Middle Class to Millions: Seeking more than “enough” with Shannon Brome-Ward

Written By cindy wagman

“Having millions doesn't necessarily mean you're living this really lavish, elaborate life. It means that you have the wiggle room to be able to ride out the storms that come with life. It gives you that freedom. We have to be honest with ourselves—thousands doesn't cut it. When we talk about millions and abundance, it gives you freedom. Money really smooths out the bumps."  Shannon Brome-Ward

Middle Class to Millions: Seeking more than “enough” with Shannon Brome-Ward

"I'm gunning this year to get to double digit millions."

That's not something you hear every day. But Shannon Brome-Ward isn't just any financial coach. As a money mindset coach and financial educator, Shannon is on a mission to help consultants move from middle class to millions, and she's not shy about her own financial goals.

In this candid conversation, Shannon opens up about the mindset shifts required for consultants to build real wealth. She challenges the scarcity thinking that keeps so many of us (especially women) playing small with our pricing and financial goals. From explaining why "getting by" is no way to live, to breaking down exactly how to start investing with as little as $25 a month, Shannon brings practical strategies any consultant can implement immediately.

If you've ever caught yourself whispering about wanting more money or felt guilty about charging premium rates while serving nonprofits, this episode is your permission slip to think bigger. Shannon walks us through how creating multiple revenue streams can provide the freedom to weather economic storms, and why having millions isn't about luxury—it's about options.

Highlights:

  • Women and money shame is real. Shannon reveals why female consultants often whisper about wanting more money, while men never express concern about being "too greedy"—and how to overcome this limiting belief.

  • Millionaires have multiple paychecks. Learn why diversifying your income beyond your consulting business is critical for building generational wealth, and practical examples of revenue streams to consider.

  • Starting expert to build wealth.

  • Charge more, live on less. The simplest wealth-building equation: increase your consulting rates while becoming comfortable living on less than you make, and invest the difference.

  • Having millions isn't about luxury, it's about options. Shannon explains why aiming for millions isn't greedy—it's about creating the flexibility to navigate life's challenges and opportunities on your own terms. Investing now, not later. Shannon breaks down how to start investing with as little as $25/month using low-cost, broad-based index funds.

Timestamp summary: 

  • [00:02:00] Introduction to Shannon Brome-Ward - Shannon introduces herself as a money mindset coach and financial educator devoted to helping people move from middle class to millions.

  • [00:04:00] Why "Millions" Matters - Shannon explains why aiming for millions isn't greedy but necessary for true financial freedom in today's economy.

  • [00:07:00] Women's Complex Relationship with Money - Discussion about how women often whisper about wanting more money, while men never express concern about being "too greedy."

  • [00:10:00] The Problem with "Getting By" - Shannon emphasizes that "getting by" creates limitations, while abundance creates options for yourself and those around you.

  • [00:14:00] Beyond Cutting Back - Shannon challenges the common advice to "cut back" and instead encourages consultants to focus on creating more through expanded offerings and higher rates.

  • [00:17:00] First Step: Know Your Numbers - The importance of understanding your business finances as the foundation for wealth building.

  • [00:19:00] Investing Fundamentals - Shannon breaks down why you can't build wealth without investing, emphasizing that starting with just $25/month can make a significant difference over time.

  • [00:21:00] Multiple Income Streams - Discussion about why millionaires never rely on just one paycheck and how consultants should diversify their income sources.

  • [00:23:00] Simplifying Investment Strategy - Shannon explains how to invest without becoming an expert through automated, low-cost index funds.

  • [00:26:00] S&P 500 Explained - Breakdown of how index funds work using the S&P 500 as an example, showing why "set it and forget it" often outperforms active management.

  • [00:29:00] Retirement Planning Approach - Shannon's perspective on retirement as a financial number rather than an age, and why this mindset creates more options.

  • [00:33:00] Building Multiple Revenue Streams - Practical examples of how Shannon created additional income sources, including real estate and vending machines.

  • [00:35:00] Living Below Your Means - The critical importance of living on less than you make to create investment capital for wealth building.

  • [00:37:00] Evolution of Investment Strategy - How your investment approach changes over time as your net worth grows and new opportunities become available.

  • [00:39:00] Shannon's Confession - Shannon reveals her goal of reaching double-digit millions this year and discusses what might tip her over the edge.

Resources Mentioned:

  • S&P 500 Index Fund - Low-cost, broad-based index fund that tracks the top 500 companies in the US

  • 401(k) - Retirement account for US workers

  • Roth IRA - Individual retirement account with tax advantages (US)

  • 529 Plan - Tax-advantaged savings plan for education expenses (US)

  • RRSP - Registered Retirement Savings Plan (Canadian equivalent to 401(k)

Find Us Online:  https://www.confessionswithjessandcindy.com

Connect with Shannon:

Connect with Cindy:

Connect with Jess: 


TRANSCRIPT:

[00:01:31] Hey Jess. Hello my friend. Hello. I feel like it's been a long time since we've recorded it is. I was away then. You were the No, we've talked since I was away anyways. It's been a while. It's been a minute. Yeah. Yeah, so for those who are listening, I feel like we haven't actually. Said this, but maybe we have, I'm just forgetting.

[00:01:55] We've started, publishing this podcast now every other week. [00:02:00] Hopefully no one's noticed. Or if you have, you just miss us so much and you'll binge whatever like all our old episodes to catch up. But, yeah, that's our official announcement, not that we needed it, but yeah, for the record.

[00:02:11] For the record, I'm ready to dive in today. I feel like, yeah, let's do it. I think this topic is the juicy one. So juicy. I feel like we're gonna have a long conversation and run out of time inevitably. So with that, it's our pleasure to welcome Shannon Brome Ward to the podcast from the whole budget.

[00:02:29] Shannon. Welcome. Thank you. Hi, Citi. Hi Jess. Thank you so much for having me. It's our pleasure. And we are gonna just dive in. So why don't you start by telling us who you are and what you do? Okay. Again, I'm Shannon Brome-Ward. I'm a money mindset coach and financial educator. I'm really. Devoted to helping folks, whether they're, W2 [00:03:00] earners or business owners, content creators, influencers, helping folks move from middle class to millions.

[00:03:07] I think there's a lot of information that I know that I was missing out on that could have made my financial journey a lot simpler, a lot easier. And every day I learn something new and I'm like, what? How come I didn't know this? And so I think that sometimes we have a lot of information that is available to us, but it becomes overwhelming or I.

[00:03:31] We just don't even know what we don't know, so we don't know what to ask. And the financial industry is really confusing intentionally. And so I just like to simplify things for folks so that they have the tools for life and that they can, especially in any economy, but particularly in this one, they can maneuver so that they can make their lives a little bit more all encompassing and not have to worry about money all the time.

[00:03:56] Oh my God. I love that and I love the [00:04:00] middle class to millions because I think we have so much baggage, especially from the nonprofit sector around money and even just staying. I think people will be uncomfortable listening, being like millions, do I really need millions? I just need, I've heard people say, I just need enough to like get by or that's, it's just enough.

[00:04:23] And I want you to talk a little bit about that being bold and I think that. What you just described is like being comfortable, being able to navigate the ups and downs is that, and it doesn't, it takes a lot of money to get that to that comfort right now, for anyone listening who is maybe I don't really need millions, tell us why.

[00:04:47] Maybe we should have our site set high. I, and I think that's a good question. And you're right, a lot of people are very uncomfortable talking about. Having too much, like it [00:05:00] seems like it's too much to ask for, or you're greedy or whatever cues and messages you received about money. I think a lot of folks don't feel comfortable, particularly women saying that they wanna have more.

[00:05:14] And me saying that you wanna have more and millions for me is about not just getting by because I think what people thought they needed to get by may have worked for a little bit. But with the economy changing all the time, what you were able to get by with before isn't cutting it right now and having millions doesn't necessarily mean you're living this really lavish, elaborate life.

[00:05:40] It means that you have the wiggle room to. Be able to ride out the storms that come with life, right? So if that means you're helping a loved one, or if they're ill, or if you need to take a break and you want to transition to something else or doing something [00:06:00] else, that you have the flexibility and the options to do so and often.

[00:06:05] We make decisions based off of money, unfortunately, right? So you may wanna do A, B, or C, but you always go back to, do I have the, can I afford it? Do I have the money to that will allow me to do so when we talk about millions and the abundance, it gives you that freedom. We have to be honest with ourselves.

[00:06:25] Thousands. It doesn't cut it, if you were to stop working for a bit, saying you have $10,000 isn't gonna take you very far, but knowing that you have an abundance, like hundreds of thousands, millions, yeah. That gives you more room and latitude to, to do a lot more and to take the pressure off of yourselves.

[00:06:46] So that's why I'm very comfortable, especially with women, getting them comfortable talking about they want to have more money. It doesn't mean that their lives are bad. It doesn't mean that they're greedy. It just means that they [00:07:00] are able to have that latitude and that flexibility. So that's why I think millions is important.

[00:07:06] It really is. 'cause it costs a lot. To live. And most people who talk to me aren't talking about, oh, I'm driving two luxury vehicles and I buy all these designer clothes, and that's not the case. Most people are not. I. Struggling because that's what they're doing. It's because they're really just trying to live a comfortable life where they can go on a vacation or so, or pay for college for their kids or, know that they'll be taking care of when they get older and not have to rely on their children to take care of them.

[00:07:37] That's the kind of thing that I'm talking about.

[00:07:41] So I am currently rewatching Yellowstone. Have you heard of the show? I've heard of it. I haven't watched it, but I heard of it. Yeah. I'm rewatching it like it's I don't know if this is relatable to you all or anyone listening, but I just can't take anything new right now. Like I just need something that I know the plot, I know what's gonna [00:08:00] happen. I don't want any surprises. Anyways, this dude, John Dutton owns like the largest ranch in Montana. Like at one point in an episode, some reporter is no one human should own all of this land.

[00:08:12] It should be a national park. And so when you're just talking right now, all I can think of is a man would never say he has too much, like ever. And it makes me wonder what is that like working with all the clients that you've worked with? Is there a shift we can make? Because I think it's just maybe more in.

[00:08:35] Women's nature to be givers and sharers and live in community. And unfortunately or fortunately, 49% of this population is men. Like we have to share this world with a huge chunk of people who don't operate and think that way. And so what is, what do you work for? I think specifically women, I know there's.

[00:08:58] Men. Shout out to the [00:09:00] handful of you listening, but I know majority of folks here are women and like what do you think that they have to shift a bit to, to reconcile? Like the real reality that like, first of all, there's a whole group of people that aren't thinking I have enough, like I need to share, and. Yeah, I guess I'm just curious like what you've uncovered or helped or helped people work through because, to your point, like thousands, yeah. Be like getting by isn't a fun way to live. Yeah. And when you ask people about getting by. There's nobody who was getting by previously and now they have some flexibility or wiggle room in their budget that ever says, oh yeah, I'd rather just get by.

[00:09:51] No, getting by is no way to live. I think we are all deserving and entitled to have that room, [00:10:00] to live comfortably. However you define it. And there are never any, never once have, I had a male client who's come to me and said, I'm, I'm not greed. I don't wanna be greedy. I don't want to never, I never had that, but I always have women coming to me and say, I don't wanna have too much.

[00:10:19] Or the ones that do wanna have more, they whisper it. I just like to have a little bit more of a cushion. I'd love to have more savings or God forbid they approach me and they say, I wanna be rich. You know what I mean? That's, it's really. How we're conditioned as women. And yes, we are givers, and we are nurturers, but you can't give from an empty cup.

[00:10:43] So it's important that women have more because they will continue to give more. You know what I mean? It is so important, but we have to be honest. People vilify folks with money. We are, money's really funky in our society, right? If you have a lot of [00:11:00] money, we are. Eerily obsessed with seeing what you're doing.

[00:11:04] We wanna watch you, we wanna know, and then we wanna vilify you if you have too much. But we also vilify those who don't have a lot of money. You know what I mean? You're lazy, you're not doing what you're supposed to do, pull yourself up by your bootstraps, blah, blah, blah, blah. So we have this really funky relationship with money, whether you have a lot of it or you don't have enough of it.

[00:11:25] So people tend to be quiet about it. They tend to be really quiet about it. And it is, it is risky sometimes to be like, yeah, no, I like to have a lot of money. I really do. I like to be able to say on any given Tuesday, I don't wanna do this and I wanna do that and I can, and I have the freedom to do that.

[00:11:43] And that's because money has allowed me that freedom. And it's really pa a passion of mine because you can create that for yourselves, but. Not everybody knows that it's accessible to them, right? [00:12:00] And so women in particular, once they realize that they too can have this money and they're not vilified for it, and they don't have to necessarily shy away from it, they blossom and the lives of everybody around them gets way better every single time.

[00:12:20] Oh, I love that. I think I've seen Jess and her friend Camilla both post something about being business owners and when they spend, it's not just like you're, when you buy from them, you're not just buying from them and supporting their family, but the also the. Women and other people that they hired to do other things and you're creating this whole ripple effect, which I absolutely love.

[00:12:44] Okay. I wanna I wanna get into it. You said we don't know often it's like we just dunno how to create it or how to make it accessible. And I think that is very true. This idea of, you put in this, as someone who works with consultants, I [00:13:00] see this all the time. People are just like.

[00:13:02] Hourly. Hourly. Hourly. This is my value for my time, and that is how we think we generate money. And I am sure that's part of it, but what are we missing? Like how do we go from feeling that I have no time in the day. So I, yeah. Sorry. Go ahead ke I'll let you run with it. Go for it. Yeah. Yeah, no, I think it, a lot of it is the messaging, right?

[00:13:32] So first and foremost, the thing that we hear, particularly as women is cutback, right? Don't spend so much, don't buy the latte. All of those crazy messages that are keeping you small. And keeping you in that scarcity mode because you're always gonna feel like there isn't enough.

[00:13:51] And it's really important for business owners to have a completely different perspective. 'cause they have the ability to make more money instead of just [00:14:00] restricting everything and creating this really small, boring, miserable life for yourself. Wouldn't it be better if you were more creative and found other ways to create more money?

[00:14:11] The thing is with money too, is when you learn to create it in this sphere, then you're exposed to other ways in which you can create it and then you start diversifying. And that's why, you'll hear people say oh, money follows money and people have money, always have more money.

[00:14:27] That's how the rich get richer. Yeah, it is, it's true. But if you are looking at the world in this really small. Scarcity, fearful way, it becomes incredibly difficult to make your life more abundant and the lives around you and the people around you more abundant. And so I think that the other thing that also occurs with a lot of women is that we undercharge, we really undercharge.

[00:14:54] And again, that creates a small life for yourself because then you're just getting by again. [00:15:00] A lot of the times you're not charging enough, so you're not charging enough, and then you can't make, ends meet. You can't grow, you can't do more research, can't develop more. You can't do all of the things, and so everything just remains small.

[00:15:13] And again, that's the messaging because if you charge too much, you're being greedy. You want too much, like that's just enough for you. And so we have to really be in communities with other women who are comfortable talking about money, where you're not vilified for having money or wanting more, or wanting to create a bigger life for yourself.

[00:15:34] It's so important to be in those spaces. And I'm not gonna lie, they're not as easy to find. They're not. Especially if we're taught not to talk about these things. Where do you like go searching? This is, I love all of this and one of the reasons why Jess and I created this podcast is we wanna talk about things like money and how to run your business and all that.

[00:15:56] So the, it sounds like [00:16:00] one of the first things. We can do is start to look at how we create more by what we're already doing, right? Like how do we take up more space? How do we be more allowed? How do we charge more? How do we shift like this? What we have control over in our, day, in our day-to-day business?

[00:16:19] I'd love to hear, I feel like it's the kind of question, I don't know what I don't know. And so I'd love to hear some of the things that. You feel are vehicles, tools, or strategies that like we should be asking about, we should be exploring, but we just have no idea because we're not in those rooms where the conversations are having.

[00:16:40] Yeah. Are being had. Yeah. Yeah. I think the first thing that I love everybody to look at is, I know they hate the word budget, but look at where your money is going. Look at what's coming in and what's going out. I can't tell you how many business owners can't tell me how much money they're making.

[00:16:56] They have no clue. No [00:17:00] idea how much money they're making or what they're spending their money on. You've got to be able to look at the numbers. You've gotta get comfortable looking at them and having an idea, an ownership over what you can and cannot control. And if you are able, this is different than a W2 owner, but if you're able to increase your revenue, then you should take advantage of that.

[00:17:22] And not knowing. What levers to push and when to pull and when to go hard in this area to create more money. And realizing you have the ability to do that really impacts the amount of money that you'll have overall. So having that understanding of what's coming in and what's going out is key.

[00:17:41] That's the foundation, and so I help folks with that, with the budgeting framework so that they have an idea of what the numbers are and what's happening. The other thing that, I think is very important for most folks, if not all folks to understand, is to [00:18:00] simplify investing. You cannot build wealth if you're not investing.

[00:18:04] And I know that a lot of times when people are building a business or not, they're like, okay, I'll put that off until later. I'll wait until I'm making a little bit more money. I'll wait until my business is at this scale. I'll wait until you know my revenue is here. And that is the biggest mistake that most folks make because you want time in the market.

[00:18:28] You don't wanna time the market. So the earlier that you start, the better and. You can start with as little as a dollar, but I like to remind folks that I started with 25 bucks a month. Like most folks can afford to put aside 1250 every two weeks or $25 a month to start that process, right? And so that is the second thing, really understanding how the market works.

[00:18:54] And then setting it and forgetting it, automating their investments, and then going back to the [00:19:00] business at hand, which is growing their business. And as you continue to grow the business and create more money, you can turn up the volume on your investment. So that you might start at that 25, but within a year you're like, I can actually do two 50 a month, or whatever the case may be.

[00:19:17] But the process doesn't change and you are just increasing the amount that you're investing, which will increase the amount that you'll have overall. So the sooner folks start that, the better. And then the third thing that I think is most important for most people is that millionaires have multiple paychecks.

[00:19:38] Multiple streams of income, not just one. So even if you're diversifying within your business, that's important, right? Maybe you're diversifying on the types of clients you have, the number of clients you have, the size of each of your clients. That is diversification in and of itself and your offerings, but also [00:20:00] diversifying outside of your business.

[00:20:02] All of your money shouldn't come from one place. So that depending on what type of market tur like turbulence we are experiencing or economic tur turbulence that we're experiencing, you can weather the storms. So if the market's down, but real estate is high, great. If maybe you wanna invest in vending machines, great.

[00:20:23] Maybe you're investing in other, businesses. Excellent. Millionaires have multiple paychecks. They're never relying on one paycheck, never relying on one stream of income. And if you can create additional streams, it really supports your building of generational wealth. Okay, that was super helpful.

[00:20:42] Thank you for those examples. And as you were talking, I was thinking of. Everyone from myself and Cindy to the folks listening who are, if I was to profile, working mothers with children under 18 who have like negative hours in the day. [00:21:00] And so for me, when I hear you talk, I'm like, great.

[00:21:02] And I need this to be solo effort that like. It is actually no effort, meaning like it's automated, it's set up like, it's a kind of, you set it up, you set the system up, and then it rolls. Because I also have been thinking a lot about lately, like how I don't wanna become an expert in everything.

[00:21:24] I will say investing is one of those things for me personally. Like I wanna do it and I don't wanna be an expert in it, like like. Facebook ads. I might wanna do it someday, but I have no interest in developing that skill, so to speak. And so what is the basic 1 0 1? What website do I go to because I hear different.

[00:21:47] Things, or you catch all these clips on TikTok that it's buy this thing or do that, and I'm like immediately overwhelmed and I just end up closing out and doing nothing. So for a newbie [00:22:00] who isn't doing anything, is it like. Set up a 401k through your payroll system, or is it like sign up with an account on Fidelity?

[00:22:10] Like what is the like simplest road to that $25 a month that you can essentially set and forget, and obviously if you find yourself with a knack or interest like. You can go deeper and wider and do all the things and get as crazy as you want, but I would guess that most people listening want to do the simplest version of this versus the wide deep version of this.

[00:22:38] Yeah. So that is such a good question, and I love this because. I started with that simple version and that's where I made the most money because the folks who don't look at it, tinker with it, go in there and try to sell this and buy this and do all that stuff, those are the folks that just ride it out, and that's where the most money is made, honestly, [00:23:00] because really and truly, it's time in the market, right?

[00:23:03] So the beauty about the market is. Whether you're saving for college and it's called a 5 29 for those in the states, or you are saving for retirement, a 401k versus in the States and in Canada. I know it's a, RRSP. Whether you are doing any of those things, the things you invest in are the same. They're the same.

[00:23:30] So not getting caught up with all of those numbers and names and tax codes. Don't worry about that. What you wanna do is invest at a brokerage house. So a brokerage house is like a Fidelity, a Vanguard, a Charles Schwab, and in Canada it's one of the banks or Wealthfront and all of those, like you wanna go to one of those and then you want to buy something called a low cost.

[00:23:57] Broad-based index fund. [00:24:00] Okay. Low cost, broad-based index fund, like the s and p 500. The s and p 500 is standard in Poors 500, the top 500 companies in the United States. Okay. And it's cap weighted meaning? The biggest companies get more weight. So say you had a hundred dollars and you're investing in the s and p 500.

[00:24:26] Let's say the top companies like the Mag seven. So think of Apple and Nvidia. And Tesla and like the top seven companies, we will get, let's say 70 of those dollars and the remaining companies will get 30 of your dollars. Okay, so it's weighted. If a company falls to the bottom, say something happens with Apple, it totally tanks and it falls to company number five 50.

[00:24:55] It falls off of that index fine, and all the other ones [00:25:00] move up to the top. You don't have to do anything. You don't have to go in there and tinker. It adjusts for you so that every month when you're putting in your money, it's still buying shares in that s and p 500, but you don't have to figure out what's going on.

[00:25:18] It moves for you in accordance to what's going on with the market. So if you think back, I don't know if you guys are old enough, if you remember, like Kodak, okay, so you remember the company Kodak? That used to be one of those top companies. But where's Kodak now? I don't even know if it's on the list or if it's off of the list, but all of these companies that didn't exist back then, right?

[00:25:40] Have now moved up. If you invested in the s and p 500 in 19 70, 19 80, you would've owned a little bit of Kodak. But now say you're still investing in the s and p 500. Now you didn't have to worry about should I buy more Kodak stock? Should I? No, it fell off. [00:26:00] And these other big name companies that are performing really well move to the top.

[00:26:06] So you, you never have to look, you never have to check if you don't wanna get into the nitty gritty of the market, you don't have to do that. So you could invest your money in the s and p 500 in your 401k. You can invest your money in the s and p 500 in your kids' college fund in the 5 29. You could invest in the s and p 500 in your Roth.

[00:26:29] IRA. It doesn't matter. It all works the same way. The only difference is the amount of money you can put in each and how it's taxed. I am just gonna come off mute. Okay, so now I have a question. You, it just spurred for me. Related to your kind of, beginning part of the podcast, when you're talking about pricing and increasing pricing, do you have a suggested amount that you recommend people put aside for [00:27:00] either retirement investment, like in a calendar year?

[00:27:03] So for example, I heard you just say, Roth IRA versus the. Which other ones is you say 401k. 401k. And I know as business owners, like we can plop money in both, but is it 10%? Is it 20%? Because I think if people start thinking like, I wanna do 20% back into my investments, that means I actually need to add to my pricing to like cover, like it's all math, but if you're not. Even thinking of that at all, when you're placing these prices, then you might find yourself always coming up short. So what is the recommendation these days? I grew up with a dad who's a financial advisor kind of ironically, and he always said 20%, which is not nothing.

[00:27:49] And so that's just like what was like drilled into me. And depending on my income years, I like pull back and stuff. But is it still 20%, [00:28:00] which is high, I think. Is it like 5%? What is it and how do you factor that in? Just going back to, like you said around pricing, because Yeah, you got it.

[00:28:11] I like those benchmarks for some folks, but I know they can be intimidating because what tends to happen is when people hear 15% or 20%, they're like, I don't have it, and they do nothing. And it's I'd rather you put in something. But, so I like to start at not how much do you wanna put in, but how much do you want to have in order to retire?

[00:28:35] I don't think about retiring at 65. I think about retirement in terms of the amount of money you have, because we all know there are a lot of 65 year olds who can't retire, right? And they're working at 75 and 80 and it's not because they want to. But because they have to, so I, with, when I'm working with my clients, I'm like, no, let's calculate.

[00:28:56] That's why the budget's so important. Like how, what kind of lifestyle [00:29:00] do you have? Do you wanna maintain that lifestyle? If you do, this is how much money you're going to need to have in order to stop working or work part-time or, and when do you wanna stop working? You don't have to wait until you're 65.

[00:29:15] I don't like to just say 15% you should put towards your 401k or your retirement fund or 20%. I like to talk about what you actually wanna do with your life, because I think a lot of us are locked into believing that we are gonna stop working at 65 or that we have to, and that actually doesn't end up being a reality.

[00:29:36] Once I was able to calculate, wait a minute. If I have this amount of money, I can stop working. Then I was out of the workforce before 50. So I think that's important because a lot of folks don't realize that it could take 10 to 12 years to get this amount and then you can decide what to do from there.

[00:29:54] And the goal isn't necessarily to stop, but the goal is to have options. [00:30:00] Oh, this is so good, so good. I love having these conversations, because. We're not taught this anyway. That's a whole other co conversation, trying to teach my kids about it. Okay. I wanna talk about the multiple revenue streams.

[00:30:16] Because this is something that actually comes up in our peer mastermind where we're like, let's buy a laundromat. And I feel like if we're there, if we feel like we're investing, maybe you're telling me the order is wrong, but the way I think about it, get your budget in order, start to invest in the markets.

[00:30:36] And then we add non multiple revenue streams outside of our business. I understand the diversification within the business, but like then we look at these other investment. Types of investments that are revenue generating, is that the right order and maybe not. And if regardless of the order, what?

[00:30:58] Tell us about this, because I [00:31:00] think this is something that people think. I think we just don't think about it, quite frankly. I think we just feel, again, to Jess's point, I'm not there. I'm not gonna get there. That's like for the next level of, wealth or what have you. I see that as intergenerational wealth and so I think it's really important, but tell me I'm right, I'm wrong, and how we should be thinking about these things.

[00:31:24] Yeah, no, this is so good because now that I am a little long in the tooth, I can tell you a little bit about this. When your kids are young, you've got a lot of competing priorities, right? I. A lot. And so I remember this period of it being a slog, like it was, it didn't feel like anything was actually happening, right?

[00:31:45] A little bit of money was going here, a little bit of money was going to retirement. A little bit of money was going towards college, but it didn't really feel like anything was happening at all. However. It's like this shift that occurs over [00:32:00] time. You have to be patient. I would, all of these things happen in a stepwise fashion.

[00:32:04] Now, don't get me wrong, I bought real estate, rental properties. I started there and that took a while. You buy your first one and then you do, then you get the second one. And there are different ways that you can go about doing this, but I would never suggest that you wait. You have to realize now this everybody's situation is different.

[00:32:25] You are going to be living on less than you make. You have to get comfortable living on less than you make. So if you're making a hundred thousand dollars and you are, you can figure out how to live off of 70, like after taxes and all that live off of 70, that is going to be the difference maker for you.

[00:32:49] It's going to be the, if you can invest that 30, that's gonna be the difference maker for you because before you know it, all of those things that you're investing in will [00:33:00] start to pay dividends. So one by one, I started accumulate real estate. I had, vending machines. Now I don't do that as much anymore, but the vending machines were in my kids' names, so that was their business.

[00:33:17] So they are, were already, they were stalking them, so they were working, and if your kids are working, then you can start creating an investment account for them. So they started with retirement accounts, long before they were in the double digits, right? And so that, all of those little things that also create tax breaks for you keeps more money in your pocket.

[00:33:43] But you have to first and foremost be comfortable not looking at, I'm bringing in a hundred thousand, I'm gonna live at a hundred thousand or worse. I'm bringing in a hundred thousand, but I'm living at 130,000 'cause I have debt. And when debt, high interest consumer debt. I don't mean debt from [00:34:00] investments.

[00:34:01] I think you, you have to be patient, especially when you have the young kids and you're starting out that this stuff happens. Sometimes you buy one thing, you invest in one thing. You may not come around to investing in another thing for another three years, but you have a plan and you have to have the plan in place.

[00:34:18] So I'll give you like a personal story. We bought these, rental properties in North Carolina. And at the time they were pretty inexpensive and the thought was, if these, if these grow and we make some money off of those, we could always use those to help pay for college as well.

[00:34:35] But I was also investing in a 5 29, so we had the five 20 nines for them. I don't need the rental properties to pay for college now. I have one kid in college that's taken care of. What do I do with these rental properties while I still own them, but these ones I can now roll over to do something else right now, maybe I don't know this, or give it to the kid, or whatever the case may be.

[00:34:58] I don't know. I haven't decided. [00:35:00] But the types of investments that you do change over time based on how much money you have as well. Now I'm investing more in private equity, but I'm in the rooms where I can, because now I have the net worth. That will allow me by the SEC to invest in private equity.

[00:35:18] I couldn't have done this 15, 20 years ago. 'cause it's like you have to have a net worth of a million or 5 million. If you don't have that, you can't get in the room. So that's the thing I want people to understand that, just get on the course. You will get there some people faster than others, and if you are growing your business and you're making more money, then of course it's gonna happen faster for you.

[00:35:42] I wish I had known that myself. 'cause I was a W2 employee for so long and I was like, wait a minute. Business owners have the key and the key to making money in the United States is to own property and to own your own business. If you do those two things, [00:36:00] you can become wealthy.

[00:36:05] Amazing. Yeah. Now I'm like, Ooh, vending machines for the kids. I love that idea. I'm all, I like your laundromat idea too. Those are very lucrative. That's one we've talked about. Very ative. I like collectively buying laundromat. Okay. I really do have so many questions and we are not gonna have time. Definitely we always ask for confession on the podcast. So before we wrap up, if you could share one thing with our audience that is a confession, something maybe you wouldn't have said elsewhere, or don't share very openly generally, what's one thing that you wanna confess? I'm gunning this year to get to double digit millions.

[00:36:50] Yes. Fucking love that. The way my mouth just dropped. I was like, yes, I love it. I'm so [00:37:00] close. So close. So it could be an investment. I don't know. I don't know what's gonna tip me over the edge. I'm always looking, I don't know. I don't know what it's gonna be. I'm looking at a couple of things, but.

[00:37:13] I'm like, Ooh, like I think that's, that would be really exciting. That's be super cool. Amazingly exciting. Yes. Oh, we're okay. So obviously we're cheering you on. Yeah, we're cheering you on and you have to tell us when you reach it, where can I, listeners get in touch with you? Where can we learn to become.

[00:37:34] To go from middle class to millions. 'cause well, I'm in, they can listen to my podcast from middle class to millions. That's the easy start. But I am, at the whole budget on all the platforms, on TikTok, on Instagram, on Facebook, you can find me there and on my website, the whole budget. Yeah, I am.

[00:37:56] So excited. Like I get a little excited to [00:38:00] talk about, making money and I think it, it, it either repels people or it draws them in. But I'm really keen when women are on board with this because I know it just completely changes their lives and their family's laws and it just makes all the difference in the world.

[00:38:19] And, we can kid ourselves and think. That money doesn't have an impact, but we're only lying to ourselves. If that's the case, money really smooths out the bumps. It does. Does. Amazing. Shannon, you are such a gift to, women and business owners, and we really appreciate you sharing that wisdom with us.

[00:38:42] Thank you. Thank you so much.

[00:38:45] Awesome.

cindy wagman
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