How About A Podcast??

First of all, I want to apologize for the lack for posting on life and updating my beard progress...The reason why things have been off the grid is because I have been in the works of trying to get these ideas and passions of spreading a relevant, applicable, sarcastic, and fun message of day to day experiences that you might be able to use in your life in some small or large way to an audio format.

The next step in doing this will be on a bigger scale that will be in the form of a podcast for WGN Radio's Podcast channel - WGN Plus, with this same idea and thought process in mind.

I will be interviewing people that I think people should know more about and share their thoughts and experiences that might help people talk more about.

Thank you for keeping with me and reading until now and follow the progress of the podcast on:

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WGNPlus.com

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Saving Money - A Rap Story Pt 2

If you missed it yesterday, I decided to dive into a concern of mine regarding financial responsibility for millennials and how poor of a job we are doing. You can read up on part one to catch up, but if you're saying to yourself, "Ugggh Bennett just give me a rundown, it's almost Friday...I can't even...", fine I'll humor you.

In part one, I recognized a problem: millennials and young professionals are being too irresponsible with their money. I stand on the grounds of Lil Dicky and Macklemore deciding to produce songs to their huge millennial fan base addressing this problem with their tracks, $ave Dat Money and Thrift Shop. I am also living smack dab in the middle of the millennial world, so I get it.

So this is the problem, and if there is anything to take away after making it this far, it is following...SAVE MONEY. If Macklemore and Lil Dicky didn't drive it home, maybe you can take a hint from a couple of the biggest rappers to come out of Chicago since Kanye West - Vic Mensa and Chance The Rapper. They are some of the original people to create the artistic collection called, "SAVEMONEY". All they wanted to do was to make music and give themselves the chance to be in bigger and better places down the road...BY SAVING MONEY*!

This all comes down to a little bit of self-control, as many responsible activities do, and in case the basic saving instincts were never engrained early on, I'll share with you my own personal habits.

* * * * Now let me preface, that I am by no means a financial advisor, nor telling you * * * * 

that you need to do the following. 

All I did was the old mental trick of setting up my bank account that takes a percentage of my income and places it directly into my savings account before I'm even able to touch it. That's it. As time went on, I got better at combining other habits like holding off on impulse buys, limiting myself from excessive spending (when I am in spending mode), and only using money that I have.

These are the fundamental habits I have trained myself to live by depending on my living situation. But let's say things take a turn in life, for example I suddenly decide to leave my job (real talk: this actually happened last month). I'm not worried about the near future because I am able to live comfortably off what I saved in a rainy day fund. Until I can regain income, I am able to use this fund for necessities and even the occasional night out if I budget correctly.

I will emphasized that these are habits, so they probably won't come right away if you have decided to adopt them with little background. However, the best way to start getting better at being financially smart is to start saving, and talk about finances with people you trust. Ask questions, do general research, visit your bank, download an app, hell...hire a CFP if you can afford it. The point is we have a spending problem and it's being recognized, and if some of the biggest entertainers in the world can't help point that out, then S#@t, we have some serious thinking to do.

*According to an interview with Taylor Bennett (Chance The Rapper's brother) and Towkio, both members of the SAVEMONEY Crew

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(The necessary tools for keeping a respectable beard: facial moisturizer // beard oil // razor // scissors // beard trimmer - though I prefer the scissors // comb // shaving cream)

Saving Money - A Rap Story Pt 1

In case you've been under a rock for the past couple of years, and never saw the following videos - "Thrift Shop" by Macklemore and "$ave Dat Money" by Lil Dicky - please watch them as it will help for reference.

If you've seen these videos before, you know that the whole point them is to be frugal with your money; to go against the flow of the materialistic, instantly gratifying, lazy, and full priced culture we have created for ourselves.

Bennett, you're acting like some cold ass honky. What exactly are you talkin' about? Glad you asked. My generation has become so overcome with having things in the here and now, that our personal financial values have left us faster than snagging that last penny from a "Take One. Leave One." dish at a convenience store. My generation has a spending problem.

An example I see all too often is a young person working for their paycheck, and in a short amount of time, spend majority of it before deciding what would be best to do with it given their current situation. Maybe part of it should go towards student loans. Maybe they have a big expense coming up next month. Maybe they don't actually need $300 bottle service to have a good time on the weekend.

Now don't get me wrong by thinking I'm an old bag for not spending money. I am all for rewarding myself, but my god, it needs to be at the right time and it should be smart. With a simple and responsible plan, the fruits of one's labor can still be enjoyed (detailed more in part 2). What I'm asking is to take a little bit of Lil Dicky and Macklemore's message to heart and consider asking yourself, or a friend, "Is this the right purchase, and is it the best for me long term?", "Could I maybe get this cheaper somewhere else?", "Do you think they charged me for the ice-cubes?"

There are times and places to live in the moment but I think proper financials need to be practiced early and responsibly, so there is less worrying and stress each time someone checks their bank account.

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(At this point, most people would start trimming, but I like to hold off as there is still a lot of growing to be done to get a nice thick beard. I'll continue to trim the neck line and start to clean up the upper check soon)