The Psychology of Money w/ Ray Brown

Link to Youtube –
https://youtu.be/ioo5ZB3Uis4

Link to buzz sprout –
https://moneypig.buzzsprout.com/2136084/episodes/17028794-episode-88-the-psychology-of-money-w-ray-brown

On this episode of The Money Pig Podcast, Tim Goodwin sits down with the one and only Ray Brown—aka “Pop-Up”—to unpack The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel. With humor, heart, and a touch of magician flair (yes, Ray used to perform magic with his dachshund sidekick, Mr. Weenie!), the two dive into why emotions play a bigger role in money decisions than most people realize.

They explore how behavioral finance influences not just what we invest in—but whether we stay invested. From comparing saving to fitness goals, to the trap of loss aversion, to the allure of flashy investments like cryptocurrency, this episode digs deep into why having a financial plan (and a third-party advisor) can be the buffer you need between your emotions and your money.

They also highlight the contrast between two powerful reads: The Psychology of Money and Die with Zero. Both books prompt one big question: When is enough, enough? Is it possible to balance saving wisely and living meaningfully along the way?

👉 Want to dive deeper? Check out our blog, “When is Enough, Enough in Retirement Planning?”. It unpacks this idea further—helping you think through how much you truly need for the life you actually want.

Subscribe and stay tuned for more practical financial guidance from the Money Pig Podcast.

For personalized financial guidance, schedule an schedule an intro call with our team at Goodwin Investment Advisory in Canton, GA. Our CFP® professionals can provide advice and help you navigate how to invest your wealth and plan for your retirement. We’d love to help you live out your legacy!

Goodwin Investment Advisory is a Registered Investment Advisory firm regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission in accordance and compliance with securities laws and regulations. Goodwin Investment Advisory does not render or offer to render personalized investment or tax advice through the Money PIG podcast. The information provided is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, tax, investment or legal advice.

Today we have the one, the only pop-up, otherwise known as Ray Brown. Thanks for coming today, Ray. Thanks for having me. It’s great to be here. Great to be back. It’s been a minute. Yeah. Awesome. So, hey, before we get started, tell the audience something they don’t know about you. Oh my goodness. What does the audience not know about me? I like… It’s probably been said a while back, but when I was a little kid, well, not a little kid, in my early teens, I was a magician. And I feel like some people knew that back in the beginning, but it’s sloped off the radars now. But like we have to define like you were a magician. This wasn’t like you were a kid studying doing tricks for your family. I was kind of a big deal. And many leather belt books and you smelled a mug. Very smart. Yeah. So that’s the fun fact. Two truths and a lie. Like, I mean, you had to like do homeschool because of For a brief time, yeah, a little bit, kept me busy, but it was a lot of peak, like how many shows are you doing? It was, I mean, gosh, more than one a month. More than two a month, I would say. So yeah, I mean, it kept me very busy. And how old were you at the prime? Probably at the prime, like 15-ish. Yeah, I mean, I did it into college, but through late middle school, all of high school. Did you have like a stage name? I was just my regular name. but my dog was in the show and his name was Watson the Magical Dots and he was a wiener dog we called it Mr. Weenie but he was Watson the Magical Dots and he did a great job so RIP Mr. Weenie. so sad that’s so funny that you were talking about wiener dogs at lunch and now we’re talking about it. Somehow this just always comes up. my gosh that that’s so great well you know the audience might be interested to know that we get to benefit from these magic tricks every once in a while. They’re still rare, but we might get one or two a year throughout the events we do. we’re very grateful for the entertainment value that you bring to the team. Ray, I a question for you. What is a millionaire’s favorite exercise? Tim Goodwin (05:28.524) I can’t keep a straight face. Man. Running the numbers. That’s too much. We gotta shut him down. Running the numbers. God, that’s bad. Sorry guys. All right. Well, we are here today to talk about this book right here, the psychology of money. And so one of our values as a team is to be dedicated to growth, dedicated to learning, always growing as a team. One way that we kind of put our money where our mouth is, is that we will read books as a team. We generally do two a year. And this one, was this the most recent one that we read? No, we did, actually, yes, it was. It was the most recent. Yeah, yeah, as a recording, Yeah, awesome. So super duper, highly, highly recommend this book. I really enjoyed it because I think the psychology around investing, planning, money, finance is way undervalued and way underrated, which I think we’re going to unpack a little bit today and just kind of talk to you a little bit about what you thought about the book, how you think it impacts you, how it impacts other people. And maybe you can share too with the audience about how there’s a little bit of a dichotomy and contrast with this book against the book we had read right before this book, which was called Die with Zero. the timing is a bit odd in terms of timing and different perspectives, but that’s what this is all about. Different perspectives and different logics and no two people think the same and everyone’s got different goals. so Joe and I did a podcast just a few before this one on Die with Zero. Whether you, if you’ve already heard that, it’s going to be great to hear. If you listen to this one, I would recommend going back and also listening to Die with Zero. I think there, there, maybe there are some clear aspects where they are at odds with each other conceptually. I also think that bringing both of these things together, it kind of, I think it kind of would inform and help people make, make a better decision to do both. love the opening headline kind of in the description in the back. says doing well with money. Isn’t necessarily about what you know. It’s about how you behave. that’s like, finance school 101 is like behavioral finance. Like that topic of that’s the textbook term for the whole psychology of money, is book title aside is one of my favorite parts of I think what we do day in and day out is just controlling the person in the mirror, understanding the what and the why. You always say right brain, left brain and emotional versus like what mathematically makes the most sense. And I love tapping into some of that. So. Yeah, that’s awesome. That’s awesome. Tim Goodwin (07:55.608) And to kind of start with why, like why are we doing a podcast on this book? There is no affiliate Amazon code that link that we’re going to send you so you could buy the book and we get any kind of commission. We do not get any commission off this book, but we do highly recommend it. Buy wherever you buy books or listen to it is fine. You know, the why is just we think it’s helpful and we think it would be encouraging for folks to read. I’m actually really excited to have my girls, my daughters eventually read this book. I think it’s going to be really, really helpful. There is no downloadable for this episode. There’s usually something in the show notes where you can click and download the guide or the blog or whatever we were talking about. But in this case, this is really just talking about a book that you can go get wherever you buy books. We thought we’d unpack it because I think it’s a super duper cool book. I really think it’s one of the best books on money out there. If you haven’t really read books on money or investing before, I think this is a great first one to start with. Ray, let’s go ahead and dive right into one of the topics, which is this emotion, right? The psychology of this emotion around money. So how do you think emotions impact financial decisions? I would say it’s the most, I mean, the biggest impact. It’s kind of that, it’s so cheesy to say it. You’ve probably heard me say it a ton of times, but I always compare like finance world to personal training. to fitness. And so it’s like that classic, like, we know what not to do. And I always hate the dumb joke, like, you know, not to the Snickers bar, but there you are shoving the Snickers bar in because it feels good. what you want to satisfy some hungry, you know, it’s not necessarily good for you. And we see people do the exact same thing day in and day out with money. And it’s a, it’s a head knowledge that I mentioned before, it’s the behavior versus what do you actually know and emotion weighs very heavy in that it drives all the decisions that we make, not just in money world, but in any other world like fitness. so, yeah, I think it’s And I totally, it’s cool like being a practitioner, like somebody who’s been in the industry for over 20 years and then like reading this book about how people respond. And I’m like, yeah, that’s true. Like I can sit down with a client or potential client and be like, man, check out this investment. Tim Goodwin (10:00.9) and check out the standard deviation and the expense ratio. It’s been a great, healthy, long-term investment. This would be a great thing for your portfolio and have this diversified portfolio of funds. But Bitcoin sounds a lot more fun to me. I care about you lost me at standard div. Yeah, exactly. I’m like, this is logical. This logic makes sense. They’re like, no, no, no. But what can you invest me in that I can tell my buddies about, my family about at the kitchen table that I can have a fun story around? Some of that. weighs a lot more heavily than I think we probably give ourselves credit for. So the appeal, the shininess, the story you tell yourself, or you think you can tell somebody else about your investments, really plays in just as much, if not more, than how good the investment actually is. Yeah. And I mean, we talk about goals-based approaches too, to finance, and it’s like, at the end of the day, does it really matter if you get an 11 % return on your portfolio versus a 12? No, both are gonna probably get you to that finish line, to the target. so- Yeah, the behavior’s more like, this would be a great- example to why the emotion plays so much. We know the long-term average of the stock market is going to exceed the long-term average of the bond market. Right. Okay. That’s what it’s done. So why don’t we put all of our clients in a hundred percent aggressive model where there are a hundred percent stock? I mean, that’s what I say every day. That’s true. It’s true. It’s because that loss aversion idea around volatility and stocks versus bonds. And one is a little more boring, but boring is good based on that kind of goals based profile of what are we doing here? What’s your time horizon? short or you’re older on retirement money like you don’t want that volatility because typically people will sell at the bottom. They see that loss. know, right now cryptocurrencies are at highs. People are talking about cryptocurrency a lot when I’m around my friends or family and generally like everybody’s asking each other if they have bitcoins or not, which is so funny because you and I both agree that cryptocurrency is not an investment because it doesn’t pay income. Yeah, you know, it’s speculative and we can talk to our clients about it maybe has part in an overall portfolio, but it’s not an investment. It’s horribly volatile. And it’s long term, know what I mean? It’s unknown. Yeah, exactly. So but it’s funny that everybody’s kind of like, Oh, yeah, I’ve got some Bitcoin or I need to go buy some Bitcoin when it doesn’t necessarily represent, right? You know, ownership and a profitable company that’s generating income over time. Absolutely. And that right there is an emotion taking over. It’s that classic like, well, Tim Goodwin (12:23.106) I want to do this because I want to do it. And sometimes you can’t justify it. I mean, you see people quit their jobs and it may be, you know, kind of, kind of sudden or sharp. And it’s like, they’re reacting out of emotion. Somebody said something, pushed them over the edge. You walking away from something. It’s like, that’s probably not the smartest thing mathematically, but it’s like, that doesn’t matter in that moment. You’re relying on the emotion. so loss aversion is an interesting thing to think about. He quotes it in this book and I forget the exact number, but it’s more than double, you know, the in order to activate the sensor in the brain. It’s like the growth has to be more than two times. The feeling feels the same when it’s like, I think it was like close to three times. The losing just two makes you feel a certain way, say 2%, but you’ve got to gain like three times that amount. So you’d have to gain 6 % in order to offset and to have that It was that thing about like the pain of losing a dollar takes. to be offset the joy and gaining like free or something like that. Right? gain a heck of a lot more to feel, to have the same activation in the head once obviously good versus But the reality is that volatility, and this is something he calls it, that’s the price you pay for the long-term returns, that volatility. And it’s why we see, I mean, we talk to mutual fund managers, portfolio managers all the time, other investment professionals, and they’re always saying, what is this index or what is this funds return? versus what is the average investor’s return that was in that same thing and it’s always less. 100 % of the time it’s less. And that’s just due to timing, people jumping in and out at the wrong times, but it’s all hindsight at a certain point, like, dang. It’s like, yeah, if you knew, you knew, but you know. So we brought up now that emotions do play a big role in our investments, what we choose, whether we stay in them or not. So how can we recognize this and then make a change to make better? financial decisions. mean, it’s a pitch for our services here. First thing that comes to my mind is like, that’s where I think, you know, working with a financial advisor can be so helpful because it removes emotion. And that is, if you were to run a list of like the hundred reasons of why I would need a financial advisor, I think having that third party that isn’t connected to the emotion in your life that can weigh in and give you that kind of sounding board or that, just helping remove some of that off your shoulders, boom, bingo. And so aside from that, I mean, Tim Goodwin (14:39.992) just being aware of the tactics and the things. mean, I know people are, you I hear guys all the time talking about like Costco and it’s like, yeah, they get us with the dollar hot dogs. It’s like, you pay attention to some things. You read something like this. It makes you look at advertisements and memberships, subscriptions, all these things a little bit differently. You start to be a little more keen to notice what’s happening in the world around you, I think as time goes on. I think for sure, you know, if you just hiring that professional, like you just said, to help guide you towards better financial decisions is going to make a huge difference. What’s also makes a difference just to be aware. Just be aware that emotions play a big role and recognize those and put something between. Like, so here’s you, your emotions, and here’s your investments. Something needs to be in between there. And maybe that’s an advisor, maybe that’s a friend, maybe that’s a plan, or maybe it’s like, I log in every day and seeing that volatility in the stock market is causing me to make more emotional decisions. I’m going to stop logging in every day. Right. You can make some practical decisions about your habits or behaviors or get some other folks involved or get a plan involved. I think the other thing too is just education. Right. I typically folks are like, cost down, I got to sell. you’re like, guys, this happens all the time. This is a profitable company with earnings, you know, generally over a long period of time, these healthy asset classes come back, you know, learning to view that as a opportunity and selling the alarms. my gosh. But yeah, we get it. That’s easier said than done when you don’t have that. Sky, the sky is always fun. It’s just kind of changes names is something I say. All right. So let’s, let’s move on to kind of a different, different topic. So, what are some steps that people could take? Investors could take to kind of harness the power of compound growth. Well, obviously, mean, participating is key. Not going to be able to get any of that compound growth. you’re not a realized that it’s never too late, I guess, to start. It’s always, you know, the best time is always, you know, five days ago, but second best time is right now today. And that applies to anyone that’s any age. It’s like, gosh, if you could have done some of this stuff when you were 18, that would have been fantastic, but you did. And so jump in now. And so just participating and then also just taking advantage of timing over a long period of time that, you know, we call it dollar cost averaging, you know, it’s that concept of like, Hey, every Friday, my part of my paycheck goes into the 401k. If you’re participating in that over time, it’s like that is Tim Goodwin (17:04.558) taking advantage of the magic of compounding, which has it been Franklin said the seventh wonder of world? Albert Einstein. Albert Einstein, that’s not been Franklin. Seventh wonder of the world is compound interest. And it goes on to say, those that understand it earn it and those that don’t pay it. It’s true. Speaking of education, it’s all about what you know and just being aware of it. you just for fun, go play with a compound interest calculator and just have fun with all the numbers. Yeah. It’s the best exercise for millionaires running the the numbers. Go get some exercise and kill two birds here. But just messing around with, mean, there’s a great calculator at investor.gov. If you just Google compound interest calculator, pop in some numbers, start with a number today, put it over time and just really look at what does that do in 10 years from now versus 12 years from now versus 15. It’s funny how changing the simulation from like 30 years to just even 20. 25 years, how dramatic that change in the final value is. so timing matters. Don’t get discouraged at the beginning of it either is what I would say. Cause when I finally started being able to participate in a 401k, I was logging in like all the time to try to see it grow. know, I’m like, God, it’s just like, it’s still just a couple hundred dollars. It’s not doubled yet. That’s not a lot, you know? Okay. Now it’s a couple thousand dollars. That’s not really a lot. I got really excited when the 401k crossed like 10 grand, you know? And it was funny, like then I slowly just was like, all right, this is just my habits, what I’m doing, you know, whatever. I don’t log in as often, but now that I’ve been participating in a 401k so much longer, when I think about it or I, you know, update my personal net worth statement, I’m like, wow, that compounding effect. It’s helping you out a little bit. Really making a difference when you get 10 or 20 % return. We’ve had some really crazy bull market years in the stock market lately. you know, on say a hundred thousand is way more substantial than on 10,000, but it just takes time. So I’m saying have some patience, you know, don’t get discouraged early on about the compounding this. I think you have to see that calculator. Like you’re talking about, you have to see that that couple hundred dollars a month can really end up being hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars, if invested well over enough time. And I think just that right there spreading that message to the younger folks behind you. It’s like you, that classic like, I wish I had done this when I was 18. It’s like, Tim Goodwin (19:21.87) Well, go tell the 18 year olds that are in your life this, pull them aside, you show it to them and it’s like, their jaws will drop because they don’t yet know about it. They don’t understand the whole concept is, is baffling. And so when you look at it, I mean, what a blessing you can be. I’ve, I’ve, I’ve shown so many young folks that and truly knocks them out a little bit. my heart breaks the most when people aren’t taking advantage of their employer match. because that compound return is 100 % return every year. If your employer is matching you dollar for dollar, say up to 3%, 6%, you have got to be putting at least that in because they’re doubling your money. And then both of that money is getting hopefully invested well and growing on top of it. Yeah, it’s all about the investments that are inside the account. But yeah, we generally that’s kind of that rule of thumb is yeah, certainly take advantage of any match that’s there and absolutely free money on the table. All right, so key theme in the book is defining enough. I really appreciate. Cause I feel like, especially Americans as I’ve traveled some internationally don’t like in America, if you ask most Americans, how much is enough? What do they usually say? Just a little bit more. a little bit more. And then they die. No, just kidding. Sorry. That laugh was loud in the speaker. God. it’s true though. You’re up until you up until you die. That’s probably the logic. It’s I want to keep this going. Keep this going. If it’s two mil now, I really need three mil or I need, well gosh, I’ve got four now I need five. And it’s just like, well, why not make it 10? point is enough for that. I got to tell you this story. So I got the opportunity to go to Nairobi, Kenya earlier last year. And there was this thing that happened that was just totally shocked me. And we’re driving from one town to another. We stop, we’re at some traffic, and whenever we’re at a stop. and they will come up and sell you stuff if you want. It’s not aggressive. You make eye contact, people look at it. It’s all legit. It’s fine. But if you want a snack, kind of open the window, give them some money. So, I was talking to my friend who was with me who’s from Nairobi about potentially doing that to a gentleman that was coming up selling some snacks and I asked how much it was. Now we’re in Kenyan shillings, but I’ll just give you the dollars. She was like, it’s really just like a dollar or two US. Tim Goodwin (21:29.61) And I actually didn’t have small enough denominations and shillings. And so I said, well, I’m just going to give him, 500 shillings, which this is like, it’s about 15 us dollars, you know? And she said, well, if you do, he’s just going to go home. And I was like, why would he go? It was like 11 AM in the morning. I was like, why would he go home? And she said, cause that’s enough. 500 shillings is enough to get by, you know, per day. And so he’s just going to go home. And it totally blew my mind because I was like, we do not think like that in America. We’re not like, you know what, it’s one o’clock. made enough money today. I’m going to go home. You’re like, I’m going to work till five because I could make more money. And you usually do. And then a lot of times that more money leads to buying more stuff. And if you’re not too careful, stuff can start to own you and give you anxiety and stress. So yeah, I think this kind of defining what is really enough and what you need to save for medical expenses for retirement, etc. If you the Die with Zero concept is if you die with multiple millions of dollars, did you work too long? Could you retire long in a job that you most likely didn’t love your entire life or at least you especially started out you have that money to your kids sooner? Could you have traveled more? Could you have retired sooner? And he knocks the concept, it does kind of compliment, but also contrast this book a little bit in that sense. It’s that obviously the author of Die with Zero, he flat out says, we don’t really want you to die with zero. It’s a clever, catchy name, but the whole idea is determining what is enough and living around that. It’s like, you got to define that for yourself and that’s different for everyone. Of course you save, you plan for those unexpected things, but you also, you give the money to the church or the charities that you want to support while you’re alive. So be a part of that. And I know some folks from within my family, it’s just joke that goes around. It’s like, we’re giving inheritance early. to the folks that were getting it because we don’t want anyone to be too excited when we die. Everyone has got to be sad. So all done. There’s nothing else coming. And I think concept of give with a warm hand instead of a cold. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And you worked hard for it. So it’s nice to be able to be a part of that kind of seeing that fruit go into what it’s going to do next. So there was this concept in the book that really stopped me in my tracks and to think about it. I, cause I don’t agree with it. Tim Goodwin (23:42.156) And I’m not sure that I… this book here, Psychology? Yeah, Psychology Monday. And I’m still not sure that I agree with it. And it was this concept around saving even when you didn’t have a purpose. Saving for the sake of saving. What did you think about that? So I’m pretty passionate about this. again, this may just be my crazy way of doing things. I’m a bit of a numbers nerd, but I like to have a goal with anything. And so the idea of just quote, general savings, I don’t love it. I don’t love it because if it doesn’t have a label on it, it’s quick to disappear when something… emotion taps into it. Oh, that’s a good deal on that new car. I really do want that. Then you end up wiping out 40 grand that you may have been thinking that this could be for a future real estate purchase or something else. And so if you’re saving for real estate or a future business that you want to start, you’ve got to call it that in my opinion. If you’re saving for a new car, maybe you’ve paid off a car, you know, eventually that thing is going to die. You got to start saving for the next one. so you’re planning to start with why, you know, it’s just like, is this saving? I guess some folks would say for the why of having savings and I get that say for a rainy day or say for an opportunity in the future. But to me, the Die with Zero concept is hurry up and make a memory with that extra money. While you still can while you got the health while you got the money. You’re maxing out your 401k and you’re saving maybe 15 % or more of your income towards retirement. That could be enough. And if you’ve done the planning and you said, yeah, you know what, that’s it’s a high probability that that’s going to be enough, then the rest is more about giving, travel, experiences, memory, dividends. And I’m sure you would say the same, Tim, working with clients, myself, you know, especially I’ve noticed coming into this, and I’ve probably said this a few times before, but I spend more time convincing folks to let go of money than to actually save. Coming into this world, I was like, I’m gonna be the next Dave Ramsey. It’s 15 % towards retirement. Save, save, save, save. And then you get in and you realize like, my gosh, that switch has already been activated in these folks’ brain. They are savers. That’s why they have wealth. How do we convince them to buy those first class? tickets because you’re going to die otherwise with $9 million, you got to start doing some stuff with this. You’ve worked hard, you’ve gotten to this place because of those actions. it’s again, and back to the emotion, it’s easier said than done when it’s like, how do I suddenly turn off everything I’ve ever been taught? Everything I know and overcoming that. It’s a good advisor to say, look, I know you’ve been saving and penny pension, but now that you have, and you’ve done that over a long period of time, now it’s time to start using I think the first class is a good example, right? Because flying first class. Tim Goodwin (26:04.58) Because when I first could afford to buy a plane ticket, I was just grateful to be on a plane. Sure. don’t care. could be in the last class. I’m just happy to be invited. I’m just happy to be here. I can afford a freaking plane flight. That’s so cool. But like when you could have afforded Comfort Plus or business or first class, but you choose to sit in the back. For me, the feeling changed. Talking about the psychology of money. I started getting a little frustrating. Traveling by myself, maybe not a big deal, but when I’ve got my wife or my kids, I’m like, man, you know. there wasn’t room for our bags and I could have got us to board earlier, would have been room for our bags. Or you’re the crazy person like me that’s like, well my gosh, if we’re paying $35 per bag to check it, how much extra really was that bump to first where the bags would have been free? And it’s like, you start offsetting the upgrade cost. I’m sitting down with clients and it’s funny when I mention like, have you guys considered first class? Because usually the wife kind of elbows the husband, know, like, told you honey, I’ve always wanted to fly first class. Tim says we can do it. We can do it now. So I really know who I was imitating there with that voice. Sorry. You know, so I’m like, look, when you can, you’re flying coach and you can afford to buy the plane, you know, please at least treat your partner to first class every once in a at least on a on an anniversary or trip or something. It’s all in proportion to it’s as that net wealth crosses the certain point, another era we can jump in. It’s like people making fun of the celebrities that are buying the crazy expensive cars. It’s like, well, that’s no different than you or I go into McDonald’s. It’s percentage. It’s comparison and percentage to relative worth and absolutely. That’s great. So I think just leading with that, leading with the goals based approach to like we were saying earlier, earmark the money for what it’s for and I’ve got tons of accounts, my wife and I, it’s like we label things what they are. encourage clients to do the same. And I’ve seen like a sense of just confidence in organization, kind of wash over them when they do that. Before it was just one big account or we’ve retired. Here’s one big 401k. We’ve rolled it into an IRA. It’s worth X amount. What the heck is that for? We got to do all these things. We got to prepare the boat. We got to separating some things out and saying, Hey, this is our annual vacation fund account. And we’re going to throw 12 grand in there at the top of the year and spend it as quick as we can consider it gone. Tim Goodwin (28:09.86) what’s next and we’re fulfilling these different things. We’ve got to do kitchen remodel. Then we’re going to open another account and call it kitchen remodel and start to see that. And we want to label it. When you log into your accounts, have it be, it, tell me what it is. And so I’m just a big fan of that. think it helps have better productive goals. It’s like my cheesy fitness analogy. If you’re trying to lose weight, well, how many pounds? Just lose more weight this year. That’s not a good goal. You know the date and you need to the pounds. Trying to lose 10 pounds. I got 15 still to go. Like, you what are we working towards here? And so, yeah. That’s good. You and I are very similar in that. It’s ridiculous how many fidelity counts I have because I have them all like named specifically. hate me when I call and need to do something. like, well, give us a second here. see you have four that entered that. right. So let’s move forward here on risks and rewards. So how can a financial advisor help evaluate, let’s say, the risks that an investor is taking with their investments? I would say the biggest part is measuring it, figuring out and determining what the risk is. So of course there’s things we can look at. It’s all about allocations, how much are you in stocks versus bonds? What is that relative risk towards whatever the goal is? And I’m careful to never attribute it to an age. You hear this thing like, you should be 60 % stock, 40 % bonds. And every year you go, you inverse that. So it’s like, as you move into your 70s, should be 70 %… 50 % bonds, 50 the other and continue each decade. It’s like, well, that’s just based on an age and what is the goal. so a lot of our folks too, it’s like they’ve got certain value in an account that’s probably gonna be left to the next generation. That’s their legacy. And it’s like, well, then let’s invest it based on the legacy, the heirs timeline and goals. And so it’s like, just cause you’re 85 years old, you can still have an account that’s aggressive. It’s not money you’re planning on touching, but understanding your goals, your needs, figuring that out. this book does a really good job of talking about like unnecessary risk. Yes. And that’s what we want to avoid. You’re not going to put your million dollars on red seven and try to double it. Right. It could happen. There’s a chance you could do it, but the risk does not outweigh the opportunity that’s there. Absolutely. Yeah. I love that. And I, know, sometimes, clients are going to come in or potential clients are going to come in. They’re to have a highly concentrated position and one individual security, tons of Apple or Tesla or Netflix or UPS or whatever it is. And Tim Goodwin (30:32.28) you we have a saying around here that concentration makes you rich, but diversification keeps you rich, know, so that’s another thing where we really want to go, okay, that’s great. That worked for you. And it’s probably going to continue. Hopefully it’ll be a great company, but we don’t know for sure. We’ve got to take that risk out of so much of your income is going to be dependent on the wealth that’s built by one company or just a handful of companies. Let’s diversify that risk. into a casino. Yeah, yeah, yeah. What are you going to do? You got to eventually, you got to know when to walk away. And if you’ve done really well with something, but that emotion taps in of Bitcoin. Bitcoin made it to that hundred mark. They’re saying to be 200 by the end of the year. It’s like, it can also go to zero. mean, we don’t know. so- start to compromise, maybe take some chips off the table at the casino and keep playing with what you started with or something like that. So, all right. So as we wrap up the psychology of money discussion, what would you say is the importance of having a financial plan? Gosh. the psychology of money topic. It’s a great question. mean, I think number one is that planning feels good. Planning leads to confidence. Planning helps you know that you’re on track, even though you may not be where you want to end up yet. You know that you’ve got a clear plan, you’re heading in the right direction. And that right there just gives you that sense of, I call it like weight off the shoulders. You we talk about financial peace and independence a lot around here and generosity, but financial peace is just that. It’s that peace of mind knowing that, I’ve got a plan. We’re heading in the right direction. We can breathe a little bit or we can spend a little bit more. And it’s like, gives you that helps you to have that kind of draws the line of are we under our goals or are we way over our goals and can we afford to live a little more or do we need to tighten up ship so that we can start saving a little more so that we can do whatever our goals are. Maybe retire a little bit sooner than you want, you initially thought you’d be able to, but without the plan, I mean, you’re jumping in the car with no map. have no idea what you’re doing. You’re hitting the gym without a goal of what are we trying to do here? And so I think it’s just very important. A financial plan in my mind, it’s equals a goal. That’s great. That’s great. Love it. All right. Thanks so much for coming today. As we sign off, we love to express gratitude. And maybe as you’re thinking of something that you’re grateful for, I’ll share something that I’m grateful for. So I love snow skiing, and I’ve been taking my kids and we paid that early price of, you know, driving to make it more affordable because we couldn’t afford flights and trying to find an affordable ski school. Tim Goodwin (32:56.548) and getting the equipment and knowing that it was gonna be a long time before I could actually ski with my kids, but my kids are getting a little older. And I’m just kinda looking forward to actually be able to ski together a little bit more finally as a family because we kinda put the hard work in of getting them in ski school enough where they could kind of eventually ski with mom and and of itself right there. You do that a few times. It’s expensive and they’re little so they get frustrated and then the equipment is expensive. but it was kind of that, it’s like an ROI, guess. could say I’m starting to get this return on investment where the kids can actually ski a little bit more with Maureen and I. Say ski, Maureen and I ski and they all three snowboard. That’s I gonna say and that’s an investment to the compounds, that experience dividends, which is that big topic in Daiwa Zero. It’s like, yeah, investing in ski school earlier on, they’re gonna be able to enjoy a life of this now instead of doing it in your thirties. My wife is doing ski school for the first time when we go on our trip here in a couple months. It’s going to be traumatizing for her, I’m afraid, because it’s like, she’s in her early thirties and you don’t get to now enjoy this as long as you would have had you done this when you were 10 years old. But I would say not to cut you off there, but I would say for me, it’s just, you know, general health and wellness, happiness with family, our home. And I would say always, I’m always just so grateful of the opportunity to be here at GIA and to get to work with the clients that we do. We are the crazy people that love the numbers. We’re nerds. We love drilling into this kind of stuff. That’s what makes us unique. And most people hate that. And I think just being able to do that and having the privilege to serve and to work for those folks keeps us going. Yeah, that’s awesome. Well, thanks for sharing that listeners. You’re still with us. And if that is something that you feel like you need help with, every plan is unique. And there are certain types of clients that work really well with us and, and, and, and certainly the timing on hiring a financial advisor. But if that’s something you’re starting to think of, like you said earlier, Ray, about like having that, that other point of view that other opinion on the decisions helping to control the emotions you feel like you’ve been making emotional decisions and maybe It’s not been as good for you long term and you want somebody else that that you can build some trust with to come in and kind of be your guy to help you make better decisions and put that plan together for your goals we would love to talk to you you can go to good investment comm and learn a lot there and if you’re ready to kind of start a conversation a little more about what our services are like and what they cost and that kind of thing then to schedule an intro call and Tim Goodwin (35:16.228) and you’ll get to find out. So thanks again for coming and thanks everybody else for listening. Have a great day. Bye bye.

The Money PIG podcast is hosted by Reid Trego. Goodwin Investment Advisory is a Registered Investment Advisory firm regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission in accordance and compliance with securities laws and regulations. Goodwin Investment Advisory does not render or offer to render personalized investment or tax advice through the Money PIG podcast. The information provided is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, tax, investment or legal advice.

For personalized financial guidance, schedule an schedule an intro call with our team at Goodwin Investment Advisory in Canton, GA . Our CFP® professionals can provide advice and help you navigate how to invest your wealth and plan for your retirement. We’d love to help you live out your legacy!

Goodwin Investment Advisory is a Registered Investment Advisory firm regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission in accordance and compliance with securities laws and regulations. Goodwin Investment Advisory does not render or offer to render personalized investment or tax advice through the Money PIG podcast. The information provided is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, tax, investment or legal advice.