Preparing Your Kids for Monetary Success: A Chat with Chad Willardson

Are you ready to arm your children with the crucial skill of financial literacy? Join us as we pick the brain of Chad Willardson, founder, and president of Pacific Capital and author of four books focused on finance and literacy. A parent of five, Chad's unique approach to teaching his children about money is both unconventional and inspiring. From opening bank accounts at a tender age to forgoing the traditional forms of allowance, Chad offers a fresh perspective on preparing children for financial success.

Our conversation quickly turns to the importance of instilling the concepts of cash flow, taxes, and the value of earning in children. We explore Chad’s interesting home economy model, designed to give kids an early start in financial skills. We also discuss his innovative company, Gravy Stack, which ingeniously combines banking with games, making financial education fun for kids. On a deeper level, we discuss how to balance wealth protection and generosity, a principle Chad strongly advocates for.

As we engage further, we delve into the crucial topic of legacy. How can we leave a legacy that outlasts us? How should we encourage our kids to embrace financial literacy? Chad not only shares his insights on these matters but also brings a personal touch with a powerful message from his grandmother about the role of relationships in legacy. We conclude by examining ways to translate financial literacy into real-life experiences for kids and the significance of leaving an enduring legacy. Join us on this enlightening journey as we unpack the keys to raising financially-competent children.

Download Gravy Stack App
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/gravystack-gamified-banking/id1635188175
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Buy Chad's Book
https://a.co/d/fFRQ6CQ

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Transcript

Cory Moore: 0:02

Welcome to Gentlemen Project Podcast. I'm Cory Moore.

Kirk Chugg: 0:05

And I'm Kirk Chugg. Today we have Chad Willardson with us on the podcast. He is the founder and president of Pacific Capital And he is a fiduciary wealth advisory firm founded in 2011. And after nine years of climbing the ranks as an investment advisor at Merrill Lynch, he started writing books and speaking. He just told me does about 150 podcasts and interviews a year. He is yeah, he manages a hundred 450 million dollar investment portfolio as a city treasure in his own community, and so he's got the public and the private, the service elected official portion of his life that he shares with everybody And he's written. Is it three books now, Chad? Well, fourth is on the way.

Chad Willardson: 0:53

Yes, sir, three books.

Kirk Chugg: 0:54

That's awesome. So all of that professionally, but Chad is passionate about kids as well, and that's why we asked him to be on the podcast. He's passionate about teaching kids to be smart, not spoiled, which is the topic of one of his books, and so we want to delve into that and talk to him a little bit about what he does to teach kids his own kids and other kids about financial literacy. Welcome to the podcast, chad, thank you.

Chad Willardson: 1:23

Yeah, thank you guys for having me. I appreciate it. It sounds like an exciting set of content that you guys have, and I'm sure it's a great group of listeners out there.

Cory Moore: 1:32

It is. So tell us a little bit about your family and the family makeup, like, how many kids do you have? that kind of thing.

Chad Willardson: 1:38

Yeah, so my wife and I married 22 years. We got married young college students, both from California here. I grew up in Southern California. I'm the oldest of four kids. My wife is a middle child of six and we landed on having five ourselves. So we've got five kids. Just dropped off our oldest at college. She's very excited. She's going to be playing division one basketball in the big 12th conference. We're a big sports family, So that's something that we're really excited about And that's super cool. Yeah, so five kids are youngest, turns eight in July And we've got three teenagers right now. So we're right in the midst of the storm.

Kirk Chugg: 2:22

We're all in similar family situations. It sounds like we've got either seniors or just graduated seniors and kids going off to college all three of us. So it seems like we've had a few of those lately on the podcast Corey, where we're in that launch phase.

Cory Moore: 2:38

Yes, we are in the launch phase. So, Chad, talk to us a little bit about financial literacy for our kids, and why was, why did that become important to you?

Chad Willardson: 2:48

Yeah. So to answer that question properly, I just got to give the context. You know, i've been in the wealth management industry for 22 years now And I would often get questions about how to. What should I do with my money? and kids, what should I pay for? Should I pay for their full college? Should I buy them a car or their first house? How do I get them involved in investing, and when do I start? And I just felt like, if I can't nail this and I don't know this myself and nobody does, because I'm the one who's the expert, the financial expert, and I'm getting all these questions and I've got to make sure I have all the right answers for this topic.

Chad Willardson: 3:23

So as my kids started growing older, i wanted to think differently about money management, and so I started by having them open their own bank accounts at age seven and eight, and I started trying to make them as independent thinking as possible. And so I never paid our kids an allowance And, like I said earlier, my oldest is almost 19, but our kids have never earned an allowance, and that's a little bit unique. I would think most people are used to just getting money because they survived another week of life as a kid, but. But I dove deep into this concept of teaching my kids to be financially savvy, to get investment experience at a young age and to learn about the basics that the schools just don't teach anymore or never have taught. And so that's what got me writing my second book, which is called Smart, not Spoiled, which is the seven money skills kids must master before leaving the nest. That book has practical tips, activities and ideas for parents and kids to engage in, regardless of whether the kids four years old or 24 years old. I think there's a lot of useful stuff in there That got me into becoming a co founder of what I believe might be the biggest thing on my future resume, which is the company called Grady Stack, which is a bank in a game all in one for kids.

Chad Willardson: 4:52

We've got we started at 28 months ago. It officially launches this month to the world. The app just got approved on the Apple store. We've invested about $10 million in it and we've got 50 employees and it's we started a bank, there's debit card for kids, but it's really the financial game where kids are going to learn and earn and have fun at the same time, rather than, hey, let's go to Chase Bank or Wells Fargo Bank and sign you up and get you a debit card And then when you need to spend money, you know I'll put money in your account, which teaches the kids nothing, but that's, i think, the most traditional approach that we're used to So kind of a long winded answer, corey, but that's passionate about teaching kids to be financially competent and ready to succeed. Because I think we just throw them out there at age 18, and expect them to figure stuff out And we're not. We're not doing anyone a favor by sending them out there unprepared.

Kirk Chugg: 5:51

Yeah, i spent a good portion of my early professional career in financial services because, putting myself through college, i answered phones at a credit union and I saw the stupid mistakes that people made with their money and bounce check after bounce check after bounce checked and all of these fees and there's like no financial literacy education whatsoever. So actually went into financial services for about eight years and that was really eye-opening to me to see that most of the things that we just assume our kids are going to grasp because they're going to see us having used our debit card or our credit card to pay for dinner, pay for gas.

Kirk Chugg: 6:34

That somehow teaches them this financial literacy about when you just turn a certain age, then you get to use all of these things as well.

Kirk Chugg: 6:45

It's been kind of interesting to see how we as a society have taken on really like this apathy towards teaching our kids about money.

Kirk Chugg: 6:55

We did something similar with our kids when they turned eight. We went and opened bank accounts for them and they all have their own separate student savings accounts and things like that. But my oldest now. We started to help her build some credit and she did like a share savings loan where she pledged some of her own money and paid it back with interest and just trying to build some credit as she's because I know how valuable that's been for me in my life to have a credit score. There's a lot of kids that they get to be in their 20s and they don't have a credit score and they go to finance their first car or qualify for a mortgage when they get married and they've just got no credit score, no experience whatsoever. What are some of the things that you teach in your book or with your new app Cravey Stack, to get parents more involved with this process of teaching our kids about credit and the financial system that we live in.

Chad Willardson: 8:01

So Smart, Not spoiled. The book focuses on those seven key principles. I'll just read the chapter titles real quickly, invest early and often Borrow wisely. So that's what we talk a lot about different types of debt, how you can borrow for what you know some people there's Dave Ramsey that says you should have no debt. There's Grant Cardone out there who says you should leverage to the hill for growth, and so we present both sides and just talk about what's productive debt, what's unproductive debt and credit scores and things like that.

Chad Willardson: 8:32

Number three is know your cash flow. Number four is talking taxes. I think it's a disservice to never discuss what taxes are. The taxes are your number one expense in your budget. It's not your rent, not your mortgage, it's taxes. Number five we talk about learn to earn. I think teaching kids how to be valuable. Our company wrote a book called Value Creation Kid. My co-founder, scott Donald, co-founder in Gravy Stack, wrote that with Lee Benson and other investor of ours, talking about how to teach kids to be financially valuable out there and learn to earn money by doing things that they're good at and they have fun at.

Kirk Chugg: 9:11

Number six. This is amazing, because I just got this book in the mail. Oh, you did. Somebody sent me Randy Garn just sent me that, Oh yeah.

Chad Willardson: 9:19

Randy's a friend of mine. Yeah, Randy's a friend of mine.

Kirk Chugg: 9:22

That's cool. He's the episode right before you. Oh, that's funny. I barely got that book in the mail from Randy, so that's awesome.

Chad Willardson: 9:30

Randy needs to be sending out my books. I'm going to text them after we're done All right number six protect who and what you care about.

Chad Willardson: 9:36

And number seven give generously. So we talk about charitable giving and just having an abundance mindset. So the book I wrote basically became the blueprint for creating the technology that is Gravy Stack. Gravy Stack is going to be a deep, deep dive into financial and life skills that parents can set up their home economy, talk about what's expected of their kids and what's extra pay of their kids, how they can earn more money above and beyond to do whatever they need to do to pay for their own expenses and build those financial skill sets. So the easy book audio book I would say smart, not spoiled and value creation kit are two great books for parents and teenagers to grasp. Like, my teenagers listen to the audio book and they liked it. It's consumable, it's not technical. It's very easy to read The Gravy Stack if your kids are ages six to 18. I believe that this company is going to be big.

Chad Willardson: 10:45

The biggest competitor in the space is a mogul. It's Greenlight Financial. They've done an amazing job of getting debit cards for kids and automating allowance. I think where they miss the boat is that kids are not excited to log in to Greenlight. Kids are not learning, they're just spending. They're learning how to spend money and use their debit card, but we have a game that has missions and levels and it's like a whole gaming team that has created fun, interactive ways for them to compete against themselves and each other And, while they're doing it, learn financial principles.

Chad Willardson: 11:26

So different different topics and levels on real estate or on stock market and investing, or on borrowing money or on budget savings. There's just a subscription hunt where kids can go in and like, actually cancel subscriptions that their family is not using, save a bunch of money. We just had a family report that they saved Their kids saved and their nine year old saved their family over $500 in annual subscription wasted fees And they got to keep. I don't remember what it was, but maybe 15 to 20 percent of that. So like that's motivating and it teaches kids to be resourceful And I'm really excited about what's happening at Gravy Stack. That's awesome.

Cory Moore: 12:08

I can't wait to get my hands on it. So how are we getting our hands? Can you just download it once it's available on the app store?

Chad Willardson: 12:14

So it's available as of I don't even know what day is it today, tuesday. It's available as of yesterday on the app store. So Gravy Stackcom is the website, but Gravy Stack in the app store is where you can download it.

Cory Moore: 12:28

So that's so exciting. Congratulations, by the way. When you've raised that much money, you have that many employees. That means you've been at it for a while.

Chad Willardson: 12:36

Yeah, we get to this point, put a lot into this, so I'm excited. Good for you.

Kirk Chugg: 12:41

What are some of the things that you learned from people in your life as it relates to financial literacy, like, who taught you about financial literacy in your life and how do they do it?

Chad Willardson: 12:54

I was very much self taught And I feel like it was mostly post college. When I started in the financial industry. My parents were, they did fine And they were pretty frugal My mom definitely. I just remember her like balancing the checkbook, writing the checks and writing stuff down at the grocery store, having tons of coupons, talking about being charitable and giving, but my parents were not really investors and not entrepreneurs, and so that all that stuff I had to really learn on my own. So I think it was just really from reading and learning by doing and making mistakes and just asking lots of questions from anyone I thought was successful Until eventually I felt like I gained some sense of expertise that I could begin teaching others. Sometimes we have to be self taught, right? Yeah, hopefully, hopefully our kids have us as a resource.

Kirk Chugg: 13:54

You know, moving forward With some of these tools and the things they're. They're technology natives, And so I think you're going about it the right way, kind of getting an app into their hands. That's the way they learn, It's where they, it's where they spend a lot of their time. So, Yeah, I'll say this.

Chad Willardson: 14:11

One more thing, Kirk, on that is that I believe we believe that banks need to change, That parents need a roadmap and that kids need to be able to do that. Parents need a roadmap and that kids learn by doing, and they learn by when they're having fun, And so those are kind of the three pillars of what we believe in at Gravy Stack. So, like banks are old and stodgy and traditional and they're not really. I mean, like when I opened the Chase account for my kids, they gave me a packet of like 20 pages stapled in a folder with their business card, And I'm like you want me to give this to, like my nine year old. Like this is not going to. This is going straight in the trash. There's nothing they're learning from this. There's no. So I don't feel like the kids are learning from the big institutions, whether it's schools or banks.

Chad Willardson: 15:04

And we're trying to. We're trying to bring something to where the kids are, asking the parents hey, I want to do more, I want to learn more. Get me on this Gravy Stack app. I'm doing, I'm playing games, Let's you know, let's talk about this or that, because for them to progress in the game, they have to do real life stuff. So we're not trying to get them stuck on the screen. We're trying to get them doing stuff in the real world and being rewarded. So it's it's. It's a different approach than the banks are taking.

Cory Moore: 15:33

Talk a little more about I think it was your first chapter invest early. I think that's a big thing that most parents don't teach their kids, and if kids did that early, even in minor ways, it can make this huge difference in their life. It's just that they don't know, they don't learn that until they're in their 30s or 40s, right, and so talk a little bit about what that means and ways that kids can go about it.

Chad Willardson: 15:57

I like to see kids make mistakes while investing and at heartbreak while investing small amounts instead of when they're 50 or 60 with big amounts. My own kids we have them save and invest and donate and spend. Like you know, it's a three-jar principle that everyone's familiar with, but I think having them do more than putting money in a savings account, have them go to Vanguard or Fidelity or Schwalb or something and open an account and let them invest. Let them invest in something they're interested in, if they like Apple products or Google or Amazon or something like that. Let them invest a little bit of money, get them experience. If you're an entrepreneur, you can get your kids on payroll and have them earn some money tax-free and have them put money in a Roth IRA and get experience investing. The sooner you start compounding money that you're putting away, the more time it will have to grow into something significant, like you said, corey. So I believe teaching them to invest early and often is not just an opportunity. It's kind of our duty. Technology is different now. We couldn't do this when we were kids, so let's get them familiar with what the investment world is like. Teach them about different things.

Chad Willardson: 17:22

I have a significant real estate portfolio and I've taken my kids and flown them to different places and said we're going to walk through the properties and talk about the numbers.

Chad Willardson: 17:34

Sometimes they're bored, but there are times when they light up and I'm like I'm going to show you how I bought this $3 million apartment complex and I didn't put any of my own money into it. I'm going to explain to you that I had to convince this bank of this and this bank of this and this seller of this and put the whole deal together and here's how much money I'm making every month from it. And then they're like oh, that's interesting. So eventually the light bulb goes off. I think it's on us to really try to create real life experiences where kids can invest and learn and get involved, instead of making money, such a taboo subject where we're just not talking about it. So the kids grew up not knowing or thinking maybe money is a scary topic, it's intimidating, or when we talk about money, mom and dad fight. So I think we've got to change the way we approach it.

Kirk Chugg: 18:24

Chad. we talked about values a lot on the podcast and I think it was chapter four or five. you said give generously Chapter seven, yeah, chapter seven. Talk to us about the values that come with that. How do you go about teaching generosity and charity to kids when it relates to the values you have in your home and the money that you make?

Chad Willardson: 18:55

I think creating a culture of generosity is something that motivates me to be successful, teaching my kids that people are more important than money. A lot of the movies, even Disney movies and movie characters that are wealthy, they're always seen as the bad guy, and I'm very cognizant and aware that our kids are blessed beyond their needs And so I want them. I probably overdo it in this area because I'm concerned that they might grow up having spoiled attitudes or being entitled. When we go on vacation, we always try to set aside some time to do service wherever we are, and so we were in the Caribbean and my wife found like an orphanage, that we were going to do a few hours of service there and hang with the kids.

Chad Willardson: 19:49

So as a second day of the vacation, we paid a lot of money for this taxi ride that turned out to be way farther than we thought And the taxi driver was so confused because we're leaving this nice resort on vacation to go to this orphanage And we spent hours there, had lunch with the kids and our kids made friends there and it was cool And we went home And that was day two of our spring break. On the last day of the trip we'd done all the excursions we wanted to do already. We had spent time at the resort and my wife and I asked the kids like, what do you want to do for the last day? And they said I want to go back to the orphanage. No-transcript.

Chad Willardson: 20:30

And that's when I was like, okay, this is landing the way we're trying to make it land. They didn't want to go more water slides or go on more fun excursions. They were like we want to go hang with those kids that we made friendships with. So I think if you're intentional about it and you give your kids experiences to serve, it's not about just writing a check and donating and telling your kids what you're donating to. It's like giving them experiences where they get their hands dirty or when they're like doing actual service And you just make that part of who you are. So our kids know that we're givers and they're looking for opportunities to be givers And I think that's really important.

Cory Moore: 21:12

Love that story. Thanks for sharing that with us. That's inspiring. I love it. I love that your kids wanted to go back to the orphanage. I think most kids would actually. Once they've experienced both and they're actually feeling this sense of giving, of getting to know the kids, of feeling you know something bigger than themselves, they're going to walk towards that right.

Chad Willardson: 21:36

I agree, that's super cool.

Cory Moore: 21:40

So at one moment you were having your clients ask you hey, should I buy them a house? Should I pay for their college? Should I pay for a car, should I not? And there's probably no exact, perfect, black and white answer. Maybe you have one, but what are your advice as those kind of come along right. So you've got an allowance and then you've got that usually comes into play at some point that you may or may not believe in as a parent. And then you've got typically some kind of toy, maybe it's a you know scooter, a bike, whatever. then it's going to become a car and then it's going to become college And it's going to become down payment on a house. and where does a parent draw the line or not draw a line? And maybe maybe you have some thoughts on how to go about that.

Chad Willardson: 22:23

Great question. My, my feeling is well, i'll tell a quick story. This weekend My son had a volleyball tournament in downtown LA at the convention center, and so we were staying there and it was Saturday night, all the volleyball games were done, so we decided to go bowling and we went out to eat and we went bowling down there And I got in trouble with my wife because I I refused to put up the bumper lanes for my youngest two kids And I said I was like it's against my nature. Like when are you going to learn to try to bowl straight? Like how long? when do we decide that the bumper lanes go off? I'd rather just teach you to be a good bowler than to to like let you just bounce it off the sides of the lanes.

Chad Willardson: 23:08

It was kind of a contentious moment for the family, but I thought about that And I was like that's kind of like how I look at the financial assistance thing is like at what point do I want to take the pacifier out and teach you to be financially successful? And my answer is right away. So we don't pay for our kids to have to have birthday presents for their friends. Our kids have to earn their money to do that. I overpay my kids for the extra work they do. I pay them more than they would typically earn, but it's because I want them to be rewarded for their efforts and they want us. I want them to associate personal effort with rewards and success. So, you know, one of my daughters wanted to go on this service trip to Africa. That's three weeks. And I was like that's great. It's 5500 bucks. So how the heck are you going to earn that in four months? And she was like well, i don't know, that's a lot of money. And I was like I know, and if you're making 14 bucks an hour, like you're not going to get there. So I said, if you come up with a way to earn money faster, i'll help support you in creating whatever that is. And she's a basketball player. So she was like, well, what if I start offering trainings and charge per kid or per hour, like 20 to 30 bucks, and I could train three or four kids at a time? And she's like, can you help me make a flyer for that, like a digital flyer? I said, yeah, i'll do that. And she was in. she ended up making like 160 bucks an hour for a few hours every Saturday morning and every holiday between December and March And she raised. She earned the 5500 bucks, you know. And how much easier would it have been for me just to give her the money or pay it on my card. It would have been real easy. But she would have missed out on that learning experience.

Chad Willardson: 25:05

And so my middle son. He loves animals. We don't have any animals We got five kids, so we don't have pets but he loves to walk dogs. So, like he created a dog walking business. So he went door to door to the neighbors, people who have pets. He's like Hey, if you're busy, i'll walk your dog for 20 bucks for half an hour. I'll get to know him, i'll feed him and whatever. And so that's how he makes his own money. Our oldest son has a curb painting business. He's kind of over that now He's 16. So he's starting his own drop shipping business e-commerce that he learned about on YouTube on his own.

Chad Willardson: 25:40

Our fourth child is nine. She does the trash cans for the elderly neighbors in the neighborhood. She only gets paid like a dollar a trash can, but I make her do the invoices and go around with her little invoice book and get paid her I don't know 10 bucks a month from each family. So I want to support them earning their own money from the beginning. I don't want to pay for all their stuff. And then they're 21 and it's like All right, you get nothing from me now, good luck, like, because then I'm just pushing them off the cliff. So I know not everyone will agree with that and not everyone maybe feels okay with that, but that's the way I've approached it.

Chad Willardson: 26:18

We had a client here recently, you know one. The husband was like I'm not paying for any college for my kids. No one paid for me. I worked and earned it myself. And the wife was just like Are you crazy? Like my parents paid for all four years plus a master's degree. We're absolutely paying for it And we have way more money than my parents did. And he's like I'm not paying a dime. So here we were sitting in this meeting and they're like totally disagreeing right in front of us And in the end I think the compromise they came to was like he said Okay, we'll pay for their freshman year fully And we'll give them some support their sophomore year, and then by then they've got to figure it out and pay for the last two years.

Chad Willardson: 26:59

And she was okay with that. So there's not a one size fits all and maybe some kids are totally different situations than the other kids. But my philosophy is how soon do you want to take the training wheels off the bike? I don't want my adult kids riding around on training wheels. It's not good for them and it makes me look real stupid.

Kirk Chugg: 27:23

You deal with like eight and nine figure entrepreneurs, right? Yep, so they always have these kids. by that point, they probably have adult children.

Chad Willardson: 27:33

Sometimes Yeah, not always Yeah.

Kirk Chugg: 27:35

Sometimes. But if they do, what's the dynamic there and what coaching and counseling do you give them? if they have maybe neglected to do all the things that we hear you doing at home with your kids from the early age, they do have spoiled and entitled adult children that expect a piece of mom and dad's pie.

Chad Willardson: 27:58

How do you coach that? They'll often have us meet with or talk with their adult children. Some of them were raised with those values and so they're like really into investing and they're super humble. And others, i can tell, are just spoiled rats, like hoping their parents will someday pass away and they can get everything. So it's tough. Luckily a lot of our clients are under 50 years old and they've got 10 to 200 billion invested with us And so they have the chance to still create that foundation for their kids.

Chad Willardson: 28:33

But it's interesting, some people, some clients, tell us they really wanna produce a legacy for their next generations, like multi-generational legacy. And I have some clients that say literally like I want my kids to get nothing, i don't wanna ruin them. And it's a little harsh on my opinion because I'm like I have one client who's net worth is probably 350 million and he's got lots of kids and he's like I don't want them to get a penny. And I'm like that's kind of extreme, like if they don't get anything you might be doing more harm than if they got something. But I had one client say if I was about to die and all I had left was a quarter, i would swallow the quarter I was like this guy was old school, but everyone's different, everyone's different. I just wanna equip my kids to be successful adults and not be dependent on me or anyone else, and so, as much as we can, promote those principles we really strive to, regardless of how old the clients kids are.

Cory Moore: 29:39

Do you have any clients that do an?

Chad Willardson: 29:40

if, then I've seen that, yeah, we're like they have. Well, i have a client who's got like a trust that has it's almost like an entrepreneurial trust And so if one of their adult children or grandchildren starts a business that he's got parameters of how much he'll co-invest in the business. They value education So it's like if they get a degree or this degree, we're gonna set aside this much money to give to them. So, yes, some of them do have strings attached and there's pros and cons to that. I'm not against it. I mean it's their money. But if you're overly controlling from the grave it's kind of messy. But I can also see how it's better than just dumping millions of dollars on an unprepared kid.

Cory Moore: 30:28

Yeah Yeah, i've had some interesting friends that have done some. if then stuff that's kind of fun Mostly at say I'll invest. If I like the business plan, i'm gonna give. I'm never giving you a dime, but this is why they're alive, obviously, but you send me a business plan and I'll be one of the investors. You know that's, i'll be your first investor. I kind of like that, that's cool.

Chad Willardson: 30:52

That's how it's done anyway. Yeah, that's cool, i like that.

Kirk Chugg: 30:57

Chad, you talked a little bit about this. One client that says that they wanna leave a legacy and I think that's a common wish from a lot of people is that they want to leave something that outlasts them Right And so leave money aside. What does that mean to you? What do you hope your legacy is to your children?

Chad Willardson: 31:19

I hope the legacy I leave is the same that my grandparents left for me, which is valuing relationships and people above all else. You know my grandparents were really successful in business and finance. They were very, they did very well. And none of that financial stuff will ever get to me. But what I do remember, like I remember I was six years old and I was at my grandparents. They had a really cool beach house in Balboa, newport Beach area And she had just got it furnished and it was beautiful white couches and it's just really cool beach house.

Chad Willardson: 32:01

And I don't remember what the drink was, but I spilled a red fruit punch literally all over the couch and I was not supposed to be drinking in that family room. I was a young kid And I distinctly remember like going on the corner and just crying because I was busted, i was gonna get in trouble with all the aunts and uncles and my parents and my grandparents And like my grandma came over, put her hand on my back and seemed like it didn't matter at all, like she was so kind about it And she was like it's okay, it's not a big deal. She's like. You know, chad, money is. People are more important than things. That's what she said. People are more important than things. I was like, wow, i told that story a hundred times. I'll never forget it Cause I was six or seven years old and I was terrified. So I think that's the legacy I'd love to pass on to my kids, and I feel like so far it's they embody that and I hope they will continue to.

Cory Moore: 33:13

So go through the chapters again for me. I'm ordering this book as soon as I hang up, unless you send it to me.

Chad Willardson: 33:23

Come on, randy. Invest early and often. Borrow wisely. Know your cash flow, talking taxes, learn to earn, protect who and what you care about and give generously.

Cory Moore: 33:36

Okay, is the protect one similar to what we were just discussing?

Chad Willardson: 33:43

Protect is really talking. It's teaching kids all about different types of insurances and what they're for Car insurance, home insurance, auto insurance, life insurance, just everything, everything of how to. so they don't wake up and they're like you know, they're 18 years old and they have no idea about anything in regards to insurance, which I feel like most kids have no clue.

Cory Moore: 34:04

I was going to say my mom and dad did a pretty good job, but yeah, that was not one of the things they covered. Yeah, everyone that's listening should buy this book because it gets like this you know, check the box, get out of jail free card. If you can walk this through this book with your kids a couple of times, and at least you would have given them something Right.

Chad Willardson: 34:23

I incentivize my kids to read books like this one. So if, when I find a good book that I think is useful for kids, i'll pay them and say, if you read this, you give me a little verbal presentation or you do a video presentation on what you learned or you type it up Like I'm going to pay you for that. So there's a little extra incentive behind it.

Cory Moore: 34:45

That's you and I are common there. That's one of the ways my kids can earn money. To pay for stuff is I say if you read a book that I prescribe, yes, and you do a book report on it and go over with me, then I'll give you X amount of dollars. You know which I'll pay By?

Chad Willardson: 35:01

the way that's a key feature in the book And the gravy stack app is you can create brain. We call them brain gigs. So like Hey, here's a prayer you video, answer a few questions or write a few things And here's how much you get paid once you complete this task. Like you can, you can send articles, books, videos for your kids and just set it up there, set a price and any of your kids can choose to do whatever they want. So it's kind of cool.

Kirk Chugg: 35:27

I love that And I just I think that this idea about purposely teaching our kids about finance and money and having them have that literacy as they go into adulthood is so important because if you look at some of the familial strife that happens oftentimes in marriages and families that tear them apart, it's about money And so, yeah, we're talking about money, but we're also talking about relationships and keeping relationships.

Chad Willardson: 36:00

It's the number one cause of divorce, above infidelity.

Kirk Chugg: 36:06

Wow. So this, this topic, i think, is very important for our listeners and for all of us to realize it's not something that you can neglect and hope your kids get by osmosis. So, chad, thank you for for joining us, and now we all know that we've got an app that we need to download a book we need to read, and then they can follow you, too, on LinkedIn, and you've got a very active LinkedIn page, kind of stay up to date with with him, and then his website is Pacificcapitalcom, if you'd like to to get in touch with Chad as well. So, thank you, chad.

Chad Willardson: 36:50

My pleasure.

Cory Moore: 36:51

Yeah, thanks for giving the world all these tools. I was thinking when you were saying that I should walk through that book with my wife, with my kids, because we'll be thinking together, right, be thinking the same way and be having some of those conversations that might mess up a marriage. They're going to come out early, right, or at least now versus later, so actually kind of a cool idea to do it as a family.

Chad Willardson: 37:15

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention once you're done listening to Corey and Kirk's podcast, pop over and listen to one of my episodes on the smart money parenting show, nice.

Cory Moore: 37:28

I'm going to have to listen to that too.

Chad Willardson: 37:31

They're short, bite-sized episodes. We don't typically have guests, it's usually just me and the other gravy stat co-founder talking about very specific principles for parents, especially focused on financial literacy stuff. So 15 to 20 minute episodes. But I think if the listeners liked what I had to share today, that they would probably enjoy some of those episodes. Sweet.

Kirk Chugg: 37:57

Yeah, hop over there and give that a listen and do. Will you say it one more time for our listeners? Sure, the smart money.

Chad Willardson: 38:04

parenting show Okay.

Kirk Chugg: 38:07

All right, everybody, you've got your marching orders.

Chad Willardson: 38:10

That's the homework, but useful.

Kirk Chugg: 38:13

Yeah And good stuff. Well, chad. at the end of every episode of the gentlemen project podcast, we talk to our guests about what they think it means to be a gentleman. Would you give us your definition of what you think that means?

Chad Willardson: 38:28

A gentleman. To be a gentleman, i think it means to have integrity of character at all times and all places, no matter who's there, who's not there, to treat people with respect and to leave everything better than you found it. I think too often there are success gurus that are very different in public and in private, and their social media is not really who they are. I think a gentleman is the same wherever they are. They've got integrity and character and they are the real deal.

Cory Moore: 39:05

That was a great answer, by the way, especially someone off the cuff. Very good job You've obviously done that before I know. I could tell it was off the cuff, but that was perfect. Thanks for joining us. Really really appreciate it. Great knowledge, great things for our listeners to go do after the podcast to improve their lives. So thanks for being with us, Chad, That would mean a lot.

Kirk Chugg: 39:26

My pleasure, Thank you guys, thanks for joining us everybody, i'm Kirk Chugg.

Cory Moore: 39:30

And I'm Cory Moore. Go get some financial literacy and download that app. Everyone. Talk to you soon.