Life is Life!

Money... Finances... are so incredibly mental and emotional. Yet we all tend to learn about these on our own and figure everything will work out. Why shouldn't we get help with it? Not just setting ourselves up for retirement but with the emotional side of it? According to the Financial Therapy Association, financial therapy is a process informed by both therapeutic and financial competencies that helps people think, feel and behave differently with money to improve overall well-being through evidence-based practices and interventions.
 
On this podcast, we spend time talking about decision making regarding money and finances. Why is it that we make the decisions we make? Why does buying something off Amazon make me feel better? Why am I afraid to buy anything? Have you ever wondered how money makes you feel and what money means to you? Well, we get down deep into those questions and more with Nathan Astle. Nate is family therapist at Kansas State University where he is also attending graduate school. He is also a board member at the Financial Therapy Association. 
https://www.financialtherapyassociation.org/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanastle/

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Shawn D. Rochester is the CEO of Good Steward LLC (GSL) and the founder of PHD Enterprises, and the IDEA Institute. Shawn grew up between the New York area (Brooklyn and Queens) and Barbados. He then attended the University of Rochester and ultimately with a degree in chemical engineering and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business with a focus in Accounting, Finance and Entrepreneurship. He is the acclaimed author of The Black Tax (which is the financial cost of conscious and unconscious anti-black discrimination), creates a massive financial burden on Black American households that dramatically reduces their ability to leave a substantial legacy for future generations. Please enjoy this great discussion with Mr. Shawn Rochester.

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Taking the first steps to start investing is intimidating for most of us. We think investing is for the experts - and how do you know what expert is the right one for you? We couldn't possibly do it ourselves, right? But who has more interest in your financial future than you? You may also think that you need to be good at math to invest, but that just isn't true. In this episode, the Talk Wealth To Me crew sits down with the Invest Diva herself, Kiana Danial. This fascinating, Iran-born woman takes us on her journey of heading to Japan to study electrical engineering during the time of the 2008 recession. This period turned out to be an incredible learning experience that changed her professional course. Kiana headed to the Big Apple to work in the world of finance which turned out to be nothing like what she expected.

The founder of Invest Diva discusses how she began and how her passion for teaching has led her to great heights by lifting up individuals, especially women, to be successful at investing and creating wealth in ways they never imagined they could.

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Personal finance is like a language. Each country or culture has its own way of managing, saving, spending, and investing money. While there may be similarities across international borders the fact of the matter is there are numerous aspects of the financial system that are individual to each country. 

For immigrants, particularly those who have just arrived in the United States, our financial system might be the most confusing aspect of their new country. It's not just the finances related to the citizenship application, it's also figuring out the banking system, how Americans use credit cards and credit, finding a job, finding a home, paying taxes, and more.

Joining us on the show is Paulina Reyes, a San Diego-based immigration attorney. Paulina shares her own experience immigrating to the U.S. from Mexico as a child with her parents and sisters, how immigrant communities work together to support one another, and more!

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You've likely heard the terms before:

• wills
• trusts
• simple trust
• complex trust
• generational wealth 

But do you really understand what they mean or how these tools can help you and your loved ones financially?

Joining us on the show to help navigate the differences between wills, trusts, and how generational wealth can benefit your family is Dr. Gail Hamilton, owner, and principal of BeeConnectedLife.com, a service that helps private businesses and families establish trusts & foundations.

A will is a legal document that spells out your wishes regarding the care of your children, as well as the distribution of your assets after your death.

A trust is another method of estate transfer—a fiduciary relationship in which you give another party authority to handle your assets for the benefit of a third party, your beneficiaries.

• A trust can be created for a variety of functions, and there are many types of trusts. 

The difference between a will and a trust is when they kick into action.

• A will lays out your wishes for after you die.
•  A living revocable trust becomes effective immediately. 
  • While you are alive you can be in full charge of your trust. 
  • And when you become incapacitated or die, the person you appoint as the successor trustee can easily step in and handle your affairs exactly as you have laid out in the document.

About Dr. Gail Hamilton
For more information on Dr. Gail Hamilton or her work establishing trusts and foundations for families and private businesses, visit BeeConnectedLife.com.

To purchase Dr. Hamilton's book, Wisdom From Queens: Vol. 3, visit DocGail.com. 

Questions for the show?
Email us at TalkWealthPodcast[@] gmail [dot]com 

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To wrap up Season Two, the Talk Wealth To Me team "replies all" to questions we've received during Season Two from our listeners.

From COVID-19 budgeting tips to payday loans, you have questions and we have answers.

About the Show
Comments, questions or suggestions for the show? Email us at [email protected].

To learn more about DebtWave Credit Counseling, visit our website or connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

To learn more about the San Diego Financial Literacy Center, visit our website or connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.

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It's no secret that the coronavirus has prompted many consumers to rethink our homes and their purpose. During the stay-at-home orders, many of us saw our home transform into something far more than just for eating and sleeping: our home become our new office, the gym, the movie theater, church, the playground, and more.

Some forever-renters have since departed their beloved urban apartments in favor of single-family homes with outdoor space for kids and pets to run around. Others are just looking for more space now that we're working, playing, sleeping, and eating within the walls of our homes. Consumers concerned about the value of their homes are putting their homes on the market too, fearful their home values will plummet in the COVID economy.

Despite record unemployment and no end in sight to the stay-at-home orders, homes are selling at record highs throughout the U.S. Some homes are selling so quickly in fact that sellers have increasingly grown nervous they won't find a new home before they're expected to leave their current property.

Joining us on the show is Daniel Lehman, Owner and Team Lead of The Lehman Group. Daniel joins the Talk Wealth To Me crew for a discussion on how to decide whether buying a home right now is a smart money move for your family's finances and more!

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Have you ever wondered why you have the relationship you do with money? For years financial professionals have known our childhood experiences with money shape our perception of money and our ability to save, spend, invest, and donate. But many of us were unaware of our money stories not just from our own life experiences, we were unaware of the experiences our parents, grandparents and other ancestors had with money.

As it turns out, experiences with money, particularly those of a traumatic variety, can shape our perception of money and our ability to successfully use it as a tool for generations. Joining us on the show is financial educator and financial wellness expert Eugenié George, who recently self-published a book, "Our Money Stories," in June 2020 exploring this very topic.

About Eugenié George
For the past two years, I have gathered uncomfortable data and created an unorthodox way of viewing money patterns, interviewing, Women of Color, and Financial Advisors. I used Financial Wellness as the vehicle because there was a blue ocean to examine how ancestry, behavior economics, and habits can dramatically impact our views around money. So during my time as an MBA student, I decided to try my hand at writing non-fiction. I had a budget of $2,000 and I set out to self-publish a book. Finding interviews, academic data, and scheduling time on a shoestring budget was tough, but it’s something I’m proud of. The result was my debut, Our Money Stories, which has just been released. During a pandemic and our national response to critical conversations around race and equity. topic.

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Following the murder of George Floyd by the Minneapolis Police Department in May 2020, national attention has turned to systemic racism within the United States, specifically for Black people. 

Some may wonder what racism has to do with finances, but the answer is everything. 
Systemic racism is still rooted in all aspects of our society today, and progress is still needed for Black Americans to have true equality.

Take employment for example:

• Studies show that companies are more likely to call back a candidate who has a name that's more commonly associated with White people.
• Black Americans are more likely to be unemployed or have low-paying jobs compared to White Americans. That's in part due to education disparities. But studies show Black workers earn less than White workers even when they have the same education.
• There's also the racial wage gap: the Economic Policy Institute says that in 2017, Black men made about 70 cents for every $1 their White counterpart made. 
• The gap is especially large when it comes to Black women, who make 62 cents for every $1 a White man makes, according to the National Women's Law Center.

This is just one example. Systemic racism has impacted housing, education, wealth, health care, criminal justice, policing, and voting. There's no simple fix to reversing centuries of discrimination. But understanding how pervasive it is, is step one.

George Floyd's murder may not have ever occurred if systemic racism didn't also affect finances. As Katie mentions during the show, the Minneapolis police were originally called because a counterfeit $20 had been used, and as the owner of Cup Foods has told numerous news outlets, he was not sure George Floyd knew the money was fake and that law enforcement normally would stop by the supermarket and pick up the counterfeit currency.

Regardless of whether George Floyd knew the money was counterfeit, it should have never been a death sentence. As Mark McCoy, a 44-year-old white archaeology professor at Southern Methodist University wrote:

“George Floyd and I were both arrested for allegedly spending a counterfeit $20 bill. For George Floyd, a man my age, with two kids, it was a death sentence. For me, it is a story I sometimes tell at parties. That, my friends, is White privilege.”

Joining us on the show to delve deeper into the very-large topic of Racism + Finances is Michelle Jackson, host of the "Michelle is Money Hungry" podcast and author of a blog and website of the same name.

Income
White: $71,000
Black: $41,000

Median Net Worth
White: $171,000 (10x higher than the average Black person's net worth)
Black: $17,600

Poverty
White: 8.1%
Black: 20.8%

Unemployment
White: 14.2%
Black: 16.7%

No Access to Health Care
White: 5.4%
Black: 9.7%

COVID-19 Deaths
Black people represent 13% population
Black people represent 23% COVID-19 deaths

About Michelle Jackson
Michelle accrued more than $60,000 in unsecured debt and paid off that debt while supporting her mom financially while working as a Starbuck's barista. Michelle shares her struggles and triumphs, as well as those of other personal finance bloggers, on her podcast and blog, Michelle is Money Hungry. She also created a financial retreat for financially single women Money on the Mountain.

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We may forget we’re not born inherently knowing how to earn, spend, save, or give money. And may not even know how to even go about beginning to have these conversations with our kids.

Many parents expect their kids will learn how to properly manage their money at school. But the reality is most kids are not learning how to spend, save, invest, or donate their money at all let alone in a healthy way.

This is concerning given that a report by researchers at the University of Cambridge commissioned by the United Kingdom’s Money Advice Service revealed that kids’ money habits are formed by age 7. Age 7!

Additionally, a 2017 Parents, Kids, & Money Survey conducted by T. Rowe Price found that parents who discussed financial topics with their kids were more likely (61% vs 41%) to have kids who say they are smart about money.

Joining us on the show is Bill Dwight, CEO and founder of FamZoo, a private family banking system designed to help parents teach kids to earn, save, spend, and donate money wisely in a safe, friendly environment.

Bill joins us to share how parents can use a variety of tools to not only educate their children when it comes to money habits, he shares how parents can use technology to not only expose your children to real-life experience with money but to spark those crucial money conversations. 

About FamZoo
FamZoo isn’t just a convenient prepaid card for families. It’s a hands-on financial education for kids of all ages — preschool through college. Learn more here.

About The Show
To learn more about DebtWave Credit Counseling, visit our website or connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

To learn more about the San Diego Financial Literacy Center, visit our website or connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.

Support the show