In Pursuit of Financial Clarity with Kate Brownstein & Kristine Kolzing from Truepoint Wealth Counsel

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I am so excited that you guys came and said we need to have this conversation. But like it's just time to like break it down. So like we've talked about advisors, we've talked about investment in planning and then I have Kate and Christine. So who are you all and what do you do? Yeah. So I'm Kate Brownstein. I'm a senior financial planner and shareholder at True Point. I've been there for just about 10 years now, but got my career started out of college kind of in sales and marketing. And then I met a colleague who knew I was looking for an opportunity and said, hey, Kate, I think you might really enjoy this. And it was at another advisory firm here in Cincinnati. And I said sure. And they took the leap of faith and started it. And I actually really loved it. And have enjoyed the opportunity to work with clients and families on building their financial futures. It's such an important thing to do. It's like everyone says it's a thing we should have learned in school and never did. And so I really enjoy that opportunity to get to be a part of people's lives in such an intimate way. Kind of personally, I have a daughter and husband, a young daughter. It was just so much Rachel who keeps me very busy. And kind of on the go and just excited to talk to you. It's awesome. Thanks, Kate. So I'm Christine Colzing and my title at True Point is director of client growth. But my role is to get to know folks who are interested in True Point and the services we offer and understand what are their goals, what are their concerns, why are they looking for an advisor, what's going on in their life. And then I kind of call myself the company matchmaker. Yeah, I love this. I decide who I think the best advisor would be for them. And there's a number of factors that go into that, including their assets, state of life, age, things like that. And their personality, like I really like to match someone with an advisor who, you know, can understand what they're going through in life or what they've been through. I just think will be a good personal match because this, this relationship that you have with someone, they're really going to get to know you. And you want to build that relationship with someone that you can like and trust. And, you know, we see folks working with their advisors for decades. That's it. They're a lot, if it's, it's a long term, right? Yeah, they're not so having that matters. Like when you started talking, I was like, oh, like you're any a grandmother. Like right, like all of that matters into the space, right? And it's what we kind of talked about in episode one and episode two is if it doesn't feel right, like don't stay. So Christine, you're the really, you're the first point in a way. Like if someone's coming to true point, like they're going to talk to you. Most likely. Yeah. Yes, sometimes with commas, they'll go right to the commas advisors, but generally I'm one of the first people that they talk to. And, and I tell them right off the bat, I'm not an advisor. I'm not going to give advice. I'm here to get to know you. Yeah. Because as some of my colleagues have said in the previous episodes, we start with understanding who you are. What are your goals? What are your needs? What are your concerns? What is your life like now? And what do you want it to look like in the future? Then we look at the investments as the vehicle to reach those goals. So I really see myself as the, as their advocate, right? I'm here to get them information, get them connected. I'm not going to talk about numbers too much other than general. But you know what they like on their pizza? No, maybe not, but people get into like some pretty, you know, personal things. Exactly. Because often there's, there's a significant life event that's happening that's causing them to all of a sudden. Yeah. Do you think that's the most common, right? Like we have to go through something catastrophic or not necessarily catastrophic, but you know, like. One of those lights. The weakening has to happen, right? Even if it's getting married or right, that kind of stuff. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. All the way from, you know, graduating college and starting a new job to a one of our house, we just had a baby or my kids are going to go to college or, you know, I'm divorced. My partner passed. Like there's so many so many things that can cause someone. And like we've said in every episode, it's never too late. Never. It's never too late to call and say, Hey, I need to do something. I need help. Kate, I noticed through all of these, the shareholder part. And I know we kind of talked about it in the first episode and not being something that true point is really proud of. But I've heard it. And I, so I just want to acknowledge it because I think it's really cool. And I think it's something that when you say it out loud, like you, it's a point of pride for you. It certainly is for me. I think working in this industry and having been in it for a number of years now, kind of the precipice that a lot of firms is becoming a shareholder and what that means and what you've accomplished. And for me personally, it was a pinnacle at least at true point because it was this group of people who I really respected and kind of, I won't say, grew up with. But in a way, yeah, I did an experienced life with. And they were saying, like we're going to take you in as one of our own in a new way. I'll say it. That was the moment. It was the moment that my colleague, a number of years ago, asked me to be their personal financial planner. She was a shareholder as well. And there's no sign of greater respect to me, at least individually, than when my peers say that you're doing a really great job. We're going to recognize that. And we think that that's great. And not only for us internally, for staff and our team here, but for our clients as well. Yeah, one of the few companies, our size that our shareholder, and one of the reasons that's really important is that we get to determine how we work with our clients. Yeah. So the level of service that we deliver, all of the things that we're able to do for our clients, we do because we believe it's the best thing for our clients. Sure. Sometimes that's a greater cost to us in terms of our time and energy. But we know that's what's best for the client. And a lot of firms are size that didn't have a vision for being a point on or being acquired by larger firms. They're merging with other firms. And oftentimes the client is the one who gets lost in that shop. Sure. And I talk to people every day who are telling me that and asking, you know, what's your plan? Well, my, well, my advisor, be my advisor for the long term. You know, they want to know that when they pick up the phone, they always got to know. Yeah. She, you said something. Oh, let me pull it back. I, I think that the shareholder part, there's such a, you mentioned like if it takes extra or this isn't, you know, this isn't a line item, right? The greater good, the greater good Trumps, right? And I think that's the power you own the cut, like, right? So like you are going to go that extra 20 minutes or that extra because it's your ownership. Like I think that having skin in the game at that is you're exactly right. That's probably why the customer service is exceptional. It's why every one of you feels like a warm frickin hot, right? And it's because like there, you are the ecosystem, right? And you're not there for a paycheck. You're there because you want to help people. You're there because you're part of something you own it. You, you care. I mean, it's a very entrepreneurial ecosystem in that way. Because you are singly responsible for what you need, but you are inside of something bigger. Yeah, how cool. Yeah. You do, and I know our conversation is a little bit differently, but I think that's what I'm talking about. Gwen and Deanna talked about it and we haven't really got into it and it's this women's, um, you have the women's wealth group. And I want to know about it because I was shocked when you guys said it wasn't a space for your team. It's actually a space for community. And so can you tell us a little bit more about your women's wealth group, what you guys do, how it's accessible to anyone? Mm-hmm. Yeah, I can jump in and proceed correctly if I'm wrong here. I believe it's been 15 years now that we've had this kind of women's wealth council, we call it internally. And originally it started as a way to really engage our female client base. Um, think of this kind of industry-wide talked about traditionally as the disengaged spouse who might be significantly, this is an older group of clients who maybe interacted with advisors in a different way. And it was a way to get them to show up and not talk about an investment report, Rachel. Mm-hmm. Not everyone's favorite. Um, sometimes I'm not even feeling it myself. I don't know if it's a witch. It's a witch girl. Yeah, it's like, oh gosh, we couldn't- That, it's Monday, it's early on a Monday. I know. It's people at early on a Monday to go over this report. Yeah, yeah. Uh, but so we started it 15 years ago, get them to show up to things that maybe were an investment base. They might be fun events. There might be an educational component to it. We do a few things throughout the year. And I think really particularly in the last five years, as we, as a company, have grown, we also use it as a way to engage our female employees. What are we doing out there in the community? How are we supporting each other? Um, particularly is that growth in base and, you know, female representation at the firm is probably about 50, 55 women. Yeah. Um, and, and then doing that. And it's a lot easier to- I think this is anyone. If someone told me at the end of the workday, hey, Kate, you can show up and learn about investments or you could go to the social event with other women and kind of whatever that might be. Wine tasting, we have an annual luncheon that we do. Um, those are a lot more fun. You might find my button the seat rather than- Yeah, you know, we need- Yeah, we need- Just- Even the teaching we needed to be fun. Mm-hmm. Yeah. A lot of what we do internally just how can we support our female clients, our female employees and engage them in meaningful ways? And so are they- they would really be for your clients. If we- maybe we can talk through like, do we do it one where we can invite some power to pursue community to come and like just get them in the door or something, right? Like how- maybe we partner for a happy hour or something. Let's just plan an event in the middle of this conversation. This is a great- This is why women should roll the world. Like, you know, yeah, we can do that. Well, we encourage our clients to bring- A friend. Yeah. I love that because I think that's it. It's like, these are not- again, we've said it every episode of this and I think that's what I like is that we're not sitting here going, it's just a great convert. No, it's a hard conversation to have and so how many barriers can we take away from the hard conversation being accessible, right? So like, you've got champions. Like, again, you're- you're listening. I think that's- my dad and I have this conversation a lot. Like, we all want to be seen. That's- I'm like, the human is like, we all want to be seen. He's like, well, I think we all want to be loved and I think that we can't be loved until art. We have a willingness to be seen and I think you're that first step in that of being seen and then they're getting handed off to Gwen or Deanna and having that in-depth conversation. I love how much you guys are willing to push saying like, no, you do have something you want. You really want to drive that 20-year-old car for the rest of your life. Like you really never want to move. You really don't want to have- like, right, it's that like dropping down and saying your vision is big. Like, again, because it's- we don't dream because we're so afraid of our dreams not coming true. And that's- a dream is really the 375 steps from when you hide the dream to the action, right? So you guys are really like dream makers. I know. I can't wait. I've never thought about it. I'm getting you a new tag that says Kate Financial Planner Dream Maker. Big test. You get to see that first hand a lot with- with your client. Why does that intimidate you? Maybe the intimidate is not the right word, but you like felt- I felt- Well, I would say like my personal kind of mission at work is to not be a change maker in sort of the big way. But I think a lot of life happens in quiet- I agree. And like when we talked about like what's the precipice to find a financial advisor, it can be those big things like my spouse died or I'm getting married or had a baby or all those life events that we tend to think about. But it could also be just a quiet festering of knowing you want more, but not knowing what that is. And I think so many people kind of sit there. And you know, I joke that my favorite part about my job is telling people to quit theirs. And so that could be retirement. It could be- I'm 40 years old and this isn't served my purpose. And how do I get to the next- Sure. Like it's not just like, oh, I can see it. There's an identifiable source. And oh, by the way, a lot of those big life events might actually make you want to change your financial advisor. Yeah. When you experience those identity shifts that happen with those sort of life events, you may not feel aligned with that person or more. And it could be time to find a new one. And so when you said that dream maker, it really does happen, but a lot of times the achievement isn't like loud applause. No, it's not. I agree with you. Because it's the car. It's being able to send your kids to college. It is those micro things, but because they've been supported, because somebody else has helped and lifts the paddle with them, right? Like, the dreams can actually come true. And I think that's- It goes back to our Taylor Swift reference. Like, we're comparing our dreams to Taylor Swift. And like, that's not true for us. But from a financial perspective, I think we think that. Like, that's the only way success can be. That's the only way the thing. And it's- no, it's actually just by paying attention to what you have. It's actually by having someone trusted in your corner to say, "Can you wait six months on the car purchase?" Because here's what. If you wait six months, here's the shift. And like, that to me is the dreams coming true. As someone who like builds dreams, right? Like it is. I'm like, no, I like this. Because it is the teeny tiny things, it's those teeny tiny wins that makes any of us want to- the next. So like, if we trust that we can buy the car, then maybe next time we could trust that we can buy the house. Yeah. Right? Yeah, I like that. Hmm. What good work? I'm like, I like- I always love talking to people who love what they do. I think that's such a- It's so refreshing. That's saying that I talk to people who don't like what they do. I think that we're in a constant, liminal space, constant transition. And I think that, um, yeah, it's just- it's refreshing. Yeah. One of the things I love about what we do, particularly at True Boy and Kama's, is that we work with people at every- every asset level in every stage of life. Yeah. So growing up, my parents were of the generation that you went to college, you got your job, you stayed at that job. And a career. And career. Yeah, and a career you're- you're retired from that career and then you've collected your pension, right? So my dad was a- It's a very simple system. The county, my mom was a teacher and so they've had their pensions and- and I remember as a kid wanting more, right? I wanted us to be able to visit family in California more often. I wanted more for them. They were- they were very content with the life that they were living. And I remember asking them, like, why don't you invest in the stock market? Why don't you do something more? And they would say, we're not rich, right? They would say, we don't need an advisor, we're not wealthy. And that really stuck with me. Yeah. But then when I went out into the world and was like, I can't fathom working the same job for three entire years, like, oh my gosh. That was so antithetical to my personality. I really struggled working afternoon on a Friday. Like, oh, I go downhill quick. I'm like, whoa, how do people do this? Do you have a call at 4? Right. Like, we close early on Fridays. Yeah. So I went the route of entrepreneur, right? And my parents were like, what, I don't- they didn't know what to do about that. I mean, they were, they didn't know how to advise me on how to develop a good financial plan, start investing. Well, how was I going to eventually pay for retirement? So I had to start figuring all of that out myself. And as my colleagues have talked about previously, you don't know where to start, right? Especially when you're getting so much conflicting information from everywhere. And this was, you know, even years ago, pre-internet. There still was so much conflicting information. And I didn't know where to start with the basics. But I kept trying. And I would, I have had about, I think, three days. different, I thought they were financial advisors. They turned out just to be investment managers, right? - Yes. - I was different people who would say, okay, let's put away X amount every month and I'll invest that for you. I was like, okay, great. So they would put the money, it was on auto draft, they were investing, and I was like, what's happening? - Right. - They were never letting me know. I didn't know. I would go look, I remember the last one I had. I went in, I looked at my investments, and one of the funds that she was investing in just kept going down, and down, and down, and down. I was like, why do we keep putting money into this? I don't see where the benefit is. And she was like, oh, I didn't even notice. (laughing) Because I wasn't someone in her eyes that was worth notice. - You weren't big dollars. - I wasn't big dollars. - Yeah. - So it wasn't even-- - That's why we don't do it. - There it is, I think Christine you're the-- - Yeah, it's like, well, then why do I, why am I paying you to do this for me if you're not even really looking at it? So when I started working at TruePoint and learned about our commas offering, I immediately got on the phone with one of our commas advisors and said, I need some guidance. I've been trying to figure this all out on my own. I've got, you know, I've-- - I have this IRA, whatever. I figured out a couple of things, but I still really don't know what the plan is. And this was the first time in my life that someone actually made a plan. - Mm-hmm. - Right? I mean, I was-- - With you. - With you. - Yeah, right. - Yeah, like-- - With people who I thought were financial clients. - Not dictating, like, this is just what it is. And you don't, I'm gonna just take your money. And I'm gonna do with it what I want. - Yes, and then-- - Yeah. - But we sat down and he was like, well, what's important to you? What are your goals? What are you going on right now? Where do you see yourself in 10 years or 20 years, or 30 years? - Yeah. - And we actually wrote out a plan. Okay, if you put this amount in your savings and this amount in your contribute, this percentage to your employer for a 1K contribute this much to this account, then when you turn 65, you'll have this. And I was like, oh my God, is that it? That's what I have to do. It was like-- - The light bulb-- - Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. - Yeah, that like, actually planning now, what I need to put away and where I need to put it, would get me to-- - Right. - To a place where I could retire one day. No one had ever sat down and taught me how to do that. No one ever actually built a plan with me. It was very simple. - Yeah, that simple's good. That's what we've heard all this whole time. - It's very simple. - It's like, simple is actually where we need to be and everything teaches us to overthink it and to overcomplicate it. 'Cause if we do that, we have to buy their system. - Exactly. - Like, it's all, I mean, I tell people all the time, like marketing's just a pretty lie, right? Like that $99.99 is not gonna solve your problems. That system actually is gonna complicate it. You know everything, like inherently, right? Like, we have this inner knowing. And we hold, like, it's this. It's you saying, I wasn't until I was working for them where I was finally like, oh, this is it. So this isn't-- - Before I found comments, I didn't have enough money for other people to spend the whole time with me. - Exactly. - Just, you know, to plan these things with me. And how are you going to get wealthy if no one's teaching you those basics from the start? - Right. Well, how else do you-- - I saw a meme and I talked about it and our walkthrough was like, and maybe we've all seen it, but it's that. It was a meme and it said, man, I'm so glad I learned about taxes during parallelogram season, right? Like that's exactly what it is. But we can play Hot Cross Buns. So you could-- - Yeah. - Somebody was like, I could still play that, right? But we learned how to play that on it. And not that I would love for my kids to have some financial education in high school that doesn't come again. Again, we've got, I think as parents, we have to almost separate ourselves out because we don't, you know everything right now, Kate, 'cause she's five, but when she turns six, you know nothing and it just goes downhill for the next 10 years, babe, I'll set you up. For the next 10 years, you know nothing. No, but it is that. And so it helps when there's other people. And I think this too, we get in our own way about it. Money, we get in our own way, right? And I think it's, okay, we all want more. I want more money. Like I joke all the time, like I'm gonna be a billionaire 'cause like, you will. - Why not? - Well, I'm a penny heir. Like what I, I mean, I just want to joke, like look at what I've built on pennies. Like could we actually, what if it was like, we had the finance to do the impact that I know the work makes. So, yeah, I encourage you, like don't be afraid of the money. Like don't be afraid of how hard you're working to give you the life that you want. That's crucial. Like I think we want to have all this money and then yeah, we freeze, we don't know what to do with it. - Yeah, I think the best financial advisor helps you challenge your own personal biases in a way to get to that next level. - I love that, say that one more time. Oh, sorry. - No. - I think the best financial advisor is a person who helps you challenge your internal biases in a way that help you get to that next level. I will tell you, I noticed that for myself in that, maybe I'll say this out loud, Rachel. If you walked up to 10 different CFPs in the building of TruePoint, you make it 10 different answers. And that's not a bad thing. That means that like we have our own personal bias, we have our clients bias, and we're layering all these things together. And the one question I've tried to ask myself in particular the last two or three years is what personal biases am I bringing into the table that influence how I'm gonna talk to this person? How can I challenge that? - Hmm. - How can I layer what I think they want and what they want to get out of this in a way that's gonna help them make a choice? - Yeah. - Because we're also big on education, and so sometimes some clients I'll say, like I remember sitting with this one, and I was like, you can do this or option A or option B. And she just wanted me to tell her. And that made me feel so uncomfortable that she was like, just tell me what to do. And I'm like, these are both good, but it's shoes. - That would be me. I'd be like, well, we'll flip a coin. - Right. - I don't like the way that's the wrong one. But you gotta do it. And so you have to know what they're asking. - 'Cause there is no wrong one in a way, right? Like, we're not gonna give you an option that would be the wrong one. - Yeah, that's it. - But it's not a bit choice. - Yeah, but you think it's bad 'cause it makes you feel uncomfortable 'cause it's the challenge, but there's so much, it's the work as I talk about. It's like any belief that's limited, that's holding you back. And I think money is a space that we all have it in one way or another, right? Like, so much of our identity is tied into this financial narrative, I think more than any of the other identities we might carry along the way. And so it is good, right? Like, the challenge isn't a bad thing because if the goal is to grow, and the goal is to grow as a human, the goal is to grow your finances, the goal is to live life, right? Option A and B, yeah. But awareness, your job then, Kate of awareness to be like, option B is the safer one, right? Because you know the client needs to hear that. - Yes. Pretty much. - I was a joke that like, you know, for instance, what makes me feel comfortable, Rachel is a large emergency fund. I love big piles of cash sitting in the bank. She should be investing those in doing other things. Thankfully, I have colleagues who coach me. - Yeah. - No, that's actually, I like making it and then just knowing, I know, I say like, I'm like, okay, I got it. I don't know what to do with it, but like, I got it. But that's because I hadn't had that before. Like, I hadn't, I had built from scratch for so long that all of a sudden I was like, we, yeah. Oh, fight or flight, let me just, yeah. And for some people that might make them feel really good, I also say like one of the other things I realized is to the clients I work with, being an age kind of across, you know, some are in their 30s and some are in their 80s. And kind of seeing them throughout the lifespan and different things happening to them, particularly when they hit retirement or they go from kind of earning dollars in the traditional sense to maybe relying on a portfolio or a security or whatever, what it might be. How they live and support their values and they're working in earning years are not necessarily the same ways they're gonna be able to support it in retirement either. And what I mean by that is you spend so long trying to get more money so that you can get to this point and you get there and then they get really nervous about using it and they just kind of watch it sometimes. Not everyone would have problem. I'm not sure I would, but I'm buying a boat, you know. (laughing) But like the things being, you know, we'll say things like being a good steward of your wealth or using your wealth as widely, wisely or whatever that might be, may not be the same thing that kind of helps you throughout retirement. Maybe you like just watching the money and, you know, you have enough. You're satisfied. Yeah, but really kind of when you said the dream big earlier, getting them to recognize that this is the moment, that the timeframe is, always shorter than you think it'll be. And there's some perspective that clients in their 70s, 80s and some of their 90s kind of bring to remind you that it's never as long as you think, spend the money while you can spend it. Kind of do these things and they're reflective in a way that you can't be maybe in your 30s and 40s while you've got young kids or you're in your highest earning years or whatever that looks like. And there's just an appreciation that comes from serving the lifespan. - I love that so much where I, what I, the story I was thinking about when you're sharing that is like my situation where my dad was a career guy. He was an attorney, had a great life, like did the things and, but saving for retirement 'cause him and mom are gonna go travel and do the things. Like that was always the plan and then she dies, you know? And it's like, well shit, that's not the plan anymore. And like, I also though, because I think I knew that was the plan, I think I have so much encouragement where he is today in his 70s and I'm like, I hope you take the trip. Like I hope you guys, you still do the thing just because it doesn't look this way because it's that. Like we grew up in that generation of watching our parents say, play it safe. Think in a lot of ways I'm so grateful for their safety and understanding. I think like for a long time, I don't know, I was just like thinking about your parents Christine and being like, oh God, she's gonna become an entrepreneur. How much money do I need to save to rescue her? Right? Like she's gonna be in my basement. Like that's how I felt like my dad was like, oh my God, is she gonna move back in with all these children of hers? Like, this isn't, why didn't you become a lawyer? That's safe. And even though like now, thank God, right? Like I know he's very happy. He probably would have been happy if I was a lawyer. I'm probably, I'm pretty sure he's good with what I do now. But like I think it's that. It's this idea that life is so real. And so there is this generation that's coming to go, wait, they were afraid to shift it too much. The risk like in a way there was risk, but it was always safe risk. And I think some of us are like, well, you know what? We actually want to take the kids to Italy after graduate. Whatever that is, right? And so then maybe there's more permission to be in the now. Then there's ever been. Well, the world has changed so much since our parents. So much. When my parents were coming up, their parents were still, you know, had come up just through or after the Great Depression. Right? Saving was such a different thing than it had so much more meaning than it does maybe for us now. But also they, my parents came of age, you know, they graduated college in the mid 60s. You could still get a job out of college or even out of high school that paid well that allowed you to purchase a home. You could have just-- We don't have that now. You could take your kids on one vacation a year. And you had a guaranteed pension or retirement that was going to come to you after that. And that is just not the way that the world works now. And so-- Because there's such a discrepancy of, you know, that 40 grand salary that you could make, which was big money back then. Yeah. And you could buy the house, but now the house is half a million dollars or a quarter million dollars for the same house that was 70,000, you know? Yeah. Yeah. And well, and the onus has shifted, right? So when you got that, you know, whether it was like a corporate job or even if you worked in public service, you know, the company or the institution, right, would be handling your pension. Yeah. Yeah, it's got it. So many of us, we have to make that decision. We have to know, how am I going to retire? Maybe you've changed jobs several times. Maybe you're an entrepreneur. Maybe you were in public service, you went into private or vice versa. There's so many different ways now that we, as the individual, have to figure out, how am I going to pay for my life now? Yeah. And how am I going to take care of myself in the future? So asking for help. So that's how the whole dynamic has shifted so much that now we need people to help us with this in a way that we may not have, you know, I think I agree with that so much. I think fact then, it was so stable. Yeah. It was so one way and one way out. We have 32 exits to take now that we've never had before. And there's another 32 being built by the, right? Like I think it's moving so fast. I'm looking at some of these questions and a lot of them were just we're covering because it's the conversation. You know, one of the things you kind of wrote out here is how do we want to work with an advisor and what level of ongoing relationships are you seeking? How does it feel to work with an advisor? And then, you know, one of the comments that was added is like, think about whether you want someone to implement and manage everything for you. If you prefer to maintain control, is it like, is it a half and half of people want, you know, a little bit of everything? Yeah. I would say it's kind of a mix. And you're even when you're working with a single or a couple even, you might find different styles even in that relationship, which can be something to navigate. I think going into it, if you have a clear idea of yourself and what you want out of it, if you have a partner, it's a good thing to have a discussion about how participatory do you want the relationship to feel? Meaning, you know, in the way that I was talking about earlier, it could be someone who just asks for a recommendation and I'm going to do all these things, given I'm going to tell you the five things I need to accomplish and you tell me, have it do those five things. It could be, let's chat about options. It could be types of services you're looking for too in terms of, do I just need someone to tell me what funds to buy in this investment account? Or is it, do I want someone to talk about goals and values and the way that you see it on earlier? And then they're receiving going to be kind of speaking. I think I joke that I would be like the hands off, but I think I would feel so empowered by having a champion. Like I would want to do more, work more, be more and more, like, because I'd want to see it. Like I did, that's adrenaline for me in a way, right? Of like, yeah, let's go. Let's meet that goal. Yeah. I think just relating back to what I shared earlier from my experience. I didn't know what questions to ask and I didn't know what to look for. So I thought when someone said, hey, I have this person who manages my money, you should have them start managing your money. I was like, oh, okay. Deal. So much to manage my money. And so I, you know, okay, here's, here's the extra that I have that I can earmark for you to invest. I didn't know that what I really should have been asking is, is that enough? Should I be putting away more? Is this the right place for me to be putting this money if my goal is to retire at this age? Like, I didn't know what questions to ask, but always in the back of my mind, the question I was asking myself is am I doing enough? Always. Am I doing enough? Should I have enough? Am I doing enough? Right. So finding, you know, as someone's maybe exploring, like maybe that thought is keeping you up at night, start asking yourself what's most important to me? Do I want to know what the plan is? Do I want someone who's going to be my partner? I'm a single, I'm a single gal. I like having someone who feels like my partner. I'm in about all my ideas off of, I call Jordan when I'm thinking about leasing a new car, when I thought about buying a new condo. When I'm, you know, talking about how much to, you know, how do I maximize the best, like, ways to save and invest. And I like that we have that relationship because, and even when I've been in relationships, money was always a challenge. Money is all, yeah. And just because I was with a partner doesn't mean they know more than me. Say it loud for the girls in the back. And you know, I'm going to have to go here. But studies have shown that men have more confidence when it comes to money and investing than women. Yet, women have more knowledge and actually do better when it comes to investing than men. So while men have more confidence, they often don't know what they're doing. While women don't have as much confidence, but they've probably already done more research than they give themselves credit for. It's why we always say apply for the job, right? It's the same like, just apply. It does not matter if you don't have that initial, you probably don't even need to know a quarter of it if we're being wrong, is it? Right? Yeah. So having someone like, know what your goals are. What is it that you, what's keeping you up at night? What are the things you keep thinking about? And then start interviewing, start asking. It's like, you know, your advisor works for you. Just like your doctor works for you. My dad always says that they work for me. Yeah. Right? So when I go in there, I'm going to ask all the questions. Yeah. I want answered. So as you're talking to other people, you know, if you're looking for someone to work with, you've got to know what's important to you. Do I want someone who's going to? just manage my investments because I already know what my plan is. Do I want someone who's going to build a plan? But all my you know I'm investing in my company 401k and that's what I'm gonna do for now. Whatever that is what are your goals what's important to you then you can start to find who would be the right fit. I love to in this series where like we've did basic and then we kind of went back and like this this third part is the tie-in to both of them it's the marimen right of like yes the planning and the pushing and the dream maker. I'm sorry I'm glad it's stuck. It's stuck. But then these real life Christine I'm glad you're sharing from such because you didn't grow up in this industry this is not your background you were the entrepreneur you did not go to college to have this specific degree right and so you're going no like here I'll get and and like I'm the mid-career successful white woman like all of that like I think what I like and I why I'm saying it out loud and not to make uncomfortable is that you're the very typical and you're still sitting here going I didn't know and I was being advised incorrectly and like I'm the typical oh she's got it she's got it all figured out like just the judgment that the world brings and not to go there but I think I can go there with you because like we've dismantled all of those beliefs in a way and like no what's really true is like it's happening to all of us and the only thing we can do is choose to get uncomfortable and have the conversation with somebody and ask for help and to like do the work to have even this conversation today where we break down it as many barriers like if they've listened to this three-part series and they're still afraid talk to your therapist because that's important because like there's something bigger holding you back right like that's the soul work like that's important because this should be accessible to you no matter where you're at in your life stage or career because like what you said was if somebody would have advised me differently 10 years ago I'd be in a completely different financial position and it's not wrong or right it's just now that you know better you do better right so I love that you shared like your real true honest moments there because I think that's really empowering for these listeners to go oh crap like I've been given this guy some money every month for years and like what is he doing with it because I think how many raise your hand if you've even subscriptions that like you don't watch them but you subscribe one day five years ago and so it's just that reminder that you matter in your money matters yeah and if you're not if you're not comfortable if the person you're working with doesn't feel like they're on your side yeah listening I know we've talked you've talked about that so good to find someone else trust your gut and you're you can even be a point to like if you have somebody like hey I think this is a good match but like if you don't think it is like just call me back like here's my number like I want to make sure that I get you to the right person and and because I think two some of that is the pretense we come because that person's probably telling you what you think you want to hear versus actually what they want they have to get through that we have to have a human yeah I think that's we come and we're like okay let me tell her everything she probably think she wants to hear got it yeah I'm a such a good student yeah and then you get mismatched well one thing I another thing I really love about true point and commas which I'm sure you've seen just in talking with all of us is that we're pretty down to earth folks yeah and as someone who came into this industry like some of my colleagues not studying this in college yeah that was a woman studies me right for goodness sake so then I became an entrepreneur right here I everyone at our firm really speaks to our clients from a perspective of this isn't their job that they didn't grow up with this they didn't go to college for this so we don't use the jargon and we don't talk over you and we don't just focus on the numbers it's you know really getting to know you it's it's explaining things and educating in a way that you feel confident more empowered more knowledgeable yeah a lot about that with our colleagues too because once you feel that knowledge that confidence then it's like okay now I can go out in the world yeah right and be the person I want to be do the things I want to do and I'm not staying up all night wondering what my future is gonna look like yeah you know I love oftentimes people run things by me and say Christine does this make sense and I'm like no what is that acronym and they're like oh that means this I'm like right out right it out for them because you're coming at it from just a different perspective and again like it's the it's what you talked about it's all the biases that we have right like for you about you like money not money what size I am like like all of it and like none of it's true like we can choose to believe all of that's still true but like we've dismantled the system in a really great way and now this rebuild is happening because there's organizations like you where you're you're going wait we can keep building into the system that does say that this sector of people never have access or if we can actually create access for them today we can get them to where they actually want to go tomorrow and not in 20 years yeah that is so it's so powerful so powerful we've covered so much is there anything that feels super important to you to to push out that you don't think you talked about I know we covered so much but is there anything else that you just are like man just don't forget and if not it's fine I would say like I could get into all the technical stuff and put you out of sleep but I think the biggest thing for me if you walk away from the series and think like how am I gonna find someone to help me change my money story right like the beliefs that I have about myself that probably aren't true the things I should be doing that I just want help with you know for my older clients that might look like helping them be brave for my younger clients that might be helping them build resilience and be courageous and ways they didn't know about right and so like when you're looking for someone certainly there you know there's a million articles about how to find a financial advisor out there what questions you should be asking them be engaging be persistent but help change that story I love that I love that so much oh I think that was great I know I know like what she was like the change in money story like it's that like you have the ability to again when we know better we do better right like it's a very and it it's the same exact thing in this industry this series has been so cool to like just engage in these conversations and to be able to share it with our community I can't wait to like hear the the impact and the empowerment by us in our willingness to like do a series on this conversation so thank you to TruePoint thank you guys for your work that you do thanks for bringing this to the power to pursue community it means a lot that you guys really wanted to dive head first into this topic and conversation and like break it down I think that's what I appreciate the most is my I was like Christine I'll do it but we got to break it down like we can't that's part of the issue is that we sell big words and these people we it creates a barrier and so thank you for I think taking barriers down with us today I hope you all have enjoyed this series it's been really neat to engage with all the levels of people in one office to and see the collaboration I always love ending with one question and true Rachel fashion but Kate and Christine what are you grateful for I can go I think at this stage probably I'll say self-knowledge meaning kind of distressing myself it's taken some years and some life experience Rachel but like for me uncertainty is no longer failure it's kind of right like it's the beauty of being alive if we woke up right it's cliche but if I woke up I knew what was gonna happen I would be boring yeah and despite wanting some boring days I'm kind of grateful that I know enough to kind of trust myself and being able to handle whatever comes at me I love not nailed it okay well it is her birthday oh my god it's your birthday that's right it's good so it's always a good day it's like this my personal year my one-culling makes fun of me because I set my goals around my birthday and I like yeah I think that's genius of course I don't want to do anything in January let alone set a new goal I'm still in like hibernation you know I say I'm grateful for this. I'm going through a moment in my life right now, kind of an extended moment where I'm reflecting on who I've been and trying to set a vision and intention for who I want to be. I crossed a milestone birthday a couple of months ago and that in conjunction with this shift over the last couple of years from entrepreneurship to working within an organization. There's a lot of soul searching I've done around that. And so while it's not always been easy, I'm grateful for the opportunity to be able to look at the next half of my life, which hopefully there's another half. Oh yeah. And think about who it is I want to be in this next half of my life. Not just it was always what do I want to accomplish? And now it's shifting to who do I want to be. So beautiful. Which is yeah, there's a bit of internal identity shifting in there. But yeah, I'm grateful for the space that I have right now to do that. It's great. No, thank you guys. Thanks so much for sharing. Thanks for going there with me. Thanks for telling the whole story. Thanks for having a birthday today when this is being recorded. Thanks, mom and dad. Thanks, Kate's parents. I thank you to TruePoint and the work that you all are doing. And thank you for being part of this and bringing the series to life for our community. It means a lot to have you all on. And I hope you all enjoyed this. I hope this series has given you permission and empowered you to take control of your money story and the narrative that you have around it. And I hope you make radical change with yourself and your dollars, whatever that looks like to you. And if you buy a boat, invite me out on it. Because I think I'd be a good boat friend. I don't want a boat. If you've been here enough, you'd probably get the boat. But I can hang on a boat with you anytime. So this is your host, Rachel DeRotre. It's been a really great time being here with you today. And I can't wait for the next episode. [MUSIC PLAYING]