The Purpose Playbook Podcast - Ep 14 - How to practice purposeful money management with Financial Planner Natalie Taylor

Ep 14 - How to practice purposeful money management with Financial Planner Natalie Taylor

06/09/20 • 52 min

Natalie Taylor is a Financial Planner and Public Speaker. Her personal purpose is to help people cultivate a plan for their finances based on their values and goals. In other words, Natalie helps individuals, couples, and families invest their available funds in what provides the greatest amount of fulfillment, not just financial return.

She has been a financial planner for over 15 years and a lot of her work is dedicated to making professional financial advice more accessible and relevant to a broader audience. She spent 7 years working for FinTech startup, LearnVest, and recently opened her own financial planning practice to work with individual clients.

In this episode, we talk about Natalie’s earliest money memories, how she fell into financial planning, the values she and her husband optimize for, and the advice she has for people who are navigating the tricky but fulfilling balancing act of parenthood, entrepreneurship, relationships, and life in general. What I love about Natalie is that she walks the talk, which makes her such an incredible and relatable example of the power of purposeful financial planning.

#PurposePlays from this episode:

Align your money management strategy with your values. Identify your values: 1) what is most important to you, and 2) how you live your life. Use your values as a filter when determining how to prioritize your spending and saving, what to invest in, how to make trade-offs in your budget, etc. I recommend using Natalie’s Values Guide for this process (available on her site).
Create margin in your life. Build in time and space so you are not scheduled back to back to back. Sometimes you have to grow at a slower pace than you want to, so you can continue to make intentional decisions and show up as your full self. It may require you to detach self worth to productivity, but it will ultimately help you live in greater alignment with your purpose.
Create margin in your budget. This gives you the flexibility to make spontaneous decisions and enjoy life in the moment instead of living for “some day”.

Links:

Natalie’s website (be sure to wait for the pop-up to receive the Values Worksheet)

Article on Teaching Kids About Money

#PurposePlays from this episode:

Align your money management strategy with your values. Identify your values: 1) what is most important to you, and 2) how you live your life. Use your values as a filter when determining how to prioritize your spending and saving, what to invest in, how to make trade-offs in your budget, etc. I recommend using Natalie’s Values Guide for this process (available on her site).
Create margin in your life. Build in time and space so you are not scheduled back to back to back. Sometimes you have to grow at a slower pace than you want to, so you can continue to make intentional decisions and show up as your full self. It may require you to detach self worth to productivity, but it will ultimately help you live in greater alignment with your purpose.
Create margin in your budget. This gives you the flexibility to make spontaneous decisions and enjoy life in the moment instead of living for “some day”.

Links:

Natalie’s website (be sure to wait for the pop-up to receive the Values Worksheet)

Article on Teaching Kids About Money

Previous Episode

Ep 13 - How to become happier at work with Claire Lew

Shownotes

Hands down, the #1 question we get is “How can I find more purpose at work?” Many people spend the majority of their waking hours working, so it’s no surprise that feeling miserable or disengaged at work can have a tremendous impact on your broader wellbeing. This is exactly why I am so thrilled to introduce you to Claire Lew. She is the CEO of Know Your Team, a software tool that helps business owners and managers build happier, more productive companies. Claire’s personal mission is to help people become happier at work and she has partnered with organizations in over 24 countries, including household names like Airbnb, Kickstarter, and Medium.

In this episode, we talk about Claire’s personal story--of how an introvert became a leadership expert. We talk about big broad topics like overcoming fear around career decisions, as well as tactical tips like how to approach a tough conversation with your manager. Claire draws on personal experience as well as all the incredible data she has collected through Know Your Team, and I personally walked away with so many insightful takeaways from our conversation.

#PurposePlays from this episode:

If you’re looking to experience more happiness and purpose at work, start by asking yourself the question: What conditions in a work environment do I need to do my best work? Once you have a clear answer to this question, it will be a lot easier for you to ask for what you need.
When going into the conversation with your manager, always be mindful about sharing context. The number one reason managers may get defensive is because they are misreading your intention, so be as CLEAR as possible about why you’re asking for something or why you’re sharing certain feedback.
Find an outlet for processing emotions that is embodied vs. cerebral. Make time for this activity, even (rather, especially) when you don’t feel like it. If you have trouble with this consider doing it for others instead of yourself: if you give yourself time to indulge in this activity, you will become a better person/mother/colleague/employee/etc.

Links

Personal Website

Instagram

Twitter

Know Your Team Website

The Heartbeat Podcast

Favorite book: The Fifth Discipline by Peter Senge

Next Episode

Ep 15 - Combining Purpose & Profit with Yunus Social Business CEO Saskia Bruysten

I met Saskia a little under 10 years ago at a conference focused on social entrepreneurship and social business in London. She is one of those people you don’t forget in a hurry, and I’ve been following and admiring her work ever since. She is the co-founder of Yunus Social Business, a philanthropic venture fund that turns donations into investments in sustainable social businesses that provide employment, education, healthcare, clean water, and clean energy to over 9 million people around the world.

Saskia describes her purpose as “changing the powerful animal that is capitalism for the better.” The problems she is solving are big, messy and complicated, but her infectious passion for these issues is what carries her through.

In this episode, we talk about how Saskia came to work with Professor Yunus; and the thoughtful, type-A process she created to get there. We talk about the importance of combining profit and purpose in business, as well as advice she has for those who are interested in pursuing a similar path.

#PurposePlays from this episode:

Revisit your Purpose Statement annually. Once a year, remind yourself of your purpose and evaluate how you are or are not living up to it, and how you can recommit to this statement in the year ahead.
Don’t underestimate passion. If you choose to dedicate your career to a social cause, choose something you are very passionate about because it’s the passion that will help you stay focused and committed when the going gets tough (because it will).
Surround yourself with people who share your purpose. Whether it’s colleagues, employees, a mastermind, or a group of likeminded changemakers, these individuals can help re-energize and re-inspire you in moments you are struggling.
Make conscious choices. Once every few months, do the research to determine if there is a more sustainable alternative to the products you are using or buying. You don’t have to do this for every purchase, but focus on the items you buy a lot of.

Links:

Yunus Social Business

For intrapreneurs: Business As Unusual

COVID Response Alliance for Social Entrepreneurs

The Good Guide by Marieke Eyskoot

Banker to the Poor by Muhammad Yunus