Mandy (3:38)

Good morning. Thank you for having me.

Jill Schlesinger (3:40)

I'm excited, too, and also very delighted that we have geographic diversity. You know, Ohio, middle of the country, not just the coast. You know, we're ready to talk about anything. So what's on your mind, Mandy? What's happening?

Mandy (3:53)

Well, I am calling to try to get some perspective on financials and life amid some different times. So my fiance and I both work in higher education, which has not been as stable as it used to be in terms of job security in our state. There's been some legislation passed recently that does not make tenure as stable as it once was, and that makes teaching certain disciplines more challenging than it was. And so we are not quite sure to what extent we would want to stay in our jobs and how that will impact us in the future. So we're trying to get a sense and a grip of what our financials are, where it's going. I also have some inheritance coming up next month, and I would love to know what to do with it to help ensure financial success in case one of us has to change jobs or doesn't have a job and just all the stuff in between.

Jill Schlesinger (4:44)

That's a lot of stuff. So, yeah. Are you guys both in tenured track positions, or do either of you or Both of you have tenure already.

Mandy (4:53)

So my fiance, she is in the tenure track, and she still has a few years to get tenure, so she's still probationary. I work in a staff and research position where I'm not on the tenure track, but I actually do have more security just due to the nature of how my position is funded. So mine is the more stable job. Hers is still. She has to get through tenure, and then there's all of the things after.

Jill Schlesinger (5:14)

That and then not piss anyone off to lose the tenure. Basically, yeah. Okay, got it. How old is she?

Mandy (5:21)

So she is 33.

Jill Schlesinger (5:23)

Oh, so cute. And young. And how about you, Mandy?

Mandy (5:26)

I'm 31.

Jill Schlesinger (5:27)

Oh, your whole life ahead of you. I'm so excited for you guys. Okay, so do you guys. You said fiance. So when are you getting married?

Mandy (5:37)

We are getting married next summer.

Jill Schlesinger (5:38)

Exciting. Very exciting. How much do you guys earn? Let's start with your fiance. Since she's a little bit more at risk, you say. So how much does she earn right now?

Mandy (5:49)

Sure. So her base salary, effective next month after the new races will be 71,000 based. And then if she teaches during the summer, she gets a prorated salary per course, and that's about $6,000 a summer course. So she might depend on that. It just depends on if the course enrolls or not.

Jill Schlesinger (6:07)

Okay. And let's not count the summer thing for now. Let's just look at your base. And what about for you, Mandy?

Mandy (6:13)

My base salary is 73,000, and I also have the opportunity to teach extra classes and do other work.

Jill Schlesinger (6:20)

Do you do that now? I mean, because since you are the more stable, I'm just wanting to figure out what we should count on.

Mandy (6:24)

Sure I do. It's hard to calculate because I also give presentations and workshops and talks for other schools, but I usually can depend on about 5,000 extra a year between different gigs.

Jill Schlesinger (6:35)

Great. Perfect. Okay, are you both part of the. Are you work at the same place? Is it. Is there a pension? Is there a retirement plan? What's going on?

Mandy (6:44)

So she has a pension. She's in the Ohio school teacher pension program, where she has to put in 14% of her salary every month. The university matches 14, and then I believe it's after the 34 years, which I'm not sure if that's likely at this point for her to stay, but.

Jill Schlesinger (7:00)

It sounds like 134 years.

Mandy (7:02)

Yeah, they would. In theory, it would be the 74% of your highest three years that you would get. And then depending on if you have survivor benefits or not is the monthly cost.

Jill Schlesinger (7:11)

I gotcha. Okay. But that's a really long haul for her.

Mandy (7:15)

Yes.

Jill Schlesinger (7:15)

So we're not going to count on that necessarily. Right?

Mandy (7:19)

Yeah. And I think if she leaves earlier than that, there are obviously, I think if you wait until you're 59 and a half, you can get a smaller payout. But she hasn't vested yet. She's only starting her fourth year, so she needs. She doesn't know what the five year vesting schedule would look like yet.

Jill Schlesinger (7:32)

All right, so she started fourth year. Okay, I gotcha. Okay. In addition to that, to that pension, does she put any other money away from her salary? Is there any sort of deferred compensation or is it all this pension plan?

Mandy (7:46)

We have options available. She has not yet started, which is a question I might have for you later. Should we. But she does put $200 a month into a Roth IRA right now.

Jill Schlesinger (7:55)

Oh, that's good. All right. Now for you, you're not part of the pension system, right? No. Okay, so what are you doing in terms of saving for retirement?

Mandy (8:05)

I have a 401A plan through the university where I put in 10% automatically. They match. It's like 11.76% because you have to mitigate not being in the pension scheme.

Jill Schlesinger (8:16)

Yep.

Mandy (8:17)

And then I also have 2, 4, 5, 7. I recently discovered those, and they're amazing. I have a Roth 457B that I'm only putting in 150 right now. And then I have the traditional 457B which I understand you can access once you sever employment. I'm putting in 350amonth right now.

Jill Schlesinger (8:35)

So you're doing 350amonth into traditional 150 into Roth and then the 10% into the 401A, right?

Mandy (8:43)

Yes. And I also have a Roth IRA that I'm maxing out every year.

Jill Schlesinger (8:46)

You must not be living too high on the hog. Do you guys own your own home?

Mandy (8:53)

We do.

Jill Schlesinger (8:54)

What's the house worth?

Mandy (8:56)

It's worth about $410,000.

Jill Schlesinger (8:59)

Okay. Do you own that jointly or is it. What did one of you come into this relationship with the house?

Mandy (9:05)

We want it jointly. We bought it together during the relationship.

Jill Schlesinger (9:08)

Okay, good. So you really must like each other. I mean, forgetting about the marriage, buying real estate before you're married, I think that shows true love.

Mandy (9:16)

How about.

Jill Schlesinger (9:17)

Yeah, exactly. What is the mortgage that you guys have taken out for to do this?

Mandy (9:23)

So we took out a 30 year mortgage. We were able to refinance in October when Rates got really low for like a minute.

Jill Schlesinger (9:30)

Yep.

Mandy (9:31)

And so we able to secure a 5.875% mortgage. And previous to that it was 6.5%. I had also put some extra inheritance. I had gotten into it. So we have about 26 years left, $237,000 left on the mortgage.

Jill Schlesinger (9:46)

237,000. And you love this place. This is like you're going to stay, right?

Mandy (9:51)

We want to, but I think that's the question. If one of our one or both of our jobs doesn't work out academics, it's really hard to get another job. And there are two of us. It's called the two body problem. Where is there a chance that both of us can get a job in our specialty at the same place is a little harder. So in theory, one day, but we might not be able to.

Jill Schlesinger (10:10)

Okay, all right, fair enough. And so let's just do a little bit of the dollar amounts because you said you guys have put a lot of money away. And for her pension, do you happen to know what her pension value is right now?

Mandy (10:24)

Right now it should be worth around 40,000.

Jill Schlesinger (10:27)

Okay. And then let's do her Roth IRA.

Mandy (10:30)

She has 12,500 in it right now.

Jill Schlesinger (10:33)

Okay. And your Roth IRA?

Mandy (10:37)

My Roth IRA has 34,800.

Jill Schlesinger (10:40)

Okay. And now let's do your, your 457 Roth.

Mandy (10:48)

That is 7,400.

Jill Schlesinger (10:50)

Okay. And you're $457,000 traditional.

Mandy (10:54)

That is $5,800.

Jill Schlesinger (10:56)

Great. And your 401A, that is $70,000. Okay. You guys saved a lot of money. You're so young. This is great. You did not have loans. There's no way you had loans if you have this much money.

Mandy (11:07)

No. We were fortunate to get full scholarships and in PhD school they paid our tuition to teach.

Jill Schlesinger (11:13)

Wow, that's amazing. Okay, so what about beyond these retirement assets, do you have some money in cash?

Mandy (11:21)

Yes.

Jill Schlesinger (11:22)

What do you have?

Mandy (11:23)

So I have about 64,000 between my hyal savings and checking. My fiance has about 37,500. And I also have a brokerage account that I've been just putting inheritance money into. I have about 368,000.

Jill Schlesinger (11:40)

Oh my goodness gracious. That's a big number. And you guys, you are managing that yourself or someone managing that for you?

Mandy (11:48)

I do have a financial advisor who's, who helped me set it up when I first started getting the inheritances and has helped me make a plan.

Jill Schlesinger (11:54)

Do you know how this money is invested? Are you, do you have a sense of it like, are you using index funds? And how are you paying this person? And, you know, I'm already getting skeptical, so that's what you're hearing creeping into the conversation. I'm sorry.

Mandy (12:08)

Yeah, no, that's okay. I appreciate all your perspective. It is mostly ETFs. From what I understand. The returns have been pretty decent from what I can see. And I do believe they take 1%.

Jill Schlesinger (12:20)

Okay, 1%.

Mandy (12:22)

And I think it's quarterly, where it comes out of my account. Quarterly.

Jill Schlesinger (12:26)

Yep. And that's fine. And have they done real financial planning for you in addition to just that money management piece?

Mandy (12:35)

I would say yes. They want to meet with me every six months or so, and we talk about some of my goals. I would ask questions randomly, like, is this a good deal for refinancing a mortgage? And they would give some input.

Jill Schlesinger (12:48)

Mm. Do they do, like, retirement planning scenarios for you, or have they outlined any, like, a. A real financial plan?

Mandy (12:57)

I. Is it the Monty Python, or.

Jill Schlesinger (13:01)

Wait a second. This is the best. Okay, so the Monty Python is the Monte Carlo simulation, which is fantastic. That's the best thing I've ever heard. I cannot wait to tell some of my advisors.

Mandy (13:13)

I'm an English person. I'm trying to.

Jill Schlesinger (13:15)

I love it. It's the Monty Python simulation. That's what I'm calling it from now on. I'm going to give you. I'm going to always say, like Mandy from Ohio, as she says, it's the Monty Python simulation. Okay, so how's your cash flow right now? You're saving a lot of money. Like, do you. Do you feel good? Do you feel. I mean, forgetting about the instability of your fiance and even you, but just on this amount of income, you feel pretty good, I think.

Mandy (13:39)

So the house has been a bit of a surprise in terms of the cash flow required for that. I mean, we just had a plumbing leak week, and that was $600. We have ash trees that need special treatments every two years, and it's like $1500. So on the most part, I feel like we have enough money to put into our respective saving. But some months, we have almost no money left. But of course, previous months, we might have some more leftover. So we're managing based on what we. What we have.

Jill Schlesinger (14:07)

I mean, I think you're saving a ton of money in these retirement accounts. You're really doing a great job. Fantastic. And you've got this. You've got cash of 100 grand. So that's good. In case one or both of you were to have a Change in your, your jobs. You mentioned an inheritance, so first of all, I'm sorry for your loss. What do you think is due in terms of future? Part of this inheritance is not settled yet, is what I'm hearing.

Mandy (14:34)

Yes, we. It's part of. It's attached to selling some land, and I know that that's in the works, and I think it depends on how much will have to be taken out for selling and for, for lawyer and estate trust fees. But it should be around 200,000, maybe a little bit less or more, depending on how the numbers work out.

Jill Schlesinger (14:50)

Is that happening, like, soonish? Should we factor that in? Like, what do you do with that 200 grand once you, when it, when it comes, or do you think it's going to be a while before you get that?

Mandy (15:00)

It's supposed to be by the end of next month, so unless things go soon.

Jill Schlesinger (15:04)

Okay, so this is all actually great timing if, you know, for you guys just to sock away. Having a bunch more money in that brokerage account, I think gives you a lot of, I think a lot of comfort. It should. At least, I think you have an incredibly vibrant outlook when it comes to the money you have saved already. You really have done a great job. So let's now talk about, like, what would happen if. We're going to talk a little bit about your plan B if, if your fiance were to lose her job and, and you want to stay there because you have your job. So, you know, maybe, I think, yes, it's possible you both lose your jobs, but you're saying it's more likely she's the one that is more at risk, you think?

Mandy (15:51)

I think. And even if it's, if her job is still there, it just might not be what she thought it would be when she first joined the ranks. And it might not be desirable to stay.

Jill Schlesinger (15:59)

Okay, so if she were to switch her career, maybe even get out of academia, because that often is like, okay, that's enough of that. What do you think she could earn that, you know, again, be reasonable, don't have you guys move to a whole new place. But like in your area, could she earn instead of 70 plus a little stuff on the side, could she earn 50, you think?

Mandy (16:23)

I would say so. Probably working on a nonprofit and areas that are aligned with her interests.

Jill Schlesinger (16:29)

Okay, that's great. I mean, I think that what you really need to do is make sure that, you know, if, if that were to happen, you don't take too much time in between jobs. Like, she should probably be looking right now just to like have in her back pocket, maybe she's going to find something she likes better. Especially if she's sort of disenchanted with what she has been doing. Then there's no reason to stick around for a pension that is just, you know, you're not saying they're 25 years if she's not that happy. It's just not happy, you know. So let's try to like at least suss out if you were to stay where you are and she were to lose some of that income instead of 70 plus she's making more like 50 then she would probably, I think the difference would be in your long term planning would be is that the money that was going into the pension, that, that 14%, you know, she, instead of doing her 14% into that pension, she'd probably do, you know, 14, 10, 12, let's say even 10% into whatever retirement plan was offered to her. There may or may not be a match. But you guys have a lot of money already. You really do. We would just have to look at your cash flow, you know, and so it wouldn't be you. When you say like there are some months we have no money left over, it's because you're putting so much money away.

Mandy (17:47)

That's true.

Jill Schlesinger (17:48)

I didn't know. You're not spending it. You're, you're doing a great job. I mean you are basically in a place where you can manage the expenses that you have assumed. So big picture, you're like, how am I doing? You know what, you're doing great. You're doing fantastically well. You're young, you're putting money away. If something were to happen with your fiance, all you would try to do is just say, okay, let's just like batten down the hatches. Let's look at what's going on. You don't have to change your spending. You will probably put a little bit less money away for her maybe and maybe not. Let's see where she lands. You have plenty of cash. You have a bunch of money in the brokerage account. You will have another couple hundred thousand dollars to add to the brokerage account and you should be in very good shape to manage whatever comes next. You really, really are. I mean even if, God forbid, let's just pretend for some reason like the university shuts down, I've heard of such things. Okay, I know where you work, so I don't think that's going to happen. But like, let's just pretend you worked at one of these very, very Teeny tiny liberal arts schools that has gone broke and you both lost your jobs immediately, you'd go out and you get, you'd go get new jobs and maybe you wouldn't make as much. You probably would. You like, you know, like, you're very smart people and you're very accomplished and so you'll get some jobs. You may not make 140 or 50,000. You might make more like 120 between the two of you and we'll reassess. But you have plenty of money to float yourself. You should not feel like, oh my God, we have to sell our house immediately. Like, don't. No, nothing like that. You know, the only thing that I would say is if you feel confident about the advisor and you want to stick with that advisor, 1% is fine. My guess is you could probably do it yourself. But I'm not going to put that on you because you have a lot on your plate right now.

Mandy (19:44)

And I wanted to ask you too, if I may. Part of our planning, when we thought like the tenure track job was going to be great for the foreseeable future, was potentially I could step down from working full time after 10 years or so and maybe pursue some passion projects, work on the house, do other things. We're not quite sure if that would be possible. If, if her job doesn't go the way that we would think. Is there anything that we should be doing if we wanted to maintain that plan of potentially stepping down earlier than a full career?

Jill Schlesinger (20:16)

Okay, here's what I think. I know that you're not going to want to hear this, but my, my 2 cents is don't worry about that right now, okay? I mean, yes, there are ways to plan for that, but the biggest way is to have a big fat brokerage account, which you will have because of this inheritance. But I also wouldn't freak out about it one way or the other because I don't think that sound just from talking to you for, let me see, how long have we been talking now? I know you very well for 24 and a half minutes. For the last 24 and a half minutes. What I can tell is you would not feel good if you were to step down and things were not locked down. And that's out of your hands right now. So let's just. I'll play it out how I think it could work really well. Like she gets a new job and she's like, you know what? I'm not working in public service. I'm not working in higher ed. I got A job where I'm actually in the private sector and I'm making money and all of a sudden, Instead of making 70, I'm making 150 and life's great. And I'm a total sellout, by the way. Being a sellout, not the worst thing in the world. I've done it my whole life. Okay, so you then are going to have lots of choices. But if she gets, you know, if she leaves this job and we've said, you know, she's making 50 in 10 years, are you going to really feel like you want to step down? I doubt it. I just doubt that that's going to be the case. But, you know, you might have the opportunity. Instead of saying like, I'm going to do nothing, you might say, you know, I really hate my job. And maybe at that point in 10 years, you're making like 85 or 90 and she's, you know, re established her career in a different way. You might say, do the same thing. Which is now instead of saying, I'm not working, you might say, you know what, I could work in a different job and earn. But we don't know the answer to that right now. And that's okay. I mean, you're so young. If I. God, I'm going to sound like an old fart right now, but here I go. When I was, you know, 30 years old, I had no idea that I was going to be in the media. Okay. Or When Mark was 30 years old, he probably thought he was going to be in radio for the rest of his life producing, you know, syndicated radio shows for the rest of his life and on a trajectory. And like, you can't imagine what's going to come next. But what I can tell you is the best base that you have created of this, at this asset base, this savings habit, you know, forgetting about the brokerage, the hundred grand in cash, the money in the retirement accounts. You guys have done an incredible job. You really have. And I think save the saving grace is that you didn't have loans because I'm sure you know plenty of people who are like you and you went to school with these folks and you're like, you know what? They're not doing so great because they have those loans and you don't. And so smart for you guys to do it the way you did it. Anything else on your mind?

Mandy (22:59)

I don't think I mentioned to just put the inheritance into the brokerage. I was thinking for a while, should I up my 457 contributions while I have the extra money.

Jill Schlesinger (23:08)

Okay, let's. Let's keep the brokerage because. Let's see. Because you might need this money and we want you to have some options. I think having access to the money and the liquidity, having options in the next year or two are going to be important for you guys. Now, one last thing before you guys get married. You know that on your to do list is to have wills drafted, right?

Mandy (23:30)

Yes.

Jill Schlesinger (23:31)

Okay, good.

Mandy (23:32)

You're in the process of that. We have, like, the healthcare poa. All of that taken care of for now.

Jill Schlesinger (23:36)

Perfect. Perfect. If things change, if next week you're like, oh, my God, my fiance just left in a huff, then we'll. We'll work it out from there. Okay?

Mandy (23:44)

Appreciate you all so much. It's made me feel so much better about just everything happening.

Jill Schlesinger (23:49)

Well, we so appreciate you coming on and joining us, so thank you so much. And if you are like Mandy and her fiance and maybe one of you has, like, a little bit less job security, we'd love to hear from you. I think this is a smart conversation to be having for a lot of different people. A lot of people who are in tech have been contacting me sort of on the side. A lot of people in media. Not surprisingly, there are a lot of industries that are going through, through big changes, higher ed government, all these different areas where you used to think you had some stability, maybe not so much. Run your scenario by me and Mark. We're both certified financial planners and we'd love to help. So just go to jillonmoney.com, click the contact us button, write us a note, and if you want to join us on the air live, check the box. Mark will do everything else. Hey, don't forget to sign up for the free weekly newsletter. Mark does such a good job with that. You can subscribe to us on the Odyssey app or wherever you find your favorite podcasts. And we remind you to please try to lift someone up. Change your work, change your wealth, change your life. Thanks for listening and we'll talk to you tomorrow.

Mandy (24:58)

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Jill Schlesinger (25:00)

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Mandy (25:02)

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Jill Schlesinger (25:15)

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Mandy (25:18)

Dashboard with expert AI tools. Build, scale, and enjoy the incredible results. You can do it all yourself on wix. I'm Kristen Press. And I'm Tobin Heath. We're World cup winners, Olympians and the hosts of the recap show. Every week we sit down with the icons, disruptors and game changers on the field and beyond it to talk victories, heartbreaks and everything in between. We've built a space where athletes, change makers and people creating the future of women's sports can show up and show off as their full, unapologetic selves. Follow and listen to the recap show wherever you get your podcasts.