Join Angie Austin and Jim Stovall as they navigate the thoughtful world of finances, priorities, and personal growth. In this episode, they dive into insightful discussions about how our financial choices reflect our values and how scarcity versus abundance mindset plays a significant role in our life decisions. With anecdotes from Jim Stovall’s Winner’s Wisdom column and personal stories, listeners can gain a fresh perspective on appreciating what truly matters.
Welcome to The Good News with Angie Austin. Now, with The Good News, here’s Angie.
SPEAKER 03 :
Hey, Angie Austin and Jim Stovall with The Good News. We’re talking about his Winner’s Wisdom column. I just get such a kick every week out of, like, Jim teaches us a new thing, but I get to have a new conversation with him. I’m never bored. I always take up the full time with him. And today we’re talking price and priority. Hey, Jim.
SPEAKER 04 :
Hey, it is great to be with you.
SPEAKER 03 :
You know, you’re talking in this about, you know, the struggles of your college career financially in the early years of your marriage. And I’ll never forget when you said you went to the grocery store with Crystal, your wife, and she had to put back a loaf of bread or something of the sort. And, you know, you didn’t have enough money and you vowed you would never do that again. And I think about my son starting college. I don’t know that he’s struggling financially per se, but we’re… initially making him pay for his tuition because I feel like, well, I did, my husband did not, but it made me feel like I had skin in the game and I was never going to mess up that opportunity because I knew how hard I was working to pay for my tuition. So I don’t know that he’s struggling, but he’s definitely having to work, you know, to pay his way.
SPEAKER 04 :
Oh, I think that’s part of the education at the university. You know, we have the Stovall Center for Entrepreneurship where students from around the in entrepreneurship. And I can tell almost perfectly who’s paying for part of their education and who’s got mom and dad paying for it. And one way is tuition is kind of a set amount between 12 and 18 hours. It’s the same amount. Well, the kids that are paying for it themselves, they got a full load. They’re taking 18 hours. They’re not leaving anything on the table, but then there’s a lot of kids. They’re just playing all the way through college. And yeah, I’ll just take 12 hours a semester. And, uh, And they could have taken two more full classes for no extra money, but they don’t do it. And it’s just like I always tell parents I can go to the parking lot of any high school in America and tell very quickly who had to pay for their own car just by the way they keep the thing.
SPEAKER 03 :
Oh, wow. That’s interesting.
SPEAKER 04 :
You can tell.
SPEAKER 03 :
You know, when you talk about that, I’ve kind of pondered that because one of my kids has been given a scholarship. She starts next year, and she can take as many classes as she wants. You’re right. It can be 18. And then I think in my head, like, can I fit in a few classes that aren’t as challenging in there? And can she do… Like, to be honest with you, like 15, I think, is going to be challenging for her, especially with her sport. But… my brain thinks the way your brain does like well i was paying for everything so i would certainly max out you know my number of credits but where my son goes where i went university of colorado boulder you pay like per credit so it doesn’t really matter but boy if i if you could take as many as like 21 credits and it costs the same i’ll guarantee you i would have been taking 21 credits
SPEAKER 04 :
Oh, absolutely. And, you know, I always tell people, you know, we know the cost of everything and the price of everything, but the value of nothing. I mean, you know, to get a good value on something you don’t want or need is not a good value. Our zoo here in my hometown just had a fundraising promotion, and someone decided that elephant waste is a great fertilizer, so they value this at $6 a pound. Now, I just… The entrepreneur in me couldn’t help but, man, that makes an elephant worth a lot of money because they have a great production there. But if you don’t have a specific need for elephant manure, half price is not a good deal. Free is not a good deal. And, you know, Mr. Braxton, my mentor, taught me how to read a restaurant menu. He said, people who are living in abundance, and that’s an attitude, not an amount of money, but people who are living in abundance look down the left side of the menu and decide what they want to eat. People who are living in scarcity go down the right side, look at all the prices, and when they see something to afford, they swing over to the left and see what they’re going to have for dinner. And he said, if you have to do that, you can’t afford to eat out. He also told me, if you have to do that and you can’t afford to tip generously… You shouldn’t be eating out. I mean, it’s just that simple. I mean, this should be an exercise in getting what you want. And, you know, it’s like many things in life. Financially, we can have about anything we want, but you can’t have everything. I consult with one of the top real estate people here in my home state, but when he started out, he had nothing. And he was a single guy. He lived in a little tiny apartment. And he would save all his money, and four times a year he would take these epic trips. He would go on an African safari, or he would surf down in Australia, or do the Rhine River cruise, and all these things. And every 90 days he would go do one of these, and then the rest of the time he’s living in poverty. And he didn’t care, because that’s what he wanted. And I think that’s a great thing. I mean, you can have anything, but you can’t have everything. I have another friend, and he owns six of these vintage safaris. You know, Maserati, McLaren, these amazing, amazing cars. And, you know, that’s his passion. He never goes anywhere and does anything. He likes these cars. And if that’s what you want, so be it. Because money is about choices. It’s not about impressing other people. It’s not about anything else. It’s about giving you opportunities and options. And, you know, that’s what we’re talking about this week in this column.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, I always enjoy your columns. I always, I don’t know, I like the conversation that they start. Now, when people, you know, I know you have, it’s crazy. I can’t even believe that, you know, people will believe you do this. But Jim accepts phone calls and emails from anyone who wants to, you know, email him. And he makes it, you know, it’s like, hey, if you want to reach out to me, here’s how you do it. And it says, you know, Jim at Jim Stovall dot com or by phone and has your phone number. Which is so crazy to me because you’ve written about 60 books now and you’re working on your ninth movie. But what kind of feedback do you get, you know, for these articles like Price and Priority and last week, you know, Overtime?
SPEAKER 04 :
Oh, you know, most people, and we have 10 million books out there with the contact info in all of them, and they tell me somewhere between 2 and 3 million people a week read this column, and they can all call me or email me. I’ve been doing this for 25 years, and it seems to come into three categories. People want to know, how do I get rich? How do I get in shape? How do I become happy? healthy you know those are the things people look at and then of course how do I meet the right person in my life and and you know those are the you know but the big three are how do I get rich how do I get healthy how do I get in a relationship and and that seems to never change and and and In all three cases, it’s not about finding something you don’t have that’s out there. There’s no secret pill. You already have what you need to be wealthy, healthy, and be in a great relationship. Everybody’s looking for the perfect person. If you’ll be more concerned about being the perfect person, you’ll attract who you want in your life.
SPEAKER 03 :
Now, you know, I think, I forget what the, oh, scarcity mentality. I think I might have that a little bit, you know, having grown up so poor and then always trying to, you know, order water and not get dessert and never order one. I don’t drink alcohol anyway, but I even like the kids to order water. And I know when the waitress comes up and we’re like, We’ll take five waters and Gran will get a water that the waitress probably thinks she’s going to get a crummy tip. But no, she’ll probably get a 30% tip because I’d rather give her a tip than spend the money on soda or whatever. But with that said, I think I do have that scarcity mentality. And you talked about your friend Lee Braxton with the third grade education becoming a self-made millionaire in the Depression. So when you talk about that menu and people with financial struggles look down, like I might look at the side dishes like the other night. I’m not poor, obviously, now, but I ordered the cup of soup and coleslaw, which were both sides, right? Or I might order an appetizer for dinner. And it’s just habit. I can’t help that scarcity mentality. And I know I don’t have it with generosity. If it’s for other people, I’m very generous. But when it comes to things that I can skimp on, if I can buy an Amazon return couch, for instance, our couch. It was half as much because somebody didn’t like it, but it was like open box or as new as if you can fit a couch just in a box. You know what I mean? So that’s how I’ll shop. And I think I do. I am stuck in that scarcity mentality that I think does adversely affect people becoming wealthy.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, and there’s nothing wrong with that as long as you have other priorities in your life. I mean, you don’t want to spend money on a $3 soft drink at a restaurant. You’d rather order the water and then tip better or invest the money somewhere else. And a scarcity mentality is, I’m going to run out, I’m going to be broke, I’ll never get enough. And that has nothing to do with your bank balance. I had a financial planner called me recently and he said, I need you to spend an hour with one of my clients, which is something I do. And You know, I looked at her portfolio, and I won’t mention her name. If I did, many of your listeners would know it. But she had a net worth of $54 million and no debt. And she was afraid she was going to run out of money. And I said, well, let’s go through it real quick here. What’s the most money you spend? She told me, and I said, let’s triple that. And I said, what’s the highest you think inflation could get? And she told me, I said, let’s triple that. And then, how long do you think you would live? And she said, well, maybe 85 or 90. I said, let’s say you live to be 125, okay? And we put all this in, and I said, okay, given all that, when you die, you will have more money than you have now. And spending three times what you’re spending, and, you know, inflation three times higher than you can imagine it. And that, all of a sudden, she got a snapshot of this and was able to calm down a little. But if you’ve gone through your whole life and money is nothing but anxiety and worry and it’s something you fret about all the time, having a bigger bank account doesn’t help that. It’s a change of attitude you need.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah. And I think, um, I’ve, I’ve heard that people who’ve grown up without not much kind of can go one of two ways. And I’m sure there’s, you know, there’s plenty in the middle, but that overspending where they get the money and they just go crazy and then they run into troubles, obviously. And then those may be like me that are super, super conservative, but I think I have become more, you know, I spend money on experiences like trips, like that’s something else. Oh, and real estate, like a home, but you know, cars, boy, um, I told you my son was in an accident and, uh, When they were figuring out the value of the car, they’re like, is it under $15,000? Because it has something to do with insurance and how it’s paid. When we looked up the blue book on a 2003 Lexus GX470, I think it was around $3,500. And I’m like, we just put repairs and tires into that thing that were more expensive than the car itself, right? But I laughed with Grandma. I said, well, I said that car took him home from the hospital. and it kept him from going to the grave because those V8s are such tanks, you know, that I credit that, you know, car for keeping him, you know, his injuries at a minimum. But, yeah, I’m not one to spend a lot of money on things I think are frivolous or I won’t get a… Like, you obviously get a payback when you buy real estate, right? But you don’t get a payback when you buy a car, usually, unless it’s, like, safety. But you know what I mean? You’re not going to sell it for more than you bought it for like you do a home. So I tend to spend my money on things that… I hope I’ll get, you know, some kind of a return.
SPEAKER 04 :
Absolutely. No, I mean, you know, cars are an expense and homes are an asset. And if you look at them that way, yeah, you can grow. And Will Rogers said it best, Americans will be the only nation in history that goes to the poorhouse in an automobile. We, you know, you can spend so much money and now they have these things where you can finance them for eight years and then roll your debt into the next one and the next one and the next one. And wow, you can get really upside down in those things.
SPEAKER 03 :
Oh, my God. Hey, I’ve never asked you. I mean, I know you don’t drive because you can’t see, which actually you probably could drive that Tesla now. I’ve been driving that around with my son because he can’t use both of his hands, but he can use one hand. And it drives you wherever you want to go. And you can even summon it now. You can say, like, come up the driveway and it’ll drive itself up to where you’re standing or whatever. Anyway, are you into cars? Do you like nice cars?
SPEAKER 04 :
Miss Crystal does. For the last 25, 30 years, she’s driven a Mercedes she really likes. We trade them off periodically. I remember we had an old Pontiac, 20 years old. the green dog that we traded in when we got our first mercedes and i remember we i’d saved my money we were going to buy cash for this thing we went over to the lot and the guy comes out and says what is that i said that right there is a 74 pontiac is what that is he said can you can you park it in the alley or something i don’t want it sitting out here well i was going to trade it in and he said i’ll give you a thousand bucks off anything and you keep the car and he said i’ll give you extra if it’s full of gas he said that’s the kind of car you double the value if you got a full tank you know
SPEAKER 03 :
Oh, my gosh. We had a rental called the Green Goblin. It’s funny that you called it that, that, you know, oh, the kids were so embarrassed to drive in it. Oh, unfortunately, we’re out of time. Thank you so much, JimStoval.com. Thank you, friend. You’re welcome.
SPEAKER 02 :
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SPEAKER 03 :
Hey, it’s the Good News with Angie Austin and Jim Stovall. And today we are talking about his Winner’s Wisdom column. And this week it is titled, Defile It. Hey, Jim.
SPEAKER 04 :
Hey, always good to be with you.
SPEAKER 03 :
You know, I just returned from nine days in California with my girls. I don’t know. It’s been a long time since it’s been just me taking the girls on a trip without my son, who’s in college right now, as you know. He had a big, like, young life camp this weekend where hundreds of kids came from different colleges and they all met up in the mountains. So he did that. And then my husband was here taking care of, you know, all of the pets and, of course, his business. So it was… It was fun. Oh, I didn’t get to see your place in San Diego, but we did go to Mission Bay, which I think is close to your favorite place in San Diego.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, I will be out there in two weeks. And my little island, Paradise Point, is right there in the upper end of Mission Bay. So you were right there.
SPEAKER 03 :
And what’s yours called, your place?
SPEAKER 04 :
It’s called Paradise Point. And it’s a little island you get to on a little causeway. And it’s about a 30-acre island there in the upper end of Mission Bay. And it’s fabulous. And I love the water there because it’s so calm because you’re in the bay. Crystal loves to kayak there. And she goes out. And across the bay are the giant Navy ships. So I told her to. keep her kayak away from the aircraft carrier.
SPEAKER 03 :
Other than that… Yeah, I’d say it was about, you know, low 70s. We went to the Hyatt Regency Mission Bay, which isn’t far from there because they have slides, you know, for the kids in the pool. So, yeah, we have to go to the more still kid-friendly place. And there’s always Coronado Island, which is so beautiful. But I stayed with a friend there. So… Yeah, we did it all. We did the Fright Night at Universal Studios and we did Venice Beach and Santa Monica. We drove up to Santa Barbara and they got to see, you know, just where I used to do weather and, you know, my little station up on top of the hill and all that jive. So it was neat. They got to see a lot of different places. All my girlfriends from California, they threw me at birthday parties. So as you know, my big thing now is that Harvard happiness study with keeping those friendships and relationships that you have, how that’s the biggest indicator of happiness. And I saw one girlfriend who I hadn’t seen in 24 years. And we were like, we worked right near each other at NBC. We were best of friends. And we both started to cry. It was like so… You know, that’s such a great feeling when you’re so happy to see one. It was like you just saw him yesterday. I just started to cry. I was just overcome with emotion.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, you know, that’s the best times. It’s the best. And late in his life, I was able to reconnect my father to one of his childhood friends. And when we got them together, I said, when did you guys last see each other? And they both thought about it. It was 81 years ago. What? Yeah. But they came in, hey, Glenn, good to see you. How you been? What’s going on? Like they saw each other the day before yesterday, you know?
SPEAKER 03 :
And how old was your father?
SPEAKER 04 :
He was 92 at the time.
SPEAKER 03 :
Oh, and they were 81. Oh, my goodness, that is so wild. Oh, I love friendships, connections, they’re the best. Okay, so this week we’re talking about the column titled File It. What’s this about?
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, this is about doing the things you’re good at, playing toward your strengths, and staying away from your weaknesses. And one of the things I love here in my business is I have a file out there where we go through the mail and all the stuff, and that’s for my accountant. And any paperwork comes in, you know, IRS paperwork, government paperwork, all that stuff that has to be filled out, I am just so excited to put it in the file. And Mark gets to worry about it, and I don’t have to worry about it because, you know, you have to look at, what your strengths are. As Clint Eastwood said, man’s got to know his limitations. And I studied accounting when I passed the stock exchange test, but I just don’t enjoy it. And, you know, if we’re going to succeed in life, we need to really focus on the things we’re good at. And usually it’s the things we enjoy. But too often, Angie, we don’t value it highly enough because it comes easy to us. And, you know, like my publisher, I’ve talked to them. We’ve done seven books filled with these weekly columns. And he said, these are just treasures. These are amazing. And people around the world write about it. And I spend about 15 minutes each on them. You know, just once a week, do a little column. And what am I thinking about? And it’s gone. And then when I look back on it, I’m just so grateful that people like them. And I get to do that. And when I… lost my football career and became an Olympic weightlifter, they said, you are making some amazing gains. You’re lifting more and more each week, and it’s incredible. I said, why didn’t everybody do that? And it came easy to me. It was my thing. And you need to find that thing. And I believe everybody has one. Whatever it is, you’ve got it. My brother and I were talking over the weekend. We both started out as teenagers working on a construction job. You know, I found an extra paycheck, and he found a career. I mean, he runs a $100 million construction company, and he was good at it, and we could tell right off. I mean, he knows what he’s doing, and somehow I just, you know, I couldn’t make the nail go straight. I couldn’t do anything. You know, I mean, he was just good at it. And, you know, those are the things we need to all look at, you know. And I remember playing around with my friend and inspiration, Stevie Wonder, and, you know, You know, we were playing some stuff, and, you know, I play the piano a little. Stevie is a virtuoso. And he said, why don’t you just do it like this? And he played it, and I said, because I’ve only got the two hands, Stevie. And if I had eight hands, I would play what you’re talking about. But, you know, and he just, you know, it comes easy to him. He loves it, and it’s what he’s good at. So, you know, our purpose in life is to find our gift, and we achieve meaning when we give it away. So find the thing that you’re the best at, the thing that you love, and discover a way to serve others by using that talent, that gift.
SPEAKER 03 :
You know, and, you know, like biblically speaking, you know, I know a lot in church we talk about our gifts per se and that it isn’t really a gift until you give it away. And I remember talking to a comedian, Michael Jr., and he was doing a comedy at like homeless shelters. And then there was a homeless family shelter. And this little boy had had a horrible childhood and he wouldn’t take off this Spider-Man mask. And he wouldn’t take it off. He wouldn’t take it off. And he was doing his comedy. And finally, you know, towards the end, you know, he had him laughing and he was talking to him. And the little boy took off his mask. And the grandmother was just, like, astounded because he wore the mask all the time. Now, because of whatever pains he’d been through, he liked to hide behind it. But he let it down for Michael. And Michael talked about getting these homeless people to laugh because it’s not – something that they do a lot of, you know, laughing because their life is so, you know, overwrought with, you know, difficulties and pains and suffering and struggles day to day. And I was like, well, why did you want to do this? And he’s like, well, you know, if my comedy is a gift and I have it, like if I don’t give it away, how is it really, you know, a gift? It’s not a gift to give it away. And I thought, what a unique way to, you know, enjoy his gift. And this was, you know, many years ago. I don’t know if he still does this, but he did some kind of a, you know, a special doing this, you know, some kind of a documentary on these people that were going through such hardships and, you know, trying to give them that gift of laughter. And, you know, I think of… Over the years, haven’t we all thought about what ours is? So writing comes easy to you. And I would think maybe a column would for me, but a book certainly doesn’t because, you know, I’ve toyed with that idea for many years and, you know, and not really gotten too far on it. Just done interviews with my mom maybe about our past because we’ve had, I guess, what some would consider a difficult life experience. You know, some people would consider that I had a difficult background. So I’ve kind of gone over that, you know, because a lot of people are like, wow, you should write a book. I can’t believe you ended up where you have in life, you know, coming from where you came from. But I think sometimes… I don’t even know if I know what my gift is. I like talking to people. And when I’m in big groups, like my friends, I get them laughing hysterically. Not one-on-one. That’s the interesting thing. In groups, just my timing and everything, it’s fun. Like you, we have good timing when it comes to making people laugh, especially in groups. So maybe it’s speaking. I don’t know. I still think even at my age, I still struggle with… What exactly does come easily to me? I certainly know waking up in the morning doesn’t come easily to me. So I know the things that aren’t my gift. I’m more of a night owl than a morning person. Of course, I did a morning show for decades, the time of day that I don’t think comes that naturally to most people to get up at 2.45, 3.00, 3.30 in the morning, which I think I’ve told you I still do get up then. I still do wake up temporarily. you know, for a good half hour, hour every day at that time because I’m so timed to that. But how do you think you found what came easily to you?
SPEAKER 04 :
As most people do, I found by accident and then I was shocked that people enjoyed it. It came to me. And, you know, Angie, there’s no doubt. I mean, anybody who listens to you for more than a few minutes realizes that your ability to talk and be approachable. And, you know, people feel like they know you, they trust you, they’re comfortable with you. People like you immediately. And, you know, that’s the thing I see when we hire actors for our movies. I mean, there are certain people, the camera loves them, the audience loves them, they just shine through. But as some of your listeners know, I met you years ago when I was doing, you know, literally 100 radio interviews in a week. for one of my book releases, and you were, you know, hey, next is somebody named Angie in Colorado, and I’m on, and after we were off the air, I said, who are you? I mean, you know, well, you know, I’m doing this, no, no, no, before, and then you told me about the network TV stuff and everything, and I, okay, that’s who you are, I mean, this is, I mean, you’re a rock star, and, you know, and, you know, you are very, very good at this, and, you know, don’t kid yourself, so, The ability to converse and make people feel comfortable and, you know, make people like you and relatable is a gift. It’s as good as it gets.
SPEAKER 03 :
You know, I think I, you know, I talked to you the first time maybe 10 years ago. I mean, it was it was really early on because there have been times in my radio. So 12 years now I’ve done this and I do credit our conversation that day with me continuing to do the show because I was considering not doing it. There have been years in the 12 years where I’ve made nothing. There’s been years where I lost money doing it. And so it wasn’t financially advisable for me to continue doing it. I would have been better off, fiscally speaking, to do something else because I’ve kind of been – on my own, doing it independently. And then I’m teamed up with a radio station that has been wonderful to work with. But I really need to generate clients on my own if I want to make an income, which isn’t necessarily my forte. I don’t think a lot of people come naturally to sales and going out and saying, hey, invest in me, invest in my show. But I’ve been lucky that this one organization that I really believe in that oddly enough, my son is starting to work for them this week. And they do, you know, it’s a nonprofit that helps people with cognitive deficits. If you, you know, maybe your kid has Down syndrome or cerebral palsy, they hire a lot of these young people to work in their organization. And they are, it’s an advocacy program. So all of these thrift stores help raise money. So it’s something I really believe in and they believed in me. And that’s why I’ve been able to stay on the air. But I think that I do credit you with saying, hey, I do these interviews. I’m doing 100 like this week. And you’re so good at this. You can’t quit. You should really keep doing this. And so I have continued to do it. And I do think it’s a blessing because I get to talk to you who I consider to be a mentor to me every week. And I get to talk to experts and authors and I get to learn things every week. And it’s super interesting to me to kind of delve into people’s brains and, you know, find out more about them and see how their minds work and, you know, things like that. Like that’s fascinating to me. I really get a kick out of it. And so even if in the years I didn’t make money, I still enjoyed it, you know. And so I have you to really thank for that because I don’t think I would have continued to do it. I don’t know what I would have done. on. And I do have to find a next thing. Like as my kids are going into college, you know how expensive that is. And I don’t make the kind of money where, I mean, I don’t even know if I could afford to put one kid through college in a year with the income I generate. So I do have to get a little more wise about what I’m doing financially. But in terms of the enjoyment of doing it, and I hope other people enjoy hearing from us. I know in your case, I get notes about you and oh, I didn’t hear Jim this week or where can I find your podcast? I miss Jim. So you’ve become kind of a fixture in the show. So I certainly, you know, have you to thank for that. And we’re almost at a time, but I just love you. So I wouldn’t be doing this. I don’t think if it weren’t for you. So I have you to thank for that.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, you are a rock star. I think you’ve found your gift. And you may have to find other ways to give it away, but I have no doubt you will because that’s who you are and what you do.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, if you want to find Jim, jimstowell.com. Thank you, friend. You’re the best.
SPEAKER 01 :
Well, thank you for listening to The Good News with Angie Austin on AM670 KLTT.
