Unlocking Your Financial Potential: Rick Salmeron's Wisdom for Making Smart Money Decisions

Welcome to the D shift podcast, where we provide inspiration, motivation and education to help you transition from the challenges of divorce to discover the freedom and ability to live life on your own terms. Are you ready? Let's get the shift started. Hello, and welcome to another episode of the D shift. And thank you for taking time out of your busy day to listen today. I promise you we'll be happy you're here or listening in whenever you choose to. I have a special guests today, Rick Salmeron, he is the president of Salmaan financial, and he is a certified financial planner. With over 30 years of experience. I think, if I remember that right, from the information you sent me, yeah, me. So I am going to. And Rick has a really valuable, a lot of valuable information to help women or men who are going through divorce at different ages and stages of their lives, and how to be smart with your money. You're planning your financial strategies as you're moving forward. So, Rick, everybody is here waiting to listen to you and find out your knowledge and get all those little tidbits of information. So what what got you into this area of expertise and focus in your career?

Thank you for asking Mardi. And thank you for having me. It's an honor and a pleasure to be speaking with you. Today,

you are most welcome.

I started in this business, believe it or not, at age eight. I was born and raised in Oklahoma City. And I remember when I was that youthful age on a Saturday morning, enjoying breakfast in the kitchen, as I normally would on any beautiful Saturday. And my mom approached me and placed her right hand on my shoulder and she said, Rick, today we're going to do something very special. We are going to take you to a place called a savings and loan. And we're going to open up a savings account for you. And I looked at her paused and I said Mom, what does that mean? She said, well see son, you allow them to keep your money there, they will actually pay you money for keeping your money. That still didn't quite hit me. However, what was good for my mom was good for me at that age. So my spoon in my Lucky Charms we went to the garage got into the car drove off to the savings and loan where I began to empty my pockets of change on the counter $10 coins just spilling there. And then my mother matched that $10 with her own 10. So there was born my first ever savings account. It wasn't until 90 days later, I received my first statement in the mail. And that $20 grew to $20.15. That was a light bulb moment that I still remember to this day that I'll never forget, I realized and recognized how money can work for you on its own. Really you mean I don't need to show up every week to the savings and loan and it will just continue to grow? And the answer was yes. And that proved to be the case statement after statement. So I like to say I started in this business at that young tender age of 30 plus years ago I wanted to become an entrepreneur how what could I do searching out different career paths. I was tired of corporate America at that time and then it occurred to me just take a look at my pattern of behavior ever since that weekend in Oklahoma City I maxed out on my company 401k I bought my first house at age 22 My first stock at age 18 And I'm not saying these things to brag This is just what was in my DNA. So I thought wow, I could do a business like this. It's natural. Other people may not be let's call them the secrets to growing and building wealth. And I can provide that guidance and advice and make a great business out of it. And here we are today.

Yeah and in honestly like for me so my dad sat me down and explained compound interest and it wasn't eight but I can remember the concept and he did that thing where you know you put a penny on the checkerboard and then every day you double the amount and it was just amazing and we only got like five you know, I forget what it is when you fill up the whole checkerboard but it's millions of dollars if you if you are able to continue to do that. And obviously that's an expanded version of compound interest but it is amazing what money can do but so many people are terrified of investing because you hear these horror stories of you know people that are scammed or Ponzi schemes or People that are just wiped out. So I guess I'm going to ask you, how do you evaluate what's a? What's a good investment? Or what are kind of the guidelines you use?

Well, if you're starting on your own, and you're doing it yourself, a lot of it is very much word of mouth, your own personal research, what have you, what have your individual experiences been already up to date? What has worked and what hasn't worked? What what type of values or ideas? Or options did your parents teach you, if anything at all of your close friends or other family members, so it becomes becomes your own personal network, if you will, information assembling to, to see what fits well with me and what does not. Because something that can work very well for, say, person A does not do well for Person B, because everyone's starting from their own unique point A Right.

Right. Right. So that I guess that's I guess that's really insightful. And that's something because I think so many times, we get told, Oh, well, this is what you need to do, like you need to invest in, obviously 401k Makes sense. But you know, you need to have this diversified portfolio. And this is where your you know, this is how you need to diversify it. And this is what you're saying that's not necessarily the case for everybody.

There are some general rules of thumb that I think can apply to a lot of people. However, there is nothing at all that applies to everybody, like a 401k, should you do it. And generally speaking, I believe it's a good idea. However, it may not work for a person in a different situation. And I can possibly recite two or three examples of that. But it's always always wise, especially when you're talking about your money and other there are minor decisions. However, when things cross the line into major or types of decisions, you want to make sure that you're you're clear on what your options are, what your advantages and disadvantages are in front of you before you take action. That's very, very important, because many times actions are taken. And they are irrevocable, you can't go back or it's really costly to go back. So you want to be very careful and make sure you've got sage people by your side, whether they be a friend or a family member or professional, giving you as best guidance as possible for your own unique circumstances.

Yeah, so let's talk about something that I know that you have a lot of expertise in. And one thing you support your clients with is how to make budgeting easier, because I think a lot of people don't invest because they don't think they have money to invest. And what how can you budget easier? How can you find that money, even if you don't have like a huge income coming in, I would

submit that everyone has some space somewhere to save and invest, they just not able to find it or they're currently saving or investing yet they believe I am not able to do any more. And again, I would argue there's a possibility that you can find some additional wiggle room. And in my view, the way to do that is to begin by looking at what you're doing right now. Are you tracking your income coming in? And your money going out? Whatever system that you have, is there a mechanism in place? Are you it's the technology is there. And many listeners now are saying yeah, I've got something Well, that's good, that's great. If you don't have something like that, put it in place, we can download transactions in the snap of the finger we can see as plain as view how much money we're making per day or per week or per month, and certainly per year and the same how much is going out. So when we identify where we're starting, we've got a very good idea for we're working with. And even if you already have a system in place, and you're still struggling, is there a possible way that you can level up your system? For it really comes down to this is big for anyone it really comes down to habits? What habits are you incorporating in your money life, very little to do focus not very little to do with investments, selection, that's truly not the key to financial independence or financial security or success. It's so much to do with habits. So as an example, I know myself, I track my money every single day. I know exactly what went in yesterday, what went out yesterday. So I know it's like an x ray on my body. It's an x ray on my pocketbook every single day so I know what I'm working with. So kind of a long answer to your short question is having mechanism in place to create your own personal X ray machine or personal radar to see where you are and why going on with your money ship at the moment, that's really the best place to begin.

Yeah. And you know what? Thank you for saying that you do that. Because I think a lot of people think, oh, yeah, people just say do this, but they don't actually walk the walk. But you really do. So you you practice this, this habit building and staying on track? Do you find that sometimes when people are faced with actually having to look at their money habits, it's an uncomfortable realization?

Yes, it sure is. And we can take that as humans as a negative and resist doing that. However, I would say, take it as a positive sign for great potential growth for you. Because if we, if we, for example, our health, many of us are afraid to take a quick look at our health, for fear of what we might find out. Yet if we don't do that. We don't identify the the cancers or the things going wrong, which are going to which are currently steering us in the wrong direction. We want to stop that as soon as possible. And we want to do the same thing with our money, too. So identifying what you're doing can be very uncomfortable. Yeah, that's the seed for a better life. Yeah. Yeah. Going through that discomfort. Because on the other side of that discomfort is a new world. betterments. So I really encourage people, if they're feeling that resistance, or I'm afraid to do that. Take that as a great, great sign. And that's one step in the right direction to get your money even more stronger and more powerful than it is today. Make it better tomorrow.

Yeah, and it's so I found even little things that I had done, because I actually went through a program where I did this a few years ago. And one of the things I found was all the little things that I was paying like monthly app fees, and streaming fees, and, you know, different programs that I had forgot that I'd invested in and was no longer using them. And when I've cleared all that stuff out, I was I found like about $300 a month that I had that I was spending on stuff that I either no longer used or wasn't necessary anymore. So yeah, it but it wasn't comfortable doing it. And then I started kicking myself, like Why have I been paying this $9 a month for the last four years? Think of all the money I could have had if I hadn't done that. So yeah, it's a self

embarrassing exercise many times I get it. I'm the one who experiences that to myself in other areas of my life, yet I know that I I don't, I frankly want to incur that. So I know that I am going to get better. So I can stop the bad behavior, stop the bad habit, and instead replace it with a good or a better habit. Yes, get better.

I really, I really like that. So. So let's talk a little bit about specifically money that you might come into, or money that you get paid in a lump sum or you're getting it in a monthly allotment after divorce, whether it's support where like, if it's child support, it should be going for the kids. But that doesn't mean that you can't invest the extra, you know, if you do have some extra child support money, it could go into a college fund for kids, you know, there can be lots of great strategies. How can people get more control over their money and maybe start building up some if they don't have a retirement plan? How can they start building one? Or how can they add to their current retirement plan?

As a left brainer, I see things very structurally okay. So I would if it were me, I would be focusing on different levels of my personal wealth. The first one is, what kind of accessible cash or savings or emergency fund do I have in place right now, once again, general rule of thumb doesn't necessarily apply to everybody. However, it's good idea to have at least between three to six months worth of whatever your monthly expenses are, in the bank, in the savings gap accessible to you, that you can get to through your checking account, or ATM or, or Venmo, or whatever the case may be. That is your moat around your castle. So that money needs arise that you're not aware of, you've got the liquid cash ready to go. You don't need to dip into other things. You don't need to increase and raise higher debt and outs on your credit card. That's not That's not the activity that we want to see. So we want to have a strong moat of emergency funds that covers that expense range and everyone's got a different number on that. But the general rule of thumb is three to six months. The next level would be in I view retirement for myself, I, you know, I'm age 45 or 40 years, or whatever the age is, and and I've got a, I've got a long term goal. And it's generally speaking, many people have a retirement goal, I want to stop working, or at least slow down. So for that we have a pot of gold waiting. That's, that's consists of your long term investments. And that could be many, many different things for everyone. But that's not the emergency fund, it's something that we're putting aside money regularly or the lump sum comes, and now we put that are some of that lump sum in the pot of gold, and let it bake in the oven, let it do its thing. So that in 1020 30 years from now, it is so strong, that we can have the freedom to work in, it's now going to be the source of our paycheck, because we don't need to worry about our employers paycheck anymore, or, or whatever source of revenue that we have. So the makeup of a pot of gold is going to look very different than the emergency fund. Because there may be more risk found in the pot of gold, that's long term. And that emergency fund holds very little, if any, because we need that made stable in there at all times to protect our castles. Right. So there's those two arenas, and then there could be something in the middle, like you mentioned college for kids, depending on how young or old your kids are, that many people have financial goals that are ready that will come before our retirement comes much sooner than 20 or 30 years from now, but much longer than something that we've made any money for, and two, or three or four or five or six months. So there's some midrange. So there's really, in essence, three levels that everyone has or may need to cover. And with whatever money that you'd have now or are receiving, or stampede, how do you best, conservatively strategically position your money in those areas? So that's just right. It's just the Goldilocks fit. That is just right for your your situation.

Yeah. And so when people come to you, and say, Hey, Rick, We'd like some help with setting up these levels, these tiers, you know, the mode and the pot of gold? What information do they need to bring to you? Or what should they what should they have thought about before they contact a financial adviser?

Every financial adviser has their way of doing things, in my way of doing things is when I first initially speak with a client that I had never had before, I will send them two things. One will be a checklist of items. It's a very long laundry list of a soup to nuts, just about everything reasonable that one would think of to be on Do I have these things or not from estate planning documents to a copy of a tax return to account statements to general idea of balance and so on. So, so I asked for that information to bring to the first discussion table whenever we meet. And then the second thing that I send to them is an online survey, an online questionnaire that gives me an idea of any existing working relationships, that the person is because a financial advisor needs to not only work with, in my opinion, the client base, he or she should also be working with the other professionals that that person currently has a relationship with, like say an attorney or an a CPA or some of those other types of professions that an advisor does not fit those shoes, but others do in the money realm of the household. Right? So the questionnaire has that. I want to know how are there any negative experiences that you've had in the past? I also like to ask if I could wave a magic wand and something amazing miraculous would occur in your life. What that what would that be? I'd like to know how you feel about certain things. What type of in general risk tolerance would you get? So very subjective types of questions on the questionnaire? Because financial guidance, financial advice is to mix Marty of art and science. Yes, it's important to know the numbers that's imperative. Yet at the same time, there's such a strong emotional component to it. There's family, there's feelings, there's desires, there's drives, and that is, frankly almost more important than the numbers themselves, but they're both equally very, very vital.

So it sounds like this is really, really a long term working relationship, then when you when you're working with a financial advisor, it's not just like a one time Console, go in there, bam, bam, bam, this is what I do and you walk out the door like you do if you get a loan from your bank or something, then you're on your own. You really, it sounds like you really work with people over a long term period to to keep tailoring things

100%. I don't have this memorized. However, I'd say my average longevity and my clients is easily 15 plus years. So you're, you're looking for at least you should look for a relationship, a long term relationship with an advisor and not a transactional relationship with an advisor. Are there transactional relationships that are necessary? Yes, like, say the mortgage officer, or perhaps real estate agent, I'm not going to speak for all of them. But in terms of financial advisor, money is supposed to last for the rest of your life. Right. And if you want guidance, you should ask for guidance for the rest of your life. That makes sense does not call for a transactional relationship that calls for a long term guidance in your best interest relationship. For sure.

So let me let me ask you then another quick question. We're just about out of time. But this is this is really interesting. I think this is one that maybe people who haven't approached a financial advisor before haven't even maybe considered that they needed one. What's the best? What's, what is one thing that you would say, if you're evaluating a financial advisor, or certified financial planner, what should you be looking for? What's kind of the one big thing that you need to make sure you have in that professional?

I would say chemistry, are you clicking with that person? Are they speaking your language? Are they speaking in a way that you can digest? And understand, I wouldn't expect people to understand what beta is, and chewy three, and all those kinds of technical terms that a left brainers need to do our jobs. However, I don't expect nor do I necessarily want my clients to know about that stuff. And that's perfectly fine. So chemistry, in my view, is one of the key elements. And how do you know someone's got the chemistry that you can click with? There's different ways to do that. Yet, I would point to, say social media. There's, and I'll, I'll toot my own horn, I've got the social media channels up, you can see me on video, you can see all my posts, you can see how I look and act and interact and talk and ride and so on, and is my style right for you. And if it is then great. And if not, that's fine, too, there's going to be an advisor out there that she can mesh with that you feel good, and that you feel comfortable with and that they you can feel and sense that they have your best interests in mind.

Yeah, that that sounds absolutely wonderful. And that's another thing that I think, you know, listening to people on podcast, too, I mean, you you've been gracious to come on this one, I know you've been on a bunch of other ones, because I've listened into a few of them. So, you know, the more that you can research the professional that you that you think you want to hire, and then have that initial consultation and see how things go. That seems to be what you know, it takes a little bit of time to do that. But the results are phenomenal, because your clients stay with you for 15 plus years on average. So that's fantastic.

It doesn't take me this long to find one, although you make a good point. It takes time. And we're talking about a long term relationship. It takes time to date and find that next spouse, right we don't do that over a matter of a couple of days. It doesn't require that long of a dating process to identify financial advisor. At the same time, it's not something that you randomly pick out of the sky, here's a name I'm going to call this person and start working with them. It's not that simple either by any means

right? Wait one last question and then we'll kind of wind it up here but do our financial certified financial planners like yourself? Are you do you have to be licensed in each state or can you work with anybody in any state or how does that work?

You can work in any state okay, I can I can any state I'm not limited by the boundaries of the of the US and that includes Alaska and Hawaii. Okay, outside the country outside the country is a different story that USA No problemo

okay. Because it's so interesting, like coaches we can eat if we're if we're certified coaches, we can work all over therapists that have to be licensed in states attorneys have to be licensed by state so I just wanted to check in with with financial planners, so, so wonderful. So we kind of we've discussed a whole bunch of different topics here. What do you think Rick is the most important thing that people should remember when they walk away from this? conversation and maybe think I need to get a financial planner in my life what what? What do they need to remember from this conversation?

The key not a key, but the key to financial success, whatever that might look like for you. As I mentioned before, it is not investment selection. Instead it is this one word. And that word is behavior. The actions that you take and do not take translates into your financial results. That's right under your nose. It's it's within everyone here. And this is why it makes a lot of sense to have a seasoned experienced advisor by your side to help you identify what those behaviors are, are able to see from the outside in what we cannot see with our blinders on. Sure we live our life, we're not able to see what the obvious is to someone else. And as you go on and live your very busy life doing your thing, wouldn't it be nice to have someone spotlight and showcase these other areas that can help boost your balance sheets and and move yourself towards your financial goals with an additional jumbo jet engine behind them? Wouldn't that be nice?

Yes, absolutely. So with that being said, if people want to find out more about what you do, or getting hold of you and work with you, what's the best way to reach out?

My website is a start that Salma on financial.com Look for me on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Rick Salmeron on just search my name. That's the way that you can contact me online and you can certainly send me a message follow me on those channels. You can continue to see my approach just get a better idea of, hey, is Rick someone that I want to work with? Or is Rick someone that I would like to work with? While I'm also working my current advisor, whatever the case may be, but I'm open to assist if I can anyone situation