WEBVTT NOTE This file was generated by Descript 00:00:06.043 --> 00:00:07.603 Jon: Welcome to the fiscal firehouse. 00:00:07.983 --> 00:00:11.353 In today's episode, John and Louie will talk about their motivations 00:00:11.443 --> 00:00:15.953 behind creating the fiscal firehouse podcast, a podcast created exclusively 00:00:16.273 --> 00:00:17.973 for the members of local 1309. 00:00:18.583 --> 00:00:21.793 John and Louie will open up about their love and passion for personal 00:00:21.793 --> 00:00:25.688 finance and And also give a framework for what to expect from this podcast. 00:00:26.228 --> 00:00:30.238 This podcast was born out of love for our brothers and sisters, and we hope that 00:00:30.238 --> 00:00:35.368 this podcast can provide valuable insight into securing a positive financial future. 00:00:36.008 --> 00:00:39.018 Please listen at the end of the podcast for important disclosure information. 00:00:39.678 --> 00:00:44.298 Without further ado, let's start the first recording of the fiscal firehouse. 00:00:45.498 --> 00:00:49.238 Hello, hello, hello, and welcome to the Fiscal Firehouse. 00:00:49.328 --> 00:00:53.618 I'm John Beattie, one of your co hosts, and with me I have Louie Barela, I'm 00:00:53.618 --> 00:00:55.608 your co host, and I'm excited to be here. 00:00:55.858 --> 00:01:00.608 And that is Louie, the index funds Barela, and for those of you that 00:01:00.618 --> 00:01:03.908 don't know what an index fund is, you're at the right place. 00:01:03.918 --> 00:01:04.268 Stay tuned. 00:01:04.428 --> 00:01:05.708 Stay tuned, that's right. 00:01:05.968 --> 00:01:08.458 So this is what we're gonna call episode zero. 00:01:08.928 --> 00:01:11.898 We're gonna make this the soft launch of the Fiscal Firehouse. 00:01:12.268 --> 00:01:17.088 This is a podcast that is going to be curated specifically for members 00:01:17.108 --> 00:01:22.168 of local 1309, the over 400 of you guys that are currently with us. 00:01:22.398 --> 00:01:23.598 We're excited to be here. 00:01:23.668 --> 00:01:27.328 There's, a lot of time and effort that's gone into this process. 00:01:27.648 --> 00:01:32.238 I want to talk about just the the genesis of why we're, why we're doing a podcast. 00:01:32.248 --> 00:01:33.888 Like, what is the, what is the needs? 00:01:34.098 --> 00:01:35.208 Why are Louie and I doing this? 00:01:35.268 --> 00:01:37.038 Even going down this adventure. 00:01:37.348 --> 00:01:41.308 So first and foremost, , I want to highlight, why are we making this 00:01:41.348 --> 00:01:42.978 specifically just for our members? 00:01:43.018 --> 00:01:45.468 You know, why is this just for local 1309 members? 00:01:45.828 --> 00:01:49.968 So first and foremost, , we want to educate and highlight that, 00:01:50.158 --> 00:01:51.848 this is a union sponsored podcast. 00:01:51.868 --> 00:01:55.058 This is not with the affiliation with West Metro and the organization. 00:01:55.328 --> 00:01:57.728 And what I mean by that is union dues. 00:01:57.738 --> 00:02:01.018 So the dues that we pay to the union, they go for all sorts 00:02:01.018 --> 00:02:01.918 of different things, right? 00:02:02.168 --> 00:02:05.108 And one of, the ways that we're facilitating this podcast is by 00:02:05.108 --> 00:02:06.348 using some of those union dues. 00:02:06.348 --> 00:02:10.278 So some of the equipment that Louie and I are using, also the, The 00:02:10.288 --> 00:02:13.128 podcast hosts that we're using, they cost subscription fees. 00:02:13.418 --> 00:02:17.068 So we are using some of that money from the union to help support that. 00:02:17.068 --> 00:02:20.208 So first and foremost, we want this information to be tailored, 00:02:20.478 --> 00:02:21.778 specifically to you guys. 00:02:21.778 --> 00:02:24.738 We think that's part of a fiduciary standard best bang for your buck. 00:02:25.038 --> 00:02:30.088 We talked about what this podcast is going to be and how we see it unfolding and we. 00:02:30.318 --> 00:02:33.778 Don't know exactly what that's going to mean We know that we want to have 00:02:33.778 --> 00:02:39.058 an emphasis on financial education and literacy But we also do know that we want 00:02:39.058 --> 00:02:42.538 to have another communication channel for the union to communicate with our 00:02:42.538 --> 00:02:46.708 members All right So this potentially can be a nice little platform to do that 00:02:47.038 --> 00:02:51.058 because currently right now we have the union meetings we have the union app 00:02:51.058 --> 00:02:55.308 as well, NEP West Metro Firefighters, professional firefighters, right? 00:02:55.308 --> 00:02:58.258 There's that communication channel and a big shout out to Ed Gaffrey, 00:02:58.308 --> 00:03:01.678 For helping support that and read Norwood and everyone else that helps 00:03:01.748 --> 00:03:03.358 support all the information on that. 00:03:03.628 --> 00:03:07.048 But really we understand, I mean, Louie and I go to most of the meetings 00:03:07.298 --> 00:03:10.918 and we just understand that, you know, for a lot of our members is 00:03:10.918 --> 00:03:12.318 a challenge to get there, right? 00:03:12.318 --> 00:03:16.438 It's not a priority or it may be by be a priority, but you have a lot of other 00:03:16.438 --> 00:03:19.758 priorities in your life and it's just not something that you You can make. 00:03:19.778 --> 00:03:22.908 So we just want there to be an avenue in which our members can have 00:03:23.118 --> 00:03:26.408 another way to get some important union information out there. 00:03:26.628 --> 00:03:29.348 Whether it's dates or times or things that are coming up, whether it's 00:03:29.348 --> 00:03:33.038 political or just organizationally, like we wanted to have the ability 00:03:33.068 --> 00:03:34.728 to help have that conversation. 00:03:34.848 --> 00:03:35.018 Yeah. 00:03:35.108 --> 00:03:39.038 And we as an executive board, if we just feel like this would be a good outlet to 00:03:39.038 --> 00:03:43.578 get that information across, obviously we're going to have a fiscal bend to 00:03:43.578 --> 00:03:47.518 that or a financial bend to most of our advice, but that doesn't mean that 00:03:47.528 --> 00:03:51.168 we don't have room on this podcast to have other information that we think is 00:03:51.168 --> 00:03:55.078 valuable for union members to know about. 00:03:55.078 --> 00:03:59.428 So that might eventually be guests that we welcome into the podcast or 00:03:59.708 --> 00:04:03.408 even people from the department that might want to speak to the union 00:04:03.408 --> 00:04:07.898 members as a way to educate them on specific topics or specific issues. 00:04:08.518 --> 00:04:10.108 No, well said Louie, well said. 00:04:10.108 --> 00:04:14.648 And maybe this is a good opportunity once again for those of you that don't know 00:04:14.648 --> 00:04:16.378 the structure of the executive board. 00:04:16.738 --> 00:04:18.488 Mike Mulcahy, he's our president. 00:04:18.988 --> 00:04:21.108 Reed Norwood's our secretary treasurer. 00:04:21.108 --> 00:04:23.403 I'm the One of the, vice presidents. 00:04:23.403 --> 00:04:25.773 All right, so we have three vice presidents, one for each shift. 00:04:25.803 --> 00:04:27.253 I am the B shift rep. 00:04:27.733 --> 00:04:31.253 Louie is the, vice president and he represents A shift. 00:04:31.563 --> 00:04:35.663 And then we also have Chintae Kim, who is a vice president and represents C shift. 00:04:35.673 --> 00:04:40.193 So for any of you guys across the shifts, if you have issues, we typically recommend 00:04:40.193 --> 00:04:41.983 going through your shift rep first. 00:04:41.983 --> 00:04:43.603 So if you're on A shift, go to Louie. 00:04:43.828 --> 00:04:45.278 If you're on B shift, you come to me. 00:04:45.548 --> 00:04:47.528 And if you're on C shift, you go to Chintae. 00:04:47.708 --> 00:04:50.908 And obviously Mike and Reed help facilitate a lot of that as well. 00:04:50.938 --> 00:04:55.478 On top of the, that portion of the executive board, we also have political 00:04:55.478 --> 00:04:58.888 affairs, which is super important, especially in this day and age. 00:04:58.898 --> 00:04:59.778 And that's Kent Grosse. 00:05:00.368 --> 00:05:03.888 And we have, PR, which would be, Ed Gaffrey. 00:05:03.898 --> 00:05:06.908 He helps us out with communication and, PR related. 00:05:07.448 --> 00:05:08.878 Items, that's correct. 00:05:08.928 --> 00:05:13.758 We take, financial accountability and transparency really seriously here at 00:05:13.758 --> 00:05:15.948 West Metro, specifically with the union. 00:05:16.218 --> 00:05:20.625 We have trustees that will, audit the books, louie was a 00:05:20.625 --> 00:05:22.120 trustee before becoming a VP. 00:05:22.120 --> 00:05:26.470 So if anyone ever has questions, about trustees or what they do, feel 00:05:26.470 --> 00:05:29.490 free to reach out to the executive board or . Directly to the trustees. 00:05:29.730 --> 00:05:33.200 And I will speak on behalf, you know, not being the secretary treasurer, 00:05:33.200 --> 00:05:36.790 but talking a lot with Reed, and Kevin, Reichenbach before him, 00:05:36.890 --> 00:05:38.190 man, those guys do a great job. 00:05:38.200 --> 00:05:38.670 They're dialed in. 00:05:38.680 --> 00:05:39.260 They're dialed in. 00:05:39.260 --> 00:05:39.420 Yeah. 00:05:39.460 --> 00:05:43.160 As a, as someone who's had to do a lot of financial reporting for, State 00:05:43.160 --> 00:05:46.510 Department that I worked in in the past, I can tell you that, they do a great job. 00:05:46.580 --> 00:05:50.530 The books are solid, and I know that the International Association of 00:05:50.540 --> 00:05:53.540 Firefighters really appreciates the level of detail that we spend on our books. 00:05:54.260 --> 00:05:58.010 Shout out to Reed and all the work that he does to keep the books 00:05:58.210 --> 00:06:00.840 looking good for us, making sure that we're spending our money wisely. 00:06:00.950 --> 00:06:01.360 Yeah. 00:06:01.370 --> 00:06:05.100 A hundred percent, that kind of does dovetail a little bit into 00:06:05.170 --> 00:06:08.540 kind of the history of, I want to call it financial education 00:06:08.540 --> 00:06:10.500 and literacy here at West Metro. 00:06:10.780 --> 00:06:11.570 I think we're unique. 00:06:11.580 --> 00:06:12.210 I'll be honest. 00:06:12.210 --> 00:06:18.000 I don't know of really any other union that has any form of financial education 00:06:18.060 --> 00:06:20.285 literacy Podcast first and foremost. 00:06:20.285 --> 00:06:24.425 So we might be the first ones to take that endeavor, but really having a 00:06:24.425 --> 00:06:28.775 history of, trying to educate our members to the best of our abilities. 00:06:29.085 --> 00:06:30.245 I remember getting on. 00:06:30.245 --> 00:06:33.755 And, having some older folks that had been here for a while, you know, 00:06:33.755 --> 00:06:36.925 not even really know who I was, but day one, day two type stuff. 00:06:37.245 --> 00:06:40.215 They're like, Hey, have you opened up your four 57? 00:06:40.255 --> 00:06:40.655 All right. 00:06:40.885 --> 00:06:41.275 Yeah. 00:06:41.315 --> 00:06:44.545 And if you have you got to throw as much money as you can at that. 00:06:44.945 --> 00:06:47.430 They didn't tell me why they just said, trust me. 00:06:47.430 --> 00:06:50.510 You know, 25, 30, 35 years down the road, you're going to be really 00:06:50.510 --> 00:06:51.880 happy that you contributed to that. 00:06:51.880 --> 00:06:52.390 And that was it. 00:06:52.390 --> 00:06:53.850 And there wasn't any more context. 00:06:54.060 --> 00:06:55.860 There wasn't really any more education. 00:06:55.860 --> 00:06:58.360 It was just like, Hey, you have to trust me on this one. 00:06:58.380 --> 00:07:00.160 I'm trying to look out for your best interests. 00:07:00.160 --> 00:07:02.120 I want you to be successful moving forward. 00:07:02.500 --> 00:07:06.210 And I just know that this is going to put you in a better place, financially. 00:07:06.210 --> 00:07:08.220 And then just, you know, when you're thinking about retirement, it's 00:07:08.220 --> 00:07:10.040 going to be one less thing that you have to worry about because 00:07:10.040 --> 00:07:10.940 you've already been doing that. 00:07:10.940 --> 00:07:11.310 So, right. 00:07:11.350 --> 00:07:14.510 And I've known, I've noticed just with the culture here, you know, we 00:07:14.510 --> 00:07:16.342 all know what I think that's a really important step in advancing what we do. 00:07:16.342 --> 00:07:17.485 Here's what we make, what everyone else makes at the table. 00:07:17.485 --> 00:07:20.775 And, there's a lot of openness when it comes to financial conversations. 00:07:20.775 --> 00:07:24.285 And people are willing to share their mistakes, their financial 00:07:24.385 --> 00:07:25.995 pitfalls that they had in the past. 00:07:26.365 --> 00:07:30.315 And I think that's a cool kind of culture to have where they want the 00:07:30.365 --> 00:07:35.125 younger generation to maybe not fall into those financial traps that they've had. 00:07:35.125 --> 00:07:39.015 So they give them advice, very informal advice, like put money in a 00:07:39.015 --> 00:07:41.465 Roth IRA or put money into your 457. 00:07:41.995 --> 00:07:43.385 And so, yeah, that's how. 00:07:43.820 --> 00:07:47.470 Financial literacy may be started at West Metro a hundred percent and I 00:07:47.480 --> 00:07:51.510 think that just speaks to the culture here at the organization and just that 00:07:51.510 --> 00:07:55.890 comfort level because you know if you read anything like Finance and money 00:07:55.890 --> 00:07:59.850 is still like the last true taboo topic in american society They'll talk about 00:07:59.850 --> 00:08:03.900 everything else, but people are still very secretive about money and having that 00:08:03.900 --> 00:08:08.110 conversation about money and it's just for some people it's very uncomfortable. 00:08:08.120 --> 00:08:10.390 Yeah, I feel like there's a lot of shame right associated with it 00:08:10.390 --> 00:08:14.460 There's a lot of shame or like or, I don't know, disappointment, about 00:08:14.460 --> 00:08:18.750 not knowing all about finances or not knowing the best way to, to save 00:08:18.750 --> 00:08:20.170 your money or to invest your money. 00:08:20.520 --> 00:08:23.420 And that's sad, like we don't want that to be the thing that prevents people 00:08:23.430 --> 00:08:26.050 from achieving their financial goals. 00:08:26.410 --> 00:08:28.340 You hit it right up the nail on the head on that one. 00:08:28.720 --> 00:08:33.290 Not only has it happened at the informal level and then about 10, 12 years ago I 00:08:33.290 --> 00:08:38.120 want to say it started to happen a little bit more formally and that Happens during 00:08:38.120 --> 00:08:42.130 the recruit academies and I know Louie you can speak on this this happened before I 00:08:42.130 --> 00:08:47.450 got hired I didn't have this opportunity But Don Doherty was the first person that 00:08:47.450 --> 00:08:52.650 took a step further and said I want to provide more structured Education when 00:08:52.650 --> 00:08:56.020 it comes to being a new person and new recruit just getting ready to graduate the 00:08:56.020 --> 00:08:59.950 academy You had hr day like four months ago But you were so scared and there was 00:08:59.950 --> 00:09:03.410 just so many things going through your mind and filling out a bunch of paperwork 00:09:03.410 --> 00:09:07.680 So I think he really wanted to have an avenue in which Our members and the 00:09:07.690 --> 00:09:11.820 recruits could have more of that open dialogue about like, okay, I remember 00:09:11.820 --> 00:09:13.820 this four 57 then, but what is that? 00:09:13.820 --> 00:09:14.810 What is a four 57? 00:09:15.040 --> 00:09:17.460 I don't even know what that is and why should I do that 00:09:17.460 --> 00:09:18.650 or why shouldn't I do that? 00:09:18.910 --> 00:09:23.000 And Don just created a conversation for a couple hours in which he had that 00:09:23.000 --> 00:09:27.110 open dialogue in which people could, have those conversations and feel a 00:09:27.110 --> 00:09:31.500 little bit less intimidated and feel a little bit more open to be like wanting 00:09:31.500 --> 00:09:34.830 to know more and having more education before they made those decisions. 00:09:34.830 --> 00:09:40.180 So then after that, Louie came around, and really, I mean, Louie, For everyone 00:09:40.180 --> 00:09:43.190 that knows Louie has been really a godsend for this organization for 00:09:43.190 --> 00:09:47.630 a lot of different things But Louie then took it upon himself after 00:09:47.630 --> 00:09:51.610 Don's presentation just recognizing like Don had a lot of great information 00:09:51.610 --> 00:09:52.850 I got a lot of respect for Don. 00:09:52.870 --> 00:09:55.010 Don's both a public accountant. 00:09:55.010 --> 00:09:58.180 He's also a financial planner He's got a lot of education a lot of 00:09:58.200 --> 00:10:02.470 experience but sometimes Don's delivery could be a little too high 00:10:02.470 --> 00:10:04.510 level, a little too much in the weeds. 00:10:04.780 --> 00:10:08.430 And I think you did a great job, Louie, of transitioning from where Don went 00:10:08.690 --> 00:10:13.270 and then you went more to okay, this is just basic financial education, literacy, 00:10:13.280 --> 00:10:16.780 financial independence, I think is my, you might even titled the presentation 00:10:17.040 --> 00:10:18.800 like, Hey, as a new firefighter. 00:10:19.115 --> 00:10:22.445 These are just some really important like concepts in, topics to think 00:10:22.455 --> 00:10:24.725 about and just planting that seed. 00:10:24.775 --> 00:10:27.935 You kept it more high level and just Hey, this is what compounding interest is, 00:10:27.965 --> 00:10:29.765 and this is why it matters to you now. 00:10:30.175 --> 00:10:33.735 And really just had a nice organic conversational way of 00:10:33.735 --> 00:10:34.985 having that communication. 00:10:34.985 --> 00:10:38.145 I think honestly, and Don was a firefighter at the time too, but I think 00:10:38.145 --> 00:10:42.035 having another fellow firefighter come in and address them and no disrespect to 00:10:42.035 --> 00:10:45.035 the chiefs or any other ranking officers around here, but sometimes it's nice 00:10:45.195 --> 00:10:49.205 to just have someone that's at your same level, having that conversation, 00:10:49.205 --> 00:10:52.155 you don't feel like this, there's this authoritative aspect to it where 00:10:52.155 --> 00:10:55.775 you're just absorbing the information and you present it in a way that was 00:10:55.775 --> 00:10:59.425 really well received and I'm sure people have talked to you after the fact. 00:10:59.445 --> 00:11:00.215 I appreciate that. 00:11:00.215 --> 00:11:02.455 Yeah, it's been a, gotten a lot of good feedback on. 00:11:02.605 --> 00:11:07.175 That financial recruit presentation and I think that's been the foundation of 00:11:07.175 --> 00:11:12.655 financial education at West Metro as it relates to goals for people's financial 00:11:12.655 --> 00:11:14.705 future and financial independence. 00:11:14.745 --> 00:11:18.415 So I called that presentation, Financial Independence for Firefighters, 00:11:18.935 --> 00:11:20.455 got a lot of good feedback on it. 00:11:20.495 --> 00:11:23.435 In fact, there's been a lot of recruits who've gone online that 00:11:23.435 --> 00:11:27.635 have talked to their crew members at the different fire stations that 00:11:27.665 --> 00:11:31.085 they've been at, who've wanted to see that presentation and have wanted me 00:11:31.085 --> 00:11:32.555 to give that presentation to them. 00:11:32.685 --> 00:11:34.165 So I think there's. 00:11:34.505 --> 00:11:38.955 From that desire, we've, John and I, are able to get an idea that there is 00:11:38.975 --> 00:11:43.995 a hunger for financial knowledge and financial education in our department. 00:11:43.995 --> 00:11:47.495 So, that is where the union has gotten involved and said, okay, what can we 00:11:47.495 --> 00:11:53.995 do to help educate and give our members some better information as it relates 00:11:53.995 --> 00:11:58.315 to their finances and their benefits that they get by working at West Metro. 00:11:58.760 --> 00:12:01.450 You said it already, but I think there's a driving desire. 00:12:01.450 --> 00:12:05.580 So not only to have the education when you first get hired, but then 00:12:05.590 --> 00:12:08.620 have continuous education, just like we do in everything else, all of 00:12:08.620 --> 00:12:09.930 our other disciplines here, right? 00:12:10.110 --> 00:12:13.700 Whether it's firefighting or EMS, like we're constantly having to evolve and 00:12:13.700 --> 00:12:15.770 learn more because things change, right? 00:12:16.140 --> 00:12:18.820 Laws change, all sorts of different things come into play. 00:12:18.990 --> 00:12:23.380 So having that up to date information and having what they call in the industry 00:12:23.380 --> 00:12:27.350 point of time information, so most people don't care about mortgages until 00:12:27.350 --> 00:12:28.630 you're getting ready to buy a house. 00:12:28.660 --> 00:12:33.000 And then you want to learn about mortgages and you care a lot about it, right? 00:12:33.280 --> 00:12:37.220 So I think if we can have a delivery in which we can address some of 00:12:37.220 --> 00:12:39.980 our members needs based on where they're at, meet them where they're 00:12:39.980 --> 00:12:43.670 at, and then just help carry on that conversation we'll all be better for it. 00:12:43.670 --> 00:12:46.690 And hopefully it better serves them and getting the information. 00:12:46.820 --> 00:12:49.430 When they want it or need it, or when they're going to be receptive to it. 00:12:49.770 --> 00:12:51.420 And not thinking about a bunch of different things. 00:12:51.490 --> 00:12:54.870 So with that in mind, John, the hunger that we've noticed for 00:12:54.880 --> 00:12:59.570 financial knowledge, can you share with us your financial background 00:12:59.590 --> 00:13:02.985 as well as your, desires or passions for financial knowledge? 00:13:03.435 --> 00:13:04.455 Financial literacy. 00:13:04.515 --> 00:13:07.695 I'll get a little personal on this specific topic. 00:13:07.695 --> 00:13:13.405 So it actually stems back from Getting hired here at West Metro where I first 00:13:13.405 --> 00:13:19.030 had my foray, if you will, into financial education or financial decision making. 00:13:19.360 --> 00:13:20.950 I think it was 25 at the time. 00:13:21.030 --> 00:13:24.990 I had just gotten hired and we had our day one, our, HR day. 00:13:25.020 --> 00:13:25.470 Oh yeah. 00:13:25.471 --> 00:13:27.770 Good old HR day. 00:13:27.770 --> 00:13:29.740 And this one was a little bit more. 00:13:29.930 --> 00:13:35.330 Unique in that this was 07, so I was part of the 0702 shout 00:13:35.330 --> 00:13:36.970 out to you guys in the academy. 00:13:37.290 --> 00:13:41.900 But for those folks that have also been here around a while, you also 00:13:41.900 --> 00:13:46.970 know 07 is when we did the FPPA re entry into defined benefit. 00:13:46.970 --> 00:13:48.780 We had HR day on a Friday. 00:13:49.180 --> 00:13:54.520 And I vividly remember HR talking to us, the recruits okay, I 00:13:54.520 --> 00:13:55.850 need you to sign this paperwork. 00:13:56.080 --> 00:13:59.960 You guys are going to have the option to elect to either be defined benefit, 00:14:00.270 --> 00:14:02.690 which is our pension, or you're going to have the option to basically 00:14:02.690 --> 00:14:07.000 have a 401, a type plan, a defined contribution plan, a money purchase plan. 00:14:07.290 --> 00:14:08.390 And on Monday. 00:14:08.710 --> 00:14:10.160 I need you to have this paperwork filled out. 00:14:10.180 --> 00:14:11.770 And by the way, it's irrevocable. 00:14:11.810 --> 00:14:12.630 You cannot change it. 00:14:12.640 --> 00:14:13.760 This is a one time election. 00:14:14.450 --> 00:14:18.770 And I just remember being like, Wow, this is a tremendous amount of 00:14:18.770 --> 00:14:23.500 responsibility for me to think about my finances moving forward in retirement. 00:14:23.520 --> 00:14:24.400 And I have no idea. 00:14:24.400 --> 00:14:25.560 And it's Friday afternoon. 00:14:26.030 --> 00:14:27.040 I don't know who to call. 00:14:27.070 --> 00:14:28.560 I don't know where to get this information. 00:14:28.560 --> 00:14:30.290 I don't know what's going to be in my best interest. 00:14:30.350 --> 00:14:32.500 Everyone in your academy probably felt the same way, right? 00:14:32.510 --> 00:14:33.420 Like, what do I choose? 00:14:33.450 --> 00:14:34.420 What's the best option? 00:14:34.420 --> 00:14:36.880 What's the most optimal decision for my future? 00:14:37.190 --> 00:14:40.700 For my family, for my future, there was a tremendous burden. 00:14:40.700 --> 00:14:42.320 And at the time I didn't have a family, right? 00:14:42.320 --> 00:14:43.940 It was just me, solely me. 00:14:43.970 --> 00:14:44.030 Yeah. 00:14:44.030 --> 00:14:45.740 I was single at the time, didn't have a family. 00:14:45.740 --> 00:14:48.440 I didn't have any of these other complexities that a lot of our folks have. 00:14:48.445 --> 00:14:51.170 That's a tough decision to have those, to have that decision. 00:14:51.170 --> 00:14:53.270 So I just remember from that moment on. 00:14:53.740 --> 00:14:54.810 It just resonated with me. 00:14:54.810 --> 00:14:56.900 I'm like, wow, this is, this is important. 00:14:56.970 --> 00:14:58.810 I don't know why yet, but this is important. 00:14:59.150 --> 00:15:02.540 And then realizing being in the fire service, I don't know what it is 00:15:02.540 --> 00:15:04.270 specifically about the fire service. 00:15:04.280 --> 00:15:06.580 It might be some of our personalities. 00:15:06.640 --> 00:15:09.820 It might be because of the structure of our shift schedule. 00:15:10.275 --> 00:15:14.595 But we seem to be more active and I don't want to say worldly, but we 00:15:14.595 --> 00:15:16.255 have a lot of hobbies and passions. 00:15:16.625 --> 00:15:19.775 And for some reason, those hobbies and passions turn into what are you going 00:15:19.775 --> 00:15:21.775 to do in the second half of your life? 00:15:21.955 --> 00:15:24.595 And that part of that is just the structure of the fire service. 00:15:24.625 --> 00:15:29.015 And, most of us are not Ron side bottom, shout out to you, Ronnie, but 00:15:29.015 --> 00:15:32.495 we are, and we can't work here, as long as the private sector will work. 00:15:32.495 --> 00:15:34.775 So our work life is cut short. 00:15:35.085 --> 00:15:35.970 So I think that just doesn't happen. 00:15:36.200 --> 00:15:39.810 I think we talk about retirement a lot more than almost anywhere 00:15:39.810 --> 00:15:41.040 else in any other industry. 00:15:41.430 --> 00:15:42.900 And I can speak on that. 00:15:42.950 --> 00:15:46.170 On the behalf of my wife who also works in financial services. 00:15:46.460 --> 00:15:48.700 And she talks about retirement for a living. 00:15:48.710 --> 00:15:51.900 And she is amazed by the amount of conversations that have 00:15:52.140 --> 00:15:54.870 happened around the kitchen table with firefighters specifically. 00:15:54.870 --> 00:15:55.720 And it's great. 00:15:55.720 --> 00:15:56.310 It's great. 00:15:56.380 --> 00:15:56.920 I love that. 00:15:56.990 --> 00:15:59.750 And having that common, dialogue and communication. 00:15:59.760 --> 00:16:03.640 But I just, I think it's innate in our nature to want to talk 00:16:03.650 --> 00:16:06.110 about retirement and what the second half is going to bring. 00:16:06.110 --> 00:16:08.210 And we just all want to go do cool stuff. 00:16:08.470 --> 00:16:11.420 Like most of us don't have a plan on what are we going to do after 00:16:11.420 --> 00:16:12.520 our career here at West Metro? 00:16:12.520 --> 00:16:15.160 We're always looking forward to that next chapter. 00:16:15.160 --> 00:16:16.660 So that really got me. 00:16:17.655 --> 00:16:20.085 honestly, in just finances in general. 00:16:20.265 --> 00:16:25.005 And then obviously I ended up marrying my wife, Katie shortly thereafter, 00:16:25.035 --> 00:16:28.625 and just hearing about her dialogue and what she was experiencing. 00:16:28.625 --> 00:16:31.385 And then another kind of seminal event happens. 00:16:31.625 --> 00:16:34.505 I want to say it was like 2012, 2013. 00:16:35.095 --> 00:16:35.875 That's when. 00:16:36.110 --> 00:16:40.120 We basically, as a membership, had to start contributing 00:16:40.120 --> 00:16:41.580 more to our pension plan. 00:16:41.860 --> 00:16:45.140 FPPA had voted, our members, basically everyone that was 00:16:45.140 --> 00:16:49.540 affiliated with FPPA voted, and they voted to increase the membership. 00:16:49.740 --> 00:16:50.620 Contributions 00:16:50.720 --> 00:16:55.080 So, once again, that kind of raised this like, well, man, I'm already paying 10 00:16:55.080 --> 00:16:56.920 percent and now they want four more. 00:16:56.920 --> 00:16:57.810 Like, why is this? 00:16:57.810 --> 00:16:59.340 And there was just a lot of uncertainty. 00:16:59.730 --> 00:17:01.830 I've always been one of those people that's been a little bit 00:17:01.830 --> 00:17:04.320 curious and just wanting a little bit more information, a little bit 00:17:04.320 --> 00:17:06.180 more detail, the why behind things. 00:17:06.530 --> 00:17:09.690 So that also stood an interest in what is this whole pension thing? 00:17:09.700 --> 00:17:10.640 How does it work? 00:17:10.990 --> 00:17:11.820 All these other things. 00:17:11.820 --> 00:17:15.790 I just had another desire to be like, okay, this is interesting and then 00:17:15.850 --> 00:17:20.620 basically when Don Doherty left and this was before you had taken over I 00:17:20.620 --> 00:17:23.990 went to chief Lombardi with a proposal and said, Hey chief, I'm really 00:17:23.990 --> 00:17:25.680 interested in this finance stuff. 00:17:25.950 --> 00:17:26.990 I think it's super important. 00:17:26.990 --> 00:17:29.180 And this is something that I'm proud of the organization that we've been 00:17:29.180 --> 00:17:30.480 able to provide for our members. 00:17:30.750 --> 00:17:32.540 But I quite frankly, don't have the chops. 00:17:32.540 --> 00:17:33.650 I don't have the education. 00:17:33.860 --> 00:17:37.100 I would like to go back to school and learn more about personal finance. 00:17:37.100 --> 00:17:39.210 And this is what I want to do moving forward. 00:17:39.590 --> 00:17:42.530 And chief Lombardi was very gracious and he's like, okay, cool. 00:17:42.580 --> 00:17:44.800 I think if that's what you want to do and is how you're approaching it. 00:17:44.800 --> 00:17:47.610 Proposing it like this is valuable to our members. 00:17:47.810 --> 00:17:53.990 We all know that financial strife and constraints crosses over our lives, 00:17:54.200 --> 00:17:55.640 and that affects our physical health. 00:17:55.640 --> 00:17:56.850 It affects our mental health. 00:17:57.130 --> 00:18:01.560 It affects our relationships, and he definitely appreciated that, and 00:18:01.560 --> 00:18:04.710 it was really important for him to have someone else that could keep 00:18:05.130 --> 00:18:07.440 being the torchbearer of that. 00:18:07.440 --> 00:18:11.160 So I asked Chief Lombardi to go back and and get my master's degree. 00:18:11.950 --> 00:18:15.640 So I ended up getting my master's degree from Kansas State University 00:18:15.650 --> 00:18:20.040 in personal finance, which was a a tremendous education. 00:18:20.330 --> 00:18:24.410 You end up taking, I think it's 36 credits, half of which is 00:18:24.410 --> 00:18:27.060 basically what you would think about someone in personal finance. 00:18:27.060 --> 00:18:28.990 So like the structure of personal finance. 00:18:28.990 --> 00:18:32.050 So investments, taxes, all kinds of the boring stuff. 00:18:32.060 --> 00:18:32.470 Right. 00:18:32.520 --> 00:18:38.240 The stuff that I was just amazed by was the psychology behind 00:18:38.290 --> 00:18:40.750 finance, why people do what they do. 00:18:41.010 --> 00:18:44.280 And there's so much in a relationship between how you're raised with 00:18:44.280 --> 00:18:45.680 money or not raised with money. 00:18:45.910 --> 00:18:49.495 And some of those, it really is the, Peeling back the onion and looking at 00:18:49.495 --> 00:18:53.465 the human psyche and seeing why people make decisions with money and just how 00:18:53.465 --> 00:18:57.045 much it, it affects their lifestyle and their livelihoods moving forward. 00:18:57.045 --> 00:18:59.455 And it was fascinating and I've really taken a lot. 00:18:59.635 --> 00:19:00.685 Of that information. 00:19:00.685 --> 00:19:03.305 I've tried to put it into practice when chatting with people around 00:19:03.305 --> 00:19:06.295 here and trying to get more to the root cause of why people do what 00:19:06.295 --> 00:19:07.575 they do or what they want to do. 00:19:07.825 --> 00:19:08.715 That does sound really cool. 00:19:08.715 --> 00:19:10.105 I think, finance is very personal. 00:19:10.115 --> 00:19:11.605 That's why they call it personal finance. 00:19:11.960 --> 00:19:14.990 and personal finance to look different for different people. 00:19:15.340 --> 00:19:18.350 It's cool that you have a little bit of insight into what drives those 00:19:18.350 --> 00:19:22.920 decision, the decision making process and how people establish relationships 00:19:22.920 --> 00:19:24.430 with money for better or worse. 00:19:24.460 --> 00:19:28.460 I, that's an important thing to understand and then how to change that, maybe how 00:19:28.460 --> 00:19:33.730 to change some of those bad habits or those bad beliefs about money or finances. 00:19:33.910 --> 00:19:34.310 And. 00:19:34.705 --> 00:19:38.715 Making them into healthy habits or into good decisions 00:19:38.725 --> 00:19:39.765 that people make with money. 00:19:39.815 --> 00:19:41.555 It's cool that you have that knowledge and insight. 00:19:41.665 --> 00:19:42.155 It was. 00:19:42.485 --> 00:19:46.775 Eye opening to me, honestly, it's like I hadn't gone to therapy before. 00:19:46.775 --> 00:19:50.715 I haven't talked to a therapist, but I feel like going through that course work 00:19:50.715 --> 00:19:52.605 is very similar to what therapy would be. 00:19:52.605 --> 00:19:56.405 And there's a whole new branch of finance that's starting to populate and you can 00:19:56.405 --> 00:19:58.475 actually become a financial therapist. 00:19:58.855 --> 00:20:02.345 So typically it's people that already have a background in counseling, 00:20:02.595 --> 00:20:06.005 and then they take some additional coursework, learn more about the finances. 00:20:06.425 --> 00:20:10.205 And then they see that intersection between finance and mental health and 00:20:10.205 --> 00:20:13.365 where that delves in, like you start going into some of this stuff and this 00:20:13.365 --> 00:20:17.235 might even be a potential for, an episode moving forward, but some of the different 00:20:17.235 --> 00:20:18.735 money scripts is what they call them. 00:20:18.985 --> 00:20:21.275 And that's basically just how you align with money. 00:20:21.275 --> 00:20:22.350 What are your values? 00:20:22.400 --> 00:20:24.230 Why do you think about money in a certain way? 00:20:24.510 --> 00:20:27.750 It opened up some skeletons in my closet about why I am a 00:20:28.130 --> 00:20:30.330 tremendous penny pincher, right. 00:20:30.450 --> 00:20:32.070 And my wife is a spendthrift. 00:20:32.070 --> 00:20:36.650 She loves to spend money and whereas we actually make a good combination because 00:20:36.650 --> 00:20:38.060 we bounce each things off each other. 00:20:38.060 --> 00:20:41.010 But if you didn't really have that That self reflection or self 00:20:41.010 --> 00:20:44.050 awareness, like I, I think about money in a different manner after 00:20:44.050 --> 00:20:45.430 going through some of those exercises. 00:20:45.440 --> 00:20:49.440 So, yeah, a huge, huge shout out to to the organization for helping 00:20:49.540 --> 00:20:51.470 support that in my education. 00:20:51.470 --> 00:20:54.420 And we just want to pay it forward and continue on the 00:20:54.420 --> 00:20:55.680 education with the members. 00:20:55.680 --> 00:20:59.400 So the other part of getting the master's degree is I was able 00:20:59.400 --> 00:21:03.500 to sit for the the certified financial planner that's like the. 00:21:03.690 --> 00:21:04.740 I guess the gold standard. 00:21:04.800 --> 00:21:06.540 That's really the gold standard in the industry. 00:21:06.660 --> 00:21:08.360 I guess you would say that's the gold standard. 00:21:08.360 --> 00:21:08.980 It really is. 00:21:08.980 --> 00:21:12.580 It requires a certain amount of experience, but it also requires 00:21:12.580 --> 00:21:13.960 a certain amount of coursework. 00:21:14.060 --> 00:21:15.630 Have at a minimum a bachelor's degree. 00:21:15.630 --> 00:21:17.940 So it does raise the bar to some degree. 00:21:18.240 --> 00:21:22.300 And the biggest thing with the CFP besides the coursework and the education is they 00:21:22.300 --> 00:21:27.420 have a strong ethical standard, which when you talk about finance, it's one of those 00:21:27.420 --> 00:21:30.960 things that people I think part of why they don't feel comfortable talking about 00:21:30.960 --> 00:21:32.641 it is There's sharks out there, right? 00:21:32.641 --> 00:21:33.721 There's sharks in their waters. 00:21:33.751 --> 00:21:37.631 And there are people that are more than happy to take some money off of you 00:21:37.681 --> 00:21:39.481 and what's not in your best interest. 00:21:39.891 --> 00:21:41.401 And we've seen that time and time again. 00:21:41.401 --> 00:21:45.131 And unfortunately we've had some circumstances here within the department 00:21:45.131 --> 00:21:49.011 where we've had some, people that were not providing sound financial 00:21:49.011 --> 00:21:51.661 advice and really looking out for our members, best interest in. 00:21:51.811 --> 00:21:54.681 That affects me personally, like I take offense to that. 00:21:55.011 --> 00:21:58.431 It's no different than if you have a bad firefighter or is acting in a poor manner 00:21:58.431 --> 00:22:00.071 that reflects the whole industry, right? 00:22:00.121 --> 00:22:03.051 The financial services I think is becoming better, but they 00:22:03.051 --> 00:22:04.441 still got a long ways to go. 00:22:04.701 --> 00:22:07.670 But one of those things as a certified financial planner is you have to. 00:22:07.671 --> 00:22:10.471 To basically at hold to a fiduciary standard. 00:22:10.791 --> 00:22:14.261 And all that means is, and it's in, in a nutshell, you have to put your 00:22:14.261 --> 00:22:16.091 client's interest in front of your own. 00:22:16.341 --> 00:22:21.281 Sometimes that can be tough to disprove, but really you are taking that ethical and 00:22:21.331 --> 00:22:23.981 moral oath that says, Hey, Louie, for you, 00:22:24.031 --> 00:22:27.121 everything that I'm advising you on, it's for you and not for me. 00:22:27.311 --> 00:22:28.671 Now, will I benefit for sure? 00:22:28.851 --> 00:22:31.541 But my interests have to be aligned with yours. 00:22:31.541 --> 00:22:33.760 Your interests have to be aligned with mine, that whole concept. 00:22:33.760 --> 00:22:38.380 So I was able to sit for the certified financial planner exam and was 00:22:38.380 --> 00:22:41.441 fortunate enough to pass on a first try. 00:22:42.201 --> 00:22:43.131 Yeah, that's exciting. 00:22:43.346 --> 00:22:43.916 I'll be honest. 00:22:43.926 --> 00:22:46.446 That's that was probably the most difficult thing I'd 00:22:46.446 --> 00:22:47.856 ever done professionally. 00:22:47.906 --> 00:22:51.266 I thought paramedic school was difficult in just the rigors of it. 00:22:51.586 --> 00:22:54.425 I think the CFP was hard for me because there were still concepts 00:22:54.425 --> 00:22:55.476 that I wasn't familiar with. 00:22:55.476 --> 00:22:57.125 I'm not in the industry, so to speak. 00:22:57.125 --> 00:22:59.336 I'm not doing it every day, day in and day out. 00:22:59.346 --> 00:23:01.506 So had to take it through a different lens. 00:23:01.506 --> 00:23:04.286 So I had to Probably put in a little bit more work than some of the other 00:23:04.286 --> 00:23:07.946 people that are actively practicing as advisors or something like that. 00:23:07.946 --> 00:23:12.016 But nonetheless, a tremendous amount of information was garnered from that. 00:23:12.316 --> 00:23:14.656 And anything like I hope, and we talked about this 00:23:14.656 --> 00:23:16.386 before, we want to be credible. 00:23:16.521 --> 00:23:19.621 Both you and I, and I think that's super important because once again, 00:23:19.621 --> 00:23:22.661 we have a lot of advice at the kitchen table to do this, to do that. 00:23:22.671 --> 00:23:25.521 And we all have our own little niches, our own expertise. 00:23:25.521 --> 00:23:27.281 We were talking about this beforehand. 00:23:27.331 --> 00:23:29.391 If you're going to ask someone to build a house, you're not going to 00:23:29.401 --> 00:23:32.501 come to me or Louie, you're going to come to one of our contractors, right? 00:23:32.501 --> 00:23:33.421 You're going to come to Sean Lurch. 00:23:33.421 --> 00:23:34.911 You can come to Ron Sidebottom. 00:23:34.911 --> 00:23:37.881 You're going to talk to someone that's got some real world experience, 00:23:38.211 --> 00:23:40.281 has got building houses, right? 00:23:40.281 --> 00:23:42.460 Not like, well, I saw a YouTube about this or like that. 00:23:42.471 --> 00:23:43.361 Don't do it this way. 00:23:43.361 --> 00:23:47.881 Like, so part of me wanted to have that have that background where I could 00:23:47.891 --> 00:23:51.301 have a little bit more credibility, quite frankly, when having on, when 00:23:51.311 --> 00:23:52.861 having some of these discussions. 00:23:53.031 --> 00:23:54.281 I think it's really cool that you did that. 00:23:54.281 --> 00:23:57.271 I think the biggest takeaway from that, whole background story is that 00:23:57.631 --> 00:24:03.151 you decided to go get your master's and get your certified financial 00:24:03.241 --> 00:24:06.340 planning certificate really for the members, like, for the members. 00:24:06.621 --> 00:24:08.641 You didn't do it because you want to leave West Metro and 00:24:08.641 --> 00:24:10.001 go open up your own practice. 00:24:10.001 --> 00:24:14.771 And, you did this because you felt like there was a need, there was a 00:24:14.781 --> 00:24:17.411 lack of knowledge among the members. 00:24:17.681 --> 00:24:20.341 And that was something that you are passionate about. 00:24:20.371 --> 00:24:24.191 You have a talent for, and so you took away time from your family 00:24:24.251 --> 00:24:27.021 to, pursue this education. 00:24:27.061 --> 00:24:29.541 And it's really for the, Benefit of the members. 00:24:29.551 --> 00:24:31.061 So I think that's really cool that you did that. 00:24:31.061 --> 00:24:36.121 Thanks for Taking one for the team My pleasure louis and and yeah well 00:24:36.121 --> 00:24:39.171 said for that fact It's you know now potentially down the road could 00:24:39.171 --> 00:24:40.241 I end up doing something with it? 00:24:40.241 --> 00:24:44.301 Maybe on an encore career potentially for sure there could be some some self 00:24:44.301 --> 00:24:45.531 interest aligned with that as well. 00:24:45.581 --> 00:24:49.911 We want what's best for our members and having folks that have some additional 00:24:49.911 --> 00:24:54.090 education and credentials to help support that will make us a better organization, 00:24:54.090 --> 00:24:55.411 a better union moving forward. 00:24:55.411 --> 00:24:58.081 That's the background of how I got involved and at 00:24:58.081 --> 00:25:00.131 least my passion for finance. 00:25:00.161 --> 00:25:04.061 Let's flip the script and for those of you, and you've made a really good 00:25:04.061 --> 00:25:08.881 name for yourself and most people come to you with financial questions 00:25:08.881 --> 00:25:11.011 because of what you've done for their careers and just knowing that 00:25:11.211 --> 00:25:13.611 you've got a background in finance. 00:25:13.611 --> 00:25:16.621 So maybe you can speak a little bit more to what you did before 00:25:16.691 --> 00:25:18.281 your life here at West Metro. 00:25:18.291 --> 00:25:19.091 Yeah, happy to answer that. 00:25:19.481 --> 00:25:21.711 So I will just start with my education. 00:25:21.711 --> 00:25:25.600 I have a finance degree from the University of Michigan, go blue. 00:25:26.130 --> 00:25:30.445 And I, put that degree to practice for the Colorado Department of 00:25:30.445 --> 00:25:32.025 Transportation for about 10 years. 00:25:32.335 --> 00:25:36.125 I left there as the budget manager for the entire department, which meant that 00:25:36.125 --> 00:25:40.335 I had a team of analysts that would do everything from revenue forecasting 00:25:40.335 --> 00:25:44.445 and resource allocation to the annual budget and the legislative budget, 00:25:44.745 --> 00:25:46.145 did all that for the department. 00:25:46.275 --> 00:25:50.045 I liked it, but the truth, I guess I like finances, you know, I have a degree 00:25:50.045 --> 00:25:51.805 in it and I did that for a long time. 00:25:52.125 --> 00:25:54.535 But my, my true passion for finance lies in the budget. 00:25:54.775 --> 00:25:56.105 Personal financial. 00:25:57.060 --> 00:25:59.100 So helps people with their finances. 00:25:59.670 --> 00:26:04.880 I've always liked doing that with family, with friends, and so when I decided 00:26:04.880 --> 00:26:07.760 to become a firefighter I still always had that in the back of my mind like 00:26:07.760 --> 00:26:11.660 I want to help, I want to do something in the personal, financial realm. 00:26:12.170 --> 00:26:14.910 And I saw my first opportunity to do that around the Firehouse table. 00:26:14.920 --> 00:26:15.265 Like we'd do. 00:26:16.345 --> 00:26:17.345 There's tons of need. 00:26:17.345 --> 00:26:21.105 When people find out that I have some kind of financial literacy, they start flooding 00:26:21.105 --> 00:26:25.895 me with questions about retirement, about Roth accounts versus traditional accounts, 00:26:25.895 --> 00:26:31.200 about the difference between IRAs and 457s and how their pension works and Just 00:26:31.210 --> 00:26:34.660 things like that and that was something really cool that I was able to realize 00:26:34.660 --> 00:26:39.040 that I can help people understand and demystify for them So I really liked that 00:26:39.040 --> 00:26:42.870 aspect of being a firefighter that I could bring something to the table Like you 00:26:42.870 --> 00:26:47.550 said we all have unique kind of talents or or educations or backgrounds and I was 00:26:47.550 --> 00:26:52.730 able to do that for our members and then my first kind of foray into Doing it in a 00:26:52.730 --> 00:26:54.890 more official role for the department was 00:26:54.890 --> 00:26:58.570 I took the Fire Instructor 1 and part of that have to give a presentation to 00:26:58.970 --> 00:27:03.320 the cadre or whatever to let them know that you know how to teach or instruct. 00:27:03.640 --> 00:27:06.030 And you can do it on any topic that you want that is somewhat 00:27:06.030 --> 00:27:07.540 relevant to the fire service. 00:27:07.560 --> 00:27:10.490 And I gave mine on financial independence for firefighters. 00:27:10.490 --> 00:27:15.400 That was where that presentation first got its run and it was really well received. 00:27:15.680 --> 00:27:18.510 by not only the people in the room, but by the instructors in the room 00:27:18.510 --> 00:27:19.900 where we're teaching that class. 00:27:20.600 --> 00:27:23.130 It was after that point that I was asked to come back and give that 00:27:23.130 --> 00:27:25.770 presentation to the new recruits. 00:27:26.100 --> 00:27:29.320 The cadre thought that it would be an awesome opportunity for the new 00:27:29.320 --> 00:27:34.250 recruits to learn some fundamental principles of finance, so to speak, as 00:27:34.250 --> 00:27:39.960 well as how their benefits here can help them achieve that financial freedom. 00:27:40.030 --> 00:27:43.500 So I was asked to give that and it's been running on ever since. 00:27:43.580 --> 00:27:44.920 You've gotten involved with it. 00:27:45.170 --> 00:27:46.690 The union has gotten involved with it too. 00:27:46.690 --> 00:27:50.650 I think our last academy you gave a really good book called the simple 00:27:50.650 --> 00:27:52.980 path to wealth to the recruits. 00:27:53.530 --> 00:27:58.680 And so that was my first official foray into financial 00:27:58.730 --> 00:28:00.360 education for the membership. 00:28:00.730 --> 00:28:05.070 It's a way for me to have a creative outlet for my passion personal finance. 00:28:05.630 --> 00:28:06.950 And yeah, it's been great. 00:28:06.980 --> 00:28:11.080 I'm really looking forward to this podcast, really looking forward to helping 00:28:11.290 --> 00:28:13.570 demystify for the rest of the members. 00:28:13.580 --> 00:28:16.180 Some of the financial concepts that are always in the back of our 00:28:16.180 --> 00:28:17.890 mind are always running through. 00:28:17.890 --> 00:28:21.430 I think the biggest takeaway that we can get from that is that both John 00:28:21.430 --> 00:28:27.905 and I The executive board in the union Really want to help our members Become 00:28:27.905 --> 00:28:32.365 financially secure and I think that they all have a passion for that And 00:28:32.365 --> 00:28:36.355 that's why the union is sponsoring this podcast is we want to see the people 00:28:36.355 --> 00:28:40.975 that we work with not be stressed by their finances, not be overburdened. 00:28:41.085 --> 00:28:45.655 So if in any way, this can help those members achieve a level of financial 00:28:45.655 --> 00:28:51.215 peace as it relates to their retirement or their work life balance or their 00:28:51.635 --> 00:28:55.325 savings, then we're going to feel like we're achieving something. 00:28:55.355 --> 00:28:56.245 So that's why we're here. 00:28:56.245 --> 00:28:59.685 That's why we're doing this because we think that we can maybe potentially 00:28:59.685 --> 00:29:03.895 make a difference in, helping our membership achieve a level 00:29:03.895 --> 00:29:06.355 of financial peace or a level of financial freedom that they don't. 00:29:06.406 --> 00:29:12.285 Yeah, that's really well said once again, and, it's not just Louie 00:29:12.285 --> 00:29:13.845 and I that have a passion for this. 00:29:13.855 --> 00:29:18.235 It's a lot of people around here speaking for the executive board specifically, 00:29:18.235 --> 00:29:21.895 but we're just happy that we have the, hopefully the knowledge to bring 00:29:21.895 --> 00:29:25.535 forth and some guidance and being able to have some good discussion. 00:29:25.985 --> 00:29:29.515 And once again, coming from as much of an unbiased Point of 00:29:29.515 --> 00:29:32.345 view as possible which is tough because we all have biases, right? 00:29:32.625 --> 00:29:34.945 But once again, I think this is some of the challenges when you get 00:29:34.945 --> 00:29:37.835 into this is You know when you're talking about financial related stuff 00:29:37.835 --> 00:29:41.235 is who can you go to that's going to give you as much unbiased They 00:29:41.235 --> 00:29:42.285 don't have any skin in the game. 00:29:42.285 --> 00:29:46.410 They're not gonna make a commission or anything else is becoming More 00:29:46.410 --> 00:29:49.110 and more difficult and challenging and just not who can you trust? 00:29:49.110 --> 00:29:52.140 But are there goals and visions aligned with my goals and visions? 00:29:52.330 --> 00:29:55.640 And I think that's something that you know, i'll go on record and say that 00:29:55.640 --> 00:29:59.720 will not be an issue here That's a good segue for saying that and you will 00:29:59.720 --> 00:30:04.570 hear some disclosures in the podcast but this podcast is solely meant for 00:30:04.860 --> 00:30:09.265 financial education and financial Entertainment you could call it, right? 00:30:09.405 --> 00:30:11.105 We're going to keep these conversations. 00:30:11.115 --> 00:30:15.565 Hopefully light a conversational We're gonna try to bring in as many experts 00:30:15.575 --> 00:30:19.595 as we can with expertise But that being said this should never be construed for 00:30:19.605 --> 00:30:23.665 financial advice, because as Louie said financial advice is very personal 00:30:23.885 --> 00:30:28.140 and you cannot give personal Advice via podcast because you don't know 00:30:28.140 --> 00:30:29.950 people's circumstances and situations. 00:30:29.960 --> 00:30:34.320 So I think that's really important to highlight Not giving you specific advice. 00:30:34.320 --> 00:30:36.580 That is, we don't know everyone's situation. 00:30:36.580 --> 00:30:39.950 We don't know where everyone is at exactly with their finances. 00:30:39.950 --> 00:30:42.890 So we can't tailor advice and we don't want to do that. 00:30:42.930 --> 00:30:46.960 We just want to provide some high level advice that is time tested. 00:30:47.110 --> 00:30:49.660 That is considered industry standards. 00:30:50.000 --> 00:30:52.750 And so we're here to share those kinds of Things with you as well 00:30:52.750 --> 00:30:54.240 as explain your benefits, your. 00:30:54.910 --> 00:31:00.340 West Metro, local 1309 benefits, health benefits, financial benefits. 00:31:00.630 --> 00:31:04.000 We want to talk about those too, which is something we're super proud of. 00:31:04.200 --> 00:31:09.540 I'll be honest, like one of the things, and I was what you would call an absentee 00:31:09.550 --> 00:31:13.410 union member for about The first 14 years of my career, quite frankly, 00:31:13.410 --> 00:31:17.210 here I went to a couple of different meetings when I first got hired, but 00:31:17.210 --> 00:31:19.840 then I don't want to say life got in the way, but I was focused on other things. 00:31:19.840 --> 00:31:22.240 And quite frankly, I was still collecting a check. 00:31:22.250 --> 00:31:24.050 We were getting raises, like the benefits seemed good. 00:31:24.050 --> 00:31:27.270 I just, I didn't feel a need, honestly, to participate or be 00:31:27.270 --> 00:31:28.890 actively engaged in the union. 00:31:29.290 --> 00:31:33.340 It wasn't until I actually got into training and started thinking about a 00:31:33.340 --> 00:31:36.940 little bit more and it's, it probably sounds very cliche, but I still 00:31:36.940 --> 00:31:40.920 remember it when we did the, your why meeting with chief Lombardi, I 00:31:40.920 --> 00:31:43.011 think this was back in 2016 or 2017. 00:31:43.011 --> 00:31:45.260 He goes around the rooms and says, Hey, what's your why? 00:31:45.450 --> 00:31:46.440 Why do you want to be a firefighter? 00:31:46.440 --> 00:31:47.330 What's important to you? 00:31:47.330 --> 00:31:50.440 And I had noticed that my why had changed. 00:31:50.490 --> 00:31:51.950 And this is after I'd gotten promoted. 00:31:52.250 --> 00:31:56.355 But it became less about, It's always important to serve the citizens, and 00:31:56.355 --> 00:31:57.855 that is the oath that we take, right? 00:31:57.875 --> 00:32:01.845 But I think it's natural in your career progression to change about 00:32:01.845 --> 00:32:03.555 what's, what are you passionate about? 00:32:03.555 --> 00:32:04.435 What is your why? 00:32:04.435 --> 00:32:07.825 And my why was ultimately supporting those around me as best as I could. 00:32:08.155 --> 00:32:12.235 And once I understood what avenue would make the most sense for me, it 00:32:12.235 --> 00:32:13.925 actually ended up being via the union. 00:32:14.130 --> 00:32:17.060 is with the way that I felt like I could best serve the people 00:32:17.060 --> 00:32:18.270 that I cared about the most. 00:32:18.500 --> 00:32:20.410 And that really is what got me interested. 00:32:20.410 --> 00:32:23.190 And then working here alongside with Kevin Reichenbach when he was 00:32:23.190 --> 00:32:26.290 in training and talking to Mike and Reed about it, it just made more 00:32:26.290 --> 00:32:29.990 sense I'm a big fan of serendipity and things happen for a reason. 00:32:29.990 --> 00:32:31.410 And I think it just happens. 00:32:31.410 --> 00:32:35.515 Dance was like, no, I think this was what, My purpose here was meant more 00:32:35.515 --> 00:32:38.945 to be like I felt more fulfillment out of that than really anything I had done 00:32:38.945 --> 00:32:43.635 in a while So that really got me up and running on on the union stuff and really 00:32:43.705 --> 00:32:47.735 trying to be an advocate and passionate about union service and just what we're 00:32:47.735 --> 00:32:52.835 trying to do and really proud of all the benefits that the union has negotiated 00:32:52.835 --> 00:32:57.385 for so long and this dates back a long time And they're ongoing too like the 00:32:57.385 --> 00:33:01.415 influence that the union has I think is ongoing when I got roped into union 00:33:01.415 --> 00:33:05.575 stuff by wanting to have some things change with regarding our benefits. 00:33:05.695 --> 00:33:07.625 I really wanted a Roth 457. 00:33:07.625 --> 00:33:08.565 I know you did too. 00:33:08.985 --> 00:33:11.595 That was something that we were able to get accomplished through 00:33:11.595 --> 00:33:13.405 the union kind of pushing for it. 00:33:13.735 --> 00:33:18.165 I had a big issues with fees from one of our retirement account providers 00:33:18.165 --> 00:33:19.755 and I really wanted to change that. 00:33:20.275 --> 00:33:24.175 The union was the way that I was able to help affect that change. 00:33:24.515 --> 00:33:27.285 And so, yeah, really proud as well of what the union is able 00:33:27.285 --> 00:33:28.715 to accomplish for its membership. 00:33:29.175 --> 00:33:32.475 And, and really everything that the union does is for the benefits of the members. 00:33:32.475 --> 00:33:36.175 We really want to make sure that our members are taken care of in every aspect. 00:33:36.225 --> 00:33:39.185 I'm really proud that the union kind of has that goal in mind 00:33:39.185 --> 00:33:41.605 and that we work hard towards that in everything that we do. 00:33:42.290 --> 00:33:45.220 What Louie was referring to is the benefits SPT, right? 00:33:45.450 --> 00:33:49.410 So Louie and I both try to get to many of those meetings as possible and just 00:33:49.430 --> 00:33:52.820 try to weigh in honestly and what we think our members want or what's 00:33:52.820 --> 00:33:55.520 going to be in the best interest of all our members and not just a specific 00:33:55.521 --> 00:33:56.830 group Class of membership, right? 00:33:56.830 --> 00:34:00.050 Like representing the whole group, which can be a challenge, and so in certain 00:34:00.200 --> 00:34:04.620 capacities to get something that's going to benefit everyone and not just a subsect 00:34:04.790 --> 00:34:07.910 is a challenge, but something that I think we all take that challenge on. 00:34:08.160 --> 00:34:10.740 And we really try to do our best by, everyone. 00:34:10.870 --> 00:34:14.560 So you obviously got to know a little bit more about Louie and myself that 00:34:14.560 --> 00:34:17.832 was one of the goals as we just wanted to introduce ourselves, we already 00:34:17.832 --> 00:34:21.262 hit on a little bit about what our objectives and goals of the podcast are. 00:34:21.262 --> 00:34:24.992 So first and foremost, financial education, literacy, knowing 00:34:24.992 --> 00:34:26.982 your benefits, how to use those benefits kind of thing. 00:34:27.282 --> 00:34:31.242 Secondarily is just talking more about the union in general and things that 00:34:31.242 --> 00:34:34.972 we can do information dissemination, all those other things is also 00:34:34.972 --> 00:34:37.092 going to be a focus of this podcast. 00:34:37.462 --> 00:34:40.682 We are going to try to keep the format similar, each podcast, 00:34:40.872 --> 00:34:43.232 maybe a little shorter, maybe probably going a little longer this 00:34:43.242 --> 00:34:44.312 time, cause it's our first one. 00:34:44.322 --> 00:34:45.262 It's our first one. 00:34:45.302 --> 00:34:49.192 And with all due respect, I am not an audio engineer and I am not 00:34:49.202 --> 00:34:51.222 a professional podcast editor. 00:34:51.432 --> 00:34:54.632 We got some decent equipment here and I'm going to do my damn best to do it. 00:34:54.682 --> 00:34:54.832 But. 00:34:54.937 --> 00:34:57.727 Please have a little bit of grace, bear with us. 00:34:57.977 --> 00:35:01.647 But really we wanted the format of this to be the frequency first and 00:35:01.647 --> 00:35:03.077 foremost is going to be monthly. 00:35:03.127 --> 00:35:05.847 That's Louie and I's goal is to drop an episode a month. 00:35:06.237 --> 00:35:07.077 The duration. 00:35:07.792 --> 00:35:08.322 We'll see. 00:35:08.352 --> 00:35:11.342 It's going to be somewhere between, I think our goal is like 30 to 45 00:35:11.352 --> 00:35:14.782 minutes, but some of that will be depending on what topics we're 00:35:14.832 --> 00:35:16.852 talking about and how in depth we go. 00:35:17.182 --> 00:35:19.992 And the other part is we want this to be fun and conversational. 00:35:19.992 --> 00:35:23.752 We don't want this to feel like a lecture or just a PowerPoint presentation. 00:35:23.752 --> 00:35:27.817 We Do want there to be a level of engagement and feeling like as you're 00:35:27.817 --> 00:35:31.147 driving down the road or walking the dog or whenever you're listening to this, 00:35:31.147 --> 00:35:34.727 that you're just sitting in the room with Louis and I as we're discussing this. 00:35:34.727 --> 00:35:36.947 Like that's really how we want, want to bring it on. 00:35:36.947 --> 00:35:37.007 Yeah. 00:35:37.257 --> 00:35:39.837 And then we're gonna try to incorporate as many guest speakers as we can. 00:35:39.837 --> 00:35:42.842 Once again, there's a lot of expertise throughout the organization 00:35:42.842 --> 00:35:45.242 and the membership that can speak on some of these things. 00:35:45.672 --> 00:35:48.342 And really the most important thing, and maybe Lou, you're gonna hit on 00:35:48.342 --> 00:35:51.772 this, you guys are going to be the one that dictates basically what 00:35:51.772 --> 00:35:54.452 we're going to talk about and how you want to receive The information. 00:35:54.452 --> 00:35:58.942 Yep John and I have Some episode ideas of things that we know are important 00:35:58.942 --> 00:36:01.862 that we want to cover For example, we're not going to do a financial 00:36:01.902 --> 00:36:04.152 podcast and not discuss the pension. 00:36:04.222 --> 00:36:07.832 That's the cornerstone of Most of our membership's financial future. 00:36:07.902 --> 00:36:12.202 We're going to talk about that There's a lot of questions about 457 and pre 00:36:12.202 --> 00:36:15.452 tax and post tax or traditional and roth stuff So we're going to cover those 00:36:15.452 --> 00:36:20.022 things But we also want to know that We want you to know that you guys can 00:36:20.022 --> 00:36:21.712 tell us what you would like us to cover. 00:36:21.712 --> 00:36:24.402 If there's some financial topics that you feel like are so important 00:36:24.792 --> 00:36:27.572 that they need to be addressed, we'd like to consider those and 00:36:27.572 --> 00:36:29.042 maybe address those on a podcast. 00:36:29.752 --> 00:36:33.882 John set up an email address where you can actually send those questions to, 00:36:33.962 --> 00:36:35.052 and it is askfiscalfirehouseatgmail. 00:36:37.862 --> 00:36:38.272 com. 00:36:38.757 --> 00:36:43.097 Once again, that email address is askfiscalfirehouse, all one word, 00:36:43.457 --> 00:36:47.597 no under spaces or anything like that, askfiscalfirehouse at gmail. 00:36:47.597 --> 00:36:47.907 com. 00:36:48.257 --> 00:36:49.587 We'll go through those questions. 00:36:49.767 --> 00:36:51.317 Some of those we'll just address on air. 00:36:51.547 --> 00:36:54.237 Maybe we'll have to dedicate full episode to some of those questions 00:36:54.237 --> 00:36:58.132 and we're willing to do that if our membership Has that desire and that need. 00:36:58.202 --> 00:37:00.362 So please, we want this to be interactive. 00:37:00.362 --> 00:37:01.602 And of course it doesn't have to be email. 00:37:01.622 --> 00:37:05.152 If you see one of us at the training center or at the station or whatever, 00:37:05.402 --> 00:37:08.662 just approach us and say, Hey, got something that I think you guys could 00:37:08.662 --> 00:37:11.592 address or that you guys can answer for the membership, and we'd be happy to 00:37:11.592 --> 00:37:13.822 consider that and maybe address it on air. 00:37:14.177 --> 00:37:17.787 So maybe the first question that's going to come in is where did 00:37:17.787 --> 00:37:19.687 we get the name for the podcast? 00:37:20.097 --> 00:37:22.577 Where did this concept of fiscal firehouse? 00:37:22.577 --> 00:37:25.497 Who was the originator of that name? 00:37:25.897 --> 00:37:27.597 Who did come up with that name? 00:37:28.007 --> 00:37:33.037 I believe it was the chat gpt Oh, you could be right that actually came 00:37:33.037 --> 00:37:36.097 up with the name I think we're we're spitballing what we wanted to call what 00:37:36.097 --> 00:37:39.707 we wanted to call it I think I originally came up with some Something hokey. 00:37:39.707 --> 00:37:44.597 I think I said I originally wanted the podcast titled 55 and out because 00:37:44.597 --> 00:37:48.957 that is my goal I think that should be everyone's goal around here to be, you 00:37:48.957 --> 00:37:52.777 know Financially stable and with the setup of the pension right now Most of 00:37:52.777 --> 00:37:56.337 the folks were getting hired or between 25 and 30, maybe even a little bit younger 00:37:56.587 --> 00:38:01.067 25 to 30 years here and doing some other things that Louie and I will help I think 00:38:01.067 --> 00:38:02.877 it's definitely achievable and possible. 00:38:02.887 --> 00:38:05.247 I have gotten some like, where'd you come up with the podcast name? 00:38:05.247 --> 00:38:07.357 So it actually was a little chat GPT. 00:38:07.867 --> 00:38:09.507 So we're going to tech around here. 00:38:09.507 --> 00:38:10.987 We're getting some AI involved. 00:38:11.027 --> 00:38:11.797 Heck yeah. 00:38:12.297 --> 00:38:15.547 I just want to say just once again, a big shout out to Mike and Reed 00:38:15.547 --> 00:38:19.687 for kind of entrusting Louie and I to carry forward this message. 00:38:19.737 --> 00:38:21.677 We want to do you guys proud and solid. 00:38:21.927 --> 00:38:23.847 And I, man, I'm excited about this. 00:38:23.847 --> 00:38:24.657 I'll be honest with you. 00:38:24.657 --> 00:38:26.147 This is something that I've been passionate about. 00:38:26.147 --> 00:38:28.787 You're passionate about, and I hope it's well received out there. 00:38:28.857 --> 00:38:29.227 Me too. 00:38:29.237 --> 00:38:30.407 We're going to continue to get better. 00:38:30.457 --> 00:38:31.627 I want to give a shout out to Seth Major. 00:38:31.647 --> 00:38:34.387 podcast logo for us. 00:38:34.817 --> 00:38:37.457 So hopefully you guys will see that on your, podcast player choices. 00:38:37.457 --> 00:38:39.417 It comes up a really big shout out. 00:38:39.417 --> 00:38:43.607 He did the creative work and getting that finished for us and making it look good. 00:38:43.607 --> 00:38:46.277 So it's probably the best part of the podcast is the logo at this point. 00:38:46.277 --> 00:38:47.907 Small wins, Louie, small wins. 00:38:48.057 --> 00:38:48.477 All right. 00:38:48.707 --> 00:38:52.507 Until next month when we'll have episode one drop, we want to wish you 00:38:52.507 --> 00:38:56.407 guys the best and be safe out there and we'll be catching up with you. 00:38:59.416 --> 00:39:02.676 Fiscal Firehouse Podcast is a podcast curated specifically 00:39:02.686 --> 00:39:04.396 for local 1309 members. 00:39:04.546 --> 00:39:08.186 This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only, 00:39:08.586 --> 00:39:11.316 and should not be construed as professional financial advice. 00:39:11.526 --> 00:39:14.246 Should you need professional advice, consult a licensed 00:39:14.366 --> 00:39:16.766 financial advisor or tax advisor. 00:39:16.946 --> 00:39:20.796 The opinions of John Beatty, Louie Barela, and their castmates are 00:39:20.796 --> 00:39:24.266 solely their own, and don't reflect that of West Metro Fire Rescue.