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Demystifying Cryptocurrency: A beginner’s guide to understanding Bitcoin with CryptoMom (Ep 61)

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Let’s talk Cryptocurrency! I had a mind-blowing chat with Kendra Cole, the CEO and co-founder of the Crypto Mom app, where we talk all about the wild world of cryptocurrency and how it can empower women financially.

This episode will help you:

👉take charge of your investments and make your money work for you.

👉 gain confidence in managing and investing your money.

👉overcome barriers and start investing in cryptocurrency today!

In this episode:

6:32 The Basics of Cryptocurrency

12:08 Comparison of cryptocurrencies to traditional currencies

14:05 Investing in cryptocurrency vs. stocks

21:57 The power of taking action

34:02 Starting is the hardest part

(insert youtube video)


Cryptocurrency Demystified:

So, you know how cryptocurrency can be like this big, scary jungle, especially if you’re a fabulous lady just stepping into it? Well, you’re in luck because Kendra Cole is here to be our crypto fairy godmother and make it all crystal clear!

Cryptocurrency is simply a digital or virtual currency, with Bitcoin being the most popular and largest. Unlike traditional currencies issued by governments and central banks, cryptocurrencies operate on decentralized platforms, usually based on blockchain technology. A blockchain is a distributed ledger that records all transactions across a network of computers in a secure, transparent, and immutable manner. The best way to think about the blockchain, is kind of like the numbers you see on a dollar bill.

Below you see a $100 bill with a chain of letters and numbers, that is so the federal government can track currency. Crypto is made of a chain of letters and numbers as well.



Key Features of Cryptocurrency:

  1. Decentralization: Cryptocurrencies are typically not controlled by any central authority, which means they are immune to government interference or manipulation.
  2. Cryptography: Transactions and the issuance of new coins are secured with cryptographic techniques.
  3. Anonymity: While transactions are transparent on the blockchain, the identity of the parties involved can remain pseudonymous, depending on the cryptocurrency.
  4. Global and Digital Nature: Cryptocurrencies can be sent or received anywhere in the world, and transactions can be completed faster than traditional banking systems or money transfer services.
  5. Fixed Supply: Many cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin, have a capped supply, which can create scarcity and potentially influence value.

Popular examples of cryptocurrencies include Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Ripple (XRP), among thousands of others.

It’s worth noting that the value of cryptocurrencies can be highly volatile, and there are potential risks associated with investing in them. As with all investments, one should conduct thorough research or consult with a financial advisor before making decisions.

I really love the way that Kendra totally demystified the whole cryptocurrency thing by comparing Bitcoin (the most popular kind of Crypto) to Kim Kardashian and all the other alt coins are the rest of the Kardashian clan. Bitcoin is the most popular and well known (like Kim) and then there’s all the rest!

Now if your head is already swimming that’s okay! It’s easy to feel completely overwhelmed and confused when it comes to cryptocurrency. There are new terms to learn, different types of coins, and it kind of feels like a boys club….but it doesn’t have to be!


Crypto vs Traditional Money:

Just like different countries have their own currencies, think the Yen, Euro, Dollar, Peso, etc….. cryptocurrencies also have their own strengths and values. Kendra explained that cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin, are considered commodities, just like gold. While stocks are considered securities or part ownership in a company.

Traditional Money (Fiat Currency) vs. Cryptocurrency

  1. Form:
    • Traditional Money: Physical (like banknotes and coins) and digital (bank account balances).
    • Cryptocurrency: Purely digital, represented by code.
  2. Issuance:
    • Traditional Money: Issued and regulated by governments and central banks.
    • Cryptocurrency: Typically generated through a process called “mining” or pre-defined by code, without centralized control.
  3. Storage:
    • Traditional Money: Stored in banks, wallets, or physically.
    • Cryptocurrency: Stored in digital wallets, often protected by cryptographic keys.
  4. Transfer:
    • Traditional Money: Transferred through banks or physical handover. Often involves fees and can take time for international transfers.
    • Cryptocurrency: Transferred over the internet, usually without intermediaries, can be near-instantaneous, and may have lower fees, especially for international transfers.
  5. Anonymity:
    • Traditional Money: Transactions can be tracked by banks and governments. Cash transactions are anonymous until deposited.
    • Cryptocurrency: Transactions are recorded on a public ledger (blockchain) but can be pseudonymous, meaning identities are not directly tied to transaction and wallet addresses.
  6. Supply Control:
    • Traditional Money: Central banks can print more money, leading to potential inflation.
    • Cryptocurrency: Many have a fixed supply (e.g., Bitcoin’s maximum supply is 21 million coins), so no one can create more than that limit.

Imagine traditional money as letters sent through postal mail. There’s an established system (postal service) that handles, sorts, and delivers the letters. It’s been used for centuries and is generally trusted. Cryptocurrency, on the other hand, is like email. It’s digital, usually faster, doesn’t rely on a central system, and you need special addresses and passwords (wallets and keys) to use it.

Both have their advantages and challenges. Traditional money is widely accepted and understood, while cryptocurrency offers innovation and features that challenge the conventional financial system.


Getting Started in Crypto:

So you’re feeling ready to dive in. But where the heck do you start? Where do you go to buy a Bitcoin? How do you purchase, sell, research? Again, Kendra is our go-to gal helping all of us dip our feet into the crypto world with confidence but there are plenty of ways to start investing in Crypto!

You can invest through exchanges like Coinbase or Gemini, or if you want something even simpler, (and we all do!) the Crypto Mom app has got your back.

The Crypto Mom app allows users to connect their bank accounts, buy Bitcoin in three easy steps, and allocate it to a funds that’s meaningful to you. Whether you set up a college fund for your kids, or a vacation fund.

But the most important thing for your financial freedom is to learn how money works, build an abundant mindset and then take decisive action! Whether that’s reading one of my favorite money books, starting a Roth IRA, or investing in Cryptocurrency – the hardest step will always be the first one.



Conquering the Confidence Gap:

Ladies, it’s time to kick self-doubt to the curb and believe in ourselves.

When we talk about our finances and our relationships with money, we tend to think that we’re much worse with money than we really are. We think that we don’t know as much than we really do, and so I really just encourage you to push that voice out of your head. Because you know what? We women, we birth the babies, we take care of our families. We have done harder things than trying to get involved in cryptocurrency. And if you can do that, then you can do anything.

Remember, small steps can lead to big wins!


The Power of Sisterhood:

Reflecting on our conversation, I realized the power of conversations and community-building. Whether it’s discussing cryptocurrency or menopause, talking with other women about these topics can alleviate fears and build confidence. We need each other, and this idea is being reinforced through my various interviews.

Starting something new is often the hardest part, but once you take that first step, you’ll feel accomplished and empowered. So, let’s take charge of our investments and make our money work for us.

Want more? I just shared

 Leah: Today we are talking about cryptocurrency because as we try to balance the busy, we wanna know a little bit about all the things that help us to enrich our lives and, you know, do a whole lot more of that less. But better. And here’s the thing, we women, we want to know about money. We wanna be financially independent.

[00:00:21] We want to know how to make our money work for us. And add to that the fact that we actually know more than we think we do. We as women are typically the ones on average who are managing the household budget, the household finances. And yet we often stop there. But why? Why aren’t we working to also. Be in charge of our investing so that we can get our money working for us.

[00:00:49] So let’s have a conversation about cryptocurrency with c e o and co-founder of the crypto mom app. Her name is Kendrick Cole. She’s absolutely wonderful. A mother of three. And her past comes as a public relations and marketing veteran with over 13 years plus experience working with global and startup brands.

[00:01:11] She earned her master’s degree in communications management from University of Southern California and a BS from Howard University. And then come pandemic time, she got curious about crypto. All right, let’s get into this conversation and get curious about crypto ourselves.

[00:01:31] Kendra, thank you so much for being on the Balancing Busy podcast. I am so excited to get into cryptocurrency with you. ’cause this is not a topic that I think women honestly have together 

[00:02:13] Kendra: that often. Yeah. I’m so excited to talk to you about this. Um, and do you know what, to be honest, I wanna be transparent.

[00:02:19] Even when I first started, I, I started getting into it about almost three years ago now. I was. A, a basic beginner. I had no idea how to start. Um, I started during the pandemic and because I was bored, we didn’t have anything else to do. Um, and so from there, like, that’s just kind of how I got started. So I’m really excited to, to talk to you and, and hear from your listeners and talk to your listeners just about, um, you know, kind of like the basics and what does it mean for us.

[00:02:48] Leah: Yes. Okay. Uh, so as I was preparing for this, I realized I’m like, I’ve had several conversations about cryptocurrency. We actually have a friend, uh, who is very, like, that is his career. And so we, uh, a year or so ago, we went to Mexico for a weekend. Our airport happens to be two and a half hours away. I literally spent all two and a half hours.

[00:03:11] Just asking him questions about all of it, but I realized I have never talked to a woman about cryptocurrency and that’s kind of basically why I’m so excited about this episode because just realizing and understanding like we as women want to understand this too, but it does feel intimidating and a little sketchy and scary and Right.

[00:03:32] Just a lot of things. So, okay. I wanna know more about. How you got into cryptocurrency because I mean, Kay, we all had boredom in pandemic. I don’t think there’s that many of us who were like, you know what I’m gonna do? I’m gonna study and learn cryptocurrency. So 

[00:03:46] Kendra: where did this come from? Fair, very fair.

[00:03:49] So, um, my husband, who’s also my co technical co-founder for, um, our platform that we created called the Crypto Mom app. Um, so he was actually in crypto. Um, hi. Previously to this. So he was a C T O of a a B two B crypto company. So I would hear him talk about crypto at home, but even still, like it completely went over my head.

[00:04:10] Um, and so part of that was my motivation to, you know, be able to connect with him and be able to really kind of understand his business. Um, the more I got into it though, you know, once I, and again, I had him to kind of bounce questions off of to kind of get started. Um, but then I was like, you know, where do I find my community?

[00:04:28] How do I find more women about this? And so I brought my best friend in. She brought a friend in, and then she brought a friend in. And so now we actually have this, and we still have it to this day, this text chain of all of us who we kind of just ask questions to. We say, Hey, are you buying this? Week. Hey, are you selling this week?

[00:04:42] Um, and so we kind of created our own little community. Um, but through the pandemic I realized again, I was really seeking, um, that community. I was pregnant. We had gotten pregnant with, um, our third child and I was like, okay, I get it. The buying and selling made a couple hundred bucks here and there. Is there anything else more than we could do with this?

[00:05:01] Like, let’s get creative. Like what if I wanted to start, you know, a college fund for our kids? Our kids are small. We have a six-year-old, a three year old, and now a one year old. So at the time I was pregnant with our third. So, you know, that, that, um, you know, that family planning in terms of thinking about their futures is really important to me.

[00:05:18] And so I said, how do we, you know, how do we get creative for this? Can we start a 5 29 education plan? Or we’re like, what if we wanna one day come out of the pandemic and go on vacation? Can we start a vacation fund funded by Bitcoin? And at the time my husband was like, you know, I don’t know. I don’t know how we would do that.

[00:05:35] And so we, I looked and I was searching. I couldn’t find anything. I wanted to gift it. How would you know? I have nieces and nephews. Graduation, their, their graduations. What about like going back to school? Is there something that I can do to support their futures? There was no way to do that. And so, you know, being pregnant with a third and two little ones at home, why not start a business?

[00:05:59] Perfect timing. Exactly. And so that’s how, you know, that’s how I got into it honestly. And that’s how we founded, um, the Gima. 

[00:06:07] Leah: That is so amazing. Okay. So. Let’s start by talking about what is cryptocurrency. And I think, we’ll, we’ll start with what is cryptocurrency? But I know a lot of people when they hear it, they hear Bitcoin.

[00:06:21] Yeah. And so let’s kind of explain what Bitcoin is and that it’s not the only one. And you know how that makes up what cryptocurrency is. 

[00:06:32] Kendra: Sure. So we’ll start at the basics again. Cryptocurrency is just a digital currency. That’s all. It’s um, Bitcoin, it’s the world’s largest, um, and it’s the most popular, um, cryptocurrency.

[00:06:44] So there are other types of coins, and that’s what you call an alt coin. So there’s something like, if you’ve heard of Ethereum or Solana, those are what you call alt coins. Um, I kind of like to make the, the comparison of like Kim Kardashian is like the Bitcoin and the other alt coins are like the rest of the Kardashian and the.

[00:07:06] Frame of reference. Um, and then from there, you know what, like, I think, you know, and again, not to get too far into the weeds, but you know, all of these different coins, they have different, um, utilities. Um, so you have like payment tokens, um, you have like tokens that are for like central bank currencies.

[00:07:24] Um, but mostly, you know, they, they have different utilities and so that’s kind of where you get into some. Coins are used more so for gaming. Um, and our purposes when we created the crypto on Map, we knew that because Bitcoin was the most popular cryptocurrency and we’re thinking about, you know, potentially long-term investing, um, you know, kind of setting and forgetting your investments, we decided to, um, you know, stick with just Bitcoin.

[00:07:47] There are a lot, lot of different coins and projects that come up, but oftentimes, like to your point, it can be, um, spammy. You never know what to trust. Um, and Bitcoin’s been around since 2009. So we, we said, okay, if we look at the, that the scope of this, we think that Bitcoin is gonna be here to stay. And so we know that women, um, tend to like to have long-term investments and they’re actually in.

[00:08:12] Prior, you know, prior to popular belief, women are actually much better investors than men. , because we take our time to research and we also like to center and forget our investments, which means we take a longer term approach to it. So, , that’s really why we suck with, um, Bitcoin and, you know, and I think that.

[00:08:29] Using traditional, investment vehicles that are funded by Bitcoin allow us to, incorporate crypto as a part of our wealth building journey in an organic, meaningful way without having to get so far down into the weeds of, you know, all of the nitty gritty and the 

[00:08:46] Leah: jargon. Okay, so good. 

[00:08:51] So one of the best explanations that I have heard about explaining cryptocurrency was just recognizing that cryptocurrency, as you said, that’s it’s a digital currency, right? So it’s a, a string of numbers that essentially makes up that currency, and that can feel a little bit confusing.

[00:09:12] But if we look at any. Any bill, right? If I was to pull out a dollar bill right now, there is going to be, I think it’s up in the kind of right corner, there’s going to be a string of numbers and letters. And that is so that, uh, the federal government can keep track of that bill so that. You would, the reasoning being that they would be able to track where all money is and, and how much has been printed and all those kinda things.

[00:09:38] So it’s similar to that. It’s just that it’s all digital. There’s no tangible paper version for the, for the most part. 

[00:09:46] Kendra: Right, exactly. And that’s kind of where the Bitcoin, I mean, blockchain mining comes in. So when you’re on the blockchain, it’s a secure, um, way to verify all of the Bitcoin transactions.

[00:09:56] Again, very similar to if you were to have a bank and you had like a bank statement. Um, this is just a digital way to make sure that we’re tracking all of those, um, Bitcoin transactions on a, on a global ledger. So, you know, this is just on a global level. 

[00:10:12] Leah: Okay. And with Bitcoin, correct me if I’m wrong, but from what I understand with Bitcoin, you have, I mean, basically like a million computers throughout the world and they each have a part.

[00:10:26] So when you think about hacking, it’s not the same thing where you’re hacking into one server, one place. There’s millions of them you’d have to hack into. Half a million different servers at the exact same time in order to be able to hack through Bitcoin, which is again, why Bitcoin’s considered one of the safest.

[00:10:48] Right? And it’s the one that’s been around the longest, they’ve invested the most money into their safeguards, where maybe some smaller ones that come up wouldn’t have that kind of security and safety. So, you know, when you’re hearing about hacking, That’s going to probably be these smaller, um, other kind of, I don’t know if pop-up is the right word, but other, um, cryptocurrencies that are coming in.

[00:11:13] Is that about right? 

[00:11:15] Kendra: Yeah. So, and that’s kind of like, and when, what you’re kind of describing, there’s this thing, this concept called hashing where it like, basically it’s kind of like, it, it at, um, you kind of scramble like the information. So that way it’s, it’s very secure. So sort of in the same way that like when you put your password into, let’s say like an online database, um, as, as opposed to like an encryption where you put the actual.

[00:11:39] Like if your password is testing 1, 2, 3. I was gonna say is password. Yeah. Or, or is password. Exactly. Um, when you put password in, as opposed to encryption where you actually put password in and then it takes that and it scrambles, it literally, hashing is like when you put. Password in, they don’t even see password.

[00:12:01] It’s already scrambled and encrypted . So that way it’s much more secure and safe to your point, is exactly what you were saying. 

[00:12:08] Leah: And not only is it like scrambled, it’s scrambled and a different piece is on. Dozens or hundreds of different servers. Right? So you can’t even, it’s not even on one.

[00:12:19] It’s like one number is here and one number is in this country. And okay, so, so there’s thousands of cryptocurrencies and it’s really just like we have thousands of currencies, right? Like we have the euro, the yen, the dollar, the pound. And, and some are weaker and some are stronger in, in our, in our, you know, what the currency that we’re used to.

[00:12:42] Um, there’s definitely the currencies that are much stronger. There’s ones that are much weaker, and that’s really what we’re looking at with cryptocurrencies 

[00:12:49] Kendra: as well. Exactly. And one of the things I always like to clarify too is, is that, you know, people often say, well, like, how do we know that this is valid?

[00:12:58] Or how do we know that? Yeah, people can trust this. In the same way that, you know, when you come to the US, the United States, the only currency that the United States government recognizes is the US dollar. If you go to, you know, if you go over to London, they recognize. The pound. That’s just that their currency that they use there.

[00:13:16] So I always like to make that comparison too, because oftentimes we often think that the US dollar, you know, can be used anywhere in the world and not necessarily, you would have to go to another country, exchange it for their currency that they value in their country. Um, so it’s kind of very much the same too.

[00:13:34] And I think the other thing too is just like, you know, one thing that I would love to discuss too is just investing, thinking about like, how is cryptocurrency. You know, different from like investing in stocks. Yeah. Because I think oftentimes the other thing is, is, is that when we say, well, why would I invest in crypto?

[00:13:50] Why wouldn’t I just invest in real estate or stocks? Um, there are lots of similarities to them as well. You know, they’re both risk assets. Um, and so there’s definitely a certain level of risk you can purchase certain stocks just like you can purchase certain cryptocurrencies. Um, you know, the only one of the main differences is, is, is that, um, you know, stocks are, um, categorized as like as a security, which means when you purchase a piece of a stock, you’re purchasing part ownership in a company.

[00:14:20] As opposed to crypto or like, Bitcoin is considered a commodity and a commodity is like gold. So the more that somebody consumes gold or the more that somebody consumes or um, Bitcoin, it drives the price up. So they’re very similar. They’re very kind of similar in that way as 

[00:14:38] Leah: well. Oh, that was really good.

[00:14:41] And yeah, that is so helpful. So as we’re thinking about. Investing. How does one invest in crypto? 

[00:14:52] Kendra: Yeah, so there’s a number of ways. So first you can go to, um, an exchange and you can buy that way. So, um, there’s exchanges like Coinbase or Gemini. Um, you can go on there and you can, you know, um, you can invest that way.

[00:15:10] Um, oftentimes, like if you are going to buy something like an N F T, um, you do need your own wallet, which, or a ledger, and that’s a. Separate key that you need to be able to have, um, on your own. Now, as you kind of get into that process, it can be a very long, complicated process to learn about how, you know, how you set up your key, well, how is it funded?

[00:15:30] When I looked at that problem, that was a challenge that I had when I first started. And I think that, um, as women and as moms. We already have a million things on our list to do. Um, and if I want to buy, I wanna be able to do this, in a simple way. Something that’s straightforward, but also in a place that prioritizes the things that I think are important, whether it’s like investing in myself, like what if I wanna go on a girls trip or investing in my kids’ future?

[00:15:57] , and so those are some of the things. That’s how what we, took into account when we created the crypto mom map. So on our platform, you can go on and you can buy Bitcoin and just. Three easy steps. You literally connect your bank, um, with an enterprise grade, um, bank company called Plaid. That’s one of our partners that Coinbase uses ’em, Robinhood uses ’em.

[00:16:16] Literally everybody uses them. And then you can just buy Bitcoin in three easy steps. And then you take that Bitcoin and you allocate it to something that, a fund that’s meaningful to you. So, for example, when I, um, wanted to invest, I wanted to create a college fund. So I have now. Three different funds that I am allocating to each of my kids, and I have a reoccurring investment that I set for myself.

[00:16:40] And I forget about it, and I check my s like maybe once a month, maybe once every other month. , but again, I wanted to make it simple and I wanted to make it easy to understand, because I wanna go out and enjoy my life with my kids. I wanna go enjoy, you know, life with my husband and my friends. And I don’t wanna necessarily be sitting in front of my computer for two, three hours at, at a time.

[00:17:01] Trying to just figure out how to get involved in this. You know, we have enough women have enough on their plates where they don’t need to be bogged down, um, with, you know, something that’s super complicated and even expensive sometimes. 

[00:17:15] Leah: Hmm. Yes. Okay. So as you were saying all of this, one of the thoughts that came into my head was, when you are investing in the stock market, you’ll, you, you know, I’m sure everyone has heard the, the idea of you buy low sell high, right?

[00:17:29] Mm-hmm. So, How, how do we compare that? Is that the same with cryptocurrency? Are we trying to buy low and sell high? And when you’re looking each month, you know, okay, what’s everything? What are you looking for? What are you, what are you hoping to see? Kind of walk us through some of that part. 

[00:17:48] Kendra: Sure. Yeah. So I will say that, um, I’m not a financial advisor, so I can’t necessarily give advice in terms of what you know, how to invest.

[00:17:55] What I can say is that for myself, , when I look at my investments, for me, I look at again, you know, the, I. I would, I will say too, I wanna give a caveat that you don’t wanna get, um, too bogged down in the actual price of Bitcoin. ’cause you’re gonna see that Bitcoin is $17,000, $20,000. You don’t necessarily need to, like, you not buying a whole.

[00:18:18] You’re buying just a fraction of it. So on our platform, you can buy as low as $20. Okay. So we wanted to make sure that it was accessible for people to get in. So, you know, I’m, I’m buying a fraction of a Bitcoin and I started with a hundred dollars. So again, it’s, when I look at, when I’m thinking about what my goals are for this in particular, I’m thinking about saving for my kids’ college.

[00:18:42] So, so my oldest daughter is six, so she, that’ll be another one. 12 years from now. So I kind of look at it like, okay, if I put in a hundred dollars today and I kind of just track it and it’s, you know, I expect for it to go up some month. I expect for it to go down some months. Um, but I am looking at the long-term goal of this, and my goal is to that in the next, you know, 10 years or so, that a hundred dollars that I invested today is going to yield.

[00:19:13] 10 x, 20 x or whatever it may be. And for me, my goals, that would be a success for me. Now, you know, maybe if I’m, if I’m investing in something that, if I, I wanna save for something that is maybe sooner, like, um, you know, I don’t know, it’s. Back to school where the kids are starting to go back to school. So maybe I’m thinking about winter break.

[00:19:34] Um, maybe I might want to invest a little bit more. And then when I see that there’s a big uptick in the price I might sell because I know that if I’m saving for this, um, you know, our winter break that’s coming up, or winter break, vacation. I’m gonna wanna be able to, you know, get some games quicker. So I think it just really depends on what your goals are and when you can know what your goals are, then you can set up a strategy that works best for you and your family.

[00:20:02] Leah: I. I like that. I remember reading a book years ago, uh, about financial investing and, and it was specifically for women and one of the things that she really pushed was like, just get started, you know, starting is the hardest, scariest part. I actually was having this conversation recently with one of my kids on, you know, a different topic, but just something they were feeling really overwhelmed by the whole thing just was.

[00:20:29] Brand new. It was scary, and, and I gave them the, the advice. This is actually in another podcast episode as well, but you know, just set a timer for 15 minutes and see how far you can go. Right. And just get started. Yeah. But as you were saying this, you know, this idea of being able to start with $20, I think we can each look at the number that we say, you know what, honestly, If that, if that amount of money just was gone, I would be fine.

[00:20:55] Right. Maybe that’s $20. Maybe that’s, you know, we could all look at our bank statement and be like, how on earth did I spend that much on? Mine’s gonna be Amazon, I’ll just admit it. Mine will definitely be Amazon and I will be like, how did I manage that? 

[00:21:09] Kendra: And so mines Instacart. Mine is Instacart. Oh, I love the Instacart.

[00:21:14] Spend so much money on Instacart every week. 

[00:21:17] Leah: I, I try to push this all the time and I feel like so many women want to like, be like, oh, but you’re paying more, whatever. I’m like, no, I’m not. I’m not because if I am in the grocery store, you can’t believe what else I added into the cart when I’m walking up and down.

[00:21:32] But when someone else does it for me, like I’m, yes, I might be paying a little bit. More per amount, but long run I am saving. Yeah. Not just that. It’s the most incredible feeling when you and I have been working and all of a sudden we realize groceries are delivered and 

[00:21:50] Kendra: it’s like magically at your door.

[00:21:53] I didn’t 

[00:21:54] Leah: have to do that. Oh, it’s so good. I am, I’m so with you. Okay. Alright, so, so this idea of Yes. Looking at, okay. How. How much could I spend more? Honestly, I’m not gonna notice if it’s there or not. It’s one night me choosing not to go out to dinner or whatever it is and just taking action and starting.

[00:22:15] ’cause starting is the hardest part. 

[00:22:18] Kendra: Hard if you’re so tr I’m so glad that you brought that up because I often, and often I think women as women, and I will say that. When, when I, I’ve talked to thousands of women, when we go out to the different conferences and podcasts and things like that, and women, we often have a confidence gap.

[00:22:37] When we talk about, yes, our finances and we think about our relationships with money, we think that we’re much worse with money than we really are. We think that we don’t know as much than we really do, and so I really just encourage you to first, if there is something in your brain that is telling you that you cannot do this.

[00:22:55] Bye-bye. Push that voice out of your head. Yes. And say, actually no, because you know what? We women, we birth the babies, we take care of our families. We have done harder things than trying to get involved in cryptocurrency. And if you can do that, then you can do anything. And so again, I like you said, I think it’s just.

[00:23:19] Ripping the bandaid and starting today, you can start as small as $20 and you do what you feel comfortable with. Um, you do what you, you know, and I always, I always say too, don’t invest more than your feel. Like you said, feel comfortable with losing. If it’s $20, like, okay, I’m not gonna get my, my iced chai tea latte this week.

[00:23:39] Yeah. And that is, you know, all week. And that is the money that I’m comfortable with investing and that is totally 100% fine. 

[00:23:45] Leah: Yes. And I wanna say there is something so incredible that happens when we take these little steps. I still remember when I went to set up my Roth i r a, right? First time, and I was so intimidated, but I’d read the book and it said, just do it.

[00:24:03] And then, you know, I started to get stuck on like, well, who do I choose? You know, like, which, which company am I going? Like, there’s so many. Blocks along the way that can hold us back. And just that power of pushing through and actually setting it up and doing it. I, I was walking taller as soon as it was done.

[00:24:23] I was like, yep, that’s right. I’m the kind of woman who has a Roth I r a. That’s, 

[00:24:28] Kendra: that’s right. That’s the kind of person I, right. Like, I mean, 

[00:24:31] Leah: and, and the funniest thing is 10 minutes earlier, I was the kind of person who was like, This is scary. I 

[00:24:36] Kendra: don’t know what to do. Right? But like 

[00:24:38] Leah: you push through and you just start the thing and I mean, yes, 

[00:24:43] Kendra: start, absolutely yes.

[00:24:45] You just start. And I, and I think to that point, you know, that’s really what we wanted to make, even like the onboarding process. Really simple. You know, we ask you a couple of questions, basic questions, and we wanna get to know you. We wanna get to know what your priorities are, but then get to it. Find in three easy steps and let’s move on.

[00:25:02] ’cause we have a million things on our to-do list. And I do. I agree. I remember the first time that I bought, um, I, I purchased Bitcoin for the very first time and I felt so personally accomplished. And you just, you just won’t know how you will feel until you make that first purchase. And you can, I, I promise you, you can do this.

[00:25:23] You can do it once you do it. Your confidence is gonna go through the roof. And, and I promise you, I bet you that you are more, um, you are more educated about this than you think you know, more than you think. And so I always just encourage women to believe in themselves and, you know, and, and just take that first step.

[00:25:42] Leah: Oh yes, yes, yes, yes. And I agree with you. I think we know more than we give ourselves credit. Let’s just be honest. We went to the same schools, the same classrooms as men our whole lives. They were not taken off and secretly taught a class on money and investing that we were left out of. Yeah. They just kind of show up pretending they know more and they just go with it.

[00:26:06] We need to like we to do the same thing. We need to just show up and do it and take the action and take control of our finances. You know, this idea that. We as women, are the ones managing the majority are are managing our households. Why on earth are we not then? Helping to manage our investments and, and make our money work for us.

[00:26:26] Kendra: Oh, yes. And yeah, and surprisingly, and you know what, and surprisingly studies actually show that like women actually control majority of the family money and the family money decisions we control, we make those decisions. Um, and we know more than we, than we give ourselves credit for to you, to your point.

[00:26:43] And so that’s why when it comes to this, like I really truly think that, um, the success of cryptocurrency and Bitcoin really does lie. With women because when women can get on, when women get on board with this, we are going to be the ones to take this to the next level, to make this truly accessible, to give it new meaning, um, and, and to really help it support us in our larger wealth building journeys.

[00:27:07] We already know, we know about the wage gap, we know about the challenges that women have when it comes to negotiating salaries, and so I even think conversations like this are so helpful because. Part of the, part of the problem is, is that, you know, you wanna start these conversations early and often, and there’s no better time to start having those conversations than now.

[00:27:25] Because if I, I, like for me, nobody talked to me when I was a kid about like money at most. Uh, my, my stepdad talked to me about balancing a checkbook. But I don’t ever really remember somebody sitting me down and really talking to me about credit or things like that. And so we can, we can be the change that we want to see.

[00:27:43] And so, you know, one of the things that gives me the most inspiration is, is that when we go to pitch competitions or we’re doing podcasts or things like that, and my daughter is here, us talking about this, and they’re, you know, last night, literally last night, they were doing an art project on the floor and they were like, okay, mom, will you have.

[00:28:01] You have crypto mom, but we’re gonna make crypto kids. And that’s where, yes, we do the blockchain and we do this and we do, and this is my little daughter Ray, who’s three years old, and her and Callie are talking about coming up with something called Crypto Kids. And I have no idea what that is, but that makes me, that helps Lets me know that like they’re hearing these conversations and like, Their, their entire existence.

[00:28:25] I’m starting to get teared up, but their entire existence and their relationship with money is gonna be so wildly different than mine and they are just going to be like way past, like way past anything that I could have ever imagined for them. And so I think, you know, as women and moms like. As long as we’re having those conversations early with our kids, um, giving them the tools, equipping ourselves with the tools so that we can give them the tools and ex to expose them in a way that’s safe and secure for them.

[00:28:55] Um, I think that that’s really what the key is as well. 

[00:28:59] Leah: Oh this. Yes. Yes. So good. Okay. To wrap this all up, the one thing that I think maybe everyone is a little bit still unsure on is how do we actually use our cryptocurrency? So, you know, they go in, they put the money, they start investing that $20 in.

[00:29:17] How do they use cryptocurrency in everyday life? Or just, I mean, I know you’ve talked to us about creating almost these accounts that are like a college savings and Right, so then you’re taking a mass withdrawal once you start paying for tuition. But how, how else can we look at using cryptocurrency in everyday life?

[00:29:36] Kendra: Yeah. So I mean, I think what, what’s really interesting is that we’re really starting to see, um, cryptocurrency and Bitcoin in everyday life. I think, I believe Whole Foods actually even takes Bitcoin transactions. So I think what we’re going to start to see is you’re gonna start to see it being incorporated in everyday life.

[00:29:52] Um, oftentimes if you go to, um, gas stations or, or different places, you’ll see Bitcoin ATMs. Um, so there’s a way for you to actually, you know, exchange out your U s D for Bitcoin. Um, and so I think that. As we see these larger corporations adopting it in ways that are, um, you know, that are, that are familiar to our everyday lives, I think that also kind of lowers the barrier for entry as well.

[00:30:18] And we can see it saying, oh, okay, well if I go to Whole Foods and I can buy it here, or there’s a Bitcoin a t m that’s around there, I can do that as well. Um, and so I think that, you know, I think that that also will just help with the adoption of, of cryptocurrency and Bitcoin as well. And really just like, Trying to demystify it, make it accessible, make it understandable, um, and so that you can use it in your everyday life as well.

[00:30:42] Leah: Yeah. Okay. So, uh, I, I had forgotten about that. I had heard about it being at Whole Foods being accepted there. So let’s say someone has, you know, a thousand dollars in their cryptocurrency and they’re like, oh, I need that. I need it to now turn into U S D or US dollars. How do they go about doing 

[00:31:00] Kendra: that?

[00:31:01] Yeah, so it de depending on, it depends on where you bought it. So let’s say if you’re on the crypto mom map, you can just reach out to us, um, reach out to, um, the portal that’s in your account, and you just let us know that you wanna sell. And typically it takes about three to five business days process, and that’s more so just because that’s how long, um, the banks take to clear a c h.

[00:31:22] Um, but then after that it’s, it’s up to you. You can have it and you can use it however you see fit. 

[00:31:27] Leah: Okay. So very similar to, I’m gonna bring this back to stocks. My dad was a stockbroker growing up, so this is one I’m, I’m familiar with. So bringing this back to stocks, it’s the equivalent of you’re selling your stocks and then that money would go back into your account, you’re selling your cryptocurrency.

[00:31:41] That money would go back into your federal bank account. Uh, obviously your, your crypto is also, um, yep. Your, your account of money. Okay. Amazing. Absolutely. Oh, this has been so good. Thank you so much, Kendra. I feel like I have learned so much and now I’m just so excited to get on that app and like put in mine and like start mine in my three easy steps.

[00:32:04] That’s awesome. So thank you. Will you just quickly tell everybody where we can find you? 

[00:32:09] Kendra: Yeah, absolutely. So you can follow us on social media at the Crypto Mom app. Um, you can go to our website, the crypto mom app to, uh, right now we’re signing on early users, so, um, you can join our wait list and then we’ll be onboarding early users as well.

[00:32:24] Um, and then my name is Kendra Cole, so I’m often tagged in, um, all of our posts on, on the crypto my map as well. So please feel free to follow me. Um, I love answering questions. Um, we do, we do a lot of like. Fun educational stuff on our Instagram and our TikTok, so, uh, please feel free to comment, message us.

[00:32:42] Um, you know, we’re here to, to be a resource to, um, women and moms everywhere. 

[00:32:47] Leah: Hmm. Yes. Okay. Thank you.

[00:32:51] I absolutely love learning new things about new things and just getting to have a conversation about cryptocurrency, which is one of those things where you’re like, blah. You know, it’s just hard to know how to talk about it. Oh, this was so much fun and here are really the two biggest takeaways for me.

[00:33:14] Number one, have you noticed the same theme that I am noticing in all of these different interviews, the power of having conversations of creating that community? I mean, Kendra shared, she has this text thread of girlfriends where they’re talking about crypto. When we had the conversation and we were talking all about menopause, We learned that our symptoms actually decrease when we have conversations with other women about perimenopause and menopause.

[00:33:46] We learned that one of the biggest things we need when it comes to burnout was community, friendship, someone to talk with. Oh, Sisters, we need each other. And I feel like just once again, that is being driven home for me. So that is number one takeaway. Number two, takeaway is whatever your thing is, whether it’s wanting to get better at investing and being like, Hey, I wanna try cryptocurrency, or it’s something else.

[00:34:16] The hardest part is always going to be starting this podcast. The hardest part was just, Starting and once I started, once I got that five minute, it’s actually like two and a half minutes trailer episode out and it was live. That was the hardest part. The rest of this, it has been so fun and so much easier than I made it out to be in my head, and certainly then just getting started was so.

[00:34:48] Let’s create our communities and let’s start that thing. Whatever your thing is that feels daunting, that feels intimidated, you are not going to know how capable you are until you get to the other side. And the only way we get to the other side is by starting. All right. This is the Balancing Busy Podcast where I help busy women learn how to do less but better so that you can live a life that lights you up without compromising your health, your home, or your happiness.

[00:35:21] I cannot wait to see you. Next week in our next episode. But for this one, who do you wanna talk about crypto with? Share this episode with her and start a conversation. Start creating your community around financial abundance, around investing, and you can start by just sharing this episode with a friend.

[00:35:44] All right, I’ll see you next week.

Demystifying cryptocurrency: A beginner's guide to understanding Bitcoin with CryptoMom
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