Welcome with Kimberley Roberson

Kelli Green 0:00

Welcome back to the Live Better Podcast . I'm your host and Centric Senior Vice President of Marketing , Kelli Green . April is Youth Month at Centric and today we're discussing why financial education starts early and how adults can really impact overall children's financial habits . Joining us today is our special guest , Kimberly Roberson , who is an educator , mother , podcaster , ironman , athlete . We are so excited to have her join us . So thank you so much for joining us and let's dive in . So , Kimberley , welcome .

Kimberley Roberson 0:30

Thank you , I'm so excited to be here .

Kelli Green 0:33

Well , we're tickled to have you , and one of the things I want to share too with our listeners is that you've been authoring our blogs for now a little over a year two years now

Kimberley Roberson 0:41

A little over a year yeah .

Kelli Green 0:43

Yeah , that's incredible . So I know we've mentioned in your introduction being an educator , a mother , podcaster yourself , an Ironman athlete , of all those things . I'd love for you just to kind of bring that in and tell us a little bit about yourself and how you kind of arrived at the Ironman . That is , to me , is like that's incredible .

Kimberley Roberson 1:06

Yeah , it's a little bit . A little bit that's a lot . Sometimes I forget that that's um , that's on my little rap sheet , I guess . But um , yeah , I , uh , I , my background is in literature and so I used to teach at ULM and then felt called to start homeschooling my kids and so I have six children and um , and so that's an adventure . And then , uh , we've I've dabbled in podcasting and we

The Ironman Journey and Goal Setting

Kimberley Roberson 1:36

I've done like over I don't know a hundred plus episodes with that . Just I like to kind of try on new things . And then , of course , with the blog , I love writing the , the Centric blog , and everything . So , um , yeah , and then , um , I don't know , where else .

Kelli Green 1:53

Oh well , your Ironman , talk to us . Oh , what led to that ? Because I think the thing I love so much about your family , you guys always bring in physical fitness and you're outdoors . There's such an appreciation for that and I think that is that kind of speaks to your faith Also , I love that . I just I really think that's fantastic . So , ironman , what was like ? How did you say yes , this is what I'm going to do .

Kelli Green 2:14

Challenge accepted .

Kimberley Roberson 2:15

Well , it was actually through an interview that I was doing on my podcast , the Mommy Pro or the Mommy Project is what it's called and I interviewed one of my friends' wife . She had had a terrible accident , broke her hip , we had babies right close together and she , um said , the only thing that would get her out of bed in the morning , um , cause she was really kind of in a you know in a slump , she signed up for an Ironman and so I followed her whole path and so , as she's telling her story , I became very motivated to do something like that . And I mean , my background with my husband is we have done triathlons and races and I love , you know that community and culture , but to do something that drastic , um , with three little babies and working , I , I don't know . I just want to do it , just to see if I could do it , and and it took me a year , I followed a training plan , I was dedicated , but through that whole process I learned a lot about myself .

Kimberley Roberson 3:21

I um , you know , had to pay attention to nutrition . I mean , there was just a lot of things that I had let slack in my personal life that you can't do that when you take on something that huge and that strenuous . So , uh , yeah , it was . It's remarkable . I look back and I'm like I can't believe I did that and um and so , and we have all of that kind of documented on our podcast too . Um , but that's what kind of led me to . That was just seeing her , her story and then seeing like man that really revolutionized her life and helped her in many ways that you just don't expect .

Kelli Green 3:58

Oh yeah , and so that's kind of Well , I love what you're saying about this too , because you had to really set your mind on this goal and you might have .

Kimberley Roberson 4:07

It's not about you know , if you look at the big picture it's very overwhelming , but it's in the daily , just consistent , little by little . That's how you make you know big differences .

Kelli Green 4:38

I'm so glad you know that I wanted to ask you these questions because one I'm so intrigued by Ironman . But how , as we're talking through this and you're sharing your experience , such parallels are coming in my mind of seeing when you're raising children or you're also setting financial goals and achieving those . You know , we are literally one tiny decision , consistent decision , away from making vast changes in our lives , absolutely , and that's something a lot of times people don't really think about . Now I would tell you , like our financial journey , it took us right at about 15 months for my husband and I to become debt free . This was years and years ago when we took on that particular journey .

Kelli Green 5:18

It's when Lily , our oldest , was first born and , um , and we were , you know , we just within that timeframe , we're like , okay , we really want to make sure we're making some sound decisions here , and so , bringing kids into the mix , you know it's like , okay , we're kind of eating and doing whatever we wanted to do when we were , you know , just , it was just the two of us , but then you bring in a child and then , 14 months later , we bring in our second baby . You know it's , it's wild how , when you reflect on things , life changes and you're the things that were so important aren't so important anymore and you really have to kind of start thinking about what sacrifices can I make today so that you know you're preparing really for a wholesome financial future for your family .

Kimberley Roberson 5:59

Right .

Kelli Green 6:00

Right . So , as we're kind of talking through some things , I know that kids are near and dear to your heart and with April being youth month , we have some really cool things happening here

Youth Month at Centric Credit Union

Kelli Green 6:10

at the credit union . So every account that's open for our kids we actually fund that . Their membership account is funded and their initial deposit is funded . We are just so , in fact , for the month of April , over the last 10 years , we have seen just incredible exponential growth in our youth accounts , because so many folks don't have the extra money to fund those accounts , right , and that's something that's like hey , we want to take that , take that burden away , you know , and just help . You say look , if this is something that you wish to do , let us help you get started .

Kimberley Roberson 6:42

That's right , and sometimes that's just that's . All you need is that little help to get you started . Um , that initial response and then and then from there , you know just putting in a dollar , a couple of dollars , you know whenever you can . It's a lot . I think a lot of people think you know when you have children , it's a , and you want to teach them about money , you want to teach them about budgeting or these big , lofty goals . It seems very overwhelming , but if you break it down into like little bitty , practical baby steps over time , you will see them walk out your door one day going to college with a wise financial head on their shoulders . That's right and that's what we want . Amen .

Kelli Green 7:28

You know and you think about it . When you think , okay , I want to create this budget , I want to have a college fund for my kids , I want to have my 401k is fully funded . But when we think about that , it is that just as you were planning for your Ironman , you had to consistently commit . So , just like you mentioned , it may be a dollar , two dollars , whatever it is set that up to automatic transfer or automatically remind you , you know , to really make those deposits into your future whatever that might be , whether that's financial , whether that's you know , an Ironman competition , or if it's like you say , hey , something as simple as I've got , you know , cheap , I want to read .

Kelli Green 8:11

You know , 12 books a year . What does that look like for you ? You know , and really thinking about that , the consistency , I think , is something that you would really say , hey , that's critical and key in whatever you do .

Kimberley Roberson 8:23

Absolutely , and and for our listeners . Uh , it just dawned on me . Some people might not know what an Ironman is .

Kimberley Roberson 8:28

Yeah , so an Ironman is it's a .

Kimberley Roberson 8:32

It's a big competition . It's been around for years , um , and so what it consists of ? It's consists of three sports . So it's swimming and it's like 2.2.4 mile swim in open water , which is a whole beast in itself , right . And then you do 110 to 114 mile bike ride right after that , and then you get off your bike and you run a marathon . So and I will say this to the listeners , before I signed up , I had never ran a marathon . The longest distance I'd ever done was a six mile trail run , um , along the . You know triathlons , so I had done triathlons before .

Kimberley Roberson 9:17

But so when you're signing up for a big goal back to our financial discussion or you're doing something massive , um , it helped me to not to . I mean , I understood the big picture , but not to look at the big picture every day . You just set a daily goal and that's what you're going to do that day . You're not going to be like , oh , I want to invest my money , but I only have a hundred dollars left over in the month . Is that even going to make a difference ? Don't look in the big picture left over in the month . Is that even going to make a difference ? Don't look in the big picture .

Teaching Kids About Needs vs. Wants

Kimberley Roberson 9:57

Look in the daily and over time , over a year or two years or five years you will see a huge progression . But you can get overwhelmed if you look too much into the future .

Kelli Green 10:04

If that makes sense , it does , I love it because it's so easy to become overwhelmed , and I think that's what stops people . Yes , it just because the fear of the unknown , one and two , you just feel like it almost just takes the wind out of you . You're total breath away when you think about this big , massive goal . But if you just say , hey , in everything that we do , just take a second and then just say , all right , what am I going to do today ? What would be a win ? Today and tomorrow might look a little different . Your yesterday may look a little different , right , but what is it that ? The one thing that you might be able to do that helps get you to where you want to be , I think that's outstanding . There's so much to be said for that , especially when you're talking with folks just like you who have , you know , you've had some really big , lofty goals in your life . But you really put it all into perspective and said , hey , I'm looking at this holistically , but as you were kind of within your training , you thought , okay , I'm not going to get the cart before the horse here , let's see what we can do . Just the day-to-day changes . That's so incredibly critical . I will say this when we're talking about those day-to-day changes too , the talking about those kinds of things with your kids . One of the things I think is so interesting is when we can have the conversation and let them see what this looks like for us , when we are maybe making purchases at the grocery store , or when they say , oh my gosh , mom , I want to buy this , or like I need this . Would you do that ? Can we go out to eat tonight , mom ? You know , like what's the deal , and so some of the things that I share with our kids , you know I say , okay , like they may not necessarily have their own budget , but they still have chores and they earn a little bit of money here and there . And so I think one of the critical things for me and this is something I've done I'd love to hear about what you're doing with your kids .

Kelli Green 11:49

One of the things I share with them is helping them to understand the difference between a need and a want . Yes , and then within that comes a savings conversation . So if they're like , oh , mom , can we stop by the store I want to get , you know , my oldest is in all about twin snakes , those little gummy things . Oh , it's gross , but anyway . And then my youngest little girl , you know she's like I want talkies and all this kind of thing or whatever , and I'm like I will not buy it myself because I just know how unhealthy it is . That's a whole other conversation that we can get into , but what I will share with them is that , okay .

Kelli Green 12:22

It's like when they say , well , we're going to stop here , we've got our own money , and I will just remind them hey , remember , aren't you saving for this , right , aren't you saving for that ? And then they start kind of thinking about okay , okay , that's right . And so that simple thing for me , instead of writing out a budget for them that can get kind of convoluted and one we're not going to be committed to . That Right , I know we're not .

Kelli Green 12:44

But what we can be committed to is when we're making our groceries . So I order our groceries every week and I will say , okay , we have an allotted amount that we want to spend , right , and I can say , okay , if you want this and we can't have that . So it's like if you want this for your lunchbox and we're going to have to look at what we're going to bring in for snacks after school . So that's kind of helping them understand the needs versus wants . Yeah , that's how I've kind of brought that into our household . What are some things that maybe you're doing with your kids to really build maybe healthy money habits ?

Kimberley Roberson 13:16

Well , one thing that I was thinking about this , when you were kind of presenting this as something that we would talk about is we talk about money a lot and I try to talk to them about how much things cost , just bring awareness of just how much food or gas or just little things cost and we talk about I mean , I've got a range of children , so our oldest is 12 and our youngest is one and we've got six , so we've got

Creative Approaches to Money Education

Kimberley Roberson 13:52

a variety of ages . When they were little well , my older three . When they were little well , my , my older three when they were little we had this game called the allowance game and it's a board game and my kids love board games and so we would , um , we would play that . It teaches them about how to count money and this and that , Um , but also how to you know earn , yes , and so that's like through board games you can teach you know just money awareness , taking them shopping with you , you know , instead of . I mean , I think ordering groceries is great , but there's nothing like going to the store and pointing out the prices , talking to them about how milk is more expensive now than it was later . Milk is more expensive now than it was later , and I try not to bring that too often up because I don't want them to have money anxiety , but I do want them to have an awareness that everything has a rising cost and um . So those are some things that we do now .

Kimberley Roberson 14:53

Another thing that we do is we they earn money through chores , right , and they , we , they earn money through chores right , and they also money earn money through good behavior .

Kelli Green 15:01

Yes , I love that .

Kimberley Roberson 15:01

I mean , we homeschool so So in order for us to motivate them , they I'm like okay , if you do your school work with a good attitude and you help out with your younger siblings or , you know , pick up your room without fussing about it , you might get a star in the chart , and we have a star chart . When they fill that out , they get a certain amount of money , and so we don't do allowance , we kind of do it that way , and when we give them that money , I'm like that's your money . Now you have the savings , you have the giving and you have the spending category in their little piggy bank . But I don't micromanage their money because they and I'm and I do remind them I'm like all right , when you buy those V bucks , your money's going to be gone . Are you wanting to spend your money that

Kimberley Roberson 15:54

Or do you want to ? Do you want to go to the convenience store and buy that Icee and you know there's that chocolate bar or something ? But I try not to uh , like I said , micromanage their money because it's theirs . And when they go off and out of our house and on their own , I don't want them to not know how to do it because mom and dad are not there to tell them how to spend their money . Does that make sense ? Oh , absolutely .

Kelli Green 16:23

It's so interesting that you're talking about that . We're very similar in the way that we're sharing . So when they receive that allowance , it's based upon their chores that they complete . Here's the thing if you do it and you're not told , then you can . You know you get paid . But if we have to ask you to do that , it's like our bosses don't come in and tell us every day hey , did you do X , Y , Z ? Hey , did you do that ? We're adults , you know , and so it's so important .

Kelli Green 16:48

I think I was listening to a doctor on a podcast and hearing him share how important it is that we instill . We let our kids fail , we let them make that mistake . Similar , we're talking about finances . But if they spend that money and then they realize , oh man , I'm broke , it's going to take me , you know , four or five weeks with my chores before I can , you know , get enough money . That's concerning , you know . But we need them to feel that . You know , they need to feel that , like man , I might've made a mistake here , because there's the best made mistakes or where you learn . That's exactly right , and so that's something to really think about . And so I have loved this conversation with you today , kimberly . This is awesome , I love what you have done . And then just number one this is awesome , I love what you have done . And then just number one you , you have . You've inspired so many kids through your education and your tutoring program . I think that's awesome .

Kimberley Roberson 17:40

Yeah , I um , yeah , I forgot to mention that I , um , I love to help , uh , kids that are maybe struggling with their , their schooling . Um , schooling , my tutoring kind of service or business , if you will . That's kind of like a side hustle , and that's another thing . Like my kids are seeing me and my husband , we are like , okay , we got to go and do our side hustle because this is how we pay for X , y and Z , and so having these open conversations about why we go to work and what we're doing and how we're spending our money , it can bring it full , you know , bring it full circle . But but yeah , and I love to encourage kids and however they're needing to be encouraged and speaking life into them and also their parents . You know their parents are out there doing the best they can and they need some like good job , mom , you're doing great .

Kelli Green 18:34

Absolutely . I love it . You are the ultimate encourager and I'm so grateful that you know we've met through your husband , who actually , for those of you that may not know , we actually have her husband's the one that takes care of all of our production . Yeah , and so , from anything from our design work , when we're anything you see from a video perspective , it is all on him . So I'm so grateful for that connection and I just I'm so thankful that you took the time to join us today . You juggle a lot and I appreciate you just taking the time to

Closing and Final Thoughts

Kelli Green 19:09

do this with us . It means a lot . All right , well , thanks so much for tuning in to the Live Better Podcast with Centric . Be sure to subscribe and follow us on social media at MyCentric . See you next month . And , as always , centric is federally insured by the NCUA .