[Ep. 396] How to Earn Smarter, Not Harder with Nathan Kennedy

Welcome Nathan to the More Money Podcast.

Excited to have you on, especially since we’ve talked about this.

I mean, I was years ago on your podcast, and it’s about time that you’re on my show.

So welcome.

No, it’s a pleasure to be here.

I’m super, super excited.

Awesome.

So, you know, I think, was it pre-pandemic that we first connected and we were on your podcast, or was it during the pandemic?

I think it was like the very start, cause I started the podcast in 2019, and then just was looking for a different inspiration, and you came up.

And actually when you said yes, it was actually like, I was a little bit like, whoa, this is kind of a big deal.

It was probably the biggest person I had at the time.

I appreciate you saying that.

So that was really cool.

And to this day, thank you for that.

You’re welcome.

It was like maybe February, March 2020, something like that.

Wow, gosh.

Yeah, that was a wild time.

I don’t want to go back to that time, but it seems like during that time, you did the podcast and then, and you’re still working your full-time job.

At what point did you, because I knew you really wanted to kind of go more into personal finance, content creation, trying to figure out what was the best avenue for you.

What got you into, I know TikTok, Instagram are your big platforms, you have a YouTube channel as well, but what really made you want to kind of dive into that?

Was it just like, hey, these are people my age, and it’s kind of short form, that is more my vibe?

You know, I think it was obviously low lift, right?

Like you said, it’s quite quicker to do that.

The reason I had social media to begin with was just to promote the podcast.

I had no intention other than just wanting to do the podcast.

And obviously, as you’re well aware, like, you know, you don’t get much discoverability with a podcast.

And so I started on Instagram and then Reels, that was going well, and then Reels came out.

And then I started to use TikTok just to like make Reels, and then TikTok actually started to do well.

And so I felt like there was a huge opportunity there, especially because there wasn’t too many people talking about finance, but like there was the people that were were getting insane, insane impressions.

And so I felt, okay, like maybe I could give that a shot.

And I did that.

And obviously I was doing that a long time, my full-time job.

And that was great.

And they had to do that for a few years, or maybe like a year and a half, two years before, I realized like, hey, like maybe I could go all in on this.

And so that was about two and a half years ago, I quit my job and went all in on content creation.

Can you explain what it means?

I’ve had a few other content creators on the podcast, but I think people are always interested, especially if you’re on social media a lot, you see these influencers, content creators, you’re like, how the hell do they make a living?

What does that look like?

Because it can be a lot of different avenues.

What did that look like for you?

How did you feel comfortable enough to leave your, maybe safe and secure job to do what you’re doing now?

Yeah, I felt that like, if I didn’t know how to financially plan or financially set up myself, I’d be quite a big fraud of a personal finance content creator.

And so I had a lot of, I don’t wanna say a lot, I had a good amount of money saved up for a potential rental property that I was looking at.

You know, things were going well at work and I started to make more money with the content creation.

And eventually I started to make more than my job.

And so I figured, well, what I could do instead of maybe purchasing a property, I could use that as an opportunity fund, sort of like a fallback thing.

And I can give this thing a full time shot for a year.

And we’ll see where it goes.

And if I stop making money, I could always go back to corporate.

You know, there’s a dime a dozen, a lot of the jobs.

And you know, I feel like I could, it’s gonna be there for me in one way or shape or one way or another, but this might not be.

And you know, obviously the news right now, obviously TikTok potentially getting banned and all this kind of stuff.

Yeah, I was gonna ask you about that.

I mean, I know we’re based in Canada, but do you think they’ll still have a big impact?

Because if this does get passed, US viewers of your content won’t be able to access, at least your TikTok, they’ll still be able to access your Instagram.

Yeah, I think whatever happens in the US is sort of like the fate of the whole company, because I think it’s something like 10% of the users are in the United States, but I’d reckon maybe 35 to 40% of the revenue are either from America or American-based companies that probably wouldn’t be comfortable advertising if this whole thing happened.

Now, I think in general, am I anxious about it?

First of all, it’s gonna take a very long time.

Second of all, there’s a lot of legal challenges with that to actually happen, First Amendment, all that kind of jazz.

And then third, this is the nature of the career that we’re in in terms of content creation.

It is fickle, and so I am trying to build up my email list.

That’s my number one focus, and it was before all this stuff sort of happened.

And I try to produce my own stuff on the side and kind of own my audience a little bit more.

And so for me, I look at things like that, and things are gonna happen as they will, but I’m also not too worried.

The only thing that comes to mind is, yeah, things might slow down advertising-wise on that specific channel, because advertisers can get scared pretty easily, and this is kind of scary.

So I guess we’ll see how that shakes out.

But for the most part, honestly, it’s just, it really went fast, and I think that’s why it’s such a big story.

And obviously, them influence, like TikTok actually making it a big issue on their platform has made it so much bigger than it’s been in the past, where it’s just kind of been like in the news, but people don’t really like fall, like TikTok’s like sending push notifications to all of America about it.

So obviously, it’s gonna be quite a big deal.

But I genuinely think, I don’t think it’s gonna happen.

In my opinion, maybe I’m delusional, but I just, I really don’t think it’ll happen.

Yeah, I guess we’ll see.

I guess we’ll see, but you brought up a good point.

And this has been something I’ve been now doing this.

Oh, I feel like I’m like, did I get, yeah, I’m like, did I do the math right?

I’ve been doing this for sure professionally, like full time for seven years now.

And even still, I remember when I first started, my husband’s like, you know, the first couple of years are rough, you know?

You’re just like, what am I doing?

And there is that scarcity that’s always about, you’re like, what if I stop making money or things dry up?

You know, when am I gonna feel like everything’s gonna be okay?

This is a real thing.

I can rest easy.

And I will say it never really, it gets a little bit easier, but I told my husband, I’m like, maybe once I hit the 10 year mark, then I’ll be able to be like, oh yeah, like this is a legitimate career.

I’ve been doing this for a decade.

But now that I’m like, you know, in year eight, I’m like, I still have those worries of like, what if this dries up?

What if I, I mean, now as I’m getting older and approaching 40, I’m like kind of worried.

I’m like, what if I’m aging out or something like that?

Even though, if anything, I’m getting better at what I do because I’m more knowledgeable, more experienced.

But it’s just like one of those things you’re like, what if I, you know, get wrinkles?

I don’t know.

And people don’t want to, you know, look at someone my age for that kind of content.

I don’t know, just little insecurities that I have.

And what I will say though is the best thing that you can do for yourself, and this is for anyone listening who wants to, you know, explore this if they want to do it, is that, you know, diversification is key.

Never just, and I’ve seen this happen with some content creators.

They only focus on one platform.

Instead, like I know for a long time, people who were like really big on TikTok had like no followers on Instagram.

Like, why are they not cross posting or putting that same energy?

Because again, you know, TikTok, the, oh, it’s gonna go away.

It’s been in talks for years.

And I remember there was a lot of content creators be like, please follow me on Instagram, because apparently they’re gonna shut it down.

So it’s like, you just never know what’s gonna happen to a platform that you do not own, and it could go away.

There’s been lots of social platforms.

Do you remember like Periscope?

And what was that one that was, it was just talking?

No, I do remember MySpace.

Were you even old enough to have MySpace?

I had a MySpace.

I had a MySpace.

It was on the tail end.

Yeah, it was like 2000.

Oh, that tail end.

Oh my God.

Six or seven or whatever.

No, there was something else I can’t remember.

And it was basically like, it was kind of like a podcast, but not, and it was really big for a while.

I feel like even in early days, 2020, and now no one talks about it.

And I can’t remember the name of it, but it was, you can listen to people chat.

I can’t.

Geez, this is gonna bother me.

I know, okay, it’s okay.

We’ll move on, but if you think-

I’ll blurt it out in the middle.

Yeah, yeah, just blurt it out if you think about it.

It’s gonna drive me crazy.

But, and you know, so those went away.

And now even like Twitter slash X or whatever you wanna call it.

I used to really like that platform and now it’s trash in my opinion.

Like I never go there and I don’t post on there anymore just cause I don’t like what’s going on.

And so it’s one of those things.

You’ve gotta be very agile and just evolve and just, and also yeah, own stuff, like have your email list and create your own products.

Do things that no one can take away from you is kind of what I’ve learned.

Cause yeah, I mean, things have happened.

I mean, at the beginning of 2020, we were like, yeah, the March, kind of April of 2020, all of my work dried up because a lot of it at that point was speaking and brand partnerships.

And there was no events and no brand wanted to do advertising cause they didn’t know what was going on.

And that was scary.

But then I can kind of lean into some other things I did, like my online courses and my financial counseling, which actually brings me to another question last time, or one of the last times I saw you, it was at this conference for accredited financial counselors in Canada.

And I saw you there.

How’s that going?

I know we were studying.

Yeah, I have both tests.

I have both tests booked for April 4th and like 5th.

You do them back to back?

Yeah, I’m doing, or no, I think it might be, I might have gave myself a week, but I’m studying, like, I was literally studying for hours before this.

Yeah.

Oh, sorry.

No, no, no, no, no, I was done.

I was fully, fully done.

But that’s something that I’m really excited about.

And that’s something that you really inspired me with.

Because I think it’s the best option that content creators have to gain a little bit of legitimacy, not just being some random person, but it’s also not a CFP where you have to spend years and years and years for something that ultimately, I don’t want to manage people’s money.

I don’t want to actually, I just maybe want to-

I’m telling you right now, though, once you finish the AFCC like I did, and I took a year break, I’m like, I’m good, I don’t need to get any more credentials, you’re gonna crave a little bit.

You’re gonna miss school a little bit.

So I know you’re gonna take more courses, don’t you worry?

You’re gonna do like me, where I’m almost ready to take my QAFP exam.

But like you said, I started the journey to become a CFP, which I will eventually get in 2020, and it’s now 2024.

And it’s just because it’s like trying to find time in your schedule to just dedicate to studying when you’re working full time running a business, very difficult.

Yeah, absolutely.

But you’re right, that sort of like, I don’t know, now that I’m like this close, I’m like, I don’t know, I feel pretty confident that I’m gonna pass and get it and everything’s gonna be great.

But now I’m like, damn, I was literally looking at like MBA programs, I was looking at all these different things, and I was like, man, that could be really cool.

Because yeah, we have to, in this career, sort of add legitimacy to what we’re doing if we wanna make it more professional, if we wanna be all this kinds of, have those sort of opportunities, everything like that.

And so yeah, it’s just an ambition for me.

And I wanna learn, I wanna have more credibility, I wanna create better content, things like that.

Well, that’s the thing, have you found studying, you’re like, hey, even though what I recognize was like, oh, I do know quite a bit, so that makes me feel good, it confirms that you’re like, okay, yeah, I know what I’m talking about.

But it also gives you new ideas and can make your content better.

And for me, even though I’m still always looking to you, I’m like, gosh, look at you with all your followers on those social media apps, I really need to up my game.

But what’s interesting is, when I do see some other people’s content, I’m just like, oh, that’s so basic.

And it’s like, there’s nothing wrong with that.

But it’s like, sometimes like there’s, it’s good and bad to have like more education, but sometimes, yeah, it’s like, I want to go deeper.

And though, but so I’m excited to kind of see what kind of content you create as you can kind of continue your trainings and stuff like that, because you’ll be able to explore deeper things than, you know, finding stuff, just, you know, just kind of regular stuff.

Anyway, that’s what I found.

I found it, it was actually really exciting to learn more and got you more excited to create more interesting content.

A hundred percent.

I think really the level of intrigue or the level of the content is the storytelling ability of the content creator rather than the actual content.

Like a good storyteller could make something like spend less than you earn interesting.

Like I think I’ve made videos around very basic concepts.

Like literally like, I mean, I made like a two minute skit, this whole thing around, literally, it was like once I could describe it in one sentence, it’s like, invest the money that you get from your employer match, right?

Like that’s it.

Don’t let it sit there, invest it, period.

That’s literally the premise of the video, but I made this whole like feel about it and it did well because it was compelling.

And so I think that’s why like, that’s the sauce to content creation, especially in our space is like, a lot of this stuff is really, really basic.

Spend less than you earn, invest the difference.

Everything else falls in line after that.

But if you can sort of tell that story that like lands with the audience, like I think that’s great, that’s great.

And for me, again, it’s like this, the FCC, CFP credentials, things like that.

Again, it just better equips me to add that nuance.

And like you said, like separate, you know, from people who are just kind of doing, saying whatever, doing whatever, you know?

It’s true.

And I feel like if we are gonna be in a space for a long time, we do kind of have a responsibility to, you know, ownership a little bit more, so to speak.

And just like, you know, just, yeah, make sure, like when you look at, you know, I always kind of give the comparison of if you’re following someone in fitness, and lately I’ve been like, so I get older, I’m like, my knees hurt, my back hurts.

And then, you know, I look at something on Instagram, and then everything after that is like, hey, here’s what you need to do to strengthen your hip flexors and stuff like that.

For me, I like to follow people who have their certifications in, you know, professional, you know, fitness training, not just someone who doesn’t.

Because I’m like, I’m going to trust the person who actually did some, you know, actual classes, so I don’t do something improperly, you know what I mean?

And so I think it’s only, it not only benefits you, you’re going to be better at what you do, but then you’re going to make sure that you are helping people and not leading them astray or saying, so, you know, I see content creators all the time use the wrong terms or explain something in the wrong way.

And it’s like, I know it sounds like a little thing, but then someone will remember that, and then they’ll have that misinformation, and you know, it all kind of adds up.

So it’s like, we got this responsibility to do our best.

And I know, I recognize that in you.

That’s why I think you’re doing great.

No, I appreciate all the kind words.

I think though, like, if you just want to talk, like, from a very cynical point of view, and an opportunistic point of view, not to be Machiavellian or whatever, but like the wave of non-credentialed, non-like people who are saying whatever is like really fading out.

And like you’re seeing like Andrew Huberman and like Peter Atiyah, and you’re seeing like health specialists, doctors, things like people with real life, like they’re doing this for real.

And those are the people I love.

Like I follow dentists and doctors and dermatologists and stuff who work in the field.

And I am more, you know, I’m going to listen to what they say because they did the work, you know what I mean?

So I think that’s definitely a good thing.

And I think also audience members or people that watch this content, you know, me being one of them, we are more picky now, because there was too much for a long time and we were on social media for hours and hours when we were in lockdown and stuff like that.

Now, since we are kind of back into a normal society, we’re being more picky at who we’re going to watch.

And so I think, yeah, the proof is kind of in the pudding.

Who’s going to survive after and long-term have these kind of long-term careers?

It’s going to be the people that do the work and really make sure that they’re at that level.

No, 100%.

So I’m excited to see how everything jigs out, but it keeps growing.

Even with any of this, the attention will shift, whether it’s to Instagram or YouTube or wherever.

And it’s an emerging career if you can stick up with it.

Yeah, well, that brings me to what are your plans?

Because I know you’ve only really, I mean, you’ve been doing this for a few years, but only a few years.

So where do you, like, is it hard to plan long-term when things have changed so much in such a short amount of time?

And what does kind of that look like for you?

Where do you see yourself, depending on like where things with social media go?

So, I mean, just in a high level, obviously it’s a very financial podcast.

Like, I think for me, you know, I look at the career that I’m in right now, and it’s a high-income career, if you can, you know, do well with it.

And, you know, I think after, maybe this is just because recently I was doing some like Monte Carlo stuff, some like long-term projection stuff, if I were to invest this in that, whatever scenario planning.

And, you know, I think for me, ultimately, I know that there could be a window here.

And it is tough to plan like 10 years, like I don’t know what 10 years looks like.

I do want to be involved with entrepreneurship and things like that.

But ultimately, like, I’m trying to just pretty much sock and invest everything away.

And, you know, reach a really pretty much like financial independent position over the next few years.

Are you kind of a fire person?

Like, do you have this idea I want to retire by?

Or like, not retire, but, you know, have enough money that you don’t have to make new money?

I have a number for sure.

Like, I have a number that I want to hit, you know, where I could live comfortably if everything went down and everything like that.

And so that’s sort of like one of my biggest driving goals is to how can I set that up with this sort of career and everything like that?

Obviously, I want to continue to help and be a steward of financial literacy for the rest of my life.

And whether that’s within what I do or within a company, that’s fine.

I’m not very like, I know some entrepreneurs are like, I’ll never work for a corporation.

Like, yeah, I’d love to work for a corporation if they want to buy a company.

I started like, that’s great.

Like I do a little best thing, whatever, right?

So I think generally I’m trying to figure out how I can establish myself as a professional in this space and have that legitimacy and then grow businesses alongside with that and help people in the process.

And so that’s sort of like the next phase.

And what I’m working on right now is a newsletter that I started where it’s geared at helping working professionals become more financially literate.

But like with the twist of like it being like with a corporate sort of point of view.

So people like around like, how do you operate?

How do you negotiate more effectively?

How do you manage your paycheck more effectively?

How do you manage shifting your retirement accounts to a new job and like, what’s a Lyra and stuff like that?

So like having that sort of perspective to it, because I do think there’s a lot of personal finance stuff out there.

There’s a lot of career advice that stuff, but like actual bridge I found wasn’t.

And so that’s what I’m trying to solve for.

And I feel like maybe I could build a brand around that.

And then maybe that could be the next thing.

And so that’s kind of what I’m working on, but dollars and cents wise, like I’d love to get to a nice little number these next few years here.

And then kind of just have some fun.

And then I could just do that.

Yeah.

You know, I used to think the same thing at your age, though I feel like I kind of, maybe didn’t get started later, but it definitely, it took me a while.

I certainly wasn’t earning very good money throughout my whole 20s.

It wasn’t until I hit my 30s that I kind of saw that.

But what I found is sometimes you’ll have a number, you’re like, once I hit that, I’ll feel really good, I’ll feel secure, maybe I’ll ease things.

And then you tend to kind of push the goalpost a little bit.

You’re like, what about the next bit?

And that’s not a bad thing, but just recognize that because sometimes it can be dangerous.

You’re like, oh, what am I satisfied with things?

No, but I love the idea of the newsletter because what just popped into my head is often when I’m on social media and I do see personal finance content creators, or even the people that are like finance slash business slash marketing or whatever, a lot of the advice that’s like, oh, you want to level up your money and build wealth.

It’s about getting a side hustle.

It’s about working more.

It’s about getting a side hustle, starting a business.

And you’re like, well, yeah, I get that.

It’s important to earn more money.

I always had a side hustle before I went full-time, self-employed, was not out of, it was literally out of necessity because I needed to earn more.

But there should be more information for people.

They’re like, yeah, but I don’t want to be an entrepreneur.

I like my job.

I like what I do, my career.

What can I do?

Because this solution should be to start a business and quit your job.

What if you really, I know so many people that are like, I work corporate, I work for this organization or this university, I love my job.

So what can I do with the money that I’m pulling in?

100%.

And I want to say this.

I think the whole side hustle thing, 99% of it, nonsense, absolutely nonsense.

Like, am I really going to go-

I really don’t because the premise of passive income is great, making money while you sleep and all this kind of stuff.

But it’s been so distorted and misrepresented as to what it really is.

And I think I want people to pursue entrepreneurship and things like that.

But there is a part of it where, if you really want to go and do it, you will go and do it.

You’re that type of person.

And a lot of people, the majority of people want to work a job and their job isn’t their vocation.

They don’t have these crazy goals or whatever, and that’s totally fine.

So for me, it’s like, how do I help them operate and meet them where they are?

And how do I help you be more efficient at your job?

Because you could take those 10 hours, I don’t know, walking dogs or maybe doing some side hustle on YouTube, which is great.

You’ll make some money, or you can take the 10 hours and invest it in yourself and become way better at your job.

That gets you the next job.

That makes you 30 or 40 grand more a year.

You know what I mean?

And that’s, to me, is much more time well spent and will develop you a lot further than maybe making some extra bucks on the weekend, which you can do both things.

But I just think that I want to focus on the bigger rocks, the bigger levers there, with that kind of stuff.

So that actually reminds me, I’ve been seeing a lot of content and news articles, I mean, they really haven’t gone away for the past several years about job hopping.

First it was like millennials are job hoppers, they’re terrible people.

And now it’s Gen Z, job hoppers, terrible.

What are your thoughts?

Because personally, I was told don’t be a job hopper, looks bad on your resume, you won’t get hired, all these negative things, loyalty is key.

And then I’ve seen later on, well, there’s actually some downsides.

My dad was loyal to his company for 30 years, got laid off because of corporate BS, and had to restart his career in his 50s.

And there’s pros and cons.

And for me, I’ve always made more money when I went to a new job, instead of waiting around for years to get a promotion or a raise.

So what is your kind of take on that, especially for younger people as they kind of try to figure out a plan for their career?

It’s difficult, but I do feel like there’s never been a better time to be an employee.

I know that sounds weird, because a lot of people are like, oh, no, it’s crap.

It’s like, it was so much worse, because now there’s more transparency, there’s more opportunities, and there’s more opportunities for you to train in a different category, different industry, a lot more flexible than it used to be.

I think for sure, and I’m a big proponent of job flexibility, job hopping, things like that.

I think the reason, and I agree with you, it’s never been better to be an employee, because not only are employees earning more than ever in a lot of different companies, but job hopping is way less stigmatized than it used to be.

I mean, you’ll still have those spuddy-duddy sort of recruiters and HR folks who are like, what did you do here for two years and three?

Most of the time, most people know that people are hopping around and that’s how you got to get up to get up kind of thing.

And I think that that’s fantastic, because now you’re seeing people significantly increase their income, because they don’t have to operate within the confines of, obviously, employees will always have to operate within the confines of pay equity, but not so much internally, right?

Well, we can’t give you a 20% raise because that’s not fair to everybody else in the company.

Well, okay, I’ll go get a new job and I’ll get that raise for myself.

And that’s a realistic outcome for a lot of people now, which is awesome.

And so, every couple of years, not every single year, every few months you should be leaving, of course, you still wanna develop and grow within a company, but I think the income potential these days is amazing.

It really is.

And I know people, and I’ve seen people, it’s very common to be doing quite well, making six figures, because you made the right moves and you’re strategic about it.

And so, I love speaking to that because that’s a great realistic outcome for so many people, and not enough people realize that they could achieve that without starting some crazy multi seven-figure business.

And I think the important thing to remember too is obviously this depends on where you work, and it’s really about identifying those company red flags.

Or you will be able to know, can I actually grow in this company or not within the first year?

Within the first year.

Because you’ll be able to see, are there lots of moves?

Are people being promoted internally?

Is there growth?

And for me, every single job that I did not get a promotion or raise at, I knew that within six months to a year.

I’m like, this is gonna be really difficult.

There was like almost no growth for anyone who was like on my team or it, yeah, no.

Yeah, every department I ever worked in, no one got a promotion.

And I was there for two, three years.

So that’s your signal.

If no one else is getting promoted raises, then maybe that’s not gonna happen for me because it’s not gonna happen for anyone else.

So read those, like be aware, talk to people, see the signs.

Don’t wait around five years and be like, well, maybe I just have to stay one more year.

It’s probably not gonna happen if it hasn’t happened now.

So you could be leaving money on the table if you’re waiting around for them to recognize your value.

Someone else will recognize your value and pay for it.

And it’s a scary thing to leave and change is scary.

But a lot of time it can be quite fruitful.

Now, obviously, sometimes grass is green on the other side too.

So it’s not like the greatest things in sliced bread, you should be quitting all the time.

But I do think that part of a lot of my content is encouraging people to say like, hey, you know you should leave, you just haven’t yet.

Maybe you should consider that and maybe sharing why and things along those lines.

So I know I’m an older millennial, maybe you’re a younger millennial or an old Gen Z.

I don’t know what the ages are, it doesn’t really matter.

But you are still in your 20s and I know you have a big following of people who are younger, which I think that is a really important demographic to reach with your information about how to improve your financial life.

Because if you can get that in your 20s, you will be set in your 30s, 40s and onwards.

I’m curious, what are some things in your opinion that young people today should absolutely know about money and some mistakes that maybe you’ve made that you wanna make sure that they don’t make?

One of the most common ones that still boggles my mind is credit and just daily management of credit card is the most common thing that I see among people in their early to mid 20s, late 20s, really starting to make a little bit of money.

I don’t know why, but it seems as though they just think that you should carry a balance and it’s fine to have a couple thousand dollars on your credit card.

It’s like, I’ll get around to it.

I was in Cancun and I was whatever.

I had to shop life against the way of Christmas, whatever.

It’s fine, it’s not that much money.

I could pay it off whenever.

And they just do not comprehend how much money it’s costing them.

It’s costing them hundreds of dollars a month just to have that balance.

I don’t demonize debt.

I think I have a whole YouTube channel that’s made several videos on optimizing credit cards, dynamics points, airplanes, all that jazz.

And if anybody wants to go check that out, you can check it out.

Quick plug.

But I think generally, that seems to be the most common one.

So pay off your credit card in full on time, every single month, keep that utilization nice and low, ideally under 30% and use it responsibly if you’re going to use it, because there are perks around purchase security and warranty and insurance and things like that, which are great on top of the whole cashbacker points accumulation.

But I think that’s like the most common one.

It’s maybe not the most important of the whole scheme.

I think that spend less than you earn, invest the difference gets early.

Generally, that’s the most common that I see.

And I think if you could just put a little bit money away early on, I know young people hear that all the time, but it’s just so astounding, the compound math.

And so one thing that I’ve been really focused on is not only sharing the compound math, the compound interest of just investments, but also your career earnings and how they can compound over time and negotiating and how that can really have an insane effect on your career earnings and how that can then lead to greater investments and using compounding in the best ways possible across your entire financial life, not just with your investments and things like that.

And not having it work against you with things like debt and things along those lines.

No, I think those are incredibly important.

And yeah, I think that’s such an interesting way to put it, is it’s not just that we hear about compound interest and investments all the time, but I think, you know, kind of going back to what we were talking about earlier, we don’t think about the compounding of our incomes or salaries.

And so if you’re not paying acute attention to that, like at least do a little audit of it once per year to be like, what’s my cost of living?

And lots of our cost of livings have increased over the past couple of years with inflation.

And then if my salary has stayed the same, that means I’m really earning less because things are costing more.

So you need to reassess, why am I staying with this company who refuses to give me a cost of living raise?

A lot of companies are like, oh, we’ll get to that.

Or, well, we just don’t have the money and the budget for it.

Well, your life is more expensive and you’re earning the same amount.

But if you were to like, yeah, every couple of years, either get that raise and really put yourself forward for a promotion or even switch departments in the company, if there’s a better department where you can make more money or get a new job, and you can earn an extra 10K, an extra 20K or something like that, that really does have a huge impact.

I know that’s been life-changing for me instead of sitting on some of my lower salaries in my 20s, making more money has obviously, like it’s obvious, it helps, it helps, it really does.

So always keeping your eye on that.

And then figuring out what you need to do to get there.

I mean, I was always trying to better my skills.

And I think because I never stayed at a job more than two to three years, I was always thinking of my resume.

What can I put on my resume for the next place?

Because I don’t want it to be like, oh, you were there for three years, and what else you got?

Everyone else who’s applied has the exact same experience than you, you want to stand out and always educating yourself, getting those trainings, being more valuable as a person, or not a person, but as an employee is really, really critical.

No, it’s so important, and I think there’s so many ways that you can stand out.

And I think that’s also something that played into my decision to go full-time, because now I have this quite unique experience I could bring to a company, and I think I would be a little bit more different than another candidate or something along those lines.

But that’s not, I mean, that’s just kind of like a perk.

It’s just not really something I think about too much.

No, I think about that often when I have to deal with certain companies, marketing departments, or even agencies.

And I’m like, how did you get hired?

Like, you have no experience in this field.

Oh my gosh, if I was in your job, I would be killing it.

Yeah, no, I-

But even like, I mean, my last job was in marketing, and I think I was pretty darn good at it because I was one of the few people who had a blog and then a podcast.

Like, I was doing all this stuff on the outside.

And I mean, eventually, I just took that with me and started my own thing.

But I was like the one being like, why are we still doing it that way?

We should be doing it this way.

You know, things have changed over here.

You need to be on the ball.

And so it benefits everybody, you know?

No, I’ve had that same thing happen all the time.

Like quite often, I’ll kind of be like, well, why are you guys opting to do something along those lines?

And sorry, I just get in the wave.

So I, you know, it’s astounding to me because I’ll ask some questions like, well, what are you guys looking to get out of this?

And they’re like, ah, you know, a little bit of this, a little bit of that.

I’m like, okay.

Like they are more so just focused on making the client happy.

And I’m like, well, what about like the views and the impressions and like the effectiveness of the campaign?

It’s like, yeah, but like the client, you know, and things like that.

So yeah.

And you’re like, okay, but like, aren’t we trying to, are you trying to sell some, like, don’t you want me to promote something instead of like making it so general?

You’re like, people don’t even know what I’m talking about.

Like, yeah, it’s wild out there.

That’s a whole other conversation of all of that.

But yeah, just to say, if you learn this stuff, you know, you’ll be obviously the best employee and will have a better chance of getting, you know, either to grow into that company or to move forward and get to, you know, be at that next level in another company.

Okay, the last thing I kind of want to chat about is, because you also have a really great view of what other content creators similar to you are doing, what are some really bad takes you’ve seen?

That you’re like, everybody, do not listen to this piece of advice.

This is not for you, this is not good.

You know, I think I’m, I walk that line between job stuff and like money stuff now, but I would say I see a lot of bad job stuff.

I talk to a lot of HR professionals, a lot of recruiters to kind of like get their perspective, to like add more nuance and more things to my videos, because I want to make them realistic and I want to not be doing that.

But like some of the advice that I see people get, like things around like, for example, you’re talking to a recruiter, and like I see all the time, like never go first or never say your number first.

Like they have to say the number first.

And it’s like, yeah, like if you get an idea of the budget before, then like that’s great.

But like don’t play cat and mouse with them and like play this like standoff match because that’s just not a good look.

Like know your numbers, know the general range that you want to be in, and you know, look to work within that and have them work with you because you’re wasting your time if you’re just refusing to say anything or saying like, hey, like, and if they don’t care, then it’s fine, you can move forward.

But I do think that could hurt you more, that can help you.

I think with the money stuff, obviously, you know, the water kind of fell out on crypto.

And I think generally for crypto, it’s kind of like Bitcoin and Ethereum, and then everything else is really just gambling.

I mean, even Bitcoin and Ethereum, you should not be putting your life savings into that either.

But I did see early on a lot of that sort of rhetoric, individual stocks, things like that.

There’s so much that I’ve seen that I’m almost numb to it, to where I can’t even give you a great example.

But I think the one thing that’s really positive is the biggest creators and the best creators that I’ve seen across multiple nations, not just ours, are the ones saying the good stuff.

It seems as though the cream rises and it sort of speaks to what we were saying earlier, like the professionals are starting to win bigly now, which is great because that means there’s less misinformation and people are actually getting the information they need to make a decision.

So that’s at least a good thing.

Yeah, no, there’s definitely some more, I feel like, yeah, there’s been a lot more people recognizing that’s actually really bad information and then putting those in the comments and then more people.

I’ve seen influencers that used to be something and aren’t as much anymore just because maybe they started out good and then, I don’t know, they just started going a certain way, usually because of money, because they were offered money to talk about something.

And I’ve mentioned so many times when talking to creators on this podcast, the one thing that you can’t afford is your dignity and your credibility.

And so you gotta be real careful what you say.

And people are listening.

I mean, even for me, I know you mentioned, oh, I’ve listened to some of your solo episodes, and I really don’t do too many of those, but that just goes to show how long you’ve been listening.

You’ve heard some old seasons back in the day, and it’s wild because they’re like, yeah, I’ve been doing this podcast for, in June, it’ll be nine years somehow, and that’s crazy.

I know people are listening, but also sometimes I don’t think about all of the people who are listening and really taking in what I’m saying.

And so when people remind me of that, I’m like, remember, Jessica, remember, your words have weight and power.

And so you again, have that responsibility to make sure you’re doing what you need to do and doing it well and just taking care.

Because people are giving me their time and their attention, and I need to make sure that I’m saying, thank you for that.

And I will serve you some good stuff in reciprocation.

But I know we could probably talk for a lot longer, but I know you need to go.

So thank you so much, Nathan, for coming on the podcast.

I’m sure I’ll have you on again, maybe at my home studio next time.

No, no, no, no, it’s fine.

Where can people find more information about you, your newsletter, where can people find you?

Yeah, so, you know, I think the first place is Instagram, super easy.

I’m Nate New Money on Instagram, and then New Money Nate on everything else.

New Money Nate was taken on Instagram, unfortunately.

That’s so annoying.

Are they doing anything with it?

No, that’s the worst part.

That’s the worst part.

But anyway.

It’s too late now too, right?

Yeah, don’t get me going.

So, but yeah, the newsletter is called The Career Earner.

You could check it out.

It’s across all of my socials, or you could just search up The Career Earner.

It should come up on Google.

Yeah, subscribe.

I send it up twice a week, just on different insights around making more money from your job and then managing it effectively and things like that.

But really appreciate the time, and I really would love to come back and do it in person.

Yeah, yeah, we’ll figure it out.

I mean, I also need to figure it out on my end.

So I need maybe a few little pieces of equipment to help me make this an easier transition with my nice camera that is sitting right there, spent some money on it, and it really doesn’t get as much use as it really should.

But yeah, I appreciate you taking the time, and yeah, I’m excited to maybe give you a few more followers who want to see what you’re up to.

And one of those being, I’m not a new follower, but I’m excited to see what you’re gonna continue to put out there.

Awesome, thank you so much, Jessica, I appreciate it.