In this episode, I speak with my good friends, Jackie Cummings Koski, Marc Williams and Todd Belin about money. Jackie is a single mom, author and member of the FIRE community who retired in 2019 in her forties. Marc is a motivational speaker, coach and business owner from New York. Todd is a former accountant who matriculated to owning a small fitness boot camp company in New York. I am an ASL Medical Interpreter in New York who is passionate about biohacking, anti-aging and wellness. 

Our conversation begins with us talking about our backgrounds with money and why talking about it seems to be taboo. In Jackie’s book, Money Letters 2 My Daughter, she talks about the lack of knowledge surrounding money and finances, and questions why we are not teaching personal finance in schools.  As a child, Marc did not talk about money because he grew up on welfare, Medicaid, and food stamps and that type of money was taboo. Todd believes that when you do not have or manage your money well, speaking about it becomes taboo. I grew up as a Jehovah’s Witness and I was taught that striving to acquire riches is against God’s will. We all agree that seeing what our parents do with money creates a subconscious blueprint and to become more financially literate, you must do your research and develop your own blueprint.

The episode wraps up with Marc encouraging listeners to talk to their children about money and introduce the topic of generational wealth. He has done this by playing Monopoly with his kids and by helping them to develop a new financial vocabulary. Todd reminds listeners that training and teaching are two different jobs; training requires you to actually stand in front of the learner and demonstrate. Jackie agrees that talking to your kids about money is important. She recommends finding teachable moments and educating yourself along with your children.

Links:
MarketWatch's feature on Jackie
https://www.marketwatch.com/video/divorce-inspired-this-woman-to-learn-about-money-and-she-retired-early/8FA5FFFE-3517-4BCC-8DF7-56C1812D2977.html

Watch Jackie’s FIRE Talk
Jackie’s FI/RE Talk

Marc Williams Speaks
http://www.marcwilliamsspeaks.com/

Belin Challenge Fitness Bootcamp
http://www.bfitnyc.com/

Listen to Journey to Launch Podcast
Journey to Launch Podcast

Check out Choose FI Podcast & Financial Independence Course
Choose FI Podcast & Financial Independence Course

The Wander Wealthy Podcast
https://wanderwealthypodcast.com/

Learn more about BetterInvesting
https://www.betterinvesting.org/

Tags:

Finance, money, investing, budget, debt