Adulting Is Easy: Making Personal Finance & Real Estate Easy

In this episode, Lauren and Cathy Curtis talk about the specific needs and financial situations often faced by women, especially those that are lifetime single, widowed, divorced, or have inherited money, and the truths of personal finance ring true no matter one's gender.

Cathy Curtis is a Certified Financial Planner and founder and CEO of Curtis Financial Planning, an independent financial planning and investment advisory firm. Her firm’s mission is to help independent women thrive today and plan for tomorrow. She is a member of the CNBC Digital Financial Advisor Council, has been on Investopedia’s list of the 100 most influential advisors in the US for several years running, and has taught Personal Finance to college-level students at Mills College in Oakland. She started a podcast, Financial Finesse, this year to highlight female voices and further educate women on personal finance. She lives in Oakland California, and likes to mountain bike, hike and swim to keep in shape and reading is one of her favorite pastimes.

Connect with Cathy:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/cathycurtis

https://curtisfinancialplanning.com/

This week, Paul Benson and Lauren talk about gaining choice by setting goals, managing cash flow, and investing through 3 different paths. Paul Benson is the author of Financial Autonomy and Principal and financial planner at Guidance Financial Services. He is a resident of Melbourne, Australia. Paul’s focus is on providing helpful and actionable information and advice so his clients can set effective goals, optimize their cash flow, develop an investment strategy, and stretch their entrepreneurial wings. He manages approximately $90 million for his clients (about $65 million USD). He has written for the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, Entrepreneur.com, and has appeared on ABC Radio National’s Life Matters program.

You can purchase Financial Autonomy, read the blogs, and listen to the podcast here (https://financialautonomy.com.au/). Connect with Paul on Twitter here (https://twitter.com/Paul_Benson11).

This week, Lauren is joined by wealth psychology expert Kathleen Burns Kingsbury. The two discuss money silence, negotiation mindsets (automatic thoughts and beliefs we have about negotiating), and actionable tips to help you ace your next negotiation.

Kathleen is the founder of KBK Wealth Connection and host of the Breaking Money Silence® podcast, is an internationally published author and speaker. Breaking Money Silence®: How to Shatter Money Taboos, Talk More Openly about Finances, and Live a Richer Life is Kathleen’s fifth book. Named one of nine amazing conference speakers in 2017 by InvestmentNews, Kathleen is a sought-after keynote speaker, consultant, and coach on the topic of women and wealth and couples and money. Her mission is to empower women, couples, and families (and the advisors who serve them) to shatter money taboos and communicate more effectively about financial matters. As an expert on financial psychology, Kathleen has appeared on television and written for consumer and trade publications. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, PBS News Hour, Money Magazine, TODAY Money, Forbes, and CNBC. Kathleen serves as an adjunct faculty member of finance at Bentley University and Champlain College. When she is not working, Kathleen is an avid alpine skier who lives for the next powder day. In the off-season, she enjoys mountain biking, kayaking, and laughing with her friends. She lives with her husband and her cat Avery, in the Mad River Valley of Vermont.

For more information and to subscribe to the Breaking Money Silence® podcast, visit www.breakingmoneysilence.com and connect with Kathleen on Twitter.

You can take a free course in the learning lab here (https://breakingmoneysilence.vipmembervault.com/), and use the code Negotiate10 to receive 10% off the paid version.

This episode's guest is Chip Munn, CEO and Visionary of Signature Wealth Strategies. He has 20 years of financial planning experience. He has written two personal finance books, one geared toward financial planners and one for everyday folks (which is mentioned in this podcast, The Retirement Remix: A Modern Solution to an Old School Problem). Chip is a proud graduate from Clemson University, and lives in South Carolina with his wife and their four sons. Lauren and Chip discuss who you should have as a part of your personal finance dream team, and some of the members might surprise you - as they did Lauren.

How to contact Chip:

His book can be purchased using the Amazon link above or here (https://signaturewealth.com/the-retirement-remix/).

This week Lauren is joined by guest Anisa Kurji, host of the Kids Money and More podcast, a finance podcast with a twist in which the target audience are children. While she was trying to teach her own kids about money smarts and core life values such as gratitude and generosity, Anisa discovered that many parents felt overwhelmed and didn’t feel confident in teaching their kids about money. Wanting to help other parents get those conversations started without the overwhelm and panic of having to answer a million questions, Anisa created a money podcast for kids. Her goal for the podcast is to provide an educational yet entertaining learning experience so young kids can develop good money smarts. Today, Anisa gives Lauren many examples of teachable moments she's found for her 7 and 4 year old sons. If you have kids or are thinking of having kids (or even if you're a grandparent, aunt, or uncle!), this episode will give you ideas for teachable moments to look out for, which will in turn prepare your kids for #adulting.

How to contact Anisa:

[email protected]

This week's guest is Brett Holzhauer, a lifelong journalist, now working for Forbes Advisor covering consumer trends, personal finance, industry news, travel, and points and miles. When he's not chasing the next story, he and his wife are traveling the world or chasing the next hot restaurant in town. He is a first generation college student, a proud Sun Devil, and on a lifelong journey to demystify personal finance and empower people to change their lives through powerful storytelling. Lauren and Brett discuss his student loans, including how the balance grew at one point and how he later refinanced at least 5 times. Brett also discusses life with his wife as a digital nomad and his opinions about job hopping.

How to contact Brett:

https://twitter.com/brett_holzhauer

https://twitter.com/ForbesAdvisor

Here is the link to the article mentioned on the podcast:

https://www.themoneymanual.com/get-married-with-debt/

Lauren brings on a guest host, Robert "Bob" Frick, corporate economist for Navy Federal Credit Union. He has 15 years of experience writing for Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine and wrote 36 "Your Mind and Your Money" columns. He has also worked for the Allianz Center for Behavioral Economics. They discuss how 're wired to make decisions, and Bob gives tips for making good financial decisions during stressful times, like this pandemic.

How to follow Bob:

https://twitter.com/RobertFrickNFCU

Where to find information about Navy Federal Credit Union:

https://twitter.com/NavyFederal

https://www.navyfederal.org/

Bob's blog: How To Make Good Financial Decisions Now

https://www.navyfederal.org/resources/articles/personal-finance/making-good-financial-decisions.php

Lauren and Aric discuss a blog written by Lauren, which was primarily based on their recent home purchase. It contains the soup-to-nuts steps you should or would take when buying a home. This podcast is very detailed. The 20 steps are full of personal tales and details from their experiences.

Blogs:

This podcast is based on: https://www.realadultingiseasy.com/post/steps-in-the-home-buying-process

The home purchase is detailed here: https://www.realadultingiseasy.com/post/new-real-estate-adventure-on-our-way-to-fi

Others you might like: https://www.realadultingiseasy.com/post/8-things-you-can-do-to-get-a-full-price-offer-on-your-home

And: https://www.realadultingiseasy.com/post/real-estate-deal-gone-bad

Lauren tells Jenny about a financial planning concept called Life Cycle Planning. While this topic does not perfectly fit the FIRE (financial independence, retire early) movement, we think there are some good takeaways you can apply regardless of your retirement plans. This information comes from Lauren's Boston University coursework.

Blog:

https://www.realadultingiseasy.com/post/what-is-life-cycle-planning

Lauren and Jenny go over the 8 things Lauren and Aric did before listing their home for sale (which resulted in a full-price offer with the first showing).

Bog:

https://www.realadultingiseasy.com/post/8-things-you-can-do-to-get-a-full-price-offer-on-your-home