Jan. 21, 2026
120: Monarch Money: The Easiest Way to Manage Your Finances
Send us a text Are you managing money together, or living in two separate financial worlds? In this episode, Jessica and Brandon get real about a problem nearly every couple faces: one partner handling finances while the other stays out of the loop. That disconnect causes confusion, stress, and even resentment. We break down: Why this common imbalance happensThe hidden risks of not sharing financial insightHow Monarch Money can change the way you see and plan your money togetherReal life wins...
Are you managing money together, or living in two separate financial worlds? In this episode, Jessica and Brandon get real about a problem nearly every couple faces: one partner handling finances while the other stays out of the loop. That disconnect causes confusion, stress, and even resentment.
We break down:
- Why this common imbalance happens
- The hidden risks of not sharing financial insight
- How Monarch Money can change the way you see and plan your money together
- Real life wins and step‑by‑step guidance to get started
- How to build healthy “money dates” and financial teamwork
Whether you’re just starting life together or years into your relationship, this episode helps you build transparency, avoid financial surprises, and make decisions as a team.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Subscribe to The Sugar Daddy Podcast newsletter
Head over to our YouTube channel to catch this episode in full video form.
Apply to be a guest on the show.
You can also email us at: thesugardaddypodcast@gmail.com
Connect with us on Instagram
We’re most active over at @thesugardaddypodcast
Chat with Brandon
Want to work together? Learn more about Brandon
Book a free 30-min call to see if it's a fit.
Show us some love, hit subscribe, leave a five star rating, and drop a quick review!
Money, relationships, and the mindset to master both. Hosted by financial advisor Brandon and his wife Jessica, The Sugar Daddy Podcast breaks down how to build wealth, unpack old money beliefs, and have real conversations about love and finances. Their mission? To help couples and individuals grow rich in every sense of the word: emotionally, relationally and fina...
Chapters
00:00 - The Financial Visibility Gap
00:35 - Why One Partner Handles Money
00:44 - Enter Monarch Money
02:18 - Old Advisor Tools vs Consumer UX
04:05 - Separate Lives, Shared Expenses
05:20 - Organization As Step One
06:00 - Clients Actually Log In
06:53 - End The “Did You Pay That Bill?” Loop
07:44 - Setup Is Fast And Painless
08:32 - Shared Access Without Shared Logins
09:19 - Women, Longevity, And Risk
10:55 - Preventing Financial Infidelity
12:00 - It’s A Tool, Not A Trust Fix
12:46 - New Features For Joint Views
13:40 - Beyond Budgeting To Planning
14:18 - Net Worth, Zillow, And Gamified Budgets
15:36 - Crawl, Walk, Run With Categories
16:21 - Clean Up Your Data And Customize
17:34 - Alerts, Suggestions, And Limits
18:16 - Use Software Plus Human Advice
18:33 - How To Get Started And Discounts
19:07 - Invite Your Partner The Right Way
19:45 - Pick A First Goal: Emergency Fund
20:39 - Monthly Money Dates That Work
21:44 - Keep It Short, Positive, Consistent
22:56 - Share Wins, Adjust, Keep Going
24:00 - Try Monarch And Tell Us What Works
Transcript
WEBVTT
00:00:05.759 --> 00:00:11.199
To be honest, when it comes to your relationship's finances, are you both really in the loop?
00:00:11.359 --> 00:00:16.480
Or is one of you flying the financial plane while the other is just hoping for a safe landing?
00:00:16.719 --> 00:00:21.600
For a lot of couples, especially elder millennials like us, this is super common.
00:00:21.839 --> 00:00:31.039
One partner takes the lead on budgeting, investing, and long-term planning, while the other stays a few steps removed, often just trying not to rock the boat.
00:00:31.280 --> 00:00:35.280
And more often than not, that out-of-the-loop partner is the woman.
00:00:35.439 --> 00:00:44.399
Today we're talking about why that gap exists, the risks it creates, and how you can bridge it with a tool that we love, Monarch Money.
00:00:44.560 --> 00:00:51.600
It's a clean collaborative platform that helps couples actually see and plan their financial future together.
00:00:51.920 --> 00:01:01.600
In today's episode, we'll dig into the problem, talk about how monarch works, share real life wins, and give you a roadmap to start using it with your partner today.
00:01:01.840 --> 00:01:06.560
Let's break it down that money wall and build something better in its place.
00:01:23.920 --> 00:01:25.519
Did you catch the mistake?
00:01:27.439 --> 00:01:28.640
Okay, then let's keep it.
00:01:31.200 --> 00:01:32.000
Hey babe.
00:01:32.239 --> 00:01:33.439
What are we talking about today?
00:01:34.000 --> 00:01:45.040
Today we are talking about our new favorite tool that we are using in our own relationship to give us visibility into our money, which is monarch money.
00:01:45.760 --> 00:01:46.319
Yes.
00:01:46.560 --> 00:01:58.719
Um for some people who are not familiar with monarch money, monarch money is a financial I mean, kind of focused like a budgeting app in some aspects, is what I think most common people would look at it as.
00:01:58.799 --> 00:02:01.040
But I look at it as a financial planning app, to be honest with you.
00:02:01.599 --> 00:02:03.200
It's an account aggregator.
00:02:03.519 --> 00:02:05.599
Well, it that's a feature of it.
00:02:05.840 --> 00:02:07.200
That's not the only thing it does.
00:02:07.359 --> 00:02:12.879
So I would say it's a financial planning app that is focused and tailored towards the consumer.
00:02:12.960 --> 00:02:17.919
So it's not like a financial planning app that's focused on the financial advisor being the one that only uses it.
00:02:18.159 --> 00:02:18.400
Yes.
00:02:18.560 --> 00:02:27.599
And I am so happy that we switched because Brandon's financial planning platform called Don't you don't need to name it if you don't like it.
00:02:27.759 --> 00:02:28.000
Okay.
00:02:28.159 --> 00:02:31.280
Well, whatever it was called, I never logged in.
00:02:31.360 --> 00:02:40.400
And what's funny is Brandon can see when his clients log in and nobody was logging in, which A means that you're not looking at your money.
00:02:40.719 --> 00:02:42.159
But also it was terrible.
00:02:42.240 --> 00:02:46.719
And the reason it was terrible is because it was not for us, it was for financial planners.
00:02:46.960 --> 00:02:48.400
Yes, that is a preface.
00:02:48.479 --> 00:03:18.879
The software is actually very beneficial for me as an advisor for what I'm doing for clients, but I would say, you know, vice versa, from the uh client-facing side, it is not user-friendly and it's not intuitive as far as how you would actually use it because it does actually have the ability to set up a client portal where they can basically see and tinker around with all the things that I see, but it's not set up for the I literally could not ever find what I was looking for because it was not intuitive.
00:03:19.199 --> 00:03:20.400
No, I 100% agree.
00:03:20.479 --> 00:03:23.599
And I always preface that with people when I was using it with them.
00:03:23.680 --> 00:03:29.199
I was like, I encourage you to take a look through here and utilize, you know, pointing out key features that they should use.
00:03:29.360 --> 00:03:35.599
But I always said that, you know, it can be a little bit difficult because once you just hop in, it's a lot to look at.
00:03:35.840 --> 00:03:36.639
It was too much.
00:03:36.800 --> 00:03:38.719
And listen, I'm his wife and I love him.
00:03:38.800 --> 00:03:41.919
And if I wasn't logging in, ain't nobody else logging in.
00:03:42.159 --> 00:03:43.840
And that's that's just the reality.
00:03:44.159 --> 00:03:57.919
So we are now talking about something that I'm logging into like on a daily basis because it's pretty and the dashboard is great and it's super easy and it's easy and pretty.
00:03:58.159 --> 00:03:58.879
That's what I want.
00:03:58.960 --> 00:04:03.120
I want a good UI, good UX, like a good user experience, a good user interface.
00:04:03.280 --> 00:04:05.599
And that is what Monarch is giving the people.
00:04:05.680 --> 00:04:15.199
And so we wanted to share it because more and more we are hearing that people don't have visibility into their household finances.
00:04:15.759 --> 00:04:25.680
And I think what has happened, especially, you know, we're elder millennials, we got together in our late 20s and we had established lives.
00:04:25.839 --> 00:04:32.720
This was not us coming together at 19, 20, 21, 22, or even right out of college, where it's like your whole life is merged together.
00:04:32.800 --> 00:04:38.160
You didn't own a home, you you just instantly your now your life is now together and you have all the same bills.
00:04:38.240 --> 00:04:43.680
Like, no, we had our own bills and we were living life separately, and then we came together.
00:04:43.839 --> 00:04:48.319
And so for a long time, we kept our money that same way.
00:04:48.639 --> 00:04:59.120
But then when we started having children, I was lacking the visibility that I needed because my income is steady, but Brandon's is not.
00:04:59.279 --> 00:05:06.000
And that's where the problem was is like, now I'm buying all the things for the kids and the birthday presents and the holiday stuff and da-da-da-da-da.
00:05:06.160 --> 00:05:11.680
And like money is just like being hemorrhaged from my account, and I have no idea what's going on with your money.
00:05:11.839 --> 00:05:13.199
And I did not like that.
00:05:13.439 --> 00:05:18.639
So if you're in that assimilar boat where it's like, oh, we still have things separate, that's okay.
00:05:18.879 --> 00:05:26.480
Even if you want to keep them separate, Monarch allows you to still have visibility into what's going on as a collective as a household.
00:05:26.560 --> 00:05:27.839
And that's the important part.
00:05:28.079 --> 00:05:29.839
Yeah, because everything starts with.
00:05:30.000 --> 00:05:34.959
So the first step when it comes to the financial planning aspect is organization.
00:05:35.120 --> 00:05:35.519
Yes.
00:05:35.759 --> 00:05:44.800
So figuring out all the different accounts you have, where they're at, what's in them, everything that's going on from an organizational standpoint, where your debt's at, where your investment accounts are at.
00:05:44.959 --> 00:05:46.000
That's the first step.
00:05:46.240 --> 00:05:48.879
And monarch money makes that significantly easier.
00:05:49.040 --> 00:05:56.879
It makes it so easy that I have now been incorporating using that aspect of monarch money with my clients.
00:05:57.199 --> 00:05:59.199
So I bet they are actually logging in.
00:05:59.439 --> 00:05:59.759
Oh, yeah.
00:05:59.839 --> 00:06:08.480
So now we know when I bring on a new client and I also had my existing clients do this, is that we establish a monarch money account and they go ahead and connect all the different accounts that they need.
00:06:08.639 --> 00:06:16.720
And this provides a lot easier visibility for me because the planning software that I'm using has an account aggregator, just doesn't work as well.
00:06:16.879 --> 00:06:21.519
But this one works significantly better for me, and then even more so it works even better for the client.
00:06:21.680 --> 00:06:31.600
So now they're not having to log in and log in consistently to reconnect accounts, and it's also a much user uh much easier user uh interface.
00:06:31.759 --> 00:06:35.279
So now they're actually you utilizing the way that I would like them to.
00:06:35.519 --> 00:06:37.279
Yeah, because everything makes more sense.
00:06:37.519 --> 00:06:44.639
Yeah, because the biggest thing is I don't want people to simply only uh monitor their money when we're having a meeting or just leading up to my meeting.
00:06:44.959 --> 00:06:53.759
I want them to start having these, you know, money meetings on their own and these conversations on their own, so that when we're coming to meet, we're not having to dive through all the details because they've already been looking at that.
00:06:53.920 --> 00:06:56.879
We're more or less talking about the strategies now that we want to implement.
00:06:57.120 --> 00:06:57.519
Yeah.
00:06:57.759 --> 00:07:03.839
Well, I think one thing that's important is if you've ever said, hey, how much money is in the checking account?
00:07:04.000 --> 00:07:05.360
Did you pay that bill?
00:07:05.519 --> 00:07:07.839
Um, hey, can you transfer me some money?
00:07:08.000 --> 00:07:21.920
If you're having any of those kinds of conversations or asking any of those questions, or you feel like you're being nagged or you are the nag and you're trying to just ask questions about, like, hey, is the water bill paid?
00:07:22.240 --> 00:07:23.680
You need something like this.
00:07:23.839 --> 00:07:40.480
You need a monarch money to have visibility because then you can easily connect all of the accounts and then you can go to your app and you can see every single time there's a transaction, every single time there's a deposit, every single time your 401k has increased in value, right?
00:07:40.639 --> 00:07:44.560
It's so nice to just have it all in one app and in one place.
00:07:44.720 --> 00:07:51.839
So if you ever used Mint before, um, if you liked Mint and you were using it, you will love Monarch.
00:07:52.160 --> 00:07:55.199
A lot of the people that were behind Mint are also now a part of Monarch Money.
00:07:55.360 --> 00:07:57.279
Yeah, which is why it's such a great tool.
00:07:57.439 --> 00:08:01.120
And for those of you that are already thinking, I don't have time to set this up.
00:08:01.360 --> 00:08:05.839
I literally added all of our accounts in under 20 minutes.
00:08:06.000 --> 00:08:11.519
Like I was literally laying in bed because the reality is, is you have the apps already on your phone.
00:08:11.680 --> 00:08:14.240
You have all of your credit card apps, all of your banking apps.
00:08:14.319 --> 00:08:21.199
You probably have a Fidelity app for your 401k and a Charles Schwab, and you have it all there and it's gonna just pull the data.
00:08:21.279 --> 00:08:32.000
There's a little bit of two-factor authentication that happens, but it's so easy, you literally don't even have to have the cards in your hand to get this set up, which is brilliant.
00:08:32.320 --> 00:08:39.759
Well, the big thing here is that naturally, normally one partner is taking more of a leading role than the other.
00:08:40.000 --> 00:08:40.399
Yes.
00:08:40.639 --> 00:08:44.399
And the idea here is that you can still have that little bit of one person.
00:08:44.480 --> 00:08:49.279
It's just naturally one person is going to do a little bit more than the other, as we all know, and partnerships.
00:08:49.440 --> 00:08:55.039
However, this is to help bridge that gap in the sense of one person was doing everything.
00:08:55.120 --> 00:08:57.600
They had all the logins, they were the ones looking into it.
00:08:57.759 --> 00:09:03.360
They had so like the other person, if they wanted to, you know, be a part of that, they had to ask for the logins and all this other stuff.
00:09:03.519 --> 00:09:07.759
Whereas you can each set you can set up the account and you both have viewpoints into it.
00:09:08.240 --> 00:09:14.559
So you don't have to ask that person for all these different logins because everything is now going to be filtered into one central hub.
00:09:14.799 --> 00:09:15.360
Yes.
00:09:15.679 --> 00:09:23.840
And I would say that let's say maybe somebody listening is a stay-at-home mom, not earning money outside of the home.
00:09:24.159 --> 00:09:29.519
A lot of times the women are the ones who are uh either managing the money.
00:09:29.600 --> 00:09:31.519
So it's it's almost it's two extremes, right?
00:09:31.600 --> 00:09:33.840
Even if they're not earning the money, they're still managing it.
00:09:34.000 --> 00:09:35.440
They're paying all the household bills.
00:09:35.600 --> 00:09:40.080
And the husband is like, nope, I, you know, thanks for keeping the lights on and the water running.
00:09:40.159 --> 00:09:41.039
I don't care.
00:09:41.360 --> 00:09:47.200
Or it's the opposite where it's the man making the money and the woman has no visibility.
00:09:47.360 --> 00:09:55.679
Like I've had a lot of those conversations recently too, where the woman is kind of hoping and praying that like things are getting taken care of.
00:09:55.840 --> 00:10:02.480
And the reality is, as we all know, most of the time women outlive men.
00:10:02.639 --> 00:10:03.279
Oh, yeah.
00:10:03.600 --> 00:10:06.320
So, and that's just like a blanketed statistic.
00:10:06.399 --> 00:10:07.519
Like, that's just a fact.
00:10:07.679 --> 00:10:08.799
Women outlive men.
00:10:08.960 --> 00:10:20.720
So even if you are not currently looking at your finances, there will very likely be a point where you have to and you will not have a choice because you might outlive your husband.
00:10:20.960 --> 00:10:26.000
And so, in that scenario, you don't want to go into the hardest time of your life.
00:10:26.159 --> 00:10:30.480
You're gonna be elderly, you know, technology is gonna be, who knows what it's gonna be?
00:10:30.559 --> 00:10:33.600
All these different factors are going to be against you.
00:10:33.759 --> 00:10:36.960
You're gonna be grieving, and now you need to look into the finances.
00:10:37.120 --> 00:10:40.240
And a lot of times women then get a negative shock.
00:10:40.399 --> 00:10:42.799
It's like, oh, I thought we were good and now you're not.
00:10:42.960 --> 00:10:44.480
Maybe you owe thousands in debt.
00:10:44.559 --> 00:10:46.399
Maybe you didn't have the retirement that you thought.
00:10:46.480 --> 00:10:49.840
I mean, there's so many caveats that could happen.
00:10:50.080 --> 00:10:57.039
Why not just get the visibility now to avoid something catastrophic happening later down the line?
00:10:57.360 --> 00:11:08.480
Also, the thing is here is that they can also help prevent financial infidelity in the sense of where once again the man is handling all the different aspects of the finances and the woman is very much hands-off.
00:11:08.960 --> 00:11:20.000
And then, you know, maybe one day in the future they decide they want to get divorced, and the wife thinks that, hey, we have certain things in place, our finances are doing, you know, whatever it may be that I thought that they were doing.
00:11:20.240 --> 00:11:22.720
And the complete opposite is the actual reality.
00:11:22.960 --> 00:11:27.759
So being able to have this insight will prevent that because you'll see what's going on.
00:11:27.840 --> 00:11:33.519
You'll know, like, hey, like, you know, we have this amount of money in this account, we have this amount of money in the investment account.
00:11:33.679 --> 00:11:43.919
You know, overall, like I said, I think it just helps foster a better relationship between you and your partner when you both have insight to your finances and you're having these conversations that we are encouraging you to have.
00:11:44.080 --> 00:11:44.320
Yeah.
00:11:44.480 --> 00:11:48.320
Now, the reality is, is you can still be shady.
00:11:48.399 --> 00:11:52.320
You could still open up a credit card if you wanted to and just not attach it to Monarch.
00:11:52.399 --> 00:11:55.759
I mean, it's not going to go and automatically pull that information.
00:11:56.000 --> 00:12:00.000
So if you're with a shady person, this episode is not going to solve that problem.
00:12:00.480 --> 00:12:12.960
However, if you're not with a shady person and you are in a healthy, happy relationship and you just want more visibility for all the reasons that we've already noted, then this is a great tool to make it easy to get that visibility.
00:12:13.200 --> 00:12:15.120
I personally, I don't want a spreadsheet.
00:12:15.279 --> 00:12:17.360
I don't want to open it up and excel.
00:12:17.840 --> 00:12:21.039
I love an app and I love it front and center.
00:12:21.200 --> 00:12:26.399
It's so easy to use and it really is a clean way to see your money.
00:12:26.639 --> 00:12:41.200
What they just recently added that I'm loving, and I don't know if you have logged in to see that I've already done this, is for example, I had my 401k, which is with Fidelity, um, linked to Monarch.
00:12:41.440 --> 00:12:52.399
Now the added feature is for couples, and my picture shows up, Brandon pictures shows up, and then there's another icon and it's like a shared whatever, like a shared icon.
00:12:52.559 --> 00:12:56.080
Now I have put my face on that Fidelity 401k.
00:12:56.240 --> 00:12:56.799
Oh, yeah.
00:12:57.039 --> 00:13:06.559
So that, you know, when we look through it, we can easily see this one's my 401k, this one's Brandon's 401k, um, you know, these are the children's accounts, et cetera.
00:13:06.720 --> 00:13:09.600
And it's just another clean way you can filter that way.
00:13:09.759 --> 00:13:16.879
So if you just wanted to see, you know, the things that are technically yours versus the things that are, you know, his and ours.
00:13:17.120 --> 00:13:23.440
It's just, again, really nice way to quickly get oversight into what you're trying to see.
00:13:23.600 --> 00:13:25.279
Are you trying to look at the joint checking?
00:13:25.360 --> 00:13:27.519
Are you trying to look at your personal IRA?
00:13:27.679 --> 00:13:32.639
Whatever that is, you can see it really easily with that new added feature, which is really nice.
00:13:32.879 --> 00:13:39.200
Yeah, I would say with Monarch Money, one of the key features that it's known for and what a lot of people use it for is quote unquote a budgeting app.
00:13:39.360 --> 00:13:40.720
Yeah, you can do that.
00:13:40.960 --> 00:13:51.840
Whereas you're able to see how much money of coming in, how much money of coming out, and then you can make adjustments to that because you can see the individual purchases that are going on, and it makes it very easy for you to see that.
00:13:52.080 --> 00:14:01.360
Now, one of the things that it um a lot of people I don't think, you know, take it that complete step further is why I call it more than just a budgeting app and I actually call it a planning app.
00:14:01.440 --> 00:14:12.879
It's because it has a lot of other features in it, such as, you know, goal setting, also um features in regards to projections for investment accounts and you know putting in this certain amount, what that could that could look like over time.
00:14:13.120 --> 00:14:13.679
I love that.
00:14:13.840 --> 00:14:18.080
So it's not just simply, hey, I'm looking at budgeting as far as what's going on in my household month to month.
00:14:18.320 --> 00:14:26.559
If you use it the right way, it really can help you, you know, get a full picture of your finances and help you actually start to put a plan in place when used correctly.
00:14:26.720 --> 00:14:26.960
Yeah.
00:14:27.120 --> 00:14:30.879
I love that it basically will show you your net worth, which is great.
00:14:31.120 --> 00:14:32.879
You can put in your home.
00:14:32.960 --> 00:14:35.039
Um, it'll pull in actually through Zillow.
00:14:35.120 --> 00:14:38.639
So you have a Zillow estimate, a zest, is it called a zestament, I think?
00:14:38.799 --> 00:14:39.120
I don't know.
00:14:39.200 --> 00:14:42.879
And you real estate agents don't come after us in regards to I know, we know it's not accurate.
00:14:43.600 --> 00:14:45.039
But it is the best we got for that now.
00:14:45.279 --> 00:14:57.360
It's good to see, like, you know, hey, you have one uh one number that is your um, you know, total your your net worth, and then you add in your home and you're like, ooh, this looks much better.
00:14:57.519 --> 00:14:59.679
Um, so that's a a nice thing to do as well.
00:14:59.840 --> 00:15:06.000
And we know people who've really gamified the budgeting portion because you can set uh categories, right?
00:15:06.080 --> 00:15:14.639
So if you're like, hey, we really need to crack down on how much we're spending eating out or how much we're spending grocery shopping, you can set those limits.
00:15:14.879 --> 00:15:22.720
And the people we know that are using it in this gamified way, they're trying to get as close to that limit as possible without going over, right?
00:15:22.799 --> 00:15:36.240
And so they're really proud of themselves when like they end the month$4 away from you know whatever goal they set for their grocery bill that month, because it shows that they're being intentional, they're spending their money in the right way, et cetera.
00:15:36.399 --> 00:15:41.360
So there's definitely um opportunity to, I would say crawl walk run, right?
00:15:41.440 --> 00:15:44.720
Like first get all your accounts in, maybe start a budget.
00:15:44.879 --> 00:15:47.039
Maybe, maybe you're just focusing on one category.
00:15:47.200 --> 00:15:49.360
Hey, maybe maybe we need to pull back on eating out.
00:15:49.600 --> 00:15:57.120
What I say first, before you even like go into the idea of putting in a budget, link your information and see where your money's going.
00:15:57.440 --> 00:15:59.120
Just see, see currently what's going on.
00:15:59.279 --> 00:16:07.600
So, for example, it doesn't just pull in your most recent statements, it pulls in like, you know, a year's past, like a year worth of uh financial information for all the accounts you attach.
00:16:07.679 --> 00:16:10.000
So you can literally see what you've been doing over the past year.
00:16:10.480 --> 00:16:11.919
So I don't think everybody wants to see that.
00:16:12.159 --> 00:16:16.080
That's going to be the first step is that you have to have a real realization of what's going on.
00:16:16.399 --> 00:16:22.720
You can also, once it does that, um, you can go in and make sure that it's pulling things correctly.
00:16:22.879 --> 00:16:30.799
So for example, it might show CVS as shopping, but you know you only purchase prescriptions at CVS.
00:16:30.879 --> 00:16:31.840
So now it's medical.
00:16:32.000 --> 00:16:36.000
So you might need to go in and do a little tweaking, do a little recategorizing.
00:16:36.159 --> 00:16:38.159
Um, but again, that won't take long.
00:16:38.240 --> 00:16:42.399
And once you do it, it'll remember uh for future transactions.
00:16:42.639 --> 00:16:44.559
Yeah, and that goes in the customization aspect.
00:16:44.799 --> 00:16:52.720
So with the dashboard, you can customize it in a variety of ways, even just as far as what pops up first, as far as what you use more often, you can see.
00:16:52.799 --> 00:17:04.559
And as just was saying, when it comes to the budgeting aspect of the transactions, they already have categories set up, but you can add categories, take away categories, rename them, and make it as customizable as you would like to.
00:17:04.720 --> 00:17:14.880
You can know I know some people that like to get very, you know, granular and have very specific multiple categories, whereas some people they want to group, you know, multiple things together and have less categories.
00:17:15.119 --> 00:17:20.240
But the nice thing is that it allows you to have that customization so that you can make the changes that works best for you.
00:17:20.480 --> 00:17:20.960
Yeah.
00:17:21.200 --> 00:17:22.720
And nothing's set in stone.
00:17:22.799 --> 00:17:26.960
So if you start with 40 categories and then you say, you know, actually, this is too much.
00:17:27.039 --> 00:17:30.960
I want to, you know, pull back to 10, you can change that whenever you're ready.
00:17:31.119 --> 00:17:41.359
But I think the important part is getting started, getting set up, and playing around with like what you want to see and where you should be spending your time analyzing where your money's going.
00:17:41.599 --> 00:17:59.119
Yeah, and it also has features built in that can allow you to have like, yo, specific alerts and then also um make some suggestions as far as from a smart planning standpoint, as far as, hey, you know, this is what our current financial situation is, since they have all your information and then you start to, you know, kind of determine what it is you want to do, and they can make suggestions based off of that.
00:17:59.359 --> 00:17:59.599
Yeah.
00:17:59.759 --> 00:18:04.559
I wouldn't say that that should replace working with like the brand ends of the world.
00:18:04.799 --> 00:18:10.240
No, I because I honestly like once again, it's one of those things where it's crap in, crap out.
00:18:10.400 --> 00:18:10.640
Yes.
00:18:10.799 --> 00:18:18.799
So the software can be phenomenal, but if you don't know what you need to put in in order to get the output that you're looking for, it can cause issues.
00:18:19.119 --> 00:18:26.000
So you know, like I said, use it as a a tool, not use it as one of your tools, not your only tool.
00:18:26.240 --> 00:18:26.720
Yes.
00:18:26.960 --> 00:18:27.759
Absolutely.
00:18:28.000 --> 00:18:30.240
Um, do we want to tell people how to get started?
00:18:30.480 --> 00:18:31.039
Go ahead.
00:18:31.279 --> 00:18:31.599
Okay.
00:18:32.079 --> 00:18:35.920
So the first thing you're gonna do is you're gonna click the nick link in our show notes.
00:18:36.079 --> 00:18:41.599
Um that is going to get you a percentage off of your I believe it's 20% off right now.
00:18:42.480 --> 00:18:43.359
It's at least the first year.
00:18:43.519 --> 00:18:44.000
Yeah.
00:18:44.240 --> 00:18:46.720
Um, and then you're going to create an account.
00:18:47.039 --> 00:18:51.279
And then you're going to actually connect your financial institutions.
00:18:51.519 --> 00:18:56.960
So again, if you have a lot of accounts, maybe you start with everything in your wallet right now.
00:18:57.119 --> 00:19:01.440
Then maybe you go to your investment accounts, you know, like you can do it all at once.
00:19:01.519 --> 00:19:05.119
I did it all at once because again, you'll see how quickly it goes.
00:19:05.279 --> 00:19:12.559
But depending on what your situation is, how much time you have, set a goal, you know, maybe of a week and have everything in by the end of the week.
00:19:12.799 --> 00:19:13.039
Yeah.
00:19:13.119 --> 00:19:21.279
And from my experience, as far as, you know, the accounts that we've been connecting and then the ones I've had clients connect, for the most part, everything connects fairly well.
00:19:21.440 --> 00:19:21.759
Very quickly.
00:19:22.000 --> 00:19:26.799
I would say the only issues that I've really run into recently is student loan accounts being connected correctly.
00:19:27.119 --> 00:19:29.680
Oh yeah, I didn't add our student my student loan.
00:19:29.759 --> 00:19:30.720
So I haven't tried that one.
00:19:31.119 --> 00:19:37.039
And that's just because, as we all know, the student loan process right now is the whole department's a dumpster fire.
00:19:37.119 --> 00:19:37.680
So yeah.
00:19:37.839 --> 00:19:38.160
Okay.
00:19:38.559 --> 00:19:40.079
So that's a good call out.
00:19:40.240 --> 00:19:44.960
I did not have that added, and that is obviously a liability, so to speak.
00:19:45.039 --> 00:19:47.440
So I don't need to keep that in the back of our head.
00:19:47.680 --> 00:19:56.880
Um, and then you're gonna want, if you're in a partnership, you're gonna want to invite your partner and remind them that this is about uh collaboration and not control.
00:19:57.200 --> 00:20:03.920
You know, it's just about visibility, it's understanding what's Going on, making goals together, working towards those goals.
00:20:04.000 --> 00:20:05.519
Um, so invite your partner.
00:00:05.759 --> 00:00:11.199
00:00:11.359 --> 00:00:16.480
00:00:16.719 --> 00:00:21.600
00:00:21.839 --> 00:00:31.039
00:00:31.280 --> 00:00:35.280
00:00:35.439 --> 00:00:44.399
00:00:44.560 --> 00:00:51.600
00:00:51.920 --> 00:01:01.600
00:01:01.840 --> 00:01:06.560
00:01:23.920 --> 00:01:25.519
00:01:27.439 --> 00:01:28.640
00:01:31.200 --> 00:01:32.000
00:01:32.239 --> 00:01:33.439
00:01:34.000 --> 00:01:45.040
00:01:45.760 --> 00:01:46.319
00:01:46.560 --> 00:01:58.719
00:01:58.799 --> 00:02:01.040
00:02:01.599 --> 00:02:03.200
00:02:03.519 --> 00:02:05.599
00:02:05.840 --> 00:02:07.200
00:02:07.359 --> 00:02:12.879
00:02:12.960 --> 00:02:17.919
00:02:18.159 --> 00:02:18.400
00:02:18.560 --> 00:02:27.599
00:02:27.759 --> 00:02:28.000
00:02:28.159 --> 00:02:31.280
00:02:31.360 --> 00:02:40.400
00:02:40.719 --> 00:02:42.159
00:02:42.240 --> 00:02:46.719
00:02:46.960 --> 00:02:48.400
00:02:48.479 --> 00:03:18.879
00:03:19.199 --> 00:03:20.400
00:03:20.479 --> 00:03:23.599
00:03:23.680 --> 00:03:29.199
00:03:29.360 --> 00:03:35.599
00:03:35.840 --> 00:03:36.639
00:03:36.800 --> 00:03:38.719
00:03:38.800 --> 00:03:41.919
00:03:42.159 --> 00:03:43.840
00:03:44.159 --> 00:03:57.919
00:03:58.159 --> 00:03:58.879
00:03:58.960 --> 00:04:03.120
00:04:03.280 --> 00:04:05.599
00:04:05.680 --> 00:04:15.199
00:04:15.759 --> 00:04:25.680
00:04:25.839 --> 00:04:32.720
00:04:32.800 --> 00:04:38.160
00:04:38.240 --> 00:04:43.680
00:04:43.839 --> 00:04:48.319
00:04:48.639 --> 00:04:59.120
00:04:59.279 --> 00:05:06.000
00:05:06.160 --> 00:05:11.680
00:05:11.839 --> 00:05:13.199
00:05:13.439 --> 00:05:18.639
00:05:18.879 --> 00:05:26.480
00:05:26.560 --> 00:05:27.839
00:05:28.079 --> 00:05:29.839
00:05:30.000 --> 00:05:34.959
00:05:35.120 --> 00:05:35.519
00:05:35.759 --> 00:05:44.800
00:05:44.959 --> 00:05:46.000
00:05:46.240 --> 00:05:48.879
00:05:49.040 --> 00:05:56.879
00:05:57.199 --> 00:05:59.199
00:05:59.439 --> 00:05:59.759
00:05:59.839 --> 00:06:08.480
00:06:08.639 --> 00:06:16.720
00:06:16.879 --> 00:06:21.519
00:06:21.680 --> 00:06:31.600
00:06:31.759 --> 00:06:35.279
00:06:35.519 --> 00:06:37.279
00:06:37.519 --> 00:06:44.639
00:06:44.959 --> 00:06:53.759
00:06:53.920 --> 00:06:56.879
00:06:57.120 --> 00:06:57.519
00:06:57.759 --> 00:07:03.839
00:07:04.000 --> 00:07:05.360
00:07:05.519 --> 00:07:07.839
00:07:08.000 --> 00:07:21.920
00:07:22.240 --> 00:07:23.680
00:07:23.839 --> 00:07:40.480
00:07:40.639 --> 00:07:44.560
00:07:44.720 --> 00:07:51.839
00:07:52.160 --> 00:07:55.199
00:07:55.360 --> 00:07:57.279
00:07:57.439 --> 00:08:01.120
00:08:01.360 --> 00:08:05.839
00:08:06.000 --> 00:08:11.519
00:08:11.680 --> 00:08:14.240
00:08:14.319 --> 00:08:21.199
00:08:21.279 --> 00:08:32.000
00:08:32.320 --> 00:08:39.759
00:08:40.000 --> 00:08:40.399
00:08:40.639 --> 00:08:44.399
00:08:44.480 --> 00:08:49.279
00:08:49.440 --> 00:08:55.039
00:08:55.120 --> 00:08:57.600
00:08:57.759 --> 00:09:03.360
00:09:03.519 --> 00:09:07.759
00:09:08.240 --> 00:09:14.559
00:09:14.799 --> 00:09:15.360
00:09:15.679 --> 00:09:23.840
00:09:24.159 --> 00:09:29.519
00:09:29.600 --> 00:09:31.519
00:09:31.600 --> 00:09:33.840
00:09:34.000 --> 00:09:35.440
00:09:35.600 --> 00:09:40.080
00:09:40.159 --> 00:09:41.039
00:09:41.360 --> 00:09:47.200
00:09:47.360 --> 00:09:55.679
00:09:55.840 --> 00:10:02.480
00:10:02.639 --> 00:10:03.279
00:10:03.600 --> 00:10:06.320
00:10:06.399 --> 00:10:07.519
00:10:07.679 --> 00:10:08.799
00:10:08.960 --> 00:10:20.720
00:10:20.960 --> 00:10:26.000
00:10:26.159 --> 00:10:30.480
00:10:30.559 --> 00:10:33.600
00:10:33.759 --> 00:10:36.960
00:10:37.120 --> 00:10:40.240
00:10:40.399 --> 00:10:42.799
00:10:42.960 --> 00:10:44.480
00:10:44.559 --> 00:10:46.399
00:10:46.480 --> 00:10:49.840
00:10:50.080 --> 00:10:57.039
00:10:57.360 --> 00:11:08.480
00:11:08.960 --> 00:11:20.000
00:11:20.240 --> 00:11:22.720
00:11:22.960 --> 00:11:27.759
00:11:27.840 --> 00:11:33.519
00:11:33.679 --> 00:11:43.919
00:11:44.080 --> 00:11:44.320
00:11:44.480 --> 00:11:48.320
00:11:48.399 --> 00:11:52.320
00:11:52.399 --> 00:11:55.759
00:11:56.000 --> 00:12:00.000
00:12:00.480 --> 00:12:12.960
00:12:13.200 --> 00:12:15.120
00:12:15.279 --> 00:12:17.360
00:12:17.840 --> 00:12:21.039
00:12:21.200 --> 00:12:26.399
00:12:26.639 --> 00:12:41.200
00:12:41.440 --> 00:12:52.399
00:12:52.559 --> 00:12:56.080
00:12:56.240 --> 00:12:56.799
00:12:57.039 --> 00:13:06.559
00:13:06.720 --> 00:13:09.600
00:13:09.759 --> 00:13:16.879
00:13:17.120 --> 00:13:23.440
00:13:23.600 --> 00:13:25.279
00:13:25.360 --> 00:13:27.519
00:13:27.679 --> 00:13:32.639
00:13:32.879 --> 00:13:39.200
00:13:39.360 --> 00:13:40.720
00:13:40.960 --> 00:13:51.840
00:13:52.080 --> 00:14:01.360
00:14:01.440 --> 00:14:12.879
00:14:13.120 --> 00:14:13.679
00:14:13.840 --> 00:14:18.080
00:14:18.320 --> 00:14:26.559
00:14:26.720 --> 00:14:26.960
00:14:27.120 --> 00:14:30.879
00:14:31.120 --> 00:14:32.879
00:14:32.960 --> 00:14:35.039
00:14:35.120 --> 00:14:38.639
00:14:38.799 --> 00:14:39.120
00:14:39.200 --> 00:14:42.879
00:14:43.600 --> 00:14:45.039
00:14:45.279 --> 00:14:57.360
00:14:57.519 --> 00:14:59.679
00:14:59.840 --> 00:15:06.000
00:15:06.080 --> 00:15:14.639
00:15:14.879 --> 00:15:22.720
00:15:22.799 --> 00:15:36.240
00:15:36.399 --> 00:15:41.360
00:15:41.440 --> 00:15:44.720
00:15:44.879 --> 00:15:47.039
00:15:47.200 --> 00:15:49.360
00:15:49.600 --> 00:15:57.120
00:15:57.440 --> 00:15:59.120
00:15:59.279 --> 00:16:07.600
00:16:07.679 --> 00:16:10.000
00:16:10.480 --> 00:16:11.919
00:16:12.159 --> 00:16:16.080
00:16:16.399 --> 00:16:22.720
00:16:22.879 --> 00:16:30.799
00:16:30.879 --> 00:16:31.840
00:16:32.000 --> 00:16:36.000
00:16:36.159 --> 00:16:38.159
00:16:38.240 --> 00:16:42.399
00:16:42.639 --> 00:16:44.559
00:16:44.799 --> 00:16:52.720
00:16:52.799 --> 00:17:04.559
00:17:04.720 --> 00:17:14.880
00:17:15.119 --> 00:17:20.240
00:17:20.480 --> 00:17:20.960
00:17:21.200 --> 00:17:22.720
00:17:22.799 --> 00:17:26.960
00:17:27.039 --> 00:17:30.960
00:17:31.119 --> 00:17:41.359
00:17:41.599 --> 00:17:59.119
00:17:59.359 --> 00:17:59.599
00:17:59.759 --> 00:18:04.559
00:18:04.799 --> 00:18:10.240
00:18:10.400 --> 00:18:10.640
00:18:10.799 --> 00:18:18.799
00:18:19.119 --> 00:18:26.000
00:18:26.240 --> 00:18:26.720
00:18:26.960 --> 00:18:27.759
00:18:28.000 --> 00:18:30.240
00:18:30.480 --> 00:18:31.039
00:18:31.279 --> 00:18:31.599
00:18:32.079 --> 00:18:35.920
00:18:36.079 --> 00:18:41.599
00:18:42.480 --> 00:18:43.359
00:18:43.519 --> 00:18:44.000
00:18:44.240 --> 00:18:46.720
00:18:47.039 --> 00:18:51.279
00:18:51.519 --> 00:18:56.960
00:18:57.119 --> 00:19:01.440
00:19:01.519 --> 00:19:05.119
00:19:05.279 --> 00:19:12.559
00:19:12.799 --> 00:19:13.039
00:19:13.119 --> 00:19:21.279
00:19:21.440 --> 00:19:21.759
00:19:22.000 --> 00:19:26.799
00:19:27.119 --> 00:19:29.680
00:19:29.759 --> 00:19:30.720
00:19:31.119 --> 00:19:37.039
00:19:37.119 --> 00:19:37.680
00:19:37.839 --> 00:19:38.160
00:19:38.559 --> 00:19:40.079
00:19:40.240 --> 00:19:44.960
00:19:45.039 --> 00:19:47.440
00:19:47.680 --> 00:19:56.880
00:19:57.200 --> 00:20:03.920
00:20:04.000 --> 00:20:05.519