1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:03,080 Speaker 1: Welcome to How the Money. I'm Joel and I'm Matt, 2 00:00:03,200 --> 00:00:26,960 Speaker 1: and today we are discussing becoming financially optimistic. Joel, I 3 00:00:27,120 --> 00:00:29,280 Speaker 1: know that this is an episode that you are excited 4 00:00:29,280 --> 00:00:33,000 Speaker 1: to talk about because you characterize yourself as this eternal optimist. 5 00:00:33,320 --> 00:00:36,720 Speaker 1: I'm pretty sure that's in my Twitter profile. Actually, that's 6 00:00:36,760 --> 00:00:40,279 Speaker 1: exactly where I recall recall it being. But yeah, we're 7 00:00:40,280 --> 00:00:42,760 Speaker 1: gonna talk about financial optimism. We're going to discuss some 8 00:00:42,800 --> 00:00:45,800 Speaker 1: of the different ways that being an optimist is beneficial 9 00:00:45,840 --> 00:00:49,479 Speaker 1: to our lives, obviously financial, but other areas as well. Yeah, man, 10 00:00:49,520 --> 00:00:52,000 Speaker 1: I'm really looking forward to talking about optimism here because 11 00:00:52,200 --> 00:00:55,200 Speaker 1: I myself have a pretty strong bent towards optimism. But 12 00:00:55,240 --> 00:00:57,279 Speaker 1: before we get to that, I wanted to mention an 13 00:00:57,360 --> 00:01:00,040 Speaker 1: article I just saw recently, and basically it said that 14 00:01:00,160 --> 00:01:03,320 Speaker 1: Americans spend more on their lunch than folks in Britain do. 15 00:01:03,680 --> 00:01:05,880 Speaker 1: I thought it was interesting that our lunches cost more 16 00:01:05,920 --> 00:01:08,720 Speaker 1: when we go out to eat. For some reason, lunchtime 17 00:01:08,760 --> 00:01:12,360 Speaker 1: fare is more expensive here than it is across the Pond. 18 00:01:12,560 --> 00:01:14,600 Speaker 1: I don't know exactly why that is. They gave a 19 00:01:14,600 --> 00:01:16,720 Speaker 1: couple of reasons in that article for why they think 20 00:01:17,000 --> 00:01:19,080 Speaker 1: that's the case. But what do you think about that? Like, 21 00:01:19,120 --> 00:01:20,640 Speaker 1: why do we spend so much on lunch here in 22 00:01:20,680 --> 00:01:24,080 Speaker 1: this country? Yeah, man, really fascinating article. Further down in there, 23 00:01:24,120 --> 00:01:26,960 Speaker 1: they were talking about how it's not because you know, 24 00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:30,039 Speaker 1: like it's more expensive to make that lunch, to make 25 00:01:30,040 --> 00:01:33,360 Speaker 1: that sandwich over in the UK, but basically it's just 26 00:01:33,440 --> 00:01:36,280 Speaker 1: due to different market conditions, whether that be because we're 27 00:01:36,440 --> 00:01:39,919 Speaker 1: used to tipping here in the States. Specifically, they're comparing 28 00:01:40,040 --> 00:01:43,360 Speaker 1: those sandwiches in New York versus in London, and I 29 00:01:43,360 --> 00:01:46,160 Speaker 1: guess New Yorkers are just used to tipping more and 30 00:01:46,200 --> 00:01:48,600 Speaker 1: so they kind of factor that into the cost for 31 00:01:48,680 --> 00:01:51,360 Speaker 1: a sandwich. But really, man, one of the most fascinating 32 00:01:51,360 --> 00:01:53,400 Speaker 1: things that stood out to me was the fact that 33 00:01:53,440 --> 00:01:57,160 Speaker 1: oftentimes restaurants will sometimes charge more at lunch than they 34 00:01:57,200 --> 00:01:59,760 Speaker 1: do at dinner, and that's because of that business lunch 35 00:01:59,760 --> 00:02:02,560 Speaker 1: time rush, just like an airline can charge more for 36 00:02:02,600 --> 00:02:05,640 Speaker 1: business travelers. They're just not price conscious. But yeah, they're 37 00:02:05,640 --> 00:02:07,400 Speaker 1: not price conscious. They know that no matter what, they're 38 00:02:07,400 --> 00:02:09,320 Speaker 1: just gonna go ahead and get that lunch. And I'm 39 00:02:09,360 --> 00:02:11,200 Speaker 1: just so happy that I'm not part of that crowd. 40 00:02:12,160 --> 00:02:14,160 Speaker 1: I hate not having an option, right, like, if you 41 00:02:14,200 --> 00:02:15,880 Speaker 1: know you have to go. But I guess if it's 42 00:02:16,000 --> 00:02:17,800 Speaker 1: maybe on the company and somebody else is kind of 43 00:02:17,800 --> 00:02:20,200 Speaker 1: footing the dime, I'm not going to be as concerned, 44 00:02:20,320 --> 00:02:23,119 Speaker 1: I guess, but maybe I would be. Who knows. Yeah, Well, 45 00:02:23,160 --> 00:02:25,720 Speaker 1: I mean, I think we should treat our employer's money 46 00:02:25,760 --> 00:02:27,840 Speaker 1: kind of as we do our own. But I think 47 00:02:27,880 --> 00:02:29,560 Speaker 1: a lot of people don't have that mindset, and I 48 00:02:29,560 --> 00:02:31,440 Speaker 1: think a lot of people do spend more money just 49 00:02:31,480 --> 00:02:33,760 Speaker 1: because it's a company credit card or something like that. Right. 50 00:02:34,080 --> 00:02:36,440 Speaker 1: But the thing that it made me think reading that 51 00:02:36,520 --> 00:02:40,000 Speaker 1: article was that whether you're a listener in Great Britain 52 00:02:40,280 --> 00:02:43,120 Speaker 1: or whether you are a listener here in the United States, 53 00:02:43,400 --> 00:02:46,680 Speaker 1: even if it's cheaper to get your lunch out in Britain, 54 00:02:46,680 --> 00:02:49,240 Speaker 1: I would still say you should pack your lunch most 55 00:02:49,240 --> 00:02:50,840 Speaker 1: of the time. If you can make it a habit 56 00:02:50,880 --> 00:02:53,400 Speaker 1: to pack your lunch, bring it to work four out 57 00:02:53,400 --> 00:02:55,120 Speaker 1: of five days a week. I pretty much do it 58 00:02:55,160 --> 00:02:57,200 Speaker 1: five out of five. That there's the very rare occasion 59 00:02:57,280 --> 00:02:59,200 Speaker 1: that I'll eat lunch out, but for the most part, 60 00:02:59,240 --> 00:03:01,160 Speaker 1: I'm eating lunch at my desk. That is a huge 61 00:03:01,200 --> 00:03:03,520 Speaker 1: money saver. I don't even think if you're used to 62 00:03:03,560 --> 00:03:06,080 Speaker 1: eating out for lunch, maybe you haven't even thought about 63 00:03:06,120 --> 00:03:08,000 Speaker 1: it as kind of one of those places that you 64 00:03:08,040 --> 00:03:10,720 Speaker 1: can cut back in your budget. But it's actually gonna 65 00:03:10,720 --> 00:03:13,000 Speaker 1: have a substantial effect if you think about how much 66 00:03:13,000 --> 00:03:16,040 Speaker 1: money you're actually spending every day. And one thing in particular, 67 00:03:16,080 --> 00:03:18,920 Speaker 1: my friend Len he writes an article every year. In fact, 68 00:03:18,960 --> 00:03:21,880 Speaker 1: this year it's his eleventh edition of this. He analyzes 69 00:03:21,919 --> 00:03:26,000 Speaker 1: the annual cost of ten popular brown bags sandwiches that 70 00:03:26,080 --> 00:03:27,919 Speaker 1: you can take to work or pack for your kids. 71 00:03:28,120 --> 00:03:29,600 Speaker 1: I love that he does that. He factors in the 72 00:03:29,639 --> 00:03:32,440 Speaker 1: cost per serving, the change in price from from last 73 00:03:32,480 --> 00:03:35,440 Speaker 1: year for the sandwiches and these ingredients, so it's kind 74 00:03:35,440 --> 00:03:36,840 Speaker 1: of just a neat thing. Will post a link to 75 00:03:36,840 --> 00:03:39,360 Speaker 1: it in the show notes. But basically, pack your lunch. 76 00:03:39,480 --> 00:03:41,880 Speaker 1: Even if prices have gone up on the price of 77 00:03:41,920 --> 00:03:44,320 Speaker 1: peanut butter and jelly, that's not that big of a 78 00:03:44,360 --> 00:03:47,840 Speaker 1: deal really, when you're considering cutting back from buying your 79 00:03:47,920 --> 00:03:51,320 Speaker 1: lunch every single day or most days, yeah, or I 80 00:03:51,360 --> 00:03:54,800 Speaker 1: think what might even be a better option, man, is leftovers. 81 00:03:55,320 --> 00:03:58,200 Speaker 1: I think leftovers are so underrated. It's a way that 82 00:03:58,240 --> 00:04:01,640 Speaker 1: you can waste less food, save money. It's just a 83 00:04:01,680 --> 00:04:04,480 Speaker 1: couple of minutes in the microwave or that toast raven. 84 00:04:04,520 --> 00:04:07,160 Speaker 1: You get yourself a hot, delicious meal that you can 85 00:04:07,240 --> 00:04:10,600 Speaker 1: relive all over again. I personally am a huge fan 86 00:04:10,760 --> 00:04:13,040 Speaker 1: of leftovers. It's a good call, man, I like that. Yeah, 87 00:04:13,160 --> 00:04:16,680 Speaker 1: more leftovers, more bringing your lunch, less eating out. There 88 00:04:16,720 --> 00:04:20,440 Speaker 1: are multiple different ways to avoid that expensive lunch option. 89 00:04:20,880 --> 00:04:23,760 Speaker 1: Like on Friday's, for instance, there is a food truck. 90 00:04:23,800 --> 00:04:25,600 Speaker 1: They bring a different food truck to our work every 91 00:04:25,640 --> 00:04:29,120 Speaker 1: single Friday, very tempting. Literally, I've never done it, and 92 00:04:29,160 --> 00:04:31,160 Speaker 1: if I wanted to, I think at some point I will. 93 00:04:31,520 --> 00:04:34,320 Speaker 1: If it was a craft beard. Lunch trucks set your mouth, 94 00:04:34,400 --> 00:04:36,120 Speaker 1: I wouldn't get any work done the rest of the day, 95 00:04:36,200 --> 00:04:39,120 Speaker 1: that's for sure. But like in particular, there's this one 96 00:04:39,200 --> 00:04:41,920 Speaker 1: running around town that's like a main lobster truck, and 97 00:04:42,160 --> 00:04:44,679 Speaker 1: next time that comes, I'm gonna drop the eighteen dollars 98 00:04:44,680 --> 00:04:47,599 Speaker 1: for a lobster roll. I'm gonna do it. Yeah, oh yeah, no, 99 00:04:47,760 --> 00:04:51,000 Speaker 1: eighteen dollars. Seriously, probably it's like legit, main, what's not 100 00:04:51,000 --> 00:04:52,720 Speaker 1: going to be that much, dude, all right, whatever it is, 101 00:04:52,800 --> 00:04:54,800 Speaker 1: I'm going to drop it on that because that sounds 102 00:04:54,800 --> 00:04:56,800 Speaker 1: good to me. Lobster roll here in Atlanta. I'm gonna 103 00:04:56,839 --> 00:05:00,400 Speaker 1: guess nine fifty what No way, if it's a jet Maine, 104 00:05:00,400 --> 00:05:03,960 Speaker 1: lobster's gonna cost way more. Seriously, Yeah, man, I cannot 105 00:05:04,000 --> 00:05:07,360 Speaker 1: afford to eat out for lunch. That is like the 106 00:05:07,480 --> 00:05:09,160 Speaker 1: one time I'm going to do it. But I'll spend 107 00:05:09,200 --> 00:05:11,640 Speaker 1: nine on a beer, but not on some lobster. I'm 108 00:05:11,640 --> 00:05:13,440 Speaker 1: actually not a huge fan of lobster. I would much 109 00:05:13,520 --> 00:05:16,200 Speaker 1: rather have a crab. To me, crab tastes way better 110 00:05:16,240 --> 00:05:19,760 Speaker 1: than lobster. Crabs a little sweeter, Yeah, sweet and so good. 111 00:05:19,800 --> 00:05:21,800 Speaker 1: I think I prefer lobster though. All right, but let's 112 00:05:21,839 --> 00:05:24,000 Speaker 1: get onto the beer that we're having on the show today, Matt. 113 00:05:24,320 --> 00:05:28,960 Speaker 1: We're drinking Caramel Machiatto stout by Old bust Head Brewing Company. Yeah. 114 00:05:29,040 --> 00:05:31,200 Speaker 1: This beer was donated to us by my in laws 115 00:05:31,240 --> 00:05:34,120 Speaker 1: while they're up in Virginia for a wedding. So thanks 116 00:05:34,160 --> 00:05:36,480 Speaker 1: to them, and I'm looking forward to diving into how 117 00:05:36,560 --> 00:05:39,760 Speaker 1: this beer tastes at the end of the show. Are right, buddy, 118 00:05:39,760 --> 00:05:43,080 Speaker 1: me too, Now onto this subject at hand. Words, Yeah, 119 00:05:43,160 --> 00:05:47,200 Speaker 1: we're discussing optimism. Sorry I jumped the gun there. Well, 120 00:05:47,240 --> 00:05:49,880 Speaker 1: It's one of my favorite subjects. I think optimism is 121 00:05:50,040 --> 00:05:53,640 Speaker 1: so beneficial to people and and most people have negative 122 00:05:53,680 --> 00:05:56,720 Speaker 1: money scripts floating around in their head. Their their pessimism 123 00:05:56,880 --> 00:05:59,240 Speaker 1: hurts their current view of money and and also their 124 00:05:59,520 --> 00:06:02,200 Speaker 1: future of financial well being. Well, how can we combat that? 125 00:06:02,720 --> 00:06:06,040 Speaker 1: I think the answer is financial optimism. When we're pessimistic 126 00:06:06,120 --> 00:06:08,599 Speaker 1: about the current state of money affairs in our life, 127 00:06:08,680 --> 00:06:11,200 Speaker 1: it leads us to in action. It freezes us up, 128 00:06:11,760 --> 00:06:13,640 Speaker 1: we find it hard to change things, we stay put. 129 00:06:14,320 --> 00:06:18,080 Speaker 1: It ends up creating a cycle that secures pessimism for 130 00:06:18,160 --> 00:06:20,000 Speaker 1: the long term. So I think today on the show, 131 00:06:20,040 --> 00:06:22,480 Speaker 1: we have to discuss this idea of optimism and how 132 00:06:22,640 --> 00:06:26,520 Speaker 1: it can have massive ramifications on how we handle money 133 00:06:26,560 --> 00:06:28,680 Speaker 1: in our lives. Yeah, man, and I can't help but 134 00:06:28,760 --> 00:06:31,360 Speaker 1: to think of investing as the perfect example, right, Like 135 00:06:31,440 --> 00:06:33,640 Speaker 1: you might think we don't have hardly any money to invest, 136 00:06:33,720 --> 00:06:35,720 Speaker 1: and so you don't You think it's not going to 137 00:06:35,800 --> 00:06:38,080 Speaker 1: make any difference at all if you start investing now, 138 00:06:38,200 --> 00:06:40,039 Speaker 1: But man, it does make a difference, right, Like those 139 00:06:40,080 --> 00:06:43,040 Speaker 1: small amounts add up over time, and then even beyond that, 140 00:06:43,240 --> 00:06:45,760 Speaker 1: it has a lot to do with just the discipline 141 00:06:45,839 --> 00:06:48,000 Speaker 1: of doing the deed. Right, like doing the dang thing 142 00:06:48,360 --> 00:06:51,000 Speaker 1: and actually investing that money, no matter how small, that's 143 00:06:51,040 --> 00:06:52,920 Speaker 1: gonna help move you forward. So you gotta look on 144 00:06:53,000 --> 00:06:55,120 Speaker 1: the bright side of things and not be pessimistic about it. 145 00:06:55,279 --> 00:06:59,200 Speaker 1: Completely agree, But aside from the financial implications, optimists overall 146 00:06:59,279 --> 00:07:02,960 Speaker 1: tend to live longer lives than pessimists. Take that pessimist 147 00:07:03,720 --> 00:07:05,200 Speaker 1: and you know, based on the way that you know 148 00:07:05,320 --> 00:07:08,200 Speaker 1: you responded when you heard that sentence like that might 149 00:07:08,240 --> 00:07:11,080 Speaker 1: actually tell you which way you tend to lean. I'm 150 00:07:11,120 --> 00:07:14,440 Speaker 1: sure pestimists are probably like, no, they don't, that's yes, 151 00:07:14,480 --> 00:07:16,400 Speaker 1: I don't believe that, whereas optimists are like, oh yeah, 152 00:07:16,400 --> 00:07:18,240 Speaker 1: I always thought that that makes sense. And so if 153 00:07:18,280 --> 00:07:20,800 Speaker 1: we live a life a bit more optimistically, it will 154 00:07:20,880 --> 00:07:24,000 Speaker 1: lead to a longer and healthier life for us. So 155 00:07:24,080 --> 00:07:26,160 Speaker 1: it's not even just about doing better with our money. 156 00:07:26,240 --> 00:07:29,280 Speaker 1: The implications are much much larger. Yeah, and we're gonna 157 00:07:29,320 --> 00:07:31,480 Speaker 1: talk a lot about optimism as a whole today, but 158 00:07:31,640 --> 00:07:36,160 Speaker 1: but also particularly the financial effects of optimism. Well, basically, 159 00:07:36,400 --> 00:07:39,000 Speaker 1: I think the more optimistic we can be about our finances, 160 00:07:39,280 --> 00:07:42,320 Speaker 1: the less taboo there is around money. You're more likely 161 00:07:42,440 --> 00:07:45,600 Speaker 1: to look for help, to ask for help, optimists tend 162 00:07:45,680 --> 00:07:48,600 Speaker 1: to make progress. They're getting things done, They're not necessarily 163 00:07:48,640 --> 00:07:52,120 Speaker 1: striving for perfection. I think sometimes pessimism can stem out 164 00:07:52,160 --> 00:07:56,120 Speaker 1: of this need for perfection and you're never gonna reach 165 00:07:56,200 --> 00:07:59,040 Speaker 1: that status. Well, if I can't save ten in my 166 00:07:59,080 --> 00:08:01,000 Speaker 1: four oh one, k, I'm not I'm not gonna save anything, 167 00:08:01,280 --> 00:08:04,120 Speaker 1: And that's pessimism rearing a totally head. The optimist is 168 00:08:04,160 --> 00:08:05,640 Speaker 1: able to say, you know what, I was able to 169 00:08:05,680 --> 00:08:07,280 Speaker 1: get the ball rolling. I'm gonna take that as a win. 170 00:08:07,280 --> 00:08:09,200 Speaker 1: I'm gonna put that as a check mark in the 171 00:08:09,360 --> 00:08:13,040 Speaker 1: column of I'm getting my finances together. Statistically, there is 172 00:08:13,080 --> 00:08:16,160 Speaker 1: a direct correlation of our level of optimism and then 173 00:08:16,240 --> 00:08:19,560 Speaker 1: the health of our finances. I think it's fascinating and 174 00:08:19,960 --> 00:08:23,480 Speaker 1: this is all great news for the actual optimists. Your 175 00:08:23,480 --> 00:08:25,920 Speaker 1: beaming right now, Yeah, but what if that's just not 176 00:08:26,120 --> 00:08:28,920 Speaker 1: how you are wired. You might be asking yourself, like, 177 00:08:29,000 --> 00:08:32,480 Speaker 1: how much control do I actually have over my optimism? Well, 178 00:08:32,520 --> 00:08:35,160 Speaker 1: the answer is it's more than you think. Science shows 179 00:08:35,240 --> 00:08:40,360 Speaker 1: that only about twenty of our optimism is biologically determined, 180 00:08:40,640 --> 00:08:44,440 Speaker 1: is determined biogenetics. Seventy of it is up to us. 181 00:08:44,600 --> 00:08:47,080 Speaker 1: So we actually have a lot of room to make 182 00:08:47,200 --> 00:08:49,120 Speaker 1: changes in our life. So even if you have some 183 00:08:49,200 --> 00:08:51,760 Speaker 1: of those natural or tendencies, you still have a lot 184 00:08:51,840 --> 00:08:55,439 Speaker 1: of control over the level of optimism in your life. Optimism, 185 00:08:55,520 --> 00:08:57,840 Speaker 1: in our opinion, will will lead us to try more things, 186 00:08:57,880 --> 00:09:00,679 Speaker 1: to be more daring and more than anything, optimism forces 187 00:09:00,960 --> 00:09:03,680 Speaker 1: us to focus away from the things that we can't control. 188 00:09:03,760 --> 00:09:05,880 Speaker 1: It's easy to kind of fixate on those things, the 189 00:09:05,960 --> 00:09:08,840 Speaker 1: things that we don't have any say over, But optimism says, 190 00:09:08,920 --> 00:09:10,839 Speaker 1: you know what, I'm not going to think about those things. 191 00:09:10,840 --> 00:09:12,760 Speaker 1: I'm gonna try to focus on the things that are 192 00:09:12,840 --> 00:09:16,199 Speaker 1: actually in that locus of control that I can make 193 00:09:16,280 --> 00:09:19,040 Speaker 1: changes to and have a positive effect on my life. 194 00:09:19,360 --> 00:09:22,240 Speaker 1: Which makes me think obviously of Stephen Covey's book Seven 195 00:09:22,320 --> 00:09:24,920 Speaker 1: Habits of Highly Effective People, where he talks about you 196 00:09:25,000 --> 00:09:28,000 Speaker 1: have your circles of concern, and then within that circle 197 00:09:28,040 --> 00:09:31,079 Speaker 1: of concern, you have your circle or sphere of influence. 198 00:09:31,559 --> 00:09:33,560 Speaker 1: And the idea is that we are going to focus 199 00:09:33,679 --> 00:09:35,839 Speaker 1: on the things that we have actual control over, that 200 00:09:35,960 --> 00:09:38,680 Speaker 1: we can have influence over, and that we're not wasting 201 00:09:38,720 --> 00:09:41,120 Speaker 1: our time and energy just spinning our tires trying to 202 00:09:41,240 --> 00:09:43,480 Speaker 1: change the things that we can't control. You know, the 203 00:09:43,559 --> 00:09:46,679 Speaker 1: trick is being able to identify the difference between the 204 00:09:46,800 --> 00:09:48,640 Speaker 1: things that we're concerned about and the things that we 205 00:09:48,720 --> 00:09:51,360 Speaker 1: have full control over. All right, Matt, we've got more 206 00:09:51,400 --> 00:09:53,760 Speaker 1: to say about optimism. We've got some physical ways that 207 00:09:53,800 --> 00:09:55,559 Speaker 1: we want to discuss that you can actually start to 208 00:09:55,600 --> 00:09:58,839 Speaker 1: implement optimism into your life. But first we need to 209 00:09:58,920 --> 00:10:01,240 Speaker 1: kind of change the way on mind works in regards 210 00:10:01,240 --> 00:10:04,000 Speaker 1: to optimism, and we'll get into that right after the break. 211 00:10:13,200 --> 00:10:14,559 Speaker 1: All right, Joe, we are back for the break, and 212 00:10:14,640 --> 00:10:17,160 Speaker 1: let's talk about our brains. Like you mentioned, we need 213 00:10:17,280 --> 00:10:20,400 Speaker 1: to mentally change our approach to our finances by working 214 00:10:20,559 --> 00:10:24,480 Speaker 1: towards becoming more optimistic. If we are continually looking at 215 00:10:24,559 --> 00:10:27,480 Speaker 1: things through the lens of what might just go wrong, 216 00:10:28,200 --> 00:10:31,520 Speaker 1: then it'll have a negative effects on our ability to save, 217 00:10:31,600 --> 00:10:34,400 Speaker 1: in our ability to invest for the future. So let's 218 00:10:34,440 --> 00:10:37,200 Speaker 1: make sure we're taking steps to combats our mental roadblocks 219 00:10:37,320 --> 00:10:40,600 Speaker 1: to financial optimism with these steps. Yeah, all right, let's 220 00:10:40,600 --> 00:10:42,880 Speaker 1: get into it. So, first things first, if you want 221 00:10:42,920 --> 00:10:46,079 Speaker 1: to become more optimistic, and what we're saying here is 222 00:10:46,160 --> 00:10:49,040 Speaker 1: that that's something we should strive for, the first step 223 00:10:49,200 --> 00:10:52,439 Speaker 1: towards becoming more optimistic is assessing the current reality on 224 00:10:52,520 --> 00:10:55,240 Speaker 1: the ground. So what do you tend towards if you're 225 00:10:55,360 --> 00:10:57,559 Speaker 1: a person that's kind of apt to pessimism. We just 226 00:10:57,640 --> 00:11:02,840 Speaker 1: talked about of your optimism. Pessimism level is basically predetermined 227 00:11:02,840 --> 00:11:06,360 Speaker 1: based on your biology. If you know that about yourself, well, 228 00:11:06,640 --> 00:11:09,319 Speaker 1: knowing is key. If you see that as a struggle, 229 00:11:09,440 --> 00:11:11,800 Speaker 1: well it's something that you can fight against, but you 230 00:11:12,160 --> 00:11:14,360 Speaker 1: have to know that that's the case first and foremost 231 00:11:14,480 --> 00:11:17,640 Speaker 1: before you can actually start to tackle the issue head on. So, Joe, 232 00:11:17,679 --> 00:11:19,960 Speaker 1: that totally reminds me of an email that we received recently. 233 00:11:20,200 --> 00:11:24,040 Speaker 1: He quoted G I Joe where he says that knowing 234 00:11:24,160 --> 00:11:26,319 Speaker 1: is half the battle. Because that's totally a G I 235 00:11:26,400 --> 00:11:27,920 Speaker 1: Joe quote, And I don't know if you remember that 236 00:11:28,120 --> 00:11:30,599 Speaker 1: from the early nineties. I don't. I totally played with 237 00:11:30,679 --> 00:11:32,199 Speaker 1: G I Joe's but I do not never watch G 238 00:11:32,320 --> 00:11:33,959 Speaker 1: I Joe. No, I think I think I did some, 239 00:11:34,280 --> 00:11:36,160 Speaker 1: but I definitely don't remember that quote from my gosh. 240 00:11:36,240 --> 00:11:38,120 Speaker 1: That was like it was at the end or the beginning, 241 00:11:38,120 --> 00:11:39,360 Speaker 1: I can't remember, but it was sort of like the 242 00:11:39,400 --> 00:11:42,520 Speaker 1: little moral lesson where the soldiers are like they're walking 243 00:11:42,559 --> 00:11:44,440 Speaker 1: along and two kids are fighting on the basketball court 244 00:11:44,520 --> 00:11:46,400 Speaker 1: and they talk about like what you should do instead, 245 00:11:46,440 --> 00:11:49,240 Speaker 1: and knowing is half the battle. You remember, maybe like 246 00:11:49,320 --> 00:11:51,439 Speaker 1: ten years ago when the g I Joe re Dub 247 00:11:51,640 --> 00:11:56,079 Speaker 1: videos came out. Those are pretty funny. That was really funny. 248 00:11:56,360 --> 00:11:58,280 Speaker 1: But I mean I mentioned that because knowing is half 249 00:11:58,320 --> 00:12:00,760 Speaker 1: the battle. Like knowing in this case is being aware. 250 00:12:01,280 --> 00:12:03,200 Speaker 1: And in our culture, a lot of times we're often 251 00:12:03,280 --> 00:12:06,200 Speaker 1: so rewarded for just doing and going going going right, 252 00:12:06,280 --> 00:12:08,640 Speaker 1: like to just do things without really thinking about them, 253 00:12:08,960 --> 00:12:11,679 Speaker 1: and taking that time to pause and to think about 254 00:12:11,720 --> 00:12:14,400 Speaker 1: why we're doing things and having that self awareness I 255 00:12:14,520 --> 00:12:17,360 Speaker 1: think is a really important step. So I'm just gonna 256 00:12:17,400 --> 00:12:18,600 Speaker 1: have to agree with you and say I think that's 257 00:12:18,640 --> 00:12:22,160 Speaker 1: great advice. Well, and I think too, there is generally 258 00:12:22,280 --> 00:12:24,839 Speaker 1: just kind of a pessimistic tone around us. In the 259 00:12:24,920 --> 00:12:27,559 Speaker 1: news and the things we read. There is often a 260 00:12:27,960 --> 00:12:30,679 Speaker 1: chicken little the skuy is following sort of mentality. And 261 00:12:31,040 --> 00:12:33,240 Speaker 1: not that there aren't issues, not that there aren't problems 262 00:12:33,320 --> 00:12:35,040 Speaker 1: in the world that we live in, but when you 263 00:12:35,080 --> 00:12:36,880 Speaker 1: step back and think about it and you read somebody 264 00:12:36,920 --> 00:12:39,360 Speaker 1: like Stephen Pinker, and you see, wait a second, the 265 00:12:39,400 --> 00:12:42,400 Speaker 1: world is actually overall getting a lot better, and human 266 00:12:42,440 --> 00:12:45,040 Speaker 1: life is is flourishing, and for the most part, the 267 00:12:45,200 --> 00:12:49,079 Speaker 1: the trajectory is is going in a solid direction despite 268 00:12:49,320 --> 00:12:51,400 Speaker 1: all the difficulties that we face. I mean, I think 269 00:12:51,600 --> 00:12:54,000 Speaker 1: it's easy to become pessimistic if we're living in the 270 00:12:54,040 --> 00:12:55,800 Speaker 1: daily news cycle and we we have to kind of 271 00:12:56,040 --> 00:12:57,880 Speaker 1: step back and assess the reality on the ground, and 272 00:12:57,920 --> 00:13:00,679 Speaker 1: I think that helps us become more optimist. Yeah, what's 273 00:13:00,679 --> 00:13:02,400 Speaker 1: at the center of that is just to make sure 274 00:13:02,440 --> 00:13:05,520 Speaker 1: that you're not dwelling on the negative. Right. So, for example, 275 00:13:05,559 --> 00:13:07,520 Speaker 1: when your budget just doesn't look, you know, quite as 276 00:13:07,559 --> 00:13:08,800 Speaker 1: clean as you hope to would at the end of 277 00:13:08,840 --> 00:13:11,679 Speaker 1: the month, don't beat yourself up about it. That can 278 00:13:11,760 --> 00:13:14,640 Speaker 1: be maybe motivation instead to kick more. But next month, 279 00:13:14,920 --> 00:13:17,520 Speaker 1: it can be hard to stay a beat when negative 280 00:13:17,559 --> 00:13:20,800 Speaker 1: things happen. And we aren't saying just to deny reality, right, 281 00:13:21,200 --> 00:13:24,640 Speaker 1: but having a plan to move forward when those unexpected 282 00:13:24,720 --> 00:13:29,679 Speaker 1: expenses arise, especially mentally, that's just incredibly helpful. Yeah. Man. 283 00:13:29,720 --> 00:13:33,040 Speaker 1: For example, if you look at some stats on what 284 00:13:33,200 --> 00:13:35,400 Speaker 1: a person needs to save for their kid to go 285 00:13:35,559 --> 00:13:39,040 Speaker 1: to college one jillion dollars, it seems like that it totally, 286 00:13:39,120 --> 00:13:41,640 Speaker 1: totally does. There's been some rumblings about this in our 287 00:13:41,640 --> 00:13:44,040 Speaker 1: Facebook group, people have questions about how much money do 288 00:13:44,080 --> 00:13:45,920 Speaker 1: I actually need to be saving for my kids college? 289 00:13:46,120 --> 00:13:48,120 Speaker 1: And we've talked about that way back in the day. 290 00:13:48,120 --> 00:13:51,040 Speaker 1: I'm sure we'll talk more about plans in the future. 291 00:13:51,360 --> 00:13:52,800 Speaker 1: But when you look at the stats and it's like, 292 00:13:52,880 --> 00:13:55,160 Speaker 1: you need to save three thousand dollars for your kids 293 00:13:55,240 --> 00:13:57,600 Speaker 1: college for each kid, by the way, right and right, 294 00:13:57,679 --> 00:14:00,800 Speaker 1: and you've got four of them, so so basically you're screwed, 295 00:14:00,840 --> 00:14:02,640 Speaker 1: and so we're your kids. Oh sweet daughter, have you 296 00:14:02,720 --> 00:14:06,000 Speaker 1: ever thought about taking up plumbing because because plumbers are 297 00:14:06,000 --> 00:14:07,640 Speaker 1: going to rule the world. Yeah, that's a side note, 298 00:14:07,679 --> 00:14:10,640 Speaker 1: but yeah, basically, yeah, when you look at those numbers, 299 00:14:10,880 --> 00:14:13,560 Speaker 1: it'll make your eyes glaze over because it's basically an 300 00:14:13,600 --> 00:14:17,480 Speaker 1: impossibility for ninety eight percent of us to fully fund 301 00:14:17,520 --> 00:14:19,680 Speaker 1: our kids college. But if you dwell on the negative, 302 00:14:19,720 --> 00:14:21,360 Speaker 1: if you if you dwell on the fact that there's 303 00:14:21,400 --> 00:14:24,080 Speaker 1: no way that we can fully fund college for our kids, 304 00:14:24,280 --> 00:14:26,520 Speaker 1: there's no way you can fully fund college for four 305 00:14:26,640 --> 00:14:29,240 Speaker 1: kids at that sort of rate, with those sort of projections, 306 00:14:29,360 --> 00:14:31,000 Speaker 1: There's no way I can do that for three kids. 307 00:14:31,320 --> 00:14:33,840 Speaker 1: And so the pessimistic take would be to say I'm 308 00:14:33,880 --> 00:14:36,400 Speaker 1: not even get started like, there's no way, so I'm 309 00:14:36,400 --> 00:14:39,200 Speaker 1: not going to tackle the problem. The optimistic side would say, 310 00:14:39,480 --> 00:14:41,120 Speaker 1: I'm pretty sure I can take a big chunk out 311 00:14:41,160 --> 00:14:43,440 Speaker 1: of that. I'm pretty sure I can make progress and 312 00:14:43,560 --> 00:14:46,160 Speaker 1: help my kid out in this endeavor, even though there 313 00:14:46,240 --> 00:14:48,040 Speaker 1: is no silver bullet and I'm not going to solve 314 00:14:48,080 --> 00:14:50,880 Speaker 1: the problem completely. And that's just kind of a mental shift, 315 00:14:51,080 --> 00:14:54,000 Speaker 1: or basically, you have to decide not to dwell on 316 00:14:54,080 --> 00:14:56,440 Speaker 1: the negative when you see absurd things like that, you 317 00:14:56,480 --> 00:14:58,720 Speaker 1: know in print, Yeah, there's a lot of room within 318 00:14:58,800 --> 00:15:01,360 Speaker 1: that gray area, right, It's not either a, oh, they're 319 00:15:01,440 --> 00:15:03,080 Speaker 1: totally not going to go to college or be I'm 320 00:15:03,080 --> 00:15:04,480 Speaker 1: going to be able to fully fund their college and 321 00:15:04,480 --> 00:15:06,360 Speaker 1: they are. There's a lot of room there in between 322 00:15:06,480 --> 00:15:10,760 Speaker 1: for either state schools, for local community colleges, for scholarships. 323 00:15:11,040 --> 00:15:12,760 Speaker 1: And we just joked about this, but trade school like 324 00:15:12,760 --> 00:15:14,560 Speaker 1: that's a real possibility for a lot of folks. There 325 00:15:14,600 --> 00:15:16,880 Speaker 1: are a lot of amazing jobs out there where folks 326 00:15:17,000 --> 00:15:19,600 Speaker 1: can learn a trade and make an incredible living by 327 00:15:19,640 --> 00:15:21,600 Speaker 1: doing that. It makes me think too of kind of 328 00:15:21,640 --> 00:15:25,240 Speaker 1: commercials that we're running years back for certain investment companies. 329 00:15:25,360 --> 00:15:27,440 Speaker 1: I honestly don't even remember who but it was kind 330 00:15:27,440 --> 00:15:29,880 Speaker 1: of that what's your retirement number? And you would see 331 00:15:29,920 --> 00:15:32,480 Speaker 1: these numbers from people you know that that this company 332 00:15:32,560 --> 00:15:35,160 Speaker 1: was saying, you need one point seven million dollars to retire, 333 00:15:35,520 --> 00:15:37,920 Speaker 1: and there are all these just immense numbers floating around 334 00:15:38,360 --> 00:15:40,280 Speaker 1: and for a lot of people, that's gonna put the 335 00:15:40,320 --> 00:15:42,880 Speaker 1: kai bosh on you even considering saving for retirement, Like 336 00:15:42,960 --> 00:15:45,160 Speaker 1: that's probably pretty disheartening for a lot of folks. Yeah, 337 00:15:45,160 --> 00:15:46,800 Speaker 1: it's like, oh, well, I'm never gonna get there, so 338 00:15:46,880 --> 00:15:49,320 Speaker 1: I shouldn't even start. And and so I think certainly 339 00:15:49,360 --> 00:15:50,960 Speaker 1: things we've see in the media, things we see in 340 00:15:51,000 --> 00:15:53,800 Speaker 1: marketing can kind of lead us to a pessimistic point 341 00:15:53,840 --> 00:15:55,600 Speaker 1: of view. But what we have to do is we 342 00:15:55,640 --> 00:15:56,760 Speaker 1: have to turn that out in its head and we 343 00:15:56,800 --> 00:16:00,120 Speaker 1: have to say, you know what, that's ridiculous and or 344 00:16:00,240 --> 00:16:02,800 Speaker 1: is something that I can do. It's just gonna look 345 00:16:02,800 --> 00:16:05,160 Speaker 1: a little different. And on the note of staying positive, 346 00:16:05,240 --> 00:16:07,240 Speaker 1: right and not dwelling on the negative, it's also important 347 00:16:07,280 --> 00:16:11,120 Speaker 1: that we learn from our mistakes. We're not defined by 348 00:16:11,240 --> 00:16:14,840 Speaker 1: our past money mistakes. By letting those mistakes rule our 349 00:16:14,880 --> 00:16:19,160 Speaker 1: financial life moving forward, that's just a recipe for failure. Optimists. 350 00:16:19,280 --> 00:16:22,400 Speaker 1: Instead learn from those mistakes, and they tend to view 351 00:16:22,520 --> 00:16:26,200 Speaker 1: those mistakes instead as fuel for you know, like that 352 00:16:26,320 --> 00:16:31,320 Speaker 1: optimistic fire that will burn eternal. Yeah, completely, man. You 353 00:16:31,360 --> 00:16:33,760 Speaker 1: can let a mistake ruin you, or you can let 354 00:16:33,840 --> 00:16:37,840 Speaker 1: a mistake drive you towards accomplishing bigger things. Another really 355 00:16:37,880 --> 00:16:40,120 Speaker 1: important thing we need to consider as we attempt to 356 00:16:40,160 --> 00:16:44,080 Speaker 1: become more optimistic and therefore boosting our chances of financial 357 00:16:44,160 --> 00:16:47,360 Speaker 1: success is controlling the inputs that we allow into our lives. 358 00:16:47,840 --> 00:16:50,960 Speaker 1: We ultimately create our own realities. In so many ways, 359 00:16:51,320 --> 00:16:54,400 Speaker 1: our attitudes can determine the opportunities that we get or 360 00:16:54,480 --> 00:16:57,280 Speaker 1: don't get, and it can also determine how we view 361 00:16:57,360 --> 00:16:59,840 Speaker 1: what happens to us. Do we have this like no pain, 362 00:17:00,040 --> 00:17:03,480 Speaker 1: no gain mentality or are we daunted at every setback? 363 00:17:03,680 --> 00:17:06,000 Speaker 1: And what are the things that we're letting influence our mood. 364 00:17:06,440 --> 00:17:08,080 Speaker 1: If we spend a lot of time like we mentioned, 365 00:17:08,160 --> 00:17:10,880 Speaker 1: watching the news, scouring social media, it's easy to become 366 00:17:10,920 --> 00:17:13,240 Speaker 1: more pessimistic. It's easy to think that the world is 367 00:17:13,320 --> 00:17:15,600 Speaker 1: going to hell in a handbasket, or we just don't 368 00:17:15,640 --> 00:17:17,600 Speaker 1: have the things that we need, even though those things 369 00:17:17,640 --> 00:17:19,800 Speaker 1: aren't needs. But we saw him on social media and 370 00:17:19,880 --> 00:17:21,320 Speaker 1: we feel like they are now, and we feel like 371 00:17:21,359 --> 00:17:23,680 Speaker 1: our life is lacking. So much of the pessimism that 372 00:17:23,760 --> 00:17:27,480 Speaker 1: we experience comes from comparison. So cutting back on those 373 00:17:27,560 --> 00:17:30,400 Speaker 1: negative inputs in a major way can provide a really 374 00:17:30,520 --> 00:17:33,920 Speaker 1: helpful boost to our optimism levels. And Matt, that actually 375 00:17:33,920 --> 00:17:35,919 Speaker 1: reminds me of this book I reading My Girls at Night, 376 00:17:36,040 --> 00:17:37,879 Speaker 1: a Pete the Cat book. But this Pete the Cat 377 00:17:37,920 --> 00:17:40,560 Speaker 1: Book is about Pete and these magic sunglasses, and Pete 378 00:17:40,600 --> 00:17:43,359 Speaker 1: things that these magic sunglasses are are what's making his 379 00:17:43,480 --> 00:17:45,320 Speaker 1: day better. The fact that you know, his friend gave 380 00:17:45,400 --> 00:17:47,439 Speaker 1: me these sunglasses and it was like, okay, cool, now 381 00:17:47,520 --> 00:17:49,600 Speaker 1: everything is better when I'm wearing these sunglasses. But then 382 00:17:49,640 --> 00:17:53,080 Speaker 1: the sunglasses break and it takes somebody else telling Pete 383 00:17:53,240 --> 00:17:54,879 Speaker 1: that it wasn't the sunglasses, man, it's the way he 384 00:17:55,000 --> 00:17:57,600 Speaker 1: looks at the World's his outlook. It's his attitude. And 385 00:17:57,640 --> 00:17:59,720 Speaker 1: I feel a little lame given like a children's book 386 00:17:59,720 --> 00:18:02,040 Speaker 1: refere here, But man, it's so true, like it's made 387 00:18:02,080 --> 00:18:03,720 Speaker 1: this big impact that my girls and I talked about 388 00:18:03,720 --> 00:18:05,679 Speaker 1: it a lot. But it's not the sunglasses. It's it's 389 00:18:05,760 --> 00:18:08,760 Speaker 1: really it's your outlook on the world and what happens 390 00:18:08,800 --> 00:18:10,720 Speaker 1: to you. You can choose to view it in a 391 00:18:10,760 --> 00:18:12,399 Speaker 1: pessimistic way, or you can choose to view it in 392 00:18:12,480 --> 00:18:15,680 Speaker 1: an optimistic way. So, on this note of controlling our inputs, 393 00:18:15,960 --> 00:18:19,119 Speaker 1: we've had awesome feedback from dozens of listeners via email, 394 00:18:19,200 --> 00:18:21,639 Speaker 1: VR Facebook group about really cool ways that they have 395 00:18:21,760 --> 00:18:24,800 Speaker 1: been able to take control of their finances and make 396 00:18:24,840 --> 00:18:26,920 Speaker 1: a change. And so I feel like one thing that 397 00:18:27,000 --> 00:18:31,000 Speaker 1: we can do is provide positive input for everyone out there. 398 00:18:31,280 --> 00:18:33,800 Speaker 1: And so, Matt, let's here a couple of listeners success 399 00:18:33,920 --> 00:18:36,040 Speaker 1: stories really quick. How do you feel about that? Yeah? Man? 400 00:18:36,119 --> 00:18:38,400 Speaker 1: We got an email from Maggie and she is who 401 00:18:38,480 --> 00:18:41,560 Speaker 1: sent us old Toffy for last week's episode. We talked 402 00:18:41,560 --> 00:18:44,080 Speaker 1: about that beer and she said that I have an 403 00:18:44,080 --> 00:18:46,560 Speaker 1: almost two year old and I worked full time for 404 00:18:46,640 --> 00:18:48,720 Speaker 1: more than a year after he was born. It was 405 00:18:48,880 --> 00:18:51,240 Speaker 1: nuts listening to how the money really helped me to 406 00:18:51,280 --> 00:18:53,879 Speaker 1: see the lights and convince myself that working part time 407 00:18:54,280 --> 00:18:58,080 Speaker 1: and taking a huge pay cut was actually possible. I 408 00:18:58,160 --> 00:19:00,680 Speaker 1: now worked ten to five nine months the year and 409 00:19:00,880 --> 00:19:03,800 Speaker 1: it's been great. I love my extra time with my son. 410 00:19:04,320 --> 00:19:06,320 Speaker 1: Instead of leaving the house at five am before he 411 00:19:06,359 --> 00:19:09,359 Speaker 1: even wakes up, we now go on early morning nature walks, 412 00:19:09,560 --> 00:19:12,040 Speaker 1: we eat breakfast together, and we have a standing date 413 00:19:12,160 --> 00:19:15,480 Speaker 1: to watch the trash and recycling get picked up on Thursdays. 414 00:19:16,040 --> 00:19:19,919 Speaker 1: It's so awesome. We are living the life. Without how 415 00:19:19,960 --> 00:19:22,160 Speaker 1: the money, I'd still be working forty hours a week 416 00:19:22,320 --> 00:19:25,600 Speaker 1: year round, would be significantly less happy and would probably 417 00:19:25,760 --> 00:19:30,359 Speaker 1: be in worse financial shape despite making more money. Man, Joel, 418 00:19:30,560 --> 00:19:33,560 Speaker 1: what's an incredible story. I'm so glad that Maggie included 419 00:19:33,600 --> 00:19:36,240 Speaker 1: that when she emailed us, And a big reason for 420 00:19:36,359 --> 00:19:39,440 Speaker 1: that is because her optimism, her ideal life does not 421 00:19:39,800 --> 00:19:41,960 Speaker 1: look like maybe what it would to a lot of 422 00:19:42,040 --> 00:19:44,520 Speaker 1: other people. Write like a standing date to watch the 423 00:19:44,560 --> 00:19:48,200 Speaker 1: trash truck pull up. That's so little boy stuff, which 424 00:19:48,240 --> 00:19:50,320 Speaker 1: gets me excited about our little boys growing up. Exactly 425 00:19:50,440 --> 00:19:52,920 Speaker 1: exactly like I hear that. I know the sort of 426 00:19:52,960 --> 00:19:55,160 Speaker 1: feeling that she's referring to. And it's just these little 427 00:19:55,280 --> 00:19:58,400 Speaker 1: small things in life that are not glamorous by any means. 428 00:19:58,560 --> 00:20:00,760 Speaker 1: It's not at all a status and bowl, but it's 429 00:20:00,840 --> 00:20:03,480 Speaker 1: something that means the world to her and that that 430 00:20:03,520 --> 00:20:05,680 Speaker 1: means the world to her son, and in this case, 431 00:20:05,840 --> 00:20:08,520 Speaker 1: that is all that matters. Yeah, it's not some all 432 00:20:08,600 --> 00:20:12,160 Speaker 1: inclusive vacation. It's not some fancy steak dinner. It's those 433 00:20:12,240 --> 00:20:14,200 Speaker 1: little things. And yeah, that gets me fired up. Hearing 434 00:20:14,240 --> 00:20:16,080 Speaker 1: people that have been able to take control and make 435 00:20:16,119 --> 00:20:18,600 Speaker 1: a positive impact on their finances. It makes me more 436 00:20:18,640 --> 00:20:20,879 Speaker 1: optimistic about what I can do, which is why we're 437 00:20:20,920 --> 00:20:23,760 Speaker 1: sharing these stories. So another one that I saw recently 438 00:20:23,880 --> 00:20:27,120 Speaker 1: in our Facebook group was from listener Richard, and he said, well, 439 00:20:27,359 --> 00:20:30,160 Speaker 1: how to money, family. I did it. A huge thank 440 00:20:30,240 --> 00:20:32,240 Speaker 1: you to this community and my close friends and family 441 00:20:32,359 --> 00:20:35,000 Speaker 1: for being as supportive as you are. In four months, 442 00:20:35,040 --> 00:20:37,679 Speaker 1: I dropped this high interest credit card from a balance 443 00:20:37,720 --> 00:20:42,440 Speaker 1: of to zero dollars, utilizing a variety of methods found 444 00:20:42,480 --> 00:20:45,200 Speaker 1: in the podcast in the group, cutting costs, being mindful 445 00:20:45,240 --> 00:20:47,200 Speaker 1: of spending habits, and I even transfer two thousand to 446 00:20:47,280 --> 00:20:49,239 Speaker 1: a new zero percent card that's being paid off over 447 00:20:49,280 --> 00:20:51,440 Speaker 1: the next year. For those of you still on your way, 448 00:20:51,640 --> 00:20:53,399 Speaker 1: you can do it. So I love man. It's this 449 00:20:53,800 --> 00:20:56,800 Speaker 1: virtuous cycle of building others up and letting them know 450 00:20:56,840 --> 00:20:58,199 Speaker 1: that they can do it too, that they can make 451 00:20:58,359 --> 00:21:00,280 Speaker 1: changes to their life. And I don't know how long 452 00:21:00,400 --> 00:21:01,959 Speaker 1: Richard was sitting on that debt. I don't know if 453 00:21:02,000 --> 00:21:04,399 Speaker 1: it was years or if it was just months, but 454 00:21:04,680 --> 00:21:06,399 Speaker 1: usually it takes it takes years to build up to 455 00:21:06,480 --> 00:21:08,480 Speaker 1: that level of debt. But the fact that he tackled 456 00:21:08,520 --> 00:21:10,720 Speaker 1: it in months, that he got rid of it, and 457 00:21:10,800 --> 00:21:13,320 Speaker 1: encouraging others that they can follow suit. Man, those are 458 00:21:13,359 --> 00:21:15,120 Speaker 1: the kind of positive inputs I want to put into 459 00:21:15,200 --> 00:21:17,480 Speaker 1: my life because it motivates me to to work even 460 00:21:17,520 --> 00:21:19,720 Speaker 1: harder and it reminds me of the truth that I 461 00:21:19,880 --> 00:21:22,280 Speaker 1: do have this element of control over my life that 462 00:21:22,400 --> 00:21:24,639 Speaker 1: sometimes we think we don't. So, yeah, big props to Richard, 463 00:21:24,840 --> 00:21:27,400 Speaker 1: and thanks for sharing your story in the Facebook group. Man. Yeah, 464 00:21:27,440 --> 00:21:30,119 Speaker 1: so we're sharing those stories with you to act as 465 00:21:30,160 --> 00:21:32,440 Speaker 1: an encouragement and hopefully that is a way that you 466 00:21:32,480 --> 00:21:35,720 Speaker 1: are able to boost your optimism. Yeah. And if Richard 467 00:21:35,800 --> 00:21:37,760 Speaker 1: can do it, trust me, anybody can do it. Okay, 468 00:21:38,240 --> 00:21:40,639 Speaker 1: And so we're gonna talk more about some different ways 469 00:21:40,760 --> 00:21:43,200 Speaker 1: that you can increase the amount of optimism that you 470 00:21:43,280 --> 00:21:54,879 Speaker 1: have in your life. But first a quick break. Alrighty, 471 00:21:54,960 --> 00:21:57,760 Speaker 1: then we're back and we're talking about optimism today. We 472 00:21:57,880 --> 00:21:59,320 Speaker 1: just talked about a few ways you can kind of 473 00:21:59,440 --> 00:22:02,400 Speaker 1: shift things up mentally in order to increase your level 474 00:22:02,440 --> 00:22:05,440 Speaker 1: of optimism, which has a direct impact on your finances, 475 00:22:05,680 --> 00:22:07,560 Speaker 1: but they are also just kind of some physical things 476 00:22:07,640 --> 00:22:10,040 Speaker 1: that you can make happen that you can boost in 477 00:22:10,160 --> 00:22:12,159 Speaker 1: order to do the same in order to increase that 478 00:22:12,280 --> 00:22:15,520 Speaker 1: optimismal level. It might not come naturally to you, but 479 00:22:15,640 --> 00:22:18,520 Speaker 1: there are some tangible things that you can implement in 480 00:22:18,680 --> 00:22:22,040 Speaker 1: order to cultivate financial optimism in your life. And that's 481 00:22:22,040 --> 00:22:23,880 Speaker 1: what we're going to talk about or right now. Yeah, 482 00:22:23,920 --> 00:22:25,520 Speaker 1: And I think it's just so important man, that we 483 00:22:25,720 --> 00:22:28,159 Speaker 1: are talking about the physical side of things, because we 484 00:22:28,240 --> 00:22:30,200 Speaker 1: could just totally stay in our own heads and say, 485 00:22:30,560 --> 00:22:32,239 Speaker 1: you've got to control your inputs, you need to think 486 00:22:32,280 --> 00:22:34,560 Speaker 1: more positively, and you can beat yourself up over not 487 00:22:34,680 --> 00:22:37,680 Speaker 1: thinking positively enough exactly, but that only gets you so far. Right, Like, 488 00:22:37,800 --> 00:22:41,440 Speaker 1: we're holistic beings and we are influenced by the physical 489 00:22:41,560 --> 00:22:44,240 Speaker 1: environment around us. We're influenced by the physical actions that 490 00:22:44,320 --> 00:22:46,520 Speaker 1: we take. And so it's important, yeah, that we talk 491 00:22:46,640 --> 00:22:49,560 Speaker 1: now about the physical side of things. And so let's 492 00:22:49,560 --> 00:22:52,560 Speaker 1: talk quickly about goals. Right If you're not working towards 493 00:22:52,840 --> 00:22:55,400 Speaker 1: something specific, it could be tough to be hopeful about 494 00:22:55,440 --> 00:22:57,680 Speaker 1: your future. We want you to think about it. You 495 00:22:57,760 --> 00:23:00,679 Speaker 1: need to set some achievable goals and then it's helpful 496 00:23:00,720 --> 00:23:03,600 Speaker 1: if you actually write them down to constantly remind yourself 497 00:23:03,760 --> 00:23:06,200 Speaker 1: of what it is that you're striving after. When you're 498 00:23:06,240 --> 00:23:09,680 Speaker 1: just working without a purpose, that's drudgery. That's what feels 499 00:23:09,760 --> 00:23:12,719 Speaker 1: like fruitless labor, and that is what we're trying to avoid. 500 00:23:13,119 --> 00:23:17,120 Speaker 1: So speaking of those goals and continually reminding yourself of them. 501 00:23:17,320 --> 00:23:21,200 Speaker 1: Matt I heard an interview recently with tight end Tony Gonzalez. 502 00:23:21,240 --> 00:23:23,600 Speaker 1: He used to play for our Atlanta Falcons. He was 503 00:23:23,680 --> 00:23:26,120 Speaker 1: literally the best tight end in all of football ever, 504 00:23:26,280 --> 00:23:28,879 Speaker 1: Like there's no one, there's never been anyone better at 505 00:23:28,880 --> 00:23:31,840 Speaker 1: the position. He'd the best. Yeah, he was fantastic. And 506 00:23:32,200 --> 00:23:35,160 Speaker 1: what he would do, actually, I found this fascinating. Early 507 00:23:35,240 --> 00:23:37,520 Speaker 1: in the week before a football game, he would write 508 00:23:37,600 --> 00:23:40,520 Speaker 1: himself a letter and he would say exactly what he 509 00:23:40,600 --> 00:23:43,919 Speaker 1: wanted out of that upcoming football game. That's pretty sweet. 510 00:23:43,960 --> 00:23:45,600 Speaker 1: And he was like, I want two touchdowns, I want 511 00:23:45,600 --> 00:23:47,320 Speaker 1: like twelve catches, blah blah blah. But he would he 512 00:23:47,320 --> 00:23:49,080 Speaker 1: would write this in depth letter about what he was 513 00:23:49,119 --> 00:23:51,360 Speaker 1: hoping for this next week's game, and he would read 514 00:23:51,400 --> 00:23:54,160 Speaker 1: it every day that week before practice, and he gave 515 00:23:54,200 --> 00:23:56,199 Speaker 1: a lot of credence to kind of putting that goal 516 00:23:56,240 --> 00:23:58,480 Speaker 1: in front of him and seeing it every single day. 517 00:23:58,800 --> 00:24:01,640 Speaker 1: It was this kind of a motional and physical response 518 00:24:01,880 --> 00:24:04,160 Speaker 1: to increase his optimism level to thinking that he could 519 00:24:04,320 --> 00:24:06,840 Speaker 1: even potentially achieve that goal. So, I don't know, I 520 00:24:06,920 --> 00:24:08,800 Speaker 1: just thought that was really cool and super cool. Man. 521 00:24:08,880 --> 00:24:10,720 Speaker 1: That's that's really awesome. Actually, it makes me want to 522 00:24:10,800 --> 00:24:13,960 Speaker 1: write down everything and read everything back to myself, right, yeah, 523 00:24:13,960 --> 00:24:15,760 Speaker 1: I think the more we do write things down, and 524 00:24:15,800 --> 00:24:17,680 Speaker 1: that's something honestly I'm not terribly good at and I 525 00:24:17,720 --> 00:24:20,040 Speaker 1: want to get better at, because I do see that 526 00:24:20,160 --> 00:24:22,960 Speaker 1: as a way of of helping boost my optimism level 527 00:24:23,040 --> 00:24:25,359 Speaker 1: and helping me actually achieve the things that I that 528 00:24:25,440 --> 00:24:28,040 Speaker 1: I set out to achieve. And part of setting those 529 00:24:28,080 --> 00:24:32,040 Speaker 1: goals is to dedicate the actual time to thinking about 530 00:24:32,080 --> 00:24:34,880 Speaker 1: your goals. It can be as straightforward as knocking out 531 00:24:35,040 --> 00:24:37,199 Speaker 1: that small amount of credit card debt that's maybe been 532 00:24:37,240 --> 00:24:41,040 Speaker 1: hanging around for forever, two larger things like your mission 533 00:24:41,119 --> 00:24:45,000 Speaker 1: statement or even more ambitious pursuits. But give yourself the 534 00:24:45,119 --> 00:24:48,720 Speaker 1: time to dream, even though it might be countercultural to 535 00:24:48,880 --> 00:24:51,240 Speaker 1: sort of quote unquote waste that time, right Like we 536 00:24:51,280 --> 00:24:54,639 Speaker 1: don't give ourselves enough time to be creative to to waste, 537 00:24:54,720 --> 00:24:57,160 Speaker 1: to come up with creative solutions to problems that we're 538 00:24:57,160 --> 00:24:59,280 Speaker 1: faced with, and a lot of times, you know, this 539 00:24:59,359 --> 00:25:01,239 Speaker 1: goes back to my month earlier. But like we are 540 00:25:01,320 --> 00:25:03,600 Speaker 1: just doing things without thinking about them, and when we 541 00:25:03,680 --> 00:25:06,000 Speaker 1: actually give ourselves a little bit of time and some 542 00:25:06,200 --> 00:25:09,240 Speaker 1: additional mental energy, I'm pretty sure everyone would see some 543 00:25:09,440 --> 00:25:12,119 Speaker 1: massive benefits from that. Yeah, how come our best ideas 544 00:25:12,119 --> 00:25:14,440 Speaker 1: come in the shower because typically it's the only time 545 00:25:14,520 --> 00:25:17,440 Speaker 1: we give ourselves the space to let our brains wander. 546 00:25:17,880 --> 00:25:19,879 Speaker 1: But there are other ways that we can implement that 547 00:25:19,920 --> 00:25:22,080 Speaker 1: into our lives too. Another thing that we need to 548 00:25:22,119 --> 00:25:24,320 Speaker 1: do is to plan it out. It's easier to be 549 00:25:24,400 --> 00:25:28,080 Speaker 1: optimistic when you have a list of achievable, daily, weekly, 550 00:25:28,160 --> 00:25:30,800 Speaker 1: and monthly items that are on a schedule. Having planned 551 00:25:30,880 --> 00:25:33,280 Speaker 1: action items will act as a deadline that will get 552 00:25:33,320 --> 00:25:36,680 Speaker 1: you crossing items off of that list, and that in 553 00:25:36,800 --> 00:25:40,000 Speaker 1: and of itself boost level of optimism. For example, make 554 00:25:40,040 --> 00:25:42,160 Speaker 1: it a goal to figure out one way to save 555 00:25:42,240 --> 00:25:44,920 Speaker 1: money every month. You might feel so good that you 556 00:25:45,000 --> 00:25:47,200 Speaker 1: try to make it a weekly habit. Shop your cell 557 00:25:47,240 --> 00:25:50,440 Speaker 1: phone bill one month, then do the same for your insurance, 558 00:25:50,760 --> 00:25:53,159 Speaker 1: then tweet at your internet provider to see if you 559 00:25:53,240 --> 00:25:55,480 Speaker 1: can lessen your internet bill, Like if you can do 560 00:25:55,720 --> 00:25:58,440 Speaker 1: one of those every month, every time you knock down 561 00:25:58,440 --> 00:26:00,520 Speaker 1: one of those dominoes and increase you see your level 562 00:26:00,560 --> 00:26:03,400 Speaker 1: of saving. You make a move to positively impact your finances, 563 00:26:03,680 --> 00:26:06,040 Speaker 1: it's only going to help you in that next attempt, right, 564 00:26:06,119 --> 00:26:09,560 Speaker 1: and you're gonna feel unstoppable pretty shortly because every time 565 00:26:09,640 --> 00:26:11,359 Speaker 1: you put a goal down on paper, you're able to 566 00:26:11,440 --> 00:26:13,440 Speaker 1: cross it off the list because you made it happen 567 00:26:13,920 --> 00:26:17,520 Speaker 1: until Another way that you can be unstoppably optimistic is 568 00:26:17,600 --> 00:26:21,280 Speaker 1: by charting your progress. It's hard not to feel optimistic 569 00:26:21,440 --> 00:26:23,840 Speaker 1: when you can see your gains on paper. And sometimes 570 00:26:23,880 --> 00:26:26,119 Speaker 1: that can be difficult to do with your finances. But 571 00:26:26,359 --> 00:26:29,119 Speaker 1: maybe for you that's you know, your spreadsheets and Excel. 572 00:26:29,400 --> 00:26:31,480 Speaker 1: But it can be as simple as a bar graph 573 00:26:31,680 --> 00:26:35,040 Speaker 1: that you color in as you make progress, or even 574 00:26:35,160 --> 00:26:37,000 Speaker 1: a gratitude journal is a great way to do this right. 575 00:26:37,280 --> 00:26:39,800 Speaker 1: This allows you to track and be thankful for things 576 00:26:39,880 --> 00:26:43,240 Speaker 1: that are non number related, just words. It doesn't have 577 00:26:43,320 --> 00:26:44,880 Speaker 1: to be numbers, it can just be words that you're 578 00:26:44,880 --> 00:26:48,160 Speaker 1: thankful for. Yeah. Another thing, Matt, that I think holds 579 00:26:48,200 --> 00:26:50,280 Speaker 1: people back and we kind of briefly mentioned this early 580 00:26:50,359 --> 00:26:52,880 Speaker 1: on with the g I. Joe quote is a lack 581 00:26:52,960 --> 00:26:55,800 Speaker 1: of knowledge can can lead us towards pessimism. If we 582 00:26:56,000 --> 00:26:58,440 Speaker 1: don't know the next action step, if we don't know 583 00:26:58,640 --> 00:27:01,199 Speaker 1: how to tackle the rut we're in, then that can 584 00:27:01,359 --> 00:27:03,520 Speaker 1: take our brains down kind of a dark, twisty path 585 00:27:03,600 --> 00:27:06,400 Speaker 1: of pessimism. We've got this fear of taking the wrong step, 586 00:27:06,840 --> 00:27:09,959 Speaker 1: and that can in some ways be oddly healthy if 587 00:27:10,000 --> 00:27:12,800 Speaker 1: you don't have the proper knowledge. But for instance, like 588 00:27:12,840 --> 00:27:14,840 Speaker 1: an episode one nineteen, we talked about the power of 589 00:27:14,920 --> 00:27:18,600 Speaker 1: investing yourself. It's all about boosting your human capital. Keep 590 00:27:18,640 --> 00:27:21,320 Speaker 1: listening to podcasts like How the Money, find other great 591 00:27:21,440 --> 00:27:24,160 Speaker 1: podcasts out there that can help you boost your level 592 00:27:24,200 --> 00:27:27,560 Speaker 1: of knowledge. Knowledge is kind of power right. Read books 593 00:27:27,640 --> 00:27:30,840 Speaker 1: on personal finance. We interviewed a bunch of amazing people. 594 00:27:30,920 --> 00:27:33,680 Speaker 1: Christie Shinn wrote this book Quit Like a Millionaire. Grant 595 00:27:33,760 --> 00:27:36,359 Speaker 1: Sabatier wrote a book called Financial Freedom. A guy that 596 00:27:36,400 --> 00:27:38,640 Speaker 1: we haven't interviewed yet but we will one of these days, 597 00:27:38,760 --> 00:27:42,600 Speaker 1: Jail Collins, we will. We totally will. Simple Path to Wealth. 598 00:27:42,640 --> 00:27:44,400 Speaker 1: I mean, there are all these great books out there. 599 00:27:44,480 --> 00:27:46,000 Speaker 1: What will link to some of those in the show notes, 600 00:27:46,200 --> 00:27:48,440 Speaker 1: but the smarter you can get, the more knowledgeable you 601 00:27:48,520 --> 00:27:52,400 Speaker 1: can get, that drastically increases your levels of optimism. Yeah, 602 00:27:52,440 --> 00:27:54,280 Speaker 1: not only does it increase your optimism, man, but this 603 00:27:54,400 --> 00:27:57,359 Speaker 1: just straight up gives you more confidence as well. Another 604 00:27:57,600 --> 00:28:00,560 Speaker 1: thing to do is to seek advice. You'll gain a 605 00:28:00,680 --> 00:28:03,680 Speaker 1: certain amount of optimism just by talking about money with 606 00:28:03,760 --> 00:28:06,200 Speaker 1: your friends and family. We talk about that all the time, 607 00:28:06,359 --> 00:28:09,600 Speaker 1: like just knocking down that taboo talking about money. But 608 00:28:09,960 --> 00:28:12,040 Speaker 1: an even better way to improve your outlook is by 609 00:28:12,160 --> 00:28:15,600 Speaker 1: asking for advice from others who are crushing it financially, 610 00:28:15,960 --> 00:28:18,720 Speaker 1: or even getting some financial counseling. But for ways that 611 00:28:18,760 --> 00:28:22,119 Speaker 1: you can improve your financial knowledge by asking around. I 612 00:28:22,200 --> 00:28:25,320 Speaker 1: feel like even just asking for advice, submitting a question 613 00:28:25,400 --> 00:28:27,720 Speaker 1: for an ask htm episode, which you can easily do 614 00:28:27,800 --> 00:28:30,119 Speaker 1: it how to money dot com slash ask. Even just 615 00:28:30,560 --> 00:28:34,680 Speaker 1: submitting a question asking somebody something is this step towards optimism. 616 00:28:34,840 --> 00:28:37,320 Speaker 1: It's saying, you know what, I believe that somebody has 617 00:28:37,359 --> 00:28:39,800 Speaker 1: that knowledge out there that can benefit me. All I 618 00:28:39,840 --> 00:28:42,040 Speaker 1: gotta do is ask. So I think it's just fascinating 619 00:28:42,120 --> 00:28:44,600 Speaker 1: how how even asking the question is this step in 620 00:28:44,640 --> 00:28:48,000 Speaker 1: the right direction towards increasing your optimism. And sometimes it's 621 00:28:48,000 --> 00:28:49,920 Speaker 1: not even about the knowledge that you would receive, but 622 00:28:50,000 --> 00:28:52,720 Speaker 1: it's just the fact that you are willing to accept 623 00:28:52,800 --> 00:28:55,520 Speaker 1: new information right Like that you're open to learning and 624 00:28:55,640 --> 00:28:58,920 Speaker 1: open to improving. Like that says a lot about an individual. Yeah, 625 00:28:59,000 --> 00:29:02,560 Speaker 1: no doubt. Another important step to increasing your optimism is 626 00:29:02,640 --> 00:29:07,560 Speaker 1: to celebrate. Find ways to reinforce good financial behavior with rewards. 627 00:29:08,120 --> 00:29:09,920 Speaker 1: It doesn't have to cost a ton of money, or 628 00:29:10,000 --> 00:29:11,760 Speaker 1: really any money at all, but but you can give 629 00:29:11,800 --> 00:29:15,000 Speaker 1: yourself a tangible reward when you succeed or make progress. 630 00:29:15,440 --> 00:29:17,920 Speaker 1: I think sometimes it can be drudgery as we're attempting 631 00:29:17,960 --> 00:29:20,520 Speaker 1: to pay off debt, as we're trying to start saving 632 00:29:20,560 --> 00:29:23,600 Speaker 1: for the future, and if we're not rewarding ourselves, it 633 00:29:23,640 --> 00:29:26,680 Speaker 1: can be really easy to let pessimism overtake us and 634 00:29:26,800 --> 00:29:29,480 Speaker 1: think that, well, this debt, it's never gonna go away, 635 00:29:29,600 --> 00:29:31,960 Speaker 1: it's going to be an albatross around my neck for forever. 636 00:29:32,360 --> 00:29:34,440 Speaker 1: But when you celebrate the small winds along the way, 637 00:29:34,840 --> 00:29:37,200 Speaker 1: it removes some of that pessimistic vibe and it allows 638 00:29:37,240 --> 00:29:39,800 Speaker 1: you to see the progress that you're actually making, which 639 00:29:39,880 --> 00:29:42,360 Speaker 1: is a huge motivator as as you move forward. So 640 00:29:42,680 --> 00:29:45,800 Speaker 1: I think celebrating wins is a great step to take 641 00:29:45,880 --> 00:29:48,680 Speaker 1: towards becoming more optimistic. Man. That's so good for me 642 00:29:48,760 --> 00:29:50,440 Speaker 1: to here personally, because a lot of times I know 643 00:29:50,680 --> 00:29:54,360 Speaker 1: I can forego the celebration and instead just continue working 644 00:29:54,440 --> 00:29:57,040 Speaker 1: on towards my next goal. Yeah, if you never enjoy 645 00:29:57,240 --> 00:29:59,440 Speaker 1: the fruit of your labor, if you never celebrate the winds, 646 00:29:59,640 --> 00:30:02,440 Speaker 1: whatever you're trying to accomplish, can instead of feeling like 647 00:30:02,720 --> 00:30:05,000 Speaker 1: an awesome thing that you're tackling, you can feel like drudgery. 648 00:30:05,400 --> 00:30:06,920 Speaker 1: But one of the last things that we do want 649 00:30:06,960 --> 00:30:10,680 Speaker 1: to mention Joel, is that optimism alone can't save you. Right. 650 00:30:10,880 --> 00:30:14,160 Speaker 1: There's a difference between a good case of solid optimism 651 00:30:14,560 --> 00:30:16,720 Speaker 1: and having your head stuck in the sand about the 652 00:30:16,880 --> 00:30:19,760 Speaker 1: realities around you. But even as you assess the current 653 00:30:19,800 --> 00:30:22,720 Speaker 1: state that you're in, seeing the good that currently exists, 654 00:30:23,000 --> 00:30:26,960 Speaker 1: and seeking to implement positive steps towards making beneficial change, well, 655 00:30:27,480 --> 00:30:30,560 Speaker 1: that will have it a profound impact on you. If 656 00:30:30,600 --> 00:30:33,080 Speaker 1: you say you can't, well guess what you won't. But 657 00:30:33,160 --> 00:30:35,120 Speaker 1: if you think you can and you're willing to give 658 00:30:35,160 --> 00:30:37,240 Speaker 1: it a try, if you're open to it, really cool 659 00:30:37,320 --> 00:30:39,480 Speaker 1: things will start to happen. Yeah, man, In my mind, 660 00:30:39,680 --> 00:30:43,760 Speaker 1: optimism kind of equals resilience. It's knowing that you have 661 00:30:43,920 --> 00:30:47,520 Speaker 1: the power to make moves, however small, to improve your situation. 662 00:30:48,000 --> 00:30:50,760 Speaker 1: And Matt, When I think about optimism like that, it 663 00:30:50,840 --> 00:30:53,320 Speaker 1: actually kind of makes me think about this This young 664 00:30:53,400 --> 00:30:55,440 Speaker 1: girl I know named Gracey, And when she was born, 665 00:30:55,920 --> 00:30:59,040 Speaker 1: she was born with cancer that everybody said that she 666 00:30:59,520 --> 00:31:02,239 Speaker 1: wasn't going to live very long. She wasn't gonna live 667 00:31:02,320 --> 00:31:04,640 Speaker 1: past a year old, for sure, is what is what 668 00:31:04,720 --> 00:31:08,040 Speaker 1: the doctor said. And and now she's she's in high school. 669 00:31:08,200 --> 00:31:11,480 Speaker 1: She's basically lived this life of resilience where she's overcome 670 00:31:11,560 --> 00:31:14,440 Speaker 1: obstacles that people said she never would And does she 671 00:31:14,520 --> 00:31:18,360 Speaker 1: have struggles, Yeah, is her life difficult, of course. But 672 00:31:18,440 --> 00:31:21,240 Speaker 1: when I see someone like Gracy, it just reminds me 673 00:31:21,640 --> 00:31:23,960 Speaker 1: that there are so many things in this life that 674 00:31:24,040 --> 00:31:27,080 Speaker 1: are achievable that people around us and that even our 675 00:31:27,120 --> 00:31:30,040 Speaker 1: own brains are gonna tell us aren't possible. But if 676 00:31:30,120 --> 00:31:33,560 Speaker 1: we will harness an optimistic spirit, if we will implement 677 00:31:33,640 --> 00:31:37,280 Speaker 1: optimism into our brains and into our physical reality a 678 00:31:37,360 --> 00:31:40,120 Speaker 1: little bit more in in in particular in regards to 679 00:31:40,200 --> 00:31:43,720 Speaker 1: our finances, I really truly believe it has a massive 680 00:31:43,800 --> 00:31:46,800 Speaker 1: impact on how quickly we can achieve the goals that 681 00:31:46,960 --> 00:31:49,880 Speaker 1: we've set out and ultimately whether or not we're going 682 00:31:49,920 --> 00:31:52,640 Speaker 1: to achieve them at all many times. So, yeah, optimism 683 00:31:52,960 --> 00:31:56,120 Speaker 1: equals resilience, and you want to become more resilient. You 684 00:31:56,160 --> 00:31:58,320 Speaker 1: want to become more optimistic, and that in and of 685 00:31:58,400 --> 00:32:01,880 Speaker 1: itself is going to have major ramifications on on how 686 00:32:01,960 --> 00:32:04,560 Speaker 1: your finances look. Nice, man, that's so good. Thanks for 687 00:32:04,920 --> 00:32:08,240 Speaker 1: sharing that, dude. Yeah, Man, Gracie super inspirational makes me 688 00:32:08,360 --> 00:32:10,840 Speaker 1: more optimistic about the things that that I can accomplish 689 00:32:10,920 --> 00:32:12,760 Speaker 1: and and that the people around me can accomplish. It 690 00:32:12,800 --> 00:32:14,720 Speaker 1: makes me want to be more optimistic for the folks 691 00:32:14,760 --> 00:32:17,200 Speaker 1: that I come in contact with and the little listeners 692 00:32:17,240 --> 00:32:19,440 Speaker 1: on this podcast, be optimistic about the things that we 693 00:32:19,600 --> 00:32:21,920 Speaker 1: can achieve. Man. And also, I am thankful to be 694 00:32:21,960 --> 00:32:25,240 Speaker 1: sitting here with you talking about finances, talking about money 695 00:32:25,480 --> 00:32:28,560 Speaker 1: while drinking a delicious beer. On this episode, we had 696 00:32:28,920 --> 00:32:32,000 Speaker 1: Caramel Machiatto stout and this is my old bust Head 697 00:32:32,000 --> 00:32:34,960 Speaker 1: brewing company, donated to the show by my in laws 698 00:32:35,120 --> 00:32:38,560 Speaker 1: Mono and Pop Joel. What were your thoughts on this beer? Man? 699 00:32:38,640 --> 00:32:41,760 Speaker 1: This was totally a dessert stout, which is totally We 700 00:32:41,840 --> 00:32:44,640 Speaker 1: had this like nice kind of sweetness, vanilla sweetness. It 701 00:32:44,720 --> 00:32:47,040 Speaker 1: had like a little bit of an assaulted caramel vibe, 702 00:32:47,680 --> 00:32:50,040 Speaker 1: which is my wife's like favorite flavor of ice cream. 703 00:32:50,160 --> 00:32:52,120 Speaker 1: So she would totally dig his beer. She's probably gonna upset. 704 00:32:52,160 --> 00:32:53,880 Speaker 1: She wasn't here tonight. So yeah, I thought it was 705 00:32:53,960 --> 00:32:56,080 Speaker 1: really good for for me. Typically, I like stout sit 706 00:32:56,120 --> 00:32:59,360 Speaker 1: a little more like coffee you roasted dark chocolate kind 707 00:32:59,360 --> 00:33:02,480 Speaker 1: of notes. This one had more sweet notes, but super interesting, 708 00:33:02,680 --> 00:33:04,280 Speaker 1: very unique, and it hit the nail on the head 709 00:33:04,320 --> 00:33:06,760 Speaker 1: man for Kramel Machiatto Stount. I mean, I love it 710 00:33:06,840 --> 00:33:09,040 Speaker 1: when what you see on the label is like, that 711 00:33:09,160 --> 00:33:11,720 Speaker 1: is exactly what you're drinking. Yeah, yeah, perfectly reflects what 712 00:33:11,840 --> 00:33:13,800 Speaker 1: you got inside the bottle. Yeah, it did say it 713 00:33:13,920 --> 00:33:15,880 Speaker 1: was brewed with coffee, but you didn't get much of 714 00:33:15,960 --> 00:33:18,600 Speaker 1: that sort of bitter roasted nous. More so you get 715 00:33:18,640 --> 00:33:20,680 Speaker 1: that vanilla, like you said, and it almost had like 716 00:33:20,720 --> 00:33:23,520 Speaker 1: a crembrole a sort of flavor to it. I'm with 717 00:33:23,560 --> 00:33:25,920 Speaker 1: you and the fact that it was a dessert beer 718 00:33:26,400 --> 00:33:27,680 Speaker 1: and I was reading on the bottle it said that 719 00:33:27,760 --> 00:33:30,120 Speaker 1: it's refreshing in the summer and decadent in the winter, 720 00:33:30,400 --> 00:33:32,560 Speaker 1: and I totally agree though about it being refreshing because 721 00:33:32,600 --> 00:33:35,680 Speaker 1: it wasn't too thick and syrupy. A lot of times 722 00:33:35,760 --> 00:33:38,040 Speaker 1: the stouts like this can get really overwhelming when it 723 00:33:38,120 --> 00:33:40,640 Speaker 1: comes to their viscosity. But this was super easy to 724 00:33:40,720 --> 00:33:42,720 Speaker 1: drink and it was very delicious. So I'm glad we 725 00:33:42,760 --> 00:33:45,680 Speaker 1: got to share this one on the podcast. Dude, agreed, 726 00:33:45,800 --> 00:33:47,800 Speaker 1: my friend. All Right, Matt, that's gonna do it for 727 00:33:48,120 --> 00:33:51,400 Speaker 1: this episode. Hopefully, this was an encouraging episode. I know honestly, 728 00:33:51,480 --> 00:33:54,240 Speaker 1: just having this conversation with you was encouraging to me. 729 00:33:54,560 --> 00:33:56,040 Speaker 1: It makes me want to get after it a little 730 00:33:56,040 --> 00:33:58,080 Speaker 1: bit more. It makes me want to be more optimistic 731 00:33:58,200 --> 00:34:01,240 Speaker 1: in my dealings with those around me, because I think 732 00:34:01,280 --> 00:34:04,400 Speaker 1: optimism can be contagious. Yeah. I couldn't agree more, dude, 733 00:34:04,600 --> 00:34:07,160 Speaker 1: all right. Yeah, And so for show notes for this episode, 734 00:34:07,360 --> 00:34:09,600 Speaker 1: you can find those pretty easily on our website at 735 00:34:09,640 --> 00:34:12,080 Speaker 1: how to money dot com. And if you found this 736 00:34:12,160 --> 00:34:15,520 Speaker 1: episode and our podcasts in general helpful and you enjoyed it, 737 00:34:15,640 --> 00:34:17,760 Speaker 1: we would love for you to subscribe, rate, and review 738 00:34:17,960 --> 00:34:21,680 Speaker 1: wherever it is that you listen to your podcasts. Alright, buddy, 739 00:34:21,800 --> 00:34:39,800 Speaker 1: Until next time, Best Friends Out, Best Friends Out, Insane 740 00:34:39,840 --> 00:34:40,520 Speaker 1: in the membrane