0:00:08.580,0:00:11.776
On the one hand, people[br]are really striving for homeownership,

0:00:11.776,0:00:16.569
and people also like to improve themselves[br]by getting a higher education.

0:00:16.569,0:00:19.517
But unfortunately, what a lot[br]of people don't talk about is

0:00:19.517,0:00:21.960
on the other side of[br]those two big goals,

0:00:21.960,0:00:26.090
homeownership and college, is that[br]nasty little four-letter word, debt.

0:00:26.090,0:00:30.863
And we've got $1.5 trillion [br]in student loan debt outstanding,

0:00:30.863,0:00:32.797
a trillion dollars[br]in auto loans,

0:00:32.797,0:00:35.570
so the challenge is how[br]do you meet those goals

0:00:35.570,0:00:38.853
without putting yourself[br]in the hole financially?

0:00:42.411,0:00:45.716
Part of the big mistake that [br]a lot of people make is ignoring it.

0:00:45.716,0:00:48.770
So many people abdicate[br]financial responsibility.

0:00:48.770,0:00:51.584
I'm all for people[br]having trusted advisors

0:00:51.584,0:00:53.494
and accountability[br]partners,

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because I think that having[br]an expert in your corner

0:00:56.260,0:00:58.893
definitely helps you to reach[br]your goals more quickly,

0:00:58.893,0:01:01.840
but what I don't like[br]is for people to just turn over

0:01:01.840,0:01:06.534
their finances 100% to any[br]third party, whether that's a spouse,

0:01:06.534,0:01:09.247
a family member,[br]an advisor exclusively,

0:01:09.247,0:01:12.266
without being plugged in[br]and engaged and sort of

0:01:12.266,0:01:15.473
knowing what's going on[br]with their finances.

0:01:18.397,0:01:22.494
If you spend more than you earn,[br]you will always be broke and in debt.

0:01:22.494,0:01:25.936
That's economics, [br]you will never get around that.

0:01:25.936,0:01:29.463
And so it really doesn't matter[br]if you make $50,000, $150,000,

0:01:29.463,0:01:32.996
$15 million, if you're[br]living above your means,

0:01:32.996,0:01:34.236
it's going to catch up[br]with you.

0:01:34.236,0:01:39.080
It's frankly, much easier to get out[br]of debt than it is to stay out of debt,

0:01:39.080,0:01:43.230
because staying out of debt[br]requires a mindset shift.

0:01:43.230,0:01:46.150
It really does require you[br]to reorient your thinking

0:01:46.150,0:01:48.283
and to not care so much[br]about everything else

0:01:48.283,0:01:49.780
that's going on [br]around you.

0:01:49.780,0:01:53.567
And increasingly, as we move[br]into this era of social media,

0:01:53.567,0:01:56.030
I find that a lot of[br]people fall victim to this,

0:01:56.030,0:01:59.530
because they're watching their[br]Instagram pages or on Facebook,

0:01:59.530,0:02:01.677
and they're seeing[br]what other people have

0:02:01.677,0:02:04.430
or the curated[br]version, at least,

0:02:04.430,0:02:05.786
of what people[br]want you to see.

0:02:05.786,0:02:09.169
The challenge is to understand[br]where was I a year ago?

0:02:09.169,0:02:10.627
Where was I [br]two years ago?

0:02:10.627,0:02:12.257
I'm not going to compare[br]myself to others.

0:02:12.257,0:02:15.043
I'm just going to benchmark[br]myself against me

0:02:15.043,0:02:16.923
and measure [br]my financial progress.

0:02:16.923,0:02:20.023
Once you start doing that and[br]kind of disassociating yourself

0:02:20.023,0:02:23.193
to the extent that's possible from[br]what other people are doing,

0:02:23.193,0:02:25.123
it actually really[br]liberates you.

0:02:25.123,0:02:27.840
Because you start to say[br]I'm on a unique path

0:02:27.840,0:02:31.856
and that journey is all about me[br]and what my financial goals are,

0:02:31.856,0:02:35.554
what my priorities are, and what[br]my special considerations are

0:02:35.554,0:02:38.465
given my family[br]circumstances.

0:02:41.932,0:02:44.700
One of the things that I think[br]women in particular need to do,

0:02:44.700,0:02:47.170
especially young women who[br]are starting out in their careers,

0:02:47.170,0:02:49.070
is to negotiate[br]more.

0:02:49.070,0:02:51.150
And this is true whether[br]or not you're an employee

0:02:51.150,0:02:52.283
working for [br]somebody else

0:02:52.283,0:02:54.703
or you're a business owner[br]and you're charging clients.

0:02:54.703,0:02:57.610
I think when women fail[br]to realize their value,

0:02:57.610,0:03:01.060
it impacts them financially[br]for decades to come.

0:03:01.060,0:03:02.860
As a matter of fact,[br]research shows that

0:03:02.860,0:03:05.917
women who don't negotiate,[br]they actually lose out on about

0:03:05.917,0:03:09.803
2 million dollars' worth[br]of earnings in their lifetime.

0:03:09.803,0:03:13.120
So it's critical that women[br]see themselves as capable

0:03:13.120,0:03:15.190
and that they know[br]their worth and frankly,

0:03:15.190,0:03:17.567
assert it and demand[br]that they get paid

0:03:17.567,0:03:19.780
what they are, [br]in fact, worth.