010: Why Rejecting a “Normal” Life is Worth It with DailyWorth’s Amanda Steinberg

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Who is Amanda Steinberg?

Alright, let’s meet today’s Master of Money.

Amanda Steinberg launched DailyWorth in 2009 to bring a fresh voice and an outsider’s perspective to personal finance. Oprah selected her to the exclusive SuperSoul 100, and Forbes named her one of twenty-one New Money Masters (how appropriate!). Learn more about her at www.amandasteinberg.co.

Amanda just released a new book, called Worth It: Your Life, Your Money, Your Terms. And as you’ll hear on the show, she also helped create a robo-advisor for women, called WorthFM. I’m a big fan of Amanda’s work and have invited her to speak at FinCon many times.

Listen to This Episode with Amanda Steinberg from DailyWorth

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I hope you enjoyed that. A big thank you to Amanda for giving us the gold today.

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Show Notes

[01:50] – What Amanda does differently than those around her and how it’s attractive to others.
[03:30] – Amanda’s living expenses in metro Philadelphia and dealing with pressure to buy.
[04:20] – Making a high income and still spending it all.
[05:00] – Dealing with the 60,000 tax bill and spending money on housing and childcare as an entrepreneur.
[07:00] – What made Amanda decide to stop relying on income vs actually managing her money.
[08:00] – Living a life she thought she should live.
[09:50] – Reducing expenses from $12,000 a month to $4,000.
[11:45] – The two checking accounts she uses to manage her money.
[13:20] – The effects of private school on her finances.
[14:00] – Amanda’s thoughts on investing (roots vs wings).
[16:15] – WorthFM and automated investing for women.
[19:45] – Starting her businesses.
[21:15] – The motivation behind DailyWorth and what it does.
[23:45] – How being an entrepreneur creates challenges in personal finance.
[25:15] – How Amanda handles life insurance (personally) and health insurance (for her employees).
[27:45] – Amanda’s income and real estate goals for the future.
[29:00] – Paying for college for the kids.
[30:00] – The journey so far…

Show Sponsor

This episode was sponsored by our list of The Best Robo-Advisors for Automated Investing. Visit ptmoney.com/best-robo-advisors/ for more information and to get started for free.

Links/Terms/Concepts from the Show

• Soapbox (Amanda’s first company)
• Venture-backed startup
• Worth It (Amanda’s new book)
• *E-Trade
• Net Worth
• Exchange Traded Funds (ETF)
• Passive Index Funds
• Betterment
• WorthFM (Amanda’s Robo-Advisor)
• Motif
• Dollar Cost Average
• DailyWorth (daily money and business advice)
• Myers-Briggs
• SEP IRA
• Traditional IRA
• Paychex
• United Healthcare
• 529 Plans

3 Takeaways from My Interview with Amanda

1. Your intentional lifestyle, no matter how unorthodox, can be attractive to others.

Your intentional lifestyle, no matter how unorthodox, can be attractive to others. Amanda says that when she talks about dying her own hair or making a certain spending choice that goes against the grain, she does it with confidence, that others find refreshing. Reminds me of something Mrs. PT and I like to say..instead of “we can’t afford that”, we say we choose to spend our money on something else. It helps to reframe the decisions from scarcity to abundance.

2. “You don’t have to follow all the rules if they aren’t working for you.”

“You don’t have to follow all the rules if they aren’t working for you.” In personal finance, there are a lot of rules of thumb you can follow. You can drive yourself crazy trying to do all of the advice out there. If this podcast has reinforced anything for me it’s that there are many difference ways to a positive net worth. If things aren’t working for you, try a different approach.

3. Surprise expenses can destroy the best intentions…widen the gap between your income and expenses.

Surprise expenses can destroy the best intentions…widen the gap between your income and expenses. As an entrepreneur myself I can attest to Amanda’s desire for a big baseline gap between earnings and expenses. Unexpected expenses come up….income fluctuates….so the bigger that gap is, the more variance you’ll be able to overcome. Live WELL below your means.

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This show is part of the FinCon Podcast Network and was produced by Steve Stewart.