Guest Expert

On that point, you were the, or still are, the head of... No, I was.

Conference of Mayors for a year and a half. Okay, if we had to ask you, you can't live in Miami. Yeah. You met all those mayors. Where are two places that you think are actually well-run, that aspire to do something great and have their shit together?

Is there something that inside of the next gubernatorial campaign, let's say you don't run for governor, that's a high impact job at the state level?

Can you connect those dots there? Like, I think when people think about social policy, everybody confuses the correlation and causation. Yeah. But you've been in the seat now for a long time. Yeah, 15 years, frankly. So you've seen what hasn't worked, what has worked, what maybe has been correlated.

But if you had to sort of like lay out the roadmap for other cities, but frankly, for other states, the rest of the country, what's the roadmap, the Francis Suarez roadmap?

Back to the city. Can we just double click into those? Yeah, of course. I can double click on each one of them. Let's take the other side of these things just to help the conversation. Because I believe in them, but let's try to steel man the other side. Sure. Keep taxes low.

What people say, if you look at California and if you look at New York, what they would say is, we have a duty to invest in the social services and the infrastructure to support everybody that isn't necessarily as well off or didn't get the right side of luck. And we need to raise taxes in order to generate the revenues to fund that.

Are there downsides to growing this fast? Like, are there things that have to keep up that are harder to change? Like building code, housing density, you know, those sort of cost of living things. Like have those, have you guys been able to drive reform there? Or is that not where you want it to be?

Finally, maybe this would lead rich and powerful people to acknowledge the barbaric nature of our health care system.

Congratulations, Ashley.

Gotcha. And what's your end goal, Ashley? Do you want to be a restaurant owner? Yeah. Like, do you want to like, like, is there a big dream or is it more just a passion of yours and you love it? And it's something to do on the side. That's really fun.

But let me, I mean, but Ashley, like, I mean, and tell me if I'm wrong, I mean, but this could be hundreds of thousands of dollars. I mean, this isn't just like a little thing, and I wonder if that's why the CPA was like, yeah, a food truck is going to be way less expensive to get something going.

And even Ashley, like... We've been to a few places over the last probably two or three years, people's homes for events, and they have someone come in and cook. And the chef guy brings his cart around. He's like, next time you guys have a party, I can do a dinner for eight of your friends or whatever it is. And I'm like...

If you get the right people in a room that taste your food, that then spread the word, right? Like there's ways to do it. So the catering, if that's what you were meaning, but even coming in and cooking for friends and having them bring friends. And you know what I mean? You can start small just to get the word out about what you're doing because it sounds great. But also I just know restaurant...

It's just a big investment.

When you hear brick and mortar, I mean, it's just you're going to be having staff. If there's not already a kitchen, how much those appliances cost? I mean, it's a lot. It's a lot. Not that it can't be done, Ashley, but it's a feat to take on. So it's you guys really brainstorming.

I just can think of probably three or four food trucks that started as food trucks that ended up becoming restaurants because their brand was so big here in Nashville that they –

Today's question comes from Carter in New Hampshire. He says, my wife and I are avid listeners, but we don't share the same views financially. I'm an analyzer when it comes to finances and it annoys her to no end. I have a two-year emergency fund and our home is paid off. Together we earn $200,000 a year. She likes to spend and wants me to co-sign on a vehicle that's $80,000.

She has $10,000 in credit card debt and she pays $15,000 each year for private school for our kids. If I mention anything about money, I'm the one who's wrong. I wish I could say that we pay for vacations, recreational toys and trips, but these funds come from my checking account and she gets mad when I say that I pay for them.

Is it okay to have an account together to pay bills and separate for spending accounts?

uh i mean i think you guys are disjointed completely when it comes to money i mean obviously this is like a pick and choose what we want to do together and what we don't and i think the goal here is that you are a unified team with all of it right all of it together so the spending the saving uh where your kids are going to college or to school where you guys you know what kind of cars you guys buy that you are in agreement together

In those things. And so she's a spender. So you guys are in a great position. You have no debt. You have great emergency funds. So if she wants to go spend a little, you can't be crazy and be like, no, you can't spend anything. Right. And you sound a little bit you sound a little crazy to a degree, Carter, that she just wants a little bit of freedom. But then she on the other end is not.

What it sounds like.

And credit card debt.

The same value system, though, is what's not being played out. So I think that's the issue is that you guys are functioning not on the same value system. And so it's looking like a mess like this. And the accounts, that doesn't fix it.

Right, but that's the problem is people think, is it okay if we just have separate accounts? And what that does is it sweeps the one issue that you actually need to talk about under the rug. It doesn't fix it. It actually continues to alienate you guys from each other. So no, Carter, I would not do these separate accounts.

I would force you guys to work out of one account because to your point, it's actually going to reveal other issues that are actually going on in your marriage.

For sure.

I kind of want to relieve you from that, Nicole. I don't think it's harm long-term. I mean, I think, yeah, your goals are going to shift if your family goals shift, and that's a reality. But it's not like you're putting your family in massive danger here, right? I mean, I have some other ideas that we can talk through here in a second.

But so many women feel this, and especially since you're the breadwinner of

that i have to be the one to save everything and it's up to me and i'm going to put my family in danger i'm you know like this language that you're using it's uh it's very heavy and i think it's and what i would say is that it's um you're putting more pressure on yourself than needs to be there yes getting out of debt is a huge goal and it's one that i want you guys to work towards and one that you've made such significant progress to

But like we said, the last hour of the show, we talked so much about how debt is a tool to create, or I'm sorry, money is a tool to create a life that you love. And you guys have to look at your family unit and your family is a priority, Nicole. I mean, your family is one that you're like, okay, what is best for us right now? And as a mom, I get it like that.

I mean, I pulled back from work after my third because I was like, I just I want to be home more. And so all of that is real. Now, does that mean we want to stop everything you guys have been doing and the progress you've made? No, I wouldn't suggest that either. And so I think I think a wonderful middle ground, Nicole, for you is to have.

Because I mean an attorney i'm like that is such a stressful job and the hours you work. I mean, I can't even imagine So what does life look like if nicole stays home and her career shifts and your career looks different for a year or two? What does that look like?

And so I would start You know having that kind of conversation of and I don't know this world nicole So you probably can direct me better in this conversation from this point on in this sense but

Is there work to be done that you could do, outsource your skills at some level, some degree, that is significantly less stress and less time than what you've been doing and still be bringing in some kind of flow, right?

We have family members that have credit cards and that.

In an office, yeah, correct, yeah.

For you, that's what I would present to you. What does that shift mean?

look like right because there is a you know there's a level of responsibility that you guys have financially right that you have to fulfill you have to make these payments and getting out of debt as you know uh lifts so many burdens right if you didn't have this debt then you could have the option to stay home full-time if you wanted right so um but but i do think that there's something there that there still can be money to be brought in i think you have to think creatively and that's probably what i would encourage you to do to have something and then he

Honestly, Nicole, we'll probably have to step up his game if you guys keep this momentum with paying off debt. I just don't want you to think it's an all or nothing. Things can shift.

Yeah, and Nicole, and everyone's obviously created so differently, but considering what you've done and as you listed all that, Dave, I was thinking like, you know, you might look up in six months and be like, oh my gosh, I'm crazy. I'm not happy because I need some output. You know, so you may find that in you, how you're wired, you're going to want to do something as well.

And so that's a possibility too. So you're doing great, Nicole.

So for Victor, talk through why you don't like whole life insurance as an investment.

Oh, Aaron, I'm so sorry.

How's your wife?

a year from now you know and then the the thing changes again because you're not going to stop studying this you're living it you know aaron do you guys know medical bills um have they given you guys any direction like your insurance that you guys know financially at all what the costs will be at certain stages of this we do not and it's because it's So rare.

That's a big deal. I mean, you know, we get all different types of debt free screams on the stage and we celebrate them all. But you doing this with little ones over three years working all these shifts. I mean, you've done the hard work. You've done it. Congratulations. Thank you. Incredible.

Oh, man. She made me tear up.

I know, I know, and you know it's not forever.

But in those moments and those nights, it's hard to leave, and she still did.

A hundred percent.

Yeah. I think the biggest thing is going to be, it could be, I don't know your father-in-law, but if this is what he does for a living, it's a shot to the ego. I mean, like, right. I mean, if he believes in it so much, like if what we teach you believe so much that if we can't, you know what I mean? It's a hard, it would be a hard thing.

How much debt, Dorothy, you mentioned that you guys kind of just traveled and bought stuff and racked up some debt. I'm just curious, what all is the debt? How much credit card debt is it?

To say they're going to go a different direction from what I not just believe, but the work I do. So just be prepared for that. And you and your wife need to have a lot of conversations, Victor.

And Dorothy, and I'm so proud of you. Can we just say too, you haven't messed anything up. When people go through tragedy, we even tell them just to pause for even a year, right? So like you're not behind.

Yeah, and just really dive in. And you guys have to say, okay, what's best for us? And find the facts, because the facts is what's going to prove it to you, Victor. And you both have to be on that same page and say, okay, this is what we're doing. And I totally agree with you. Keep it minimal. I mean, like... Just say, hey, I think we're going to pass.

All of it. I know it probably feels very overwhelming, but you've done the right thing. Hey, guys.

Which will be hard.

Yeah.

But I'm going a different direction.

No, but it's, yeah, this is where the, yeah, the relational factor of it is just, it can be messy. But it's also a great practice, Victor, for you and your wife.

Yes, that's right.

Yes.

They all do it out of love.

How much is the house worth, Linda?