Wealth Formula Podcast

Robert Kiyosaki's CPA, Tom Wheelwright performed a miracle. He made me think taxes were interesting! Why? Well, most people think of taxes as, at best, a necessary evil and at worst down-right punative. But after reading Tom Wheelwright's book "Tax Free Wealth", he made me look at taxes a totally different way. As Tom likes to say, "If you want to pay less tax, you have to change your facts." The...

You know, one of the interesting things about getting older is that you have the ability to look back and tell a story about yourself—to create a narrative about the moments and the people that, for better or for worse, changed the course of your life. I remember the day I decided to become a doctor. I remember the day I met my wife. I remember walking into my beach house in Santa Barbara for the...

In 1593 a Dutch botanist named Carolus Clusius planted several tulip bulbs in his botanical garden and over time he proved their ability to grow in the harsh conditions of the Low Countries. Tulips were new to Europe and they looked nothing like plants the Dutch had seen. Furthermore, a virus specific to the Tulips (the mosaic virus) made them even more extraordinary. These particular tulips took...

I am a refugee of the Thomas fires that crept dangerously close to my home in Montecito, CA. That's why my audio sucks on the introduction of this week's podcast. Fortunately the actual interview was done before my evacuation. As I mentioned in the introduction of last week's show, I woke up to ash on my deck and my smoke detector went off without any apparent fire. The air was clearly getting wor...

I cannot tell a lie… Despite the fact that I am a libertarian and seem to run in circles with some pretty depressing people: I do not see the future filled with doom and gloom. I do not believe that the United States is screwed and that you should start preparing for Armageddon. I do not believe that you need to buy a wheelbarrow to carry your cash to the supermarket in hopes of buy the last loaf...

Thousands of years ago, in the Roman Times of Christ, you would go to your local store and trade your ounce of gold coins for a nice toga and a pair of sandals—something worthy of wearing to the coliseum. Today, an ounce of gold will buy you a pretty nice suit and a pair of shoes—something worthy of wearing to the theater. Gold is money and it has been for centuries. That's a pretty good track rec...

Why do you believe what you believe? Are you a republican or a democrat? Are you pro-choice or pro-life? How about guns? Should guns be outlawed in the United States? Do you ever look at the "other side" and wonder if they are absolutely nuts? "How could they believe what they believe and stand for what they stand?" Do you remember when there were only facts?—Not alternative facts? Do you remember...

When you listen to my podcast or read my book, you might think I am rigid about my investing. After all, the principals of wealth creation that I teach are: 1) Invest in cash flowing assets. 2) Understand how your investments work. 3) Invest in real things—things you can see touch and feel. 4) Invest in things that people need—like places to live, food, and water. 5) Use the mathematical principal...

Being a podcaster is kind of unusual. Last month I had over 30K downloads (not bad) yet I only speak to a fraction of you through investor club. Even fewer of you know each other despite the fact that you have a lot in common. The good news is that I will be launching a course in the first quarter of next year that you are going to love and it will also include an opportunity to join the Wealth Fo...

Last summer I learned how to swim for the first time. I was an athletic kid but somehow missed that window in my life when it was ok to not know how. After all, when you are two or three years old, not knowing how to swim is par for the course--but not when you are a teenager! By that time, it became too embarrassing to go to a swim class--especially when you have a huge ego like mine anchoring yo...

How our brains have evolved over time is a funny thing. The same things that make us wildly successful in life have the potential to make us miserable. This is the cruel paradox of the high achieving, high paid professional. We are strivers and we have very high expectations of ourselves. That's not a bad thing at all. I would be lying to you if I told you that I am any different. The problem is t...

Why do I advocate investing in real things like real estate and precious metals instead of stocks, bonds, and mutual funds? Because I understand them and they are, for the most part, predictable. I understand that, when I buy an apartment building, people have to pay me rent. That property might go up and down in value but as long as I've got a pretty good margin of safety, the rent and income tha...

The wealthy think differently than most of us-- Here's the challenge--In order to be wealthy, you must think like the wealthy! "But Buck, if I don't know how they think how can I do that?" Well, I'll tell you. You see my job on Wealth Formula is to infiltrate the world of the wealthy. Think of me as a spy like 007 stealing secrets from the wealthy and passing them on to you. That's what I love to...

I cannot tell a lie--in my first business I made a small fortune sucking fat from places where people didn't want it and putting it back where they wanted more! I told Robert Kiyosaki about that last April and that's how he remembered who I was the rest of the cruise. My wife hates it when I talk about this past life but it's true. Personally, I liked what I was doing for the first couple years. L...

"Can you explain what internet is?" That's the question Katie Couric asked her colleagues on the Today Show in 1994 as an equally confused Bryant Gumbel looked on. Now don't you wish you knew what the internet was back then? Don't you wish you had enough foresight to see this seismic shift in not only technology but in our world? If you knew what you know now, what would you have done? Of course t...

Robert Kiyosaki opened my eyes to the notion of passive multiple income streams 9 years ago and it changed my life. Of course, my dad had been talking about "cash flow investing" since I was born but for some reason I was too dense to figure out what he meant. In the context of Kiyosaki, multiple streams of income has generally been interpreted as investing in real estate. After Rich Dad Poor Dad...

I have said on a number of occasions that Wealth Formula Podcast is NOT a Real Estate Show. So why do we talk so much about real estate? Well, for people who want to grow their wealth, there simply is no other asset class with a better track record and more upside than real estate. The Wealth Formula Principles for Wealth Creation are: 1) Invest in tangible things, not paper. 2) Invest in cash flo...

I have arrived to Southern California and I am now writing to you from my new office which, for the first time in Wealth Formula Podcast History, is NOT a part of my home. This time away from the show has given me some time to reflect. I do have a lot to say to you myself and sometimes the interview format does not allow me to do that. So, I have made a decision that I will do more podcasts in a f...

When I was in high school, I used to BLAST Led Zeppelin on my drive to school. My favorite album was Led Zeppelin IV. My music tastes haven't changed much since then. In fact, my music repertoire pretty much ends 1992--the year I graduated high school. Even '92 is a bit late for most of my favorite music though. My wife, on the other hand, generally likes the newer stuff. But last month, I convert...

Several weeks ago, I sent out a "Weekly Wealth Widget" about BASIC estate planning--the stuff you absolutely have to have to protect your family in case you die. I was amazed at the high percentage of people who did not already have this information. That's downright scary. Listen--no one likes to think about dying much less planning out what happens when you die. Hopefully, you live to be 120 but...

I have been on a real anti-conventional wisdom kick lately if you haven't noticed. You see, I think that conventional wisdom in personal finance is a big Wall Street scam! Invest in stocks, bonds, and mutual funds for the long run? Why is that conventional wisdom? Well, who benefits if you continuously dump money into the equity markets? The market MAKERS of course! Make no mistake, conventional w...

If you haven't figured it out yet, I believe strongly that investing is a team sport. Like team sports, it can be fun and rewarding--especially when you win. I talk to investors in Wealth Formula's Accredited Investor Club all the time and often hear the frustration of those interested in investing outside of the equity markets--they have no idea where to turn. They know they want something differ...

As many you know, I will be leaving Chicago in August to move to Santa Barbara, CA. For the last 5 years, my family and I have gone to the same beach house every August. It always ends up being the best couple of weeks of the year. So last year in August, I did a podcast from that beach called, "What is your dream and WHY aren't you living it???" It was episode 14. I was in an aspirational mood. W...

I have a lot of people in Investor Club who lend to flippers. These notes pay pretty well--I hear over 12-15 percent on a regular basis. These investors ask why they would ever invest in anything with less return. It's a fair question but there is a very good answer. When you lend to people who flip homes, you are investing in a business NOT in an asset. Investing in businesses is inherently riski...

In 1789 Benjamin Franklin wrote, "Our new constitution is now established, and has an appearance that promises permanency; but in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes." Well, if you have paid attention to any of my emails and posts in the last couple weeks urging you to download a report and watch a webinar from my friend, Tom Wheelwright, then you know that stateme...