464 | Budgeting Masterclass | Tiffany "The Budgetnista" Aliche

23:19And yeah, for anybody in the five world who's looking, obviously, we have choose a five local groups. So choose a five to come slash local. And you can find people in your exact area who are pursuing five. So I think clearly, there are so many dream catchers, there's so many people pursuing FI, you can find that accountability partner. And yeah, I know from firsthand experience, it works so well with fitness and just seeing the translation, as you're saying, like you shouldn't do money alone. And I think so many of us just sit in silence, right? And we just, we're afraid of money. We don't want to talk about it.

23:55But when you normalize talking about it, all of a sudden it's not so scary. All of a sudden that question you have that you're afraid somebody is going to think you're stupid or you should have learned this or whatever ridiculous limiting belief you have, you can ask it because you don't feel silly anymore. So yeah, that's brilliant. Yeah. One of the things that like, I have this amazing therapist and she told me, I remember one time I was like, how does somebody get rid of shame? You know, because I remember distinctly when, you know, I know you, you were my first book, get good with money. I talk about Jake, the thief and how I was this, I don't want to say victim, but I guess of like a fraud that left me$35 ,000 in debt.

24:32And I was so ashamed of myself. I was like almost immovable for a year. I didn't want to tell anyone. My father was a CPA like you and a CFO at one point. I was like, I cannot tell him. He's going to be like, after all that I've taught you, what is going on? And I was so ashamed. I was frozen with fear. And the only thing that released me, this is why I'm so adamant about having a financial accountability partner, is finally my best friend, as best friends are apt to. She was like, what's going on with you? And I didn't want to tell her. She's like, this is obviously something because you're not acting like yourself.

25:04I broke down in tears and I told my best friend, Linda, I'm$35 ,000 in credit card debt. I just lost my job as a teacher because of the recession. And I have this condo that I bought. At the time I was in my 20s, I bought a condo when I was 25. I can't afford the mortgage and I'm going to lose the condo. I don't know what to do. I'm drowning. And I was like, and I have to move back home with my parents. And she was like, well, I'm calling you from my mom's couch, so I don't know that. And she said it like that, and we both started laughing. And it was the first time in a year that I didn't feel as much shame.

25:38And I asked my therapist about this years later, and she said, because the only way to really shake shame is to give voice to it, to say the thing out loud to someone that you trust. And she said, that's why you were able to release some of it because you told Linda, you trusted her, and she was a safe space to land. And her reaction to you was like, okay, and? You know? And what it did was that when you release shame, because shame shields solutions, when you release shame, you start to realize, wait, I do actually have a solution I could try over here. And I could also probably do this. And before I knew it, I started those first five steps.

26:11I'm like, Tiffany, you know how to budget, even on unemployment. And you know what? You've gotten really good at saving. And you know what? what, your credit is actually not so bad considering. And you know what, despite this$35 ,000 in debt, you know, if you're a really good saver, you could put some of that savings toward paying down debt. And you know what, you can babysit, you can tutor, you can, you know, to learn to earn. These are the first five steps. And I, because I was able to release some of that shame, I was able to lean into the solutions for my financial mishaps. Yeah. That's really, really great.

26:40Put a voice to it. And I know you said before you have maybe some steps for what to look for in an accountability partner. Clearly we said people can find an accountability partner, certainly through Dreamcatchers, through Choose a Fight, wherever. But what would be one or two things that you would advise for somebody listening to this who wants to take action? So if you're looking for an accountability partner, ideally you're wanting someone who is actively working on their journey too, whether imperfectly or not. So for example, let's just say I'm working to learn to invest, even if they're not looking to invest, although it's helpful because I want to be able to bounce off.

27:15Like, did you read that article? What did you think it meant? Or I was reading the chart and I don't get it. Do you get it? So at the very least that they're working on their holistic financial journey, but ideally someone who's working on a particular part of the journey that you are too, but it doesn't have to be that, but they do have to be working on their financial journey. So that's one. Two, it should be a no judgment zone on both sides. Like life is hard enough. So you don't want an accountability partner. Like, you know, you love your mom, but if mom is going to make you feel like again with a credit card debt, you're like, you know what?

27:48I used to say like, I love my parents, but they can be a little judgy. And I used to always say like, Oh my gosh, my parents are on a need to know basis and they don't need to know. So like my sisters, I have four sisters. They were awesome. I can be like, and then I did this. And then I met, you know, so it doesn't mean that you love somebody less or whatever, but you know your people. And especially my dad was a CPA and account. So he could not even wrap his head around the choices that I had made. So I just knew that at least this part of my journey that I let him know when I'm out of it. And so you want no judgment zone and someone who is also working on their financial journey, at least those two things.

28:23Yeah. That is a great, great place to start. Okay. I wanted to go back to the split it before you get it. Because I think my mind is just spinning with this. It's incredible. And I think this really is the fundamental piece of everything. So let's talk just really granular about those two checking accounts. Again, people can get it from the book and I hope that they do, but I want them to leave this episode with, okay, I really understand this now. So you have the bills account and then you have the other kind of cash spending account. Talk me through like, okay, clearly bills are, or at least as I'm conceptualizing it, it's like the monthly recurring things that you know, would groceries count in bills or is that in the spending?

29:10Talk us through at a real high level how you split these two out. The teacher in me was like, okay, how do I make sure the student when they're reading Made Whole knows how to do it? Because you sound literally like how everyone's like, wait, wait, wait, I need you to break down the homework. What I do in the budget chapter of Made Whole is I have you list out all of your expenditures that you can think about. So mortgage, rent, car note, groceries, grooming, kids, credit card debt, just list it all out. And list it all out without the numbers at first, because it's easy to forget things if you're worried about those two things.

29:44Just list the names first. And of all the things you spend money on, if you're not sure, you take out your debit card or your credit card and kind of look there, you know, and then the second step is to write down how much these things cost you in a monthly way. So I live in Newark, New Jersey. We pay our water bill every three months and it's like$41 or something like that. And so, right. And so, so what that means is that, you know, it's like what,$11 a month, even though, you know, because I have to divide$41 into three. And so the same thing for like, say if you get a haircut, you know, maybe your haircut is, you know,$40 and it's twice a month.

30:23So then you multiply$40 times two, 80 bucks. So second step is how much does everything cost me monthly? Right. And then I want you to start. So this is my favorite part of the budgeting process that I kind of came up with for myself many years ago is I like to code the things on my list. I call it my money list because some people don't like the word budget. I'm like, okay, I call it my money list. I like to code them. And I say, first you start with anything that's a bill, put a B next to it on your money list. And think about a bill as if you don't pay it, someone's going to come knocking on your door basically.

30:56Because sometimes people are like, what? How do I know this is a bill? Well, this is going to answer the question of where the money should go as far as the accounts, right? So is someone going to come knocking on your door if you don't buy these groceries? No. Is someone going to come knocking on your door if you don't get the haircut? No. Is someone going to come knocking on your door if you don't pay your mortgage, your rent, car note, things like that? Yes. Put a B next to all those things, you know? And then anything that fluctuates. So these are bills that basically go up and down based upon your usage.

31:25I call it these kind of like usage bills. You're going to put a U in front of that B. So these are typically your utilities. So the U stands for utilities, usage, up and down. So, okay. So it's probably going to be a few things like your water bill, your lights, you know, it depends, but for the most part, it's just going to be a handful of things. So now you have things that are labeled B, things that are labeled UB. Anything that's not labeled B or UB is C. C stands for cash expenses or choices. This is where you have the most choices. And so now when it's time to split it before you get it, you're going to say anything that has a C in front of it, that's going to go into my spending account monthly.

32:06Because you're going to add up. Remember we did step one, what do I spend money on? Step two, how much does it cost me monthly. So you're going to add up all those C's and let's say it comes up to$500. Then you know on average that you should be putting about$500 in your spending checking account because those are your C's. This is where you're going to swipe your debit card with. Everything else, those B's and UB's are going to go into that bills account because those are bills that you've identified. Some bills are more fixed. Some bills are more variable bills, but it's going to go into that account.

32:35And that's how you know how to split because so when you go food shopping or or maybe go to a birthday party for the kids or whatever, and you swipe your card, you know you're not spending your bills or your utility bills money. Ideally, as you have enough, you'll be able to automate the bills so you don't even have to think about it. They're just paid. So literally, it's like you get paid from work, the money lands in your bills account, and the bills account self-pays itself out. But you see that initial meal prep that we had to do in the beginning? It was like, how much do I spend money? What are the things I spend money on?

33:07how much does it cost me monthly? Which ones are B's? Which ones are UB's? The rest are C's. And honestly, that worked maybe 30 minutes. And then you're like, now I know my amounts. Let me take these amounts with me to work and say, hey, do you split our paycheck? And let's just say, worst case scenario, they say, Brad, we actually can't split your paycheck. We don't have the capability. So then you can still have all of your money land in that initial checking account. And then you can either manually split yourself, or if you know you get paid on the first and the 15th, you could have that checking account automatically split like on the second or the third or the 15th or the 16th.

33:41You see what I mean? Meaning like the account itself can do the splitting for you since you know when you get paid. Yeah, that makes perfect sense. So, so right. Two things come to mind first, as you were saying, it's only going to be 30 minutes, but my mind went to, it's such a mental hurdle. I think that's the thing you're trying to teach people to overcome. Yes. Right. Like if you just put the work in that one time, everything else gets easier and it's maybe 30 minutes, maybe an hour, right. To actually do that. And that's, it's done. An hour is everything though. Right. So that's, this is when you pull in your accountability partner.

34:17Hey Linda, what are you doing this weekend? Uh, nothing. Can you come by the house? I'm trying to do this budget. I'm not going to lie. It just feels so overwhelming. Okay. She doesn't even have to be working on a budget. Sometimes I just need someone to sit next to me and be like, oh, what's that? You know what I mean? Like just to sit and then afterwards, you know, we'll cook and laugh or watch TV or whatever. And so in those moments when you need that boost, you could pull in your accountability partner. This is why I call it financial wholeness because holistically, I want to address all the things that are holding you back from achieving the goals that you're wanting, you know, as it relates to life and your money.

34:51And so it's not enough because, Brad, we all know how to be fit. Eat right, exercise, sleep, move your body. We know. Yet how many people don't do that for that very reason? 20 minutes a day, it's only 20 minutes a day. Even this morning, I was like, I'm like, you work for yourself. You literally can do whatever you want. And I am financially free as well. So I'm like, I could really do whatever I want. Are you kidding me? You can't do 20 minutes. But that's why I called, who's my mentee, but also my accountability partner. He was like, okay, I know you're frustrated because you can't try the dips this way.

35:23I was like, okay. And he was like, you got squats down. Don't worry about it. A lot of people can't do pushups, you know, do it against the wall. That was easy. Try against the chair. That's a little harder. Try the tables a little higher. So, you know, I needed that person in the room with me and there's nothing wrong with that. I want, you can hear the sound of my voice. I want you to get very comfortable with asking for help sooner rather than later, you know, that you don't have to do it alone. I want you to, as soon as you're like, there's friction here, how can I receive help? Is it buying a book?

35:52Listen to Choose Fire podcast? Is it like getting an accountability partner? Like I want us all to get very comfortable with asking for help and seeking that out because to suffer in silence, I mean, you don't get any brownie points for that. No, you do not. It reminds me of kind of the motto of a mastermind group that I'm in with a guest who's been on and one of my good buddies, his name is Dominic Cortuccio. And he runs basically a men's group slash mastermind that I'm a part of. And it's don't lone wolf your life. And just think of how powerful that is. And like, that just is so evocative. It's just don't lone wolf your life, no matter what aspect that is.

36:29And like you're saying, ask early, be on the early side. Don't wait and suffer in silence until everything is crumbling around you. And then and only then you ask for help. Be proactive. Don't be ashamed, right? Tiffany, I mean, I think that's what we're trying to get across here is don't be ashamed. And I think a lot of it then it's the accountability, but it's also just having this fundamental knowledge. And that's why I'm really trying to dive in on this because it's so wonderful how you think about this. So, okay, this split it before you get it. So you just described so beautifully how we split these accounts with the B, the UB, the Cs.

37:04So as I'm understanding it from my own brain, if this were me setting this up, I would have both of those checking accounts at the same bank. Yes. Right. Because especially then those transfers. And I think that was the key. If your employer can't do it for you, it doesn't mean you go home and say, I tried, but it doesn't work. You can still do this, right? Tiffany just gave you the answer, which is you send all the money into the one account. And then a day or two later, you have that automated transfer into the next account. And it's made dramatically easier by being at the same bank. And that's why I assume that, which Tiffany, you just corroborated.

37:42So now let's talk again, if you don't mind, about the two savings accounts. So now you said very explicitly, you do not want them at the same banking institution. No. Right. So talk us through that. And are they both the online savings account, the high yield, or how do you think about the two different savings accounts? At least to start, I want you to have both high yield because if you're going to save, you might as well make some money, more money than at a brick and mortar bank. That's where I'm assuming you're going to have your checking at. And so you want them separate because one, the same way you want the ease of checking to go from your spending account to your bills account, you want that ease of back and forth.

38:23You want this ease when it comes from checking the savings. Yeah. Friction, friction, friction. Yes. Because I always say that you want to make your money inconvenient because inconvenient money gets saved. And so you want, I like online only banks because one, they tend to pay higher interest because they don't have the brick and mortar overhead. You're going to look for a bank that's FDIC insured. You're going to look for like obviously the highest interest that can be yielded. And ideally, you want to look for a bank that you can connect to your current brick and mortar bank or wherever your checking account is because you want to be able to make transfers if necessary.

38:58Because if there is an emergency, you want to be able to transfer the money and get to your money. Sure. Because some online only banks are so small, it's like, you know, they have a hard time connecting to other banks. So you definitely want to make sure that you have a bank that is able to connect and you can not wire, but transfer. Because wiring, you know, you're going to pay a fee there, but transfer should be free. And so I like to have two savings and you can have as many as you want, but this is kind of like my introductory to, I like to have savings for emergencies. And so even now I am financially free, but I like to have a year's worth of savings just because I have been very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very broke.

39:37And so I still have a little, I call it post-traumatic broke syndrome. I still have a little bit of that. And so I have a year's worth of savings, but I have since transferred it out from a savings account and I put it in like a high yield 12 month CD. That was like the time it was like a great interest rate because I'm like, I don't really need it. But for my own, it's my safety blanket. But for someone starting out, you're going to want one account that you're going to be saving. You're going to work toward getting up to three months of what your expenses cost. And it doesn't have to be three months of like your full life.

40:07So let's just say your full life costs you$4 ,000 a month. And that is like going out with friends, your rent, your bills, but also it's like all the non-necessities as well. So your first order of business is going to be to find out what I call your noodle budget is going to be. This is if you had to eat ramen noodles. So that means like, oh my gosh, I lost my job. So I'm not going out. I can cut my own hair. I don't need to get my toes done. I'm not going to go brunch on Sunday. I'm going to reduce all those things. And instead of my life costing me$4 ,000 a month, I can get my life down to$3 ,000.

40:44That's my noodle budget life. Then that's the number,$3 ,000 times three months that I'm working toward getting$9 ,000 put up. Because you want to remember that the instant that you lose access to earning money, you want to drop down and get your noodle on. You want to start to live at your noodle budget right away. Get the noodle on. Yes. And so that's the first savings account. And the second really is like goal savings. That's up to you. Are you trying to buy a home or a car? Something that you're working toward in the next year, you know, because excess savings is bad. You want to be able to, anything super excess should be put to work.

41:19It should be invested somewhere, you know? But sometimes I call this like my pre-investment account. So let's just say I want to enter into the market or, you know, I do want to buy a property and I need that money on hand. So I don't want it in the market because I'm going to be putting a down payment on it within a year. So this is where I would save for something, a goal that I'm trying to accomplish within like a year. And I don't want, I want the money to be relatively liquid or liquid. So I can, you know, if the house comes on the market, I'm not like, oh, I got to, you know, liquidate that stock or sell it in order to get access.

41:51But you don't want to be like me where I had way too much in that account. And my financial advisor at the time, she was like, Tiffany, this is ridiculous. Like, are you, are you looking to buy an apartment cash? Like, what are we doing? An apartment complex, maybe? I mean, so now the truth is, for me, there's no quote unquote goal that I'm saving for. So when I was, I'm not quite self-employed because I'm an employee of my business. But when I was like self-employed, self-employed, I used to put my taxes in that account because I knew I had to pay taxes. So that's where I would kind of keep that money.

42:25Because when you work for your company, like I am an employee of the Budgetnista, you know, taxes come out and things like that. But before then, I was a true entrepreneur and I had to, just like a contractor, I had to set aside tax money. So that account, because of where I am now in my life, I don't really have any money in that account because there's nothing that I'm saving for. Could you see what I mean, Brad? I do. It doesn't make sense to have a pile of money. I'm like, I put it to work. I'm like, you already have a year's worth of emergency savings. Your checking account is fine for bills.

42:55Your checking account for spending is fine. Is there something you're saving for, Tiffany? No. So then I'm like, all right, then put that money to work. So that second savings account is really for goals that you have upcoming. If there's nothing you're saving for, you don't have to keep anything in there. But those are the four accounts that I like for people to consider to start with. Okay. I love that. And I'm so glad you clarified that last piece, because that was my next question is more for the advanced people, right? If you will, is, okay, I'm financially stable. I have my emergency fund, whether that's three, six, 12 months, whatever it may be that's in my savings.

43:28Do I really need that other savings account? And it sounds like no, ultimately. Right. And I think you described in there, again, the mental hurdle. It's funny how that keeps coming up. The mental hurdle of selling stock, which is great actually in a large degree, because again, it's friction, right? We want to add friction in where it doesn't cause us to make silly mistakes basically. But that said, for everybody listening, it actually is pretty easy to sell stock, right? And you can sell it or sell a mutual fund the next day, make the transfer. And then two or three days later, it's in your bank account.

44:04So it's not inaccessible, but I think we should think of it as something that we don't want to touch, that we don't want to sell because of that friction. It's not as easy as being like, transfer for my savings. Exactly. And so for me, that's why I was like, Tiffany, there's too much here. It's too accessible for something you're not saving for anything. So why? Put it to work, you know, like literally put that money to work. Yeah, no, exactly. Exactly. Especially in that until recently, until the last year, interest rates have been virtually zero. So even in this quote unquote high yield savings account, you were probably earning, I don't know, 1 % plus or minus.

44:38Exactly. It's nonsensical. I will say this because sometimes people push back on me on emergency savings because they feel like they should put it to work beyond a high yield savings account, especially people who are quote unquote advanced. And I say this, it's the difference between a seatbelt and a Gucci belt, right so your emergency savings it's a seat belt it's not meant to be cute it's just there for protection and i get it yes i would love for every single nickel penny dime to be actively working toward growing me wealth but there is some money that's not there to grow wealth it's just there for protection the seat belt is not there to be cute it's just there you know like i can make it as cute as possible meaning like i'll put in the high yield savings or like a long-term cd or something you know but yes the other money is a gucci belt get it as cute as possible put it out there to work.

45:23Having excess savings is a terrible idea. But whatever a seatbelt looks like for you, whether it's three months, six months, whatever that looks like, put on your seatbelt and don't worry about it being looking like a Gucci belt. It's not meant to. Yeah, that's great. That's a cool way to think about it. So it's funny because this is something we've gone back and forth with on the podcast. So we had Big Earn from Early Retirement Now, who's basically the smartest person in personal finance. He was on way back when in episode 66 talking about, hey, do people pursuing FI actually need an emergency fund as we conceptualize it?

45:57And I think we can make arguments around it, but what ultimately matters is you feel confident, right? I think that's how I would define it. So for me, I don't technically have an emergency fund of money just sitting idle waiting for me to lose a job or something like that. But what I do have and what is that that low key belt for me is I have an extra probably$10 ,000 in my checking account. Okay. That just sits there. And if I had a large expense, I'd say life is lumpy, right? Like, Hey, it doesn't mean it's an emergency. It just means, Hey, life is lumpy sometimes and something breaks or whatever.

46:35Like I have a big credit card bill. I don't want to stress. I want to lower stress in my financial life. So that's what does it for me. And then I know I have a significant net worth. And look, if I needed to sell some mutual funds, which I don't want to do, I could easily. But you could. Yeah. And I love that. It's really about, cause you're right. The reason why I have so much set aside is because I have post-traumatic broke syndrome. Yeah. Yeah. And I'm, I'm slowly coming out of it because even as I'm talking, I'm thinking, ah, Tiffany, you could do six months, you know? So maybe next year I'll tell Anjali, my financial advisor, all right, I'm ready.

47:07I'm ready. I'm ready to do six months. And then maybe a year from now, it's like, Tiffany, you really could do three months. But what I'm trying to provide in Made Home is this general framework that you then fit your life and you mold it. It's almost like you get a suit from Macy's and then you go get it tailored to you. And so I'm just Macy's. You know, this is not like, you know, you don't have to wear it off the rack, but it's at least a good place to start. Because to your point, Brad, you're like, I don't need emergency savings. And for you, and truthfully, I probably don't need it either.

47:37it's but for my own confidence and mental well-being right now i'm like i know i can't go back to losing everything again but i'm feeling a little less afraid so i can probably relinquish and when this you know cd comes to maturation i probably relinquish and then relinquish some more to the level of how i feel confident you know what i mean and so like i think that's really critical personal finance is personal so there's no judgment here it's just like get your suit from Aces and then have it tailored to you specifically. Yeah, that's great. And I think we're all dealing with some type of post-traumatic syndrome with our money, whether it's broke or making some silly mistake or getting started too late or whatever it is that you have that's a limiting belief, but it's just stuck in there.

48:19I have it with real estate mistakes that I've made in the past. And I remember losing a lot of sleep over that. And I have vowed that I will never make a similar mistake again. And I've learned something, but Tiffany, it's still there. That that syndrome, it's still in me. When we first started the podcast, you're like, Tiffany, say something for a few seconds, because I'm assuming at one point you probably taped and, you know, like one out of over your how many hundreds of podcasts. 600 of us. Yes. And still you're like, wait, wait, wait. Okay. I can hear the sound. But that's, you know, we're human.

48:49Yeah. You know, we're human. And so it is okay to create safety nets around you within reason, you know? So I know that even, I mean, I'm still on my financial journey. So it's just like, okay, Tiffany, you don't need that much. Can you do this? How do you feel? Okay. You feel more confident. Then what about this? How do you feel? You know? And so that's really the key is that you are actively designing your life for what feels right for you. Even though to your point, Brad, like if I had no emergency savings, I'd be fine. I make plenty, you know, but internally I'd be screaming. Right. Right.

49:23What's going to happen? Is the business going to go in flames? You can come up with any story, right? But I'm like, so then who does that benefit? So yes, my money be making more money, but I'd be screaming on the inside. So I'm like, what's the balance of like calm Tiffany and then not too much excess. And so every year we could just withdraw just a little bit, you know, until like, I still feel calm. So yeah. Yeah. So safety nets within reason. That's a great quote. And, and right. Like understanding that you are designing this life and it's a life you're just, you're going through it. You're doing the best you can.

49:54You understand that things change. And sometimes frankly, they change. And many times that's the whole point of putting in the work is it changes for the better. And you might've started with a 12 month emergency fund because you had that, that really PTSD. And now it's maybe, maybe six months, maybe we could get it down to three. Right. And like, you know, again, changing for the better. The other cool thing is like we kind of alluded to is high yield savings rates are fantastic now. Yeah. I know the one that I use is CIT bank. It's like great. Oh, nice. Okay. So yeah. For anybody who's looking for it, choosefi.com slash CIT.

50:31I think at the time we're recording this at the end of October, the Platinum account is 5.05%, which is crazy town. I mean, Tiffany, we're both the same age as we deduce. I remember getting out of college in 2001, and ING Direct Bank was the first online bank. Yes. And it was 5%. Yes. Right? And I dreamed for now almost 15 years, like, oh, I'll never see that. It'll never come back. And now here we are. Yeah. It was crazy because I wrote my very first book, One Week Budget, and I referenced it because I was reading it over. This is a self-published book. And at the time, it was ING. Was that orange?

51:07The orange? It was. It was the orange circle. Yeah. Yes. And I remember I referenced the amount, like the percentage, you know, what you could earn. And I was like, there's no way. Because I wrote it back then in 2001 or whatever. And I was like, is that how much interest rates were? Which seemed so normal back then. I think I wrote casually like, get your interest rate 5%. It's like, yeah. As if it's commonplace. Yeah, it's crazy. I didn't know any better back then, but yeah, absolutely. So yes, here's the thing that I've learned about personal finance. So I'll give you an example. The house I live in now, I bought it foreclosure.

51:39It was 180. I put about 180 into it for renovations. And at the time, so it's like the six something, I think at the time it was worth like 680. So I put about, not 680, it was worth 380 and I put about 360 into it. So I already had some, a little equity built in, but because of the craziness of post pandemic and people buying, my house is worth about 520 now, which is incredible. And I was just like, okay. And then recently I bought a condo around the corner from my house. And my financial advisor knows me. She's like, Tiffany, I know you're going to want to buy a cash. I'm like, I do. I really, really do.

52:13I do. Because she knows because I lost my home, my first home at 25, I am traumatized. And I told her, I said, I do. It was about$520 ,000. And I said, if I do, Anjali, is this going to negatively affect my and financial life. She said, no, but obviously I would prefer for you to put a significant amount of money down and then let's put the other money to work in the market. But I had to make a decision between the financial choice, which is not going to harm me, and the emotional choice I need to feel safe. Because I knew that I bought it earlier this year. I could tell this was going to be a harder year in business than most.

52:53I just knew, and sure enough it was, but I could just tell. And I said, to add on a mortgage, even the one that I could afford, it was a level of stress that I just didn't want to take on. So she presented the two things. It was like, you know, you're a high net worth individual. I can get you a better interest rate than what's available publicly. But certainly you can buy this place for$520. It's not going to harm you. You have really great last few years. You know, you're still fine, Tiffany. You still don't have to work if you don't want to work. And so basically now you get to make a choice.

53:20And this is the ideal, Brad, you get to make a choice about what's best for you, not just what's the best money choice. And that's what I want people to get to. And I decided I bought the house cash. I love it. I did because I was just like, Tiffany, like, I don't have a mortgage, you know, on that place either. But I also still don't have to work anymore if I don't want to, you know. And so that is the ideal is when, to me, I want to work hard enough where I don't have to make a choice based upon what's best for money. Because it's inconsequential. Not that$500 ,000 is in consequence. You know what I mean?

53:52But I remember Oprah, one time I heard her say she was at a shop and it was between, she really loved a sweater, but it was$700. And she was like, oh, I don't know if I should get the blue one or the black one. Oh, I don't know. I don't know. And Gail was like, are you kidding me? She's like, Oprah, get both. Right. You're a multi-billionaire. Yes. But that's what I mean. I don't want to carry that thinking where it's like, you literally have more than enough. like even though it might not make financial sense to get two$700 sweaters, it's not going to shift the needle for you in a negative way.

54:22And so that's what I'm wanting for myself and for other people. And that's why I wrote made whole Tiffany, that is the perfect place to leave it. This has been amazing, right? We talked about really this masterclass on budgeting and it all starts with split it before you get it. So thank you so much for going into that. And the accountability partners, all of these granular details that I think people are going to love this episode. So like we said, the workbook made whole, the practical guide to reaching your financial goals comes out November 21st. I'm assuming people can find it anywhere books are sold, but do you have a place?

54:54Yeah, I do. So like, um, you can just go to made whole workbook.com. Every place is listed. And I like made whole workbook because if you're someone who wants to purchase it from like a local bookstore, we always list some places so you can patronize, like, you know, small bookstores who really need help. So made whole workbook.com. Beautiful. Tiffany, thank you so much. It was really great to chat. This is a lot of fun. Thank you, Brad.

55:41and it's really, really easy to get on the newsletter list right there. And I would greatly appreciate it. It's the best way to get in touch with me. You can actually just hit reply to any of those emails and it comes directly to my inbox. So that's the way that I keep a pulse of the community and how we keep this the ultimate crowdsourced personal finance show. And finally, if you're looking to join an in real life community, we have Chooseify local groups in 300 plus cities all around the world. So head to chooseify.com slash local and you'll find a list of all of those cities in 20 plus countries all across the world.

56:15And if you're just getting started with FI or you have a family member or a friend who you think would be interested, two easy ways. Choose a FI episode 100 is kind of our welcome to the FI community. And even though it's a couple of years old at this point, it still stands up and it's a really great just starting point to get an understanding of what is financial independence? What are we doing here? Why are we looking to live a more intentional life? where we save money and use it as a springboard to live a better life. And then Choose a Vi created a Financial Independence 101 course that's entirely free.

56:50Just head to choosefi.com slash fi101. And again, thanks for listening.