MyPocketFP Podcast
Welcome to MyPocketFP — the podcast where your wallet finally meets its financial planner… and they actually get along.
Hosted by Jason Taylor, certified financial planner and money sensei, this show is your go-to guide for turning financial confusion into clarity. Whether you're prepping for retirement or wondering where last weekend’s spending spree went, Jason delivers smart tips, surprising insights, and practical strategies — all designed to fit right in your pocket.
💡 From bite-sized budgeting hacks to long-term wealth-building moves, MyPocketFP helps you take control of your financial life one episode at a time. Because your future deserves more than guesswork.
Tune in weekly to discover how small monthly changes can lead to big wins in your financial endgame. And remember — your financial planner is now officially pocket-sized (and doesn’t charge by the hour).
📲 Ready to level up your money game? Visit MyPocketFP.com and start shaping your financial future today
To learn more about MyPocketFP visit:
https://www.MyPocketFP.com
MyPocketFP
MyPocketFP Podcast
The 11 Financial Measurements That Actually Matter
What Are The 11 Financial Vitals And Why Do They Matter?
What if understanding your financial health was as straightforward as checking your pulse? In this eye-opening episode, certified financial planner Jason Taylor breaks down the concept of "financial vital signs" – eleven key measurements that reveal the true state of your monetary wellbeing.
Jason introduces us to the "Core Four" measurements that form the foundation of financial assessment: your effective tax rate (which most people don't actually know), insurance coverage adequacy (which changes year by year), burn rate (how much you spend compared to what you earn), and savings rate (how much you're setting aside for the future). These fundamental indicators provide immediate insight into your financial situation and serve as starting points for meaningful improvement.
Rather than overwhelming listeners with the need to perfect all eleven measurements simultaneously, Jason advocates for a more sustainable approach: focusing on making small, incremental improvements to one or two vital signs at a time. This methodology lies at the heart of the MyPocketFP app, which presents these complex financial indicators in a simple, color-coded format that anyone can understand at a glance. The goal isn't perfection but progress – moving your savings rate from 0% to 1%, then 2%, and beyond, creating momentum that builds toward financial freedom.
Particularly interesting is Jason's insight that insurance coverage tends to be the most overlooked vital sign, with many people selecting the lowest-cost option without regular reassessment. By shopping insurance rates annually, significant savings can often be found – illustrating how attention to often-ignored details can yield substantial financial benefits. Whether you're just starting your financial journey or looking to optimize an already solid foundation, these eleven vital signs provide a roadmap to monetary health that's actually manageable. Download the MyPocketFP app today and transform how you track, understand, and improve your financial wellbeing.
To learn more about MyPocketFP visit:
https://www.MyPocketFP.com
MyPocketFP
Welcome to my Pocket FP, the podcast where your wallet finally meets its financial planner and they actually get along. Join your host, jason Taylor, certified financial planner, money mentor and your guide to financial freedom. Whether you're planning for retirement or just trying to figure out where all your money went last weekend, we've got you covered. Get ready to take control of your financial life with smart tips, surprising insights and yes, an app that fits right in your pocket. This is my Pocket FP, because your future deserves more than guesswork.
Speaker 2:Just like your body has vital signs, your finances do, too. Jason walks us through the 11 financial vitals that every person should monitor and why ignoring them could cost you more than just money. Welcome back. I'm Millie M, co-host and producer back in the studio with Jason Taylor, certified financial planner and creator of MyPocketFP. How are you, jason?
Speaker 3:Doing well. Thank you, Millie.
Speaker 2:Good, good, I've got my financial stethoscope ready. Let's check the pulse on what really matters in our money lives. What are the 11 financial vitals and why do they matter?
Speaker 3:Perfect. Well, you know, when I was putting this together, I was looking at a lot of different apps in order to really reach out to people and help them measure it and it's easy to read, and it's not like you said, a bunch of spreadsheets and charts, it's just simple measurements that you can make a little better every month to get to where you want to go.
Speaker 3:Measurements that you can make a little better every month to get to where you want to go. Each person we start at a different place, I find. Depending on what level they're at, we start at a different element. Most recently I've been working on people's tax rates, because you can make a big change just looking at what their effective tax rate is. One thing is we help them realize what their actual tax rate is. Most people thing is we help them realize what their actual tax rate is. Most people do not know. So that's one of the steps we take, for a lot of our clients is to find out what their tax rate is.
Speaker 3:Another thing you're just starting out is insurance rate To know if you have enough insurance coverage for house, car, life insurance, to make sure that you have the right amount of coverage for your personal situation, and that does change year by year. So both those are really important and it relates to most people, even if they haven't started saving in retirement or other things and we talked about budgets in a prior episode. Most people don't like that, so a big part of it is looking at. We need to know what your burn rate is, and burn rate is how much you spend in compared to how much you make. So it's a good measurement to have in front of you. So if that is 100%, we know there's a problem and something to look into with the client. On the same note along the budget is the savings rate, which measures how much you save compared to how much you make. And once again, at that, 0%, we want to have that be 1% and then 2%, and just make incremental changes to where it doesn't hurt as much.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 3:So those are the main ones we start out with most people.
Speaker 2:Gotcha, and so there's 11 total. Starting with those few, do you see changes in the other? You know what I'm saying Is it? Once you start with those, you'll see some changes in the others as well.
Speaker 3:Yeah, definitely the total term because that's measures, all of them together. So it has an effect on that. The other ones it has a minimal effect on actually liquid term. It would affect as well. Just overall you know how long your savings will last. The higher savings are, the better that will be. There's the real estate. It doesn't affect that as much unless you start buying real estate down the road and the business measurement as well isn't affected as much, but it does.
Speaker 2:Those core four do make a significant difference on a lot of it. Those are the core four. Love that. So if someone has, let's say, a burn rate of a hundred percent and savings of zero percent, at that point, guide them through negotiating down some of their spending or coming up with ways to increase their income, or do you leave that up to them?
Speaker 3:You know, I can make strong suggestions and give them ideas on how to save money, but in all reality it's up to the client, it's up to the person whose money it is.
Speaker 2:So which of the 11 vital signs do people overlook the most?
Speaker 3:Which one is overlooked? Yes, I would probably say the insurance one. Most people go for the lowest rate. You know they don't look at it annually, even every five years. They just let it go. And it's amazing, if you shop it around every year, how much you could save.
Speaker 2:You know what that's true. If you just continue to check on those rates, you can find some savings. So how does MyPocketFP help users stay on top of these vitals without, like I said last time, getting that feeling of overwhelm? Well it's all on a one page.
Speaker 3:They're colorful and you can focus on a lot of times. We'll just focus on one for a couple of months until it starts improving and then we'll shift to another one. So we don't look at all of them at once. We'll focus on just one or two at a time.
Speaker 2:A person like me would definitely appreciate that, and I'm sure your clients are glad that they have you walking them through that process, because there's a lot of people who don't even feel confident in like math in school, and so I think that correlates to why a lot of people shy away from their finances but, love that my pocket FB is making it easy and fun for all.
Speaker 3:I appreciate you for breaking down those vitals that help yeah our financial lives and, if you don't mind, I just kind of show you what it looks like. And that's kind of what it looks like, ah I do love a color coded system.
Speaker 2:Yes, that helps me for sure, because as soon as your eye sees a color, your brain goes to a certain association.
Speaker 3:Exactly so. We'll focus on it. You know, one color at a time.
Speaker 2:Okay, well, we're going to go ahead and hop off. I'm going to download the app and we can go through my numbers together right now.
Speaker 3:Perfect.
Speaker 2:All right, thank you for tuning in. Catch you on the next episode of my Pocket FP.
Speaker 1:Thanks for tuning into my Pocket FP, where we believe small monthly changes can make big positive changes in your financial endgame. If you're ready to level up your money game, head over to MyPocketFPcom and download the app today. Your financial planner is now officially pocket-sized and doesn't charge by the hour Until next time. Keep your goals high, your debt low and your pockets smart.