Do Budgets Work? | Victoria Ferguson

Tyler Gardner (0:00)

Hello, friends, this is Tyler Gardner welcoming you to another episode of Your Money Guide on the Side, where it is my job to simplify what seems complex, add nuance to what seems simple, and learn from and alongside some of the brightest minds in money, finance, and investing. So let's get started and get you one step closer to where you need to be. One of the reasons I wanted to invite Victoria on the show is because she truly embodies what it means to take a leap of faith. To put her own passion ahead of her own lucrative paycheck. She made the bold move from a full-time role in traditional finance to becoming a full-time content creator, all in the service of your education and your empowerment. As someone who prides themselves on being what I'd call a modern-day starving artist, aka a content creator, and an actual money expert, I think what Victoria's done is not just brave, it's brilliant.

Victoria Ferguson is a certified financial planner professional who's passionate about helping people take control of their finances with confidence. She's worked with thousands of clients to build financial plans, grow their wealth, and make smarter money decisions. Growing up, Victoria wanted to be a teacher and spent years in the performing arts world. Becoming a content creator allows her to combine her love for educating and performing with personal finance. Through podcasts, webinars, and social media, Victoria makes financial literacy engaging and accessible for everyone. In this conversation, we explore why budgets don't work, what exactly you need to do to find the right financial advice in a world of noise and nonsense, and Victoria offers a framework you can use starting today to make financial and life decisions. So without further ado, a conversation with Victoria Ferguson. What inspired you in the first place to get involved in this space? What are some of the things that got you saying, I want to be a content creator on TikTok, of all places?

Victoria Ferguson (2:01)

Yeah, I think I lost my mind. Growing up, I always wanted to be a teacher. What I wanted for Christmas as a child was a projector and a whiteboard. I was that kid that would force my little siblings to play school. It was my favorite thing in the whole world. I was eight, and I was like, Mom, can I have a projector? And they're like, you psycho, can you ask for Barbies and stuff? And now I would really like a projector.

Tyler Gardner (2:24)

Did you get one?

Victoria Ferguson (2:26)

No. Because they're big and they're bulky, and I didn't grow up with a ton of money, so my parents were like, no, we can't afford that. So a whiteboard from Costco did. And I loved just teaching, and I loved education because for my own selfish reasons, it helps me really understand things. I love the education piece. I happened to go into finance because I didn't grow up with it. I didn't know a lot about it, and maybe that education instinct was like, hey, I want to understand this more so people aren't out there like I was, having no idea what to do. When I graduated with a degree in finance, theme of educating always came up for me, and it was always my favorite thing. It's why I love client meetings is because I get to teach all the time. And so working through my career, I got to a point where I wanted to have a broader audience. I worked with a lot of super high-net-worth business owners. Millionaire stress about money just as much as anybody else, I promise. It's just a different kind of stress.

Tyler Gardner (3:29)

Could you go further with that idea? Because I want people to understand more about where this anxiety surrounding money is coming from, even those who apparently have more than enough.

Victoria Ferguson (3:42)

Any person, regardless of income, wealth, every single person wants to know the answer to, am I going to be okay? You could have $100 million, you can have $100. That's why I love this work so much, because I get to help with that question, and that is a universal experience. Am I going to be okay?

Tyler Gardner (4:02)

Am I too blunt in just telling someone with $100 million, yes?

Victoria Ferguson (4:07)

I think there's two ways I like to go about it. One, there's the spreadsheet answer, and two, there's the emotional piece to it. Money is 100% emotional. Because if it was a spreadsheet thing, we would have 80% less problems than we do now. I've worked with some people who love the spreadsheets and the numbers, like engineers in particular really like that, and they find a lot of comfort in a, hey, I've run these projections for you, I've stress tested your cash flow, here's the best case scenario, mid case, worst case. And I think in painting the picture of a worst case scenario, stock market drops, you lose this source of income, social security goes away, everyone's so afraid of that. I stress test with everything they're worried about, and for some people, the spreadsheet answer is more comforting. With other people, I just ask a ton of questions, where is this coming from for you? And just try to meet them where they're at, because you're not crazy, everybody wants to know if they're going to be okay. And oftentimes what I found, even in working with different demographics, one that just popped into my mind because I can relate to it, is children of immigrants. My mom's emigrated from the Philippines, and I don't know if this is genetic, but I'm always just like, I'm going to run out of money. That's a big fear. It usually stems from childhood, like a lot of things do. And if they're really worried, I just try to meet them where they're at and try to ask a lot of questions. Why does this come up for you? Why do you feel this way? And just validate it. Yeah, of course, you're afraid that this is all kind of run out. You're not crazy for thinking that. So there's the logical piece and then more so the emotional piece.