291: [Alissa Maizes] Your Emergency Fund Is Not Enough

>> Alissa Maizes: Your charge card is not your emergency fund. Because there are people who feel that a charge card is an emergency fund. It isn't. And you could be charged 30%, um, on the interest that, uh, you'd have a new emergency if you choose that to be your emergency fund. And it creates unnecessary stress. >> Anthony Weaver: Welcome back, everybody, to another exciting show, the about that Water podcast, where we help you

build strong financial habits. My name is Anthony and we love focusing on the sandwich generation. So today I have the awesome opportunity to bring somebody on that hasn't been on the show for almost two years since episode 212. Her name is Alyssa from Amplify My Wealth. How you doing today, Alyssa? >> Alissa Maizes: Great. How are you? Thank you so much for having me back.

>> Anthony Weaver: You're welcome. Uh, for those of the people who don't know, um, about you and your business or just getting into know you can you just kind of refresh them, uh, just a quick high level of what are your services and what do you do? >> Alissa Maizes: So I help women and their families who are usually earning six figures, sometimes not, but usually earning six figures as a household. Maybe they have six figures

or that is their goal. And I also help you young adults who are starting on their financial journey wherever they are. And I help them so they can prioritize having more money and building their wealth by simplifying finances because it doesn't have to be overwhelming and complicated. So I like to simplify it so they can really do it on their own, but with the expertise and advice that I can offer them. So I do have different advising options, but I also have a lot of free material.

So if you're DIY and you're thinking, I'm not interested in Financial advisor, definitely go to my Instagram and grab what you want. It's there for free. So definitely I share a lot of tips, but I also have guides and other things and it's really

free. I'm not charging for it, so that's what I do. >> Anthony Weaver: Awesome. And you know, since you given that you tailored all your advice to like, women and families, like in six figure household net worth, like what is specific financial, financial challenges that you see that the, uh, sandwich generation is facing.

>> Alissa Maizes: So one of the things that I find is that no matter how much more money someone might make, that they are still often living paycheck to paycheck, they're not necessarily prioritizing their own finances for their future. And I think that that is really the largest challenge is to take a moment, whether you're earning six figures or that's completely unrelatable to you at this moment is to focus on what you need in the future, how much are your expenses now,

and how much do you think they'll be in the future? And not focus on taking care of everyone else. Because you can't take care of other people if you can't take care of yourself first. >> Anthony Weaver: Yeah. And usually with the kids coming up and, you know, everybody's. I mean, I'm sure people do not not look at their children and think like, how am I aligning my values and my household to the next generation of, uh, you know, life and also with finances.

But what are those things, uh, that can actually help align when it comes to tuition because you have children of your own, and how are you actually dealing with them when, uh, it comes to going through college? >> Alissa Maizes: So it's really important and as you pointed out, challenging for people to figure out how are they going to take care of their retirement and if they want to pay for their

children to go to school, how they're going to do that. Uh, are there people in their family that they've been helping whether they should or shouldn't? Oftentimes people are helping their adult kids and not stopping, even though they can't afford to take care of their own needs. And I've seen that as well. So, like I said, I think the first thing to do is figure out your own

finances. And then if you have other people that you'd like to help, whether it's you have younger kids and you'd like to set aside money to help them with college, um, or maybe there's someone in your family that you'd like to go visit more often or help them with something. First take care of your own finances. Then see, is there leftover over money to help other

people? If there isn't and it's still important to you, then I think you really need to dig a little deeper into your expenses that you have and figure out what you can live without. Think about what you value most and try and keep those things going as best as you can. Maybe there are some alternatives to the way you spend money on what you value and then with the extra money, allocate it to the other things or people in your life that important to you.

>> Anthony Weaver: Nice. Um, because it sounds simple. Um, how did you do it? >> Alissa Maizes: So it's definitely right. It's. My explanation could be simple, but. But because it is simple, right? I mean, the idea is very simple, but putting it into place, implementing it is not always so simple. The first thing that I think about is your money mindset and how that impacts your ability. Maybe you have a mindset that, unbeknownst to you, are creating, um, barriers to building

wealth. And that's very common. Um, so definitely that's another thing is dealing with your money mindset and seeing how you can overcome that. And usually by knowing about it and then creating habits that might be difficult at first, such as, you know, maybe you're not spending on certain things, but you're so used to it, and in your head you think that that's going to make you feel better about spending on it. So maybe making some rules for yourself so you can stop doing that.

But back to your question. Um, because I wanted to address that. The simplicity, as you put it, um, is what I did was I was always maxing out saving for retirement. I didn't do it the way I recommend people doing it, although it worked for me. I lived on my own after law school and never asked my parents for anything after law school. They were very

generous. I was lucky not to have student debt. And when I took my first job after law school and they were talking about the 403B, which is a 401K for, um, public sector. So I was working for the government at the time. I heard what they were talking about, and I'm like, well, I'm just going to do the max. I didn't think about whether I had the money to do it. I just did it. And I didn't create a budget. And I was living very tight. I was living in a studio apartment that was the

size of my bathroom right now. The bathroom I have, um, so I'm not, uh. It was lovely in a lovely neighborhood. I have no complaints. But I definitely made sure I lived in, uh, an apartment I could afford. So I prioritized that. But I was already living in the apartment and didn't think about my budget. I just made it work. And so that definitely set me up for saving adequately for retirement. And just that mindset of putting my future first, and

that's always how I was. And then with my kids and paying for college, it was something that was really important to me. And so I was already saving enough for retirement. So I was in a pretty healthy situation. But I realized not everyone is in that situation when they're listening to this or decide to do it. But that is the difference of doing it sooner rather than later. But the alternative is you can't take out a loan for retirement, but there are

loans for college. And I'm not A big fan of, you know, straddling your kids with lots of loans because I think it's daunting. And the value of education, while it's important, the overwhelming feeling of a large amount of debt can hinder your happiness. So I don't think that's necessarily the answer. But there are other solutions.

Whether it's working while you're in school, going to community college first, so it's less expensive, and then if they want to, to transfer to university scholarships, which if you're willing to go to school, that might be a little bit below where a child is to is able to get into, they're more likely to get more scholarship money living at home. They're all different ways to do it. But the most important takeaway that I hope people get is start taking care of your own

financial needs first. Even if it means altering what your family is used to right now, they'll get used to it. And your kids will also learn from you about how to be disciplined, which is truly. Generational wealth is teaching the future generations how to be better with money. Because just giving someone money is not generational wealth. Usually they blow through the money in one to three generations. Some people spend their inheritance before they

actually get it. So true generational wealth is, uh, changing your trajectory now. Living differently with your money and being open with your kids so they can learn too. And then when they get

money, they will do much better than we will. That is my hope for everyone. >> Anthony Weaver: Yeah. Because one of the things when it comes to financial literacy, as a content creator, as, uh, yourself, um, what are the most important financial literacy topics for the Sam's generation should be aware of just to kind of navigate the complex financial situation.

>> Alissa Maizes: So I, I think, you know, whenever I share something, because like you said, I really do, you know, or intimated, I do care about financial literacy. It's really the thing that motivated me to even start doing what I'm doing, and it's something I'm really passionate about, is I would say the number one thing is to put yourself first and do something now, no matter how

small it is. If you are looking at your finances and you're thinking, I can't do anything, there's just no extra money. If you could find one thing, it could be a streaming service. It could be maybe eat less meat. It could be, um, maybe you don't need two cars for your family and you could find a way to deal with one car. Maybe it's moving in with someone or finding a less expensive place to live because Usually where we live is often

costing us the most amount of money. Maybe it's not sending your kids to private school or it's a grandparent helping with the grandkids instead of daycare. Kids did not have daycare for years and had family take care of their kids and they were fine. You know, there's no study saying that's what threw them all off and that's why they're all a mess now. Like there's just nothing out there saying

that. And often there are family members that are very, you know, grateful to be able to spend more time with the younger people. And it's good for them too. So maybe they won't be doing an activity every 15 minutes, but that's okay. The kids will be fine. And for better or worse, most kids don't store memories at that age. Like if you ask them in their 20s, they will not

remember. Maybe they'll remember spending the time with those people, but they won't remember that they didn't go to daycare and that, that was an awful thing. Um, they'll be fine. So I think, thinking out of the box, think of one thing. Even if it's $5, you could save and now if it's high interest, credit card debt, that's usually a great place to start. Maybe you put an extra

$5 towards paying off that. Ah, if you have no debt and you're just looking to save a little bit more for retirement, maybe if you have an employer, you get in touch with them, you increase your contributions, or if you don't have an employer and you could find a, uh, different tax advantaged account to save for retirement, or even a brokerage account if you just need some extra money or the other options aren't open to you or whatever it might be, the most important thing

is do something and do it now and celebrate your wins. Whether it's $5 or $500, whatever it is, it is worth celebrating because it's doing something. And those are the things that change your mindset in a positive wealth and what will also change your wealth. >> Anthony Weaver: Okay, I love that.

Um, one of the things that when it comes to investing, not just in yourself, because you, you mentioned earlier, which is, I call it the defense part of finances, which is cutting back, looking at what you have, um, and pretty much shrinking everything to the point where it's like, okay, this is the bare minimum that I'm willing to live with. Can you talk a little bit about the offense side of the house? How are we going to make some Money dealing with, you know, kids and also parents.

>> Alissa Maizes: So I think that that's important too. So I will. Right now I am working, um, and I have been for a number of years. But there were years that I was a stay at home mom and I first of all did bring value to my family. But besides that, I decided that I would take greater control of my finances than I had been. And that is a great way to make money too. I think a lot of people think it's just about your job and

certainly that is a great way to bring in money. But I see a lot of people that are making a few hundred thousand dollars and they are not saving anything. They don't have enough for retirement. I mean their kids future school is the least of, uh, their concerns. They're literally living paycheck to paycheck, eliminating credit card debt. Some of them have student loans. It's overwhelming. And I think the way we manage our money, although it's not how people think about

earning money, but it earns money. I mean, that's the truth of it. So even if you are a stay at home parent, if there's money that you have or money that's coming in that you can allocate to your future self or other goals that you have and invest it in a diversified portfolio of low expense mutual funds or ETFs, you can grow your wealth and that's earning money too. So that's one way. But the more traditional way is having a job or a business.

And I know a lot of people make. It seemed really easy to have a business and earn money and it's not. So if you're thinking, look at what all those people do, it's not easy. So I don't think people should just jump into that without realizing how challenging it really is. Um, before you make, most people make money. And the great thing, I'm not saying one is better than the other. I think whatever is good for you

is great. But don't let the glamour of entrepreneurship turn you away from a good job with good benefits, because there's something to be said for that as well. I think it's really important to consider both or a combination and figure out what's best for you. So that's one way of making money. There are definitely some other options. It's not my specialty of, you know, side gig options. Um, there are

people who specialize in that. But I do think figuring out what you are good at and tutoring in that area can be a great way to make some extra Money. And the great thing about tutoring is you could do it virtually or in person. So I think a lot of times people overlook skill sets that they have and how they could help people and make some extra money. And I also think sometimes just looking under your own roof, um, to see how you can make money and maybe there are some items you don't

really need that you could sell. Uh, it's not something I personally do myself. I tend to donate or find someone personally who really, you know, needs something and I, it gives me a lot of joy and I normally would choose that. But we're, you know, for some people, they might want to sell something so you could look online and see what you could sell. But like I said, I think the most

important thing is finding some money. Whether you're earning extra money or it's the money you already have, or for instance, something that comes to mind that is very common is check in on the money that you have and see where it is. It's definitely important to have an emergency fund which would be liquid money that you could easily access in a money market or a high yield savings account. Where's your cash? Because a lot of people I see have their cash in traditional

brick and mortar bank and they're making less than 1% on the money. So right then and there, Anthony, you're talking about how can you make money? Often that's an easy fix. Um, and usually people who do have cash, it's very rare that I find that it's all in a high yield savings account or money market. So that would be one thing that might be right there in front of you right now as you're listening to this log in, you can listen and log in and

see where your cash is. And then if it's just sitting there and not making money, then consider an FDIC insured high yield savings account, uh, and make sure they are directly FDIC insured, not a fintech company that sends their money to an FDIC insured, um, bank. Because if the fintech goes under, it's a lot harder to get your money because your relationship is with the fintech company and not with that FDIC insured bank. Or look at your

money market. If you have a brokerage account, sometimes they offer a lot as well. And then beyond your, um, high yield savings account or money market for your emergency fund is do you have excess cash that maybe could be invested and then that comes back to the diversified portfolio and making those tax advantage money moves. Because often I'll meet with someone and they have a lot of cash beyond their emergency fund because they're not sure what the next steps are. And I'm not saying that you

should just go invest it. You should ideally have expert advice, not TikTok or Instagram or your family that you sat with for the holidays. They don't necessarily know how to do it, but you can also research on your own and figure it out. But just because someone says something that sounds good, even on cnbc, it's not necessarily the best thing for you.

>> Anthony Weaver: Yeah. And, um, one of the things we hear a lot now that we have some idea of inkling about playing the offense, um, you talked a little bit about it, which was the emergency fund. How much should the emergency fund be? >> Alissa Maizes: So, generally speaking, people say, you know, look at your expenses. This is a general rule of thumb, and it should be three to six months of,

uh, expenses. So that's a great starting point for a conversation, but I think it's important to go a little bit further and think about who is bringing in the money into your home. So if it's two people, then 3M. You know, less than six months might be more reasonable because the chances of both of you losing your job are probably less. But if it's one person, I would err on the side of six months, because if that one person loses their job, then there's

no income coming in. But the other things to consider are things such as, uh, what's the likelihood of replacing that income? The job market in certain industries is much harder than in others. And so it's really important to be honest with yourself about the reality of this. And also, when you're looking at your expenses, maybe there are some that you would cut if you lost your job. So it doesn't necessarily have to be the

ideal life you're living now. It could be the one you're willing to live if you were to lose your job. And the final thing would be is think about your comfort level. So just because it's quote, unquote, six months, if that's not what you feel comfortable with, I would probably do more. There are some people who want a year's worth of expenses, so. So it's important, you know, like I said earlier, that needs to be easily accessible. So that does not mean invest the money, because that's not

easily accessible. Your charge card is not your emergency fund. Because there are people who feel that a charge card is an emergency fund. It isn't. And you could be charged 30%, um, on the interest that, ah, you'd have a new emergency. If you choose that to be your emergency fund, and it creates unnecessary stress. Now, if you're not there now and you don't have that, like I said before, with any goal, start small, whatever it is, $5, maybe you're getting a tax

refund. Put that in the emergency fund and then do $5 a month. Whatever it is, just do something. Don't, you know, don't be caught up in what you think you can and can do. Find a way to do something. >> Anthony Weaver: Okay, now that we have a way to understand what our emergency fund is, we have our HYSA all

covered. What, um, are the conversations that you are having right now with your husband, um, as your parents are getting older, to kind of say, like, hey, what are we going to do with them in a sense, like other, like, not like, do with them, like what. But I mean, as far as if they're going to move in your house or you're going to put them in a nursing home or you're going to build like, like something extra on the land, what do you guys said?

>> Alissa Maizes: Yeah, that's a great question. And our conversations, I guess, are not really focused on that as much as trying to honor really and respect that. I would want to, for instance, I would want to make my own decisions and so do our parents. And so while it could be great to suggest things, I think we have to be realistic that. But we're also respecting, um, the elders in our lives. And just like with financial literacy, we set an example for other

people in our lives. And I definitely don't want my kids making any decisions for me. I hope that I will never need my power of attorney to be used.

Um, a power of attorney for anyone who might not know is it's a document that you should have as part of your estate planning in the event that you can't make your own, um, financial decisions or you need someone to take care of legal decisions for you, and it could happen to you at any age. So it's really important to have that if you don't have that in place. Um, but I'm hoping that no one will ever need to use mine.

And I can make my own decisions. So I think it's really important to think about that when we think about the future of our lives and anyone in our life. So I'm hoping my parents will be able to continue to make their own decisions. I've always said to them, so I'm an only child and my parents always said, you know, my mom once Said to me, why are you so focused on saving for the future and you're an only child? And I said, mom, you're. She had me when she was 20. Okay,

okay. So I said to her, I'm like, we could end up being in, like, you know, rooms at the same hallway at the same nursing home, right? Like. So I said, I think, uh, my feeling is. And I said to her, I said, uh, just enjoy your life and your money. I'll take care of myself, and you do what's best for you. Don't worry about me. You should spend your money, you should enjoy it. You should be able

to take care of yourself. I think it's so important, if you're someone who has a parent and who's alive and you are taking money from them now, is to maybe instead of thinking how you're going to have to take care of them, is cut off the money that you're receiving from your parents to increase the chance that they could take care of themselves. Because it gives them a great feeling of sense, especially if down the road they can't make the legal decisions and

you are the power of attorney. But for them to know that they can take care of themselves. So I'm really focused on that outlook of, uh, them being able to take care of themselves and make their decisions, decisions. And what we do is we focus on trying to go see our parents because it's easier for us at this time to go visit them. We live in Florida, they live in New York. So our focus is that and being for them and, uh, being there for them

in other ways. My parents had, um, a flood, uh, in their home, and I went to their house, and I was there almost monthly, going back and forth from Florida to New York for months and staying there for a week at a time, two weeks at a time, helping to go through all their belongings from the flood, dealing with insurance company, dealing with the contractor to fix things in their home. And it was really great time that I got to spend with them. So

I'm grateful for that. So I think there are other ways we can help our family, but certainly we might. Not us, but just in general, right. As children, besides being there for our parents in that way, there might be other ways we need to be there. But I think if we are not aware of it, certainly if you want to put aside money for that as well, or if you know you're saving enough or you'll cut back your expenses to do it, I think that that's always an option too.

>> Anthony Weaver: It is A blessing that you had the finances and the means to actually spend time with them, uh, to make that happen. And I think that's one of the things when it comes to the Sandwich generation, you got to save a little bit more than your personal expenses of your day to day, but also, like you said, for emergencies, if you're not local, to spend with your loved ones during the time of need.

>> Alissa Maizes: Yeah, I allocate a lot of money to travel, and most of our travel, because we aren't living in the same state as our family is literally going to the Northeast. You know, everyone's either in New York, and I have one son in the Boston area. So, you know, JetBlue and I are good friends, and that's what I do. And I'm hoping, you know, to continue spending more time there, because that's what I prioritize is my time with my friends and my family and

relationships. You know, relationships are everything. But for me, that's something really important. >> Anthony Weaver: So what are the boundaries that you set, uh, for your children or should people set for themselves? >> Alissa Maizes: So, as I've said before, it's so important to

prioritize yourself. I think financial boundaries for your children at every age are preferable, because the only way you could prioritize your own finances is if you're not constantly taking care of your kids, even when they probably don't need the financial help. So my kids always knew, for instance, growing up, when they were starting to go out and spend money. I had tried allowance, and it was more of a daunting task for me than anything else. And

I don't think it's necessary. I know this is controversial, but I don't think it's necessary to give your kids allowance, let alone money that they didn't earn, because I know no one's going to give me money unless I earn it. So I had decided to stop doing the allowance at a very young age. And instead what I would do is if they were going out, I told them if they got receipts for their spending, so they had some cash that they had gone

from gifts. But if they had receipts or I knew sometimes it wasn't like something they could do is get a receipt, but they came home and told me right away this is exactly what I spent it on, then I would give them the money for it. There were a few times in the beginning that, uh, it might have been forgotten, the receipts or to ask, and they didn't get the money. So they quickly understood what they had to do to get the money that's how I dealt with it when they

were younger. Now I have one who is out of college and one who is about to be out of college. We have created, as we did then, very clear boundaries of what we're willing to pay for and what we're not. So the only thing that we will ongoing provide for them until age 26 is as long as we have healthcare insurance that we will give them the choice of being a part of it. It doesn't cost us

that much. And the reality is for them, if one of my kids is an entrepreneur, the one graduating from college, for him to get good healthcare would cost a fortune. And truthfully it doesn't cost us much and we want to be able to provide it and we can do, uh, up to age 26. So we decided we would offer it to both of them because that's something that's important to us, that they have good health care. And the other thing is we decided to just throw in the cell

phone up to that age. So everyone knows 26, you're on your own for those two things and everything else. There are other things we pay for from time to time, um, arguably self serving things, um, whether because we want to get our kids something special that they otherwise wouldn't get themselves, like gift or it could be of course, airline tickets home. Okay, I know it's self serving, but I feel that's okay

too. It saves them some money and they know they could always come home and not let money be the barrier to them coming home and then some other, you know, miscellaneous things like meals out and things like that. But generally speaking, I think it's really important the kids are on their own. That people aren't continuously funding their kids. I think it's not good for. It doesn't give them the ability to do it on their own. And when does it stop and

how do you balance your finances? And I've seen this where people who are literally want to retire but they're paying for everything from the car insurance to the car to the upkeep of the car. And there these are people who want to retire and they're accumulating credit card debt because they don't have enough money, but they don't cut the expenses that they're covering for their grown kids who could afford themselves. And truthfully if they can't, they shouldn't have all these

things that they can't afford. So I know that might not be the most popular thing, but I do think it's important that we let our Kids know, we know they could do it on their own. And like I said before, that's, that's what generational wealth is about. It's about giving them the tools and also letting them know we are confident that they could do it, uh, empower them to do it on their own and at

the same time increase your finances. So look at what you're doing for your kids right now and just be honest with them because I do think it's not fair to just surprise them. And all of a sudden it hits them, um, have a conversation with them, tell them, tell them what the boundaries are. I think it'll really be better for everyone. >> Anthony Weaver: Um, so we coming down to the third segment of the show, which is the features.

So what areas of focus, um, are you looking to improve in your own life? >> Alissa Maizes: So I really am focusing on my, you know what, I guess what makes me happy is really my focus. So I feel that I'm in a good place as far as financially. I feel that I'm, um, comfortable where I am. I still spend time on my own finances too. I'm grateful to

help other people. So my focus would motivates me in my, um, pursuits as far as helping people is really to empower them to have what I have financially, to be able to feel confident with my finances and do things on my own. But I too, you have a team of experts. So I think it's important to, you know, be able to allow other people to have the same tools. I don't think it's fair to gatekeep. So

that's really my focus with that. So as we shared before, whether it's providing free financial literacy that people can learn from, that's really important and focusing on helping clients, I also, and I think this is a really great resource if you are a woman who cannot or at this time m afford a, uh, financial advisor. Savvy Ladies is a great resource and I do provide pro bono advising for clients of Savvy Ladies. It is a non for profit and they're helping ladies

with their money. So I think it's great. It's a little different than ongoing financial advising because you put in the information and then someone selects you based on what your interests are of what you want to tackle. And it's not ongoing, but it's great. And uh, you get people like me that are volunteering and I'm really grateful for that. So I want to share that as well. Even though it's not exactly the question, but it is something

that I prioritize. But the other thing I prioritize, like I was touching upon, is the time I spend with my family and friends is precious to me. So I am very focused on trying to spend more time going up north. So I've always been doing that, but even more so as I'm more aware that that's really what makes me happy. Uh, and there are things that make me happy at home also, but being with my loved ones, there's just no dollar amount that I could think of to equate with it.

The feeling is just beyond priceless for me. So those are the things I focus on and then my relationship with myself. M. So I think when I started. When we started, um, speaking today, we talked about the importance of prioritizing your own needs. Needs. And so at the end of the day, and I'm sure we're going to agree on this, Anthony and everyone else, too, if we look in the mirror right now, which Anthony and I can't, but other people can, um, you are going to be the person you are always

with, no matter what. We can't guarantee everyone else in our life and who will be in our life at different points of our life, but we've got ourselves. So think about what's going to make you be able to live the life that you want to live, whether it's tackling a financial goal or it's taking care of your health, it's taking care of your mental health or physical health, to be clear on that, because they're both very important.

Think about what that is, what you need to do in order to live a long life and be happy with the person you look, look in the mirror and you see. >> Anthony Weaver: Yeah, awesome. Uh, well, thank you for providing that information and also giving out, uh, a little extra information for everybody as a takeaway from this show today. So you ready for the final four questions? >> Alissa Maizes: I hope so. >> Anthony Weaver: Okay, you got this.

Um, because you've been on the show before, I adjusted these questions just a little bit. Uh, so these going to be strictly for you. Number one, what is the biggest obstacle you face in trying to build your wealth? >> Alissa Maizes: Wow. The biggest obstacle I. So it's not exactly the building the wealth, but it's a little. I think the biggest obstacle that I have in building my wealth is enjoying spending it. So, uh, you know, one of the money mindsets that people have is vigilance. Which

one would think, oh, my gosh, that's so great. You have vigilance and you can, you know, be mindful and not spend as much, but it's that balance, right, of having, uh, enough and spending enough of enjoying your life and also making sure you're building wealth. So while I think it's great to build wealth and most people don't have a vigilant mindset, so it's not something that is necessarily relatable to everyone.

But what's important to know is that everyone has money challenges, myself included. I'm much better at, ah, being mindful and spending money than I used to be because I got so used to saving money and investing the money that I realized, what's the point of all this if you're not enjoying it as much? So obviously, if I'm going back and forth to see my family and that brings me joy, I'm spending

money. It's not that I'm not, but what I do when there's something that I hesitate on, I run through the numbers to remind myself that I can afford it and then think about, is it something I value? And if it is and it makes sense and I'm not going to lose sleep over it, then I'm going to do it. So wherever you are, you might have some challenges, but know that whatever they are, that you can definitely overcome them. And it's important to enjoy your life too, not just to

save wherever you can. I'm not that person who says, like, cut back on everything, like Tony was referring to that. Some people see it that way. That's not what it's about. It's about doing what you value most. And if accumulating wealth so you could sleep better at night is what you value most, and it means cutting back on everything for a certain period of time to get there. Know that you could do that too, right?

You can do it, whatever it is. You just have to, you know, look at your mindset and figure that out and then make your plan and don't let all the noise around you get in the way. All that stuff you see on social media, that it's usually not exactly what it looks like. >> Anthony Weaver: That is so true. Number two, uh, what is one area you feel you could be more efficient or strategic with, uh, when it comes to your spending or saving?

>> Alissa Maizes: I don't know if there's one area per se, but one thing that I have been working on is really revisiting my finances more than I was, especially at this point. I have one son that already graduated from college and the other one who's about to and making sure that each part of, uh, my finances is taken care of, such as my estate planning which I had

not taken care of. And I actually recently did LinkedIn posts kind of joking around that it's almost old enough to drink legally Bold. So I think, you know, making sure that I'm, um, doing what I do for my clients, for myself, and so that's one thing. And also looking at how I can also make more tax advantage moves. So I know a lot of people feel, oh, quote unquote, that is for the wealthy or that is for those people. And none of those things

are for me. There are tax advantage money moves for everyone, no matter what your income is or how much money you have in the bank. So it's a matter of finding out what they are, whether you need to speak to an expert or do the research yourself and then make those moves because there are tax advantage things you could do with your money. And so, um, I'm always reading up on that so I can always know the latest in taxes and do those for myself as well as help other people.

>> Anthony Weaver: Nice number. Uh, three. Um, is there a book that inspired your journey or changed your perspective? >> Alissa Maizes: So I feel like there's definitely books out there, but there's a book I'm really enjoying now that I am listening to the audiobook. I'm a big audiobook person. I, uh, just feel that I can multitask and listen to an audiobook and make sure I

get through it. So I'm going to share it. It's by Mel Robbins, so if you don't know who she is, definitely, you know, give Google her and you'll see right away. But I am listening to her new book, which is Let Them, and it's all about how to see things differently. And I think it's a really great book to allow you, um, the philosophy is about letting them, for instance, people around you do what they're going to do and not

trying to change them. And then the other part I haven't quite dug into yet is the part of them what you're supposed to do, because it's not easy to let people do things that you don't want them to or you think isn't ideal around you. And. But the reality is you're not going to change people. And I've lived long enough to know that for sure.

They might change certain things about them, but how do we deal with, with that? Because Let them sounds like a really great idea when I heard about it, but I'm still struggling with the other part, which is how do I deal with things so I can let them do it and I could still be happy. And so I think it, uh, so far, I think it sounds like a great thing that could be a game changer for me and something you could apply in your personal life as well as your business

life. So sometimes, for instance, I might give advice to people and ultimately it's up to them. I'll give them the information, I'll give them the advice, but they're sometimes not interested in that advice or maybe they're just not there yet. And so it's important, once I've given them information to let them, let them make their decision. I obviously have a responsibility to tell them why I'm giving them that advice and to

encourage them if I think it's really important. But then I need to let them and find a way to deal with it so I'm not upset or feeling bad afterwards. And in my situation, a lot of times it just takes time because some of my ideas might seem great for me, but I'm used to them and for other people, they're new. So I think that goes for everything in our lives. I'm sure, Anthony, you have people in your life and sometimes they do things that you might feel uncomfortable with.

>> Anthony Weaver: Yes. >> Alissa Maizes: So. Right. So how do we deal with that so we can ultimately be happier and have better relationships with those people? >> Anthony Weaver: Nice. Number four. If you're giving completely guilt free fun money budget for a month, what would you splurge it on? >> Alissa Maizes: How much money? >> Anthony Weaver: Oh, just fun money. It's just as much fun. >> Alissa Maizes: I'm like, I got so excited. I'm like, it's. Is

it like, can I enter this raffle? I'm just want to know, like, should I start making plans in case I win? How do you get extra entries? I'm sorry, extra fun money. Gosh. I think I try and find some things that I've never done before or maybe that I haven't done in a long time. I like experiences and sometimes I don't do as many as I should. I'm not, obviously I travel, see my family, but

maybe do some things more locally. Get tickets for some concerts or comedy shows, um, some smaller venue, live music, I don't know. I have to go now. I have plans to plan. I'm just thinking, I better find that fun money. That sounds like a lot of fun already. >> Anthony Weaver: You can tell you like the geek out in spreadsheets, like, where's the money? >> Alissa Maizes: I'll message you later and let you know what I planned. I'm going to look up the things I'm going to do. Now.

>> Anthony Weaver: Awesome. All right, so the very last question of the show, which is, where could people find out more about you? >> Alissa Maizes: So definitely give me a follow on Instagram. That's where I am probably the most at Amplify, uh, My Wealth. I am also on LinkedIn, so that's a great place to connect with me as well. Alyssa Krasner Mazes or Amplify My Wealth. Although I don't really post on my business page, but

so probably my personal. Just send me a message and we could connect either place. Um, if you see anything that I've shared and you have a question, I

love. One of the things I love most, Anthony, and I'm sure there are people who follow you that give you this feedback, or if they don't, they're thinking it anyway, I'm sure is there's nothing like when I get message in my Instagram, which is usually where I get it, where someone shares with me that they have increased their wealth because they followed some of the posts that I put there, and I'm just like, oh, my gosh. So I'm not even working with them as a client, and

I'm still helping them. And that just brings me so much joy. I also have a website where I do have information there, but. But I would say Instagram. I'm always, um,

posting more, but my website is amplifymywealth.com. but do you. Do you get that, Anthony? If not, I am sure there are tons of people who you are helping increase their wealth, and they're just too shy to let you know. >> Anthony Weaver: Yes, I do receive messages, um, from time to time. And I was like, first off, I didn't even know you listened to the show, so

let's start there. Um, and that's one of the things that kind of get me excited, is to actually hear from the people who don't typically post or they typically don't go on my live shows and say, like, hey, what about, uh, added value it is. Or even say, uh, anything. But they will tell me in person or give me a call or text, and those are usually the surprising

ones. And I'm always excited for the people who are always there, who always found value in something that is being said, whether it's an interview or me just ranting on about some of the things I dislike about, uh, different news articles or something like that. It's just really interesting to see. >> Alissa Maizes: Right? It's the best. I mean, I love my clients, too, and I love when they tell. I mean, anyone who I can help I'm happy with. But I, too, am super surprised when I get a dm,

um, from someone I've never gotten am. And there. And then some of them. A lot of the people who I usually hear from are very young, and they then are so sweet and whatever the expertise is, they've offered to help me, even though they're like, I don't know if you need this help. Because they want to do something because they're that grateful. It just. It's the best. >> Anthony Weaver: Nice. Yeah. Um. It's. I gotta

say, it's like the feeling of. Of like I'm actually getting what I really want to perceive out in the world. And it's almost like a reflection of mirror. Like, hey, you're actually doing good stuff. Just continue. >> Alissa Maizes: Exactly. It's what keeps us going is that people, like you said, we don't even realize that we're helping them. And then we find out it's. It gives you a sense of, like you said, accomplishment and purpose. It's not just about money, because

our happiness. Happiness has all different ways. That's why I think it's also important to know there are things that you could do for yourself that don't have to cost you money and could still make you feel great. >> Anthony Weaver: Yeah. Oh, um. Man. So, I mean, Alyssa, it's been amazing time having you on to the show. Um, but sadly, we gotta come to an end. But I would love to have you back on if anything new or

exciting that comes, thumbs up. You're more than welcome to come back through. >> Alissa Maizes: Thank you. I can't wait. >> Anthony Weaver: All righty. >> Alissa Maizes: For everything. >> Anthony Weaver: You're welcome. And everybody, please make sure that you, uh, have. Remember that you have what it takes to be anything that you want to be with the. Obviously, if you capable to do it physically, uh, and mentally and so forth, just remember, you just got to take

time to dwell in it. Take time for yourself and investing yourselves not just financially, but also with time. And I wish you all the best. Y'all be safe. We out. Peace.