Money Ripples Podcast

Start making passive income here: https://bit.ly/4ozuSq1 What if you could access 0% funding from $50,000 up to $250,000 and strategically use it to grow your business, invest in real estate, and even stack rewards so the money effectively pays you? In this episode I sit down with Ari Page, owner of Fund&Grow, to unpack how 0% business credit cards and a smart card-stacking strategy can create real, usable liquidity when traditional banks say "no." Ari's story starts in 2007 inside a mortgage company as LTVs shrank overnight and deals collapsed. The workaround they found business credit cards that don't report to your personal credit and offer 0% introductory periods (six to as long as 22 months) became a scalable system for entrepreneurs, investors, and professionals who need fast, flexible capital. We break down why these products are treated more like micro-loans than mortgages, why they're less regulated, and how banks use 0% offers to attract high-quality business clients (so you can benefit from the teaser rates, points, and perks). We go deep on the card-stacking sequence: which issuers to start with, how merging limits works (e.g., opening a new 0% card and combining it with an existing line to make the larger line 0%), and why keeping utilization off personal cards preserves your FICO while you continue stacking on the EIN side. We also cover the DSCR-style thinking for small business owners why liquidity at 0% can be more valuable than chasing higher-cost lines and how to avoid the biggest mistakes (like using this for personal bills or speculative trading). If you're a dentist buying equipment, a contractor scaling crews, or a real estate investor funding marketing and light rehabs, this is built for you. One of my favorite tactical nuggets: using a business credit card for contractor payments. If workmanship isn't up to code or a project stalls, you have chargeback/dispute protection forcing the vendor to respond to the bank (not just you). That leverage can get the job finished, protect timelines, and preserve capital. Add in 2% cash-back options and the airline transfer sweet spots (move points from the card portal to the airline account for outsized value), and your effective cost of capital drops even further. Who is this not for? Folks with poor credit, people trying to make next month's mortgage payment, or anyone looking to punt into bonds/crypto directly with cards. Who is it for? Responsible entrepreneurs, professionals, and real estate investors who want low-cost working capital to buy equipment, fund marketing, bridge project timelines, and scale with discipline. Ari also shares a no-inquiry, soft-pull prequalification to see your potential total limits and a consult to map your sequence. If you've felt boxed out by today's tight lending, this episode shows a practical, compliant path to work-optional faster: build liquidity, protect your credit, and put other people's money to work at 0%. Ari Page's links: - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aripageceo/ - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aripage.fundandgrow/ - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aripage.fundandgrow/ - Website: https://funding.fundandgrow.com/f-g-organic-linkedin1724878205877

Discover why mutual funds, often seen as safe retirement bets, carry a staggering 99% failure rate in achieving true financial freedom. Learn the crucial difference between risk and failure, and how common strategies fall short due to inflation and withdrawal rules. Explore alternative investments that promise higher cash flow and significant returns, including real estate and life insurance. Uncover the importance of diversification and active management to enhance your financial success, shifting away from the outdated 'set-and-forget' mindset.

Hitting 1,000 episodes is wild, and I wanted to celebrate it the right way: by flipping the mic and letting you ask the questions. In this special, unscripted, zero-rehearsal episode, I bring two Money Ripples listeners, Jeff Holbrook, a physical therapist and father of five from Salt Lake City, and Jen, a Montana farmer and rancher, straight onto the show to ask the questions so many people quietly carry around. If you've ever wondered how to apply these strategies when you're living paycheck-to-paycheck, how Infinite Banking really compares to my Max ROI System, or how to mentor teens with their first $10,000 in savings, this one is for you. Jeff kicks us off with the most honest question there is: "How can an average Joe become financially free when there's no 'fat' left to cut?" I walk through the same process I used when I was more than a million dollars in debt. It starts with cash flow first: freeing up monthly money using the Cashflow Index, identifying tax inefficiencies, restructuring payments, negotiating when needed, and then relentlessly focusing on income creation instead of only cutting back. Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger both emphasized that the first $100,000 is the hardest, and I explain why that milestone should be the near-term target before worrying about investing. This is the entire philosophy behind the Work-Optional Blueprint and the Wealth Accelerator Academy. Jen brings the conversation into Infinite Banking and asks how my Max ROI design differs from Nelson Nash's original approach. I break down the key difference: the concept is solid, but the policy design is everything. Many traditional structures delay cash value for years. I show why I prioritize liquidity, investing utility, and reduced internal costs so clients often see significantly higher early cash value — which in real life can result in tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars of savings over time. Jeff then asks about the part of my story I usually gloss over: how I climbed out of seven-figure debt without filing bankruptcy. I talk about selling off everything from toys to cars, turning in a Mercedes, facing foreclosures, slashing expenses to the bone, accepting help when needed, rebuilding income, and stacking passive income streams one at a time until I reached financial independence again in late 2016. It wasn't glamorous, but it was real, repeatable, and grounded in principles anyone can apply. Jen closes by asking how to guide teens who have saved their first $10,000. I share the playbook: keep the money safe in high-yield cash while they work toward their first major financial milestone, consider a properly structured parent-owned policy as a long-term growth tool, and let them co-invest in small slices of your deals so they learn through real numbers, real returns, and real responsibility. That's how you build wise stewards, not just savers. We wrap by talking about what's ahead: David Morgan's conversations about central banks, the concerns around CBDCs, and why I continue to favor real assets like real estate. Thank you for 1,000 episodes and 11½ years of ripple effects. My goal is simple: help at least 1,000 families reach financial independence by 2030. Start making passive income here: https://bit.ly/4qPxvpu The Work Optional Blueprint: https://a.co/d/fFzl9Zw

👉 Pre-order your copy here: https://a.co/d/3DFRqXy Ready to build your Money Habit? - Pre-order The Money Habit today and take the first step toward mastering your finances and creating lasting wealth. What if one simple change with a credit card could free up hundreds of dollars in cash flow every month? In this episode, I sit down with my friend and bestselling author Mike Michalowicz (Profit First, The Pumpkin Plan, All In, and now The Money Habit) to unpack a deceptively powerful tactic you can implement today and the money psychology behind why it works. We start with Mike's ultra-practical subscription audit move: open an additional credit card, write "SUBSCRIPTIONS" on it with a Sharpie, and route every subscription streaming, software, app trials, memberships, even that "smart" mattress plan onto that one card. When the monthly statement hits, you feel a productive dose of pain and clarity. That visibility exposes zombie charges you forgot about and forces better decisions. Mike's seen people reclaim hundreds to over a thousand dollars a month using this alone. I've felt that sting myself. Even when you think you're tracking everything, consolidation turns "invisible" expenses into obvious targets. From there, we zoom out. Mike shares the hard-won story behind Profit First how chasing revenue without true profitability led to a crash in 2008, a humbling reset, and the system that's helped entrepreneurs (me included) run healthier businesses and lives. We translate those principles to personal finance with his new book The Money Habit: don't try to become a different person; channel your existing habits to win with money. You'll hear two big frameworks that clicked for me: Optimal Foraging Theory (hunt → preserve → consume). Most of us "hunt" income and immediately consume, but the win is in preservation first automating how every incoming dollar gets stored and allocated before you ever spend. Then there's Parkinson's Law applied to money: expenses expand to the cash available. That's why "I just need to make more" rarely fixes anything. More control before more income is the unlock. We also hit the myth of lottery-winner doom. Mike's research shows winners with a money system become measurably happier; those without one spiral. Same income, different outcome because systems beat willpower. On a personal note, I share how adopting Profit First years ago helped me carve out real profit, invest, and ultimately become work optional with enough passive income to let me choose how I spend my time. If you're serious about building cash flow and living a rich life now (not someday), this conversation gives you a fast, implement-today tactic plus a durable framework to keep what you earn and multiply it. Mike Michalowicz's links: - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikemichalowicz/ - Website: https://mikemichalowicz.com/ - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MikeMichalowiczFanPage/ - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mikemichalowicz/ Start making passive income here: https://bit.ly/43LgjY9 Buy our book: https://a.co/d/fFzl9Zw

In this discussion, Chris Larsen, founder of Next Level Income and an experienced real-estate investor, shares how losing his best friend inspired his financial journey. He advocates for car washes as a lucrative alternative investment, explaining their operational advantages over traditional real estate. Chris unveils strategies like membership models to stabilize income and discusses the potential of roll-ups in the industry. He also highlights the role of technology in optimizing revenue, all while maintaining enthusiasm for multifamily housing opportunities.

In a world of economic uncertainty, the quest for guaranteed, tax-free passive income takes center stage. Discover the Max ROI Infinite Banking strategy that not only ensures safety but also liquidity. A dentist's success story illustrates how funding a whole life policy can yield substantial tax-free income over the years. Learn why being proactive is crucial in volatile markets, the importance of mixing offense and defense in your financial portfolio, and why specialized whole life insurance trumps universal life.

Start making passive income here: https://bit.ly/3WwjsXX Buy our book: https://a.co/d/fFzl9Zw Gold and silver have been on a tear this year but is the run finished or just getting started? In this episode, I bring back David McAlvany of the McAlvany family/McAlvany Group a team with roots in precious metals all the way back to the 1970s, when they helped push for U.S. gold ownership to be re-legalized on January 1, 1975. With more than 50 years across gold, silver, platinum, and palladium and experience managing hard-asset equity strategies David joins me to separate signal from noise so we can make smarter moves right now. We dig into the critical difference between owning physical metals as wealth insurance and owning miners for growth. David explains why miners can be a powerful accelerator during the right 10% of the cycle (and a headache the other 90%), why balance sheets and geography matter, and why technical "overbought" doesn't automatically mean "topping out" when an asset is still massively underowned. You'll hear how central banks have been setting the tone for gold's move while many investors are only just waking up despite mainstream voices starting to shift. David cites changing frameworks from big names on Wall Street, including calls for double-digit gold allocations alongside stocks and bonds, as a sign of a deeper regime change in how portfolios are being constructed. We also unpack silver's catch-up phase. You'll learn the key gold-to-silver ratio levels David watches (why ~80:1 suggests silver value, why sustained moves into the 40s–50s can mark overheating, and how 2011's ~31:1 print showcased silver's potential outperformance). If you've felt like you "missed it," we cover a practical path: using ratio and premium trading to compound ounces over time swapping between metals when the ratio stretches to grow your stash without trying to time every price wiggle. That can function like "synthetic cash flow" from a non-cash-flowing asset. Curious about the white metals? David walks through platinum and palladium's industrial ties, why multi-year supply deficits matter, how changing EV versus internal-combustion assumptions ripple through demand, and where these metals may fit for diversification. We also tackle the popular question: Is crypto the new gold? David lays out how bitcoin has behaved like a risk asset during equity selloffs while physical gold has held up as true portfolio insurance. Finally, we talk legacy. David's "ripple effect" centers on stewarding both tangible and intangible wealth character, values, and family culture alongside the ounces, shares, and properties. If you want metals to play the right role in your plan hedging inflation, dampening volatility, and giving you optionality this conversation gives you the frameworks and numbers to act with confidence. If you're serious about building passive income and becoming work-optional, understanding how to position precious metals in 2025 is essential. Tune in to learn when physical shines, when miners can add torque, how to read the ratio, and how to compound intelligently without betting the farm. David's links: Website: https://davidmcalvany.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DavidMcalvany/ X: https://x.com/davidmcalvany

Start making passive income here: https://bit.ly/4quPe59 Everyone quotes the Dave Ramsey Millionaire Study like it's gospel but here's the problem: the numbers don't tell the whole truth. In this episode, I break down what that "largest study of millionaires" actually was, what it wasn't, and what real millionaire data suggests about paying off your mortgage, investing, and building wealth faster than the standard 30–40 year track. Before anyone grabs pitchforks, I'm not here to bash Dave. He's helped a lot of people get control of their budgets and get out of debt. But when it comes to creating wealth, there are cracks in the logic behind the study that's often cited to justify "always" paying off the home before investing more. Words matter. In a viral clip, Dave says millionaires never invested instead of paying off the house then seconds later says almost never, then less than 10%. Which is it? That shift alone should make you ask better questions. So I did. I dug into the study. It wasn't an independent, randomized sample of American millionaires. It was a survey of Ramsey's own audience run over roughly six or seven weeks (late 2017–early 2018). If you survey your own followers people already primed to use 401(k)s, pay off mortgages, and avoid leverage you'll get exactly what you taught them to do. That's not "the nation's millionaires"; that's your community. What does broader data say? The Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finances shows a significant portion of millionaire households still carry mortgages. Many build wealth with a mix of assets not just a paid-off house plus a 401(k). Other sources that look at higher net worth households Spectrum Group, Capgemini, and even communities like Tiger 21 show meaningful allocations to real estate and alternative investments, along with business equity and cash. In other words, there isn't one narrow path. From nearly 25 years in the trenches first as a traditional advisor and since 2006 helping clients create passive income with alternative investments I've watched people accelerate their timelines by deploying capital into cash-flowing assets: rentals, real estate-backed funds, and businesses. I've seen clients go from a few hundred thousand in retirement accounts to million-plus net worth in a handful of years, without "swinging for the fences." Not get-rich-quick get-rich faster (and smarter). Do some millionaires end up with paid-off homes? Absolutely. Often after they've already built substantial cash flow and net worth. That's a phase decision, not a cause of wealth. Personally, I've got a low-rate mortgage and plenty of investable opportunities. If one day I'm long on cash and short on compelling deals, sure I might kill the mortgage. Until then, capital works harder elsewhere. Bottom line: don't accept "always" and "never" in finance. Understand sequence, strategy, and stage. If you want work-optional freedom sooner, you need assets that pay you now not just someday. Run the numbers. Question the narrative. And build a plan that matches your goals, risk, and timeline. If you're ready to explore alternatives to the one-size-fits-all approach, let's talk at MoneyRipples.com. And if you found additional studies on millionaires and asset allocation, drop them in the comments I read them.

Start making passive income here: https://bit.ly/4o3SRgN Fidelity just hit a record number of 401(k) millionaires, but before you celebrate, let's take a hard look at what's really happening. In this episode, I dig deep into the latest Fidelity retirement report and reveal why this "milestone" might actually be a warning sign for anyone planning to retire on Wall Street's promises. If you've been diligently saving in your 401(k), this episode is for you. Fidelity's numbers show that more Americans than ever have crossed the million-dollar mark in their retirement accounts over 1.1 million people between 401(k)s and IRAs. Sounds impressive, right? But as I break down these statistics, I'll show you the hidden risks behind this so-called success story. The truth is, these new 401(k) millionaires didn't necessarily earn their way there through strategy or skill. The majority are benefiting from a long, unprecedented bull market. Sixteen and a half years of rising markets have made average savers look like investing geniuses but what happens when the market finally turns? I'll unpack the real numbers behind the hype: the average millionaire in Fidelity's data is about 59 years old, has saved for 25 years, and contributes nearly 18% of their income (over 26% with employer matches). Yet, even with all that effort, they're sitting on just enough to generate about $30,000 a year in retirement income if everything goes perfectly. That's not financial freedom. That's barely financial survival. We'll also explore why most people don't make changes even when they're worried. Over half of Fidelity's investors say they're concerned about the economy, but only 5% have adjusted their portfolios. This is the danger of financial complacency believing the market will always go up. In this episode, I challenge you to think differently about wealth and retirement. Instead of relying on hope and the stock market rollercoaster, I share why it's time to start creating real passive income through alternative investments assets that work for you no matter what Wall Street does. If you've got significant savings but little to no passive income, you're not alone. I'll share stories of people who've reached out to me with millions in their accounts but only a few hundred dollars in monthly cash flow. The truth is, being a "401(k) millionaire" doesn't mean financial independence it means your money is trapped. It's time to get your cash working harder for you, not the other way around. I'll also share how you can start taking control with strategies like infinite banking, private lending, and other passive income investments that create predictable cash flow. And don't forget to check out my new book, The Work Optional Blueprint, available now on Kindle with the print version coming soon. If you're ready to stop hoping for retirement someday and start building freedom today, this episode will open your eyes and your options.

Start making passive income here: https://bit.ly/4hHpFdv What if you could ethically influence people, and they thanked you for it? Learn how at cialdini.com/decevent - Use code MONEYRIPPLES for a special bonus. The economy has been shaking things up, and if you're a business owner, entrepreneur, or leader, you've probably felt it. Clients are hesitant. Marketing costs are up. Even some seven-figure earners are struggling. So how do you stand out and create real influence in a market full of uncertainty? Today, I'm joined again by Dr. Chris Phelps, the CEO of the Cialdini Institute, to uncover how you can use ethical persuasion and authority to gain the upper hand in any economy. If you've read Dr. Robert Cialdini's groundbreaking work on persuasion, you already know how powerful these principles are. Chris and I dive deep into how you can apply them today to rebuild trust, attract loyal clients, and lead your team effectively even when times are tough. We talk about what's really happening in the economy right now: from the rising costs of doing business to the erosion of consumer trust caused by AI-generated content, scams, and overwhelming noise in the marketplace. Chris explains why people are more skeptical than ever and how you can break through that wall with authentic authority, transparency, and trust. We explore the authority principle why customers instinctively look for credible experts, and how positioning yourself as one can make your business stand out. Chris shares proven examples from the corporate world like Avis and L'Oréal's "You're worth it" campaign that demonstrate how honesty and vulnerability can actually make your brand more persuasive. Then, we shift gears to leadership. Chris reveals how the consistency principle can transform team management and reduce micromanagement. He walks through how getting your team to make voluntary commitments leads to better results and a stronger sense of ownership because people don't want to be told what to do; they want to choose. You'll also hear the fascinating story of how Chris went from running struggling dental practices during the 2008 recession to turning them into million-dollar successes three years in a row by applying these very same principles. And he explains how his collaboration with Dr. Robert Cialdini came to life creating a movement that's now helping businesses worldwide understand the science of influence. We wrap up with practical insights you can use today to build authority, increase conversions, and inspire your team to take action even when the world feels unpredictable. If you want to stop competing on price, start leading with influence, and learn what truly drives human behavior, this episode is for you. Join us for this powerful conversation that will give you the tools to not only survive in this economy but to lead, thrive, and create ripples of success in your business and beyond. Dr. Chris Phelps; links: - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-christopher-phelps-2b48b718/ - Website: https://cialdini.com/ - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Dr-Christopher-Phelps-DMD-CMCT-61557905079311/