Chris is a cash flow expert and refers to himself as an anti-financial advisor. He used to be a traditional financial advisor until he realized that nobody reached financial freedom that way. He then went into real estate and other stuff and has since been able to retire twice since 2006. Chris likes to help people with infinite banking structures and also through his podcast, The Chris Miles Money Show. In this episode, Chris reveals how he was able to become financially free and shares his advice to investing at this time.
For 4 years, Chris was a traditional financial advisor and saw that nobody was retiring. Some friends of his were doing real estate. At first, he didn’t believe that they could make that much money, but he saw that they were self-made millionaires in their 20s and 30s.
The real estate guys have been investing since 2007-2008 before the recession hit, and they were making a lot of money. The financial advisors who should have figured out how to be financially free were making money from commissions and renewals. But none of them could retire from the investments they were recommending.
The big economic principle that he learned was that dollars follow value. If he wanted to make money, he had to create value. So he quit being a financial advisor and did mortgages.
He found himself a partner who would split the profits 50-50 with him. His partner would do the paperwork while he focused on just talking to people about mortgages.
Later on, he found companies that he referred people to and made a percentage off their sale. Before he knew it, he was making $4,000-5,000 a month working 3-4 hours a week. Then he started bringing in investments and other income streams.
Just when the recession was about to hit, Chris came out of retirement to teach people how to get out of the rat race. Then he made several mistakes.
First, on someone’s advice, he cut off his other income streams. The next mistake he made was focusing on growth instead of cash flow when it came to his real estate investing. He also dumped a lot of extra equity in his home.
When the recession hit, he couldn’t get a loan. Since he couldn’t get money out of his properties, his cash reserves got depleted until his cash flow became negative.
Chris decided that he needed to become resourceful, and he would teach people what he was actually doing himself. Eventually, things got better and he was able to retire again in 2016.
This time, he did things differently. He made sure he was tracking his money and had cash reserves. He also had multiple streams of income. He had about 16 active income streams including passive income from investments.
Being able to make a ton of money from flipping sounds cool, but you are only as good as your last deal.
Buying and renting out a property has perks as you get passive income. Also, you don’t have to keep looking for the next deal. You also get rid of a lot of stress.
With the current recession, it’s important to start tracking your money. Know the numbers. What are your income and expenses? It’s time to get intentional with how you spend your money and minimize your expenses.
Improve your liquidity. If you have equity in your home, cash it out. If you have a line of credit, get it out. Just like in the last recession, banks are going to start cutting down the limits on the home equity line of credits (HELOC). So max it out before they do that. Liquidity is important, especially if you lost your income then you need cash reserves.
Mutual funds and 401ks do not work. So get out of the stock market. A recession lasts for years. Chris believes the market is too high to support where it is right now. It will come crashing down again.
Also, with recent regulations, you can take $100,000 out of your IRA without the 10% penalty if you’re not 59 and a half yet. You’ll still pay taxes, but you can split it up over 3 years.
Right now, there’s a great opportunity to spend the next 5-10 years making your money work for you.
Chris likes boring stuff like single-family homes or duplexes or multiplexes. If he’s getting an apartment then he might do syndication.
His goal is to be able to rent to families, like 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom type of houses. He buys properties in the $120,000-200,000 price range and has a property manager to manage them. He gets $1,000-1,200 a month from them.
The idea is to let the income accumulate until it becomes an income snowball. Once you reach the 5 or 7-year mark and start selling those properties for at least double what you paid for, then that’s when everything skyrockets.
You just have to put in the work upfront. Over time, it’ll take off and the momentum gets going in your favor. True financial freedom is when you’re no longer working your ass off. It’s when you can focus on yourself, and it has a ripple effect on your life, your family, and those around you.
A true investor is very methodical. Gamblers will go for whatever money they can make. A true investor is open to opportunity, but is patient and can wait for the right deal.
Chris had to create an active income. He was coaching people on how to find money and resources. He had to cut back on his expenses which included selling off his assets and foreclosing on his house.
He had to let go of his attachment to material stuff and also his ego like what people thought of him.
Around 2011-2012, things started getting better. He started a business right and focused on taking all profits and adding as much value as he can.
By December 2016, he had paid off all his debts, and his investments and income streams were now able to take care of his needs. But nothing happened overnight, it took 8 years.
It was a slow and monotonous climb, but he kept his expenses lean and became very careful with his money.
In 2008, he had 5 businesses going on at the same time including a consulting business, a life insurance business, a dinner-and-dance business, an educational seminar business, and a network marketing company. But his income overall dropped. So he narrowed them down to just two to just the consulting and the events.
He no longer taught people how to get out of the rat race. He changed it to teaching people how to find money.
He helped people free up their cash flow. The cool thing about it is that he didn’t need to do any investments. By helping people figure out that they have more money than they realize, they were able to relax and even end up making more income in their business.
A lot of his marketing was word of mouth. His customers in the chiropractic and dental communities would rave about him.
Get lean, get liquid, and go out.
There’s always hope. There’s always a Plan A, B, or C. It’s just a matter of figuring out how to make it work.
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