https://www.linkedin.com/in/natalimorris (Natali Morris) is a former network news anchor turned personal finance educator and motivator. Her specialties include personal finance, business, and technology. She is currently a contributor to CNBC and MSNBC where she was previously an anchor, a role she also filled prior to that at CBS Interactive. Her experience includes being a contributor to https://www.cbsnews.com/ (CBS News) and the TODAY show, along with CNN, ABC News, G4TV (a former US digital cable and satellite TV channel), BBC, The CW, Fox News, Fox Business News, and https://www.univision.com/ (Univision) (Spanish-language reporting).

She has written for Consumer Reports, https://www.wired.com/ (WIRED), Variety magazine, MarketWatch, TechCrunch, The San Francisco Examiner, https://www.pcmag.com/ (PC Magazine), ELLEgirl (now defunct), the Oakland Tribune (now the East Bay Times), and more. She has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from California State University East Bay, and a master’s degree in sociology from the University of Southern California. Prior to 2010, you may have seen her work under her maiden name, Natali Del Conte. Natali is from the San Francisco Bay Area. She lives and works with her husband Clayton and their three small children. Her sole focus is to not screw them up.

“I don’t want focus all the time on shrinking my life, because that’s what I’m worth, I want us, all of us to expand our lives.”

Natali Morris

Andrew’s question about learning finance “When you first looked at the idea of learning finance, or learning investing for yourself … how did you feel about what you were faced with?”

Natali’s response “If you look at your finances, how to get them in order and how to then save and invest, as a whole, it’s too much … I started reading these books about how many fees are in your funds, and your IRA and your 401k, and I got myself all worked up and pissed off. And then I was like, well, where do I put them? … So … that wasn’t getting me anywhere until I decided: ‘Okay, take one thing, learn that one thing and that teaches you the language of finance to go to the next’.”

Andrew’s points on learning Learn one book or take one step at a time Someone once asked Andrew: “How many books have you read?” The answer was: “Thousands!” The query continued: “How did you read so many books? Andrew answered: “I read them one at a time.” In reference to Natali’s “learn one thing at a time” strategy, Andrew agrees, saying: “Take one small step at a time.”

Mother set example for family financial planning Andrew’s mother was very much involved in his household’s financial decisions and money management. His mother and father worked together for years to build financial security, so that they lived a period of 20 years retirement without financial trouble. When Andrew’s father passed away, his mother moved to Thailand with him and she is still financially independent.

Cutting costs has a limit, growing wealth has few You can never get to true success in business, investing or in building wealth by cutting costs. There is a limit to cutting costs, so the other part has to answer the question: “How do we grow?”

Worst investment ever FBI probe of investment dare not speak its name Natali had some trouble choosing her worst, as she’s had so many challenges. One story she can’t really talk about because it is the subject of an active FBI investigation into some funds that were in her IRA. This investment was particularly heartbreaking because she had her children’s investments tied up in that situation, as well hers and her husband’s.

Another situation also involved trust Natali and her husband Clayton (a previous guest on this podcast) got into business with someone during the past five years. They were helping other people invest in off-market properties. Their partner was a fiduciary (a fiduciary relationship is formed between two parties who trust each other. In real estate,...