Lessons - The Woman Who Helped Over 2 Million People Fix Their Finances | Tiffany Aliche - "The Budgetnista" & NYT Bestselling Author of Get Good With Money

WEBVTT

1
00:00:00.171 --> 00:00:07.276
In this lessons episode, discover why financial education should start early and equip people to build real independence and generational wealth.

2
00:00:07.376 --> 00:00:10.438
Understand how transparent, well-paid teams can strengthen a business.

3
00:00:10.639 --> 00:00:17.904
Explore why success should be measured by how life is lived and uncover how building wealth means little without health, happiness, and fulfillment.

4
00:00:26.048 --> 00:00:30.511
I also want to unpack everything that you're teaching over.

5
00:00:32.012 --> 00:00:37.116
It's great that you're teaching it, but why don't we do a better job of teaching this in school?

6
00:00:37.176 --> 00:00:43.481
Why is education, you know, I think education is very broken.

7
00:00:44.061 --> 00:00:45.222
How do we fix this stuff?

8
00:00:46.022 --> 00:00:46.723
How do we teach this stuff?

9
00:00:47.358 --> 00:00:50.642
One of the things I was fortunate in is I work with my assemblywoman.

10
00:00:50.722 --> 00:00:52.164
Her name is Angela B. McKnight.

11
00:00:52.244 --> 00:00:55.647
And in 2019, I got a law passed called the Budgetnista Law.

12
00:00:56.108 --> 00:00:59.071
And it makes financial education mandatory for middle school students.

13
00:00:59.792 --> 00:01:00.272
Serious?

14
00:01:00.493 --> 00:01:00.693
Mm-hmm.

15
00:01:01.053 --> 00:01:01.874
You got a law passed?

16
00:01:01.994 --> 00:01:02.535
Yes.

17
00:01:02.595 --> 00:01:03.176
I didn't know that.

18
00:01:03.196 --> 00:01:03.276
Yes.

19
00:01:05.157 --> 00:01:06.138
I thought you were queuing me up.

20
00:01:06.198 --> 00:01:07.899
I was like, oh, he did his research.

21
00:01:08.279 --> 00:01:09.360
No, I didn't get that.

22
00:01:09.520 --> 00:01:11.582
No, I wasn't queuing you up at all.

23
00:01:11.602 --> 00:01:12.162
That's awesome.

24
00:01:12.282 --> 00:01:16.525
No, I just think I always think education is broken when it comes to what we're focused on and what we teach.

25
00:01:16.585 --> 00:01:18.947
And financial literacy is just a huge gap.

26
00:01:19.272 --> 00:01:19.572
Yes.

27
00:01:19.912 --> 00:01:21.473
And so for me, I thought the same.

28
00:01:21.493 --> 00:01:22.513
And I said, you know what?

29
00:01:22.993 --> 00:01:26.735
I used to teach financial education just on my own to my preschoolers.

30
00:01:26.775 --> 00:01:32.077
Like, you know, because when you're little, financial education looks like service giving.

31
00:01:32.477 --> 00:01:33.357
It looks like math.

32
00:01:35.258 --> 00:01:41.284
It looks like this is a dollar, you know, and so like so I know what age appropriate financial education looks like.

33
00:01:41.304 --> 00:01:46.229
And so my assemblywoman, I told her I was just so frustrated that like these kids are not learning it.

34
00:01:46.650 --> 00:01:51.074
And she said, well, thankfully, in New Jersey, we're really early adapters for high school students.

35
00:01:51.114 --> 00:01:53.336
So there was already a law in place for high school students.

36
00:01:53.356 --> 00:01:54.477
And I'm like, that's awesome.

37
00:01:55.098 --> 00:01:56.759
But it should be sooner.

38
00:01:57.480 --> 00:02:02.362
And so I initially fought for elementary and middle school, and there was a lot of pushback.

39
00:02:02.622 --> 00:02:15.428
So they allowed the elementary component, but we're going back for elementary, they allowed the middle school component, but we're gonna go back for elementary school because I want, at least in the state of New Jersey to start, that as soon as you start kindergarten, you're running about money.

40
00:02:15.948 --> 00:02:21.091
So by the time you get to middle school, you're like, oh, okay, I understand a dollar and I understand savings.

41
00:02:21.151 --> 00:02:23.613
I understand, you know, I'm giving.

42
00:02:23.953 --> 00:02:26.054
And then middle school, oh, I understand where credit is.

43
00:02:26.515 --> 00:02:28.756
And then high school, oh, I understand where earning is.

44
00:02:28.816 --> 00:02:30.958
I understand where profit is and losses.

45
00:02:31.218 --> 00:02:36.621
So by the time you get to college and you're offered all these credit cards, you're like, oh, no, no, I learned about that in fifth grade.

46
00:02:36.661 --> 00:02:37.962
I know exactly what's happening here.

47
00:02:38.482 --> 00:02:40.784
And so if we can make that work in New Jersey...

48
00:02:41.264 --> 00:02:44.085
It's much harder, obviously, to get a national law passed.

49
00:02:44.365 --> 00:02:52.367
But if we can make that work in New Jersey, what happens is oftentimes, and I've gotten this, that people will hit me up from other states and say, how'd you do it?

50
00:02:52.387 --> 00:02:56.048
And I'll share with them, you know, and I'll connect them to Angela.

51
00:02:56.388 --> 00:03:04.311
So I'm like, you know, because this legislator can then talk to your legislator and walk them through what she had to do as far as like the law was concerned.

52
00:03:04.711 --> 00:03:05.271
And so, yeah.

53
00:03:05.911 --> 00:03:08.132
Yeah, I just think, I don't know why it's not taught.

54
00:03:08.312 --> 00:03:08.952
Well, here's why.

55
00:03:08.992 --> 00:03:12.053
At first, education was a function of creating a working class.

56
00:03:13.014 --> 00:03:14.574
Think about it this way, it's almost like the matrix.

57
00:03:14.594 --> 00:03:19.636
Remember in the matrix you realize that like, human beings were being bred to be batteries?

58
00:03:20.817 --> 00:03:27.720
And so I think that all the time that like, sometimes the way education is set up is for you to be a battery to the bigger system.

59
00:03:28.680 --> 00:03:31.121
And I'm like, no, let me be Neo, we're breaking out.

60
00:03:32.092 --> 00:03:33.013
I love that.

61
00:03:33.073 --> 00:03:33.493
I love that.

62
00:03:33.513 --> 00:03:35.234
That's so, that's, I love that analogy.

63
00:03:35.254 --> 00:03:36.014
That's really smart.

64
00:03:36.034 --> 00:03:41.578
So, you know, I'm just thinking about like my experience and I, I swear to anyone who's listening, I actually did not meet the cure up for that.

65
00:03:41.898 --> 00:03:42.638
It's awesome.

66
00:03:43.739 --> 00:03:48.241
So as it is, honestly, it's just like, it's something I wanted to bring up with you because I thought you had an opinion on it.

67
00:03:48.601 --> 00:03:58.967
Most people that dabble in financial education do, but the reason I bring it up is because I'm pretty sure like the first time that I ever had exposure to anything financial was like somebody pitching me a credit card on a college campus.

68
00:03:58.987 --> 00:03:59.167
Yep.

69
00:04:00.328 --> 00:04:00.768
That's it.

70
00:04:01.249 --> 00:04:04.770
That's about as close as financial education came to actual education.

71
00:04:05.911 --> 00:04:15.856
But, okay, so we got the whole premise of education, I think, comes from, you're right, we're creating people to make them hit a standard, but that's it.

72
00:04:16.176 --> 00:04:20.438
We don't need to create people that are creating generational wealth.

73
00:04:20.498 --> 00:04:22.179
We just need them to contribute to society.

74
00:04:23.105 --> 00:04:27.789
And contribution to society means month to month is fine for contribution to society.

75
00:04:28.249 --> 00:04:30.090
But for the average person, that's a pretty shitty life.

76
00:04:30.591 --> 00:04:31.131
Exactly.

77
00:04:31.191 --> 00:04:35.114
If you look at what's happening now, the other day I went to Stop and Shop.

78
00:04:35.134 --> 00:04:38.717
That's a big supermarket chain here in New Jersey in the Northeast.

79
00:04:39.438 --> 00:04:42.800
And think about whatever your biggest supermarket is.

80
00:04:42.820 --> 00:04:43.821
That's what Stop and Shop is.

81
00:04:44.402 --> 00:04:45.623
There were two cashiers.

82
00:04:46.524 --> 00:04:48.905
I mean, the laundry, I was like, what's happening?

83
00:04:48.965 --> 00:04:50.806
Oh, unemployment, more.

84
00:04:51.286 --> 00:04:56.289
People are making more staying home than they are at the stop and shop.

85
00:04:56.389 --> 00:05:01.712
That's why they don't want you to make so much money because who will work the stop and shop?

86
00:05:02.923 --> 00:05:04.424
Maybe employees should just pay more.

87
00:05:04.904 --> 00:05:05.405
Exactly.

88
00:05:05.425 --> 00:05:06.325
How to do business better.

89
00:05:06.345 --> 00:05:07.366
That's a whole other conversation.

90
00:05:07.446 --> 00:05:07.966
Exactly.

91
00:05:08.366 --> 00:05:09.667
But honestly, that's one of the reasons.

92
00:05:09.687 --> 00:05:12.669
And then I went to the Walgreens around the corner and same thing.

93
00:05:12.729 --> 00:05:13.810
I was like, wow.

94
00:05:14.230 --> 00:05:24.196
So when people have access to more money, they're like, no, I'm not showing up unless you can pay me a livable wage because staying home right now is more of a livable wage.

95
00:05:24.236 --> 00:05:31.160
And even like the way I developed the budget needs to, I only grow to the capacity that we can pay well.

96
00:05:31.840 --> 00:05:34.204
You know, like in the beginning, it was really hard.

97
00:05:34.264 --> 00:05:35.125
I didn't have much money.

98
00:05:35.205 --> 00:05:37.228
I remember like the most I could pay.

99
00:05:37.248 --> 00:05:39.652
I was like, look, all I could do is $9 an hour.

100
00:05:40.673 --> 00:05:42.316
But we're transparent with our numbers.

101
00:05:42.336 --> 00:05:43.818
Like everybody gets to see our numbers.

102
00:05:43.838 --> 00:05:47.804
And no matter whether your customer support or the COO hear our numbers.

103
00:05:48.264 --> 00:06:01.095
Here is for a company our size, we really, you really don't want to have more than 33% of your, of say your, your, your income going toward payroll because then you get a little shaky as far as like your, how solid your company is.

104
00:06:01.275 --> 00:06:02.556
So we're at 33%.

105
00:06:03.017 --> 00:06:05.519
And so as we do better, we increase.

106
00:06:05.919 --> 00:06:07.380
Now, what's so great about it is that.

107
00:06:08.221 --> 00:06:11.642
I don't follow traditional rules where it's like, oh, you know, once a year we're better.

108
00:06:11.682 --> 00:06:19.003
I'm like, no, if we're doing better and it's like a consistent do better and it's, I see that this is where we are now and it's three months later, we're increasing.

109
00:06:19.883 --> 00:06:23.524
You know, like I've had, I've given, I remember like I called them my lead team.

110
00:06:24.404 --> 00:06:27.585
I've given $20,000 raises like, you know what?

111
00:06:27.965 --> 00:06:32.026
You know, we like, we really banded together six months into the new year.

112
00:06:32.346 --> 00:06:34.166
We have taken the business to the next level.

113
00:06:34.446 --> 00:06:36.287
So we're going from 60 to 80 now.

114
00:06:36.347 --> 00:06:37.127
And they're like, wait, what?

115
00:06:38.402 --> 00:06:39.944
And they're like, are we allowed to do that?

116
00:06:40.024 --> 00:06:43.410
See, I never worked in corporate America other than one or two internships as a team.

117
00:06:43.430 --> 00:06:46.394
I was going to screw someone up who's worked from a big company.

118
00:06:46.434 --> 00:06:47.496
That's not how we do it.

119
00:06:47.696 --> 00:06:48.117
Tiffany.

120
00:06:48.217 --> 00:06:50.140
And I'm like, well, let's check with the CFO.

121
00:06:50.220 --> 00:06:50.701
Do we have her?

122
00:06:50.721 --> 00:06:51.442
She's like, we do.

123
00:06:51.502 --> 00:06:51.682
But...

124
00:06:52.527 --> 00:06:53.348
People don't usually do that.

125
00:06:53.368 --> 00:06:54.449
I'm like, well, is it illegal?

126
00:06:54.469 --> 00:06:55.310
She's like, no.

127
00:06:55.330 --> 00:06:57.272
I'm like, well, then let's bump them up.

128
00:06:57.753 --> 00:07:05.602
And now on the team, literally there are people on the team that started me three years ago making $9,000 an hour and make six figures now.

129
00:07:05.962 --> 00:07:10.367
Within three years, because I believe that you pay people well.

130
00:07:11.028 --> 00:07:16.273
You might not always be able to in the beginning, but let it not be because you're trying to hold on to all the money for yourself.

131
00:07:16.673 --> 00:07:18.495
But we pay people really well.

132
00:07:18.515 --> 00:07:21.158
We don't have turnaround, really, at the budgetista.

133
00:07:21.478 --> 00:07:22.339
We pay people well.

134
00:07:23.019 --> 00:07:23.980
We treat people well.

135
00:07:24.320 --> 00:07:26.743
We operate from a space of integrity and transparency.

136
00:07:26.843 --> 00:07:31.047
And as a result, that's why we're able to give so much to our audience.

137
00:07:31.067 --> 00:07:36.512
That's why you see such an amazing community because they feel taken care of because the team is being taken care of.

138
00:07:37.376 --> 00:07:37.816
Amazing.

139
00:07:37.856 --> 00:07:41.618
So these are just all best practices for building a business.

140
00:07:42.158 --> 00:07:46.040
I'm trying to think what else, what were some other interesting things?

141
00:07:46.060 --> 00:07:49.461
We spoke a little bit about financial education, entrepreneurial lessons.

142
00:07:49.481 --> 00:07:53.283
Let me check my notes and see if there's anything else that I wanted to go into.

143
00:07:53.523 --> 00:08:07.169
Was there anything else that, while I'm looking at this, was there anything else that's top of mind for you that financial education, how we pay people, employment, anything else that's top of mind?

144
00:08:07.789 --> 00:08:19.756
Well, this is not like as much financial education as like the lesson that I've been learning lately is to really ask yourself, not so much what do you want, but how do you want?

145
00:08:20.197 --> 00:08:21.898
Like, how do you want to live?

146
00:08:22.518 --> 00:08:24.800
Because I have been broke, broke, like...

147
00:08:25.500 --> 00:08:28.762
30-year-old Tiffany, you know, had less money than 12-year-old Tiffany, bro.

148
00:08:29.282 --> 00:08:32.083
I have been, like, you know, just a step above, bro.

149
00:08:32.143 --> 00:08:38.186
Preschool teacher Tiffany making, you know, $39,000 a year, but really that's, like, next to nothing, especially in New Jersey.

150
00:08:38.706 --> 00:08:48.631
I have been somewhere in the middle where my business was making six figures, and I have been where I am now where my personal net worth is seven figures, and my business makes eight figures a year.

151
00:08:49.031 --> 00:08:54.734
So I have been not every stage because I have not been, you know, $100 million, but it's kind.

152
00:08:55.214 --> 00:09:06.364
So the thing that I have realized and observed is that past a certain amount of money, the money doesn't enhance anything.

153
00:09:07.585 --> 00:09:11.229
Once I was able, like the house that I live in now, my husband and I were able to purchase it cash.

154
00:09:12.390 --> 00:09:16.213
And I was able to, in that same year, to pay off my parents' mortgage.

155
00:09:17.094 --> 00:09:18.375
And we send them money every month.

156
00:09:18.816 --> 00:09:20.777
I was able to also pay off my student loan debt.

157
00:09:21.516 --> 00:09:24.298
You know, we were able to get a rental property and pay for it cash.

158
00:09:24.838 --> 00:09:27.480
We were able to purchase our cars and pay for it cash.

159
00:09:27.820 --> 00:09:30.341
So my husband and I are debt-free like my nephew, Roman.

160
00:09:30.862 --> 00:09:33.503
Like we have, we're debt-free like a toddler, although he's not a toddler.

161
00:09:34.084 --> 00:09:35.084
Debt-free like a big boy.

162
00:09:35.104 --> 00:09:35.664
That's what we told Roman.

163
00:09:35.684 --> 00:09:36.425
You're a big boy now.

164
00:09:37.365 --> 00:09:39.227
Debt-free like, right now.

165
00:09:40.067 --> 00:09:50.491
But the more money that comes in, once I got the stability part down, the more money that came in, it did not really affect my day to day life.

166
00:09:51.211 --> 00:09:55.292
You know, so I really had to ask myself, what is it?

167
00:09:55.413 --> 00:09:56.813
How do I really want to live?

168
00:09:56.833 --> 00:09:59.234
So I want you should be considering that now.

169
00:09:59.534 --> 00:10:01.795
I want you to assume that you will grow wealth.

170
00:10:02.635 --> 00:10:12.924
Especially if you're a business owner, assume that eventually with time and effort and personal investment that your business is going to grow and yet you're going to grow wealth.

171
00:10:13.404 --> 00:10:15.026
But how will it meet you?

172
00:10:15.786 --> 00:10:21.732
I wanted to meet you healthy, happy, whole and wealthy because I myself almost lost sight of that.

173
00:10:21.892 --> 00:10:26.256
I just recently came back from a six week hiatus just to recenter and say, Tiffany, where are we headed?

174
00:10:26.276 --> 00:10:26.376
Yeah.

175
00:10:27.129 --> 00:10:30.050
Are we just working to work and to work and to work like we're like, where are we headed?

176
00:10:30.270 --> 00:10:35.773
I think not enough business people talk about that because so many of my friends who have businesses are miserable.

177
00:10:36.373 --> 00:10:42.636
You literally left corporate America because you said it was miserable there only to recreate the misery in your own business.

178
00:10:42.916 --> 00:10:49.499
And so I'm just here to kind of like give you like a forecast for like I am, you know, for those of you who are just starting out.

179
00:10:50.159 --> 00:10:55.386
See me as what potentially can be in your future and say, how do I want to meet myself there?

180
00:10:55.806 --> 00:10:59.110
And make sure to keep that in mind with how you grow your business.

181
00:10:59.130 --> 00:11:03.596
I think that's not said enough because everybody wants to talk about profit and loss and money and this and that.

182
00:11:03.616 --> 00:11:07.040
But, you know, you don't want to have all those things and then have a heart attack.

183
00:11:07.060 --> 00:11:07.521
And then what?

184
00:11:07.821 --> 00:11:08.141
you know?

185
00:11:08.161 --> 00:11:09.482
Thanks for tuning in.

186
00:11:09.582 --> 00:11:13.984
If you found this valuable, don't forget to hit that subscribe button so you never miss an episode.

187
00:11:14.064 --> 00:11:19.586
And if you want to dive deeper into this conversation, check out the links in the description to watch the full episode.

188
00:11:19.726 --> 00:11:20.687
See you in the next one.