Full Transcript for Dr. David Gruder Interviews - MARCI BAIR - How to Make Wise Investments

but then 64 00:04:32.199 --> 00:04:33.920 didn't really know what I wanted to do. Went to 65 00:04:34.000 --> 00:04:37.759 junior college, played some basketball there, but then started working 66 00:04:37.800 --> 00:04:42.120 at an insurance company and found us the financial planning 67 00:04:42.160 --> 00:04:44.959 department there and really liked what they did. It was 68 00:04:45.279 --> 00:04:47.439 a lot more extensive than the type of work that 69 00:04:47.480 --> 00:04:49.480 my dad did, although it was great what he did. 70 00:04:49.839 --> 00:04:52.000 He was able to help a lot of families in 71 00:04:52.079 --> 00:04:54.720 time of need when somebody passed away. But I felt 72 00:04:54.759 --> 00:04:59.120 comprehensive financial planning was just to more fit what I 73 00:04:59.160 --> 00:05:02.360 wanted to do, and so I worked with a smaller firm, 74 00:05:02.560 --> 00:05:06.000 and long story short, said hey, I could actually do 75 00:05:06.079 --> 00:05:09.680 this and started my own company at thirty two something 76 00:05:09.759 --> 00:05:11.160 years ago here in San Diego. 77 00:05:11.759 --> 00:05:16.160 Marvelous. Thank you for that, and we're in a moment 78 00:05:16.199 --> 00:05:19.199 get into the kind of the symptoms that indicate that 79 00:05:19.680 --> 00:05:24.040 someone's not really being properly attentive to planning their future. 80 00:05:25.639 --> 00:05:29.279 As a framing for that, would you say that the 81 00:05:29.360 --> 00:05:33.160 three most important purposes of financial planning are having a 82 00:05:33.199 --> 00:05:39.120 cushion for unplanned expenses, planning ahead for future expenses that 83 00:05:39.199 --> 00:05:42.800 are significant and known ahead of time, and achieving financial 84 00:05:42.839 --> 00:05:45.439 independence ultimately or do you see this differently? 85 00:05:45.839 --> 00:05:48.959 No spot on. You might as well join our team 86 00:05:51.160 --> 00:05:54.160 that's not on. It's exactly right. And so we find 87 00:05:54.199 --> 00:05:56.160 that people that get into trouble are ones that don't 88 00:05:56.199 --> 00:05:59.279 have enough savings on hand, because Murphy's law is like 89 00:05:59.319 --> 00:06:01.480 when you know you don't have money in the bank account, 90 00:06:01.480 --> 00:06:03.800 that's when the cars need tires, and you know, the 91 00:06:03.839 --> 00:06:06.399 water heater goes out and all of those kinds of things. 92 00:06:06.399 --> 00:06:08.800 So you need to have a good savings account so 93 00:06:08.839 --> 00:06:11.040 that when things go sideways, you've got that so you 94 00:06:11.079 --> 00:06:13.199 don't have to go to a credit card and some 95 00:06:13.319 --> 00:06:17.399 high interest debt like that. But then also yeah, having 96 00:06:17.439 --> 00:06:21.839 to focus on saving and then investing. So we want 97 00:06:21.879 --> 00:06:24.519 to look towards the future, and we really get our 98 00:06:24.519 --> 00:06:28.519 clients to really think about what's important to them, not 99 00:06:28.639 --> 00:06:31.560 just retirement, but what does it mean, like what's your purpose? 100 00:06:31.639 --> 00:06:34.399 What makes you tick? So that then we can start 101 00:06:34.399 --> 00:06:37.639 aligning their goals with kind of time frame, and then 102 00:06:37.680 --> 00:06:39.759 it makes it easier for them to kind of save 103 00:06:39.959 --> 00:06:42.879 for that because they've got that purpose. And then we 104 00:06:42.920 --> 00:06:45.920 do find that many people have just not saved enough, 105 00:06:45.959 --> 00:06:49.120 and so as they're getting closer to whatever that retirement 106 00:06:49.199 --> 00:06:52.360 age is for them, it's just not enough. And so 107 00:06:52.480 --> 00:06:55.959 we know the stats just across America that you know, 108 00:06:56.000 --> 00:06:59.519 people are just very low. They'll have low confidence in 109 00:06:59.879 --> 00:07:04.439 their retirement ability or their ability to retire is like 110 00:07:04.519 --> 00:07:06.839 only twenty five percent or so feel that they're confident. 111 00:07:06.879 --> 00:07:09.759 The rest of them like, I don't know. And then 112 00:07:09.800 --> 00:07:12.160 there's a good chunk that feel that they are probably 113 00:07:12.160 --> 00:07:14.480 on track, but they are not. So when we do 114 00:07:14.560 --> 00:07:16.560 the analysis with them, we're like, wait a minute, we 115 00:07:16.600 --> 00:07:20.040 gotta we got to step back and really set the 116 00:07:20.079 --> 00:07:23.360 stage of what how much you really really do need 117 00:07:23.439 --> 00:07:27.439 for retirement because we're also living longer too, So it 118 00:07:27.480 --> 00:07:30.439 was different retired at you know, maybe sixty two and 119 00:07:30.439 --> 00:07:33.800 passed away at sixty five. Like when retirement you know, 120 00:07:34.240 --> 00:07:37.600 spectrum was very short. Now we are living longer and 121 00:07:37.600 --> 00:07:39.040 and so it costs a lot more. 122 00:07:39.759 --> 00:07:44.720 Yeah, well said, so, I think you've embedded in your 123 00:07:44.800 --> 00:07:50.120 responses some of the symptoms that people might be on 124 00:07:50.160 --> 00:07:53.879 the lookout for that would tell them that it's really 125 00:07:53.920 --> 00:07:59.120 important for them to pay closer attention to their investments 126 00:07:59.160 --> 00:08:02.759 to their future. One of those symptoms that you mentioned 127 00:08:02.879 --> 00:08:07.199 is not enough savings on hand for the unexpected. Another 128 00:08:07.600 --> 00:08:13.600 is not really being focused on what their purpose is, 129 00:08:13.680 --> 00:08:17.600 what their life purposes, and on the future that they 130 00:08:17.639 --> 00:08:22.120 want to inhabit further down the road. And the third 131 00:08:22.680 --> 00:08:26.079 symptom that was embedded in what you said was low 132 00:08:26.160 --> 00:08:34.120 confidence in a person's ability to

retire or having kind 133 00:08:34.159 --> 00:08:37.879 of an inflated idea of that an unrealistic sense of 134 00:08:37.919 --> 00:08:41.279 what it's going to take. Are there other symptoms that 135 00:08:41.360 --> 00:08:47.200 you've noticed in people that are actually indicators that they 136 00:08:47.320 --> 00:08:51.679 need better financial planning, even if they don't know that 137 00:08:51.720 --> 00:08:53.320 those symptoms are. 138 00:08:54.799 --> 00:08:57.519 That. Yeah, I mean, we see a lot of smart 139 00:08:57.519 --> 00:09:00.639 people every day, but this is just not their world. 140 00:09:00.799 --> 00:09:03.720 Their world is whatever they're an expert in, right and so, 141 00:09:04.159 --> 00:09:06.720 and they could even be in finance, but on a 142 00:09:06.720 --> 00:09:09.519 corporate level. And so when it comes to personal finance, 143 00:09:09.559 --> 00:09:11.639 it's a whole lot different. They could be managing a 144 00:09:11.639 --> 00:09:16.200 billion dollar budget at work, but personally they need some assistance. 145 00:09:16.919 --> 00:09:18.919 And so it really has to do with like day 146 00:09:18.960 --> 00:09:21.559 to day living of just understanding, you know, when you 147 00:09:21.600 --> 00:09:23.559 get that paycheck and you get that dollar, what are 148 00:09:23.559 --> 00:09:24.799 you gonna do with it? Are you going to go 149 00:09:24.840 --> 00:09:27.200 to you know, spend it, or are you gonna save it? 150 00:09:27.320 --> 00:09:29.679 Or a little bit of both. And so I think 151 00:09:30.519 --> 00:09:34.120 we just start with the foundation of we mentioned about savings. 152 00:09:34.559 --> 00:09:36.320 Just give like a rule of thumb that we'd like 153 00:09:36.360 --> 00:09:40.519 to have our clients have about six months of expenses 154 00:09:40.919 --> 00:09:44.120 set aside in a savings account that gets them through 155 00:09:44.279 --> 00:09:46.279 if we have, you know, any kind of if they 156 00:09:46.279 --> 00:09:48.639 have a hiccup at work, they lose their job, temporary, 157 00:09:48.720 --> 00:09:52.039 laid off, an illness, something like that, that gives them 158 00:09:52.039 --> 00:09:54.720 a little bit of a cushion. So six months of expenses. 159 00:09:55.480 --> 00:09:57.159 Well then people go, I don't even know what my 160 00:09:57.200 --> 00:10:00.440 expenses are, right, and so they see the money comes in, 161 00:10:00.519 --> 00:10:02.360 money goes out, but they have no idea really what 162 00:10:02.480 --> 00:10:04.080 that is. So we have to break that down and 163 00:10:04.519 --> 00:10:06.240 really look at their budget and say, okay, this is 164 00:10:06.279 --> 00:10:09.559 how much you're actually spending because most people do not 165 00:10:09.639 --> 00:10:12.240 think that they're spending what they are. We break it 166 00:10:12.279 --> 00:10:15.080 down on what that Amazon bill is and what costco 167 00:10:15.320 --> 00:10:18.440 is and and you know the restaurants dining out and 168 00:10:18.480 --> 00:10:20.519 all of that. When we break it down, like, I 169 00:10:20.720 --> 00:10:22.440 really don't think I spent that much, but we have 170 00:10:22.480 --> 00:10:25.840 a software program that calculates that and can show them 171 00:10:25.840 --> 00:10:28.840 to the penny how many times they went to you know, 172 00:10:28.919 --> 00:10:31.480 this restaurant or that bar or whatever it might be. 173 00:10:31.559 --> 00:10:34.120 So so that's the starting point. So we can at 174 00:10:34.200 --> 00:10:36.480 least then know what what is their comfortable kind of 175 00:10:36.480 --> 00:10:39.600 budget monthly, and we look at okay, six months of that, 176 00:10:39.720 --> 00:10:42.399 let's put that into a savings account. But then we 177 00:10:42.440 --> 00:10:45.279 can start looking at based on their age, how many 178 00:10:45.320 --> 00:10:48.960 more years until their ideal type of retirement age that 179 00:10:49.000 --> 00:10:51.919 they want. And again that could look different to different people, 180 00:10:52.720 --> 00:10:55.000 depending on if they want to work part time or 181 00:10:55.039 --> 00:10:58.000 what what does that look like for them. Some careers 182 00:10:58.240 --> 00:11:00.720 they're forced out at a certain age, So depending on 183 00:11:00.759 --> 00:11:02.639 what that is. And we're going to really look and 184 00:11:02.679 --> 00:11:05.559 see break it down between now and here, we've got 185 00:11:05.600 --> 00:11:07.600 twenty years, we've got fifteen years, we got five years, 186 00:11:07.679 --> 00:11:10.240 whatever it happens, to be. Let's look at that and 187 00:11:10.279 --> 00:11:13.360 see what you need to be putting away monthly compared 188 00:11:13.399 --> 00:11:15.600 to what you already have saved. Mm hmm. 189 00:11:16.200 --> 00:11:21.320 Well said. And you know, there's something that I want 190 00:11:21.360 --> 00:11:25.960 to also illuminate here at the front end of this episode, 191 00:11:26.480 --> 00:11:32.759 which is about what's commonly referred to as retirement and 192 00:11:33.639 --> 00:11:35.879 in fact, what that really is, and I think you'll 193 00:11:35.919 --> 00:11:40.240 agree with me on this, is that it's actually financial independence, 194 00:11:40.399 --> 00:11:45.360 meaning that the revenue or the income that one needs 195 00:11:45.360 --> 00:11:47.960 in order to live, in order to pay one's bills 196 00:11:48.320 --> 00:11:52.519 is no longer dependent on a paycheck, correct, and so 197 00:11:52.519 --> 00:11:55.279 you can do what you want to do, yes, and so, 198 00:11:55.279 --> 00:12:00.240 sooner or later, unless people die prematurely, they are going 199 00:12:00.320 --> 00:12:04.080 to reach a point where they are financially independent. And 200 00:12:04.159 --> 00:12:09.039 yet most people don't think in terms of that inevitability 201 00:12:09.120 --> 00:12:12.559 if they don't die prematurely. They don't think

in terms of, oh, 202 00:12:12.600 --> 00:12:16.039 my gosh, I am going to reach financial independence at 203 00:12:16.039 --> 00:12:16.919 some point, and what. 204 00:12:16.960 --> 00:12:20.720 Do I want that to look like? Exactly right, Yeah, 205 00:12:20.799 --> 00:12:24.000 it's really about giving yeah, people choice. So there's some 206 00:12:24.039 --> 00:12:28.000 people that don't reach financial independence, and so because you know, 207 00:12:28.039 --> 00:12:32.080 they're for whatever circumstance, they're way behind, and so they 208 00:12:32.120 --> 00:12:35.799 will be forced to continue to work many years past 209 00:12:36.039 --> 00:12:39.519 their ideal age because they're forced to. They just have to. 210 00:12:39.639 --> 00:12:43.120 Their social security is not going to provide enough, and 211 00:12:43.159 --> 00:12:45.039 so they're going to have to extend that out. And 212 00:12:45.080 --> 00:12:48.559 then there's others that will have that financial independence, and 213 00:12:48.600 --> 00:12:51.159 then that gives them the freedom keep working in that 214 00:12:51.240 --> 00:12:54.000 position that they have because they love it, or pivot 215 00:12:54.039 --> 00:12:57.320 to something else, or then take to their talents and 216 00:12:57.360 --> 00:13:00.000 then volunteer. So we have people in the medical feel 217 00:13:00.279 --> 00:13:03.200 when they retire, they don't necessarily want to continue to 218 00:13:03.240 --> 00:13:06.080 be a doctor or nurse every day, but now they could, 219 00:13:06.399 --> 00:13:10.480 you know, volunteer and volunteer all over the world or 220 00:13:10.639 --> 00:13:15.360 just here locally, you know, doing vaccinations or medical checkups 221 00:13:15.399 --> 00:13:17.720 for health clinics and things like that where they could 222 00:13:17.720 --> 00:13:18.200 give back. 223 00:13:20.360 --> 00:13:24.120 And as we move to wrap up this particular segment 224 00:13:24.200 --> 00:13:30.600 of this episode, I really want to emphasize that one 225 00:13:30.679 --> 00:13:32.799 of the other things you said, which is that even 226 00:13:33.120 --> 00:13:39.600 people who are in like corporate finance don't necessarily have 227 00:13:39.720 --> 00:13:44.759 the chops have the clarity to understand how to handle 228 00:13:44.799 --> 00:13:50.559 their personal finance and their personal future. And so it's 229 00:13:50.639 --> 00:13:56.159 really important that people understand that not knowing how to 230 00:13:56.279 --> 00:14:00.399 think about these things, or how to structure financial plan 231 00:14:00.559 --> 00:14:05.000 how to do sensible investing. It's not their fault. We're 232 00:14:05.039 --> 00:14:08.080 not really trained in that that this is a specialty 233 00:14:08.320 --> 00:14:14.600 area that we need a guide for. And that's the 234 00:14:16.759 --> 00:14:20.679 real important I think takeaway from this segment is that 235 00:14:21.320 --> 00:14:24.679 if you're and I'm

saying this to the audience, if 236 00:14:24.720 --> 00:14:29.200 you're concerned in any way about your future or you're 237 00:14:29.279 --> 00:14:32.240 not sure if you have a handle on how to 238 00:14:33.240 --> 00:14:38.559 allocate the paycheck that you're getting in terms of current 239 00:14:38.600 --> 00:14:43.919 expenses and future planning, you've got to have some expert 240 00:14:44.120 --> 00:14:48.600 help to fill in the gaps that you weren't and 241 00:14:48.639 --> 00:14:53.679 that virtually none of us were given to be able 242 00:14:53.679 --> 00:14:57.240 to understand and do these things on our own. And 243 00:14:57.320 --> 00:15:01.120 so with that said, after a short break, my guest 244 00:15:01.240 --> 00:15:05.120 Marcy Bear and I will delve into what causes people 245 00:15:05.559 --> 00:15:10.600 to not do comprehensive financial planning beyond what we've already discussed. 246 00:15:10.639 --> 00:15:14.519 So we'll be back in a few moments. Welcome back. 247 00:15:15.159 --> 00:15:18.039 Before the break, my wonderful guest Marcy Bhar and I 248 00:15:18.120 --> 00:15:22.080 discussed some common symptoms that people experience when they don't 249 00:15:22.120 --> 00:15:26.799 have a chushion for unplanned expenses, or they aren't planning 250 00:15:26.840 --> 00:15:31.360 ahead for significant anticipated expenses, or they aren't planning for 251 00:15:31.879 --> 00:15:35.480 financial independence. And as I already mentioned in this segment, 252 00:15:35.720 --> 00:15:39.440 will peek beneath the surface to unpack root causes of 253 00:15:39.519 --> 00:15:46.919 why people don't do comprehensive financial planning. So, Marcy, above 254 00:15:46.919 --> 00:15:49.600 and beyond what we talked about in the first in 255 00:15:49.639 --> 00:15:52.639 the first segment, digging even deeper, what do you see 256 00:15:52.679 --> 00:15:56.679 as the biggest root causes of people not doing comprehensive planning. 257 00:15:57.559 --> 00:16:00.399 That's a great question. So one is just you know, 258 00:16:00.480 --> 00:16:04.440 we live in a very busy time. People are their calendars, 259 00:16:04.480 --> 00:16:07.960 their schedules are overpacked, and so as we mentioned before, 260 00:16:07.960 --> 00:16:11.279 we may have some very intelligent clients, they might even 261 00:16:11.320 --> 00:16:14.000 work in corporate finance, but they're just busy. So even 262 00:16:14.039 --> 00:16:16.639 if you don't have kind of a background in finance, 263 00:16:17.000 --> 00:16:19.840 just busy and focus on other things and not on 264 00:16:19.879 --> 00:16:22.519 their personal finance. So that could be one thing, just 265 00:16:22.600 --> 00:16:25.600 that lack of focus on this, but then also just 266 00:16:25.679 --> 00:16:28.759 maybe how they grew up. It's not been talked about 267 00:16:28.799 --> 00:16:32.159 in their family about financial planning or finances at all, 268 00:16:32.799 --> 00:16:35.399 don't really learn about it in school. Although there are 269 00:16:35.480 --> 00:16:37.720 some cities and states that are trying to put that 270 00:16:37.759 --> 00:16:41.240 in the high school level. But so it's the education 271 00:16:41.360 --> 00:16:46.159 that we need. In addition to we're just being advertised 272 00:16:46.159 --> 00:16:49.360 to all day long from companies wanting us to spend 273 00:16:49.399 --> 00:16:52.759 our money for their products and services. So it's just 274 00:16:53.480 --> 00:16:56.120 I think again a lack of focus in this area. 275 00:16:56.159 --> 00:16:58.320 They'd much rather be doing something else or spending their 276 00:16:58.320 --> 00:17:01.559 money on other things. Lack of education. But then also 277 00:17:01.600 --> 00:17:03.559 a little bit of lack of urgency as well. So 278 00:17:03.960 --> 00:17:06.160 as I mentioned before that a lot of people are 279 00:17:06.200 --> 00:17:09.519 behind a ball in saving and towards retirement, and so 280 00:17:10.279 --> 00:17:12.119 that urgency will kind of kind of need to pick 281 00:17:12.200 --> 00:17:15.240 up a little bit and get to the people before 282 00:17:15.799 --> 00:17:18.519 it starts becoming an issue. It's a whole lot easier 283 00:17:18.519 --> 00:17:20.839 to put a little bit of money away every month now, 284 00:17:21.119 --> 00:17:23.160 then wait till you get later in life and then 285 00:17:23.240 --> 00:17:25.359 have to do a lot so same thing when you're planning, 286 00:17:25.720 --> 00:17:29.839 maybe you're saving for a kids college education, if you're 287 00:17:29.839 --> 00:17:32.480 just putting a little bit away while they're you know, one, two, 288 00:17:32.519 --> 00:17:34.680 three years old, instead of all of a sudden at 289 00:17:34.680 --> 00:17:37.559 sixteen to go, oh my goodness, like now it's going 290 00:17:37.640 --> 00:17:39.759 to be a big problem or they're going to have 291 00:17:39.799 --> 00:17:42.000 a lot of school debt. And so that's where we 292 00:17:42.039 --> 00:17:44.480 find a lot of the issue as well, is that 293 00:17:44.519 --> 00:17:47.799 people just have so much debt that they're carrying, whether 294 00:17:47.839 --> 00:17:51.119 it be their mortgage, credit card debt, or student loans, 295 00:17:51.480 --> 00:17:54.039 that there's sometimes not a lot of money left over 296 00:17:54.240 --> 00:17:55.079 to be able to save. 297 00:17:55.960 --> 00:17:59.279 M H. I love your responses, and I want to 298 00:17:59.400 --> 00:18:02.400 unpack some of them even even more deeply in terms 299 00:18:02.440 --> 00:18:06.640 of these root causes. So let's do that one, one 300 00:18:06.680 --> 00:18:11.880 item at a time. This lack of urgency or lack 301 00:18:11.920 --> 00:18:17.559 of proactive planning. Would you agree with me that that 302 00:18:17.720 --> 00:18:22.200 kind of mindset is endemic in society way beyond just 303 00:18:22.279 --> 00:18:26.359 financial planning, but where we are bathed in a cultural

304 00:18:27.599 --> 00:18:33.279 milieu in which we're seeing that cities don't do proper 305 00:18:33.319 --> 00:18:38.240 future planning, governments don't do proper future planning. That it's 306 00:18:38.599 --> 00:18:42.880 this lack of proper future planning has been normalized in 307 00:18:42.920 --> 00:18:46.640 a way, and so people are swimming like fish in 308 00:18:46.680 --> 00:18:49.680 the ocean, not knowing that they're in poisoned water in 309 00:18:49.680 --> 00:18:50.240 that sense. 310 00:18:51.039 --> 00:18:53.880 Correct, Yeah, Yeah, I mean we see that for sure 311 00:18:54.079 --> 00:18:57.160 in all of these cities. The infrastructure is just not there, 312 00:18:57.319 --> 00:19:00.160 like the planning and they just want to leave it so, 313 00:19:00.759 --> 00:19:03.039 you know, the next city council and the next and 314 00:19:03.160 --> 00:19:06.599 not address it really and where we sort of address things, 315 00:19:07.000 --> 00:19:10.200 you know, ten, fifteen, twenty years ago exactly. 316 00:19:10.279 --> 00:19:14.359 And so that's I really want our audience to understand 317 00:19:14.359 --> 00:19:16.920 that there's a spell if you want, if you will 318 00:19:16.960 --> 00:19:22.599 that's going on that legitimizes not doing future planning, which 319 00:19:22.680 --> 00:19:25.640 is what creates the mindset at a root cause level 320 00:19:26.039 --> 00:19:28.319 that says, well, I don't I don't need to consult 321 00:19:28.359 --> 00:19:32.799 with a financial planner or an investment expert or things 322 00:19:32.880 --> 00:19:36.039 like that. So that's one thing I wanted to underscore 323 00:19:36.079 --> 00:19:38.880 in what you were saying. Anything else on that before 324 00:19:38.920 --> 00:19:40.920 I go on to the next thing I want to underscore. Oh, 325 00:19:40.960 --> 00:19:45.799 go ahead, okay. So the next thing is that you 326 00:19:45.880 --> 00:19:51.160 were mentioning essentially people's willingness to carry debt. And what 327 00:19:51.240 --> 00:19:54.039 I see there in terms of root causes is that 328 00:19:54.559 --> 00:20:00.920 we are in a society that has basically replaced capitalism 329 00:20:01.000 --> 00:20:07.200 with debtism, and people who don't understand what healthy capitalism is. 330 00:20:07.640 --> 00:20:11.440 Uh that if all they know about capitalism is either 331 00:20:11.559 --> 00:20:19.240 sociopathic capitalism or debtism, masquer reading is capitalism then that 332 00:20:19.720 --> 00:20:22.680 gives them a sense of well, okay, so I can 333 00:20:22.720 --> 00:20:27.839 carry debt too, right, And of course there there are 334 00:20:27.880 --> 00:20:28.960 good kinds of debt. 335 00:20:29.440 --> 00:20:30.000 There is good. 336 00:20:30.160 --> 00:20:35.240 Mostly people go into bad kinds of debt because they 337 00:20:35.319 --> 00:20:38.960 haven't ever even been taught how to distinguish between the two. 338 00:20:39.200 --> 00:20:42.400 Right, Well, I mean I kind

of distinguish between the two. 339 00:20:42.480 --> 00:20:44.920 Maybe you have a different definition. But is something going 340 00:20:45.000 --> 00:20:50.200 to be like an appreciation asset like a house, like uh, 341 00:20:50.240 --> 00:20:54.160 maybe college education If you get the right education, the 342 00:20:54.240 --> 00:20:57.599 right degree, that's going to lead to you know, a 343 00:20:58.799 --> 00:21:01.039 job or profession that it's going to allow you to 344 00:21:01.079 --> 00:21:03.680 pay off that student debt. Unfortunately, a lot of people 345 00:21:03.720 --> 00:21:06.599 go into college debt that they're going into a career 346 00:21:06.640 --> 00:21:09.359 that is just capped out it such kind of a 347 00:21:09.400 --> 00:21:12.880 lower level that it's going to take them a long 348 00:21:12.960 --> 00:21:16.000 time to pay off that debt. And so while that 349 00:21:16.200 --> 00:21:18.880 is a you know, kind of good debt, is college 350 00:21:18.880 --> 00:21:22.920 as opposed to you know, buying some you know, I 351 00:21:22.920 --> 00:21:26.680 don't know, just stuff that this is going to go away, 352 00:21:28.200 --> 00:21:30.359 it's still I think you have to be smart about 353 00:21:30.400 --> 00:21:33.119 it and smart about the careers that you choose. Now, 354 00:21:33.160 --> 00:21:35.559 we certainly need lots of careers lots of people, but 355 00:21:35.599 --> 00:21:37.440 we got to go about it in a smart way. 356 00:21:37.599 --> 00:21:39.200 If you're going to take on a lot of debt for. 357 00:21:39.160 --> 00:21:43.839 That, yes, and I think what you're underscoring there that 358 00:21:43.839 --> 00:21:50.720 that really bears further articulation is that even good debt 359 00:21:50.960 --> 00:21:55.799 isn't necessarily prudent debt in the sense of, uh, yeah, 360 00:21:56.000 --> 00:22:02.880 of having property that can appreciate over time is a 361 00:22:02.920 --> 00:22:06.039 form of good debt. And at the same time, it 362 00:22:06.160 --> 00:22:09.279 might not be prudent in the sense of if somebody 363 00:22:10.039 --> 00:22:14.160 enters into a mortgage that is putting their financial well 364 00:22:14.200 --> 00:22:18.480 being in jeopardy because it's too expensive for them, that's 365 00:22:18.839 --> 00:22:21.680 that's it unprudent good debt. 366 00:22:21.960 --> 00:22:24.880 There you go. Yeah, And so for example, just a 367 00:22:24.880 --> 00:22:27.160 real quick example, when somebody comes to us and they're 368 00:22:27.319 --> 00:22:30.720 they're looking to maybe by their first house or maybe 369 00:22:30.759 --> 00:22:33.119 you know, upgrade to a different one. What we do 370 00:22:33.240 --> 00:22:36.440 is the financial analysis that says, this is how much 371 00:22:36.480 --> 00:22:38.640 of a house you should buy, this is the maximum 372 00:22:38.720 --> 00:22:42.720 mortgage you should go just because the mortgage bank you know, 373 00:22:42.799 --> 00:22:45.519 says that you can have a you can afford or 374 00:22:45.559 --> 00:22:49.240 you can qualify for, you know, eight hundred thousand dollars 375 00:22:49.279 --> 00:22:52.559 mortgage or a five hundred thousand dollars mortgage doesn't mean 376 00:22:52.559 --> 00:22:56.599 you should so come to us first. Let's figure that out. 377 00:22:56.640 --> 00:22:58.559 So then when you go with the real estate agent 378 00:22:58.599 --> 00:23:02.599 and start shopping, sping in the right neighborhoods, the right 379 00:23:02.640 --> 00:23:06.319 price range, because the real estate agent will for sure 380 00:23:06.400 --> 00:23:09.160 take you to a million dollar house eight hundred thousand 381 00:23:09.160 --> 00:23:12.759 dollars mortgage, two hundred thousand dollars down whatever, no no, no, no, no no, 382 00:23:13.440 --> 00:23:16.200 we need you know, in your particular case, maybe the 383 00:23:16.240 --> 00:23:19.319 maximum could be a six hundred thousand dollars house with 384 00:23:19.480 --> 00:23:22.400 a you know, five hundred thousand dollars mortgage, whatever happens 385 00:23:22.400 --> 00:23:25.640 to be. Let us give you that analysis first. Then 386 00:23:25.680 --> 00:23:28.759 you go to the real estate agent. And now now 387 00:23:28.799 --> 00:23:32.400 we're cooking, and we'll be okay, because because we know 388 00:23:33.000 --> 00:23:35.119 how much more money you need in savings, how much 389 00:23:35.160 --> 00:23:36.559 more you need to put your four oh one k, 390 00:23:36.680 --> 00:23:39.480 you have to put money aside for kids college, so 391 00:23:39.599 --> 00:23:41.799 all of the things that there's no way that the 392 00:23:41.839 --> 00:23:44.319 real estate agent would know all of those things that 393 00:23:44.319 --> 00:23:46.960 you need to take care of. But because we're looking 394 00:23:47.000 --> 00:23:50.079 at you, you know, from a three hundred and sixty degree, 395 00:23:50.240 --> 00:23:50.559 we know. 396 00:23:51.559 --> 00:23:59.680 That's I think a really good example of why having 397 00:23:59.759 --> 00:24:06.359 a financial planner is so important because, and your example 398 00:24:06.440 --> 00:24:10.480 is perfect. You might want to buy a house and 399 00:24:10.759 --> 00:24:18.000 the bank or the lender might offer you an amount 400 00:24:18.240 --> 00:24:23.440 that they're approving right, but that amount may or may 401 00:24:23.519 --> 00:24:27.079 not be the amount that is prudent for you to 402 00:24:28.240 --> 00:24:33.599 enter into a person's agreement with. And that's I think 403 00:24:33.680 --> 00:24:37.960 a great concrete example of this. There's another aspect of 404 00:24:38.000 --> 00:24:41.160 this that I want to touch on briefly before we 405 00:24:41.240 --> 00:24:46.000 go to our next break, which is that money, for 406 00:24:46.119 --> 00:24:51.359 most people is a very abstract thing that has no 407 00:24:52.440 --> 00:24:57.200 personal connection to people. And so what I see in 408

00:24:57.839 --> 00:25:01.680 a lot of financial literacy training, including really good financial 409 00:25:01.680 --> 00:25:08.119 literacy training, is that it usually doesn't include helping people 410 00:25:08.279 --> 00:25:13.119 have a fundamental boots on the ground understanding that all 411 00:25:13.240 --> 00:25:16.640 that money is is portions of our life energy in 412 00:25:16.680 --> 00:25:19.319 a converted form. 413 00:25:19.359 --> 00:25:19.799 Correct. 414 00:25:20.759 --> 00:25:26.119 And I'm sure you've seen what happens to people when 415 00:25:26.119 --> 00:25:31.359 they don't understand even that fundamental around money. I mean, 416 00:25:31.440 --> 00:25:36.079 what happens when there's that disconnect where where they don't 417 00:25:36.160 --> 00:25:39.440 understand that money is portions of their life energy simply 418 00:25:39.440 --> 00:25:41.519 in a converted form. What does that lead to? 419 00:25:42.359 --> 00:25:45.640 Well, that yeah, that exactly leads to people that don't have, 420 00:25:46.079 --> 00:25:49.079 you know, the proper foundation that they need, and so 421 00:25:49.160 --> 00:25:52.480 then they do make bad choices on how they spend 422 00:25:52.519 --> 00:25:55.200 their money. They don't have the proper savings. But if 423 00:25:55.200 --> 00:25:59.319 you understand that connection, or if not really that connection, 424 00:25:59.400 --> 00:26:03.079 but just no so that fundamentally you should probably have 425 00:26:03.160 --> 00:26:07.359 some savings, you should probably have some focus on the future, 426 00:26:07.680 --> 00:26:11.799 those people tend to make less mistakes because they are 427 00:26:11.839 --> 00:26:14.279 more conscious of where they're spending their money and how 428 00:26:14.279 --> 00:26:15.039 they're spending it. 429 00:26:16.000 --> 00:26:21.079 Yes, exactly, And to make this really concrete, if I 430 00:26:21.079 --> 00:26:25.400 I'm going to do something hypothetical, if I'm making twenty 431 00:26:25.440 --> 00:26:28.799 dollars an hour, which hopefully making a lot more than that, 432 00:26:28.839 --> 00:26:31.519 but just for the sake of round numbers, if I'm 433 00:26:31.599 --> 00:26:35.279 making twenty dollars an hour and I'm looking at buying 434 00:26:35.319 --> 00:26:39.000 a piece of clothing that's costing one hundred dollars, what 435 00:26:39.039 --> 00:26:43.599 I'm not used to asking myself is is this purchase, 436 00:26:43.880 --> 00:26:46.000 of all the things that I could be doing with 437 00:26:46.039 --> 00:26:50.559 my converted life energy, is this purchase worth five hours 438 00:26:50.680 --> 00:26:52.480 of my work time? 439 00:26:52.920 --> 00:26:56.359 Exactly? So when I got paid hourly, I used to 440 00:26:56.400 --> 00:26:59.000 do that calculation because I'm like, wait a minute, I 441 00:26:59.039 --> 00:27:02.000 would have to work and hour two hours just for this, 442 00:27:02.200 --> 00:27:05.119 maybe a week for this, Like that does not make sense, 443 00:27:05.160 --> 00:27:08.519 so that there is a disconnect there. But when people 444 00:27:08.559 --> 00:27:10.680 finally get that, it's like, wait a minute, that is. 445 00:27:10.599 --> 00:27:14.400 Not worth it, right, And that's that's why money needs 446 00:27:14.400 --> 00:27:18.440 to be made more personal. It can't remain abstract. So 447 00:27:19.079 --> 00:27:21.960 after another short break, we'll get to the heart of 448 00:27:22.000 --> 00:27:25.000 the matter where I'm going to ask my guest Marcy Bear, 449 00:27:25.200 --> 00:27:29.240 to reveal what to look for when you want to 450 00:27:29.319 --> 00:27:33.960 make sure you're doing comprehensive financial planning, So what to 451 00:27:34.079 --> 00:27:40.440 look for in a financial planner and investment advisor. So 452 00:27:40.480 --> 00:27:42.400 we're going to get into the heart of the matter 453 00:27:42.960 --> 00:27:47.000 in just a few moments, so stay tuned. Will be 454 00:27:47.119 --> 00:27:52.160 back momentarily. Well, welcome back. And in the last segment, 455 00:27:52.240 --> 00:27:56.240 we delved into kind of deeper root causes that feed 456 00:27:56.319 --> 00:28:00.000 into why people don't have a cushion for unplanned expenses, 457 00:28:00.359 --> 00:28:04.960 or aren't planning ahead for significant anticipated expenses, or they 458 00:28:05.000 --> 00:28:08.759 aren't planning for financial independence. And in this segment, my 459 00:28:08.839 --> 00:28:16.480 guest purpose leadership and culture change expert Marcy Bear, I'm 460 00:28:16.960 --> 00:28:20.160 going beyond your bio and saying that, but that's really 461 00:28:20.200 --> 00:28:24.559 what you're doing in the financial realm. You and I 462 00:28:24.599 --> 00:28:27.200 are going to illuminate what to look for in a 463 00:28:27.240 --> 00:28:31.559 financial planner and investments expert. And before we get to that, 464 00:28:32.200 --> 00:28:36.119 I want to share a brief personal story. My father 465 00:28:36.519 --> 00:28:41.400 was a tax and a state attorney. And while he 466 00:28:41.519 --> 00:28:44.519 taught me how to create a budget in which I 467 00:28:44.559 --> 00:28:47.240 didn't spend more than I earned, so I didn't get 468 00:28:47.240 --> 00:28:50.640 into a pattern of debting, and he taught me how 469 00:28:50.680 --> 00:28:53.720 to do my own taxes, so even though I don't 470 00:28:53.759 --> 00:28:56.400 do my own taxes anymore, I could if I had to, 471 00:28:56.480 --> 00:29:01.640 and I understand what I'm seeing when my accountant to 472 00:29:01.839 --> 00:29:06.799 cut those taxes. He taught me nothing about financial planning 473 00:29:06.880 --> 00:29:11.119 or investing, and as a result, I, as a young 474 00:29:11.279 --> 00:29:17.039 adult and even a middle aged adult, missed valuable opportunities 475 00:29:17.119 --> 00:29:21.799 and made costly mistakes. And in hindsight, I would have 476 00:29:21.839 --> 00:29:24.920 been far

better off working with a financial planner and 477 00:29:25.119 --> 00:29:29.880 investments advisor from the moment I started working part time, 478 00:29:29.960 --> 00:29:34.559 well still in college, so I know firsthand what a 479 00:29:34.599 --> 00:29:39.920 big mistake not doing that was. And I can't strongly 480 00:29:40.119 --> 00:29:44.839 enough encourage our audience to start working with a financial 481 00:29:44.880 --> 00:29:49.839 planner and investments advisor immediately if you're not already doing so. 482 00:29:49.839 --> 00:29:53.160 So with that as kind of the context, Marcy will 483 00:29:53.200 --> 00:29:56.680 talk about what Bear Financial does in the final segment. 484 00:29:57.319 --> 00:30:00.200 Before that, I want to lay a foundation which just 485 00:30:00.240 --> 00:30:03.680 to have you educate people on what they should be 486 00:30:03.759 --> 00:30:10.160 looking for in an ethical financial planner and fiduciary investments 487 00:30:10.240 --> 00:30:14.880 advisor when we want an effective guide in prudent, profitable 488 00:30:15.119 --> 00:30:19.240 values aligned investing. So let's start first of all with 489 00:30:19.359 --> 00:30:20.599 what is a fiduciary? 490 00:30:21.200 --> 00:30:23.839 Yeah, I mean that is great because you threw out 491 00:30:23.839 --> 00:30:27.599 a lot of terms there, financial planner, financial advisor, investment advisor, 492 00:30:27.680 --> 00:30:32.359 and so it is confusing. I know, I definitely know 493 00:30:32.559 --> 00:30:36.599 for the consumer out there to really understand, Okay, I 494 00:30:36.680 --> 00:30:39.599 need some help, but where do I go? What am 495 00:30:39.640 --> 00:30:43.759 I even looking for? So the gold standard is Certified 496 00:30:43.799 --> 00:30:50.079 Financial Planner CFP. CFP. We are fiduciars. We have a 497 00:30:50.240 --> 00:30:56.519 fiduciary level of responsibility to our clients. That means we 498 00:30:56.599 --> 00:30:59.599 need to act in the best interest of our clients. 499 00:31:00.039 --> 00:31:02.359 Would think that everybody should have to do that, right, 500 00:31:02.680 --> 00:31:06.400 but they don't. So as a certified financial planner that 501 00:31:06.440 --> 00:31:08.920 we do have to act. We are held to that 502 00:31:09.359 --> 00:31:13.559 act in the best interest at that fiduciary level. That's 503 00:31:13.640 --> 00:31:14.160 number one. 504 00:31:14.880 --> 00:31:18.680 Whereas before you get on, get onto the second thing. 505 00:31:18.680 --> 00:31:21.960 I really want to underline this, yes, because not everybody 506 00:31:22.039 --> 00:31:27.519 understands the notion of a fiduciary. A fiduciary, as you said, 507 00:31:27.680 --> 00:31:31.759 acts in the best interest of their clients, even if 508 00:31:32.480 --> 00:31:37.039 that's not ideal for themselves. 509 00:31:36.440 --> 00:31:41.839 Exactly exactly, And because we're not salespeople. And so this 510 00:31:41.920 --> 00:31:44.160 is the challenge that you have if you don't go 511 00:31:44.319 --> 00:31:47.359 to a CFP, is that there's a lot of great 512 00:31:47.799 --> 00:31:51.240 investment advisors out there, insurance agents out there, but they 513 00:31:51.279 --> 00:31:54.920 represent a company or a product. And so go back 514 00:31:54.920 --> 00:31:56.640 to my story. In the very beginning, my dad was 515 00:31:56.680 --> 00:31:59.440 with New York Life. It was an amazing life insurance agent. 516 00:31:59.680 --> 00:32:01.599 That's what he sold was life insurance. So if you 517 00:32:01.640 --> 00:32:04.519 came to him, your solution was going to you know, 518 00:32:04.559 --> 00:32:09.200 probably surround life insurance. And so you go to an 519 00:32:09.240 --> 00:32:12.200 investment advisor, they might not even talk to you about 520 00:32:12.240 --> 00:32:15.440 your insurance needs because they sell investments. They work for 521 00:32:15.480 --> 00:32:18.359 a stock brokerage office and they're going to sell some 522 00:32:18.400 --> 00:32:21.400 sort of investments. Well, maybe you need both. And so 523 00:32:21.519 --> 00:32:23.039 I kind of talked about it like this is that, 524 00:32:23.599 --> 00:32:26.319 And so you walk into an office with, you know, 525 00:32:26.359 --> 00:32:29.279 one hundred dollars to invest or do something with. Will 526 00:32:29.319 --> 00:32:31.519 you go to a stockbroker's office that one hundred dollars 527 00:32:31.599 --> 00:32:33.519 is going to be put in some sort of investment, 528 00:32:33.960 --> 00:32:37.160 go to investment. You go to an insurance agent's office, 529 00:32:37.160 --> 00:32:39.160 they're going to come up with some sort of you know, 530 00:32:39.279 --> 00:32:42.640 perhaps insurance related type of product. But you come to 531 00:32:42.680 --> 00:32:45.160 a certified financial planner and we're going to say, hold up, 532 00:32:45.559 --> 00:32:49.400 let's step back and let's look at you and see 533 00:32:49.920 --> 00:32:53.359 create a plan, but more importantly, see where are all 534 00:32:53.359 --> 00:32:55.119 the gaps that you have, what are the goals that 535 00:32:55.160 --> 00:32:57.119 you have, and what are your gaps, because maybe that 536 00:32:57.160 --> 00:33:00.559 one hundred dollars needs to get stretched a lot of 537 00:33:00.559 --> 00:33:04.599 different places. Do you already have a trust in place? 538 00:33:04.920 --> 00:33:07.440 Maybe we need to have some of those documents. Maybe 539 00:33:07.440 --> 00:33:09.240 we need to spend some of that one hundred dollars 540 00:33:09.279 --> 00:33:12.039 on some insurance, Maybe we need to spend some on 541 00:33:12.200 --> 00:33:15.480 investment in getting an investment account started. So you might 542 00:33:15.519 --> 00:33:17.640 have a lot of different areas that one hundred dollars 543 00:33:17.680 --> 00:33:20.960 needs to cover, and as a certified financial planner, we 544 00:33:21.000 --> 00:33:24.200 can look at you in an

objective manner, because we're 545 00:33:24.200 --> 00:33:26.799 not there to just sell you something. Most financial planners, 546 00:33:26.799 --> 00:33:29.680 certified financial planners work on a fee basis, so you 547 00:33:29.759 --> 00:33:32.039 just pay them a flat fee to do all of 548 00:33:32.079 --> 00:33:34.920 the analysis for you, come up with a roadmap and 549 00:33:34.960 --> 00:33:38.480 a financial plan for you with all of these recommendations 550 00:33:39.000 --> 00:33:41.839 that may or may not benefit them financially at all. 551 00:33:41.880 --> 00:33:45.559 It's our job with that fee that allows us to 552 00:33:45.599 --> 00:33:49.160 spend the time ten twenty thirty hours whatever it takes 553 00:33:49.200 --> 00:33:52.880 to create your financial plan and all of our recommendations 554 00:33:53.240 --> 00:33:55.680 and then be your financial coach and guide you along 555 00:33:55.720 --> 00:34:00.039 the way. That's what compensates us. And so then that 556 00:34:00.079 --> 00:34:02.880 allows us to be objective and be able to then 557 00:34:02.960 --> 00:34:05.400 refer you to the other people that you need in 558 00:34:05.440 --> 00:34:08.599 your life, to the CPA for your tax planning, for 559 00:34:08.880 --> 00:34:12.199 a state planning attorney, for your will or your trust right. 560 00:34:12.400 --> 00:34:16.920 So the first thing there is, don't be afraid to 561 00:34:17.079 --> 00:34:21.119 pay a fee for a financial planner. In fact, be 562 00:34:21.280 --> 00:34:23.400 afraid of the opposite. 563 00:34:22.920 --> 00:34:26.000 Of the opposite, because you're just gonna get because a 564 00:34:26.039 --> 00:34:27.400 lot of people will say, oh, well we'll give you 565 00:34:27.440 --> 00:34:30.960 a plan, a free plan. Well we know, I mean 566 00:34:31.360 --> 00:34:34.039 nothing's for free, like you're gonna pay somehow, so you're 567 00:34:34.039 --> 00:34:37.719 probably gonna pay with some sort of commission oriented product 568 00:34:37.800 --> 00:34:40.800 that you may or may not need, So don't be afraid. 569 00:34:41.159 --> 00:34:43.719 The good thing is is that there are financial planners 570 00:34:43.719 --> 00:34:46.559 that are hitting at different price points. So depending on 571 00:34:46.599 --> 00:34:49.559 if you're you know, a younger person and you're just 572 00:34:49.599 --> 00:34:53.599 getting started, or you've got somebody that's a little with 573 00:34:53.639 --> 00:34:57.599 more complexity, there's a financial planner out there, the CFP board. 574 00:34:57.960 --> 00:35:01.320 You can find a planner on their website and be 575 00:35:01.360 --> 00:35:04.320 able to match up with your pricing as well as 576 00:35:04.360 --> 00:35:08.480 the expertise that you need. And I note that we'll 577 00:35:08.480 --> 00:35:10.719 also touch on when you mentioned like when you're looking 578 00:35:10.760 --> 00:35:14.800 for advice looking on the investment side, maybe somebody that 579 00:35:14.880 --> 00:35:17.559 has an expertise in the type of investing that you 580 00:35:17.639 --> 00:35:22.400 might be interested in. So we specialize in sustainable responsible 581 00:35:22.400 --> 00:35:26.800 investing also called ESG investing, which stands for Environmental, social 582 00:35:26.840 --> 00:35:29.440 and governance because when it comes to that part of 583 00:35:29.480 --> 00:35:33.119 your portfolio, now you're starting to invest, maybe now you 584 00:35:33.159 --> 00:35:35.880 want to do it with companies that match your values, 585 00:35:36.039 --> 00:35:38.800 and so that's an extra layer of kind of due 586 00:35:38.800 --> 00:35:41.679 diligence or maybe something you want to look into when 587 00:35:41.719 --> 00:35:44.800 you're looking on the investment side of finding the right 588 00:35:44.960 --> 00:35:49.960 investment advisor. Again, we're certified financial planners that also manage 589 00:35:50.000 --> 00:35:52.840 our client's investment portfolios. 590 00:35:52.360 --> 00:35:55.400 Right, And so I want to unpack that in a 591 00:35:55.480 --> 00:35:59.159 moment before I do, I want to use a word 592 00:35:59.360 --> 00:36:02.360 that you didn't use, but supplied in what you were 593 00:36:02.400 --> 00:36:05.960 talking about. From the financial planning point of view, you 594 00:36:06.079 --> 00:36:11.079 really have to have a financial planner who is holistic, 595 00:36:11.800 --> 00:36:16.360 who doesn't have a bias about well, this kind of 596 00:36:16.880 --> 00:36:20.119 planning or this kind of investment instrument is good and 597 00:36:20.159 --> 00:36:25.679 that one is bad. Where they're holistic and fully customized. Yes, 598 00:36:26.360 --> 00:36:30.519 And then going from that into what you were just saying, 599 00:36:31.280 --> 00:36:35.079 I want to unpack a little bit about why of 600 00:36:35.440 --> 00:36:41.519 values aligned socially responsible investing approach is more important than 601 00:36:41.599 --> 00:36:45.119 ever and to before I have you answer that, I 602 00:36:45.159 --> 00:36:50.880 want to make a quick comment about ESG. So ESG 603 00:36:51.159 --> 00:36:56.920 for our audience is the current articulation of what originally 604 00:36:57.079 --> 00:37:01.119 emerged in the late nineteen nineties early two thousands around 605 00:37:01.960 --> 00:37:11.239 socially responsible business called CSR corporate social responsibility. And what 606 00:37:11.559 --> 00:37:14.840 I want to say for our audience is that the term, 607 00:37:15.400 --> 00:37:20.000 the current version of that ESG has been politically weaponized 608 00:37:20.400 --> 00:37:25.960 in certain circles. So set aside the political weaponization and 609 00:37:26.079 --> 00:37:31.840 instead of alphabet soup, just think in terms of values 610 00:37:31.960 --> 00:37:38.159 aligned socially responsible investing. Why is that more important than ever? 611 00:37:39.480 --> 00:37:42.480 Well, I think it's more

important than ever because we're 612 00:37:42.519 --> 00:37:46.400 trying to, you know, move capital to companies to support 613 00:37:46.400 --> 00:37:52.000 the environment, support their employees and social causes, and just 614 00:37:52.079 --> 00:37:55.039 have good corporate governance. Like I just I don't understand. 615 00:37:55.079 --> 00:37:57.599 I would not want to invest in a company if 616 00:37:57.639 --> 00:38:00.039 they're if I didn't understand what their corporate government and 617 00:38:00.079 --> 00:38:03.360 it was. So there's like if you break down the E, 618 00:38:03.440 --> 00:38:08.159 the S, and the G so environmental or sustainability, I do. 619 00:38:08.199 --> 00:38:10.079 If I'm going to invest in a company, I want 620 00:38:10.119 --> 00:38:12.679 them to be around. I'm investing them not for today 621 00:38:12.760 --> 00:38:16.280 or tomorrow, but I'm investing that that company their share price, 622 00:38:16.320 --> 00:38:18.679 and that company is going to continue to grow and 623 00:38:18.760 --> 00:38:20.280 be there next year, in the year after and the 624 00:38:20.360 --> 00:38:22.800 year after. So I want a sustainable company. I want 625 00:38:22.800 --> 00:38:26.599 one that has some focus on environmental and sustainability. Then 626 00:38:26.639 --> 00:38:29.559 you look at the s SO, the S on social causes. 627 00:38:29.639 --> 00:38:32.519 So I want a company to have a focus on 628 00:38:32.760 --> 00:38:35.480 women and minorities, on board of directors, because we have 629 00:38:35.599 --> 00:38:38.199 the studies that show that when we have a more 630 00:38:38.239 --> 00:38:43.000 diverse board, those companies outperform their peers and with less risk. 631 00:38:43.519 --> 00:38:46.119 So as me as an investment manager or an investor, 632 00:38:46.719 --> 00:38:48.599 that sounds like a good deal. I want a company 633 00:38:48.599 --> 00:38:52.639 that's going to perform or outperform and with less risk. Okay, 634 00:38:52.960 --> 00:38:57.719 and you know have women and minorities on board of directors. 635 00:38:57.880 --> 00:39:00.920 It's a win win win, Okay. That's a great business case. 636 00:39:01.559 --> 00:39:04.840 And then with regards to corporate governance, I don't want 637 00:39:04.880 --> 00:39:07.599 to invest in shady companies. So if you can't answer 638 00:39:07.599 --> 00:39:11.760 this questionnaire and be truthful about you know, your your 639 00:39:11.800 --> 00:39:15.039 privacy rights for your clients, or how you're storageing your 640 00:39:15.079 --> 00:39:19.000 client's data and a lot of different you know, metrics 641 00:39:19.000 --> 00:39:22.039 that go into that, if you're dodging those answers or 642 00:39:22.199 --> 00:39:24.480 just being vague on it, I don't want to invest 643 00:39:24.519 --> 00:39:26.880 in a shady company. And so I think just from 644 00:39:26.880 --> 00:39:29.599 that perspective, like even if you don't believe in ESG 645 00:39:29.920

--> 00:39:32.800 or any of that, that doesn't matter. These are just 646 00:39:32.960 --> 00:39:36.639 makes sense. It just makes sense, right. And then on 647 00:39:36.679 --> 00:39:39.519 top of that, as a bonus, if those are your values, 648 00:39:39.559 --> 00:39:45.119 your values you're very interested in sustainability and environment, then 649 00:39:45.519 --> 00:39:49.360 that's perfect same thing on social responsibility, Like if all 650 00:39:49.440 --> 00:39:52.519 that aligns. Now we're excited about the companies that we're 651 00:39:52.519 --> 00:39:55.360 investing in, not just because we know we should invest 652 00:39:55.440 --> 00:39:58.840 in these companies because the stock market is averaged more 653 00:39:59.159 --> 00:40:02.000 return than and having your money, you know, under the 654 00:40:02.039 --> 00:40:05.159 mattress or in a bank account, but now you know 655 00:40:05.880 --> 00:40:08.480 you invest in these companies because you really like what 656 00:40:08.559 --> 00:40:12.760 they're doing and where they're moving, what they're doing for society, 657 00:40:12.800 --> 00:40:14.960 and what they're doing for their employees and all of 658 00:40:15.000 --> 00:40:18.599 their stakeholders. Now now we can get excited even more 659 00:40:18.639 --> 00:40:22.599 about investing. Now we can put more towards our future, exactly. 660 00:40:22.639 --> 00:40:26.320 And that's why this is about social change, because this 661 00:40:26.599 --> 00:40:33.440 is investing in healthy capitalism rather than sociopathic capitalism, exactly right. 662 00:40:33.880 --> 00:40:40.000 And so with that beautifully said, we're going to go 663 00:40:40.079 --> 00:40:43.840 to our final brief break, after which we'll return for 664 00:40:44.039 --> 00:40:47.320 our episode's final segment, during which I'm going to ask 665 00:40:47.400 --> 00:40:50.880 my marvelous guest Marcy Bear, to tell us about Bear 666 00:40:50.960 --> 00:40:56.559 Financials market leading fiduciary approach to profitable values, aligned financial 667 00:40:57.039 --> 00:41:02.599 planning and fiduciary investment advice. We'll be back in a moment. Well, 668 00:41:02.599 --> 00:41:07.400 welcome back. Before our final break, my guest Marcy Bear 669 00:41:07.639 --> 00:41:12.679 and I we delved into what to look for in 670 00:41:12.719 --> 00:41:21.159 an ethical financial planner and an ESG investments advisor, now 671 00:41:21.199 --> 00:41:24.719 that you know what the non weaponized version of ESG 672 00:41:25.039 --> 00:41:30.760 actually means, sen and our final segment of this episode 673 00:41:30.800 --> 00:41:34.159 called reimagining the Future of Investing, how to make profitable 674 00:41:34.199 --> 00:41:38.159 investments that match your values and your goals even when 675 00:41:38.199 --> 00:41:42.920 there's societal, political, or economic volatility. I'll ask Marcy to 676 00:41:42.960 --> 00:41:47.000 tell us about Bear Financials version of the solution that 677 00:41:47.039 --> 00:41:50.880 she recommended during the last segment, and I'll then ask 678 00:41:51.039 --> 00:41:55.440 Marcy about a marvelous gift that she's generously offering to 679 00:41:55.519 --> 00:41:59.119 you for tuning into this episode. After that, we'll each 680 00:41:59.639 --> 00:42:03.320 share the big takeaways we hope you've gained from this episode, 681 00:42:03.360 --> 00:42:07.719 followed by my closing comments. So with that context, Marcy, 682 00:42:08.119 --> 00:42:11.760 please tell us what's particularly special or different about Bear 683 00:42:11.840 --> 00:42:17.000 Financials market leading approach to values focused financial planning and 684 00:42:17.159 --> 00:42:20.280 fiduciary socially responsible investment advising. 685 00:42:21.400 --> 00:42:26.599 That was a mouthful, Hey, so well, I think what 686 00:42:26.719 --> 00:42:29.159 is unique about our firm is that we have had 687 00:42:29.199 --> 00:42:32.440 clients for thirty two years since I started the practice, 688 00:42:32.800 --> 00:42:36.440 and so we do not look at anything short term. 689 00:42:36.519 --> 00:42:39.159 So our clients are not just an account number on 690 00:42:39.199 --> 00:42:42.119 a statement. They are real people, real lives. We know 691 00:42:42.280 --> 00:42:46.239 what is important to them and we know what their 692 00:42:46.280 --> 00:42:48.840 goals are, their aspirations, and so I think that's what 693 00:42:48.920 --> 00:42:52.199 makes us unique is that again for thirty two years, 694 00:42:52.239 --> 00:42:55.480 we've had these clients that were in their lives on 695 00:42:55.840 --> 00:43:00.360 a regular daily basis, and so with that, our team 696 00:43:00.519 --> 00:43:04.320 is amazing. So we have a handpicked team. Victor Rosco's 697 00:43:04.320 --> 00:43:06.559 my business partner. He's been with me for twenty years 698 00:43:07.039 --> 00:43:10.559 and he was started as an intern and was an 699 00:43:10.559 --> 00:43:13.639 amazing intern and never left. So now he manages our 700 00:43:14.719 --> 00:43:18.719 we call him our high Impact portfolios, which are ESG portfolios. 701 00:43:18.960 --> 00:43:22.079 He manages those for our firm as well as he 702 00:43:22.199 --> 00:43:25.360 is our lead financial planner, our director of operations. He 703 00:43:25.400 --> 00:43:28.239 does it at all. He's an amazing guy. And our other two 704 00:43:28.719 --> 00:43:33.280 team members Emily and Alandra our pair planner, amazing team 705 00:43:33.320 --> 00:43:35.280 that helps us with all of our clients. So that's 706 00:43:35.320 --> 00:43:39.280 what's unique is that we are a boutique firm that 707 00:43:39.559 --> 00:43:43.679 specializes in working with our clients in a very detailed manner. 708 00:43:44.559 --> 00:43:48.800 We also have the strength of large corporations behind us, 709 00:43:48.840 --> 00:43:51.880 such as LPL Financial and the Wealth Consulting Group to 710 00:43:51.920 -->

00:43:54.679 give us additional resources that we need for our clients 711 00:43:55.039 --> 00:43:58.920 so they get that boutique feel with a big national presence. 712 00:43:59.639 --> 00:44:03.960 But because of our focus again on the sustainable Responsible 713 00:44:03.960 --> 00:44:06.800 investing or ESG investing, is that we get to really 714 00:44:06.840 --> 00:44:09.880 know our clients from that perspective as well, what really 715 00:44:09.880 --> 00:44:12.599 makes you tick and be able to manage that with 716 00:44:12.639 --> 00:44:15.400 your value so that we know if a client really, 717 00:44:15.760 --> 00:44:18.239 you know, maybe grandmother died of lung cancer, she does 718 00:44:18.280 --> 00:44:20.199 not want to own any tobacco stocks, We're not going 719 00:44:20.199 --> 00:44:22.800 to have any tobacco stocks in there, right, and so 720 00:44:23.079 --> 00:44:25.159 we're going to really want to make sure that we're 721 00:44:25.199 --> 00:44:30.800 aligning our clients with their values and it makes for 722 00:44:31.679 --> 00:44:35.360 just a better relationship for that they're more excited about 723 00:44:35.599 --> 00:44:38.360 how their dollars are invested, and then when they go 724 00:44:38.440 --> 00:44:42.760 on to maybe start giving generously to other charities, they're 725 00:44:42.800 --> 00:44:44.599 also looking for that alignment as well. 726 00:44:45.000 --> 00:44:50.840 M Yes, and I think this is the proto type 727 00:44:50.880 --> 00:44:56.320 for how the future of financial planning and investing needs 728 00:44:56.360 --> 00:45:00.519 to look, which if I can unpack just the little 729 00:45:00.519 --> 00:45:04.400 slice of that a little bit more. There's a misnomer 730 00:45:04.719 --> 00:45:08.280 that a lot of people unfortunately still have, which is 731 00:45:08.320 --> 00:45:11.360 that if you do values matched investing, you, if you 732 00:45:11.480 --> 00:45:17.440 actually invest in companies that are embodying healthy capitalism rather 733 00:45:17.519 --> 00:45:22.679 than sociopathic capitalism, that your investments aren't going to be profitable. 734 00:45:22.920 --> 00:45:24.480 And that's not true. 735 00:45:25.000 --> 00:45:26.920 Well yeah, I mean you would kind of think that, 736 00:45:27.119 --> 00:45:29.679 you know, maybe that you have to give up return 737 00:45:29.760 --> 00:45:32.360 for that, but I'm here to say you don't, which 738 00:45:32.400 --> 00:45:34.559 is great. So I'm not going to give a lot 739 00:45:34.559 --> 00:45:36.719 of throw out a lot of numbers and stats and stuff, 740 00:45:36.880 --> 00:45:38.920 but you can look it up and if you want 741 00:45:38.960 --> 00:45:40.800 to have a consultation with us, we can show you 742 00:45:40.840 --> 00:45:44.320 all that information you can. We've got some of that 743 00:45:44.360 --> 00:45:47.559 on our website actually, where you can see the performance 744 00:45:47.599 --> 00:45:50.079 of the S and P five hundred, So

the SMP's 745 00:45:50.159 --> 00:45:52.960 the five hundred largest US companies. You can see that 746 00:45:53.199 --> 00:45:55.840 S and P five hundred index compared to a Social 747 00:45:55.920 --> 00:45:58.320 Responsible index. When you look at the two and so 748 00:45:58.440 --> 00:46:00.880 you can see year after year either their neck and 749 00:46:01.000 --> 00:46:04.639 neck maybe slightly ahead, maybe slightly blow, but right in there, 750 00:46:06.440 --> 00:46:09.119 you can't guarantee that there it's always going to outperform, 751 00:46:09.480 --> 00:46:12.760 but it's certainly going to perform just as well most 752 00:46:12.760 --> 00:46:17.360 of the time. But more importantly, match your values, right, 753 00:46:17.639 --> 00:46:19.679 and so you're not investing in companies. When you see 754 00:46:19.679 --> 00:46:22.960 the list of the companies, most people don't really actually 755 00:46:22.960 --> 00:46:25.000 know the companies. Let me step back of what they're 756 00:46:25.000 --> 00:46:27.239 investing in. So they see it they're four to one k. 757 00:46:27.400 --> 00:46:30.440 They see a name of a mutual fund with inside 758 00:46:30.440 --> 00:46:33.199 that mutual fund they may own four hundred, five hundred 759 00:46:33.239 --> 00:46:35.400 and eight hundred different companies. They look at that list. 760 00:46:35.440 --> 00:46:36.920 If you peeled it back and look at that list 761 00:46:36.960 --> 00:46:40.800 of companies and you see their face go, I didn't 762 00:46:40.800 --> 00:46:43.679 know I invested in that company. I thought I was 763 00:46:43.760 --> 00:46:47.840 just in X. Well, once you see that, now we 764 00:46:47.880 --> 00:46:49.880 can start working and say, okay, what don't you like 765 00:46:49.920 --> 00:46:52.800 about that company or that industry or something. Now we 766 00:46:52.840 --> 00:46:55.519 can start getting to what is important to you and 767 00:46:55.559 --> 00:46:57.800 how do we match your values because most people don't 768 00:46:57.880 --> 00:47:00.320 understand that. So that's what we can help people. What 769 00:47:00.519 --> 00:47:02.599 that's that first step is kind of like if you 770 00:47:02.679 --> 00:47:04.920 just want to look at your investment portfolio and compare 771 00:47:04.960 --> 00:47:09.159 it and see what you actually own. From that perspective, 772 00:47:09.199 --> 00:47:11.599 of do I own tobacco companies? Do I own oil 773 00:47:11.599 --> 00:47:14.440 and gas companies? Do I own ones in the certain 774 00:47:14.519 --> 00:47:17.639 industries that I wouldn't want to? We can help you 775 00:47:17.679 --> 00:47:21.280 with that. That's just know what you own, right. 776 00:47:21.800 --> 00:47:25.440 And So the point of that is that there are 777 00:47:25.559 --> 00:47:30.840 profitable investments to be had in every industry and in 778 00:47:30.960 --> 00:47:37.400 every business that truly is socially responsible. They're dedicated to 779 00:47:37.440 --> 00:47:42.000 the triple bottom line of people, profit, and planet. And 780 00:47:45.280 --> 00:47:48.880 it's beyond what most people have the time or the 781 00:47:49.000 --> 00:47:52.880 expertise to do to figure out or to identify which 782 00:47:52.960 --> 00:47:58.679 companies are actually operating that way versus companies that pretend 783 00:47:58.719 --> 00:48:03.159 to operate that way simply because they UH set aside 784 00:48:03.199 --> 00:48:08.039 a portion of their profits to support usually really good, 785 00:48:08.119 --> 00:48:12.159 worthy social causes or community causes, while they're treating their 786 00:48:12.159 --> 00:48:16.800 own own employees horribly and doing harm to UH, to 787 00:48:17.280 --> 00:48:21.360 their customers, and to the environment. I call that not 788 00:48:21.719 --> 00:48:26.760 corporate social responsibility c s R, but CSB corporate social 789 00:48:27.920 --> 00:48:34.679 corporate social bribery. Yeah yeah, buh so. Can you can 790 00:48:34.719 --> 00:48:38.559 you serve anyone around the world or in any location 791 00:48:38.760 --> 00:48:41.920 within the United States or you geographically bound? 792 00:48:42.400 --> 00:48:45.239 No, We're not geographically bound at all. So they need 793 00:48:45.239 --> 00:48:49.800 to be United States citizen, So, but anywhere anywhere in 794 00:48:49.840 --> 00:48:52.400 the United States. So again, we're headquartered in San Diego, 795 00:48:52.480 --> 00:48:55.239 but we have clients all over the country. We do 796 00:48:55.320 --> 00:48:58.599 have some international clients, but that's because they're they're based 797 00:48:58.599 --> 00:49:02.039 here in in the United States. But anywhere in the country, 798 00:49:02.079 --> 00:49:05.440 we do you know, meetings like this over zoom for 799 00:49:05.519 --> 00:49:08.320 those clients that are out of the area, but we 800 00:49:08.320 --> 00:49:10.880 can meet with anybody. Yeah, and then we also not 801 00:49:11.039 --> 00:49:15.679 only individuals and families, but then also companies and corporations 802 00:49:15.719 --> 00:49:19.239 as well, so or nonprofits, I should say, so nonprofits 803 00:49:19.280 --> 00:49:22.000 that are starting to understand that they should maybe align 804 00:49:22.519 --> 00:49:26.159 their assets and their dollars with their mission as well, 805 00:49:26.639 --> 00:49:28.920 and so that there's a lot of times that's not 806 00:49:29.360 --> 00:49:33.400 you know, congruent as well. So their investment portfolio is 807 00:49:33.440 --> 00:49:37.320 invested in companies and causes that are contrary to their mission. 808 00:49:37.400 --> 00:49:39.679 So we're helping with that alignment as well. 809 00:49:40.039 --> 00:49:45.039 Awesome. Great, So you're very generously offering our audience a 810 00:49:45.119 --> 00:49:50.719 complimentary review of their investment portfolio, and I really want 811 00:49:50.719 --> 00:49:55.480 to thank you for

that. What will that do for them? Well, actually, 812 00:49:55.519 --> 00:49:57.719 you know, we've really pretty much covered what that will 813 00:49:57.719 --> 00:50:00.239 do for them, and in the interest of time, how 814 00:50:00.239 --> 00:50:02.719 can they request their complementary review? 815 00:50:03.679 --> 00:50:05.880 Just reach out to us. So on our website it's 816 00:50:06.039 --> 00:50:10.320 Bear b a i R Financial Planning. So Bear Financial 817 00:50:10.360 --> 00:50:14.719 Planning dot com com. Yep, right there on our website, 818 00:50:14.760 --> 00:50:17.400 there's going to be a place that says, like initial meeting, 819 00:50:17.719 --> 00:50:21.440 you can just request a consultation right there and then 820 00:50:21.480 --> 00:50:24.239 we'll get together. So myself for my business partner, Victor, 821 00:50:24.760 --> 00:50:27.519 we can get together. We'll do a little consultation like this. 822 00:50:28.039 --> 00:50:30.599 If you want to talk about financial planning or just investments, 823 00:50:30.599 --> 00:50:33.440 whatever it happens to be. We'll just give you an 824 00:50:33.480 --> 00:50:36.679 hour consultation just to get to know you. But then 825 00:50:36.760 --> 00:50:39.920 in including in that we can review your investment portfolio 826 00:50:40.239 --> 00:50:42.519 and just give you more analysis on what do you 827 00:50:42.559 --> 00:50:46.360 currently own withinside that portfolio. Maybe it matches your values 828 00:50:46.480 --> 00:50:48.920 and your goals, or maybe it doesn't, and we can 829 00:50:48.960 --> 00:50:49.639 go from there. 830 00:50:49.880 --> 00:50:55.280 Good super so Bear Financial Planning bai R Financial Planning 831 00:50:55.360 --> 00:50:59.840 dot com. And then click on the consultation option you 832 00:51:00.119 --> 00:51:04.159 find there Exactly, it's time to briefly get into takeaways 833 00:51:04.199 --> 00:51:06.960 before I make my final comments. So what would you 834 00:51:07.119 --> 00:51:11.360 say is the most important takeaway in a single summary 835 00:51:11.480 --> 00:51:16.159 sentence about what you really hope our audience has gotten 836 00:51:16.199 --> 00:51:18.079 from this episode. 837 00:51:18.320 --> 00:51:23.360 Get started, do something, Just get started. Take a look 838 00:51:23.400 --> 00:51:26.320 at where you're at now, just get started. Move from 839 00:51:26.880 --> 00:51:27.800 point A to point B. 840 00:51:28.440 --> 00:51:32.519 Beautiful, and mine is don't miss. Don't make the mistake 841 00:51:32.679 --> 00:51:36.639 I did as a young man and even a middle 842 00:51:36.639 --> 00:51:39.320 aged man, despite having a father who was a tax 843 00:51:39.400 --> 00:51:43.039 and a state attorney. So I'll reinforce what you said, 844 00:51:43.320 --> 00:51:48.239 get started now whenever, whatever now is. If you haven't 845 00:51:48.280 --> 00:51:52.679 already started, now is the time to start. So again, 846 00:51:52.800 --> 00:51:57.880 remember to check out Bear Financial at at Bear Financial 847 00:51:58.000 --> 00:52:02.039 Planning dot com. I'm deeply grateful to you, Marcy for 848 00:52:02.119 --> 00:52:05.800 your dedication to helping an elevated future emerge through the 849 00:52:05.800 --> 00:52:12.159 holistic financial planning and profitable, socially responsible investment advising that 850 00:52:12.239 --> 00:52:14.760 you do. Thank you so much for joining me. 851 00:52:15.360 --> 00:52:16.760 Thanks for having me. This is fun. 852 00:52:17.159 --> 00:52:21.039 I'm glad and thank you all for joining us for 853 00:52:21.119 --> 00:52:25.000 this episode of Reimagining Humanity's Future and yours. Make a 854 00:52:25.000 --> 00:52:29.719 point of visiting this show's website r h f Y 855 00:52:30.000 --> 00:52:33.480 dot Ca, where you can watch or listen to all 856 00:52:33.559 --> 00:52:38.360 of the episodes of Reimagining Humanity's Future and yours. I 857 00:52:38.440 --> 00:52:42.199 also invite you to explore my main website, Doctor Gruder 858 00:52:42.280 --> 00:52:47.320 dot com. That's d R g r uder dot com, where, 859 00:52:47.360 --> 00:52:50.480 among other things, you'll find a link to the Center 860 00:52:50.519 --> 00:52:54.320 for Enlightened Self Sovereignty, which is helping to usher in 861 00:52:54.400 --> 00:52:58.280 the age of spiritual self sovereignty that serves us all 862 00:52:58.320 --> 00:53:02.960 around the world, as well as reuniting reuniting the United 863 00:53:03.000 --> 00:53:09.480 States through dissolving divisiveness. This is doctor David Gruder inviting 864 00:53:09.519 --> 00:53:15.000 you to tune in next time for another spellbusting, uplifting 865 00:53:15.519 --> 00:53:21.039 and actionable episode on how together we can and will 866 00:53:21.280 --> 00:53:27.320 and must build a better future for ourselves and for humanity.