- Shellee Howard explained how her experience guiding her own children to graduate college debt-free inspired her career as an independent college consultant.
- She described why high school guidance counselors are often unable to provide comprehensive college planning due to overcrowding and competing responsibilities.
- The discussion emphasized starting college preparation early by helping students identify their core values, strengths, and long-term interests rather than focusing only on grades or test scores.
- Shellee stressed that college readiness is about preparing for adulthood, not chasing prestige or comparing against other families.
- We explore how poor financial literacy leads many students to take on unnecessary debt without understanding return on investment.
- Shellee argued that college is a business decision and should be evaluated like an investment, with scholarships, fit, and outcomes prioritized over name recognition alone.
- Many students are not ready at 18 to make high-stakes decisions and why exploration through service, internships, and extracurriculars matters.
- The value of college branding versus actual educational and career outcomes are debated, with examples showing that different paths work for different students.
- Shellee outlined key timing considerations, including the critical importance of middle school and early high school years for maximizing opportunity and financial aid.
- Parents were encouraged to stay actively involved in guiding their children rather than leaving major financial and life decisions to teenagers.
Exclusive Update: The Run is Hot Economy is Here
Money Tree Investing
Phil Weiss | Follow on Facebook: Follow LinkedIn: Follow on Twitter/X: For more information, visit the show notes at
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Future Technology... How To Invest In The Future
Money Tree Investing
New technology is coming soon and here is how to invest in the future! Inventor and investor Pablos Holman shares his journey from early computer hacking to co-founding Blue Origin, leading a prolific deep-tech lab, and now backing “mad scientists” building hard technologies beyond software. He believes Silicon Valley has over-indexed on easy software gains while neglecting transformative advances in hardware, energy, and real-world systems. He explains how breakthroughs in computation now let us model and simulate the physical world, from disease eradication to supply chains, marking a...
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Dump Your Tech... This Sector Is Booming...
Money Tree Investing
Dump your tech because this sector is booming and we are going to tell you what it is! Today we talk the sharp risk-off shift across markets as recent selloffs in crypto, precious metals, and especially technology reflect excessive greed being unwound rather than a systemic collapse. This is not a buy-the-dip environment, and you shouldn't be chasing volatility-heavy assets like crypto and metals too early. We also highlight a clear rotation of liquidity away from growth and speculative assets into value-oriented, defensive sectors such as healthcare, consumer staples, industrials, utilities,...
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Hard Assets and Smart Debt with Ben Reinberg
Money Tree Investing
Commercial real estate veteran Ben Reinberg shares how he uses hard assets and smart debt to strengthen his investing portfolio. He shares his journey from starting in his early 20s to building a national hard-asset portfolio across industrial, office, retail, multifamily, and medical real estate. We talk the importance of the “ability to hold” assets through cycles by avoiding over-leverage, maintaining reserves, and structuring smart debt. Ben outlines where commercial real estate sits in the current cycle, highlighting looming debt maturities, distressed opportunities, and the potential...
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Silver CRASHED... What Happened & What's Next
Money Tree Investing
Silver crashed! Today we focus on a historic bout of volatility in precious metals following months of extreme, unhealthy gains. We figure out if the selloff was driven by the announcement of a new Fed chair or severe technical overextension, crowded positioning that triggered profit-taking, shorting, and forced de-risking. We also talked the implications of a potentially growth-leaning but inflation-conscious Fed, ongoing structural risks like debt, deficits, and sticky inflation, and why monetary policy alone can’t solve them. We reviewed the January market performance, and noticed...
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Growing Global Debt and the Future of the Global Economy with Jean-Baptiste Wautier
Money Tree Investing
Jean-Baptiste Wautier is here to talk growing global debt and the impact on the economy. He draws on decades of private-equity and macro experience to discuss accelerating global change, arguing that rising debt, AI, and political polarization are reshaping the economic and geopolitical order. We discuss Europe’s recent market strength, China as an unavoidable, though risky, investment given its scale and AI ambitions, and gold and crypto as hedges rather than true currency alternatives. He also warms that global debt dynamics will force restructuring in places like Japan and parts of...
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How To Profit In The Run It Hot Economy
Money Tree Investing
Douglas Heagren | Follow on Facebook: Follow LinkedIn: Follow on Twitter/X: For more information, visit the show notes at
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College Without Crushing Debt with Shellee Howard
Money Tree Investing
Shellee Howard is on the show today to talk how to do college without crushign debt for your kids. She shares how her journey as a “mom on a mission” led her to help families navigate the college process strategically, emphasizing early preparation, self-discovery, and return on investment rather than prestige alone. She explains why overcrowded school counselors fall short, how students should clarify their values, talents, and career goals before choosing colleges, and why college should be viewed as a business decision and a stepping stone to adulthood, and not a status symbol. With the...
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The Best Ways to Invest in the Run It Hot Economy
Money Tree Investing
We're in the middle of a run it hot economy. Today our discussion ranged from geopolitics into markets, including precious metals. Silver’s recent surge is best understood as a reversion toward historical gold–silver ratios rather than a knowable fundamental catalyst. Silver’s parabolic move looks unstable compared to gold’s healthier, slower uptrend. But no one can truly know why prices move, so investors should be clear about why they own precious metals since that purpose should drive allocation size and risk tolerance. We also talk macro conditions, the U.S. may be pursuing an...
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Secret Franchising Profits For Investors
Money Tree Investing
Barbara Friedberg | Follow on Facebook: Follow LinkedIn: Follow on Twitter/X: For more information, visit the show notes at
info_outlineShellee Howard is on the show today to talk how to do college without crushign debt for your kids. She shares how her journey as a “mom on a mission” led her to help families navigate the college process strategically, emphasizing early preparation, self-discovery, and return on investment rather than prestige alone. She explains why overcrowded school counselors fall short, how students should clarify their values, talents, and career goals before choosing colleges, and why college should be viewed as a business decision and a stepping stone to adulthood, and not a status symbol. With the right planning, families can avoid debt, maximize scholarships, and choose schools that truly align with a student’s future goals.
We discuss...
Today's Panelists:
- Kirk Chisholm | Innovative Wealth
- Barbara Friedberg | Barbara Friedberg Personal Finance
- Phil Weiss | Apprise Wealth Management
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For more information, visit the show notes at https://moneytreepodcast.com/college-without-crushing-debt-shellee-howard-784