97: On Air Couples Coaching - Newlywed Finances
How to Manage Money When Married
Each couple should decide what works best for their financial situation when managing their money as a married couple. Jasmia and Matthew describe themselves as "practical" and "dreamer," respectively. This type of "opposites attract" is incredibly common in my work with couples. Sometimes the pairs self-identify as "a saver and a spender," or they say they are "a homebody and a traveler." Sadly, many couples think having a partner with opposite behaviors is challenging. I see it as a gift. These types of couples who have yin and yang to them have the beauty of being able to balance each other out.
When it comes to managing money when married, there is no one-size-fits-all approach. Instead, couples should think about their values and goals when deciding how to manage their finances.
Newlywed Finances
Managing your money as newlyweds can come with a lot of questions. As Jasmia and Matthew shared in this on-air coaching session, they've agreed on certain money topics, and other ones seem to be happening without a ton of forethought. They saved up for their wedding to start their married life without wedding debt. They also prioritized paying off their cars. They do have student loan debt that they would like to pay down "as quickly as possible." With Jasmia being an educator, she may qualify for public student loan forgiveness. They already share a joint checking account and are working on deciding if they want to merge their finances more than they already are.
As newlyweds, it's important to sit down and review your finances together. Some questions to ask yourselves about money as newlyweds (if you haven't tackled these already) are:
How much debt do you have? How do we want to manage outstanding debt? What do we think about taking on new debt?
What type of financial risks are we comfortable taking?
How do we want to share our finances? Separate? Combined? A combination?
What are our short-term goals? Is there enough money in our emergency fund? How much do we want to save for dining out, travel, or home renovations?
What are our long-term goals? Are we planning on having children or co-parenting children from previous relationships? If so, do we want to save for their higher education? When do we want to retire?
Financial To-Do List
Matthew mentioned that he and his wife have a "whiteboard" where all of their financial to-dos live. Also known as a "parking lot," this is a strategy that Matthew picked up in his business mastermind. I love having a running financial to-do list where you can put financial items that you want to focus on in the future but might not be a priority today. So, for example, adding something like "research lawyers to help us set up a will and trust" might be on the financial to-do list, which gets prioritized when other life events happen, like a new child or a chronic illness diagnosis.
Values-Based Spending
Values-based spending is when a person or couple identifies their core values and does their best to spend in alignment with them. In this interview with newlyweds Jasmia and Matthiew, their values of freedom, spontaneity, and community continued to come up. I loved hearing how they used their wedding spending to be reflective of their values. Matthew shared that it was important for their guests to have a phenomenal time without financial strain, so he and Jasmia prioritized spending money on drinks, food, and lodging. This prioritization allowed them and their guests to enjoy dancing and celebrating with them.
In this episode, I share with this newlywed couple that they could add their values to a few financial goals to help them with the "why" behind their goals. For example, instead of "Pay off student loan debt," a goal for both of them, they could say, "we want to pay off debt to create financial freedom and plant the seeds for generational wealth in our family." Adding in their value of freedom and spontaneity could help.
Similarly, for Matthew's desire to invest in real estate, he could say something like, "I want to invest in real estate to create memories with our family, friends, and loved ones." Doing this taps into their values of community.
Values-Based Spending Plan for Millennial Couples
I'm passionate about helping millennial couples create a values-based spending plan because too much financial advice focuses on what you can't do with your money instead of what you can. This is why I'm thrilled to bring you a self-paced course to help you understand how your emotions and values impact your relationship with money. Clarify your Money aims to help millennial couples create a values-based spending plan that works for their unique situation.
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Hey, how did y'all like that new intro?! I am so excited to have kind of refreshed things around here and really do things in a way that works for me. So as you know, if you've been here for a minute, I am shifting gears. And we are making sure that every single month here at Mind Money Balance, there is a theme and that gives you the choice as to whether or not that month's theme works for you or something you're interested in. So this month, the month of April 2022, I'm going to be talking all about couples and money. And I'm really excited to be bringing today's episode to you. What's so interesting about this is I am interviewing or rather doing like on-air couples coaching with Jasmia and her husband, Matthew, they were newlyweds at the time of this interview. And what's really interesting is we recorded this at the start of the pandemic. So you'll hear me say things like, Oh, you know, in the past eight, nine weeks--which is just like so wild. And I talk a little bit about student loans. And what's interesting is the advice that I give to Jasmia is the exact same advice that I'm still giving my couples today.
So before we dive into this, what I wanted to share with you all is that you've heard me kind of mention that something is coming up for me and I'm I've been kind of wrestling with it. And here's what's going o--my practice, my Emotionally Focused financial coaching, and financial therapy practice is full. And when I checked this morning, there were almost 100 people on my waitlist. 100 people. And so on the one hand, I'm like, That's great people want financial therapy or Emotionally Focused financial coaching. And on the other hand, I'm like, there's just no way I can get to that many people. And of course, if you have added yourself to my waitlist, you know that I, I tell you like, please try and find somebody else. I wish I could help but I can't. But in the meantime, I'll let you know if and when I have openings. But I've been wrestling with this decision. And I've really come to feel at peace with it. And here's the decision. I am no longer taking on any new couples into my one-on-one practice. And here's the reason for that. When I do couples work 98.5% of the time, our first few sessions are all identical. We talk about values, we talk about financial archetypes, we talk about what's working and what's not working. And we create some sort of plan so that folks can engage in Emotionally Focused and values-based spending and saving. And we also talk about how to actually talk about money, how to have money dates, how to work towards collaboration. And so I have decided to bring out a live course, specifically for couples and specifically for our millennial couples who are doing really well in their relationship, but the money stuff is just like, ugh. It's something that ends up on the to do list, dealing with like getting your kids into summer camp, or like dealing with like getting them braces, like everything else just like gets in the way of actually looking at what's coming in and what's going out. And what I hear from so many millennial couples is like, God, I thought by this point in my life, the money stuff would just feel easier. Or I thought when I or my partner got that new good job, that the money stuff would then just sort itself out. It doesn't and that's nobody's fault. It's because money stuff is complicated. And so I will share a little bit more at the end, but I wanted to kind of preface why I'm doing what I'm doing, how I'm doing it in alignment with my values. Oh, it's a live course. I know for me, my energy comes across best when I know that there are people on the other side of the screen and doing something pre-recorded though maybe that'll be the way I go in the future right now that doesn't feel good for me knowing that there's somebody else on the other side of the screen is what feels really good. So if you want to get your name on the waitlist for Clarify Your Money for Couples just go to MindMoneyBalance.com/Clarify and I will ping you just as soon as I start to welcome folks into that. Okay, and with that, let's get on to my on-air coaching with Jasmia and Matthew.
Lindsay Bryan-Podvin
Okay, thank you guys so much for being here. Jasmia and Matthew, why don't you guys go ahead and introduce yourselves to our listeners just a little bit about who you are, where you're at, and how long you guys have been together.
Jasmia
Awesome. I am Jasmia and we currently reside in Los Angeles. But we are both transplants. I'm originally from West Side of Chicago, and I am currently a high school principal.
Matthew
Yeah, what's up? What's up? My name is Matthew Newman. We are in Los Angeles, but specifically in the city of Inglewood. And I am from Houston, Texas. Although when Jasmia and I met, I was living in Austin. So I've kind of moved around Texas a little bit. And what I do, as Jasmia did say earlier prior to recording is that I am a serial entrepreneur. Think I own think four different businesses and have grown one of them which is our bread and butter into a seven-figure business. And currently just launched another one on Earth Day.
Lindsay Bryan-Podvin
Love it.
Matthew
Kind of a response to COVID. But yeah, in short, that's it.
Jasmia
We got married on January 1 of this year.
Lindsay Bryan-Podvin
Yay! Congratulations!
Jasmia
Yes. Got it in right before 2020 lost its mind. So got married in January, been together since January 1 of 2017.
Lindsay Bryan-Podvin
Oh my gosh, love it. So you guys have had to go through a lot just in meeting in a different place, moving, getting married, then, you know, being newlyweds and now being in lockdown. That is a lot.
Jasmia
Yes.
Matthew
I don't think you have time for the story.
Jasmia
So much, it's so much.
Lindsay Bryan-Podvin
Yeah, well, I'm glad that you guys were able to carve out some space. You know, I'm on eastern time you guys are out there in LA. So you guys are upgrading early for this. So I really appreciate it. So tell me in the listeners a little bit about what is working for you guys in terms of your relationship with money or your money story.
Jasmia
You know, I would say one thing that works for us is trust. I think we trust each other enough, where there's no fear in ever feeling like, you know, Oh my god, are we gonna have a place to live in? Or, you know, Will we ever find ourselves in a financial crisis? Because we trust each other enough. And I think we're both just natural hustlers. So we're gonna make a way out of no way. So I think just foundationally that works for us.
Matthew
Yeah, so trust, that's a big part. I will speak on what's not working, and what's not working. So when I say this, I'm saying what's not working is the fact that her and I will still thank each other for paying for something, right? To get something that a lot of folks don't touch on, but like if she pays for something, or I pay for something, she's like, Thanks, babe, or, I say thanks, baby. Although we're appreciative. It's kind of like we're still in that dating phase. Paying for something or, or there's often there's still a fight of who's paying for what kind of like, No, I'm gonna pay this time. No, you pay last time. Like versus just-- and that's because we have, we still operate from two separate accounts. Got it. We rarely use it (our join account) for anything.
Jasmia
It's really just for savings. Maybe for something, we were saving for like our honeymoon and our wedding. So I think like two savings accounts, but two different checking accounts. And I couldn't tell you what's in his and he couldn't tell you what's the mine, so..
Lindsay Bryan-Podvin
Okay, so first of all, that's very normal. 59% of couples don't even know what their partner earns until they get married. So money stuff is super taboo. And it seems very unsexy to talk about but in my opinion, it is one of the strongest pillars of a healthy relationship when we can talk about it openly and honestly and I love that you guys already have a ton of trust in one another. You guys both understand that your values are aligned when it comes to hustling and making things work. So there's no issue there. Did you guys talk at all about what the day-to-day management would look like once you did get married?
Matthew
No.
Jasmia
No. On a very basic level--
Lindsay Bryan-Podvin
Yeah.
Jasmia
And by basic I mean, it was All right, I'll take care of the bills, you know, and a house and majority of the groceries you take care of, you know, rent, and things like that, but nothing, nothing else major, like we both have, you know, automated money that comes out of our accounts that goes into our checking account, our joint savings account. But besides that, we don't go too much in-depth about the details of things.
Lindsay Bryan-Podvin
Okay. And you guys have mentioned that you had saved up for your wedding and for your honeymoon, what are other big goals that you guys have together that are financial?
Matthew
Yeah, we did a very small savings for our wedding. I mean, we, when we got there, we ended up going--even for the happy hour alone, we doubled, what we had budgeted for. And we got married in Vegas, but "our dream wedding," with our friends and family.. We essentially eloped to Vegas, but on January 11, is when we had our ceremony in Jamaica. And we talked about who would pay for what and we did it. That was it. So debt-free from the wedding. So that's good; goals that we've discussed. We haven't discussed any bigger goals. The blessing is that both our cars are paid off.
Jasmia
Student loans.
Matthew
Oh, yeah, we did. Okay, so that's about 172k student loans.
Lindsay Bryan-Podvin
That you guys have or have paid off?
Matthew
That we have.
Lindsay Bryan-Podvin
Got it.
Jasmia
That we have not paid off. Oh, yeah. That is a financial goal. That was one that we like, took some time, and mapped it out. And then a month later, COVID?
Lindsay Bryan-Podvin
Yes, yes.
Matthew
That's right. Yeah. So we did talk about that. So 172k in student loan debt.
Jasmia
We were aggressive, we were going to be aggressive, and really thoughtful about it. And again, he's an entrepreneur, so an entrepreneur that really relies on human interaction. And, you know, big contracts like that. And, you know, essentially, that just alters the path we were going to take in aggressively paying off those student loans. And I'm an educator. And yes, I'm still working, I still have to run a high school virtually. And that takes up more energy than it would when I was going to school every day. And our focus just has not been on that anymore. We haven't talked about it since.
Matthew
Whiteboard, though.
Jasmia
It's still on the whiteboard. We have not addressed it.
Lindsay Bryan-Podvin
Tell me about the whiteboard. What's on the whiteboard?
Matthew
So the whiteboard is a mastermind habit, if you will. It could be anything, could be in the middle of conversation, it can be to draw something as I'm explaining whatever it needs to be, but primarily when we need to talk business, we go to the whiteboard.
Lindsay Bryan-Podvin
Got it, ok.
Matthew
We're here or if we're both at like my co-working spot, we'll go there and do that. But we essentially mapped out what she has and what I have. And then our goal is to attack and it was a joint goal. And not like you've just put so much here you put so much and I put so much on mine, it was more so of like, here's our combined debt. And now that this is a combined debt, you'll put X amount and then I'll put X amount. As I'm talking about, I'll try to go through it and find but that was it.
Matthew
So there has been some conversation about money. And one of the goals that is aligned for you guys is paying off aggressively that student loan debt, even with the hiccup in the road. It sounds like that's still important to you.
Jasmia
Yeah, it's definitely still important. And I know that some things have changed federally with payments and things like that. But for me, it's a time that we should be thinking about like revisiting because I know that whatever we're paying right now is the full amount, like not the interest and all that so we could get ahead of this thing. But we're also I mean, financially, just COVID is impacting a lot right now.
Lindsay Bryan-Podvin
Yeah, of course it is. I mean, how can it not right, it's impacted. You know, one in seven Americans at the time of this recording is out of work, right? So if you're if you have a serial entrepreneur who gets their money by some sort of face to face contact right where that money is gonna go down for you Jasmia being in education even you're still what it sounds like is, is getting a paycheck and getting your income, the amount of work that you're doing has gone through the roof because now you're managing so much more than you had been managing eight weeks ago or nine weeks ago. So it makes sense that there's just so much more happening right now. What about financial goals that are not geared towards paying something off, but saving up for something you guys had mentioned, you saved up for a wedding, you'd saved up for a honeymoon? What are other financial goals of yours within the next 1, 5, 10 years?
Matthew
Um, we have not established any of those goals. One of the responses to that is ideal, is that if you consider like some of the things that we could have discussed prior to marriage, sure. But the things post-marriage, things were disturbed. About April 9, to the 15th, we were supposed to be in Barbados, right? Then for our honeymoon, after April, we were supposed to be in Hawai'i in June, Africa in November. So we had a very substantial honeymoon plan for 2020. That was, that we discussed, you know we've been "saving up for," but all of it has been taken away. We don't have real estate goals that are for example, for us, like, Oh, we got to get married and buy a home. Like those things, we said that we would rather save up to invest in real estate outside of California. So that's one of the things that we've discussed before is like, how do we look at that? Another goal of ours was to collect 20k, so two grand or 2k, from 10 of our family members, and take 20k and go invest into a single-family home. So those are some things that we kind of discussed that was on the plane, you know, but other than that we haven't set up any big financial goals. Yeah. As a couple, you know, business goals all day. But when it comes to the couple goals, I think it's kind of intertwined.
Unknown Speaker
And Matthew's a dreamer. So he dreams a lot and have a lot of ideas. I'm way more practical. And like this idea of investing outside of California, we talked about it, was really exciting. You know, Matthew gets going with the idea it sounds so great. But we just have not put the rubber to the road and made anything happen with that. And I'm not saying anything is wrong with that. But there are some things that we choose to go really hard on and others that we don't.
Lindsay Bryan-Podvin
And tell me what's behind the things that you choose to go hard on. What's the motivator there?
Jasmia
For me it's being debt-free. So when we were talking about the student loans, my mind was going and I'm like, Well, this has to get cut out and this gets cut out and we're going to achieve this goal and be completely debt-free once we got going.. I have just like historical trauma, family trauma with money and managing money. And this idea of just being debt-free. Mentally, like gives me joy. So for him, okay. We can do it if that's what it is for you. But that's the motivator for me.
Matthew
Yeah, so my motivation behind doing something or not? Is honestly, it depends on what it is.
Lindsay Bryan-Podvin
Think about a goal you guys have achieved together, a financial goal. So paying for the wedding, saving up for the wedding. What was the motivator there for you?
Matthew
Gotta get married. Gotta have a good wedding.
Lindsay Bryan-Podvin
Okay, okay, so having a good wedding.. What is a good wedding? What did that mean for you?
Matthew
So one of the things we have looked at what--were two things: One was, how do we get the family and the friends we want to be there, there? The second thing was when they get there, can they have a phenomenal time? And we accomplished that by cutting out our dream wedding in South Africa. And so we said, okay, cool. We'll go to St. Lucia, Jamaica, and some other places and so we chose Jamaica. So we took two trips to Jamaica in 2019 to really assess locations etc. When we went there we were like, Man, are these people gonna have for blast, we got to pay for everything blah, blah, blah. So we paid for absolutely everything. The thing people needed to do was to get to Jamaica, Jamaica, everything was paid for. That's why I'm saying we didn't save up for that we didn't save up for nearly 35 to 40k. Like we literally pay cash money for it. out of the pockets. We weren't hurt. We were good at like, we were perfectly fine. And so we didn't hurt for it. We had celebrity artists there who came in and surprised Jasmia, Jasmia got four wedding bands, or three wedding bands. Like it was like that was dream wedding, right? It's like, but in my mind, I'm planning artists, I'm planning more ring bands in my head so that I can surprise Jasmia for this huge wedding. And then boom, surprise again. So for us, the motivating factor was making sure that everyone was dancing. Yeah, everyone had drinks. Everyone had food, and everyone had a place to stay. And so until this day, there's no one who can say otherwise, like it was set. So I think that was a real big motivator was just getting people there to have a phenomenal time not thinking about any financial strain at all.
Jasmia
Yeah.
Lindsay Bryan-Podvin
Wow.
Jasmia
I love to create generational wealth. I don't--
Lindsay Bryan-Podvin
Yes. Okay.
Jasmia
-- parents, our parents. God bless their hearts. They were hustlers and doing everything they could provide for us in that moment. But can't I tell you that, you know, after my mom leaves this place that I'm being set up with funds, and this and that surprise, check and all that, I don't believe so. And same for Matthew, so if we decide to have children, we want them to hustle. We want them to be college-educated if that's what they choose. But we want them to have options and not to have to financially be bound to this one path of direction because they don't have the finances to do so. So I think generational wealth is something that Matthew was indirectly, like working on with his businesses. But that's not something we've hardcore like tangibly planned for.
Lindsay Bryan-Podvin
Mm-hmm. So I, as you guys were talking, my mind was going going going about all these values that are of paramount importance to you. Yes, Matthew, you are talking about the wedding. But the values that were coming out to me align beautifully with Jasmia's and what I the kind of list that was cultivated as you were speaking was options, community, extravagance, spontaneity, freedom, wealth, right. So what happens if we start taking those things to help you set financial goals instead of pay off debt? Right? Jasmia, you said pay off debt so I can have freedom. So I can relieve myself of that generational trauma of debt holding me back. And in whatever context that is. And for you, Matthew, like, what would it be to set that real estate goal because you want to create a space for your family, create a space for community that can be full of fun, beautiful memories? So when we start taking away the like, the numbers we can dig into the values of what motivates us? And what motivates you guys as a couple, even Jasmia for you to say, well, we're different, you know, he's this big dreamer--I'm very practical. When I listen to you guys, as a couple, you guys have a ton of values that are overlapping, obviously, you guys wouldn't have otherwise you guys wouldn't be together right now. But even thinking about like, what are our values as a couple as a unit? And how can we use those values to really leverage accelerating us to our financial goals? So when thinking about those financial goals together, thinking about what can we do? How can we set financial goals that are in perfect alignment with those values that spark and ignite that heat within us?
Jasmia
Yeah, I think that's an awesome point around our values. We're definitely value-aligned on a lot of things. And I'm just wondering, almost like, what's the first step? Right, yes, very unique time that we will not have imagined in the first four months of our marriage that we will have to be living through like this lockdown. I have to be here with him all day, every day when? You know, it's just it's unique. And it's almost like where do you start right now--are so abnormal to what we envision for our finances right? Now, yes, we have our values. But what do we do with that?
Lindsay Bryan-Podvin
Yeah, great question. So what do we do with these big extravagant values, when we are in a place of lockdown, and what I keep encouraging my clients to come back to right now is come back to the basics and come back to security, how can you find safety and security in this strange world that we are living in. And once you can start to build your financial house off of safety and security, then you can layer on the spontaneity, the fun, the extravagance, the freedom, all of that comes from having that baseline of safety and security. So when I coach couples, my philosophy is almost always that you have to have some sort of joint account, which I hear that you guys do. And I would encourage you guys to think about how you want your money to be managed as a couple for a lot of couples who are in a position like you guys are in they have his, hers, and our account. And our account goes beyond just the saving for big goals. But it also includes, you know, funneling some money in there for shared expenses. And there are 1,000,001 different ways to do that you guys have to play around with what feels good. But for example, for some couples, say, Okay, I'm earning 45% of the money, he's earning 55% of the money, which means that we each take our respective numbers and put it into our joint checking and savings account. And from there, our bills are paid from there, our savings goals are met. And then we each have our own money that we are able to do what we want with it, right? So we each continue to have a little bit of autonomy, because nobody in a relationship wants to like text their partner and be like, Hey, is it okay If I go get a latte? Like that, that takes all fun and all romance out of money. But trying to start to cultivate your money as a unit, as a duo. So you aren't doing Matthew, what you mentioned earlier of like, Thanks for picking up the tab. Thanks for paying that bill. Because you're right. You don't want it to be their money and my money. You want it to be our money. So the sooner we can start shifting your mindset towards we are a unit now as a married couple, and start putting your money and treating your money as a unit. The quicker it is that you guys can start spending and saving money from that kind of pot. Does that make sense?
Jasmia
Yes, for sure. It definitely makes sense. And it's so bad. Like I'm sitting here thinking I'm like, I know we have the same savings account. I think we have a joint checking account too but we don't, we never utilize it. We were always, I don't think I don't even know what that card is, I think... Yeah, I don't know that we even utilize it. And that's such a good point. I think that's a good place to start. Yeah, as we were just operating out of two totally separate accounts right now.
Lindsay Bryan-Podvin
Right. And the reality is, that's what worked when you guys were dating, right? And that makes sense, right? When we're dating, we don't want our money to be mixed it all up. Like we do want to keep it separate. But when you enter into a marriage, now we're at a totally different level. And now it's time to also start treating your money as a is a joint thing. It's no longer totally separate. And of course, there's some separation, particularly, you know, for the entrepreneur and the family, right? That's a whole different ballgame entirely. But paying yourself from those businesses, just like Jessenia would be getting a check from her employer, paying yourselves from there and then not going into a joint checking and savings and starting to treat that money as both of yours. Yeah, so I would say that that would be the starting point is start to kind of figure out how you want that money to work for you guys. You know, like I mentioned, there are a million different ways to do it. But I find that for my couples who believe in joint goals, which, you know, I preach, right, that having a joint account is one of the best ways to do that and starting to kind of create some sort of space. And then I know you didn't ask for advice about student loans, but would it be okay, if I threw a little bit at you?
Both
Yeah, sure.
Lindsay Bryan-Podvin
You're both nodding your heads. Okay. So the interesting thing about student loans right now, if they are federally held, as you guys mentioned is that they are at 0% interest, which means if you put $500 towards that, you are putting $500 towards that principal versus putting $500 towards your student loan and two-thirds of it or 1/3 of it goes towards interest, right. And we are in a very unique position right now where all of our politicians are fighting for some student loan recovery of some sort. So I typically preach, pay it down if it doesn't feel good for you, right? And we are in this really strange time. So I'm kind of playing the game and waiting a little bit so by that what I mean is I am earmarking a savings account for federal student loans for my partner and I's federal student loans and putting money into that account as though I was paying. So 500 bucks a month, 1000 bucks a month is going into that account. And I'm specifically actually not paying my student loan right now. Because if the government says we're gonna wipe 10k, we're gonna wipe 50% of it or whatever I don't want to have put that money in and then just be like, Oh, just got erased. So when I'm doing as I'm earmarking it, like I'm going to pay it. And at the time of this recording that 0% is through September 30. So if nothing changes, by September 15, then I've got a bucket of money that I'm just going to pay towards those student loans. But if we ended up getting some sort of forgiveness, I'm not missing out on potentially having that student loan forgiven. So that is a little tidbit that I'm offering right now. Yeah, with this kind of weird situation.
Jasmia
That's great. That's great because what I did, I said, Okay, well, I'm not, I'm not going out as much. I'm not traveling, because we would travel a lot and a lot of our money--so we will travel, go see family, we will eat out way too much. So that little extra money and I'm okay, let me put a little extra to it. They automatically cut my loans off and I wasn't making payments. I was like, well I'll resume the payment. So payment and putting a little extra become no interest. And in my mind thinking like, Okay, hopefully, I can pay this down. I think it's October or something where they're going to resume payments. That plan. Makes a lot more sense. I love that idea. And I am literally going to do that today. Yeah, definitely, it makes so much sense. And I'm an educator that needs to wipe it all away. But..
Lindsay Bryan-Podvin
I know you and I are on the same wavelength. So I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
Jasmia
Oh, I love it. Thank you so much.
Lindsay Bryan-Podvin
Good, I'm so glad. So to recap, we've got two kinds of things in the short term that I would love for you guys to work on. One is the nitty-gritty have that talk about how you want your money to work for you now that you are newlyweds. And then number two is kind of mapping out a plan for paying back those loans that are going to take advantage of what we have going on and hopefully, fingers crossed we have some student loan forgiveness happening in the next several months. And I would encourage you guys to keep those values at the forefront when you make decisions that are in alignment with those values as a couple you are going to feel better. I don't believe in one size fits all personal finance advice so you guys have to keep coming back to it, Will this get us closer to the freedom and options and spontaneity and fun that we want? If yes go ahead pass go if not hit pause, you know kind of resume kind of digging into things and making it work for you. So how does that sound for you guys?
Jasmia
Sounds great, Matthew's over here taking notes.
Lindsay Bryan-Podvin
Oh good, good, good. Good. I love that. So I would love if you guys are comfortable sharing where people can find you, Jasmia I know you have a little side hustle going on and Matthew obviously you've got your hands and many things but where can people find you if they would like to get connected?
Jasmia
Awesome. You can find me on IG @TheSummerSchoolPodcast.
Lindsay Bryan-Podvin
Love it.
Jasmia
That's my little podcast from my walk with the educators who just want to have a little fun let it out. But also we talked about some pretty real topics, a space for us to just be. So @TheSummerSchoolPodcast on IG and then info@thesummerschool podcast.com If you would love to be a guest or just get more information on the show
Lindsay Bryan-Podvin
Love it.
Matthew
Www.TheSummerSchoolPodcast.com
Jasmia
I'm like still working on what do I say? He's been doing this for years.. But go ahead where can we find you Matthew?
Matthew
Find me in the club it’s going down, we in the club it's going down, meet me at the club-no seriously. On Instagram @MrCatchOnFire or just simply at my website. I do have in my bio to list a few of the companies of mine but you can go to www.MatthewNewman.org and it will have pretty much everything about me, articles that I've been in, TV shows, bios, and all that great stuff so www.MatthewNewman.org
Lindsay Bryan-Podvin
Beautiful, I will make sure to link all of those in the show notes. Thank you guys so much for coming on and being so vulnerable and congrats again on being newlyweds.
Both
Thank you. We really appreciate it.
Lindsay Bryan-Podvin
Absolutely.
Isn't that so interesting, that my chat with Jasmia and Matthew like really stands the test of time. So again, they brought up things that millennial couples bring up, how do we, you know, really spend in alignment with our values and for them, you heard like travel and experiences and connectedness, those are the things that matter. And for Jasmia, she's like I just want those student loans to be done. And so whether or not that's a value is irrelevant because for her that's like what didn't feel good, so then they can prioritize what works best for them. And that's what we'll do inside of Clarify, it is not my job to be prescriptive and to say you can spend X percent on housing X percent on food X percent on travel X percent on debt like, bleh, barf. That sounds so restrictive; instead, I will help you learn how to kind of move the money into different buckets that are in alignment with what you and your family need and with what is in alignment with your values. So go ahead and add your name to the waitlist again for Clarify your Money for Couples. It's a live six-week course that I will be running very soon. And I cannot wait to see your names on that list. Again, this is because I'm no longer doing two on one couples sessions in my Emotionally Focused coaching or in my financial therapy, so go to MindMoneyBalance.com/Clarify to add your name to the waitlist.