I always joke that I have to learn things the hard way… and money was no exception. Growing up, my mom was deep into Dave Ramsey. I vividly remember the envelope budgeting system. “No credit cards. No loans. Only use the money you have.” And if you’re already in debt? “Beans and rice. Rice and beans.” I heard this stuff constantly. Car rides. At home. Even as part of my “schoolwork.” So you’d think it would’ve sunk in. And yet… somehow, in my early 20s, I still managed to rack up about $15,000 in bad debt. Here’s how it happened. I had just joined the military, and my pay kept getting messed up in the system. My monthly paycheck—already modest, but enough to cover rent, my car payment, groceries, and basic bills—was often 2–3 months late. I burned through what little savings I had. Then I started using credit cards to cover the gaps… and some wants too, if I’m being honest. It felt like I blinked—and suddenly I was drowning. By the time my pay was finally fixed, I was already in too deep. The interest alone was basically my minimum payment. That’s when it clicked for me: It’s not enough to just say “don’t touch credit cards.” You have to understand why. So if you’re younger—or advising someone who is—please hear this from someone who made the mistake and wants to help you avoid it, if you can. 📉 Why Credit Card Debt Is So Dangerous Credit card interest accumulates daily. If you don’t pay the balance off every month, you’re typically getting hit with 20–30% APR. Yes, you might be able to make that $41 minimum payment… but very little (sometimes none) of that is actually reducing the balance. Most of it is just feeding the interest machine. 💳 Credit Isn’t Evil—But It Has Rules Credit can be useful if you use it correctly: - Travel points - Cash back (like 3–5% on certain purchases) - Purchase protections But only if you pay it off before interest kicks in. Once you carry a balance, the math flips against you—fast. 🧮 The Rule of 72 (This Changed Everything for Me)

Welcome to 2026! It's a time of reflection, reset and restoration - join us as we navigate through the emotional, physical, spiritual and financial arenas! Start with gratitude - we made it through 2025! And we've learned so much to apply in 2026 - Buckle up!

Last night Janet and I had our first official live on TikTok! With over 3,000 likes and roughly 90 viewers, Janet and I spoke on the IUL, as well as some more esoteric mindset concepts. A very accomplished young man called “Street” had a couple of questions and jumped up on the panel. It turned into a really great conversation where we delved into a little bit on how money is really fake, crypto, real estate and so much more. I love talking about this sometimes taboo subject of money, wealth and all of the different tools out there to help us grow and utilize it’s better. At the heart of this community is financial education. I want to help people learn the basic principles on how to utilize their resources to live their best, stress free as possible lives!

When people hear wealth mindset, they often think it’s something abstract or spiritual. But it’s not as complicated as it sounds — we just tend to overthink money. And sometimes, truthfully, we avoid the simple things that would actually help us build wealth and get out of debt. A wealth mindset means this: ➡️ Even when you’re broke, behind on bills, or not where you want to be financially… you start thinking and acting like the person who already has the life you’re working toward. Now you might be saying: “Great… but my bank account is overdrafted, a credit card is in collections, and I have medical debt. How am I supposed to ‘act wealthy’?” Here’s the key: It doesn’t mean swiping your credit card like you’re a millionaire. It doesn’t mean buying a car or house you can’t afford to “look successful.” It doesn’t mean keeping up with the Joneses. A wealth mindset is about small, smart steps that compound over time: ✅ Saving even 5% of every paycheck — then increasing to 10% as you build the habit ✅ Cutting one unnecessary subscription and redirecting that money to a HYSA ✅ Tracking your expenses so you’re connected to where your dollars go ✅ Learning about investing before you feel “ready” ✅ Making decisions your future self will thank you for Just like building muscle — you don’t walk into the gym and squat 500 lbs your first day. You start where you are. You stay consistent. And little by little, your capacity grows. A wealth mindset is simply believing you are capable of wealth — and proving it with daily action. 👉 What’s one small habit you can start this week that your wealth-building self would be proud of? Drop it in the comments! We’ll grow together. 💪✨

I've been enjoying experiencing social media with Flannery's help. Her TikTok account lets us go live and we've had fun experimenting with finding out who our audience is. What types of information do you feel is mandatory, super important or even just the simple basics that not everyone knows? Let us know if you have a hole in your financial boat and we'll navigate that repair together!