Episode 261- How To Improve Your Financial Well-Being, Embrace Fin-Tech Solutions & Evolving Technology w/ Lynnette Khalfani-Cox

Lynnette Khalfani Cox 0:02

At the end of the day Jamila, there's really only four things you can do with your money. You can save it, you can spend it, you can invest it, you can donate it. And so I think that we look at money in a holistic sense, not only for what it can do for us the ways in which it can empower us, but also what we can do with the money, then that kind of gives us a framework for deciding what do I choose to do with my money?

Intro 0:27

T-minus 10 seconds. Welcome to the Journey To Launch Podcast with your host, Jamila Souffrant. As a money expert who walks her talk, she helps brave Journeyers like you get out of debt, save, invest and build real wealth. Join her on the Journey To Launch to financial freedom in five, four, three, two, one.

Jamila Souffrant 0:57

Hey, hey, hey journeyers I'm excited to bring you this episode of the journey to launch podcast which is sponsored by spruce, the new mobile banking platform built by h&r block that's designed to help you be good with money. Spruce helps consumers feel financially confident and organized with their money as they take steps towards savings goals with features that include no signup fees and no monthly fees. Automatic cashback rewards, courtesy overdraft protection up to $20 the ability to create personalized savings goals and more. You can find out more and sign up for spruce by going to spruce money.com

And on today's podcast I'm going to be joined by Lynette Kalpana Cox, the money coach. She is a personal finance expert television and radio personality and the author of numerous books, including The New York Times best seller, zero debt The Ultimate Guide to financial freedom. Lynette once had $100,000 in credit card debt before paying it all off in three years, and turning her financial life around. Lynette is an OG in this space. I respect her work and career immensely. You are going to be in for a treat when you listen in. Alright, let's get into it.

Hey, journeyers, I have a special guest all my guests are special. But this this guest is really special because she is someone that I look up to in the personal finance space as a creator, as a leader. She's been in this game when I first came in Lynette just saying and I know just give your name away. But you were one of the people that I looked at. And I said, If I could have a career, like Lynette, I will be winning. And so I'm excited to have you back on the podcast, you graced us before. And I'll link that episode where you came on and just talked about student loans and how people could get forgiven and hopefully through their company with the student loan, and the stuff that was going on during the pandemic. And so I'm excited to bring you back on now to more talk about yourself and who you are. And then some really exciting initiatives that you're a part of.

Lynnette Khalfani Cox 3:01

But I'm so super happy to join you again, I was really looking forward to this conversation. We had such a robust enriching phone conversation last time, I was like, Okay, second time around even better.

Jamila Souffrant 3:12

Yeah. And so you are the money coach, and you've been doing this for a while. So you've seen like, after talking about money for so long, right? Like, whether it's writing interviews, podcast, a lot of the same things I'm imagining you see as things that continually come up that are issues for people. So can you first give us a background, like how long you've been in this space and what you do, and then we'll get into kind of like the trends that you continue to see and how we can start changing that for positive.

Lynnette Khalfani Cox 3:42

Sure. So without dating myself here. I've had my business actually for 19 years. And so it's been an awesome nearly two decade run as a financial educator and a money coach. And it's really been a career that I parlayed off of my prior life as a full time financial journalist. So you know, Jimmy likes to be a Wall Street Journal reporter and I wasn't CNBC correspondent, I worked in the media for years before I started my own company in 2003. And so I really just kind of took what I learned as a financial journalist working on air at CNBC, working for Dow Jones and The Wall Street Journal, because I would always interview people. And I would talk to stock brokers and traders and money managers and investment advisors. And I was asking them about what worked and what they were doing to help their clients get ahead financially and become successful. So by the time I started my company, I was like, Okay, this is not rocket science. You know, I've done this, I can help others and I can translate really kind of somewhat complex topics and help people Break it down so that it's digestible and understandable and hopefully relatable and even fun to talk about money.

Jamila Souffrant 5:07

Yeah. And so you've been doing it for so many years, what are the common trends that you continually see come up? Like, you know that for someone coming in and first getting a sense of their own finances, it's just like, it's the biggest deal like, but they think it's only them. And I know that that's not the case like this is something you continually see as what people are struggling with or going through.

Lynnette Khalfani Cox 5:26

Right? Well, debt has been a perennial challenge. And I think that one of the things that I'm most known for I've you know, I've written 15 books, but one of my books is called zero debt, The Ultimate Guide to financial freedom, it's a New York Times bestseller. And unfortunately, over the years, the debt problem has only gotten worse in America. So we've, you know, we're into edition three of zero debt, a lack of savings is a huge, huge issue that most folks struggle with, about 70% of Americans don't even have $400, in emergency savings to deal with the unexpected. So as we get each new crop or each new generation of folks coming along, whether that's the millennial generation, and now Gen Z, they're encountering some of those same things that Gen Xers like myself, have already had to go through and overcome. So things like wealth building, being able to make sure that you protect your family's finances, all of the sort of what I call bread and butter, personal finance issues, really do come around, you know, time and time again, they're cyclical, as people go through a life cycle, and they enter a new phase of life, then they start to encounter some of the challenges that the people before them have already faced.

Jamila Souffrant 6:52

And you know, people will say, for millennials, I'm an older millennial, but like the younger millennials, a generation is now coming up behind us that it for them, it's even worse, quote unquote, because of the inflation now, you know, that inflation so high, and then the even just trying to buy a home, like the price of real estate, and the student loan debt, right, like so a lot of this, what people are graduating with like are far more than probably what people above our generations are older than us had to deal with. So how do you feel like that impacts on people? Because I feel like I hear a lot, that this is why I can't get ahead. Because all of these things like this is unique to my generation, and our stumbling blocks for moving forward.

Lynnette Khalfani Cox 7:38

There's no question that is financially a lot tougher these days for young folks coming of age and moving into adulthood. And we see that borne out in the data, when you look at the number of people who are becoming homeowners, and those who say I can't buy a house because I'm burdened with student loan debt, or I don't have enough money to save to be able to put down say, a 10 or 20% down payment on a house that is, you know, well into the hundreds of 1000s of dollars. Just this past week, some new data came out that showed the average new loan for mortgage in America topped $450,000. And that's for the mortgage, that's the loan. So you figure they put down 10 or 20%, those prices have gone, in many cases out of reach for a lot of people. So it's definitely tougher. However, I will say this also, millennials like yourself and members of Gen Z, you have a huge opportunity as well. There's a tremendous amount of upside, because of technology. And in particular, FinTech financial technology, because of the digital platforms and the tools at your disposal. I mean, you can have a podcast like yours, or you can be on various social media platforms, and you can actually monetize and make businesses out of that. There are evolving business models for entrepreneurship that allow you to do things that prior generations couldn't do. So you look at somebody who's on Tik Tok on YouTube, and who's pulling down significant revenue just based on their eyeballs and attention that they're getting, and they're generating advertising revenue. They're getting affiliate revenue, they're creating courses, you know, so again, some of these things are newer, and they've evolved. So I would encourage younger people to not only look at the side of things where it's like, everything costs so much more. But yeah, you have an opportunity to earn a lot more as well. And you'll probably out earn significantly what your parents earned. Again, if you're working in certain state in certain areas, and and you kind of dot the i's and cross the T's because there's there's no guarantees You know, even like, we know, just getting a degree, there's no guarantee that you're going to have, you know, XYZ job. So look at the upside as well as what I'm saying.

Jamila Souffrant 10:09

That's such a good point because there's so much technology evolving technology at that, like, who knows what will be in a few years? I remember you did. When I went to a fin con, you did a big idea speech on AI, was

Lynnette Khalfani Cox 10:21

it sure was on artificial intelligence and blockchain.

Jamila Souffrant 10:25

Yes. And that was years ago before like it was like even like happening now. So I just just feel like you're so choose like to look at the positive side of what we can use as our advantage now with being able to use our phone and make money and find out information that before you had to write a letter or wait for a letter to come in the mail for how long, I don't know,

Lynnette Khalfani Cox 10:45

I was slightly ahead of the curve ahead of my time in our space, but you know what, another thing I'll emphasize is the ability to keep learning and creating and growing and monetizing as you do. So for example, just this week, I just earned my FinTech certificate from Cornell University. And so I'm super proud about that. I hadn't even announced it yet. I guess I could actually go ahead and post it on social and whatnot. But again, a more grounding, more exposure, and information around everything from blockchain and Ledger's and cryptocurrency and digital banking, as a huge part of that, and about FinTech disruptions that are taking place all across the financial ecosystem. And I think you already know, I'm happy to be part of that. And because you know, about my recent spokesperson work, and what I'm doing with h&r block, and spruce digital banking offering, which is is awesome, especially for a lot of millennials for a lot of members of Gen Z, and folks coming along, who want to figure out okay, how can I save more money? How can I make sure that I'm able to manage my finances and track my spending and things of that nature? So I should probably better clarify to and explain.

Jamila Souffrant 12:11

Now, I'm glad you brought that up. Because there's a lot of information out there, people should be budgeting types of investments where they should be investing, it can be overwhelming, right. And so part of it is like what the systems and tools in place that we can trust, that can help us get organized and do what we have to do in order to make progress with our finances. So you just brought up screws from h&r block. And I would love to talk more about that, because let's explain first what that is. And then like why something like that is necessary. And then I would love to go in the history of why platforms like this are becoming more advantageous, especially for people of color black people and younger people in this system that we're in.

Lynnette Khalfani Cox 12:51

So spruce combines a number of very powerful elements. It's a financial technology platform, that includes a mobile banking app, a debit card and savings account. And it helps people in a lot of different ways. Obviously, people think about h&r block, especially during tax season, you know, the largest tax preparation company in the country. But really, spruce has the ability to be a game changer to help people with their finances all year round. Because the the app does things like nudge you to save, it gives you reminders, it helps you to track your spending, it helps you to take that income tax refund check that you're going to get and the typical tax refund check right now. So it's almost $3,000. And you can your mark or designate a portion of that to sock it away in your savings account to make sure you're not just blowing the money and not just spending it. So it has a lot of robust features. And it's really one of the newer models in terms of I was saying, obviously, from a FinTech perspective, we've seen obviously a lot of so called Neo banks or challenger banks, right, that have emerged in recent years to really kind of upset and disrupt the traditional financial services world in ways that are helpful, frankly, for consumers. Because the old way of doing banking for decades and decades, it hasn't been working for a lot of people. Obviously, a lot of consumers are getting tired of having to pay all these monthly fees and getting nickeled and dimed to death etc. So you've seen all these sort of neobanks emerge to say, Listen, we don't charge monthly fees, or we don't we don't have fees like that. And I think that now we've seen the industry tried to respond to that. Some of the larger banks have dropped their monthly fees in response, etc. But the reason I really love spruce is it combined some of that same elements of the Neo banks in terms have, you know, we're not going to be charging you fees, we're going to provide a mobile first banking opportunity for you. Because some people, especially black folks, and communities of color, you might be in an area where there are no banks in your neighborhood. And so you need a digital banking option, they're going to make sure that not only is it accessible, in terms of you not having to have, you know, certain minimum amount that you have to keep in there without getting overdraft fees, and all those kinds of things that you're going to get hit with. So it combines that elements of the sort of neobank, the challenger banks, what they've sort of done and how they've connected with consumers, but they have a really trusted brand behind it 66 years worth of history and knowledge and h&r block with a very, you know, pristine reputation, and a lot of data and insights because they know their customers for so long. You know, when you do some folks taxes and you do, you really get into the nitty gritty of their personal financial situations. So they've been able to take a lot of the lessons and the insights, glean from six plus decades, and apply a lot of that into this platform in this ecosystem to really give people a product and a tool and a service that they can use.

Jamila Souffrant 16:19

Yeah, and I think it's important to note, like, I'm looking at some statistics I'm reading here, and it says the Americans least able to afford it, pay 84% of fees for everyday financial services. So in other words, it's expensive to be poor, or to even be middle income, you know, like, if you God forbid you miss a payment, because the fees on top of fees that you're forced to pay is like, you know, astounding. And so I think things have to change, they are changing. And just like you mentioned, something like spruce is like coming in and taking their flag and say, Alright, here's what we're gonna do about it. Can we talk a little bit about the lack of mistrust, like in the banking system? And kind of where that comes from? And why like, even if maybe you're not familiar, because I get a lot of people ask, well, you know, I'm used to being banking in a traditional bank, like big bank, then I like walking into the bank, even though I don't like how they treat me or I don't like what it stands for. And I hear about these things like screws, but I'm still afraid to take that jump. Can we talk about, like, what that can feel like for someone? And the importance of probably looking for other options?

Lynnette Khalfani Cox 17:25

Right? Well, I think there's been a legacy of mistrust, unfortunately, especially if we want to talk candidly about what's happened in communities of color, right? We've seen at every level, whether it's insurance, and redlining, whether it's in mortgage lending, where the Federal Reserve data show that typical black woman who had same credit score, same income, same assets, as her white counterpart was, you know, two and a half or three times more likely to get a subprime mortgage loan, or to get a higher rate loan. And so we do know that there are biases in the system, we know that there has been a legacy in many cases where, and honestly, I can say, a legacy, but it persists to this day, it's not just like, oh, this was 50 years ago, or this was 100 years ago, this is still going on now in the year of our Lord 2022. So you you have research from places like Brookings Institute and others, that show that you have to maintain in black neighborhoods, you have to typically maintain a much higher balance two and a half times as much roughly, then folks in white neighborhoods in order to avoid getting a monthly service fee. And so think about what that means, because we know that by and large, African Americans make lower incomes already. So if you have to keep a larger percentage of your paycheck in the bank account in a in a savings account, or in a checking account in order to avoid a monthly fee, that's more of a struggle for you to do that. And then there's just other things about why we've had, you know, kind of a history of mistrust. There was another survey recently that talked about the number of African Americans at every socio economic level, who said that they've been they've had a negative experience, and it was over 50% of them, don't quote me on it, but I think it was somewhere in the 70s 70 some odd percent, said that they had had a negative experience walking in a bank. And so even if somebody was just like giving you the side eye, or serving somebody else, and not really attending to you, or seemingly greeting everybody else in a warm and friendly manner, but just like kind of brushing you off, or acting as if you don't belong in there in the first place. All of those types of things, create a negative environment and then you can see why people don't want to step foot Some financial institutions, you know, I do think that as a whole, it doesn't serve us to just financially opt out of the financial system. And unfortunately, that's a lot of what's happened, we have 10s of millions of folks who are totally unbanked or underbanked. And that's not the right approach. Because what happens is, you start to be subjected to predatory alternative financial services, you're going to run to the payday lender, you're going to be looking at the title loans, or the car loans, and that are high cost loans, that kind of stuff. And then it's consuming even more of your paycheck. And so it's not a good, it's not a good option. I would much rather see people engage with digital platforms like spruce, and others that help us to really make sure that we're meeting our needs, in terms of our banking needs, our ability to save, and our willingness to trust and engage with the system. So for me, I was thrilled when h&r Block reached out to me because I know it to be a great brand, a trusted brand. And that issue that you raised about, okay, I see some of these, you know, startups and whatnot, but I'm like, Can I really trust them? And I don't know. I get it for the newbie on the block. That's a one a two, a three, a four year old institution. But we're talking about four screws from h&r block. This is a company has been around for decades, for 66 years. So they do occupy a place of trust, you're not going to walk into a branch because they're not offering you don't need to walk into an h&r block, even though there are physical retail establishments, for h&r block, but you can literally pick up that cell phone, pick up your smartphone, and, you know, download the the spruce app that way. And that is by design, because they want to increase access, and make it easier and more convenient for folks.

Jamila Souffrant 22:05

Yeah, and you know, the flip side of that is when you don't have physical locations, in the sense, it's less overhead. And so the savings on where like they can give you back like I know, they do like a automatic cashback option for your debit card and all these cool features. It just, that's how they're able to do some of that, because they don't have the overhead. And so what I'm assuming I'm not in the back end of the business, but I know that typically, for these bigger banks, they have a lot of overhead because of the physical locations.

Lynnette Khalfani Cox 22:34

You're absolutely right. And that is correct. And the same is true with spruce, and even other things like being able to get your paycheck a couple days early. That's another offering through through spruce and and again, so when you think about somebody who might be short on cash, or who might need to pay the light bill today, an offering like spruce that would help them to be able to access and tap into that paycheck, maybe two days sooner, as opposed to running off to a payday lender, and then paying an exorbitant amount like that. It's it's much more helpful. And again, especially to our community.

Jamila Souffrant 23:11

Yeah. So we're we're talking about a banking solution for people, which is key and necessary, because no one should be underbanked. Or they don't have the options, you know, to bank with someone that they trust and where they're valued. What are the other aspects? Like if you're looking at someone's financial life, use as many decades have you have been able to help people with their money? What else do they need as a part of their moving forward to increase their financial health? Right? Like it's yeah, the banking platforms, but what else should someone have surrounding them to financially be? Okay?

Lynnette Khalfani Cox 23:47

Sure. I think a couple things can help people overall, the first thing I think, is that they should look at their finances in a holistic manner. Nothing having to do with money just kind of exists in a vacuum by itself. Everything touches upon isn't and is related to other aspects. You need to be looking at things like, Do I have life insurance? And do I need life insurance? Did I just get married? Did I have a baby? If I did have a child? Do I have a 529 college savings plan for them to think about their future so that they won't have to have student home debt the way I had to have student loan debt, you want to be thinking about beyond just the saving side of things. You want to be thinking about growing your money and investing it. At the end of the day Jamila, there's really only four things you can do with your money. You can save it, you can spend it, you can invest it and you can donate it. And so I think that when we look at money in a holistic sense, not only for what it can do for us the ways in which it can empower us, but also what we can do with the money, then that kind of gives us a framework for deciding what do I choose to do with my money? That's why I like budgeting. And you know, honestly, I know people say, Oh, the B word, she brought up the B word. No, no, don't tell me about that. Well, you need to change your mindset because a budgeting tool, and a budget itself is really a spending plan of action. It's an empowerment tool, because it lets you decide how do you choose to spend your money. So it's going to help you with cash flow, it's going to help you to avoid living paycheck to paycheck, it's going to help you to see with, with clarity, how you're spending your money, and everything that's coming out and go into, you know, in the door. And so we have at our disposal now, a lot more tools, apps, services, a lot of things that can help us and give us greater insights. And yes, artificial intelligence, and big data is driving a lot of that. And I tell people lean into it, like, don't be afraid of the technology, use it to your advantage. You've seen, obviously, I'm sure on the, let's say, on the wealth building front, there's tools and apps out there, whether it's a betterment or Wealthfront, and Personal Capital types of, of things that focus you towards thinking about your net worth, right, and tallying up all your assets and things of that nature. Again, they're just taking a whole bunch of data, and linking it and giving you kind of a Financial Dashboard to be able to take a look at things. So you can have clarity, you can really see. And you can track things just like spruce is going to help you to track your spending. Some other apps and tools might help you to track your net worth, some might help you to track your insurance holdings, your real estate, your you know, other things. So all of this, you have to look at your whole financial picture. And not just one segment of it.

Jamila Souffrant 26:56

Yeah, you know, it's also like a, like, a systems, right? It's systems and tools, like apart from, like you said, like, there's four things you can do with your money. And then there's like systems and tools that can help you with each of those things and streamline them. And or at least make it easier for you or automated. And I think as we are in this new age, and as much as maybe like older people complain about and I'm sorry, if you're listening to this, but older complaining about like kind of the new technology coming out and how things are different. It's kind of like it is different, and it's going to continue to change. And we do have to figure out, you know, if you are in the technology age, like for example, I have three small kids right now they're seven, five and three. And you know, I'm wondering what's going to be the thing when they are, you know, teenagers, young teens, like, well, that'd be hologram like connections and talking to people, which is so foreign to me. But there are things that are happening now that I know my mom and my grandmother couldn't wouldn't believe is happening or that we're able to do.

Lynnette Khalfani Cox 27:54

It's here already. I mean, when you think about the metaverse, and you think about things like Oculus quest from from Mehta, I bought my husband Oculus for Christmas, or I can't remember it was Christmas or his birthday month, one of the two, I think it was Christmas. He loves that. And he can just go exploring, he can use an app called wander he can see, you know, he goes back to his old neighborhood in the Bronx, and just you know, but everything from using it for health benefits. We've done boxing, using the Oculus headset, you know, but there's definitely going to be that next level that next iteration, especially as we're moving more and getting into kind of, you know, what's called Web 3.0, etc. Yeah, your kids by the time they're teenagers, and then young adults. Yeah, holograms are by be the norm, you know, but we have to prepare for that. And in a lot of ways, we have to embrace it. And I know it's uncomfortable sometimes initially, that people don't want to be like, ah, you know, I'm like, come on, you let it come on, step into the new era, technology, you know, joking when I call people that, but just and honestly, at one point, I was one of those people who was like, ah, even when social media first you know, came on the scene, Earl was like, okay, you know, you're gonna have to get on this platform of that and I was like, more stuff for me to do. I was like, I already have my email newsletter, I already have this I have my TV stuff I'm doing it can seem overwhelming. So I get it. But the more you adapt and try and keep an open mind, you can see the benefits of it as well. Not to say that there was no drawbacks or, or downside. Those have to be managed and kind of mitigated but take advantage for of the things that are good with technology and use that to your advantage.

Jamila Souffrant 29:54

That's so true. And as you mentioned, just like you have your you have the staples of life You know, email, and television. And, you know, ultimately, like, even though we're now moving more towards social media, and you know, people who have hundreds of 1000s and millions of followers, they still need to be careful and go back to the foundations, which just reminds me that ultimately, even the new tools that are coming out, they're all leaning back to the foundational things that we need to do. Right. So like, it doesn't like, we just need to like, listen, say you need a budget, like, ultimately, you need a spending plan to help you with your money, and what is the newest tool that can help you do that, that works with your personality, or makes that easy to do? I'm thinking of that, like with banking and how things are changing. But really, people just want somewhere where they can manage their money have access to it, and it's safe, right. And so ultimately, like, the foundational thing will always be the truth of it, or what's needed, but the way we approach it, or the way it looks may change, and that's okay. Right.

Lynnette Khalfani Cox 30:49

And one other thing I would add, besides taking kind of a holistic approach to your finances is that it's important to have a team. Like I think so many of us try to be like diehard do it yourselfers, you know, I'm all for having apps and tools and things that of course you can, there are many things that you can do yourself. But when you need expert advice, when you need insights, when you need additional information, etc. Or when you just need help and support, you absolutely should have a team, I have a team to deal with my finances. And I'm super glad because it's helped me to grow at every level and to continue going to the next level. And so you should think about like, Okay, do you need an accountant or CPA? Do you need a money manager, an investment advisor? Do you need a financial planner? Do you need a money coach? Do you need, you know, an attorney on your side, just, you know, depending on if you're a small business owner, or what kind of what you're doing? Do you need some marketing support, if you're in this, you know, small business, you know, whatever. But part of the entrepreneurs at least curse is when we try to do too much. And you know, and take on all of these tasks, and then you get burned out. Yeah,

Jamila Souffrant 32:00

that's such solid advice. Because ultimately, sometimes when we're approaching our finances and want to improve them, we're coming from it from a way of how to cut back. And then that leads us to saying, okay, I can do everything myself, like, let me x out, I don't need that don't eat that. And I've found in my life, and for a lot of people that I've interviewed or talked to, is that they've been able to add more income or add more to their lives more ease, where economies of scale because they've, they paid for things. And it doesn't have to be expensive things or they've invested in things, they invested in the education to learn this thing, or the help to better understand something, which then gives them the tools to do the very thing that they're looking to do.

Lynnette Khalfani Cox 32:39

That's absolutely right. For most things in life, you're going to pay one or two things, you're going to pay with money, or you're going to pay with time. So if you are like my husband, and I, Earl Cox, his goal is to become a time billionaire. So he wants us to free up our time and to have financial freedom that's reflected in a life that we choose where we engage as much as we choose, or as little as we choose, we work as much as we want, or as little as we want. And yes, in order to have that you have to be willing to let go of some things. And to pay others. He joked with me some years ago and said, how he grew up, he was like, I would have never thought about having a nanny, you know, he was like, that would have been like so far out of the bag. And he's like, they're not he's like, I can't believe like, you know, we had a nanny, you know, but yes, it enabled us to grow our business significantly, and to be focused in that way. And, and that's just on the personal side, but it had implications for our business.

Jamila Souffrant 33:47

Yeah, and just like the times, just like, I'm just smiling when I hear you say Earl, say about the nanny thing, because also we have to remember a time for a different and you know, culturally, like we had more support and more community back in the day. Whereas, you know, maybe you had more family members that could help you who lived close by, right. And now with the you know, people getting squeezed out of where they grew up because of pricing and like leaving, like it's just harder. And so you do have to change and understand the change and not feel like that guilt if you need the additional help or need the additional resources so that you can thrive and be your ultimate best or perform your ultimate best. So you do what you need to do in order to thrive.

Lynnette Khalfani Cox 34:28

Right? One of the things I always tell people is don't suffer in silence. And all too often. We just take it upon ourselves to say I'm in this hole, or I made this bed, I gotta lie in it, or I got to fit I got myself into it. I got figured out how to get out of it. No, you don't. You can ask for help. Somebody else has probably walked that path before you and they can give you some relevant insights, some tips, some tools, some strategies to use or that crucial support that you need to get out of that situation. So don't just think that you have to do everything yourself. That's actually not the case.

Jamila Souffrant 35:08

Now there's too much there's too many resources too much also free information out there, and tools that can help you. So Lynette, I would love to tell people more about where they can find spruce and any more takeaways that you want to share with them. So they can find out about a resource that can help them with their banking needs.

Lynnette Khalfani Cox 35:30

So you can definitely get more information at spruce money.com. That's the website that you can hit. But you can also download the free app from the App Store, regardless of whether or not you have your iOS device. Or you have an Android device, you can download the free app.

Jamila Souffrant 35:47

Yes, and all that tell people where they can find more about you and your amazing work.

Lynnette Khalfani Cox 35:51

Thank you for that to ask the money coach calm is my free financial advice site that has about 1600 articles on 26 categories of personal finances and a lot of video content, as well as my video based platform, money coach university.com And then my personal site Lynette Kalpana cox.com as well, which tells you all about me.

Jamila Souffrant 36:18

Yes, I love it. Thank you so much for that for coming on the show telling us more about spruce and just I love just catching up with you too. And just really sharing behind the scenes of what we talk about all the time with money and I just hope this helps someone right now go out and do something different improve their finances.

Lynnette Khalfani Cox 36:35

Same here and I'm happy to come back anytime.

Jamila Souffrant 36:41

Don't forget, you can get the episode show notes for this episode by going to journey to launch.com or click the description of wherever you're listening to this. And you can still grab your jumpstart guide for free to help you on your journey to financial freedom by going to journey to launch comm slash Jumpstart. If you want to support me and the podcast and love the free content and information that you get here, here are four ways that you can support me in the show. One, make sure you're subscribed to the podcast wherever you listen, whether that's Apple podcasts, that purple app on your phone, your Android device, YouTube, Spotify, wherever it is that you happen to listen, just subscribe so you are not missing an episode. And if you're happening to listen to this in Apple podcasts, rate review and subscribe there. I appreciate and read every single review. Number two follow me on my social media accounts. I'm at journey to launch on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. And I love love love interacting with journeyers. They're three support and check out the sponsors of this show. If you hear something that interests you, sponsors are the main ways we keep the podcast lights on here. So show them some love for supporting your girl for and last but not least, share this episode this podcast with a friend or family member or co worker so that we can spread the message of Journey to launch. Alright, that's it until next week, keep on journeying journeyers

Transcribed by https://otter.ai