Work Your Wealth Podcast

This week I sat down with business lawyer and passionate negotiator, Kwame Christian.

Kwame is a business lawyer and the Director of the American Negotiation Institute. In this role, he conducts live negotiation and conflict resolution training sessions for organizations.

Kwame's Tedx Talk, Finding Confidence in Conflict, was viewed over 24,000 times in less than 24 hours and was the most popular Tedx Talk on conflict of 2017.

Kwame hosts the podcast Negotiate Anything, where he interviews successful professionals and shares powerful persuasion techniques. With over 200,000 downloads and listeners in 140 countries, it is the top-ranked negotiation and dispute-resolution podcast in the nation.

Kwame is the proud husband of Dr. Whitney Christian and father of Kai Christian.

HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE:

• Why negotiations are so scary and uncomfortable
• Two different reasons people refuse to engage in negotiations
• The problem with not preparing for a negotiation
• What you should do when preparing for a negotiation
• 3 steps to take to improve your outcomes in negotiations
• The difference between collaborative and competitive
• The importance of setting and knowing your limits
• How to say no without jeopardizing the relationship
• The power of the "no sandwich"
• How to remove emotions from a negotiation
• Kwame's simple definition of what a negotiation is
• The three steps of compassionate curiosity
• Kwame's two year old example of compassionate curiosity
• Finding the gold in the difficult conversations
• The big factor in the negotiation outcome discrepancy between men and women
• How much money you could be losing in lifetime earnings if you don't negotiate
• The reason behind getting comfortable being uncomfortable
• The power of anchoring in negotiations
• The rule of thump if and when you should make the first offer
• Knowing when the "best and final" is on the table

LINKS WE MENTIONED ON THE SHOW:

• American Negotiation Institute
• TedX Talk: Finding Confidence in Conflict
• Negotiate Anything podcast
• Kwame's Negotiation Guide
• The Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes
• How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk by Adele Faber & Elaine Mazlish
• Women Don't Ask by Linda Babcock and Sarah Laschever
• Negotiating Your Next Pay Raise blog post
• Nobody Will Play With Me by Kwame Christian (**Coming Soon!**)

GET SOCIAL WITH KWAME AND LET HIM KNOW YOU HEARD ABOUT HIM HERE

• Kwame's Website
• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• Kwame's Email

This week I sat down with one of Workable Wealth's very own Financial Planners, Ariel Ward, CFP®.

Ariel Ward, CFP® joined Workable Wealth in 2018 as a Financial Planner. She has 10 years of experience in the field of personal financial services and in helping clients develop financial clarity. She is passionate about helping professionals in their 20s-40s understand their financial lives and make better decisions with their money.

Ariel is married to a pilot and spends as much time as possible exploring the US with her husband and 2 children. She enjoys working with clients in the aviation industry to make the most of their employee benefits and map out a plan for personal financial strength. She is a member of NAPFA, the XY Planning Network and the Financial Planners Association.

Ariel works virtually out of Charlotte, NC. She enjoys North Carolina's mountains, beaches and everything in between. In her free time you can catch her walking to one of Charlotte's excellent breweries, playing Scrabble or building Lego houses with her kids.

HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE:

• How Ariel came to join the Workable Wealth team
• Ariel's experience as a Financial Planner and what she brings to the team
• Investment mistakes Workable Wealth has seen with clients that we want to help you avoid
• How expense ratios effect your investment
• The expense ratios Workable Wealth likes to target
• Why too much cash on hand can be a weakness
• The risk of holding too much cash
• The best way to avoid concentration risk
• The two industry sectors people focus a lot of their allocations on
• The explanation of diversification through the use of boats in a bay
• The risk of having too many accounts spread across multiple brokerages
• A few account consolidation tricks that could benefit your investment accounts
• Why the lack of clarity around your portfolio can be costly
• An explanation of short and long term gains
• When and how much taxes you would be paying on gains
• How to capitalize on losses from year to year
• An important reason to be participating in your company's 401K plan
• The reason for contributing to a 401K plan over a whole life policy

LINKS WE MENTIONED ON THE SHOW:

• MorningStar
• What to do if you're sitting on too much cash blog post
• Work Your Wealth: 9 Steps to Making Smarter Choices With Your Money
• The Cost of Waiting blog post
• No You Don't Need Universal Life Insurance blog post

This week I sat down with Regional Director at Dimensional Fund Advisors, Kelly Klingaman.

Kelly works with advisors from across the US on investment, messaging, and business development issues in order to sustain, improve, and grow their practice. She is also a frequent speaker for Dimensional's live video webcast content and virtual programs. Kelly graduated from the University of Texas at Austin's McCombs School of Business with a finance degree and a concentration in investment management. She also holds the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ designation.

HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE:

• Kelly's background and her field of expertise
• What is meant when people refer to "the market"
• How a jar of jelly beans can explain how the "market's work"
• The challenge people face when trying to time the market
• Stocks, bonds, mutual funds broken down
• The meaning behind different portfolio allocations (60/40, 70/30, etc.)
• What a mutual fund is made up of
• The difference between value and growth investing
• What the aggregate market has shown for value/growth stocks
• Which is the riskier investment, value or growth stocks, and why
• What you need to know about expense ratios
• Costs to be aware of when buying mutual funds
• What you're paying for in fund fees
• What implementation costs could do to your portfolio over time
• The key difference between active management and passive management
• A type of fund that shows low fees is not always the best option
• What "evidence investing" is and how it benefits investors
• A comparison of index fund management and evidence investing using a trip to the grocery store
• The best way to reduce risk across your investment portfolio

LINKS WE MENTIONED ON THE SHOW:

• Podcast with Philip Taylor
• "Love people and use things because the opposite never works." –The Minimalist Podcast

GET SOCIAL WITH KELLY AND LET HER KNOW YOU HEARD ABOUT HER HERE

• Dimensional's Website
• Kelly's e-mail
• LinkedIn

This week I sat down with Consultant and Wish Route Founder, Jess Lynch.

Jess Lynch grew up in the Boston area and has always had a love for business. She went to Babson College as an u'grad and met her now husband, Conor, on the third day of freshman orientation :) After graduating, she pursued her Masters in Accounting and her CPA. She then spent 4 years in Forensic Consulting, investigating corporate fraud and calculating economic damages in litigation cases and disputes before going back to her alma mater for her MBA. During her MBA program, she was inspired by the recognition of a wish epidemic - she kept hearing friends say again and again that they wish they were exercising or eating healthier and something clicked. Jess founded Wish Route, an accountability service that gets users unstuck with their wellness intentions and moving forward. Jess graduated from her MBA program in May as the valedictorian of her class and is now developing Wish Route full-time.

HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE:

• What Wish Route is and how it could benefit you
• Why people need an accountability partner, even with small tasks
• The importance of taking the first step
• The benefits of an accountability partner
• The reasons behind Jess starting Wish Route
• How Jess stayed on track for launching her business
• Why the right team behind launching a business could make a huge impact
• Lessons from Jess's previous career that helped her launch Wish Route
• The value of asking the tough questions when gathering feedback about your product or service
• The approach we should all take when receiving constructive criticism
• How to approach failure with the right perspective
• Why Jess feels it's important to be comfortable with being uncomfortable

LINKS WE MENTIONED ON THE SHOW:

• Wish Route

GET SOCIAL WITH JESS AND LET HER KNOW YOU HEARD ABOUT HER HERE

• Jess's Website
• Jess's e-mail
• Facebook
• Instagram

Talking about money with your spouse can't always be easy, but it is crucial to your marriage. This week I sat down with Certified Financial Coach, Ericka Young.

Ericka is the president and founder of Tailor-Made Budgets which she opened in 2005 after she and her husband Chris climbed their way out of nearly $100,000 in debt. She became a certified financial coach by Dave Ramsey's Lampo Group in 2006 and combines her passion for helping people with creative debt reduction techniques so everyone can have a path to financial freedom. Ericka is a recognized financial expert who inspires people to significantly improve their finances, family and their future with a solid plan. Ericka's Best-Selling book, Naked and Unashamed: 10 Money Conversations Every Couple Must Have was released online in February 2017 worldwide. She currently teaches her message of debt freedom through her e-newsletters, personal and group coaching, workshops and speaking engagements. Ericka, Chris and their two teenage daughters, Faith and Olivia reside in Fishers, IN.

HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE:

• What prompted Ericka to write a book around finances among couples
• Why Ericka believes money is not all about the numbers
• The importance of WHY you do what you do with your money
• Your financial planner deals with the same money challenges you do
• What can happen if you don't talk about money within your marriage
• How Ericka had to understand her husband's money background during their money conversations
• The very first money conversation you should have with your spouse
• Why everyone needs a reality check
• Understanding your cash flow can be very eye opening
• Hurdles many people face when talking about money with spouses
• Should one person take the lead on budgeting
• The impact a weekly routine can have on your money
• The harsh reality of what not talking about money can do to your marriage
• Dreams can be a good thing for you and your money
• How to give your money some real purpose

**For access to the links from this show, visit https://workablewealth.com/podcast/episode-66-how-t…ith-ericka-young/

5 Business Lessons I've Learned in 5 Years

One of the fun parts of being a financial planner is getting to field and answer questions from clients and readers all around the country. In these Work Your Wealth episodes I'll be taking time to address and answer questions I've come across from readers and clients throughout my career. Today I'm talking about the 5 business lessons I've learned and sharing some details (and numbers) behind our company.

1. Get Uncomfortable Fast
2. Connect with People Outside of Your Industry
3. Delegate and Learn to Let Go
4. Find Your Three Pillars
5. Find Your Blue Ocean

HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE:

• Workable Wealth is celebrating a birthday!
• Where Workable Wealth started and what it has grown into
• Tools WW leverages to help clients along the way
• Why WW believes in being accountability partners for its clients
• Why you should be comfortable with being uncomfortable
• How leveraging social media helped Mary Beth get uncomfortable
• The importance of connecting with people outside of your industry
• A crucial step to being successful in scaling and growing
• The structure of and who is on the Workable Wealth team
• Have you found your "three pillars"
• The role mentorship has played in the growth of Workable Wealth
• Why a mentor who challenges you is a perfect mentor
• Workable Wealth wouldn't be where it was today without masterminds
• How Mary Beth's "business bestie" helped her find time for her
• Why your blue ocean doesn't have to look like everyone else's
• A new product WW is looking to roll out in the coming months
• In a few weeks WW will be putting a call out…
• Where Workable Wealth is headed

LINKS WE MENTIONED ON THE SHOW:

• Workable Wealth 3 Year Birthday Post
• What You Should Look for in a Financial Planner
• Managing Your Social Media
• When to Lead and When to Let Go
• Blue Ocean Strategy book
• 30 min consultation

This week I sat down with Student Loan Planner, Travis Hornsby to talk about student loan debt.

Travis founded Student Loan Planner after helping his wife figure out her six figure med school loans and realizing that all their friends needed help too. He's consulted on more than $250 million of student debt, which is more than any one person in the country. He loves helping clients realize that financial freedom and security is possible no matter how high their student loan balance. He lives in St. Louis, MO.

HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE:

• How Travis got into the student loan business
• The difference between undergraduate and graduate student loans
• Where most people get into trouble with student loan debt
• The two best approaches when you are in a ton of student loan debt
• How much debt you should have if you're considering the refinancing option
• A large tax bill doesn't have to be as scary as you think
• The importance of shopping around during refinancing
• Places to turn to if you feel your student loan debt is unbearable
• How to manage stress from student loan debt
• Options to deal with student loan debt as a couple
• Conversations to have with your spouse if one or both of you have student loan debt
• Common professions that find themselves in student loan debt
• The shift in the education industry that is increasing student loan debt
• Why you should look at a financial aid/school admissions department like a sketchy used car lot

LINKS WE MENTIONED ON THE SHOW:

• Suicide Prevention Hotline: (800) 273-TALK
• Student Loan Planner Refinancing Quiz
• Student Loan Planner Refinancing Bonuses

GET SOCIAL WITH TRAVIS AND LET HIM KNOW YOU HEARD ABOUT HIM HERE

• Travis's Website
• Travis's e-mail

WHAT SHOULD I DO WITH EXTRA CASH I'VE STORED UP?

One of the fun parts of being a financial planner is getting to field and answer questions from clients and readers all around the country. In these Work Your Wealth episodes I'll be taking time to address and answer questions I've come across from readers and clients throughout my career. Today I'm answering the above question and sharing some details (and numbers) behind our personal finances.

HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE:

• General rules I use with clients to determine where to put extra money
• The formula to decide how much should go where
• The three categories you should focus on with your extra cash
• Questions we ask ourselves when allocating money towards different goals
• Why we review our net worth on a quarterly basis
• The importance of reevaluating what you need in your emergency fund
• The general rule of how much you should have in your emergency fund
• A few banks recommendations to store your emergency fund
• How we handle donations in our family to be most impactful
• How we allocate extra cash towards our children
• How we added some flexibility in our monthly cash flow
• What we decided to spend our "splurge" money on

LINKS WE MENTIONED ON THE SHOW:

• How to Handle Your Year End Bonus
• Episode 27: How We Handle Money in Our Household
• Episode 39: How We Handle Business Finances in Our Marriage
• Synchrony Bank
• Ally

This week I sat down with Financial Writer & Online Marketing Specialist, Kali Roberge.

Kali focuses on teaching others about mindful living through intentional spending. Kali's work has appeared on Business Insider, The Shriver Report, Investopedia, Credit Karma, and more. She also runs a marketing firm, Creative Advisor Marketing, to help financial advisors better communicate with their ideal clients. Kali has been featured on Mashable, Fast Company, Forbes, and was named one of US News and World Reports 37 Personal Finance Experts to Follow on Twitter. She currently blogs at GoingBeyondWealth.com

HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE:

• How to deal with the feeling of not being good enough
• The importance of living an authentic life
• How to make a change to be true to yourself
• The powerful impact of shifting the way you view yourself
• Being who you are is more important than blending in
• How being yourself can impact your marketing
• The power of bringing your own voice into your marketing
• How vulnerable you should/shouldn't be in marketing
• A rule of thumb when determining your level of vulnerability
• Why you should market to people by showing instead of telling
• Kali's reason to talk openly and honestly about her wedding planning
• How she was able to stick to their wedding budget
• How to fend off some of the guilt around overspending for a budget

LINKS WE MENTIONED ON THE SHOW:

• Kali's Blog Post on Letting Go of Self-Loathing
• Kali's Blog Post on Her Wedding Planning

GET SOCIAL WITH KALI AND LET HER KNOW YOU HEARD ABOUT HER HERE!

• Twitter
• Instagram
• Kali's Website
• Kali's e-mail

HOW DO I TALK TO MY PARENTS ABOUT THEIR MONEY AND RETIREMENT?

One of the fun parts of being a financial planner is getting to field and answer questions from clients and readers all around the country. In these Work Your Wealth episodes I'll be taking time to address and answer questions I've come across from readers and clients throughout my career. Today I'm answering the above question.

HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE:

• What you should be asking yourself now as it relates to your parents and money
• The importance of talking to your parents about THEIR money
• Money questions we've been asking our parents
• A few ideas to open up the money conversation
• How personal money stories can ease the conversation with parents about their money
• Why you're asking these questions about your parent's finances
• Why your parents should visualize how they see retirement
• Different revenue streams you should be aware of for your parents
• How your parents healthcare plan could affect you
• The biggest cost retirees face in retirement
• Why you want your parents to have an estate plan set up
• Items to look for in an estate plan
• Why you need to ask, "Will you need my help?"
• The reason you should ask your parents about their retirement finances
• How to plan now to help your parents in retirement

LINKS WE MENTIONED ON THE SHOW:

• Money Questions You Should Be Asking Your Parents Blog
• Helping Your Parents Financially Without Going Broke Blog
• Schedule a free 30-minute consultation with me