On: Our Relationship with Money.

A financial newsletter for people who hate talking about money.

I started writing about personal finance in 2020 through a social media column called Money Talk. I launched it on a whim. It was the height of the pandemic and we all had a lot of time on our hands. Money was something I always enjoyed talking about but I recognized that most people did not feel the same. They felt stressed and overwhelmed by the topic. Before launching, I never could have expected the incredible response it received. Thousands of messages from every type of person sharing how overwhelmed they were with understanding and managing their finances.

I learned a lot through hosting that series but the most important thing was how many people felt isolated trying to learn and understand money. Each person felt like they were the only one going through it, but what I could see through all of the messages is that it was a shared experience. People expressed a level of embarrassment over what they didn’t know about money and that it was too late to ask. There is a feeling that once you hit a certain age, you should just know how to invest or manage your money or how to save for retirement. But the truth is, most people don’t know those things and they don’t even know where to begin.

As much as we might want to avoid it, money is a key part of life. If understood and used properly it can be a source of immense freedom instead of stress. I wanted to help more people feel like they were in control of their relationship with money, instead of money controlling them. Most of the people I spoke with had an out-of-sight, out-of-mind mentality about it. It was too stressful to address so they pushed it off but what ended up happening is that it started to take up more and more of their brain space. The things we try to avoid thinking about and dealing with become the ones we think about most.

There is an abundance of financial information available to all of us. You can Google any questions you have and get thousands of responses. The lack of information is not the issue. The issue is how the information is presented and how we process and apply the information to our own lives.

So I present to you, The Financial Tea. A laid-back financial newsletter that’s both educational and informative. My goal is to create something that even the most financially anxious person looks forward to reading. A place where people feel comfortable learning and conversing about all things money. Where we can start to cultivate more moments of feeling financially empowered instead of stressed. I’ll cover a mixture of current events, financial education, and interviews. We’re all a little voyeuristic when it comes to money. We want to know how other people spend, what they’re stressed over, what they’re saving for, and how they view money and these interviews will pull back the curtain on some of my favorite people and their financial habits.

Question: What if it doesn’t have to be complicated?

What is personal finance didn’t have to be hard or complicated? So much of the language around money is that it’s complicated, that you shouldn’t try to understand it - it’s better left to the experts. I believe that we can take a really simple and effective approach to our finances. My goal for everyone is that by learning and understanding your finances you can actually think about money less often. The idea is to get a structure in place (spend less than you make, build an emergency fund, save for retirement, invest) and then once your structure is in place, it’s mostly hands-off. Unless finance is an interest for you and you enjoy reading and learning about it, it doesn’t need to be something that you have to think and obsess over.

What in the world: An update on current events.

After hitting all-time highs earlier this year, the market has been struggling. Inflation isn’t cooling as much as we’d hoped, the job market is still blowing past expectations and tensions overseas are causing uncertainty. And if there is one thing the stock market hates, it’s uncertainty. My best piece of advice during times like this is to not check your portfolio. Investing is a long-term game and checking daily isn’t necessary and can cause unneeded stress.

Tesla is the company that everyone loves to hate and they’re having a real moment right now. Cybertruck recalls, layoffs, declining sales, etc, etc. The negative news cycle definitely impacts investors’ feelings and I like to use these moments to tune out the noise and investigate my instincts on the company. I’m a long-time holder and don’t plan on selling anytime soon. As problematic as Elon is the level of innovation Tesla has created is unmatched and I think they have more exciting things ahead.

We just wrapped tax season! The IRS recently announced that they are going after 125,000 high-income earners who haven’t filed taxes since 2017. Taxes routinely come up as a source of anxiety for almost everyone I work with, so if that’s you, you’re not alone.

The crypto news has been hot lately and Bitcoin has been taking over with the recent halving that happened. Lots of speculation on how it will impact the price. Historically, it has positively impacted the value over time. Don’t look for an immediate jump. I’ll do a full newsletter on crypto because it’s one of the things I’m asked about the most (especially in a bull market!) but I never want people to buy what they don’t understand because that can lead to fear and uncertainty. Two feelings we want to avoid when it comes to our personal finances!

Reddit - Reddit’s hotly anticipated IPO was at the end of March and I’ve been keeping my eye on the stock price. I don’t like buying a stock at IPO, they generally come out hot and then cool off rapidly (see Sweetgreen and Coinbase IPOs as examples). I like to wait a minute for the dust to settle and I think it’s starting to settle for Reddit. I’m bullish (read: optimistic) on their future. I’ve recently found my Reddit searches on the rise which means I’m probably not the only one. Their daily active users are on the rise and that level of data is very valuable.

Retirement - Are teenagers already thinking about retirement? A new study indicates that 83% of 13-18-year-olds have already thought about their retirement. I’m all for planning ahead but thinking about retirement as a teenager feels wild. A new generation of financially empowered kids is coming!

Let’s Get Personal: An interview with Ashleigh Lockerbie.

I’m excited about the interview portion of this newsletter! One of the most powerful things we can do is talk about money with each other. Share our goals, what we’re stressed about, the risks we’ve taken, and how they turned out. I’ll be sharing a range of perspectives and experiences. Every story matters and we can all learn so much from each other!

Today’s interview is with my friend Ashleigh. She hosts our LA Money Talk group with me. She and her husband started Better Booch and have expanded it into Future Beverage Group. She had an epic career pivot, from backup singer to Rihanna to launching her kombucha brand! Scaling a business can be incredibly stressful and it’s been so fun to watch her tackle the challenges head-on and have so many amazing wins!

Name: Ashleigh Lockerbie

What do you do for work? I am the co-founder of Future Beverage Group. We work with scientists to make the healthiest and best-tasting beverages on the planet, like Better Booch, Cha For Life, Live Soda and N/Ative. 

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when I say “money”? For the first 35 years of my life, I would have answered "Security," which inherently has scarcity attached to it. I'm trying to work towards "Abundance/ease."  

What’s the best investment you’ve ever made (think broadly - can be an investment in yourself, mental health, business, etc)  The best financial investment I've ever made was investing my savings from my career as a touring backup singer into my beverage business. I'd actually also qualify that as a time investment. So much time! 

What do you enjoy spending money on? At the moment, I'm enjoying spending money on furniture/decor to make our house super cozy, and landscaping for our yard so we can enjoy it this summer.   

A risk you've taken and how it worked out? Late last year we made our first acquisition as a company to acquire Live Soda, a kombucha brand born in Texas. It felt like a big swing because it wasn't something we had ever even considered doing before. We just completed a rebrand and Live just got authorized in Costco. :) So far, so good. 

A five-year goal you have for yourself? I have a number I'd like to reach for personal/family net worth, it would be cool to reach that number within 5 years. I'd love to have a little beach bungalow in Malibu.  I'd like to grow Future Beverage Group to the point where it is cash flowing super well, and is ripe for a big exit or IPO. Why not?!

More soon. If you have questions, feedback, or topics you want me to cover, let me know! I’m glad you’re here.