WEBVTT - What does it cost to be you?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is to figure out what it costs to be you.

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<v Speaker 1>How much money is required to fund your life and

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<v Speaker 1>your family's life in the way you'd like to live it.

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<v Speaker 1>When you know this, you can make smarter choices about

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<v Speaker 1>your finances and know what you need to aim for

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<v Speaker 1>if there's a way you'd like to live in the future.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip comes from Bobby Rebel, a certified financial planner

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<v Speaker 1>and author of the book Launching Financial Grownups. Bobby was

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<v Speaker 1>a guest on my other podcast, Best of Both Worlds,

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<v Speaker 1>and she suggested people ask this question, what does it

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<v Speaker 1>cost to be you? In other words, what do you

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<v Speaker 1>spend to cross all purposes and categories to lead your life? Rent, childcare, vacations,

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<v Speaker 1>dog walking, gym membership, makeup, groceries, insurance premiums and everything else. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>I know on some level that this is just getting

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<v Speaker 1>at the old fashioned concept of a budget. People who

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<v Speaker 1>are wise with their money tend to know exactly what

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<v Speaker 1>is coming in and what is going out. But I

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<v Speaker 1>think this question what does it cost to be you?

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<v Speaker 1>Is a slightly better way to frame this matter because

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<v Speaker 1>it can be more aspirational as well. Let's say you

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<v Speaker 1>figured out what it costs to be you. You have

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<v Speaker 1>added up all your expenses and recurring payments and four

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<v Speaker 1>one K contributions and so forth. The good news is

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<v Speaker 1>that this amount is slightly less than what you and

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<v Speaker 1>any other adult household members bring in after taxes. Excellent. However,

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<v Speaker 1>you and these other adult household members would like to

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<v Speaker 1>start traveling internationally with your kids to see the world

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<v Speaker 1>before everyone moves out. Ideally, what it costs to be

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<v Speaker 1>you in the future will be higher because you're hoping

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<v Speaker 1>that you as an entity includes two international family trips

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<v Speaker 1>per year. So you price this out, add on whatever

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<v Speaker 1>the taxes would be to gross it up, and now

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<v Speaker 1>you have a different number. This is what it costs

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<v Speaker 1>to be ideal future you. To live the life you'd like,

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<v Speaker 1>you need to bring in this new number between the

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<v Speaker 1>two of you, so you can start looking for ways

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<v Speaker 1>to make that happen, or perhaps one of you would

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<v Speaker 1>like to take a year off of work. When you

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<v Speaker 1>know what it costs to be you as a family,

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<v Speaker 1>you can figure out if you can still have that

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<v Speaker 1>number without one person's income. Is the other person's income

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<v Speaker 1>sufficient maybe? If not, will savings cover it without compromising

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<v Speaker 1>all other goals? If so, amazing. If not, then the

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<v Speaker 1>family will either have to revise what it costs to

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<v Speaker 1>be them or figure out ways to replace that income

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<v Speaker 1>or save it up. Or maybe the party that wants

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<v Speaker 1>to take time off work can take a little less time,

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<v Speaker 1>but you won't be guessing about what is feasible. The

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<v Speaker 1>point is to make these decisions in a more rational way.

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<v Speaker 1>Money can be a source of a lot of angst.

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<v Speaker 1>But when you know what it costs to be you

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<v Speaker 1>and what it costs for your family to live in

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<v Speaker 1>the way you'd like, then you can make mature decisions

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<v Speaker 1>about how to bring in that amount of money. The

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<v Speaker 1>good news is that it may be possible to bring

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<v Speaker 1>in more money in various ways, but that is an

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<v Speaker 1>entirely different subject for a different episode. In any case,

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<v Speaker 1>just like knowing where your time goes, knowing where your

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<v Speaker 1>money goes is a tool that can help you design

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<v Speaker 1>the life you want. If you figure out what it

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<v Speaker 1>costs to be you, I'd love to hear your insights.

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<v Speaker 1>You can reach me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com.

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<v Speaker 1>In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and

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<v Speaker 1>here's to making the most of our time. Thanks for

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<v Speaker 1>listening to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback,

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<v Speaker 1>you can reach me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com.

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts

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