This Nurse is Staying Financially Fit While Caring For Others- Ep. 48
We are in a state of panic across our healthcare and economic systems. Nurses are being overworked to care for the unimaginable number of people afflicted with Coronavirus and those who have other health ailments. It puts an enormous amount of stress on them. Sometimes nurses don't have healthy coping outlets and end up indulging in habits that can derail their goals. Overspending, excess shopping, are some of the habits encountered.
Gaby Delismé is the Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Facing Finances, LLC. The mission of Facing Finances is to educate, empower, and enrich the lives of those on the journey to financial freedom. Prior to venturing out on her own, Gaby was the Vice President and Administrative Manager of a large retirement firm directly responsible for revenues of $56.6 million and leading teams in excess of 160 people. Education and remaining current with regards to industry hot buttons are very important to Gaby. She pushes herself and those around her to stay focused on their goals and position themselves as life-learners.
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TRANSCRIPT:
Naseema McElroy (00:00): All right. Nurses on fire. It is my honor to welcome Gaby Delisme to the Nurses on Fire podcast. Hey Gaby.
Gaby Delisme (00:12): Hey, how are you doing?
Naseema McElroy (00:16): Great. And I hope you are too.
Gaby Delisme (00:19): I am. We are in the middle of this, uh, this pandemic and we are not letting it keep us down because we know brighter days are coming.
Naseema McElroy (00:30): Yes, yes, it is all part of the cycle and just like any other cycle, we will rebound. And so looking forward to that rebound. But let's give people some practical tips on how to get through this as best as they can without letting the negativity pull them down. But first, Gaby, can you share with us your background?
Gaby Delisme (00:53): Sure. So I, I'm the owner of a company called facing finances and I founded the company close to six years ago. It'll be six years in August. And really the purpose is to educate and empower those that are on the journey to financial freedom. I'd been in financial services for like close to 15 years prior to opening my own practice. But the messaging of the company that I was with just wasn't what I saw impactful. There weren't many minority clients you had to have like over at least over $250 grand to like get an account. So I just wanted to help us get a seat at the table, find a way to educate folks so we don't have to feel like we can't build a legacy for the generations that are to come. So I have loved working with both individual clients, um, as well as holding workshops and I worked with a lot of companies, small businesses, and kind of go in as an extension of their benefits department and just share financial information and do meetings with their staff so they are not feeling like they need to live paycheck to paycheck.
Naseema McElroy (02:24): I love what you're doing and thank you so much for even bringing the table so that we can have a seat. Because as you know, the face of personal finance is a little pale and a little stale. So thanks for bringing the flavor and just the fact that you are doing what you do gives other people the ability to see what's possible for themselves. And that's why I have my platform. And so I'm just so happy that there are other people out there that are doing it and you have been doing it for way longer than. So thank you for making such a tremendous impact on our community because this is what we need. So let's talk about our current economic situation. What are some things that they are a major concern for people's finances right now.
Gaby Delisme (03:18): So right now really what this pandemic is revealing is areas where there was already financial instability, right? So now you add the fact that it is a global crisis that's going on. So folks are losing their jobs, although many people who are already living in it situation where they were just making it paycheck to paycheck. So now they are no longer working. So they're no longer receiving jobs, they have to file for unemployment and it is creating a huge financial burden. And that is creating a huge financial stress in addition to the health issues that are going on. So there are folks that really just need to pause everybody, all of us really just need to pause for a moment and just take a deep breath, one of those deep cleansing breaths and exhale and one no that it is going to be okay. So allow ourselves to just get our balance and then make a plan.
Gaby Delisme (04:30): And I tell folks the financial tool, that's like the staple in your financial success kit is really your spending plan. And a lot of times folks talk about budgets sound the same way that diets do too. A lot of people, they sound very restrictive, right? So instead of looking at it from a restriction type of viewpoint, look at it as this is my plan to spend my money. This is my plan to achieve the goals that I'm going to set forth. So creating a solid spending plan and looking at that to see what can you eliminate in terms of expenses, what can you eliminate or reduce and that you taking steps, the steps that you can control automatically starts to feel like you are in more control of the current situation that's going on. It gives you some ease and allows you to just breathe a little cause right now there's so much uncertainty out there and we've all like lost our equilibrium. So just taking a moment to just breathe and assess and take control of the things that you can take control of allows you to gain more control and allows you feel a little more relaxed and allows you to just to take the next step forward. Cause this is going to be on a day, a day by day basis type of thing.
Naseema McElroy (06:06): Yes. And some things I want to touch on is thank you for like giving people a moment to just pause and know that with a plan everything can work out cause it's so easy to fall into this, the cycle of negative news and fear and all those things that can hold you back instead of actually creating a plan that can get you through this and even puts you ahead of where you started. You know, because ultimately you have everything no matter what. If you lost your job, if you know you've had setbacks, just everybody has had some kind of setback. Someone how to devastation. Somebody is homeschool and that shouldn't be homeschooling, you know, and but know that everything will be okay. Things are going to turn around. It's just the nature of the market, the cycle, the world right thing. But with a plan we can get through it. And I love that you, we focused on budgets and I'm not afraid to use the B word and yes, yes it does sound like a diet to most people, but the spending plan. So how do people implement a spending plan when they are so worried about money coming in right now or the fear of losing their job or just living in fear of anything that can happen to them during this pandemic?
Gaby Delisme (07:41): Yes, that's a great question. As a lot of people, their income is uncertain right now. So if you are in a situation where you've either faced or thinking you will face like a reduction in hours, some sort of negative impact to your current financial situation, apply for unemployment. And a question that I've seen come through is, you know, I have a lot of clients that live in Jacksonville, Florida, so they're on the border, some of them work in Florida. What state should I apply for unemployment and apply for unemployment in the state in which you actually work. And so find out what benefits you have available to you. So find out what your number is going to be. So remember you're going to have your unemployment benefit from the state. In addition, the federal government has stepped in and for a period of time they're going to provide an additional, I believe it's an additional $400 or $600.
Gaby Delisme (08:43): So that's going to help. But what you're going to do with the money that you have, you're going to take care of your like primary financial responsibilities that's keeping food on your table, that's keeping the lights turned on, that's keeping shelter. And um, you know, a lot of times, uh, clothes is included in that, but we got plenty of clothes and we're not going anywhere for a good minute, right? So use what we have in our closets and our dresser drawers type of things. So in terms of like you're spending plan, you've got to know what you're going to be having coming in. So once you know what you are going to have coming in now, start to look at what your expenses are. Now the expenses, they're going to be some fixed expenses like your housing for example. Now a lot of landlords and apartments, they're offering tenants the ability to get some sort of relief.
Gaby Delisme (09:44): Mortgage companies are absolutely offering relief. You've got to reach out to them, call them, let them know what's going on so you can find out what options are available to you. Because with this uncertainty, there's a lot of fear because we're unsure about how we can handle things. So once you equip yourself with some insight as to what your options are, that's going to feel empowering to you. So reach out to your landlords, reach out to your mortgage companies to find out what alternatives are available to you in terms of paying for housing for utilities, there are a lot of municipalities that are offering relief programs to their residents. Um, I live in Tampa, I know the city of Tampa has opened a web portal and they're offering, uh, relief funds. So go on your city's website and see what options are available to you.
Gaby Delisme (10:41): So get all of the things that you potentially have coming in and then all of the things that you would absolutely need to pay to, um, on a monthly basis. And I think we need to scale down to like a bare bones spending plan. Now, I was watching the news a couple of days ago and I saw that Netflix last month had an increase of 16 million subscribers. So I know we're all sitting at home and I know that like $10 $12 does not seem like it is a lot. But that is like a couple of meals when you think about, you know, eating at home. So just be wise in our spending, you know, it's great for the Netflix shareholders. I own Netflix stocks. So I see the Netflix stock continuing to, you know, sore and sore. But when I think about like how we need to be in a capital preservation mode, I don't know that that's the best way to be spending our money right now.
Gaby Delisme (11:47): So as an alternative to that expense, get a library card from your local library. They have movies that you can view online with your library card. There are other free viewing services. Like I think there's vudu, there's, you know, there are other free streaming services. So get down to a bare bones spinning. Okay. And then be able to like tighten your belt buckle for a few months. We don't know how long this is going to last, but if we do the right things right now, I believe we can reposition ourselves financially to really soar and take off once this thing is over. And so we're in the middle of the storm right now. It's kind of like when you're on an airplane and they're just taxing, taxing, taxing, can't take it off yet or you can't land yet. But once that weather clears and you're able to take whatever course that you need to take, you need to be ready to soar. So when we reposition ourselves right now, we are going to be ready to soar.
Naseema McElroy (13:02): Yes. So I like that. And the things, the major takeaways that I hear from that is act now. Get your money together, go file unemployment immediately. Don't delay, don't wallow, get that done. The next thing you need to do is call every single person that you owe money to and figure out a plan to work with them so that you can decrease your liabilities right now. And then I love the term that you use capital preservation. We are in preservation mode. That means that your budget needs to be bare bone. Now I want to take it up a level. So this podcast is for nurses. We have had nurses lose their job for the first time that I've ever seen nurses lose jobs, but more we're seeing either two things. Either nurses are getting their hours reduced, which means that they could possibly lose their job.
Naseema McElroy (13:54): And then we're seeing nurses like me who are actually working more because of this and nurses in New York and things like that where they're just like working around the clock. So let's address those people. What I want to emphasize is that this situation, if it hasn't opened your eyes up to the fact that your job, the two thought was stable, is an illusion. Okay? 22 million people are unemployed in this country right now. Okay. Probably more now. That was from last week. So probably more. And so the things that Gaby just listed out that you need to do if you're unemployed, have all those things ready to go? Know the number to call or the website for unemployment and know exactly how to do that. Know everybody you owe money to and how to them and know what you're going to cut out of your budget right now. As a matter of fact, cut it out of your budget right now and just plan. So the most important thing you can do if you're employed right now is to keep your job. And after that the next important thing that you have to do is planned for a job loss. Okay. All right. And then so did you want to add anything to that? Like kind of like in between place.
Gaby Delisme (15:23): So first of all, thank you, all of the nurses. Thank you to all of the medical staff. I appreciate y'all for what y'all are doing. Whole world appreciates you for what you are doing. So we knew that y'all were essential before, you know, before essential workers was defined. So you are appreciated for your service and the risk that you take on really on a daily basis. So thank y'all for that. And in terms of this middle space, because some nurses are in the position, like you mentioned like yourself where you're working more. There is a tendency to think that because I'm working more, I'm bringing in more so maybe I can spend a little more and that concept it's called spend creep. And so the more we make, the more we spend, no, right now let's focus on capital preservation because we don't know what is going to come next. So just that extra money, that is a huge blessing. Look at it that way. And then just add it to your stockpile for use in the future should you need it. But yeah, don't fall into the trap of spending more because you're making more like right now.
Naseema McElroy (16:44): And I see it as an opportunity, right? First of all, if we're making more money, we shouldn't be spending as much, but we're going to talk about spending in a minute. But this is an opportunity if you do cut down on your expenses and you have the opportunity to beef up your savings, which is going to shield you from if you do experience a job loss. So that is paramount right now. And then it's going to give you an opportunity. Say we get through this crisis. Okay, things are starting to be on the up and up. Now you have all this extra cushion to build from. This is the time that makes millionaires. All those people that you see that are retiring early, you know in the last couple of years made their money from barely anything. These people weren't making six figures. They made their money from the last recession because either they just held steady and investing in the market and maximizing how much they can invest or they capitalize on some really good real estate deals that helped them bubble.
Naseema McElroy (17:48): But this is your opportunity. Now I know before this a lot of people were like, Oh I'm waiting to get into real estate when the market crashes. Okay the market is crashing. Do you have your stuff together? Cause you should have been having your stuff together. So this, cause you said you was waiting, right? So this is an opportunity. This is an opportunity. So I like to look at everything as an opportunity, even if it's just an opportunity to know that we weren't as secure as we thought we were. And so let's get our stuff together for the future if that's the very least that you can do, you're still going to be miles ahead of the next person. So let's talk about spending now. What are some things that you seen as of late? As far as people's spending habits and we all have our own personal confessions to make. I mean we probably have spent more than we need to at Costco. Okay. And my cabinets are bustling and my deep freezer is full and it was empty a couple of months ago. So my grocery budget is, on fleck, this is not a guilt trip, this is just sharing that you know, spending can be rampant during this time, these times
Gaby Delisme (19:07): it can. And it has become like really excessive for some of us. I was sharing earlier that Costco has probably taken more of my money over the past couple of months than ever before. You know, they've got things that I don't need. Like another pair of jeans. We're not going anywhere. I don't need another pair of jeans. So just really making sure that the money that you are spending is on the essential things, not on those things that you don't need. Because remember we're in capital preservation mode, so I'm seeing a lot of emails come out from retailers. So the retailers have been hit hard. They are sending out emails with huge discounts to entice us to go in and shop online and we don't need any clothes. We're not going anywhere right now.
Naseema McElroy (20:08): Yeah. North face tried to get me talking about 50% off for all the nurses. Now I don't need no North face. There is nothing Northwest that I need. But do you know about boyfriend was on there. Like what can we get from North face? I might need a jacket. Wow.
Gaby Delisme (20:24): Yeah. Cause it's the sale. It's the discount that they're offering us. I've seen like emails come through with as much as 70% off and I'm like, Oh, Oh but this is so nice. I can use this once. Everything shifts. No. So what I have done is I have deleted those emails that have come into my inbox and I have unsubscribed from those lists because that's less temptation. Cause if you don't see it, then you won't miss it.
Naseema McElroy (20:58): But I want you to get that temptation happens to the best of us. Temptation happens to us that know better that you, you know, that are telling you to do better. I mean we've all worked too, so it's better to just not have it.
Gaby Delisme (21:13): Yeah. And so with our nurses, you know, a lot of people look at spending as like retail therapy and so they take to the shopping size and I've done it before so I'm guilty. So we take to the retail sites, fill up those shopping carts and then hit that submit order button and can't wait to receive those items. Well, right now we need to socially distance ourselves from those online shopping websites and we remain in capital preservation mode because with retail therapy, if you think about it, therapy is something that's really supposed to help us. It's supposed to put us in a better position than we were when we started the therapy journey. The retail therapy, it really doesn't do that. It a lot of times it adds onto debt and once we like hit the submit button or when we received the credit card bill, we have this guilt factor. So that's like an added stress that we're putting on ourselves. So instead of doing retail therapy, like get a great book or actually really this is something that I don't think we talk about enough, really get the help of an actual mental health professional because right now we are all facing some challenging issues and to have a trained person that you can talk through this stuff and strategize so you can really truly come out in a better position. That's huge and empowering. So seek the help of an actual therapist,
Naseema McElroy (22:59): Hey men to that. Thank you so much for bringing that up because that is what we really need is to, especially right now, right now, make sure that we have our mental health in check because things can spiral quickly, especially with all this negative news out there. I mean every day is something every day things are changing and a lot of people, a lot of people don't deal with change at all very well and all the change that has been going on right now is enough to break people down. And even with, especially with nurses, the way that we're able to practice, the way that we even have to show up at work, like we're in full gear, face mask, all this stuff. You can't even see people's faces. A lot of our job is just based off of interactions and just you know that face to face that care and that love and it is totally had it a lot.
Naseema McElroy (24:08): There was a lot of fear and there is a lot of stress because even in the joyous place that I work where we bring life into this world thing, the dynamic has shifted. We are turning into the daddy police because we're the only unit in the hospital that allows visitors and so we're very strict. They can't leave the room, they have to wear a mask. And so instead of like, you know, being in this environment where it's about bringing this beautiful life into the world, it's about making sure everybody is safe and making sure that we decrease the exposure and all these kinds of things. And so it has kind of shifted our harmony, right? It is shifted. Yeah. Just, just that what we have like between our like work and then in our life as well. Right? So what are some ways we can just increase that harmony between our work and our life in general?
Gaby Delisme (25:07): Oh, so with you mentioning change, what we have experienced is like the change at such a rapid pace back to back to back to back. And it is so important that we hold on to our faith in moments like this, if we are not grounded in God and know that there is his mighty hand that is at work in all of this, even though we don't understand it, even though it is, um, challenging for us all, we will like emotionally crumble. So we have to know that our faith is going to sustain us. Just really focusing on growing our faith in this season. So some folks are not connected to an assembly or something like that. Um, a church, find one and talk to your friends, look online and get someone who is really rooted in God. And you know, there are a lot of, what is the saying snake oil salesmen, you know, out here, and this is the time where people are already emotionally vulnerable.
Gaby Delisme (26:23): So some are capitalizing on that. Just make sure that the person that is like recommending an assembly, that they're solid and rooted and you know, a lot of times we don't trust what's on the inside of us enough. There is that voice on the inside of us that will allow us to be directed into the space that we should be directed into. So just be comfortable and competent in following your inner voice and making sure that what you do brings you closer to a place of peace. Because if there's like a shakiness still and you're not gaining more peace and insight and wisdom, it's not this journey that is like drawing you to light, then that's probably the space for you.
Naseema McElroy (27:18): Yes, yes. I love that. Like we do have to be connected spiritually because this is all spiritual. This is all part of a higher plan and what can pull us out and ensure that we're okay is to be connected and especially knowing that any kind of change, anything that you want to be comes from the inside out. You just have to trust that you are capable of aspiring that change. But yes, get connected with people that can help you. All right. So ultimately we aren't nurses on buyer, we are nurses aspiring to financial independence. And in order to get to financial independence, there has to be a plan to retire or separate from our employee in some way, shape or form or just have the ability to not have to work if we don't want to. Even if we do go there, we can say deuces at any time. So though this Corona virus is top of mind, we still have our eyes on the prize. Okay, we need to keep our eyes on the prize. So what should we be doing to plan for retirement right now? If you're experiencing a job loss, if you've experienced job cuts, hours cuts, or if you're working more than ever, how should we be planning for retirement?
Gaby Delisme (28:43): Awesome question. Cause that's very forward thinking because there is going to be a future, right? So in terms of planning for retirement, if you are not already contributing to your company sponsored plan and you are in a position to financially do so because we're in capital preservation mode, but retirement is going to come and that money, those monies are still your monies so that that's still your capital, right? Start contributing at minimum two up to whatever is matched by the company that you work for. So your company sponsored plan cause it start contributing up to the match there. And what is that match? That's an automatic return. So when you hear folks talk about, well you know I was invested in the market and I got a like 5% return, while you're automatically going to get a return because the company's going to match the money that you put in.
Gaby Delisme (29:42): Right? So then the other thing is if you're not in a place where you can actually contribute to your retirement accounts right now, if you're not, that's okay. This season will pass. Just don't take any money out of your existing plans. Focus on leaving that money there for the long game cause that's, that's your long game money. You'll be able to utilize that later if you're in a position to not contribute right now, just hold tight and don't take any monies out. And the other thing is you don't want to liquidate or you don't want to sell anything right now because the market is up one day down, one day up, one day down one day. So you don't want to be in a position where you're selling investments that you're holding in your retirement accounts when market is low, because then that's losses that you have really made on your accounts, right?
Naseema McElroy (30:44): Right. So that's what people are trying to do. They're saying, Oh my God, the market is going down. I need to get out now, or I need to move into more conservative accounts. Not understanding that. What that actually means is that I'm selling this stock that I bought for a hundred dollars now I'm selling it for $50 now I'm realizing that loss as to where I still own that stock. That stock isn't going away, that share isn't going away. It may go down to $50 but it's going to go back $200 just hold onto it. That's what I've heard. And then a lot of people have been asking me, well, should I just stop investing?
Gaby Delisme (31:25): So no. So if you are all ready contributing to your plans or if you're in a position to actually contribute to your retirement plans or in a position to invest outside of your retirement accounts, this is the time to prepare yourself to get in the market. I don't know how to double Dutch, but I was trying to learn at like a church function last year and you have to watch both ropes simultaneously to see when is a good time for you to jump in. Right. Well, right now we all know that the stock market is a lot lower, so we know that right now if we get in now it's better than if we would have gotten in, let's say back in January because the stock prices are lower right now. So I don't know that we have seen like the bottoms of the market, but we don't want to be in a position where we are what's called timing the market and timing the market is like you're trying to figure out the perfect time for you to jump in because what happens then is that jumping rope hits you and I got hit that jump rope quite a few times. So
Naseema McElroy (32:43): I love that analogy. That's great.
Gaby Delisme (32:47): We have to know that, okay, it's, it's a good time. I may not get the lowest of the low, but I have gotten a lower price than I would have gotten. So I'm ready now. I'm financially positioned to jump in. Now I'm going to jump in and I'm going to go, um, you know, I'm gonna jump in and I'm gonna start hopping. So a lot of times folks do that market timing and then it backfires on them. So they're waiting around forever to jump in. And then when you're adding money to your investment portfolio, like threw out, you have to look at the fact that on average you're actually reducing the cost that you paid for the higher shares. So it's called dollar cost averaging. So you're, you're spreading out the cost over a period of time. So you bought some at a hundred dollars you bought summit $50 you bought summit $20 you know, just throwing out fictitious examples and you average out those prices there and you've got like a much lower per share price than the hundred dollars. It's higher than the 20 but it's lower. So you've dollar cost average your way into the market and that's a consistent way to invest.
Naseema McElroy (34:11): Yes. So I think when we're thinking about retirement, it's a long game. So you are looking at investing. So what is the best time to invest today? Right now the best time to invest is right now, even if it was a month ago, the best time to invest is right now. Get in and stay consistent. And that's all you have to do is really that simple. I think when people think about investing, like they think about wall street and they're like, I need to be a day trader. This is not day trading. This is a long game. This is set it and forget it. This is be consistent. I don't care if it's $20 a month. Be consistent and just do it and just stay in because that's how you reap the rewards. Okay? It's not this in and out thing. You don't have to know how to tray. You don't have to know how to do all these things. You just have to put your money in the market, leave it in there for at least 10 years and you'll be set. You'll be set. The only thing that you should be worried about is how you can put more in.
Gaby Delisme (35:10): That's the thing. Yeah. Just like you said, the focus is on consistency.
Naseema McElroy (35:16): Yes. Yes, yes. All right, so Gaby, this has been an incredible conversation. I know people have gained so much value from it. I know I have, and I just love your analogies. Your stories are amazing and so I know your clients are like I love Gaby, she just, she knows how to get us together and she's totally relatable. She's not that base of finance where you feel super intimidated and so how can people get in contact with you because I know they all want him.
Gaby Delisme (35:47): Thanks. Yeah, and so folks can check out our Facebook page. We are at FacingFinances. The website is www.facingfinances.com. We are, actually all over social media handles are the same facingfinances.com and I am also assessable via social media at GabyDelisme.com last name is D E L. I S M E. And I just thank you so much for opening up your platform because there are so many people that need to hear this information and I think right now it is really about finding ways to share what we have been blessed with so you allowing the free flow of information is just a blessing. So thank you for what you do. This has been incredible. And I want to leave folks just with something that will help all of us find a way to be a blessing to someone else. Just, you know, give of yourself, you may not be able to do something monetary right now, but there's something you're able to do to be a blessing to someone else. And I believe that is what unlocks our blessings. So I just, I thank you.
Naseema McElroy (37:11): Thank you. Thank you so much, Gaby, and thank you for leaving us on that note, because I feel like in this time, that's at the very least what we can do. And then guess what, you guys, usually when you pay things for it, it comes back to you tenfold. And so don't do it just to expect something, but that's what typically happens. So yes, I love that. Thank you again, Gaby. You are amazing.
Gaby Delisme (37:39): Thank you. And then SEMA, this has been awesome. Thank you.
Hey there I’m Naseema
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