Instrumental
Hi, I'm Carrie, a stroke survivor and a member of BIND.
And I'm Kezia, a stroke survivor and a member of BIND as well. And today I'm very excited to be, uh, welcoming Lori Vigil. Yes, I got it right. Um, she is a, uh, financial advisor at Edward Jones. Um, and she's gonna be here to help, help us, but she also helps her clients at managing and planning their finances. Thank you. With the years of financial experience, she's going to be sharing her advice and her tips and what she's learned thus far and specifically focus on financial planning.
And we're here to learn about that as brain injury survivors and how we deal with that. Um, and also our families and our caregivers. So thank you so much for joining us. I'm excited to be talking to you about all of this. So thank you for joining us.
Yes. I'm so happy to be here.
Thank you. So, uh, can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your experience at, um, Edward Jones? Yes.
So I have been with Edward Jones for about six years now. Um, prior, I do have a finance degree, um, from the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. And I'm currently in getting my master's degree at Kansas State University for personal financial planning. Thank you. So, financial planning is a passion of mine. I love helping people and sitting down and making those connections and making lives a little bit better.
Okay. Awesome. Well thank you for that. This is a totally different conversation that normally Carrie and I have. We normally talk about brain injury and like we talk to doctors and nurses. So this is definitely a challenge for Carrie and I to put together, but we know that this is something that we all need to relearn, um, after. After our injury or stroke or any kind of brain injury.
Yeah, because that is a big deal. After brain injury, that is one of the things that they have to try to, that we have to relearn is just how to balance a checkbook. You know, like some people, you know, that when they first have their brain injury, they can't do that anymore.
Like I have friends that, you know, guys, they've had their injury, and they've been, you know, the man of the house, and they've done all the checkbook, and now, bam, they have some sort of aphasia that has affected their numbers, or their reading, or their comprehension, and they can't do it anymore. So, you know, the wife now has to figure it out, and maybe she hasn't done it in years, so she needs to relearn, too. So, let's just to start off, give us a little, like, Savings for dummy's 101.
Where do we even begin?
Savings for Dummies 101. Where you would begin is definitely do a budget. So we want to make sure that you are saving more than what you're spending. Number one, um, for me that looks like I like to write things down, right? So writing out your budget and visually seeing what's going in, what's going out, what bills you have to pay, what are the needs, Um, and then what are the, the stuff that, you know, could be adjusted.
And then kind of going from there, just getting an idea of, and talking through that with somebody helps too. Um, I do that for a lot of my clients, because everybody's situation is so much different, right? Um, so I like to talk through that with them and help them, and especially with, you know, maybe in your situation too, that would be talking things out a little bit. helps everybody. Sure. Yeah. Yeah.
And I do think that that's something that we've spoken about in different episodes about communicating and explaining your needs and a lot of the time that's basically like other things like medically but it's hard I think not even as a brain injury survivor talking about money and finances and like, where do we even start? So I think that's really great to hear that you listen to everyone. And right now you just said that everyone is so different. Um, so I think that's something really great.
I think that like Carrie said earlier, we, a lot of us have to just start over. Like on simple things, like from walking to just, um, now, how do I become independent? And how do I create goals? And how do I, how do I do all of this? So, like, what would be like a great financial goal? I know you just mentioned, um, budgeting, but what would be like a great financial goal that would be just to start.
To start. Again, it's, again, it's so different for everybody. And that's why we do sit down with our clients and we have that conversation with them to see what's important to them. Because everybody's why, everybody's purpose, everybody's, what's important to somebody is so different. Um, so just what's important to you and, you know, why is that important to you? And how does that impact your life? And what goals can come out of that? And so, including the financial goals.
So, for example, um, one goal, if you have quite a bit of credit card debt, for example, um, that would be, you know, when you're paying 30 percent interest on those credit cards, and how would that make you, how does that make you feel now? And how will you feel when you get that debt paid off? You'll feel a lot better. So if you do have a lot of credit card debt, that would be definitely the first step is making a plan to get those credit cards paid off.
Um, and then after that, definitely starting an emergency fund, right? Um, putting that money that you're now saving into a fund to help you.
Sure. And I know the budget helps with all that. So I'm going to go back a little bit to the budget. So once you've gotten that budget set up, got those financial goals set up, you got an idea of where you're trying to go. So, now what do we do? How do you follow that?
I'm revisiting it, you know, going back and seeing what's, you know, we like to revisit it once a year. Okay. Um, so we'll get you on the plan, talk about what's important to you, next steps, and once you complete that goal, we'll then sit down and say, okay, that goal is completed, now where do we move forward?
So we like to sit down with all of our clients at least once or twice a year, Revisit that because it's important to, you know, because, you know, you start doing something, you forget, and you get off track, but talking to somebody and having a financial coach help you through. The difficulties that you may be facing, or you know, you may have questions, but just constantly working with somebody to help you through those challenges is very important.
Oh, that's interesting. I didn't know it would be like one to two times a year. I think that's really good timing because yeah, it's true like halfway through the year like right now. I cannot believe it. What, this is the sixth month of the year? I'm like, what? Um, that's really great to be planning like half of the year and again, right, twice a year. That's really good.
Because things change. Events happen. Lives change, so.
Yeah. Like somebody buys a new car.
Yes, and they have a baby or, you know, start a family.
Yeah, I think that's awesome. I think that's very true. Um, one thing that, um, I think I didn't have financial, like, history, but I think the one thing I listened and I knew in high school was you get a credit card when you turn 18 and you never, like, you use it like real money. You don't spend it unless you can pay it that day. That's what my teacher said and I was like, okay, I got it. I got it. And he told me about a credit score in our class and I just remembered it.
Like once you mess it up, it's very hard to get it back to like a pretty high score. So I knew that, but I never knew exactly how to get a credit score. Like I didn't really know how to do that. So I think that would, and like how to identify it, especially like now as an adult, you know, if you didn't practice that as a kid or at a younger age, how do you check it? How do you? Explain it. Like, what is a credit score and what do you use it for?
Like, those basic questions, can you kind of help us identify it and for other people to understand?
Of course, yeah. Great questions. So, a credit score is important to help you, of course, buy a car, buy a house, you know, get a lower interest rate on your purchase. And it does take time. It's not overnight, so it's something that you build over time. Um, for starting outs, um, I would recommend to get a small credit card would be Starting out and making sure you pay that balance off every month.
Or if you're turning 18, maybe if your parents have a great credit score, having them put you as an authorized buyer would be a great option too, because if they have excellent credit, that credit can now then flow down to you going forward. Um, and, you know, if you, if, buying a car too, um, that can also, getting that payment history, flowing would be important to, you know, get that credit going.
Yeah. I want to put this a little tiny pause just because we normally tell people to like make sure to follow us. Um, and I just want to make sure that listeners, if you're finding this very helpful, um, just make sure to send us an email, um, at bindwaves at the bind. org and just continue following us on every Thursday for all your platforms or YouTube to watch us and have new guests and have interesting conversations like today. So I did have another question. Um, especially about credit.
Um, does medical bills affect your credit? Is that something that can make a huge impact?
It can if you are behind on your, on your medical bills. So it's important to work with the hospital or provider to maybe get it on a payment plan to see what you can do to not have those costs. Medical bills go into collections because once it goes into collections, that can very much impact your credit score. So, um, most providers will work with you. If you talk to them and have a conversation, they can work with you.
So I would definitely recommend going that route before you get behind on any medical bills.
So, I have a question, as we're talking about credit score and building credit scores. So, is it better to build your credit score or to reduce your debt?
Good question.
Or is it the same thing?
I think there's a balance, right? Because, right, you don't want to buy a car that's 20, 000 and have a You know, 20 30 percent interest rate on that car because you're going to be paying a lot of money on that car. So, definitely, I would, if, get a low interest rate on your car if you're going to choose to make car payments to build your credits. And don't get into something that's going to, you know, have a negative impact on your life, right?
Because if you were paying those high payments, and you're trying to build your credit score, but you're putting yourself in a bad position, we don't want to do that. So, just having a balance, maybe, like I said earlier, being an authorized user, or, you know, other options to maybe not get yourself into debts, but also building your credit score at the same time.
Yeah, and I think a lot of us, um, there's a lot of different, uh, brain injury survivors in different stages in life. Um, there's people that are a lot, like, a lot older, um, maybe are retired as is, um, and then there's people like me. I'm, um, not I don't think I'm old. I think I'm going to be young forever. Um, but, you know, like, my income is not as normal or as it used to be before the stroke.
Um, so, what would be like a normal, like, percentage of, like, our income that we're supposed to be spending? Um, just because my income is not like it used to be. Um, so, how do I manage that to be in balance like you were just mentioning?
Good question, yeah. It's good to save at least, you know, if you can, save anywhere from 15 to 30 percent of your income.
Okay.
Try to save that much. Um, and if, again, you know, life happens. So, working toward those goals and seeing how you can adjust your income to, you know, be able to save more, but it's important to save that way when you have emergencies or situations come up You're able to pay for those situations because you never know life happens. So having a good emergency fund. Yeah, and saving is important.
Yeah, I thankfully I had some savings, so I was like, okay, you know, I had that covering and that did create like a little cushion for terrible moments that were unplanned. Um, but how, like, how about if I were to, like, I just bought a car, um, and I kind of did the math, um, but how, how, like, I guess, what percentage can I be spending for, for something like a big purchase, if, you know, is there like a specific hidden number or like, you know, just I, you know.
I wish there was, but there is no specific hidden number, it's, you know, everyone's different, so I would, I would at least, you know, save 15 to 30 percent, they say your mortgage or your housing should be no more than 30 percent of your income. And the rest should go into savings, and save as much as you can.
Yeah.
Of course.
Yeah, that makes sense. That makes sense. Um, talking about right now the credit, is there like a certain specific resource that you would recommend, um, to be able to check your credit and to make sure that it's matching, um, easily and that it is available for you to learn about your own credit and what you have available?
I love Credit Karma. Because it's free, and it's a great app, and you can log in, and it gives you your credit score, and it will show you if you do have something in collections that you don't know about, um, that will come up, and you can take care of that, or you can look at all the credit cards that you do have open, and it gives you a ratio of how much credit card, um, that you have, versus, you know, how much you have open, which can affect your credit score.
And it does give different options and different, it tells you what can affect your credit score. And if your credit score has changed recently, it can tell you why that score drops, which is a good thing. A good thing to know.
Yeah. Just to be aware of. That's true.
No, and I know, and I've always heard that like, you're not supposed to check your credit score. There's big agencies so many times, then that hurts your credit. Is that true? Does credit karma affect that? Or is that even true anymore?
It does not. Most credit card companies, the good ones, now pre qualify you, they use what's called a soft credit pool. Um, which does not affect your credits. Some do a hard credit pull. So you want to make sure if you're buying a car or applying for a credit card, make sure you know whether they're going to do a soft pull or a hard pull. Because, you know, if they pulled a hard one, that will affect your credit score.
Credit Karma does not affect your credit score, which is great, and it's a good resource to use.
And I know it's probably different for everybody. Um, and this is one of those things that, you know, I'm old. Kezia thinks she's young. Kezia is young because she's younger than me. You look great. But I'm, I'm old. Um. So, like, what is, I'm not going to say the perfect credit score, but what is, what should, what range should a normal person's, or any person's credit score be? I mean, I, you hear numbers thrown around all the time, and I guess it's different for everyone, but I don't know.
Is there a good range?
Yeah, above, above the 700s is good credits. That's where I would recommend at least get, try to get above the 700s.
Okay, that's easy. And then, now we're talking about building, you know, making sure our credit is good. Are there good strategies for building your wealth?
Yes, there are lots of great strategies. And again, that comes back to what's important to you, right? What does your rich look like? Right. You know, some of these rich might be building, you know, a lot of money. Somebody else's rich might be spending time with grandchildren. And so everybody's wealth looks a little bit different. Um, for starters though, I would recommend doing the emergency fund.
Um, if you do have a 401k and you're working, make sure you're taking advantage of that match that your employer will give you because that's free money that you're getting. So definitely don't leave money on the table. No, no. Um, some other Tools or vehicles would be a Roth IRA. Uh, what's good about a Roth IRA is that it grows tax free. Um, so you're, you're saving on taxes in your future. So, for one, do your emergency fund. Two, make sure you're taking advantage of your 401k match.
And if you can, contribute to a Roth IRA.
Okay. We, so just to let you know, Carrie and I are not the only ones with all these questions. We have members or brain injury survivors that send their questions to us. We say, oh my god, our next, um, guest is going to be, and we're going to be talking about XYZ. So, you just mentioned Roth IRA, and that was one of the questions, like, what is that?
Like, we hear about it, we hear about it, like, a lot more frequently now, um, especially with access to social media and TikTok and all of these platforms that just say, yeah, do that, do a Roth IRA, um, like, what is it, and can you tell us, um, about, like, around what ages it would be something beneficial?
Um, I would say starting, you could do a Roth IRA as soon as 18 years old. Um, you can also do a minor Roth IRA. If you are under 18 and you do have earned income, um, you do have to, for example, if you make $2,000 when you're under 18, you can contribute $2,000 to a Roth IRA. The maximum for contribution for 2024 is. To I think it's 7,000. 7,000? Yes. Yes, I think so. Um, because I go back sometimes. Yeah. Um, so $7,000 for, for a Roth.
Um, so if you make up to $7,000, you can contribute up to $7,000. Mm-Hmm.
Okay. So that's interesting. So you can only contribute as much as you make.
Yes. Okay. But there's also a maximum, so. Right. Okay. The maximum would be $7,000. Okay. And if you're over 50, it would be $8,000.
I can get a thousand dollars more than you.
Yeah, you can contribute that much, right? But it's like, it's something that I did a lot of research and I honestly I think it's because of TikTok. Because I have access to like all this knowledge and I think that's what we would like to contribute to. Like we want to make sure that brain injured survivors, family, and caregivers have access to this as much as possible too.
And I saw that it's like You can only do it till then, but really, without taxes, you can reach it till like, 65, or something like that, right? Um, yeah, like you can't, without taxes, you can't do it. To get it out. You know, you can't, I don't know how to say it. You
can't withdraw it. Withdraw it.
I
think that,
right. Yeah.
So, yeah, the age is 59 and a half.
Oh, okay.
Um, but you can always take out your contributions. Okay. It's just the earnings that you can't take out. So, for example, if you contributed a total of 20, 000, you're, you can take that 20, 000 out before the age of 59 and a half.
Fifty nine and a half. Interesting. You have to put that half in there. Yeah, they just have to do that.
But it's a great tool, I'm going to add. It's a great tool because it grows tax free. So, for example, if you put 20, 000 in, it grows to 50, 000. When you do take it out after 59 and a half, that money will be tax free.
Yeah, that makes sense.
And are there easy to use apps or tools to They would recommend to like, start this, but I mean, I know you're gonna say no, you gotta come see me, but not all of us can afford a financial planner, so are there Or do you recommend that they're not really that good for you? I mean, I mean, it's okay. You know, I want you to be honest with this because I don't want you to just recommend an app to us that's really not the best, in our best interest. Yeah,
I don't think they're as a good app because everybody's situation is so different and every, so I think that taking everything into account when everybody's situation is so different, I think you need a person to talk to, to talk through that. And, you know, there's a lot of us around. I'm, I'm more than happy to, to help people out who can't always afford a financial advisor. I like, I like giving back and helping where I can. So I have a passion for financial planning.
I grew up in a family who didn't have financial planners and so it kind of became my life's mission to really understand this and to help other people get financially stable.
And I totally get what you're saying about talking to a person and everyone's different because We say that on every episode. I mean every brain injury is different. No, no one brain injury is the same. So it totally makes sense that no one person's financial plan would be the same. Exactly. Yeah.
Yeah, and in all honesty, I think it all changes. Not only do our physical or mental health like drastically change after a brain injury, but also like our like economic, not economic, I don't know if that's the right word, but um our financial status just and our financial goals change too. So um, I love what you've been saying about like two meetings a year, um that can change in a day, you know, like you know, it just changes. So I love that too.
Um, I Thank you so much for coming and joining us. Um, if you would like to share, do you want to share one last tip, um, uh, to brain injury survivors, caregivers, or, um, whoever, our family that supports us, that you would definitely think that need to know something about financial tips, um, just to get us restarted in life.
Of course, yeah, um, building finances. I know it's, it's like you, you have to restart, right, as brain injured adults and, but I think that financial, building finances can be very simple. Um, it can be, I know people think that it's very hard and there's a lot going to it, there's a lot to it. But when you actually sit down with a financial planner and make a plan, it's really quite easy. Um, so one thing I would recommend is not to be overwhelmed.
Or scared to reach out to somebody and talk to somebody because everybody needs it. Everybody does. Um, I need it, you know. Other people need it, but sometimes we're just a little afraid to take that first step. And I would just recommend to go ahead and take that first step and don't be afraid to talk to somebody.
Well, thank you. I love that. Thank you so much for joining us, Lori. We really appreciate you being available for us on a conversation that a lot of us didn't really feel comfortable having. It was very helpful. So thank you so much for talking to us and Having this great conversation.
Yes, I love being here. I love what you guys are doing and um, keep on doing it.
Yeah, thank you again, Lori. And thank you again to our listeners. And if you'd like to contact us, remember you can email us at bindwaves@thebind.Org Or you can find us on our website at thebind.org/ bindwaves. Of course, you can also follow, find us on Instagram at bindwaves. And then if you're interested in becoming a member or a volunteer, again, you can also find that information on thebind. org And for any other information about BIND, thebind. org. Yep,
and just don't forget to just like, share, and subscribe to all of your platforms. We're on all of them. You can never question it. If you are, just search it. Bindwaves And just make sure that every Thursday we're available and on YouTube you can see us.
So again, like she said, every Thursday you'll find all our new episodes on all our platforms. on all your favorite platforms. There ours two, but of course on yours. So, until next time.
Until next time.
We hope you've enjoyed listening to BIND Waves and continue to support BIND and our non profit mission. We support brain injury survivors as they reconnect into the life, the community, and their workplace. And we couldn't do that without great listeners like you. We appreciate each and every one of you. Continue watching. Until next time. Until next time.