Summary
In Episode 2 of The Penny & The Pint, John and Brendan, the Old Irish Guys, continue their Net Worth & Chill series with a practical conversation about how couples can align their everyday spending with their long-term financial goals.
Building on the first episode, the guys walk listeners through the next step in creating a household budget: distinguishing between core expenses and lifestyle expenses. Core expenses include essential financial commitments such as mortgage or rent payments, car payments, and insurance. Lifestyle expenses include discretionary spending like coffee runs, dining out, golf, and entertainment.
The conversation focuses on taking an honest look at where your money goes, identifying spending habits that may be keeping you from achieving your dreams, and finding opportunities to redirect small amounts of money toward bigger priorities. Whether you’re saving for a vacation home, a boat, an RV, or simply building greater financial security, small adjustments to everyday spending can make a meaningful difference over time.
John and Brendan also emphasize the importance of having open, judgment-free financial conversations with your spouse or partner. By sharing your hopes, dreams, and values, you can compare your current spending habits with the future you want to build together.
The three takeaways from this episode are:
- Talk about your goals and dreams: Have an honest conversation about what matters most to you and your family.
- Review your core expenses: Examine your financial statements and make sure your essential spending reflects your priorities and values.
- Cut the fat: Identify unnecessary lifestyle expenses and redirect those dollars toward meaningful financial goals.
Most importantly, remember to give yourself and your partner some grace. Building better financial habits isn’t about perfection or eliminating all the little things that make life enjoyable. It’s about becoming more intentional with your money, staying flexible, and regularly checking in with each other.
Tune in to The Penny & The Pint for practical financial planning advice, relatable conversations, and actionable ideas to help you take control of your finances and build the future you envision.
Save us a seat at the pub!
Transcript
[00:00:00] John: Welcome, everybody, to The Penny & The Pint, the podcast that helps you stop guessing about your finances and start stacking the building blocks of real wealth. I’m John Shea, and across the table from me is Brendan O’Brien. We are the Old Irish Guys, and we’re here to let you know that you’re not alone when it comes to questions about your financial future.
We’ll tackle real-life financial scenarios head-on, talk about how we raise our city kids, and give you our favorite spots for a pint.
[00:00:24] Brendan: I think, John, we probably ought to start today’s episode by talking about some of the biggest news here in South Baltimore in a long time: the Orioles have hired a new manager.
Have you seen that?
[00:00:35] John: Yep.
[00:00:36] Brendan: Do you remember his name? Craig Albernaz. And what did we notice about Craig? He may not be from the old country, but he’s from the old neighborhood.
[00:00:49] John: That’s right. He’s a Massachusetts guy.
[00:00:53] Brendan: He grew up in Fall River, and we at The Penny & The Pint wanted to make sure to give Craig a shout-out. Welcome to Baltimore, and we hope you have a very successful career here.
[00:01:05] John: That would be nice if he had a successful career here. And it would be even nicer if he needed a couple of financial advisors to help him along the way.
[00:01:13] Brendan: Yeah. We just want you to know, Craig, we’re open for business. And if you settle in South Baltimore, we’re right down the street.
[00:01:20] John: We’ll come to you!
[00:01:20] Brendan: We’ll be happy to come to you. We come over that way a lot.
Another thing I noticed is that Craig will be the 42nd manager of the Baltimore Orioles. And we all know that the number 42 is very special.
Maybe you didn’t know this, John, but in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, 42 is the ultimate answer to all things in the universe. So that’s news! I’m thinking we’re going to get pretty lucky with Craig.
[00:01:53] John: I do. We spoke to folks about the idea of identifying core expenses versus lifestyle expenses.
[00:02:03] Brendan: Right. We called it a financial date night, if you will, and labeled it Net Worth & Chill. We gave folks three good points to get started on that conversation.
In the second half of our show, we’re going to talk about the follow-up meeting. We’re talking about core expenses versus lifestyle expenses. So why don’t we take a quick break? When we come back, let’s dive into the financial part of the show and give our listeners a deeper look at meeting number two.
[00:02:34] John: Sounds great. All right.
[00:02:39] Brendan: Welcome back to The Penny & The Pint. We’re John and Brendan, the Old Irish Guys, and we’re here to talk to you today about the second installment of Net Worth & Chill. You remember what that is, John?
[00:02:51] John: Yes. Net Worth & Chill is where we discussed the idea of identifying your core expenses along with your lifestyle expenses.
So here we’re going to discuss what falls into these buckets and how families can make those determinations.
[00:03:09] Brendan: In our last episode, we talked about a date night. We called it Net Worth & Chill, and we gave you three action items to arrive at the deliverable we’re going to break down today.
Like John said, those of you who have done what we’ve asked should have a list of your expenses, labeled either core or lifestyle expenses.
Core expenses are things like your mortgage or rent, car payment, or insurance payment.
And Johnny, why don’t you tell them what kind of nonsense occasionally shows up in lifestyle expenses?
[00:03:44] John: How about the trip to Starbucks, the outing to the driving range, or that trip over to your favorite spot for a couple of beers? Take your pick.
You know, we know things fall somewhere between core and lifestyle, and for each family there will be differences. Some of these things are necessary to keep things happy in the home.
[00:04:07] Brendan: Yeah, John, what you’re talking about is the spice of life. It’s what makes us who we are, right? But you don’t have to go to the driving range six times a week, do you?
You don’t have to hit Starbucks every single time you go out. We’re talking about how to moderate these things. By having them written down and labeled, we’re able to take a good look at our habits and talk about how we can tighten things up a little bit.
[00:04:38] John: And we’re going to talk about how you can align these things.
As we look at your core check-in, have you reviewed all of your statements? Have you pulled everything together and shined a light on your expenses?
We know that’s hard. We know people don’t love the idea of doing it. But check in, get all your documentation together, and sit down with your significant other. Go through everything, get it all out there, and put it in one place so you can start making a plan.
[00:05:08] Brendan: So when you look over your core expenses, John, when you did this with Mrs. Old Irish Guy over there in Locust Point, the question we want you to ask is: What’s missing from my core expenses?
How do you arrive at that? Well, it’s about aligning your core spending habits with your goals and dreams.
[00:05:28] John: The first thing we want to emphasize is that after you’ve done your homework, gathered your statements, and looked at your expenses, you need to have that conversation.
What are your dreams? What are your hopes for the future? How do you see your life going?
Now we have our expenses on one side and our hopes and dreams on the other. Let’s match them up.
[00:05:51] Brendan: Hey, let’s be honest here. Occasionally, this conversation could go long, right?
[00:05:58] John: Sure.
[00:05:58] Brendan: It might even be a two-bottle-of-wine conversation, Johnny.
[00:06:00] John: It could be.
[00:06:00] Brendan: Or, in your case, two six-packs! I don’t know how long it takes.
But these are hard conversations to have sometimes. Remember, we’re dreaming and looking into the future. We’ve also got to remember our other adage: We listen and don’t judge.
Let’s talk to one another about what we value. After we have that conversation, we’ll be able to compare our two lists. Tell us more about that, Johnny.
[00:06:29] John: We’re going to look at the things where you’re currently spending your money and compare them with your goals, dreams, and wish-list items.
If you have things on your wish list, but you’re spending your money at the driving range or Dunkin’ Donuts and not making progress toward those wish-list items, that’s where you have a real disconnect.
[00:06:51] Brendan: That’s where we have some dissonance.
What we often hear in our offices is clients saying, “Well, I’m not sure I have enough money to start a new category and save for the motor home, the boat, or the vacation home.”
But that’s why we’re looking at the lifestyle categories. We might be able to find a few pennies there. And those few pennies can add up over time.
[00:07:18] John: It doesn’t have to be a large expense, right? You don’t have to go out and spend an extra $1,500 a month on something frivolous.
You can take a lot of little expenses and add them up. If you redirect that money, you may get to a point where your spending is more in line with how you want to live your life.
[00:07:39] Brendan: We’re calling this part “cut the fat.” And I don’t know why I do this, but every time I say “cut the fat,” I kind of reach for my own midsection.
[00:07:47] John: That’s just you.
[00:07:47] Brendan: Yeah, that’s just me.
But we’re going to cut the fat. We’re going to trim down and have an honest conversation about our lifestyle expenses. I’ll bet any couple could find $50, $100, maybe even more dollars every month that they don’t have to spend.
You could gather that money together with a little discipline and put it toward your future goals. Let’s make sure our core spending aligns with our values, goals, and lifestyle.
But what happens if we sit down, Johnny, and it’s a mess this month?
[00:08:24] John: That’s fine. That’s how things go sometimes, right?
You touched on the idea of this being a hard conversation at the beginning. I don’t know if it’s necessarily hard, but it’s just one that doesn’t happen all the time. This might be the first time you’ve done it, the second time, or maybe you’ve never done it before.
At the same time, it doesn’t have to be hard. If you find yourself sliding or slipping off the wagon a little bit, recalibrate and figure it out for next month.
[00:08:54] Brendan: And give yourself a break, right?
[00:08:54] John: Give me a break, Brendan!
[00:08:54] Brendan: Please! Give me a break!
No, give yourself a break. Have a little grace for yourself and your partner. This doesn’t have to be so rigid because, as we discussed, lifestyle expenses—even the littlest things, like a cup of coffee here or there—are the spice of life.
We’re just asking you to be aware of it, name it, and maybe save that money for something you really, truly want.
[00:09:22] John: This process doesn’t need to be so rigid that you drive yourself crazy. There should be some give and take and a little flexibility so you can work on saving and putting your money where your goals and vision are. That’s what we’re trying to get to.
[00:09:39] Brendan: So let’s recap the second meeting—your second date night for Net Worth & Chill.
Number one: Pour that glass of wine and have a long conversation about your goals, your dreams, and the things you value in life.
[00:09:55] John: Point two would be to do your core check-in.
As you look at your expenses, are there things you’re spending money on that you deem to be core? Do you need to move them into the core bucket or over to the lifestyle bucket?
[00:10:11] Brendan: And finally, we’re going to cut the fat. We’re going to realize that ten trips to Starbucks don’t get us any closer to that vacation home in the future.
Four trips to Starbucks might be the trick. Maybe once a week gets you down the path.
So we’re going to cut the fat, talk about our hopes and dreams, check in on the core, and make sure our core spending aligns with our values. And number three, we’re going to cut the fat and give each other a break.
We’re going to have a little grace and just finish up that bottle of wine.
[00:10:37] John: Yeah.
[00:10:37] Brendan: What’s the last thing we have to do, Johnny?
[00:10:43] John: The last thing for this episode of Net Worth & Chill is to set the next meeting with your spouse or significant other.
You want to make sure you follow up and review everything together. Are you on track, or do you need to recalibrate again to get your expenses in line with your values?
[00:11:04] Brendan: So it’s not over! This series will continue. In our next episode, we’ll have episode number three of Net Worth & Chill, with something else for you to review.
What we hope is that you get really good at sitting down and reviewing these things and reviewing your budget. It may only take a few minutes once you’ve done it a few times.
In our next episode, we’ll uncover another opportunity for you to clean up your balance sheet and make sure your values are represented in your budget.
[00:11:33] John: So until then, sounds good.
[00:11:35] Brendan: If you enjoyed our little podcast, please remember to like and subscribe to The Penny & The Pint with us, the Old Irish Guys.
[00:11:41] John: If you have any questions about this podcast or any other questions, financial or otherwise, email us at info@oldirishguysfinance.com.
[00:11:49] Brendan: And finally, if you just need more information about the Old Irish Guys, visit us at www.oldirishguysfinance.com.
[00:11:56] Brendan: Until next time, save us a seat at the pub. We’ll see you there!