Money Ripples Podcast

Start making passive income here: https://bit.ly/49H5oCm Is self-storage investing the place we should be going as we head into 2026? That's exactly what I'm digging into in this episode with returning guest Alex Pardo. Alex isn't just a storage operator, he's done nearly a thousand single-family transactions, built a real estate wholesaling business, and then made a bold pivot in 2020 into self-storage. And if you've felt like real estate has been rough the last few years, you're not alone. I wanted this conversation because I've been watching the storage space closely, and I'm asking the real question: is now the time to start taking self-storage seriously again? Alex walks me through his origin story, from a middle-class upbringing, landing a corporate job at General Electric, and realizing quickly that the traditional path wasn't for him. After a life-changing backpacking trip through Europe (53 cities, 22–23 countries), he immersed himself in personal development books like Rich Dad Poor Dad (Robert Kiyosaki), The E-Myth (Michael Gerber), and Think and Grow Rich, and made a decision to pursue real estate. That decision turned into real momentum fast direct mail, pre-foreclosure marketing, a short sale wholesale deal, and a $44,000 payday that helped set his future in motion. But the bigger story is what happened later. Even with a profitable wholesaling operation, Alex hit burnout. He described it perfectly: building a successful business that still felt like a prison. He didn't want more transactions he wanted time freedom, a lower headache factor, higher margins, and something that could be run remotely without a huge team. That's what led him to self-storage. We talk candidly about what it's been like entering storage near the boom, then facing a tougher market. Alex explains how he thinks about opportunities today: you may need to look at 100–120 deals to find one that works, underwrite more conservatively, and structure smarter offers. But the opportunity is still there especially because so many facilities are still owned by mom-and-pop operators, and many haven't modernized. Alex points out that a surprising number of storage facilities still don't even have a website, even though the majority of customers come from online searches. One of the biggest takeaways is forced appreciation how storage facilities can increase in value quickly when you raise revenue and improve operations. Alex shares a real example: a facility near Jacksonville in Amelia Island that hadn't raised rates since 2005. By increasing rents and adding simple fee income (admin fees, lock fees, gate fees), NOI improved dramatically because in commercial assets, value is driven by income, not comps like single-family. We also cover what passive investors need to know: storage often runs a 30–40% operating expense ratio, compared to multifamily commonly around 50%+, which can mean stronger margins when operated well. But Alex also keeps it real by sharing the ugly side his first deal in Jackson, Mississippi came with break-ins, fences getting cut, bad debt, and constant repairs. Location still matters. If you're evaluating storage going into 2026 whether as an operator, partner, or passive investor this episode will help you see what's real, what's hype, and what to watch for before you invest.

Start making passive income here: https://bit.ly/4pWnc1c What are these new Trump accounts, and are they actually a smart move for your kids' financial future? That's the question I'm answering in today's episode, because while these accounts are being marketed as an incredible opportunity, there are some serious downsides you need to understand before you jump in. The Trump account was introduced as part of the so-called "big, beautiful bill" passed in the summer of 2025. It's being promoted as a way to give kids a financial head start, almost like a hybrid between a 529 college savings plan and a retirement account. The government even kicks things off with a $1,000 contribution for children born between January 1, 2025 and the end of 2028. Sounds great on the surface, right? But once you dig into the details, things get a lot murkier. In this episode, I break down exactly how Trump accounts work, including contribution limits, taxation, investment restrictions, and withdrawal rules. While you can contribute up to $5,000 per year per child, all of that money goes in after tax, grows tax deferred, and then gets taxed again when withdrawn. That's right double taxation. And if the money is used for non-qualified purposes, there's also a 10% penalty on top of that. We also talk about how these accounts are locked into stock market index funds, meaning there is zero flexibility. You can't invest in real estate, private lending, gold, Bitcoin, or any other alternative assets. You're forced into the market whether it's a good time or not, which raises a big red flag for me as someone who teaches control, flexibility, and cash flow. I also explain why the administration is pushing these accounts so hard, how political incentives play a role, and why these accounts feel more like a popularity grab than a truly helpful financial solution. When you compare Trump accounts to alternatives like a Roth IRA for kids or even better, properly structured whole life insurance you'll see that there are far more efficient ways to build wealth without market volatility, penalties, or government rule changes. I walk you through the pros and cons, the hidden dangers, and what I believe is a far superior strategy for parents who want certainty, tax advantages, and true financial control for their children. If you've been considering Trump accounts or just heard the hype, this is a must-listen before you make a decision you might regret later.

Start making passive income here: https://bit.ly/4pJZiWn Are my 2026 market predictions wrong? Is there still an AI-driven stock market boom ahead of us, or are we getting dangerously close to another major correction? In this episode, I challenge my own assumptions and break down why some of Wall Street's biggest institutions believe the bull market is far from over and why I'm still not convinced. I walk you through recent analyst predictions from major financial firms like Goldman Sachs, UBS, and other institutional strategists who argue that the stock market isn't in a bubble. Their reasoning? Strong earnings growth, powerful AI-driven productivity gains, and solid corporate balance sheets. According to them, technology stocks especially the so-called Magnificent Seven are not speculative bubbles, but companies with real profits and real growth. Some analysts are even predicting the S&P 500 could hit 7,700 by 2026 or climb to 10,000–13,000 by 2030. On the surface, that sounds compelling. But I don't stop there. I dig into historical data, long-term trend lines, and my own experience as a former financial advisor, stock trader, and investment coach. I explain why comparing today's market to the late 1990s tech boom and the roaring 1920s should raise red flags not blind optimism. I break down the 30-year average returns of the S&P 500, why the commonly quoted 10–12% return is misleading, and what happens when markets stay above their long-term trend lines for too long. We also talk about bias both theirs and mine. Wall Street firms make money when you stay invested in their funds, so of course their forecasts tend to skew optimistic. That doesn't automatically make them wrong, but it does mean you should question their motives. I explain why the last 17 years of market performance are statistically abnormal, how liquidity and money printing have distorted reality, and why "business as usual" may not last forever. Most importantly, I share what I'm seeing from small business owners and real economic signals that don't show up in stock market headlines. When things feel "off" beneath the surface, it's worth paying attention. This episode isn't about fear it's about awareness, balance, and protecting your wealth before the next shift happens. If you're trying to decide whether to stay aggressive in stocks or shift toward safety and alternative investments, this episode will give you the context and clarity you need to make smarter decisions heading into 2026.

Start making passive income here: https://bit.ly/45iVjsF Is AI really the beginning of the end for jobs or is this one of the biggest opportunities we've ever seen? That's exactly what I dive into in this episode with my longtime friend and former college roommate, Aaron Matthews, a fractional CTO/COO with over 21 years of leadership experience across healthcare, insurance, and technology. Everywhere you look, the headlines are screaming that AI is taking jobs. Engineers are being laid off. Middle managers are disappearing. Entire roles are being redefined. But the real question isn't whether AI is replacing jobs, it's who it's replacing, why it's happening, and how you can stay ahead of it instead of being run over by it. Aaron brings a grounded, real-world perspective from someone who's actually building with AI, not just talking about it. We unpack how tools like Claude, ChatGPT, and Perplexity are already eliminating entry-level technical work, while simultaneously creating massive leverage for people who know how to use them well. Aaron shares firsthand examples of building functioning software applications without being a traditional coder, and how AI now takes him from zero to 80% in minutes while the final 20% still requires human judgment, experience, and creativity. This episode isn't just about technology. It's about human value. We talk about why empathy, decision-making, critical thinking, and creativity are becoming more valuable not less in an AI-driven world. We also address the dangers: intellectual shortcuts, loss of deep thinking, and over-reliance on machine-generated answers. If you're a parent, this conversation around critical thinking and kids is especially important. We also explore how AI is acting as a "force multiplier." High performers get better. Average performers level up. And for neurodivergent individuals, AI could become the most powerful personalized teacher we've ever seen. That's a game-changer. If you're worried about job security, relevance, or your future earning power, this episode will help you shift from fear to strategy. AI isn't something you can stop but you can decide whether it replaces you or empowers you. The people who win in the next decade won't be the ones who avoid AI. They'll be the ones who learn how to use it intentionally, ethically, and creatively to build more value, more income, and more freedom.

Start making passive income here: https://bit.ly/4pInjx7 President Donald Trump is making big promises as he approaches his one-year mark: banning institutions from buying real estate, capping credit card interest rates, and even talking about firing Jerome Powell. If you've been hearing these headlines and wondering, "Is this actually good for the economy, or are we about to make things worse?" this episode is my straight-shooting breakdown of what happens next and why these ideas won't do what people think they'll do. Let me be clear: this isn't a pro-Trump or anti-Trump rant. I'm not interested in political tribalism. What I'm interested in is cause and effect. I'm watching smart investors completely switch standards depending on who says the policy, and that's dangerous. If you want to understand money, markets, and real outcomes, you've got to turn your brain on and stop filtering everything through a "love him" or "hate him" lens. First, I address the idea of firing Jerome Powell. Even if Powell were removed as Fed Chair, he could still remain on the Federal Reserve Board. More importantly, rates aren't set by one person. They're determined by a committee, with multiple Fed presidents voting. So the "fire Powell" narrative makes for a great soundbite, but it won't magically drop rates or fix affordability for everyday Americans. Second, I tackle the claim that institutions are the reason housing got so expensive. The truth is that institutional buyers are a small slice of the market roughly in the 1–3% range. Are there pockets where they influenced pricing? Sure. But they weren't the primary driver. The real driver was demand fueled by cheap money and massive liquidity injections stimulus, PPP, expanded credits, and low interest rates combined with supply chain disruptions, labor costs, and higher construction expenses. I even share my firsthand experience buying in 2021 to show how everyday Americans, not faceless institutions, were creating bidding wars and pushing prices beyond appraisals. Third, I break down the most misunderstood headline: the proposed credit card interest rate cap at 10%. This is where "unintended consequences" kick in hard. Credit cards are unsecured debt no collateral so risk is higher and rates reflect that. If you force a cap too low, banks don't suddenly become generous. They reduce lending, tighten standards, and cut off the very people who rely on access to credit. And when credit availability shrinks, spending slows, layoffs rise, defaults increase, and markets react. The economy runs on the flow of money and credit. Restrict the flow, and you don't solve the problem you accelerate the downturn. Bottom line: banning institutional real estate buyers won't lower prices, firing Powell won't change the committee-driven reality of the Fed, and capping credit card rates won't fix affordability it risks breaking credit access and worsening the correction the economy already needs to go through. If you want to build real stability and become work optional, don't chase headlines. Focus on fundamentals, cashflow, and strategies that work regardless of which politician is talking. And if your 2026 goal is passive income, go to moneyripples.com and use the Work Optional Calculator to find your number.

Your future doesn't start after school, it starts now. 7F Teenage Tycoon teaches teens how money works, how businesses are built, and how real wealth is created. Tap the link and become a Teenage Tycoon today - https://www.7figureflipping.com/teenage-tycoon?fpr=7cwpr0 Start making passive income here: https://bit.ly/49AgqYy We talk a lot about building wealth, passive income, and freedom but the real question, especially as parents, is how do we teach our kids to do the same? In this episode, I sit down with Bill Allen, founder of Seven Figure Flipping, to talk about raising financially confident kids who understand money, business, and opportunity. Bill shares his journey from 20 years as a Navy helicopter pilot to real estate investor. One house flip netted him about $43,000, opening his eyes to a second income stream that he later scaled into a high-volume business. What sets Bill apart is his honesty: success isn't effortless. The principles are simple, but the work is real and anyone promising "easy money" is selling a myth. We also break down common business misconceptions, especially around "passive income." Bill explains the difference between active and passive income and why real investing always requires time, skill, capital, or responsibility. If you're not exchanging something, you're not investing you're gambling. At the heart of the episode is Teenage Tycoon, Bill's entrepreneurial community for teens. Built like a business co-op, it includes a book club, weekly calls, guest experts, and real-world conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, sales, and mindset. It's designed to give parents support especially when kids don't want to hear it from mom or dad. The results speak for themselves: teens flipping houses, running e-commerce stores, reselling products, building 3D-printing businesses, and even flipping high-end watches. We also discuss homeschool grants in some states and how parents can learn alongside their kids. If you want to build a legacy beyond money teaching your kids how to think, earn, invest, and lead this episode offers real insight and a clear next step. Bill Allen's links: - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bill-allen-rei/ - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/billallenrei?igsh=MTU3bjhmMXdhbnVuNw== - Podcast: https://bit.ly/3LsTx1u

Start making passive income here: https://bit.ly/4qNupRT All of us have hard times. The real question is: how do you bounce back when the setback hits you financially, emotionally, and personally all at once? In today's episode, I sit down with Tatiana Zagarovsky, whose story is the kind that makes you rethink what you're capable of when life punches you in the face. Tatiana immigrated to the United States after growing up in the Soviet Union, where entrepreneurship was treated like a crime and "capitalists" were painted as villains. She later immigrated again through Israel, built a successful career in corporate America, earned patents, and lived what many people would call the American Dream on the outside: house, vacations, and stability. But inside, she felt like she was still working someone else's plan instead of building her own. Then she found real estate. Like many people, she started with education, trainings, mentors, and big momentum until everything fell apart at the same time. Tatiana shares how she lost over $100,000 in an early real estate deal because she didn't understand the power of an operating agreement and how quickly someone can manipulate ownership through an LLC. While dealing with that financial hit, she also found herself in a painful custody battle that forced her to walk away from her corporate job to support her kids. That combination put her into a dark place, and she's honest about the depression and pressure that followed. What I love about this conversation is that it doesn't stop at the tragedy. Tatiana breaks down the exact framework that helped her rebuild: her "three Cs" of clarity, community, and coach. She talks about finding the right people, and the right mentor Damon Remy of REI BlackBook who helped her not only in business, but also pushed her to get personal support so she could heal and perform again. From there, Tatiana found a strategy she's passionate about: seller financing. She explains it simply, how she structures deals, and why it creates wins for buyers who can't qualify for traditional mortgages. We get into how she sells homes on terms that can be comparable to rent, often with stable principal-and-interest payments, and why this approach can restore hope for families who feel locked out of homeownership. We also talk about protecting people from scams, avoiding shame after getting burned, and why integrity and perseverance still win in the long run. If you've ever been scammed, knocked down, or felt like your financial future got derailed, this episode is for you. Tatiana's message is clear: don't let the worst chapter become the end of your story.

Start making passive income here: https://bit.ly/49tEKv8 So many of you have heard the story of my father before, whether it was here on the Money Ripples podcast or inside my book, The Work Optional Blueprint. But after my dad passed away just a few weeks ago, there's one piece of advice he gave me about money that hasn't stopped echoing in my head. And today, I felt compelled to share it with you. My father was the definition of a penny-pinching saver. Raised after the Great Depression, he believed deeply in saving everything possible. He bought things on sale, avoided debt at all costs, and worked for decades with the belief that if he just saved enough, someday he'd finally be safe. But despite all that saving, his retirement was short, stressful, and financially constrained. And that's where the real lesson comes in. Years ago, during one of the hardest financial periods of my life during a divorce and intense financial stress my dad told me something completely unexpected. He said, "Chris, it's just money. You can always make more of it." Coming from someone who worried constantly about losing money, that advice surprised me. But it also freed me. I reflect on what that advice truly means and how it reshaped my relationship with money. Money is not the goal. It's not the prize. It's a tool. It's a medium of exchange that represents value. And when we treat it as something to hoard instead of something to steward, we often sacrifice our health, our time, and our joy in the process. I walk you through the moment years ago when I sat across from my dad at his kitchen table as his financial advisor, realizing that despite decades of saving, he didn't actually have enough money to retire comfortably. I explain how market downturns, inflation, and relying solely on traditional retirement strategies can quietly sabotage even the most disciplined savers. But this episode isn't about fear. It's about perspective. If you're stressed about money right now whether it's inflation, job uncertainty, rising costs, or feeling trapped in a system that isn't working I want you to hear this clearly: money is something you can create. When you focus on serving others, solving problems, and delivering real value, money becomes a natural byproduct instead of a constant source of anxiety. Saving alone isn't freedom. Accumulating money without intention isn't wealth. Real financial freedom comes from using money intentionally to create a life that's actually worth living now, not someday. This episode is deeply personal, but it's also one of the most important conversations I've had on this show. If you've ever felt pressure, guilt, fear, or shame around money, this message is for you.

Start making passive income here: https://bit.ly/4jzeOmE You hear us talk about real estate all the time on this show but what most people don't realize is that the bond market may be one of the biggest hidden forces influencing real estate returns right now. In today's podcast episode, I sit down with Jeremy Watson, CEO of Bedrock Investment Property, a longtime investor and entrepreneur who has been investing since 2006, has helped buy and sell 5,000+ properties, and has completed four business exits. Jeremy also spent a decade in the financial advice world, reviewing hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of real client portfolios and what he saw over and over again was this: many "safe" traditional strategies create a false sense of security, especially when inflation shows up. We start by talking about Jeremy's real estate origin story how he started in 2006, got hit hard in the 2008 crash like almost everyone did, and then spent years inside the financial planning world learning why many common real estate and passive investment structures fail in practice. That experience led him back into real estate with a sharper focus on what matters most: control, cash flow, and predictable outcomes. From there, we dig into turnkey real estate and why it gets criticized today. Jeremy breaks down the real issue with turnkey: it's not the concept it's the vetting, the quality of the market, and the administrative burden that most companies never tell you about. Property managers don't keep your books, don't keep LLCs compliant, don't manage insurance claims, and don't hold themselves accountable. If investors don't realize this upfront, "passive" real estate quickly becomes a part-time administrative job. Jeremy shares how Bedrock approaches turnkey differently by building systems to handle the backend workload, overseeing property managers, providing tax-ready reporting, and focusing on homes and markets that can realistically perform. The emphasis is on buying assets that can withstand market shifts, not chasing hype or "cheap" properties in unstable neighborhoods with no real exit strategy. Then we get to the core topic: bonds and real estate. Jeremy explains why bonds are often treated as the safe asset in retirement planning and why that logic breaks down in inflationary environments. Bonds may feel safe, but when inflation rises, fixed-income instruments can silently destroy purchasing power. If interest rates rise after you've locked in a lower-yield bond, your bond becomes less attractive on the secondary market, meaning you could take a major haircut if you need to sell before maturity. This matters because many retirement plans assume older investors can simply "shift to bonds" for safety. But if inflation persists or if rates fluctuate bonds can lose real value while locking investors into negative real returns. That's why Jeremy argues that single-family real estate with fixed-rate debt can become a powerful hedge: rents can rise with inflation, asset values can adjust over time, while mortgage payments remain fixed. In other words, inflation can work in your favor when you own the right real asset with the right financing. We also address the big question: what about deflation, weakening spending power, and softening rents? Jeremy explains why real estate is a long-term macro bet, why supply constraints still matter, and why buying in stable cash-flow markets can reduce volatility compared to speculative "boom" cities. If you've been wondering whether real estate still makes sense and how bonds, inflation, and interest rates play into that decision, this episode will give you a clearer framework to think like a real investor.

Joe Ganella, a retired U.S. Army Special Forces veteran turned financial-independent coach. He contrasts being work-optional with true financial freedom. He discusses mindset shifts from scarcity to abundance. He shares lessons on finding trustworthy financial advice, teaching the next generation better money habits, and building predictable income and margin for generosity.