Category: F.I. Mindset
Struggle-Mania 2: Is Your Mindset Keeping You Down?
I’ve met thousands of hardworking people in the military over my last 24 years. However, a select few will ever truly get ahead in life. To clarify, “getting ahead” means they will not worry about money. Our ability to handle cashflow keeps a constant stress on most of us. Yes, we will always need to…
Being Mediocre is Not Okay
The world wants you to be mediocre. The best way to sell products, enforce taxes, and inflate prices is to have a society of losers. We should all strive to be our best selves; this prevents us from being average. The new world order uses new catchphrases to keep us at the bottom. Some of…
The Magic of Waking Up Early: The Early Bird Gets The Dollar
The world is programming you to become unsuccessful. Almost every news bite I hear from celebrities and entrepreneurs tells you to work less or focus on finding happiness. Beware of false prophets. Over the last three years, they told you to quit your job, be happy earning minimum wage, and not buy a home. Then…
Getting Rich is a Team Sport: The Individual American Dream is Dead
They really did a number on us. They will have us believe that in one lifetime, we can get a college education, climb the corporate ladder, get married, stay married, have children, raise children, fund our children’s education, and save for retirement. Yeah right. The American Dream is much more than $5 million today. With…
Don’t Gamble with Retirement 10
A lot has changed since I started blogging about personal finance in July 2020. At the time, retirement planning was something you could do on the side. Why spend all of your time planning for something 30 to 40 years away, right? Wrong! After a crazy turn of events, the only way to retire is…
Are We Living in Fast Forward? Things Have Changed Since 2020
The other day, I was listening to my favorite YouTuber as I worked on my books. He said he felt like life has been moving in fast forward since the pandemic. This statement got me thinking. I always tell my Marines that this new world will give them ADHD. Everyone and everything is trying to…
Welcome to The T.I.C.E.S. Society: Tycoon, Investor, Creator, Entrepreneur, Scholar
It’s hard to express how fragile our lives become without knowledge. When we depend on a job, a person, or a government to save us, they usually come up short. Americans have become more educated over the years—meaning more people have college degrees than ever. However, most people need more financial education to grow a…
The Information: Passive Income is Your Only Chance at Happiness
Perhaps the title is slightly over the top, but I’ll explain my reasoning. I am writing this article for one reason: to quickly quote “the information.” Over my years of writing, I have begun to write “the information” as a quick reference to passive income, business, and entrepreneurship. For example, I say things like, “I…
Hustle Culture: How to Replace the Pension and 401K Mindset
The new shift to an entrepreneurial mindset is leaving most people behind. America was once a land of pioneers, innovators, and business people. However, the industrial revolution brought us out of the farms and small towns and into the city. Then, corporations and governments introduced the pension system. The pensions were lavish. Defined benefits, or…
There is No Work-Life Balance Until You Are Wealthy
If you hear a successful person tell you to reduce your grind, take it with a grain of salt. Your chances of becoming successful without grinding are slim-to-none. Why are these successful business people, entrepreneurs, leaders, and content creators telling you to slow down? They say things like “work-life balance” and “mental health” because these…
Envision Your Life Without a Paycheck: Start Building Your Income Today
Boy, does it feel good to get a paycheck, especially when you can spend most of your money on yourself. This fantastic feeling is a trap that takes years or even lifetimes to overcome. Two years ago, I wrote, “How Would Your Life Look Without a Paycheck.” I have spent the last two years asking…
No Freakin’ Way I Am Working Another 25 Years part 3
Another year, another birthday. I turned 42 less than a week ago, and I feel great! My life couldn’t be any better, even if I tried. I started writing this series in 2021 (part 1, part 2). I had just turned 40 and realized that the American society wanted me to work until age 65.…
Give Your Kids a Different Path: Set Them on the Path to Financial Freedom
The days of working a 40-year career at one job are over. Even if these jobs still existed, is that the life you want for your child? Why are you sending your kids off to college? Do you know how to make money in today’s ever-changing economy? If you don’t understand how to make money,…
The Golden Handcuffs of Lifestyle Inflation 2
The workforce is becoming a terrible place to spend your time. Everyone is running around with their hair on fire. If your company pays you, they expect you to always be on call, answer all emails within one minute, and never say “no.” Why do people remain in the labor market if things are going…
Financial Freedom is a Mindset, Not an Account Balance
I didn’t feel financially free when I was $77,000 in debt. I was earning over $100,000 at my day job, but I still felt behind. However, once I started to read articles on passive income, compound interest, and getting out of debt, I immediately knew I would free myself and my family. That was back…
Middle-Class Investing 111: Middle-Class Investing COMPLETE
The Middle-Class Investing 101 Series was super fun to write and develop. Investing gets a bad reputation among the middle class. People believe investing is about taking all kinds of crazy risks and flying by the seat of your pants. In reality, it is the exact opposite of this scenario. Investing is about creating a…
The Great Family Reset: The Independent Person Experiment Failed
It was an experiment for the ages. The idea was to send a person out of the home at age 18 and see if they could make it in the world. They used words like “be independent,” “go build,” and “become a man” to entice us into the world alone and without resources. A few…
Middle-Class Investing 110: Create a Wealth Generator
We have come a long way on our investing train, and we arrive at our final stop today. Now that we know exactly what to do with our money, we need to make a lot more of it. But we don’t want to do all the work; we want our investments to carry the load.…
Middle-Class Investing 109: Create a Paycheck with Income Investing
We have finally made it to my favorite type of passive income—income investing. Although we took the long way, it is necessary to understand how we got here. Income investing is not for the faint of heart. That’s why starting with interest from high-yield savings accounts is good, and slowly work your way forward. Welcome…
Your Daily Routine is Your Success
I always tell my wife that life is supposed to be tough. Every day you should be challenging yourself in many aspects of your day. Life isn’t about getting to a magical point where you become comfortable. We can call this the “fat and happy” stage. In fact, life is about the exact opposite of…