Episode Transcript
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Keli Alo (00:02):
Hey there, we wanted
to thank you so very much for
tuning into our podcast andspending some of your precious
time with us, listening to ourinsights and hopefully getting a
chuckle or two from some of thetomfoolery that goes on during
the podcasts.
We wanted to take a moment andrelive a few things midway
through our first podcast season.
(00:24):
Relive a few things midwaythrough our first podcast season
.
In our first season we've takenon everything from bullshitting
ourselves to the fab fivequestions for investing in life
insurance and we even delvedinto healthcare cost containment
.
During our brief journey, we'vetried to leave no stone
unturned.
Remember episode three inhealth insurance unturned.
(00:46):
Remember episode three inhealth insurance.
What the fuck?
We dug deep into the coveredcharge for health insurance,
that in-network discount pricesare discounts to severely marked
up costs for care andintroduced cash pay health care
where consumers can reduce thepain in the wallet without
sacrificing quality careproviders.
Who can forget how we debunkedthe ideas that financial
(01:07):
professionals are some types ofhigh priests with special
knowledge in episode 14, who'swho and what do they do?
And who could forget our deepdives into the Fab Five
questions for investments andlife insurance in episode seven,
spotting sloppy investmentadvice.
And episode eight Is your lifeinsurance policy good, bad or
(01:31):
ugly?
We stripped down all the flap,doodle and hogwash to arrive at
a five question test for you toanswer and confirm control over
two critical elements your ideaof financial peace of mind.
With the rise of misinformationin an age known as the
post-truth era, bullshit onStilts is created to help you
(01:52):
develop your bullshit sniffer,confirm and validate your
money-related intentions andassist lowering the financial
costs of not knowing.
Join us as we relive somemoments and prepare for even
more in-depth conversations,humor and eye-opening
simplicities offinancial-related decisions in
(02:13):
the remaining first season ofBullshit on Stills.
Thanks for joining us.
How you develop your bullshitsniffer as a consumer.
I mean you and I, mark, have alot of time and experience in
(02:37):
pulling stuff apart, putting itback together from investments,
insurance, estate plans you nameit and so it becomes very
familiar to us and we can glossover lots of big terms because
we're familiar with the languageof the overall financial
planning landscape.
So what are some ideas orthoughts that you would give a
consumer to develop yourbullshit sniffer?
So, mark, love the title of the, the, the podcast bullshit on
(03:15):
stilts.
It's fantastic.
But where the hell did you guyscome up with that?
Mark Robinson (03:16):
freaking great
title.
Here's what's interesting whenwe talk about the bullshit and
the pseudo profound languagethat is Do you know why that's
so dominant?
Because we start off with theproduct.
So we've got to bring in allthe Greek, we've got to talk
about all these big terms thatpeople say, wow.
Does he know what he's talkingabout?
(03:37):
He must be right.
He must be right.
He has special knowledges thatI can't understand.
I just got to obey.
That's where the arguments are.
So you wonder why all thisjargon shows up?
Well, why not?
Because we're starting right inon the sell.
It's the product, it's such.
You got to start up in the anteon the bullshit.
So bullshit has to morph intosomething that is more clever,
(03:58):
more insidious, meaning youreally can't sense it anymore.
And so we just said it'sbullshit on stilts, it's the
next level of bullshit.
Coming at us and one of theplaces where we see it most is
in financial services Startedsaying it's bullshit, but it's
bullshit on stilts, it's thenext level of bullshit, like
(04:20):
gaming.
And so I got to come at youwith authority or more bullshit
or profundities or concern, andtapping into your emotional side
.
That's where it all starts,instead of let's have frank
conversations about the issuesat hand as you see them, and
let's see what we can work out.
Keli Alo (04:50):
We're probably the
biggest bullshitters on stilts
to ourselves, so how does thatkind of present itself when it
comes to financial decisionmaking?
Mark Robinson (04:59):
So we think that,
for example, in managing risk
this won't happen to me, or I'llstart tomorrow and all of these
things come into play that arejust rationalizations as a way
of protecting ourselves fromwhat we know is a potential
train wreck based on our ownbehavior.
So I think there's a tremendousamount of deferral, deflection
(05:22):
denial that goes into usbullshitting ourselves and it
all comes down to I'll starttomorrow.
Keli Alo (05:29):
Is that why people
defer decisions?
Is it because they're fearfulthat they'll make the wrong
decision?
So no decision is better thanmaking a wrong decision.
Where do you think that comesfrom?
Mark Robinson (05:39):
Oh, I think
that's very valid, because there
is something called decisionregret and studies have shown
too many options won't make adecision.
And then when you do make adecision, there's decision
regret.
Keli Alo (06:03):
How you develop your
bullshit sniffer as a consumer.
Mark Robinson (06:06):
Well, let's start
by prevention, and the
prevention, at least on theinvestment side, might be the
fab five.
Keli Alo (06:16):
so, by me answering
the five questions know what I
own, why I own it, how I'm doingcompared to what and how much
I'm paying I'm good, I guess I'mgood there, you, you are
probably a step above 90 of thepeople I've encountered and,
yeah, so I've alreadytranscended a lot of bullshit
potentially that can come in onme, but we what me having
(06:38):
control?
Mark Robinson (06:39):
I am able to
verify I have the right answers.
Yeah and I'm asking the rightquestions to get the right
answers.
That's right, yeah, so this isthe the preventive part of
bullshit.
Keli Alo (07:01):
How you develop your
bullshit sniffer as a consumer.
The Fab Five questions as theyrelate to life insurance,
whether that's you own a policy,you want to review it and get
real comfortable as what it ishow does it work or whether you
may be considering or in theprocess of purchasing a life
insurance policy.
Mark Robinson (07:21):
We've reduced the
complexities of insurance down
to five key critical questionsthat will show evidence that you
know what you own and why youown it and you have some level
of understanding to where youcan say I am in control of my
insurance needs and I can answerquestions sufficiently to where
(07:42):
I know that I have adequatecoverage in the areas I need
coverage.
So the Fab Five for insurancelife insurance are what do you
own, why do you own it, how isit doing, what are your premium
dollars paying for and whatother benefits do your premiums
buy?
If you're able to answer thosefive questions, you are in
(08:04):
control, which means that you'vecircumvented a lot of bullshit
explanations or I don't knows,or explanations for stuff you
just can't explain.
Keli Alo (08:25):
How you develop your
bullshit sniffer as a consumer.
The discussion that we're goingto have about health care out
there.
I looked through it and youknow.
First I was thinking about well, what's the history of health
insurance itself and why has itgotten to where it is today,
which is today?
It's the financial boogeymanand a household income between
(08:46):
the premiums and the copaymentsand the deductibles, and lions
and tigers and bears.
Oh my, you have this healthinsurance that we all agree of
immediately.
That's an important thing tohave, but at the same time, I
think that there's an awful lotof financial stress, anxiety and
even, in some cases,destruction due to the cost of
(09:07):
healthcare and staying healthyand facing illnesses and
diseases.
Mark Robinson (09:11):
I agree, and I
think that it is very similar to
what employers face outside oflabor costs.
Number two is healthcare costs.
Keli Alo (09:21):
You know families are
spending between 10 and 20 grand
alone just on premiums for them, the right to go see a doctor
within you know some network,and then you get some freebies.
Quote unquote the cover chargeis 10 to 20 grand a year out of
your cash flow.
Not going into retirement, notbuilding an emergency fund.
Mark Robinson (09:44):
So you pay $500
to get into the nightclub and
then you go in and you'reoverpaying for your vodka on the
rocks.
But have as much check mix asyou want, We'll even refill the
bowl.
Keli Alo (10:11):
How you develop your
bullshit sniffer as a consumer.
Mark Robinson (10:15):
So it's
inescapable, Kelly, that we're
getting more and more cash payin the healthcare system at the
hospital level.
Keli Alo (10:22):
So the way you're
answering it, are hospitals more
friendly to the cash pay modelor are they more adversarial in
nature?
Seems to be some examples wherethese hospitals are embracing
it and saying let's make it evenbetter, let's bundle things,
let's do that.
Let's expand the number ofservices that one can pay with
cash.
How would you characterize that?
(10:42):
Is that a growing trend inhospital land or is the trend
still entrenched?
Protect the business the wayit's always been done.
Mark Robinson (10:51):
You know, kelly,
in anything, whether it is
chemistry, or in politicalmovements, social movements, you
always have the reactionary andyou have the catalyst.
So there are those hospitalsthat are acting as a catalyst,
the radical, so it would becalled that are pushing this
because it's going thereInescapably, it's going toward a
cash pay model.
And then you have those thatwant to fight it.
(11:12):
Why?
Because the way their model isstructured this is inimical.
It's threatening to theirbusiness model to have a cash
pay.
So then you have hospitals thatare saying you know what, we
can get folks into our system ifwe have kind of a loss lead.
So some hospitals and I'mthinking of one example in
particular in Florida with alarge system, advent, they were
(11:35):
very, very competitive in thecash pay market for MRIs.
They get you in for the MRIdirt cheap.
You get into their system usingtheir doctors.
When you have to have thearthroscopy, you're using their
hospital.
You need the full kneereplacement, you're using their
hospital, which at that pointthey may even have a cash pay
model for.
Keli Alo (12:07):
How you develop your
bullshit sniffer as a consumer,
we all know what doing what'sright is about.
Mark Robinson (12:17):
I don't need to
use terms like suitability or
the one I'm going to use rightnow Fiduciary we love that term.
Our industry does Well.
You know, I'm operating as afiduciary, which means I am
compelled.
Nobody says I want to, but I amcompelled to operate and make
all of my judgments anddecisions and transactions
solely in the better interest ofyou.
(12:39):
My client See, it says so righthere in the contract.
Keli Alo (12:43):
That is the correct
answer.
It isn't an interesting thatfiduciary is now part of sales
and marketing pitches from folksin the business.
If you're not working with afiduciary advisor, you should be
.
I'm a fiduciary advisor, and ifyou're not working with one,
maybe you give us a call.
I mean on and on and on.
It's now a marketing term morethan it is a technical term when
(13:06):
it comes to legalresponsibility to your clientele
.
Mark Robinson (13:09):
Yeah, I think
it's watering down the higher
order, the higher calling ofpeople that get into the
industry, that really want tohelp people, because that's a
character issue.
Yeah, it is.
Keli Alo (13:20):
It's story time as a
reminder and I know we went
through this but Bernie Madoffhe owned a registered investment
advisor.
He was an investment advisorrepresentative and yet we all
know the story of Bernie Madoffembezzled billions from his
clientele, so he was a fiduciary.
So if you think about that, doall fiduciaries immediately have
(13:43):
our trust?
I don't think so.
Just because you're a fiduciarydoesn't mean you're beyond
reproach.
Mark Robinson (13:52):
Correct, there is
a higher oversight and the bar
is set quite high as opposed tosuitability, but that doesn't
mean you're really working witha fiduciary, because I believe
part of being a professional isa couple of components here.
You have an esoteric body ofknowledge.
You have also a calling.
(14:13):
You have also a calling and youoperate at a level of
professionalism that inherent inthat calling is I put my
clients first, and I don't haveto wave a banner telling you
that's what I do.
When I hear trust me, I'm afiduciary, I scream jump, run
the other way.
You do that a lot, though.
I mean even when I say boo whenyou come out of the bathroom.
(14:36):
You soon as this podcast isover.
Mark Robinson has left the room.
Keli Alo (14:39):
Thanks so much again
for listening and including
Bullshit on Stilts as a recentpodcast in your library.
We're having a blast learninghow to speak and speaking to
mics, responding to comments andediting recordings and keeping
up with all the good freakingideas for future discussions.
So thank you to all of ourcontributing creators out there.
(15:03):
Big thanks to pixabay.
com, bensound.
com and uppbeat.
io for sound effects and music.
We suck so much less afterusing these fantastic websites
and benefiting from all theircontent creators.
Thanks so much, and we'll becoming at you every week going
(15:27):
forward as well.
Man, thanks a lot for tuning in.
Bye-bye.