|
Episode #1710
Taking Financial Control
Holloway: Jay Holloway,
host
Williams: Lisa Williams
Cox: Sharon Cox
Hines: Andrea Hines
Joseph: Joseph Calvo
Paul: Paul Calvo
Ashlyn: Ashlyn Calvo
Mia: Mia Calvo
Kelley: Patricia Kelley
Williams: Do
you want to understand why you're in debt? It's not because
your parents didn't love you. They didn't know. Tonight you're
going to find out some things that perhaps you didn't know
before.
Holloway: Even though
we're in tough economic times you still can invest in yourself
and your family. Tonight's program is not just for the adults.
Call in your kids and your friends who have kids; you won't
want to miss it, next on Black Issues Forum. Stay tuned.
Voiceover: This program
was made possible by contributions to UNC-TV from viewers
like you. Thank you.
[THEME MUSIC]
Holloway: Good evening
and welcome to Black Issues Forum, I'm Jay Holloway,
your host. Families that are financially successful are largely
that way because they invest, save and control spending better
than most. We know that many of you are very concerned about
managing your finances and investing in the future. So tonight
we brought back a guest from last season and asked her to
bring along her children to share their success strategies
with you. Let me introduce to you Lisa Williams. She is author,
as well as financial motivator and founder of Center for HOPE.
Also, she brought along all of her children tonight, but we
can only accommodate two of them. Tonight let me introduce
you to Joseph Calvo, 10, and Paul Calvo, 11. Thanks all of
you for being with us this evening.
Before we talk with you we'd
like to first find out a little more about our main guest,
mom, tonight here, Lisa Williams. Let's see this and we'll
come right back with a discussion.
Cox: She's a powerhouse.
She's got so much to give to other people. She's such a motivator
and such a speaker and such an entrepreneur. And I think I've
learned, she's motivated me to live the kind of life that
she promotes, to become debt-free, to become a person who
gives to others and to be really socially responsible.
Hines: The good news
about Lisa is the bad news about Lisa: she doesn't accept
excuses.
Voiceover: Lisa travels
throughout the world teaching others how to become financially
healthy, and reaches women close to home through her self-founded,
non-profit, the Center for HOPE, which stands for Helping
Other People Excel. She also exemplifies the principles she
teaches at home as a wife and mother of five.
Cox: I think she goes
beyond the normal parent role because she is involved in home
schooling her children and giving them the values that she
believes in. It's walk the talk, it's not just talking.
Paul: Home school is
just very great, and we have tutors like Ms. Abbis. She's
the one who teaches us math, Spanish and science.
Voiceover: Lisa openly
discusses matters of household financial management with her
children and supports their entrepreneurial interests.
P.Calvo: Well, my mom,
she has always been a financial consultant, and always telling
me about this and always telling me about that. So I started
watching stocks and everything-it seems like it was weird-but
I really got interested when I started this business with
my brother and sister because I need to know how to operate
a business like a grownup.
Voiceover: Paul and
his siblings started their own cookie business in 1999, and
in the first year grossed over $30,000.
A. Calvo: The name
of the business is PMJ Sweet Treats.
Joseph: I'm the CEO,
the chief executive officer, sort of like the president. And
Mia is the COO, the operating officer, who she deals, like,
makes sure people washes their hands and operates, like, who
does what in the kitchen. Ashlyn is the COS, the chief operating
smiler. She's the one who smiles to make people come, and
it works a lot. And she's also the "gopher". She
gets our ingredients and takes the trash. And there's Paul,
he's the vice president and he's the same thing, sort of like
what I am.
Voiceover: Lisa's children
range in age from seven to 11, yet each one clearly understands
the importance of setting priorities.
M. Calvo: Normally
we just do what we have to do first, and when we have good
times we just use that good time to play and do what we want.
Voiceover: Lisa's children
live in a comfortable home in Cary, North Carolina. It's a
place far away from a place Lisa found herself early in her
adolescence.
Williams: At the age
of 12, lo and behold, I found myself at a bus stop by myself.
Hmmm, this is about our attitudes now. And at this bus stop
I was told, "You are no longer wanted, so now you must
make it on your own." I had a choice to stay in a stupor
there, I had a choice to walk the streets-because we do have
these choices, you must understand-I had a choice to go get
high, find someone who could help me get through these problems
by giving me drugs. I had the choice. But somewhere deep inside
on some of those summers when I spent down in the country
and I heard the Word, not quite understanding what it is,
I understood that somewhere, someone cared about me. So I
had to adjust my attitude to survive on the streets for a
few years.
Kelley: Since meeting
Lisa I have a new lease on life. Her talk tonight was really
talking about me. I have a whole new attitude about debt and
becoming debt-free. I didn't really realize the bondage that
I was in. I've had comments from people, they see a difference
in the way I talk, I walk and in my whole being now. It's
just been a wonderful experience.
Holloway: And it certain
is a wonderful experience that you all have. And you make
such wonderful choices, because I think we all are products
of the choices that we make. Lisa, how do you make the right
choices and how do you advise your family to make those right
choices?
Williams: Well, I don't
always make the right choices, unfortunately. But I try to
ensure that we have the facts before we make a decision on
anything that we're going to do in our lives, because you
have to have the right information, then you have to look
at the costs and the benefits of the choice and how it's going
to impact you, not just at that particular time, but how it's
going to impact your future one year, two years, three years
down the road. Because your choice of today will definitely
impact your future.
Holloway: And we're
talking about family financing. You have two of your sons
here, and some of your other children are watching in our
green room, but you also have to make choices too, even as
kids, right?
Paul: Yes, sir.
Holloway: The first
choice, I guess, is whether or not to obey your mother in
your business and around the home. You are obviously making
the right choice I guess, right?
Williams: Yes, sir.
Holloway: Paul, what
about you?
Paul: I try my best
to not disobey my mother, but it's not that hard. But choices
are important to your future. Your choices in your past always
affect your future.
Holloway: That's right.
What about you, Joseph?
Joseph: Well, it's
not very hard to do the right choices. You just have to know
that you can do it and you can pick the right choices.
Holloway: And you make
the choice to obey your mother.
Joseph: Yes, the other
choice is not an option.
Holloway: It's not
an option, okay. All right. Well, let's talk about family
finance, because, you know, it's a teamwork. It's not just
one person, but you're doing something current now and you're
planning to leave a legacy as well. How do you advise? You're
a financial motivator, how do you advise folks on financial
planning for the family?
Williams: I have the
parents sit down and talk to one another so they're on the
same sheet of music first. My husband and I, we always talk
about our goals for the family, for ourselves, where we want
to be in a few years and how we would like to be able to impact
our children, not just today, but in the future. What type
of legacy, financial legacy, also do we want to leave them.
And once we come up with a consensus of where we want the
family to go we invite the kids in for a round-table discussion.
And we sit down, we talk about where we are today, what the
plans are. We make sure that we get their buy-in, because
once they feel a part of the plan, then they're more apt to
follow the plan. We get their input, we look at it, we make
some decisions about it, we commend them where we need to
on their decision-making process and we move forward. But
everyone knows the steps that are going to be involved in
order to carry out those decisions for our family. Sometimes
we have to cut back on things in order to achieve a goal,
and so they need to understand what the cost is going to be,
the opportunity cost or the sacrifice.
Holloway: So when you
mean cutting back, sacrificing, you're talking about prioritizing
as well. And so when you prioritize, how do you do that and
then how do you transfer those decisions over to your children?
Williams: Well, we
do that at the table when we're all sitting there so there
is no misunderstanding what is expected from everyone. Expectations
is a huge part of it, when we're setting goals and prioritizing.
For instance, one of our sacrifices was the movies. You know,
every kid wants to go see the newest and latest movie out,
but for us in our household that is not a priority. A priority
is ensuring that I can send Joseph to MIT and Paul to Harvard
and my other children to the schools of their choice, so they
can graduate debt free. And so those little $6 here and there
add up. If you look at our family we would spend an average
of $50 going to a movie without any popcorn or sodas, so you
throw all that in, we're up to $75.
Holloway: So, do you
understand what that means in terms of sacrificing so you
can go to school debt-free? And if so, what does that mean
to you?
Joseph: Well, it's
like, opportunity costs because you have to give up things
to make things better.
Holloway: So what are
you giving up in order that you may get in the future?
Joseph: Well, I give
up spending my money rapidly, which is not a good thing. I
don't do that even. I hardly give up anything.
Holloway: Well, but,
you have fun as well as a kid, right?
Williams: Yes sir.
Holloway: In terms
of money, where do you guys get your money from? You guys
have a business, right?
Paul: Yes sir.
Holloway: Tell us about
your business and how you make money in that business.
Paul: Well, we started
our business in 1999. Our pastor and challenger wanted to
do something to help the church become debt-free. So we sat
in the rec room that night, thinking, what could we do best.
We came out with ideas like, making computer games, helping
on the computer, and eating. Our father taught us how to bake
and cook at the age of six, so we have this talent inside
of us to bake and cook. So, my mom's like, "Maybe I won't
let you do computer games, because you'll be on there all
the time, so maybe we should do the eating. What is similar
to eating? Oh, we can do baking business!" So the next
day, we have everything prepared for next Sunday. We come
to church with all these order forms and some fresh baked
stuff and we had 300 order forms and we ran out of order forms.
We had to start writing on the backs of order forms. And we
made $3,000.00 in our first 30 minutes.
Holloway: Isn't that
something! In the feature we saw, you guys made $30,000 the
first years and I think the last time your mother was on here,
you all made well more than that your second year, right?
That is tremendous.
Paul: Thank you.
Holloway: And, what
do they do with this money, Mom?
Williams: They could
probably tell you that, too. They have their own mutual funds,
they have their own portfolios, and they determined where
they want the money to go. They understand about interest
rates, which was important for us to teach them that lesson
so they will understand what their choices were going to do
to their future. Whether they wanted to put their money in
a regular bank, a money market, a mutual fund, or the stock
market. And so they made some very wise choices based on the
information that was provided to them.
Holloway: Joseph, do
you understand that we're in tough economic times now?
Joseph: Yes sir.
Holloway: And, your
mother talked about making choices. The money that you all
are making from your business, are you still making choices
as to what to do with that money to benefit you in the future?
Joseph: Yes sir.
Holloway: What kind
of things are you doing?
Joseph: Well, we give
to our church and we support our mutual funds and things like
that.
Holloway: In mutual
funds, you're talking about investing. What does investing
mean to you?
Joseph: Well, investing
is a very important thing, because people just regular invest
in a bank account, which only gives you a two percent interest
rate, when you can invest in a mutual fund, which will give
you a 12% interest rate.
Holloway: Do you think
that's hurting you now because we're in tough economic times,
or are you going to let it stay there in the mutual fund?
Williams: We let it
stay there in the mutual fund, but we add money to it and
it grows.
Holloway: Good. And
so what about, do you all take any of that money for yourself
now to spend?
Joseph: From the mutual
fund?
Holloway: Yeah, or
from the money from your business?
Joseph: No, we have.we
had a bank account that we started a while back and that's
just our mad money that we use.
Holloway: Mad money-what's
that?
Paul: Mad money is
our term for extra cash. We have stuff that we can use for
a certain item we have planned for, and have enough money
to buy it.
Holloway: Lisa, a lot
of families out there now may not have that luxury, so they
think. Maybe their attitude is saying to them, "We aren't
doing this, we can't do this. We're struggling because we've
got so much debt just to stay alive." What do you advise
those people?
Williams: First of
all, they've got to change that mindset. They can do it. Telling
themselves they can't do it will keep them exactly where they
are. We don't allow that in our household, we don't allow
it in the company that we operate. First of all, you've got
to look at where you are. Again, gather the facts, gather
your debt-all of them. Go into those drawers where you have
those envelopes that are still sealed and open them up. Once
you get a look at what you have, then you can start the process
of getting rid of it. Then we'll talk to the creditors and
start making some conversations and plans with them so that
we can get rid of that debt.
Holloway: So, with
all this going on and families in these tough economic times
looking at trying to get rid of their debt, it's easier to
say that, but actually doing it. You mentioned changing your
attitude, how do you change your attitude to actually start
doing that? What do you do?
Williams: What you
put inside of you, you know, what do you allow yourself to
hear, what do you allow yourself to read? You know, we recommend
that you change the way you talk to yourself. "That I
can become debt-free, this is not impossible, it is a possibility."
So you change the way you talk to yourself. Also, you have
to decide that you're going to look at those debts, pay those
debts, whether it's only five dollars, $25.00, or $50.00 you
have in that bank account, you're going to pay something on
them. Make a commitment and then call the people, talk with
them about it.
Holloway: Talking about
change of attitude, and knowing that you can, we heard a little
bit about your life story. You weren't always where you are
now.
Williams: No.
Holloway: And, how
did you make that kind of life-changing strategy and attitude?
What caused you to move from where you were to where you are
now?
Williams: I didn't
like being cold. I didn't like being on the streets. It was
a change of mindset. I had to decide that I was worth more.
I had to decide that I was worthy of more. I had to decide
that I needed to get up off of my butt, and move, change the
things in my life because they wouldn't change by themselves.
And that's what I did.
Holloway: Is it that
simple for most people out there that aren't realizing their
potential?
Williams: No, it's
not. Because, when you've been told for countless numbers
of years that you're never going to amount to anything, you
can't manage this, then you become comfortable in an uncomfortable
situation and you sit there. But there is hope. I recommend
that people read The Winning Attitude, by John Maxwell.
I recommend that they read Who Moved My Cheese?, because
it helps you look at yourself as you are now and how to move.
And of course we offer things at the Center For Hope, and
through our books, on how to move your attitude so you can
start moving behind it with action.
Holloway: Who Moved
My Cheese?, I remember the last time you all were in here,
you all read that book. That book is easy reading for kids,
too, right? Paul or Joseph, you guys want to comment on that
book?
Paul: It's an excellent
book. There's also a tape and a video. It teaches you about
change and what happens if you don't change and you stay in
that same place for so long, you become accustomed to it.
And soon, you'll grow weak, that'll be your weak spot, and
you'll-how do I say this.
Williams: You'll become
what, Joseph? Extinct, right?
Joseph: Yes. You'll
deteriorate.
Holloway: Alright.
You have also, books yourself. Tell us about these books you
have. I have two of them here. Could you tell us about the
books that you authored?
Williams: Well, the
first one, A Circle of Friends Celebrating Life, is
a look at, looking at your past. When you talked about, Lisa,
it's not so easy to do, I encourage people through two stories
from my life, to look at your past. To look at it and see
if it was where you want to remain for the rest of your life.
If not, how can you make a change and start moving forward?
Dealing with hurt, pain. And then, finally, learning how to
celebrate life, because that's what we're here for. And how
to impact others with your choices. What we recognize, Jay,
is that we impact others with our choices and if we don't
make the right kind of decisions, those impacts may be negative,
and we don't want that. The other book, Self Discovery,
is a book of prose and poems and it deals with moving from
pain to purpose. We do have our third book coming out, which
probably your viewers will really like. It's about living
debt-free and the name of it is Living in the Black,
and so that's about moving financially to where you're supposed
to be.
Holloway: Do you understand
what living in the black means?
Paul: Yes sir, I do.
Holloway: What is it?
Paul: Living in the
black is debt freedom. You have no credit cards, no debts,
anything. Well, you do have taxes and stuff like that, but,
then there's living in the red.
Joseph: That's the
exact opposite.
Holloway: And what
is living in the red?
Joseph: Well, you have
debts, you max out your credit cards, you have all this debt
on you and you just can't live like that. Because that is
a disease that can kill you.
Holloway: I tell you.
Lisa, you took part, or a lot of this, and focused it on women.
The Center For Hope that you founded, tell us about that.
Williams: I did that
because I'm a woman and I realized that we have particular
needs. We've been getting a lot of mail lately from men, saying
this is not fair.
Holloway: Include us.
Williams: Okay. That's
exactly right! But because women will generally outlive their
spouses, that they will become single again, whether they're
married today or not, through death, through divorce, through
those kinds of things. We wanted to make sure they have the
knowledge, the information, so they could positively impact
their financial future. Because they will need to take care
of themselves again, most likely on a single state.
Holloway: You also
are aware of a lot of statistics about the credit card debt
going up, the times being tough economically, more people
going into bankruptcy, and also, I think you showed us a statistic
that 51% of the parents said they understand financial matters
well, but that means the opposite don't. So they can't transfer
this kind of knowledge over to their children.
Williams: Exactly.
And that's devastating because we are our children's teachers
and if we don't provide it for them, or get someone in front
of them who can, who will teach them the lessons they need
to know in order to be successful in life? It's not just about
having money, it's about how to manage money to make it work
for you, how to grow it, so that one day you will not have
to work, that you can retire and live another 30 years and
be taken care of. That's what it's really about. I want to
insure that if we leave this world prematurely, that my children
can continue on the legacy. And that we've put money aside
through our investing, or through, right now, our insurance
policies, as well as our investing, so they can realize their
dreams and goals.
Holloway: Paul and
Joseph, how did you learn all of this about financial management?
Paul: We learned from
the best.
Holloway: From the
best? Who is that?
Paul: Our mom.
Holloway: Your mom!
She taught you about these things. I mean, did you also have
to read anything? I mean, we know you read Who Moved My
Cheese?, but.
Paul: We read plenty
of stuff about money. She ordered a financial book for me
when I became nine, and it was from U.S.A.A. and they talked
about--
Holloway: U.S.A.A.?
What's that?
Paul: I'm not sure
what it stands for.
Williams: They have
for-profit and non-profit organizations for military officers
and that's the organization that provides us right now with
our non-profit workbooks that we teach from. They have an
incredible one for youth that's very effective and so we use
that with our own children of course.
Holloway: And you all
are home school?
Williams: Absolutely.
Paul: Yes.
Paul: In home school
we learn a lot more than in the public school. We didn't regularly
learn about money until we were in college, if we continued
in home school-I mean continue in-
Holloway: A lot of
times it's not taught in college unless-in terms of household
finances.
Williams: We have a
couple of attorneys and doctors that are our clients and when
they come to me they say-you know, most of them bring home
$10,000-$12,000, the clients I'm serving, and they say to
me, "Lisa, we went to school to become doctors. No one
taught us about money." So you understand, they went
to post-secondary school and here they are not knowing anything
about money. And so they come to the table brand new with
open ears wanting to find out how to manage their money so
that they can live effectively, because they're not doing
so.
Holloway: Now, do you
develop your own curriculum or is this from the U.S.A.A. part
of that as well?
Williams: We merge
that together; we use their books because they're incredible
training tools. But also of course from my hard knocks, the
lessons learned, what I've gone through myself, I've been
through so much of it I wanted to be able to share it so other
people would not have to go and make those same trips down
those roads that are not so smooth. We put it together in
an easy format so we can deliver it in a positive way so it
will move people. We don't want you to take the information
and sit upon it. We want you to get up, use it and move forward
with you and your family. We need people to make a difference
today.
Holloway: As we begin
to close up-believe it or not, we're almost out of time-I
want you guys to talk to some of the kids out there that may
be watching, and what would you say to them about money management?
Paul: You should ask
your parents about money, period. And get a book to read about
money.
Joseph: Well, if you
choose to start a business, you have to have good attitudes
and things, so your customers will come back to you. If you
have a bad attitude, they won't come back. So once you have
your business and it grows and grows, you won't have to work
for money, the money will start working for you.
Holloway: And what
would you say to the parents?
Williams: I don't care
where you are today in your financial situation, know that
tomorrow can be a lot brighter for you if you just simply
look at where you are today. Assess your situation, get help
if you need it, make the calls to the creditors, make the
call to someone who can help you. We're here to help. But
you have to be willing to change your attitude and make better
choices and I can guarantee you'll have a better tomorrow,
even when you're sitting where you are today.
Holloway: Well thank
you all for sharing this information and your personal and
your business life with viewers across North Carolina, and
we certainly appreciate it. Thank you.
Williams: Thank you
so much.
Joseph: It was a pleasure.
Holloway: All right.
You know each of us are the sum total of the choices we have
made, and hopefully tonight's program has helped to make and
better inform you of the issues of investing in yourself and
in your family. Now the choice is yours, take advantage of
all the advice and resources to help you properly invest,
save and control your spending. Or stay in the same financial
position where you are, reducing the chances for financial
success for you and your family. For Black Issues Forum,
I'm Jay Holloway. Please join us again every Friday night
at 9:30 only on UNC-TV. You have a blessed evening and a good
night.
[THEME MUSIC]
Voiceover: This program
is made possible in part by contributions from UNC-TV viewers
like you.
|
