EP 3.24: Real Talk on Money, Trust and Investing in Your Future with Financial Advisor Renee Wisniowicz

Speaker A: What's up, you guys?

Speaker B: I'm your host, Michelle Sonor, and welcome to the Limitless podcast. Today we're covering a huge topic, money, which can feel like the most confusing part of both our business and our personal lives. Who do you trust? Where do you even start? And what does financial planning even mean when your income fluctuates month to month? In this episode, we're breaking it all down with Renee, a financial advisor who truly gets it. No jarring, no shame, just real talk about why planning your money matters, how to protect your hard work and easy steps to take control. Starting today, Renee is a financial advisor in the Fox Valley area that specializes in women owned businesses, medical professionals, and families. She's a wife and a mom of

Speaker A: a beautiful baby girl.

Speaker B: She's also won Women Advisor of the year in 2024 and loves building people up in their own financial lives. So if you've ever felt overwhelmed by the money side of your business, this one is for you. Grab your notebook and let's get limitless. All right, everyone. I'm so excited to welcome Renee to the podcast. She is an incredible financial advisor and I know you guys are going to absolutely love her. Today we are going to make financial conversations less scary because we have ton of trauma, I think, around money and financial planning. I'm excited for Renee to be on the podcast city to share her story and how she got into financial planning. And also I think it's important for you guys to understand how when I started to make this really important in my life and it's very similar to her story. So, Renee, welcome to the podcast.

Speaker A: Oh, uh, thanks so much. I am so thrilled to be here. Can't wait to, um, just share all the great things that not enough people know. So really looking forward to it.

Speaker B: Amazing. So we just met each other, like,

Speaker A: not too long ago, but I reached,

Speaker B: uh, out to Renee right away to ask her to be on the podcast because I was like, wait, you're the person that my listeners need to hear. We have a primary, fairly female dominant, you know, listening range, not, not excluding any of the males out there. Thank you guys for listening. Um, but I do feel like the conversations around money, um, especially in my industry, being in it 15 years can be really, really scary. So, yeah, we just met each other actually at a business event, which was really cool, and Renee was one of the speakers there, and I was like, hey, you need to speak on my podcast. And then here we are. So, um, I'm excited. But you had said that you had been following me For a while, actually, when we had connected there.

Speaker A: So. So funny. Um, little long story short here. I grew up in Illinois, now reside in Appleton area in Wisconsin. And, um, way back when I was going to school at Marion and Fond du Lac, and my girl at the time was doing my hair. I was like, hey, what do you think about extensions? And she's like, super amazing, but I don't do them. She's like, you should totally follow this amazing girl in Milwaukee. And it was Ellen Co. And so I've actually been a follower of Michelle and her amazing business for so long, um, that it's just incredible. So, yeah, Michelle, I've always admired you and your work. Um, still have short hair, so not clearly. Um, but yeah, super amazing. When we met at the gala, I think that was. I always think that, like, life puts us in these spots for a reason. And I'm like, I think we were just destined to meet and have this event together.

Speaker B: I freaking agree. And now we're going to talk about how. Okay, well, what is your background in the financial planning industry? And also too, I do want to talk about what even your role as a financial planner is, because I think

Speaker A: there's a lot of people that are

Speaker B: confused, like, what's a financial planner? What's a cpa? Why do I need one of these things? But tell us first how you got into this industry.

Speaker A: Yeah, all the things. Okay. So, uh, um, I started in college, just going to school for business. I was like, you know, business is so broad. Like, I know a lot of successful people. Business, they were business majors. Cool. Like, let's just do it. And then it kind of transpired into something a little bit more personal. So my dad had passed away six, um, years ago this year, super unexpectedly. He was the breadwinner, made a lot of money. My mom was a teacher, didn't make a ton of money. Um, but the dynamic was perfect. And they actually had a financial advisor at the time. Um, so our family was like, hey, we're set up, we're good. My parents had their dream home. You know, it was awesome. Whatever. So when my dad passed, passed away, um, my mom was thinking like, okay, perfect, we're taken care of. So she sat down with our financial advisor, who, uh, bluntly told her, like, hey, you don't have enough money. Um, you're going to have to sell your house. And, uh, we just didn't plan properly. Um, which really threw my mom for a lube, as you can imagine. So I saw all this happen firsthand and my older sister had moved to the city in Chicago that year and I had moved out, um, to come to Wisconsin. And so, uh, we both just went our separate ways and my mom was kind of just left to pick up the pieces. And I was like, wtf? Like, how do I make sure that this never happens, number one to my mom? Like, how do I make sure she's taken care of? Right? But then how do I make sure that, you know, anyone else in the world that is experiencing this is also taken care of? Um, and that really shifted my view in business to more of the financial advising role, the financial planning. Like, how do people go about this? Like, how can I impact people's lives? And that's always been something for me. I love impacting others. That's been a very others mindset for me. Um, and I just knew this was the perfect place. And then I kind of shifted this role into working with a lot of women, um, specifically in the business industry, especially the beauty world. I don't feel like there's enough knowledge around financials in that world. So it brings me a place of joy. But also I am through and through a girly. Like I am a girl math girly, like through and through. And I feel like all of my clients kind of represent that with me as well. And we have a good time together. And that's where my passion really just explodes, is working with others that, number one, appreciate it. But then also, like, we have a good time, we can grab cocktails, like we can be friends outside of just this business. And I think that that really helps them understand financial. When I'm like, okay, this is girl math, like, here's how we actually talk about stocks. It's, let's translate it to girl math. And it just makes more sense, right?

Speaker B: Absolutely. Because I think that's where the intimidation factor comes into play. It's all these like big words and like, you know, big plan. It's like you need to take it from this massive thing and really break it down. Like you said, girl mass style. And I think it's important. Just like you, I never ever thought about financial planning, financial advisors or anything like that until traumatic experiences in my life happened. I too lost my dad. And in that time he had, you know, bless his, bless his soul, but nothing was set up. And then as his youngest daughter, I'm now put in a position where we can't even cover funeral expenses. Right? Like, I mean, we want to give my dad this amazing thing and then I'm forced to, you know, take that on and so nothing, nothing within my family growing up was financially stable, financially secure. Um, and that was my biggest fear in life, was just kind of ending up like how I grew up and with the light shut off and my kids, you know, having to take on these burdens. And then when my aunt passed away, who was probably the only person in my family that was like, mildly, um, I shouldn't even say mildly. She was successful. I mean, go, Aunt Patty. Um, well, she had worked with a financial advisor at Northwestern Mutual for. She actually worked at Northwestern Mutual, and that's probably how she got into it. But, um, she, you know, was. Was really set up when. When she had passed away, she didn't have any children. So us as her nie were the people taking care of things. And so that was really when I got introduced to this. And I had always looked at her like, oh, my gosh, like, she's got it together. Like, she knows what she's doing. She retired at, like, I don't even know. She was, like, so young. It was like, 50s, 50s. And I was like, that's amazing. Like, good for her. So she really, like, opened my eyes and then got us involved and me and my siblings involved in more of that. That realm. And I'm so grateful now because there's been some really tough thoughts that have come up, like, what happens if I get injured? I mean, I'm going to have a baby in a few weeks. What happens with them? Right. So I just know that I want better for my future and my family. And I know that, um, a lot of other people out there want that too. They just don't really know where to start. So can you explain to me what is your role as someone's financial advisor? Like, what does that even mean?

Speaker A: Oh, it means so many different things, really. So I always. I always like to say it's like your financial bestie. And the reason I say it that way is because it doesn't have to be something like, so scary and obtuse to be like, oh, my gosh, like, do I have to have so much money to work with you? The more money you have, the better that it makes a little bit easier. But that's not the case. So my role as a financial advisor and the way that I like to do things with my clients is we just sit down and get to know one each other. Um, and we just go through your goals. Like, what is important to you? What do you want for the future? What is motivating you to run this business or work in xyz? Career and like, what is the root of all of this? And then, uh, we put together a plan for you based on your goals and everything that's driving you. So you sit here and tell me, like, hey, I want my business to be this, I want to accomplish this by this time, whatever. We put together a plan for that and then we review quite often to make sure we're on track for that. So the reason I say financial bestie is that, like, I'm always going to be checking in, like, how are things going? Let's schedule a review. Excuse me? Let's schedule a review. Um, let's just make sure we're keeping you accountable for your goals. Because it's really easy to be like, I want all of these things and then be like, buy Amazon, but Starbucks, Target, Sheen, like all these things, which is totally fair. And it just needs to be in tandem. I'm not the fun police. Like, uh, I'm not going to be like, no, you can't get your lashes done. Like, I would be a hypocrite. Right. Um, but it's also important that we, uh, think about our future. So it's just an accountability partner, someone who can really break it down to you and be very specific to you. Because there's a lot of resources out there for financials, but it's not specific to you and not, uh, tailored towards you, which is why that can sometimes be dangerous because you're out here listening to someone that is just sharing very general advice, but it's not specific to your life situation. So it could be terrible advice but good for someone else. So it's just very specific ideas towards you and your situation. Basically. I think that's the part that has

Speaker B: always scared me looking back, was I again losing a lot of people very young in my life? Granted, you know, some things were, uh, you know, maybe partially just due to lack there of care of their bodies. But I mean, for me, I've always had this like, well, I don't want to wait until I die, you know what I mean? For like, or like, who needs to

Speaker A: get rich off of me die?

Speaker B: And like, you know, my sweet little son. I mean, happy for you, but at the same time, like, for me, I think it was scary because I was like, okay, so I could save all of this money and do all of these right things and not really enjoy my life now. And so for me, it was really important to establish again, like, what is going to work for me and what m I want my life to look like, not what so and so says my life should look like from a financial planning perspective. Um, so I think that again, even when it comes to like, one of the listener questions was about like, what do we do for our kids? You know, I'm excited to get there. Like, I didn't go to traditional college, so like, I don't know, there's a 50, 50 chance my son could be an entrepreneur.

Speaker A: We don't really know.

Speaker B: So it's like, okay, what can we do that is going to set him up for success, whether he wants to go to college or whether he wants to do something else with his life? Like, what can we, what can we do? And that's why I feel like it's really important to have somebody that you trust. And so I kind of want to get into like the trust aspect of this because I think that's the first part to building any good relationship is to establish trust. So why do you think it's so hard for people to like, find someone they trust or like?

Speaker A: Well, that's because this world is so scammy. Like, it just is, to put it so bluntly. But, um, I think a lot of times there, there are good and bad in every industry, right? Um, you know, good hairstylist, bad hairstylist, good doctors, bad. And that's how it is in the financial industry too. Like, you're going to have good financial advisors, you're going to have bad ones. And there can be some ickiness around, uh, the financial advisor space of like, oh, they're just trying to sell me something, or they're just trying to get rich off me or this or that, um, or like, I don't need what they're trying to sell me. And yeah, there are some people out there like that. And I think, going back to your point, Michelle, it's like the, the trust is so important. But I really think it comes down to your gut, like when you meet with these people, what feels right, what feels good? Can you understand what they're saying? Does it make sense to you? And then ask lots of questions. Um, when you're meeting with these people, ask lots of questions. But going back to like, why is it so hard to trust? So like, to be fully transparent, financial advisors, the way that they make money is by managing accounts or helping set up different things. So some are fee based. So there are some fee based planners. I am not a fee based planner. Um, I don't love the idea of just giving you a plan and charging you a fee for that. I would rather see your money go into action and then I can help you manage that and then get compensated on that side of things. Um, that's how I like to run my business. But it really comes down to also, like, what is your style? Like, what do you prefer? And I think that's why it's a little bit scary because there's so many financial advisors out there and so many different firms and like, where do I go? How do I schedule a meeting? How do I know if this person's good or not? So a couple of things that I would encourage listeners to look for when they're meeting for advisors or meeting with advisors or looking for advisors is the age. So I'm not going to hate on men at all. Um, but the average age and the average demographic of a financial advisor is a man who's 59 and a half. Um, which it's like most of the people out there who are looking for advisors are probably younger than 60. Um, so that means that your advisor most likely is going to retire before you. Um, so I would say age is important. Make sure they have some tenure in the business so they know what's going on. Um, but also make sure they're not like too old, where you're going to have to bop around from HM advisor to advisor for a good amount of time. And again, not to say that an older advisor is bad, but just take that into consideration that you might have to transition to a different advisor at some point. Um, go with your gut feeling and then talk to the successful people or people that you look up to in your life. Like, do they have advisors? Who do they work with? Do they like them? Can you see yourself working with them? Um, those are some like base level things to keep an eye out, I would say.

Speaker B: What are some questions that you, like, if you met with a financial advisor and you were me, what are some questions that you would ask them to kind of like vet them? I mean, obviously I know the gut feeling is important. I'm huge on that when I'm hiring people. But like, what do you even ask?

Speaker A: Yeah, oh, that's such a great question. Um, really anything that speaks to you, but especially like, how are you compensated on what I'm doing? So that way you know that if there's a conflict or interest or not, um, how are you compensated? But then also like, how does your company dynamic work? And what I mean by that is, how are. So when you have an advisor, they might recommend, let's just say a Roth ira, for example. Um, how is that structured? Like, who is Managing that. So who is managing my assets? Make sure you know that. Um, and then also if there is an insurance product in place, ask about the dividend. So this is kind of getting into the weed of things. Um, but the dividend is what is going to grow. Let's just say a whole life insurance policy. You want to work with a company that has very high dividend rates because that's what's going to grow your money. So I would say do a little bit of research around the company that you're meeting with prior because the person who's working at like a B rated company, so it's like A B, C, A plus plus, those types of things for ratings for companies. If you're meeting with someone that works at a B company, that probably means they're not a great advisor. And I'm just, that's a very blanket statement. That doesn't necessarily mean everyone is not super great. Um, but I would recommend working with companies that are A plus plus rated. And you can Google that. Like what is the financial rating of this company? Like, you can do that for anyone. Um, and that would be a really good baseline to start. Like weed out some companies that aren't AAA rated, period. Like don't even meet with people that are like that. Yeah.

Speaker B: Can you explain for the listeners listening, what is a dividend and a Roth ira? They don't know what that is because I know that is going to be okay for sure.

Speaker A: So a dividend is uh, essentially what policy owners get from having a policy. Uh, or to keep it even more simply, um, if you have a stock out there and it's kind of generating some revenue, it's generating dividends. So it's basically what the income is coming from something else. Now when you're working with a company and there's like a whole life insurance policy and I know we'll get into some of these things in a bit here, but all life insurance policy, it's growing cash rate, the dividend is what's growing it. So it's something that is essentially generating revenue from something else. Um, And a Roth IRA is a retirement account. So IRA stands for individual retirement account. Anytime you see IRA, that means individual retirement account. There's traditional IRAs, there's Roth IRAs, there's simple IRAs, there's a lot of IRAs out there. Um, and they're pretty easy to get to look for. It's a little bit similar to a 401k. Uh, we'll get into the differences in a bit there. But Roth ira. The big key thing there is the way that it's taxed. So you put the money in, you pay the taxes today, retire tax free. Roth just stands for after tax of when you're paying the taxes. So you put those contributions in, you pay the taxes that next year, retire tax free. A traditional ira for you business owners out there, this could be something that would also work nicely in your plan because those contributions can be, uh, um, deducted on your taxes. So if you have a tax liability that following year, your contributions could potentially help you. Um, that would also be a nice conversation to have with your advisor and potentially an accountant. Just because traditional IRA also. So if you deduct those today, then when you retire you'll have to pay those taxes. So there could be a given and take there as well.

Speaker B: Yeah. And I'm sure all of this is like, based off of the whole grand scope of things that you have. This is beneficial. This is not. Uh, while we're, while we're on this topic, you gave a really great explanation there of what, what that is. Um, okay, 401k. This is like a, ah, hot thing. I feel like when you work in like a corporate world, it's like o, like if for 1k. Okay, so why, why a 401k? Why not a 401k? Why would this be good or bad for someone?

Speaker A: Yeah, so if you're offered a 401k, it could be good for you because, uh, then you have those retirement dollars. It could be negative for you because it's not super easy to access. So a 401k, the way that it's just a standard for 1k, no Roth 401k, nothing, just like standard for 1k, you uh, most likely will not be able to access that money unless you leave or retire. So if you, uh, let's just say life hit the fan and you like, needed money most of the time you can't be touching that money. Where a Roth ira you can pull from it. Um, you can access what you have put in. So what you have put in. I'm saying that again because you, if you put in 100 bucks and it grew with the market to 150, you can touch that 100 tax free, penalty free at any time as long as you've had the account for five years. So that's a very, a very key thing. Um, so if life did hit the fan and you really needed money and you didn't want to go into debt or something, I wouldn't necessarily recommend this, but at least it's easily accessible. So that would be one thing where the 401k, um, you're not going to have. Now, as like a business owner and if we're thinking like, okay, should I offer this to my employees, yes or no? I would say yes, that is a good way to retain key employees. And there's so many other ways to retain key employees or just employees in general. So, you know, take that with a grain of salt. But, um, offering people retirement is a great, great thing, um, to be able to attract talent and retain talent as well. So when thinking of 401k, should you be making contributions to that? Um, yes. But also consider the fact that that also works like a traditional ira. So you're putting the dollars in, you haven't paid taxes yet. So when you retire, those, those dollars are tax flexible.

Speaker B: That is so insightful. Thank you so much. Um, what are some of the, like, okay, so a lot can go wrong, right, without a good plan. I mean, we've both experienced the, the wrath of that. Um, so from like a general perspective, like, what are the things that, whether we're, they're entrepreneurs or maybe employees, anybody should really be continuing considering when they're thinking about like a grand scope of a financial plan. Like, I remember one question that was brought up to me was like, kind of like, what happens if I die? And I was like, what? Like, I don't know, like, uh, it was like, I mean, and not in a sense of like, okay, like, I have life insurance, that's great. But like, no, truly, like, my business operates and I am the sole owner. Like, what happens? Like, or if I'm severely injured and can't work and my income is like, all of a sudden, like, I no longer am making the, like, what happens? So there's so many, like, things that can happen in life that we're trying to prepare for, which we don't want to think about, but I feel like we have to think about them. So what are some of like, the basic top key things that people should consider?

Speaker A: Yeah, I mean, and, uh, to not give you a great answer, there's really so many things out there that, that's why having a financial advisor is so helpful, because it's impossible to know everything unless you're studying this day in and day out. Just like I always compare us to doctors. Like, I'm not going to go to, uh, the doctor and be like, oh, yeah, I diagnosed myself with WebMD. Like, I'm good. Um, like, I'm not going to know everything it's impossible to, unless I've studied that. And that's the same with financial advising. Like, you can be really good. You can be a finance major, you can study the markets, this, that, but like, there's still so much out there that, and it's changing all the time. They're always passing laws that's going to be changing. So, um, when you're a business owner, wife, mom, wearing all these hats, that's, it's hard to like, know all the things. So, um, for like just a general scope, I would say the financial advisor, that's where they can help you, is like helping you do an estate plan, a will. Um, they're not lawyers, so they can't help you like create a will, but they can better for you make sure it looks good. They can incorporate that with your plan. Like, yes, the life insurance, long term disability, um, you know, buy sell agreements. If you have partners. What happens to your business if you're not here? Just all the things that really go into the what ifs. And it kind of gives you some peace of mind of just like, okay, if, if this were to happen, I'm covered. If this were to happen, my loved one's covered. Or if the market tanks and something, uh, happens, whatever that may be, sure it'll tank some point. It always does. Then what, like, are all of your assets here? Like all the strategy. That's what I would say. Strategy is one thing that people who aren't in the financial space, they don't necessarily see. They see accounts, they see Roth IRAs, they see, oh, this is good. Or like, oh, I've heard this on a podcast somewhere else, or this or that. Um, which is great. But what's the strategy? What's the plan for that? How are they working together? So I know that's not a super great answer.

Speaker B: No, that, that makes total sense. Like, I mean, like, yeah, you're not, you don't just want to like throw all this money into these like random things without having a strategy behind it. And that was another thing for me, like a huge fear. I was like, I need a lot of cash in the bank. I need a lot of cash in the bank. Because, like, you know, what if I need it? But it's, it's. I've, I've learned that, yes, there are ways to invest your money and still be able to have access to them. Um, because all I really knew of was, yeah, like 401k when I was 20 years old. I was like, cool, that sounds again, not that that's bad. It was just for me, it was kind of like we. But I, I need to have this cash in the bank because like, you know, again, my family almost lost their house a bunch of times. So like, what if I need this? You know what I mean? So just making sure that again, if

Speaker A: that's like a fear of yours as

Speaker B: a client, I'm sure then that you're like, okay, we can, we can address this or we can be less aggressive in this area. More aggressive in that area. Um, and the earlier you start, I'm sure like, you know, the longer you have to, to really. Absolutely. To really waive that. You said a really great point too. Um, when I heard you speaking a couple weekends ago, it was like saying like, yeah, uh, you don't necessarily need to have a lot of money to do this. Um, which a lot of people, they think like, oh, like, um, generational wealth and like, you know, you're a trust fund baby and you know, lucky you and like, shoot, lucky them for real. But like, still at the same point, like, it doesn't, it isn't just for people who have money. Like you, you said like you could put $20 into something and $20 can, can come back to you in, in a whole different way. Yeah. Um, which I think is really cool. So one question that I have for you, and actually a listener also had this question.

Speaker A: Who is pregnant?

Speaker B: Um, the big like, conversation about like, okay, what is something that we can do for our little babies? As, I mean, I know they have to be, I think, yeah, they have to be born. But like, what are, what, what can we do for them to kind of help set them up for success again? I know goals matter, right? Like what the goal is for your kid. But like, again, if I can put in a hundred dollars now and have that be however much in the future, like, it's a no brainer.

Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely. Um, and even if you already have kids, so even if you're just pregnant, starting out, or you have 10 kids already, like, this is very applicable to you. Um, so there's three main accounts that are designated for children's accounts. But there's so many other things that you can look at as well. Well, so, um, they just need a Social Security number. So, um, usually takes like a month or so after they've been born. So that's like really the only prerequisite for most of these. So there's a 529 plan. This is most commonly heard of. This is for education purposes only. So if your kiddo Wants to go to any type of schooling, um, or books or dormitory things or like, whatever,

Speaker B: that can be like cosmetology school. That can be for your college. So are included in this, uh, correct.

Speaker A: Yep. So that's great. Um, so this money that you contribute, it gets invested. It's amazing. You put the money in, it grows, but you can only use it for under the education hat. Um, now the nice thing that they just added in this past year is that you can always roll this 529 plan into a Roth IRA for the beneficiary at, ah, any time. So if your kiddo grows up and is like, hey, I actually don't want to go to school of like any sort. Um, or they only use a chunk of the money and you still have a good, a good bit, you can roll that into a Roth ira. Downside to that is if they don't want to go to school, then you kind of have the money. And then downside rolling into the Roth IRA is if you want to give them a dream wedding or a car or braces or like, whatever, um, they can't touch that money until 59 and a half. So that would kind of be the downside.

Speaker B: Ask that like, what is the age? But okay, is there like, if they, what is the age? If they are using it for school? Any, any age, they could literally be

Speaker A: 100 and going to school. Like, no age limit. Um, yeah, no age limit for 529. It doesn't matter. And you can change beneficiaries. So if you had one 529 plan for one kiddo and then you had another, and this one didn't want to go to school, but your other one did, you could always change it. So you do have that option as well, which is nice. Um, so 529, very education focused. Then you have something else called a UTMA account. UTMA up my account. Um, this is very similar. So you put the money in, um, it grows in, it's invested, and then you can use that for any purpose that's going to benefit the child, anything. Um, only downside to that is legally, and this changes from state to state. So if there are other listeners and other states, just know this is specific to Wisconsin at age 21, uh, you legally have to turn over all the money to that child. So if they're not, not really financially responsible at age 21, could be. I'm like, I know what I was doing at 21. But, um, so, uh, anyway, that's just

Speaker B: the only thing I'm just thinking, oh man, I have so many thoughts. My head.

Speaker A: That's awesome. So much fun. Um, and then the last account is a ah, juvenile permanent life insurance policy. So with whole life insurance, um, it builds cash value tax efficiently. The cash that is growing is relatively easy to access. Access. So that would be one aspect for this child. Um, you as the parent or whoever is the owner of the policy. So they have full control over the cash that's growing. You can use it for whatever purpose, you can access it whenever. Um, but then ultimately the child is the insured on that policy. So if something were to happen to the child in the future where they were no longer able to get insurance or maybe a health thing, whatever, um, they would always have that coverage. So if they have a future, future family and they need life insurance, they always have that. So those would be the three main accounts. Now a couple other things and with a 529 I forgot to mention. But it is really nice for taxation because there's no taxes going into it. It grows tax free and then there's no taxes when you pull it out. So it does have that triple taxation which is really beneficial. And you do get a um, tax deduction of 5 grand max every year. 4 or 5, 29 per account account. So if you do need a little extra help on the tax side, that could also be another thing.

Speaker B: I like it, I like it.

Speaker A: Lots of options there. Now one quick thing. So you could also do a non qualified investment account. Now this is kind of big words that I'm not trying to sound like over the top here, but it's basically just an investment account. You put money, you can access it whenever you want. Um, you could just open account like that and then put money in and then use that money for whatever you need. So a lot of people are like, well I want this for my kid. And I'm like yeah, that's awesome. But you could also use it because we all know life is so unpredictable for us and children. So. Right. What parents say is like, yeah, I want to help the kiddos but also I never want them to have to worry about us. So it could be also a nice account to. The only downside to that is you have to pay capital gains tax. So it's not super tax efficient. Like potentially the other accounts so lot out there.

Speaker B: Yes. Like, and I think it's really important to kind of understand the pros and the cons of each thing because like you said, it's all dependent on what that specific person needs. So if you need the tax deductions. Okay, well then this might be a really great option for you in your business and in your life. But if that's not something that is a benefit of to you, or maybe, yeah, you need to access the funds, um, for personal reasons or whatever the case may be, like, you can decide to do what you want to do with that money. Um, which is also like, just, yeah, a really, really great option to have. So I absolutely love that. I think that that was very, very helpful. Um, because like, again, I'm sure people like I was told when I was younger, like, never use a credit card. And like now I'm like, oh my God, like if I never use a credit card, I get so many free points from this. Obviously don't use a credit card that has a 20 interest rate that you can't pay. That makes sense. But. Right. It's all kind of like, it's, it's these like generational pass downs. I mean, like, you know what, that, things that we've been told that, you know, I mean, like you said, it's going to change all of the time through every single year, through seasons of your life. Um, and what, where you might be right now might be totally different than where you are in 10 years. So I do think it's, it's so valuable to just like have someone that you can trust and have a conversation with and know that at the end of the day, like, they have your back. Um, and it's not all about like, obviously, yes, you deserve to make money. Like, this is your job. Like, I'm not doing hair for free, but you know, like, at the end of the day, like, like you're gonna be successful, but it's also gonna make me more successful in the future. So I think that, um, that's really cool. I love that. Thank you so much, um, for sharing those tidbits. Because going into being a new, a new mom, you just have all of these feelings and you have a young, a young, a five month old.

Speaker A: It's crazy. It goes by so fast. I never understood the meaning of it goes by fast until you have a child and then you're like, holy crap. It doesn't go by fast. Yes.

Speaker B: Seriously, I'm like, oh, all these, like all these feelings going into it. So can't wait to hear more about that from you. But, um, I think another thing inside of my industry specifically is there can be a fluctuation of income and inconsistency. I mean, in anybody's income there can be right so, um, do you kind of have any tips for, like, like, dealing with the inconsistencies? Like, can you adjust, like, how much you're putting in? Or, like, as the time changes in your life, like, can you make adjustments? Because I know for me, like, you know, it was like, okay, like, this is a good time, like, put in all this money, but, like, that may not always be there. And so I think people can kind of get a little nervous with that too.

Speaker A: Yeah, for sure. So, a, um, lot of accounts that you set up are flexible. So, um, you can contribute as much or as little as you need or that fits you. I am a big fan of, like, starting small, see where that takes us, and then let's work our way into that, then vice versa. Um, but when it comes to, like, income fluctuations, and I specialize in the beauty industry and business owners and a lot of that. So this is primarily a lot of what I work with every day of how do we create some consistency in an inconsistent income world? And it really comes down to you make your own consistency no matter what you have going on. So whenever you get paid, you should always be looking through a budget. So have a consistent budget of, like, what are my expenses? What has to get paid? What are my bills? What does that look like? And then I like to go through something called the 60, 2020 rule. So 60% of our monthly income is going towards fixed expenses. That should be the case. So take just an average income. Average over like six months or maybe a year, depending on how long you've been in the business. Average out your income and say, like, okay, my average income for this month is blank times that by 60%. That should be a good target range for your fixed expenses. Don't go over that. Then 20% of your monthly income should be going towards future you. This would be anything from insurance, retirement planning, kiddos. Like, investing anything that's going to benefit you in the future. Whether that's tomorrow, future, like retirement future, anything in between. Um, and then 20% of your monthly income going towards the. Treat yourself on my personal favorite, um, in that we're working hard, we deserve to spend our money.

Speaker B: The eyelashes come into play, ladies.

Speaker A: Absolutely. So, um, that's really where we break it down now, going back to how to create consistency. So knowing how much we need to contribute to future us, how much we need to pay our bills, and then how much we need to also feel good, feel pretty, and, like, do all the things that we need to as humans, um, that is what we break it down and that's where we go. So if we have a month that we make like 20, 30, 30,000, and we're like, holy cow, like, I'm gonna go blow it on Amazon, like, no, we are going to do the same thing that we would be doing as if we made five grand. So you're gonna pay yourself the same thing every single month or weekly, depending on what your structure looks like. So I would say break it down. How much do we actually need? And then just pay yourself that every month. So maybe that's five grand. And put. So basically, you get paid whatever. Put that in a separate account and then pay yourself from that account the same thing every single month. Same thing. It doesn't matter if you're working or you got huge paycheck every single month, paying yourself, that creates consistency. So that way you don't blow your big paychecks or your big commission, whatever that looks like. But then also, when we're not working as much or like we're on maternity leave or we have little things that we maybe aren't going to be generating as much income, like, hey, we're on vacation for three weeks. Cool. Um, how are we still getting paid? That is a really good way to do that. Now, that doesn't necessarily work for everyone.

Speaker B: Right?

Speaker A: That's a good rule of thumb.

Speaker B: I love that. That's easy broken down. Anybody can understand 60, 20, 20. So love that tip. Okay, guys, write that one down. Um, and I, I do agree because, like, actually that question came from a photographer. Um, which, you know, it's very similar to our. The beauty industry in the sense that, um, yeah, we've got different clients coming in every month, and sometimes it's. It's different. And yeah, we're. Sometimes we're in different seasons where we relocated and we're building our clientele and other. Or we're changing from doing weddings to, you know, you want to spend more time with your kids or whatever the case may be. Um, but just taking that and doing the 60, 20, 20, I think, is. Is freaking awesome. Um, I love that. I want to ask. There was a question. Okay. So we went over. I'm like, making sure I'm getting all your listener questions out there. There was. Yes. The baby tips. Um, okay. Savings for any tips for saving for retirement, which we kind of covered. I feel like a good amount of that. Little tidbits. You want that or feeling?

Speaker A: I mean. Yeah, I feel like it's pretty good. It just depends on, like, who you are. And then taxes are going up. It's already set to happen next year. So the more Roth dollars you can have, um, the better. Now there is one thing and just to make sure that I do cover it, even if you make over the threshold of income for a Roth ira, you can still be contributing to a backdoor Roth. So just because that was another question,

Speaker B: what if you make much to have a Roth already invest in a L I V U L. Yeah.

Speaker A: So yeah, there's a whole lot of things out there. But so if you are making too much like, and that again, another reason why an advisor is helpful, or at least a good one, they should know how to do this. Um, they can help you do a backdoor Roth, which is totally legal. I do one. A lot of my clients do it like every single year. You can still be contributing seven grand to a Roth ira, right? Just doing it a little bit differently. So, um, make sure that if someone is out there telling you like, oh, you make too much to do a Roth ira. Nope, you can.

Speaker B: That's, that's awesome. Thank you so much. Is there anything like. Okay, so we've talked obviously like on the investment side of things, um, like, you know, the, the, the, the whole term and the Roth IRAs and the dividends and, and all of that.

Speaker A: Yeah, a lot.

Speaker B: As someone's financial advisor, um, are you kind of talking to them about like, just like the day to day, like type of like little things in their life or is that more like your accountants kind of talking? I mean, obviously the accountant is doing like the tax side of, of things. But um, you had mentioned like, you know, you have your, your financial advisor, your accountant and you have your um, attorney. Right? Yeah. So you had mentioned that you have those three people. See I listen.

Speaker A: Three people.

Speaker B: And okay, how do those three people like work together and what are their specific roles?

Speaker A: Yeah, great question. I forgot to answer this when you asked it earlier, but the difference between an accountant or CPA and a financial advisor is that I do handle more of those like day to day and like think about you now and future. So your accountant is just going to think about your taxes it this year. They're not going to be like, oh, in 10 years there's this tax liability going to happen with your business and RMD is and this and that and that's changing code and like all this stuff, which is fine. Like that's not what they're trying to do. They're trying to help you not pay a bunch of taxes this year, uh, which is great. Or next year. Um, but they don't really think about you in 20, 30, 40 years. So that would be.

Speaker B: Nor are they even like legal. Is it even legal right for them to even advise you? Right.

Speaker A: Okay. Some accountants can double as financial advisors. In my opinion, that is a conflict of interest because how are they going to advise you on taxes today and in the future when they're trying to save you money today? And also, like, they're practicing taxes, so they're very tax mindset. So they're not looking at everything else that is going into a financial plan. So in my opinion, keep them separate. Um, so, uh, with an accountant, an estate planner, lawyer, or an advisor, you want them to be working in tandem because, uh, each of them play a different role. So I am constantly working with, with clients as accountants and saying, like, hey, did this get filed correctly? I always ask my business owners for a copy of their tax returns because I want to make sure that their accountant is not screwing something up. Now, I'm sure their accounts are perfect, but I have caught plenty of mistakes. Plenty, um, of professionals who are highly, highly referred. And it's just little things that, ah, the client didn't notice or didn't know to catch. So just making sure they're in the same boat. And then having a lawyer, estate planner, just making sure that your advisor is talking to, to them as well, to be like, hey, if I were to pass away, like, is this going through probate? What are my kids receiving? Like, what actually is going to happen? And just get a will, pay, pay the money, get a will, just do that. And, uh, continuously having these conversations with your people and keeping them like, in line, because I can call up a client's accountant and ask a question for free. Sometimes clients have to call their accountants and they're like, oh, that's a charge. That's going to be 100 bucks for the, for the conversation. Or, or you don't get to talk to the actual account. You're talking to the assistant or something like that. Um, so I can call these people and not get charged a fee. But sometimes when you're calling them, um, they're going to charge you.

Speaker B: I've dealt with that in the past, like, with previous. And I like, to me, I just want to know, like, the transparency, I'm like, okay, what am I paying? How. And then can I have access to you? Like, what I need you. Because at the end of the day, like, yeah, it feels very like nickel and dimey. Sometimes I feel like, when it's like, nope, like, and I'm like, if my client. If I charge my client every time they texted me asking me a question, that would seem like crazy to me. But so I love the transparency around that and I just love the transparency around the communication. Um, and, and I'm sure, like, you can make rec. I'm sure you make recommendations for your clients and stuff all the time when you're trying to figure out, like, who to work with on what and, um, just kind of, you know, getting everything all handled. Um, so where would you say, like, like people should, if they don't have anything, like, nothing set up. Oh, where do we start? Because I'm sure there's some people listening right now and they're like, ah, uh, like I need to get my together. Like, they might feel a little bit overwhelmed. So what's a good place to start?

Speaker A: Yeah, um, good place to start is hit me up, let's meet. No, just kidding. But that is a good place to start. But, um, I would say, though, truthfully

Speaker B: though, you can, you can say that because that is valid.

Speaker A: Yeah. Appreciate it. Um, uh, the first place to start though, if you're a business owner, let's kind of focus there for a second. If you're a business owner, you need to focus on your personal financials first. Don't think about providing benefits. Don't think about doing any of these things for your employees or any of the business strategies or business accounts or this or that. Like, focus on your personal first. So just first get an emergency refund. Establish three to six months of your expenses. Like, savings is a great place to start. Once you have savings and once you can be comfortable the relationship with money of, uh, the habit of like, saving, uh, overspending, still having fun, doing all these things, then you're in another good place to take that next step of like, okay, maybe now I can look at these things. Look at a budget. Just download a budgeting app. There's plenty of free ones. Mint, I think, has a free one. There's like rocket money. I think they might charge you, um, just to download something that's going to keep you accountable or like, literally get a paper budget and just like write it down.

Speaker B: What.

Speaker A: When are your bills coming out? Now, if you're someone that's a little bit easier to like, spend when you see the money, then do a separate account for your bills. So, like, you get paid, it goes into this account. Put exactly what you need to pay your bills in a separate account and don't freaking touch it. Let all the bills come out of discount automatically. Come coming out or whatever. Keep track of when your expenses come out. That would be the biggest thing. And this applies for someone even who's not a business owner. So, um, just be aware of like, what are your expenses, when are they coming out and keep track of that. So if it's easier, just have it in a separate account. Automatically doing that and then putting money towards savings and then whatever's left in your account, that's what you can spend. That is a good way to just start. Um, savings is always going to be the best way. Now if you're the type of person that you're scared of things and you have too much in savings, that could also be a problem because as, uh, we all know savings accounts have like pennies of interest. You might have like 40 grand and you're getting like 10 bucks. So be cautious. Yeah, exactly. Be cautious.

Speaker B: Talking to me in the past

Speaker A: now, again, it depends on like, what life stage you're going. You're going into a stage of like, unpredictability of maternity and kiddos and like, like. So that maybe makes sense.

Speaker B: Um, no, this is great though, because I'm just saying, like, young Michelle was just like, save every dollar, Put it. Yeah, save every dollar. And honestly, I'm still getting over some of those things and still like really understanding, like again, like all seasons of life. But it's just crazy for sure.

Speaker A: Um, and that's, that's what it comes down to though. Like, you can't be afraid of the market, you can't be afraid of the financials because it's happening whether, whether we're planning for it or not. And so just, just do it. That's what I'd say. Do something, um, talk to an advisor, talk to people that you love. And be also careful of talking about people in your life that you love and trust who are not financial advisors who give you advice. So of course we love them and trust them and they would never want to harm us, but they can harm us unintentionally by giving us advice that is potentially outdated or something that they did that maybe worked but is not a thing anymore. Anymore. Roth IRAs weren't a thing until 1998. So some parents don't even know about them, um, or like aunts, uncles, like loved ones. So I would just say take that like with a grain of salt, um, and just talk to someone that, ah, is doing it all the time.

Speaker B: I love that, that, that just like, took all of the, like, overwhelm and it was like, hey, here's a good place to Start and then once there, because there are a lot of, like, young girls. And I mean, I have, you know, young girls that are starting with me. I mean, straight out of cosmetology school, like, they're assisting. Like, they're living home, like, you know, and.

Speaker A: And.

Speaker B: And they're like, oh, my God, they couldn't even imagine, like, um, giving. Giving an extra 20 bucks, you know, to something else. But I think, like, that's such a good point, too, because there's so many little things that you can do. Small, little actions like, that you can do when you, you know, you're coming up with your budget. Like, again, you said this, the.

Speaker A: The.

Speaker B: The Starbucks and the. And the little things. Like, again, I am all about living your life. However, if, like, you have bigger goals in. In place, like, sometimes there take a step back, like I did when I was making $9 an hour. Like, I was like, okay, like, I have to. This is. This is where I'm at. I can't go out to dinner all the time. I can't go buy the aloe yoga. I can't go, like. Like Starbucks. Not a thing for me. You know, and it. It got me to this. This point in my life now where I am lucky enough to. To be able to, you know, have the Starbucks if I want it. I still really don't, but, you know, because again, like, it's all about. About what's really important to you and, like, where you want to spend your money to make you yourself happy, um, and live your best life. So, I mean, I absolutely love that. And I would love to also ask people. I know this was not your goal, but how can people work with you? We'll include all of the show notes and everything below. But, like, if they want more, if they want to ask questions, if they want to work with you, like, how can we do that?

Speaker A: Yeah. Um, amazing. Thank you. Um, honestly, I am super transparent about all the things. So, like, please reach out. I love to have conversations. I'm so passionate about this that, uh, we could talk for hours about anything. So, you know, you can follow me on Instagram. It's Real Talk with Renee. And I have that because I'm so brutally honest sometimes that, like, I say, I just say what it is I say. I say it how it comes. And so Real Talk with Renee. And then, uh, my website will be linked down there as well. And then, then, um, you can call me, text me. There should be a number there, too. And then Renee, wiznow.com is my email, but you probably won't be able to spell any of that.

Speaker B: So, yeah, that will all be in the show notes. So whatever your form of contact you like to. To have is. But I think it's just so nice knowing that, like, somebody is willing to just like, yeah, you could just DM them and like, what, like, what financial advisor can you just, like, dm, um, and just be like, hey, I got a question. I mean, like, obviously, I think, like, setting up an initial consultation is probably, like, just amazing. It's like, you know, you pay, I'm sure you know, your fee, you do consultation, you kind of get the grand scope of things, and then you guys can discuss, like, what works best and when it works best. And maybe it right now isn't the right time. Like, again, you said you shoot it to them straight, so I'm sure you would give, you know, all the. All the, um, on that as well. So, I mean, I am just so grateful for all of your insight. I, I could ask you questions for thousands of hours. Um, but, you know, trying to be respectful of your day as well. Um, so I just want to say thank you so much for sharing your insight. Um, these were great helpful tips that were just simple for, um, not only beauty professionals, but entrepreneurs, um, anybody to. To really take and start to put into action and be a little bit smarter. So, um, I hope that you guys took a lot from this podcast and I just want to say thank you so much for your time so today.

Speaker A: Yeah, thanks so much, Michelle. I appreciate you and your vulnerability and everything that you, you, you tell your listeners. I think it's so great and I'm here for it.

Speaker B: Yay. Okay, ladies and gents, well, that is a wrap on this episode, and I'm so excited. Again, reach out to Renee with any questions that you guys might have. All of the links are going to be in the show notes below. And, um, as always, we are going to end this episode here with a little, little Ask Me m Anything. So at the end of every episode, we do Ask Me Anything where I let my listeners literally ask me anything and nothing is off limit. Fun fact is, I don't ever look at these questions before I answer them. And so I'm always a little bit scared. Um, my podcast manager, Katie does. And so I get into it and

Speaker A: I'm like, oh, God.

Speaker B: Um, so this one is. What's one thing you think everyone in the hair industry should? Flirt job, no skill. I mean, obviously getting your hair done at all.

Speaker A: I'm just kidding.

Speaker B: Um, I honestly, it says in the hair industry. Splurge on.

Speaker A: Okay.

Speaker B: Education, education, education, education. I think you should splurge on. Because, like, I. We were just talking about, like, my assistants, for instance, right?

Speaker A: They, like, get out of school, they're

Speaker B: hungry to make money. Um, but at the same time, like, if you can take a step back and even if it means you're not making a ton of money at that time, and just get educated by somebody that knows more than you, you will, like, triple your income after that year, versus, like, being in the weeds and struggling, you know, to figure it out. So I would just say, like, take a step back. Never bat an eye on spending money on education, because that is always going to propel you forward, um, in. In more ways than you can. You can ever imagine. So splurge on education. Thank you guys so much for your questions. If you want to submit a question of your own, just click the Ask me anything link in the description of this podcast. And as always, if this podcast helped or inspired you, I'd be so grateful if you would rate review this episode, send it to a friend, share to your social media tag us both. Um, love you guys so much, and thanks for listening. XOXO. Beyond our fingertips I can feel

Speaker A: I

Speaker B: can take it on my lips Running out the sky.