April 25, 2025 • 39 mins
On this episode of The Get Ready Money Podcast, I spoke with Prisca Benson, Founder and CEO of Our Green Life about changing the way we think about money and how we can all achieve financial freedom.
In this episode we discussed:
- Be intentional with your money - and set your limits.
- Financial success is achievable for everyone, we can all get there.
- Health and wealth go together.
- Why you need to change your money story.
- Results come from taking action.
- Budgeting is the foundation of financial freedom.
Connect with Prisca Benson:
Freebie:
- 3 Steps to Financial Freedom Guide (here)
Resources mentioned:
Bio:
Prisca Benson, RN is the CEO & Founder of Our Green Life. Prisca is a passionate money coach and nurse dedicated to empowering professional women to achieve financial freedom. As a first-generation Haitian-American, she understands the value of perseverance and hard work. Prisca's journey began with a desire to do more with her money, leading her to increase her net worth from $40K to $340K in just 6 years through effective money management.
She serves as a money coach because she believes in making financial concepts simple and accessible, helping her clients create customized plans that balance enjoying life now with securing their financial future. Prisca’s clients achieve remarkable results, from eliminating debt to growing their savings and investments, all while maintaining a fulfilling lifestyle.
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 Prisca Benson.
Prisca is a nurse as well asthe CEO and founder of Our Green
Life.
Speaker 3 (01:10):
In this episode, we'll be discussing Prisca's
insights on how we change theway we think about money and our
money story.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
Prisca welcome to the Get Ready Money podcast.
Thanks for joining us today.
Thanks for having me, tony,yeah, excited for this
conversation.
So, to start out, tell us alittle bit about yourself.
What is your origin story?
Speaker 3 (01:20):
So I graduated from nursing school in 2011.
And it was a great time becauseI made more money than both my
parents combined and I thoughtthat was a solution to my money
problems.
And in terms of money problems,you know, growing up first
generation Haitian American,like my parents didn't have a
(01:40):
lot of money.
It was always like we can'tafford this, we can't afford
this, but they did do the bestof what they had.
So this was like new for me,right To have access to all
these funds now.
And so what I did with thosefunds was I bought a car, a
brand new car and then, when Igot it for me, when I went for
maintenance a few months later,I replaced it with another one
(02:03):
because I was like, oh, I likethe car that they gave me, that
they loaned me, and then I alsoran up all my credit cards.
I was doing that in collegeanyway, but it didn't get better
after I started making income,because that's just the way I
got accustomed to living is justkeeping just enough money on my
cards to spend on it and thenpay it down again.
Enough money on my cards tospend on it and then pay it down
(02:27):
again.
And then even like with myfirst 401k 403b actually in
healthcare when I left that jobI just cashed it out.
I was like, what use is this?
Like it wasn't that much.
I was like, whatever, now Iknow the difference right.
But in all that time I wasn'tlike necessarily stressed out
about money, I was just nicelyoblivious, nice and ignorant
about it and it was just kind ofthe norm, because that's how a
(02:48):
lot of people around me lived is, you know, with debt, like that
was just the norm.
And I got married two yearslater and my husband didn't have
debt and I saw what he could dowith his money.
I was like, huh, what a concept, like a different way of doing
things, like being able toactually save some dollars.
So I, we started living alittle bit more intentionally.
We started talking about like,kind of like how we want to
(03:10):
spend money, kind of like havingour own money principles as a
couple.
And then still, though, aftertime I would say like five years
later, I'm like, eh, you know,like I still don't feel like my
net worth looks like what peoplewould imagine.
When they think of a Northeastnurse, people always assume
you're rich.
I'm like my bank accountnothing shows that I'm rich.
So I started listening topersonal finance podcasts to
(03:30):
kind of get the missing piece,and I started learning more
about investing intentionallynot just doing the bare minimum
or doing it willy nilly.
How to do it intentionally bemore mindful in terms of
optimizing my dollars today.
And then that led from myinvestment accounts being worth
about $40,000 in 2018 to$378,000 today, and it's just a
(03:56):
market difference just havingthat knowledge and applying it.
So that's why I became a moneycoach, because in my journey, I
realized that I wasn't the onlyperson that didn't know this.
Like I was looking all aroundand people were making like what
seemed to me now like minutethings, like how do you not know
this?
Because I know it now it's likeit's like, oh, and so I'm like
(04:20):
okay, people need to, peopleneed to be like create.
We need to create a plan forpeople to help them realize that
this is not so challenging.
This is not so difficult, youknow, like I know everybody's
situation is not the same, butfor most people, like, taking
control of your money is themost freeing and peaceful thing
you can do for yourself.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
And that's my spiel.
Well, I love it.
And you know, there's a coupleof things that you know would be
great to talk about.
I mean, one is your journey,you know, as a higher income
earner than your parents is,because some of us do have the
privilege of growing up whereour parents have had a
comfortable life.
But you know, I mean, what wasit like for you?
(05:00):
Do you think that was part of?
Maybe not an obstacle, that'snot the right word, but a
challenge for you is being thethat was part of?
Maybe not an obstacle, that'snot the right word, but a
challenge for you is being thefirst one to win yes, because I
people didn't have the knowledgethat I have now in order to
teach me to do it right.
Speaker 3 (05:18):
So, more or less even though of course they like, the
way an immigrant, when theycome to this country, has to
manage money is completelydifferent than someone who lives
here and grew up here, and sothey know how to hustle, they
know how to do these things, butI didn't need to hustle Right,
so like I know how to, I canwork three jobs Like I've
learned how to do that with myupbringing, but I don't need to.
(05:39):
I need to manage what I have,and so like that's a completely
different mindset to like learnand you have to do it on your
own, because that's just not howthey did it.
You know there's.
You just have to go find thepeople who do it and like learn
from them.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
So I have a question for you and I've had it on other
first generation or secondgeneration people on the show is
is there a cultural struggle,or something that people need to
say to themselves is like hey,it's okay for me to look at this
differently than my parents,because there is a tension there
(06:15):
sometimes.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
It can.
Fortunately, I've always been alittle rebellious, so it didn't
affect me as much as I think itwould for a lot of people.
So it didn't affect me as muchas I think it would for a lot of
people.
When you have more, peopleexpect you to do more, but you
will never have more if you keepdoing the more you know.
So there was a lot of likepeople like no, I'm not going to
(06:38):
do that, that's not how I'mgoing to spend my money.
You know, that is a.
It's challenging at first, theguilt from being someone who now
has these, the capacity thatyou technically could do more,
but it would be to yourdetriment long term financially.
You know like you will neverget ahead.
(07:02):
Do all the things and thatdoesn't mean you don't want to
be generous, but it's beingintentional.
So like I think about now thatI'm this far ahead in life and
I'm like I could take my mom outto dinner, like at whatever
restaurant she wants, withoutthinking too much about it,
because I've made those nochoices before, you know, and I
can.
But in the moment when it'shappening to you back, then you
know it's like, it feels likethe worst feeling ever.
(07:23):
And some families, like I said,because one I was I am a little
bit more rebellious and peopledon't really like my family was
just like, okay, she's doing her.
Between that and also the factthat my family just they
eventually started to respectthe limits.
But some people don't havefamily that let up the limits,
(07:47):
but some people don't havefamily that let up.
So it's important for you toestablish that for yourself and,
like you know, put yourself tothe back burner.
Go to therapy if you have to,but put down the back, put
whatever their feelings are onthe back burner, cause you're.
You have to protect yourselfbefore you could help anyone
else.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
I love that.
Take care of yourself, and Ithink what you're saying there
is, setting your limits is superimportant because it's easy to
get run over, but it comes backto so much more than financial,
because nothing you said to mewas like, well, you have to set
aside 5% of your income for yourfamily or anything like that.
(08:21):
It's about dealing with thesefeelings and the emotions.
You mentioned guilt, and Ithink that's oftentimes
something that happens is I hadon another guest who you know he
was in the NFL and he wastalking about how people you
know the rookies get these hugecontracts but they blow through
(08:42):
them really quickly because theyfeel like they have to do all
these things for their extendedfamily, and so it's like you
know that's something he talksabout that he's a CFP now and he
helps them, you know, set theirlimits, for you know you're
going to save most of yoursalary.
Well, one, because an averageNFL career is like a couple of
(09:03):
years.
Well, one, because an averageNFL career is like a couple of
years, but like for the samething.
I want to come back to oneother thing you said, because I
think it's super important aboutyou and your husband developing
money principles as a coupleand I think people oftentimes
you know money is like one ofthe leading causes of divorce is
that they don't talk to theirpartner about money.
(09:27):
How do you feel that benefitedyou and your husband as a couple
having those moneyconversations?
Speaker 3 (09:34):
Well, for one, we were doing stuff like.
Now I feel like people are moreconscious in general about money
, but at the time it was uncoolto do some of the things that
people are doing today, like,for example, the biggest thing
that sticks out to me and I'mlike I still like it's so, like
still feel like a little scarfrom it is when people would be
(09:56):
like why, why don't you havecable?
Like, why, like we would just,first of all, I'm like we don't
watch enough TV to pay for cableand we have streaming services.
So this before cable cuttingwas cool.
So us having a shared vision inthat regard about how we're
going to spend our money meantit was kind of felt like us
versus the world for a bit, andit's easier to do it together
(10:18):
than for us to be battling oneanother as to what is acceptable
to us or not, and so I thinkthat lays just a great
foundation so that even whenthings change and things have
changed financially between usover the years we can still talk
about it.
You know, we can still make aplan together about it, we can
still address it together,versus it being a point of
(10:40):
animosity all the time.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
That's cool and I think that's so important is
because it just grows thatanimosity if you don't deal with
it.
And it's it's part of being acouple and being being a family,
so it's so important to havethat conversation.
So you know, tell us a littlebit about you, know what you're
doing, what is Our Green Life?
(11:03):
You know, you and I did abundle together which was super
cool.
Speaker 3 (11:08):
Yes, so Our Green Life was actually predicated on
the idea that, first of all, ouris meant to be inclusive,
meaning I don't believe thatthis is out of reach for anyone.
I know everybody's journey isdifferent, but you know our way
of getting there is going to bedifferent, but we could all get
there.
Green is because, you know,green is associated with wealth,
(11:29):
but also with health, and thenlife is just that.
This is, you know, our way ofliving, right?
And so initially, this startedout as a personal finance and
health blog, because I felt like, and I still believe, that
health and wealth run veryclosely together.
And also I had friends who,like I, was geeking out over the
(11:52):
money stuff, all the stuff Iwas learning, but they could not
care less.
So, in kind of like JL Collinsmindset, I created the blog so
that, when they were ready, likeit would be there, that
information I was learning wouldbe there, instead of me having
to like start from scratch withthem.
So that's how our green lifebegan.
And then, over time, I juststarted focusing more on the
(12:15):
money aspect, because I feellike it just it's a great
through line to like one, evenwhen it comes to health, like I
feel like people feel like a lotof that is out of reach because
healthcare in America isfascinating, but I'm like there
are a lot of ways to save moneyon healthcare so that you don't
have to worry about big mandobills all the time.
(12:37):
So how to access healthcarewhen you don't have a job or
when you don't have the funds,like those are the kind of
things I like to address on myblog when it's when it was when
I was posting stuff about likebreast cancer, but also also how
to make a budget, how to saveon car insurance, like all the
things that I was learning Ireally wanted to just put out
there for people to have accessto.
Speaker 2 (12:58):
That's awesome, you know, and sharing it is so
important because I think youknow there's such a fragmented
information system right nowwhere people are getting things,
so you know the more ways ofdoing it and you have a unique
perspective that resonates withpeople.
And so I would say to otherpeople too I've had guests from
(13:21):
very diverse backgrounds on isthat you can find somebody who
resonates with you, who writes,in a way, about money.
You know, who may speak yourlanguage, so to speak.
So I don't know if that's themost elegant way to say it, but
I hope you know where I'm goingwith that.
So one of the things you talkabout is changing our money
(13:42):
story.
Why do you feel it's importantto change our money story?
Speaker 3 (13:55):
I think the most critical barrier that most
people reach is them tellingthemselves that they can't do
something.
And that could be for all sortsof reasons, whether it's
because of your background.
Maybe someone's told you youcan't do something.
Maybe you haven't seen otherpeople do the thing and that
makes you feel like you can't doit.
Or maybe you're just scared.
You could be scared and thatmakes you feel like, no, I can't
do this thing.
But in taking action, that'swhere the results come from.
(14:19):
You don't want to just know youshould be budgeting.
You don't want to just know youwant to pay down debt.
It's like how, what do I do toget there Right?
Realistically and I'm not aproponent of doing things in a
way that feels begrudging I'mvery big on helping my clients
find a path to their goal thatfits them, that feels good for
(14:42):
them, so that when they doimplement their budget, they
feel good about it.
Even one of my clients said sheenjoys paying her bills.
I was like get out of town.
She's like, once it's done, sheknows it's finished and she
knows how much she has left todo the rest of her stuff and
it's amazing.
So get out of your own way whenit comes to money If you feel
(15:06):
like financial freedom is notachievable for you.
Ever.
You will never achievefinancial freedom.
Speaker 2 (15:14):
I love that, and I just want to reiterate that it
is achievable for everyone.
It may look different for allof us, but I think that actually
is what it's about, is that itis going to be different.
Now, one of the things you talkabout is that budgeting is the
foundation.
Why do you consider budgetingthe foundation of financial
(15:36):
freedom?
Speaker 3 (15:38):
why do you consider budgeting the foundation of
financial freedom?
So people have differentfeelings when it comes to what a
budget is.
But the fact of the matter is,a budget looks at what's coming
in and what's coming out.
Whether you have it or not, itexists, okay.
Whether you respect it orimplement it or not, it exists.
There is a limit to how muchyou're bringing in, right,
(15:59):
whatever the number is.
That's coming in is a hardnumber and whatever's coming out
is a hard number.
The budget is just telling youwhat they are.
And so for the people who don'tI don't necessarily prescribe to
like budgeting, like, okay,well, for groceries, it's this,
for the toilet tissue, I wantthis.
You know, that's not really myway of budgeting and I'm I'm not
saying that to mock anyone.
(16:20):
If people do want to be thatparticular, great Um.
But for me, I'm more believelike we just need to know the
core numbers, right, when youfirst start out.
You do need to know line itemby line item, cause we need to
know what categories all thesestuff are in, because everybody
thinks that they they're hard up, there's not enough money to do
(16:40):
the things.
And then I look at their stuffand there's always money to do
the things.
It's because we're doing thingsmindlessly.
So the budget helps us setintentions and then we go from
there.
So what I like to do with myclients is like, create space in
their budget, like, okay, thisis going to go towards saving,
this is going to go towardsinvesting, this is going to go
towards spending, and thespending is on whatever you want
(17:02):
.
Okay.
And then maybe you havesomething for housing.
You can break it down whateverways make sense for you.
My budget personally has likefour categories.
I have a client whose budget iseight categories.
Like it's whatever works foryou, but without a system right
that you could implement overand over again.
And this is how I feel like.
(17:24):
To me, it's like instrumental iscreating a system that you can
apply over and over and over andover again.
And when you could do that,that's when you see growth and
that's when you see progress.
And then you know when we talkabout in the financial
independence space, it's like,oh, the first hundred K is the
hardest.
I'm like, okay, when I wentpast pat once, I started going
past that kind of like for likeI stopped even thinking so much
about money because I'm like, oh, it's just happening in the
(17:45):
background and you look againand it's like whoa, you're
almost at 400k.
It's like whoa, like when thathappened.
That's systems, baby, likethat's it.
You just keep doing the thingsthat have been working and
that's that, and you adjustaccordingly across life changes.
Speaker 2 (18:01):
That's awesome, and I think that's true of anything,
because you've made it a habit.
Once it's a system, you'rerepeating it, and it's always
easier to repeat something thanto do it the first time.
And I love how you're reframingbudgets, because budgets are a
scary word that a lot of peopledon't want to talk about and I
(18:23):
think that there's lots ofdifferent ways to know it.
But it's like you say it's yourresources and you have to know.
Speaker 3 (18:30):
Yes, I think too, in the past, I don't want to say in
the past, I guess, depending onwho you listen to, personal
finance wise there's still somenegative feelings that come with
budgeting.
So like this, like there's somecreators, it's like you can't
afford this thing.
It's like that's not how Ifunction, you know, like maybe I
can't, maybe we can see about.
(18:51):
First of all, let's actuallylook to see if we can afford the
thing.
It may mean sacrificingsomething else, right but that
doesn't mean you necessarilycan't afford it.
We have to look at your planand see if this fits your plan.
If you can't afford it today,does this really matter to you?
If so, let's make a plan to doit.
That's what your budget willhelp you to do.
But the whole grr of like youknow you can't afford this, you
shouldn't do this is, I think,part of what makes people averse
(19:14):
to budgeting, and so much sothat even some amazing creators
like they'll call it somethingdifferent, like a spending plan.
It's a budget.
Like there's a limit to howmuch you could spend because
there's a certain number thatcame in.
So what are we going to do withwhat came in?
That's what a budget means.
Speaker 2 (19:34):
Yeah, and I like that and I love especially.
You said you can do some ofthese things.
You don't have to depriveyourself.
You know you may have to makechoices and trade-offs.
Doesn't mean you can affordeverything, but doesn't mean you
know you have to give up yourdaily coffee.
That's okay, you know, that'sawesome.
(19:55):
So before we jump in, I had oneother question.
You know, because we've talkeda lot about confidence is how
can people gain confidence withtheir money?
Is because you know, Icompletely agree with you.
Speaker 3 (20:22):
These results are achievable for everyone.
But how does somebody gain thatconfidence to say, hey, this is
me too.
I think there's two things.
One is to either just do thethings right You're listening to
this podcast Hopefully, you'vemade some changes already that
are conducive to what you'retrying to accomplish Maybe
there's other content you'relistening to too or reading that
do the things.
There's nothing more confidenceraising than seeing you
accomplish the things you saidyou're going to accomplish.
But by sitting on the sidelinesyou'll never achieve that
(20:45):
feeling.
So that would be the firstthing I think is number one.
And then number two is youcould borrow confidence from
other people, right?
So that is from maybe getting amoney coach, maybe that's from
even watching other people sharetheir money wins and you're
like, wow, look at what theywere able to accomplish.
I could accomplish it too.
(21:07):
So I think those are the twomain ways to get that confidence
is to first just do the thing.
That's the most effective.
But if you need more support,there are plenty of people out
there willing that's awesome,and you know.
Speaker 2 (21:22):
And confidence comes with repetition and having
success and, like you said,building a system is.
It sounds like you also becomemore confident as things are
running in the background andyou see that your system is
working and everything.
So that's awesome.
So you know, we'll switch intothe get ready questions now.
(21:45):
These are questions I ask allmy guests in a little more rapid
fire.
The first question is whatbasic money concept do you wish
people knew?
Speaker 3 (21:56):
do you wish people knew?
Ooh, okay, Basic money conceptthat I wish people knew is that
a budget is fundamental.
Okay, it is not a choiceWhether or not you like we
mentioned before whether or notyou how granular you want to get
with it on a day-to-day.
That's up to you.
But you need to have some kindof plan of like hey, this is how
(22:17):
much I'm allowed to spend, thisis how much I need to save, and
that's that, it's not an option.
Speaker 2 (22:24):
I love that, but I think what you said the
qualifier is super important forpeople is that it doesn't
necessarily need to be agranular budget, and I know you
talked about that earlier and Ithink that's something I just
want to emphasize.
For people is keep it wide,keep you know to your degree of
comfort.
Speaker 3 (22:44):
You don't have to be an accountant track every penny
yes, and I actually even want toadd that one of my clients, her
income, like she, gets paidweekly.
All her expenses fit under oneweek of income.
So I'm like you don't need abudget, just don't spend more
than one paycheck a month.
Speaker 2 (23:04):
That's an easy rule.
Yeah, yeah, and that's it.
That's an easy rule.
We can all you know remember inthat time when we're away from
the house, cause I think theother thing too is people get
caught up with.
Is you know?
They're all you know.
Can I go out to dinner tonight?
I can't remember what is mybudget for meals this month.
Have I gone over my budget fordining out this month, instead
(23:26):
of just kind of having a generalsense of how much money they
can spend that month, you know?
So that's awesome advice.
So what is one simple thingpeople can do each year to set
themselves up for financialsuccess?
Speaker 3 (23:43):
Track how you did the last year.
Are you any closer to yourgoals, yes or no?
Because that will tell youwhether or not your systems need
to be changed or updated andthat'll tell you whether or not,
hey, I need to put more moneytowards this goal if I'm trying
to achieve this goal by thistime which every goal should
have a date and a date attachedto it.
Like what end date?
Speaker 2 (24:05):
like, if you have that and you see like you're
falling behind, you're fallingforward, then you can make the
changes or tweaks in order toachieve that that's awesome and
you know, I, I think what'simportant is you said, well,
everything was important, butyou know, is see if you're
making progress towards yourgoals and are you making the
progress that you expect to bemaking, because that's the other
(24:28):
thing.
It's pretty easy and, as youpoint out, I think something
that's super important is goalsneed to be time bound, is you
know.
Speaker 3 (24:37):
You need to know when you want to accomplish the goal
, because an open-ended goaltends to be a slippery goal and
I think, too, it makes it sothat people get discouraged
because, like, if you never gaveyourself a timeline, your whole
thing is I just want to get outof debt.
And then you see like, hey, you, I'm still in debt a year later
(24:58):
, but if you were never going tobe with your plan, you were
never going to pay off the debtin a year.
That's what's going to happen,right?
Versus if you say like, hey,this debt will be paid off in a
year and a half.
Let's just say, when you checkback in a year, you'll see that
you're that much closer to it.
You don't get discouraged by thefact that it's a year in and
you haven't finished, becausethat was never the plan.
(25:19):
The plan was to do it in a yearand a half and then.
So it's just a lot easier,better on the psyche, because
then people like, if they don'tdo that, they just get
discouraged.
I'm not making any headway,it's not getting any better.
It's like, how are you trackingthis, how are you making that
judgment?
If you never created that goalwith that tangible number, this
(25:44):
number, this amount by this date, then it's easy to get sucked
into the discouragement of itall.
Speaker 2 (25:51):
That's awesome.
That's great advice.
All right, prisca.
The next question is what isone habit that people can change
when it comes to their money?
Speaker 3 (26:02):
Make a plan for every paycheck, every single one of
them.
Okay, so when I have my budgetset up, it's really set up in my
spreadsheet for each paycheck.
This is what this goes to.
This is what this goes to.
This is what this goes to Everysingle time.
Don't just take and no windfall, even Like maybe you get a
(26:22):
bonus at work, maybe your taxreturn Everything should have a
plan set up before the thingcomes.
So I have a separate budget forwhat I call bonus money, which
is when I get bonuses at work,if I get my tax refund, whatever
the case may be it goes throughthat funnel.
Speaker 2 (26:46):
Have a plan for every single thing.
That is awesome.
Speaker 3 (26:49):
Have your system so what money myth are you trying
to break that you need to bemaking six figures in order to
build riches?
It is very possible.
I actually was wildly impressedby this one thread that I came
across on threads where this manwho was making I think it was
like $50,000, $60,000 a year andthe amount of money he had
(27:12):
saved up for retirement I thinkit was around $600,000, $700,000
.
This guy's working a menial job.
I'm sure anybody would havelooked at him and be like, nah,
he can't do that, but you can.
(27:33):
And if he could do it, then andwe have the and he's I think
he's of retirement age now.
People my age, people who areworking now not just people my
age, but people who are working.
Now.
We have so much at ourfingertips with the internet.
There's a lot of capabilitiesto see, even if you could make
more income elsewhere in yourindustry, so that you don't have
to feel like it's so hard tosave.
But at the end of the day itreally is you.
(27:57):
There's a lot of actions on you.
Stop looking at externalfactors making you not
accomplish your goals.
They matter, but what mattersmost is what you do.
So it doesn't matter how muchyou make.
That doesn't define whether ornot you will achieve financial
freedom.
Speaker 2 (28:13):
That's 100% true, and I have worked with some people
who make an insane amount ofmoney and they're still
struggling with their budget.
You know, it's just.
It's not an indicator ofanything.
I mean, granted, it's nicer tohave more money than less.
Oh yeah, and it's easier if youdo the things Exactly and you
(28:34):
follow that one basic maybewe'll call it the Prisca
budgeting rule spend less thanyou earn.
That's the whole key.
Right there is avoid lifestylecreep.
You get more money.
You don't necessarily need tobuy a new house and a new car.
Speaker 3 (28:53):
Oh yes, Don't get me started, Tony.
Speaker 2 (28:57):
You guys should do a whole episode on lifestyle creep
.
Speaker 3 (29:00):
Yes, okay.
I just want to say one littlething.
I mean I didn't want to, oh,okay.
Like, for example, I actuallyI'm a big fan of Ramit Sethi,
right, and you'll have people inhis podcast like, oh, I'm
having a kid, so I need to get anew car.
Why, ask yourself why.
Why Ask yourself why?
Why is it that you have to havea house?
If that's something you want,that's one thing, but there's
(29:28):
some things that happen where alife change occurs, Even for
myself.
I graduated from college, I wentstraight for a new car.
It just felt like the thingthat was supposed to happen.
It shows that I've accomplishedthis goal.
I went through nursing school,for God's sake, okay.
I freaking passed, even thoughit wasn't easy.
There were tears, okay, and soI made it this far.
Of course, I should have a carthat shows everybody that I made
(29:52):
it, but what does it reallymatter?
Would I?
Would I have mattered?
Would it have mattered to me ifI got in a car that was five
years old and I waswell-maintained?
Probably not, but it didn'teven occur to me, because that
is what I was supposed to do andthat is like a twist on the
head for you to like thinkactually about what you're doing
, versus like just doing thethings you feel like you're
(30:14):
supposed to do.
Speaker 2 (30:16):
Yeah.
Well, the perfect example forme that I always come back to is
Warren Buffett.
He lives in the same fivebedroom house he bought in 1958.
And that man can afford abigger house in five bedrooms at
this point.
He can afford a country.
Yeah, he can afford a biggercountry.
(30:38):
But you know, it's like youknow, and that's if you've ever
listened to Warren Buffett, youknow.
But that's what he talks aboutis exactly what you're saying is
don't do what you think youhave to do, Do what you need to
do.
Think about what you're doing.
So that's awesome advice.
So you and Warren Buffett samesentence Love it, yeah, so let's
(31:03):
get out the time machine now.
What advice would you give youryounger self if you could go
back in time, knowing what youknow now about money?
Speaker 3 (31:13):
Okay, I want to preface this by saying I don't
believe in regrets.
Okay, I believe thateverything's for a purpose, and
had I not gone through what I'vegone through, I probably
wouldn't care enough to tellpeople about it today and show
them that they could do it too.
So when I made my initialactually I could even dial
(31:53):
further back than when I firstmade income, I think from when
the money I just had the cardand it was like a flex, like for
me to be able to like hey, Igot the credit card and I could
swipe in this.
I think that would be the first, the one thing I would tell
myself for sure, like be aconscious spender, and I think
the rest of it I love that Well,and you mentioned that earlier
(32:16):
with the being intentional isbeing conscious, being
intentional.
Speaker 2 (32:20):
I think those things are super important.
I went through my ownchallenges having a credit card
when I was 20 years old,thinking like, oh man, this is
all the money in the world ohyeah, but yeah, not so much, so
it came back later.
But you know I mean.
But, as you point out, youcan't have regrets.
(32:41):
Those are.
That is part of what makes uswho we are, and everybody has
things that they wish they'ddone differently, both with
their money and both with therest of their life.
So you know, it's all learning.
What is your favorite go-tomoney resource that you go to,
(33:01):
whether it's a podcast, book,newsletter, app or website that
you'd recommend for someone else?
Speaker 3 (33:07):
so my favorite right now is ramit sethies podcast, um
, okay, I think now it's calledlove and money or something of
the sort, but it was initially Iwill teach to Be Rich.
But now he has a new book out,so he's, you know, going in that
direction.
I just love, in general, hisapproach to money, where it's
about enjoying it okay whilebuilding that dream future, and
(33:30):
that's very much in alignmentwith what I believe.
Um, his like I think forbeginners at least for me, her
(33:51):
money by Dean Chatzky was on themoney.
I think that you know, this is aspace personal finance that is
dominated by men in general.
No offense, tony, women, likeencouraging other women to do
more than just take care of thehouse, to do more than just um
like, let the man take care ofthe money, I don't need to know.
Like, no, like we live longer.
Um divorces happen and you gotkids.
These are all reasons, hey, tobe in the forefront of your
(34:13):
money.
So I thoroughly enjoy herpodcast.
Um, like it was essential inthe beginning of your money, so
I thoroughly enjoy her podcast.
Like it was essential in thebeginning of my money journey.
So Rumi Sethi is what I listento mostly now, but Jean Chatzky
was the beginning of it all forme, so shout out to her if she
ever listens to this.
Speaker 2 (34:32):
Well, that's cool.
Unfortunately, I don't know ifI can count her as a listener,
but I do subscribe to hernewsletter and I love her weekly
newsletter.
Speaker 3 (34:39):
I love it too.
Speaker 2 (34:40):
So it's a great newsletter, but I think you
point out something that I thinkwe should go back and emphasize
and people have heard this onthe podcast before is most women
are going to end up in chargeof their financial household.
They're either going to outlivetheir husband, they're going to
end up, you know, divorced youknow what I mean Unfortunately,
(35:01):
our country has a really highlevel of divorces but most
likely outliving your husband.
So if you're a woman, it's thisis really important for you to
start to understand about yourmoney, why you have the
opportunity to have theseconversations and to learn, and
for the male advisors who arelistening to this, why you have
the opportunity to have theseconversations and to learn, and
for the male advisors who arelistening to this and you keep
(35:22):
wondering why you're losingfemale clients.
This is why Is you need to talkto your female clients and the
spouses of your clients as well.
So, enough said.
People who've listened andwatched have heard me say this
before, and I'm glad that youreinforced that point, prisca,
thank you.
So, to wrap up, what is yournumber one tip on changing the
(35:45):
way we think about money?
Speaker 3 (35:49):
Don't be a Debbie Downer.
This is too many of it.
Like everybody, one of thethings you'll see a lot if you
pay attention on social media issomeone will say I accomplished
this thing.
It's like, well, I can't dothat, you never will.
Okay, you can keep saying it.
If you keep saying it, that'sexactly what's going to happen,
(36:12):
even if you feel like you can'tdo it.
Congratulate that person.
Just focus on that.
They didn't say you could do it.
They said they did it right.
But with every time that youtell yourself and continue to
put the idea out there that thisis not for everyone, you're not
only denying yourself theopportunity to achieve it, but
you're also influencing othersin that direction as well.
(36:33):
So if you feel like somethingdoesn't resonate with you, it
feels impossible for you, youmay actually just want to follow
that person, see what they'redoing, ask questions, but don't
tell them that either they'relying or that they.
You know this is not foreveryone and this is not
achievable for most people.
Like bro, a lot of people aredoing it, so figure out how
(36:57):
they're doing it versus being anaysayer.
Speaker 2 (37:01):
Yeah, well, that's awesome and you've given people
some great tips on how to thinkabout it and actionable steps on
how to do it, and I thinkthat's really important.
There are some amazing peopleyou know out there in the
finance.
You know, whether it's socialmedia, blogging, newsletters,
podcasts, whatever putting outsome great content.
(37:23):
You listen, take the ideas youlike.
There are the ideas you don'tlike.
You don't have to listen to allof it and put all into fact
that.
You know the principles arewhat's important, so appreciate
that.
So, prisca, where can peoplefind out more about you and our
green life and your newsletter,which I have subscribed to and I
(37:43):
always enjoy?
So where can people sign up forthemselves?
Speaker 3 (37:49):
um, so you could sign up for my newsletter.
Um, usually through any socialmedia where you find me on, so I
am in a lot of the places,mainly on Instagram at Our Green
Life NJ, like New Jersey.
I'm also on LinkedIn under myname Prisca Benson.
If you want to follow me,connect with me there, and also
I have a YouTube that I'mworking on coming up, so it's
(38:14):
also Our Green Life NJ, nj OurGreen Life NJ there, and so I'm
happy to find you and meet youanywhere those things are
possible, and my website is alsoOurGreenLifeNJcom.
If you want to go straightthere and you could sign up for
the newsletter there.
Speaker 2 (38:30):
Yep.
And another shout out forPrisca's newsletter Go ahead and
sign up and there will be alink to all Prisca's social
media profiles and her websitein the show notes.
So you can, as always, go tothe show notes to find those
links.
So, prisca, thank you forcoming on today.
Speaker 3 (38:45):
Thanks for having me, tony, it was a blast.
Speaker 2 (38:47):
Yeah, this is a lot of fun and, as always, thank you
everyone for tuning in to thisepisode of the Get Ready Money
podcast.
If you learned something todayto change the way you think
about money, please be sure tosubscribe and to tell a friend.
Until next time let's changethe way we think about money.
Thank 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 Prisca Benson.
Prisca is a nurse as well asthe CEO and founder of Our Green
Life.
Speaker 3 (01:10):
In this episode, we'll be discussing Prisca's
insights on how we change theway we think about money and our
money story.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
Prisca welcome to the Get Ready Money podcast.
Thanks for joining us today.
Thanks for having me, tony,yeah, excited for this
conversation.
So, to start out, tell us alittle bit about yourself.
What is your origin story?
Speaker 3 (01:20):
So I graduated from nursing school in 2011.
And it was a great time becauseI made more money than both my
parents combined and I thoughtthat was a solution to my money
problems.
And in terms of money problems,you know, growing up first
generation Haitian American,like my parents didn't have a
(01:40):
lot of money.
It was always like we can'tafford this, we can't afford
this, but they did do the bestof what they had.
So this was like new for me,right To have access to all
these funds now.
And so what I did with thosefunds was I bought a car, a
brand new car and then, when Igot it for me, when I went for
maintenance a few months later,I replaced it with another one
(02:03):
because I was like, oh, I likethe car that they gave me, that
they loaned me, and then I alsoran up all my credit cards.
I was doing that in collegeanyway, but it didn't get better
after I started making income,because that's just the way I
got accustomed to living is justkeeping just enough money on my
cards to spend on it and thenpay it down again.
Enough money on my cards tospend on it and then pay it down
(02:27):
again.
And then even like with myfirst 401k 403b actually in
healthcare when I left that jobI just cashed it out.
I was like, what use is this?
Like it wasn't that much.
I was like, whatever, now Iknow the difference right.
But in all that time I wasn'tlike necessarily stressed out
about money, I was just nicelyoblivious, nice and ignorant
about it and it was just kind ofthe norm, because that's how a
(02:48):
lot of people around me lived is, you know, with debt, like that
was just the norm.
And I got married two yearslater and my husband didn't have
debt and I saw what he could dowith his money.
I was like, huh, what a concept, like a different way of doing
things, like being able toactually save some dollars.
So I, we started living alittle bit more intentionally.
We started talking about like,kind of like how we want to
(03:10):
spend money, kind of like havingour own money principles as a
couple.
And then still, though, aftertime I would say like five years
later, I'm like, eh, you know,like I still don't feel like my
net worth looks like what peoplewould imagine.
When they think of a Northeastnurse, people always assume
you're rich.
I'm like my bank accountnothing shows that I'm rich.
So I started listening topersonal finance podcasts to
(03:30):
kind of get the missing piece,and I started learning more
about investing intentionallynot just doing the bare minimum
or doing it willy nilly.
How to do it intentionally bemore mindful in terms of
optimizing my dollars today.
And then that led from myinvestment accounts being worth
about $40,000 in 2018 to$378,000 today, and it's just a
(03:56):
market difference just havingthat knowledge and applying it.
So that's why I became a moneycoach, because in my journey, I
realized that I wasn't the onlyperson that didn't know this.
Like I was looking all aroundand people were making like what
seemed to me now like minutethings, like how do you not know
this?
Because I know it now it's likeit's like, oh, and so I'm like
(04:20):
okay, people need to, peopleneed to be like create.
We need to create a plan forpeople to help them realize that
this is not so challenging.
This is not so difficult, youknow, like I know everybody's
situation is not the same, butfor most people, like, taking
control of your money is themost freeing and peaceful thing
you can do for yourself.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
And that's my spiel.
Well, I love it.
And you know, there's a coupleof things that you know would be
great to talk about.
I mean, one is your journey,you know, as a higher income
earner than your parents is,because some of us do have the
privilege of growing up whereour parents have had a
comfortable life.
But you know, I mean, what wasit like for you?
(05:00):
Do you think that was part of?
Maybe not an obstacle, that'snot the right word, but a
challenge for you is being thethat was part of?
Maybe not an obstacle, that'snot the right word, but a
challenge for you is being thefirst one to win yes, because I
people didn't have the knowledgethat I have now in order to
teach me to do it right.
Speaker 3 (05:18):
So, more or less even though of course they like, the
way an immigrant, when theycome to this country, has to
manage money is completelydifferent than someone who lives
here and grew up here, and sothey know how to hustle, they
know how to do these things, butI didn't need to hustle Right,
so like I know how to, I canwork three jobs Like I've
learned how to do that with myupbringing, but I don't need to.
(05:39):
I need to manage what I have,and so like that's a completely
different mindset to like learnand you have to do it on your
own, because that's just not howthey did it.
You know there's.
You just have to go find thepeople who do it and like learn
from them.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
So I have a question for you and I've had it on other
first generation or secondgeneration people on the show is
is there a cultural struggle,or something that people need to
say to themselves is like hey,it's okay for me to look at this
differently than my parents,because there is a tension there
(06:15):
sometimes.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
It can.
Fortunately, I've always been alittle rebellious, so it didn't
affect me as much as I think itwould for a lot of people.
So it didn't affect me as muchas I think it would for a lot of
people.
When you have more, peopleexpect you to do more, but you
will never have more if you keepdoing the more you know.
So there was a lot of likepeople like no, I'm not going to
(06:38):
do that, that's not how I'mgoing to spend my money.
You know, that is a.
It's challenging at first, theguilt from being someone who now
has these, the capacity thatyou technically could do more,
but it would be to yourdetriment long term financially.
You know like you will neverget ahead.
(07:02):
Do all the things and thatdoesn't mean you don't want to
be generous, but it's beingintentional.
So like I think about now thatI'm this far ahead in life and
I'm like I could take my mom outto dinner, like at whatever
restaurant she wants, withoutthinking too much about it,
because I've made those nochoices before, you know, and I
can.
But in the moment when it'shappening to you back, then you
know it's like, it feels likethe worst feeling ever.
(07:23):
And some families, like I said,because one I was I am a little
bit more rebellious and peopledon't really like my family was
just like, okay, she's doing her.
Between that and also the factthat my family just they
eventually started to respectthe limits.
But some people don't havefamily that let up the limits,
(07:47):
but some people don't havefamily that let up.
So it's important for you toestablish that for yourself and,
like you know, put yourself tothe back burner.
Go to therapy if you have to,but put down the back, put
whatever their feelings are onthe back burner, cause you're.
You have to protect yourselfbefore you could help anyone
else.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
I love that.
Take care of yourself, and Ithink what you're saying there
is, setting your limits is superimportant because it's easy to
get run over, but it comes backto so much more than financial,
because nothing you said to mewas like, well, you have to set
aside 5% of your income for yourfamily or anything like that.
(08:21):
It's about dealing with thesefeelings and the emotions.
You mentioned guilt, and Ithink that's oftentimes
something that happens is I hadon another guest who you know he
was in the NFL and he wastalking about how people you
know the rookies get these hugecontracts but they blow through
(08:42):
them really quickly because theyfeel like they have to do all
these things for their extendedfamily, and so it's like you
know that's something he talksabout that he's a CFP now and he
helps them, you know, set theirlimits, for you know you're
going to save most of yoursalary.
Well, one, because an averageNFL career is like a couple of
(09:03):
years.
Well, one, because an averageNFL career is like a couple of
years, but like for the samething.
I want to come back to oneother thing you said, because I
think it's super important aboutyou and your husband developing
money principles as a coupleand I think people oftentimes
you know money is like one ofthe leading causes of divorce is
that they don't talk to theirpartner about money.
(09:27):
How do you feel that benefitedyou and your husband as a couple
having those moneyconversations?
Speaker 3 (09:34):
Well, for one, we were doing stuff like.
Now I feel like people are moreconscious in general about money
, but at the time it was uncoolto do some of the things that
people are doing today, like,for example, the biggest thing
that sticks out to me and I'mlike I still like it's so, like
still feel like a little scarfrom it is when people would be
(09:56):
like why, why don't you havecable?
Like, why, like we would just,first of all, I'm like we don't
watch enough TV to pay for cableand we have streaming services.
So this before cable cuttingwas cool.
So us having a shared vision inthat regard about how we're
going to spend our money meantit was kind of felt like us
versus the world for a bit, andit's easier to do it together
(10:18):
than for us to be battling oneanother as to what is acceptable
to us or not, and so I thinkthat lays just a great
foundation so that even whenthings change and things have
changed financially between usover the years we can still talk
about it.
You know, we can still make aplan together about it, we can
still address it together,versus it being a point of
(10:40):
animosity all the time.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
That's cool and I think that's so important is
because it just grows thatanimosity if you don't deal with
it.
And it's it's part of being acouple and being being a family,
so it's so important to havethat conversation.
So you know, tell us a littlebit about you, know what you're
doing, what is Our Green Life?
(11:03):
You know, you and I did abundle together which was super
cool.
Speaker 3 (11:08):
Yes, so Our Green Life was actually predicated on
the idea that, first of all, ouris meant to be inclusive,
meaning I don't believe thatthis is out of reach for anyone.
I know everybody's journey isdifferent, but you know our way
of getting there is going to bedifferent, but we could all get
there.
Green is because, you know,green is associated with wealth,
(11:29):
but also with health, and thenlife is just that.
This is, you know, our way ofliving, right?
And so initially, this startedout as a personal finance and
health blog, because I felt like, and I still believe, that
health and wealth run veryclosely together.
And also I had friends who,like I, was geeking out over the
(11:52):
money stuff, all the stuff Iwas learning, but they could not
care less.
So, in kind of like JL Collinsmindset, I created the blog so
that, when they were ready, likeit would be there, that
information I was learning wouldbe there, instead of me having
to like start from scratch withthem.
So that's how our green lifebegan.
And then, over time, I juststarted focusing more on the
(12:15):
money aspect, because I feellike it just it's a great
through line to like one, evenwhen it comes to health, like I
feel like people feel like a lotof that is out of reach because
healthcare in America isfascinating, but I'm like there
are a lot of ways to save moneyon healthcare so that you don't
have to worry about big mandobills all the time.
(12:37):
So how to access healthcarewhen you don't have a job or
when you don't have the funds,like those are the kind of
things I like to address on myblog when it's when it was when
I was posting stuff about likebreast cancer, but also also how
to make a budget, how to saveon car insurance, like all the
things that I was learning Ireally wanted to just put out
there for people to have accessto.
Speaker 2 (12:58):
That's awesome, you know, and sharing it is so
important because I think youknow there's such a fragmented
information system right nowwhere people are getting things,
so you know the more ways ofdoing it and you have a unique
perspective that resonates withpeople.
And so I would say to otherpeople too I've had guests from
(13:21):
very diverse backgrounds on isthat you can find somebody who
resonates with you, who writes,in a way, about money.
You know, who may speak yourlanguage, so to speak.
So I don't know if that's themost elegant way to say it, but
I hope you know where I'm goingwith that.
So one of the things you talkabout is changing our money
(13:42):
story.
Why do you feel it's importantto change our money story?
Speaker 3 (13:55):
I think the most critical barrier that most
people reach is them tellingthemselves that they can't do
something.
And that could be for all sortsof reasons, whether it's
because of your background.
Maybe someone's told you youcan't do something.
Maybe you haven't seen otherpeople do the thing and that
makes you feel like you can't doit.
Or maybe you're just scared.
You could be scared and thatmakes you feel like, no, I can't
do this thing.
But in taking action, that'swhere the results come from.
(14:19):
You don't want to just know youshould be budgeting.
You don't want to just know youwant to pay down debt.
It's like how, what do I do toget there Right?
Realistically and I'm not aproponent of doing things in a
way that feels begrudging I'mvery big on helping my clients
find a path to their goal thatfits them, that feels good for
(14:42):
them, so that when they doimplement their budget, they
feel good about it.
Even one of my clients said sheenjoys paying her bills.
I was like get out of town.
She's like, once it's done, sheknows it's finished and she
knows how much she has left todo the rest of her stuff and
it's amazing.
So get out of your own way whenit comes to money If you feel
(15:06):
like financial freedom is notachievable for you.
Ever.
You will never achievefinancial freedom.
Speaker 2 (15:14):
I love that, and I just want to reiterate that it
is achievable for everyone.
It may look different for allof us, but I think that actually
is what it's about, is that itis going to be different.
Now, one of the things you talkabout is that budgeting is the
foundation.
Why do you consider budgetingthe foundation of financial
(15:36):
freedom?
Speaker 3 (15:38):
why do you consider budgeting the foundation of
financial freedom?
So people have differentfeelings when it comes to what a
budget is.
But the fact of the matter is,a budget looks at what's coming
in and what's coming out.
Whether you have it or not, itexists, okay.
Whether you respect it orimplement it or not, it exists.
There is a limit to how muchyou're bringing in, right,
(15:59):
whatever the number is.
That's coming in is a hardnumber and whatever's coming out
is a hard number.
The budget is just telling youwhat they are.
And so for the people who don'tI don't necessarily prescribe to
like budgeting, like, okay,well, for groceries, it's this,
for the toilet tissue, I wantthis.
You know, that's not really myway of budgeting and I'm I'm not
saying that to mock anyone.
(16:20):
If people do want to be thatparticular, great Um.
But for me, I'm more believelike we just need to know the
core numbers, right, when youfirst start out.
You do need to know line itemby line item, cause we need to
know what categories all thesestuff are in, because everybody
thinks that they they're hard up, there's not enough money to do
(16:40):
the things.
And then I look at their stuffand there's always money to do
the things.
It's because we're doing thingsmindlessly.
So the budget helps us setintentions and then we go from
there.
So what I like to do with myclients is like, create space in
their budget, like, okay, thisis going to go towards saving,
this is going to go towardsinvesting, this is going to go
towards spending, and thespending is on whatever you want
(17:02):
.
Okay.
And then maybe you havesomething for housing.
You can break it down whateverways make sense for you.
My budget personally has likefour categories.
I have a client whose budget iseight categories.
Like it's whatever works foryou, but without a system right
that you could implement overand over again.
And this is how I feel like.
(17:24):
To me, it's like instrumental iscreating a system that you can
apply over and over and over andover again.
And when you could do that,that's when you see growth and
that's when you see progress.
And then you know when we talkabout in the financial
independence space, it's like,oh, the first hundred K is the
hardest.
I'm like, okay, when I wentpast pat once, I started going
past that kind of like for likeI stopped even thinking so much
about money because I'm like, oh, it's just happening in the
(17:45):
background and you look againand it's like whoa, you're
almost at 400k.
It's like whoa, like when thathappened.
That's systems, baby, likethat's it.
You just keep doing the thingsthat have been working and
that's that, and you adjustaccordingly across life changes.
Speaker 2 (18:01):
That's awesome, and I think that's true of anything,
because you've made it a habit.
Once it's a system, you'rerepeating it, and it's always
easier to repeat something thanto do it the first time.
And I love how you're reframingbudgets, because budgets are a
scary word that a lot of peopledon't want to talk about and I
(18:23):
think that there's lots ofdifferent ways to know it.
But it's like you say it's yourresources and you have to know.
Speaker 3 (18:30):
Yes, I think too, in the past, I don't want to say in
the past, I guess, depending onwho you listen to, personal
finance wise there's still somenegative feelings that come with
budgeting.
So like this, like there's somecreators, it's like you can't
afford this thing.
It's like that's not how Ifunction, you know, like maybe I
can't, maybe we can see about.
(18:51):
First of all, let's actuallylook to see if we can afford the
thing.
It may mean sacrificingsomething else, right but that
doesn't mean you necessarilycan't afford it.
We have to look at your planand see if this fits your plan.
If you can't afford it today,does this really matter to you?
If so, let's make a plan to doit.
That's what your budget willhelp you to do.
But the whole grr of like youknow you can't afford this, you
shouldn't do this is, I think,part of what makes people averse
(19:14):
to budgeting, and so much sothat even some amazing creators
like they'll call it somethingdifferent, like a spending plan.
It's a budget.
Like there's a limit to howmuch you could spend because
there's a certain number thatcame in.
So what are we going to do withwhat came in?
That's what a budget means.
Speaker 2 (19:34):
Yeah, and I like that and I love especially.
You said you can do some ofthese things.
You don't have to depriveyourself.
You know you may have to makechoices and trade-offs.
Doesn't mean you can affordeverything, but doesn't mean you
know you have to give up yourdaily coffee.
That's okay, you know, that'sawesome.
(19:55):
So before we jump in, I had oneother question.
You know, because we've talkeda lot about confidence is how
can people gain confidence withtheir money?
Is because you know, Icompletely agree with you.
Speaker 3 (20:22):
These results are achievable for everyone.
But how does somebody gain thatconfidence to say, hey, this is
me too.
I think there's two things.
One is to either just do thethings right You're listening to
this podcast Hopefully, you'vemade some changes already that
are conducive to what you'retrying to accomplish Maybe
there's other content you'relistening to too or reading that
do the things.
There's nothing more confidenceraising than seeing you
accomplish the things you saidyou're going to accomplish.
But by sitting on the sidelinesyou'll never achieve that
(20:45):
feeling.
So that would be the firstthing I think is number one.
And then number two is youcould borrow confidence from
other people, right?
So that is from maybe getting amoney coach, maybe that's from
even watching other people sharetheir money wins and you're
like, wow, look at what theywere able to accomplish.
I could accomplish it too.
(21:07):
So I think those are the twomain ways to get that confidence
is to first just do the thing.
That's the most effective.
But if you need more support,there are plenty of people out
there willing that's awesome,and you know.
Speaker 2 (21:22):
And confidence comes with repetition and having
success and, like you said,building a system is.
It sounds like you also becomemore confident as things are
running in the background andyou see that your system is
working and everything.
So that's awesome.
So you know, we'll switch intothe get ready questions now.
(21:45):
These are questions I ask allmy guests in a little more rapid
fire.
The first question is whatbasic money concept do you wish
people knew?
Speaker 3 (21:56):
do you wish people knew?
Ooh, okay, Basic money conceptthat I wish people knew is that
a budget is fundamental.
Okay, it is not a choiceWhether or not you like we
mentioned before whether or notyou how granular you want to get
with it on a day-to-day.
That's up to you.
But you need to have some kindof plan of like hey, this is how
(22:17):
much I'm allowed to spend, thisis how much I need to save, and
that's that, it's not an option.
Speaker 2 (22:24):
I love that, but I think what you said the
qualifier is super important forpeople is that it doesn't
necessarily need to be agranular budget, and I know you
talked about that earlier and Ithink that's something I just
want to emphasize.
For people is keep it wide,keep you know to your degree of
comfort.
Speaker 3 (22:44):
You don't have to be an accountant track every penny
yes, and I actually even want toadd that one of my clients, her
income, like she, gets paidweekly.
All her expenses fit under oneweek of income.
So I'm like you don't need abudget, just don't spend more
than one paycheck a month.
Speaker 2 (23:04):
That's an easy rule.
Yeah, yeah, and that's it.
That's an easy rule.
We can all you know remember inthat time when we're away from
the house, cause I think theother thing too is people get
caught up with.
Is you know?
They're all you know.
Can I go out to dinner tonight?
I can't remember what is mybudget for meals this month.
Have I gone over my budget fordining out this month, instead
(23:26):
of just kind of having a generalsense of how much money they
can spend that month, you know?
So that's awesome advice.
So what is one simple thingpeople can do each year to set
themselves up for financialsuccess?
Speaker 3 (23:43):
Track how you did the last year.
Are you any closer to yourgoals, yes or no?
Because that will tell youwhether or not your systems need
to be changed or updated andthat'll tell you whether or not,
hey, I need to put more moneytowards this goal if I'm trying
to achieve this goal by thistime which every goal should
have a date and a date attachedto it.
Like what end date?
Speaker 2 (24:05):
like, if you have that and you see like you're
falling behind, you're fallingforward, then you can make the
changes or tweaks in order toachieve that that's awesome and
you know, I, I think what'simportant is you said, well,
everything was important, butyou know, is see if you're
making progress towards yourgoals and are you making the
progress that you expect to bemaking, because that's the other
(24:28):
thing.
It's pretty easy and, as youpoint out, I think something
that's super important is goalsneed to be time bound, is you
know.
Speaker 3 (24:37):
You need to know when you want to accomplish the goal
, because an open-ended goaltends to be a slippery goal and
I think, too, it makes it sothat people get discouraged
because, like, if you never gaveyourself a timeline, your whole
thing is I just want to get outof debt.
And then you see like, hey, you, I'm still in debt a year later
(24:58):
, but if you were never going tobe with your plan, you were
never going to pay off the debtin a year.
That's what's going to happen,right?
Versus if you say like, hey,this debt will be paid off in a
year and a half.
Let's just say, when you checkback in a year, you'll see that
you're that much closer to it.
You don't get discouraged by thefact that it's a year in and
you haven't finished, becausethat was never the plan.
(25:19):
The plan was to do it in a yearand a half and then.
So it's just a lot easier,better on the psyche, because
then people like, if they don'tdo that, they just get
discouraged.
I'm not making any headway,it's not getting any better.
It's like, how are you trackingthis, how are you making that
judgment?
If you never created that goalwith that tangible number, this
(25:44):
number, this amount by this date, then it's easy to get sucked
into the discouragement of itall.
Speaker 2 (25:51):
That's awesome.
That's great advice.
All right, prisca.
The next question is what isone habit that people can change
when it comes to their money?
Speaker 3 (26:02):
Make a plan for every paycheck, every single one of
them.
Okay, so when I have my budgetset up, it's really set up in my
spreadsheet for each paycheck.
This is what this goes to.
This is what this goes to.
This is what this goes to Everysingle time.
Don't just take and no windfall, even Like maybe you get a
(26:22):
bonus at work, maybe your taxreturn Everything should have a
plan set up before the thingcomes.
So I have a separate budget forwhat I call bonus money, which
is when I get bonuses at work,if I get my tax refund, whatever
the case may be it goes throughthat funnel.
Speaker 2 (26:46):
Have a plan for every single thing.
That is awesome.
Speaker 3 (26:49):
Have your system so what money myth are you trying
to break that you need to bemaking six figures in order to
build riches?
It is very possible.
I actually was wildly impressedby this one thread that I came
across on threads where this manwho was making I think it was
like $50,000, $60,000 a year andthe amount of money he had
(27:12):
saved up for retirement I thinkit was around $600,000, $700,000
.
This guy's working a menial job.
I'm sure anybody would havelooked at him and be like, nah,
he can't do that, but you can.
(27:33):
And if he could do it, then andwe have the and he's I think
he's of retirement age now.
People my age, people who areworking now not just people my
age, but people who are working.
Now.
We have so much at ourfingertips with the internet.
There's a lot of capabilitiesto see, even if you could make
more income elsewhere in yourindustry, so that you don't have
to feel like it's so hard tosave.
But at the end of the day itreally is you.
(27:57):
There's a lot of actions on you.
Stop looking at externalfactors making you not
accomplish your goals.
They matter, but what mattersmost is what you do.
So it doesn't matter how muchyou make.
That doesn't define whether ornot you will achieve financial
freedom.
Speaker 2 (28:13):
That's 100% true, and I have worked with some people
who make an insane amount ofmoney and they're still
struggling with their budget.
You know, it's just.
It's not an indicator ofanything.
I mean, granted, it's nicer tohave more money than less.
Oh yeah, and it's easier if youdo the things Exactly and you
(28:34):
follow that one basic maybewe'll call it the Prisca
budgeting rule spend less thanyou earn.
That's the whole key.
Right there is avoid lifestylecreep.
You get more money.
You don't necessarily need tobuy a new house and a new car.
Speaker 3 (28:53):
Oh yes, Don't get me started, Tony.
Speaker 2 (28:57):
You guys should do a whole episode on lifestyle creep
.
Speaker 3 (29:00):
Yes, okay.
I just want to say one littlething.
I mean I didn't want to, oh,okay.
Like, for example, I actuallyI'm a big fan of Ramit Sethi,
right, and you'll have people inhis podcast like, oh, I'm
having a kid, so I need to get anew car.
Why, ask yourself why.
Why Ask yourself why?
Why is it that you have to havea house?
If that's something you want,that's one thing, but there's
(29:28):
some things that happen where alife change occurs, Even for
myself.
I graduated from college, I wentstraight for a new car.
It just felt like the thingthat was supposed to happen.
It shows that I've accomplishedthis goal.
I went through nursing school,for God's sake, okay.
I freaking passed, even thoughit wasn't easy.
There were tears, okay, and soI made it this far.
Of course, I should have a carthat shows everybody that I made
(29:52):
it, but what does it reallymatter?
Would I?
Would I have mattered?
Would it have mattered to me ifI got in a car that was five
years old and I waswell-maintained?
Probably not, but it didn'teven occur to me, because that
is what I was supposed to do andthat is like a twist on the
head for you to like thinkactually about what you're doing
, versus like just doing thethings you feel like you're
(30:14):
supposed to do.
Speaker 2 (30:16):
Yeah.
Well, the perfect example forme that I always come back to is
Warren Buffett.
He lives in the same fivebedroom house he bought in 1958.
And that man can afford abigger house in five bedrooms at
this point.
He can afford a country.
Yeah, he can afford a biggercountry.
(30:38):
But you know, it's like youknow, and that's if you've ever
listened to Warren Buffett, youknow.
But that's what he talks aboutis exactly what you're saying is
don't do what you think youhave to do, Do what you need to
do.
Think about what you're doing.
So that's awesome advice.
So you and Warren Buffett samesentence Love it, yeah, so let's
(31:03):
get out the time machine now.
What advice would you give youryounger self if you could go
back in time, knowing what youknow now about money?
Speaker 3 (31:13):
Okay, I want to preface this by saying I don't
believe in regrets.
Okay, I believe thateverything's for a purpose, and
had I not gone through what I'vegone through, I probably
wouldn't care enough to tellpeople about it today and show
them that they could do it too.
So when I made my initialactually I could even dial
(31:53):
further back than when I firstmade income, I think from when
the money I just had the cardand it was like a flex, like for
me to be able to like hey, Igot the credit card and I could
swipe in this.
I think that would be the first, the one thing I would tell
myself for sure, like be aconscious spender, and I think
the rest of it I love that Well,and you mentioned that earlier
(32:16):
with the being intentional isbeing conscious, being
intentional.
Speaker 2 (32:20):
I think those things are super important.
I went through my ownchallenges having a credit card
when I was 20 years old,thinking like, oh man, this is
all the money in the world ohyeah, but yeah, not so much, so
it came back later.
But you know I mean.
But, as you point out, youcan't have regrets.
(32:41):
Those are.
That is part of what makes uswho we are, and everybody has
things that they wish they'ddone differently, both with
their money and both with therest of their life.
So you know, it's all learning.
What is your favorite go-tomoney resource that you go to,
(33:01):
whether it's a podcast, book,newsletter, app or website that
you'd recommend for someone else?
Speaker 3 (33:07):
so my favorite right now is ramit sethies podcast, um
, okay, I think now it's calledlove and money or something of
the sort, but it was initially Iwill teach to Be Rich.
But now he has a new book out,so he's, you know, going in that
direction.
I just love, in general, hisapproach to money, where it's
about enjoying it okay whilebuilding that dream future, and
(33:30):
that's very much in alignmentwith what I believe.
Um, his like I think forbeginners at least for me, her
(33:51):
money by Dean Chatzky was on themoney.
I think that you know, this is aspace personal finance that is
dominated by men in general.
No offense, tony, women, likeencouraging other women to do
more than just take care of thehouse, to do more than just um
like, let the man take care ofthe money, I don't need to know.
Like, no, like we live longer.
Um divorces happen and you gotkids.
These are all reasons, hey, tobe in the forefront of your
(34:13):
money.
So I thoroughly enjoy herpodcast.
Um, like it was essential inthe beginning of your money, so
I thoroughly enjoy her podcast.
Like it was essential in thebeginning of my money journey.
So Rumi Sethi is what I listento mostly now, but Jean Chatzky
was the beginning of it all forme, so shout out to her if she
ever listens to this.
Speaker 2 (34:32):
Well, that's cool.
Unfortunately, I don't know ifI can count her as a listener,
but I do subscribe to hernewsletter and I love her weekly
newsletter.
Speaker 3 (34:39):
I love it too.
Speaker 2 (34:40):
So it's a great newsletter, but I think you
point out something that I thinkwe should go back and emphasize
and people have heard this onthe podcast before is most women
are going to end up in chargeof their financial household.
They're either going to outlivetheir husband, they're going to
end up, you know, divorced youknow what I mean Unfortunately,
(35:01):
our country has a really highlevel of divorces but most
likely outliving your husband.
So if you're a woman, it's thisis really important for you to
start to understand about yourmoney, why you have the
opportunity to have theseconversations and to learn, and
for the male advisors who arelistening to this, why you have
the opportunity to have theseconversations and to learn, and
for the male advisors who arelistening to this and you keep
(35:22):
wondering why you're losingfemale clients.
This is why Is you need to talkto your female clients and the
spouses of your clients as well.
So, enough said.
People who've listened andwatched have heard me say this
before, and I'm glad that youreinforced that point, prisca,
thank you.
So, to wrap up, what is yournumber one tip on changing the
(35:45):
way we think about money?
Speaker 3 (35:49):
Don't be a Debbie Downer.
This is too many of it.
Like everybody, one of thethings you'll see a lot if you
pay attention on social media issomeone will say I accomplished
this thing.
It's like, well, I can't dothat, you never will.
Okay, you can keep saying it.
If you keep saying it, that'sexactly what's going to happen,
(36:12):
even if you feel like you can'tdo it.
Congratulate that person.
Just focus on that.
They didn't say you could do it.
They said they did it right.
But with every time that youtell yourself and continue to
put the idea out there that thisis not for everyone, you're not
only denying yourself theopportunity to achieve it, but
you're also influencing othersin that direction as well.
(36:33):
So if you feel like somethingdoesn't resonate with you, it
feels impossible for you, youmay actually just want to follow
that person, see what they'redoing, ask questions, but don't
tell them that either they'relying or that they.
You know this is not foreveryone and this is not
achievable for most people.
Like bro, a lot of people aredoing it, so figure out how
(36:57):
they're doing it versus being anaysayer.
Speaker 2 (37:01):
Yeah, well, that's awesome and you've given people
some great tips on how to thinkabout it and actionable steps on
how to do it, and I thinkthat's really important.
There are some amazing peopleyou know out there in the
finance.
You know, whether it's socialmedia, blogging, newsletters,
podcasts, whatever putting outsome great content.
(37:23):
You listen, take the ideas youlike.
There are the ideas you don'tlike.
You don't have to listen to allof it and put all into fact
that.
You know the principles arewhat's important, so appreciate
that.
So, prisca, where can peoplefind out more about you and our
green life and your newsletter,which I have subscribed to and I
(37:43):
always enjoy?
So where can people sign up forthemselves?
Speaker 3 (37:49):
um, so you could sign up for my newsletter.
Um, usually through any socialmedia where you find me on, so I
am in a lot of the places,mainly on Instagram at Our Green
Life NJ, like New Jersey.
I'm also on LinkedIn under myname Prisca Benson.
If you want to follow me,connect with me there, and also
I have a YouTube that I'mworking on coming up, so it's
(38:14):
also Our Green Life NJ, nj OurGreen Life NJ there, and so I'm
happy to find you and meet youanywhere those things are
possible, and my website is alsoOurGreenLifeNJcom.
If you want to go straightthere and you could sign up for
the newsletter there.
Speaker 2 (38:30):
Yep.
And another shout out forPrisca's newsletter Go ahead and
sign up and there will be alink to all Prisca's social
media profiles and her websitein the show notes.
So you can, as always, go tothe show notes to find those
links.
So, prisca, thank you forcoming on today.
Speaker 3 (38:45):
Thanks for having me, tony, it was a blast.
Speaker 2 (38:47):
Yeah, this is a lot of fun and, as always, thank you
everyone for tuning in to thisepisode of the Get Ready Money
podcast.
If you learned something todayto change the way you think
about money, please be sure tosubscribe and to tell a friend.
Until next time let's changethe way we think about money.
Thank you.
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