Gretchen Smoot's guest appearances

Gretchen Smoot

Family Looking Up

Drive The 5

John Muir

Jonathon Aslay

Shaunti Feldhahn

Melissa Camara Wilkins

Nancy Davis Kho

Angela Ferrari

Ceri Payne

Erin Chase

Jamie Ivey

Monica Swanson

Carol Scott

Jennifer Johnson

Lisa Andersen

Monica Tanner

Miranda Anderson

OwlTail

In this final episode of Season 1, Gretchen Smoot shares her system for planning and achieving an insane amount of goals annually. With her background in finance she has wonderful tips and advice on setting financial goals and teaching children the value of money. Gretchen begins this episode sharing the story of her escape from a violent relationship in college and the courageous decisions she made to rewrite her future. Her story is one of courage and hope and a reminder that we each have the power to define our story, change our circumstances and write a happy ending for our life. Gretchen holds a BS in Business from the University of Florida Warrington College of Business and an MS in Applied Economics from the Jon. M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University. She is currently the CFO of the Everest Group and has been working with CEO George Morris for nearly 15 years. Active in church and community, Gretchen serves on numerous boards including PTA, Youth Lacrosse and Community Council. She is a wife and mother of 4 whose hobbies include visiting national parks, home renovation projects, reading, hiking and listening to podcasts. She loves taking pictures and has over 3,550,000 views as a Google Local Guide.*If you or someone you love is in danger from domestic violence, help is available 24/7/365 from the National Domestic Hotline 1-800-799-7233 (SAFE)

In this final episode of Season 1, Gretchen Smoot shares her system for planning and achieving an insane amount of goals annually. With her background in finance she has wonderful tips and advice on setting financial goals and teaching children the value of money. Gretchen begins this episode sharing the story of her escape from a violent relationship in college and the courageous decisions she made to rewrite her future. Her story is one of courage and hope and a reminder that we each have the power to define our story, change our circumstances and write a happy ending for our life. Gretchen holds a BS in Business from the University of Florida Warrington College of Business and an MS in Applied Economics from the Jon. M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University. She is currently the CFO of the Everest Group and has been working with CEO George Morris for nearly 15 years. Active in church and community, Gretchen serves on numerous boards including PTA, Youth Lacrosse and Community Council. She is a wife and mother of 4 whose hobbies include visiting national parks, home renovation projects, reading, hiking and listening to podcasts. She loves taking pictures and has over 3,550,000 views as a Google Local Guide. *If you or someone you love is in danger from domestic violence, help is available 24/7/365 from the National Domestic Hotline 1-800-799-7233 (SAFE)

Gretchen Smoot, CFO The Everest Group

Today we are talking to Gretchen Smoot.  Gretchen Smoot holds a BS in Business Administration and Economics from the University of Florida and an MS in Economic Development from Utah State University. Since 2006 she has worked in  the real estate industry in Utah . She has been with Century 21 Everest Realty Group as the Director of Finance since its inception in 2009 as it has grown to be the largest Century 21 office in the world for the past three years. She and her husband have four small children and enjoy spending as much time as possible in the mountains of Utah. She volunteers extensively within her religious community and is passionate about finding ways to help others! A favorite quote is "No one ever injured their eyesight by looking on the bright side".   Growing up Gretchen’s husband’s parents did not talk about money.  They wouldn’t ever talk about money and then all of a sudden they would make large purchases.  One day, while they were dating, Gretchen was going over bills, her husband realized people had to pay for power while she was paying my bills.  This was the complete opposite of what Gretchen grew up with. Her family growing up was broke.  They had a large paper route every single day.  EVeryday they would throw papers after school while they were doing homework in the car.  There wasn’t money for big expenses. Then her parents got divorced, and the money problems continued. That is when she decided she didn’t want to have those money problems when she was older.   She and her husband have learned to work together to balance their finances.  They decided early in their marriage that  they weren’t going to go on vacation without the cash to do so.  Her husband is the spender in their marriage.  Her husband taught her to be ok with spending money and she taught him it is ok to not spend money.   How to create a budget   Many people do not know what their net is each month (meaning how much money is in their bank.) You need to know what deductions are going out.  Are your withholdings right?  Are you on the right health plan?  So you know when the dollars come in they are truly yours. Next  look at your fixed expenses (mortgage, utilities, etc.)  Then find out what is discretionary.  The rest left over is your debt reduction.  You have to plan for your known-unknowns (car registration, christmas, birthdays.)  People don’t tend to plan for those things.  She has built into her budget an average for those things.  If you want to increase the amount you can bring into debt reduction, then there are three things you can ask: 1. Can you bring in more money? 2. Can you change your fixed expenses (refinance your car, refinance your home) 3. Can you change your behavior in terms of your discretionary spending.  IF you can change it from “this is my budget” to “this is my financial plan” it makes it a lot more fun.   So many people think of the word budget as a negative thing.  Gretchen tied what they were doing to a monthly reward.  She recommends making a visual to track your progress.   Gretchen and her family had their struggles financially, but seeing a budget as a financial plan helped to take some of the stress out of them because they knew every dollar had a home, and those homes were very purposeful to help them accomplish the goals they wanted for their family.   Gretchen reviews her family budget at least once a week and they review their budget together once a quarter. Camille mentioned that when she uses a budget she feels like she has more freedom because it gives her freedom to spend.     In the United States the number one reason for divorce is money. Some people will have financial infidelity, meaning they are not being honest with their spouse about their money.  It is important to talk about money amongst couples.  Set your goals together.   It is important to allow yourself not to be perfect.  It is a budget and not a commandment.  Give yourself an opportunity for wiggle room.  Allow yourself to make mistakes, and know that it is not going to happen overnight.  It is a long term process.   Gretchen recommends finding a program that works for you.  She uses Excel.  The LDS church has a great and easy tool for how to use a budget. You can find that at  https://providentliving.lds.org/self-reliance/finances/financial-calculator?lang=eng. Gretchen also recommends Dave Ramsey and using loan calculators.   Kids and Money Gretchen wanted their kids to have a healthy relationship with money.  They wanted their kids to know that money is not bad.  Money can be a great tool to bless and help others if it is used properly.  They provide all the necessities for their kids (clothes, backpacks, etc.)  Anything that is extra their kids have to provide for themselves.  If the kids are invested in it,  they care more about it.  She wants to help her kids see that money is a tool to do things you love.   Gretchen’s kids do chores, that they do not get paid for.  If they want to earn money they do additional chores.  She does not give them an allowance. She pays her kids according to what is age appropriate for the kids,  what fits in her family budget, what they trying to earn for, what is their motivation, and how hard  they are working.  She pays the kids every week.  She tries to explain that they don’t get paid every time they work because that is the same way mom and dad get paid.  Their cash is stored in an envelope with a ledger that tracks the money.  It helps them understand the tangible value of money.  If the kids forget their envelope at the store, they don’t get to buy what they want.  She explains it to them by saying, “mom and dad don’t take out loans, and we don’t want you to take out loans.”  It is a way to teach them to be prepared and to not take out loans.   They have tried to teach their kids that just because you earn a dollar it doesn’t mean you spend a dollar.  They require their kids, for every dollar spent, 10 percent goes to tithing (giving) 10 percent goes to savings, and they can spend the rest.  As long as their choices aren’t harmful or inappropriate, they are allowed to spend their money any way they want.   Mom Squad Challenge:  Physically sit down and write down a goal for your financial life.

Today we are talking to Gretchen Smoot.  Gretchen Smoot holds a BS in Business Administration and Economics from the University of Florida and an MS in Economic Development from Utah State University. Since 2006 she has worked in  the real estate industry in Utah . She has been with Century 21 Everest Realty Group as the Director of Finance since its inception in 2009 as it has grown to be the largest Century 21 office in the world for the past three years. She and her husband have four small children and enjoy spending as much time as possible in the mountains of Utah. She volunteers extensively within her religious community and is passionate about finding ways to help others! A favorite quote is "No one ever injured their eyesight by looking on the bright side". Growing up Gretchen’s husband’s parents did not talk about money.  They wouldn’t ever talk about money and then all of a sudden they would make large purchases.  One day, while they were dating, Gretchen was going over bills, her husband realized people had to pay for power while she was paying my bills.  This was the complete opposite of what Gretchen grew up with. Her family growing up was broke.  They had a large paper route every single day.  EVeryday they would throw papers after school while they were doing homework in the car.  There wasn’t money for big expenses. Then her parents got divorced, and the money problems continued. That is when she decided she didn’t want to have those money problems when she was older. She and her husband have learned to work together to balance their finances.  They decided early in their marriage that  they weren’t going to go on vacation without the cash to do so.  Her husband is the spender in their marriage.  Her husband taught her to be ok with spending money and she taught him it is ok to not spend money. How to create a budget Many people do not know what their net is each month (meaning how much money is in their bank.) You need to know what deductions are going out.  Are your withholdings right?  Are you on the right health plan?  So you know when the dollars come in they are truly yours. Next  look at your fixed expenses (mortgage, utilities, etc.)  Then find out what is discretionary.  The rest left over is your debt reduction.  You have to plan for your known-unknowns (car registration, christmas, birthdays.)  People don’t tend to plan for those things.  She has built into her budget an average for those things.  If you want to increase the amount you can bring into debt reduction, then there are three things you can ask: 1. Can you bring in more money? 2. Can you change your fixed expenses (refinance your car, refinance your home) 3. Can you change your behavior in terms of your discretionary spending.  IF you can change it from “this is my budget” to “this is my financial plan” it makes it a lot more fun. So many people think of the word budget as a negative thing.  Gretchen tied what they were doing to a monthly reward.  She recommends making a visual to track your progress. Gretchen and her family had their struggles financially, but seeing a budget as a financial plan helped to take some of the stress out of them because they knew every dollar had a home, and those homes were very purposeful to help them accomplish the goals they wanted for their family. Gretchen reviews her family budget at least once a week and they review their budget together once a quarter. Camille mentioned that when she uses a budget she feels like she has more freedom because it gives her freedom to spend.   In the United States the number one reason for divorce is money. Some people will have financial infidelity, meaning they are not being honest with their spouse about their money.  It is important to talk about money amongst couples.  Set your goals together. It is important to allow yourself not to be perfect.  It is a budget and not a commandment.  Give yourself an opportunity for wiggle room.  Allow yourself to make mistakes, and know that it is not going to happen overnight.  It is a long term process. Gretchen recommends finding a program that works for you.  She uses Excel.  The LDS church has a great and easy tool for how to use a budget. You can find that at <a href="https://providentliving.lds.org/self-reliance/finances/financial-calculator?lang=eng" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> https://providentliving.lds.org/self-reliance/finances/financial-calculator?lang=eng</a>. Gretchen also recommends Dave Ramsey and using loan calculators. Kids and Money Gretchen wanted their kids to have a healthy relationship with money.  They wanted their kids to know that money is not bad.  Money can be a great tool to bless and help others if it is used properly.  They provide all the necessities for their kids (clothes, backpacks, etc.)  Anything that is extra their kids have to provide for themselves.  If the kids are invested in it,  they care more about it.  She wants to help her kids see that money is a tool to do things you love. Gretchen’s kids do chores, that they do not get paid for.  If they want to earn money they do additional chores.  She does not give them an allowance. She pays her kids according to what is age appropriate for the kids,  what fits in her family budget, what they trying to earn for, what is their motivation, and how hard  they are working.  She pays the kids every week.  She tries to explain that they don’t get paid every time they work because that is the same way mom and dad get paid.  Their cash is stored in an envelope with a ledger that tracks the money.  It helps them understand the tangible value of money.  If the kids forget their envelope at the store, they don’t get to buy what they want.  She explains it to them by saying, “mom and dad don’t take out loans, and we don’t want you to take out loans.”  It is a way to teach them to be prepared and to not take out loans. They have tried to teach their kids that just because you earn a dollar it doesn’t mean you spend a dollar.  They require their kids, for every dollar spent, 10 percent goes to tithing (giving) 10 percent goes to savings, and they can spend the rest.  As long as their choices aren’t harmful or inappropriate, they are allowed to spend their money any way they want. Mom Squad Challenge:  Physically sit down and write down a goal for your financial life.

Ep. 5.  Family and Finances - Guest Gretchen Smoot. 