Nov. 23, 2025
Episode 320 - The Simple Systems That Finally Helped Me Build Financial Freedom
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In this episode, Paul Lawrence Vann shares how developing simple, repeatable systems became the key to achieving lasting financial freedom. From automating his finances to tracking progress through weekly reviews, Paul reveals how structure, not complexity, can help anyone create peace of mind and build wealth.
Key Takeaways:
- Why financial freedom starts with daily systems, not big leaps
- How automation reduces decision fatigue and stress
- The importance of consistent tracking and reflection
- How to reset when your system fails and get back on track
Resources Mentioned:
- Financial Freedom Starter System (available at paulvannspeaks.com)
- Budgeting and tracking tools such as Mint, YNAB, or Rocket Money
Audience:
For mid-career professionals, entrepreneurs, and anyone ready to stop guessing and start systemizing their money to achieve true financial independence.
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/wealth-academy-podcast-wealth-is-more-than-just-money/donations
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[SPEAKER_00]: Yes, and as episode 320, I hope that you are doing great today and really going to enjoy this particular episode of Wolf Academy podcast.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And welcome to Wolf Academy podcast where we believe wealth is more than money, as mindset habits and today systems.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And today's episode the simple systems that finally helped me build financial freedom.
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[SPEAKER_00]: We're diving deep into the daily repeatable
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[SPEAKER_00]: That transform chaos and declarity and turn financial stress and to financial stability if you've ever felt struck stuck living paycheck to paycheck or overwhelmed by where to start this episode will give you.
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[SPEAKER_00]: a blueprint that will actually work.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And so there's always good to have system in place, primarily because it helps to automate it helps to position you to do a lot more in less time.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And so it's really just a wonderful way to help you with your understanding your finances and all aspects of it as well.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So with this episode today, I really appreciate you being with me.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And of course, those will be on our side.
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[SPEAKER_00]: and it really opens up a window to something we call simplicity.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So let's get started and again the way it's working in this series and this series is one of the month of financial growth legacy.
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[SPEAKER_00]: It's to provide you with some questions.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I post a question to you and then you listen to me share my experience based on this particular
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[SPEAKER_00]: It's all about acquiring knowledge on that financial front.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So if you're ready, I'm ready.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Again, the name is Paul Lines van and I'm glad that you could be with me today.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So here's question one.
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[SPEAKER_00]: What was the turning point that made you realize you needed systems to manage your money?
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[SPEAKER_00]: Now, what this does, it helps you to identify your own wake-up moment that leads to financial change.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So again, the question one is, what was the turning point that made you realize you needed systems to manage your money?
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[SPEAKER_00]: Well, for me, it started when I joined the military,
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[SPEAKER_00]: And I chose to become an officer on a day that I graduated from college was a day that I became a part of the financial family of the financial aspect per the United States Air Force.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So I had to sign up.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I had to get my finances together and I decided to go if I'm looking at any system during the time that I came on duty was direct deposit.
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[SPEAKER_00]: In other words, I didn't have checks sent in the mail to my house or anything like that that we actually made that much progress what all you have to do is find out how much you're supposed to earn and then is sure that your money makes it to the bank.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And if there's such a thing as a government closure then you still want to check it after the closure is over to ensure that your money is that made it and you would know.
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[SPEAKER_00]: a primary because you look at your bank account and it has zeroes there.
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[SPEAKER_00]: You know, well, not the money made it, but I'm just letting you know that that was the infancy of for me.
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[SPEAKER_00]: in terms of a long range career aspects of course of 22 years and they never failed.
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[SPEAKER_00]: It never failed for my payment to make it there and I had additional money going in to put it on if I went to temporary duty or the duration of a training, the leadership training program, which could last anywhere from six weeks to almost two months.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And so there were different
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[SPEAKER_00]: and in terms of me realize that I need a system in place.
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[SPEAKER_00]: In fact, that direct deposit is what made a difference.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Now, it was different when I came on duty because we didn't really have the internet, and we didn't have computers to check it.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So you would actually have to call in to get the amount that a balance that you had.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And so I was pretty good at that.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And even consider that there was no cell phones when I first started in the military.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And so things were a lot different that they are now in fact today it's much, much better.
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[SPEAKER_00]: But I want you to understand and I want you to also consider what was the turning point that made you subscribers and listeners realize you needed systems to manage your money.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And so that's what I want you to give consideration to and think far back when you first started banking, of course,
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[SPEAKER_00]: When I first started banking, I remember when I had the job in the hometown and I deposited the money into the bank and so I would get the receipts from that and I had my own little accounting system in my little note pad, a journal and that's how I kept up with everything.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And even today, when I do taxes, it's the same way where I can account for all the dollars that I spent, which is to me, it's just remarkable, but when I'm doing my taxes, I can track all of my expenses, all of my assets, and I can find out what my net worth is on any given day.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So a question too, what does a simple financial system look like for someone just starting out?
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[SPEAKER_00]: Now, what this does and what I want you to take into consideration is that this breaks down the concept of systems into something actionable and beginner friendly.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And I actually have a reference for someone just starting out, if you are going to first start out, you want to go to a bank or credit union, whatever a system that is available and you deposit your money, you receive a receipt.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Then you add money to that, and if you have an, and that's your asset, and now if you have an expense, you expense could there will be a panel utility bill or if you have a
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[SPEAKER_00]: Well, you cannot not only have a budget for your business, but you can have a budget for your personal finances as well.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And it's just column on the left as asset column on the right are expenses.
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[SPEAKER_00]: You go down the list here your assets here your expenses.
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[SPEAKER_00]: You subtract your expenses from your assets.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And that's going to give you your balance for that period of time.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And it's can be as fundamental as that.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And then, nowadays, you can make deposits without even going into the bank.
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[SPEAKER_00]: You can actually take a picture and that how you have it set up with your bank or that you're working with, they can take that particular picture and they would make that deposit.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And then, of course, you would receive a receipt from that and that's how you always want to be able to count for everything, every transaction that you have, money in and money out.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And as a result, you're going to always come up with the balance.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And you don't want your balance to be zero.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Because at that point, you may have to pay some fees, which takes away from your asset side of things.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So a simple financial system for just getting started and for it to be actual is just to find the middle.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Pause it money, because if you don't,
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[SPEAKER_00]: Take the check-in if you receive a check, you have to take it in to positive, first start now, but if you have direct deposit that money will automatically go into the bank under your account and then you'll want to make sure you check it to make sure it's there because there are the scammers that are out there and people hack an account and everything and you want to make sure from this simple financial system.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And then you also want to make a count in case they're charges and they're not yours.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And at this point, I'm going to share story with you that I was with one of the big banks here in the United States and I always go through my bank account almost on a daily basis, if I see a transaction that doesn't look familiar, then I'll call it in.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And I know I was not in the state of Virginia to purchase anything.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Can you tell me what this is, Mr. of Mrs. Banker.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And this one, Mr. Van, will call you back.
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[SPEAKER_00]: We'll let you know what this charge is.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So, you know, about an hour later, they call back.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And I guess they kind of have a, it kind of Jesus, me with one of their employees and what they found out was employee to $300 out of our account.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And they just felt happy.
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[SPEAKER_00]: stores in Virginia.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And I said, well, how are they able to do that?
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[SPEAKER_00]: Isn't my money supposed to be safe?
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[SPEAKER_00]: And they said, well, it looks like the individual took money from other customers as well.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So I just told my so well, I see you tomorrow morning because I'm taking all of my money out of your bank.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Because you just don't want to deal with the bank where you have employees who have taken your money just randomly just go on in taking the heart and earn money that you have and so the reason why I'm sharing this story is because it happens every day.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And so when you have a financial system and place once you put it in place you're going to have to track it you're going to have to keep up with it because you may go there one day and that money is no longer there and they know answers to it.
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[SPEAKER_00]: are like what happened to me this year.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I tried to log into my laptop and tried to log into my account on a lot of account.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And there was somebody missing.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And I couldn't get in.
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[SPEAKER_00]: First of all, I couldn't get in.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So I called it in and I said, oh yeah, we will, the banks that we'll wait for you to call us because we have this transaction I'm like, hello, when you want to call me if there's money missed going out and they said,
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[SPEAKER_00]: account and someone one of your peers took out some of your money and they move your your savings account into your checking account, I guess because they wouldn't get the rest of the money out.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And before they did that, and then they took all of my bank statements, which made it even worse.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So I had to go in and change everything, all their count numbers, credit cards, you name it up money with that was taken out with place back in there.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And I asked the bank, I said, well, show me a document was signed for peer to peer with someone else can go into my account and take the money out.
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[SPEAKER_00]: They couldn't produce it, of course, I knew they didn't, because I would never sign that I would not even sign that for family member.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And so what bothered me was the fact that the bank is sitting there, that letting us happen, they're not even telling you.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Oh, you have a count.
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[SPEAKER_00]: No one that I don't have in a count, right?
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[SPEAKER_00]: So when it comes to the simple financial system, the thing you have to do is follow up.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Their successes in the follow up.
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[SPEAKER_00]: You have to stay on top of your count.
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[SPEAKER_00]: You have to track every expense you have, every deposit you have because if you don't, you're not dependent on a bank or credit you're going to tell you.
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[SPEAKER_00]: It doesn't impact them.
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[SPEAKER_00]: It impacts you.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And so you have to look after your own money.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Now question three, we're gonna move on because I digress because I'm still hot about that.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I'm hot around the collar about that.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, to go to the police station if I'll report it and everything.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Question number three, how did automating your savings and bill payments transform your financial results?
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[SPEAKER_00]: Well, what this does for you when I'm posing this question, it highlights the power of removing emotion and inconsistency from money management.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I do know that here in the Great of Washington DC metro area that a lot of the immigrants who are here work hard every day they don't trust banks and I can understand that and they work around $5,000 in the pocket $10,000 until someone in DC notices that they're working around with this cash and they rob them and broad daylight with their wife stand on the side that.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And so what I want to say is putting your money into the bank, you're going to have to trust them because the banks do cover losses up to $250,000 if someone goes into your account.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Now, it may have happened with the new administration.
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[SPEAKER_00]: They may have changed that, but with the federal deposit insurance corporation that used to be up to $250,000.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So you and I have to go back and check this.
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[SPEAKER_00]: your savings and bill payments.
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[SPEAKER_00]: What you can do when you have your bank account set up, you can also have a direct deposit, not only go to your checking account, but also to your savings account, are you going to move money within the online bank that you have when you conduct online banking?
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[SPEAKER_00]: And you can also do that for your business bank account, too, you can have them linked.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And so I think my automation is much better because
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[SPEAKER_00]: You don't have to be worried about running to the bank to deposit your check.
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[SPEAKER_00]: It will automatically set their transfer there from the, your employer to the lending institution or the banking institution that you're affiliated with.
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[SPEAKER_00]: But automation is really good, but again, it really requires some housekeeping.
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[SPEAKER_00]: You have to really fine tune, and you don't have to be a financial guru like I was.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Green, I say type person, a counting type mindset, but what you have to do is to be paying attention and you have to be very consistent and you have to be able to ask the right questions and the right questions is I'm calling to check on my account.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I see there been a withdrawal of which I'm not
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[SPEAKER_00]: knowledgeable who did it, and you may have to go in and make some changes.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And you can also go to some third party organizations and set up whereby they provide coverage for you.
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[SPEAKER_00]: For example, life lock would be one example of a company that does that.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And they do a very good job in tracking
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[SPEAKER_00]: what you would do, you would go in, open their account with them, put in all your checking accounts, your credit card accounts, and they would ensure it up to a million dollars if you have a loss, which I think is tremendous.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And so they would provide a lot of you.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So you don't necessarily have to go to the court room and try to defend the fact that you did not take the money off as someone else did.
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[SPEAKER_00]: It will hack to something of that nature.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So I think that's plenty on how to automate in your savings and build payments, transform your financial results.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And then before I go, when it comes to bill payments, you can't set it up where they can call them at the Senate and a bill payment for your rent, for your mortgage, for student loan, for credit cards, or insurance, whatever it may happen to be.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And so it's a good thing to do.
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[SPEAKER_00]: The next question is what role does budgeting play in achieving financial freedom?
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[SPEAKER_00]: No one likes to be where, no one likes to budget.
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[SPEAKER_00]: People have a whole birth in their pocket.
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[SPEAKER_00]: They get money, they earn money, and they just want to buy, buy, buy, buy.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And then they look up, buy the end of the next week.
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[SPEAKER_00]: They don't have any money.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And that's why I say one of the things that's wanted to do is set up a budget.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And this helps US, a listener, understand why structure and awareness are the key to progress.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And structure means that you want to set up, again, I talked about the leisure earlier.
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[SPEAKER_00]: on the left side or the assets or the right side are the expenses.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And so you want to be able to track everything, every dollar.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Even if you go to Starbucks every day and spend $5 which still blows my mind, $5 for one capital coffee, are more.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And you balance at work, or what I used to do at the Pentagon, I used to bring my lunch.
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[SPEAKER_00]: That would be great.
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[SPEAKER_00]: have my breakfast before I left home and I left at five in the morning.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I would have breakfast, go to the gym and then I will actually work out first and then I would eat at my desk for breakfast and then when lunchtime came I would get some lunch if I didn't bring it in that day and so you want to track all of those expenses and you want to any if you leave someone a tip at a restaurant,
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[SPEAKER_00]: gas, if you purchase gas, you want to write that down and shine everything.
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[SPEAKER_00]: If you buy gifts for someone, you want to write that down, stamps, envelopes, whatever it may be, business products, if you are on a business, you want to do the same thing.
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[SPEAKER_00]: But the role that budgeting plays is that it really
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[SPEAKER_00]: shows what your relationship with money is like.
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[SPEAKER_00]: In other words, how you save money and how you spend money is a relationship with money.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Then being able to track it is really the credibility that's reflected for the money that you have that relationship with.
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[SPEAKER_00]: That's the easiest way to explain it but you do want to have a budget.
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[SPEAKER_00]: You don't want to keep it in your head because
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[SPEAKER_00]: You know, you go to sleep at night, you might forget about what was on your mind the previous day of the previous evening.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So you want to ensure that you have a budget, get to just a note pad or a journal.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Are you in purchase ledges?
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[SPEAKER_00]: You can actually get some online as well.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Almost like an Excel spreadsheet and you can track the money.
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[SPEAKER_00]: But it's very important because it's your money and you want to be responsible for it because if you're not, someone will be responsible for your money if you don't.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And here's the next question, how did you build consistency in your spending and saving habits?
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[SPEAKER_00]: Now to me, that's very important.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And that's again, like assets and expenditures.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So this is all about demonstrating that discipline and routine are more effective than short bursts of motivation.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So the question, again, and I pose it to you
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[SPEAKER_00]: for my own personal spirit.
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[SPEAKER_00]: How did you build consistency in your spending and saving habits?
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[SPEAKER_00]: You build consistencies by knowing, for example, when I was paid in the military, we were paid every two weeks.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Some people went every month.
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[SPEAKER_00]: In retirement, I'm paid every month, but in active duty are at mobile or company I was paid every couple of weeks.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So 80 hours of work, 40 hours a week, especially for mobile or military, just across the boy.
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[SPEAKER_00]: But in order to understand what you're spending
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[SPEAKER_00]: You have to know what your foundation is and so as I stated before you have a house payment, that's going to be the largest payment you have and then if you have a vehicle that would likely be the second highest.
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[SPEAKER_00]: policy at the employer doesn't cover it, then that's going to be a very large expense.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So you have to keep up with everything, all the utilities.
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[SPEAKER_00]: You have to keep up with insurance, home owners and association fees.
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[SPEAKER_00]: There's just a lot of things that you have to be cognizant of.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And so you have to watch the spending.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And then you have to balance the spending against the savings that you have.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So that's why I say it be who's you to really save my because you want to have a rainy day fund.
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[SPEAKER_00]: For example, the government closure where if you didn't have any savings that aside, then you were in the food mine.
21:46.139 --> 21:50.665
[SPEAKER_00]: If you didn't have any savings, then you're going to have to find another job and then enter mine.
21:51.505 --> 22:03.540
[SPEAKER_00]: And let's say if you don't, you're not a part of the federal government and you live on paycheck, the paycheck is even more important that you're disciplined and trying to save every penny that you have.
22:04.111 --> 22:10.018
[SPEAKER_00]: and not by things that you really want but by things that you really need.
22:10.218 --> 22:20.609
[SPEAKER_00]: And there's nothing wrong with buying the things that you want but it cannot come at the expense of the things that you really need like a roof over your head, medical insurance and food.
22:21.310 --> 22:24.033
[SPEAKER_00]: So you have to really be a mind for that.
22:24.273 --> 22:26.135
[SPEAKER_00]: So let's go on to the next question.
22:26.936 --> 22:32.903
[SPEAKER_00]: What tools or apps have been
22:33.288 --> 22:45.766
[SPEAKER_00]: And again, I think this is one where it just comes down to what you think is best for you, because I wouldn't really recommend any to anyone, because I don't really use them.
22:46.226 --> 22:53.777
[SPEAKER_00]: I just kind of fundamentally just take that 40 hours of over 40 hours of counting that I have and apply what I learned through that.
22:54.685 --> 23:01.393
[SPEAKER_00]: And so again, what tools or apps have been game changes for your money, management, system?
23:02.074 --> 23:08.822
[SPEAKER_00]: Now, this question provides practical recommendations that you can implement right away.
23:09.623 --> 23:17.352
[SPEAKER_00]: And so I would have to say that there are some programs that are out there that you can use, but I'll
23:17.332 --> 23:35.507
[SPEAKER_00]: I'll default you to for you to find them and you could just simply lick it up on one of the search engines and find out what apps are out there because I don't want to get into naming different brands out there because I don't use them.
23:36.388 --> 23:46.697
[SPEAKER_00]: But so I'll just leave that question as it is.
23:47.605 --> 23:50.731
[SPEAKER_00]: finances, I say go for it.
23:50.751 --> 24:12.229
[SPEAKER_00]: And because there's some apps out there that are part of online banks, meaning there's virtual banks and they're not brick and mortar banks, you can use those systems and you can also invest as stock and other things with them and get loans and just a number of
24:12.732 --> 24:19.461
[SPEAKER_00]: for you to go out there because I don't want to get into the branding and recommending something that I don't use myself.
24:20.383 --> 24:22.045
[SPEAKER_00]: And so I'll leave it at that.
24:22.065 --> 24:24.829
[SPEAKER_00]: So let's go to question seven and we're almost finished.
24:24.849 --> 24:28.654
[SPEAKER_00]: This is the next last question and the question is raised as follows.
24:29.255 --> 24:34.623
[SPEAKER_00]: How do you stay motivated to maintain your systems when life gets busy or hard?
24:35.203 --> 24:40.731
[SPEAKER_00]: And what this does at office or emotional and my set strategies for long-term success?
24:41.167 --> 24:45.953
[SPEAKER_00]: but the best way to stay motivated is to be happy with your life.
24:46.474 --> 24:56.267
[SPEAKER_00]: Now I know that sounds very simplistic, but being happy with your life means that you need some monetary and financial resources to help you to navigate life.
24:57.228 --> 25:07.562
[SPEAKER_00]: And so doing that means that you're working and also what goes with working is that you make the best decisions that you can to help you
25:07.947 --> 25:14.875
[SPEAKER_00]: Manage your finances and again, as I spoke in a previous episode is your relationship with money.
25:15.075 --> 25:34.596
[SPEAKER_00]: You have to know what your relationship is with money and order for you to position yourself to come into and embrace that
25:34.576 --> 25:56.218
[SPEAKER_00]: So it's a growth mindset and so I would have to say the way to state motivated is the fact that you know that you work hard The fact that you know that you can put money in a bank the fact that you know that you keep that momentum going and I look at myself and I said okay, so I worked in the military for over 22 years on what did that get me?
25:56.778 --> 26:02.864
[SPEAKER_00]: It has me retirement pay all I have to do is stay alive.
26:03.785 --> 26:04.566
[SPEAKER_00]: I
26:04.799 --> 26:10.511
[SPEAKER_00]: There'd be things such as social security, I've received some disability from the military.
26:11.132 --> 26:18.929
[SPEAKER_00]: And so there are different ways in terms of a stand motivated with your systems.
26:19.690 --> 26:24.681
[SPEAKER_00]: And it's a difference between having to work and not having to work.
26:25.403 --> 26:38.560
[SPEAKER_00]: And so you may have things such as insurance policies that you have out there, an event of a crisis that someone passed away, you have money and insurance money is not taxable.
26:39.060 --> 26:44.788
[SPEAKER_00]: So it's actually some of the best money that's out there and you don't have to report it on your taxes.
26:45.488 --> 26:54.600
[SPEAKER_00]: So I would have to say that maintain your systems and your systems is one of being consistent.
26:54.580 --> 27:00.720
[SPEAKER_00]: knowing what your relationship is with money and you want to have a good relationship with it.
27:01.041 --> 27:04.793
[SPEAKER_00]: So I'm going to question the last question here.
27:05.110 --> 27:25.276
[SPEAKER_00]: which is a question eight and what question eight really speaks to and it's going to be a good one what it speaks to is what advice what you and that's me to you what advice which you give to someone who feels they've failed at budgeting before.
27:26.498 --> 27:32.586
[SPEAKER_00]: Very good question and what this does is
27:33.916 --> 27:39.283
[SPEAKER_00]: It encourages grace and persistence, showing that success comes from progress, not perfection.
27:39.644 --> 27:41.667
[SPEAKER_00]: And I think that's very good, so I'm going to repeat it.
27:43.049 --> 27:48.356
[SPEAKER_00]: What advice would you give to someone who feels like they fail at budgeting before?
27:49.057 --> 27:54.404
[SPEAKER_00]: This again encourages grace and persistence, showing that success comes from progress, not perfection.
27:54.825 --> 28:03.737
[SPEAKER_00]: And what I'd have to say on this particular note is that failure is not final.
28:04.358 --> 28:33.066
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, pick yourself up and get that general or get that Excel spreadsheet or get an automated ledger, budgeting ledger from online, and just start using it, but use it from a position of consistency, don't start to stop, start to stop, but consistently every
28:33.383 --> 28:35.165
[SPEAKER_00]: You have an expense right at down.
28:36.447 --> 28:37.949
[SPEAKER_00]: You made a purchase right at down.
28:38.349 --> 28:45.779
[SPEAKER_00]: You have it a deposit right at down and weigh them in terms of, well, how much can I use?
28:45.859 --> 28:47.121
[SPEAKER_00]: How much do I have available?
28:47.461 --> 28:48.943
[SPEAKER_00]: And how much can I use?
28:49.003 --> 28:50.926
[SPEAKER_00]: Because sometimes people run out of money.
28:51.547 --> 29:00.218
[SPEAKER_00]: And so you have to put yourself in a position where you make it your conscious, financially conscious, financially mindful.
29:00.653 --> 29:02.175
[SPEAKER_00]: of your money.
29:02.255 --> 29:11.627
[SPEAKER_00]: So that's that advice I would give to people that may have failed in terms of budgeting.
29:12.308 --> 29:18.936
[SPEAKER_00]: Budgeting, there's nothing mysterious about it, it's just an awareness and it's about a consciousness about it.
29:19.397 --> 29:25.064
[SPEAKER_00]: So in closing, what I want to share with you is this is that financial freedom doesn't come from luck.
29:25.765 --> 29:30.070
[SPEAKER_00]: It comes from systems that support
29:30.775 --> 29:37.703
[SPEAKER_00]: Smart, smart, start small, stay consistent, watch those systems compound and to long-term results.
29:38.364 --> 29:40.987
[SPEAKER_00]: Remember, you can build a wealth from a scattered mind.
29:41.607 --> 29:43.690
[SPEAKER_00]: You build it from a structured plan.
29:44.430 --> 29:46.893
[SPEAKER_00]: That's really the key you have to have structure.
29:47.334 --> 29:50.457
[SPEAKER_00]: And so here's a call of action for this particular episode.
29:51.278 --> 29:55.483
[SPEAKER_00]: If this episode is fired, you subscribe to the wealth academy podcast,
29:55.936 --> 30:02.503
[SPEAKER_00]: share it with someone who needs a money breakthrough and leave a five-star review to help us reach more listeners.
30:02.963 --> 30:12.253
[SPEAKER_00]: This is all about a collective body of us that not only are in the moment, but we're also looking into the future.
30:12.714 --> 30:14.055
[SPEAKER_00]: What has happened in the past?
30:14.095 --> 30:16.678
[SPEAKER_00]: We can't do anything about it, but we can't do something today.
30:17.239 --> 30:20.042
[SPEAKER_00]: And we have a chance to do something tomorrow.
30:20.122 --> 30:22.264
[SPEAKER_00]: If we were fortunate enough.
30:22.531 --> 30:37.553
[SPEAKER_00]: So download, I'd like for you to go to the private Facebook group, I have, which is titled, well, it's titled,
30:38.731 --> 30:44.803
[SPEAKER_00]: such that it will help you to learn how to lead yourself to wealth.
30:45.945 --> 30:50.634
[SPEAKER_00]: And in there, I will have a financial checklist that you can start with.
30:50.734 --> 30:56.605
[SPEAKER_00]: But just simply go to private Facebook, we'll join it.
30:56.585 --> 31:05.036
[SPEAKER_00]: answer the three questions that I have there and you will see the free financial checklist that I have you that will get you off to a good start.
31:05.777 --> 31:23.180
[SPEAKER_00]: And so the way to get there is go to www.facebook.com for slash groups GROUPS for slash lead yourself to wealth and you'll find it there.
31:23.581 --> 31:25.984
[SPEAKER_00]: But that's
31:26.369 --> 31:39.224
[SPEAKER_00]: And I thank you very much for being on this particular episode of Wolf Academy podcast and uh, recommend it to your friends, your family, your colleagues, and uh, I see you on the next episode again, the name is Paul Lines van and have a great day and thank you so much for tuning in.
31:39.244 --> 31:47.314
[SPEAKER_00]: It's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it
00:10.325 --> 00:22.101
[SPEAKER_00]: Yes, and as episode 320, I hope that you are doing great today and really going to enjoy this particular episode of Wolf Academy podcast.
00:22.882 --> 00:30.352
[SPEAKER_00]: And welcome to Wolf Academy podcast where we believe wealth is more than money, as mindset habits and today systems.
00:31.253 --> 00:36.119
[SPEAKER_00]: And today's episode the simple systems that finally helped me build financial freedom.
00:36.620 --> 00:39.724
[SPEAKER_00]: We're diving deep into the daily repeatable
00:39.991 --> 00:54.996
[SPEAKER_00]: That transform chaos and declarity and turn financial stress and to financial stability if you've ever felt struck stuck living paycheck to paycheck or overwhelmed by where to start this episode will give you.
00:55.651 --> 00:58.217
[SPEAKER_00]: a blueprint that will actually work.
00:58.718 --> 01:10.707
[SPEAKER_00]: And so there's always good to have system in place, primarily because it helps to automate it helps to position you to do a lot more in less time.
01:10.687 --> 01:21.725
[SPEAKER_00]: And so it's really just a wonderful way to help you with your understanding your finances and all aspects of it as well.
01:22.126 --> 01:26.173
[SPEAKER_00]: So with this episode today, I really appreciate you being with me.
01:26.894 --> 01:29.438
[SPEAKER_00]: And of course, those will be on our side.
01:29.418 --> 01:34.203
[SPEAKER_00]: and it really opens up a window to something we call simplicity.
01:34.704 --> 01:42.152
[SPEAKER_00]: So let's get started and again the way it's working in this series and this series is one of the month of financial growth legacy.
01:43.493 --> 01:46.056
[SPEAKER_00]: It's to provide you with some questions.
01:46.997 --> 01:57.889
[SPEAKER_00]: I post a question to you and then you listen to me share my experience based on this particular
01:58.139 --> 02:02.588
[SPEAKER_00]: It's all about acquiring knowledge on that financial front.
02:02.869 --> 02:04.292
[SPEAKER_00]: So if you're ready, I'm ready.
02:04.352 --> 02:08.300
[SPEAKER_00]: Again, the name is Paul Lines van and I'm glad that you could be with me today.
02:08.881 --> 02:10.805
[SPEAKER_00]: So here's question one.
02:12.048 --> 02:17.920
[SPEAKER_00]: What was the turning point that made you realize you needed systems to manage your money?
02:18.338 --> 02:25.733
[SPEAKER_00]: Now, what this does, it helps you to identify your own wake-up moment that leads to financial change.
02:26.154 --> 02:31.846
[SPEAKER_00]: So again, the question one is, what was the turning point that made you realize you needed systems to manage your money?
02:32.447 --> 02:37.798
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, for me, it started when I joined the military,
02:38.251 --> 02:52.486
[SPEAKER_00]: And I chose to become an officer on a day that I graduated from college was a day that I became a part of the financial family of the financial aspect per the United States Air Force.
02:52.506 --> 02:53.607
[SPEAKER_00]: So I had to sign up.
02:54.648 --> 03:04.258
[SPEAKER_00]: I had to get my finances together and I decided to go if I'm looking at any system during the time that I came on duty was direct deposit.
03:04.660 --> 03:18.537
[SPEAKER_00]: In other words, I didn't have checks sent in the mail to my house or anything like that that we actually made that much progress what all you have to do is find out how much you're supposed to earn and then is sure that your money makes it to the bank.
03:19.558 --> 03:30.111
[SPEAKER_00]: And if there's such a thing as a government closure then you still want to check it after the closure is over to ensure that your money is that made it and you would know.
03:30.327 --> 03:35.677
[SPEAKER_00]: a primary because you look at your bank account and it has zeroes there.
03:35.837 --> 03:44.252
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, well, not the money made it, but I'm just letting you know that that was the infancy of for me.
03:44.452 --> 03:51.861
[SPEAKER_00]: in terms of a long range career aspects of course of 22 years and they never failed.
03:52.141 --> 04:09.922
[SPEAKER_00]: It never failed for my payment to make it there and I had additional money going in to put it on if I went to temporary duty or the duration of a training, the leadership training program, which could last anywhere from six weeks to almost two months.
04:10.583 --> 04:14.087
[SPEAKER_00]: And so there were different
04:15.130 --> 04:19.048
[SPEAKER_00]: and in terms of me realize that I need a system in place.
04:19.383 --> 04:22.646
[SPEAKER_00]: In fact, that direct deposit is what made a difference.
04:23.007 --> 04:30.695
[SPEAKER_00]: Now, it was different when I came on duty because we didn't really have the internet, and we didn't have computers to check it.
04:30.735 --> 04:38.163
[SPEAKER_00]: So you would actually have to call in to get the amount that a balance that you had.
04:38.243 --> 04:39.864
[SPEAKER_00]: And so I was pretty good at that.
04:40.685 --> 04:45.390
[SPEAKER_00]: And even consider that there was no cell phones when I first started in the military.
04:45.370 --> 04:50.517
[SPEAKER_00]: And so things were a lot different that they are now in fact today it's much, much better.
04:51.238 --> 05:04.177
[SPEAKER_00]: But I want you to understand and I want you to also consider what was the turning point that made you subscribers and listeners realize you needed systems to manage your money.
05:05.419 --> 05:13.470
[SPEAKER_00]: And so that's what I want you to give consideration to and think far back when you first started banking, of course,
05:13.703 --> 05:34.176
[SPEAKER_00]: When I first started banking, I remember when I had the job in the hometown and I deposited the money into the bank and so I would get the receipts from that and I had my own little accounting system in my little note pad, a journal and that's how I kept up with everything.
05:34.713 --> 05:52.354
[SPEAKER_00]: And even today, when I do taxes, it's the same way where I can account for all the dollars that I spent, which is to me, it's just remarkable, but when I'm doing my taxes, I can track all of my expenses, all of my assets, and I can find out what my net worth is on any given day.
05:53.375 --> 05:59.522
[SPEAKER_00]: So a question too, what does a simple financial system look like for someone just starting out?
05:59.890 --> 06:10.024
[SPEAKER_00]: Now, what this does and what I want you to take into consideration is that this breaks down the concept of systems into something actionable and beginner friendly.
06:10.845 --> 06:28.108
[SPEAKER_00]: And I actually have a reference for someone just starting out, if you are going to first start out, you want to go to a bank or credit union, whatever a system that is available and you deposit your money, you receive a receipt.
06:28.443 --> 06:58.416
[SPEAKER_00]: Then you add money to that, and if you have an, and that's your asset, and now if you have an expense, you expense could there will be a panel utility bill or if you have a
06:59.138 --> 07:06.369
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, you cannot not only have a budget for your business, but you can have a budget for your personal finances as well.
07:06.850 --> 07:11.577
[SPEAKER_00]: And it's just column on the left as asset column on the right are expenses.
07:12.338 --> 07:16.745
[SPEAKER_00]: You go down the list here your assets here your expenses.
07:16.905 --> 07:19.229
[SPEAKER_00]: You subtract your expenses from your assets.
07:19.289 --> 07:22.193
[SPEAKER_00]: And that's going to give you your balance for that period of time.
07:22.834 --> 07:25.298
[SPEAKER_00]: And it's can be as fundamental as that.
07:26.037 --> 07:29.601
[SPEAKER_00]: And then, nowadays, you can make deposits without even going into the bank.
07:29.981 --> 07:41.412
[SPEAKER_00]: You can actually take a picture and that how you have it set up with your bank or that you're working with, they can take that particular picture and they would make that deposit.
07:42.654 --> 07:54.205
[SPEAKER_00]: And then, of course, you would receive a receipt from that and that's how you always want to be able to count for everything, every transaction that you have, money in and money out.
07:55.197 --> 07:59.143
[SPEAKER_00]: And as a result, you're going to always come up with the balance.
07:59.163 --> 08:01.165
[SPEAKER_00]: And you don't want your balance to be zero.
08:02.447 --> 08:09.357
[SPEAKER_00]: Because at that point, you may have to pay some fees, which takes away from your asset side of things.
08:09.978 --> 08:18.470
[SPEAKER_00]: So a simple financial system for just getting started and for it to be actual is just to find the middle.
08:19.271 --> 08:22.015
[SPEAKER_00]: Pause it money, because if you don't,
08:22.298 --> 08:49.690
[SPEAKER_00]: Take the check-in if you receive a check, you have to take it in to positive, first start now, but if you have direct deposit that money will automatically go into the bank under your account and then you'll want to make sure you check it to make sure it's there because there are the scammers that are out there and people hack an account and everything and you want to make sure from this simple financial system.
08:49.889 --> 08:54.475
[SPEAKER_00]: And then you also want to make a count in case they're charges and they're not yours.
08:54.555 --> 09:19.288
[SPEAKER_00]: And at this point, I'm going to share story with you that I was with one of the big banks here in the United States and I always go through my bank account almost on a daily basis, if I see a transaction that doesn't look familiar, then I'll call it in.
09:19.994 --> 09:23.598
[SPEAKER_00]: And I know I was not in the state of Virginia to purchase anything.
09:24.058 --> 09:27.702
[SPEAKER_00]: Can you tell me what this is, Mr. of Mrs. Banker.
09:28.783 --> 09:31.586
[SPEAKER_00]: And this one, Mr. Van, will call you back.
09:31.606 --> 09:33.308
[SPEAKER_00]: We'll let you know what this charge is.
09:33.428 --> 09:36.512
[SPEAKER_00]: So, you know, about an hour later, they call back.
09:36.592 --> 09:45.962
[SPEAKER_00]: And I guess they kind of have a, it kind of Jesus, me with one of their employees and what they found out was employee to $300 out of our account.
09:46.562 --> 09:49.225
[SPEAKER_00]: And they just felt happy.
09:49.576 --> 09:51.218
[SPEAKER_00]: stores in Virginia.
09:52.279 --> 09:56.765
[SPEAKER_00]: And I said, well, how are they able to do that?
09:57.145 --> 10:00.409
[SPEAKER_00]: Isn't my money supposed to be safe?
10:01.110 --> 10:06.476
[SPEAKER_00]: And they said, well, it looks like the individual took money from other customers as well.
10:07.337 --> 10:13.204
[SPEAKER_00]: So I just told my so well, I see you tomorrow morning because I'm taking all of my money out of your bank.
10:15.007 --> 10:29.125
[SPEAKER_00]: Because you just don't want to deal with the bank where you have employees who have taken your money just randomly just go on in taking the heart and earn money that you have and so the reason why I'm sharing this story is because it happens every day.
10:30.306 --> 10:42.381
[SPEAKER_00]: And so when you have a financial system and place once you put it in place you're going to have to track it you're going to have to keep up with it because you may go there one day and that money is no longer there and they know answers to it.
10:43.103 --> 10:45.166
[SPEAKER_00]: are like what happened to me this year.
10:45.947 --> 10:53.538
[SPEAKER_00]: I tried to log into my laptop and tried to log into my account on a lot of account.
10:54.299 --> 10:55.601
[SPEAKER_00]: And there was somebody missing.
10:57.043 --> 10:57.924
[SPEAKER_00]: And I couldn't get in.
10:58.024 --> 10:58.965
[SPEAKER_00]: First of all, I couldn't get in.
10:58.985 --> 11:12.925
[SPEAKER_00]: So I called it in and I said, oh yeah, we will, the banks that we'll wait for you to call us because we have this transaction I'm like, hello, when you want to call me if there's money missed going out and they said,
11:13.428 --> 11:25.324
[SPEAKER_00]: account and someone one of your peers took out some of your money and they move your your savings account into your checking account, I guess because they wouldn't get the rest of the money out.
11:26.246 --> 11:32.434
[SPEAKER_00]: And before they did that, and then they took all of my bank statements, which made it even worse.
11:33.175 --> 11:41.747
[SPEAKER_00]: So I had to go in and change everything, all their count numbers, credit cards, you name it up money with that was taken out with place back in there.
11:42.520 --> 11:55.453
[SPEAKER_00]: And I asked the bank, I said, well, show me a document was signed for peer to peer with someone else can go into my account and take the money out.
11:55.473 --> 12:00.859
[SPEAKER_00]: They couldn't produce it, of course, I knew they didn't, because I would never sign that I would not even sign that for family member.
12:01.560 --> 12:11.650
[SPEAKER_00]: And so what bothered me was the fact that the bank is sitting there, that letting us happen, they're not even telling you.
12:11.984 --> 12:14.286
[SPEAKER_00]: Oh, you have a count.
12:14.466 --> 12:16.969
[SPEAKER_00]: No one that I don't have in a count, right?
12:17.289 --> 12:21.033
[SPEAKER_00]: So when it comes to the simple financial system, the thing you have to do is follow up.
12:22.034 --> 12:23.615
[SPEAKER_00]: Their successes in the follow up.
12:23.655 --> 12:25.857
[SPEAKER_00]: You have to stay on top of your count.
12:26.959 --> 12:36.308
[SPEAKER_00]: You have to track every expense you have, every deposit you have because if you don't, you're not dependent on a bank or credit you're going to tell you.
12:37.108 --> 12:38.410
[SPEAKER_00]: It doesn't impact them.
12:38.770 --> 12:39.831
[SPEAKER_00]: It impacts you.
12:40.199 --> 12:42.622
[SPEAKER_00]: And so you have to look after your own money.
12:43.023 --> 12:47.269
[SPEAKER_00]: Now question three, we're gonna move on because I digress because I'm still hot about that.
12:47.389 --> 12:49.331
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm hot around the collar about that.
12:50.212 --> 12:52.996
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, to go to the police station if I'll report it and everything.
12:53.877 --> 12:59.405
[SPEAKER_00]: Question number three, how did automating your savings and bill payments transform your financial results?
13:00.286 --> 13:09.919
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, what this does for you when I'm posing this question, it highlights the power of removing emotion and inconsistency from money management.
13:10.186 --> 13:37.324
[SPEAKER_00]: I do know that here in the Great of Washington DC metro area that a lot of the immigrants who are here work hard every day they don't trust banks and I can understand that and they work around $5,000 in the pocket $10,000 until someone in DC notices that they're working around with this cash and they rob them and broad daylight with their wife stand on the side that.
13:38.300 --> 13:51.259
[SPEAKER_00]: And so what I want to say is putting your money into the bank, you're going to have to trust them because the banks do cover losses up to $250,000 if someone goes into your account.
13:51.279 --> 13:53.882
[SPEAKER_00]: Now, it may have happened with the new administration.
13:53.902 --> 13:59.831
[SPEAKER_00]: They may have changed that, but with the federal deposit insurance corporation that used to be up to $250,000.
14:00.512 --> 14:07.682
[SPEAKER_00]: So you and I have to go back and check this.
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[SPEAKER_00]: your savings and bill payments.
14:10.448 --> 14:25.763
[SPEAKER_00]: What you can do when you have your bank account set up, you can also have a direct deposit, not only go to your checking account, but also to your savings account, are you going to move money within the online bank that you have when you conduct online banking?
14:25.803 --> 14:29.667
[SPEAKER_00]: And you can also do that for your business bank account, too, you can have them linked.
14:30.448 --> 14:33.771
[SPEAKER_00]: And so I think my automation is much better because
14:34.105 --> 14:38.751
[SPEAKER_00]: You don't have to be worried about running to the bank to deposit your check.
14:39.112 --> 14:50.166
[SPEAKER_00]: It will automatically set their transfer there from the, your employer to the lending institution or the banking institution that you're affiliated with.
14:50.827 --> 14:56.255
[SPEAKER_00]: But automation is really good, but again, it really requires some housekeeping.
14:56.275 --> 15:02.543
[SPEAKER_00]: You have to really fine tune, and you don't have to be a financial guru like I was.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Green, I say type person, a counting type mindset, but what you have to do is to be paying attention and you have to be very consistent and you have to be able to ask the right questions and the right questions is I'm calling to check on my account.
15:22.851 --> 15:27.636
[SPEAKER_00]: I see there been a withdrawal of which I'm not
15:27.987 --> 15:32.393
[SPEAKER_00]: knowledgeable who did it, and you may have to go in and make some changes.
15:32.553 --> 15:41.885
[SPEAKER_00]: And you can also go to some third party organizations and set up whereby they provide coverage for you.
15:42.545 --> 15:46.991
[SPEAKER_00]: For example, life lock would be one example of a company that does that.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And they do a very good job in tracking
15:50.718 --> 16:04.591
[SPEAKER_00]: what you would do, you would go in, open their account with them, put in all your checking accounts, your credit card accounts, and they would ensure it up to a million dollars if you have a loss, which I think is tremendous.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And so they would provide a lot of you.
16:07.734 --> 16:15.320
[SPEAKER_00]: So you don't necessarily have to go to the court room and try to defend the fact that you did not take the money off as someone else did.
16:15.340 --> 16:18.143
[SPEAKER_00]: It will hack to something of that nature.
16:18.612 --> 16:25.737
[SPEAKER_00]: So I think that's plenty on how to automate in your savings and build payments, transform your financial results.
16:26.088 --> 16:39.843
[SPEAKER_00]: And then before I go, when it comes to bill payments, you can't set it up where they can call them at the Senate and a bill payment for your rent, for your mortgage, for student loan, for credit cards, or insurance, whatever it may happen to be.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And so it's a good thing to do.
16:43.887 --> 16:48.092
[SPEAKER_00]: The next question is what role does budgeting play in achieving financial freedom?
16:48.212 --> 16:51.015
[SPEAKER_00]: No one likes to be where, no one likes to budget.
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[SPEAKER_00]: People have a whole birth in their pocket.
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[SPEAKER_00]: They get money, they earn money, and they just want to buy, buy, buy, buy.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And then they look up, buy the end of the next week.
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[SPEAKER_00]: They don't have any money.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And that's why I say one of the things that's wanted to do is set up a budget.
17:06.059 --> 17:11.605
[SPEAKER_00]: And this helps US, a listener, understand why structure and awareness are the key to progress.
17:12.446 --> 17:18.353
[SPEAKER_00]: And structure means that you want to set up, again, I talked about the leisure earlier.
17:18.822 --> 17:22.607
[SPEAKER_00]: on the left side or the assets or the right side are the expenses.
17:23.328 --> 17:26.993
[SPEAKER_00]: And so you want to be able to track everything, every dollar.
17:27.514 --> 17:35.245
[SPEAKER_00]: Even if you go to Starbucks every day and spend $5 which still blows my mind, $5 for one capital coffee, are more.
17:36.206 --> 17:43.597
[SPEAKER_00]: And you balance at work, or what I used to do at the Pentagon, I used to bring my lunch.
17:44.277 --> 17:44.678
[SPEAKER_00]: That would be great.
17:44.995 --> 17:48.419
[SPEAKER_00]: have my breakfast before I left home and I left at five in the morning.
17:48.439 --> 18:14.749
[SPEAKER_00]: I would have breakfast, go to the gym and then I will actually work out first and then I would eat at my desk for breakfast and then when lunchtime came I would get some lunch if I didn't bring it in that day and so you want to track all of those expenses and you want to any if you leave someone a tip at a restaurant,
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[SPEAKER_00]: gas, if you purchase gas, you want to write that down and shine everything.
18:20.477 --> 18:29.773
[SPEAKER_00]: If you buy gifts for someone, you want to write that down, stamps, envelopes, whatever it may be, business products, if you are on a business, you want to do the same thing.
18:30.354 --> 18:36.805
[SPEAKER_00]: But the role that budgeting plays is that it really
18:37.004 --> 18:40.228
[SPEAKER_00]: shows what your relationship with money is like.
18:40.548 --> 18:48.338
[SPEAKER_00]: In other words, how you save money and how you spend money is a relationship with money.
18:49.119 --> 19:00.033
[SPEAKER_00]: Then being able to track it is really the credibility that's reflected for the money that you have that relationship with.
19:00.053 --> 19:03.397
[SPEAKER_00]: That's the easiest way to explain it but you do want to have a budget.
19:03.797 --> 19:06.100
[SPEAKER_00]: You don't want to keep it in your head because
19:06.417 --> 19:12.023
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, you go to sleep at night, you might forget about what was on your mind the previous day of the previous evening.
19:12.357 --> 19:19.586
[SPEAKER_00]: So you want to ensure that you have a budget, get to just a note pad or a journal.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Are you in purchase ledges?
19:21.148 --> 19:24.812
[SPEAKER_00]: You can actually get some online as well.
19:25.754 --> 19:29.979
[SPEAKER_00]: Almost like an Excel spreadsheet and you can track the money.
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[SPEAKER_00]: But it's very important because it's your money and you want to be responsible for it because if you're not, someone will be responsible for your money if you don't.
19:40.960 --> 19:48.572
[SPEAKER_00]: And here's the next question, how did you build consistency in your spending and saving habits?
19:48.672 --> 19:50.835
[SPEAKER_00]: Now to me, that's very important.
19:50.895 --> 19:54.561
[SPEAKER_00]: And that's again, like assets and expenditures.
19:56.003 --> 20:04.597
[SPEAKER_00]: So this is all about demonstrating that discipline and routine are more effective than short bursts of motivation.
20:05.178 --> 20:08.082
[SPEAKER_00]: So the question, again, and I pose it to you
20:08.230 --> 20:09.833
[SPEAKER_00]: for my own personal spirit.
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[SPEAKER_00]: How did you build consistency in your spending and saving habits?
20:14.119 --> 20:22.232
[SPEAKER_00]: You build consistencies by knowing, for example, when I was paid in the military, we were paid every two weeks.
20:23.314 --> 20:24.816
[SPEAKER_00]: Some people went every month.
20:25.077 --> 20:33.310
[SPEAKER_00]: In retirement, I'm paid every month, but in active duty are at mobile or company I was paid every couple of weeks.
20:33.695 --> 20:41.032
[SPEAKER_00]: So 80 hours of work, 40 hours a week, especially for mobile or military, just across the boy.
20:41.633 --> 20:45.021
[SPEAKER_00]: But in order to understand what you're spending
20:45.372 --> 21:04.292
[SPEAKER_00]: You have to know what your foundation is and so as I stated before you have a house payment, that's going to be the largest payment you have and then if you have a vehicle that would likely be the second highest.
21:04.998 --> 21:10.049
[SPEAKER_00]: policy at the employer doesn't cover it, then that's going to be a very large expense.
21:10.430 --> 21:13.517
[SPEAKER_00]: So you have to keep up with everything, all the utilities.
21:14.098 --> 21:19.991
[SPEAKER_00]: You have to keep up with insurance, home owners and association fees.
21:20.111 --> 21:24.441
[SPEAKER_00]: There's just a lot of things that you have to be cognizant of.
21:24.792 --> 21:26.334
[SPEAKER_00]: And so you have to watch the spending.
21:26.414 --> 21:30.940
[SPEAKER_00]: And then you have to balance the spending against the savings that you have.
21:31.521 --> 21:38.970
[SPEAKER_00]: So that's why I say it be who's you to really save my because you want to have a rainy day fund.
21:39.070 --> 21:45.218
[SPEAKER_00]: For example, the government closure where if you didn't have any savings that aside, then you were in the food mine.
21:46.139 --> 21:50.665
[SPEAKER_00]: If you didn't have any savings, then you're going to have to find another job and then enter mine.
21:51.505 --> 22:03.540
[SPEAKER_00]: And let's say if you don't, you're not a part of the federal government and you live on paycheck, the paycheck is even more important that you're disciplined and trying to save every penny that you have.
22:04.111 --> 22:10.018
[SPEAKER_00]: and not by things that you really want but by things that you really need.
22:10.218 --> 22:20.609
[SPEAKER_00]: And there's nothing wrong with buying the things that you want but it cannot come at the expense of the things that you really need like a roof over your head, medical insurance and food.
22:21.310 --> 22:24.033
[SPEAKER_00]: So you have to really be a mind for that.
22:24.273 --> 22:26.135
[SPEAKER_00]: So let's go on to the next question.
22:26.936 --> 22:32.903
[SPEAKER_00]: What tools or apps have been
22:33.288 --> 22:45.766
[SPEAKER_00]: And again, I think this is one where it just comes down to what you think is best for you, because I wouldn't really recommend any to anyone, because I don't really use them.
22:46.226 --> 22:53.777
[SPEAKER_00]: I just kind of fundamentally just take that 40 hours of over 40 hours of counting that I have and apply what I learned through that.
22:54.685 --> 23:01.393
[SPEAKER_00]: And so again, what tools or apps have been game changes for your money, management, system?
23:02.074 --> 23:08.822
[SPEAKER_00]: Now, this question provides practical recommendations that you can implement right away.
23:09.623 --> 23:17.352
[SPEAKER_00]: And so I would have to say that there are some programs that are out there that you can use, but I'll
23:17.332 --> 23:35.507
[SPEAKER_00]: I'll default you to for you to find them and you could just simply lick it up on one of the search engines and find out what apps are out there because I don't want to get into naming different brands out there because I don't use them.
23:36.388 --> 23:46.697
[SPEAKER_00]: But so I'll just leave that question as it is.
23:47.605 --> 23:50.731
[SPEAKER_00]: finances, I say go for it.
23:50.751 --> 24:12.229
[SPEAKER_00]: And because there's some apps out there that are part of online banks, meaning there's virtual banks and they're not brick and mortar banks, you can use those systems and you can also invest as stock and other things with them and get loans and just a number of
24:12.732 --> 24:19.461
[SPEAKER_00]: for you to go out there because I don't want to get into the branding and recommending something that I don't use myself.
24:20.383 --> 24:22.045
[SPEAKER_00]: And so I'll leave it at that.
24:22.065 --> 24:24.829
[SPEAKER_00]: So let's go to question seven and we're almost finished.
24:24.849 --> 24:28.654
[SPEAKER_00]: This is the next last question and the question is raised as follows.
24:29.255 --> 24:34.623
[SPEAKER_00]: How do you stay motivated to maintain your systems when life gets busy or hard?
24:35.203 --> 24:40.731
[SPEAKER_00]: And what this does at office or emotional and my set strategies for long-term success?
24:41.167 --> 24:45.953
[SPEAKER_00]: but the best way to stay motivated is to be happy with your life.
24:46.474 --> 24:56.267
[SPEAKER_00]: Now I know that sounds very simplistic, but being happy with your life means that you need some monetary and financial resources to help you to navigate life.
24:57.228 --> 25:07.562
[SPEAKER_00]: And so doing that means that you're working and also what goes with working is that you make the best decisions that you can to help you
25:07.947 --> 25:14.875
[SPEAKER_00]: Manage your finances and again, as I spoke in a previous episode is your relationship with money.
25:15.075 --> 25:34.596
[SPEAKER_00]: You have to know what your relationship is with money and order for you to position yourself to come into and embrace that
25:34.576 --> 25:56.218
[SPEAKER_00]: So it's a growth mindset and so I would have to say the way to state motivated is the fact that you know that you work hard The fact that you know that you can put money in a bank the fact that you know that you keep that momentum going and I look at myself and I said okay, so I worked in the military for over 22 years on what did that get me?
25:56.778 --> 26:02.864
[SPEAKER_00]: It has me retirement pay all I have to do is stay alive.
26:03.785 --> 26:04.566
[SPEAKER_00]: I
26:04.799 --> 26:10.511
[SPEAKER_00]: There'd be things such as social security, I've received some disability from the military.
26:11.132 --> 26:18.929
[SPEAKER_00]: And so there are different ways in terms of a stand motivated with your systems.
26:19.690 --> 26:24.681
[SPEAKER_00]: And it's a difference between having to work and not having to work.
26:25.403 --> 26:38.560
[SPEAKER_00]: And so you may have things such as insurance policies that you have out there, an event of a crisis that someone passed away, you have money and insurance money is not taxable.
26:39.060 --> 26:44.788
[SPEAKER_00]: So it's actually some of the best money that's out there and you don't have to report it on your taxes.
26:45.488 --> 26:54.600
[SPEAKER_00]: So I would have to say that maintain your systems and your systems is one of being consistent.
26:54.580 --> 27:00.720
[SPEAKER_00]: knowing what your relationship is with money and you want to have a good relationship with it.
27:01.041 --> 27:04.793
[SPEAKER_00]: So I'm going to question the last question here.
27:05.110 --> 27:25.276
[SPEAKER_00]: which is a question eight and what question eight really speaks to and it's going to be a good one what it speaks to is what advice what you and that's me to you what advice which you give to someone who feels they've failed at budgeting before.
27:26.498 --> 27:32.586
[SPEAKER_00]: Very good question and what this does is
27:33.916 --> 27:39.283
[SPEAKER_00]: It encourages grace and persistence, showing that success comes from progress, not perfection.
27:39.644 --> 27:41.667
[SPEAKER_00]: And I think that's very good, so I'm going to repeat it.
27:43.049 --> 27:48.356
[SPEAKER_00]: What advice would you give to someone who feels like they fail at budgeting before?
27:49.057 --> 27:54.404
[SPEAKER_00]: This again encourages grace and persistence, showing that success comes from progress, not perfection.
27:54.825 --> 28:03.737
[SPEAKER_00]: And what I'd have to say on this particular note is that failure is not final.
28:04.358 --> 28:33.066
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, pick yourself up and get that general or get that Excel spreadsheet or get an automated ledger, budgeting ledger from online, and just start using it, but use it from a position of consistency, don't start to stop, start to stop, but consistently every
28:33.383 --> 28:35.165
[SPEAKER_00]: You have an expense right at down.
28:36.447 --> 28:37.949
[SPEAKER_00]: You made a purchase right at down.
28:38.349 --> 28:45.779
[SPEAKER_00]: You have it a deposit right at down and weigh them in terms of, well, how much can I use?
28:45.859 --> 28:47.121
[SPEAKER_00]: How much do I have available?
28:47.461 --> 28:48.943
[SPEAKER_00]: And how much can I use?
28:49.003 --> 28:50.926
[SPEAKER_00]: Because sometimes people run out of money.
28:51.547 --> 29:00.218
[SPEAKER_00]: And so you have to put yourself in a position where you make it your conscious, financially conscious, financially mindful.
29:00.653 --> 29:02.175
[SPEAKER_00]: of your money.
29:02.255 --> 29:11.627
[SPEAKER_00]: So that's that advice I would give to people that may have failed in terms of budgeting.
29:12.308 --> 29:18.936
[SPEAKER_00]: Budgeting, there's nothing mysterious about it, it's just an awareness and it's about a consciousness about it.
29:19.397 --> 29:25.064
[SPEAKER_00]: So in closing, what I want to share with you is this is that financial freedom doesn't come from luck.
29:25.765 --> 29:30.070
[SPEAKER_00]: It comes from systems that support
29:30.775 --> 29:37.703
[SPEAKER_00]: Smart, smart, start small, stay consistent, watch those systems compound and to long-term results.
29:38.364 --> 29:40.987
[SPEAKER_00]: Remember, you can build a wealth from a scattered mind.
29:41.607 --> 29:43.690
[SPEAKER_00]: You build it from a structured plan.
29:44.430 --> 29:46.893
[SPEAKER_00]: That's really the key you have to have structure.
29:47.334 --> 29:50.457
[SPEAKER_00]: And so here's a call of action for this particular episode.
29:51.278 --> 29:55.483
[SPEAKER_00]: If this episode is fired, you subscribe to the wealth academy podcast,
29:55.936 --> 30:02.503
[SPEAKER_00]: share it with someone who needs a money breakthrough and leave a five-star review to help us reach more listeners.
30:02.963 --> 30:12.253
[SPEAKER_00]: This is all about a collective body of us that not only are in the moment, but we're also looking into the future.
30:12.714 --> 30:14.055
[SPEAKER_00]: What has happened in the past?
30:14.095 --> 30:16.678
[SPEAKER_00]: We can't do anything about it, but we can't do something today.
30:17.239 --> 30:20.042
[SPEAKER_00]: And we have a chance to do something tomorrow.
30:20.122 --> 30:22.264
[SPEAKER_00]: If we were fortunate enough.
30:22.531 --> 30:37.553
[SPEAKER_00]: So download, I'd like for you to go to the private Facebook group, I have, which is titled, well, it's titled,
30:38.731 --> 30:44.803
[SPEAKER_00]: such that it will help you to learn how to lead yourself to wealth.
30:45.945 --> 30:50.634
[SPEAKER_00]: And in there, I will have a financial checklist that you can start with.
30:50.734 --> 30:56.605
[SPEAKER_00]: But just simply go to private Facebook, we'll join it.
30:56.585 --> 31:05.036
[SPEAKER_00]: answer the three questions that I have there and you will see the free financial checklist that I have you that will get you off to a good start.
31:05.777 --> 31:23.180
[SPEAKER_00]: And so the way to get there is go to www.facebook.com for slash groups GROUPS for slash lead yourself to wealth and you'll find it there.
31:23.581 --> 31:25.984
[SPEAKER_00]: But that's
31:26.369 --> 31:39.224
[SPEAKER_00]: And I thank you very much for being on this particular episode of Wolf Academy podcast and uh, recommend it to your friends, your family, your colleagues, and uh, I see you on the next episode again, the name is Paul Lines van and have a great day and thank you so much for tuning in.
31:39.244 --> 31:47.314
[SPEAKER_00]: It's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it
