Host Anthony Weaver welcomes Brandon Lovingier @enlistedmoney, a military veteran and financial consultant, to discuss the importance of building strong financial habits and the challenges that come with managing money. Brandon shares his personal journey from financial struggles to becoming a financial planner, emphasizing the importance of budgeting, automation, and the emotional aspects of spending.

Join us as we discuss:

• The emotional and financial challenges that Brandon faced and how he overcame them.
• The significance of budgeting and creating a system that works for you.
• The impact of military service on financial planning and the unique benefits it offers.
• The importance of starting early with investments, even with small amounts.
• Strategies for having difficult conversations about financial planning with family.
• Brandon's future plans, including his upcoming book "Enlist to Wealth" and his transition to civilian life.

=||Chapters||=

00:00:00 - Introduction

00:02:00 - Brandon's Financial Journey

00:10:30 - Importance of Budgeting and Automation

00:18:45 - Military Benefits and Financial Planning

00:25:30 - Starting Early with Investments

00:32:15 - Difficult Conversations About Family Finances

00:40:00 - Brandon's Future Plans and Projects

00:45:00 - Final Four Questions

00:55:00 - Closing Remarks

Discover more about Brandon and his work:

Website: https://enlistedmoney.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/enlistedmoney

THANK YOU FOR LISTENING!

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Episode 272

Yeah, I mean, I mean, the. The real big reason why

is just because I. I don't want anybody to have to go through a

lot of the stuff that I had to go through. And. And

honestly, we, you know, we always had a roof over our

head. We always had food to eat. So, like, there's people that have had it worse

than me, but I remember putting rent on a

credit card because there was nothing, you know, there was nothing

left. Uh, I can remember, you know, eating,

you know, just random noodles that we had in the, in the, in the

cabinet because, yeah, like, it. There was just

nothing. Um, and,

um, yeah, and it didn't have to be that way.

Like, I had. We had enough money to

be able to be fine, but,

you know, because of my spending habits and all that. And then you

introduce credit cards and things like that. Like,

um, yeah, that was just a recipe for just me

digging a bigger and bigger hole.

Welcome, everybody, back to another exciting show, the about

that water podcast, where we help you build strong financial

habits so that you feel comfortable talking

about money, spending money, and even

wasting money. So one of the cool people that

I have coming on just a few moments

is a guy who's served in the military,

actually the army, for 19 years

and has deployed to Iraq and

Afghanistan. He's established his blog called

the Enlisted Money to help enlisted service

members avoid the same mistakes that he made

and achieve financial freedom. He's earned his

chartered financial consultant, the

CHFC designation in

2022, and is one of the first military

qualified financial planner. How

you doing today, Brandon?

Hey, I'm great. I really appreciate you having me on, Anthony.

No, uh, problem. Uh, and one of

the things that I really wanted to have you come on the show

today was to really take a deep dive and

another look into really adding that

resiliency in our finances

and really helping us set up a budget

so that we don't have that tendency to

spend money. Can you talk about a little

bit, like, why is it such

a hard thing for us to not spend money,

Jeff?

Yeah, well, I mean, it's kind of one of those things

that, um, I mean, I've definitely struggled with this a lot.

Um, I'm a natural spender. Um, and

honestly, I kind of struggled with that a little bit because a lot of, uh,

podcasts and different, uh, blogs and stuff like

that, I was like, yeah, they're, you know, pretty

seem like a lot of natural savers and stuff like that. And so,

like, some of the stuff wasn't maybe directly

applicable to me. But you, you mentioned a budget. And, and that

is something that, that everybody can, can use.

But, um. Um, I mean, we've, we've definitely done

a lot of different iterations over the years, and, and a lot of

that is just because of, like, the way I, the

way I process and spend money. Like, it

can't get in my hands because I can't hold on to it.

Like, I've got, I got big, I've got big hands and I got a strong

grip, but not on money. Like, it

just slips right through. Um, so a lot of

our processes, uh, are designed around

that. And so kind of like talking about

automation, um, you know, we segment things

into different categories, different buckets, and, you

know, and that mental accounting and doing

that realistic, um, budgeting

is something that's helped out a lot over the

years.

Yeah. And throughout the years, you always

find your ebbs and flows of your finances.

And I found that majority of the time, people

has a tendency to spend money when they're happy

or when they sad or when they're hungry

or just because they want to give, especially

during the holidays. It's almost like, don't put a price to

this. Whatever makes you happy. So is

that, um, is there a way or a structure that we can

put in place to kind of help us to kind

of hold some of that back and

just really be intentional with our finances?

Oh, yeah, definitely. Um. Um, I mean, especially, like, you talking

about like, the giving and stuff like that. Like, I'm, I'm

really bad about that. Like, I'll just be like, hey, here, you know,

here's $20, or what, whatever. And it would drive

my wife nuts because she'd be like, we needed that. Like,

that was, you know, we needed that. And so, um. Um,

over time, we've actually got a system in place. Like, we actually

have a set amount of money that goes into a

specific giving, uh, fund, and then we'll

use that. And actually, I actually now carry, um. Um, they're,

they're pretty cool. I don't think I have one on me, but they're little, uh, uh, grace

bomb cards. Um. Um, and then, you know, keep

those in a, and an envelope in my, in my wallet

or in my car or in both of our cars, uh, uh, just with a

little bit of cash. And so, like, that's like, set aside for,

hey, if we find somebody that, um, you

know, that needs something or whatever, I can, you know, give

them. Give them, you know, $20 or buy them a meal

or whatever they need and give it to them. But

um, but yeah, I mean, I think you, you

really touch on a really important piece is just like, you know, that

emotional component of it because, you know,

we need to know what we're going to do in the moment. Um, and

then develop systems around that to, uh,

either not circumvent

it, but maybe redirect that a little bit or reframe

it. Um, that's been really helpful for me. Um,

just to know, like, hey, when I say yes to this, I'm saying

no to something else. Um, and

then also maybe,

hey, you can't do all of

what you're wanting to do, but you can do a little bit.

Um, and so that's been helpful. And then over

time, been able to, um. Um,

like I said, kind of build up like, savings accounts, like

Christmas giving, um, um, all

those kinds of things. We actually put a little bit

away each month into, um, um, uh,

high yield savings accounts for some of those, you know,

specific things that we want to do.

Yeah. So who was the first person

that actually taught you how to manage money?

That's a, that's a good question. So,

I mean, I learned some real

basic, um, money management

skills when I was fairly young,

um, just because I had a checking account and things like

that. And I had to know how to balance a checkbook. So I'd say

pretty early on, my mom,

uh, showed me how to balance a checkbook and all that because,

um, we did four h. And so,

um, we, uh, raised hogs

and stuff like that. And so you had to

basically manage your budget for, um,

for all that. And that was part of the project is you had to

have your initial costs, like how much

it costs to buy the feeder pig, how much you bought

and feed each year, each month and all that.

And then you take them to the sale at the fair at the end of

the year. And then that's kind of how you, uh,

figure out, um, how you did and all that kind of

stuff. Um, so that was actually,

I kind of forgot I even kind of learned that

way. But I. But, yeah. And

then other than that, I don't think I

really had a lot of money management

skills until, um, later. I

just kind of, I just kind of

figured out like, hey, I spent all my money, I need to go

make more. And so I got really good at like, finding ways

to make money. Yeah. Oh, I'm really good at making

money. I'm even better at spending it, though. And so that,

you know, that, that eventually, uh, became a

problem, um, just, you know, over

time. So, yeah.

And one of the things that I found is that we

love, uh, making, uh, money. It's so easy

to do. Um, um, but when

it comes to spending, sometimes it depends on, you

know, your mindset at the time frame. Like, obviously

during the fall, it's like shots, we ain't going nowhere. Let's spend

it. Let's go somewhere. Let's do something fun.

But also, you created this whole

program, uh, because you delved into a lot of

stuff before you actually finally honed in onto your craft

from blogging. And you did

this mostly because nobody was out

there talking about it the way that you felt was

helpful. Uh, can you talk about more

of a reason why? What is your big why besides

just like, hey, I just want to give this to somebody else?

Jeff? Yeah, I mean, I mean, the, the real big

reason why is just because I, I don't want anybody to have to go

through a lot of the stuff that I had to go through.

And, and honestly, we, you know, we always had

a roof overhead. We always had food to eat. So, like, there's people that

have had it worse than me, but I remember

putting rent on a credit card to me because there was nothing, you know, there

was nothing left. Um, um, I can remember, you

know, eating, you know, just random noodles that we had in the,

in the, in the cabinet because, yeah, like, it, there was just

nothing. Um, and,

um, and, yeah, and it didn't have to be that way.

Like, I had, we had enough money to,

to be able to be fine,

but, you know, because of, you know, my spending habits and all that, and

then you introduce credit cards and things like that,

like, um, yeah, that was just a recipe for just

me digging a bigger and bigger hole. Um,

and, and so, you know, I

guess my, you know, my big why is just, you know,

nobody, nobody needs to do that. And I,

if, you know, if somebody would have told me early

on, like, hey, man, if you just stay out of debt

and invest about 100,

5200 bucks a month starting now, and never

put any less than that, uh, away, then

you'll be a millionaire someday,

I would have been like, wait, hold on, say that again

slow. But whenever I

was younger, nobody told me that. The only thing I knew is that

I had the TSP because I was in the army. But the only

thing I got from the brief on it was that they were going to take money out of my

check. I was like, you're going to take money out of

my check? And then maybe it grows and I get it. Like, when

I'm like 60 something like, am I even going to be alive

then? Like, I don't. Yeah, I don't even know, man. Like, I'm getting ready to go to

war. Like, no, I need this money now.

Like, because one of the things that,

in your story, you mentioned that you started your roth

with just dollar 50 a month, if I'm not mistaken.

Yeah.

So how is it doing now?

Yeah, um. I haven't looked in a little bit, but,

um. Yeah, I think it's because I haven't

contributed to it for a long time now. But, uh, I think last time

I looked, I think there's $43,000 in there.

Wow.

Um. Um. And, yeah, actually, it's

funny, I didn't even know. I didn't really know what a Roth

Ira was when I started it. It was just

literally at the end of a phone call,

the bank that I had, they did the

upsell kind of thing. Like, hey, by the way, we noticed

you don't have a, you know, x, y, and z or whatever. They would

always do that, especially mostly with, like, insurance stuff. Be like,

oh, hey, have you, uh. Do you happen to. Have.

We saw that you got married. Do you. Do you have a, you know,

whatever, you know,

wedding. Wedding, uh, set insurance, uh,

policy? I'm like, I don't. That's a thing. But anyway,

so. So that's how. That's how I started it.

And they just said, hey, you can just put $50 a month into it

and it'll grow tax free. And I was like, oh, that sounds.

You know, that sounds good. I was. I think I was. Yeah, I was deployed

at the time, and so I was, you know, kind of felt like I had a bunch

of, you know, like, extra money. I was, you know, felt like it was, you know, big

baller, you know, I was like, yeah, uh, $50. Yeah, no, no

problem. Yeah, yeah. And

so. And then I basically forgot about it.

Um. And, um. And then

when I went to transfer it, yeah, I was

surprised it was, like, 20, because this was after I kind of,

like, learned. Started learning about personal finance. I was like, yeah, I should probably

do something with that. Like, now that I know what it is, you know?

And, um, what year was this? That,

uh, when I transferred it, that would have been in

2018.

Wow, so you've been in there for a while. Like, I'm just thinking

of. Because roths are fairly new, so

for you to have that amount, that's really good.

Yeah. And so when I transferred it, I think it

was right at $20,000. I forget it. Was

like 19, 800 something or whatever. I think I have it written

down somewhere. Um, and,

yeah, it's more, and I haven't

contributed any more to it since then

and it is over doubled. I don't do anything

with it. I just let it ride.

Um, and it all started with $50 a month.

And so that's one of those things is like,

you can't fight, do anything.

You can at least start with something if you can get

$50, even if you can't get

$50, you put 10,

20, 30, whatever, until you can start putting something

away. But, um, yeah, I mean, you can't

afford not to start is really like the big thing for

me.

That's actually a good title for the show.

You can't afford not to start.

Yeah. So, yeah, I mean, actually that was, you know, I

don't, I don't run it anymore, but that was my,

the name of my, uh, my podcast that I had, you

know, uh, called start 100k. Um, and that was

kind of my whole idea. It's like if you just get started and then

just focus on getting to that 1st $100,000,

like, you'll build all the habits and all that kind of stuff. You

know, like just, you know, make it a smaller goal to start and then,

you know, from there, time will do its thing. So, um,

um, but, uh, uh, but yeah, so I

think I'm definitely a big one of like, hey, just, just get

started. It'll, it'll, you'll figure it out as you go.

Yeah, as we got time, because I do want to dive

into some of the perks of being in the

military. Um, and also

let's kind of bring it back to why did you even

join the military in the first place?

Yeah. Um, as far as, like, joining the military,

funny, funny story about that. So,

um, I more or less, I just

didn't want to go to college.

Um, and I

mean, I didn't, I didn't, I knew I didn't want to stay where I was,

and I knew I didn't want to go to college because I was like, college is just

like, harder high school, but you have to pay for it. And

I was like, I hate going to

school. I was so ready to be done with

it. Um, and I was

smart. I was just as Henri.

Um, so I was like, well, okay, the

army says I can

go and, um, go

get a tech job, basically, which I more or less did.

I got into satellite communications is what, um, I

do, did buy trade. Um,

and so I'm like, okay, cool. So technology job. All

right. That makes family happy. And if

I decide to go to college, oh, by the way. Yep. Mom,

dad, they're going to pay for my college. So

that kind of was kind of like, the best compromise

for me is like, hey, I don't have to do any of the stuff that I don't want to

do. And everybody thinks that I'm going to have college. And so, like, all

right, cool, let's do this. Um,

and then I get in and they're like, hey, in order to get

promoted, um, you're going to need to start taking college classes.

And I was like, oh, man. Got me.

He's okay. Get away from it.

Yeah. But, um, yeah, that was really the big driver.

I wish I could say, hey, yeah,

I really was inspired to go serve my country or

whatever. Uh, I mean, there's a component of that too now.

Um, but back then it was really just, I didn't, yeah,

I didn't want to, uh, I needed a good job

and I didn't want to go to college, though.

Yeah. And you mentioned earlier about,

like, having your child now. Mhm.

And that you're married. Would you, like,

be going forward and let your child choose military or

will you give them better, like, m not better options, but other

options out there in the world? Like, hey, you can actually do something

else.

Yeah, no, I, yeah, I, um, I know exactly what

you mean. And, um, yeah, actually, my

wife and I have talked about that a lot. And,

um, the fact of the matter is, it's done a lot of

great things for me, a lot of

non tangible benefits. Um,

and

I guess, full disclosure, I was a recruiter for three and a half

years. So I've had these conversations with other

people and I

really developed a lot of gratitude for the

parents that were, um, you know, that

were open and willing to let their kids have a

conversation with me about what options they might

have in the military. Um, but I also took that really

seriously and I made sure and let them know,

like, hey, if I don't think this is right for you, or,

hey, your goals, like, yeah, you shouldn't enlist, you should

probably go to college and do RoTC or something

like that. Um, and there's some that I'm like, hey, look,

if you don't want to go to boot camp, if you don't want to deploy, like, hey,

don't do this. Because, yeah, that's, that's just part of the, you know, that's part

of the gig. Um, but yeah, I would be,

I would be very proud of my son, if that's, you know, a path that

he wanted to take. But if he wants to do something

else, hey, you know, as long as

he's doing something productive and he's a kind and caring person in the

world, that's, that's really our main goal.

Yeah. And as, you know, you're

aging, and all of us are aging,

and, you know, you have your parents

coming in. So, you know, as

this, as you moving into this sandwich generation,

how are you preparing your family

to having those tough discussions again with

bringing in the parents into your household, or do you want to

put them into a home? Like, what do those conversations look

like?

Yeah, those are, um. Yeah, because we're starting

to have some of those conversations. I mean,

my, um. Yeah, and it's a

little complicated because, like, on, on both

sides, like, we're, you know, our

biological parents are not together anymore. So, like, my

mom passed away, um, when she was 55. My dad's

since remarried. Um, my wife's parents, they split.

And, you know, her mom's remarried, and

so there's a lot of really complicated dynamics,

and I don't think that that's unique. I mean, I think a lot of

people have those types of situations.

Um, but, yeah, I mean, I, you know, we bring up

some of these conversations and it's, it's tricky because,

you know, like, I know my dad fairly

well, um, but, you know, I don't know his

wife all that well, and same with, you know, my,

you know, my, my, uh, my wife's, uh,

mom's husband or, you know, like, it's like,

you know, you kind of tiptoe around those, but eventually, like,

it's going to be a problem. Like, and we've kind of

discussed some of this, and just because of, you know, like, my

experience and, you know, going the, all the

estate planning courses and, like, all the different things that I know,

like, um, I kind of, like,

bring it up. Like, hey, by the way, if you

don't happen to have anything in place, this is what the

state will have happen if you don't have anything

else in place. So, like, you know, my dad, I'm like, hey,

technically, the way that, uh, the state splits it up, you know, us

kids get half, she gets half, and then we split the, you know, it's

like, that doesn't, that's not a good, I mean, we don't

have any ill will and, you know, we don't, we're not going to kick her out of the house,

but if something happens like, now we've got a mess on our

hands because now we got to unravel and do paperwork and do

all that kind of stuff. I don't know exactly, you know, the

process for that, but, you know, there is a process for that.

And, um, probably not very pretty.

Um, but then also too, like, like you mentioned, like,

long term care, things like that, those.

That's a, that's a whole other beast. And,

you know, trying to figure out,

um, you know,

uh, those tough conversations of,

like, I don't want to ask, but I got to ask, like,

are there. Is there any money? Is there not any money? If

there isn't any money, like, okay, then now we have to

kind of understand, like, your only hope is

Medicaid, and then what is that actually going to

cover? And, you know, so there's. I

mean, it's really. I mean, it's one of those where a lot of

people think that Social Security or, I mean, uh,

Social Security and Medicare are going to take

care of a lot of those kind of things, but they don't.

The only thing that really covers that is

Medicaid, and that's after you've done the

means testing and all that. So basically,

you have to liquidate most of your assets in order to

qualify. And so that's tough to watch,

um, because we've seen that happen with grandparents, and,

you know, it's really sad to see, you know, your

grandparents house go away or, you

know, see them have to get moved, you know, a couple different times

because of money issues. So, um. So, yeah, it is

something that, you know, we think about, and, um.

Yeah, it's a. It's a. It's a tough topic, but it's a really

important topic.

Hopefully, the roth that you're building up will be able to, you

know, buy the home so you don't have to worry about selling it at that

point.

Yeah, yeah, I mean, that's,

um. I mean, that. That's something that, you know, we'll have

to. I guess we'll have to cross that bridge when we. When

we get there. Um, but, yeah,

in theory, I mean, there are quite a few protections for the

home, you know, itself,

but, um. Yeah,

it's. Yeah, I

don't. Yeah, I don't know the exact specifics of

exactly how that would look and all that,

but, um. And it really. It might depend, too,

on which one, you know, which one, uh, passes

first and all that. And, um.

Yeah, so it could get. Could get pretty difficult,

but, yeah, I mean, we're kind of, you know,

not like letting them

know necessarily, but you know, we're kind of more or less kind of

planning to have to kind of step in and

do some um, you know,

have to help out with a lot of that kind of stuff. And,

and even more importantly, um, really

thinking about the time aspect of it.

Um, and I think that's actually something

that we got to see firsthand

with my mom. My mom was in the hospital for

several months, um, and

so just seeing the time, a lot of family

stepped in to kind of help and we're all like,

obviously I couldn't take leave for that much time, but

my work was um, pretty flexible with

me. Um, and we just happen to live fairly

close. Um, but having that time

flexibility as you've got parents that are getting

older and have issues and stuff like that,

um, they might be in the hospital for a

while and have to have care

at the house and um, have mobility

issues. So those are things that I definitely think

about as ah, having that flexibility

to go and assist or

hey, what does that cost to have a nurse come by

once a week, whatever, you know. Um.

Um, yeah.

Can you ballpark for that price? Because

I know at least in Maryland I think it was

around almost about a thousand or

so just to kind of have a

nurse there around the clock for about a week.

Yeah. You know, I actually don't know off the top of my head how

much that would cost. I'd have to, I'd have to price that out.

Um, probably should start looking into that. But um,

um, but yeah, I know it's not cheap. Um, um.

Cause yeah, I mean yeah,

you look at listings and stuff like that. I mean

nurses get paid fairly well and then the company

of course takes a cut. So whoever they work for is going to take

a pretty big cut. So I assume ah,

it's not going to be cheap. So probably, probably

costs more than my hourly wage. So.

Um, just looked online, look uh,

like@seniorliving.org has

like a basic price down breakout.

So they saying for the state of Maryland for home

care uh, for about 8 hours is

$195 and that's just

for the day. So you know, you take

that, you pay somebody's hourly wage

like their living wage to come to your home

and goes to the aspect of

what you were talking about before, which is preparing yourself

financially, uh, for this

situation, especially if the parents can handle it or

the medical,

um, guess out of their life insurance,

they can't cash those out if they got like a whole life that they can kind of

dip into, um, because

obviously you can't do that with term life, but whole life you can at least

tap into. And then what

does it all look like? And I think this

is a great conversation to kind of

start talking about, you know, our features and where we want

to go with that, and which comes down

to the third segment of the show, which is your

futures, uh, talking about the skills and

habits that you feel that will help take you to that next

level.

Yeah, um, yeah. As far as the. I mean, the future

for, you know, for us. I mean, one of the biggest

things that I think about is

building up multiple streams of income

and then

how to convert those into

more long lasting assets and things like that.

Um, and what that looks like.

Um. I think I have a pretty unique, um,

perspective because,

um. Um, I have the

ability to look at people that are actually in

retirement and some of the issues and things that they're looking at.

So doing the pair planning and stuff like that, whenever I build

a financial plan and look through all that, run

scenarios for Roth conversions, all those

kinds of things, I get to see a lot of the

different issues that they're dealing with now. And then

I can apply that. If you ever read the book the seven

habits of highly effective people, that concept

begin with the end in mind. I'm like, okay, well,

if this is what it's going to look like at

the end, then I probably need to make a couple different

changes and things like that for what we're doing

now and need to make sure we're set up and all that. And

so I think I'm very blessed in

being able to have that perspective and then juxtapose

that with, I know all the things that I should have done

when I was younger. Um, and then I

can take that and go, okay, hey, you know,

person that, you know, like, young, young

version of me, please listen, like, you know, like grab,

you know, grab them by the shirt collar, like, hey, listen to

me. Like, um, and,

uh, try and get that across. And so that's

why. Part of the reason why I'm really

big on Roth and things like that.

Um, but then also, like I said, looking at different

streams of income and then what that's going to look

like. Um, just because

when you're accumulating and stuff like that, nobody talks about things

like required minimum distributions

or the widow's penalty or

different things like that. And so that can be,

um. Yeah, it can be something that you

really want to look at a little more carefully

as you. As you kind of build things up.

Yeah. And it's good that you're

talking about that now and looking

back, because the whole reason why you created

your platform, the enlisted money,

is for that purpose, is to kind of help people kind

of have those tough conversations early and make

those adjustments early so they don't have to worry

about digging deep in their

feelings, have the logic already laid

out, worry about your feelings later, and

just make life happens. And I greatly appreciate

what you're doing for the service members and

also continuing to serve the community

as best as you can. And I just thank you for your

service.

Yeah, yeah, no, I appreciate that. And, yeah, that's

a, um, you know, that's kind of the idea. I'm hoping

that, um, basically creating everything that I wish

I would have read, consumed, and applied whenever I was younger. And

then, you know, I guess what

my. My goal with all that is, like, help people

solve that money equation

first and get that out of the way so then you

can work on the life stuff, like all the important stuff, like, I want

you to get to be who you were meant to be in life so

that you don't have the regrets that I do and have to fumble

through it and all that. And so I think if,

um, you know, I think there's plenty of us out there, you yourself included,

like, just trying to help people out. And I think as a

community, we can all come together, get

people where they need to be faster, so then we can

all make this place, like, so much better.

I really appreciate you.

Thank you. Um, is there anything that you want to leave the

audience before we dive into the final four questions?

Um, no. Uh, I think we kind

of hit it up. I mean, just with that, just

getting started is super, um, important.

And then also just

being okay with what my

system is doesn't have to look like this person's

system or that person's system, and you

don't have to have a huge income

to start making a huge impact in your

life.

Definitely. I like that. Like that. Now, one of the things

that we both say this is that

personal finance is personal. And, you

know, I hope that we actually get to hang out

in Fincon this year. And

definitely, I know you've been doing your thing with mill

moneycon because, you know, congrats on your speaking

engagement with them as well. Uh, man, you're doing

a lot of great things. Anything like in the future that you plan

on getting into?

Um, yeah. Um, I mean, the. I guess

the one cool thing I guess I can share with you. Yeah.

Um, I, ah, been selected as one of

the american, um, college of financial services

next gen financial professional

awardees. Um, so I'll be going to accept

that. Yeah, thanks. So I'll be going to accept that, um,

at, uh, the college's, uh, president's dinner in

November. Um. Um, but,

yeah, uh, that's kind of

neat. Um, but then the other big project that I'm

working on kind of near term, I don't know exactly

when I'll get it done, but I'm working on my book, uh,

enlist to. Well, and so, um, yeah,

basically, that is

basically, um, a book that I just want to be like, here, do these

things, and you'll never have to worry about money again.

Um, and so that's really, like, what I'm trying to

make. That book that I wish somebody had handed me whenever I

was 18, getting ready to leave for basic training.

Um, so, uh, those are kind of

like the two, like, biggest things like that,

but personal to me, really. It's just, um,

I'm getting ready to go, um, getting ready

for actual retirement from the army.

And so kind of been mentally processing

that. You've probably seen some of the articles and stuff like that. Kind of

just mentally processing that. And then also,

like, okay, hey, I've been planning for this, but

now it's real. I got the orders in hand, so now

it's time to bring it all together and

really, um, make it happen and nail that transition

out of the. Out of the army.

Yeah. And I can't wait, uh, to see where

you go because definitely, uh, want to do a follow up

interview just to kind of see what does retirement actually look like for

you. Uh, and then we can pull up this episode

like, hey, you know, we talked about this.

Yeah, yeah. I mean, yeah. You and I

both are interested to see what it. What it looks like because, um,

yeah, right now, I. Not

100% sure. I mean, I've got, you know, because I've already got

my, uh, my business separate from, uh,

enlisted money. And so, like, that's my pair

planning and content writing business, and that does.

Well, it's been profitable from day one.

And so, um, the idea would be kind of

turn that up a little bit. Um, and there might

be. There might be some other stuff in the works. Um,

and so, uh, we'll see. Uh, but, yeah,

but I think to your point, yeah, I definitely want to

connect with you and other people like you at places like

Fincon and Mill Moneycon, and there's a couple other

conferences I haven't had to, had a chance to go to, like,

economy and, uh, places like that that I really want to

check out. They just seem like cool places, uh, to go

and meet, um, very interesting

people and kind people. And so that's really what

I just want to fill my life with, other cool and interesting

people.

Awesome. All right, well, you ready for the final

four?

Yeah, let's do it.

All right.

Number one, what does it wealth mean

to you?

Wealth, to me, really,

just like the word

wealth, um, is

the, uh, accumulation of

your life's energy, um, and

what form that takes. And so, um,

to me, wealth is not just a money

thing, but, um, I would say it's

a sum of all the memories of you that are

collected within other people and other

entities around the world. Um, and so

that's kind of ties into, like,

for me, like, my goal is every person,

place, organization that I'm a part of. I want

to leave it better than whenever I got it. And so,

um, that's kind of how I think about a lot of the things

that I do, and I just try and become

better, uh, each day. So my personal mission

statement is perpetual improvement. So that's,

um, you know, when I think of the word wealth, that's what I really

think about as, um, I guess, you know, almost

legacy thinking about that, but also

too, um, but the money component of that

is important because that is

a catalyst for those other things. So,

um, you know, those. A lot of these aspirational things that

I want to do, they do take a little bit of money. So, um, so

I think there's a component of that, too.

So true. Number two,

what was your worst money mistake?

Um, you know, I would

say,

like, biggest single money, you know, like, worst

money mistake was. Was financing a brand new pickup

truck. Um, like, uh, so, which,

I mean, it was. I say that it's my worst and

best financial decision because that was

actually what got me to understand, like,

I'm spending a lot in interest. And that's what, you

know, kind of led me down the path to, you know, finding. I found

a personal, it still exists, but not the same, but

get rich slowly. I found that blog and reading through

there and then that led me to Dave Ramsey, which led me to

debt free, which then eventually, you know, just, you can kind of pull

on these breaks, I crumbs and see where it led. But at all,

really, that. That truck was kind of the catalyst for me, like,

going, hey, idiot, like, this is not, like, this

is not going to work long term. Like, you could almost bought

the truck you liked before in

cash, like, for what you're going to pay in interest. So I was like, yeah, this

is. That. Doesn't. That. Yeah. Doesn't compute,

Brandon. You've got to figure something out.

Number three, what is your favorite?

Financial or non financial?

Oh, that is, like,

I read so many books, and there's so many that I really,

really like.

Um, I

think I really come

back to, um, the seven habits of highly

effective people. Like, that one, it can

apply to so many different realms. Um, but I

think it's just one of those that's been really, really,

um, like, it's on my list of books that

every human being should read. Um,

so I think that one's a good one. But personal

finance books, if I could only pick one, um,

it'd probably. Probably, right now be the psychology of

money. Um, it's just, ah, really

digestible. And get those basic

concepts. How to think about it.

Number four, what is your

favorite dish to make?

Ooh, my favorite dish to make.

Let me think about that, because I like

barbecue. You might not know this. My first website I ever

made was a barbecue website. Really?

No, I didn't know that.

So, yeah. Uh, my favorite dish

to make would be.

Hmm. Trying to think.

Actually, you know what? I'm gonna go with something a little bit different.

Um, so one of my favorite ones to share with people

is gravy and dumplings. Um,

gravy. Yeah. So instead of, like, biscuits

and gravy, um, you know, instead of, like,

you know, chicken and dumplings. So, you know, I make. I make. It's,

like, really thick, like sausage and

bacon gravy. And then put. You know, then put the biscuit

on top and then bake it. And so then you've got this layer of

biscuit. I mean, you cannot. You need a

nap after you eat it. But.

But, uh. Uh, but, yeah, no, it's a, uh. Yeah, that's probably my favorite

one to make for other people and share.

All right, well, I definitely have to hit, uh,

you up on that dish whenever you make

it.

Uh, come on up.

Right.

Just make sure you bring a pillow so you can take a nap afterwards,

so you're not safe to drive after.

Well, I'll just stay at the hotel like I'm

crash out.

There you go.

There you go. All right, so the right last question of the

show, which is, where can people find out more

about you?

Yeah, I mean, really, um, my favorite way to connect

with people is through my newsletter. Um, you can just sign up

on, uh, enlistedmoney.com, but, um, if

you're on social media and stuff like that. All the links are

there as well. I'm probably the most active on, on

instagram. But, um. But, yeah, really, I love it

whenever, you know, people jump on the newsletter and reply to

something I wrote or whatnot. And, yeah, it's

a, uh, I've had a lot of really wonderful conversations with people there, so

I really like that.

Thanks. Yeah, I'll definitely have to sign up for it after this

interview and, uh, see what you're

talking about over there.

All right. Look forward to it.

Yeah. Uh, is there, quote?

By all means. I mean, first off, I just want to thank you

again, Brandon, for your time, for your service,

and for everything that you're doing for the community, the financial

community. Because again, we

gotta start having more open discussions

about our finances so that we can continue to build

that confidence within ourselves and with our family

and friends, so that we all,

ah, can just enjoy life and know that

life is more about money. But this

topic is always coming up, so let's

have some confidence around the discussion. And I want to

continue on to bring more content like this

to you all. So please make sure you like and

subscribe because this is very important for the

show and it's free for you to do so that we can have

on more guests like Brandon and so many

others. And I just want to thank you all for your time. Y'all have a

good one. Be out. Peace.