Redefining How You Relate to Money with Ian Libardo Tennant | #18

Click here to access a written transcript of this episode.

Money is one of those topics people are used to either avoiding altogether or speaking about in hushed tones with only a select few. Many of us were taught by our parents that it's rude to discuss money at all, which has contributed to how we feel about and interact with money as adults.

Luckily, financial planner Ian Libardo Tennant has some recommendations for redefining your relationship with money. In this interview, he provides some mindset shifts and tools to help you empower yourself around money so that it holds less power over you.

We discussed:

• The unconventional path Ian took to become a financial planner.
• What it felt like when Ian dropped out of college.
• Ian's volunteer work with Foundation Communities helping people who live at or below the poverty line with their finances.
• How your choices narrow significantly when you have less money, creating a financial tunnel vision.
• Why “money can't buy happiness” is a privileged viewpoint.
• How the amount of money we have affects our health and well-being.
• The ways in which Ian's parents' views on money have affected his views on money as an adult.
• The power of choice in how we decide to view, define, and relate to money.
• The financial trinity and how we can balance the three categories.
• What budgeting is and why it matters.
• Tools that are available to help you with your budgeting and how they work.
• The helpful nature of having a budgeting accountability buddy or group.
• Issues of wealth disparity of the United States.
• How Ian defines health and wellness for himself at this moment in his life, including relationships, spending time in nature, and more.

Mentioned in This Episode

• Local Austin non-profit Foundation Communities
• Poor People Deserve To Taste Something Other Than Shame by Ijeoma Oluo
• Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
• Budgeting apps like Quicken, Mint, and YNAB (You Need A Budget)
• Personal Finance subreddit
• Podcasts Ian recommends: Planet Money and Money Talks
• Websites Ian recommends for objective information: Bloomberg, The Economist, Investopedia, and Khan Academy
• Elizabeth Warren's claim that the top 0.1% own about as much as the bottom 90%, which was rated Mostly True by Politifact
• Bloomberg Billionaires Index

Featured in This Episode

Ian Libardo Tennant (he/him) is a financial planner with a mission to help all folx—especially the underprivileged and under-served—to better understand and define the role of money in their lives. He also helps people gain knowledge about the systems in which we participate and develop the skills to make decisions with confidence, free of undue stress. He is forever grateful for his own privileged existence and the opportunity to connect with, learn, and grow from the beautiful people and critters on this wondrous planet. You can find Ian on LinkedIn and through his company's website.