Ep 82: I Spent $72,000 on One Decision—Here’s Why It Wasn’t Crazy
Release Date: 10/22/2025
Ep 97: The Top 4 Emotional Reasons You’re Losing With Money (and How to Break the Cycle)
Money On My Mind
The Emotional Traps That Quietly Destroy Your Finances Most financial problems aren’t caused by lack of knowledge. They’re caused by emotion. In this episode, I walk through the four emotional traps that keep people stuck with money. Avoidance. Scarcity. Guilt. Shame. These patterns don’t just slow progress. They quietly sabotage it, even when someone knows exactly what they should be doing. We talk about why people avoid their numbers, why scarcity keeps them small, how guilt turns abundance into punishment, and why shame convinces people it’s too late to change. You’re not broken....
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Ep 96: Why I’ll Never Use a Financial Advisor (And You Don’t Need One Either)
Money On My Mind
Do You Really Need a Financial Advisor Or Just a Better System Most people are told they need a financial advisor because money feels complicated and emotional. The truth is that complexity is often the product being sold. In this episode, I break down the data behind the average investor, the real cost of advisor fees, and why most people do not need to outsource their wealth to someone charging one percent every year. We walk through simple math, behavioral traps, and the exact conditions where professional help might make sense. More importantly, we talk about what actually works for long...
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Ep 95: The Storm That Built Us: One Year Later
Money On My Mind
In this raw and powerful episode, I share the untold story of how our family's life completely fell apart in 2024 – and how we rebuilt stronger than ever. When our daughter's seizure disorder collided with a hidden mold crisis that cost us our home, belongings, and $300,000 overnight, we faced impossible choices that would break most families. What You'll Discover: The shocking truth about mold toxicity that forced us to abandon everything we owned How we navigated our daughter's complex medical journey while losing our home The unexpected spiritual awakening that came from hitting rock...
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Ep 94: You’re failing because you don’t have systems
Money On My Mind
Why Systems Beat Motivation Every Time Most people believe success comes from grinding harder, waking up earlier, or being more disciplined. The truth is that motivation fades and willpower breaks. In this episode, I explain why systems are the real foundation of long term success and how removing emotion from daily decisions creates consistency, scale, and freedom. We walk through what a system actually is, why they compound like money, and how simple documented processes outperform raw effort every time. This episode is for anyone tired of relying on motivation and ready to build something...
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Ep 93: How the Wealthy Use Taxes as an Offensive Weapon
Money On My Mind
Most people treat taxes like an unavoidable expense. The wealthy treat them like a strategy. In this episode, I break down how high net worth individuals and families legally and ethically use taxes to build wealth instead of losing it. We walk through the mindset shift, the incentives built into the tax code, and the four biggest strategies the wealthy use to lower their effective tax rates while compounding assets. This is not about loopholes or shortcuts. It is about understanding how the system works and using it intentionally. If you are tired of reacting to taxes and want to start...
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Ep 92: The Truth About Why You’re Still Stuck Financially (and How to Finally Break Free)
Money On My Mind
Stop Playing Small With Your Money: The Real Reason You're Financially Stuck If you've read all the books, tried every budget app, and still feel like you're spinning your wheels financially - this episode is your wake-up call. In this raw and direct conversation, I'm calling out the elephant in the room: You're not stuck because you lack discipline or don't make enough money. You're stuck because you're trying to figure this out alone with broken tools and bad mentors. I share the powerful story of Mandy, a Cincinnati mom who faced an impossible choice - deciding between her child's emergency...
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Ep 91: If you’re still playing by the old money rules, you already lost
Money On My Mind
The Old Money Rules Are Broken Here’s What Actually Works Now Most people are still following financial advice that was designed for a world that no longer exists. Save your money. Get a degree. Work for forty years. Retire if nothing goes wrong. In this episode, I walk you through why that playbook is broken and what the new money rules look like in today’s economy. We break down the shift from saving to ownership, from jobs to skills, from “someday” to designing freedom now, and from waiting to moving while things are still messy. Using real examples and simple math, you’ll...
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Ep 90: What Logan Is Teaching Me About Life, Leadership, and What Actually Matters
Money On My Mind
When Life Forces You to Zoom Out: Leadership, Faith, and What Really Matters This episode isn’t about money, investing, or business tactics. It’s about life, when it stops you in your tracks and forces you to reevaluate everything. I open up about what our family is walking through right now with our daughter, Logan, and how this season has reshaped the way I think about leadership, time, faith, and legacy. This is a raw conversation about carrying responsibility while your heart is heavy, about showing up when you’re exhausted, and about learning that some of life’s greatest lessons...
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Ep 89: The Best Time to Invest Might Be When It Feels Impossible
Money On My Mind
Why You’ll Never “Feel Ready” To Invest And Why That’s Exactly When You Should Start Most people believe they need to fix their debt, earn more money, or feel confident before they can invest. But the truth is the opposite: The moment you feel unprepared is often the moment that matters most. In today’s episode, I break down the real logic, real math, and real stories showing why waiting is costing you thousands, while action, even imperfect action, is what creates momentum. We cover the false belief of needing to feel ready, why freezing is the worst reaction, and how...
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Ep 88: What 100 Years of Market Data Tells Us
Money On My Mind
Is it too late to invest when the market hits all-time highs? That’s the question everybody is asking, and the truth will surprise you. This episode breaks down exactly why trying to “time the market” is one of the most expensive mistakes you can make, and why long-term, consistent investing still outperforms every prediction, headline, and emotion you have. I walk you through the data, not opinions: • Fidelity’s study showing the best investors were people who did nothing • How missing just a handful of the best market days destroys your returns • Why staying invested, even at...
info_outlineEpisode Description
Investing $72,000 in yourself might sound crazy, but it was one of the best business decisions I've ever made. In this episode, I break down why I joined an exclusive mastermind of 225 highly successful entrepreneurs and how it's already paying dividends in ways I never imagined.
This wasn't an impulsive purchase or ego play. This was about proximity, getting access to the right people in the right rooms who could collapse my timeline to success. Within just five days of joining, I've already received deal flow worth more than my investment, access to 32 SOPs from $100 million businesses, and mentorship that's shifting how I think about wealth building entirely.
Most people focus on cost instead of value. They ask "How much does it cost?" before understanding what they're getting. Wealthy people think differently, they calculate ROI first. When you shift from a scarcity mindset to an abundance mindset focused on value and proximity, everything changes.
Episode Timeline & Highlights
[0:00] – The $72,000 investment that changed everything
[0:48] – What proximity really means and why access beats content
[1:27] – Cost vs. value: The guacamole analogy that explains wealth mindset
[2:30] – How to collapse your timeline by 5-10 years
[3:33] – Why most people ask the wrong questions about investments
[5:15] – The CPA firm deal that already covered my investment
[7:28] – Scarcity vs. abundance: The two roadblocks to wealth
[9:41] – Why failure is part of the game (the Call of Duty analogy)
[10:49] – From $0 to $1 million the hard way vs. $1 million to $5 million with access
[15:04] – My mentor's reaction to my "$10 million goal" (and why I needed that challenge)
[18:04] – Being "too tolerant" as a leader—and how it was holding me back
[20:23] – Why you need to be the dumbest person in the room
[22:05] – The cost of waiting: How hesitation hurts your family
Key Takeayways
Access Trumps Content: You're not buying information; you're buying proximity to people who've already achieved what you want.
ROI Over Cost: Wealthy people ask "What's the return?" before "What's the price?" This mindset shift changes everything.
Proximity Collapses Time: The right rooms can speed up your journey by years or even decades.
Challenge Breeds Growth: You need people who will push your limits and challenge your comfort zone.
Quotables
"What I bought wasn't content. What I bought was access."
"You're either going to pay with time or money, just realize that."
"I've been the smartest person in the room for way too long, and it's time to level up."
"The shortcut isn't buying another PDF or course. It's getting proximity to people playing the game at the level you want to rise to."
Links & Resources
Learn more about Budgetdog Academy: https://budgetdog.com
My book, The Roadmap to Financial Freedom: https://budgetdogacademy.com/order-now
Follow me on Instagram: https://instagram.com/budgetdog
Ready to join BudgetDog Academy? Book a call with my team in the show notes below.
If this episode shifted your mindset about investing in yourself, share it with someone who needs to hear this message. And don't forget to rate, follow, and review, it helps more people break free from scarcity thinking and start building real wealth.