The Road to Financial Freedom

 For many prospective, new, and even seasoned investors, gaining experience is crucial for building a reputation and expanding your knowledge of investing, but for many, it is also considered to be a key for financial freedom. As we have learned from many of our guests, the constant pursuit of knowledge in this industry can lead to great success, a strong network, and growing wealth. For Upside Av...

No investor is truly alone on their journey. Whether it is the inspiration of a mentor, or an established investor who has paved the way for others, or even someone online posting in a forum, there is a broad community of investors who have influenced each other and have made themselves resources for their peers. Alina Trigub, founder and Managing Partner of SAMO Investments, is guided by her busi...

Every great investor story starts with a dream. Having a passion for what you do and a desire to learn and improve are parts of the journey all investors work toward in order to make their dreams a reality. But how do we find the discipline to put goals in place and properly utilize our inner strengths to achieve our dreams? As a real estate investor and stock market trader who has turned his own...

At any stage in your investment career, perhaps one of the most illuminating, honest, and challenging questions to ask yourself is, “Why?” Why am I choosing this investment? Why am I starting this fund? Why do I want to take this route to financial freedom? Being able to locate and define the “whys” that all investors encounter throughout their lives and careers can not only help you better unders...

On any road, there are pathways that can lead to new routes and new discoveries. For many successful investors, following their early passions is often what leads them to discovering the joys and benefits of alternative investments, and eventually, can lead them to financial freedom. Brian Adams, founder of Adams Investor Group, LLC, began as a CPA specializing in real estate taxation and forensic...

 As a new investor looking to understand alternative investments, information is always at your fingertips...but sometimes, the sheer amount of it all can leave your head spinning. Nowadays, resources are everywhere, and whether it’s networks, events, publications, or even a simple search engine inquiry, your options as an investor are truly unlimited. So, how do you determine what’s best for you?...

Whether you’re a well-established investor or someone who has just gotten their start, being able to “read”, or understand, an investment is the first step in conducting proper due diligence. Having a stronger grasp on your investments and how you can be in control of growing your income can lead to greater success as an investor, especially when it comes to alternative investments like real estat...

Making investments can mean taking great risks, especially if you’re new to the game and haven’t learned how to properly conduct due diligence. How do you determine risk, and how do you seek out great conservative investments? Richard Wilson, founder of Family Office Club, Commercial Real Estate, and Private Equity, has worked with clients starting family offices and investing privately to gain th...

If you ask just about any investor how they got started to get where they are now, you may be surprised to find that almost no one will meet you with the response, “I always knew I wanted to be an investor”. For Mike Jones, who got his start in biology and electrical engineering,  his never-ending curiosity and passion for learning and growing led him to new places in the world and as an investor....

 Having control of your investments, whether it’s through passive investing or investing through vehicles like a self-directed IRA, gives you the ability to protect more of what you earn. However, sometimes an investment requires creativity to make it happen. With companies like Hard Money Bankers, where Ian Walsh is an active partner, investors have  full service, self-funded private/hard money t...

Regardless of where you are in your journey, finding balance between your financial and personal goals can be a valuable wealth-building key for investors. But how is this balance achieved?  How can you ensure that your investments will gain capital while strategizing for your family’s future well-being? For starters, having a trusted team of financial experts on your side can help you determine w...

For so many of us, it’s easy to get bogged down by our nine to five jobs, especially if Uncle Sam has such a big say in how much of that hard-earned W2 income comes out of our paychecks. The ability to take control of our wealth and hold onto more of what we make is a goal for more and more investors as they seek alternate avenues to their W2 income jobs. For investor, serial entrepreneur, and pod...

Perhaps one of the most common things we as investors take for granted is our mental health. How often do we check in with ourselves to evaluate if we are not only financially, but emotionally ready to take on an investment? How can we access our strengths and improve upon our weaknesses in order to grow our wealth and meet our goals...all while becoming the best version of ourselves in the proces...

  Many of the investors we have heard from on this podcast have gotten their start through real estate. With its varying types and wide range of benefits, it’s no wonder real estate is one of the most popular alternative assets people choose to invest in. But if you’re someone just starting and you aren’t as familiar with the ins and outs of the real estate world, all of those options and details...

 In our quest for a diversified portfolio, we may get tripped up on knowing where to turn next. Where can you expand your expertise and venture into new investments that will help you grow your wealth, and how do earn those desired high returns on investments without running the high risk? This is what Joanne Musa, famously known as the Tax Lien Lady, has been educating thousands of investors on w...

Alternative assets span a wide range beyond the realm of Wall Street’s traditional stocks and bonds. Perhaps you’re familiar with popular alternative assets like real estate, notes, and even precious metals. Diving deeper into these investments can open you up to a whole new world of specialized asset types that can help you grow your wealth over time. Troy Eckard is a former investment broker who...

Not everyone knows they want to be an investor right away. Some of us take many paths before charting a course on the road to financial freedom. Regardless of where you are in life, building wealth and saving for retirement is never a wrong turn to make. After thirteen years as a vagabond musician, Corinn Altomare took on the challenge of embracing several new roles in the world of real estate inv...

Deciding to keep more of what you earn by investing in alternative assets in addition to or in lieu of your W2 income is a great move for many investors in order to grow their income. But even after you’ve opened a self-directed IRA, funded the account, done your research on alternative investments, and found the perfect first deal to get started. The next challenge that presents itself is making...

Perhaps one of the greatest setbacks or reservations new investors have encountered concerns risk. Investing in alternative assets like real estate requires understanding risks and complying with IRS regulations, tax law, and more to ensure your investments avoid penalties and lawsuits. So how do you invest safely? How do you rise in the real estate ranks without running into the risk of being sue...

Learning how to make investments in alternative assets is an educational journey that many investors embark on, but when it comes to valuing those assets at the end of the year, many of us get stuck. How do you determine what the assets in your IRA are worth, especially assets that are considered as hard-to-value? How do you ensure that you’re getting correct and acceptable valuations from credibl...

No matter where you are on your investment journey, you may reach a point where you decide it’s time to seek out new business opportunities. But how do those opportunities arise, and how does one seek them out? Steve Lloyd and Kerry Faix, founders and managing partners of Stone Bay Holdings, have dedicated most of their careers to developing relationships with partners to secure capital, deliver d...

For many new and even experienced investors, learning how to invest in alternative assets and build a diverse investment portfolio is a key tool for growing wealth. As a successful and experienced business owner and syndicator, founder and CEO of The Real Asset Investor Dave Zook has expanded his business and knowledge beyond traditional real estate investing. Since 2010, ventures in thousands of...

As investors, we ask ourselves many questions when we start out: Do I have the time to start investing? How much can I afford to spend on investments? Is this investment right for me? How do I find the right property? Am I ready? For Liz Faircloth and her husband, who are co-founders of The DeRosa Group located in Trenton, NJ, helping investors answer those questions and “transform their lives thr...

Most income-earners in the country aren’t aware of the self-directed option for a number of reasons. Brokers and custodians don’t always fully understand or even offer self-direction, and even if they do, it’s often from a limited menu of investment options. In this week’s episode, learn from the CamaPlan team as we break down what a self-directed IRA, types of accounts you can self-direct, and ho...

2020 has been a confusing year on so many levels.  In their efforts to help businesses and taxpayers cope with economic disruptions, Congress and the IRS have passed a veritable blizzard of new rules and deadline changes, many of them affecting retirement savings.  Some of the new rules leave certain issues vague or unaddressed, deliberately so in some cases in order get these approved or legislat...