Episode 401: A Candid Convo on Finding the Balance Between Enjoyment and Financial Discipline with my Sister, Imani Manning

Imani Manning 0:02

I know this is not where I want to stay forever, but for right now, mentally, I'm okay, physically, I'm okay. So it's just like, at least for the first in my how much years of living I ain't gonna say it. I feel like I am in control of my financial even not might be the best control, but I'm in control like it feels good. T minus 10

Jamila Souffrant 0:31

a second. 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 54321,

hey, Hey, hey, journeyers, welcome to the journey to launch Podcast. I'm just recording this quick intro because what you're about to hear is a conversation between me and my sister, one of my many sisters, Imani, and it's a real life conversation. You'll hear it in the actual episode. But just to give a little more context, my sister was visiting me for the weekend. She was here for like, a day, and she spent the night. And before she was leaving, we started to talk about just life and catching up. And then, you know, I just had to ask her about her finances, because I had instructed her to open up a Roth IRA back in 2020, actually. And so, you know, I was, I'm always asking her, like, are you contributing to it? How's it going? And you know, she's like, Yeah, you know, she did at first, and then she was living life, and just was giving me an update. And as we were talking and as she was sharing, just being real with me about some questions she had, or maybe why she wasn't doing certain things, I was like, You know what? This is a conversation that I know other journeyers would benefit from. There is someone who is also just has these questions or things that are preventing them from moving ahead, and maybe this can help. So she very graciously allowed me to record the conversation. So what you'll hear is that raw conversation, little back and forth between sisters. I try my best not to be too pushy with her or anyone, really, and you'll also hear we're talking on one mic. So I'm sure my editor will do her best to make a sound great and if you want to hear the previous conversation. So I did have a conversation with both my sisters Imani and Shaina back on Episode 221, you can go to journey to launch, com slash, episode 221, and if you want to follow me, I'm at Jamila Souffrant at journey to launch. And then my sister is at Yad chef. Underscore, 45 Can you tell she is Jamaican? It's y, A, A, D, C, H, E, F, underscore, 45 all on Instagram. Oh, and by the way, I can't believe, like, I just almost forgot to say this, but the journey to launch podcast has exceeded, or has approached, the 400 episode mark. So this, I think this episode that you're hearing is episode 401 which is like insane, that I have over 400 episodes, and so I couldn't go on without at least acknowledging that and saying I'm so grateful and happy to have made it this far in podcasting. So thank you so much. Maybe I'll do like a episode or something around just what I've been I've learned over all these episodes in a future podcast. So just thank you journeyers for continuing to listen. Share the podcast with your family and friends, and let's keep growing. Let's keep learning. Let's keep journeying on if you want the episode show notes for this episode, go to journey to launch.com or click the description of wherever you're listening to this episode in the show notes, you'll get the transcribed version of the conversation, the links that we mentioned, and so much more also, whether you are an OG journeyer or brand new to the podcast, I've created a free jump start guide to help you on your financial freedom journey. It includes the top episodes to listen to, stages to go through, to reach financial freedom, resources and so much more you can go to journey to launch.com/jump start to get your guide right now. Okay, let's hop into the episode. All right. So I was having a conversation just now with my sister, my little sister, Imani, were literally upstairs in my kitchen. She was visiting for a night, which was cool for her to come over. She was in the area, and we were talking about so much things that I know, that other journeys and people would relate to, I think. And I was like, You know what? Let's. Us a conversation. Let's turn the mic on and let's talk about it, because I think this could be so helpful. So just a little backstory before she comes in and chats. IMANI has been on the podcast before. She was on the podcast with my other little sister, Shayna, and I'll link that in the show notes. But basically, Shayna and Imani, both my little sisters, are more creative types, and in that conversation on the podcast, we talk more about their journeys, individually and saving and earning money, and not kind of having a consistent income, but like, how do you make progress to your financial goals and all that? Imani also is an amazing chef. She actually catered for my book launch party, your journey to financial freedom last year. And she does, she does amazing work in the food space. And what happened a couple years ago, I think it was in 2020 is that I encouraged her, along with my other sister, to open up Roth IRA accounts. So you know, investment accounts for the first time, and because she wasn't, at the time, earning a lot of money, and money was inconsistent, it was scary for her to do that, but I kept telling her, like, look, open up this Roth IRA, even if you only put $100 in, or, you know, just a little bit a month, it will pay off, you know, all the things I talk about on this podcast. And so she did it. And she did see success in terms of her money. Like, once she put her bulk, like, the starting deposit in, like, I think a year later, you had called me, you're like, Oh my gosh. Like, the money grown and like, This is amazing. You like, you were right. So now, right. Like that happened. She came on the podcast. She knows my work, all that stuff, right? So then we're having a conversation in my kitchen four years later, and I'm like, okay, so have you been contributing to your account? Your Roth, Ira, what's going on? And that's kind of where the conversation came in. So I do want Imani, and I just hopefully we can, like, forget it's this is all recorded, because I think there was so many great points that you brought up about why it's hard for you to, I guess, continue the investment and saving all these things. And I think that that's so relatable to so many people, and maybe can help other people too. So I'm gonna go back a bit. So the question that I asked you upstairs in the kitchen was Okay, how's your Roth IRA going? And what'd you say?

Imani Manning 7:26

I think I said I don't even know, because I don't be checking it. I honestly, I don't be paying attention. Sometimes I be forgetting. I don't even remember sometime that I do have that Roth IRA set up so I don't know it's been, it's kind of like a little scary thing to like, you know, just take your money and just put it all at once into something is like, for me, I just feel real comfortable when I I don't know if it makes sense to a lot of people, but it makes sense to me, I want to see my money. I want to have, like, full on access to my money, not saying that I'm a draw everything out the bank one time. But there's this thought in my head, like, suppose I want to, I want to be able to, like, see my money and be have access to it. I could take it whenever I want to.

Jamila Souffrant 8:16

And it's funny, because I was like, You know what, we were talking I did. The computer wasn't out, and my phone. I was like, you know, I'm gonna take some notes. Take some notes, because I actually think us talking through this will be helpful for maybe an episode of the podcast for other people. And I was like, You know what, let's look at the accounts, because I think that matters. Like, I think, like, when I just say it to you and we talk about it, the visuals is good, because it's just like, Okay, you're just saying it. But like, when I'm like, showing you stuff. So there's a couple things I want to, like, talk about now, and it's like, I totally get the seeing your money thing and not wanting to, like, the hard earned money that you're earning, yeah, to take that and to put it in, like, this account that you you had asked me a good question. You were you were like, so when can I take this money? And I'm like, well, technically, you're not supposed to take this money out at all because you want it to grow. The whole purpose is it grows over time. Now, if you needed to access your Roth IRA contributions, you can do that at any time, but, and you wouldn't pay a penalty for that, because you're already taxed on it, but any of the interest earned, you be taxed on that, and there's a penalty. So you're really supposed to leave that money in, let it grow for the next couple decades, and then when you have, you know, you're entering your retirement age, you have this lump sum of money that is going to help supplement your income, or be your income. And one thing I said, I was like, let's open up your account so you she you were logged in. Well, first of all, you had to get, like, access codes, because you forgot all the codes, right? Yeah, that's how long I haven't been on it, right? You logged in on your phone, and this, you knew this already, but literally, like you doubled what you put in, like you doubled in just it in interest earned over the last four years. Yeah. So you see, like it works, like investment, investing does work. And I was telling you, I was like, look at that. Now. If we can get you to a place where you can max out. And I know that's like, you know, the next step, sometimes I think I go from zero to 100 because I'm like, let's max it out. It's not

Imani Manning 10:09

sometimes, most of the time, especially with saving, yeah, it goes from zero to 100

Jamila Souffrant 10:13

but I was all right, right. Let's Okay, something. Let's put some money away on a monthly basis or annual basis, into this Roth IRA. So there's a couple things I'm gonna like challenge you or want you to do after this conversation, and I hope that you follow through. But one of them is contributing to your Roth IRA, regularly, regularly. And in order to do that, this is what you talked about in the beginning, this idea of not having your money in one account, you have a regular, traditional checking account or savings account, or both both. So you have a traditional checking and savings account with one bank, and you like to log in and look at that account, right? It's like a thing, yeah. And so here I am asking you, asking you dare, listener, also, if this is also something you struggle with, is, obviously, I'm not going to ask you to take all your money from your savings account or checking account to like fund or max out your Roth. Ira, this year, we're in if we're listening to this in real time. It's November 2024, so it's only like two months left for the year, because one, you know, you're you need to live. There's expenses you need to pay, you have rent, you have life going on, and you still need an emergency fund, right? And so I'm not asking you to, like, put everything to the side, but what I told you was, okay, here's a plan. I think that could work for you. I think I know how much money you have. You don't have to say it on this, you know, on the podcast, but you should one open up a online high yield savings account and put some money in there to help earn interest on savings. Because what your traditional bank you're only getting probably like, what point 003, or 5% Yeah. Whereas a high yield online, high yield account, you can earn up to three 4% so remember, I logged in, I showed her my high yield savings account and showed her how much interest I'm making a month on just keeping the money there. I don't put anything in there. So I said, Okay, Let's optimize and look at your money. So put something doesn't have to be everything. Let's put some money into the and open up a high yield savings account. That was one. And then the second thing I said that I'd like you to do is, let's start contributing on a monthly basis to your Roth IRA, that's already set up with you have it with Vanguard, but let's make it an on going payment. And you don't have to go because I did the calculation for her. I was like, Okay, if you were trying to max out, the contribution limit is $7,000 so I said to her, if you want to max it out, starting in January, and you can, you know, contribute every month, 7000 divided by 12 is $583 and because it's hard to remember to do that every month, let's just make that automatic. So automatically, $583 dollars will be taken from your checking account and sent to your vanguard account and reinvested after, you know, and and buying index funds. So that was the second thing. And then the third thing that I realized that you're doing that I want you to and we're going to talk about this. I'm gonna let her talk a bit, but I'm, I said to I actually, I was like, So how you doing with your debt? Because it's from the last time we spoke. You actually, you don't have student loan debt. You really didn't have a lot of credit card debt. So I'm like, you're in such a great place, like, you know, like, you're single, you don't have any kids. Like, you know, you're earning, you know, decent income, that

Imani Manning 13:40

could be a part of it too. Because I'm single and I don't have any kids, the mind is like, it's just you. You just got you to worry about. So I feel like that's a push to saving, like, when you got people that's on your side that really, really depend on you, now it's not really about you no more, you still have to make better decisions. Probably it's a case where I'm just by myself. So it's like, I could be a little bit more carefree. That actually

Jamila Souffrant 14:11

is a good point, right? Because I'm looking at it as, like, you don't have kids, you know, you you're single, you could really push it to the limit, and, like, use the money that you're earning to push you further financially, whereas for yourself, it might be, well, because I don't have those things, I feel I

Imani Manning 14:26

want to just venture and do like more stuff, because I don't have that

Jamila Souffrant 14:32

right? So that's a good point. So we're going to get to that too. We're going to talk about that too. But the third point that I want you to do is your debt, because you do have a credit card debt. You said that you spent on your credit card, yeah. And I was like, okay, that's fine with me. I spend on my credit card all the time, yeah. And I said, Are you paying off your credit card every month? And you said no. And I was like, okay, like, you need to be paying off every month. Because I know there's a reason, mentally or emotionally, why you do it that way, why you were doing it that way, but we're going. To get there. So let's tackle each each bucket, okay, one by one, because I do think these are steps that I'd like everyone to consider, if you're able to and if you want to get to a better place financially, and then progress on this journey of financial freedom and independence. So three things, remember I said, Oh, high yield savings account, contributing to your Roth IRA and then paying off your debt, paying off your credit card. So let's go back to the high yield savings account. Do you understand why I'm asking, or why I'm recommending that you open up a high yield What are like some of the questions you have around that, or like reservations, I

Imani Manning 15:35

mean more piggybacking on the conversation that we did have upstairs. I got more clarity on it. It makes sense. Like, why not? Because I do have money in the bank, so why not put it in something that I'm actually getting return on? So that is something like, now it'd be like, All right, you really be crazy not to do this. So that's something definitely I'm looking into, because it's like this whole time I had my money just sitting down, just sitting and earning not a lot of earning nothing, when actually I could be doing the same thing with getting interest on it. So yeah, that's a that's a great one.

Jamila Souffrant 16:15

And some of the pushback I've heard from people who just don't understand the high yield savings account model with a high online bank is, well, with a traditional bank, is it safer? You know, you can walk into a bank and talk to someone about your money at like one of the big banks, or brick and mortar banks, whereas most of the online banks, I can understand the reservation because there's no there's no real location, yeah, but the reason why they able to give you higher returns is because they don't have that big overhead, and the money is still insured. So I don't I think I'd have to, like, search up. Like, think it's up to 200 like, just like a regular brick and mortar bank, your deposits are FDIC insured, so that if the bank went out of business or something happened, you would get your money back in vary, same thing with the online savings accounts, or accounts there, they are insured, so you're not just sending your money off and like, I don't know if I'll see it again. Yeah, the thing about your high yield savings account, I do think obviously, for anyone you're going to be if you're using your checking and savings account to pay bills or for certain things, you want to keep money in there to help cover your expenses and cash flow. So with the high yield, I'm not saying drain your account to zero. I'm saying maybe take a portion of some money and just put it there to park it there for emergencies. And then I also said you can also save money, like, let's just say you're saving for down payment for a home or even a trip or something. Yeah, and it's going to be a year or two years out that you need to save that you need to save that money. You could save it in that account. You wouldn't like drain your savings or checking account. You don't need to do that. But if you're saving for, like, a long term, even, like a year out goal, you could save it in that account and at least earn interest on it. So how are we feeling about that

Imani Manning 17:58

feeling great, about that feeling great, you know, like, all the time too. When I talk to you about stuff like this, I get more it's like, I'm more encouraged. I feel like, all right, I'm safer. I'm safe for the information that you gave me. I know it's just for my best interest. So at that point, I'm like, All right, you know, if Jamila says it's cool. I mean, it could only be cool. So I think that that just getting more clarity on that made me feel more comfortable, like, all right, he was gonna keep the $1,000 in your account anyway. He wasn't gonna use it to do nothing. Why not put it over here? Right? And

Jamila Souffrant 18:37

with the with the online accounts, you can still that's, that's not an investment account, or it's, it's not a retirement account. So you can access that money anytime. I know some banks there might be like, a day or two, like, if you need to transfer it back, yeah, you gotta wait. You gotta maybe wait a day or two, but you'll get that money if you need it. Like, it's not like, Oh, I gotta, like, Call and request with my online bank. I can just, like, literally transfer money, gets there in a couple days if I need that money again. You know, I think what's important too, because it's probably just a barrier for just a lot of people, is trusting the advice that you're getting, which I understand, that's the number one thing. Because it's like, who can you trust? Like, most, if you were hearing this from the bank, the online bank, like, let's say they were talking about it, you'd be like, Oh, you just want my money. Like, are you really gonna, like, is it a scam? Like, yeah,

Unknown Speaker 19:23

you're thinking all of that stuff, yeah.

Jamila Souffrant 19:26

And so I do think it's really important. Like, it is like, me really wanting to help you, just as my sister, like, I'm not, like, I don't get anything from telling you to, like, open up behind that. You

Imani Manning 19:36

have that safety net. You it just feels all right, if you don't do this, that's on you like so

Jamila Souffrant 19:44

I think that's a good step. Is the high yield savings account, yeah, right. And again, you can fund however much you need in there, and then you don't even have to put it. Put more money on it if you don't want to just leave what's there or you. If you're saving for something like, let's just say so for anyone else, if you're thinking about this, you could put your emergency fund in there, or your fu fund in there. That's what I did when I was quitting my job. I funneled more money into that account because I knew that if I needed to cover our expenses, I'd had that money, but at least we could earn more income. Earn some more so you could figure out, okay, what is my annual my monthly expenses? You can figure that out and say, Okay, I'm just going to put that three months of that in this online savings account, so that way, if ish hits the fan, I know I got three months worth of expenses and is earning interest in that account, just for safety, just for and then on top of that, if I'm saving for goals, I can save for my goals in that account, saving for a car down payment, it can earn more money in that account. So that's like, I feel like anyone or people should look at in terms of their financial foundations. Is like, where your account set up, and do you have a high yield savings account that you can open up or contribute to that can earn more money than a traditional account. So that's one. Now let's go to your Roth IRA and investing, I think, and I don't want to count your pockets, but I was like, Wow. I think you know, you're doing decent for yourself, like, going back to, like, kind of just being you, and you're renting, and you know, there's some expenses you don't have, like, you don't really have a high debt payment, which get to the third point the debt before. But like you, I feel like, okay, so you're getting money, yeah, so you should be able to, I think, max out your Roth IRA every year. Max it out. Max out $7,000 they now that you can contribute to a Roth IRA, which is a after tax retirement account that you can open up at any brokerage or investment firm, fidelity, Vanguard are just a couple of like the established brokerage firms and investment companies that you can do that with you currently just you're with Vanguard because I helped you open up that right? So when I did the math, as I said, when we were just talking, it would take $583 a month to do that. How does that feel?

Imani Manning 22:09

I mean, put it like this, I know the result is Chef kiss, right? But instantly in my head, I start thinking like, alright, that's like a next bill to even though it's beneficial in the long run, I think we let me say me, I place a lot of emphasis on the nose, even though I should be open about the later, like in the moment, yes, in the moment. So I instantly start thinking about, all right. That's another bill to my rent, to my this to my dad, when nine out of 10 I might still have that money not spending on a bill, you get what I mean?

Jamila Souffrant 22:51

So I think that's though, that's this is good, because you're saying almost setting it up where you're putting away $583 it doesn't feel like something that's helping you today. Yes, it feels like an obligation. And Bill, like all the other bills, which

Imani Manning 23:06

is so interesting, I'm not seeing. So all right, your monthly rent. Nobody get excited to pay their rent, but at least when you know you pay it, your landlord ain't gonna knock you down. So you kind of seeing what you just spent on, right? I feel like that 583 is like, I'm paying a car note that I'm not. I don't got a car to drive, okay?

Jamila Souffrant 23:27

But you're putting it into this retirement account, right that you can log in and see. So we're going to talk about access to your account. Super like that for you is a big deal and for a lot of people, but it is because even just from when you contributed and opened up in 2020 you earned, like, double the double the money, almost double the money, yeah, so it is increasing in value, yes. So it's almost you're just switching, it's like switching your mindset to feel like, yes, it's not like, I'm putting it into a carca cards, a depreciating asset. Like, literally, as soon as you know it's gonna go down, mostly in value. But with this, your account is increasing. Now, if you check it every day, there's gonna be some days it's gonna be down, but it's gonna go up. So I think it's a more of just tying like that. 583, is actually in two, three years is worth six, $7,000 not or it's gonna increase in value not decrease. Hey, journeyers, if you are loving this podcast, then you will love my book, Your journey to financial freedom, a step by step guide to achieving wealth and happiness. I wrote this book for you. This book is for you if you want a clear and enjoyable path to having more money, options and a rich life. This book is for you if you hate your commute and the fact that you need to seek approval or permission from a boss. I hated that when I worked. This book is for you. If you weren't born into wealth, you didn't marry rich or won the lottery, but. You still want freedom. This book is for you. If you're at a crossroads, a major decision or event is imminent, maybe a career change, marriage, starting a family, pressures are reaching a tipping point, and the discomfort and the desire for more can no longer be ignored. And this book is for you. If you find yourself zoned out at meetings, looking out the window or daydreaming about the life you truly want. So go pick up your journey to financial freedom.com. So I can show you how to map out how to get from where you are today to where you ultimately want to be. And enjoy the journey while you're on the path, head over to your journey to financial freedom.com. To see where you can pick the book up. It's available on Amazon, bookshop.org, Barnes and Noble, your local bookstore everywhere go to your journey to financial freedom.com. To get the book now.

Imani Manning 25:55

So it's not like, I don't understand the benefits to it. It's just changing the perspective of the mind. Like, listen, all right, 583 next year is going to be probably 1083 that I'm getting back versus if I just spend $500 on a shirt or something like, the minute something spill on that, my 500 is done, right, right?

Jamila Souffrant 26:18

Or it's just, it's the value is, yeah,

Imani Manning 26:22

so it's like, it's literally just switching how my mind said about it. But

Jamila Souffrant 26:29

it's valid, because I think these are all reasons that people have a hard time with investing. Because one of the other things you asked me upstairs, you were like, so I see the money, yeah, like, What is this for? Like, it's like, what is, what is the point of this money that I'm putting away? Because you just also said you'd like to think about the now, yeah, and I am asking people, when they do this, it's like, it's more about securing a future. Like, so, yes, this money is not meant to be touched for like, 1520, 30 years, yeah. So it almost feels like, so then how I want to enjoy it now, like, that's mine,

Imani Manning 27:02

and I'm telling you, like, especially when, like, my work is a lot on my body, right? So even again, even though I know that's the investment in me is, is my money is gonna grow, it's like, I'm like, so I just did all this work right now to wait for 10 years

Jamila Souffrant 27:24

like you want to enjoy it now. Yeah, I

Imani Manning 27:26

want to enjoy it now, but I do understand that 10 years is still as important as now. And I

Jamila Souffrant 27:32

get that like, but I do feel like so that what I was telling you is okay, let's just say you don't want to max it out, because I think this is a key thing for a lot of people, even me, now, it's like, you want to enjoy your money. You work hard, and you don't want everything to be so far off in the future. I do think one, you don't have to necessarily max out. I think you can. But let's just say, I say because I told you I was like, if you just do, like, let's just say $200 a month, yeah, and you decide I want that other money that I would have spent investing I want to use for fun. Yeah, you can still do that. You might not earn as much, or, you know, you're not putting away as much money over time, but you can still, like, say to yourself, all right, I'm going to still go out like I want to be able to eat what I want to eat. It's not going to be spending $500 like, on those things, or maybe I'm spending $200 on it, or $300 on it, because I'm going to invest so I'm not asking, like, if it feels too much upfront, I'm not saying, like, push everything and only be financially inclined and focused, yeah, like, I still want you to enjoy your life. But what if you split whatever money that you could do and put towards your like, responsible investing, long term goals, but then still have that money to do what you want. And I think one of the not easiest ways, but a way to accomplish that, is to make it automatic. Yeah, because you're not going to remember to go in every month and to like, like, we can't. That's a point. Like human beings, like, there's even me, I'm not even going to remember to do that on a monthly basis. It has to be automatic for me. Yeah. So you don't gotta start with $583 a month, if it feels too much, but you can do maybe like 100 200 and then we can revisit this conversation in six months where I'm like, Okay, how you feeling financially? Like, do you feel really restricted? You might not even notice a difference, because from what I understand, like, you're not, you don't budget, right? So that's another thing, I think, because you're not budgeting, and not everyone needs to budget. I think in the real world, the people who don't really think about this a lot like, budgeting is not something people do. They don't want to do. They just want to, like, spend their money. I get it, but if you're able to set up systems that like you already got your your high yield savings account that has a bit of money in it, earning, you're already put in 100 200,000 a month into your Roth IRA, and we'll talk about the debt in the third point. But you can then now still do what you're doing, even if you're not budgeting. Well, I'm making a difference. But I think. Even just understanding what your cash flow is, you'll probably see like, wow, I actually can do more. I can still actually put more towards my rod, and still, probably that's

Imani Manning 30:09

what the scare is. If I really take the time out, I could be like, you could have been doing. Probably that's part of it too. Like, you

Jamila Souffrant 30:16

don't want to, like, realize that, yeah, because, you know, sometime realization will hit you like, yeah, I could have been really saving more, or I really could have been doing this. So what's interesting is, is that I know if it's shame and you know, or that regret or not wanting to feel bad, but then it doesn't like it prevents you from changing course, like it doing the thing that will help you moving forward. It's kind of like you're stuck you like, almost like, Okay, I might be not doing the right thing, but it's almost like I don't want to admit or see that I'm not doing the right thing, so you went denial, which is like someone's continue to like, yeah, not the wrong thing, but not take action, yeah, and then, but it's like, it's okay, like you're not wrong, like you've actually, you're doing very well, but there's still time that you can make up and do, because we can. We're gonna, hopefully be having, like, many, like, conversations about this moving forward, and in 20 years, I want to sit down with you and be like, remember when we had those conversations? Now look at your account versus in 20 years now, you still have to work in hustle because you have nothing, didn't make any because that's the thing. The time is going to pass anyway, so God willing,

Imani Manning 31:24

because look how fast four years passed from I did that stuff right, and you're gonna want to be like,

Jamila Souffrant 31:30

Oh my god, I'm just so glad I just put the 100 200 even if it's not Matt, I'm just so glad I put that away, because I have 100,000 now. I have 200,000 now, versus zero. So I know that that's not like easy for people to change that mindset, but I think hopefully talking about this more helps people realize it's normal to think this way, and it's normal that it prevents you from taking action, but that just starting is helpful.

Imani Manning 31:54

You know what it is probably in in my brain, because I feel like even though I'm not where I need to be on a saving wise and investment, I've got so much better from what I was. So I think with me getting better, I am living the proof of like it actually works. And in my mind, I'm just in the state of like, I just want to enjoy this. It feels good your bills come. I mean, you don't want to pay bills, but it feels good that when Bill time come, I could pay my bill. I could do that. It's just, it's such an amazing feeling. Like, sometimes I'm in awe of it. Like, wow, I really just paid rent and I could go here. And so sometimes I just want to leave enough, even though I know it's not enough. Because, you know, for me, like, once I hit a goal, I stay in it a little bit, then I'm like, All right, what's next? So because I've just hit this comfortable pad in, like, fun, all right, stability.

Jamila Souffrant 33:04

It sounds like stability, yes, as for you, like, stability is like, that's that should be fine. And so many people have not hit stability yet, and I think too. So environment matters, right? So if you're a kind of person who's like, you do really well, and stability is kind of like, yeah, you've done it, it can feel like, okay, like, I don't want it, like, this is it? Yeah, when it's just like, I think, I do think that you can stability is like, just one of the rungs of the ladder. And if some people, that's what they'll hit, and that's all they're hitting, that's fine, too. Um, but I there's, I think there's more for you. I

Imani Manning 33:39

know, I know, like, a lot of time I sit down, I know there's way more for me, but I just feel like, for right now is the first of, like, done it in a space where it's just, it's just me, like, I could be like, Yo, you know, you put yourself in the position where you work hard enough where, like, just want to enjoy it now. Yeah, even though I know that's just, there's a next step after, but in my brain, it's like, before I get to that step, let me at least enjoy this little part. Because it's been so rough before I got to this part that, all right, I don't want to let me just just want to relax. I just want to relax and not have my brain, even though the investment is doing all the thinking for me and all of that. But it's like all right, right now I just, I just want to stay in this. I know this is not where I want to stay forever, but for right now, mentally, I'm okay. Physically, I'm okay. So it's just like, at least for the first in my how much years of living. I ain't gonna say it. I feel like I am in control of my financial even that might be the best control, but I. I'm in control. Like,

Jamila Souffrant 35:01

it feels good, yeah. And that's why I'm recommending the first two steps, even the third one that we're talking about with the debt. Like I'm actually saying just one, open up the online savings account and put some money in there, just so, because it earns it's sitting there anyway. So you don't really have to do much after you do that. That's one two. Just set up automatic transfers, even if it's just $100 you don't have to go 500 a month, but 100 $200 something, right? Depending on what you feel like, you could still do but live your life that's automatic. So I'm asking you to, like, mentally have to do that every every month, like, I want you to set up automatic transfers and have that so that way it doesn't feel like you're putting everything towards like maybe the more responsible saving and investing goals, you're just putting something a little bit more than you're doing, and then you can still enjoy and live your life, and then we can check back in in six months, in a year, like we kind of been doing, and say, Okay, how does that feel? I

Imani Manning 35:58

mean, I know I'm I know I'm gonna do it. I know I'm gonna do it because it's the same advice that I got four years ago that put me to be in such a financially stable position. So of course, I know it's very beneficial, but it just feels good right now that in my brain I'm just like, wow, I just want to enjoy it a little bit. But I know what you are telling me is, like, key factors which I am going to do, because, as I said, me listening to that four years ago versus now, is like, if I didn't do that, my money got doubled by not doing nothing, right? Just putting it at that one time. So just imagine if it was in that high yield account, it would have been doing way better, right?

Jamila Souffrant 36:48

Yeah. So okay, the third thing I want to talk about, that I'd like you to do is with your debt. So I'm very happy that you don't have any you don't have student loan debt, you don't really have a high credit card balance debt, but what's happening is you are spending on your credit card? Yeah, I'm not. I'm not opposed to because I do that, yeah. But when I said, Oh, are you paying it off every month? What'd you tell me

Unknown Speaker 37:07

I paid a minimum.

Jamila Souffrant 37:10

So I was like, wait to be honest,

Imani Manning 37:11

yes, I be having the money to pay the entire stuff. The bill is like 500 let me put two when I could have just did the whole 501

Jamila Souffrant 37:24

time. And so I was telling you, I think people feel sometimes people feel like this, like, it's not like a flip to the man, or the credit card, like, Oh, I'm not giving you all my money. I'll give you just a little bit. Because what's happening is you have to pay interest on the balance that you're not paying off. So that $100 shirt, I'm just making things up. More the $10 Wendy's whatever that is like ADD, it's like three, $4 more. It's like $50 more based on you're not paying it off. So it's really just by in yourself. But this is only works if I'm if someone is doing this and they have the money to pay it off and they don't want to, or they refuse to, I'm not talking about you, if you like, you can't do and you really have to pay the minimum, or whatever you're on a repayment balance. But if you have the money to pay it off, you're like, No, not paying it. I'm just gonna pay a little bit. It's like you literally are paying more money, that more money than you need to. So what I want for you now is to pay that credit card off in full, every month, every month, every month, and hopefully it's a credit card you're earning points on, hopefully, right?

Imani Manning 38:25

And they tricksters too, because why would they tell you to pay a minimum? They they, well, they want to make their money well.

Jamila Souffrant 38:31

So that's the thing. Like they there are people like me who spend everything on my credit card by paid off a month. They don't really make up. They don't make a lot of money off of me, yeah, from any money. But there's people like you and people who can't pay off the full balance. That's where they're making the money off of the interest. So of course, they want you to pay the minimum. So if anything, you're feeding into their strategy. Because you're thinking like, well, I get to have more of my money in my bank account. But they're like, that's fine. This

Imani Manning 38:57

is to go back to what I mean when I say like when it comes to investment and saving, I am like a brick wall where nobody else is talking to me because stuff like that, because you know you doing that is leading your consumer or your banker down the wrong aisle, but you still have us do it right, versus when I talk to you, you're gonna point out all Those stuff you get what I'm saying. So it feels more okay. This is more like a plan that I could go with versus this one, right? Yeah. But minute I walk out of here, I'm a paid

Jamila Souffrant 39:34

so three things, okay, to recap, I want you to open up a high yield savings account and put some money in there to grow. And hopefully, if you have some short term or long term goals, you can put in. The second goal is, I want you to set up automatic transfers to your Roth. Ira, yeah, if it's like 100 $200 you know, we can work up to maxing it out. But let's first start there, and then. Three pay off that credit card on a monthly basis, every month. So it's not a problem spending on it, but pay it off. I think overall, what I'd like to see you to like work on and do is, I think you probably have cash flow you were, you have your main job, you have additional money that you have coming in from your other like, ventures that you do. I think there's because you're not tracking it, or you're you're not aware that there's probably so much, like, like hundreds this probably, like, you probably will be pleasantly surprised at how much more you can do if you really just looked at what's going on.

Imani Manning 40:37

Take control. Yeah. How you feeling about this? I feel good. You know, I have this feeling where, like, I don't think I say this a lot, but you're right, this feeling you are because I know if I was supposed to sit down like, one good month and just budget, I might be like, Whoa,

Jamila Souffrant 41:01

you might find 1000 extra dollars. You be like, Wow, yeah,

Imani Manning 41:05

that, to be honest, it's just sitting there, like, but I think, like, you know that's why I like to come over here. Our conversations, it don't always start out like this, but it always end up like this, you know that

Jamila Souffrant 41:21

well? So I try to get, um, I might need to come here so she could bring me food or cook for me. And she'd be like, Oh, I do this all the time. I don't want to do that, but she'll like, yesterday, you bought me some good meals. I don't have to cook for a couple days. But I was like, when we're talking, I'm like, we gotta talk about the money stuff, just because I just know by by starting and by doing something that you like, you'll be so happy, just like the results. Just like, Yeah, four years ago when I got you to open up the Roth IRA and like, now there's results. I just know that we'll have this conversation, God willing, in 1520, years, we'll be a lot older. You know, our kids will be a lot older.

Imani Manning 42:01

Yo, Jamila, like when I did remember when my stuff I'll pull that up, I was like, wow, oh,

Jamila Souffrant 42:07

here's the other thing I want to talk about, because I think this is a valid concern. Um, you were, you were saying to me that one of the reasons you didn't you have your check in and savings at one bank, yeah, and you like to just open up that account on your phone and see everything. Just like to see my money, and I said, I get it. And a lot of what, you know, is being asked of you and journeyers and even myself. It's like, okay, but you're like, delaying gratification. You the money is like, in places you forget, like, you're like, oh, wow, I do have like, so I was like, okay, optically, or just like, um, practically. What about, you know, your iPhone, you have your, let's just say, your your regular bank account app. What if you put the Vanguard app also there, and then whatever high yield savings account you're going to use in one folder? So that way, when you you know it's a hap it's a habit that you have. Now you check you open up that whatever account, you look at it, right? Because they all have apps, yeah, you could click on it and see your money in those two places. So if you need that itch, you got to, like, see your money, yeah, sure, open up the traditional account, then open up your investment account afterwards, and then open up the high yield account. Make it a habit of when you do one, just to do with the two, and then you so you see the money. Eventually. Maybe you don't have to do it as much, but I get it. It's about it kind of like, at one point, like, let's just make, make a number up. One point, I had $10,000 in my all my account, in my traditional account, yeah, now you're asking me to send some money away somewhere. And, like, not. So it feels like it's not my money, yeah. But what if you just have it all in one? And there are some apps that, like, combine all of it into one, but I don't think let's like, I think let's just start with, like, the actual apps that are for those accounts. But what about doing that? Well, you feel like that might be helpful? Yeah, definitely. And it's the small stuff, like logins, I think, like, it's such a small thing, like not knowing your login. Like, that's annoying some people. That's the reason people sometimes don't do something. But if you have, like, face identity, based identity, or certain things, like, it's easier just to open it up and access it.

Imani Manning 44:04

You know what it is this saving stuff is just like diet. We know the right stuff we got to put in our body and be like, why we don't look like that person? Because you're not putting the right stuff in your body, we know. But I guess it's easier sometimes not to do the right thing, even though it's not right. Your body getting that algorithm of just being like, hey, we just gonna do the bare minimum. So with saving, though, I'm getting more into it. I think every time too, I don't really want you to take it just because you're my sister, but I feel like money conversation with you is very hmm, you get it, you get it more, and there's like more clarity on it as versus somebody telling you, hey, just put the money there. You explain what's gonna happen. Right? When you put it there, you explain what's not gonna happen when you don't put it there. So it's on you now to be like, Hey, do you want to make 5% or 0% if you smart enough, which one you gonna go with? I definitely want to make 5% and not make zero right? In a high yield. So yeah. So now it's, it's a fuel to be like, All right now push the money out is gonna be beneficial. Because remember, just now I couldn't find my to log in for the stuff the last time I went on it, it was not that money. So just now, when we both see it, I was like, right, it increased. It didn't, yeah, why? Like, a good 1500 like crazy.

Jamila Souffrant 45:39

So it works. I think, you know, again, I don't think any of this is necessarily natural or easy. I think it's simple things that most of us, like you said, you kind of know what you should be doing. I think there's just so much psychology and internal things and why we're not doing it. So I think I just want to, like, even say to you and anyone else who kind of can be doing more wants to do better and knows there's, like, some opportunities for growth. Is that let go of any shame of what you should have been doing or any past stuff. It doesn't matter. What matters is like, maybe hearing something and even just educating yourself on something, that's it. And like, know that just because you're aware of this, you're you're doing better than a lot of people who are just not even aware of this, this information, that's that's true, and even if you know, you can max out and do the most and all these things that I you know, I encourage people to do. It's like just doing a little bit will get you so much further, anything. All right, so again, I'm encouraging you to

Imani Manning 46:41

I'm gonna do it. I don't know if I'm gonna do all three at once, yeah, yeah. But the high yield saving, yes. And I think with my my rod, ROA, just making it more consistent, it's not gonna hurt me. It's not and I think the um, when they just automatically take I think I could do that. Yes, that way. I think that the hard part is me literally logging in and doing it. Is not because, hey, you don't got the money today. It's just taking the time out to do it, to do it. Yeah, so

Jamila Souffrant 47:17

All right, so you hear that journey. So we're gonna check in with Imani maybe next year. At some point, have another conversation to see if she listened and followed through. And thanks for being vulnerable and being open with Sharon. You know, I said when we're talking upstairs. I was like, Oh my gosh, I need a solo episode for this week. Would you mind sharing this? Like, do you mind having this kind of like taping the conversation. And she was like, Yeah, let's do it. So I appreciate you for coming on and sharing, and hopefully this not only helps you, but it helps people, other people listening, and they will keep you updated. And thanks for coming on the show again.

Imani Manning 47:53

You're welcome. Sister. All right, sis, no problem.

Jamila Souffrant 47:58

Okay? Journeyers, I hope you really enjoyed that conversation. You can check out me at journey to launch, or at Jamila Souffrant on Instagram. Again, if you want to follow my sister, she is at Yad chef underscore 45 that's Y, A, A, D, C, H, E, F, underscore 45 on Instagram. And if you want to pick up my book, you know you can find that your journey to financial freedom.com All right, until next time, keep on journeying. Journeyers. 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.com/jump start. 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 podcast, 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. There 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. Four, 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. All right, that's it until next week. Keep on journeying. Journeyers. You.

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