Philanthropic Giving & Decision-Making | Building Wealth With Purpose with Financial Advisor Nicole Meihofer

If you've ever walked out of a meeting with a financial advisor feeling more behind than when you walked in, this episode is for you.

Nicole Meihofer spent years doing high-level financial planning for families with nine-figure exits — the kind of wealth strategy most women never get access to. She left Merrill Lynch in 2018 to change that. Today, she runs PearlVest Capital, a woman- and minority-owned firm, and every client engagement starts with the same question: What does enough actually look like for you?

It sounds simple. It will rearrange everything.

In this conversation, Nicole walks through the two numbers every woman needs to know — your monthly thrive number and your investment number — and why your decision-making around money changes completely once you know both. We also get into the investment vs. expense mindset shift (yes, your cleaning person counts), why she retired the word "budget" entirely, and what the Wolf of Main Street gets right that Wall Street never will.

This is the financial planning conversation most women never get invited into. You're invited.

In this episode:

• The two-number framework that grounds every financial decision
• Why your decision-making around spending looks different when you're the breadwinner
• Investment vs. expense, and why the distinction changes your bank statement
• The Wolf of Main Street framework (and why it's the one worth following)
• What "enough" looks like when it's actually yours

Connect with Nicole

LinkedIn

Website

Enjoy the episode, everyone!

How can you be part of the movement to equip women?
1. Share the podcast!
2. Leave a 5-star review!

Thanks for listening!

If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to share this in your stories and tag me!  And don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and review the podcast.

CONNECT WITH LEMON:

• LinkedIn
• Instagram
• Visit the Website
• Apply for the Cohort

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Welcome back to the Well of Society. I'm your host, Lemon Price, and today I'm really excited because we're talking about money, but not in a way you're used to hearing about it. If you've ever sat through a conversation with a financial advisor and walked out feeling smaller than when you walked in, or maybe more confused and informed, or convinced that you're somehow behind, then this episode is going to feel different. My guest is Nicole Meihhoefer, founder of Pearl Vest Capital. Nicole started her career in the private banking and investing world, working with families who had nine-figure exits and generational wealth going back to great, like great grandparents. So she actually left in 2018 to co-found a woman and minority-owned wealth management firm because, in her words, why shouldn't this level of planning be available to everyone? Last year, she launched Pearl Vest Capital, where she does financial planning, wealth strategy, and investment management now for clients who want their money to actually fund the life they want now, not just in 30 years. So we're really gonna dive into the two numbers. Nicole says every woman should know why she lost the word budget and what she uses instead. And then the question that most financial advisors will never ask you what does enough actually look like for you? And I promise we're gonna get a little bit off track a little bit. We're gonna talk about cleaning leads, we're gonna talk about book clubs, we're gonna talk about the finance bro that lives in my house and why the wolf of Main Street is who you actually want to be. You'll see what I mean when you get into it. Quick disclosure before we dive in on this. Nicole Meihhoefer is an investment professional registered with IHT Wealth LLC, a registered investment advisor with the SEC. So the opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not represent those of IHT Wealth LLC or any of its affiliates. And it is for informational purposes only. Hi, Nicole. Welcome to the Well Love Society. I'm so excited you're here. Thank you for having me. Okay. So I would love to know kind of like how you got here and stuff I wouldn't know about you from your bio.

SPEAKER_02 2:08

Yeah. So my career began in the private banking and investment group at Merrill Lynch, where I was doing financial planning and surrounded by families with like extraordinary wealth founders who sold their businesses for nine figures, families living off generational wealth created by their parents, grandparents, and even grad great-grandparents. What I noticed was my business partner and I at the time looked around and realized we didn't really see that many people that looked like us. So we started a women in minority-owned wealth management firm because we really thought, like, why shouldn't this level of planning be available to everyone? So we left Merrill and started our business in 2018 that really took the best of the high net worth experience and made it accessible and inclusive. But what was the most pivotal moment, I think, in my life and how it's helped shape how I do financial planning and investing for clients is I lost my mom when she passed away when she was 57. I was 29, right before my parents retired. So I saw my dad work so hard to save and invest and contribute to his 401k and prepare for this amazing retirement. And then my mom passed away and they never got to take that trip to Italy that they were planning. And life looks very different for my dad now. So that experience really shaped how I help clients. We really focus on looking at how to live the best like today, like what really makes you happy. But we're not ignoring the future. Our goal is to maximize today while also saving and investing. So one day, soon, hopefully, you can live off those investments and provide for a different life for yourself. So I grew that business with my business partner from 2018 up until April of last year, so 2025. And that's when I launched Pearl Vest Capital. My clients did come with me. It was more of a restructured, but now I have my own practice, Pearl Vest Capital. We do financial planning, wealth strategy, investing.

SPEAKER_01 4:07

Okay, I love this. I didn't even tell you this before we got on. My son, he's 12, and he definitely he has wanted to be like in wealth management or like investment banking since he was in like the third grade, which is that's incredible. What do you think? What do you think sparked that interest? We have conversations in our house all the time, but then you know what it is? He watched suits with us when Mike Ross like leaves to go be an investment banker. He's like, That is so cool. And so his teachers laugh all the time. They're like, I think we're like a fifth grader who wants to be an investment banker or like in wealth management. And I was like, I don't, I don't know what to tell you. That's what you get for entrepreneur parents too, though. Like I think the conversations are so different. But that is like that's definitely that you're like, that's how we like got started. Yeah, okay. I love this. I mean, like, I don't obviously I don't love your backstory, but I do, I do love this. I like how it shaped then how you handle wealth management and investment, which is what we really wanted to talk about today, because I talked to so many of you, and all of my friends are in the same boat. They're like, I want to make enough money basically to have my own foundation or like be a philanthropist. I want to give back. Like, I would say 90% of the women I talk to are like, I don't actually want a job. Like, I just want to spend my time like volunteering and giving back to my community. And that's where Nicole and I landed. We were like, oh my gosh, like, how do you even do that? I don't I have a very ridiculous strategy that Nicole knows, and I won't tell anybody else that because it's embarrassing. But Nicole knows I would love to talk about what an actual strategy looks like, how you arrive at the number. You said there's two different numbers before we got on. I'd love to know what those two numbers are and what you even do.

SPEAKER_02 5:48

Yeah, this is a really great topic. And before I share my thoughts, I want to debunk a financial industry myth. It is not complicated. We have overcomplicated it. The financial industry loves to use all this jargon and confuse you with all these different strategies. But the one question that needs to be answered, and it's individual to each person that will help you then implement these strategies is how much is enough? So I love to do this exercise. I'd love to ask your audience and you what does enough look like for you? Not for your parents, not for your friends. Because in my experience, most people have really never answered that question honestly. They're chasing a number they inherited from someone else's definition of success. And that's where the whole thing starts to fall apart. Real wealth building and fulfillment starts with your answer to that question. Some people don't care much about where they live. It's like what lights them up is freedom. So that maybe traveling, the ability to hop on a plane and go wherever, whenever. For them, enough might mean a modest home and a very healthy travel budget. They may even be willing to live on less if it means getting to financial independence sooner. And that financial independence I'm talking about is the ability to fund your lifestyle off of the investments that you have that are paying you, for example, you know, dividends or interest, providing yourself income from your investments as opposed to your job. So for someone else, that looks completely different. It's waking up every morning in a beautiful big home surrounded by beautiful things, maybe a family. But it sounds like your audience might be more the travel side of things. I think the trend now is traveling and financial independence. That's definitely what I like. I don't need a big home. But some people want that big home surrounded by beautiful things, a family, and they're okay with that. That means that they work a little longer to fund their spending today with the goal of saving enough to continue funding that same lifestyle and retirement. There's right or wrong, but they just require completely different numbers, different strategy, and different plans. And that's why cookie-cutter financial advice often falls so flat for people. And there's really two important numbers to answer that question. And I believe every person needs to know this. And most people have never sat down to figure either one out. So the first is how much do you need every month to truly thrive? Not just survive and pay your bills, but to actually live the life you want. You know, traditional budgets will just keep the basics there. But I want to know like how much do you want to travel? You know, how much do you want to give back in philanthropic efforts? What are some other things? I mean, if you'd like to go shopping and buy nice things, let's put a line in there for your budget. I like to call it your lifestyle budget because what you need to live. Budget seems so cold and stern. I think it needs to be more reflective of the life you truly want to live. So that number is how much you need to live your life. That's number number one. The second number is how much do you need invested? So those investments eventually generate enough income that you determined you need in question number one. That's your financial independence number, the point where your money is working for you instead of the other way around. So, to give you an example, I'm currently working with a client who's going through a divorce in our early 70s. She's starting a new chapter, and her primary need is income from her settlement to fund her life right now. But in that case, we were building more of an income-focused investment portfolio designed around her immediate needs. And the complete opposite end of the spectrum, I'm working with a couple, both entrepreneurs, young kids at home, growing their businesses while trying to plan for retirement at the same time. So we looked at what they need to set aside each month to get there and then got intentional about what accounts we're using and how we're investing in order to meet that goal. So the second couple were really focused on the first and second numbers. And specifically the second one, we need to figure out how much they need to save over time. So with the first client, the one who divorced, we already have that pot and money. Now we're figuring it out what her lifestyle can be in order for her not to run out of money.

SPEAKER_01 10:20

Okay, I love this because I loathe the word budget. I like it feels like so restrictive, right? It feels like yuke. It feels like a yuke word. But then I also like the boundaries. I budget everything in a spreadsheet. But on like my line items, like I know for me personally, because we live near the beach, like we have a boat club membership, like that's a line item for me. Like, and I have it in there too, like what I think gas should be every month for the boat. And like there is a line item for me to go get fresh oysters, like that is in the budget because I know for a fact, like your girl wants fresh oysters on a regular basis and maybe a martini every now and again. And so, like, it's it's in my line item what we can spend on things like that. We have like a section in ours for just like random fun money that my husband and I can spend, no questions asked. So you do what you want to do. Except my husband does still call me every day. He called earlier today to tell me for the first couple years of our marriage, actually, like he didn't even have the login for our bank account, not because like I didn't give him access, but because he literally didn't want it. He was like, I don't want to know. Uh-huh. And so he would call me daily, like, is there enough money for me to buy an energy drink? And I'm like, How much money do you think is in the bank? He's like, I actually have no clue. He's like, we could have$2 or we could have$2 million, and I would have literally no clue. Now it's better. Now he called me this morning to tell me he's like, I'm so excited. He's like, I bought a book off of TikTok shop. And I was like, that's amazing. I was like, how much was it? He's like, it was$21 with shipping off. But like, he just doesn't, he's like, I don't, he looks at nothing. He's like, you just tell me like yes or no on things all the time. He has no idea.

SPEAKER_02 12:03

Yeah, this doesn't want to know. This conversation around budget, I know we're getting off track a little bit, but this is really great because I always find it so interesting. And maybe it's because I'm in the wealth management space and this is what I do every day. But I had a conversation with somebody who's a friend and they're doing really well. I know they are, because I know some specifics. And I was a little stressed out because I had a lot going on. And she was too, and we just went back and forth. And she's like, Yeah, I told my husband that we need to hire somebody to clean our house. And I had this moment where I went, wait, you don't have somebody cleaning your house. I mean, I would sacrifice so many things in order to keep my cleaning lady who comes every week at the same time. And it just provides me so much joy and mental clarity and helps my mental health generally that I couldn't understand why she didn't have a cleaning lady because I know that they can afford it. Not even once. She said it in the last like five years plus, they haven't had anybody. I'm not trying to make assumptions, but it's something that I have observed with other clients that I've worked with is this lack of clarity around how much money, the lack of clarity around these two questions, that what it leads to is feeling this guilt and the shame around spending money on things that you think you shouldn't. Like who who made the rules that you can't spend money on somebody to come clean your house if it's going to help your mental health? You know, why does that is that money seem frivolous? Why should you have to bear the burden of all this responsibility and this extra work so that you could put an extra few hundred dollars away every month? I get it, like that that compounds and adds up, but at what expense? My mom unexpectedly passed away at 57. I'm not saying go out and like live it up and go take an international trip that you can't afford and put in your credit card. I highly recommend not doing that. I would suggest maybe like being more strategic about how you're spending money. But it there's this trend I see, and I think we need to really stop this. And answering these questions, how much you need to live, what brings you joy, and at what point do you want to be financially independent and what do you need to get there? A financial plan is what will help answer these questions because now we've talked about what you need to do, but like how do you get there?

SPEAKER_01 14:31

I love it. Okay, so because I'm the worst about this too. Like I know people who clean and I'm like, it would be so handy to have somebody, but then also I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_02 14:40

I'm sorry if I don't have one. I'm not judging again. I just, it's something that like to me personally, I'm like, oh, I can't live without it, you know? But that's sure there's something that you do that I, you know, vice versa, you know, probably.

SPEAKER_01 14:54

I'm like, that is like a non-negotiable for me because it's the best. Like having the boat club membership was the I I don't mind cleaning the house, especially because I have two teenage boys. So like they'll clean their bathroom and they'll vacuum and everything. Like I can ask them, like, unload the dishwasher and to vacuum, and they will, and it's great. But the boat club is because I don't know, like if you know people with boats, like it's so much work, there's so much maintenance. You've got to clean the thing every single time. I don't have to do any of that. I literally go into my app. I'm like, I would like this boat for this amount of hours, and then I show up at the dock and it's pulled up and ready for me. I have on my boat. I don't even have to take the trash off the boat. I literally can just leave a bag of trash on the boat. As soon as I dock again, boop, that's it. Like they're there with a cart to get all of my stuff. I walk off the boat, I'm done. They go clean it, they go do everything. I don't have to, I don't put fuel in it, I don't do anything. That's incredible.

SPEAKER_02 15:51

So we these are our boats that you rent to other people's boats. And this is cool.

SPEAKER_01 15:55

What a cost, what a great business. So it's a Freedom Boat Club. They're international. And so, like, if we took a trip to Costa Rica, I could do the same thing. Like, you get usage globally. So it's literally just like a boat membership where like the club owns the boat, and then you just pick a boat and take it out.

SPEAKER_02 16:13

It's my I've never heard of this, and I'm going to make a note of it and share it with my friends.

SPEAKER_01 16:19

You're like, listen, if you get a boat club membership, tell them to use your name because then you get two free months off of your membership. That's crazy. I'm like, this is the best thing. I love it. And so for me, that was the best investment because I'm like, I don't know, I think we spend like about 400 a month or something on it. But I'm like, listen, ocean water runs in my veins. And so I'm like, that is a non, I'm like, I would sacrifice so many other things to make sure that that membership is like covered every month. And that's how you feel about your cleaning.

SPEAKER_02 16:46

Like, that is mine, like, yeah, cleaning lady and daycare for me. Now I still agree with that. I can, you know, I'm lucky enough to have my own practice and be able to cover it. I realize that's not the case for some people, but for me, it's a significant cost, especially with inflation and what has happened over the last five years. But again, for me, it's something that I will happily pay. Like I look at it as an investment as opposed to an expense. The mindset shift and more the psychology side of things, if you look at things as an investment into your mental health and your happiness, and don't look at it as this online item that's an expense that's a cost to you. Now, filling up my gas for$92. I have a gas guzzler because I don't really drive, so I don't really need gas efficiency, but I did take a trip. Filling up$92 for your gas in your car, that's rough and is an expense. But you know, that mindset shift. Is this truly an expense, or is this more on the kind of investment into my mental health?

SPEAKER_01 17:46

Yes. Okay. I love that you reframe that because that's like so important too. My husband and I just had this conversation the other day because he has so many back problems from being in the military. And so the VA will quote unquote cover like his massages, but it takes like two months to schedule them. Every single day is a pain. It's not worth it to do it for the free hundred dollars or whatever. So I tell him to go, just say, go get it done. Like, I don't, whatever, spend the hundred dollars every other week and go do what you need to do for for your like it's an investment into like your physical and mental health. Go do that. So then he yells at me this weekend. We had an event, and I was like, Can you do me a favor and like paint my toes for me? I'm like, I don't feel like reaching, like, can you paint my toes for me? You're such a good husband. And so he's the best. And so he did, and he looked at me, he's like, I don't understand why you're not going to get a pedicure on a regular basis. And I was like, I don't know. He's like, if I can get a massage, you can get a pet. Like, why are we even having this conversation? He's like, You should have done this hours ago before the event. I don't, he's like, What are you doing? And I was like, Oh, you know, whatever, it's not that important. He's like, if I can invest in me, you can invest in you. So, like, let's not, let's not be dumb dumb. And I was like, So he's so good. I'm very fortunate. But I like that you also brought up inflation because we were talking about this number. Like, how do you know like what you need now and like what you need in the future? So then how do you one, how do you like arrive at that number? But then two, how do you plan for like inflation? Because inflation, I mean, I I'm not the financial pro, but I feel like personally, it's been out of control, like not normal the last couple of years, like whatever you expect a little like inflation every year. It's been like cuckoo, it feels like me.

SPEAKER_02 19:29

Yeah, and your feeling is not wrong. So the Fed sets the target inflation at 2%. And historically, you know, over the long term, it we've been pretty close to that. Inflation typically is around 2%, but not the last few years. You know, I don't have the exact numbers in front of me, but over the last five years, you're gonna see an inflation rate way outpacing that two percent. You know, so the goal is, you know, you're not wrong, inflation's been high, it's been, you know, increasing, but we're starting to see it come down a little bit. We're still over that two percent. Here's an area where you really want to focus on the long term. So I I have confidence that over the long term we'll get closer to that 2% inflation rate. How do you know then how much to save, taking into consideration inflation? It's called financial planning. And I'm not just talking about running a retirement plan to figure out how much money you need for for retirement, a comprehensive financial plan. And most people have not done a truly comprehensive financial plan. And I'll get into what it is and go over some examples of how to do it. So, financial planning, it really becomes critical to answer your two important questions. And I want to be honest about some things. It's a lot of work, but you really do a huge comprehensive financial plan once, and then that thing lives and breathes. And as changes in your life come up, you can go and lean on your financial plan to make decisions, spending and saving decisions, and then check in and see how you're doing with your plan. So, and the best way to explain what financial planning is, I can give you an example of how I handle it for my clients. When I build their financial plan, the numbers come last. So we design the plan around your life and your goals first, not some arbitrary rule the financial industry has decided to apply to everyone. So the process is we go to work and we start with your non-negotiable goals. I want to know what is important to you, things like yearly travel, health and fitness, spending, saving for your kids' educations. These are the things that you will not compromise on, like your boat membership. Then we move to the big aspirational goals. What are the things over the next 30 plus years in your life that you want to accomplish? Do you want to buy a vacation home? Do you want to fund a business? Do you You have this desire to leave a legacy to your family or a charity. These are the big things that you'll feel good about when you pass on into the next life. All of this, we look at, we really figure out what your living expenses are, the things you need to live off of groceries, mortgage, rent, gas, utilities, the real cost to your life. So once we have all of this mapped out, we actually put numbers to these non-negotiable goals. We actually put numbers to the big aspirational goals. We have a number for your monthly lifestyle spending. And I use financial planning software. So the hard work is all of this that I just talked about. Like I have to understand you. And then we have to put numbers to it to understand like what that vacation home will cost. For one, for somebody, it could be a$250,000 condo. For another, it could be a$2 million vacation home on the ocean. You know, and that obviously is different. So we take all of that information and we go do what is an incredible asset that we have in this day and age, which is we have financial planning software that uses AI, that uses algorithms, and it takes that information and looks at some additional pieces of data, how much you have invested, what you're invested in. Do you have 401ks? Are you saving and investing into your retirement plan? And it looks at the historical data for that based on what you have, what you plan on saving, it will tell you what your potential cash flow will look like. And then it can help answer the question is your current trajectory enough to be able to live your life today? And also is it enough to save and invest so that you can also live your life independently off of your investments. And that data will let us know. If not, what levers do we have to pull? Do you need to start a side hustle and create a second stream of income? Maybe it is enough. Okay, well, you know what? You thought you were going to retire at 60. Guess what? You have enough money to retire at 50. But you can't answer those questions unless you do a comprehensive financial plan. You have to get all that information together in one place and leverage technology that isn't credible. We have access to today. And like stop complicating it and leverage what we have available to us. A comprehensive financial plan is going to help you answer those two questions.

SPEAKER_01 24:30

Okay. I love this. I feel like I need to do one because I literally run everything on a spreadsheet. So I'm like, this is what our bills are, here's what our income is. And then I just adjust accordingly. If my husband ever listened to this, he would tell you this. But I'm the worst because I'm like, I'm a spender because I always know I can make more money. So I'm like, oh, you want to do that? Fine. You want to do that? Fine. You want to do that? Fine. But I'm really bad about like, I tell him all the time, I'm like, oh, we need a better investment strategy. Do we do it?

SPEAKER_02 24:57

And then the financial plan, well, actually, I didn't answer your question. Let me add one more thing. We take, we say, I take into consideration inflation. We, you know, we take into consideration the growth of certain investments. We take into consideration inflation. So everything increases by I do at least 2%, sometimes 2.5%. But this financial plan then helps you determine the decisions, which is what am I going to invest in? You have the data. Now we know, okay, we can take this and we can figure out like what investment strategy makes sense for you and makes sense for your goals. Because again, a lot of times people say, Well, our 4% rule in retirement, you could withdraw 4% of your portfolio. But like, is that really like, is how much money could you potentially have left over when you pass on into the next life? Are you spending too much? Are you spending too little? I mean, people a lot of times will think financial planning is all about cutting and slashing and burning. With my clients, we're making spending decisions. Like we're not spending enough. Or, you know, in 30 years, I don't want to have potentially, you know, 30 years we've done the plan. And if I am living my lifestyle, I'm going to have more money than I need. So how do we solve for that? And I know that's a hard concept to grasp, but a lot of times you're on the right path. You just need to have questions answered. You need data, and you need an actual comprehensive financial plan that takes into consideration all the things that you don't think about taxes, inflation, the things that it's really hard to do on your own with a spreadsheet.

SPEAKER_01 26:39

Yes. I think about this all the time because that's my ultimate goal, right? Is to invest and like live off of dividends. And I was definitely a 4% person. I was like, okay, great. If we have this much in a trust, then we could pull this much every year and like we would all be fine. And then same for the kids. But I'm like, but if they couldn't touch their trust till they're like 25, then they would have this much plus 7%, blah, blah, blah. Right. I'm making numbers up. You could tell me like these are way off numbers.

SPEAKER_02 27:04

But well, I mean, the the the the equations are there for a reason. Not that they don't work, but I we can do better.

SPEAKER_01 27:11

I love that we can do better. How often do you right? Because I feel like a lot of my people are very visionary, right? And they're very like, I want to give back, I want to serve, I want to build businesses, I want to do, you know, like they're looking for like very big impact. And so I get how do you plan for that, right? When maybe cash flow isn't necessarily as linear. Like I know my husband wants to leave his job and start a business. And so I'm like, I don't know what that cash flow is gonna look like. Who knows?

SPEAKER_02 27:39

Some things you can't really plan for 100%. You know, I would love to say that a financial plan can solve all your problems. I mean, it it can't answer all your questions. But thinking ahead and doing your best to anticipate what the worst case scenario could be on the cash flow, you can run a scenario. What if we take a 50% hit in income or a 25% in hit in income? Can we still live our life? You can look at what do you have in savings or what do you need in savings in order to supplement your lifestyle during that time? You know, that's a strategy you can intentionally go after. Is, you know, one of your goals is your husband starting his own business or or something that will take a step back to take a step forward. You know, what should you be intentionally saving in order to make sure that you have a safety debt during that time?

SPEAKER_01 28:32

Okay, I love this. I literally feel like I could have you here all day talking about finances. My 12-year-old's gonna be so mad that he wasn't home.

SPEAKER_02 28:41

And I was actually gonna say, you should, you know, if you want me to chat with your 12-year-old, I'm happy to.

SPEAKER_01 28:46

He is so funny. He has like big plans. He told me he's going to Yale to get an MBA. And I was like, okay, love that for you, buddy. He is ready. Great.

SPEAKER_02 28:56

And what did you do to raise this kid? Because he sounds incredible.

SPEAKER_01 29:00

Oh my gosh. We've always treated our kids like grun-ups, and we're very like, you know, like he loves math. He's really good at it. We leaned into it. We're like, you know, there's like options for you in this space, and then I think he's very curious. And so then he starts Googling, he's very curious. So we were listening to, I'm such a weirdo, but we had Tupac on in the car, and California Love came on, and he was like, Who's Elliot Ness? And next thing you know, he's like Googling Elliot Ness, and then he's like, We have to watch the movie The Untouchables. So I love it. I feel like we've really pushed like both kids to be really curious and like try different things, and like he's like a finance pro all the way. He wants to watch The Wolf of Wall Street so bad. That may be so little R-rated. I was like, You cannot watch the Wolf of Wall Street yet. He's like, But it's like one of your favorite movies. I was like, I know.

SPEAKER_02 29:48

Something to share with him is I know plenty wolf of Wall Street types. Okay, and they have some of them have fallen. You know, you don't want to be the wolf of Wall Street, you want to be the wolf of Main Street.

SPEAKER_01 30:01

In a couple hours, I'll be like, listen, buddy.

SPEAKER_02 30:03

Yeah, the people who have the real wealth are not the wolves of Wall Street. I mean, yeah, there are wolves of Wall Street that have it found a lot of crazy success in like private equity and venture capital and Beth Stain, but most people lose money. You only hear about the successes, but the best way to be wealthy is just playing the long game.

SPEAKER_01 30:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 30:28

The boring long game. I mean, if you get creative within it, you know, some people like to allocate a small portion of their portfolio to Wolf of Wall Street like investments, like trying to find the next unicorn, but they're not risking the majority of their assets and they're letting the majority of their assets grow slowly and methodically and intentionally.

SPEAKER_01 30:46

Yes, he asks us all the time. He's like, What's in your portfolio? And I'm like, no way. You don't need to know about our portfolio. He asks everybody about their portfolio and things, and I'm like, You're 12. Like, calm down, buddy. I'm like, very good practice when you go to apply to graduate school, I guess. I love him dearly. Our oldest is the exact opposite. He's like very artsy and like all he does is draw. They're very, very opposite. He's like, I want to go to SCAD and like be an animator. And we're like, that's great. And then the other one's like, Math, I love math. This is great. I can't wait to see where your kids end up. I know we're getting close. It's so crazy. The oldest is almost in middle school. Like we got a year left, and then that's it. Like, we're yeah, off to middle school. It's good.

SPEAKER_02 31:29

I have a six-year-old and a three-year-old, so I'm trying to figure out how to raise these children.

SPEAKER_01 31:37

They're not at four. I feel like what's my favorite age. I feel like at four, they were very funny. At 12, they're a little mouthy. So sorry. That my niece is the same way. She told her mother the other day that she was old and yucky.

SPEAKER_02 31:54

And I was like, That's when she's three. My daughter told me I was wasting her time on the phone the other day. And my friend was in the car with me. She was on speakerphone. She's like, Mom, you just always waste my time. She's six. She's six years old. That's amazing.

SPEAKER_01 32:09

Amazing. I can't wait to tell my. So if you're listening, just know like you're chill, like you're not alone. Girls are so sassy. They're great. They are wonderful, but they are so yeah, they are so mouthy. It is so funny. She said you're wasting your time. People pay me money for my time. Yes. She's like, you're a waste of money. I love that for you. Okay. So if somebody is listening and they're like, okay, Nicole, like, I do want to get into you know philanthropic pursuits, or I want to figure out what this looks like for me because like I have big goals, I have big dreams. Like, how can they connect with you? Because I feel like that's actually just the best first step. The first step is to call Nicole. That's your first step. Then what do we do?

SPEAKER_02 32:53

Yeah. So actually, this is this is great. If you go to Perlvest.com, P-E-A-R-L-V-E-S-T dot com, go to the contact page and send me a note through there. I have a document that I put together that goes into philanthropic giving and it talks about the tax savings as well, from like just giving to a charity to creating specific entities like a donor advice fund. It's like A to A to Z covers it. I'm happy to send that to you. And it would be really helpful for the people that are charity focused. You can also sign up for my newsletter. I send once a month, and they're really interesting. I tie in pop culture with history and you know, talk about financial topics.

SPEAKER_01 33:40

Okay. I love this. I will definitely, I'm gonna link this in the show notes for you guys. I will drop her LinkedIn for you, her website, out of contact her because I know you guys and you want to be in this space. And so you have to get a plan. I have to get a plan. That's why I'm gonna like have to do the same thing. I have a plan on a spreadsheet. Nicole, this is like very, very helpful. I love like just the breakdown of how you do the financial planning too. I think most people I hear, they're like, we look at the numbers and then try to figure out what kind of lifestyle you can have based on the numbers. And so I really appreciate the opposite approach because there are things I know for me personally, like my husband laughs. He's like, Oh, I'll go, I'll move anywhere with you. He's from El Paso, so he's like lived in the desert his whole life. And I'm like, it is a non-negotiable for me to live within a certain radius of the ocean. I grew up on the ocean, I will not live far from the ocean right now is the furthest I've ever lived from the ocean. And I'm like, an hour. I'm like, my insides are drying now. So I'm like, that's a non-negotiable for me. And he laughed, but I I really appreciate the approach because there are just, I know for us, there's things that we would never compromise on. And so making sure that the financial plan aligns with the things that are important to us, I appreciate your approach so much.

SPEAKER_02 34:52

It's been so easy to talk to CEO. This has been a really great, fun conversation. I appreciate that. Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 34:58

Side note, Nicole. I was about to close this, but then I was thinking about it. Do you remember the company Elvis?

SPEAKER_02 35:04

Yes. Like I do, yes, I do remember that. It's sad because it was really geared towards women. And I think they still exist in some capacity, but it was really all marketing. Yes. But that's what women needed. They needed to be heard. Yes. And it's such a shame. And I don't know exactly what happened, but the fact that there was this powerhouse company that really spoke to women that did an incredible job, you know, making women feel seen and heard that essentially feels like it just vanished up into thin air is really sad because, you know, I do think, like my opinion was a lot of these firms, they're doing the same thing. It's the marketing that's different. Like Elvest had a really good marketing strategy. But if you go to really any sort of robo advisor or wealth management firm, you could probably get similar. I think they got us so many women invested, and that was really, really great. So I don't know what happened, but we need it back.

SPEAKER_01 36:02

I know they got rid of their app. That was like their big thing for the app. And I liked it because it took into account, and it was definitely marketing, right? I have a marketing background, but it was like we need to plan differently because there's chances are like at your age, you're gonna go on maternity leave. Yes. At some point, like you need to worry about like the like your wealth trajectory is not the same. He's not gonna take maternity leave, and so it was like you have to plan for those things. I thought that was so smart. It gave you options of how you wanted to invest in. Like it was like, Do you want to go traditional? Do you care about social issues? Like, and you can kind of decide. I thought it was so smart. And then when I saw your website, I was like, Nicole needs to do the same thing because they they like, I don't know. Like one day I went to go like log into my app and they were like, Oh, we're gone by the way. Like, we just do wealth management now. And I was like, this was so smart.

SPEAKER_02 36:54

It's such a bummer.

SPEAKER_01 36:55

It was such a smart you could do the same thing to discounts to wealth management and stuff that it was such a good app.

SPEAKER_02 37:02

And I thought they were they were I love your thought process here. I just had this conversation with one of my family members, and then I said, like, I love my wealth management practice and I love my clients, and I think I've stuck with it for so long because I can just see the instant impact I have on their lives. But I would like to have a larger reach. I think there was a huge push during COVID. I don't know if you remember, there were so many incredible people that came out, like financial coaches, people talking about it, but it's gotten really messy out there. And social media and access to information, it's really hard to tell what's good information and what's not. So I think a lot of that has kind of fallen off, or those people that were making an impact disappeared, just like ele vested. So yeah, if I could find a way to make a bigger impact like that, I would love to. So thank you for motivation.

SPEAKER_01 37:58

Yeah, I'm like, we should talk about this because I think that's a good idea. Yeah. Because I did see there's such an influx of like PPP money, and all they say, like people didn't know what to do. Just had a conversation with a founder of a nonprofit, and she was like, that was the best and worst thing that happened to like our region. She's like, Because I saw, like at first, like during the height of COVID, like the best of humanity people. She was doing food giveaways and hygiene and all these things like that. And she's like, people would get bags and they'd be like, Oh my gosh, I don't need these diapers. Give it to somebody who needs them. She goes, at the end of the COVID, like, she's like, I saw there were so many giveaways. People had cars filled with stuff from different giveaways, and they were demanding and like they were so mean. She's like, and then when the PPP money and stuff dried up, those same people who were like rude and had their cars filled were then back in line to get like because they didn't know how to manage the influx of cash that was coming in. And so, like, I totally saw the need for people in this space to come out and have more conversations, but then they all like dipped out because it was like, oh, well, now there's not money flowing. So, like, we're not and I've seen some really bad info, like really bad information online.

SPEAKER_02 39:08

It's just in a silo. I mean, there's just so much information. Like, now you've got these Trump accounts coming out. Now you have five to nine plans, you have you know, custodial investment accounts, you have Trump accounts, and you hear this like so guy from social media, it's this one, he's he's like, I'm an ex-financial advisor, and now I teach people how to make their and I'm like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Why are we trying to make our kids millionaires? Can't we teach them how to make themselves billionaires? You know, it's like you see that and then you get this feeling of, oh my God, I'm not doing that, I'm behind. But the reality is it's just pumping money into an account for the sake of making your kid a millionaire. Like, is that really the best strategy? So it's just like this silo of information. And that's why I don't do that. And I'm not saying that I should, I probably should, to be honest. It's I'd probably reach more people, but I do long form content because for me, I know that I can get out, especially in wealth management, a solid topic. And maybe it's only a three to four minute read, but popping something up that says like, just do this or just do that. I haven't been able to do that in a way that I feel is, you know, sends the message I'm trying to send. And again, it's not that it can't be done. And again, I was just saying I probably should be on Instagram again and do more. It's I don't know why how I got there, but that's my that's what I how I feel on that topic.

SPEAKER_01 40:26

I love that. You should do you should rant about why you don't do that actually and give like blanket advice to stand out. But that's my marketing brain like coming out. Like, we should use this as like attention that you have because that will stand out. That's why I don't do blanket advice. But okay, I'm behind you creating like Pearl Vest, the app, the way that L Vest had one. Love it. It's copyrighted now on this thing. So if anybody ever tries to take her idea, you can't. It's on here forever. I have my Pearl Vest is copy. I do have my trademark. Well, I've got my trademark. Yeah. So there you go. Now she's gonna make an app, and that's what we heard it here first. Nicole's making an app because we decided on this podcast. Because I think it's I just think it's so, yeah. I yeah, I was so sad when I saw that go away. And I was like, there's not a lot of the wealth management and things are it's like bro marketing, right? Like I already said, my my youngest is a finance bro. Like he just he he's so he dresses like one, like all of I mean it my gosh. One time he came out Will you send me a when we're done? Can you send me a picture of him? I gotta see this. I love it. 110. He's such a finance bro, and I love him. Like when we went school clothes shopping, he's like, I can only shop at Ralph Lauren now. I was like, You got Ralph Lauren money? He's like, Okay, all right, well, that's fine. So, like, whatever. He just that's how he it's how he dresses everywhere we go. I'm like, whatever, live your life. This is how much of a bro he is. One time we went out on the boat, he wore white on white linen with a pair of berries. Both, both white linen pieces were from Ralph Lauren. I was like, And he's 12 with a title as hat. He's incredible, really just top tier, got a comb over. Like he like, oh yeah, boat vibes all the way. Yeah, I'm like, oh okay, okay, cool. I don't know how I raised this, to be honest. My husband's like, it's your fault. I'm like, well, I don't know. I don't know entirely, it's my fault. But I love this idea of you doing this because I think it's needed, especially because a lot of like the bro marketing a lot of bro marketing, I feel like it doesn't account for women and where they're at, doesn't speak to women the way they are. This is a conversation I have my best friend weekly. She's like, I'm so sick of being talked down to and people condescending me when she I mean, she's making a good amount of money.

SPEAKER_02 42:44

Yeah, I can you know I'm I'm not trying this sounds, I realize what I'm about to say. Sounds like I'm trying to plug myself, which I'm really not. But genuinely, like I this is not something that I I've been thinking about this for a while. There's a lot of women who are craving more community around money. So if you just want to stay in the know, like get on my email list, because there are some things, some events that I'm doing, and you know, one's in Chicago, but if it goes well, I'm gonna do it virtually around money and investing and also how to be like an angel investing and invest in private, private equity venture capital. And so there's some other things. So if you want to be part of a group and want to just stay in the know about some things I'm doing, I'm happy to include you.

SPEAKER_01 43:26

Yes. Okay, guys. Seriously, send Nicole the message on our contact form because you should stay, you should stay in the know. You should know what's going on with your money. Your money should be working for you so you can achieve the things that you want, and you should do it with somebody who actually cares and is going to treat you like a human being because that's what you need. Thanks for hooking me up with Nicole. I love her. Dearly, Sammy Lemon Awesome. You're a winner. Okay, sorry, I just have so much for Nicole. Like, I took up so much of her time. But this was now I feel like we could have a whole deeper dive. On investing just for women at another date. We should just schedule that. Okay. Round two, investing just for women, because it is, I don't know. I can't. This is why I hate talking to like other like wealth management stuff, because I'm like, they're just not nice to women. Or they, you know, it's like going to an auto body shop and they're like, you need premium air in your tires or whatever. And I'm like, that's not a thing. And that's how it feels when I talk to a lot of men in wealth management and things. They treat you like you're dumb, even when you're the breadwinner in this situation. Which I see more and more of it's the women who are the breadwinners. And they're not. Okay. We're gonna have to schedule a whole other episode. I'm sorry, we're gonna have to do it. And yet you're not treating yourself as much. Okay. Anyway, I'm gonna get off my soapbox on that one. Nicole, thank you. I love talking about finances and like how to maximize them. So just thank you, thank you, thank you for being here, my friend.

SPEAKER_02 45:03

Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 45:04

Okay, I loved that episode because here's like some things I'm taking away from that conversation with Nicole. I think most of us have never actually sat down and answered Nicole's two questions. We're running on somebody else's definition of what enough is, maybe our parents, our friends, some number we picked up on social media. I know that's kind of how my financial plan was before this call. I'm like, I know I made up an arbitrary number on what I think we need based on the life that I want to have. And so if you're like me, then you're probably like, why is the math never mathing? Right? What do you actually need every month to thrive and not just survive, which Nicole talked about? What do you need invested for that to come from money, like your own money instead of a job? And so those are the two numbers. And I really want you to sit with them this week. Because, like I said during this episode, a lot of you are philanthropic. A lot of you have big goals, big vision. You want to create legacy. And so we have to, we have to be able to answer those questions. That's why I brought Nicole on. The other thing that I am not gonna let go of is we're not gonna call it an expense if it's actually an investment in our mental health. So things like having someone who comes and cleans your home, a pedicure, the boat club, right? My husband's massages, the thing that makes your life feel like it's yours, I don't think that's frivolous spending. That to me is very strategic and intentional. And so if you want to connect with Nicole, head to Perlvest.com or and use her contact form. She has a great resource on philanthropic giving that she is gonna send your way, plus a monthly newsletter that's actually like worth being on the list for. I've seen her newsletter. You want to be there. And so I'm gonna drop her website and her LinkedIn in the show notes for you. And Nicole, when you listen, we are definitely on for round two for investing for women. It's going to be on the calendar. You guys know that we're gonna do this. And so if this episode hit for you, share it with a friend. Like, maybe a friend that you've like, we really need to get our money figured out conversation. Like this episode is for them. And this is what the show is for. So please leave a review. It helps just the algorithm. Send it out to all the people who need to hear this. It tells them that people like us and want me to keep doing this. And so I can't wait to see you next week. So until next time, live well.