Sept. 1, 2026

Financial Wellness for Women: Money, Marriage & Building Wealth with Hayley Dickson, CFP

Financial Wellness for Women: Money, Marriage & Building Wealth with Hayley Dickson, CFP
Financial Wellness for Women: Money, Marriage & Building Wealth with Hayley Dickson, CFP®What if financial freedom has less to do with hitting a magic number—and more about finally feeling clear and confident about your money?This week on The Running Wine Mom, Samantha Cieslinski sits down with Hayley Dickson, CFP, CEO and Founder of RIPPL Wealth Management, for a refreshingly honest conversation about money, financial wellness, marriage, motherhood, and building a life you actually want to live.Hayley shares how she walked away from a successful six-figure career in entertainment, trusted her intuition, and ultimately became the fastest-growing advisor in Northwestern Mutual’s history before launching RIPPL Wealth Management.But this isn't your typical conversation about cutting lattes and sticking to a monthly budget. In fact, Hayley hates monthly budgets.Instead, she introduces her concept of a “planning budget”—deciding how much of your annual income will go toward growing your net worth and achieving your goals first, then giving yourself permission to enjoy what’s left.Samantha and Hayley also get into the emotional side of money: why successful women can still feel embarrassed about what they don't know, why financial wellness belongs in the same conversation as physical and mental health, and why women—especially stay-at-home moms—need to understand their household finances even when their partner traditionally handles the money.In this episode, we talk about:
  • Why Hayley left a successful entertainment career to completely reinvent herself in finance
  • Why money remains one of our biggest cultural taboos
  • The shame and comparison that keep women from asking financial questions
  • What being a “financial life designer” actually means
  • Why financial wellness can affect our mental health, relationships, and overall well-being
  • Financial independence for women and stay-at-home parents
  • Why Hayley prefers the idea of becoming “work optional” instead of simply retiring
  • Estate planning, life insurance, 529 plans, and preparing financially for your family
  • Tax diversification and the difference between pre-tax and Roth retirement savings
  • How sophisticated investment strategies are becoming more accessible to everyday wealth builders
  • Prenups, postnups, marriage, and protecting yourself financially
  • Whether couples should combine finances or use a “yours, mine, and ours” system
  • Why having a shared financial vision matters more than exactly how your bank accounts are structured
  • The “middle bucket” Hayley often sees missing from people's financial lives
  • Why Hayley hates traditional monthly budgets
  • Her planning budget approach to saving, investing, and spending without guilt
  • Why travel is the money splurge Hayley will never regret
Hayley defines financial freedom as having clarity, confidence, and peace in your money choices. And perhaps the biggest takeaway from this conversation is that you don't need to wait until you're wealthy to start feeling financially empowered.You just have to start.Hayley is offering listeners a complimentary 30-minute one-on-one Life Design & Wealth Strategy Session (a $500 value). Simply mention this episode when you reach out to rippl@nm.com to reserve your spot. Learn more about Hayley and how she can help elevate your finances on rippl.nm.com.Connect with Hayley DicksonRIPPL Wealth Management: https://rippl.nm.com/Hayley Dickson on Instagram: @hayleywdicksonHayley Dickson on LinkedIn: Search Hayley Dickson, CFP®Connect with The Running Wine MomFollow Samantha on Instagram: @therunningwinemom_Subscribe to The Running Wine Mom wherever you listen to podcasts, and if this episode made you think differently about money, send it to a friend who needs to hear it.This episode is for educational and informational purposes only and should not be considered individualized financial, investment, tax, or legal advice.
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Each dollar has a job description.

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And so a financial life designer is someone that helps

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you with cashflow, budgeting, limiting beliefs around money.

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Welcome back to the Running Wine Mom podcast. I'm your host,

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Samantha Selinsky, aka the Running Wine Mom. Today, we're diving

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into a topic that can make people break into a

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cold sweat faster than opening the school email after 8 p.m., money.

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Because let's be honest, we'll talk to our friends about

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marriage problems, parenting struggles, postpartum bodies, and that weird rash

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our kid had last week, but ask us about retirement

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accounts or estate planning, and suddenly everyone becomes very interested

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in changing the subject.

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Today's guest is Haley Dixon.

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The founder of Ripple Wealth Management, CEO, CFP, and she's

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on a mission to find financial wellness feel less intimidating

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and a lot more human. She went from a successful

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six-figure career in entertainment to becoming the fastest growing advisor

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in Northwestern Mutual's history before launching her own company. But

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what I love about Haley's approach is that she doesn't

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see money as just numbers on a financial wealth as

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a huge part of our overall well-being, right alongside with

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our mental health, relationships, physical health, and the life we're

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actually trying to create. So without further ado, let's welcome Haley.

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Welcome.

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Thank you, Samantha. Excited to be here.

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I'm so excited to have you here.

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So why don't you tell everybody a little bit about yourself?

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Yeah, sure. So, you know, I turned 44 this year.

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Start off with that.

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I grew up in New Mexico and Santa Fe as

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well as Houston, Texas.

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Went to Vanderbilt. My mom was very divorced four times,

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the fourth one by the time I was 23. And

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so the.

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Power of money and the power of the importance as

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a woman of having that financial independence and control in

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your choices. have embedded in me really early on. And

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I live out in California. I've got an eight-year-old and

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a 10-year-old and a husband and a parrot and a

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bearded dragon. And, you know, just, I love making money

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fun and exciting. And what you said in your intro

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was so true.

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It's just the way it comes up and everyone kind

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of goes, you know, zips the mouth. So yeah, absolutely.

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And we're definitely going to get into that. But, you know,

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something that I felt was super important when I was

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kind of creating this is about women in money, because

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a lot of times people are like, oh, my husband

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does this or my husband does that. So we're also

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going to talk about how women can, you know, get

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into making sure that they're steady as well.

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Sorry, my computer froze real quickly, but let me.

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So you made a terrifying leap from entertainment to finance,

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and you did not just survive that leap. You became

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the fastest growing advisor in Northwestern Mutual's history. So can

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you tell everybody what made you make that change and

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what is the secret sauce in all of this?

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Yeah.

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I mean, I think female intuition in general is one

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of the most powerful tools we have, you know, on

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the planet. And we really only tap into it about

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five to 10% of the time. And so I had

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this fancy job in the entertainment world. I was SVP,

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the definition of like golden handcuffs. You know, it was

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a sexy job. I traveled around the world. I was

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doing international television distribution. And I had the quote unquote

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dream job and was making great money in my early 30s.

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But there was still this knock, this knock that we

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all know, we've all experienced of there's something out there

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that's bigger and better and is going to allow you

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to have an impact on people, an impact on the world.

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And I had no idea what it was, but I

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got to this point where I just left, like you said,

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with no net.

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And I went into, for the first time in my life,

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just some time to think. I was fortunate enough to

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have saved up some money, and I did yoga teacher training,

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and that gave me just this profound presence. where I

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got really.

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Clear with myself first, which was really challenging that I

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didn't want to be in entertainment anymore. And then finally

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starting to whisper it into the world. And the outside

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influences were like, no, Haley.

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You're good.

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This isn't me. You should stay.

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You just had a bad experience with this last whatever.

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And I was just like, no, there's something bigger and better.

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And I was open to what my skills could be

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transferable into. Because so many of us have this belief that, well,

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this is what I've done for 10 or 15 years.

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And that's what I'm going to be able to do.

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And there's no other way. Yeah, right. And we're brilliant.

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We're smart. We have communication skills.

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So anyways, I had lunch with my financial advisor and

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just thinking we were going to go over kind of

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a portfolio or something. And they started talking to me

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about doing this. And as I listened, it just felt

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that intuition was like, wow, I could be really good

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at this, which is a combination of coaching, nurturing, and

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then helping people design the life they want to live

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and creating financial freedom. And so that qualitative and quantitative

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kind of mix. And so I started and it just,

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it was right. You know, it was incredibly challenging and

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super overwhelming and very intimidating, incredibly humbling. But I knew

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right away that that this is what I was meant

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to do on this planet. And this is the gift

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that I have to give.

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So that's so wonderful.

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And you use the phrase financial life designer, which feels

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very different than financial advisor.

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And I love that. Honestly, it does feel less.

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Intimidating as you know, when you hear financial advisor, what

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does that mean in real life terms?

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Yeah, well, If you.

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Google financial advisor, you know, synonyms for there's 30 different

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plus terms that come up. Right. And I think it's

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very using for a consumer to understand what is the

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financial advisor even do. So that's the first thing. And

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the thing is, there's just a lack of trust. Like

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I learned, oh, a financial advisor. People are like, OK,

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see you later.

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You know, yeah, it's like running for.

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And so.

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I really thought, gosh, you know, what do I actually do?

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And what I do is I help people and the quarterback,

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I help people make smart money choices to design the

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life they want to live and to make it fun.

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You know, so each job has a job description and we,

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and excuse me, each, each dollar has a job description.

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And so a financial life designer, you know, is someone

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that helps you with cashflow, budgeting, kind of limiting beliefs

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around money, of course, wealth management, risk management, estate planning,

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all of these things, but it truly is. We work

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hard to earn money, yet we don't take the time

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to talk about and truly have fun designing the life

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we want to live with the money we work so

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hard to earn. And so financial life doesn't, it is,

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that is what it is. You know, it feel, it's

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a partnership. It's a true partnership, you know, with my clients.

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It's not transactional.

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Like I think a lot of financials are.

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And that was going to kind of lead me into

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my next question, because money is right up there with

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like politics and religion as the ultimate, you know, taboo

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dinner topic. And so why do you think that we're

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so terrified to look at our bank accounts when everybody

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is working and we're afraid to have money, you know,

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fun with money, but they'll gladly tell a stranger their deepest,

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you know, relationship drama, but they're not talking about their

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retirement funds. I personally am always curious about because why

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are we not talking about it more?

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Well, well, I think, I mean, it comes from our parents,

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you know, and, and, you know, people on this listeners

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or twenties, thirties, forties, you know, typically, and you know, that,

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that generation of, of people like money was more taboo

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than ever.

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And I think that is changing a lot, but it

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wasn't a topic we would talk about as women.

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If you have a family, you know, you're born in

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the eighties, you know, early nineties, you know, and it's all,

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it's all boys.

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You'll find that they learned a lot more than first

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and foremost. Right.

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So I think it's just that upbringing. And then secondly,

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it's comparison culture, right? It's like, you know, it's so

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interesting how I work with sophisticated, highly educated, powerful, you know, masterful,

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you know, women, and they kind of look around them

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and they think everybody else has it figured out. They

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think that, they believe that, but they're the only ones

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that don't know, you know, what their balance sheet looks

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like or how their 401k works or if they're overspending

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or not overspending. But actually, it's this kind of, you know,

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a covert, like epidemic that's happening that no one's talking about.

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And so, I think it has to do with comparison

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culture and also shame of like, gosh, you know, if

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I'd only started this five or 10 years ago, if

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I'd only made this decision or, you know, and I

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think finally it's like, you know, it's being out of

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your zone.

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There's this expectation. It's really strange, right, Samantha?

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Like that, you know, if I always say like, if

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I had to go like wire my house electricity, I'm

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not going to, you know, YouTube or figure out how

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to do that.

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I'm going to hire a professional. But for some reason,

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society puts this pressure on us.

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They're supposed to know what an ETF is and how

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to rebalance our portfolios and how to, you know, but like,

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we're not really.

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We're never taught that in school.

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I know.

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So that's.

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Yeah.

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And it's interesting because I'm in a lot of mom

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groups on Facebook. And just before this, I was like

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scrolling through and someone was like, I want to know

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what percentage of your net income goes towards your mortgage.

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And it was so interesting, that thing alone. I'm like,

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I never thought about other people's income to mortgage ratio.

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And then I was like, I wonder what ours is.

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And ours was like on the lower percentage wise. And

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some people were saying like, you know, 30, 40%, which

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is like, I mean, I don't know if That's high

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or low or whatever.

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But it was just.

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Interesting to read. It went from like 1% up to 50%.

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I'm like, this is a conversation that I've never had

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with my friends sitting down behind a glass of wine.

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And it's what other conversations are we not having that

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that we can be aware of? is what I was

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kind of thinking.

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I think it's like, you know, people have an expectation

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that there is a, this is what's right and this

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is what's not right. The percentage of, you know, internet

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income as an example.

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And there really, there's a range of things or there's

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like the, here are the one-on-one foundational elements of what

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should exist kind of in your financial ecosystem. That's something

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I talk about, you know, a lot is each individual,

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each family has their own financial ecosystem. And the mix

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of what is inside of that in terms of, you know,

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how much risks you're.

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Taking, the liquidity of it, the tax treatment of it.

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It's going to vary depending on, you know, where that

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person is, what their goals are, and, you know, what

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their resources are. And so I think one of the

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biggest things is that holds people back from really leaning into,

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you know, their financial wellness is they feel like they

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don't have enough to be worthy of a financial advisor

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or they don't know who to trust. You know, I

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think that's really changing from this idea of, hey, you know,

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I'm a Goldman Sachs.

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Like, bro finance guy.

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And, you're a great person, but come to me when

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you have 10 or 15 or 20 million net worth. Well,

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that's what exists, but the world we're in now is

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much more accessible in terms of finding that advice that's

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bespoke to you versus TikTok telling you to do something

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that is probably totally meant to your life and your world.

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Yeah, it's so true.

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So we are on the running wine mom. So I

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have to ask if your financial personality had a wine label,

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what would the bottle say?

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What would the bottle say? So I love natural wine.

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I'm a big like pet mat. So I don't know.

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Pet mat forever.

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I love it. I love that.

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And, you know, speaking of organic, we talk about financial

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wellness as the missing piece of the longevity conversation. We

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do skincare routines. We have organic wine. We buy the

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organic groceries. We log our miles. Why do you think

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that financial wellness is such a a topic that is

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not in when we're in our 20s and 30s, the

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conversation of our seven-step wellness, you know, our skincare routine

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before bed. Why are these not bigger topics for women, really,

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I think, especially?

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Samantha, you bring up such a great point and something

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that I focus on a lot is financial wellness, as

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I would argue.

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I mean, I'm biased. This is what I do, you know,

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for a living. And I often call myself a financial

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therapist as well. But having financial wellness, you know, like

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clarity and peace in your money choices. That's how we

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define financial freedom.

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And when I invite clients into the to work with us,

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it's like we want to get you to clarity, confidence

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and peace in the first six months. Because what that

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does is having that feeling inside of you that you're

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making smart money choices, no matter.

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If you're single, married, kids, no kids.

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25 or 75 creates, I'm getting goosebumps talking, creates this

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kind of golden light that attracts everything else in your

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life and detracts the things in your life. Because having

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that confusion or that avoidance of financial health, which most

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of us have, creates this little tick cancer, this little

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toxicity inside of who you are.

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And to answer your question, like, why aren't we talking

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about it?

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Well, because it's really freaking hard to talk about it

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because we all hold something And we all have our

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own money story.

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For me, it was like going from having money to

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not having money with all of the marriages and divorces.

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We all have something. And then we trauma compare too.

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It's like, oh, who am I to like feel.

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Shame about money, you know, where I've never really had

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to worry about it. Like that's a real thing, you know?

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And so when I first talked to somebody in like

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an initial session, I would say 20 to 25% of

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people cry. within the first five to 10 minutes, they

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show up very like, you know, hard wall, you know,

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and then I, and then they start to open up

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and it's this, that is, and that's what, that's why

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we're called ripple to that first little bit of momentum,

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that first little right of just shame talking about like,

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what took you so long to get here?

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What are your excuses? What are your limiting beliefs?

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Once they can verbalize that, then like everything opens up

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and it's that moment of verbalized feel really comfortable doing

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with your friend over a glass of wine on a

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Friday afternoon because, you know, you wouldn't be in pain

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that I've got it all figured out, you know, mindset

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around money particularly. You know, it's less vulnerable to talk

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about the other topics where you're feeling less aligned and

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clear and confident.

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And I want to get into Ripple in a second,

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but the one thing a lot of moms are listening,

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and we remember every dentist appointment, shoe sizes, and every

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school form. But many of us, especially those who are

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the primary caretakers versus out in the workforce, our job

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maybe is a lot of stay-at-home moms. And they avoid

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that conversation about the retirement account or what their life

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looks like if you know, maybe they get a divorce or,

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you know, they're not putting anything into a retirement fund

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while they're taking.

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Care of the household. What advice would you give for those?

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That is so detrimental. I mean, that's shotgun to the foot.

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Because, you know, everyone, you know, when you're in that

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moment and, you know, you feel like your partner, you know,

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is going to take care of you and is making

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all the right choices for you.

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And hopefully that's the case. And hopefully you, you know,

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have that, that, that beautiful life.

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And I have, I have some of my absolutely most

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just clients that fill my heart and give me purpose

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are my single, like divorced women who never thought they

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would be at this place where they are at with

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their age, having to really.

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Learn for the first time how these instruments.

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Work and undercovering, undercovering a lot of the things that

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their partner's, did or more often didn't do. And so

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I think a lot of the times, you know, when

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we're in that space and we're that, you know, that

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stay-at-home parent, maybe you're like, I'm not a numbers person

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or my partner has it all figured out. you know, but,

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but that's really, again, the limiting belief you're telling yourself.

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And I would say the first step I would do

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is say, you know, honey, you know, I trust you inherently.

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And I'm so grateful for, you know, the, the, the,

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the leadership you've shown as a CFO of our household,

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but I would, I wouldn't learn more. You know, I

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want to be part of these means of the financial.

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I want to understand, you know, one of the terms

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that I, I use, I don't use the word retirement

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because I don't know, we don't really do that anymore.

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There's like a change with pace or, But I call

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it work optional. So at some point, Samantha, you're going

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to want to be work optional, right? So saying, I

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want to know where we're headed. You know, I've got

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a three-year-old and a seven-year-old and a 10-year-old. And, you know,

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when they walk to college, like, where are we work

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optional at that point? Are we, you know, so just

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that curiosity, not the judgment of like, I want to oversee,

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but the, hey, I want to learn, I want to understand.

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How can I be involved? You know, I think that's

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so important to start educating yourself.

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Yeah.

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Yeah. And so you launched Ripple Wealth Management with a

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mission to democratize sophisticated financial strategies. What is one piece

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of financial advice or a strategy that maybe the ultra

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wealthy people use all the time that the average everyday

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entrepreneur or first generation wealth builder has no idea exists?

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There's so many.

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So let's see.

365
00:16:34.320 --> 00:16:37.299
So a few come to mind. And you said that

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really well, Samantha. What I'm trying to do is bring...

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you know, 10-figure net worth strategies to nine and nine

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to eight and eight to seven, and most importantly, seven

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to six, right? And so moving from just a basic

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index fund portfolio as an example to something more dynamic

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and dimensional.

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So one of the things that I would urge.

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Listeners to explore, and all of this is becoming much

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more accessible than it used to be, is private companies,

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meaning you can get access to through different funds that

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are out there. I won't mention anything now, I can't,

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but to private companies. So companies are staying private way

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longer than they did in the past because they have

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more control, right? And so things like SpaceX, OpenAI, these

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are all private companies. And so really understanding what kind

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of funds can I get into that have private companies

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because the capital to market assumptions there are expected to

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be pretty good. So just widening it out from just

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the S & P 500 into not only private companies,

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but there's so many other asset classes you can invest in.

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The second thing that I would say is creative and

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intelligent leveraging. So what does that mean? My goal for

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my clients is to become their own bank. And so

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00:17:55.410 --> 00:17:57.890
what I mean by that is if you can grow

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00:17:57.950 --> 00:18:01.529
your assets inside of what's called a taxable account, so

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not retirement, but a taxable investment account, you can use

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that as collateral to get a loan from a smaller bank.

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And so, for example, you know, and this is kind

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of a higher end thing, but don't be intimidated by it.

395
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Most people know what a HELOC is. It's a home

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equity line of credit.

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So you have a home that you and you can

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get a loan, you know, using that home as collateral,

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which gives you a lower interest rate. Well, if you

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have a, let's say a taxable investment account that has $ 500, 000

401
00:18:28.259 --> 00:18:29.890
in it, I'm making it up.

402
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It could be 200, could be 100. You can get

403
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a loan for.

404
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Like 50 to 60,000 from that account without taking the

405
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money out of the account.

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And so hopefully listeners.

407
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Are with me a little bit, but if you wanna

408
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buy an appreciating asset, that's why you would take the

409
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loan out to buy like a house or put a

410
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down payment on something. Instead of having to take money out,

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pay taxes, and then the opportunity cost of that money

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not being in there, you can use a securities back

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line of credit Google it or Claude it or chat

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to keep the dollars in and continuing to have that

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growth and buy an appreciating asset.

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So that would be another thing that I would think about.

417
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I don't know if that was too nerdy. I can

418
00:19:07.390 --> 00:19:07.910
get nerdy.

419
00:19:08.880 --> 00:19:09.940
No, I love that.

420
00:19:10.589 --> 00:19:13.430
This conversation, to my listeners, it's for you, but really,

421
00:19:13.470 --> 00:19:15.509
I'm learning so much from it now.

422
00:19:15.670 --> 00:19:17.490
No, I love this conversation.

423
00:19:18.049 --> 00:19:20.920
You know, I think it's super important that we learn

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about those things because I didn't know that. I just

425
00:19:23.420 --> 00:19:26.859
learned something new, which is really exciting and important. So

426
00:19:27.099 --> 00:19:30.940
a lot of people listening have families. What is corporate

427
00:19:30.960 --> 00:19:36.180
family planning actually when you should be doing 529? Should

428
00:19:36.220 --> 00:19:38.829
we be putting in like a trust, like how to

429
00:19:38.869 --> 00:19:41.750
plan for your kids financially?

430
00:19:41.769 --> 00:19:42.349
Yeah.

431
00:19:42.430 --> 00:19:45.789
So you mentioned a trust, which sometimes those words, that

432
00:19:45.829 --> 00:19:49.970
word is very intimidating and complicated and people have this perception.

433
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That, oh, I'll just get a trust and I'll put

434
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some money in there and never pay taxes again. That's

435
00:19:53.240 --> 00:19:58.119
not quite how it works. But some just foundational estate planning,

436
00:19:58.339 --> 00:20:00.400
my belief is whether you have kids or own property

437
00:20:00.420 --> 00:20:03.009
or not, if you have stuff and you love people,

438
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there's stuff and you love people, then you should have

439
00:20:05.880 --> 00:20:08.319
an estate plan. So, you know, a will or a

440
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trust that says, God forbid you pass away. What do

441
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you want to happen with the stuff that you have

442
00:20:13.309 --> 00:20:16.309
and the people that you love? And so the basic

443
00:20:16.410 --> 00:20:19.329
trust that you want to have is a revocable living trust.

444
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Outside of that, there's all different kinds of cool trusts

445
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you do, you know, but that's the basic thing that

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especially if you have children and you don't, if especially

447
00:20:28.390 --> 00:20:30.869
and you don't have a trust, it's something to really

448
00:20:30.930 --> 00:20:32.619
think about. And there's all different ways of doing it,

449
00:20:32.650 --> 00:20:35.269
working with an estate planning attorney, or there's certain kind

450
00:20:35.289 --> 00:20:37.970
of online, you know, sites that are like TurboTax for,

451
00:20:37.990 --> 00:20:40.119
you know, estate planning that you can use.

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But that's something really important.

453
00:20:41.470 --> 00:20:44.059
You know, I would say life insurance is another really big,

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important thing that, you know, that people don't think about or,

455
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you know, they think, oh, I'll get it one day. And,

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you know, we hope it never happens to us. But

457
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I have had families who've passed, you know, spouses have

458
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passed away in their mid to late 30s and no

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life insurance. And it's just absolutely tragic with children and

460
00:21:00.059 --> 00:21:00.599
a mortgage.

461
00:21:00.660 --> 00:21:03.960
And so just making sure you have that. 529s, I mean,

462
00:21:04.019 --> 00:21:05.200
I love 529s.

463
00:21:05.480 --> 00:21:09.640
You know, 529s are definitely the most effective and efficient

464
00:21:09.680 --> 00:21:12.960
way to save for college. You can also use up

465
00:21:13.099 --> 00:21:16.279
to $ 20, 000 per year per kid now for K-12 because

466
00:21:16.299 --> 00:21:17.779
you don't pay any taxes.

467
00:21:17.359 --> 00:21:17.920
On the gains.

468
00:21:18.039 --> 00:21:18.660
We love that.

469
00:21:19.019 --> 00:21:22.279
However, they are not super flexible. You have to use

470
00:21:22.319 --> 00:21:26.400
them for, you know, what's called the qualified education. you know,

471
00:21:26.460 --> 00:21:29.599
education costs, the tuition, room, board, et cetera. Totally depends

472
00:21:29.619 --> 00:21:32.759
on the family. But for me personally, I fund a

473
00:21:32.759 --> 00:21:34.680
529 for my kids. I'm not trying to max it

474
00:21:34.779 --> 00:21:36.759
out because, you know, there are some things you do,

475
00:21:36.769 --> 00:21:38.869
like roll it over into a Roth IRA and put

476
00:21:38.910 --> 00:21:41.769
it in a trust for grandchildren, things of that nature.

477
00:21:41.829 --> 00:21:44.769
But I think that's basic. The other thing, you know,

478
00:21:44.930 --> 00:21:46.769
just in terms of the, you mentioned like kind of

479
00:21:46.990 --> 00:21:49.539
corporate kind of thinking, I think as your family, like

480
00:21:49.690 --> 00:21:52.480
kind of a business, I think is what kind of thing.

481
00:21:52.519 --> 00:21:55.349
And so having retirement savings This is so big.

482
00:21:56.009 --> 00:21:58.069
Going back to what you asked me earlier, Samantha, about

483
00:21:58.569 --> 00:22:03.890
democratizing financial planning. Most people on this planet are contributing

484
00:22:04.029 --> 00:22:07.750
entirely to a pre-tax retirement vehicle.

485
00:22:08.470 --> 00:22:10.970
What does that mean? They're going to defer taxes because

486
00:22:10.990 --> 00:22:13.779
they're like, oh, I'll do crap later. Let me defer

487
00:22:13.799 --> 00:22:17.319
those taxes. Okay, cool. Well, now you're setting yourself up

488
00:22:17.440 --> 00:22:19.940
for the worst kind of tax that the government can

489
00:22:20.400 --> 00:22:23.799
the tax code, you know, has, which is income tax. So,

490
00:22:24.019 --> 00:22:26.700
and you're deciding, hey, I'm going to pay taxes on

491
00:22:26.960 --> 00:22:29.180
whatever I think the government's going to have the tax,

492
00:22:29.480 --> 00:22:31.700
you know, marginal tax rates be in the future.

493
00:22:31.720 --> 00:22:32.380
Right.

494
00:22:32.400 --> 00:22:34.420
Which most people do want to be higher.

495
00:22:34.789 --> 00:22:36.589
And so if there's one thing you can take away

496
00:22:36.630 --> 00:22:40.490
from today is that, you know, diversification and tax treatment

497
00:22:40.609 --> 00:22:43.710
contributing to a Roth and a pre-tax vehicle depends on

498
00:22:43.730 --> 00:22:45.490
the family, how much you need to vote. But this

499
00:22:45.549 --> 00:22:47.069
is one of the myths people think, oh, I make

500
00:22:47.089 --> 00:22:48.230
too much money to fund a Roth.

501
00:22:48.589 --> 00:22:49.170
Have you heard that?

502
00:22:50.170 --> 00:22:52.450
I have, yeah. Yes.

503
00:22:52.990 --> 00:22:56.930
Well, first of all, if your company offers a Roth 401k,

504
00:22:56.950 --> 00:22:59.220
which most do, there is no income cap. And then

505
00:22:59.259 --> 00:23:01.599
there's also something called a Roth that you can do.

506
00:23:01.619 --> 00:23:05.019
And so I think tax diversification and thinking about future

507
00:23:05.039 --> 00:23:06.500
taxes is so critical.

508
00:23:07.680 --> 00:23:10.049
That's great advice. Again, I'm going to make my husband

509
00:23:10.089 --> 00:23:11.970
listen to this whole episode. So another thing.

510
00:23:16.119 --> 00:23:18.019
listen together in that discussion over wine.

511
00:23:18.579 --> 00:23:20.059
Yes, yes, absolutely.

512
00:23:20.119 --> 00:23:23.420
We love he loves finances and just like learning about

513
00:23:23.519 --> 00:23:25.500
all this. So this is going to be definitely one

514
00:23:25.519 --> 00:23:28.740
that he is like excited to hear about and his

515
00:23:28.759 --> 00:23:32.730
wheels will be turning afterwards. And obviously, I am already married.

516
00:23:32.809 --> 00:23:36.210
But let's talk about prenups. It's often viewed as like

517
00:23:36.269 --> 00:23:39.869
the ultimate romance killer. Let's hear what your opinion is

518
00:23:39.950 --> 00:23:42.170
and how do we reframe a prenup as like an

519
00:23:42.289 --> 00:23:43.529
act of love and partnership?

520
00:23:43.549 --> 00:23:44.849
I don't know if you read the book. I think

521
00:23:44.910 --> 00:23:45.890
it's called Stranger.

522
00:23:46.069 --> 00:23:48.509
It just recently came out and it was like very

523
00:23:48.710 --> 00:23:51.789
eye-opening about why I feel like anybody should get a

524
00:23:51.809 --> 00:23:57.230
proper prenup. It was like an autobiography sort of or,

525
00:23:57.410 --> 00:23:58.920
you know, a recap of what had happened.

526
00:23:58.980 --> 00:24:00.440
But anyway, talk to me about prenups.

527
00:24:00.720 --> 00:24:04.339
Yeah, I think romanticizing prenups is sort of how I

528
00:24:04.599 --> 00:24:08.069
actually think about it because 30% marriages end up in divorce.

529
00:24:08.130 --> 00:24:11.170
And I don't know the percentage, but I have life experience.

530
00:24:10.609 --> 00:24:14.210
That large majority of those, you know, end up way

531
00:24:14.289 --> 00:24:18.509
because of finances. And, you know, I think just as

532
00:24:18.549 --> 00:24:21.720
you would approach, I mean, the most important transaction that

533
00:24:21.819 --> 00:24:24.019
you're ever going to make in your life is choosing

534
00:24:24.059 --> 00:24:27.119
your partner. And so, you know, the most important transaction

535
00:24:27.160 --> 00:24:28.960
should be thoughtful, right?

536
00:24:29.319 --> 00:24:32.940
Right. And so, you know, I think it's, I mean, listen,

537
00:24:32.980 --> 00:24:37.319
if there's, Major disparity in the wealth of the families.

538
00:24:37.359 --> 00:24:39.480
That's going to be a non-starter. Right.

539
00:24:39.599 --> 00:24:41.740
But what I often see happen and what I'm going

540
00:24:41.779 --> 00:24:43.740
through now with a lot of my clients is, and

541
00:24:43.779 --> 00:24:46.460
this is women in their, it's like the gray divorce, right?

542
00:24:46.500 --> 00:24:50.099
So they're, you know, between 52 and 58. And when

543
00:24:50.119 --> 00:24:53.779
they started in the marriage, they were the breadwinner. They

544
00:24:53.819 --> 00:24:56.140
were making most of the money and they were supporting,

545
00:24:56.160 --> 00:24:59.210
you know, and there's a husband. Then they have kids

546
00:24:59.289 --> 00:25:02.329
and the husband kind of takes off and the traditional role,

547
00:25:02.490 --> 00:25:03.210
you know, took over.

548
00:25:03.700 --> 00:25:06.319
And now they're going through a divorce, right, or.

549
00:25:06.279 --> 00:25:09.480
Have just finished a divorce where they haven't worked in

550
00:25:09.480 --> 00:25:12.109
20 years, right? And one woman I was just talking

551
00:25:12.130 --> 00:25:14.690
to a couple days ago, her main thing was paying

552
00:25:14.730 --> 00:25:19.210
down the mortgage with anything she earned. And so she

553
00:25:19.269 --> 00:25:21.210
sunk so much into the equity of the house, but

554
00:25:21.250 --> 00:25:23.309
now it's being split. And so, you know, I think

555
00:25:23.890 --> 00:25:27.079
it's really important, right? It's important to really Whether it's

556
00:25:27.119 --> 00:25:30.220
a prenup or a postnup or just, you know, understanding

557
00:25:30.339 --> 00:25:35.220
like and documenting like your contributions to the household are critical.

558
00:25:35.259 --> 00:25:35.339
Yeah.

559
00:25:36.019 --> 00:25:36.740
So important.

560
00:25:37.640 --> 00:25:40.720
And how do you advise couples to structure their day-to-day accounts?

561
00:25:40.799 --> 00:25:43.740
Are you the yours, mine, and ours, like the three-pot system?

562
00:25:43.859 --> 00:25:46.029
Or do you believe everything should be in one pot?

563
00:25:46.190 --> 00:25:47.450
So it depends.

564
00:25:47.470 --> 00:25:49.670
But I think what's more important, I'll tell you the

565
00:25:49.710 --> 00:25:51.109
different kind of ways that I think about that.

566
00:25:51.130 --> 00:25:53.430
But I think what's more important than anything is having

567
00:25:53.490 --> 00:25:54.309
collective vision.

568
00:25:55.190 --> 00:25:55.750
Right.

569
00:25:55.849 --> 00:25:58.789
Around financial goals. So, you know, maybe you have everything

570
00:25:58.809 --> 00:26:01.410
go into one joint operational account and that's it. And

571
00:26:01.450 --> 00:26:03.789
that works and that's fine. Or you have kind of

572
00:26:03.809 --> 00:26:05.670
a joint operational account and you each have your own

573
00:26:05.710 --> 00:26:06.410
individual accounts.

574
00:26:06.509 --> 00:26:06.730
Right.

575
00:26:06.809 --> 00:26:09.049
Because you might want to buy just whatever, like not

576
00:26:09.069 --> 00:26:11.230
be judged for the shoes. Like, fine. You know, but

577
00:26:11.349 --> 00:26:14.099
so it matters less, I think, in terms of just

578
00:26:14.519 --> 00:26:17.119
the tactical structure of the accounts and more on the

579
00:26:17.180 --> 00:26:21.059
transparency and openness and conversation around collective spending and.

580
00:26:22.609 --> 00:26:25.049
You know, so if I have a, and this happens often,

581
00:26:25.210 --> 00:26:28.089
I'll have a first conversation with somebody and, you know,

582
00:26:28.109 --> 00:26:29.630
they'll say, you know, I just want to get my

583
00:26:29.670 --> 00:26:31.170
own finances, you know, together.

584
00:26:31.190 --> 00:26:33.410
You know, my, my husband has like, you know, his

585
00:26:33.450 --> 00:26:35.630
guy and na, na, na. And I'm like, that's great.

586
00:26:35.650 --> 00:26:37.170
He can keep having his guy, but I would like

587
00:26:37.210 --> 00:26:39.430
for him to be involved in these conversations because that's

588
00:26:39.470 --> 00:26:41.190
how you are going to develop and grow as a

589
00:26:41.289 --> 00:26:43.849
couple is having this collective vision. Because it doesn't serve

590
00:26:44.049 --> 00:26:45.930
you for me just to talk with you because he's

591
00:26:46.109 --> 00:26:47.730
part of the picture whether you want him.

592
00:26:47.730 --> 00:26:52.859
To be or not. So that compensates me. and breaking

593
00:26:52.880 --> 00:26:53.660
down those barriers.

594
00:26:53.700 --> 00:26:53.960
I do.

595
00:26:54.220 --> 00:26:56.119
I am a therapist in so many ways, you know?

596
00:26:56.559 --> 00:26:57.680
Yeah. Yeah.

597
00:26:57.740 --> 00:27:00.400
We do the, we do the yours, mine and ours,

598
00:27:00.539 --> 00:27:03.259
and we've never gotten in an argument about finances.

599
00:27:03.279 --> 00:27:05.619
But when we told my dad, like, that's how we

600
00:27:05.660 --> 00:27:08.099
do it. Oh my God. He like almost shirked out.

601
00:27:08.140 --> 00:27:10.339
He's like, what do you mean? It's not together.

602
00:27:10.480 --> 00:27:12.900
You know, I said, it's how people are just doing

603
00:27:13.119 --> 00:27:14.460
things differently.

604
00:27:14.529 --> 00:27:16.349
We talk about finances all the time.

605
00:27:16.390 --> 00:27:18.809
We have a joint account where we put money in,

606
00:27:18.849 --> 00:27:21.490
but then we also have We're both full time working

607
00:27:21.990 --> 00:27:24.450
and we kind of can figure out what we can

608
00:27:24.490 --> 00:27:26.549
pay for, which has, you know, and, you know, we

609
00:27:26.569 --> 00:27:28.890
talk about retirement and all that.

610
00:27:28.970 --> 00:27:31.230
But so I think that makes me feel better.

611
00:27:33.119 --> 00:27:35.759
Just curious, what was your dad's sort of why was

612
00:27:35.779 --> 00:27:36.299
he so?

613
00:27:36.579 --> 00:27:37.609
Well, I think it is.

614
00:27:39.230 --> 00:27:41.170
I think he couldn't envision because my mom was a

615
00:27:41.190 --> 00:27:43.710
stay at home mom. Like, so obviously they had to

616
00:27:43.750 --> 00:27:47.130
have one account. She worked like little jobs here and there.

617
00:27:47.150 --> 00:27:49.980
So they just put everything in my dad's rather. So

618
00:27:50.000 --> 00:27:53.259
I'm like, well, you guys only had one full time

619
00:27:53.359 --> 00:27:58.200
worker while my mom was the home worker. So he

620
00:27:58.220 --> 00:28:00.049
was just like, I don't think he could really like

621
00:28:00.119 --> 00:28:03.170
grasp that other people did it differently than what they did.

622
00:28:03.190 --> 00:28:05.849
I'm like, well, what did you want mom to have? Like, Yeah.

623
00:28:05.890 --> 00:28:07.990
Were you going to pay her weekly? I don't, you know,

624
00:28:08.170 --> 00:28:09.529
you had to have it kind of together.

625
00:28:09.549 --> 00:28:14.089
Um, and I think like that mentality, maybe with the

626
00:28:14.170 --> 00:28:17.369
old school mentality of having everything together too, but I'm

627
00:28:17.410 --> 00:28:20.910
always just interested what the, how people do it.

628
00:28:20.970 --> 00:28:21.259
Yeah.

629
00:28:22.549 --> 00:28:22.809
Yeah.

630
00:28:23.309 --> 00:28:26.490
So let's do some quick fires. What is the biggest

631
00:28:26.529 --> 00:28:28.809
money mistake you see people making?

632
00:28:28.910 --> 00:28:32.269
The biggest money mistake that I see people making is

633
00:28:32.509 --> 00:28:35.529
an imbalance in their balance sheet. So when I look

634
00:28:35.549 --> 00:28:38.809
at someone's ecosystem, I'll see two things typically, which is

635
00:28:38.890 --> 00:28:43.309
cash and retirement, maybe property too. But there's a lot

636
00:28:43.349 --> 00:28:46.130
of space in between now and retirement. And so one

637
00:28:46.150 --> 00:28:48.029
of the biggest things I see missing is just a

638
00:28:48.190 --> 00:28:53.109
regular non-retirement taxable investment account that's liquid can be used

639
00:28:53.130 --> 00:28:56.190
for down payment there's no penalty it's more tax efficient

640
00:28:57.069 --> 00:28:59.049
right than the other vehicles so i think that's the

641
00:28:59.089 --> 00:29:02.130
biggest mistake that middle bucket is often missing and has

642
00:29:02.250 --> 00:29:04.410
and if it exists it's like just some legacy stocks

643
00:29:04.890 --> 00:29:08.599
right so you know attributing to it consistently like dropping

644
00:29:08.660 --> 00:29:10.920
some money into it you know consistently.

645
00:29:11.380 --> 00:29:14.819
So important what's the biggest money slurge you've never regretted.

646
00:29:14.640 --> 00:29:18.609
Travel you know like when i talk designer like you

647
00:29:18.630 --> 00:29:20.390
know I think people have this fear of working financial

648
00:29:20.410 --> 00:29:22.160
advisor like I'm going to make them save so much

649
00:29:22.200 --> 00:29:24.880
they can't live hell no you know I mean I'm

650
00:29:24.980 --> 00:29:28.000
all like I want to make smart decisions pay less

651
00:29:28.059 --> 00:29:31.299
in taxes and put money in the life you want

652
00:29:31.420 --> 00:29:35.250
to accelerate joy so I'm big into like why until

653
00:29:35.269 --> 00:29:38.130
you're 50 you can do it at 40 right and

654
00:29:38.339 --> 00:29:41.299
I think it's you know it's it's there's this belief

655
00:29:41.359 --> 00:29:44.180
that I can't do both and you know and I've

656
00:29:44.220 --> 00:29:46.000
worked so hard to get at this point don't tell

657
00:29:46.039 --> 00:29:47.299
me if I can spend my money or.

658
00:29:47.279 --> 00:29:49.480
Not how and when and why but you can do

659
00:29:50.019 --> 00:29:52.569
and it feels so good to be to be structured

660
00:29:52.619 --> 00:29:56.049
and strategic and go you know on an amazing trip

661
00:29:56.230 --> 00:29:58.289
and treat treat your family your friends to some I

662
00:29:58.549 --> 00:29:59.490
think that's critical.

663
00:30:00.750 --> 00:30:03.170
And what's one financial habit everyone should steal from you?

664
00:30:03.329 --> 00:30:05.609
Have a planning budget. So this is one of our

665
00:30:05.670 --> 00:30:08.369
core planning philosophies. So I hate monthly budgets.

666
00:30:09.319 --> 00:30:09.619
Hate them.

667
00:30:10.200 --> 00:30:13.359
People are like, what? Right?

668
00:30:13.400 --> 00:30:15.000
I mean, every single person is like, oh my God,

669
00:30:15.019 --> 00:30:15.680
thank God.

670
00:30:15.700 --> 00:30:19.380
You know, they're, they're like, I just thought it was me,

671
00:30:19.440 --> 00:30:20.900
you know, when I make a date with my husband

672
00:30:20.940 --> 00:30:22.480
at four o'clock on a Sunday to go over our

673
00:30:22.500 --> 00:30:23.569
budget and never do it.

674
00:30:23.579 --> 00:30:25.259
And we both know it's on the calendar and ignore it.

675
00:30:25.299 --> 00:30:27.799
That's just me. No, they can't live on a monthly budget.

676
00:30:27.859 --> 00:30:28.579
It's impossible.

677
00:30:28.660 --> 00:30:30.680
Every month is different, especially with young kids, et cetera.

678
00:30:31.059 --> 00:30:33.900
So what I would instead is I flip it and say,

679
00:30:33.940 --> 00:30:35.240
let's have a planning budget.

680
00:30:35.259 --> 00:30:38.619
So what does that mean? On an annual basis, how

681
00:30:38.759 --> 00:30:42.779
much can I put towards growing my net worth, hitting

682
00:30:42.839 --> 00:30:44.359
my goals and agree upon it?

683
00:30:44.420 --> 00:30:47.460
Here's just the quick little formula, if I may. So

684
00:30:47.970 --> 00:30:50.769
Let's say that you make $ 200, 000. I would like the

685
00:30:50.829 --> 00:30:54.970
planning budget to be ideally 20% of that.

686
00:30:55.210 --> 00:30:55.750
So $ 40, 000 a year.

687
00:30:56.309 --> 00:30:58.910
So then we say from that $ 40, 000 a year, how

688
00:30:58.970 --> 00:31:00.559
am I going to, like I said earlier, what's the

689
00:31:00.640 --> 00:31:02.559
job description for each of those dollars?

690
00:31:02.599 --> 00:31:06.380
We got retirement. We need the emergency. We need that

691
00:31:06.460 --> 00:31:09.119
taxable kind of midterm account. We got 529s. We got

692
00:31:09.140 --> 00:31:11.180
some insurance strategy stuff.

693
00:31:11.380 --> 00:31:14.230
And so having a planning budget and then doing that first,

694
00:31:15.230 --> 00:31:17.210
and then I don't care what whatever's left over.

695
00:31:17.700 --> 00:31:19.859
You can spend as long as you.

696
00:31:19.619 --> 00:31:22.869
First, then you want to also get that permission for, for,

697
00:31:23.119 --> 00:31:25.160
for spending and not feeling shame. Should I buy this

698
00:31:25.200 --> 00:31:25.769
or should I not?

699
00:31:25.900 --> 00:31:28.670
Yeah. If you're doing your planning, go for it. Good.

700
00:31:29.630 --> 00:31:33.150
Yeah. I feel like that is like, I've never heard anybody.

701
00:31:33.269 --> 00:31:33.410
Yeah.

702
00:31:33.450 --> 00:31:35.450
I've never heard anybody say it like that, but it

703
00:31:35.509 --> 00:31:41.630
makes it feel less restrictive, I guess, you know, that's awesome.

704
00:31:41.650 --> 00:31:42.009
That's right.

705
00:31:42.109 --> 00:31:43.730
And then, and I'll add one thing if I can

706
00:31:43.769 --> 00:31:47.410
to that is, So the planning budget works in conjunction

707
00:31:47.450 --> 00:31:49.990
with the cash floor ceiling. So what I mean by

708
00:31:50.029 --> 00:31:52.799
that is most of us are trying to look at

709
00:31:52.839 --> 00:31:54.519
our spending and we give up and so we never

710
00:31:54.539 --> 00:31:56.539
even look at it, right? So let's say that you

711
00:31:56.559 --> 00:32:04.799
spend $ 10, 000 a month. I want you to have between $ 30, 000.

712
00:32:01.799 --> 00:32:04.279
And $ 60, 000 in your emergency lifestyle fund.

713
00:32:04.720 --> 00:32:07.359
And when I have meetings with my clients, the indicators

714
00:32:07.460 --> 00:32:10.119
I say is, okay, Samantha, let's see, what is your

715
00:32:10.140 --> 00:32:11.539
cash right now in your checking and savings?

716
00:32:11.539 --> 00:32:14.650
$ 45, 000, you're good. Maybe it's 20.

717
00:32:14.650 --> 00:32:15.170
Okay, cool.

718
00:32:15.230 --> 00:32:16.400
This is not a slap on the hand. It's like,

719
00:32:16.420 --> 00:32:16.880
what's going on?

720
00:32:16.900 --> 00:32:20.980
Are you just overspending or did you have a big, you.

721
00:32:20.880 --> 00:32:22.799
Had to buy a bunch of tires and medical costs?

722
00:32:23.000 --> 00:32:25.400
If it's over 60, if it's 70, well, then we

723
00:32:25.420 --> 00:32:27.269
take that 10,000, we get it working for you.

724
00:32:27.509 --> 00:32:30.390
So those are the two things. You do the planning budget,

725
00:32:30.470 --> 00:32:32.589
which should keep cashflow and planning, right?

726
00:32:33.029 --> 00:32:35.170
And then you have that 30 to 60,000, that three

727
00:32:35.190 --> 00:32:36.670
to six months, maybe 12 months.

728
00:32:36.549 --> 00:32:37.410
If you're a business owner.

729
00:32:37.750 --> 00:32:40.940
And that's the one thing we look at to say,

730
00:32:41.769 --> 00:32:44.180
How is your spending under control or not under control?

731
00:32:44.680 --> 00:32:45.440
Simplify.

732
00:32:45.519 --> 00:32:47.220
We don't have time to be thinking about.

733
00:32:47.440 --> 00:32:50.940
Maybe I should go and change from Geico to State Farm.

734
00:32:51.000 --> 00:32:51.799
Like, we don't have time for that.

735
00:32:52.559 --> 00:32:52.740
Right.

736
00:32:53.240 --> 00:32:54.319
Yeah, so simplify.

737
00:32:54.599 --> 00:32:55.079
Oh my gosh.

738
00:32:55.099 --> 00:32:58.220
Well, this is like so informative for myself. So I

739
00:32:58.259 --> 00:33:00.779
know that everybody listening is just going to take so

740
00:33:00.859 --> 00:33:03.680
much from this. So I'm going to end with one

741
00:33:03.720 --> 00:33:07.910
last question. Your financial freedom, as you kind of mentioned,

742
00:33:07.990 --> 00:33:10.990
it doesn't start when you hit a million dollars. Can

743
00:33:11.029 --> 00:33:15.029
you leave the listeners with when does that moment start

744
00:33:15.069 --> 00:33:16.410
when you decide to do what?

745
00:33:16.609 --> 00:33:17.170
I would say.

746
00:33:18.009 --> 00:33:22.210
Again, financial freedom is a state of being. It is

747
00:33:22.250 --> 00:33:25.930
an emotional state, which is clarity and confidence in your

748
00:33:25.950 --> 00:33:26.750
money choices.

749
00:33:26.990 --> 00:33:31.160
And so I would say the biggest gateway into financial

750
00:33:31.200 --> 00:33:34.259
freedom is having that planning budget. And you can do

751
00:33:34.299 --> 00:33:36.400
it with a financial advisor. You can do it on

752
00:33:36.440 --> 00:33:38.940
your own. But start, it's just like when you're contributing

753
00:33:38.960 --> 00:33:40.900
to a 401k, it happens consistently.

754
00:33:40.940 --> 00:33:42.730
It's automated. You don't think about it.

755
00:33:42.740 --> 00:33:45.240
So you need to automate your planning budget across all

756
00:33:45.269 --> 00:33:47.369
of those elements. And so, and I would also say,

757
00:33:47.569 --> 00:33:50.650
when are you worthy, you know, or ready to work with.

758
00:33:50.630 --> 00:33:51.369
A financial advisor?

759
00:33:51.470 --> 00:33:53.730
It's when you have a surplus, when you have a

760
00:33:53.750 --> 00:33:55.740
planning budget. If you're paycheck to paycheck with a bunch

761
00:33:55.779 --> 00:33:57.380
of debt, We've got to work on the debt first.

762
00:33:57.420 --> 00:33:59.059
It doesn't make sense to work with an advisor yet.

763
00:33:59.119 --> 00:34:02.069
But if you have surplus or maybe you think, gosh,

764
00:34:02.089 --> 00:34:04.049
maybe I don't. It's a leaky bucket, but I should

765
00:34:04.089 --> 00:34:05.990
have surplus. I know I could have surplus.

766
00:34:06.190 --> 00:34:08.550
Then it's time to work, you know, with a financial planner.

767
00:34:08.570 --> 00:34:09.389
All right.

768
00:34:09.670 --> 00:34:10.590
Well, thank you.

769
00:34:10.730 --> 00:34:12.630
Thank you so much for making a topic that can

770
00:34:12.650 --> 00:34:16.449
feel overwhelming. You know, it seems so much more approachable

771
00:34:16.570 --> 00:34:20.699
and empowering and less scary for me personally after this conversation.

772
00:34:20.780 --> 00:34:23.559
So hopefully for those that are listening, they feel the same.

773
00:34:23.880 --> 00:34:25.619
So thank you so much, Hayley, for coming on. I

774
00:34:25.659 --> 00:34:26.199
appreciate it.

775
00:34:27.630 --> 00:34:29.690
Thank you so much. I hope you leave with this

776
00:34:29.710 --> 00:34:33.849
just feeling like money is sexy, fun, adventurous, exciting, not

777
00:34:33.909 --> 00:34:36.269
heavy and overwhelming and taboo.

778
00:34:36.309 --> 00:34:40.679
Like let's revolutionize the way people feel about money, right?

779
00:34:40.760 --> 00:34:42.440
You know, totally change it. So thanks for giving me

780
00:34:42.460 --> 00:34:43.179
the opportunity to share.

781
00:34:44.019 --> 00:34:44.420
Yeah.

782
00:34:44.960 --> 00:34:47.059
And so thanks so much for everyone listening, for spending

783
00:34:47.099 --> 00:34:48.920
time with us on The Running Wine Mom. Don't forget

784
00:34:48.940 --> 00:34:51.280
to subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with

785
00:34:51.500 --> 00:34:53.179
someone who needs to hear it. You can follow me

786
00:34:53.199 --> 00:34:57.320
on Instagram at TheRunningWineMom underscore. And Haley, where can the

787
00:34:57.360 --> 00:34:59.199
listeners find you? I know you kind of mentioned, but

788
00:34:59.460 --> 00:35:06.360
anywhere else that they can go to? My Instagram, Haley, H-A-Y-L-E-Y-W, Dixon, D-I-C-K-S-O-N.

789
00:35:06.489 --> 00:35:09.690
And on LinkedIn, and then Ripple, which is no E,

790
00:35:10.010 --> 00:35:12.190
R-I-P-P-L dot N-N dot com.

791
00:35:13.639 --> 00:35:13.929
Awesome.

792
00:35:13.949 --> 00:35:15.809
Well, thank you so much for joining me today. Remember,

793
00:35:15.829 --> 00:35:18.070
you are strong, you are capable, and you are all amazing.

794
00:35:18.110 --> 00:35:20.690
Until next time, keep running, keep sipping, and keep embracing

795
00:35:20.769 --> 00:35:23.610
the joy of motherhood. Cheers, and I'll be back next Tuesday.