1 00:00:06,160 --> 00:00:09,080 Speaker 1: Hey, Hey, via fam It's Mandy here with another episode 2 00:00:09,119 --> 00:00:11,320 Speaker 1: of the B, A Q and A. This is the 3 00:00:11,360 --> 00:00:14,440 Speaker 1: episode where we take all of your lovely questions and 4 00:00:14,480 --> 00:00:17,159 Speaker 1: try to give you a lowercase A answer. Okay, you 5 00:00:17,200 --> 00:00:19,479 Speaker 1: know you guys, when I take your questions, I'm just 6 00:00:19,480 --> 00:00:22,840 Speaker 1: giving you off the dome responses. So take everything with 7 00:00:22,920 --> 00:00:25,599 Speaker 1: a giant like palmful of salt based salt. You know 8 00:00:25,680 --> 00:00:27,840 Speaker 1: what I mean by that. And this is all just 9 00:00:27,880 --> 00:00:31,640 Speaker 1: meant to be fun informational. Don't forget that you can 10 00:00:31,720 --> 00:00:33,839 Speaker 1: remain anonymous, so give us you know, you can tell 11 00:00:33,920 --> 00:00:35,800 Speaker 1: us your business, but we won't actually put your name 12 00:00:35,800 --> 00:00:37,519 Speaker 1: out there. So just let us know if you want 13 00:00:37,560 --> 00:00:41,080 Speaker 1: to remain anonymous. Submit your question to us at Brownambition 14 00:00:41,240 --> 00:00:44,519 Speaker 1: podcast dot com or hit us up through IG. We 15 00:00:44,560 --> 00:00:48,199 Speaker 1: are at Brand Ambission Podcast on the Gram. All right, 16 00:00:48,280 --> 00:00:52,760 Speaker 1: let's dive into these questions. First question from IG. We'll 17 00:00:52,800 --> 00:00:56,800 Speaker 1: call this listener Sam. Sam says. Sam says, what is 18 00:00:56,840 --> 00:01:00,120 Speaker 1: better renting or buying a house? Oh? Sam, I feel 19 00:01:00,160 --> 00:01:03,560 Speaker 1: like this is the perennial question on everyone's mind all 20 00:01:03,600 --> 00:01:06,640 Speaker 1: of the time, and it kind of depends on a 21 00:01:06,680 --> 00:01:10,080 Speaker 1: couple of different things. One, it depends on the and 22 00:01:10,080 --> 00:01:12,480 Speaker 1: I will say the economy, but also the economy in 23 00:01:12,520 --> 00:01:17,440 Speaker 1: your area, the local housing economy, and financially, the second 24 00:01:17,640 --> 00:01:20,920 Speaker 1: huge contributing factor to whether it makes sense to rent 25 00:01:21,000 --> 00:01:22,800 Speaker 1: or buy our house is what do you want to 26 00:01:22,800 --> 00:01:25,320 Speaker 1: do and what makes sense for your financial picture. I 27 00:01:25,319 --> 00:01:27,640 Speaker 1: think what I love about a lot of the advice 28 00:01:27,880 --> 00:01:31,319 Speaker 1: and conversations around home ownership these days is there's a 29 00:01:31,319 --> 00:01:35,360 Speaker 1: lot more appetite to not force people into prescribing to 30 00:01:35,400 --> 00:01:38,839 Speaker 1: this vision of oh, I need to get a house. 31 00:01:38,880 --> 00:01:40,960 Speaker 1: I have to be a homeowner in order to build 32 00:01:40,959 --> 00:01:43,959 Speaker 1: wealth or to be a proper adult. Right, that's just 33 00:01:44,200 --> 00:01:46,600 Speaker 1: bs and we all know it when it comes to 34 00:01:46,640 --> 00:01:49,360 Speaker 1: deciding whether to buy or rent. And by the way, 35 00:01:49,360 --> 00:01:51,800 Speaker 1: this was me four or five years ago when we 36 00:01:51,880 --> 00:01:54,600 Speaker 1: bought this house. I was exactly where you are, and 37 00:01:54,640 --> 00:01:57,320 Speaker 1: I was like, what is the right decision? This is 38 00:01:57,440 --> 00:02:01,040 Speaker 1: very stressful. We ultimately decided to stop renting and buy 39 00:02:01,080 --> 00:02:04,040 Speaker 1: a house. And I'll kind of talk you through my 40 00:02:04,320 --> 00:02:08,680 Speaker 1: train of thought there at the time, in our local economy, 41 00:02:09,040 --> 00:02:12,120 Speaker 1: there were some houses that we could get at an 42 00:02:12,160 --> 00:02:15,639 Speaker 1: affordable price that fit the bill for what we wanted 43 00:02:15,680 --> 00:02:17,960 Speaker 1: out of our lifestyle. We wanted to be close to 44 00:02:18,000 --> 00:02:19,920 Speaker 1: the city. So I live outside of New York. Now. 45 00:02:20,160 --> 00:02:21,800 Speaker 1: We wanted to be close enough to the city to 46 00:02:21,840 --> 00:02:24,000 Speaker 1: commute to work, which is like, Lol, no one does 47 00:02:24,000 --> 00:02:25,640 Speaker 1: that anymore. That's not true. A lot of people do. 48 00:02:26,040 --> 00:02:28,720 Speaker 1: But yes, we were concerned about being close enough to 49 00:02:28,720 --> 00:02:31,520 Speaker 1: the city so where commute wouldn't be hell, finding a 50 00:02:31,600 --> 00:02:34,160 Speaker 1: home that we could put our own stamp on with 51 00:02:34,400 --> 00:02:37,520 Speaker 1: doing our own you know, remodels, renovations, things like that, 52 00:02:37,560 --> 00:02:40,799 Speaker 1: because of course, we were always watching HGTV, which is 53 00:02:40,840 --> 00:02:42,560 Speaker 1: what you do when you're thinking about buying a house 54 00:02:43,040 --> 00:02:44,800 Speaker 1: and then you think you're a property brother and you 55 00:02:44,840 --> 00:02:46,600 Speaker 1: can just you know, renovate it on your own. But 56 00:02:46,760 --> 00:02:49,760 Speaker 1: I digress. So we wanted we wanted to find a place. 57 00:02:49,760 --> 00:02:52,320 Speaker 1: It had to be the right fit for us location wise, 58 00:02:52,360 --> 00:02:55,440 Speaker 1: so close to the city, not too far. We also 59 00:02:55,480 --> 00:02:57,520 Speaker 1: wanted something within our price points, so we got really 60 00:02:57,560 --> 00:02:59,880 Speaker 1: clear on how much we were willing to pay. I 61 00:03:00,200 --> 00:03:02,880 Speaker 1: kind of went off of what what mortgage payment can 62 00:03:02,880 --> 00:03:06,840 Speaker 1: I afford? Okay, and we decided like something near or 63 00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:09,680 Speaker 1: a little bit over our rent would be doable, and 64 00:03:09,720 --> 00:03:12,200 Speaker 1: that was comfortable for us to be able to pay 65 00:03:12,240 --> 00:03:14,680 Speaker 1: with one income. Just in I always like to be 66 00:03:14,720 --> 00:03:17,120 Speaker 1: prepared and kind of think, well, what if one of 67 00:03:17,200 --> 00:03:19,600 Speaker 1: us loses our job. At the time, we were both 68 00:03:19,680 --> 00:03:24,160 Speaker 1: working full time for businesses, so it was possible, right, 69 00:03:24,200 --> 00:03:26,760 Speaker 1: And my husband works for the government, so really I 70 00:03:26,800 --> 00:03:29,120 Speaker 1: tried to base it off of his salary because you know, 71 00:03:29,400 --> 00:03:32,760 Speaker 1: government jobs so stable, blah blah blah all that. But anyway, 72 00:03:33,000 --> 00:03:35,320 Speaker 1: I've tried to come up with a monthly budget and 73 00:03:35,360 --> 00:03:37,600 Speaker 1: then kind of work my way back my way into 74 00:03:37,600 --> 00:03:41,240 Speaker 1: how much house we could afford from there, and ooh, 75 00:03:41,280 --> 00:03:43,880 Speaker 1: when I tell you you think you can afford something, 76 00:03:43,880 --> 00:03:48,040 Speaker 1: and then you forget about property taxes, right, so, oh man, 77 00:03:48,080 --> 00:03:51,360 Speaker 1: the property taxes here are wild. So I would definitely 78 00:03:51,560 --> 00:03:55,080 Speaker 1: also factor in like what's your total household expense for 79 00:03:55,160 --> 00:03:57,520 Speaker 1: the month, so how much mortgage could you afford, and 80 00:03:57,560 --> 00:03:59,280 Speaker 1: then kind of try to get a sense of what 81 00:03:59,360 --> 00:04:02,440 Speaker 1: property tax like in your area too, to give you 82 00:04:02,600 --> 00:04:06,280 Speaker 1: a real realistic picture of what your housing costs could be. 83 00:04:06,840 --> 00:04:08,520 Speaker 1: And then from there, once we knew kind of how 84 00:04:08,560 --> 00:04:11,360 Speaker 1: much house we could afford and what kind of house 85 00:04:11,400 --> 00:04:13,840 Speaker 1: we wanted and where we wanted it at, then it 86 00:04:13,920 --> 00:04:18,520 Speaker 1: was just about really wheedling, whittling down the list of 87 00:04:18,680 --> 00:04:21,679 Speaker 1: options and filtering it down. And the good thing about 88 00:04:21,720 --> 00:04:24,640 Speaker 1: being so cheap and an extremely expensive market like New 89 00:04:24,720 --> 00:04:27,080 Speaker 1: York is that our options were very few. Right, So 90 00:04:27,320 --> 00:04:29,200 Speaker 1: once we found a house that fit our budget and 91 00:04:29,240 --> 00:04:32,560 Speaker 1: the other sort of metrics, then we stopped renting and 92 00:04:32,600 --> 00:04:36,039 Speaker 1: we bought the house. Okay, that is what I can say. 93 00:04:36,120 --> 00:04:39,520 Speaker 1: It made financial sense for us, It made sense for 94 00:04:39,560 --> 00:04:42,120 Speaker 1: what we needed. It was a house that fit our needs, 95 00:04:42,279 --> 00:04:44,200 Speaker 1: and those are the reasons that we got it. And 96 00:04:44,279 --> 00:04:48,160 Speaker 1: for no other reasons. Could we control the economy. No. 97 00:04:48,720 --> 00:04:52,039 Speaker 1: That's why I think it really is important to only 98 00:04:52,320 --> 00:04:54,960 Speaker 1: buy what you can afford. And it's true since the 99 00:04:55,000 --> 00:04:58,400 Speaker 1: housing crisis of the early two thousands, banks and lenders 100 00:04:58,400 --> 00:05:00,320 Speaker 1: have gotten a lot better because they've been for to 101 00:05:00,480 --> 00:05:04,080 Speaker 1: buy legislation and by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, But 102 00:05:04,120 --> 00:05:06,000 Speaker 1: they have been forced to get a lot better themselves 103 00:05:06,000 --> 00:05:08,760 Speaker 1: that only letting people borrow what they can afford to repay. 104 00:05:09,200 --> 00:05:11,520 Speaker 1: So it's a lot harder to get too much house, 105 00:05:11,640 --> 00:05:14,479 Speaker 1: more house that you can afford these days. That being said, 106 00:05:14,600 --> 00:05:17,440 Speaker 1: like you can still do like even though your lender 107 00:05:17,560 --> 00:05:20,119 Speaker 1: says your approved for X amount of money, it doesn't 108 00:05:20,120 --> 00:05:22,479 Speaker 1: mean you have to buy a house for that much money. Okay, 109 00:05:22,520 --> 00:05:24,839 Speaker 1: it's okay to get it's okay to get the smaller 110 00:05:24,839 --> 00:05:27,800 Speaker 1: house for a little bit less and give yourself that 111 00:05:27,839 --> 00:05:30,840 Speaker 1: wiggle room. And for us especially, I didn't know four 112 00:05:30,920 --> 00:05:33,000 Speaker 1: or five years ago that I'd be launching my own business, 113 00:05:33,360 --> 00:05:36,279 Speaker 1: but as sure as hell, was relieved to know. And 114 00:05:36,320 --> 00:05:37,840 Speaker 1: that's part of the reason why I was able to 115 00:05:37,880 --> 00:05:40,640 Speaker 1: step out of my own you know, when I did, 116 00:05:40,880 --> 00:05:45,200 Speaker 1: is because our housing expenses were not such a massive 117 00:05:45,320 --> 00:05:49,880 Speaker 1: part of our household budget that I felt chained or 118 00:05:50,279 --> 00:05:52,920 Speaker 1: kind of locked down to having this particular job at 119 00:05:52,920 --> 00:05:57,200 Speaker 1: that particular salary. We gave ourselves that flexibility, and I'm 120 00:05:57,240 --> 00:06:00,240 Speaker 1: so grateful that we did, because you may have have 121 00:06:00,320 --> 00:06:03,760 Speaker 1: the job that pays you know, X amount of money now, 122 00:06:03,800 --> 00:06:05,760 Speaker 1: but what if in five ten years from now, you're 123 00:06:05,800 --> 00:06:07,680 Speaker 1: not happy anymore, or you want to take a pay 124 00:06:07,720 --> 00:06:09,400 Speaker 1: cut to do something else, or you want to launch 125 00:06:09,400 --> 00:06:11,919 Speaker 1: your own business or whatever. You want to buy a 126 00:06:11,960 --> 00:06:15,320 Speaker 1: camper van like everyone's doing and go, you know, around 127 00:06:15,320 --> 00:06:16,960 Speaker 1: the country living out of a camper van and not 128 00:06:17,040 --> 00:06:19,520 Speaker 1: my style, but you know, to each his own. You 129 00:06:19,839 --> 00:06:24,400 Speaker 1: have that flexibility if you create a budget that gives 130 00:06:24,440 --> 00:06:27,880 Speaker 1: you some room, okay, some room to wiggle around. What 131 00:06:27,920 --> 00:06:30,479 Speaker 1: else can I say about renting or buy us that's it. 132 00:06:30,800 --> 00:06:33,320 Speaker 1: Rent if you want to rent and buy. When you 133 00:06:33,320 --> 00:06:35,320 Speaker 1: want to buy, pay attention to what's happening in your 134 00:06:35,320 --> 00:06:39,599 Speaker 1: local economy, pay attention to you know. And if you're 135 00:06:39,600 --> 00:06:43,240 Speaker 1: in a place right now since the pandemic where how's 136 00:06:43,279 --> 00:06:46,160 Speaker 1: how's price? Home prices have just been insane and nothing 137 00:06:46,200 --> 00:06:48,440 Speaker 1: seems affordable and you can't find a house that ticks 138 00:06:48,440 --> 00:06:52,640 Speaker 1: all your boxes, then just wait, wait, or potentially pursue 139 00:06:53,080 --> 00:06:57,279 Speaker 1: home ownership in another area. But I definitely wouldn't want 140 00:06:57,320 --> 00:07:00,840 Speaker 1: anyone to buy a house before they're ready, or a 141 00:07:00,880 --> 00:07:04,960 Speaker 1: house that doesn't make sense for their financial goals. You're 142 00:07:04,960 --> 00:07:06,560 Speaker 1: the one who wants to live in the house at 143 00:07:06,560 --> 00:07:09,000 Speaker 1: the end of the day, and you're the name who's 144 00:07:09,400 --> 00:07:11,440 Speaker 1: your name's gonna be on the mortgage payment each month, 145 00:07:11,520 --> 00:07:15,000 Speaker 1: So that decision has to come from you and no 146 00:07:15,240 --> 00:07:19,320 Speaker 1: one else. All right, Sam, thank you so much for 147 00:07:19,360 --> 00:07:22,840 Speaker 1: your question. Let me get to question number two. Oh 148 00:07:22,880 --> 00:07:26,000 Speaker 1: the boys are out today. This question comes from listeners 149 00:07:26,080 --> 00:07:29,360 Speaker 1: Brian the boy the men's are here all right? So 150 00:07:29,480 --> 00:07:33,920 Speaker 1: Brian says, let's say someone's credit is under six hundred, 151 00:07:34,120 --> 00:07:37,040 Speaker 1: would there be any benefits to them being added as 152 00:07:37,080 --> 00:07:41,280 Speaker 1: an authorized user on another's credit card account whose credit 153 00:07:41,280 --> 00:07:44,800 Speaker 1: score is over seven hundred? Would there be any negative 154 00:07:44,840 --> 00:07:48,440 Speaker 1: credit effects in doing so to the person whose credit 155 00:07:48,480 --> 00:07:51,800 Speaker 1: score is over seven hundred? Okay, So we've got two 156 00:07:51,880 --> 00:07:56,040 Speaker 1: hypothetical people here. Someone's got poor credit, their credit is 157 00:07:56,160 --> 00:07:59,200 Speaker 1: under six hundred, and then they're wanting to become an 158 00:07:59,240 --> 00:08:02,560 Speaker 1: authorized user or on someone's account who's got great credit 159 00:08:02,840 --> 00:08:05,600 Speaker 1: seven hundred and above. And so the question is like, basically, 160 00:08:05,680 --> 00:08:07,880 Speaker 1: what are the benefits of that? And then is there 161 00:08:07,920 --> 00:08:10,800 Speaker 1: any risk to the person with good credit to have 162 00:08:10,880 --> 00:08:14,960 Speaker 1: someone piggyback on them who has crappy credit? Okay, fun question. 163 00:08:15,120 --> 00:08:17,520 Speaker 1: So let's talk about being an authorized user. So there's 164 00:08:17,520 --> 00:08:21,200 Speaker 1: a couple of ways to share credit responsibility and credit 165 00:08:21,240 --> 00:08:26,120 Speaker 1: card usage with another person, authorized user or joint account holder. 166 00:08:26,560 --> 00:08:29,000 Speaker 1: The main difference between those two is that when you're 167 00:08:29,040 --> 00:08:31,680 Speaker 1: an authorized user, you're able to use the card, but 168 00:08:31,760 --> 00:08:35,680 Speaker 1: you don't actually have ultimate responsibility for the payments. A 169 00:08:35,840 --> 00:08:40,240 Speaker 1: joint account holder is when two people have joint responsibility 170 00:08:40,240 --> 00:08:42,520 Speaker 1: for the payments. So if one person stops making payments 171 00:08:42,559 --> 00:08:44,320 Speaker 1: the other one they're going to come for you. Okay. 172 00:08:44,840 --> 00:08:48,440 Speaker 1: So authorized user. The benefit of that is it's less 173 00:08:48,520 --> 00:08:52,160 Speaker 1: risk for the person with poor credit to piggyback onto 174 00:08:52,200 --> 00:08:55,400 Speaker 1: someone with good credit. Less risk meaning they don't actually 175 00:08:55,480 --> 00:08:57,960 Speaker 1: they're not on the hook for those payments. And if 176 00:08:58,000 --> 00:09:01,080 Speaker 1: the person who actually is the primary account holder has 177 00:09:01,080 --> 00:09:04,319 Speaker 1: issues making payments, it's not they're not going to come 178 00:09:04,440 --> 00:09:07,240 Speaker 1: after the authorized user. And the benefit of being an 179 00:09:07,240 --> 00:09:10,600 Speaker 1: authorized user, which is this person's getting at, is it 180 00:09:10,600 --> 00:09:13,600 Speaker 1: can actually help you improve your credit score, so long 181 00:09:13,760 --> 00:09:17,199 Speaker 1: as the main account holder is making their payments on time. 182 00:09:17,880 --> 00:09:20,600 Speaker 1: So this is the tricky thing here. You're really trusting 183 00:09:20,720 --> 00:09:23,400 Speaker 1: that you're piggybacking, and you're like attaching yourself to someone 184 00:09:23,440 --> 00:09:26,520 Speaker 1: who's going to be responsibly using their credit card. If 185 00:09:26,559 --> 00:09:29,280 Speaker 1: they start to not responsibly use their credit card, that 186 00:09:29,320 --> 00:09:33,679 Speaker 1: could have a negative impact of course on them they themselves, 187 00:09:33,720 --> 00:09:36,520 Speaker 1: but also on you as an authorized user, because those 188 00:09:36,600 --> 00:09:40,720 Speaker 1: that credit card behavior could be reported on your credit 189 00:09:40,760 --> 00:09:45,360 Speaker 1: history as well. These are this kind of reporting will 190 00:09:45,440 --> 00:09:48,480 Speaker 1: change by credit issuers. So before you become an authorized user, 191 00:09:48,480 --> 00:09:50,960 Speaker 1: I would actually call up the credit card company and 192 00:09:51,080 --> 00:09:53,800 Speaker 1: ask them how do you guys treat authorized users? Do 193 00:09:53,840 --> 00:09:56,439 Speaker 1: you report positive And of course they're going to report 194 00:09:56,480 --> 00:09:59,079 Speaker 1: positive behavior to credit bureaus, But what about the negative 195 00:09:59,080 --> 00:10:02,120 Speaker 1: behavior because that can actually change by issuers, So definitely 196 00:10:02,120 --> 00:10:06,600 Speaker 1: call them up and get the details on that. Now, 197 00:10:06,720 --> 00:10:09,440 Speaker 1: would there be any negative effects or risk to the 198 00:10:09,480 --> 00:10:12,560 Speaker 1: person with higher credit to have someone piggyback on their 199 00:10:12,559 --> 00:10:15,160 Speaker 1: account who has poor credit. Well, as an authorized user, 200 00:10:15,559 --> 00:10:19,360 Speaker 1: you are giving that person the ability to use your 201 00:10:19,360 --> 00:10:22,000 Speaker 1: credit card, So yeah, there's a huge risk there. They 202 00:10:22,040 --> 00:10:24,280 Speaker 1: have to be able to use it responsibly. And ultimately, 203 00:10:24,360 --> 00:10:27,280 Speaker 1: if they screw things up and they charge a bunch 204 00:10:27,320 --> 00:10:29,480 Speaker 1: of crap to the credit card and they can't afford 205 00:10:29,559 --> 00:10:31,920 Speaker 1: to pay you for their part of the bill, then 206 00:10:31,960 --> 00:10:34,360 Speaker 1: you're on the hook for that. So what I tend 207 00:10:34,360 --> 00:10:39,520 Speaker 1: to see is people you know in relationships or like 208 00:10:39,559 --> 00:10:44,240 Speaker 1: a parent child relationship, where it authorized credit card user 209 00:10:44,280 --> 00:10:46,720 Speaker 1: makes more sense. I mean, you think you can hopefully 210 00:10:46,720 --> 00:10:49,760 Speaker 1: you can trust your kid, but yeah, there's a risk there, 211 00:10:49,840 --> 00:10:51,760 Speaker 1: and I would say if you have an authorized user 212 00:10:51,840 --> 00:10:53,560 Speaker 1: on your account, you got to watch them like a 213 00:10:53,640 --> 00:10:57,360 Speaker 1: hawk baby. Okay, it's really it's your credit on the 214 00:10:57,400 --> 00:11:00,360 Speaker 1: line at the end of the day. So it's helpful 215 00:11:00,400 --> 00:11:03,040 Speaker 1: for the person who needs you to improve their credit, 216 00:11:03,080 --> 00:11:05,559 Speaker 1: and I think it's a great you know a tool 217 00:11:05,640 --> 00:11:08,000 Speaker 1: and a strategy for that, but there's got to be 218 00:11:08,080 --> 00:11:12,440 Speaker 1: mutual respect and trust. And I think the person whose 219 00:11:12,520 --> 00:11:14,080 Speaker 1: names on that bill at the end of the month, 220 00:11:14,400 --> 00:11:16,400 Speaker 1: do not take your eye off of that credit card 221 00:11:16,440 --> 00:11:19,040 Speaker 1: bill and make sure that you nip any shenanigans in 222 00:11:19,080 --> 00:11:21,480 Speaker 1: the bud right away, because you're the one holding the 223 00:11:21,480 --> 00:11:24,760 Speaker 1: bag at the end of the day. Okay, all right, 224 00:11:24,840 --> 00:11:26,840 Speaker 1: let me take a quick breaky break, and I'll be 225 00:11:26,960 --> 00:11:31,640 Speaker 1: right back with more BAQ and a All right, the 226 00:11:31,720 --> 00:11:34,160 Speaker 1: A fan, It's Mandy. I am back with our third 227 00:11:34,200 --> 00:11:37,080 Speaker 1: and final question for the BAQA. This week, we have 228 00:11:37,120 --> 00:11:39,800 Speaker 1: got a question from Brittany. Brittany says, Hey, I'm new 229 00:11:39,840 --> 00:11:43,320 Speaker 1: to the podcast, but I've definitely been binging. I paid 230 00:11:43,320 --> 00:11:46,240 Speaker 1: off my student loans in twenty nineteen, saved up and 231 00:11:46,280 --> 00:11:48,680 Speaker 1: bought my first home, and now I'm thinking about my 232 00:11:48,760 --> 00:11:51,720 Speaker 1: overall financial health and trying to build wealth. On a 233 00:11:51,760 --> 00:11:54,920 Speaker 1: recent episode, you mentioned you have a financial advisor. Could 234 00:11:54,960 --> 00:11:57,400 Speaker 1: you talk about where we should get one, how much 235 00:11:57,440 --> 00:11:59,640 Speaker 1: I should spend on them, and how often I should 236 00:11:59,640 --> 00:12:02,600 Speaker 1: meet them. I tried one and it really didn't work. 237 00:12:02,960 --> 00:12:05,199 Speaker 1: Then I found another one that has a flat feet 238 00:12:05,200 --> 00:12:08,440 Speaker 1: of twelve hundred and fifty dollars, which for someone who's 239 00:12:08,480 --> 00:12:13,920 Speaker 1: trying to build wealth feels counterintuitive. I would love some advice, Okay, Brittany, 240 00:12:13,920 --> 00:12:16,120 Speaker 1: I get this question a lot, and you know what, 241 00:12:16,760 --> 00:12:19,880 Speaker 1: Do I have a financial planner? Yes? But do I 242 00:12:19,920 --> 00:12:22,880 Speaker 1: think that everyone needs one? No? Even I don't need 243 00:12:22,920 --> 00:12:26,040 Speaker 1: one sometimes. I mean, I'm sure my financial advisor and 244 00:12:26,080 --> 00:12:28,160 Speaker 1: planner would tell me like, yeah, you need one, but 245 00:12:28,880 --> 00:12:32,040 Speaker 1: I don't really think that everyone needs them. I think 246 00:12:32,160 --> 00:12:34,200 Speaker 1: what was helpful for me, and the reason I got 247 00:12:34,200 --> 00:12:37,640 Speaker 1: one about when did I meet Helen like five years ago, 248 00:12:37,960 --> 00:12:41,080 Speaker 1: is because my husband and I were thinking about getting engaged. 249 00:12:41,080 --> 00:12:43,160 Speaker 1: We knew we were going towards marriage and wanting to 250 00:12:43,200 --> 00:12:46,640 Speaker 1: combine our you know, financial pictures together, and we were 251 00:12:46,720 --> 00:12:50,199 Speaker 1: kind of like not speaking the same language about our finances. 252 00:12:50,240 --> 00:12:53,720 Speaker 1: I mean, ten eleven years into our relationship now, I 253 00:12:53,800 --> 00:12:56,280 Speaker 1: just know that we're two fundamentally different people, and we 254 00:12:56,360 --> 00:13:00,760 Speaker 1: decided to make life really difficult for ourselves choosing someone 255 00:13:00,880 --> 00:13:04,200 Speaker 1: so different to us. But what really helped me was 256 00:13:04,200 --> 00:13:06,679 Speaker 1: having financial planner to kind of be that mediator between 257 00:13:06,720 --> 00:13:08,840 Speaker 1: the two of us and to help kind of like 258 00:13:09,480 --> 00:13:12,040 Speaker 1: make things less. I don't know, it just made our 259 00:13:12,080 --> 00:13:15,400 Speaker 1: conversations easier to have. We would schedule a time with Helen, 260 00:13:15,800 --> 00:13:18,720 Speaker 1: we would have a question, you know about saving for 261 00:13:18,760 --> 00:13:21,520 Speaker 1: the wedding or I know, we talked to Helen when 262 00:13:21,520 --> 00:13:24,040 Speaker 1: we were thinking about buying our first home and it 263 00:13:24,240 --> 00:13:26,679 Speaker 1: just kind of made it. We had like a referee 264 00:13:26,920 --> 00:13:30,679 Speaker 1: in the mix, and it helped my husband feel more heard, 265 00:13:30,800 --> 00:13:33,000 Speaker 1: because when you're married to Mandy Money, or you're dating 266 00:13:33,040 --> 00:13:35,360 Speaker 1: Mandy Money, it can feel a little bit like I 267 00:13:35,440 --> 00:13:37,360 Speaker 1: take a lot of like air out of the room 268 00:13:37,480 --> 00:13:40,520 Speaker 1: because I live and breathe and eat and sleep this stuff, 269 00:13:40,800 --> 00:13:42,679 Speaker 1: which made it more challenging for him to feel like, 270 00:13:42,760 --> 00:13:45,240 Speaker 1: you know, his ideas mattered and things like that, which 271 00:13:45,280 --> 00:13:48,760 Speaker 1: I understand looking back now. So that is why we 272 00:13:48,800 --> 00:13:51,240 Speaker 1: brought in a financial planner for a lot of people. 273 00:13:51,320 --> 00:13:52,960 Speaker 1: You know, let's talk about what's the point of a 274 00:13:52,960 --> 00:13:55,960 Speaker 1: financial planner and what can they actually do. So most 275 00:13:56,000 --> 00:13:59,720 Speaker 1: financial planners can be really helpful in kind of assessing 276 00:13:59,760 --> 00:14:02,760 Speaker 1: where you're at with your net worth, so how much 277 00:14:02,800 --> 00:14:06,000 Speaker 1: assets versus liabilities do you have, and then helping you 278 00:14:06,040 --> 00:14:10,240 Speaker 1: sort of strategize how to increase your net worth. So 279 00:14:10,280 --> 00:14:12,959 Speaker 1: how can we get our debt paid down? You know 280 00:14:13,040 --> 00:14:15,280 Speaker 1: what can we do to be saving more and increase 281 00:14:15,280 --> 00:14:17,839 Speaker 1: our cash flow so that we have more money to 282 00:14:17,920 --> 00:14:22,520 Speaker 1: save and invest, make some suggestions on you know, how 283 00:14:22,600 --> 00:14:25,000 Speaker 1: much to contribute to different accounts, and if you need 284 00:14:25,040 --> 00:14:28,080 Speaker 1: someone to kind of help you, just get the nice 285 00:14:28,120 --> 00:14:32,000 Speaker 1: foundation for financial success set up. That's where a financial 286 00:14:32,040 --> 00:14:35,000 Speaker 1: planner can be helpful. Another thing, and this is where 287 00:14:35,000 --> 00:14:37,840 Speaker 1: I kind of suspect this flat fee of twelve hundred 288 00:14:37,880 --> 00:14:40,840 Speaker 1: and fifty dollars is coming in, is financial planners can 289 00:14:40,880 --> 00:14:44,200 Speaker 1: give you like a full plan which kind of gives you, 290 00:14:44,240 --> 00:14:46,280 Speaker 1: like your goal for how much you want to have 291 00:14:46,320 --> 00:14:49,760 Speaker 1: saved and invested for retirement and things like that. And 292 00:14:50,240 --> 00:14:52,360 Speaker 1: that's more like here's a you know, you're going to 293 00:14:52,440 --> 00:14:54,520 Speaker 1: download a lot of information from you and then they'll 294 00:14:54,560 --> 00:14:57,840 Speaker 1: like give you this plan. I've had one of those 295 00:14:57,880 --> 00:15:01,800 Speaker 1: plans done not by Helen, but by a previous financial planner. 296 00:15:01,800 --> 00:15:04,400 Speaker 1: I actually got it through I was a personal finance 297 00:15:04,440 --> 00:15:07,760 Speaker 1: journalist and I was using a service called learn Invest, 298 00:15:07,800 --> 00:15:10,720 Speaker 1: which is now not even around anymore. But they had 299 00:15:10,760 --> 00:15:12,960 Speaker 1: a financial planner and I just decided to use them 300 00:15:13,080 --> 00:15:15,120 Speaker 1: kind of for research to see what it was like, 301 00:15:15,680 --> 00:15:17,720 Speaker 1: and I got one of those big financial plans and 302 00:15:17,760 --> 00:15:19,680 Speaker 1: when I tell you, I haven't looked at that thing, 303 00:15:19,800 --> 00:15:23,200 Speaker 1: I don't even know since one Also I was making, 304 00:15:23,320 --> 00:15:26,320 Speaker 1: you know, I don't know forty five thousand dollars at 305 00:15:26,360 --> 00:15:29,000 Speaker 1: the time, and it just a lot of that plan 306 00:15:29,640 --> 00:15:34,760 Speaker 1: didn't necessarily it didn't stay like accurate for long. My 307 00:15:34,840 --> 00:15:37,560 Speaker 1: career was just progressing. I was making these big leaps 308 00:15:37,600 --> 00:15:41,520 Speaker 1: in my pay, and that plan made sense for a 309 00:15:41,560 --> 00:15:44,920 Speaker 1: single twenty four year old, you know, making forty five 310 00:15:44,920 --> 00:15:48,040 Speaker 1: to fifty K a year, but it definitely didn't make 311 00:15:48,080 --> 00:15:50,440 Speaker 1: sense for me a few years down the line. So 312 00:15:52,480 --> 00:15:54,760 Speaker 1: I would just make sure you really understand what it 313 00:15:54,840 --> 00:15:57,280 Speaker 1: is that you're getting with an investment like that. The 314 00:15:57,360 --> 00:16:00,800 Speaker 1: financial planner that I have, we base, we just pay 315 00:16:01,480 --> 00:16:03,600 Speaker 1: for the sessions. When I decide I need a session, 316 00:16:03,600 --> 00:16:05,640 Speaker 1: I'll book one and then we pay, and it probably 317 00:16:05,680 --> 00:16:08,880 Speaker 1: amounts to a couple of times a year. And how 318 00:16:08,920 --> 00:16:12,000 Speaker 1: do you decide how much you should meet with them. 319 00:16:12,320 --> 00:16:15,280 Speaker 1: That's really up to you, and it's really up to 320 00:16:15,320 --> 00:16:18,840 Speaker 1: what kinds of goals you have and how much support 321 00:16:18,920 --> 00:16:21,560 Speaker 1: you need in achieving those goals. And I think that's 322 00:16:21,640 --> 00:16:24,440 Speaker 1: maybe not the best. That's the answer that you know 323 00:16:24,480 --> 00:16:26,240 Speaker 1: people would like because they just want me to tell 324 00:16:26,240 --> 00:16:27,840 Speaker 1: them what to do, right, But I can't do that. 325 00:16:27,880 --> 00:16:31,880 Speaker 1: It really depends on you and your personality. For myself, 326 00:16:32,320 --> 00:16:35,680 Speaker 1: I work better if I have sort of like a 327 00:16:35,720 --> 00:16:38,720 Speaker 1: big call and then I can like execute, you know, 328 00:16:39,560 --> 00:16:41,960 Speaker 1: do X, y Z, and then I'll get it done 329 00:16:42,040 --> 00:16:44,400 Speaker 1: and then you know, see you in six months or whatever. 330 00:16:44,960 --> 00:16:47,760 Speaker 1: So that works for me. If you're someone who's got 331 00:16:48,120 --> 00:16:51,920 Speaker 1: more of a complex financial picture, maybe you have children, 332 00:16:52,160 --> 00:16:57,440 Speaker 1: you have a mixed family, You've got some big goals, 333 00:16:57,520 --> 00:17:01,520 Speaker 1: you know coming up, big career changes coming up. You 334 00:17:01,560 --> 00:17:04,080 Speaker 1: may want to have a chat with a financial planner, 335 00:17:04,119 --> 00:17:06,640 Speaker 1: you know, once a quarter or once every other month, 336 00:17:06,760 --> 00:17:10,520 Speaker 1: or maybe even once a month. It all depends ultimately, 337 00:17:10,640 --> 00:17:12,959 Speaker 1: like how much you're willing to mean it will cost money, right, 338 00:17:13,000 --> 00:17:15,480 Speaker 1: this is someone's time. But I think what you should 339 00:17:15,520 --> 00:17:18,800 Speaker 1: get as an upfront expectation of what is an hour? 340 00:17:19,000 --> 00:17:20,840 Speaker 1: What is a one hour call with you? Look like, 341 00:17:21,320 --> 00:17:23,439 Speaker 1: what is the goal for that call? What am I 342 00:17:23,480 --> 00:17:26,080 Speaker 1: going to get out of that call? And because there's 343 00:17:26,119 --> 00:17:30,440 Speaker 1: so many more independent financial advisors now financial planners, they 344 00:17:30,480 --> 00:17:33,800 Speaker 1: have their own way of doing things, so unfortunately it's 345 00:17:33,840 --> 00:17:36,440 Speaker 1: not as easy to compare kind of apples to apples. 346 00:17:36,840 --> 00:17:38,800 Speaker 1: When I was searching for a financial planner, I remember 347 00:17:38,800 --> 00:17:41,960 Speaker 1: we interviewed probably three different planners until we found the 348 00:17:41,960 --> 00:17:43,719 Speaker 1: one that we felt was the best fit for us. 349 00:17:43,760 --> 00:17:47,679 Speaker 1: And it wasn't really a like a strategy there. It 350 00:17:47,720 --> 00:17:50,439 Speaker 1: was just kind of who did we think fit, Like 351 00:17:50,480 --> 00:17:52,159 Speaker 1: who do we both like because this is two of 352 00:17:52,240 --> 00:17:55,879 Speaker 1: us deciding, and who could we afford and all of that. 353 00:17:56,600 --> 00:17:59,520 Speaker 1: So all that is to say, it's what you're doing 354 00:17:59,600 --> 00:18:01,480 Speaker 1: right now now is the work that it takes to 355 00:18:01,520 --> 00:18:03,879 Speaker 1: find the right financial planner for yourself. It is to 356 00:18:04,080 --> 00:18:06,240 Speaker 1: work with different people and see how it goes, talk 357 00:18:06,280 --> 00:18:08,960 Speaker 1: to different people until you find the right fit. And 358 00:18:09,000 --> 00:18:11,240 Speaker 1: I know Tiffany has also in the past talked about 359 00:18:11,240 --> 00:18:13,960 Speaker 1: her own journey to find the right financial planner, and 360 00:18:14,000 --> 00:18:17,919 Speaker 1: she interviewed several people. So it's not easy work. And 361 00:18:17,960 --> 00:18:20,640 Speaker 1: it's not as easy as going on like a ZocDoc 362 00:18:20,680 --> 00:18:25,159 Speaker 1: and getting the best reviewed gynecologist. There's just maybe this 363 00:18:25,240 --> 00:18:28,520 Speaker 1: is a business idea, but yeah, there's no easy way 364 00:18:28,600 --> 00:18:32,439 Speaker 1: to gauge as the success of financial planners or like 365 00:18:32,440 --> 00:18:33,960 Speaker 1: who's best for you kind of have to do a 366 00:18:34,040 --> 00:18:36,560 Speaker 1: lot of the like work yourself. You can definitely ask 367 00:18:36,600 --> 00:18:40,520 Speaker 1: for referrals from friends and family and people who you 368 00:18:40,600 --> 00:18:43,040 Speaker 1: know who have had a good experience with their planner. 369 00:18:43,280 --> 00:18:44,960 Speaker 1: What else can I say about that? Oh? Right, where 370 00:18:45,000 --> 00:18:47,720 Speaker 1: did I find Helen? So? I found Helen through x 371 00:18:47,880 --> 00:18:51,119 Speaker 1: Y Planning, which is the x Y Planning network, and 372 00:18:51,240 --> 00:18:53,320 Speaker 1: at the time, they were really focusing on gen X 373 00:18:53,400 --> 00:18:55,879 Speaker 1: gen Y, which I think they still do. They have 374 00:18:55,920 --> 00:18:58,600 Speaker 1: a lot of fee only planners there, and fee only 375 00:18:58,640 --> 00:19:02,639 Speaker 1: planners will charge you a fee for their services. So, 376 00:19:02,920 --> 00:19:05,639 Speaker 1: like I said, when I have a call with Helen, 377 00:19:05,680 --> 00:19:07,439 Speaker 1: I pretty much know what it's going to cost me 378 00:19:07,480 --> 00:19:12,200 Speaker 1: and all of that, so everything is pretty transparent. And also, 379 00:19:12,480 --> 00:19:15,080 Speaker 1: if you want investment advice, like if you want someone 380 00:19:15,160 --> 00:19:17,760 Speaker 1: to tell you where to put things and give you 381 00:19:17,800 --> 00:19:20,920 Speaker 1: a plan for that, that's an additional level of service 382 00:19:20,960 --> 00:19:23,440 Speaker 1: which some financial planners can help you with if they're 383 00:19:23,440 --> 00:19:27,520 Speaker 1: a registered investment advisor. So ask those questions too, and 384 00:19:27,720 --> 00:19:30,239 Speaker 1: also ask what the fees are for those services. So 385 00:19:30,280 --> 00:19:32,240 Speaker 1: I know when I go to Helen and I'm like, Okay, 386 00:19:32,920 --> 00:19:37,439 Speaker 1: give us advice on how to diversify our investments. You 387 00:19:37,440 --> 00:19:39,439 Speaker 1: know we've been doing these an autopilot for a while. 388 00:19:39,800 --> 00:19:41,600 Speaker 1: What's your advice? I know that's going to cost me 389 00:19:41,680 --> 00:19:43,879 Speaker 1: more to get that kind of advice from her, So 390 00:19:43,960 --> 00:19:46,399 Speaker 1: I just kind of ask what's that going to cost me? 391 00:19:46,880 --> 00:19:51,400 Speaker 1: And move from there. Okay, I hope that's helpful. Brittany. 392 00:19:51,440 --> 00:19:53,440 Speaker 1: Thank you so much for listening, and you're a new listener, 393 00:19:53,480 --> 00:19:55,719 Speaker 1: so welcome to the show. Thank you so much for 394 00:19:55,760 --> 00:19:59,080 Speaker 1: supporting us. And that wraps up this week's be a 395 00:19:59,280 --> 00:20:01,880 Speaker 1: Q and a thank y'all so much. Hit us up 396 00:20:01,920 --> 00:20:04,639 Speaker 1: at Brandimission Podcast at gmail dot com. If you have 397 00:20:04,680 --> 00:20:07,680 Speaker 1: any questions, you can also go to our website, brandimission 398 00:20:07,720 --> 00:20:11,199 Speaker 1: podcast dot com submit a question there, or go to 399 00:20:11,240 --> 00:20:20,399 Speaker 1: ig We are at brandambission podcast on the Gram.