Bobbi reveals her favorite new money related books, and how to decide if they are right for you. This month’s picks include “Mom and Dad We Need to Talk. How to Have Essential Conversations with Your Parents About Their Finances” by Cameron Huddleston, “Clever Girl Finance: Ditch Debt, Save Money, and Build Real Wealth” by Bola Sokunbi and “Agent of Influence How to use Spy Skills to Sell Anything and Build a Successful Business” by Jason Hanson”

Some ground rules:

There will be only positive comments. Because why waste your time telling you about something I don’t think is worth your time. 

Also - we limit our selections to books written by authors that appear on the podcast. In most cases they will have already appeared- so you can then go back and listen to their episode if you want to learn more. Occasionally, the episode will be in the future - so hopefully you will subscribe so you don’t miss it. 

Here are 3 books I truly enjoyed in the past month!

Book #1

This book holds a special place in my heart- I have known the author, Cameron Huddleston for a few years and I feel like I had a front row seat seeing how this book evolved based on her own extremely intense personal experience. After years of hard work the book was finally released on June 25th and It is called “Mom and Dad we need to talk. How to have Essential conversations with your parents about their Finances.” And I was honored that Cameron asked me to write a blurb for the back cover so be sure to check that out if you pick up the book.

Here’s what I liked about it:

1. This is one of those taboo topics- that should not be but is. It’s like when they say people are more comfortable talking about sex than about money, This is kind of the ultimate taboo and as I have said, it is one that I personally struggle with.

2. She has specific solutions in the book if you like me, just don’t want to deal with this. One chapter (8 if you want to know) is literally called A step by step approach to a successful conversation. Which include things that should be obvious but aren’t: like listening without bias and write down everything. And for those of you asking to yourself - what if it doesn’t work- she even has a chapter for what do to if you at first don’t succeed.

3. The very end of the book has a long and specific list of additional resources that will save you a ton of time..

Who is this book for?

It is for everyone with parents, or any older relatives or friend they either have financial ties to or could possibly have to care for in the future.

Book #2

Clever Girl Finance: Ditch Debt, Save Money and Build Real Wealth by Bola Sokunbi.

Bola has developed a huge following because of her incredible story of saving $100,000 in 3 years after college and is an advocate for women’s financial independence. She is a certified financial educator and has a podcast and has been featured in several media outlets including Money Magazine and ABC News. This book is an extension of her popular website “Clever Girl Finance”

Here’s what I liked about it:

1. Bola admits to her own money mistakes. Like the time she celebrated that 100,000 savings by spending thousands on a Chanel bag.. and then more handbags. This actually happened. You can listen to it on the episode I did with Bola last year. We’ll link to it in the show notes.. but we’ve all had that moment. If not with money- then something else like celebrating weight loss- by eating something that was NOT on the eating plan. She’s right there with us and gets how hard it is.

2. She includes real world examples through case studies and interviews with women who have come back from severe debt to financial freedom and the opportunities that the success has provided. The stories are motivating and inspiring.

3. Speaking of inspiring- I love the inspirational quotes Bola includes: some are from big names like Oprah Winfrey’s quote “Surround yourself only with people who are going to lift you higher” and some are from Bola directly and hit the mark including “knowing where you stand financially will help you make plans for where you want to go”.

Who is this book for?

It is aimed at a beginner audience but is a great refresher for those who are already on the path to financial independence. While in theory it is aimed at women, there’s really not much in this book that is limited to women or that excludes men so I would say to the men in the audience not to let the title keep you from checking out the book if it looks interesting.

Book #3

Agent of Influence. How to use spy skills to persuade anyone, sell anything and build a successful business and it is by former CIA officer Jason Hanson.. founder of Spy Escape and Evasion. He is also the author of the NYTIMES best seller Spy Secrets that can save your life. The basic premise of the book is that spy skills are also business skills

Here’s what I liked about it:

1. The book has techniques that I had never heard of that a lot of very sophisticated people, especially in sales, probably have used on me very effectively. You feel like you are being let into a secret club where everyone knows things you don’t and now you are finally getting in on the secrets to how things really work.

2. Many of the specific skills taught in the book can translate into ways to be more successful in getting what you want in life, not just getting a sale or a deal. For example, Jason teaches readers how to get information from a conversation by looking at what is being communicated outside of the actual words. How to analyze facial expression, gestures, posture, eye contact, tone of voice, proximity and physical touch, and even the pace of their breathing. Things I never thought about but that really do tell a lot about what’s really going on. Using that extra information can give you an edge.

3. Almost as a case study, Jason shares his behind the scenes experience on Shark Tank and how he spent a ton of time researching the sharks, learning who would be the best fit, and how he would reel in this shark- in this case Daymond John- whom he wanted to work with for a very specific reason which he explains in the book. It really takes it to another level. I also research people heavily before big meetings and it has served me well.

Who is this book for?

This is a book for ambitious people who are willing to put in the work. Because all of Jason’s great ideas don’t just happen without putting in direct and thoughtful preparation. But they are innovative and they are things most of us will now know so they are well worth your time if you want to invest in yourself.

Episode Links:

• Blinkist - The app I’m loving right now. Please use our link to support the show and get a free trial.

• Cameron Huddleston’s Financial Grownup episode + Get your copy of Mom and Dad We Need To Talk

• Bola Sokunbi’s Financial Grownup episode + her Financial Grownup Guide episode + Get your copy of Clever Girl Finance

• Jason Hanson’s Financial Grownup episode + Get your copy of Agent of Influence

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.

Learn how to use cash in a crunch with Jason Hanson. His new book “Agent of Influence. How to use Spy Skills to Persuade Anyone, Sell Anything, and Build a Successful Business. 

In Jason's money story you will learn:

“There is no difference than a spy recruiting an asset to a business person trying to get a client or a customer and make a sale. The only difference is the risk involved.”

I was incredibly blessed to work for the agency from 2003 to 2010, and you learn that you always have cash on you. On one occasion, I had to bribe the police in a foreign country, and having good, hard American cash on you. Many of my associates have had to bribe the police, so that's important, gets you out of trouble, but also, you pay cash for everything. You don't want to leave paper trails that you may have been in a country, and plus, when you're trying to recruit an asset, paying cash looks good, meaning you always pick up the tab, and then they feel indebted to you, and it helps the recruiting process. So, I'm a fan of cold, hard cash, and I'm always amazed at people these days who never carry cash on them, even for emergencies.

Bobbi Rebell: Okay, but first of all, there are places that no longer take cash, just saying, and we're not all spies, Jason. So, for the skeptics out there who say, "Well, we're going to a digital world," so much interest in things like bitcoin, what do you say to them? Do you think cash will last forever, and how else does this tie in to financial success?

Jason Hanson: Well, absolutely, it will last forever. I mean, I'm not saying you have to spend it, meaning, I always have at least $300 in cash in my pocket, and it has gotten me out of some jams in life. So, you can use your American Express or whatever credit card 99% of the time, but if you ever get stranded or you're in a jam, you should always have it on you. Plus, I have it in my house, and I have a fireproof safe where I have at least one month's worth of cash in $20 bills in case my family has some kind of financial emergency.

Bobbi Rebell: Share with us a story, if you can elaborate more on one of these instances, because most of us, as I said, will not be spies and will not be bribing foreigners to get out of jams. Tell us more about one of those situations.

Jason Hanson: The story is, something goes wrong, and the police are now around you. I can't elaborate beyond that, but I can tell you how to bribe them. The magic words you say is if, for some reason, again, something goes wrong, an operation or whatever, and the police are around you. You play the dumb American, and you say very innocently, "Oh my gosh, Officer. I'm so sorry. I bet there was some kind of fine to pay. How do I pay that fine?" If they're corrupt, they're going to say, "Well, that fine is $100, $50, and you pay me now," which is what happened in my case. If they're not corrupt, they may say, "Well, there's a fine you pay at the courthouse." That's the beauty of it. You're not coming off as in you're whipping out a wad of cash saying, "Hey, buddy, take this." You're playing the stupid American of, "How do I pay that fine?"

The second story, my father and I love to go hiking together. About once a year, we try and do some big hike. I live near Zion and Bryce National Park, and I'm a huge fan of the outdoors. So, my dad set up this hike, and he was the one who planned it. I just show up with all my gear. Well, long story short is, the hike was not very well laid out and didn't have good signage. So, we ended up about seven miles from where we were supposed to end up to get our car to go home. It was very late at night. We had been hiking for a few days, and we were exhausted. So, my old man is not in the best of shape, so I left him on the side of the road and said, "I'm going to take off now, hiking this seven miles."

Well, what I should've told you earlier, as we were leaving for this hike, I pulled out my cash as usual and put it in my backpack. My dad made fun of me and said, "What do you think you're going to see? McDonald's in the middle of nowhere? Why are you taking this cash? Just leave it in the car," but I took my cash. Well, I'm hiking, exhausted, this seven miles on this middle of nowhere dirt road where I was sure I was never going to see anybody.

After a few miles, this truck comes rolling along. I wave him, flag him down, explain to him what happened and said, "Hey, you mind giving me a ride back to my car?" The guy kind of hems and haws and says, "Well, you know, it's a long drive back. That's several miles." I'm like, "No kidding, buddy. I'm the one on foot here." I pulled out $20. I said, "Well, what if I give you $20 to drive me the four miles back? Will you do it?" He said, "Yeah, sure, for $20, I'll absolutely do it." So, I pulled out $20, gave it to him. He took me back to my car, and I was able to get back to my dad a heck of a lot quicker than had I not had that cash on me. So, you just never know when you're going to need that money.

Bobbi Rebell: Cash is king, at the end of the day. I mean, it's easier. You couldn't really transfer a bitcoin to him.

Jason Hanson: Right. Again, I was in the middle of nowhere in a national park, thinking I was going to see nobody, and yeah. This guy wasn't going to take anything, but a good old American $20 bill.

In Jason’s money lesson you will learn:

“If I’m trying to close a deal I will research that person, their likes, their dislikes, their family, you know what they hate. So I will go in knowing everything. That way I have a very high likelihood of closing that customer.”

Jason Hanson: Well, as I said, I always like at least $300. I want at least $100 bill out of that. Have the rest in 20s, but have a $100 bill because in a serious jam, if you shove a $100 bill in somebody's face and say, "Take me to this location," or, "Let me out the back of your restaurant," I don't care who you are. If you got a $100 bill under your nose, you're going to take it, which is why it almost always works.

Bobbi Rebell: For the average person, that's a lot of cash. It's been okay so far, so people might be a little surprised to hear that much and to carry a $100 bill. A lot of places won't even take $100 bills.

Jason Hanson: I totally get that's a lot of cash. That's why I'm saying, you don't have to use it. You may have that same $300 in your wallet or purse for the next 10 years, but I'm a firm believer in insurance. It's the old cliché of, hey, if your house burns down, you're sure glad you have that insurance. If you get in a car accident, you're sure glad you have that insurance, even though you may never need it. Well, same thing. $300 doesn't take up much space. You may never, ever need it, but if you do trust me, you'll be glad you have it.

One time, we needed to get into a parking lot to get access to a car, and there was a guy there working, probably didn't make a whole lot of money, couple bucks an hour. It was a restricted area. We just walked up to him. We said, "Hey, we just need to check something out." You always have some legitimate cover story. "I realize this is restricted, but I promise we'll be back in 10 minutes, and here's $100 worth your time." Now, that's a week's worth of pay. That's a month's worth of pay, depending on where you are and what country, so the guy accepted it, and it worked, and we got in and took care of what we needed to take care of.

In Jason's everyday money tip you will learn:

“You’ve got to be always willing to learn from others. You’ve always got to be teachable.”

Checklists are everything. In the intelligence world, you prepare and you extremely prepare for every situation. You have checklists to make sure you have the right gear, you have spare batteries, you have your flashlight, you have your knife, whatever it may be. So now in the business world, I do the same thing. Whenever I am meeting with a client or I'm working with a client, I go through all the checklist. Did I ask him this question? Did I send him this report? Did I do this, this, and this? So, I run multiple businesses. If I didn't remember my checklists, I would forget things. It's the same thing as my money tip. I have all my expenses. Did I pay this? Did I save this 10% this month? Did I do X, Y, and Z? So, I'm a big believer in making life idiot-proof. That way, I can pull out a checklist and say, "Okay, yes, the $20,000 went here this month," or whatever amount it may be. That way, nothing falls through the cracks.

My Financial Grownup tips:

Financial grownup tip number one:

Jason's cash is for emergencies. So if you do choose to carry cash, like $300, including a $100 bill as he recommends, that is not your spending money. Personally, unless you're going to carry a little notebook and jot down how you spend cash, in terms of your everyday spending money, I prefer to pay for things digitally so there is a record, and you can see very easily the different categories where your money is going. The downside is that we do tend to spend more when we don't see the cash leaving our wallet, and of course, it's harder to set limits. So, it's something to balance what's most important to you. But for me, especially with my family of five, I like having the older kids on debit and credit cards so we can see the broader picture of where our family's money is going, but do what works for you.

Financial grownup tip number two:

Jason talks a lot about checklists. These can be done, literally, on a piece of paper, in notebooks, a pad of paper. I tend to sometimes do this with a pen and pencil, paper, whatever, before I go to sleep. Whatever is around, I just grab it. There is something about physically writing it down that makes me feel calmer at night and more motivated in the morning, but there is also a value in using apps, especially when you don't get something done. It can already go forward to continue until you get it done, basically. Also, it can have short-term, long-term, dates. There's so much functionality in these apps. I happen to use Evernote, but there are also a lot of checklist apps. I'm going to give you some examples, but really, there are probably thousands out there. Some examples include Todoist, which a lot of my friends use and enjoy. TickTick is also popular. It includes a Pomodoro timer, so that is a productivity strategy that allows you to work and set 25 minute increments. I would love more suggestions because this is not a strong area for me. So, please screen grab this episode and add your picks for the best checklist or productivity apps, and post it and make sure to tag me so I can thank you, and then, if it's okay with you, share your suggestions with the community.

Episode Links:

Blinkist - The app I’m loving right now. Please use our link to support the show and get a free trial.

Jason's website - www.SpyEscapeAndEvasion.com

Another of Jason’s website - www.CelebrityMethod.com

Jason's book Agent of Influence

Follow Jason!

• Facebook - @SpyEscape https://www.facebook.com/SpyEscape/

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.