Is Jeff Goldblum right?
Plus reading, listening, and watching recommendations
Friends,
This recent headline got me.
Jeff Goldblum refuses to leave money to his kids Charlie, 8, and River, 6: ‘Row your own boat.’
Jeff Goldblum! Must you be so harsh? The world is a tough place. Can’t we give our kids a head start, especially if we can afford to give them a little edge?
But when I got past the clickbait headline that had me really feeling for the nepo babies, I realized his comments were very thoughtful. Goldblum wasn’t talking about disinheriting them, or throwing them out at an arbitrary age. He just wants them to have a life—their own life.
“You’ve got to figure out how to find out what’s wanted and needed and where that intersects with your love and passion and what you can do. And even it if doesn’t, you might have to do that anyway.”
He’s not alone. Other celebs that have made fortunes have been clear that they believe their kids can and should find their own paths. Of course, they are getting a jumpstart in life. But the celebs don’t want to deprive their kids of the satisfaction and joy of their own success.
Marie Osmond said it well: “They don’t learn the joy of hard work, of picking themselves up when things don’t work. I believe in general that you rob children of the experience of figuring out who they are,” she noted. “They don’t learn that you cannot buy your child self-esteem—they have to earn that.”
Finding that balance is hard. That’s why I wrote my book “Launching Financial Grownups” and why we support parents and grandparents with our workshops and our consulting practice at Financial Wellness Strategies.
Get in touch to learn more by emailing us at hello@financialwellnessstrategies.com or scheduling a free consultation. Or just message me!
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Reading, listening and watching recommendations
Some of these will be money-related but some will just be things I want to share because I think you will enjoy them.
Reading: Scott Galloway’s The Algebra of Wealth
I listen to Scott’s podcast with Kara Swisher, Pivot, so I knew this one was coming and I could not wait.
It is billed as a must-have guide to optimize your life for wealth and success. So much of what Galloway says makes so much sense. One of my favorite takeaways: his advice to young people to follow your TALENT, not your passion. It is the perfect book for those who want to learn how to be financial grownups and for parents who want to launch financial grownups.
You can order a copy HERE.
Listening: Relaxing music for pets
I learned about this from Ashley, our 27 year old who is visiting us here in Florida. Whenever she leaves her adorable puppy Walnut (and even when she doesn’t) she puts on this ultra calming music. Now I love it so much I play it all day while I’m working.
Want more ways to be calm?
I now offer a limited number of free mini-consulting sessions for the financial grownup community to learn how to be calmer about money. Learn more here.
Schedule your free consultation HERE.
Watching: LOOT Season 2
This show is ridiculous and shallow and I love it!
Full disclosure: I say that because the series didn’t get the greatest reviews, including this one from Time.
But someone at Apple TV+ liked it enough to renew the comedy. The premise: Maya Rudolph stars as Molly Novak, the longtime spouse of a tech magnate whose divorce leaves her in control of an $87 billion fortune. Lonely and bored, Molly starts meddling in the charitable foundation she didn’t even know was set up in her name, reinventing herself as a philanthropist in the vein of MacKenzie Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, or Melinda Gates, the ex-wife of Bill Gates.
Decide for yourself.
In the news
Thank you to Nydia Han for having me on ABC’s Philadelphia affliate WPVI this week talking about how to deal with unexpected financial situations!
Health is wealth as they say
The results are in from the last poll:
I’m not surprised that debt and bills “won” as the top stressor, but it was still difficult to read.
And with it being Mental Health Awareness Month, it’s important to discuss the link between debt and financial stress and poor mental health, such as chronic stress, depression and anxiety. Did you know that many people view money stress as harder than work- and family-related stressors?
A recent study by Financial Health Network confirmed the pressing need to deeply understand the relationship between mental and financial health. The findings also discuss the role of the employer in providing support, such as mental health benefits and access to financial guidance.
As always, we are here to bring financial wellness programming to life for your teams through our in person workshops or virtual Q&A sessions.
Thank you for reading. Lets connect on TikTok, Instagram, and LinkedIn and please share any ideas in the comments (or just say hi!).
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