April 11, 2025 • 22 mins
On this episode of The Get Ready Money Podcast, I spoke with Robin Growley, Managing Director, Head of Consumer Deposits at Bank of America about changing the way we think about money and savings.
Key take-aways:
- What is America Saves Week.
- Pay yourself first and automate your savings.
- Why you should break down big goals into smaller goals.
- Align your finances to your values & your goals.
- Be intentional with your spending - understand the different between needs and wants.
- How to balance savings, paying off debt and expenses.
Connect with Robin Growley:
- LinkedIn (here)
Resources mentioned:
America Saves Week (here)
Better Money Habits (here)
Bio:
Robin Growley is responsible for the strategic direction and growth of our everyday banking, savings, and payments solutions for 42MM consumer clients. In this role, she leads the company’s efforts to provide a full range of consumer deposit products and payments, including checking, savings, CDs, IRAs, Debit Card, Wires, and ACH. Robin is responsible for a $775B deposit portfolio, which has achieved a #1 position for retail estimated deposit market share and U.S. Debit Card Issuer.
Robin holds a master’s degree in business administration from Winthrop University and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of South Carolina. She is active in enterprise-wide efforts to support women and Hispanic Latino teammates. She serves on the Deposits and Payments Committee for the Consumer Bankers Association and recently served as a mentor for the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women, which supports female entrepreneurs in low- to middle-income countries.
The Get Ready Money Podcast and its guests do not provide investment advice. All content is for educational purposes. Guest opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Get Ready Money Podcast and Tony Steuer.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Are you looking to get ready, be prepared and
transform your financial future?
Then you've come to the rightplace.
This is the Get Ready MoneyPodcast with Tony Stewart, where
Tony has insightfulconversations with financial
experts who are changing the waywe think about money.
Catch up on the latestfinancial trends and hear
(00:27):
practical advice from Tony andhis expert guests so you can
build healthy habits that work,Be empowered with tips for
implementing small changes thatcan have a big impact on your
financial future.
So sit back and get ready tohear from today's guest.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
Welcome to the Get Ready Money podcast changing the
way we think about money.
I'm pleased to be joined todayby Robin Gratley.
Robin is Managing Director,head of Consumer Deposits at
Bank of America.
In this episode, we'll bediscussing Robin's insights on
how we change the way we thinkabout money and our savings.
Robin, welcome to the Get ReadyMoney podcast.
(01:09):
Thanks for joining us today.
Speaker 3 (01:11):
Oh, thank you so much for having me.
I'm excited to be here.
Yeah me as well, and so you knowto get started.
You know, tell us a little bitabout yourself.
What is your origin story?
Yeah, so I grew up in a smalltown where we had one bank and I
remember my mom and I going toour local bank and opening my
(01:32):
first checking account andsavings account, and I would say
that's really what piqued mycuriosity in banking years and
years ago.
And then, in 2007, I joinedBank of America and I've been
here what's 18 years now,believe it or not, but through
that time I've had a variety ofleadership roles and now I'm
responsible for really leadingour strategic direction for
(01:55):
everyday banking savings in ourpayment solution.
Important role in terms ofensuring that we are helping our
clients.
They have needs, not only today, but evolving financial needs,
and over our 42 million consumerclients, we want to make sure
that we're there to support themin each step of their financial
journey.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
Well, fantastic, and it's nice that there's this more
holistic view.
But, as you were thinking aboutthat, I remember setting up my
very first checking account whenI was a teenager with Bank of
America.
Speaker 3 (02:27):
Oh great, I love that .
Speaker 2 (02:31):
Yeah, it was a few years ago, but I do remember,
you know, because you would gophysically into the bank and you
know that experience, I think,has changed quite a bit but you
know, it's still a great memory,I think, for everybody.
Speaker 3 (02:48):
That's right.
Yeah, I mean, it's verymemorable and so many of our
clients come in as students,youth, young adult when they're
opening their first account,whether it's because they had
the summer job or they havebirthday money, and they really
stay with us long term, which isexactly what we want to see,
and that's why I think you know,in my role, it's so important
as you see, you know thedifferent steps in someone's
(03:09):
financial journey ensuring thatwe're there to support them each
step of the way.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
Definitely, definitely.
Well, you know, let's jump intothe topic.
You know, america Saves Week.
What is America?
Saves Week Week what is America?
Speaker 3 (03:24):
Saves Week.
Yeah, so America Saves Week issponsored by a non-profit,
america Saves, and that's reallyfocused on encouraging
Americans to save money, reducedebt and, overall, develop
healthy financial habitsthroughout the year, including
America Saves Week.
So this year's theme forAmerica Saves Week is saving for
your past, present and yourfuture.
(03:45):
So you know, as we think aboutsavings, it's not just today and
it's not just this week, but itreally is 365 days a year that
we need to keep it on our radarand we need to plan and make
sure that we do have savingsgoals.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
Well, that's fantastic, you know.
So let's go a little bit deeperon the goals.
Why is it important for peopleto set savings goals and why is
it important for those goals tobe realistic?
Speaker 3 (04:11):
Yeah.
So setting savings goals reallygives you an idea of, like,
where do you want to take yourfinancial journey right, that
you can be prepared for youroverall financial journey.
And what we find is that, youknow, as we have conversations
with our clients, they really dowant to do the right thing,
they want to save.
But sometimes we know that thehardest part is really just
(04:32):
getting started right, andsometimes savings can seem
overwhelming.
It's like I don't know where tostart.
I have this big number in myhead that I think I need to save
and I don't know actually howto do that.
And that's where we talk a lotabout being able to take those
larger savings goals andbreaking them down into what I'm
going to call your shorter termgoals.
They're more achievable, right?
(04:53):
So if you want to save, let'sjust say, $1,000 in six months,
well, maybe that seems dauntingto you.
How do you get started?
Well, I always like torecommend maybe take, you know,
$10 a week and put away.
That gives you kind of atimeline and really helps make
your goals realistic.
And so, ultimately, as youstart putting away that $10 a
(05:14):
week, you know, think about it.
$10, that's really the cost ofcall it one, maybe two lattes
this time, right, I mean.
So at the end of the day, itreally is usually achievable to
start with that smaller amount,putting that away, and then, if
you're doing it on a recurringbasis which we would love for
you to do, like that's going tobuild that overall savings habit
which really helps support youfor a successful financial
(05:37):
future.
Speaker 2 (05:39):
Fantastic.
Well, you know, let's talkabout the accounts, because I
know with my son you know he's ayoung adult we opened up both a
checking and a savings account.
Is that something you recommendfor people to do?
To have the separate checkingaccount, maybe to cover expenses
, and the savings account?
Speaker 3 (05:56):
to meet the goals.
Absolutely, I love that you allhave already taken that step,
because that is one thing wherewe see our customers usually
dipping into their savings.
Again, everyone has the bestintentions, but sometimes we do
see our customers who have, youknow, their savings within their
checking and when they go tomake their purchases they'll use
what they have you know they'vesaved up and they don't even
(06:16):
realize they're doing it.
So, by you know, virtue of thefact that you all already have
that separate savings accountset up that's going to help
protect the funds that you'resaving, and already had that
separate savings account set up,that's going to help protect
the funds that you're saving.
And then it also gives you theability to watch those funds
grow.
And I think when we all seethat we're making progress,
progress creates motivationright to kind of stick with that
habit.
So I love that.
(06:37):
And then the other thing youknow, when you have that
separate savings account, itgives you the opportunity to
name the savings account.
So, if you know, your son has aspecific goal.
I mean, I have little boys,identical twins, that are 10
years old, and they are alwayssaving for something right.
It's been baseball bats andbaseball gear recently, and so
you know they can take and nametheir savings account.
(06:57):
You know baseball gear and soevery time they look at that
savings account they see thefunds in it before they take
money out.
They're able to kind of pause asecond and say wait a minute,
I'm supposed to be using thisfor my baseball goal, right?
So that's just another tip thatI think it's an easy one, but
it also just helps us pause andthink a minute about what's the
purpose of those funds in thesavings account.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
Yeah, well, and I think that's something that is
so important is that we don't dowith our money is to take a
pause.
You know some people call itmindful spending.
You know I've heard so manydifferent terms for it, but it's
really like you say is taking abeat and going.
Ok, what do I do?
(07:40):
And I think there's a littlebit of friction.
What do I do and I thinkthere's a little bit of friction
that's something I've heardfrom a lot of my guests is that
there's friction between some ofus who are old enough to
remember I go back before ATMsthat you had to go into the bank
if you want to get money on aFriday for the weekend, and you
know that friction is not there.
Speaker 3 (08:09):
But that's a great way to create a little bit of
friction where you have totransfer money between the
accounts and you have to make aconscious decision.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
That's right.
Yeah, it's being present withyour money.
That's how I like to thinkabout it.
That's fantastic.
So you know, one of the thingsthat you know is difficult for
people to do is, you know, tohave.
You know, we're telling them tosave money for the future.
We're telling them to create anemergency fund, we're telling
them they need the payoff debtand, of course, they have their
daily expenses.
What do you feel is the bestway for people to balance paying
(08:39):
down debt with saving money?
Speaker 3 (08:43):
Yeah, you know that's a really great question and we
get it a lot because sometimesyou know it feels like you have
to do30-20 rule.
So 50% of your income reallyneeds to go to the necessities.
(09:11):
So these are things like yourrent or your mortgage, your
utilities, if you have any typeof debt payment, whether that's
a credit card, an auto loan,student loan, that those are all
things that must be paid right,and so you want to set aside
50% of your income for that.
The second category is what Iconsider your wants, and that's
(09:31):
where I think about, you know,what we spend on things that
make our life comfortable,things that we enjoy right, that
might be the latte that Imentioned earlier, it might be,
you know, the trip that you wantto take with your family, but
those are really, you know, theagain, the wants, not the needs.
It's the wants, things thatmake us happy and make us
comfortable.
And then you have 20%.
(09:52):
That was for savings, and sowhen you think about that
50-30-20, you've covered bothyour savings right, the 20%,
you've covered the debt payment.
That's within that 50%, andyou've also left a little bit
kind of in the middle that 30%to cover things that you want to
make your life enjoyable.
Now I think what's important torealize is that you know our
(10:13):
life changes all of the time andthat sometimes that 50, 30, 20
needs to be adjusted toaccommodate whatever may have
happened.
Maybe you've had an unexpectedexpense and you've had to use
some of your savings to coverthat, and that's okay.
That's, you know, having anemergency fund.
That's the purpose of theemergency fund.
But you may want to go aheadand be able to replenish that
(10:35):
emergency fund, so you may wantto put a little bit more towards
the emergency fund, which meansyou take away from your wants,
right?
Maybe you're going to spend alittle bit less, you're going to
go out fewer times to eat thismonth and you're going to use
that to rebuild your savings.
So again, it's a really goodrule of thumb and that helps you
kind of go back and look andmake sure that, directionally,
that you are being able to coverthe needs, the wants and
(10:58):
savings.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
Fantastic.
I think that's wonderful adviceand, for people who are
following my program with theGet Ready Movement, that's the
recommendation that I have, soyou can follow that and find a
worksheet on my website to gothrough that.
So you know, as part of that is, do you recommend that people
change their flow?
(11:21):
As you know, a lot of peoplesave at the end of the month
with whatever they have leftover.
Do you recommend that peopleautomate their savings and do
the savings first?
Speaker 3 (11:34):
Yeah, I'm a big fan of you know, pay yourself first
right, and a lot of.
You're absolutely right.
There's so many great automatedsavings tools now.
The first can be as simple asstarting with your paycheck
right.
I mean, you're able to allocateyour paycheck to go into
different accounts and if youhave that separate savings
account, it's easy to allocate aportion of that, just to you
(11:55):
know, before it even goes intoyour checking account.
It doesn't have to happen, itcan just go directly into your
savings account.
Also, there's a tool at Bank ofAmerica which is, you know, one
of my favorites.
It's called our Keep the Changetool and so anytime that you use
your debit card linked to yourchecking account, we will take
and round up that debit cardpurchase to the nearest dollar
(12:16):
and then transfer the changefrom your checking account to
your savings account.
So I always think about that asreally it's a set it and forget
it, because you're taking thatextra change and that's helping
you build your savings over time.
You're not having to go in putsomething else on your to-do
list to remember, and those arethe types of tools that, when
you can pay yourself first andyou ultimately start seeing your
(12:38):
savings grow, it all is allabout the again, the momentum
that you build, the motivationand then that habit right, and
we all get excited when we seewe make progress.
So, yes, I'm very much abeliever in pay yourself first.
But you can always do thatsanity check if you're paying
yourself first and then by thetime you get to the end of the
month you're like, oh, I don'thave enough to, you know, pay my
(12:59):
necessities.
Well, you're going to want tolike revisit that right, but
that 50-30-20 rule is always agood foundation to go back to.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
Yeah, fantastic and I love that.
And I think you said somethingthat's very important that I
hope people pick up is that it'sa habit and that once you start
doing this, is that it's easierto do the second time.
And also, what you talk aboutis that once people start seeing
success at the end of the yearwith rounding up the change I've
(13:29):
heard that you know that canaverage $600, $700 for a lot of
average Americans you knowthat's a pretty good chunk of
change that you have extra to gotowards savings so that these
little things do add up.
So that's fantastic advice.
So, you know, as part ofAmerica Saves Week, it's
(13:49):
important to teach our kids toalso save.
So why do you feel that weshould teach our kids about
money?
You know you talked aboutworking with your two kids.
Why should we teach our kids tosave?
Speaker 3 (14:04):
Yeah, that's a really great question and it's
something that I'm passionateabout as a mother and I really
believe that when you starttalking to children about money
early, right, I mean, it reallydoes create that lifelong
financial success for them.
They're aware of what it is.
They're a little bit more intune when they see you spending,
because if you're not havingthose conversations with them
(14:24):
and you're just, you know,paying for something that
they've asked for, well, theydon't understand where the money
comes from, right, they don'tunderstand how much things cost.
And I'm a big believer that youknow, if you can share your
knowledge with your child asearly as possible, then you know
, then they're going to be setfor success over the course of
their financial journey.
And you know, the otherquestion I get a lot when we
(14:45):
talk about children is well, howearly is too early to talk
about it?
Or when should I start?
And I always think about, youknow, as soon as your child
really learns the basics of math, like that's a really simple
way to kind of get them engaged.
And that as time goes on, likeas you're paying for the bill or
you're, you know you're as afamily, you have game night,
(15:18):
introducing something like amonopoly right.
It can be simple and fun.
Those are great opportunitiesto not only talk to the children
but kind of start to identifythose teachable moments.
So when you start talking aboutit, right, they're listening,
you've got their attention.
But then, as they get a littlebit older, really engaging them,
helping them learn, you know,to save for the baseball bat,
the cleats, the, whatever it maybe, those become the teachable
(15:39):
moments that really stick withthem the rest of their life.
Speaker 2 (15:42):
Fantastic, and I think what you're talking about,
too that really helps, is thatyou're connecting with your kids
something that they'reinterested in, instead of you
know like, hey, let's talk aboutan IRA.
You know your kids areinterested in baseball, you know
.
So that's going to stick withthem because they're like OK, I
(16:04):
remember when I was a kid that Isaved up and I bought my own
baseball gear, and that's amemory that's going to create
that habit that they'll be ableto use as an adult.
Like when you talk about the 50, 30, 20 rules, they'll go okay,
I know that there's a payoffwhen I save, and I think that's
(16:25):
something, too, that it's hardfor people to say okay, well, I
need to save for retirement.
I'm 25 years old, you know I'mgoing to retire at 60.
That's ancient.
Speaker 3 (16:37):
So true.
It's like a world away, rightyeah exactly.
Speaker 2 (16:43):
So what money myth are you trying to break?
Speaker 3 (16:48):
You know, I would say , just in terms of that, you
don't have to have an emergencyfund.
Like, if you have a credit cardin your wallet, you don't need
an emergency fund.
The credit card is theemergency.
And I don't necessarily agreewith that.
I think that it's reallyimportant, through the habit of
savings, that we start out firstby building our emergency fund.
(17:10):
Like, I think that you know,it's fine to have a credit card,
but ultimately, when you havethose funds set aside, it helps
you.
Number one, build the savingshabit.
But number two, it gives youfunds that's dedicated for that
purpose, right, the emergency.
And if that emergency comes up,you're able to pay for it
without having to go back.
(17:30):
And you know, and now you'veincurred debt, right.
So I'm a big believer in fineto have a credit card, but you
know, each and every time youuse that credit card, you need
to pay it off in full.
However, to cover thoseemergencies or the unexpected
expenses, you really do need tohave that separate emergency
fund that you've built upthrough your savings.
Speaker 2 (17:51):
That's wonderful advice, and here's a couple
other things that I think peoplecan think about, too is if you
use your credit card, you'reincurring debt, which means
you're paying interest, but ifyou're saving an emergency fund,
you're earning interest, andthat's a powerful difference.
So that's that's wonderfuladvice.
(18:11):
So let's get out the timemachine for a minute as we start
to wrap up.
Is what advice would you giveyour younger self if you could
go back in time knowing what youknow now about money?
Speaker 3 (18:25):
Oh, that's a good question.
You know, I would probably sayit's the needs versus the wants,
right?
So I think all too often wefind ourselves and you know,
you're kind of in the momentyou're like, oh, that's a great
deal, I gosh, I'll never seethat sale again, I might as well
just go ahead and buy it.
And you kind of step back afteryou know you buy the dress, the
(18:46):
shirt, the whatever it is, andyou realize you're like you know
, I didn't really use that afterall, and that was kind of the
opportunity cost of making thatimpulse decision because you saw
something on sale and you know,and you went ahead and you
bought it.
Then later you really didn'tuse it.
So I always think about, if youknow, really being diligent in
terms of what I am purchasing.
(19:06):
You know, do I need it?
If I don't really need it, am Iactually going to use it or is
it just going to sit there andcollect dust?
So I think my younger self, Iprobably wasn't as wise in
making some of those decisions.
And you know, of course,ultimately things I haven't used
over the years I've donated.
But I'm a little bit wiser nowand I think a bit more about
those purchase decisions.
(19:26):
In the moment, and even if it'sa good deal sometimes, I think
you know what I'm just going toleave it on the shelf anyway.
I'm not going to buy it becauseI really don't need it and I'm,
you know, probably not going touse it that much.
So that would be my timemachine.
Speaker 2 (19:39):
Well, that's awesome and you know I know with my son
is.
You know, with Instagram andsome of these social media
things is now all thesecompanies have these drops where
you have to like, buy something, you know, within 48 hours and
you'll never see it again andit's just, it's overwhelming.
So I think that's wonderfuladvice.
So, you know, for any listenerswho are younger, this is
(20:02):
something you can apply when yousee those drops on social media
.
Or you know, if you're havekids, you know, start talking
about that, because they'regetting hit up with this stuff
on social media all the time.
So that's valuable advice.
So, robin, to wrap up, what isyour number one tip on changing
the way we think about money?
Speaker 3 (20:24):
You know, I would just say being very intentional
with your finances.
I mean, sometimes, you know, wethink more vaguely about our
finances.
We kind of set the vaguesavings goals and we know
directionally what our budget is.
But I think when we're veryintentional and we go back and
we revisit our budget on aregular basis, we know what our
50, you know, 30, 20 rule lookslike for us.
(20:47):
Being able to really align yourfinances to your values, to
your goals, looking at yourfinances on a regular basis, I
think that is where you reallycan, you know, gain control of
your finances but you positionyourself for financial success
the rest of your life right.
Those are all the habits youneed and again, you've got to
(21:07):
build it through doing itregularly, looking at your
finances, making sure you're youknow you're able to achieve
your goal, and certainly asthings change.
So I would just say again,overall, number one tip is be
intentional about your finances.
Speaker 2 (21:22):
That's awesome, and I want to emphasize what you said
, too, about aligning yourfinances to your values and
goals, because once you startdoing that, it's going to be
easier.
In my mind, to save is becauseyou're feeling better about it.
So, robin, where can peoplefind out more about you in
America, saves Week?
Speaker 3 (21:41):
Sure, absolutely so.
To learn about America SavesWeek, they can go simply to
americasavesweekorg, and then,if you're interested in any of
the great tools and resources wehave here at Bank of America,
you can go tobettermoneyhabitscom.
Speaker 2 (21:57):
Okay, fantastic, and for everybody watching and
listening.
As always, there will be linksto these websites in the show
notes so you can easily checkthem out.
So, Robin, thanks for joiningus on the Get Ready Money
podcast.
Speaker 3 (22:11):
Thank you for having me.
I've enjoyed my time.
Speaker 2 (22:15):
Yeah, well, appreciate your time and
insights and thank you everyone,as always, for tuning into this
episode of the Get Ready Moneypodcast.
If you change something, if youlearn something today to change
the way you think about money,please be sure to like and
subscribe and to tell a friendUntil next time, let's change
the way we think about money.
You.
Are you looking to get ready, be prepared and
transform your financial future?
Then you've come to the rightplace.
This is the Get Ready MoneyPodcast with Tony Stewart, where
Tony has insightfulconversations with financial
experts who are changing the waywe think about money.
Catch up on the latestfinancial trends and hear
(00:27):
practical advice from Tony andhis expert guests so you can
build healthy habits that work,Be empowered with tips for
implementing small changes thatcan have a big impact on your
financial future.
So sit back and get ready tohear from today's guest.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
Welcome to the Get Ready Money podcast changing the
way we think about money.
I'm pleased to be joined todayby Robin Gratley.
Robin is Managing Director,head of Consumer Deposits at
Bank of America.
In this episode, we'll bediscussing Robin's insights on
how we change the way we thinkabout money and our savings.
Robin, welcome to the Get ReadyMoney podcast.
(01:09):
Thanks for joining us today.
Speaker 3 (01:11):
Oh, thank you so much for having me.
I'm excited to be here.
Yeah me as well, and so you knowto get started.
You know, tell us a little bitabout yourself.
What is your origin story?
Yeah, so I grew up in a smalltown where we had one bank and I
remember my mom and I going toour local bank and opening my
(01:32):
first checking account andsavings account, and I would say
that's really what piqued mycuriosity in banking years and
years ago.
And then, in 2007, I joinedBank of America and I've been
here what's 18 years now,believe it or not, but through
that time I've had a variety ofleadership roles and now I'm
responsible for really leadingour strategic direction for
(01:55):
everyday banking savings in ourpayment solution.
Important role in terms ofensuring that we are helping our
clients.
They have needs, not only today, but evolving financial needs,
and over our 42 million consumerclients, we want to make sure
that we're there to support themin each step of their financial
journey.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
Well, fantastic, and it's nice that there's this more
holistic view.
But, as you were thinking aboutthat, I remember setting up my
very first checking account whenI was a teenager with Bank of
America.
Speaker 3 (02:27):
Oh great, I love that .
Speaker 2 (02:31):
Yeah, it was a few years ago, but I do remember,
you know, because you would gophysically into the bank and you
know that experience, I think,has changed quite a bit but you
know, it's still a great memory,I think, for everybody.
Speaker 3 (02:48):
That's right.
Yeah, I mean, it's verymemorable and so many of our
clients come in as students,youth, young adult when they're
opening their first account,whether it's because they had
the summer job or they havebirthday money, and they really
stay with us long term, which isexactly what we want to see,
and that's why I think you know,in my role, it's so important
as you see, you know thedifferent steps in someone's
(03:09):
financial journey ensuring thatwe're there to support them each
step of the way.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
Definitely, definitely.
Well, you know, let's jump intothe topic.
You know, america Saves Week.
What is America?
Saves Week Week what is America?
Speaker 3 (03:24):
Saves Week.
Yeah, so America Saves Week issponsored by a non-profit,
america Saves, and that's reallyfocused on encouraging
Americans to save money, reducedebt and, overall, develop
healthy financial habitsthroughout the year, including
America Saves Week.
So this year's theme forAmerica Saves Week is saving for
your past, present and yourfuture.
(03:45):
So you know, as we think aboutsavings, it's not just today and
it's not just this week, but itreally is 365 days a year that
we need to keep it on our radarand we need to plan and make
sure that we do have savingsgoals.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
Well, that's fantastic, you know.
So let's go a little bit deeperon the goals.
Why is it important for peopleto set savings goals and why is
it important for those goals tobe realistic?
Speaker 3 (04:11):
Yeah.
So setting savings goals reallygives you an idea of, like,
where do you want to take yourfinancial journey right, that
you can be prepared for youroverall financial journey.
And what we find is that, youknow, as we have conversations
with our clients, they really dowant to do the right thing,
they want to save.
But sometimes we know that thehardest part is really just
(04:32):
getting started right, andsometimes savings can seem
overwhelming.
It's like I don't know where tostart.
I have this big number in myhead that I think I need to save
and I don't know actually howto do that.
And that's where we talk a lotabout being able to take those
larger savings goals andbreaking them down into what I'm
going to call your shorter termgoals.
They're more achievable, right?
(04:53):
So if you want to save, let'sjust say, $1,000 in six months,
well, maybe that seems dauntingto you.
How do you get started?
Well, I always like torecommend maybe take, you know,
$10 a week and put away.
That gives you kind of atimeline and really helps make
your goals realistic.
And so, ultimately, as youstart putting away that $10 a
(05:14):
week, you know, think about it.
$10, that's really the cost ofcall it one, maybe two lattes
this time, right, I mean.
So at the end of the day, itreally is usually achievable to
start with that smaller amount,putting that away, and then, if
you're doing it on a recurringbasis which we would love for
you to do, like that's going tobuild that overall savings habit
which really helps support youfor a successful financial
(05:37):
future.
Speaker 2 (05:39):
Fantastic.
Well, you know, let's talkabout the accounts, because I
know with my son you know he's ayoung adult we opened up both a
checking and a savings account.
Is that something you recommendfor people to do?
To have the separate checkingaccount, maybe to cover expenses
, and the savings account?
Speaker 3 (05:56):
to meet the goals.
Absolutely, I love that you allhave already taken that step,
because that is one thing wherewe see our customers usually
dipping into their savings.
Again, everyone has the bestintentions, but sometimes we do
see our customers who have, youknow, their savings within their
checking and when they go tomake their purchases they'll use
what they have you know they'vesaved up and they don't even
(06:16):
realize they're doing it.
So, by you know, virtue of thefact that you all already have
that separate savings accountset up that's going to help
protect the funds that you'resaving, and already had that
separate savings account set up,that's going to help protect
the funds that you're saving.
And then it also gives you theability to watch those funds
grow.
And I think when we all seethat we're making progress,
progress creates motivationright to kind of stick with that
habit.
So I love that.
(06:37):
And then the other thing youknow, when you have that
separate savings account, itgives you the opportunity to
name the savings account.
So, if you know, your son has aspecific goal.
I mean, I have little boys,identical twins, that are 10
years old, and they are alwayssaving for something right.
It's been baseball bats andbaseball gear recently, and so
you know they can take and nametheir savings account.
(06:57):
You know baseball gear and soevery time they look at that
savings account they see thefunds in it before they take
money out.
They're able to kind of pause asecond and say wait a minute,
I'm supposed to be using thisfor my baseball goal, right?
So that's just another tip thatI think it's an easy one, but
it also just helps us pause andthink a minute about what's the
purpose of those funds in thesavings account.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
Yeah, well, and I think that's something that is
so important is that we don't dowith our money is to take a
pause.
You know some people call itmindful spending.
You know I've heard so manydifferent terms for it, but it's
really like you say is taking abeat and going.
Ok, what do I do?
(07:40):
And I think there's a littlebit of friction.
What do I do and I thinkthere's a little bit of friction
that's something I've heardfrom a lot of my guests is that
there's friction between some ofus who are old enough to
remember I go back before ATMsthat you had to go into the bank
if you want to get money on aFriday for the weekend, and you
know that friction is not there.
Speaker 3 (08:09):
But that's a great way to create a little bit of
friction where you have totransfer money between the
accounts and you have to make aconscious decision.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
That's right.
Yeah, it's being present withyour money.
That's how I like to thinkabout it.
That's fantastic.
So you know, one of the thingsthat you know is difficult for
people to do is, you know, tohave.
You know, we're telling them tosave money for the future.
We're telling them to create anemergency fund, we're telling
them they need the payoff debtand, of course, they have their
daily expenses.
What do you feel is the bestway for people to balance paying
(08:39):
down debt with saving money?
Speaker 3 (08:43):
Yeah, you know that's a really great question and we
get it a lot because sometimesyou know it feels like you have
to do30-20 rule.
So 50% of your income reallyneeds to go to the necessities.
(09:11):
So these are things like yourrent or your mortgage, your
utilities, if you have any typeof debt payment, whether that's
a credit card, an auto loan,student loan, that those are all
things that must be paid right,and so you want to set aside
50% of your income for that.
The second category is what Iconsider your wants, and that's
(09:31):
where I think about, you know,what we spend on things that
make our life comfortable,things that we enjoy right, that
might be the latte that Imentioned earlier, it might be,
you know, the trip that you wantto take with your family, but
those are really, you know, theagain, the wants, not the needs.
It's the wants, things thatmake us happy and make us
comfortable.
And then you have 20%.
(09:52):
That was for savings, and sowhen you think about that
50-30-20, you've covered bothyour savings right, the 20%,
you've covered the debt payment.
That's within that 50%, andyou've also left a little bit
kind of in the middle that 30%to cover things that you want to
make your life enjoyable.
Now I think what's important torealize is that you know our
(10:13):
life changes all of the time andthat sometimes that 50, 30, 20
needs to be adjusted toaccommodate whatever may have
happened.
Maybe you've had an unexpectedexpense and you've had to use
some of your savings to coverthat, and that's okay.
That's, you know, having anemergency fund.
That's the purpose of theemergency fund.
But you may want to go aheadand be able to replenish that
(10:35):
emergency fund, so you may wantto put a little bit more towards
the emergency fund, which meansyou take away from your wants,
right?
Maybe you're going to spend alittle bit less, you're going to
go out fewer times to eat thismonth and you're going to use
that to rebuild your savings.
So again, it's a really goodrule of thumb and that helps you
kind of go back and look andmake sure that, directionally,
that you are being able to coverthe needs, the wants and
(10:58):
savings.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
Fantastic.
I think that's wonderful adviceand, for people who are
following my program with theGet Ready Movement, that's the
recommendation that I have, soyou can follow that and find a
worksheet on my website to gothrough that.
So you know, as part of that is, do you recommend that people
change their flow?
(11:21):
As you know, a lot of peoplesave at the end of the month
with whatever they have leftover.
Do you recommend that peopleautomate their savings and do
the savings first?
Speaker 3 (11:34):
Yeah, I'm a big fan of you know, pay yourself first
right, and a lot of.
You're absolutely right.
There's so many great automatedsavings tools now.
The first can be as simple asstarting with your paycheck
right.
I mean, you're able to allocateyour paycheck to go into
different accounts and if youhave that separate savings
account, it's easy to allocate aportion of that, just to you
(11:55):
know, before it even goes intoyour checking account.
It doesn't have to happen, itcan just go directly into your
savings account.
Also, there's a tool at Bank ofAmerica which is, you know, one
of my favorites.
It's called our Keep the Changetool and so anytime that you use
your debit card linked to yourchecking account, we will take
and round up that debit cardpurchase to the nearest dollar
(12:16):
and then transfer the changefrom your checking account to
your savings account.
So I always think about that asreally it's a set it and forget
it, because you're taking thatextra change and that's helping
you build your savings over time.
You're not having to go in putsomething else on your to-do
list to remember, and those arethe types of tools that, when
you can pay yourself first andyou ultimately start seeing your
(12:38):
savings grow, it all is allabout the again, the momentum
that you build, the motivationand then that habit right, and
we all get excited when we seewe make progress.
So, yes, I'm very much abeliever in pay yourself first.
But you can always do thatsanity check if you're paying
yourself first and then by thetime you get to the end of the
month you're like, oh, I don'thave enough to, you know, pay my
(12:59):
necessities.
Well, you're going to want tolike revisit that right, but
that 50-30-20 rule is always agood foundation to go back to.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
Yeah, fantastic and I love that.
And I think you said somethingthat's very important that I
hope people pick up is that it'sa habit and that once you start
doing this, is that it's easierto do the second time.
And also, what you talk aboutis that once people start seeing
success at the end of the yearwith rounding up the change I've
(13:29):
heard that you know that canaverage $600, $700 for a lot of
average Americans you knowthat's a pretty good chunk of
change that you have extra to gotowards savings so that these
little things do add up.
So that's fantastic advice.
So, you know, as part ofAmerica Saves Week, it's
(13:49):
important to teach our kids toalso save.
So why do you feel that weshould teach our kids about
money?
You know you talked aboutworking with your two kids.
Why should we teach our kids tosave?
Speaker 3 (14:04):
Yeah, that's a really great question and it's
something that I'm passionateabout as a mother and I really
believe that when you starttalking to children about money
early, right, I mean, it reallydoes create that lifelong
financial success for them.
They're aware of what it is.
They're a little bit more intune when they see you spending,
because if you're not havingthose conversations with them
(14:24):
and you're just, you know,paying for something that
they've asked for, well, theydon't understand where the money
comes from, right, they don'tunderstand how much things cost.
And I'm a big believer that youknow, if you can share your
knowledge with your child asearly as possible, then you know
, then they're going to be setfor success over the course of
their financial journey.
And you know, the otherquestion I get a lot when we
(14:45):
talk about children is well, howearly is too early to talk
about it?
Or when should I start?
And I always think about, youknow, as soon as your child
really learns the basics of math, like that's a really simple
way to kind of get them engaged.
And that as time goes on, likeas you're paying for the bill or
you're, you know you're as afamily, you have game night,
(15:18):
introducing something like amonopoly right.
It can be simple and fun.
Those are great opportunitiesto not only talk to the children
but kind of start to identifythose teachable moments.
So when you start talking aboutit, right, they're listening,
you've got their attention.
But then, as they get a littlebit older, really engaging them,
helping them learn, you know,to save for the baseball bat,
the cleats, the, whatever it maybe, those become the teachable
(15:39):
moments that really stick withthem the rest of their life.
Speaker 2 (15:42):
Fantastic, and I think what you're talking about,
too that really helps, is thatyou're connecting with your kids
something that they'reinterested in, instead of you
know like, hey, let's talk aboutan IRA.
You know your kids areinterested in baseball, you know
.
So that's going to stick withthem because they're like OK, I
(16:04):
remember when I was a kid that Isaved up and I bought my own
baseball gear, and that's amemory that's going to create
that habit that they'll be ableto use as an adult.
Like when you talk about the 50, 30, 20 rules, they'll go okay,
I know that there's a payoffwhen I save, and I think that's
(16:25):
something, too, that it's hardfor people to say okay, well, I
need to save for retirement.
I'm 25 years old, you know I'mgoing to retire at 60.
That's ancient.
Speaker 3 (16:37):
So true.
It's like a world away, rightyeah exactly.
Speaker 2 (16:43):
So what money myth are you trying to break?
Speaker 3 (16:48):
You know, I would say , just in terms of that, you
don't have to have an emergencyfund.
Like, if you have a credit cardin your wallet, you don't need
an emergency fund.
The credit card is theemergency.
And I don't necessarily agreewith that.
I think that it's reallyimportant, through the habit of
savings, that we start out firstby building our emergency fund.
(17:10):
Like, I think that you know,it's fine to have a credit card,
but ultimately, when you havethose funds set aside, it helps
you.
Number one, build the savingshabit.
But number two, it gives youfunds that's dedicated for that
purpose, right, the emergency.
And if that emergency comes up,you're able to pay for it
without having to go back.
(17:30):
And you know, and now you'veincurred debt, right.
So I'm a big believer in fineto have a credit card, but you
know, each and every time youuse that credit card, you need
to pay it off in full.
However, to cover thoseemergencies or the unexpected
expenses, you really do need tohave that separate emergency
fund that you've built upthrough your savings.
Speaker 2 (17:51):
That's wonderful advice, and here's a couple
other things that I think peoplecan think about, too is if you
use your credit card, you'reincurring debt, which means
you're paying interest, but ifyou're saving an emergency fund,
you're earning interest, andthat's a powerful difference.
So that's that's wonderfuladvice.
(18:11):
So let's get out the timemachine for a minute as we start
to wrap up.
Is what advice would you giveyour younger self if you could
go back in time knowing what youknow now about money?
Speaker 3 (18:25):
Oh, that's a good question.
You know, I would probably sayit's the needs versus the wants,
right?
So I think all too often wefind ourselves and you know,
you're kind of in the momentyou're like, oh, that's a great
deal, I gosh, I'll never seethat sale again, I might as well
just go ahead and buy it.
And you kind of step back afteryou know you buy the dress, the
(18:46):
shirt, the whatever it is, andyou realize you're like you know
, I didn't really use that afterall, and that was kind of the
opportunity cost of making thatimpulse decision because you saw
something on sale and you know,and you went ahead and you
bought it.
Then later you really didn'tuse it.
So I always think about, if youknow, really being diligent in
terms of what I am purchasing.
(19:06):
You know, do I need it?
If I don't really need it, am Iactually going to use it or is
it just going to sit there andcollect dust?
So I think my younger self, Iprobably wasn't as wise in
making some of those decisions.
And you know, of course,ultimately things I haven't used
over the years I've donated.
But I'm a little bit wiser nowand I think a bit more about
those purchase decisions.
(19:26):
In the moment, and even if it'sa good deal sometimes, I think
you know what I'm just going toleave it on the shelf anyway.
I'm not going to buy it becauseI really don't need it and I'm,
you know, probably not going touse it that much.
So that would be my timemachine.
Speaker 2 (19:39):
Well, that's awesome and you know I know with my son
is.
You know, with Instagram andsome of these social media
things is now all thesecompanies have these drops where
you have to like, buy something, you know, within 48 hours and
you'll never see it again andit's just, it's overwhelming.
So I think that's wonderfuladvice.
So, you know, for any listenerswho are younger, this is
(20:02):
something you can apply when yousee those drops on social media
.
Or you know, if you're havekids, you know, start talking
about that, because they'regetting hit up with this stuff
on social media all the time.
So that's valuable advice.
So, robin, to wrap up, what isyour number one tip on changing
the way we think about money?
Speaker 3 (20:24):
You know, I would just say being very intentional
with your finances.
I mean, sometimes, you know, wethink more vaguely about our
finances.
We kind of set the vaguesavings goals and we know
directionally what our budget is.
But I think when we're veryintentional and we go back and
we revisit our budget on aregular basis, we know what our
50, you know, 30, 20 rule lookslike for us.
(20:47):
Being able to really align yourfinances to your values, to
your goals, looking at yourfinances on a regular basis, I
think that is where you reallycan, you know, gain control of
your finances but you positionyourself for financial success
the rest of your life right.
Those are all the habits youneed and again, you've got to
(21:07):
build it through doing itregularly, looking at your
finances, making sure you're youknow you're able to achieve
your goal, and certainly asthings change.
So I would just say again,overall, number one tip is be
intentional about your finances.
Speaker 2 (21:22):
That's awesome, and I want to emphasize what you said
, too, about aligning yourfinances to your values and
goals, because once you startdoing that, it's going to be
easier.
In my mind, to save is becauseyou're feeling better about it.
So, robin, where can peoplefind out more about you in
America, saves Week?
Speaker 3 (21:41):
Sure, absolutely so.
To learn about America SavesWeek, they can go simply to
americasavesweekorg, and then,if you're interested in any of
the great tools and resources wehave here at Bank of America,
you can go tobettermoneyhabitscom.
Speaker 2 (21:57):
Okay, fantastic, and for everybody watching and
listening.
As always, there will be linksto these websites in the show
notes so you can easily checkthem out.
So, Robin, thanks for joiningus on the Get Ready Money
podcast.
Speaker 3 (22:11):
Thank you for having me.
I've enjoyed my time.
Speaker 2 (22:15):
Yeah, well, appreciate your time and
insights and thank you everyone,as always, for tuning into this
episode of the Get Ready Moneypodcast.
If you change something, if youlearn something today to change
the way you think about money,please be sure to like and
subscribe and to tell a friendUntil next time, let's change
the way we think about money.
You.
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