Category: F.I. Mindset
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…
Middle-Class Investing 108: Why Dividend Growth Investing?
Today, we will dive deeper into the world of wealth-building. Sadly, most middle-class folks will never buy individual stocks. The purpose of dividend growth investing is to build a nest egg that also pays you. In addition to a steady paycheck, your dividend payments grow over time to combat inflation. Does this method sound too…
Middle-Class Investing 107: Capture the Market with Index Funds
You must build the mindset of an investor; it doesn’t come naturally. We have gone from broke to saving throughout the Middle-Class Investing 101 series (101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106). Now, it’s time to dabble in the stock market. However, we need to understand the long-term advantages and disadvantages of simplified investing using index…
Middle-Class Investing 106: Using Bonds to Create Safe Cash Flow
As we start understanding assets, we see value in safely accumulating more things that produce money. Just because we are middle-class doesn’t mean we can’t have access to some significant investment products. Treasury bonds are the safest investment instruments we can buy; we can purchase them directly from the US Treasury (like large institutions). Retirement…
Middle-Class Investing 105: Start with Savings & Interest
Becoming a big-time investor doesn’t start with buying dividend stocks and real estate. First, you must appreciate every dollar you earn. The purpose of every dollar you earn is to earn more dollars. That’s right; your money makes you money. The first place we can start earning income from our money is in the banks.…
Middle-Class Investing 104: Building a Solid Retirement Plan
We all strive to leave the workforce with more cash flow than when we started. However, along the path to retirement, life happens. We hit multiple recessions, lost jobs, had children, paid for college, and bought a house. These events can derail our retirement dreams, but only if we do not fully flesh out our…
