SPEAKER_00 1:45

Welcome to the Hip Hop Well Podcast, where Skip and DJ M Live interview guests and discuss topics such as business, current events, and pop culture, the motivational podcast for the hip hop millennials.

SPEAKER_02 2:05

Good morning, good morning, happy new year, and welcome to this episode of the Hill Top Glove Podcast. I am DJ Ann What with my brother Skip, and this is our first official episode with our guest, Jackie Jones, from the Sugar and Money blog, where she chronicles her own financial journey while giving tips and guidance for others. Hello, Miss Jones. How are you doing today?

SPEAKER_01 2:26

Good morning. I'm doing good.

SPEAKER_02 2:28

Excellent, excellent. How have the holidays going for you thus far?

SPEAKER_01 2:32

The holidays are going good because it's over. That means the spending is over.

SPEAKER_02 2:39

All right. Well, if you could um just give our listeners a few highlights about what you do on your blog and what you what's your what's your purpose for it and what you're trying to do in orders for others to learn and grow.

SPEAKER_01 2:53

Sure. So my blog is sugarandmoney.com. So a lot of people always ask, what does that mean? So I like to say sugar is just saying like the sweet part of life, living a sweet life, um, because I love dessert. So I always talk about food sometimes. Um, and then the money part is just having uh sweet finances. So I like to say uh having a sweet life while having sweet finances.

SPEAKER_02 3:15

Smooth, smooth. I guess that leads perfectly into the first question of the day. And I know this is very important at this time of the year, and I like that you said that the spending is over now since the holidays are over. Um, but we wanted to talk about some holiday spending um advice because you do give advice in financial, um, financial, uh uh, I guess you say financial responsibility. Um, financial responsibility is a big thing. I know I was on your blog, I read through a couple of the posts, I looked through the background stuff, I looked through your tips, I even looked at the links that you had to outside guidance and et cetera. But uh there's a question that we started writing that we had written up by one of our contributors, and this is a very good question. Uh, the spending in the U.S. this year is gonna decline by 7% to about $1,387 per household. It's still a lot of money, but even with the holidays, people are gonna take that money and they want to spend it because they want to have good holidays. They want to have a good experience for themselves, their family, uh, especially children if you have small children. What are some things that we could do smarter with money, especially coming out of this spending season in 2021, uh, that would help us to pay debts off, but also to save money. Because I think right now with the situation that we're in, it's a very uh precarious situation and feeling like you want to spend money to have fun. Like you said, you want to live the sweet life, but at the same time, you also want to have security. And right now, security is is kind of at a minimum with what's going on.

SPEAKER_01 4:43

So I would definitely say um just kind of rein that spending in, get back to cooking at home in case you were like eating out, you know, during the holidays. Sometimes we're running from event to event or we're running from stores and we're just not at home as much to cook. And you know, cooking, um, eating out adds up really fast. It's very convenient, you know, and it saves us time. But on the other side, you know, it costs us so much money. So I like to say, you know, get back in that habit of cooking at home, um, even if it's lunch, just to kind of cut back on that spending. And then, you know, also you want to really start a budget if you haven't already created one, you know, really look at what do you have coming in and what do you have going out, but not just a list of your bills. So you want to really like break it down and say, okay, this is where whatever I have coming in, this is what I need to pay. This is how much I need to save, this is what I have for that discretionary spending. And, you know, really stick within those boundaries to not like go over. I mean, of course, you're not gonna always have a perfect month with your budget, but you need to have some kind of like guidelines to stay within.

SPEAKER_03 5:44

One thing I thought was very interesting too that you said, especially to eating out. One of the things that uh recently happened to me is my wife and I, we recently had a child. And one of the things that comes up that we've had difficulty with is preparing meals, or at least, you know, on a regular basis. So we've actually gotten kind of caught up in the cycle of, you know, order out or to pick up something from somewhere or to go through, like there's a local um business here that does meal prep, and we've been going through them as well. And as great as the food is, it starts to add up and isn't costly when you look at it like from a week-to-week basis. Now we don't do it every week, but we at least like every other week, we'll, you know, we'll go and we'll purchase it. But that's still like $80, $90 that we're taking out every two weeks that we probably wouldn't, you know, we could probably reduce if we were to try to prep meals at home. But I know it's kind of difficult, given, you know, we're still adjusting to having the baby.

SPEAKER_01 6:41

Yeah, so with that, you almost like what we have done in the past, because we've had our moments when we've spent a lot eating out, and then we've had those moments when we really stuck to that grocery budget. I would on Sunday just really take a few hours and meal prep our own food. So, like for breakfast, at this time, my husband was still going in the office. I would do like breakfast, like egg cups, and I would just make enough of those to last us four days. Yes. By the fifth day, he's normally tired of them.

unknown 7:06

You know.

SPEAKER_02 7:07

I love the egg cups, man.

SPEAKER_01 7:09

You know, if you ate the same thing for four days, then yeah, the fifth day that Friday, you probably do deserve, you know, a fresh hot meal, something different. And even the same with your proteins, just get in the bulk cooking of your proteins. That guy that um Fitman Cook, he he actually has a cookbook that's all about meal prep, and he kind of goes through how to meal prep your proteins to save money, and then also your carbs are gonna be easy. It's easy to cook like a pot of rice or roast some potatoes. So you just want to kind of make your own meal prep, get the containers and divide it up by day. Um, and I think that's another great way to save money and also time because if you've meal prepped all that on Sunday, then Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, all you gotta do is grab your food out the fridge, it's already prepared and divided up for you. Just throw it in the microwave.

SPEAKER_02 7:53

Okay. Also, on the idea of saving money and you know, coming out of the out of the big spending, spending area that we're just in with uh Christmas, etc. If you do have extra money to save, right? If you have money on the side and and you aren't in any debt, your debt is paid off, right? I know I was reading on your site and you're talking about saving money since you didn't have to actually pay into student loans because of the hold on the interest and also um hold on the payments because of the the coronavirus and this the CARES Act and et cetera. Where should we be putting money right now? Because we're right at the beginning of the year. All the resolution stuff is popping off. People want to know what they need to do with finances so that they can come out looking good at the end of the year. Everybody's had their black-eyed peas, their collard greens, and their cornbread because they want to have good safe, they really want to do well wealth-wise. Where should we put our money? I don't know if you have any ideas on that or if you have any any strategies or anything, any advice you give the folks because I know I was looking at Bitcoin, and Bitcoin's already up at $31,000 per uh Bitcoin right now. It's jumped over $10,000 in the past two weeks. Do you have any ideas or any understanding on what people should do with that money that they have extra saved over?

SPEAKER_01 9:12

Now I will say I don't have much knowledge around Bitcoin. I just haven't really dabbled in Bitcoin. I just see like some things online. But for us personally, we like to keep um at least $1,000 like that we can access immediately in case something happens. And then I keep the rest of the money in a high yield savings account. So like Capital One has, I believe it's called a performance savings account. It's like an online account, and that pays a higher interest rate for savings. And then from there, you know, I like to keep, I think now we're probably at about nine months savings because also we were throwing that money in there that would have gone to my student loans. Um, so what I did is just created that habit of not spending that money that I was throwing at my student loans and just getting in the habit of saving it, um, which really is good because now it's like, oh my gosh, I see what I can save once my student loans are paid off or the amount that I could be investing. So I would say at a minimum have at least $1,000 that you can get to immediately because when you put it in an online savings account, which pays a little bit higher, it's gonna take you two to three days to get that cash in case you need it. So save there anywhere between three to six months, you know. And I say at least three months because this year I actually got, well, 2020, I actually got laid off from my job. Um, luckily I had severance, but if I did not have severance, I was out of work for three months. So if I didn't have severance, that would have been me relying on unemployment, which in South Carolina, I believe, is $320 a week. And that's before they tax it. Because you know, you you gotta still pay taxes on that money. You can pay it now, you can pay.

SPEAKER_02 10:41

I hope people don't forget that. Yes, you gotta pay taxes on it.

SPEAKER_01 10:44

Yes, you gotta pay taxes on it. Because and when I was unemployed, I didn't have the extra $600 a week coming in. I didn't get that. So it was like it would have been three, I think $326 a week. $326. Um three, yeah, you're like, yeah, $326. And that's that's it's not much, you know. And unfortunately, that's what some people, if you have no savings, that is what you're gonna have to live on. And you know, we were also in this period of, you know, the moratorium where you're not having to pay your mortgage or you're not having to pay your rent. You know, we we own our home, but that if that expires, all that money that people haven't been paying to their mortgage is gonna come due.

SPEAKER_02 11:19

That's due, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:20

Like, yeah, and that's gonna be a lot of money. So just getting back on track, you know, at a minimum have a thousand that you can access immediately. And then I would say in an online bank that's gonna fetch a little bit more in interest, at least three to six months. And I'm telling you, three months unemployed go by real fast.

SPEAKER_03 11:35

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 11:36

It does, you know, and then it depending on how much money you make, it's harder for you to get a job, you know. So if you're making, and not to diminish anybody's job, but if you're making between ten to fifteen dollars an hour, it could be quicker for you to get a job. But if you're making, you know, sixty, seventy, eighty thousand a year or more, it could be even longer for you to get another job.

SPEAKER_02 11:54

Those jobs are not abundant, they are not abundant, right?

SPEAKER_01 11:57

So, and your process to get hired is gonna be longer. You may not have that one interview and you you can start next week. You know, you may go through several rounds of interviews, which you know, that's time that you're not getting paid.

SPEAKER_02 12:10

And you have to spend money in order to get a job.

SPEAKER_01 12:14

Yeah, I know for me, I was in uh a food plant and I had to go buy a suit because I wouldn't wear suits to work. You know, I would wear jeans, I would wear khakis, I will wear like a lone sleep t-shirt or a polo shirt. And I was like, oh my gosh, I gotta go buy a suit. Suits aren't cheap.

SPEAKER_02 12:29

So they are not.

SPEAKER_01 12:31

So yeah, even that, you know, gas getting to and from your interview. So yeah, it definitely adds up. Um, if you're not split, you know, planning to spend that money. And that's another thing, too, a little off topic. But you know, if you're working at a job, you want to see, do you even qualify for a severance? Because several people at my job did not qualify for a severance. Wow. So when their last day, it was their last day, that next week was their last paycheck.

SPEAKER_02 12:55

Wow. And they had no, and that's the thing, you'd want to have some kind of emergency savings for that.

SPEAKER_01 13:01

Yes, because also it took, I know, because I'm a I'm a HR manager, so several people would call me or text me because everybody had my number, it would be a month, and some people still hadn't received their unemployment check. Wow. Because of so many people applying for unemployment. This is 2020, but it's gonna still be happening in 2021. So even though right now these stimulus checks are dropping, the STEMI as they call it, you want to save that money because you may need it.

SPEAKER_02 13:28

That's another thing because that is a that is a that's some money that is coming that that technically is not taxed, that they do take away from us later. Technically, that's what that's how the bill is written. But you do have that money to put aside for savings if you need it, or for some kind of emergency situation, which we right now we've been in an emergency situation since March. So that's also something that's not normal that uh that is quote unquote called the new norm that people are getting used to living in, being in a constant emergency situation where uh funds, your spending and stuff, it has everything's almost magnified. So you don't want to be in a position where you don't have what you need to be prepared. Uh it's harder to do though now, and I guess that that's a question I have for you. In this situation where we didn't get forewarning on what was going to happen, but we had to be prepared. Is there something that we is there a way that we can set ourselves up now in this emergency situation to be prepared for the next time there may be an emergency like this, where say they want to go through another around six weeks of lockdown or something like that? Is there any advice you have for folks about that when it comes to um being prepared for that financially?

SPEAKER_01 14:40

Yeah, the best thing would be, you know, stay current on your bills. Because I think a lot of people too, we have seen the jokes how we like out what we pay is the past due amount, not the current due amount. You know, stay current. You know, like stay current on your bills because if that happens, then if you are out of work, you know, you don't want to be pulling from what you have coming in or what you have saved, at least stay current on your bills and then you know, start saving additional, like you say, save at least one month. Three months is definitely what I think people at a minimum need of their minimum bills, like their bills, their household expenses, and you know, your bare bones food budget. You know, you probably wouldn't be spending a lot on gas because even when I was out of work, I didn't spend a lot on you know fuel, but you know, definitely still eating and then those household bills to stay current because you don't, you don't, it's hard to get caught up sometimes. Um, so you just want to stay current and like you say, just almost just cultivate a habit of saving money. I know for me, I grew up spending money. Like if I had it, I had to spend it. Like I had to buy something. Um, but just cultivate that habit of spending, you know, I mean, of saving, even if it's $25 a week, $100 a week, whatever you can do. And just as you make more money, as you get extra money, just save it. You know, if you get a bonus from your job, if you are that lucky, you know, save it. Because was it last year or the year before when Trump did those tax cuts and a lot of employers gave out a thousand dollar bonus just out of the blue? You know, save it when you get those little quote unquote windfalls, save that money because you're gonna need it at some point in the future. There's never been a time that I haven't needed to use my savings account.

SPEAKER_02 16:12

Gotcha.

SPEAKER_01 16:13

You know, it's been there for a reason.

SPEAKER_02 16:14

You gotta be disciplined, then that's what you're saying. You must be disciplined.

SPEAKER_01 16:17

Oh, yeah. Save it. It takes discipline. It's much easier to spend money than to save it because it's sitting there in your account. And that's another reason why I like it in my online account to where I don't easily see it. Like, you know, my Bank of America, I can see that every day, and I can easily transfer. Yeah, transfer from the savings to the check-in, and I got it right now. But if it's in that Capital One or whatever online bank, could be Ali, could be Marcus, you know, there's a lot of online banks. It's gonna take you two days out of sight, out of mind. And then my then you may not even want it's like, okay, if I gotta wait two days to get it, I really don't need it. You know, it's almost impulsive sometimes that we spend. So curb that impulsion and just kind of, you know, just be content with what you have and just don't spend the money.

SPEAKER_02 16:55

Speaking of impulse buying and seeing things and wanting what is out there, social media can highlight the spending habits of our friends and our families. Uh, we like to see those around us improving their quality of life. Like Kevin says it's all times for real about this. The comparison could be the thief of joy. How would you suggest we balance our financial discipline and our need for acceptance and our approval from others with also being financially responsible?

SPEAKER_01 17:25

I think for me, what I do is that sometimes I do log off of social media if it is getting to be too much, or because you know, they track our habits, they track where we go at, and you start getting ads for what you look up online and things like that to try to curb my spending and not buy things like impulsively. Um, and also realize that my friends, you know, they may have different goals than what I have. So I try to keep my goals in mind. Like, you know, I'm very open with look, I'm in debt, I'm trying to pay off my student loans. My other friends, they may be in debt also and just not worrying about it. Like they they're okay just spending their money, but I know I have a different financial goal than they have, possibly. Or maybe I just don't have the money allocated to spend on whatever that item may be. Um, and I just try to keep that in mind, you know, because I've had those times to where I've, you know, spent stuff, you know, spent money on things that I didn't really need. Sometimes you buy things and you're like, you know what, I really didn't even need this. And I kind of look at the habits of businesses and how they spend, how they create like that scarcity, like you need to buy it now, you need to buy it right now. And that stuff kind of yes, and I guess I've kind of flipped it in my mind to where, you know, when it's that kind of tactic, sometimes I don't even want it to turn off. Yes, it's like because do I really need it? Or, you know, if so it's gonna come back on sale another time. Trust me, it'll come back on sale. They have cycles of these sales, so it's like, you know, if I know it's really not in my plan to buy it that day, then I'm just not gonna buy it, regardless of it being on sale or not.

SPEAKER_02 18:50

Smart. That is smart. That's some wise words. I know my dad, my father, he always told us when you go to the store, you know, you first of all, you know what you're buying, you know what you're gonna get. If they do not have it, don't buy anything. Just just walk out that store, the same money you came in with, just keep it with you. And it makes sense. Um, there's something interesting on your website. It's something that I like. I really like this guy, and I don't see, and this is funny, I don't see many black folk talking about him. I think he's really good at what he does. But but you talked about Dave Ramsey and the total money makeover. Could you elaborate on that a little bit for our listeners so that they can hear about what Dave Ramsey does with the total money makeover?

SPEAKER_01 19:31

Oh, yes. So, like for me, Dave Ramsey really made it seem attainable that I could pay my debt off. Because at one point I had $100,000 in debt between my brand new car, um, which I still have, it's 10 years old today, so I don't regret buying it brand new. There we go. But you know, it was it was brand new. 20, I think it was like $23,000, um, $20,000 in credit card debt and like $64,000, $65,000 in student loan debt. And I've read books before him, not a ton of books, but a few books before that one. But that one, he just really he does a good job of breaking down how easy it can be, or kind of like getting on that little basic plan. He calls it the baby steps to paying off your debt. Versus like, I read books before just saying, you know, budget and pay off your debt, but not really like showing how to do it. And he does a good job and total money makeover, and it's always on sale. If you don't have the money, you can probably check it out from the library. So it's very easy to get that book. But like, for example, he starts off with, you know, baby step number one and saving a thousand dollars, like how we like you just talked about. Because if not, if you go straight into paying off debt and then you have an emergency without any kind of savings, then you're gonna go right back to using your credit cards or taking out a loan. So you want to save that $1,000 first at a minimum, and then you know, start the snowball method, is what he recommends with paying your debt off, and you list out your balances from the lowest balance to the highest balance. So, like if you have a $500 balance and then you may have a $2,000 balance and you keep going up because then you get those quick wins. So it helps you kind of mentally to like, oh my gosh, I knock one debt out. Okay, then I go to paying the next one. So you don't get so hung up on just having a big amount of debt, you just take them out one by one while paying the minimum on the other ones.

SPEAKER_02 21:18

It's a good strategy. It's a great strategy.

SPEAKER_01 21:20

I think he has a total of like seven steps, and that's his plan of how you can build wealth.

SPEAKER_02 21:24

Man, I love that. I I just I just wanted to talk about that because I listened to his show on the radio when I drive around, and I just like listening to the the advice that he gives, but also the it's it's pragmatic. It's really practical stuff. It's not anything that you can't achieve. And I like to say how he breaks it down into small steps so you like say you can see that it's obtainable and that you can do that. I just want you to break that down for the people because I know I think I think that's something that's important for them to hear, especially with your blog and the way that it is written, how you showed that you broke that $100,000 debt down. That made me happy. I was reading through it and I was just like, yo, I could do this. Matter of fact, matter of fact, it's just that I was like, I now feel bad because I should have been doing this. But yes, it is that's that that makes your day, especially coming into the new year. You want to be new year, new you? It's one of those things where it's like, yeah, man, you can do this. It's better than just like, yo, I'm gonna do my ab crunches and get this body in shape. It's like, no, get your finances in shape. It's actually it seems easier than even doing a workout. So that's on point. That is so much on point.

SPEAKER_01 22:27

I would I would say it is. And right now I have like 29,700. I know exactly how much it is, just in student loan debt, so I'm just ready to bravo knock that out.

SPEAKER_02 22:36

Bravo, bravo. Quick question just to because I know we're getting to that time. I want to make sure that we hit these points though on the way out. We have our daily spending habits. I know Kevin was talking about that early with earlier with eating out and et cetera, and we also have our new year's resolutions. But based on your experiences from during this previous year, has it been easier due to COVID to curb the daily spending habits for you and your family?

SPEAKER_01 23:03

In the beginning, to be honest, March when COVID hit and quarantine happened, it was a bad month for us because we had just signed up to do whole 30. So I'm not sure if you heard of the whole 30 eating plan.

SPEAKER_02 23:14

Yeah, I know about that.

SPEAKER_01 23:15

And that diet can be expensive.

SPEAKER_02 23:17

That shopping list they give you.

SPEAKER_01 23:20

Yes, and it was our first time. So we had to buy a lot of the different condiments, you know, those really added up unless you had the time to make them yourself. So for us, it became a little bit expensive because it was like quarantine, we're not gonna be and we're not eating out anyway, but then everybody's like stocking up at the grocery stores. We have to buy these sugar free foods, everything. So the first month in March was expensive. Um, but then after that, and then you were also home all the time. So it was like all these, like we're going on Amazon, getting different things as we're like organizing the house, cleaning out the house. Oh, we want this and we want that. But then I think for us, after definitely April, it like flatlined, like it wasn't all that expending because we didn't really need anything else. And you know, I think you just have to kind of think about what do I truly need? You know, like by then we had, you know, a lot of food in the freezer from you know, stocking up. Um, there wasn't anything from Amazon that I just needed, you know, just to be buying. So then it really just leveled out for us. And then also we weren't eating out. So then we were cooking more, which of course is gonna save us money too. And you know, at that point we weren't doing a whole 30 eating plan, so it wasn't as much uh of food buying. But yeah, so I think for us it did level out, but in the beginning, yeah, out that spending did go up. And then it it just kind of like normalized or we spent less. Because I did also hear that certain um Americans' credit card debt went down during during that pandemic last year or during that time because you probably because you weren't going out spending money. If you weren't going out to bars and eating out and charging things on your credit card, yeah, you couldn't do it, then you were actually able to make progress on your debt because you weren't going out, which kind of gives it a mindset of was you know what, was I did I need to be charging these things up if I truly couldn't afford it anyway? You know, like you really couldn't afford it. You can just be at home, pay your bills off, pay your debt down or off, and still be happy with what you have at home.

SPEAKER_03 25:15

Exactly. Glad that you mentioned that because it kind of goes back to what I was saying about sometimes when we get online or we see people, we see our friends and stuff. I know a lot of times I'll get online and I'll see someone go on a trip, right? And in normal circumstances, oh, okay, so they went to California. And I go back to my wife and I'm like, hey, you know, I see such and such went to California. And she's like, you know, I was thinking about us going on a trip somewhere. Or somebody might go to a restaurant, right? And it might be a nice restaurant, and they're like, oh yeah, they put the picture online, right? And you're like, oh man, they want to eat here. Oh man, we got to go out somewhere to eat now. And so you got those little things, but with the pandemic, it's like now you aren't so quick to want to jump up and to do those things just because of the safety aspect of it. So I'm not so when I see someone post something now, I'm not gonna be like, well, I'm gonna go to this restaurant now. I'm like, no, you can't sit at the restaurant, dining is closed, or with certain restrictions would go and travel into certain states as well, or some people having a fear or concern about getting on an airplane. So I can see how that's kind of limited people as well.

SPEAKER_01 26:20

Yeah, I know for me, I normally would travel a few times out of the year, even if it was different conferences, and there was one conference that was canceled this year, and I was like, Saw that good. Saw that you know, I get my plane ticket credit. I don't have to pay for this hotel, I don't have to eat out for three days at a conference, even though the money was saved for the conference, that was still money I didn't have to spend. And then, you know, of course, if I want to get something different in the wear, you know, something like that, it's like, okay, you know, all of that spending, you're not buying clothes right now because you're not going anywhere, you're just wearing what you have. Um, so it really is easy, I think, to save money. And I really believe it's gonna probably continue right into 2021. Like, I don't think a lot of things are gonna still be open as much.

SPEAKER_00 27:01

Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 27:01

Or if so, hopefully we've just realized that we don't have to go to everything. You know what I mean? It's like you just realize that I did it last year, I can do it again and just continue down a path of, you know, not just trying to go out to spend money, I can stay home or I can do things that, you know, are are cheap or whatever. Because and I will say this uh even like with the online events, more of those are popping up and they're paid online events, but that doesn't mean you have to go to those events. It's like, look, I'm gonna save my money and I'm not gonna attend your online conference, or I'm not gonna attend your online pop-up because these businesses, I know they're still trying to get money, but it's like I don't have to subscribe to it, I don't have to go to it.

SPEAKER_02 27:38

And it makes it like I think you you put you put it very, very well. It makes it easier for us not to because we don't have the option to in some cases, but also you realize that we've already been doing well, not doing. Do you know what I mean? Like we've already been doing well, like we say, okay, I don't even need to go over here, I don't need to go bother you. I know I was reading your blog and you were talking about not being not going on those other um going to those other financial conferences, and you love the financial conferences, but you're like, man, I don't need to go there, and I'm saving money anyway. And that's money you could put towards paying on certain debts or putting towards your savings, and it's very effective. So I commend it.

SPEAKER_01 28:16

Also, I realized that I was almost falling into like this uh overconsumption of knowledge, and I wasn't like executing on it. Yeah, so I'm like, there's so much stuff I've paid for, and I think it ties into our stuff at home too. It's like I've already paid for this stuff. Let me use what I have and not continue to spend money.

SPEAKER_02 28:34

Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 28:34

So equate that to food in your freezer. I know plenty of us have like, you know, a bunch of food in our freezer, a bunch of food in our pantry. We've already bought this food. Let's cook that before we go out and just buy more things. You know, we already have a closet full of clothes. Let's wear those clothes before we just go out and buy more stuff. Like, just get out of that, you know, that mindset of consumption. Because even with the conferences, it's just more consumption.

SPEAKER_02 28:55

That's what I was trying to figure out. Like those, they have those financial conferences, but you aren't going there to save money. You see what I'm saying? It's a it's a weird situation.

SPEAKER_01 29:05

Oh, yeah, I agree.

SPEAKER_02 29:06

I had a question because I know I again I was on your blog, I was being all creepy and stuff, looking at all your stuff like I normally do. But there are some financial podcasts that you really like. Could you share some of that with our listeners, some of the podcasts you like? Because those are ways to get this information without having to go and spend money to travel anywhere.

SPEAKER_01 29:23

Sure. So I definitely like um earn your leisure. I can't think of the two guys' names, actually, two guys. Um, they run that podcast and they're actually also on YouTube every Monday. So it's really good. They talk about entrepreneurship, they talk about also stocks, businesses, buying homes. They talk about a lot of things and have a lot of different guests. So I love earn your leisure. And my husband also likes that too. So I'm sure your audience could be males primarily. I'm thinking, so that's really a good one. Also, his and her money, which is a married couple out of Chicago, I believe. They have a lot of debt-free stories. So I like them also for inspiration because they have like real people coming on there telling their stories or getting out of debt. And they have also um paid off all their debt, including their house in Chicago, which I'm sure that was an expensive house. So they talk about that. They've quit their nine to fives and now doing their his and her money uh brand full time. I also like Patrice Washington. Her podcast is redefining wealth. So she doesn't talk just solely about money. It's like she redefines wealth in the way of, you know, holistically, whether it's, you know, health and fitness, mindset, all of that, not just straight financial get out of debt. Yes. So she has like a whole like pillar program that she talks about. So hers is really good. And I also love Her Money by Jean Chesky. So she talks a lot about getting out of debt too, investing. She does talk a lot about investing in just career women too. So I love her podcast also.

SPEAKER_02 30:50

Cool, cool. Well, I know I think we've we've hit all of our questions that we had for you today. Man, matter of fact, we hit some of them without even having to ask you. So that's how I know you know what you're doing and what you're talking about. So I appreciate that, man. Uh Kevin, anything else to wrap up today?

SPEAKER_03 31:07

Um, like I said, uh, for one, we definitely appreciate you being a guest on our, well, I guess our first official episode of the podcast. And one of the things that I noticed that you just mentioned on earlier is just one of the things that we're trying to do with the podcast is we're trying not to make it like a male podcast or a female podcast. We're trying to make it something where we're kind of addressing like the needs and the concerns of the demographic that we're in. So like the millennial demographic. So we're getting to that age now. We aren't where we're truly established professionally or family-wise, because you know, we still have young families, but at the same time, we're still, you know, we're kind of we're kind of transitioning out of that youthful phase. So we're just learning how to adult, how to figure out how to tackle, you know, just like how to tackle things like how to pay our bills on time, like just like little practical things. Adulting, yeah. So that's been our whole thing. And so, so when we're looking at guests, and when I was looking at guests personally, I thought you would be the perfect guest to have on our first episode, especially going into the beginning of the year and talking about something that's very important to us, especially as you get older, is learning how to manage your finances and learn the importance of budgeting. And so we so like you were just like the ideal guest for us to have, and we definitely appreciate having you up here.

SPEAKER_01 32:26

Thank you so much for having me too. I really enjoyed this conversation.

SPEAKER_02 32:30

Oh, but before we leave, you know you have to give everybody all your information. How can they contact you where they can go get your stuff at? They can get your Instagram, your Facebook, even email if you want them to email your inbox, something so that they can get in contact with you because I'm sure they people would like to follow up with you and your website.

SPEAKER_01 32:49

Oh, absolutely. So I'm very active on Instagram. I'm probably on Instagram too much. Um, it's uh sugar and money. So just as it sounds, my Facebook is sugar and money blog. So I'm on there also, and I also have a Facebook group. And my email is Jackie at sugarandmoney.com. And then of course my website is sugarandmoney.com.

SPEAKER_02 33:11

Excellent.

SPEAKER_01 33:12

And I will be rolling out probably next week a savings challenge for 2020. Savings challenge. Um yep, so we'll be saving $2,500 throughout the course of this year.

SPEAKER_02 33:22

Oh, please make sure you keep up with us on that. We can we'll post that on our on our site and make sure that we keep up with that with you as well because that's something I think we all need.

SPEAKER_01 33:30

Absolutely. I'll let you know when it's out.

SPEAKER_02 33:33

Perfect, perfect. All right. Well, I think that'll be it for today. Again, happy new year to everybody. 2021 will hopefully be better than 2020 was. Hopefully, we can get our finances in order, our families will be strong and healthy and happy, and we can move into here like a beast into this new year and knock everything out.

SPEAKER_01 33:51

Absolutely. Thank you so much, guys. All right, you have a great one.

SPEAKER_00 33:55

That's it for today's episode of the Hilltop Love Podcast. Make sure to subscribe to us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Google Podcasts.