In this episode of Roompact’s ResEdChat, Crystal is joined by Jennifer Pridemore, Financial Advisor at Northwestern Mutual, for a practical and compassionate conversation about financial wellness for live-in housing professionals. Together, they explore how living on campus shapes financial habits, the importance of planning early, and ways to build healthy, realistic money practices. This episode encourages listeners to approach financial goals with flexibility and confidence.
Guest: Jen Pridemore (she/her/hers), Financial Advisor, Northwestern Mutual
Host: Crystal Lay
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Roompact’s ResEdChat podcast is a platform to showcase people doing great work and talk about hot topics in residence life and college student housing. If you have a topic idea for an episode, let us know!
Transcript:
Crystal Lay:
Hello and welcome back to another episode of the Roompact ResEdChat Podcast. This is a show where we talk to cool people who talk about cool things in college student housing and residence life. I’m your host, Crystal Lay, and I use a she/her series pronouns. Today we’re going to talk about a topic that sometimes I think can be a little bit sensitive, whether that’s related to your upbringing or maybe that’s related to, it just feels like it’s pretty personal. We’re talking about money, we’re talking about financial wellness, we’re talking about what’s in your checkbook. Do people still use checkbooks? I don’t know. But we’re going to talk about financial wellness and your personal budget in housing. I know when I lived in, I did not pay all these bills and I got this paycheck and I just started spending money. And so I know that I am not alone in that.
And I thought what a better way to give some tips and give some resources for folks who might be in similar situations to start off differently and better as you begin your journey or in the middle of your journey working in housing. So I wanted to reach out to someone who is very dear to me and is an expert in this area when we talk about finances. And I’m glad that she can join us today. And with that, I will have our guest introduce herself.
Jen Pridemore:
Thanks, Crystal. Well, my name’s Jen Pridemore and I’m a financial advisor. I partner with Northwestern Mutual, and I’m passionate about helping people balance living life today while planning for tomorrow. I believe that everyone should have a financial plan that creates a roadmap from where they’re at today to achieving their most important financial goals. I’m married to my wife, Mel. We have two boys. We have a dog, and in my free time, I enjoy coaching soccer and baseball and spending time with my family.
Crystal Lay:
And a fun fact, I used to work with your wife years ago, really dynamic. And also for folks listening, Jen is my financial advisor as well and has been there with me laughing, crying and celebrating as I’ve moved along to employing or including some of her tips, a lot of her tips for my own financial journey and path. So thank you so much for being here. So I want to start-
Jen Pridemore:
Happy to be here.
Crystal Lay:
Oh, yay. So I want to start with this question about, so living on campus, again, in my intro, I talked about living on campus and I did not have bills. Bills such as rent, utilities, most of my food was covered. I don’t think I paid for parking at that time. And so when I got my paycheck every month, I did not really have a sense of what to do with it.
And so now that’s not everyone’s story, but it’s pretty common in our field, this idea of not having these common bills every month for X amount of years. What are your thoughts? What could be some positive things about that and maybe some unintentional consequences for folks who live on campus and just the way they experience money?
Jen Pridemore:
Yeah, I think when all of a sudden you have this new income, sometimes it’s someone’s first time, full-time income, they have more money coming in every month than they’ve made before. And truly with low expenses, it’s a great opportunity to get ahead with their goals. But what can happen is if you’re not used to paying those bills that for most people they have, then they get used to spending more money on a month-to-month basis, and then it becomes a little bit of a sticker shock when they move off campus, when they’re no longer living on campus, and now they have to find a way to change their lifestyle because they were used to spending more money from the get go.
Crystal Lay:
Yes, that’s sticker shock. And I think that sometimes happens when folks go from being a hall director and maybe they made… The range is so different. It could be 28,000 to 60,000, Jen. And so let’s say I was making $60,000 living on campus, and then I want to go and take a mid-level position, which probably starts at 60 or $70,000. All of a sudden that $60, $70,000 feels very different because now I have more expenses. And so I’m appreciative of you talking about that sticker shock price of like, oh, this feels different because now I have to pay more with what might feel like less perhaps. So why do you think it’s important to think about financial wellness early even when housing costs are covered or reduced? Why think about it earlier?
Jen Pridemore:
I think it’s an opportunity to, A, get ahead because there’s not many times in your life where you don’t have to pay for housing or all of those extra expenses. And once you do have those things, you really have to be more cognizant of it. So it’s an opportunity to maybe build up some savings because you want to buy a house or build up your emergency fund because when you move out, you really need to have it there, or it’s an opportunity to pay down some debt really quickly. But most importantly, it’s an opportunity to develop good habits from the beginning because like I said before, if you’re used to spending all of your paycheck and all of a sudden I tell you, well, now you have to pay for rent and maybe that’s a thousand or $2,000 less in your pocket, that’s a much more difficult transition than if I’m already used to not spending that money, it’s easier for me to transition off campus because I’m already used to not having that money versus if I’m used to spending it, now I have to change my lifestyle and that’s harder to do.
Crystal Lay:
Because it’s a habit, right? I am used to this quality of life or this experience. And let me tell you, the first time I paid for rent and it was 2,950, $2,950 a month, I didn’t know what to do, but cost of living definitely factored in. And there were some big adjustments that needed to be made to be able to have a place to live. That’s the priority. And so it’s like for everything you say yes to, what are you saying no to, particularly financially? So I think I wonder, no matter where you live or no matter what your salary level is, are there some healthy money habits that living professionals can have? I know you’ve highlighted some, but is there a list of, here are three things you should do no matter where you live, no matter what income you have. And I know that’s even tricky to say it that way too, right?
Jen Pridemore:
Sure. Well, I think the first thing when I think about what do I do with my money is having an idea of how much of this should be being saved every month, how much of this can I spend completely guilt-free? And I emphasize that because I know sometimes people have guilt and worry around spending money. There is a portion of your income that you can spend completely guilt-free. And then how much is going towards my fixed expenses, the things that have to get paid every month. And the first part of it is in an ideal world, and I’m not saying that everybody starts here, but in an ideal world, no more than 60% of your income should be going towards essential expenses, bills, food, utilities, 20% of your income can go towards discretionary spending, and that’s that totally guilt-free money, and 20% of their income is going towards their financial goal.
So maybe going into savings or maybe going towards a retirement account or something like that. Okay. And so one thing that is a theme, so if you think about your income, if somebody’s making $3,000 a month, maybe 600 of that is going towards their financial goals right off the bat.
Then I also think about planning as if I already have rent. Now, rent in different locations can look very different, but that’s where you can use that as the opportunity to get ahead in whatever your financial goals are. If that’s, “I want to buy a house when I move off campus,” so I’m going to take that money that I would’ve been putting towards rent and I’m going to build up some savings so that when I’m ready to transition off and buy a house, the money is there. I want to go and rent when I move off campus. Well, a lot of apartment complexes require that you put first or last month’s rent or maybe even both in there. So it’s not just about affording the new payment, but it’s also having enough to put that deposit down. I want to work on paying down some high interest credit card debt, so I’m going to take the money that I would’ve put towards rent.
And again, I’m not going to spend it. I’m going to put it towards paying down that high interest credit card debt. So almost living as if I don’t have that money to spend now I think is an opportunity too.
Crystal Lay:
And when you talked about the first and last month rent, also moving, Jen.
Jen Pridemore:
Yes, 100%.
Crystal Lay:
It’s expensive.
Jen Pridemore:
Moving is not cheap.
Crystal Lay:
Like we could be talking between two and $7,000 to move. And so I really like that idea of, I don’t want to say out of sight out of mind, but it’s like being really intentional and saying, let me pretend that I’m paying rent and I’m going to put this away. And I think you’ve talked to me before about, is there a high yield savings account? Put your money in this high-yield savings account. And every time you talk about the 2020 60, I write it down every time because I was like, “Yes, I just want to keep that in my head to continue to be planful.” So thanks for sharing those. So it also sounds like that feels very flexible to me. If you do these things that feels flexible, you can still have discretionary income, you can save, and you can maintain your livelihood as far as making sure you have the things that you need to be okay, or I say meet Maslow’s bottom rung, like food, shelter, and then hopefully opportunities to make connections too.
So I think my next question would be, let’s say folks live off campus or they’re moving off campus. What could be some common financial surprises? I think you’ve highlighted some, but are there others that we might be missing?
Jen Pridemore:
One of them is if for some reason you can’t work, your apartment complex is not going to say you can skip rent payments. And I think that goes back to this making sure that we’ve got money and savings in case something comes up because there’s a lot more potential problems that you can get into if something happens if you don’t have that emergency fund readily there. But you’re right, moving expenses are very expensive, especially depending on how far you’re going. Utilities, now if you leave with the lights on in the apartment all day long, your utility bills, your electric bill’s going to be higher. Same thing with water. Sometimes there’s garbage expenses. Maybe now you’re paying for internet and cable, so it’s not just about the cost of rent. Now you’ve got all of these other things that you’re going to be paying for on a monthly basis. And if you’ve never thought about that before, again, it comes with that sticker shock. It’s completely manageable within the budget as long as you have some sort of budget.
And you’ve heard me talk about this before. I say budget very loosely in the same way that I don’t expect people to track every single little expense that they’ve got. If they have some parameters that they’re trying to stay within some sort of guideline, I don’t care if you’re counting every penny that you’re spending, but if I know, again, if we go back to that 60/2020, if I know that my income is 3,000 a month and 20% is discretionary, that means that I should be staying within $600 a month for discretionary spending and you could even break that down to weekly. That’s $150 a week. So as long as I’m staying within those parameters, then that’s helpful. And so that’s why I say budget loosely, as long as we have some guidelines, some parameters that we’re staying within. So again, I think it’s all of the extra expenses that come along when you move off campus, that it’s not just about the rent, it’s about moving, it’s about utilities, it’s about all of the extras, and then making sure that you have your own backup, meaning your own emergency fund.
Crystal Lay:
And then commuting, right? Because usually you’re now… Transportation, you have to get to work. And then your meals are now… Some places still offer meal plans if you live off, some don’t. I think this is my second job in 25 years where I’m like, “Ooh, I got to make my lunch. What’s that like?” So that definitely has been something that I’ve had to account for in my budget as well, is commuting and gas prices where I’m located, if you go to the wrong gas station, you’re paying 499 for regular, Jen, just by nature of where I live. So definitely I like how you talked about these are, they could feel like surprises, but I hope what we’re sharing today, it feels like less of a surprise for folks as they get ready to transition off campus. So I wonder, are there ideas of things that folks could be saving for?
What would you recommend if you lived on campus? Because we talked about a house, we talked about retirement, maybe it’s a car, I don’t know, but what are some really cool things that you maybe have helped people save for or plan for as they’re thinking about their financial goals or dreams?
Jen Pridemore:
Yeah, there’s a lot of things that people can have financial goals around. And that’s why I think it’s helpful to have a plan that is specific to them because everybody’s goals and dreams are different. It could be, I mean, first and foremost, it’s having the emergency fund. I couldn’t stress that enough because all of a sudden I need new tires on my car and shoot, that feels like something I didn’t think about, but as long as I’ve got money going into savings every month, then I can afford it. And the reality of it is if you drive a car, at some point you will need new tires. So that’s not really a surprise as long as we’re making sure that we’ve got money in savings. So I think the first and foremost, and probably not the fun thing, but is just having an emergency fund and that emergency fund in an ideal world.
Now, I can’t say that this is across the board because there might be circumstances that are personal from one person to the next based on their income or if they have high credit card debt or things like that. But in general, we want to have at least three months worth of your income and savings.
When I talk with people about their goals, it could be, “Hey, I want to buy a car.” It could be, I want to go back to school and it’s not covered. It could be, “I want to take this vacation. This is my dream vacation.” And that fits within the plan too. And so I think it’s important to help people dream, kind of take the step off the treadmill of life of where go, go, go, go all the time and taking a step back and saying, “What is really important to me?” Maybe it’s family planning, maybe it’s saving to be able to help our parents as they age. I mean, I know a lot of young professionals might not be thinking about that yet, or it could be retirement or buying a house. Again, I would just go back to that’s why it’s helpful to think about what the goals are, and that’s how we plan.
Crystal Lay:
You know what I thought of as you were speaking is your face would light up when you talked about these really cool life things, and it made me think about we work so hard and there should not be guilt about enjoying the money we’ve made, investing back in ourselves or people or experiences. And so this idea of budgeting in to have fun or celebrate yourself, I didn’t grow up that way. It was you work, was it you live to work? Or is it something to that effect, right?
Jen Pridemore:
Yeah.
Crystal Lay:
It’s like working was to make sure you could live and eat and have a place to live. It was not to necessarily enjoy life. And so everything that you’ve taught me, and I think what you’re sharing today too, is it’s okay to enjoy life. You’ve worked hard and you have to make sure that you are… What are the things that help you enjoy life and get off the treadmill like you said. So I love this. Okay.
Jen Pridemore:
Well, Crystal, I would dive into that a little bit more. And I think that one thing that is helpful to be able to enjoy your money is making sure that those essential expenses don’t creep up past that 60% mark. Because if your expenses, because you bought a car and now you have rent and you have high credit card debt, or maybe you don’t, but either way, if your essential expenses get so high and take up so much of your income, it’s going to be hard to ever feel like you can save or enjoy money. So one important thing, like I said, is just going back to that 60%. If I can keep those essential things under 60%, then I can really take the time and know that I’m putting money away in savings too and able to enjoy that money.
Crystal Lay:
And it sounds like it’s a lot of stress reduction too. I’m like, I can enjoy life at 20%. But no, it sounds like if you figure all this out, then things will feel more enjoyable just because you feel comfortable. There’s a safety. And I know that there are times when something just completely random might pop up and you have to adjust, but this model that you’re sharing feels like this is a good pathway to enjoy, like you said, enjoy money.
Jen Pridemore:
Yes.
Crystal Lay:
So how do you help people think about their financial goals without comparing themselves to others? Because there are some folks who might, “I’m going to go get X, Y, Z car, or I’m going to go get the big screen TV and I have to get all this stuff,” versus someone who has said, “I’m going to save up and buy a house right when I move out,” and they’re like, “Oh, I didn’t think to do that”? How do you charge your own path as you think about money or even trying to keep up with others? I have to get the new X, Y, Z phone that came out every release. Does that question make sense, Jen?
Jen Pridemore:
It does. And I think the first piece is really knowing your why, your what, what are the goals? What’s really important to you? And that helps you stay more in line with what that vision is, what those goals are. If I don’t have any goals around my money, then I’m probably just going to spend it because why not? If I know that there’s something really important to me or my family that I’m likely to work harder because I know what it is I’m going after, that’s part one. Part two, I think it’s helpful for people to talk about money. You said at the beginning, a lot of times people are nervous to talk about money, but the reality of it is most people are trying to figure it out just like anyone else. We all assume that everybody else has it taken care of.
Everybody else knows what it is that they’re doing. And quite frankly, the person that is spending all the money might not have the money to actually be spending all the money. We don’t know if we’re not having that conversation. And then if we’re having that conversation around what our goals are, how we’re trying to manage money, maybe you use that as a team approach. We’re both going to be doing this. So if we’re both trying to save, maybe we try to find activities that don’t cost us money that we can do together and then we both feel good about what we’re doing.
Crystal Lay:
Okay. I like that. So we talk a lot in student affairs or housing. I think it’s Simon Sinek, find your why, naming your why. What is my path? What do I want and why am I trying to get there? And I think that could be really helpful. If I know I want to provide a house for my family someday, I have something I’m set on and I think it would increase my quality of life to be able to provide that. Or if you’re like, “Hey, when I was five, I was like, I just want to grow up and have a backyard.” And you build toward that. So I think people being able to sit down and talk about what their goals are and then working toward that is really crucial. And that’s because yeah, it’s like I have all this money and I don’t know what to do with it.
You can be a little reckless and just spend it on whatever, I think. So if someone feels a little anxious about this conversation, about the topic, about even setting goals, but they want to start, how do they start? Where can they start? What’s some advice you would give them?
Jen Pridemore:
I think I would go back to partially the conversation around everybody assumes everybody else has it together. And because I get to talk with people every single day about money and their finances, I know that’s not true. And we’re afraid to talk about it. We’re anxious to talk about it because we feel like everybody is ahead of us. And the reality of it is not everybody is. Sometimes the better time to start was yesterday, but the next best time to start is today. It’s okay to feel a little bit anxious about it if you’re not used to talking about money, but if you never address it, if you never take even a single step in that direction, you’re always going to feel stuck in behind. That’s what causes that anxiety. If we have a plan, I mean, there’s studies out there, there’s statistics that people feel more confident, less anxious about their money when they have a plan.
So I think, like I said, I think just thinking through what are the goals, what’s important to me? Sometimes it’s taking inventory. Sometimes it’s looking at what am I spending my money on in a month-to-month basis? And it doesn’t mean every single month you have to track your money and your spending, but maybe once in a while, just dive into your bank account and just check what am I spending money on on a month-to-month basis and are there opportunities to change things based on what my goals are asking of me?
Crystal Lay:
I think when I first connected with you, I think it was this idea of my money shows what I value. How I spend my money can show what my values are? Or it could show I don’t know what they are and I’m just spending stuff and I need some goals and I need to plan. And thankfully I’ve moved well beyond that. But I’m like, if I looked at my tracker as this exercise you’re sharing with us, I’m like, would I say I value delivery? Do I value ordering stuff online? Do I value it? So I think that’s a really good and private or what another trusted person conversation to have of what is the story of where my money goes. I think that could be really powerful.
Jen Pridemore:
Yeah. And I think it’s just finding a balance. What is most important to me? It’s totally okay to get takeout. If that is the one thing that you feel like is the thing that you really love, then as long as it fits within the rest of the budget, great, do it. Enjoy it. And so then it’s also like, okay, I love eating takeout, but really, again, I’ll just go back to that $3,000 a month of income. If I find that I’m spending $1,200 a month on takeout, that’s a different conversation. That is trying to find the balance. But if it fits within your $600 a month and you want to enjoy takeout and that’s how you want to spend your discretionary spending, do it.
Crystal Lay:
Yes, because that’s where you found me. You found me in the takeout streets, Jen, and you brought me to a different path. So I am so grateful for this conversation, and I really believe you’ve added a lot of things for me to think about as always, but also our listeners. And so as we close out our time together, is there a book, a podcast, a resource that you would recommend to help folks get started?
Jen Pridemore:
Yeah, I think, I mean, first off, there’s a lot of great books out there, a lot of great podcasts that are going to give you financial literacy concepts, ideas, maybe even motivation. But I think really getting specific about your own goals and having a plan around what you want is really important. There’s lots of gurus out there that are going to tell you, everybody should do this. And some of that information is helpful and some of it’s really not because it might not be applicable to you and your goals. This idea of, oh, you should have X amount of dollars in your retirement account by this age. That’s not really accurate because it depends on a lot of factors. So I guess I would offer myself as a resource, happy to meet with people and help them explore this, their finances and their goals and what’s important to them and create an individualized plan based on what you want, based on what’s important to you, not just general recommendations that everybody can get from reading a book or a podcast.
Crystal Lay:
And I would completely recommend you because you have helped me and my family so much on our journey. And so highly recommended y’all is Jen Pridemore. So thank you again. I will add your contact information or however best you want folks to contact you to our show notes so they’ll have that available. So you get ready because I imagine folks will be knocking down your door, Jen. So everyone, thank you for tuning in today. Again, I can’t thank you enough, Jen, for spending time with me.
Jen Pridemore:
Thanks, Crystal.
Crystal Lay:
So we are going to close out, and if you have an idea of a topic or a person that you would like to have on the show, please reach out to Roompact so we can make that connection. Thanks for hanging out with us. Take care.
