WEBVTT - Joel's $ Origin Story (Bestie Ep) #696 0:00:00.440 --> 0:00:01.520 What's going on, buddy? 0:00:01.639 --> 0:00:03.680 Hey, Hey, how you doing fantastic? 0:00:03.800 --> 0:00:04.040 Yeah? 0:00:04.080 --> 0:00:07.000 So, okay, you got the spotlight on Wednesday, it's my turn. 0:00:07.040 --> 0:00:08.240 Now it is your turn. 0:00:08.360 --> 0:00:10.319 And for some reason, I thought that we were going 0:00:10.360 --> 0:00:12.399 to be sharing your story next week, but no, it's today. 0:00:12.400 --> 0:00:14.520 It's Friday. Yeah, so I want to make some sort 0:00:14.520 --> 0:00:16.680 of a fresh Prince of Ballet rhyme about my life 0:00:16.720 --> 0:00:18.680 real quick, but I don't. I don't have the skill. 0:00:18.840 --> 0:00:22.800 It's all about how my life gott But I can't 0:00:22.840 --> 0:00:25.919 go any further. But yeah, so one thing real quick. 0:00:26.000 --> 0:00:28.400 You mentioned I'm in Florida. That's part of the reason 0:00:28.480 --> 0:00:29.560 we're doing a couple of besties. 0:00:29.840 --> 0:00:30.520 Yes, oh that's right. 0:00:30.600 --> 0:00:32.360 Yeah, let's share why it is that you're down there, 0:00:32.400 --> 0:00:34.760 the reason we're in Florida. And I think I've talked 0:00:34.760 --> 0:00:36.720 about this a few times on the show. Had the 0:00:36.760 --> 0:00:40.080 craziest incident over spring break where a tree got hit 0:00:40.080 --> 0:00:42.720 by lightning in our front yard and a massive chunk 0:00:42.800 --> 0:00:45.680 it exploded. A massive chunk fell through our roof, splinters 0:00:45.680 --> 0:00:47.520 all over the place in the yard, my neighbor's yards, 0:00:47.800 --> 0:00:50.240 and so we had to get the tree removal company 0:00:50.520 --> 0:00:54.279 filing insurance claim, and the house is being repaired as 0:00:54.280 --> 0:00:56.560 we speak, and we were hoping to find a place 0:00:56.680 --> 0:00:58.360 close by until we get rent. 0:00:58.480 --> 0:01:01.040 It was extend for the summer, extensive work that meant 0:01:01.080 --> 0:01:03.600 that you were not able to stay in your house 0:01:03.680 --> 0:01:05.920 and actually had to move out and work for a. 0:01:05.840 --> 0:01:08.480 Couple of months. And we're looking for short term rentals 0:01:08.560 --> 0:01:10.759 up here, and it was like, there's nothing, and so 0:01:10.920 --> 0:01:14.480 we used it as an opportunity, you know, make some lemonade, 0:01:14.640 --> 0:01:17.280 to kind of take an extended vacation down to Florida. 0:01:17.360 --> 0:01:20.400 So that's it's been fun. It's been fun. 0:01:20.480 --> 0:01:22.959 It's also part of that interesting Emily's mom being down there. 0:01:23.080 --> 0:01:25.240 So the idea is that she's you know, helping Emily 0:01:25.240 --> 0:01:27.560 out with the kids while you are up here on 0:01:27.680 --> 0:01:29.600 like basically every other week is how we've been doing 0:01:29.600 --> 0:01:31.280 it back in the summer exactly. 0:01:31.440 --> 0:01:33.200 So they're having fun, we're having fun when I'm there. 0:01:33.200 --> 0:01:35.480 But it's also kind of like, yeah, sometimes you just 0:01:35.480 --> 0:01:38.280 gotta think outside the box, and this was a way 0:01:38.319 --> 0:01:39.880 for us to, oh, wait, hey, there's a lot of 0:01:39.880 --> 0:01:42.240 short term rentals down down in this part of Florida, 0:01:42.360 --> 0:01:45.080 so we can easily find something. And yeah, it's been 0:01:45.160 --> 0:01:46.880 it's been kind of a fun experience, but y, it 0:01:46.920 --> 0:01:49.720 does make it a little more difficult on work action. 0:01:49.880 --> 0:01:51.880 But exactly, I got to think you feel a little 0:01:52.000 --> 0:01:54.680 unmoored as well, right like where it doesn't really feel 0:01:54.680 --> 0:01:56.440 like you have a home, home base. 0:01:56.480 --> 0:01:58.200 But ready to be back in there. 0:01:58.240 --> 0:01:59.680 And I suggested too. I was like, well, how about 0:01:59.760 --> 0:02:02.120 just to your computer down there and we can record remotely. 0:02:02.200 --> 0:02:04.640 But you just missed me too much, right to be 0:02:04.680 --> 0:02:06.600 gone for that long? Yeah, we've never recorded, not in 0:02:06.640 --> 0:02:08.400 the same room. That would be it would be different. 0:02:08.440 --> 0:02:08.720 What I mean. 0:02:08.760 --> 0:02:10.560 We do interviews all the time, but it's always you 0:02:10.639 --> 0:02:12.280 and I are sitting here at the table, yeah, sharing 0:02:12.320 --> 0:02:14.920 a beer, Yeah, while we talk about money or interview 0:02:14.919 --> 0:02:15.440 somebody else. 0:02:15.520 --> 0:02:18.919 But yeah, so we aren't flexible for sure, which is nice, 0:02:19.040 --> 0:02:21.639 nice to have. So yeah, but this is my money story. 0:02:21.840 --> 0:02:26.079 It really, honestly has informed so much of why I'm 0:02:26.120 --> 0:02:29.120 passionate about this subject and how this podcast started to 0:02:29.160 --> 0:02:31.480 begin with. So without further ado, let's get to it. 0:02:31.639 --> 0:02:34.800 Welcome to How to Money. I'm Joel and I am Matts. 0:02:34.919 --> 0:02:36.360 And that's right. The day has come. 0:02:36.520 --> 0:02:44.040 It is now time for Joel's money origin story. 0:02:58.639 --> 0:03:00.880 That's right, buddy, Today on the show, it's all about me, 0:03:01.240 --> 0:03:05.480 about you this time. Hooray. No, I'm I'm looking forward 0:03:05.520 --> 0:03:08.200 to a chat and kind of diving into some of 0:03:08.240 --> 0:03:11.359 my money backstory. You got to tackle yours last week 0:03:11.400 --> 0:03:12.679 and it was a lot of fun. I learned a 0:03:12.680 --> 0:03:16.040 little bit. I hope our listeners learned a lot. And yeah, 0:03:16.040 --> 0:03:17.680 this week it's my turn in the hot seat. 0:03:17.720 --> 0:03:20.239 Does everything feel backwards? Because I kind of announced the 0:03:20.280 --> 0:03:22.520 actual title of this episode you brought us back from 0:03:22.520 --> 0:03:24.720 the break with the music, feels like left is right 0:03:24.760 --> 0:03:27.560 and up is down exactly, which makes me think of 0:03:27.560 --> 0:03:30.280 those bicycles were like they're engineered so that if you 0:03:30.320 --> 0:03:32.600 steer left, it actually goes right. Have you seen these 0:03:34.920 --> 0:03:39.640 mind cluster where like you literally can't ride it and 0:03:39.680 --> 0:03:41.920 it takes I don't know, like like tons of practice. 0:03:41.920 --> 0:03:43.560 I think it would take a long time to retrain 0:03:43.640 --> 0:03:44.320 your brain. 0:03:44.200 --> 0:03:46.440 Exactly, because once you've been doing something for so long, 0:03:46.480 --> 0:03:49.080 it's it feels really awkward sometimes. 0:03:48.720 --> 0:03:51.480 And just a small thing like this does who introduces 0:03:51.520 --> 0:03:54.440 the podcast episode? Yes, but before we get to my 0:03:54.520 --> 0:03:56.440 money story, and yeah, there's a lot I think we're 0:03:56.480 --> 0:03:58.160 gonna cover. I don't know, I mean, it's really it's 0:03:58.240 --> 0:04:00.360 up to you, so we'll see where it goes. But 0:04:00.560 --> 0:04:04.120 I wanted to mention one thing quickly that one of 0:04:04.120 --> 0:04:06.920 my friends, his name is Brennan. He goes by the 0:04:06.920 --> 0:04:09.680 Moniker budget Dog on Instagram and Twitter. 0:04:09.760 --> 0:04:09.920 Yeah. 0:04:10.720 --> 0:04:13.600 Literally, I asked him how he got that name, and 0:04:13.840 --> 0:04:16.960 he was like sitting there with his dog while he 0:04:16.400 --> 0:04:18.960 came up with it. So it just like really was 0:04:19.000 --> 0:04:22.920 like like budgets, yeah, exactly. So he's a good dude 0:04:22.920 --> 0:04:27.919 and he's doing a lot of great work with a dawg. Sadly, no, 0:04:28.080 --> 0:04:29.680 yeah he did not, you know, that's how it goes. 0:04:30.560 --> 0:04:32.760 But he mentioned the other day on Twitter, and I 0:04:32.760 --> 0:04:35.160 had not heard of this company before, a company to 0:04:35.240 --> 0:04:38.200 help you roll over your old four oh one K 0:04:38.400 --> 0:04:41.760 and it's called Capitalize. And I looked into this because 0:04:41.760 --> 0:04:43.760 I was like, all right, Brennan knows what he's talking about. 0:04:43.760 --> 0:04:45.720 What is this thing? And it is this cool? It's 0:04:45.760 --> 0:04:48.960 actually Capitalized was named one of Times Top in Mentions 0:04:48.960 --> 0:04:51.120 for twenty twenty one. And it is this site where 0:04:51.200 --> 0:04:53.160 you get to go roll over your four o one 0:04:53.200 --> 0:04:55.920 K for free into an IRA And there are a 0:04:55.960 --> 0:04:57.520 whole lot of reasons to do this, like we could 0:04:57.520 --> 0:04:59.480 get into all the nuance. We're not going to because 0:04:59.480 --> 0:05:02.360 that's not what the this episode is about, but we'll 0:05:02.400 --> 0:05:04.359 link to it in the show notes. And it's just 0:05:04.360 --> 0:05:06.760 one of those cool things. Yeah, if you have an 0:05:06.800 --> 0:05:09.480 old retirement account sitting somewhere else and you want to 0:05:09.520 --> 0:05:12.039 move it to a place with lower fees and better 0:05:12.080 --> 0:05:14.640 fund options, a place like Capitalized is going to help 0:05:14.640 --> 0:05:16.200 you do that. They're going to handle the paperwork, which 0:05:16.240 --> 0:05:19.720 is like, for me, the most annoying part usually, And 0:05:19.800 --> 0:05:22.640 so yeah, it just it seems like this cool new service, 0:05:22.720 --> 0:05:24.640 and I wanted to mention it. Will We'll again put 0:05:24.680 --> 0:05:26.880 a link to the show notes. And yeah, if you 0:05:27.040 --> 0:05:29.159 if you're one of those people who's like dreading doing 0:05:29.640 --> 0:05:33.400 the annoying intricacies of personal finance, something as dorky as 0:05:33.560 --> 0:05:35.359 you know, rolling an account over from a four one 0:05:35.440 --> 0:05:37.960 K into a new IRA very technical, yes, yeah, but 0:05:38.520 --> 0:05:40.720 ultimately not that hard. But Capitalized makes it even easier. 0:05:40.720 --> 0:05:42.920 Also, first rule problems, right, Like, are you over here, 0:05:42.960 --> 0:05:45.320 Joel complaining that you've got too many four one ks 0:05:45.320 --> 0:05:47.640 from previous the war years that you have to keep 0:05:47.720 --> 0:05:50.640 up with? Oh what a hard life that is from 0:05:50.680 --> 0:05:51.440 somebody who's never. 0:05:51.360 --> 0:05:55.000 Had a four weeks. Right, Simplification is a huge part 0:05:55.040 --> 0:05:57.720 of making personal finance is better for people. And if 0:05:57.760 --> 0:06:01.159 this helps you simplify things, combine everything into accounts with 0:06:01.320 --> 0:06:04.240 fewer companies, and also we're you can get it that 0:06:04.360 --> 0:06:06.839 drag of fees at the same time, like it's well, yeah, 0:06:06.880 --> 0:06:08.719 your time. Yeah, if you're with a provider. 0:06:08.480 --> 0:06:11.320 Who, yeah, does not give you the best investing options, 0:06:11.520 --> 0:06:13.400 you know, I will say if you are able to 0:06:13.400 --> 0:06:16.440 maintain those accounts and if the investing options are equivalent 0:06:16.480 --> 0:06:19.239 or similar across the board, there's no magic to combining 0:06:19.240 --> 0:06:21.560 all your accounts into a single giant account. Right, You're 0:06:21.560 --> 0:06:24.120 going to earn the same types of returns if you've 0:06:24.160 --> 0:06:26.680 got one hundred thousand dollars that's spread across three accounts, 0:06:26.760 --> 0:06:28.440 the same returns that you'd see if all of that 0:06:28.480 --> 0:06:30.880 money was just in a singular account. But like you said, 0:06:30.880 --> 0:06:32.560 it's more of like a mental thing and if that 0:06:32.600 --> 0:06:34.960 helps you as an individual, then go for it. 0:06:35.040 --> 0:06:39.039 Yeah, as long as they're in the same fun choices, right, Yeah, 0:06:39.080 --> 0:06:40.919 for sure. So yeah, we'll link to it in the 0:06:40.920 --> 0:06:42.760 show notes. But Matt, let's mention the beer that we're 0:06:42.800 --> 0:06:46.320 having on this episode. We're drinking a beer called Woodland Pursuit. 0:06:46.680 --> 0:06:49.080 It's a new England I pa from the folks at 0:06:49.160 --> 0:06:52.240 Humble Forager, and I'm looking forward to drinking this one 0:06:52.279 --> 0:06:54.360 while we share my money to origin story. 0:06:54.400 --> 0:06:56.840 Tonight's right, and I picked this one up especially for you, 0:06:56.880 --> 0:06:58.320 and we'll talk about why. 0:06:58.360 --> 0:07:00.000 I guess at the end of the episode sounds good. 0:07:00.160 --> 0:07:02.719 Well, like last Wednesday's episode, it is it's time for 0:07:02.760 --> 0:07:05.039 you listeners to really get to know us on a 0:07:05.080 --> 0:07:07.320 deeper level. Last week, yeah, you got to hear my 0:07:07.440 --> 0:07:11.040 money story and the experiences that impacted how it is 0:07:11.080 --> 0:07:14.320 that I view money. And now it's Joel's turn. Hailing 0:07:14.320 --> 0:07:16.720 from the Pacific Northwest, weighing in a like a one 0:07:16.800 --> 0:07:17.840 hundred and eighty pounds. 0:07:17.560 --> 0:07:21.400 Maybe nine okay nine also the very. 0:07:21.240 --> 0:07:24.840 You're the tallest half Norwegians. But yeah, you were raised 0:07:24.840 --> 0:07:26.920 here in the South. My best friend, Joel lars Guard, 0:07:27.080 --> 0:07:30.040 he might might have been the cheapest guy I've ever met, 0:07:30.280 --> 0:07:32.240 which is why I think we immediately hit it off 0:07:32.280 --> 0:07:34.840 when we first met around a decade ago. I think 0:07:34.840 --> 0:07:37.600 it also helps a ton our wives hit off as well. True, 0:07:37.760 --> 0:07:41.080 but I had never met anyone cheaper than me in 0:07:41.080 --> 0:07:43.600 that saying a lot, And it's no wonder that we 0:07:43.600 --> 0:07:47.080 were destined to start a personal finance podcast together. There 0:07:47.080 --> 0:07:49.200 truly is so much that I already know about you. 0:07:49.560 --> 0:07:51.920 But like any good story, you start at the beginning. 0:07:52.560 --> 0:07:55.520 And I realized that I don't know what your first 0:07:55.680 --> 0:07:57.920 money memory is, and so, yeah, do you have a 0:07:58.360 --> 0:08:02.040 clear moment when you grasp the concept of money? Also, 0:08:02.080 --> 0:08:04.720 did you always prefer the Krooklum signature pizza even as 0:08:04.760 --> 0:08:08.040 a toddler or was that a more of an acquired taste. 0:08:08.120 --> 0:08:10.160 Yeah, No, that was later in life. Really, that was 0:08:10.160 --> 0:08:13.040 a more more recent occurrence. And I will say, actually 0:08:13.080 --> 0:08:15.880 I talked about this recently on Twitter with somebody how 0:08:16.520 --> 0:08:20.160 Little Caesars raised the prices of their pizza, that inflation 0:08:20.200 --> 0:08:22.840 made inflation robbers meeting in the road. But life's too 0:08:22.840 --> 0:08:26.040 short to really eat cheap pizza too frequently, so usually 0:08:26.200 --> 0:08:29.480 spring forth the nicer stuff. But yeah, I guess when 0:08:29.520 --> 0:08:32.319 it comes to first money memories, probably my first money 0:08:32.320 --> 0:08:36.480 memory is my parents had like this, this cardboard cut 0:08:36.520 --> 0:08:38.960 out with like little dimes and nickels and pennies and dollars. 0:08:38.960 --> 0:08:40.560 Did you ever have one of those where it's like 0:08:40.679 --> 0:08:42.840 it's like a little learning way to learn about money. 0:08:42.840 --> 0:08:45.880 And so I remember seeing that, and it was this 0:08:45.960 --> 0:08:48.520 tangible thing where I got to group them and do 0:08:48.600 --> 0:08:50.600 addition of attraction and kind of get to figure out 0:08:50.600 --> 0:08:51.160 how money works. 0:08:51.160 --> 0:08:53.520 Okay, I do remember doing that. In elementary school, I 0:08:53.520 --> 0:08:53.800 had like. 0:08:53.800 --> 0:08:56.440 The same cardboard like real to learn time and stuff. 0:08:56.480 --> 0:09:00.000 So your parents like stole it from the elementary exactly, 0:09:00.120 --> 0:09:02.760 your older sister probably ganked it, and then you got 0:09:02.800 --> 0:09:03.640 to take a look at it. 0:09:03.640 --> 0:09:05.319 Sho was a bad one, you know. I learned a 0:09:05.320 --> 0:09:07.959 lot from that. So yeah, I think that was probably 0:09:08.080 --> 0:09:11.160 the most early memories I have is kind of playing 0:09:11.200 --> 0:09:15.280 with those physical cardboard cutout of money. But but then 0:09:15.559 --> 0:09:17.679 I think my kids had gi Joe's Joel. 0:09:17.520 --> 0:09:19.320 Had dollar bills on his stelf all lined up. 0:09:19.400 --> 0:09:21.880 Yeah, not necessarily, No, I was not like roomed to 0:09:21.920 --> 0:09:25.079 be some sort of personal finance nerd. But I think 0:09:25.120 --> 0:09:27.040 the other thing that sticks out in my mind when 0:09:27.040 --> 0:09:29.720 I'm thinking about the earliest memories I have of like 0:09:29.880 --> 0:09:33.320 actual money was when my parents and I had to 0:09:33.320 --> 0:09:36.240 have conversations about in particularly the shoes that I wanted 0:09:36.240 --> 0:09:39.560 to buy. I was like super into the fancy basketball 0:09:39.559 --> 0:09:42.320 shoes of the Day, the Scottie Pippens, the Michael Jordan's, 0:09:42.320 --> 0:09:44.400 all the all the good stuff that Charles Barkley's. They 0:09:44.400 --> 0:09:47.280 all had great shoes. Man, speaking of investments, if only 0:09:47.320 --> 0:09:48.800 you had gotten a couple of pairs of those and 0:09:48.920 --> 0:09:51.320 never worn them, yes, the box, I mean, you'd be 0:09:51.400 --> 0:09:54.839 a multi millionaire thousands at least, right, Yeah, so that's 0:09:54.880 --> 0:09:58.520 a good point. But yeah, having there was always a 0:09:58.520 --> 0:10:00.880 conversation between my parents and I because they said, listen, 0:10:00.880 --> 0:10:02.960 here's a limit on what we're willing to spend four 0:10:03.040 --> 0:10:05.360 shoes for you. If you want, we can get you 0:10:05.440 --> 0:10:10.160 these like rebox and you're gonna and you can wear those. 0:10:10.440 --> 0:10:13.480 But if you want those nicer shoes, you're gonna have 0:10:13.520 --> 0:10:16.080 to bring some of your own birthday or Christmas money 0:10:16.120 --> 0:10:18.240 to the table in order to make it happen. And 0:10:18.360 --> 0:10:20.880 that was the first time I think I realized trade 0:10:20.920 --> 0:10:22.760 offs and how important trade offs are when we're talking 0:10:22.760 --> 0:10:26.120 about personal finances. And sometimes occasionally I did opt for 0:10:26.160 --> 0:10:27.880 the fancy shoes. I put my money where my mouth 0:10:27.960 --> 0:10:29.400 was and I was like, this is worth it. And 0:10:29.440 --> 0:10:31.480 I still remember that Paris Scottie phupans, and they were 0:10:31.520 --> 0:10:31.920 worth it. 0:10:32.480 --> 0:10:33.800 They felt so good on your feet. 0:10:33.840 --> 0:10:36.040 They were so good. But most of the time I 0:10:36.080 --> 0:10:37.800 opted to say, I don't know, I'm gonna get the 0:10:38.120 --> 0:10:39.680 free shoes that mom and dad are gonna buy me. 0:10:39.840 --> 0:10:41.640 But that's one of those I think first memories I 0:10:41.640 --> 0:10:43.400 had where it was like, I have a decision and 0:10:43.480 --> 0:10:46.360 I have money that I can choose whether or not 0:10:46.559 --> 0:10:47.680 this is worth it or not to me. 0:10:47.800 --> 0:10:49.520 Yeah. Well, I mean I love what your parents did 0:10:49.520 --> 0:10:52.680 there as well, because essentially what they're doing is matching you, right, 0:10:52.679 --> 0:10:54.440 like they're kind of meeting you. I don't know exactly 0:10:54.440 --> 0:10:57.160 how much they're willing to bring to the table, but 0:10:57.200 --> 0:10:59.719 the ability for them to kind of incentivize you to 0:11:00.200 --> 0:11:02.719 alter your spending, your behavior a little bit, because you 0:11:02.720 --> 0:11:04.360 could have taken out money and been like, yeah, I 0:11:04.400 --> 0:11:06.360 really want those shoes, and then you go blow the 0:11:06.360 --> 0:11:09.880 rest of the money on your Sega Dreamcast or whatever. 0:11:10.400 --> 0:11:12.839 I remember you buying from the yard zale or something. 0:11:13.480 --> 0:11:16.360 But yeah, because I love when parents are able to 0:11:16.640 --> 0:11:20.400 mimic the different types of patterns and behaviors that were 0:11:20.440 --> 0:11:22.920 going to encounter in real life, right, Yeah, And so this, 0:11:23.120 --> 0:11:24.760 I mean, I love that your parents did that, and 0:11:24.800 --> 0:11:26.280 I look forward to being able to do that with 0:11:26.400 --> 0:11:28.200 you know, with my kids. I'm sure you're looking forward 0:11:28.200 --> 0:11:30.960 to doing the same as our kids get older. Oh yeah, 0:11:31.000 --> 0:11:31.960 so kind of moving along. 0:11:32.000 --> 0:11:32.160 You know. 0:11:32.160 --> 0:11:34.880 One of the things that I think is really impressive 0:11:35.160 --> 0:11:37.560 about you is the number of different, like different jobs 0:11:37.679 --> 0:11:40.720 that I've heard you had while you're in high school. 0:11:40.840 --> 0:11:42.680 Like I only worked at the local golf course, but 0:11:42.720 --> 0:11:46.000 you had a quite varied work history. So yeah, tell 0:11:46.080 --> 0:11:48.560 us about that, and specifically, did you have a favorite 0:11:48.720 --> 0:11:52.080 job that you held? Okay, so yeah, I had a 0:11:52.120 --> 0:11:55.319 bunch of different jobs growing up, and some of them 0:11:55.320 --> 0:11:57.439 before the age where you're legally allowed to work just 0:11:57.480 --> 0:11:59.880 stuff in the neighborhood, like mowing lawns, right and that 0:12:00.000 --> 0:12:02.120 it was like literally my first introduction to making my 0:12:02.160 --> 0:12:04.920 own money, and that was empowering. And my dad was 0:12:05.240 --> 0:12:07.280 just a big help in helping me get that business 0:12:07.320 --> 0:12:09.559 off the ground, Like had just a few yards in 0:12:09.600 --> 0:12:11.880 the neighborhood, and he was always willing to help me 0:12:11.880 --> 0:12:14.440 on a Saturday, which is huge. Like he wasn't just like, 0:12:14.640 --> 0:12:16.280 all right, go pound the pavement, son, he was like, 0:12:16.520 --> 0:12:18.120 I know, he was dead tired from working all week, 0:12:18.200 --> 0:12:19.960 and he still came with me to mow those lines, 0:12:19.960 --> 0:12:23.960 which I yeah, major props to my pops. But yeah. Then, 0:12:24.240 --> 0:12:26.720 at at fourteen, the earliest age you could start working 0:12:26.720 --> 0:12:28.760 in the state of Georgia, I started working at Chick 0:12:28.840 --> 0:12:31.040 fil A, and right across the street from my high 0:12:31.080 --> 0:12:32.520 school was the easiest place to get to, so I 0:12:32.559 --> 0:12:35.280 could walk straight across and work for three hours before 0:12:35.360 --> 0:12:37.520 I would go home for the evening. And I still 0:12:37.520 --> 0:12:40.120 remember my starting wage five dollars and fifteen cents an hour, 0:12:40.559 --> 0:12:42.120 which was the bare minimum you were allowed to. 0:12:42.080 --> 0:12:44.319 Get paid, the far cry from what they're paying today. 0:12:44.360 --> 0:12:48.160 But I think my favorite job overall in those years between, 0:12:48.280 --> 0:12:51.720 like you know, growing up and then getting to college 0:12:51.760 --> 0:12:54.240 was working at the Eckerd Photo Lab. Okay, that was 0:12:54.280 --> 0:12:57.160 just like a fun job where I was like getting 0:12:57.200 --> 0:12:59.120 to interact with people who had just gone on vacation 0:12:59.200 --> 0:13:01.320 and they turned in their phone. And do people even 0:13:01.360 --> 0:13:03.680 still do that anymore? I don't think. So there's not 0:13:03.720 --> 0:13:04.559 like a photo person. 0:13:04.559 --> 0:13:06.600 Well they do. I mean they've got the printers, but 0:13:06.679 --> 0:13:08.760 you just sent in. They don't bring in the roles 0:13:08.760 --> 0:13:10.800 of film exactly. They send it in from their phone. 0:13:10.840 --> 0:13:14.040 But me, I was like manning the machine and changing 0:13:14.880 --> 0:13:17.760 changing tones. I got like an old school version of photoshop, 0:13:18.160 --> 0:13:19.760 and then I would get to talk to people about 0:13:19.760 --> 0:13:20.200 the photos I. 0:13:20.200 --> 0:13:22.520 Had seen because you'd seen it and you kind of 0:13:22.600 --> 0:13:24.520 know who's about to walk into exactly because you've been 0:13:24.520 --> 0:13:25.320 staring at pictures of them. 0:13:25.400 --> 0:13:27.240 Yeah, I'm like, hey, Rome looked like it was fun. 0:13:27.320 --> 0:13:28.040 Huh how about it? 0:13:28.120 --> 0:13:30.959 They're like, dude, stop being a cream So that was a. 0:13:30.880 --> 0:13:33.160 Fun trying not to be the Robin Williams from One 0:13:33.160 --> 0:13:33.760 Hour Photos. 0:13:33.840 --> 0:13:36.880 But I mean, so you just enjoyed that. That was 0:13:36.920 --> 0:13:38.360 just a I mean, they sounded like it was fun 0:13:38.400 --> 0:13:41.200 from a social standpoint, and knowing you, obviously that doesn't 0:13:41.240 --> 0:13:42.000 surprise me at all. 0:13:42.080 --> 0:13:43.480 Yeah, I just got The way I got to interact 0:13:43.480 --> 0:13:45.040 with people was probably the most fun part of that. 0:13:45.040 --> 0:13:47.040 Did you did you ever have like a really amazing 0:13:47.080 --> 0:13:50.680 boss or manager who? I don't know. I feel that 0:13:50.800 --> 0:13:52.400 in the past when I look back to some of 0:13:52.440 --> 0:13:54.840 the different folks who influenced me, they were always really 0:13:54.840 --> 0:13:57.640 good teachers. And so for me, for whatever reason, that's 0:13:57.679 --> 0:14:00.520 something that would stand out to me is the ability 0:14:00.559 --> 0:14:03.960 to not just do the job and get some stuff done, 0:14:03.960 --> 0:14:06.480 but the ability to grow as an individual and to learn. 0:14:06.880 --> 0:14:08.840 I'm curious if you had some different jobs where you 0:14:08.880 --> 0:14:10.560 had an individual that stood out to you. 0:14:10.800 --> 0:14:12.880 I feel like I've always been lucky to work for 0:14:13.120 --> 0:14:15.120 awesome people for the most part. Like, there are a 0:14:15.160 --> 0:14:16.720 couple of bosses I can pull back to and be like, 0:14:16.760 --> 0:14:21.840 not my favorite, but for the most part, they were great, honestly, 0:14:21.840 --> 0:14:23.840 And it was one of those good situations where when 0:14:23.840 --> 0:14:27.680 you're fourteen fifteen and you're completely immature, you need someone 0:14:27.680 --> 0:14:29.280 who's going to give you like a whole lot of 0:14:29.320 --> 0:14:31.760 grace as they're kind of helping you grow up into 0:14:31.760 --> 0:14:34.840 an adult. And that was just a great learning experience 0:14:34.840 --> 0:14:37.000 for me having a job early on. But yeah, I 0:14:37.040 --> 0:14:39.840 think the managers there were super helpful and it was 0:14:39.840 --> 0:14:40.640 a great experience. 0:14:41.200 --> 0:14:41.560 I don't know. 0:14:41.600 --> 0:14:44.240 Probably my favorite boss was at the radio station I 0:14:44.240 --> 0:14:47.360 worked at for like fourteen fifteen years, and just because 0:14:47.400 --> 0:14:49.440 he was such an encourager and he was such a 0:14:49.480 --> 0:14:52.960 believer in your talent and abilities, and he was always 0:14:53.040 --> 0:14:56.800 encouraging not just me, everybody in the building about what 0:14:56.840 --> 0:14:59.040 they could do. And I remember reading something actually from 0:14:59.040 --> 0:15:01.560 a friend recently who she she is a writer and 0:15:01.560 --> 0:15:04.120 she writes all the time, and she points back to 0:15:04.240 --> 0:15:06.080 pointing back recently to this high school teacher who told 0:15:06.080 --> 0:15:08.080 her you're a great writer and like you can do this, 0:15:08.440 --> 0:15:11.680 and net still is in her mind, motivating her to 0:15:11.720 --> 0:15:13.520 write to this day, and I think interesting, I look 0:15:13.560 --> 0:15:15.200 back to some of those conversations when I was working 0:15:15.240 --> 0:15:17.920 at the radio station and my boss saying like, you 0:15:18.000 --> 0:15:20.080 got this, You've got talent, and like you need to 0:15:20.160 --> 0:15:22.880 keep working at this, but like, I like what you're doing, 0:15:23.200 --> 0:15:26.000 and that goes a long way in helping foster someone's career. 0:15:26.040 --> 0:15:27.520 And if you can be that person, I think to 0:15:28.080 --> 0:15:30.560 tell somebody that they're on the right path or that 0:15:30.600 --> 0:15:32.720 you like what they're doing, you never know how far 0:15:32.760 --> 0:15:34.120 those words of encouragement are going to go. 0:15:34.160 --> 0:15:36.320 That's funny. Yeah, as you were saying that about your 0:15:36.360 --> 0:15:37.800 friend who was a writer, it made me think back 0:15:37.840 --> 0:15:40.240 to when I was in college. One of my professor 0:15:40.600 --> 0:15:43.640 I was taking advertising classes. I remember her specifically talking 0:15:43.640 --> 0:15:46.760 about photography because essentially we had to come up with 0:15:46.760 --> 0:15:49.600 our own little campaign and she's like, hey, this is 0:15:49.880 --> 0:15:52.440 a pretty great concept. You know, the headline, like the 0:15:52.480 --> 0:15:55.920 copy is great, but these images are awesome. She's like, 0:15:56.000 --> 0:15:58.160 have you ever thought about photography? And thinking back, I 0:15:58.200 --> 0:16:00.000 realized that maybe that may have been what kind of 0:16:00.240 --> 0:16:03.480 pointed me in the direction of focusing more on photography. 0:16:03.480 --> 0:16:05.760 As I got into graphic design, it always had a 0:16:05.800 --> 0:16:08.840 more photographic lean to it, and then obviously it got 0:16:08.880 --> 0:16:11.240 into photography as well. And we are actually going to 0:16:11.280 --> 0:16:13.280 talk more about, you know, your history there at the 0:16:13.400 --> 0:16:15.760 radio station. I think I'm going to have a question 0:16:15.800 --> 0:16:19.160 maybe about the same boss who you mentioned perhaps, But 0:16:19.720 --> 0:16:21.640 before we get to that though, like before we get 0:16:21.680 --> 0:16:23.400 to that stage of your life, you know, I think, 0:16:23.720 --> 0:16:25.720 like here on the show, you've only really just touched 0:16:25.720 --> 0:16:28.200 on the fact that, like, it wasn't all smooth sailing 0:16:28.360 --> 0:16:30.080 at home as a kid when it came to money. 0:16:30.640 --> 0:16:32.200 Do you want to share you know, what I've heard 0:16:32.200 --> 0:16:35.520 you described before as perhaps your most pivotal money moment. 0:16:36.080 --> 0:16:38.200 Sure, yeah, I mean I think this is really when, 0:16:38.600 --> 0:16:42.600 if there is a inflection point in my personal finance trajectory, 0:16:42.640 --> 0:16:46.080 it was growing up age basically twelve or thirteen, when 0:16:46.680 --> 0:16:50.520 my parents ended up filing for bankruptcy. And at the 0:16:50.520 --> 0:16:55.000