Chain of Wealth - Debt, Investing, Entrepreneurship, Wealth & More

Damion Lupo is the author of many books but we are going to talk mostly about his book called The QRP book today. Damion has actually appeared on the show before, where he has talked about how he went from being a multi-millionaire to being broke and building his net worth back up again.

[:] What is a QRP?

• Qualified Retirement Plan, broad term for these tax plans
• Most people are familiar with 401ks
• This gives a different option that most people don’t know about
• Damion has created EQRP - it’s different in that it’s a 401k that you can invest yourself
• It’s strange to think about because you are the custodian

[:] What are the benefits?

• Match from company and then an IRA
• Over 20 years, you’re not going to save up a ton of money from that
• QRPs allow you to do up to $50k a year.
• You could even get a tax credit- paid out
• Most of the withdrawal rules are the same

[:] You explain the 8th world wonder in your book, for anyone grappling with this idea, what advice do you have for them?

• The easiest way to think of it is compound interest- if you don’t pay it off you owe a ton more money next month.
• On the flip side if you are earning it it works the same.
• 72 divided by your interest rate is how long it’ll take for your money to double
• However it’s not just about a fixed return, you need to choose what you want to invest in

[:] How do you set up a QRP?

• You need to have business activity
• Giant trust document
• Rollover money
• You typically need a firm to set one up for you
• If you aren’t wanting to do the research then you might want to use someone

Value Link: Grab a copy of Damion’s new QRB Book

[:] What is your saving or retirement plan?

• Damion keeps his money moving
• Money goes in and out and he continues to get paid
• Store money in gold

[:] Favorite Quote?

[:] Parting piece of advice?

Rob is an experienced investor in his early 40’s that is looking to pursue financial independence. He has some entrepreneurial experience, real estate experience, loves world travel, food, and computers. After finishing up at his latest contract office job, he moved to Taiwan to pursue a life with more freedom. He blogs at gettingcanned.com

Welcome!

[:] Your blog gettingcanned.com was created as a result of you losing your job. Can you walk us through where you were in your life and how you felt when you got fired?

• ● Got a great performance review but ended up getting pushed out of his job after 4 years after the financial crisis
• ● Rob had recently found financial independence so it was a natural fit

[:] You’ve been working in Asia quite a bit lately, what has living there taught you about money specifically with regards to how money is handled differently to what you were used to in the United States?

• ● After wrapping up latest contract gig, rob packed up his two bags of luggage and went over
• ● So many things got cut out when he lived over to Asia
• ● One of the biggest things he got rid of was his car- it’s actually a very expensive asset to have.
• ● The geo-arbitrage is quite intense, it’s a lot cheaper overseas.

[:] How are you making ends meet? You mentioned in your email to use that you are freelancing?

• ● It’s been a long journey, Rob has 2 condos rented out in the US
• ● Background as a system analyst
• ● Teaching english is a nice thing to have in your pocket as well
• ● Hours are very different to a 40 hour work week

[:] I’m not going to lie, Asia is very very far away to the US- what ultimately made you decide to go to Asia and what were the steps you took to get there? Had you been there before?

• ● Original time going out was desperation
• ● Unemployed for 2 years -Rob was desperate to find work
• ● Chance encounter by meeting a random stranger at a party who has recently gone over
• ● Rob decided there weren’t many option for him at the moment so he asked a ton of questions and found out the requirements weren’t all that high

Value Link Round

[:] What is your saving or retirement plan?

• ● Saved up enough that the bare minimum needs are met
• ● Eventually get social security
• ● Lived a pretty frugal lifestyle in the US- but in Asia you can get by on much less. Living costs changed from over $2,000 a month to about $1,500 a month.

[:] Do you have any other books or podcasts you can recommend?

• ● ChooseFI
• ● The FI Show

[:] Favorite quote you like to live by?

• ● I’m rich not because of all my possessions but my lack of wants

[:] Parting piece of advice?

• ● Don’t spend more than you can afford, index funds are the way to go.

Erika has gone from 100,000 of debt to debt free in 5 years! Her and her husband decided early on that it was time to take hold of their financial life together. After paying off her debt, she realized how passionate she is about helping people better their lives, thus Tailor Made Budgets was born!

Welcome!

[:] You have quite an interesting story when it comes to your personal life and debt. What position were you in? How did you work your way out of it?

• Didn’t start at $100k, but Ericka got married young with about $65k worth of debt.
• She and her husband started buying goods like cars, even though they weren’t unreasonable it pushed them over the edge.
• After just over a year they realized how much debt they were in, especially with a new born baby.
• Got a second job.

[:] Where do you see people, mostly millennials making their biggest mistakes? Not paying off debt? Not investing?

• The amount of student debt that is allowed to be taken on and people actually take it on and not pay it off.
• People don’t realize the impact of their debt

[:] So you and your husband paid off 100,000 worth of debt together- what advice do you have for anyone in a relationship or will be in one someday when it comes to working as a team and your money?

• You won’t always see eye to eye.
• Where do you want to be as a couple then figure out what you want to do.
• Ericka and her husband decided they wanted to take charge as a couple together

[:] Go ahead and give us the 30 second elevator speech for tailor made budgets

• Help couples get on the same page and achieve financial independence

[:] Value Link Round

[:] What is your saving or retirement plan?

• Long terms person- mutual funds
• Accelerating the house payment plan (sell house to buy something cheaper for cash)

[:] Favorite Quote?

• Sacrifice is giving up something good for something better
• The best preparation for the future is the present well tended

[:] Parting piece of advice?

• The finances are hard, be easy on yourself we all make mistakes

Liz is the creator of Chief Mom Officer, a personal finance blog whose mission is to teach working women about how to manage their money. Liz has been pursuing financial freedom for over 20 years and is currently the breadwinner for her family of 5.

Welcome!

[:] Could you tell us a bit about your story, your husband is a stay at home dad, was it always like that and what prompted that lifestyle?

• ● Married for quite some time with 3 kids
• ● Health issues 6 years ago
• ● Becoming more of a trend

[:] What’s some of the biggest struggles that women face in the workplace and do you feel like things have become more fair in years gone by?

• ● Face a ton of different struggles
• ● Gotten much better over time
• ● Negotiating is not done as much

[:] Liz, you’re a busy person. The breadwinner in your home and you have 3 kids you take care of. You also manage your blog and still find time for people. I know you’ve been asked this question before, but how you manage to fit all that in and still have spare time?

• ● Liz’s husband is able to give Liz a lot more spare time because he helps out around the house a lot
• ● Always been busy; went to school part time while working
• ● Having a knit list(3 things) has been fundamental to getting stuff done

[:] What’s one of the best pieces of advice you can give working women who are trying to get ahead financially?

• ● Know where you are and where you want to go and make a plan to get there

[:] Value Link Round

Check out our post on passive income- www.chainofwealth.com/passive-income/ there’s a ton of advice and strategies that can help you get ahead.

[:] What is your saving or retirement plan?

• ● Stocks and bonds
• ● Vanguard before it was cool

[:] Do you have any other books or podcasts you can recommend?

• ● Your Money or Your Life
• ● Taylor Larimore
• ● Stacking Benjamins

[:] Favorite Quote?

• ● None :)

[:] Parting piece of advice?

• ● Take it easy on your self

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