Good morning, friends!

Got another great book to give away today!

But first – wanted to thank you real quick for all the love and encouragement on our latest business launch I just posted about. We got a lot of great interest from the community so far as well as a handful of signups which is always promising when you put something out into the world – so thanks! :)

Also while I’m at it, we raised $2,000 for our Community Fund the other month – woo!! Half of which I’ve already disseminated into the homeless community to help feed them, clothe them, shelter them, paper them!, and much much more. It won’t solve all their problems of course, but it’s a nice reprieve from their daily lives and I know they appreciate every last kind gesture we do. So thanks for helping me turbocharge it! :)

• To donate more to it, click here: Community Fund
• And to learn more about my new biz, go here: YouBots.ai

*****

Now onto the giveaway!

“Inner Entrepreneur”
A Proven Path to Profit and Peace

This one’s an exciting one to bring to you not only because of the content (all us bloggers are solopreneurs – even if by accident! ) but mainly because it comes from a good blogger friend of mine, who’s as smart as he is NICE: Grant Sabatier.

You might recognize him from MillennialMoney.com, or his best selling book, “Financial Freedom“. And he also just launched a real life independent bookstore too if you can believe it!! This guy never sleeps! Haha… (Check out ClintonvilleBooks.com if you’re ever in the Columbus, Ohio area)

At any rate, super legit and genuine dude, and here’s what he says about his latest book – WHICH JUST DROPPED TODAY!!

*****

“Inner Entrepreneur contains everything I’ve learned over the past 15 years that has really made a difference in my businesses and life. There’s no fluff. No generic business advice. It’s packed full of actionable steps. I’ve held nothing back.

While there are many great entrepreneur books, there isn’t one like this – which presents a comprehensive view of how to go from finding a business idea to selling your company, acquiring, building a holding company, and more. Whether you’re curious about entrepreneurship or you’re already a pro, I’m confident you’ll get value from Inner Entrepreneur.

The book is built around 4 levels of entrepreneurship and I dive deep into exactly what to do, consider, and the trade-offs required at each level:

• Level 1: Experimental Entrepreneur
• Level 2: Solopreneur
• Level 3: Growth Entrepreneur
• Level 4: Empire Entrepreneur

Whether you’ve read my first book or not, this book is designed to help you build a business that gives you more freedom in your life.”

*****

• To learn more, go to: Inner Entrepreneur: A Proven Path to Profit and Peace
• Or download the first chapter (FREE) here: Chapter 1 of Inner Entrepreneur (PDF Download)

Want a free copy?!

I’ve got TWO free copies of Inner Entrepreneur to give away today :) All you have to do is answer the following question in the comments below (or via email), and you will automatically be entered to win.

What’s a dream business you’d love to build? Or a business you’re currently working on?

You don’t have to get too specific about it (“dog sitting” works), but feel free to elaborate too if you’re into it. You never know who will see it and could maybe help you out – or better yet, be a first customer! :)

If you’re fresh out of ideas and need a little push – peruse our Side Hustle Series and maybe something there will jump out at you. We’ve featured everything from Christmas tree stands to photo booth empires to worm harvesting to trash picker-uppers to even more erotic areas like phone sex operating ;) There’s a million things you can do for money, and this book by Grant can help you narrow it down and take action.

I’ll announce the two winners at the end of the week. GOOD LUCK!!

And thanks again to Grant for offering these up. You can learn more about his projects here: GrantSabatier.com

PS: You might also remember Grant if you were a member of the Rockstar Finance forums! He was a top resident there, always popping in and offering (free) advice. Fantastic person.

*Links to books are Amazon affiliate links

*** Giveaway Over! ***

Congrats to Eric S. and MEM for winning!! Books will be in the mail soon! For everyone else – be sure to check it out at your local library so you can still get the good stuff! :)

[This post, New Book Alert + Giveaway: “Inner Entrepreneur”, was first published by J. Money on Elite Edge Money]

Hi all!

So I’ve been working on a new project lately, and it’s officially live :)

It has nothing to do with personal finance (*gasp*), but it is something that could help save you a ton of money – and grow faster! – if you run a business. It also heavily relies on AI, so if you’ve been trying to figure out the best way to harness it in this brave new world this could be the trick.

Introducing….

YouBots.ai – A suite of advanced, powerful marketing tools powered by AI!

My partner in crime has been obsessed with AI this past year – to the point he even changed his entire career around it! – and after watching him build out customized “bots” for companies and selling them for thousands of dollars a pop, I asked him why he doesn’t just package them all up under one roof and offer them up to *everybody*? Kinda like the world’s first AI marketing agency, but only at a fraction of the price?

He paused for a few seconds leading me to believe it was massively stupid, haha, but to my surprise he eventually shot back with, “this is the best idea you’ve ever had – we need to build it.” Lol… Okay!

And just like that YouBots was born :)

Can’t say I ever imagined myself doing anything around AI, but it was one of those instances where it just clicked and I knew I’d regret it if I didn’t go for it. So we’ll see what happens! We already have a number of paying clients, and it’s been fun as hell working on the branding and building out the site…

Just look at these cute little robots!!

At any rate, if you run a business and wanna see if these bots can help YOU, check out our site and let me know what you think. It’s set up so that anyone on your team can use it without needing to know a thing about AI, prompt engineering, or even software development.

Our target audience is small-medium businesses who wish they had a bigger budget for hiring (both people and marketing agencies), so we’ve priced it with that in mind and one of our clients is already saving $4,000/mo. It’s beautiful.

Check it out –> YouBots.ai

We’re currently offering a one-week free trial, then 50% off the subscription cost while we’re in beta. No credit card required for the demo, and you can unsubscribe anytime.

So that’s what I’ve been up to over here! How about you? Anyone else dabbling in AI or working on a new project? Would love to learn all about it :)

Your long-time, non-AI powered, friend,

PS: I should note that while AI can do big huge amazing things to make your life and work better, I don’t believe it should be a substitute for YOU. To me it’s meant for *enhancing* your work, not replacing it.

PPS: If you came here today hoping for financial tips, check out my personal newsletter that just went out that features my favorite $$$ articles from around the community this month. There’s some really good ones in there, and you’ll find them in the bottom half of that page (as well as a current book I’m thoroughly enjoying). Feel free to subscribe to that newsletter here as well!

[This post, My Newest Project: YouBots!, was first published by J. Money on Elite Edge Money]

Morning!

So in an attempt to become more minimalist over here – AND – raise a little money for my cold and hungry homeless friends, I’m tackling one of the hardest areas known to entrepreneurs:

OUR HORDE OF DOMAIN NAMES!!

Which, of course, are ALL awesome and worth MILLIONS of dollars if we ever get them off the ground, but as Derek Sivers is fond of saying – ideas are worth nothing unless executed ;) And, well, despite how much I’d love to execute on ALL of these I’m pretty sure if I haven’t done it in the past 10 years I never will…

But maybe YOU could use one of these?! Perhaps one of these domains is the missing puzzle to finally getting your own passion project off the ground?!

If so I’d love to make a deal with you today!! You donate some money to help replenish my Community Fund (that goes 100% to my poor – yet positive! – friends living on the streets) and I’ll give you a domain name of your choosing in return :)

It’s a win-win-win!!

Here are the domains up for the taking:

*******

#1) PFBloggers.com Gone! Enjoy it, Tom!

This is an old school one picked up during the Rockstar Finance days of 2013, and we were going to use it for our community’s first Blog Directory. We ended up merging it however with RF itself so it never became its own standalone site, but I’ve held onto it ever since just in case I wanted to build out another directory again… which sadly still doesn’t exist in our space, even after all these years :(

But maybe you could be the one to get one running again? :) It’s a perfectly direct name for one, right?

And interestingly enough, after plugging it into the Wayback Machine, I found it was actually at one time a home for financial creators back in 2008!

The Personal Finance Bloggers Network (PF Bloggers for short) currently consists of 7 blogs that write about personal finance and frugal living. We are not finance professionals but just normal people with goals for a life free of debt and worry.

How cool is that?  You might even recall some of the original founders of it if you’ve been around for a while:

• Wide Open Wallet
• Our Fourpence Worth
• No Debt Plan
• Master Your Card
• Living Almost Large
• Girls Just Wanna Have Funds
• Get Rich or Die Trying

I miss these guys… some of the founding fathers (and mothers!) of our industry!

*******

#2. PFChat.com

This was another domain we were going to use for the forums of Rockstar Finance (2014), but also got merged into one main hub… But what a short and sweet name for an online community??! Or even a portal or blog attached to a business or app or something in the financial space? It would certainly make for an easy to remember redirection url too, though of course in my opinion it’s strong enough to live on its own :)

This is gonna be the one that’s hardest to depart with as I still very much love the name and want to hold out hope that eventually I’ll make use of it!, but again if I haven’t touched it in 9 years then odds are I’m not going to…

*******

#3. MoneyLatte.com Now Gone!! Thanks, Jessica!

Okay – now this one is my favorite out of ALL my unused domains, and 100% what I’d build my next blog on if I ever needed to start a new one from scratch… Just think of all that organic traffic you’d get from talking about saving money on coffee ad nauseam!

But seeing how I ended up buying eliteedgemoney back for good, I don’t think I’d have the energy to manage another one, although I have been tempted with sharing short – quick – bites of finance to help people start their day better (similar to what caffeine does to you! Heyo!), so for that route this would make a perfect home, but again will I ever pull the trigger on it??! Probably not.

So it’s all yours if you want to steal my idea!! :)

*******

#4. DebtDrop.org

I love this domain so much too. And even dubbed one of our projects “Debt Drop” back in the day when I used to partner up with Melanie Lockert of DearDebt.com to share some love…

We used to go around anonymously paying off chunks of debt for people, and then picked up this domain in case we ever wanted to make it an “official” project. After 2-3 years we took a break, but alas I’ve been renewing it ever since and quietly holding my tears back as it sits there collecting dust

Out of all the domains this is the one I’d love to see someone take over the most and continue putting out GOOD in the world as we still need so much help out there, specially around debt. It’s so crushing to people!!

*******

#5. SquidpantsInternational.com

Now this one is *NOT* on the table, but oh how I wish it was…

Click it if you dare, but here’s what my biz partner Nate St. Pierre once publicly shared on Facebook:

******

“I don’t save things, and I’m not sentimental. Nor do I pay for things I don’t need.

BUT.

When Jay Money and I were doing our Love Drop national tour in 2011, we had to buy a URL for a new site we were building, and Jay had to help me with the name. For whatever reason he just wouldn’t do it, and I told him that if he didn’t give me his thoughts by the end of the day, I was just going to name it Squidpants International.

He didn’t, so I did.

I bought the URL and put up a picture I took of him that day buying a lottery ticket and telling me why he was too busy to help me with the name. What you see is the entire website.

Here we are, 13 years later, when I get my annual bill for renewing the URL, and I continue to pay for it, just because the joke still makes me laugh whenever I think about it. Also because it brings back many good memories of working together, stressing out, laughing a lot, and putting some love into the world

Happy website anniversary, you jackass.”

*****

So sweet, isn’t he?

What I should do is actually use one of these domains for a Spite Site a la Larry David so I don’t have to hear about this every year, haha, but seeing how I’m the nicer of the two I shall respectfully take the high road ;)

You sure are clever though, buddy!!

[Latte Larry’s]

*******

At any rate, that’s what we’ve got today! And I’m proud to state I haven’t bought a *new* domain name in years, and even more smartly – I no longer buy them while drunk!!

Let me know if you’d like any of these, and more importantly if you’d like to contribute to my Community Fund. It’s the toughest season out there for my friends on the streets, and I can promise that every last dollar goes directly to them because I’m the one who’s literally handing it to them! (Or buying them coffee/clothes/hotel rooms/etc)

Click this button to donate through Paypal (you don’t need a Paypal account to do so), or DM me on the side and we’ll find another way to make it happen. (I know I have a Venmo somewhere too…)

Have a most blessed holiday season if we don’t talk beforehand! We are all more fortunate than we even know, and it’s a good time to be thankful for that.

Your good pal and President of Squidpants International,

// Photo up top by Junior Teixeira via Pexels

[This post, Want one of these domain names?!, was first published by J. Money on Elite Edge Money]

What’s up everyone!

Haven’t done a good giveaway in a while so let’s change that today…

Got a stack of books just waiting to find a new home, so if you’re feeling lucky be sure to enter and I’ll drop them in parcel post!

(Speaking of parcels, we played “pass the parcel” this weekend at a kid’s birthday party and my son won the prize at the end, haha… had never heard of it before but apparently if you watch Bluey (and I seem to be the only one who doesn’t these days?!) it’s a popular game from there… (Lucky’s Dad’s Rules, of course))

Alright here’s what we’ve got today – if you want any of them just drop a note in the comments and you’ll be entered to win!

May the Book Gods shine down on you!!

*******

Gonzo Capitalism:
How to Make Money in An Economy That Hates You

Just got this book in the mail from blogger/hustler/entrepreneur extraordinaire, Chris Guillebeau, and if it’s any indication of his past best-sellers this should be a good one too. You might remember Chris from the Art of Non-Conformity blog back in the day or his popular book, The $100 Startup.

Here’s a clip about it from his website:

“A fascinating tour of this brave new world where novelty and creativity are currency, and the creators are in control. From the community of gamers getting paid to play, to the armchair pundits beating the bookies in online prediction markets, to TikTok “Sleepfluencers,” AI artists, and the band of renegade investors upending the rules of finance, in the world of Gonzo Capitalism, anything goes.”

Learn more here (Amazon) –> Gonzo Capitalism

Since I have this one in hand, I’m happy to autograph it too…. Unless it’s weird autographing *someone else’s* book?!

*******

How to Get Rich:
One of the World’s Greatest Entrepreneurs Shares His Secrets

This one my best friend SWEARS BY, which is saying something since he *hates* money books, but in a way it’s more of a “business/hustling” book than it is money…

I tried reading it after he gave me his copy, but my mind is no longer in the “get rich and powerful!” mentality so perhaps it’s better suited for someone else :) It was super interesting though which kept my attention for the first few chapters, so if you’re looking for some tough love motivation or just want something *different* to read (it really is different!) you’ll want to check it out…

More here (Amazon): –> How To Get Rich

PS: For those of you who don’t know who Felix Dennis is (I didn’t), he was the founder of Maxim Magazine and a bunch of other super popular computer mags back in the day… He also randomly loves poetry which he made sure to scatter all throughout it which makes for an interesting juxtaposition (I told you it was different!)

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Your Future Self:
How to Make Tomorrow Better Today

Now this one was brought to my attention by Hal Hershfield himself looking to get the word out and just recently dropped this summer. I haven’t had the chance to skim it yet, but he does seem to be a legit dude and the topic very much applies to what we’re about here.

Here’s a clip from his website to see if you like it:

“We’ve all had the desire to travel through time and see what our lives will be like later in life. While we want the best possible future for ourselves, we often fail to make decisions that would truly make that a reality. Why do we choose steak over vegetables at dinner, waving off concerns about high cholesterol? Why do we splurge on luxury cars rather than save for retirement? Why can’t we stick to our exercise programs? Why are so many of us so disconnected from our future selves?

Based on over a decade of groundbreaking research, Your Future Self explains that, in our minds, our future selves often look like strangers. Many of us view the future as incredibly distant, making us more likely to opt for immediate gratification that disregards the health and wellbeing of ourselves in the years to come. People who are able to connect with their future selves, however, are better able to balance living for today and planning for tomorrow. Your Future Self presents the science, describes the mental mistakes we make in thinking about the future, and gives us practical advice for imagining our best future so that we can make that a reality.”

Amazon –> Your Future Self

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Kiss Your Money Hello!
(And Financial Stress Goodbye)

Here’s another new book that just dropped in June, and similarly Bill Hines reached out to offer up a free copy. It’s already hit the top lists of Personal Money Management, Investing Basics, College Financing, and Home Buying/Selling so seems to be resonating with people!

More from Amazon:

“This book is the way to financial peace, to relieving the number one stressor in our lives and relationships. It’s the guide to living every day on your own terms, and never having to go to a job you no longer love, of never having to miss those important life events. I’ll keep it simple—just the way your personal finances should be! The first word of the title is no coincidence. KISS means Keep It Simple Silly! Maybe I’ll even make you laugh. Your household should measure success in ‘happy’, not some corporate financial metric.”

*******

Financial Fives:
The Top 325 Ways to Save, Earn, and Thrive to Retire Before 65

This one comes from fellow $$$ blogger Gary Grewal of FinancialFives.com, whose graciously given me a copy to give away here (thanks dude!). Haven’t read it yet, but love how actionable it sounds :)

More from Amazon:

“The goal of Financial Fives is to provide easy-to-follow tips in areas of personal finance that are applicable to the average reader, to absorb ideas effectively, and also refer back to for easy reading. This book can help you retire early, negotiate a pay raise, save money on home renovations, save money on your wedding, buy a home, become debt-free, and more! And unique chapters on things like saving money at festivals, getting the most money out of travel and hotels, even how to make the most of launching your business idea!

Some chapters include:

• 5 Ways to Save Money on Car Maintenance
• 5 Guilt-Free Ways to Invest in Yourself
• 5 Ways to Save Money on Throwing a Party
• 5 Questions to Ask Your Realtor
• 5 Ways to Save Money on the Dating Scene”

*******

Wealthy Doc’s Guide to Achieving Financial Freedom: Transform Your Physician Salary into Wealth

Next we have Wealthy Doc‘s new book which comes in both Kindle version as well as print. It just dropped in May, and like my other blogger brethren he’s kindly offered up a free copy to give away here

Here’s more from Amazon:

“In Wealthy Doc’s Guide to Achieving Financial Freedom, author Brian Foley, MD, MBA, shares his journey from poverty to financial freedom through a career in medicine and investing. With over 30 years of experience, Foley is known as Wealthy Doc and runs a successful blog at Wealthydoc.org.

In his book, Foley outlines a step-by-step approach to help readers achieve financial independence. He begins with the importance of having a dream and making a financial plan, then covers topics such as managing debt, mastering emotions and money, maximizing income, investing, and real estate. The book also includes tips on how to protect your wealth, avoid taxes, and retire comfortably.”

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Raising Money-Smart Grandkids:
A Guide for Grandparents: Unlock the Power of Financial Wisdom For Your Grandchildren

Lastly, up for the taking is Paul Vasey’s latest book! Which the title says it all, but for good measure here’s a snippet from Amazon:

“From investing and building wealth to cultivating a spirit of philanthropy, this book covers a wide range of topics aimed at creating financially responsible individuals.

Ultimately, “Raising Money Smart Grandkids: A Guide for Grandparents” enables grandparents to leave a lasting legacy of financial wisdom and empowerment. By taking an active role in their grandchildren’s financial education, grandparents can help shape a generation of individuals who are confident, knowledgeable, and equipped to navigate the complexities of the modern financial landscape.

What sets this guide apart is its emphasis on intergenerational learning and the role of grandparents as money mentors.”

*******

Interested in any???

Let me know which one(s) in the comments below (or via email if you’re reading this in my newsletter), and you’ll be automatically entered to win. You can enter for as many as you like, and we’ll choose the winners at the end of the weekend.

Good luck!!

As Benjamin Franklin once said, “an investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” And there’s a ton of knowledge up in here!

*All links to Amazon are affiliate links

*** GIVEAWAY NOW OVER ***

Congrats to the following winners!

• Gonzo Capitalism: Mark Emrick
• How to Get Rich: Jacki
• Your Future Self: Whimsy
• Kiss Your Money Hello!: Cathie 
• Financial Fives: Niccole Hyatt
• Wealthy Doc’s Guide to Freedom: Tammy Hardin
• Raising $$$-Smart Grandkids: Dale

[This post, Take these books off my shelf!, was first published by J. Money on Elite Edge Money]

Whelp, The Universe giveth and the Universe taketh away

53 days* into my new board game job and I’m already fired and not working there anymore, lol… Okay, well not fired-fired like I did something bad and now I got the boot, but more like my friend who hired me just quit, and thus, due to proxy, I must go too.

The sad part though was that we were literally JUST about to launch our first community campaign I had spent over 20+ hours on!! It was supposed to go live in TWO DAYS and now it’s frozen in time never ever to be enjoyed, argh… They say they might still run with it later, but I doubt it. It was such a fun way to introduce their game’s characters to the world though so I hope they do. Plus, what a waste of money to have spent on my brain without using its magnificent output!

Speaking of which, here’s the total amount I got paid during my short stint along with all the hours worked:

• Total hours worked: 61
• Total amount earned: $3,355

(That’s $55/hr for anyone who was just about to calculate it ;) I typically charge $100/hr, but when it’s a longer-term project or a friend/family is involved I heavily discount it for the first little bit…)

Not a totally bad run though, eh? A little extra money for me, and some good assets for them whether they end up using them or not. The other 40’ish hours worked went to building out databases of influencers and communities, researching the ins and outs of the gaming space (it was so fascinating!!), sitting through a handful of meetings, and then a small number of other random little tasks.

The meetings were actually the best as I got paid to sit and listen in each and every one of them, lol… I even got paid once to play the game for two hours! And learned that there’s a whoooole niche of them based around “cooperative” play too where you actually fight the enemy *along with your friends* instead of *against them* like all the other games I’m used to playing… It was pretty fun, and much less anxiety-induced since you’re all in it together!

I also got super friendly with Asana – a work management platform – where I had to build out this community campaign of ours…  That probably took 10 of my 60 hours alone, and ended up coming out to over 60 tasks (!!!). I can see why people use it as it def. keeps everyone nice and accountable, but man – all those hours spent when you could have just been DOING THE THING, haha… I much prefer my version where I simply make notes in email drafts and then pray I don’t forget anything in the process

But yeah, overall it was a fun gig. I learned a lot, played a lot, WORKED a lot, and overall just genuinely enjoyed myself! As I mentioned in my last post coming onto this job, it was a nice feeling to get paid again after months away from that world, and it felt like a *different* type of productivity that I didn’t realize I missed. So now I’ll have to look for more of that goodness to round out my ideal lifestyle! Couple hours of work, couple of hours of volunteering, then allllllll the rest of the day free to do as I – and my kids/wife/other family responsibilities – permit. Not bad…

It mostly just sucks for my friend who hired me and then had to resign shortly there after… Can’t really get into it all here, but I do know it was the right move for both him and the company so now at least he gets to decompress a little before hitting the job market again… The Year of The Flow keeps flowing! Whether you want it to or not! Lol… Our whole lives are basically a “flow” if you think about it :)

Anyways, hope all your projects and gigs are going well! If I can ever help with anything, or you’d like to hire me on for some one-on-one consulting, I def. have the time now –> jmoney.biz/consulting

Yours in unemployment (once again),

*I thought this was a new record for me getting kicked out of a job at 50-something days, but a quick review of my entire employment history (40+ jobs!) reminds me that I once actually had a job only for a week! And two other times less than a month!  So, I guess this is actually my *4th* shortest job of my life – hah ;)

[This post, Did I just get LAID OFF from my new job?!, was first published by J. Money on Elite Edge Money]

Good morning!!

So after devouring Gucci Mane’s autobiography last week – now one of my favorites – I quickly snapped up his most recent book hoping to get some more insight into his success, “The Gucci Mane Guide to Greatness.”

(FYI Gucci’s a platinum selling recording artist/rapper/producer)

Sadly it wasn’t nearly as good as the first one and very self-indulgent at times, but despite the half naked pictures of himself on every other page there were some great gems in there ;)

And I’ll admit, I probably didn’t get as much out of the book as others might due to being on a self-improvement kick for over a decade now. If you’re just starting out on your own personal journey it might just be the kick in the ass you need to turn up the burners!

Still, it was a quick read and kept my interest enough, and now it makes me want to work out LIKE CRAZY seeing how ripped you can get in a relatively short amount of time! He basically went from 300 lbs and on drugs the entire time in the last book, to now completely sober and 100 lbs leaner (!) just a couple of years later, now out of jail and OWNING his life.

And if he was dripping with confidence back then, you can only imagine how confident he feels now ;) (Hence – all the half-nude pics!)

It’s a pretty inspiring book on that regard, but only if you know the background and what a drastic journey he’s been on. Still, it gives you hope that you can really change your life if you want it enough and put in the time. He mentions over and over again there are no secrets to this stuff – which I liked to hear – however if you can commit and believe in yourself enough the world is at your fingertips.

Here were my favorite lines from the book – maybe they’ll inspire you too?

******

You either practice quitting or you practice winning.

“Everyone’s going to fail at some point, so which one are you going to be? Are you going to be somebody who’s faking, not going hard, and making excuses? Or are you going to be the person who’s aware, who’s practicing and pushing yourself to do what’s right no matter what it is? I now know who I am and what I want to do. So stop underestimating yourself and just do it.”

(That last part is an important part – knowing WHO YOU ARE and what you want to do… It’s hard to chase something when you don’t know what you’re chasing or what you believe in.)

You can change the narrative.

“We are the authors of our lives. We are the writers of our own stories. We have the power to say who we are and what we want to be… If you don’t like the story you’re living, change the narrative.”

(Yes yes yes to all of this! If you’re not living the life you always wanted for yourself right now, change the story and make some moves! It doesn’t have to be like this forever – you have the power to change it up on *any* given day. Even today!)

The less you need the more you have.

All minimalists will appreciate this one ;) And it applies to more than just the “stuff” in our lives too. Specifically even FIRE! The less you need to live off, the less you need to save up/earn! An epiphany I had only a few years ago that completely blew my mind as common sense as it is. As Mr. Money Mustache famously stated:

“The most important thing to note is that cutting your spending rate is much more powerful than increasing your income. The reason is that every permanent drop in your spending has a double effect: it increases the amount of money you have left over to save each month, and it permanently decreases the amount you’ll need every month for the rest of your life.” – The Shockingly Simple Math Behind Early Retirement

Every day is a chance to get better.

100% true. Learn from yesterday and do your best, but today is a brand new day and if you’re fortunate enough to still be on this Earth breathing, push yourself to make the best of it! Even if it’s just 1% every day! It all compounds, and the days are going to pass anyways…

Avoid lazy and miserable people.

This one’s so good:

“When you start living by this principle. You’re looking in the mirror and telling yourself, “Hey man, I expect a lot out of you.” You’re demanding the best out of yourself. You are your best asset. And when you get rid of people around you who might disrupt that, you stop being naive. You become more aware. A lazy and miserable mindset leads to a lazy and miserable life. So avoid lazy and miserable people.”

Pay attention to women. They are brilliant.

No further explanation needed :)

You’ve got to do more if you want more. There isn’t any secret to it.

YES!! You do average, you get average. You do less, you get less (generally speaking). Everybody wants to get rich and famous but not everyone wants to put the time in. Unless you’re Matthew McConaughey whose autobiography I’m reading now (so wild!!) you’re gonna have to up your game if you want anything extraordinary in this life. It doesn’t mean you have to hustle forever, but if you’re chasing something bigger than yourself you’re gonna have to buckle up and immerse yourself…

(I will say, though, that the one thing I did *not* agree with in this guide was the constant reminder to hustle hustle hustle and keep going after “more”. We all know you have to grind and some seasons will be longer than others, but at some point you have to be able to know when you’ve reached “enough.” I’m not sure Gucci will ever come to that part despite how successful he’s been.)

Never let being liked get in the way of being respected.

This is probably my favorite line of the whole book, but also one of the hardest to follow!

“Don’t compromise your principles or your integrity just to fit in or be liked. Don’t succumb to peer pressure or waver on what you stand for. Being respected is far more valuable than being liked. Not everyone is going to like you. That’s just the reality… If you are too focused on being liked, you start to make decisions that don’t reflect who you are. You start trying to please people. Once you start trying to please people, you lose sight of who you are and where you’re going.”

(And of course this is both true in terms of your actions, as well as your purchases. I.e. buying fancy clothes, cars, houses, etc to show off more than to enjoy… which there’s nothing wrong with if you genuinely like them and can afford ’em! But we all know people tend to over-extend themselves in the name of looking good and fitting in better with certain groups of people…)

Either do what you say or stop saying it.

Love this one too so much!!  Start doing something about it or stop complaining… As a good friend of mine likes to say, “I will listen to your complaints twice. Once right now, and one more time later. And then it’s done or solved, and you can’t complain to me about it again.” Complaining feels good, but it gets you nowhere… Either start doing something about it or keep it to yourself!

Nobody cares. Work harder.

Another great one:

“I got these words of wisdom from Lamar Jackson, quarterback of the Baltimore Ravens. I find myself saying it in my head all the time. I always go back to it, but it can’t really give you any solace. Because you’ve got to work hard. That’s what it is. It doesn’t matter if you’re sore, if you’re tried, if you’re behind on the bills. Nobody cares. You’ve got to keep going.”

(I like to think about it as “nobody cares” about your life as much as YOU do so take control and do your thing, but this interpretation works too… Nobody cares about what’s going on behind the scenes, they only want to see the results! And unfortunately to get to those results it takes a lot of hard work and pushing through the frustrations to achieve ’em… (as well as ignoring all the people who actually want you to fail!))

The world never stays in place…

“You can’t stay in place. The world never stays in place, so how are we going to stay in place? How can you be like, “Okay, I’m good.” Then two years from now, you’re going to be good? No. You’re not going to be good, man. There isn’t anybody who is secure in the world, man. The world keeps spinning. We could all fall off at any time… That’s why you need to be prepared, have a backup plan, and make today count.”

(And also why you gotta keep on adapting!! Your opinions and plans! Things change. You change. The world changes. If you’re constantly holding onto your old thoughts/habits you’ll be left behind while everyone else moves forward… Accept the changes around you and keep adapting!)

God blessed you with two ears and one mouth so you can listen twice as much as you talk.

“I’ve got more money. I’m way more calm. Life is way smoother. But when I didn’t have it, I made a lot more noise coming down the road. I wanted everybody to hear me… When you see a bunch of people, the loudest ones are usually the ones that don’t have anything going on. They’re the ones that want to start a mess. Everybody that’s got something going on, they’re calm. They’re respectful and nice.”

(Stealth wealth at its finest ;) There’s no need to draw more attention to yourself when you’re already winning! More listening, less yapping!)

And then lastly, here was just an interesting nugget I liked because you always assume singing or acting are peoples’ passions, but sometimes it’s just a means to an end:

“With my music, it was never about being a rapper or waking up making music. It was different for me. I didn’t start rapping at eighteen and immediately was dope. It wasn’t a childhood passion of mine, something I dreamt about as a kid. It was always, “How can I be creative enough to be productive enough to make a living off of rap? How can I turn my 2005 tax returns into a big one?” By 2007, it was, “How can I employ more people? How can I sign better artists?” The albums were just a tool to get me where I’m trying to get to, which is financial freedom. That’s how I always approached rapping.”

Well, it might not have been a dream of his but it sure is a helluva way to get to FI! And yet another reason to go “all in” if you’re really good at something, whether you’re passionate about it or not… Get as much as you can out of it, and then change it up later once you’ve capitalized on it all! Or keep going if you like the thrill of the hunt!

It’s pretty obvious Gucci likes the thrill of it all, so unless his mouth stops working one day I’m pretty sure we’ll continue hearing from him ;) Which I love – he’s a bit extreme, but it’s hard to deny how far he’s come. So thanks for putting it all out there for us, GM! And I’m glad you’re back at the top and staying there!

Here’s to all of us becoming better versions of ourselves… All we can really shoot for

*******

You can pick up the book here if you’re interested in it:

“The Gucci Mane Guide to Greatness“

(Though I’d recommend checking with your library first ;))

*Links to the books in this post are Amazon affiliate links

[This post, The Gucci Mane Guide to Greatness, was first published by J. Money on Elite Edge Money]

Morning!

A TON of new projects and courses have just dropped on the scene, so I thought I’d cobble them all together here in case anything looks interesting to ya :)

I haven’t tested any of them out, but they do come from people I trust and respect in the community so I don’t have any hesitation sharing them here… Only a little jealous of their hustle!

If you end up trying any of them out let me know what you think! And if you become a millionaire from it, I want a six pack of beer please… Or whiskey – I don’t discriminate.

Here are 4 new projects in the community:

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“Topia”
The Financial Independence App

This bad boy comes from Grant Sabatier of Millennial Money (and “Financial Freedom” book fame), and Logan Leckie, an entrepreneur and FI fanatic. I think it may have been out for a while, but I only just recently came across it.

Topia is basically a free app that helps you track your progress to FIRE, and pinpoints areas slowing you down. It comes with a community of users and mentors sharing tips, and also allows you to tinker with your numbers to understand how you can better reach your “utopia.”

If you’re tired of tracking everything in spreadsheets (*gasp*) or using a million calculators, maybe this is a possible replacement to have everything in *one* spot?

You can learn more/download the (FREE) app here: topia-app.com

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The “FI/Accelerator” Course
A Step-by-Step Guide to Achieving Financial Independence

This new course comes from my friend, and business partner, Steve Adcock of Think. Save. Retire. fame (since acquired), who retired at the crazy young age of 35 and now spends his time helping others do the same. (When he’s not galavanting around the world or at his secluded paradise, that is!).

This one does cost money ($97-$197), and here’s what it covers:

• How to get paid more at work
• How to cut back on stupid expenses
• How to harness automation using the power of systems
• The trick wealthy people use to build wealth without lifting a finger
• A simple change that can add hundreds of thousands to your net worth
• The quick and easy way to invest in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum safely and securely
• The exact 6-step wealth-building process
• How to achieve financial freedom as quickly as possible
• And more…

He’s a little extreme for some, but if you’re stuck and need a little motivation along your journey you’ll probably find it here :) I love his message at the end too, haha…

“This course isn’t for everyone. You’re not getting band-aid fixes to your money problems. “Magic pills” are not included. If you’re not prepared to dive in and take action, then don’t bother. This course is ONLY for those willing to implement what they learn. If you’re unwilling, save your money.”

Lol….

Here’s how much FI/Accelerator costs

• $97.00 — Lifetime access to FI/Accelerator and all modules and extras
• $197.00 — FI/Accelerator course + priority email access for one year (you get direct access to Steve for a year to ask questions, bounce ideas off of, etc…)

(He also offers a 100% money back guarantee, no questions asked, within 30 days…)

Learn more/purchase: steveadcock.gumroad.com/l/fi-accelerator

*******

“Proofreading Launchpad”
A Self-Paced Online Course to Land Proofreading Clients

Do you like reading? Do you enjoy correcting other people’s mistakes? Are you well-versed in English grammar? Do you dream of semicolons and ellipses chasing you in your nightmares?

Well, if three of those four questions sound like you, then you might be good at proofreading/editing online content as a side hustle!

*******

Those words above come from my friend, and personal proofreader, Lenny Bron, who shared the ins and outs of this hustle a few years back here for us: Side Hustle #77: Online Proofreading/Editing ($1,600/mo)

He shared some great tips and resources on how to up your game with it, but this course here by Bobby Hoyt aka Millennial Money Man shows you how to *land clients*. A perfect companion if proofreading has always been on your list to try one day! And of course the best part is that you can do it anytime, any place ;)

Click here to get their FREE 25-page e-book that reveals “how to start earning money as a proofreader — even if you’ve never earned a dollar online before and have no clue where to start” (you’ll get a chance to purchase the course afterwards if you’d like (it’s around $600 I wanna say?), but you don’t have to! The e-book is completely free!):

Proofreading Clarity:
Your Quick and Transparent Guide to Launching a Successful Proofreading Business From home

[This section was updated on 11/16/22 to showcase the new book. Beforehand it was just the course they were offering!]

*******

“The CFT School”
Become a Certified Financial Trainer®

Lastly, we have the CFT School which trains people to become Certified Financial Trainers®. This course comes from long-time blogger, and owner of The Financial Gym, Shannon McLay who just released her Manifesto calling for a change to the financial planning/advisory business.

It’s a bit on the pricey side, but if you’ve always wanted to help people with money this might be the course for you. Here’s a little more on it from Shannon:

“I think this course is perfect for someone who’s never had a class in personal finance. It’s perfect for someone who’s thinking about getting into the industry, someone who wants to help people for a side hustle or someone who just wants to be their own financial planner. We have a number of people in it now, they’re all doing it as a side hustle and making an average of $1K per month.”

And here’s what it costs:

• $2,500 —  The no-fluff, no-BS personal finance knowledge you weren’t taught in school
• $10,000 — Everything you need to start your coaching business – including the clients

You can learn more/sign up here: TheCFTSchool.com
(If you do sign up, use my promo code 20JMONEY to get 20% off!)

*******

And there you have it! A FIRE app, a FIRE course, a Proofreading course, and a Certified Financial Trainer® course – all ready to help up your game ;) And maybe even my own…

Thinking I need to come up with some sort of course next? Perhaps “How to Reach Financial Freedom Slowly and Methodically?” Or “I’ve Got 99 Problems But a Budget Ain’t One?” Oh I got it, I got it –“How to Become a Sexy Beast!!”

Lol… or maybe I’ll just stick to blogging

PS: I’m an affiliate of the three courses up there, meaning I’ll get some $$$ if you sign up to any…

PPS: If you haven’t already entered and want to, make sure to get your essays in for the 401(k) $1,000 contest! The deadline for entries is tonight at midnight and they’re awarding THREE people $1,000 – so you have good odds!

[This post, 4 New Courses/Apps in The Community 🔥🔥🔥, was first published by J. Money on Elite Edge Money]

Good morning, friends!

I’m SUPER excited to share this update with you on Side Hustle #71 – Being a Trash Picker-Upper as it’s been one of my top 3 favorites ever since featuring it in our Side Hustle Series 5 years ago.

Something about being outside and productive and basically getting PAID TO GO ON WALKS just puts a giant grin on my face every time I think about it :)

And maybe it will for you too who haven’t heard of this gig before?

Here’s a Q&A we did on how things have changed, and not, since last featuring Brian Winch and his trash picking up business here on this site. We also cover the pros and cons and how to get started if this is a biz you might be interested in trying out too. He likes to say it’s “America’s simplest business” and he wouldn’t be wrong!

Thanks for being up for it, Brian!

*******

Tell us how you got started in the trash business – it’s not a very common (or popular!) one :)

I first started cleaning up litter as a young teen around 1974. My dad was a janitor who made extra money on the side, and occasionally took me along with him to assist in his various side hustles.

One such gig was cleaning up litter material outside a nearby shopping plaza. He was paid to show up each day to sweep up empty drink cups, cans, bottles, candy and fast food wrappers, cigarette butts and other items people discarded on the property. We would walk the sidewalks, parking lot and landscape and sweep litter into our collection tools and then empty it into the waste bin on site.

The work was done early in the mornings and completed before the businesses opened. It was almost as easy to do as going for a walk!

I was working full-time at a sporting goods store (in the same shopping plaza) in 1981. I couldn’t see myself doing this job for the rest of my life and recalled the services my dad had done on the side. Why not start some sort of service as a side gig myself, I thought?

I didn’t have much savings, I barely finished high school and didn’t have any special skills.

But the hand tools were inexpensive, I could be based from home, and my vehicle could get me from one job site to the next. It was also a service that didn’t seem to have too much competition. The only time people talk about it is when they see a poorly maintained property.

I started up my business only weeks before my dad unexpectedly passed away at the age of 61. I was 21 and now even more determined to succeed.

So you’ve been doing this for over 40 years now? Wow!

Yes. Where does time go?

When I started in 1981 there was no internet, desktop computers or cell phones. I’ve learned this business and been successful from the school of hard knocks. I had to learn skills necessary to operate a business from trial and error. I devoured information from the public library, book stores, banks and government agencies. I asked plenty of questions. I made my share of mistakes, but I learned from them.

There has never been a better or easier time to start a business than today. Today’s technology makes it possible.

How much money have you made over the years would you guess?

I started the trash business as a side hustle. I was fortunate to have the income from my job to pay my living expenses, so I took the income I generated from the business and reinvested it back into the business to grow it.

Within a couple of months I began to make more money on the side than from my job. I quit my job and have scaled the business to one where we now have an army of people cleaning up litter across the city.

I made roughly $10,000 the first year (pretty good for 1981 -1982), and we routinely bill out $650,000 a year now.  I’ve made millions cleaning up litter over my time in business. More importantly to me is the freedom of being my own boss and getting satisfaction from the service I provide in my community.

Has anything changed in the business since we last shared your story in 2017?

I would say since you last shared my story there seems to be more awareness of the need to maintain properties free of litter material. No one, whether it be the public, businesses or clients, wants to see litter outside where they live, shop or work.

The final straw for many people was when discarded masks started showing up outside commercial properties. We saw a great opportunity to share that with the local media (and turn lemons into lemonade – pardon the pun). I contacted the news tip tab on the largest TV station in my market. Within an hour I had set up a time for the following day for a reporter and camera to interview me about this problem.

The story aired on the dinner time news and repeated the following day at noon. The story on their website was shared on social media locally and nationally. This publicity generated additional business and didn’t cost me anything. Would you care to guess how much money it would have cost to advertise both days for the 3 minute air-time? Anyone can do this.

Has Covid affected anything, outside of the mask littering?

Property management companies have to ensure that their properties are routinely maintained for the safety and security of their tenants and general public. We can do this with the unique hand tools we use. We don’t come into contact with any material we clean up. Our service is completed before businesses open so we can clearly see and clean all material without vehicle interference (parked on the lots). We are considered to be an essential service for this reason.

What are your favorite parts to this hustle? What are the worst?

What I enjoy the most about this are the outdoor work, early morning hours and the satisfaction from seeing the immediate results from my work and knowing the positive impact I’m making in the community.

Some people the past 2 years have gone out of their way to thank me for my service. They may be driving past and notice me and will pull into the property to tell me up close that I’m doing a great job. Always appreciate the compliments!

What I don’t enjoy is the attitude that many people have that someone else should clean up the mess they choose to leave behind.

I haven’t seen any noticeable change in this behavior in over 40 years. People from all demographics are guilty; male/female, young/old, educated/uneducated, rich/poor. I will concede that teen boys are the worst!

I recall one time a few years ago a female in her 40’s was sitting in her Mercedes watching me clean up as I approached her. When I got close enough, she opened her car door then dumped her fast food wrappers on the ground. There was no point in saying anything. I just smile at the fact people like her are making me wealthy!

Do you ever not feel safe since I’d imagine you’re in the dark some mornings and seasons? Do you carry any weapons in case something goes awry? Lol…

Valid question. The properties are well-lit, so we’re not working in the dark. I’m always conscious of my surroundings. Should someone approach me asking for spare change, I reply that I don’t carry cash. I’m not going to give anyone the opportunity to grab my wallet if I was foolish enough to take it out.

I’ve never had a problem in 40+ years other than a few people shouting derogatory comments my way – “Hey! Get a real job, you loser”. If they only knew how much money I make!

Both men and women can do this. I’ve had both sexes work for me without problems. Besides, this work is best done after 4am. Not around midnight. Like any other business you have the choice to turn work down. If you don’t want to work in certain parts you don’t have to.

What are some of the weirdest things you’ve found cleaning up?

I’ve found some interesting items over the years. Underwear, shoes, pillows, coats, clothing, cell phones, you name it. It makes you think of an explanation (or story) as to why someone has discarded the item in a parking lot. My imagination can get pretty wild sometimes!

Someone recently removed a sewer grate in a parking lot, cut it in half, placed one half back and took the other. What would someone need half a sewer grate for? Makeshift grill?

Every so often I find money. Not only coins but bills of various denominations. I remember several years ago I found a fiver, a ten and several 20 dollar bills in the parking lot outside a K-Mart. The most I’ve ever found was over $600. I was cleaning around a waste bin and noticed a dirty roll of what looked like paper wound up by a rubber band. I took it home, cleaned it up, and counted out just over $600! I think that will go down as my all-time record.

What’s the best way to get clients?

The best way to get new clients when starting out is to compile a prospect list. There’s no short-cuts here. You’ll never find a list to rent that will be as accurate or up-to-date as the one you compile yourself.

It’s quite simple really. Do a search online for variations of “Property Management Companies” in your area. Make a list of your results then start contacting them. Your goal here is not to sell them anything, but to obtain the name and contact information so you can forward to them details as to how you can provide them with a cleaner, litter free property for less expense. Be prepared to follow-up in a few days and hit them up with more of how your service will be of benefit to them.

What’s that you say? You can’t do sales? Neither can I. You need to change your mindset. When you say the word “sales” the first thing that comes to mind for many people are the telemarketers who won’t take no for an answer.  What I’m doing here is sharing the benefits of my service to my prospects. No hard sell. If you believe in the merits of your service (or product) you can do it. I should know as I’m an introvert!

In addition to prospecting yourself, you also want your prospects to find you. Grab the free, low-hanging fruit before you start investing in a website. Get listed in online directories, create a personal profile and business page on LinkedIn and create a Google My Business listing.

Do you like to network with people? Check if your city has a BOMA chapter (Building Owners Managers Association). Ask to see a sample directory to consider advertising. It offers a wealth of information.

How much can an average person make their first year? How about after 3-4 years?

Everyone wants to know the answers to those questions. My best answer is this – if you work your business, your business will work for you. If you do nothing, you get nothing. If you do something to start, then give up or quit, you get the same result. Look, if I can be successful then so can you. So long as you put forth an effort and remain patient and persistent you will ultimately be rewarded.

Most people start out with one or two properties to clean. Depending on the size and service frequency, that can equate to $500 – $2,000 per month. A small retail plaza with 5 or 6 businesses may take only 15-20 minutes to clean total. A medium size commercial property might take 30-45 minutes per visit. A large retail property such as a Costco or Walmart might take someone 90 minutes to clean.

We all work and walk at a different pace and speed. The unique tool that I use allows me to clean up more material in less time. You can clean up litter almost as easily and quickly as going for a walk!

If you want to know how much to charge per hour, start with $30-$50. You need to experiment as each market across the country is different.

How much you make after being in business for 3-4 years is up to you. Every person’s motivation for starting this service varies. Some are content to work by themselves a couple of hours a day to make an extra $2,500/month. Others desire to expand from a side hustle to a full-time business to make 6 figures. You can recruit an army of people to help you with the cleaning to maximize your earnings potential.

I have a student who bought my book about 3-4 years ago. He was a school teacher who was looking to make some extra money during the summer months. He now has over 300 properties and operates in several states. How much money do you want to make?

Any resources you can share for those interested in giving it a shot?

If you’re interested in starting this service in your community, then check out the resources I offer on my website, Cleanlots.com.

My book, Cleanlots – America’s Simplest Business is available in your choice of ebook or hard copy. The book is really more of an instructional manual. It’s concisely written. No fluff or filler. Only information you can quickly absorb to start your own parking lot litter cleanup business.

My contact information is also given so you can reach out to me for free support. Yes, you read correctly. I’m happy to talk to people who also share the same interest; to make money doing something they find value and personal satisfaction in!

I have nothing to lose in sharing my experience with others. None of us are competing with each other, and I’m not getting rich selling my book. My major source of income is from cleaning up litter from parking lots. I wanted to keep this opportunity affordable for people like you and me. It’s also my way of giving back and honoring my dad.

Who should NOT try out this hustle?

If you don’t enjoy working outdoors then this gig is not for you. Like other outdoor service businesses, you need to dress according to weather conditions and provide the best service you can. You’re going to get in a little exercise each day, for which you get paid, so if that doesn’t appeal to you then this isn’t for you.

Not everyone is also interested in cleaning up after people. That means more money for those of us that do. You see, people litter year round. They always have and always will. Someone has to clean up after them, why not us?

Any parting words or inspiration?

Don’t chase the money. You see people doing this all the time. They want to believe it’s possible to do easy work online in their pj’s for only 30 minutes a day without investing any money to get started. The only people getting rich are those who are selling these dreams!

You need to find satisfaction in what you do and enjoy doing it to become successful. This way you’re far less likely to quit when facing a problem. Being your own boss takes commitment to getting things done. If you can’t do it, you need to find someone to help you or do it for you.

Also be sure to promote the benefits of your service or product. It’s far easier to market your business when your prospects see how they will benefit from doing business with you. What’s in it for them? What problem are you going to solve? How are you going to make their life easier? How can you save them money? How are you going to give them better service?

Do more than you promise. Provide extra value. This is an easy way to build a relationship with your clients.

I’ll give you an example: Anybody can clean. We go further. While we’re out servicing our properties we look for any burned out exterior lighting, graffiti, illegal dumping (such as old sofas, TV’s, etc.) or property damage, and forward an image and message to our client when their office opens. They really appreciate the communication as it makes their job easier. They’re also more likely to do more business with you. There’s no better return on your investment of a few moments of your time.

Some businesses are easier to start and operate than others. I started with little money, skills and education, but plenty of passion, patience and persistence.

If I can succeed then so can you. And I’m willing to help you!

*******

Brian Winch is the founder and owner of Cleanlots, America’s simplest business. He’s been perfecting the litter removing business for over 40 years and enjoys sharing the benefits of it with others. 

[Had to end with a pic of Brian in modern times to balance out that top one from the 80’s! ;) Gotta be one of my all-time favorite profile pics ever, haha…]

 *******

This hustle too dirty for you? Try out one of these instead ;)

• Hustle #80: Cleaning Up Poop ($60-$80/hr)
• Hustle #75: Being a Lice Picker! ($25-$30/hr)
• Hustle #56: Emptying Septic Tanks ($12/hr)
• Hustle #18: Talking Dirty (AKA being a Phone Sex Operator – Heyoooo!) (25¢-30¢/minute of *live* talk time)

* Links to his book and site above are affiliate links.

[This post, “I Make $650,000/year Cleaning Up Trash”, was first published by J. Money on Elite Edge Money]

Good morning!

Got a great guest post for y’all today by a long-time reader of the blog, Adam, who I once had lunch with back in 2017 as his money and mind was morphing…

He had written me the first part of this story years ago, and then it sat in my inbox until we re-united last month with the news of Budgets coming back ;) I asked him how things have changed since, and wow did I get an answer! Which is what Part II of today’s post will cover…

Always amazing how much life can change in only a short amount of time! And also what can happen when you go ALL IN on yourself! Though cashing in all of your investments for a dream like this takes a whole extra level of boldness ;)

If you ever wanted to know what it’s like to open up your own gym though, or to go from being stressed out and in debt to FIRE’d, this one’s for you! Take it away, Adam! And looking forward to checking it out in real life sometime soon

*******

 Phase 1: The Finances
(July 1, 2011 – March 3, 2017)

It was July 2011. I was $50k in debt ($40k in graduate student loans and $10k in car loans). I had my own group fitness training business in Bethesda, MD. I was 24 years old and ready to take on the world. I wanted to make money and be successful just like my dad who had his own business.

I would get upset when my clients wouldn’t get the results they initially talked to me about before joining my program. It took about 6 months to realize health and fitness was not everyone’s top priority. Some clients just wanted to talk, others wanted to check a workout off their daily to-do list, some wanted to look good for the summer or their partner. But the vast majority were just regular people trying to release some endorphins before they had to go back to their high stress jobs and lives.

I was good at reading my clients. So, I became what they needed to feel good for that one hour of their day.

It turns out that being everything for everyone though, and providing a positive experience for all of my clients at all times, is not realistic – who knew?

In hindsight, this was the worst thing I could do because it was so draining. At the time, all that mattered was the money coming in and to keep the money coming in meant sacrificing myself for my clients. I maintained the status quo and it worked.

I grew my business. I would literally do back flips during workouts and display crazy amounts of energy to keep my clients motivated. People kept signing up. I couldn’t stop. I was addicted. I loved signing new people up – I would hear the sound of the cash register ring every time someone entrusted me with their health and fitness.

My favorite part was faxing in the customer’s contract (yes, I used a fax), but I learned very quickly that I didn’t like waking up everyday way before the sunrise and not finishing work until after sunset. I am a creature of habit so the routine kept me on track, but I knew this was not sustainable. I painted myself into a corner, and I didn’t know what to do to get myself out.

The Plan

In an attempt to get myself out of debt, I found Dave Ramsey’s Baby Steps as well as 4 blogs that changed my life: Mr. Money Mustache, JLCollinsNH, The Mad Fientist and Elite Edge Money.

These men helped mold my life and provide a blueprint to reach this new concept of Financial Independence (FI). I devoured every piece of content from these guys that I could find. Finally, I had hope again. After all, the Bible says, hope deferred makes the soul sick.

I knocked out my $50K of debt in less than a year!

After getting out of debt, the plan then was to accumulate 25 times annual expenses so I could live off of the 4% safe withdrawal rate – a hypothesis deemed safe by the Trinity Study. I knew I could live off of $40k per year so my arbitrary goal was to save $1 million dollars. I was fired up!

Once a game plan is laid out, I become very “coachable.” I played sports all of my life including football and track in college. I like having a plan, a direction, a purpose. My purpose was to step off of the hedonic treadmill to live a life on my own terms.

I decided that my money needed to start working for me, so I talked with an advisor and opened up my first IRA.

Because I was a business owner, I elected to open a Simple IRA. I also opened a Roth IRA. I was in a front loaded 5.75% mutual fund for about a year before I made the switch to Vanguard in July of 2013 into Vanguard’s Total Stock Market Index (VTSAX) for ALL accounts (Simple/Roth and HSA). Best decision I have made. Thanks Jack Bogle! [Editor’s note: This is where my $$$ is too ]

Training clients was on auto-pilot by this time. There were so many days I remember sitting in the personal training office reading my personal finance blogs and wishing and praying to escape this torture. Some days felt like an eternity. I thought nothing would ever change.

Little did I know, big things were actually happening. My mindset was shifting. I was fortifying an idea that few people are willing to put the work and sacrifice in to achieve. The math for FI is easy, but the discipline it takes to achieve is not.

No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

– Hebrews 12:11

My main objective since opening up my retirement accounts has been to max everything out. A high savings rate coupled with time in the market will help any person achieve FI. Things start off really slowly. But, I could feel a transformation happening. I knew the eventual outcome was going to help me lead a much simpler life. A life on my terms.

Freedom was the objective. Money was the tool to help me get there.

I was still burning both ends of the candle though. I was growing my business and saving for FI at such an aggressive rate that I sacrificed everything else including relationships and my own mental well-being.

My body was breaking down. I started experiencing chronic pain. I attended 36 doctor visits in 7 months. My life was spiraling out of control, and I didn’t know what to do.

At this point, I was ready to jump and build the proverbial parachute on the way down. I was in a great financial position as a 29 year old, so I decided to try my hand at semi-retirement. I actually didn’t have a choice. I couldn’t keep doing what I was doing anymore, and the fear of staying the same was greater than the fear of change. So, I changed.

In February of 2016, I quit the personal training gig and started my first semi-retirement.

It’s funny how things start to align when you are living a life true to yourself. I soon found another opportunity where I could get people excited about fitness but not have to coach them, found two real estate opportunities that I jumped on, and continued maxing out my IRAs.

It’s been a little over a year and everything has not worked out perfectly, but I am so happy that I jumped. I now do some freelancing/personal training on the side when I want and I am starting to live a life of purpose. I am following my passions again and now have the capacity to be picky when it comes to work. I only want to do things that excite me.

Phase Two: The Gym
(June 5, 2017 – Present Day)

After a year of mini-retirement, I was finally ready to jump back in and do more work that mattered to me. My educational background is in Public Health which is all about primary prevention through accessibility. I decided what better way to enact change than to open up a gym?

Luckily, my soon to be business partner shared similar values and had over 20 years of experience in the gym business as well. We teamed up in June of 2017 and started our journey together.

We wanted to have multiple studios under one roof all led by coaches.

It would include a CrossFit gym, boot camp studio, Olympic weightlifting area, as well as an entire free weight/cardio section that members had access to called “open gym” with memberships costing between $59 – $79 a month (a 50-60% discount for this type of training in our area).

We also wanted to bring on a multitude of health and fitness practitioners including trainers, physical therapists, massage therapists etc. so that they could work in tandem with one another to actually help clients achieve their goals.

The concept was simple. Make it affordable. Make it look awesome. Help A LOT of people.

This was our way of intertwining public health with the gym. The goal was lofty, but if done correctly, could help usher in a new primary prevention care facility of the future.

In January of 2019, we finally opened our doors to our 20,000 sq ft facility in northern Virginia with the idea of making training affordable.

We poured everything we had into this business.

I liquidated everything: my Roth IRA, Simple IRA, HSA, Savings, etc. My business partner did the same, and without his major contributions we couldn’t have done it!

When it was all said and done, we were well over 7 figures into the business. We went ALL in and burned all the boats (this is not financial advice – please consult with a financial professional if ever faced with a similar decision!!).

As they say in business, everything takes twice as long and it’s twice as expensive as anticipated. However, we pre-sold enough memberships to cover the massive rent and utilities costs as well as the paychecks for our trainers.

Work consisted of long 12 -14 hour days for the first two years which included one year of building out the gym from scratch and getting all the necessary county permits to operate the business, and another year to get the business profitable.

Truth be told, those two years were some of the best years of my life. We often laugh at all the stupid things we did as well as the money mistakes we made, especially when the county makes you install two 50 Ton HVAC units and the landlords only allotted a $50,000 HVAC credit leaving us with an $85,000 bill. Business is fun!

Fast forward to the present day, Halo Fitness Experience/CrossFit 703 in Burke, VA is still providing affordable training.

We have a multitude of different health care professionals all working together to get our athletes healthier and happier.

Every year, we choose to donate to a charity that our community backs. In the past 4 years, we have donated over $70,000 to charities such as Shelter House, Charity:Water, Anti-Trafficking International, and Convoy of Hope.

Taking a leap of faith all of those years ago, albeit scary, has put a calling on my life. It reminds me of my favorite bible verse:

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”

-Romans 8:28

So, the question you are all probably wondering if you made it this far is, “Was it worth it?”

For me, yes. Having a business running that’s not dependent on me or my business partner doing everything is worth every penny invested.

If we wanted to take a week off to travel or 10, we could. The funny thing is, we tend to show up to the gym everyday because we love what we do.

By F.I. standards and according to the 4% rule, I am financially independent. My monthly expenses are around $3,500 per month which are covered by the business returns. F.I. is great, but I am forgoing the R.E. portion for doing the work I love. Besides, we want to open more gyms!

I talk to so many people who feel trapped in their dead end jobs, and I remember that feeling. It’s not fun. I want to encourage you that there is hope. It won’t be like this forever. You can take steps to change your life. However, unless you’re fired up, and willing to make a change, progress won’t happen.

– Adam

[This post, From Debt to FIRE’d and Building Out a Dream Gym 🔥, was first published by Guest Author on Elite Edge Money]

Have you guys ever heard of this thing called the Tina Effect? I just learned about it and found it really interesting. It might shed some light on why sometimes the stock market rises, even when global growth slows down. Kind of like now, in this weird pandemic!

Fun fact: Apparently “Tina” is also a slang word for crystal meth! But, we’re not talking about that today – drug addiction is not $exy!

The Tina Effect in the Stock Market

TINA is an acronym that stands for There Is No Alternative. Investors use this term when they refer to stocks as the only good place to invest money, even when the stock market isn’t looking so great. The reason stocks remain so attractive (even when they’re ugly) is because people believe the alternative options are even less desirable. Hence, “there is no alternative.”

It’s kind of like saying “the best of a bad bunch.” We know it’s not great right now, but since nothing else looks great either, we may as well just stay the course.

A funny thing happens when everybody thinks there are no good alternatives to stocks… If people hold their positions and keep investing, the stock market begins to (or continues to) rise without any real underlying economic justification. This is referred to as “The Tina Effect.”

A Tina Market Example

Let’s say we’re in a kick-ass bull market and stock prices are on an absolute tear. Yay – everybody’s portfolio is rising in value! Even if your portfolio isn’t 100% stocks, it’s probably grown way out proportion and your asset allocation is out of whack.

At this point, an investor starts scratching her head thinking, “Stocks are getting way overvalued right now… Maybe it’s time to cash out a bit? Or, at least it’s probably a good time to diversify?”

But, after looking around, the investor discovers:

• Bond yields are way down. Treasury bonds seem crap and corporate bonds seem like they have too much risk. The Fed interest rate is extremely low.
• Real estate also seems expensive. Both physical properties and REITs are at all-time highs. Seems pointless cashing out of a high stock market just to buy into a high real estate market.
• Holding cash is unattractive.
• Commodities and alternatives like gold, silver, oil or crypto seem to have unpredictable futures. Plus, these aren’t supposed to make up a huge % of a portfolio anyway.

Sooo… After this research the investor decides to just stay investing in stocks, thinking there is no reasonable alternative or asset class he likes.

The Tina Effect and the Financial Independence FIRE Movement

So, is the Tina Effect a bad thing? Well, yes and no. It certainly helps create bubbles, and big disconnects between stock prices and their intrinsic values. But, I don’t think it’s necessarily bad if someone wants to favor the stock market over everything else.

Stocks are the most popular investment vehicle for people working towards financial independence. In fact, many peeps in the FIRE space have a 100% equity portfolio, and never plan to change it. Broad and low cost index funds truly are the simplest path to wealth.

The only thing we need to stomach are massive swings in the equity market – making sure we stay the course when a recession hits. Easier said than done, of course. :)

Also, a TINA market bubble isn’t really influenced too much by the few million FIRE nerds out there who love index funds. It’s the massive pension funds and other major investing institutions that have a much bigger sway on this stuff. They’re trying to balance cash flow and future payouts based on today’s available investments. Sometimes bond earnings are so low they literally can’t meet future obligations if they invest in them — making a heavy stock allocation the only option. Cool article and example here if you wanna read more!

Is There Really No Alternative Investment (For You)?

I’ll be the first to admit… When someone says the words to me “there is no alternative,” something inside me starts trying to prove them wrong. Maybe it’s the rebel in me — I don’t like being told that I have no options. It’s my natural instinct to challenge this and think outside the box.

Always searching for alternatives is a blessing and a curse.

It’s a blessing because only following proven methods in life can be boring. Thinking outside the box when investing can lead to some awesome successes. For example, a friend’s dad just bought a bunch of goats and is renting them out for land clearing. He’s making ridiculous money. If you told him “there is no alternative to the stock market,” he would laugh in your face. There are other investments out there, everywhere, particularly if you want to start your own business.  You just gotta look for them!

But, it’s a curse because every time I think I’m smarter than the market, I fall flat on my face :) 

What do you reckon?

Happy Friday! It’s a great day, to have a great day.

– Joel

[This post, The TINA effect – There Is No Alternative, was first published by 5am Joel on Elite Edge Money]