Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Oh, every so often there's a new twist and an
old financial planning idea, and my age says that I
may retire sooner than some. This is West Michigan's Morning
News Steve Kelly and Brett Pakita. But you know Jill Schlessinger,
CBS News business analyst and host of Jill on Money.
I'm in radio, so I'm probably a little further behind
(00:21):
than you think. So TikTok is getting into the fray.
And that is the thing that makes me nervous about
what you are about to talk about.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Wait a minute. If something new can present an idea
in a way that brings a new crop of folks
into the world of managing their financial lives, then I'm good.
Speaker 3 (00:41):
I'm good with it.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
I feel good. So here's our new thing. It is
called the great lock in. Let me use it as
a sports analogy. Since I am an aging athlete. You've
heard some of our great broadcasters on CBS Sports say
he's really locking in this Sunday when talking about probably
someone on your laweons, not certainly none of my jets,
(01:02):
and they're saying, like, look at the hyper focus that
this guy, or it's the WNBA, this gal is doing right,
and so what can we use that focus for in
our own lives? And on TikTok, there's a nice trend
which is about people saying, let me use the great
lock in to focus intensely on one thing in my
(01:26):
financial life by the end of the year. It's kind
of good, like, let's not wait until January and do
financial resolutions. Let's actually capture the actual energy and focus
right now before the end of the year. I kind
of dig this because it's really saying to people, you
can't control the markets, You certainly can't control the economy.
(01:46):
There are things in your life you can control. Why
are we waiting till January second to do that?
Speaker 1 (01:50):
All right? Well, so TikTok isn't just for watching guys
get racked by whiffle.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
Bats or dogs doing.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
Yeah, well, I appreciate it, But when it comes to that,
you know, those of us again of a certain age,
save for yourself first, and then plan for the future
and don't forget and anything new.
Speaker 2 (02:13):
Well, I mean I will say that someone just asked
me in the Great City of Buffalo. One of the
anchors there said, Jill, you know me, You know I'm
of a certain age. And you know, what do you
think I should lock in on? And I said, well,
I do know you, and I also know your husband
is employed by this industry, which is tenuous at best.
So I would, if I were you, lock in on
(02:35):
the idea of what would happen if both of us
lost our jobs tomorrow, What would our financial life look like,
what would our emergency reserve be? What is the break
the glass scenario? Which is not unlike what I was
doing with federal employees who called the program a couple
of weeks ago and saying when they were like what
should I do? I'm like, Okay, where's Plan B? Do
you have something lined up? So you know what you
(02:55):
would do if something bad would happen? And so for
everyone else you may not be in this kind of
an industry. Maybe things are good. Maybe it's simply you know,
not Jill, she always says, put six to twelve months
of living expenses in an emergency reserve. I don't know
what my living expenses are, so maybe your lock in
should be why don't I track my spending through the
(03:17):
end of the year. Why don't I just do that?
Ten eleven weeks to go?
Speaker 3 (03:21):
Do it?
Speaker 2 (03:21):
And there are things you can actually proactively accomplish before
you even get to your dumb resolutions that you're going
to blow through ninety days later. Now you're going to
have good luck with that. But I mean, I like
the idea of people feeling less out of control.
Speaker 3 (03:37):
Well and Jill the perfect timing, right, because a lot
of companies, like ours, they're getting ready for open enrollment
for your benefits and yeah, look at you know, what
do you want to save. I just had this conversation
my son because he understands it, but he's never had
it before. I'm like, you have an employer match. Yeah,
that's free money, take advantage of it. And so you know,
(03:59):
but those conversations are fun to have, like you said,
and you do it now so you don't worry about
it at the end of the year.
Speaker 2 (04:05):
Yeah, And I think that, like open enrollment is such
a great time that we should really be focusing on,
you know, the sort of the retirement plan, but also
the healthcare issues that come up. You know, maybe you
have a kid who's all of a sudden is like, oh,
it turned twenty seven, got to find their own insurance,
or maybe you're in a situation where you're like well,
(04:27):
you know, I really haven't done that, will that Jill's
told me to do all those, but I have legal
services covered in my employee benefits, So there are a
lot of things that have been added to employee benefits
that are great ideas that can kickstart some of these conversations.
And look, if you're feeling like I don't know where
to start, Lucky for you, I have a blog post.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
So nails on money dot com. How's that. We'll get
the link in the podcast section at with radio dot com.
Jill's lessinger always great stuff.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
Thank you, Take care,