#188: Money Narratives and Financial Planning
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Do you feel like your money narrative is holding you back? In this episode of The Richer Geek Podcast, Amy Cook, financial advisor and founder at Maven Lane Financial Group, shares insights on how your money narrative can impact your financial decisions. She discusses how to build lasting legacies through effective financial planning strategies, overcome your money narrative, find the right financial advisor, and start planning for your future. You'll also learn tips for talking to aging parents about their finances and how to create a plan for your children's education. Whether you're just starting out or looking to elevate your finances, this episode is packed with valuable information.
In this episode, we're discussing...
Financial planning is a process, not a one-time event.
Your money narrative can shape your financial decisions.
It's important to find a financial advisor you trust and feel comfortable with.
When talking to aging parents about their finances, start by offering to meet with their advisor.
Consider creating a master binder with important financial documents and information.
There are different levels of financial planning available, depending on your needs.
Starting early with college planning can help offset the costs.
Financial success is a marathon, not a sprint. Don't get discouraged if you don't make progress overnight.
Resources from Amy
LinkedIn | Maven Lane Financial Group | Money Narrative
Resources from Mike and Nichole
+ Read the transcript
Mike Stohler
Hey everybody. Welcome back to another episode of The Richer Geek Podcast. We welcome today, Amy Cook, she's the founder and financial advisor at Maven Lane Financial Group. Her career spans over 20 years in financial services, transitioning to financial advising 2009 She's the author of the Amazon bestseller 'Your Money Narrative' which we'll get into a little bit that delves into personal experiences, how it shapes financial behaviors and decisions. You know, yeah, we all have those, right? And she's worked on her own money narrative. We're going to talk about all of our money narratives and how to build lasting legacies through effective financial decision making strategies. Amy, welcome to The Richer Geek.
Amy Cook
Thank you, Mike. I'm excited to be here.
Mike Stohler
Everyone wants to know everyone's background so we're going to start there. Don't go back. I've had some to go, "Well, I got out of kindergarten," and I'm like, "Let's stick to the professional level." How do you get involved in being a financial advisor?
Amy Cook
Yeah, you're reminding me of the Goonies. You know, when Chunk gave his life story, or the chocolate bar? It's like, one of my favorite scenes.
Mike Stohler
Yes.
Amy Cook
soYeah, I got into this business in 2009. Prior to that, I was working in the mortgage business in Southern California. I'm in Northern California now, and I noticed a theme, where I felt like I was working very reactively or with my clients. We all know what went down in those years, but I learned a lot, and I saw an opportunity to take a more proactive approach to planning. During that time, my father passed away, and I saw the number of things that were not organized that easily could have been. And I thought, "Gosh, if we'd just done X, Y and Z, it really would have relieved a lot." I mean, my dad was a big believer that you can't take it with you, which you can't, but you can leave a legacy, in the sense that you know the people that you love making sure that you know they're not going to be fighting after you're gone and and you know, things like that. And I know that would have, would have broken his heart, and I and I think sometimes it's just the things that you don't know. You don't know what you don't know. And so when I moved here to the Bay Area, I started in this and felt like I was able to get those things with clients and help them just organize a few things and make their overall situation better.
Mike Stohler
Yeah and it's so important because, number one, people that are listening, that are in their 40s, 50s. We all have aging parents. We all have that worry, you know? Is there money? Are they spending it? Can you help them if they need it? There's so many of my friends that all said mom and dad's living with us. Well, we have to build a casita because they don't have the money, and they had the money, they just didn't plan it properly, right? I think that touches the hearts of a lot of our listeners. You ended up writing this book, Your Money Narrative. Tell us a little bit about why you decided to write it, kind of the decision making process of the different chapters and what's in it.
Amy Cook
Yeah. So over the years, I've noticed that most of the people I work with, they don't want to get into the super complex sides of financial planning, and a lot of times when working with an advisor, there's a lot of our financial lingo and terminology, and then it makes the overall process confusing. And so people have often told me that I simplify things, and I say I simplify it so I can understand it myself. Otherwise, I'd be confusing myself as I talk. But I noticed this fear around talking about money for some people. And so with this book, my goal was to make a book out of a conversation, because I don't think it has to be over complicated. The steps are quite simple, really, and working with an advisor is really just to have someone on your team and accountability and all that. So the book consists of a bunch of fictional stories. And so they're just single people, couples, business owners, people that I think most can relate to, or maybe their brother, uncle and whatever, someone they know. And so my hope was that reading the book, there'd be a couple stories and a couple action steps that come out of it to make some changes, and an easy to read fictional type of format for a financial book, which it's hard to be unique in financial services, but that was the goal.
Mike Stohler
Yeah, it is unique. And I think there's probably a lot of listeners that have either like, "I don't want a financial advisor. I've been burned by a financial advisor. All they want is this 5% on the front end, 5% on the back end. They are all these different things." What sets you apart on that side? Or what can you tell people? It's like, look, these are the things to kind of look for when choosing a financial advisor so that we don't get burned?
Amy Cook
That's a good question. I have a whole list of questions and kind of a chapter on building your team in there. And I mean, I would definitely say there's a lot of people that do what I do, and there's a lot of really good advisors, and there's some that aren't so good. I mean, primarily, you've got to trust that person, and so they can be the best advisor in the world, but if you don't feel a connection with them and a trust level, then it's not a good fit. So I'm not going to be a good fit for everyone, and vice versa. I mean, you've got to find that good match. And I would go with your gut when you're interviewing and interview two or three people, when you're looking to hire an advisor, because you want to make sure that their values, overall, kind of goals are aligned with yours.
I mean, some may be a lot more aggressive in nature. Some may be more conservative. It doesn't mean that you have to have had the same upbringing or whatever, but it's just got to be somebody that you feel good about and you feel comfortable with. And I do think that some of the designations are important, like the Certified Financial Planning designation, because there is quite a bit that goes into that with overall planning that you don't get with the regular testing of the Series 766, and all of that stuff. And I do think financial planning is really important, because if you start or if you maintain that planning component, it's huge. Otherwise, you're just throwing money into accounts and you're buying things and you don't really know what it's doing for you. So there's still that level of just kind of uncertainty. If you could have a ton of money and your investment accounts. But if you don't know what it's going to turn into and create relative to your goals, then it's not doing its job.
Mike Stohler
Yeah and I think it's very important. And you could even have within your team, I know that my financial advisors talk to our account planners or estate planners or trust people.They actually have conversations together and say, "Hey, is this the best thing with the financial advisor say this?" And then the CPA may go in and say, "Well, let's do it this way." Then we're going to put it in this type of it's just like things that go right here with me, but you have to trust that they're all looking out for you, right?
All I can do is hope and pray, because I have no idea three quarters of the things that they're talking about when we're on our calls, you talk about a lot of things about the money narrative, and how it shapes your financial future, how it can boost your family's financial health, and how sharing your money narrative. What is the concept of that?
Amy Cook
The concept is really just kind of stories and things that we're carrying around that we don't know we're carrying around that are driving some of the decisions that we make if we start to look at those things like, why am I afraid of real estate or why am I afraid of taking money out of my savings account? Or why do I have this thought that the whole stock market is going to drop to zero? Usually, there's something that happened.
Amy Cook
There's a story that's driving it, it's not always serving us. And so it's not like a one and done, you know, where you go. There's a story and just an awareness of questioning, you know. And some things are worth questioning, you know, somebody might tell you to do something that's not good at all for your financial health. You know that there's some things that you might be doing that don't make a lot of sense. If you start just looking at that and just an awareness of where it may have come from, it usually goes back to something when we were a kid, or something that happened, or something that was instilled in us, like really hard a thought or an emotion around money, that money is bad, or having too much as bad, you know, whatever it may be. And you just kind of kind of go, is that really true? And is that helping me?
Mike Stohler
Yeah, we're all driven by our environment, right? And you could have had a really bad financial advisor now you're like, "Nope, you know what? I'm going this way from now on." And then you screw it up instead of going out after finding the right one. How important is it when you sit down with a potential client or someone that you're talking to and actually go through those questions, you know? Because I know a lot of financial advisors just sit there and say, "Okay, you know what? We're going to put this money in fund A, this one in fund B, and that's it." They don't even really ask questions on, where do you want to be in five years or 10 years? What's the process like with your firm and everyone is Maven Lane Financial Group, just to make sure that you're putting the money where it needs to go. Or what kind of conversation is that when you're talking to people?
Amy Cook
Yeah, I mean, so some people come in and do financial planning, it's kind of like doing your estate plan. Or it's more of a process, right? A lot of advisors are just doing investment planning, because, frankly, that's where we make money. We're managing those accounts. There are free advisors who only do the plans but for me, I've always kind of looked at it as kind of the lost leader but so important, because otherwise the direction isn't clear of why we're doing what we're doing, like I said earlier. But on the other hand, if someone is just not ready, and they say, I just need help with this account or this thing and I don't like this person or whatever the reason may be,then you address that first. So ideally, you go in and start with the plan we're looking at. "Hey, what in your picture could screw it up?" Okay, so you want to step out and do something else in five years, retire early. Never retire whatever you want. Have these legacy goals by looking at the whole picture. And that's down to you even if it's something I don't do, I still look at it like insurance coverage and all of those things to see like, "Hey, we're hanging out over here, and this isn't worth it." And so there's an opportunity by looking at all of the different pieces to fill the gaps. And some of them are really, really simple. And then the basics, going to the very basics, would be like, ensuring you've got emergency cash, and you can get to those things if you have investment properties, obviously those numbers multiply, because you gotta, you know, separate those two and have those things in place for both, which I'm sure that you know you talk to your clients about too. It really just depends, though. I mean, in a perfect world, everybody would start doing comprehensive planning. Know where they stand. But not everyone is always ready for that.
Mike Stohler
And that's kind of the difference between financial advisor and financial planner, right? You're looking at the entire picture. Instead of going in and saying, "Okay, you have $100,000 we'll put it here." You're actually looking at all the pieces to make sure that there's a legacy, that there's something beyond that. And you know, to the listeners that are 40-50, years old, or 60, they have aging parents. How important is it to start having that conversation with their parents, "Hey, Mom and Dad, where's your money? What is your plan? What are you doing?" And that could be hard, because, you know, if I asked my dad, he was none of your business that type of thing. So how hard is it, and how important is it though, that we start having that conversation?
Amy Cook
It's so important. And I think one of the things that I can say about my practice is I have a lot of multigenerational clients, meaning, like all the grandparents, the parents, the kids, the grandkids, which is amazing, because if anything happens, I mean, it doesn't mean that that person's out talking to all those people about the other's accounts. It's just there's a comfort level and knowing where you go if anything happens. And so I think for kids in that age range, I would ask to meet their advisors and say, "Hey, I know we're not there yet, but you know, you never know what could happen." I mean, would you have a problem with me meeting your advisor just so I can put a voice or a face to the name, in case anything ever happens to you? And it really depends on them, because there are so many people who are like that, where they're like, "None of your business. You'll get it when I die and all that stuff." But then as they get older, I've noticed that the perspective changes when you're not able to do as many things for yourself, and usually it is one of your kids that steps in, and they might be an active participant in helping you manage your finances, and most people know who that kid is. I mean, there's usually one where it's like, if I'm going to hand the reins over to one, it's going to be a little Joey, or it's going to be very like she's the one to do this. And some people don't have one, unfortunately, but usually there's one. I think just identifying, if you're the parent who that is, and bringing them into the mix while you're still in great health is a great way to do it, because then there's not going to be the confusion around, well, I think Dad would have wanted this, or I think Mom said, this and this. It's become a guessing game.
Mike Stohler
Yean and then probate and then, can I do this? And, is there an estate? Is there a will?
Amy Cook
That's on a basic level, making sure I tell you like, I gotta write up on this part too, about creating this kind of master binder, if you will, with just the important things. And then even if you don't show it to your kids or just tell them where it is.
Mike Stohler
Yeah, because mom dad needs to know that all of a sudden, "Hey, Amy, you're the executor. Congratulations." You don't want to find that out at the end. So it's always kind of say, like, "Who does Amy Cook, as the financial planner, call if something happened to the parent?" Because then you don't want to call the wrong kid, because that kid may be saying, "Yep, that's me, and I'm going to take everything."
Amy Cook
Yeah. And that's usually all in the trust. A lot of times people are named, successor, trustee, executor. And it's not necessarily a gift, it's an honor, I guess might be the right word. It's a lot of work. And a lot of times, people are like, "I didn't sign up for this," but they will do it. It's usually because they choose who they thought would be best. And sometimes, if there isn't a good fit, there are other options. You can name a completely different fiduciary group to step in and be in that role. But I think it's just really important, depending on your financial situation, if you own real estate, you definitely want to be looked at, but everyone should have medical directives, and everyone should have a will and that goes down to any age.
Mike Stohler
Yeah, if you just, people don't do it though that's just the thing. It's like they don't even think about it. They don't want to think about it. I'll get to it next year.
Amy Cook
They think that they need to hit a certain level of money. So if you have minor children, I don't care if you've got no money, that's the only way that you can really put your wishes down on paper, versus your sister coming out from across the country saying this is what they would have wanted, when it's the opposite of what you would have wanted.
Mike Stohler
Yeah and you hit on something that's very important. My wife and I have a third party firm that handles everything, but we have that trustee, and this family member that they'll work together with, but the firm sits there and says, "Okay, they can read that binder and say, this is what they meant, and this is what they did." So that it kind of takes a lot of the work away from that sibling, because They don't know anything. It's they're not attorneys, they're not CPAs. So I think it's very important if and if there is a point where you should get that third party once you've got such a complicated asset, or you should do it anyway?
Amy Cook
You mean looking at the estate planning like, if something?
Mike Stohler
If it were to happen to you, there's a third party fiduciary that steps in with these advisors that handle the estate.
Amy Cook
That's really, only if you don't have someone that you would trust to put in that position, even if your kids are capable and you think, you know, this estate is too complex, it's going to be a lot of work. You just name that person or that group in the documents, and you have to set up the relationship with them so that they know that they would be stepping in as far as $1 amount, yeah, I mean, it's probably, I don't know what the minimum would be to say. This makes sense, but if you've got a chunk of money, and it's a nice chunk of money, and you want to make sure that it's taken care of the way you want it, because it's going to cost you, not when you're alive. They don't start charging until you're gone. But there are fees associated with those things.
Mike Stohler
Yeah, because it could get really complicated, and I think it's worth the 2% or 3% if you sit there and say, "Okay, wow, all these nieces and nephews, they get this if they go to college, and then if they turn 21 it can be complicated." And then just to have one sibling sit there and say, "I don't."
Amy Cook
"I don't want to deal with this?"
Mike Stohler
"I'm not dealing with all this, these things, then this money." And then, "Okay, well, now their pets get 50,000 a year." So for someone to take care of the patient, it's like, it can get really complicated. So I think it makes sense. At some point this third party gets to talk with the financial planners, they talk with the accounts, they talk to these state people.
But anyway, that's getting kind of off- topic. Now, if someone sits there says, I don't have a financial group, I don't have a financial planner, they click on Maven Lane, what are the steps, and what are the kinds of the things that the process that you go through in order to see if there's a connection?
Amy Cook
Yeah, so usually it's just a 'getting to know you' type of call. I do have several different planning packages on my website. I actually just added one that's kind of for people starting out that aren't really quite ready to engage in comprehensive planning. And I call it just the "Hands-Off", which gives you the tools and the budgeting software and some tax analysis, some different things that are included that I think people need but they just aren't quite ready for in advance, or a more sophisticated planning relationship. So I have information on all of those on the website, and then if it makes sense, or it looks interesting. I mean, happy to schedule a few minutes to chat about it. But the process of starting financial planning. Basically, it's like going through doing your taxes or going through an estate planning process where you're gathering a bunch of things, you've got a personal financial portal, and we've got to gather everything, and then we start to assess and look at it. And then I like that part of it, versus jumping in and saying, "Hey, give me your money to work with me." Because I feel like sometimes, when people just meet someone, they don't know if they want to work with them. And so I am kind of a no-pressure type, because if it's not a good fit, it's not something that I want either. So it allows you to, kind of when you start with the planning too, you get to know that advisor before. Or you start moving money around and handing over your life savings.
Mike Stohler
Yeah, and I'm sure it's a lot different from a couple that are in their 30s are just getting started, they're just starting to make money, and they really don't know anything and then you have these sophisticated people that are maybe later on in their life. It's a whole other different conversation, little more, maybe hand holding at the very beginning, and it's so important when they're just getting started, because I know I was naive when I started making so much money. I'm like, I don't know, I don't even know how to invest in stocks or bonds or planning and things like that.
Amy Cook
I mean, in the people around here, you see some pretty crazy tech packages, and there's some substantial mistakes that can be made if they aren't handled the right way. So it depends where you're at. Yeah, there's a lot of 30-somethings that have a pretty basic situation, but then there's a lot of 30-somethings that are getting some pretty big opportunities, and no one is handing them that employment package and explaining it, though, it'll be like, "Oh, you have access to support over here, and then they're not there?" So I think anyone working in tech with stock options are issues. I mean, it's a good idea. It's money well spent. It's kind of like not doing taxes yourself versus spending the money to hire a professional that's staying on top of that. Things are changing. Yeah, it's worth it.
Mike Stohler
And you know, I'm looking on your website also, and there's also education planning. Tell us a little bit about that. Maybe some people didn't know that, "Oh, you know what? Education is really expensive, 100,000 or 200,000 or whatever. I can actually start now when we don't even have kids yet and do some education planning so that we don't have to have that big lump when we get there.
Amy Cook
Yeah. There's a lot that can be done there. As far as it's not a big hit when you start early. And college planning is one of the things where money narratives come into play, because you could have one parent who feels like they owe that kid a full ride to any Ivy League school they want to go to, if they could get in. And then you got the other one saying, "I worked my butt off through college, and my kid's going to do the same." So the opposites attract.
I've just found the college thing. People tend to have different views on that. But if you start early and have that pot where the grandparents, everybody can be gifting and they don't need that 50th toy. Can just be pushing it in there, and then it, even if it doesn't solve the whole need. I mean, it's a great way to offset the costs when the time comes. But I also have some pretty sophisticated college planning software that I don't talk about very often. I don't know why, but where I can look at specific colleges, it's really good for juniors and seniors, where we're looking at identifying colleges, and then it'll tell you, like, what scholarships they might be able to get and what other schools that they might want to look into. I mean, when my girls were going, you and they didn't have anything like that, it's pretty cool.
Mike Stohler
No. I didn't have that either. So I went to night school and worked during the day, and then ended up going to the military to have them pay for it, because I couldn't figure it out. So there's all these different ways and different avenues. Amy, before I let you go, is there anything that I missed that you think is important to tell our listeners?
Amy Cook
I think the only thing that I would know, it's not a sprint. Dave Ramsey talks about the tortoise and the hare, and I love that, because it's not an overnight thing. Financial planning and financial success, as you know, and you just kind of pat yourself some slack, give yourself some grace. You know you're going to make mistakes. And if you have 20 things you should do, and you get three of them done this year and three of them done next year, that's three and three more than you would have done if you did nothing at all. And I really appreciate you having me, it’s been fun.
Mike Stohler
Absolutely. Everybody, Amy Cook, and it's mavenlanefinancialgroup.com, right?
Amy Cook
Yes. Well, it's mavenlanefinancialgroup.com and then /richergeek will bring you to our special page.
Mike Stohler
There you go, everybody. And as this concludes another episode of The Richer Geek Podcast. Have a great night, Amy.
Amy Cook
Awesome. You too. Thanks, Mike.
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ABOUT AMY COOK
Amy Cook, founder and Financial Advisor at Maven Lane Financial Group. Amy’s career spans over twenty years in financial services, transitioning to financial advising in 2009. She is the author of the Amazon bestseller Your Money Narrative, which delves into how personal experiences shape financial behaviors and decisions. As Amy worked on her own money narrative, she helped her clients do the same with a mission to build lasting legacies through effective financial decision-making and strategies.