Financial Planning for Moms & Building a Legacy || A Chat with Angela Iacobellis, Life Insurance and Retirement Strategist

Foreign.

Welcome this evening to the Real Life Real Kitchen podcast.

I am continuing on my theme of money financial planning, money mindset, which is a big theme amongst so many mums in the modern world.

Things to think about.

And as a result, I feel very blessed to have here again all the way from Los Angeles.

I'm getting so many people from California.

Angela Jacobelis.

Now, Angela, she is a life insurance agent and she is also a family financial planner.

I first came across Angela when I did an interview with Carly Church of We Got yout Mama, which is a website supporting moms with newborn babies in particular.

And the reason Angela stood out was the fact she is focusing.

One of her focuses is on mums and dads with the new babies and giving them financial advice, which is quite a contrast to the image we have normally of sort of suited men looking very serious and making big financial decisions.

So, Angela, can you tell us a little bit about yourself, please?

Where, you know, who are you?

How is it that you've come to this world of family financial planning and life insurance?

It'd be just fascinating to hear your story.

So thank you, Zoe, for having me.

First of all, I really appreciate, appreciate it.

And just to explain a little bit, I've kind of had a long journey to get to where I am right now.

It's funny enough, I started in the biotech world.

My degree is in biology.

So it kind of makes me an analytical person, but also creative because when you're doing drug discovery, you kind of have to think outside the box.

Yeah, a lot.

Yeah.

And when I had my daughter almost 19 years ago, we were fortunate enough that I was able to stay home.

And we financially made that decision knowing that it would be tough.

But we decided, you know, we could do it if we really kind of hunkered down and did it.

And I lasted about three months at home and then I got a little stir crazy and I was like, okay, I need to find something to do.

I thought I didn't love being with my daughter, but I want, I had to find something that would fulfill my day and fulfill my needs as just an independent woman too.

Yeah.

And I ended.

I was just going to say it's also the kind of, it's that shock, isn't it, of going from woman to all of a sudden mum and finding that balance, isn't it?

Yes.

Yeah.

And it's, it's.

You start to feel like you lose your identity a little bit because you just become mom.

And ironically enough, I ended up becoming an instructor and then an owner of A business, a franchise, which is now called Fit for Mom and it is a fitness group for moms and children.

So it was kind of combining, you know, my.

I love, I always loved fitness.

I was athletic and working out all the time.

So it combined that with being able to be around other moms, but also run my own business in a very non stressful way because it was a franchise and had a lot of structure built in, which was really nice.

And it kind of, it sparked that entrepreneurial part of me to just.

I enjoyed it.

I love, I loved being my own boss and getting into the finances of it and running a business and doing all of that.

And you know, as time went on, long story short, I'll speed along.

I ended up going into real estate at one point, which I still love.

I enjoy it.

I love helping especially young families find a home, you know, that first time homebuyer.

Because it's such a struggle, especially now, it seems even harder.

But it was probably 12 years ago, my father passed away suddenly, which happens to a lot of us.

I mean that, you know, life happens.

And you know, he was in his 60s, my mom, they were both in their early 60s.

He passed away.

She had young, quite young.

Really not expected at that point.

You know, that's still.

Yeah, no, and it's ironic.

He had an aneurysm and you know, it was the.

Just, I mean, he made it for a couple days.

So, you know, we were able to at least go and see him.

But, you know, it was stressful and you know, my mom ended up moving in with us, moving from the Midwest to Los Angeles.

And I became, you know, the financial person going through all of his files find, you know, because he was the one in charge of all of that.

And thank God he was organized.

He was a very organized person and I was able to get through everything.

But, you know, my mom wasn't left in the position that she could have been.

And through different financial decisions, it happens.

You think you have time.

That's the one thing everybody thinks, oh, I have more time to make up for this or I have time to make up for that.

There's no guarantee.

And unfortunately.

So that sparked some interest into my husband.

And I had just done our planning as well.

And I just still wasn't at a point in my life where I could take something else on.

And as time went on and it kind of kept coming back, different signs, different people I'd run into different, you know, whatever it might be.

And I went, you know what?

I think this is a Place where I should be.

Yeah.

And it was.

And it was funny.

When we did our planning, my insurance agent said, you would be really good at this.

You should look into it.

There were signs.

There were signs, Angela.

Right.

And sometimes we have to be smacked upside the head with those signs.

Oh, yeah, we do.

It's gotta be right.

Everyone around us is like, was it not obvious?

And you go, no, no, it really wasn't.

No.

But may I just observe as well that from this suffering, from this grief, it's so beautiful.

We're gonna go into more details.

But so beautiful how you have taken that and said, I need to serve others.

Yes.

That from this.

From this darkness, kind of glory, glory come.

It really.

I don't want anybody else.

If I can minimize the number of people that are in a bad position and make a difference in somebody else's life, then that's the most important thing.

And I think I've done that throughout my career.

Whether it was in cancer research, wanting to make a difference there, helping women that are postpartum to get into shape, you know, and, And.

And find a sense of community, not just the physical.

I need to be able to get back into my size, whatever genes, but that community sense and, you know, to see how that can translate into again where I'm at now, helping people to make sure that, you know, it's not just about to.

If somebody dies, is there something left for the people left behind?

But while you're alive, I mean, there's so many ways to make sure that there's financial security while you're still alive for everybody in your family, too.

So it's.

It's really, you know, we talk about what we do, what I do with other agents, and, you know, it's about the mission.

It's not about the money.

No, Making money is secondary, and it will come, you know, that's.

It's life.

You know, we're working for a reason, too.

But it's about the mission, primarily.

Yeah.

And.

And also that the thing is, as well with what you do and the.

Again, financial planning, it's.

It's not just helping one person, but it can actually transform a family for a couple of generations at least.

You know, there is this idea of.

It's not very trendy at the moment to talk about legacy, but that's a really.

It's a really profound thought that the gifts that you have been given can transform your family.

And in your case, or let's say in the medical research, something, it can transform other people's families.

For generations.

Yes, it's quite a.

Sorry.

Everyone who's listening, they've come in for financial advice.

We've gone in really heavy here.

That's okay.

I think it is important to consider because as mums, you know that baby arrives and you go, oh golly, quite important.

And then you get focused on the.

Do I say the day to day, the wiping, the wiping and the child is not dead.

I've got, you know, I've got through to tonight we did it.

Yes.

Get focused on the micro and to start thinking about that, that bigger picture intergenerational is, is a huge thing.

How is it, how when so people come to.

Is it people coming to you taking the initiative and saying I've got this baby and I got to sort things out and they come to you.

Are you going out and presenting and saying ladies and husbands, you need to do this?

How is it working?

How are you making people aware?

So both ways, you know, it's.

A lot of it is through workshops and education, going into preschools because a lot of times, you know, as young as like 2, 3, 4 years old, it, you know, really the sooner you can start that planning the better because it's time.

You know, money, the way money work, it's a compounding growth and there's a, if you can Google it, it's, it's.

If you take a penny and you double it every day for 30 days, you wind up with $5 million at the end.

5.4 I think it is.

But I heard somebody say if you start on day zero, you end up with 10 million.

So it's just that extra little bit early that can make a huge difference.

Now.

It's not to say if your child is 10 that oh, it's too late, you know, never mind, you can't do anything.

It's never too late.

It's just setting up real expectations and knowing, you know, I can't make a penny turn into 5 million in 10 days.

No, I wish I could, I really do.

But you know, it is, you know, it, it comes down to sitting down and planning and really talking with somebody.

So that's why I try and reach out to people as young as possible.

I just know, you know, I even the fit for mom like I talked about, I was part of that group.

They, their franchise is still around the country and so I reach out to them as well because those are the moms that are dealing, you know, with newborns and six month olds and a year old.

Those are really babies in strollers still.

And you know, but it's a lot of workshops and just getting the word out because it's something.

The biggest thing I hear is, I know I need to do this, but I'll do it tomorrow.

Yeah, so you have to, you, you literally have to go to the people.

It is going.

But it's also, I think that's so canny as well.

Going to the preschools and it's that kind of mums at the, at the gate and doing presentation there.

That's, that's, that's huge.

That's really powerful.

Yeah, yeah.

Targeting them that way.

And you know, it's.

And then you have the working moms that they don't have time to come to the preschool and they're, they're just barely making it to drop off and pick up at that moment.

And, and I understand that.

I get that.

So that's, I'll do webinars to help parents.

You know, I, I get it.

I mean, life, you know, bath time, like, you know, people ask, well, what time do you do them?

What time do you do these workshops?

And I'm like, I try and do it every time.

I try and do a lunch one, I try and do an evening one.

I try and do, you know, weekend workshops.

Because it, it just.

Yeah, because, because it's that, I mean, obviously I deal with that on real life, real kitchen.

It's the, the 4 to 8pm Is like a window of, of.

I was going to politely call it chaos.

And that is not a time for webinars on financial planning.

No, no, no.

So when you've spoken to these ladies who've got their three year olds, four year olds, and they go, yes, I need to do this.

They also need to get their beloveds on side.

You need to get your, you know, the husbands.

So is, are they like the other wives, the entry and say, come on husband, we need to do this together, or how is it working?

I tend to see the, the wives are the ones that push the husbands.

I've seen it several times where the husbands will say, well, I have coverage through work, unprotected through work.

And when you have it through work, it doesn't, if you leave that job, it doesn't usually go with you.

So that's the life insurance or the health insurance or both.

The life insurance.

Life insurance does not go with you.

It's usually a term policy and only there while you're at that job.

So that's why I really advocate for people getting permanent insurance, usually especially young families.

You're young you're healthy.

The costs are much lower than they are when you get older.

And you, you could have had health issues, who knows?

So the younger insurance you can only, you're buying on time and health.

So the younger you are, the healthier you are, the cheaper it's going to be.

So convincing those husbands that they need it.

And then a lot of times I've noticed moms don't value what they do.

I remember having a quite powerful conversation.

It was a revelation for me when I had my first one and I was talking to a mummy friend who said that her husband and herself had taken out policies and I'd gone, why do you need one?

Early days.

I just, I wasn't thinking, okay, I was wiping.

Yes.

And she said, because the thing is, if I go, my husband's gotta be at home looking after the wee one.

She only had one at that point.

Ended up with four.

We'll have to be at home looking after and then go back part time.

Everything's gotta change.

If we've got a mortgage based on his salary, what does that mean?

I have value as well.

And that was.

So I went and had a conversation with my husband and so things are now settled.

But I mean, how, when you bring that up with the wi.

With, with these ladies you're talking to, that must be interesting.

They, they don't always realize that sometimes you, you might need more on the, on the mom.

Because if they were working and you know, a lot of the, the tasks fall on mom and I know that.

I mean I'm, I'm a working mom and I'm still, I joke around.

I, I was a stay at home mom and did all the cooking, the cleaning, the, all of this, the stuff.

And then I started working full time and I'm still doing the cooking, the cleaning and I'm like, wait a minute, how did that happen?

But you know, it's.

If you had to hire somebody to do all of that or you know, you might have family, but you don't.

Family dynamics could change.

Somebody's health could change.

A grandparent may not be there to help take care of the children.

So it's really one of those things you have to sit down and look at realistically, what does that look like?

And you know, and make sure that the mom gets coverage because it's really, it is really important.

Yeah.

To have that, to do that.

And this was one of the things that again, conversation with this friend of mine and, and as well was a case of covering the mortgage.

So the house is Paid for and then there's like extra for time afterwards, you know, because if the house, if you've got the roof over your head, I mean this is my thoughts.

Please advise, advise accordingly.

Yes, but you know, the house, the house is fine.

You don't have to worry about those mortgage payments.

That's sort of covered.

I mean obviously if you've got like a $5 million house then different.

But my point is for sort of, yeah, kind of normal family home having that, that bit covered.

It's, you know, I think part of the reason people don't want to talk about this is because it is, it's talking about the worst case scenario is what happens.

But it's reality.

And one of the things I try and point out is that when a child loses one parent, you don't want them to lose the second parent to work and stress.

So they're going to need that parent at home.

And like you said, it's making sure you have a roof over your head.

Making sure you know that, you know the day to day living can be covered for at least a year because it could take you a year to just sort of, you know, wrap your mind around your new routine and your new reality.

Yeah.

And then there's the other side of it too is that you might have been saying okay, you know, if you're a stay at home mom, maybe I was only going to stay at home until they were in high school or you know, middle school or you know, and then go back to work part time so we'll have more in.

Were you planning on more income and that'll help pay for college or help do this or help do.

So now you have to think about university and how much you're.

All of it snowballs.

And honestly it's insurance.

Life insurance is pennies on the dollar and at.

No, no other vehicle will do that.

Pennies on the dollar with no risk of markets going down and you losing your money because you invested it somewhere.

You know, if you had it in bitcoin, bitcoin could do whatever it wants to do.

But you know, I don't understand bitcoin.

We can talk about that at the end.

I don't understand it.

That's still a whole other wrapping my.

I'm a Gen Xer, I'm still figuring that out.

But no, it's, it's definitely one of those things that you know, once we kind of start when I sit down with a family and we really start doing planning because I don't like to come in and Say this is what you need.

You know, it's really all about where are you right now?

What is your, what is, what does your situation look like?

Are both of you working one, working one not, you know, what are your finances like, where, where are we at here?

And what do you, what do you want to accomplish out of this?

And then so that's where, you know, it's a holistic overview approach where we put together.

Okay, this is, you know, basically this is what I, my recommendations would, would be.

You know, we would recommend whatever policies or whatever plans and however the amount, whatever would be the best recommendation.

But then I also have to work within a budget.

Yeah, because you know, budgeting is a big part of this.

If you're a stay at home parent, you know, you have one income family, then your budget is different.

And even if both parents are working, there's daycare there, there are a lot of expenses that go into it.

You know, not many families just have all this extra money to throw around into different things.

So one, it does come down to budgeting and we start looking at how do we budget and how do we maybe take money from your left pocket and put it into your right.

So what are you, how could we shift money?

I'm not trying to cost people more money.

How can I shift money to get it to where it needs to be to maximize?

And that's really a lot of what I look at doing, especially with young families.

It's a lot of shifting is burning.

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The links in the show notes for the shifting.

And although there is the intellectual shifting of things on the spreadsheets.

You can go, move that there, move that there.

It all balances out.

The thing is you have personalities, you have temperaments, you have somebody who says, oh, I don't know, the garden is really important or no, the football's really important.

Oh, but you know, maybe clothes on the children is quite important.

No, no, no, no, this is the holiday's important.

I'm being slightly facetious but you know, different people go, the food's more important, but we also need to do this.

That must be also quite a.

It's a balance.

It is.

You know, sometimes you become part therapist yeah.

When you're.

You're trying to, you know, negotiate between two adults that are going.

And sometimes, you know, one spouse, all of this, you know, they have certain things to.

Having a new car is important to them.

And this other spouse, it's not important.

So you have disagreements between the two spouses.

And I think it's funny because the real estate kind, my real estate background comes into play because showing families, you know, the mom had.

The wife had some idea, and then the husband had a different idea.

And I'm like, I can't make two houses.

We can.

We can buy two, but it may not be in the budget.

So it does become a balancing act.

And the biggest thing is you never want to tell somebody that what they're doing is wrong or what their idea, their priorities are wrong, because they're not.

That's what they see as an enjoyment, and that's what they want to do.

They want to go on the vacations, they want to do things.

So we have to compromise.

So how can we.

How can both, you know, both adults win at this and lose?

Because that's the art of compromising, you know, and it's having them really look at it and say, what are your priorities?

So you would never describe to someone's face.

You are feckless.

We cannot.

No.

Number one, diplomacy, yes.

But number two, in some ways, my observation is meeting with you.

Is this one of the first kind of big instances for a lot of couples where they've had this kind of a conversation about.

Or have most people done a little bit and they, you know, beforehand, or have they been very efficient?

Is this.

I see both sides of it.

I see the.

The one instance where I had a client, she had no idea.

Her husband's like, I have insurance.

She goes, you do?

She had no idea where.

Where anything was or what he had.

What he didn't.

He didn't exactly know what he had.

So sometimes it is that very first conversation of there, they'll come to me and they go, we know we need this, but we haven't really looked into it at all.

So they're coming to me completely naive.

And, you know, and so we're starting from the beginning.

And I love that because it's education and that I enjoy that part of it and kind of walking them through the process.

And then I have other people who are very well versed and they know a lot.

They've done their research.

They maybe already have policies, and they're coming to me, and those policies were there before they had children.

Or before they bought their second home.

So now they need more coverage.

And so we're kind of doing a review of everything and stepping back and seeing, making sure everything is where it needs to be done.

Because that's, that's the other side of planning that people forget about is you can set it up once and then they think they're done and then.

Right, so say you set up your policies when you have your first child.

Well, now you have four and you didn't take.

And you bought a bigger house because you now have four children instead of one and you need a bigger home.

So now your mortgage is bigger but your insurance hasn't changed.

So I do annual strategy sessions with all my clients.

Brilliant.

We meet once a year.

Yeah.

And it could be, it's a five, it can be five minutes, it can be three hours depending on where their circumstances are.

I've delivered a policy to a family who had two young boys and as I was delivering their policies, she's pregnant with twins.

So.

Right.

And I was so excited for her.

And this was a woman who was told she would never have children.

I love that.

And she wants to go back to that doctor and be like, look, look at what I did.

And so I said, okay, I'll give you through the birth because you have a lot going, you know, but in the first year we need to meet again and, and do a look and see what's going on and how much we might need to make some additions to this.

Yeah, yeah.

To have things.

Now you have four, four University education.

Yeah, the university education.

I mean, I've got, I've got thoughts on, on sort of where university education is, is going.

We've got a situation here in the uk.

I don't know if it might be similar in America, but we've got a lot of graduates who are really struggling to get jobs.

So they're kind of three, four years at university, they're in debt.

Not to the level in the us.

I know it's like, it's sort of quite astronomical.

It's big.

It's big in America.

Yes.

Coming out age 21, 22.

And they are those graduate jobs that they would have gone into, those white collar entry level jobs just aren't there anymore.

So I don't know, I think my, my thoughts on university.

I've got three university degrees.

I think that university is a wonderful, magnificent thing.

The learning is amazing.

However, I wonder if it's maybe something we say to kids, 20 years, 21 years plus, because by then, you know what you want to do you go.

Actually, I love Anglo Saxon poetry.

That's my calling.

I'm definitely going to do a degree in that.

Fine, you go for it, you go for it.

But you still need to plan for these.

And it's also two, three years extra where they get used to earning a bit of money, being out in the world and making these big decisions.

Tony, sorry, I've gone on a bit of a tangent.

My own.

No, I have an 18 year old daughter right now, so I'm kind of in that, that age group and you know, she's wanting to go to usc and that's a private university, so that means double.

Well, USC is like four times the amount.

Wow.

Between, between that and the state.

And state university.

Okay.

Gosh.

So I, you know, I, I think that's what helps me plan with younger families too because I'm kind of on the other end of it and it's the.

I wish I would have, if I could look back and, and you know, and then, you know.

But I have a nephew who went into the trades.

He's learning to be an electrician and you know, he's not incurring debt, he's making very good money.

And you know, so there, you know, and that's why when I do planning with my, my clients, I am like, you want to look for tools that won't.

For savings for your children, that won't strap them into just college.

Because especially today, in today's world we're seeing more trades because kids are realizing that, you know, AI is going to affect their world and we're all still figuring out how that's, you know, I don't think anybody has the answer on that one yet.

And then, you know, they might start their own business.

So, you know, you might be saving.

And if that money like in the, in the States we have a 529 plan and it's a government tax so that you don't have to pay as much tax.

Yeah, it's a, it grows tax free.

Specifically for investing in university or.

Correct.

Just in college.

Okay.

Yes.

So if you pull the money out, if you access the money and you don't use it for education, you get taxed and penalized.

Right.

So it's a tool and every tool has its purpose.

So it's not a bad thing.

But what I do with life insurance is we do, there are some products out there that allow you to save money within the product and you can take it out and you don't get taxed.

So it's tax free.

So we use.

Like I said, when we look at planning, I don't say, you have to do this one plan.

I look at it and say, let's look at the whole picture and what's your best option and how can we diversify what you're doing?

Because if you're at 1 years old, you may not know.

Nobody knows what their child is going to do.

They could be an athlete and get a scholarship.

They could be the next Einstein and get a scholarship.

Or they could become a mum and go, oh, I gotta do a career pivot.

Right.

Or I still don't quite know what I want to be when I grow up, but that happens as well.

So, you know, I like things that give you flexibility and options because you're not locked into something.

So that's why I look at a lot of the planning.

So that savings that you're setting up for your child can be used to buy a house, can be used to start a business, could be used, you know, to.

They decide they want to go live on a ranch and, you know, homestead the.

You know, and have a farm, they could go do that.

You know, that it's really giving your child that opportunity to choose what they want to do.

And maybe it's like you said, for a few years, not no university, but then, yeah, they go to school later.

I love somebody who's kind of in their late 30s or 40s who goes, you know, I love Tolstoy.

Now is my time.

Now is my time.

I've been a stone mason, but now I'm going to do Tolstoy.

Those kind of stories I love.

Yeah, I think, I think that's a really powerful thing of looking at, looking at education not being just about university, but actually being like education for life.

And that could be setting up a business and learning how to do that.

I'm thinking about, you know, you did your, your Mum Fit franchise, but there are other franchises that younger people could go into and pick up, do that for a few years, get those experiences with the safety net of a bigger company.

Yes.

I mean, even as you say, investing in a home, investing in property and just really thinking we're living in times now.

We have to start thinking out outside the bo.

We're not living in a time anymore where it's school, university, straight onto a career for 30, 40 years.

Right.

That's.

And that doesn't, it doesn't happen.

I mean, I look at even my own mother and, you know, when she talks about when she was in school and deciding On a career path, it was either nurse or teacher.

Yeah, those were her.

She's like, that's what every woman did.

You either became a nurse or you became a teacher.

And she went into nursing because that's what she.

And she jokes around, I should have.

She's like, I should have been a teacher.

For myself.

So I was in the.

I was in the 90s when I had my education.

It was very much career.

So, you know, lawyer, doctor, engineer, all of these things which are all very honorable and respectable.

My bugbear is the fact doesn't really fit with motherhood, doesn't fit with babies and the reality of fertility.

And mum's going, oh, I quite like my baby.

Oh, this is awkward.

So there was still that kind of career ladder.

But yes, starting for parents, I'm not.

I could.

I could be wrong.

I'm homeschooling my kids.

So I'm quite off piste with what I'm doing.

But my strong sense is that in kind of mainstream education, it's still a bit career ladder y in terms of what they encourage children to do.

Is that a fair assessment or am.

I. I would say, yeah.

From my experience with my daughter, it was very much.

You know what, even.

Which actually hurt my heart when she was starting high school because it was, well, what path are you going to be on?

Are you in the business program?

Are you in this?

And I'm thinking she's 14.

At 14, you shouldn't have to decide anything.

You should still be able to, you know.

You know, and my daughter's an artist.

She's, you know, loves to oil paint.

And.

But then she's also very good at math and very good at, like, she is exploring different things.

And.

And there was no.

And it felt like if you didn't choose that path in high school, then you don't get into the right college, then you don't get into the right job, and then you don't.

Then I was like, this is.

That's the end, Angela.

It's the end.

They're not following the path.

I'm like, look at me.

I've changed paths multiple times.

It's okay.

Life still goes on.

And this is so important for parents.

And, you know, I'm thinking the listeners, those who got the tiny babies and can't imagine because you're just wiping, but having those conversations and saying, okay, so this is what's happening at school and this is what they say, but this is the world.

You know, talk to Angela, talk to this person, talk to that person.

Look at how varied their life has been.

Nothing has been straight.

I don't really know.

I have a couple of people who've had that kind of very straight, linear past life is what they expected it to be.

But that's not norm.

No, that's not norm.

Most people that I come across, they especially, you know, young families, the.

The parents, the.

The moms are in different paths.

They were maybe going professional, and then they were staying at home.

And then they've.

Similar to what I've done, where you find other things that interest you, that you can still maybe work or have a second career, but still be able to stay at home, or they're homeschooling or they're.

There are all these different paths that people are taking.

I have very good friends who owned a business.

They sold the business, and now she's helping take care of an elderly woman.

She's like an aide, you know, she's like, I just wanted something that wasn't super stressful.

Yeah.

There.

And I. I feel bad.

You know, I don't.

I shouldn't say I don't feel bad.

It's just.

It's unfortunate for young parents.

Like you said, you're just trying to, like, figure out how to, you know, get them to sleep for more than three hours, you know, and then all of a sudden, you have people going, what preschool are they going to?

And where are the.

And are you doing that?

And.

And you're just going, I have vomit on my shoulder.

I'm trying.

Just like, I haven't brushed my hair in days.

And we're talking about preschools.

What.

What are you doing?

Me.

And then.

Then you meet me, and I'm like, now you need to take all your money and do that?

No, but it is, It.

It's a lot on parents.

So I try and, you know, going back to what you, you know, when I talk to parents and how do I reach out to them and how do I find them?

And I try and give them a lot of grace because I get it.

You're.

You're.

You're juggling a lot at one time.

And so even if, you know, you are, you know, you know that this is something you want to do.

We've had a conversation, and I maybe don't talk to you for a month.

I don't take it personally.

That's just.

I. I get it.

That's life.

And I'll.

I'm a nudge.

And I'll nudge and keep coming back and getting, you know, remind them, hi.

Don't forget about me.

Um, and I think that's okay because most people, they need that.

Sometimes they need that third or fourth time to.

Because life is busy.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And I think, and I think also just judging by this conversation, you've got the sort of temperament that is happy to step back and then nudged.

I'm here, I am.

And then come back rather than being sort of in.

We've got to do this bam, bam, bam, bam, bam.

Which is not what anybody with small children needs because we are bumbling along.

We just need somebody to bumble with us.

Yep.

And sometimes I'm like, just give me 30 minutes, it'll be done.

Yeah, give me 30 minutes.

It doesn't have to be this long, drawn out process.

It's 30 to 45 minutes and we're out of your hair.

And then you don't have to see me for a year.

And then the beauty of it as well is people coming to you or people getting into financial advice and financial planning.

It's kind of a mental.

It's an emotional buffer.

You are creating flexibility.

You're creating flexibility and flexibility for the future.

Because if you do want to change careers or if you want to, you have been high powered.

And then as you say, it's like, do you know what?

I just, I want to step back and not use this and just use this for a bit.

It really gives you options.

It gives you freedom.

Freedom.

Yes.

And I, you know, a lot of the plans that we work with, you know, if something happens and you do get sick yourself, you can access that money.

So that gives you that freedom then to know, like, if I have cancer, I can access some of this planning that I did.

Yeah.

And it helps cover bills.

So there, there, it's, it, we joke around.

It's not your grandmother's life insurance because it does so many things now.

They've made it more flexible.

So that's why it's.

It's a really good tool, I think, for, you know, young parents to establish when they're young, you know, to have that to, to be able to establish it when you're younger and then you can grow from there.

And it just gives you the more flexibility as your, you know, income increases, as, you know, the kids go off to college and you want to do other things and you want to explore other options, then, you know, we can set up policies that give you that flexibility.

And it's just, it takes a little bit of thought and planning at the beginning.

And it's one of those things when I talk with my families about budgeting.

A lot of people, when they sit down and they do a budget, and I meet with them and I say, okay, take me through your budget.

And they say, well, I have to pay this much for the mortgage.

I have to pay this much for the electricity and all the utilities and this much for the food and the cars and the insurance.

And I said, when did you pay yourself?

Not yourself now.

Your future self, because that's where you need to start.

You pay yourself first, then you pay their bills because everybody goes, I'll save at the end.

And at the end, there's never enough.

Yeah, life happens.

Amazon.

Amazon happens.

Sorry.

You made me think.

It's like your prayer life.

You got to get up, you got to get God in first thing.

Otherwise, that's it, it's game over.

And at the end of the day, sorry, God.

You get the drapes.

Yeah.

Need to put the big things in first.

Yeah.

And it's funny because I do my gratitudes first thing in the morning when I walk the dog.

I'm like, okay, thank you for.

And give me, please, God, give me the guidance to get through today.

Oh, my gosh.

Just every day.

Isn't that.

Isn't that what Jesus said?

Is it the Beatitudes, Sermon on the Mount?

I never.

This is classic Catholic.

I can't get my bits of the Bible right.

But anyway, point is.

Oh, yes, don't worry about tomorrow.

Today has enough anxieties.

Having said that, go to a financial planner.

So you really have no worries for tomorrow.

Right.

God has given me.

Because when you call me tomorrow, it's too late.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And actually, to be honest, a big part of this.

I'm going to come back to legacy for family, but also charitable giving, philanthropy, and having that effect on community because it really is, again, Catholic.

It's like it's God, church, family, community.

And if you have been given gifts, be they material, intellectual, all of these things, it is your responsibility to use them for the family, church, but also the community.

So a big part of the financial planning as well has those kind of trickle effects beyond as well.

You.

You actually touched on.

One of my goals for this year is to work on charitable donation and planning because I'm on the executive board of a couple.

One charity in specific foundation, and, you know, I do another.

Some other nonprofit work.

And it was one of those things that at the end of last year, as I was putting together my goals, you know, everybody does their goals for the next year.

And I said, you know, I want to figure out a way to address this so that I can help my clients or, you know, to be able to leave something to charities and nonprofits, churches, whatever it might be, that are near and dear to their heart and to be able to give them that opportunity, you know, for pennies on the dollar, to make that difference and that legacy like you talked about, to be able to provide that legacy going forward.

And, you know, it's, it's one of those ways that it doesn't then affect the children and what you want to leave to the children because this is a separate issue.

Or you could take part of some of your planning and do that so that, that's actually one of my, my projects that I'm going to be touching on in the next few months.

So I think.

Another sign, Angela, another sign.

This is your path.

Another sign.

So what you are doing is this.

You are essentially cultivating the Renaissance patrons of the future.

No pressure.

Yep.

But I want, we need more Renaissance patrons.

That's what's missing.

This is a problem with the world.

Well, like I said, my daughter is an oil painter, so maybe that's where she's Italian.

And, you know, well, it can work.

It can work, right, Angela, you've given certainly me and the ladies, mainly ladies who will be listening, much food for thought for them to take this seriously, but not too seriously, that it hurts and you run away because that's, there's, there's, that's not the right sort of serious.

I'm going to have a think because here in the uk, obviously we have slightly different, different setup.

So I'm going to see what local resources we have that are similar to what you can offer.

So I'll put those in the show notes as well.

But for anybody who wants to get in touch with you, because obviously there are going to be tips and tricks that are applicable regardless of which country you're in.

Where can people find you?

And maybe come on, if you, if you're having your webinars and things that they could come along and partake.

The best way to find me is my website, angelayacobellis.com it's my first and last name, dot com, so that from there I have all my events listing of all the webinars, I have my social media accounts.

You know, feel free to contact me, ask me any questions.

You know, I, I don't charge for just a consultation or any.

There are no fees to come talk to me.

You know, it's definitely one of those things.

I enjoy helping people and, you know, answering Quick questions here and there.

I'm happy to do that.

Insurance is worldwide.

I've actually met one the.

Probably one of the top producers in the entire world and he's in the Middle East.

He's out of Saudi Arabia.

Wow.

And his name is Sanjay Tolani and he is the, I would say the top agent in the world in life insurance and very nice gentleman.

And they have completely different needs for insurance and so it doesn't matter where you are, there's always life insurance.

But it's definitely reach out to me.

My.

Like I said, my website is the best way.

Brilliant.

Brilliant.

No, that's been so helpful and yeah, much food for thought.

Much food for thought there, Angela.

It really has been a delight.

Thank you so much for taking the time.

Thank you.

Thank you, Zoe.

I really appreciate it.

Thank you.

And I would like for all the listeners, please, like, share it with a mum.

So subscribe, keep supporting so we can keep the show on the road, but brilliant.

Thank you.

God bless you, Angela.

Thank you.

Thank you, everyone who's been listening.

Bye, bye, bye.

Thank you.

Love the podcast and want to help keep the kettle on.

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