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Money Minded
#114 Bryce and Lisa | How to combine your finances as a couple
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Bryce and Lisa got together after knowing each other for years. After moving in, they realised they didn't want to live like housemates anymore. But they weren't sure how they could combine their finances.
Lisa was conservative and generally liked to keep her money saved. Bryce has run into debt on several occasions, and admits he always saw his money as his own.
After seeking guidance, they learned how to work together with their money, and how to set up their money life to achieve their goals.
In this episode, they reflect on their journey and share the big lessons they've learned in the process. This episode highlights how being deliberate and intentional with finances can strengthen relationships and help couples achieve their shared ambitions.
00:00 Introduction to Bryce and Lisa's Financial Journey
00:39 The Importance of Combining Finances
04:10 Early Relationship and Financial Challenges
06:09 Traveling and Managing Finances
10:55 Joining the money mentorship and Initial Impressions
13:09 Setting Up Financial Structures
19:25 The Benefits of Joint Accounts
25:08 Mapping and Forecasting Finances
26:53 Planning for Future Expenses
27:18 Intentional Decision Making
28:56 Reflecting on Financial Achievements
30:36 Refinancing and Financial Strategies
41:17 Career Flexibility and Creative Outlets
45:16 Future Plans and Personal Goals
50:54 Advice for Couples on Financial Unity
54:19 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
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Bryce had his own home. He'd already bought that. I'd been saving this big nest saving towards buying my first place, but then it was like, well, if I'm moving in with you, what do we do for this money? It is a pretty confronting conversation or can be, I guess, a little bit nerve wracking to start that conversation. like we would try and sit down and talk about it. We're pretty open, but at the same time I felt a little bit, I guess I've kind of had a little bit resistive. Most couples break up over finances or those kinds of decisions, right? I do get very excited when I've learned something new and I, I know I can like bombard her with a lot of information. we just need a little bit of guidance
How do you combine finances once you get serious with your partner? This has to be probably one of the most age old questions that just never goes away. Particularly as couples reach that stage in their relationship. And Bryce and Lisa, the couple you're about to hear from are a really good example of what it looks like when you do it really well.
Terry:When you think your way through it, when you work through it together. And do this collaboratively together as a team being really open and honest and deliberate all the way through. And the conversation we're about to hear was actually recorded in January. But it got lost in our production cycle because it was in, in a different software. We kind of missed it and I'd just forgotten about it until about a week ago. I figured out where it was found it and listen back to it. And once I did, I kind of push it right to the top of the queue. Because I feel like this conversation is. It's a timeless one. Everybody has that question. What are we going to do when we're bringing this stuff together? How do you do it and how do you do it well, so that it actually improves the quality of your relationship. It strengthens the bond between you. And it helps you. I feel like you are. Building something moving towards something, giving you a sense of direction and purpose together as a couple. And Bryce and Lisa have done this so well, and they did it at the perfect time. The other thing that's funny is because when I left them a note and told them, Hey, we're going to release this episode tomorrow. They came back to me and they said, well, that's awesome. We've got a bit of a life update for you. And they just listed off a bunch of things. And what's funny is the things they listed off, the things that are accomplished and funded or are about to fund where all the things we've been discussing in this episode. And they're not small things either. It's like trips to Sri Lanka, or it's like renovations on the house. It's like married, all these kinds of things. That we were discussing. So it's really cool to see what can happen in a six month period when you are deliberate. Plant intentional and collaborative with your money. So in this conversation, you'll learn how Lisa and Bryce came into this program, why they came into the program. We'll talk through some of the trials, some of the trepidations, they felt how they worked through this together, how they talked it through. And some of the complications they had along the world. Cause it's never smooth sailing, particularly when you're dealing with finances. And particularly when it's a, you know, a long sort of multi-week project life always plays a role. So we'll talk about how they work their way through that, what they've learnt in the process and what they're working on now together. And at the end of this, I also share a bit of advice for folks who are feeling like we don't know how to start this conversation. We So if you're in the mood to be inspired by a couple, that's really kicking big goals together and having a lot of fun in the process, setting themselves up for a life where. Money is something that enables them and improves their relationship. You need to listen to this episode and you need to listen to it now. Hope you enjoy.
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Lisa and Bryce, welcome to the show.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:Thank you so much for having us.
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:So, I had a conversation with Ryan might have been about a month ago and he said, you got to get Lisa and Bryce on. And uh, I was like, what, what are we, what are we talking about? And he said that you guys have been really, he said there's probably been a handful of couples that he's actually learned a bit from in terms of how you guys have worked together and how you brought your finances together. So this is what I wanted to bring you on to talk about. You've actually done some pretty cool stuff along the way, but primarily, It's actually been the way you've come at this together and I actually have your profile. So when you come into the program, you kind of jump in, you sort of set up a profile. I think this was you, Lisa, was it? You've said, we want to make our money work for us. We want to make good financial decisions to improve our future, but learn how to combine our finances. So we're working on the same team. So take me back to the start here, guys. Where were we before this? And why was working together as a team one of the main objectives here?
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:Well, first of all, that's quite an intro. That's got me smiling from ear to ear, really, really nice to hear, but yeah, we had, I mean, Bryce and I was still relatively new in our relationship. So, we had been together maybe for about a year before Bryce and I headed off overseas and did a bit of travel over in the States together. And at that point we knew when we came back, we were going to be living together and kind of really starting, like, Our life
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Hmm.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:but our finances were in really different places. So Bryce had his own home. He'd already bought that. I'd been saving this big nest saving towards buying my first place, but then it was like, well, if I'm moving in with you, what do we do for this money?
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Mmm.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:I'm a pretty like conservative person. So for me, I kind of was like, I just want to like, hold on to it and just let it build. But I know that wasn't quite the right thing to do. And I'm like, inflation's killing it. You got to do something with it.
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Yeah.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:loves deep diving into things and has been following you guys for quite a while. And it's always sort of, Telling me about what you two were up to and what you're promoting and sending me podcasts to listen to. And I think even on the trip in the RV, we listened to quite a few together. kind of knew that was the next step. We just felt like you guys might get a direct us with where to go next.
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:What had you, what had you sort of looked at? So obviously, I think this is a critical point in a lot of relationships and, and tell me if I'm wrong, but when you know, you know, you're like, you're probably on that trip and you're like, we know, right?
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:Yeah.
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:So there's, there's this, there's probably a time period between that realization and then the. money conversation and how we kind of bring this together. Had you looked into anything else? Had you tried anything or was this literally the first thing that you guys had looked at? Hey,
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:but it was like, we had, we've known each other for like a bit of backstory, known each other for like 14 years. And then sort of during COVID Lisa had moved down. I just bought a house on the Mornington Peninsula and we sort of started spending a lot of time together. We did everyone else realized before we realized that we were, we didn't, we didn't know So like we got together and then I'd already planned to do this big overseas trip to Canada, live over there and do this huge road trip through the States. And then I was like, well, I'm going to go. Do you want to come with me now? Because we're together and she's like, yep, let's do that. So we hadn't talked about sort of any money things. We're pretty fresh in the relationship side of things. And then obviously we just moved straight into living in an RV for six months. So we straight into it.
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:that'll,
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:close.
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:teach you a lot about whether it's going to last.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:Yeah. And then obviously we just dove right in there. And I had not much money at that stage cause I just saved up and was sort of living over there, didn't get a job. And so we were sort of like working. be a bit of a team overseas, like with our money, buying groceries and like, Oh, can we go to the pub tonight? And all these sorts of things. So we sort of knew that we worked pretty well with our money and then we're like, okay. What do we do when we get home? Like, like we said before, I bought a house, you have this huge house deposit. We've got a few other things going on. I'm sort of in a little bit of debt now that I've gone traveling. What do we, what do we do? And I think, yeah, when we, when we sort of got home, we're like, well, let's let's talk to the masters and that they can sort it out. Like we kind of tried when we were traveling. was that app? Like, shit,
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Oh yeah.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:you know, one of those ones,
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Yeah.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:all the data
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Split it up, split it up. And yeah.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:along those lines. And that was probably our only technique that we'd really tried in terms of like sharing money. But I mean, great for traveling, definitely not something that we wanted long lasting in our relationship. It very much felt like, okay, who's up, who's owing, it's
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Uh,
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:pay, it's my turn to pay. Yeah. Yeah.
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:the mental accounting.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:I didn't want to do that for like the next, however many years just going
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Isn't that fucking exhausting? It's so, it's so stressful.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:is, it is. And it's doesn't, you don't feel like you're a team in that sense. It was, think, yeah, really, as soon as we got that like joint account, which I'm sure we'll come to later, but that was I don't know, like immediately felt so good. And you just feel like you're on the same team and you kind of feel like. Oh, cool. This is like our little family, almost, that we and yeah, I don't know,
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:So, so no, no, I get it. I get it.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:mean? You're
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:I would love like your, your initial reaction and, and, and it sounds like you, you guys have had like a very strong history before, before all this and obviously coming together. So it feels like there's a lot of. Like, like, like a lot of deep context between the two of you anyways, friends, and then you've got together with this relationship. So it's kind of like not a new relationship. It's actually just like switched into another form of relationship. But did you, yeah, totally. Got, got, went slow to go very fast. But did you sit down and have a conversation about how you wanted to come at this together as a couple? Or is it actually just natural because you know each other so well?
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:a bit of both, I think. Like, I think we, we know each other so well. So like before, I think before we started the course, like Lisa knows that I just deep dive on everything. I'm just
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Hmm.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:I'm going to, if I'm going to learn about finance, I'm going to learn about finance. I'm going straight in, listen to every podcast. I'm like, I'm learning about everything. And then Lisa is quite a bit more conservative. So she's like,
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Yeah.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:the brakes.
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Yeah.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:actually think about this a little bit. So I think we both knew. That's how we worked and we could come at it as a good as a good team.
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Hmm.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:we just need a little bit of guidance in terms of how we should structure these big money pools that we've got, but we're going to work together really well with it and
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Yeah.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:I always knew work together. But to be honest, like any time. The finance or the money stuff of came up and there's bigger questions were asked. Like we would try and sit down and talk about it. We're pretty open, but at the same time I felt a little bit, I guess I've kind of had a little bit resistive. And I think cause I just was like, I don't know what to do. I just kept saying like, let's just wait until we speak to these guys. But I think more from a way of I know like, If you're me some things, I'm like, yeah, this is really great. But I like when it's someone else who's kind of telling us together so that it's kind of coming from an outsider, you know, and then we're addressing it at the same time.
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Yeah.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:we kind of talked about it, but I know I, I know, I personally felt a little bit resisted sometimes. And I do get very excited when I've learned something new and I, I know I can like bombard her with a lot of information. I didn't want me to be the primary person going. Okay, this is what we should do with all that money. Come along for the ride. So I was like, let's actually like sit down and get some other people to tell us some information and how we can sort of work it out as a team rather than just me going. I've read all this stuff. Let's do it.
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Yeah. And what was it like sort of coming into that like making that decision and obviously, we spoke first up. How did that, how did that sit with you guys? Like, I can't remember. Did you sign straight up or like, what was the, what was the, it was. Yeah.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:were pretty excited. Yeah, it was a really quick process. I remember we were like, Oh, we should book in and do this like initial consult, which was with you,
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Yeah.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:And literally as we went to book in, we're like, Oh, There's one available in like two hours.
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:That was you. That's right. Yeah. Yeah. So, I remember that. I actually remember that because you know what happened. It actually just became, it literally became available. It was available for an hour. And I was like, oh shit, my afternoon just kind of freed up a little bit. And then it just went, boom. I was like, amazing. Yeah, yeah.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:I'm chatting with you. We're like, yeah, let's just do it. Like what, why would we wait? Yeah, we were pretty quick, quick, quick moving to start and quick
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Slow then quick.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:doing
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:That's your, that's a pattern, is it? Slow then quick because listening to all the pod, listening to all the podcasts and the travel, then you're like, let's go. Love it. Yeah, cool. Alright, then How did you find it, guys? Was it what you thought, like when you came in, was it, was it all smooth sailing? Like, talk me through the first sort of initial experiences and, and, and how you found it. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:of a block before we can sort of move into like the next stage of our lives. Like Lisa had moved into the house as well. So like, we just moved in together. We're like, Hey, like, we want to just really give this the best shot we can. But this is big money sort of monster in the background behind us. So we're like, yeah, we want to like get into this so we can sort of like do it together. But I think like we'd heard about the life by design portion of the course and we're like, and I think you preempted it and we're like, yeah, we'll do this sit down chat. And we were pretty excited for that. And then we went through it. Like I remember afterwards, we just sat on the couch, smiling at each other, going, this is going to be our life. This is going to be amazing. Hugging each other and jumping around. Like, this is incredible. It's like, whoop, from that, because we could see the destination and like what we wanted to create together. And we're on the exact same page with everything we wanted to do. We're like, yeah, let's just, let's get through it. Like
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Hmm. Hmm.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:towards an incredible goal together. Why wouldn't we just go full steam ahead? Think when you go into a course like this, you expect there to be obviously the financial side of things and the learnings and the investing and that type of thing. But I don't think I really fully understood what what was actually in the course. And to start with that whole mindset thing which we now know is such an important aspect in terms of your money and your spending and savings. But I didn't expect there to be. That much in it. And I love that that was at the forefront of it because that's what we always come back to
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Hmm.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:of our savings and our values and everything. It's like, okay, well, like, does that align with what we talked about with Terry in that first session? And it's made it a lot easier now to decide, like, yes or no. And yeah,
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:It seriously does, doesn't it? It really does.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:does. One instance Lisa was like, Oh, like I don't think we should buy these festival tickets. Like it's just too expensive. And I'm like, what are our values? We like hanging out with our friends for a long period of time and having fun. I
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:got it up. I'm looking at it right now. And I remember coming up, I remember coming off the back of this just like, this is sick. All right, there's like, sometimes, sometimes like, sometimes like people struggle to give themselves permission to declare who they are, what they really want and I didn't get any of that from you guys. I got like just pure, this is it, this is who we are, this is what we want, this is what we care about, this is, this is what matters to us. What, what stuck out for, for each of you in terms of like that conversation? Was there one thing that kind of Stayed with you after it, where you're like, that thing there, that's the thing.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:don't know about you, but for me, probably the flexibility and work hours.
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Yep.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:Sure. Like I was saying today, and it was, it was quite funny. Cause you asked us the question, what, what's your perfect Tuesday and today is Tuesday. And I've literally had my perfect Tuesday today.
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Yes. Yes.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:Like we woke up and just had like a really, I think it's written on
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:It is.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:we want to have
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Do you want me to read it? Should I read it to you?
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:Yeah. Let's
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:This is your perfect. This is it. So it's, it's, this is called the perfect day. It's a slow morning routine. That's how we summarized it.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:do.
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:So we're in charge. So it's a drink of a coffee in bed, a bit of a read. Check.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:Yeah.
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Check.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:Check.
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Check. Love it. What about cold immersion?
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:Yeah.
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Check.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:cold shower. You've done a cold shower. I did one just before
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Alright and then we got one more thing to check here. Mindfulness. Checking in with the vision.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:Well, I checked in with the vision today cause I was like, this is the perfect Tuesday and I went for a walk. And you, you did. Yeah. Yep. I did puzzles instead.
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:That's it. I love it. That's pretty damn close. Three out of four, not bad. Three out of four, not bad. Yeah, cool. So that was, that was, it was actually just you carving out the perfect Tuesday that stuck with you.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:Yeah, both do like a bit of work for this company for runners, which is sort of given us this day off to it's like we're both as a little preemptive thing, like we both have physios and we're working five days a week. And we recently took a day off together so we could do a bit of work for this other company. Because we can work our own hours. I'm like, I can go. Down for a surf and then do this afternoon, I'll do the work that I need to do, which is amazing. So it's like, I can actually control my day. We just need to have more days in the week that we, we do that now. That's what we're working towards. So it's cool to have a day like this where we're like, yeah, we've, we're already living it.
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Yeah. It's like, you know, it's, it's, it's so interesting when when we do have these conversations, it's frequently the case where people say a lot of that's available to me. It's, it's actually just whether I am consciously designing how I am spending time and making money. And, if I'm changing the way I spend time, changing the way I make money, a lot of those choices that reflect our values, I don't gotta wait to the two million dollar portfolio. I can, I can actually just have them. It's pretty crazy. What about coming into the actual structuring part of this part of this process where you guys are putting it together, you're building out a structure that's geared towards these goals we've sort of set here together, this vision, and then actually starting to work with mapping and tracking and the practices. How did you find that part? Hmm.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:I think it, I think the setting up the structure, it made so much sense. Like after we saw like, I think Lisa was a bit different to how she'd structured. Well, it was kind of, I guess, kind of similar. I mean, I'd gone from the classic, everyone's done, you know, the barefoot, but
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Yep.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:that kind of worked for me at the time. And I was like, why am I changing this? I feel like what I'm doing is good. You know, what do I, why do I need to change it? But then until you actually practice it. And I was like, ah, I see now. Yeah. And even like bringing, bringing together like our finances and a little bit like up to be honest, I was a little bit hesitant at the start because for so long I've like my money's been my money. Like I've been in debt a couple of times when I was younger traveling the world and I'm like money becomes a bit precious cause I'm like, Oh, like I don't want to give it to someone else because I've, I've had it as my own. But then when we, when we sat down with Ryan and we actually talked about it, it's like we're working towards the same goal. Why wouldn't we just put it all together for a couple of a couple of little pools there and then every time we go to the groceries or go out for coffee, like we don't have to go. Oh, your turn to pay my turn to pay. Now we just go. Yep. I'll do it. You feel like a baller. You're like, yeah, I got this one. Drink hard because I feel like I'm like, yeah, I'm like, yeah, I'll show you.
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Yeah. Do you know what's funny? It's fun. I don't know if this happens to you guys too but, you know, frequently when we go out and things like that I might just have the kids or whatever and it's, it's a lease that's paying and I see people like look out the corner of their eye and I know what they're thinking. They're like, that's not your job. You're supposed to be over there looking after the kids and like doing all that thing and then you're supposed to be here with me paying because that's what the, that's what the bloke does. It's kind of interesting, isn't it?
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:it is. And I mean, like we don't have kids, but I definitely, whenever I'm pulling out the joint card, I don't know if I'm just thinking it, but I definitely feel like people are watching us. Like, why is she paying?
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:That's what I mean. I same, I'm, I'm like, this is, you know, I kinda, I sort of revel in it. I'm sort of like looking at people's mind, just going ticking over, like what's happening here? The traditional power dynamic isn't at play. What's going on? What about, so I think that joint account is, it's such a simple idea. I don't know how you guys have found it as a couple, but for me, I found it so valuable to give those dollars that job, which is that's for us. That's their job for us to enjoy together. How has that shifted things for you in terms of enjoying the experiences you're having along the way?
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:It's just those, like the little, we were saying earlier, like the little stressors going, Oh, like who's, who's up? Who's turn is it to pay for like groceries
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Yeah.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:It's like, we don't have to do that now because it's just like, we're a team effort. We just get like, it's just no mental power
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Yeah.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:which means we've got more time to do what we actually enjoy doing.
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Yeah.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:where I guess like the forecasting, Obviously comes in as well. And I guess that was the part that I was a little bit initially. I was like, I don't, I
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Get it. Yeah. Ooh.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:do understand now because I love like when we sit down and it's like, Hey, we've actually got our anniversary next week, but, you know, we were able to like able to go, okay, well look, your, our anniversary is coming up at the end of this month. Let's put aside this money in our joint lifestyle account to enjoy and go out and celebrate. So it doesn't get to that time where you're like, Oh no, like what are we spending? Like, you know, yeah, we don't have enough money
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Yeah,
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:like, Hey, no, it's okay. I feel good about spending this money. So put this aside for this special occasion. it's not like you're scraping the barrel at the end or, pulling back from your other accounts and yeah,
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:I was about to say. I think, so if you don't have that proactive part of the process, you're not giving those dollars a job and the anniversary is coming towards the end of the month and all you've been doing is paying for stuff through the whole month, which you haven't really accounted for, you haven't really thought about, you just feel like you've been paying a lot of money, you start to scrimp. On the thing, don't you? You start to go, Oh, like, can we afford to do that thing? And you bloody well can. It's just that you don't know it. It's such a different experience, isn't it?
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:Yeah, in terms of the structure for me, I think that's been the biggest difference. It took us a while to set up. I think, like, in terms of like the whole course, up the structure for us probably took the longest
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Yeah.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:We had to, we changed banks, which is a really big step. So yeah, I had to like close down the other accounts, swap over, get all the cards, set up the accounts, but it's so worth it. It's paying dividends now cause it's just so easily so structured and it's just easy now. So easy.
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Most Aussies are never going to do this. They're going to hear you say that and go, Oh, I don't want to deal with the banks. How? What? You've just said it's worth it. What advice would you give? So, because it does take some time and it depends what bank you're working with. And I'm not going to single out any banks because they are all shit. But sometimes banks are a real punish. Like, but how did you guys manage that part of the process? Did you do it? Did you take it in turns? Did you do little parts of the process together? Like, how did you team up there?
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:I like my process was so easy.
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Yeah. Amazing.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:through and just like took, took me like half an hour to set up, had all my accounts and everything. And then Lisa just took days. I made an error, so it should have been really simple. And so in terms of like. What you would say to someone, like, honestly, most of the banks, not all of them, but particularly the one we went with, it is so simple. And Bryce was done in like half an hour. Really simple process of online. Now I have the issue that I have an old driver's license and that tiny little
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:uh,
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:I got wrong. And then I had to get all this certification and all this kind of stuff. So mine took a little bit longer, but aside from that, if it, if it wasn't for that era. It
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Would have been easy.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:easy. There was a few, few days where she's like, is it even worth it? What are we doing here?
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:It's right, you know, it's actually, it's the biggest part and this is why we kind of, I guess it's why we are so high touch with this part of it where it's like, reach out to us, make sure you don't do stuff like, make sure if you have any issues, you can't because if we know if we can get you over that hurdle. What life's like on the other side, as you say, it's just like another universe, you know, because it's not just this place where your money goes to be spent and sit. It's, it's an actual environment you designed that's geared towards the things that you, it's a, like I always say, it's a scoreboard and a dashboard, dashboard, so it helps you make good decisions and it's a scoreboard so that it helps you see that sense, will give you that sense of progress really.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:Having those account, I mean, look app that we use, well, our bank. Allows you to have emojis on your title, which I really like as well. So there's like little things, there's a little things, there's a
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:personalize, personalize.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:you can personalize it. And it's you're right. It is a dashboard. You can see it because all of our accounts are in the one place, seeing that and seeing the total and seeing our joint accounts, it's yeah, it's really clear, it's really easy. And it makes it really nice for being able to like chase your progress. We've got one for house dreams. So it's just things that we want to sort of add to the house to that. We're going to enjoy like a wood fire heater, a sauna, outdoor shower, all these sorts of things. And we just like chip a little bit of money into there and you just gradually see it growing. And you're like, Oh, guess what? We can buy this heater now. We're
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Yeah.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:for winter. And then we can buy this. And it's like, we're working together as a goal and we can both see it, see the progress. So it's awesome.
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:I, I just, yeah, we went back and it's, it's funny. Like we, we just went back through our last year and we looked at our forecast, moving forecast to achieve our goals. And I always say to folks, it's not about the forecast being right. It's about having a forecast. And I look at our last year ago, we achieved everything we set out to achieve. So I'm faster. Some slower. But every single month you're kind of going out and in, out and in. And I think this is what, you know, we say these words, forecast and mapping, but how would you explain, so if someone's hearing those words now, mapping and forecasting, how would you this explain this to somebody who doesn't know what you're talking about? Just like, what are you talking about? I just, I just get paid and I spend money. What do you say?
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:true. Cause like, I remember listening to some of your podcasts prior to doing the thing and I was like, what is this forecasting?
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Yeah,
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:magical. Like what is it?
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:yeah, yeah.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:I guess like for anyone who hasn't done it before, like you're mapping is you're kind of, you're month to month zoom in and then your forecast is a bit more of a zoom out on the year ahead. And like I said, I guess that's for me where I didn't really get it. Cause I'm like, how are you going to know what you're spending here ahead in the future? But I guess like. What's really cool is it does make you set up more towards your goals. You know, I think if you're just like living life to life and I have friends that do this, we had a chat recently and they're just like, Oh yeah, my money comes in and just spend it on what I want at the time. And I'm like, Oh, we are kind of like, okay, well we want to go to Sri Lanka in July, therefore we probably want to buy our flights by this time. And so kind of like actively. It gets you to do that, save for it, do the process, you're kind of looking at that year as a whole. And same with those things around the house as well. We're like, okay, well we want to have that before winter. Let's try and save this before here so that we can buy this fire heater by this time. Yeah. And even like something as simple as like, I'd never thought about this, but it makes such a difference. Like this month in January, we get paid fortnightly on a Wednesday and there's three months in There's three of those in January. So I'm getting three different payments plus, plus I have been doing Airbnb for January. So I've got this huge amount of money in January and I'm, and I've been trying to save up for a car since I came back. And it's like, well, that's, that's done. We can tick that off. We can buy these flights. I've got all this money, but if I never looked forward and gone, Oh, well, We can't afford these things because we're living sort of paycheck to paycheck, then you wouldn't actually know that you can sort of enjoy a holiday here and buying your flights early to save some money or saving up for the car. So, yeah, it just means you get to look further along in the year and plan for it.
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Yeah. It's it sounds so abstract, but it really is so practical, right? Like it's, it's the difference for me between being, we call it like being very intentional versus just being impulsive and just kind of acting on instinct and just going like, Oh yeah, this is here today and I'll juggle this and make this happen. It's just, the decisions are so much slower, aren't they? The decision to take that trip to Sri Lanka starts in January. And then there's a series of decisions that happen along the way, that get you to the actual execution of, and then the enjoyment of the decision. It's so different to, I wanna go to Sri Lanka, and let's just make it happen, we'll work it out afterwards. It's a, yeah.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:that's the exact way I would describe it. Like, that's, that's the way I would describe it. Actually, genuinely how I was thinking of it this week, I'm like, it's just not impulsive. It's, you know, it's thought about and we've processed it and it's, yeah. And we're making, and we're making sure that like, we're not leaving ourselves short. So it's like, we know we want to go on this holiday. We know we've got money coming in, in these months, which we can save for it and pay for the flights and have spending money and everything else is accounted for. So let's do it.
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Mmm.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:a little bit of planning. It's not like you've got to sit there with spreadsheets for like the wee hours of the morning typing into the computer. It's like, it just takes a little bit of time to go, okay. Like even, even taking another look at it, it's like, if everyone knows how much money they get for a year. So it's like, but no one probably goes, okay, with that money, where am I allocating all that money?
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Yeah.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:just going, okay. Like I've got to buy groceries this week. I've got to, you know, I'm going to a party on the weekend, but it's like, if you actually sat down and went, okay, this is how much money I got, What kind of things do I want to do this year? And how am I going to allocate all that money?
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Yeah.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:like just actually sitting down and going, what do I want to do with it? Instead of just. Going blindly day
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Blimey. Yeah.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:It makes so much more sense to actually plan a little bit. We've definitely, you know, we sat down in the last week and just like looked at what we've achieved since we've come home. And I was actually quite like shocked or blown away by how much we have achieved from a money point of view, because you just kind of get there a lot faster because we've been a lot more intentional.
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:So what, what did you actually look at? Cause I think this is actually pretty common. Like folks are going through, they're actually doing a lot. And that's why we always encourage people to look backwards and go see, see where you are now, see where you've actually come from and actually mark those milestones along the way. So what were the items that sort of popped out to you when you sort of thought about it?
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:Yeah, I suppose like we, like I, cause we did this big trip and I probably didn't have enough money to do it, but I was like, Lisa's come over. We, we better make it happen
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:the way over. But so I sort of like ran myself into the ground a little bit with money. I'd previously sold my car before I left to go over there. not, not ideal, but so like I was in a little bit of debt, Lisa sort of lent me some money and then same with my folks. So I was like, when I get back, I just need to get back on my feet and just sort of pay these debts off. Buy a car and then then I can start thinking about everything else, but we got back and then cause we're getting like a normal sort of pay again. We ticked off, uh, I paid Lisa, Lisa back. I paid my parents back. I've pretty much got enough for a car. We'd done insulated the house. We'd been on a road trip. Lisa, Lisa got a pay rise. And then obviously we, we had like I said earlier, we're working like four days a week at work and then had a day off. As well, where we can work on our own terms. So like we just ticked all these things off and like, yeah, we're actually done pretty good. And then now we're currently refinancing the house, which we can get into in a little bit where we're joining our money together, which was a pretty big milestone for us. I
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Yeah. Talk. So talk me through that. What's happening there? Mm.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:Yes, we had a, a lot of meetings actually with Ryan just to sort of work out what we wanted to do. So obviously I had I bought a house just before COVID, very luckily and then got a bit of equity. so that was sitting there and then Lisa had a big chunk of a house deposit. And then we're just like, what do we do with this? Like, we, do we buy a second house? What do we do? And then sort of like Ryan was saying, well, maybe If we refinance, we could sort of, we actually, I'd heard a lot about debt recycling and I'm like, I reckon that sounds like a pretty good idea to try and build out a share portfolio. Like, we'd heard a lot about fire in the community, but we didn't know how to action it. And then sort of, we thought, okay, well, maybe if you put your house deposit into my house. We can reduce how much our monthly repayments are. At some point, we're going to have Children as well. You're gonna have to have time off work that might make it a little bit more manageable in terms of how much we're paying month to month. But it was a little bit scary at the time, because, like I said earlier, like, I was like, Oh, well, I've done everything by myself money wise. And now. You're going to jump in and steal my house.
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:It's a big, it's a big move. Yeah.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:you out with my lunch.
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Just trying to give you some productive space so you can recycle some debt. Yeah.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:right. my argument.
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Yeah. Yeah.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:And then obviously when we talked, talked through it with Ryan and everything, it obviously makes so much sense to, but also too, because then you look back on, you know, our life by design thing. And I was like, well, we're aiming towards the same goal. And then you just suddenly like, it clicked for you. You're like, Oh yeah, it makes sense that we've working on, Yeah. And working together, we're going to, it's going to go so much quicker than just trying to achieve your own individual goals separately so we can like kickstart our journey together. We're just going to steamroll ahead. Yeah. Yeah. Cause it very much like initially the plan was okay. Like I'm paying you rent. And then there was this whole thing of like, okay, well, if it's like house related, you're going to pay for that. And then I'll just pay the rent. Like it was all like, how do we split the bills? And, and now it's like, okay, cool. We're just going on in this together everything. Now we'll just be split in half. It's so much easier. You just feel like more of a team. But I guess the discussion too was like, okay, with that money I have, when we decided it was going to go, you know, towards the house. But prior to that, we were wondering, you know, do we. Just put that into shares. And then through sort of training with you guys and the discussions with Ryan, we thought, well, actually, if we it off on the house and then use that from the equity to then pop that into shares,
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Yeah.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:it's taxable as well, which we didn't
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:So the first part of what I want to highlight there is like that sort of working together part of it, obviously, yes, you can go faster and you're saving on tax, but Lisa, you mentioned before there, the pay rise side of it, and how much of that pay rise do you think comes down to your ability to focus on the things that matter and stop worrying about all these other things, been having to Having that like mental accounting part of it. Do you think they're correlated at all? Yeah.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:As we've always been told, like, you just don't really talk about money. It's kind of hush, hush. And so I didn't really feel confident or comfortable discussing it. And then obviously, because we had opened up the conversation between each other, it just became this thing like money was just something we talked about. And we started talking about it with friends and I started to feel more confident with that conversation. And then I was like, ah, well, hold on. I've been working for the same company for three years. I feel like I'm a really valuable employee. Maybe I could have that discussion with them as well, because now I feel more confident within myself. And so, yeah, I just yeah, reached out to them. It wasn't like an annual type of thing. I just kind of did that and yeah, it was successful in it, which was, Super exciting. And literally that we found out that news that I got that within like an hour later, we found out that we got approved for that that loan as well. So it was like a really successful hour. We literally came home and were like, geez, we're doing all right.
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:It's so much more fun to, I actually just had a conversation with another one of these guys. He's one of the members and he was talking about teaming up and doing it together. He's like, look, I could battle my way through everything and win every argument and have it all my way. And then, and I was like, but who would you celebrate with?
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:Yeah.
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Do you know what I mean? It's just like, you don't, it's not fun unless you got to go look at each other and give each other a high five and go, that was epic.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:Do a lot of high five as I love big celebrators.
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:That's, I reckon that's huge but let me ask you this. Did you go to your forecast, chuck it in, and then actually look at what it meant, goals wise?
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:Oh my gosh. No, I haven't.
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Oh, you haven't even done that yet? There you go.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:that. Brock loves the grass. grass. I started giggling before because when he first did the forecast, I was cooking dinner and he's just like, look at how much money I'm going to have next year. I'm rich.
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:You know what's interesting though? So, It's that whole thing is like a plan is not, it's, it's not enough, but it's absolutely essential because without having that, you don't even have a benchmark for what you thought you might be able to put away, what you might be able to invest, what you might be able to spend on the things that you care about. And so you are just literally on the back foot. Reacting and responding to life, whereas this allows you to be on the front foot and have an expectation which sets up like a dopamine loop, right? You do it at the start of the year, you got 12 months, you're like, fuck, at the end of this 12 months, we're going to be able to do this, this, this, this, and this, and because you got the expectation, it is now a priority. It starts to shape and guide your decisions which actually turns out get you those results. It's kind of interesting, isn't it?
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:literally looked at the forecast the other day because I was I was like, Oh, I'm just about to buy a paid everyone off. I'm just about to get my car and then I was doing it through for the months coming up and I was like, to Sri Lanka. We're going to, we're going to get a fireplace. We get, I reckon we can get this sauna in, I'm like, I'm like listening off all these things. I'm like, I'm going to have my cash cushion back. I'm like
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Yeah.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:the house. We're on
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:What a bit.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:like. a positive feedback loop and you're like, you get, like you say, you get the dopamine hits and you're like, I get excited about money and, and like, even little things where it's like, Oh, I'm only going to go have like a couple extra beers if it's quality time with my friends. If it's just like having a beer by myself at a bar, no way, but it's like, you're just like, you're thinking about your money decisions a little bit more and going, okay, is this working towards our goal or is it not? And then it's just super easy to be in the stuff that doesn't work.
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Those trade offs become really clear, don't they? Like I can do, I absolutely can do this. But what does it mean for these other things that I said I really wanted? And
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:I'm trying to explain that to a friend the other day. It's just like. Trying to explain us like it's just so easy now, like it's so easy to make those decisions. Like when you're going out for drinks, I'm like, I don't, I don't really feel like I need to go and have that many drinks because I don't want to spend money on that. Whereas before I found out, I'd be like, I know I shouldn't, I know I shouldn't spend, but I want
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Oh,
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:now it's like, okay, well it doesn't align. So that's
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:I'm,
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:It's done.
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:I'm so glad you said that word shouldn't because I try to explain this to people all the time. Like if you don't have an intention for your money, there isn't an obvious trade off, which means you don't actually see the cost that like, okay, I'm spending on this, which means I can't spend on this. You don't see that. Right. But when you do have an intention for your money, you do see the trade off. And now that's a very different conversation in your own mind, because now you're thinking to yourself, do I want to spend 18 on a fucking pint of beer, right? Or do I want To actually have that money go to work for us on that trip that we've got to Sri Lanka, you know, in six months time. Because I know I can spend three or four hundred bucks easy tonight if I really want to. But, that three or four hundred bucks could go over there. Now that's a such a different conversation too. I don't have any goals. I have no purpose, no direction for my money. Now you're asking yourself, should I or shouldn't I? Now that sets up, A very negative, very kind of unhealthy relationship with money. Like this idea that there's like a right decision and a wrong decision and like a good and a bad way to use it. And it creates like this unhealthy dynamic where like money is this thing that you're, I don't know, like it's like dictating, it's like dictating your life. You feel like you're oppressed by it and maybe like pushing you get back against it. How much do you think that's helped like change that relationship? You know, you said before that you weren't super comfortable with money conversations but how much do you think being able to be really conscious of those trade offs that you're making, how much does that help?
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:Yeah. I even think like now when you have those little, it's like you've got the little angel and the devil on your shoulder saying, Oh, what you, what you should do. But it's like when you. Do you make the decision you go, okay, maybe I'm not going to have that extortionate beer
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Mm,
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:down to the pub, that extra one you go, you give yourself a pat on the back cause you're like, I'm just, I'm a little bit closer towards the goal that I planned
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:mm,
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:like, I know that's what I want to do. So.
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:mm.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:When you're going before you get down on yourself, you're like, Oh, I've spent all this money, but now you go, no, I've, I've just saved all this money because I know exactly what I want to do with it. And it doesn't align with me. So I think when we're talking with friends and stuff, like if anyone, like peer pressure is a massive thing for young people. So like, yeah, sometimes the boys are like, you're not having another beer. And I'm like, no. And I explained it to him. They're like, Oh yeah, that makes sense.
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Yeah, yeah. But it's not, but it's not a sense of sacrifice, is it? It's a sense of choice. It's so different to like if there's no goal, then you're like going, I shouldn't. That is sacrifice. I'm sacrificing. What am I sacrificing for?
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:It's a really different mindset around it and I feel like it's quite powerful. I feel really good about that decision now cause I'm like, yeah, I just did a good thing for me
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Yeah.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:and for us. Yeah, it's, it's, and again, I guess it's that like positive feedback loop thing, you know, in the past you would overspend and then you're like, Oh, right now I'm going to dip back into my savings and I'm going to transfer that across. And then you're like, you see this whole like negative
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Hmm.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:with it, whereas it's now it's positive. Yeah, that positive thing you've just seen that improvement in the accounts and the dashboard and you're like, yeah, we're doing good We're ticking off goals and and because we're obviously working together towards goals It's like, if I go do this, then I'm also letting this down. Yeah, exactly. Like we're working together, so it's like, it just continues to be like a positive loop going further and further upwards
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Yeah.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:where you want to be. So it's, it's kind of nice to be like, yeah, okay, like I've made that decision. I'm happy with it. And it's, it's, I'm Lisa's going to be happy with it as well,
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Yeah. Love that. And so one of the big themes that we kind of talked about too, first up was career, career direction, flexibility creativity in the kind of work. So what are you guys looking forward to? You've already free up this one day, like we talked about, we live in this Tuesday here now. What's on the horizon for you guys? What are you looking forward to?
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:of that hopefully. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So we we are both really fortunate. We work for a company called Forerunners,
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Yep.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:which was, created by Alice Beque, who's an incredible, incredible friend but Melbourneian and the, the website's basically all the app. It's an online physio and Pilates platform. And it's designed sort of like Forerunners and we're putting together physio information, but mainly a lot of strength and mobility routines that are going to help runners. you know, better and prevent injury.
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Hmm. Yep. Yep.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:so I started off working for Alice two years ago and just doing sort of a couple of classes with that. then over time we've just kind of, I went to like half a day of working with her and then Bryce came on board that six months ago. So as well doing the social media and then we've now both have a whole day off and we just really, really love working with Alice and we really value the company and. Really hope that over time we can start to increase that flexibility of working with her as well. And yeah, like as, as a physio, my I suppose, like, I've always liked having a creative outlet,
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Mm.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:been, like, super passionate about photography, editing, any kind of, like, I don't know, any type of creativity where I can sort of express myself, and this job sort of aligns physio that.
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Yeah.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:sort of like be as creative as I want to be. She just goes, yeah, do whatever you want. You know what you're doing. So I can, I can sort of like just let, let myself fly, fly free, but like be as creative as I want, but I'm still using my physio background knowledge
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Yeah.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:create all the information and all the all the social media posts and lots of stuff. So yeah, if we can sort of another day doing that, it'd be fantastic. And then, cause like we both said, we're happy to sort of work three days a week. Doing our physio sort of work, but then having days where we can sort of run our own schedule, be creative, do what we want, want to do. Go surfing. then we're happy as Larry much, which is, which is a huge win for a physio, right? Because for so many years, we've now both been physio for 10 or 11 years, but know, I was always really envious of those people who could take their work on the road, work remotely. And I was like, I can't do that.
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Mm.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:like face to face and now to have this opportunity where we're still ticking those goals and giving information to people and doing things online. It's like, Oh, is amazing. Like I was able to still teach live Pilates classes from some of the most incredible backdrops over in the U S and in Canada. I was like, how cool is this?
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Ah.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:great. So, if we can open up more time like that, you know, Bryce and I are really big travellers, so to be able to of keep our work and our passions whilst we're on the road is, yeah, big, big win.
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:It's such a, you know, what you guys are doing is essentially productivizing knowledge. And that is one of the best hacks, one of the best opportunities that our generation has that our parents didn't. You know, there's a lot of things that were easier for them. But they never had the opportunities like this that we had. Your opportunity to kind of think about different ways, create your own. Even like I think about my day to day, I'm like, I literally just get to have awesome conversations with people like you, talking about the big things you've done. And I'm like, that's a, I was talking to my dad this morning. He's like, how have you done that? I'm like, I don't know. I just did this thing called the internet. And I just started, I just, I started listening to other people's podcasts. I'm like, people do that? That's a thing? And you can make, literally make anything happen. So like, I love that direction too. And I'm sure like what you're learning along the way, the value you're adding in that business but also to the folks that you're working with, it's only going to continue to compound. So, No, that's bloody good. What about in terms of the personal side of things you're obviously looking forward to, you talked about like setting up a house with fireplace, these kind of things. What, what's on the horizon there?
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:Yeah, I suppose like we, yeah, I don't know. We
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Well, well I thought you were gonna reveal, I thought you were gonna reveal something very big then.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:we're getting a trampoline. Nah,
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:I thought you were gonna get on my knee or something. Or
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:the podcast. Uh, no, it was similar to that. You pretty much designed our wedding,
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Oh, did I? Yeah. You know how many weddings I've designed a lot.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:Yeah, yeah. You know what? We had never really talked about it. I was like, yeah, it looks like we're having a disco festival.
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Camping, festival, big bit of land, lots of food trucks. Lots of food trucks? Marky, uh, Bryce, you gotta have a set list. It's gotta be playing. And it's gotta be including a lot of 70s disco.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:Yep. Great. Great. I want to know. Oh no, I was just saying. Cause like we're, we're getting, we're getting a bit older. So like, we're going to be having kids in the next couple of years.
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Yep.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:have my house is like a little beach house. Sorry, it's a little beach shack and it's probably not set up to have kids. More than one, one child, really. So like we'd have to do an extension. So that would be something that we'd have to sort of like budget for and maybe use some equity. But apart from that, we're just going like we're super into wellness. So we're like sauna, cold plunge, outdoor shower, we're getting more veggies. We're still like, we've just had a pretty, pretty successful with our veggie garden. We've had a great time in the garden since we've come home. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, yeah, just in the hall yesterday. A. Yep. Really good. So, yeah, just keep expanding on that. And yeah, yeah. I guess, like Bryce was saying, we could definitely make do having one child there. But if we wanted to have more than we're gonna have to look at either extending or we turn that into an investment property and we buy something else. But that'll be a discussion. Or in our, you know, decision we make once we know what it's like at the
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Mm.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:And so, and just where our finances are at at that time and are we enjoying living there or do we want to change? So, yeah, keeping the options open
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:That flexibility too is going to become in a lot of handy too. On that journey when you're like, all right, I can work things around. Cause that's, that's the kind of the hardest thing. But I always find it's interesting too. When you sort of hit this stage and you start looking forward toward it. You, this sense of, it's a healthy pressure. It, it forces you to just like keep pushing in this direction where you were like, Oh, I'm going to try more of this, do more of this because you start to go, well, if we do want the extension or if we do want to upgrade the house, whatever it is, you've got the tools to go, well, what do we need to be earning? What kind of debt could we be servicing? How much would that actually cost? And now you start to actually be able to plan for what that looks like. Without that, it's just this feeling of like, that feels super stressful.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:Yeah, exactly. Let's not do it's too hard.
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Too hard. Yeah, yeah.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:Just a little bit of planning and you can go, actually, you know, we can do that. It's in the budget. We can save for it and we can action it.
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Yeah, true. What are the biggest things you guys would say that you've changed your mind about on money and yourselves when it comes to money throughout this process?
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:I think for me, as I said earlier, I've always been quite conservative. So even though I had recently started to dabble into the world of shares, I've always really sort of held onto my money and believe that that was the safest thing to do. now I'm doing this full 180, just diving into, you know, the investment loan and whatnot. So I think like having just understanding debt a little bit more and how you can use that to leverage. I don't know. I was sort of more of the belief that we would need off the house first and then start, or not really like one and the other, but maybe like more about, you know, 80 percent on the house and then maybe like 20 percent into investing. But to know that we can kind of like, just go guns a blazing at both is I would have never, I would have never had the confidence or the know how to do that prior to this.
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:What about you, Bryce? Yeah,
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:yeah, like I suppose. I into the trap of like, when I just go, okay, well, I'm going to go live overseas for two years and then go do that and then come back with no money. So just having like a little bit of an understanding of going, okay, I've got these goals. Obviously, I'd previously probably saved for those goals, but then no thought for afterwards. And going on, I'm just going to leave myself hugely dry. But now I'm like, okay, I've got this really, really long term goal that I'm working towards. How am I going to sort of work towards that? Whilst also doing these other goals that I'm really interested in. And I guess on the point with Lisa said as well, like debt's not that bad. I always thought that debt was really, really bad. So I'm like, we need to pay this house down as soon as possible. But now I'm working out that debt's actually a really useful tool to build your wealth. And there's a multiple different ways to do that. Even having a chat to Ryan, he was like, so if I gave you a million dollars, what would you do with it? I'm like, we get a million dollars in shares and then he's like, well, you can do that, but you could also get another like investment property and then you could leverage that. And then you could also still get your shares later on down the track and you'd have even more wealth. And you're like, just like opening your,
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Yeah,
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:your knowledge to all these different areas that I probably didn't have and doing this course. Really cemented the learning and going, okay, like, I'm, I'm interested in that. I'll do a deep dive on that. I'll do a deep dive in that. Come back with Lisa, teach her, make decisions together. It's
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:yeah, love it. What about, I would love advice guys, so if you are talking to a couple who is listening to this and that couple, they know, they know they're going to be like, it's a long term relationship, they're established, but they haven't quite made this haven't quite brought things together in this way yet, how would you advise that couple? What would you say to them?
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:Well, like it's a pretty big step, right? Cause when we, we did this, we. I don't know if we actually talked about this with you, Terry, but we're like, this is kind of like bigger than marriage, really. Like when you, when you kind of like saying this is what we're going to do,
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Mm,
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:much saying like, let's get married in a
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:mm,
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:it is a pretty confronting conversation or can be, I guess, a little bit nerve wracking to start that conversation. But it, I just think in terms of how it's brought us together in more ways than just the finances. I mean, I hate to say it, but everything kind of revolves around money and the fact that you can kind of take away that, the stress,
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:mm,
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:also more plan for these things that improve your relationship. You know, what do they say? Like most, most couples break up over finances or those kinds of decisions, right? So if you can kind of knock that stuff on the head really early. Like, I feel like we started, this is the best time in our relationship. It
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:yeah.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:fresh start with moving in together. Why don't we do this together as well? And I have like full confidence that we're just going to be so solid in that, you know, area of our life ongoing as well. So, That would be my advice. Like just, I know it's nerve wracking, but the take the leap and you don't have to, you know, we talk about all this, the joint accounts and stuff. Please know that we have not put all of that money together. I still have my money. Bryce still has his money
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Yeah,
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:I want to do my things. He wants to spend his, but you know, just having that like initial step of a few things will make life a hell of a lot easier.
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:100%. I see a lot of parallels between you guys and James and Katie. Which, you know, they're now that little, that just maybe a year or two ahead of you guys, the first babies come along and just the, just watching them have the amount of enjoyment through that process. I'm not saying it's all easy, but not worrying about money through it, having fully funded the maternity leave, just being able to really invest in that time. That's the track I see you guys on and that you're 100 percent right. The timing couldn't be any better getting this, this part sorted and it just gets easier and easier. I'm sorry, Bryce. So you're about to say something before I said something there.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:All I was going to say is like when you do come down, uh, get together as a couple and you go, okay, maybe you want to go on this finance journey together. Just being open and honest with each other and how, like how you view money and how it's sort of like you use it in your day to day and see if seeing if there's any sort of differences and then going, okay, like what, what, what. Is the goal that we want to work towards? Are we like bringing finances together? Are we working towards a life that we want to create? Or are we just trying to like get, get back out of debt or something like that? But at least if you both know you're coming at,
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Mmm.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:to resolve it. Cause if you sort of keep those feelings in your chest and not expressing them, then eventually it's going to come up and it can cause an issue.
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Yeah, that's good advice, actually. Yeah, you feeling like if there is a, uh, in parentheses, secret be able to sort of talk your way through that with the bigger picture in mind. We want to accomplish this. Here's how I'm feeling about it. This is what I'm worried about. Really good advice. Nothing you can't deal with if it's the right person. Nothing.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:Definitely. Exactly.
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Guys, this has been an epic chat. I've seriously loved it. Give us a little bit of a hand off. Tell us more about the, the app, the website, what you're working on, where people can find out more about you guys.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:So yeah, you can find us at forrunners. app, which you can get on the webpage, on Instagram, which is where Bryce does all of his magic and on the app store now as well. So
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Oh, nice.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:Big news. Uh, and yeah, it's basically. It's obviously the niches towards runners, but you don't have to be a runner. We have a lot in the community who running, uh, and just want to get stronger or flexible. And my mom's doing it. Yeah. My mom does it too. Yeah. Anyone can do it. All ages. And that's it. There's like, there are different levels. There's different styles. There are different timelines. It's pre run, post run, and there's a little bit of physio rehab and, and know how in there as well. So you can do it anywhere, anytime it's on your computer, on your, on your phone. So if you're time poor, it's perfect.
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:It's actually underrated. So I think like running is one of those activities people do when they want to get fit, but actually you need to be fit to run. Like, yeah.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:chat with someone before, like, I think, know, Historically, people were like, nah, you're a runner. You just run. That's all you need to do. But it's definitely becoming more common knowledge now that you definitely need a blend of strength and running. And you know, all your pro runners, all your Olympians they have a really strong amount of strength and as well as their run training. And we have got, we've got Olympians that do our classes as well, which is super exciting.
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Yeah.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:coming to France this year. Yeah.
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:nice. Nice. Love it. Good stuff. Well, guys, thank you again so much for coming on the show. Really appreciate it being super generous with your time and also dealing with a couple of tech issues here, but we've seem to have managed. So, good job.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:Thank you so much. We had a great time. Yeah. Thanks for having us. Been a hoot.
tex-_1_01-23-2024_154206:Beautiful. See you guys.
lisa---bryce_1_01-23-2024_154206:Thanks. Bye.