Episode 148
Holiday Message from Travis and Steve
The holiday season brings a unique blend of reflection and anticipation for us on the Ditch the Suits podcast. In this episode, we take a moment to appreciate our journey over the past year, celebrating a remarkable 34% growth in listenership. We’re excited to share updates to our content strategy, including guest interviews and deeper dives into key topics, to offer varied insights from active professionals in financial planning.
A central theme of this discussion is the significance of personal connections during this busy time. We explore how financial planning should never come at the expense of meaningful relationships. Steve shares a moving story about the fleeting nature of time with loved ones, urging all of us to reflect on the importance of cherishing those moments. We encourage prioritizing relationships over material wealth, emphasizing that true fulfillment lies in connections with family and friends.
As we look ahead to 2025, we aim to inspire listeners to pursue gradual improvements without perfectionism. Growth, we believe, is about small, meaningful changes over time. By fostering a supportive community where we can all share experiences, we hope to empower each other to take charge of our financial futures while enjoying the journey alongside loved ones.
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Thanks to our sponsor, S.E.E.D. Planning Group! S.E.E.D. is a fee-only financial planning firm with a fiduciary obligation to put your best interest first. Schedule your free discovery meeting at www.seedpg.com
You can watch all episodes, as well as other great content produced by NQR Media through their YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/@NQRMedia
📧 For more information or to get in touch with us, visit https://www.ditchthesuits.com
👍🏼 You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter at @nqrmedia
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About Your Co-Hosts:
Travis Maus has been in financial services for over fifteen years. He is a Senior Wealth Manager and Chief Executive Officer at S.E.E.D. Planning Group. Travis also hosts the Unleashing Leadership Podcast, where he dissects some of his favorite books on leadership and how you can apply it to your business or life.
Steve Campbell has over a decade of industry experience and is a Senior Marketing Director at S.E.E.D. Planning Group. Steve also hosts the One Big Thing Podcast, an interview-style show meant to inspire and encourage 30 and 40-year-olds going through difficult seasons of navigating marriage, raising kids, and growing personally.
Transcript
Welcome to Ditch the Suits podcast where we share insights nobody in the financial services industry wants you to know about.
Steve Campbell:We're here to help you get the most from your money in life.
Steve Campbell:So buckle up and welcome to Ditch the Suits.
Steve Campbell:Well, happy holidays.
Steve Campbell:Happy New Year.
Steve Campbell: Welcome to the end of: Steve Campbell:Welcome back to Ditch the.
Steve Campbell:Steve Campbell here with Travis Moss.
Steve Campbell:We know your time is precious right now being the holidays, so as always, I am the chief Brand officer at Seed Planning Group.
Steve Campbell:Travis is our CEO.
Steve Campbell:Seed is a fee only financial planning firm.
Steve Campbell:So Ditch the Suits is all about bringing us our everyday work experience, working with clients just like you to help you get the most from your money in life.
Steve Campbell:We spent the last episode recapping all the series and all the episodes, and it was a lot of fun going down memory lane because you kind of forget the things you talk about and how cool they are.
Steve Campbell:But we wanted to not just look back, we want to look forward on what's to come.
Steve Campbell:So, Travis, I just want to pass over to you whether you've been following dish suits for four years.
Steve Campbell: We picked you up in: Steve Campbell: we're going to take people in: Travis Moss:Well, first of all, thank you.
Travis Moss:So, you know, we've had, I don't know, just an incredible year.
Travis Moss:We grew by.
Travis Moss:We had our listenership grow by about 34% of our subscribers, I guess.
Travis Moss:And we're really excited, I think, about just our growth too.
Travis Moss:I think, Steve, you and I have grown a ton this year, and I think that we've earned a ton.
Travis Moss:We've had, what, about 150 episodes or so now?
Travis Moss:Yeah, this is episode 148.
Travis Moss:And I, you know, you look back to where we started and look to where we are.
Travis Moss:I think we're doing a good job in telling a better story about what we're talking about.
Travis Moss:So we were working on next year's schedule.
Travis Moss:We've already got it kind of mapped out and it's pretty robust.
Travis Moss:We're, we've, we're continuing the weekly episodes like the past year.
Travis Moss:Like last year.
Travis Moss:We just, in our last episode, we went through the whole kind of week to week kind of episode library, if you will.
Travis Moss:We're still going to do the mythbusters and the current events, so we've got that kind of rolling forward for next year.
Travis Moss:But we're going to add some guest interviews for the first time ever.
Travis Moss:And this is something that people have been like.
Travis Moss:We get emails like all the time.
Travis Moss:I think I should be on your show.
Travis Moss:And I'm like, have you listened to our show?
Travis Moss:We've never had guests on our show, but we are actually going to do some guests but with kind of some creativity.
Travis Moss:We're going to have some external guests.
Travis Moss:So we're going to go out and bring some people into the topic that we're, whatever we're talking about at the time, that is not from our kind of internal.
Travis Moss:This is how we approach everything.
Travis Moss:We're going to get some different perspectives coming in, but we're also going to bring people from our team and see planning group, some of our financial planners into the conversations that we're having.
Travis Moss:So you get to hear from people who are real world, like rolling up their sleeves, deep diving into all things financial planning with clients and can really talk about, you know, oh my gosh, we had this particular type of situation myself, as our business has grown, I'm getting, you know, more and more removed from the financial planning.
Travis Moss:I don't work with new clients now.
Travis Moss:Now my job is to mentor and help develop our next generation.
Travis Moss:And really I work more with the managers and then the managers are working with our new financial planners and wealth managers.
Travis Moss:And I mean, we've just got a fantastic team and we want to bring their voices to light and bring them in and hear what they're talking about because they're at the front line and they're really dealing with some very interesting challenges that, that, that people go through financially.
Travis Moss:And we want to talk, we want to hear them talk about it and then we're going to take some of the stuff that we've talked about in the past and I think we can do a better job of painting that picture on certain items.
Travis Moss:So we're going to go way back in the archives and we're going to pull back forward some things and maybe, you know, expand upon, upon the target that, the topic so we can get a little bit more detailed oriented this time through.
Travis Moss:And I'm excited about that because I do think that we've grown quite a bit since we started this podcast and I think that we'll be able to add a lot of value to stuff that's already out there.
Travis Moss:But maybe we can make it clearer or maybe it'll resonate better or if you're new to that, to the podcast rather than you going back and listening to every one of the old episodes, which absolutely you should do because that's awesome for us because it gets our, our statistics up.
Travis Moss:But to make it Easier for you.
Travis Moss:We're going to pull forward some of the important ones and talk about them in greater detail once again.
Travis Moss:And we have some more things that we're going to do, but I want to keep some things that we're planning a surprise for our list close to the vest.
Steve Campbell:Well, and I think it's exciting to incorporate, you know, obviously external guests and going through that process of, you know, asking people to come on and making sure it's a good fit for you guys as listeners and what topics are we going to talk about, but also exposing you guys to the incredible people we get to do this thing with every day.
Steve Campbell:I mean, Ditch the Suits is Travis and I bringing like, here's what we talk about with people, but then you're going to hear from professionals that are actually doing the work and they're seeing the look on individuals faces when they bring ideas to them from tax planning.
Steve Campbell:And we get to talk with them every day in internal meetings and feel super proud, you know, of like look at, look at what is being happening every day.
Steve Campbell:So to bring them on and put a face with a name and share of their experiences, I think will be fun.
Steve Campbell:And you know, as we look back to the genesis of where Ditch the Suits came from, I think it's fun just to touch on for half a second.
Steve Campbell:You and I, during the middle of COVID recorded 72 videos every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, primarily for our seed clients because New York was shut down during quarantine.
Steve Campbell:And who knew that recording those 15 minute videos three times a week was going to become the forerunner for launching this podcast.
Steve Campbell: Ditch the Suits In January of: Steve Campbell:And there was about 20 episodes in where we kind of had a moment where we thought, you know, this is too long for individuals to listen in.
Steve Campbell:One sec.
Travis Moss:We're trying to do too much.
Travis Moss:We were trying to incorporate business planning and financial planning and financial secrets all into every single episode.
Travis Moss:And yeah, so I think, I think where you're going with this, I'll let you go further.
Steve Campbell:Yeah, no, it wasn't.
Travis Moss:We just learned, I think, I think we are good at reflecting and saying, how can we do this better?
Steve Campbell:This episode of Ditch the Suits is brought to you by feelonlynetwork.com Feelynetwork.com elevates the visibility of fee only financial advisors both individually and collectively.
Steve Campbell:Did you know that fee only advisors are only compensated by the client and never make commission by selling financial products or receiving kickbacks from brokerage firms.
Steve Campbell:So the Feeling Network gives consumers easy access to profiles of vetted financial advisors that work under a transparent fee structure with a legal obligation to provide unbiased financial advice.
Steve Campbell:No sales, period.
Steve Campbell:So if you're looking for a fee only planner, head over to feeonlynetwork.com today.
Steve Campbell:That's feeonlynetwork.com put in your zip code and find a fee only planner that works in your area.
Steve Campbell:Yeah, it wasn't bad, but it's like if you're ever on Facebook and you have a memory come up or on your iPhone of what you looked like five years ago, you're like, oh God, I looked awful.
Steve Campbell:Not that we were.
Travis Moss:I looked way better five years ago.
Travis Moss:I have more hair.
Travis Moss:I was a little bit thinner.
Steve Campbell:And not that we were bad with Ditch the Suits.
Steve Campbell:We were just learning our way through podcasting.
Steve Campbell:And so I think you're getting a sharper version of us now moving forward.
Steve Campbell:And so we want to revisit some of the topics that when you, you know, come to Ditch the Suits, you go back to episode one and bear with us.
Steve Campbell:We're going to bring in some of these items back to the table.
Steve Campbell:But I know you wanted to talk about as a little bit of a holiday message.
Steve Campbell:When we started in January, we kind of set the stage that we were also launching additional podcasts and I wanted to kind of share for my own personal reflections because now I've been recording my show called the One Big Thing for the last year and a half, over 45 episodes.
Steve Campbell:And that's an interview style show.
Steve Campbell:I have people from the NFL that.
Travis Moss:Was a shameless plug.
Steve Campbell:Well, I.
Steve Campbell:It's leading into a holiday message for you.
Steve Campbell:I've had over 45 guests from all, all walks of life, you know, from sports to super affluent famous people.
Steve Campbell:And what I've learned on that show and what I want to bring to all of you guys is Travis and I talk about the fact that it's more than money and it's more than life.
Steve Campbell:It's about enjoying the process.
Steve Campbell:And what I think is really fascinating for me is, you know, I have these people that I look up to that I think are famous, famous or influential.
Steve Campbell:And then you get them behind a microphone on screen like this and you realize about halfway through that they're human beings just like you and I, and they have insecurities just like you and I.
Steve Campbell:And I think we can look at a far from the things that people have that we wish we had or that we idolize.
Steve Campbell:If I just had more money, if I just had more fame, if people knew my name.
Steve Campbell:And we assume that that's what it's all about.
Steve Campbell:And what you hear from these individuals is they're depressed, they have anxiety, they don't know what it's all for.
Steve Campbell:And not that that's the case for everybody, but it's humanized the none of us really know how much time we have or what life is going to throw at us.
Steve Campbell:And so that's been a very cool experience for me, you know, humanizing these individuals that we all look up to and hearing what they go through in this whole idea of time.
Steve Campbell:You know, this was something that I had been talking with a lot of family and friends about.
Steve Campbell:I heard one time on a podcast, a guy say, you know, if you see your, you know, family members only a certain times per year, which is my situation now because I grew up in upstate New York, so I usually go back to New York once a year.
Steve Campbell:Went back up this past holiday season for Thanksgiving.
Steve Campbell:They said, if your parents are still alive, think about maybe how long your parents have to live.
Steve Campbell:Do the math.
Steve Campbell:And if you see them one time per year, that's how many more times you're going to have with them in person.
Steve Campbell:And I don't know about what it is about thinking about that.
Steve Campbell:That's just kind of rocked me and more centered me on am I really making the most of the time that I have with the people I love?
Steve Campbell:And I think it's so easy in the monotony of life and the speed at which things are moving, to forget that life is still about people and it's about enjoying the moment and, yes, planning ahead.
Steve Campbell:This is a planning show.
Steve Campbell:And do the right things, but don't lose yourself in the process.
Steve Campbell:And so I, as one of the co hosts of this show, have been trying to take this information to heart myself.
Steve Campbell:And this has looked like when I'm with my dad or my mom or even you, Travis, like, is my phone away from me?
Steve Campbell:Am I distracted by something that's trying to steal my attention?
Steve Campbell:Am I fully present with my wife and my kids when they're speaking to me?
Steve Campbell:Is my brain going, thinking about seed or something I have to do, or am I focusing on them?
Steve Campbell:Because I could have all the money in the world in a 401k and an IRA and do all the things we talk about, but if I lose my family in the process, what good is it?
Steve Campbell:And so I think my.
Steve Campbell:My heart for this show and in this holiday is let's make sure that this holiday we're really enjoying the people that are in our life because they could be gone tomorrow.
Steve Campbell:And the one thing that in the one episode we talked about the series about death, we don't know when it's coming for us.
Steve Campbell:So how do we maximize the time and the people?
Steve Campbell: ay season, looking forward to: Steve Campbell:We're all human beings.
Steve Campbell:But how do you get better?
Steve Campbell:What's one thing that you can do to get a little bit better?
Steve Campbell:And so as I just reflect, you can't change the world.
Steve Campbell:You know, you can't make up for all the mistakes you've ever made.
Steve Campbell:But you can try to be the best version of yourself going forward.
Steve Campbell:And many times it's not doing extreme things, it's just doing the hard things that you don't feel like doing over and over again.
Steve Campbell:And so that's what we're trying to bring on the show is just our experiences of how do you do hard things over and over again to live the life you want to live.
Steve Campbell:So with that, I'm just going to say happy holiday.
Travis Moss:Yeah.
Travis Moss:And I'm gonna.
Travis Moss:So I'll do my shameless plug now.
Travis Moss:So we got this little podcast called Unleashing Leadership, which is me and Dave Nurchi, our chief operating officer, really just talking business.
Travis Moss:So it's not really has anything to do with finance, however, the business is about finance.
Travis Moss:So you'll learn more about the finance business and how Ceda operates by listening to that show.
Travis Moss:But it's a no holds bar.
Travis Moss:I mean it's, if you don't want to hear words, don't listen.
Travis Moss:I mean it's, it's, it's an intense show and it's about intensity.
Travis Moss:It's about, you know what, you need to stop wanting, you need to stop worrying, you need to stop waiting for other people to do stuff for you.
Travis Moss:You need to stop struggling and you just need to start doing it.
Travis Moss:But how do you start and, and how do you understand, Right.
Travis Moss:We said in the last episode, understand the rules of the game and become great at the game.
Travis Moss:How do you understand?
Travis Moss:How do you learn and how do you become great at the game?
Travis Moss:Right.
Travis Moss:So that, so that you can unlock your own potential.
Travis Moss:Somebody else doesn't have to do it for you.
Travis Moss:Yep.
Travis Moss:And I, and I think that that leads into, I had this all pre prepared.
Travis Moss:You know, obviously we, we try to have a pretty good idea as we come into the shows, what we're talking about.
Travis Moss:But my holiday message for all of our listeners is that the clock just keeps ticking, and we should not live in fear and frozen or confused because we don't know what real value is.
Travis Moss:And I think that that happens all the time.
Travis Moss:And I think part of it's because of the word play with value.
Travis Moss:We don't understand the difference between value, cost, and price.
Travis Moss:You know, there's all these, you know, all this pressure to do things a certain way or to be in a certain place or to be a certain person.
Travis Moss:And as much as it's important to look at things like risk and ask questions and have a plan, it's also important to take care of what really matters.
Travis Moss:And I think it's along the same lines of what you said, which is, you know, what really matters is ourselves and our loved ones.
Steve Campbell:Yeah.
Travis Moss:You know, whatever you're passionate and you care about, which needs to be more than yourselves.
Travis Moss:That's why there's.
Travis Moss:And our loved ones.
Travis Moss:Your loved ones could be anything.
Travis Moss:Right.
Travis Moss:I'm not saying that it has to be.
Travis Moss:You have to be married or you have to have kids.
Travis Moss:It could be your colleagues, your employees, you know, your boss.
Travis Moss:It could be your chickens, you know, your dogs.
Travis Moss:I don't care what it is.
Travis Moss:It can be your church members, but it's your love, the things that you care about.
Travis Moss:And if you don't care about anything else, this is a good time to reflect and say, why and how do I work my way towards that?
Travis Moss:Because life is so much better when you're doing something for somebody else.
Travis Moss:I was talking to a good friend today about the fact that if my wife's not home, I don't cook, and I'm very easy to skip a meal.
Travis Moss:And it's hard to live by yourself and make sure you eat healthy, because it's like, who cares?
Travis Moss:Nobody's going to know.
Travis Moss:Nobody can say, hey, you didn't eat dinner, Go eat dinner.
Travis Moss:Right?
Travis Moss:It's the other people in our lives who make us better.
Travis Moss:It's the other people in our lives who keep us in check.
Travis Moss:It really is.
Travis Moss:We do it for other people normally, you know, yes.
Travis Moss:They say, oh, go do it for yourself.
Travis Moss:And there's a component of that, but it's far more powerful when you do it for yourself and for somebody else.
Travis Moss:It's just so much more powerful.
Travis Moss:And.
Travis Moss:But that being said, don't put so much damn pressure on yourself.
Travis Moss:This is something that I've struggled with in my career for so long, is putting so much pressure on myself to carry the weight of a mountain.
Travis Moss:Sometimes you don't need to be someplace else just because you're comparing yourself to somebody else.
Travis Moss:You know, you gotta find strength in the fact that you are working hard at doing a good job.
Travis Moss:And maybe you haven't done the best job before.
Travis Moss:Maybe you've done a fascinating job.
Travis Moss:If you've done a fascinating job, you can still do a better job, I guarantee you.
Travis Moss:And if you haven't done a good job, you don't beat yourself up over it.
Travis Moss:What you do is you get up tomorrow and you say, what can I do today to do my job a little bit better than what I did yesterday?
Travis Moss:Whether it's raising your kids, whether it's, you know, keeping a clean bedroom, whether it's, you know, doing a better, you know, doing better at work, whether it's being a better friend, whatever it is, you can make that difference tomorrow.
Travis Moss:But you don't have to reinvent yourself or transform yourself or, you know, if you're at level A and you want to get to level Z, you don't go from A to Z, you go from A to B.
Travis Moss:Can you get yourself to level B?
Travis Moss:That's all you want to do.
Travis Moss: ,: Travis Moss:So maybe January 2nd, but you can start on day one doing a little bit better and also for the right reasons.
Steve Campbell:Love that.
Steve Campbell:Well, and that's a nice segue, too, into this conversation.
Steve Campbell:Enjoy the loved ones.
Steve Campbell:But also to you as a listener, just know that if you don't have this all figured out, you're not alone.
Steve Campbell:You know, I think nobody does.
Travis Moss:People with millions of dollars, they ain't got nothing figured out.
Steve Campbell:Well, and that's the whole truth.
Steve Campbell:Just the insecurities that you feel or, you know, I should have done this, or why don't I know more?
Steve Campbell:A lot of people are in the same boat, so keep coming back to ditch the suits.
Steve Campbell:As we just told you in our last episode, we're going to give you such a wide range of topics and empower you to understand what you should know and how to make decisions.
Steve Campbell:But it's ultimately up to you.
Steve Campbell:Do what you want with the information.
Steve Campbell: an exciting plan laid out for: Steve Campbell:If these shows mean a lot to you, subscribe, share them with a friend or loved one.
Steve Campbell:You know, get in touch with us, let us know, give us a five.
Travis Moss:Star or a thumbs up or however the thing works.
Steve Campbell:And if you got people that you want to hear from in the financial space, reach out to us and let us know.
Steve Campbell:Steve, Travis, reach out to this person, get them on the show, but also, you know, put that information out there to them.
Steve Campbell:You guys should reach out to ditch the suits.
Steve Campbell:You're looking for guests.
Steve Campbell:I mean, this is going to be an exciting chapter for us to bring more people into this story with us, because it's not just Travis and I.
Steve Campbell:There's a lot of people doing a lot of great work and we just get the opportunity to share the collective stories and the ideas and really what we've learned over the years.
Steve Campbell: u guys an Incredible New Year: Steve Campbell:Make it your best year yet by understanding what do you need to know like.
Steve Campbell:Like what's really beyond your control that you need to learn to let go of?
Steve Campbell:And how do you enjoy every moment while still planning and making a plan, but allowing life to come at you and making decisions because you have the information that you need.
Steve Campbell:So Happy New Year.
Steve Campbell:Head over to digitalsuits.com if you need some more information.
Steve Campbell:But until then, we appreciate all of you for stopping by.
Steve Campbell:Digit suits.
