
Speaker 1: the right thing.
Speaker 2: For once in my life. I have a what is this?
Speaker 1: Oh?
Speaker 2: Okay?
Speaker 1: So Visa has a Sapphires Reserve Card. I like this
Speaker 1: card because they give really great points for travel. I
Speaker 1: literally just use my Amex points to book my mother
Speaker 1: a flight to Nigeria. She wants to go to Nigeria
Speaker 1: for Christmas with my aunt, and so I was able
Speaker 1: to use points, like literally she didn't have to. Well,
Speaker 1: she paid a little bit out of pocket, but the
Speaker 1: tickets were so expensive and the points made the tickets
Speaker 1: really reasonable. But like I said, I have that's Amex,
Speaker 1: but you might not. You know the problem with Amex
Speaker 1: is that the annual fee might not be worth it
Speaker 1: for you. But I like my Chase Sapphire Reserve card.
Speaker 1: You know the fee, the annual fee is more reasonable
Speaker 1: and they give you a lot of great travel rewards. So,
Speaker 1: for example, I just came back this weekend. I was
Speaker 1: in Washington, d C. I was taping. I'm not taping.
Speaker 1: I was. I had a book launch event at the
Speaker 1: Eaton Hotel via Mahogany Books. This is a black Own bookstore,
Speaker 1: which is so awesome. Ramunda her owner, with her husband,
Speaker 1: and so my two sisters wanted to come as well
Speaker 1: as my niece and my nephew Roman and Amelia who's
Speaker 1: eight and six, and so I was going to buy
Speaker 1: train tickets from all of us. It's about a three
Speaker 1: and a half hour to four hour train ride from
Speaker 1: New Jersey to DC. But because it was last minute,
Speaker 1: train tickets tend to be really expensive last minute. It
Speaker 1: was like my admin who was looking, was like twenty
Speaker 1: five hundred dollars to buy all those train tickets, and
Speaker 1: she was like, I suggest you drive. So sure enough,
Speaker 1: we use Enterprise because that's where I get my cars from,
Speaker 1: because I because I get cars from whenever I get
Speaker 1: cars from them, so I'm like a Platinum member or
Speaker 1: whatever the hell they be calling me now. And with Enterprise,
Speaker 1: I told Rose, make sure you book using my Sapphire
Speaker 1: a reserve card because the Sapphire Reserve card gives you
Speaker 1: you know how like when you sign up to get
Speaker 1: a car rental you can get what is that stuff,
Speaker 1: insurance and protection if you use your Sapphire Reserve Card
Speaker 1: because it's a travel card, it actually gives you that
Speaker 1: same protection, so you don't have to pay for an
Speaker 1: additional insurance at enterprise wherever you're renting a car from.
Speaker 1: So it's one of the things I always remind Rose
Speaker 1: my admein like, oh girl, remember when you're booking flights,
Speaker 1: certainly use my AMX card. But you're booking a car,
Speaker 1: use my Sapphire Reserve card. So there's benefits like that,
Speaker 1: but again only when you're ready.
Speaker 2: If you had a.
Speaker 1: Terrible shopping addiction, then I don't want you to jump
Speaker 1: out the window to get brand new cards after you
Speaker 1: pay off the other ones. I would pay off the
Speaker 1: other cards. Sit for a few months. Baby, with no
Speaker 1: credit cards, open up a credit card with very low balance.
Speaker 1: Maybe open up a secured credit card with very low balance,
Speaker 1: very very low limit, like five hundred dollars.
Speaker 2: See how you do with it before moving on to
Speaker 2: some of the big dogs. Does that make sense?
Speaker 1: I hope that helps Monique directly out of my new
Speaker 1: book Made Whole, a Practical Guide to reaching your financial goals.
Speaker 1: If you would learn love to learn how to budget, save,
Speaker 1: manage your credit, manage your debt, learn to earn, learn
Speaker 1: to invest for both retirement and wealth. Learn how to
Speaker 1: make sure you're fully insured. Learn how to pick your
Speaker 1: financial team, how to increase your net worth, and how
Speaker 1: to make sure you are you have the right estate plan.
Speaker 1: Those ten things which I like to call financial wholeness.
Speaker 1: If you would like to achieve financial wholeness, I teach
Speaker 1: you step by step in this new workbook, Made Whole,
Speaker 1: which is the companion book to my New York Times
Speaker 1: bestseller Get You With Money. It is on sale as
Speaker 1: of this week. It is launch week. It is available
Speaker 1: everywhere Target. You'll see me Barnes and Nobles, which I
Speaker 1: think I'm gonna go buy Barnes and Nobles to Target today.
Speaker 2: See if I see my face on the shelf. If
Speaker 2: you see it, please tag me. I'm at the Budgetista.
Speaker 1: And it's also available online at Mad Whole Workbook dot com.
Speaker 1: I think I still have a few signed copies left.
Speaker 1: If there are, it'll be on top of the page.
Speaker 1: It'll say like get your signed copy here. But Made
Speaker 1: Whole Workbook dot Com. And I just want to thank you,
Speaker 1: you know, Brianna Bishin like this is also the week
Speaker 1: of Thanksgiving, and for so many of us who've lost
Speaker 1: loved ones, holidays can be really hard. Certainly it's been
Speaker 1: really hard for me. But you know this, you guys
Speaker 1: have been like consistent family for me and Mandy, and
Speaker 1: so from our family to your family, we wish you,
Speaker 1: you know, just a peaceful, soft, safe holiday season. And
Speaker 1: I hope you are good to yourself and good to
Speaker 1: the people around you. And we'll be back next week.
Speaker 1: If you haven't shared brian A. Bish with your family and.
Speaker 2: Friends, what are you waiting for? We love to have
Speaker 2: more listeners. All right, y'all bye, Wait before you leave, it's.
Speaker 1: Me again, Tiffany. As you know, it is the launch
Speaker 1: week of my new book Made Whole, the companion book
Speaker 1: to my New York Times bestseller Get You With Money,
Speaker 1: And because it's launch week, I wanted to give something
Speaker 1: specifically to my BA fan. I want to give you
Speaker 1: a ten minute clip directly from the audio version of
Speaker 1: the book. Yes, this is my gift to you. I'm
Speaker 1: not giving it to nobody else. So if you got
Speaker 1: some time and you want to listen, this is really
Speaker 1: my favorite part of the book. And I hope it
Speaker 1: really kiss you all that you need. If you want
Speaker 1: to get your copy of Made Whole, you can go
Speaker 1: to Maid Whole Workbook dot com. The link will also
Speaker 1: be in the show notes. And enjoy this audio clip
Speaker 1: and thank y'all for all the support for so long.
Speaker 2: You know, I love y'all. All right bye.
Speaker 1: Chapter one. The made Home Map and mindset. Think of
Speaker 1: financial honess as a destination, a place to set your
Speaker 1: sights on and focus your energy toward. With this mindset,
Speaker 1: you will have winds along the way, and even the
Speaker 1: small steps of progress you make as you pursue becoming
Speaker 1: one hundred percent whole can be life changing. After all,
Speaker 1: success is like the layers of a cake. Each good
Speaker 1: choice builds on the one before it, and before you
Speaker 1: know it, all the seemingly small choices and adjustments you've
Speaker 1: made come together to create an amazing dessert. The cake
Speaker 1: you've built holds remarkable power. It represents all your growth
Speaker 1: as a result of all you've learned.
Speaker 2: Tiffany tip.
Speaker 1: At the end of every school year, my dad always
Speaker 1: reminded me and my sisters that we'd reach a new
Speaker 1: level of education and that, as he said, knowledge once
Speaker 1: given can never be rescinded, and that's how it'll be
Speaker 1: for you as you proceed through the levels of financial wholeness.
Speaker 1: To help you get prepared for your journey, I want
Speaker 1: to give you a preview of the steps to come
Speaker 1: and share some mindset tools to help you make the
Speaker 1: most of your good work. The Ten Steps of Financial Holeness.
Speaker 1: The path to financial holeness has ten steps. Each step,
Speaker 1: which corresponds to one of the next ten chapters, is
Speaker 1: related to an area of your finances, and some will
Speaker 1: require more.
Speaker 2: Work than others. One Build your budget.
Speaker 1: Learn how to create and semi automate a personal budget
Speaker 1: and open the necessary checking and savings accounts to support
Speaker 1: your budget.
Speaker 2: Two Save like a squirrel.
Speaker 1: Calculate the savings goal number needed to meet at least
Speaker 1: three months worth of expenses for your household. Then calculate
Speaker 1: how much you need to save each week and month
Speaker 1: to achieve this goal within twelve to eighteen months. Three
Speaker 1: Dig out of debt. Write out your total debt payments
Speaker 1: and interest rates using the my Debtless template at mad
Speaker 1: Whole workbook dot com. This will give you a clear
Speaker 1: picture of what you owe. Then choose a debt repayment
Speaker 1: strategy and formulate your payoff plan. Four Score high credit.
Speaker 1: Pull your credit score to see where you stand. Make
Speaker 1: a list of the factors that are impacting your score
Speaker 1: that come up with a game plan to improve it.
Speaker 1: Five Learn to earn increase your income. List all of
Speaker 1: the things you've accomplished at your job in the last
Speaker 1: few years that make a good argument for you to
Speaker 1: get a raise. Then make a list of all of
Speaker 1: the tasks or jobs you do at work so you
Speaker 1: can uncover your side hustle skills. Develop an action plan
Speaker 1: that lists what you'll do next to increase your income.
Speaker 1: Six Invest like an insider. Use all automated investment plans
Speaker 1: for retirement and wealth building. Speak with HR about retirement
Speaker 1: plans or set up your own retirement accounts. Automate an
Speaker 1: amount to go into retirement, and brokeras you accounts and
Speaker 1: increase contributions as your income increases.
Speaker 2: Seven. Get good with insurance.
Speaker 1: Make sure you have proper insurance coverage that means understanding
Speaker 1: and calculating your needs around life disability, auto and home insurance,
Speaker 1: and more. Eight Get rich issh increase your net worth.
Speaker 1: Learn how to calculate your net worth and how to
Speaker 1: achieve and maintain a positive net worth. Create a net
Speaker 1: worth goal and define actions you're going to take each
Speaker 1: month to achieve it.
Speaker 2: Nine.
Speaker 1: Pick your money team, choose an accountability partner, and find
Speaker 1: yourself reliable and trustworthy financial professionals.
Speaker 2: Ten.
Speaker 1: Leave a legacy a state planning Actively plan for what
Speaker 1: will happen to your state, cash, real estate, jewelry, and
Speaker 1: other assets after you die. This is important no matter
Speaker 1: the size of your bank account and portfolio. I know
Speaker 1: that at first glance it may seem like a lot
Speaker 1: to take on, and I want to be real with
Speaker 1: you it is. But with patience and dedication, it can
Speaker 1: be done, and it will be made easier if you
Speaker 1: take advantage of the opportunity to answer questions and complete
Speaker 1: the exercises throughout the book. These are designed to help
Speaker 1: you create a deeper connection to the work, and they
Speaker 1: will help you track your progress along the way financial wholeness.
Speaker 2: At a glance.
Speaker 1: Want to get to one hundred percent ten percent when
Speaker 1: you create a budget. You'll get to twenty percent once
Speaker 1: you learn to save, thirty percent if you start to
Speaker 1: reduce your debt, forty percent when you up your credit score.
Speaker 1: Almost halfway there, fifty percent when you start to increase
Speaker 1: your income, sixty percent when you invest like an insider,
Speaker 1: seventy percent when you get insurance, eighty percent when you
Speaker 1: start to increase your net worth, ninety percent when you
Speaker 1: form your money team, and one hundred percent when you
Speaker 1: learn to leave a legacy. The made home mindset. There's
Speaker 1: a lot of financial guidance out there, but too often
Speaker 1: the emotional element, that is what it feels like to
Speaker 1: look directly at the most important facets of your financial
Speaker 1: life is left out. The problem with this is that
Speaker 1: not addressing your emotions can get in the way of
Speaker 1: moving forward and making progress. It's so easy to get
Speaker 1: stuck on the fear or feelings of overwhelm, or the
Speaker 1: sadness and shame that may come up around the topic
Speaker 1: of money and your history with it. But you can
Speaker 1: overcome these obstacles by acknowledging their presence and making some
Speaker 1: mental plans to work through them. I found that there
Speaker 1: are two mindset prep steps that really help. These work
Speaker 1: to sort of wipe the slate clean and set you
Speaker 1: up for the kind of success that sticks. Step one,
Speaker 1: share your shame. Shame thrives in the shadows, and it
Speaker 1: needs silence to be strong, and the stronger and bigger
Speaker 1: your shame grows, the more it can hide from you.
Speaker 1: When you share your shame around financial setbacks you've experienced
Speaker 1: or poor money decisions you've made, you take away its power.
Speaker 1: I felt so much shame around the financial mistakes I
Speaker 1: made that I became almost paralyzed to turn things around.
Speaker 1: The shame kept me from seeing solutions. I finally started
Speaker 1: the process of getting pad ask my shame by giving
Speaker 1: voice to it. I shared my embarrassing financial situations with
Speaker 1: the kindest person I know, my best friend Linda. Telling
Speaker 1: her about the financial whole I've fallen into was the
Speaker 1: start of my journey toward digging my way out. So
Speaker 1: here's my assignment for you. Pick the kindest person you
Speaker 1: know and share a financial secret with them. This person
Speaker 1: might become your accountability partner aka financial bestie, who helps
Speaker 1: keep you on track as you help keep them on
Speaker 1: track throughout your journey to financial wholeness. But for now,
Speaker 1: focus on getting your shame off your shoulders and out.
Speaker 2: Of the way.
Speaker 1: Repeat after me. I will share my shame with someone
Speaker 1: I know, love and trust. I will not keep trying
Speaker 1: to carry this weight all by myself. Step two, give
Speaker 1: yourself grace and space. I made some mistakes in my
Speaker 1: twenties that left me in serious financial distress. Here are
Speaker 1: some of my financial stats. At the time, I had
Speaker 1: thirty five thousand dollars of credit card debt due or scam,
Speaker 1: fifty two thousand in student loans, and a two hundred
Speaker 1: and twenty thousand dollars mortgage. My savings was depleted. I
Speaker 1: had recently been laid off from my preschool teaching job.
Speaker 1: I had lost my condo to a foreclosure. I had
Speaker 1: to move back in with my parents. I was essentially
Speaker 1: the opposite of financially home. I lacked structure and intention
Speaker 1: in planning across the board, and I couldn't forgive myself
Speaker 1: for it all. I know that might sound dramatic, but
Speaker 1: it's true. And it wasn't until I said to myself,
Speaker 1: it's okay, Tiffany, you didn't intentionally harm anyone. You made
Speaker 1: money mistakes that I was able to share my shame
Speaker 1: with Linda and start to forge a new financial path.
Speaker 1: When I look back at that time, I realized that
Speaker 1: I had to give myself grace and space before I
Speaker 1: could evolve. I needed grace, the root of kindness and compassion,
Speaker 1: and space the room to be simultaneously flawed and capable
Speaker 1: of flourishing in the future. As you prepare to embark
Speaker 1: on your own path toward financial homeness, I want you
Speaker 1: to think about your own financial history and any regret
Speaker 1: or remorse you have about choices you've made or circumstances
Speaker 1: around which you've tied yourself up in a lot of blame.
Speaker 1: No matter what your specific scenario, this story is not
Speaker 1: serving you.
Speaker 2: It's time to let it go.
Speaker 1: First, find your own Linda, and give voice to your shame.
Speaker 1: If you don't have someone to share this version with,
Speaker 1: talk to me. I'm at the budget needs to on
Speaker 1: all platforms, and I'm listen. Once you've cracked open the door,
Speaker 1: it's time to forgive yourself by saying it's okay if
Speaker 1: I don't know the next step. My future is full
Speaker 1: of potential. It's okay if I made a mistake, new
Speaker 1: opportunities abound, and it's okay if I let myself down.
Speaker 2: My past does not dictate my future. Who is it
Speaker 2: just me?
Speaker 1: Or are your eyes sweating after hearing those phrases out loud?
Speaker 1: Repeat after me? No matter what, I will give myself
Speaker 1: grace and space creating an environment of support. Emotional housekeeping
Speaker 1: is an important part of tending to your personal finances,
Speaker 1: but your physical housekeeping matters too. Taking the time to
Speaker 1: set up your environment in a way that makes you
Speaker 1: feel calm can help you reduce stress as you get
Speaker 1: started on the steps to financial wholeness. Here are some
Speaker 1: things to add to the spot where you'll keep your
Speaker 1: financial house in order, whether it's a whole room, a nook,
Speaker 1: or just a tabletop in your home where you'll sit
Speaker 1: to do this work. A scented candle, one that makes
Speaker 1: you want to settle in and stay awhile. An emotional
Speaker 1: support blanket, you know, the one you might have to
Speaker 1: fight your significant other, your roomy, or your kids for it.
Speaker 1: Fuzzy socks shoes. I love my fuzzy leopard print house slippers.
Speaker 1: A relaxing, personalized playlist. Shade is my favorite this workbook.
Speaker 1: I would love to hear about any additions you make
Speaker 1: to your space that you find helpful. Share it with
Speaker 1: me on social and use the hashtag made whole, Made Better.
Speaker 1: Six