When Lee Huffman needed to visit his mom while she was receiving treatment for cancer, his car broke down and he had to get a new one immediately. But without steady income, he could have been out of luck, if it weren't for one key thing he had going for him. 

In Lee's money story you will learn:

• The perks, as well as the setbacks, from being self employed

• What he decided to do when his trusty truck became not so trusty anymore while he was on his way to see his mother who was having surgery for breast cancer

• Why he decided that a new car was better than just fixing his old truck

• The problem he ran into with banks when trying to get a loan

• How his great relationship with Bank of America and his great credit score helped him to get approved for a car loan

“Because I have taken really good care of my credit.. I was able to get approved for a loan with almost the lowest rate I was able to find anywhere"

In Lee’s money lesson you will learn:

• How your credit score can be a very valuable asset and can actually create opportunities for you

“Focus on your credit score.  It can be a wonderful asset that can open a lot of doors of opportunity for you”

In Lee's everyday money tip you will learn:

• The importance of having local currency when traveling. If you don't have the local currency, you can stop by an ATM. Some banks don't charge the fee to use another bank's ATM or simply reimburse you for it later

"Before you start earning miles in any of the different airline programs make sure that those miles are going to get you to the place you want to go to"

In My Take you will learn:

• How you can avoid paying for water in the airport by bringing a metal water bottle with you when you travel in airports- but remember to keep them empty

• Lee talked about how he loves using credit cards to get miles and free stuff. All good. But don’t go too crazy with that. You do you. If you don't travel much, you may want to look into a credit card that offers different kinds of rewards

Episode Links:

Lee's podcast We Travel There

Lee's free email course "7 days to your dream vacation"

Check out Lee's websites -

www.BaldThoughts.com

www.WeTravelThere.com

Follow Lee at BaldThoughts!

• Instagram - @BaldThoughts

• LinkedIn - @LeeRHuffman

• Twitter - @BaldThoughts

• Facebook - @BaldThoughts

• Pinterest - @BaldThoughts

Follow Lee at We Travel There!

• Instagram - @WeTravelThere

• Twitter - @WeTravelThere

• Facebook - @WeTravelThere

When Lee Huffman needed to visit his mom while she was receiving treatment for cancer, his car broke down and he had to get a new one immediately. But without steady income, he could have been out of luck, if it weren't for one key thing he had going for him. In this Financial Grownup podcast episode Lee tells us how he was able to get approved for a car loan when he needed it and shares how we can save money while traveling. #TravelTips #TravelHacks

Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. All opinions remain my own.

Transcription

Lee Huffman:
I was about 90 minutes into the drive, and my check engine light started flashing and flashing and flashing at me. I had to turn around, and I was really upset that I wasn't gonna be able to be there for my mom.

Bobbi Rebell:
You're listening to Financial Grownup with me, certified financial planner Bobbi Rebell, author of How to Be a Financial Grownup. You know what? Being a grownup is really hard, especially when it comes to money. But it's okay. We're gonna get there together. I'm gonna bring you one money story from a financial grownup, one lesson, and then my take on how you can make it your own. We got this.

Bobbi Rebell:
Hey, friends. That was our guest, in a bit of a panic because his car was breaking down while he was on his way to visit his mom, who was battling cancer. He needed a new car immediately, but he had just started a business. And as you guys are probably already guessing, as I say this, he had no proof of income, because he didn't necessarily know what his income would be. He did not have a W-2 job. So, the loan to buy that car that he needed was not a sure thing. We're gonna get to how that story evolved in just a moment, but first a welcome to everyone. New listeners, thank you for checking us out. Please subscribe so you don't miss any future episodes. Make sure to do the custom settings. If you're using iTunes, set it to auto download, so you don't miss any episodes, as I said. And if you have a moment, I'd love to know how you found us. DM me on Instagram at BobbiRebell1, or on Twitter, @BobbiRebell. Our email is hello@financialgrownup.com.

Bobbi Rebell:
Now to our guest. He is Lee Huffman. You may know him from his blog and YouTube channel, Bald Thoughts, his podcast, We Travel There, which I love because it's all interviews with locals for places that we travel to, so you get the local perspective. All right. If you are self-employed, or you dream of being self-employed, or you know anyone who is self-employed, you have to listen to this man's story, and then the advice that comes from it. Plus, his everyday money tip that's gonna be at the end is going to save all of us a lot of wasted cash when we travel abroad. So, stick with us to the end. Here is Lee Huffman.

Bobbi Rebell:
Hey, Lee Huffman. You're a financial grownup. Welcome to the podcast.

Lee Huffman:
It's great to be here.

Bobbi Rebell:
I am a huge fan of all of your many channels of information about travel. You are the man behind Bald Thoughts, "Travel More. Spend Less. Live Better," the podcast, We Travel There, and of course, you also have a budding YouTube channel, and probably a ton more stuff I don't even know about you yet. But I'm so happy you're here, Lee.

Lee Huffman:
Yeah. It's great to be here, and I'm looking forward to meeting all your listeners. I've listened to a lot of your episodes. It's really good information.

Bobbi Rebell:
Well, thank you. You provide a lot of great information, and not to ... I do want to also mention, by the way, you do this now full-time. But by the way, you left a $200,000 a year job to do this, so this is something you are truly passionate about. Writing about not just travel, but also early retirement, credit cards, insurance, lots of personal finance topics. For your money story today, though, we're going to be talking about travel, and how that led to an important credit card related experience. Go for it, Lee.

Lee Huffman:
Sure. Like you mentioned, I left my corporate job. That has a lot of pluses and minuses, right? This was a situation where it was a little scary, and a little bit of a rough situation. So, my mom battled breast cancer, and she beat it the first time about a decade ago. And unfortunately, the breast cancer came back recently. One of the benefits of me quitting my job and moving from California to Nashville is that I'm a short drive away. Well, short is eight hours, but it's a lot closer than California.

Lee Huffman:
She was going in for surgery. I said, "You know what? Being now not having to sit in front of a desk, that can work from anywhere. I'm just gonna go and spend some time with her." So I said, "Okay. I'm gonna drive my truck." And like a true financial grownup, I've had this truck for almost a decade. I stopped paying payments on it several years ago, and pretty excited about that. However, my truck had other ideas. So, I was about 90 minutes into the drive, and my check engine light started flashing and flashing and flashing at me. I'm like, "Oh, no."

Bobbi Rebell:
Oh, no. Oh, no.

Lee Huffman:
Yes.

Bobbi Rebell:
That's never good.

Lee Huffman:
Yeah. Check engine light on? Bad. Check engine light flashing? It's like, "Hey, stupid. Stop driving. Something really bad is going on right now." And so, I talked with my wife, and I had to turn around. And I was really upset that I wasn't gonna be able to be there for my mom, but I also didn't want to break down halfway in the middle of the mountains someplace.

Lee Huffman:
So, I came back. Went to the repair shop, and basically the guy told me that the repairs were gonna be worth more than what the actual truck was worth. I was like, "Okay, that's not good. It's time to get a new truck."

Bobbi Rebell:
And by the way, it should be noted ... So, now you have to buy a new car, but you are self-employed, and that makes things a lot more complicated.

Lee Huffman:
Absolutely. Because banks are really weird when they actually want proof of income, because they want you to be able to pay the loan back. Right?

Bobbi Rebell:
Well, that's not so weird, Lee. Let's be fair. That's not so weird.

Lee Huffman:
I know.

Bobbi Rebell:
I want to know, if I lend someone money, that they can pay it back.

Lee Huffman:
Exactly, exactly.

Bobbi Rebell:
[inaudible 00:05:31].

Lee Huffman:
Yeah. So, I reached out to several different banks. Credit unions are usually some of the best to get car loans from, because they offer really good rates, and every one of them wanted at least two years' worth of tax returns, to be able to prove the income. But I had just left my job less than a year ago, and so my last two years of tax returns are not representative of what my situation is today. And so, I couldn't get approved.

Lee Huffman:
But luckily, because I've taken really good care of my credit, and I've really focused on keeping a high credit score for a lot of the travel stuff that I do, with the credit cards and miles and points, and the relationship that I've had with Bank of America over the last almost two decades, then I was actually able to get approved for a loan, with almost the lowest rate that I was able to find anywhere, and all based on keeping a good credit score. So luckily, long story short, I was able to get approved for the car loan, and able to get a new car almost in an instant, without any paperwork, any proof of income, based on having a 760-plus FICO score.

Bobbi Rebell:
And you were able to visit your mom, right?

Lee Huffman:
Yeah. She's doing really well now, and recovering, and back to her old ornery self.

Bobbi Rebell:
Okay. All right. Let's just move on from there, Lee. So, what is your lesson for our listeners from that story?

Lee Huffman:
Really, the main thing is that your credit score is one of your most valuable assets, that you can easily mess up. You know, missing payments, maxing out your credit cards, those type of things. But as long as you focus on your credit score and do the right things with your credit, it can be a wonderful asset, that can open a lot of doors of opportunity for you.

Bobbi Rebell:
I love the way you phrase that, because it's so positive. A lot of people think about their credit score as something that they're almost playing defense with, that it can stop you from getting things. But you talk about the opportunity that it creates.

Lee Huffman:
Absolutely. I mean, like you said, I focus on a lot of travel. I travel the world with my wife and children, and it's mostly free, using all the miles and points that I earn from the credit cards, all based on my credit score.

Bobbi Rebell:
Let's talk about your everyday money tip, because that also has to do with travel and being able to maximize your spending there, by not paying more than you have to when you change money. Or maybe not paying anything.

Lee Huffman:
Exactly.

Bobbi Rebell:
What's your everyday money tip, Lee?

Lee Huffman:
Exactly. When you're traveling, it pays to make sure that you have some local currency when you're going to foreign countries. Unfortunately, when you go through the airport or some of these other places, they want to give you money at a really bad exchange rate. So, you want to use an ATM machine from a bank, so you can get the money at the best exchange rate possible. However, ATMs also like to charge you a lot of fees. Luckily, there are a lot of banks now that offer one, the debit card that does not charge you a fee for using other people's ATMs. And then, some banks also actually reimburse you the fees that are charged by other banks.

Lee Huffman:
So I've been using, for the last probably decade or so, Charles Schwab. I'm not affiliated with them or anything like that, but I kind of keep them in my back pocket. I don't use them for every day, but I kind of have money go into that account every month. That way when I travel, I have a little bit of a slush fund, that I can withdraw money from ATM, anywhere around the world, and not have to worry about fees, and always getting the best exchange rates.

Bobbi Rebell:
Which gives you more money, ultimately, to spend on your traveling the world, and fun in foreign countries with your family. So, that's an amazing tip, and great for all of us. Let's talk more about what is going on at Bald Thoughts and We Travel There. You also have a new project that is coming out, and it's Seven Days to Your Dream Vacation. I already planned my spring break, so I'm upset I didn't get to this before then. But I'll be able to use it for the next one. Tell us about that.

Lee Huffman:
Absolutely. So, Seven Days to Your Dream Vacation is a free email course that basically walks you through the process of finding a location, being able to pick out the hotels and airlines, and finding ways to reduce those costs using airline miles and hotel points, so that way you can travel for as free as possible.

Bobbi Rebell:
What would be an example? Give us a little sneak peek.

Lee Huffman:
Sure. Kind of like the Stephen Covey book. You know, Begin With the End in Mind? I love Southwest Airlines. They're one of my favorite airlines in the U.S.. However, if you want to go to Europe, or you want to go to South America, Asia, they're not gonna get you there. So, one of the most important things. Before you start earning miles in any of the different airline programs, make sure that those miles are gonna get you to the places you want to go to.

Bobbi Rebell:
In other words, be thoughtful, think ahead, and then you'll be in a better position when you finally are ready to take that trip.

Lee Huffman:
Absolutely.

Bobbi Rebell:
Tell us more about where can people learn more about you and your blog and your podcast, and everything you're up to, Lee.

Lee Huffman:
Sure, sure.

Bobbi Rebell:
So many things.

Lee Huffman:
Exactly. Bald Thoughts is all about airline miles, hotel points, trip reports, the latest in credit cards. So if you want to learn about miles and points, that's the place to go, there. Then, the podcast is called We Travel There, and it's all about having local interviews with people from around the world, to find out the best things to do in their city. Basically, I've always traveled, and whenever I do, I meet people. And I always [inaudible 00:10:44] their ear a little bit, and say, "Hey. What are some of the things that locals like to do here?" Essentially, the podcast allows you to be in on that conversation, so that way you can plan your next trip, or be inspired to go to some place that you may never have thought of.

Bobbi Rebell:
Well, you are certainly very inspiring. I hope we all get to travel to our dream destinations. Thank you, Lee.

Lee Huffman:
Thank you very much.

Bobbi Rebell:
Let's do this. Financial Grownup tip number one. Lee talked about travel. I want to add one more tip from him, that came up after we finished recording our interview. It's something that a lot of us kind of know to do, but we all could use a reminder, myself included, and that is to think about water. Think about water when you're traveling, because when you go through security, they're gonna take the water bottles that you may bring with you. Hopefully you'll remember to dispose of them before you go through security, but they're not coming through. So bring those metal ones or glass bottles that you can fill with water once you get past security, so you can avoid buying those super expensive water bottles once you're past security, because you know that's not a good place to be spending your money. Nobody wants to pay five dollars, sometimes even more, for water, especially when there's water fountains around. But especially if you have kids, or you just want to be able to carry the water with you, and not have to go back and forth to the fountain, bring those water bottles and fill them up.

Bobbi Rebell:
Financial Grownup tip number two. This is a bit controversial. Lee talked about how he loves using credit cards to get miles and free stuff. That's all good, but it's really important not to go crazy with that. It makes a lot of headlines. People talk a big game about how much free stuff they're getting. But the truth is, miles reward cards aren't the best for everyone. The best one for you may be a cash back card, or some other kind of reward card tied to your interests and need. Or maybe you have to carry a balance. This is a no judgment zone. So, maybe you just need to focus on the one that's gonna have the lowest interest rate. Don't get caught up in the travel rewards hype. Do what's right for you.

Bobbi Rebell:
Before we head out, I want to invite you guys to check out my new podcast with my friend Joe Saul-Sehy. You may know him from the Stacking Benjamins Podcast. Our podcast is called Money in the Morning. We share news headlines, we break down why they matter, and how you can use the lessons in your own life. And here's the best part of the podcast, and why we're having so much fun, and why I want you guys to join us. That is because we tape Money in the Morning live, in front of a Facebook Live audience. So, go to Facebook.com/istackbenjamins. That is the Stacking Benjamins Facebook page. Facebook.com/istackbenjamins. Set up an alert for live tapings. Join us. Insider secret, by the way, guys ... We do a lot of giveaways. So, I hope to see you guys there. Again, come with your comments, get ready to participate, and maybe your comment will get read on the air, and you'll be part of our podcast at Money in the Morning.

Bobbi Rebell:
Big thanks to Bald Thoughts' Lee Huffman, for helping us all get one step closer to being financial grownups.

Bobbi Rebell:
Financial Grownup with Bobbi Rebell is edited and produced by Steve Stewart, and is a BRK Media production.

For all the talk about the dangers of credit cards, Inc’s Maria Aspan sees the benefits of them, especially when compared to debit cards. She shares a couple of personal stories of how credit cards protected her in ways debit cards could not. 

In Maria's money story you will learn:

• The importance of looking at your receipts especially when using a debit card

• Why credit cards are better than debit cards when it comes to fraud

• The reason that fraudulent credit card charges are easier to dispute and have the charge reversed

• Debit cards don't help you build credit

In Maria’s money lesson you will learn:

• Why you want to pay for most things with a credit card

• The importance of getting alerts for certain transactions

• How using a credit card can not only be a great way to track spending, but it can also make doing taxes easier

In Maria's everyday money tip you will learn:

• How having a vacation/wedding fund can save you money in the long run

In My Take you will learn:

• Choose the lesser of 2 evils when it comes to your 401 (k)

• If you set up a separate account to save for events or vacations as Maria does, be sure to automate the deposits

Episode Links:

Maria's book Startup Money Made Easy

Money In The Morning podcast

Check out Maria's website -

www.mariaaspan.com

Follow Maria!

• Instagram - @mhaspan

• LinkedIn - @MariaAspan

• Twitter - @MariaAspan

• Facebook - @Maria.Aspan

For all the talk about the dangers of credit cards, Inc’s Maria Aspan sees the benefits of them, especially when compared to debit cards. She shares a couple of personal stories of how credit cards protected her in ways debit cards could not. In this Financial Grownup podcast episode you’ll learn 3 reasons why you will want to start using credit cards instead of debit cards. #MoneyTips #Author

Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. All opinions remain my own.

Transcription

Maria Aspan:
I was tired. Didn't really look at the receipt as I was paying and used my debit card to pay, and a few days later, I checked my bank account, and I noticed that the taxi cab had overcharged me. It was like a $15 fare, and there was something like $50 taken out of my bank account.

Bobbi Rebell:
You're listening to Financial Grownup with me, certified financial planner, Bobbi Rebell, author of How to be a Financial Grownup, and you know what? Being a grown up is really hard, especially when it comes to money. But it's okay, we're going to get there together. I'm going to bring you one money story from a financial grownup, one lesson, and then my take on how you can make it your own. We've got this.

Bobbi Rebell:
Hello Financial Grownup friends. We have all been there. We're tired. We just want to get home, and we don't want to look at the bill all that closely. Sometimes, we don't even look at the bill at all, and then we sign, and then of course, we don't even keep the receipt, but for our guest, that had consequences one time, and it was a big learning lesson.

Bobbi Rebell:
Welcome everyone. Special thank you to our new listeners. Thanks for checking out the show. I would love to hear how you heard about us, so please DM me, and let me know on Instagram at BobbiRebell1, on Twitter at BobbiRebell, or you can email at hello@financialgrownup.com.

Bobbi Rebell:
Now, to our guest. Maria Aspan is an award winning journalist and the editor at large of Inc magazine. Her new book is called Startup Money Made Easy, Answers to all your Questions about Starting, Running and Growing your business. Great material for business owners, but also a lot of eye-opening info for all of us just to apply to how we access money for anything that we need in our lives. Maria also shared a great money story that may surprise you with how it played out. Here is Maria Aspan.

Bobbi Rebell:
Hey Maria Aspan, you're a financial grownup. Welcome to the podcast.

Maria Aspan:
Thank you Bobbi. It's so much fun to be here.

Bobbi Rebell:
Congratulations on your new book. You are editor at large at Inc, and you have a new book, Startup Money Made Easy. Inc answers all your financial questions about starting, running and growing your business, and what I love about this is that it focuses on something a lot of people ignore in books for entrepreneurs. They focus on the building of the actual service or product, but a lot of the times it comes down to money.

Maria Aspan:
Yeah, I mean money is just such a part of every single decision you make throughout your business from startup, to growing, to selling it and retiring. So, we really tried to take just sort of an accessible and fun approach to something that can seem really daunting and somewhat like financial and high tech. We just tried to make it very easy, and if possible, fun.

Bobbi Rebell:
Well, it's definitely exciting and fun when you're successful at raising money, but we're going to talk ... We're going to pivot a little bit and do your money story, which has to do with spending money and how you facilitate that. A lot of people are very wary of credit cards these days and for good reason. There are a lot of dangers of credit cards, but you actually had an experience earlier in your life where you learned the merits of credit cards. Tell us your funny story Maria.

Maria Aspan:
That's right. I am a financial reporter who is very pro credit card. To your point, debit cards, they allow you to control your spending and to budget more, but as I also discovered when I was a 20-something who had actually just started reporting on credit cards and debit cards, you don't have a lot of protections with debit cards when somebody uses your cards for fraud, and this was a kind of everyday story. I was coming home from a work event. I had taken a cab. It was the end of the night. I was tired. Didn't really look at the receipt as I was paying, and I used my debit card to pay. And a few days later, I checked my bank account, and I noticed that the taxi cab had overcharged me. It was like a $15 fair, and there was something like $50 taken out of my bank account from my debit card.

Bobbi Rebell:
They were hoping you wouldn't notice that, of course.

Maria Aspan:
Again, financial reporter. They picked the wrong person.

Bobbi Rebell:
Well, I think they probably picked many people, but they finally picked the wrong person and got caught.

Maria Aspan:
But what was really infuriating was that I complained to my bank. My bank was like, "Well, do you have the receipt? Because otherwise, we can't ... It's your word versus theirs, and we can't give you the money back." Didn't have the receipt. Lost that $50. I realized then that I had to start applying some of the lessons that I'd been learning about the credit card industry, that even though it's really easy to get in over your head with credit cards, they're also basically an interest free 30-day loan if you pay them off at the end of the month, and any money that gets taken out is the bank's money, not yours until you pay that bill.

Maria Aspan:
So, I actually had ... Recently, I had signed up for like a free trial month for a subscription service, one of those fashion subscription services, and I canceled the trial at the end of the month, and they didn't process it. A few days later on my credit card this time, a bill for $175 showed up. It was like, "Wait. No. I didn't. I did not spend $175 on that."

Maria Aspan:
But this time, I was able to complain to my credit card company and actually to the subscription service. They reversed the charge, and it was credited back to my account before I had to pay any bills, so I never had to put out that money even though they overcharged me. The bank had it covered.

Bobbi Rebell:
Right, because credit cards work very differently from debit cards in these kinds of situations.

Maria Aspan:
Yes, and they basically are a loan, and the credit card company is the one who's fronting you the cash, and also the credit card company has more obligations to cover you in the case of fraud. Whereas with debit cards and bank accounts, there are many fewer protections for consumers in the case of fraud.

Bobbi Rebell:
And I think that's something that's got lost in all the backlash about credit cards is that while debit cards do offer a lot of benefits, especially for young people that are first learning to manage their money, there are limitations. There's also a big danger to debit cards.

Maria Aspan:
There is, and there's also the fact that using a debit card doesn't necessarily help you build credit, which can be important when you're working up to getting a mortgage or car loan or in the case of a lot of the entrepreneurs that we talked to, a business loan. If you're using a credit card and paying it off every month and creating a record and a credit history, that can really help you down the road in getting a cheaper loan when you need it.

Bobbi Rebell:
So, what is the lesson from this money story for our listeners?

Maria Aspan:
Apply for a credit card and use one responsibly. I will say that I try to put pretty much all of my spending on my credit cards, but I also set up a lot of alerts. I check my balances. I have alerts set up so that I get a text message if there is an online transaction or a foreign transaction or a transaction above a certain amount. So, I'm just alerted if I'm in New York, but suddenly my credit card is buying $500 worth of material in Russia, it's a sign that something is wrong.

Bobbi Rebell:
I think that's a big sign. Absolutely.

Maria Aspan:
And of course, I pay it off every single month. Then I would say that's probably the biggest lesson about using credit cards is don't use them to get into more debt than you can afford to repay regularly.

Bobbi Rebell:
Absolutely, and also they're a way to track your spending and know what is going on. You can quickly scan and know what you spent versus if you're using cash, then you have to actually write down what you're doing. The credit card takes care of that for you. So, I think that's a good benefit as well.

Maria Aspan:
Actually, since we're coming up on tax time, I should say that it really makes doing my taxes easier because at the end of every year I download my credit card's annual report, and I just have a list of all the different expenses that I made, which is something that paying in cash doesn't give you.

Bobbi Rebell:
And they also categorize them, which is nice, which is something entrepreneurs can really use. Let's talk about your everyday money tip cause it's something that's for happy occasions but can be a challenge for many people.

Maria Aspan:
Yes, so my tip has to do with my friends getting married and all of the fun events that happen around other people's weddings, but also all of the expenses that are incurred. A few years ago my circle of friends started getting married. I started being asked to be in weddings, which of course involves bridesmaid dresses-

Bobbi Rebell:
Which you always wear again.

Maria Aspan:
Which you always wear again.

Bobbi Rebell:
Always, always.

Maria Aspan:
Always so flattering and made out of such great material and totally worth the $300 or so.

Bobbi Rebell:
It's a lot actually. I haven't been a bridesmaid in a while, but 300 bucks is a lot of cash for an often one-time wear.

Maria Aspan:
It really is. And even if they're only one-time wear, they're made out of this cheap, gross fabric that's just not super comfortable even for that one night.

Bobbi Rebell:
[inaudible 00:09:11] your friendship.

Maria Aspan:
Definitely, and not to mention all of the wedding showers and the bachelorettes and the gifts, and these are all wonderful things that I'm happy to help my friends celebrate, but to your point, testing the friendship. They get to be very expensive, and there was one year when I had three or four such weddings sort of staring me down at the end of the summer, and I realized that this was going to be several thousand dollars that I didn't want to have to pay for all at once, so I set up a separate online savings account and just put $50 a week into it towards weddings. I think I started this in January. By the time September came along, that didn't necessarily cover all of the expenses, but it helped cover a lot of them, and I felt absolutely no guilt cleaning out that savings account to cover all of the bills from these different weddings.

Bobbi Rebell:
It cushioned the blow.

Maria Aspan:
It really did, and now, I've kept that savings account up. I've been a bridesmaid less, but now I've renamed it vacation weddings. So, I use it for like plane tickets or fancy meals out every once in a while and it's a lot of fun.

Bobbi Rebell:
And guilt-free. Let's talk about your book, Startup Money Made Easy, which as I said at the beginning, I love because it focuses on the fact that a lot of entrepreneurs really spend the majority of their time dealing with getting cash to fund the business. Even though they may romanticize the idea that they're going to be actively running the day to day business, that often takes a back seat to the need for cash. And what I found interesting that you talk about here is the fact that many entrepreneurs are limited in their options and often end up getting money through means that are really not the best.

Maria Aspan:
Right. One of the things that we find when we talk to entrepreneurs at Inc is that even though venture capital gets all of the headlines and [inaudible 00:11:05] backed startups in Silicon Valley are the most prominent ones. Most of the entrepreneurs we talk to use their savings or ask friends and family members or use credit cards or tap their retirement accounts to get their businesses off the ground,

Bobbi Rebell:
Which we think of as almost, "Oh, you shouldn't do that." The truth is that is the reality and that many people do that. And we hear ... For every story that we hear of people that cashed out their 401k and took out a second mortgage on their home and then they made it big, there are a lot of people that do that and then suffer the consequences.

Maria Aspan:
We absolutely don't recommend cashing out your 401K, but it's very much often what happens. And the other thing is just we talked to many more entrepreneurs that just use regular loans versus [inaudible 00:11:49]. So whether it's credit cards to go back to the beginning of this, or applying a bank loan, which can be ... It can take so much time and be so tedious with paperwork, but it's like the best interest rate you're going to get anywhere versus a credit card or an online loan. Or asking friends and family for money is another way that a lot of people gather the money together to get their business off the ground.

Bobbi Rebell:
So, is that your advice for entrepreneurs? Where is the best way to fund your big idea?

Maria Aspan:
I would say my first piece of advice would be to figure out how much money you need, and it may not be very much. We've talked to a lot of entrepreneurs who start their businesses for less than $5,000. But figure out roughly how much money you need. Maybe write a business plan. It's not fun, but it'll help you get your plans in order, and then figure out how you can gather that money together. You might want to work on your business part time until you figure out cash flow and the business is making enough money to support you because that's the other thing that we find when we talked to a lot of the CEO's of the most successful private companies in America. We pull the Inc 5,000 CEOs every year. Only 28% of them said they started paying themselves a salary immediately upon starting their business. 31% waited for a year before they started paying themselves. So, if you can't afford to go a year or more without paying yourself a salary from your business, maybe don't make it a full time endeavor until you've got it all figured out.

Bobbi Rebell:
Wow, lots of great advice and great advice in the book, Startup Money Made Easy. Tell us where people can find out more about you, the book and all that good stuff.

Maria Aspan:
Thanks so much Bobbi. You can find the book on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Audible. You can go to StartupMoneyMadeEasy.com to find a whole list of sellers, and you can find me on Twitter or at my website, MariaAspan.com, and my Twitter handle is the same.

Bobbi Rebell:
All right, friends, let's do this. Financial Grownup Tip Number One. Choose the lesser of two evils. I agree with Maria, and absolutely I do not recommend cashing out a 401k, but if you are going to go for that cash in that retirement account, and I'm reminding you that is for your retirement, but if you're going forward anyway, look into borrowing from the 401k instead of just taking the money out. You can usually borrow up to $10,000 or 50% of the vested balance up to $50,000. At least with a loan you are paying interest to yourself. Just be aware that if you leave the company, you have to repay it, and the time you are paying back the loan, by the way, even if you're still at the company, many companies don't allow you to also contribute to that 401k. So then, that is a lost opportunity cost because those years when you're focused on paying back the loan, the loan money's not earning interest and growing for your retirement, and you're also not putting new money into the 401k for your retirement. So, try not to do it at all, but if you're going to it, the loan, depending on the terms that your company allows in line with the IRS rules, probably better than just taking the money out. But try to not do it.

Bobbi Rebell:
Financial Grownup Tip Number Two. If you set up a separate account to save for events like weddings or for vacations as Maria does, be sure to automate the deposits so it actually keeps happening.

Bobbi Rebell:
All right, before we wrap up, I want to invite all of you to check out my new podcast with my friend, Joe [inaudible 00:15:19] of Stacking Benjamins. It is called Money in the Morning. We take two recent headlines, talk about what we can learn from them to improve our own personal finance situation, to improve our own lives, and to learn from it about investing, about saving, and all that good stuff. And we keep it light by taping it live on Facebook, complete with audience participation.

Bobbi Rebell:
So, I hope some of you will join us. You can see a taping. Get the information by going to facebook.com/Istackbenjamins to check it out. We will leave a link in the show notes, and yes, it is taped live. So, what we do is we do not edit it at all. Whatever happens during the live taping, all my mistakes, are all out there. So, if you listen to the audio on whatever channel you listen to podcasts on, whatever app you listen to podcasts on, please be forgiving, laugh with us, learn from us, and most of all, just join us for the fun. We really would love to have you.

Bobbi Rebell:
And with that, everyone can learn something from Maria Aspan's book, Startup Money Made Easy. So, please check out the book. Big thanks to Maria Aspan for helping us all get one step closer to being financial grownups. Thanks guys.

Bobbi Rebell:
Financial Grownup with Bobbi Rebell is edited and produced by Steve Stewart and is a BRK Media production.

Behavioural Scientist and Good Money author Nathalie Spencer missed a credit card payment. Then she missed another. But she finally managed to stop the cycle after putting a grownup plan in place.  

In Nathalie’s money story you will learn:

-How Nathalie learned from the financial mistakes she made in her 20s

-The mistake she made that caused her to missed two credit card payments in a row

-Three tips Nathalie swears by so she never misses a credit card payment again

In Nathalie’s money lesson you will learn:

-How to find a balance between micro-managing money and forgetting to pay bills

-How automation makes financially growing up a little bit easier

In Nathalie's everyday money tip you will learn:

-How to treat yourself and your budget

-The little thing Nathalie does before finance meetings to put her mind at ease

In My Take you will learn:

-What happens after you forget a credit card payment and ways to fix it

-How paying and reviewing bills can actually save you money

EPISODE LINKS:

Nathalie's book is available online here

Follow Nathalie! 

Twitter: @economiclogic

Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. All opinions remain my own.

Transcription

nathalie Spence:
I missed another credit card payment. It's not even that I didn't have the money. It's just that I just wasn't paying attention. I didn't have the head space.

Bobbi Rebell:
You're listening to Financial Grownup with me, certified financial planner, Bobbi Rebell, author of How To Be A Financial Grownup. You know what, being a grownup is really hard, especially when it comes to money. But it's okay. We're going to get there together. I'm going to bring you one money story from a financial grownup, one lesson, and then my take on how you can make it your own. We got this.

Bobbi Rebell:
Hello, Financial Grownup Friends. You know what old expression, "The dog ate my homework." For not paying your credit card, let's make it, "I just didn't have the head space," because, as you heard, that's all that was going on with our guest. She just didn't have the head space. Nathalie Spencer, not a highly accomplished behavioral scientist and author, had the money just not the head space.

Bobbi Rebell:
Welcome, everyone. If you are new, we are so excited that you found us. We share money stories from high achievers, along with practical every day money tips that you can put to work right away. We keep the episodes to about 15 minutes, but feel free to binge on a few if you have a little more time today.

Bobbi Rebell:
Now, let's talk about Nathalie Spencer. I was so taken with her book, Good Money: Understand Your Choices, Boast Your Financial Well Being. It is totally different from many money books that I have read, and I read a lot. I loved this book, and I'm going to talk to Nathalie about your unique approach to helping people find their financial wellness. Here is Good Money author Nathalie Spencer.

Bobbi Rebell:
Hey, Nathalie Spencer. You're a financial grownup. Welcome to the podcast.

nathalie Spence:
Thanks. Great to speak with you, Bobbi.

Bobbi Rebell:
Loved your new books, Good Money: Understand Your Choices, Boast Your Financial Wellness because you are a behavioral scientist. In fact, you work at the Common Wealth Bank of Australia, and you bring a very different perspective to money and financial education.

nathalie Spence:
That's right. Yeah, so the book Good Money is about the behavior science of financial well being, and what that really means is that we look at psychology and decision making science, and we try to uncover why managing money can actually feel really difficult but then also provide some practical tips for how we can get through that.

Bobbi Rebell:
And you pay have been inspired by your own behavior in your 20s. Tell us your money story, Nathalie.

nathalie Spence:
Yeah, that's right. So my money story is that I missed a credit card payment, and then the next month I missed another credit card payment. And the thing is that it's not even that I didn't have the money. It's just that I just wasn't paying attention. I didn't have the head space. Like everyone, I felt busy. I was working, volunteering, social obligations, all this stuff, and I just really wasn't paying attention. So, of course, I got slapped with a penalty fee and interest started growing on my balance. When I realized this, I called the credit card company to contest it. Somehow I could find time to do that.

Bobbi Rebell:
Well, you had to at that point. You had to deal with it.

nathalie Spence:
Well, that's right. Yes. So I had to deal with. I had to pay for it. But also, I thought, "Ah well. I'll just see if I can get this charged reversed." But even on the phone, I could tell that just saying, "Oh, well I just wasn't paying attention," was not really a good enough excuse. So this was a huge wake up call for me, and there were a couple things that came from it. So one, I realized that I needed to start paying attention to my finances, and I did. I started to do so. But also it was that it doesn't have to be so hard, and that there are things that I can do to make it easier. So what I did after that call was I set up reminders. So then I would get a text message a few days before my credit card bill was due, and I also set up a direct debit. The direct debit was for the minimum repayment amount. So what this did was that hopefully I wouldn't forget to pay again because I'd get the reminders, but even if I did forget, I had built in the protection so that I wouldn't have to pay a penalty charge.

Bobbi Rebell:
Looking back, now that you have a career as a behavioral scientist, what do you think was going on in your mind, if you could analyze your 20 something self?

nathalie Spence:
Well, I think it was simply I wasn't paying attention. Managing money can be kind of boring, and it felt like it wasn't top of mind for me. I was just going around kind of spending mindlessly on my credit card and not really thinking about it.

Bobbi Rebell:
So what are the takeaways for our listeners?

nathalie Spence:
So I think one is on a more general scale and that's that you can design your life in a way that you make it easier for yourself. So behavioral science can tell us a lot about our choices with money, and then when we understand how those concepts apply to our own lives, in our own context, in our own situations, then we're able to put systems or processes in place to help us, to help ourselves out really to manage money better. And then I'd say that probably more specifically that automation is so great, especially if you don't want to be spending all of your time kind of micro managing all of your finances and thinking about it day and night. Automation is just great. It makes easy. And what you can do is you can require a little bit of up front effort and cognitive effort there to make sure that you're automating something that you can afford in the long term. But once you start it up, then you can just kind of put it to the side and forget it.

Bobbi Rebell:
So let's talk about your every day money tip because I'm very intrigued by the term temptation bundling.

nathalie Spence:
Yeah, that's right. So my money tip is for anybody that finds managing their money kind of a drag. If you find personal finance management a chore, then what you can do is bundle it with a treat or a temptation, that's where the term temptation bundling comes from. And the key here is to make sure that you resist the temptation and only do that when you are managing your money then. So, for example, my husband and I do this. Once per month, we have a personal finance meeting. Thrilling, I know. But what we do is we make sure that we go around the corner to the bakery and we get coffees and pastries beforehand, and then we bring them back home and we have a personal finance meeting.

Bobbi Rebell:
So it softens the blow.

nathalie Spence:
Yeah, exactly.

Bobbi Rebell:
And it makes it something that you're not really dreading because you're getting a treat also.

nathalie Spence:
Exactly. And it actually serves two purposes. So, first of all, it helps make the personal finance meeting feel a little bit more fun and less morning, but also it keeps me from buying a croissant every single morning because I know I can only get it when I'm doing my personal finance meeting.

Bobbi Rebell:
Have you ever snuck one, Nathalie, come on?

nathalie Spence:
Well, yeah. Maybe one or two.

Bobbi Rebell:
Let's talk about Good Money because there's a lot of scientific backing to everything you talk about, but at the same time, these are really every day issues that we all have to face. So, for example, one thing that I thought was really interesting in your book was how cashless transactions can actually effect how we spend our money.

nathalie Spence:
Yes. That's right. This is really interesting because with new technology, so many people want our payment mechanisms to be faster and easier and slicker and from like a user design perspective, of course, that's a really good goal is to have these new technologies like apps or pay and wave or tap and go be very easy. That's great. It has a lot of benefits. But there's also a downside in that the less noticeable payment is and the less friction there is there, then the easier it is to spend mindlessly. So, again, it can kind of feel like you're on autopilot and just kind of going through and spending quite easily.

Bobbi Rebell:
And as someone who has never seen a sale that I did not like. I mean, the friends and family stuff that's going on in New York City right now is out of control. I'm so tempted. Why is it that when we feel that something is a bargain, I mean, it's so difficult to resist?

nathalie Spence:
Well, that's exactly it. Well, there are a lot of things that might be going on that retailers can do to get us to spend more money. One is that when you see the original price and then you see the sale price, what you're doing is you're comparing the sale price to the original price. So, of course, it seems like a fantastic deal. Let's say, I don't know, you're spending $50 on something that's marked down from $100. Well, it feels fantastic. But actually, if you hadn't see the original price, the question that you should ask yourself is would you have paid $50 for this anyway?

Bobbi Rebell:
I don't know that we would have, but I can't buy something. I don't want to buy something full price. That's just so crazy. Why do we do that to ourselves, Nathalie? Tell us.

nathalie Spence:
I don't know. I'm a victim to it as well. But having the original price there can really tempt us into thinking that it's a good deal.

Bobbi Rebell:
All right. Tell us where we can find your book and where we can find out more about you.

nathalie Spence:
Yeah, great. So Good Money is available in the U.S. and the UK, Canada, and Australia at all of the major bookstores. So you can find it online or on shelves. And you can follow me on Twitter @economiclogic.

Bobbi Rebell:
Thank you, Nathalie.

nathalie Spence:
Thanks so much, Bobbie. Great talking to you.

Bobbi Rebell:
Hey, everyone. Love hearing about the psychology of how we spend money from Nathalie. The book really is fascinating in all the data and analysis of why we do the things we do when it comes to money. Let's get to my take on Nathalie's story though. To some degree, this is an easy one because I could just say, guys, automate your bills. But let's actually move past that. Financial Grownup Tip #1: if you do mess up, after you put the systems in place and automate, as Nathalie and pretty much every financial expert will tell you to do, make the phone call. Get the person on the phone to undo the damage. Credit card companies will often give you a one time pass, sometimes more on the fees even if it was your fault. So take the time to ask for the penalty to be removed, even if you were actually the one that messed up. Also, know how your credit works in terms of the interest. In some cases if you don't clear the entire balance, you may still pay interest charges. So when you make that call, ask exactly how the interest works.

Bobbi Rebell:
Financial Grownup Tip #2: just because you automate the payment, doesn't mean you don't open the bills every month. Go through the charges. I have made this mistake because the bills paid, so my stress. But then you go to check the bill after skipping for a few months and you realize that maybe you're paying something that you didn't realize, like a subscription renewal. If you catch it right away, you have a good chance of canceling. But if you have, for example, a kit's annual membership and then you miss the payments for a few months, it is a tougher argument to make. So automate it but don't forget it. And of course it goes without saying that you should be looking at those bills because there could also be fraudulent charges on there. Sometimes criminals will test charging something with very small amounts to see if you notice, and then gradually work up to larger amounts. So it's really important to be vigilant and check those bills even if you automate.

Bobbi Rebell:
Loved Nathalie's book Good Money. Please do check it out. As I said, totally different approach, data, science, all that. Worth the focus that you do need to have. This is not a quick, easy page turner. This is a deep book, and it has a lot of pictures so it makes it really interesting. And the illustrations are good. But this is science. This is the real deal. I love this book. You can tell. You get out of it what you put into it.

Bobbi Rebell:
So thank you for your candor, Nathalie, with your story. Thank you for helping us understand how and why we spend the way we do, and, of course, thank you for helping us all get one step closer to being Financial Grownup.

Bobbi Rebell:
Financial Grownup with Bobbi Rebell is edited and produced by Steve Steward and is a BRK Media production.

 

Newlywed Hilary Hendershott CFP® found herself with a limited cash flow after launching her own financial advisory firm, and started using her husband’s credit cards to make up the difference. What she considered to be a money secret she was keeping from her new husband, she discovered actually wasn’t, but was the catalyst that brought them together to discuss their finances as a married unit.

 

In Hilary’s money story you will learn:

-How as newlyweds, Hilary and her husband set up their finances

-The unseen pitfall that caught them both off guard

-Why Hilary considered spending money on her husband’s credit cards a “secret”

-What happened when she revealed her actions

 

In Hilary’s money lesson you will learn:

-Specifically what Hilary would do now in the same situation

-The exact questions you should be asking if your financial partners- romantic or otherwise

-Ways to motivate yourself to be financially open even in uncomfortable situations

In Hilary’s everyday money tip you will learn:

-Why she is against buying service plans from auto dealerships

-The tactics they use to get you to buy the plans and how to flag them

-How to find alternative options to keeping you car properly maintained

-How Hilary got burned at auto dealerships

In my take you will learn:

-The importance of discussing cashflow, not just revenue

-Why taking ownership of your actions is the key to finding solutions

-The biggest danger of not talking about credit card bills with your partner

-How identity theft can be more of a threat if multiple people use the same credit card account

EPISODE LINKS

Learn more about Hilary Hendershott and the Profit Boss® Radio Podcast

https://www.hilaryhendershott.com

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/hilarythecfp

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/profitbossradio

 

---

Transcription

Hilary Hendersh:
I don't know if I'd found one of his credit cards laying around, or it was a credit card that I was using, or using intermittently. Well anyway, I started using this credit card to live off of. And this went on for months, and every time I pulled it out I felt like I was cheating or lying or stealing or something, but I was doing this thing that I didn't have agreement to do.

Bobbi Rebell:
You're listening to Financial Grownup. With me certified financial planner Bobbi Rebell, author of How to be a Financial Grownup. And you know what, being a grownup is really hard especially when it comes to money, but it's okay we're going to get there together. I'm going to bring you one money story from a financial grownup, one lesson, and then my take on how you can make it your own. We got this.

Bobbi Rebell:
Hey friends, so if you spend your significant other's money and you don't actively tell them that you are spending that money is that cheating? I'll let you guys be the judge.

Bobbi Rebell:
Quick welcome to our newest listeners and welcome back to everyone else. Hit that subscribe button while you are there. We do three short episodes a week to fit your schedule. Each episode delivers a money story from a high achiever, a lesson in takeaway so you can apply it to your own life, and an every day money tip to help you save and have more money. If you've got more than about 15 minutes feel free to binge, get a few lessons in a row.

Bobbi Rebell:
Okay, now to our guest, Hilary Hendershott. In addition to being the real deal, a certified financial planner who has been named one of Investopedia's Top 100 Financial Advisors she also hosts the Profit Boss Radio podcast, which I highly recommend. I'm going to be a guest on a future episode likely in the fall. She is also relatively newlywed but regrets keeping a secret from her new husband, or did she? Here is Hilary Hendershott.

Bobbi Rebell:
Hey Hilary Hendershott you're a financial grownup, welcome to the podcast.

Hilary Hendersh:
Thank you so much.

Bobbi Rebell:
And congratulations, you are one of Investopedia's Top 100 Financial Advisors, quiet an honor.

Hilary Hendersh:
Isn't that cool? Yeah, I'm honored to be ranked.

Bobbi Rebell:
And you are a certified financial planner, which we know is serious business, and of course your hit podcast Profit Boss Radio podcast, which I am huge fan of. So, welcome.

Hilary Hendersh:
Thank you so much, I'm really happy to be a financial grownup today.

Bobbi Rebell:
And you brought with you a great story and a very interesting one with a little bit of a plot twist. You were apparently using your husband's credit cards without his knowledge, but there's a lot more of the story, tell us.

Hilary Hendersh:
So for many years I worked for my father's financial planning for about 15 years. I went out on my own in 2014, so I took my clients and I formed a registered investment advisory firm. So here I am, I'm a bootstrapping entrepreneur and my husband was very generous, he said, "Of course, don't pay yourself for a while." And I think any of you who've started a business you understand you just really feel like all that dry kindling needs to go back onto fan the flames of the fire that is your new business. So I was not drawing an income from my business.

Bobbi Rebell:
And you were relatively newlywed, correct?

Hilary Hendersh:
We got married in 2013, yes so we were newlyweds. My husband had his own banking system, I had my own banking system we didn't join accounts, so I had separate checking account from him. So, I didn't think about the fact that we had set this scenario up where there was no money coming into the account that I was spending from. And so, I get to the end like I didn't want to go below $1,000 in this account, but there's no money coming in. I'm like, "What am I going to do now?" Well I happen to ... I don't know if I'd found one of his credit cards laying around or it was a credit card that I was using or using intermittently. Well anyway, I started using this credit card to live off of. And this went on for months, and every time I pulled it out I felt like I was cheating, or lying, or stealing, or something, but I was doing this thing that I didn't have agreement to do. And finally I was like, "I have to come clean honey, I've been spending on your credit card to live."

Hilary Hendersh:
And he said, "I know."

Bobbi Rebell:
So wait, but you didn't tell him and you thought he didn't know. I was about to ask you, wait who's paying these bills? Doesn't he look at the bills? So the people have auto pay.

Hilary Hendersh:
Well he was.

Bobbi Rebell:
People have auto pay.

Hilary Hendersh:
No, he paid the bills and I just thought maybe he wasn't paying attention. I don't know that he combs the transactions at a detailed level. It wasn't like the portal was accounting for this is Hilary's card versus this is your card. I don't know what I thought, I was just in denial. I think I just probably wishing and hoping that my surreptitious little activities were not being found out by him. But of course, we're married it's all joint assets anyway, but it was just the fact that I hadn't asked him or gotten approval, it wasn't what we had planned. It wasn't what we said would happen. And I said to him, "How in the world were we designed? How did you think I was going to get money? How was money ever going to come into my accounts?"

Hilary Hendersh:
And he said something about me taking profit distributions from my business.

Hilary Hendersh:
And I said, "But I wasn't taking money out of the business." He and I just had very different expectations of what was happening from a cashflow management perspective, but it was very cool that he gave me a very soft landing, because when I did say, "I've been using your credit card to live."

Hilary Hendersh:
And he said, "I know."

Bobbi Rebell:
Awe that's so nice. So then how did it evolve? What system did you put in place?

Hilary Hendersh:
Well now I'm on payroll.

Bobbi Rebell:
Right, but I mean did you just say, "Well okay, we'll continue this"? Or did you just merge your accounts then? Or did it just continue where you were just still using his credit card but you guys were open about it?

Hilary Hendersh:
I think a little bit of both. I think he like wrote me a check for $20,000 or something so I had money in my checking account. And then we did create a joint account so I changed my bank over to his bank, and now I'm on payroll from the business. So, our personal finances evolved and grew, but we really should have been spending from the same bank account before that. But, yeah so we just kind of dealt with it step-by-step.

Bobbi Rebell:
So what is the lesson for our listeners from that? What is their takeaway?

Hilary Hendersh:
I think it's really common at the beginning of starting a business for someone's spouse to financially support them. And if you're going to do that you just want to be clear where's the pool of funds that you're actually spending from? And you want to be I think in communication, how much can I spend and have us still be on track for our plan? What is your expectation here? I think the problem was that Robert and I just didn't fully talk through the plan. What saved me was my need to be ... I really am fundamentally an honest person. I'm like, "Uh I need to come clean here." But being open and transparent communication with your partner, your spouse is your financial partner. And so, being able to talk about that really helps.

Bobbi Rebell:
And it sounds like he is really supportive of the business.

Hilary Hendersh:
Oh tremendously. I could not have done it without him. Yeah, absolutely.

Bobbi Rebell:
All right, I want to talk about your money tip because it is something that so many people don't even think twice about, they just assume it's the best thing to do, but maybe not always.

Hilary Hendersh:
Yeah, so when you buy a car from a dealership they give you this schedule of appointments that you're supposed to be on for maintenance and tune-ups, that's a major profit center for those dealerships, those maintenance garages, or fix it places. So, I just went on Yelp and I found a four and a half star local mechanic and we take our cars there. I don't think I've had more than about $100 in maintenance costs over the last seven to eight years. One time I could literally hear the brake discs grinding on each other and I brought the car in thinking I was going to spend ... I had mentally budgeted like $1,000. I was like, "Maybe it'll be like $700 but I don't want to be disappointed, so I'll mentally budget $1,000."

Hilary Hendersh:
The guy said, "I'm going to retool it, it costs $49." It's like I can't spend money at this place if I try to, so that's my tip.

Bobbi Rebell:
So what do you think goes on that people are always feeling like they have to go the dealerships? And full disclosure, when we bought our car we did pre-pay for a maintenance plan. And so, we are locked in because we've paid for it, to our dealer.

Hilary Hendersh:
It's just a problem of information and education. A lot of people in my world, I see come into my office with things inside their investment portfolio that they don't understand, or aren't good for them, or have hidden fees. And under the hood of the car is the same thing. I myself, I know nothing about vehicles. And so, you want to trust dealer just sold you your car. You've been sitting with them all Saturday afternoon and they say, "This is your maintenance schedule."

Hilary Hendersh:
And you don't want to have to think, "Well I'm being taken advantage of or there's a way I can get it for a quarter of the cost." But you know these are huge profit centers for the dealerships and in my experience is I feel that I've been personally taken advantage of because I didn't know what to say or what to ask for.

Bobbi Rebell:
Well what happened at the dealer that you got burned?

Hilary Hendersh:
I think getting really high ticket maintenance bills. Having to do things like, "Well, we removed the rotor," or whatever.

Hilary Hendersh:
And then you go, "Okay can I see the part?" Because somebody tells you that in order to be a critical consumer you need to ask for your old parts.

Hilary Hendersh:
And they go, "Well, it's already at the dump," or whatever. Just signs of lack of credibility. And it's been so long since I've been to a dealership that I definitely am not going to remember the details, but just the fact of my maintenance costs went from several thousand dollars a year to under $100.

Bobbi Rebell:
Great advice. All right, before I let you go, tell me a little more about Profit Boss Radio and your mission, and a little bit about the show, and where people can find you.

Hilary Hendersh:
Yes, so Profit Boss Radio is your wealth mastermind. So, I take all the best of what I've learned over 18 years as a certified financial planner. I do solo shows on technical topics like, how to debunk economic doomsayers. You know those articles that always say, "The stock market's going to fall. The stock market's a huge bubble." I pull those articles apart and talk through every line item of them so that you understand how to think about and what to do about them when you read them. We've had finance experts such as David Bach and Dan Ariely on the show. I interview everyday entrepreneurs and even some really incredible everyday women, so not media experts but women who have done just remarkable things in their own financial life. I interviewed a single mom, she was left with no money and three kids, she had literally no income and now she owns a major clothing studio and online business living in the house of her dreams having paid cash for all of her kid's college. She was just an incredible interview. So lots of different kinds of topics. The show is designed to empower you financially to take control of your money.

Bobbi Rebell:
Well I am a huge fan of the podcast and of you. Where can people find you and follow you?

Hilary Hendersh:
If you have room in your podcast lineup check out Profit Boss Radio wherever you find your podcast online. You can find me HilaryHendershott.com and that is Hilary with one l and Hendershott with two t's.

Bobbi Rebell:
Thank you so much, this was amazing.

Hilary Hendersh:
Thank you so much for having me.

Bobbi Rebell:
Okay everyone here is my take. The first year's of any relationship that merges finances romantic or not is always challenging. Financial Grownup Tip #1, Hilary did talk to her new husband about the fact that she would not have income in the early stages of her business, but then she didn't follow up with exactly how the cashflow would work. So it was an incomplete discussion. Don't assume that your partner is making the leap to the next step. While Hilary takes ownership of her actions and feels she should have told him she was spending on his account, and she should have, why didn't he point out the charges to her? Because here's the really alarming thing about this story, given that he did not ask her or anyone about the charges that were appearing on his bill, how did he know that they were not unauthorized charges from strangers, and that his credit card and/or identity had not been compromised?

Bobbi Rebell:
So Financial Grownup Tip #2, if more than one person in your family is using a credit card or even a debit card you need to really be communicating. So taking it beyond the spouse example, maybe to build credit you put your teenage child on a credit card, or some people may give a caregiver a debit card to pay for expenses for a child. Make sure that person is giving you receipts or at the very least communicating what their buying. You may assume that because for example, they shop at Walmart every charge from Walmart is legit and is theirs, but a smart thief might make charges at places you already shop thus avoiding detection. Just think about it.

Bobbi Rebell:
Thank you all for spending some time with us. Feel free to binge a little and check out some other episodes. Learn more about Financial Grownup at BobbiRebell.com/FinancialGrownupPodcast and do follow us on social media. I am on Twitter @BobbiRebell and on Instagram at Bobbi Rebell 1.

Bobbi Rebell:
Hilary's relationship with her hubby is still going strong as is her growing financial advisory business. Be sure to check out Profit Boss Radio for more great insights from Hilary, and thank you to my friend for bringing us all one step closer to being Financial Grownups.

Bobbi Rebell:
Financial Grownup with Bobbi Rebell is edited and produced by Steve Stuart and is a BRK Media production.