Episode 446: Money Rules I Live By (and the Ones I Broke)

Jamila Souffrant 0:02

Even if you have to, quote, unquote, deprive yourself, which I don't want you to look at it that way, but delay gratification so that you have a safety net. Being able to have something that you know is there to catch you if you need it, or that allows you to take risk, whatever that looks like for you is so important.

Intro 0:23

Welcome to the journey. To launch podcast with your host Jamila Souffrant as a money expert who rocks her talk she helps brave journeyers like you get out of debt, save, invest and build real wealth, joining her on the journey to launch to financial freedom in 54321,

Jamila Souffrant 0:51

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 jumpstart 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/jumpstart

Jamila Souffrant 1:27

to get your guide right now. Okay, let's hop into the episode.

Jamila Souffrant 1:33

Hey, hey, hey, journeyers, welcome to the journey to launch podcast. I am your chief launch officer, Jamila Souffrant, and if you're not aware, if you're just new to the show or to my content, you're a journeyer now, which means you're on the path with me to financial independence, and you're going to be enjoying your life having financial freedom on the path way there. This is going to be a solo episode where I share my rambling thoughts. No, I have notes, but I share my thoughts and reflections and hopefully lessons to help you on your journey to financial freedom. This episode is going to be about the money rules I live by and the ones that I've broken. Now I want to be clear that rules are just frameworks. They're not prisons where you should not adapt or change them if it's not working for you. And I want to show you through the episode how, in the beginning some things worked and sometimes they didn't, and I've changed or adapted some rules where I'm either following them or I'm not even following them anymore. So I want you to think through as I'm talking, what are your money rules? What are some things you can question and do differently? What are some things that are no longer serving you, or what do you need to do and implement so that you can get on track to reaching your life goals by using your money rules to help you get there? Okay, first rule that I live by, and I've always this one I've always, for the most part, live by, especially when I found out about the financial independence retire early movement, but I really locked in when I realized that your income is a driving force and source of you getting to where you need to go on this journey, and how you spend your income is very important, and if you're able to organize your income in a way that serves you, then you'll be able to get to your goals. Now the rule is pay for your essential expenses first. So those are your mandatory expenses, your rent, your mortgage, groceries, and even if you drill down into those categories, it's not going to the grocery store and buying anything just because, yes, groceries are mandatory, but you're really buying the essentials. Pay for those things first, budget and list out those line items first, and pay for those first from your income. Once you do that, you now add the other mandatory what I feel, and I've always treated as mandatory, is your financial goals. So treat your financial goals as mandatory things you need to hit. So those can include things like investing. It can include saving for your fu fund or your emergency savings account, but those line items in your budget should be mandatory in your mind, that you have to hit before you can spend on discretionary, fun things. When I made this switch in my head, especially after getting more serious about my finances, a lot changed. We were able to save a lot more money faster than I thought we could, and invest a lot more, because the priority was mortgage, food, transportation, then investing as much as we can, saving as much as we can. How much is left? Okay? Now we can use that money for fun or to do the other things in life. So rule number one, I still live by it to today is to pay for the essential expenses first and treat the financial goals as mandatory. Rule number two, that I'm living by or that I stand by right now. Now is automate everything that you can automation is key, because I don't know about you, but I am just on a cycle of overwhelm in my life because of all of the things as an adult that you have to do, and even if you're just a single person, it's a lot. You got to keep up with your mail, you got to pay the bills, you got to work, you have to keep up with friends, and maybe you have a partner, and then add on having a partner or a spouse, and then add on having kids. I'm just like, there's always something to do, and we have to figure out dinner every night, like, who, who made me an adult. And so automation is key, because we do have so much going on in our lives that we can forget. I have forgotten multiple times before I use this rule to automate things to pay my credit card on time, and it wasn't until I realized, like, listen, just put on an automatic payment of at least the minimum amount due, so that way you won't get charged for any non payment fee was just one more thing I could let go of. The other thing that is really essential to automate is your saving and investing. So that's going to come into the form of investing in your retirement accounts at work, usually those are really simple. They take it directly from your paycheck. You just have to tell them how much, what percentage. And then if you're saving for emergency fund or fu money, or even outside investments, so your own, maybe Roth IRA or just a separate investment account, a taxable investment account, make those investments automatic. Now you can do the bare minimum, meaning maybe, let's just say, for the month, you have a goal of investing $500 in your Roth IRA. But because you are still working things out and you're not sure you just want to automate $50 or $100 for the month, that is totally fine. Do a small amount if you need to, if your budget, if your income is not as set, and then go back within the month to then make good on that promise to invest the additional amount, or save the additional amount. But you want to make sure you're having a consistent debt payment and investment saving contribution happening without you having to mentally think about it, because with all the things happening in your life, adding that step just makes things more complicated. So just automate what you can and set it and forget it, but go back and look to see if you can do more when you can. Rule number three that I definitely live by is spending intentionally. There's a caveat to that spending intentionally and living within your means. Now, just because you can buy something doesn't mean you should. Just because the money is in your savings account or checking account doesn't mean it's for the thing that popped up that you want to do or the trip. And it's so important to realize that, because even if you feel like you're making and earning good money, unless you know exactly where your money is going, what obligations you have coming up in the future and near future, you can't count that money to be spent for something else if you're unclear about what's happening. And so just because the money is in your account or it's there, doesn't mean you should do it. You need to have a clear picture of your goals and your financial situation. So this is important because yes, spending intentionally, and I said a caveat before, because sometimes you're going to make mistakes, which is one of my rules, is that mistakes are okay, but you want to spend on the items or intentionally, know what is important to you and your family and what's going to make you ultimately happy. And if you don't know that, and if you're just spending because the money is there, you'll find yourself basically digging more of a hole and not being able to get out of the current journey or stage maybe you're in, if you're trying to progress through what I call the journey or stages to get you to financial independence. And this is funny, because I experienced this with my kids a lot, because they're still grasping the concept and idea of just because you have the money, right? Just because you have $100 you got $100 for your birthday, doesn't mean the first thing you see you want to buy, because once that $100 is gone, then you're done, just like when they ask me, Can we get a car? You know, don't you have enough money to buy a car? And I'm like, well, technically, we do have enough money to buy a car, but there are other things that are a priority for us as a family. Do you still want to go to the Pokemon conference every year. Or do you still love that Mommy doesn't have to necessarily work and go into an office? I'm flexible with my time, where I can pick you up from school and be there in this way. Then that's what that money is for, not necessarily just to buy a car, because if I spend that money, I. On a car, then things will look a little tighter and different for our family. Next rule, measure your progress, not others possessions, or even what they deem progress for themselves. You're running your own race, and the comparison trap is deadly when it comes to money, and it will have you spending above your means, trying to impress people, trying to impress yourself, where you are overcompensating and spending where you shouldn't because of what other people are able to do, because you have no clue what is going on behind the scenes and how much they actually have or don't have, and so you have to really be careful not to compare yourself. And that goes not only just for material possessions, like cars houses, but even how much someone makes. So even as a business owner or seeing someone, oh, they earned six figures, or they're they're earning millions, you cannot one feel bad about wherever you are into relation to that, but then also trust or know what is happening with that. Right? You have to understand and prioritize what's going on in your household, in your budget, and make progress there, because you have really no clue on what their goals were or milestones are, or where they started from and the help they have. And so it's really important to just really focus on your own progress and your own possessions without feeling like you have to keep up with others. It's very important next rule that I live by mistakes teach more than restriction. So this is something that kind of goes back to the spending intentionally that I talked about a little bit earlier is that while, yes, I spend intentionally now, you know, for the most part, I have, I also still make mistakes, quote, unquote, within let's say my budget or I'm not as tight with everything, and I'm more flexible, and so I don't Mind, and I'll give an example in a bit, in spending money or experimenting with things and then seeing how I felt, or if I felt it was worth it. And this is important, because it's just like, when I'm talking to my kids and I'm telling them something, and I'm telling them something, and I'm like, why are they not getting this? Like, I'm literally trying to help you, like, to stop you from making that mistake. And it's only until they make the mistake themselves. Maybe I've told them multiple times, put that book in your book bag, put it in your book bag, and then they're moving on to something else. And it isn't until they're in school and now they don't have the book they need that they realize, Oh, I'm now reaping the consequence of not having this thing that I'm supposed to have that hopefully the next time they will remember to be more responsible. It's the same thing with your life, ultimately, everything, but also with money decisions. So for example, I definitely am in our budget. Eating out and eating for convenience is definitely something that is high up on our list right now in terms of what we spend money on. So I've saw myself, especially in the last couple years, just spending more money on whether that's restaurant or fast food, and more recently, I just haven't been satisfied with the food quality or how things have been tasting when I buy something at a restaurant or even for takeout, and I'm just like, why did i Why did we spend $50 or $100 on this thing when I could have whipped up something at home? Now, of course, convenience and saving time is important to us, so it's not that we're not going to spend money anymore, but what I've seen now is that I'm being a lot more intentional, or I'm realizing that it's not worth it, like I actually rather just do it myself, right? Spend the 15 minutes to create that quick meal, and I'm finding myself wanting to be more creative with figuring out food choices for ourselves, so that I'm not regretting spending the 50 or $100 on things that don't taste good or not worth it to me. But if I would restrict myself, if I would try to do this lesson and say, I'm not eating out, I'm not doing anything, and I would have did this when I was in the midst of spending it would have felt like a restriction. But now, because I've evolved, and it's like Been there, done that, I've had this meal from this restaurant, this takeout food, two times in a row, and it's been okay, not even great, then I'm more in the mindset of it doesn't feel like restriction. When I tell myself, you know what? Let's not do that. Let me just go home and make some burgers like that. Feels more empowering. But I wouldn't learn that lesson unless I had the experience, until I felt it. So mistakes can teach you more than restriction, and sometimes it is okay to experience that mistake, experience spending that money. And maybe you got to do it more than once to see. You know, what is it really worth it that I keep doing it this way because I'm not reaching this goal, or it's just money that I can spend somewhere else I'm.

Jamila Souffrant 15:01

Jamila, 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 financialfreedom.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 financialfreedom.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 financialfreedom.com to get the book. Now. Next rule that I live by, and this one has helped me out a lot, is having an adequate safety net, so your savings an emergency fund, and fu money is another one of the non negotiables, but it is key. I have always been a great saver. I didn't really understand investing until I got more into the financial independence, retire early movement, but saving was always my thing. It's always been important, because I realized so many times when I had an opportunity. I had money saved up to be able to take on that opportunity. So whether it was being able to buy a car when I got to college, with the help of my mom, I had a portion that I could use for the car that I wanted, or when it came to buying my first condo at 22 I was saving money, and didn't really understand why I was saving it, but I was ready for that opportunity. When it came to leaving my job, I was more intentional at this point, but I knew I needed a large amount, what I call fu money, to be able to jump into entrepreneurship full time without being stressed. And so I've always prioritized saving and having a few money, and till this day, it's working for me, because my business right now is pretty relaxed. I'm not working as much and kind of enjoying it, but honestly, that also means a slowdown of income. But our lifestyle and the way we spend money has not changed, and has it needed to change, because I'm relying on the big F you fund and safety net that I've created for myself. So even if you have to, quote, unquote, deprive yourself, which I don't want you to look at it that way, but delay gratification, so that you have a safety net, and it doesn't have to be a year's worth of income for you or expenses that you save up, but something, being able to have something that you know is there to catch you if you need it, or that allows you to take risk, whatever that looks like for you, is so important and so really prioritizing that even if it means delaying some fun and vacations and trips out to eat. It's going to benefit you in the long run and short run too, once you get to certain goals. So make sure you have an adequate safety net and f you money. That's what's gotten me to where I am today. That's what's keeping us good right now. Okay, now let's move on to the rules that I don't follow or I have broken over time, and those rules are number one, budgeting every penny. I have not budgeted every penny like meaning line item by line item in a really long time. And when I first started my journey, when I first started journey to launch, I definitely did that because there were certain goals I wanted to hit. I wanted to invest and save a certain amount of money each year. I wanted to quit my job. I wanted to do these things that where it was necessary for me to feel more in control and budget every penny. Now we are in a situation and by the way that the journey or level that I was in corresponds with the level of budgeting that I wanted to do. So my earlier journeyer levels, where I was what I call an explorer, Cadet and aviator, those are the earlier journeyer stages. By the way, you can find more about journeyer stages if you search the podcast. I've done episodes on them, and then my book, Your journey to financial freedom, breaks it all down. So I definitely needed to budget every penny. But as I gotten now into the commander stage, where I'm more flexible and more confident and just, you know, honestly, I just don't, I don't want to. I'm not right now. I'm not in that mindset right now that I can pay our bills every month, pay our credit cards, and then also, still have fun, but then still make sure every need is met for our family, where we don't have to budget every line item. Now, again, extreme budgeting is not a bad thing. Looking at every penny is not a bad thing. I recommend it if you are in debt to do it that way, especially if you have you haven't been confident with money, and you feel like you don't understand where your money is going. It is essential to budget. But as you move on, as you get more confident, as you find out ways that work for you, I believe you can be more flexible, and things can be different. And by the way, I know people in the later journey or stages, as a commander or even a captain that's reaching the ultimate stage that still budget every penny, right? So it's not that you have to abandon it if it makes you feel good, but it's just one of the rules that for now we are not following as much, but who knows, maybe I'll get back on it if another goal comes up that I really want to reach. Rule number two that I have broken or I don't follow is the never use credit card rule. Now I use credit cards for everything, and it's definitely not something I recommend to someone who's currently in credit card debt who can't pay off their balance every month. I'm able to do this because I've done the foundational work, and now I'm using credit cards as a tool to help me go on vacation and use points to do certain things, and because we're able to pay off the amount every month, it helps to

Jamila Souffrant 21:55

leverage and use this tool, credit cards as a tool to help us On our financial freedom journey. Now, again, doesn't mean that everyone should be using credit cards, but I do think if you can budget and pay off your credit card every month, and you are not in credit card debt, meaning the balance does not carry over, it can be a powerful tool to travel or to just get points to do other things that you want in life. Rule number three that I don't follow or broken is to never hire help or to do everything yourself that can be done. I definitely in the beginning, whether it was for my business as an entrepreneur or as just within the home, felt like, Okay, why would I spend money to do this thing? When for someone else to do it, when I can do it myself? And I found myself burnt out and just overwhelmed by doing it that way, and when I was able to pay someone to come in and clean and help clean the house every other week, or at one point we did have someone who was cooking us meals every week. We don't do that anymore, or even in my business, the help that I have to do certain things, it is well worth it if it can fit into our budget. And it's not necessarily a matter of just not doing it, just to save the money. As someone who is a mom of three, who is busy, there's just some things that I'm just like, I rather pay someone else to do it or pay for the service, and that's okay, right? You have to evaluate that within your budget to make sure it works. There are some things we stopped doing just because, for right now, it doesn't work for the budget, but if you can afford to do it, then it makes total sense to do it. The other rule that I don't follow anymore is saving every last penny I used to, again, be a big saver, and want to save, save, save everything, or invest, invest like any surplus. Let's invest it. Let's save it. But it's really just important to understand that life is also about living. And I totally get, you know you're working hard. You're doing all these things for, I would say, other people, right in terms of you going to work and you're showing up to maybe be in the office with other people you may not be want to be around, or there are bills you need to pay. There's all these things you need to do. And so when you want to spend money on yourself or to help escape your nine to five, or just the burdens of life, I get it, and it isn't until you can start to enjoy your money. And doesn't mean expensive things. When I talk about spending money on things, it doesn't have to be even expensive, but I think understanding the value of the dollars that are coming into your household and how that's earned, and then using that in a way that feels good and brings you more energy and happiness can be like life changing in a way where you should be spending on the things you enjoy. So as long as you take care of the other things first, remember the rules that I follow. The first one was spending on your mandatory expenses and your goals. Once you do that, you can spend your money on anything else that you want. And so saving every last penny just for the sake of it for me, no longer works. I want to be able to enjoy my life, and that's going to look different, right? Enjoying life looks different for everybody. So someone could look at the way we live and lifestyle and say, Well, why don't you just buy that? Right? But it's not something necessarily that we see as an added value right now, or something we think we want to do. So it's going to look different. But understanding that saving every last penny at the detriment of your joy or experiences is counterproductive to the journey to financial independence and to understand that balance, and whether that's spending on learning, health travel, it can pay off in other ways, in happiness or even helping you be more, unquote productive and happier in life. And the last rule that I basically don't follow and have broken, which helped me get to where I am today, is the rule of avoiding risk at all cost. This is something that I definitely do not follow now. I'm not a necessarily. I wouldn't categorize myself as a risky, risky person. I'm in the middle. I'm a healthy risk taker. You know, I make sure that I have a parachute before I jump, versus just jumping and trying to figure out on the way down. And so unfortunately, in this world that we live in without risk, there are no rewards, and if you try to avoid all risk in life, you won't grow. It's applicable to your career, to relationships, to money, to investing anything that is too safe. It's safe for a reason, and I agree with things being safe in your life. I have a lot of safe safety nets, whether that's my relationships or my money, and just things that are just pillars for me, but then there are opportunities for yourself to grow outside of what is safe, and you have to have the discernment to know what that is for yourself and the planning to help be able to take on those risks. So it's really something where, I believe, depending on your personality type and your current situation, is what kind of risk can you take? And again, I don't not saying to go run out and buy crypto or invest in something risky that you're going to lose all your money, but think about the risk you can take by. You know, maybe you're nervous in terms of raising your hand or volunteering for something at your job or speaking up, and the risk is literally just speaking up and saying what's on your mind or contributing in that meeting. That's a risk for some people, where it feels scary to say anything. But what things can you do that are going to put you outside your comfort zone in a safe way where you won't die, you won't lose all your money, but that will help you, whether that's investing in a course, investing in coaching, investing in more on your 401 K, what are some of the things that you can do that feel risky but are not going to be something that's going to cause death or harm. And think about how you can have more and take more calculated risk in your life to get your ultimate goals. Now, remember, I shared a bunch of rules just now, some that I follow and then used to follow, or that I'm breaking, but that it's really just frameworks. These are not meant to be a prison or something that you forever do. There are some goals that maybe I mentioned, that I do now, that I might not do in the future, or maybe I will adapt as I grow. So breaking a rule or not doing a rule? Well, quote, unquote, is not a failure. It's going to be adjustable and flexible depending on the journey you're on and the stage of life you're in. It can be strategic evolution as you go through and grow through this journey of life. And it's going to evolve. It's going to evolve with your age, your responsibilities, with just life, and that's okay, too. So I want you to think about the current rules that maybe you don't consider them rules, but things that you follow and that you're doing. Maybe there was a rule or something that I said that you want to implement and you want to do. Maybe there's a rule that I said I'm breaking, and you're like, that's not a rule I can break or want to break. But I'm so curious to know what rules or frameworks you're following for your money journey. You can share that with me. I'm on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. I mostly hang out on Instagram, although I admit I have not been as active. But you can go to at June. Journey to launch and let me know. Take a screenshot. Take a screenshot that you're listening. Share it. Tag me at journey to launch so I can see it and it can repost you. If you're on my newsletter list, I send out a newsletter with tips and all the info, just in case you missed something here on the podcast. Every week, you can go to journey to launch comm slash join. I think that link should work and join the newsletter list. But if you're on my newsletter, respond in to the newsletter and tell me what rules resonate with you, or maybe there's a rule that I missed that you you're like that. This is an important one that works for me. I'd love to hear it. Also, remember to share this episode with anyone who you think will find it useful. Don't be selfish. I mean, share with your pupils. Let them come on the journey with you too. All right, journeyers, until next week. Keep on journeying. 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

Jamila Souffrant 31:06

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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