BiggerPockets Money Podcast - 129: How to Teach Your Children About Money with The Budgetnista Tiffany Aliche

Episode Date: June 15, 2020

Today, we welcome back the Budgetnista, Tiffany Aliche. When we spoke to her way back in episode 8, we heard her story of an investment gone wrong and how 2008 really threw a monkey wrench into her li...fe plans. But instead of allowing that to deter her, Tiffany committed to teaching people how to budget. Since we last spoke, she has expanded her original, uber-successful Live Richer Challenge (www.livericherchallenge.com) into a savings edition, a credit edition, a net worth edition, and a homebuying edition—all free and all designed to teach you the things you never learned about money and finance. Tiffany is SO PASSIONATE about personal finance that she worked tirelessly for more than two years to get a bill passed in New Jersey, mandating financial literacy education for middle schoolers. (Want to duplicate her success in your state? Here’s a video that details how she did it: How to Get a Law Passed with Assemblywoman Angela V. McKnight. But she’s not done! Tiffany has combined her love of budgeting with her love of teaching children in her new book Happy Birthday Mali More, and on today’s episode, she shares her top tips for teaching your children the fundamentals of managing money properly. If you have children, this episode can help you figure out the age-appropriate lessons you should be teaching them to help them grow into financially responsible adults. In This Episode We Cover: The Budgetnista Law The reason why parents have a hard time teaching their kids about money The concepts that parents should teach at various ages How early should parents start teaching their kids about money? Communicating the concept of financial freedom How Tiffany got her husband on board with financial freedom And SO much more! Links from the Show BiggerPockets Money Facebook Group Live Richer Challenge BiggerPockets Money Podcast 08 with Tiffany Aliche Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Starting point is 00:00:00 Welcome to the Bigger Pockets Money podcast, show number 129, where we bring back Tiffany Aliche, the Budget Nista, to talk about teaching your children all about money. You're not trying to create like this perfect kid that's going to know all the things, you know, that you're just wanting to give them enough exposure so they can start to generate interest in different things. And especially when it comes to financial education. To me, it's as important as reading, writing, adding, and subtracting. If you cannot manage your money, you will not be able to eat, you will not be able to sleep someplace safe, you will not be able to transport yourself from one place to another. You have to have some basic core financial education.
Starting point is 00:00:40 If not, it's going to be very difficult to be an adult. Hello, hello, hello. My name is Mindy Jensen. And with me, as always, is my They Didn't Teach this stuff in school co-host, Scott Trench. Yeah, well, I'm certainly superintending to teach you something with this podcast episode, Mindy. Oh, Scott and my... I are here to make financial independence less scary, less just for somebody else, and show you that by following the proven path, you can put yourself on the road to early financial freedom and get money out of the way so you can leave your best life. That's right. Whether you want to retire
Starting point is 00:01:13 early and travel the world, go on to make big time investments in assets like real estate, start your own business, or simply learn how to teach your children about money. We'll help you build a position capable of launching yourself towards your dreams. Today we welcome back to Tiffany Oliche, to the podcast. We last spoke with Tiffany on episode eight where she shared her financial story. To give you a bit of a recap, Tiffany grew up talking about money. Her dad is an accountant. Her mom was actively involved in teaching the children daily financial discussions like grocery shopping. Basically, Tiffany was financially perfect. Those are her exact words. She had a good job. She had a home that she owned. She was saving money for retirement.
Starting point is 00:01:57 But then she met a friend who convinced her to invest in a way that was not beneficial to her. life didn't think that was quite enough, so it threw 2008 at her closed the school she was teaching at and foreclosed on her home. But rather than accept her downturn, she realized, I need to take responsibility for my past actions and turn my life around. That is also a direct quote. And did she ever? Tiffany has a passion for budgeting. She has an entrepreneurial spirit. And she has combined her passion for budgeting with her passion for children and teaching to create the live, reacher challenge, the budget.
Starting point is 00:02:32 Nista, like 50 other things. And she is a serial entrepreneur, massive success story, changing literally millions of people's lives today across the various businesses she started. And I would venture to say modestly financial successful in the process. Modestly financially successful. Yes. Ridiculously financially successful. Tax season is one of the only times all year when most people actually look at their full financial picture, including income, spending, savings, investments, the whole thing. And if you're like most folks, it can be a little eye-opening. That's why I like Monarch. It helps you see exactly where your money is going, and more importantly, where your tax refund can make the biggest impact. Because the goal isn't
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Starting point is 00:05:05 At this point, I've logged over 229 audiobook completions on Audible alone, and I still regularly re-listen to the highest impact titles. Lately, I've been listening to Bigger Leaner Stronger for Fitness, the anxious generation for parenting perspective, and several Arthur Brooks' audiobooks that have been excellent for mental well-being. What makes Audible so powerful as its breadth. Beyond audiobooks, you also get Audible Originals, podcasts, and a massive. massive back catalog across business, health, parenting, and more, all accessible in one app.
Starting point is 00:05:34 If you're looking to turn everyday moments into real progress, Audible has been indispensable for me over over 10 years. Kickstart your well-being journey with your first audiobook free when you sign up for a free 30-day trial at audible.com slash BP Money. Tiffany Aliche, the budget, Nista. Welcome back to the Bigger Pockets Money podcast. Thank you so much for having me. I'm super excited.
Starting point is 00:05:57 Last time I was on, so many people were like, you were a bigger bag of a someone. Yes, I was. So it's awesome to be back. Well, this time around, everyone's going to be like, you're at the budgetista.
Starting point is 00:06:07 So it's kind of come full circle from this time, I think. I know a lot of podcasters and they'll send me notes every once in. Hey, how'd you get that guest on? You know, I know people. So we last spoke to you on episode eight of the Bigger Pockets Money podcast,
Starting point is 00:06:22 which came out in February of 2018. And since then, you've been a busy little beaver. You've been on the Today Show. You've been on MSNBC, PBS. Last week you were on Queer Eye. How did you even get on there? I didn't even know. I'm scrolling through Facebook.
Starting point is 00:06:38 And somebody's like, did anybody else freak out when they were watching Queer Eye and there's Tiffany? I have to go watch that now. How did that happen? Honestly, they slid in the DMs, one of the producers on IG. She was like, hey, you know, we've got an amazing person. His name's Tyreek and he needs some financial guidance. Are you fingers crossed?
Starting point is 00:06:58 you live near Philly. And I was like, yeah, I live in Jersey. It's totally like an hour and some change drive away. I can come. And they never had, I didn't know this, but they'd never had a financial coach or whatever on the show before ever. And so I went and Tarik was just awesome and amazing, just this big, huge heart. And he actually texted me today.
Starting point is 00:07:16 I was checking in on him. Like, how are you doing? And yeah, I just, it's living the DMs. And I went down there and they signed me to an NDA. But so I was, it's been almost a year. So I've been like, oh, you've been in? Oh my goodness. Yes.
Starting point is 00:07:29 And so when it came out, it just feels so real because so many people have reached out to me as a result of that. That's awesome. That's awesome. You were on the show on episode eight and we went. I sung your praises back then for the Live Richard Challenge, which I still love. I think that your information is outdated on your website because it says only 700,000 women have gone through it. But I thought it was more than a million. Yes.
Starting point is 00:07:52 Right now we are over for the challenges. We have more than a million dream catcher. So that's like our Beyonce's Beehive. But over, I would say about 900,000 women have gone through one or more of the challenges we have. There's the fundamental savings edition, credit edition, home buying networks. So there are five live richer challenges that are still completely free. And that's just for people who are listening now, if you are just starting to get your financial life in order, you know somebody who needs to get their financial life in order and has expressed interest because you don't want to be preachy. Live richerchallenge.com will take you step by step.
Starting point is 00:08:26 it's what, like a four-week process or five-week process? So it depends which one you choose. They're about it a month long, but it's an email course. It comes directly to your inbox. And I use my preschool teacher, like super spidey senses to really walk you through as if you are a four-year-old learning personal finance and really just walk you through with kindness, but just real clear direction. You don't have to know how to do anything except for read, write, ad, subtract. Everything else I give you all the scripts, all the lessons, everything that you need. And it's completely free. It's been, this is like year. five or six right now. And so they've been free. And so really it's my give back to my community.
Starting point is 00:09:02 It is fantastic. I think it should be a requirement that everyone has to study finance in some form at some point along these lines. What do you think, Mindy? Raise your hand if you have a law named after you. I do. I do. That's another thing that you've been up to since we last spoke. you have a law named after you, the budget-neesda law passed in January of 2019, making financial education mandatory for middle school students in New Jersey. First of all, that's amazing. And now we are 150th of the way there. Well, thankfully, there are some other states that have financial education that's mandatory.
Starting point is 00:09:45 So Jersey actually was ahead of the curve. So before my law, there was a law in place already for high school, which is awesome. And so when a friend of mine who actually was a student in one of my free classes I used to teach at the United Way came to me. Her name was Angela B. McKnight. I forget what she was doing back then as a living, but she did a lot of volunteer work in her city where she lives Jersey City so much so that someone said, you should run for office. So she did and she became an assemblywoman. And as soon as that happened, she said, Tiffany, I want to create real lasting change. I want to do so through education.
Starting point is 00:10:19 I want to write a law about financial education. And I said, well, there's already one for high school. But, Angela, you know, I used to be a preschool teacher for over 10 years. And I used to teach age-appropriate financial education to my little one. Financial education should start as young as possible. And she was like, well, let's do it. Let's write a law for middle school and elementary school. And so we worked on it.
Starting point is 00:10:43 And first, it read a little differently. It read like it was really clear and specific about the way. ways that financial education had to roll out. But then we had some pushbacks from some teachers and educators. And even I had to understand because when I was a teacher, there used to be these new mandates that would happen. And you're like, well, what am I supposed to fit that into the educational day? So we really wrote the law to soften it to say that you integrate financial education. And I really helped the educators on the education committee understand that integration meant that you could be doing an art project for the art component of the day. And maybe the kids are making
Starting point is 00:11:19 savings boxes out of shoe boxes. So you don't have to stop money time. You know, like that's the part. That's hard for educators to be like, now we have to talk about money. It's like, no, that instead for like the math portion of the day, maybe you guys are counting the money that you saved in like a jar that you're going to be giving to charity. And so it was awesome in that. We wrote this law.
Starting point is 00:11:41 It was supposed to be for elementary school and middle school. We did all this work, met with the committee, got the Senate and the House on board. on both sides of the party, everyone was like, yes, this is awesome. It goes to the governor, Governor Christy at the time, who was on his way out. He said he would sign it. He didn't. And in the state of New Jersey, when a bill is not signed, it's automatically vetoed. And so we were like, no, all that hard work.
Starting point is 00:12:08 But the good news is we went back to the drawing board and you have to go, you have to do the process all over again. You know, but this time, for some reason, there was some pushback about the elementary school component. And we were like, fine, fine, fine, fine. we'll just do middle school. And our current governor, Phil Murphy, said, absolutely. We think it's awesome. And not only do I think it's awesome, I want to actually do a public signing, which is awesome because most laws, you know, they get passed and no one kind of knows.
Starting point is 00:12:33 But my mom got to come. My friends got to come. The school where they did it was in middle school. So the kids got to see an actual law being signed into law. And so it's officially officially called Law A1414 if you want to do your Googles. But we call it the budget. These the law around these parts. Love it. Do you acquire bigger pockets money as part of that integration?
Starting point is 00:12:56 No, I mean, here's the thing. I didn't realize, but a few of my financial friends actually were paid to come in as folks to come help New Jersey integrate that law into the school system, which I thought was so awesome that it didn't just help kids. It actually helped to create jobs, which I didn't anticipate. And it didn't hit me. I mean, when the law was signed, it hit me, but it didn't hit me like what it meant in real life until around the corner, my friend Rihanna lives, she and her husband, they've got a daughter, Olivia. Olivia is in middle school. And one day, she was doing her homework and she said, Ms. Tiffany, because she knows I teach financial education as the budgetista. She said, can you help me by homework? I don't understand this
Starting point is 00:13:37 part. So I'm looking at it. And I'm like, oh, it was homework about money. And I'm like, you guys are learning money in school. So it was so, it was a full circle moment of like, you know, not this kind of, esoteric, there's a law. There's like, no, Olivia is learning money in school because you got a law written and now her life is not going to be the same. So that's just, just awesome. Well, I am so pleased that New Jersey has a law. I'm not sure that Colorado has a law. I have a seventh grader. So she's, well, she just finished seventh grade. So she's two thirds of the way through middle school. And there's been like a comment, but not a whole plan. What is it called junior achievement? Is that the financial? So they came in in like second or third grade for her,
Starting point is 00:14:25 but then my younger one didn't have anything. So I think Colorado needs to catch up with New Jersey a little bit. No, absolutely. You know, we have had people ask questions about how to teach their children about money. And it's tough because, you know, how much information is too much information to give them. You don't want to, you know, hey, sweetheart, let's talk about budgeting. And she's like, I'm three. I don't know what I'm talking about. You know, actions speak louder than words. But it's also, you also need to use your words to teach your children. And then one day I got this email that the budgetista has written a children's book. And I responded right away.
Starting point is 00:14:56 I'm like, I have got to bring Tiffany back on the show because who better to teach children about money than a former teacher, a former preschool teacher who now teaches everybody about money. Yes. So Tiffany, why do you think parents have such a hard time teaching their kids about money? Well, one, I think a lot of parents feel like they don't know. about money, so they're like, I'm going to teach something I don't know, you know. And then two, especially culturally, I think a lot of parents come from a cultural background that says that it's not appropriate for kids to learn about money. It's not appropriate for anyone to talk about money. Yes. But I say it's not appropriate for kids not to learn. It's inappropriate not to teach your
Starting point is 00:15:39 children about money because here's what happens. Your three-year-old that doesn't learn about money becomes the 13-year-old that's like, huh, I don't know anything about money, becomes the 18-year-old that's like, huh, I don't know anything about money, then becomes the 30-year-old that's still sleeping on your couch. Like at some point, there has to be an injection of education, and the earlier you start, the better. So the purpose, for example, for the budget needs to lock, it's not that these middle schoolers are going to leave trading stocks
Starting point is 00:16:09 by the end of middle school. But it's going to normalize the conversation about money because once you begin to normalize it, then you can start integrated into your day-to-day life. That's what we're wanting. We're wanting that the first time you hear budget is not when you're just graduating college or the first time you learn about credit.
Starting point is 00:16:26 I know I had credit cards in college. I didn't know. I used to sign it for credit cards so I can get Snickers bars. I'm like, yes! I'll take the giant Snickers bar. Here's my life signed away. And I didn't know. It wasn't until after I graduated
Starting point is 00:16:38 and I remember I was checking my credit report for the first time. I had 21 credit cards. I was like, no, I don't. And I was like, ooh, wait, 21 Snickers bars sounds about right. And so I learned that the best way to teach financial education to kids is the way that I grew up learning, that my parents did a really good job into matching what I cared about as a kid to what they cared about as an adult. I mean, newsflash to parents, their kids don't care about your bills. They don't. But they do care about things like candy, a bike. I remember my very first financial lesson. I
Starting point is 00:17:20 vaguely remember, but I don't know if I remember just because they told me the lesson so often, is that I apparently had like this obsession of turning on water. I turned on water everywhere. And I was feng shui before feng shui was a thing. And my parents were like, how do we get four-year-old Tiffity to stop leaving the water on and having a meltdown if we turn it off? And so one of the things that my dad did was we didn't have a lot of money as a kid. we were growing up. And so we used to have to rotate ice cream days. And so we would, you could get ice cream like once a month. But my day since I was the second oldest was Tuesday. So I can go inside on the Tuesday and get my dollar. And then the rest of my sisters would have to go inside and get like ice cream from the freezer. But I can go to the ice cream truck when the ice cream truck came around on
Starting point is 00:18:01 Tuesday. So it's Tuesday. Normal. Turn the water on. Wasting water as usual. It's Tuesday. Hey, I hear the ice cream man. Daddy, can I have my dollar? You just missed the water man. I'm like, okay, what does that mean? So apparently when the waterman comes, you have to pay him. And I didn't have any other money except for your ice cream day dollar. Apparently, I don't remember, but they said I had the meltdown of all meltdowns. Like, what do you mean? The waterman took my dollar.
Starting point is 00:18:29 It was like, you can still get ice cream, but just from the freezer. I don't want ice cream for the freezer, you know? And I bet you, but one thing I know for sure, I never, ever ran that water again. because he paired what was important to me, which was ice cream, to what was important to him, the water bill. And so that was the start of having those types of conversations. Like, hey, Tiffany, you want a bike for your 10th birthday? Absolutely, I did. We'll sit down and you have to do the budget with me.
Starting point is 00:18:56 Okay, well, what does that mean? Well, here's all the expenses that your mom and I have, and here's what me and mommy make every month. So I'm going to let you use my fancy calculator to subtract what we spend from what we make. And really, I was looking at the expenses and asking, what does that mean? I'm nine going on 10. What's a mortgage? Well, we pay for the house every month. You pay for the house every month?
Starting point is 00:19:18 I thought you bought it like a shirt one time. It's done. And so learning those things. And imagine adding up the money and figuring out what your bike budget is going to be based upon all these things cost money. And then you guys make this. And this is what's left over. And even what's left over, some of it has to be saved. And then some of it has to go to my sisters.
Starting point is 00:19:38 and then I get this much money with bike money. So it really, those things stuck with me. And so I tell parents, first and foremost, to marry, figure out what's important to your kid and then match it to what's important to you. And that's how you're going to start to integrate age, appropriate financial education to that. Do you have like a framework?
Starting point is 00:19:59 I think that's a wonderful set of things. I'm trying to think through this because I can't. I don't have kids. So this is a hard thing for me to wrap my mind around with what these things are. but do you have any like frameworks for milestones maybe or concepts that you should teach at various ages like early in early years four or five six years old they should be learning these concepts middle school yeah so I would say super young meaning like under the age of five the pre-financial education is what you're looking at so those are things like that's where I wrote I'm getting my
Starting point is 00:20:30 van a black call instead of been a white manna black awesome happy happy birthday Molly Moore And so, for example, in this book, this book is ideally for three to seven year olds, right? And so it teaches concepts like donating less versus more, giving, sharing. You know, so those are pre-financial education lessons. So math is a pre-financial education lesson. And before math, there's even like the book rhymes on purpose because when you rhyme, that means you can count and keep up. And if you can count and keep up, you can start to learn about numbers.
Starting point is 00:21:02 And if you can learn about numbers, then you can start to learn math. And math is a pre-financial education lesson. But really, especially in that book, Happy Birthday, Molly Moore teaches, like, Molly gets all these presents, and she gets so many presents that actually starts to push out her family and friends, and she has to decide what's more important,
Starting point is 00:21:20 the presents or family and friends, and she decides instead to donate some of her presents so other people can enjoy it. That's a free financial education lesson. So that's something that you would teach that's age appropriate for a little one. Now, let's start talking about, like, elementary school. So now, by now,
Starting point is 00:21:36 they have some of these basic concepts, you know, like counting and sharing and giving. These are some basic concepts they might have already learned. But for elementary school, now you can start teaching them about actual core concept like saving. Right. So one of the things that I was able to do when I was a kid, I had a piggy bank. And whenever we got paid, my parents would give us money. And they said, you have to always save some. So for allow it. So making sure that your child knows that with the money that they received, some of it has to always be set aside for savings and saving for why, for what, explaining what that means. So having those conversations. So I've got a bonus daughter. She's now 13 going on 45. And when my husband and I got together, she was like six or seven.
Starting point is 00:22:21 And so she was in that like elementary school age range. And we used to introduce also in that age range, introduce core concepts and using the right words like budget. So we would go out shopping. And before I came, her dad was just, because she's the only child, her dad would just buy her whatever, like, oh, we're at a store, get whatever doll you want. And I would be like, is it her birthday? Is it something I'm unaware of? Of course, she loved me. Right. And I'm like, why don't we just get her stuff for getting her stuff? And she was like, I have a good thing going. And so I was like, no, why don't we create a budget for her? She does little things around the house and we give her like $5 here and there. She put some in her piggy bank. And she knows what her budget is based
Starting point is 00:23:02 upon what's in her piggy bank. And when I tell you, she actually truly enjoyed that. Kids are more autonomous than we give them credit for versus saying, go pick out a doll. She loved knowing, hey, Tiffy, what's my budget? It's $5. And now she can choose what she wants with her $5. She loved that. And it was way less expensive than getting her some random doll. So we would always do that. Like, what's my budget? So that was introducing core terms in elementary school. And then I would say high school, this is when you really should like start to ramp up right so in high school a lot of kids can start to work and so I encourage that you know like in the summertime you know making money and so my dad used to sit down with us when we would make money and every pay period he would sit down and we would
Starting point is 00:23:47 have to map out what are we going to do with it so he was teaching us had a budget but in real time you know so you can start doing that with your your high schooler as money starts to come in mapping out what are we going to do with those funds at the end of the day you want to teach you kids that some of your money is for spending, some of your money is for saving, and some of your money is for investing. Those are the three things. And like, you can even get like a, I actually bought, like, it was a special piggy bank that had those three sections. So Alyssa used to know that whenever she got money, she had to put something in those three sections to start to get that habit going. So those are kind of like, so high school actually starting to do the work with your finances,
Starting point is 00:24:24 middle school, learning the basics, like, and doing like, and saving and learning how to navigate that and the real world just by just a little bit. And then really elementary school, learning the terms and for really, really little ones, learning the basic tenants, like sharing, giving service. Awesome. I think it's a fantastic framework with that. You're 13-year-old.
Starting point is 00:24:47 Do you have it, is there anything you could share about how she's handling money currently? Are you noticing a lot of payoff with what you've kind of worked on over the years and that she's got a very good advanced ability to handle that right now? No. She is doing whatever she was okay. But that was not what I was expecting. All right. I'm so glad you said no because I'm failing too and I don't want to be the failure. But here's what I learned because when my dad was teaching me at 13, I was like, whatever, dude. When I get my paycheck from this little babysitting, I'm totally going to the store and buying candy.
Starting point is 00:25:21 You know what it is. Like, but what I realized and what my dad realized that the lesson wasn't for 13. The lesson for was Tiffany 40. now. And so I didn't realize, so you know what I mean? So you realize like, oh, because the truth is a 13-year-old typically is not paying bills. They're not needing to be financially responsible. So I'm okay with her not, quote-unquote, learning the lesson right now because you think she's not learning until I went. I had a vision board party in January for my friends. And so she came and she was doing her vision board. And the other day, I was cleaning up her room because, you know, it was just a mess. And I saw her vision board on the wall. And she had financial goals on
Starting point is 00:25:59 her vision board. I was like, something is sticking in. She wrote that she wanted to start a business and this is how much money she needed and this is how much money she thought she can make. And I thought to myself, you think she's not listening, but she is. And so to keep going. So if you do have a teenager, I mean, they're just by nature, are not listening. That's what it seems like, but it is a slow soak and that like, although she's not, you know, a junior Bill Gates or a junior, you know, Warren Buffett, something is sinking in. And my dad, we used to always say, let it not be said that I didn't say, you know?
Starting point is 00:26:34 And so at the very least, let it not be said that I didn't say that. I'm going to say the things over and over and over and something will stick. Something's better than nothing. And you just never know where it's going to turn out. Because I was a hard-headed way. And look at me now about Janista.
Starting point is 00:26:46 My dad, to the day, it's blown away. He can't believe it. He's like, Tiffany, of all my girls, he was like, you couldn't pay me money, and I would have lost that money. This makes parenting. sound a little harder than I had envisioned. Oh, no, Scott, it's super easy.
Starting point is 00:27:01 You should have nine kids. Okay, when you were saying that it stuck, I got goosebumps because also she's not listening, my kids aren't listening. They don't care at all. But then they do because I remember the one time, there's probably others. But my daughter said to me, Mom, if we can find it at a thrift store or a garage sale, can I buy it? And I was like, yes, of course we can.
Starting point is 00:27:31 Because I know we're never going to find it there because it's a brand new thing. But I was like, she's listening, she's listening. Even though most of the time it's in one ear and out the other. That is, and you know what? I think it's really important to hear successful people talk about the struggles that they have to with their kids because you think that you're like, why am I not doing it perfectly? Why can't I convey these messages to my kids? Because they're not ready for it.
Starting point is 00:28:00 What did you say? The lesson wasn't for age 13. It's for when you're 40. And so I can lean back on it because imagine if I had nothing to lean back on. It's like, I'm ready. Wait, I don't have the foundation to know. You know, like when I was 21, right after graduating college, is usually when the light bulb goes on because that's when like kids are like,
Starting point is 00:28:19 oh, I want to buy a car. I want to get an apartment. I want to get these things. And you're like, wait. So that's typically when, like, I never have a more engaged audience than I'm about to graduate college students because you're like, tell me all the things. Tell me all the things. I'm scared. I'm about you know. And so, but imagine if you had, like I said in the state of New Jersey, imagine if you had kindergarten all the way up into 12th grade of financial knowledge built in when you're finally
Starting point is 00:28:43 ready to activate that knowledge, it's there. There's something to, you can grab for something. And so that's why it's important for parents that now, whatever it is, no matter how difficult or how what your kid doesn't want to hear, it's important to be said because when they need it, they have to be able to tap into something. You don't want them to need it and not be able to tap into that. Do you work with a lot of adults who didn't have those lessons in any format like yours? And what is their kind of take on the situation? Is there, is there anger, frustration that they didn't learn those things? How do you kind of feel about the interactions you might have with folks who didn't get these when they're growing up?
Starting point is 00:29:19 Almost, I would say a good 99% of folks did not have, like, parents at home who taught financial education. It's normal not to get it at home. And so there is a level of frustration. So many people say, I wish I would have known when I was younger. I wish I could have started sooner. I wish I would have known. So I get that a lot.
Starting point is 00:29:36 And I'm like, well, now you know, but now you're learning. You know, like the best time is, they say, what is the best time is yesterday, you know, but the next best time is right now. And so I tell people like, you know, five years is going to pass anyway. How will it pass? Will you have leaned into learning more? Will you have leaned into earning more? Will you have leaned into navigating your finances more? So now is the time. It's okay if you didn't grow up with it, but you're here now, you know? And so that's the basis of what the budget needs to is built upon it, which is when you're ready, here are the tools. I used to do one-on-ones. I don't anymore
Starting point is 00:30:12 because I find that people who typically come to me for one-on-ones are not usually ready. Something's happened. They've lost their car. They got a call from the bill collector. Something visceral has happened. And they're like, ah, I need help. But it's not enough to sustain the work that they're going to need to do to really make a change. So I don't do one-on-ones anymore because those people typically are not really ready.
Starting point is 00:30:35 They're just reacting to something that's happened. So instead, I've created these like courses and classes and largely for free because when you are truly ready, you'll take the class. That's the person that's ready who's willing to sit for the three weeks and to take the class and to do the lessons. That's when it's going to stick. I can't make you ready. But what I can do is when you are ready, create the resource for you.
Starting point is 00:30:58 Great. So my next question is going to be along these lines of, hey, maybe I've got a middle schooler or a high schooler. And it's been a long time since I did algebra or whatever it is they're studying these days. And I've struggling to even help them with that work. How can I begin going about teaching money concepts? Is that kind of your advice there is go take a course, go learn it, and then teach it? Or how would you go about helping a parent in that situation?
Starting point is 00:31:23 So, yes, you could. But some of the stuff you think you don't know. But it's like saying, how are you teaching your child to brush their teeth or brush your hair? I mean, you know what I mean? There's a basic concept that you can still teach your child without having to be some sort of expert. You're paying bills, right? You can, the next time you pay bills, they can sit next to you and you can show them, I'm paying bills. You'd be surprised.
Starting point is 00:31:43 Kids have no idea what's happening. Like, I remember, I was like, I remember, so like something as simple as paying bills is like, bills are paid? Wait a minute. There was a funny meme that I saw. It was, it said something to the effect of like, man, you don't realize how much things cost until you move out. They're like, yo, cereal really surprised me. And someone was like, well, detergent surprised the hell out of me. Because you're like, 22, you're like, this is how much detergent cost?
Starting point is 00:32:13 It's like $10 a bottle. And you're like, my mom was buying detergent at this cost. So you don't have to be an expert, literally just living your life as an adult and letting them have a sneak peek in is more than enough. So you're going food shopping. Give them the budget. We have $100 to go food shopping. Let them pick the items off the shelf and check them off the list and add them up on their calculator. You're doing that anyway.
Starting point is 00:32:37 So involve them in those kind of activities, those financial activities you do as an adult. So you don't have to take a class to do that. You're living that life. You're paying bills. You're buying things. You're negotiating things. Let your children see you doing that so they can be like, oh, wow. This is why I couldn't get the Jordans for $100 because we have to eat.
Starting point is 00:32:55 You know? And so like letting them in on some of that adult interaction is going to be critically important because I do that with Alyssa. bonus daughter, right? So even with the budgetista, when I would get paid to do a speaking engagement, it's probably one of the reasons why she has on her vision board. I want to be, she has a big pile of money and she wrote entrepreneurship. I was rolling. And she literally wrote, I want to make a big pile of money because I used to let her when I got like speaking engagements and stuff. When the check came in, I used to let her open it and see how much it was.
Starting point is 00:33:30 But then I would also let her sit down with me and show her in business where I'm like, and I've got to pay this person and I've got to pay this person. And she was like, well, there's hardly any left. Exactly. You know? So letting kids in on like kind of like the magic curtain, letting them see behind that curtain, it's going to be a critical lesson to teach them. That is fantastic. And yeah, when you get that giant check, you're like, wow, this is amazing. But you can't show them half the story. You can't say, look at my big paycheck. You have to show them where it all goes to because it goes everywhere. Yes. And when she saw that, she was like, What? I remember, like, we used to do this thing where it was, I told her how business works. She was so cute. I told her I was like, you know, and when you work on regular nine to five, the government tells you what your taxes are. They say, hey, Tiffany, you're a teacher. You make $50,000 a year and your taxes are, you know, $15,000, $20,000, whatever. And I was like, but it's different for a business. Because she saw me saving a receipt one day. And she's like, why are you saving the receipt? I said, well, for a business, I get to tell the government what my taxes are different from when I was a teacher. So the
Starting point is 00:34:34 government says you made $200 and you're going to owe taxes on $200. And I say, no, here's my receipt. I bought a laptop. And here's my receipt. I bought, you know, clothes for the budget needs to. Here's my receipt. And I was like, so with that, I get to reduce how much it looked like I made because I had to use that money to run the business. So I only paid taxes on what's left. What after that? I mean, she was finding receipt. She used to bring receipts home from the ground. Here! I'm like, that's not how that works. But I just thought that was. I mean, she was like seven. And I thought the fact that she realized like, wait a minute, you can reduce, you know, what your income is. I mean, like, who thinks that at seven? But because I explained it to her, you know, even though
Starting point is 00:35:14 she thought about it in her seven-year-a-way, she was like, okay, Tiffany needs receipts to prove that she's using these things to grow her business. So things like that, you'd be surprised. Those things stick with kids. You know, everything you say, honestly, sticks with your kid. It might not seem like they're listening. But I used to say that a really good lesson is like a lotion on a cold day, at first you put it in and it's just kind of sitting on top of your skin and slowly but surely it does soak in. Well, you know, one of the things, so as you talk about these messages and those types of things and as your kids mature into high school, maybe even going into college, when do you think that we can get to the, you know, in my view, the excited, the really excited part of this, which is communicating the concept of financial freedom or entrepreneurship, those investing, those kinds of concepts. What are those conversations like to you? and how do you get more maturing kids excited about that stuff?
Starting point is 00:36:08 So I think that can start as early as middle school. I can remember, like, my father and his friends, and my mom, they had something called the Sisu. So Sousu is very common in different cultures, and that's when collectively people kind of put money into a pot, and then the pot changes hands every month. And so I remember, like, when we were really little, because to me a Sousu just met, we have a party once a month.
Starting point is 00:36:29 So if it was our turn to receive the money, then you had the party at your house. And if it was at my aunt's house, we knew she was getting the money. But I remember when we were really little, they started the sous-so off. It was like $100 a month. And by the time I got to high school,
Starting point is 00:36:41 it was $2,000 a month. And my dad, because he was good at investing, half of that money was for the Sisu Savings Pots. The other thousand, they started an investment club. So here we are. Yay, my aunts and uncles are over. My cousins are over and we're all eating food and laughing and dancing.
Starting point is 00:36:57 But then they're also talking about, here's our investment portfolio. Here's where it's going. So he normalized that part like, we're investing family, friends, for eating. So this is the thing that you've seen happen over and over. And now it's starting to elevate. So it just seemed very normal that like, oh, people invests. People have investment clubs.
Starting point is 00:37:15 I didn't think about that as something odd. And I just remember one day, like they were passing around the investment portfolio. And I was just kind of sitting there. I must have been like in, I don't know, maybe eighth or ninth grade. And they passed it to me and I'm looking at it. And I didn't know what I was looking at. And my uncle was explaining, like, you know, last month we made this. And I was just like, oh, oh, okay.
Starting point is 00:37:33 Well, this is good. There's $10,000 in here. You guys started off with eight. So I think, honestly, as young as it's middle school and really getting into the meat and potatoes, definitely high school. Because even now to this day, I still learn from my dad when I come over. He's still invest. He still leans in. If anything, he's a little bit too.
Starting point is 00:37:50 I'm like, Daddy, you are 73. Why are you still heavily invested in stocks? But he likes to, like, right? With his retirement money, I'm like, we're here now, dude. Like, you need to be more safely invested. But so still, even to this day, he still talks about it conversationally. So I think that having, allowing your children to be around it, showing them not only like, you know, like explaining like investment statements to them, but explaining like what each component means. And then what does it mean for them?
Starting point is 00:38:20 Because at the end of the day, most people, especially children are self-centered. Like, this is one of the reasons why we were able to go to Disney World because, look, our stocks went up. this is one of the reasons why we were able to, you know what I mean? Like, if you tie that back into what's important to children, then it's like, well, how do I do that? You know, I honestly, although I saw my dad investing, I wasn't super duper interested. I really didn't start investing, quite honestly, into my late 20s on my own. But at least it was something that I saw. So it wasn't a foreign concept to me. It just wasn't something I was super interested in. But I think it's important. That exposure is what's most important. So you said you start around middle school. I can tell you
Starting point is 00:38:59 that age 10 is too early because my 10-year-old wants to retire, which is great. She wants to retire early. I'm super excited. Both my husband and I talk about money all the time, probably too much, but she wants to retire from school. And you can't do that in fifth grade. Well, what if she develops a, you know, $30,000, $40,000 a year in passive income? Would your tune change then, Mindy? No, she still has to graduate high school. You have to learn at the very least at high school. You have to graduate high school. I'm not going to force you to go to college. College isn't the best choice for everybody. But high school is. Graduate high school. And then, but yeah, start your business now. She is rabid about crocheting. She's been learning
Starting point is 00:39:52 since she was five. She didn't have the manual dexterity to do it at age five. So, So her stitches weren't nice or even or neat. But as she kept at it over and over again, she's learned. And she's making blankets. And you look at the blankets. You're like, I could sell that on Etsy. I want to create an Etsy store for you. She's like, I don't want to make blankets for people.
Starting point is 00:40:14 I'm like, what if they would give you $400 for that blanket? And she said, oh, what color do you want? It's true because I can remember being little and there was a young girl. So maybe, she had to be maybe like 15, 16, but she was really great at braiding. And my mom did not know how to braid our hair. And so on Saturdays and Sundays, we would like walk down the street and sit on her front porch and she would like rebating like all the neighborhood girls' hair. And she'd make $10, $15 a pop.
Starting point is 00:40:43 And so she was only allowed to work on the weekend. So yeah, so she was braiding and she saved up enough money. And I remember by the time she was like 18 or 19. I think she bought herself a car like a little, like a little. used car. But what a great lesson to learn in starting a business. Even now, Alyssa was like, I want to start a business. What does she want to do? She wanted to start a lip gloss business. And I was like, okay, in the middle of a quarantine. Sounds cute. And so she was like, and so she had added up all the things she needed for her lip gloss business. It was $450.
Starting point is 00:41:15 I was like, who's giving you $450? And she's like, you guys are not going to invest in my idea? I'm like, $450. No. I was like, how about this? Whatever you invest, we, we, we can, we can match it. First come up with a, I told, I made her watch Shark Tank. I said, these are the questions we're going to ask you, similar to this. A little nicer, but still, right? And then I told her, let me see if I can find it. I told her, like, she had to, whatever money she came up with, we would match it, my husband and I. And so she made these little rubber, someone had given her a bracelet making kit. They're a little just, just rubber bands that you weave together to make bracelets. So she started making them and selling them to family and friends. And I didn't
Starting point is 00:41:53 realize what she was doing, she was self-funding her own business. So I thought, oh, she switched business model. She doesn't want to do lip gloss anymore. So she made a, I wouldn't say a good $90 from these little rubber bracelets because I think there were three bucks a piece. So I was like, oh, she switched business. And then she came up to me. It was like, okay, I have $90. So with your $90, I'm like, whoa, where you get $90 from? She was like my bracelets. And I was like, whoa, how great is that? That this was not the business. This was the business to fund the business that she wants. So now she's got a room full of like lip gloss making kit things, which God only knows who she's going to be hawking that too. But I'm really proud of her because that's what you're
Starting point is 00:42:28 wanting is that you're not, you're not trying to create like this perfect kid that's going to know all the things, you know, that you're just wanting to give them enough exposure so they can start to generate interest in different things. And especially when it comes to financial education. To me, it's as important as reading, writing, adding, and subtracting. If you cannot manage your money, you will not be able to eat. You will not be able to sleep someplace safe. You will not be able to transport yourself from one place to another. You have to have some basic core financial education. If not, it's going to be very difficult to be an adult. Wow, that's the quote of the episode. Tax season is one of the only times all year when most people actually look at their full financial
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Starting point is 00:46:34 business. Now, I want to talk about your husband before we wrap this all up. Was he always on board with financial education. Okay. So we've talked about how to teach kids how to do finances. How did you get him on board? I'm assuming he's on board. Oh, you know, he's on board now. Thank God.
Starting point is 00:46:57 But in the beginning, I definitely was what he calls the bully budgetista. You're such a bully budgetista. Because I would be like, we're doing this and we're doing this. And this is how it's going. I know all the things. You don't know all the things. And he was just like, yeah, no. And so it was so hard because the,
Starting point is 00:47:14 the thing about my husband, he's not a big spender, but he's a big giver, but to his detriment, because he will give away our grocery money. He'll give away. I'm like, who? No, but such and such you really need to borrow money. I'm like, for a haircut, what about groceries? You know? And so he is an overgiver. And so I tried to figure out like, okay, how do I get him on track or just anybody's partner, right? How do you get them on track without bullying them and making them feel bad. And I thought, well, I think that therein lies, and that question lies the answer. What's something
Starting point is 00:47:48 I don't have to make him feel bad about? What's something that he's like, absolutely, I agree. And that something was Alyssa, or bonus daughter, was his daughter, right? That there's never a time where I'm like, we should save money for Alyssa that he's like, bad idea. There's never a time, you know? He's
Starting point is 00:48:04 always like, absolutely. And so I'm like, well, that was our foundation. It was like a common denominator. So when he wanted to give money to like somebody random. I'd be like, that's fine, but can we also put that $30 in Alyssa's savings? You know, like, oh, you want to do this? That's great. Well, can we also deposit money into Alyssa's college fund that same amount of money? Because there was never going to be any pushback. Like, why wouldn't I? Absolutely. And so that was the first foundation of we were both on the same page.
Starting point is 00:48:31 I knew I wanted more stuff, but I'm like, no, no, let's just get on the same page. If we both agree, putting money in Alyssa's savings account and college fund is always a good idea. And then I travel a lot. I love to with my friends. And at the time we were dating, I remember he would be like, well, I want to go on vacation. I'm like, well, vacation costs money. So if you open up a savings account, you can open up in an online only savings account. I'll show you how. Why don't you put your vacation money in there? So that way, when I'm like, look, I'm about to head out, you can be like, oh, I want to come to and you can get your ticket without having to think about it and without having to swipe your credit card. And so that was another common denominator. And we were on the same page. Great. And then
Starting point is 00:49:12 when we knew we were going to get married, it was like saving for a wedding, even though I knew that like I didn't want, we ended up going to justice of the peace. I didn't, and then a friend of mine had a restaurant that we, that she let us use. Because I knew I didn't want some big expensive wedding. I just wasn't interested in that. So what really kind of flipped it for him, because when I met my husband, I remember he had a truck that was the payment along with the, um, the insurance was almost $900 a month. I'm like, is this truck lined in gold? They saw him coming from a while away. And, and, and, And I just remember being like, it was the, and his ex-girlfriend was a co-signer, which I was like, oh, this is great.
Starting point is 00:49:50 So she's in our life for the next five years. And so I was like, yeah, we're going to have to do something about this truck. I feel like I was more concerned about the ex-girlfriend being a co-signer than the actual payment. And so he ended up giving that truck back and owing still a $5,000 balance. Because I told him it's a $5,000 loss. It's a less greater loss than what the loss would be if you continue. to pay this for the five years that you owe this truck. And so he did that. But to me, what really flipped the script for my husband is when he could see how when we got the house that
Starting point is 00:50:22 we live in now, we were saving, saving. So at a time we got married and then engaged, I was like, he's like, okay, I will pay the bills and we will save and invest the money you make as the budget lease. And I said, okay. So saving and investing, save investing, he was paying the bills, paying the bills. Well, I was really paying the bills, but he was depositing the money in the bills account because I'm the responsible one for like, you know, turning all the levers. And so he never really looked at our savings account. And we were looking for a house for like two years. And every time he put an offer, someone would come in and then get the house.
Starting point is 00:50:50 Because where we live right now was so hot. And then the house we live in now came up. And they wanted $180,000. By now we've been saving for like, oh, I want to say four or five years. They want $180,000. But it was a bank-owned property. It was a foreclosure. And the bank had been burned.
Starting point is 00:51:06 So they're like, we only want cash. And I told my husband, I was like, you know, we could do it. He was like, no, did you hear them? Tiffany, they only wanted. on cash. I'm like, what's the last time you looked at our only savings guy? He was like, do we have $180,000? I was like, we've been saved for like five years. We lived like hermit. So we were able to purchase this house cash. And that's when it was like, I could see, that's when the big life went on like, but remember, that was like five years into us being together, including
Starting point is 00:51:32 marriage. So it like, that made him realize, okay, this is what being on the same financial page can do, that it can allow us to live in our dream. home and then we purchased a tax deed from the city that was $10,000. And we're renovating that. And then we were able, his mom has since passed away. But we were able to pay off my parents' home and look after them. So the light bulb turns on when you start to realize to what money can do. But sometimes with your partner, it starts with a common denominator of something simple,
Starting point is 00:52:04 like a vacation fund or putting money in account for a kid. And how much more can he give now, given the success you guys? have had by being on the same page, right? Coming full circle to what he was initially the conflict. Right. Exactly. Now we like, you know, we set aside like a, I mean, for a supergirl, she's going to be like awesome by the time she's like 30, you know?
Starting point is 00:52:25 Like she's an employee of one of my businesses and we put all her money in a Roth IRA. And he's like, what? And so, but like, I couldn't have done that then. And that's why I was trying to force with your partner, you know, I couldn't have started off with that bigger picture that I had to start. start off with let's just save in her savings account. Let's just save for vacation. And from there, you can build upon there. So that's why I encourage any savers that are with spenders to start with a common denominator that you can both agree upon. I've got a chicken or egg question for you here.
Starting point is 00:52:58 Do you think that it's that trying to teach finance to your kids is a way to bring your spouse on board with better financial habits in general? Or do you think you need to go with the financial habits and getting those, getting aligned with your monetary goals together first. Which one, which one do you think is first? How would you approach that problem if you're trying to do both at once with your spouse? It depends. Whoever is more malleable, you know, because I feel like I was teaching Alyssa financial education before I started with my husband, you know, because she was open to it. She was seven. It was like, sure, you know, what's my budget? And she loved it because her favor was Staples. So we would go to Staples and she would get $5 and she would literally, she knew there was
Starting point is 00:53:43 one aisle that she was allowed to like pick her things from. And you would see her being like, okay, she had an obsession with mechanical pencils. If I get this one for $3, I can only get this one for a dollar. And if I, so you see her and she actually enjoyed it. So it wasn't a hard push on her because she was open to it. And then slowly was surely I brought him along. But so I say whoever is more open to that conversation. I don't think you necessarily have to start with your significant other although it's going to be even more impactful, obviously, if they're on the same page. It's a little harder sometimes with adults because there's a lot of undoing and unlearning that has to happen. With kids, you're typically teaching them something new, not necessarily having them unlearn bad financial habits.
Starting point is 00:54:24 Wow. Great. That's an awesome suggestion. Okay. Is there anything else you want to cover before we move on to the famous four questions? No, other than just the key is just to get started. That's with anything, right? So my philosophy with your finance is like, what's the next best step?
Starting point is 00:54:43 And I think everybody wants to go from zero to Warren Buffett. It's just not going to happen, you know? Sometimes the next best step is just, you know what? I can remember literally saving a dollar a month when the last recession hit the 2008, 2009 possession because I didn't want to stop the habit of Tiffany, I can't save. So I was literally transferring a dollar on the first of the month to a savings account just to say I still save, even though I like have nothing. And so like asking yourself, what is the next best step
Starting point is 00:55:11 and leaning into what I call your daily deposits? Like what is it? What is something, one small thing you can do a day to work towards your financial goals? So it might be a YouTube video that you watch. It might be listening to an amazing podcast, hint, hint. It might be reading an article. What daily deposit I'm constantly working toward like if I say I want financial freedom,
Starting point is 00:55:33 I define it and I put a daily deposit toward it every day. Wow. Yeah. Yeah, this is, oh, it's so hard not to just fan girl all over you. You're just fabulous. Thank you. Okay. It is time for the famous four questions.
Starting point is 00:55:50 These are the same four questions. We ask up all of our guests. Tiffany, are you ready? I am ready. Okay. What is your favorite finance book? My favorite finance book is Smart Women, Fennis Rich by David Bach. Oh, so the last time you were on, you said the automatic millionaire by David Bach.
Starting point is 00:56:06 Apparently, you are a fan. I am. Yes, smart women finish rich. Awesome. Awesome. What do you think is the biggest mistake people make when teaching their kids about money? The biggest mistake people make when teaching their kids about money is to teach them from a place of fear. Kids are pretty fearless.
Starting point is 00:56:24 So if you talk about money with a fearful tone, then they inherit that tone from you. Love it. That's a great answer. I'll have to think about that. What is your best piece of advice for people who are? we're just starting out. So my best piece of advice for if you're just starting out is to do what I call simple and soon. Those are my two favorite words. So not to overcomplicate it. I get it. You're like, I'm not ready for a budget. You don't need to be. Go to HR. Typically, most paychecks can be split up to four
Starting point is 00:56:55 different ways. I had my husband do this, four different ways. Even if it's not a huge company, most small companies will allow you to do so too. So from the very beginning, you can go to HR and ask them to split your check. And here's what you're going to want to do. You're going to want to have some of your check put into a bills account so you can pay bills from that account, have some of your check put into a checking account for spending, and that's your allowance, and have some of your check go into an emergency account. And you're ideally wanting to grow up to six months of emergency savings, and then have some of your check set aside for a more long-term financial goal. So those are the four splits. If you just do that, that will totally transform your life. So before
Starting point is 00:57:35 So when your money comes in, so when my husband's money comes in now, all he worries about is the money that's on this debit card, because you don't link your debit card to your bills checking account. The money that's on this debit card is my spending money because my bills are in my bills account and are automatically paid. His personal savings is in his savings account. His joint savings account goes to our joint savings account. And his allowance money. All he has to do is spend his allowance money however he wants knowing that the other responsibility. are taken care of. So simple and soon, go to HR if possible and have your checks split up. That is excellent advice. We've never heard that before. Oh, thanks. I love that. All right. Now for the last question of the famous four, what is your favorite joke to tell at parties? If you don't have a joke, I think Mindy's got a couple. Yes, please. How does a penguin build its house? A penguin? I don't know. It glues it together. Oh, no!
Starting point is 00:58:35 I was like, I had, I was a block by block. Something. I was like, I now was thinking that. You got that one cold, Minnie. That was good. Oh, God, Scott. Okay, Tiffany, where can people find out more about you? Do you have a website?
Starting point is 00:58:53 Of course I do. So I, yeah, I'm the budgetneast on all the social platforms on YouTube, on Instagram, and I'm the budgetneista at the budgetneista.com. So you could definitely find. me there. And for my children's book, if you've got little ones, and you're like, you know what, I do want to start teaching age-appropriate financial education because at the back of the book, I actually have some extend the lesson questions and activities to do with your kid. Because I know people are like, what do I do? It's like, you don't have to worry. The teacher
Starting point is 00:59:21 and me put that at the back of the book. So that way, if you're a teacher or a parent, you can extend the financial lessons. You can go to molly.m-m-o-com. M-A-L-L-I-M-O-R-E.com. and, yeah, get the book and start teaching age-appropriate financial education today. That's awesome. And we will have links to all of these things in our show notes, which can be found at biggerpockets.com slash money show 129. Tiffany, I am so excited that you were able to find some time in your very busy schedule to come on to our show. Do you sleep like ever? I do. I do. You know, I've always been a super hyperactive kid.
Starting point is 01:00:01 and, you know, I feel like I've just been putting the hyperactivity to good use. Awesome. It's been very fun to watch the discuss you've had over several years, but in particular, the last year or two, it's been wonderful and well-deserved. So we're sending to see what happens next. Thank you. Me too. I'm always like, I'm around for the ride. I don't take anything for granted.
Starting point is 01:00:23 I'm always like, woo-hoo, okay. Yeah, the energy that you have is like just you. You're not just, okay, let me turn this on for the show, and then turn it back off again. You're just excited all the time. That's so awesome. Thank you. So when does the next book come out? So I actually have my first, all the rest of my books that I've written are self-published.
Starting point is 01:00:44 And so I just signed my first traditionally published book deal. And so that book comes out in next March slash April of 2021. So I'm super excited because it's been like a book idea I've had for a while about, you know, the things that keep me up at night are how does a regular person, how does, not business owner Tiffany, but how does preschool teacher Tiffany become okay financially with not a ton of money, with not a ton of know-how, you know what I mean? Because it really bothers me that the average person, it's like, oh yes, all you have to do is start a million dollar business. Oh, yes. All you have to do is eat cornflakes for 10 years. I'm like, yeah, what is they, you know? And so I'm always thinking about
Starting point is 01:01:27 my preschool teacher Tiffany's self, how would she be able to be okay financially? I'm not talking about she's going to be some multi-millionaire, but to be able to go on vacation once or twice a year, to have enough money for retirement, to be able to afford a house. You know, like, how does that person, how does she be okay? And so I created something that I call financial homelessness and there's 10 steps. It starts with budgeting and ends with estate planning, but it's not fussy. It's not overwhelming. It's doable and affordable. So I created those, this financial wholeness kind of like plan and And so I'm turning it into a book. And I'm just really excited about it because I'm like, this is what's needed of like, oh, a step-by-step guide of like how to do well with your money
Starting point is 01:02:08 without having to make a ton or know a ton. That's awesome. I love that topic. And I sense a chance that if you'd like, we potentially love to talk more in depth about that around March or April next year. Yes, I would love that. Yes, I will hit up you and Tracy and get on your list of people to talk to about that because that is kind of exactly what we do on our show. So I want people to be able to find that information. I want them to hear the voice that speaks to the best. Awesome. Thank you so much. You guys are awesome. Awesome. Okay. Thank you, Tiffany. We are, that was a terrible segue. I just need to quit podcasting. No. More penguin jokes. More penguin jokes. What's black and white and red all over? A penguin and a blender. That's my
Starting point is 01:02:55 Oh, no. No. Paper. Get it black white and you read it all over? You read it all over. Yeah, but he said... That's such a kid joke. Kids would be like, I love that joke.
Starting point is 01:03:11 It is a kid joke. It's a gross joke because I, of course, go to the visual and then I'm like, ew. I did say I have a 10-year-old, so I have heard all of these gross jokes. And green and red, a frog and a blender. Blender's come up a lot in kids. jokes. Okay, Tiffany, thank you so much for coming today. I always love talking to you. I want to just have you on every single day, but you're, you've got your own show. No, thank you. This has been awesome. Thank you. Okay, Scott, what did you think of that episode? You know, I just, her story back in
Starting point is 01:03:47 in episode eight was just so, was so wonderful and so powerful. And then to see, like, she just has such a wealth of knowledge on this. She's such an expert. She's so perfectly set up, given her skill set and background to be an expert on helping teach children about money. And she brought it today with her energy and enthusiasm. What a joy to talk to and what a wealth of information. And what does she say right at the beginning? It's inappropriate not to teach your kids about money. That's so true. I thought it was perfect. Hey, why do you think people have a hard time teaching their kids about money? Well, because they don't know. Okay. fix your financial education holes and then teach your children, teach them by example.
Starting point is 01:04:33 What did she say? The lessons aren't for when they're 10. They're not for when they're 13. It's for when they're 40, when they're graduating college, when they're just beginning to start their financial life. You want to give them as many tools as they can have to make smart financial decisions. And they're not always going to make smart financial decisions. but they're going to make a whole lot more bad financial decisions if you don't teach them. Yeah, it was fun. Hey, so Tiffany, is it working? Is your daughter good with money now? No. Honestly, that's very helpful to hear because I am rather preaching about money on this website. I don't know if you've ever heard me talk about money every week on Mondays, but I sometimes feel like a massive failure because my children make
Starting point is 01:05:22 bad financial decisions. I mean, bad financial decisions. I can't wait. I'm sorry. I would like everybody to listen to Scott say parenting is going to be so easy. And when you have kids.
Starting point is 01:05:43 Obviously joking when I change my tune, you know, this is a joke. Yes, when you have kids, I am going to play that clip again for you. Okay, Scott, should we get out of here? Let's do it. From episode 129 of the Bigger Pockets Money podcast, he is Scott Trench, and I am Mindy Jensen, and we will see you later.
Starting point is 01:06:08 I don't have anything clever. I need to all of my preparation. We super intended to give you a great podcast episode today, and schools out. School's out. Oh, that's great. Why don't I make you do this? Okay, school's out. Goodbye.

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