Money Talks podcast: Talking money with my 9-year-old daughter

Parker makes her podcast debut and shares how she sees her future playing out.

Without hesitation, Parker confirmed my suspicion this weekend.

She’s unashamedly over my money talks.

“Yes!” she exclaimed when asked if she’s sick of them.

But you should have seen her little face light up when I told her we’d be recording a podcast — her first podcast. She didn’t even care it was about money. After revealing our Substack to her Friday night, laying by her side as she read through each post and giving her a minute to digest the idea, I told Parker she would be the first guest on the “Money Talks Podcast.”

What does she do? She climbed out of bed, started jumping in place and clapping her hands. It was 10 p.m.

But we made it through our first episode, and I think the format might be just the trick to get Parker to not tune me out!

In this debut episode, I pick Parker’s brain about third grade, money, investing, college and her ideal future.

(A lightly edited and condensed version has been transcribed below.)

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Parker: Hello, I’m Parker. And I’m the superstar of this podcast, my dad says.

Darnell: You are the superstar of this podcast. So how does it feel to be on your first podcast?

Parker: Ecstatic!

Darnell: Ecstatic, huh? Why don’t you start by introducing yourself and sharing a couple of things you like and a couple of your favorite things?

Parker: OK, my favorite stuffed animal, I try to sleep with every day, is “Tigey,” which, I don’t have her right now, which is sad. And my favorite color’s pink. And I got an iPad for my birthday, and I like playing with it.

Darnell: OK. And you are in third grade. I can’t believe you’re in third grade already. What is third grade like for you?

Parker: Um, it’s fun. It’s sort of like second grade but a higher expectation.

Darnell: So what’s the biggest thing you’re learning in school, you think, right now?

Parker: In math, I’m learning about fractions. That’s our unit. In social studies, our unit is immigration. And then in gym our unit was, I don’t know our unit. But I think it’s something about soccer.

Darnell: And what would you say you want to be when you grow up?

Parker: Like, my main three or something? Because you know I have lots.

Darnell: Oh, OK, yeah that’s right. You do have a lot. Let’s just keep it to three.

Parker: OK. An Earth-helper. I want to also be a veterinarian. And then my last one is an artist in my free time because I have, like, two other things.

Darnell: OK, I like all three of those things. I think you’d enjoy them too.

Parker: Yes.

Darnell: So let’s get into this, the whole reason we’re starting this Substack and this podcast, Parker. And that’s money. Our “money talks.” I want to know from you what do you know about money?

Parker: I know that everyone wants money, and they think it’s just a valuable thing, like we learned on Million Bazillion, on that podcast. I learned that. I know that about money. And I also know that if we don’t have money then we’re technically called poor.

Darnell: That’s right. And you don’t want to be poor, do you?

Parker: No. No one wants to be poor.

Darnell: And so what have I taught you about money in terms of what our job is with money?

Parker: Um, like, what you mostly talk about?

Darnell: Exactly.

Parker: Make money. Keep money. And build money.

Darnell: Make money, keep money and build money. That’s kind of what this whole thing is all about, right? Making money, keeping money and building money. And so how would you describe Daddy with money?

Parker: Um, a person who wants to get financially literate really fast and who wants to make, who wants to get — what’s the word? You want to…

Darnell: Build generational wealth?

Parker: Yes, that. But, like, where you get out of work, where you don’t have to work anymore.

Darnell: Freedom? Financial freedom?

Parker: No.

Darnell: Or financial independence?

Parker: I think it starts with, uh, you know, when you’re off work like Grandma Berta?

Darnell: Retired!

Parker: Yes! Retired! Early retirement! Yeah, I think you want to do that.

Darnell: Early retirement. Yes, that would be nice. That would be really nice to retire early. So how do you see your future playing out? Do you want to retire early? Do you want to work until you’re, say, 65 or 70?

Parker: No! No! No!

Darnell: OK, how do you see it playing out?

Parker: Me relaxing on the beach. And maybe in Hawaii or something. And I’m playing in sand or something while I’m relaxing. Listening to waves when I’m older.

Darnell: That sounds very peaceful.

Parker: Yes.

Darnell: And if you have a lot of money, you think you can do that? You think you can retire and go live on a beach?

Parker: Yeah. Like, get a beach house. And you can visit me.

Darnell: I’ll visit? OK, that sounds nice. I have an invitation, huh?

Parker: Yes.

Darnell: Cool. Let’s keep it that way!

Parker: (Laughs)

Darnell: What do you know about investing?

Parker: Um, investing is like a roller coaster, you said, where it goes up and down.

Darnell: It can go up and down, yes. It can.

Parker: And don’t get so scared when it’s down low, like, ‘No, don’t take out your money!”

Darnell: Uh huh, so it sounds like you’re talking about the stock market maybe?

Parker: Oh, I thought you were talking about that. Never mind.

Darnell: So there’s different ways to invest. I mean, the stock market is only one. I know Daddy talks about the stock market a lot, right?

Parker: Yeah, that’s the only way I know how to invest and stuff.

Darnell: So that’s the whole point of this. We want to learn and learn from others and maybe help others learn other ways to invest. So we want to learn more about the stock market and other ways to invest. Does that sound like something that now that you’re on a podcast you have more interest in doing?

Parker: Yes.

Darnell: OK, because you did tell me you were a little sick of my “money talks,” right?

Parker: YES!! It’s like, blah, blah, blah. (Laughs).

Darnell: Oh, OK. I only have two more questions for you, Parker. What are your thoughts at 9 years old about college?

Parker: My thoughts are will I make new friends, and will they like me. Like, you sometimes say there’s fake friends that’s out there that try to be your friends and they betrayed you and stuff. But I wonder if there’s good friends in college, and if they’ll ever teach me the way I want to be a scientist.

Darnell: Oh, OK. You didn’t mention that one in your top three.

Parker: Yeah.

Darnell: That’s in there somewhere?

Parker: That’s my fourth.

Darnell: That’s your fourth? Gotcha. So the last thing and we’ll wrap it up on this. What do you think of this whole project that you just read about tonight and I revealed to you, ‘Money Talks?” What do you think of “Money Talks?”

Parker: I like it! Now you’re a boss and an employee!

Darnell: So you think that’s pretty cool?

Parker: Mmm huh.

Darnell: All right. Well thank you for joining me for this first episode. I’ve got to tell you, this is my favorite interview I’ve ever done. All-time favorite.

Parker: You said this would be 10 to 15 minutes. It felt like five.

Darnell: Time flies when you’re having fun!

Parker: (Laughs).

Darnell: Give me three of them.

Parker: (High fives).

Darnell: I love you, little girl.

Parker: I love you too.