WEBVTT
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Welcome to the Optimizing Beyond podcast. I'm
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Josh Negron, and this show's all about sharing
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lessons, ideas, and strategies that sharpen your
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thinking, strengthen your habits, and push you
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to grow beyond comfort zones. Let's dive in.
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Hey everyone, welcome back to the show. We talk
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a lot on this podcast about how daily anything
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changes everything. Those daily choices that
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eventually rewire who you are and what you eventually
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do. But let's get raw for a second. How's that
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going with your bank account? I see so many high
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achievers crushing it in the gym or in the boardroom,
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but behind the scenes, they're suffocating under
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the weight of their own success. Sure. They've
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got the highlight reel, but they don't have the
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freedom or any flexibility. Today, I want to
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move past the flex and into real stewardship.
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I'd like to share steps of my own financial optimization
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that changed my life to hopefully help you move
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from being owned by your money to actually owning
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your future. So let's dive in. So I want to cover
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five things that played a major role in my family's
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financial stewardship journey, and those five
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are the role of generous people I respected in
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my life, recognizing past and potential future
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problems and patterns, my view on debt and how
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to attack the beast, how to handle the temptation
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of lifestyle creep, and finally, exploring all
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the different ways to invest in your future.
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Now, reasonable disclaimer, I am not a financial
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advisor, so I do want to make sure that you know
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that. And these are things that I'm sharing from
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my personal experience. As always, hoping that
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that can be a blessing to you to discern for
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yourself what would be good steps for you to
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take moving forward. All right, and for the first
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one, like I said, it is generous people that
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I respected. Now, I always joke around and say
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the stupid phrase, rich people. And I'll be honest,
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that's funny to me now, but that is a comment
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that I think is carried on into culture. The
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idea that if someone is wealthy, that they are
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a terrible person to a certain degree. Now, growing
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up very poor, I did not have an overall positive
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view of wealthy people. And I think that's shared
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by a lot of people. Now there certainly are a
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ton of examples of people with a lot of wealth
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or a lot of resources. that are just not great
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humans at all. That being said, I think in all
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areas of life, you can identify unsavory people
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in all stages. So simply having that evidence,
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I don't think is a conclusive way to judge an
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entire category of people. If you think about
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it, you shouldn't do that really in any aspect
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of life. When my wife and I were in college and
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we're a newlywed couple, there were specific
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relationships that I can think back to of people
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that were definitely quite a ways ahead of us
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in life, comfortably at least 15, if not 20.
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30 years ahead of us in that journey. And they
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were people who had amassed a decent amount of
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resources. But from the very beginning, they
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were challenging my views of them. Like I said,
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I did not have a very positive view of people
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who are wealthy. Initially, I had my own prejudices
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involved when I could see their external resources,
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specifically cars and homes are the ones that
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come to mind most often. And as a result, my
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judgments were carried into how I viewed them.
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But over time in pretty quick order actually,
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I noticed that they did not fit my opinions of
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them. And they were challenging my view of people
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who have resources in a good way. These people
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were such a blessing to my family and everyone
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around them. Their reputation was powerful, helpful,
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humble, and overall encompassed in the idea of
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generosity. And this was an incredibly... amazing
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thing to be a part of. Now, they weren't doing
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that to change my viewpoint of them. They were
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just being who they were. But in so doing, in
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just acting through their own character, they
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were doing just that. And I realized early on
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that wealth is more of a tool than anything else.
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And just like a lot of things in this life, tools
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can be used for good and for evil. And I'm so
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thankful for those years in my 20s where I encountered
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incredible people with incredible character with
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tremendous resources that were able to show me
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what the tool of wealth is. could do in the hands
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of somebody trustworthy, with high integrity,
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and with an amazing, generous, humble spirit.
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I would argue, especially on this show, when
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we talk about optimizing all parts of your life,
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that stewardship is just as important as fitness,
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relationships, or anything else we talk about
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on this show. And because of that, and perhaps
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even more so, because finances is naturally something
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that we all have to manage and find our way through.
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And while people can speak into our finances
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and how we invest or spend, at the end of the
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day, the decision is always up to us. Nobody
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is controlling our bank account in most reasonable
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cases. And if you don't live out the things that
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you learn, then, like all things that we talk
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about, if you don't go against the current, nine
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times out of ten, the current will take you to
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a place that you ultimately don't want to go,
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and is arguably not ideal for you. As with all
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things that are worth pursuing, it generally
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takes effort against the grain, against what
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everyone else is doing, to be different. to push
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against the natural flow and the natural temptations
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in order to achieve a prosperous place, which
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applies across all these themes, like health,
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like fitness, like relationships, like mental
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health, and so on. And so in this section, I'll
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leave you with this thought. I think that true
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generosity and financial management is a character
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trait. That doesn't mean that you can't change
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it. However, there is a quote and I don't know
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who originally said it, but it says that money
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and power only magnify character. They only multiply
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more of what they find. In other words, if someone
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is a good person, if they gain money or power,
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you will only see more of their goodness multiplied.
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Conversely, if someone is a person with low integrity,
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poor leadership, and other deep flaws, then money
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and power are only going to magnify those things.
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to be even more severe. I think we're all familiar
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with the endless example of lottery winners out
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there that squander all their wealth or take
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an advantage of or just do very poor things with
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their winnings, and this falls into this category.
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So this is why I think this is so applicable,
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because it dovetails with all the things that
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we discuss about becoming the best version of
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you that you can possibly be. And so for me in
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my college years, I noticed this pattern of consumerism.
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And they say the first thing of dealing with
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your problems is admitting you do have one, right?
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And so as a result, I realized over the years
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as I was earning a living, building a family,
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that I was making choices that weren't necessarily
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ideal for me or my family. I think generally
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we all know what that feels like, but the pull
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of things... possessions, flexing on others,
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keeping up with the Joneses, and those kinds
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of ideas are all things that we naturally think
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about. We don't have to dig deep into all those.
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I think those naturally pull on us in all sorts
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of different ways. And so that idea of exchanging
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freedom for some sort of gratification. Now,
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I'll be honest, initially that didn't go much
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beyond recognition. I knew that I was doing it.
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But it didn't necessarily stop me from doing
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those things. But just recognizing that this
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was a pattern. And it was not a pattern that
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I was unfamiliar with. My parents growing up
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had plenty of disagreements and conflicts surrounding
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finances. This is something I remember very vividly
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and not something that we have to shy away from
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that truth. And so I knew secondhand what the
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stress of money could do, how it could affect
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a family. this game of constantly trying to keep
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up and juggling too much and not being able to
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feel like you can stay ahead. And honestly, like
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I've talked about before, I'm not really a huge
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fan of fear being a strong motivator in the long
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term. However, this fear of repeating this pattern
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generationally was something that kind of freaked
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me out. And I didn't want to repeat the same
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patterns that my parents had struggled with for
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so many years. And I think at this point, we've
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all heard some sort of statistic. that links
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divorce to financial struggle. I'm sure the percentage
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is really high if we look it up right now. But
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at the very least, we know that there's a strong
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correlation between the erosion of marriages
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and relationships due to financial struggle.
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So I think one of the important things to remember
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about financial decisions is that justification
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is, from my view, something that... plays a role
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in this. Now we can justify pretty much anything
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for ourselves, but let's look specifically at
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finances. Justifying any purchase is something
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that I think all of us have some form of PhD
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in. So when you want something, you can figure
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out a way to justify it for yourself. Now those
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of you who are in relationships with significant
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others, you get pretty good at justifying that
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for your significant other as well and convincing
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them of your pursuit. Now, in previous episodes,
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we've talked about why it's so important to look
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at who's in your circle for a lot of different
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reasons, because whoever's in your circle is
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going to affect who you are, your character,
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and your growth over time. In the same way, it's
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also going to affect your financial future. There's
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a popular phrase that's said that show me your
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network and I'll show you your net worth. The
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idea behind that is that the people that you
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surround yourself with are definitely going to
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have financial implications for you in the future,
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either to the good or the bad. So in the same
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way, if somebody wants to constantly justify
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a consumerism or materialistic lifestyle, they're
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going to surround themselves typically around
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people who do the same thing. This kind of keep
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up with the Joneses idea where everyone's just
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constantly trying to leapfrog and keep up with
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each other. So I would argue your circle either
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hurts or helps your financial future, and it's
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wise to kind of make an assessment. Look at those
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people in your circle, and are they in a financial
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position that you would be okay being in? And
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if not, you have some things to think through.
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Now also, some... Quick things to keep in mind
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is sometimes stage in life also matters. So if
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you're looking at people your age, especially
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if you're a younger person, to have everything
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together financially, that's going to statistically
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be less likely than people that might have 10
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to 20 years on you. However, just because someone's
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at an older age does not mean they are automatically
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financially responsible. Like I said, unless
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someone's pushing against the current of what's
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normal and natural for our selfish desires, I
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would argue that financial growth is typically
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not something that happens at an alarming rate
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with anyone unless they put attention and focus
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on that growth area. The same way you won't find
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yourself in an extremely amazing fitness position
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if you don't put any work and attention towards
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it. And I think finally in this category, realizing
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that undirected money is just wasted. And so
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if I wasn't willing to put intention behind where
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my money goes and actually directing it and telling
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it where to go, that at the end of the month,
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I was going to ask a very common question that
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I think a lot of you can relate with. Where did
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it all go? And that is an unbelievably frustrating
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thing when you're working super hard to provide
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for your family. Maybe both of you are working,
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whatever that looks like. And at the end of the
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month, you feel like you are coming up short
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or you just don't have enough to show for it.
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That's an exhausting rat race proposition, and
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you can't control anyone but yourself. So the
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push on this channel is always to control what
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you can control, and that does start with you.
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And so when it comes to finances, you can't always
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control what your employer pays you, you can't
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always control your work situation, and you can't
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always control a lot of external factors. However,
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you can control you. You can control what you
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spend, where you direct your money. It does take
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effort though. So again, pushing against that
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current, how do we begin to do that? And for
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us, it started with attacking bad debt. Now I
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use the phrase bad debt because people like to
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put degrees on debt. We're not going to get very
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deep into it, but... As a typical rule we're
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going to be referring to bad debt in things like
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credit cards and financing things that are arguably
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more wisely purchased with cash. In other words
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things that are not needs they are wants. Anytime
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you're financing something that is ultimately
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a want and not a need, that's something that
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I think would be healthy to put on your radar
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to bring some pause to. So again, very strong
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distinction for things that you want, not what
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you need. If you're not able to pay cash with
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that on the day that you want to purchase it,
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there's a lot of excuses. I get it. Well, it's
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on sale and it's this and it's that and the other,
00:12:22.480 --> 00:12:24.759
and I need it now. Well, no, remember, we're
00:12:24.759 --> 00:12:26.259
talking about these are wants. These are not
00:12:26.259 --> 00:12:29.059
needs. You want it now. Yes. And it may be on
00:12:29.059 --> 00:12:31.039
sale now, but if you don't have the money for
00:12:31.039 --> 00:12:33.980
it, making that assessment, asking that question,
00:12:34.100 --> 00:12:37.539
is this the best way to wield finance and the
00:12:37.539 --> 00:12:41.100
debt system to my advantage, which is not geared
00:12:41.100 --> 00:12:43.039
towards your advantage. I think most of us know
00:12:43.039 --> 00:12:45.700
that. But unfortunately, it's so easy to get
00:12:45.700 --> 00:12:47.759
stuck in that trap. They do make it incredibly
00:12:47.759 --> 00:12:50.000
easy on purpose. because that's how they make
00:12:50.000 --> 00:12:52.159
their money. So step one of attacking debt is
00:12:52.159 --> 00:12:54.500
recognizing what types of debt are the worst
00:12:54.500 --> 00:12:56.960
and which ones are a little different in that
00:12:56.960 --> 00:12:59.639
equation. So I would put homes typically more
00:12:59.639 --> 00:13:03.000
on the better quotation of debt than I would
00:13:03.000 --> 00:13:05.460
bad, and then credit cards on the other side.
00:13:05.600 --> 00:13:07.360
And then there are a lot of things in between.
00:13:07.379 --> 00:13:10.000
In my opinion, I think cars can be sometimes
00:13:10.000 --> 00:13:13.120
more on the side of good, but more often than
00:13:13.120 --> 00:13:16.080
not, especially now with the average car payment
00:13:16.080 --> 00:13:19.980
being close to $1 ,000. It is just eye -watering
00:13:19.980 --> 00:13:23.580
what automobiles can do to a monthly budget for
00:13:23.580 --> 00:13:25.940
people. Now, I get it. Cars are a need, not a
00:13:25.940 --> 00:13:28.879
want. The spectrum of cars can range from want
00:13:28.879 --> 00:13:32.059
versus need in a lot of different ways. So I
00:13:32.059 --> 00:13:33.659
don't think I have to line all that out for you.
00:13:33.740 --> 00:13:35.799
I think we all get it. So I think it's important
00:13:35.799 --> 00:13:38.019
once you recognize that there is a spectrum of
00:13:38.019 --> 00:13:40.080
debt, the next thing that's important is getting
00:13:40.080 --> 00:13:42.940
on the same page with your significant other.
00:13:43.120 --> 00:13:45.340
Now, I'll attach a warning here. there can be
00:13:45.340 --> 00:13:49.220
a lot of baggage and shame attached to discussions
00:13:49.220 --> 00:13:52.919
of finance and handling money. So like we've
00:13:52.919 --> 00:13:54.820
talked about in our relationship and marriage
00:13:54.820 --> 00:13:57.860
episodes, I'd love for you to follow our conflict
00:13:57.860 --> 00:14:01.600
rules, such as practicing soft starts versus
00:14:01.600 --> 00:14:03.919
harsh startups. In other words, how you start
00:14:03.919 --> 00:14:06.740
a conversation can really set the tone for the
00:14:06.740 --> 00:14:09.299
conversation. So there's a, I always like to
00:14:09.299 --> 00:14:12.440
draw the distinction between you can ask someone,
00:14:12.990 --> 00:14:15.730
what's the deal in two different ways on two
00:14:15.730 --> 00:14:18.330
different spectrums. The first one is, what the
00:14:18.330 --> 00:14:21.149
heck is your problem? Versus, hey, are you okay?
00:14:21.370 --> 00:14:24.009
Right? Both are asking, what's up? But one is
00:14:24.009 --> 00:14:26.490
much different. And in that goes, watch your
00:14:26.490 --> 00:14:29.190
tone, avoid things like always and never. These
00:14:29.190 --> 00:14:32.029
are pretty classic, normal interaction tips.
00:14:32.190 --> 00:14:34.789
And also using the law of positive intent. If
00:14:34.789 --> 00:14:36.750
you go into those conversations knowing there
00:14:36.750 --> 00:14:39.340
can be a lot of baggage and history. especially
00:14:39.340 --> 00:14:41.700
someone like me that grew up listening to fights
00:14:41.700 --> 00:14:44.919
surrounded around finances. There's just a lot
00:14:44.919 --> 00:14:47.259
of baggage that I haven't personally experienced,
00:14:47.279 --> 00:14:51.309
but I was subjected to. through hearing my parents
00:14:51.309 --> 00:14:53.769
have fights around finances. So your significant
00:14:53.769 --> 00:14:57.070
other may have a whole bucket of their own baggage
00:14:57.070 --> 00:15:00.029
around finances. So having a conversation to
00:15:00.029 --> 00:15:02.950
get on the same page can be tough. And recognize
00:15:02.950 --> 00:15:05.149
also that there's this dynamic we've talked about
00:15:05.149 --> 00:15:07.269
before in our marriage episodes that some people
00:15:07.269 --> 00:15:09.929
are naturally savers and some people are naturally
00:15:09.929 --> 00:15:13.059
spenders. And so... If you're the saver, having
00:15:13.059 --> 00:15:15.440
the conversation with the spender, which is a
00:15:15.440 --> 00:15:18.539
lot of times how that dynamic will go, then please
00:15:18.539 --> 00:15:21.460
handle that responsibility with grace, understanding,
00:15:21.700 --> 00:15:23.799
because the odds that they're going to feel personally
00:15:23.799 --> 00:15:26.080
attacked are going to be pretty high. It's going
00:15:26.080 --> 00:15:28.299
to take some good judgment on your part to navigate
00:15:28.299 --> 00:15:30.799
that conversation well. But I think getting on
00:15:30.799 --> 00:15:32.360
the same page with your spouse was something
00:15:32.360 --> 00:15:35.220
that was super powerful for us in just deciding
00:15:35.220 --> 00:15:38.340
what were our financial goals, what were the
00:15:38.340 --> 00:15:40.779
most reasonable things to pursue in the area
00:15:40.779 --> 00:15:42.820
that we were in, which is going to be different
00:15:42.820 --> 00:15:45.639
for everyone. And recognizing that debt will
00:15:45.639 --> 00:15:49.000
not simply go away just with hope. You're going
00:15:49.000 --> 00:15:51.259
to need a plan. And unless both of you are on
00:15:51.259 --> 00:15:53.379
the same page with that plan, then it's just
00:15:53.379 --> 00:15:55.930
going to be a recipe for frustration. Because
00:15:55.930 --> 00:15:57.450
they're going to do what they've always done.
00:15:57.610 --> 00:15:59.850
And if you're in this situation, there's no way
00:15:59.850 --> 00:16:02.169
you're going to get out if it's just you. It's
00:16:02.169 --> 00:16:04.549
just going to build a wedge between both of you.
00:16:04.610 --> 00:16:07.149
And that's going to cause you to be in a financial
00:16:07.149 --> 00:16:09.330
position you don't want to be in, in addition
00:16:09.330 --> 00:16:12.450
to having relationship issues that you also don't
00:16:12.450 --> 00:16:14.669
want to have. So getting on the same page is
00:16:14.669 --> 00:16:16.509
important. This is going to take more than one
00:16:16.509 --> 00:16:18.970
conversation. This is going to take repeated
00:16:18.970 --> 00:16:21.870
conversations. Remember, this is... the constant
00:16:21.870 --> 00:16:24.649
illustration of pushing and canoeing against
00:16:24.649 --> 00:16:27.169
the current in the same way that applies here
00:16:27.169 --> 00:16:29.950
to discussions with your spouse and getting on
00:16:29.950 --> 00:16:33.370
this same page. A great rule of thumb in attacking
00:16:33.370 --> 00:16:36.909
debt is a play from Dave Ramsey's playbook. Now,
00:16:36.950 --> 00:16:39.750
I won't pretend like I follow every single Dave
00:16:39.750 --> 00:16:42.870
Ramsey directive. However, I think some of his
00:16:42.870 --> 00:16:46.710
principles are just pretty solid because he crafts
00:16:46.710 --> 00:16:50.049
them for the general public as general rules
00:16:50.049 --> 00:16:52.570
to follow. And that's attacking the smallest
00:16:52.570 --> 00:16:55.190
debt first. Now, I get it. There's some math
00:16:55.190 --> 00:16:56.789
geniuses out there. They're going to be like,
00:16:56.909 --> 00:16:58.850
well, there's going to be the what you want to
00:16:58.850 --> 00:17:00.769
want to attack the one with the highest interest
00:17:00.769 --> 00:17:04.150
rate first. I get it. Yeah, listen to me for
00:17:04.150 --> 00:17:06.269
sure. But as a general rule, I think this is
00:17:06.269 --> 00:17:08.970
a great way to pursue this and start this snowball
00:17:08.970 --> 00:17:11.410
effect that he calls. And you can do the snowball
00:17:11.410 --> 00:17:13.950
effect in a lot of different ways for sure. But
00:17:13.950 --> 00:17:16.490
again, I think attacking the smallest one first.
00:17:16.960 --> 00:17:20.059
allows you to get an easy win up front when this
00:17:20.059 --> 00:17:22.640
is still a new journey for you and probably the
00:17:22.640 --> 00:17:26.359
most arduous. And early on, having wins that
00:17:26.359 --> 00:17:29.079
are quicker can help you stay on that path and
00:17:29.079 --> 00:17:32.119
reinforce this behavior. So there's a lot of
00:17:32.119 --> 00:17:35.559
pluses for taking this approach. Identify your
00:17:35.559 --> 00:17:38.180
smallest debt, eliminate it, and once you do,
00:17:38.400 --> 00:17:41.259
then apply all the payments that you were making
00:17:41.259 --> 00:17:43.640
to eliminate that one and snowball it into the
00:17:43.640 --> 00:17:46.519
second smallest. and so on and so forth. So over
00:17:46.519 --> 00:17:49.700
time, you can use that concept to knock out a
00:17:49.700 --> 00:17:52.279
lot of debt pretty quick because as the snowball
00:17:52.279 --> 00:17:55.660
grows, you're using a larger resource to tackle
00:17:55.660 --> 00:17:58.400
the bigger debts. And so again, it can be a super,
00:17:58.460 --> 00:18:00.559
super powerful tool. And the final thought I
00:18:00.559 --> 00:18:03.480
want to share with you in this section is from
00:18:03.480 --> 00:18:06.240
Navy SEAL author Brandon Thornhill in his book,
00:18:06.279 --> 00:18:09.220
The Elite Leadership Blueprint. And in the financial
00:18:09.220 --> 00:18:12.809
section of his book, which is rich with systems
00:18:12.809 --> 00:18:16.549
and extremely practical ways to execute in multiple
00:18:16.549 --> 00:18:19.369
areas of your life, specifically around leadership,
00:18:19.670 --> 00:18:23.130
he talks about treating every dollar like a soldier,
00:18:23.289 --> 00:18:25.630
one that can fight for you or one that can just
00:18:25.630 --> 00:18:28.569
be wasted. And he says if they're lost to interest,
00:18:28.690 --> 00:18:31.490
these soldiers, they cannot fight for your future.
00:18:31.609 --> 00:18:34.150
And so getting those soldiers away from being
00:18:34.150 --> 00:18:36.789
spent on credit cards and those kinds of bad
00:18:36.789 --> 00:18:40.119
debt will free up ways for you to move on to
00:18:40.119 --> 00:18:42.480
using those soldiers in ways that can better
00:18:42.480 --> 00:18:45.380
bless your family and fight for a future that
00:18:45.380 --> 00:18:47.880
you might not even realize is possible. And this
00:18:47.880 --> 00:18:50.599
is where a very common cliche comes into play,
00:18:50.720 --> 00:18:53.099
where compound interest is the most powerful
00:18:53.099 --> 00:18:55.259
force in the universe, and I would argue that
00:18:55.259 --> 00:18:57.839
banks prove this all the time. They use interest
00:18:57.839 --> 00:19:00.579
to their advantage in charging it to you with
00:19:00.579 --> 00:19:03.180
bad debt so that they can make a ton of money.
00:19:03.299 --> 00:19:06.039
And in the same way, we can leverage that in
00:19:06.039 --> 00:19:08.920
our future as well. But it's just so easy to
00:19:08.920 --> 00:19:12.000
slip into the opposite dark side of compound
00:19:12.000 --> 00:19:14.099
interest and allowing it to take advantage of
00:19:14.099 --> 00:19:16.339
us if we just follow the natural current down
00:19:16.339 --> 00:19:18.759
the river. And so by that same token, I want
00:19:18.759 --> 00:19:22.700
to address how we handled resisting the natural
00:19:22.700 --> 00:19:26.240
lifestyle creep. Now, anytime that you get a
00:19:26.240 --> 00:19:28.599
new job with new opportunities that give you
00:19:28.599 --> 00:19:32.019
higher earning potential or you enter in a time
00:19:32.019 --> 00:19:34.680
of plenty, if you're in a commission job and
00:19:34.680 --> 00:19:36.920
things are just humming and going super well,
00:19:37.309 --> 00:19:39.170
or you get a promotion and you have the opportunity
00:19:39.170 --> 00:19:42.190
and you're blessed by earning more, you are inevitably
00:19:42.190 --> 00:19:45.549
going to be tempted to buy the natural current,
00:19:45.670 --> 00:19:47.910
what I'm going to label lifestyle creep. And
00:19:47.910 --> 00:19:50.190
this applies to all of us. This is natural. This
00:19:50.190 --> 00:19:52.029
is normal. This is something that we all want
00:19:52.029 --> 00:19:54.809
to do when we earn a lot of money, get a promotion,
00:19:55.089 --> 00:19:58.049
get a new job that pays us more is, well, I guess
00:19:58.049 --> 00:20:00.000
we can get that new car now. well, we've been
00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:02.039
wanting to get a new house. How'd that new furniture
00:20:02.039 --> 00:20:04.900
be a good time? It's just so easy. And it takes
00:20:04.900 --> 00:20:09.039
a ton of intentionality and focus to say no and
00:20:09.039 --> 00:20:11.599
delay gratification. And if you stick to your
00:20:11.599 --> 00:20:14.319
guns in times of plenty, then you can have a
00:20:14.319 --> 00:20:17.440
tremendous amount of flexibility in drought times
00:20:17.440 --> 00:20:19.950
or difficult times. where other people are going
00:20:19.950 --> 00:20:23.490
to be in some pretty tough underwater situations,
00:20:23.650 --> 00:20:26.069
having to make really hard, desperate decisions
00:20:26.069 --> 00:20:29.109
to try to keep the ship afloat, and often tremendous
00:20:29.109 --> 00:20:31.769
sacrifice. There's so many benefits that you
00:20:31.769 --> 00:20:35.789
can realize if you resist this natural creep.
00:20:35.950 --> 00:20:38.289
And the first one and main one is flexibility.
00:20:38.509 --> 00:20:41.750
If you keep your expenses low, then regardless
00:20:41.750 --> 00:20:45.049
of what happens, you retain extreme flexibility
00:20:45.049 --> 00:20:48.589
in your options. And this is super, super important.
00:20:48.730 --> 00:20:51.230
But it's certainly not as fun as a new house
00:20:51.230 --> 00:20:53.869
or a new car or any of those things. So trust
00:20:53.869 --> 00:20:56.230
me, I get it. I had plenty of times in my life
00:20:56.230 --> 00:20:59.470
where I gave up flexibility for the things that
00:20:59.470 --> 00:21:01.849
I wanted. And if you're anything like me, you've
00:21:01.849 --> 00:21:03.670
made the same decisions. So like I said in the
00:21:03.670 --> 00:21:05.609
previous section, there is a difference between
00:21:05.609 --> 00:21:08.730
working to build your future versus just funding
00:21:08.730 --> 00:21:11.529
your lifestyle. That new car, house, or furniture
00:21:12.170 --> 00:21:14.970
are not going to propel you to a wealth -building
00:21:14.970 --> 00:21:17.690
future. In fact, a lot of those things are just
00:21:17.690 --> 00:21:20.069
depreciating items, we're not even going to call
00:21:20.069 --> 00:21:22.750
them assets at this point, that you spend your
00:21:22.750 --> 00:21:25.230
soldiers on, and a lot of times there's not much
00:21:25.230 --> 00:21:28.569
left towards the end. The average car... depreciates
00:21:28.569 --> 00:21:31.190
about 50 % in five years, not to mention the
00:21:31.190 --> 00:21:33.589
interest that you pay on that side as well. Working
00:21:33.589 --> 00:21:35.930
at a car dealership myself, I see a ton of people
00:21:35.930 --> 00:21:38.529
who have negative equity or upside down in those
00:21:38.529 --> 00:21:40.849
cars. And as always, it's hard to say no, it's
00:21:40.849 --> 00:21:42.829
hard to fight against that current. But again,
00:21:42.910 --> 00:21:45.450
we've gone through some really rough times in
00:21:45.450 --> 00:21:48.710
the last, I'd say five to 10 years in times of
00:21:48.710 --> 00:21:51.190
plenty and in times of scarcity. And the people
00:21:51.190 --> 00:21:54.410
that have made wise choices are able to still
00:21:54.410 --> 00:21:57.849
retain that flexibility and freedom when things
00:21:57.849 --> 00:22:00.289
get tight, when things get tough, versus others
00:22:00.289 --> 00:22:02.569
that find themselves in really desperate situations.
00:22:02.849 --> 00:22:05.130
In Brandon Thornhill's book, he did have some
00:22:05.130 --> 00:22:08.069
practical budget frameworks that you can use
00:22:08.069 --> 00:22:10.990
to get started, which he called the 50 -20 -15
00:22:10.990 --> 00:22:14.309
-5 -10 rule. And that's essentially just categories
00:22:14.309 --> 00:22:16.910
that you can start from if you're like, I don't
00:22:16.910 --> 00:22:19.190
even know where to start with in a budget. So
00:22:19.190 --> 00:22:22.220
let's go through it. So 50 % is needs. This is
00:22:22.220 --> 00:22:24.160
living expenses, the things that you need to
00:22:24.160 --> 00:22:26.900
keep things going that you cannot cancel, right?
00:22:26.980 --> 00:22:30.140
So electricity, water, utilities, blah, blah,
00:22:30.220 --> 00:22:32.589
blah, your rent or mortgage. Your current car
00:22:32.589 --> 00:22:34.950
payment goes in there for now. What are all those
00:22:34.950 --> 00:22:37.650
things? And then he puts 20 % for taxes. Now
00:22:37.650 --> 00:22:40.289
this book is specifically for high earners, leaders,
00:22:40.450 --> 00:22:42.789
and entrepreneurs. So if you're a high earner
00:22:42.789 --> 00:22:46.369
or a 1099 person, then 20 % for taxes is pretty
00:22:46.369 --> 00:22:48.349
critical and pretty standard. So this can be
00:22:48.349 --> 00:22:50.609
a flexible thing depending on your needs and
00:22:50.609 --> 00:22:53.430
your situation. And then 50 % for what he calls
00:22:53.430 --> 00:22:55.990
a future fund. This is wealth building of some
00:22:55.990 --> 00:22:58.490
sort, such as investments or debt elimination.
00:22:58.789 --> 00:23:00.930
I have a couple financial advisors that are friends
00:23:00.930 --> 00:23:04.289
of mine. And when people are interested in investing
00:23:04.289 --> 00:23:06.750
because they have a strong feeling of FOMO, there's
00:23:06.750 --> 00:23:08.369
other people investing in their future and they
00:23:08.369 --> 00:23:09.650
don't want to miss out. So they're like, hey,
00:23:09.670 --> 00:23:11.650
where do I need? I have this money. Where can
00:23:11.650 --> 00:23:14.150
I put it to work for me? And a good financial
00:23:14.150 --> 00:23:16.329
advisor will always ask some key questions, you
00:23:16.329 --> 00:23:18.009
know, like what are the rest of your finances
00:23:18.009 --> 00:23:21.329
like? And if they see a lot of bad debt, they're
00:23:21.329 --> 00:23:23.349
going to be like, hey, listen, it doesn't make
00:23:23.349 --> 00:23:26.609
any sense for you to invest money over here while
00:23:26.609 --> 00:23:29.450
you're bleeding money over here. It's better
00:23:29.450 --> 00:23:32.490
to eliminate that debt and then be able to invest
00:23:32.490 --> 00:23:35.730
in your future. This 15 % can be wealth building
00:23:35.730 --> 00:23:39.170
in the form of investing in your future or eliminating
00:23:39.170 --> 00:23:41.630
debt because that is both investing in your future.
00:23:41.980 --> 00:23:44.519
And then there's 5 % to 10 % in wants. What are
00:23:44.519 --> 00:23:48.039
things that can keep life enjoyable while keeping
00:23:48.039 --> 00:23:51.160
lifestyle creep in check? This is why it's critical
00:23:51.160 --> 00:23:53.460
because when you spend your budget and it's gone
00:23:53.460 --> 00:23:55.700
for that month, guess what? If you want something,
00:23:55.839 --> 00:23:57.619
maybe you can get it next month with that 5 %
00:23:57.619 --> 00:24:00.519
or 10%, right? So it's really good to keep that
00:24:00.519 --> 00:24:03.390
in line so that it just doesn't creep up. And
00:24:03.390 --> 00:24:05.990
then lastly, five or 10 % for giving. And this
00:24:05.990 --> 00:24:08.849
is making generosity a discipline so that it's
00:24:08.849 --> 00:24:10.410
not just something that you do occasionally,
00:24:10.470 --> 00:24:12.740
it's something that you do regularly. Because
00:24:12.740 --> 00:24:15.279
if you have given out of the goodness of your
00:24:15.279 --> 00:24:18.000
heart, you do know that the principle, it is
00:24:18.000 --> 00:24:21.059
better to give than to receive, is actually true.
00:24:21.240 --> 00:24:23.460
And the more that you live that out, the more
00:24:23.460 --> 00:24:26.000
powerful that truth can manifest in your life.
00:24:26.059 --> 00:24:28.740
And from my perspective, can really help transform
00:24:28.740 --> 00:24:31.079
you into an incredible person that you're meant
00:24:31.079 --> 00:24:33.619
to be. Now, like I said, this is a example framework
00:24:33.619 --> 00:24:35.880
that Brandon gives. He also is not a financial
00:24:35.880 --> 00:24:38.079
advisor, but he says, this is what I started
00:24:38.079 --> 00:24:40.970
with. what has been helpful to him. And it's
00:24:40.970 --> 00:24:43.950
a really good place to start when you write down
00:24:43.950 --> 00:24:46.230
your budget and how you're currently spending
00:24:46.230 --> 00:24:49.190
things. You can see real quick where you are
00:24:49.190 --> 00:24:51.670
compared to these categories. And that can give
00:24:51.670 --> 00:24:53.329
you a really easy picture of, yeah, well, this
00:24:53.329 --> 00:24:55.190
is where I need to do some work. Now remember,
00:24:55.369 --> 00:24:58.109
this isn't to stab yourself with or be extremely
00:24:58.109 --> 00:25:00.670
self -critical or enter into negative self -talk
00:25:00.670 --> 00:25:02.630
or negative beliefs. That's not what we're about
00:25:02.630 --> 00:25:05.099
here. We're about identifying ways that you can
00:25:05.099 --> 00:25:07.900
improve and always improve by reasonable margins
00:25:07.900 --> 00:25:10.799
so that you can build over time. So I don't want
00:25:10.799 --> 00:25:13.619
you to use these things as a club to beat yourself
00:25:13.619 --> 00:25:16.299
with, but instead use it as a way to identify
00:25:16.299 --> 00:25:18.859
those problems so that you can progress to a
00:25:18.859 --> 00:25:21.160
different place where you can look back in 10
00:25:21.160 --> 00:25:23.700
years and go, that's the time where I made those
00:25:23.700 --> 00:25:27.000
changes and that was a pivotal moment that propelled
00:25:27.000 --> 00:25:29.839
me to a place I never thought I could go. And
00:25:29.839 --> 00:25:31.400
speaking of that, personally, I can tell you
00:25:31.400 --> 00:25:33.700
that is extremely powerful. And the last one's
00:25:33.700 --> 00:25:35.900
arguably the most exciting one. That's investing
00:25:35.900 --> 00:25:38.420
in your future, where you get to look at really
00:25:38.420 --> 00:25:41.960
identifying things as assets versus liabilities,
00:25:42.160 --> 00:25:44.980
learning the difference between the two and finding
00:25:44.980 --> 00:25:48.960
ways to acquire those assets in increasing frequency
00:25:48.960 --> 00:25:52.059
over time and optimizing your mindset towards
00:25:52.059 --> 00:25:55.000
them to acquire those assets in a responsible
00:25:55.000 --> 00:25:58.140
way to create lasting change. Now, like most
00:25:58.140 --> 00:26:00.710
things we talk about on here, They are not instant
00:26:00.710 --> 00:26:02.869
gratification principles. They are things that
00:26:02.869 --> 00:26:05.369
if you implement over time, you do daily over
00:26:05.369 --> 00:26:07.289
time, they're going to create a massive change
00:26:07.289 --> 00:26:09.710
in who you are and in what you're doing. And
00:26:09.710 --> 00:26:12.549
in a culture of increasing instant gratification
00:26:12.549 --> 00:26:15.630
and dopamine spikes, this is the absolute last
00:26:15.630 --> 00:26:17.890
thing that most people want to do. Now, just
00:26:17.890 --> 00:26:20.789
like in fitness, there's a ton of ways to get
00:26:20.789 --> 00:26:23.089
moving and get healthy. There are so many different
00:26:23.089 --> 00:26:26.109
ways to invest in your future. I highly recommend
00:26:26.109 --> 00:26:29.049
that you find someone in your life. And if you
00:26:29.049 --> 00:26:32.210
don't, seek someone out that has specific knowledge
00:26:32.210 --> 00:26:35.069
in this space on what is an asset that you can
00:26:35.069 --> 00:26:37.529
get into, that one that interests you, that you
00:26:37.529 --> 00:26:39.670
can get into in a responsible way. Now, with
00:26:39.670 --> 00:26:41.990
a caveat, I'll say you can find a lot of information
00:26:41.990 --> 00:26:44.809
on places like podcasts and YouTube, but just
00:26:44.809 --> 00:26:48.210
be wise in those arenas because there's a lot
00:26:48.210 --> 00:26:50.910
of creators out there that don't always have
00:26:50.910 --> 00:26:53.470
your best interest at heart, and they can be
00:26:53.470 --> 00:26:56.700
a lot of these get -rich -quick scheme. postured
00:26:56.700 --> 00:26:59.619
individuals. Because again, think instant gratification.
00:26:59.920 --> 00:27:02.019
Why would you want to take 20 years to accomplish
00:27:02.019 --> 00:27:05.359
something if you can just do it in 90 days and
00:27:05.359 --> 00:27:08.279
pay them a certain amount up front because it's
00:27:08.279 --> 00:27:09.660
heavily discounted and they're going to share
00:27:09.660 --> 00:27:11.599
all their knowledge with you. So beware of the
00:27:11.599 --> 00:27:14.140
trap. A lot of things that are worth doing take
00:27:14.140 --> 00:27:16.920
intentionality and focus over time. And this
00:27:16.920 --> 00:27:19.680
is no different. I wish it was that easy. But
00:27:19.680 --> 00:27:21.900
then would it really be that fulfilling if it
00:27:21.900 --> 00:27:24.200
was? Probably not. Because if you just won the
00:27:24.200 --> 00:27:26.849
lottery today, sure. Yeah, you'd have a lot of
00:27:26.849 --> 00:27:29.049
fun, but you probably wouldn't find yourself
00:27:29.049 --> 00:27:31.970
in the best position in six months to a year,
00:27:32.009 --> 00:27:34.009
arguably. And that's not me saying that. That's
00:27:34.009 --> 00:27:36.309
just statistics saying that about most people
00:27:36.309 --> 00:27:38.869
that win the lottery. So don't try to reinvent
00:27:38.869 --> 00:27:42.329
the wheel. Follow good, established, proven financial
00:27:42.329 --> 00:27:45.309
principles. Those can be found virtually anywhere
00:27:45.309 --> 00:27:47.410
if you're willing to look and willing to listen.
00:27:47.589 --> 00:27:49.930
Again, they're not going to be fast, sexy, and
00:27:49.930 --> 00:27:53.190
quick. They're going to require sacrifice, focus,
00:27:53.470 --> 00:27:57.009
intentionality. repeating them on a daily basis
00:27:57.009 --> 00:27:59.490
in order to find the most success with them.
00:27:59.529 --> 00:28:02.730
And that's a perfect time to reflect again on
00:28:02.730 --> 00:28:05.789
who's in your circle and reevaluate how they
00:28:05.789 --> 00:28:08.529
manage their money. Are these people using their
00:28:08.529 --> 00:28:11.049
money in a way that you want to mirror? And if
00:28:11.049 --> 00:28:13.690
not, you need to find people in your life that
00:28:13.690 --> 00:28:15.690
you can answer that question in a positive way
00:28:15.690 --> 00:28:17.450
because that's only going to help your trajectory
00:28:17.450 --> 00:28:19.990
over time. So to wrap this up, let's look at
00:28:19.990 --> 00:28:22.309
the territory we covered today. So we started
00:28:22.309 --> 00:28:25.109
with mindset shift, moving from a negative view
00:28:25.109 --> 00:28:28.829
of wealth to recognizing it as a tool for stewardship
00:28:28.829 --> 00:28:32.630
and seeing that money only magnifies the character
00:28:32.630 --> 00:28:35.849
it finds. We identified the problem of consumerism
00:28:35.849 --> 00:28:38.230
and materialism and understanding that there's
00:28:38.230 --> 00:28:40.789
a difference between choosing freedom or choosing
00:28:40.789 --> 00:28:43.529
to flex and auditing our inner circle to make
00:28:43.529 --> 00:28:46.329
sure that we're not just justifying our way to
00:28:46.329 --> 00:28:50.109
financial slavery. We also looked at how to identify
00:28:50.109 --> 00:28:52.710
and attack bad debt, getting on the same page
00:28:52.710 --> 00:28:54.690
with our spouse using the rules of engagement
00:28:54.690 --> 00:28:57.670
we've talked about previously, and the fun idea
00:28:57.670 --> 00:29:00.970
of identifying every dollar as a soldier that's
00:29:00.970 --> 00:29:03.869
able to fight for our future or just be lost
00:29:03.869 --> 00:29:06.849
into the void. We also got practical with lifestyle
00:29:06.849 --> 00:29:10.069
creep and resisting the temptation that we all
00:29:10.069 --> 00:29:13.599
fall on in that current. to just make those decisions
00:29:13.599 --> 00:29:16.380
that make us feel good in the moment, being prepared
00:29:16.380 --> 00:29:19.799
for times of drought and difficulty that we can't
00:29:19.799 --> 00:29:22.920
always control. And we also discuss Brandon Thornhill's
00:29:22.920 --> 00:29:25.980
budget framework to help us identify our current
00:29:25.980 --> 00:29:28.259
spending and where we could make adjustments.
00:29:28.579 --> 00:29:31.779
And finally, we focus on investing in the future,
00:29:31.920 --> 00:29:34.180
how you shift your thinking from liabilities
00:29:34.180 --> 00:29:37.299
to assets and things that can go to work for
00:29:37.299 --> 00:29:40.170
you. and also finding proven mentors that you
00:29:40.170 --> 00:29:42.490
can trust so you aren't stuck trying to reinvent
00:29:42.490 --> 00:29:45.789
the wheel or bamboozled into something that isn't
00:29:45.789 --> 00:29:47.609
going to work. And like James Clear always says,
00:29:47.789 --> 00:29:50.230
you don't rise to the level of your goals, you
00:29:50.230 --> 00:29:52.650
fall to the level of your systems. So if you're
00:29:52.650 --> 00:29:55.130
not happy with where you are financially, don't
00:29:55.130 --> 00:29:57.470
stab yourself with that, but instead recognize
00:29:57.470 --> 00:30:00.140
that you'd like it to be different. recognize
00:30:00.140 --> 00:30:02.599
that you have goals that you would like to achieve,
00:30:02.740 --> 00:30:06.079
and then identify habits and systems that can
00:30:06.079 --> 00:30:09.039
help you over time make daily decisions that
00:30:09.039 --> 00:30:11.660
can change your financial future. Because even
00:30:11.660 --> 00:30:15.180
amazing financial decisions done daily over the
00:30:15.180 --> 00:30:17.900
course of six months can make a drastic change
00:30:17.900 --> 00:30:20.440
in your future if you stay consistent, which
00:30:20.440 --> 00:30:22.700
is why daily is so powerful. So if your current
00:30:22.700 --> 00:30:24.799
habits aren't matching the person you want to
00:30:24.799 --> 00:30:28.210
become, today's the day. to adjust that trajectory.
00:30:28.410 --> 00:30:30.710
Because in the same way that a plane or a ship
00:30:30.710 --> 00:30:33.730
adjusts that angle just a little bit at the start,
00:30:33.869 --> 00:30:36.509
they can end up at a completely different destination
00:30:36.509 --> 00:30:38.809
towards the end. And that's what we want to leverage
00:30:38.809 --> 00:30:41.109
to your benefit. Thanks for listening to the
00:30:41.109 --> 00:30:43.970
Optimizing Beyond podcast. Remember, growth happens
00:30:43.970 --> 00:30:46.750
when you take action. So subscribe, share this
00:30:46.750 --> 00:30:48.750
with a friend, and most importantly, put what
00:30:48.750 --> 00:30:51.369
you learned into practice. Until next time, keep
00:30:51.369 --> 00:30:53.890
moving forward because daily anything changes
00:30:53.890 --> 00:30:54.529
everything.
00:00:01.940 --> 00:00:05.219
Welcome to the Optimizing Beyond podcast. I'm
00:00:05.219 --> 00:00:07.379
Josh Negron, and this show's all about sharing
00:00:07.379 --> 00:00:11.099
lessons, ideas, and strategies that sharpen your
00:00:11.099 --> 00:00:13.939
thinking, strengthen your habits, and push you
00:00:13.939 --> 00:00:17.019
to grow beyond comfort zones. Let's dive in.
00:00:21.199 --> 00:00:24.140
Hey everyone, welcome back to the show. We talk
00:00:24.140 --> 00:00:27.120
a lot on this podcast about how daily anything
00:00:27.120 --> 00:00:30.399
changes everything. Those daily choices that
00:00:30.399 --> 00:00:33.039
eventually rewire who you are and what you eventually
00:00:33.039 --> 00:00:35.399
do. But let's get raw for a second. How's that
00:00:35.399 --> 00:00:37.659
going with your bank account? I see so many high
00:00:37.659 --> 00:00:40.159
achievers crushing it in the gym or in the boardroom,
00:00:40.200 --> 00:00:42.600
but behind the scenes, they're suffocating under
00:00:42.600 --> 00:00:45.409
the weight of their own success. Sure. They've
00:00:45.409 --> 00:00:47.350
got the highlight reel, but they don't have the
00:00:47.350 --> 00:00:50.090
freedom or any flexibility. Today, I want to
00:00:50.090 --> 00:00:53.149
move past the flex and into real stewardship.
00:00:53.289 --> 00:00:56.210
I'd like to share steps of my own financial optimization
00:00:56.210 --> 00:00:59.090
that changed my life to hopefully help you move
00:00:59.090 --> 00:01:01.789
from being owned by your money to actually owning
00:01:01.789 --> 00:01:04.310
your future. So let's dive in. So I want to cover
00:01:04.310 --> 00:01:07.290
five things that played a major role in my family's
00:01:07.290 --> 00:01:09.790
financial stewardship journey, and those five
00:01:09.790 --> 00:01:12.650
are the role of generous people I respected in
00:01:12.650 --> 00:01:15.909
my life, recognizing past and potential future
00:01:15.909 --> 00:01:19.109
problems and patterns, my view on debt and how
00:01:19.109 --> 00:01:22.090
to attack the beast, how to handle the temptation
00:01:22.090 --> 00:01:25.469
of lifestyle creep, and finally, exploring all
00:01:25.469 --> 00:01:27.269
the different ways to invest in your future.
00:01:27.599 --> 00:01:30.000
Now, reasonable disclaimer, I am not a financial
00:01:30.000 --> 00:01:32.700
advisor, so I do want to make sure that you know
00:01:32.700 --> 00:01:34.620
that. And these are things that I'm sharing from
00:01:34.620 --> 00:01:36.920
my personal experience. As always, hoping that
00:01:36.920 --> 00:01:38.799
that can be a blessing to you to discern for
00:01:38.799 --> 00:01:41.540
yourself what would be good steps for you to
00:01:41.540 --> 00:01:43.930
take moving forward. All right, and for the first
00:01:43.930 --> 00:01:46.329
one, like I said, it is generous people that
00:01:46.329 --> 00:01:49.129
I respected. Now, I always joke around and say
00:01:49.129 --> 00:01:51.950
the stupid phrase, rich people. And I'll be honest,
00:01:52.109 --> 00:01:55.189
that's funny to me now, but that is a comment
00:01:55.189 --> 00:01:57.750
that I think is carried on into culture. The
00:01:57.750 --> 00:02:00.609
idea that if someone is wealthy, that they are
00:02:00.609 --> 00:02:02.829
a terrible person to a certain degree. Now, growing
00:02:02.829 --> 00:02:05.909
up very poor, I did not have an overall positive
00:02:05.909 --> 00:02:08.430
view of wealthy people. And I think that's shared
00:02:08.430 --> 00:02:10.759
by a lot of people. Now there certainly are a
00:02:10.759 --> 00:02:13.919
ton of examples of people with a lot of wealth
00:02:13.919 --> 00:02:16.340
or a lot of resources. that are just not great
00:02:16.340 --> 00:02:19.080
humans at all. That being said, I think in all
00:02:19.080 --> 00:02:21.860
areas of life, you can identify unsavory people
00:02:21.860 --> 00:02:24.180
in all stages. So simply having that evidence,
00:02:24.259 --> 00:02:26.860
I don't think is a conclusive way to judge an
00:02:26.860 --> 00:02:28.960
entire category of people. If you think about
00:02:28.960 --> 00:02:30.759
it, you shouldn't do that really in any aspect
00:02:30.759 --> 00:02:33.400
of life. When my wife and I were in college and
00:02:33.400 --> 00:02:36.000
we're a newlywed couple, there were specific
00:02:36.000 --> 00:02:38.500
relationships that I can think back to of people
00:02:38.500 --> 00:02:41.219
that were definitely quite a ways ahead of us
00:02:41.219 --> 00:02:44.560
in life, comfortably at least 15, if not 20.
00:02:44.650 --> 00:02:47.069
30 years ahead of us in that journey. And they
00:02:47.069 --> 00:02:50.110
were people who had amassed a decent amount of
00:02:50.110 --> 00:02:52.469
resources. But from the very beginning, they
00:02:52.469 --> 00:02:55.349
were challenging my views of them. Like I said,
00:02:55.389 --> 00:02:57.710
I did not have a very positive view of people
00:02:57.710 --> 00:03:00.569
who are wealthy. Initially, I had my own prejudices
00:03:00.569 --> 00:03:03.669
involved when I could see their external resources,
00:03:03.909 --> 00:03:06.629
specifically cars and homes are the ones that
00:03:06.629 --> 00:03:08.870
come to mind most often. And as a result, my
00:03:08.870 --> 00:03:11.669
judgments were carried into how I viewed them.
00:03:11.789 --> 00:03:14.599
But over time in pretty quick order actually,
00:03:14.759 --> 00:03:17.979
I noticed that they did not fit my opinions of
00:03:17.979 --> 00:03:20.319
them. And they were challenging my view of people
00:03:20.319 --> 00:03:22.800
who have resources in a good way. These people
00:03:22.800 --> 00:03:25.620
were such a blessing to my family and everyone
00:03:25.620 --> 00:03:28.919
around them. Their reputation was powerful, helpful,
00:03:29.240 --> 00:03:31.680
humble, and overall encompassed in the idea of
00:03:31.680 --> 00:03:35.169
generosity. And this was an incredibly... amazing
00:03:35.169 --> 00:03:37.469
thing to be a part of. Now, they weren't doing
00:03:37.469 --> 00:03:39.650
that to change my viewpoint of them. They were
00:03:39.650 --> 00:03:42.349
just being who they were. But in so doing, in
00:03:42.349 --> 00:03:45.030
just acting through their own character, they
00:03:45.030 --> 00:03:47.150
were doing just that. And I realized early on
00:03:47.150 --> 00:03:50.169
that wealth is more of a tool than anything else.
00:03:50.569 --> 00:03:52.310
And just like a lot of things in this life, tools
00:03:52.310 --> 00:03:55.669
can be used for good and for evil. And I'm so
00:03:55.669 --> 00:03:58.430
thankful for those years in my 20s where I encountered
00:03:58.430 --> 00:04:01.310
incredible people with incredible character with
00:04:01.310 --> 00:04:03.949
tremendous resources that were able to show me
00:04:03.949 --> 00:04:07.460
what the tool of wealth is. could do in the hands
00:04:07.460 --> 00:04:09.960
of somebody trustworthy, with high integrity,
00:04:10.139 --> 00:04:12.800
and with an amazing, generous, humble spirit.
00:04:12.879 --> 00:04:15.199
I would argue, especially on this show, when
00:04:15.199 --> 00:04:17.360
we talk about optimizing all parts of your life,
00:04:17.399 --> 00:04:20.319
that stewardship is just as important as fitness,
00:04:20.420 --> 00:04:22.620
relationships, or anything else we talk about
00:04:22.620 --> 00:04:25.129
on this show. And because of that, and perhaps
00:04:25.129 --> 00:04:28.649
even more so, because finances is naturally something
00:04:28.649 --> 00:04:31.430
that we all have to manage and find our way through.
00:04:31.589 --> 00:04:34.290
And while people can speak into our finances
00:04:34.290 --> 00:04:37.250
and how we invest or spend, at the end of the
00:04:37.250 --> 00:04:39.750
day, the decision is always up to us. Nobody
00:04:39.750 --> 00:04:42.370
is controlling our bank account in most reasonable
00:04:42.370 --> 00:04:45.170
cases. And if you don't live out the things that
00:04:45.170 --> 00:04:47.970
you learn, then, like all things that we talk
00:04:47.970 --> 00:04:50.750
about, if you don't go against the current, nine
00:04:50.750 --> 00:04:53.089
times out of ten, the current will take you to
00:04:53.089 --> 00:04:55.389
a place that you ultimately don't want to go,
00:04:55.529 --> 00:04:58.129
and is arguably not ideal for you. As with all
00:04:58.129 --> 00:05:00.769
things that are worth pursuing, it generally
00:05:00.769 --> 00:05:03.569
takes effort against the grain, against what
00:05:03.569 --> 00:05:06.600
everyone else is doing, to be different. to push
00:05:06.600 --> 00:05:09.620
against the natural flow and the natural temptations
00:05:09.620 --> 00:05:13.199
in order to achieve a prosperous place, which
00:05:13.199 --> 00:05:15.759
applies across all these themes, like health,
00:05:15.920 --> 00:05:18.800
like fitness, like relationships, like mental
00:05:18.800 --> 00:05:21.360
health, and so on. And so in this section, I'll
00:05:21.360 --> 00:05:23.579
leave you with this thought. I think that true
00:05:23.579 --> 00:05:27.019
generosity and financial management is a character
00:05:27.019 --> 00:05:29.339
trait. That doesn't mean that you can't change
00:05:29.339 --> 00:05:32.129
it. However, there is a quote and I don't know
00:05:32.129 --> 00:05:34.449
who originally said it, but it says that money
00:05:34.449 --> 00:05:37.870
and power only magnify character. They only multiply
00:05:37.870 --> 00:05:41.329
more of what they find. In other words, if someone
00:05:41.329 --> 00:05:44.009
is a good person, if they gain money or power,
00:05:44.170 --> 00:05:46.629
you will only see more of their goodness multiplied.
00:05:47.509 --> 00:05:50.629
Conversely, if someone is a person with low integrity,
00:05:50.889 --> 00:05:53.769
poor leadership, and other deep flaws, then money
00:05:53.769 --> 00:05:55.990
and power are only going to magnify those things.
00:05:56.430 --> 00:05:58.589
to be even more severe. I think we're all familiar
00:05:58.589 --> 00:06:01.949
with the endless example of lottery winners out
00:06:01.949 --> 00:06:04.470
there that squander all their wealth or take
00:06:04.470 --> 00:06:07.970
an advantage of or just do very poor things with
00:06:07.970 --> 00:06:10.790
their winnings, and this falls into this category.
00:06:11.069 --> 00:06:13.509
So this is why I think this is so applicable,
00:06:13.730 --> 00:06:15.509
because it dovetails with all the things that
00:06:15.509 --> 00:06:17.689
we discuss about becoming the best version of
00:06:17.689 --> 00:06:19.769
you that you can possibly be. And so for me in
00:06:19.769 --> 00:06:23.209
my college years, I noticed this pattern of consumerism.
00:06:23.550 --> 00:06:25.629
And they say the first thing of dealing with
00:06:25.629 --> 00:06:28.290
your problems is admitting you do have one, right?
00:06:28.430 --> 00:06:31.470
And so as a result, I realized over the years
00:06:31.470 --> 00:06:34.110
as I was earning a living, building a family,
00:06:34.230 --> 00:06:36.449
that I was making choices that weren't necessarily
00:06:36.449 --> 00:06:39.550
ideal for me or my family. I think generally
00:06:39.550 --> 00:06:41.970
we all know what that feels like, but the pull
00:06:41.970 --> 00:06:45.069
of things... possessions, flexing on others,
00:06:45.250 --> 00:06:47.050
keeping up with the Joneses, and those kinds
00:06:47.050 --> 00:06:49.069
of ideas are all things that we naturally think
00:06:49.069 --> 00:06:51.230
about. We don't have to dig deep into all those.
00:06:51.350 --> 00:06:54.569
I think those naturally pull on us in all sorts
00:06:54.569 --> 00:06:57.689
of different ways. And so that idea of exchanging
00:06:57.689 --> 00:07:01.550
freedom for some sort of gratification. Now,
00:07:01.569 --> 00:07:04.050
I'll be honest, initially that didn't go much
00:07:04.050 --> 00:07:07.029
beyond recognition. I knew that I was doing it.
00:07:07.259 --> 00:07:09.480
But it didn't necessarily stop me from doing
00:07:09.480 --> 00:07:11.600
those things. But just recognizing that this
00:07:11.600 --> 00:07:13.579
was a pattern. And it was not a pattern that
00:07:13.579 --> 00:07:16.480
I was unfamiliar with. My parents growing up
00:07:16.480 --> 00:07:20.160
had plenty of disagreements and conflicts surrounding
00:07:20.160 --> 00:07:23.920
finances. This is something I remember very vividly
00:07:23.920 --> 00:07:26.160
and not something that we have to shy away from
00:07:26.160 --> 00:07:29.300
that truth. And so I knew secondhand what the
00:07:29.300 --> 00:07:31.160
stress of money could do, how it could affect
00:07:31.160 --> 00:07:34.449
a family. this game of constantly trying to keep
00:07:34.449 --> 00:07:37.129
up and juggling too much and not being able to
00:07:37.129 --> 00:07:39.529
feel like you can stay ahead. And honestly, like
00:07:39.529 --> 00:07:41.769
I've talked about before, I'm not really a huge
00:07:41.769 --> 00:07:44.629
fan of fear being a strong motivator in the long
00:07:44.629 --> 00:07:47.709
term. However, this fear of repeating this pattern
00:07:47.709 --> 00:07:50.589
generationally was something that kind of freaked
00:07:50.589 --> 00:07:53.329
me out. And I didn't want to repeat the same
00:07:53.329 --> 00:07:56.350
patterns that my parents had struggled with for
00:07:56.350 --> 00:07:58.269
so many years. And I think at this point, we've
00:07:58.269 --> 00:08:00.839
all heard some sort of statistic. that links
00:08:00.839 --> 00:08:03.680
divorce to financial struggle. I'm sure the percentage
00:08:03.680 --> 00:08:05.879
is really high if we look it up right now. But
00:08:05.879 --> 00:08:07.740
at the very least, we know that there's a strong
00:08:07.740 --> 00:08:10.600
correlation between the erosion of marriages
00:08:10.600 --> 00:08:14.060
and relationships due to financial struggle.
00:08:14.240 --> 00:08:15.920
So I think one of the important things to remember
00:08:15.920 --> 00:08:19.399
about financial decisions is that justification
00:08:19.399 --> 00:08:22.860
is, from my view, something that... plays a role
00:08:22.860 --> 00:08:25.120
in this. Now we can justify pretty much anything
00:08:25.120 --> 00:08:27.199
for ourselves, but let's look specifically at
00:08:27.199 --> 00:08:30.300
finances. Justifying any purchase is something
00:08:30.300 --> 00:08:33.320
that I think all of us have some form of PhD
00:08:33.320 --> 00:08:36.039
in. So when you want something, you can figure
00:08:36.039 --> 00:08:38.480
out a way to justify it for yourself. Now those
00:08:38.480 --> 00:08:40.580
of you who are in relationships with significant
00:08:40.580 --> 00:08:43.379
others, you get pretty good at justifying that
00:08:43.379 --> 00:08:46.480
for your significant other as well and convincing
00:08:46.480 --> 00:08:49.379
them of your pursuit. Now, in previous episodes,
00:08:49.440 --> 00:08:52.419
we've talked about why it's so important to look
00:08:52.419 --> 00:08:54.460
at who's in your circle for a lot of different
00:08:54.460 --> 00:08:56.940
reasons, because whoever's in your circle is
00:08:56.940 --> 00:08:59.820
going to affect who you are, your character,
00:08:59.960 --> 00:09:02.679
and your growth over time. In the same way, it's
00:09:02.679 --> 00:09:05.039
also going to affect your financial future. There's
00:09:05.039 --> 00:09:07.759
a popular phrase that's said that show me your
00:09:07.759 --> 00:09:10.379
network and I'll show you your net worth. The
00:09:10.379 --> 00:09:12.899
idea behind that is that the people that you
00:09:12.899 --> 00:09:15.100
surround yourself with are definitely going to
00:09:15.100 --> 00:09:17.460
have financial implications for you in the future,
00:09:17.559 --> 00:09:20.259
either to the good or the bad. So in the same
00:09:20.259 --> 00:09:22.960
way, if somebody wants to constantly justify
00:09:22.960 --> 00:09:26.559
a consumerism or materialistic lifestyle, they're
00:09:26.559 --> 00:09:28.159
going to surround themselves typically around
00:09:28.159 --> 00:09:30.789
people who do the same thing. This kind of keep
00:09:30.789 --> 00:09:33.169
up with the Joneses idea where everyone's just
00:09:33.169 --> 00:09:35.570
constantly trying to leapfrog and keep up with
00:09:35.570 --> 00:09:37.730
each other. So I would argue your circle either
00:09:37.730 --> 00:09:40.509
hurts or helps your financial future, and it's
00:09:40.509 --> 00:09:42.669
wise to kind of make an assessment. Look at those
00:09:42.669 --> 00:09:45.250
people in your circle, and are they in a financial
00:09:45.250 --> 00:09:48.789
position that you would be okay being in? And
00:09:48.789 --> 00:09:50.889
if not, you have some things to think through.
00:09:50.990 --> 00:09:53.269
Now also, some... Quick things to keep in mind
00:09:53.269 --> 00:09:56.370
is sometimes stage in life also matters. So if
00:09:56.370 --> 00:09:58.990
you're looking at people your age, especially
00:09:58.990 --> 00:10:01.009
if you're a younger person, to have everything
00:10:01.009 --> 00:10:03.269
together financially, that's going to statistically
00:10:03.269 --> 00:10:06.029
be less likely than people that might have 10
00:10:06.029 --> 00:10:09.269
to 20 years on you. However, just because someone's
00:10:09.269 --> 00:10:12.210
at an older age does not mean they are automatically
00:10:12.210 --> 00:10:14.909
financially responsible. Like I said, unless
00:10:14.909 --> 00:10:17.870
someone's pushing against the current of what's
00:10:17.870 --> 00:10:20.730
normal and natural for our selfish desires, I
00:10:20.730 --> 00:10:23.450
would argue that financial growth is typically
00:10:23.450 --> 00:10:26.389
not something that happens at an alarming rate
00:10:26.389 --> 00:10:29.549
with anyone unless they put attention and focus
00:10:29.549 --> 00:10:32.230
on that growth area. The same way you won't find
00:10:32.230 --> 00:10:35.450
yourself in an extremely amazing fitness position
00:10:35.450 --> 00:10:37.889
if you don't put any work and attention towards
00:10:37.889 --> 00:10:40.389
it. And I think finally in this category, realizing
00:10:40.389 --> 00:10:43.490
that undirected money is just wasted. And so
00:10:43.490 --> 00:10:47.250
if I wasn't willing to put intention behind where
00:10:47.250 --> 00:10:49.929
my money goes and actually directing it and telling
00:10:49.929 --> 00:10:51.789
it where to go, that at the end of the month,
00:10:51.809 --> 00:10:54.289
I was going to ask a very common question that
00:10:54.289 --> 00:10:56.710
I think a lot of you can relate with. Where did
00:10:56.710 --> 00:10:59.350
it all go? And that is an unbelievably frustrating
00:10:59.350 --> 00:11:01.710
thing when you're working super hard to provide
00:11:01.710 --> 00:11:03.889
for your family. Maybe both of you are working,
00:11:04.049 --> 00:11:06.269
whatever that looks like. And at the end of the
00:11:06.269 --> 00:11:08.309
month, you feel like you are coming up short
00:11:08.309 --> 00:11:10.129
or you just don't have enough to show for it.
00:11:10.399 --> 00:11:12.860
That's an exhausting rat race proposition, and
00:11:12.860 --> 00:11:15.960
you can't control anyone but yourself. So the
00:11:15.960 --> 00:11:18.960
push on this channel is always to control what
00:11:18.960 --> 00:11:21.500
you can control, and that does start with you.
00:11:21.899 --> 00:11:24.220
And so when it comes to finances, you can't always
00:11:24.220 --> 00:11:26.700
control what your employer pays you, you can't
00:11:26.700 --> 00:11:29.500
always control your work situation, and you can't
00:11:29.500 --> 00:11:31.899
always control a lot of external factors. However,
00:11:32.059 --> 00:11:34.379
you can control you. You can control what you
00:11:34.379 --> 00:11:36.860
spend, where you direct your money. It does take
00:11:36.860 --> 00:11:38.860
effort though. So again, pushing against that
00:11:38.860 --> 00:11:41.320
current, how do we begin to do that? And for
00:11:41.320 --> 00:11:44.100
us, it started with attacking bad debt. Now I
00:11:44.100 --> 00:11:46.419
use the phrase bad debt because people like to
00:11:46.419 --> 00:11:48.320
put degrees on debt. We're not going to get very
00:11:48.320 --> 00:11:51.309
deep into it, but... As a typical rule we're
00:11:51.309 --> 00:11:53.230
going to be referring to bad debt in things like
00:11:53.230 --> 00:11:55.909
credit cards and financing things that are arguably
00:11:55.909 --> 00:11:59.549
more wisely purchased with cash. In other words
00:11:59.549 --> 00:12:02.750
things that are not needs they are wants. Anytime
00:12:02.750 --> 00:12:05.259
you're financing something that is ultimately
00:12:05.259 --> 00:12:07.500
a want and not a need, that's something that
00:12:07.500 --> 00:12:09.759
I think would be healthy to put on your radar
00:12:09.759 --> 00:12:12.480
to bring some pause to. So again, very strong
00:12:12.480 --> 00:12:14.500
distinction for things that you want, not what
00:12:14.500 --> 00:12:16.659
you need. If you're not able to pay cash with
00:12:16.659 --> 00:12:18.639
that on the day that you want to purchase it,
00:12:18.700 --> 00:12:20.480
there's a lot of excuses. I get it. Well, it's
00:12:20.480 --> 00:12:22.440
on sale and it's this and it's that and the other,
00:12:22.480 --> 00:12:24.759
and I need it now. Well, no, remember, we're
00:12:24.759 --> 00:12:26.259
talking about these are wants. These are not
00:12:26.259 --> 00:12:29.059
needs. You want it now. Yes. And it may be on
00:12:29.059 --> 00:12:31.039
sale now, but if you don't have the money for
00:12:31.039 --> 00:12:33.980
it, making that assessment, asking that question,
00:12:34.100 --> 00:12:37.539
is this the best way to wield finance and the
00:12:37.539 --> 00:12:41.100
debt system to my advantage, which is not geared
00:12:41.100 --> 00:12:43.039
towards your advantage. I think most of us know
00:12:43.039 --> 00:12:45.700
that. But unfortunately, it's so easy to get
00:12:45.700 --> 00:12:47.759
stuck in that trap. They do make it incredibly
00:12:47.759 --> 00:12:50.000
easy on purpose. because that's how they make
00:12:50.000 --> 00:12:52.159
their money. So step one of attacking debt is
00:12:52.159 --> 00:12:54.500
recognizing what types of debt are the worst
00:12:54.500 --> 00:12:56.960
and which ones are a little different in that
00:12:56.960 --> 00:12:59.639
equation. So I would put homes typically more
00:12:59.639 --> 00:13:03.000
on the better quotation of debt than I would
00:13:03.000 --> 00:13:05.460
bad, and then credit cards on the other side.
00:13:05.600 --> 00:13:07.360
And then there are a lot of things in between.
00:13:07.379 --> 00:13:10.000
In my opinion, I think cars can be sometimes
00:13:10.000 --> 00:13:13.120
more on the side of good, but more often than
00:13:13.120 --> 00:13:16.080
not, especially now with the average car payment
00:13:16.080 --> 00:13:19.980
being close to $1 ,000. It is just eye -watering
00:13:19.980 --> 00:13:23.580
what automobiles can do to a monthly budget for
00:13:23.580 --> 00:13:25.940
people. Now, I get it. Cars are a need, not a
00:13:25.940 --> 00:13:28.879
want. The spectrum of cars can range from want
00:13:28.879 --> 00:13:32.059
versus need in a lot of different ways. So I
00:13:32.059 --> 00:13:33.659
don't think I have to line all that out for you.
00:13:33.740 --> 00:13:35.799
I think we all get it. So I think it's important
00:13:35.799 --> 00:13:38.019
once you recognize that there is a spectrum of
00:13:38.019 --> 00:13:40.080
debt, the next thing that's important is getting
00:13:40.080 --> 00:13:42.940
on the same page with your significant other.
00:13:43.120 --> 00:13:45.340
Now, I'll attach a warning here. there can be
00:13:45.340 --> 00:13:49.220
a lot of baggage and shame attached to discussions
00:13:49.220 --> 00:13:52.919
of finance and handling money. So like we've
00:13:52.919 --> 00:13:54.820
talked about in our relationship and marriage
00:13:54.820 --> 00:13:57.860
episodes, I'd love for you to follow our conflict
00:13:57.860 --> 00:14:01.600
rules, such as practicing soft starts versus
00:14:01.600 --> 00:14:03.919
harsh startups. In other words, how you start
00:14:03.919 --> 00:14:06.740
a conversation can really set the tone for the
00:14:06.740 --> 00:14:09.299
conversation. So there's a, I always like to
00:14:09.299 --> 00:14:12.440
draw the distinction between you can ask someone,
00:14:12.990 --> 00:14:15.730
what's the deal in two different ways on two
00:14:15.730 --> 00:14:18.330
different spectrums. The first one is, what the
00:14:18.330 --> 00:14:21.149
heck is your problem? Versus, hey, are you okay?
00:14:21.370 --> 00:14:24.009
Right? Both are asking, what's up? But one is
00:14:24.009 --> 00:14:26.490
much different. And in that goes, watch your
00:14:26.490 --> 00:14:29.190
tone, avoid things like always and never. These
00:14:29.190 --> 00:14:32.029
are pretty classic, normal interaction tips.
00:14:32.190 --> 00:14:34.789
And also using the law of positive intent. If
00:14:34.789 --> 00:14:36.750
you go into those conversations knowing there
00:14:36.750 --> 00:14:39.340
can be a lot of baggage and history. especially
00:14:39.340 --> 00:14:41.700
someone like me that grew up listening to fights
00:14:41.700 --> 00:14:44.919
surrounded around finances. There's just a lot
00:14:44.919 --> 00:14:47.259
of baggage that I haven't personally experienced,
00:14:47.279 --> 00:14:51.309
but I was subjected to. through hearing my parents
00:14:51.309 --> 00:14:53.769
have fights around finances. So your significant
00:14:53.769 --> 00:14:57.070
other may have a whole bucket of their own baggage
00:14:57.070 --> 00:15:00.029
around finances. So having a conversation to
00:15:00.029 --> 00:15:02.950
get on the same page can be tough. And recognize
00:15:02.950 --> 00:15:05.149
also that there's this dynamic we've talked about
00:15:05.149 --> 00:15:07.269
before in our marriage episodes that some people
00:15:07.269 --> 00:15:09.929
are naturally savers and some people are naturally
00:15:09.929 --> 00:15:13.059
spenders. And so... If you're the saver, having
00:15:13.059 --> 00:15:15.440
the conversation with the spender, which is a
00:15:15.440 --> 00:15:18.539
lot of times how that dynamic will go, then please
00:15:18.539 --> 00:15:21.460
handle that responsibility with grace, understanding,
00:15:21.700 --> 00:15:23.799
because the odds that they're going to feel personally
00:15:23.799 --> 00:15:26.080
attacked are going to be pretty high. It's going
00:15:26.080 --> 00:15:28.299
to take some good judgment on your part to navigate
00:15:28.299 --> 00:15:30.799
that conversation well. But I think getting on
00:15:30.799 --> 00:15:32.360
the same page with your spouse was something
00:15:32.360 --> 00:15:35.220
that was super powerful for us in just deciding
00:15:35.220 --> 00:15:38.340
what were our financial goals, what were the
00:15:38.340 --> 00:15:40.779
most reasonable things to pursue in the area
00:15:40.779 --> 00:15:42.820
that we were in, which is going to be different
00:15:42.820 --> 00:15:45.639
for everyone. And recognizing that debt will
00:15:45.639 --> 00:15:49.000
not simply go away just with hope. You're going
00:15:49.000 --> 00:15:51.259
to need a plan. And unless both of you are on
00:15:51.259 --> 00:15:53.379
the same page with that plan, then it's just
00:15:53.379 --> 00:15:55.930
going to be a recipe for frustration. Because
00:15:55.930 --> 00:15:57.450
they're going to do what they've always done.
00:15:57.610 --> 00:15:59.850
And if you're in this situation, there's no way
00:15:59.850 --> 00:16:02.169
you're going to get out if it's just you. It's
00:16:02.169 --> 00:16:04.549
just going to build a wedge between both of you.
00:16:04.610 --> 00:16:07.149
And that's going to cause you to be in a financial
00:16:07.149 --> 00:16:09.330
position you don't want to be in, in addition
00:16:09.330 --> 00:16:12.450
to having relationship issues that you also don't
00:16:12.450 --> 00:16:14.669
want to have. So getting on the same page is
00:16:14.669 --> 00:16:16.509
important. This is going to take more than one
00:16:16.509 --> 00:16:18.970
conversation. This is going to take repeated
00:16:18.970 --> 00:16:21.870
conversations. Remember, this is... the constant
00:16:21.870 --> 00:16:24.649
illustration of pushing and canoeing against
00:16:24.649 --> 00:16:27.169
the current in the same way that applies here
00:16:27.169 --> 00:16:29.950
to discussions with your spouse and getting on
00:16:29.950 --> 00:16:33.370
this same page. A great rule of thumb in attacking
00:16:33.370 --> 00:16:36.909
debt is a play from Dave Ramsey's playbook. Now,
00:16:36.950 --> 00:16:39.750
I won't pretend like I follow every single Dave
00:16:39.750 --> 00:16:42.870
Ramsey directive. However, I think some of his
00:16:42.870 --> 00:16:46.710
principles are just pretty solid because he crafts
00:16:46.710 --> 00:16:50.049
them for the general public as general rules
00:16:50.049 --> 00:16:52.570
to follow. And that's attacking the smallest
00:16:52.570 --> 00:16:55.190
debt first. Now, I get it. There's some math
00:16:55.190 --> 00:16:56.789
geniuses out there. They're going to be like,
00:16:56.909 --> 00:16:58.850
well, there's going to be the what you want to
00:16:58.850 --> 00:17:00.769
want to attack the one with the highest interest
00:17:00.769 --> 00:17:04.150
rate first. I get it. Yeah, listen to me for
00:17:04.150 --> 00:17:06.269
sure. But as a general rule, I think this is
00:17:06.269 --> 00:17:08.970
a great way to pursue this and start this snowball
00:17:08.970 --> 00:17:11.410
effect that he calls. And you can do the snowball
00:17:11.410 --> 00:17:13.950
effect in a lot of different ways for sure. But
00:17:13.950 --> 00:17:16.490
again, I think attacking the smallest one first.
00:17:16.960 --> 00:17:20.059
allows you to get an easy win up front when this
00:17:20.059 --> 00:17:22.640
is still a new journey for you and probably the
00:17:22.640 --> 00:17:26.359
most arduous. And early on, having wins that
00:17:26.359 --> 00:17:29.079
are quicker can help you stay on that path and
00:17:29.079 --> 00:17:32.119
reinforce this behavior. So there's a lot of
00:17:32.119 --> 00:17:35.559
pluses for taking this approach. Identify your
00:17:35.559 --> 00:17:38.180
smallest debt, eliminate it, and once you do,
00:17:38.400 --> 00:17:41.259
then apply all the payments that you were making
00:17:41.259 --> 00:17:43.640
to eliminate that one and snowball it into the
00:17:43.640 --> 00:17:46.519
second smallest. and so on and so forth. So over
00:17:46.519 --> 00:17:49.700
time, you can use that concept to knock out a
00:17:49.700 --> 00:17:52.279
lot of debt pretty quick because as the snowball
00:17:52.279 --> 00:17:55.660
grows, you're using a larger resource to tackle
00:17:55.660 --> 00:17:58.400
the bigger debts. And so again, it can be a super,
00:17:58.460 --> 00:18:00.559
super powerful tool. And the final thought I
00:18:00.559 --> 00:18:03.480
want to share with you in this section is from
00:18:03.480 --> 00:18:06.240
Navy SEAL author Brandon Thornhill in his book,
00:18:06.279 --> 00:18:09.220
The Elite Leadership Blueprint. And in the financial
00:18:09.220 --> 00:18:12.809
section of his book, which is rich with systems
00:18:12.809 --> 00:18:16.549
and extremely practical ways to execute in multiple
00:18:16.549 --> 00:18:19.369
areas of your life, specifically around leadership,
00:18:19.670 --> 00:18:23.130
he talks about treating every dollar like a soldier,
00:18:23.289 --> 00:18:25.630
one that can fight for you or one that can just
00:18:25.630 --> 00:18:28.569
be wasted. And he says if they're lost to interest,
00:18:28.690 --> 00:18:31.490
these soldiers, they cannot fight for your future.
00:18:31.609 --> 00:18:34.150
And so getting those soldiers away from being
00:18:34.150 --> 00:18:36.789
spent on credit cards and those kinds of bad
00:18:36.789 --> 00:18:40.119
debt will free up ways for you to move on to
00:18:40.119 --> 00:18:42.480
using those soldiers in ways that can better
00:18:42.480 --> 00:18:45.380
bless your family and fight for a future that
00:18:45.380 --> 00:18:47.880
you might not even realize is possible. And this
00:18:47.880 --> 00:18:50.599
is where a very common cliche comes into play,
00:18:50.720 --> 00:18:53.099
where compound interest is the most powerful
00:18:53.099 --> 00:18:55.259
force in the universe, and I would argue that
00:18:55.259 --> 00:18:57.839
banks prove this all the time. They use interest
00:18:57.839 --> 00:19:00.579
to their advantage in charging it to you with
00:19:00.579 --> 00:19:03.180
bad debt so that they can make a ton of money.
00:19:03.299 --> 00:19:06.039
And in the same way, we can leverage that in
00:19:06.039 --> 00:19:08.920
our future as well. But it's just so easy to
00:19:08.920 --> 00:19:12.000
slip into the opposite dark side of compound
00:19:12.000 --> 00:19:14.099
interest and allowing it to take advantage of
00:19:14.099 --> 00:19:16.339
us if we just follow the natural current down
00:19:16.339 --> 00:19:18.759
the river. And so by that same token, I want
00:19:18.759 --> 00:19:22.700
to address how we handled resisting the natural
00:19:22.700 --> 00:19:26.240
lifestyle creep. Now, anytime that you get a
00:19:26.240 --> 00:19:28.599
new job with new opportunities that give you
00:19:28.599 --> 00:19:32.019
higher earning potential or you enter in a time
00:19:32.019 --> 00:19:34.680
of plenty, if you're in a commission job and
00:19:34.680 --> 00:19:36.920
things are just humming and going super well,
00:19:37.309 --> 00:19:39.170
or you get a promotion and you have the opportunity
00:19:39.170 --> 00:19:42.190
and you're blessed by earning more, you are inevitably
00:19:42.190 --> 00:19:45.549
going to be tempted to buy the natural current,
00:19:45.670 --> 00:19:47.910
what I'm going to label lifestyle creep. And
00:19:47.910 --> 00:19:50.190
this applies to all of us. This is natural. This
00:19:50.190 --> 00:19:52.029
is normal. This is something that we all want
00:19:52.029 --> 00:19:54.809
to do when we earn a lot of money, get a promotion,
00:19:55.089 --> 00:19:58.049
get a new job that pays us more is, well, I guess
00:19:58.049 --> 00:20:00.000
we can get that new car now. well, we've been
00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:02.039
wanting to get a new house. How'd that new furniture
00:20:02.039 --> 00:20:04.900
be a good time? It's just so easy. And it takes
00:20:04.900 --> 00:20:09.039
a ton of intentionality and focus to say no and
00:20:09.039 --> 00:20:11.599
delay gratification. And if you stick to your
00:20:11.599 --> 00:20:14.319
guns in times of plenty, then you can have a
00:20:14.319 --> 00:20:17.440
tremendous amount of flexibility in drought times
00:20:17.440 --> 00:20:19.950
or difficult times. where other people are going
00:20:19.950 --> 00:20:23.490
to be in some pretty tough underwater situations,
00:20:23.650 --> 00:20:26.069
having to make really hard, desperate decisions
00:20:26.069 --> 00:20:29.109
to try to keep the ship afloat, and often tremendous
00:20:29.109 --> 00:20:31.769
sacrifice. There's so many benefits that you
00:20:31.769 --> 00:20:35.789
can realize if you resist this natural creep.
00:20:35.950 --> 00:20:38.289
And the first one and main one is flexibility.
00:20:38.509 --> 00:20:41.750
If you keep your expenses low, then regardless
00:20:41.750 --> 00:20:45.049
of what happens, you retain extreme flexibility
00:20:45.049 --> 00:20:48.589
in your options. And this is super, super important.
00:20:48.730 --> 00:20:51.230
But it's certainly not as fun as a new house
00:20:51.230 --> 00:20:53.869
or a new car or any of those things. So trust
00:20:53.869 --> 00:20:56.230
me, I get it. I had plenty of times in my life
00:20:56.230 --> 00:20:59.470
where I gave up flexibility for the things that
00:20:59.470 --> 00:21:01.849
I wanted. And if you're anything like me, you've
00:21:01.849 --> 00:21:03.670
made the same decisions. So like I said in the
00:21:03.670 --> 00:21:05.609
previous section, there is a difference between
00:21:05.609 --> 00:21:08.730
working to build your future versus just funding
00:21:08.730 --> 00:21:11.529
your lifestyle. That new car, house, or furniture
00:21:12.170 --> 00:21:14.970
are not going to propel you to a wealth -building
00:21:14.970 --> 00:21:17.690
future. In fact, a lot of those things are just
00:21:17.690 --> 00:21:20.069
depreciating items, we're not even going to call
00:21:20.069 --> 00:21:22.750
them assets at this point, that you spend your
00:21:22.750 --> 00:21:25.230
soldiers on, and a lot of times there's not much
00:21:25.230 --> 00:21:28.569
left towards the end. The average car... depreciates
00:21:28.569 --> 00:21:31.190
about 50 % in five years, not to mention the
00:21:31.190 --> 00:21:33.589
interest that you pay on that side as well. Working
00:21:33.589 --> 00:21:35.930
at a car dealership myself, I see a ton of people
00:21:35.930 --> 00:21:38.529
who have negative equity or upside down in those
00:21:38.529 --> 00:21:40.849
cars. And as always, it's hard to say no, it's
00:21:40.849 --> 00:21:42.829
hard to fight against that current. But again,
00:21:42.910 --> 00:21:45.450
we've gone through some really rough times in
00:21:45.450 --> 00:21:48.710
the last, I'd say five to 10 years in times of
00:21:48.710 --> 00:21:51.190
plenty and in times of scarcity. And the people
00:21:51.190 --> 00:21:54.410
that have made wise choices are able to still
00:21:54.410 --> 00:21:57.849
retain that flexibility and freedom when things
00:21:57.849 --> 00:22:00.289
get tight, when things get tough, versus others
00:22:00.289 --> 00:22:02.569
that find themselves in really desperate situations.
00:22:02.849 --> 00:22:05.130
In Brandon Thornhill's book, he did have some
00:22:05.130 --> 00:22:08.069
practical budget frameworks that you can use
00:22:08.069 --> 00:22:10.990
to get started, which he called the 50 -20 -15
00:22:10.990 --> 00:22:14.309
-5 -10 rule. And that's essentially just categories
00:22:14.309 --> 00:22:16.910
that you can start from if you're like, I don't
00:22:16.910 --> 00:22:19.190
even know where to start with in a budget. So
00:22:19.190 --> 00:22:22.220
let's go through it. So 50 % is needs. This is
00:22:22.220 --> 00:22:24.160
living expenses, the things that you need to
00:22:24.160 --> 00:22:26.900
keep things going that you cannot cancel, right?
00:22:26.980 --> 00:22:30.140
So electricity, water, utilities, blah, blah,
00:22:30.220 --> 00:22:32.589
blah, your rent or mortgage. Your current car
00:22:32.589 --> 00:22:34.950
payment goes in there for now. What are all those
00:22:34.950 --> 00:22:37.650
things? And then he puts 20 % for taxes. Now
00:22:37.650 --> 00:22:40.289
this book is specifically for high earners, leaders,
00:22:40.450 --> 00:22:42.789
and entrepreneurs. So if you're a high earner
00:22:42.789 --> 00:22:46.369
or a 1099 person, then 20 % for taxes is pretty
00:22:46.369 --> 00:22:48.349
critical and pretty standard. So this can be
00:22:48.349 --> 00:22:50.609
a flexible thing depending on your needs and
00:22:50.609 --> 00:22:53.430
your situation. And then 50 % for what he calls
00:22:53.430 --> 00:22:55.990
a future fund. This is wealth building of some
00:22:55.990 --> 00:22:58.490
sort, such as investments or debt elimination.
00:22:58.789 --> 00:23:00.930
I have a couple financial advisors that are friends
00:23:00.930 --> 00:23:04.289
of mine. And when people are interested in investing
00:23:04.289 --> 00:23:06.750
because they have a strong feeling of FOMO, there's
00:23:06.750 --> 00:23:08.369
other people investing in their future and they
00:23:08.369 --> 00:23:09.650
don't want to miss out. So they're like, hey,
00:23:09.670 --> 00:23:11.650
where do I need? I have this money. Where can
00:23:11.650 --> 00:23:14.150
I put it to work for me? And a good financial
00:23:14.150 --> 00:23:16.329
advisor will always ask some key questions, you
00:23:16.329 --> 00:23:18.009
know, like what are the rest of your finances
00:23:18.009 --> 00:23:21.329
like? And if they see a lot of bad debt, they're
00:23:21.329 --> 00:23:23.349
going to be like, hey, listen, it doesn't make
00:23:23.349 --> 00:23:26.609
any sense for you to invest money over here while
00:23:26.609 --> 00:23:29.450
you're bleeding money over here. It's better
00:23:29.450 --> 00:23:32.490
to eliminate that debt and then be able to invest
00:23:32.490 --> 00:23:35.730
in your future. This 15 % can be wealth building
00:23:35.730 --> 00:23:39.170
in the form of investing in your future or eliminating
00:23:39.170 --> 00:23:41.630
debt because that is both investing in your future.
00:23:41.980 --> 00:23:44.519
And then there's 5 % to 10 % in wants. What are
00:23:44.519 --> 00:23:48.039
things that can keep life enjoyable while keeping
00:23:48.039 --> 00:23:51.160
lifestyle creep in check? This is why it's critical
00:23:51.160 --> 00:23:53.460
because when you spend your budget and it's gone
00:23:53.460 --> 00:23:55.700
for that month, guess what? If you want something,
00:23:55.839 --> 00:23:57.619
maybe you can get it next month with that 5 %
00:23:57.619 --> 00:24:00.519
or 10%, right? So it's really good to keep that
00:24:00.519 --> 00:24:03.390
in line so that it just doesn't creep up. And
00:24:03.390 --> 00:24:05.990
then lastly, five or 10 % for giving. And this
00:24:05.990 --> 00:24:08.849
is making generosity a discipline so that it's
00:24:08.849 --> 00:24:10.410
not just something that you do occasionally,
00:24:10.470 --> 00:24:12.740
it's something that you do regularly. Because
00:24:12.740 --> 00:24:15.279
if you have given out of the goodness of your
00:24:15.279 --> 00:24:18.000
heart, you do know that the principle, it is
00:24:18.000 --> 00:24:21.059
better to give than to receive, is actually true.
00:24:21.240 --> 00:24:23.460
And the more that you live that out, the more
00:24:23.460 --> 00:24:26.000
powerful that truth can manifest in your life.
00:24:26.059 --> 00:24:28.740
And from my perspective, can really help transform
00:24:28.740 --> 00:24:31.079
you into an incredible person that you're meant
00:24:31.079 --> 00:24:33.619
to be. Now, like I said, this is a example framework
00:24:33.619 --> 00:24:35.880
that Brandon gives. He also is not a financial
00:24:35.880 --> 00:24:38.079
advisor, but he says, this is what I started
00:24:38.079 --> 00:24:40.970
with. what has been helpful to him. And it's
00:24:40.970 --> 00:24:43.950
a really good place to start when you write down
00:24:43.950 --> 00:24:46.230
your budget and how you're currently spending
00:24:46.230 --> 00:24:49.190
things. You can see real quick where you are
00:24:49.190 --> 00:24:51.670
compared to these categories. And that can give
00:24:51.670 --> 00:24:53.329
you a really easy picture of, yeah, well, this
00:24:53.329 --> 00:24:55.190
is where I need to do some work. Now remember,
00:24:55.369 --> 00:24:58.109
this isn't to stab yourself with or be extremely
00:24:58.109 --> 00:25:00.670
self -critical or enter into negative self -talk
00:25:00.670 --> 00:25:02.630
or negative beliefs. That's not what we're about
00:25:02.630 --> 00:25:05.099
here. We're about identifying ways that you can
00:25:05.099 --> 00:25:07.900
improve and always improve by reasonable margins
00:25:07.900 --> 00:25:10.799
so that you can build over time. So I don't want
00:25:10.799 --> 00:25:13.619
you to use these things as a club to beat yourself
00:25:13.619 --> 00:25:16.299
with, but instead use it as a way to identify
00:25:16.299 --> 00:25:18.859
those problems so that you can progress to a
00:25:18.859 --> 00:25:21.160
different place where you can look back in 10
00:25:21.160 --> 00:25:23.700
years and go, that's the time where I made those
00:25:23.700 --> 00:25:27.000
changes and that was a pivotal moment that propelled
00:25:27.000 --> 00:25:29.839
me to a place I never thought I could go. And
00:25:29.839 --> 00:25:31.400
speaking of that, personally, I can tell you
00:25:31.400 --> 00:25:33.700
that is extremely powerful. And the last one's
00:25:33.700 --> 00:25:35.900
arguably the most exciting one. That's investing
00:25:35.900 --> 00:25:38.420
in your future, where you get to look at really
00:25:38.420 --> 00:25:41.960
identifying things as assets versus liabilities,
00:25:42.160 --> 00:25:44.980
learning the difference between the two and finding
00:25:44.980 --> 00:25:48.960
ways to acquire those assets in increasing frequency
00:25:48.960 --> 00:25:52.059
over time and optimizing your mindset towards
00:25:52.059 --> 00:25:55.000
them to acquire those assets in a responsible
00:25:55.000 --> 00:25:58.140
way to create lasting change. Now, like most
00:25:58.140 --> 00:26:00.710
things we talk about on here, They are not instant
00:26:00.710 --> 00:26:02.869
gratification principles. They are things that
00:26:02.869 --> 00:26:05.369
if you implement over time, you do daily over
00:26:05.369 --> 00:26:07.289
time, they're going to create a massive change
00:26:07.289 --> 00:26:09.710
in who you are and in what you're doing. And
00:26:09.710 --> 00:26:12.549
in a culture of increasing instant gratification
00:26:12.549 --> 00:26:15.630
and dopamine spikes, this is the absolute last
00:26:15.630 --> 00:26:17.890
thing that most people want to do. Now, just
00:26:17.890 --> 00:26:20.789
like in fitness, there's a ton of ways to get
00:26:20.789 --> 00:26:23.089
moving and get healthy. There are so many different
00:26:23.089 --> 00:26:26.109
ways to invest in your future. I highly recommend
00:26:26.109 --> 00:26:29.049
that you find someone in your life. And if you
00:26:29.049 --> 00:26:32.210
don't, seek someone out that has specific knowledge
00:26:32.210 --> 00:26:35.069
in this space on what is an asset that you can
00:26:35.069 --> 00:26:37.529
get into, that one that interests you, that you
00:26:37.529 --> 00:26:39.670
can get into in a responsible way. Now, with
00:26:39.670 --> 00:26:41.990
a caveat, I'll say you can find a lot of information
00:26:41.990 --> 00:26:44.809
on places like podcasts and YouTube, but just
00:26:44.809 --> 00:26:48.210
be wise in those arenas because there's a lot
00:26:48.210 --> 00:26:50.910
of creators out there that don't always have
00:26:50.910 --> 00:26:53.470
your best interest at heart, and they can be
00:26:53.470 --> 00:26:56.700
a lot of these get -rich -quick scheme. postured
00:26:56.700 --> 00:26:59.619
individuals. Because again, think instant gratification.
00:26:59.920 --> 00:27:02.019
Why would you want to take 20 years to accomplish
00:27:02.019 --> 00:27:05.359
something if you can just do it in 90 days and
00:27:05.359 --> 00:27:08.279
pay them a certain amount up front because it's
00:27:08.279 --> 00:27:09.660
heavily discounted and they're going to share
00:27:09.660 --> 00:27:11.599
all their knowledge with you. So beware of the
00:27:11.599 --> 00:27:14.140
trap. A lot of things that are worth doing take
00:27:14.140 --> 00:27:16.920
intentionality and focus over time. And this
00:27:16.920 --> 00:27:19.680
is no different. I wish it was that easy. But
00:27:19.680 --> 00:27:21.900
then would it really be that fulfilling if it
00:27:21.900 --> 00:27:24.200
was? Probably not. Because if you just won the
00:27:24.200 --> 00:27:26.849
lottery today, sure. Yeah, you'd have a lot of
00:27:26.849 --> 00:27:29.049
fun, but you probably wouldn't find yourself
00:27:29.049 --> 00:27:31.970
in the best position in six months to a year,
00:27:32.009 --> 00:27:34.009
arguably. And that's not me saying that. That's
00:27:34.009 --> 00:27:36.309
just statistics saying that about most people
00:27:36.309 --> 00:27:38.869
that win the lottery. So don't try to reinvent
00:27:38.869 --> 00:27:42.329
the wheel. Follow good, established, proven financial
00:27:42.329 --> 00:27:45.309
principles. Those can be found virtually anywhere
00:27:45.309 --> 00:27:47.410
if you're willing to look and willing to listen.
00:27:47.589 --> 00:27:49.930
Again, they're not going to be fast, sexy, and
00:27:49.930 --> 00:27:53.190
quick. They're going to require sacrifice, focus,
00:27:53.470 --> 00:27:57.009
intentionality. repeating them on a daily basis
00:27:57.009 --> 00:27:59.490
in order to find the most success with them.
00:27:59.529 --> 00:28:02.730
And that's a perfect time to reflect again on
00:28:02.730 --> 00:28:05.789
who's in your circle and reevaluate how they
00:28:05.789 --> 00:28:08.529
manage their money. Are these people using their
00:28:08.529 --> 00:28:11.049
money in a way that you want to mirror? And if
00:28:11.049 --> 00:28:13.690
not, you need to find people in your life that
00:28:13.690 --> 00:28:15.690
you can answer that question in a positive way
00:28:15.690 --> 00:28:17.450
because that's only going to help your trajectory
00:28:17.450 --> 00:28:19.990
over time. So to wrap this up, let's look at
00:28:19.990 --> 00:28:22.309
the territory we covered today. So we started
00:28:22.309 --> 00:28:25.109
with mindset shift, moving from a negative view
00:28:25.109 --> 00:28:28.829
of wealth to recognizing it as a tool for stewardship
00:28:28.829 --> 00:28:32.630
and seeing that money only magnifies the character
00:28:32.630 --> 00:28:35.849
it finds. We identified the problem of consumerism
00:28:35.849 --> 00:28:38.230
and materialism and understanding that there's
00:28:38.230 --> 00:28:40.789
a difference between choosing freedom or choosing
00:28:40.789 --> 00:28:43.529
to flex and auditing our inner circle to make
00:28:43.529 --> 00:28:46.329
sure that we're not just justifying our way to
00:28:46.329 --> 00:28:50.109
financial slavery. We also looked at how to identify
00:28:50.109 --> 00:28:52.710
and attack bad debt, getting on the same page
00:28:52.710 --> 00:28:54.690
with our spouse using the rules of engagement
00:28:54.690 --> 00:28:57.670
we've talked about previously, and the fun idea
00:28:57.670 --> 00:29:00.970
of identifying every dollar as a soldier that's
00:29:00.970 --> 00:29:03.869
able to fight for our future or just be lost
00:29:03.869 --> 00:29:06.849
into the void. We also got practical with lifestyle
00:29:06.849 --> 00:29:10.069
creep and resisting the temptation that we all
00:29:10.069 --> 00:29:13.599
fall on in that current. to just make those decisions
00:29:13.599 --> 00:29:16.380
that make us feel good in the moment, being prepared
00:29:16.380 --> 00:29:19.799
for times of drought and difficulty that we can't
00:29:19.799 --> 00:29:22.920
always control. And we also discuss Brandon Thornhill's
00:29:22.920 --> 00:29:25.980
budget framework to help us identify our current
00:29:25.980 --> 00:29:28.259
spending and where we could make adjustments.
00:29:28.579 --> 00:29:31.779
And finally, we focus on investing in the future,
00:29:31.920 --> 00:29:34.180
how you shift your thinking from liabilities
00:29:34.180 --> 00:29:37.299
to assets and things that can go to work for
00:29:37.299 --> 00:29:40.170
you. and also finding proven mentors that you
00:29:40.170 --> 00:29:42.490
can trust so you aren't stuck trying to reinvent
00:29:42.490 --> 00:29:45.789
the wheel or bamboozled into something that isn't
00:29:45.789 --> 00:29:47.609
going to work. And like James Clear always says,
00:29:47.789 --> 00:29:50.230
you don't rise to the level of your goals, you
00:29:50.230 --> 00:29:52.650
fall to the level of your systems. So if you're
00:29:52.650 --> 00:29:55.130
not happy with where you are financially, don't
00:29:55.130 --> 00:29:57.470
stab yourself with that, but instead recognize
00:29:57.470 --> 00:30:00.140
that you'd like it to be different. recognize
00:30:00.140 --> 00:30:02.599
that you have goals that you would like to achieve,
00:30:02.740 --> 00:30:06.079
and then identify habits and systems that can
00:30:06.079 --> 00:30:09.039
help you over time make daily decisions that
00:30:09.039 --> 00:30:11.660
can change your financial future. Because even
00:30:11.660 --> 00:30:15.180
amazing financial decisions done daily over the
00:30:15.180 --> 00:30:17.900
course of six months can make a drastic change
00:30:17.900 --> 00:30:20.440
in your future if you stay consistent, which
00:30:20.440 --> 00:30:22.700
is why daily is so powerful. So if your current
00:30:22.700 --> 00:30:24.799
habits aren't matching the person you want to
00:30:24.799 --> 00:30:28.210
become, today's the day. to adjust that trajectory.
00:30:28.410 --> 00:30:30.710
Because in the same way that a plane or a ship
00:30:30.710 --> 00:30:33.730
adjusts that angle just a little bit at the start,
00:30:33.869 --> 00:30:36.509
they can end up at a completely different destination
00:30:36.509 --> 00:30:38.809
towards the end. And that's what we want to leverage
00:30:38.809 --> 00:30:41.109
to your benefit. Thanks for listening to the
00:30:41.109 --> 00:30:43.970
Optimizing Beyond podcast. Remember, growth happens
00:30:43.970 --> 00:30:46.750
when you take action. So subscribe, share this
00:30:46.750 --> 00:30:48.750
with a friend, and most importantly, put what
00:30:48.750 --> 00:30:51.369
you learned into practice. Until next time, keep
00:30:51.369 --> 00:30:53.890
moving forward because daily anything changes
00:30:53.890 --> 00:30:54.529
everything.
