June 11, 2025 • 12 mins
In this conversation, Damon shares valuable insights from his experience as a former financial advisor, emphasizing the importance of distinguishing between true investments and mere wants. Together they discuss practical strategies for financial planning, including the significance of employer matching in retirement accounts and the long-term nature of investments. The conversation encourages listeners to be mindful of their spending habits and to label their purchases accurately, fostering a better understanding of financial freedom and wealth building
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:01):
back for another week, Sally.
Hi, It's good to see you again.
Good to see you.
Today we're going to be sharing some no fluff advice from a former financial advisor,including a saying that might just change the way you spend your money.
Former financial Yeah, let's talk about that.
Former financial advisor.
I'm going to start off with a story.
had a friend of mine that went to school with, and he had a black belt, and he's like, I'mgoing to take this class.
(00:26):
And he went down and he had his belt.
And they're like, yeah, we don't recognize that.
You need to put a white belt on." He was like, no problem.
And he did.
And he came back and he told me the story and I'm like, man, weren't you mad orfrustrated?
He goes, why?
I didn't forget what I knew.
I'm still a black belt in my head.
And I'm like, yeah, that's really smart.
And uh I kind of use that today is that yes, I am no longer practicing as a financialadvisor or an asset management specialist, but I haven't forgotten everything that I know.
(00:56):
So I like to use it.
uh
People ask me questions or especially with our children.
like to share a little bit of advice.
Sometimes they get more advice than they want, but we've told them to learn to filter itas they need it.
Sure.
I can even say, know, we own the gym and we have dealt with a lot of young people in ourlives.
(01:16):
And a lot of times, you know, when it comes to finding a financial advisor, it's a matterof who do I trust?
That's key.
And it's happened before where...
People have said, you know, I went and met this guy and he told me he thinks I shouldinvest in this, that and the other.
you know, a lot of times Damon would just sit down with him and say, you know, here's whatprobably where he's going with that.
(01:41):
Here's probably this particular investment puts a lot of money in his pocket.
This one is playing the long game for you.
And so just like, it's like a doctor's second opinion.
That's, that's all it was.
Thank you.
But it was just simply, you know, I would tell them, hey, I've got no vested interest inthis other than you.
(02:01):
so if you want to come and tell me and share with me, I will give you my opinion.
I won't tell you what you should or shouldn't do, but I will tell you the pros and cons ofeverything that you're being told.
And then you can decide what you want to do, but at least you will have all theinformation that you need.
And a lot of times it was compensation.
How was the financial advisor going to be paid or how was he going to make money?
(02:24):
And
Once they understood that, they were like, okay, well then I think this is better for me.
Sure.
And we're not saying your financial advisor shouldn't make money.
Definitely.
He provides her or she provides the service.
Yeah.
And they are feeding their family.
Yeah.
But are they taking big, big chunks?
No, I'll pay somebody, but I don't want to put their kids through college.
Absolutely.
(02:46):
Absolutely.
Okay.
Well, that's kind of not where we were going.
Where we really were going with this episode is talking about...
What really is an investment?
Are you making true investments?
Are you buying fancy things and slapping that label on it and calling it an investment?
Why are you laughing?
Because I have a saying.
(03:07):
Tell us your saying.
you know what's funny is I hear these and I think I bet our children could quote a lot ofthem because he's been saying them for a long time.
That investments don't cost you money.
make you money.
So the question you have to ask yourself is, is it an investment or is it simply a want?
(03:30):
You can even put on, you could justify a need, but I will give you an example.
Sally used to love these Dooney and Burt purses, loved them.
Oh, we're going way back.
Yeah.
And you know, they weren't cheap.
And I remember one day we had a garage sale and
out on that table and there was Dooney and Burt purses and somebody came by and theybought them.
(03:52):
And I know they didn't pay what I paid or she paid for them.
So I'm like, hmm, was that an investment or was that a want?
And I'm like, yeah, they didn't make us any money.
very, so ladies, your Dyson Airwrap is not an investment, right?
It's no judgment if you're buying it and using it, but why does it matter?
(04:14):
Why do our words matter?
relabel things that are just fancy wants, investments.
Because in my opinion, it's not getting you closer to your goal of financial freedom.
And that term can be defined however you want.
(04:35):
And our family is defined by having money to make choices to do the things that we want todo when we want to do them.
So, you know.
You have to decide, okay, is this going to help me get to my goal of what I want to do orwhat I've ever defined or is it not?
(04:56):
So, uh, can you think, I guess I'm thinking of work trips.
Have you ever been on a work trip and you're taking a work trip in the name of it's a workexpense.
It's a, it's an investment.
I'm going to gain something from it, but.
does that gain transition itself into what?
(05:21):
Dollars in your pocket.
Yeah.
So maybe a networking event.
That's really just a vacation.
Home improvements that don't add value.
We put one in.
I was going to say, I think the one that most people would agree that um investment thatdoesn't add value is the good old swimming pool.
(05:41):
That was painful.
Yeah.
That doesn't always pay off.
That's probably the worst, one of the worst things that we ever did.
It may be.
It may be.
I've worked in real estate briefly and yeah, probably not going to get your money back onGreat idea.
It's a fabulous idea.
And did we use it and did we love it?
I didn't love paying for it.
(06:02):
That's I guess what I didn't understand was the ownership part of it is how much was itgoing to cost me to keep it up year round?
That's the part that I didn't love and wasn't fun.
So.
What about self care?
Self care that we call investments.
I think you, you defined it.
I think it's self care.
Now, if you want to take some of your money and say, I'm going to use this for my selfcare for whatever it is, I'm all for it, but don't label it what it isn't.
(06:33):
Yeah, I did think, um, I hear people say, I, I invested in myself.
Right.
And it is putting some money into your self care, into your well-being.
I mean, as a life coach, I feel like it's very common for people to say, I'm investing inmyself by coming to see you.
(06:56):
Maybe that's a different meaning of the word investment.
So, you know, when you say investments make you money.
Can we guarantee that whatever we're putting our money is always going to make us money?
We've lost some money.
Sure, sure.
So the market, there's no guarantee.
em So what I would say is if you put money into the market versus putting it into apurchase of something, are you more likely to get your money back in five or 10 years from
(07:32):
the market?
or from that item that you purchased.
And I just, don't, I don't see that you get the value back.
Sure, sure.
And you know, even, even us saying that, I think shows we are happily invested in thestock market.
(07:53):
We have done real estate, found out that that just didn't suit our personalities.
Yet we know people who invest in real estate and love it.
um
There's no one way to make money.
So again, it goes back to what we've said in the past episodes, as far as like debt, youhave to find a way that works for you and your family.
(08:15):
And there's no right or wrong way or one perfect way.
It's just what are you willing to do or what can you do where you feel comfortable andyou're moving towards your goals.
Sure.
So again, let's talk about the why the clarity of
Calling things what they are.
Like I if it's, want this, I want it, I'm buying it.
(08:38):
I need this, I'm buying it.
Calling it investment when it's not, I don't think it's gonna put you on the path to yourgoals.
Again, label it for what it is, accept it.
And if you're willing to spend that money to get what you want, then by all means, do it.
(08:58):
Okay.
And then let's talk a little bit about as...
I guess I always think of investing.
what would you say, give me two things you would love to see people, especially if they'reyoung or new to investing.
So I would always ask people uh nowadays, you my dad used to say, you got to find a jobwith a retirement.
(09:23):
In teachers in Texas, we have uh the teacher retirement service and system that we use,but not everybody has that, but they have 401ks.
So the first thing I would always ask people is, you have a 401k?
And if so, does the company offer you a match?
And sometimes they knew, sometimes they didn't, but I would tell them, well, let's usethis as an example.
(09:45):
Let's say that the company will match you dollar for dollar, the first 5 % that you putin.
I would tell them that's 100 % return.
Is that you put in five bucks, they put in five bucks, you got 10 bucks.
You're not going to find a hundred percent return?
Anywhere.
Anywhere.
And, um, it is free money.
Now there's always caveats.
So when can you pull that money out?
(10:07):
And there's, there's rules for that 59 and a half and we don't have time to go into all ofthat.
But the bottom line is, is that if you're not taking advantage of the match, then you're,you're, you're giving away free money.
And then the second thing I would ask them is this after you've done, so all of that isdone pre-tax.
(10:27):
So if you make.
$5,400 a month and they are going to match you up to 5%.
Then you put in 5 % and then that takes your $5,400 down.
So your adjustable gross income and what you're taxed on is less.
So that's one thing.
So it's pre-tax money.
(10:50):
Then the second thing I would ask them is it's after you have paid everything off and doyou have any disposable income?
at the end of the month.
And if the answer is yes, I will tell them you've already paid tax on that money.
Have you ever considered funding yourself a Roth IRA?
And what we would tell them is it's kind of like your IRA.
(11:10):
put the money in, but you've already paid the tax on it.
And that money is going to grow tax-free for you for as long as you keep it in thataccount.
And then there are some rules as far as when you can pull the money out and uh
I would tell everybody, look, if you put in $50,000 and it grew to $70,000, you have theability to pull $50,000 out without paying a penalty simply because that's the money you
(11:39):
put in.
But as soon as you start pulling out any money that that money made, then the governmenthas a problem with that unless you're 59 and a half.
So they would not only tax you, but they would charge you a penalty for pulling that out.
So in both situations.
That's a long game.
That's a long game.
You're putting that money away with the intention.
(12:01):
You're thinking that's retirement money.
This is not a savings plan.
This is not a backup.
This is a long game investment.
I like that.
You like long game.
Yeah.
But the crazy thing is that long game that we were putting into, I'm a year away.
(12:21):
We're almost there.
That's harsh.
But grateful for.
every opportunity we took to save that money now.
So ladies, you're in the, if you're, and I assume again, we're making assumptions that theladies are the spenders, husbands are the saver.
That's probably not always the case, but sitting this close to the end, so grateful forthe sacrifices that were made 20, 30 years ago, really.
(12:51):
Yeah.
It's a long time.
Yeah.
It's all coming through.
Okay.
Um, this week, try if nothing else, watching what you call investment, even needs andwants, um, tell me if you notice anything, if you'd like today's conversation, share it
with a friend who might be calling their target run an investment in self care.
(13:14):
And, uh, if there is something you think, boy, I'd love to see what Sally Damon thinkabout this.
Let us know, slide it in the comments over on YouTube or find us over on social media andwe'll be happy to talk about those.
like it.
Anytime people saving money, like that.
Making money is even better.
Well, if you make it, more likely to save it.
(13:38):
To have it to save it.
And then guess what you get to do with it?
You get to spend it.
I was going to say pay taxes.
That too.
Bye.
Next time.
back for another week, Sally.
Hi, It's good to see you again.
Good to see you.
Today we're going to be sharing some no fluff advice from a former financial advisor,including a saying that might just change the way you spend your money.
Former financial Yeah, let's talk about that.
Former financial advisor.
I'm going to start off with a story.
had a friend of mine that went to school with, and he had a black belt, and he's like, I'mgoing to take this class.
(00:26):
And he went down and he had his belt.
And they're like, yeah, we don't recognize that.
You need to put a white belt on." He was like, no problem.
And he did.
And he came back and he told me the story and I'm like, man, weren't you mad orfrustrated?
He goes, why?
I didn't forget what I knew.
I'm still a black belt in my head.
And I'm like, yeah, that's really smart.
And uh I kind of use that today is that yes, I am no longer practicing as a financialadvisor or an asset management specialist, but I haven't forgotten everything that I know.
(00:56):
So I like to use it.
uh
People ask me questions or especially with our children.
like to share a little bit of advice.
Sometimes they get more advice than they want, but we've told them to learn to filter itas they need it.
Sure.
I can even say, know, we own the gym and we have dealt with a lot of young people in ourlives.
(01:16):
And a lot of times, you know, when it comes to finding a financial advisor, it's a matterof who do I trust?
That's key.
And it's happened before where...
People have said, you know, I went and met this guy and he told me he thinks I shouldinvest in this, that and the other.
you know, a lot of times Damon would just sit down with him and say, you know, here's whatprobably where he's going with that.
(01:41):
Here's probably this particular investment puts a lot of money in his pocket.
This one is playing the long game for you.
And so just like, it's like a doctor's second opinion.
That's, that's all it was.
Thank you.
But it was just simply, you know, I would tell them, hey, I've got no vested interest inthis other than you.
(02:01):
so if you want to come and tell me and share with me, I will give you my opinion.
I won't tell you what you should or shouldn't do, but I will tell you the pros and cons ofeverything that you're being told.
And then you can decide what you want to do, but at least you will have all theinformation that you need.
And a lot of times it was compensation.
How was the financial advisor going to be paid or how was he going to make money?
(02:24):
And
Once they understood that, they were like, okay, well then I think this is better for me.
Sure.
And we're not saying your financial advisor shouldn't make money.
Definitely.
He provides her or she provides the service.
Yeah.
And they are feeding their family.
Yeah.
But are they taking big, big chunks?
No, I'll pay somebody, but I don't want to put their kids through college.
Absolutely.
(02:46):
Absolutely.
Okay.
Well, that's kind of not where we were going.
Where we really were going with this episode is talking about...
What really is an investment?
Are you making true investments?
Are you buying fancy things and slapping that label on it and calling it an investment?
Why are you laughing?
Because I have a saying.
(03:07):
Tell us your saying.
you know what's funny is I hear these and I think I bet our children could quote a lot ofthem because he's been saying them for a long time.
That investments don't cost you money.
make you money.
So the question you have to ask yourself is, is it an investment or is it simply a want?
(03:30):
You can even put on, you could justify a need, but I will give you an example.
Sally used to love these Dooney and Burt purses, loved them.
Oh, we're going way back.
Yeah.
And you know, they weren't cheap.
And I remember one day we had a garage sale and
out on that table and there was Dooney and Burt purses and somebody came by and theybought them.
(03:52):
And I know they didn't pay what I paid or she paid for them.
So I'm like, hmm, was that an investment or was that a want?
And I'm like, yeah, they didn't make us any money.
very, so ladies, your Dyson Airwrap is not an investment, right?
It's no judgment if you're buying it and using it, but why does it matter?
(04:14):
Why do our words matter?
relabel things that are just fancy wants, investments.
Because in my opinion, it's not getting you closer to your goal of financial freedom.
And that term can be defined however you want.
(04:35):
And our family is defined by having money to make choices to do the things that we want todo when we want to do them.
So, you know.
You have to decide, okay, is this going to help me get to my goal of what I want to do orwhat I've ever defined or is it not?
(04:56):
So, uh, can you think, I guess I'm thinking of work trips.
Have you ever been on a work trip and you're taking a work trip in the name of it's a workexpense.
It's a, it's an investment.
I'm going to gain something from it, but.
does that gain transition itself into what?
(05:21):
Dollars in your pocket.
Yeah.
So maybe a networking event.
That's really just a vacation.
Home improvements that don't add value.
We put one in.
I was going to say, I think the one that most people would agree that um investment thatdoesn't add value is the good old swimming pool.
(05:41):
That was painful.
Yeah.
That doesn't always pay off.
That's probably the worst, one of the worst things that we ever did.
It may be.
It may be.
I've worked in real estate briefly and yeah, probably not going to get your money back onGreat idea.
It's a fabulous idea.
And did we use it and did we love it?
I didn't love paying for it.
(06:02):
That's I guess what I didn't understand was the ownership part of it is how much was itgoing to cost me to keep it up year round?
That's the part that I didn't love and wasn't fun.
So.
What about self care?
Self care that we call investments.
I think you, you defined it.
I think it's self care.
Now, if you want to take some of your money and say, I'm going to use this for my selfcare for whatever it is, I'm all for it, but don't label it what it isn't.
(06:33):
Yeah, I did think, um, I hear people say, I, I invested in myself.
Right.
And it is putting some money into your self care, into your well-being.
I mean, as a life coach, I feel like it's very common for people to say, I'm investing inmyself by coming to see you.
(06:56):
Maybe that's a different meaning of the word investment.
So, you know, when you say investments make you money.
Can we guarantee that whatever we're putting our money is always going to make us money?
We've lost some money.
Sure, sure.
So the market, there's no guarantee.
em So what I would say is if you put money into the market versus putting it into apurchase of something, are you more likely to get your money back in five or 10 years from
(07:32):
the market?
or from that item that you purchased.
And I just, don't, I don't see that you get the value back.
Sure, sure.
And you know, even, even us saying that, I think shows we are happily invested in thestock market.
(07:53):
We have done real estate, found out that that just didn't suit our personalities.
Yet we know people who invest in real estate and love it.
um
There's no one way to make money.
So again, it goes back to what we've said in the past episodes, as far as like debt, youhave to find a way that works for you and your family.
(08:15):
And there's no right or wrong way or one perfect way.
It's just what are you willing to do or what can you do where you feel comfortable andyou're moving towards your goals.
Sure.
So again, let's talk about the why the clarity of
Calling things what they are.
Like I if it's, want this, I want it, I'm buying it.
(08:38):
I need this, I'm buying it.
Calling it investment when it's not, I don't think it's gonna put you on the path to yourgoals.
Again, label it for what it is, accept it.
And if you're willing to spend that money to get what you want, then by all means, do it.
(08:58):
Okay.
And then let's talk a little bit about as...
I guess I always think of investing.
what would you say, give me two things you would love to see people, especially if they'reyoung or new to investing.
So I would always ask people uh nowadays, you my dad used to say, you got to find a jobwith a retirement.
(09:23):
In teachers in Texas, we have uh the teacher retirement service and system that we use,but not everybody has that, but they have 401ks.
So the first thing I would always ask people is, you have a 401k?
And if so, does the company offer you a match?
And sometimes they knew, sometimes they didn't, but I would tell them, well, let's usethis as an example.
(09:45):
Let's say that the company will match you dollar for dollar, the first 5 % that you putin.
I would tell them that's 100 % return.
Is that you put in five bucks, they put in five bucks, you got 10 bucks.
You're not going to find a hundred percent return?
Anywhere.
Anywhere.
And, um, it is free money.
Now there's always caveats.
So when can you pull that money out?
(10:07):
And there's, there's rules for that 59 and a half and we don't have time to go into all ofthat.
But the bottom line is, is that if you're not taking advantage of the match, then you're,you're, you're giving away free money.
And then the second thing I would ask them is this after you've done, so all of that isdone pre-tax.
(10:27):
So if you make.
$5,400 a month and they are going to match you up to 5%.
Then you put in 5 % and then that takes your $5,400 down.
So your adjustable gross income and what you're taxed on is less.
So that's one thing.
So it's pre-tax money.
(10:50):
Then the second thing I would ask them is it's after you have paid everything off and doyou have any disposable income?
at the end of the month.
And if the answer is yes, I will tell them you've already paid tax on that money.
Have you ever considered funding yourself a Roth IRA?
And what we would tell them is it's kind of like your IRA.
(11:10):
put the money in, but you've already paid the tax on it.
And that money is going to grow tax-free for you for as long as you keep it in thataccount.
And then there are some rules as far as when you can pull the money out and uh
I would tell everybody, look, if you put in $50,000 and it grew to $70,000, you have theability to pull $50,000 out without paying a penalty simply because that's the money you
(11:39):
put in.
But as soon as you start pulling out any money that that money made, then the governmenthas a problem with that unless you're 59 and a half.
So they would not only tax you, but they would charge you a penalty for pulling that out.
So in both situations.
That's a long game.
That's a long game.
You're putting that money away with the intention.
(12:01):
You're thinking that's retirement money.
This is not a savings plan.
This is not a backup.
This is a long game investment.
I like that.
You like long game.
Yeah.
But the crazy thing is that long game that we were putting into, I'm a year away.
(12:21):
We're almost there.
That's harsh.
But grateful for.
every opportunity we took to save that money now.
So ladies, you're in the, if you're, and I assume again, we're making assumptions that theladies are the spenders, husbands are the saver.
That's probably not always the case, but sitting this close to the end, so grateful forthe sacrifices that were made 20, 30 years ago, really.
(12:51):
Yeah.
It's a long time.
Yeah.
It's all coming through.
Okay.
Um, this week, try if nothing else, watching what you call investment, even needs andwants, um, tell me if you notice anything, if you'd like today's conversation, share it
with a friend who might be calling their target run an investment in self care.
(13:14):
And, uh, if there is something you think, boy, I'd love to see what Sally Damon thinkabout this.
Let us know, slide it in the comments over on YouTube or find us over on social media andwe'll be happy to talk about those.
like it.
Anytime people saving money, like that.
Making money is even better.
Well, if you make it, more likely to save it.
(13:38):
To have it to save it.
And then guess what you get to do with it?
You get to spend it.
I was going to say pay taxes.
That too.
Bye.
Next time.
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