Debt-Free Millionaire
With two books about to be published and a new video game for youth, and adults, this podcast should take off quickly. We will be bringing on CPAs and real estate investors to talk through the process of becoming a Debt-Free Millionaire, or to go the other way and be okay with debt and become a millionaire. We let you make the ultimate decision but we will give you what you need to get there. Talk to you soon. Thanks to Xogos Gaming for sponsoring this podcast and for creating our game. We are excited to share this with you.
Episodes
Episodes
2 days ago
2 days ago
Simplified Explanation: Having children costs money. You have to feed them, cloth them, shelter them, and do most things for them, until they grow up, and become adults. These increase your expenses, and reduce the time you can/should work outside the home. Real Life: Children are the greatest blessing in your life - better than anything (other than your spouse)! They are the source of some of your greatest joys, and sometimes heartache. With this blessing comes more financial obligations. Parenting Financials 101: When you have a child, there are many obligations you will have, in order to care for the child. First off, your monthly expenses increase dramatically, due to buying diapers, formula, diapers, clothes, and many accessories, including diapers. Other items needed include pack-and-play, beds, strollers, car seats, toys, and much more. Also, parenting an infant and toddler is very exhausting, and will take a toll on your workload. You will need to spend more time with them, or pay for daycare, or even a live-in nanny, depending on how much you work. Recently, a growing percentage of couples wait until they are financially settled to have children. Sometimes, this moveable target makes a couple never start a family, because the goal is either never met, or always increased, because they do not feel ready. Just know that the longer you wait, the more exhausting your child will pay on you and the more exhausting they are the more you will end up exhausted. Children are exhausting no matter how old you are, but would you rather play on the ground and run after a toddler when you are in your 40s, or when you are younger and more energetic, in your 20s? Also, would you rather have your children out of your house by the time you hit 50, or not until you are in your 60-70s? The older you are when you start, the older you will be when they leave the nest. Either way you choose, just make sure that they are well taken care of, and remember that most things you spend money on, for your child, are reimbursed by the government through child tax credits of $4,000 per year. You will need to spend most nights waking in the middle and caring for the child. An infant needs to eat multiple times during the night, diapers need to be changed, and they will need comfort if they are scared or uncomfortable. As they get older, you are waking when they are scared or wet the bed. When they become teenagers, you stay up late until they get back from social gatherings, parties, and dates. Then when you are older and the kids move out, you find yourself waking up because of your own bowel movements. Get ready, as you get older, your life doesn’t become easier, even without children. Just know, having children while you are younger and more energetic is not a bad thing, but make sure that you can care for their needs - both with time and money. Read more articles: https://www.statista.com/chart/2633/raising-a-child-today-could-cost-a-quarter-of-a-million/ https://www.kidjunction.com/2023/03/15/10-advantages-of-having-children/ https://www.bellybelly.com.au/parenting/having-kids-young/ https://www.psychreg.org/mental-health-benefits-having-children/ https://freudianmommy.com/benefits-of-having-children/ https://lovinglifeathome.com/2023/09/04/science-proves-having-babies-good-for-you/ https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2017/01/13/cost-raising-child
3 days ago
3 days ago
Simplified Explanation: Having children costs money. You have to feed them, cloth them, shelter them, and do most things for them, until they grow up, and become adults. These increase your expenses, and reduce the time you can/should work outside the home.
Real Life: Children are the greatest blessing in your life - better than anything (other than your spouse)! They are the source of some of your greatest joys, and sometimes heartache. With this blessing comes more financial obligations.
Parenting Financials 101: When you have a child, there are many obligations you will have, in order to care for the child. First off, your monthly expenses increase dramatically, due to buying diapers, formula, diapers, clothes, and many accessories, including diapers. Other items needed include pack-and-play, beds, strollers, car seats, toys, and much more. Also, parenting an infant and toddler is very exhausting, and will take a toll on your workload. You will need to spend more time with them, or pay for daycare, or even a live-in nanny, depending on how much you work.
Recently, a growing percentage of couples wait until they are financially settled to have children. Sometimes, this moveable target makes a couple never start a family, because the goal is either never met, or always increased, because they do not feel ready. Just know that the longer you wait, the more exhausting your child will pay on you and the more exhausting they are the more you will end up exhausted. Children are exhausting no matter how old you are, but would you rather play on the ground and run after a toddler when you are in your 40s, or when you are younger and more energetic, in your 20s? Also, would you rather have your children out of your house by the time you hit 50, or not until you are in your 60-70s? The older you are when you start, the older you will be when they leave the nest. Either way you choose, just make sure that they are well taken care of, and remember that most things you spend money on, for your child, are reimbursed by the government through child tax credits of $4,000 per year.
You will need to spend most nights waking in the middle and caring for the child. An infant needs to eat multiple times during the night, diapers need to be changed, and they will need comfort if they are scared or uncomfortable. As they get older, you are waking when they are scared or wet the bed. When they become teenagers, you stay up late until they get back from social gatherings, parties, and dates. Then when you are older and the kids move out, you find yourself waking up because of your own bowel movements. Get ready, as you get older, your life doesn’t become easier, even without children.
Just know, having children while you are younger and more energetic is not a bad thing, but make sure that you can care for their needs - both with time and money.
Read more articles: https://www.statista.com/chart/2633/raising-a-child-today-could-cost-a-quarter-of-a-million/ https://www.kidjunction.com/2023/03/15/10-advantages-of-having-children/ https://www.bellybelly.com.au/parenting/having-kids-young/ https://www.psychreg.org/mental-health-benefits-having-children/ https://freudianmommy.com/benefits-of-having-children/ https://lovinglifeathome.com/2023/09/04/science-proves-having-babies-good-for-you/ https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2017/01/13/cost-raising-child
4 days ago
4 days ago
Simplified Explanation: As explained before, taxes are money that is collected, by the government, from its citizens and their businesses, to pay for their operations. These are mandated payments - based on your income, property, or what you purchased - of which funds go to the operation of federal, state, county, and city government bodies. The money is used for infrastructure, salaries of their workers, and anything else they decide to use the money for - literally anything they decide.
Real Life: The first thing you need to know is who the IRS is. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is a federal government department that is in charge of collecting taxes throughout the year, reviewing your annual tax return, and auditing you if they think you are hiding something. You cannot hide from them forever.
The first piece of advice, regarding the IRS (and yes, I am about to tell you to spend money), is to pay your taxes every year. The IRS does not care about your hardships; they want to know you are paying your “fair share.” They have created extensions for when something happens, and forgiveness plans if you get into trouble with them, but you will pay your taxes.
At the same time, you shouldn’t feel obligated to pay more than you are supposed to pay. You should strive to pay as little as possible (while still paying your taxes), starting with your W-9 form. This is the form that tells your employer how much to take from your pay and withhold for federal income tax. If you are the head of your household, they lower your withholdings; if you have children, you pay less, and so on. You are taking less out from your paycheck because they believe you will pay less in your annual tax return. The best way to figure out if you are overpaying is if you receive a tax return at the beginning of the next year. If the IRS writes you a check, it means you sent them too much.
Your taxes are paid at the beginning of each year for the previous year. You pay between January 1st and April 15th, of each year, based on the money you paid to the government the previous year (or should have paid), and any deductions you should have taken out. We will go over each of these. If you own your own business then you pay quarterly, for if you waited until the end of the year, you may have run out of money to pay the taxes.
History of Taxes: Did you know that it used to be unconstitutional to charge a federal income tax? That’s right! Back when the Constitution was written, there was not to be a tax on the people, but instead, the government would claim money in other ways, including import taxes for goods coming into the country. Before the Civil War, the Federal Government found other ways of funding itself. During the war, though, there was a massive amount of debt accumulated, and President Abraham Lincoln decided he needed to pay the debt that was accumulating, and wanted everyone to chip in. Almost a decade after the war, and after the government was flush with taxes coming in, it was repealed. People were about to go back to normal (not paying a tax), but the U.S. Congress got involved again, and in 1894, they enacted a law, demanding the citizens begin paying for the everyday expenses of the government - including their salaries and benefits, once again - with a flat tax. With politics, this began to evolve to what we have today, which basically states, depending on how much you make, you must pay a certain amount.
Now taxes for United States citizens are based on how much money they make, and where they live. The greatest tax increase was during Franklin Roosevelt’s presidency, and the greatest cut was during the years of President Ronald Reagan, (unless you count the different types of deductibles, meaning ways of using your money in a positive way that can lower the amount you own the federal government - and that came from President Donald Trump). Here is the history of taxes, according to each President, who now has the obligation to collect the right amount of taxes from the people.
Abraham Lincoln (Republican) (1861-1865): Revenue Act - 3% tax on income over $800 (paid off expenses and debt from the U.S. Civil War). This is when the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) was created - July 1, 1862. Repealed in 1871.
Grover Cleveland (Democrat) (1885-1889, 1893-1897): In 1894, Congress tried to enact a flat rate income tax, and the U.S. Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional, because there were varying populations in each state.
Woodrow Wilson (Democrat) (1913-1921) – The IRS was reestablished and Form 1040 was designed. The 16th Amendment to the Constitution was enacted, adding 1% tax on income over $3,000, and 6% on income over $500,000. In 1916, he increased it to 2%, to pay for World War I. It was increased again in 1917, to 2% for income over $1,000, and the surtax increased to 63%. In 1920, government revenues were at $6.6 billion, and fell to $1.9 billion during the Great Depression.
Herbert Hoover (Republican) (1929-1933) – Enacted the Revenue Act of 1932 - the largest tax reform of its time. This increased income taxes to 4% over $1,000, up to 63% for the highest earners. This caused the highest earners to find better tax strategies. Corporate taxes increased to 15%.
Franklin Roosevelt (Democrat) (1933-1945) – Roosevelt desired to tax the rich even more, to attack the debt caused by his New Deal plan. In 1944, he raised the top margin to the highest point ever, 94%, for the highest earners, and claimed it was for World War II. In 1945, revenues increased to $45 billion (from $9 billion in 1941). This tax increase affected the lower income earners, as well. Most of this increase was used to pay Social Security, established in 1935 yet the benefit was not fully funded until 1945, with another tax increase.
Harry Truman (Democrat) (1945-1953) – The U.S. Congress cut rates in 1948, but two years later, Truman raised them again for the Korean War. By now, the lowest earners paid 20%, and the highest paid 91%.
John F. Kennedy (Democrat) (1961-1963)– Though he was assassinated before enacting the Revenue Act of 1964, this act was to lower taxes and increase job growth. He was murdered before it could be passed.
Lyndon B. Johnson (Democrat) (1963-1969) – The Revenue Act of 1964, passed by Congress and Johnson, cut tax rates to 70%, and the standard deduction was set at $300. In 1965, Medicare was enacted and created a larger deficit; so, lowering taxes was not an option without dramatically increasing deficits.
Ronald Reagan (Republican) (1981-1989) – The Economic Recovery Tax Act was passed by the President and Congress, in 1981, greatly reducing the top tax rate, from 70% to 50%, and indexed tax brackets for inflation. He pushed for savings and investments to stimulate the economy. Again, in 1986, he created the Tax Reform Act to cut taxes, and this time simplify the tax code. The top rate was lowered to 28%, and the standard deduction and personal exemptions were increased, which benefited the lower-income earners.
George H.W. Bush (Republican) (1989 – 1993) – The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 raised the top tax rate to 31%, to reduce the federal deficit (yet, never did).
Bill Clinton (Democrat) (1993-2001) – He increased taxes, including the top tax bracket to 39.6%, in 1993. He also decreased deductions in order to pay for Social Security benefits. He enacted the Taxpayer Relief Act in 1997, introducing more tax breaks for families with dependent children and educational costs. Beyond that, he did lower the capital gains tax to 10-15%, to push people to invest, and created the Roth IRA.
George W. Bush (Republican) (2001-2009) – The Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 lowered tax rates and dropped the top tax rate to 35%. It created a 10% tax increase on the first $6,000 of income earned - $12,000 for a joint return (for those married). The Jobs and Growth Tax Reconciliation Act of 2003 cut taxes again, and lowered capital gains taxes.
Barack Obama (Democrat) (2009-2017) – The Obama Affordable Care Act of 2010 was enacted with a penalty for not buying Health Insurance, but then was rewritten as a “tax” by U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Roberts. The Obama American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 increased tax rates, with the top bracket increasing again, to 39.6%. The Net Investment Income Tax was imposed to create a 3.8% surtax, intended to tax portfolio income.
Donald Trump (Republican) (2017-2020) – The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 brought dramatic change. It increased deduction for business and personal expenses, to promote spending; the standard deduction nearly doubled; some tax deductions were eliminated for big businesses and high earners; tax loopholes were closed; individual tax rates were lowered (highest earners lowered to 37%); and corporate tax rates dropped to a flat 21%. The Sunset Provision was enacted by Congress to revert taxes to prior law in 2026.
As you can see from the list above, taxes in the United States have fluctuated with almost all presidents since the Federal Income Tax was introduced, during the Civil War, by President Abraham Lincoln. With these new taxes the government was able to pay for an expensive war, and with ever president afterwards, they have used this as a political instrument to stir up excitement.
Currently – Taxes are a very political thing. Conservatives, Libertarians, and the Republican Party want less government control over their lives, and so, want the government to take less of their taxes. Democrats, Green Party, Progressives, Liberals, Socialists, and Communists want more government, in different ways, and so, need to tax the people more, to pay for these programs.
In the news today (3/20/2021) we are looking at the government charging more taxes on us, including:
Wealth Tax: A one time or annual fee charge, based on how much you own. This would be for the wealthy at whatever level of ownership the government decides. This is a tax used in Europe with very disappointing results. Most of the time, GDP for the country decreased and many of the wealthy simply moved their wealth to another country. This tax would also be placed on U.S. millionaires and billionaires, but not foreign investors who would move in, buying up the loss of U.S. wealth. These bills were written and promoted by Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders (Progressive Democrats).
Value Added Tax: Every time you buy a product, you pay a sales tax. This normally is regulated by State, County, and Local governments. A VAT Tax is where the federal government puts together their own sales tax, and adds that to every product you buy. So, when you are paying 10% on goods you buy right now, you would pay an additional 10% to the federal government.
President Biden’s plan: His plan is a repeat from the past 30 years of taxes: increase the tax rates for those making over $200,000 a year, and remove many of President Trump’s enacted tax deductions (ways of using your money in good ways to decrease your taxes, including donations to nonprofits).
Gas and Fossil-Fuel Taxes: With the coming possibility of a Green New Deal, taxes on all fossil fuels will increase, to penalize the use of fossil fuels, and pay for the Green New Deal and the money being spent to pay the United Nations, based on the Paris Climate Accords.
How to Pay Less Towards Taxes - It is always important to pay the least amount legally possible to the government. You are only obligated to pay the minimal amount. Here are a few ways to keep your money:
W-4 Form Deductions – When you sign all your new employee paperwork, you will have one form, the W-4, which will ask you questions to estimate how much you need to pay in Federal Income Tax. Pick every deduction point possible. Your company's HR Manager will figure out how much you will have to pay from that number. The more deductions you have, the less the government will withdraw from your pay.
Increase your employee benefits – All fringe benefits, provided by your employer, are tax deductible. The money you pay for your benefits (health insurance, life insurance, retirement) is subtracted from your salary; that reduced payout is taxed. The more you pay into your benefits, including your retirement savings account, the less you pay to the government.
Expenses Reimbursed as an Accountable Plan – If you pay for business with your own personal money, make sure it is documented; have them expense it as a normal expense, and not in payroll. This will decrease your pay, and so, reduce your taxes.
Again, you are under no obligation to pay higher taxes than you are legally and lawfully required to. That means it is your duty to yourself to find ways to decrease your pay and taxes, so that you take more of the benefits of the money you worked so hard to earn.
Maximize your IRA and HSA Contributions – You can contribute to both of these tax free accounts for retirement (Individual Retirement Account – IRA, maximum contribution is $6,000 in 2021) and Health (Health Savings Account – HSA, maximum contribution is $3,600 in 2021) through your employer - with each paycheck, or by setting up your own account and contributing yearly.
Rethink your filing status (Married vs. Single): When you are married, you can file your taxes jointly or individually. There are benefits to each, so check which one will allow for a larger tax return collectively.
Child Tax Credit: For each child you have, you can write off a certain amount of taxes. This changes constantly, with new administrations, and should be looked up at www.debt-freemillionaire.com/taxfree/.
Standard vs Itemized Deductions: There are many deductions you can list (itemize) on your taxes, to pay less taxes, including donations, medical expenses, etc. You may take all the deductions that work in your favor, or take the Standard Deduction - a specific amount of money set by the government - whichever is more. These are good things the government recognizes as ways to reduce your taxes.
Record charitable donations: Every time you donate to a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, you can deduct that amount from your taxes. You want to keep good records of these for 7 years, so, if you are audited by the IRS, you have full documentation to justify these reductions in taxes. You can list your charitable miles, donations of cash or materials, and anything that financially supports non-profits.
Claim your children, friend, or relatives you have been supporting: all those you support financially can be claimed as a dependent of yours (especially if they aren’t making money and paying taxes - you get a deduction for them to pay for their care).
Track all your medical expenses: If you have a certain amount of medical expenses, these may be deducted from your tax bill. Keep track of: miles, bills, and medical expenses, including medication.
Deduct your state and local sales taxes: When you pay your state and local sales taxes, you can write this off as a deduction because you are not required to pay taxes twice on your money.
Student Loan interest: If you attended school and paid for it with student loans, you can write off a small portion of these fees and interest towards your student loans.
Child and dependent care: If you are paying for the care of children, friends, or relatives during the day, or as a resident in those facilities, you can write these expenses off of your taxes.
Earned Income Tax Credit: These help low- to middle-income workers get a tax break. If you qualify, you can use the credit to reduce the taxes you owe and possibly increase your refund.
State Income Tax: If you are taxed on your money by the state, you can reduce your taxes owed by reporting to the federal government the taxes paid to the state? You get a federal tax break because of income taxes paid to the state?
Reinvest your investment dividends: If you receive a dividend from your stocks and you withdraw that amount or accept it in cash, you will be taxed on it; but if you reinvest it into the stock, it’s tax free.
Write off mortgage interest payments: Your mortgage interest (not Principle) payment is tax deductible. This is an extra incentive for people to become homeowners. Hint: The more payments you make in a year the more you can deduct. Tax experts advise clients to pay your last payment of the year on December 31st, to claim your tax credit; but remember, you can’t claim that amount the following year.
Start a business and write off your losses (K-1 form): This can be your greatest deduction over a few years. If you start a business, most see a loss of money for the first few years (after salary). All that loss is distributed among owners and deducted in your taxes. This also means that your investors get these same deductions, as well, if they own part of the company. The government supports the startup of new businesses - especially if they create jobs - and wants you to be able to deduct losses from your income (less income to tax and pay).
Energy Savings and Green Initiatives - When you buy green technology, such as solar panels, tankless hot water heaters, insulation, or energy efficient measures for your house (or even your business), you can write these off on your taxes. Find a complete list (including local incentives) online, according to your state.
Take advantage of government programs: The government creates programs to help people financially during hard times; this includes COVID and the financial struggle it pushed most Americans into.
Become Tax Refund Smart: Learn other methods, especially local deductions, that will help you reduce your tax rate; this is how the rich pay less in taxes, and you can, too. Don’t just allow the government to take more from you than you are legally obligated to pay. At the same time, don’t write off things that are not tax deductible, because when the IRS finds out, they will come after you for the difference, and a punitive (punishment) fee on top of that difference (and as they search your records, they won’t make it easy for you).
* Everything in this chapter is for educational purposes and should not be taken as financial advice. Talk to your accountant and/or tax preparer for current and local deductions that are allowed.
Also read: https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/federal/summary-latest-federal-income-tax-data-2023-update/ https://taxedright.com/2024-tax-brackets/ https://engaging-data.com/tax-brackets/ https://wbtphdjd.medium.com/where-90-percent-tax-rate-really-came-from-e3834f0e56b https://www.visualizingeconomics.com/blog/2011/04/14/top-marginal-tax-rates-1916-2010
4 days ago
4 days ago
Simplified Explanation: Like buying a personal home, you will find opportunities to buy houses at a low price
Real Life: Investments are a must learn for most people but the truth is most Americans should diversify their money into many different funds (such as mutual funds) and sit on it for 10+ years. Most advisors will tell you they can get you a better return, but you have mutual funds available to the public that, over 10 years, will give you a 20% ROI (Return on Investment) every year so moving it around is just adding more risk instead of keeping it in one location. On Week 3, Day 4 (W3: D4) we listed out the most common investments you could invest in but now we will get a little more into investing of individual stocks.
Disclaimer: This is not financial advice on how to invest but information about investing as an educational study. Here are things you may want to know before you start buying stocks:
What are investments – Investments are buying ownership in a company or mutual fund. By you buying any investment you are paying for a portion of that company or fund and asking for a return on that investment. Investing in individual stocks is just one way to invest your money. Here are a few ways before we get into more details about each:
Individual stocks - An individual stock represents ownership in a single company, entitling the shareholder to a proportional share of the company's assets and earnings. When an investor purchases shares of an individual stock, they are essentially buying a small piece of that company. The value of the stock can fluctuate based on various factors, including the company's performance, market conditions, and investor sentiment. Individual stocks can be bought and sold on stock exchanges, such as the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) or the NASDAQ, providing investors with the opportunity to potentially profit from the success of specific companies. However, investing in individual stocks also carries risks, as the value of a stock can decline, leading to potential losses for investors.
Mutual Funds - A mutual fund is a type of investment vehicle that pools money from multiple investors to invest in a diversified portfolio of stocks, bonds, or other securities. Managed by professional portfolio managers, mutual funds offer investors the opportunity to access a diversified portfolio of assets without needing to purchase individual securities themselves. Investors buy shares in the mutual fund, and the fund's value is determined by the performance of the underlying assets it holds. Mutual funds are designed to spread risk across a variety of investments, reducing the impact of any single security's performance on the overall fund. They are commonly used by investors seeking diversification and professional management of their investment portfolios.
Bonds - Investment bonds, also known as bonds or fixed-income securities, are debt instruments issued by governments, municipalities, corporations, or other entities to raise capital. Investors purchase bonds, effectively lending money to the issuer in exchange for periodic interest payments, known as coupon payments, and the eventual repayment of the bond's face value, known as the principal or par value, at maturity. Bonds typically have a fixed interest rate and specified maturity date, offering a predictable stream of income and considered relatively safe investments compared to stocks. However, bond prices can fluctuate based on changes in interest rates, credit ratings, and market conditions. Investors may choose to invest in bonds for income, capital preservation, diversification, or as part of a balanced investment portfolio, with bonds commonly traded on bond markets through brokers or financial institutions.
Private Companies - Ownership in a private company refers to having a stake in a company that is not publicly traded. Unlike publicly traded companies, private company ownership is typically limited to a smaller group of investors, founders, or venture capitalists. It grants individuals or entities rights such as voting privileges and a share of profits, but is less liquid and not easily traded on an open market.
Living vs Retirement investing - Some of these options are for monthly living expenses (individual stocks) and some grow over time (mutual funds, bonds, and private companies). Consider how soon you want to use your money and buy accordingly. The sooner you want a return, the more risk you will be taking.
Stockbrokers yesterday, today, and tomorrow
In the past people have invested with a stockbroker, recently its been through a stock broker website, now it is being done completely on an app on your phone. The same has changed for fees as well. In the past you paid a broker a good amount of your return for them to invest it, prices dropped as the visual broker went away and online trading became popular, and now there is almost a price war among brokers trying to win you as a client. They have dropped fees to nearly $0 per trade with apps like Robinhood.
Broker Strengths and weaknesses - Different brokers have different strengths and weaknesses and fees they charge, look up reviews online and sit down to meet with them before setting up an account. Weigh the pros and the cons.
Diversification in your investments - Never invest all your money in one stock or company ever. There is too much risk that something could happen, and it be worth $0. Diversify your portfolio means spread your money out. Investors know this that 10 may fail but if one hits it big, it will eat up all the other loses and you will still make a lot of money if you choose correctly. Most of the time, a diverse selection of stocks and companies won’t all fail at the same time, minus a recession usually makes all prices fall, which is why you need to consider your risk tolerance and ability to get back up and not see yourself as a victim. If you are resilient in life, you are more likely to have a higher risk tolerance.
Mutual Fund Diversity - A mutual fund is diversifying because it is usually built as a fund of many individual stocks, bonds, and commodities and if a certain value goes down, others may go up which means less of a loss during a recession.
Balanced Portfolio - Diversifying in competing stocks helps balance your portfolio. You should think of having a mixture of recession-friendly sector investments such as staples, utilities, and health care. They don’t have the best returns during boom times in the market, but they also don’t go down because they are essential. Essentials normally stay steady during recessions because they are always needed. Retailers such as Amazon and Wal-Mart stay stead or go up during recessions when people have to shop for cheaper options. Look for stocks that give a reliable dividend, real estate is a good investment after the price settles down low. Precious metals increase during times of recession and slowly decrease as times get easier and people adjust their holdings to go after more lucrative investments. Invest in yourself during a recession; take your money and put it into your education during a recession. Education during a time of high unemployment will get you through any rough economy and make you ready to be hired when the recession ends and businesses are looking for new blood (employees).
Dividends - Most stocks pay you dividends, excess money, each year, without you having to sell your stock. Most people invest this money back into the company with more stock or keep it for your living expenses. Though if the economy turns, there will be no dividend that year and this is why you should have other income through a full-time job just to make sure you can feed you and your family. Look also at how a company/stock pays dividends, finding those who show a strong history. Also know that they can hold back on paying dividends in time of recession to give the company more funding.
Recessions Happen - Considering recessions happen every ten years, investment values drop for two to three years afterwards slowly creep back up to before recession levels and higher, then when you get older you are advised to rebalance your portfolio to be less risky, consider this new approach. Most financial planners want you to change your portfolio to be as risk averse as possible in your later years. Instead, try planning out your next 10-12 years between each market adjustments, starting in the middle of each recovery, how much money will you need? Rebalance that amount of your investments into low risk investments while keeping the rest in high risk mutual funds with a history of high returns over 10 years. If you do this, the next 10 years of money you need will not fluctuate too much while the rest will be able to climb to new heights and though it may drop during the next recession, history has shown that it always comes back after the recession and when it comes back it shoots well past its last peak value. This way your investments continue to climb as you grow older and the hope is that you never go without the funds you need to survive.
Lookup Their History - All established investments have a history, look at the history of the stock or mutual fund. Make sure that they show a steady incline over the years. Mutual funds will likely give you a 1, 5, and 10 year history of their average ROI interest rate they have returned. Those that are the most steady increase dramatically over the years and even if a few stocks drop in their investment, the rest of the investments will potentially increase keeping the fund portfolio solid and growing.
News Affects Values - Consider the news when considering individual stocks. When you buy stock, make sure you are informed about their latest news. If they are hiring, this is a good sign for expansion and increased values, if they are being sued, this will return with a lower value for their stock. If a pandemic happens travel stocks will fall yet retailers who allow for shopping online will likely grow. Learn before you buy what to look for in the news so you can be the first to buy when something good happens and first to sell when something negative happens.
Strengths and Weaknesses in Stocks and Investments - Each company and mutual fund have their strengths and weaknesses. For companies they have their strengths in potential for growth while mutual funds have potential in the individual investments in that fund. This is all public knowledge so look at what they are investing in and see if you think those are good investments. Remember though, that they have a 10-20 year history that you can check and they are good at what they do.
Debt-to-Equity Ratio: One weakness could be their debt-to-equity ratio or those companies that are still in a great deal of debt compared to their equity in their own company. To find this number, divide the total liabilities on the company balance sheet by the total amount of shareholder equity. For those with a lower risk tolerance, that number should be 0.3 or less.
Price-earnings ratio (P/E Ratio) shows how well a stock’s value is doing compared to their earnings. This will tell you if they are undervalued or overvalued. To find this ratio, divide the company's share price by its earnings per share. If a company is trading at $40 per share and the earnings per share are $2.50, the P/E ratio is 16. Use this to investigate similar companies. The lower you the ratio means the more the earnings are increasing. Know that a stock with a 16 ratio can be good when you compare it with other companies. It all depends on how the economy is doing at that time.
Friday May 03, 2024
Friday May 03, 2024
Simplified Explanation: Like buying a personal home, you will find opportunities to buy houses at a low price and this will provide a way for you to buy, fix and either sell or rent it to someone needing housing. If you find a house low enough and can sell it for a large profit, it frees money to buy another, larger house at equal value to the price you sold the first house and each time you can make a bigger profit from the sale.
Real Life: To buy the house you can take out additional debt or you can pay it off in cash. Know that if you pay it off in cash and you bought it for a low enough amount, you will almost always make more money not having to pay a mortgage and so interest on the mortgage. Also know that you will not have to pay the extra fees that come along with a mortgage or the down payment. To buy it with a mortgage you will need to take out the down payment from your savings, adding the mortgage to your monthly expenses (personal, if you are living in it or business if you are renting it out). The price of the house does not add to your other debt payments, in other words, it is the last debt you pay normally because it has the lowest interest rate, and it is the most acceptable type of debt. Continue to pay the mortgage until you can 1) have excess earnings that you can put towards paying down your debt, 2) pay off the house completely, or 3) sell the house.
NOTE: You almost always lose money on the house itself, when you have a mortgage and purchased a house at market value; that is, unless the housing market explodes like it did in 2019-2021.
Like in real life, in the game there are four options you can take when drawing a Real Estate card. Each has its advantages and disadvantage.
Personal – First off, you need the money for the down payment available in your savings to buy the house. If you are buying the house to live in, decrease your savings by the lost expense of repairs because you are going to make it a little better looking than if you were to rent it out. Then decrease your existing living expenses by $12,000 ($1,000 a month rent) and increase it by your mortgage payment. Now live your life as if you live in this house. You are also able to sell it and move into another house if you would like.
Business – If you are buying this house to fix up, and sell or rent, you will need to pay for all the repairs. Repair costs are on the card, under Business #1: You must have cash for these repairs, you cannot take a loan out. In the game, it doesn’t matter if you are renting the house or selling it, you have to wait until another card is drawn that says that someone is looking for a house like yours at a certain price. At that point you can sell it if you want. Until you sell it though, you may want to rent it out and make some money off the deal. Add the rent to your business income.
Sell One – Whether it is being rented out as a business or you are using it for your personal residence, you can sell one of your houses when someone is looking for a house your size. If you are selling a business owned house increase your business revenue by the amount of the sale (price you sold the house, minus the down payment, minus the price you originally bought the house). If it is your personal residence, add the sale of the home to the amount raised by selling it (price you sold the house, minus the down payment, minus the price you originally bought the house). This is the amount you made by selling the house. Then, if you don’t have another house to move into, increase your monthly expenses by $1,000 for a rental, and decrease the money you were paying for the mortgage, if you had one. The game will do this automatically for you but explain it to you also.
Wholesale the house – If you receive a card (know of a buyer and you don’t have a money to buy/sell it), you can always refer them to an opponent and make some extra money off the sale of a house they are looking for. In other words, you become the middleman. If you find a house that is perfect, but you don’t have the money, you may sell that to an opponent as well for the price listed on the wholesale section of the card. Down below, we will share how to do this.
There are many options while playing the game on how to profit from a real estate card that you or your opponent pulls, much like in life, you may find an opportunity yourself or through a friend and there are ways of making money off that information. So, keep you ears open.
Thursday May 02, 2024
How do you make Millions from Real Estate? - (W7:D4) Debt Free Millionaire Podcast
Thursday May 02, 2024
Thursday May 02, 2024
Simplified Explanation: Real Estate is the buying and selling of real property, or buildings and land that have a monetary value to another party. If you can find deals and buy a piece of property, like a house, and you can fix it up or hold on to it long enough, the value almost always increases.
Real Life: Real Estate is a very large subject. So large that we have multiple books being written on the subject: Debt Free Flipper and more. Any of these will give you the experience of one of these avenues of real estate. For this game and book, we are focusing on residential because that is the most used form of real estate investing you will find by the average consumer. Be aware that there are many more avenues you may go.
To start off, allow me to introduce a little of each of these avenues, from least expensive to the very expensive real estate ventures you can go into, then teach you how they works.
Wholesale – This is to acquire land, by contract, from one party and sell it to another party, where you never need to pay your own money, so you don’t need any money in order to begin selling real estate. The process is simple, you find a buyer and what they are looking for, potentially you should be looking for a dozen or more buyers, you then find a property they listed as something they would buy and contract with the owner to sell their property to an agreed upon amount. Then, contact your buyer and, after increasing the price by $5,000 - $10,000, you secure the buyer. You then write a contract to buy the property from the original owner and you assign it to the buyer that you found. In the end, they bought a deal of a house, while you made $10,000 on the side. Everyone wins. Be careful because these contracts are binding and if your buyer doesn’t buy the house, you ended up buying it from the original owner. Again, the benefit is that you can get into real estate without any money to do so.
Land – This is the least expensive property you can buy because there are no buildings built on it and so raw land can be used for so many different purposes. The buyer will be expected to develop the land themselves. These deals normally take longer to find a buyer because people are normally not looking to build on a property but instead buy something they can move right into.
Rental Cycling (Renting out other’s homes) – Did you know that you don’t need to own a home or apartment in order to make money. You just need to rent out a property that you can sublease to others. Whether you want to stay there or not, you can sub lease a bedroom from the apartment or house and they will help you pay the rent. This takes a smaller amount of money, but includes first and last month rent, and a security deposit, and you can sometimes make money from those you allow to stay in your home. Now, make sure that it is okay with the landlord, and that it is spelled out in the contract that this is allowed, or you may be evicted for breach of contract, and then have to start over again.
Flipping Houses – To flip a house is to buy a distressed or non-aesthetic house or building and fix it up to be more valuable after your work is complete. You add value to it by fixing it up and then selling the property for a higher price than you bought it. Be warned that you should know what you are doing fixing the property or ask a professional to help you, especially with water, electrical, or heating and air conditioning.
House Hacking – This is a process where you buy a house as a business and fix it up, much like flipping or renting but instead of owning your own home or living in a rental, you live in the house that you are repairing, saving money on your living expense and working on the property at all hours of the day. Normally, you would fix up the areas you would need the most, such as the bedroom, bathroom and kitchen, and then work on the rest of the house while you enjoy the early benefits of your labor.
Real Estate Investing (Rentals) - When you buy a house, you can live in it, sell it, or rent it out to someone to use for their purposes. You allow them to use your property for a price, which pays your debt on the building and a little profit to increase savings. This type of real estate is what has made the most millionaires in the United States than any other type of work or investments.
Commercial Real Estate – You can buy a home, or you can buy a larger property that will be used for some type of business. You can use it, sell it, or lease it out to someone else who would pay you to use it for their business purposes. These are the most profitable at times but normally take a lot of work, including trying to find the right people to lease it from you. If you find a very desirable property, you will need less help to manage or market your property. If you are buying it with cash, this is a great option to keep stress low.
Now, if you choose to go into any of these types of real estate sales, you should know there are two ways to sell houses, one way I agree with, and one way that could start you off on a very hard path to live when the market turns. I tell you these things that you may have the wisdom to find the right path for you.
Buying and selling with credit – There are many gurus that will tell you to start up an LLC and buy a house that needs a lot of work, on credit, fix it up, then go back to your bank and refinance it 100% off the new value after being repaired. Take all the equity (money it is worth) out of the house and buy your next house. Fix that house up and 100% refinance that house on it’s new value and buy another house. Then, pay yourself a large amount, living the life of luxury, as the money starts coming in from rent and pay minimums on the house. Over time the houses values will increase, and the houses will be slowly paid off. Sounds great, right? But, what they don’t tell you is what I told you earlier on. Remember that there is a recession every 8-10 years, or a pandemic, and people can’t pay their rent. If someone can’t pay you their rent, then you can’t pay your bills. During the 2020 pandemic, the U.S. Government tried to help people by saying to Landlord, you can’t evict someone during the pandemic, even if they aren’t paying their rent. What does this do to landlords? The landlords couldn’t pay their mortgages and many of them lost their houses. Same thing happens during an economic recession, if people can’t pay, you have to find other tenants or now, the government has realized they have the power to make you rent to people that aren’t paying the bills and will most likely never be able to catch up, so you are left with a house that is 100% mortgaged, with no equity, and then you can lose your house. But again, you went into real estate investing knowing that the mortgage had to be paid, even if you didn’t have the money.
So, what do you do? You foreclose on that house, and they go after you for the difference of the house and loan they gave you, which means you need to sell the next property to afford the first and that house has no equity, and so on and so forth they all are sold off until you have little to no houses left and your company has to go bankrupt. Now, because you created an LLC, your personal finances may be safe, right? Well, there are ways of going after your personal money, but more than that, you just promised all these businesses (banks and other lenders) that you would pay them all back, and yet you just sold all your houses and lost off your business savings and you can’t pay them all back. Thinking you personally didn’t lose anything; you actually lost your name. I am not talking about your credit score, that is the least of what is important. You promised you would pay back your debts and you went back on your word because your business couldn’t sell the houses. Your word is now worth nothing. You basically gave up your honor for a sack of cash that you took in your personal life and didn’t pay back your debts. Now there is an alternative where you never have to worry about losing your money or houses and I’ll teach that next.
Debt Free Real Estate - Anyone can get into investing in real estate, and it takes no money to begin. I will teach you a brief overview of how to start your real estate empire with no money at all and walk away with a million dollars of equity, but it will take a good amount of your time and may sending you investing in a way you never would have thought. Start with nothing in your bank account and start at any age. The only limitation is that below 18 years of age you will need help from an adult to co-sign your contracts.
Wednesday May 01, 2024
Wednesday May 01, 2024
Simplified Explanation: Animals are not always the easiest thing to handle. Sometimes, they are messy, need a lot of attention, and cost a lot of money to care for. They also, bring a lot of love, interest, and are great companions to have around. So, as with being intentional in life, if you are considering having of having a pet, there are some things to consider and some things to understand. Also consider that no pet is easy to take care of if you aren’t taking care of yourself first. Never should a pet put an unbearable burden on you because if you aren’t taking care of yourself, you are definitely not taking care of the animal as you should be.
Real Life: Does it seem strange that I am mentioning animals or pets in a financial book or game? The reason is because animals cost money, some more than others. If you are open to having pets than there are some expenses to think about. Each animal is different, some with more positive things than others. So, consider these things when considering getting an animal. Not just for the money you will spend, but time and emotion as well:
Dogs are more than an animal, they are a bodyguard, comforter, and a companion to some.
Food – Like humans, dogs need to eat. Normally, you will feed them a good size meal in the morning, small lunch, and large dinner. You do not want to put all the food out at one time, because they will eat it all immediately. You must space it over time. An automatic feeder is great for a dog. Either way, dogs eat a lot of food, and you may need to have extra.
Accessories – You need toys, beds, doggy treats, and more. This does not need to be expensive.
Medical Needs – Dogs need to be spayed or neutered when they are young to keep from having unplanned puppies to feed and distribute. They also need check-ups at least once a year.
Shelter – Daily shelter is easy; all you need is a kennel. If you go on a trip, you need to ask someone to walk and feed your dog or pay an establishment to “board” them while you are away.
Walks – Dogs, like humans, must use the bathroom, yet theirs is normally outdoors. They have a certain amount of time before they will make a mess on your floor, if you leave them inside. If you work, think of making a walk outside or pay someone.
Grooming – You don’t need to pay someone, but you do need to spend the time washing and brushing them, and cutting their nails. This can be time consuming or expensive over time.
Time: If time is money, then you will be spending a good amount of it with your dog. They become part of the family and should be treated as such. They are not a trophy or even a guard dog is not just a bodyguard. Dogs are the more expensive pet.
Cats are more than an animal, they are a comforter, companion, and kill off rodents, in and around the home.
Food – Like humans, cats need to eat. Normally you will put all their food out at once and they will eat it gradually. An indoor cat eats a lot of food, outdoor cats eat about a quarter, while an indoor/outdoor cat eats about half the amount.
Accessories – You don’t need toys, beds, treats, or other things though these are nice to have.
Medical Needs – Cats need to be spayed or neutered when they are young to keep from having unplanned puppies to feed and distribute. They also need check-ups at least once a year.
Shelter – Cats again take care of themselves so if you leave them, just make sure they have enough food and watch while you are away.
Walking – Cats don’t normally go on walks with you, except mine, she is a little strange and will take a walk every morning and evening while I walk my dog. People stare at us. Man, dog, and cat, all walking down the street together. It’s quite the site, but not normal.
Grooming – You don’t need to pay someone, but you do need to spend the time washing and brushing and cutting their nails if they are indoors at all, otherwise they will take care of it.
Time: If time is money, then you will be spending a small amount of it with your cat. They normally stick to themselves until they want attention. They are part of the family and should be treated as such. When time is money, and expenses is money, cats are less expensive than dogs, but still expensive.
Chickens – Chickens are great for eggs, especially if you like cage-free eggs. They are also good at getting rid of bugs around your house, which always means less bugs inside your house.
Food – Like humans, chickens need to eat. Normally you will put all their food out at once and they will eat it gradually. If you let them out into the yard, they will eat all your pests and grubs. Food can be expensive but that is when you subsidize it with kitchen scraps.
Accessories – You will only need a feeder, water container, light for winters, and shelter. They take care of their own entertainment and everything else.
Medical Needs – In a normal lifespan, you will not need a check-up for the chicken.
Shelter – Chickens need a chicken coup when you first buy them so expenses are very low.
Walking – You don’t walk a chicken but you could spend time with them.
Grooming – You don’t groom a chicken, they take care of that.
Time: You don’t spend time with them except feeding, collecting eggs, and cleaning their coup. If time is money and expenses is money, then chickens take care of themselves and you only need to pay for food and give them enough time to take care of them.
Reptiles/Fish – These are more for something to look at instead of spending time with or holding. They don’t like being held, but if you need it, reptiles are great to spend time. Here are the normal responsibilities of having one.
Food – Like humans, they need to eat. Normally you will give them enough in the morning and or every other day. Fish and reptiles don’t eat much so they are not too expensive.
Accessories – You need a fish tank or terrarium, bubbler (fish), accessories inside the tank and chemicals to clean the water (fish), beyond that, these are more like upfront costs.
Medical Needs – Fish and reptiles, unless very expensive, don’t normally get medical attention.
Shelter – Your tank is enough, though they do need lighting to stay healthy.
Walking – You do not walk them. They do not even want time with you. They are to observe.
Grooming – You do not groom a fish or reptile, though you should clean their tanks routinely.
Time: No quality time needed, except feeding, cleaning, or holding them occasionally.
There are many more types of animals you can have as pets: horses, bees, rabbits, hamsters, spiders, frogs, etc, and they all take time and money to take care of them. Don’t go into this blindly but investigate how much each will cost and make sure you can provide for them.
When every expense is important, think about limiting the number of animals you have until the time when you are financially secure and have the time to take care of them. Again, all of them become part of the family and should be treated as such.
Tuesday Apr 30, 2024
Tuesday Apr 30, 2024
Simplified Explanation: Things happen in life that we have no control over, but we do control how we will respond. The story of my heart is a fact, I have dealt with death every day of my life and now, I don’t worry about death. I won’t leave this life any faster than I am permitted. These events are to give us strength and understanding and without these opportunities, whether good or bad, we would not be who we will become in the future. So, if they are going to happen in the future, be accepting of them. Now, you do have choices, when you make good choices, you are more likely to succeed and turn these events into opportunities. If you choose to do things that are against the law, unethical, or things you know you shouldn’t do, then you will have to accept the consequences that come. Don’t blame others for things you do, but instead, learn from them and don’t make the same mistakes twice. If you see someone else making that mistake, then learn from their example and pain and resolve not to make the same mistake.
Real Life is hard sometimes, maybe even most of the time. You never know what is going to happen. A president may be elected, gas prices will double, and you may lose your job. You may be minding your own business and a car may come flying into your living room and the owner of the car is uninsured. You may win a sweepstakes you were just goofing off when you entered. Things happen and you need to roll with the negative events and celebrate the successes in life.
Most of the time, when you are intentional with life, good things happen. There are two types of mentalities you can change a life for the better or the worse: the victim mentality or the success mentality:
The Victim Mentality – This mindset develops when a person sees themselves a victim in everything bad that happens to them. Everything bad happens in your life because you are a victim. This type of mentality will hold a person down and strangle them without a struggle, because the person is not ready or able to fight back. Negative things come and those individuals will give up, blame others, and fall back on the idea that they can’t do things for themselves. And to many, there is nothing they can do to get out of these scenarios. There is so much more to this than I can write in this section (read more on our site).
The Success Mentality – This person takes personal responsibility for things that happen in their lives. Not to say things don’t happen to them that they didn’t cause, but instead, they don’t see themselves as a victim when things get hard. Instead, they work on the assumption that “things happen, but I will overcome”. This is the person that sees the glass half full (as opposed to it is half empty). We find opportunities and failures as educational moments where we get right back up and begin by fighting back. The truth is, you can do almost anything in life, but you must do it intentionally and know that you are not a victim, but a mental giant, ready to take on any obstacle that comes your way. Easier said than done, right? Read more about this on our site.
This is not to say they don’t have rocky moments when they faulter, breakdown and even cry because of the pain or struggle, but instead that they allow for a time of even self-pity and then collect themselves, get back up, and try again. A success mentality is what every successful athlete has, they didn’t become successful overnight, they had to fail 1,000 times before getting something right, and yet, they didn’t let those failures end them trying again. They endured to the end because they knew they could do it.
Another example, in this instance, when it comes to being intentional is, if I want to make sure that I never get into a car accident while under the influence, I will not drink alcohol or do drugs. I will intentionally hold back from hanging out with friends that will get me drunk. On the other hand, if I were to drink, I would make sure that I was at my house or took an Uber to and from the restaurant. In that instance, my choices never will get the best of me. If I am to drink and get into a car to drive home, I must expect that I will get into an accident, maybe even kill someone on the street as I drive impaired. Make the choice now if you are going to live intentionally. And as the commercials all say, “buzz driving (single drink) is drunk driving”.
Financially – We cannot plan for everything that will happen in our lives. The best thing we can do is plan for those things that may happen and hope for the best, being intentional in everything we do will save us millions of dollars in our lifetime and could even save ours or someone else’s life. To be financially intentional we must plan for negative things by saving a certain amount of money for non-specific issues that may happen. We call this our emergency fund.
Emergency funds are essential to live an intentional life and not become a victim. You or a family member may need surgery, or your car may break beyond repair. How do you plan for that? You or a family member may get into an accident? How do you plan for that? What about if you lose your job? You can’t always plan on when things happen in your life, but that bad things will happen. An Emergency Fund is a savings account built to withstand normal disasters that happen within your family. But how much do you save depends on where you are financially.
Priority one, after saving a small Emergency Fund of about $1,000, is getting out of debt, then saving for the future. Here are two out of an infinite number of options:
Build an emergency fund of $1,000 and then spend every other dime getting yourself out of debt. Once you are out of debt, minus your house, you then save 6 months-worth of expenses as an Emergency Fund. If you spend $4,000 a month, then you should save $24,000 in savings. This is especially needed if you lose your job. Put this emergency fund in the bank and allow it to sit there, even if it has a small interest rate. Investing with that money locks it down for a set amount of time. You need these funds to be liquid, that you can spend within hours if needed. You want it to be liquid, which means you can draw it out any time. This allows you not to become a victim. At the same time, you should always have insurance as well. One of my surgeries cost over a million dollars. One of my surgery bill came out to $485,685.89 and my insurance took care of the entire amount. I took that bill and still have it framed on my wall. Insurance doesn’t cover everything, and I had another $20,000 to pay for other parts of the operation and with a payment plan, I was able to pay that down over a matter of 18 months without going bankrupt or struggles. I couldn’t even work during that time, but being intentional saved me.
Someone in my situation, where I have a lot going against me, because of my health, has a higher chance of something happening, so having an Emergency Fund that is large enough to take care of me is essential. I may spend half of my income to pay off bills and debts while saving the other half in this fund. At the same time, mathematically I would grow that larger Emergency Fund faster if I spent my excess on my debts and paid them off quicker, so that I had money to save after my debt was paid off. Think of it this way. If I spend half my excess income towards debt and saved the rest, I will pay back the debt at a slower rate, more money will go towards interest payments and it will take me more time. See the diagram below:
Emergency Fund Scenarios (Paying Back $20,000)
(Excess $2,000)
Savings
Paid to Debt (Interest: 9.8%)
Time to Pay Off
EF after 18 mo.
Option #1
$1,000
$1,000 towards debt
$1,319 (18 mo. interest)
$14,512, no debt
Option #2
$100
$1,900 towards debt
$872 (12 mo. interest)
$15,128, no debt
There is little difference on this small amount of debt, but as the amount of debt increases, the more difference it will make, plus you have 6 months of less stress because your debt was paid off sooner.
WELCOME TO THE DEBT FREE MILLIONAIRE BRAND
Beyond our podcast, we also have an upcoming video game and books.
Upcoming Video Game
Our game is being produced by Xogos Gaming, with the help of the ASA.
Debt-Free Millionaire" is an innovative financial simulation game that blends the thrill of video gaming with the practical, life-changing knowledge of personal finance and investment. Designed to mirror real-life financial situations and decisions, the game is powered by sophisticated machine learning to create dynamic, realistic scenarios that players must navigate. From managing day-to-day finances to making strategic investment decisions in stocks, commodities, real estate, and businesses, players will encounter the full spectrum of financial planning and wealth building.
Upcoming Books
One of these books is a general Debt Free Millionaire personal finance course. That is right, we will be teaching you classes about personal finance right from the book.
The second book is about house flipping, and do I have some great stories for you. I once bought a house that was built in 1913 that I had to nearly rebuild, I made so many changes. It was in Fort Leavenworth, in Kansas, and man was that an adventure.
Another house I flipped and in the middle of it I had open heart surgery, which I woke up on Christmas day and the a few months later, while still remodeling, the whole country shut down due to COVID lockdowns. That too is a story for another time.