Speaker 1: Hey, hey, hey, we're back and we're black and we're brown.
Speaker 1: So today I broke down and I went to the orthodontist. Ooh, orthodontist.
Speaker 2: Wait a second, did the commenters get to U tif wow?
Speaker 1: Yes and no. So I've always so for those who
Speaker 1: don't know, I actually I had bracest when I was
Speaker 1: a kid, well, you know, like typical teens. I don't know.
Speaker 1: I probably was like thirteen, fourteen, fifteen that age. But
Speaker 1: I suffer from something well I don't know if it's suffer.
Speaker 1: It's called thunk tongue thrust. It's like sucking your thumb,
Speaker 1: but not your thumb. Instead, it's your tongue. And so
Speaker 1: your tongue pushes your pushes forward and you I won't
Speaker 1: even notice that I'm doing it. So I do it
Speaker 1: in my sleep, I do it when I'm awake. I've
Speaker 1: done it since I was literally an infant. When I
Speaker 1: was a kid, my parents tried to get me to stop,
Speaker 1: but there's like nothing you can do because your tongue
Speaker 1: is in your mouth. And so because of that, whatever
Speaker 1: the bracist did before, my tongue totally like undid that
Speaker 1: and did some more damage. And I went to an
Speaker 1: orthodontist maybe years ago, and I was like, oh, you know,
Speaker 1: I want to get bracest again, probably in like my
Speaker 1: twenties or something. And they're like, well, it's not going
Speaker 1: to make any sense because your tongue threats is just
Speaker 1: going to push your teeth back out. So I never
Speaker 1: went back. I just you know, went to the regular dentist.
Speaker 1: And then something said just ask So I actually actually
Speaker 1: even considered veneers. So I'd gone to a like a
Speaker 1: cosmic what is it, cosmetic dentist and they were like, no,
Speaker 1: we don't think that's a fit for you. You should go
Speaker 1: back to an orthodontist. I think that other guy was wrong.
Speaker 1: So I did today and I went to this awesome place.
Speaker 1: They were honestly so good. I mean, first of all,
Speaker 1: these millennials. I mean I walked in Mandy, I'm like,
Speaker 1: am I in a coffee shop? That's what it looked like.
Speaker 1: The orthodoxis. It was so cute. They had, first of all,
Speaker 1: Joanna Gaines has gotten to everyone. They had ship lap
Speaker 1: on the walls. Can you imagine, Oh my god, yes,
Speaker 1: ship lap. So no, it wasn't where was this place.
Speaker 1: It was like in Harrison or something like that, but
Speaker 1: it was super cute. Honestly, they were so professional, Like
Speaker 1: I had never the way they did X rays, the
Speaker 1: way they took pictures, I had never. I had never
Speaker 1: gone through a process that was so easy and like pleasant.
Speaker 1: I mean, no one thinks of the orthodontist and things pleasant,
Speaker 1: but honestly it was really pleasant. It was called n
Speaker 1: A North Arlington Orthodontist Orthodontics, North Arlington. Yeah, and so
Speaker 1: my doctor, doctor Jessica, she was awesome and she was like,
Speaker 1: I know exactly what you have. After she looked at
Speaker 1: my pictures, she said, you have tongue thrust. It's not uncommon.
Speaker 1: It's fishing your teeth out. And I was like, yeah,
Speaker 1: so is it. I mean, She's like, we could fix it.
Speaker 1: I'm like, but it's gonna go back right. She was
Speaker 1: like no. She's like you, like, do you want bracelets?
Speaker 1: I was like no. She was like, I think a
Speaker 1: visil line is the best route for you anyway, which
Speaker 1: I'm like, yes, that's like the tray, like you know,
Speaker 1: like you can't even see them when people have them on.
Speaker 1: It's like them in visil line. Yeah.
Speaker 2: They my dentist has mentioned it to me a couple
Speaker 2: of times in the past.
Speaker 1: Yeah, you don't have anything, nothing's wrong with your teeth.
Speaker 2: That's why I was suspicious, man, But I think anyway,
Speaker 2: continue But yeah, in vezil line, most like a lot
Speaker 2: of dentists offer it now. It's like the little clear
Speaker 2: plastic case that goes over your teeth, right.
Speaker 1: Mm hmm, And so depending on how So, like a
Speaker 1: friend of mine had in visil line, but her teeth. Honestly,
Speaker 1: I was like, why do you have a visiline? Your
Speaker 1: teeth are like perfect. So it was literally just a
Speaker 1: few months for her to straighten out her teeth, and
Speaker 1: for me, she said probably a year to a year
Speaker 1: and a half. And so what happens is you get
Speaker 1: they they she they use it. They don't even do
Speaker 1: a mold because they're fancy. They do a laser thing.
Speaker 1: And so they they're going to get the perfect shape
Speaker 1: of like my like mold of my mouth with this laser,
Speaker 1: and they're going to get trays made. And what will
Speaker 1: happen is you'll wear a tray for however many weeks
Speaker 1: or months until like your your teeth adjust. Then you'll
Speaker 1: get the next set of trays that then adjust your
Speaker 1: teeth again. And you keep you keep progressively getting trays
Speaker 1: that are closer and closer to the ideal shape of
Speaker 1: your teeth or ideal shape of I guess your bite
Speaker 1: or whatever. And I was like wow, and so yeah,
Speaker 1: and so she was like, you wear them twenty two
Speaker 1: hours a day. Basically, you just take them off to
Speaker 1: eat and brush your teeth and that's it. And so
Speaker 1: what the thing that really made me happy was that
Speaker 1: she was like, I said, well, what about my tongue
Speaker 1: thrust and there's just kind of push my teeth back
Speaker 1: out and she said, no, we could put a bonded
Speaker 1: wire behind your teeth once they're where they're supposed to be,
Speaker 1: and it's like a wire like you know, like behind
Speaker 1: my teeth. You would never know, but it will keep
Speaker 1: my tongue because the wire is stronger than my tongue.
Speaker 1: It'll keep my tongue from pushing my teeth back out.
Speaker 1: And she said, but so she would suggested I continue
Speaker 1: to wear whatever the last tray or whatever trade they
Speaker 1: gave me is at night, like as a retainer at night,
Speaker 1: and she was like, you by then, you'll be so
Speaker 1: used to it. You just put it in before you
Speaker 1: go to sleep. And you know, your teeth will stay
Speaker 1: in place. And I was like, where have you been
Speaker 1: on my life? I'm excited to do it, honestly, because
Speaker 1: here's the thing, like I I'm typically not I don't know.
Speaker 1: I like, I was a really self conscious kid, and
Speaker 1: like I wouldn't say early twenties, like teens and early twenties,
Speaker 1: like really self conscious about my looks, like about my
Speaker 1: skin color, about the way the texture of my hair,
Speaker 1: about everything. And then somewhere in like my mid to
Speaker 1: late twenties, I was like, I don't give a what
Speaker 1: and I did it honestly. And then in my thirties
Speaker 1: it was just like whatever, I mean, I never had
Speaker 1: any lack of dates or whatever. So it but when
Speaker 1: you become more in the public eye, I'm not gonna lie.
Speaker 1: I don't get I would say ninety nine point literally
Speaker 1: nine percent of like comments are positive, but definitely you
Speaker 1: get someone who has something funny to say about my smile,
Speaker 1: and you know, and then too, I'm doing more and
Speaker 1: more TV so I can see myself more where normally
Speaker 1: I'm not someone who's always in the mirror, so I'm
Speaker 1: not looking at myself. So I just said, well, Tiffany
Speaker 1: if it bothers you and the budget, Lisa can pay
Speaker 1: for it. I already reached out to my accountant and
Speaker 1: she said he said yes, because I'm getting it specifically
Speaker 1: really to present a cleaner picture for for TV and
Speaker 1: speaking all that kind of stuff, so I can have
Speaker 1: my business paid for it. And also to the orthodontist
Speaker 1: that she said a lot of times that the companies
Speaker 1: will pay for because I guess they get like, I
Speaker 1: don't know TV personalities in there as well, and she said, yes,
Speaker 1: that happens a lot. So there's that. I'm actually excited
Speaker 1: about it. They work really fast. She was like, we
Speaker 1: could take the mold today, or we could take the
Speaker 1: lasers today. And I was like, m let me because
Speaker 1: at the time I had not called my accountant. So
Speaker 1: I said, well, I don't want to swipe my card
Speaker 1: and I'm not. I'm not, you know, even though it's
Speaker 1: my company. I don't want to obviously be chased down
Speaker 1: by the I R S. So I'm actually going next
Speaker 1: Monday and then within two to four weeks I have
Speaker 1: my first tray. Isn't that crazy?
Speaker 2: So how much is the invisil line? Like if you
Speaker 2: were to pay out of pocket?
Speaker 1: So I actually had well, I'm gonna pay out a
Speaker 1: pock because like I try to use my husband's insurance.
Speaker 1: This is what I thought I was going to pay myself,
Speaker 1: and it was to be clear because I'm going to
Speaker 1: have them longer than maybe the average person because I
Speaker 1: have a lot more shifting to do. So my friend
Speaker 1: who got her, she hadn't had a fee a few months.
Speaker 1: She didn't have to pay it this much because she
Speaker 1: didn't have hers as long. So I'm just going to
Speaker 1: share in total. This includes because I asked her about
Speaker 1: teeth whitening as well, So this includes teeth whitening. And
Speaker 1: the 's a lot. It's five thousand, two hundred and
Speaker 1: sixty dollars. You have to put down an initial down
Speaker 1: payment this is for me fifteen hundred or which is
Speaker 1: this is what I'm going to do, and then thirteen
Speaker 1: months of payments of two hundred and eighty nine dollars
Speaker 1: and twenty four cents. But I said, I'm not going
Speaker 1: to do that. Instead, I'm going to pay in full,
Speaker 1: and I'm going to join what's called the coffee Club members.
Speaker 1: That means that if you come in for your checkups
Speaker 1: at nine am, I guess that's when or nine thirty
Speaker 1: am or two thirty pm Monday through Friday. So I
Speaker 1: guess that's like, you know, they're like off peak times,
Speaker 1: which I can do since I work for myself and
Speaker 1: this place is only like ten minutes to my house.
Speaker 1: I will say five hundred and twenty six dollars, so
Speaker 1: paying in full and going during off peak times, so
Speaker 1: for me, it's going to be forty seven, one hundred
Speaker 1: thirty four dollars.
Speaker 2: Interesting, I've never heard of dentists giving you a discount
Speaker 2: for coming off pick. That's cool, I know, right, and.
Speaker 1: I know so I'm actually you know, like I said,
Speaker 1: I'm I'm excited and so you can get I guess
Speaker 1: you get three years worth of trades, so like just
Speaker 1: in case like something that's to take or I'm not
Speaker 1: using it properly or whatever. But honestly, I'm excited about
Speaker 1: it because I didn't realize like I could literally if
Speaker 1: I would have gotten my laser today, maybe I could
Speaker 1: have had them in in like two weeks. I'd be like, hm,
Speaker 1: hmm before Christmas. You know what, I'm going to happen
Speaker 1: before Christmas. But it's just crazy how the lesson for
Speaker 1: me is asking the question because someone told me no,
Speaker 1: And then for the last you know, three or four years,
Speaker 1: I never questioned it. And I could have, and not
Speaker 1: that I would have, like I necessarily would have gotten it,
Speaker 1: but at least I would have. I never even had
Speaker 1: it as an option in my mind. I said, it's
Speaker 1: not an option. Someone told me no. So I'm excited
Speaker 1: because when we just wait until I get my grill
Speaker 1: all the way together, you know, tell me.
Speaker 2: Nothing your grill well, as long as it's for your
Speaker 2: happiness and you're doing it to make yourself happier or
Speaker 2: not because the haters told you to which I'm I'm
Speaker 2: sure you're not, because I think your smile is beautiful,
Speaker 2: just the way it is.
Speaker 1: Ye. Drenda's like, I'm gonna Drina. If you guys know
Speaker 1: my best friend. She said, I'm gonna miss your little gaps.
Speaker 1: I was like, I'm not, no, like no, no, honestly, no,
Speaker 1: I don't. I mean, like I said, I I don't
Speaker 1: hate the way I look like, you know, but I
Speaker 1: definitely would feel more comfortable, So I mean excited about it.
Speaker 1: I'm not going to get plastic surgery. It's not like
Speaker 1: next up skinned.
Speaker 2: Oh god, Jesus. I was just about to say I
Speaker 2: would never say never about classic surgery because I'm like,
Speaker 2: I don't know what gravity is going to do to me.
Speaker 2: I'd like to keep the option open, you know, for
Speaker 2: any nips and tucks when I'm in my I mean,
Speaker 2: I feel like, when you're in your forties and fifties
Speaker 2: and sixties, like, who cares you paid your dues, You've
Speaker 2: made your money, nip and tuck all you want, boo, Like,
Speaker 2: I'm I'm totally leaving that door open for myself. I mean,
Speaker 2: do you know what kids do to your boobs?
Speaker 1: I'm scared. I'm not gonna lie, you know what it is.
Speaker 1: I think. I feel like the only reason why I
Speaker 1: took Classic Soldier off the table is because I'm scared.
Speaker 1: I don't even I don't even want to get a tattoo.
Speaker 2: But at that, when you're like in your fifties and sixties,
Speaker 2: like you've lived a good life, you know, you know,
Speaker 2: why not take a little bit, take a little bit
Speaker 2: of a risk you've had killing then why not? You know,
Speaker 2: I'm just leaving the door open for my for my
Speaker 2: future self.
Speaker 1: If I have twins, I'm gonna be like, uh, while
Speaker 1: we're here because I'm not having no work. Kids, Just
Speaker 1: go hand on and do that. Tell me texts, we're
Speaker 1: here already, Like, that's what I'm saying, right, I could
Speaker 1: see myself doing that if you.
Speaker 2: Can survive childbirth? What's a tummy tuck?
Speaker 1: Evocle?
Speaker 2: Did I mention anything about a pet? I was looking
Speaker 2: for a good segue because we got some really funny
Speaker 2: responses from our listeners after last week's show. We were
Speaker 2: talking about how the like millennials, because they buy fancy
Speaker 2: dog food and like cat food for their pets now,
Speaker 2: have driven up the price and made it harder for
Speaker 2: like the old kind of kibbles and bits type of
Speaker 2: you know, your mama's cat food and dog food companies
Speaker 2: to like survive today they've beenqun it harder for them anyway.
Speaker 2: So we asked listeners, you know, how much do you
Speaker 2: spend on your pet? We want to hear your stories.
Speaker 2: I gotta read you this message from we got two
Speaker 2: cent so listener Amelia with an a. She said, so
Speaker 2: I got my cat for free on craigslist. Okay, I'm
Speaker 2: with you, but anytime we go to the vet, I
Speaker 2: pay for him to get IV fluids fifty dollars. She
Speaker 2: does not mention why he needs iv flush, but apparently,
Speaker 2: apparently Fluffy is very dehydrated.
Speaker 1: Fry.
Speaker 2: I paid for him to get fifty dollars ivy fluids,
Speaker 2: even if he doesn't need it, so that he's well hydrated.
Speaker 2: I also get him trimmed twenty dollars, nails trimmed fifteen dollars,
Speaker 2: and some cat Xanax forty dollars so he can relax
Speaker 2: and take a long nap when we get home. I
Speaker 2: buy him prescription food. It gets sixty dollars a month,
Speaker 2: and he only drinks filtered water because I don't want
Speaker 2: chemicals or minerals building up in his body. Dot dot
Speaker 2: dot it continues. He also has a two hundred dollars
Speaker 2: carrier that's for hiking, but she says I bought it
Speaker 2: for evacuations. I live in California's big fire zones, and
Speaker 2: he has his own emergency kit. Oh my god, I
Speaker 2: don't know what to say.
Speaker 1: Well, I mean, like now the emergency kit, and like
Speaker 1: the carrier, okay, but like like Fluffy is drinking the
Speaker 1: water he needs to drink. I mean cats are like
Speaker 1: if I'm thirsty, I shall drink that's crazy.
Speaker 2: I'm not in mineral water. I mean to each her own.
Speaker 2: I just you know, no judgment zone. We said, shares
Speaker 2: your stories, no judgments.
Speaker 1: Ohah, no judgment. I mean let me real it on back.
Speaker 2: Okay, god do you but cat's dan x No, but
Speaker 2: for real cat like my dog, he used to take
Speaker 2: half a He had to take half a a clariton
Speaker 2: every day because he had allergies. Like pets take human
Speaker 2: medicine and it's it's it costs, like human medicine costs too.
Speaker 1: So I didn't know that cats take human medicine.
Speaker 2: They can if they have anxiety. And just like Fluffy here,
Speaker 2: I made up the cat's name. I don't know the
Speaker 2: cat's name. Forty dollars an x so he can relax
Speaker 2: and take a long nap on me get home, because
Speaker 2: it's stressful getting ivy fluids and your hair traids.
Speaker 1: I don't cats like what is his life of mind?
Speaker 1: I love it.
Speaker 2: Listener Martisia said that she's listening to the most recent
Speaker 2: pot Cash. She says, Luckily we've not had to spend
Speaker 2: a crazy amount of money on her family's pug, which
Speaker 2: she's had for ten years. She says, but like anything else.
Speaker 2: Owning a dog is a financial decision, but owning a
Speaker 2: pet adds an emotional component. They're not humans, but when
Speaker 2: faced with a decision about their health, more than likely
Speaker 2: you would pay. So make sure you understand the financial
Speaker 2: responsibility involved. Keep on top of their health to avoid
Speaker 2: major expenditures. Thanks for the question. Okay, Martitia, come in
Speaker 2: with the realness. I mean, if preventative care is important,
Speaker 2: so you know, keeping the dog healthy and groomed and
Speaker 2: all that stuff, I guess it can save you money
Speaker 2: down the line.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean I'm not even you know, like you're right.
Speaker 1: I mean I had a cat and even though like
Speaker 1: I wasn't like super fancy because I didn't have any
Speaker 1: money and I was a teenager, it was it was expensive.
Speaker 1: I remember, I remember like having to like I wanted
Speaker 1: to get her neutered Spade or I don't know, she
Speaker 1: was a girl, so I don't know if there's a
Speaker 1: difference between Spade and neuter, but yeah, and it was
Speaker 1: like a few hundred dollars or a couple hundred dollars,
Speaker 1: and like it was. I remember my dad really wanted
Speaker 1: to teach me responsibility because I wanted a got so bad.
Speaker 1: And I remember thinking, like and I got the cheap's
Speaker 1: like no name, like whatever food. She haded that food
Speaker 1: so much she went out. She was killing mice in
Speaker 1: the in the in the the the forest we had
Speaker 1: like we lived by like some woods. I'm like, oh,
Speaker 1: so you sho just go ahead on and find your
Speaker 1: own food. Huh all this good food I got for you?
Speaker 1: So yeah, Like my poor cat did not even have
Speaker 1: like you know how like cats have like the I
Speaker 1: guess the litter box. Who had money for a little box?
Speaker 1: I had one of the silver trays.
Speaker 2: You know, I was thirty.
Speaker 1: I didn't have any money. I was like, I'm gonna
Speaker 1: get you one as soon as I say, with my
Speaker 1: next allowance. So yeah, no, but I mean eventually, you know,
Speaker 1: we upgraded her. But then she ran away to go
Speaker 1: live with the neighbors, and I said, okay.
Speaker 2: Well good bye, because she was living like a cat hobo.
Speaker 2: She take pan. Oh my, was like, this is not
Speaker 2: the American dream.
Speaker 1: I remember she used to like literally run away for
Speaker 1: like weeks, and we like, where did you go? It
Speaker 1: turned out she was living with the names. I guess
Speaker 1: she was trying them out. And then one day I
Speaker 1: was walking by. I thought she ran away, and I
Speaker 1: was like, well, what happens? And I walk by and
Speaker 1: I hear her me out so familiar. I look in
Speaker 1: the window and she's in the neighbor's house looking at
Speaker 1: me like, just say, hi, girl, don't worry about me.
Speaker 1: I'm good with a new collar and everything all inside
Speaker 1: the house. Because my dad hated for her to be
Speaker 1: like inside too much, I'd have to seek her in.
Speaker 1: So I just said, you know what, you look like.
Speaker 1: You look well fed, You look good, girl, You look good.
Speaker 2: That's funny. That's brown ambition right there, cat ambition. She
Speaker 2: got out of a bad situation.
Speaker 1: She said, she upgraded her life. Yes, so it's time
Speaker 1: fuck question Johns questions questions to begin? Any good questions?
Speaker 1: Will we always get good questions?
Speaker 2: Always? We have a few good questions this week? Which
Speaker 2: one shall I pick my first victim?
Speaker 1: Dun? Dun, dun.
Speaker 2: How about this from a new listener. Her name is
Speaker 2: I'm going to pronounce me to try and pronounce this.
Speaker 2: It's a pretty name. Okay, She says, I'm a new
Speaker 2: listener and I love the podcast. I have a loaded question,
Speaker 2: but I'll try to simplify it. I'm a medical professional,
Speaker 2: thirty four years old, earning approximately approximately one hundred and
Speaker 2: twenty thousand dollars a year. I want to know if
Speaker 2: a financial planner would be good for me. My goal
Speaker 2: is to pay off my one hundred and twenty five
Speaker 2: thousand dollars student loan debt and start saving for retirement.
Speaker 2: But I have a few hurdles. I'm paying off two cars,
Speaker 2: and I want to remodel my house soon. I'll also
Speaker 2: be paying for my son's college tuition. Help where do
Speaker 2: I start?
Speaker 1: Can you list some of the things again that she
Speaker 1: has financially.
Speaker 2: So, she's a medical professional making one hundred and twenty
Speaker 2: thousand dollars solid salary, and she wants to know if
Speaker 2: she needs a financial planner. Basically, she has one hundred
Speaker 2: and twenty five thousand dollars a student loan debt, but
Speaker 2: at the same time she wants to start saving for
Speaker 2: retirement and remodel her house. But in addition to having
Speaker 2: that one hundred and twenty five thousand dollars student loan debt,
Speaker 2: she also so has two cars apparently she's paying off.
Speaker 2: I'm gonna guess maybe one belongs to her teenage son.
Speaker 2: So she wants to know, well, a financial planner help
Speaker 2: her kind of get a handle on things so she
Speaker 2: feels like she's saving for the future and also paying
Speaker 2: down her Debtah.
Speaker 1: I mean, well, honestly, I think a financial a financial
Speaker 1: professional is always a good idea, honestly because if you
Speaker 1: have questions, I feel like, you know, I've been struggling
Speaker 1: to find like the perfect one. Just because you can
Speaker 1: make a lot of money, But it doesn't mean that
Speaker 1: you don't need to just kind of tap someone on
Speaker 1: the shoulder and ask for some professional advice, because to me,
Speaker 1: it just sounds like you need someone to help organize
Speaker 1: in what order do you want to put your financial priorities.
Speaker 1: There's no judgment on that. It's just like asking kind
Speaker 1: of like, well, what's most important and then putting it
Speaker 1: in an order and then working on it in that
Speaker 1: particular order based upon what you're what your goals are.
Speaker 1: It sounds like to me that the least not I
Speaker 1: want to say least important, but maybe least kind of
Speaker 1: like urgent is the house renovation, because I'm assuming of
Speaker 1: the cars, she's paying the car off or she's getting.
Speaker 2: A fixed paying two cars off two and she wants
Speaker 2: to start saving for her son's college. This is like
Speaker 2: a classic example. I feel like what a lot of
Speaker 2: people in their mid thirties are going through right now,
Speaker 2: and she has a kid on top of it, is like,
Speaker 2: I have this debt, but I also have my future
Speaker 2: and I mean kid's future to figure out how do
Speaker 2: I start? I think this is exactly this is exactly
Speaker 2: when you'd want to bring in a financial professional because
Speaker 2: I mean, we can sit here and try and help
Speaker 2: you prioritize, but financial professional is actually going to look
Speaker 2: at everything with your entire financial picture. And especially for me,
Speaker 2: what's been nice for my financial planner is she helps me.
Speaker 2: She helps give me perspective on She always reminds me
Speaker 2: the reality of my finances and reminds you that I'm
Speaker 2: not actually broke in destitute like I think I am
Speaker 2: in my brain. And she also shows me how to
Speaker 2: make the money work for me and how to strategically
Speaker 2: shift priorities around. And you know, you may be overlooking
Speaker 2: some methods or some options that you have to help
Speaker 2: you pay off your debt or help you finance a
Speaker 2: remodel of your house affordably that maybe a financial planner
Speaker 2: can help you find those options that maybe you can't
Speaker 2: you haven't been able to think about because you're juggling,
Speaker 2: you know, so many things. So I think it's a
Speaker 2: good idea.
Speaker 1: I thought, you want to make sure that you're taking
Speaker 1: care of your your your retirement, like I don't want
Speaker 1: you to not have that that's critical.
Speaker 2: Yes, and certainly saving for retirement before you you know,
Speaker 2: put money away from your kid as typically advice, but
Speaker 2: again financial professional, good idea. I found my planner through
Speaker 2: x Y Planning Network which I think it's x Y
Speaker 2: Planning Network dot com.
Speaker 1: But google it.
Speaker 2: I'll put a link to it in the show notes
Speaker 2: if you want to check them out. That's where I
Speaker 2: found my planning. I think their planner network. It's basically
Speaker 2: a network of planners to specialize or who have experience
Speaker 2: working with people in generation X or Y hence a name,
Speaker 2: and you might be able to find someone there or
Speaker 2: ask around to friends see if they have anyone they
Speaker 2: could refer you to. As far, the best thing about
Speaker 2: what I like about x Y Planning is the planners
Speaker 2: there are fee only, so they typically charge a flat
Speaker 2: monthly rate for their services and you don't have to
Speaker 2: you know, you don't have to worry about hourly or
Speaker 2: you know, getting some sort of percentage of your future
Speaker 2: earnings tied to their pay. Their their fee only, fee based,
Speaker 2: and they typically will charge maybe upfront for the financial
Speaker 2: plan if you if you want one, or they'll give
Speaker 2: you a flat rate for a conversation or some sort
Speaker 2: of advice counseling session.
Speaker 1: Mm hmm.
Speaker 2: Thanks for your question.
Speaker 1: That is a very good question. I wish more people,
Speaker 1: you know, thought to seek outside help because I think
Speaker 1: people feel like, as an adult, I should know, and
Speaker 1: I'm like, no, well do you know how to speak Mandarin?
Speaker 1: They're like no, I'm like exactly, because some one taught you.
Speaker 1: So if someone didn't teach you, then you don't have
Speaker 1: to know automatically. Seeking help is really a good idea
Speaker 1: when it comes to your money.
Speaker 2: CO sign one hundred percent. Okay, this last question, this
Speaker 2: is specifically when I think TI if you can definitely answer.
Speaker 2: It also comes from someone who says that she's been
Speaker 2: stalking you for years. I think she means that in
Speaker 2: a non creepy way. This anonymous listener says, I've been
Speaker 2: stalking you for years. I really appreciate your transparency and
Speaker 2: your journey due to life situations and unforeseen circumstances. She says,
Speaker 2: I am back at a nine to five after being
Speaker 2: an entrepreneur. This is really hard. My personalities, my personality
Speaker 2: tests always say I'm an entrepreneur. My question is do
Speaker 2: you have any suggestions on how I can adjust back
Speaker 2: to nine to five life? What benefits do I need
Speaker 2: to take advantage of from a company? Do I keep
Speaker 2: my free healthcare or buy into the companies? Also? How
Speaker 2: do I ignore my entrepreneurial or urges and just work.
Speaker 2: It's so scary to think that this corner office will
Speaker 2: be my space for a few years or more.
Speaker 1: Well, I guess the question is do you have to?
Speaker 1: I mean I didn't get more. Well, thanks first of
Speaker 1: all for the lovely stalking. You know I don't mind it,
Speaker 1: But I mean, so, here's the question is that I'm
Speaker 1: not sure why you had to go back. Is it
Speaker 1: because you're paying off debt? Is it because you know
Speaker 1: your business maybe didn't do as well? So because it
Speaker 1: might be the option. This is what I recently told
Speaker 1: my sister because she's really wanting to. She styles me
Speaker 1: and she like buys all my clothes, but she also
Speaker 1: has been styling my friend's photo shoots. And she's really good.
Speaker 1: She works really hard. It's not easy. It's not just hey,
Speaker 1: where this. It's like going to the mall, buying and
Speaker 1: putting together like sixteen different outfits, tagging them, taking picture
Speaker 1: like it's a lot. And so she really wanting to
Speaker 1: do this, and she's gotten opportunities. But she's got a
Speaker 1: regular full time job, which is actually an alignment. She's
Speaker 1: a buyer. But she's realizing she's at a cusp now
Speaker 1: because she's getting opportunities that are happening more and more
Speaker 1: during her full time job hours. And what I told
Speaker 1: her was to get what I call a waitressing job,
Speaker 1: it's not actually waitressing. Well, one thing I told her
Speaker 1: is that she has to decrease her living expenses. And
Speaker 1: so that's one of the things she's gonna do. She's
Speaker 1: actually considered. I'm so sure she's listening, like all my business, Tiffany,
Speaker 1: all of it. I told her. She's had her beautiful
Speaker 1: apartment for like a number of years. She's going to
Speaker 1: give that apartment up and look for something less expensive.
Speaker 1: I told her. I even told her, like when me
Speaker 1: and Superman to finish renovating because we have a second floor,
Speaker 1: a bedroom with its own bathroom that she could stay
Speaker 1: with us for a number of months and now have
Speaker 1: to pay you in and save and in that time
Speaker 1: of reducing her expenses finding that waitressing job, which is
Speaker 1: just a it's just basically a gig, meaning a job
Speaker 1: that pays the bills but allows you the flexibility to
Speaker 1: go after your dream. And so that's what she's doing now.
Speaker 1: So I'm asking that because I'm like, do you is
Speaker 1: there a reason that you have to that have this
Speaker 1: nine to five job? And if there is, then you
Speaker 1: can still have an entrepreneurial spirit. Like look at Mandy,
Speaker 1: you can still have an entrepreneurial spirit within your nine
Speaker 1: to five. I don't think that you ought to kill
Speaker 1: you know, your entrepreneur dream. It's just how can you
Speaker 1: do that where you are? And you know, I know
Speaker 1: what it's like not to have any insurance. I only
Speaker 1: have insurance now because I'm married. But gobble it up.
Speaker 1: I mean, like, get every teeth tooth clean, you know,
Speaker 1: go to the guy, know goes through the eye doctor.
Speaker 1: Just get everything done. But yeah, just consider figuring out
Speaker 1: how to make the most of it, how to make
Speaker 1: the job on your own if you must stay there,
Speaker 1: and if you don't have to stay there and you
Speaker 1: want to get back in the entrepreneur game, consider, reconsider
Speaker 1: how you can find something that will allow you to
Speaker 1: do both.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and I hope that you found a job that
Speaker 2: encourages entrepreneurial spirits and has ways to help you work
Speaker 2: on special projects if you want to one thing, that
Speaker 2: one thing that I've heard companies do and it's something
Speaker 2: that I thought about doing for my team here, I'm
Speaker 2: trying to as we get bigger and we're we're able
Speaker 2: to have enough people on staff so people have more time.
Speaker 2: Is to to tell your you know, tell people take
Speaker 2: five percent of your day, like I don't know how
Speaker 2: much with that percentage comes out to you, like half
Speaker 2: an hour or something. And and think big like you know,
Speaker 2: read read stories, think about a big idea, think about
Speaker 2: a big project that you'd like to see happen. And
Speaker 2: then once a month or to give them an opportunity
Speaker 2: to pitch an idea for something they'd like to own.
Speaker 2: And maybe if you're at a company like that, you
Speaker 2: can start looking for ways. I mean you're just settling
Speaker 2: into a new job, but start looking for ways that
Speaker 2: maybe you can scratch that itch of wanting to own
Speaker 2: your own project or lead your own team. But you know,
Speaker 2: only you can figure out if it's going to be
Speaker 2: a good fit for you long term. And I don't
Speaker 2: you know, you definitely don't want to, you know, wake
Speaker 2: up a few years from now and then really regret
Speaker 2: giving up on, you know, a business idea that you had,
Speaker 2: or or a business that you had that you struggle
Speaker 2: to get off the ground. Keep keep at it. Like
Speaker 2: I mean, Tiff, I think how long did it take
Speaker 2: you to get budget needs to to like a profitable
Speaker 2: place where you could say, Okay, this business is gonna
Speaker 2: feed my family for years to come. It takes a while,
Speaker 2: all right.
Speaker 1: Yeah, So, like I actually registered the Budgetee in two
Speaker 1: thousand and eight, did nothing for like really two years.
Speaker 1: Well two and eight, I did nothing. Two thousand and
Speaker 1: nine I volunteered a lot just to figure out what
Speaker 1: was I even delivering. Twenty ten I started to get
Speaker 1: I'm serious, And that's when I was making about five
Speaker 1: thousand dollars a year. But the bugisa so twenty ten nothing,
Speaker 1: twenty eleven nothing, twelve nothing, thirteen, Hey, I can pay
Speaker 1: this five hundred dollars a month room that I'm renting
Speaker 1: twenty fourteen, you know a little bit better. It really
Speaker 1: didn't start making a decent amount of money until I
Speaker 1: would say twenty sixteen, when I was like, okay, I
Speaker 1: think I was like in the either the low six
Speaker 1: figures or high five figures, so not a tremendous amount
Speaker 1: of money. And then it started to do you know better,
Speaker 1: Now we're now we're seven figure. We were seven figures
Speaker 1: last year, double that this year, still seven figures and
Speaker 1: on tasks to be eight figures in two thousand and nine. Team.
Speaker 1: But think about that, that's like what six years of
Speaker 1: like not really making enough, and you know, so it's
Speaker 1: and it's not abnormal. Honestly, I have so many friends
Speaker 1: who are entrepreneurs, and it's the only thing, honestly that
Speaker 1: kept me going because I thought maybe something's wrong with me,
Speaker 1: because you read all these stories about people who grew
Speaker 1: a billion dollar business in six months. But when you
Speaker 1: speak to like regular day to day entrepreneurs, you start
Speaker 1: to realize that that's part of the journey. But you
Speaker 1: learn to find the joy in the journey. So even
Speaker 1: when I wasn't making a lot, it wasn't just about
Speaker 1: that I was trying to create something that was going
Speaker 1: to help women, so I and living simply didn't bother
Speaker 1: me because I'd lost everything during the recession anyway, So
Speaker 1: I'm like, I've been broke, broke, this is this has
Speaker 1: broke light. You know, at least I have a room
Speaker 1: versus like sleeping with my parents in my parents' house.
Speaker 1: So yeah, I finding something that can you could keep
Speaker 1: pushing even during the rough times. It is critical when
Speaker 1: it comes to entrepreneurship, if you ask me, But yeah,
Speaker 1: it can certainly take their people ten years in that
Speaker 1: are still struggling and they don't give up because they
Speaker 1: really believe in their vision. You know, the guy what
Speaker 1: is that, Oh, a Kickstarter? This is great. I forget
Speaker 1: the gentleman's name that started it. It like he didn't
Speaker 1: even get started for eight years. He worked on the
Speaker 1: website eight years before he even launched. Can you imagine
Speaker 1: eight years and then he launched kickstarter and then it
Speaker 1: did well, But eight years of just driving things down
Speaker 1: on a piece of paper. So just know that, you know,
Speaker 1: that's part of the journey sometimes for some people, for
Speaker 1: many people.
Speaker 2: That reminds me of Ava Duvernet, who she like was
Speaker 2: doing a Twitter thread recently and she talked about how
Speaker 2: she didn't do her first movie until she was well
Speaker 2: into her thirties and really only found success now she's
Speaker 2: in her forties and she's kind of a household name.
Speaker 2: But it took took a while. I gobble stories like
Speaker 2: that up just to get through, Like even through my twenties.
Speaker 2: I was like, please tell me someone else, you know,
Speaker 2: he hasn't had to figure it out either. And I
Speaker 2: would say, I definitely have an entrepreneurial spirit, and yet
Speaker 2: I'm at a corporation. I'm a nine to fiver. But
Speaker 2: I'll tell you how why I'm happy and perfectly content
Speaker 2: where I am. And it's one I'm able. I have
Speaker 2: the flexibility to launch something of my own with this
Speaker 2: podcast a few years ago, and you know, my company
Speaker 2: has supported that and let me continue doing This is
Speaker 2: my baby, our baby, and this is entirely our own
Speaker 2: independent projects, and I've been able to do that on
Speaker 2: the side. Also, I found that working for a startup
Speaker 2: really scratched that itch for me because it made me
Speaker 2: feel like I was no. I wasn't the entrepreneur, the
Speaker 2: co founder of the company, but I came in I
Speaker 2: was like employee number four, and I was an integral
Speaker 2: part of growing the company, getting us acquired had equity.
Speaker 2: I felt like I was a part of growing something
Speaker 2: and building something, and I continued to feel that way. So,
Speaker 2: you know, if you're out there and you want the
Speaker 2: sustainability of a nine to five, but maybe something that
Speaker 2: also lends itself to entrepreneurialism, working for a smaller startup
Speaker 2: in a growing industry is one way to do it.
Speaker 2: And I'm not going to lie to you and pretend
Speaker 2: like I had it all figured out and I was
Speaker 2: completely sure it was all going to work out for
Speaker 2: me when I joined the startup that I did a
Speaker 2: couple of years ago. I mean, I was sweating a
Speaker 2: hord hord horde for a while a while, but I
Speaker 2: took the I took the leap and luckily it worked out,
Speaker 2: but that it definitely made me feel like a bit
Speaker 2: it scratched that it's for me of like a little
Speaker 2: bit of riskiness, but still you know, able to put
Speaker 2: food on the table, and I'm fortunate that that's been
Speaker 2: working out for me. And I hope that you've I
Speaker 2: hope that you're at a place at least where you
Speaker 2: feel like you can spread your wings a little bit
Speaker 2: and still be entrepreneurial, even though it's not the maybe
Speaker 2: the vision you had of your of your career at
Speaker 2: this point in time. But hang in there. Thank you
Speaker 2: for your question, good questions.
Speaker 1: These are are questions. That's the new one.
Speaker 2: I like that Save it again.
Speaker 1: I don't even know these are questions. It's it's the
Speaker 1: Usher song, but I don't know the rest of the words.
Speaker 2: There's not enough syllables in questions. That song is called Confessions.
Speaker 1: I know. Oh, I'm turning into my father, messing up. Well,
Speaker 1: you're probably too young. But there's a song called from Madonna, Papa,
Speaker 1: don't preach. You know that song? I mean, yes, well
Speaker 1: you know you I mean girls. Right. So meanwhile, when
Speaker 1: I was a kid, my dad was like, oh, I
Speaker 1: like that song by dad Madonna. And I'm like, oh
Speaker 1: what he said, you know this song copper tone I
Speaker 1: mean love. I'm like, wait, what, excuse me? What's sir?
Speaker 1: This man said copper tone cream. And it's clear by
Speaker 1: the way that I butcher songs. I am his daughter
Speaker 1: and I'm becoming him copper tone cream.
Speaker 2: He thought it was a nice jingle for some sunscreen.
Speaker 2: You need to do that story worse for your dad's
Speaker 2: stat I need to hear his story.
Speaker 1: Ye, I do, I do. I am gonna do it
Speaker 1: because I'm like yes, because these stories are amazing copper
Speaker 1: tone cream. I'll never forget he was singing it like
Speaker 1: just with joy during his heart and and just sureness
Speaker 1: and confidence in his voice.
Speaker 2: Oh damn. Okay, Well, you guys can send us your
Speaker 2: confessions or questions at Brian Ambition Podcasts at gmail dot com,
Speaker 2: or hit us up at Brianambision podcast dot com. Ask
Speaker 2: us Okay, I was.
Speaker 1: I can ed.
Speaker 2: I can edit out those awkward pauses. It's okay, thank you,
Speaker 2: don't through the jingle.
Speaker 1: Wait is that for me? Dot com? Yeah?
Speaker 2: I mean you started us. You almost like create the
Speaker 2: problem for me. I feel like whenever I say dot com,
Speaker 2: I gotta wait, give you a give you an opening anyhow,
Speaker 2: Brianimission podcast dot com. Ask us anything, Send us your questions,
Speaker 2: send us your holiday stories, send us your what you're
Speaker 2: grateful for this year? Maybe that's a good prompt for
Speaker 2: next next episode. What are you grateful for in twenty eighteen?
Speaker 2: Start thinking about what you want for yourself in twenty nineteen.
Speaker 2: We want to hear from you. What's Oh, we're not
Speaker 2: done yet.
Speaker 1: My bad brown boots, brown break, brown boots, bown break.
Speaker 1: I'm ready, you know. Actually, I think I'm gonna do
Speaker 1: a boostand and break, just like a really short one.
Speaker 1: So I'm just gonna take a break from cooking for
Speaker 1: Thanksgiving because one I don't I know, but it I
Speaker 1: know because I'm just like, I'm tired of the judgment that,
Speaker 1: you know, because I get it the old school mama,
Speaker 1: you know, she did the whole spread and made everything
Speaker 1: herself and slaves all day in the kitchen. And meanwhile
Speaker 1: I'm down at the at Vanda's like, hey, Vonda. She
Speaker 1: actually because I waited till last minute. So Wanda is
Speaker 1: a friend of mine who owns a soul food restaurant
Speaker 1: in Newark. I waited till last minute. I was like, ooh,
Speaker 1: can I get a turkey for She's like, oh, girl,
Speaker 1: we went out turkeys. I said, well I have. If
Speaker 1: I bring the turkey, can you cook it? Can you imagine?
Speaker 1: And that's exactly what my parents are eating and my
Speaker 1: my siblings we are going to eat a Vonda cooked
Speaker 1: turkey from her delicious restaurant and one that I am
Speaker 1: getting and bringing to her.
Speaker 2: It's nice to have a friend in the business.
Speaker 1: No, because she's well, she's actually she's cooking, like you know,
Speaker 1: part of during the soul food restaurants tend to like,
Speaker 1: you know, they're making dinners for Thanksgiving for people. But
Speaker 1: it just so I was just making a normal order.
Speaker 1: And so when she was like, well, we ran out
Speaker 1: of turkeys, I was like, well, what if I bring one?
Speaker 1: Because I was like, I already told my mother I
Speaker 1: was providing the turkey. So she said, okay, So that's
Speaker 1: my break from cooking for Thanksgiving, although I do not cook,
Speaker 1: maybe from non cooking judgment.
Speaker 2: Listen, just to break. Just to add into this, Whole
Speaker 2: Foods does a catered Thanksgiving dinner. I got the most
Speaker 2: delicious pie at Sam's Club for eight ninety nine that
Speaker 2: could have fed a small army, and I brought that
Speaker 2: to you like a friend. I brought that to Friendsgiving
Speaker 2: because I don't have a kitchen right now. Please, I
Speaker 2: wasn't going to cook anything, so shortcuts are okay. Everyone
Speaker 2: loved that pie. You know what, people don't even eat
Speaker 2: all the pie anyway, Like why slaves? No one I
Speaker 2: think people ate like a fraction of that pie that
Speaker 2: I brought. I didn't care because it was eight ninety nine,
Speaker 2: didn't cost me any trouble back.
Speaker 1: Exactly, I'm gonna I'm gonna buy it. I like. I honestly,
Speaker 1: I really do like Whole Foods pie. So tomorrow in
Speaker 1: the morning, I'm gonna get my Whole Foods on because
Speaker 1: we go to my parents and then we go to
Speaker 1: a superman's sister's house and so she was like, bring pies.
Speaker 1: I was like, gotch girl. And then my boost. Did
Speaker 1: I tell you about my student loans?
Speaker 2: No, wait, I'm not in a while. We haven't heard
Speaker 2: about them in a while.
Speaker 1: So, you know, so I'd gotten some of them forgiven,
Speaker 1: but I still had like a you know, a lump
Speaker 1: sum like cause I had fifty three thousand dollars worth
Speaker 1: of student loans and I was eligible for I think
Speaker 1: like seventeen thousands of got to be forgiven. Well, I
Speaker 1: am happy to report I have paid off the ballance.
Speaker 2: And so the first wait, I need like a little
Speaker 2: like I don't know what I need. I need a
Speaker 2: sound effect.
Speaker 1: So since the first time since I was seventeen, I
Speaker 1: am completely dead free because when I was seventeen, I
Speaker 1: took out my first student loan and then I paid
Speaker 1: it off. But then I then like kind of crossover,
Speaker 1: I got my got student loans for my master's. My
Speaker 1: undergrad was I didn't take out much money because I commuted,
Speaker 1: so I think I had I don't know, like maybe
Speaker 1: like just a few thousand dollars. So I paid that off,
Speaker 1: got my master's, another student loan, then got a condo,
Speaker 1: then got into credit card debt, and so you know,
Speaker 1: it was one thing after another, and I have not
Speaker 1: been debt free since I was seventeen. Maybe there was
Speaker 1: like a month or two maybe between student loans, but
Speaker 1: now because I had a condo, so it just feels
Speaker 1: really good. It feels good like I'm debt free. I
Speaker 1: mean not for long, because Superman and I are going
Speaker 1: to have to take out like a construction loan for
Speaker 1: the second property we bought, but still at least for
Speaker 1: the next I want to say six months, I am
Speaker 1: debt free. I don't own any credit card debt I
Speaker 1: paid off in full every month, no student loan debt,
Speaker 1: we don't have any mortgages. My car's paid off in full.
Speaker 1: I feel like I feel like fifteen again.
Speaker 2: I know, no, congratulations, thank you.
Speaker 1: I would have never thought so. For those of you
Speaker 1: who are like, I'm so broke. At one point, I
Speaker 1: was saving five dollars a month. That's how broke I was.
Speaker 1: So it is possible to dig yourself out of the
Speaker 1: ditch of debt, and and you know financial just like
Speaker 1: you know dark places, it is possible, and so yeah, yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean, I'm just like, well, I don't even feel
Speaker 1: real because I've been broke. I'm so broke for so long.
Speaker 1: I'm not gonna lie. I still feel broke. It's not
Speaker 1: not broke, like I know that we're not broke, but
Speaker 1: I don't feel like super secure, like we're good. I
Speaker 1: feel like any day now, any day now. But yeah,
Speaker 1: I'm just like I said, that's why I paid off
Speaker 1: all the day because it probably wasn't the wisest I
Speaker 1: probably should have invested it and all that other kind
Speaker 1: of stuff. But part of me is also like, I like, knowing.
Speaker 2: Peace of mind is worth something. How my financial planner
Speaker 2: told me that too. She was like, maybe it doesn't
Speaker 2: make sense to pay off your student loans when well
Speaker 2: and one fell swoop. This is back when we're paying
Speaker 2: off my husband's but she said, if it's going to
Speaker 2: help you sleep better, it is valuable.
Speaker 1: It is because I just wanted to know that, like
Speaker 1: my and honestly, Superman was like I want like he
Speaker 1: wants to know, and I want to know that, like
Speaker 1: even if everything goes away, that we can afford our life.
Speaker 1: Like if I if the Budgetnista and the Literature Academy
Speaker 1: everything were to like go to hell in a hand
Speaker 1: bastic basket, you would never know because I would still
Speaker 1: be wearing my same target clothes. I would still be
Speaker 1: driving my twenty sixteen car that I you know, I
Speaker 1: bought used. I would still like it, like life wouldn't change,
Speaker 1: and so and that's what I'm wanting that, like how
Speaker 1: we live life is not based upon like whether or
Speaker 1: not the business is super successful. It's as long as
Speaker 1: I'm you know, we are doing mildly well, we'll be
Speaker 1: able to maintain our lifestyle, which is fairly simple because
Speaker 1: I'm not moved by those things anymore because I've lost
Speaker 1: them and I know that you know, they can be taken,
Speaker 1: and it doesn't mean that much to me. It's really
Speaker 1: like family. Honestly, that means the most and friends. So yeah,
Speaker 1: I'm mixed. But I'm happy though, to be debt free
Speaker 1: for now.
Speaker 2: That's amazing. Meanwhile, I am just digging myself into a
Speaker 2: little bit of a hole over here. I'm becoming very
Speaker 2: acquainted with debt. But I'm I was actually going to
Speaker 2: do a boost about it.
Speaker 1: Are you? Are you? God? Yeah? I am gone?
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, so good segue.
Speaker 1: Yeah. Credit.
Speaker 2: I talked a little bit about the way that we're
Speaker 2: using credit cards for a home renovation, and I'm like,
Speaker 2: kind of I'm like feeling myself with my credit card
Speaker 2: strategy lately. I have to say I'm glad that I
Speaker 2: waited until now to start. I really was anti credit
Speaker 2: card for a long time. I really only started using
Speaker 2: credit cards consistently for all my spending. I only really
Speaker 2: felt comfortable doing that probably two years ago. I started
Speaker 2: doing that. And you have to be really diligent, because
Speaker 2: I have to make sure I set my own budget
Speaker 2: in my head for how much we can afford to
Speaker 2: spend each month on our credit cards, because only then
Speaker 2: will it actually make sense for us to try and
Speaker 2: get these rewards if we can afford to pay them
Speaker 2: off in full. Otherwise you're just paying interest and blah
Speaker 2: blah blah. You guys listen to the show, you know
Speaker 2: those things. Anyway, So recently, you know, with the home renovation,
Speaker 2: we've everything that we paid for cash. You know, we
Speaker 2: paid for all the renovation cash and we even paid
Speaker 2: for we got Actually, we actually found paying cash for
Speaker 2: home renovation can actually help you save money.
Speaker 1: We saved like fifteen.
Speaker 2: Hundred dollars on our countertop by paying cash for them.
Speaker 1: We were able to.
Speaker 2: Negotiate the price of our cabinets down by paying cash.
Speaker 2: So it's come to our advantage to have cash on hand.
Speaker 2: But when it comes to things like the furnishings, especially
Speaker 2: because we're about to get ready for holiday. We are
Speaker 2: hosting people for the holidays, so we need to have
Speaker 2: everything all at once. Okay, not everything, but like a couch,
Speaker 2: a bed, you know, a spare bed and everything. A
Speaker 2: lot of places do have good zero percent financing offers.
Speaker 2: I'm not saying that we're opening a credit card at
Speaker 2: every retailer. We haven't done that. But when it came
Speaker 2: to getting a mattress, they had a zero percent financing deal.
Speaker 2: We could have paid for it in cash. But I'm
Speaker 2: more concerned now about keeping our cash flow, keeping a
Speaker 2: nice cash flow, so we're not completely obliterating everything that's
Speaker 2: not our emergency fund, you know. So I'm willing to
Speaker 2: do zero percent financing because we have great credits, so
Speaker 2: we get qualified for those offers. If they're going to
Speaker 2: give you zero percent and let you pay something down gradually,
Speaker 2: you know when I can. I can pay it off
Speaker 2: when I get my tax refund or when I get
Speaker 2: my bone, you know, or even if I don't get
Speaker 2: a bonus and tax refund if you know, again, if
Speaker 2: the worst happens, you know, I'll still get a paycheck
Speaker 2: and I can pay it off with my monthly income.
Speaker 2: So we've been taking advantage when we can of a
Speaker 2: couple of zero percent financing offers through retailers. But then
Speaker 2: also I mentioned using the City Double Cash card to
Speaker 2: get two percent cash back on non like on everyday purchases,
Speaker 2: which helps us for furniture and things like I don't know,
Speaker 2: or pro paining things that you can get cash back
Speaker 2: for typically Okay, I also recently opened up a zero
Speaker 2: percent interest purchase credit cards. So some credit cards offer
Speaker 2: zero percent APR for a promotional period on new purchases.
Speaker 2: So we just got a proof for a zero percent card,
Speaker 2: I will say it was through Chase. It's called I
Speaker 2: forget what it's called. I don't want to.
Speaker 1: I don't want to.
Speaker 2: If the Chase has a bunch of cards, they all
Speaker 2: sound the same anyway, zero percent interest on purchases. Initially
Speaker 2: they did not want they did not immediately approve me
Speaker 2: for the card. Not because my credit wasn't great. I
Speaker 2: know it's great, but because some credit card issuers are
Speaker 2: doing this where if you have several cards with the
Speaker 2: same bank, they actually they're trying to avoid people who
Speaker 2: were trying to game, like open up credit cards, get
Speaker 2: the sign up bonus, close the card, keep it, you know,
Speaker 2: keep it moving. So they like Chase, for example, they're
Speaker 2: known to have this rule called the five twenty four rule,
Speaker 2: where if you open up more than five Chase credit
Speaker 2: cards within a twenty four month period, you may you
Speaker 2: probably won't get approved for the card, no matter how
Speaker 2: great your credit is. So I think I have four
Speaker 2: Chase credit cards now. So when I got that email,
Speaker 2: like you know we can't approve your we can't approve
Speaker 2: you right now, you will hear within thirty days, I
Speaker 2: was like, na brat, I need a couch by Christmas.
Speaker 2: So I called their hotline and I was able to
Speaker 2: get them to not only immediately approve me on the phone,
Speaker 2: but expedite so I get the card on Friday versus
Speaker 2: having to wait seven to ten days. And I just
Speaker 2: had to keep asking. They weren't offering this to me.
Speaker 2: They were just like, you know, even at the point
Speaker 2: when I finally got.
Speaker 1: Them to approve me.
Speaker 2: Then then she was like, Okay, thank you, have a
Speaker 2: nice day. And I was like, wait a second, how
Speaker 2: long does it take to get the card? She said
Speaker 2: seven to ten days. I was like, can I get
Speaker 2: it by Friday? And then she was like beep.
Speaker 1: Boop, beep boop. Sure.
Speaker 2: So just shows you can ask. Do I feel And
Speaker 2: again like, yes, I'm talking about, you know, willfully putting
Speaker 2: things on a zero percent interest credit card to keep
Speaker 2: our cash flow, you know, in pretty decent shape. I
Speaker 2: feel confident in this. But I'm just saying it's just
Speaker 2: I'm trying to use debt in a smart way to
Speaker 2: my advantage, which I think is the whole point of
Speaker 2: having a strong credit score, so you can take advantage
Speaker 2: of these types of offers. And I'm feeling good so far.
Speaker 2: And I have a plan. Helen will be happy.
Speaker 1: I have me.
Speaker 2: I have my plan to pay it off, and I'm
Speaker 2: repeating that plan to myself so I can can sleep
Speaker 2: at night. But you know, so far, so far, I'm
Speaker 2: feeling I'm feeling good, and I'm be that. You know,
Speaker 2: there are if you're if you have good credit and
Speaker 2: you're able to find these offers, there are good you know,
Speaker 2: credit card deals out there if you if you can
Speaker 2: find them.
Speaker 1: No, that's awesome, and honesty, I was thinking about that,
Speaker 1: you said. I was actually typing it to myself. You said,
Speaker 1: The City.
Speaker 2: City Double Cash card is the one that I've used
Speaker 2: for because they give you one percent cash back when
Speaker 2: you make a purchase and then give you one percent
Speaker 2: cash back when you pay off your balance, so it's
Speaker 2: really two percent cash back. And there's no there's very
Speaker 2: few cards. I think there's maybe a few other smaller
Speaker 2: credit cards. I'm credit Union cards that give you two
Speaker 2: percent cash back on anything. And the reason I got
Speaker 2: that card is because, yes, I have a three percent
Speaker 2: cash back card on you know, restaurants, but you can't
Speaker 2: use that at home depot to get cash back, right,
Speaker 2: So that's why I got the flat rate anywhere.
Speaker 1: City double Cash because you know I'm the worst. I'm like,
Speaker 1: City Double Dutch, get your cash in the hand. Card.
Speaker 2: We talked about this card before we did.
Speaker 1: I know, And I'm like, I totally did that because
Speaker 1: I was googling, and I'm like, oh, I need to
Speaker 1: get the exact name from Mandy because you know I'll
Speaker 1: be out here like venture into the woods because you're
Speaker 1: going to chase me down. Card, you should get it.
Speaker 2: And one thing too, is like zero percent credit cards,
Speaker 2: the risk, okay, I know the risks is deferred interest.
Speaker 2: That's a risk. If I don't actually pay off this
Speaker 2: zero percent APR card that I just got within twelve months,
Speaker 2: I'm going to get hit with deferred interests. It's going
Speaker 2: to pretend like I was getting charge interest from the
Speaker 2: beginning and they're going to slap it all in my
Speaker 2: card all at one time. But I know I can
Speaker 2: pay it off before that twelve months is up. That's
Speaker 2: the only reason I'm doing it. And at the end
Speaker 2: of the day, it made more sense to do and
Speaker 2: in my mind to do this versus I could have
Speaker 2: gotten a personal loan. You know, the best rates for
Speaker 2: a personal loan right now are like, what six percent,
Speaker 2: but six percent is still more than zero percent. So
Speaker 2: for me, it made more sense to take advantage where
Speaker 2: I can at these zero percent offers. We're still we
Speaker 2: still have our budget for what we're paying for on
Speaker 2: the credit card, and we're not like going bananas, but
Speaker 2: it's it's it's serving my purpose right now, and I'm
Speaker 2: trying to do it in the smartest way possible.
Speaker 1: No, but I know, I I think because people ask.
Speaker 1: I mean, I'm not a huge you know, credit card advocate,
Speaker 1: but I am a huge If you're gonna use credit cards,
Speaker 1: use them wisely. So I think this is good because
Speaker 1: you're using you know, you're using your credit because like
Speaker 1: you're gonna buy these things anyway, it's happening. We're here now,
Speaker 1: so it's like, well, how can I maximize you know,
Speaker 1: the fact that we're renovating, you know, So it's like
Speaker 1: if I'm gonna cause you're gonna be spending tens of
Speaker 1: thousands of downs that's just how much it costs. And
Speaker 1: it's like you can you can get a free flight
Speaker 1: out of it, you can get cash back, there's so
Speaker 1: many benefits. So I think what you're doing is super smart.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's like there's there's good cards out there. I mean,
Speaker 2: if you're not earning, if you're using credit and you're
Speaker 2: and you have good you have a good credit score
Speaker 2: like seven sixty or higher, seven forty or higher. Even
Speaker 2: like if you don't have a rewards card, you're kind
Speaker 2: of missing out, you know, unless you're doing it because
Speaker 2: you know yourself and you've been in debt before, you
Speaker 2: don't trust yourself. That's fine. But if you're responsible and
Speaker 2: you can pay your card in full, like you might
Speaker 2: as well make a little make some make some like
Speaker 2: shush on the top, get some sprinkles.
Speaker 1: No, you're right, because you're right because if you're if not, like,
Speaker 1: if you're someone who uses your card responsibly, then you
Speaker 1: know there's literally it's almost like not using e baits, right,
Speaker 1: It's like so if you gotta shop online, ebates is
Speaker 1: free and literally just says, hey, you bought that thing,
Speaker 1: here's three percent of your money back, so use e baits,
Speaker 1: you know. So it's just like one of those things.
Speaker 1: So it doesn't there's certain things that just doesn't make
Speaker 1: sense not to use when it comes to your finance.
Speaker 2: Exactly. All right, Well that's my brown boost. I guess
Speaker 2: that was for just credit cards in general, working them,
Speaker 2: work in the system, trying my best not to pay
Speaker 2: them one penny, but collect all the pennies for myself.
Speaker 1: Okay, okay, do it.
Speaker 2: We'll have a good Thanksgiving.
Speaker 1: Enjoy not cooking, right, And I was gonna say, enjoy
Speaker 1: my join Vanda's turkey and I'm here. We're gonna have
Speaker 1: a good time, yes, but have a good Eata lasigna
Speaker 1: for me. I love Lazangna. Honestly, I will.
Speaker 2: Bring you some because you know, I'm like, to some
Speaker 2: tolerant girl, I can't eat Asanna. My poor mother in law,
Speaker 2: she's like, she's like, you're still you still can't eat cheese? Yes,
Speaker 2: that is how the body works.
Speaker 1: I'm kind of been paying for life. But you know,
Speaker 1: I'll let you know.
Speaker 2: She's like, I love it, but it's mozzarella. I'm like, no,
Speaker 2: not even mozzarella.
Speaker 1: I love that shit. You still cheap. I guess if
Speaker 1: one day body's like, you know, a girl, okay, I
Speaker 1: don't want to get you that cheese.