

Living a wealthy life is about much more than money.
Surprisingly, many key principles including risk management, simplicity, and delayed gratification apply equally to personal success as they do to financial success.
In this 7th episode of the Financial Mentor podcast Jonathan Clements reveals universal truths about money and happiness developed over his 17 years as a featured columnist for the Wall Street Journal (and more recently with Citi Personal Wealth Management for 5 years).
He combed his decades long collection of writings and distilled them down to just the essential core “notions” that every wealth builder must understand. Now we can benefit from this in-depth knowledge about true wealth, money and happiness in this exclusive interview with one of the true veterans of Wall Street personal finance journalism.
In this episode you will discover:

* How to reach lofty financial goals with limited dollars.
* The “things” you want more than money (the answer may surprise you!)
* How to choose the right financial product to match your personal goals.
* When (if ever) it is appropriate to buy life insurance against your child.
* How to avoid the unexpectedly high cost of emotions in financial decisions.
* How your biological heritage hard-wires you to fail financially… and what you must do to fix it.
* The single most important habit for personal and financial success (it's not what you think!)
* How you can balance delayed gratification for tomorrow while living in the moment today without conflict or stress.
* The surprising key to a successful and fulfilling retirement.
* The “hedonic treadmill” and how to avoid post-goal-achievement let down.
* How to get more joy out of your possessions without spending an extra dime (Hint! It's all in your mind.)
* The smart way vs. the illusory way to pursue financial freedom. Which path are you following?
* The simple strategy to recapture the joy of your youth in your retirement years.
* How your fear of loss can blind you to investment profits – and what you must do to fix it.
* Why “human capital” is one of the least understood but most intriguing concepts in personal finance.
* The right time to take risks, and when it is a fool's errand.

Resources and Links Mentioned in this Session Include:


* Jonathan's writings at Citi's website.
* Jonathan's new book at Amazon The Little Book of Main Street Money: 21 Simple Truths that Help Real People Make Real Money (Little Books. Big Profits).

FM 007: The Wall Street Journal & Citi Guide To Money And Happiness With Jonathan Clements

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Two years ago, I announced to my Expectancy Wealth Planning course community that we were about to enter epochal change.
Between the Fed's permissive monetary policy, near-zero interest rates, Covid stimulus, and supply-chain issues, it was clear the game had changed.
And here we are now, with a 20% stock market decline, historic bond market decline, the highest inflation in 40 years, and a slowing economy. The bad news is there's still more to come.
But more importantly, epochal change means the investment rules changed for the next 10-15 years. What worked for the last epoch (40+ years) cannot be relied upon for the next epoch.
I've been writing about this very topic for two years in my private course community to prepare my students, and I've published resources every month for more than a year in my public facing newsletter to prepare my free subscribers as well.
My goal was to provide the knowledge required so that every person following my work could protect and prepare their portfolios in advance. Forewarned is forearmed.
While my private course community responded to the education, protected themselves, and even prospered, I was surprised that only a small percentage of my public facing, free subscribers took action.
Even though I was providing academic level, third-party research proving every supporting point, people weren't responding. It was like they were asleep at the wheel, and didn't believe the regime change was fundamental in nature and would persist.
I decided to check in with my course community in our weekly office hours call.
The discussion that followed was so valuable  that I wanted to share it publicly. Fortunately, my private community students agreed.
This podcast episode is a nearly unedited recording of one my weekly office hours support calls with my private Expectancy Wealth Planning community as we discuss epochal change.
I hope this inside look behind the paywall helps you take appropriate action to secure your financial future.
And if you got great value from this episode, make sure to check out my Expectancy Wealth Planning course here.
In this episode you'll discover:

* What is epochal change?
* The signs I saw two years ago for epochal change
* Why I've been talking to my Expectancy Wealth Planning course students about epochal change
* How inflation was inevitable after the Fed's stimulus in the face of supply chain disruption
* The important role the Fed has played in creating epochal change
* What you can expect to see the markets do for the next 10-15 years
* How investing in this epoch will be different from the last 40 years
* How my course students were able to save their paper asset portfolios from the current bear market
* The best tool to manage your paper assets during the next epoch and beyond
* Why the investment strategy that worked reliably in the past won't work in the future
* How to avoid the insidious trap of “buy the dip”
* The signs for epochal change
* The best way to guard against volatile markets
* The dangers of recency bias
* Why most people don't understand epochal change

FM 026: Understanding What Todd Means By “Epochal Change”



I love sharing FIRE case studies to inspire you.
They prove the dream really is achievable for normal people with no extraordinary financial skills.
They also unmask the dream to show how the reality of financial independence and early retirement differ from your idealized vision.
The truth is everyone hits potholes, makes mistakes, and questions if it's worth all the hard work.
Our guest, Chris Mamula, is no different.
He candidly shares his FIRE story in this interview – warts, blemishes, and victories as well.
Despite several costly errors he managed to achieve financial freedom in just 5 years.

* Chris paid excessive fees to a financial advisor
* He bought a variable annuity within a 401(k)
* He felt “less than” when comparing himself to other FIRE success stories
* But he got several critical factors right like keeping expenses low and saving a high percentage of his income, and that proved to be good enough.

Financial freedom isn't about luck, brains, or a single great investment. It's about having a valid plan based on proven principles and taking sufficient action with enough persistence to reach the goal (exactly as taught in my Expectancy Wealth Planning course here).
Anyone can do it, and these case studies prove it.
I hope you enjoy the example Chris has shared.
And if you got great value from Chris's story then please check out the other FIRE success case studies on this podcast.
In this episode you'll discover:

* What inspired Chris and his wife to become financially independent
* Why Chris is so debt-adverse, and how it worked to his advantage
* How Chris adopted the term “dirt bag millionaire”
* The important role values play for achieving financial independence (they matter way more than you think)
* Chris's personal definition of financial independence
* How the 25x Rule, Rule of 300 and 400, and 4% Rule can give you a rough benchmark of how much money to aim for in retirement
* The mistake that occurs when you get overly focused on retiring early
* How to balance spending now versus saving for the future
* What Chris did once he realized how unhappy he had become on this journey
* How to avoid the insidious trap of “I'll be happy when I'm retired”
* The benefits of continued work after financial independence
* How to redefine what early retirement and financial independence mean, and why it matters
* Abundance versus scarcity in early retirement
* How Chris's plan reflects the “new retirement“
* The surprising reason why most people pursuing financial independence will continue to work
* Risk management for early retirement
* The key to understanding mathematical expectancy
* Why it's paramount to become your own financial expert, lest you get taken for a ride by your financial advisor
* The danger of financial advisor fees. Chris was paying over $8,000 every year!

FM 025: FIRE Case Study with Chris Mamula



The cost of college is ridiculous.
You can give your child a top quality education or s/he can have a home free-and-clear plus retirement fully funded instead.
That trade-off doesn't make any financial sense.
Sure, I'm a huge fan of education. I believe in the importance of the college experience as a valuable launch-pad into adulthood, but the cost of college shouldn't be so outrageously high that you're literally making a decision between higher education versus a debt free home plus retirement security.
That's outrageous.
Adding insult to injury, college education is the only business that demands all your financial statements before deciding what they're going to charge you. Just imagine buying a car from a dealer who demands full disclosure of every detail of your net worth and personal finances including tax statements before deciding how much he should charge you for the car.
Absurd? Yes! But that's exactly how the college business operates.
Even worse, the system is rigged against most of my readers.
For example, some quality schools are running $70K per year for all-in costs meaning $280K total if you child graduates in 4 years, and $350K if s/he takes 5 years. Even if you round that number down to $250K to be conservative that's still $500K total if you have 2 kids. That's a big nut to swallow for anyone, even if you're reasonably successful. Only the very wealthy can afford to be cavalier about such a large number, and only the very poor qualify for enough financial aid that they don't have to worry about how to pay for college.
So the purpose of this podcast is to help you figure out how to afford the high cost of college when you don't qualify for need-based financial aid. It's a tremendously important subject because paying for college is one of the biggest financial issues you'll face – right up there with buying a home and funding retirement.
I invited two experts in back-to-back interviews that will share two different perspectives on how to pay for college. The goal of this podcast episode is to provide you with a complete education in college affordability for the affluent all in one podcast episode.
My first guest is Brad Baldridge, a CFP specializing in helping middle and upper-middle class families afford college.
My second guest is Jocelyn Paonita, who secured over $126,000 in scholarships to cover her tuition and graduate debt free. She will teach her complete system for getting enough scholarships to pay for college without ever borrowing a dime.
In this episode you'll discover:

* The six different categories of schools and the financial advantages and disadvantages of each.
* Why college is just a business, like any other, so you can properly assess the costs vs. benefits of different school offers.
* How you can attend certain out-of-state schools at in-state tuition rates.
* Why you have a better chance at scoring merit aid at a private school than a state school.
* The critical difference between merit and need-based aid.
* How your children can get free scholarship money even when they're not academic or athletic rockstars.
* A behind-the-scenes peek at colleges marketing strategies so you don't fall for their tricks.
* How the bottom 25% of an incoming class pays for the top 25%  of students.
* The four dimensions of paying for college.
* Brad's favorite strategies for reducing the burden of paying for college, including business and tax strategies.
* How to figure out your Expected Family Contribution (EFC)
* What you need to know about FAFSA and the CSS Profile.
* Why you must complete the FAFSA and CSS Profile even if you think you'll never qualify for need-based aid.
* How to use net price calculators that colleges must provide (and their downsides).

FM 024: How To Pay For College When You Don’t Qualify for Financial Aid, with Brad Baldridge & Jocelyn Paonita



The business entrepreneur path to financial freedom has many advantages over real estate and paper assets.

* You can grow your wealth faster in business than any other asset class.
* You can achieve personal freedom, the real goal of financial freedom, long before you're actually rich because your passive income is not connected to equity. It's driven by business systems instead.
* You get personal benefits besides just financial wealth including purpose, community, contribution, and a creative outlet.

Unfortunately, the business asset class is the least-discussed path to wealth, even though most people who make the Forbes 400 list are there because of it. The same is true for people profiled in The Millionaire Next Door.
If you want financial independence earlier than old or you need to catch-up on retirement savings because you don't have enough, then this episode is for you.
However, there are risks to growing a business as well. That's why it's important to choose the right business model congruent with your values. The right model will support your success, but the wrong model will leave you feeling stressed and resentful.
To show you how fulfilling business entrepreneurship can be, along with the upsides and downsides, I invited Brennan Dunn, owner of Double Your Freelancing, to the podcast.
Brennan has a long entrepreneurial success streak. He dropped out of college, freelanced as a web designer, started his own agency, then started a SaaS (software-as-a-service) business, and now has a very satisfying lifestyle business.
While Brennan loves his business now, he had to learn many lessons the hard way. These lessons are typical of what most entrepreneurs go through, which is why it's better to learn vicariously through Brennan's experience rather than reinvent the wheel.
So if you've been interested in starting your own business, or you want to accelerate your journey to financial freedom, then this podcast is for you.
In this episode you'll discover:

* How Brennan went from being a college dropout to having a six-figure business, to ultimately having two seven-figure businesses.
* What drives Brennan's entrepreneurial streak.
* The idea of community and why it's so important to a fulfilling life.
* Why being an employee wasn't satisfying to Brennan,

FM 023: Get Your Financial Goals Faster In Business With Brennan Dunn



How will you define yourself after you retire?
Who are you without your career?
The unfortunate truth is most people attach their self-definition to their professional life.
This results in unexpected emotional difficulty when you achieve financial independence or retire early.
You're not alone in this mistake. I did the exact same thing. It's a common problem.
I incorrectly believed retiring early meant living the “pro-leisure circuit” with endless vacations and eternal bliss – no worries in the world.
I wish life was that easy, but that's not how it works.
Tess Vigeland is the author of Leap and former host of NPR's Marketplace Money. She lived her dream career for 20+ years, never giving thought to what might be next because she never expected to quit.
When it came time to take the leap she was completely unprepared.
Tess and I both learned the hard way what stands on the other side of career and share our research and experience so you don't make the same mistake. It doesn't have to be a problem as long as you know what to expect and how to prepare for it.
In this interview we give you the inside scoop from direct experience so you can avoid the obvious potholes we stepped into.
I've coached many of my clients through the process of financial independence, and I went through it myself. Figuring out who you are and what you stand for when your career isn't in the picture is key to your fulfillment, and the sooner you do it the happier you'll be.
In this episode you'll discover:

* How to deal with your fear of risk and uncertainty following career change.
* How to define yourself without a career.
* What will be your new success metric, and why does it matter?
* The three common signs that tell you when it's time to leave your job or make a change.
* Why your career must honor your values, and what happens when it doesn't.
* The insidiously dangerous role of self-doubt when your career ends, and how to stop it.
* How to find balance when you're personally identified with your work.
* How Tess coped with losing her identity as a celebrity public figure.
* The critically important role community plays in your life, and how to find it after financial independence.
* How career gives you a sense of purpose, and where to find that purpose after you achieve financial independence.
* How to overcome the challenge of creating your life from a blank canvas.
* The key differences that separate financial independence from simply making a career change
* The one mistake you must avoid after your leap.
* What the “adjacent other” means for your career.
* Several case studies, including how one woman left corporate America and reinvented her career.
* How to deal with the expected fallout from family and friends.

FM 007: The Wall Street Journal & Citi Guide To Money And Happiness With Jonathan Clements

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