Meet Our Newest Planner: James Jacobucci

April 10, 2017

The newest member of our CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ team, Jim Jacobucci, CFP®, MBA, has always liked to save money. It’s one of the reasons he switched careers to financial planning from manufacturing. I asked Jim some questions about his money story, money and family life, and what it means to come to Financial Finesse:

What’s your personal mission? Who do you most want to help?  I most want to help people who generally do not have access to sound financial guidance. Those who have problems making ends meet each month or who have taken on high levels of credit card debt need help just as much, if not more, than anyone else. My mission is to provide sound guidance on how to navigate through everyday financial issues that are important to everyday people.

What’s your money story – what your parents taught you about money, etc.? Did you hold any negative beliefs about money that you had to overcome? For as far back as I can remember, I liked to save money. I’m not really sure why. When I was, say, 8 years old, I did not have a goal in mind to buy something specific, but I just liked to save what little money came my way.

I do not recall my parents teaching me specifically about money, but we were a middle class, single income family. When my dad was working, things were fine, but if he was laid off, things got pretty tight, pretty quickly. Maybe just experiencing this influenced me to save when I could.

What is the biggest mistake you ever made with your money, and what did you learn from it? The biggest financial mistake I ever made was not having an adequate emergency savings fund while I was going through a career change. I knew that my income would drop during this transition, but I did not properly plan for all scenarios. For a while, money was pretty tight until I gained some more traction in my new profession. What I learned from this is to always hope for the best but plan for the worst when it comes to making decisions that will have a long term financial impact.

What have you learned about money and marriage that you can teach the rest of us? I am very fortunate in that my wife and I are pretty much on the same page regarding our finances and how to prioritize. And therein lies a lesson learned. This may sound a bit too clinical, but I believe when you commit to spending the rest of your life with someone it just makes sense to be sure you have the same general philosophies when it comes to money.

My wife and I never really had in-depth money conversations before getting married, but you get a pretty good grasp on someone’s financial tendencies when you are spending time together. While dating someone, if I saw she was spending frivolously on luxury items at the expense of more practical things, that would have been a red flag for me. Not that she would be “wrong” in her spending choices, but having such a different outlook on spending compared to mine would present some challenges if we did get married.

How do you teach your kids about money? I try to explain to my kids why I am making the everyday choices that I am with regards to money. It started out at the grocery store when they were young.

If we were going to buy a gallon of ice cream, I would explain why I was buying the brand that I was. Was it on sale? If one brand is more expensive, is it worth spending that extra dollar on that brand or would it be wiser to spend that dollar somewhere else?

Now that they are a bit older, when it is time to make a purchase for my kids for say, new summer clothes, it is left up to them what to buy (as long as it is tasteful). They are given a budget of how much to spend, but it is up to them on how they spend it. My wife and I certainly provide some coaching along the way and help weigh the pros and cons of buying a designer item vs. a more run-of-the-mill item.

What do you think your generation does differently with money/attitudes about money? Being a Gen Xer, I think my generation sees money that is something that you need to work hard for, to earn. Put in an honest day’s work and get an honest day’s pay.

If you could wave a magic wand and reform financial services, what would you do? I am frustrated that those who need the most help, those who are really struggling to make ends meet, get the least help. One of the great things about delivering workplace financial wellness benefits is that we’re compensated and incentivized equally for offering financial guidance to an employee with a net worth of $10 or one with $10 million. This is the approach of Financial Finesse and why I love working here.

Tell me about your financial coaching philosophy? First and foremost, I respect every employee that I am coaching. They may be in a bad financial spot, but there are always reasons for getting to where they are.

Understanding those reasons, how they affected their finances, and what can be done to improve their financial wellness is what I strive to do. I never pass judgment on a person, regardless of their situation or how they got there. It’s my job to listen and understand and give employees the tools to make improvements.

Why did you want to earn your CFP® designation? What does it mean to you? There were three main reasons that I decided to pursue my CFP®: to broaden my knowledge base in tax and estate planning, to provide myself with a certain level of intellectual stimulation that was lacking in my job at the time and to give me the ability to help a wider range of people. To me, the CFP® designation represents an ongoing commitment to keep current on financial planning topics, which enables me to be in a position to help people make the right financial decisions.

Is there anything that really surprised you about coming to work at Financial Finesse? Why? The thing that surprised me the most about coming to work at Financial Finesse was all of the planners are deeply involved in the company in areas which impact how workplace financial wellness programs are designed and delivered. They are involved in many parts of the business – research, consulting, communications, recruiting and fact-checking. This is a great because the planners all have unique skill sets and experiences that are useful in multiple areas of the company.

 

Do you have a question you’d like answered on the blog? Please email me at [email protected]. You can follow me on the blog by signing up here and on Twitter @cynthiameyer_FF.

 

Meet Our Newest Planner: Cyrus Purnell

July 25, 2016

Cyrus Purnell, CFP® is driven to take the mystery out of why some people thrive financially and others don’t. Recently, I had the privilege of sitting down with our newest planner. We discussed his money story and how this Gen X father aligns his personal mission to help others get the information they need to make better financial decisions with his work at Financial Finesse and his role as a husband and father.

Why did you want to earn your CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ designation? What does it mean to you?

I earned my CFP® designation because my primary reason for joining this industry was to help families plan for their futures. When my mom would pick me up from school, she would have the radio on Larry Burkett’s radio show “How to Manage Your Money.” After listening to him help people work their way through financial situations day after day, I thought to myself, “I would like to do that.” Looking back on it today, I was struck by how effectively a short conversation can help relieve someone of stress and set them on a positive road.

What’s your money story – what your parents taught you about money, etc.? Did you hold any negative beliefs about money that you had to overcome?

In hindsight, my parents had a very well balanced view on money. They had very consistent positive money habits when it came to paying bills on time and maintaining low debt levels. They definitely lived within their means, but they would occasionally splurge on things like vacations for the family.

Growing up, I felt like they said “no” to everything, but as an adult, I realize they were very balanced in their yes’s and no’s, and that balance allowed me to walk away from undergrad with zero student loan debt. My perception of being deprived of certain luxuries growing up has always given me a slant toward spending on one event or item and then doing a 180 and spending nothing for a while to make up the difference. It took time for me to learn to plan for those special items and live in balance.

What is the biggest mistake you ever made with your money, and what did you learn from it?

When I started out on my own after college, I picked up what I call “pet debt.” I seemed to carry around some credit card debt and never really took the initiative to completely pay it off. My wife had a similar level of debt when we married, and while were very aggressive on paying off student loans and car loans, we still kept our “pet debt.”

After the birth of our first child, we took a hard look at what the debt was costing us in interest. We got on the same page and attacked the debt and paid it off aggressively. This allowed me to get my MBA without picking up new debt, and my wife was able to start her own business.

What have you learned about money and marriage that you can teach the rest of us?

You can accomplish a lot more working together than you ever could individually. Anytime my wife and I had individual agendas, it always produced tepid results. When we work together on something, we would have better-than-anticipated results.

I know how to run an amortization schedule and how quickly something can be paid down. When we work together, it was faster than any pay-down plan. We would have the wind at our backs.

How do you teach your kids about money?

While my kids are still young, we have felt it was important to begin conversations with them on the value of money and saving. We’ve wanted them to be very involved in the savings process, going to the bank and opening their own savings accounts. Now with any Christmas or birthday monetary gifts they receive, we have the conversation on what we will give, spend and save. My 8-year old is now earning money with doing extra chores around the house. I have been impressed that while he has enough in savings to get the toy he wants, he’s yet to ask for it but has a plan to continue saving $5/week.

If you could wave a magic wand and reform the financial services industry, what would you do?

I would shift cost from the products to the advice. I think there are many very intelligent and ethical people in the financial industry, but they are trapped by the fact that so much of the industry is product-focused and not solution-focused.

Tell me about your personal investment philosophy?

My study and experience with investments has shown that almost all investment return is based on asset allocation. The biggest obstacle to realizing the return from that allocation is fees. In my personal portfolios, I endeavor to build allocations well suited to my time horizon with an eye to keeping fees low.

Is there anything that really surprised you about coming to work at Financial Finesse? Why?

I did a fair amount of research before joining the company so there haven’t been many surprises. I will say the company is exactly what it says it is. Most companies tend to over-hype the strength of their culture and their dedication to mission. It is not hype here. All of that is real.

Have a question you’d like answered on the blog? Please email me at cynthia.meyer@financialfinesse. You can also follow me on Twitter at @cynthiameyer_FF

10 Steps to Jump Start Your Earning Power

June 13, 2016

Are you consistently earning less money than you are capable of, given your education and experience, in a way that negatively impacts your financial health? If you took the Quiz: Are You Underearning? from my recent blog post and it raised questions for you, don’t despair. Underearning is a behavior, not a character trait. You can change it. In this post, I offer ten steps people can take to begin to challenge limiting financial beliefs and earn an income that corresponds to their capabilities:

Step 1: Measure the problem. Set aside some time when you won’t be interrupted and do this exercise by hand. Fold a sheet of paper in two lengthwise. On one half, make a list of all your income that you earn during a typical month: salary (use the net take home, not the gross salary), consulting fees, investment income, etc. Add it up.

Next, on the flip side, list all your mandatory monthly expenses: mortgage/rent, utilities, transportation, insurance, taxes (if self employed), student loans/credit card payments, groceries, etc. Don’t forget to add 15% for retirement savings, even if you’re not currently doing that. Download this Easy Spending Plan as a guideline. Now add another 10% for wiggle room, things like vacations, gifts and donations. Add that all up too.

Open the paper and compare both sides. Is there a gap? How wide is it?

Step 2: Unmask hidden beliefs. Review your income and expenses from Step 1.  What’s your money story? Fee-Only CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Michael Kay writes in his new book, The Feel Rich Project, that in order to overcome money misery and “feel rich,” you have to examine “your beliefs around money and values, that in most cases stem from your childhood and how you see yourself in the world.” Spend some time writing your money story in a journal.

Kay offers several writing exercises with powerful questions to help you uncover your beliefs, fears and attitudes about money. If money is a source of struggle for you, it’s particularly important to uncover your hidden belief system, which is guiding your actions now. This is likely to bring up uncomfortable feelings, so treat yourself gently.

Step 3: Write your new money story. Now that you have uncovered your money mindset, it’s time to write a new money story. For thought-provoking exercises, I like Kay’s chapter on “Stoking Your Money Mojo.” Take your money story from Step 2 and craft a new message for each of the beliefs which are limiting you and contributing to your underearning. For example, the old message might be, “people who earn money are greedy,” and the new message could be, “I am well compensated for my talents and abilities.”

Kay also suggests developing a Money Code. This is “a statement of who you are and what you believe when it comes to your financial life.” Summarize the key points and post them somewhere where you can read them several times per day.

Step 4: List 100 ways you can earn money. This simple exercise comes from Jerold Mundis’ Earn What You Deserve: How to Stop Underearning and Start Thriving, which brought the phrase, “underearning,” into the modern financial vocabulary. Make a list of 100 ways you could earn money: full-time jobs that fit your education, experience or skills, part-time work or side-gigs (e.g., coffee barista, drive for Uber), asking for a raise, freelancing, selling investments, holding a garage sale, etc. Don’t stop until you get to 100. This will be a more powerful exercise if you do it by hand.

When you’ve finished, review your list. Are there any surprises or “ah ha” moments? Pick something on the list that you can take action on this week.

Step 5: Sell something you no longer need. People who underearn often have a poverty consciousness and doubt that money they spend to take care of themselves can ever be replaced with future earnings. (It’s the opposite of the overspender, who doesn’t see any connection between what they spend today and their future earnings.)

Pick an item/items from your home or garage that you no longer need and that’s worth at least $20 and sell it. Perhaps you have books you can bring to a secondhand book shop, designer clothes you’ve never worn that you can consign, or unused exercise equipment. Here’s the kicker. After you’ve sold your items, take $20 and spend it on yourself doing something fun you wouldn’t normally do.

Step 6: Identify a financial role model. When I was working through my own financial issues, one of the things that helped me navigate the rough terrain was identifying a financial role model. As inspiration, I chose a friend who worked in the same field, always earned a good salary, managed her money wisely, and bought her first home at a young age as a single woman. Although I didn’t tell her she was my role model, every time I faced a tricky financial issue, I would ask myself what my friend would do in the same situation. If I wasn’t sure, I’d ask her directly.

Later on, after I had made financial progress and had more surplus income to invest, I studied clients in my financial planning practice. What financial habits and behaviors did they show that would teach me something I could use in my own life? In part because of inspiration from clients, I became a successful real estate investor. Now I look to our CEO, entrepreneur Liz Davidson, so I can learn to think even bigger!

Step 7: Read a book about investing. Remember the famous line from the film Field of Dreams, “If you build it they will come.” Act as if you will earn a comfortable income that offers you the opportunity to save and invest a generous percentage. What would you need to do to prepare to manage that money wisely? Start building your financial infrastructure by learning more about investing fundamentals. Beginners can start with The Wall Street Journal Complete Money and Investing Guidebook. Those who already know basic concepts can move on to the Forbes/CFA Institute Investment Course.

Step 8: Track your income and expenses daily. Creativity coach Julia Cameron, author of The Prosperous Heart, calls this practice of tracking your daily income and expenses, “counting.” Whatever you want to call it, it’s a way to be mindful of the constant flow of money in and out of your life.

If you’re kinesthetic, you may prefer to keep a notebook or ledger on your kitchen counter to track your money. Smartphone and computer users may prefer an application like Mint or Yodlee. I saw from decades of personal experience that tracking income and expenses is a powerful way to gain awareness of financial imbalance and align your spending with your values and goals.

Step 9: Say thank you. Are you thankful for the financial resources you already have in your life? If you focus on lack, you are likely to get less than you need. If you focus on gratitude, you are likely to get more experiences for which to be grateful.

Watch the short video, If the World Were 100 People, whenever you are feeling like you don’t have enough. Whenever you earn money or receive it as a gift, take a moment to feel grateful. This will help you keep your eye on the goal of increasing your earnings.

Step 10: Start a Financial Independence Day Group. Can your friends help you become financially independent? As I wrote in a previous blog post about my own experiences with peer-to-peer learning, having the support of a group of like-minded seekers of financial balance is like having a personal cheer-leading squad. The structure of the group learning experience creates confidence, and many of us are more successful when we are accountable to others. Visit our Financial Independence Day website to download an FID community guide on how to use our book What Your Financial Advisor Isn’t Telling You to create a powerful group learning experience.

Is there a topic or a question you’d like to see addressed on the blog? Send me your thoughts or questions at [email protected]. You can also follow me on Twitter @cynthiameyer_FF.

A New Way For Couples to Manage Their Finances in 2014

December 30, 2013

The holidays present numerous financial challenges, not to mention the positive and negative stress associated with spending some quality time with friends and family. (Insert your own mental image of Cousin Eddie from Christmas Vacation here.) Generosity is a wonderful characteristic to possess, but if left without monitoring, it can lead to overspending and debt. Additionally, travel costs can be expensive if you hit the road or the occasionally friendly skies to be with family.  There is a well documented outbreak of financial stress and regret that occurs every January in our consumer-driven culture when the reality of holiday spending arrives in the form of a credit card statement. Continue reading “A New Way For Couples to Manage Their Finances in 2014”