We’re excited to announce that we’re relaunching the podcast…
It’s our intention to share our knowledge on the world of financial planning so we can help others, and this next phase of the podcast will be focused on doing just that.
In this episode, we’ll let you know what to expect from the show going forward and get new listeners up to speed on who we are and what we do.
We’ll also tackle the question on everyone’s minds: “What’s happening with the economy?”—and share how you can make a plan for when times get tough.
Transcript
April Schoen: Hello, everyone, and welcome. My name is April Schoen and I'm sitting here today with John Curry.
John Curry: Hello, April. Hello, everyone.
April: And we're excited because today we're relaunching the podcast. It's been a while since we've had a new episode. And this year, we've really been focused on helping our clients. We've been focused on our webinars and bringing back our in person seminars. But we've had so much feedback over the years about our podcast, and had someone ask recently about if we were going to have some new episodes.
So we're excited to tell you that we're relaunching the podcast and excited to share with you guys today, what you can expect. So before we get into that, John, I thought it'd be good if we just tell them a little bit about us, and who we are, and what we do.
John: That's a boring topic.
April: There might be some new people that have never heard from us before. Or maybe it's been a while. So John, tell us a little bit about you. And I already know, like how long you've been in the business and all the fun things, but.
John: A long time. September 13th, will be 49 years. And what's funny, I was thinking about this yesterday, April. Because of the financial news, inflation, recession discussions, things like that. I moved here in 1974. Here being Tallahassee, right out the Air Force. Worked for one year, loading milk trucks at Borden's Dairy. Get up every morning at 1 o'clock and go work and go to school.
And I'm seeing some similarities in what I saw then, especially in 1975, when I came into business. And it made me think about where are we and what has been my role, and my life's work? Almost half a century. So for me, initially, in 1975, it was nothing but life insurance. It's all I did was sell life insurance. And I quickly realized I didn't like that. I wanted to do financial planning. Financial planning had just began at that point as a, quote, profession.
And everyone around me kept saying, you can't do that. And why not? Well, you can't because you're a life insurance salesman. Well, I don't want to be just a life insurance salesman. I believe in the product. But there's more to it. And so that led me on a journey of learning more about investments, and more about tax planning, and then I rocked the boat a little bit because I wanted to get some specific designations. CLU, chartered life underwriter, chartered financial consultant, and later a Masters of Science in financial services.
But back in those days, that was kind of poo pooed. You just get out and sell products, right. That's all you need to do. So I've been a little bit of a maverick along the way, and wanted to do things a little bit differently. But as you know, you're dealing with financial regulatory bodies, there's only so far you can go. You know, you can't step over the line, but you can get your toe right there close to the line.
So, over the years, it's just a thing of listening to clients. And most of my learning happened because of clients. Of them saying, hey, I've got this problem, can you help me? And I always have trouble saying no, so I'd say, yes, let me look at it. Then next thing, you know, I learned something new, that then allowed me and our team to help hundreds if not 1000s of other people.
April: Absolutely. Well, I think that's really what's led to also the podcast and the webinars and the seminars is realizing there's these really important topics out there that people want to know more about. You know, we tend to, I think focus in on the retirement planning aspect of someone's financial world.
So that might be that we're talking about Social Security, or Medicare or taxes and like, what all goes into that. But we get so many questions from people around those topics. And there's a ton of information out there. There's almost too much information. And like, how do you really figure out, sift through that to figure out how it applies to you.
John: Well, when it comes to financial products, pardon me, it's a misery of choice. There are too many. There are too many choices, and people get confused. And I was talking with a friend over the weekend. We were out on the pontoon boat taking a ride at Lake Talquin. He said, how do I determine what financial products are best for me? I said, well, the best is just go find someone to work with. Whether it be me or someone like me, or someone on our team.
But, or you can do it yourself. But if you do it yourself it's like looking up medical information on the websites. Okay? You're going to get conflicting views. Okay. So when you get two conflicting views or three conflicting views, what do you do now? You're stuck. And so my advice is you find somebody you can trust. Ask the tough questions, make sure you like them, respect them, and can trust them.
And then you sit down together and you build a plan. And by the way, before I forget it. It's something you just made a comment about, getting information out there with our podcast. You know, our friend Steve is the one who really pushed me hard originally to do books and podcasts. Challenged me I didn't like the way he did it. But he was right.
And what he said, folks, is you got all this knowledge in your head, something happens to you and you die. All that knowledge died with you. You've got to get it out there. So, as a result, three books and I don't even know how many podcasts we've put out there. Not to mention webinars, and live events before COVID came along. Tell them about you.
April: Yeah, so I've been in financial services since 2010. And I was actually just when you were talking about it, I was thinking about how I kind of got into this industry, and I was not one of those people. John, I know this will not surprise you. But I was not this person who was like a 12 year old little girl thinking what I want to be when I grow up is a financial advisor. That was just not me.
I wasn't to be, you know, to be transparent, I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted to do. So when I got out of college, I started working for a local firm here in Tallahassee, and I was helping them actually recruit new advisors to work for the firm. And I was helping them also create like a training and onboarding program, because they didn't have one. And so through that process, I was really learning what do you need to learn to be a financial advisor.
Like, what are they going to be doing? And how are they going to be doing it, and information that they're going to be helping clients with. And I loved it. The more that I learned, the more I wanted to learn. And I quickly realized, like, I didn't learn any of that in college. So here I was, I had my business degree, I was super, you know, happy about that. And I didn't learn hardly anything about personal finance.
And it really led me on this journey to try to figure out, it was like, kind of selfish at first, because I was learning all of the stuff that I could apply to my own life. And then I had someone, a mentor at the time, he's like, you know April, I really think that you should get licensed, and you should start helping people, the same way that you've used this information to help yourself.
And it was kind of neat. It really went from how can I learn this information to help myself, to how can I learn this information to help other people. And then as you know, I joined you here at where we are now at North Florida Financial, almost 10 years ago. And it's been really fun. And it's super exciting. And like I said earlier, we really focus in on that retirement planning aspect. So then it wasn't so much just all the broad topics, but really trying to get more laser focused on it.
John: I want to address that. Almost 10 years now. Folks, when I hired April, I knew she had the ability to become a financial advisor, and didn't have to push her much, but just a little encouragement, and she decided to become an advisor. And one of my biggest challenges was okay, how do I have business continuity? How do I have succession planning to take care of my clients. To make sure if I become disabled or I die, or I decide to fully retire, that the clients were not being neglected.
And we built together a team where I don't have to worry about that. Some of you know, some do not know that in March of 2021, my right leg was amputated above the knee. A big surprise it came fast. And we didn't miss a beat. When I was out so much, April managed the team did very well. And now we do everything as a partnership and working well together.
April: That's right. Well, I think we realized early on that we had a good relationship and a good partnership. I remember early on us talking about how we covered the male and female perspective. That we covered different age gaps. So you know, I'm going to be 40 this year, you'll be 71. So it was always nice that we had these different perspectives in helping clients and covering a lot of that. And we just realized we worked really well together. So I think that's really, it actually makes us more efficient as a team and really helps us help more people that way.
John: I agree totally. And if you're having fun, no matter what type of work you're doing, it's more enjoyable to get up and go to work.
April: That's right.
John: Then saying, oh, man, do I have to go in today? That's not fun.
April: No. Let's talk a little bit, John, about the mission of the podcast. I mean, you really started this podcast years ago, sharing stories with our listeners. So let's talk a little bit about our mission. And what we hope that people get out of the podcast.
John: Okay. To me, the mission has not changed. Everything, and I mean, everything we do has got to be to where we're taking what we know, from dealing with 1000s of people. How do we get that out to those who want to receive the information? There are over 7 billion people, almost 8 billion people on the planet.
Folks, we don't need all of them, don't want all of them. We only want to work with people who want to work with us. So our mission is in my mindset real simple. Provide valuable information, whether it be on finances, lifestyle. Some of our favorite podcasts are people who have retired and they told their stories about you know buying a motorhome, traveling or whatever.
To me that helps people get a vision of what retirement could look like. So when they open that door, and they go, oops, I'm in retirement, what do I do? And so many times people have said to us, I got so many good ideas from listening to the interviews.
So to me, the mission is simple. Provide valuable information to educate people on a variety of topics. I know I've interviewed people on things that are important to me. Remember, the physical therapist I had, the personal trainer that I had. Things that were important to me at the time that people said wow, thank you for sharing that.
April: We got some great feedback from some people we interviewed when COVID, about COVID. So I think you know, it is a mixture of like some timely, what's happening right now in the world, and also more of these maybe specific financial topics. Also, these interviews that are so great. I like hearing someone's story of their journey like to and through retirement. It's a lot of fun.
John: I'm excited about the concept you and I discussed in preparing for today, of just sitting down occasionally with the phone between us and say, look, we had a client just walk out the door. This was a key topic for them. We think everyone would benefit. Turn the recorder on. It might only be 10 minutes, but that's okay. Because we don't need to sit around for an hour, hour and a half, listening to a presentation.
April: Bite sized chunks are perfect. Right?
John: That's why TED talks only allow you 18 minutes.
April: Yeah, so I think um, you know, for us, it'll be you know, interviews like you've done before with people on their story and their journey with retirement. It could be John and I doing a podcast together, or maybe even doing something solo, where we're covering a specific topic. I know, John, you and I are both speakers, both have our own presentations. And then ones we do together, so could be a recording from some of those talks and presentations as well.
John: One thing I want to send out right away, April, is a speech I gave to my rotary club about a month ago. I want to get that out. I think people would benefit from that, from hearing how to deal with adversity, because we have some today. It's called inflation, high interest rates. And we probably should touch on that just a wee bit. Before we get off today, give somebody at least a little tidbit of stuff that they can use today.
April: Absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah, I know I'm excited about the lineup that we've got already for our podcasts. And I would say too, if there's a specific topic or question that you have, and you want us to dive into it, send us an email. You can email me directly at April_Schoen that's S c h o e n @yoursws.com. So yeah, you could always send me an email and just put you know, podcast in the subject line and let me know if there's a specific question you want us to answer.
John: Let's talk for just a moment about what's happening with the economy. I want to throw this tidbit out there since I've been doing this so long. I told you that yesterday, I was thinking about when I came into business 1975 and what I saw. In 1975, we had a recession. The economy was not doing very well. A lot of construction projects in this community had stopped, and then you fast forward and what happened in the 80s.
High inflation, mortgage rates, well, I was paying 13%. I've heard people say they were paying 16. But I didn't experience that. But 13% on a 30 year fixed mortgage through the VA. And the VA pretty much always had the best rates. What I want to say to people is this. This is not our first rodeo. You and I have both dealt with clients through all kinds of economic calamities.
So if you're looking for some guidance, and you want someone who's been there, done that, with tried and true methods to help you plan, come see us or talk to us on the phone. But I'm going to tell you that there are too many people, politicians, corporate world salespeople that are working on the whole concept of greed. And they're making people fearful. It's like people saying social security is going to end.
I get so damn tired of hearing that. No, it's not. No, it's not. It's going to change and it should have been changed years ago. But folks, you just, you've got to find a way to tune out all the negativity and surround yourself with advisors who will tell you the truth, but they don't try to scare you to death. And that's what I want to leave with. Whatever else you want to cover, I'm here.
April: Absolutely. I think you know one things that we help clients with is calming down some of that noise. Quieting down that noise that we hear all the time. If you're tuning into the TV or listening to radio, the financial news, it always seems to me like the sky is falling and the world is ending. And that's just not true. The sun will rise tomorrow. I do think it comes back to having some of those clear guidelines, though.
When you talk about having a plan. I think that's so important that someone have a plan, and can help them deal with these issues that are going on in the world, right? So it doesn't mean that you have to have all the answers, and you have to have it all figured out. Because you're probably not, but at least having a starting point. And then you adjust as you go.
John: I just had something pop in my head because of being military. Let's think back to our economy. You go back to the 30s, what happened then? Great Depression. You look at the 40s what did we have? Two world wars. Well, World War II, and then you had the Korean War in the 50s. Then in the 60s, and the 70s, we had Vietnam. And then you go from there, Afghanistan, Iraq, all this stuff.
So there's always going to be something. Some calamity somewhere, but trust me, people, when things are bad, people are still making money. The people who know how, they have a plan first, and they stick to their plan, they do well. The people who do not have a plan, they panic. They go, oops, I can't do this anymore. And they abandon their plan at the wrong time. But you're totally correct. If you have a plan, first, the products will be easy to pick.
If you do everything based on oh god, I found this hot product, no matter what it is. Mutual fund, an ETF, a life insurance policy or whatever. If you don't have a plan of action for that, I submit to you that you just bought another product. And that product may be good. But it might not be the best for your situation. So plan first, then go get the products.
April: Absolutely. And when you've got stuff going on, like some sort of turmoil, it could be that something broad that's happening in the economy, it could be something that's happening more in your own personal economy, as we talk about. That's when it really when you want to rely on your plan. And we talk sometimes about you know, what is your plan? What's your protocol? Because when times get tough, you want to really be able to double down on that protocol, double down on that plan.
John: What protocol? What plan? Most people will tell you, they have no plan. They're flying by the seat of their pants. And I'm not talking about people who are living paycheck to paycheck. I'm talking about people that we see that make good money, but they're paralyzed. They have allowed themselves to hear all of this noise as you put it. All of the political stuff, the arguing the bickering, trying to get us to argue and fight about everything. What do you want for breakfast this morning?
I don't know, and argue about that. So I think you're right. I think if you just sit down and say, wait a minute, what do you want? And we're very good at asking questions, folks. And we are also very good with the concept of questioning your answer. So if you walk in the door, and you get your mind made up, and we don't agree, we're not yes people. We're going to say hang on a minute. Have you considered this? Have you considered that?
No, I haven't. Well, let's look at that. And then with the software we use, we can model that. So we're able to show them, hey, this is what happens if you do it your way. There's another way, which do you prefer? And by the way, that's about as high pressure as we get folks. Because I go back to what I said about the almost 8 billion people on the planet. We don't need everybody, we just want the right ones.
April: You said that and it just reminded me it's like when you go to the eye doctor, and they say which one is better? A or B? A or B?
John: Yeah, I just went there last Thursday at the VA clinic, getting my eyes examined. She was funny, she threw me a curve. Is it which one is better? A, B or C? Hey, doc only got two eyes.
April: Alright, guys, we want to say thanks for listening to us today. And we appreciate you listening. And we're so excited about some of the podcasts we have coming down the pipeline. I'll give you a little teaser. We got some coming up, where I'm going to be interviewing John and talking about his last 50 years, almost 50 years.
John: Don't make me that old yet.
April: I won't fast forward you yet. But his almost 50 years in the business and what he's seen and how he's helped people. We've got a speech that John did in his Rotary Club a couple weeks ago. We're going to be getting that out. And we also have some other interviews that are coming up as well. So I know we're excited about it and can't wait to get that out and share that with you. In the meantime, again, if there's something you want to hear, let us know and if not, we'll see you next time.
John: Bye, folks.
Voiceover: If you'd like to know more about our services, you can request a complimentary information package by visiting johnhcurry.com/book. Again, that is johnhcurry.com/book. Or you can call our office at 850-562-3000. Again, that number is 850-562-3000. John H Curry, chartered life underwriter, chartered financial consultant, accredited estate planner, Master's in Science in financial services, certified in long term care. April Schoen and John Curry are registered representatives and financial advisors of Park Avenue Securities, LLC. Securities, products, and advisory services are offered through Park Avenue Securities, a registered broker dealer and investment advisor. This firm is an agency of the Guardian Life Insurance Company of America. Guardian, New York, New York. April Schoen is a financial representative of the Guardian Life Insurance Company of America. Guardian, New York, New York. Park Avenue Securities is a wholly owned subsidiary of Guardian. North Florida Financial isn't an affiliate or subsidiary of Park Avenue Securities. Park Avenue Securities is a member of FINRA and SIPC. This material is intended for general public use. By providing this material we are not undertaking to provide investment advice for any specific individual or situation or to otherwise act in a fiduciary capacity. Please contact one of our financial professionals for guidance and information specific to your individual situation. All investments contain risk and may lose value. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. Guardian, its subsidiaries, agents or employees do not provide legal, tax, or accounting advice. Please consult your attorney, accountant and/or tax advisor for advice concerning your particular circumstances. We are not affiliated with the Florida Retirement System. The Living Balance Sheet and the Living Balance Sheet logo are registered service marks of the Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, New York, New York. Copyright 2005 through 2023. This podcast is for informational purposes only. Guest speakers and their firms are not affiliated with, or endorsed by Park Avenue Securities or Guardian and their opinions stated are their own
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