CPA Gone Mad Opening Statement: December 2016
You’re not going to like this. But this is how you get rich slowly!
Let me warn you. Many of you will hate this newsletter. I’m expecting most of you to cancel after reading this opening statement.
And not because you’ll disagree with anything I’m saying. It’ll be because you recognize the truth in what I’m saying.
I’m not here to sugarcoat anything. If you want to enjoy the freedom that comes with building financial security, you need honesty. You need the truth.
That’s the problem with mainstream financial outlets and the world at large today. They’re too worried about telling you something you don’t want to hear. Because they don’t want you to get upset and stop paying them money. That’s the reason mainstream finance lives the high life. They tell you what’s best for them and what you want to hear. They do well and you struggle to move ahead financially.
This drove me Mad.
Well, guess what? I don’t want your money. I’m not worried about hurting your feelings and your not wanting to read my information anymore. I just want to help you. And in order to help you, I have to tell you the truth.
Yes, I’m charging you money for my book. But the main reason I’m charging you for the book is so you actually read it. If I didn’t charge you, you would just download it and let it go to waste.
I’ve had a successful career as a CPA. I make more money than I need to live a comfortable lifestyle. But I wasn’t always financially secure. You probably make enough money to live a comfortable lifestyle too. So you don’t think you need guidance. But are you financially secure? Are you setting yourself up today to achieve the financial freedom down the road you deserve?
My guess is no. And the reason I assume that is because I wasn’t until a few years ago. I got out of college and started making good money. Read and watched mainstream finance. Bought a home and sold it for less than I paid for it. Got married and divorced. Bought a rental property that burned cash flow. Maxed out my 401(k) contributions and then lost most of it in 2008. And lived a lifestyle of someone I thought I needed to be.
I’m a CPA and have struggled with personal finance. But I figured it out…
Sound familiar? Well, I was quickly in debt. A lot of debt. So I turned back to mainstream finance to figure out how to get out. What did mainstream finance tell me to do? I just saw some advice on a LinkedIn post from one of my college friends. He was commenting on an article from his company. I’m not going to mention the name because it’s not just his company telling you this. It’s the exact information I read in a book 10 years ago.
First, prioritize your debt and pay down the one with the highest rate. Second, automate your debt payments. Last, hold yourself to a budget. The article concludes by assuring you that “you can pay down your debt.” And it offers to have you talk to someone at the company. I promise they’ll try to sell you some product you don’t need.
So that’s going to help you pay down your debt? Stop kidding yourself. That doesn’t work. I tried it.
I was over $200,000 in debt not long ago. Mainstream media didn’t have any secret plans to get me out of it. You know how I got out of it? Are you ready for this? This is how you get out of debt. By the way, it’s also how you increase savings.
STOP SPENDING MONEY!
MAKE MORE MONEY!
I promise you that will get you out of debt. Stop buying things. Don’t lease or buy a fancy car. Sell your car and buy an old car with cash. Don’t think you need to own a home. Rent a small apartment. Beers at the bar on Friday nights? Sorry—cans at home on Friday nights.
If you want to get out of debt, that’s all you need to do. And don’t say you can’t do it. I did it. Is it difficult to change your mind-set to accept this mentality? Yes. Is it difficult to actually do? No. Don’t focus on how hard it will be. Just start doing it.
Work one more hour. Buy one fewer thing. Let your bank account start to rise and your debt balance fall. Feed off the momentum and each day take one more positive step. You’re not going to get there tomorrow. There’s no quick scheme. But you will get there. Each day you move more in the right direction, building on the previous day. Your progress compounds just like interest and dividends.
Next thing you know you’re out of debt. Then your savings starts to increase. And in a little over three years you could go from negative $200,000 net worth to positive $500,000 net worth like I did.
Not magically. I sacrificed. I worked more. I made the effort and took action. You can too. Your financial future depends on it.
I encourage you to read my book, Gen X & Millennials: Protect your Money and Prosper, and reports. Follow my newsletter. And if you have a 401(k), implement my strategies in your 401(k).
But don’t read my strategies and get excited about trying to profit quickly. Especially if you are in debt. You need to stop spending money and to earn more money, changing your entire mind-set about money before you get excited about investing.
Let me be clear. This is NOT a get-rich-quick scheme. This is a GET-RICH-SLOW strategy.
I went through immense struggles, trying to wrap my head around following the rules on how to get out of debt and save money. It wasn’t easy because my friends didn’t understand and the mainstream financial outlets suggest the opposite. But deep down I knew it was the only way.
I took it one day at a time, and the next thing I knew, I had $500,000 to invest.
Now I have a goal of reaching a $10 million portfolio in 15-20 years. That seems almost impossible. But it’s not. Each day, I’m just taking one more step forward. I’m not trying to make $1 million tomorrow. I’m only trying to add onto my current $500,000. I just keep moving forward.
I built a safety net by not overpaying for investments or chasing short-term gains. And I do my homework on each investment I make, as to not misstep. But the world is uncertain. So I could still misstep. If I do, the safety net will catch me and I won’t fall far.
I promise you this is not what mainstream finance will suggest. They’ll tell you to allocate your money between stocks and bonds. I read an article the other day that suggested there’s a 0% chance that a balanced portfolio of stocks and bonds will achieve a 5% return over the next 10 years.
You can’t pay attention to someone who is not aligned with your financial interest.
That’s why I’m being honest with you. You may not like it, but read along and see if you can learn to trust me.
You can make changes in your mind-set, creating a better future with actions today.
I didn’t have anything handed to me except for my brain. And while that brain may easily understand, process, connect, and allow me to move forward when it comes to accounting, finance, economics, and investing, it also gives me ADD and social anxiety. I’m thankful for what I have with my brain, but it doesn’t come without challenges.
I grew up in a small rural farm town in Pennsylvania where most people never leave. Most people work hard, blue-collar labor jobs their entire life just to get by. My parents didn’t buy me a car or pay for me to go to college. I drove junkers until I graduated from a state school with student loan debt and then bought a 2003 Honda Accord, which I still drive today.
To get over my social anxiety, I used alcohol. Sometimes too much. It led me to some bad spots and situations. It’s part of the reason I ended up with such a negative net worth.
But I always knew I couldn’t “quit this game of life,” so I might as well learn from my mistakes and keep taking each day one at a time and move forward. I got help with my ADD and social anxiety and was able to quit alcohol.
I learned how to be comfortable not following the crowd because the crowd is not getting ahead.
Trust me: If I can do this, you can do this. I’m no better than you are. I just happen to have a skill in finance and accounting, enjoy investing and economics, and have a passion to help others achieve financial freedom.
I know how great it feels to be financially secure. How happy it makes me to spend my free time doing what I enjoy. Which is learning how to continue to protect my finances, prosper, and share it with you.
This is why I don’t want your money. I have a plan and don’t need your money. I want you to keep your money, save more of it, and create a plan for yourself so you, too, can be financially secure.
Now you know a little more about me. Why I’m a CPA Gone Mad. If you connect with what I just wrote. Feel the urge to want to improve your situation. Will not get caught up in trying to get there tomorrow but moving forward one day at a time.
Join me. This is a journey we’re going on together. I might be a little further ahead of you. I might not. But either way, that’s okay. It will make me a better guide by having people like you both a little ahead and a little behind challenging and questioning me the whole time.
To your health, wealth, and personal freedom,
Chad A. Walker, CPA, MBA