3 Money Stories


 Tia and I’s love was powered by the alignment of our ambition. We shared dreams of being business owners, real estate investors and creators of solutions that give other families hope. We also wanted to create a lifestyle without financial limitations. This required an immediate commitment to make wise financial decisions and be willing to make unpopular sacrifices. We did both from the moment we moved in together. I’ll share 3 of our most impactful money stories.


  1. We bought a house in our early 20s.


Tia moved to Memphis following her graduation and she hated it. After about a year, she’d start making plans to move back to Nashville. She had a few options as far as living arrangements. She could have moved back in with her mom, she could have moved in with her dad or she could find her own place. Moving in with her parents wasn’t a great option for a once freed bird, so she decided to find her own place. Meanwhile, I had been living with my grandfather and it was about time that I found my own place as well. As you are now aware, I made the first unorthodox proposal by suggesting that we move in together. We’d end up purchasing our first house. Today, we are able to use the 13 years of equity to make other investments.


  1. We had a $3,000 wedding.


Tia and I are both from Nashville and we both have huge families, extended families and a lot of friends. I remember our first wedding list being close to 300 people. Who paying for that? We didn’t have $40,000 to throw into one day for a wedding. We weren’t gonna ask our parents for the money. Hell, we would have just been practicing anyway. And we damn sure weren’t gonna take out a loan. Instead, we had a destination wedding where invited guests would pay for their own trips. We scheduled a 7 day cruise through the Caribbean from September 28th - October 4th. On October 2nd we would be married in Ocho Rios Jamaica. We had about 40 family and friends who attended the trip. Enough people for us to earn our trip for free. We scheduled a celebratory cocktail party back in Nashville with our family and friends who were unable to attend the cruise. Back then, you could reserve a venue in Nashville for less than the cost of a BMW. We added up the receipts. A cruise in paradise with the love of my life and a party with the people closest to us cost $3,000. By choosing to have a cost effective wedding, we had one less barrier to securing the bag.


  1. We moved in with Tia’s dad and rented out our house.


This one could be its own story in and of itself. In September of 2013, we were on a return flight from Vegas. I was exhausted and slept most of the flight. Tia found company in our third-seat neighbor, a retired successful businessman who had made millions selling athletic socks. We’ve both always been intrigued by the success stories of other people. We knew that one day we too would be a regular, massively successful family. So, we’d learn as much as we could from others and make the necessary application to our own lives. I’m not sure what I heard in my sleep but I abruptly woke up, turned to Tia and said, “let’s move in with your dad and rent our house.” Tia replied, “You want to talk about this now?” Of course I did because all great money ideas come after a trip to Vegas. Plus, once I’ve concluded that something is a good idea, I’m ready to take action. That’s one personality trait about myself that Tia always struggled with. She was a bit more calculated. I realized the timing was a bit awkward so I agreed to table the conversation. 


We’d discuss the practicality and feasibility of the idea for the next couple months. The rationale was clear. Like most people, we were guilty of lifestyle inflation. As our incomes increased, so did our cost of living. We drove nicer cars, took nicer trips, ate at nicer restaurants, etc. While our gross income was increasing, our discretionary income was staying the same which slowed our progress to financial independence. We understood there was a monumental difference between making a lot of money and being wealthy. That’s another story too. Our plan was to reduce our living expenses which would allow us to pay off our undergraduate loans and our car. This move would free up over $1,000 a month from our monthly budget. Tia eventually agreed to the plan. In December of 2013, two months after a bright idea returning home from Vegas, we moved our things into storage and my father-in-law welcomed us with open arms. In about a year, we paid off over $40,000 in debt, returned home with a paid-off Mercedes CLS500 and had earned an additional $400 a month in rental income. This move positioned us to make our first real estate investment. We also returned home with a baby!!! And boy is that a story.


Wealth flows in the direction of sacrifice. 

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