Kathryn Minshew:
Doug Boneparth CFP®, author of The Millennial Money Fix, got his entrepreneurial game on early in life when at just 15 he was selling Japanese Anime video’s on a new platform- eBay. While the business did not last, the lessons about supply and demand, as well as keeping track of the profits, provided the foundation for the entrepreneur he is today.
In Doug’s money story you will learn:
-Why checks were arriving in the mail for the then 15-year old Doug Boneparth
-How Doug leveraged his passion for Japanese Anime into a thriving online business just as the internet was becoming a mainstream tool for commerce
-The skills Doug and his brother developed to grow the anime business, and other businesses they started
-How much money Doug made
In Doug’s money lesson you will learn:
-How Doug’s passion for his product drove sales
-How Doug has used the lessons from that teenage business to build his current CFP® practice
-How Doug continues to leverage the internet for business
-Why it is important to understand the legal ramifications of business decisions
-Where the profits from his business went!
In Doug’s money tip you will learn:
-How to make your commute more productive
-The financial and psychological benefits of investing in improving your time between home and work
In my take you will learn:
-The importance of tracking your business spending and costs, in addition to top line income
-How saving money in the wrong places can hurt both your business, and the quality of your personal life
-The specific, and very tough decision Bobbi made to increase her intentional work time, in order to improve the quality of her time with her family.
Episode Links
Doug Boneparth’s Bona Fide Wealth Website: https://bonefidewealth.com/
Get Doug’s book The Millennial Money Fix
Follow Doug!
Twitter @dougboneparth
Instagram @Dougnotsofunny
Facebook Bonefidewealth
LinkedIn DouglasBoneparth
Transcription
Bobbi Rebell:
Support for Financial Grownup with Bobbi Rebell and the following message come from TransferWise, the cheaper way to send money internationally. TransferWise takes a machete to the hefty fees that come with sending money abroad. Test it out for free at TransferWise.com/podcast or download the app.
Doug Boneparth:
I remember my dad and my mom kind of wondering, "Well, why are all of these checks coming in the mail?" Eventually, I think eBay was a little suspect as to what I was doing, as well. My parents were a little suspicious. My dad, I think, stopped bringing my boxes for shipment to the post office.
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. Certified Financial Planner and Author of The Millennial Money Fix, Doug Boneparth, was born to be an entrepreneur. He started building businesses in his teens. Doug was hesitant to share the story you're going to hear because, well, it was the early days of the internet. And let's just say the rules were still unclear. That aside, it is a great lesson in taking something you love, knowing the market, and then filling a demand by creating supply.
Bobbi Rebell:
Here is Certified Financial Planner, Doug Boneparth. Doug Boneparth, you are a Financial Grownup. Welcome to the podcast.
Doug Boneparth:
Thanks for having me.
Bobbi Rebell:
One of my favorite CFP friends, and also, by the way, congratulations on your still relatively new book, The Millennial Money Fix. We're going to talk more about that soon. But first, I want to get to your money story. It's a really good one. We've been talking about this.
Doug Boneparth:
It's a throwback.
Bobbi Rebell:
It's a throwback to when you were 15 years old. Anime was a big thing. You learned about the markets with a little business venture. Tell us.
Doug Boneparth:
So self-admitted super dork here. In high school-
Bobbi Rebell:
No.
Doug Boneparth:
I really kind of got into Japanese animation. I thought it was awesome, and one thing that I noticed was, it was becoming more and more popular in American culture. I think Cartoon Network had Toonami and it was something I just loved. I loved all these things, video games. Of course, Japanese animation. I was really good with computers. My brother and I were both really good with computers, and I always was able to find a way to surf the internet a little bit better than others. So I said, "Geez, if we could find a way to get some great shows, these anime shows and sell them, we could probably make some money."
Doug Boneparth:
I noticed the demand in this relatively new market in the US and I did just that. I found a number of series, back from like the '80s. I think CD burners were relatively new, and eBay was relatively new, so what did I have? I had a market, I had a way to distribute, I had a way to capture content, and I was in business, and the checks came in.
Bobbi Rebell:
How much were the checks, Doug?
Doug Boneparth:
Each series, in the beginning, and what was really interesting is I watched the price of these series come down pretty dramatically over the course of like six months. But checks were 80 bucks, 70 bucks for a particular show.
Bobbi Rebell:
And you're how old again?
Doug Boneparth:
I was 15.
Bobbi Rebell:
15, okay.
Doug Boneparth:
Yeah, so here I was, thinking I had a really cool idea. I remember my dad and my mom kind of wondering, "Well, why are all of these checks coming in the mail?"
Bobbi Rebell:
Oh, they didn't know what was going on?
Doug Boneparth:
Well, no. They really didn't. They knew like I was savvy with computers, and I was into these shows, but they let me. I was a good boy. They left me to my-
Bobbi Rebell:
How much money, Doug, was coming in exactly? How much? What was your haul here?
Doug Boneparth:
I think from beginning to end, I had to have cleared $10,000 in checks.
Bobbi Rebell:
Oh, my gosh.
Doug Boneparth:
Yeah, it's a lot of money for a 15 year old, and the worst part is, I have no idea what I did with it.
Bobbi Rebell:
Oh, no.
Doug Boneparth:
I know. I'm sure I spent it on like candy, and video games, and computer equipment, and again, real dorky stuff. But, yeah. It was cool and I felt like I was running this amazing enterprise, where I had really tapped into something that was becoming popular. But those checks eventually dwindled, and eventually, I think eBay was a little suspect to what I was doing, as well.
Doug Boneparth:
My parents were a little suspicious. My dad, I think, stopped bringing my boxes for shipment to the post office, which was right outside his office. And that was the end of my borderline questionable anime sales and marketing job on eBay.
Bobbi Rebell:
Was there a talk that your parents had with you and your brother? By the way, so your brother's involved in this, too, I assume?
Doug Boneparth:
Oh, no. No, he remains innocent. I remember my dad pulling my brother aside and asking, "What is your brother doing?" I think my brother covered for me pretty good. He goes, "He's putting these shows on CDs, I think they're so old that nobody cared." And my dad kind of looked at him strangely and I think that was the end of him kind of sponsoring or being my mule to bring the series to the post office. Yeah, quasi unethical behavior perhaps at 15.
Doug Boneparth:
Hey, look. Kids are going to get in trouble and it's probably a good reminder to let those who are trying to become entrepreneurs early on, make sure what you're doing is completely legit, like the computer repair business. My brother and I were running, that seemed to be probably a little bit more above board. But it was a great learning lesson. It kind of fanned the flames of the entrepreneur in me and only led to greater success down the road.
Bobbi Rebell:
It was the early days of the internet, so the rules were not clear yet, to be clear in terms of you were a 15 year old kid. You certainly were not intentionally doing anything that was not above board.
Doug Boneparth:
Yeah, no. I thought it was extremely clever. I thought it was amazing that this could all be put together. And if I was smart enough to do it, then to the victor go the spoils. Now looking back at it, yeah, it maybe a little bit dicey.
Doug Boneparth:
But again, I kind of wear it with a badge of honor, and have more value from the lessons that I learned in doing it and in business, than really just about anything else. But, yeah. You got it. Probably walking a fine line there.
Bobbi Rebell:
From an entrepreneurial standpoint, from a money standpoint, what did you learn running this internet business at age 15? I mean, were there marketing [inaudible 00:06:37]? Because you did well.
Doug Boneparth:
Yeah.
Bobbi Rebell:
You did really well.
Doug Boneparth:
Yeah, I learned that if you can sell something that you're excited about and you're passionate about, it's almost like not working. And that's a really important lesson. And that holds true as an advisor. My friends don't want to hear how I love Monday. I do. I absolutely love what I do, in the same way that I loved what I was doing. I loved these shows, and the stories, and I thought that I was sharing them with other people in this new trend that was emerging. That was super cool. So that was lesson number one.
Doug Boneparth:
Two was really an economic lesson, and looking at something here that I saw the trend. I saw the demand. I had an ability to supply it. And sure enough, you put those two concepts together and you're in business. And then third, is the internet side of things. Again, this is kind of the dawn of the eCommerce. This is the beginning of the internet. I thank my parents for allowing my brother to get a broadband cable modem and to be able to do a lot of cool stuff out there.
Doug Boneparth:
And I think the lessons and the experience I had there followed through to even how I'm operating business today. A lot of the way that I market my firm is definitely on the internet side of things, so I was an early adopter. And those are my three big lessons from being an entrepreneur at the age of 15. Even if it was selling Japanese animation on eBay.
Bobbi Rebell:
I hate to ask you this, but the $10,000. You really have no idea where it went, Doug?
Doug Boneparth:
All right.
Bobbi Rebell:
Because I know people want to know.
Doug Boneparth:
Fourth lesson. Become financially literate and responsible, and I only ... This is where I'm haunted by, "What if I had bought some really cheap technology stocks back in the day?" Or something like that, I'd be swimming in it, right?
Bobbi Rebell:
$10,000 at age 15, Doug. Where did it go?
Doug Boneparth:
You tell me. Where didn't it go? I always had a lot of fun, and I really liked video games, and computer, I probably just ... I'll tell you where it went. It went into computers, and hardware, and things like that. Again, you're having me admit just how big of a nerd I was.
Bobbi Rebell:
But that's investing back in the business.
Doug Boneparth:
No, that was to play video games, and get like cool graphic cards, and buy video games, and stuff like that. No, it was-
Bobbi Rebell:
I was trying to help there you there, Doug.
Doug Boneparth:
No, no, no. I appreciate that, but there's no, really no helping me on that one.
Bobbi Rebell:
So let's talk about your money tip. This is a good one. You struggled with this, but I think it's a really good one. Because so many people spend so much time on their way to and from work. Hopefully they're listening to podcasts like this one while they do it. But it's important to really prioritize this time and think about it as an asset. And you have a money tip to that end.
Doug Boneparth:
That's right. When you're thinking about commuting, I think that you should pay for the things that free up your time. So for me, that's parking across the river in Jersey City, so there's a car that can get me to my daughter or home a lot faster. And therefore, I can be more productive with my time.
Doug Boneparth:
It's paying for things like your 4G internet, for your laptop, so if I do take the train or I'm not driving, I can work and be productive. The theme here is, I usually don't hesitate to spend money on things, like parking or internet, things that make me become more productive when I'm commuting. It's usually a good payoff.
Bobbi Rebell:
All right. Sounds good. Let's talk a little bit about The Millennial Money Fix. This is a great book. It's very comprehensive, and yet to the point. Tell me more.
Doug Boneparth:
So there are a lot of personal finance books out there, and I hope that the stories are what differentiate one book from another. And this is A, 80% of what you should have learned about in personal finance, right here in like 200 pages. Extremely digestible, but B, it's a first-hand perspective of what it's like for two hardworking millennials to navigate their young adult and now more mature adult lives in a way that's relatable and practical.
Doug Boneparth:
We know what hundreds of thousands of dollars in student loan debt looks like. We know what it's like to buy a home, and start a family, and have kids with that burden. And we know how hard you have to work to make these things happen. So we practice what we preach and we want to share our story. My wife, Heather, and I want to share our story with everyone, so they become financially educated, empowered, and go after their great things in life.
Bobbi Rebell:
And also, of course, people look at you. You're a very successful Certified Financial Planner. You're all over the media, so prominent. But you have the same challenges that so many people do have.
Doug Boneparth:
That's right. If you judge a book by its cover, you might say to yourself, "Well, there's nothing these two really need to worry about. They're doing really well for themselves." And that's false. I mean, yeah, we're doing really well-
Bobbi Rebell:
You're doing well, but it's not all roses.
Doug Boneparth:
Yeah, exactly. Nothing's been handed to us and our debt was something that we took on ourselves through Heather's own decisions to go to law school-
Bobbi Rebell:
You went to graduate school, too.
Doug Boneparth:
I went to graduate school, too. But I willingly knew what the impact would be. She did not have that advantage, and that's actually a cool contrast that we provide in the book. What it's like to pay for an expensive education, knowing fully well what it means financially, as well as what it means to pay for that education, not being financially literate. And I think that's something a lot of young people are going through, the older millennials.
Doug Boneparth:
And I think it's an opportunity for younger millennials, and even Gen Z to use this as a cautionary tale. Know what it is that you're getting yourself into, and how to find that return on your investment, and set yourself up with lessons that you should be learning, but unfortunately, aren't offered to you. So we're going to provide-
Bobbi Rebell:
Well said. And where can people find you?
Doug Boneparth:
People can find me so many places. So many places. BonafideWealth.com's website. You can follow me on Twitter @DougBoneparth. Facebook. Just Google Douglas Boneparth and take your pick.
Bobbi Rebell:
All right, and YouTube especially. Check out his YouTube channel. It's awesome.
Doug Boneparth:
Especially for young financial advisors, that's for you.
Bobbi Rebell:
Absolutely. All right, Doug. You've been such a pleasure. Thank you so much.
Doug Boneparth:
Oh, thank you.
Bobbi Rebell:
Here's my take on Doug's teenage entrepreneurial venture. Financial Grownup tip number one. You guys may have noticed I didn't want to let Doug off the hook about his profits. It was $10,000, he was only 15, so we are going to give him a pass. But if you are bringing in cash, you need to have a system, any system. Whatever works for you. There's a lot we don't know about what was going on with Doug's business.
Bobbi Rebell:
We don't know if there was overhead, probably not. We don't know who was paying, for example, for his shipping costs. Probably his dad, so it was pure profit. So $10,000, he enjoyed it, he was 15, but if you want to be a Financial Grownup, figure out what's going on with your cash flow, and be more deliberate, and more intentional.
Bobbi Rebell:
Financial Grownup tip number two. Doug talked about spending money to make your commute and your life more productive. He focused on logistics, like parking, and having internet wherever he goes. And that is a great point. Spend money on productivity, so you can complete more work more efficiently. For example, this is something I've come to realize. I will sometimes cut my workday short to pick up my son from school. That can be as early as 2:30 in the afternoon some days. On a personal level, that's great.
Bobbi Rebell:
But sometimes it's a mistake because it can cut hours off my workday, when I could simply pay a babysitter just to pick him up and get those hours back. Then I can be focused on my son when he is home because I have completed my work. Racing to get him and then ignoring him because I have to get work done is not a win for either of us.
Bobbi Rebell:
Thank you all for listening to this episode of Financial Grownup. Don't forget to hit that subscribe button if you have not already and be in touch. Follow me on Twitter @BobbiRebell, and Instagram at BobbiRebell1 and learn more about the show at BobbiRebell.com/FinancialGrownupPodcast. You can also get our newsletter there and find out how you can be a guest on the show. I hope you enjoyed Doug's story and that we all got 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.
The Afford Anything podcast’s Paula Pant wanted to travel the world- but on her own financial terms. The Vegas-based real estate entrepreneur gamified her savings strategy to score enough money to live her DIY travel dreams.
In Paula’s money story you will learn:
-How Paula saved money to travel on a $21,000 salary
-Paula’s strategies to travel on a budget- even when it is not budget travel
-Her side hustles that helped boost her incomes
-The behavioral games she would play to incentivize herself for saving money
-Paula’s strategy to avoid having to delay gratification
-Her specific ‘games’ to make saving fun and rewarding
-Her strategy to travel to places where the cost of living is lower to stick to a $1,000 a month budget.
In Paula’s lesson you will learn
-How to have a more authentic experience when you travel.
-How to balance saving money with your travel interests
In Paula’s money tip you will learn:
-How to “gamify” saving money
-How to avoid feeling deprived when saving money
-the importance maxing out every retirement account
-How to buy individual stocks without a fee
-How to divert money from your bank account into savings automatically
-How to use Acorns to round up savings when you buy things.
In my take you will learn:
-Specific resources to "gamify" your finances
-Specific resources to improve your travel experience
EPISODE LINKS
Robinhood
Acorns
Digit
SmartyPig
Qapital
The Points Guy
Scott’s Cheap Flights
Hotel Tonight
Paula’s podcast Afford Anything
Paula’s website Afford Anything
Follow Paula!
Twitter @affordanything
Instagram @paulapant
Facebook Afford Anything
The Afford Anything podcast’s Paula Pant wanted to travel the world- but on her own financial terms. The Vegas-based real estate entrepreneur gamified her savings strategy to score enough money to live her DIY travel dreams. In this Financial Grownup podcast episode you'll learn strategies to travel on a budget and how you can balance saving money with your travel interests. #Travel #TravelTips
Transcription
Paula Pant:
Never delay gratification. I hate the concept of delayed gratification, because if you get into this mindset of, "Oh, my life is going to suck now so that it can be better later," well, later is just going to be disappointing.
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, let's talk about travel and seeing the world. Authentic travel within a budget, which is not the same as budget travel. One of the top reasons people want to have financial resources is to travel, and that is something a young Paula Pant, the force behind the Afford Anything website and podcast, wanted to do.
Bobbi Rebell:
Rather than do it through her school, she decided to explore the world on her own terms and her own budget. Her plan, make it a game. Here is Paula Pant. Paula Pant, you are a financial grownup. I'm so excited to have you on the podcast.
Paula Pant:
I am excited to be here, and I don't think I've ever been called a grownup before.
Bobbi Rebell:
You are very much a grownup. Oh my gosh, you have a website and a podcast called Afford Anything, which is sort of everyone's financial fantasy, because we all wish we could afford anything. But as you say, not necessarily all at the same time, right?
Paula Pant:
Exactly. You can afford anything, but not everything.
Bobbi Rebell:
That's the best tagline, I love it. All right, so you brought with you a story that has to do with your love of travel, which makes total sense to me, because I love following your Instagram and all of your fantastic photos of you on all of your various adventures, but you didn't always have the money to fund those adventures.
Paula Pant:
That is totally true. Travel has always been a passion of mine. When I was in college, I really wanted to study abroad, but those programs were prohibitively expensive, like 15 to 20 grand for a single semester. I thought about it and I realized, "I don't really want to study, I just want to go abroad."
Paula Pant:
I realized that if I graduated, I worked, I saved up some money, and then I just went off on my own, if I DIY'd it, so to speak, I could do it for like a much cheaper price tag.
Bobbi Rebell:
Without the university as a middleman, basically.
Paula Pant:
Exactly. So that's exactly what I did. I graduated, I started working. Like you, I was a journalist. I became an entry level newspaper reporter at a very small paper.
Bobbi Rebell:
Where?
Paula Pant:
In Boulder, Colorado. The paper was called the Colorado Daily. It was owned by E.W. Scripps, so it was a part of the Scripps family, but it was the smallest paper, I think, in the Scripps family, and we had a circulation of 40,000. My salary, my starting salary, was $21,000 and this was in 2005.
Bobbi Rebell:
Ouch.
Paula Pant:
So adjusted for inflation, that's like still pretty close to 21,000. I think I did the inflation adjustment, and that's $26,000 per year in today's dollars.
Bobbi Rebell:
Yeah, we actually have not had that much inflation is the truth of it.
Paula Pant:
Yeah, exactly. Between 2005 and now-
Bobbi Rebell:
The last few years, we really didn't. Thank you, Fed. That's changing, but anyway.
Paula Pant:
So yeah, so I made a starting salary of 21,000 in 2005, and then in 2008, which was when I quit that job, I was earning 31,000 at the time, so that was the highest amount that I made during that three year period, and yet during those three years, I, because I was so interested in traveling, I was saving money as much as I could. In order to do that, I did a couple of things. Number one, was I had a side hustle, and I saved all of the money that came in from that side hustle.
Bobbi Rebell:
What was the side hustle?
Paula Pant:
Freelance writing. I freelance wrote for both websites and magazines.
Bobbi Rebell:
And they allowed you to do that? That's nice.
Paula Pant:
Oh yeah, yeah. There was no restriction.
Bobbi Rebell:
Nice.
Paula Pant:
My paper had no restriction against me taking on any outside work. I think they probably knew that we all had to.
Bobbi Rebell:
Yeah, I guess they got away with paying you so little because they knew that.
Paula Pant:
Yeah.
Bobbi Rebell:
So anyway, so okay. So you saved a lot from the side hustle, but still. What else did you do?
Paula Pant:
Because so much of finance is behavioral, so much of it is psychological, I would find ways to spend just a little bit less than I otherwise would. For example, I would go to the grocery store and I'd walk around the store, and I'd fill the cart with whatever was on my list, and then at that last moment before going to the checkout aisle, I would take a look at my cart, and I would find two or three things to put back.
Paula Pant:
Orange juice, for example, you know? Because we don't need, quote unquote, "need," orange juice. You can have water and fresh fruit. Or like potato chips, or Oreo cookies, or whatever. I would pick a couple of things, I'd put them back, and then I would figure out how much money I had shaved off my grocery bill by virtue of doing so, and I would literally pull that money out of my wallet and stick it into an envelope that I kept in the glove compartment of my car.
Bobbi Rebell:
Brilliant, I love it.
Paula Pant:
Yeah, so just little things like that forced me to save money, and it kind of turned it into a game a little bit. If you think about a big goal like saving $25,000, that can seem daunting. But if you think about, "All right, I'm at the grocery store. How can I shave 10 bucks off of this trip?" and you do that consistently over time, A, it's fun, because it's a little bit of a game. It's a bit of almost like a detective ... not a detective, sleuth thing, that's not exactly the right analogy, but you know what I mean. It's like-
Bobbi Rebell:
Yeah.
Paula Pant:
Yeah, it's a kind of challenge.
Bobbi Rebell:
How much did you save in those years, if you have kind of an estimate of how much you saved doing those kinds of things, and give us some travel highlights, where you went.
Paula Pant:
In total during those three years, I saved $25,000.
Bobbi Rebell:
On a salary of 31,000 at most.
Paula Pant:
Exactly. And again, I'll emphasize that I was freelancing during the evenings and weekends, and everything that I made from freelancing after taxes went into my travel savings, so that was where the bulk of those savings came from.
Bobbi Rebell:
And where did you travel?
Paula Pant:
I flew at first to Egypt, and I spent six weeks in Egypt. From there to Israel, and then from there I went to Southeast Asia where the dollar exchange rate really worked in my favor. Hanging out in places like Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, places that just have a much lower cost of living, and where the U.S. dollar goes a lot further. That was a big part of how I was able to travel.
Paula Pant:
During that time, I lived on a budget of $1,000 a month, which again, if you're traveling slowly, like if you're not moving around very often, so you're saving money on transit costs, and you're eating local food, you're not going to restaurants, like you're eating street cart food, or things like that, and you're not drinking much alcohol, if any, that's how you can really make your money stretch quite a ways.
Bobbi Rebell:
What is the lesson for our listeners? I mean, obviously we want to be traveling kind of like locals, I guess, is live like locals, don't just stick to the resorts and the resort food, and the hotels and all that stuff, right?
Paula Pant:
Yeah, exactly. Have a more authentic experience. If you're going to go to all of the trouble of going all the way out to Myanmar, then why would you stay at a four star hotel, if instead you could have a very authentic conversation with somebody there who has just a roadside, street side little ... I can't even call it a café, that's too fancy of a word. Just a little tin ... you know, a couple of pieces of corrugated tin under which they have a little stove through which they can cook you some food.
Paula Pant:
It's a much more real experience. It's just much more authentic, and the fact that it saves money is I think, also a bonus. But don't do everything for the sake of saving money, do it because it gives you an authentic experience.
Bobbi Rebell:
Give us a money tip, something that people can put to work right away. Maybe let's stick to the gamification theme, because that's fun. I like playing money games, because you don't even feel bad when you're saving money. It actually makes you feel good, like you're winning.
Paula Pant:
Exactly. A big part of my philosophy is never delay gratification. I hate the concept of delayed gratification, because if you get into this mindset of, "Oh, my life is going to suck now so that it can be better later," well, later is just going to be disappointing.
Paula Pant:
I'm a big fan of when you're saving money, gamify it, have fun with it. When I tell the story of going to a grocery store, and then right before checkout putting the orange juice back, that was not an act of deprivation, that was a fun challenge, like it was a game that allowed me to save. You could think of it as like scoring points on the leaderboard.
Paula Pant:
I continue to do the same thing today. I want to put as much money into investments today as I possibly can. My core investing strategy is of course, max out every retirement account that I'm eligible to contribute to. Those are like my core strategies, and through those, I put money in an index funds. On top of that, I have this app, it's called Robinhood, that allows you to buy individual stocks fee free.
Paula Pant:
Through Robinhood, I will put extra money into individual stock picking. Now, this is not my core investment strategy whatsoever. This is just extra money. It's money I otherwise would have spent on beer and shoes that instead, I kind of think of making it an in-app purchase in a game. I'm playing this game, and if my budget to play this game is $100 a month, that's the cost of like maybe a fun night out.
Paula Pant:
So for me, instead of having that quote unquote, "Fun night out on the town," I put that money into a game that I'm playing on my phone, and I'm buying some individual stocks that I think are kind of fun. Well, that's a way to put more money into investments than I otherwise would. So that's my money tip, is gamify it.
Bobbi Rebell:
Are there other apps that you like to incorporate that are also kind of on the game theme?
Paula Pant:
Sure, yeah. There's an app called Digit, and that's more of an automated system, so you link it up to your bank account, and it will divert really small sums of money, like three bucks here, four bucks there, into a separate account that then accumulates into a pretty substantial amount of savings over time. That's kind of a fun little automated, gamey sort of way to save more, to hide some savings from yourself.
Paula Pant:
There's another one called Acorns that rounds up every purchase that you make, so if you buy something for $7.36, it will round that up to eight bucks, and put the change into a separate account. It's like another way to gamify it a little bit. Any way that you can take care of the margins in a way that's fun, it's a way to make compounding work in your favor.
Bobbi Rebell:
Oh, great. Paula Pant, you are so much fun. Where can people find out more about you, and follow you, and of course, hear more about your podcast Afford Anything?
Paula Pant:
Sure, well as you mentioned, the podcast is called Afford Anything, and you can find it wherever finer podcasts are sold. So yeah, just head to your favorite podcast player, whether it's Apple, or Overcast, or Stitcher, and just search for the Afford Anything podcast. Then you can also find me on the web at affordanything.com.
Bobbi Rebell:
And your social media handles?
Paula Pant:
Oh, on Twitter I am @AffordAnything. On Facebook I am Afford Anything, and on Instagram I've broken the pattern. Instagram I'm @PaulaPant, so that's P-A-U-L-A P-A-N-T.
Bobbi Rebell:
Putting yourself out there, Paula Pant. Thank you so much. You're so wonderful, and thank you for coming on.
Paula Pant:
Oh, thank you for having me.
Bobbi Rebell:
What would you take out of your grocery cart to save a little money? I know I have a bad habit of throwing extra things into the cart that I was not originally planning on buying, except unlike Paula, I usually don't take them out.
Bobbi Rebell:
All right, let's do Financial Grownup tip number one, listen to Paula. Gamification of good money habits works. Money is psychological, and little wins can inspire us to keep going when we get that positive reinforcement. You can go totally retro and just put your spare change in a jar and watch it add up, or you can use apps like Paula mentioned, including Acorns, Digit, and Robinhood.
Bobbi Rebell:
Other names to help you save and feel like you're playing a game and reward good money habits include Qapital, that's with a Q, Qapital. You get rewarded for things like working out. SmartyPig, which helps you set up little piggy banks for different things. By the way, just so you guys know, I have no financial affiliation at this time with any of those names, and I will always let you know if I do.
Bobbi Rebell:
Financial Grownup tip number two, be strategic with your travel, and do what's right for you. I am not a big fan of street food the way that Paula is, and I don't want everyone to feel like they have to travel quite that lean, but if you do want to go the higher end route, put the time in to looking into what the right resources are before you put your money in.
Bobbi Rebell:
I love the Points Guy blog, for example. There are great travel deals, and ideas, and even things at the higher end to help you save money. Another website for deals is Scott's Cheap Flights. If you are willing to wait close to your trip, or in some cases, and I've done this, when you're already on your trip, I've had some great experiences with the app Hotel Tonight. I also think there is great value in literally asking friends, and neighbors, and even virtual friends in Facebook groups that have something in common with you, for their recommendations. Happy travels.
Bobbi Rebell:
Thank you for listening to this episode of Financial Grownup. I truly appreciate everyone who has subscribed, rated, reviewed the podcast and all that good stuff, and thank you in advance to any of you who will now take the time to review it on iTunes or Apple Podcasts, as it is now known.
Bobbi Rebell:
I want to hear from you guys. Follow me on social media @BobbiRebell on Twitter, BobbiRebell1 on Instagram. Leave me comments as well. Go to my website, sign up for my newsletter, so I can keep you posted on everything going on with the show. Paula's story has inspired me to start traveling more, so maybe send me some suggestions.
Bobbi Rebell:
Where should I go? Not just for business. If she's inspired you, let me know that as well. Where are you guys traveling? I hope you got some great takeaways from Paula. I certainly did, as you heard, and that we all got one step closer to being financial grownups. Financial Grownup with Bobbi Rebell is edited and produced by Steve Stewart, and is a BRK Media production.
Growing up with dad Tony Robbins taught Josh Robbins the value of the intentional and unapologetic splurge. Josh Robbins shares the no-regrets story of his 11-year old self blowing a huge sum of money on one of the most memorable days of his life.
In Josh’s money story you will learn:
-The lessons Josh learned being behind the scenes at his dad, Tony Robbins events
-How at age 11 Josh started his own business
-Josh’s sales strategy
-The unexpected way Josh spent his profits
In Josh’s lesson you will learn:
-Josh’s philosophy on material goods vs. experiences
-His thoughts on whether he should have invested his profits in the market
-Josh’s take on side-hustles
-Josh’s advice on how to find more time to accomplish your goals
-Josh’s warning about social media and Netflix
In Josh’s Money Tip you will learn:
-How to find out what fees your are paying in your 401(k)
-How the law concerning 401(k) fee disclosure has changed
-What level of fees is considered too high
-What to do if your plan is costing you too much
-The financial consequences of even a 1 percent increase in fees
In my take you will learn:
-Why I at first disagreed with Josh’s financial decision, and how he changed my perspective
-The value of shared experiences and the memories from them
-The financial impact of how you choose to spend you time, not just your money
-Strategies to invest in yourself
Episode links:
To check what you are paying in your 40 (k) go to showmethefees.com
To learn more about Josh Robbins and America’s Best 401 (k)
AB401k.com
Tony Robbins donates all of his book proceeds to Feeding America.
To learn more about Tony Robbins Feeding America: http://www.feedingamerica.org/
Follow Josh Jenkins-Robbins
Twitter @jenkinsrobbins
Facebook: Josh Jenkins-Robbins
Growing up with dad Tony Robbins taught Josh Robbins the value of the intentional and unapologetic splurge. Josh Robbins shares the no-regrets story of his 11-year old self blowing a huge sum of money on one of the most memorable days of his life. In this Financial Grownup podcast episode you'll learn how even a 1% increase in fees can have consequences and the ways you can invest in yourself. #InvestInYourself #Money