Check Your Emotions: Navigating Finances as a Young Adult

Episode 90: Pocket Change Podcast

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Full Transcript

Shea: 

Hey, this is Shea! 

 

Carrie: 

And this is Carrie. 

 

Shea: 

Welcome to the Pocket Change Podcast. 

 

Carrie: 

Where you'll learn better ways to spend, save, and invest, and take control of your financial journey. So, you know today. Today our guest is going to talk about something that most of our listeners can relate to. The whole process of moving and changing jobs and that whole transition and how expensive it can be. 

 

Shea: 

Yeah. I mean, going through one of those things at a time is a lot, but going through both at the same time and just navigating finances as a young adult, I hope our listeners across the board will be able to relate to all the advice and suggestions we'll get into. 

 

Carrie: 

We're excited to welcome our guest, Steve Williams, Community Engagement Specialist here at Leaders. Welcome to Pocket Change. 

 

Steve Williams: 

Thank you guys for having me. 

 

Carrie: 

Thank you. So, tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got to Leaders. 

 

Steve Williams: 

Yes. So, I'm from Memphis, Tennessee, specifically, Collierville. I grew up there. My parents still live there. And but originally, I was born in Louisiana, but then we moved kind of when I was, like, five and then grew up in, Collierville and I went to First Assembly Christian School - Go Crusaders. And then in the middle of, like, senior year, had no idea where I was going. I went to a random college fair. Found out about Union. And so, I never heard of Jackson, Tennessee before either. And so, I was like, “Well, let’s tour it, let's do it.” And so, I ended up going and union, Loved it. Enjoy my experience there. Ended up working there for three years. And then periodically I would hear about Leaders and I'd be like, “Who are these people? Like, what are we?” But then my supervisor one day was like, “Hey, like. Like, I just became a member at Leaders, you need to become a member of Leaders. Like, they have great people there, great benefits. All the things, and great savings accounts and checking accounts, like you need to go and try it.” I was like, “Okay.” Now, did I do it right away? No. But, I just, it just it stayed in my brain. So, then time came around and we were thinking about moving to Memphis, and the Lord was kind of like leading us to Memphis. And so, then a friend of mine sent me a job and she was like, “Hey, like, you need to apply, like for this job if you're looking to be in Memphis.” I was like, “Well, all right.” And so, I researched and actually a couple of months before, I had just gotten an account with, like, savings accounts with Leaders. And so, just started and looked and then now I'm here. Yeah. 

 

Carrie: 

So happy to have you part of our team. 

 

Shea: 

All right. So, you've been in Jackson. You've been in Memphis. What's your favorite thing about the Memphis community and what do you enjoy about being there? 

 

Steve Williams: 

They're so, they're so resilient and, like, so very determined. Like people you meet people all the time like they their full-time job might be teaching, but they might be a real estate agent, or they're getting their masters, or they have a side hustle that they're doing. And so always just trying to, like, work hard and determined to make a better life for themselves and for their families. Also, Memphis just has so much character. Like it's just like many people from all different types of lifestyles and backgrounds. It's just really cool to see, like, it really is truly like a melting pot of different cultures all in one city, yeah. 

 

Carrie: 

That's great. So, what is your favorite thing to do in Memphis or your favorite place to eat? You know how important the food part is to me. 

 

Steve Williams: 

So, I would say one of them is Playa Bowls in Arlington. Love being there. 

 

Carrie: 

Tell us what that is. 

 

Steve Williams: 

Playa Bowls is like an acai bowl, and you get to add and customize your bowl to whatever you want. So, you can add like granola, honey. They have this new, like, flavor called, like, coconut cream. And so, you can put that on top of it. So that place is really good. I also love Central Barbecue, Commissary. There's this place, since I'm from Louisiana, it's called Owen Brennan's. It's kind of like a New Orleans. 

 

Shea: 

I was gonna say, if you had a New Orleans style place you were thinking of. 

 

Steve Williams: 

Yes, Owen Brennan’s is my place. They have a wonderful brunch ,if you're ever there. They have a wonderful brunch. So, I think it was my favorite style. 

 

Carrie: 

Great. So, I bet you're happy to be back in that area to find your old stomping grounds and be able to be, you know, bring your wife and do those things together at this point in your life. 

 

Steve Williams: 

It's very fun. Yes. And being around family and kind of settling back down there, it's really cool.  

 

Carrie: 

That’s great. 

 

Shea: 

All right. So, with your background in higher ed and working at Union, you know, how did that, and interacting with students, and how did that prepare you for what you're doing now? 

 

Steve Williams: 

Absolutely. It definitely gave me like the fundamentals of, I would say being intentional with people. Of course, when you're recruiting and you're trying to get people on board for whatever product you're selling or thing that you're offering, a service that you're offering. It truly is all about okay, asking them questions, why, like, how are they interested? Can I get them interested? Are they even in the market? What we're looking for? And so, asking those intentional questions, but also loving them and serving them, that's typically that's truly what our job here is, is loving and serving people. And so, Union definitely gave me the fundamentals of that and how to kind of explain to people like even though Union is expensive and, and you want to make it work and make it happen, it truly is an investment in your future. Like, these faculty and staff, like they love you. They care for you. And so, kind of explaining the value of the investment that you're making automatically translates to over doing here as well. No matter where, like, I don't know, whatever stage of life that you're going through, you always need, a community or an institution that's going to help you along the way and doesn't like, just leave you where you are, doesn't care about you. But like, truly Leaders, people do care, and they want you to succeed holistically. They want you to succeed holistically. 

 

Carrie: 

So yes, I agree with you. You're correct. And I love that you have experienced that so far working with us. So how do you handle sensitive topics like finances, especially when meeting people for the first time? 

 

Steve Williams: 

Absolutely. It can definitely be a touchy subject. But I will always just tell families whenever I meet with them, and I know it’s a sensitive subject. And a lot of times it's people's dream, like to go to a place like Union or wanting to, I don't know, better themselves, like financially in this space. 

 

Shea: 

Buy a car, buy a house. Big things. 

 

Steve Williams: 

Right. 

 

Shea: 

It can be a big step for people. 

 

Steve Williams: 

Yes. It can very, it can be very touchy. And so, I would always, just listen. Like people, oftentimes they just want you to listen to them and like, listen to where they are, what they're going through. And so once again, I would just ask questions. I would just dive deep, see where I can get with them. And then try to ease their brains of being like, “Okay, if you make these small little steps, if you, do this and instill this, have it or, realize the investment that you're making in these small little decisions now, it's going to benefit you in the future.” And so that's what I would kind of tell people to ease their brains of like, and also, it's a partnership. Like, I'm doing everything I can to help you, and you're going to do everything you can to help yourself and to change those habits that you're, that you're doing. 

 

Carrie: 

That’s great. 

 

Shea: 

Yeah. That translates perfectly into, you know, financial habits and making those small incremental changes. So, it's been a season of transition, moving, changing positions and jobs. So, what did you learn about managing your finances during those times of transition? 

 

Steve Williams: 

Yes, it was definitely a transition for real. I had to learn that like there's so much in the like the moving process that you don't necessarily account for. Like, you don't realize how much stuff you have until you move. And so, you have to get all these boxes, and you might have to hire movers. You might have to, I don't know, like, hey, if you're renting a place, okay. You need first and last month's rent. You need to secure a deposit. And, like, all these different, like that you're accruing all these expenses that you're not really thinking of. And so, just managing that that was a little hard just to constantly be shelling out money.  

 

Carrie: 

It’s so expensive, yes. 

 

Steve Williams: 

And it was just like, “Oh my gosh, again, I had to pay for this again and this and this.” And so really, making sure that we did have something set up or we did set enough aside, to where we can function without having to constantly be pulling from like a checking account or anything like that, but, setting up enough to where, and budgeting, and talking with my wife, being like, “Okay, this month we need to be conservative. We can't go out all the time this month, or we can't shop at this place like we used to.” But, being conservative and budgeting with what you have. 

 

Shea: 

That's right. 

 

Carrie: 

So, what advice would you give to our listeners who are considering going through a transition, such as moving or changing jobs? Do you have any advice for them? 

 

Steve Williams: 

Yes, I would definitely say, like I was speaking to or like planning like really do plan like sit down, whether it's, yourself or with your spouse of just really asking the hard questions of, “Do I want to pay with a credit card on this? Do I want to actually pull out of my savings? Do we want to pull out our savings for this? Do we want to,” I don't know, really, just you really just have to plan and think accordingly as to what you are doing. And also, like, “Okay, what's the cost of living where we're moving? Or, okay, how much? How much more am I getting paid? Am I getting a pay raise? Am I saying the same? Are there bonuses involved? And so, really making sure that you are aware of what you're getting yourself into because, if you are not aware, then you can definitely be racking up expenses and maybe not, and you don't have enough to pay for what is coming up in the future. And so really just yeah, accounting for the cost plan. 

 

Carrie: 

Plan ahead. 

 

Shea: 

So, life always has different set of circumstances. Curveballs come even through transitions when we're not anticipating it. So, what other suggestions would you give to listeners to be prepared for those, life's emergencies or unexpected expenses that come up? Because they will come. 

 

Steve Williams: 

Oh, yes! And I have a well, a very recent example of when we were moving, like a couple of days later, like after we finished moving, I got a flat tire. Literally, I hit a nail, and it was a big old nail in my tire, and I was like, “Really? Really.” I was like, “This is the first time ever after we just moved and paying for all this stuff.” And so, that really came in handy, our emergency fund. Being able to pull from that and really to have to necessarily worry about okay, we have to fork over this in our checking account, and we might not have enough to pay rent. But having that emergency fund set aside was really beneficial. And so, I would tell people like as fast as you can, as early as you can, try to get, I guess like 3 to 4 months of like monthly expenses and set that aside, so you don't have to worry about just, I don't know, finding ways or asking people, but like having just a set emergency fund. 

 

Carrie: 

You don't have to worry about going into debt. As we say, a credit card is not extra income. 

 

Steve Williams: 

It's not. And like, literally, you're just pushing it off until the future. Yeah. 

 

Carrie: 

So yeah. So, what advice would you give other young adults about managing their finances? 

 

Steve Williams: 

I would say, really think about what you're doing before you do it. And what I mean by that is, we really don't realize how our, how society is set up kind of nowadays with social media, of us always aspiring to have what the other person has. Like I want on, on Instagram, you see, “Oh, this person has a new car. This person has a new house. This person has this and that.” And really not comparing yourselves to that, to those people, but really, and then really just kind of evaluating, “Okay, that's not the season of life that I'm in right now, and I'm in this season where I'm saving, so that I can then afford and not have to put myself into debt by using credit cards and all the things.” And also, when you're looking at those people on social media, you don't know what their financial situation is like. They might be in tons and tons of debt. And you might not know that. 

 

Carrie: 

Or they may be getting paid to have that product, you know.  

 

Steve Williams: 

Exactly.  

 

Carrie: 

They may not have even paid for it themselves. 

 

Steve Williams: 

And so, don't compare yourself to those people, especially if you don't know how they're attaining those things. And so, really focusing on, “Okay, I'm going to make these tiny steps now in order to benefit and like, reap the benefits of it in the future.” And I would also just kind of I think you should be honest about truly where you are in the moment right now of, “Do I really need this specific item, or do I just want this item?” And so, really specifying your needs and if you let's say you need a you're moving into a new place and you need like a, a washer and dryer like that is a need. Like you don't want to be going to the laundromat or going to your parent's house every so often to wash clothes. 

 

Shea: 

This sounds like it's a realistic example, right? 

 

Steve Williams: 

Yes, because we recently just had to buy a washer and dryer? 

 

Shea: 

Yeah, like, “I don't want to go to mom and dad’s!” 

 

Carrie: 

Or have to spend an entire day doing your laundry, right? 

 

Steve Williams: 

Yes And so really being like, “Okay, that is a need, and we need to save up for this need.” Or do I just want this shirt that I found on Asos? Like, really, really figuring out, “Okay, this is one that I just am fixated on at the moment.” But once this moment passed, wait 24 hours, and just see. And is that feeling still there? Yes. That's what I would differentiate, whether it's a need or want. 

 

Carrie: 

Just stop all the impulse buying. Pause for a second. 

 

Steve Williams: 

Yes, yes. Patience is a virtue. It really is. 

 

Carrie: 

That’s right. I think it's important to note, especially as you're in your mid 20s going into, you know, major adulthood, getting married and potentially having a family, and all of those things, is that you're on your own journey, you know, and your journey doesn't look like the next person. And just staying focused on your journey and not, you know, getting sidetracked by others. 

 

Steve Williams: 

Yeah. Because we can get so caught up in comparing. And so really, realizing that you have your own lane, like you, God has graced you with the gifts and talents that he has given you, and the resources that you have. So, lock into that. Really perfect what you have and what you have right now, so that you can have what your, your own things and things that you've invested in, that you prayed for, that you've worked for, in the future. 

 

Carrie: 

That’s right. 

 

Shea: 

Yeah. There's some advice that some financial professionals give, like, if you're looking to buy something, wait 24 hours, put it in the cart, wait 24 hours. If it's a bigger purchase, or even it's something you just want, it's not necessarily a need, you know? And just wait on it and see how you feel 24 hours later, a day later, and then likely you're probably like, “Yeah, that was impulsive. I just put in my cart because I saw it on Instagram or TikTok Shop or whatever.” And so, it's because we have so much quick access to it. Like, I can be on an app and buy something right there, you know.  

 

Steve Williams: 

Right. Yeah. And you really also have to like be in check with your emotions. Like, “What emotional state am I in right now?”  

 

Shea: 

Am I hungry? 

 

Steve Williams: 

Like am I hungry? Or so I'm just going to DoorDash this one thing right now because I'm hungry or like, am I lonely? Am I stressed? Am I anxious? 

 

Carrie: 

Am I just bored? 

 

Steve Williams: 

Exactly. I just bought, and trust me, the amount of times I have been bored and I start shopping and buying things like it's simply not healthy. And so. 

 

Carrie: 

So, what are you buying? 

 

Steve Williams: 

Oh, that's a good question. 

 

Carrie: 

When it's late at night and you're scrolling, you're bored. What item is it going to be? I know there's something. 

 

Steve Williams: 

You know, I love clothes, and you know I love shoes. And so that's probably what I'm spending, like my excess, or like, my fun money on. Is definitely, some clothes and shoes. 

 

Carrie: 

So, some advice that I saw recently was that if you really find like an item, so say you find a new pair of shoes that you're just like, “I have to have these look so good on me,” and all that. Find the pair of shoes that you already have that's similar to them. And sell those or donate or whatever, because you don't need two of the same. 

 

Steve Williams: 

That's a good, yeah, that's a good tip. I love that. Yeah. 

 

Carrie: 

You could still get them, but maybe sell your others. 

 

Steve Williams: 

Sell them, yes. 

 

Carrie: 

Or when you compare what you already have, is it really worth getting those new ones? You know?  

 

Steve Williams: 

Exactly.  

 

Carrie: 

Like actually, I kind of already have something like that.  

 

Steve Williams: 

Yeah, yeah. I have to tell myself that multiple times.  

 

Carrie: 

Yeah. 

 

Shea: 

So, you may have joined, you know, one of the best teams at the credit union, our community engagement team, in the Memphis area as a specialist. So, what are you most looking forward to and loving about this position? 

 

Steve Williams: 

I'm most looking forward to. I love getting to know people and getting to know their stories. And so, interacting with the community and getting to know people, totally up my alley. But also being able to serve people in the communities and have financial wellness classes is so, so fun. And being able to connect with people and giving tips to help people in the future is super awesome. And I've seen that already with the different classes that I've been able to attend, or the in services that, I've been able to attend as well. Like, it truly is great seeing people forever being changed for the better by Leaders. And the help that we all provide. 

 

Carrie: 

That's great.  

 

Shea: 

And you're doing it now on this podcast, sharing some advice with our listeners. So, appreciate that. 

 

Carrie: 

So speaking of all this, what is the best financial advice you've ever been given? 

 

Steve Williams: 

I would say, I think Dave Ramsey said this, of winning at finances is 80%, like, behavioral and 20% knowledge. So, like, you don't have to know, like, all about Roth IRAs and CDs and investments and all the different things to be better at finances. All you need to do is just change your habits and change your behaviors. And like, we're talking about like, okay, checking yourself. Are you lonely? Are you anxious? Are you bored? And really kind of realizing those triggers that you're having and kind of replace those things with different habits with other things. So, like if you are bored, go, go take a walk, or like, go work out, or do something else with your time. 

 

Carrie: 

Read a book. 

 

Steve Williams: 

Read a book. Yes. So that you're not constantly spending money. Yes, exactly. And so those small little behaviors or habits that you have currently and you want to change those, you want to have better finances, not about always knowledge, but truly about what we're doing day to day. 

 

Carrie: 

I agree with that wholeheartedly. Sometimes you're just needing a dopamine hit.  

 

Steve Williams: 

Yes, really. 

 

Carrie: 

So, find another, healthier way to get that. 

 

Steve Williams: 

Yes. Exactly. 

 

Shea: 

All right, so if you found some extra change in your pocket, what would you spend it on? 

 

Steve Williams: 

Probably wouldn't spend any money right now, but because of course, the moving and transitioning. But, if I were to have some, I probably would. We're saving up for buying a house, so I probably would put it there or. 

 

Shea: 

Every little bit counts. 

 

Steve Williams: 

Exactly, exactly. Or I would probably buy some shoes or something like that. 

 

Carrie: 

I love it. 

 

Steve Williams: 

Yeah. 

 

Carrie: 

Oh, I love it. Well, thanks so much for joining us today, Steve. We've enjoyed talking with you. 

 

Steve Williams: 

Absolutely. It's awesome getting to talk to you guys as well. Thank you.