Personal Finances in a Public World with Genar & Bob DePasquale

Feb 15

On this episode of Financially Naked: Stories from The Financial Gym, our host is Genar Medez, a Level 2 Certified Financial Trainer based in Los Angeles. He is joined by Bob DePasquale, author of Personal Finance in a Public World: How Technology, Social Media, and Ads Affect Your Money Decisions. Bob is a Certified Financial Planner with ten years of experience and is dedicated to the empowerment of others through financial literacy. Today, Genar and Bob talk about how our relationship with money dictates all other relationships in life and how technology is intertwined in it all.

Podcast Notes

Bob’s personal finance journey started with a recruiter at his wife’s job. Bob’s mom worked in a bank when he was a kid and taught him the basics.
He loves working in personal finance because we all have to manage our finances, no matter how much money we have. It’s important for everyone to have an understanding of what finance means in our personal lives.
Money is a tool in our lives and we all have a relationship with it. Good habits promote a more positive relationship! Challenging times can bring challenging emotions. When good habits are in place, these times are easier to navigate.
Bob’s book talks about the importance of building habits. With so much going on, people are making a lot of decisions these days. Develop habits that don’t require a lot of brainpower to execute. Make decisions about your savings and debt in advance and use technology/automation to make your life easier.
Bad decisions happen when you’re mentally exhausted. Spend energy on big decisions and simplify everything else.
How has technology and Social Media impacted our relationship with money and our overall personal well being? Technology is an inherent part of many people’s lives. It is hard to avoid technology altogether.
- Tech thinks like we do. We used to only see ads when companies had a big budget for ads. That is much different now.
- You can use technology as a positive force in your life.
- Figure out what brings you fulfillment and joy and ensure there is money allocated for those things. These should take priority in your budget.

Looking ahead to the future:

Technology makes things easier, but also more complicated. It’s important to understand the systems and prepare for what’s ahead.
There are new technologies out there designed to decentralize finance. It is a new system and will continue to grow. Bob thinks of these new concepts as a new way to understand how money works. Before learning about the new systems, an understanding of the current system is required first.
Once you want to learn about the new systems, start with learning about Blockchain and Crypto. Bob recommends investopedia.com as a great place to get started.
Bob shares an incredible story about his background and why he dedicates his life to serving other people.

Resources Mentioned in the Episode:

Atomic Habits, book by James Clear