The Importance of Financial Teamwork

Jessica Quindlen: [00:00:00] Welcome back to the Sound Cents podcast. I'm Jessica Quindlen. Today we're discussing financial huddle winning strategies for your wallet. I have with us Emma Protsik, our Supervisor of Financial Coaching.

Hello, Emma.

Emma Protsik: Hi, Jess.

Jessica Quindlen: And Pam Jones, our Financial Coaching Specialist. Hello, Pam.

Pam Jones: Hello.

Jessica Quindlen: All right, Emma, let's dive right in. Have a lot of football fun today. In football, every great team starts with a strong game plan. When it comes to money, what's the financial equivalent of a solid game plan?

Emma Protsik: So, you know your favorite football team is not winning any games without getting that game plan in place. For your finances, that is going to be our spending plan or our budget. That's your playbook. It helps you know where your money is going before it even hits your account. It also helps you outline where you want your money to go.

A good plan should reflect your goals, values, and lifestyle. And that budget, it's not just about restrictions, it's about direction. At Ent, our coaches are here to help members build a personalized financial game plan that's actually realistic and flexible so you can do [00:01:00] those things.

Jessica Quindlen: Nice. I love that. Alright, Pam, who should be on your money team and what roles do they play in helping you reach your goals?

Pam Jones: The first step that any good football team takes in deciding who should be on their team is to recruit. Gotta recruit. The first thing that you're going to do is recruit your family. Immediate family first because they have to know what your playbook is. Because if you have a plan to take the ball down to the 50-yard line and they want it to punt, then there's going to be some issues with this finance. So, the first thing you want to do is make sure that they understand what is in the playbook, what are their roles. This would include your spouse and also your children.

The other thing you want to do, of course, is to include a financial coach. This individual is going to be able to help guide, educate, and support all of the members of your team.

A financial advisor or planner for long-term investments. And then of course, you always want to have support. You want to have those fans that are in the arena. So, you want to make sure that your family members are also helping you.

Jessica Quindlen: I love that. And great job with all the football. Very impressed with that.

All right, so moving on, let's talk coaches, of course. And football, you need a coach, sometimes many coaches. So why is having a financial coach and/or an advisor so important, even if you're not quote, losing the game financially?

Emma Protsik: Yeah, no matter where your scoreboard's at, when it comes to your finances related to your goals, I think it's important to keep in mind, you don't need to be in crises to benefit from coaching, from that extra guidance. In fact, I really do think the best time to start is when things are fairly steady, where you need just a little bit more guidance, right?

You are pretty sound in covering your needs and those different things that come up [00:03:00] throughout the month. It's a little bit easier for a coach to work with you on those future goals moving forward. A coach can help you stay ahead. They can help you see any blind spots you might be missing and challenge you to maybe reach higher goals or try out a different strategy that might have been a little bit overwhelming to you before.

Again, our coaches are experienced, they're certified, and the biggest part about our coaching is that it's judgment-free. So, they're going to celebrate your wins with you and help you bounce back from any of those losses, help you with training, making sure that you have all those tools and resources you need if a setback does arise even in the future.

Jessica Quindlen: I love it. So, some people try to go it alone when it comes to managing their money. What are the risks of not having a financial team behind you?

Pam Jones: As of today, the Denver Broncos have 91 players on their roster.

Jessica Quindlen: Wow.

Pam Jones: Now we know that it’s going to come down to 53 players and there's always going to be 22 players on the team.

Each teammate is going to play a different role, so we can't do it alone. We need to make sure that we utilize each one of them at a time in our life when we need them. So, if I need to have [00:04:00] someone kick a field goal, I'm certainly not going to ask the quarterback to do that.

We might miss out on opportunities. I think that's one of the biggest areas of concern if you don't have enough people on your team. You may find out about different loan options, lower interest rates, and smart saving strategies.

Without guidance, it's easy to get into a cycle. Instead of trying to save, maybe you're just going paycheck to paycheck and assuming that everything that you make should be something that you can spend.

It can also lead to isolation, so it's better to have a team that's going to give you perspectives and cheer you on when you're running down the sideline for that touchdown.

You also may have limited experience. I certainly would not want the quarterback to tell me about taxes or estate planning. I want to make sure that I know someone that has that background and knowledge is going to be giving me that advice. So, it's really important that we utilize all players on the team.

Emma Protsik: Pam, I love that you brought that up. I think that there's a lot of[00:05:00] narrative when it comes to finances that “I did that myself,” “I was able to achieve it,” “I didn't ask for help,” “I worked overtime.” I did all these different things, did the research, signed up for the programs.

But when there's experts out there that are available for those different resources that can provide that guidance, it saves you time in the long run. Instead of going over that playbook again, trying to do the research on those different things, save yourself some time so you can focus on what really matters. Because the whole point of a financial plan is to live the life that you want.

Jessica Quindlen: Yes. Oh, I love that so much. All right, so what does it look like when your money team is working together effectively, and how can someone tell if they've got the right players on their team? Yeah,

Emma Protsik: If you have a good team, you should definitely feel heard, not judged. I think that is first and foremost. When it comes to a team, we all have to work together, so your team should be helping you make informed decisions, not pressured ones. You should not be told what to do with your finances. You should be brought along that journey with them.

Your team should be [00:06:00] able to communicate clearly. We just talked about how there are a lot of complicated topics, taxes, budgeting, credit, all these different things. So, if you are feeling confused, overwhelmed, or pushed in any way, that's going to be first red flag to be mindful of when you're thinking about your team.

Jessica Quindlen: Nice. That's great. Like any good team managing money takes practice. What are some small daily habits that help keep your finances in shape?

Pam Jones: Absolutely. I am quite certain that all of the football players are doing two a days right now, so we need to do two a days for financial fitness. You need to check your balance and transactions regularly.

You need to make sure that you have a system in place so that you know where your money is at. It's like watching game films. You can make sure that you set up different accounts with different names so that you can do those automatic transfers, making it easy for you to execute that play.

You can use smart tools like Savvy Money or Money Insight. You can do roundup savings. Any way to build up that emergency or that savings account for those [00:07:00] football games that you want to see in the fall.

Practicing mindful spending. When you are practicing mindful spending, pause before you make purchases and ask yourself, does it really make sense for me to buy this jersey?

Jessica Quindlen: I love that. I know, I think this is Emma. You're the one who said this, but it's the 24-hour rule I think you have, which I love and I've used many times. Sometimes I still get it [the item] and others I don't. So that's one of my favorites. Just take a breath.

Even the best teams face setbacks, the same team does not win the big game every year. So, what should people do if they hit a financial rough patch and feel that they're behind in the game?

Emma Protsik: Can we get like a whistle sound edited here? No, I'm kidding. but first take a timeout.

It's time to just, again, what we were talking about before. Just take a break. Don't panic. Setbacks happen to everyone. Going back to the point of building your financial team, hopefully, you already have some tools and resources that they've given to you to help navigate that.

But if you're still unsure what to do at that point, that's when you want to bring in your coach. Whether that's Ent's team or somebody else, they can help you regroup, adjust your plan, and focus on [00:08:00] the next best move for yourself.

And please know, when these setbacks happen, it can be very overwhelming and it's so easy to focus on that bad thing with recency bias, and its emotional. Progress that you have made so far is not lost. So that's a really good reminder in those moments where you feel like you are getting set back and you're behind in the game. Resilience is part of the win. So, teams have their ups and downs, and we're going to have our ups and downs with finances.

It's what you do in that low, right? Are you going to go back to practice, get a new game plan? Are you just going to continue to do the same thing?

Jessica Quindlen: What are some common fumbles people make with their money team, and how can they recover?

Pam Jones: I think the biggest is not asking for help until it's too late. So, you have to make sure that you ask for help before it's too late. I'm sure the other team doesn't wait until the ball is on the two-yard line to ask if their play calling is effective. You have to recognize that something may be wrong, and you have to be willing to ask for help. Don’t be afraid to say, I am not an expert in this area, and I need your assistance.

Another one would be to [00:09:00] ignore financial conversations or to avoid them. Maybe someone just doesn't know about credit. Maybe they're afraid to admit to someone that they don't understand how credit works. Or why a credit score is important or why they were denied a credit card or even insurance because their credit is poor. So, you have to make sure that you put it out on the line, say, “I really just don't understand. Can you please help me?”

Putting trust in the wrong player is another area I think is a fumble because you have to make sure that you trust the individual that you're sharing all this financial information with. So, you need to make sure that it's not a predatory lender. You must make sure that you understand whether the organization is truly wanting to help you with debt repayment or is it a debt settlement company?

So, you have to be willing to do some background checks to make sure that the individual that you're asking for help is actually going to be trustworthy. And then it starts with honesty, asking questions and being willing to [00:10:00] ask a trusted coach or advisor.

Jessica Quindlen: The best teams train year-round, not just during the season. What are a few ways listeners can stay in shape financially and keep their teams sharp between major life events or between certain seasons? Like not just around the new year or just around the holidays?

Emma Protsik: Yes, please continue to be flexing those financial muscles, everyone. If you're not using it, you're losing it, right? That's what my coach would say in cross country.

So, you need to keep that practice going. I think it's about scheduling those check-ins. I'll be honest, I think for most people what works is actually just getting it on the calendar, not saying I'll do it when I can. So, I think that quarterly check-ins, bare minimum is good for checking in for your goals, re-looking at your budget.

The more, the merrier, of course. Once a month would be fabulous, but set up those times. Pam brought up too, recruiting your family when you're getting your players together. Perfect time to bring those folks in to talk about it. Set those different short-term goals. So again, you have some things on the calendar to keep track of.

You can be mindful of as you're working towards those bigger milestones. And then keep [00:11:00] learning. Check out Ent's Education Center. We have lots of different articles or more podcast recordings like this one that you can check out. Maybe challenge yourself once a week, 10 minutes, consuming some content around finances to learn something.

And then as always, review and update that overall game plan. You can set up quarterly check-ins with one of our coaches just for an overview of, “Hey, this is my goal, the progress I've made, and where I want to go from here.” And they can give you an overview and give you some pointers maybe that you were overlooking.

Jessica Quindlen: I love it. If someone is just getting started and doesn't know where to begin, what's the first step to building a money team that helps them win long term?

Pam Jones: They should call their home team. Start with a free session with a financial coach at Ent Credit Union, there's no strings, no pressure. It's free for members, non-members.

We will be more than happy to meet with someone and really give them an overall picture of what it looks like to have a team on their side that's [00:12:00] willing to help, that's willing to educate them, that's willing to support them, that's willing to help them take that ball and score a touchdown, which every way they would like.

Is that saving for a house? Is that debt repayment? Is that saving? It could be any goal whatsoever. We're here to help.

Jessica Quindlen: I love that. That brings us to the end of our show, Emma. Pam, thanks so much for being here. It was wonderful having you.

Pam Jones: Thanks, Jess. Thank you.

 Jessica Quindlen: And now for our new segment brought to you by Dave Logan, the iconic voice of the Denver Broncos.

Dave Logan: Hi, this is Dave Logan, and it's time for your 2 Minute Money Drill. A quick tip to help you make smart money moves fast. Whether you're planning to save or looking for ways to get ahead, here's a financial play you can put into action right now.

Want an easy way to save without thinking? Round up your purchases. Many banks and apps can round up each transaction to the nearest dollar and move the extra change into your savings account. It's the small gains that can turn into big wins.

Jessica Quindlen: Thank you for listening to Sound Cents from Ent Credit Union. Be sure to follow our podcast as well as rate and review us. I'm Jessica Quindlen. I will see you next month. Same time, same place.