Show 60 - "I will be a Multi-Millionaire" the story of Ryan Cruz
In this episode, I talk with Ryan Cruz about his journey toward financial independence which is repeatable by almost anyone.
11/20/20241 min read
Every year Ryan Cruz begins his business class by asking his students to visualize a millionaire. He then asks them why they didn’t visualize themselves as a millionaire. And, this is my favorite part, he says, “I am Mr. Cruz, and I will be a multimillionaire.” What a powerful thing to say! The most amazing thing is how repeatable his path to being a multimillionaire is! It just involves being on a two teacher salary, saving a good percent of his teacher income, and letting it ride. Interested? Here are my top takeaways from this episode.
Show Notes
Email Ryan at: ryan.cruz19@gmail.com
Dave Ramsey curriculum for schools
Recommended Books (Amazon Affiliate Links)
Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey
This book is great for getting out of debt!
Key Ideas
It takes sacrifice to get out of debt and build wealth, but it is so worth it. Ryan and his wife went hard at it for 10 months, but then they were out of 60k in debt!
The magic number to build wealth is to save and invest 25% of your gross income. Ryan did this in a 403b, ROTH IRA, and HSA.
Saving money gives you the freedom to retire early (if that is what you want). But the great part is it allows you to work for as long as you want as well!
Teachers are blessed because most of us can retire at age 55. Compared to the 62-65 years old that most people retire at, that is an early retirement!
It is really important to make sure that your 403b provider is good. That is why I always recommend 403bwise.org to check your vendors.
Bonus Tip
Here is a bonus tip I didn't get to in the episode.
If you are worried about penalties for retiring early on your pension, look into buying years from your pension system. This can offset any penalty and might even negate the penalty entirely. Look into your state’s pension specifically.