152: You Consumed 100 Money Tips This Year. How Many Did You Use?

The Information Trap In Money Advice

Jessica 0:00

How many money podcasts, books, and TikToks and Instagram reels have you consumed this year? Probably a lot because you're tuning in right now. But how many of them have actually changed what you have done with your money and what has it impacted on the first of every month? In today's episode, we are talking about taking action, not just being informed. Stay tuned.

SPEAKER_01 0:24

Sugar Daddy Podcast, yo. Learn how to make the pockets grow. Finds for freedom, swear we go. Smart investments, money flow.

Jessica 0:35

Welcome back to the Sugar Daddy Podcast, where we help you build a clear financial plan so you can feel confident and in control of your money. If you're new here, welcome. We're so glad to have you. And if you're an OG, welcome back. We are so glad you're here with us again today on Wednesday. Hopefully, if you're listening, as soon as the episodes drop, make sure you hit subscribe so you never miss an episode. Babe, what are we talking about today?

Brandon 0:58

So today we are talking about the difference between being informed versus being intentional. And the thing is that we live in such an information-abundant time period that it's very easy to be, you know, over consumed with so much various information, which is good because it's good to have easy access to good information. But the problem lies is that we have so much access to information that we get an overload. So it tends to having the opposite outcome that we actually would like to have, and you don't actually take action on any of the information that you are consuming because there's so much, you have a hard time deciphering what you actually should do.

Jessica 1:35

Analysis, paralysis, type thing. Yeah. I think too, you know, there's so much information, and then it's hard to know what pieces of information you can trust. And so it almost just makes you second guess everything. And then what happens is you consume, consume, consume and you don't take action.

Brandon 1:56

Exactly. Because as you said before, like we are living in a better time period than our parents and our grandparents when it comes to ease of access. You know, prior there was so hard to find access to the information that we can easily open up on our phone.

SPEAKER_02 2:11

Yeah.

Brandon 2:11

Wasn't accessible. So that's an amazing thing. But with so much information, it's hard deciphering what is good information versus which is bad information. And then even out of all the good information you have, what information is applicable to me and when should I actually be implementing it?

Jessica 2:26

Yeah. I kind of uh I put this in the same bucket as like all these Instagram recipes that I've been taking screenshots of or that I send to friends or that I send to you, and I'm like, ooh, we should make this, or this sounds really nice, or when the weather turns cold, this sounds great. And then how many of those do you actually end up making?

Brandon 2:45

That is perfect because you know, like obviously with the financial stuff, I'm an implementer. That's what we do. But my uh comparison would be the foods. Yeah, I actually have uh folder categories of like we're food, put recipes in. Do I actually cook? No.

Jessica 3:03

And you eat the same five things every single day of your life. So that's hilarious that you made an entire folder.

Brandon 3:10

I have like, I mean, I have like probably years of stuff in there. I was like, oh, this looks good. Let me put it in there.

Jessica 3:15

Just to be clear, he has not made any of them.

Brandon 3:17

No, not one.

Jessica 3:19

Yeah. So that, but that's the same thing, right? It's like you you go in with good intentions. Oh, I want to make this. This the kids will love it. I can make this for a friend. We can host this for game game night, whatever. And then you don't do it. And you know, you're here, hopefully every week with us, listening, listening, listening, but you're not doing. And that's why when we get the emails and we get the reviews that are like, here's what I've done since listening to your podcast, they are so meaningful because we know people consume our content, but we actually want it to change your life for the better.

Brandon 3:51

Yeah, because what ends up happening is you know, they refer to it as the information trap, where you're consuming all this information and the consuming of the information actually feels productive. Yeah. So you think that you are moving the needle, like, oh, I'm doing something good. I'm taking the time to educate myself, I'm taking the time to learn, which is 100% part of the process and you should be doing.

Jessica 4:11

But if it's taking you three weeks to pick a high yield savings account, you're doing it wrong, boo.

Brandon 4:15

Exactly. The number, the number of conversations Justin and I both had where it's like, I'm comparing this high yield savings account to this one. We're like, just pick one. I was like, the difference between 3.5 and 3.7 is not going to be.

Jessica 4:29

By the time you spend three weeks choosing one, that number will have changed.

Brandon 4:33

Just pick one, stick with it. Because the thing is, I even have clients ask me about switching, and I'm like, is it worth it for you to switch for an additional 0.1 or 0.2%? I said, for me, I say no.

Jessica 4:44

The time equity alone is a no.

Brandon 4:46

If you want to do it, then we can go ahead and do it. But I would not do it.

Jessica 4:49

I think the only time

Stop Overthinking Accounts And Investing

Jessica 4:50

we've actually ever done that is when Chase was offering like, you can get $400 for opening this account and an additional, I think it was pretty large, like $600 for opening this account and doing a direct deposit.

Brandon 5:01

But then we also just kept Chase. Yeah, yeah. But I moved the money.

Jessica 5:06

It wasn't a high yield savings account. So once it was in there for the designated amount of time, I think it was 90 days, and we got $600, then I immediately moved it. And I was like, thanks, no thanks. And that was that. So yeah, it just pick one. Just pick one. Um, and then, you know, people too feel like if they're gonna make a mistake, right? So, you know, which index fund, which ETF, I don't want to open it. Should I go with Fidelity? Should I go with Charles Schwab? Should I go with New York Life? Should I, it's like, just pick one.

Brandon 5:36

And here's the thing is too, is that when you're not making a decision, you are making a decision. So if it's like, hey, I'm gonna open a high-yield savings account, should I open a high-yield savings account, which one should I choose? If you're not actively choosing one, you have just now made a decision. You made a decision not to open one.

Jessica 5:52

No decision is a no decision is a decision.

Brandon 5:55

There is no such thing as not a decision because if you choose not to do, if you're not making a decision, you're choosing no. You're choosing not to do it.

Jessica 6:02

Well, and I think if you think about it that way, then maybe, well, I think for some people it will make them feel defeated, right? Which then also sometimes makes people like retreat and do less. Or if it's motivating to you, then you're like, no, okay, today I'm gonna pick one. Today is my day.

Brandon 6:20

Because often, nine times out of ten, doing something, even if it's not, you know, exactly what you should be doing, is gonna be more beneficial than doing nothing.

Jessica 6:29

Absolutely.

Brandon 6:30

So, like if you choose a high yield, like we're just gonna keep on the high yield savings. If you choose a high yield savings account and say that it's it's three getting a three percent interest rate, but the average is getting 3.5, you're still getting 3%. Yeah. That's better than nothing.

Jessica 6:43

It's better than what you had before. Yes.

Brandon 6:45

Maybe it's not perfect, but it's not, but it's better than what you were doing.

Jessica 6:49

But it's also never gonna be perfect.

Brandon 6:51

And the idea is that you want to, and also I don't want the measurement to be against other people because that should never be the measurement. The measurement should be solely against yourself. Am I doing better than I was yesterday? Am I putting myself in a better place financially than I was yesterday? And that should be the measure.

Jessica 7:05

Yeah. Well, or even we've had plenty of episodes on budgeting, knowing your number, what's going in, what's going out, what's your savings rate. You know, do you know those numbers now? Have you figured that out? Do you know what your car insurance deductible is? If you don't know your numbers, what are you working towards? Yeah. Yeah. All right. Um so I track my spending, so I'm being intentional. What would you say to people in that bucket?

Brandon 7:33

Well, that's being informed.

Jessica 7:36

Okay.

Brandon 7:36

Because if you're tracking your spending, that is simply being informed about where your money is going. Now the next step is Which you should be doing. Yes. So the where the where the difference is is are you simply being passive and seeing where your money's going? Or did you see where your money's going and now you're putting an intentional plan in place on where you would like it to go? So for example, say if you're just simply tracked, I which is great. You set up, let's say you set up monarch. You set up monarch, now you're seeing where you're spending money, but then you notice, hey, as a single person, I'm spending $1,200 a month on eating out. And I also see that I'm not taking full advantage of my employer match.

Jessica 8:14

Okay. So then an action would be I want to reduce my spending on eating out, and I'm going to increase my contribution so that I get my employer match in my 401k.

Brandon 8:25

Because it's a two-step process. Tracking to be informed where the money's going. And then making a putting a plan in place to change your spending habits and where your money's going so that you're being intentional and it's benefiting you of where you want to be.

Jessica 8:39

Yeah. What about the people who maybe are avid listeners? You know, they're here week over week and they're like, okay, when I get the promotion, when I get the raise, when I make more money, when I pay this off, they're the when people. I just made that up, but now you're the when people it's there's always gonna be something.

Brandon 9:01

Yeah.

Jessica 9:01

There's always if you're waiting for when my kid gets out of daycare.

Brandon 9:05

If you're waiting for the perfect time to say, you know, invest or take some financial action, there's never gonna be a perfect time because you're always gonna find an excuse for it to not be the perfect time. Perfect doesn't exist.

SPEAKER_02 9:16

Yeah.

Brandon 9:17

So even if it's so for in these scenarios, let's just say hypothetically, you know, I'll once my kid gets out of daycare, I'll start contributing to a Roth IRA. I'm not telling you to max out a Roth IRA in the first time opening one. Maybe you're just putting in $50 a month, $25 a month. That's better than nothing.

SPEAKER_02 9:34

Yeah.

Brandon 9:34

And I think people, like you said, people try to wait for the perfect scenario. Oh, I'm gonna wait till I have the amount that I contribute that I can max it out for a year. No, don't let you do that.

Jessica 9:43

Or if I can't put $500 in my savings account every month that I'm just not gonna put anything in.

Brandon 9:48

Yeah, that doesn't it's that's gonna be a lose-lose situation every time. So any action for the most part is better than no action.

Jessica 9:55

Yeah, yeah. It it reminds me, I just got this visual, and I'm sure everybody's seen like some of the reels where it's like, oh, one sock falls out of the clean hamper. What is it called? Like the laundry basket. And then they just dump the whole laundry basket. They're like, oh, well, I dropped one sock. I was like, where are you going to do that? You know, we're like you still spill a little drop. So it's like, oh, you just dump the whole glass of more. No, well, you know, you will now because we're talking about it. Um, but it's the same concept of like, just because one little thing happened doesn't mean you have to unravel the whole thing, or because you can't do the big thing doesn't mean you can't do the little thing.

Brandon 10:36

Yeah, do the little thing. Life's never gonna be perfect. Do the best that you can.

Jessica 10:39

Yeah.

Tracking Spending Versus Changing It

Jessica 10:40

What about the people who feel like, you know, they don't need to have a plan because they don't make X amount of money, or they don't need a financial advisor because they don't make X amount of money? Like, what would you say to the people who have that kind of in the back of their head? They're like, Well, I'm not, I'm just not there yet. I don't need that plan yet.

Brandon 10:57

I hear that all the time because that is a common response for people. Oh, I'll come talk to you when I have money. And the reality is that you need to actually flip that mindset. When money is tight, the planning is even more important. Yeah. Because you have less room for error. Yeah. You know, and I think so true. I think planning is uh is beneficial to everybody, regardless of where your income level is. But if you think about someone who has an excessive amount of money coming in um on an annual basis, they have more room for error.

SPEAKER_02 11:25

Yeah.

Brandon 11:25

You know? Yeah. As compared to someone who's on a tight budget where, like, if you don't have much of a margin, then you do need to make sure that you understand your numbers. You do to make sure that you are maximizing each dollar because you have less dollars to work with.

Jessica 11:36

Yeah. Yeah. No, that that is so valid. The tighter the budget, the more you have to stick to it.

Brandon 11:43

And the thing is too, is that I think sometimes um uh people who have more money are actually worse planners because they have the room for error. Yeah. As compared to, you know, it's you know, historically they say like teachers, since they don't make a lot of money, are actually phenomenal savers.

SPEAKER_02 12:01

Yeah.

Brandon 12:01

Because they know their margins are tight. And so they are much stricter in regards to their planning of where their money's going.

Jessica 12:08

Yep. It's so true. It's like the saying of, you know, like the government needs to hand their paycheck to a single mom and she'll figure it out, you know. Like she will stretch that dollar and make it work.

Brandon 12:21

Yes. No, obviously there is an aspect of having within your budget to be able to pay for a financial planner if that's what you're going to use. But there are ways that, like, if it doesn't fit into your budget, that things that you can do in your own, resources you can find, and still do planning on your own. It doesn't necessarily have to be with a financial planner.

Jessica 12:38

Yeah. Yeah. What about this next one, which we also hear, right? Oh, we have a guy, my husband has a guy, it's fine, it's taken care of. My husband does that, or even my wife does that, right? Where it's like, one of us, one of us has our eyes on it, so we're good.

Brandon 12:56

Yeah, I I don't agree with that. You know that.

Jessica 12:58

We're the wrong podcast for that.

Brandon 13:00

Now I can under so like there are dynamics. So like I have clients. Well, every you know, client that I have that's a coupled, there are there's always one that leads more. That's just the normal case. And there's even clients that I've had for a while where like we've gotten to a point now we're comfortable where the person that leads is actually the the wife.

Jessica 13:20

And is it because we're the more more nervous ones or more OCD or anxious, or like what would you say it is?

Brandon 13:28

I mean, there could be a combination of all that.

Jessica 13:30

Yeah.

Brandon 13:30

Um, I mean, obviously your personality's come into play as far as when that happens. But um this, you know, one per one I'm speaking about particular, like me and her have just been meeting for years now. Yeah, yeah. Because I I've met with them together for years. I know she is the one that ultimately is making the decision. Like it does lay on her. And but he is CC'd on all emails, he has access to all the things, so he knows that. But I just know that the dynamic is okay where me and her can meet and the plan gets taken care of. Yeah. But for most people, you know, especially like for example, if I'm meeting with a uh couple to find out whether or not we should work together, I want to meet with both people.

Jessica 14:06

Yeah. You've actually like said, uh, especially when it's like an intro call and one spouse is like, oh, sorry, I can't make it, just start without me. You're like, no, we'll reschedule.

Brandon 14:16

Because there becomes an imbalance in in one, each person has their own things that they want to accomplish within their financial lives. And they haven't necessarily shared that with each other. So if I'm meeting with one person, then I'm completely neglecting all the things that the other person is looking to do.

Jessica 14:38

Well, and and you've said even on the podcast that a lot of times when you meet with couples, they're hearing whatever the story is at the same time you're hearing it for the first time.

Waiting For “When” Keeps You Stuck

Jessica 14:50

So that tells you people still are not talking about their money at home.

Brandon 14:54

Yeah. And the thing is too, is that often in these scenarios, too, like it's like I said, it's okay to be like, my husband handles certain aspects of this. But my question, follow-up question is I understand he is the one leading the charge, but do you know where all the information is at? Do you have a high-level understanding of what's going on? And honestly, maybe you don't need to know every single minute detail because that might just be the dynamic of your relationship and your personality. I'm not saying that. But in the event of something happening to your husband, do you know where to go to get all this stuff?

Jessica 15:25

Right. How the bills are paid, where the life insurance is, how to access the account.

Brandon 15:30

Yeah. Do you have visibility into that account? Like to make sure that it's also another thing is too, is financial uh um transparency? No, financial infidelity.

Jessica 15:41

There we go.

Brandon 15:42

Whereas if your husband, you know, it normally it's gonna be the husband in the scenarios, is that the husband is saying, I got this, I got a guy that does this, everything's taken care of, and it's not. It's complete opposite. So if you completely are hands-off and you don't have any insight to what's going on, I feel like that's just leaving way too much room for things to go wrong.

Jessica 16:01

Yeah. Visibility, transparency, understanding, all of those things are super important. And I feel like sometimes, I mean, you probably feel like a counselor or a mediator when you're dealing with certain couples, wouldn't you say?

Brandon 16:16

Uh in the in the beginning, yes. So now I'm much better at um seeing that kind of like, you know, in the beginning and being like, maybe this is not a right fit.

Jessica 16:25

Oh, yeah, yeah.

Brandon 16:26

Whereas like all my clients now, like I'm everything's, you know, everything's fine. Like I don't have those issues with the clients I currently have.

Jessica 16:32

Yeah.

Brandon 16:32

Now, granted, like you could go into a scenario where like I have some clients that are single, and if they were to start to, you know, see someone and bring that person into the mix, yeah, then maybe we might have to go through that process. But, you know, I've gotten much better at, you know, kind of managing that.

Jessica 16:47

Yeah. Um, what about the people who have done the right things, they're taking action and they're like, all right, I have a plan, boom, I'm done.

Brandon 16:56

Remember, I always say that it's not a focus on a finite plan. It's the action of continuously planning.

Jessica 17:04

The verb of planning. Yeah.

Brandon 17:06

Because I always tell people, like, you know, once we initially quote unquote put a plan in place, I always tell them that like this plan is gonna be wrong in some aspect. And it can be wrong from a positive standpoint where the stance, like, oh, I thought this is something I want to achieve, but now that I'm close to it, I don't want to achieve it.

SPEAKER_02 17:21

Yeah.

Brandon 17:21

Or there are going to be things that we didn't see that potentially happen that kind of derail certain portion of the plan, and we have to adjust to that issue. Yeah. So it's it's like you don't want to always have a hammer for every problem. You want the idea for me is like planning is having a toolbox, tool ball, tool belt, where you have all their various tools that you need for whatever you encounter. Because if you put a plan in place, I can already tell you like your life's gonna change. Like it's nothing to change, especially if you put a plan in place. Say, think about, you know, when we were 30, when I was 30, how our life looked then. I was 30, you were 28, we had just started dating. Now let's fast forward five years. I'm 35.

Jessica 18:02

We have a kid.

Brandon 18:03

We have a kid. Let's fast forward one more year to 36.

Jessica 18:06

Two kids.

Brandon 18:07

Exactly. So in a six-year time frame, we went from we started dating to married kids, house, and everything like that. So that plan that we would have put in place at 30. Yes. So put that plan that we would have put in place, say at 30, wouldn't be wouldn't work at all for 36 because so many other variables were introduced.

Jessica 18:27

Yeah. So the verb of planning, meaning continuous, you don't stop.

Brandon 18:32

Like I said before. And like I said, also you're going to achieve goals. You're going to achieve goals and realize you have new ones you want to add to it.

Jessica 18:39

Yeah.

Brandon 18:39

So like if you put a plan in place with all the goals you want to achieve at 30 and it stays for the rest of your life, your life was not live right.

Jessica 18:46

Like, oh, yeah, that's true.

Brandon 18:48

Like, there's no way you can tell me that every goal that you ever had in life, you knew a 30.

Jessica 18:53

Yeah. Oh, that's actually like that would be problematic.

Brandon 18:57

Yeah. Yeah. It means you didn't grow.

Jessica 18:58

You did not grow. Yeah. Okay. So we're going from just consuming and being informed and researching and listening to the podcasts and reading the books to actually doing something. So we're going to talk about the three D's intentional money management.

Brandon 19:17

Yes.

Jessica 19:17

Yeah. So what's the first one?

Brandon 19:19

First one is

Planning Matters Most When Money Is Tight

Brandon 19:20

decide. Make a decision.

Jessica 19:22

Okay.

Brandon 19:22

As we said before, doing something is better than nothing. And that um paralysis by analysis is going to not get you anywhere. I understand 100% that it happens to a lot of people, but you have to find a way to move past that and just simply take some form of action. Decide. What am I going to do? Decide. I'm deciding on this high yield savings account. I'm deciding that I'm going to contribute this amount to my 401k plan. Make a decision and do it.

Jessica 19:50

Yeah. So pick your top three goals. And some of them are can be quick, right? Some of them are like, okay, I'm I'm opening this account today and I'm moving my money over. Boom. Check the box.

Brandon 20:01

If you're in a relationship, it's sitting down with your partner and talking about what are the things that we want to do. We want to do this. What decisions do we need to make in order to do this?

Jessica 20:10

Yeah. All right. So we're going to decide. Then we're going to direct. What does that mean?

Brandon 20:16

Direct is being very specific in how you're going to allocate your dollars to go where of what you want to do.

Jessica 20:22

Yeah. Every dollar has a job.

Brandon 20:24

Because, for example, like, you know, if we're deciding that we are going to contribute to our high yield savings account to start building our emergency fund, we made a decision that we were going to contribute to it, put money into it, but now we need to be direct. How much money we are are we going to actually contribute?

Jessica 20:37

Because how often are we going to contribute to it? Exactly. Yeah.

Brandon 20:40

And what like what is their amount that we're trying to get to?

Jessica 20:43

Right.

Brandon 20:43

You need to know these numbers. And that's once again where Monarch ties in. Monarch helps you knowing these specific numbers.

Jessica 20:50

Yeah. But again, start with a goal. Start with the end in mind.

Brandon 20:53

Yeah.

Jessica 20:54

Right?

Brandon 20:54

Like in my gun deal set up automatic, once I have that specific number, I'm contribute on a monthly basis to my high-yield savings account. Automate that. It's being very direct in regards to having the specific steps that you need to take. Because the idea here is you want to have to take willpower out of the equation.

Jessica 21:10

Yeah.

Brandon 21:11

So if you can set things up automatically to be done so that you don't have to mainly do them, that's nine times out of ten going to yield a better result.

Jessica 21:18

Absolutely. Okay. So we're going to decide, then we're going to direct every dollar, and then we're going to date. What does that mean?

Brandon 21:25

Well, you want to have monthly money dates, you know? Okay. And whether that's by yourself, with somebody else, because you want to track your progress. Yeah. It's a check-in. Yes. So you want to see where you're at initially. And then say, you know, a month from now, two months from now, have you started to make any progress? And the only way you can see that is by taking your time to take a look at the numbers.

Jessica 21:45

Yeah. Okay. So we are going to decide, we're going to direct, and then we're going to start with the same thing.

Brandon 21:50

I do want to call out one thing that um I think some people don't realize. I know we talk about monarch a lot, but one of the things I love about Monarch is that it has the historical data in it. So for example, if one of your decisions that you made is to pay down credit card debt, you decided how much additional money you want to add towards that credit card debt and you're having it automated. Now with the date, you can go into Monarch and it will show you like, oh, last month my balance was at this amount. Next month, my balance is down here.

Jessica 22:18

You can see the progress. I can see you can see the progress.

Brandon 22:20

Yes, you can see a visual of the higher balance the previous month, and now it's dropped down. Yeah. So you can actually see that in Monarch.

Jessica 22:28

Yeah. That's really motivating. I love that. So as you're listening, think about what you can commit to before you finish this episode. Have you still not opened the high yield savings account? Are you getting your employer match? Are you putting money into an IRA? Do you have your emergency fund? Like we've talked about, you know, a hundred things that you can do with your money across all of our 140 plus episodes. There is something that you can commit to.

Brandon 22:57

Yeah, just one. Just choose one thing that you have not done and take action. Be intentional about making a decision and making that first step forward.

Jessica 23:07

Yeah. And also think back, right? Again, if you're listening to this podcast, you're probably also listening to other money podcasts or reading other money books or reading money articles, whatever that looks like. Think about all the information that you've consumed since you started on this journey of, you know, personal finance. What actions have you actually taken? Because we don't want you just to consume our content. We want you to be intentional about putting things in place to help make your financial situation better. Build your financial house.

Brandon 23:38

We've been doing this podcast for over four years now. And if you've been listening to us the entire time, one, thank you so much. Yeah. But if you have not taken any action on not even one single thing that we've talked about, that is not what we want for you.

Jessica 23:51

No, we want you to act. Those the small things add up. Um and even, you know, if you're building up that savings account, the the $10, the $15, the $20, it might not be, it might not sound grand, but it's better than nothing. You're building the habit of, you know, automating, being intentional about saving, et cetera. And as your income increases, your debts decrease, et cetera, you can increase those buckets as well. Right. So keep that in mind. It doesn't have to be perfect.

Brandon 24:24

No. And the thing is I want to also add is that if you realize that, like, you know, for example, let's say you are in that demographic of people who have been listening to our podcast and other podcasts for years, and you haven't made that first step, you also need to do some self-reflection and like, hey, maybe I need someone to actually hold my hand. Because I do have clients where I think one of the biggest benefits I add to them is like obviously there's, you know, the um knowledge and experience, but one of the biggest benefits is that I force, I'm their hand holder to make sure that things get done.

Jessica 24:53

Yeah. Force is such a terrible word. That's what I didn't say.

Brandon 24:56

That's a their hand holder to help them get things done.

Jessica 24:58

Yeah. You're you're like an accountability partner. You move the things that people know that they need to do, want to do. But life gets so busy. It's so hard to get stuff done, you know, during work, after work, on the weekends. Like it's just hard.

Brandon 25:13

The idea behind one, having that person that's gonna be there to hold your hand to ensure things get done, and also the fact that you're paying that person. Yeah.

Why Both Partners Need Visibility

Brandon 25:20

Make sure because the same idea, for example, having a personal trainer.

Jessica 25:23

Yeah, you're gonna show up.

Brandon 25:24

You're gonna show up.

Jessica 25:25

Or meeting somebody for a morning walk, right? You're not gonna let them down.

Brandon 25:28

Yeah.

Jessica 25:28

Yeah. So, well, so just to recap, consuming is not the same as doing, right? And you can be informed and not be intentional. We want you to be both. We want you to be informed and intentional about implementing and taking these next steps so that your financial house gets in order. And so we want to make sure that you are making the plan, you're actually deciding on what you're gonna do. You're gonna hold yourself accountable, you're gonna direct that dollar to do the job that you need it to do. And then you're gonna set a date to review what you've been working on and what's working, what's not. Where do you need to adjust? Where have you, you know, had wins, what other goals do you want to set? And I think too, the more that you set the goals, achieve the goals, set the goals, achieve the goals, the easier that becomes as well. Right. Because I think a lot of times fear is what stops people.

Brandon 26:22

Oh, 100%.

Jessica 26:23

They're afraid of letting themselves down, disappointing themselves, disappointing their partner, making an error. Making an error. And most of the time, unless you're doing something super, super crazy, picking the account and putting money into it is going to be better than waiting another three months. Yeah. Picking, you know, the ETF or the index fund or even an individual stock, right? Is better than not picking anything at all.

Brandon 26:46

I would say if you're picking to begin with, do not pick an individual stock. Deal with the ETF or mutual funds.

Jessica 26:52

We have episodes on that. But again, take action, right? Did I miss anything, babe?

Brandon 26:56

No, I think that's good.

Jessica 26:57

All right. So we would love to hear from you as you are deciding on what goals you are going to hit and not just keep consuming our content. We would love to hear from you. Slide in RDM, send us an email, leave us a note, and tell us how you have moved your needle because that is what honestly keeps us going. Um, those are the messages we love the most, where people have said, I opened this account, I did this, I started the 529, I upped my, you know, my contributions, and now I'm getting my employer match. Like those are the stories we want to hear. So go do something, be intentional, don't just be a consumer, and we will talk to you next week. Don't forget, Benjamin Franklin said, an investment in knowledge pays the best interest. You just got paid. Until next time.

SPEAKER_01 27:43

Sugar Daddy Podcast go. Learn how to make the pockets grow. Find mental freedoms where we go. Smart investments, money flow.

Jessica 27:53

Thanks for listening to today's episode. We are so glad to have you as part of our Sugar Daddy community. If you learned something today, please remember to subscribe, rate, review, and share this episode with your friends, family, and extended network. Don't forget to connect with us on social media at the Sugar Daddy Podcast. You can also email us your questions you want us to answer for our past the sugar segments at thesugardaddypodcast at gmail.com or leave us a voicemail through our Instagram.

SPEAKER_03 28:22

Our content is intended to be used and must be used for informational purposes public. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment based upon your own personal circumstances. We should take independent financial advice from a license professional and connection with or infinitely research and verify any information you find in our pockets and which to rely upon whether for the purpose of making an investment decision or otherwise.