Father Finances

No perfect dads—just dedicated ones. The Dedicated Dad’s Podcast is a space for real conversations about fatherhood, parenting, leadership, and legacy. 

This episode's guest is Austin Singleton. Austin began his professional career as a high school social worker and mental health crisis counselor, dedicating several years to supporting adolescents and families. He later transitioned into higher education, serving as both an adjunct professor and college counselor. He currently serves as the Director of the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) at Rockland Community College, where he works to expand educational access and student success for historically underserved and economically disadvantaged students. A married father of 2 beautiful daughters. 

•  What is Dad Math as opposed to girl math? 
• How do you manage a budget when kids want expensive things (vacation, Christmas, Birthday)? 
• College planning and funding, how did you do it?
• How to financially prepare your child for the real world? 

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:08

The moments I know my baby gon' slip in the fall. Pray for a strength to it all. Being the father is hard. Knowing the influence that in play from the star. The strip of down the identity deep in the heart. The gender wars and confusion to stop and nothing and mold them till they forget who they are.

SPEAKER_02 0:24

Hey, everybody, welcome to the Dedicated Dads Podcast, where we know there are no perfect dads, just dedicated ones. Uh, we have a great episode lined up for you today. The title of today's episode is Father Finances. Now, this is a topic of much debate and scrutiny. How does a father manage one's finances when it comes to having a family? And today we have one of my good friends, uh, who I consider an expert in the field. Uh, just from years of experience of knowing this gentleman, uh, he's helped me personally with my finances and helping me manage Buzzage, uh, keeping me on track, too, honestly, just being a real great accountability partner as a brother. Um, so his name is Austin Singleton. He's from Queens, New York. Uh, Austin holds his master's in uh social work from Fordham University. So we have the same alma mater. I got my master's from Fordham, he has his from Fordham. Uh, he started his professional career um as a high school crisis counselor, dedicating several years to supporting adolescents and families. So he has the requisite experience to speak from. Uh, he now currently works as uh in higher education, serving as both an adjunct professor and a college counselor. Uh, he serves as a director of educational opportunity program at the Rockland Community College in New York, uh, where he works to expand his educational access to students uh success for historically underserved and economically disadvantaged students. Austin is married to his wife, Stephanie. They've been married for 25 years, currently reside in Orange County, New York with his two daughters, Autumn and Alina. He enjoys counseling married couples and teaching financial literacy classes, which is what I just spoke about. Uh, Austin also enjoys watching Marvel movies. Uh, he's a brother of mine in that, uh, particularly those featuring Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor, culminating with the Avengers Endgame. Uh, he also enjoys keeping his DJ skills sharp by spinning vinyl records. So, with that being said, let's welcome in Austin Singleton. Austin, how you feeling, brother? We can't hear you. Can you say it again, Austin? How are you feeling?

SPEAKER_00 2:44

Uh I said uh thank you for the wonderful introduction. Can you hear me?

SPEAKER_02 2:47

Oh, of course, of course, yes, we got you, bro. Okay. So, Austin, we got some questions for you today, my brother. Uh so uh as you know, the title of today's episode is Father Finances. Uh, and like I said, with the intro I gave you, and uh just based on the things that you like to do. First question for you is what is dad math as opposed to girl math?

SPEAKER_00 3:15

Dad math is really based on uh needs and wants. I'm sorry, let me reverse that. Girl uh is uh kind of wants and desires, dad's aspect is needs and priorities. So um that that's first and foremost, but um ultimately it boils down to this is what's going to be in the budget, and this is how we're going to uh determine what we need and what we desire. If it's in the budget to get those desired things, we'll get it. But if not, it's strictly dad budget.

SPEAKER_02 3:56

Gotcha. So dad budget always supersedes uh the girl budget. Uh and I know knowing that you have two daughters, uh, you know, I I have three. Uh, so I know uh I know a bit about the the every day we want Starbucks, or every day we want the boba tea or the Chick-fil-A. So I know that you know, girl math is always way different. So with that in mind, how do you manage a budget when kids want the expensive things? Uh vacation, Christmases, birthday, you know, just the lavish kind of gifts that come around.

SPEAKER_00 4:30

Right. One of the things that I did with my daughters early was um I had to expose them to individuals that was really in need. Because again, uh, you know, my daughters are very fortunate to grow up in a two-parent household. They have all the things that uh they would, you know, desire, you know, vacations, etc., you know, uh the birthday gifts and all the things that will make your uh childhood very full. But one of the things that we did early was that we would bring our daughters to a homeless shelter and have them volunteer. We'll have them volunteer during the holidays, uh, particularly at a church to help uh some homeless individuals and they'll see homeless kids. And then they would begin to understand that they are very blessed and they're very fortunate. And it really, it really changed their whole aspect in regards to always wanting certain things. Because again, the reality is we live in a consumer society, we consume everything, and everything that is thrown at us is consumerism. You turn on the television, you you're surfing the web, everything is to get us to consume. And one of the things that I had to do is teach my daughters is not about necessarily consuming everything and getting everything, but how much can you give? Because given uh it's statistically proven, it does something to you, you know, it does something to your cortisone levels to make you like like wow, this this is so fantastic. So to give to others that don't have for themselves, they learn that very early. So, you know, when it comes to you know, them wanting things and uh having all those desires, it's like, yeah, it's nice, however, um, there's somebody else that you know what that could use this. So, and another thing that we uh you know instilled in our daughters was that you know, um if there was something that you really wanted and you really desired, but you knew the person next to you, say a friend or somebody that you know that didn't have the same things you had, would you be willing to give your favorite gift over to that person so that they can be fulfilled? That was like the challenge.

SPEAKER_02 6:52

You know what? And I I feel like that's important. It's it's one of the things as parents, or at least as parents that I know, that people don't really do, they don't take into account, you know, every parent preaches it could be worse. You know, I remember growing up inner city, you know, food stamps, you know, roaches, rats, just being honest in the Bronx, and always hear my mom say it could be worse. And I'm like, how? How is it possible to be worse than than this? You know what I mean? Like, but you know, to actually give the kids a first hand experience, because you know, uh, you know, that's how kids learn. You know, they they learn from words, but you know, seeing is kind of believing for kids. And when you put them in a situation where they see people who look like them, you know, other kids, you know, the same age group, I feel like that makes a huge difference because you know, if you take them and they're just helping, you know, uh underserved people or you know, homeless people who are, you know, adults 50, 60, like, well, these ain't kids, so it's hard for them to draw the apples to apples comparison. But uh, that was very poignant, to be honest with you. Um, I know I did it once with my kids as well. Um, I like I love volunteering personally. Um, so I yeah, I probably have to get back into doing that more because these birthday and Christmas lists are getting quite ridiculous over here. So it's it might be time to take them back for a little slice of humble pie. Um, so as your kids grow older, obviously on the cusp of you know, one in college, one uh getting ready to go to college, how did you manage the college planning and funding? Uh, what was your strategy? Did you start early? Did you have to start late and try to catch up? How did you figure it out and navigate it?

SPEAKER_00 8:38

You know, so one of the and and this is this is so important when it comes to college planning, right? There's two ways you can go about it. One, uh, you can open up a 529 and start really early, right? So say if your child, guess what? They 17, 18 years old, they don't want to go to college. And you you saved all this money in the 529 through the years, and you're like, okay, what do I do with this money? If you take it out to 529 and you know, spin it on other things, obviously you're gonna get taxed very heavily. Right? So, one, um, if that ever happened to you, you would take that 529 and you would just flip it into a Roth IRA. If you you you put in another tax shelter and it and it continues to grow. Because let's be honest, some kids don't want to go to college, some kids want to become entrepreneurs, some kids want to start, you know, go into a trade. So, again, I think um, you know, to start a 529 early is key, but it doesn't necessarily mean that your child can't go to college if you didn't start the 529. So uh to answer your question for my uh oldest daughter, Autumn, we actually started our 529 late. We probably started it in her junior year. And so um, she decided that she wanted to be a teacher. So, with that, you have to understand that college is a business and is all about investing your money wisely. What is your rate of return? So my daughter wants to be a teacher. I'm not going to send her to Penn State, Yale, or any other expensive school to be a school teacher. You'll never get a return on your investment. So, my daughter, my oldest daughter, obviously plays volleyball. So we sent her to a state institution. That's uh SUNY ONYANTA. New York State has a fantastic uh education system, and Onianta happens to be one of the top teaching colleges in New York State. So uh with that being said, um, it allowed us to start the 529, and this is the key with the 529. You can start it late, right? And this is what we did. This is kind of what I learned just uh dealing with my financial advisor. So in New York State, you can write up off up to $10,000. Various states are different. So what we did was we would put the money in the $529, and there's a uh there's like a turnover period in regards to how long you have to keep the money in the $529.

SPEAKER_03 11:28

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 11:28

We keep it in there two to three weeks, pull it out, pay the tuition, and uh you get the tax write-off. Now, this is this is the key when you are this is the this is the best investment when you live in the state and your children go to school in that state. You have something that's called in-state tuition. Okay. So in New York State, SUNY schools, any state university, the four-year college, I believe the the in-state tuition is seven thousand seventy dollars. Very affordable. So uh again, uh my thing is why pay fifty thousand dollars in tuition to be a teacher when you don't have to, and you can pay seven because at the end of the day, when she graduates from college, she's gonna be standing next to her colleague. Maybe her colleague went to a high-end university, nothing against them, but when they open up their paycheck on that first pay date, it's gonna be the same pay. The difference is one person spent $200,000 on their education, the other spent $50,000 in total. So um that's kind of you know what?

SPEAKER_02 12:40

And and that is uh remarkable strategy, honestly, because a lot of people they go for the big names, you know, like you said, the Penn States, the USCs, and it was funny. I um I actually I had a conversation one time with Mike Greenberg from ESPN. Okay, and I was talking to him, and I can't remember who else was in the room, and we were talking, and the topic of college came up. And I'm like, well, you know, I went to Fordham and they were like, Oh, that's great. You know, Fordham is one of the top universities, not just in New York, but in the country. I think even currently, my my master's in finance is ranked, I think, number 13 out of any college that offers that degree in the country. So we got on the topic of colleges, and Green is like, well, you know, I went to Northwestern, and the other guy went to Penn State, and he said, Well, it doesn't really matter what school we went to, we're all standing in the same room. So, to your point, you know, sure Greene makes a lot more. So the college, you know, the money balances, but in a situation where the salaries are are pretty much capped or structured, like a teacher, firefighters, police officers, those kind of careers, where the salary remains the same, regardless if you went to community college, state college, USC, Yale, Harvard, uh, the planning portion of it, I think, is what people really miss. That extra step to say, okay, is it worth the extra investment to go to Penn State, to go to USC, to go to Harvard? They're thinking more so of how the name looks on the resume, which is great. I mean, sure, to say I'm a Harvard graduate sounds great. But if you're only making $40,000, regardless if you go there or anywhere else, what's the difference? Exactly. So I think I think that's the point that really gets missed when it comes to the planning aspect of college, which like I said, I never even thought of, to be honest with you. I'm just like, you know, if the kids want to go to college, great, you know, the better the school, the bigger the name, you know, the more bragging rights may be. You know, yeah, my son goes to, you know, University of South Carolina versus, you know, he goes to Orange County Community College. Regardless of the facts, he still works the same job with the same pay. So uh that was a great point. Uh, so how do you financially, I know you spoke about it, how did you financially prepare your children for the world that we live in? I know you said the world is full of consumerism. How do you teach them to cut back on the impulse shopping for the the fad items that come out every year that every girl seems to need to have?

SPEAKER_00 15:06

You know what, you know what's interesting? Uh having uh you know self-control, that actually starts really early. So, for example, and and maybe some parents already do this already. So, say if you're at the dinner table, right? Everybody's eating dinner, and you say to your child around the dinner table, hey, you know what? Um here's your dinner, and here's the dessert right here, right? If your child has the discipline, right? And it is early on in um delay gratification of not grabbing the uh dessert before the dinner, that's a good start, and that's a good teaching tool. Well, you cannot have that until you complete this. It's called delayed gratification. And once you're able to uh help your child establish delayed gratification, when you go into the store, you won't see something and just grab it. Okay, there's a thought process, but that actually starts at home. So, and I also want to, and that's one of the things that we practice with our kids. And um also, too, what happens in today's society, you notice that we are more and more becoming a cashless society, right? That's just the way it is. You use Apple Pay, you use your your debit card, there's no longer the the gratification of cash. Back in the days, we would walk around with a big knot in our pocket. We'll call it a knot, that's a big watt of money. And so when you went into the store, if you had a stack of money on you, you were apprehensive about taking out that money and spending it on something that you really didn't need. Because guess what? Money is tangible, it's a feeling, right? You have to depart with it. However, with a credit card or with Apple Pay, you just go and you scan it and you don't see it. So that alone, and people have to begin to understand this is a psychology behind it, and this and this is why you know we have the consumerism, the the the un the spending where people don't even think about spending. It's it's kind of like mindless spending. And the only time you deal with the consequences is when you receive that credit card bill. So I just wanted to give that foundation and aspects in regards to the psychology behind money when you're going into the stores and where we're moving as a society. But one of the things that uh we done with our daughters to prepare them for the world was that my my daughter loves going to Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts. That's that's the teenage thing. Start either Starbucks, Dunkin' Donuts, or Tapote.

SPEAKER_03 18:00

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 18:01

So I said, you know what? You love going to these places. And she was like, Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I said, um, you're gonna end up buying stock in one of these companies. You know, she was arguing with me back and forth. No, that's dumb, that's dumb. I'm like, uh no, it's not. I said, the amount of money that you spend going into uh, you know, whether it's Starbucks to get their fruit drinks or uh the uh Dunkin' Donuts to get their fruit drinks. I said, you take a couple of dollars, you just buy stock in the company, and and we begin to have this conversation.

SPEAKER_03 18:37

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 18:38

And um, and I begin to like actually show her, like, hey, listen, you invested to this company. There's something that's called the dividend reinvestment, where you don't take the cash out, you let the money just invest in the company. I said, for example, Alina, you invest $30 six months later, you have $40 and you ain't touching. So she was like, oh, okay, okay. So it's like those little lessons. And you know, and and it's and uh the the reason like Dunkin' Donuts and um Starbucks is so successful because they have big drinks full of caffeine that makes you addicted anyway. That's why you see the long lines every morning. But um, but needless to say, those are some of the real life lessons that you know we um you know we we teach our daughters, and and again, it's and it's just through regular conversation, it's not like you're going to do this, you're going to do that. It's not it's not demanding, it's just conversation exposure.

SPEAKER_02 19:39

Those are those are great points, and you know what's funny to sticking back on uh what you said there with the money being tangible. I you know, I remember as a kid not having a big knot, but you know, the times where I got a little five dollars in my pocket, right? You know, and it was five singles. Man, parting with two or three dollars at a time, you're like, man, I only got two left. You know what I mean? You held over to it, yeah. You gotta fold that money extra tight now because now it can fall out of your pocket. You know, it was the feeling of of loss, essentially. Yeah, yeah, you know, of parting with something that's valuable, and like you said, now with the cashless society that we live in, kids not really knowing the true value of money. You know, they grab the money, they swipe the cards, or they tap the phones to pay, and it's like it's it's a big difference. I I couldn't even imagine growing up in a world where I had to put my money in a bank or some kind of virtual currency carrier like Cash App, right? You know what I mean, and then not being able to see what's left in there. I mean, as a kid, I had five dollars, I would count my money every single day to make sure all five were still there. It wasn't even a matter of did I spend money yesterday, which would have been much easier to think about. It's like, okay, I got five dollars, I'm gonna count all five again, make sure the bills are facing the same direction, then I'm putting them back in the bank, you know, or back in my little piggy bank that I would have in my room, which most of the time was just like the Tootsie Roll container that I got for Christmas. Um, but either way, you know, um, just being tangible and then the thought of having the kids invest in the things that they you know consume most often. I think it's a great idea, you know, to be part of the company essentially that you're building based on your consumerism. Yes, you know, if you're gonna buy Starbucks every day, why not own a piece of Starbucks? If you go into Target every day, why not own a piece of Target and like you said, reinvest those dividends? That money you know grows, you reinvest it without even touching it. You're earning money based on what you're putting out toward that company, which uh which is uh is an amazing thought, you know, especially in our our community. Uh we don't really think too much about investment or stocks or bonds or dividends or any of the other financial literacy terms that come along with just being an adult and every day making the best decisions to be able to navigate a world that seemingly only wants your money. I mean that that's all they want, you know. And I and I always make a joke. I tell people, I talk to one of my friends, he was like, Oh, I don't go to church because all the church does is want your money. I said, That's every place. As soon as you step out of your door, the gas station wants your money for your car. When you go into Walmart, they want your money for their goods. You know, there's no place that you can go that doesn't want your money. And personally, I don't want to go to a place that doesn't want my money. Just thinking about how badly run would an organization be if you walked into McDonald's and they said, Hey, this Big Mac Meal is ten dollars, or you can walk out with a bologna sandwich for free. I'm gonna take the free sandwich and I'm going to leave because the money is what makes that place worth being at. Disney World's expensive, but you go to Disney, there's food everywhere. Yeah, because it costs money to operate rides and to fix rides and to be safe and to have park police and all the things that people seem to just buy, you know, like you we've been to Disney together. Yeah, the parking lot is massive. But what do they have? They have security, they have light towers, they have police, they have trams. All these things take money to run. Yes, and people seem to forget about the fact that it takes money to run things, but being prudent with the money you're actually spending is what comes into account where you have to be an adult, and I always tell my kids they want to go on vacation all the time. Okay, yeah, but we have to work before vacation. Yes, the money has to be earned before we can spend it, which goes back to your thought at the dinner table with the snack and the dinner. You can't eat dinner or go on vacation before you work for the money, otherwise, you'll be in a deficit. And then instead of volunteering at homeless shelters, people will be volunteering to feed you. You know what I mean? And it's just like it's it's it's simple thoughts, but that when you say them out loud, they really have the effect of wow, you know what? This actually really makes sense to be able to give my kids a worldview that's well balanced, not just we live in a big house, yes, we drive nice cars, yes, we can pay for your college out of pocket. But you know what, there are people who can't drive nice cars, you know. And I I remember driving a bucket, my first car was $500, had no radio, had a huge dent in the door. But now when I go outside and I can get into a year model BMW 750i, I appreciate the things that I don't know what I remember that bucket that had the ceiling that would drop down every few days because the cloth was loose, or the fact that ten dollars in gas seemed like a million bucks when I was driving. Exactly now to fill up a tank, it's $140. But it's the knowing both sides of the token that helped me appreciate the things I have now. Yeah, and so go ahead, go ahead, Austin. I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_00 24:43

I I want to touch on two points. You know, again, you're just an example of you're enjoying the fruits of your sacrifice, and that's something that people don't want to do today. People don't want to sacrifice, yeah. So, and you also brought up the point where um, if you don't work for your vacation, you're not going on vacation. But it's interesting today, there's a role reversal, right? The role reversal is get what you want and pay for it later. That's where the credit card comes in. So, and and again, I think I want to touch on how do we teach our kids about this because you know, I talk with my kids often about you know, credit card debt and trying to stay out of that vicious cycle. So when my daughter went off to college, the first thing she got in the mail was, Oh, why don't you apply for this credit card? And you know, we we sat down and I opened it up for her, and on there it said zero percent um interest rate, and she was like, Wow, that's really good. I said, baby girl, we're gonna turn around and read the fine print. So the fine print is zero percent interest rate for six months, after that is 34.99. She was like, What? What? So, you know, and and I broke it down in layman's terms. I said, for example, autumn, if I gave you a hundred dollars, right? And you use that hundred dollars when I came back to get my money, guess how much you would have to give me in order to pay you off that that um that bill, $135, because that's the interest. She was like, wait a minute, if you give me $100, I have to give you back $135. I was like, Yes. She was like, I'm not gonna ever do that. You know, it's you know, just basic things like that. And I think those are some of the things that's definitely missing in in our community, big time.

SPEAKER_02 26:50

Yeah, and and to to piggyback, not just the credit cards, it's the the after pay, it's the affirm, it's the uh I can't remember the other one. Uh, but yeah, just make four easy payments or or the or the render centers. I mean, I've been a victim of render center, you know. I I only used it once, but I'll never forget. Uh it was the only place that still had a PlayStation 3. The PlayStation 3 came out, it was 600 bucks. So I'm like 600 bucks, $15 a week. What? I'm doing it. I'll I'll be out of this thing in 10 months. It took me three years to play on that PlayStation, and I paid almost $2,000 for it because I didn't read the fine print. I saw the number, oh, like just like autumn. Oh, zero percent. That's wonderful. Yeah, it was the same thing. We're in a center, you know. Oh, get it. If you pay it off in three months, then there's no interest. However, if you don't, yeah, you know what I mean? You may as well sell a kidney to try to get out of this thing, which is eventually what I had to do. Yeah, so very good point. Um, so what I want to do now, Austin, I'm gonna give you the floor. Uh, I'm gonna give you the floor for your final thoughts on this episode. Uh, not how the episode went, but more so just what you would say to yourself, younger self, uh, uh to dealing with father finances. I know you said you started uh Autumn's uh 529 a little bit later. So, what would you tell yourself um in the same situation now that uh you that you know now that you didn't know then?

SPEAKER_00 28:15

So, one of the things that I would tell my younger self was um all the things that I'm teaching my daughters, um that investment is so important. Like my younger self, if I could talk to my younger self, I would have said to my younger self, Austin, do not go out there and buy those 225 Jordan's. Instead, go and buy some stock in Nike because um you will receive that dividend, and you'll be able to buy 10 pairs of Jordans, you know, just for example. But um, you know, in regards to my younger self, I I would I would tell my younger self, you know what? Um be patient, be kind, be gentle, and be wise. I think um those are all the things that I would tell my younger self. But given nine times out of ten, um I was kind of a knucklehead as my younger self and stubborn, would I have listened? Maybe, maybe not, but um I will drill that into my younger self, those uh four aspects.

SPEAKER_02 29:23

Okay, and uh we appreciate you know you sharing your expertise, your life experiences, your ups and downs with us. Um, as I always say on the on Dedicate Dads Podcast, we're a community. Um, a lot of the things that us men go through individually uh would maybe would be made a lot easier if we just went through it together. I mean, I know that you know, just being a man, uh, if I go to the gym and I'm squatting and I have a spotter, there's a certain level of comfort and safety I feel because I know someone behind me has either is about to do the same exercise or has just finished that same exercise. Where if it gets a little tough for me, they can give me not only the encouraging words, but in a pinch, they'll help lift me up, you know. So I always say that a community focused on helping each other, helping build from within, um, is always better than just trying to go through it by yourself. So, with that being said, Austin, we we appreciate you. We thank you for your time and dedication on this episode, for going through the notes, for uh just speaking from your life experience. Um, and uh we'll see you next time, Austin. And we're gonna have you back on, of course, because there will be more topics where I feel that your expertise will be uh definitely sorely needed. And uh I'm sure the viewers will want to hear it.

SPEAKER_00 30:38

All right, thank you so much for having me on. And again, we are all in this together.

SPEAKER_02 30:43

Yes, thank you, Austin. So that's our episode for today, folks. Uh, you heard Austin. Austin, like I said, comes with a wide birth of experience. Um, he's a good friend of mine. He's a stand-up guy, family man, uh Christian man. Uh, but regardless of your religious beliefs or not, Austin is someone who's just he's just a straight shooter. I've never known Austin to be anything otherwise, um, as you heard from his personal experience, you know, giving his kids the opportunity to volunteer at a homeless shelter, even though they live in a very nice suburb. I've been to the house several times. Like I said, our families have vacation together. Um, I know that his kids don't want or lack for anything, but showing in the other side of the token gives them the perspective, which a lot of kids are sorely missing. Uh, I grew up, like I said, inner city, uh poor roaches, rats, food stamps, yeah, you name it. However, now that I'm not in that situation, I have the wherewithal when I'm spending money to know okay, I have kids, my kids are gonna want things. I remember how I grew up. I mean, I had a $100 budget for Christmas. That was my budget. So it wasn't look at the Toys of Rust magazine and circle all the things you want, and we'll see what Santa gets. It was here's your budget, it's a hundred bucks. Now you can allocate that budget however you want, but after that budget is spent, that budget is spent. So I remember the year I got a Sega. Sega was $89.99 from Nobody Beats the Whiz in New York. After tax, it was $94. That was my budget. Thankfully, Sega came with Sonic 2, so I had a game to play, but it wasn't until my birthday that I got NBA jam. It wasn't, you know, you're gonna get a list of things. Same thing when I grew up, and I got the Game Boy Color. Game Boy Color was $69.99. Ken Griffey baseball was $29.99. That was my two gifts. I went to the Christmas tree, I had two things under, I knew what both of them were because I knew my budget. So, parents, don't be afraid to stick to a budget for your kids. It doesn't make you any less of a parent to put those financial constraints on your kids because you want them to not only have a better life, but you want them to appreciate the things that you ultimately do for them. Uh, currently, like I said, my kids ask for a lot, but I do what is within reason. Now I don't have a hundred dollar budget for them now because obviously everything costs a hundred dollars, so they wouldn't get anything. But set a budget, let your kids know listen, this is the budget we're sticking to. Not because dad or mom don't have the money, but because this is what's prudent. Teaching them to be prudent shoppers is much better than teaching them a life of opulence where they can just ask and ask, especially because a lot of kids honestly aren't working for the things they're asking for. There are kids who get tablets and shoes and 50 pairs of shoes and 50 pairs of this and that, and then you go to the report card and they got four Fs and a D. So we have to also be prudent as parents, as dads, especially because essentially, in a lot of households, the buck stops with us. So mom's gonna come, oh, my baby wants this, my baby wants that. But we have to be prudent enough to say, okay, well, let's hold on. Let's see first what they've deserved, what they've earned. Now there's a component of, oh, yes, we love our child, we want to do for them, but you have to be prudent. Be prudent in your finances so you can plan for your child's college. As Austin said, 529 plans are important. Be prudent in your financial decision making and planning of college to know is this college going to best serve my child in the future? Is this degree from Harvard gonna make any difference than a degree from your local community college? Now, there are some programs that only require two years. Does it make sense to go into $150,000 of debt to send my child to Yale simply because they have the grades when they're still gonna come out of college to make the same $35,000? So now that they're fighting uphill trying to pay for college debt. So always be mindful of that, fathers. Again, we thank y'all for tuning in. Please follow the pages Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube at Dedicated Dads Online. We will post an episode every single week for you guys. Um, starting the week after Father's Day, we're gonna start to go live so we can bring you guys on. You can ask your questions, you'll be able to chat with us directly so that we can answer your questions in real time on the episode. But we thank you guys for sticking with us. Uh, after you like, please share. There are other fathers out here who need to hear these messages. There are other stories that need to be told. So you may know a dad that has an expertise in something. We'll bring him on, we'll have him ask some questions to him, and he can share with the community the great things that maybe he's already shared with you. So, with that being said, we thank y'all for tuning in. Y'all have a good one, and we'll see y'all next.

SPEAKER_01 35:28

Find the strength that I need to be your that she needs. My artist demonstrates driven by ego alone. The broken bones that I hold from the stones have been thrown. Prepare themselves in the moment. I smile in the light, learn in the hill on my own. Lately, my body is sure.

unknown 35:43

The way to be