Mastering Personal Finances: Lessons from a Banking Industry Insider- Manal Keen

On this episode of Life Beats with Sirisha, we dive into personal finances and the finance industry with guest Manal Keen. As a woman in the banking industry, Manal shares her experience navigating the demanding industry and the importance of networking, having a sponsor, and understanding boundaries. We discuss the taboo of discussing finances with others, especially children, and the future of banking technology. Manal offers valuable advice on investing and recommends starting small with index funds. We explore the different avenues in the finance industry and the certifications available to transition into the field. Ultimately, understanding your finances is critical for better decision-making and taking risks.  Manal is a finance professor at the University of North Texas, author, and host of the upcoming podcast, Power Up with Manal. She emphasizes the importance of mindset and the foundation it provides for personal finances and being a business owner. Don't miss this insightful episode on mastering your money.

Manal Keen spent 16 years in the banking industry before deciding to venture out and follow her passions. During her time in the financial services industry, she ran strategy and finance for a variety of areas, including mortgage banking, treasury, and wholesale payments.  Now, Manal is pursuing new experiences and opportunities outside of the banking world.

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I'm a former tech executive, a podcast host and an entrepreneur. I work with Universities on Organizations to transition students to the corporate world and building successful leadership pipelines ensuring a healthy financial future.

If you're interested in coordinating or working with me on keynotes, workshops, or on a one on one basis, you can go to my website www.sirishakuchimanchi.com

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Transcript

Sirisha Kuchimanchi [00:00:01]:

Hello everyone and welcome to Life beats with Sirisha on Radio Caravan One, 4.1 FM and 700 a. M. This is your host, Sirisha Kuchimanchi. I'm a working mom, a former tech exec and a podcast host. I host the podcast Women, Career and Life where I share stories and practical advice for you to achieve your career and life goals. I talk at about how you can advocate for yourself, how to get on a VCN board and various other topics. So don't forget to check it out on any of your favorite podcast platforms. It was in the top 30% of Spotify podcasts last year. If you have been following the show, this is the second of one where I'm having a guest and I'm very happy to have Manal Keane here today joining us. Manal and I have connected because we are both podcasters and she is venturing out on her own. But today's topic is Mastering Your Money and we talk about the finance industry and what we can do in our own personal finances. She is in the banking industry. She's got a ton of experience working on strategy and finance and in various roles which has given her broad experience as a Chief of Staff. So Manal, thanks for being here. Why don't you introduce yourself?

Manak Keen [00:01:16]:

Yes, thank you so much for the introduction. I'm so happy to be here. So Sarisha and I met by chance at a podcast conference and now we are here doing an interview together. So it's so nice to have connected a little bit about my background. I spent about 16 years in the banking industry running strategy and finance across multiple industries mortgage banking, treasury, wholesale payments. After having a robust career in financial services, I sort of decided I wanted to venture out and maybe experience things that I had not done prior and also follow a bit of my passions. Is it working?

Sirisha Kuchimanchi [00:02:01]:

Yeah, that's what I'm wondering. Can everyone hear us on the radio station?

Sirisha Kuchimanchi [00:02:11]:

Yeah, just give us 1 second as.

Sirisha Kuchimanchi [00:02:13]:

We try and figure out why it doesn't sound like we can hear her.

Sirisha Kuchimanchi [00:02:18]:

So, as we are talking about it.

Sirisha Kuchimanchi [00:02:24]:

Manal, let's have a chat. You were saying that you are from the banking industry, so why don't you go ahead?

Manak Keen [00:02:31]:

Yeah.

Sirisha Kuchimanchi [00:02:31]:

Thanks, Theresa.

Manak Keen [00:02:32]:

I guess we're having some technical difficulties. So after spending about 1617 years in the banking industry running strategy across multiple industries, I really wanted to do things that we as women, just generally individuals crossing certain barriers in our life should do, which is following our passions. I knew that I wanted to make some sort of impact to society and individuals and young professionals. So I decided to venture out. And I teach at the University of North Texas. I teach finance there. I'm part of a few outreach programs. While I was running strategy, very drastic and scary numbers came to my eyes that minorities and females in North America only manage about 1.3% of assets under management. Yeah, very low number. So I'm part of a few outreach programs and I'm on a board at the University of North Texas helping build different internship programs and opportunities for international students and females. And now I've gone rogue. Now that I've taken the first step into Passion World, I'm writing a few books about leadership. I have a strong passion about young professionals, young adults, and developing the foundation for becoming executives and leaders in the future. So more to come on that. I am running a podcast which is built on mindset and mental fitness and who knows? The path has opened up now.

Sirisha Kuchimanchi [00:04:07]:

Yeah.

Sirisha Kuchimanchi [00:04:08]:

And as you can see on this.

Sirisha Kuchimanchi [00:04:09]:

Show, we have various people join us talking about their own experiences. And it hopefully gives you an idea of what all we have opportunities to explore.

Sirisha Kuchimanchi [00:04:16]:

That's kind of what I want to.

Sirisha Kuchimanchi [00:04:18]:

Use this radio talk show for is to really show what avenues are out there. Because for me, I'm a first generation immigrant here, so I know certain aspects of everything that exists, but not all of it. So if it helps for us to know what's going on as well. So as we talk about it, one of the things see, I'm not much familiar with the banking industry other than what I hear.

Manak Keen [00:04:39]:

Right.

Sirisha Kuchimanchi [00:04:40]:

There's always a lot of changes as the industry is going through change. But for someone who's working in it, what does life look like? And I completely understand that it's your personal experience. It depends on what role you are, which industry or what you're doing. But what is that cadence? I always think there's a cyclical thing for any financial cycle. And do they really work 14, 16 hours? What is that?

Manak Keen [00:05:00]:

Yeah, I think it's all relative. Like you said, everybody's journey is their journey. Right. But within the banking industry, there are many avenues and routes that individuals can take. Is it high demand? Yes. Does it require a lot of rigor and sweat equity? Yes. Is it fulfilling? I think from many aspects I didn't realize the value of having a true upbringing and career growth in banking, how much value it had once I left it. And then you realize, wow, most businesses, small and mid size, don't have financial discipline and rigor like they should. Right. And that's when I became the teacher, the coach or the teacher and helping other small businesses. But yes, industry is quite demanding. I do feel that we maybe also a little culturally, if we bring in a little bit of maybe cultural nuances as women, we were raised and everybody's journey is individual, but predominantly raised to be safe and nurturing and hardworking. Right. Well, I learned very quickly all those qualities, as good as they are, they don't get you promoted. And so I had to learn the value of networking, having a sponsor, understanding boundaries, and how to say, see, I had a lot of 1617 hours days, but that's also, I would say, a bit self inflicted because I thought in order to fit in, I had to be that. And I also assumed that me raising my hand and saying I need help was a taboo, which I do think there's a little bit of maybe, like I said on the eastern hemisphere of the world, a few cultural barriers that we need to loop out of. And I know you probably face this yourself in engineering and as a woman, but I think I had to learn really hard that it's okay to say no, it's okay to put boundaries being my feminine, I guess, embodying my feminine being and understanding what my leadership style meant more than trying to replicate what was accepted as a norm in that industry. So I think with sort of the right mindset and continuously evolving and learning I turned those 16 hours days to be integrated into my life and not so I would say stressful when I learned how to really embody other characteristics.

Sirisha Kuchimanchi [00:07:42]:

That's true. I think it gives us different perceptions and by the way we'll open up the phone line so you guys can call in. The number is 2148-1733 so do call in if you have questions on how it is in the finance world talking about personal finances or maybe you worked in that industry and have a different perspective and we'd love to hear what you're thinking because this I think gives everyone the opportunity to hear diverse voices and diverse experiences. More importantly I think the interaction for most of us right even growing up banking was when I went with my parents to the bank deposit a check and stuff. Of course, now everything is online. And I had an interesting conversation this weekend, actually, when I was attending some meetup for Asian creators. And one of the creators who speak in that space, she was talking about how discussing salaries with each other, which is not something we tend to do often. And also, the other aspect of it was the conversation we have with our own children about finances and stuff, the upbringing and everything, right? This is not specific to any Asian culture or any culture in specific. I think it's just generally it's always been sort of a taboo subject for most of us so we hesitate to bring it up with our kids though I've had a lot more conversations with them now as I've made a career transition. For those of you who might be listening and may not know where I keep referring to myself as a former tech executive, you saw that transition is I quit my corporate job about a month ago, and I'm going through my podcasting and this radio talk show and trying to figure out some things and I think trying to figure out your life. Yes, true in a lot of ways and the finances are a backbone of the discussion and the decision making. And the reason I say that is I think a lot of those steps I would be very hard pressed to take if I didn't have some idea of what my kind of what I call my numbers look like and whether I was willing to take the risk. Because I think that this conversation is not just about women and finances. I think it's about everybody in the ecosystem. And I know that we may not all have the opportunity, the luxury of time or the bandwidth and so many things, but in any way what we can do to manage it. So I wanted to walk through you briefly touched on your finance industry experience. And there are so many aspects to it, and I think for anyone getting into it, sort of what background do they need, like what sort of degree programs, let's get there and then we'll jump into what you did in your own personal finances.

Manak Keen [00:10:13]:

Sure. So going into banking and going into finance, I think understanding the path you want to take because at the end of the day, it is, and especially nowadays, the future of banking and finance is heavily technology driven, right? And it also runs as a business, like most businesses do. And so you have to really decide, are you doing true finance, which is managing PNLs and cash flows and analysis and trending, et cetera, which then you would take like a financial analyst route, try to get into an internship program and grow your career. Are you into technology and you want to make impacts in the fintech world? Then you're blending. Right? You should probably blend your technology degrees with some sort of financial acumen or management or so forth. Certification. Right. Understanding the business helps you understand how to better automate and build the future of banking and finance. And then, just like any other corporation, which I find it really interesting that most people or my students get surprised when I'm like and then there's marketing, there's operations, there's back end, there's front end, there's client facing. And so you take your I think this is the biggest thing most individuals, they fear or just banking or industries that are heavy in mathematics or whatever, a lot of people shun away from, because it's not flashy and it's not like the Bollywood movie of all the industries, right? It's plain, it's boring, it's not exciting. But that's what I tell people. If your desires to go into bank, there are so many avenues you can take. It's not just finance. Then of course, if you're interested in investing in the future of investing personal finances, you can go into wealth management, financial planning. Right. I tell my students, if there are students listening or individuals that are trying to go into that space, even as adults, you have to have a series of licenses, just like accountants of CPAs, et cetera. You can now actually take your SIE, which back in the day used to be your Series Seven. It was part of it. Now you can take it without sponsorship, without a company. So you can get your foot in the door, put that on your resume. I tell my students to take it in college because now you're learning what financial securities are, what the financial markets are. It's really like Finance 101 from investing perspective, but it's more vocabulary and regulations that will get your foot in the door, I'm telling you. Especially if you have kids out there that are going in the industry, have them take the exam and put it on their resume before they get in. It's going to be a big game changer.

Sirisha Kuchimanchi [00:12:57]:

I think that's a very good insight because I think two things that as you were talking, that I was sort of resonating with me is what are the backgrounds, like you said. And there's the PNL aspect and fintech. When you talk about fintech, when you look at all the startups going on right there's, of course the tech startups, but there's a humongous fintech industry growing not just in the US. But everywhere and all of it. And the other part of it is when you're talking about this whole personal finance space, like a lot of the people go into financial advising and other aspects of it and just look at the other aspects. And I think this is a true statement of every industry. So when you're thinking of say, finance or tech or whichever industry, do not forget that there's a humongous support. And I wouldn't necessarily tag them as support, but there's a humongous orchestrated ecosystem that supports it. There's a HR, there's a team. Exactly it and everything. So all these functions are core functions. And no matter which company you do small, mid size, maybe they don't need it full time, but they need still someone to keep the book, someone for hiring. So if you're running a small business, there are opportunities to do this in so many ways. So start thinking and expanding that. And how do we do that, right? I mean, something we don't tend to think about because even last week when I had Schweeta talking about HR and all that. So she might be hiring for tech, but so many people have other aspects as they're there. So if you're tuning in right now, this is Live Feeds with Cerebra on 104.1 FM. We are talking about mastering your money. I'm a former tech exec, a podcast host and a working mom. I host the podcast Women, Career and Life, which you can find on any of your podcast platforms. I'm here with Manal King. We are talking about the finance industry and sort of unwrapping our own finances as we kind of delve into this space, which most of us hesitate to talk about and are kind of shy about it and averse about it. But I think it's very important because I think what you have been sharing is you're just talking about some of the certifications that people can get as they transition, right?

Manak Keen [00:15:04]:

And I feel like if we transition, because you mentioned this a couple of times, like personal finances and I do feel personal finances and being a business owner, small to medium sized businesses where you have to manage your own financials, it all stems, the foundation stems with mindset. That's the root of it. Accounting and finance is scary for many individuals. It is a pain if you're a business owner and you're dealing with so many facets of the business and now you're having to sit there and do your financials. But like you said at the beginning, understanding and knowing your numbers allows you to make the right decisions, whether personally or professionally. I talk about mindset. I do have a podcast that's launching on Wednesday called Power Up with Manal that's focused on mindset. And I say this out of experience myself, and I have seen this a lot. I was in the finance industry. I have a finance degree, I have a master's. And I will tell you for a long time in my life and I feel like there's a lot of individuals out there that will feel with me. I also didn't invest because I knew the markets, I knew everything. But there was something inside me that as I was I don't know if it's upbringing, if you have a family, so you're naturally nurturing and you want to be safe. But I was also, I think, so busy in my life. I just sort of didn't allot that time to think about it. And when I started changing the way I think about my financials and the way I stopped trying to go zero to 1000 and just take baby steps, that's when I feel like I became better. And we are living in a digital age. So to me, I think you almost like this is such a beautiful time. When you first became an adult and when I was adulting, we really didn't have any information. We were only as good as the walls we lived in and the books we read. There was no Google. Investing was something like, oh, you have to go to a financial advisor and they're the holder of knowledge. Well, now knowledge is everywhere. The likes of Robin Hood and Acorn have basically built this beautiful world where everyone can have knowledge. So I usually tell people, start small, you don't have to break the bank. And I did not realize when I first started into the industry how easy it is to put maybe a little bit, not even 8% of your salary into like an index fund. And let it I'll give everybody a little hint here, but let it compound at about an 8% to 10%, 12% interest rate, depending on the market right at the bank. When you put your money in a money market or so forth, you're earning, what, 1% or less? Well, there's a lot that goes behind the scenes, but let me just tell you, most financial institutions on that 1% they're giving you are probably making about 20% to 25% in interest off the deposits that you're depositing into the bank. So we can all be smarter.

Sirisha Kuchimanchi [00:18:03]:

Yeah, and I think sort of the inside look is banks use that money to invest in other things.

Manak Keen [00:18:08]:

Right?

Sirisha Kuchimanchi [00:18:08]:

That's the reason. I mean, that's the reason the industry exists. And when you're talking about small steps, I mean, we've all made mistakes we.

Manak Keen [00:18:15]:

Continue to make, but we all 100%.

Sirisha Kuchimanchi [00:18:17]:

And we are continuously learning and taking. If you're working in a job starting, or maybe you're well into your career, if you're working in a corporate job or you're running your own business, think about the IRAs and the 401 KS first to do index fund. I guess that's sort of a simpler option as you're looking at it. That's kind of what I had to do when I moved jobs before and I rolled over my IRA, I didn't know enough about it, right? So I gave it to one of these institutions that they invested. And I realized years later, as I learned more, that there were so many fees around it, back end and front end, and it took a long time to unravel it, but I think it was still the best move because it got me into that journey. I made mistakes. Yeah, I probably made money. I lost money. I don't know where I'd landed, but it at least gave me the step forward to move and start doing. And Manila said there's a ton of videos and ton of information, but I would say this is the flip side of this time now, right? There's too much information. So how do you know which one is correct, which is true and which is not good? So if you have kids and you know Khan Academy, you could even stop there. Khan Academy, I think, has finance videos. There are certain institutions that run them, like bank of America has it. A lot of places have them. And there are obviously people who are very popular on social media and other places. But start with those steps, start working, and it might be even for you, good to have a small group of friends to get together.

Manak Keen [00:19:44]:

I was going to say that. Yeah, like having a good support group and do it together. Because like I said, it's not fun and exciting. You're not going to a party, there's no music. It is boring for most people. But to your point, look, all these institutions, if you're going to put your money somewhere, the beauty which we kind of miss out is you can call and ask any questions you want. And there's no shame in asking questions. It is your money. If you don't feel comfortable, don't put your money there. If you want to start small. There's nothing wrong with that. There's literally nothing wrong with that. And I say that all the time because I think there's a misperception that investing your money is sitting behind multiple computer screens and watching the market all day long and it's stressful and money goes up and down. No, when you invest into and if that's a journey that you want to go on, by all means. There are people with that personality and they love it. Right. And you do gain high gains, high losses, but usually there's a trade off, those who are safer and putting it in an index fund. You're not doing any of that. Any of that. Literally, you're betting on the entire US. Economy.

Sirisha Kuchimanchi [00:21:00]:

Right, exactly.

Manak Keen [00:21:02]:

So it's safe, it's slow, but at least it's multiplying at a higher rate than your money market account. And you feel like you're making strides if you don't know what the time value of money is. In its simplest form, every day a dollar sits in a bank account, not invested. It loses money. So if you put $100 in your account today, by the end of the week you're already at 99.98. Right. And the following week you're going further down, further down, further down. And everybody can feel it today because of inflation.

Sirisha Kuchimanchi [00:21:35]:

Yeah, exactly. The gallon of milk that you're buying is just getting more expensive and your money is not stretching as well. We have a few minutes if anyone wants to call in and chime in 2148-1733 as Manal and I are getting ready to wrap up this discussion around money. When you are talking about investing in all of these small baby steps. A lot of these accounts previously, they didn't have it, but a lot of these investment firms have. Like, you can start with small amounts of money and more often than not, either through the institutions you work at or other places, they have free financial resources, financial advisors. At least in the first step, they'll give you a good idea of what to do. They can help you. When I call, run the numbers, I mean, they'll tell you how to look at your budget. I know we don't like to look at line by line, but it'll give you a good idea of for your lifestyle when you're planning to retire and stuff. Okay, we have a caller. They'll be going directly on air, so let's take them. Hello, you're on air.

Manak Keen [00:22:33]:

Please.

Sirisha Kuchimanchi [00:22:37]:

Hello, you're live on air. Please go ahead. Hello. Hi.

Manak Keen [00:22:50]:

I don't hear anybody.

Sirisha Kuchimanchi [00:22:53]:

Yes, I think. Okay. Hi, you're live on air. Maybe you want to call back. We can't quite hear you, so maybe why don't you call us back in and we'll take you. We have about two more minutes while.

Manak Keen [00:23:11]:

We get somebody on. I was also going to say, like you had mentioned taking baby steps. I think there was also this pre notion of fear when it comes to other things, like starting your own business, maybe, or taking steps that you feel aren't considered safe in life. Right. I would say that for a lot of people out there, that what we don't realize. Like, when I ventured out, oh, my gosh. I didn't realize how much availability of funds there is outside. Like in grants, free money. Every city you open a business, they'll give you incentives to open the business. You can get low interest loans, low whatever, but there's so many options.

Sirisha Kuchimanchi [00:23:53]:

Hey, you're live on air. Can you hear us? Hello.

Manak Keen [00:24:05]:

We are having technical issues again.

Sirisha Kuchimanchi [00:24:08]:

Yeah. So this is the second time I'm trying this. So if inadvertently I'm not able to get you on air, I apologize for that.

Manak Keen [00:24:16]:

As I try for individuals can send in questions.

Sirisha Kuchimanchi [00:24:19]:

Yeah.

Sirisha Kuchimanchi [00:24:19]:

So as we wrap up, we have like, five minutes. I am sorry if you're not able to join us online, but you can send me a DM at womencareer and Life on Instagram. womencareer and life. Or you can definitely reach out to me on LinkedIn and send me a message there. Srisha Kuchimanchi. S-I-R-I-S-H-A-I know it's going to be a mouthful, K-U-C-H-I-M-A-N-C-H-I. But Women, Career and Life reach out to me, and as I resolve this stuff, we are wrapping up manal. I want to thank you so much. This has been such a great discussions. There's so much more. And if you think we want to hear more on this topic, definitely call back or send me a DM on Instagram or reach out through me at emailwomencarerierandlife@gmail.com as we wrap up. See you next week. Thank you. Bye.