In this episode of "The Donkey and the Bee," Laura and I discuss the importance of being there for each other. We reflect on a time in our marriage when we were younger and still immature. I struggled with alcohol, which had a significant hold on me. I used to feel like I had to get drunk every time we were with friends, at a party, or attending an event. Having now matured, I am able to talk about how I broke free from that cycle with Laura supporting me every step of the way.

It all started with communication. Laura expressed her concern and frustration about my alcohol use, which she found embarrassing. After this went on for a while, we devised a codeword to signal when I had gone too far. That word was "peanut butter pancakes." It may sound absurd, but that was the point. It was a gentle way to convey the message without sounding aggressive, allowing me to take a step back and reflect on my actions. Watch the rest of this episode to hear about my journey to breaking free from alcohol, including pivotal moments in my 20s.

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In this episode, we talk about the importance of having a financial plan. This conversation was brought up because one of our friends' spouses is ready for retirement. However, unfortunately, their spouse hasn’t really saved anything or invested despite having a very high income for many years. They have no assets or anything. This is why creating a financial plan is important. Even if you have a low income, you can plan for retirement and financial freedom.

Laura says the most important thing is being financially literate. By taking the time to study your finances and learn how to invest, you are able to learn how to replace your active income with passive income. This is what we mean by financial freedom. It has nothing to do with bringing in income from a high-paying job. We know plenty of high-income individuals who are nowhere near being financially free because they didn’t create a plan or strategy with their finances. As long as your profits from your investments are higher than your monthly expenses, you are truly financially free. Watch this episode to learn the importance of having your financial plan and learn actionable steps on how to start working towards financial freedom.

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In this episode of The Donkey and the Bee, we talk about setting your priorities for your financial goals. There are three main financial priorities we discuss: security, comfort, and riches. Throughout our financial freedom journey, we have prioritized all of these, and we noticed that it correlates a lot to where you are financially. Laura and I go through each of these stages and priorities and break down what it means to prioritize each of these.

For example, if you don’t make a ton of money, and you are what people consider poor, your main priority would be security. You want to make sure that by the end of the day, you have enough to eat and have a roof over your head. If you are more middle-class and you’re starting to earn more money, now, your main priority will be comfort. You will be indulging in the things that make you comfortable and you like. In this episode, we break down the priorities of people who are rich and how prioritizing riches can come at a sacrifice to comfort and security. Watch this episode to learn how we made our transition from prioritizing comfort to riches!

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In this episode of The Donkey and the Bee, Laura and I talk about putting the marriage first. It's widely understood that parenting involves significant sacrifices. As a parent, you should always make sure your kids are healthy, safe, and loved. However, this shouldn’t come at the expense of the marriage. A rock-solid marriage is the most important thing when it comes to raising great kids. This is why Brett and Laura say they base their parenting on this principle and why their children's needs don’t come before each other's needs.

As parents, the goal is to raise well-rounded adults. To do that, you have to lead by example. For one, having a great marriage will show your kids what a healthy relationship looks like. By dedicating time to date nights, exchanging gifts, and occasionally prioritizing each other's needs over your children's, you are showing your kids what their future relationship should look like. Also, your kids come into your world; you don’t come to theirs. You are with your spouse before having children, and you will be with them afterward. They are your life partner, so you should do what needs to be done to ensure your marriage stays healthy.

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In this episode, Brett and Laura talk about growing away from their friends. This is something that we’ve all gone through. Maybe after high school or college, you slowly drift away from your close friends and don’t really communicate with them anymore. A lot of times, people see this as a sad thing. However, Brett and Laura say this isn’t inherently a bad thing. If anything, it can be a great thing.

Brett and Laura say that it’s all about growth. It’s not that your old friends are changing; it’s that you are changing for the better. Slowly, you pick up different interests and hobbies, maybe you have new values and goals you’re striving for. The best way to meet those goals is to have people around you who inspire and push you forward. Brett and Laura discuss how they seek out friends with similar core values. These friends don’t have to share every single goal or value you have, but maybe just a few. For example, they might value a good family life, physical health, or financial success. Brett and Laura talk about moving away from their old friends and finding people who align with these values.

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In this episode, Brett and Laura talk about their financial freedom number. When people hear "financial freedom," their first thought is being rich. However, that’s not what being financially free means at all. The whole point of financial freedom is to reach a point where you don’t have to sacrifice your time for money. If you have a very high-paying salary job, you’re still forced to work those hours to grow your wealth. When Brett and Laura talk about financial freedom, they are referring to replacing all your expenses with passive income. By doing this, Brett and Laura do not have to work anymore and can still be well off with their passive investments.

What is important to know is that this number is different for everybody. Everyone has different expenses depending on their lifestyle, preferences, family, where they live, and more. Brett lays out a few steps you can take to find this financial freedom number. For example, listing out your monthly expenses. By knowing your monthly expenses that stay constant each month, like rent, utilities, and car payments, you can have a baseline number of where you should be working towards. Watch this episode to learn more about financial freedom and additional steps so you can become financially free!

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In this episode, Brett and Laura discuss teaching their kids responsibility. The most important thing Brett and Laura do as parents is that they treat their kids like adults. By treating them as such, they are able to grow and adapt quickly to the responsibilities and tasks given to them. A very common thing Brett says is, "A parent's duty is to teach your kids to be good adults, not to teach them to be good kids." With that goal in mind, Brett and Laura stress how important it is to give your kids responsibilities early in their lives. Because ultimately, it's not that complicated and will help them grow in the long run.

It can start small! For example, maybe having your kids be responsible for getting themselves up for school by setting their own alarms. Then, that can progress into them getting themselves ready and making their own breakfast. And eventually, your kids will be ready to start making their own lunch and ordering their own groceries. This is just one of the many examples Brett and Laura talk about in this episode. By giving your kids these responsibilities now, by the time they are ready to move out as adults, they will know how to take care of themselves. Watch this episode to discover other ways Brett and Laura taught their kids responsibility and learn actionable steps you can take to start teaching your kids the same responsibilities.

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In this episode, Brett and Laura Chotkeys talk about starting a new niche! It is very common for people to feel like they are stuck with their professional careers. Maybe they think they don’t have the skills or knowledge to explore a new niche. Maybe they think the barrier of entry is too high. However, Brett and Laura fully disagree with the sentiment that you can’t learn a new niche. Right now, it is the easiest it has ever been to start learning and moving into a new niche; all you have to do is start.

Brett and Laura talk about how when they started in real estate, they had no experience whatsoever. Before real estate, they were waiting tables. As Brett has mentioned in the past, the core of entrepreneurship is solving a problem. If you can solve a problem for someone, they will pay you for the solution. If you can work on yourself, improve your skills, and then study the market to identify a problem, then you will be able to take action steps in order to transition into that niche. Brett and Laura give several other ways and action points you can take to learn and transition into a new niche, as well as providing a lot of their personal experiences in this episode!

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In this episode, Brett and Laura Chotkevys discuss screen time! If you have kids, you know how much social media has integrated with their lives. Social media apps like TikTok and Instagram's largest demographic of users are under the age of 18. Nowadays, it’s their way of sharing pop culture and learning about world events. However, a very scary realization for Brett and Laura is that the average screen time for a kid is over 7 hours long. This is why Brett and Laura wanted this episode to be about why you should heavily limit your children’s screen time.

In their household, Brett and Laura only allow their kids 45 minutes a day on the iPad. They also monitor everything that their kids are watching, the apps they are using, and even who they are talking to online. There are a handful of reasons why Brett and Laura decided to do this. For one, they noticed that when their kids were on social media for an extended period, it seemed that their personalities changed. Another huge reason why Brett and Laura limit screen time is because it’s such a huge time sink. Think about all you can do with those 7 hours you are not on your phone. Brett and Laura’s kids can run a business, invest in real estate, and continue to learn and grow while still having plenty of time to play with friends and socialize. Obviously, when the kids get older. Brett and Laura will start introducing a little more freedom when it comes to how they use social media and screen time, However, for now, they prioritize their kids' health, safety, and well-being. 

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In this episode, Brett and Laura talk about Valentine’s Day. Brett points out early on that Valentine’s Day is just a way for big companies to charge you more money, social media to put stress on the relationship, and other outside factors trying to tell you how you should love your partner. That is why Brett and Laura have never celebrated Valentine’s Day. The important question that they bring up multiple times in this episode is why should you wait to do something nice for your partner just one day a year when you can serve and love them right all year round?

As mentioned several times in previous episodes, Brett and Laura mention how important communication is to a relationship. It is important to have a talk with your partner to see how they want to be loved. It comes down to the 5 Love Languages. Maybe they want to be loved by you doing acts of service. In that case, doing the small things for your partner and making that a habit is a great way to show you love them. Like taking out the trash, making them coffee in the morning, or taking the kids to school. Overall, the point of this episode is to show that your relationship shouldn’t be swayed by outside factors, like what your partner may see on Instagram. You should show your love based on what your partner wants and needs.

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