The Happy Investor Method. Ange Matthews

Bob Wheeler:
Ange, so I’m excited to be talking to you today. I am excited about the Happy Investor and welcome to the show.

Ange Matthews:
Thanks for having me, I’m excited as well.

Bob Wheeler:
So, I gotta ask you, can you tell us about your journey from first generation investor to becoming an investment strategy person and coach?

Ange Matthews:
wish I could say it was a walk in the park. It was this beautiful glass

Bob Wheeler:
..

Ange Matthews:
road and rubies on my feet. And I’m probably thinking about Dorothy or whatever. But it was not it was actually really jagged and messed up, but also beautiful. And I think it’s just parallel to how my life actually is.

So when I started, I had no idea investing was a thing. I just had a desire to make more money when other people said there wasn’t money available to be made. and I figured it out. Kind of like a lot of things in my life. So this is one of the things I figured out.

Bob Wheeler:
That’s so cool and like from what I’ve read you were making like $40,000 a year not making a whole lot of money and you said I’m still gonna Super size this money and turn it into wealth. Whereas a lot of people might said I don’t have enough I’m gonna never get ahead and you took a different approach

Ange Matthews:
I did. So growing up, my parents were extremely hard workers. They were immigrants to the United States in the seventies. And it really came through loud and clear that life is what you make of it. And it’s not that they didn’t have opportunities from where we came from in our country.

They actually were pretty, pretty well off, kind of like a lot of people who come to America for a lot of things. The fact that they’re here means that they had to get have something to get here. And that was the case for my parents. And when they got here, it was just a. I don’t want to say a shit storm, but it was a lot to mentally,

Bob Wheeler:
Yeah.

Ange Matthews:
emotionally and spiritually. Survive. And one of the things they told us, and they said, you know what, this is our situation, but it doesn’t have to be. And we’re going to work our butts off. And when they told me that I saw them and I said, you guys work a lot. and that is not what I’m trying to do, but

Bob Wheeler:
Right.

Ange Matthews:
I am going to be successful.

Bob Wheeler:
Well, I love that they named it, right? This is, here’s what’s going on and it doesn’t have to be this way. Because a lot of people just push through, don’t say anything and as kids, we observe what’s being modeled. And if it’s not being expressed explicitly, we’re just going to create our own narrative.

Ange Matthews:
Absolutely. I think we don’t realize that our kids are always the innocent bystander watching us, you know, and sometimes we imagine that we’re on a television show or a movie or a sitcom. I don’t know if you ever did that when you were a kid, pretend like, I don’t know, Truman Show style.

Bob Wheeler:
Yeah.

Ange Matthews:
And we actually are being watched all the time by these little humans.

Bob Wheeler:
Right. Yeah, they keep you honest.

Ange Matthews:
Sometimes.

Bob Wheeler:
Sometimes. So tell me a little bit about Happy Investor Method, right? It sounds really intriguing. What are, like, what are some of the core principles? So, I’m going to start with the first one, and then we’ll go into the second one, and then we’ll go into the third one,

Ange Matthews:
So at the core, core tenets are, it has to be easy and purposeful. That’s really something about investing and about money, about just a life approach, because life is really stressful and sometimes it can be just hard enough to survive. And when people think about money and investing, there’s so much trauma involved, there’s so much baggage.

It’s almost as if our brains are a waste bin for every other relationship everyone has had with money. It’s packing in our genes. So I wanna start the conversation and let it be known. No, it’s gonna be a happy conversation. And it may not be happy all the time, but it will be joyful and ease is important. So that’s a really big factor. And the other one is come as you are. So you don’t have to be a certain way.

You don’t have to look a certain way. You don’t have to have as much money or too much money. It really doesn’t matter. It’s a come as you are approach. And then lastly, it’s an approach that really Like we’re going to mess some stuff up. If we go into it, knowing we’re going to mess things up so

Bob Wheeler:
Yeah.

Ange Matthews:
that when we do have the mess ups, it’s celebrated and not frowned upon.

Bob Wheeler:
I love that because I think so often, at least for myself growing up, I didn’t know I was allowed to make mistakes, so I’m always trying to do it perfectly. And it would have been so nice if somebody said, hey, you get to mess up a lot, you’re okay, and we’re going to keep moving.

You’re still lovable. You’re still enough, right? And I think we just don’t get that messaging enough, at least as kids and probably not as adults either. And, you know, so then we’re just trying to present and look like… we did an informed happy investment, even though inside internally we’re having nightmares.

Ange Matthews:
Absolutely. And the thing about investing is you need to understand how to control your own emotions. It’s never going to change every single investment I make. There is that part of me that’s like, Oh my gosh, is it the most horrible investment I ever made? Oh my God. Who am I to be doing this? Where

Bob Wheeler:
Right.

Ange Matthews:
is this money coming back? What’s going to happen to it? I go through that every single time I click trade. And then I have my standard operating procedures for like, calm the frick down. You’re all right. This has worked. You’re not, you know what you’re doing. And then I self-regulate.

Bob Wheeler:
Yeah, that’s so important. Well, you know, here’s the funny thing. Happy like no matter what I was, I was thinking about it. It just automatically exudes positivity, right? I’m the happy investor. And so maybe I’m internally like, whoa, having a freak out.

When I hear happy investor, it immediately takes me back to a positive mindset, which when you’re investing, when you’re dealing with money, I mean, most anything, having that positive mindset, it doesn’t mean everything’s going to come out positive. And at least you’ve got some good energy going towards it, regardless of the outcome in the end.

Ange Matthews:
Absolutely. And I think this is just human nature, right? Because life isn’t gonna be the way we always want it to be. And I’m sure you know that. I’m sure that, you know, whoever’s listening to this knows that. And you’re gonna have to hang on to your positive ability, your mindset to pull you forward, especially when things seem really grim.

Bob Wheeler:
Yeah. And how do you, so like, how do you self-regulate? Like, because, you know, investing can be intimidating. It can be like, it’s complicated. And you’re talking about, you know, let it be simple. Let it be fun and let it be purposeful.

Like, how do you help people overcome fears and barriers? And how do you self-regulate? You know, hopefully not, you know, like two gallons of vodka. But, you know, some kind of way that takes you back to soothing so that you’re not taking yourself out.

Ange Matthews:
I won’t lie, I’m a whiskey gal, so I’ll just put that out there. If anyone wants to send me a gift, do not send vodka, send whiskey.

Bob Wheeler:
Your Texas, your Texas, of course it should be whiskey.

Ange Matthews:
Yes. But no, seriously, that’s probably the worst way to self regulate because it’s just not, it’s coming from an external place versus an internal. So internally, the conversations I have is I’ve probably done much harder things before and I am doing much harder things. So that’s something I tell myself, my clients, anyone who’s trying this is, Hey, A lot of our folks who come to us at the Happy Investor Method, they’re quite accomplished in their own right.

And I’m looking at them and they say on the outside, they have this image of confidence and influence and affluence, but on the inside, they’re just this high school student or college student who’s freaking out that no one told them about how to do this. And so there’s a lot of baggage in that. And I tell these doctors, I tell the pediatricians, I tell… Whether it’s a truck driver, I don’t care. I tell them you’ve done harder things than the strategy you’re about to learn. So let’s just start there. And yeah.

Bob Wheeler:
I love that. And, you know, it’s interesting that you say that because I think most of us get to a certain level of success, appearance of success, and then we’ve got to continue to maintain it. So now we can’t have a step back. We cannot misstep. And then we get so caught up in presenting that like, yeah, I’ve got it together. That we don’t actually let ourselves go out there and fail, get back up and have even bigger success.

Ange Matthews:
Yeah, or just let yourself actually get it together. You’re

Bob Wheeler:
I’m

Ange Matthews:
so

Bob Wheeler:
sorry.

Ange Matthews:
in the mindset of, I’ve got it together, that you’re stepping out of the process of actually getting it.

Bob Wheeler:
Yeah, and you know, I think people get comfortable in a certain place or I know I have and then to move from it, it’s risky and it’s not familiar and What if what if what if what if and then we go down a rabbit hole and I think I’ll just stay here in my fear

Ange Matthews:
Mm-hmm. That’s really common and it’s human nature and the way that I try to tell people to, you know, not Hide from it or deal with it in a way that’s never happens. It’s always gonna be there But what you want to do is just say Am I gonna be around in the future? Probably do I want my life to be better or worse and Odds are if you want it to be better you’re gonna have to continue to do something when you’re not doing what you’re doing right now.

And so what’s the plan? If you plan on being here, we have to kind of create a plan. And yes, it’s easier to not have a plan right now, but you can imagine future you, how many times have we not had a plan, ever think you’re gonna make a fabulous meal only to go in your pantry and see you don’t have the ingredients? Well, that’s pretty much what it’s like for our money

Bob Wheeler:
Yeah.

Ange Matthews:
when we come to retirement. It’s like, oh. I kind of wanted to make this fabulous life, but I don’t actually have anything to make it with. Or at least I don’t have what I thought I had to make it with. So let’s just prevent that now.

Bob Wheeler:
Now, I think that’s so smart. And when you talk about purpose, having a purpose, for me, that includes the long term. I have, as of recent, I’ve had two or three clients that have passed $30, $40 million, no plan in place. They intended to set up a foundation. They intended to do this. And now, in a couple of situations, everybody’s just doing a fire sale, right?

To just get as quick to the cash as they can. They don’t care about all the investments and all this work that somebody spent 20, 30 years building or telling me, well, that’s not what they wanted for me. They told me, eh, it’s not in the trust. It’s not in the will. So it’s a great story, but doesn’t have any standing. And so I see these people that had. Accumulated all this money had some great intentions, but they never

You know actually legally set up their purpose So that it could either be passed on to their heirs set up a foundation Whatever it might be and so what would you say for people that are like? Yeah, I’ve got I’m building all this wealth and I’m gonna be here for the future and hopefully I’m gonna pay it forward or at least provide to my future generations What’s your thoughts on that?

Ange Matthews:
I think it’s a human thing to not want to think about death and to not want to think about the world when you’re not actively in it. But I also think it’s a human desire to have a legacy and to not screw the people that you love over.

Bob Wheeler:
Yeah.

Ange Matthews:
And if you really want to screw the people you love over, pass away with assets and have them go through a whole probate situation. It is torture. And I say this from experience because

Bob Wheeler:
Yes.

Ange Matthews:
my father

Bob Wheeler:
Oh.

Ange Matthews:
passed away in the

Bob Wheeler:
Yeah.

Ange Matthews:
exact same way. And he worked at a bank. And so it’s not as if he didn’t know, but I think it was one of those, I’m going to get to it, I’m going to get to it. And when you really realize that you need to get to it, chances are your health isn’t going to be there to get to it. And also you’re not going to have the wherewithal and the capacity and it’s going to get all icky because people are also going to turn into sharks and they see you on your way out.

And it’s gonna cloud a lot of your judgment. So what you wanna do is just take it in bite sizes. Estate planning, I won’t lie to you, it kind of sucks not because it’s not important, it sucks a little bit because it’s very complex and it’s one of those things that they make it seem complex. Like, do I want a trust, an irrevocable trust? Do I want this? Do I want that? And so you take it bite size and you start with putting beneficiaries on your accounts. That takes two minutes and most people don’t do it. It starts

Bob Wheeler:
Right.

Ange Matthews:
with doing a little will, right? And do the simple will. Don’t do the fancy stuff. You can update it to fancy later, but just get it done.

Bob Wheeler:
Yeah.

Ange Matthews:
And you realize at some point that your money is an extension of you. And there’s gonna be a lot of things that you sacrificed to get that money. And there are gonna be a lot of hopes and dreams that you would want your money to do. And by just giving it… a directive and placing those orders, it can really make your death. something that someone else can truly build a strong life for and on.

Bob Wheeler:
Yeah.

Ange Matthews:
So it’s worth it.

Bob Wheeler:
It is. And it is so hard to look at some of that stuff. And like I, for a lot of people, it’s hard to admit that we have a, a set time here, even if we don’t know the acts, you know, actual expiration date, but, uh, we’re, you know, so far as we know, we’re all going to pass at some point. And so in that place as well, having some purpose and intentionality So that, and yes, through experience as well,

I have dealt with those nightmare, uh, probate cases and all kinds of stuff. And if you don’t handle it, you can’t fix it after the fact. Um, just not going to happen. So get your affairs in order.

Ange Matthews:
You can, and what’s really nice is, you know, I’ve got a couple of clients where we do something called My Family Invest, and the family knows that they’re gonna come into, you know, quite a bit of money, but the person who’s leaving it already knows the family’s probably gonna do reckless things with their hard earned money, right?

Bob Wheeler:
Yeah.

Ange Matthews:
And that’s also why people don’t wanna put in the system for it, cause they already know, you know, if I gave young Bobby a quarter million, or five million, it’s gonna be gone in a year. And so, you know, I’m just gonna wait until they’re responsible enough. Well, you can actually force that responsibility.

So we give classes to families to show them how to invest, how to talk about money, so that when something happens, it’s not a point of friction that separates them. It actually brings them together. So you can be proactive about what your money does after you leave.

Bob Wheeler:
Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. I think that’s awesome. So Andrew, we’re gonna take just a moment and we’re gonna test your nerve. Test Your Nerve is brought to you by themoneynerve.com. All you listeners out there, are financial fears keeping you up at night?

Face your money monsters at testyournerve.com, our free money mindset quiz. Don’t let the boogeyman win. Visit today. All right, here we go. We’re gonna have some fun.

Ange Matthews:
All

Bob Wheeler:
So

Ange Matthews:
right.

Bob Wheeler:
complete this sentence. Investing is like a roller coaster because…

Ange Matthews:
Investing is like a roller coaster because it makes you extremely excited and happy and it goes up and down but in the end you leave thinking that was one heck of a ride.

Bob Wheeler:
Absolutely. Is there a world where if, let me ask this again. In a world where investing is a sport, what would be your signature move?

Ange Matthews:
It would be. the layup. And I say this fully think knowing that I probably don’t even know technically what a layup is. So I’m just going to go based on what I would make it. That is when something it could technically be an assist to when something is in the air and it is about to I get it and I literally just chuck it up and then it lands in the hoop.

And so I say a layup because it’s like, and it’s coming down. So I’m buying something low, right, like a stock or an investment. pushing my money, my acumen, my skill set, I’m pushing it up and it’s like a slam. It’s technically not a slam dunk, but it gets there.

Bob Wheeler:
That’s cool, score three points, three points.

Ange Matthews:
I don’t even think that’s possible because it’s not within the three-point line.

Bob Wheeler:
I know it’s not really,

Ange Matthews:
I know

Bob Wheeler:
but I

Ange Matthews:
that!

Bob Wheeler:
know I’m like, well, you know, we’ll mix it up. That’s good. What books and resources, if any, have played a pivotal role in your money mindset around investing?

Ange Matthews:
The millionaire next door was huge to me. And also from trash man to cash man was also huge for me.

Bob Wheeler:
Oh, I love that. I haven’t heard of that one. I got to check that out. I love that title.

Ange Matthews:
It’s so good. He talks about the house of the wealthy, the house of the poor, and the house of the middle class and how you can change that.

Bob Wheeler:
I love it. I love it. I’m going to check it out. Can you tell us a time when you turned a financial oops into a financial aha?

Ange Matthews:
So, there was one time when I didn’t really have a lot of cash on me. I was down to my last 200 bucks. And this was not like, you know, when I was a teenager. I was in my 20s. And what I did was I decided to have a lobster party with my last $200 because I thought, well, if we gonna go out, we gonna go out with a bang.

Because I didn’t think 200 was going to make or break the quality of my life, realistically speaking. And I thought, enjoy what we have. And that’s what’s going to make us have more. And I did that and it was amazing. But then at the end of the day, I was like, so I fed all these people lobster and I really have no money in this account.

And what I probably could have done was at least cut that in half, saved half, and then the lobster something, something with the other hundred and invested that hundred. And so that’s what I would have done. And how I fixed it was that the next money that I got, I did invest that. I was like, okay, we played with this one, but reality was next day wasn’t feeling so good. Let’s do something better.

Bob Wheeler:
I love it. Can you share one insider lesson you’ve learned from a successful investor or mentor?

Ange Matthews:
Yes, oh geez, there’s so many and I value mentorship so much. I almost feel as if it’s accepting an award and you like wanna give thanks to people and you don’t know who to say thank you to. But there was this random person that I met at a conference and it was not. an investor conference.

It was an entrepreneurship conference and she found out I was an investor and she got so excited, like most investors, when you meet another investor you get excited about it because it’s like, what’s working, what’s not working? And she said, what I want you to do is, I know you’re a new mom, what I want you to do is I want you to open up a Roth IRA for your kid. Once you have a business, hire them. If not, don’t.

Do a regular custodial brokerage account. But what I want you to do is not tell them a word. Don’t tell them that you have it, just keep on having a girl behind them. And when they have their first child and they’re in the hospital and they really know like, holy hell, life is real, someone needs me to exist. I want you to like show them the statement with this money or when they purchased their first home to let them know that you planted a seed even before they were able to be fully conscious about it.

Bob Wheeler:
That’s

Ange Matthews:
And

Bob Wheeler:
awesome.

Ange Matthews:
that was, I mean, that made me open up the accounts and I’m waiting for this future moment and it keeps me invested in my kids and in myself. And I thought that was spectacular advice, even beyond just the open up the Roth. It was showing me what to do with that once I did.

Bob Wheeler:
That’s so awesome and I do love that piece about showing them down the line to let them know that you’ve been thinking about it the whole time, right? That it’s been on the radar even if it hasn’t been out front and center it’s behind the scenes doing its work and I do think Roth IRAs for kids if you can make that happen put them on payroll if you do lots of social media hire them for the camera shoots right, so that you can earn that.

And also if you’re in a high tax bracket, you can reduce your taxes if you pay them just under 12,000 so that they don’t need to file a tax return so you can fund that Roth. So great advice. I love it. I love it, I love it. All right, I’m gonna jump back to this a little bit. You work with everybody, like everybody’s welcome, but I get the sense you have a little bit of a passion for helping women. And women, and correct me if I’m wrong, but women are a little bit at a disadvantage statistically.

And maybe they either don’t know that they’re allowed to invest or maybe some people have been taught, if you’re in a marriage, the husband’s supposed to figure that out, right? There might be all kinds of stories. What are some of the things you find that are challenges for women? And what would you want to tell our listeners out there?

Ange Matthews:
Well, one of the funny things are is that my audience is pretty much 55% men, 45% women, which is ironic.

Bob Wheeler:
Oh

Ange Matthews:
It’s ironic, but the thing about it is that women, that’s really high for an investment educator slash influencer because when you have something open to the general public, usually it’s dominated by men. And the reason why is because women typically say, I’m just gonna let my husband handle that. I’ll let my father handle it, or I’ll let my sons handle it. And I actually do specific marketing campaigns specifically to get women into the conversation because it’s even more important than I think our male counterparts.

And the reason why I say that is because there’s a wage gap. And so I think it’s about 72 cents. A woman will make 72 cents where a man will make a full dollar. The numbers are even more dismal if you are a person of color or if you are identifying as anything other than a straight white woman. So it’s crazy. And what that means is that you’re always going to be paying more for everything. And if you’re going to be paying more for everything, that means your money needs to be working harder than anyone else. And they’re also, reality is, chances are, one out of two marriages end out of divorce.

And women always, and I will say almost always, get the crappy end of that stick. And so, and the reason why is because they typically keep the homes, they keep assets that can’t be made liquid very easily, they go into their 401ks and their pensions. Can you tell, I’ve been talking to some, I’ve been really helping people with this stuff. And… And they’re not able to actually even rebuild the life that they spent so much time creating, especially if they took time to be caretakers for everyone else.

And I love to tell women that they’re actually better at investing. When you look at the statistics, women choose and stick to better investments than men. The only reason why men might perform slightly better is because they jump in quicker. So a woman would take her sweet time in deliberating if she wants to actually invest in something.

By the time she decided, the price then went up like two times, you know, two X’d before she’s ready to do it. And the male counterpart would do it probably as soon as he finds out about it. So if you are a woman, what I want to say is be quicker. If you have a hunch in your gut, trust it. It’s your intuition. You’re probably going to be really good at it. Just take action to do it. And even if no one else looks like you doing it, well, that’s probably why you should do it.

Bob Wheeler:
Now, that’s awesome. And I, you know, it seems to me like some people will say, well, the rules are stacked against me because of my ethnicity, because of my gender, because of my sexuality, because, right? I always say to people, you still got to know the rules. You don’t have to like the rules and you don’t have to like the game.

But if you want to get ahead in that particular game, you still got to learn the rules. Don’t have to like the players. You gotta know the rules if you want to use them to your advantage.

Ange Matthews:
Yeah, and you’re in the game. We’re all in the game. You know, there’s a reason why the stock market is talked about at night on the news. There’s a reason why 401ks are built on it. Whether you are gonna be active or inactive, you’re in it. And if you’re gonna be in it, you know, like Bob said, you might as well learn the rules.

And once you learn the rules, you can actually start playing it and use it for your advantage. And I know there are tons of things stacked against you. Heck, I do a post-it exercise, right? I actually have some of them. Every time I go speak at a conference or I host a workshop, I do a post-it exercise where I ask people, why won’t this work for you? And people say a lot of stuff. They say, well, it’s the fear of the unknown.

They say that I’m sad and I can’t do this. I don’t want to be disappointed. I don’t want to try something and not have it work. I’m an immigrant, or I don’t make enough money, or I’m ugly. It’s really interesting how deep ingrained these feelings are.

Bob Wheeler:
Yeah.

Ange Matthews:
And I always say, if this is the way you feel, well, this is the reason why you need to do it. If you have… If you’re afraid of being disappointed, what bigger disappointment do you have if you don’t even start?

Bob Wheeler:
Right.

Ange Matthews:
And if you think that you’re not pretty enough or attractive enough, well, how are you gonna get the money to get yourself in shape and do all the things? Right, you just use that as your reason for doing it.

Bob Wheeler:
Yeah, I think that’s so important to like, find your edge and then go past it. Right? If you’re out there looking for something more and bigger, you’re going to have to get uncomfortable. You’re going to have to step out of your comfort zone. And I’m wondering, you know, when you’re talking about these different reasons, it seems to me, one of the reasons for a lot of people, and I’ve only really come to realize this more recently, but.

If. If I don’t see people that look like me, welcome me into the financial world, right? If all I see are white men, and I’m not a white male, I may feel intimidated. I may not feel like it’s my club. I may not feel the warm welcome. I may receive judgment, right? I may get discounted. And so how do you speak to that? I mean, you know, It’s great is because you’re a woman of color. People can say, ah, someone like me. Right. Um, and there’s going to be maybe more empathy or more compassion from somebody that is relatable.

Ange Matthews:
It’s true and it’s also not true.

Bob Wheeler:
Mm-hmm.

Ange Matthews:
And here’s what I mean by that. What I mean is, trust me, I’ve been in the rooms and because I’m in financial services and investing even more so, I don’t really talk about debt and budgeting and all that. I know 99% of the time when I step into the room, I’m gonna be the one and only person that looks like me.

And that’s really, that takes a lot. It takes a lot of skin to go in a space where no one is like you because out the bat you’re on edge. It’s not like when you walk into a family reunion or when you walk into it and it’s really interesting. People wonder why if there’s a group of people of color and they’re in a conference and there’s tons of, say an example, white professionals and there’s just a couple of people of color and they are kind of sitting next to each other.

It’s almost like a gravitational pull. Like you can’t help it, but it’s just like home. It’s like eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich a little bit. But

Bob Wheeler:
Yeah.

Ange Matthews:
all this to say is I have received so much kindness from being the only person in the room as well, where people say, I can’t imagine that you’re having this first day of school experience every single time you go to a networking event and it is true. It is like a first day school experience. But at the same time, I realized that, and you have to realize this, that I get to bring friends. that I am also the person that lets people know that there is a door when it looks as if it’s just a wall

Bob Wheeler:
Right.

Ange Matthews:
and they can open it and walk through it. And that’s what keeps me motivated to stay in this space and to talk up and to, I have my own, you know, personal self-sabotage things that I do. I have my own personal mindset things, but at the same time, I think. but I still get to be in this room.

Like my ancestors worked their butts off for me to be in this room. My parents worked their butts off to be in this room. Like I am a citizen, I have a social security number. Like I get to be in this conversation, even if I only own like three shares of something, I get to be on that board meeting. I get to, I’m a shareholder. And I’m gonna ask my damn question because I gave you my money. And so this is what it’s about.

It kind of, you step into that power and when you step into your power, things that make you feel powerless kind of start, they don’t exist. because you kind of stepped above it. Now of course, yes, you do come back down sometimes, but that’s what you have to do. At least that’s what I do and that’s what I teach people to do.

Bob Wheeler:
Now, that’s awesome. I’ve seen this quote recently a few times. If somebody doesn’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair. Find room. Make yourself there. And I think for me anyway, as I’ve been learning about money and mindset and my own personal journey and hearing other people’s journeys, for me, it’s also important to know that there are inherent biases, that there are some things that are systemic.

I may not be crazy if I’m feeling something. It doesn’t mean don’t go for it. Like go for it. Show up. Do it scared. Do it without confidence. Like just go forward. But I think if we can become aware of those biases that other people might have or that we might have or the stories that we have or the systemic pieces where the system is actually working against us and we think it’s us. Like, I did everything right. Yeah, you did everything right. What would you say about that?

Ange Matthews:
I think there’s always gonna be a system. You know, and in my community, there are talks of reparations. And it’s really interesting, because I’m like, yay, I mean, if you can get money, go for it.

Bob Wheeler:
Get money!

Ange Matthews:
Go for it, go get your money. You know, and it’s really interesting because I probably wouldn’t get any money because my parents were immigrants. And

Bob Wheeler:
Right.

Ange Matthews:
so I’m not American black, but I’ll still be there like, go get your money. But at the same time, you cannot rely on other people to get you your money. There

Bob Wheeler:
Yeah.

Ange Matthews:
are a lot of people who, had wrongs done against them. And there was no talk of reparations. There are no talk of reparations with Asian-Americans during containment. There were no talk of reparations to the magnitude that they needed it for Native Americans. There was no

Bob Wheeler:
Right.

Ange Matthews:
talk of reparations in so many other ways, and yet communities have gone on. And so I don’t want us to think that just because we’re owed something that we have to sit and wait for that to come versus being proactive about. Creating it and so for me, you know, I’m in the process of writing a book and in it. I talk about that I talk about Maybe this was created for us to have those wrongs Turn into rights

Bob Wheeler:
Yeah.

Ange Matthews:
Maybe if certain things are no longer available to us the way they used to be you can pick up a book you can hire someone to learn something that was not available before and

Bob Wheeler:
Yeah.

Ange Matthews:
actually make it better for you and so that’s kind of what I usually have to say to those conversations. Yes, it sucks. We all have a sob story.

Bob Wheeler:
Right.

Ange Matthews:
And we’ve all hurt each other in so many ways. But it’s time for us to heal ourselves and also provide for ourselves.

Bob Wheeler:
Yeah, I love that. And it takes the victim out of it. I mean, I have many clients that are like, well, I’ve got it. I hope Social Security is around. I tell them don’t count on it. Like create your own wealth. Don’t count on the government. I’ve got clients that have balance sheets that have, you know, mommy and daddy’s money inheritance.

I’m like, you don’t know that money is going to be there. Mom and dad might need that for medical. Right? Be your own reliable source of your abundance. and your wealth. And so, yeah, we’ve all been wronged. We’ve all had sad stories. Are we going to pick ourselves up? And we’re going to figure out how to make our situation better instead of staying in the story of what was me.

Ange Matthews:
Absolutely. And you can get creative with it. You know, it doesn’t necessarily, I’m not, and we’re not saying that you have to assimilate and you have to just mimic someone else’s path. You can make your own path. I’m of the mindset, you know, I loved that you had the chair analogy of bring a folding chair, but I’m about both. You know, I’m just, I can ask for a seat at your table or I can go over here and make my own and

Bob Wheeler:
Yeah.

Ange Matthews:
I’ll. I’ll go in between both. And that’s really what I’m doing. You know, people talk about the happy investor method and what’s the bigger picture. I’m actually growing investors. It’s crazy. I take people from investing in one share to becoming accredited, meaning they can buy assets in high risk, but high reward investments. And that is a long game. And

Bob Wheeler:
Yeah.

Ange Matthews:
I am here to play because what I’m not fitting to do… is go to a conference or try to say, can I get in on this investment for someone to look at me and say, but that’s not the kind of investor we want. What I will do is create a group where we have our own power, influence, and finances to give investments to the people that we feel need them to. And it may take a little longer, but you create your own table if you don’t see the table you want out there.

Bob Wheeler:
Yeah, I love that. And again, it’s that proactive mindset of not waiting for everything to come to you. You know, that’s my big thing is don’t wait for your ship to come in, go out and build your own ship, right? Because if we keep waiting, we could be waiting a long time and all that time could have been used to actually get us where we wanted to be.

Ange Matthews:
Yeah, and our loved ones don’t have all the time we think they have either. And so

Bob Wheeler:
Yeah.

Ange Matthews:
that’s something that’s really important that a lot of us don’t think about. We think about our journey as our journey and it’s my decision. But a lot of the people that you love, which is probably also your motivation, we don’t know what their life is going to be like. You don’t know if your kids are always going to want to hang out with you. You don’t know if your parents are always going to be able bodied to take the vacations that you want. There’s a lot waiting on you to show up.

Bob Wheeler:
Yeah, which can be daunting and rewarding.

Ange Matthews:
Absolutely. I can tell you the other if you felt a little pressure there, let me take it off. I have a theory

Bob Wheeler:
Yeah.

Ange Matthews:
It’s not even a theory. It’s just an anjism Yeah, all this stuff is sprinkles Right all these goals and in accomplishments and the extra comments and digits on the net sprinkles Like I am completely amazing whole and complete Fine behind ice cream all this other stuff is just sprinkles So sometimes I get caught up on sprinkles and I remember well sprinkles and I can

Bob Wheeler:
Yeah.

Ange Matthews:
also just tell someone I love that I love them, pray for them and tell them what I like about them and they’re gonna feel pretty darn good.

Bob Wheeler:
Yeah, absolutely. Sprinkles are fun, but if I even just get the cone or a little scoop of ice cream, I’m good too.

Ange Matthews:
Yeah!

Bob Wheeler:
I’m good too. develop a positive mindset. So you were talking about some of these people, you know, on those post-its that I’m sad, I’m not attractive, I’m unworthy. It’s not for me. It’s not in the cards. How do you practice cultivating a mindset that supports, you know, long-term wealth building that advocates for our abundance and our future?

Ange Matthews:
So, community is huge for me. And I say this even though I’m an introvert. But what happens in the four walls of my head sometimes don’t reflect the actual house that I’m in. And what I mean by that is having other people to see me for who I am and what I can be in the world has pulled me forward so many times when I get caught up in lack and in scarcity.

What also really helps is, yeah, I’m a woman of faith, and I do believe that there is a bigger power out there. And when I focus on that bigger power and realizing that I’m just an envelope, like with the message, it makes it a lot easier for me to think positively and Well, also, as a woman of faith, I also come with my terms and conditions to the universe and to God. And I also say, that’s great. You want me to do this, but this is kind of how I want to be in the process. Like I want to spend time with my kids.

I want a vacation. I want to have time to sit and do nothing. And that really helps out. Like faith plays a huge part, especially when the times are rough and processing your thoughts with others, whether that is in therapy, whether that is communicating with your people around you, but don’t shoulder the burden of being amazing and fabulous alone. Just don’t because a just very recent example is I’m in a book club. Don’t make everything about business and money either. So I’m in a book club and I recently was on NBC. This is like really big deal. My

Bob Wheeler:
Nice!

Ange Matthews:
first time being on like in studio.

Bob Wheeler:
Kudos!

Ange Matthews:
I’m still so very excited. Like I can’t even

Bob Wheeler:
That’s

Ange Matthews:
breathe.

Bob Wheeler:
awesome!

Ange Matthews:
It’s amazing. And I remember, and I put it on Facebook, and I got like a couple hundred comments saying, everyone’s like, congratulations. And I’m like, thank you to everybody. Again, the damn acceptance speech, like practice,

Bob Wheeler:
Ha ha!

Ange Matthews:
right? And they’re like, dude, you were just on a five minute segment, like chill out. Like, this is not a show, not yet though. But at the same time, I, in my book club, was talking about that experience. And I told them, before my mantra used to be, it’s safe to be seen. And… Because going out there, like I said, when you don’t look like everybody else, or even if you do look like everyone else, not everyone has your story, I would just tell myself, it’s safe to be seen. And in that moment of that NBC blitz, I said to myself, it’s beautiful to be seen.

Bob Wheeler:
I like that.

Ange Matthews:
And the energy of it’s beautiful to be seen rather than it’s safe to be seen is such a higher vibe energy. And it’s not one that I intentionally chose, but I think by consistently putting myself there and taking a chance of not getting harmed by putting myself out there,

Bob Wheeler:
Yeah.

Ange Matthews:
I was able to appreciate, and I am able to appreciate the beauty of being seen. And so just know that this is all an evolution for all of us. and you just gotta keep trying at it.

Bob Wheeler:
Yeah, I love that. And while I appreciate that it’s safe to be seen because a lot of us do need safety, it’s not always safe. And people are not always going to advocate for us. And people are not going to always celebrate our wins. Do it anyway. Right? Because if you can see the beauty in it, and it’s beautiful to be seen, the safety piece sort of fades away because It is such a higher vibration. Um, and, and so I just really love that because I, I did a lot of stuff. I didn’t do a lot of stuff, uh, because of fear, right? And so a lot of my decisions were made on this is scary. This might kill me. Uh, people will judge me. I will fail. And so then I just chose to, uh, disengage. Um, and if I waited for everything to be safe, I’d probably never move forward. Right. Um, in my own mind because safety was such a big thing. So I really appreciate that you got to go out there and you know what? Five minutes is still five minutes more than somebody else. I can relate. I was on a Dr. Phil episode and it was nerve-racking and exciting and cool because you’re in front of a whole bunch

Ange Matthews:
Dr.

Bob Wheeler:
of

Ange Matthews:
Phil?

Bob Wheeler:
people, Dr. Phil. So I hear you. It’s like, Those are the fun

Ange Matthews:
Absolutely.

Bob Wheeler:
moments.

Ange Matthews:
Can I ask you a question? I don’t know,

Bob Wheeler:
Yeah.

Ange Matthews:
can I do that?

Bob Wheeler:
Yeah,

Ange Matthews:
So,

Bob Wheeler:
you can add.

Ange Matthews:
what’s one of the things that you were fearful of that you overcame that you’re most proud of?

Bob Wheeler:
I think there was a belief that it really couldn’t happen for me,

Ange Matthews:
What’s it?

Bob Wheeler:
like financial success, being able to look back and say, I’ve had these accomplishments. And so even though I was focused on having lots of accomplishments and doing lots of things and trying to, so that it would be enough, right? That I was sort of socialized that I am my accomplishments. You know, if I could build a pyramid, somebody else could build it 10 feet taller or two days quicker. And so it was never going to be enough.

And so I had to let go of that and really shift to just being grateful and just being happy that I, as long as I’m breathing, I have a chance to make things better. Um, and so really shifting that mindset and though, even though it still creeps in sometimes, um, just, just trusting. that it’s all going to work out and that I am enough and not worry about whether it’s safe or not. Certainly I want to have safety and knowing that it’s not always going to be safe. There’s not always a guarantee that I’m going to show up anyway. And

Ange Matthews:
Mm.

Bob Wheeler:
I may not show up the way everybody wants to see me, but I’m going to show up the way that I can show up. Even if it’s messy, even if it’s imperfect, even if I’m not articulate, I’m going to show up.

Ange Matthews:
I love that. Thank you

Bob Wheeler:
Yeah.

Ange Matthews:
for sharing that. I didn’t even know if we could, if I could do that, but thank you.

Bob Wheeler:
You can do anything you want, Ange. You can do anything you want. Well, let me ask you this. What’s the most fulfilling aspect of your work as an investment strategist and coach?

Ange Matthews:
You know how sometimes people think about, did I do enough good in the world? And I’m one of those old school, old soul type of people. So my aunts are like all in their eighties, we’re celebrating a 90th birthday and it’s gonna be the most lit birthday bash ever. And, but doing all that, I get to be around the older folk and sit down and hear what their regrets and stuff are. And it’s so funny how. Things shift from me, I, I to, well, what the heck was it all for anyway?

Did I impact anyone? And when I think about what I am doing right now on this earth and this current assignment, I feel so lucky and blessed to be able to say that I do impact people and I have impacted people. And whether that is someone investing and being able to use the money to get proper healthcare for their kids, for mental health.

whether that is someone investing for their kids’ college only to find out midway through high school that they gotta shift them to a private school, and then having the resources available to pay for the best private education, whether that’s someone helping people to retire early or have conversations. I just can’t believe that I get to say at my age that I’ve already impacted people. I feel like everything else is sprinkles.

Because even if I… Even if I help one person, you know, we’re all in business and sometimes I’ll host an event and like 10 people will show up. And the business side of me is like, girl, you, this was not good. This was not good. You know, this was not, this was, I don’t wanna say a fail, but you know, business, high achievers height, not the best.

Bob Wheeler:
Yeah.

Ange Matthews:
But once I press start, I’m committed to being there for anyone who wants to show up. And if all of it had to happen for just like one person, butterfly effect style, well shit, the rest of it just sprinkles. And so that’s kind of how I feel and why I’m blessed about. I can’t even remember the original part of the question, but yeah.

Bob Wheeler:
Now that is so awesome. I think the title is going to be just sprinkle. The rest is just sprinkles. Right? Because like here we are and that’s enough and if we get some extra stuff, bonus. Bonus, bonus. I love it. So, Andrew, we’re at the Eminem part of the show, the sweet spot, the money and motivation and I’m wondering if you have a practical tip or a piece of wealth wisdom you could share with our listeners. That’s something that’s worked for you.

Ange Matthews:
So something that’s worked out really well, especially for investments, and this is a little bit of investment strategy. So if you are a dabbler, you’re gonna love it. If you’re someone who’s like, I’ve never invested ever, and why are you telling me this? So here’s the thing. A lot of people love to invest in what’s around them.

And I think one of the beautiful things about the happy investor method is it takes a lot of complicated strategies and I pretty much chewed it up like a mama bird and I’m spitting it back out. And one of my favorite strategies that we created, we being me, was the invest in what makes your world possible. And so it’s not necessarily invest in what’s around you, it’s invest in the things that actually make you, you.

And so what I mean by that is, I invested in Zoom pre-pandemic because I’m an entrepreneur and I know that this is really important because I need to be able to communicate with people regardless of where they live. Another example is, I kind of like my car, but I know that one day I’m going to get a really amazing car. And I could invest in cars directly, but I’m not going to do that because that’s probably not the best investment because there’s so many of them.

And at the end of the day, it’s still four wheels that takes you from A to B. So there’s not a unique thing about it, but I will invest in semiconductors. And so that’s the thing that makes the car that I want possible. It also makes a lot of the other things that I want possible. So invest

Bob Wheeler:
Yeah.

Ange Matthews:
in the thing that makes… your world possible. And that’s going to help you be an early adopter. It’s going to help you to understand if something’s not working because it’s in your world, you’re going to be able to see it before other investors in the market sees it. And it’s also going to make it more fun and enjoyable to own something that you’re a part of, right? Like, it’s just, you can’t explain the feeling you get when you are invested all the way through.

It’s like being committed. And so that’s how I look at investments. It’s like a way of life. And it’s so intrinsic to who I am. And once you do that for your investment strategy, it’s really gonna take off.

Bob Wheeler:
Yeah. I love that. Yeah, and I know some folks to piggyback on that, like if they’re teaching their kids about stocks and the kids love Star Wars or Marvel, invest stocks in toys you like or in the bikes you like to ride, right? And so I really like this piece about… think about what helps make you, you and invest in those things.

So that’s, that’s awesome. Well, and you know, this whole conversation, what’s been amazing to me, um, is the positivity, right? I, and it’s not, that’s not amazing, but it’s enjoyable. Um, and just even the happy investor method is it’s just already comes in

Ange Matthews:
Hehehe

Bob Wheeler:
with a layer of, Oh, this won’t be so bad. It’s like more of a welcoming open door. kind of feeling. So I really appreciate that. And the big thing though, that I really was picking up on is this part about purpose, intentionality. I mean, you didn’t say it like every five seconds, but it’s in the conversation, this being aware of what’s my purpose.

Why am I doing this? Why am I here? And not waiting for somebody else to hand it down to you, but going out and taking the actions, moving forward without worrying about the excuse, I’m a first generation, my parents are immigrants. I don’t know anything about investing. I’m only making 40,000. It doesn’t matter what the stories are.

You’re showing up. You’re going out there. Oh, wow. There’s not people that look like me in this side of the room. I’m showing up anyway. And that just, that tenacity to just keep going and showing up and letting your life unfold. And I really love this piece about sprinkles, right? The rest is just sprinkles because. If we don’t know our purpose, regardless of how much money we have, if we’re not here to bring kindness and empathy and pay it forward and like be kind to other human beings and the earth and animals, like, what’s the point for me anyway?

Um, and I just really appreciate this. Like, I’m not hearing a victim story. I’m not hearing about all the things that didn’t go. It’s here’s how I’m going to show up in the world and here’s how I can pay it forward and here’s what I get from helping other people and, um, for me. That’s an abundance of wealth. And so I just really appreciate you coming on and sharing your perspective and your wisdom. Where can people find you online in social media?

Ange Matthews:
So you can find me at happyinvestormethod.com. Join my email list. I don’t send a weekly or whatever email. If I don’t have anything to say, I don’t say it. If I have something to say, I say it. I know marketers are cringing. However, it works for us and we have very engaged lists. And so that’s how I communicate.

I’m on Happy Investor Method on Instagram if you wanna play there too. Though I will say I’m an introvert on social media and you can find me either speaking or on my email list. And I love to con… I would love to carry on the conversation with you.

Bob Wheeler:
That sounds awesome. And will we see you at FinCon in New Orleans?

Ange Matthews:
You sure are! It’s like a family reunion. How could we not go to FinCon? Finance dweebs unite? Are you kidding me?

Bob Wheeler:
Exactly. Well, we’ll see you in New Orleans. And thank you so much for coming on, taking the time and wish you the best.

Ange Matthews:
Thank you, Bob. It was a pleasure.

Bob Wheeler:
Thank you so much.