More Money Podcast - 092 Listener Series - How to Change Your Life by Changing Your Story

Episode Date: February 16, 2017

It doesn't matter where you started from, Lisa shares her story that you can rise above and live the life you always wanted by learning from your mistakes and putting the work into it. Long description: Ever since my husband and I watched Tony Robbins in the documentary I Am Not Your Guru a few months ago, we've become major Tony Robbins fans. Whenever we need a pick me up, we just turn on his podcast and immediately get inspired. Yesterday, I was working all day at home and I decided to leave the house to clear my head. I turned on his podcast to get me out of my funk, and you know what it was all about? The theme was changing your story to change your life. If your story is you're fat, well if you stop making excuses and start eating better and working out, you'll change your life. If your story is you're poor, stop complaining that you were born with less and figure out a way to make more money. Which is exactly what Lisa talks about in our interview together. She started out in a lower income family living in a trailer park. She was told she wouldn't be able to go to college or live a different life when she was an adult, and for a while she believed it. But then something clicked and she realized that where she came from wasn't her destiny. And she is living proof of this by graduating college, working a high-paying job and buying a home like she always dreamed of. If you're looking for a good kick in the pants podcast episode to give you that push to stop complaining and start doing, this is it! Make sure to also check out Lisa's own blog documenting her personal finance journey at Mad Money Monster. Lisa's Best Blog Posts About Her Personal Finance Journey All The Jobs And All The Mistakes Before We Were Mr. & Mrs. MMM The ORIGINAL Tiny House How We Avoided Massive College Debt My Single Biggest Financial Mistake: A Decade-Long Disaster Want to Make Some Changes in Your Financial Life? Sign up for my free Get Your Financial Life Right 10-day email course! If you want to fix your finances, this is the perfect way to get started, motivated and educated about exactly what you need to do. Helpful Resources I spent a good chunk of the past few years creating resources to help you with your money, life and adding more balance into the mix. Check them out on my resources page. Want to Be a Guest on My Show? Got a story that you think would be good to share on an episode on of Listener series? Please email me! For more podcast episodes, check out the podcast page. Show notes: jessicamoorhouse.com/92 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hello, and welcome to Episode 92 of the Mo Money Podcast. Thank you so much for joining me on this wonderful Thursday episode. For today's episode, I am interviewing a listener of this podcast, but she also has her own personal finance blog, which I'm super excited to share with you. So she has a very interesting story. We try to tackle some of the most interesting, important points and turning points in her life in this episode. out in life, you can end up wherever you want as long as you make the right choices or eventually make the right choices and work your butt off, basically. So I am going to be talking to Lisa. She is the blogger at madmoneymonster.com with her and her husband, and they are documenting their personal finance journey on their blog. So without further ado, here is my interview with Lisa for the Mo Money Podcast. Thank you, Lisa, for joining me on the Mo Money Podcast.

I'm so excited to chat with you for this episode. Yes, I am super excited to be here, too. Thank you very much. Yes. So I would love to know a little bit more about you. So when you emailed me, you mentioned that you and your husband, you know, before you got together, you were, you definitely made some money mistakes.

That's an understatement. Yeah, yeah. Well, yeah. And you definitely kind of change your ways. You started your own blog to document your journey. And so you're on the right path now. But I would love to know a little insight into like how it was before you made that kind of realization that you're like, oh, maybe not making the right path now, but I would love to know a little insight into like, how it was before you made that kind of realization that you're like,

oh, maybe not making the right choices. Absolutely. And I will try to go through, there are so many mistakes, I hope we can get through them all. But I'll start with a quote. So my quote is, why start, you're not going to finish okay so we'll come back to that quote but just keep that in mind why start you're not going to finish so let's go back to the beginning so i was born uh to parents that never graduated high school they were hard workers they always paid their bills on time but they didn't uh they didn't know how to build wealth. So they couldn't obviously teach me to do that either. But I saw them working. I saw them paying their bills. Now, we also lived in a trailer. And I know that's not a popular term these days. I guess they're called manufactured

homes. I don't know. Oh, are they? Oh, I didn't know they changed the name. They did. They did. I think it went through like trailer to mobile home to manufacturing home. I'm not sure how it goes. But when I was living in one, they were called trailers. And it was eight feet wide, 50 feet long. And the good thing about it was, well, one, it was immaculate. My parents were fabulous. You would have thought they were CEOs at a company, the way they presented themselves and the way they look like when we stepped out of the house, we looked we look, you know, like, yeah, higher income suburban people, which was great because I went to the good school. So that that was a help. That was definitely a benefit.

Now, I did have the the embarrassment with living in the trailer, not not because anybody really picked on me. It's just something I learned that I should probably be embarrassed about. So I kept to myself. Didn't really think I was smart enough to ever go to college. Didn't think I could afford to go to college, partly because my parents would say, sorry, we can't afford to send you to college. So when you hear that over and over, you think, okay, well, maybe that's not in the cards for me, right? So graduated high school, got a full-time job, and married my high school sweetheart.

So that was marriage number one. He was in the military. I was supposed to move with him to the south. In the meantime, I was working at McDonald's. I was sexing chicks. That was a fun time. I don't know if you know what that is. I do not. What is that? I worked at a hatchery. I sat on a conveyor belt with about 20 people. And there were these little chicks. They would dump them out of their pallets and they'd go around the conveyor belt and you'd have to pick them up by their wings and throw them down the male chute or the female chute. Oh my God. Yes. And then they

would go over to the vaccination table. And yeah, exactly. I don't know how the whole thing worked, but that's what I did for eight hours a day. Wow. Exactly. So in the meantime, I decided, you know what? I don't think I'm going to move down south. I don't think being married at 18 is is the life for me. Not that there's anything wrong with that. No, that's what my parents did. That's you know what I mean? It's nothing wrong with that. But for me, that was not what I wanted. Um, I did always want to go to college, but I didn't think you know, it was for me. And I said that before. Um, and I didn't know how to go about it. I didn't know who to talk to. I didn't know, you know, it was for me. And I said that before. And I didn't know how to go about it. I didn't know who to talk to. I didn't know how to do it, basically. So I ended up working at a factory soldering electrical components together. And there I met a pivotal person in my life. He was an engineer. He had his master's degree, but he was still pretty young, pretty much young. He was I think he was still in his 20s, late 20s, maybe at the time. And one day I'm working on this project with him. I'm soldering the parts.

And he was sitting there with a master's degree and he had some patents to his name already. And he said, what are you doing here? Why are you here? And I said, well, what do you mean? I like this work. And he just left out like this roar. I mean, he couldn't stop laughing. I turned beet red. Everybody turned around and looked at me. I'm like, why are you doing this? What are you saying?

He said, you are absolutely smart enough to go to college. You can, anybody can go to college. You know, you can afford to go to college. You work here, just pay for it as you go. So he said, why don't you apply to the community college? And this is something I never even really heard of. You know, I'm embarrassed to say that, but I didn't even know about it. So secretly I go back and, and I apply on my own. Didn't tell anybody, didn't tell him, didn't tell my parents. And a few weeks later, I get the acceptance letter in the mail. And I was ecstatic. I mean, I was so ecstatic. I told my

parents, you know, look, I got accepted. They, of course, were congratulatory. But, you know, at the same time, I said, Oh, sorry, we can't help with the finances. I don't know how you're going to do that. But I was working full time at this factory. So and then I went to the engineer and I said, Look, I got accepted, you know, and he was great. But now at the time, I had no idea about open admissions policy. I didn't know that they accepted everybody, but no matter still, yeah, I was excited, right? Yeah. Yeah, exactly. So yeah, I made up until that point, I was trying to find my way trying to, my whole goal really was to get out of the trailer park, because I didn't like the stigma that I grew up with. Right. So I just wanted to get out. So I saw college as a way to do that. So I started taking classes, I would take two to three classes in the evenings,

I would work at the factory during the day. So, you know, I'm getting up at 530. I'm working until three. I'm eating at Wendy's on the way to school at night, you know, and then I'm there until 10 o'clock at night. So it was that was four years. It was unbelievably brutal. So I did that for four years just to get my associate's degree because I was working, you know, at the same time. But the one thing I wanted to come back to that quote,

why start you're never going to finish. So I remember working at the, so I got the acceptance letter, I'm working at the factory, and I'd saved up $600, right, to take my first two classes. And it was a lot of money for me. OK, so I'm sitting there holding it and I'm sitting with a good friend or the parent of a good friend, you know, and I'm sitting there sitting there with my $600. And I and I thought that was the night I wanted to drive down to the community college and actually sign up for my first two courses. And they looked at me, and I guess you know what they're going to say. They said, why start? You're not going to finish.

And it just lit a fire in me. Good. And I got up. I drove down to the community college, and I took those first two courses, and I didn't stop until I had my master's degree. Wow. I'm sitting here today with a master's degree in a scientific field. I work for a pharmaceutical company, a major global pharmaceutical company. So it definitely paid off, and it's something I want people to know when they're younger.

Don't listen to the naysayers. If you have a passion to do something, you can do it. Just do it. Just do it. Like the Nike slogan, just do it. Yes, absolutely. Absolutely. No, that is super inspirational.

And believe me, I had a lot of support growing up, but I also had a lot of naysayers. Oh, you're a girl. You can't do this. Or you're not smart, or blah, blah, blah. Oh, yeah. And it's, for me, I'm just like you, I try to, you know, let my haters be my motivators. I'm like, oh, really? I'll show you. And that's still, I still have that mentality. But, you know, it works. Yes, it does. Whatever gets you to the finish line, right? Whatever gets you there. Exactly. Oh my gosh. I remember at my graduation party for my bachelor's, you know, I had told that story because it was a driver. So everybody knows that story. I got a card from

a relative and inside she said, we don't just start college, we finish. So that was great. That was wonderful. That's amazing. Let's move on to some not so great decisions that I've made. Had I not made these decisions, I'd be sitting here probably retired for about five to 10 years. Okay. So after the marriage ended, the 18 year old, you know, when I was an 18 year old, I got through the college, I got into a relationship. It wasn't a great relationship for me. We just didn't mix. You know, we were kind of like, oil and water, as far as that goes. But so the second half of my bachelor's degree, I went full time.

I was with this person. So we were living together at the time. And that was partly why I was able to finish the second half of my bachelor's full time. So I didn't have to work that factory job. But in the meantime, I also worked in an ice cream plant. I worked with kids during the summer. I was a dog walker. I did whatever I had to do. I was hustling to get some money. But anyway, I allowed that bad relationship to last for seven years. Okay. Knowing probably after six months to

a year that this is not what I should be in. You know, this is not, I don't see this person as my husband, as my future husband, or father to my children or whatever. But you know what? Inertia just takes over. And I'm working on school and he was working long hours. So it was just something that I didn't put the time into thinking about how that's going to affect my life in the future. Right.

So I just let, you know, seven years slip by, you know, just not even thinking about it. So at the time, I did graduate when I was with him with my bachelor's and I got my pharmaceutical job, my first pharmaceutical job. And starting salary was forty45,000 a year. Started investing in the 401k 15% right off the bat. Started maxing out the Roth IRA right away. But that obviously didn't last because the relationship didn't last. So right before we broke up, about probably six right before we broke up about probably six months before we broke up, I bought a rental property. Okay. So this rental property I bought for my parents, I wanted to move them out of the trailer and into this rental property. Of course,

this was in 2007. And I think, you know, oh, no, very tough happened. Bubble, right? But I was with my long, long time boyfriend and he was making plenty of money. I had plenty of money. I could easily subsidize my parents to the tune of 800 a month. Correct? Sure. As long as we stayed together, which we did not. Yeah. So that relationship fell apart. You know, I basically, I lost the big house. You know, we had the big suburban house. We had brand new. We had an in-ground pool put in. It was fabulous. I was living the life. I was right around 30 years old, right? And we broke up. I had to move out of that beautiful house. Now, remember, all I wanted was to get out of that trailer.

So at 30, I'm moving out of the beautiful house with the in-ground pool into an apartment with four lawn chairs. That's all I had. That is all I had. Now, how many women or girls graduating college picture that for themselves at 30? Right? Yeah, probably not a ton. Not a ton.

You're not going to know. You never know how these these decisions are going to affect your life. Yeah. Now, the smart thing for me to have done would have been to move into my parents, well, into my house with my parents. But at 30, I didn't want to do that. So I took some lawn chairs. I set up camp in an apartment. Now, I didn't even know, really, I wasn't examining my finances. Could I really afford to subsidize their living? And this apartment, I don't know. So I sat there in the cold. I didn't turn the heat on.

I had my winter jacket on. Like I just sat there because I just didn't want to be that failure. And I know it's ridiculous. It's coming out. Oh, yeah. But that's so, oh, I totally get that. Like I used to worry so much in my mid-20s because I was so broke and not making that much money. And I'm like, oh, gosh, I hope this gets better.

I'm like, I cannot move back to my parents. I can't. I just can't. You know? Right. The only thing, I mean, I had my savings that I was socking away in my retirement, you know, so that was a good thing that I did. I had my education. I had my good job.

Yeah. And my lawn chairs and my two cats. That was it. I had to start over. I mean, one weekend I went out. I bought, you know, bath towels. I bought pillows. I bought, I mean, everything you need, like utensils. I needed everything.

It was just basically like a total hard reboot. But that taught me that I could do anything. I feel like that moment right there when I, when I, when I clawed myself, you know, clawed my way up out of that darkness, I was like, you know what? I think I'm unstoppable now. Yeah. You can get through anything. That's, that's right. Now, I was kind of letting loose at the time too. You know, you know what? I don't, I don't have to answer to anybody anymore. I'm starting over. I'm going to hang out with my friends all the time and I'm going to do this. I'm going to do that. And then I got involved in another relationship that wasn't

the best relationship, you know, it just, however, that one ended with, um, with me being a single parent. So, so this was a, this was a big one. Um, so again, I'm a single parent in this apartment, still subsidizing my mother. My father had passed on since then, you know, since the beginning. Um, so I'm subsidizing my mother still to the tune of 800 a month. Uh, so this was, this was a terrible, terrible decision terrible decision right but i went back to work after having my daughter with nose to the grindstone i've got to get serious this is this is no joke anymore i cannot you know live my life like i'm forever 20 years old because yeah that's not the case and it wasn't the case even then um so any extra money I had was going into the college account and we weren't taking vacations.

We were. But but I knew that she was so young that she wouldn't remember that. So that was my that was my saving grace where I didn't want her, you know, to know how much mom messed up basically um so I was really really focusing on building my life up again and being the person I knew I should have been you know all along um so about that time uh let's see what happened after that. There are a lot of successes and a lot of failures to go through, but, uh, oh, so I was, I was squirreling away any extra money that I had. Um, I wanted to get her out of the apartment because again, in my mind, I need to get her into a house. She needs to have a, of course I could have just moved into my house with my mother.

But again, I had a mental block about doing that. So I thought I'd buy a second house. And I proceeded to do that. I went ahead in 2010 and I bought a single family home on half an acre and settled when I walked away from the settlement table with $200 left in my bank account. Now, I still had some I still had money that I that I had socked away in my 401k and things like that. But but who does that? Right. Yeah. Yeah. 200. I didn't know when I woke up the day of settlement, if I had enough to write the check. That's, that's how close it was. But I had a backup, right? I could always move into my to my mom's house with my daughter, I could rent out the new house or vice versa. I could move my mom in with us. I could rent out the other house. We lived for a year without a washer and dryer. I would take my clothes over to the other house to do them. So, you know, it's just things like that. If people just realize you make one

bad relationship mistake and you've just, you know, messed up the next 10 years of your life. But after that, I started to date. So now I'm getting serious, right? I realized, I realized the importance of choosing the right partner. And I wish I had realized that a long, long time ago. But I did not. So not only though, am I dating for myself, I'm dating for my daughter. Now I wasn't, you know, my daughter's number one, of course she is that goes without saying, right? Yeah. So anybody who I'm going to find, who I feel is acceptable for me will also be acceptable for my daughter. But it took me about two, three years. I went on probably 105 dates. I always joke that my husband, my current husband, now Mr. Mad Money Master, he was date number 105. And I can tell you that's not far off.

That is so funny. Yeah. Because I knew, you know what, I can make it on my own. Like I have been down and out and I have come back up. So I don't need to have somebody to help me make it. Like I am choosing somebody who is going to benefit me, you know, the whole picture. So yeah, it was pretty easy to be, you know, no, no, no, no. It's a good betting process. It's good to be picky. Absolutely. Absolutely. So, so we got together and we knew instantly it was, it was a match. It was, wow, it was a match. You know, that we started to live like, you know, we're 20 again like you know we're 20 again you know you're dating right you have to spend money when you're dating you have to do things you have to I mean it just adds up

right so yeah um he did move in uh before you know right before we got engaged he moved in um but of course you know my house that I bought you know it was, or I still live in it, we still live in it, it was smaller, it was 1300 square feet. I bought it to be a rental property, eventually, you know, because that is my plan and our plan now. But in my mind, it was too small. You know, we can't live in a small house. Oh, this is, and we had animals. We have two dogs now because we blended our animals. So two dogs, two cats, a kid. And it's, and it is on the smaller side, you know, it's a three bedroom, two bath house, 1300 square feet. But so what were we doing? We were looking for a bigger house, right? Now what's, now what's interesting, interesting, my husband, he's always been good with money but not great at wealth building. And again, he never really focused on, okay, well, I'm working X number of years, and if I do this for another X number of years, I could be here.

That wasn't his focus. So his focus is film, and his passion passion is film and he is successful in it. However, his pay is variable and unpredictable. So we were looking at these homes, which, oh, oh, my gosh, this is all I ever wanted. Right. The big suburban house. right? This is my dream. So we're looking at these all the time, not really examining if we can comfortably afford it, you know, just assuming we can. So a few years ago, you know, we get a house under contract and it was gorgeous. Five bedrooms, right?

Like 3,000 square feet. Oh, my gosh. Oh, wow. It was fantastic. However, I couldn't sleep at night. I mean, I was having heart palpitations. It was just anxiety out the, you know, wazoo. It was crazy. Um, fortunately after a few months, the home inspection comes

back and there was a mold issue that they couldn't get remediated. And we're like, you know what? We're out. Yeah. Yeah. We are out and we are smarter than this and we are not going to do this stupid stuff that we've been doing for the would take two steps forward and ten steps back. This is ridiculous. We're smart people. We're educated people. We make high incomes. What are we doing?

Yeah, exactly. So we finally got our heads out of our butts, and we're like, we're going to stay in this small house. We're going to renovate it. We're going to renovate it with cash, and we are going we're gonna stay in this small house we're gonna renovate it we're gonna renovate it with cash and we are gonna retire in a few years that's what we're gonna do so do you have plans for do you have plans for early retirement then is that kind of your major goal it so our major goal is i don't think my husband will ever, ever retire. He will work. I mean, he lives because

he loves what he does. He loves it. He loves it. I mean, he was a teacher for about 12, 15 years. And he he left that to pursue film because if not, then when? Right. Yeah, exactly where he was. So he's like, you know what, I'm doing it. And that was a few years before I met him. So yes, our goal is to have the option to retire. I am big on options. You know, I enjoy my job. But is it is it really what I want to do? I don't know until I'm 60, 65. Probably not. You know, it's hard to say what you want will want to do at that point in your life. So it's nice to have that freedom. Absolutely. So right now we're just pretty much debt free aside from the two mortgages. We are knocking them out as quickly as possible. We're looking at probably a few years to have both of them knocked out. And then the goal is to just purchase rental properties cash and build up that passive income and just enjoy.

Get groceries delivered across the GTA from Real Canadian Superstore with PC Express. Shop online for super prices and super savings. Try it today and get up to $75 in PC Optimum Points. Visit Superstore.ca to get started. Wow. Did you ever think that you would be at this point in your life after everything you've gone through? Yes. Yes. That's why I think I was okay. Well, I'll do this now, but I'll fix it later, you know? But the key is I could have been, instead of a few years from now,

it could have been a few years ago, you know? And that's the key, you know? So, I know. It's all about, yeah,

what I, especially as I've gotten older, it is a lot about like doing things early, uh, sacrifice and prevention. Yes. There's so a lot about like doing things early, uh, sacrifice and prevention. There's so many things that I look back and like, damn, I wish I didn't do that. Exactly. And there were a few things, like I said, you know, I started saving a high rate for my retirement account, um, right off the bat. Now I did, I did suspend those contributions

for a bit when I was in the apartment, but you know, back on track there. Um, but again, those were vital years where if I could have, you know, if I would have been maxing that out during those vital years, but you're, you know,

you can't get everything right. I know, but we did, you know, we didn't overspend for our educations. We both got free master's degrees. Um, we both, uh, you know, didn't,

didn't go overboard with any debt as far as the bachelor degree. And, you know, so there were, there were pieces of what we did that right, you know? Yeah, yeah. That helped us to be where we are today, you know? Absolutely. So from all the things that um like some of your kind of major money mistakes what are some of the things that you want people to know to not do because you did it and it didn't work out well i think one of the biggest pieces that people should realize is um they need to make savings slash investing a priority and do it as young as possible. Obviously, time is the factor that you can't control and it's going to slip away. So obviously, the sooner you can focus on that, the easier it's going to be.

Yeah, I think that's one of the big things. And then as far as the relationships go as well, I mean, if you pick a partner who isn't on the same page, that's going to be tough too. I don't know how to convert someone. I know the relationship that I was in with the big house and the pool, we were not on the same page financially at all. I mean, there were a lot of pages. We weren't in the same book we were not on the same page financially at all. I mean, there were a lot of pages we weren't on. We weren't in the same book, let's say. But, you know, he was a spender and we'd go out to eat, you know, with 10 different, with 10 people. And he said, oh, I got the tab. Well, what are you doing? You don't make that much money.

Yeah. Did you ever talk about money with him or was that one of the things that you felt like? You did? Oh, really? Yes, absolutely. But there was just a resistance and just did not. Not an openness. Not an openness. Did not want to change.

Did not want to listen. So I don't know. I mean, obviously, not everybody's like that. You can. No, but I could see how that could be. Yeah, that's kind of a deal breaker if someone's not open to change. And it's like, No, no, no, this is talking money like this is our future. Like, absolutely. Absolutely. And the contrast, the great contrast is that my husband

now, you know, we'll go once a month, we'll do like a financial checkup and we'll go to a coffee shop and I'll take, take the laptop and I'll have a presentation ready. Oh my God. I love that. That's so cute. I'm more into money and graphs and charts than he, obviously he's a filmmaker. I'm the scientist. Come on. Right. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. We'll sit down and, and I'll even prepare a presentation on something that he might not quite understand you know like something with real estate or something it's just great yeah we love it so there's such a contrast though to the yeah

i'm so curious how did you kind of get involved in real estate investing? Was that just something? Yeah, like, that's very interesting. It all goes back to the trailer park, doesn't it? It all goes back. Growing up, all I wanted was a house. All I wanted was a house, was a second floor, was a flight of steps. That's all I wanted. Yeah, I hear you. You know, it's become this kind of obsession. Like, I want to own as many houses as I possibly can no that's definitely a dream of mine too i think i didn't grow up in a trailer but i grew up in a very small uh rancher with my and i always shared a room for like yes 15 years of my life and growing up i'm like oh one day i just want to you know have a lot of space and uh yeah we're

working on it on it working on it, working on it slowly, but surely. Well, that's what I thought. I wanted all that vast space and I'm thinking, I can't even keep this house clean. What am I thinking? Are you kidding me? Oh, I know actually. I know. Oh my gosh. So much work. It is a lot of work. I know we moved into a, we were in a one bedroom for, we've always lived in one-bedroom apartments for years. And then when we finally bought our place in the summer, it's a two-level townhouse, which is great, so much space.

But it takes a lot more time to clean. I'll tell you that right now. Oh, yes, it does. Didn't expect that. I know. We finished – we did a finish on our basement over the summer. So now we took it from 1,300 to 2,100 square feet. And it's fantastic. We love it. It is,

it is the appropriate amount of space that we need. But, you know, just having this additional space, it's like the work, it doubled, you know, and the contractor, well, don't you want a bathroom in the basement? I'm like, no, I do not want to clean another toilet. I'm sorry. No, no, thank you. Exactly. So I'm so curious when and, and why did you get the idea to start your own blog? Was it mainly just to start documenting what you've gone through? um, what's the word? Uh, scarred by the, by the, um, the how the mold house, the anxiety and not sleeping at night. And what if he doesn't get paid? You know what he's expecting to get paid? Oh my God. I was so scarred by that. I just, we've got to get our crap together, you know? And I just started Googling, you know, searching on the internet um I don't even know

how I came across these financial blogs yeah I didn't even know they existed and this was like just a few years ago I know yeah there's a lot yeah it's an underground movement I didn't even think about right I want to be a part of that, right? I can do that. Absolutely. I was racking my brain for names. I'm like, what sounds catchy? I want the word money in it. You know?

Yeah. That's how it came about. I love it. I love it. Well, I'm so glad that we got in touch and then you're on the show. And I'm excited for other people to listen to your story and then to check out your, your blog too. Oh, and I want to say one more thing.

So, um, with the trailer. Yeah. These days I love them. I feel like I'm, I'm Googling, you know,

vintage mobile homes. Like I've even suggested we need to move into a vintage mobile home. Oh my God. I would love it. Simple living. It's all the rage now. You know how much we home. Oh, my God, I would love it. Simple living. It's all the rage now. Do you know how much we could save? I know.

And then I think back. Like, I have a love for mid-century modern design. And our home was late 1950s. It was solid wood. I mean, it was gorgeous. I'm like, this is where that love came from. It never clicked before this year. But uh, so funny. It is. So you know, I just love it. I so I don't want to offend anyone who lives in a manufactured home or you know, anything like that. I think they're great. And I would,

if I didn't get any resistance from my husband and daughter and dogs and two cats, I would move into one tomorrow. Who knows? Maybe you'll have like one or two to rent out or to retire in. I don't know. You never know. Well, thank you so much, Lisa, for joining me and chatting with me. I loved, loved hearing your story. Oh, great, great. And that was episode 92 with Lisa. And you can find out more information about her and her personal finance journey along with her husband at her personal finance blog called Mad Money Monster. You can find it at madmoneymonster.com. I'm going to include links in the show notes to her blog, some of her top blog posts that she wanted me to share with you listening. And there's also a lot of other cool stuff I'm going to include in the show notes. So make sure to go to jessicamorese.com slash 92 for all of that good stuff.

One of the things that I am absolutely going to include is a link to a free challenge that I have just launched. I wrote about it in a recent blog post. So I want to share it with you in case you didn't see it on the blog. I call it the Get Your Financial Life Right Challenge. Basically, I get a ton of questions and just people wanting some advice on what to do. They are at different points in their financial lives and they just want a little bit of guidance. And man, I wish I had something like this when I was just starting out on my personal finance journey. So I created this 10-step free email challenge, email course, whatever you want to call it, to guide you through the 10 most important things that you need to know in terms of getting your money right, basically.

So it goes through everything from budgeting, tracking your spending, tracking your net worth accurately, insurance, credit scores, investing, everything that you should be aware of so you can kind of create a really good solid foundation and then go off and fix your financial life. So I'm going to include a link in the show notes, but you can easily find out my course and register at jessicamorehouse.com slash financial life challenge. So you can go there or go to jessicamorehouse.com slash 92 to find out more information about that free challenge. A bunch of people have already signed up and I'm pretty excited to share it with you now because I think you will love it. And that's kind of all I got. I will see you back here next Wednesday for another episode. Thank you so much for joining me.

See you next week. This podcast is distributed by the Women in Media Podcast Network. Find out more at womeninmedia.network.