Paychecks & Balances | Personal Finance & Career Advice for Millennials

“Together we can turn words into Cold Hard Cash”. Finance, business and travel writer, Sarah Li Cain joins the podcast today. Sarah is the host of the “Beyond The Dollar” Podcast and founder of “Sarah Li Cain Writes”. Sarah understands how to create compelling content in the form of Articles, Blog posts and Web Copy. She’ unique in that she understands how to connect with readers and turn them into fans, which turns them into customers. Sarah can help you achieve your goals by using the correct voicing for your brand, regardless of what vibe your looking to portray. Sarah prides her self on being easy to work with, telling great jokes and being fun to be around and her client list is huge. She’s worked with some top companies in the online space, including; Bankrate, Lending Tree, Word Press, Quicken Loans and other finance giants.   Sarah’s journey into Entrepreneurship started shortly after moving to the U.S from Canada and having a baby. While working too many hours at her full time job and raising a child, she realized there had to be a way to work less hours and still maximize her income. She began using her self taught financial education and writing skills to find freelance work. After building up her experience and client list, she was eventually able to triple her income in one year, all while writing from home.   In this episode you’ll hear Sarah’s experience immigrating to the U.S, building credit without being able to get a credit card, why millennial’s need to stop basing their self-worth on their credit score, the do’s and don’t’s of starting a side hustle, and the importance of batching tasks and time blocking.     Key Takeaway: If you can afford it, you need to invest a little bit of money in your side hustle. In the beginning it shows that you’re taking your gig seriously and trusting that you're willing to see your idea through.     Highlights: Self teaching Financial Literacy Building credit from scratch by becoming an authorized user on her husbands card What are secured credit cards? Breaking down the Taboo’s around money conversations The danger of “I should” Millennial’s putting their credit score on their Tinder profiles Tying your self worth to something external The emotional connection between buying and renting Cold calling to get leads Using tools like Fiverr to outsource some of your side hustle tasks Batching and time blocking Reasons for and against freelancing Investing money in your idea     Paychecks & Balances Website:                  

Shannah Compton Game of The “Millennial Money” podcast joins the P&B family today. Shannah is a Certified Financial Planner with an MBA. She’s also an entrepreneur, podcaster, writer and teacher. On her show “Millennial Money”, Shannah takes a deep dive into the money problems that plague Americans, with a focus on Millennials. Her goal is to help you get more in tune with your money and to know your money, so that you can begin to cut down on debt and build a budget that works for your lifestyle.   Her passion for helping people untangle the mess of their day-to-day money problems is rooted in the fact that in the past, Shannah had money struggles just like you. Debt, student loans, a mortgage, all things that she at one time felt in over her head with. She’s creating a movement where talking about money isn’t a taboo, instead it’s a part of regular conversation with your family, friends and spouse.   In today’s episode you’ll hear about Shannah’s upbringing and her first memories of money, working with her dad. You’ll also learn about how starting a film festival in college taught Shannah valuable marketing and budget lessons. Shannah tells the listeners about her philosophy on going back to school to get an MBA, the power of starting a podcast, and how she credits all of her success in business to being scrappy and making things happen, without a huge network.     Highlights: Starting a film festival and running its marketing and finances Weighing the costs of getting your Masters Degree The lack of a network that some graduate schools promise Teaching personal finance at Cal State Northridge “Cash is still king” The importance of building a financial foundation Why you need to be earning more than 2% on your money Knowing what your spending your money on – In order to fix things you need a benchmark of data to understand Negotiating a better student loan interest rate Tackling different facets of paying off debt, while still saving some of your money   Key Takeaway: Regardless of income or age, we all face similar money struggles. The numbers may look different but the problems are the same. In order to build a life you need a basic financial education and foundation to build off of.     Paychecks & Balances   Website:        

Today it’s just Rich and Marcus on the show. They’re answering a question from a listener whose inquiring about the best strategy to pay off some debt. The listener has 3 credit cards and a car note he’s working on. In the listener’s debt payment arsenal, he has a general savings account, an emergency fund, two jobs and an Airbnb that produces cash flow. He’s looking to Rich and Marcus for some advice and the best place to start hammering down this debt.   In today’s episode you’ll hear the guys discuss some different perspectives on getting a debt payment plan in order and why the listener is in a good place to aggressively start making some moves on his debt.   Highlights: The debt snowball effect Using a portion of work–related bonuses to pay off a chunk of debt Holding on to your emergency fund and not using it for debt payments  The mental bliss of seeing a debt balance go down Using an interest free credit card   Key Takeaway: There are a few approaches to paying off debt. These depend on your personality type and lifestyle. The important thing to remember is that you have to get a plan in place as soon as possible, so that you don’t get eaten alive by interest and so that you can take your life back.     Paychecks & Balances Website: .          

Kanika Tolver joins us on the show today. Kanika is an Information Technology Federal Government professional, Entrepreneur, Coach and Author. Her company Career Rehab LLC, focuses on assisting career transformations for students, professionals and retiree’s. She does this through coaching, events and webinars with the ultimate goal of helping others create their own “epic lives” and reach their career goals. In her book “Career Rehab” Kanika helps you strip away the fear that’s holding you back from living the life you want and gives guidance on how to brand, market and sell yourself into jobs that are in alignment with your values. Values like work-life balance, good pay and on-going self-development are at the top of her list. In today’s episode Marcus and Rich sit down with Kanika and discuss her baby steps into entrepreneurship as a resume writer, what it’s like working for the Federal Government, the power of LinkedIn, building a professional network, and how thinking of yourself as a brand will get your more opportunities in life.     Highlights:   Side hustling as a career coach/resume writer Building a business from home while taking care of her sick mother Balance as the key for success in business and personal life What it’s like working in Washington DC “Don’t sleep on LinkedIn” Investing in a good head shot Leveraging LinkedIn groups Employee mindset vs. being a brand Beefing up your 401k contributions at work, once you get a raise How your personal values change from your 20’s to 30’s Bringing a dose of your personality to your job The importance of prepping for work meetings A “referral is the fastest way to an interview”     Key Takeaway: You have to leverage your skills and your network to sell yourself into a job that is in alignment with your life’s vision.     Paychecks & Balances   Website:      

We were preparing to record a new episode then received the news of the helicopter crash involving Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna and others. We scrapped those plans and instead had a conversation about life.