85. Laura Adams Spreads Money Knowhow

This week I speak to Laura Adams, personal finance and small business expert, author and host of Money Girl podcast.

Laura discusses the mistake of confusing ‘a fear of numbers’ with being bad with personal finance. She also shares what she learned from losing 5-figures in a dodgy investment.

I also discuss Premium Bonds and Income Protection Insurance. You can get a quote for income protection insurance via Cura Money here: https://www.curainsurance.co.uk/quote/?referral_id=NDcz

Episode Transcript

Jason Butler 0:00
Coming up in this week's episode, I review whether Premium Bonds still make sense. I give a quick reminder on what financial help the state gives if you can't work due to sickness or disability. And we have a great interview with Laura Adams, who is a US personal finance expert who really makes money simple. Hello, and welcome to the real money stories podcast. I'm Jason Butler. And I invite you to join me as I have intimate money conversations with people from all walks of life. Whether you're just starting out on your money journey, or well down the track, there's bound to be something you can learn from these stories about taking more control of your money, so you worry less and enjoy life more. Real Money stories is sponsored by Vanguard bringing value to 30 million investors worldwide. Visit Vanguard investor.co.uk for more details. And remember, the value of investments can go down as well as up and you may get back less than you invest in. First, let's talk about Premium Bonds. If you followed me for a while, you'll know that I have quite a soft spot for Premium Bonds, and they've always formed part of my emergency fund. So with Premium Bonds, you can invest up to 50,000 pounds, so a couple could invest 100,000, which is more than enough for most people, the money is instantly accessible and 100% backed by the UK Government. Now you don't earn interest with Premium Bonds. But every month you participate in a prize draw. Last month that was just short of 100 million pounds of prizes. And prizes are tax free. And they range anything from 25 pounds, which is the most numerous number of prizes all the way up to two prizes of 1 million pounds each month. Now, I've always viewed Premium Bonds as marginally better than holding cash in our low interest savings account getting perhaps half percent because there's always that chance of winning a serious cash prize, but sadly late last year, and it's the NIH and national savings and investments who are behind Premium Bonds, they can't the odds of winning. Originally it was 24 and a half 1000 to one and now it's 34 and a half 1000 to one. And according to some recent research by the Telegraph, who put a Freedom of Information request in three quarters of premium bond holders are getting a poor deal. And it found that 15.9 out of 21 point 4 million premium bond customers have not won a prize since the records began in 2007. Now, my view is that you should build and hold your emergency fund initially in a competitive savings account to hold say at least three months call living costs, it's not really the rate that doesn't really matter. It's just being able to get your hands on that money in the event of emergency. But perhaps you could look for Premium Bonds for any additional savings for your emergency fund. So sort of if you're going to bolster your emergency fund to perhaps six, nine or my preferred, which is 12 months living costs. And of course, you might want to use Premium Bonds, if you want or need to hold more than the bank deposit protection scheme provides, which is 85,000 pound per person. So that's 170,000 pound for joint account holders. It's also useful if you've maxed out on your pension and your ices and your higher rate taxpayer or an additional rate taxpayer. So it has its place. But for most people, it's not going to, it's not going to really fit until you've got your emergency fund, you know, pretty, pretty full. Now I'm going to keep my Premium Bonds. But what I've done is I'm in cash them and I've reinvested them to get some fresh numbers, it may well not change my odds, but it feels like to me a fresh start, I'll let you know how I get on with that.

Now the COVID situations really highlighted the precarious financial situation of many people. For instance, Dino the sudden drop in income that many people have seen has really caused a lot of hardship for millions of people. And whilst the various support schemes have helped, and they're very welcome, they haven't reached everyone, or haven't been enough to make ends meet for lots of people. So this week, I wanted to highlight the basic financial support the state gives if you can't work due to long term sickness or disability. Now if you go to my website, Jason hyphen, butler.com. And read the blog, do you have a financial umbrella, you can see a diagram that shows what's available. Now, unbelievably, when I was researching this, I couldn't find a diagram that showed the basic benefits that you get, which is if you're employed, you get statutory sick pay, and then it goes on to employment support allowance. On top of that, you might get personal independence payments after 13 weeks, but that's all medically assessed. And then if you're on top of that, if you still haven't got enough money, you might benefit and get a Universal Credit. But that's means tested. And that is reduced if you have more than 6000 pounds of savings until it's taken away completely if you have 16,000 or more. So, yeah, it's not not brilliant, that help you get from the state. So if you're still relying on earning a living and having accumulated enough wealth to be financially independent, you really must make sure that your employer provides long term income protection insurance, or if they don't or you're self employed. You need to range or uncover. Now, this is, as I say called income protection insurance. And this kind of insurance has a waiting or a deferred period that you choose outset. And that can be anything from one month to 12 months, obviously, the longer the waiting period before the insurance company has to start paying you means the cheaper it gets. And what that means. And if you, if you can't work for longer than the waiting period, then the policy kicks in and starts paying you whatever the monthly benefit is that you've purchased up front as a tax free amount. So I've got this insurance, even though I've got enough money to sort of live off, because I still am earning and I, you know, if I couldn't work, then that's money, I couldn't add to my savings pot. So I've got a policy that pays me if I can't work more than three months due to illness or disability pays me 3333 pounds per month or 40 grand a year tax free. And that keeps in after six months. And I'll continue to either get better, or age 67, which is the sort of retirement age. So if I was seriously injured in a car accident tomorrow, say and I could never work again, that's a total of 600,000 pounds of tax free income plus any increases in inflation on top of that each year. So that potentially could be over, over that 15 year period, probably probably eight or 900,000 pounds of inflation on it. of that policy, I pay 100 pound a month and I'm 52 right. So if you're younger, and you need less cover or you're prepared to have a longer waiting period, then it can be even cheaper for you. So as I say there's a rough rule of thumb income protection. insurance costs about the same as a typical smartphone contract. But the peace of mind that gives is immense. And to help you choose and arrange the right cover head over to my friends at Curo money. There's a link in the show notes that will take you to their quote page. Very nice people and they'll help you out. Do it as soon as you've listened to this podcast. Right now let's get to this week's guest, Laura Adams, she's quite a big name in the US where she shares her wise money insights. And I caught up with her recently to share her ideas with you.

Hello, and thanks for joining me on another edition of real money stories, the podcast where we talk to people from a real wide range of backgrounds, about their money journey, the money insights and what they've learned about money. And today, I'm really excited to be joined by someone from across the pond. Laura Adams. Hello, Nora. Hello, thank you so much for having me on the show. No. Well, do you know what with your media background? I mean, you've written nine books, you're on every TV program in America, you're kind of you've had this podcast since the beginning of time before even the only one use your podcast. I mean, Jesus and you, you still look like amazingly young. And yet you've done all this stuff. So you seem to have been everywhere. And I wanted to get you on the show. Because I thought you're you've got some very interesting what I call practical, no nonsense, sort of just sort of what I call sensible views about money. So I thought would be great to get your insights on the show and share it with with our listeners. So so much, no. So look, how did you get into being a I know your specialism is insurance, isn't it and you you focus on helping people make wise decisions are kind of around that area. But you also cover general financial, sort of advice and financial planning issues. How did you get into internet? I mean, did you wake up when you were sort of 1617 you thought God, I've got to become a personal finance expert.

Laura Adams 8:24
No, you know, I back then I had no idea what I wanted to do. But I will say I was good with numbers, I enjoyed money. I was one of those kids that beg their parents for a checking account, you know, a bank account, when I was really young, I wanted to manage money, I wanted to, you know, be in control of it, and just understand it. So I always have had a personal interest in in money, maybe more so than other people. And I just, you know, kind of assumed everybody was the same way that they really, you know, enjoyed the topic of money. So I was always studying and reading. And I went to school, I actually studied science, natural resources when I was an undergraduate, and really didn't know what I was going to do with that. I thought about environmental law. And when I got into school, I was like, No, I don't want to be an attorney. That's, that's, that's not my thing. And so I just started working in areas that pulled me and for the most part, they were finance, they were, you know, they were roles in accounting and, and finance departments, you know, in the early days, and so, that kind of sparked my interest. I thought, well, maybe I you know, maybe I want to be an accountant. It's like no, that's, that's not really it either. And eventually I realized that my calling really is business and and so I have a lot of experience running my own business. Being a real estate agent, I was had a real estate license in Florida for many years and invested in real estate buy and hold, flipping properties was really, you know, involved in real estate and then in business, and ended up building up a business and selling a business in the floorcovering. Industry, with my husband. And so, you know, just gained a lot of experience in the business world, well, then I decided I want to go get my graduate degree, I thought, you know, I've got a lot of personal kind of hands on experience with business, but maybe there's more that I should know. And so that really kind of sparked my interest in getting an MBA going back to graduate school. And so I did that. And that's where I realized that corporate finance was okay. But personal finance was really where I was most interested. That's when I started blogging, and podcasting, this was in 2007. And at the time, I was just very interested in podcasts. I was listening to them like crazy. And I thought, well, how can I give back to the community? What can I offer? And so I just began doing shows about both corporate and personal finance. And the feedback I got was really much more on the personal side, people seemed more interested in that. And so that spurred me on to just continue with the personal finance topics that led to partnerships with a podcast network, which led to books which led to media on and on. So it's just kind of like one thing led to another long answer to your short question.

Jason Butler 11:34
Well, it's like anything, you became an overnight success in about 16 years, I think didn't use so and that is what is right. There's three things that I'm picking up from that, Laura, first and foremost, you follow up with your talent as opposed to your passion, because you were curious about these things, and you had a bit of a bent for this area. So that's, that's an interesting takeaway. I'm not sure we can always follow our passion. I think there's a bit overdone. Go your talent first and find your passion. And then secondly, you reengineered yourself, you didn't define yourself as being a realtor or, you know, a floor coverings manufacturing business, or whatever it was you and your husband ran, you seem to sort of you are the perpetual financial career chameleon, which is good, because you're constantly changing your spots. And thirdly, you you went all in, right? And you went all in even at a time when you didn't know if he could have it all figured out. Because podcasting was kind of like, you know, what's that? No one's ever heard of that kind of thing all those years ago. So love that love that that background. So tell me now, what are the what are the things that you to do? What's the most the most common barriers that you see both from your own experience of your own journey? And also all the people you because you take phone ins? And you have you have readers questions, and all sorts of stuff, which I know you do. What do you think are the the key barriers that people come up against in terms of being better with money better financially, having a peace with money, having money served them well in their life? So they're not stressing? What do you think are the top barriers? What's your top takeaways for people dealing with that?

Laura Adams 13:00
Yeah, I do think that for a lot of people, it is the challenge of living within their means. So many people feel like, Hey, I'm working hard, I'm making money, should I be entitled to spend all of that money and just really enjoy it kind of living in the moment versus thinking, maybe I'm going to need some savings down the road, maybe it's wise for me to begin investing and seeing growth in that account. So I do think it's, it's a mindset for a lot of people, many people are short term thinkers versus long term thinkers. I've always been a long term thinker. And but it didn't happen. You know, 100%, it kind of it happened gradually, in the early days, when I started my career, I was not saving, you know, the recommended 10 to 15% of your income for retirement, it took a little bit of education, for me to understand why that's important. Looking at what is that growth that you can see. And for me, when you looked at the numbers, and you say, Wow, if I can contribute to a retirement account, on a consistent basis, let's say over 3040 years and get an average return, I'm going to be a multimillionaire at retirement. And that was a very powerful realization for me. So I think for a lot of people who, especially in the United States are not getting financial education, in high school or college, that they're just not getting the benefit of some of that simple math that can prove to them in black and white that you can do it. You know, if you truly want to be a millionaire, and you want to have a comfortable retirement, you can do it you're going to have to make some sacrifices now. But it's it's all very doable. So I think the barrier really for a lot of people is just mindset and being open to, to what's possible.

Jason Butler 14:57
And to what extent do you think so Certainly we see it in the UK. And I've certainly been around the world and seeing similar things. To what extent do you think people's dislike of numbers and math? We call it maths, but you guys call it math, but that whole numeracy thing, it doesn't have to be the case that you have to be brilliant with spreadsheets and brilliant statistics, and brilliant with algebra, it helps. But to what extent do you think people turn off? When it comes to thinking about anything beyond just can I afford it now is linked to the fact what we call financial literacy, their their natural ability to be good with numbers, so you naturally good with numbers? To what extent do you think that that is an issue? And what can people do? If they're not naturally? Like, you know, so wake up dreaming about algebra?

Laura Adams 15:41
Yeah, that's a great question, Jason. And I do think that the numbers aspect of personal finance does turn people off. And they do assume they got to be a math whiz in order to invest or to make financial decisions. And the reality is a lot of people are just overthinking it, they're, they're making it way too complicated. And, you know, for me, I'm all about simplicity, how can you just, you know, have the least amount of effort for the greatest amount of growth and return. And, you know, I'm not somebody who is watching stocks on a daily basis, and, you know, crunching company financials and trying to be a stock picker, you know, I did that at one time. And, you know, was really interested in day trading. And for about a year, I did some day trading. And I realized that at the end of the year was pretty much a wash for me, I made as much money as I lost. And so I realized, that's not the way to go, the way to go is to have a diversified portfolio with a professional manager who's doing all of that complicated stuff for you. And yes, you're going to pay a low fee for that. And in some cases, it's very, very low. If you're talking about an exchange traded fund, or a mutual fund, that's an index fund, you know, very affordable funds. So you know, when you look at the return that you get from that investment, the reality is just investing through a retirement account, and choosing index funds, is going to be the way to go for most people. Now, if you have an interest in numbers, and maybe even in real estate, you want to be a stock picker, I would say kind of do that, you know, do that on the side, do you know practice with that trade on paper first and see how you do you know, before you actually put your money, your real money into it. And you know, for a lot of people, that's enough for them to to kind of go No, you know, I don't have the time, the talent, the inclination to to do that. And so it's kind of like driving a car, if you want to know how it works and what's under the hood and, and how everything you know, is is engineered, you can and it may help you change the oil and fix some things. But you don't have to know any of that to turn the key crank the car and drive. So that car is a vehicle for you, no matter what your level of education or interest about it is. And I think of investing is the same same kind of concept. It's for everyone, no matter if you don't want to know anything about investing or whether you want to get really involved in and nitty gritty about the numbers.

Jason Butler 18:24
So that point of the dip your toe in the water, I love the idea that like for instance, we're thinking about doing property development, go and work with a property developer even part time off your time for free to learn the trade. If you're going to do day trading, or crypto trading, do a little bit tiny little bit that's and just get out your system or get the skills I love that. Look, one of the things I really want to just explore with you because you're a woman, right? And this is a subject and I have two daughters, 22 and 17. So it's a subject close to my heart. There's lots of research that shows that women actually are better investors than men. Right? Generally speaking, there's lots of studies that shows this because they tend to not Tinker they tend to not overthink it, and they tend to do too. But there's also a lot of a lot of evidence that women are not the and again I hate over generalizing, but there has hitherto been a reluctance or lack of confidence about investing or building wealth amongst women. Now, I may be changing but I'm wondering what we can do to square the circle for helping certainly people whether they were women or income unconfident or men, but particularly we have a larger amount of women than men who seem to be less confident but have better results. And men who are more confident but seem to have unbalanced, worse results. So what can we do to help ladies out there women out there young young women, build that confidence that hang on a minute, you're just as good as an investor? If you do the right things and wise things? What can we do to square that circle?

Laura Adams 19:53
Yeah, I do get asked this question quite a bit. And I do think that there are many similarities You know, with men and women and what they should be doing with their money, but I do think women face some particular challenges, you know, many of them are out of the workforce, while starting a family for a period of time that can set them back in terms of their income, they live longer generally than men do, which means they have to have more saved for retirement. And as you mentioned, it tends to be a little bit of a male dominated industry, the financial industry, which means that that can be intimidating for some women to, to jump into and it is changing there, there many fantastic women, you know, financial advisors and planners out there. So they're there, you know, if you want to have a female advisor, I would say certainly find one. But it is it is a male dominated industry. And in a lot of cases, many of the large companies are trying to make it complex, they want you to feel intimidated, they want you to feel dependent on them. And in order for them to gain your business and be profitable. So women do have to understand that they do have to be confident, they do have to find that confidence to just ask questions. I mean, that's really what it comes down to. If you don't know something, don't be afraid to say, No, I think I hear what you're saying. But can you explain that again, to me, or here's what I think you're saying, and really understand financial concepts and jargon, the lingo, the terms, you know, don't be afraid to say, I'm not clear about what your what you're asking of me or recommending, for me, whether you're talking with an advisor who's free, or paid, or somebody at your work or human resources, Benefits Administrator, there's so many people that we have to kind of come in contact with related to finances. So I would say for for women in general, there, as you mentioned, there, they are doing a great job, because they are not buying and selling as frequently as men, they tend to have more of a buy and hold attitude. Whereas men want to just kind of be a little bit more aggressive, and say, oh, gosh, I see a great opportunity, let me sell something and go buy that. And what happens is you end up paying fees every time you make those transactions that eats into your profitability. So I love the fact that women have a little bit more patience, you know, when it comes to money, and that's, that's a great attribute. So they're doing the right things, they just need to feel more confident that, that they can, let's say increase their retirement contributions, they can kind of get up to the level that they need to be in order to have enough for a very long life, hopefully, a very long retirement.

Jason Butler 23:02
That's very good advice. And I was just thinking they're one of the the attributes that often people don't realize of people who've who've got a reasonable degree of financial health, is that actually on on the journey to getting there and maintaining it, I would add, there's another whole whole story there about maintaining the world when you've got it is you have to have, first of all mistakes and challenges and setbacks and detours and falling off the wagon. But it's how you recover from that. So one, one, obviously trying to avoid blow ups. That's really important. We know that from the financial literacy, you know, things that are gonna wipe you out completely, don't don't put yourself up to falling, but but small setbacks and disappointments and things that don't go right. It's how you bounce back from it. And I just wondered if you could share with us? I mean, have you ever experienced the kind of disappointment or, you know, two steps forward and six steps back situation? And how did you cope with that in a way that we can you can share with listeners so that they can perhaps take something from that?

Laura Adams 24:00
Yeah, so I've certainly made my share of mistakes. And, you know, one big one that comes to mind is a friend of mine, recommended an investment This was many years ago, a friend of mine recommended an investment. And I trusted the person that referred him to the investment I trusted the friend. And I made a large investment with a particular hedge fund company that ended up being a Ponzi scheme. And last, you know, five, five figures of money in this Ponzi scheme that was

Jason Butler 24:39
held on that door just so in case anyone doesn't know a Ponzi scheme is where basically just in case anyone doesn't know is where basically the money is coming in. And then they're paying off people who want to redraw and as long as more people are putting money in the people who are drawing, it's a great little scheme for the people running the fund. But eventually when everyone wants their money back and there isn't enough, but when the music stops, there's not enough chairs. I'm so sorry to interrupt you, but I just want to make sure everyone is aware of what that means. Yeah,

Laura Adams 25:03
thank you. That's a great explanation think of made off. You know, that's basically that was what his what his scheme was. So that, that mistake and and thankfully, I had not invested money that I needed to live on or needed, you know, for everyday living expenses, it was money that I could afford to lose. So it was a little bit of a gamble, but certainly one that I regretted. And when I look back on it, I the mistake I made number one was greed. It was, wow, this is a great return this this sounds. And I will say, that lesson was very valuable to me. If something sounds too good to be true in the financial world, it is too good to be true. And you, you know, that was a lesson that was very expensive for me. So I try to encourage people not to make that same mistake, don't be greedy. And also don't invest in something that you truly don't understand, or no, this was not a mainstream investment, it was something that was not explained to them, the investors, it's kind of like, trust me, this is going to be great. And you never want to invest in anything that you truly don't understand. Now, I'm not saying people truly understand a mutual fund. But you can say I understand the components of that mutual fund, these are stocks or bonds, these are, you know, American companies or global companies in a certain industry, etc. So you understand the underlying investments. And so a Ponzi scheme is basically as you mentioned, it's it's, you know, a house of cards, it's it's built on something that is not a real security, not a real asset. So an expensive mistake, but one that many people make, it made me understand how people who are can be smart and educated can make big expensive mistakes with their money, because I did it.

Jason Butler 27:06
And I suppose the calorie for that, and that sort of take it on to the nother level which crypto at the moment. So for instance, cryptocurrencies, no, it doesn't produce anything. The only possible use for it can be as a unit of exchange any theory and possibly is got applications, which is a type of crypto. But the problem about crypto is that no one really understands it. Okay. Secondly, no one really knows what's going to happen. And thirdly is is that whilst the technology no doubt will endure, to things that crypto don't have out there listeners is armies and the ability to tax people, okay. And that's why fiat currencies are not going to disappear down a black hole anytime soon, right? I've said this before doesn't mean that crypto doesn't have a part to play. But if you're thinking about putting money into crypto, following what Laura's saying there is that look, if you're going to do it, do have a tiny amount of money, but make sure you've got your basis, your basic planning sorted first, don't think this is going to be your get out of jail card. And secondly, if you are going to do it, as I say, Don't bet the farm on it, don't put all your your chips on that sort of particular thing, but get your basics right. So that's a very good point. So now what what trends are you seeing at the moment in in how people are approaching their finances as we as we start to I noticed you're doing quite well there with the corona virus vaccine as we are in the UK, other places like India and other countries are having more of a challenge. But eventually they'll come through that I'm sure. What changes do you think or trends do you think are gonna persist? Or you'd hope to persist? Or that you'd like people to think of, after we come out of the kind of the, the tail end of of COVID, the world that we see ourselves in? Because it won't be the same world will it?

Laura Adams 28:43
No, it won't. And unfortunately, we have short memories and a lot of cases, you know, in the States, we go through recessions, and then you know, people kind of forget the lessons that we should have learned from from those recessions. And I do hope that this will be different. One thing that I am seeing as a trend, is people really evaluating their security nets, their financial security net. So you know, do I have? Do I have enough emergency savings? Do I have insurance and life insurance in particular, this is something that a lot of people in the states are very either underinsured or uninsured when it comes to life insurance. So reevaluating, all of your safety nets, people are starting to really value that cash emergency fund, I think a little bit more so than they did pre pandemic. You know, we always in the financial world, we're always preaching about building that that safety net. And because the idea is you never know what could happen. Well, you know, the pandemic was a great kind of a wake up call to the kind of bizarre things that can happen that maybe we're not expecting. So You know, not just for another pandemic, but what might happen if you have a large medical bill that you have to pay out of pocket that maybe you have insurance, but maybe it doesn't cover all of it. What happens if you, you know, have a liability issue? Do you have enough insurance if you get into an accident, all of these things, if you have a disability, and you you're unable to work due to an illness or an accident, I think people really are, are thinking more about how to protect themselves over the long term, and thinking more realistically about what do I really need, you know, as either an individual or a parent, I'm seeing that change, and I hope that trend will stick.

Jason Butler 30:48
Very good point, people have realized what I mean, there was someone so someone said to me, for my Instagram Live event on Tuesday night, imagine if all the adult population had 12 months essential living costs in their emergency fund. Imagine that you're your government, my government, all the other governments around the world wouldn't have had to sort of shell out billions and billions and billions of pounds in social security or social insecurities. We call it payments to people to keep them afloat, just to make sure they can live. So that's very, very good point. And I think you're right, no one wants insurance until they need to claim on it. And no one wants to put money in, or poor performing savings account until they need to get their hands on some cash. So that's brilliant concept. They're just thinking about some other trends that are happening. This issue of people, there's lots of people have been auto enrolled, haven't they into pension schemes, I know you have that in the States, we have it, it's a law here that you have to if you're an employee, but there's two problems. Lots of people aren't employees, right, all their low earners, or they might be part of a household that they may be working part time and there's someone else in their household, their wife, or spouse or husband who's working full time, who don't qualify for auto enrolment, that self employed don't qualify for it, because they're, and even the people who are auto enrolled, it's normally a very low level, an A and the auto enrolment figure three, four or 5%, whatever the figure is, it's just pitiful. So what would be your what would be your sort of, I don't know your top tips or hacks for how people can realize that actually, that's not enough. And and if they don't do something about it, they'll always be something that will consume their spending, right? their money, their income. So what can people walking people do to be better to their future self? How can they be kinder to their future self by just not seeing it as a denying themselves, but as as hardwiring into their spending plan? A little bit more? That's not for today?

Laura Adams 32:44
Yeah, Jason, that is so key. And I think for a lot of people, the key is automation. So how can you as you said, kind of make it make it autopilot, build it into your plan that kind of pay yourself first mentality. And for many folks who are getting a retirement plan through their employer. Like here in the United States, we have the 401 K, which is a very common plan, it gets automatically deducted from your paycheck based on how much you elect. And so it's it does so well, they're so successful here. Because it's happening automatically in the background, while you don't have to make any decisions or think about it, you can even say, I would like to escalate that amount from 5% a year up to 6% a year, let me go up 1%. Every year, you can kind of turn on that automation, for escalation each year, if you like. So I'm sure your plans in the UK have many, you know, similar features. So taking advantage of that, and understanding that you, you do have those features built into many of these accounts, taking advantage of that as key. And if you're self employed, and you have an account on your own, you can even set that automation up from your bank account to automatically transfer into your self employed retirement account. And trying to think about getting to that maximum limit each year is for many people, it's tough. But if you increase your savings level, even 1% every year, you're going to find quickly that you have a nice, you know, balance accumulating, you look back and think gosh, you know, that wasn't so hard and now I've got a really nice balance there. So automation whenever possible is a is a definite key to saving success.

Jason Butler 34:43
Well that's good auto escalation. I love that I hadn't actually hadn't I knew of it but I hadn't actually thought of it like that, you know, because you're absolutely right. You pay more tomorrow like I want to commit to next year. I'll be six then it'll be seven then yeah, that doesn't sound too bad. Yeah, good. I just wanted to touch on before we sort of draw to a close just Your thoughts on money and relationships? Now obviously, you're married woman, you said you're in business with your husband. That sounds like fun. Any any thoughts and ideas that you've learned from your own journey with you and your husband? Do you agree on having separate fun parts? Do you think you should ever run away part? Do you lump it together? If you separate it? Do you have a sort of money date once? Or what do you do to make sure there's money harmony in your family?

Laura Adams 35:24
That's a great question. And I'm kind of old school about that my husband and I have always shared everything like 100%. So I don't have a kind of me money fun. Some people have, you know, mine, yours and ours. And that works for a lot of couples. And they really enjoy having that autonomy, that you know, that money on the side, for whatever reason, even if it's just buying, you know, a birthday gift that the partner doesn't know about that, if that's definitely something that you want, have it do it, you know, and it can be a small amount that just makes you feel like you've got your, like you said the runaway money. But for me, I have always found simplicity. Again, I'm all about simplicity, and making it easy in having just one bank account for us, just, you know, just credit cards that we both own and doing everything together as a couple, I find that when you're you're in it together, you are much more likely to communicate about your money more effectively, when it's your joint account, you know, it's a joint decision, it kind of forces you to discuss money more as a couple, which helps you realign on your goals. What are you trying to accomplish together? And you're gonna accomplish way more together than you ever could separately? So you know, really putting your minds together on how do we earn more? How do we cut debt together? How do we accomplish key goals and align on that? I would say communication is key. Even if you decide to split up your accounts, you know, it really just does come down to communication. So if you are good about maybe a monthly money date that you go on, where you just, you know, have a little bit of time to talk about your goals, that will go a long way.

Jason Butler 37:22
I'm thinking that's very good. And I think the idea of focusing on priorities might be a bit easier for people than just goals, because goals is a loaded term for a lot of people because they're fuzzy, aren't they? But if you if you've got really clear goals, and I'm not saying you have to have but if you have very clear goals, it's a lot easier to get motivated to do stuff. But you're absolutely right, you've got to be on the same page. But just want to, you know, I don't know if you have children or not, but how would you What would you be your top tips for teaching young people in your family, your life, whether they are in children or others? How How would you think that people can teach the next generation How to Be Wise With money, but without having judgment without having to be too rigid, and without being like a lecture?

Laura Adams 38:09
I don't have kids, but I have some fantastic nieces. And I would say that for you know, for me, when I look at the friends that I have with kids that are doing really well with them, they are very open with them about money, and they incorporate kids into decisions conversations, you know, not really getting so much into the nitty gritty of income and debt, but involving them in making decisions at the grocery store. Letting them know that when we pay for our cable or TV, that you know there is a bill that comes every month and we're going to pay that and and letting them understand how to make decisions and choices is very powerful. But if you never incorporate them into those ideas and decisions, you know, it's no wonder that many kids don't really have much interest or a foundation in finances. parents may not feel comfortable themselves talking about it. But if you can find ways to naturally talk about money together as a family, even if you're not an expert, it's okay. You don't have to be, you know, a money whiz to to get them involved. And setting a good example, you know, you can take them to the bank and show them hey, you know, we might have have banking online these days. But, you know, here's a brick and mortar bank and here's what they do. Kind of just getting them involved in the whole financial world can really spark their interest and they may take it a lot further than you expect. talking to them about giving, you know donating charity, kind of thinking about bucketing money into spending. Saving and giving is a really great concept that kids love.

Jason Butler 40:00
That's a great idea. And I remember when my eldest daughter was going off to university, we sat down and worked out her budget the first time she'd heard of one. And there was a quite an interesting three way discussion between my daughter, my wife and me about how much was for beauty and for personal grooming. And, you know, it was done by and funny thing was, she came back with no debt from university, she came, she kept within a budget. And she's now a Super Super Saver. I'm sure that that, as you say that, that's showing that example, that kind of showing the rules of the road, and then let them get on with it, and let them perhaps, you know, find out themselves is perhaps the way to go. So great, Laura, before we let you go, what's your What are you currently working on? And how can people sort of follow your work? Because you are so prolific? I mean, which is the book they should buy it? What's the latest one at the moment?

Laura Adams 40:44
Well, my latest book is Money Smart solopreneur. And it's a book for folks that are interested in starting a business running a business and also building their financial future. So I do talk a lot about those self employed retirement accounts and kind of starting a business from from A to Z, what's required, and you know, how to think about working on your own, you know, if you want to be a solopreneur versus building a larger company, and I would love for people to reach me at some of the websites that I'm working on. One is us insurance agents.com. So if there's anybody in the UK, that's, you know, maybe an expat or somebody that's interested in us insurance, that is a site where we do Q and A's, we answer questions for people related to auto insurance, home, renters life, even health insurance, we try to really make confusing topics very simple for people who are in the market, and trying to help them understand what products are best for them. So I do enjoy insurance. It's kind of a for a lot of people a very dry topic. But for me, I find it fascinating. And it's something as we talked about, we all have to have. So it's a really smart product to understand. And when you understand it, you're able to get the best product for the least amount of money. And I love helping people save money on on those types of products.

Jason Butler 42:12
Well, we have 20% of our listeners come from the States. So don't worry your kids plenty of people living in your own country. Good. And you've got you still got the podcast haven't used mark is it smart money go.

Laura Adams 42:22
So money girl, and it is every every week, since 2008. And it's a it's a wide range of topics. The audience is college kids up to people who are pre retirement and it's 5050 men and women which surprises a lot of people. But it's um, it's something that I love doing and you must love it as well. You know how how beneficial podcasting is and how great it is to connect with an audience.

Jason Butler 42:49
Yeah. Oh, absolutely. I listen to some of your episodes. It's pretty fast paced, there's plenty going on. And you're very open. And it's great. I do recommend people check it out. But here's the thing, we never stopped learning Dewey, Laura, appreciate your busy lady, it's been really great to hang out with you. I'm very grateful for you to spend the time. The basically made sure in the show notes, you can check in the show notes, all the different ways to check out Laura's stuff. She's a super super person, someone you should know and have in your life as as one of your kind of fonts of knowledge and experience. So Laura Adams, thanks very much for being on.

Laura Adams 43:21
Jason, thank you so much. It's been a pleasure.

Jason Butler 43:28
Thanks for listening to real money stories with me, Jason Butler. If you like what you hear, please do tell your friends. And more importantly, please rate us on your preferred podcast app, because it really does help us get the message out there. So until next time, good luck with your money journey. Real Money stories is sponsored by Vanguard bringing value to 30 million investors worldwide. Visit Vanguard investor.co.uk for more details. The value of investments can go down as well as up and you may get back less than you invested

Transcribed by https://otter.ai