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It's All About the Benjamin$ Episode Transcript

00:08 - Nachi (Host)

Welcome to another episode of I'm Not Yelling! I'm Dominican, podcast hosted by Nachi and Damaris. Welcome back everybody. This is your girl, Nachi, and I'm here with Damaris, known in certain circles as high posts.

00:26

And today we're going to talk about money but, more importantly, your relationship with money, knowing where your money is going, developing a plan to bring in more money and building wealth. And to make this conversation even better, we have a special guest and the pleasure of having Crystal Todd, cpa of the cash compass. She's going to share some knowledge and drop some gems, as she does on a daily on IG and YouTube, so we want to give a great, great welcome to Crystal. Welcome, crystal.

00:56 - Crystal (Guest)

Hey, thank you so much for having me. I am super excited to have this conversation because at a time like like now, it is crucial for us to understand.

01:05 - Nachi (Host)

Yes, absolutely so. Why don't you share a little bit about yourself to our listeners so they get to know a little bit about you and what you do and what you offer?

01:15 - Crystal (Guest)

Yeah, sure, so my name is Crystal Todd. I am a CPA, which stands for certified public accountant. So it's just another level that I had to take as far as I getting more credits in college and it's taking an 11 hour exam so I can get certified to be an accountant, which opens up more opportunities for accounting jobs. So I started my career as an auditor and I got a son the lady before the show. I was able to be exposed to a whole, a whole lot of mess really. So there was some companies who were super great they had their money down to the penny was beautiful auditing them. And then there were other companies where I'd be there for hours I mean I'm talking like 1112 hours a day trying to get through their stuff because it was a mess. No one knew what was going on. You asked people what they were doing in their job and they literally looking at you, like looking at me, I mean people who each other, right.

02:03

So it was a lot, yeah. Yeah, I'm like do you know what? No, this thing on there, okay. So they had no clue what they did. They were just kind of there getting the check and that was about it. So that was interesting, but it opened my eyes to different things that we might think that we're experiencing only as an individual, but businesses are really going through it too. So businesses are having trouble managing the money, businesses are having trouble keeping systems and we tend to kind of put them on a pedestal when they're not. They're not really that, they just ran by people, right. So it's like my first eye opening experience and what like the first inspiration for creating content online, like I do so.

02:43

Then I switched gears and I became a financial reporter and this is basically people who create financial statements for investors to look at. And there you're with a whole different class of people. So you're not with the people who are doing it today. Today work, you're with the C suite, like the executives, and they're having a lot of more deeper conversations. So it's not just about what they're doing. It's about the economy in general, talking about interest rate. So we just had an interest rate hike recently, right today, with the Federal Reserve. So they're talking about that. They're talking about different industries, I mean they're. It was shocking, actually, to see how much they knew about the world, and I thought that that was something that we could actually provide to everybody.

03:21

So that is what created the cash compass, which is where I started off originally on YouTube, creating videos educating people not only about personal finance, because we always hear you got to say, but yeah, no shit, right, we know that. So it's also about the economy and that's something that I think people really miss. And then you're wondering why you're in the middle of a recession. There's been signs for a long time, but you had no clue, Right. So that education is obviously free.

03:45

I'm on TikTok and Instagram at Crystal Todd CPA for free, and then I also have more exclusive content where I have a whole bunch of courses that are helping you get your money together. So it's like the philosophy behind money mentality investing a whole bunch of things to get yourself right. But there's steps to this right. So you can also do like the budgeting. I also have like a budget that helps you kind of figure out like what your money is even doing to begin with, because you can't really make money moves if you don't know what your money is doing. So my whole platform, like my whole mission, my whole purpose in life, is to keep people educated and constantly informed of what's going on, not only with your money, but with the economy.

04:20 - Damaris (Host)

No, that's great. You touched upon a ton of things I want to talk about and, starting with this idea, we've been in a recession and technically last year we've been in that recession because I think we we hit two quarters back to back with a negative GDT and that is, by definition, whatever the recession is. But of course, the government and those that be don't want to call it that, because if we say we're in a recession, that means people will stop spending less and oh boy got to admit, stop spending money on bullshit.

04:54 - Nachi (Host)

But anyway, more Amazon, yeah, all of a sudden the definition changed out of nowhere Right.

05:00 - Damaris (Host)

No, let's just keep it going, keep spending money that you don't have. On that note, you know you mentioned about living paycheck to paycheck. How do you save your money and those kinds of things? So that is a lot of Americans, and I forget what the percentage is, but there is, it's a. It's a huge percentage of Americans that are living paycheck to paycheck, and that is a scary proposition, especially in light of the fact that we are in a recession and that, you know, the economy is kind of all over the place, and so that is a scary thing. And, that being said, my question to you is how does someone get a hold of their finances so that they're not living paycheck to paycheck? What are some of the things they can start doing? And I know you mentioned about the budgeting, which I think is like part of the crux. Right, like you got to start?

05:49 - Crystal (Guest)

Yeah, exactly. So I think the budgeting that we typically hear about is, oh, write down your income, write down your expenses, like okay, we all know that. Like well, give me some more right, some more meat. So I like to tell people to start off with like their dream budget. So it's not only about you know, cutting your expenses. In my opinion, that's living with a lack mentality and it doesn't really leave room for abundance. So if I'm just worried about not drinking Starbucks like girl, that's not going to be rich, right.

06:19 - Nachi (Host)

And I say that because I think that's why I always struggled with budgeting, because I feel like if I'm setting this budget, I'm kind of restricting myself in doing certain things and that always felt off and so I just never could catch on this setting a budget. I'm the what bills do I have?

06:42 - Crystal (Guest)

Let me pay this, right, let's not get to it when I get to it. They don't get paid when I get there. Yeah, exactly. And a lot of people are like that yeah, and it's not. It's not a normal. We don't get to learn this in schools either. So by the time you get to adulthood, you're just passing your past on.

06:56

Whatever you learn from your parents, which, if they weren't good with money, I mean, hey, you got a lot right. So I always say start with like, start with the future in mind. It's not enough to say, well, I'm making $50,000 right now, like what if you don't want to make that for your whole life? So, basically, what I've done this is like a really good practice for listeners to do is just sit down and write down all your expenses like that you would want to spend and like what in your idea, what would be your most ideal luxurious life or whatever you want to live, because not everybody wants to be bougie and a millionaire. So like, say, rent, I want to have my rent, or my mortgage needs to be $2,000. Shopping, hello, $5,000 a month, right, my car, whatever, and just to keep on going online and saying in an ideal world, what would I be spending money on and how would it be?

07:37

So, if you know, and you might have to like pull certain things together, like go lookinrealtorcom and find the house, go look for the car and like really take your time and do this, because that's when you're going to really see and put pen to paper and I get the first kind of like inkling of what you need to do and what your goals are, because people tend to be cool. It's about money, because there's no plan, and the more clear your plans are, the better you can actually feel motivated and feel like you know, take responsibility for it and really take charge of your life. So I did that personally and I found, like my number was like around 250, which I was, and I was very generous, like I wasn't holding back, but I was putting thousands for shopping, thousands for travel, like you know. So you might be surprised and like the money that you actually want to make is probably not even that far out of reach, right? So then, from there, what I like to say is because, like we're not even at the actual number.

08:23

We just trying to get this whole like visualization thing going right. So then you have your dream lifestyle and then, based on what you're doing right now, see how realistic it is right. So if I'm a school teacher and you know my lifestyle says 300,000, no, that ain't happening. Right? So you have to be real with yourself and say I need to do something else to get me to this life, because if I don't make it there, I'm going to always be wanting for more and I'm going to always feel like I'm not getting enough. And I think that's what really adds to like lifestyle creep and spending more than you make because you're not in the income you deserve to be in, that you actually want to be in. So you need to figure out that number.

09:00

Then from there, that's when you go back to your actual budget now and then kind of really start piecing things together, right, and of course you write on all your expenses the date that they're due and then the amounts, of course, like just having all of that just visible on paper, a lot of people don't even know that. And if I were to ask someone like hey, how much do you spend a month in your bills. A lot of you should be able to answer that immediately Like, okay, $3,000 in total. Right, I spend approximately $1,000 on miscellaneous expenses. Like you should get that good with your money that if someone asks you that which they shouldn't be much business, but if they did, you would be able to say it yeah, but hold up, but you should still internally know that number right.

09:39

So that's kind of like level two. So number one, getting idea of what you deserve, what the life that you really want to live. Number two, what's reality. And then number three, bridging that gap, right, and I always say and I don't want to like take over the conversation, but like there is, there's still ways to do what you love and get paid for it, especially now with the way things are online, right? So, like back to my teacher example if you're just working in the high school, yeah, you probably out of luck, right. Even at college, you're probably out of luck. You're not gonna be making a quarter of a million dollars, but I teach online and I make thousands of dollars, right, more than teachers are making. So you have to just figure out how can I still do what I want, but in a way that commands a higher income, right?

10:22

So teaching online is more profitable than taking whatever the government's gonna give you, for example, and things like that. And that's the three kind of three step budget process.

10:30 - Damaris (Host)

And I love that you mentioned it's your how you think about money, because for me, it's always been about the mindset, and I think, while you can budget all day, all do all of that, but and again, you should be planning for a surplus and not budgeting for a deficit. Right Like that. It's just the way it's. It's a shift in how you perceive money and where your attitudes are towards money, because I think if you don't focus, if you don't work on that mindset first, you will fail. You will never reach the goals, because you're always, you're not in the mindset to even think abundantly If you're thinking on a scarcity and I just I hate that, like that whole mindset, like I can't do. Yeah, you can, you just gotta figure out and I'm a firm believer in that what you're passionate about. You can find a way to make money from that too.

11:19

Yes, absolutely, you can try to tie to a salary to just make money and so that kind of is like that idea of I believe you should have multiple streams of income and figuring what that is right. I know you go on IG there's like so many hustles about like, oh, get a part-time hustle. But when I look at them I'm like, oh wait, I gotta pay you for this part-time, this hard hustle.

11:45 - Nachi (Host)

Look, that's they hustling, trying to bust your fund.

11:47 - Crystal (Guest)

Okay, please. Everybody got a point for some bullshit.

11:53 - Damaris (Host)

But there's that whole idea of like, but I do think that there needs to be multiple streams of income, and so I know you talk about that within the cash conference, about having these side hustles, and some of that could come from your passion, right, like what you're passionate about and you figure out how to do. You put out a great example of you could still be a teacher without working in a classroom setting and then sleep more.

12:17 - Crystal (Guest)

And there's I mean I could, there's I can't think of an industry that you cannot do that, especially with online. I think we are in a really interesting time because all these social media platforms are free, and that was unheard of back in the day, where every time you wanted to get yourself out there you had to buy an ad or you had to be out in the street handing out business cards. Like you could just get online and it's like just start chatting, right, and now you are just gaining so much followers, so many eyeballs, and it's like it can happen really rapidly if you're consistent. And I think that's what people really struggle with the most.

12:49

Well, actually, I think the first thing people struggle with is just figuring out what to do as a side hustle. I know a lot of people say like I mean, for me, money came kind of naturally, it's my field, but not everybody has that same experience. They might be working a job, but they're not necessarily passionate about that job. So a tip for trying to figure out what to get started at your side hustle is thinking about something you could talk about for like 30 minutes nonstop, right, like I don't talk about money, y'all don't even be here I can talk to myself. I can talk about money like for like hours and hours and hours and hours, and hours and hours.

13:15

I can't get tired of that.

13:17 - Nachi (Host)

And leave Crystal up here.

13:18 - Crystal (Guest)

Yeah, I got it, don't worry, hey, y'all I don't know the whole audience, but myself, right? So, thinking about something like that that you can just like, whether it's like you know, maybe if you love dogs, or even if you're someone like who's addicted to watching reality shows, you can do reactions to reality TV Like there is nothing you can't monetize off of right now. People, I mean, depending on what you about, right, you can just all your feet online, right, there's people doing they just they getting creative out here.

13:47 - Nachi (Host)

Yes, I was like wait a minute, you getting money from?

13:50 - Crystal (Guest)

me Right. I'm, like I think my feet too fat for that. But listen my feet.

13:55

They not fat feet. There's one thing for everyone, crystal, exactly. So just starting with something that you're probably not or that you can't stop talking about will be a good start, and then just go ahead and do it. You know, and I think the other thing people struggle with is that they don't see results instantly, and our society has just crafted us for, like, instant gratification, right Like now, you don't have to even watch. This is, like, probably petty, but it adds to it. You don't have to watch commercials anymore. You can get DVR and zoom right past it, right. You don't have to watch commercials on YouTube either. Skip ad, right, like.

14:30

We are just conditioned, in even ways you don't think about, to just get past it, get to the. You know the good stuff. So, like, when you are doing something that takes a long time, right, the quick way to make money is the long way, right, just taking your time. But you don't really want to do that because you've been conditioned to get everything as soon as you know Amazon two day package, right. If I don't get my package in two days, I'm literally dead right, I can't function, so you know. So, unfortunately, we have to kind of break past that, because when you are building side hustles, it's not gonna be money on day one, not for everybody. It took me 11 months and I was posting consistently on YouTube, all right, once a week, every week, and at the end of the 11 months I had 300 subscribers. My mom was only the one in the comments, like that was really it okay.

15:11 - Damaris (Host)

Go, mommy, thank God.

15:13 - Crystal (Guest)

Yeah, my mom was holding it down in the comments, okay, Bah hustle, you know, nope, and I still showed up for 11 months with not even one penny from it, right? Then the recession happened. Everybody wanted to send those checks and boom, you know, like, and then that was my opportunity, right? So if you're just prepared and you keep on building that side hustle, when people start to find you and then they come to you, they're gonna see you already have a portfolio ready, right? So if you are always making reaction videos about you know different shows and even though no one's watching them, one thing can go viral. Then they're gonna go to your page and, wow, you have so much things to watch. So you have to build up your portfolio even though nobody's watching, because eventually they are gonna start watching. And then when you get those eyeballs, it's a wrap, right? Then the money flows. Maybe.

15:56

If you don't wanna do social media and everybody wants to be a content creator or beyond TV or whatever there's other options too, right, like? You can look at high value skills right now. So, right now, that would be like behind the scenes and everything. Video editing, graphic design, right, coding, like all these things are like pretty much behind the scenes, but they're in high demand. Copywriting is another one.

16:18

These are skills that you don't have to necessarily be in front of anybody, but if you get good at writing or if you know how to write, you have a good way of words, right? You like to learn on the computer? Boom, learn those things. Those things don't even need degrees. You just watch a couple like enough YouTube videos and it's up right, like yeah. So it's like we have so much free knowledge at our hands and people think that they won't pay for knowledge they got for free. But you'll be surprised, cause a lot of times, people are not paying for the knowledge, they're paying for the consolidation, right? Some of these things that I'm telling people online or even in my course. You could find an internet if you look hard enough, but I'm saving you the hours. You're not doing all the work, so I'm giving you time back in your day that you don't need to waste, right? So exactly, and I think people don't think about these things when they're thinking about having side hustles.

17:03 - Damaris (Host)

Yeah, you know it's. You mentioned the economy and how, before you got on the call, you were shooting a video. Because of all that's going on the Fed rate and all that good stuff I feel like in general, there's too much reliance on just having this one job and just relying on one salary. I think it's very dangerous I'm all four people having multiple ways and Sadhouse is what but I think it requires patience. It's not going to be an overnight success Like that doesn't really exist.

17:39 - Nachi (Host)

You got to work you see it, Crystal, I recall one of your videos you had said something about there's a difference between having an emergency fund versus an emergency cash flow. Can you talk a little bit about that, Because that gave me an aha moment Myself.

17:58 - Crystal (Guest)

I'm like, oh yes, an emergency cash flow, that's amazing, yeah, and I can get into all of the different things that we've been told. That is completely the reverse. But one of them is having an emergency savings, and that can work for some people. But we've all heard the same regurgitated, parroted financial information or tips or advice, and it might not work for you.

18:22

So for me, for example, I would have a proper panic attack if I lost my job and then the only money I had was this static savings account, because obviously I'm not putting any more money in it than I have on my job. So what is now? Me not having any income and then the little income I do have left? I'm now tearing through that. I will be panicking. So there's people like me out there. They might prefer emergency cash flow. You still have your emergency savings, but have something you can just pivot into. So my emergency cash flow is going on YouTube, going on TikTok, all these things. I do it part-time right now, but if I were to get fired, you're going to save the more me you think.

18:59 - Damaris (Host)

I'm on there now.

19:00 - Crystal (Guest)

Oh my god, three days a week. I'm going to go do that. I have time.

19:02

Yeah, I would be like hey y'all, I know you're asking me, I don't care, I'm going to be everywhere, because then my hustle will increase. So then, once it was your side hustle that you was building on the side now saves you because you could just pivot really quickly and just put more into it, even if you're doing some Uber driving. If you become an Uber driver and you're doing it on the side while you have your job, if, I forbid, you get fired. Well now, look, you've already gotten a whole bunch of five star ratings. You've already know the process. You don't have to just scramble and try to figure something out. You already know to immediately pivot.

19:35 - Nachi (Host)

That's your emergency cash flow and that gives you peace of mind. That's how I felt, having that emergency cash flow, and it's funny because I do freelance work aside from my nine to five, but I've always been doing something right and I think that's always been my peace of mind. Well, if I lose my job, I'll just do more of whatever.

19:58 - Crystal (Guest)

I was doing Whatever Exactly.

20:01 - Nachi (Host)

And I just keep it pushing and work harder to bring in more cash from that side hustle. But it made sense when you said that, because I would always hear you need to have your emergency fund, your savings, and make sure that you have that. And you're right Once, if you do lose your job, you have that one fund. That's not. You're not putting any money into it and you're going to live off of that. What for the three, six months that you saved up for? Then what?

20:33 - Damaris (Host)

And that goes by really quickly. When you think about it, it's just like right.

20:39 - Nachi (Host)

So if you're relying on this cushion of three to six months of expenses, that's a lot of stress on yourself trying to figure out what's your next move during that time frame.

20:51 - Crystal (Guest)

Yeah, Mind you, I'm not sure how the statistic they asked me, so I mean, I know I wasn't included in this right, so I don't know who they sampled, but it said that there was 70% of Americans don't even have $1,000, right, so a lot of people don't even have that three to six months savings. So it's even more of a panic, right, because three months is probably not even enough time to find a job. And even if we're not talking about emergencies, it's nice to have the ability and have options, right, like if I'm just talking crazy. I'm like listen, yes, I don't need this job. Back to, like you know.

21:23

Yes, my man, I see a lot. I got two jobs, right. Like, hey, my man, it's me, yeah, so talk to me. Nice, right, or else, yeah, like you know. So I mean, that makes you go into work. You know I'm not saying that you're going to go in there and, like you know, half-assed, but at least you know there's certain things you don't have to tolerate if you don't like it, whereas some people are saying it because they absolutely hate, because they don't have anything else to fall back on.

21:48 - Nachi (Host)

Yeah, that's the scary part about it.

21:50 - Damaris (Host)

That's a scary proposition and I think again it just goes back to I feel like you can't these corporations, you can't trust these hoes Like no, I don't yeah.

22:07 - Crystal (Guest)

That's another I think like, in addition to like the emergency savings only. Something else they always say is you're nine to five is more secure. Maybe not right Like we've seen people getting laid off every day, right Like and then what Then they give you? Then they're so cold with it, you a lot and like right now there's savages these companies, like people, are just getting. They're finding out that they got fired because they can't get into the building. Right, they're getting emailed.

22:30 - Nachi (Host)

Don't comment, I'm not, I'm not.

22:32 - Crystal (Guest)

What If you fired me when I'm at home? Because if I come to the office I'm tight, yeah, and I'm knocking something down. Don't have me come to the office. I'm like no, right. So people are getting fired and emailed, people are getting transferred to the HI department. They did not even talk to their bosses about it, right?

22:47

So like these days is like very, very like savage mode, especially if you're not in a union like it's up for you, right? It's not as secure because things can change all the time. Now business is not secure either, but, for example, if I'm not doing good or I feel like I'm maybe slowing out of my sales, I could try to pivot. Right, I have more flexibility. I don't just some of them just quit on me. I still have things that I can do to try to improve and try to get better and try to grow and try to, you know, get more customers. We talk to people I already have talked to before. So you have more options to get more money if you have your own business, versus if someone tells you you're fired, that's the end of it, right?

23:25 - Damaris (Host)

So, speaking about that, you know someone having their nine to five or their you know full-time job. Whatever that is. What can they do now to start building that wealth? Like, what are some? What are some simple ways to get someone to start thinking that way, so that way they're not caught with like, oh my goodness, I just got fired and now I have to build my side hustle, but there should have been already plans and things in place to build your Exactly what are some of those things that you've shared?

23:54 - Crystal (Guest)

Yeah, so we touched on the side hustle, but I wanted to add one more thing, because even if you don't have something that you're super passionate about, you can become what they call a virtual assistant, and there's like up work, there's a whole bunch of that. If you just type in virtual assistant, you'll find different websites, right? So even if you don't have anything to offer which I doubt, that that's true, but some people really feel that way about themselves, right? So even if you feel like you know, oh, I don't have a passion, surely you can type in virtual, surely you?

24:19 - Nachi (Host)

can go through something you know what I'm saying.

24:20 - Crystal (Guest)

Like you can do those things, right. And then a lot of times, people are looking for social media managers. That doesn't require social media understanding. They'll say oh, go, take some video off of Instagram, put it on, take off of me. Like you can figure that out really quickly, right? So there's still things you can do that don't require a passion or whatever, just to kind of get yourself in the door, okay.

24:41

I also like to say don't be the weakest thing at your job, because some people that's just not for them, and it doesn't matter how I could scream from the top of my lungs like how much money I'm making, how great I love it. Some people are nine to five people and that's that right Point blank period like they don't care, they don't want to hear nothing about no VA, they don't want to hear nothing about no dog walking. They just want to go to their nine to five job and come back home and watch their own Netflix, right? So? So if that is you, that's fine, but then yes, no, I mean, listen, this house is like you're waiting for them.

25:10 - Nachi (Host)

Dogs right I?

25:11 - Crystal (Guest)

gotta wait for them to walk in dog and she be getting into the bag too. I might even get into the bag. No, no, no, no, I'm just kidding, but I'm laughing.

25:17 - Nachi (Host)

I'm like I don't want a dog walk. I'm like you better get into it, get your way out there, yeah, exactly.

25:23 - Crystal (Guest)

But like, let's say that's not the case, right. But then you can't say all of that and then also be half-assed at your job. You have to pick just one struggle, all right. So you don't want to do business, you don't want to do side hustle, but then you also at work on your phone, you work for remote, but you really at the mall, no, babe, it's not going to work that way, right. So like you cannot be the week as you get your job.

25:44

So I, like you know, no shame in my game. I already know I ain't getting fired first because you know straight over there she never doing her work, that a lot, right, like, so you just be a step above, like you know, like maybe two matches above. The week is link At my nine to five. I like to do something called an internal resume. So it's just me bragging on myself the minute someone says for me to do something that's not in my job description, oh boom, I did this right. And like I just start keeping note of all these things because some jobs, like most of the times I've been to, they have a formal performance review right, and a lot of times it's only twice a year.

26:18

So then it comes here, it comes during on my home.

26:20 - Nachi (Host)

I know that's me.

26:21 - Crystal (Guest)

Like I'm just been doing the do you know? So then yeah.

26:26

You ain't seen me, but like you know you probably I'm doing excellent right, but then you have nothing to back it up with, right. So, like keep an internal resume, even if you don't plan on looking for a job, even if you've been at your job for 17 years and you have no intention on quitting, keep an internal resume every year of what you're doing. I do it by the quarter and the minute I see I'm like, oh, this is good, I did that right and I write it down and that way when it comes I had a review not too long ago I have pages. They was probably sick of me reading.

26:56

I was like oh, I'm in school. Back in Q1, march I did this. I remember. I hope you remember. You remember All right.

27:02 - Damaris (Host)

So I feel like Bob asked me before. I gave them three.

27:06 - Crystal (Guest)

You'll put them up Exactly. You don't have to remember because.

27:08 - Damaris (Host)

I do, I wrote it right down right here.

27:10 - Crystal (Guest)

So you know, like that way you can prove, and like, maybe they forgot too, because, like, managers are not perfect, so they might have certain thoughts about you, but then when you remind them what you did, then that puts you a step above, right, in addition to that again. So we're staying on the topic of like not being a half ass. Nine of five, right? I like to think about.

27:29

People always say how they hate their jobs, right, what do you hate about it? And if, whatever you hate about it, fix it. Yes. So for example, with me, I had a job, I had like a process of my job and I'm like, ok, I'm not trying to sound like whatever I might be, whatever I got a college degree, that and I and I'm over here copying and pasting stuff. I don't mind getting paid for that, but then I also want to be adding more value to the company, because if they're looking to become in the fire and oh well, she's going to copy and paste it, no, babe, I'm not right.

27:58

So for that, like, fix those things right, how can you fix it? So for me, in that same situation, we had a software that we were using that can automatically do it for us. So I went and did it right. I asked for forgiveness, not permission, and I think companies actually appreciate that, like I don't go switching everything out, asking, but I create what I call a prototype. So on the side I say, hey boss, this process is very slow, it takes a lot of hours. You have to hit them with those. You know these words. I think I found out the cost-saving strategy.

28:26 - Nachi (Host)

They like to hear that it helps optimize.

28:28 - Crystal (Guest)

It's like they like all that. It helps me. Yeah, it helps me. I disrupt it. You put the little buzzwords and then you show them your process.

28:38

You know I do that all the time and that's something that my boss actually made a comment of, that she appreciated that I'm just like much more forward looking. Yeah, and that's something that I actually learned from my former job. They told me that she had asked me, like why didn't you change this? And I was like I don't know, I can't right, like you might not feel empowered to. And after she told me that, like I never looked back from that day, like that was such an eye-opening thing, like why didn't I change it? I hated it and I just sat there and did it and I thought that's what you're supposed to do.

29:05

No, you need to be a disruptor, right, and it can be something very minor and small, but it's going to make you stand out, right, and that's where you can insulate yourself. So maybe you're not, you know, maybe you don't want to get another sidehouse, maybe you like what you're doing, but then you can still secure your spot where you're at, more so than somebody else. The truth is, people are not. They go to work and they just do right what they need to do right. So if you just do slightly more, you're going to look better and you protect yourself.

29:30 - Damaris (Host)

No, no, I think that's great advice and you know, for a lot of people, to your point, they just may think like, look, I just do my job to the letter. But no, because if you don't show that you're indispensable or what value you add to the company, yeah, you're going to be first to mind when it comes to cutting costs.

29:49 - Nachi (Host)

Oh yeah, absolutely Cutting costs.

29:50 - Crystal (Guest)

Exactly, exactly and don't think they're not talking about you Exactly, they are all the time they are.

29:59 - Nachi (Host)

No, but even if that's what you want, to stay with your nine to five, I think it's still important, even doing your side hustle, to maintain those skill sets or even gain those extra skill sets, because I think those extra skills that you learn is going to help you kind of branch out to whatever side hustle you want to get into, because I think your own job can give you some skills that you can certainly turn it around and leverage it for your own side hustle, because that's what we're here for. I mean, don't go to work just to punch in and punch out.

30:37

Get something out of it, Right exactly.

30:42 - Damaris (Host)

People in different seminars or things for you to learn more classes, courses take advantage of it.

30:48

Take advantage of it One of the things I was thinking about when it comes to building wealth and stuff like that. The three of us talked about it right before we started recording, but for me, I was fortunate that I started working with an asset management right out of college. So I was reading the literature that my company was providing on encouraging people to open IRAs and Roth IRAs, and even understanding what those terms were, what those investment vehicles did, and I was like, holy shit, if I don't invest by the time I'm 30, I'm going to be dirt pouring a bag lady out here and I'm going to greet. And at that time my company was like they didn't start you with a 401K unless you worked there full year. They changed that policy years later.

31:35

You know, this was back in my day, and so for those first 12 months I was like, ok, well, let me just open up an IRA and that way I'm building something while I wait for my company to start matching me and it's doing those things like it was a set it and forget it. So I didn't love like, especially if people are like well, I don't have a lot of money to invest. I mean, literally, you can open up an IRA account for like $25. It's $50.

32:05 - Crystal (Guest)

Exactly.

32:06 - Damaris (Host)

At most sometimes and I think that to me is like I love that set it and forget it mentality, because it starts to build and grow with the market and you don't have to worry about it the way you would if you took it out on your own versus like yeah automatically deducted.

32:26

Are those types of things like? Are there other things like that that come to mind to you about building wealth? Because that's just one way, Because I don't again, I don't like to. I feel like, yes, you know, investing in the market is one way, but that should not be the only way, and we talked about hide hustles. I feel like we covered a lot here too, but I'm wondering are there other things that one should think about? You know simple ways to start building.

32:51 - Crystal (Guest)

Yeah, yeah, so for sure. I want to touch on what you said about the IRA or even a 401k, right? So not, every plan is not for everybody. So you know, you have to understand what your relationship with money is like, what your risk appetite is and what your level of commitment really is. Because if you're someone who doesn't really want to commit a whole bunch of time to figuring this out, but you're also like risk adverse, then you should not be investing in crypto, right? Because crypto is extremely risky and you need to be extremely involved in what's happening. So you need to understand.

33:22

Well, how do I feel? Am I OK with losing money? Am I going to freak out and panic if I see my stock portfolio going down? Right, and then, based on those answers, you know what to do. So, for example, if you're somebody who, I think which most people, I think are average, they don't really want to worry too much about it, they don't really understand the market like that and they just want to get in, Then, yeah, something like index funds, which you could get through your 401k or an IRA, is a good option. And if you're someone who would get freaked out about fluctuations, then I would say check it once a year and just leave it alone like that right? Because if you keep on seeing it and it's going down, you're going to freak out and literally, if you say it and forget it, you're probably going to end up better off than if you had to touch the money yourself. Because when the money hits your cow, you and I both know it's going right to brunch bottom, to most of the hookup.

34:08

Like what I'm saying, you know, like trips to Lula you're talking about right, so like you're not going to go ahead and budget that. So definitely, if you're someone again who doesn't have the discipline, right, so to like you got to know yourself and keep it real with yourself. If you're not the one who's going to really put that money to the side, do something like an investment thing at your job, especially if they have a 401k and they match you right? I don't get too technical, but like this, this is going to be helpful. So, depending on what you think is going to happen in the future would let you know what kind of what kind of retirement plan you should do, right? So if you're someone who says, I think in the future taxes have to go up, right, there's no way that the government's not going to raise taxes in the future, right, and obviously you're speculating. No one really knows. But then it will make sense to do a Roth 401k or a Roth IRA, because that says you get taxed right now and your money grows tax-free. So when everybody else is paying 30, 40, 50%, you already paid your little 25% back in 2023 and you're chilling, right. Conversely, if you say, well, you know, there's only a certain limit, they can't take out too much of your money. Or if you say I want to reduce my taxable income right now, I want that money in my pocket right now, then you could do what's the traditional 401k right or a traditional IRA, and what that does is it takes money out of your account, pre-tax right, so you don't get taxed on this money.

35:25

Some people might say, oh, I don't have any money to invest. And the thing about it is, if you do the traditional, you will not even feel it because it doesn't come out. It's almost as if you never made that money. They don't count it against your taxable income. So when your job is calculating how much they should put out in taxes, it's almost as if you didn't make that. So if you put $10,000 in there, they're going to remove $10,000 from your taxable income and that can actually put you in a lower tax bracket and you might not even feel a difference, but you're still saving the money. So that's what traditional will do for you and I'll be someone who's like I don't want to do that because I want my money to be locked up right, because obviously there's downsides. If you need that money from your 401k, you're going to be heavily fined if you're not of a certain age, right? Or you could take a loan out, but then your tax is taken, a loan out, your tax on the money, whatever you made, you just get taxed out the ass, right? So if you don't want to go that route, you can still invest in the stock market, but you would do that through somebody like Fidelity or Robinhood Weebel.

36:23

There's ways to invest without necessarily being in the stock market, without being in the 401k, but you still have access to that money, right? So if you wanted to sell it, you don't have to worry about filling out paperwork, talking to your job about it, then telling you what limit it is. Right. So you still can get in the stock market, but not necessarily have to be subject to all these rules and regulations. Okay, that's intangible assets.

36:46

The other way to kind of make sure you're investing is tangible assets, and that's my favorite, because those not only give you money in retirement but right now too.

36:57

So the one that people most know about is real estate, right?

36:59

So if you buy a home, let's say you're first starting out, you don't want to take too much risk, right?

37:04

You can't afford two different mortgages if something goes wrong.

37:07

You can buy up to four units under a one like conventional loan, right? So even though you have four units, you're not going to consider it commercial property until it reaches five units. And that's important because when you're still considered a primary residence and it's like you're under a more residential loan, you get to have the 30-year fixed rate mortgage. Once you get past five units, it becomes considered a business and those loans restart every five years and that could be a little bit more risky, right? So this way, if you can afford the mortgage for that one home, but it's really four homes, right? If you don't get anybody in that property, you're not going to be out of luck because you can still afford that mortgage because you're going to live in one of the units. But if you're able to rent out those three units and in New York we see brown stones, they always have multiple different apartments, right, like these people, that's what they do and then if you get somebody to rent it out, then they're paying your rent for you your mortgage for you, right.

38:05

So you're getting a house, essentially for free, or however the numbers work, right. So that's one way to do it. If you don't want to necessarily do the stock market, you don't have control over the stock market and the thing about stocks is that if it goes to zero, I mean that's the end of it, right, you have to hope it'll go back up. That's the risk. Even if your home goes to zero, you can still rent it out and no one's going to live there for free. No, I mean not my house, right. So if you're going to live in the house, I can still. Even if the value is up 50%, it doesn't matter, I'm still getting cash flow from that property, right. So that's one way to do it, where you're getting cash flow now, cash flow in the future, hopefully appreciation if the house goes up in value. Another way to do it is again back to the business, but like businesses, right, businesses are tax havens. I, for example, bought a new computer, fully taxable, right. I use it for my business, my phone bill, my utilities, I mean I'll be penny, I'll tell them everything. Yep, I spent about 10% of this like bill came from my business, right. So I get to deduct that too, right. So you, even traveling right, if I go to, like these ladies I know we're going to go on a vacation it's going to be tax deductible, right. So I could be in a room but live my best life and I can deduct it for as taxes because I'm going to be in business meetings with these women. So I can deduct my meals, I can deduct the flight, I can deduct the hotel, like all these things that I can still enjoy a trip, right. So people think taxes are like punishment. It's incentives If you're doing what the government tells you to do and, like they want you to create homes, right, if you see, government housing is the hood you don't want, right, so they don't want to do it. But if you do it, they're going to give you a whole bunch of tax benefits. If you open up businesses and provide to the community, you're going to get benefits, because if they did it it'd be a hot ass mess and they don't want to do it, so they're incentivizing us to do these things. So that business is like the other way to just easily get in there, right. And then if you want to think about ways to get money, that's like cash flow, but it's not as risky as maybe, just like investing in.

40:01

Like ETFs, you can invest in dividend paying stocks, dividend paying stocks and bonds. For the most part, I mean, you can't really consider it fixed but, like, for the most part, you're getting paid a certain percentage, right. So some stocks you only make money if you sell and that might turn some people off. So if you have a dividend paying stock, you can benefit from if it does appreciate in value. But you can also benefit because every quarter, every month, they basically give you some of your money back. So thank you for investing in us, thank you for believing us. When else, here goes 30 cents, right, and it might sound like nothing, but that will build and it will come down. Same thing with bonds, right, a lot of like the bond market in this current economy, right At the time of this recording, is actually paying higher than your high yield savings, right. So it's the government. They're considered risk-free because if they don't have the money, they go and create the money, right, right, pretty.

40:54

And so you're as we've seen with all these semi-chats in all the Ukraine, like, yeah, they just find money out of nowhere, right, right, I can't film mom I mean, I found that out, Let me get that little Bank account.

41:03 - Nachi (Host)

No, I need that picture too. I need it.

41:05 - Crystal (Guest)

Let me borrow that Just for five minutes. Only need it for long, right? So you know it's risk-free, you're getting a stated percent, so you don't have to worry about, oh, am I going to get my money back? That you know you're getting X amount every. You know six months every month, whatever the case is. So there's like three different ways for you to still get in, there, still do something, and every way that I've described you can get in even if you don't have a lot of money. So if you wanted to do real estate and you don't have a lot of money, you can do a real estate investment trust, and I'm heavily involved with one because I used to work at this company. Right now I do this on like $16. I'll plug them Starwood, stwd, not investment advice, but this is things you could start looking at. Right, do your research. So they're the yes, please, like, don't come back.

41:48 - Damaris (Host)

Chris said Okay.

41:51 - Crystal (Guest)

So, chris, when you say shit, chris, you got information, you do with it, right what?

41:57 - Damaris (Host)

you will, you do you do, right.

41:59 - Crystal (Guest)

But, like I went and bought some the other day because the dividend was 11%, right, and the thing about dividends is, as long as they don't cut that dividend, you're going to be making 11% for the attorney of the company, as long as they're always paying that Right. So you kind of locked that in and 11% right now was unheard of. Your savings is paying like maybe 3%. The bonds are paying around, right, they don't like chase, forget about them. I don't have no time to chase Like, but like you know, like the higher, the higher yield ones are paying 3.4%, 4% ish. Like bonds are paying maybe 3%, 4%. This is a big deal, right.

42:33

Verizon so many people really are familiar with it, right. 7% dividend right now. I'm still paying my bills today, but it's still being business, right, so I can still get my little dividend check every quarter or whatever, right. So there's still ways that you can invest at any amount. The thing is the Verizon stocks like 30 something dollars, right. The Starbucks stock is like $16. These and that you could, so you're getting a piece of real estate with that Starbucks stock. Right, you're getting telecommunications with Verizon, so you're investing. It might not feel like a lot of money but you keep on doing that it's going to build. There's no way it can't.

43:04 - Damaris (Host)

No, no, I think this is going to come to a lot of you.

43:05 - Nachi (Host)

No, I was going to ask because you know both of you had said if you don't start off early with your 401k, you may not be in a good position when it's time to retire. So what would you suggest? So what would you say to those individuals who didn't start off early but want to build up their cushion?

43:28 - Crystal (Guest)

Yeah, like, obviously the best time to start was like when you were 20 and the second time started right now, right, so don't just keep saying oh, my God.

43:35

I was oh, that wish was doing out. Doing out right. Like you might have to put in more right. Or you might have to think about other things when they're saying that they're primarily talking about the stock market, because you're going to have growth, that growth compounds, you're going to have interest. But, like I said, if you're doing something like real estate, for example, even if you're in your 30s right, if you can afford a 15 year mortgage or if you can afford to pay off a little bit extra at a time, by the time you reach retirement age, hopefully that home is already paid off. Right. And if you wanted to, you could rent that home out. Now you have nothing. Nothing is on the home.

44:10

Right, you can rent it out and you can go, maybe live somewhere it's like downsized live somewhere else, even if you just rent, even if you want to go, rent, right, and now you have this home already paid off. So any money you're making from that is directly funding your lifestyle. So there's just different ways you have to look at it. Maybe, as you get older, you have to focus on things that are going to actually give you cash flow versus appreciation, because you don't have the time for things to appreciate. So you have to assess how much money you can actually contribute to this and how serious you are, because even if you're in your 40s, you can still. You can still, you still have options. It just depends on how serious and how committed you're going to be.

44:43 - Damaris (Host)

Yeah, no, I totally agree and honestly, actually, while I said that I started in my 20s, but there's a part of that fear mongering that I didn't like. It was fear that motivated me. I mean, thank you, I guess.

44:57

Yeah they looked out, it's so worked out A nice 401k, but at the same time I was like, damn, this is scary. And what if I was 40? Now wondering like holy shit, I didn't invest in any 401k. What do I do now? And that's not a good place to me because it makes you feel like there's scarcity there right, like there isn't enough, and that's not true. And I think we've pointed out throughout this discussion that there are multiple ways to build and build and grow your wealth. It doesn't have to just be this one way. 401k just happens to be a well-known way because in this country we don't have pension plans or anything like that, like in other countries but you know that's just again, that's just one way and not the only way.

45:44

So do not be discouraged listening.

45:46

Yes, Anyways it is something where I feel like it then becomes a turn off for some people. You know it's discouraging, but it's really it shouldn't be. And to your point, crystal, you said just start now, right, like you still have the opportunity to do it. I know, when I started, I was like, oh yeah, I love I'm a do of Roth because I know I'm going to be in a higher tax bracket by the time I retire. I'm like, no, this is not right. I'm having it right now.

46:17

I was in my 20s, so there was a reason. But now, yeah, I'd be like traditional because guess what, don't take it from me now. Yeah, yeah, you'll be the same, whatever by the time I retire. That being said, I think for some people and what she said not she makes me think about this some people have not invested early on because either they felt they weren't making enough money or they didn't know what was happening, or they're like in some sort of financial debt crisis or whatever. And I feel like there's a bunch of traps out there as far as like people getting caught in credit card debt or some other loans that they took out that they just weren't in a position to take out on. We know, in 2008, the whole mortgage industry was yeah, so because you have people and lenders putting these homes with people who weren't bringing in enough, and so yeah you know this predatory lending, saying that it was okay to do that.

47:19

What are those gotchas or watch outs that people need to be considerate of while they're building their wealth? I feel like credit cards is one thing and you mentioned that in one of your videos, which I love the credit card interest rates, because you're like corporation is going to get their money one way or another.

47:37 - Crystal (Guest)

Exactly and they love people like that who carry balances like big, big gotcha. Before I talk about that, I want to touch on the fearmongering thing. If things that we're saying brings fear in you, that means you're not educated enough, right? And I'm saying that with the most love, because and people tell me all the time I'm fearmongering they're like no, I'm informing. There's two different things. If you're scared because you probably don't feel prepared, you probably don't feel informed, you probably clue this about what's happening and anything that you hear something slightly negative is worrying you. I can hear them saying the economy is crashing, stuff's falling. I'm like, oh very time to go buy up some stuff, right? So I'm not like I'm about to. I'm about to cash on everybody who was fearful instead of being educated. So you're going to be on one or two sides. You're going to be the person that's picking up all the assets at a discount or you're going to be the person that's telling their assets at a discount. So you can be afraid if you want.

48:29

I tell people that I'm not fearmongering, you're afraid. You say you were afraid. That that's two different things, okay. So don't come on my page. I'm not the kind of I don't know how I go lower. Don't come on my page with your math, because you're going to get it. You don't want to match your energy, so, anyway, you don't want this broke. You don't want this broke. You know what I?

48:45 - Damaris (Host)

had to double it Okay.

48:51 - Crystal (Guest)

So if you do feel fearful, then maybe start doing some more research, maybe start looking into what we're saying deeper and really get an understanding so you can feel empowered instead of feeling scared when these things happen. And then, as far as the gotchas go, the credit card. This got me when I was in college.

49:06 - Nachi (Host)

I go all the same.

49:08 - Crystal (Guest)

Introduction, yeah, introduction credit card 0% for 18 months. Then 18 months go like that and then actually you know you have this whole balance on your account and you stressed out they are not giving you 0% because they like you, they hate you. Right, it's a trap. They know they about to get your ass. Yes, they know it, because most people do not pay things off. So understand, they're not doing that to help you out. They're not looking for your best interests, they are looking to get you because they don't make money off of people who pay off their debt, who pay off their credit cards. Right, I have credit cards, I pay them off in full. They're not making money off of me. They need you, they need you to not pay. So they're going to trap you. They're going to tell you that you have 0%. Then if you miss one day, you're interested in a 10%. You cannot miss any days. That's one gotcha, right.

49:58 - Nachi (Host)

The other one, I think in this, I got a lot of info, but I don't care.

50:01 - Crystal (Guest)

The high yield savings is a scam. Okay, and not a scam, as it's fake and it's like. You know. You do get the yield, but inflation is at 6%, allegedly Okay. When I look at my stuff we go on up every day it feels like, right, like everything's getting more expensive the minute I go to the store, right? So you know it's not really 6%, but let's just say it is to be conservative. Fine, if everything is going up by 6%, but your savings only going up by 3%. Quick, my five-year-old daughter is telling you that that's a problem, right? So a lot of people are telling me it's better than nothing. What if your man said oh, I'm the other one because she's better than nothing, excuse me?

50:41 - Nachi (Host)

Hmm.

50:43 - Crystal (Guest)

Excuse me, you would not like that, right? So have that same energy with your finances. You would not want them to pick you because it's better than nothing, and if you're in your high you'll see this is better than nothing. You really need to start thinking about money differently, because it's really nothing is happening in that savings. All it's doing is making you feel slightly better. But do you I mean, do you want one policy or two? I want none, right? So, like, we don't want to pick from the bottom of the barrel, the worst case. You want to kind of figure out how to get more competitive, which is why I said, like, that's not what I was talking about.

51:13

11%, I think, will definitely help me beat inflation. Right Like, 6% or 3% of the savings. No, I keep money in there because you know I want to take advantage of certain things. I'm not saying don't do it Right, like if you're somebody trying to save for a house, you don't want to take chance with that money. You want to make sure you're saving that and protect your principal. But if you're looking for, unfortunately, in our in, like this current economy that we are in, we have to step out into the risk curve. Okay, so believing things like keeping your money in the savings, trying to like, put money on your credit card and say I'm going to pay you off later those things are damaging you.

51:47

Okay, another I think it's not really a God ship or something to think about is you can still invest without investing in anything Right and like, and this is for people who have debt. So if you have a credit card and the credit card rate is 20%, if you keep that on there for a whole year, you're paying 20% more for whatever you bought. But if you're aggressive in paying that off, right, you're saving yourself 20%. That's an investment. You're getting a return. So don't think of investments only as oh, I got to go buy a stock. No, I have to get my net worth in check. Like that's an. Anything that's going to increase your net worth is making an investment. So don't think you have to get stuff. Oh my God, like FOMO, I'm missing out. No, if you have credit card debt you need there's nothing out here, and if you know it, let me know, but there's nothing out here paying you 17, 20, 30% interest, right, you're not getting that return. So that's like the best return you can get if you have a credit card.

52:40 - Nachi (Host)

Yeah, that's got a nice because I know a lot of people get caught up on that credit card.

52:47 - Damaris (Host)

Yes, yes, it's easy, it's easy. And especially if, again, you don't have the cash flow emergency fund or your your savings emergency fund, like, yeah, then you're caught up there and you're relying on these credit cards and they're the loan sharks.

53:03 - Crystal (Guest)

Yes, big, big time loan sharks. And then your hair, I guess, one more. I guess I'll throw in here just your hair. These things call it a woman, like we've been. We've ran through a whole bunch of different topics, right. So and that can be super discouraging Just pick one that sounds the most interesting with you and start with that right. Like so I would say, if you're, if you're in debt, don't even worry about investing right now. Try to get out of debt. Right, if you have no money saved up, try to worry about that. Like, just do one thing at a time. There's there's no right or wrong way to do things. Like you're going to feel good about yourself as long as you're making progress and you know, and you're in your own lane. So it doesn't really matter what steps you're going, like where you're at and like how old you are, just moving the right direction, because telling yourself you're too old to give up, you won't be even worse off, depending on social security, which ain't nothing.

53:49 - Nachi (Host)

Okay. You stress out, in the damn 55 plus community, and you're right it's all depending on where you are in life and just kind of building on, because I feel like the topics that we talked about actually build off of each other. So if budgeting is where you are, focus on that, like you said, or if you're past that, and you're ready to build wealth and start investing and look more into that. But yeah, it's about just being where you are and starting something.

54:19 - Damaris (Host)

Yeah, and I think it's and right. We may have talked about a lot of things, but they're all things that are important to be considering today in this climate and there's no best time to invest or build your wealth I won't even say invest, but it's like building your wealth than the present time, right.

54:40

So yesterday was yesterday that happened Didn't happen. You're here today. You need to decide what you want to do for yourself, and thank you, crystal, because I think they can be a part of this conversation. Obviously, you have the credibility, you have the chops, you know what you're talking about and I think it's so important to share this information for people to take this on and to help them figure out how to build wealth, and wealth can mean whatever it is. That's an individual thing about what your goals are for that, and hopefully it leads to financial freedom, if that is what you're looking to achieve.

55:17 - Nachi (Host)

So, with.

55:19 - Damaris (Host)

That said, we always like to close out with a reminder. There's always going to be noise out there, but our message is consistent Stop getting distracted by the smoke and mirrors and focus on what is important. Stop watching that CNN, that MSNBC, that Fox News and focus on what's important, which is you. Focus on what makes you happy, your purpose in life and whatever makes you vibrate higher. Keep your frequencies lifted and always. Thank you for listening.