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😌 Why Money Is Important, Smart Money Habits, and Boiled Peanuts! 🥜
419 Plays6 hours ago
💳 Money impacts every aspect of our lives—from personal security to emotional well-being. In this episode, we cover why money is important and how it helps us design lives filled with freedom, fulfillment, and happiness.
Watch and Subscribe on YouTube
✏️We explore strategies to manage finances effectively, build habits for financial independence, and even share some personal anecdotes about boiled peanuts and first jobs!
In this episode, we discuss:
1️⃣ Money and Happiness: The link between financial security and reduced stress, plus the income thresholds where happiness begins to plateau.
2️⃣ Relationships and Money: How financial conflicts arise in partnerships and ways to foster harmony through shared goals and open communication.
3️⃣ Generational Cycles: Using financial literacy to break cycles of poverty and create stability for future generations.
4️⃣ Building Smart Money Habits: Simple strategies like tracking expenses, automating savings, and filtering spending through personal values.
5️⃣ Education and Financial Freedom: The role money plays in accessing quality education and extracurricular opportunities for yourself or your children.
🔗 Carla's Links:
📘 Start Thinking Rich: 21 Harsh Truths to Take You from Broke to Financial Freedom
🔗 David’s Links:
🍏 Forget About Money on Apple Podcast
🎧 Forget About Money on Spotify
#personalfinance #financialfreedom #moneyhabits
🎧 Listen & Subscribe: Don’t miss out on more conversations about achieving financial independence and living intentionally. Hit subscribe and the bell icon 🔔 to stay in the loop!
📜 Disclaimer: This episode is for informational and entertainment purposes only and is not financial advice. For personalized guidance, consult a financial professional.
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Transcript
Podcast Introduction & Format
00:00:00
Speaker
Welcome to the forget about money podcast where we talk about a money related topic Then we forget about money and talk about whatever it it is. That's right There's gonna be the bloopers coming out of whatever did it is. Yeah Welcome to the forget about money podcast where we talk about a money related pot Carla you Do you want me to do this? Okay. Hey guys, welcome to the forget about money podcast where we talk about a money related topic for a little bit. And then we switch gears, forget about money and talk about something fun. So I yeah hanging out with David recently doing a few episodes with him, which has been a blast. So David, you want to say hi and tell everybody what we're talking about today?
The Role of Money in Life
00:00:43
Speaker
Today we are talking about why is money important? And I know it sounds like a kind of a je a general question. So it does sound like a general topic, but I also think it's a really important thing for people to think about. And there's so many different ways to frame the question and think about how many is important to society in general, how it's important in your own life, how to use your money effectively so that it is more important to your life happiness. Yeah, I feel like there's a lot of ways to think about that. So yeah, Tommy, how are you thinking about this? How do you want to start and dig in today?
00:01:17
Speaker
Well, I think there's a few general ideas that we think about when we think about money. One is use money as a tool, but a tool for what? A tool to just to have an easier life? I don't know that that's the actual answer. It could be part of the answer. That answer might be different for everyone, and it probably is to some degree. But generally, money is important because think of all the things that you can have that you value. And I don't mean materialistic things.
00:01:43
Speaker
security, the ability to self actualize if you wanted to get to Maslow's hierarchy needs and that kind of thing. Yeah, absolutely. Money makes all those things easier. Yeah, it absolutely does. I've heard some pretty good quotes about money recently. So you and I were talking about this not too long ago. I found this article that just popped up in my news feed not too long ago about Bill Gates.
00:02:08
Speaker
Where he was saying, look, I totally understand why people want to be wealthy to a certain degree. I completely understand why everyone wants to be a millionaire. Like having a few million dollars is so powerful. It buys you so much freedom and flexibility and just the ability to improve your life in so many ways.
Wealth, Happiness & Income Thresholds
00:02:28
Speaker
But I don't really understand why people want to be me, me being Bill Gates in this scenario.
00:02:33
Speaker
and be a billionaire, like it's not that much better. And the quote that kind of stuck with me was, it's the same hamburger. like I can't manufacture something out of thin air that is you know that much better than what the rest of the world has access to. So yeah, I think there are limited ways in which a certain level of wealth can actually make your life that much easier and make your life that much happier.
00:02:57
Speaker
So I think that's an interesting angle to think about too is how much you really need to achieve a real level of comfort and ease and happiness in your life. Well, there's that there is the saying, money doesn't make you happy. And I believe there have been studies, older studies say that that's not true really. And well, the qualifier is for the amount of income. Like a decade ago, that level, according to study was about $72,000 annual income.
00:03:24
Speaker
her But a more recent study, I believe that number is going up to like $85,000 a year. Yeah. I think it might actually be even a little bit more than that just because inflation's, you know, hit everybody. Like we talked about in one of our recent episodes. So yeah, I think that that certainly makes sense to me that like up to a certain point of income, things are just getting like better and better. if you So like the jump from, let's say $30,000 to $60,000 is huge, right? Like that opens up so many more.
00:03:55
Speaker
possibilities of where you can live and the food you can eat and like the healthcare care you have access to and just a lot of things that make a huge impact on your day-to-day life. But you go from like 60 to 120. I think it's going to start diminishing. You go from 120 to 240. Yeah, I feel like you are starting to see diminishing returns. ah more like as As you get into the upper echelons of income, that's my thought on it. What do you think? Do you agree with those studies? Let's say there's a cap on the amount of money that makes you happy.
Financial Stability in Relationships
00:04:24
Speaker
I think if there was a general consensus on what made people happy, that might be more of a credible statement, really, because I think we're all responsible for our own happiness. But it really is hard to be happy if you don't make a certain amount of income. Think about it. I think right now, according to, I think it was an experienced survey, 43% of adult couples have arguments about money. Mm-hmm.
00:04:49
Speaker
or at least disagreements or challenges. And ah relationships are something that we should be not focusing on arguing and you know the conflicts that come from that i should be focusing on other things. And when money, if you don't have money, it does bring challenges to to so many things.
00:05:04
Speaker
things that I can think of right off the bat are one, relationships, especially if one person works and one person doesn't, or just the dynamics of who brings in more money, who doesn't bring in enough money, who's spending too much money, who's not spending enough. Well, I don't know if anybody complains that somebody's not spending enough money. That'd be a good problem to have. That's not the point of this conversation. Another reason that money is important is you can buy your time back. In our case, we're members of the financial independence community. I don't know if you are financially independent or not. I am. That sounded kind of pompous, didn't it, the way I said that?
00:05:39
Speaker
I just don't know. I don't know your financial situation. So that's my point. We are doing quite solid. Yeah. I think we could walk away from it come today if we wanted to. So yeah, I think we would call ourselves financially independent, but we both like working. So we're just continuing to add to the pile, which is a whole other ah conversation, but yes. So to five people sitting here today.
00:05:59
Speaker
And when you walk away from work, it opens up a whole other level of ability to focus on happiness in so many ways.
Breaking Financial Cycles
00:06:08
Speaker
Do you ever wonder why somebody in your family didn't figure it out before you? You mean like just financial responsibility in general or five financial independence? gi me and We can lump all that up together. Okay. So in my case, and I don't know your generational history and I know mine very little, but I do know my parents didn't have much money.
00:06:29
Speaker
yeah And we did not grow up with a whole lot of money. When I say we, me and Stephen, and I think back, but my mom's smart, very capable, dad's smart, capable. Why didn't they figure this out? Why did they struggle into their fifties? I think money is important because if you understand it and actually get into good money habits, you can break that generational cycle of, I don't want to say poverty, but not wealth.
00:06:52
Speaker
friend I don't know. Maybe my family was rich in the history and they lost it all in the tulip mania of the 1600s and just never recovered. I don't i don't know what happened. but I mean, tulips are very beautiful. I can see getting caught up in a tulip craze. Well, so what's your answer to that? Why do you think it is that your parents struggled with money and you and Stephen seem to have your proverbial financial Can we cuss? I don't think I've cussed so far. How do we feel about that? I said ducks. I said ducks in a row. I didn't say the other word. I know, but I was about to say something else. And I'm wondering if I can, because out of the two of us, I was not in the Navy, but I do curse like a sailor sometimes I have to confess.
00:07:33
Speaker
There is a block in YouTube settings that I have to click on if there's profanity or not. Okay. Well, then I will ask you, why do you think you and Stephen have your financial stuff together and your parents did not as much? Great question. And ah honestly, I think the answer goes back to a lot of why my life is the way it is as compared to others in general, including my parents probably.
00:07:58
Speaker
And that's because I had a twin. We had that competitiveness. We've always had that mostly friendly competitiveness. We had that person who was also competent at the same level of life that we were to bounce off ideas and critique constructively in many cases.
00:08:14
Speaker
that's And just walk along the path of life together. I think that made it easier for me. And we also generally, I don't know why we gravitated towards financial education or personal finance as sort of like a side hobby, if you could consider that as an interest, but that's just the way it turned out.
00:08:32
Speaker
So what if you got into financial independence first? I don't think I've ever heard that story. We've always been into money and personal finance. It wasn't like we were wayward lost souls regarding finances. And then we stumbled upon the mountain rush more of financial independence people formally into the financial independence community. Steven was the first and introduced me a few months later, probably after he was indoctrinated.
00:08:56
Speaker
Interesting. Yeah, we are a little bit of a cult. That's a fair word to use. So yeah, I think that perspective is fascinating. Yeah, um I guess, do you think that twin relationship is different? Because like I have a brother, Robert has four brothers and sisters. A lot of people that I know in the fight community have brothers and sisters, but I don't think any of them would give the answer of like, oh, it was because I had a sibling that helped me kind of get my financial ducks in a row.
00:09:25
Speaker
So, yeah, I'm curious, do you think that twin relationship is something special and unique that helped you guys sort of bolster each other along the way? Because I don't think it's just a sibling thing in general. That's my my experience. I believe so, but I can't speak for other people who have who do not have a twin.
00:09:43
Speaker
Yeah, I think that's a very interesting answer. There there are a lot of factors ah that turn out like why people become more financially successful than they might otherwise would have yeah among their peers or their expected outcome based on stereotypes and things like that. Who knows?
Money & Access to Opportunities
00:10:00
Speaker
So I kind of want to circle go back to relationships because you were talking about relationships and how important money is to the, you know, dynamic that you have in a relationship with a significant other. So yeah, do you want to open up a little bit and talk about like how that was with you and your ex? did you Were you guys on the same page with finances? Was it something that you like had different approaches to? And if so, how did you manage that?
00:10:26
Speaker
I always felt that we were on the same page regarding finances until the divorce happened. Apparently we were not. Wow. Shortly after. Okay. No, I took the lead in finances. She really never showed an interest and she knew that I was competent and capable and trusted me to do that for our family. Okay. And that's kind of it. Did you guys talk about it ever or it was just not a thing?
00:10:51
Speaker
Not really, no. Wow, that's interesting. She ever wanted to know. I probably talked about it more often than the next person. So she probably felt that she never add and they needed to ask any questions or get any updates. Cause I always just provide them. Yeah. So like if she wanted to buy something, I don't want to use the word frivolous, but like just, you know, fun spending, would she come to you and like ask for permission? how like How did that work? No, she didn't have to ask permission. She had her own money.
00:11:19
Speaker
Okay. Interesting. But if you talk about that another episode, let's talk about that on another episode. Couples and how to deal with money. That's a good one. I'll add that to the list. Okay. I like it a lot. Because as a preview, my wife and I had completely separate finances. So that's either frowned upon or created upon by many. It's usually one camp or the other. Maybe we'll get Dave Ramsey into that conversation. Oh, great. That sounds really... I know what he would say.
00:11:47
Speaker
I don't have any idea what he would say. What would Dave Ramsey say? He would say, you're married, join finances. That's what he would say. Well, we obviously just adore Dave and everything he says. So yeah, it was a little sarcasm. He does say many good things as well. He does. He does. He's just not my yeah my cup of tea. I can't of be honest. Not that I don't really drink tea anyway. He's not my cup of vodka cocoa. There we go.
00:12:09
Speaker
I think a way we can think about the importance of money is what it provides us. I mean, I know that sounds very simply stated, but for example, like physical security. I was walking Pepper, the best dog in the world, yesterday.
00:12:24
Speaker
a And I was near the library, beautiful lawn. Unfortunately, there's a lot of homeless people there. San Diego is a homeless problem. And there are also a lot of people who sleep in vans and trucks and cars, and they park on the public curbs. So I saw this lady on the corner holding what appeared to be a six month old baby, just rocking it. Standing next to the stop sign, just rocking, maybe 15 feet away as a van with the doors open up. Kept looking and thinking, I wonder if she's living in that van.
00:12:53
Speaker
So I walked over and asked her and she said, yes. And while there's nothing inherently wrong with living in a van, i don't I'm not judging that one way or the other, but I think by some or most objective standards, I think we can agree that that's probably not the ideal living environment to raise a baby. And if that woman had money, maybe she wouldn't be in that situation.
00:13:15
Speaker
she would be able to afford a more secure place for her and her child. That's one very clear apparent reason that money is important. Yeah, I can't argue with that. Man, I feel like this is such a complicated swamp to wait into. Yeah, I mean, we we live in a pretty nice, safe neighborhood. Yeah, I mean, in the summertime, we like sleep with the windows open because we feel very, very safe and secure here. But yeah, it is definitely something that makes a huge difference in your quality of life. And yeah, this is this is one of those places where I
00:13:53
Speaker
can start to like really feel guilty about like our level of privilege and what we have versus what so many other people have. You said the P word and we'll bring that up in another conversation too. I have very strong feelings and I think they're opposed to yours. So maybe that'll be a good for a conversation later. I suspect that is true. Yeah, I don't know. It's definitely a ah hard thing to contend with, is that level of guilt, seeing somebody who just says absolutely nothing when I feel like we want for nothing. So yeah, it's definitely hard, but it is it is for sure the clearest example, I think, of why money is important is the level of
00:14:33
Speaker
physical security that it can provide to you.
Money's Impact on Health & Well-being
00:14:38
Speaker
And with that comes this just enormous peace of mind, right? So it's not just about your physical safety, it's also about your mental health and wellbeing. So yeah, like money for sure. That is the baseline, most obvious way that money is important.
00:14:54
Speaker
Yeah, I think if you're worrying about where your next meal is going to come from, you're not worrying about how you can self-actualize and become happy in the world that you're in. I don't think you're even capable at that point to focus on that one single bit. Yeah, I totally agree. It's just that level of desperation and constant gnawing fear and thinking about how much every tiny little thing costs. That's all you have the bandwidth for. That so soaks it all up, I think.
00:15:20
Speaker
as a parent, money matters as well. ah Because for example, my son for the last two years, we lived in a lower socioeconomic neighborhood and we wanted to give this, there are many elements of the neighborhood that we appreciated and liked culturally.
00:15:35
Speaker
her but the school academic standard just wasn't good. and And so we, we had to decide over like every few months, something else would happen at the school and we're just like, how is this happening at a public school? Or these are supposed to be adults. This is supposed to be a professional organization. And there's many, many challenges that schools deal with, but we, we just felt as parents that that school was not taking the overt steps to do their basic job of teaching, actually just teaching learning objectives to children.
00:16:04
Speaker
ah no and our son was suffering academically for it. Fortunately, because we have financial means, we were able to relocate to a more affluent area, which resulted in, what you can argue, you know, should it be that way or not? It's just the way it is. Still a public school, but academic achievement.
00:16:23
Speaker
is actually prioritized there. And we've already seen our son, who just started fifth grade this year, really start to excel already, where we feel like he actually got worse across two years and in a couple areas at the other school. But we had that option because we have money.
00:16:40
Speaker
Right? Yeah, I think the level of quality ah education that your kid has access to is enormous. And I've certainly seen that in my own life and my husband's life. And yeah, and just the kids that are all around us now. Yeah, I see that just being in ridiculously huge factor in their overall like even just their personality because I feel like when you go to a school where you feel well cared for and you know somebody's actually paying attention to you and your needs that shows and how well adjusted you are and then obviously you know level of intelligence the things that they've picked up a long way. Yeah, I think all of those things just matter so so hugely. I was really lucky. I went to great schools and my parents really prioritized that for us, which I just think was an enormous gift that they gave us. So yeah, I think money can buy amazing education, which is another huge way. It's just very, very important in life.
00:17:39
Speaker
I do want to follow that education coming up with studies have also shown that there is no single bigger factor of a child's academic achievement than parental involvement, even if at a not great school, even if even at the best school. So if a parent is not involved in their children's education, they likely will not do well. And if they are, even in a tough school environment, they can be successful.
00:18:05
Speaker
That makes total sense to me too. Yeah, I think that's huge. There are a lot of other things that money can bring you. Once you have money, you can do things that you like and that bring you joy. You play piano, maybe somebody wants to learn piano and wants to pay you to teach them to play piano. Yeah.
00:18:24
Speaker
Maybe you want to travel to a different country and learn a new language or a new culture. Whatever that is, that brings you joy and makes you feel more fulfilled as a person, which is also important for happiness. Money can provide that for you.
00:18:38
Speaker
Yeah, that's absolutely true. Yeah. So I feel like we're, you talked about Maslow's hierarchy of needs. I feel like we're climbing up the ladder here and yeah, these things that just add so much richness and dimension to your life are just incredibly valuable to me. So talking, speaking of education and you know gifts that my parents gave me, I feel like the piano lessons that I got as a kid for so many years, that was another huge investment that they made in me and my intelligence. Cause I do feel like music helps wire your brain in a different way, especially when you start young. So that I think was hugely beneficial to me. And then also just my life fulfillment. It's a skill that I still have to this day that I still get such huge enjoyment out of. And yeah, that's just like parents, silver platter gift to Carla. That was just hugely, hugely wonderful. So yeah, these things that add
00:19:33
Speaker
layers of dimension and richness to your life, I think are just so invaluable. So again, I grew up with very little money and we were around other people who didn't have money. And it seemed like there's a certain set of problems that are continuously recurring in groups of people who don't have money versus the problem set that people with money deal with.
Financial Basics & Personal Values
00:19:56
Speaker
For example, cars.
00:19:57
Speaker
I remember growing up, everybody like every weekend, somebody was working on a car to get it running again. So not only is it a physical stressor because you have to physically go do something to fix it because you can't don't have the money to go plate pay for a mechanic to replace your alternator or change your brake pads or change your oil, but it's a time commitment. It's just a stressor. I've got to get my car fixed before I have to go to work on Monday.
00:20:20
Speaker
Yeah, for sure. Or is my cousin going to be able to get over here on Saturday to fix the door latch? Whatever it is. Whereas if you have money, first you're likely able to purchase a more reliable vehicle or form of transportation. Yeah. Which you don't have any of those problems or you rarely have those problems. Yeah. Which then adds more time and less stress to your side of the equation so that you can again spend your time the way you want to or at least a more enjoyable way.
00:20:49
Speaker
And that's just one example, but there's a lot of examples like that. Another is like healthcare. Absolutely. If I don't have insurance or I don't understand how to navigate the ACA or or something like that, and I have a toothache, I might just deal with the toothache.
00:21:05
Speaker
Yeah. And the end result is I i get a cavity, my tooth rot falls out, I experience pain, emotional hardship, and a distraction from things I could ah otherwise be doing. there's There's a lot of things that add up. and And those are, I mean, everything we've talked about here today is is why people should focus on money, not for to get that shiny new BMW, not to That's where earlier we were talking about the different levels of income and the level of happiness. I think the core of this argument is probably right at that baseline yeah at 85 to $100,000 a year. And I know for depending on where you live, that might be higher or lower. But for someone to decide, do you think it starts with values, identifying your values after a certain? So maybe up to a certain, maybe up to that $85,000 line, it is about the basics. is It is about the physical security. It is about the slightly reduced stress.
00:21:56
Speaker
but And then once you're above that, it just becomes a little bit less. I'm not saying you don't ever experience stress or financial hardship. You know, you can still experience those things, but across the board, it's much less. And it allows you to take that next step in being the person that you always saw yourself as being.
00:22:14
Speaker
Yeah, I think once you get to a certain point, the way you spend your money and or save your money like you do in the Fi community is all about your values, right? So you could certainly choose to take that extra money once you've got your baseline needs covered and buy a fancier car or you could certainly choose to invest it in.
00:22:33
Speaker
piano lessons where you could choose to send your kids to it you know a nicer school or mean the list goes on and on. The choices of what you could do with your with extra money I think is virtually infinite and that's why personal finance is so personal. right by Yeah, I think it all comes down to your individual values, what you really want out of life. I think that's an absolutely true statement. But yeah, for the folks that are still struggling that are like under that line and worried about the physical safety, healthcare, care toothaches, car repairs. Yeah, I think it's still about values and it's still about tracking your expenses really, really carefully.
00:23:15
Speaker
finding ways to just cut anything that isn't just critically important to your health and happiness, like a reliable car, which certainly does not have to be a flashy car. Reliability is very different from flashy or trendy or whatever. you know When it comes to food, buying the absolute basics that will keep you healthy and happy so that you can focus on saving more money to get you to a point where if your car breaks down or if your tooth acts up for whatever, you have the finances to take care of that. So I think climbing out of that hole is still all about values. Money is always about values and focusing on what's really important to me. And I think at the so lower income spectrum, that stuff becomes even more critical. So for someone who might be listening to this and thinking, okay, well, I'm not even at that $85,000 market. yet What do you think are some habits? I know you just mentioned a few. What do you think, well, if you said like three habits that that person could do to start seeing improvement?
00:24:13
Speaker
So I would say the absolute number one most important thing is tracking your expenses. So you got to know where every dollar is going. If you're you know doing something like picking up some snacks every time you stop at the gas station, you know those little things add up, especially at the lower income spectrum.
00:24:32
Speaker
I think those are the things that you really have to watch out for, just these little things that are chipping away at you. So yeah, I think tracking your expenses and being aware of the places that you can cut is by far the most important thing that you can do. Beyond that,
00:24:47
Speaker
I would say you know at the grocery store, paying attention to what's on sale, prioritizing buying that, not getting caught up in name brand foods. like That's another big way to cut. Shop around. like Don't be ashamed to shop at the grocery store that's maybe not as fancy as Whole Foods. or're even like yourre kroger's like The Kroger around here is very nice. but It's pretty pricey. We have other places. like I save a lot. At Walmart, we were having this conversation. I feel like there's such a stigma.
00:25:16
Speaker
about shopping at Walmart and they do treat their employees crappily. So if you didn't afford not to shop there, I think it's probably a good thing. Their prices are definitely cheaper than what you're going to pay at the nicer grocery stores. So shop around, figure out where you can get food for cheaper. And then transportation is another huge one. Like most people are driving cars that are just not... That are more than what they need. And I think yeah buying like a you know very reliable older model Toyota or Honda or something is like a very solid way to go. So yeah, those are the three things that just immediately come to mind that I would prioritize. What do you think? What what would be your recommendations?
00:25:57
Speaker
My three things would be first to automate something, whether it's $50 a month or $100 a month or something into savings. And that savings could be, when I say savings, it could be going to a checking account. It'd be going to an emergency fund. It could be going to investments, ideally all of those in some capacity at the same time. So that then you get the trend line of seeing that grow over time and just knowing that you're advancing towards a goal is powerful. Just seeing that trend line.
00:26:25
Speaker
that alone probably can reduce stress because it's not an unknown. It's not an if you're ever going to achieve your financial goals. It's just a matter of time or when, as long as you continue the habits so yeah or increase that dollar amount. Totally. I think that's that's totally powerful yeah that's a great great one.
00:26:41
Speaker
Number two would be identify your values. That will prevent you from keeping up with the Joneses and falling prey to marketing. If you always have that filter of these are my values, I have money, what am I going to spend money on? Well, let me filter that through my values. And then it makes the decisions easier to so to justify how you spend money. And you'll find that you're probably not going to spend on things that really don't matter to your life, which I think we're all very much guilty of doing from time to time.
00:27:11
Speaker
That's ah another negative goal there. Very solid advice. Thank you. That would be the third one. Stay in good shape. That's solid. Exercise and try to eat well. And if you don't know how to do those things, learn about it. That's it. Education is free on YouTube.
00:27:28
Speaker
Yeah, that's very true. And there's so many different ways to approach health, but I feel like the absolute most baseline thing is just don't eat as much processed foods, right? Like whatever other, you know, line of health advice you subscribe to, I feel like the most important thing is just don't eat processed foods.
00:27:46
Speaker
or minimize them as much as you can. So yeah, I think that's really a solid advice that will help with things like toothaches and it will help with things like going to the doctor. And so yeah, not that I am perfect, please no one like judge me next time you see me eating a cookie because that will happen at some point. But for sure, I think it's something to try to minimize as much as you can in life.
00:28:08
Speaker
If you think Carla is perfect, just write perfect in the comment. Yeah, no one should do that because that would be that would be very false. Carla, we are in very fortunate, maybe well-earned, but fortunate positions in our life financially, but we had to start somewhere.
First Jobs & Financial Journeys
00:28:24
Speaker
Was your first job?
00:28:26
Speaker
Oh my goodness. Okay. We really need to have this privileged conversation. This is, this will be like a really good other podcast. Not here. Not now. yeah yeah yeah I'm with you. I'm with you. but like i i want I want to keep smiling. I don't want to start yelling and ranting.
00:28:38
Speaker
Yeah, I feel like I came from a place of huge privilege. So my parents were very much in the vein of you focus on your studies and we will take care of you until you're done with your studies. So yeah, my first, I mean, other than some babysitting gigs, my first job was as an LSAT instructor at Kaplan. That was like my first real job, which is pretty late into life. Like I was into college.
00:29:02
Speaker
like two years into college, I think by the time I was doing that. So yeah, that was my first like legit real job where I actually got a paycheck and stuff. What was yours? I think the first time that I ever thought I was working, I was having fun, but I was also working. My mom, used she's an artist, very, very talented. And back in the day before they had big graphic art machines that would just print signs out, people would hand paint them. um So she would hand paint signs for local businesses.
00:29:32
Speaker
In the backyard, we'd have this big sheet of four by eight plywood, and I think she had already sketched out the words, and i and I went and painted it in. I think that's probably like my first actual work. I don't think I got paid for it, but I thought that was like work that I could be proud of, and it was good enough because i I'm assuming she got paid for the sign. So it works out, and I was able to you know eat, I guess, that day.
00:29:53
Speaker
But my first real job, a friend of mine, I was probably 11 or 12, probably 12, a friend of mine's dad boiled peanuts and sold them on a corner of a street in Macon, Georgia. And it wasn't a great area. I don't know what I was doing there or why someone let me do it. I think now it'd be like me letting Quentin go do that by himself on some corner. And on this corner was, if you think of it, like an inner city corner, lower socioeconomic,
00:30:20
Speaker
There was a convenience store and a liquor store right next to each other in the same parking lot where I was standing. But I would sell boiled peanuts. And now I want some boiled peanuts. I appreciate that. I miss it. But I'm going to Georgia soon. So maybe I'll get some. There you go. Okay. Yeah. Those sound like pretty solid gigs. I don't know. I mean, did you ever feel unsafe when you were doing that?
00:30:40
Speaker
I was a kid. I was naive. I have no reason to... In hindsight, do you actually think you were unsafe or do you think it was... Because I do feel like as in today's world, we shelter our kids a lot. like We would never let them do things that are probably perfectly safe, but I don't know. All the parents are going to come at me now. I'm sorry. I'm not a parent. Don't yell at me.
00:31:01
Speaker
No, I understand your point. And that as a parent, that's something, and I'm sure other parents think about this too, like ah you don't want to be a helicopter parent. You don't want to do everything for them. You want them to gain some autonomy. You want them to put them out in the world without you being over their shoulder so that they can build their own confidence in a world that doesn't have you in it physically at that very moment. Yeah. I mean, that's really important. I think that's how you prepare them for adulthood too.
00:31:27
Speaker
So what was your first like, quote unquote, real job, your first job that you felt like, Oh, I'm actually, you know, earning some decent money. And I feel like a grownup now. Sure. So when I was at 13 or 14, I think Stephen and I worked, our mother then worked for a bed and breakfast, a historical bed and breakfast in Macon, Georgia. And we, what we would do is we set up the, they had weddings and other events there. So we would go in and set up the tables, tablecloth, chairs, or just like that manual labor, but we got paid for it. After that, I became a dishwasher at a restaurant, a 24 hour restaurant in our hometown of Warner Robins, Georgia. Shortly after learning how to wash dishes, I moved to backup cook and then cook.
00:32:09
Speaker
And I was a short order cook, primarily breakfast type food and launched in her like a 24 hour diner type place from about 14 off and on through high school till I was about 21. So even though I was at college, I would go back and work a little bit. Ironically now it's an actual, was it gastroenterology? Is that the right word? I think the same building is now a gastroenterologist office.
00:32:36
Speaker
Okay. All the same clients that went there before, I would just keep going to the same building. I mean, that tracks, that tracks. That's, I really enjoyed it. And I went on to have other jobs. I worked in the Navy for 20 years, but I really do miss cooking. I would work in a restaurant again. That's fun. I miss the putting out something, creating something, a beautiful plate, putting it out perfect. Yeah. In an expeditious manner. So the little stress is kind of good and fun. Yeah.
00:33:04
Speaker
Yeah, I would do it again. And then how old were you when you joined the Navy? Listed out of high school. Okay. About a year later got picked up through our OTC program and then went to Vanderbilt right then. So 18, 19. Okay. And did you feel like that was like the start of your real grownup career? I don't know. Honestly, I always thought I would get out after four years. I never thought I would stay in. But you got sucked in. And maybe if I had somebody teach me LSAT, I would have gone to law school.
00:33:33
Speaker
Oh, man. Yeah, that's a whole other kettle of fish. Yeah, I mean, law school did great things for me, but I didn't actually enjoy being a lawyer. So I feel like that was my first real for real grown up job. I mean, teaching for the LSAT was a lot of fun. I enjoyed it. Yeah, right out of law school.
00:33:49
Speaker
I started working for a judge. I clerked for a judge for one year. Best job I ever had. It was so much fun. And then after that, I went to a big firm. Well, it was fun, but has it was really great for that ah first year out of law school, working for the the federal judge. That was just a stellar standout year in my life. So, jobs, man. Some are good, some are not so good.
00:34:11
Speaker
I wonder if I would let Quentin get a job right now at his age. He's 10 and a half. I mean, of course I would probably helicopter parented a little bit, but hmm. I don't know if I would have, I would do that. Yeah. I do think if they're our daughter, she had a, she got a job when she was 15 at a smoothie. I think that's about right now. Nowadays 15, if you're, if you're interested, you know, focus on school. I tell Quentin now his job is schoolwork. Do that. Do well at school and be a good son, be a good kid. That's your job.
00:34:40
Speaker
Yeah, and it's an important one. It really is. Like I said, that's the approach my parents took maybe for a little bit longer than most parents would. I don't know. You could argue that it messed me up in life. Maybe I would have been more well-rounded in some way if I had worked at a smoothie place or an ice cream shop or whatever jobs kids or a diner when I was much younger.
00:35:03
Speaker
But yeah, my parents were very focused on education and they wanted me to excel in school. And I guess maybe partially in their slash my defense, I really did like school. Like I loved it and I did put a lot into it. But yeah, I don't know. I think it's an interesting question when kids just start working.
00:35:21
Speaker
Cause I definitely on the late bloomer side, I don't know if that worked out in my favor or not, which one would have been better for me personally, or what's better for most people on average. Interesting question for the parents of the world to ponder. So if you're listening to this after 40 minutes, we would love to, we would love to know what your first job was. Absolutely. I wonder if um and if there's anybody else that sold boiled peanuts on the corner of a street that probably had no business being on.
00:35:47
Speaker
Yeah, I'm also really curious for people to weigh in on what age they think people should take on their first role. Yeah, I know I have heard a lot of people say like you will be more empathetic towards weight staff and you won't, you'll be less of a jerk if you work one of those kinds of jobs yourself when you're younger. I think I managed to dodge that bullet. I don't think I'm a jerk to anybody as a, as a rule, but I don't know, maybe. Do you get Robert in this conversation?
00:36:16
Speaker
Please yeah bring them in here and tell you when I'm in charge something. Yeah. Well, thank you so much for listening today, everybody. Hopefully we passed on a few nuggets and didn't bum you out too much with all our talk of and how cars breaking down and rotting teeth. But yeah, this was another fun episode for me to work on and Dave and I will catch you next time. Thank you all for watching and listening.