Podcasts about roth iras

Welcome to another edition of Planning for Retirement (PFR) with Kevin Lao. And welcome to all the newbies here! If you are new, you might want to hit that “Follow” button if you are over 50 and have saved a minimum of 7 figures for retirement. You're approaching the phase of life where you want to be able to fire your boss at any time, maximize your retirement impact, minimize your lifetime tax bill, and worry less about money! This is your podcast!And don't forget to “Subscribe” to our YouTube Channel, where we put out weekly retirement-related content designed for YOU (PFR Nation).Today, we'll revisit another Q&A session with some GREAT questions we've curated over the last few months. Reminder, if you have a question for a future Q&A episode, or simply want to send me an email, you can at: kevin@imaginefinancialsecurity.comWe have questions related to Roth IRAs, Inherited Roth IRAs, stock allocations for retirees, IRA to Health Savings Account rollover, and more! I hope you enjoy this one!Kevin  Resources Mentioned:Don't miss your Roth Conversion Window (video)Are you interested in working with me 1 on 1?⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click this link to fill out our Retirement Readiness Questionnaire⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Or,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ visit my website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Connect with me here:​⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠​⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join My Company Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠This is for general education purposes only and should not be considered as tax, legal or investment advice.

The brand-new “Trump account” is a tax-deferred savings option for American children created by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. I break down who's eligible for up to $1,000 in free government contributions, how these accounts work, and how they stack up against other popular savings vehicles like 529 plans, IRAs, custodial accounts, and regular brokerage accounts. If you're a parent or grandparent thinking about the best way to jumpstart your child's financial future, you'll want to tune in for my honest comparison of the Trump account's pros, cons, and quirks, plus tips on making the most of these new opportunities. You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in... [00:00] Trump accounts for children, including eligibility and benefits, compared to other savings options. [04:52] Invest in low-cost US index funds for a child's account. [08:41] 529 accounts offer conservative investment options and potential benefits for education savings. [11:59] Consider a regular brokerage account instead of a Trump account, especially if it's not for college. What Parents Need to Know About the New Trump Account Saving for your child's future can be complicated, and with the introduction of the new “Trump account” via the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, parents have another option to consider. In a recent episode of the Retire with Ryan podcast, host Ryan Morrissey breaks down the ins and outs of this novel account.  What is the Trump Account? The Trump account, established by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, is a new type of tax-deferred investment account specifically designed for American children. It bears similarities to familiar accounts like IRAs and 529s in that all investments inside the Trump account grow tax-deferred, letting parents and children potentially maximize compounding returns.  Eligible children, those born between January 1st, 2025, and December 31st, 2028, are entitled to a $1,000 government contribution just for opening the account, regardless of parental income. That's free money that, when invested early, could grow substantially over time. How Does the Trump Account Work? Parents (or guardians) can contribute up to $5,000 per child per year (indexed for inflation starting 2027) until the child turns 18, and employers can contribute up to $2,500 annually, also not counted as taxable income for the child. The account must be opened at investment firms, which are required to limit investment options to low-cost index funds (with expense ratios under 0.10%), such as S&P 500, total stock market, or similar broad-market funds. Once the child turns 18, they gain full access to all the assets in the account. Investments in the account benefit from tax-deferred growth, and withdrawals are taxed at favorable capital gains rates (15% or 20%) rather than ordinary income rates. How Do Trump Accounts Compare to Other Savings Options? Traditional & Roth IRAs: IRAs, including Roth IRAs, require earned income to contribute, posing a barrier for most children. While Roth IRAs trump Trump accounts for long-term tax benefits (withdrawals are tax-free), children generally can't access this unless they have income from work. Also, traditional IRAs add tax deductions but are taxed as ordinary income on withdrawal, compared to the Trump account's capital gains treatment. 529 College Savings Plans: 529s are tailored for college expenses, offering tax-free withdrawals for qualified education costs and sometimes state tax deductions. Plus, investment options can become more conservative as your child nears college age, something currently unavailable in Trump accounts, which are stock-only (at least for now). If used for non-educational purposes, 529s face ordinary income tax and penalties, whereas Trump accounts are taxed at capital gains rates for any withdrawal purpose. Brokerage & Custodial Accounts (UGMA/UTMA): A plain taxable brokerage in the parents' name offers flexibility, letting parents control access and investment options, paying minimal taxes on dividends each year. Custodial accounts shift tax liability to the child but must legally transfer to the child between ages 18 and 25, depending on state laws. Notably, assets in a child's name weigh more heavily against them on financial aid forms than if held by the parent. Who Should Consider Opening a Trump Account? If your child will be born between 2025 and 2028, opening a Trump account is almost a no-brainer to snag the free $1,000. But for ongoing contributions, think about your goals: Saving for college? Stick to a 529 plan for tax-free education withdrawals and more investment flexibility. Want to help your child start life with a nest egg for any purpose? Trump accounts work, but remember your child gets full control at 18. Prefer more flexibility or control over when and how your child accesses the funds? Explore regular or custodial brokerage accounts. The Trump account is an interesting addition to the range of savings vehicles for children, especially thanks to the initial government contribution and low-cost investment options. Still, its quirks, like the child's access at 18 and limited investment choices, mean it won't be a perfect fit for every family. Analyze your family's needs, long-term goals, and how much control you wish to maintain before making your move. Resources Mentioned Retirement Readiness Review Subscribe to the Retire with Ryan YouTube Channel Download my entire book for FREE  Connect With Morrissey Wealth Management  www.MorrisseyWealthManagement.com/contact   Subscribe to Retire With Ryan

Jason Labrum and Alex Klingensmith share how to align parenting strategies with financial education across the four major phases: Caretaker, Cop, Coach, and Consultant. From 529 plans to allowance systems and Roth IRAs, learn how to prepare your kids for a lifetime of smart financial decisions. Whether you have toddlers or teens, this episode gives you practical tools to raise financially empowered young adults.

Morningstar's Christine Benz and investing-history legend Dr. William Bernstein announces the Jonathan Clements "Getting Going on Savings" Initiative. In 2024, Jonathan was diagnosed with a terminal illness and decided to use the proceeds from a final book to kick-start a new program that will directly help fund Roth IRAs for young adults (especially from low-income households) to the tune of $1,000 each. The John C. Bogle Center for Financial Literacy, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, is assisting with the project and 'Catching Up to FI' is proud to spread the word by replaying this conversation that originally aired on the 'Bogleheads on Investing' podcast (5/27/25).   ===    VOTE FOR US: PLUTUS AWARDS  === We need your vote for the 2025 Plutus Awards! You can now vote for your hosts behind "Catching Up to FI” - Bill Yount & Jackie Cummings Koski.   ✅ WHAT IS THE PLUTUS AWARDS? The Plutus Awards recognize excellence in independent financial content. That's the best podcasts, books, video channels, blogs, and more.     ✅ VOTE  If you've gotten value from our content and think we are worthy of recognition,  please support by casting your votes here > >>  https://plutus.awardsplatform.com/. There's a short registration needed to vote and you'll be in and out in just a few minutes.    ✅ DEADLINE The deadline to vote is August 30th, 2025. Winners will be announced in October.   ✅ CATEGORIES Below are the categories we have been nominated for and we'd love your vote in each of them.  Catching Up to FI Best New Personal Finance Content Creator - Audio Content Creator of the Year: Audio People's Choice: Audio Best Financial Advisor Content/Jackie Cummings Koski, CFP Plutus Storyteller Award Best Traditional Retirement Content Best Personal Finance Content for Underserved Communities Best Personal Finance Content for Women   Other categories  Best New Personal Finance Content Creator - Written (F.I.R.E. for Dummies) Best New Personal Finance Book (F.I.R.E. for Dummies) Plutus Resilience Award (Jackie Cummings Koski) Best Financial Independence or Retire Early Content (F.I.R.E. for Dummies)  

Marty covers the essential aspects of retirement planning, focusing on income needs, healthcare, long-term care, and common missteps to avoid. He emphasizes the importance of personalized planning and preparation to ensure financial security in retirement. The conversation also addresses the gap between optimism and preparedness, the significance of diversifying income streams, and the necessity of having a long-term care plan. Listener questions are answered, providing insights into specific retirement concerns. Reach Marty at 888-519-9096. Smart Money Solutions www.smartmoneysolutionsmn.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Should you be concerned by the jobs report? The July jobs report showed nonfarm payrolls grew by 73k, which missed the estimate of 100k. Unfortunately, the news got even worse as you dug into the report. The prior two months saw major negative revisions as June was revised from 147k to just 14k and May was revised from 125k to just 19k. This amounted to a total negative revision of 258k when looking at the two months combined. Another negative was job growth in the month of July was heavily reliant on health care & social assistance as the category added 73.3k jobs in the month. This means that this category essentially carried the report as the total jobs created in the month topped the full headline number. There were some other areas that saw growth with retail trade adding 15,700 jobs, leisure and hospitality adding 5k jobs, and construction adding 2k jobs. Unfortunately, there were more categories than normal that saw declines with information falling by 2k jobs, government was down 10k jobs, manufacturing declined by 11k jobs, and professional and business services declined by 14k jobs. While all this sounds negative, I still wouldn't panic over this report. The main reason is the unemployment rate remains historically low at 4.2% and layoffs have not materially increased. I would even make the claim that the unemployment rate is healthier than it appears. Of those that are unemployed, the average weeks unemployed now totals 24.1 and those that have been unemployed for more than 27 weeks jumped to 1.82 million, which is about one-quarter of all the unemployed. If you have been out of work more than 27 weeks, how hard have you really been looking or are some of those really just retired now? It seems we are in an environment where companies are keeping their employees and limiting new hires. With more clarity on the trade deals and tariffs now, that could help stabilize the labor market, but my main concern is are there enough qualified candidates to truly fuel job growth? A large problem we have discussed in the past is an aging population that has seen assets climb tremendously, which has enabled many near retirement age the luxury to retire. While I don't want to say this is a negative, the working age population or those between 25 & 54 remained near historical highs around 83%. One positive in the report I didn't discuss yet was the fact that wage inflation came in above expectations at 3.9%, which is nice considering the decline in inflation we have seen this year. While again I may sound negative on this report, I want to be clear that there is no reason to be overly concerned yet, I would be interested to see how the next few reports look before being worried about a potential recession in the near term.   Job openings declined in the month of June The June Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, commonly referred to as the JOLTs report, showed job openings declined to 7.4 million, down 275,000 from the prior month. While this may sound problematic, it is important to remember this is still a historically healthy level for job openings and it comes against a back drop of a historically low unemployment rate. I have said this for many months, but I believe there is even further room for job openings to decline without there being a problem for the labor market. Taking that concept one step further, I would be quite surprised to see growth in job openings from here. The main reason for that is there just aren't enough people to fill those openings especially since it appears many companies are choosing to retain employees rather than look for new ones. I say this because layoffs continue to remain quite low. In the month of June, they totaled 1.6 million and really since 2021 they have maintained that level with the average monthly total since January 2021 standing around 1.57 million. If we look pre-covid, from December 2000 (when the data first started) to February 2020, layoffs averaged 1.91 million per month. Even though you will always hear news about various companies implementing layoffs, I believe we remain in a healthy labor market with good unemployment and low layoffs. This healthy labor market remains one of the key reasons for why I believe the economy will remain in a good spot for the foreseeable future.   GDP came in stronger expected, another good sign for the economy! While Q2 gross domestic product, also known as GDP, jumped 3% and easily topped the estimate of 2.3%, the numbers were not as strong as the headlines indicate. With the tariffs having a large impact on trade and business inventories, this report is the opposite of Q1 when actual results were much better than the headlines showed. In Q1 companies were likely trying to get ahead of tariffs so they were trying to load up on inventory and import a lot more foreign goods than normal. This led to a 37.9% increase in imports during Q1 which subtracted 4.66% from the headline GDP number. In Q2 we saw a complete reversal as imports fell 30.3% and added 5.18% to the headline GDP number. The change in private inventories was also extremely volatile during these last two periods considering it added 2.59% to the headline number in Q1, but subtracted 3.17% from the headline number in Q2 as many businesses were likely working through excess inventory. I bring all this up not to say that the GDP report was bad and in fact it was still a good number, but rather to show the messiness in the numbers for the first two quarters. We should not see the type of volatility that we have seen in trade going forward as it normally has a small impact on the overall report. The main reason I see Q2 GDP as a good report is because the consumer, which is the main driver in the long-term, held up well. There was a small 1.1% increase in services spending and goods saw an increase of 2.2%. Considering we are primarily a service driven economy; I do worry the goods spending could have been further pull forward in demand as consumers try to get ahead of price increases from tariffs. This could have a negative impact on consumer spending going forward as they may not need to purchase as many goods. With many areas of the report normalizing as we exit the year, I'm still looking for GDP growth that would likely be in the 1-2% range.   Should Banks be responsible when their customers get scammed? It's a sad thing to see someone in their 60s or 70s get scammed out of their life savings. Unfortunately, there are many online scams now and it appears they just keep growing. According to the FBI, in 2024 online scams totaled $16 billion, which was a 33% increase from 2023. A big question that people have been asking is should banks be the ones that are held responsible when it comes to preventing their customers from making poor investment decisions or losing money in online romance scams? Banks are already trying to prevent money laundering, terrorist financing and other types of fraud that is costly for the banks to maintain. Adding another oversight would be another expense for the banks, which could lead to costs elsewhere in the banking system to make up for those added expenses. From the consumer standpoint this could also lead to frustration when trying to get money for legitimate purposes as it could lead to longer review periods for certain transactions or if your account were to get flagged who knows how long it would take to get that resolved. As an example, let's say a teller sees the same person coming in taking out large sums of money on a regular basis, should the teller stop the activity? Again, if it was for legitimate purposes, wouldn't that be frustrating? What something like this would likely mean for banks is they would have to set up departments to review the situations of potential scams and take many hours to discuss with bank employees, the customer and maybe even family members why the withdrawals are taking place. No surprise here, but attorneys in some states have begun going after the banks saying it is their obligation to protect their clients' assets. There are laws that were passed in the 70s that requires banks to report suspicious money laundering activity and even required banks to screen for fraudulent activities and reimburse customers for stolen funds. However, it's limited to criminal impersonations of a customer to get unauthorized access to their accounts. This is different than many of the scams we are seeing today where the customers themselves are taking the money from their own account and sending it to the scammer. In my opinion, the best thing to do is educate people about these scams and if you have parents, be sure to have conversations with them about them before they happen.   Financial Planning: The Secondary Benefits of Roth Accounts While the primary advantage of Roth accounts lies in their tax-free growth and withdrawals in retirement avoiding potentially higher tax rates, there are several powerful secondary benefits worth considering. First, Roth IRAs are not subject to Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs), which means retirees can keep their money growing tax-free for life. In contrast, traditional pre-tax retirement accounts force RMDs beginning at age 75, whether the funds are needed or not. These mandatory withdrawals must be taken as taxable income and cannot be reinvested into another tax-advantaged retirement account. The most similar alternative is a regular taxable brokerage account, where earnings such as interest, dividends, and capital gains are subject to annual taxation—ultimately reducing the net return over time. By avoiding RMDs, Roth accounts allow retirees to maintain greater control over their tax situation and preserve more wealth in a truly tax-advantaged environment. Second, Roth accounts are far more advantageous for heirs. While both Roth and pre-tax retirement accounts are now subject to the 10-year rule—requiring inherited accounts to be fully distributed within 10 years of the original owner's death—the tax treatment is vastly different. Pre-tax inherited accounts are fully taxable to beneficiaries, which can push heirs into higher tax brackets as they're forced to withdraw large sums over a relatively short period. In contrast, inherited Roth accounts allow for the same 10 years of tax-free growth, but the entire balance can be withdrawn tax-free at the end, providing greater flexibility and preserving more value. Third, for individuals whose estates exceed the federal estate tax threshold, Roth accounts offer superior after-tax value. Both Roth and pre-tax accounts are included in the taxable estate, but Roth funds retain their full value since they are not subject to income tax when withdrawn. These features make Roth accounts not just a retirement planning tool, but also a strategic asset for legacy and tax-efficient estate planning.   Companies Discussed: Hasbro, Inc. (HAS), Chipotle Mexican Gill, Inc. (GMG) & Baker Hughes Company (BKR)

Think you might be richer than you realize? In this episode of the Retire Sooner Podcast, Wes Moss and Christa DiBiase examine realistic benchmarks and practical frameworks for retirement planning. • Define what the “rich ratio” means and consider how it may reframe your retirement outlook. • Compare your savings habits to U.S. medians to understand the broader landscape. • Acknowledge that building wealth typically occurs over long periods and that consistency can be meaningful. • Discuss research on how happiness and financial confidence often plateau beyond certain savings levels. • Evaluate the roles of traditional and Roth IRAs, 457(b)s, pensions, and brokerage accounts to support flexibility. • Identify scenarios where a standalone brokerage account may be unnecessary for certain savers. • Consider a target date fund allocation approach that may better align with your stated risk tolerance. • Weigh convenience, costs, and tax features of index mutual funds versus ETFs, including changes following a major fund industry patent expiration. • Clarify how the Net Unrealized Appreciation (NUA) rule for company stock in 401(k)s works and where tax treatment can differ. • Review key factors when choosing between a state pension plan and a self directed plan for teachers and public employees. • Position specialized pension income, including Railroad Retirement, as part of a base income layer within an overall plan, subject to program rules. • Incorporate year round tax planning as a component of a well documented retirement strategy, noting that individual circumstances vary. Listen and SUBSCRIBE to the Retire Sooner Podcast for weekly educational conversations that can inform more confident financial decision making. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A new tax bill has officially passed (you've probably heard it mentioned as the “Big Beautiful Bill”). And while most headlines are focused on politics, we're focused on what it means for your retirement. The choices you make in the next year or two could have a significant impact on how much you keep and how much goes to Uncle Sam.   Important Links: Website: http://www.yourplanningpros.com Call: 844-707-7381   ----more---- Transcript:    Marc: This week on Plan With the Tax Man, let's talk about the Big, Beautiful Bill and what it means for your retirement. We'll stay away from the politics as much as humanly possible and just focus on what it might mean in the choices that you may make in the next couple of years. Let's get into it.   Hey everybody, welcome into the podcast. This is Plan With the Tax Man with Tony Morrow and myself to talk investing, finance and a retirement with Tony, who is Des Moines Professional Alternative at Tax Doctor Inc. He's a CPA, CFP and an EA of 30 years plus in the industry, and a great resource for you to tap into.   And Tony, this week we're going to talk about... It's been a couple of weeks now and we're going to talk about the BBB or the OBBBB as the One Big Beautiful Bill. But you know, it's kind of funny. I think at first when we heard that, I think we thought that was just like the media name, but that's actually the bill's name. I was expecting it to be like OBB753624, some crazy number or whatever. But nope, it's One Big Beautiful Bill. So how you doing, buddy?   Tony: I've been good. Wrapping up the summer and hot here and here, we're getting ready for the state fair. So that's a big thing around here.   Marc: Yeah.   Tony: Yeah. Things are going good.   Marc: Well, good. Well, let's talk about this. Like I said, we'll try to stay off of the political stuff as much as we can. I mean, unfortunately, everything is trying to frame every piece of a conversation with some sort of a slant. And I will say, the only piece I'll say about this is that there's a lot of this helps billionaires and blah, blah, blah. And when you really look at some of the stuff we're going to cover today, it really doesn't. It's actually really kind of low and middle income families who actually get some of this extended stuff, at least a lot of the things that are going to affect most people. Right?   Tony: That's right. Yeah.   Marc: So we'll just dive into it. We'll kind of get started. So first of all, the tax brackets, which is the big piece, have been extended. You and I have been talking about that for a couple months now. When you're talking about planning and strategizing, we were waiting to see would the TCJA, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act from 2017, expire or would they get extended? Well, they got extended.   Tony: They got extended and they are supposedly... And we have to address this because you're going to hear a lot of stuff in the news and whatnot about this and that tax cut or brackets being now permanent, and hopefully, everybody knows that permanent only means that they just won't expire. But-   Marc: Right. In Washington-   Tony: Congress can change them.   Marc: Yeah. In Washington, permanent is not an actual word I don't think. Yeah.   Tony: It isn't. So I wish they wouldn't throw that around. But from this standpoint right now, they're not going to expire until Congress changes them.   Marc: A future Congress would have to pass a bill, basically.   Tony: Yeah. So you have to do that. But it is good news because now people from all income aspects can kind of plan. Obviously, the higher income is probably more concerned because they can do maybe a little more, but this is going to benefit people because all across the board, we're not going to have to worry about tax rates going up for right now.   Marc: Yeah. The seven brackets, Tony, they're staying the same through at least probably 2028, right?   Tony: At least. Yeah. At least.   Marc: Right. So we got what? 10, 12, 22, 24, 32, 35, and 37. Those are the tax brackets.   Tony: That is correct. Yeah. I always have to look them up now. Because there's so many, and they're constantly adjusting them a little bit for inflation. But I think that as far as how you can take advantage of that any more than you already have is we always try to get our clients to use up the bracket that they're in. It's important that they know what bracket they're in, which is their marginal bracket, because that is the bracket that the last dollar of income that's going to be taxed on. So anything we can do to fill up that bracket-   Marc: Can you explain that a little bit? Because I think people get confused by that, right? So they think, okay, let's say I'm in the 22, and so I'm afraid I'm going to do this or this and I'm going to move to the 24. But when you get moved up a bracket, it doesn't mean every dollar that came in moves to the 24, correct?   Tony: That's correct. Yeah. And a lot of people tend to forget when we'll pull out the brackets and the ranges that this is a progressive tax system. Certain amounts of income are starting out taxed at 10 and then the next is 12 and on and on and on. We talk about marginal bracket because if you're in the... Let's say I spout out, you're in the 22% bracket, that means any more of your income that you bring in that year over a certain amount is going to be taxed at 22%, but the first parts weren't taxed at 22%.   Marc: Correct.   Tony: Just the latest. And so it's really a good tactic for using Roth IRAs or Roth conversions-   Marc: And we'll talk about that yeah, a little bit later too. Yeah. But that's a good piece of that. I mean, overall extending this, from a planner's standpoint, which obviously you're a planner, that's useful. Yeah?   Tony: I think it's useful because now we can go with people and we can, I think with more accuracy, determine what their future taxes are going to be on some of this stuff and how we want them to take advantage of that and invest for retirement. I mean-   Marc: Yeah, for sure.   Tony: On a nation standpoint, well, again, we don't want to get into politics and all that as far as spending and cutting and this and that. But all we can do is take advantage of what they give us regardless of who's in there.   Marc: Yeah, true. And so probably up until '28 we'll have this in place, and some of these pieces that they passed also do have time expirations on them as well, and we'll talk more about that here in just a second. But again, there seems to be a lot of confusion around it. So that's the first big takeaway is that, hey, we are at historically low tax rates. So that's a win for most people. We'll see how it plays out in the long run, but for right now, that's the advantage we can take from it.   The standard deduction was also "made permanent" right, Tony? And honestly, it's pretty hefty. Check this out. I was going to run this past you, see what you thought. If you kind of break this down a little bit, Tony, so it's what? The standard deduction is... Let just find my note here. Where'd it go? Okay, so the standard deduction for a married couple, it's 31,500 base for 2025. That's pretty hefty.   Tony: That's hefty. And a lot of clients, that at least we see, may not be able to have enough itemized deductions to get over that, but at least it is. It's hefty. So you're not being penalized what I would say so much, but it is making it a little bit simpler for some Americans to just take the standard deduction. However, I think what we're going to talk about next will come into play this year where it hasn't come into play and that's the SALT cap because some people might be able to itemize now. But again, it's important to make that distinction.   Marc: Yeah, for sure. Well, I'll tell you what. I'm going to move it around a little bit. Let's talk about the SALT cap after we talk about some of the other deductions that kind of go along with the standard. Okay? So we got the standard deduction. It's 15,750 for a single person, single filer. 31,500 for a married couple.   Now, what they did for a lot of our listening audiences is the whole conversation and the kerfluffle around no tax on Social Security. That didn't happen. They did their bartering and all that stuff and people wanted to get this, and some people wanted to get that. And what they settled on, Tony, was this additional $6,000 per person over the age of 65.   Now, here's where I think people get confused. So the existing law gives you that additional standard deduction of $2,000 per person if you're over 65. Then this new temporary, from 2025 to 2028, senior deduction they're calling it is another 6,000 for single filers or 12,000 for married couples. So if you add these together, the 31,500... Let's say you're a married couple. 31,500 base deduction, the 3,200 age-based existing law deduction for married couples, plus the $12,000 bonus that's temporary through 2028, that's $46,700 of deductions can be pretty hard to itemize.   Tony: It's going to be pretty hard to itemize for seniors. Yes.   Marc: That's pretty great.   Tony: For sure. I mean, that is good.   Marc: 65 and over again, right?   Tony: Yeah, 65 and over. Now, what you got to remember though is that it's not... And I've already started to hear it. They're not eliminating taxes on Social Security.   Marc: Correct.   Tony: You still are paying taxes on your Social Security. It's just that they're extending a deduction. So it's in the ballpark. I mean, your taxes will be cut by whatever tax rate you're in with this deduction. And so-   Marc: It's kind of like a semantic word. It's almost a semantic math problem. Now, there are income limitations on this, we should say. For some people, it is like you're not going to be paying the tax on your Social Security, but not for everybody.   Tony: Not for everybody, but yeah for a lot of people, especially the people that are more Social Security heavy as far as driven with their retirement income, you may not be paying taxes at all now or very little. They will go down.   Marc: Yeah. So I guess we should explain the phase out. So how it works is if your MAGI, your modified adjusted gross income, is 75,000 for singles and 150, that's when it starts to phase. Does it mean you're cut off? It's not like a cliff, right?   Tony: It's not like a cliff.   Marc: At 150 for couples, it's not cut off, but at $250,000 of income, that's when it does cut off. So 150 to 250, you're kind of like percentages are going down, correct?   Tony: That's correct.   Marc: Okay.   Tony: Yeah, that's correct. And then the people that are over 250, obviously I think probably the theory there is, well, they don't need this extra deduction. So you're not getting it basically.   Marc: Right. Right.   Tony: So you're not getting that tax cut.   Marc: And so that really does benefit lower and middle income families, retirees.   Tony: For a lot of them definitely. Definitely. I think we're going to see a lot of our senior tax clients and the financial planning clients, their tax bill is going to go down with that.   Marc: Yeah. Now, the goofy part unfortunately was what was the IRS or whoever sent that thing out at first saying that it was no tax? And then they was like, okay, got all kind of confused and people got a little misnomer there. So we wanted to make sure we kind of explained that. They're kind of calling it the senior citizen deduction. As I said, it's 6,000 per person. Of course, $12,000 if you're married, and it's only for folks over 65 and again, within those monetary thresholds.   Now, to your point, let's back up a little bit and go to the SALT cap again, the bargaining chip I think when all these congressmen and senators and women are all chatting. It's like, well, I want this and I want that. They get this plan together. This happens with every bill for everything. We all know that's what they do. And you know that the higher income states were like, hey, California and New York and New Jersey and some other states were like, we need to raise the SALT. So explain what the SALT tax is and all that stuff.   Tony: So the SALT tax is short for what they did with the state and local income taxes and your property taxes back with the Tax Act of 2017. They basically put a limit on that deduction that you can not deduct any more than $10,000 in that whole area of your Schedule A, which is really your state and local income tax, your property tax, your car license fees and sales tax.   And so for those high tax states and those big states like California and New York, you're talking property values... I mean, some of those people's property tax alone might've been 30 to 50,000.   Marc: Yeah. I think Jersey's even higher than California, if I'm not mistaken. But Jersey's pretty high too. Yeah.   Tony: So I mean, all the really high income earners have large, large homes and properties have been crying for several years because they always could itemize drastically and now that was cut way down for them. So they have expanded this to I believe it's 40,000.   Marc: It's 40. Yep. Mm-hmm.   Tony: And there are some limits I believe on that too, and I can't remember what they are. But that is going to be a help to people that might not have been able to itemize before that might be able to now. Again-   Marc: Yeah. I feel like that's going to be your higher income earners though, Tony,   Tony: It is.   Marc: And by the way, yes, you're correct on the limits on that. The SALT deduction cap phases out between a half million and 600,000.   Tony: Okay.   Marc: Yeah. So it's fairly up there. So if you're itemizing, you're probably fairly well off.   Tony: You're probably fairly well off. Yeah. It just gives a little bit to the higher income earner, especially in the higher property tax states and whatnot, and income tax states to be able to deduct all that where they were limited severely here in the past. And we have a couple of tax clients that live in these states. They're making a half million, million bucks a year as a W2'd employee. So they're phased out of everything. It's those people that were really getting hurt. So this will help some as well.   Marc: Yeah, for sure. And before we move on to just the strategy of things and stuff, I did want to point out that there's also that new charitable deduction for standard filers. So if you can't itemize, back to my point a minute ago, we're talking like 30 plus grand of standard deductions going on, so a lot of people will not hit the itemizing level. They added this new little in 2026, Tony, where you can, for singles, it's only $1000, but still it's $1,000. And for married couples, it's $2000, but you can still do charitable donations without the itemizing.   Tony: Without the itemizing.   Marc: So it's not a ton of money, but it still comes off of your top income line. And if you're charitable minded, that's a great thing.   Tony: That's a great thing. I mean, even at $2000, let's say you're in the 20% bracket, it's $400 of an actual tax reduction. And again, you want to take everything they're going to give you and you don't want to leave anything on the table. So that does help with the charitable giving as well.   And back to the point of the higher income people, the charitable giving, they're giving a lot more anyway, so they're already itemizing. So that doesn't really do anything for them, but it does give the average person, if they're doing it anyway, at least they get a little bit of deduction where before they didn't.   Marc: Yeah, true. True. And this is an above the line deduction, correct?   Tony: Above the line. So they don't have to itemize.   Marc: Yeah.   Tony: Yeah.   Marc: Okay. All right, so then let's talk about also charitable giving and the Roth opportunities. So we kind of started that little piece of that earlier. Coming back to that now. The fact that you now have more runway, Tony as a planner, if Rothing over time was something that was maybe on someone's radar to do and they were worried, well, are they going to extend the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act or not? Or were the tax rates going to go up? That kind of changed that scenario, but now that we know that it's going to be that way for maybe the next four years, then hey, Roth opportunities are still alive.   Tony: They're very much alive. Our clients especially using backdoor Roths for higher incomes, for us, we're basically telling clients, let's make sure we're filling up these brackets and getting everything into a Roth as we can before they change something on that loophole. But I think in this tax situation, especially in the planning area as far as evaluating what to do now versus later, I think that's where people like us come and play where we can provide a lot of value in that area. It's not talking all about just choosing investments, is how can we cut your tax bill and continue to save for retirement tax efficiently.   Marc: Yeah. I mean, I think that's going to be the name of the game for most people is how do we maximize... Especially for four years, right?   Tony: Four years.   Marc: We know that politically it is what it is and in four years, depending on what happens with elections, another administration could come in and try to wipe out everything that this administration did. Who knows. So be efficient and take advantage of things right now while you can. And we'll wrap it up with any other things in there that caught your eye that you thought were interesting that you might want to share with the listeners?   Tony: I think one was, and nobody really is talking about it yet and it doesn't help a whole lot of people, and I don't know if I really agree with it, but I think it's important to get it out there. And that is they're allowing auto loan interest to be deducted again above the line. So you do not have to itemize to get this deduction. However, there's a lot of limits in it. It's got to be purchased this year, it's got to be new. There's phase outs for the deduction on income, but everybody's buying a car [inaudible 00:17:06]-   Marc: Yeah, it's like 10 grand too, isn't it? It's pretty-   Tony: Yeah, it's up there.   Marc: Yeah.   Tony: And so if you're out buying that, you're going to have an incentive to...   Marc: Well, that was the point. Yeah. that was the point, right? Because what is it, final assembly in the US? Which I'm curious as to what the breakdown on that is. Is it like 40% of the car has to be assembled here or what?   Tony: Exactly. I think that's interesting.   Marc: Yeah, for sure.   Tony: And it'll be interesting to see how they try to police that for people that might press that a little bit.   Marc: Great point. Yeah. Well, in that same car vein, Tony, I think it is again, part of that initiative to promote American business and growth and help our economy. Because on the same side, the EV credit is going away. So if on your radar for your retirement strategy, if you're getting close to retirement this year was to get a new car like many retirees do when they first get to retirement, keep in mind that the EV credit goes away in September. So just a little over a month or so from now.   Tony: Yeah. I think one last one though is the no tax on tips up to $25,000.   Marc: Might not help a lot of our listeners or your clients, but maybe their kids or grandkids.   Tony: Yeah. I mean, it's going to help a certain segment to a point. I actually had, believe it or not, somebody already called me up, and this was a business client, they're already thinking, and hopefully they don't do this. But they were asking about, well, why don't I just convert all my employees to 1099s and they can basically claim tip income?   So the IRS has got rules on that. It's got to be W2. They got to be reported tips. So if you're a tipped employee and it's got to be in the service industry that normally receives tips, can't be somebody out on the road truck driver or something like that. Don't get too cute with some of this stuff and trying to push the limits and trying to outthink things, because you're going to get yourself in trouble. I know the IRS is having some issues now with staffing and whatnot, but I would recommend highly do not try to do any of that. And there's already stuff out on the internet talking about ways, which I think are already, they strike me as illegal. So don't fall for that. Make sure you ask your advisor.   Marc: Yeah, yeah. Yeah. We want to still stay above board with this stuff.   Tony: Got to stay above the board.   Marc: Yeah. Especially with some of that stuff. But yeah, I mean, it could be beneficial for folks in those industries doing things the right way. So good stuff. I mean, look, Tony, at the end of the day, the tax bill didn't shake the system to its core, but it did provide a decent amount of change to help in a lot of areas, especially for retirees and pre-retirees to take advantage of. So again, the window's kind of short to act. A lot of this stuff kicks in either this year or the first of next year, and it expires at the end of '28, going probably into '29. Unless of course Congress does something different. But more than likely, this all stands until there's a new administration and then they rule some kind of changes or whatever. So the takeaway, be proactive, right?   Tony: Right. Be proactive, talk with your advisor, see which deductions might apply to your situation both for taxes and retirement planning. And then just modify the plan as you go and try to take advantage of anything you can.   Marc: Absolutely. Yeah, and that's a great point. And when working with someone like yourself, Tony, who's doing both sides of that, both sides of the aisle if you will, if you'll pardon the pun, you've got the planning side as well as the tax side. So it's really helpful to have both of those things under one roof. So reach out to Tony if you've got some questions, need some help. Get yourself onto the calendar so that you can Plan With the Tax Man at 844-707-7381. 844-707-7381. Or of course, visit him online@ at Yourplanningpros.com. That is Yourplanningpros.com. And don't forget to subscribe to us on Apple or Spotify or whatever podcasting app you enjoy using. We'll see you next time here on Plan With the Tax Man with Tony Morrow. Thanks, Tony.   Tony: All right, take care.   Securities offered through Avantax Investment Services SM, member FINRA, SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through Avantax Advisory Services. Insurance services offered through an Avantax affiliated insurance agency. Investment strategies discussed in this episode may not be suitable for all investors. Please consult with a financial professional.

In this episode of the Power of Zero Show, David McKnight looks at headlines, such as those from Vanguard, BlackRock or Morningstar, that have predicted a dismal forecast for stock market returns over the next decade. Since such articles predict 4-5% annual growth for the next decade, many investors are pondering whether they should take some chips off the table. Back in 2015, those same institutions and companies stressed that valuations were too high and that, since the markets had a great run, it couldn't possibly continue anymore. Vanguard forecasted 4-6% returns, BlackRock predicted 4.5-5% returns, while Research Affiliates predicted an anemic 1.5-2% returns. However, from 2015 through 2024, the S&P 500 posted a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of roughly 11.9% - proving those predictions wrong! In fact, such forecasts by stock market research institutions turned out to be off by 5-6%.  David believes that financial institutions making failed predictions about the future of the stock market isn't just the exception, it's the rule. In the 2015-2024 timespan, we had a global pandemic that shut down entire economies, interest rates fell to zero, then spiked in record time, massive government stimulus, a tech boom, a crypto craze, and the rise of AI. - How many of those events could have been predicted in 2015? David doesn't recommend putting too much stock in long-term market forecasts by large financial institutions because, even if they might be well-researched, they're still guesses. For David, you shouldn't let fear drive your investment behavior. Not only should you stay invested over the next 10 years, but you should focus on investing inside tax-free accounts. Think about a balanced, comprehensive tax-fee approach that takes advantage of every nook and cranny in the IRS tax code.  David refers to tools such as Roth IRAs, Roth 401(k)s, and some properly structured cash value life insurance policies like Indexed Universal Life. What drives long-term stock market returns? “It isn't predictions, emotions, or headlines, it's innovation and productivity. If you look around, you can see that those things are accelerating, not slowing down,” says David.     Mentioned in this episode: David's national bestselling book: The Guru Gap: How America's Financial Gurus Are Leading You Astray, and How to Get Back on Track DavidMcKnight.com DavidMcKnightBooks.com PowerOfZero.com (free video series) @mcknightandco on Twitter  @davidcmcknight on Instagram David McKnight on YouTube Get David's Tax-free Tool Kit at taxfreetoolkit.com Vanguard BlackRock Morningstar Research Affiliates S&P 500 Warren Buffett

What if your inheritance could grow tax-free for a decade? In this episode, Art McPherson breaks down the power of Roth IRAs, the impact of inflation on retirement, and how to avoid costly mistakes when receiving a windfall. From market volatility to mid-season tax planning, Art shares practical strategies to help you protect your future and make smarter financial decisions—whether you're retiring early or just getting started. Plus, a few laughs about sticker shock, bubble tape, and the true cost of a kiss. For more information visit www.artofmoney.com! Follow us on social media: YouTube | Instagram | Facebook | LinkedInSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What if delaying retirement could boost your financial future? In this episode of The Retirement Playbook, Rick and Granger Hughes break down key strategies for navigating retirement with confidence. From understanding market behavior to leveraging Roth IRAs and anticipating shifts in Social Security, they offer insights that empower listeners to make smarter, more informed decisions. The episode also underscores the value of proactive tax planning and the long-term benefits of patience when it comes to retirement timing. Hit play to discover what your financial advisor should be telling you. For events and complimentary consultations, visit hughesretirementgroup.com.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Title: Build a Bigger Life, Not a Bigger Lifestyle: The Real Path to Freedom with Adam Caroll Summary: In this episode of Raise the Bar Radio, guest (Adam Carroll) shares his journey from a traveling professional speaker to building sustainable wealth through passive income strategies. After realizing the limitations of trading time for money, Adam developed The Shred Method, a cashflow reorientation system that minimizes debt interest and frees up capital to build liquidity and invest. By leveraging lines of credit and algorithm-driven cash deployment, individuals can rapidly pay down debts and reallocate savings into passive income streams like real estate syndications, intellectual property, and other alternative investments. Adam stresses that most high-income earners don't have an income problem - they have a liquidity problem tied up in low-access retirement plans and excessive spending. Finally, he expands on his philosophy of "building a bigger life, not a bigger lifestyle," urging professionals to align spending and time with their values to achieve fulfillment and financial freedom within 10 years. Links to Watch and Subscribe:   Bullet Point Highlights: Trading time for money is limiting. Adam shifted from paid speaking gigs to building passive income streams for true freedom. The Shred Method minimizes interest expenses. By using cashflow more efficiently through lines of credit and optimized algorithms, debt is paid down faster, freeing liquidity for investing. Passive income is key to wealth. Adam focuses on real estate syndications, ATM tranches, intellectual property, and digital products to generate consistent, diversified passive cash flow. Most people have a liquidity problem, not an income problem. Money is often locked in 401(k)s or spent wastefully — instead, creating accessible liquidity allows for opportunity-based investing. Building a bigger life requires intentionality. Aligning spending and actions with core values (like family, freedom, growth) leads to fulfillment — not just more stuff. The game becomes fun. Once passive income starts flowing, investing becomes strategic, diversified, and compounding — eventually replacing active income and creating financial independence. Anyone can implement this. While you can DIY, Adam recommends coaching to fast-track understanding and execution of the Shred Method. Transcript: (Seth Bradley) (00:02.094) What's up, Builders? This is Raise the Bar Radio, where we talk about building wealth, raising capital, and all in all, raising the bar in your business and your life. This is the No BS podcast for capital raisers, investors, and entrepreneurs who are serious about scaling their business and living life on their own terms. I'm (Seth Bradley), securities attorney, real estate investor, and entrepreneur, bringing you world-class strategies from the best in the game.   If you're ready to raise more capital, close bigger deals, build a better you and create true financial freedom, you're in the right place. Let's go. Adam, what's going on, brother? Welcome to the show.   Hey Seth, thanks for having me, man. I'm excited about our conversation today.   Yeah, dude, super stoked to have you on today. It's going to be an awesome show, man. Let's dive right in. Tell us a little bit about yourself, your background. Take it back as far as you want to. Yeah.   Well, for the last 15 years or so, almost 20 now, guess, I've been making my living, opening my mouth and just speaking on stages all across the country. Had the opportunity to do a couple of international gigs, which was a blast. And in the midst of all that, making my living as a professional speaker, I realized that if I was very similar to your audience, if I wasn't doing the deal, doing the gig, doing the engagement, I wasn't getting paid.   (Adam Carroll) (01:26.184) And so a mentor of mine said, the goal is not to go to work and get paid. The goal is to go to work and get paid, get paid, get paid, get paid, get paid, get paid, get paid. And so I started figuring out that what I really wanted to do with the messaging that I was delivering was turn it into sort of a mediapreneurship where I was a mediapreneur creating content, but then I'd get paid for the content over and over and over again. And that today looks like I've written a bunch of books.   I've got a documentary that I produced that aired on CNBC. And now we're starting to get into more of a SaaS business, which I'm sure we'll talk about. That's the shred method. But I, you what I do when people ask me, I tell them, I love to educate people about new and different ways of building a bigger life, not a bigger lifestyle. And I would say you and I have that in common, because I know you're doing that on the show.   Yeah, absolutely, man. I gotta ask, how do you become a professional speaker? I bet a lot of people are thinking about that.   The origin story is kind of interesting because I was a clothier at the time in Denver, Colorado. And I was literally going out and meeting with high level executives in their offices, selling them custom made suits and shirts and sport coats and pants and whatnot. And it occurred to me in the middle of a meeting at one point, an appointment with one of my clients that I didn't want to measure in seams for the rest of my life. And I'll keep it PG but   This guy was one of my favorite clients. He was irreverent and funny and wasn't afraid to spend money on clothes. But this particular day, he confided in me that he wasn't wearing any underwear. And I was just like, dude, JP, what? You knew I was coming here today. He's like, I know, I just forgot. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. And I walked out and I went, I don't want to do this anymore. I just don't want to do this. And the company that I worked for is a fairly well known clothier. But   (Adam Carroll) (03:22.55) Every day I would drive around in my car listening to motivational messages. You know, they were on CDs at the time. I'm going to date myself, but I would listen to like Mark Victor Hansen and Jack Canfield and Les Brown and Zig Ziglar. I would listen to all these CDs in my car. And Mark Victor Hansen said on one of the CDs that public speaking is one of the most noble professions because you get to travel the world. You get to change people's lives and you make a lot of money doing it. And I remember thinking.   That's what I want to do. All three of those things rolled into one. And so I reached out to a buddy of mine and said, dude, I don't think I'm in the right job. I need to be doing something else. He said, what do you want to do? And I told him, and you know how the universe kind of works in mysterious ways. He goes, well, Anne, who used to work with us, she works for a company that that's all they do is hire speakers. And so I sent in a tape, I auditioned, I got the gig.   And I was a W2 employee of theirs for about two years and then realized that I was being underpaid for the work I was doing, that I was actually probably one of the top 10 % of speakers on the roster. And then I realized that when you can make anywhere from a thousand to $5,000 an hour doing that, it was a pretty good paying gig if you were out on your own. I took the jump and have been doing it ever since.   Interesting man. I didn't realize that you could have a W-2 as a speaker I thought everybody that was speaking was getting the speakers that were getting paid, you know They were kind of doing it on their own. I don't realize there was kind of a there was a way to do it where there's a company that pays W-2 wages to speakers to speak it events. Yeah, it's interesting   It is interesting because there are companies that will hire you as a speaker to go and it may be sell their product or service. Or in this case, I was working for a company that was a division of monster.com, the job search company. And I was, I was speaking to high school and college students all across the country. And I probably presented to like 200,000 people in, two years time. So it was just a great practice run and a great way to cut my teeth on a very difficult audience. Because.   (Adam Carroll) (05:36.814) I don't know if you've ever been around a freshman in high school or a sophomore in high school, but they're like the most apathetic human beings on the face of earth. They don't want to be there. I could have lit myself on fire and they'd been like, cool, what else you got? And then when I realized that there were speakers like me that were out who basically just said, this is my topic. This is my specialty, if you will. And here's the rate. And the more they spoke and the...   we have a theory that the more you speak, the more you speak. So once you get out, you hang your own shingle and say, I'm a speaker in this topic, people begin to know you as that person. And then word gets around and obviously you have to not suck on stage. That's part of it. But if you're great at keeping audiences attention, and I really studied NLP, neuro-linguistic programming to use the right words, I studied comedians to figure out what was funny and what wasn't, and it just worked.   Over time, I had more more bookings and at the peak of my career, I was doing like 70 or 75 gigs a year.   Wow, wow, that's incredible. Definitely didn't realize that was your background. I remember those folks coming to like the office and selling suits and doing that sort of thing. So that's pretty interesting. I'm sure a lot of listeners out there are familiar with that process as well.   Yeah. Yeah, it was, it was a great, it was a great gig. mean, I met all sorts of really phenomenal business people. And I think for me, it was, it was like confirmation that I had this desire to, to impact people. And my boss at one point, he was like, Hey, these people love you. They want you to come around. They love the discussion and the conversation. They need to buy stuff from you. And, and there was a.   (Seth Bradley) (07:01.639) sorry, go ahead.   (Adam Carroll) (07:26.574) It's kind of a realization for me that I didn't necessarily want to have to sell. wanted people to buy. And speaking makes it real easy to do that.   Hmm. Yeah, makes sense. Let's jump right into it, man. Let's talk about the shred method. A lot of folks will find this very interesting. I know that I do. What is it? And let's just start there. What is it? Tell us a little bit about it.   Yeah, the shred method, first of all, thank you for asking. it's, it's, for me, I don't say this lightly, but nothing has built more wealth for me and my family than following this model. And the reason for it is there are two great expenses that everyone has in life. And I'm sure all of your listeners, be they attorneys, doctors, other professionally degreed folks.   If you're in a W-2 job, you know this to be true. The two greatest expenses we have in life are taxes and the interest expense on debt. Those are the two greatest expenses. And a gentleman that I had met years ago who helped me with tax situations, just a brilliant, brilliant strategist, he said, Adam, if you focus on minimizing your tax liability, that will get you halfway there. And it's very easy to do, buy real estate, have depreciable assets.   you know, make personal expenses, business expenses, etc, etc. But he said, if you can focus on minimizing the interest expense on debt, this is like a video game that you can't lose. And so when I learned about the shred method, and this is known by a variety of different terms, some people call it an Australian mortgage, it's called velocity banking, we've taken those concepts and turbocharged them.   (Adam Carroll) (09:09.474) almost like putting nitrous oxide in a gas tank, you know, in terms of making it go faster. But the shred method is a unique tool and a way of reorienting your cash flow through your household so that it is being used to the most efficient use possible. And to kind of qualify that, Seth, if you were to leave your home in the morning to go to the grocery store, as an example, and you came back home, emptied the car out,   knowing you had to go to post office at like 4 p.m., would you leave your car idling in the driveway all day?   (Adam Carroll) (09:46.284) Nope. No, and why wouldn't you?   Wasteful.   Yeah, wasteful, you'd burn gas, it'd be hard on the engine. It's just inefficient, right? And yet what most people do is they get their income, their income gets deposited into a checking account, and it sits there for days, weeks, months, sometimes years on end. And we never really use it to its highest efficiency. Meanwhile, we might have debts, commercial debts, primary mortgages, might have student loans yet. And all of those are accruing amortized interest.   right? And you might say it's compound interest working against you to a certain extent. But at the very least amortized interest means that the majority of the interest you're paying on that debt is upfront, it's in the first one to five years. And so the shred method teaches people how to take that income that is being super inefficient in an account, and instead begin to apply it through a process that allows you to blast away   the highest interest or highest payment debts that you have, freeing up cash flow, building equity, and ultimately, and this is the key, creating liquidity to go buy passive income properties, if you will, or other passive income plays.   (Seth Bradley) (11:02.058) Interesting. Yeah, and we actually haven't had anyone on the show to speak about this method, whatever nomenclature you might use. So let's go in a little bit more detail. mean, what is the vehicle? What is this flow of money that you're talking about?   So, know, logistically, here's how it works. Money typically would just get deposited into checking. You pay everything out of checking your mortgage, your car loan, your credit cards, living expenses. And the gurus would tell you that anything extra should really go towards savings and investments, right? And for most people, it goes to Costco, Target and Dining Out. That's where it goes. You know, it doesn't stay in the account, doesn't go into savings. If it does, it goes there for a small period of time. I think that most people   don't really have a savings account, they have a put and take account, because they put a little bit in, take a little bit out, put a little bit in, take a lot out. So the way this works is the money instead of being deposited straight to a checking account gets deposited into what we call a shred account. And the shred account could either be a line of credit, or it could be just a side account of money that you have sitting there that has not been accessed in some time. And what we tell our users is that   you really want to have either a line of credit or a shred account that is one and a half to two times what your monthly net take home is. So if you're bringing home 10 grand a month net, then ideally you want either a line of credit or a shred account of 15 to 20 grand. And the magic of this is the money is going to flow into that account. But the shred method is powered by a piece of software that is based on an algorithm that's tracking your income.   your expenses, the interest that you're paying on all your debts, and how much discretionary money you have available at any given point in time. And essentially, we're leveraging that in really short bursts of time against your largest debts, which could be, again, student loans, could be your mortgage, could be commercial properties. And in doing that, what we're doing is we're saving copious amounts of interest, like literally tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars.   (Adam Carroll) (13:11.122) And in the process, we're freeing up a ton of equity. So people that are saying, hey, I'm paycheck to paycheck. It's hard for me to figure out how am I going to invest more money? We're telling them the money is going to come from the equity that you're creating in your properties by paying them down rapidly.   I love that because I can see where this is going to potentially free up some extra cash to invest. A lot of folks out there, including myself back in the day, we got caught up in this thing we call the golden handcuffs where we're just spending everything. Like you said, we're spending it on Target, on eating out, on things that we really don't need. mean, there's a time and place for spending money on having a good time and enjoying your life for sure.   But we just we tend to overdo it as our income grows our expenses grow right along with it And a lot of people that I talked to about investing they're like, you know I don't have fifty thousand dollars to invest in this real estate deal or a hundred thousand dollars in this real estate deal and it's like well Well, why don't you you know make three hundred thousand dollars you why don't you have fifty thousand dollars to invest in this awesome deal? Right or to you know, put aside for your emergency fund. Like why don't you have these things set up?   So, you know, we always have to walk them through, you know, the expenses is the issue. Really, it's what are you spending all this money on? we try to find how they can save on those expenses so that they can invest in these assets that are really going to set them financially free.   No doubt. And I think you hit the nail on the head. If somebody's making, and honestly, I tell people if you're making six figures plus $100,000 plus, and you don't have 10, 20, $50,000 ready to go, there's something fundamentally wrong. And here it is, we're sending too much money to our banker, and it just goes up in smoke. Right? We like to refer to it as the interest to income ratio, which is if you take how much income you make,   (Adam Carroll) (15:11.694) and you back out how much of that income is actually going to pay interest expense, it'll probably blow your mind. If someone's got a multi-six figure home or mortgage that they're paying on, and they've got student loans, and maybe they're driving a $50,000 to $100,000 vehicle with a payment attached to it, you're probably burning 50 to 60 grand a year in interest and not really thinking twice about it. So what this does is it starts to claw back some of the money that you're sending to your banker.   Which by the way, they make plenty of money. They don't need your money. That is the most profitable business out there is banking and lending. mean, literally, Seth, if you drive two miles around your property there, how many banks would you be able to stop at, do you think? Ballpark best guess.   Right, half a dozen.   Easily, right? And they're probably $10 million buildings minimum. Out there, they're even more, right? So, so this is the deal. They're profitable business ventures. And what we have to remember sometimes is we are their compound interest vehicle, right? Us making our payment every single month is what makes the banks all the money. And if we can game that system, if even for 12 to 18 months at the very beginning of our debt,   we can strip away a huge chunk of the interest that we would normally be paying them over the course of a decade or more. To your audience, that's how I'd say this is how you find the extra 50 or 100 grand because you do have it and it should be in the equity of your property and easily accessible as a liquidity tool. It just isn't because you haven't challenged the banking system.   (Seth Bradley) (16:57.073) Yeah. Now, is this something you can set up yourself or is this something that you need an expert to kind of walk you through? I'm sure if you could probably do it either way. It's just like anything else. You want to take the shortcut or not. But yeah, I just like to know your thoughts on that.   You're exactly right. I I could build a deck on my house if I wanted to and had three months to learn how to do it. Anybody can learn how to do this. My question to most people when they say, I do this myself? I'll say, yes, why haven't you? And for that, the investment with us is very minimal, mainly what it is is coaching and being able to help people get the logistics right. Because once they get it, it's very simple.   but there requires a little bit of retraining the brain in terms of how to handle your money and where the cash flow goes, because it's so, it's like so ingrained in us to live in the banker's business model, put money in checking, pay your bills, anything leftover goes over here. And if you look at it critically, the two groups that are really making money using the existing platform are bankers,   and any advisors that are accepting your money and then turning around and doing something with it. A friend of mine used to call it the helper class. So when the helper class has your money, they're making a ton of money, probably more than you are. And that's our goal is to begin to start to pull back some of the money from the helper class to keep it for ourselves to build those massive passive permanent streams of income.   Yeah, yeah, that makes sense. We tend to bash a few of those helper class folks. I mean, they're not all created equal, including some financial advisors and folks like that that, you know, they're okay people, but their interests aren't necessarily aligned with yours.   (Adam Carroll) (18:51.576) That's right. I would agree with that. I don't want to villainize them, but I think that personal finance is personal. The challenge that I have with anyone out there who espouses a certain way, mine included, is it has to be for the right kind of audience, the right avatar. From our perspective, the people that we help out are the ones who do want to break free from the W-2. They want to create massive passive permanent streams of income.   Over time, they'd like to build a bigger life, not a bigger lifestyle. So if someone's chronically overspending, got to have the newest of the new every single time, they may not be a perfect fit with our strategy because the goal is to continually increase your income while either keeping your expenses similar or even trending down over time, which is not to say that you can't expand where you're spending. Your income is increasing exponentially relative to your expenses.   we do that through the model that we're teaching people. So, you if you're a new car every six months or 12 months kind of person may not be a perfect fit. But if you're somebody who's like, hey, the debt's kind of oppressive, I want to get rid of it. And I want to build, you know, massive wealth for future generations, then generally speaking, we're a pretty good fit for for those folks.   Yeah, yeah, that makes a lot of sense. And I feel like there's, there's probably, it's probably a math equation, right? Like we can't necessarily do it on this show because it's, everybody's taking it in by audio for the most part. there's gotta be an algorithm and you could probably, you know, set those expense numbers and interest numbers that you're paying on your mortgage and other debts and what you're going to pay on that through the shred method and kind of see the savings and how you can grow that wealth year over year.   You're exactly right. It is super fluid. So if your income changes, your expenses change, we plug all that data in and hit recalculate and the thing automatically adjusts to whatever your expenses are. So one of the things that I would never fault anyone for is taking awesome vacations or buying a new car, whatever your choice is. Again, we're not going to villainize anyone for living their life.   (Adam Carroll) (21:06.67) But what we can do through shred is to say, hey, if you're going to drop 10 grand on a vacation, it's going to change your payoff by a month or two months or six months, depending on your income and discretionary income. And if someone knows that and they're planning on it, at least they're armed with that information as opposed to, gosh, we shouldn't do this, but we did or should we buy this $50,000 card? Does it make sense? Or 80 or 150 or whatever your number is.   We can show you exactly do it, just know this is what it changes in the process.   Yeah, yeah, I like that because you can just show them this is the impact it's going to have on paper before they do it and then you can make a better decision on whether or not you want to do that or not.   Absolutely. And furthermore, and you'll appreciate this, I know you're of this mindset, you'll get to a point where it's like, if you want the new car, then invest the money in a syndication or another property that puts enough money in your pocket, you can go pay for the car. But let your assets pay for your liabilities. And I think that's the main thing that many people, I'm sure your listeners, certainly folks that we engage with.   They don't have a lot of assets. They work hard, they make good money, but that is the sum total of their income, is active income. And our goal is to increase passive income over time where it supersedes your expenses because at that point you're financially free.   (Seth Bradley) (22:36.758) Right, right. What are some of the passive investments that you're involved in or that you recommend to people once they've implemented this system and they're trying to build those passive income streams?   Yeah, there are a number of them and I keep getting introduced to more and more all the time, Seth. I mentioned that, you know, that I was a mediapreneur and that the goal was to work, do the work and then get paid, get paid, get paid, get paid. So I started looking for other passive income streams. I really do love real estate. I've been invested in real estate for a long time. We divested of personally held real estate about four or five years ago. And   You know, I think I was too early to the party, but I thought the market was peaking and I thought I could get the max amount out of my properties. And I think I did at the time. And then we were introduced to syndications and we started really appreciating the fact that you could own a piece of a 350 unit apartment complex in South Carolina or Houston, Texas, or some other growing city and get a couple things, either monthly or quarterly income. You could get bonus depreciation.   And you basically got a K1 at the end of the year, which allows you to claim some of those expenses. And so we love syndications. We try and stack syndications on top of each other. they're coming due. They're selling every three or four or five years. So we'll put an amount of capital in knowing that it's going to turn over in short order. And we'll have another amount of capital to put in. And generally speaking, that capital amount just keeps going up.   So we love syndications. I've been introduced and we haven't pulled the trigger yet, but on ATM tranches where you can buy, have you heard this investment? Yep. So you can buy, you know, an amount of ATM machines where you're basically compensated on whatever the fee revenue on those are. There are many advantages to those. There are some drawbacks to it, but it's again, a passive income stream and one that's fairly consistent.   (Seth Bradley) (24:25.798) yeah, for sure.   (Adam Carroll) (24:44.59) Then I really like intellectual property plays. I will tend to invest in a business that has some IP and it may not cashflow right away, but I know that in two or three years, the IP is probably going to be worth something. It's more of a long-term play for me. I'm not going to put as much in it, but we have a couple of 25 to $50,000 investments in those kinds of deals as well. That, in addition to books and   documentary is still selling and things like that I'll keep doing. For me, the process of creating passive income is kind of a game. And so whatever the next thing is, I'm digging in, I want to learn it. total sidebar, but I'm trying to teach my sons and my daughter, this is the way of the future. It's not about working a nine to five and getting W2 and staying with the company for 30 years, it just doesn't happen anymore. It's about setting up   just perpetual income streams that allow you to live the way you want to live. And that, you know, I think that answers your question, hopefully.   (Seth Bradley) (25:52.174) Pardon the interruption, but we don't do ads. Instead, know that if you're raising capital for real estate, my law firm, RaiseLaw, is here to give you the expert legal guidance you need to raise capital compliantly and structure and close your deal. And if you're looking for a done-for-you fund-to-fund solution, Tribest is the industry's only all-in-one setup and fund administration solution. Visit Raise.Law and Tribest.com to learn more.   Yeah, yeah, that's right. You're preaching to the choir here, man. That's awesome. And you're kind of pretty deep into it. A lot of people will invest in a syndication and it is expensive to get involved, right? I mean, it's 50 grand or so or more to get into one of these things. And they're like, okay, I'm done. But you can't be done. You have to keep saving, keep investing. And you're in it to the point where past investors start really start accumulating wealth because they start stacking.   They start coming due every two, three, four, five years. You put it back in another one and they just compound on each other. And you're really accumulating this tax free if you stack them correctly. So it is an incredible vehicle once you get going. And it does turn into a game. I mean, you can look at your bank account or look at your personal P &L and just see how it's growing over five, 10 years. It's incredible. And you're not doing any work. You're vetting the sponsor, the market and the deal and really just the sponsor once you get really good at it.   and you keep reinvesting with the same sponsors that you like and there's no work involved, no tenants, toilets and trash, none of that.   Yes. Yes. And I think you hit the nail on the head when you find a sponsor you really like and you jive with, it's easy to roll the money over to them because they're constantly looking for the next deal. their reputation, their personality, everything is based on their success. they have a very, very vested interest to make you money. And so I don't think I fully realized when I was younger   (Adam Carroll) (27:50.35) the power of having the ability to write a 50 or $100,000 check. And once you get there and you can do 50 or 100 or get to a point where you can write a $500,000 or a million dollar check, things change drastically because there are syndicators out there that will take a million bucks. They'll pay you $90,000 a year guaranteed on the investment. You'll get bonus depreciation and write-offs and all of that. And you'll have like a...   200 % return on it within four or five years, three, four or five years. That's where you can buy a new car every year or two or three, because you need like a $75,000 or $80,000 write-off to your business. So you need a truck or you need a heavy vehicle,   Yeah, yeah, that's right. I mean, that's a good point. mean, people that have $500,000, a million dollars or more liquid, I mean, you can just look at a simple math and you get an 8 to 10 % return on that in cash flow, just in cash flow. You know, if you're living reasonably, you can live off of that. So, yeah, so you can be, you you don't need $10 million, $20 million to retire off of this if you invest in the right deals.   Totally. Totally.   (Seth Bradley) (29:03.926) and kind of spread it across, diversify in different deals, different sponsors, different geographies, different asset types. You can be retired if you want to. It's closer than people think.   I would agree. We have a theory that nearly everyone and certainly your audience could be free, done, done completely in 10 years or less. Absolutely. We call it a 10-year freedom plan. the challenge, think, Seth, and I would be curious your take on this, but I think the challenge for most people is not necessarily an income problem. It's a liquidity problem. So you make good income, right? And we talked about it. It's the expenses that factors in.   But where the majority of your investments go are probably in qualified funds. They're sitting in 401ks and Roth IRAs. Unless it's self-directed, you can't really access it till you're 59 and a half. And even then it's 59 and a half to 70 and a half, you have free rein access. Otherwise the government's regulating how much you take out without fees or penalties. That's a liquidity problem. And so the shred method takes that into account and starts to build   pockets or buckets of liquidity that you can draw from. The first is your home equity, or it could be equity in a commercial property. And then the next would be building a bank of money that you're borrowing from at some point in time, just another bucket. And the more buckets of money that we create, the more liquidity you have and the more investments you can get into, thereby increasing your passive income. So to your point, you do this well, it's like a video game you can't lose over time.   Yeah, yeah, that's right. And we've been programmed to think if we have a high paying job, we just put as much as we can into a 401k and we're doing the right thing and we're doing everything that we need to do and we're not and then everything that doesn't go into that 401k we're spending. So we're not saving anything else. We're not keeping anything else liquid. And we're just assuming that we're going to be okay because we put this money in the 401k. Well, like you said, you can't access it until you're 60 years old. That's right. Unless you take it out with a major penalty. So   (Seth Bradley) (31:10.062) You know, one way to do that obviously is to roll it over in an SDIRA or self-directed, I'm sorry, 401k, the self-directed, something that you have some control over. And then it does become liquid in the sense that you can at least invest it in things that you want to invest in rather than a financial advisor or just stocks, bonds and mutual funds. And then as you said, there's different ways that you can free up liquidity, a HELOC.   something like that borrow against a life insurance policy we've talked about infinite banking policies things like that there's there's creative ways to do it you just need to be aware of it most people just aren't aware of how to how to do that   Yeah, I think that's what's so valuable about your show too, man, is that we only know what we know. And there's an enormous amount that we don't know we don't know. So when I got introduced to syndications, and I got introduced to the ATM tranches, and I'm looking at these going, you know, there is risk, there's risk in everything. But the risk is so mitigated. And you don't realize that if you're writing $100,000 check, and they're saying, yeah, we're going to pay you 9 % guaranteed.   And these are some syndicators will promise an interest rate based on what class of investor you are, A, B, C, D, whatever it may be. But when I looked at that and I go, if I'm striving to get eight to 10 % in the S &P 500, and I have zero control over that, where would I rather be placing my money? That was something I didn't know I didn't know. And it's always fascinating to me to begin sharing this with people because   When I share the shred method, a lot of folks go, not too good to be true. If it's so good, why isn't everybody doing it? And what I'll tell them is because of human behavior and because the bank's lobbies and their marketing engine is so powerful. But it's not magic, it's math. We're taking mathematical principles, risk-based principles and applying it to real estate or finance and figuring out how to make an amount of money that will supersede what you're.   (Adam Carroll) (33:13.782) your W2 job is pretty simple. That's right. Yeah.   Yeah, pretty simple. It's math. Just got to get it down on paper, right? Yeah. All right. Let's switch gears a little bit. I want to quickly get into, you know, this concept that you preach about building a bigger life at work because I think that's, you know, inspiring and that sort of thing and really life in general, right? Tell us about that concept and kind of dive in a little bit.   Yeah.   (Adam Carroll) (33:37.964) Yeah, you know, this started, it would actually started from a conversation I had with a recent college graduate, and they had gotten an advanced degree, they were going into a high paying job. And I think they'd been at it for maybe nine months or so. And we were having coffee and this person said to me, I'm just not satisfied. And I said, Well, what what is it you're not satisfied with? And they said, Well, the issue is that I thought at this point in time after graduating, he'd be traveling the globe.   You know, that was what he had always romanticized was just tons of travel and do whatever he wanted to do. And I said, well, what's keeping you from that? And he goes, well, you know, I just got into this long-term lease apartment. go, okay. And he said, and I bought a bunch of furniture that I financed. And, and then it's like, okay. He goes, I have a couple of gym memberships, not one, two gym memberships, you know, each probably 80 to 120 bucks a piece a month had a car payment because he needed a fancy car. And I said,   Dude, it sounds to me like you're building a bigger lifestyle, not a bigger life. And what you're asking for is a bigger life. And that became almost a deep dive search for me on what would building a bigger life mean for me and my family. And what I did, Seth, was I started digging into what are my core values? How can I live according to those core values, not according to my neighbor's core values, you who may be drastically different than mine? And...   I ended up writing a book called The Build a Bigger Life Manifesto, which breaks down how do you do this step by step. And there are 10 core tenets. And the first one is you got to build on a strong values foundation, like understanding what is it truly you value in life. And if you're doing more of that, then your life should be fulfilling. And mine are family, freedom, love, growth, and connection. And if I'm fulfilling those five buckets on a weekly basis, generally speaking, I'm really fulfilled.   And so the second is have a bigger vision and a bigger vision for your life might mean I'm not going to stay in this job for the next 20 years and hopefully make partner. then hopefully, because we all know that as you get promoted in a W-2 job, it doesn't mean you work less. It means you work more. And so my bigger vision was I want to make my vocation, my vacation. I'm going to speak, but I'm going to speak in cool places that I can take my family to. People are going to pay me really well to do it.   (Adam Carroll) (36:03.368) and I'm going to do it X number of times a year. And then I started asking, and this is the third step, asking bigger questions. And bigger questions look like, okay, so if I wanted to do that, how would I get better at speaking? How would I get so good that people will pay me 10 or 15 or 20 grand to go do what I do for an hour? What would that look like? I started asking not how would I pay my house off early? How would I pay my house off by the end of this year?   And when I asked that question, answers started coming and we were able to do it. So this is kind of the layout of how we walk people through this process. And for me, a bigger life today is just that, you know, I live for my family. I want to travel with them. I want to have tons of fun with them while they're still in the house. I have two teenagers and one in college. And soon, you know, eventually they'll be gone and it'll be my wife and I going and living the life that we most want.   Our lifestyle right now is pretty locked in. We have a beautiful home, we drive nice cars, but everything's paid for. And at this point, the goal is just to continually create massive passive permanent streams of income that afford us the ability to be generous, to live the life we want. And ultimately for me to be able to go share that message with other people.   And something so simple that you did there, it's just, you know, ask yourself what's important. A lot of us don't take the time to think about why we're upset, why are we not happy. And a lot of it comes down to not filling those buckets that are important to us on a regular basis. to be able to figure that out, you've got to take a few moments to think deeply about what it is that's important to you.   100%. And I'll give you a great example, Seth. One guy that we worked with, he realized that one of his core values that was not being fulfilled was adventure. So he loved his job and he goes, I don't know what it is, I'm just dissatisfied. And we went through the values assessment and adventure was on there. I go, well, where are you getting adventure? And he said, you know, that's the problem. I'm not, I haven't had an adventure in two years. I said, so maybe in building your life,   (Adam Carroll) (38:21.538) we need to figure out where are you carving out adventure for yourself or your family to make sure that you're doing it. For him, community was a big part of it. And he was getting some of that in his day-to-day client interactions. But what he really wanted was to build a community of friends that would go do stuff together. And I said, that's on you, man. If you really want that as part of your life, you got to build whatever that looks like.   And what if you combine that and adventure? So you get a whole group of adventure seekers that get together three times a year to go skiing in Aspen or, you know, go skydiving on a weekend or whatever it is. What would that look like to do that? And he lit up and you know, I could do this right now. So to your point, I think we're all very, very close to having a fulfilled life and building a bigger life. But you do have to take time to figure out what does that look like for you.   For sure, for sure. And a lot of the folks listening are attorneys and doctors and they tend to have high suicide rates, all these crazy things, substance abuse. people from the outside looking in think, why? Because you're making all this money. You have this high profession that everybody looks up to and you're not unhappy. And that's why, because those folks...   folks like us, we're just really focused on just that occupation. And that's it. And we don't focus on some of the other things that would fulfill us and make us happy. tons of attorneys I talk to try to get, they're like, how do I start investing as quickly as possible? Make as much money as quickly as possible so I can get out of this job because I hate being an attorney or I hate being a dentist or whatever it is. But really, that might not be the issue. The issue is that you're not filling up those buckets outside of your   career. And if you were to start filling those buckets, start paying more attention to those things, you might not be as unhappy in your career. And you might actually find that you enjoy what you're doing because you're good at it. You worked really hard to get there and you're making a good bit of money doing it.   (Adam Carroll) (40:22.06) No doubt, no doubt. I would add to that, that I think the majority of professions that you just listed, dentists, doctors, lawyers, et cetera, what they really want is they want to maintain professional status, do what they do, they've gone to school, they've learned how to do it. But over time, they want to work less and less, not more and more. And if you're doing what you recommend on the show, and if you're leveraging something like the shred method to create it, you can get to a point where   half or more of your income, ideally all of it, is replaced by passive income. But it requires that you get really focused on working for the right reasons and not filling in the lack of fulfillment or unhappiness with a new car or the next do-dad or spending a fortune on something. Instead, decide, I'm going to go get into an investment this year that will begin the process of creating passive income for me to start building the life that I truly want.   And it is, it's pretty transformational once you figure out how to do it and what the next steps are.   Yeah, it's like the matrix. mean, you start kind of, as soon as you start, it becomes a game, how you said it earlier in the show, and you just start seeing things that you didn't see before. You start being presented with new types of investments and businesses that you can invest in that you never saw before, but they were right under your nose. It does turn into a fun game, a money game.   Yeah, no question. I was at a conference not too long ago and they were calling me Morpheus because I made a reference to the red pill or the blue pill. And they were like, dude, you're Morpheus. I just took the red pill. Now I'm going down the rabbit hole. So beware. Are you ready to take the red pill?   (Seth Bradley) (42:08.374) Love that, love that. All right Adam, before we jump into the freedom four, what's one last golden nugget for our listeners?   A golden nugget for your listeners is that money today is abstract. It's not a concrete thing. Several decades ago, you would be given cash or you'd pay for things in cash. And today, virtually everything is a cashless transaction. And when we're not using cash, it doesn't feel real. If we're using Apple Pay or we're swiping our card or tapping our card,   It doesn't feel real. In fact, there's no pain sensor that triggers when you do that. The opposite is true on Amazon. When you hit one click ship for $47, a pleasure sensor actually is activated because you're in anticipation of that thing coming to you. So we also have to realize that the more money you make, it feels like, well, the more you have to spend. But because money doesn't feel real, you're spending way more than you think you are.   because of the abstract nature of it. So some of that is like reigning back in and understanding these are real dollars that you're putting on a card or swiping on your phone or whatever it may be and deciding is this the best intentional use of this money or could I be using it to build the life that I truly want? And I will add to that Seth that it's very short. There's a short amount of time that it requires you to function just a little bit differently.   order to get there where all the passive income covers your wants. So just like intentionality for the next 12 to 24 months will make a massive difference in your life.   (Seth Bradley) (43:48.502) Yeah, that's all it takes. All right, let's jump into the freedom four. What's the best thing you do to keep your mind and body healthy?   I am part of an exercise group called F3 and it stands for fitness fellowship and faith. There's like 75,000 guys all over the world that do this every morning. And we get up, you know, rain, sun, sleet or hail. I mean, we were working out in like eight degree Fahrenheit weather this winter outside. It's always outside. And I love it. I do it four or five, sometimes six mornings a week. But for me, just getting up the first hour of my day will   will dictate what the rest of my day does. And so my F3 brothers and I, that's the right way for me to get started.   awesome. With all your success what is one limiting belief that you've crushed along the way and how did you get past it?   you know, this is, this is going to sound a bit like an oxymoron statement, but a limiting belief is that, man, there's so much opportunity. And for me, I'm a bright, shiny object guy. for years, my wife was like, just pick one opportunity, please just pick one. And so for me, it's, you know, it's the fact that there is so much I can do limits me because you can really get very, very good at one thing.   (Adam Carroll) (45:08.078) But I'm a big fan of James Clear and the book Atomic Habits. And he'll say that it's hard to get traction when your focus is divided. And so I've been really intentional about zeroing in on my focus and knowing that this is what I'm setting out to do. And it may be for 12 months or 24 months or five years. And I'll reevaluate along the way. But I've got one thing and I'm really focused on that. So that's been a limiting belief I've had to get over.   Awesome. Awesome. What's one actionable step our listeners can do right now to start creating more freedom?   Well, go to the shredmethod.com not to do a self plug, it is. Go watch the masterclass, see what we do and how we do it. If you are already intrigued by this and are wondering like, what should I do with a HELOC or should I have a HELOC? My answer to everyone is everyone should have a HELOC, everyone. If you have equity in your home, why do you not have a line of credit? If for nothing else to have that is an emergency.   of some kind. So point blank, the first thing you ought to do is go access a line of credit, be it a home equity line, a personal line of credit, a P lock, or a B lock, a business line of credit. can also do a cash value line of credit. But I think you got to have one of those because when you understand this method, this process, that's a linchpin to making this work.   Great. How is passive income made your life better?   (Adam Carroll) (46:42.698) you know, I like to call it mailbox money and, man, love mailbox money. When it shows up, I celebrate and I've, I've had a mantra for years that I'm a money magnet, that money comes easily and frequently, that I get more checks in the mail than I do bills. And I just repeat those mantras over and over again. So every time I set up another form of passive income, man, it's just like a win.   that you feel deep down inside. And it doesn't matter, Seth, if it's 50 bucks or 15 bucks or five bucks or 5,000, right? Total sidebar, real quick story, but I was sitting with a buddy of mine at a conference and he kept showing me his phone and he was clearly showing off. But every time he'd pop up his phone, was like another sale was made. And it'd be like $27, $170, $300. And I go...   Dude, how are you doing this?" And he said, I set up these funnels and it's just a little digital product I created and we're doing ads and we're putting all the people towards these ads. And I said, so how many of those do get a month? He goes, I don't somewhere between $9,000 and $10,000 a month is coming in. And I remember feeling giddy for him and giddy about the idea that this could be possible, that you could just do whatever you want to do every day. Go fishing, go surfing, be on a sailboat somewhere and pull up your phone and be like, well, this is cool. just made...   $800. So for me, we have started to build that into what we're doing. I now get alerts on my Apple Watch. It's a Slackbot. So every time a sale is made, it pops up. we went to Mexico over spring break and the vendors on the Mexican beaches, they bless themselves every time they make a sale. And so now when a sale pops up on my Slackbot,   I'm like, all right, I made a sale. This is awesome. So how has it changed my life? I'm more grateful. I sleep well at night. I have peace of mind. And I know that, you know, future generations are going to be taken care of by the wealth that my wife and I are creating.   (Seth Bradley) (48:45.29) I love it, All right, Adam, this has been incredible. We're going to let listeners find out more about you.   Well, you can find out more about me personally at adamcarroll.info. It's two R's, two L's, adamcarroll.info. And again, if you want to check out the Shred Method, we have lots of free resources. So you can go and do a ton of research. We have a savings analysis there that you can plug in your numbers and see how much you could save and how quickly you could be out of debt. All of that is available at theshredmethod.com.   All right, brother. Appreciate your time. Thanks again for coming on the show and we'll to have you on again soon.   Love it, Seth. Keep doing what you do, man. This is super important stuff.   Alright brother, talk soon.   (Seth Bradley) (49:28.578) Thanks for tuning in to Raise the Bar Radio. If you enjoyed today's episode, make sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who needs to hear it. Keep pushing, keep building, and keep raising the bar. Until next time, enjoy the journey. Links from the Show and Guest Info and Links: Seth Bradley's Links: https://x.com/sethbradleyesq https://www.youtube.com/@sethbradleyesq www.facebook.com/sethbradleyesq https://www.threads.com/@sethbradleyesq https://www.instagram.com/sethbradleyesq/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/sethbradleyesq/ https://passiveincomeattorney.com/seth-bradley/ https://www.biggerpockets.com/users/sethbradleyesq https://medium.com/@sethbradleyesq https://www.tiktok.com/@sethbradleyesq?lang=en Adam Carroll's Links: https://www.threads.com/@adam.carroll/ https://www.instagram.com/adam.carroll/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamcarrollspeaks/ https://www.facebook.com/AdamSpeaks/ https://x.com/adamcarroll https://open.spotify.com/show/1fPEUnWdnbcOcbYdksY1Yi https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJREGkPP6UwMucJMPvDS8xg

In this episode, I sit down with international tax expert Alex McGowin of McGowan Tax LLC to talk about what Americans need to know about taxes when moving abroad. Alex breaks down the key things expats often get wrong—like filing requirements, foreign earned income exclusion, and the foreign tax credit—and explains how to avoid double taxation.We also get into specifics like tax implications for employees, remote workers, self-employed expats, business owners, and retirees. Alex shares advice on business structures, how to manage self-employment taxes abroad, and the role of tax treaties and totalization agreements. We also dig into investing for retirement, pensions, Roth IRAs and other investment accounts when you're living abroad!Whether you're freelancing in Europe or considering setting up an LLC while living overseas, this episode is packed with helpful guidance. We also discuss FATCA, FBAR, and DIY tax tools for expats—plus when it's time to bring in a pro.If you're thinking about moving abroad or are already living overseas, this is a must-listen.Find more from Alex at https://mcgowantax.com

Title: Build a Bigger Life, Not a Bigger Lifestyle: The Real Path to Freedom with Adam Caroll Summary: In this episode of Raise the Bar Radio, guest (Adam Carroll) shares his journey from a traveling professional speaker to building sustainable wealth through passive income strategies. After realizing the limitations of trading time for money, Adam developed The Shred Method, a cashflow reorientation system that minimizes debt interest and frees up capital to build liquidity and invest. By leveraging lines of credit and algorithm-driven cash deployment, individuals can rapidly pay down debts and reallocate savings into passive income streams like real estate syndications, intellectual property, and other alternative investments. Adam stresses that most high-income earners don't have an income problem - they have a liquidity problem tied up in low-access retirement plans and excessive spending. Finally, he expands on his philosophy of "building a bigger life, not a bigger lifestyle," urging professionals to align spending and time with their values to achieve fulfillment and financial freedom within 10 years. Links to Watch and Subscribe:   Bullet Point Highlights: Trading time for money is limiting. Adam shifted from paid speaking gigs to building passive income streams for true freedom. The Shred Method minimizes interest expenses. By using cashflow more efficiently through lines of credit and optimized algorithms, debt is paid down faster, freeing liquidity for investing. Passive income is key to wealth. Adam focuses on real estate syndications, ATM tranches, intellectual property, and digital products to generate consistent, diversified passive cash flow. Most people have a liquidity problem, not an income problem. Money is often locked in 401(k)s or spent wastefully — instead, creating accessible liquidity allows for opportunity-based investing. Building a bigger life requires intentionality. Aligning spending and actions with core values (like family, freedom, growth) leads to fulfillment — not just more stuff. The game becomes fun. Once passive income starts flowing, investing becomes strategic, diversified, and compounding — eventually replacing active income and creating financial independence. Anyone can implement this. While you can DIY, Adam recommends coaching to fast-track understanding and execution of the Shred Method. Transcript: (Seth Bradley) (00:02.094) What's up, Builders? This is Raise the Bar Radio, where we talk about building wealth, raising capital, and all in all, raising the bar in your business and your life. This is the No BS podcast for capital raisers, investors, and entrepreneurs who are serious about scaling their business and living life on their own terms. I'm (Seth Bradley), securities attorney, real estate investor, and entrepreneur, bringing you world-class strategies from the best in the game.   If you're ready to raise more capital, close bigger deals, build a better you and create true financial freedom, you're in the right place. Let's go. Adam, what's going on, brother? Welcome to the show.   Hey Seth, thanks for having me, man. I'm excited about our conversation today.   Yeah, dude, super stoked to have you on today. It's going to be an awesome show, man. Let's dive right in. Tell us a little bit about yourself, your background. Take it back as far as you want to. Yeah.   Well, for the last 15 years or so, almost 20 now, guess, I've been making my living, opening my mouth and just speaking on stages all across the country. Had the opportunity to do a couple of international gigs, which was a blast. And in the midst of all that, making my living as a professional speaker, I realized that if I was very similar to your audience, if I wasn't doing the deal, doing the gig, doing the engagement, I wasn't getting paid.   (Adam Carroll) (01:26.184) And so a mentor of mine said, the goal is not to go to work and get paid. The goal is to go to work and get paid, get paid, get paid, get paid, get paid, get paid, get paid. And so I started figuring out that what I really wanted to do with the messaging that I was delivering was turn it into sort of a mediapreneurship where I was a mediapreneur creating content, but then I'd get paid for the content over and over and over again. And that today looks like I've written a bunch of books.   I've got a documentary that I produced that aired on CNBC. And now we're starting to get into more of a SaaS business, which I'm sure we'll talk about. That's the shred method. But I, you what I do when people ask me, I tell them, I love to educate people about new and different ways of building a bigger life, not a bigger lifestyle. And I would say you and I have that in common, because I know you're doing that on the show.   Yeah, absolutely, man. I gotta ask, how do you become a professional speaker? I bet a lot of people are thinking about that.   The origin story is kind of interesting because I was a clothier at the time in Denver, Colorado. And I was literally going out and meeting with high level executives in their offices, selling them custom made suits and shirts and sport coats and pants and whatnot. And it occurred to me in the middle of a meeting at one point, an appointment with one of my clients that I didn't want to measure in seams for the rest of my life. And I'll keep it PG but   This guy was one of my favorite clients. He was irreverent and funny and wasn't afraid to spend money on clothes. But this particular day, he confided in me that he wasn't wearing any underwear. And I was just like, dude, JP, what? You knew I was coming here today. He's like, I know, I just forgot. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. And I walked out and I went, I don't want to do this anymore. I just don't want to do this. And the company that I worked for is a fairly well known clothier. But   (Adam Carroll) (03:22.55) Every day I would drive around in my car listening to motivational messages. You know, they were on CDs at the time. I'm going to date myself, but I would listen to like Mark Victor Hansen and Jack Canfield and Les Brown and Zig Ziglar. I would listen to all these CDs in my car. And Mark Victor Hansen said on one of the CDs that public speaking is one of the most noble professions because you get to travel the world. You get to change people's lives and you make a lot of money doing it. And I remember thinking.   That's what I want to do. All three of those things rolled into one. And so I reached out to a buddy of mine and said, dude, I don't think I'm in the right job. I need to be doing something else. He said, what do you want to do? And I told him, and you know how the universe kind of works in mysterious ways. He goes, well, Anne, who used to work with us, she works for a company that that's all they do is hire speakers. And so I sent in a tape, I auditioned, I got the gig.   And I was a W2 employee of theirs for about two years and then realized that I was being underpaid for the work I was doing, that I was actually probably one of the top 10 % of speakers on the roster. And then I realized that when you can make anywhere from a thousand to $5,000 an hour doing that, it was a pretty good paying gig if you were out on your own. I took the jump and have been doing it ever since.   Interesting man. I didn't realize that you could have a W-2 as a speaker I thought everybody that was speaking was getting the speakers that were getting paid, you know They were kind of doing it on their own. I don't realize there was kind of a there was a way to do it where there's a company that pays W-2 wages to speakers to speak it events. Yeah, it's interesting   It is interesting because there are companies that will hire you as a speaker to go and it may be sell their product or service. Or in this case, I was working for a company that was a division of monster.com, the job search company. And I was, I was speaking to high school and college students all across the country. And I probably presented to like 200,000 people in, two years time. So it was just a great practice run and a great way to cut my teeth on a very difficult audience. Because.   (Adam Carroll) (05:36.814) I don't know if you've ever been around a freshman in high school or a sophomore in high school, but they're like the most apathetic human beings on the face of earth. They don't want to be there. I could have lit myself on fire and they'd been like, cool, what else you got? And then when I realized that there were speakers like me that were out who basically just said, this is my topic. This is my specialty, if you will. And here's the rate. And the more they spoke and the...   we have a theory that the more you speak, the more you speak. So once you get out, you hang your own shingle and say, I'm a speaker in this topic, people begin to know you as that person. And then word gets around and obviously you have to not suck on stage. That's part of it. But if you're great at keeping audiences attention, and I really studied NLP, neuro-linguistic programming to use the right words, I studied comedians to figure out what was funny and what wasn't, and it just worked.   Over time, I had more more bookings and at the peak of my career, I was doing like 70 or 75 gigs a year.   Wow, wow, that's incredible. Definitely didn't realize that was your background. I remember those folks coming to like the office and selling suits and doing that sort of thing. So that's pretty interesting. I'm sure a lot of listeners out there are familiar with that process as well.   Yeah. Yeah, it was, it was a great, it was a great gig. mean, I met all sorts of really phenomenal business people. And I think for me, it was, it was like confirmation that I had this desire to, to impact people. And my boss at one point, he was like, Hey, these people love you. They want you to come around. They love the discussion and the conversation. They need to buy stuff from you. And, and there was a.   (Seth Bradley) (07:01.639) sorry, go ahead.   (Adam Carroll) (07:26.574) It's kind of a realization for me that I didn't necessarily want to have to sell. wanted people to buy. And speaking makes it real easy to do that.   Hmm. Yeah, makes sense. Let's jump right into it, man. Let's talk about the shred method. A lot of folks will find this very interesting. I know that I do. What is it? And let's just start there. What is it? Tell us a little bit about it.   Yeah, the shred method, first of all, thank you for asking. it's, it's, for me, I don't say this lightly, but nothing has built more wealth for me and my family than following this model. And the reason for it is there are two great expenses that everyone has in life. And I'm sure all of your listeners, be they attorneys, doctors, other professionally degreed folks.   If you're in a W-2 job, you know this to be true. The two greatest expenses we have in life are taxes and the interest expense on debt. Those are the two greatest expenses. And a gentleman that I had met years ago who helped me with tax situations, just a brilliant, brilliant strategist, he said, Adam, if you focus on minimizing your tax liability, that will get you halfway there. And it's very easy to do, buy real estate, have depreciable assets.   you know, make personal expenses, business expenses, etc, etc. But he said, if you can focus on minimizing the interest expense on debt, this is like a video game that you can't lose. And so when I learned about the shred method, and this is known by a variety of different terms, some people call it an Australian mortgage, it's called velocity banking, we've taken those concepts and turbocharged them.   (Adam Carroll) (09:09.474) almost like putting nitrous oxide in a gas tank, you know, in terms of making it go faster. But the shred method is a unique tool and a way of reorienting your cash flow through your household so that it is being used to the most efficient use possible. And to kind of qualify that, Seth, if you were to leave your home in the morning to go to the grocery store, as an example, and you came back home, emptied the car out,   knowing you had to go to post office at like 4 p.m., would you leave your car idling in the driveway all day?   (Adam Carroll) (09:46.284) Nope. No, and why wouldn't you?   Wasteful.   Yeah, wasteful, you'd burn gas, it'd be hard on the engine. It's just inefficient, right? And yet what most people do is they get their income, their income gets deposited into a checking account, and it sits there for days, weeks, months, sometimes years on end. And we never really use it to its highest efficiency. Meanwhile, we might have debts, commercial debts, primary mortgages, might have student loans yet. And all of those are accruing amortized interest.   right? And you might say it's compound interest working against you to a certain extent. But at the very least amortized interest means that the majority of the interest you're paying on that debt is upfront, it's in the first one to five years. And so the shred method teaches people how to take that income that is being super inefficient in an account, and instead begin to apply it through a process that allows you to blast away   the highest interest or highest payment debts that you have, freeing up cash flow, building equity, and ultimately, and this is the key, creating liquidity to go buy passive income properties, if you will, or other passive income plays.   (Seth Bradley) (11:02.058) Interesting. Yeah, and we actually haven't had anyone on the show to speak about this method, whatever nomenclature you might use. So let's go in a little bit more detail. mean, what is the vehicle? What is this flow of money that you're talking about?   So, know, logistically, here's how it works. Money typically would just get deposited into checking. You pay everything out of checking your mortgage, your car loan, your credit cards, living expenses. And the gurus would tell you that anything extra should really go towards savings and investments, right? And for most people, it goes to Costco, Target and Dining Out. That's where it goes. You know, it doesn't stay in the account, doesn't go into savings. If it does, it goes there for a small period of time. I think that most people   don't really have a savings account, they have a put and take account, because they put a little bit in, take a little bit out, put a little bit in, take a lot out. So the way this works is the money instead of being deposited straight to a checking account gets deposited into what we call a shred account. And the shred account could either be a line of credit, or it could be just a side account of money that you have sitting there that has not been accessed in some time. And what we tell our users is that   you really want to have either a line of credit or a shred account that is one and a half to two times what your monthly net take home is. So if you're bringing home 10 grand a month net, then ideally you want either a line of credit or a shred account of 15 to 20 grand. And the magic of this is the money is going to flow into that account. But the shred method is powered by a piece of software that is based on an algorithm that's tracking your income.   your expenses, the interest that you're paying on all your debts, and how much discretionary money you have available at any given point in time. And essentially, we're leveraging that in really short bursts of time against your largest debts, which could be, again, student loans, could be your mortgage, could be commercial properties. And in doing that, what we're doing is we're saving copious amounts of interest, like literally tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars.   (Adam Carroll) (13:11.122) And in the process, we're freeing up a ton of equity. So people that are saying, hey, I'm paycheck to paycheck. It's hard for me to figure out how am I going to invest more money? We're telling them the money is going to come from the equity that you're creating in your properties by paying them down rapidly.   I love that because I can see where this is going to potentially free up some extra cash to invest. A lot of folks out there, including myself back in the day, we got caught up in this thing we call the golden handcuffs where we're just spending everything. Like you said, we're spending it on Target, on eating out, on things that we really don't need. mean, there's a time and place for spending money on having a good time and enjoying your life for sure.   But we just we tend to overdo it as our income grows our expenses grow right along with it And a lot of people that I talked to about investing they're like, you know I don't have fifty thousand dollars to invest in this real estate deal or a hundred thousand dollars in this real estate deal and it's like well Well, why don't you you know make three hundred thousand dollars you why don't you have fifty thousand dollars to invest in this awesome deal? Right or to you know, put aside for your emergency fund. Like why don't you have these things set up?   So, you know, we always have to walk them through, you know, the expenses is the issue. Really, it's what are you spending all this money on? we try to find how they can save on those expenses so that they can invest in these assets that are really going to set them financially free.   No doubt. And I think you hit the nail on the head. If somebody's making, and honestly, I tell people if you're making six figures plus $100,000 plus, and you don't have 10, 20, $50,000 ready to go, there's something fundamentally wrong. And here it is, we're sending too much money to our banker, and it just goes up in smoke. Right? We like to refer to it as the interest to income ratio, which is if you take how much income you make,   (Adam Carroll) (15:11.694) and you back out how much of that income is actually going to pay interest expense, it'll probably blow your mind. If someone's got a multi-six figure home or mortgage that they're paying on, and they've got student loans, and maybe they're driving a $50,000 to $100,000 vehicle with a payment attached to it, you're probably burning 50 to 60 grand a year in interest and not really thinking twice about it. So what this does is it starts to claw back some of the money that you're sending to your banker.   Which by the way, they make plenty of money. They don't need your money. That is the most profitable business out there is banking and lending. mean, literally, Seth, if you drive two miles around your property there, how many banks would you be able to stop at, do you think? Ballpark best guess.   Right, half a dozen.   Easily, right? And they're probably $10 million buildings minimum. Out there, they're even more, right? So, so this is the deal. They're profitable business ventures. And what we have to remember sometimes is we are their compound interest vehicle, right? Us making our payment every single month is what makes the banks all the money. And if we can game that system, if even for 12 to 18 months at the very beginning of our debt,   we can strip away a huge chunk of the interest that we would normally be paying them over the course of a decade or more. To your audience, that's how I'd say this is how you find the extra 50 or 100 grand because you do have it and it should be in the equity of your property and easily accessible as a liquidity tool. It just isn't because you haven't challenged the banking system.   (Seth Bradley) (16:57.073) Yeah. Now, is this something you can set up yourself or is this something that you need an expert to kind of walk you through? I'm sure if you could probably do it either way. It's just like anything else. You want to take the shortcut or not. But yeah, I just like to know your thoughts on that.   You're exactly right. I I could build a deck on my house if I wanted to and had three months to learn how to do it. Anybody can learn how to do this. My question to most people when they say, I do this myself? I'll say, yes, why haven't you? And for that, the investment with us is very minimal, mainly what it is is coaching and being able to help people get the logistics right. Because once they get it, it's very simple.   but there requires a little bit of retraining the brain in terms of how to handle your money and where the cash flow goes, because it's so, it's like so ingrained in us to live in the banker's business model, put money in checking, pay your bills, anything leftover goes over here. And if you look at it critically, the two groups that are really making money using the existing platform are bankers,   and any advisors that are accepting your money and then turning around and doing something with it. A friend of mine used to call it the helper class. So when the helper class has your money, they're making a ton of money, probably more than you are. And that's our goal is to begin to start to pull back some of the money from the helper class to keep it for ourselves to build those massive passive permanent streams of income.   Yeah, yeah, that makes sense. We tend to bash a few of those helper class folks. I mean, they're not all created equal, including some financial advisors and folks like that that, you know, they're okay people, but their interests aren't necessarily aligned with yours.   (Adam Carroll) (18:51.576) That's right. I would agree with that. I don't want to villainize them, but I think that personal finance is personal. The challenge that I have with anyone out there who espouses a certain way, mine included, is it has to be for the right kind of audience, the right avatar. From our perspective, the people that we help out are the ones who do want to break free from the W-2. They want to create massive passive permanent streams of income.   Over time, they'd like to build a bigger life, not a bigger lifestyle. So if someone's chronically overspending, got to have the newest of the new every single time, they may not be a perfect fit with our strategy because the goal is to continually increase your income while either keeping your expenses similar or even trending down over time, which is not to say that you can't expand where you're spending. Your income is increasing exponentially relative to your expenses.   we do that through the model that we're teaching people. So, you if you're a new car every six months or 12 months kind of person may not be a perfect fit. But if you're somebody who's like, hey, the debt's kind of oppressive, I want to get rid of it. And I want to build, you know, massive wealth for future generations, then generally speaking, we're a pretty good fit for for those folks.   Yeah, yeah, that makes a lot of sense. And I feel like there's, there's probably, it's probably a math equation, right? Like we can't necessarily do it on this show because it's, everybody's taking it in by audio for the most part. there's gotta be an algorithm and you could probably, you know, set those expense numbers and interest numbers that you're paying on your mortgage and other debts and what you're going to pay on that through the shred method and kind of see the savings and how you can grow that wealth year over year.   You're exactly right. It is super fluid. So if your income changes, your expenses change, we plug all that data in and hit recalculate and the thing automatically adjusts to whatever your expenses are. So one of the things that I would never fault anyone for is taking awesome vacations or buying a new car, whatever your choice is. Again, we're not going to villainize anyone for living their life.   (Adam Carroll) (21:06.67) But what we can do through shred is to say, hey, if you're going to drop 10 grand on a vacation, it's going to change your payoff by a month or two months or six months, depending on your income and discretionary income. And if someone knows that and they're planning on it, at least they're armed with that information as opposed to, gosh, we shouldn't do this, but we did or should we buy this $50,000 card? Does it make sense? Or 80 or 150 or whatever your number is.   We can show you exactly do it, just know this is what it changes in the process.   Yeah, yeah, I like that because you can just show them this is the impact it's going to have on paper before they do it and then you can make a better decision on whether or not you want to do that or not.   Absolutely. And furthermore, and you'll appreciate this, I know you're of this mindset, you'll get to a point where it's like, if you want the new car, then invest the money in a syndication or another property that puts enough money in your pocket, you can go pay for the car. But let your assets pay for your liabilities. And I think that's the main thing that many people, I'm sure your listeners, certainly folks that we engage with.   They don't have a lot of assets. They work hard, they make good money, but that is the sum total of their income, is active income. And our goal is to increase passive income over time where it supersedes your expenses because at that point you're financially free.   (Seth Bradley) (22:36.758) Right, right. What are some of the passive investments that you're involved in or that you recommend to people once they've implemented this system and they're trying to build those passive income streams?   Yeah, there are a number of them and I keep getting introduced to more and more all the time, Seth. I mentioned that, you know, that I was a mediapreneur and that the goal was to work, do the work and then get paid, get paid, get paid, get paid. So I started looking for other passive income streams. I really do love real estate. I've been invested in real estate for a long time. We divested of personally held real estate about four or five years ago. And   You know, I think I was too early to the party, but I thought the market was peaking and I thought I could get the max amount out of my properties. And I think I did at the time. And then we were introduced to syndications and we started really appreciating the fact that you could own a piece of a 350 unit apartment complex in South Carolina or Houston, Texas, or some other growing city and get a couple things, either monthly or quarterly income. You could get bonus depreciation.   And you basically got a K1 at the end of the year, which allows you to claim some of those expenses. And so we love syndications. We try and stack syndications on top of each other. they're coming due. They're selling every three or four or five years. So we'll put an amount of capital in knowing that it's going to turn over in short order. And we'll have another amount of capital to put in. And generally speaking, that capital amount just keeps going up.   So we love syndications. I've been introduced and we haven't pulled the trigger yet, but on ATM tranches where you can buy, have you heard this investment? Yep. So you can buy, you know, an amount of ATM machines where you're basically compensated on whatever the fee revenue on those are. There are many advantages to those. There are some drawbacks to it, but it's again, a passive income stream and one that's fairly consistent.   (Seth Bradley) (24:25.798) yeah, for sure.   (Adam Carroll) (24:44.59) Then I really like intellectual property plays. I will tend to invest in a business that has some IP and it may not cashflow right away, but I know that in two or three years, the IP is probably going to be worth something. It's more of a long-term play for me. I'm not going to put as much in it, but we have a couple of 25 to $50,000 investments in those kinds of deals as well. That, in addition to books and   documentary is still selling and things like that I'll keep doing. For me, the process of creating passive income is kind of a game. And so whatever the next thing is, I'm digging in, I want to learn it. total sidebar, but I'm trying to teach my sons and my daughter, this is the way of the future. It's not about working a nine to five and getting W2 and staying with the company for 30 years, it just doesn't happen anymore. It's about setting up   just perpetual income streams that allow you to live the way you want to live. And that, you know, I think that answers your question, hopefully.   (Seth Bradley) (25:52.174) Pardon the interruption, but we don't do ads. Instead, know that if you're raising capital for real estate, my law firm, RaiseLaw, is here to give you the expert legal guidance you need to raise capital compliantly and structure and close your deal. And if you're looking for a done-for-you fund-to-fund solution, Tribest is the industry's only all-in-one setup and fund administration solution. Visit Raise.Law and Tribest.com to learn more.   Yeah, yeah, that's right. You're preaching to the choir here, man. That's awesome. And you're kind of pretty deep into it. A lot of people will invest in a syndication and it is expensive to get involved, right? I mean, it's 50 grand or so or more to get into one of these things. And they're like, okay, I'm done. But you can't be done. You have to keep saving, keep investing. And you're in it to the point where past investors start really start accumulating wealth because they start stacking.   They start coming due every two, three, four, five years. You put it back in another one and they just compound on each other. And you're really accumulating this tax free if you stack them correctly. So it is an incredible vehicle once you get going. And it does turn into a game. I mean, you can look at your bank account or look at your personal P &L and just see how it's growing over five, 10 years. It's incredible. And you're not doing any work. You're vetting the sponsor, the market and the deal and really just the sponsor once you get really good at it.   and you keep reinvesting with the same sponsors that you like and there's no work involved, no tenants, toilets and trash, none of that.   Yes. Yes. And I think you hit the nail on the head when you find a sponsor you really like and you jive with, it's easy to roll the money over to them because they're constantly looking for the next deal. their reputation, their personality, everything is based on their success. they have a very, very vested interest to make you money. And so I don't think I fully realized when I was younger   (Adam Carroll) (27:50.35) the power of having the ability to write a 50 or $100,000 check. And once you get there and you can do 50 or 100 or get to a point where you can write a $500,000 or a million dollar check, things change drastically because there are syndicators out there that will take a million bucks. They'll pay you $90,000 a year guaranteed on the investment. You'll get bonus depreciation and write-offs and all of that. And you'll have like a...   200 % return on it within four or five years, three, four or five years. That's where you can buy a new car every year or two or three, because you need like a $75,000 or $80,000 write-off to your business. So you need a truck or you need a heavy vehicle,   Yeah, yeah, that's right. I mean, that's a good point. mean, people that have $500,000, a million dollars or more liquid, I mean, you can just look at a simple math and you get an 8 to 10 % return on that in cash flow, just in cash flow. You know, if you're living reasonably, you can live off of that. So, yeah, so you can be, you you don't need $10 million, $20 million to retire off of this if you invest in the right deals.   Totally. Totally.   (Seth Bradley) (29:03.926) and kind of spread it across, diversify in different deals, different sponsors, different geographies, different asset types. You can be retired if you want to. It's closer than people think.   I would agree. We have a theory that nearly everyone and certainly your audience could be free, done, done completely in 10 years or less. Absolutely. We call it a 10-year freedom plan. the challenge, think, Seth, and I would be curious your take on this, but I think the challenge for most people is not necessarily an income problem. It's a liquidity problem. So you make good income, right? And we talked about it. It's the expenses that factors in.   But where the majority of your investments go are probably in qualified funds. They're sitting in 401ks and Roth IRAs. Unless it's self-directed, you can't really access it till you're 59 and a half. And even then it's 59 and a half to 70 and a half, you have free rein access. Otherwise the government's regulating how much you take out without fees or penalties. That's a liquidity problem. And so the shred method takes that into account and starts to build   pockets or buckets of liquidity that you can draw from. The first is your home equity, or it could be equity in a commercial property. And then the next would be building a bank of money that you're borrowing from at some point in time, just another bucket. And the more buckets of money that we create, the more liquidity you have and the more investments you can get into, thereby increasing your passive income. So to your point, you do this well, it's like a video game you can't lose over time.   Yeah, yeah, that's right. And we've been programmed to think if we have a high paying job, we just put as much as we can into a 401k and we're doing the right thing and we're doing everything that we need to do and we're not and then everything that doesn't go into that 401k we're spending. So we're not saving anything else. We're not keeping anything else liquid. And we're just assuming that we're going to be okay because we put this money in the 401k. Well, like you said, you can't access it until you're 60 years old. That's right. Unless you take it out with a major penalty. So   (Seth Bradley) (31:10.062) You know, one way to do that obviously is to roll it over in an SDIRA or self-directed, I'm sorry, 401k, the self-directed, something that you have some control over. And then it does become liquid in the sense that you can at least invest it in things that you want to invest in rather than a financial advisor or just stocks, bonds and mutual funds. And then as you said, there's different ways that you can free up liquidity, a HELOC.   something like that borrow against a life insurance policy we've talked about infinite banking policies things like that there's there's creative ways to do it you just need to be aware of it most people just aren't aware of how to how to do that   Yeah, I think that's what's so valuable about your show too, man, is that we only know what we know. And there's an enormous amount that we don't know we don't know. So when I got introduced to syndications, and I got introduced to the ATM tranches, and I'm looking at these going, you know, there is risk, there's risk in everything. But the risk is so mitigated. And you don't realize that if you're writing $100,000 check, and they're saying, yeah, we're going to pay you 9 % guaranteed.   And these are some syndicators will promise an interest rate based on what class of investor you are, A, B, C, D, whatever it may be. But when I looked at that and I go, if I'm striving to get eight to 10 % in the S &P 500, and I have zero control over that, where would I rather be placing my money? That was something I didn't know I didn't know. And it's always fascinating to me to begin sharing this with people because   When I share the shred method, a lot of folks go, not too good to be true. If it's so good, why isn't everybody doing it? And what I'll tell them is because of human behavior and because the bank's lobbies and their marketing engine is so powerful. But it's not magic, it's math. We're taking mathematical principles, risk-based principles and applying it to real estate or finance and figuring out how to make an amount of money that will supersede what you're.   (Adam Carroll) (33:13.782) your W2 job is pretty simple. That's right. Yeah.   Yeah, pretty simple. It's math. Just got to get it down on paper, right? Yeah. All right. Let's switch gears a little bit. I want to quickly get into, you know, this concept that you preach about building a bigger life at work because I think that's, you know, inspiring and that sort of thing and really life in general, right? Tell us about that concept and kind of dive in a little bit.   Yeah.   (Adam Carroll) (33:37.964) Yeah, you know, this started, it would actually started from a conversation I had with a recent college graduate, and they had gotten an advanced degree, they were going into a high paying job. And I think they'd been at it for maybe nine months or so. And we were having coffee and this person said to me, I'm just not satisfied. And I said, Well, what what is it you're not satisfied with? And they said, Well, the issue is that I thought at this point in time after graduating, he'd be traveling the globe.   You know, that was what he had always romanticized was just tons of travel and do whatever he wanted to do. And I said, well, what's keeping you from that? And he goes, well, you know, I just got into this long-term lease apartment. go, okay. And he said, and I bought a bunch of furniture that I financed. And, and then it's like, okay. He goes, I have a couple of gym memberships, not one, two gym memberships, you know, each probably 80 to 120 bucks a piece a month had a car payment because he needed a fancy car. And I said,   Dude, it sounds to me like you're building a bigger lifestyle, not a bigger life. And what you're asking for is a bigger life. And that became almost a deep dive search for me on what would building a bigger life mean for me and my family. And what I did, Seth, was I started digging into what are my core values? How can I live according to those core values, not according to my neighbor's core values, you who may be drastically different than mine? And...   I ended up writing a book called The Build a Bigger Life Manifesto, which breaks down how do you do this step by step. And there are 10 core tenets. And the first one is you got to build on a strong values foundation, like understanding what is it truly you value in life. And if you're doing more of that, then your life should be fulfilling. And mine are family, freedom, love, growth, and connection. And if I'm fulfilling those five buckets on a weekly basis, generally speaking, I'm really fulfilled.   And so the second is have a bigger vision and a bigger vision for your life might mean I'm not going to stay in this job for the next 20 years and hopefully make partner. then hopefully, because we all know that as you get promoted in a W-2 job, it doesn't mean you work less. It means you work more. And so my bigger vision was I want to make my vocation, my vacation. I'm going to speak, but I'm going to speak in cool places that I can take my family to. People are going to pay me really well to do it.   (Adam Carroll) (36:03.368) and I'm going to do it X number of times a year. And then I started asking, and this is the third step, asking bigger questions. And bigger questions look like, okay, so if I wanted to do that, how would I get better at speaking? How would I get so good that people will pay me 10 or 15 or 20 grand to go do what I do for an hour? What would that look like? I started asking not how would I pay my house off early? How would I pay my house off by the end of this year?   And when I asked that question, answers started coming and we were able to do it. So this is kind of the layout of how we walk people through this process. And for me, a bigger life today is just that, you know, I live for my family. I want to travel with them. I want to have tons of fun with them while they're still in the house. I have two teenagers and one in college. And soon, you know, eventually they'll be gone and it'll be my wife and I going and living the life that we most want.   Our lifestyle right now is pretty locked in. We have a beautiful home, we drive nice cars, but everything's paid for. And at this point, the goal is just to continually create massive passive permanent streams of income that afford us the ability to be generous, to live the life we want. And ultimately for me to be able to go share that message with other people.   And something so simple that you did there, it's just, you know, ask yourself what's important. A lot of us don't take the time to think about why we're upset, why are we not happy. And a lot of it comes down to not filling those buckets that are important to us on a regular basis. to be able to figure that out, you've got to take a few moments to think deeply about what it is that's important to you.   100%. And I'll give you a great example, Seth. One guy that we worked with, he realized that one of his core values that was not being fulfilled was adventure. So he loved his job and he goes, I don't know what it is, I'm just dissatisfied. And we went through the values assessment and adventure was on there. I go, well, where are you getting adventure? And he said, you know, that's the problem. I'm not, I haven't had an adventure in two years. I said, so maybe in building your life,   (Adam Carroll) (38:21.538) we need to figure out where are you carving out adventure for yourself or your family to make sure that you're doing it. For him, community was a big part of it. And he was getting some of that in his day-to-day client interactions. But what he really wanted was to build a community of friends that would go do stuff together. And I said, that's on you, man. If you really want that as part of your life, you got to build whatever that looks like.   And what if you combine that and adventure? So you get a whole group of adventure seekers that get together three times a year to go skiing in Aspen or, you know, go skydiving on a weekend or whatever it is. What would that look like to do that? And he lit up and you know, I could do this right now. So to your point, I think we're all very, very close to having a fulfilled life and building a bigger life. But you do have to take time to figure out what does that look like for you.   For sure, for sure. And a lot of the folks listening are attorneys and doctors and they tend to have high suicide rates, all these crazy things, substance abuse. people from the outside looking in think, why? Because you're making all this money. You have this high profession that everybody looks up to and you're not unhappy. And that's why, because those folks...   folks like us, we're just really focused on just that occupation. And that's it. And we don't focus on some of the other things that would fulfill us and make us happy. tons of attorneys I talk to try to get, they're like, how do I start investing as quickly as possible? Make as much money as quickly as possible so I can get out of this job because I hate being an attorney or I hate being a dentist or whatever it is. But really, that might not be the issue. The issue is that you're not filling up those buckets outside of your   career. And if you were to start filling those buckets, start paying more attention to those things, you might not be as unhappy in your career. And you might actually find that you enjoy what you're doing because you're good at it. You worked really hard to get there and you're making a good bit of money doing it.   (Adam Carroll) (40:22.06) No doubt, no doubt. I would add to that, that I think the majority of professions that you just listed, dentists, doctors, lawyers, et cetera, what they really want is they want to maintain professional status, do what they do, they've gone to school, they've learned how to do it. But over time, they want to work less and less, not more and more. And if you're doing what you recommend on the show, and if you're leveraging something like the shred method to create it, you can get to a point where   half or more of your income, ideally all of it, is replaced by passive income. But it requires that you get really focused on working for the right reasons and not filling in the lack of fulfillment or unhappiness with a new car or the next do-dad or spending a fortune on something. Instead, decide, I'm going to go get into an investment this year that will begin the process of creating passive income for me to start building the life that I truly want.   And it is, it's pretty transformational once you figure out how to do it and what the next steps are.   Yeah, it's like the matrix. mean, you start kind of, as soon as you start, it becomes a game, how you said it earlier in the show, and you just start seeing things that you didn't see before. You start being presented with new types of investments and businesses that you can invest in that you never saw before, but they were right under your nose. It does turn into a fun game, a money game.   Yeah, no question. I was at a conference not too long ago and they were calling me Morpheus because I made a reference to the red pill or the blue pill. And they were like, dude, you're Morpheus. I just took the red pill. Now I'm going down the rabbit hole. So beware. Are you ready to take the red pill?   (Seth Bradley) (42:08.374) Love that, love that. All right Adam, before we jump into the freedom four, what's one last golden nugget for our listeners?   A golden nugget for your listeners is that money today is abstract. It's not a concrete thing. Several decades ago, you would be given cash or you'd pay for things in cash. And today, virtually everything is a cashless transaction. And when we're not using cash, it doesn't feel real. If we're using Apple Pay or we're swiping our card or tapping our card,   It doesn't feel real. In fact, there's no pain sensor that triggers when you do that. The opposite is true on Amazon. When you hit one click ship for $47, a pleasure sensor actually is activated because you're in anticipation of that thing coming to you. So we also have to realize that the more money you make, it feels like, well, the more you have to spend. But because money doesn't feel real, you're spending way more than you think you are.   because of the abstract nature of it. So some of that is like reigning back in and understanding these are real dollars that you're putting on a card or swiping on your phone or whatever it may be and deciding is this the best intentional use of this money or could I be using it to build the life that I truly want? And I will add to that Seth that it's very short. There's a short amount of time that it requires you to function just a little bit differently.   order to get there where all the passive income covers your wants. So just like intentionality for the next 12 to 24 months will make a massive difference in your life.   (Seth Bradley) (43:48.502) Yeah, that's all it takes. All right, let's jump into the freedom four. What's the best thing you do to keep your mind and body healthy?   I am part of an exercise group called F3 and it stands for fitness fellowship and faith. There's like 75,000 guys all over the world that do this every morning. And we get up, you know, rain, sun, sleet or hail. I mean, we were working out in like eight degree Fahrenheit weather this winter outside. It's always outside. And I love it. I do it four or five, sometimes six mornings a week. But for me, just getting up the first hour of my day will   will dictate what the rest of my day does. And so my F3 brothers and I, that's the right way for me to get started.   awesome. With all your success what is one limiting belief that you've crushed along the way and how did you get past it?   you know, this is, this is going to sound a bit like an oxymoron statement, but a limiting belief is that, man, there's so much opportunity. And for me, I'm a bright, shiny object guy. for years, my wife was like, just pick one opportunity, please just pick one. And so for me, it's, you know, it's the fact that there is so much I can do limits me because you can really get very, very good at one thing.   (Adam Carroll) (45:08.078) But I'm a big fan of James Clear and the book Atomic Habits. And he'll say that it's hard to get traction when your focus is divided. And so I've been really intentional about zeroing in on my focus and knowing that this is what I'm setting out to do. And it may be for 12 months or 24 months or five years. And I'll reevaluate along the way. But I've got one thing and I'm really focused on that. So that's been a limiting belief I've had to get over.   Awesome. Awesome. What's one actionable step our listeners can do right now to start creating more freedom?   Well, go to the shredmethod.com not to do a self plug, it is. Go watch the masterclass, see what we do and how we do it. If you are already intrigued by this and are wondering like, what should I do with a HELOC or should I have a HELOC? My answer to everyone is everyone should have a HELOC, everyone. If you have equity in your home, why do you not have a line of credit? If for nothing else to have that is an emergency.   of some kind. So point blank, the first thing you ought to do is go access a line of credit, be it a home equity line, a personal line of credit, a P lock, or a B lock, a business line of credit. can also do a cash value line of credit. But I think you got to have one of those because when you understand this method, this process, that's a linchpin to making this work.   Great. How is passive income made your life better?   (Adam Carroll) (46:42.698) you know, I like to call it mailbox money and, man, love mailbox money. When it shows up, I celebrate and I've, I've had a mantra for years that I'm a money magnet, that money comes easily and frequently, that I get more checks in the mail than I do bills. And I just repeat those mantras over and over again. So every time I set up another form of passive income, man, it's just like a win.   that you feel deep down inside. And it doesn't matter, Seth, if it's 50 bucks or 15 bucks or five bucks or 5,000, right? Total sidebar, real quick story, but I was sitting with a buddy of mine at a conference and he kept showing me his phone and he was clearly showing off. But every time he'd pop up his phone, was like another sale was made. And it'd be like $27, $170, $300. And I go...   Dude, how are you doing this?" And he said, I set up these funnels and it's just a little digital product I created and we're doing ads and we're putting all the people towards these ads. And I said, so how many of those do get a month? He goes, I don't somewhere between $9,000 and $10,000 a month is coming in. And I remember feeling giddy for him and giddy about the idea that this could be possible, that you could just do whatever you want to do every day. Go fishing, go surfing, be on a sailboat somewhere and pull up your phone and be like, well, this is cool. just made...   $800. So for me, we have started to build that into what we're doing. I now get alerts on my Apple Watch. It's a Slackbot. So every time a sale is made, it pops up. we went to Mexico over spring break and the vendors on the Mexican beaches, they bless themselves every time they make a sale. And so now when a sale pops up on my Slackbot,   I'm like, all right, I made a sale. This is awesome. So how has it changed my life? I'm more grateful. I sleep well at night. I have peace of mind. And I know that, you know, future generations are going to be taken care of by the wealth that my wife and I are creating.   (Seth Bradley) (48:45.29) I love it, All right, Adam, this has been incredible. We're going to let listeners find out more about you.   Well, you can find out more about me personally at adamcarroll.info. It's two R's, two L's, adamcarroll.info. And again, if you want to check out the Shred Method, we have lots of free resources. So you can go and do a ton of research. We have a savings analysis there that you can plug in your numbers and see how much you could save and how quickly you could be out of debt. All of that is available at theshredmethod.com.   All right, brother. Appreciate your time. Thanks again for coming on the show and we'll to have you on again soon.   Love it, Seth. Keep doing what you do, man. This is super important stuff.   Alright brother, talk soon.   (Seth Bradley) (49:28.578) Thanks for tuning in to Raise the Bar Radio. If you enjoyed today's episode, make sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who needs to hear it. Keep pushing, keep building, and keep raising the bar. Until next time, enjoy the journey. Links from the Show and Guest Info and Links: Seth Bradley's Links: https://x.com/sethbradleyesq https://www.youtube.com/@sethbradleyesq www.facebook.com/sethbradleyesq https://www.threads.com/@sethbradleyesq https://www.instagram.com/sethbradleyesq/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/sethbradleyesq/ https://passiveincomeattorney.com/seth-bradley/ https://www.biggerpockets.com/users/sethbradleyesq https://medium.com/@sethbradleyesq https://www.tiktok.com/@sethbradleyesq?lang=en Adam Carroll's Links: https://www.threads.com/@adam.carroll/ https://www.instagram.com/adam.carroll/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamcarrollspeaks/ https://www.facebook.com/AdamSpeaks/ https://x.com/adamcarroll https://open.spotify.com/show/1fPEUnWdnbcOcbYdksY1Yi https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJREGkPP6UwMucJMPvDS8xg

Whether your child has earned income from a part-time job, or is working for a family business, a Roth IRA can be a game-changing tool for their financial future – but it must be done correctly. In this episode of The Agent of Wealth Podcast, host Marc Bautis explores the powerful strategy of setting up a Roth IRA for children. Inspired by recent buzz (yes, Beyoncé and Jay-Z come up), Marc explains how starting young with tax-free compounding can lead to extraordinary long-term growth. He covers everything from IRA rules and documentation requirements to real-life tax court challenges and best practices. In this episode, you will learn:The differences between Roth IRAs, Traditional IRAs, and taxable investment accounts.What counts as “earned income” and why it's essential for Roth IRA eligibility. How to legally employ your child through a family business.Real-world IRS red flags and examples of what not to do.Best practices for staying compliant and maximizing benefits.And more!Resources:Episode Transcript & Blog | Bautis Financial: 8 Hillside Ave, Suite LL1 Montclair, New Jersey 07042 (862) 205-5000 | Schedule an Introductory Call

Marty discusses the essential elements of retirement planning, emphasizing the importance of intentional action, smart income distribution strategies, and proactive tax planning. He addresses common concerns such as healthcare costs, market volatility, and the necessity of estate planning. The conversation also includes a Q&A segment where listener questions about retirement strategies are answered, providing practical insights for those approaching retirement. Reach Marty at 888-519-9096. Smart Money Solutions www.smartmoneysolutionsmn.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More than half of Americans feel behind on retirement savings, but the good news is, it's never too late to level up your strategy. Today, Nicole walks you through Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs): what they are, how they work, and how they can help you build real wealth for retirement. She unpacks the key differences between Traditional and Roth IRAs, how to choose the right one (or both!), and what tax implications to keep in mind. Plus, Nicole shares a workaround for high earners and shows you how to open your own IRA today. Whether you're just starting out or optimizing your retirement game plan, this episode has something for you. Ready? Open an IRA today. This podcast is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, or legal advice. Always do your own research and consult a licensed financial advisor before making any financial decisions or investments. All investing involves the risk of loss, including loss of principal. Brokerage services for US-listed, registered securities, options and bonds in a self-directed account are offered by Public Investing, Inc., member FINRA & SIPC. As part of the IRA Match Program, Public Investing will fund a 1% match of: (a) all eligible IRA transfers and 401(k) rollovers made to a Public IRA; and (b) all eligible contributions made to a Public IRA up to the account's annual contribution limit. The matched funds must be kept in the account for at least 5 years to avoid an early removal fee. Match rate and other terms of the Match Program are subject to change at any time. See full terms here. Public Investing offers a High-Yield Cash Account where funds from this account are automatically deposited into partner banks where they earn interest and are eligible for FDIC insurance; Public Investing is not a bank. Cryptocurrency trading services are offered by Bakkt Crypto Solutions, LLC (NMLS ID 1890144), which is licensed to engage in virtual currency business activity by the NYSDFS. Cryptocurrency is highly speculative, involves a high degree of risk, and has the potential for loss of the entire amount of an investment. Cryptocurrency holdings are not protected by the FDIC or SIPC.  *APY as of 6/30/25, offered by Public Investing, member FINRA/SIPC. Rate subject to change. See terms of IRA Match Program here: public.com/disclosures/ira-match.

Find out where the housing market's headed and how to help your teen build smart credit habits early. Is now a smart time to buy a home or should you wait for mortgage rates to drop? What's the best way to help your teenager build credit before college? Hosts Sean Pyles and Elizabeth Ayoola explore these questions to help you make confident financial moves. Joined by senior news writer Anna Helhoski and housing Nerds Kate Wood and Holden Lewis, they begin with a deep dive into the current housing market, including which U.S. cities are becoming buyer-friendly and why inventory remains tight in other regions. They explain how supply levels are shifting, what's behind rising mortgage rates, and why trying to time the market might not be your best bet. Then, Sean and Elizabeth are joined by listeners Kevin and Simon, a parent-child duo, to explore how to set young adults up for financial independence. They discuss how to transition teens into responsible credit card ownership, tips for budgeting during college, and how to build long-term wealth with tools like Roth IRAs. The conversation also covers how to preserve credit history when closing joint accounts, how to approach investing for kids who are risk-averse, and how parents can step back while still offering support.  Which credit card issuers allow a co-signer? See NerdWallet's list, which includes the minimum age for each co-signer, when applicable: https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/credit-cards/which-credit-card-issuers-allow-cosigner  Use NerdWallet's free compound interest calculator to see how your savings and investment account balances can grow: https://www.nerdwallet.com/calculator/compound-interest-calculator  Want us to review your budget? Fill out this form — completely anonymously if you want — and we might feature your budget in a future segment! https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScK53yAufsc4v5UpghhVfxtk2MoyooHzlSIRBnRxUPl3hKBig/viewform?usp=header In their conversation, the Nerds discuss: housing market 2024, buyer vs seller market, mortgage rates trends, housing inventory levels, real estate market by region, months of housing supply, when will mortgage rates drop, building credit for teens, first credit card for college students, how to teach kids about money, joint credit card parent child, teen money management, best credit cards for groceries and gas, starting a Roth IRA for young adults, compound interest for students, credit score for young adults, student budgeting, helping kids become financially independent, robo-advisors for teenagers, how to choose a credit card, parenting financial literacy, Gen Z and credit cards, financial support during college, how to teach credit card responsibility, when to close joint credit accounts, multigenerational banking, real estate trends northeast vs south, affordability housing 2024, new home construction trends, and immigration and housing labor. To send the Nerds your money questions, call or text the Nerd hotline at 901-730-6373 or email podcast@nerdwallet.com. Like what you hear? Please leave us a review and tell a friend. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jason focuses today on financial wisdom and the real estate market. He emphasizes the importance of taking action over endless information gathering for personal growth and financial success. Jason then shifts to housing appreciation rates over the past decade, highlighting how income property is a robust, tax-advantaged asset class focused on yield, not just price. He further explores the challenges faced by renters due to high rental costs and the scarcity of affordable housing, while also clarifying the investor's role in contributing to housing supply. Finally, he addresses the complexities of measuring housing inventory and promotes upcoming events and investment opportunities. Go to JasonHartman.com/Properties and start your investing journey! Reach out to your investment counselors today at 1-800-HARTMAN ext. 2. Jason then welcomes Adam Bergman, founder of IRA Financial, talks about the history and current state of self-directed IRAs, highlighting their potential for significant investment returns and explaining the differences between traditional and Roth IRAs. He covered the benefits and tax implications of using a self-directed IRA for investments, including strategies to avoid unrelated business income tax and the importance of diversification in Congress's perspective. The discussion concluded with Adam explaining the setup process for an LLC through IRA Financial, emphasizing the benefits of checkbook control and limited liability protection for real estate investments.   Key Takeaways: Jason's editorial 1:49 Clip of the Day: The Most "Conformist" Woman in the World 3:29 Get your dopamine from action 5:22 Home Price Appreciation 2014-2024 8:06 Hourly wage needed to afford rent 9:43 Number of minimum wage jobs needed to afford a 2 BR rent 13:19 Housing inventory: NAR vs. HousingWire 15:31 Join our FREE Masterclass every second Wednesday of each month! JasonHartman.com/Wednesday Adam Bergman interview 16:21 A brief history of SDIRA's 19:55 Sponsor: https://www.monetary-metals.com/Hartman/ 21:57 2 Benefits of why using an IRA is so important 23:04 Taxes in the IRA environment 28:32 Most important things to know 30:51 Next steps and what IRA Financial can do for you https://www.IRAFinancial.com     Follow Jason on TWITTER, INSTAGRAM & LINKEDIN Twitter.com/JasonHartmanROI Instagram.com/jasonhartman1/ Linkedin.com/in/jasonhartmaninvestor/ Call our Investment Counselors at: 1-800-HARTMAN (US) or visit: https://www.jasonhartman.com/ Free Class:  Easily get up to $250,000 in funding for real estate, business or anything else: http://JasonHartman.com/Fund CYA Protect Your Assets, Save Taxes & Estate Planning: http://JasonHartman.com/Protect Get wholesale real estate deals for investment or build a great business – Free Course: https://www.jasonhartman.com/deals Special Offer from Ron LeGrand: https://JasonHartman.com/Ron Free Mini-Book on Pandemic Investing: https://www.PandemicInvesting.com    

This episode is sponsored by: My Financial CoachYou trained to save lives—who's helping you save your financial future? My Financial Coach connects physicians with CFP® Professionals who specialize in your complex needs. Whether it's crushing student loans, optimizing investments, or planning for retirement, you'll get a personalized strategy built around your goals. Save for a vacation home, fund your child's education, or prepare for life's surprises—with unbiased, advice-only planning through a flat monthly fee. No commissions. No conflicts. Just clarity.Visit myfinancialcoach.com/physiciansguidetodoctoring to meet your financial coach and find out if concierge planning is right for you.___________Are you making costly tax mistakes without realizing it? In this episode, host Dr. Bradley Block  welcomes Enpo Tu, to discuss tax strategies for physicians. Enpo dives into the complexities of backdoor Roth IRAs, highlighting common errors like overlooking pre-tax IRAs or SEP IRAs that can trigger unexpected tax liabilities. He also explores the allure of real estate investments for tax savings, debunking myths about passive income and the challenges of liquidity and long-term tax implications. With practical advice on choosing a competent CPA and financial advisor, Enpo emphasizes the importance of transparency, coordination among professionals, and aligning strategies with personal financial goals. This episode offers actionable insights for physicians to navigate tax complexities, avoid audits, and build a secure financial future.Three Actionable Takeaways:Understand Your Full Financial Picture – Ensure your CPA has a complete view of your assets, including IRAs and SEP IRAs, to avoid costly mistakes like improper backdoor Roth conversions.Evaluate Real Estate Investments Critically – Look beyond tax deductions to assess the long-term tax implications, liquidity challenges, and whether real estate aligns with your time and financial goals.Vet Your Financial Professionals – Ask potential CPAs and financial advisors about their expertise with physician clients, compensation structure, and how they coordinate with other professionals to ensure comprehensive planning.About the Show:Succeed In Medicine  covers patient interactions, burnout, career growth, personal finance, and more. If you're tired of dull medical lectures, tune in for real-world lessons we should have learned in med school!About the Guest:Enpo Tu  is the Chief Operating Officer of My Financial Coach, where he has helped build the company since 2018. As a key architect of its operations, Enpo ensures high-quality financial planning for over 400 medical families. A prominent public voice, he hosts webinars, publishes educational content, and engages with physicians at conferences. Passionate about education over sales, he helps clients avoid financial pitfalls and build wealth through tailored strategies. Known for his professional style—complete with bow ties and vests—Enpo brings clarity and expertise to complex financial topics.Website: https://myfinancialcoach.comLinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/enpotuAbout the host: Dr. Bradley Block is a board-certified otolaryngologist at ENT and Allergy Associates in Garden City, NY. He specializes in adult and pediatric ENT, with interests in sinusitis and obstructive sleep apnea. Dr. Block also hosts The Physician's Guide to Doctoring podcast, focusing on personal and professional development for physiciansWant to be a guest? Email Brad at brad@physiciansguidetodoctoring.com  or visit www.physiciansguidetodoctoring.com to learn more!Socials:@physiciansguidetodoctoring on Facebook@physicianguidetodoctoring on YouTube@physiciansguide on Instagram and Twitter Visit www.physiciansguidetodoctoring.com to connect, dive deeper, and keep the conversation going. Let's grow! Disclaimer:This podcast is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical, financial, or legal advice. Always consult a qualified professional for personalized guidance.

This week on the show, we're discussing the specifics of Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) as we head into the second half of 2025. Whether you're approaching your first year of RMDs or have been taking them for a while, I break down everything you need to know, from when you need to start taking distributions based on your birth year, to how RMDs are calculated, which accounts are affected, and the potential tax consequences for missing a withdrawal. I'm also sharing eight practical strategies you can use to lower your future RMDs, including asset diversification, Roth conversions, tax-efficient income planning, optimizing Social Security timing, and even using charitable contributions to your advantage. With real-world examples and actionable tips, this episode is packed with valuable insights for anyone looking to navigate their retirement withdrawals as tax-efficiently as possible.  You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in... [02:48] Calculating your Required Minimum Distribution. [05:02] IRA distribution factors & penalties. [10:40] Retirement tax strategy tips. [13:35] IRA conversion tax planning. [15:37] Optimizing social security timing. [18:48] Tax-efficient investment account strategy. Smart Strategies to Manage Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs)  New rules over the past few years have pushed back when retirees must start taking RMDs. As of today: If you were born in 1959 or earlier, your RMDs begin at age 73. If you were born in 1960 or later, the threshold moves to age 75. RMDs apply to traditional IRAs, rollover IRAs, SEP IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs, and most employer-sponsored plans, including 401(k)s and 403(b)s. Importantly, Roth IRAs are not subject to these mandatory withdrawals during the owner's lifetime, providing an attractive planning opportunity. How RMDs Are Calculated Your annual RMD is determined by dividing the prior year's December 31 retirement account balance by a life expectancy factor from IRS tables. Most people use the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table. If your spouse is more than 10 years younger, you get a slightly lower withdrawal requirement by using the Joint Life Expectancy Table. For example, if you are 73 with a $500,000 IRA, and the IRS factor is 26.5, your RMD would be $18,868 for that year. If you miss your RMD, penalties can be steep, 25% of the amount not withdrawn, though if corrected within two years, the penalty drops to 10%. RMDs are generally taxed as ordinary income. If your IRA contains after-tax contributions, those aren't taxed again, but careful tracking is essential. The key is smart, proactive planning. RMDs increase your total taxable income, which can impact not just your IRS bill, but also Medicare premiums (thanks to the “IRMAA” surcharge) and eligibility for certain state tax breaks. Eight Strategies to Lower RMD Impact Here are several tactics to help retirees minimize RMDs' sting and keep more of their wealth working for them: Diversify Account Types Early Don't keep all retirement savings in pre-tax accounts. Consider a mix of pre-tax, Roth, and taxable brokerage accounts so you have flexibility in retirement to optimize withdrawals for tax purposes. Build an Optimized Retirement Income Plan Work with a financial advisor or CPA to design an intentional strategy for sourcing retirement income. With careful planning, you can potentially lower how much tax you'll owe and avoid unwelcome surprises. Do Roth Conversions When Taxes Are Low If you retire before collecting Social Security (and RMDs), you might have years of low taxable income, prime time to convert part of your traditional IRA to a Roth IRA at a low tax rate. Once in the Roth, future qualified withdrawals are tax-free. Delay Social Security for Strategic Reasons Delaying Social Security not only increases your monthly benefit but also gives you more low-income years for Roth conversions, thus reducing future RMDs. Consider Working Longer If you continue working past RMD age and participate in your employer's retirement plan, you may be able to delay RMDs from that plan until you retire (as long as you don't own more than 5% of the company). Aggregate and Simplify Accounts Roll over old 401(k) accounts into a single IRA if eligible. It's easier to track, calculate, and satisfy RMDs, reducing the risk of costly missteps. Optimize Asset Location Hold faster-growing investments (like stocks) in taxable accounts and slower-growing ones (like bonds) in IRAs. This helps slow the growth of your RMD-producing accounts, keeping future required withdrawals smaller. Use Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) Once you're RMD-eligible, you can send up to $100,000 per year directly from your IRA to charity. It will count toward your RMD but won't be taxed, potentially a win-win for you and your favorite causes. Resources Mentioned Retirement Readiness Review Subscribe to the Retire with Ryan YouTube Channel Download my entire book for FREE  Retirement topics - Required minimum distributions (RMDs) | Internal Revenue Service   Connect With Morrissey Wealth Management  www.MorrisseyWealthManagement.com/contact   Subscribe to Retire With Ryan

“A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” - Proverbs 17:22As we wrap up our series on the temperaments and how they impact our financial decisions, we're turning the tables a bit. Today, Kathleen Edelman—who's been our guide through this journey—is taking the host seat to interview Rob West about the Yellow temperament.Kathleen Edelman is the author of I Said This, You Heard That: How Your Wiring Colors Your Communication. She is certified in Biblical Studies and Christian Counseling Psychology and has spent over 30 years coaching clients in the art of effective communication.What Is the Yellow Temperament?The yellow temperament, known as sanguine, is characterized by high energy, optimism, and a deep desire for connection. Yellows are extroverted and people-oriented, speaking the language of fun and relationships. They often bring joy, inspiration, and laughter into every environment they enter. However, they also face challenges, particularly in areas such as focus, follow-through, and impulse control.Historically rooted in the work of Hippocrates, the four temperaments offer a timeless framework for understanding how people are wired to think, speak, and listen. The yellow temperament is one of four:Red (Choleric): Task-oriented extroverts, driven by power and control.Blue (Melancholic): Task-oriented introverts, focused on perfection and order.Green (Phlegmatic): People-oriented introverts, seeking calm and harmony.Yellow (Sanguine): People-oriented extroverts, motivated by fun and connection.How Yellows Communicate and RelateYellows are often described as the life of the party—fun, inspiring, and full of energy. They thrive on being liked, included, and appreciated. They tend to wear their hearts on their sleeves and use charm, humor, and emotional connection to relate to others.Their innate needs include:Approval – being accepted for who they are.Acceptance – feeling included and invited.Attention – being given full focus and eye contact.Affection – being acknowledged and appreciated.When these needs are met, yellows radiate joy and creativity. But when unmet, they may seek attention in unhealthy ways or rely on charm to mask insecurity. Understanding these tendencies can help others relate to yellows with empathy and intention—and help yellows themselves pursue healthy, life-giving connections.Financial Habits of the Yellow TemperamentWhen it comes to money, yellows tend to view finances through the lens of spontaneity and enjoyment. They view money as a means to create experiences, give generously, and make memories with others. However, their optimism and impulsiveness can lead to overspending or a lack of strategic planning.Some common financial tendencies of yellows include:Generosity is driven by emotion rather than strategy.Difficulty sticking to strict budgets or long-term plans.A tendency to avoid hard money conversations, especially if there's potential for conflict or disapproval.Using money to strengthen relationships and bring joy.To thrive financially, yellows benefit from tools that provide structure without feeling restrictive, such as flexible budgeting systems, automated savings, or labeled cash envelopes tied to experiences (e.g., “Dinner with Friends”). Framing financial stewardship in terms of purpose, joy, and relational impact helps them stay engaged and motivated.Communication and StewardshipIn conversations—especially around finances—yellows respond best to positive framing and shared vision. They may avoid spreadsheets or conflict, but they are quick to dream, encourage, and cast vision. When invited into planning that includes moments of celebration or generosity, they are more likely to stay committed.In leadership or ministry settings, yellows often bring energy and hope to conversations. They are natural encouragers and communicators, able to uplift others with genuine warmth and presence. However, they may need accountability partners or systems to help with follow-through and details.Understanding their own temperament also enables yellows to listen more intentionally. With tools like Edelman's workbook, they can better identify the temperaments of others and respond in ways that build connection and clarity, both at work and at home.The yellow temperament is a vibrant and life-giving expression of God's creative design. While yellows may struggle with structure and impulse, they bring essential gifts of joy, vision, and generosity. With the right tools and a deeper self-awareness, they can become faithful stewards who reflect the heart of Christ, not just in their relationships, but also in how they give, plan, and lead.For a deeper dive into all four temperaments and how they relate to stewardship, relationships, and communication, explore Kathleen Edelman's featured article in our Faithful Steward magazine. To receive a copy each quarter, become a FaithFi Partner by giving $35 a month or $400 a year at FaithFi.com/Give.On Today's Program, Rob Answers Listener Questions:I'm about three and a half years away from retirement and currently have more saved in traditional IRAs than Roth IRAs. Would it be wise to start converting some of those traditional funds into Roth now—even if it means taking a tax hit—to avoid higher taxes in retirement?I'm 40 years old and have several 401(k) accounts from former employers. I've received mixed advice—some financial advisors say I can't consolidate them into a single account, while another is recommending I move them into a hedge fund that claims to offer a 15–17% return. What should I do?A few years ago, we loaned our son and his wife money to build a tiny home. They're now selling it at a loss to a third party. Are there any sales tax or personal tax consequences we—or our son—should be aware of in this situation?Resources Mentioned:Faithful Steward: FaithFi's New Quarterly Magazine (Become a FaithFi Partner)I Said This, You Heard That: How Your Wiring Colors Your Communication by Kathleen EdelmanWisdom Over Wealth: 12 Lessons from Ecclesiastes on MoneyLook At The Sparrows: A 21-Day Devotional on Financial Fear and AnxietyRich Toward God: A Study on the Parable of the Rich FoolFind a Certified Kingdom Advisor (CKA) or Certified Christian Financial Counselor (CertCFC)FaithFi App Remember, you can call in to ask your questions most days at (800) 525-7000. Faith & Finance is also available on the Moody Radio Network and American Family Radio. Visit our website at FaithFi.com where you can join the FaithFi Community and give as we expand our outreach.

Are tariffs impacting inflation yet? The Consumer Price Index, also known as the CPI, in the month of June showed an annual increase of 2.7%, which was in line with expectations. Core CPI, which excludes food and energy, came in at 2.9% and was also in like with expectations. It was slightly above May's reading of 2.8%, but given all the news around tariffs I think most would be surprised to see the limited change in prices given all the concerns. Some economists that tried to find evidence of the tariffs pointed to areas like apparel that had an increase of 0.4% compared to the month May. My concern with pointing out limited areas like that is prices can be quite volatile when looking at single areas, plus if you look at prices for apparel compared to last June, they actually decline 0.5%. Shelter is becoming less of problem for the report, but it is still the largest reason why inflation remains stubborn considering the annual increase was above the headline and core numbers at 3.8%. I'm still looking for these tariffs to have an impact on inflation, but as a whole they didn't seem to have a large impact in the month of June. I also want to point out I don't think they will be as problematic for consumers as some economists have illustrated.   Is the market in a bubble? I have been hesitant to use the word bubble when describing the current state of the market, but as valuations get more and more stretched, I must say I believe we are now in bubble territory. Apollo's chief economist, Torsten Slok, released a graph showing the 12-month forward P/E today versus where we were in 2000 and other 5-year increments. The forward P/E for the market as a whole is higher than it was back in 2000, but Torsten raised further concerns that valuations for the top 10 companies in the index are now more stretched than during the height of the tech boom. This is problematic considering these ten companies now make up nearly 40% of the entire index. Even looking at just the top 3 companies: Nvidia, Microsoft, and Apple, those now account for nearly 20% if the index. I recently heard a gentleman say on CNBC that valuations don't cause bubbles to pop and while that may be true, when a catalyst comes the larger the bubble, I worry the larger the pop. All I can say at this time is be careful if you are investing in the index as a “safe”, diversified investment as I believe it is far riskier than many people believe.   Retail sales show another strong economic data point Even though people remain concerned about a slowdown in the economy, their fears haven't showed up yet in their spending habits. In the month of June, retail sales climbed 3.9% compared to the previous year. Due to the lower price for gasoline, gas stations were a large negative weight in the month and actually declined 4.4% compared to last June. If gas stations were excluded from the headline number, retail sales grew at a very impressive annual rate of 4.6%. Strength was broad based, but I was surprised to see areas like health & personal care stores up 8.3% and food services & drinking places up 6.6%. These are two areas that show me people are still getting out and spending money, which generally wouldn't happen in a weak economy. There are some areas where consumers may be trying to get ahead of tariffs like motor vehicle & parts dealers, which saw an annual increase of 6.5% and furniture & home furnishing stores, which saw an increase of 4.5%, but it has now been a few months of strong sales in these categories. It will be interesting to see if there is a slowdown in those specific categories in the coming months as there could have been some pull forward in demand with consumers trying to beat those tariffs. Even if that is the case, spending still looks strong in areas not impacted by the tariffs, so I anticipate the consumer will remain healthy. Given the current state of the consumer, I still believe the economy is in a good spot overall. While I'm not looking for blockbuster growth, I'd be surprised to see anything close to a recession given all the recent data.   Financial Planning: What's the Deal with These “Trump Accounts” for Kids? Under the new One Big Beautiful Bill, children under 18 are eligible to open special long-term savings accounts, nicknamed “Trump Accounts”, with a unique blend of benefits and caveats. Kids born between 2025 and 2028 will receive a $1,000 seed deposit from the U.S. Treasury, regardless of family income. Parents, relatives, and friends may also contribute up to $5,000 per year in after-tax dollars. The account grows tax-deferred, and extra contributions (but not the Treasury seed or earnings) can be withdrawn tax-free. However, like a non-deductible IRA or non-qualified annuity, withdrawals of earnings or seed money are taxable at ordinary income rates, and early withdrawals (before age 59½) face a 10% penalty unless used for qualified purposes like a first-time home purchase or education. While the free $1,000 should be taken advantage of, families may find that 529 plans, Roth IRAs for teens with earned income, custodial accounts, or even accounts in a parent's name offer better long-term flexibility and tax treatment for ongoing contributions.   Companies Discussed: Circle Internet group (CRCL), Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (ADM), Kenvue Inc. (KVUE) & Shake Shack Inc. (SHAK)

Take the next step in your retirement planning. Tune in to the latest episode of the Retire Sooner Podcast with Wes Moss and Christa DiBiase, where you'll hear thoughtful, real-world insights designed to help you make informed financial decisions and pursue a more confident, purposeful retirement. • Explore ways to optimize Social Security benefits, including timing strategies, spousal considerations, and personalized withdrawal approaches. • Understand common sources of retirement anxiety, even among high-net-worth individuals, and consider approaches for managing emotional and financial uncertainty. • Learn how trusts can support estate planning goals, from avoiding probate to managing real estate assets within your long-term financial plan. • Consider retirement account strategies such as the Rule of 55, Roth conversion timing, and prioritizing tax-efficient cash flow. Review your investment mix by comparing target date funds and balanced funds, and evaluate which may better align with your risk tolerance and retirement timeline. • Weigh different withdrawal strategies by comparing the timing of distributions from retirement accounts versus claiming Social Security. • Examine how 529 plans and Roth IRAs may fit into your education and retirement planning—especially if you're part of a high-income household navigating recent tax law changes. Compare the structure and features of S&P 500 mutual funds and ETFs to help determine which may be more appropriate for your investment preferences.

That tax refund you're celebrating? It might not be the win you think it is. In this episode, CPA Steven Jarvis breaks down common tax misconceptions and steps you can take to avoid overpaying the IRS. He shares tax planning strategies and tips to make smarter decisions all year long, from how withdrawals can impact your tax bill to where the true amount you're paying in taxes each year can be found. Plus, find out why free tax software might be costing you more than it saves and how recent legislation is changing the rules around inherited money. Tune in to learn how a little strategy can save you a lot of stress and money come tax time! Topics discussed: The biggest tax misconception How to plan for taxes year-round How withdrawals impact your taxes Long-term tax planning and retirement Traditional vs. Roth IRAs and their impact on taxes Working with tax and money professionals How the SECURE Act has impacted inherited IRAs The pitfalls of using free tax software The most common tax mistakes Resources: Mitlin Financial: https://www.mitlinfinancial.com/ The JOY and Productivity Journal by Lawrence Sprung: https://www.amazon.com/JOY-Productivity-Journal-brought-mindset/dp/B0CYQFYW54/ Download Your Free Copy of the Couple's JOYful Money Guide: https://mitlin.us/CouplesJOY Connect with Larry Sprung:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lawrencesprung/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/larry_sprung/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LawrenceDSprung/ X (Twitter): https://x.com/Lawrence_Sprung Connect with Steven Jarvis: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevenajarvis Retirement Tax Services Website: https://retirementtaxservices.com About our Guest: Steven Jarvis, CPA is the CEO and Head CPA at Retirement Tax Services, a tax firm focused on working with financial advisors to change the world one tax return at a time. In this role Jarvis spends his time working with real financial advisors and taxpayers to help find opportunities to not tip the IRS. Afterall, there are no patriotic awards for overpaying taxes. With over 10 years of experience (and counting) as a CPA, Jarvis has the hands-on experience to create actionable content for his audience. He has been featured in industry publications including Advisor Perspectives and regularly produces content for financial advisors through the Retirement Tax Services website and the Retirement Tax Services Podcast. His experience covers written content, public speaking at leading industry conferences and 3 years as an adjunct professor in the graduate business school at Whitworth University. Disclosure: Guests on the Mitlin Money Mindset are not affiliated with CWM, LLC, and opinions expressed herein may not be representative of CWM, LLC. CWM, LLC is not responsible for the guest's content linked on this site.

Financial strategist Gabriel Shahin, author of How The Rich Get Richer, joins Joe Pardavila to decode why "High Earners Not Rich Yet" (HENRYs) struggle to build wealth despite six-figure salaries. They explore why traditional financial advice fails tech executives, attorneys, and professionals in high-cost cities—revealing how commission-based models overlook this group and why Roth IRAs often trump traditional retirement accounts (avoiding the "tax time bomb"). Gabriel also unpacks the real math behind renting vs. homeownership in markets like LA or NYC and addresses Gen Z's skepticism about ever owning property. The conversation tackles wealth-building paradoxes: why the rich "waste" money on insurance, how billionaires justify private jets (hint: it's a "time machine"), and Warren Buffett's rule about making money "work while you sleep." Gabriel shares actionable strategies from his fee-only firm Falcon Wealth Planning, including why personal finance is more personal than finance, and offers a measured take on cryptocurrency's role in modern portfolios. Perfect for HENRYs seeking to convert income into lasting wealth!

Avination, welcome back to Episode 335 of the Pilot to Pilot podcast! Host Justin Siems sits down with aviation expert Jim Higgins, a former airline pilot and University of North Dakota professor, and Elise Dominguez, a Certified Financial Planner at Allworth Airline Advisors, for a deep dive into the airline industry and pilot financial planning. They unpack the cyclical nature of pilot hiring—citing 12,000–13,000 pilots hired in 2023–2024, now leveling to a still-strong 4,000–4,500 annually, per FAPA data. Justin shares his journey from a fractional company to a major airline, facing a $120,000 pay cut, while Jim reflects on his wife's choice to stay a senior FO for schedule flexibility. Elise offers actionable advice for pilots at every stage: new hires like a 24-year-old check airman should start saving early to leverage time, mid-career pilots should max out 401(k) contributions (increasing by 1% yearly) and diversify with Roth IRAs or taxable accounts, and those nearing 65 should explore catch-up contributions ($7,500 at 50, $11,250 super catch-up at 60–63). They also tackle the pilot retirement age debate—will it hit 67?—and how it impacts young pilots' seniority or senior pilots' earnings. From avoiding lifestyle creep to planning for “what if” scenarios like furloughs or early retirement, this episode is packed with insights to keep your aviation career soaring. Visit Allworth Airline Advisors for a free consultation to build your personalized financial plan!I hope you enjoy this podcast and if you're interested in reaching out for more financial information make sure you check out Allworth Airline Advisors!Hope to see you all at EAA Ariventure!JustinTakeaways: The state of the airline industry is currently experiencing a hiring slowdown compared to the record-high years of 2023 and 2024, but opportunities still exist. Elise emphasizes the importance of starting financial planning early in a pilot's career to build a solid foundation for retirement and future investments. It's crucial for pilots to diversify their investments outside of 401(k)s to avoid over-relying on employer-sponsored plans for retirement income. Discussing the emotional aspects of financial decisions is important, as pilots often need guidance to navigate the ups and downs of their careers and personal finance. Investing in a health savings account can provide significant tax advantages, especially for pilots with high deductible plans, making it a smart move for long-term financial health. Addressing the potential changes in the retirement age from 65 to 67, it's essential for pilots to consider the impact on their career plans and future earnings potential.

In this episode of Retire with Style, Alex Murguia and Wade Pfau explore key retirement planning strategies, including how couples can optimize Social Security benefits, what to do with surplus funds from bond ladders, and the potential benefits of purchasing single premium immediate annuities (SPIAs) from Roth IRAs. They highlight the importance of maintaining flexibility and tailoring strategies to each retiree's unique circumstances.   Takeaways Delaying social security can benefit the higher earner in a couple. The low earner has flexibility in claiming social security earlier. Using software can help determine optimal social security claiming strategies. Survivorship benefits are crucial in social security planning. Bond ladders are used for retirement income, not just reinvestment. Surplus funds from bond ladders can be invested in growth portfolios. Roth IRAs can be beneficial for purchasing SPIAs. SPIAs can provide tax-free income streams in retirement. Tax diversification is important in retirement planning. Real-life financial planning requires flexibility beyond strict rules. Chapters 00:00 Introduction and Overview 01:16 Social Security Strategies for Couples 06:41 Managing Bond Ladder Surplus Funds 16:29 Exploring SPIAs in Retirement   Links Explore the New RetireWithStyle.com! We've launched a brand-new home for the podcast! Visit RetireWithStyle.com to catch up on all our latest episodes, explore topics by category, and send us your questions or ideas for future episodes. If there's something you've been wondering about retirement, we want to hear it! The Retirement Planning Guidebook: 2nd Edition has just been updated for 2025! Visit your preferred book retailer or simply click here to order your copy today: https://www.wadepfau.com/books/ This episode is sponsored by McLean Asset Management. Visit https://www.mcleanam.com/retirement-income-planning-llm/ to download McLean's free eBook, “Retirement Income Planning”

On this episode of Retire Texas Style Podcast, Derrick discusses retirement and delves into the complexities of Social Security, the importance of budgeting, and the strategic use of Roth IRAs for tax benefits. The discussion emphasizes the need for proactive financial planning and the potential consequences of inaction, especially as individuals approach retirement age. Get Your Complimentary Retirement Analysis Social Media: Facebook I Twitter See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this week's Money Matters, Scott and Pat dissect the Big Beautiful Bill's hidden surprises and spending concerns. They help uncover retirement savings strategies for a family with over a million in combined assets, explore the real winners and losers of the tariff policies, and offer sage advice to a fresh college grad navigating their first full-time salary. From lobbying power plays to Roth IRAs, this episode delivers practical insights for investing in today's market—at any stage of your career.   Join Money Matters:  Get your most pressing financial questions answered by Allworth's co-founders Scott Hanson and Pat McClain live on-air! Call 833-99-WORTH. Or ask a question by clicking here.  You can also be on the air by emailing Scott and Pat at questions@moneymatters.com. Download and rate our podcast here.

From humble beginnings as a Nebraska farm girl to becoming a millionaire mentor, Loral, joins host Chris Naugle on The Money School Podcast to share how she built an empire that's helped over 10,000 entrepreneurs secure their futures through smart investing, tax strategy, and family-focused legacy wealth planning.They dive into the truth about trusts, breaking down the critical role of structure and language in making sure your wealth lasts generations. You'll hear about Loral's “I'm Dead. Now What?” legacy document, how she set up Roth IRAs for her kids from birth, and her method of training the next generation to borrow from, not burn through, family money.Throughout the conversation, Loral emphasizes that legacy wealth planning isn't just about money, it's about values, vision, and the systems you put in place while you're still alive because whether you're rich or just getting started, legacy wealth planning begins with education, intention, and action.Loral's Takeaways:Career Transition and Current Focus (01:35)Challenges of Being a Road Warrior (02:51)Journey to Becoming a Millionaire Maker (05:46)Transition to Entrepreneurship and Real Estate (08:51)Importance of Trusts and Legacy Planning (11:25)Challenges of Trust Implementation (40:29)Legacy and Family Education (40:45)Economic Challenges and Financial Strategies (40:57)Meet Chris Naugle:From pro-snowboarder to money mogul, Chris Naugle has dedicated his life to being America's #1 Money Mentor. With a core belief that success is built not by the resources you have, but by how resourceful you can be.His success and national acclaim have come in large part to what he's learned first-hand from seeking a better way to wealth creation and preservation than he learned growing up.Chris has built and owned 19 companies, with his businesses being featured in Forbes, ABC, House Hunters, and his very own HGTV pilot in 2018. He is currently founder of The Money School™, and Money Mentor for The Money Multiplier.His success also includes managing tens of millions of dollars in assets in the financial services and advisory industry and in real estate transactions.As an innovator and visionary in wealth-building and real estate, he empowers entrepreneurs, business owners, and real estate investors with the knowledge of how money works.Chris is also a nationally recognized speaker, author, and podcast host. He has spoken to and taught over ten thousand Americans delivering the financial knowledge that fuels lasting freedom.From pro-snowboarder to money mogul, Chris Naugle has dedicated his life to being America's #1 Money Mentor. With a core belief that success is built not by the resources you have, but by how resourceful you can be.His success and national acclaim have come in large part to what he's learned first-hand from seeking a better way to wealth creation and preservation than he learned growing up.Chris has built and owned 19 companies, with his businesses being featured in Forbes, ABC, House Hunters, and his very own HGTV pilot in 2018. He is currently founder of The Money School™, and Money Mentor for The Money Multiplier.His success also includes managing tens of millions of dollars in assets in the financial services and advisory industry and in real estate transactions.As an innovator and visionary in wealth-building and real estate, he empowers entrepreneurs, business owners, and real estate investors with the knowledge of how money works.Chris is also a nationally recognized speaker, author, and podcast host. He has spoken to and taught over ten thousand Americans delivering the financial knowledge that fuels lasting freedom.Connect with Chris:

We're launching a game-changing (and free!) compound interest calculator to help you see exactly how your money grows. From hitting your first $100K to building a $7 million nest egg, we walk through real scenarios that show how small decisions today can make you rich tomorrow. Plus, your money questions answered - from Roth IRAs to risk management. ⁠⁠⁠⁠Jump start your journey with our FREE financial resources⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Reach your goals faster with our products⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Take the relationship to the next level: become a client⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe on YouTube for early access and go beyond the podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Connect with us on social media for more content⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Bring confidence to your wealth building with simplified strategies from The Money Guy. Learn how to apply financial tactics that go beyond common sense and help you reach your money goals faster. Make your assets do the heavy lifting so you can quit worrying and start living a more fulfilled life. NordVPN.com/MONEYGUY Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Most people know they should have a financial plan, but what should that plan actually look like? We break down a personalized financial strategy for every decade: 20s, 30s, 40s, and 50s+. You'll learn how to overcome key challenges, build smart habits, and make the most of your time, money, and opportunity. From wealth multipliers and Roth IRAs to estate planning and tax strategy, this is your financial roadmap - no matter your age. ⁠⁠⁠⁠Jump start your journey with our FREE financial resources⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Reach your goals faster with our products⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Take the relationship to the next level: become a client⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe on YouTube for early access and go beyond the podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Connect with us on social media for more content⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Bring confidence to your wealth building with simplified strategies from The Money Guy. Learn how to apply financial tactics that go beyond common sense and help you reach your money goals faster. Make your assets do the heavy lifting so you can quit worrying and start living a more fulfilled life. NordVPN.com/MONEYGUY Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Two-time Emmy and Three-time NAACP Image Award-winning, television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald interviewed Sonia Fears. First Vice President and Financial Advisor at Morgan Stanley. She leads The Fears Group, a wealth management team specializing in alternative investments, retirement planning, and financial education.

David McKnight addresses Doug Andrew's recommendation of turning your IRA into an IUL. David agrees with some of Andrew's views, including his objection to rolling a 401(k) into an IRA, and then leaving it there until you die. Given the exploding national debt, most experts predict that taxes 10 years from now will have to rise dramatically to keep the U.S. solvent… Doug Andrew lists Indexed Universal Life as his “favorite financial vehicle because of liquidity, safety, predictable rates of return, and tax-free growth”. David is skeptical of advice that denigrates every tax-free alternative within the IRS tax code in an attempt to glorify the IUL – which happens to be the product Andrew sells. While David recognizes some admirable qualities that are unique to IUL (and that no other financial tool has), he doesn't recommend having an IUL as the only prong in your tax-free strategy. David's preference is for you to opt for an approach that takes advantage of every tax-free nook and cranny within the IRS tax code. Many gurus are “married” to and recommend only one strategy. David, on the other hand, prefers “multiple streams of tax-free income, none of which show up on the IRS' radar, that contribute to you being in the 0% tax bracket.” David lists the unique qualities of financial tools such as Roth IRAs, Roth 401(k)s, Roth Conversions, and IULs. If you're someone who's looking for advice, David recommends being careful whenever someone recommends you liquidate a retirement account you've been saving into your entire life and move it wholesale into an IUL! Your ideal goal should be to have multiple tax-free income streams that will land you in or near the 0% tax bracket in retirement. Why is that so important? Because even if tax rates were to double, two times zero is still ZERO.     Mentioned in this episode: David's national bestselling book: The Guru Gap: How America's Financial Gurus Are Leading You Astray, and How to Get Back on Track DavidMcKnight.com DavidMcKnightBooks.com PowerOfZero.com (free video series) @mcknightandco on Twitter  @davidcmcknight on Instagram David McKnight on YouTube Get David's Tax-free Tool Kit at taxfreetoolkit.com Doug Andrew

Are you missing out on the tax strategy that could save you thousands and help build wealth for your kids?In this episode of Life Changing Money, Barbara is joined by her husband Matt for a fun but strategy-packed conversation on family wealth planning. They break down how to legally employ your children and spouse in your business for both major tax savings and long-term wealth building—including how to set up Roth IRAs, maximize retirement contributions, and use whole life policies for legacy planning.Whether you're a seasoned business owner or just getting started, this episode will open your eyes to the strategies the ultra-wealthy use—and how you can too.Tune in to hear:Why employing your kids is 100% legal and IRS-approved (and how to do it right)The real reason the government wants you to pay your childrenJob ideas for kids of all ages—from toddler shredding to TikTok managementHow to shift income to a lower tax bracket (hello, tax arbitrage!)How to invest your kids' paychecks to build generational wealthWhy a Roth IRA is more powerful than a 529 plan for college savingsHow to use life insurance creatively to fund big purchases later in life3 smart ways to legally involve your spouse in your business (without giving away 50%)The surprising benefits of setting up a Board of Directors—including destination “board meetings”Register for the Free Masterclass on Building Family Wealth: https://taxedacademy.com/family How To Get Involved:Life-Changing Money is a podcast all about money. We share stories of how money has impacted and radically changed the lives of others—and how it can do the same for you.Your host, Barbara Schreihans (pronounced ShREE-hands) is the founder and CEO of Your Tax Coach, and the creator of the Write Off Your Life Course. She is a top tax strategist, business coach, and expert in helping business owners and high-net-worth individuals save millions in taxes while increasing profits.When she's not leading her team, coaching clients, or dreaming up new goals for her company, you can find her drinking coffee, hanging out with her family, and traveling the world.Grab a cup of coffee and become inspired as we hear from those who have overcome and are overcoming their self-limiting beliefs and money mindsets!Do you have a burning question that you'd love to hear answered on a future show?Please email it to: podcast@yourtaxcoach.bizSign Up For Our NewsletterLife Changing Money PodcastGet Tax Help! 

This week's Ask Farnoosh mailbag includes timeless questions with a fresh twist:-What should you do after paying off your mortgage?-How to handle running out of tuition money when your child is in their third year of college.-Is it worth opening a second retirement account beyond your 401(k)?-And what's the real difference between a Roth IRA and a Roth 401(k)?

In this episode, I break down the ins and outs of hiring your children, spouse, and even other family members. Some highlights:Hiring Your Kids: The age at which your children can contribute meaningfully to your business and how you can set them up for financial success through tools like Roth IRAs and 529 plansThe Benefits of Hiring Your Spouse: How to maximize contributions to retirement accounts and the tax benefits that come with itNavigating Family Dynamics: I share my personal experiences and insights on what makes a successful working relationship and the potential mistakes to avoidTax Planning Tools: How to ensure that your hiring practices are compliant and beneficial for your tax situation, helping you set up your family for future success.--------------------------------------✅ Financial planning for 30-50 year old entrepreneurs: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.allstreetwealth.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠✅ My personal blog & newsletter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.thomaskopelman.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Disclaimer: None of this should be seen as financial advice. It is just for informational purposes.

Market Update: June 25, 2023 - Wall Street's Flat Day & Economic Insights In this episode of Dividend Cafe, Brian Szytel reports from the Grand Rapids office in Michigan on a relatively flat day in the financial markets. The DOW fell slightly by 106 points, S&P remained unchanged, and Nasdaq increased by 0.3%. Changes in oil prices and a ceasefire between Israel and Iran were also highlighted. Key economic updates include the potential for future tax legislation, upcoming tariff deadlines, and the Fed's possible rate cuts. Seitel also discusses how to position different assets in traditional IRAs versus Roth IRAs and delves into the recent decrease in new home sales. Upcoming economic calendar events include wholesale inventory numbers, durable goods orders, Q1 GDP revision, and pending home sales data. 00:00 Introduction and Market Overview 01:10 Market Movements and Economic Indicators 02:46 Investment Strategies for Different Accounts 04:27 Housing Market Insights 05:28 Upcoming Economic Events and Conclusion Links mentioned in this episode: DividendCafe.com TheBahnsenGroup.com

Don tackles the dangerous myth of “safe” high-yield investments, calling out misleading financial advice around covered call funds and non-traded real estate deals. He takes calls on 529 plans vs. UTMA, long-term care insurance pitfalls, robo-advisors for special needs planning, and a shady pitch for a fixed-indexed annuity disguised as a fiduciary recommendation. He ends with a birthday shoutout and a reminder of why good advice matters. 0:04 Greed and the myth of “safe” investments 1:27 Human desire for more with less risk—prime for exploitation 3:02 The illusion of safety: high-yield savings vs. riskier “alternatives” 3:50 Covered call funds are not safe—Don's own experience 4:42 Non-traded real estate and price illusion 5:22 Financial Flinch Reflex PSA 6:23 How to call the show and why listener questions matter 7:36 529 vs. UTMA for a newborn + Fidelity Zero Fund vs. FSKAX 10:44 529s can convert to Roth IRAs—huge benefit 11:15 Long-term care insurance: costs, limitations, and reality checks 13:57 Hybrid LTC policies: gimmicky, commission-driven 16:34 Premium examples: $5K to $10K/year for minimal coverage 17:53 Funding a disabled daughter's future using Schwab Intelligent Portfolio 19:50 Dollar-cost averaging lump sums? Don says no—invest now 21:12 Don on vacation guilt and cheap travel habits 22:24 529s owned by a trust—yes, and Utah's My529 gets Don's stamp 24:25 More trust pros and Utah's fee/vehicle advantages 25:42 Listener wary of FIA pitch for TSP rollover—Don smells fraud 27:48 The match, the cap, the “no annuity” claim—Don calls B.S. 29:24 How to verify if someone's actually a fiduciary 32:43 Why fixed-indexed annuities dodged SEC regulation 34:05 The real reason they're pushing 70% of your money into an FIA 36:00 Listener calls just to wish Don happy birthday 37:32 Don thanks his audience and reflects on why he keeps doing this Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of The AgView Pitch, host Chris talks with Mike Finley—financial educator, author, and advocate for long-term financial wellness. They dive into Finley's latest book The Path to Prosperity, which explores how families can build generational wealth by making smart financial decisions early in life. From the power of custodial Roth IRAs to breaking the cycle of generational spending, Finley lays out a clear, actionable blueprint for financial success rooted in discipline, education, and purpose. 

In this two-part episode, we're diving into strategies for building wealth as a modern parent. First, Kelly Palmer—a financial planner and founder of The Wealthy Parent—joins the show to break down how to choose a 529 plan. She shares the pros and cons of different education savings options, the impact of the new SECURE Act updates, and why she's a proud 529 mom herself. If you've been feeling overwhelmed by college savings decisions, this segment is full of clear, practical guidance. Then, in our Net Worth Win segment, Shang Saavedra from Save My Cents reveals how she and her husband built a net worth north of $2 million by age 39. From a revenge-of-the-nerd money mindset to embracing FIRE, Shang's story is packed with lessons on frugal living, dual-income saving strategies, and long-term thinking. Whether you're focused on education planning or financial independence, this episode delivers actionable tips and real-life inspiration. EPISODE RESOURCES Nectarine (Advice Only Financial Planners): ⁠https://marriagekidsandmoney.com/nectarine (affiliate) The Wealthy Parent: https://thewealthyparent.com  ⁠ Wealth is a Mindset (Book): https://amzn.to/3FQT0nh (affiliate) Save My Cents (Shang Saavedra's Website): https://savemycents.com/ CHAPTERS 00:00 – Introduction01:00 – How to Choose a 529 Plan05:20 – Tax Benefits and State-Specific Rules09:00 – SECURE Act Updates and New Roth IRA Rollovers13:45 – 529s vs UTMAs and Roth IRAs for Kids18:00 – Final Thoughts from Kelly Palmer20:30 – Net Worth Win: Shang Saavedra24:15 – The Mindset Shift Behind Wealth Building29:30 – Living on One Income and Saving the Other33:00 – Renting by Choice and Real Estate Insights36:00 – Teaching Generational Wealth Through Habits38:30 – Future Goals and Advice for Parents MKM RESOURCES: ⁠MKM Coaching⁠: Want 1-on-1 support with your family finance journey? Book a time with me today. ⁠Coast FIRE Calculator⁠: A free calculator to help you find out when you can slow down or stop investing for retirement. ⁠Mortgage Payoff Calculator⁠: A free calculator to help you see how fast you can become mortgage free. ⁠YouTube⁠: Subscribe for free to watch videos of these episodes and interviews. RECOMMENDED RESOURCES (SPONSORS AND AFFILIATES): ⁠Monarch Money⁠ - Best Budget App for Families & Couples ⁠Empower⁠ - Free Portfolio Tracker Cr⁠ew⁠ - HYSA Banking Built for Families - Get an Extra 0.5% APY with my partner link ⁠Ethos⁠ - Affordable Term Life Insurance ⁠Trust & Will⁠ - Convenient Estate Planning HOW WE MAKE MONEY + DISCLAIMER: This show may contain affiliate links or links from our advertisers where we earn a commission, direct payment or products. Opinions are the creators alone. Information shared on this podcast is for entertainment purposes only and should not be considered as professional advice. Marriage Kids and Money (www.marriagekidsandmoney.com) is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. CREDITS: Podcast Artwork: Liz Theresa Editor: Johnny Sohl Podcast Support: Nev Maraj Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of "Your Investment Partners," hosts Garrett and Paul explore the foundational concept of diversification—what it is, why it matters, and how to approach it thoughtfully. They break it down into three main categories: tax diversification, time diversification, and type diversification. The discussion touches on how each helps manage risk, maintain flexibility, and prepare for the unknowns of both markets and life. With practical examples and long-term perspective, they guide listeners toward building a well-rounded, adaptable investment strategy.Key Points From This Episode ● Why diversification is a long-standing financial principle● The difference between having multiple advisors and actual diversification● Overview of tax diversification and the value of varied account types● Tax flexibility through Roth IRAs, taxable, and tax-deferred accounts● Understanding time diversification with short-, intermediate-, and long-term needs● The importance of aligning investment types with time horizons● Core principles of type diversification—stocks, bonds, real estate, crypto, and more● Balancing risk by layering speculative and conservative assets● Signs your diversification is working: peace of mind, flexibility, and stability● Using diversification to withstand emergencies and market swings Want to learn more? Contact us hereUseful Links Garrett on LinkedIn Paul on LinkedIn Ascend Investment Partners

Ever wonder how the rich keep getting richer—legally and tax-free? It's not luck. It's strategy. And it starts with knowing how to use a self-directed IRA to invest in real estate, private equity, and even startups—while keeping the IRS out of your profits.What if you could unlock the same wealth-building tools the ultra-rich use—without needing millions to start? On this week's Exit Strategies Radio Show, host Corwyn J. Melette sits down with Adam Bergman, CEO of IRA Financial Technologies and one of the nation's leading experts on retirement tax strategy.A former tax attorney with over 25,000 clients and $4 billion in managed assets, Adam explains how self-directed IRAs offer everyday people the freedom to invest in alternative assets—real estate, startups, private equity—and grow it all tax-free. This conversation breaks down the exact strategies smart investors use to build generational wealth and reclaim control of their financial future.Key Takeaways:01:56 Introducing Our Special Guest: Adam Bergman03:06 Adam Bergman's Journey to IRA Financial Technologies07:31 Understanding Self-Directed IRAs11:12 The Power of Roth IRAs14:41 Tax Strategies and Legacy Building with IRAs16:54 Collaborative Real Estate Investments with IRAs18:05 Leveraging Small IRAs for Bigger Investments20:25 Pitfalls to Avoid in Self-Directed IRA Investments22:28 Using Self-Directed IRAs to Start a Business27:53 Checkbook Control vs. Custodian Controlled IRAsThis isn't just about retirement—it's about freedom, control, and legacy. Don't let this powerful financial knowledge sit on the shelf. Tune in, take notes, and take action.Connect with Adam @:

Don and Tom dive into the human obsession with prediction—especially in finance—and why models fail us more than they help. They dissect the CAPE ratio, Fama vs. Shiller, and why “knowing” the market is a fool's errand. Listeners also get lessons on ETF pricing myths, market cap misunderstandings, SEP Roth IRAs (spoiler: they're basically unicorns), and whether dad deserves a gift or just more responsibilities. 0:04 We crave certainty—even though our money brains are terrible at prediction. 1:01 Wall Street's models exist to soothe our fear of the unknown. 1:34 “All models are wrong, but some are useful” — CAPE ratio vs. the real world. 2:39 Shiller vs. Fama: You can't time the market, even with a Nobel. 4:51 Why diversification, risk-based equity premiums, and low fees beat predictions. 5:24 Models work… until they don't (hello, Phillips Curve). 7:02 Why the inflation-unemployment link broke after 2000: China changed the game. 8:26 Let's admit it: You cannot accurately and consistently predict the future. 9:14 Call from Catherine: Why Schwab ETF prices are “low” (spoiler: stock splits). 11:31 Price per share means nothing. Market cap is what matters. 13:04 Berkshire never split its stock—why it's $731K a share. 14:24 Apple vs. Berkshire vs. Microsoft: Market cap is the real metric. 16:32 Why the Dow is dumb (and would be even dumber with Berkshire in it). 17:49 Listener Q: Where to park $450K before a home purchase? (Hint: not bonds.) 18:29 High-yield savings accounts are still the best move. 19:53 Father's Day preview: Don rants about dumb gifts and ungrateful kids. 21:19 Kiplinger's list: 5 ways dads can teach money lessons (cue sarcasm). 24:06 Allowances, budgeting, and tax talks with kids—realistic or fantasy? 25:28 Roth IRAs and investing lessons for teens: what actually works. 27:45 Why teaching kids to pick stocks is a dangerous myth. 29:38 “Graduation fund” idea: simple global ETFs like AVGE or DFAW. 30:43 Yes, your kids might move back in. Yes, it's happening again. 32:13 Listener Q: Can you open a Roth SEP IRA? (Short answer: not really yet.) 33:54 One firm offers it… but it'll cost you $500/year and it's shady. 35:20 Final caller: Are there any annuities we do like? (Answer: the shortest show ever.) 36:34 Program note: Tom gone for 2 weeks, Don wants your calls (or sympathy). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Get my new book: https://bronsonequity.com/fireyourselfDownload my new special report - How to Use Inflation to Your Advantage - www.bronsonequity.com/inflationWelcome to our latest episode!Ready to fast-track your journey to millionaire status? Join host Bronson Hill and co-host Nate Hambrick for an electrifying conversation with Loral Langemeier, a six-time New York Times bestselling author and founder of Integrated Wealth Systems. Recorded in mid-May 2025, this episode dives into Loral's 25-year legacy of mentoring millionaires, from her Nebraska farm roots to building 272 fitness centers for Chevron's oil rigs and distributing 25,000 Cashflow games globally. A master of wealth creation, Loral shares insights from her books, The Millionaire Maker and Make Your Kids Millionaires, revealing how to shift from a make-and-spend cycle to a make-and-invest mindset. Discover why 86% of millionaires are self-made, how to leverage debt for 15-18% returns, and why alternative assets like oil and gas, aviation, and crypto in Roth IRAs outperform traditional mutual funds. Loral also unpacks tax strategies—using trusts, LLCs, and depreciation schedules to slash taxes—and the art of brokering deals to solve high-value problems.Loral's actionable steps, including her “Three Days to Cash” workshop, will inspire you to build wealth boldly.TIMESTAMPS00:48 - Guest introduction: Loral Langemeier 02:03 - Loral's journey: From Nebraska to millionaire mentor 07:17 - Millionaire mindset: Make and invest, not spend 09:23 - Fast cash: Three Days to Cash workshop success 11:53 - Teaching kids: Pressure washing to millions 14:01 - Brokering deals: Solving high-value problems 16:18 - Deal pitfalls: Designing your divorce upfront 18:23 - Trusts and LLCs: Building a Rockefeller legacy 21:48 - Asset protection: When to start trusts 24:39 - Alternative assets: Oil, gas, and aviation 27:07 - King Air strategy: 100% depreciation in five years 31:54 - AI and CPAs: Why strategists still win 32:37 - Roth IRA hacks: Crypto and real estate deals 37:41 - How to connect: Free tickets and gap analysisConnect with the Guest:Website: https://askloral.com/The Millionaire Intensive: https://askloral.com/event/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/askloral/?hl=en#MillionaireMindset#TaxStrategy#AlternativeInvesting#RealEstate#OilAndGas#RothIRA#WealthBuilding

Explore powerful, often-overlooked retirement tactics—like the Rule of 55 and the 62/70 Social Security strategy—and hear listener questions answered by Wes and Christa to help you build an effective, income-focused financial future.

Two-time Emmy and Three-time NAACP Image Award-winning, television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald interviewed Sonia Fears. First Vice President and Financial Advisor at Morgan Stanley. She leads The Fears Group, a wealth management team specializing in alternative investments, retirement planning, and financial education.