Happiness Jungle TV Show - Financial Happiness

the following program was provided by an

independent producer solely responsible

for its content the opinions expressed

do not necessarily represent the views

of this station its staff board of

directors or underwriters

[Music]

hey there Nashua New Hampshire chief

happiness officer dwindled Riccio I am

super excited in hello world well you

know what today is the day where we're

going to be talking about your happy

finances and I was so excited a few days

ago I was at a networking event and I

had the opportunity to meet Jason

Havilland he's a financial advisor here

in Nashua New Hampshire it was very

unique and very different in a lot of

his thinking and how he helps his

clients so of course it's a happiness

jungle chief happiness little bit chief

happiness officer of your happiness

jungle I'm always here to bring you the

happiest people that I know will inspire

you and give you great tips how to bring

you tomorrow on in a really safe way so

Jason thank you so much for sticking out

well at that event in Nashua that was

exciting was a good event wasn't it yeah

it was a great event I am very thrilled

to meet you and all the other people

there I love talking about finances I

love helping people either very best

financial person everyone's helping them

be their very best all to all their

different kinds of themselves I really

enjoy helping people become their very

best financial person that can be you

know it really stuck out about it though

you told me something very very unique

you say that you listen to your client

and not everybody gets the same advice

right now share that with me sure so

first people might be surprised to learn

that the person giving them their

financial advice does not necessarily

have to have their best interest in mind

so if you take nothing away nothing else

away from the show today I would

absolutely encourage everyone to go ask

whoever is giving them financial advice

and sort of whatever capacity are they a

fiduciary a fiduciary means you have to

have that person's best interest in mind

when you're giving them financial advice

so go ask are you a fiduciary if they

say no ask them why not maybe you'll

know maybe they'll give you some

acceptable answer maybe they won't but

that leads into your question which is

okay because I'm a fiduciary

I'm it is my obligation to give you very

best financial advice that I can and in

order to do that I have to get to know

I've got to know who you are I've got to

know what motivates you I have to know

what your goals are I have to know what

you're trying to achieve or yourself or

your kids or your grandkids and all of

that has to come together and one

financial compelling want one story one

picture one plan and part of my job is

to help give you that advice is ok this

is this is what I want this is what I

want for myself this is what I want for

my kids so what I want from my grandkids

how can we get it and how can we do it

in a way that aligns with my goals and

beliefs and it allows me to balance

everything that I have going on in my

life so yes that's absolutely approach

that I take trying to build a custom

plan for everybody I work with it was

very unique to hear that there's a lot

of plans that you deal with a lot of

companies if you will i like to call

them like affiliate where you recommend

the company and then you could also get

a commission if your client decides to

go with that line of security financial

security you said that that doesn't

matter to you that's right you will not

be bought that's right help your client

that's right there's no money in the

world that can make you happy that any

company is going to dangle that carrot

and say if you sell my insurance to your

clients that's why you're on my show

well thank you because I heard that loud

and clear and not that money money

doesn't make you happy but by goodness

planning right for your future in your

today most certainly does it's a great

piece of mind right I i went and i

stalked you a little bit for my first

down a stalker i should i think i should

be happy to hear that i I did ice talk

to you personally and professionally

your family is beautiful thank you they

look like they're so much fun i'd say

about ninety percent of the time

absolutely true the other time for some

of the time well you know they are kids

tell me about your family sure so I have

two daughters both go to public schools

here in Nashua I have a 12 year old and

her big her big passion the big thing

that makes her happy is cheerleading so

she is a all-star cheerleader she loves

competing against other teams they

travel throughout New England and that's

you know we're carting her all over

and/or to helping her find that you know

find that passion and find that rhythm

I'm cheerleading my younger daughter is

9 and her big passion her big happy

place is dance and so we take you know

same thing so she's on dance teams and

so we're taking them all all around

Nashua in the New England in the country

even competing in dance competition so

so I got a lot of cheerleading a lot of

dance in my life uh my two girls yes my

lovely wife Megan and Megan stay-at-home

mom yes I'm going to stay at home mom

naked you have the hardest job in the

world you go girl yeah so I got and I

met at fidelity investments so i worked

at fidelity for a number of years and

that's where we met and we settled here

in Nashua about 14 15 years ago I love

that so you both are like-minded when it

comes to the financial aspect of what to

do for for life yeah how to treat

situations when we go through those

trying times as we do in the United

States and throughout the world yeah

when the alerts go up that oh my gosh

we're in a financial disaster you

understand how to give people the

mattress to sleep on to say hey

everybody have a good night's sleep you

secure with me that's what we're trying

to do at your point earlier about a

commission-based fees for for sort of

interacting with people that's what I

was referring to earlier like you might

be surprised that the products you've

been sold or the investments that you've

made the person who's sort of made the

most money off of that your advisor or

another investment company then you

don't have the transparency you can't

see what am I really paying for this

so yes absolutely I try to make sure

that transparency is high people see

with what they're paying its fee only so

there's no Commission's involved and

very much I'm like everybody else I'm

trying to balance living my life now

with trying to save for my kids

education trying to you know put money

away to retire trying to figure out all

right can we afford to do these really

some other big vacation like everyone

else has got everyone's trying to bounce

something whether you I got you know

five dollars $5,000 or five million

dollars you're always trying to balance

something so very much I'm trying to

help you as I think I think balance is

the corollary to happiness right I like

that yes yes you don't you know you can

you can you know the wit one way one

path to happiness is having a balanced

life having balance in all aspects of

things you're trying to do so figuring

out all right what are my hobbies what

are my passions how much can I spend on

that all right should send the kids to

school or grandkids or and we got to

make sure we don't extend too much on

the house and we've got to live

somewhere but right let's make sure we

live within our means and sort of

figuring all that out ah very much the

type of conversations and I'll typically

have with the families and clients that

I work I love it let's dissect a little

bit okay ready yeah okay I sec because I

want to help all age groups okay okay I

want to help the young couple who's

starting out a family that are on that

extremely tight budget sometimes the

parents are eating the crackers while

the babies could eat the chicken yeah

but it's time to really start thinking

about putting a little bit away for the

cut for the college for the future of

the child yes give us a good healthy

solution of what a couple can do to help

start that fund yeah and I'm talking

about let's go for people that have kids

10 and under about that all right all

right so I'd say two important steps in

what we just discussed first it's very

important for every family to have a

budget mm-hmm again whether you have

I've bought

five thousand bucks or five million

bucks you absolutely need a budget you

have to understand what's going in and

what's coming out and so there's a lot

of different tools that folks can use to

build that budget you can do it you know

the old fashioned way when I when I was

kid we just put out a bunch of envelopes

right and every envelope had certain

amount of money and in or yet iou's and

you sort of figured it out that way

that's you know that's a very low-tech

way you could use Excel or some other

spreadsheet kind of a program or a lot

of my clients use a program called mint

com I kind of meant and it basically

pulls in all of your expenses and you

can do a budget it tells you every month

we expected to spend hundred dollars for

going out to eat this month and here's

what you know based on the credit card

and bank statements here's what we

actually spent so there's a couple

different ways to do it so number one

you really need to make sure you have a

good handle on what's going in what's

going out and once you get into a

positive cash flow you have a little bit

more money coming in and going up all

right so let's assume you've done that

you've got that figured out now ah

saving is you know is really important

in two aspects of it one starting as

early as you can all right so what you

mentioned there for the kids under ten

you really need to start saving for

college the day they're born you got to

start early right you never get to a

point and say oh I've saved too much or

you know what I wish I'd started saving

later it is always I wish I had started

earlier the first point is to start what

you said I really is advice that I

really like and that is absolutely

appropriate to start with which is it's

okay to start small you just have to

start and you have to set it up as an

automatic contribution so you don't even

see it all right so you set up the

account you can do five ten twenty

dollars a month that's okay just get it

open just get it started okay so that's

one you got to do the budget to you got

to start early so get it open and just

get it started and then third you could

consider now you get sort of moving

along the spectrum of sophistication

here there is a product

called a 529 college savings account

okay now this is a product that is

specifically designed for families and

individuals to save money for college

and the big advantage of this 529 it's a

refers to the tax code that's how it got

that a funny name it's part of the tax

code so it's a you know section 529

account that money you earn so you

earned your money for your paycheck you

put it in twenty five fifty hundred

dollars a month and it grows tax-free oh

don't have to pay any tax on when you

take the money out to pay for college

you do not have to pay any time you get

a double tax break it grows tax-free and

if you use it for education it comes out

tax free Wow is that only New Hampshire

or is that United States wide everybody

in the United States can have access to

that plan now there are various reasons

so when we again we talk about a

spectrum of complexity in college

financial planning the formulas for aid

and grants and scholarships are impacted

by how much money you've saved and it's

things can get let me to say things can

get complicated the more that balanced

growth but I would absolutely recommend

starting early and get a guide to start

your credit union because sometimes that

you open a 529 plan account and they

want you to put a minimum of either

fifty or a hundred dollars a month

that's too much okay just go to your

credit union Obama regular savings

account start putting the 5 2015

whatever it is that you can afford it

got to start and have come out

automatically that's the other big you

can't be putting in a dupatta and no

just got to come out of it you're

talking about it like you never had it

that's what it doesn't exist I like that

I remember being a single mom and my my

baby was 15 months old when I got

divorced and I remember Florida I lives

in South Florida at the time they came

out with their call their state college

program and I took advantage of it I

think she was around five years old when

I got started with her plan I think they

took five

was a week out of my paycheck I didn't

feel it but I what was the best part

about it was that when she I never

looked at it that's good I really never

looked at it and when she hit 19 and 20

I looked at it and what a wonderful gift

I was able to give her yes so we're all

on a driver did yeah and my daughter

just you know for for argument's sake

some people say well how do I even know

my child's going to go to college yeah

mine did not but I what I was able to do

was able to her move on with her future

happily and because it was her money she

was able to invest it correctly I wasn't

just going to give her the money yeah

she invested in a home okay yeah okay so

as long as there was something she's

just not going to get the money but kids

just don't earn the money right right so

thank you that was a great tip you could

start as soon as you're pregnant or or

just start just icky and again with that

529 that's a that if you don't use that

that's a very important point because

people will ask me should i do this 529

account and if they don't so if you set

it up for one of your kids and they

don't say they don't go to college you

can change the beneficiaries if you have

two kids you could potentially change

the beneficiary to another child if they

have children you could change the

beneficiary to a grandchild you can also

change it to yourself many options so

but you have to use it for school so if

it doesn't end up getting used for

school then it gets taxed yeah and

penalized oh yeah that's the kind of

thing you'll want to come have a

conversation with an advisor about right

all right should I do this I'm ready to

start doing it now is it going to make

sense for me in my unique circumstance

fantastic i love that okay let's go to

the next age group all right all right

so now we have parents and they're

starting to have teenage kids they're

starting to look at the college's but

they have yet to really set up what they

needed to set up right okay and they're

kind of worried there's a solution yeah

and even though they didn't get started

as early as they could have it doesn't

matter give me give us that

there are people to walk to look at this

right now and go oh my gosh I feel

relieved that's what I want you to do

for people right now okay this is hard

because it gets to that it gets to part

of the heart of happiness ok back to my

commentary earlier about balance yes all

right so as you get to that age and your

kids are sort of thinking about college

and or you know should I go to college

yes or no and if I do what am I going to

what I'm going to be on major what am I

going to do one of the big problems we

have today is college is extraordinarily

expensive okay and all on like our kids

Mike again I got a dancer in a

cheerleader and we've you know we've

tried soccer we've tried violin we

exposed them to all sorts of different

kinds of activities and they found their

passions and we're in current like you

know like the best practices and

parenting like help your kids fuel your

kids passions help them do what they

love so we are as you approach college

right and you start having to have real

conversations about what you're going to

do with your life that that discussion

around all right I'd like to be a

teacher okay that's that's so wonderful

you're going to be a teacher but the

salaries for teachers are so low yeah

and if you have to go to school and take

on thousands 20 hundred thousand dollars

worth of debt to go to school and then

be a teacher by the way graduate school

you know you really need to prepare

yourself for the life you're going to

have with a hundred thousand dollars of

debt and a teacher salary right so it is

a very balanced conversation that

families have to have so I would

absolutely encourage you to go head

start having that conversation there are

websites that you can go to that show

the salaries and what are the skills

that you need for various careers and

where those jobs are right and they want

to be an interior designer well you

better love New York City because you

know there's probably not going to be

too many of those jobs here in Nashua so

they're really figuring out what you

want to be where those jobs are what

they're going to pay and then how much

debt

might make sense for you to take on if

you haven't been able to make it and

which most families don't they can't

save enough to send our kids so you've

got to be real with that conversation

and then i would i would say once you

sort of have the sort of practical

conversation about it then yeah then say

all right at some point then you gotta

just sent you know that they got to

leave the nation' they gotta do what

they think is going to make them happy

and they got to own their life like that

on there like that what a beautiful

thing i like that else is about so that

would be if you haven't made it you got

to make sure you have that very ah that

very real conversation and then I'd say

uh credit working on helping them build

some credit so get them a debit card and

help them work on credit would be

another am teaching them the importance

of paying it off or here's what's going

to happen if you don't I'm striving on

this now one of my biggest mentors is

Les Brown and i was listening to him on

the way to the station this morning one

of the most important impactful things

that he mentioned this morning was it's

not what you leave behind it's what you

leave within your children teach them

how to survive and take care of

themselves right so what you just said

was brought it to a whole new happy

powerful yes teach them how to write and

and balance it with their hat because

they like their knock if you tell them

no you have to go be an accountant you

got to be a finance first like I love

that was great for me but I can tell you

that it's not going to be home like it

on here and so that's fine I'm gonna

have to balance them all right look

that's yeah here's a career that's in

demand all right we'll pick something

else and I'm going to go fast forward

all right we were brought up yeah we

were brought up to and I'm going to

piggyback off of just because almond

account doesn't mean that you need to be

an accountant and so many people aren't

happy with what they're doing because

they were told what to do and in today's

world with the way it is more people

should as far as I'm concerned become

independent contractors you can start

taking care of yourself yes you need for

the people to have

as well but when they're finding that

balance people have to having to learn a

new platform at a later age companies

are closing left and right and leading

people that were with companies for over

30 years now jobless with the severance

package that really isn't going to carry

them out for another it'll carry them

for maybe six months maybe three months

give me some really good advice we're

almost at a time for our our our group

of people that are at this fragile state

of life where we can no longer be just

moseying along we're no longer 20 30 s

and 40s trying to figure out what do we

want to be when we grow up somebody

literally said to us lights out charlie

go figure it out and people looking at

us like wait a minute you're in your

late 40s or I could hire somebody that's

a lot younger than you share with me

because I know that 30 weeks ago I

reinvented myself into the happiness

jungle I am the chief happiness of the

happiness jungle and reason being is

because I found something that I

passionately love and i know i will

thrive with abundance yes share with us

that's you know i think that that's

that's the magic right because you you

should everybody should absolutely try

to do what they love take that risk take

that chance see if you can make a go at

it doing what you love and if you can't

well then you know or maybe that the

path had to twist and turn a little bit

uh-huh and I'm financial advisor so you

also have to have the realism of all

right what are you looking your finances

support what is your what are your base

expenses that you can't you can't slice

any more out of that you really have to

make sure our covered okay understand

what those are and then pursue your

dreams that's what that's what i did i

worked in corporate america for 21 years

and decided i wanted i wanted to start

my firm i wanted to run it my way i want

to help people the way I wanted to help

them give them the advice along the

dimensions that I thought were most

important Wow and so that's what I would

say have a go at it and go with a

financial advisor so you know you know

how much risk and sort of what sort of

paths are realistic for you I love it

you are to corporate America how long

have you now owned your own entity it's

just been this year so i'm still a

nascent little growing firm but i am

growing i have good traction great

clients great families that i'm working

with and they're the obvious expert of

being a financial planner well a doubt

I'm excited about that so one of the

things that I want to share with our

audience first of all please share with

them how can they get in touch with you

sure so ah unlike some financial firms

you can call me right I'll have my phone

I'm not with another client I will

absolutely call you so you can call me

60 3438 1874 you can also find me online

there's biographical information about

me and my firm the services we offer

that's @j the letter j bradford

investments com love it and idlers you

can schedule if you'd like to schedule a

free consultation that's on the site you

want to reach out to me with a question

you can do contact me so on the site J

Bradford investments awesome Jason I

give these hearts out all over the world

you know before we started to show you a

fiddle faddle lling with that so from my

heart to yours thank you so much and I

call those good energy hard its people

carry them around with them so whenever

they're going through the fiddle faddle

moment they have that and hopefully

it'll bring it brings really good energy

thank you the other thing that I want to

do hand to happiness younger you ready

para a game alright aeneus portion of

the show spontaneous portion of the show

so we're going to go ahead and I'm going

to pull out some cards you're going to

pick a card of choice one card one card

and then we're going to relate it to

your field and we're going to leave

everybody with a really happy solution

to a financial for something financial

for them to go ahead hard I know I know

to go ahead and if it's a green card the

audience is not going to be able to see

it but there you go okay go for it well

I love it so be in control

that's what financially that's what

financial planning is all about it's

coming together and understanding what

are all the what are my assets what

income do I have what's what is my what

is my financial situation look like what

are all my debts what are all my

obligations and then what are my hopes

and dreams what are my goals and you

want to be in control of getting

yourself achieving those goals and for

some it's easier I'm not I'm not

certainly not here to say it's going to

be a piece of cake you just call up a

financial advisor and we have all the

answers it's not but what we can do is

give you that nice warm blanket to sort

of wrap around you and all your

financial situation so you can feel

comfortable so you can feel like you're

in control and actually be in control

you're fine Wow we never said life was

easy but we did see could be happier

Jason I can't thank you enough I hope

that you're going to come back and I

understand that you might have been

speaking with the producers here you

might just be having your own TV yeah we

might well say like an angel be we'll

see how that goes we don't know it will

have a grand reveal on your shot how

about that I like that I come back and

have a grand reveal on this show should

that come to fruition I am excited and

everybody I just want to go out to

everybody the gentleman that are behind

the scenes that you will never see

behind the access nashua TV station are

absolutely priceless there are a great

team and I always want to go out to them

and show appreciation and the happiness

jungle it's all about out tomorrow's and

tomorrow's we get there together

collectively no matter what you want to

do go out and network because that's how

Jason I found one another if you're

looking to start something new if you're

looking to create another source of

income they're not going to be knocking

on your door meetup com is a site that

you want to use it is absolutely

powerful free and you'll get to go ahead

and meet like-minded people so from my

heart to yours the happiness jungle

wishes everybody financial freedom and a

half year tomorrow goodbye everybody

[Music]

Oh

the preceding program was provided by

these are solely responsible for its

content the opinions expressed do not

necessarily represent the views of this

station its staff board of directors or

underwriters