More Money Podcast - 103 How to Be Awesome, Not Broke - Garrett Philbin, Financial Life Coach

Episode Date: April 12, 2017

I talk money, balance, travel, entrepreneurship and more with millennial financial life coach Garrett Philbin (one of the happiest, most positive people I know!). Long description: If you're looking for an upper of an episode, something to get you pumped to tackle your life and finances, my guest Garrett Philbin, financial life coach of at Be Awesome, No Broke, is just what the doctor ordered. He doesn't just have the perfect radio voice, he literally exudes positivity. It makes sense why he ditched his career in the music business to focused all of his energy and talent in to helping others with their money and life issues. And similar to what I'm doing right now, he's on his way to becoming an Accredited Financial Counsellor. I may have convinced him after recording this episode back in the fall to look into the American version, and now he's on his way to finishing the program. We talked about a lot of awesome things in this episode, including Garrett's jump into entrepreneurship, his soul-searching road trip and the deeper reasons why we all struggle with money. Seriously, if after listening to this episode you feel like this is the time in your life that you need to ask for help, Garrett is definitely someone who will be there if you ask. Garrett's Top Blog Posts Why Your “Obstacles” Mostly Aren’t Seven Steps to Making Your Money Matter How Creating A Morning Routine Saved My Life You Don't Need a Plan Follow Garrett on Social Join Garrett on Facebook Follow Garrett on Twitter Check Out Garrett on Instagram Follow Garrett on LinkedIn What's Your Money Personality? I mentioned checking out my money personality quiz in this episode, and you can do so right here: jessicamoorhouse.com/quiz For more podcast episodes, check out the podcast page. Show notes: jessicamoorhouse.com/103 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hello, hello, hello, and welcome to episode 103 with me, Jessica Morehouse, your host of the Mo Money Podcast. Thanks for joining me for another episode. For this episode, I am interviewing Garrett Philbin, a financial life coach. He also writes over at Be Awesome, Not Broke, which you can check out at BeAwesomeNotBroke.com. Basically, his whole motto is pay off debt, start saving, be awesome, which I love. So what I really loved about this interview, which you will find out on your own, is he has this idea, this kind of point of view, which I totally relate to in terms of money coaching and personal finance. It's not just about the money. Once you really understand how to manage your

money, what works for you, it changes your life. Hence the financial life coach, which I freaking, freaking love. So we get into a lot of different topics in this interview. So I don't want to reveal too much because we have a great time chatting in this interview. So I don't want to reveal too much because we have a great time chatting in this episode. And he also has the best radio voice. So enough chatting for me. Let's get to that interview. Thanks, Garrett, for joining me on the show. Thank you so much for having me. I'm excited to be here. I'm excited for you to be here. I'm so glad we connected at FinCon. And you were honestly one of the most energetic, happy, positive people I've ever met at FinCon or just in general.

So that's awesome. That's why I had to have you on the show. I have many people describe me by many adjectives. And I think those are the three most positive ones I've ever gotten in succession. So thank you for that. You're very welcome. You're very welcome. But you, yeah, we connected and we just, you know, had a hoot because I think maybe you just liked my Canadian humor and you just got me and I'm like, oh yeah, I like this guy. We're going to be friends. But I'm excited to kind of talk more, like get really in depth because we didn't get too much of a big chunk of time to chat about you and what you're all about. But you're kind of living my dream a little bit.

So, and I'm sure lots of other people's dreams. Yeah. And it's, as we were just touching on right before the interview, it's funny. Yes, I think in many ways. You are living my dream. I am living your dream. That sounds kind of weird, but like. ways you are living my dream I am living your dream that sounds kind of weird but like that does specifically my dream yeah yours I kind of like looked I stalked you on the internet and was just like who's dream do I want to take today yeah I think in some ways I'm

sure that I am and then like we were talking about when you kind of pull the curtain away and look beneath it as it is with most people like what is all pretty and shiny on the outside? Like it's not all perfection. So it'll be fun to kind of dive in and dispel perhaps some of the myth of your life that I am maybe living. Okay. Well, don't dispel too much because I need to hold on to something. I need to have something. Fair enough.

I would love to start with kind. I need to have something. Okay. Um, I would love to start, um, with kind of how you got into this. So, so what you do now is you work for yourself and you are a, uh, financial life coach or money coach. Correct. Financial life coach. Because I just like, did I get that right? Am I talking to the right? Wait, who? Sorry. I'm the elephant trainer. I like financial life coach because it has the word life in it. Yes, and I love that. Yeah, and when it's only money coach, I think people focus on the numbers and obviously the money part of it, but money is just kind of a convert. When you have conversations about money, it naturally segues into conversations about life. And I feel

like when you talk about money, it's kind of a gateway conversation drug into life. And so I felt it very important to have that in there as I described what I do. Absolutely. And yeah, when I saw that, I'm like, it's so fascinating. I haven't seen too many, I don't think anyone with that title, but it makes more sense. Cause when I think that, I'm like, it's so fascinating. I haven't seen too many. I don't think anyone with that title, but it makes more sense because when I think about, you know, personal finance and money and just why I'm so drawn to it, it's not because I care about math or numbers or percentages. Like, no, that's not my jam. It's the life stuff that how, you know, when you really understand money, it can absolutely shape your life and take you in a direction you may have not thought possible. And that's, so I'm like, yes, you came up with

the perfect title. Well, I think that line that some people use, you know, personal finance is much more personal than finance. It's delightfully cheesy, but it's very true in that you have, money is simply a tool. And so you have to understand what you want out of life and what is important to you. What are your goals and your values? If you're ever going to use money in a way that's going to ultimately make you happy. Absolutely. So how did you get into this world? Were you always like you came from, you know, you weren't always a, you know, money coach.

You worked in the corporate world. So what did you do back then? Yeah, a very circuitous path. I studied music business and worked in the music business for about five years before jumping off and starting my own company. And so I had no experience in the world of financial planning, investment management, any of that world that usually kind of brings out the financial coach in people, or that was a really weird way of putting it. I literally had no experience in the industry, is what I'm trying to say. And yeah, I worked in the music business. I worked at Sony Music for a couple of years, then really didn't, that was a big corporate company. And I really didn't like just how that

was set up. And that was my first experience with it. And just how long it took for things to get done, how little say I had in change. And after a couple of years there, ultimately started a music production company with two friends of mine from college. And that was my first foray into entrepreneurship, and it was great because I had people who I knew, I had a support structure, the really smart guys,

and it wasn't just me. So I got to dip my toes into, well, not dip my toes, I guess kind of jump into entrepreneurship, but not solopreneurship. So that was a great trial by fire in understanding what it's like to start and run your own business. But I ultimately found that the music industry, and we also started a company that had one foot in the advertising industry as well, just was not the world I wanted to play in. Music creators and the people who make money off of it, they're oftentimes at odds with each other

and they don't trust each other. And it's kind of a negative industry, both the music industry and the advertising world. And so I was trying to figure out what the heck to do because I didn't love that world. And actually, one of the businesses we started hit a cash crunch. And that gave me the chance to say, okay, if we can't do it the way we have been doing it, am I going to listen to that voice in the back of my head that says, I'm not really happy doing this? And after a lot of conversations with one of the co-founders, he was just like, you love to mentor, you love to teach. I actually volunteered for two years out of college doing that. He's like, you just, for

some reason, nerd out about personal finance. Is there any way to combine those? And I was like, I have no idea if there is, but it was an idea I couldn't get out of my head. And I just went home and pages of Evernote about, okay, how can I help people around money? How can I create community? What the hell does this even mean? And just trying to figure it out. But it was the first time I'd ever been so taken with an idea and with potential. And I just knew that was something that kind of had this idea in your mind, you're like, okay, this is, I think what I want to pursue. What were your next steps? Cause I think that's like, it's one thing to really figure out what you're passionate about. And some people will never know. Like I still know, you know, close friends are like, I'm so envious that you know what you like to do. Cause I still don't know what I'm good at or what I'm passionate about. I just don't. So, but, you know, so, you know, kind of going over that, you know, one mountain, you figured that out. How did you figure out, how do I apply

this? How do I make money? How do I make a living? How do I help people? How do I find those people? That's a lot of questions. It is a lot of questions. Pick whichever part you like and answer. Well, I have to be incredibly transparent because I had a massive advantage that most people won't have and will have to work for. So understanding, especially after the election, like what privileges, one, my white hetero male privilege, and two, I mentioned that I'd volunteered for a couple of years after college. When I was volunteering, by definition, I was not getting paid. I got a $200 a month stipend, but like $80 of that went to my phone bill. So there wasn't that much available. And during those two years, we had some family friends who said, you know, you're doing a

really good thing and you aren't making any additional money. And so we're going to give you money that you potentially would have made as kind of just a, we appreciate what you're doing. And so I got whatever the max donation was for those years, I think $13,000 each year from these family friends that ultimately added up to about 26 grand and allowed me to, so I had this cash in the bank when I decided to start kind of quit the music business and start Be Awesome Not Broke. Now, yes. So I had this huge leg up, huge leg up that many people will not have. However, I got that money when I was 23, ultimately 22 and 23. And I had that money still at 30 when I, well, 29 and 30. So understanding that I had an immense privilege that was handed to me.

However, I also had that last when I moved from Portland to New York and I only spent a couple thousand dollars of it over the five years that I was in New York pre-starting the business. And so I think even though I was lucky, I did do the right thing in making sure I kept my expenses really low, not knowing when I would really need that money, but believing that at some point I would. And that's what ultimately allowed me to quit my job and start the music production company with the college friends and ultimately allowed me to jump off from that job and start my own company. So even though most people will not have that much money given to them, I think one of the biggest things that allowed me to do this was having that money in the bank. And so when people get, I guess, a big piece of advice I would then give to your listeners is if you have this sense that, okay, what I'm doing right now is not ultimately what I want to be doing. And even if I don't know what that thing is, is to prepare yourself financially and start thinking about how much money you can save or really putting a lot of money away.

Because money is really just an accumulation of saved time. So what that $26,000 in the bank gave me was time to figure shit out. Was time to, after I started my company, to say, you know what? I have a runway that's going to allow me to focus on building my business rather than thinking only short term and how I can get clients right now, which ultimately is not in the best interest of my clients. That's me looking out for my own self-interest rather than being more worried about theirs. So that takeaway being you have a war chest or have some freedom and flexibility in your finances. Have that safety net because it's going to allow you to ultimately put your clients ahead of yourself and your own self-doubt and worries and fears that are going to happen when you start your own business no matter what.

And you just don't want money to be a part of that as well because you'll act in a selfish way. You'll act in your own interest. And ultimately, people and clients are going to be able to of that as well, because you'll act in a selfish way, you'll act in your own interest, and ultimately people and clients are going to be able to feel that. I guess that's, in general, that's just a smart thing. In general, lots of people are like, oh, you know, I know I need to have an emergency fund, but they may not think, well, when's an emergency going to happen? Or sure, sure, sure, I'll have three months, you know, living expenses tucked away. But, you know, sometimes you need a little bit more than that. And sometimes, you know, even if you don't necessarily want to do the entrepreneurship thing, but you want to,

you know, think again at what you want to do, want to do a different career path, or you just want to go traveling to figure life out, figure yourself out, it's really handy to have a bunch of cash on hand so you can make those things happen. And I think that's kind of a lot of what your kind of whole thing about is really about the whole freedom aspect of money that, yeah, because you said it earlier, I can't remember how you exactly said it, but it was just like money should be a tool to – oh, I'm not going to say it right. But it was something along the same lines of money should be used to kind of get what you want out of life, I suppose. Yeah. Something like that.

You're right. It gives you flexibility. It kind of is stored time, I think is how I put it. Yeah. I like that a lot. Yeah. And this actually, you know, for me, money helped me get on a path towards entrepreneurship. But like you said, that's not going to be the goal for everyone. comes in or the personal part of personal finance comes in is that it's important for people to

think of what might they ultimately want to do in life. And as you said, some people might not know, but if you don't know, then it's still helpful to build up that cushion so that when you do figure it out, you have the ability to then take action quicker. Or if you do know what it is, for example, you want to go and travel around for a year or you want to be able to quit your job, maybe not necessarily go into entrepreneurship, but quit your job and take another one

that actually you don't hate. This is where the life part of it comes in and is really important. And asking yourself, why do I want money? What is important in life? I think that why do I want money is a really interesting question that not enough people ask. They'll just say, I need to make more. I don't have enough. I'm always feeling like I'm stressed and anxious.

And every time I pull out my debit card or credit card, I feel guilty for the decisions that I'm making. And very rarely do we stop to really think, but why do I even need this money in the first place? What is it helping me get that is making me happier, that is moving me towards my goals? How am I spending money? Is it aligning at all with my values? And these are the questions that I think people really need to dig into if they're going to get a greater ROI, for lack of a better term, on their spending and ultimately

their happiness. Absolutely. Yeah. what money meant to him and why he was always kind of like oh i wish i was making more or he's always kind of hoping he makes more than the previous year but i i'm just like but why like what are you going to do with this extra money you never spend it when you have it like he'll spend it on gear or stuff for his business because he loves what he does but at the end of the day he doesn't care to shop he did you, you know, we bought a place. So that was kind of a big financial goal that we got or that we achieved. And it's like, what else do you want? And he's like, well, I guess nothing. So I'm like, so what are you complaining about?

That's just the wife of me. What are you complaining about? Well, how did that ultimately? It's like a lot of people don't, yeah, ask the why. Yeah. And how did that ultimately affect It's true. It's like a lot of people don't – yeah, ask the why. Yeah, and how did that ultimately affect your guys' decision-making? Is that something that – sometimes the seed is just planted. And so a change of behaviors might not happen right away, but I'm just kind of curious.

Has that informed either his relationship with money or how he views money? What came of that conversation? Well, what I think he kind of realized was he ties a lot of self-worth with how much he makes. He compares himself to other people he knows in the business and what their rates are. And he's like, I wish I could charge a higher rate because so-and-so is. And if I charged a higher rate it'd be it would mean i'm kind of on their level and so i'm like okay but at the end of the day you're doing what you love and you know this is a tough industry it's not easy most people can't even

make a full-time living doing what you're doing so yeah yeah and i think it honestly kind of put him at ease like after the conversation he's like I think I kind of feel better because I was getting really stressed out. It was getting to be near the end of the year. And that's when he was kind of starting to think about how much did I make all year. But yeah, it actually kind of gave him a little peace of mind to be like, oh, I think I can relax and give myself a break a little bit. And one of the things I've noticed, especially for solopreneurs, is this idea of I always have to earn more, whether it's comparing themselves to other people in their industry or just this belief that, man, I always need more. And a lot of that stems from, A,

a lot of people actually just don't know how much money they're making or how much money they're spending. And so there's just not this understanding of what actually just don't know how much money they're making or how much money they're spending. And so there's just not this understanding of what actually is going on financially. But it's also because they don't really know what's important to them in life and their goals and their values, it's funny that it actually costs, they start spending less money because they realize what really matters to them isn't the glitzy, expensive stuff. And that then opens the question of, well, if you're working for yourself and you set your own hours and you set your rates, could you actually work less and make less money but have more time to do the things that actually make you happy? And so it's not a question necessarily of how do I charge more or how do I

work more? Oddly enough, they're starting to ask, can I work less? And actually, I can afford to work less. And there, the biggest problem is actually, can afford to work less. Can I, and they're the biggest problem is actually like, can they allow themselves to be comfortable with working less? You know, the solopreneur and those of us who are freelancers, like there's always that need, like I need to, I need to make sure I'm doing something all the time just in case. But I think that's what we ultimately should be working for is asking ourselves, do I need to be working this much? And what can I do with my free time? And especially, certainly now after the American election that we just had, a lot of people are asking, what the hell can I do?

How can I be involved? How can I stand up for the causes and things that I care about? And we're running into that question of, well, I don't have enough money. I don't feel like I have enough time. And imagine if everyone kind of did this work and sat down and really figured out how much they truly needed to be happy, they might realize that they have a lot more money

and time to give. So I think that's something that definitely right now is and could resonate with the people people below the border yep yep 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 absolutely i want to to kind of talk about you did a two-month road trip recently throughout the U.S. What was the kind of purpose for that? Just pleasure or why did you do a road trip?

And you were just on your own, right? Yeah. Just by myself. Pretty much I just wanted to be cool like Kate Flanders. She was doing the same exact thing and pretty much just like a week ahead of me every time. So imitation is the highest form of flattery. So there you go, Kate.

But really the inspiration for it was, I guess a couple things. I've wanted more travel in my life. I used to do it a lot more when I was younger. And I mean, I'd started my own company. The purpose to start a company is to live the life that you want. And I really wasn't doing that. And so that was definitely one reason to have more adventure and travel in my life. The second one is I honestly hadn't formed as many, I've been in New York for five years and just really hadn't formed as many strong relationships here as I would have wanted.

And so I probably am going to move out of New York in a year or two. And just I have a lot of friends on the West Coast since I was born and raised in California. West Coast is nice. West Coast is the best coast. It's the best coast. So I wanted to go back and connect with them. Just, you know, those are, those are my friends. I've known them for so long that being able to reconnect and see them where they're staying and where they're living, it just was this, uh, honestly kind of an escape to be able to go and reconnect. And those were really the two primary

drivers. But it was interesting because I realized even before I took the trip, like, is this just a form of escapism? Is this me wanting to run away and kind of look over the fact that I honestly haven't been the friend to others here in New York that I want them to be to me. And so is this me just overlooking the fact that I haven't done the work? You know, and I definitely, after the road trip, I realized, yep, you know, I can create whatever I want here in New York. It's just I wasn't being intentional about doing it. So it was really a test. It initially started as, okay, I want more travel, more adventure, and want to reconnect with friends.

But the closer that the trip got, I realized how I was avoiding doing those things here in New York. And then definitely after the trip was like, yep, okay. I had just been avoiding doing those. It was me kind of removing the, how do I put it? That it was in my own power to do it and I just hadn't. And so it was cool, even though a little depressing to be like, well, I'd spent a lot of time here and not created the life that I want. It really helped empower me. And I realized, okay, if I want something, I can just go frigging do it. So now that I'm back in New York, am I going to do it or not? You know, I do, there is something to be said, I think, for just the environment and the location you're in, because I felt similar. I felt like I wasn't necessarily the best person I could be or the best friend I could be in Vancouver where I'm from. And I don't know whether that's just because I grew up there and I was just very comfortable and didn't really put

myself out there as much. But when I moved to Toronto, I don't know, it's just the vibe is different. And I just felt like there was a more, I mean, obviously I didn't know anyone here, so I had to make friends and I had to kind of get out of my comfort zone, but I'm also just more social than I ever have been. And I feel like a lot of it has to do with the location and just like the people here. So I don't know. I absolutely feel like you could do that in New York, but I don't know. Best ghost. Yeah. I think, I think it's totally true that different people thrive in different places. Yeah. I think that's, yeah, that's something I've been realizing as I've gone out. I'm like, huh, who knew? I really didn't, you know,

I couldn't have imagined me thriving in Toronto. Before I moved here, everyone I knew, everyone I worked with, they're like, good luck. I'll see you in a couple of years. It's a tough city. And I love it here. Isn't that funny? Yeah. I mean, everyone is unique and an individual, right? It's such a cliche. But that's going to mean that different people are going to thrive in different places. And being from the West Coast, I think the go, go, go nature of New York and always feeling the need to be doing something, how a lot of people are really defined by their work, it's just hard and I think one of my friends told me she's just like you know what it doesn't have to be hard you can be in a place where things just come easier and I'd never really thought of that but as you found like when you moved it no nature is a huge part and environment is a huge part and so I think that's one thing that people, I love people that take to heart and just say, you know, it actually doesn't have to be hard.

And just because it's hard, actually, it's not a badge of honor. Yeah. Kind of slugging through the shit every day. It may feel like, oh, I'm putting in the work that has to be done. And certain times, yes, you are going to have to work hard and it's not going to be easy. But if over the course of years and years, it's not easy, I think that's when you have to question, are you in the right environment? And are you just kind of making it harder to feel the sense of accomplishment?

That, you know, and that's definitely a New York thing. You just work, work, work. And there's this pride in that. And I'm starting to get the sense of, you know what, I also think that there is life beyond that. And having, you know, a porch and a house with a backyard and not just a tiny apartment would be, um, that would be nice. Although I do get some consolation that people who are wildly, you know, making millions of and not just a tiny apartment would be... That would be nice. That would be nice. Although I do get some consolation that people who are wildly making millions of dollars still have tiny apartments. So it's just that New York life.

But the environment, like you said, is huge. Yeah, and I think that kind of goes with just, I mean, personal finance in general, life in general. It doesn't have to be hard. You don't have to be stuck in a certain situation. There are absolutely ways and opportunities out there for you to make life easier. Like, yeah, just like you said, I loved how you said that. I'm like, that is so, you know, really means a lot for what I'm, you know, just, you know, going through in my life too. It's like, it doesn't have to be hard.

And if it is, maybe you need to open the next door and go through it. Find someplace else, another route to go. And ask people for help. You don't have to go it alone either. And so call in your support structure. If you don't have a great support structure around you, then just kind of reach out to people on forums or make friends. Start with internet friends and then build out.

I think it takes a certain amount of courage to reach out and say, I'm lost and I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do. But there's one thing I've learned. There are so many people who feel the same way. And so if you're willing to take that first step, there are a lot of people who will come and help support you and help kind of light that torch and kind of lead the way for you and help support you as you're trying to figure out what the hell you're doing. Absolutely. Well, thank you, Garrett, for chatting with me.

This was lovely. This was so much fun. I really appreciate you having me on. And you have the best radio voice. We do. Yeah, welcome to K-Love. I guess I could be the anti-Delilah. I guess that's

probably a reference most people won't get depending on their age, but Delilah is that cheesy radio host who always does the shout-out for love songs on the weekends here in the States. Yeah, but hey, you know, if maybe in my second life, I'll be a radio DJ.

Why not? Why not? You know, that side hustle game's strong. Maybe that's what I'll do. So no, but thank you seriously for having me on. It was really fun just to sit here and chat and kind of take a circuitous path. But yeah, it was fun where it ended up. And hopefully this is something that your listeners find helpful and valuable. Absolutely. And that was episode 103 with Garrett

Philbin from Be Awesome, Not Broke. He's also a financial life coach for hire. If you need some help, he may be the guy that can help you. So make sure to visit his website, beawesomenotbroke.com and check him out. I also want to plug a little thing that might help you. We talked a lot about different things that work for different people. And I think a lot of that stems from our different money personalities. If you don't know what that is, that is okay. But I've got a video that explains all of it that you can check out. I'll put it in the show notes, but you can also find it on my YouTube channel. But I also made a fun little quiz, a money personality quiz that you answer just a few little questions and it will reveal what kind of money personality you've got,

whether it means you've got security. That's your personality. That means money equates security for you. That is my money personality. But there's also a couple of other different personalities that include love. That is the value you have on money, power, and freedom. So definitely check out the show notes, jessicamorehouse.com slash 103 for more information about that. I think you will enjoy it. So I do not have another listener series episode for tomorrow. I've got a few in the queue, but nothing ready for tomorrow. But I am always looking for a new guest. So if you're listening to the show right now and you have a story you would like to share on the show with other listeners, please hit me up at jessica at jessicamorehouse.com. That is my email. Shoot me an email. Let's chat and try to get you on the show. So thanks for joining me

again for another episode and I look forward to seeing you next Wednesday.