The Financial Mentor Podcast

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.

Leaving a review and subscribing to the show on iTunes is the best way to support this show.

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If you could spare a minute to leave a review on iTunes it would mean a lot to me. Thank you so much!

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• Get a step-by-step action plan to achieve financial independence - completely personalized to you.

Expectancy Wealth Planning will show you how to create a financial roadmap for the rest of your life and give you all of the tools you need to follow it.

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.

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.

Leaving a review and subscribing to the show on iTunes is the best way to support this show.

I read every review, and your support helps the show rank so more people find us and benefit from the message.

If you could spare a minute to leave a review on iTunes it would mean a lot to me. Thank you so much!

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Anybody can learn to build a secure retirement -- and you don't need a financial advisor.

My course, Expectancy Wealth Planning, has been called "the best financial education on the internet" and provides all the knowledge you'll ever need to build the life -- and retirement -- of your dreams.

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.

Leaving a review and subscribing to the show on iTunes is the best way to support this show.

I read every review, and your support helps the show rank so more people find us and benefit from the message.

If you could spare a minute to leave a review on iTunes it would mean a lot to me. Thank you so much!

Click here to subscribe to the show on iTunes and leave a review…

Alternatively, this link below will help you subscribe and leave a review on your device…

Click here to subscribe and leave a review from inside your iTunes account…

• Get a step-by-step action plan to achieve financial independence - completely personalized to you.

Expectancy Wealth Planning will show you how to create a financial roadmap for the rest of your life and give you all of the tools you need to follow it.

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

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.

Leaving a review and subscribing on iTunes is the best way to support this show.

I read every review, and your support helps the show rank higher so more people find us and benefit from the message.

If you could spare a minute to leave a review on iTunes it would mean a lot to me. Thank you so much!

Click here to subscribe to the show on iTunes and leave a review…

Alternatively, this link below will help you subscribe and leave a review on your device…

Click here to subscribe and leave a review from inside your iTunes account…

Anybody can learn to build a secure retirement -- and you don't need a financial advisor.

My course, Expectancy Wealth Planning, has been called "the best financial education on the internet" and provides all the knowledge you'll ever need to build the life -- and retirement -- of your dreams.

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.

Leaving a review and subscribing on iTunes is the best way to support this show.

I read every review, and your support helps the show rank higher so more people find us and benefit from the message.

If you could spare a minute to leave a review on iTunes it would mean a lot to me. Thank you so much!

Click here to subscribe to the show on iTunes and leave a review…

Alternatively, this link below will help you subscribe and leave a review on your device…

Click here to subscribe and leave a review from inside your iTunes account…

• Get a step-by-step action plan to achieve financial independence - completely personalized to you.

Expectancy Wealth Planning will show you how to create a financial roadmap for the rest of your life and give you all of the tools you need to follow it.

Your spouse can make or break you financially.

That's no surprise, given how money is one of the leading causes of divorce.

But there is much more to the relationship and money question than just divorce or marital bliss.

Unless you plan on being single forever, this is an issue that should concern you. It's important to know how to talk about money with your spouse, and it's equally important to be on the same financial page.

Just think about all the important financial goals you share with your spouse and how they affect the outcome of your lives together:

All of these decisions have long-term financial implications, and they're much easier to accomplish when you and your spouse are working together as a team.

In addition, there is much more to this than just financial goals. Gone are the days where men are the sole breadwinners in society. Women are climbing the ranks, and that means learning how to overcome the traditional gender roles society has imposed on us for so long. This can cause marital stress if it isn't handled properly.

That's why I asked Farnoosh Torabi on as a guest for this episode of the Financial Mentor Podcast. Being a female breadwinner, and the author of When She Makes More: The Truth About Navigating Love and Life for a New Generation of Women, Farnoosh is able to share many valuable insights gained from her personal life and research from the book.

Listen in as we address the complex financial issues couples face today, and get her best tips and solutions to ensure your relationship is a happy and thriving one.

Leaving a review and subscribing to the show on iTunes is the best way to support this show.

I read every review, and your support helps the show rank so more people find us and benefit from the message.

If you could spare a minute to leave a review on iTunes it would mean a lot to me. Thank you so much!

Click here to subscribe to the show on iTunes and leave a review…

Alternatively, this link below will help you subscribe and leave a review on your device…

Click here to subscribe and leave a review from inside your iTunes account…

• Get a step-by-step action plan to achieve financial independence - completely personalized to you.

Expectancy Wealth Planning will show you how to create a financial roadmap for the rest of your life and give you all of the tools you need to follow it.

Everyone wants to know how to get rich, but few ever get there.

The answer is surprisingly simple, but most people seem to have a passion for making things needlessly complicated.

The first step to achieving financial success is you need a rock solid financial foundation. Otherwise, you could have all the money in the world, but no clue on how you should manage it.

A poor financial foundation will cause you to get lost in debt, going through the motions in life without a clear goal, or ignorant as to how you can effectively use every dollar passing through your hands as a tool to build wealth.

That's why I was excited to interview J.D. Roth, founder of Get Rich Slowly. In this podcast, he shares how bad financial habits and early mistakes put him in credit card debt at the beginning, and how good financial habits turned everything around so that he achieved financial independence at an early age.

You can do the same.

These lessons are simple and timeless, and are consistent with my teachings in both Step 1 and Step 2 of the 7 Steps to 7 Figures course I offer. They can work for you also.

Starting off on the right financial foot is crucial if you want to build wealth. You need to learn how to avoid consumer debt and manage your money like a business, because no one cares more about your money than you do.

Leaving a review and subscribing to the show on Itunes is the best support you can give.

I read every review, and your support helps the show rank so more people find us and benefit from the message.

If you could spare a minute to leave a review on iTunes it would mean a lot to me. Thank you so much!

Click here to subscribe to the show on iTunes and leave a review…

Alternatively, this link below will help you subscribe and leave a review on your device…

Click here to subscribe and leave a review from inside your iTunes account…

• Get a step-by-step action plan to achieve financial independence - completely personalized to you.

Expectancy Wealth Planning will show you how to create a financial roadmap for the rest of your life and give you all of the tools you need to follow it.

Wealth is math.

That's bad news for math phobics, but it's great news for the rest of us because it means there are rules and science behind how wealth building works. It isn't random luck.

In Episode 19 of the Financial Mentor podcast we'll explore the most essential math principle to wealth building – the expected value formula.

This essential principle eludes most people because we inherently think in terms of probabilities – the likelihood of something occurring. It could be an investment going up or a business going bust. Either way, you most likely think in terms of the probability of the event occurring, and that is unfortunate.

Why? Because wealth is built according to expectancy – which is probability times payoff.

It's an entirely different way of thinking that produces surprising results. Discover how expectancy will literally determine the financial outcome of your life, and how you can use this uncommon knowledge to make smarter, more profitable investment decisions.

The feedback on these podcasts has been great! Your enthusiastic response is what drives me to continue producing them.

5 star reviews and new subscribers over at Itunes increase the show's rank and help more people benefit from the message.

If you could spare a minute to leave a review on Itunes it would mean a lot to me. Thank you so much!

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There are only four paths you can choose from.

Click below to find out which path is best for you, and why.

Yes! Tell Me About Expectancy Wealth Planning strategy

Success is about people first.

If it was just about how-to's then we would all be thin, rich, and happy because all the knowledge you need to attain anything you want in life already exists. You just have to learn it and implement it.

But it doesn't work that way. You aren't a perfect, rational computer.

You don't just process information, make plans, and produce results in a logical, perfect way because you are an emotional human being. Your emotions and beliefs are a filter that either serves you in achieving your goals, or they hurt you.

I overlooked this essential reality in my early years of coaching and made the same mistake nearly all experts make. I believed that if I just showed people how to do something that they would go out and implement it to produce the same results I did.

BOY, WAS I WRONG!!!

There is much more to achieving success than just how-to's. And there is a lot more to teaching success than just dispensing how-to information.

Related:

There's a second layer of knowledge explaining how humans work that you must understand if you want to  break through your limiting beliefs and rise to new levels of achievement with the least friction and effort possible.

This knowledge is critical to your success…

The feedback on these podcasts has been great! Your enthusiastic response is what drives me to continue producing them.

5 star reviews and new subscribers over at Itunes increase the show's rank and help more people benefit from the message.

If you could spare a minute to leave a review on Itunes it would mean a lot to me. Thank you so much!

Click here to subscribe to the show on ITunes and leave a review…

Alternatively, this link below will help you subscribe and leave a review on your device…

Click here to subscribe and leave a review from inside your iTunes account…

• Get a step-by-step action plan to achieve financial independence - completely personalized to you.

Expectancy Wealth Planning will show you how to create a financial roadmap for the rest of your life and give you all of the tools you need to follow it.

You've heard it repeated so many times that you no longer question if it is true.

In fact, the career success literature is so overwhelmingly dominated with this dangerous myth that almost nobody disagrees with it.

The only problem is, it's not true!

What is it, you ask?

It's called “the passion hypothesis”. The premise is you should do what you love and the money will follow. If you want to succeed then you should follow your passion.

It's one of those artifacts of conventional wisdom that seems to be right and passes the smell test so it slips under our radar. It is an example of superficial knowledge that appears true but is actually false.

This is not just an idle concept. It is a major source of disillusionment and career dissatisfaction. It also illustrates many concepts taught in Step 3 of my 7 Steps to 7 Figures wealth building curriculum.

In today's podcast were going to unmask this dangerous illusion. We're going to set the record straight by digging deep behind the facade of the passion hypothesis and revealing how a remarkable career and an enviable life of freedom and autonomy are truly built. Surprisingly, it's not what most people believe.

This interview will also introduce a guiding principle behind all teachings on this site – the idea that there is a second layer of knowledge just beyond the superficially obvious first layer that gives you a competitive advantage and helps you build wealth. This second layer of knowledge is based on research and reality – not meaningless platitudes.

Make sure to listen carefully because the truths revealed in this episode will turn conventional wisdom on its head.

The feedback on these podcasts has been great so thank you. I read every single comment. It matters.

5 star reviews increase the show's rank and help more people benefit from the message.

If you could spare a minute to leave a review on Itunes it would mean a lot to me. Thanks!

Click here to subscribe to the show on ITunes and leave a review…

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Click here to subscribe and leave a review from inside your iTunes account…

• Get a step-by-step action plan to achieve financial independence - completely personalized to you.

Expectancy Wealth Planning will show you how to create a financial roadmap for the rest of your life and give you all of the tools you need to follow it.