Chain of Wealth - Debt, Investing, Entrepreneurship, Wealth & More

Latest Episodes:

A little bit of self love helped Lisa pay back over $112K of debt May 03, 2018

Show notes

Visit www.chainofwealth.com to grow your wealth

Lisa is a lawyer living in DC. She is the author of the blog The Give and Get, it is here that she talks about everything from personal finance to food and relationships.

Welcome!
[2:40] Did you go to see the Cherry Blossoms?
· Avid biker
· Cherry season is the worst season for biking
[3:50] Where did the idea for your blog come from?
· Writes a lot
· Reads PF blogs all the time
· Has an interesting debt payoff story
[8:6] You write on all sorts of topics- which is your favorite and why?
· Achieving financial independence as a single person
[11:59] You paid off a ton of student loan debt- can you tell us about it?
· Impressive headline but boring story
· Paid off loans by using bonuses and tax refunds
[17:48] You have a post about retiring early on a low income. What advice do you tell people?
· Reading blogs where people weren’t writing blogs on realistic numbers
· The PF blog wants to appear to people with low income but wants to help
· The post was gratifying
[26:21] If you could go back and tell your younger self one thing, what would it be?
· Believe the average amount of people

Sponsors

[30:5] Value Link:– If you’re interested in hosting your place our on Airbnb check out Hosting Your Pad.

Katie created this online course to teach you how to maximize your Airbnb profile.

If you’re enjoying this podcast, don’t forget to subscribe, rate and review!

Value Link Round (VLR)

[30:21] Why do you think people fail at achieving their dreams?
· I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do
· Never make the effort
[31:23] What other books or podcasts do you recommend?
· Books: Thanks for the feedback
· Podcast: The Fire drill podcast, the art of manliness
[33:6] What is your favorite quote?
· All you need sometimes is 20 seconds of intense bravery or courage and something amazing will happen.
[35:8] Any last advice?
· Work on self-love

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Simone was able to speed up her debt payoff by doing this one thing Apr 30, 2018

Show notes

Visit www.chainofwealth.com to grow your wealth

Simone Dennis is the creator of the blog Slim Fit Wallet. Her story of paying off $80,000 in debt is truly inspirational. A neighbor to us over in Maryland, Simone is passionate about helping other people get out of debt and showing them how to start living on a budget.
Welcome!
[3:45] $80,000 in debt- how long did it take you to pay off?
· Aug 2017: 100% debt free
· Had student loans, car loans and medical loan
[5:24] What did you do to pay it down? What strategy did you use?
· Had a car accident wakeup call
· Researched how to get finances in order
· Started saving
· Used the Dave Ramsey Approach
[9:44] If you could go back in time, what do you wish you could tell your younger self?
· Hardest part was taking the first step
· Don’t worry about tough changes
[12:4] You have a post on your blog about having an emergency fund. How much do you think someone should keep in their emergency fund? What constitutes an emergency?
· Emergency fund: a reserve for unexpected crisis
· Build to have about 3-6 of living expenses
[13:23] Help us- give us the scoop on why 401k’s are so important.
· Retirement planning is so important
· Have enough money of living worry- free
· Reap the benefits of compound interest
· Let compound interest be your friend
[14:16] We all know about the Dave Ramsey snowball vs. avalanche- how do you think people need to decide on which way to go?
· Snowball: Based on interest rates
· Last 20 months: paid off $60 of debt
· Builds momentum

Sponsors

[17:13] Value Link

Value Link Round (VLR)

[17:23] Why do you think people struggle to achieve their dreams?
· Sometimes we set too many goals all at one time
· Hard to keep focus
[18:31] What other books/ podcasts do you recommend?
· Podcast: Debt free screams, Side hustle Pro, Business Boutique
[19:11] Do you have a favorite quote?
“It’s never too late to be who you might’ve been”
[20:1] Any last advice?
· Believe- you can do anything you set your mind to

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Matt Spillar paid off over $40,000 of student loans in no time at all! Apr 26, 2018

Show notes

Original Show Notes: Student loans

Matt Spillar is the creator of Spills Spot, which started out as a place to create a portfolio for his writing. Once Matt got into the meat of the site however he realized that he wanted it to be much more and it has since has evolved into a full on personal finance blog where he inspires people to be more mindful in managing their money.

Matt has managed to pay off over $40,000 of student loan debt in 4 years and loves inspiring others to do the same. He currently resides in the Bay area with his wife and two dogs.

Welcome Matt!

[2:22] So let’s talk about the blog’s name- Spill Spot, there’s more a story to the name isn’t there?
· Came from his last name
· Was short and sweet

[3:4] One of your recent posts was about how you paid off $15k in only 10 Months, I have to ask did you plan to do $15k or did you just get addicted to paying it off?
· Graduated in 2013
· Took time to figure out budgeting as couple
· After emergency fund was made- debt payoff started

[8:24] Let’s chat about money management, one of your site’s main focuses is on education of millennials, why do you think there is such a gap between millennials and other generations when it comes to money and how do you try address it?
· We don’t get the education in schools
· Wantd to make some topics more accessible to others

[10:2] What are some awesome tools you can recommend for our listeners to try out?
· Mint.com
· Highly recommends at least one- wnab, personal capital

[12:29] What is one of the biggest money mistakes or stories you have?
· No big money mistakes
· During debt payoff- there are obstacles

Sponsors

[18:18] Chain of Wealth: If you need a freelance writer- Katie is now available!

Value Link Round (VLR)

[18:27] Why do people struggle to achieve their dreams?
· They don’t have clearly defined goals
· Easy to have big dreams

[20:31] Do you have any other books or podcasts you can recommend?
· Podcast: ChooseFI, Do you even blog
· Books: Dave Ramsey- the total money makeover, simple path to wealth

[21:23] Do you have a favorite quote?
· Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.

[22:10] Any other last advice?
· If you’re struggling or in debt- don’t give up

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Krystel has paid off huge amounts of debt and is still able to have a social life Apr 23, 2018

Show notes

Original Show Notes: Credit card debt

Krystel from All She Saves is a young professional living in Minnesota who is doing huge things! Like paying back $77,000 in student loans. She documents her journey to paying off her debt, living life and working full time.

Welcome!

[2:14] So did Minnesota shut down the same way DC did during the spring snow storm?
· Did not get any snow
[3:37] You lived in student loan payback doom for years as well. What made you change your thinking and decide to pay back your loan so quickly?
· So many people are in it but don’t talk about it
· Had over $15,000 of credit card debt
· Tom, her boyfriend got suspicious of her spending habits
[10:15] So you’re paying back an original $77,000- and have gotten down to about $40,000 wow! You paid off $12,000 last year! That’s huge! What sacrifices did you make to accomplish this?
· Looked at budget and cut anything that wasn’t needed
· Stopped drinking coffee, eating out
[15:1] In your February report, you overspent but you don’t feel guilty about it. Tell us a bit about how you still splurge while paying back this debt.
· Built in splurge category
[19:53] Lots of PF bloggers are all about the side hustle. What side hustles are you doing?
· Rover- dog sitting app
· All She Saves has become side hustle
[21:45] With the inspiration of your blog, you now have a “Get Out Of Debt” community at your job. How cool! What kinds of things do you guys do? How often do you meet?
· Got a work message asking if it was her blog
· Group of 3 who meets once a week
· Texts each other goals
· Shares book recommendation

Sponsors

[24:39] Value Link Round: If you need a writer- call Katie! She can do it for you!

Value Link Round (VLR)

[25:1] Why do you think people fail at achieving their dreams?
· Set goals that are too big
[28:22] What other books/ podcasts do you recommend?
· Podcast: ChooseFI
· Books: You need a budget, the year of less
[28:48] What is your favorite quote?
· Tell me what it is that you plan to do with your one wild and precious life
[31:16] Do you have any last advice?
· You don’t have to live with debt
· Paying it back is do-able
[30:45] Do you have any other books or podcasts you can recommend?
· Podcast: ChooseFI, Do you even blog
· Books: Dave Ramsey- the total money makeover, simple path to wealth

[31:37] Do you have a favorite quote?
· Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.

[32:24] Any other last advice?
· If you’re struggling or in debt- don’t give up

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Retire with Mr. SSC Apr 19, 2018

Show notes

Original show notes: retire with Mr. SSC

Slowly Sipping Coffee or SSC is a personal finance blog run by a couple who are busy balancing family life, work life and blog life. They are on a quest to quit the 9-5 and have a lifestyle change to stay home and be full time parents by May of 2019.

Welcome!

[2:54] So tell us a little about yourself, what is something that most people don’t know?
· I like bluegrass music
· Plays the banjo
[4:8] You are not interested in a FIRE lifestyle but more a Fully Funded Lifestyle Change- tell us about that?
· Didn’t want to not work
· Wanted a lifestyle change
· Almost to the point of not having to work
[13:55] Where did the idea for the blog come from? Who works on it more?
· Ironic that it’s a PF blog
· Wanted to be able to have a slow enough lifestyle to sit and drink coffee
· In the beginning- it was more evenly split
· Then she started teaching- and abandoned the blog
[20:25] Tell us about a favorite blog post you have.
· April Fool’s post- investing in horse racing
· The lightbulb moments
[26:17] What advice do you have for couples who are trying to work together toward a common financial goal but have hit a tough spot in the road?
· Be open and talk about it
· Don’t get defensive
· Don’t draw a hard line- find a compromise
[29:56] You mention on your blog that having kids and a house can throw a wrench into retirement planning- what are some hurdles you guys have had to overcome?
· Saving rates
· Time

Sponsors

[32:17] Value Link Round: Chain of Wealth

Value Link Round (VLR)

[32:33] Why do you think people struggle to achieve their dreams?
· Confidence factor
· Comfort factor
[32:53] What other books or podcasts do you recommend?
· Podcast: ChooseFI
· Books: The Millionaire Next Door
[33:32] Do you have a favorite quote?
· You can’t have everything you want but you can have anything you want.
[34:14] Any last advice?
· Don’t discount your income amount
· Track your spending

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Become Richer with Matt Lane Apr 16, 2018

Show notes

Original Show Notes: Become Richer with Matt Lane Matt Lane is a the author of the blog, Optimize Your Life. As a part time blogger, and full time attorney, husband and new father, Matt’s goal is to help people learn that the purpose of money is to allow us to live a happier life, so we need to focus on the big picture of how to build that happy life rather than just focusing on the money and fun fact- we randomly found out we’re neighbors! Welcome! [2:48] Hi. Hi how are you. Good. [2:52] So you’re also a neighbor and local to D.C.. What do you like to do when people come to visit you from out of town. [3:2] Yeah. Well I think it depends on whether they’re new to D.C. whether they’ve been here a bunch of times. The first Go2 is always the monuments and museums which seems to be pretty obvious for D.C. locals. Free and amazing for people that haven’t been there before. It’s really like the essence of D.C. For folks that have been there before and have done all the museums. There’s really a great restaurant scene here now which is pretty interesting and there’s a lot of good breweries and wineries in the area. So depending on what people’s interests are like to hit those up. [3:47] So let’s chat about your blog a little bit, so your blog optimize your life. You had a popular post that was titled Hard work doesn’t pay. Can you tell us a little bit about it. [3:57] Sure. So the idea behind it is that there are there’s a large change going on in the economy and we are not really adjusting to meet that change. [4:13] So as basic as background it’s dealing with the value of capital versus the value of labor. [4:22] Any money changes hands is either going to capital or to labor. So if I make money you make money by working which is Labor or by making money off of my investments which is capital in the same way if I buy something from Wal-Mart. Part of that money goes to the shareholders which is the capital and then part of that money is paid to the workers whether they’re the folks working the floor are the cashier the manufacturer and the truck driver that delivers it. That’s all labor so what we’ve seen from the data is that from at least the 1400’s through around 1970 the share of money going to capital and the share of money going to Labor has been relatively consistent. There’s been some ups and downs there’s been some times when capital makes a bit more sometimes when labor makes a bit more but it’s relatively consistent since 1970 that has been off the charts. The value of labor has been going down down down the value of capital has been going up up up. And this is a huge change that we’re not really addressing at all. And it’s one of the drivers of inequality that we see right now in that the people with the most stock are generally the people with the most money and the people that rely the most on work are the people that are the poorest. So as it gets easier to make money off of stock the rich are getting richer and as it’s harder to make money off of your labor the poor are struggling more and more. [6:14] Yeah and I think artificial intelligence is definitely one of the. One of the drivers behind this globalism as well in the U.S. it’s going faster than in the rest of the world. So we’re seeing it’s also the decline of unions and deregulate it de regularisation deregulation deregulation early don’t. Yes. So deregulation and the decline of unions are sort of speeding right along. But I don’t see any real way to change this trend. I’m sure there must be one but with a eye in globalization kind of just pushing relentlessly. You know it seems like we may need to go to something like a universal basic income or you know some other method of redistribution to address the trend. So where did the idea for your blog come from so I get sort of obsessive about learning different things. And I’ve gone through a lot of different phases of that happiness in psychology economics and economic policy personal finance financial independence and I hit a point where enough people were asking me for advice on all of those different topics that I thought it might make sense to to write about it publicly that there may be some value there for people that I know that were not in my friend circle. So I decided to start working on that. [7:49] And I felt like they could all be sort of drawn together by the idea that they all contribute towards living a better life fantastics. [7:58] What would you say some of your goals are for Optimized Your Life? [8:2] I think for the most part I want to help people look at the bigger picture. I consider myself in the personal finance space even though I spend maybe a third of my time talking about personal finance. But I think one of the issues with a lot of personal finance writing is that you get bogged down in the details. You know how can I save more money. How can I invest more. How can I make more. And that’s all good. That all helps. [8:35] But if you get too lost in the numbers then you forget why you need more money why you want more money. [8:42] And it’s important to remember that it’s all for a greater purpose that you need to be able to step back be able to work towards that happier life and not just more money. [8:53] So talking about money you have had quite a few side hustles in your day. Have you had a favorite or least favorite? [9:4] Sure. And I think I don’t know most of these I don’t know that I’ve considered them really side hustles. I just kind of take on work that I find interesting. So my you know my version of the side hustle is not really you know driving for Uber or Airbnb and that sort of thing. Although I had a few conversations with Kevin from Financial Panther and he is the master of all of that. So to that end I think the most fun that I’ve ever had on a sort of side job was I played trumpet for the U.S. national tennis teams. So I would fly around to different stadiums in the country and play in basically a pep band for you know sold out stadiums and it was super fun. [10:3] A lot of really cool and met a lot of you know great people and had a lot of fun. [10:9] Oh that’s really cool yeah. Have you had one of those. Not so great? [10:17] Between law school and my current job I had about six months where I was studying for the bar and then applying for government jobs and government hires much later than private sector jobs. So I was trying to make enough money to pay rent. And at that time I was doing three separate part time jobs 30 hours a week sort of a legal temp job. [10:46] But one of the other jobs was I counting passengers on the metro. So I was trained to look at the number on each metro car on each subway car. And from that know how many seats were in it. And then as it rolled into the station and out of the station I was supposed to count the number of passengers in my assigned car write it down and then wait for the next train. [11:14] That’s not a very long time to count all those people that have been kind of hard. [11:20] It’s surprisingly hard but you kind of pick up the tricks and get good at sort of quickly eyeballing how many empty seats there are versus how many people are standing. And it’s hard to estimate based on that. I didn’t even know those a thing. [11:40] Yeah I actually had a random train job as well, where I had to count the coaches because the company that I was well the company also contracted to. They don’t know how many trains they had so we were counting out the units of each coach and each locomotive and each actual train. It was quite an education I must say. [12:4] It’s interesting it’s always bizarre seeing sort of what jobs exist that you would never have thought could exist. [12:11] Yeah I don’t mean like it doesn’t sound like a glorious job but at the end of the day each one of these trains a scrap value of about $5000. So even if you find one, then it’s worthwhile. [12:24] Yeah yeah sure. Wow. [12:31] Ok. Well you’re also a new dad? Congratulations. [12:37] Thank you very much. [12:38] So what is the biggest shock when it comes to the parenting I know you can’t like really be prepared and you probably didn’t actually know what you were doing. [12:52] So I will start this by saying I’m seven weeks in and things can change a lot. But at this point I think I’ve been surprised that the actual caring for a tiny human. Not part of the job has been easier than I expected. But the lack of sleep has been so much harder to deal with. You know everyone tells you you’re not going to get sleep and you know you’re prepared not to sleep as much. [13:27] I was not fully prepared for that. I can certainly imagine I’ll become a different person when I’m tired. [13:37] Yeah yeah. [13:38] And I actually I recently published an article on how important sleep is to productivity. And I had planned the article before the baby was born. [13:49] And I had done and I had done all the research and then I went I actually wrote it a couple of weeks ago. [13:56] I wrote it with the research and then saying OK yeah this is true. Here’s how this has affected my mood. Here’s how this has affected my health. Here’s one this has affected my productivity and it’s it’s pretty intense. [14:10] Awesome! Do you have any subsequent tips when it comes to paying for day care since it’s such a big expense. [14:17] Yeah. Daycare is insane especially especially in this area where we live so we my wife and I looked at a lot of different daycares in the area and for sort of the certified safety certified daycares you’re looking at between 20 and 30 thousand a year. [14:44] Wow. [14:47] Yeah. The median individual income in the United States is thirty thousand dollars. So I it’s just bonkers and I don’t understand how people without sort of being lucky enough to have our paychecks manage it. That’s insane. Well yeah but it’s I think really the best advice is just sort of plan for it as best you can. You know we we picked our favorites and we looked towards the lower end of that spectrum and we got on wait lists and it turns out we’re almost to the point where we need to put them into daycare where my wife and I are both going to be working. [15:29] And the only daycare and it looks like we’re going to get off the waitlist is the most expensive of course because people who are taking their kid out can’t afford it right. [15:44] So where you know as much as I would love to be able to say you know here’s a hack to getting cheaper daycare I think the best approach is just plan ahead of time try to get your expenses down so that you can handle it and you know figure out what works best for you and your family. Sponsors [16:3] Chain of Wealth – If you need some freelance reader work Katie is available for hire! Check out our contact page to get in touch. Value Link Round (VLR) [16:30] All right. So why do you think people struggle to achieve their dreams? [16:34] Well that’s a very tough question. [16:37] I think there are two types of parallel answers here. I think the first is that some people just don’t have the opportunity and that’s tough to hear. [16:53] But you know if you’re working three minimum wage jobs to be able to feed your family you don’t really have the time to go after your goals. It’s you know there’s we live in a pretty unequal society and you know there’s two that’s just sort of a tough reality that we that we face. [17:18] And that’s not actionable either. But it’s important to remember that that you know if you have the opportunity to pursue goals then you are already sort of in the privileged few. And that’s something that you know we should all be grateful for and something that we should remember. But for more actionable information that’s actually useful for your listeners. I think that we tend to approach big goals as you know dreams that we hope come to us rather than problems that we need to solve. For 2018 on my blog I’m doing each month I’m focusing on a different area of life and sort of working on how to improve that. And I started in January with wife planning which was not something I ever really spent any time on or done any research on. So I read a ton of books took you know some of the online courses read as much as I could and everyone has their own spin but it really breaks down to three steps. You pick an area of your life and then you figure out where you are where you want to go and then a plan to get from A to B. Right. And I think that’s what we need to be doing with our goals. We need to figure out what we really want we need to figure out where we are relative to that and we need to make a plan a solid plan to get from where we are to where we want to be. And I think most people just don’t actually break it down like that. [18:50] That is definitely actionable. So could you recommend any other books will put cost formlessness. [18:58] Sure. I’m sure that others because you have a lot of personal finance so I’m sure that others have recommended Your Money or Your Life. I think that’s sort of the most game changing book in the finance. But as to sort of success generally I’d say Cal Newport has a couple of really good books deep work and so good they can’t ignore you. And then on happiness I think the how of happiness by Sonia Eliava Moreschi. It’s just google happiness. That’s I think the best book in the space. It’s very much research based. So it’s a bit drier but it really is sort of most books and unhappiness are sort of here’s what makes me happy. [19:48] This book is Here’s what I study after study after study has shown works on the majority of people and gives you really actionable ways to make your life happier right now which I think is is great and really useful and so many people need that kind of like jumpstart. [20:8] Yeah. Yeah for sure. Yes. Do you have a favorite quote. [20:12] I kind of go through quotes depending on where I am in life. I think last year my my quote was the way you do anything is the way you do everything. Which the sort of ideas. There’s no there’s no small. There are no small things right. You’re constantly creating who you are and you can’t take shortcuts to that you know. Are you someone that has says things. Are you someone that takes take shortcuts. Because if you do that on things that you feel like don’t matter. It becomes easier to fall into the habit of doing them on things that do matter and it’s not always easy to delineate and to avoid that slippery slope. As of right now I don’t know that there are necessarily quotes but I have to post it notes on my desk. One is one says Where is the resistance on which is this idea that there’s always something that you’re instinctively avoiding. And I’ve found that if you figure out what that is and go that first thing in the day the rest of the day will go so much smoother. And it’s it’s tough to do. [21:30] You know it’s it’s hard to sort of feel like okay whereas a big hurdle let me jump that. But if you do that early in the day everything else becomes easier. And so I’ve found that having that quote by my computer is really useful. The other one is I it just says progress. Which is a reminder that even when something feels overwhelming I need to just keep moving forward a little bit of progress every day will eventually add up to something big. I don’t need to knock it out of the park every day. I just need to move forward. [22:0] That’s definitely true. It’s easy to lose track of where you’re going to if you get stuck in the rat race for sure. [22:9] Awesome. Matt we loved hanging out today. What is the best advice someone has ever given you. And then we’ll say goodbye. [22:17] Sure. So I think I don’t know that I would call it necessarily advice given to me but I think that the the most impactful advice that I’ve read was from Gail Collins who is sort of one of the fathers of the financial independence movement. [22:36] He was one of the early bloggers there and his he really sold the idea of what he calls a few money…

Full show notes at the publisher

Andrew talks about his personal finance blog Apr 12, 2018

Show notes

Andrew is the author of the blog, Shift Upwards. Here he talks about his unhappiness that he felt at his regular 9-5 and goes through the steps he took to eventually quit. After paying back $20,000 in student loans and saving about $45,000 he decided to take the plunge and retire from full time work to try out other avenues that peaked his creativity.

Welcome!

[2:52] So you have been semi-retired for about 6 months. How’s it been?
· September 1, 2017 was the last day
[3:22] What was your first day of not going to work like?
· Last day of work- was a normal day
· Labor Day weekend- drank beer and went hiking with wife
· Strange not going to work
[10:27] If you could go back and change one decision you made, what would it be?
· I’m not really sure
· Even the bad decisions have shaped me
· I would have decided to invest sooner
[12:42] Tell us about Shift Upwards
· Niche- finance blog
· Writes about how to use your money to live your best life
· Prioritizing what makes you happy
[14:11] What are the goals that you have for the next year for your blog?
· To network more and grow a larger readership
· To find my tribe
[15:29] What advice do you have for someone who is thinking about quitting their job to pursue their dream?
· Start off with giving yourself permission
· Don’t let naysayers stop you
· Plan

Sponsors

[17:33] Chain of Wealth– If you’re interested in hosting your place our on Airbnb check out Hosting Your Pad.

Katie created this online course to teach you how to maximize your Airbnb profile.

If you’re enjoying this podcast, don’t forget to subscribe, rate and review!

Value Link Round (VLR)

[17:37] Why do you think people struggle to achieve their dreams?
· It’s hard
· People want to take the path of the least resistance
· People stay in their comfort zones
[19:5] What other books or podcasts do you recommend?
· Podcast: Afford Anything, Stacking Benjamins, Planet Money: The Indicator

[21:0] Do you have a favorite quote?
· Release the illusion of security within a fixed future and allow life to surprise you instead.
[22:15] Any last piece of advice?
· Try to do little things everyday

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Retire Early with Steve Apr 09, 2018

Show notes

Original show notes: Retire Early

Steve and his wife are early retirees at the age of 35. Steve realized late in his 20s that “stuff” was not going to bring him happiness and neither was slaving away at his 9-5. Now he travels full time in his airstream, named Charlie and enjoys the simple things in life. He is the creator of the blog Think, Save, Retire and there he offers his tips, tricks and advice to help motivate others to drop their commute and start enjoying life.

Welcome, Steve!

[3:34] What is your backstory? How was life before you decided to retire early?
· Graduated from college in 2005
· Blew through money
· Spent all his money and didn’t save
[8:34] What steps did you make to achieve early retirement?
· Any time before 60
· Saved 70% of salaries
[10:41] What is the difference between financially independent and retiring early?
· Financially independent- you do not have to work anymore
· Retire early- quitting your job
[12:32] What is your advice for someone who wants to make a change and retire early, but is in credit card debt?
· Get out of credit card debt
· Break things down and you will slowly get there
[14:27] What are some mistakes you made while RVing?
· Buying an expensive car
· Bought house in Feb 2007- it was awful
[16:40] What has been your favorite state you’ve visited? Any other countries on the horizon?
· Idaho- had great camp grounds
· We’ve been to Mexico but without the Airstream
· Would love to go to Canada
[18:48] Let’s talk about your involvement in Rockstar Finance, a community that PF bloggers love, you posted recently that you almost bought Rockstar Finance.
· Put in a bid to buy the website
· Was already involved in the forum
· Offered 10% of net worth
· Went to another bidder
[21:44] Do you have any advice for new PF bloggers?
· Gotta love to blog
· Can’t just love money
· It will show in your work
· Focus on the blog first, then the money may follow

Sponsors

[23:12] Chain of Wealth– If you’re interested in hosting your place our on Airbnb check out Hosting Your Pad.

Katie created this online course to teach you how to maximize your Airbnb profile.

If you’re enjoying this podcast, don’t forget to subscribe, rate and review!

Value Link Round (VLR)

[23:21] Why do you think people struggle to achieve their dreams?
· They don’t want them badly enough
· Dreams are easy to think about
· Actions speak louder
[24:2] Do you have any books or podcasts you recommend?
· Podcasts: The Mad Scientist, ChooseFI, The RV Entrepreneur
· Books: Your money or your life, the millionaire next door
[25:25] What’s your favorite quote?
· “Some people are on the ten-year plan”
[26:27] Any last advice?
· Early retirement isn’t the end of your working career
· It’s the beginning of the new phase of your life
· If you want it badly enough, you’ll get there

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This guy went from prison inmate to having a $250k net worth Apr 05, 2018

Show notes

Original show notes: Entrepreneur

Billy is probably the most unique guest that we have had the pleasure of interviewing. His story starts at a party in college that lands him in prison for 10 years. Flash forward to now, Billy has a blog called Wealth Well Done, a book- SPARK, owns property, is married to a beautiful wife and has a net worth of over a quarter of a million dollars.

Welcome Billy!

[1:51] Tell us about that day you got arrested.
· 21 years old- was a regular day
· His friend was dead- thought it was a bad dream
· Sentenced to 10 years in prison

[5:50] You didn’t waste away while serving your time; you really made it count. What sort of things did you do while you were serving your sentence?
· First 2 years- trying to survive
· Disgusted with self
· Worked to become a person he was proud of
· Knew he was better than this

[12:20] After you got out of prison, what did you do?
· Made soup and a sandwich- so liberating!
· Saw Friends/ family
· Started making goals

[23:3] You have started a blog called wealth well done. What is your goal for starting this blog?
· Looking for the purpose of life
· Loves to write
· Wealthiest people are filled with drive and passion

[27:19] One of your posts on Crypto really caught my eye. It was about how crypto reminds you of heroin. How so?
· Extreme highs and extreme lows

[32:25] What are your plans for the future?
· To have financial independence
· Was created for something

Sponsors

[34:38] Chain of Wealth– If you’re interested in hosting your place our on Airbnb check out Hosting Your Pad.

Katie created this online course to teach you how to maximize your Airbnb profile.

If you’re enjoying this podcast, don’t forget to subscribe, rate and review!

Value Link Round (VLR)

[34:54] Why do you think people fail at achieving their dreams?
· So few people have patience
· A lot of people choose the wrong dream
· Make bad financial decisions

[38:12] What other books or podcasts do you recommend?
· Read books from people you want to be like

[39:25] Do you have a favorite quote?
· The best thing about telling the truth, is you never have to remember what you say.

[41:45] What is the best advice someone has given to you?
· Nope- I think I’ve said everything
· The biggest step towards wealth and happiness is often forgiving ourselves of our greatest mistakes.

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Damion Lupo Teaches The Secrets of Investing Apr 02, 2018

Show notes

Original Show Notes: Investing

Damion Lupo is a best- selling author in personal finance and money thinking. He is the host of the Transformation Nation podcast and had owned over 30 companies.

Damion outrightly rejects regret and speaks to it as the ultimate life failure. He has a
unique approach to living a full-filled life by breaking rules and making more mistakes,
faster, than the competition.

In 2008 he lost the entire $20 million but recreated his wealth and reinvented his life
over 4 transformational years.

Welcome Damion!

[3:45] So first, you lost a $20 million company? What happened?
· Everything I was, was my checkbook
· Very dangerous mindset
· Found something more than money

[6:48] So if you could go back in time, what would you tell a younger version of yourself?
· Kept an older mentor
· Wish I would have listened to others

[10:24] What skills and tools do I need to be a great investor?
· Real money
· Don’t paper trade in the stock market or in crypto

[14:2] What are the top 3 things you learned from starting more than 30 businesses?
· Things take longer than we think it will
· Not having enough money to survive
· You have to sell something

[16:30] You hate the word retirement. What are your feelings about this?
· Focus more on experiences, less on things
· Retire into your career
· People die quickly after retirement most of the time

Sponsors

[22:44] Chain of Wealth– If you’re interested in hosting your place our on Airbnb check out Hosting Your Pad.

Katie created this online course to teach you how to maximize your Airbnb profile.

If you’re enjoying this podcast, don’t forget to subscribe, rate and review!

Value Link Round (VLR)

[23:25] Why do you think people fail at achieving their dreams?
· They play not to lose instead of playing to win
· Afraid of being judged.

[24:48] What other books or podcasts do you recommend?
· Podcast: Rich Dad
· Books: Mastery, Principals, The One Thing

[26:7] What is the best advice someone has ever given you?
· Stop and smell the roses. Life goes fast

[26:51] What is your favorite quote?
· Mistakes are never a failure they are an opportunity from the universe from God to grow and if you embrace them, your life will truly be exceptional

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy