Money Rehab with Nicole Lapin - A Crisis of Financial Confidence is Reshaping the American Dream— Here's How to Navigate It, With U.S. Bank

Episode Date: November 7, 2025

This episode gets personal. A new survey from U.S. Bank found that many Americans are making smart choices with their money, but many feel progress is elusive because the goals people care about (buying a home, retiring comfortably, building wealth), depend on economic forces beyond their control. Today, Nicole helps you learn the research-backed strategies to improve confidence and work towards your financial goals. To help unpack these strategies, Nicole is joined by U.S. Bank's Scott Ford, Head of Wealth Management at U.S. Bank, and Kate Phelan, California Regional Director of Strategic Wealth Planning and Advice. They cover how to prepare for buying a home, what to prioritize at different life stages, how to approach retirement in a world where it’s getting longer and less predictable, and what small money wins you can start today to build real momentum. They also talk about how to prepare for disaster, and Nicole opens up about rebuilding her life and studio after losing her home in the LA fires. Whether you’re rebuilding from life’s curveballs or just trying to get your financial footing, this episode is packed with real-world advice and heart. Read about U.S. Bank's findings Learn how U.S. Bank can help you with your financial goals All investing involves the risk of loss, including loss of principal. This podcast is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, or legal advice. Always do your own research and consult a licensed financial advisor before making any financial decisions or investments.

Hey, money rehabbers. Are you crushing it with your savings goals? Of course you are. But did you know that you can make your money work as hard as you do with U.S. Bank smartly checking and savings? From tracking your spending to growing your savings, banks smartly can help you reach your goals faster with higher savings rates and waived monthly fees on eligible accounts. Because when your bank believes in your potential as much as you do, that's when real progress happens. That's the power of us. Visit usbank.com today. Interest rates and annual percentage yields for variable accounts are determined by the bank's discretion and can change at any time. Deposit products are offered by U.S. Bank National Association, member FDIC. Today's episode is a really special one for me.

A few months ago, I signed a deal with U.S. Bank. At the time, I was still dealing with the wake of the L.A. fires. I was living in an Airbnb. I didn't have a studio or even a couch to record from. My team and I had hoped that we would find a partner that would help us rebuild the studio and that this, partner would want to support our work out of a shared belief in the importance of financial literacy. U.S. Bank got what we were doing immediately, and this is probably the most personal partnership I have ever done, and I will forever be grateful for the heart that I've seen in

U.S. Bank, which is exactly what I want to see in the financial institutions I work with, and I'm sure you do too. I have loved seeing how U.S. Bank puts in the work to understand how people are feeling about their money right now. And what they've found this year is that there's a crisis in confidence when it comes to money. So today, to help tackle this crisis and help you feel more confident, I'm talking with Scott Ford, head of wealth management at U.S. Bank, and Kate Phelan, California Regional Director of Strategic Wealth Planning and Advice. We'll get into what's really behind this financial anxiety, why younger generations feel like traditional success is out of reach and how we can reclaim that sense of control even in the middle of economic chaos.

We also get actionable, like how to prep for buying a home, what to prioritize at different life stages, how to approach retirement in a world where it's getting longer and less predictable, and what small money wins you can start today to build real momentum. Scott Ford and Kate Phelan, welcome to Money Rehab. Thank you for having us. Yeah, great to be here. So I want to dig into the numbers here because a recent survey from U.S. Bank found that there is a crisis of confidence going on. And I want to understand what that actually looks like to you from the numbers

and from talking to clients and customers. Yeah, no, it's a great question, you know, and we do these surveys annually in this year's survey was really about how are people feeling, you know, just given the general economic environment. And what we learned is, you know, people feel pretty good about the things that are within their control, right? And they're doing a lot of the right things. They're saving, you know, they're budgeting, they're cutting expenses. where they can. But it's the things that are outside of their control, right? Like the overall economy, inflation, geopolitical environment, that's where it's causing a lot of anxiety for folks right now. Makes so much sense. I mean, the only thing we can really control is ourselves, of course,

but there are a lot of X factors out there. Kate, do you think that that's translating into missed opportunities in the financial world? I do. Unfortunately, I think that right now this crisis in people's confidence as we're seeing it has led them to maybe not panic but freeze a little bit when people think that they don't have control of the situation they sort of pull in they maybe don't do the things that they would have otherwise in terms of their financial well-being because they want to wait and see what's going to happen so I definitely think that people are missing opportunities or maybe making moves that may be disadvantageous for them unfortunately Because I think generally it's got this idea of the American dream or what success looks like has changed.

So when you talk to millennials and Gen Z who are trying to do the right things, trying to save, trying to invest, trying to save for a house, how do you frame success today for them? Some of the insight suggests that the way people define, I guess financial success really has kind of remained pretty constant. People still want to own a home, they still want to have a family, they still want to be able to save for retirement. And I think that what feels different, especially for Gen Z and millennials, that feels like it's out of reach for a lot of folks. And it's just, you know, in some respect, some are even giving up a quarter of millennials and Gen Z people are giving up on the idea of owning a home and having a family. Yeah, I saw recent numbers that even if mortgage rates were zero, it would be hard to afford a home these days. Kate, what are you seeing as far as how success is divined in this climate and how it's changed from the generation before? I agree with Scott in the sense of we look to these consistent milestones of what maybe that definition of success is.

But to Scott's point, people are achieving success in much less linear and consistent ways. sort of used to be, okay, I'm going to get out of college and I'm going to get married and I'm going to buy a house and we're all sort of on this journey. And look at the millennials and they're kind of all over the place, right, in terms of when they're achieving that. So I think that the milestones for success are the same, but what it looks like to achieve that success and how we're defining it for ourselves, I think that's changing a lot, which isn't a bad thing, by the way. It just changes the landscape in terms of the industry that Scott and I are in. and it changes the way that we talk about what that financial well-being looks like and feels like because it's not the same. It's not as consistent or linear as it was a generation or two before us. Yeah, the timeline has changed, which isn't necessarily good or bad.

It's just different. It just is. So Kate, if we can double click for a second on home buying, if somebody is thinking about buying a home in the next five years, what should they be thinking about to set themselves up for success there? the obvious you've got to save for the down payment and that feels sometimes insurmountable or like a lot just in of itself but there are other things that people need to be doing to put themselves in a good position to be ready so that includes things like make sure that your credit score is in good shape make sure that you have other debt that you might be servicing taking care of right make sure that you're making a choice that is not the one that you think you need to make now because it's that time to hit that milestone, but it's a choice that you're actually ready for.

And then don't lose sight of your financial well-being beyond that goal of buying the house. You still need to be doing things like, am I contributing to my 401K? Am I making some of these other small money moves that are going to put me in a good spot so that when I am ready to own the home, I'm truly ready. So I think that, you know, it's not just about saving for that down payment. it's about being in a spot where you feel actually secure with what that's going to mean. Because servicing a mortgage and being the one who's responsible when the water heater blows up and things happen like that is really different. And people need to make sure that they've really thought that through and are prepared for it.

I know it's never is it the right time to buy a house, which we hear all the time. Is it the right time for me, my family specifically? That's right. And Kate was talking about her, your 401K. U.S. Bank found that longevity and this economic instability, uncertainty, if you will, which markets don't like, and savers and investors get nervous about, anxious about, as you said. How does that change how people should be thinking about retirement? If people are living longer, retirement's going to be longer, but it's also going to be more precarious.

We're seeing like this first generation even coming to retirement with a 401k versus pensions. You know, it's interesting. I mean, you know, we've all benefited from advances in health care. People are generally trying to live healthier lifestyles. That's certainly true of Gen Z and millennials. And so we're living longer, right? But at the same time, you know, people are reluctant to increase their savings. You know, the thing we recommend people do is at least as it relates to your 401K plan

or whatever your retirement plan is at work if your company has a match, at least contribute up to that point. And, you know, my mom, you know, she taught school for 30 years. She retired at 55 and, right, she's going to be 84. So people often underestimate the length of time that they're actually going to be retired. And if you put it off and start later and you don't save enough, you're going to potentially outlive your savings. I mean, it's amazing for Mama. Yes.

But it's also expensive. It is. It is. So, Kate, if you're in a different part of your career, we're talking about shifting the timeline and millennials and general. are doing that. How should somebody say in the middle of their career or somebody in the peak of their career think about prioritizing retirement differently? I think that people need to bear in mind that you have a couple of different horizons that you're looking at. What am I trying to achieve financially in the next three or five years? And what am I trying to achieve long term, right,

for the rest of my life and what will that look like? If you're in the heyday of your career, you're in that building wealth stage of life, you need to be thinking about all of the of the competing priorities that you have. So Scott makes a good point. It's one of I think the most critical for young people is make sure that you're matching your 401k contributions with what your employer will do because if not, you're just leaving money on the table. So make some of those types of choices. But you also have to zoom out and look at life is expensive right now. So if you are a young person in your career, chances are good. You might have young kids. You might have other expenses associated with that time in your life.

And so you have to think about how do I make choices that are going to be good for me right now without losing sight of, I do someday want to retire. If you're in your 30s right now, retirement might feel like it is a long ways off, right? But you still have to make some of those choices about how am I going to prepare for it, especially to Scott's point, I think that we're going to see people who are retired for much longer than they used to be because of the longevity that we're seeing. but need you have to make different choices. Skip ahead if you're in your 50s or your 60s right now and retirement is really something

that you're like, hey, that's going to happen really soon, then are you doing things like making the catch-up contributions to your 401K? And then beyond that, Scott and I like to talk about not just what does this look like for you financially, but what does it look like for you emotionally? Do you want to travel? Do you want to start a new hobby? Do you want to adventure some other way? What does that look like?

What's that going to cost? What does that take? And then bear in mind that that probably is going to look different, right? When you retire, you may have your, Scott, I think calls them the golden years of retirement where you're out and you're traveling and you're doing stuff. And later in retirement, you're probably not able to now. You've got medical expenses, things like that. So that's a lot to think about all at once, which is why I like to sort of, you know,

zoom back to what am I doing right? now, I need to make some choices about what I'm doing long term and then know that that's a journey and that's going to change, you know, along the way. Having a financial plan is super helpful to help you get rooted in that and just know what your picture is. But I think when you can balance that you have short and long term priorities, it makes it feel a little bit more achievable because you don't have to achieve everything all at once today. It is truly a journey. Yeah. And the earlier you you start the better. You can't really contemplate in your 20s and 30 is what it will be like in retirement. But let's talk about Mama Ford. I mean, she was a teacher. So she wasn't making a lot of

money. That's right. But if she started earlier, what you need is time. That's right. More than a lot of money. And that's what we educate people about like the earlier you start, the less you have to contribute, right, because of the power of compounding. The later you get started, the more you have to try to put away, right? Because you have, you just have less time. And so we just encourage people, you know, and I really do mean this, like take advantage of what you have at work first, right? Because you can get, you know, some benefit from tax deferral and all those things and the company match that many employers will give. And it's like you're doubling what you can potentially put away than if you didn't participate in that program. So is there a different framework that we should

be thinking about when we're calculating retirement, which is, by the way, so morbid and never a fun day to think about, right? Because I'm assuming your mom took the annual expenses she had, multiplied it by the time she thought she was going to be alive after retirement. So it was from 55 to now 84 or I don't know what calculation she did at the time, but people are living longer. Yep. So is that an outdated formula? First of all, I don't think Mama was very deliberate and intentional about, you know, what she was going to put away for retirement. And she was fortunate in that she had two things like school teachers and they get a pension or at least they used to and she had an opportunity to saving some tax deferred kind of accounts. So she kind of did a little bit

and it was like it was enough by the time she retired and you know when she got to that point her house was paid off and you know your biggest expenses are behind you. But I don't think people really like think about, you know, she's been retired as long as she worked. Right. And like if if you're in relatively good health and, you know, your family history suggests that, you know, you might live a long time. You kind of want to take those things into consideration. And I think that's why people who have kind of gone through that planning conversation, because for me, it's less about the document that kind of gets printed out at the end. It's more about the process of thinking through those things, right? And getting some sense of, hey, this is where I am

today. Given my current lifestyle, spending patterns, all of those things, I expect my expenses to kind of be here. So I know I want my nest egg to be at least this, right? And so, but it's that process of going through that to make you think about it is, I think, probably the most helpful thing. Well, the tricky part with that is that we don't know how much stuff is going to cost. That's right. That X factor, right, Kate, of inflation. And then you mentioned being in good health, but maybe you're not, God forbid. So how? How? How do you think about factoring in inflation or medical expenses when you're doing this? And by the way, how do you even get into the idea of calculating your own mortality?

Like, not my most favorite activity. It's an important point, though, right? It's expensive now. It's probably going to get more expensive. And if you do end up in a situation where you're retired for a very long time, your expenses are going to change and things like, what is it going to cost if I, not well for part of my retirement, then you need to think about that. And it's not as easy as just saying, here's what it will cost, right? There's not a straight line formula that you can apply.

And because of the way that we're seeing, particularly in these younger generations, this much less linear and consistent way that people are working and living their lives, you can apply that to the way that you look at retirement as well. So I think the bottom line is that you have to account for it, especially now with the kind of longevity that we're seeing, you have to think about the fact that your health care expenses are almost certainly going to be a part of that analysis. So, Scott, we started this conversation with the crisis of confidence. And so if people are hearing a bunch of scary headlines out of Washington, like skyrocketing dead, and then, you know, inflation that we saw a few years ago that was runaway and, you know, possibly could happen again

and think what is all of this even why what is why am i doing any of this is it even worth it to be saving and budgeting and investing yeah it's a great question but you know what what what i encourage people to think about is the fact that you know some of the data from the from the survey suggests that this lack of confidence is really a function of kind of like the things that are outside of their control like the economy inflation cost of housing geopolitical attention, all those things. But really all those things have kind of always been there, right? Like we often look back and we use history as a guide, especially as we try to forecast going forward, right? There have always been recessions. There will always been geopolitical risk.

They're always kind of like inflation is looming in the background, right? You've never had any control over any of those things. I think that what is different today is people, it's almost, you you don't get a break from the headlines, right? Like we all kind of, and I'm guilty of it to one of our social media feeds, you know, 24-hour news cycles. I wake up first thing in the morning and I turn on the financial news and sometimes I have to remind myself, hey, turn that off for now, right? Like there's an intensity and a velocity, I think,

in the current time that didn't exist before. So it feels terrible and hopeless, but it isn't. This two show passed. We've been through these things before. And that's why it's important to kind of like stay the course because if you get paralyzed and for example, some people have given up on or not even started saving for retirement. They've given up on being able to own a home. They've given up on being able to start a family according to some of the survey data. You've got to believe that, hey, this too shall pass.

I'm going to keep doing the things that I can do that are within my control. I'm going to keep saving. I'm put away money for retirement. I'm going to start my family at some point. at some point I will own a home, even if it takes a little longer. Always a good reminder. So it's not the velocity or intensity of what's happening in the news. It's the velocity, intensity of the consumption and how fast it's coming at it.

Absolutely. We've never not recovered from a single recession. That's right. Depression in U.S. history. We're just seeing it a lot more in our face now. And speaking of scary headlines, as you guys know, I lost my home in the L.A. fires. U.S. Bank has been with me during such a difficult time. and such a big part of the community.

So thank you personally. Kate, you're an Angelino, so you've probably also been affected in one way or another. It was, whew, I mean, as somebody who covers this every single day, going through it myself was a masterclass on how to financially prepare for unexpected disasters or hardships. What should somebody be thinking about before something like that happens? So first off, I'm really sorry about your house.

what we saw in L.A. earlier this year was just gut-wrenching. At the risk of sounding a little bit like a negative Nancy, my best advice when it comes to these kinds of things is you have to accept that bad things are going to happen. It's not a matter of if you have a financial issue. It's kind of a matter of when. So the sooner that you can say, you know what, sometimes things are going to go wrong. My car's going to break down. I'm going to get sick. The roof is going to collapse. The dog's going to get sick, right? 60% of Americans, right, now would be absolutely just taken down by a thousand dollar unexpected expense. Everything costs a thousand dollars now. So you have to have a little bit of money set aside having that emergency fund. It's called an emergency fund for a reason because bad things do happen sometimes. Don't have it be just truly insult to injury when you can't afford to face those types of things. From a bigger picture, things that we saw after the fires, regrettably, were a lot of people who were underinsured or maybe misinsured or didn't know what their insurance looked like. So I think it was hopefully a good wake-up call for a lot of people to get out the insurance policy, take stock of

what do we have, how do we have it insured, are we in a good spot if heaven forbid something like that were to happen? Making those kinds of preparations, like I said, is just going to make it a little bit easier to withstand when something does go wrong. All right. Let's turn this into something more positive for a moment. We'll put negative Nancy in the corner. Debbie Downer can take a seat. Let's talk about some financial wins that you guys both have that keep you excited about the progress. I know when I was getting my financial life together and I was getting myself out of credit card debt And compound interest, I only understood that force being used against me. I didn't realize that that same power could be used in my benefit through investing.

And once I started seeing that progress, I was hooked. So how can people start thinking of that momentum for themselves to stay on it? One of the things that I constantly tell people is, you know, pay yourself first. We all kind of pay our bills all the time. and you kind of want automatic pilot and those are the things that you kind of growing up taught to do. But think about your own financial health.

I love what you said about kind of paying down credit card debt. We've all been there. And people often don't realize that if you're just making the minimum payments, right, it could take you a really long time to pay off that high interest credit card debt. So even before you start really investing, I would say that that's the place where you want to start.

But I tell people, pay yourself first and automate your savings, right? Put it on automatic pilot so, like, you don't even have to think about it that you don't like you don't touch it you don't miss it like you'll get used to kind of like just you know if you start where you are it doesn't have to be monumental right it's like when you're going to start working out or exercising just getting to the gym is the win right so setting up a savings account automating your savings making sure you have some sort of automatic transfer to that account that you won't touch that's not

attached to your debit card so you can't go pull the money out and you would be surprised how quickly that balance can start growing. And that's going to give you the confidence to keep going and even actually increase it. It's so true. I mean, you know, when I was pregnant, I could not go to the gym to save my life. I showed up one time and I was just like, I'm happy that I put on stretch pants. Like, that was a win for me. How do you think about the avalanche method versus a snowball method?

Yeah, look, I think that it's like a diet. Like all of them work, right? if you follow the method, right? And this is what I did personally, by the way. Like I paid off the smaller balances first because it just felt like psychologically, it felt like a win to see a credit card balance kind of go to zero. And then you take that money that you were using to pay that one and put it on the next largest one.

So you get the smaller ones out of the way. And that's what I did personally. But I know they're all different types of ways to do it. You just have to do it. Yeah, I did the avalanche method where I listed all my interest rates. actually, when I started, I didn't know, and I didn't know that they were different. Right. So I listed highest to lowest, and I tackled the highest first.

But I think that if you do stick to one plan, and I think of the highest interest rate first as my preferred plan, because that's what I personally did. You just can't switch midgame. That's right. That's right. That's right. I want to tell you guys a story about early in my financial life when I was in credit card debt, I was so overwhelmed about breaking that down because it felt like,

such a big number to me. And I'm first generation American. So I grew up in a family that didn't talk about money, but when they did, it was just cash. I never learned what a mortgage was. I never understood the concept of debt. And so I felt a lot of shame and I felt a lot of overwhelmed because it was such a huge number. But I broke it down by the day, like not even by the month or the year. I broke it down to $7 a day. And for me, it just felt more manageable. It was like I could do $7 a day. That I can tackle. And I did. And it took me two years. I got out of credit card debt. I never turned back.

I did the same thing, actually, with my taxes. One day I thought, I'm going to sit down and do all my taxes on a Saturday. Like, I blocked it out. And what ended up happening was all of my receipts were all over the floor. I didn't do anything but probably drink wine and eat hog and does. Then I changed my methodology and I said, okay, one day, all I'm going to do is uncrinkle my receipts. That's it. That's all I'm going to do.

And then the next day, I'm going to put them in little baby. piles. That's it. And so when I broke it down that way, it felt like something that I could stick to because I was actually getting those small steps done. And it helped me continue the momentum. What do you guys think? Unhinged? No, absolutely not. Look, I think that, first of all, that's absolutely fantastic, but you hit on something that's really, really important. You know, when you think about the big numbers and the aggregate, and that could be retirement, it could be paying off, you know, my credit card bills. It does feel like insurmountable. So breaking it up into smaller pieces, I think was super, super smart. I mean, very, very insightful for you to do that. And by

the way, it worked, right? So, and that's why I encourage people, start where you are, start small. Like, it doesn't have to be, I'm going to get this all done in a couple of days or a couple of weeks. the reality is you didn't get in the situation you were in overnight and it's going to take some time to get out of it right and you lose you know you lose 50 pounds like five pounds at a time right like you're not going to lose it all at once and the same thing with your finances right incremental improvements are going to absolutely going to get you there i think what you did is pretty amazing thank you so much seven dollars a day thank you that's pretty cool i think the way that you handled it is sensational because you didn't get into credit card debt in a day. You're not going to get

out of it in a day. And I think that, you know, you spoke about feeling that crushing shame and overwhelm. That's a feeling that a lot of people know. And then it can just weigh you down, right? And it will crush you. But if you say, okay, I'm just going to chip away at this a little bit, now the control is with you. And you have to stick with it. It's not easy. It's not glamorous. It's not fun, but it is the best way to do it. I think with anything that we've talked about, right? Scott and I've talked a lot about that today, that it is these little wins that you can do that really start to add up. And, you know, I think people think that they've got to have it all figured out and they've got to have all the money. You don't get all the money overnight. It doesn't work that

way. Kate, how do you think about small wins and keeping up momentum financially? Yeah. So one of the things that I like to talk to people about is this idea of knowing where you are. I talk to a lot of people and they can't off the top of their head tell you where their money is. Is it in the home that you own? Is it in the car that you own? Is it in a checking account? Is it invested? Is it in your 401k? I think that regardless of the number of commas that are in your net worth, right? Your balance sheet, you should be able to say off the top of your head on any given day, this is the money that I have. This is the debt that I have. It is this way for a certain reason, right? I'm saving for a house or I'm investing for retirement or I'm saving for my trip to Europe. Whatever it is,

where is your money? What do you have? What is your financial picture today? This isn't about keeping up what the Jones is or thinking about what your financial picture should be, but where are you today. The more that you know where you are today, I think the better positions you're going to be to get where you want to go in the future because then you can take stock of what do I need to achieve still to get to that next phase of my journey where I want to go. But knowing where your money is engaging with your money, it doesn't mean that you have to be some financial expert. It doesn't mean that you have to feel a certain way about how much you do or don't have. But having that engagement with your money, knowing what it's doing for you is just I think really important for

people to do the small things that they need to do to get ahead and get where they want to be. And so I just think it's really important to be able to take stock of what is my, you know, sort of net worth? What is it that my money is doing for me at any given point of your journey? Yeah. And I think it works too, to assuage some fear because sometimes we suffer more in imagination than in reality. And so we think it's really, really bad until we actually take a look, rip off the Band-Aid. You know, I many, many moons ago had my credit reports just sitting like on my counter, so scared of them, didn't want to open them, just assume like I would open them,

it would say, I'm going to jail or I don't know what, you know, like we just make up these things about our finances because we don't want to face them. But I think facing them really can calm some of that anxiety or some of the fear and and understanding what it exactly looks like in reality, not just in your imagination. So, Kate, Scott, I saw you're both very involved in your local communities. As I'm thinking about how to teach my daughter financial literacy. I think about spend, share, save, like buckets. And this share component is really important to be philanthropic, to be part of your community.

Kate, you're on the board of Girls Inc. of Orange County. You are also involved in public counsel in Los Angeles, Scott. You're on the board of your church. You also donate your time and money to alleviate food insecurity. When you think about a bank in the community, where's the role of a bank? Oh, banks play really, really important roles in community. All healthy communities have a vibrant banking sector because they support just economic activity of communities. But one of the things I'm really proud about at U.S. Bank is we put our money where our mouth is.

Like last year, we gave $100, you know, and $11 million through corporate donations to various foundations, nonprofits, charities, and things like that. But I think what's even more impressive that I think speaks to the culture of the employees is through our volunteerism, we did over 300,000 hours of volunteer times, you know, across the company. So I think it's just kind of like woven into who we are and we have a we all have this shared sense of commitment to giving back. Yeah, I agree with that. And I think it's important when you think about the role of a bank in the community, which is so critical, as Scott said, it isn't only about the bank making the donations to the nonprofits. It's absolutely about our employees being out in the community, giving of their time. But it's also about how can the bank, show up and help some of these low and moderate income communities get the loans that they need, get the access to capital that they need to start new businesses to help the community rise up, if you will. So the access to those types of loans in California alone last year we gave, let me check my notes, $4.3 billion with a B in developmental loans to these communities.

And I think that that's really important because it's not just about making donations and making contributions. It's about creating that access to the money that the community really needs so that it can take care of itself. And I know that that's really important for us individually, but it says a lot about how the bank feels about its responsibility to the community. You look back when the fires happened earlier this year, the bank was really quick to say, how can we show up? How can we be a part of sponsoring the things that are happening in terms of raising money and meeting the moment. And so I think that that's really important. And the financial industry as a whole is, you know, is important to that. And we appreciate being a part of it.

It sounds cheesy almost, but it's like real because a lot of people have so many traumatic memories potentially about banks. Like I saw my house from closed on when I was little. I was so scared of banks, you know, and changing this perception is real because I think a lot of people, you know, might bring that or whatever memories they might have of the bank. And I saw firsthand, you know, how it really made a difference to step up in a time of need. So thank you so much, guys, truly, from the bottom of my heart. I end all of our episodes by asking our guests for a final tip that listeners can take straight to the bank. It can be anything from investing, budgeting, negotiating, planning. Scott? Yeah, I like that. The thing I would leave your audience with

is, you know, a really important concept. You know, it's not what you make, but what you keep that counts. I learned that very early in my career as a financial advisor. You know, you see people that they might have high incomes, but they spend more money than they actually make. So it's not what you make. It's what you keep that counts. So just be mindful of that, and you should be fine. Because lifestyle creep happens. That's right. I think in line with that, I really remind people, and we've talked about it a little bit already is get started early. I think people sometimes get in their head that they can't start doing something until they're ready and they've got it all figured out. My dad taught me when I was little to save a little a lot.

And if you get in that habit of just putting a little bit away all the time, it really starts to add up over the long term. So there's really never too soon to get started on your savings habits, on putting your money to work for, you. It's not enough to just save the money and shove it under the mattress. You got to put it into a vehicle where it's actually going to work for you. But the sooner that you get started, if it's 10 bucks, it doesn't matter. That all really starts to add up over the long run, which puts you in a better position to keep more of what you've made. I really like what your dad said, Kate. Save a little a lot. Save a little a lot. I grew up in a family where we talked about money, And I don't know that a lot of people feel comfortable with that, even in today's day and age.

And so I think that if you are, you know, you think about your baby girl, I think the sooner that you start talking to her about things like budgeting and saving up for something, I think the better for kids, right? I really think that we do them a disservice by sending them off to the real world and saying, oh, by the way, it's really expensive out there. Good luck. You got to get them prepared. Oh, no. I've already started to talk. From the womb, she's getting her financial literacy education going on. Kate brings up an important point. Our last survey was challenging conversations about money. And that was like most families are not talking about money. And like there's this shame and stigma around, for example, if you have credit card debt, like, especially if you're in a relationship, a lot of people don't want to share that. like with their partner, right? That's kind of an important thing for you'd be able to know together.

And so I think starting early is, you know, sharing what you know and sharing, more importantly, sharing the mistakes you've made, right, with money is super important and helpful. Yeah, it's hilarious if you ask a kid, like, how much is a house or how much is a car? They have no clue. It's the same thing as like, how old am I? That's right. But it's because we don't anchor them or we don't explain it to them. And I think that it's incumbent on us as parents since we don't learn this stuff in school to be able to take it on.

They don't teach it in school. They say money is the only thing that doesn't come with instructions. It's for sure. And I think that when people ask how to make financially literate kids, you have to look in the mirror because they're copying everything. I see this even really early on. I go like this and she goes, p. Yep, that's right. And so, you know, if I'm spending or I'm hoarding or I'm talking negative,

about money or even the little things that I've started thinking about when I'm going to be raising her is money doesn't grow on trees. We all heard that growing up. And is that the right message that we should be giving them? Is it better to say like money grows where you invest it? That's right. Or something like that. So there's less fear around that. For sure. And giving them an allowance, right? So that they learn how to budget. I remember my youngest one, she was shopping with a friend of hers. This is a true story, shopping with a friend of hers. And she was just going around and spending money with a friend of hers. They were at the outlet mall. And, you know, she got to the store and her car didn't work. Right. So she, you know, she called her mom and her mom said,

oh, wow. Now, she, we knew what had happened. But she said, maybe you better call customer service. So she called customer service and realized, oh, my gosh, I spent all of my money and I wasn't keeping track of what I spent. It never happened again. It never happened again. Right. So it's just creating that awareness is really, really important. Yeah. Swipe, swipe, swipe. Like, if you don't explain it, it feels like free money. That's right. The magical card that just gets things. Money Rehab is a production of Money News Network. I'm your host, Nicole Lappin. Money Rehab's executive producer is Morgan LaVoy. Our researcher is Emily Holmes.

Do you need some money rehab? And let's be honest, we all do. So email us your money questions, money rehab at money newsnetwork.com to potentially have your questions answered on the show or even.