Revisiting some of our top financial wellness tips (Part 1)

The mind-money connection

This highlight reel features some of our best tips for growing your financial confidence—along with fresh insights that can help you feel more in control of your money.

 
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Bright Dickson (00:07):

Welcome to Money and Mindset with Bright and Brian, where we explore the link between your wellbeing and your personal finances. Every month we talk through ways you can feel more confident about your relationship with money.

(00:19):

I'm Bright Dickson, a Senior Purpose Advisor at Truist, and a student and teacher of positive psychology. I'm joined by my partner in podcasting, Brian Ford, the Head of Financial Wellness at Truist, and an expert on all things money.

(00:32):

How are you doing today, Brian?

Brian Ford (00:34):

You know, Bright, I am feeling grateful. I love this time of year. The temperatures are dropping, leaves are changing color, we're well into football season. You know I love college football. And of course I'm grateful for the holidays and time I get to spend with friends and family.

(00:52):

But I'll just say right now, Bright, I am feeling grateful for this podcast. I'm feeling grateful for the opportunity really just to share the knowledge that we've been able to share over these past three years. So thank you for that, Bright.

Bright Dickson (01:04):

Yeah. Right back at you, Brian. Thank you. I'm feeling pretty grateful myself. I know both of us are grateful for all of our listeners on this show too. So here's a big thanks to you if you're out there hearing this, and especially if you've been with us for a while. This is so fun.

(01:20):

I'm so grateful for this podcast and really all I've learned from this podcast over the past few years. I've learned so much. And it's not that I didn't expect to, it's that I didn't go in asking for it, but I got it nonetheless. And I'm so grateful for that.

(01:38):

And I'm feeling a little celebratory, and not just because of the holidays. So Brian, the podcast we're recording right now is number 33 for us, and we've been doing this for almost three years. You know what, I think that's a milestone worth commemorating.

Brian Ford (01:54):

That's right. And I know just the way to celebrate. As we close out the end of this year, we're going to spend this episode and the next looking back. Bright and I have picked out some of our favorite Money and Mindset episodes. It's going to be kind of like a greatest hits album.

(02:10):

We're going to play clips from those episodes and talk about why they resonate so much. We'll highlight a few potentially life-changing money tips, play back some really fun guest appearances, and reopen some great conversations.

Bright Dickson (02:22):

I'm really looking forward to this trip down memory lane too, especially because reflecting on the past like this can help you do two really important things. One, it's a great way to celebrate everything you've learned and how far you've come. And two, it can be really key to helping you figure out where you want to go next.

(02:42):

For our listeners who are maybe starting to think about making some Money and Mindset resolutions for the new year, these episodes could provide some real inspiration.

Brian Ford (02:50):

Absolutely. Let's get this podcast party started.

Bright Dickson (03:02):

Okay, Brian, this first clip comes from way, way back on episode number two, which was all about controlling what you can with your finances. We did record this before we upgraded our microphones, and I did want to point this out. Because listen to us now, crystal clear.

Brian Ford (03:19):

Yeah, no doubt. We have certainly made vast improvements with our production value and our sound quality.

Bright Dickson (03:26):

But what I really like about this episode, along with our very first episode, which was called Controlling What You Can in Life, is how these two episodes highlight one of the big themes of this podcast. I would say the big theme, comes up over and over. It's almost like our thesis, the thesis of this podcast.

(03:44):

And it goes something like this. Lots of things are outside of your control, and you have to accept that and let those things go to find anything like real peace of mind. And there are many things that you can control, and when you focus on taking action on those controllable things, you're going to start stressing less and feeling way better, and accomplishing your goals and building the kind of life you want.

(04:10):

So Brian, this clip has you talking about just that and how that fundamental idea applies to personal finances. So let's press play.

(04:21):

So Brian, why is it important to establish in our finances what we can and can't control? What are factors that we can't control and what are the things we can?

Brian Ford (04:30):

Yeah. I mean, as humans, I mean, we only have so much capacity. We can only manage so many things. I mean, life is busy. And when we spend energy on or worry about things that we can't control, one, we can feel overwhelmed. And two, it can sap our energy to focus on the things that we can control.

(04:51):

But I mean, the good news is the opposite is also true. If we just let go of the things we can't control, then we've got more energy to focus on the things that we can. And if take a step in the right direction, then that builds momentum.

(05:07):

I remember one of my finance teachers, he said to me, he's like, "It just doesn't make sense to worry about the things you can't control, because you can't control it." And then he was like, "But it also doesn't make sense to worry about the things you can control, because you can control them."

(05:26):

And I mean, on a podcast, I'm sure that sounds cool, and that was something that my teacher said that always stuck with me, but it's a little more difficult than that in real life. It actually takes practice. But we can work on it, we can be mindful of it. And we can say, "I'm just going to let go of that stuff and I'm going to focus on the things that I do have control over."

(05:47):

So I think the second part of your question is actually interesting. I mean, what are those things that we can't control? And what are some things that we can control? I mean, let's get specific here for a minute. I mean, some of the things that we can't control relative to our money, certainly financial emergencies, like a car breaking down or the washing machine going kaput, the economy, the stock market.

(06:08):

This is an interesting one, Bright, I don't know how you'll respond to this, but how a loved one chooses to spend their money. I mean, we talked about that a little bit in our last podcast. I love what you said last time about control versus influence. But that's at the crux of a lot of financial challenges, at least relationship wise, you just can't control that.

Bright Dickson (06:28):

Yeah. And I think it's really easy to make judgments of other people based on what they seem to be spending their money on and how you feel about that.

Brian Ford (06:37):

Uh-huh. We value different things. Typically, we spend our money on things that we care most about in life. And look, I view the world differently than you do, and that is true for lots of folks.

(06:49):

So you're right, we need to be careful about that. And we certainly need to be careful if you're actually in a relationship with somebody. I tell you, if you didn't hear our first podcast, Bright dropped some serious knowledge on the difference between control and influence relative to our loved ones. And I think it's certainly applicable here. But that's not something we can control, so we have to be mindful of that.

(07:09):

On the flip side, we've got complete control over the money that we make, that I make. I mean, money is an object, it's subject to our management. We can control how we manage our money, how we save our money, how we spend our money. And I think those are the things that we really need to focus in on, Bright, is what are those things that we can control with our own money?

Bright Dickson (07:32):

Mm-hmm. And what are those things? I mean, when you think about that, what are the things that we really can control? And how do we shift from feeling that we can't control them to being able to say, "Yeah, I have control over this"? I feel like that's a big mindset shift.

Brian Ford (07:48):

It is. It's exactly what I was going to say, it's a mindset shift. And it takes a little bit of practice. We have to start to realize when we're worrying about something, just simply asking ourselves the question, relative to our money, do I have control over this?

(08:03):

And if we don't, let it go. But if we do, we'll recognize that as well. Because that's sometimes the source of our worry, is something that we can control but we're just letting go. And so yeah, it's just a matter of a mind shift, and being mindful of it, and practicing it.

Bright Dickson (08:20):

Mindset shift, being mindful of it and practicing it. I mean, what more is there to say? You got to practice it.

Brian Ford (08:27):

Yeah. That's fun going down memory lane.

Bright Dickson (08:29):

Yeah, right?

Brian Ford (08:30):

This is going to be a couple of good episodes. And in that clip we touched on another central theme of the podcast, when we talked about how people tend to spend money on the things they care about. Aligning the way that we save and spend our money with our core values is a huge part of what Money and Mindset is all about. And for that to work we've got to know what we value, which is where our second clip comes in.

Bright Dickson (08:56):

Nice segue, Brian.

Brian Ford (08:58):

Yeah. So earlier this year we did an episode called How Your Purpose Can Help Guide You and Your Money Decisions. And Bright, if I remember right, you were the superstar of this episode. It's literally part of your job to help people find their purpose. Which is just another way of saying you help people find their why, the reason for doing the things they do. Which is super cool, by the way. You've got a cool job.

(09:25):

And you and I shared our respective personal purpose statements in that episode. And I remember you dropping some pretty heavy duty knowledge that can help our listeners figure out their own purpose statements.

Bright Dickson (09:35):

Yeah, absolutely. And that's really key, right? Because only you can come up with your purpose.,Nobody else can do that for you.

Brian Ford (09:46):

For sure. But this clip, I really wanted to highlight this kind of great back and forth about taking that next step once you've come up with a purpose statement. In other words, what do you do with your purpose once you have it in mind, once you know what you really care about and what you value? And what does money have to do with it? Let's have a listen.

Bright Dickson (10:07):

This is not about perfection, this is about purpose. So you want to make sure that you're doing a little inventory about how's it going for you. Maybe not daily, but on a regular basis.

(10:19):

And that's growth mindset. So that's growth mind setting this bad boy and finding those opportunities to learn and change. Because there's not going to be that day where I achieve my purpose, and the angels sing, and the sun shines down on me, and it's like, now I'm a good person and I've lived into my purpose.

(10:40):

That's not the game here. It's a process, it's a growth process, and it's a deepening process. It takes action. Your purpose doesn't mean anything unless you act on it.

Brian Ford (10:53):

Right on. I'm totally in line with that. I think purpose statements and these kinds of visionary ideas about our life, they're important. However, they're just that, meaning they're just a vision or a dream until we fund them.

(11:07):

I think one of the ultimate acts of commitment and action on the part of a person or a company or an organization is what they fund. So if you want to know what an individual or a company stands for, don't always listen to what they say, look for what they fund and what they actually put their capital behind.

(11:26):

And Bright, I love this. This is really getting at the heart of why I love personal finance so much. I mean, we can make a vision, or a dream, or a purpose a reality by actually putting money behind it. And in order to do that, we need to live by good financial principles.

Bright Dickson (11:45):

Yeah, totally. And it kind of makes me think that it's like the money where your mouth is thing, right?

Brian Ford (11:52):

Yeah, absolutely.

Bright Dickson (11:53):

It's like living by your purpose is almost like the alternative to those insecurities. It's the alternative to keeping up with the Jones' or these other sort of mental traps we fall into when we are making money decisions that don't line up with our purpose and what we value.

(12:16):

So when you're keeping your purpose top of mind in your actions, in your funding, all of that, things kind of start to fall into place. So you kind of have to design your life to meet that purpose. And your purpose tells you how to design your life. So your education, your relationships, your money, all of that, you got to put your money where your mouth is. And your purpose guides all of it. So purpose is a way that we not only stay true to who we are, but we make real who we want to be.

Brian Ford (12:54):

Yes. So true. That is a great statement, make real who we want to be. Oh, it's brilliant.

(13:05):

You also said something else that really resonates with me. What you said about purpose is an alternative to our insecurities. It's brilliant, because it's so true that our insecurities can get us in trouble with how we spend our money. And our purpose statement is our way to reground ourselves. And remind ourselves not only who we are, but who we want to become and how we want to spend our money.

(13:31):

So if you think about some of the reasons why we spend money on stuff that we don't really need or want, it so often goes back to those yucky insecurities. But our purpose statement can keep us on track to financially prioritize the things we really do care about.

Bright Dickson (13:48):

Yeah.

Brian Ford (13:49):

I'll tell you, Bright, I really enjoyed that conversation. It was good for me to hear that again.

Bright Dickson (13:54):

Me too, Brian. I had this funny feeling of wanting to interrupt our past selves, but we can't really do that. We'll just have to keep going.

(14:01):

And one of the things that I like most about our podcast is drawing out and really putting some color to this connection between your money and your mindset. Which I really think can help us take action.

(14:15):

I think that sounds kind of obvious, but there's a reason we call it Money and Mindset, right? When we first started recording three years ago, I was really open about the fact that personal finances are not a subject that really got me super jazzed at that time.

Brian Ford (14:33):

Yeah. Well, I mean, if we look back and we think three years later, 33 episodes later, how do you feel now about personal finance, Bright?

Bright Dickson (14:43):

Well, I must say that I still cannot get as fired up about money as you can and in the same way as you can, Brian, right? You're on a different level than I am.

Brian Ford (14:54):

Not required.

Bright Dickson (14:55):

Not required. But I will say that I recognize more than ever and increasingly that money, and how we think about money, and how we feel about and around money is a huge part of our lives and becomes a huge part of who we are as people. And it affects our relationships and state of mind.

(15:18):

And, like that last clip illustrated, it can help us live with purpose and intention. It can be a tool towards purpose. So if you want to live up to your purpose and live out your why, well it's going to help you have some financial confidence. And having financial confidence is going to help you do that. So it's part of this sort of upward spiral.

(15:40):

And fortunately, Brian, nobody knows financial confidence like you do. And this next clip is classic Brian Ford money nerd, just rattling off some super actionable, super practical money tips that anyone can follow to feel better about their finances. I think that every episode we do is chock-full of this stuff, but if you stand out as being especially helpful to people trying to get a better grasp on some of the fundamentals.

Brian Ford (16:08):

As you mentioned that I'm thinking of one we did call Your Credit Score, What It Can and Can't Do For You. And I'm thinking of that one, because I work with a lot of folks who have questions about boosting their credit score. And in that episode, we break it down. We'll tell you everything you ever wanted to know about how your credit score is calculated and how to increase it.

Bright Dickson (16:30):

That was such a good one. But this next clip is from another one. It's from episode 10, Money Moves to Make in your 20s and 30s. Right, remember that one?

Brian Ford (16:40):

Mm-hmm.

Bright Dickson (16:40):

So if you're in your 20s or 30s, you're definitely going to want to go back and check that episode out for some more tips that can help set you up for long-term success.

(16:49):

The clip I'm about to play though from that episode is going to be useful no matter what your age. It's just good practice for taking more control of your money. And it covers some subjects that I know are near and dear to your heart, Brian. It's all about saving and automating more when it comes to your money. So let's go to the clip.

Brian Ford (17:08):

When I work with folks I have a straightforward question for them. And so I'll ask you this question, Bright.

Bright Dickson (17:15):

Okay, great.

Brian Ford (17:16):

Are you a good saver? That's it. What do you think? What have you got for me?

Bright Dickson (17:22):

I am better now. I will say that.

Brian Ford (17:25):

Nice. Right on.

Bright Dickson (17:25):

As a person who has a hard time with yes or no questions, I'm better now. But I wasn't in my early 20s at all.

Brian Ford (17:32):

Yeah. And look, most of the time I hear something like, "Well, not really." And when I get that response, I let them know that the good news is they are totally like a normal human being.

(17:44):

And the other good news I share with them is this, I've seen hundreds of people go from not being a good saver at all to total rockstar savers overnight, by simply making the decision to save first and automatic.

(17:58):

So what I love about this is it has very little to do with willpower. I wish I could do this for my physical health, by the way. I wish I could just automate this stuff. My wife would be super pumped. But even if saving does not come natural, if we save first and automatic, we will succeed.

(18:15):

And I know we've talked about this in the past, Bright, but what are your thoughts just kind of around this idea of first and automatic, versus kind of this willpower? Or versus this idea that sometimes people have in their mind, get up in the morning, look at themselves in the mirror, and they're like, "Today I'm going to be a great saver," and psyching themselves into it.

(18:36):

No, we know that's not how it works with great savers. But what are your thoughts just on kind of that idea?

Bright Dickson (18:41):

Yeah. I mean, I think your comparison to physical health is right on the money, so to speak. But I think, yeah, we're not naturally wired to save, right? We're naturally wired to kind of think about today. And even tomorrow can seem far off when I'm making that decision of like, "Ooh, do I buy this thing or do I put that money in a savings account?" And it takes so much more effort to put it in the savings account versus just hitting that little click button.

Brian Ford (19:09):

Yeah.

Bright Dickson (19:09):

So tell me, Brian, what you mean by save first and save automatic. Break it down for me.

Brian Ford (19:14):

Well, yeah. I mean, look, there's a few ways to do this if we want to get specific. One is you can do it at the employer level. So you can go in and talk with your HR folks, if you get paid automatically and electronically into a checking account, you can say, "Look, I've got this one account here that you're already paying me in. But what if I set up a savings account? Can I have a certain amount automatically swept into the savings account when you pay me?" And most employers will say, "Sure." And you get it done. You provide them with that new savings account information, you tell them how much you need to do it. So you can do it at the employer level.

(19:47):

If it doesn't work or your employer doesn't have that, you actually can just do it at the bank level. You can walk into your bank and say, "Look, I get paid on this day and this day. Can I have a certain amount of money just the next day shifted into my savings account?" They'll say, "Wonderful. Is that it?" And you'll say, "Yeah." And voila, you've got kind of this first and automatic idea.

(20:07):

So that's kind of the mechanics of it. But I also want to talk about where should we be saving first and automatic, and there's three main buckets that I want to chat about. First is what we call at Truist a financial confidence account. Second, major purchases. And then third is retirement.

(20:24):

And we call it a financial confidence account rather than just emergency account, because when you get one of these accounts it's fully funded, it's in the right place, a tremendous amount of confidence will come into your life. Regardless of if an emergency happens to you or not, you'll derive immediate psychological benefit from this account by having it. Which is pretty cool. So that's what we call a financial confidence account. If you don't have one of these, you want to start with maybe like 1,000 bucks, just set that goal then-

Bright Dickson (20:52):

Again, so good to hear, right? The fundamentals, you can't hear them enough.

Brian Ford (20:57):

Yeah. Look, this is the stuff that I love. Like you mentioned before, the money nerd is super stoked on just kind of the actionable things that we can all take to get in a better place financially. So I enjoyed that little piece.

(21:09):

And the money decisions we make are often tied to really big life moments. And looking back, I'm pretty pleased, on the podcast we've been able to share insights for people across a pretty significant age range.

(21:22):

But earlier this year, we were lucky to welcome Kam Phillips to the show for an episode called Life-Changing Money Lessons for Teens and Young Adults. And in that episode, Kam talked to us about really teens and young adults. That's what Kam does, he works with young people teaching them about financial responsibility and emotional wellness. And he had a lot of great insights on overcoming your insecurities. That's probably my favorite part of that particular episode.

(21:46):

But the next clip I want to feature was about an even younger group of folks. It's from an episode we did back in April 2022, called How to Help Your Kids Be Good With Money.

Bright Dickson (21:59):

I seem to recall we had some very special guests on that episode too.

Brian Ford (22:03):

Mm-hmm. We thought that if we were going to talk about kids and money, we should also talk with kids about money. So that's exactly what we did. So let's play the clip and hear from a few of our younger listeners.

Bright Dickson (22:18):

Do you like money?

Speaker 1 (22:19):

Yes. Who wouldn't? Because it sort of gives us position in life.

Speaker 2 (22:24):

I like money because it helps you get houses. And if you get a ton of money, like $200, you can buy a mansion.

Speaker 3 (22:35):

Yes, I do like money. I like money because there's a good feeling on when you earn it and when you spend it. Because you work to earn that money, which feels good just because it's like a reward, but then you also feel good when you spend that money because you get to use that reward. It feels like happiness sometimes or excited on what you're going to get.

Brian Ford (23:05):

Okay. This, by the way, Bright, is probably my favorite little section of when we interviewed these little ones. I thought all three answers are worthy of us chatting about for a minute.

Bright Dickson (23:15):

Where do you want to start? Helps you get a position in life. True.

Brian Ford (23:19):

Yes, I would agree. Very wise and astute. I'm always... I shouldn't be surprised, I've got four little ones. And heck, half the time they're smarter than I am. But I am surprised by the insight I think that we're getting here. So I would agree, helps you get position in life. Yeah, why not call it what it is.

Bright Dickson (23:38):

Yeah. And helps you buy a house. I mean, you probably need a little more than $200. But again, not wrong.

Brian Ford (23:46):

Yeah, 200 bucks. You can pay the electric bill for that month.

Bright Dickson (23:51):

For that mansion. Yeah.

Brian Ford (23:52):

Seriously. You couldn't hear us while the recording was going, but I was laughing out loud on that one. But yes, I would agree. It helps you buy a house.

(24:00):

I love that. Of all the things that they could mention, they mentioned a house. Houses are so much more than just an investment, it's a place where we live. It's a place where our children feel secure and safe. And they know that money can help provide those things.

(24:14):

So I don't know, I don't want to go too deep here, but I really feel like that speaks more to a deeper psychological need in children just to feel safe, secure. They know that that's what their home provides, and that money can help in securing that value.

Bright Dickson (24:27):

And then the last listener when he said, "Yeah, it's a good feeling when you earn it and you spend it and it's a reward for your work." And we're going to talk about this later, but helping kids build that connection between effort and reward when it comes to money is really interesting and kind of complicated. But also it's just part of the deal, right?

Brian Ford (24:48):

Yeah. I also love the innocence of that answer. I love that answer. First, I think that the parents are doing a good job with these kids. Like, way to go. Parents, this is awesome.

(24:59):

But also I love that this little one associates good feelings with money. I'm not sure that that would be the same if we were just to go out to some of our adult listeners. I like the idea that, do you like money? And I was like, yeah, I like money. It feels good when you earn it. It feels good when you spend it. It's like a reward for your work.

(25:17):

And I'm like, yeah, right on. It doesn't need to be more complicated than that. I love that they've already got good feelings towards money. So I love that one. Let's keep rolling.

Bright Dickson (25:26):

These kids are super smart.

Brian Ford (25:29):

Oh, Bright. That episode was so much fun. I loved it.

Bright Dickson (25:34):

Me too. I think that's definitely in my top five of all time. And those were legitimately some super smart kids. Of course, we've had some wonderful adult guests, some super smart adult guests on the show as well. About a year ago, we welcomed the great Caroline Adams Miller for a two-part conversation about pursuing your money goals and your personal goals.

Brian Ford (25:55):

Yeah. I remember when she was chatting, I was taking notes as we were recording those episodes. I mean, Caroline had so many great insights.

Bright Dickson (26:05):

Caroline is awesome. She's a bestselling author and a leading figure in the world of positive psychology. She's studied a lot of science-based research around how to set and actually achieve your goals. And has written extensively about the idea of grit, which is this quality that can give you the willpower and fortitude to really live up to who you want to be.

(26:25):

She also has a really inspiring personal story, which she was kind enough to share with us on an episode called The Science Behind Goals, Grit and Creating Your Best Life.

(26:35):

But the clip I want to play now is from the second part of our conversation, called How Grit Can Help You Achieve Your Goals. Where Caroline really dug into the ways that her thoughts around grit can help us get what we want on the financial side of things. So let's go ahead and play it.

Brian Ford (26:51):

Okay. Well, as we think about grit and how it relates to our finances, Caroline, what does grit look like when it comes to our money?

Caroline Adams Miller (27:00):

So I think the biggest thing that holds people back from saving the kind of money that they want to save or achieving the kinds of financial goals they want to achieve is a lack of willpower. And again, this is something that we've seen just decline precipitously in the most recent generations, the quick fix, the YouTube moment, all the rest of that, everyone's a winner.

(27:20):

So I think we all have to develop this goal, and we have to have short-term goals that feed into longer term goals, like saving for children's college education, that give us that feeling of mastery. So make sure it's your goal, not someone else's goal, not your broker's goal, not your parents' goal, not your culture's goal, your goal. What does that goal mean to you? What's the so what?

(27:39):

And then break it down into steps where you can have a feeling of mastery. And if you have to develop different ways to overcome a desire to spend... I know people who put credit cards in the freezer, they cut them up, they lower their credit limit. I mean, do whatever you have do to stop that quick fix approach to money and to getting where you need to go.

Bright Dickson (28:01):

I think those little steps, even of the equivalent of putting your credit card in your freezer now, because it's all hooked up to my computer and everything, I need to unhook it so that I've got that burden of entering my number every time that I want to go to spend.

(28:17):

And that kind of leads me to a question, Caroline, for you. So totally asking for a friend, of course. But if grit is partially about passion and someone isn't totally passionate about finances in general, how do we stay gritty around our finances for the long term? What do we do if we're just not that passionate about the world of finance?

Caroline Adams Miller (28:44):

I think there's a way to make finance sexy.

Brian Ford (28:46):

Yes. What do you mean make it sexy? What do you mean make it?

Caroline Adams Miller (28:51):

Right, it is sexy.

Brian Ford (28:52):

Yes.

Caroline Adams Miller (28:52):

It's incredibly sexy. Passion is part of grit, and I think you have to bring some passion to it. What are you saving money for? Do you want to give money away? Do you want to endow something in your grandmother's name?

(29:06):

I think for a lot of women, there is this story they've been told growing up about how up money is a man's job. I remember the Barbie doll that used to say, "I hate math." Do you all remember that? "I hate math."

Bright Dickson (29:19):

Mm-hmm.

Caroline Adams Miller (29:19):

They took that Barbie off the market, thank goodness.

Brian Ford (29:21):

Yeah.

Caroline Adams Miller (29:23):

But I think in order to develop passion, we have to personalize it again. What is it that money represents to us? It gives us freedom, that allows us to do something, maybe for somebody else. You can make money sexy. Find someone who has made it sexy and ask them how did they do it. How did they develop passion for [inaudible 00:29:44]?

Bright Dickson (29:44):

I love hearing that again. It's been a while since I've heard that episode with Caroline. And I just think there's two ideas, so one of mastery and one of making it sexy for yourself, right? Making it fun, making it interesting for yourself. I think those are two hugely powerful ideas when it comes to Money and Mindset.

Brian Ford (30:04):

Yeah, I agree. Oh my goodness, I have really enjoyed diving back into some of these earlier episodes today. This has been great. So as we conclude, Bright, at least this episode, what stood out to you going through these clips?

Bright Dickson (30:19):

I mean, the big thing that stood out, Brian, was how many awesome conversations we've been able to have with each other and also with so many amazing guests. And that I've learned things that I really didn't expect to learn. That's my takeaway for this one.

Brian Ford (30:33):

Yeah.

Bright Dickson (30:34):

What about you?

Brian Ford (30:36):

Well, I'll just go back to what I was saying at the beginning of this episode, I'm feeling grateful. It's genuine. I'm grateful for this podcast, for our conversations, Bright. I'm grateful for our listeners. Thank you. We wouldn't have a podcast without you. And I'm grateful for good people and good knowledge that helps me and my family be more happy.

Bright Dickson (31:02):

That's going to do it for part one of our look back at the first three years of Money and Mindset with Bright and Brian.

Brian Ford (31:08):

Yes. If you enjoyed this episode, or any of our first 33 episodes, we hope you'll consider subscribing on the podcast app of your choice, or giving us a review or rating.

(31:18):

We'll be back next month with part two of this Money and Mindset Highlight Reel, and share a bunch more clips that showcase some of our favorite tips and moments from the podcast so far. We'll also talk about setting some financial resolutions and goals for the new year. Be sure to tune in.

(31:40):

This episode of Money and Mindset with Bright and Brian is brought to you by Truist.

It’s a “Money and Mindset With Bright and Brian” milestone! Join Bright and Brian as they look back at the first three years of the podcast and replay some of their favorite moments from the show’s first 32 episodes.

In this episode, our hosts revisit some top “Money and Mindset” tips on boosting your personal finances and well-being, including:

  • How to let go of the things you can’t control with your finances—and how to change the things you can
  • Why automating your savings is one of the best ways to set yourself up for long-term success
  • A psychological tip that can help you get fired up about going after your financial and personal goals

If you enjoyed the clips featured here and want to go back and listen to those episodes in full, check out:

And keep an eye out for our next episode—Part 2 of this special look back—in which Bright and Brian will continue breaking down some of the top financial wellness tips from the first three years of the podcast.

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This content does not constitute legal, tax, accounting, financial, investment, or mental health advice. You are encouraged to consult with competent legal, tax, accounting, financial, investment, or mental health professionals based on your specific circumstances. We do not make any warranties as to accuracy or completeness of this information, do not endorse any third-party companies, products, or services described here, and take no liability for your use of this information.