Get Your FILL

Chris Prefontaine’s real estate journey is a masterclass in resilience: after nearly losing everything in the 2008 crash while relying on banks and big down payments, he rebuilt from scratch using only creative, non-traditional techniques—no personal loans, no banks, no credit exposure. What started as survival turned into a thriving family business and the Inc. 5000-ranked Smart Real Estate Coach company. The secret sauce? Three bank-free buying strategies (owner financing, lease-purchase, and subject-to existing loans) that let him and his students scoop up properties on terms, often locking in low 2–4% mortgages that sellers are desperate to offload because “life happens”—divorce, job loss, inheritance headaches, or insurance spikes in places like Florida. #CreativeRealEstate #NoBankNeeded

Dr. Joaquin Wallace, a former athlete turned financial empowerment strategist, discovered this while working with both millionaires and people drowning in debt: the same emotional triggers and childhood money stories (“scar tissue narratives”) sabotage everyone, regardless of income. His 7-Stage Generational Wealth Model starts in the past—your “walls in” (what you learned at home) and “walls out” (what you saw in the world) create inherited financial narratives and encoded behaviors that form your unique financial genetic code. Until you name and heal these invisible scripts, more budgeting spreadsheets or stock tips won’t stick—you’ll just keep reverting to old patterns when life gets stressful.

Aaron Miller, an award-winning elder law attorney, was personally motivated by his own family’s tragedy: his grandparents lost everything paying privately for a decade of nursing-home care, and years later his grandfather had nothing left, forcing Miller’s parents to drain their own retirement savings. He warns that “beauty shop and coffee shop” myths and outdated advice lead people to believe Medicare will cover it (it doesn’t, beyond a possible 100 days of rehab) or that simply giving assets to children is safe (it usually isn’t). The result is panic, massive financial loss, and heirs left with little or nothing.

Barry Levine, a bankruptcy attorney with nearly 45 years of experience, helps entrepreneurs facing overwhelming debt navigate tough choices. He stresses that optimism, while essential for starting businesses, often blinds owners to financial reality until it's too late—leading them to drain home equity or 401(k)s in futile attempts to save failing ventures. Levine prefers corporations over LLCs for their lower setup costs ($275 vs. $500) and tax advantages via Subchapter S election, warning that LLCs filing Schedule C can make owners fully liable for trust fund taxes without the corporate "discount." He advocates early action: record a Massachusetts homestead ($35) to protect up to $1 million in home equity, and secure family loans with UCC filings to prioritize them in liquidation.

Christopher Hill, founder of Hands Up Holidays and Impact Destinations, defines philanthropic travel as using financial resources to create meaningful impact while enjoying luxury experiences. Impact Destinations focuses on pure philanthropy, where travelers' donations fund expert-led projects—such as witnessing a rhino relocation in South Africa or sponsoring an Aboriginal art scholarship in Australia—in exchange for exclusive, behind-the-scenes access. Hands Up Holidays combines luxury vacations with hands-on volunteering, where clients finance materials and local labor for projects like building homes or classrooms, then participate in the finishing touches to connect deeply with communities. Hill's journey began in 2002 during a South African trip that blended safari with house-building, inspiring him to leave investment banking and launch his companies in 2006 after two years of global relationship-building.

Michael Uadiale, a serial entrepreneur and CPA, views the tax code not as a burden but as a powerful tool for achieving financial independence. He challenges the common perception that taxes are merely the government’s way of taking money, instead framing them as incentives designed to encourage specific behaviors. Uadiale emphasizes that the tax code is fair—though not equitable—and rewards those who understand and legally leverage its provisions. He criticizes traditional accountants who adopt a compliance-first mindset, often misrepresenting the IRS as the ultimate authority, when in reality, tax courts and Congress hold higher power. For entrepreneurs, he argues, the code offers vast opportunities unavailable to W-2 employees, enabling business owners to deduct ordinary and necessary expenses (under Section 162), optimize entity structures, and reduce taxable income significantly.

In this episode of *Get Your Fill, Financial Independence and Long Life*, host Christine McCarron speaks with Ashley Bizzell, a registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator with 20 years of experience. Bizzell shares her journey from hospital critical care to telehealth, driven by a desire to help people reverse chronic conditions like type 2 diabetes rather than manage end-stage disease. She emphasizes treating root causes through lifestyle changes, particularly nutrition, to reduce medication use, lower A1C, and improve overall health span.

In this episode of the "Get Your Fill" podcast, host Christine McCarron interviews John Solleder, a seasoned entrepreneur with over four decades of experience in network marketing. Solleder, a four-time author with two bestsellers, has mentored two billionaires and guided four network marketing companies. He explains network marketing as a model where distributors sell products manufactured by others, earning significant profits without bearing production costs. He clarifies that multi-level marketing (MLM) and direct selling are intertwined, with MLM involving a tiered commission structure and direct selling focusing on end-consumer sales. Solleder highlights the industry’s historical roots, noting its origins in the 1920s with a Black woman in Mississippi and its growth through companies like Avon, driven initially by women earning "pin money" for small household expenses.

In the podcast episode of "Get Your FILL," host Christine McCarron interviews Dustin Heiner, founder of Master Passive Income, who shares his journey from a traditional career path to financial independence through real estate investing. Growing up in a modest household, Dustin followed the conventional route of education and a stable government IT job in California. However, after purchasing his first rental property in 2006, which generated $318 monthly in passive income, he began to question relying solely on employment. A pivotal moment came when he was laid off shortly after paternity leave for his fourth child, realizing the vulnerability of job dependency. This spurred him to aggressively invest, acquiring over 30 single-family homes and 775 apartment units, allowing him to quit his job at age 37 and become "successfully unemployed," focusing on family, hobbies, and coaching others.

In an inspiring episode of Get Your Fill: Financial Independence and Long Life, host Christine McCarron welcomes Casey Gregerson, founder of Big Horn Capital, to discuss building long-term wealth through strategic real estate investments. Gregerson shares his journey from a stable career as a drilling engineer at Shell, where he worked for 12 years, to becoming a full-fledged entrepreneur in real estate. His unique schedule of two weeks on and two weeks off allowed him to explore entrepreneurial ventures like fixing and flipping houses and acquiring rental properties. This side hustle provided the flexibility to learn the ropes of real estate while maintaining the security of his W-2 job, highlighting the illusion of job security in volatile industries like oil and gas, where layoffs were frequent.