509: What’s in the One Big Beautiful (Tax) Bill?
Wealth Formula Podcast
When I was a young surgeon just coming out of residency and finally started making some money, I had to do something I’d never done before: find someone to do my taxes. Naturally, I asked around. I went to the older, more experienced surgeons in my group and said, “Who do you guys use?” A few names came up, but one firm kept coming up over and over. So, I figured it was probably a good idea to go with them. One of the main things people said about this firm was that they were “conservative.” At the time, that sounded like a good thing. In hindsight, it absolutely wasn’t. You see,...
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508: The Road to 2030 - Are We Headed for Another Great Depression?
Wealth Formula Podcast
ITR Economics has been predicting a “Great Depression” beginning around 2030. Over the past seven years, I’ve had multiple representatives from their firm on the show, and they’ve never wavered from that forecast. That might not sound so alarming—until you realize that their long-term predictive track record is 94% accurate over the last 70 years. To understand why their conviction is so strong, tune into this week’s episode of Wealth Formula Podcast. Once you hear the reasoning, it’ll all make sense. The major drivers of this projected economic downturn are debt and...
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507: How to Sell Your Business or Practice
Wealth Formula Podcast
The Wealth Formula Community is filled with high-paid professionals and small business owners—I'm one of them. Most of us are so focused on making a living that we rarely think about the day we might want to sell our "jobs." Over the years, I've encountered many physicians and dentists who never even considered an exit strategy until private equity firms approached them. Some of these lucky professionals have become quite wealthy from these transactions. But here's the thing—they could have done even better if they'd planned their exit earlier. Even if your practice or business isn't huge,...
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506: Mortgages and Reverse Mortgages with Wade Pfau
Wealth Formula Podcast
, our online mastermind group, is where we dive into the financial questions that keep us up at night, and one debate that keeps coming up is whether to pay off your mortgage. It’s a complex question, but let’s unpack the math and the emotion so you can decide for yourself. First, think of your mortgage as a lever: with just 20% down, you control 100% of your home’s value. On a $500,000 property, that means your $100,000 down payment magnifies the impact of appreciation. If home values rise 4% in a year, your equity grows by $20,000—an effective 20% return on your original $100K. Had...
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505: Andy Tanner on Cash Flowing Stocks for Double Digit Returns
Wealth Formula Podcast
I used to scoff at Wall Street, believing the stock market was the last place to build real, life-changing wealth. I leaned exclusively on real estate, private businesses—even Bitcoin—to grow my net worth. But times change. I’ve softened my stance on equities and now see a place for stocks in my portfolio—just not the way most people do. I think of them as cash-flowing assets, much like real estate, following the approach of Andy Tanner, Robert Kiyosaki’s “Rich Dad” stock advisor. Over the past two weeks, I decided to put Andy’s strategy to the test by selling covered puts on...
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504: Maximizing Profits by Paying Less Tax: Deferred Sales Trusts
Wealth Formula Podcast
The last couple of weeks, we’ve been deep in the world of buying businesses. But what happens when it’s time to cash out? Maybe you’re ready to sell your business, that investment property you’ve managed for years, or another major asset you’ve poured your energy into. If you’re like most people, the thrill of a big sale is quickly followed by a less-exciting thought: “Wait, how much am I going to owe in taxes?” It’s the classic one-two punch—first the celebration, then the sinking feeling as you picture Uncle Sam’s hand reaching for a chunk of your hard-earned gains. But...
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503: How to Fund Your Commercial Real Estate or Business Acquisition
Wealth Formula Podcast
Last week on Wealth Formula Podcast, we dove deep with an expert who specializes in due diligence for small business acquisitions. To reiterate, what makes small business acquisitions especially enticing are the incredible financing opportunities available through the SBA. Imagine this: you only put down 10 percent on a $5 million business, and suddenly, you're in control of a business that throws off a million dollars per year in cash flow after paying monthly loan charges. That’s what these numbers look like. Now obviously, it’s a business, and it’s not going to be quite that easy....
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502: Should You Buy a Business?
Wealth Formula Podcast
Lately, I've been thinking about starting a new business. I know the market seems like it's crashing around us, and we're probably headed into a recession. But hey—I started my first business back in 2009, and it doesn’t get much worse than that, right? Well, maybe it can. And that's exactly why I've been considering buying a business instead of starting one from scratch, particularly because of the SBA loan options available right now. Here's how an SBA 7(a) loan breaks down for a $1,000,000 business purchase: Total Loan Amount: $1,000,000 Typical Down Payment (10%): $100,000 Amount...
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Time to Invest!
Wealth Formula Podcast
Now’s the time to move. Markets are down, fear is high—and that’s exactly when the smart money starts to deploy. If you’ve been sitting on the fence about the , this might be your moment. Learn how you can leverage market downturns with guardrails in place and amplify your upside while protecting the downside. Connect with Rod at
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501: Real Estate Postmortem - Lessons from the Crash and the Opportunity Ahead
Wealth Formula Podcast
Charlie Munger, the late sage of value investing and Warren Buffett’s right-hand man, once said there are only three ways a smart man can go broke: “liquor, ladies, and leverage.” Now, of the three, leverage is the sneakiest. It shows up dressed like opportunity, whispers promises of scale and speed, and before you know it—you’re in a capital call or margin call. But let’s be clear: leverage isn’t the enemy. In fact, if your goal is to become truly wealthy—if you want to build lasting, generational wealth—you’re going to need it. Unless you’re one of the lucky few who can...
info_outlineWealth Formula Nation,
First and foremost, let me start by wishing you a Happy New Year! It’s 2025, and as we shake off the confetti and champagne from the celebrations, we step into a year full of possibilities—and, let’s be honest, plenty of question marks.
Every new year brings its own share of challenges and opportunities, but this one feels particularly charged. We’re looking at a world where the economic landscape is being rewritten in real time.
There’s a new administration in Washington, which always stirs up the pot, but this time, it’s not just a change in leadership—it’s a potential sea change in policy.
So, what’s ahead? Will we see sweeping tax cuts as promised? And if so, how will those affect deficits, inflation, and interest rates? Can the economy sustain the heat, or are we looking at overheating and runaway inflation?
Then there’s the topic of spending cuts—are they realistic, or will they end up being all talk and no action? And tariffs—will they be wielded as an economic weapon, and if so, how much will they impact everyday consumers?
These aren’t just academic questions—they have real-world implications for your investments, your business, and your financial future.
For example, real estate investors are watching interest rates like hawks. The Fed said they were going to lower them throughout 2025 but then backed off on those statements in the last meeting, taking more of a wait-and-see position.
Meanwhile, deregulation could create new opportunities for businesses, but will it go far enough to make a real difference? It’s a lot to unpack, and that’s what this week’s guest on Wealth Formula Podcast will help us do.
Joining me is Howard Yaruss, an economist, professor, and author of Understandable Economics, a book that breaks down economic concepts in a way that’s accessible to all of us.
Howard has the ability to take complex ideas and make them relatable, and he’s here to share his insights on what we might expect in 2025.