Part 2: Danny Kofke: Building Long-Term Wealth on a Teaching Career

Think a teacher salary can’t build real wealth? We invite Danny Kafke back to show how educators can pair the Georgia TRS pension with smart, low-fee savings and the right insurance to create stability that rivals seven-figure portfolios. We start with the simple math of the pension—2% per service year—then connect it to a practical plan that protects your family, fights inertia, and keeps more of every dollar you invest.

Danny explains why protection comes first. Life insurance and long-term disability aren’t just line items; they’re the shield that keeps a lifetime of saving from unraveling after one bad break. From there, we dig into catch-up strategies for mid-career teachers who finally have room to save: how much to contribute, where to trim, and how to let automation do the heavy lifting. We tackle the myth that higher income fixes everything, and show how overspending can sink doctors and superstars just as easily as it derails teachers.

The conversation turns to the Southern Education Retirement Consortium (SERC) and its impact on districts—especially smaller ones. By consolidating into a single-vendor model with transparent oversight, SERC slashes plan fees that quietly erode balances. The result: tens of thousands saved per educator over time, higher participation via auto-enrollment, and more money staying in local communities to build generational wealth. Danny’s personal story anchors it all, reminding us that the greatest return on money is freedom to be present for the people we love.

If you’re a superintendent, HR leader, or educator looking for clarity, this one’s a roadmap: pensions, protection, automation, and lower fees. Subscribe, share with a colleague, and leave a review with one question you want answered about your retirement plan—what should we dig into next?

Transcript

Welcome Back And Danny’s Story

SPEAKER_00 0:27

Welcome back, Gail family, to another exciting episode of Gail Unscripted. We've got Danny Kafke here back. He was with us earlier this year for an episode on financial literacy for educators. And it was a wonderful episode, and he's back for episode two. So, Danny, for the audience that didn't join us for episode one, I'm sure after hearing today they're going to go back and listen. But introduce yourself and talk about, you know, tell our audience who you are and what you do. Sure. Yeah, and thanks for having me back on.

SPEAKER_01 0:56

It's a lovely uh do a doubleheader, right? This will be fun. Um, so I was a school teacher for 18 years, uh, started off teaching kindergarten, first grade, and last 10 years I was in special ed a severe, profound, self-contained classroom. So just have a wife, my wife was a teacher and now still in education uh next door to us in Jackson County, uh district, uh instructional technology specialist. So yeah, just kind of a family of educators. My daughter's a junior, senior, slash at Georgia, double major, and you know, you tell them if you're an educator, don't be a teacher. But yeah, she wants to be a teacher. So uh so yeah, so just uh a love for educators. And then even now, and we'll discuss it in a bit, but um kind of helping teachers transform the way they're saving for their retirement.

SPEAKER_00 1:36

It's just so uh interesting to me and impressive that you taught kindergarten and first grade? Yes. Um, you know, when our kids were little um at church, out of pure guilt and shame and condemnation, my wife and I felt like we had to, or we should, volunteer in the nursery and teaching the Sunday school classes of that age. And um I uh I just marvel at what elementary teachers can do because I was a complete disaster.

SPEAKER_01 2:03

I love kindergarten was I mean, I love teaching kindergarten. It was I think I it was a podcast I heard the other day. I think they said there are more females in NASA than there are male kindergarten teachers. Wow. And that's when you I mean, like, because my wife and I, we talk about like she was a different teacher than I was. There's things that she didn't overlook that as a male, it's not that big of a deal. But um, but no, I love that time. Um it was just and kindergarten is a great year. I mean, they come in and they don't know how to read or write, and nine months later they're reading level G books and they're right. It's like it really is such a neat, but yeah, I don't know if I could do it. I was a lot uh I guess what, 26 then? Uh not 50, so definitely a lot of energy.

Teacher Pensions Explained Simply

SPEAKER_00 2:40

Well, just to recap our previous episode, one of the things we talked about is uh compound interest, you know, so they can go back and listen to that. And we talked about teacher retirement system. So why don't you just remind the audience of of what that value is on average for a teacher educator that retires with TRS?

SPEAKER_01 2:58

Oh, yeah. So so we kind of were discussing basically you could you can retire as a millionaire. So the way the teacher pension system here works in Georgia, you get 2% a year for every year you work. So we just said uh let's say you work 30 years, God bless you, you made it 30 years, so you take that 30 times 2%. And we're just gonna say at the end of your career, the average last two years uh highest paid salary was$60,000. 60% of$60,000 is$36,000 a year. So average rule of thumb, um many financial advisors recommend withdrawal no more than 4% a year in your retirement savings to have it last a lifetime. So if you had a million dollars at retirement, you withdrew 4% a year, that's$40,000. With the teacher pension system that I just talked about, that was$36,000. That was only making$60 grand a year. Most teachers, if you teach 30 years, you're probably gonna be at$75,000,$80,000,$90,000. So you're gonna live larger than a millionaire.

unknown 3:48

Yeah, good.

SPEAKER_00 3:49

Talk to us a little bit about insurance. Um, that's another very important aspect of your financial safety and longevity. But tell us why that's so important for educators.

Why Insurance Protection Matters

SPEAKER_01 4:02

As if finances aren't boring enough. Now we're gonna get into a lot of people say, oh, but insurance, being properly protected, may be the most important step you can take in your financial journey. And why? Well, you could work hard your entire career, build up this savings, but if you're not properly protected, one little slip can derail it all. So we do have to look at the policies, and we all know. I mean, most of us know the importance. If you live in a house or you're renting, having renters or homeowners' insurance, that's pretty obvious. Uh, medical, we know the importance of having health insurance, of course, car insurance, things you drive, we all know that. But other insurance products, and especially for educators, and open enrollment just ended, but maybe you can kind of keep it on mind for next year. Like you talk about life insurance, talk about disability insurance. So right now, so life insurance. I have a 21-year-old and I have an 18-year-old, two girls, both in college. So, God forbid, what if I drove home today and I got in an accident and I passed away? I have a life insurance policy in place that Tracy, my wife, would be able to collect so she continues to pay for the girls' college, weddings, and is able to support herself. It's not fun to think about because ultimately we're thinking about dying. But I can guarantee you, if you are listening to this episode, you're going to die. I don't know when, but we're going to. So leaving and having that proper protection in place is what truly is leaving a legacy is about that your loved ones can grieve and not have to worry about the financial stuff. And then disability insurance with school districts or short-term and long-term disability. If you become injured, and I know especially you're 28, you're never going to become injured. Well, it happens. So having that disability insurance in place can help. If you become injured, you're at least going to have some income coming in to help pay for the bill. Doesn't mean the payments are going to stop. They're not so kind of, oh yeah, you don't have to pay them anymore. No, they're still going to happen. So, and it's very, very inexpensive, especially with a school district. Long-term disability is something like$14 or something, depending on what district, but very inexpensive for the protection that you're going to receive.

SPEAKER_00 6:07

It's just so incredibly important.

SPEAKER_01 6:09

And especially too with women, you know, if you get pregnant, have a baby. Sometimes those policies, because you're going to have to sometimes take off or whatever, it can just help. And it's not that much of a cost to do it. And once again, none of us, it's kind of like going to the dentist. You don't enjoy it. It's not something we want to do. Right. It's one of those things, yes, it just is a protection for you.

SPEAKER_00 6:27

That's right. Um, life insurance just so important, like you said. That legacy for your family.

SPEAKER_01 6:34

And it differs in stages of life. Like, so hopefully, 10 years from now, I won't need life insurance because we would have our investments to draw. And hopefully, the girls, they should be off my payroll by then. Um, so then I don't have to worry about paying for them. So it just differs. But you're young, you're 26, and you have two young ones. Yes, you need it because I know we like to think we're invincible, but stuff happens, and you don't want to you don't want to be a burden after if you pass. That's right. You want your family to be able to agree for you properly and not have to worry about any financial picture, you know, or or puzzles that are left behind. That's right.

SPEAKER_00 7:06

Very, very, very important. On our previous episode, you did a a lot of in-depth talking about uh the younger generation when they first get into education, the importance of starting the savings right off the bat. Examples of people that may be in year seven or eight and they've incurred some debt of how to attack and tackle that debt. Let's talk about the educators that maybe are further down the road. Maybe they're in year fifteen or eighteen or even further. Um, and they haven't done these things. Um but they've they're finally at a place where they've tackled their debt. They've gotten out of debt. Is it too late? They've got 10 more years as a teacher or as an educator. Which it talk to them a little bit about that.

SPEAKER_01 7:47

Yeah, I mean, there's an old Chinese proverb, the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, the next best time is today. And that's kind of the way it is. Um, it's never too late. Now, granted, we talked about in the last episode the magic of compound interest, and we did, I think we start off with$100 a month at age 25. You did it till 65, you'd have over$320,000. That's not gonna be the case if you're 47, you can't invest just$100 a month. Compound interest will work for you, but you're not gonna have the$320,000. So that's where you do some math and see, okay, a lot of us then we can look at retirement a little more clearly than we can when we're in our 20s because it's closer, right around the corner. But then we can envision, okay, what do we want our lives to look like 20 years from now? And for many people, especially that age, you know, maybe you own a home and your mortgage is almost paid off, okay? So that's one less expense that you're gonna have. So maybe you don't need as uh, you know, as much money saved. But that's where it's all personal, and that's where I advise most school districts. You have some some person running your supplemental retirement savings plan, meet with that financial advisor, and then you can map out your own personal game plan because everyone differs. Some people in retirement want to travel, take vacations every two months. Some people are fine with just going fishing. And so it just depends on what you want for your retirement. But yes, at that age, it isn't too late. Um, we'll go back to that dreaded B-word, the budget, but we have to see, okay, if we want to invest a little bit more, we have to see if there's areas that we can cut back on, or are there ways that you can increase your income by taking on a side gig, whatever it may be. But then use that extra money and apply it to your retirement savings to that's what you want to build, and then just let compound interest, it'll still work for you, but you have less of a time frame to let it work for you. So it won't earn as much. But hey, instead of doing$100 a month, maybe you're able to invest$250 a month for that 15 years, and then you're gonna see some really positive gains. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:29

On a previous episode, we talked about the fact that uh we have so many professional development opportunities for our teachers uh to learn how to everything from their assessments to designing lessons, teaching strategies. Students now have to have financial literacy courses. But by and large, in school districts, sometimes we don't really have financial literacy for our employees. And we both agree that would be a fantastic thing. And I think Ivy said she's gonna do that for us. She's gonna set all that. She'll set that up. But you know, there may be people listening to this, superintendents, HR professionals that think, oh, I mean, we can't offer a full-fledged financial literacy course. But what could they do as far as like just in general terms and then uh reference them or refer to them? Like you said, most school districts have got a person that handles their supplemental benefits or a company. But talk about what that could look like for a school district if they decided they're listening and they go, you know what, we I do want to offer something like that for our employees. What could that look like?

Starting Late And Catching Up

SPEAKER_01 10:33

I I mean, and uh you kind of struck it with like you saying that, I honestly think there is a need for that. And maybe, I mean, I'll talk and maybe create one because I look at someone like Dave Ramsey, he got started with financial peace and churches. So you people will watch it and listen to it. You just have to let it be on teachers' times. Now we can't just say, you know what, we're gonna meet today after you've taught all day at 3 30, and we're gonna go over five. No, that's not gonna work. We get that. You're gonna be able to. But no, if you let it on their time and maybe offer, like, hey, we'll meet once a month if you want to, and open, you know, because you have to have dialogue and teachers like dialogue. But I think you have a great idea. I uh that is a really good idea because it's so true. There's a lot of, and I'm not, you know, I know we need to take professional learning. I get that as educators, but a lot of it is is it lasting? Is it impactful? No, you're taking it for a certain thing, and then in a certain time period, your financial picture, this is something that's relevant from when you're 25 until you pass away. I mean, this is, and if a school district was able to offer that, I do think about retention. I think about recruitment. Yes, is there an added, can you say, okay, it's almost like a limitless dollar amount you can put on a perk like that because literally you could, it could be a million-dollar perk depending on what people did with it.

SPEAKER_00 11:46

So I think they could do some some live face-to-face, just very general, very general terms, even bringing in those companies that are offering those benefits. They could just download it into the notebook LM that creates a podcast. 100% that's got all that information, and the teachers could actually ask questions of those virtual podcasters to get that. I just think there's a lot of opportunities. And maybe that's something that's a good idea. I think that is a great, yeah. Yeah, so that would be interesting to see if that really if anybody jumps out there. And there may be some. I may get an email today that says, hey, we're actually doing that at this school district, which would be awesome. I would like to uh you conclude your your book with a story about what really matters. Can you relay this with our listeners?

Building Workplace Financial Literacy

SPEAKER_01 12:30

Yeah. So uh in the previous episode and this what we talked about short long-term savings and things, um, you know, the money game. Um and some people we think money is to buy cars, to buy houses, for what whatever. And that's fine, you know, what whatever works for you. But for me, having money really it kind of the importance of it happened uh about 10 years ago. So I'll never forget the date. Um, August 10th, 2017. I had just started a new job in Hall County, so a special ed teacher, it was Thursday of the first week of school. So I'm driving home, 3:30 in the afternoon, and y'all know that first week of school, it's like, thank God it's almost Friday. How in the world am I gonna do this again all year? But um got a call that changed my life. So my dad, 60 years old, had a stroke that morning in his brainstem. So he went from you and I in a snap to tube fed, needed to wear briefs, wheelchair confined, could not do anything on his own. So it was a long process. So went to rehab for a couple of months, and then he came home to my parents' house. They lived about a mile from us. And my mom needed help with the I mean, she was still working, so we kind of juggled our schedule. At that time, Tracy was actually working part-time, my wife. So we kind of were all just, you know, juggling our schedules, but you know, if one chip fell, it was it was tough. So then I made the decision right before Christmas break. I approached my principal, wonderful principal, and I'm like, something I I can't do this, something's gotta give. She was so kind and said, okay, I will let you work part-time. So then I would go into work at 7:30 to 10:30, and then I would come and I would take care of him the rest of the day. We made the decision then in December to sell our house and move in with them. They had an upstairs suite. So Tracy and I and my two daughters, we lived upstairs. And then it got to be it was like March, and it was still, it was too much. So then I decided I was gonna resign at the end of the school year and be his full-time caretaker. Um, so that summer, I remember June 17th, that year is Father's Day, it was our anniversary as well. So I remember that. I'm like, this is probably my last father's day with my dad. So, you know, had a lot of time with him, and then the very next week um he passed away. So when he passed away though, Tracy and I were holding his hand. Um it was like one o'clock in the morning. And then I thought at that time, in that house, so my brother had come up with his wife, so he was surrounded by you know, in the house with five grandchildren, his wife, uh, two sons, and and two daughters-in-law. And like, you know, for me at that moment of my life, it was it it cost me money, but it was the wealthiest thing I've ever done. And I still think back on that. Like, I I wouldn't wish that upon anyone, but if we had not taken care of our finances, if we were living in debt, if Tracy and I, you know, didn't think about, you know, just we just paycheck to paycheck, I would not have been able to do that. And not only, you know, it was a a big blessing to me, it was a blessing to my dad and my mom, but it just taught me to me, you know, that that it to me is what this money game is about. Um, yes, it's nice driving a fancy car. Yeah, it's great going on vacations. It's but to me at the end of the day, it's like taking care of your loved ones is is why I have money. Even right now, we talked, I have two children in college, I want them to graduate debt-free. That's what this is about. Because then that creates opportunities for them and doing things, but you know, I I don't know. We get bogged down a lot of times of what is the meaning of money. And I don't it just it's simple to me. Going back, it's like just taking care of those that you love. And that's that's what the money game's about to me.

SPEAKER_00 15:51

That's incredible. That and that explains your passion for the work that you do and why you do this.

SPEAKER_01 15:57

Yes, 100%. And and I honestly, I think we're so as a society, we're so angry. Like when you think of when and and when you look at social media and and why is that? I think there's studies that show like 70% of the of us are unhappy at our jobs with our financial situation. So when you're unhappy at life, what do you do? You lash out at others, even though you really don't mean it. You may, but you're just frustrated. So this money thing, uh, I mean, it's kind of cliche to say, but I really do think it can change the world. Like, I think we could be happier people, and if we're happier, we're more giving, we're loving, we're kinder. And I do think it's a lot of it does stem from financial situations of why people are so angry when uh, you know, if if we were able to do better, we wouldn't be.

SPEAKER_00 16:41

We'd be treat each other, treat each other a lot better. Yeah, I can't remember the stats, but I know finances are a huge issue that causes divorce. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:50

I mean, I think it's behind infidelity. I mean, but I think it's like the second leading cause. I mean it's a good thing. Well, you think, and especially in education, you think about how hard how hard life is. I mean, especially as a teacher, you're going, and if you had a have financial stress on top of that, that's a lot of times it's just the straw that breaks the camel's back. It's just that it's not necessarily the finances, but it's just everything else. And then you add that too, and it's like, man, yes, it it's it's tough.

SPEAKER_00 17:16

Yeah. And you mentioned, I'm or we mentioned in the previous episode that educators, teachers are one of the top professions for millionaires. Yes. And you mentioned something about doctors that I had not heard. I think you know, because sometimes I think there's this misconception out there. If I was just making more money, then everything would be okay. That's really not true. It's about the budget, but talk about it. 100%.

SPEAKER_01 17:39

Yeah, so so I'm blessed that times I get to do presentations for the teacher retirement system. And that's one of the slides I show. I say, you know, what do these people have in common? I it was like Tom Petty, Dave Ramsey, Donald Trump, MC Hammer, 50 Cent, all of them made a lot more money than all of us in this room combined. Yet every single one of them files a bankruptcy. And it just goes to show if you spend more than you earn, you're gonna be in trouble. And the same principle holds, whether you make$100,000 a year, a million dollars a year, or$10 million a year. If you spend more that's coming in, you're gonna find yourself in financial stress. So it is so true. Yes, obviously, if you make more money and you're good, and I talked about that that's why it's so important with these beginning teachers. If you get used to living on less, as your salary increases, you're used to living on less, so you're gonna be okay. But if you're used to living on 110% of what you make, I don't care how much you make, you're gonna be spending more than you earn.

SPEAKER_00 18:32

Yeah, you're just gonna keep increasing it. Well, after being a teacher for 18 years, you left the per profession because you wanted to help teachers and classified staff with their financial plans. And you joined the Southern Education Retirement Consortium. Why don't you talk about what that is and how it is transforming the education industry?

What Money Is Really For

SPEAKER_01 18:54

So it's it's like a dream come true for me. This is like, I feel, you know, there's elements and like God puts you in places, and this this was definitely one. So I met our executive director, uh Kevin Benson. So he started this, it's part of Pioneer Risa, and then part of the Cooperating Purchasing Agency, which here in Northeast Georgia is created, I don't know, it was like 50 years ago. So basically delivering supplies to like 35 different school districts, because up here in the North Georgia Mountains, it was really hard to get people to come out of Atlanta to do that. Kevin was talking to a gentleman one day, I think he was a teacher in Gwinnett County, and he was showing Kevin his retirement savings. Hey, look, and it's right on his phone. And Kevin's like, well, why don't I have that? So that kind of started this whole thing. Um, so basically, what we do, we partner with Corebridge Financial, and then Hartman Astor, he is our retirement investment advisor, oversees the plan. So kind of a three-pronged approach, but basically, we are saving teachers thousands of dollars in fees alone. So let's just say you and I graduate, we're gonna say from that champion university right here in Athens, University of Georgia, we both decide to become first grade teachers. So we're gonna say you decide, we're gonna say maybe you go to a smaller county. We'll say maybe Dalton, okay? You go, and let's say I say, you know what, I'm gonna stay closer, I'm gonna go to Gwinnett County. Well, say Dalton City is a lot smaller than Gwinnett County. So what if the state health agency said, you know what, because you teach in Dalton, Ben, you're gonna, your health insurance is gonna be$500 a month. Danny, you teach in Gwynette, it's gonna be$300 a month. Would that be fair? No. That's why we have the state health. So whether you're a teacher in Savannah, whether you're a teach teacher, you know, anywhere in the state, it's the same amount. But the retirement savings plan is not that way for many teachers. So a lot of times these smaller counties, because they don't have as many teachers investing in the plan, there's certain breakpoints when even in your personal account and retirement accounts, you hit certain breakpoints, you're paying less in fees. So, what we do for a lot of these smaller counties, they combine together. As of right now, we have 21 plans in the CERC system. Um, we also have some in North Carolina and Tennessee, and we're growing. I mean, we just passed, we have benchmarks and we have$99 million under assets of September 30th. So, what does that mean? Well, I recently met with a county down south, small county, they actually had one elementary middle high school, shared it. So one building, so a smaller county. We looked at their average teacher of what they're currently paying in fees alone in the retirement savings plan compared to what's going to happen when they join Circ. So if a teacher invested with us, it was$150 a month for 20 years, they're going to save over$23,000 in fees alone. And it really struck me when I was walking through the school, like you think, okay, wow, that's a lot. But then I'm like, walking through a school, so I walk in the door, the secretary, that's$23,000. The first grade teacher, that's$23,000. The cafeteria worker, that's$20,000, like that is a lot of money. And then what happens with that, especially in our smaller communities, that stays in the community and it creates generational wealth. So, you know, like here in Georgia, we have the second most counties in the country behind Texas. And then within a lot of those counties, we have city school systems. So a lot of smaller districts, but then if we can keep that money in the district itself, it just stays there and it creates this wealth for the entire community. So very, very exciting. Um, and then a big you know component of that is we we use single vendor, which is Corebridge, formerly of Alex, so now Corebridge. And what does what that does, it eliminates confusion. So I've been on now almost, you know, total of an hour. So I'm pretty financially literate. I will go back to my beginning teaching days. First grade teacher started off, then I became kinner. So first grade teacher getting ready to teach class. It's like the Thursday before my first day of school. Teacher, you know, the pre-planning. Five gentlemen up front telling me I need to save for retirement. Now, 25 years old, I know nothing about retirement, I don't care about retirement because that's 50 years. I'm worried about meeting parents, I'm worried about the student, whatever. So then I have to decide which one of these people is the best for me. So, first off, I would pick the best salesperson, not necessarily the best plan for me. But then secondly, I become confused. I'm not gonna worry about it. So guess what? I do nothing. So then one year turns into five years, turns into 10 years, and then I'm not 20-year teacher and I haven't saved anything for retirement. And man, it's approaching fast. So another benefit of what we do at Circ, we encourage our districts to do auto enroll. So now this is where the education comes into play because a lot of teachers are like, oh, you're taking more money from no, this is your money. You can opt out at any time. It's not like a health insurance or insurance, but we talk it anytime you can opt out. But what I try to do is go in, and like we talked in the previous episode, the magic of compound interest, this is what I want you to do. Nothing. Because if you do nothing, this is what you're gonna have in your retirement. So of course we want you to meet with an advisor and things like that. But I know probably 75% of teachers, they got lesson plans to do, they got to get the kids to soccer, they got to, I mean, it's very tough for them to make that time. So we know we're setting them up for success by doing that auto-enroll. And then once again, the education, you can opt out at any time, but then explaining this money is yours as well. There are some um retirement savings plans out there that are they they charge money if you try to take the if you try to transfer the plan out. So there's fees that go along with that. Once again, they're paying higher fees average than compared to Circ. So it's just kind of the the really, really state of the art and it's transforming the industry. And the the coolest thing for me, we talked about it. I'm back in TRS, I'm a TRS employee again, so I got that million dollar pension coming my way. So uh between that and then also the neat thing for me is I just go out and educate. Like, I'm not commission based at all. So when I talk to a school district, if the plan isn't right for them, that's great. I met with one that had a great retirement savings plan. I'm like, this is amazing. Congratulations. I love that you're doing this for your teachers. You need to tell them, and you're not a right fit for us because you're already offering a great plan. But it doesn't, you know, I it's I get to do the right thing, which is great, so nothing tied to it. So it's just kind of like I said, it's kiss kissed a lot of ugly frogs to finally get this great dig, so it's really fun.

SPEAKER_00 24:51

Well, Danny, you you did something perfect and you didn't even know it because it is Gail unscripted, but we like to highlight one of our Gail partners each episode, and you just brought Corbridge right to the front. They've been a fantastic partner, basically for the lifetime of Gail. They they have done an incredible job. Yes, and like you said, that is who SERC works with. I remember, um I can't remember if you were there, but somebody came down to Coastal Plains, Risa, and Alan was there, James, but talked about it. And I know they looked at some school districts that already have a match, and I remember them saying, Hey, you're at a place right now, keep exactly what you're doing. There may come a time where it'd be advantageous to move over to the consumer.

SPEAKER_01 25:32

And that's what I love about Corbridge, right? It's just it really is, it's it's giving educators what they deserve, the retirement plan that they truly deserve, instead of paying all these high fees and surrender charges and not knowing what's going on.

SPEAKER_00 25:44

Yeah. So if you're out there listening, you're a Gale member and you're a superintendent, HR professional, administrator, district office, whatever, and and you've got a plan, I would make sure, you know, I think it's very smart to be looking at those plans every three to five years and make sure you're getting the right thing for your buck, and especially when it comes to the fees. And it's and if you are a small district, and uh what would you d define as a small district? Well, I mean this consortium.

Income vs Spending: Myths And Truths

SPEAKER_01 26:14

It's hard because even some of the larger districts are, but I would say small districts, probably maybe composed of say maybe like six elementary schools, two middle schools, a high school, so roughly but 10,000 students and less. Yes, around that. But then we also um have one that has a lot more than that. So it just depends on so I uh kind of piggybacking on what you said, take a deep dive into your plan. Take a look at it and see what it is, because if it if you have a great plan already, you should actually highlight that and you don't need to join Circ. But I will I will probably say, I would say probably 80% of the ones out there probably should take a deep dive and just and definitely consider it just because it is. You you'll I mean, it's just an exciting time, especially. Like I love being a part of this because it's fun, like it's real life, and that's where it really does put in perspective. Like when I mentioned we did a deep dive into that plan that's currently joined.$23,000 is a lot of money. When I think about that per person, so like just think driving in a teacher parking lot, and every car that passes me, that's$23,000. Like, that's a lot of money that's really exciting. And then once again, it kind of goes back to what do you do with that money? You know, for me, you you kind of you give back to others. And I'm not, you know, I'm not a proponent of people telling me what I should do with my money, but when we think of educators as a whole, I would say we're probably the most giving group around. So if you have a teacher that does really well financially and they have a lot, what are they usually gonna do with that money? They're going to give back, and that's when we consider it. Exactly. And that's when we see this huge transformation. Once again, cliche, but I think it really could change, change society and make make a lot of people a lot happier.

SPEAKER_00 27:53

Yeah, yeah. TRS has got some great data on the number of retirees that stay in that local community and the influx of dollars that are in that local community as a result. Yes. So I think those are all great points. So if you're out there, uh maybe your district and you have multiple vendors that you allow your employees to work with, I would say it's worth a call to set up a meeting with SERC just to see are you truly getting the best deal for your employees? Well, Danny, as we wrap up this second episode, what is the most important message you hope our listeners will get from your your joining us these last two episodes?

SPEAKER_01 28:31

You just said it, hope. That's kind of one I want to show others. Um, once again, I've never taken a finance class in my life, but I was able to figure it out. And that's, you know, for me, my goal. If this former school teacher can do it, you can do it as well. Now there's times you may have to say no. I know we don't like to say no. You may have to live on less. But the the neat thing is that there's not some magic formula. We can all do it. It for some, it's gonna take a little bit more work than it will for others. But the beauty is that anyone can do it. You can take control of your financial situation, even if you've been bad at it your entire life. You can start today and you can gain control. And once again, if I can do it, you can do it as well.

SPEAKER_00 29:12

Well, it's been outstanding. I wish I could go back in time and uh as a first-year teacher could have heard this podcast and really um made some wiser decisions in in our lives. But uh anyway, uh hopefully this helps some others out there. Thank you so much for coming. Uh, thank you for joining us for another episode of Gail Unscripted.