If we aren’t mindful of them, finances can get us frazzled! If somethings off with your money, you probably already know it. You know you have to do something but what is that something? Where do you start?

My guest, Eric Brotman is here to help us know where to go first with a little financial triage. Eric is a CFP with over 27 years of experience and the CEO of BFG Financial Advisors. He believes financial literacy is the key to well-being. He’s a personal finance author and the host of the Don’t Retire…Graduate! podcast. Eric’s approachable and actionable financial advice has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes.com, and Yahoo! Finance to name a few.

Eric shares his advice on doing financial triage to work on your financial well-being, retirement, debt, and more. He also shares steps you can take to gain control of your debt and strategies to build wealth and work towards the retirement you want.

The show notes can be found here: https://laceylangford.com/podcast/financial-triage/

We all have a history and they are many people in our lives that play a part in it. My family plays a big part in mine. That’s why I’m excited to share my guest with you today. It’s my Grandmother.

I sat down with my Grandma to talk about some of her family history. We chat about what it was like to grow up in the depression in a small town, her first job, bank accounts, and the day she found out about Pearl Harbor. We also discuss her meeting my Grandfather who was a ball turret gunner during World War II.

The show notes can be found here: https://laceylangford.com/podcast/my-grandmas-story/

Life is a balancing act. We all have priorities, hopes and dreams, financial responsibilities, and family. Sometimes these can be out of sync and we can end up doing work that doesn’t fulfill us.

Many military spouses put up with work they don’t like for little money because of limited options. Many veterans struggle to find work after the military that they can earn a living at and enjoy. But what if you leverage things like your personality, natural skills, and your passions to meaningful work.

My guest, Dan Miller is the author of the New York Times best-selling 48 Days To The Work You Love. He has over 140,000 people subscribed to his weekly newsletter and his 48 Days Podcast consistently ranks in the top 1% of all podcasts. His mission is to help listeners find – or create – work they love.

Dan and I talk about how it’s possible for the military community to make money by doing things you’re passionate about and how it can change your life. Our conversion left me completely inspired, I hope you find inspiration in it too.

All of the notes and resources from the show can be found here:

https://laceylangford.com/podcast/how-to-create-work-you-love/

Most military service members and their families at some point have interacted with or worked alongside Federal Government Employees. Have you ever wondered how their benefits compare to yours or even how to join the Civil Service ranks? Did you know that they also have TSP?

My guest, Sam, is here to talk to me about financial life as a government employee and share some tips on gaining federal employment

Sam is the author of Government Worker FI. A civil servant since the age of 18, his mission is to help others successfully navigate the federal system and understand their benefits. On his blog, Sam also shares his financial journey and lessons he has learned through personal experiences.

The show notes can be found here: https://laceylangford.com/podcast/from-active-duty-to-federal-employee

It can be overwhelming when trying to take charge and make some positive changes in your life. Just taking that first step can be daunting. I have some good news, you can always start small. 

My guest, Dan Mangena built a four-step system called the Beyond Intention Paradigm after experiencing life-shattering trauma. Through his own struggles, Dan found a path to lasting joy and purpose and he wants nothing more than to share those tools. 

Dan is an author, coach, and motivational speaker who helps others with empowerment and joy. His work recently earned him a spot in the Wall Street Journal as a “Master of Success”.

Dan and I discuss how making small and simple steps to improve one’s life can lead to big changes.

Do you have every financial move you make memorized—me either? That would be hard. I need a system to keep all of our financial ducks in a row. We need to know what is coming in every month and what is going out. Not to mention if I heel over tomorrow, I need my hubby to pick up where I left off.

Spreadsheets are one of the ways you can do that. But if you’re like me, sometimes complicated spreadsheets can be intimidating. I like things simple and easy to follow.

My guest, Peter Polson, is here to talk me down from some of my spreadsheet nerves.

Peter is the founder of Tiller Money. They provide customizable tools that empower people with greater understanding, confidence, and control of their financial lives. He has been thinking about better ways to help people with their personal finances for most of his life. Peter partially paid for college by teaching personal finance software classes for adults and later by working as an intern program manager at Microsoft on the Money software team.

Peter and I talk about the benefits of using spreadsheets to help manage your finances, how you can keep things simple, and the benefits that can come from using spreadsheets.

You can find the show notes here https://laceylangford.com/podcast/manage-money-with-spreadsheets/

The way your story begins doesn’t mean that’s your whole story. Personal finances is a journey we all start in different places. The actions you take along the way are you writing the story.

My guest, Maricela Soberanes' story started as financial survival in Mexico. She is one of nine siblings raised by a single mom in Mexico City. Her mother and older siblings struggled to provide the essentials in life. To improve her situation, Maricela moved to a different city without her family so she could attend a high school which is not free in Mexico. From there she continued to change her story by coming to the U.S. unable to speak English with only $100 to her name. She went on to learn English, became a nurse anesthetist, served in the Navy, and worked toward financial independence through saving and investing in real estate.

We talk more about Maricela’s story and how she went from financial survival to independence while in the military.

You need good money management & budgeting to build wealth, but that doesn’t mean it has to be boring. Gamification is a unique way to manage money & add some fun.

My guest, Brandon Childers, is a fellow veteran and an expert in Gamified Resource Management, and a dedicated advocate to the veteran Community.

He served in the Marines as a Huey Crew Chief for five years, including a deployment to Afghanistan. Since separating from service in 2015, he has used the G.I. Bill to earn an M.S. in Applied Psychology at the University of Southern California. Now, he uses his unique perspective from his military experience and education to solve a problem that’s central to veteran depression, homelessness, and suicide—Financial Literacy.

Brandon and I talk about gamification, what it is, how it’s used and how it can help improve personal finance within the military community. I learned a lot about how gamification is being used in social media and the applications it can be used for to help others.

If you’ve read the news or been online at all, you know something’s up with GameStop. You may be asking yourself why is everyone all worked up about their stock and what the heck Robinhood has to do with it. Or you could be asking what the heck is Robinhood even is. Well, we’re going to break it all down for you.

My guest, Andy Wang is a Managing Partner at Runnymede Capital Management and host of Inspired Money. He has been named by Forbes as a Top 10 Personal Finance Podcast and named among the INVESTOPEDIA 100: Most Influential Advisors, Top 100 Most Social Financial Advisors by Brightscope, and has appeared on Barron's and Forbes.

Andy and I get into what’s going on with GameStop stock, what it means, and why it’s happening. We also talk about the role Fintech like Robinhood has played in this rare financial event. Andy also gives tips on how you can keep your financial head when the fear of missing out or FOMO struggle is real.

You can get all the links and resources to this episode at https://laceylangford.com/podcast/whats-going-on-with-gamestop/.

Paying yourself first is a foundation for financial success, but what does that mean and why should you do it.

Many people are currently living paycheck-to-paycheck. That means that at the end of the month or the end of the year, after work their butt off all year, there’s no money in the bank to show for. In that case, if you were a business, your business might fail because you have no profit. You might be fine for a little while but you won’t go the long haul.

My guest, Rocky Lalvani is back on the show to talk about why you should pay yourself first and how you can do it.

Rocky is the Profit Answer Man and a Profit First Professional. He helps business owners achieve financial success and utilize their business profits to live a life of abundance. Rocky is the millionaire next door. He started out with basically nothing when his parents immigrated to the United States when he was two years old, and his dad was 42. It was his parent's second big move in life, and they were starting over again to create the American dream. Despite many struggles and his Mom passing away when he was 7, he has achieved financial success and wants to share the lessons he has learned along the way so others can achieve success much faster.

Rocky and I have a great conversation about the principles behind the super successful book, Profit First. And how you can apply those principles to help your personal finances turn a profit.

You can get all the links and resources mentioned in this episode here https://laceylangford.com/podcast/how-to-pay-yourself-first/.