You can do everything right and still end up at Square 1.

Holiday episode, Paul Sating, creator of multiple podcasts, shares his financial journey. He has retired from the military, has a full-time job, real estate income, and shares highs and lows through it all.

We discuss:

• His wealth-building mentality & the mentors who walked him through the mechanics of finances.
• The power of a 15-minute conversation to help his financial foundation.
• The most important principle for him with finances is simply debt management.
• Looking at debt can be overwhelming.
• When it comes to debt:  "Mitigate then Eliminate."
• Learning the value of hard work in a farming community. His first job at $3 per hour, then working 3 jobs when he was 16.
• How you make a goal about your finances so that you can live the life you really desire.
• How you have to define happiness for you.
• The sleeplessness that comes through having debt.
• He owns 3 homes and is earning income from most of them.
• When you are moving regularly, consider purchasing a home in each area. The housing market conditions can work for you or against you.  
• The housing decisions that have to be made as you move regularly, such as:  Buy or rent?  School zones to be considered?  On base housing or off base? 
• Re-financing helped him survive to ride out the housing market ups and downs.
• How he chose a quality property manager?  Customer service.  Prompt responses  Meeting his needs as a homeowner.
• Serving in the military, he had a steady income consistently.  After working overseas, he had a young family and hit a very low point financially.
• How he was able to pull himself out of the low point to make ends meet financially.
• The consolidation loan helped him pull out of the financial mess.  
• Minimalism: He was a minimalist when he had to be.
• The focus to make it through the financial struggle.
• Money is important but is second to the relationships in his life.
• How divorce turned his life & finances upside down.
• How he struggled to put his children through a safe school.
• "I did all the right things...and here I was, back at square one.  I had to get up, brush myself off, and start up again."
• "Sometimes the best step is to just start and go with it."
• "Stay focused on the end of the tunnel."
• He would rather have the life moments than driving the nice ride.
• He test drives the Infinity regularly.
• Money & marriage:  how it works for them.  She is carefree and he is disciplined.
• His daily tracker/ and every penny how they counted the money.
• The budget was on the fridge even in front of the kids' artwork.
• The validation moments: to see each one of the sections on the bar chart to remind yourself how much you've accomplished.
• The happy medium they have found as a couple in their financial journey.
• The question that woke him up to enjoy life: "How much do you need to save before you are good?" 
• Podcast Washington, so much creativity and 
• Why he loves to podcast.  It's his medium. "I can listen to who I want to, when I want to."
• The Q. His podcast on Positive Humanism.  "Sometimes the questions are more important than the answers."
• His podcast is helping him be accountable to himself by focusing on the positive.
• Atheist Apocalypse: a fictional comedy, an audio drama, talking about the end...
• All the work that goes into making a podcast.
• Enjoying the journey of creating.
• No matter where you are: the student loan debt, or credit card debt, this is temporary.  Stay disciplined, stay focused and keep at it.
• Make sure you have a reward periodically.  Something to keep you on track.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• The Q Podcast  (explicit)
• Theqpodcast on Twitter
• The Atheist Apocalypse (PG-13)
• AApodcastshow on Twitter
• Think Enriched Virtual Tip Jar

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