Money Matters Episode 306- Your Best Financial Life W/ Anne Lester

Anne Lester: Money Matters Podcast Interview

January 15, 2024 . 11:55 AM . ID: 837326005

Transcript

00:01 - 00:03
[speaker unknown]
This conference will now be recorded.

00:04 - 00:05
Christopher Hensley, RICP®
Good morning, everybody.

00:05 - 00:07
Christopher Hensley, RICP®
You're listening to money matters.

00:07 - 00:22
Christopher Hensley, RICP®
The show, where we turn the dawning into doable, transforming your financial journey into an adventure of a lifetime I'm your host, Chris Hensley and today we're diving deep into a world where numbers meet narratives and sense make sense.

00:22 - 00:38
Christopher Hensley, RICP®
In this episode, we're thrilled to welcome Ann Lester, a trail, blazer, and Retirement Solutions and the author of the groundbreaking book, Your Best Financial Life and Journey from Financial Hurdles to Becoming a Maestro of money management is nothing short of inspiring.

00:38 - 00:55
Christopher Hensley, RICP®
We're exploring everything from the unique financial landscapes of millennials and Gen Z to the magic of compounding returns, will debunk common savings myths and offer practical tips for balance saving for retirement with immediate financial obligations, and thank you so much for joining us on the show today.

00:56 - 00:57
Anne Lester
Well, thank you so much for having me.

00:58 - 01:00
Christopher Hensley, RICP®
Absolutely, try a new intro this time.

01:00 - 01:01
Christopher Hensley, RICP®
Well, that's a lot to say it.

01:01 - 01:01
Christopher Hensley, RICP®
Once.

01:02 - 01:05
Anne Lester
I was like, **** Maestro, I like that.

01:05 - 01:09
Christopher Hensley, RICP®
I switched it up just a little bit, but we're gonna give that a try here.

01:09 - 01:11
Christopher Hensley, RICP®
So I'd like to dive right into it here.

01:12 - 01:15
Christopher Hensley, RICP®
You know, the book, you, And you've got a picture of it, in the background there.

01:15 - 01:17
Christopher Hensley, RICP®
It's called, Your Best Financial Life.

01:17 - 01:21
Christopher Hensley, RICP®
Tell us and until the listener, why did you write this book.

01:22 - 01:25
Anne Lester
So I co-wrote it for myself.

01:25 - 01:29
Anne Lester
Like it's the book I wished I had when I was 20 something years old.

01:29 - 01:36
Anne Lester
I've got two sons who are 24 and 26 right now, and, You know, they both told me they learned stuff from it.

01:36 - 01:39
Anne Lester
Which I thought was a home run, because they listen to me talk about this stuff, their whole lives, right.

01:39 - 01:41
Anne Lester
So, so, that, that was great.

01:42 - 01:51
Anne Lester
I really wrote it because I think that number one, maybe not the number one, but certainly a huge obstacle in many people's paths too.

01:51 - 02:00
Anne Lester
Getting their arms around their own finances as being overwhelmed with feelings of fear and shame and you know, knowing somewhere that somebody's wagging your finger at them.

02:00 - 02:06
Anne Lester
Telling them they're being bad somewhere and that that certainly was a huge part of my narrative and I that really seems to resonate when I talk to people.

02:09 - 02:11
Anne Lester
I think finances in general, right?

02:11 - 02:13
Anne Lester
Because money is just so important, right?

02:13 - 02:15
Anne Lester
The stakes are super high.

02:15 - 02:19
Anne Lester
You know, for, I don't know what reasons we don't teach this in school.

02:19 - 02:22
Anne Lester
Families are uncomfortable talking about money at home.

02:23 - 02:37
Anne Lester
You know, it, it tends to be a topic that most people don't like to think about, and so there are a whole bunch of reasons why people probably aren't armed with the, the sort of information and skill that they need to navigate this well by themselves.

02:37 - 02:41
Anne Lester
And, And then it's just really easy to just go, Oh, I don't want to think about it.

02:42 - 02:46
Anne Lester
And, and so, I wrote this book, hopefully, to help people understand that.

02:46 - 02:52
Anne Lester
If they are feeling those sort of negative emotions around their own situation, they're by no means alone.

02:53 - 03:02
Anne Lester
And that it's totally possible to start unpacking some of the obstacles that you may feel yourself and really get get on a on a road to a better future.

03:03 - 03:04
Christopher Hensley, RICP®
I love it, I love it.

03:04 - 03:13
Christopher Hensley, RICP®
And I know in getting prepared for the show, I looked at your YouTube channel, you've got a really nice YouTube channel there, and that was something that was really apparent.

03:13 - 03:22
Christopher Hensley, RICP®
You know, you started with the idea of people being overwhelmed with fear and shame and really your, your YouTube channel is kinda welcoming.

03:22 - 03:25
Christopher Hensley, RICP®
It lets people in, and you know, it's kinda, that's how I felt when I, when I look at.

03:25 - 03:26
Anne Lester
It there.

03:27 - 03:34
Christopher Hensley, RICP®
In the, the book itself, you share some of your personal experiences and they really shape the book.

03:34 - 03:38
Christopher Hensley, RICP®
Can you tell us how your personal experiences played into writing the book?

03:39 - 03:50
Anne Lester
Well, if you read the book, I start with just this horror story of me in just floods of tears finishing up, something that sounds amazingly prestigious, which is a Fulbright scholarship in Tokyo.

03:50 - 03:57
Anne Lester
And literally not being able to pay to get my bags on the airplane to go to Milan where I was going to start this new life and ended up marrying this.

03:57 - 03:59
Anne Lester
This boy, I met in grad school, and.

04:01 - 04:03
Anne Lester
I didn't have my maxed out, my credit card.

04:03 - 04:11
Anne Lester
I didn't have the money to pay for the bags And the gate agent Just finally said, Yeah, I just whatever girls don't need this lady Craig and my in my baggage check area.

04:11 - 04:21
Anne Lester
I was 26 and, you know, in my defense in hindsight, I really was like, living a very frugal and poverty stricken life, but, still, like, I had no clue that.

04:21 - 04:25
Anne Lester
I had to budget for stuff like that, Like, what they're going to charge me money for my suitcases.

04:28 - 04:34
Anne Lester
And, in the US, you were allowed to free check bags, and, in the rest of the world, you were only allowed one free checked bag.

04:34 - 04:44
Anne Lester
I didn't I didn't know that right, so I just had no idea and they're just story after story after story about my own sort of combination of naive ...

04:44 - 04:48
Anne Lester
And my parents never taught me any budgeting growing up.

04:48 - 04:52
Anne Lester
They were very frugal and they just figured we'd like, well, of course, you're frugal.

04:52 - 04:53
Anne Lester
That's just the way people are.

04:54 - 04:58
Anne Lester
And so, I didn't get taught these lessons at home.

04:58 - 05:06
Anne Lester
I certainly wasn't warned about the dangers of credit and how that work because my parents didn't have credit cards like you just didn't back then.

05:07 - 05:10
Anne Lester
So a lot of this.

05:10 - 05:16
Anne Lester
And then I, I was always interested in money, kind of intellectually me, because I'd never had it.

05:17 - 05:30
Anne Lester
And so I ended up in this job where I was, you know, managing other people's money, and certainly began learning some of the principles of investing, and how to think about taking risk, and make sure you're getting paid for the risks that you're taking.

05:30 - 05:31
Anne Lester
So I just loved all that.

05:31 - 05:34
Anne Lester
But it wasn't until I was asked to help build JP.

05:34 - 05:39
Anne Lester
Morgan's Target Date funds, which was something I launched back in 2003, 2004.

05:40 - 06:02
Anne Lester
I started learning about behavioral economics and the brain science behind why it's hard to save, and what I really want to do in this book is: help people understand that it's OK, No, no matter where you feel you are, we can make it better for sure, and especially if you're a twenties and thirties.

06:02 - 06:04
Anne Lester
You will be able to totally make it OK.

06:04 - 06:07
Anne Lester
You've got time to fix whatever's going on in your life financially.

06:08 - 06:21
Anne Lester
And I learned so much in building sort of the retirement solutions that I built, that I just want to try to share some of that understanding so that people can understand the why.

06:21 - 06:22
Anne Lester
Behind why.

06:22 - 06:25
Anne Lester
It's sometimes hard to say, because that was what broke it all open for me.

06:25 - 06:28
Anne Lester
It's like, oh, I'm not stupid.

06:28 - 06:31
Anne Lester
I'm not lazy, I'm not an idiot.

06:31 - 06:35
Anne Lester
I just, like, I just spend money because that's what my brain does, OK?

06:35 - 06:40
Anne Lester
Well, let me let me figure out some rules for myself to stop me from doing that.

06:42 - 06:42
Christopher Hensley, RICP®
I love that.

06:43 - 06:49
Christopher Hensley, RICP®
I think when it comes to financial literacy, one of the things you mentioned right away was that, you know, your parents never taught you how to budget.

06:50 - 07:06
Christopher Hensley, RICP®
You know, we gotta kinda cut out into the world with no clue, And this, I think, you know, for the, the next generation, or these millennials or Gen Z that, some of this stuff is, it's, you know, it's, it's generate, It's going to still be there for them, right?

07:07 - 07:23
Christopher Hensley, RICP®
Talk to us about, because I know in the book, you go into the unique financial challenges faced by millennials and Gen Z Could you elaborate on what set these challenges apart from those faced by previous generations?

07:24 - 07:28
Anne Lester
Yeah, I think economic growth is a little slower, right?

07:28 - 07:37
Anne Lester
So, I think just wealth is growing less quickly, know, that's eventually going to have an impact on how quickly people salaries grow and stuff.

07:37 - 07:42
Anne Lester
So, that's just a little bit, Like, I think there's just it, and that could all change tomorrow, right?

07:42 - 07:44
Anne Lester
There could be some, you know, AI is the new thing, right?

07:44 - 07:45
Anne Lester
Huge revolution.

07:45 - 07:53
Anne Lester
And growth, and like, it could all be better, but, But for now, I think it's it's probable that we'd be growing a little slower than like the economy did when I was when I was in my twenties.

07:55 - 07:57
Anne Lester
Although it wasn't all roses, then, either.

07:58 - 07:58
Anne Lester
But.

08:00 - 08:02
Anne Lester
I think a couple of things have changed.

08:02 - 08:07
Anne Lester
One is the average price of a house and the average price of a car.

08:07 - 08:13
Anne Lester
And the average price of an education have all gotten a lot higher compared to average wages.

08:13 - 08:24
Anne Lester
So a lot of other things cost a lot less money and we always forget that, right, clothes are a lot cheaper electronics are a lot less, are a lot cheaper computers, my goodness.

08:24 - 08:33
Anne Lester
Like we have these these things right that have way more computing power than the mainframe computer did at my college probably when I was going to college as a freshman.

08:33 - 08:40
Anne Lester
So, we lose sight of where we're gaining a lot, but certainly houses and cars are huge spending categories.

08:41 - 08:55
Anne Lester
We also lose sight of the fact that the average house and the average car is a lot nicer then, what I might've had, right, but but even so just in terms of like trying to have what's normal.

08:55 - 08:59
Anne Lester
It just costs more of your paycheck so that's a huge, huge reality for people.

09:00 - 09:11
Anne Lester
The second thing that's really different is, is the technology that we're living with, all the time, I think, have to really, um, challenging consequences.

09:11 - 09:18
Anne Lester
One is, it's, it used to be that if he wanted to, like, see what other people were doing, you literally had to like see them.

09:19 - 09:25
Anne Lester
Like, you know, I tell a story in my, in the book about my next door neighbor got an electric lot more On Air, I was with the push one, right?

09:25 - 09:27
Anne Lester
Just thinking oh, this, like what's wrong with us.

09:27 - 09:31
Anne Lester
Talk about we don't have a fancy lot more, because my parents were very frugal.

09:31 - 09:35
Anne Lester
Didn't have a color TV, right, I mean, this is that for me story, but like they were very frugal.

09:38 - 09:43
Anne Lester
On some things, there was money for other stuff, but they very they were very careful about what they spent their money on.

09:45 - 09:47
Anne Lester
Now, right, everything's in your phone.

09:47 - 09:56
Anne Lester
You know what everybody's doing, and not only that, but it used to be that you'd have to like look in People magazine to see what the fancy people were doing, and now that's just everywhere.

09:56 - 10:06
Anne Lester
So I think consumption creep, right, What how we define normal has just gotten fancier, right?

10:06 - 10:10
Anne Lester
So so you, you start comparing yourself excuse me, too.

10:11 - 10:12
Anne Lester
So many.

10:14 - 10:15
Anne Lester
More expensive things.

10:15 - 10:18
Anne Lester
And that whole FOMO like, why can't I do this?

10:18 - 10:19
Anne Lester
My friends are on vacation?

10:19 - 10:20
Anne Lester
I should go on vacation, right?

10:20 - 10:22
Anne Lester
This is a real thing.

10:24 - 10:28
Christopher Hensley, RICP®
I'm gonna piggyback on that, because those that's huge.

10:28 - 10:35
Christopher Hensley, RICP®
The idea of this content consumption creep, or just everything getting fancier, the fear of missing out on me.

10:35 - 10:47
Christopher Hensley, RICP®
I know with social media, people are being kinda hit in the face with what people are thinking It should look like and then I chuckled when you said, know, how fast things are moving.

10:47 - 10:57
Christopher Hensley, RICP®
I was thinking in my first car that I had to open the trunk with a screwdriver for paid $800 off of a used car lot for a different different day and age.

10:57 - 10:58
Christopher Hensley, RICP®
Now I think for sure.

10:59 - 11:19
Christopher Hensley, RICP®
Let's let's pivot and talk about, because one of the things that's important, it doesn't matter what generation it is, Is saving, and you talk about, in the book, about saving early, can you explain the concept of compound returns and the significance for young savers of saving early?

11:20 - 11:29
Anne Lester
So, I talk in the book about the magic of compound returns, and it is magic because when you leave your money to grow.

11:30 - 11:39
Anne Lester
Yeah, not only does the initial amount of money that you save grow, but, every year, what you get grows, too.

11:39 - 11:44
Anne Lester
So, you know, there's that fable about somebody asking for something from.

11:44 - 11:50
Anne Lester
I forget the whole story, But basically, they ask for one grain of rice on a checkerboard square and they want it to double.

11:50 - 11:52
Anne Lester
And the king says, Oh, that's ridiculous.

11:52 - 11:56
Anne Lester
You should ask for more, and he's like, Oh, let me tell you how much I'm going to have at the end, right?

11:56 - 11:58
Anne Lester
And it wouldn't fit in the palace, right?

11:58 - 12:03
Anne Lester
So, so, just on a checkerboard right, that exponential growth is very powerful.

12:03 - 12:21
Anne Lester
So, it's not quite that powerful if you're, if you're investing, but if you, if you are just earning 7% a year, which I think has to be a little high, but not unreasonable to, expect from if you're in your twenties and thirties in investing in, it's in a fairly sort of aggressive, which is, I think, very appropriate portfolio for that age.

12:23 - 12:25
Anne Lester
Your money will double every 10 years.

12:26 - 12:38
Anne Lester
So, whatever you save in your twenties is going to be worth twice as much in your thirties, and it'll be worse four times in your forties and eight times in your six fifties and 16 times.

12:39 - 12:40
Anne Lester
So, so, just think about that.

12:41 - 12:43
Anne Lester
I can only save 100 bucks a month, right?

12:43 - 12:48
Anne Lester
Well, that's, you know, $1200 a year, that's going to be doubling every decade.

12:48 - 12:50
Anne Lester
Just imagine.

12:50 - 12:54
Anne Lester
If you can also, as you get raises, put a little more away.

12:54 - 12:55
Anne Lester
You know.

12:55 - 13:01
Anne Lester
In no time, you will be on your way to saving, you know, multiple, millions of dollars by the time you're in your sixties.

13:01 - 13:05
Anne Lester
And it won't feel super hard, because there are two tricks.

13:05 - 13:08
Anne Lester
One is letting that money does grow in Double.

13:09 - 13:21
Anne Lester
The second one is every time you get a raise save some of it So instead of having consumption creep, you know eat up your entire raise, right.

13:21 - 13:28
Anne Lester
Let it eat up half of it and that other half you put into savings, and you don't even almost notice that you're doing it Right.

13:28 - 13:28
Anne Lester
It's.

13:28 - 13:47
Anne Lester
It's very, very powerful and if you get into that habit in your twenties and thirties you don't feel like you have any money And you know, I certainly didn't many people don't have a lot of spare change, but if you don't let your lifestyle suck up every dime that you earn when you hit your thirties and forties when if you buy a house.

13:47 - 13:48
Anne Lester
If you have a family, right?

13:48 - 13:50
Anne Lester
That the, yes, your income keeps going up.

13:50 - 13:58
Anne Lester
But so do the expenses and so that muscle that you're building about not always no spending at all, but just spending some of it.

13:58 - 13:58
Anne Lester
Right.

13:58 - 14:00
Anne Lester
You get a nicer lifestyle, which is good.

14:00 - 14:01
Anne Lester
That's why we work.

14:01 - 14:07
Anne Lester
But be you also set yourself on a, on a path that for the long term, is really going to be amazing.

14:08 - 14:14
Christopher Hensley, RICP®
This is parallel Find Love what you're saying here, and you're sharing with us some tricks here.

14:14 - 14:27
Christopher Hensley, RICP®
You told the listeners that, you know, there's two tricks, There's one, let it just grow, but to, every time you get a raise, save, some of it, put it aside, and that's the magic of compound return that you talked about.

14:27 - 14:30
Christopher Hensley, RICP®
We use kind of a 7% is just kind of a guest number.

14:30 - 14:35
Christopher Hensley, RICP®
I know when I'm wearing my financial advisor, how, they don't let us go above that, so, that's good.

14:37 - 14:46
Anne Lester
Sometimes the market will do a lot better than that, but sometimes it won't write and over time, I think that's a very reasonable number, especially when you think about adding in some relation.

14:47 - 14:48
Christopher Hensley, RICP®
Absolutely.

14:48 - 14:49
Christopher Hensley, RICP®
Absolutely.

14:49 - 15:03
Christopher Hensley, RICP®
You also talk about, in the book financial misconceptions, what are some common misconceptions about savings and investing, that you've encountered, and how do you address these in the book?

15:03 - 15:08
Anne Lester
So I think, well, I think the number one misconception about saving is that it's hard.

15:08 - 15:10
Anne Lester
And I can't do it, right?

15:10 - 15:19
Anne Lester
I mean, I just, I just think that, it may not be possible today to save money, especially if you're, you know, in your early twenties, you're just starting out.

15:20 - 15:23
Anne Lester
But it will be possible tomorrow to save money.

15:23 - 15:31
Anne Lester
And so, the promise you need to make yourself is, again, the next time you get some more money, save it, save half of it, and that that will transform everything.

15:32 - 15:40
Anne Lester
I think a very common mistake people make, and this is true for both saving and investing, is assuming that whatever is today will be forever.

15:41 - 15:43
Anne Lester
That's a very natural human tendency.

15:43 - 15:46
Anne Lester
And we think like that, when the market's going up.

15:47 - 15:50
Anne Lester
Well, of course, I'm going to keep getting 15, or 20 for the worker was up 20% last year.

15:50 - 15:52
Anne Lester
I'm planning that it will be up 20% next year.

15:52 - 15:54
Anne Lester
It will become 20%.

15:56 - 15:57
Anne Lester
Probably will be lower.

15:57 - 15:58
Anne Lester
Maybe it'll be higher, I don't know.

15:58 - 15:59
Anne Lester
But it's not going to be up 20%.

15:59 - 16:00
Anne Lester
I can promise you that.

16:00 - 16:13
Anne Lester
So so that straight lining of my circumstances, right, my straight lining of the purse, pinching, I feel right right now the straight lining of it's all great, and I have plenty of spare cash, right?

16:14 - 16:18
Anne Lester
All of these things that we assume are forever, just aren't.

16:18 - 16:24
Anne Lester
And so I think, as saver's, it lets you either overspend or under Save, because you just assume my reality will stay.

16:26 - 16:39
Anne Lester
As investors, I think it's one of the most dangerous things you can do, to either think it's all going to be great all the time, or maybe worse, it's all going to be terrible all the time, and then you make decisions emotionally, that, that that can get you into trouble.

16:41 - 16:54
Christopher Hensley, RICP®
That makes sense to me, I know a lot of people act on emotion first, and sometimes when it comes to finance, it's a good idea to kinda step back and look at things You talk about in the book about savings, again.

16:54 - 16:56
Christopher Hensley, RICP®
I'm just gonna drill a little bit further down on that.

16:56 - 17:05
Christopher Hensley, RICP®
Could you offer some practical tips for listeners who might be struggling to balance savings for retirement with immediate financial obligations?

17:05 - 17:08
Christopher Hensley, RICP®
Like, maybe, student loans, or high living cost.

17:09 - 17:17
Anne Lester
So, I think the, uh, trick, again, is to just start, like, 50 bucks a month.

17:17 - 17:23
Anne Lester
Just start in, It does a couple things, when you actually have some money in the bank.

17:23 - 17:28
Anne Lester
And I think emergency savings are really important, so that really should be a high priority, if not the highest priority.

17:28 - 17:39
Anne Lester
Second is, especially if you work for a company that offers a 401 K or a 403 B plan, which is, you know, your employer offers a retirement savings program.

17:39 - 17:46
Anne Lester
And especially if they're matching what you put in, your number one priority there is to get the free money.

17:47 - 17:49
Anne Lester
Because that doubles your investment.

17:49 - 17:50
Anne Lester
You put in 3%.

17:50 - 17:52
Anne Lester
Let's say you're earning $50,000 a year.

17:52 - 17:54
Anne Lester
You put in $1500 a year.

17:54 - 17:56
Anne Lester
Your employer will also put in $1500 a year.

17:56 - 18:00
Anne Lester
You've doubled your money, no matter what the markets are doing.

18:00 - 18:03
Anne Lester
That's, that's like the most powerful thing ever.

18:04 - 18:14
Anne Lester
Once you get up to the maximum amount that your employer will match, then it's time to turn your attention to what I call high interest rate debt.

18:14 - 18:16
Anne Lester
And that might be private student loans.

18:16 - 18:18
Anne Lester
That is certainly credit cards.

18:18 - 18:20
Anne Lester
It might be a car payment, right?

18:20 - 18:21
Anne Lester
Anything over.

18:21 - 18:31
Anne Lester
I use 8%, because the sort of long term returns maybe that you can get investing your money or 7%, but anything over 8%, you should really be pushing once you have your emergency savings.

18:31 - 18:44
Anne Lester
Once you're getting that full company match, you really should turn your eyes to that high dollar high interest rate debt, because that's just eroding your ability to save more in the future every time you don't get that paid down.

18:45 - 18:48
Anne Lester
So that's the number one thing to do after you get the free money.

18:49 - 18:56
Christopher Hensley, RICP®
I love it, I love it, and I hear some prior prioritization of the debt of the stuff that's north of 8%.

18:56 - 19:09
Christopher Hensley, RICP®
So when we start looking past that high single digit, and we're in double digits, and I think, consumer credit card debt, really, you know, as interest rates go up, the negative side of that on consumer debt is those interest rates go up.

19:09 - 19:13
Christopher Hensley, RICP®
So I wouldn't be surprised if we see a lot of that stuff go past the high single digits there.

19:13 - 19:24
Christopher Hensley, RICP®
So that's extremely good advice for people who are listening and looking for things that they can take away right away, prioritizing that stuff right upfront there.

19:25 - 19:29
Christopher Hensley, RICP®
Let's talk about financial planning for major life events.

19:29 - 19:37
Christopher Hensley, RICP®
What advice do you have for planning and saving for major life events, such as maybe buying a house, or even funding a kid's education?

19:38 - 20:00
Anne Lester
So again, I would say, if you're not already at least getting all the free money, and possibly also, well, I would say, it's different, people have different priorities, but getting close to what I would describe as the, the amount you need to be saving to stay on track, to retire, at the age you want to retire.

20:00 - 20:03
Anne Lester
I've got a very high level chart in my book on that, I think there.

20:03 - 20:07
Anne Lester
Many, many, many great online calculators that I will have.

20:07 - 20:13
Anne Lester
I do not yet have links to on my website, but they're, they're great sort of planners, It'll let you kind of plugin.

20:13 - 20:19
Anne Lester
How much you're saving, when you want to retire, and let you know how much more you could be, or should be saving to get there.

20:20 - 20:29
Anne Lester
Um, I would say, until you're well on your way to getting to that percentage of your salary, which for most people is usually between 10 and 15% of their salary.

20:30 - 20:32
Anne Lester
You really should be focusing on paying down debt.

20:32 - 20:32
Anne Lester
But.

20:33 - 20:36
Anne Lester
You know, some people slightly adjust those priorities.

20:36 - 20:42
Anne Lester
And I think houses, weddings, um, children are interesting, right?

20:42 - 20:51
Anne Lester
I think I'm personally a big proponent in making sure that the way you're spending your money is really aligned with your values.

20:51 - 21:00
Anne Lester
So for a wedding, for instance, think carefully about what's the most important thing to you to you about the wedding, is it, know, the number of people you can have.

21:00 - 21:03
Anne Lester
Is it the kind of party you can have?

21:03 - 21:05
Anne Lester
Is it the location of your wedding, is it?

21:06 - 21:10
Anne Lester
And, and really make sure that you're lining up your budget with where you care.

21:11 - 21:19
Anne Lester
Because if you don't actually care very much, you really don't need to do whatever the wedding planner suggests to the venue, suggest what everybody else does.

21:19 - 21:23
Anne Lester
Like, you just don't have to do it and know what you think about those values.

21:23 - 21:24
Anne Lester
It's easier to make decisions.

21:26 - 21:38
Anne Lester
The trick I'll tell you, that helps me the most when I'm thinking about saving for short-term goals, is to think about that costs in a small chunk.

21:38 - 21:42
Anne Lester
So let's say you're going to have my sons just gotten engaged.

21:42 - 21:44
Anne Lester
So these are real conversations We're having.

21:44 - 21:44
Anne Lester
And let's say.

21:45 - 21:46
Christopher Hensley, RICP®
It's going to be.

21:46 - 21:47
Anne Lester
$85 a plate, right?

21:48 - 21:50
Anne Lester
Ok, so every guest I have is $85.

21:51 - 21:56
Anne Lester
So if I'm thinking about buying a new pair of shoes for you know, 300 bucks, that's three people.

21:56 - 21:57
Anne Lester
How do I feel about that?

21:57 - 21:58
Anne Lester
Let me think about that?

21:58 - 22:02
Anne Lester
Do I really need those new shoes, or do I really want to have three more people at my wedding, right?

22:02 - 22:06
Anne Lester
So that's a really great way in the moment when you're trying to make decisions.

22:06 - 22:07
Anne Lester
Do I want to save for this goal?

22:08 - 22:15
Anne Lester
Yeah, a house down payment is maybe a bit bigger, But even so, you can try to chunk it up into unit so that you can think, Whoa, that's.

22:15 - 22:20
Anne Lester
That's a year off, that mean, that means I'll have my down payment, You're faster if I don't buy that right, if I can, you know.

22:20 - 22:25
Anne Lester
So it helps to translate that back to a value that you have, right?

22:25 - 22:26
Anne Lester
Something you're trying to do.

22:26 - 22:29
Anne Lester
And I think in the in the moment, it can make making decisions a lot easier.

22:30 - 22:30
Christopher Hensley, RICP®
I love it.

22:30 - 22:32
Christopher Hensley, RICP®
I love it and I you said a lot right there.

22:32 - 22:36
Christopher Hensley, RICP®
Just the fact that you don't have to do it, that's liberating to hear that.

22:37 - 22:38
Anne Lester
On.

22:38 - 22:48
Christopher Hensley, RICP®
Some of these goals that, you know, you gave the example of the wedding and just not having to do certain things if they don't allow or align with the value like with what's important.

22:48 - 22:49
Christopher Hensley, RICP®
Right.

22:49 - 22:51
Christopher Hensley, RICP®
So I think that's super important.

22:51 - 22:57
Christopher Hensley, RICP®
We are three minutes away to show, this is moving so quickly.

22:57 - 23:02
Christopher Hensley, RICP®
We could sit here and talk all day on this, but we don't have the time to do So.

23:02 - 23:04
Christopher Hensley, RICP®
I definitely want to.

23:04 - 23:05
Christopher Hensley, RICP®
I want to get this one.

23:05 - 23:18
Christopher Hensley, RICP®
You know, the impact of technology on personal finance, how has the rise of financial technology like budgeting apps and online investment platforms affected the way individuals' manage their finances?

23:19 - 23:24
Anne Lester
So, I was saying earlier that you know, technology has created these FOMO moments right?

23:24 - 23:26
Anne Lester
Where you can see what your college roommate just didn't like them.

23:26 - 23:30
Anne Lester
I can't afford that vacation or whatever empting you went to spending.

23:30 - 23:36
Anne Lester
You know, I think the technology for finances is got so many powerful, positive things.

23:36 - 23:45
Anne Lester
So again, if you like technology and use it, you can harness it to make stuff easier like more automated payments for saving or investing, right?

23:45 - 23:46
Anne Lester
That's technology.

23:48 - 24:01
Anne Lester
I think there's a little bit of a danger though, and I saw an academic study on this 4 or 5 years ago that people who had access to online banking tools actually spent more money because gamifying stuff makes you go in it more.

24:01 - 24:03
Anne Lester
And when you go in it more, you do more.

24:03 - 24:06
Anne Lester
So, it's great to be able to trade your portfolio online.

24:06 - 24:09
Anne Lester
But you probably shouldn't be in there more than once, or twice a year to rebalance.

24:09 - 24:13
Anne Lester
Like if you're doing more than that, you're messing around and you're probably costing yourself money.

24:13 - 24:22
Anne Lester
So, I think technology is really powerful and if it's used well in a little squishy, right?

24:22 - 24:25
Anne Lester
What as well But done well, it can be enormously powerful.

24:25 - 24:28
Anne Lester
But it also can kinda derail you in subtle ways.

24:28 - 24:34
Anne Lester
And I just say really quickly and obvious technology thing that's sort of greatest subscriptions right here, I can just sign up and subscribe.

24:34 - 24:35
Anne Lester
Will, there you go?

24:35 - 24:38
Anne Lester
You stop ever thinking about that purchase again.

24:39 - 24:39
Christopher Hensley, RICP®
I love.

24:39 - 24:40
Anne Lester
It, I.

24:40 - 24:40
Christopher Hensley, RICP®
Think there's a double.

24:40 - 24:43
Anne Lester
Edged sword here, So just just be mindful of that, double edged sword.

24:44 - 24:48
Christopher Hensley, RICP®
I would call subscriptions death by a thousand paper cuts, look.

24:48 - 24:48
Anne Lester
So.

24:48 - 24:50
Christopher Hensley, RICP®
Easy because they're usually inexpensive.

24:50 - 24:57
Christopher Hensley, RICP®
It's I'll subscribe to that, and we are right here at the end of the show, the book, The best financial Life, and's new book.

24:58 - 25:02
Christopher Hensley, RICP®
And what have I forgot to ask you that you'd like to leave the listeners with today?

25:03 - 25:06
Anne Lester
Just remember that you can totally do it.

25:06 - 25:08
Anne Lester
Like, you got this Totally habit.

25:08 - 25:11
Anne Lester
So just remember that that it's a little bit of work.

25:11 - 25:13
Anne Lester
It's going to feel painful.

25:13 - 25:15
Anne Lester
Sometimes, it's not fun.

25:15 - 25:16
Anne Lester
But the payoff is enormous.

25:16 - 25:17
Anne Lester
You will sleep better.

25:17 - 25:18
Anne Lester
You will have a better life.

25:18 - 25:24
Anne Lester
You will find so many more choices available to you if you can start chipping away at some of the ...

25:24 - 25:26
Anne Lester
Fear that you have around around money.

25:27 - 25:27
Christopher Hensley, RICP®
I love it.

25:27 - 25:39
Christopher Hensley, RICP®
And he and earlier, before we started recording, you shared with me that, for listeners who want to find more information out, they can go directly to your website, which is WWW in leicester dot com.

25:39 - 25:39
Christopher Hensley, RICP®
Is that correct?

25:39 - 25:40
Christopher Hensley, RICP®
That.

25:40 - 25:41
Anne Lester
Is absolutely right.

25:41 - 25:44
Anne Lester
It's an with an E, So that would be fabulous, for lots, more to learn there.

25:45 - 25:46
Christopher Hensley, RICP®
Well, thank you so much for dropping by.

25:46 - 25:48
Christopher Hensley, RICP®
Have a good rest of the day there.

25:49 - 25:50
Anne Lester
Thank you so much.