EPS 1: Finding the Right Advisor (and Getting Started without Fear)

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SPEAKER_01 0:39

Welcome to the Pink Money Podcast. With your host, Jerry Williams. A podcast that's all about money from a gay

SPEAKER_00 0:59

perspective. Hey everybody, my name is Jerry and this is the episode one of the Pink Money Podcast. So this is All about money from a gay perspective. And I think a lot of times when you hear that, a lot of people think, well, what does that mean? And is money changed just because you're gay? Well, of course it doesn't. Money is money no matter what. But a doctor is a doctor whenever you go see your doctor. It really depends on how comfortable you are when you go see your doctor. If you're a woman, you may feel more comfortable with a female doctor. A man may feel a lot more comfortable with a man poking around his private parts than having a woman. And similarly, if you're gay or you're a lesbian, you may feel, again, more comfortable with somebody who identifies the way you do. So you don't have to kind of beat around the bush or be embarrassed if, like, someone sticks a finger up your butt and you're afraid that, you know, you don't want to disclose anything. The reason why that doesn't really hurt. You may feel, again, very comfortable if you have a gay doctor instead of somebody who's straight and may feel, you know, is going to judge you. So, nevertheless, I feel the same way about money. It's just, again, when you think about getting financial advice and working with someone who's going to be talking about things that are very personal and how you want to go about handling your money and getting advice and guidance, I think it's always helpful. that you really feel comfortable with whomever you're working. I've been a financial advisor for over 20 some odd years. And I think that during that time, not only have I worked with hundreds and hundreds of people, young, old, gay, straight, you name it, every stripe I feel I've worked with. And with that being said too, I think personally, I probably have made every financial mistake there is in the world as well. So I think that along the way, we'll probably learn As you learn about things, I'll also kind of share with you some of the things I learned along my journey. So what I'm going to do today, though, is introduce my first guest, and she's going to be speaking with us today about her experience as a financial advisor as well. Her name is Grace McLenn, and I'm very excited to have Grace here today. I think you're really going to enjoy the conversation that we have. I know that she has a lot of experience, and again, I think that When you're working with somebody, they don't necessarily have to be gay. In this case, she's not. She's not a lesbian either. But it just is a way, again, to put, I think... Things into perspective, and we will definitely delve into, again, things that are pertinent to the LGBTQ plus community. So welcome, Grace.

SPEAKER_02 3:32

Thank you, Jerry. I'm so glad to be here.

SPEAKER_00 3:33

Yeah, I'm super excited that you're here. And this is actually episode one of the Pink Money Podcast.

SPEAKER_02 3:39

This is fun. I like it.

SPEAKER_00 3:40

So I know we've known each other for quite a while. I would say 10 plus years. Yeah, so it's been quite a while. And I think that it's just... refreshing when I think about a woman giving financial advice because I think, especially you and your demeanor, you're very open and warm and you're not, in my perspective, very intimidating.

SPEAKER_02 4:06

Thank you. I appreciate that.

SPEAKER_00 4:08

And I really think that that helps, though, when you're working with a client and you really need to draw out information from you. And especially if they feel maybe hesitant, you know, that they mean, I think, again, getting somebody who you feel comfortable with is really paramount.

SPEAKER_02 4:24

It's so important. When I was first starting out with the financial planning, there was an older gentleman who told me that I would have to wait until I got a little bit of this, meaning gray hair, before anybody listened to me. And so I find just like you were talking about earlier, having someone who understands Your perspective, you feel more comfortable with. And the same way, just like going to the doctor, getting a massage, whatever. Right. Finances are the same way. And if we as professionals aren't open and understanding of each individual, it definitely makes it intimidating.

SPEAKER_00 4:52

Well, have you ever had an experience where someone has been closed off to you? Let's say maybe... misogynistic, you know, if they're like, oh, you're a woman, I don't want to work with you?

SPEAKER_02 5:02

So not as a financial planner, but in my teenage years when I worked at Sears, I was selling automotive parts. And I would have, I was 16, 17, of course. I really didn't know much, but the older gentleman would often say, you're not going to know anything. You're not going to help me. Luckily, I worked with a guy who would always help them and then just ask me all the questions. So it worked out well. But as a financial planner, not as much. I usually feel like people are intimidated to be there. It's a very scary topic. And I think financial planning, they think, is for people who have all the money in the world or who are so broke they don't have any money. And we both know it's for everybody in between. So I think people are just scared of the word and don't really know how we can help every single person at whatever level. level they're at.

SPEAKER_00 5:46

Well, speaking about that, when you get a brand new client in front of you, do you refer to the people that you help predominantly as your clients? I

SPEAKER_02 5:54

do.

SPEAKER_00 5:55

Okay. So when you get a brand new client sitting across from you, tell me how you kind of open people up and what your basic process is in order to help them.

SPEAKER_02 6:04

That's a really good question because once again, they usually have a specific answer or they're just scared. They know they need to do something but don't know where to start.

SPEAKER_03 6:13

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_02 6:13

My favorite thing is to find out what your goals are. What is it you even want to do with your money? Do you have a plan? Do you even know what you want to do long-term, short-term? And that's usually where I like to start so we know what we're even working toward. And from there, we go to where you're starting at now and what we need to do differently.

SPEAKER_00 6:31

So if someone comes to you for the very first time and they've been referred to you and they are, again, maybe just... unsure about what they really need, but they feel like, you know, I'm just terrible with my money. You know, Grace, you know, you really got to help me. I mean, where would you start?

SPEAKER_02 6:50

And you know what? Most people say that. And I think just like you said earlier, I've made every financial mistake. So I have, I've been terrible with my money as well. Those who can't do teach, I guess, right? But I usually just try to calm them down. You know, anything that happened in the past, Beating yourself up over it is really not going to help you. So we really just want to figure out where you are right now, where you want to be, and what we can start doing to make it better. So if you have stuff to clean up, we have to take care of that. That's okay. But being mad about it is not going to make it any better.

SPEAKER_00 7:19

What would you say, in terms of when you work with people, is kind of the number one mistake most people make?

SPEAKER_02 7:27

Budgeting. People spend money without knowing where it goes. And I've been guilty of that. You know how much I love Sonic. So happy hour, I get two drinks and there's $2 every day. No big deal. I've got change in my... Usually from winning the pool game the night before, I've got some change in the car. So no big deal. But by the end of the month, I've spent $60 on Coke. And then I'm like, well, that's ridiculous. I could have bought... A pair of pants or I don't know, something.

SPEAKER_00 7:52

And you know what I would always find a lot of times is many, many times people would overspend on their cars and eating out.

SPEAKER_02 8:00

Eating out is so big, absolutely, number one.

SPEAKER_00 8:03

Because, you know, it's so easy, right?

SPEAKER_02 8:06

Right.

SPEAKER_00 8:06

You get home from work or you're on your way home and you just don't really feel like rattling the pots and pans and you're like, God, what am I going to make again? And I think that, I think exactly what you're talking about, if you have some financial goals you're trying to achieve, let's say, you know, pay off debt or save money or whatever it is, pay down your credit card debt, then if you have those goals prioritized and you are thinking about, hey, I want to go out to eat, I think that you have to decide, how many times can I afford to go out to eat if I want to achieve this goal?

SPEAKER_02 8:44

That's so true. And I tell people all the time, how you spend your money doesn't matter to me. I'm not going to judge you. That's between you and God, and it has nothing to do with me. But if you tell me, I want to retire, at age 65, but you're spending all your money on eating out, then what you're really telling me is that you want to eat out, that that's more important. So having the priorities and trying to figure out the balance of still being able to go out to eat, but putting most toward your financial goal, you have to be able to prioritize and make it work.

SPEAKER_00 9:13

And when you have people that are in front of you and they're really unclear about about where would I start? Because I think that's a big thing with a lot of people. They feel like there's so many things I need to tackle at once. I want to save for retirement. I want to pay off my debt. It becomes, I think, in their mind almost overwhelming because there's so many priorities for a lot of people and you are sort of paralyzed by so many choices and you only have X dollars, but a million choices. Where do I start? And I think that probably getting in front of a professional, working with a professional can help you put one foot ahead of another. And like they always say, what's the old saying? Every journey begins with one

SPEAKER_03 10:00

step.

SPEAKER_00 10:01

And if you don't start somewhere, you're never going to start. And I think contacting a financial advisor is a great place.

SPEAKER_02 10:08

I think it's perfect. And having that first step, sometimes it's a lot easier than you think it is. And you don't have to make all the changes at one time. You just have to take baby steps, like you said, to get Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_00 10:28

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_02 10:32

Mm-hmm. First month, you start getting things in place, but you need the second month so I can see how you spend and where we're cutting, where we're changing. And then maybe within a few months, do it again. Once you get everything going, I would say twice a year, maybe at least once a year, but twice a year would

SPEAKER_00 10:59

be good. And when you're starting out with somebody, I'm assuming you probably, of course, ask about their financial situation, but I think knowing about them as well, Right. Exactly. Right.

SPEAKER_02 11:33

I tell people all the time, so we want to get you on track, but there's going to be these things that come in. It's going to happen. We can't avoid it. So making sure that we're prepared, whether we choose the event or whether we don't, is going to definitely make things better in the long run. And

SPEAKER_00 11:48

from when you're working with a professional as well, and I think that often people think, I don't have the money to work with a financial advisor. It's going to be so expensive, or they're going to you know, charge me so much money. That's really not worth my time. And I'm going to be like laughed at because I really don't have any money, you know, in the bank right now. And I feel kind of stupid that let's say overspent on this car and I'm just struggling right now, or maybe because of the pandemic, they find themselves out of work, you know, and then they don't really know what to do. Should I, I have a little bit of money in my retirement planner, my 401k or my IRA, you You know, if I'm struggling right now to even keep the lights on or feed my family, Obviously, I need to do what I need to do, but what would be your recommendations? See what I'm saying?

SPEAKER_02 12:38

I do see what you're saying. And unfortunately, it's all going to depend on each individual and what their options are. So if you're receiving unemployment, obviously that helps versus if you're not. Or if you have some place you can stay for free versus if you're having to pay a mortgage. So I know that right now there's a lot of things with the pandemic for rental and mortgages that will help. And a lot of times when you don't feel like you have a starting point, it does cost money to see most financial professionals and there's a way through your employer, or if you're in the military, there's a lot of free resources, those types of options that could be available. Websites like saveandinvest.org, there's a lot of free websites like that. But I think starting the resources and having people like us that will provide the tips, if you follow along, they really will help.

SPEAKER_00 13:21

Right. And I think you can always learn from almost everybody. And I think that you really want to be aware of how financial advisors make their money.

SPEAKER_02 13:30

Oh, absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 13:31

Because there are fee-based ones that will charge you, let's say, X dollars to just drop a financial plan for you. And there's others who won't charge you anything for their advice, but they are making money off of the financial products that you buy. And that sounds funny to, I think, a lot of people because you don't really think, I'm going to go shopping to buy a financial product. And a lot of people don't even know what that means.

UNKNOWN 13:57

Right.

SPEAKER_00 13:57

But I think really the questions that you ask, how do you get paid, is a great way to start because they will tell you, you know, you don't pay to sit in front of me. But if you buy, let's say, an annuity or some life insurance, then I'm going to derive a commission from that product. And I think there is that little gray area that a lot of people operate because you wonder sometimes, is this person paid? giving me straightforward financial advice that's in my best interest? Or ultimately, are they trying to just sell me something I may or may not really need because they need to eat?

SPEAKER_02 14:32

That's such a big concern. And I had the same concern when I was actually in the commission world selling products because I wanted to give you something you needed, but at the same time, I didn't want to have to worry about my personal income based on sales. So when you ask, well, every advisor we know has to tell you how they get paid. That's... That's a law, right? Mm-hmm. Insurance is such a big deal, we don't want to ignore it, but we just want to make sure it makes sense for our situation.

SPEAKER_00 15:14

Yeah, and I think as we move forward for this podcast, my goal is to help educate people. And when we delve deeper into certain financial products like life insurance, we'll really get into the weeds and you can really understand it a lot better. As well as, I think once I get my website and social media all set up, which should be very, very soon, then I can answer some questions and we can tackle some of the more tougher financial products. And I think that when you listen to something that's certainly helpful, but I don't think nothing is going to be as helpful as somebody who really has your best interests at heart, who sits across from you, gets the data from you, and is really able to help analyze that. And it doesn't have to be hours and hours that you spend in front of them. I mean, I know that... Oftentimes when I was helping people, I could probably get a general sense of where they were with maybe 15 minutes of questions, you know, and you're going to spill the beans and I'm going to know just from my experience, basically where you're at.

SPEAKER_02 16:16

And it is important if people are open and honest. So like I said earlier, it doesn't matter to me how you spend your money. There's no judgment, but if you don't, If you're not honest with yourself, then we really can't make it any better.

SPEAKER_00 16:27

Well, have you had any experience with somebody who's either come out to you or as you're talking with them, they... are a little hesitant to say, you know, me and my wife or, you know, two lesbians or two gay guys, you know, in front of you. Have you had that experience with somebody?

SPEAKER_02 16:43

You know, when I first started, I have, and it feels like now it's not quite as big of a deal.

SPEAKER_00 16:47

True.

SPEAKER_02 16:48

But when I first started, it was a lot different because of course it wasn't, marriage wasn't legal. And so at that time, the whole estate planning process was a big deal. So I would say, you know, once again, it doesn't matter to me what you do with your life. I want to make sure everything's set up the way you want. So now things are getting a little bit better now that you can- Don't have to worry about the estate planning the same way.

SPEAKER_00 17:07

But I

SPEAKER_02 17:07

find most people aren't having trouble with me anyway. I don't know about the rest.

SPEAKER_00 17:11

Well, and I think regardless of whether you're gay or not, the thing is if you're in a relationship that matters to you and maybe you haven't made that ultimate decision to slip a ring on your finger, it may be in the future, but you're not sure, but you're committed to each other, I think that you have to decide at some point together whether Do we want to set something up that helps us in case things go awry or we start planning for the future together?

SPEAKER_02 17:38

And it's so important. And I'm going to give an example here just so maybe everyone understands what we're talking about. So the idea of if you're in a coma and if you're not married yet, I guess your parents would be the ones to decide. And if your parents don't like your partner or don't like the fact that you're gay and that becomes an issue, then your partner wouldn't even be able to see you. That to me is terrifying. I don't care once again. If you're with the same sex, a different sex, it doesn't matter. Like if I was with my boyfriend, I would want him to be able to see me if I was in a coma. But my parents decide that he can't. That's that. So back in the day, we always worried about the estate planning. And now it's a little bit easier. But like you said, if you're not married, then you still have that same issue.

SPEAKER_00 18:19

And, you know, with this whole coronavirus, the pandemic going on, I think we've all heard the stories of seeing that people are healthy one day and boom. They're gone the next.

SPEAKER_03 18:29

So quick.

SPEAKER_00 18:30

And you may not experience that. Hopefully, most people, if they get the virus, they survive it. And once we get the vaccine, I think, obviously, it'll become less of an issue for everybody. But it just, I think, also underscores the need to set things up because you never know when something will happen. And my mother is older, and I know that... She already has her estate planning documents in place. But I know that as she continues to grow older and things change just by virtue of her growing older, she's maybe slowing down a little bit upstairs and her body's not functioning the same way. And maybe my sisters and I had a plan in place maybe, let's say, 10 years ago. That all needs to be revisited because circumstances change. It does. Your relationships change. Maybe your mother's relationship or your parents' relationship with your siblings has changed. So I guess what I'm driving at is, like everything, nothing should be completely static. And you think, once I've done this, I don't need to do it again. It's revisiting these topics with, again, someone who can help guide you. If nothing else, just... a reminder of how have you set up, let's say, yourself for the future if something does happen to you? What kind of documents do you have in place and when was the last time you looked at them? And I know that certain financial institutions may not even accept, let's say, a power of attorney if it's been more than three years. Because I know that when I worked in a survivor relations area at one point, we would not take them if they were over three years old. And so we would have that problem sometimes with people who have a 10-year-old power of attorney.

SPEAKER_02 20:19

That's such a big deal for people to know because if it's not even on your radar, how are you even thinking about it?

SPEAKER_00 20:24

Yeah, yeah. And that's a whole big ball of wax in and of itself. just basic estate planning. But I think everybody, unless you see things differently yourself, should everybody have estate planning documents?

SPEAKER_02 20:37

I think everybody should. And what I say, because I'm single and I worry about my mom, obviously that's my biggest concern. But as far as the rest, I don't have anything to worry about. But what I think about is if something happened to my mom, I'm going to be devastated. I'm not sure how I'm going to function. So I've gotten everything estate plan set up so that When the day comes, I can just automatically, I know where her bank accounts are. I know every asset she has, every debt she has, so that it can be automatically taken care of so I don't have to think. Because at that time, I promise emotions and thinking are not happening at the same time. And I know we're all in that same situation. So even for my own, my estate is set up so easily so that when I pass, it goes directly to whoever's, whether it's my bank accounts, my investment, my retirement, it all goes automatically to whomever. And then all they have to deal with is Things like house and car.

SPEAKER_00 21:25

Yeah, yeah. And if you've never handled somebody's estate when they passed, it's very eye-opening.

SPEAKER_02 21:32

Yes, it is.

SPEAKER_00 21:33

Because there's nothing like it, in my opinion, because you are stepping into someone else's shoes that you really don't know that much about. And you're trying to handle things just as simple as, let me look at their bank accounts. And if you don't have access to those bank accounts, how are you going to gain access? And no bank is just going to open up their books for you.

UNKNOWN 21:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 21:54

You know, you're just not going to call customer service and go, hey, tell me about, you know, my mom's checking account. They're going to go, who are you? They don't care who you are.

SPEAKER_02 22:02

Or if someone opened that random account, like a Robin Hood account or something, then they didn't use it, but they forgot to tell you. But there's $50 sitting there. And how would you even know to go look for it?

SPEAKER_00 22:11

Yeah. Yeah. And sometimes, you know, people are really disorganized as well. And I think that, you know, again, working with a professional is a good way to help. create a roadmap for yourself and they can help you prioritize the the necessary steps to get you there.

SPEAKER_02 22:29

Yes, and make sure that you don't miss anything.

SPEAKER_00 22:31

Yeah, especially starting at the bottom, building a good foundation, making sure all the pieces are really there. And I know that in my experience as well, sometimes when you're getting to the parts that people feel uncomfortable talking about, like, hey, let's talk about if you're no longer on the planet, and they don't really want to have that conversation.

SPEAKER_02 22:50

No, they

SPEAKER_00 22:51

don't. But it's obviously a necessary evil, but... Plenty of people, wealthy, wealthy people have died without even a simple will.

SPEAKER_02 22:59

Oh, that's very true.

SPEAKER_00 23:00

And that's the craziest thing to me. But again, I think it's that sort of put it off, denial, procrastinate, what have you. all of the above, and you just got to get it done somehow, someway.

SPEAKER_02 23:11

And you can see the nightmare that turns into, because usually it's some old guy that married some young playboy, and now they have to fight with the kids to get the assets.

SPEAKER_00 23:20

Right, exactly. And same thing that if you want something to go to a particular person, some asset, a car, a piece of jewelry, a house, whatever it is, that has to be clearly spelled out in something like your will. So that whomever's handling the distribution of your estate, who's the administrator of it, that they know, hey, grandma's antique ring goes to Grace and not just sold to the highest bidder. And then what happened to grandma's ring? Who knows? Gone.

SPEAKER_02 23:55

Yeah, that's sad too. I tell my mom with... They've got little trinkets that I don't even know what they are. But I tell her, put the Post-it note on the bottom so I have some kind of idea what it is.

SPEAKER_03 24:03

I

SPEAKER_02 24:04

think taking a photo of them with the Post-it would be better for me so that I know if this is valuable or not because otherwise, the garage sale.

SPEAKER_00 24:12

And you change the subjects a little bit too. What just was also dawning on me is I think a lot of times people listen to financial advisors give advice on the radio or they see someone on TV and And they take that little piece of information, and it's sort of applicable to their life, but because they don't really know, they take that and start running with it. Like, let's say if you're watching Kramer, and he's saying, buy all these various stocks, and you've never invested before, and you don't even know the first step to how do I invest, how do I buy a stock, but you're all gung-ho to do it. and you don't even have something like, let's say, a savings account going on, then that may be the best stock ever in the world, but may not be the best step for you.

SPEAKER_02 25:04

Right. That would definitely put you in a bad way. I think the same thing about, like you said, savings account, because that's such a big deal.

SPEAKER_00 25:10

But

SPEAKER_02 25:11

whenever I first started with financial planning, I knew I wanted to start a Roth IRA, but I had no idea. how to get a Roth IRA. And so people will tell you to go get these things. But if you go get one at the bank, you might end up in a CD when you need to be in mutual funds. So it's great that you started, but it didn't really help a whole lot. So it's very important that you talk to somebody that can guide you specifically for what you need.

SPEAKER_00 25:32

Well, it just reminded me of when that $1,200 got distributed to everybody. And I know a friend of my boyfriend, she wanted to open up an IRA. And that's all she knew. She wanted to open up an IRA with some of that money. And that's obviously a great thing. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, I'll help you. But when I started talking with her and I started asking her, well, what do you want to invest in? That just totally confused her right then and there. Didn't even know that. And then we got into what type of an IRA. Do you have an idea of what type of an IRA you're looking at? Again, no concept of... really what an IRA is, how it works, or she probably didn't even... I don't think she even knew there were different types of IRAs. And that's somewhere, again, your financial advisor is going to be very, very helpful for you because they can tell you what the differences are, why one may be a better option for you than another.

SPEAKER_02 26:33

It can be so confusing. Because we're in the business, we throw out words like mutual fund, investments, retirement, IRAs, and it can be very overwhelming. But if we stop and we explain how... each part works together, then someone might be able to understand.

SPEAKER_00 26:47

Yeah. So I guess just bottom line to me is when you are looking for someone to help you with your financial situation, yes, you may be thinking about something simple like, I want to get out credit card debt or I want to invest this money. I think that when you work with a good financial advisor and Yes, you can go in with that particular goal, but I think a good financial advisor will help you look at everything that's going on in your world.

SPEAKER_02 27:17

Absolutely. As you mentioned earlier, the roadmap.

SPEAKER_00 27:19

They

SPEAKER_02 27:20

look at the big picture, not just each puzzle piece. There's always starting points that you can do figuring out what your goals are. What do you even want to do with your money? Do you want 500 pairs of shoes or do you actually want to retire? And then one of the things I tell most of my people from the very beginning is just for the next two weeks, write down everything you spend money on. So whether you put it in your notes, you keep track in a notebook, whatever it is for two weeks, whether it's 5 cents on bubble gum, $500 on pants, everything. Because at the end of two weeks, you'll probably say, Oh my goodness, I had no idea I spent that much money on fast food.

SPEAKER_00 27:52

Kind of reminds me of a food diary. Have you ever done that?

SPEAKER_02 27:55

No, but for the dieting purpose, maybe I have, I guess.

SPEAKER_00 27:58

Well, I had a doctor one time who, you know, he said, track your food. So I started, and when you write down everything that goes into your bokeh, you know, then you realize, wow, you know, I need to kind of pare things back a little bit. And then it becomes... almost embarrassing that you've been, you know, you didn't really, I like, I didn't realize they ate that much chocolate. I didn't realize I, you know, whatever it is, I drink that much beer or whatever it is, you know, you're just, it starts to become more clear to you. And I think again, someone with an outsider's perspective, yeah, maybe they are judging you, but hopefully they're not holding it against you in a bad way. And when they look at that, your finances or whatever, they're not going to laugh at you. You know, they're just going to say, Hey, There's some opportunity here for us to make some changes. If you're willing to make these changes, then I think this is really going to help you start on achieving this long-term financial goal for yourself.

SPEAKER_02 28:58

And if they do make you feel uncomfortable, you can find another one. There you go. Because I have made too many stupid money moves to be able to say what you should have spent your money

SPEAKER_00 29:05

on. So what would you say when someone... Because not everybody's going to pick you or me or anybody. So if they're in their own city, how would you recommend that they go about finding someone?

SPEAKER_02 29:19

I think probably looking at your friends. If you have anybody who has referrals, that's usually the best way. Usually people aren't going to say, wow, this guy was horrible with mine, but he might be great with yours. That's probably the first way to go. I think it kind of depends on where you're at in the phase. If you're starting from just the beginning of budgeting or if you're at the point of ready to retire and you've got money in a 401k, there's all the levels in between. That might change who you need to talk to. But I think asking your friends, family, and then looking for internet searches matters. doing your research is really going to be the best way.

SPEAKER_00 29:50

Yeah. And because I think as well that some financial advisors are licensed, meaning they are regulated advisors. So that just means that they have to adhere to a certain standard, certain laws that are required of them. Others are not licensed. And then they don't necessarily have that same set of either ethics or principles. And that's not necessarily a good or bad thing. It just depends on what you need at that time and from whom you need it, in my opinion. I

SPEAKER_02 30:27

agree.

SPEAKER_00 30:28

Because like, for example, neither of us are licensed. We've been licensed. And so from the point that we've been licensed and worked in that business for years and years and years, we know how it goes. And we know what would be good financial planning and what would be bad financial planning. And I think that when you ask those questions of someone you're choosing to work with, I think the thing you really want to do is A, ask them how they get paid and how much is it going to cost me if I do work with you. And if you want to ask them if they're licensed or not, then you can always go to like broker check online and you can check their history and you can see if there's been any disciplinary action against them as well as if there's anything you need, any red flags that maybe could be a concern for you. And I think that's a good way to at least start on that journey. So like you said, if you get a referral from a friend and they like this person, maybe they didn't ask those questions, but you know, by virtue of listening to us, that you need to ask a few questions. And I think that whether you do it over the phone or in person, because they're going to probably want to work with you. Hopefully they want to work with you. And, you know, again, if, Even if they are or not LGBTQ+, you want to just say, great, I just have a few questions for you. You can tell me a little bit about your experience, your background, and are you licensed? And how much is it going to cost me to work with you? And how do you get paid?

SPEAKER_02 32:00

And these are valid questions.

SPEAKER_00 32:01

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 32:02

Nobody should be offended. If you catch any attitude, go to the next one. There's too many people out there that do it to be able to help that you have to deal with anybody who's going to give you attitude. And when we were licensed, licensed meaning that we would sell investment stocks, mutual funds, annuities, insurance. We just don't sell the products anymore. But the people have to be licensed in order to sell. So it's okay. But any of them that have licenses will not be bothered by you asking the question. They're glad to tell you.

SPEAKER_00 32:26

Yeah, absolutely. And I just think those are just good, sound principles to use for a lot of reasons, whether it's a financial professional or even if you're going to a doctor or anybody. You can ask similarly, like a lawyer, how much is it going to cost for me to sit down in front of you?

SPEAKER_02 32:45

Right.

SPEAKER_00 32:45

And they should be able to tell you. And don't be afraid to ask. I think

SPEAKER_02 32:49

that's the biggest fear, even for me. Sometimes it's just scary to ask questions, but you have to, especially when it's your money. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 32:55

you know, and the older I get. The less intimidated I am by anything, I just have no fear anymore. It's all out the window. I

SPEAKER_02 33:02

don't believe you were ever intimidated.

SPEAKER_00 33:03

Yeah, it's just so crazy. You know, gosh, as years go by, I just find myself not caring

SPEAKER_03 33:09

anymore.

SPEAKER_00 33:12

It's funny. Yeah, if they get their feelings hurt, I'm like, I don't care. So, sorry. No, I'm not sorry. Too bad. Well, Grace, it's just been such a pleasure to talk with you today. I

SPEAKER_02 33:23

am so glad to be on your show. This is awesome. I really appreciate the invite.

SPEAKER_00 33:27

Absolutely. And I hope to have you again. I'd love it. And maybe we could set something up where we get to hear from you on a regular basis.

SPEAKER_02 33:34

I would love that too.

SPEAKER_00 33:35

Yeah. And then you could give us some more war stories about things you've heard or trends you've seen going on out there. And I think all that's going to be very helpful and insightful to a lot of people.

SPEAKER_02 33:45

I sure hope so.

SPEAKER_00 33:46

Well, again, great seeing you. Thanks so much.

SPEAKER_02 33:48

Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 33:49

Well, everybody, I hope you really enjoyed hearing from Grace as much as I did and you learned a little something. That's really the goal of this podcast is to help educate you and help you find a good, solid financial footing. So when you go out there and you start to take that first step to organize your world and to start to achieve some of your financial goals, The number one thing is to find a professional that you enjoy working with. And don't forget to ask some of those tough questions because they're going to be asking you tough questions. And you really need to open up to that person. You really need to feel very comfortable explaining everything that's going on in your world without judgment and feel that you can trust this person because they are going to hopefully dig deep into your world and you want to feel that your information is safe and secure and you're not being judged in a harmful way. So that's it for today. I was really glad that we got this up and off the ground. And you're going to continue to see more of Pink Money coming at you on at least a weekly basis. And again, when I get those other social media pieces set up, then you'll be able to contact me and I'll be able to respond back to you. So again, thanks everybody. Have a great day and happy holidays.

SPEAKER_03 35:33

I can.