The Worth Project Podcast

As I write this, the movers are packing up our last few belongings. The family heirlooms and kitchen stuff are all that is left. We sold 90%+ of our stuff. It feels great to get rid of things but it wasn't as easy as the internet says it is. Erica and I share how it feels, what the process was like, what we’ve learned, and how we think it might impact our future purchasing. We have 10 days left in England and then wheels up, off to California to see friends and family and then off to Maui. Our adventures are yet to begin. Subscribe or stay subscribed so you get the start of season 2! This is the end of season 1. We will pick up again once we are settled in Hawaii. Season 2 will be out in October and we can't wait. We will talk to you then! Afraid you will miss us? We will miss you. Stay up with our adventure on instragram @theworthproject.co and on our website at theworthproject.co. Check out the show notes for more information: https://theworthproject.co/selling-everything-and-travel-family/

Have you ever started a job you enjoy only to realize a few months — or years — later that you’re not really loving it anymore? We have a career coach on the podcast today who explains why that happens and why it can actually be a good thing. This week we had career coach Lisa Lewis on the podcast to talk to us about career transitions. Lisa found herself unhappy in her career and realized that most of her friends were unhappy as well. She wondered, “is this as good as it gets?” But she wasn’t ready to throw in the towel. After searching for answers, she found the natural four-stage career cycle that we all go through. She dispells the myth that there is one perfect career that we will love once we’re able to finally find it. And it’s OK to change course numerous times over the course of your career. So if you’ve ever felt in stuck, unhappy with your work, and unclear about how to get out, this episode is for you. Lisa kindly shared some great resources just for our listeners on her website lisalewiscareers.com/worth Thanks for listening! Please rate, review, and subscribe to The Worth Project https://theworthproject.co/how-to-change-course/

How much do your work and your paycheck influence your idea of your self worth? Anyone who has gone through a job transition, been in a career rut, or found themselves out of a job probably knows the struggle of tying their own personal worth to their job. As Jordan is getting ready to navigate his own career transition and leave his job, we invited financial therapist Lindsay Bryan-Podvin on the show to talk about work and worth issues. We learn exactly what a financial therapist is (hint: it’s a new profession), how to identify those unhelpful thoughts, and why having things outside of work that excites you is so important. We also talk about goals, systems, and giving yourself permission to have a bad day. If you’re interested in understanding more about — and maybe making healthy changes to — your relationship with money and your self-worth, this episode is worth a listen. Check out the show notes for links and other references: https://theworthproject.co/episode-20-separating-worth-and-worth-with-lindsay-bryan-podvin/

Guys, we are in the home stretch of our life in London. Five and a half glorious years are coming to a close, but not without crossing off a few more UK Bucket List items. In episode 17, we talked about our strategies to not go broke when we travel. One strategy we use is to go where everyone isn’t. This summer, everyone is at the beach and rental homes were absurdly priced. Where was everyone not? Glamping in Somerset. We got a steal of a deal on a three-bedroom tent and spent the weekend riding a classic steam train. We had a blast. Multiple income streams As we share more about our move with family and friends one of the first questions is, “so are you just going to be living off savings for a little while?” (Refresher: Jordan is leaving his job, we’re selling 90% of our belongings, and moving to Hawaii). This would’ve been our reality a few years ago, but over the past year, we’ve worked on building multiple streams of income. These streams of income are the safety net we’ve built for our little family to be able to pick up and take an adventure, while still being financially responsible. And this isn’t an idea we’ve come up with. Surveys show that millionaires and the wealthiest individuals depend less on a paycheck and more on different streams of income. I lay out all of the data PLUS our income streams in this article. After watching my mom get laid off and rebuild her career, I realized that just depending on one stream of income was a risky proposition. Check out the show notes for links on multiple income streams and pictures of our trip: http://theworthproject.co/2019/07/09/plan-b-with-multiple-streams-of-income/ If you’re listening to the show please rate, review, and subscribe! And tell your friends!

Barbara Ginty, CFP, joined us on our podcast to talk about her experience buying a business: the ups and the downs. And there were plenty of downs. Starting her career on Wall Street, she decided to pivot into personal finance when her Dad and Aunt were selling their business. With a very light amount of research, she thought “I”m smart, how hard can personal finance and running a small business in upstate New York be?” Karma came around hard on that one. She shares openly about her early struggles (maxed out credit cards anyone? Crazy healthcare costs?) and how the business STILL USED A TYPEWRITER. Yes, I’m emphasizing that. But Barbara made it through to the other side, with a story to tell. Check out the show notes for more information! http://theworthproject.co/2019/07/02/taking-the-plung…th-barbara-ginty/

We have been fortunate to have visited 50 countries. Jordan and I have always made traveling a priority. Now with baby Henry, traveling has changed for us but we still love it. After our trip to Lake Orta, Italy last week, we realized we had some good tips and lessons that we could share on how to not go broke when traveling. See the link below for the full guide. TimingAirfareCredit cards Download our free guide to travel, The Don't Go Broke Guide to Travel here: In the works! Check out the show notes for a link to our travel video (Erica may still be working on it) and other information. http://theworthproject.co/2019/06/25/episode-17-dont-…-guide-to-travel/

Sadly, Jordan was out of town for this podcast, but I got the chance to talk to Crystalee Beck. Honestly, this conversation was just what I needed. All of us have moments when things get hard. When we question what we’re doing, if we’re going to make it, and if we’re even doing the right thing. As we get closer to our move date I’m constantly questioning everything and full of fear about what the future holds. Excitement and fear. Talking with Crystalee was the reminder that I needed that things are going to be OK. We all can figure things out. Crystalee went from being laid off and scraping by on unemployment with two babies to now being in a completely different place. She now has 3 kids, two businesses, and a schedule that allows her to make time for it all. She is the founder of Comma Copywriters that provides writing services and content to businesses. And she is the co-founder of The Mama Ladder, which helps moms create their own career path. Plus she has some exciting news about a $5,000 grant they’re currently offering through the Mama Ladders. Check out the show notes for links to the High Five Grant and more information on Crystalee Beck. http://theworthproject.co/2019/06/17/episode-16-why-g…y-crystalee-beck/

Here is what I truly love: hearing stories from awesome people who decided they wanted to do something with their life and then they go out and do it. We all need a little bit of that inspiration once in a while, right? That's exactly why we interviewed Dini Klein of Prep + Rally on our show this week.

Today on the show, we share the systems that have enabled us to complete some of our life goals, and we are applying it to our business goals. As James Clear says, “You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.” We are not good at finishing things. We set goals and then move to the next big item. For example, we have really big plans for theworthproject.co. We just can’t ever seem to make any progress. And that is frustrating. Don’t worry this isn’t going to be an episode from people who don’t accomplish goals telling you how to accomplish your goals. Because as we were sitting down to talk about this episode we realized that we have actually been great at achieving some really big goals. Other goals, not so much. We looked at why we were successful with some and not with others. And we realized a common theme, which is what we’re going to share with you here today. If you feel like you’re sitting on the sidelines of life wishing you could do something different, but you just haven’t, you may need a new way of setting and achieving the goals. This episode is more about achieving. Things we have tried in the past (where we’ve gone wrong) Set year-end goals and work them back - year, quarter, month, week, dayHaving too many goals - goals compete with each other (4 burner theory)Lose focus due to SMART goals Results from doing things right But we have done some things right. In 2016 we went to a B&B in the English countryside to set our annual goals (it rained a lot that weekend). Looking back, we realized we accomplished the following life-changing goals: We are more active than we have ever beenWe eat healthierWe achieved our big money saving targets Listen in to learn how we did this and how we are applying these methods to grow our business. Check out the show notes for details on this episode and links to our references. http://theworthproject.co/2019/05/26/how-to-do-the-th…s-you-want-to-do/ Thank you for listening! If you like what you hear, or don’t, please rate us. The feedback helps us work on our goals!

Today on the show, we break down how we made 3 recent big, scary decisions in our Worth Project. Including, Jordan making the leap to leave his job. You already know we’re moving to Hawaii. We’ve said that. But now it’s real. Here’s the update that will take us from the UK to Hawaii, via California. Wheels up on August 12th. Here we go! A case of the somedays is over. Jordan is leaving his job. This is the omg. We’re not independently wealthy, so we’re going to live off my income. I’m doing this by continuing to write in the personal finance space and still taking some consulting clients but I’m dialing way back. I have my CPA but I’m working to round out my education with a financial counselor accreditation. We shall see where this takes me. Jordan is going to explore opportunities in the green space, but not rush into anything. We want to experience and get to know Hawaii again. Jordan really wants to spend time in nature and time with Henry. Plus he will flex his creative muscles creating videos about his green adventures and science experiments. And we’re selling it all and moving to Hawaii. Selling it all because 1) shipping is expensive and 2) we’ve just realized we don’t need a whole lot to live a great life. We are leaving the UK which is hard to swallow. We have loved living here but it can’t be here forever as our families are 5,000 miles away. Plus, our work visas won’t allow us to stay past 8 years (we have clocked in 5.5 years). We have a lot of bucket list adventures to knock off the list between now and then. We’ll be spending 5 weeks in CA visiting family and then we’ve booked a one-way flight to our new island home. Our new home in Hawaii just fell into place. We feel very fortunate. We had been looking at places to live in Hawaii for a few months now but without much luck, as they didn’t take dogs. They clearly don’t know our cute, quirky dog. We called Erica’s relative who has a condo in Hawaii for some advice. Luch has it, we made a deal with them. 3 Big decisions that we approached differently: Jordan leaving his job. The decision was actually easy when Jordan’s parents were here. Being intentional with our spending has slowly given us breathing room.We’re going to sell Jordan's beloved piece of land that we were going to build our dream home: lesson for Erica that nothing is off the tablePicking a new place to live that is still far from family: how we are going to make this work. We created 3 pillars that we want to make decisions about. If a decision helps us develop in one of these areas, we’re going to probably do it. Courage: There’s so much to be afraid of, but we don’t want to live our lives in fear. We want to have the courage to do things that may seem scary but aren’t dangerous.Community: A community is only as strong as the weakest link and we’ve wanted to spend more time being active and engaged in building a strong community.Conservation: Nature, the environment, and sustainability are truly the things we are most passionate about in life. We want to learn more about the natural world and help create solutions to protect it. Plus some things that we always do to help us make decisions. Check out the show notes for pictures of our final adventures in the UK and other updates: http://theworthproject.co/2019/05/21/how-we-make-big-decisions/

Danny Kofke is a special education teacher who really knows what he values....and puts his money where his mouth is. He's had the opportunity to earn triple his income but realized that he's truly content with Redbox and Subway date nights if that means he gets to spend more time with his family. Honestly, listening to Danny made Jordan and I feel even more at ease with financial and lifestyle decisions we've made. In this episode Danny shares: We loved talking with Danny and how he's made the financial and other decisions in his life from a place of purpose. He's a reminder that you can love your life regardless of your salary. Check out the show notes here: http://theworthproject.co/2019/05/13/episode-12-creat…me-that-you-have/ Thanks for listening and please rate, review, and subscribe! We love the feedback.

When we left off at the end of episode 9, my student loan experience, I had just finished paying off six figures. But I had also just walked out of my job, post-panic attack. And I walked out with no job prospects. This was very unlike me. I don’t even know how, but Jordan was supportive. Most people in my situation would start applying for jobs. But we were in this weird place. We’d been in London for 1.5 years. We thought we’d be living here for 2ish years max, so I was in a weird place and I didn’t know what to do. Oh, and being a lady of leisure was not an option. I asked. So I decided it was time to go out and get some freelance work. There were just a couple of problems: I didn’t know how to do that and I didn’t know what I could offer. The important thing was to try something. Takeaways: It just takes one client and then you’re in businessStart early, but it is never too lateHow to get outside your comfort zoneBe ok with no’s Jordan shares our progress selling all of our stuff for our move to Hawaii, like his white tie suit. He shares what a white tie suit is any why no one needs one in their wardrobe. Check out the show notes for pictures, references, and notes from the show: http://theworthproject.co/2019/05/07/how-i-got-my-fir…reelance-clients/ Thanks for listening! If you like our Worth Project journey, please share this podcast with friends so they can start their worth project too.

This week on the podcast we’re talking with Shannon Lee Simmons about creating a shame-free, blame-free debt repayment plan so we can all live debt free. Something's gotta go. We fell in love with our pale aqua, retro, little car. But after answering our life planning questions we realized she wasn't our thing anymore. It was a tough decision but we are not looking back. Well, maybe a few more drives through the English countryside this spring. Check out the show notes for pictures! This week is a bit of a related podcast to our show from last week, which was all about my student debt and the lessons we learned in paying it off. We talked about our experience, but it’s really just one viewpoint. So, I figured it was a good idea to have someone with more debt experience on the show. Debt is one of the big hurdles that can keep you stuck in a negative mindset and it’s a real struggle for anyone to figure out how to live a great life today, while you’re still paying for something that happened in the past. This week we’re talking with Shannon Lee Simmons, a CFP and founder of The New School of Finance. She’s the author of two books: Worry-Free Money and Living Debt Free. We wanted to have her on because her approach to debt is so realistic. She doesn’t want to punish you for past mistakes and she doesn’t think that you have to give up everything you love to get out of debt. Her approach is balanced and fun (kind of like her personality). In this episode, you'll hear Check out the show notes for pictures and links! http://theworthproject.co/2019/04/29/a-shame-free-bla…approach-to-debt/ You can find Shannon Lee Simmons at The New School of Finance http://www.shannonleesimmons.com/

This week on the show we’re talking about my student loans. We’ll give you strategies to pay them off in full, but more importantly, we talk about how to find balance and not let those loans drive you crazy. And we’re also talking about what it’s like to get married when you’re financially out of balance, something that’s not talked about enough. When thinking about what we were going to discuss this week on student loan debt, Jordan was like “I don’t remember having any issues with your loans.” That’s not true. There was a lot of tension, talking, long walks, etc. But we made it through unscathed and apparently so well that he doesn’t remember. This podcast is not an “I paid off this much in this long” story. Because that’s not what I want someone to take away from this. Yes, I paid it off. There were some things we did really well and some things, frankly, were tough lessons. Especially in learning to handle such a financially imbalanced relationship. We discuss the six lessons we learned paying off my graduate school student loan debt in full. We hope they may help give you some insight, ideas, and, most of all, hope that you will pay them off early. Check out the show notes for pictures and details. http://theworthproject.co/2019/04/22/lessons-from-pay…tudent-loan-debt/ Thank you for listening. Please rate, review, and keep subscribing!

We have Bela and Spencer of the blog Tiny Migrations on the show this week. When I first found their blog, I was immediately drawn in. They live in the most beautiful, idyllic tiny home I’ve ever seen tucked in the Santa Cruz mountains. But aside for the beautiful design, what sucked me in was their lifestyle choices. Guys, they look at life as a big, beautiful experiment and it is so inspiring. Their story starts just like so many stories: stuck in a city paying a lot in rent. But rather than staying in that story, they changed. Before a trip to Spain, they sold their belongings and moved out of their rental home. Then, they Airbnb-ed, house-sat, and rented a home short term while expecting their baby to be born. AND THEN - and this is where I was totally blown away - they used their parental leave to rent an apartment in Mexico. With a newborn! What an amazing experience. Then, when they moved back to the Bay Area they decided that rather than get stuck with an expensive 30-year mortgage, they wanted to do something different. They built a gorgeous tiny home and are dreaming up even bigger and better things. They have so much energy and positivity. They didn’t like the options in front of them so they embraced lifestyle experiments to live differently. In this episode you’ll learn: How they begin to think up these different solutions - different ways to live lifeHow they figure out and agree on their goalsThe very thoughtful way they think through risks - their stress test method. We’re going to adopt this one. Check out their website and other show notes here: http://theworthproject.co/2019/04/16/episode-8-how-to…style-experiment/ Thanks for listening! Please rate, review, and subscribe so we can improve our podcasting street cred to entice more amazing people to interview. Your reviews help us improve the show as we like to listen to money stories as much as we like to chat about money stories.

Four years ago one of the first articles I was asked to write was about money mindset. And let me tell you, I gave it one big old eye roll. Honestly, I thought money mindset was a joke. A sham. If there wasn’t real data and studies on it, it must not exist. To me, money was just numbers. You save, you invest, and eventually, you retire. The numbers work and that’s all there is to it. Guys, I was wrong. I have done a full 180 - we both have - with our money mindset. This is such a hard one to talk about because it’s not concrete. There are no numbers. There’s nothing to say that we’re right or wrong or will change our mindset in the future. And funny enough, we don’t talk about this with any of our friends. We talk about it a lot with each other. We’ve come a long way, but we still have a long way to go. But we want to put this out there in case anyone is starting to think about their money mindset and how that relates to how they manage their money. And the things they do in life. We discuss the following five shifts. Shift #1: Those are old storiesShift #2: You don’t have to save to spendShift #3: What’s with all this stuff?“The cost of a thing is the amount of what I call life which is required to be exchanged for it,”- Henry David ThoreauShift #4: Think in terms of opportunitiesShift #5: Money can buy you freedomWe are not talking about FIRE (financial freedom, retire early) Check out the show notes for pictures and details from the show! http://theworthproject.co/2019/04/09/our-money-mindset-shifts/ Thanks for listening! Please rate, review, and subscribe so we can improve our podcasting street cred to entice more amazing people to interview. This request isn’t for our own vanity (kinda) but to persuade Oprah to come on the show.

Not sure if you’re in the right career? Or do you feel pretty certain that you’re on the wrong career track, but you don’t know how to change? Well, then stick around. How many people feel disengaged or uninspired or downright unhappy with their career choice? A lot. A 2017 Gallup survey found that 70% of Americans hate their job or are completely disengaged at work. 70%. Oh my. If you fall into that 70%, or if you feel like maybe you’re not on the right career track, this is going to be the episode for you. How much you enjoy your career can directly impact how much you earn and how much you actually enjoy your life. It’s hard to live a good life if you hate what you’re doing 40+ hours out of the week. This week we have the founder of Work Bigger, Belma Mccaffrey, on with us. Belma created Work Bigger to help you do work you love and make a difference in the world. Belma left us feeling so inspired to share her story. We cover Why it’s a human need to make the most of your life and your career.How Belma channeled her own frustrations with her career to create Work Bigger (and how she pushed past the fear)What you can start doing today if you’re burnt out or unhappy in your job, but you don’t know what step to take next If you’re feeling a little lost in your career and like you’re not reaching your full potential, keep listening to hear how to change that. You can connect with Belma at https://www.workbigger.co/

Today on The Worth Project we’re getting really honest about our money. We’re talking about what we’ve done with our money in the past to get us to this point, our biggest money mistakes, and some of the changes we’re making going forward. Some of these mistakes are very cringeworthy (like that time Jordan called a loan shark…) and some of the new habits or defaults we’ve created that are really helpful. We talk about the cash money and we also talk about our money mindsets, which we’ve worked really hard to improve over the past few years. We’re having an off the cuff discussion and sharing our money history, including: We share these things for two reasons. First, to help give you some idea about what has worked for us when it comes to money because maybe some of it will work for you too. But we’re also sharing this to let you know that we make mistakes too. A lot of them. And while we wish we could have a few do-overs, talking about these mistakes helps us learn from them, and we hope you’ll learn from them too. Thanks for listening! Please rate, review, and subscribe.

Have you ever said, ”How is it Christmas already?” Or “How is that kid I babysat already in college?” Part of living a great life is living a life that you remember. We can all get sucked into the grind of day-to-day life causing us to watch the weeks slip by. Our guest today gives us tips to actually create a life we remember. She helps people spend more time on things that matter and less time on things that don’t. Today we’re speaking with Laura Vanderkam who is the author of several time management and productivity books, including Off the Clock, I Know How She Does It, What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast, and 168 Hours. Her work has appeared in publications including the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, and Fortune. She is the co-host, with Sarah Hart-Unger, of the podcast Best of Both Worlds. She lives outside Philadelphia with her husband and four children, and blogs at LauraVanderkam.com. She also spoke at Ted Women, which is how I found her work. And in full disclosure, I’m truly a big fan of Laura’s work and her books and I was a little overzealous in this interview. I may have talked a little too much and didn’t let Jordan into the discussion at all. I’m still learning how this whole podcasting thing works. Get ready to start living a life that you actually remember as Laura breaks down the small actions we can all take today to make some space in our hectic schedules, and stop feeling so busy. Thanks for listening and please rank, review, and subscribe! We love the feedback. You can learn more about Laura and her new book at… Laura’s blog - https://lauravanderkam.com/ Juliet’s School of Possibilities by Laura Vanderkam with the cartoon I can’t get enough of watching - https://lauravanderkam.com/books/juliets-school-of-possibilities/

This week on The Worth Project Podcast, we are talking about the most unique gift we have ever received, how we translated our life plan into a money plan. And our visit to a Michelin star pub. Yes, a local neighborhood pub with one of the most coveted restaurant awards in the world. Sitting together on my parent’s patio to make our budget was what got us moving on our life plan. Making our budget got us over our case of the “somedays.” We over-share how we made our budget, our biggest expenses for moving to Hawaii and being self-employed, and the big money gap we discovered in the process. A basic budget when planning a change in your life or vacation will give you a number to work towards. This makes it more real and actionable. Making our budget enabled us is to know our business income and savings gaps. Having these numbers gave us something to work towards, instead of procrastinating. Pricing out your dreams and goals can make them more real. But also, make you realize it isn’t as impossible as you thought. We fully acknowledge that a podcast is not the ideal medium to have a couple describe how they made their budget. That’s why we are providing a free download of the budget template we used. I love this budget template because it is so simple. Erica didn’t overcomplicate the number of line item expenses. With your inputs, it spits out your money gap. If you have one. Download your free budget template here: http://theworthproject.co/2019/03/12/curing-a-case-of-the-somedays/ We appreciate your feedback - please rate, review, and subscribe.