The Idiots Guide
Sometimes it's about "ADULTING" enough for the day, and other times it's about Keeping a job, Feeding the family, Educating the kids, and Buying the stuff.
Most of us were taught how to read, write, and math good.
But never taught how to file taxes, change a tire, or cook a meal.
How in the world have we survived?
Well, have no fear, the Idiots are here to guide you.
We don't know much more about all the stuff but we might be just a little further down the road than you.
Make no mistake, most of our advice is more like don't try this at home.
Hope it helps!
The Idiots Guide
Balancing Budgets and Babies: Navigating Finances with Kids or the DINK Lifestyle
Ever wondered how to manage your finances while juggling the chaos of kids or embracing the freedom of the DINK (Dual Income, No Kids) lifestyle? Join Adam Richardson, the Profit Hacker, and Joe Haslam as we unpack the different financial worlds of parenthood and the DINK life. You'll hear about how Adam has never been a DINK but envies the carefree lifestyle of his friends who are, while Joe shares the humorous challenges of planning a simple weekend getaway without fearing his house might turn into a chaotic playground. This episode is packed with personal anecdotes and practical tips to help you navigate financial responsibilities, whether you're buying mysterious toys hidden under cereal boxes or booking spontaneous trips to Greece.
In our latest episode of the Idiot's Guide, we explore how universal financial principles can guide you through seemingly disparate priorities. From diapers and school supplies to bottomless brunches and impromptu adventures, we discuss how to maintain financial security without missing out on life's pleasures. With a light-hearted yet insightful approach, Adam and Joe delve into the contrasting dynamics of family life versus the DINK experience. You'll walk away with strategies to ensure your financial legacy is as strong as your current enjoyment of life, no matter which lifestyle you lead. Tune in for a fun, relatable, and informative discussion that will leave you better equipped to balance your finances and relationships.
Today on the Idiot's Guide. Whether you've got a couple kids running around or you're living the dink life, that means dual income. No, kids, your financial priorities are not the same. One of you is budgeting for diapers and school fees, while the other is budgeting for a Saturday of bottomless brunches and last-minute trips. But hey, no matter which team you're on, we're here to help you navigate the money, talk, tackle relationship dynamics and set yourselves up for future success, all while still enjoying the now. So let's dive in and figure out how to build that financial legacy without sacrificing the fun. I'm your host, Adam Richardson, aka the Profit Hacker, and I'm joined by the man in charge, Mr Joe Haslam. Welcome to the Idiot's Guide. So I think one of the things that I I would imagine this it's really hard for me to kind of I have kids so like to to really kind of put myself in the shoes of a dink. I have to go back to my early 20s a long time ago um you.
Speaker 1:Is that weird A dink?
Speaker 2:Well, I don't think even the dink lifestyle even qualifies if you're, you know, freshly married, so you've never been a dink.
Speaker 1:I've never been a dink, You're right, but I would always like. I have friends who I always kind of. I call them single because they're married, they don't have any kids, so they are dinks, but I call them single because they have so much more flexibility than I do in their life, Like they can do whatever they want. It feels like this they can do whatever they want, whenever they want, at any time, whatever you know, and I'm like. And then you're like oh, you just got to make sure your dog's watched. That's it. You know, I'm like you could go to Greece for the summer. You know, it doesn't matter Me, I'm like man. If I could go down south for a night it would be neat, but I'm afraid my kids might burn the house down.
Speaker 2:Dishes are done man.
Speaker 1:So there's a chance. So like my wife and I are planning a trip soon, chance, so like where my wife and I are planning a trip soon and I've got a 16 year old doesn't drive. So I'm like, okay, I got to make sure meals are set up and we're going to go down South for two, two nights, okay, through a weekend. And it's like that's enough terror in my heart to to think I was like, well, maybe I should schedule some friends to stop by just to kind of incrementally have visits. So my kids aren't just like just maybe I should schedule some friends to stop by just to kind of incrementally have visits. So my kids aren't just like just completely alone. They know that there's a, there's a good base of people keeping an eye on the house so that if there's smoke, there might be fire and there's people running. You know like it's. It's just one of those things where I'm like that I feel like there's a complete disconnect when it comes to, you know, those two dynamics and that's really what we're talking about today is that there are very, very different priorities, but there are also things that are principles that are basically the same across the board. That are principles that are basically the same across the board. And so, though you know, like I said, it might be diapers for parents and, you know, brunches for dinks, it's still, you know, it's still a matter that the financial principles apply universally.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so, you know, for kids, it's like family expenses. You know daycare, school supplies, endless snacks, mysterious toy budget. You know, for kids, it's like family expenses. You know, daycare, school supplies, endless snacks, mysterious toy budget. You know, I don't know what that is actually. What is a mysterious toy? You're like, ah, a toy showed up. You're like, where did that come from Our budget? You know that's exactly it.
Speaker 2:I mean, you go anywhere and your kid wants that toy, they surreptitiously take it off of the. Uh, it ends up in the aisle and it's in the cart underneath the cereal. And then they're the ones that are. They volunteer to help put everything on the conveyor belt for the absolutely and so. And then you get home it's like where did this come from? Okay, and now it's part of your spending.
Speaker 1:I, yeah, Okay, I understand now I've I have fully, full well experienced that you know for, for dings it's, you know cashflow may be more flexible in the sense of you know you're thinking you have travel or dining, building up a nice fat emergency fund, but I don't think that that's not like. None of those necessarily aren't options for parents as well. Like, I don't want that to be the. The message that's conveyed is like because you have kids, all of this other stuff sucks. You know, like, and it's it's more, it takes more priority.
Speaker 2:Yeah, the only difference is what you prioritize your spending on. You still have to be smart with your spending. So there are a lot of people who are living a dink lifestyle and we don't want people to think that we're saying dinks negatively. Dink is just a term. I think originally it started out as something negative. It's not negative, it's just an acronym, like childless relationships.
Speaker 1:You're like no, that sounds darker, it's just double income.
Speaker 2:No kids, yeah. Relationships you're like no, that sounds darker, it's just double income. No kids, yeah, um and so. But for for a dink lifestyle, you can still run into serious money problems if you are not smart about the principles of finance. Yeah, just the same as couples with kids can run into problems. Or couples with kids can have an extremely successful financial life, being able to take trips take trips with the whole family, uh, do a lot of different activities. I mean, I try to go on a family trip once a year for usually about a week, and we go and spend a ton of time. We do, you know, all the touristy stuff. We have a ton of fun and I'm a parent and so it's no real difference. It's just where you're putting your priorities at, where you're spending your money. That's the only difference between dinks and parents. Now, that is a fundamental difference. But it's still important to follow the financial principles, otherwise you can get into serious problems or on either lifestyle, you can have a really successful life if you follow the principles.
Speaker 1:And I think that's an important thing. Yes, there are differences, but both groups still want to save, invest, build a future. You know the timeline might be a little different and some of the goals look a little bit different but ultimately, you know, they would all mutually agree that those are important priorities. It's just how long it's going to take to get there. It might take a little bit longer, Right, and it might not. It depends on the other elements that you may put in place for your career and that kind of stuff that can facilitate a faster way to those goals.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and even in parenting, you've got maybe a dual-income household, maybe you've got a single-income household, and that changes the dynamic for what your priorities are. You may prioritize staycations as opposed to long-term vacations. There are just different ways that you're prioritizing that, but it's still important to prioritize some of those activities. That's part of a financial principle that we've talked about for a long time is that you need to plan for fun. You need to plan for those activities. If you don't, you're going to have a lot of problems, and so it's setting up those priorities, making sure you're setting up that proactive financial plan so that you've got that ability, whether you're a dink, whether you're a dual income family with kids or a single income household, and all of that is just an important part of it, but you still need to proactively plan.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think one of the things that inevitably comes up when you're talking about savings or anything like that just paying for bills and budgeting and whatnot is the money talk, you know, and whether you know, like if you're, if you have kids, versus you know, without kids, it's, it's not, it's not necessarily. I think the conversation about money and the dynamics about money in a relationship it isn't about. You know. Often I don't know how to say this Like I think they're about the same Like money in and of itself in a relationship is something that can be really challenging to communicate because you're combining two different habits together. You both are going to have very distinctly different behaviors about what you think money can do and be and where it is, and you're supposed to cooperate and get along and not be mad at each other. You know, like I promise you you will be very and you know it's it's about figuring out that way to cooperate and make right decisions together and, honestly, that comes down to communicating and being transparent with each other.
Speaker 1:You know, you know, if you're a parent, you know one of one of you might want to save for college for your kids or save for some kind of school trip that your kids want to go on and the other one wants to save for a vacation that you do every single year.
Speaker 1:And so it's not a no, you won't, and I will get your approach.
Speaker 1:It's how do we do this, all you know, and it might not be this epic, you know, caribbean cruise that you take your family on, because that might devastate your entire budget, but it could be something that's more tangible going on a family vacation and also continually contributing to that college education for your kids, those are things.
Speaker 1:But then for dinks, there might be debates over big ticket purchases, a fancy car you want to get that car that doesn't have a backseat because you don't have any car seats that need to go in there or career goals, like if the idea that you have the pick up and go ability so that if your career advances and all of a sudden the firm you're working for wants you to move to New York and they're paying for it, there's a little less obligation for you to be like man I'm not, I'm like like uprooting everything. You know you're talking about two individuals. Yes, you might have lots of great relationships where you are, but, but the roots are a little easier to pull when you're not talking about. Like my family is five individuals, I will affect at least that many people in a decision to move away from here.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and it might be that one of the spouse or partner may want to stay where they are because they've got a good career and you've got this opportunity to go now to a completely different state. Well, who makes the decision Right? Opportunity to go now to a completely different state well, who makes the decision right? We think that a lot of people think that dinks don't run into these situations because they've got such a free lifestyle.
Speaker 1:Really, not the case, because there is a lot of the same dynamic that goes on between two people deciding their finances I think other the other, maybe unfortunate statistic from that is the fact that because you don't have nearly the amount of roots in that um you, you may run into the challenge that that's the end of your relationship. It's no longer a dual income.
Speaker 2:And I think that's a stereotype. I don't think that's true, because that diminishes the relationship that you see as two people having.
Speaker 1:I'm just saying culturally. I'm not saying that that's. I'm just saying that a lot of people will find that convenience easier than when you're dealing with the navigation of having kids involved in that sort of situation.
Speaker 2:I'm going to challenge you on that and completely disagree, just because you.
Speaker 2:That's fine, like I brought kids into the world I'm just hypothetical, so I'm not saying relationship is any less, and I think these are common things that people who are dinks run into is that they are seen as maybe not fulfilling themselves as much as they could because they don't have kids. Yeah, and that's just not the case. You know it's. It doesn't really apply. You know, when, before I adopted kids, I was a dink because I couldn't have children and so there was some stigma that was put on that and it was difficult at times, but it doesn't mean that. You know, people who are dinks, either by circumstance or by choice, are somehow in a different social environment than people who have children.
Speaker 1:I think the dynamic is basically the difference of you know, like with kids. There's a lot of you know, we can't afford that conversations, you know, or where dinks are like do we really need to buy another giant beanbag chair for the living room? You know, and there's some flexibility in that, I'm not, you know I'm. I'm again like I'm not going to go down the D word path because that's not what this episode's about. But you know, it's the. There is some wiggle room that is afforded more in a dink lifestyle. That is not necessarily there in a you know, with kids lifestyle. No, yeah, no, I completely agree. That's what I mean by that is you know, like, replace that beanbag chair with you know career path or or something else. It's the ability to have that kind of a conversation seems as from my parent perspective, it feels shallow because I'm like it's a material item, you know, and I sometimes I wish I could have that kind of conversation, but I can't cause I can't afford it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I coached one couple, uh, who were dinks, and they actually had a really great relationship, but they actually lived in three different places and so, because they're different, careers would require them to be elsewhere. They had one home base in one state and then they had careers in two different states. Man and so they they spent a lot of time away from each other, but it was a relationship that worked really well for them and then when they were together, when they got those times where they were together, it was a great environment, and so it's much more dynamic to be able to do something like that in a dink relationship. So I'll grant you that, but it doesn't mean that the relationship is any less fulfilling.
Speaker 1:I would say even it can be more fulfilling. Part of the reason why is, from my experience, when I first met my wife, um, when we were first in a relationship, our relationship was, um, in a place in the military that we could not what they call fraternize, so it wasn't skipping down the sidewalk holding hands ever, and so we literally, you know, we were dependent on writing letters with each other, communicating over a phone or a radio. That was it, and so that's that's a lot of the time. The best interactions that I got to do was when I was off mission. I got a chance to go do laundry with my wife. That was, or my my, she was my girlfriend at the time, and so I learned so much about her and talked about so many things emotionally that I knew a depth that it wasn't this what they use, the, the puppy love, or, like you know, the infatuation phase, when you're just head over heel somebody because the chemicals are right, but then all of a sudden you know the honeymoon's over and you're like you suck, you know and and like that's.
Speaker 1:That's such a typical, you know, or stereotypical relationship, the dynamics that are in our culture, in our society, where I always I was bragged about the opportunity that I go like look, for the first year of my relationship with my, my wife, it was, it was a communication, that was what we got, got a chance to do. So, you know, having that dynamic where you you literally have to create a stronger relationship because you're not just physical, you're not just snuggling, you don't have that. So you build a bond emotionally by communicating and that's such a better strength. Honestly, most relationships will thrive in that. But it's refreshing to hear a a relationship that it might be a dink and the stereotype is to go like wow, you guys have the flexibility to do whatever the hell you want. You know, when the reality is is like no, having that kind of a dynamic takes work.
Speaker 2:yeah, it takes a lot of work and effort. Yeah, and I think one of the big things here you know when you were talking about in, in uh, situations, you hear more we can't afford that. But I think that's more a dynamic of not enough planning, because if you plan well for that family dynamic, that kid dynamic, you still need to hear the same thing that you hear in a dink relationship of not, we can't afford that because that happens in both. That you hear in a dink relationship of not, we can't afford that because that happens in both. It's a matter of you know, we don't want to afford that and so we don't want to buy that, so it's not can't, it's don't want. Yeah, and that's the thing is that you're setting yourself up in a financial position so that it's not ever a matter of, well, that's something we can't do, it's something that we don't do.
Speaker 2:And again, that goes for both types of relationships where you've got dinks or kids, where it's you can set yourself up financially well to say, to make that prioritizing decision of we are not going to do that because we choose not to. Versus again, in either one of these situations you can be so bad with money that you end up saying we can't afford to do that. And that happens in both relationships. Now what you're prioritizing on is different. With kids, you may say we don't want to spend our money on that really nice, fancy sports car that doesn't have room in the backseat for car seats, and that's a we don't, because we prioritize our money on college savings accounts, because there's no kids to set that money aside for Right and so we're not going to do that. And so there's this different dynamic of where your priorities are for where you're spending money, not that you just can't, and that's the key. Set yourself up so that you never have to say I can't, but rather I won't or I don't want to.
Speaker 1:And I think you know, keeping in mind that you're a team, you're there working together, even if, you know, maybe one of you is hiding Amazon boxes somewhere. You know, maybe I, you know, I one of the things I put a note on, on, on the notes here that, uh, I, I enjoyed this. The situation is communicating. Is is really the the element here. Being transparent with what's going on. Is is really helpful on on either side of this. But but I watched a video the other day and it was really entertaining because the suggestion was to try whisper arguing and not, like you know, don't argue out loud because the kids will hear. You know, like that kind of stuff, I will kill you, but I hope we never argue like that.
Speaker 2:Please don't you know like that's not arguing that's threatening and that's different, oh okay got it.
Speaker 1:But uh, the so whisper arguing this. This couple is sitting there and they they're having an argument in their closet and they're talking about how, like I wish you would pick your clothes up and get them off of the floor, because you always leave all your clothes on the floor. And the his response was you know, like, but I like all, I like you use all the hangers, so there's never any hangers. Can you buy more hangers please? You know kind of thing. But the argument is entirely why don't you pick your clothes above the floor? And they're doing it like right here with each other so that they're like, why don't you pick your clothes above the floor? They can't even keep a straight face. He goes if you would buy more hangers, I'd be able to pick my clothes above the floor, but we don't have enough hangers for me, you know, and so it's.
Speaker 1:It's just out there Like they're coming undone, like laughing, and I think part of it is just kind of adding that you love each other, you care about each other. You might have some frivolous reason why you're getting mad at each other for something. You live together, that that's normal. But approach it in this whisper, argue and see what happens. You know, like it's, you're going to be like that was a dumb argument. You know like, yeah, you know, so it's it's. It might be a distraction from from what's going on, but you know, I mean, give it a try, I don't know, I just thought it was really more entertaining than anything.
Speaker 1:Yeah, hey, guys, if you're enjoying this episode and want more tips on leveling up your finances, hit that subscribe button. We're all about helping you make the smart money moves that that helps set you up for the future wins. Whether you're saving for, you know, a down payment for a house, a college, you know, college for your kids, a trip you want to go on, doesn't matter. Help getting you know getting those finances in order. That's what we're here to do, and help you with that. We've got episodes lined up just for you. So subscribe now so you don't miss out on any of the insights that future you will thank you for.
Speaker 1:So now we talk about how does a parent with kids or someone with kids, a couple with kids, and um and dinks how do they fare as far as you know financial goals, when it talks about future, like retirement and you know those sorts of things, Do you feel like, um, you know that whole, the, the, we can't afford that mentality. Okay, and you're right. Like some of that comes from budgeting, there are hardship situations where sometimes you just don't have that option and you can't afford that, you know. But I, honestly, you, I think it's much more qualified if you have that level of budget that you know that that's just not a budget proactive plan, proactive plan we're getting rid of the word budget down with budget.
Speaker 1:It's a proactive plan but, you know, some of it's like when you're talking about your own retirement, but also, I want college for my kids. Do? I want to do that? And honestly, I'm criticizing myself right now because I'm like, wow, I'm terrible at both of those, you know. But you know, I guess I feel like there's some big differences when you're talking about this, but but ultimately it's just getting faster, you know getting there faster.
Speaker 1:You know with, with uh, with uh, with parents. You, you have other elements that are added to that when you're talking about your children's future, that you're wanting to set them up and basically for the same path. Go back two episodes for us and you're going to be talking about what you should probably implement as you're, you know, mid teenager and then at 18 years old, and those are going to be great things to consider If, if you're at that age, that help you as a parent so that it's not just on you to make sure that your kid is set for success. You know this is part sure that your kid is set for success. You know this is part of that legacy building is implementing some of those things into your kids so that they aren't doing the same stupid things you did you know, and Joe didn't do anything stupid though, because he you know.
Speaker 2:Oh no, I was perfect.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but you know I think about dual income and again, this might just be a an assumption. A bad assumption is is that you know, getting to retirement or you know I think of like real estate investing is a is a path I would probably would have been on if I imagined myself doing that as owning properties. You know those are things that are really hard to reach with my three kids that I have. You know they feel harder to reach and they're still on the radar, but I just feel like it's possible to get there faster when you I don't want the kids to come across, I mean me to come across, as the kids are obstacles, but they're kind of obstacles.
Speaker 2:Well, but to be honest, if you're a dink and you're living the stereotypical dink lifestyle, you're still spending the same amount of money, it's just on different priorities than kids. Yeah, so you have no more money as a dink than you do as a parent, that's. I think that's the thing where a lot of people don't understand is that you know you're looking at it, or a parent will look at it and say I'm spending so much money on my kids. If I didn't have to spend that money on my kids, I'd have so much more for the future. But at the same time you're looking at it. Oh, but I could also do all these trips. I can go travel the world, all this.
Speaker 2:it's like yeah that's exactly it if you're gonna go travel the world you're just not spending money on kids, you're spending it on traveling the world. Yeah, you still don't have any of that excess money to save if you're not prioritizing it. If you prioritize your money, even as a parent or as a dink, you still are going to be able to set aside that money for the future. Now what future, that is? Dinks are going to retire too.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think we all end up being retirement age, hopefully Exactly.
Speaker 2:The goal is to get to retirement so you can retire, so you don't have to work every day. But honestly I'm kind of against retiring. So when we get to that stage of life we'll talk about that. So the idea of retiring you know you're, you're working so hard all the time and then all of a sudden you don't that is just such a jarring slam into a wall of doing nothing.
Speaker 1:And a lot of you know, like what again? I don't know necessarily, but I've heard that that has negative ramifications. Like it, can you know, lead to people not living anymore because they just they don't have't have. Like it's not that they yeah, it's not a. It's not a, it's not a self thing, it's it's. It's basically just because you, the body, you hit that wall and you're like man, I got nothing to do and you just kind of wither away into nothingness.
Speaker 1:You know yeah and so you'll kind of lose that purpose. I guess maybe that's the that's exactly you.
Speaker 2:you no longer have that activity, the brain activity, the physical activity, none of that stuff that keeps you going. Yes, it's stressful while you're doing it, but that stress is what keeps you alive and keeps you going.
Speaker 1:But maybe retirement doesn't look to be like I'm going to be. You know I'm I'm no longer going to be working at this position, but I've I've decided that I'm going to retire into. I want to go save children in Africa. So I've dedicated my life to do, you know, like these things, like philanthropic sort of things, or you've developed a hobby where, like you, just love whittling, and so the rest of your life you're going to make toys. You know, wooden toys. There's a group here in Utah that do that. They're in every parade in Utah. I can't remember what they're called Tiny Tim's, I think is what it is and they're just retirement age you have to be retired age in order to get in there and they make little like upwards of full size, children sized cars that are made out of wood. Yeah, that they just build these little toy.
Speaker 2:It's a toy store. Yeah, that's a good retirement, because you're not actually retired, you're still actively doing things Right. And so, whether you're a dink, whether you have kids, no matter where you, whether you're single, you're still going to get to that stage where you retire, which means you still need to plan for it. Yeah, the only difference, the only difference between a single person and a dink couple versus a parent couple, is that legacy where that money that you leave behind goes. Yeah, that's the only difference, because parents are leaving that money for their children, which takes a very important plan to do to make sure that they're not inappropriately using that money, making sure that they're set up to be able to use that money long-term.
Speaker 2:Versus single and dinks, they may be giving that money to their nieces and nephews, which means, now that money, they need to make sure their nieces and nephews are prepped for that money. Maybe they're giving it to charity, maybe they are giving it to organizations, maybe they are giving it to organizations. Causes different things like that. There's still going to be money left over and you need to plan for that. You need to make sure that there is money left over Because if you don't, you're going to run into a position where you're out of money, and so planning and preparing for that legacy is the same. You still want to make sure you have money left over. The only difference is where is that money going, and are you making sure that that money is going to people who are going to use it?
Speaker 1:responsibly.
Speaker 2:So investing in my son's football skills so that he can play professionally and make sure that he retires his parents is a bad plan yes, because there are probably about a hundred to a thousand times more parents that are planning for that than whose kids actually get into a football career um, what's interesting is you?
Speaker 2:think about. You know, all the high schools in the US have football teams, or the vast majority, so you've got this many kids that are in the high school system playing football. And then you go into colleges Well, there's a lot fewer colleges than there are high schools. And so now you whittle all that down to this, and so all the people from this to this just lost all of their investment. And so now you've got them in this well, that's college football, which I mean there's a lot of colleges playing football too, a lot more than NFL teams. And so now you go from this scenario to this, this, and so everyone from this to this just lost all their investment so investing wisely is not necessarily investing into your kids football career.
Speaker 1:Well, it's funny because, like I, I, I saw a post from somebody recently. He was downtown doing some mission work and ran into a professional or a pro football player in one of the homeless missions. Uh, played pro football back in 95, um, and so like it's, it's that kind of context that they'd be like this guy's like, look, I met this guy, amazing person, he's a homeless guy and like, and I, I'm not, I'm not bad, I'm not, I'm not picking on any of that, it's just perspective is to go like it's not a guarantee, you know, like this is.
Speaker 1:So I'm just I'm picking on that aspect because my son wants to go pro and I'm like, okay, well, I'm not going to put all my eggs in that basket, like I want you to succeed and I am absolutely your fan and we'll support you through that goal.
Speaker 1:I'm, I'm, I'm not banking my life on on your, your mission. So I will celebrate it when you get there and you know, you can buy me a steak dinner. Okay, thanks, there you go. You know, but I want to make sure that I can be an example for my kids, so that it's not just the hope of a few of a football future that even they are thinking about. You know, I want, I want to be a better example for them. So that's kind of that.
Speaker 1:But you know, ensuring the finance, like I said, ensuring the financial future, not just for that safety net for me and my, my wife, but my kids and and I would say the safety net isn't necessarily like a fund or an amount of money, I would say it's a mentality, it's a habit, and instilling those habits help them so that they can as well build those kinds of safety nets. So, and you know, like you mentioned, for for dinks it, it may not apply necessarily directly to kids, but you could have relatives or nieces, nephews or something like that. Or you know, outreach, and you know you're, you're donating. You know you're donating to a cause of some sort, so there's lots of different things and opportunities out there. Um, so, hot potato finance that is our channel name for youtube and hopefully we have a fan or two or three, maybe.
Speaker 2:I, I believe you know, maybe, okay, there's one I I think we are consistently getting three people and a dog watching our channel, so we've got at least that there's two dogs watching that oh, okay, we're up to three people and two dogs.
Speaker 1:Three people and two dogs on our channel, so if you want to join the happiest tater community on the web, now is your chance. For just one dollar a month, become a spud and get exclusive access to us, our, your, your, your, amazing and famous podcast hosts here. But if, if you're looking for more, you know, upgrade your to upgrade to commentator at $50 a month for quarterly merch and the power to vote on our next video concepts. Now, if you're feeling fully loaded like a fully loaded potato, become a master tater at a hundred dollars a month. Not only will you have all the benefits of the other tiers, but you can join our monthly zoom calls Plus, get special shout outs in our videos. Now, all members they get a little bit of gravy from us for supporting us, like having their names displayed at the end of our videos, access to a feedback forum and, for some, even one-on-one consulting. No small fry here. Truly, our members have the best benefits. Join us at patreoncom forward, slash T-I-G, underscore H-P-F and be a happy tater today. That's not terrible.
Speaker 1:That's better than the last two. No, okay, right, no, yeah, okay. So last, but certainly not least, is is talking about you know, enjoying the moment that you're in right now in your life. Enjoying, you know this. Your your around the age range where this typically happens. What between 25 and 35 ish, where you really start at least establishing this part. Okay, I was. You know, we didn't start having kids until I was 29, I think, maybe I'm. I don't math good.
Speaker 2:Somewhere around there.
Speaker 1:No 27, I think, is where it was. My first kid was born when I was 27. So, but it didn't mean that I was, you know, sacrificing my future because I had kids, you know. Or for for dinks it's, I wasn't, you know, I wasn't sacrificing my future because I wanted to travel somewhere right now, you know. Or I wanted to have a financial goal of some means.
Speaker 1:Today doesn't mean that I'm cutting away from my future, or vice versa. You know I, I don't want to have that kind of perspective because, honestly, that's the I can't remember what they call that, that's the. I can't remember. Anyway, like it's, it's a, it's an intuitive element where you are, like the sacrificial culture, you know where you're just trying to. You know, because of this, I have to sacrifice here in, uh, I have to get rid of this fun in my life right now in order for me to have any fun later. No, I guess it just doesn't, it doesn't work, it's, it's not mentally healthy. So, but you know I, I think, on the other side of it is is when you want to accomplish some of these things. The idea of diving headfirst into debt is probably not a good idea either. So it's finding that balance of being able to do both, whether you're looking at your financial future and also having a good night tonight.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you've got to look at the future and the present. You've got to be able to make sure that you are getting that fun, getting that adventure, all those things, because that's important for your mental health. But you don't do that by sacrificing your future. You've got to look at the future. What are your plans, what are your goals, what are your long-term situations looking like? To be able to make sure that today you have what you need and tomorrow you have what you need. That's the important part. You know, and and this is a really important stage of life because you've already been through a lot of the mistake stages the mistakes start becoming much more serious in this stage If, if a mistake with your mental health prioritization, it can have serious long-term effects.
Speaker 2:If you make the mistakes of not planning for the future, that has some serious financial impacts in the future, and so it's a lot more important to make smart moves in this stage of life. You know, not just for yourself, but now you're probably part of a couple. You may have kids, which means someone else is now equally dependent on you, just as you may be equally dependent on them. There is a more couple dynamic going on there, and so you are dependent on each other to make sure things happen, and if something doesn't happen right, it can have serious long-term impacts, and so make sure you're setting those things right. So, prioritizing mental health, prioritizing the future and making sure those priorities are there for both.
Speaker 1:You know, I think an element to kind of say okay, well, like prioritizing mental health, what does it look like? And I want the depravity element that I was speaking about is, you know, a treat yourself budget. So it's not something that's going to break the bank, but it's something to continue to have that positive experience, especially with your finances. Finances can be very burdensome at times and so if they are a difficulty in a particular time or season that you're in, there's not usually often a moment where when you talk about mental health, it's mentally draining, you know, and and that can really hurt things are being taken. You know, the the little budget budgeting items like, or proactive planning items are treating yourself.
Speaker 1:You know, each an idea of treating yourself each month for something, setting aside a small family fund for, for for things like experiences as a family, things that just don't break the bank, and that's and that's kind of the biggest deal is that you're just doing a little bit here and there, because, again, that forward thinking doesn't come with the cost of no fun. Now it's just making sure that you are kind of a little bit everywhere instead of just depriving some area because you have to be somewhere you think could be happy later because you've your life sucks right now. That's not how it works. That's going to hurt your head, you know so.
Speaker 1:So, whether you're in, you know that camp kids or camp dink life, your financial journey is your own. The key is to plan wisely, spend smartly and enjoy the ride. Kids or no kids, there's plenty of room for financial wins, and that's the most important part. So keep the future in mind. Don't forget to enjoy the now, the present. After all, money is there to support your life, not run it. So keep that budget balanced and your goals. Big Time for jokes with Joe, all right.
Speaker 2:Okay, let's see if you get this one. All right, what's the difference between zero and eight? I don't know A belt, you've got a zero. Put a belt on it and now it's an eight. Oh, good lord, difference between a zero and eight is a belt 's funny.
Speaker 1:I like that. That's. That's really gotta love. The dad jokes terrible, cheesy though that's good. I like that.
Speaker 2:That's a good joke love my dad, jokes all right guys.
Speaker 1:We have reached the end of our show for today. Thank you for listening. Thank you for watching. Don't forget to hit, like and subscribe. Life's too short, so keep laughing and learning and remember idiots have way more fun. Check your shoes.