The Grow Your Wealthy Mindset Podcast

Last week, we explored the role of insurance in protecting your assets. This week, we’re zooming in on a type of insurance that often flies under the radar: travel insurance. Whether you're climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, cruising to Antarctica, or simply flying cross-country, travel insurance can make or break your trip financially if something goes wrong.

In this episode, I share:

• When travel insurance is actually worth buyin...

When it comes to asset protection, your first line of defense is insurance against a potential financial disaster. You may purchase insurance to protect an asset, like homeowners’ insurance protects your personal residence in the case of significant damage. As you build your wealth, you may drop some types of insurance since you can self-fund if a situation occurs where you would actually use that insurance. Once you have an emerge...

This month is going over probably my favorite happiness activity that comes out of The How of Happiness by Dr. Sonja Lyubomirsky  and that’s nurturing social relationships. I personally am an extravert and love being connected with people. However, I have found this harder to do as I’ve gotten older.  We all get busy with our lives and time can seem to fly by. I’ll notice it has been months since I chatted with a friend. Prepping t...

More people are familiar with the Backdoor Roth IRA strategy but there is also a Mega Backdoor Roth Strategy. While the Backdoor Roth Strategy is available to the majority of people, the Mega Backdoor Roth Strategy is more limited since it depends on how your employer sponsored retirement plan, whether it’s a 401(k), 403(b) or 401(a), is set up. In this episode, discuss Roth conversions, review the Backdoor Roth IRA strategy (also ...

Index fund investing is the best way to invest in the stock market. It has low fees, is tax efficent, and hands off while providing better returns over a 10 year period compared to 90% of actively managed mutual funds. 

However, not all index funds are created equal. There are index funds that have relatively high expenses and high turnover leading to tax inefficiency. There are also index funds that don’t track the index they are f...

You may have heard recommendations that range anywhere between 10% and 50% when it comes to how much of your income to save for retirement. I often recommend saving a min of 20% of gross income to physicians who plan to invest primarily in stock and bond index funds. How do you know what saving rate you need in your situation? 

What it comes down to is how many years you save (and invest) for retirement prior to withdrawing from the...

In the book, The How of Happiness, Dr. Sonja Lynbomirsky outlines 12 activities to increase overall happiness by shifting one's baseline. For 2025, each month will have an episode that talks about activities that can help increase happiness by adjusting that baseline upwards.

This month’s episode is about Practicing Acts of Kindness. Tune in to learn about activities that research has shown to increase happiness. 

Please subscri...

When you hear about a big drop in the stock market, do you feel uneasy? Do you consider selling your stocks or not investing any more money right now. That you’ll wait until the market starts to recover? 

If that sounds like you, you need to listen to this podcast episode. I want to encourage you to stay invested. When you deviate from your investment plan due to the performance of the stock market, you are actually practicing marke...

401(a) plans were established with the original tax code in 1954 and have actually been around longer than 401(k) or 403(b) plans.  401(a) plans are generally offered by government agencies, educational institutions and non-profit organizations. Employers can form multiple 401a plans that each have their own distinct eligibility criteria, contribution amounts, and vesting schedules. 401a plans can have mandatory or voluntary contri...

The alternative minimum tax, or AMT, was implemented in 1969 to ensure that all Americans pay their fair share of taxes, and particularly targeted high-income individuals who had a lot of tax deductions. It was originally design to catch those high-income individuals who paid little to no tax but unfortunately, it was not indexed for inflation until 2012. Over time, the AMT started affecting tax payers in middle-class households. T...

Dr. Michele Cho-Dorado is a Pediatric Gastroenterologist, Medical Director, children’s book author, speaker and founder of Bright Futures EDG. She has developed a children’s book series with a mission to introduce financial literacy to young kids. Her first two books are called “Reach For The Stars” and “Mimi’s Magical Money-Earning Adventure” with additional books being released soon. Bright Futures EDG was formed to be a platform...

In the book, The How of Happiness, Dr. Sonja Lynbomirsky outlines 12 activities to increase overall happiness by shifting one's baseline. For 2025, each month will have an episode that talks about activities that can help increase happiness by adjusting that baseline upwards.

This month’s episode is about avoiding overthinking and social comparison. Tune in to learn about activities that research has shown to increase happines...

W-2 is a wage and tax statement and is sent by an employer to an employee to show the earned income the employer paid the employee during the prior tax year.

1099-NEC (or 1099-MISC before 2020) are issued to independent contractors. 

K-1’s are issued by Partnerships, S-Corps, or Estates and Trusts to partners, shareholders, and beneficiaries to report financial information like income and earnings, losses, deductions, and credits. 

Th...

One thing that attracts a lot of people to investing in real estate is how fast you can potentially grow your wealth. Yes, it takes a lot more effort and work than investing in low cost index funds. The use of financial leverage is also a key to amplify returns in real estate investing. However, using financial leverage goes both ways, it magnifies returns but also magnifies losses. Tune in to learn more about the risks and benefit...

The easiest way to invest in real estate is through publicly traded REITs, Real Estate Investment Trusts and REIT mutual funds or exchange traded funds. 

Congress established REITS in 1960 which must meet specific criteria. 

-        Invest at least 75% of its total assets in real estate, cash, or US Treasurys 

-        Derive at least 75% of its gross income from rents of real property, interest on mortgage financing property or from...

In the book, The How of Happiness, Dr. Sonja Lynbomirsky outlines 12 activities to increase overall happiness by shifting one's baseline. For 2025, each month will have an episode that talks about activities that can help increase happiness by adjusting that baseline upwards.

This month’s episode is about cultivating optimism. Tune in to learn about activities that research has shown to increase happiness. 

Please subs...

Have you ever heard of a hot stock tip and debated if you should jump on it? Or been invited to join a group where they discuss promising stocks? If so, you want to avoid finding yourself in a pump an dump scheme. It can be tempting to seek out quick riches but it can leave you with sizeable losses. In this episode, I review what are pump and dump schemes and how they work. I also talk about short squeezes, like what happened to Ga...

For many people, the largest amount of money spent in a single purchase is buying real estate. The average home price in the United States is around $420,000 in 2024. In high cost of living areas, the average single-family house can be over $1 million dollars. There are people who think that rent is throwing away money, and if a mortgage is less than rent, you should buy. 

What those people don’t realize is the true cost of homeowne...

This episode discusses the adjustment in tax brackets and changes in contribution limits for tax advantaged accounts for 2025. 

Marginal Tax Rates for 2025 

37% for single taxpayers with incomes over $626,350 and $751,600 for married couples filing jointly

35% for incomes over $250,525 and $501,050 for married couples filing jointly

32% for incomes over $197,300 and $394,600 for married couples filing jointly

24% for incomes over $103,3...