Shellee Howard is on the show today to talk how to do college without crushign debt for your kids. She shares how her journey as a "mom on a mission" led her to help families navigate the college process strategically, emphasizing early preparation, self-discovery, and return on investment rather than prestige alone. She explains why overcrowded school counselors fall short, how students should clarify their values, talents, and career goals before choosing colleges, and why college should be viewed as a business decision and a stepping stone to adulthood, and not a status symbol. With the right planning, families can avoid debt, maximize scholarships, and choose schools that truly align with a student's future goals.

We discuss...

• Shellee Howard explained how her experience guiding her own children to graduate college debt-free inspired her career as an independent college consultant.
• She described why high school guidance counselors are often unable to provide comprehensive college planning due to overcrowding and competing responsibilities.
• The discussion emphasized starting college preparation early by helping students identify their core values, strengths, and long-term interests rather than focusing only on grades or test scores.
• Shellee stressed that college readiness is about preparing for adulthood, not chasing prestige or comparing against other families.
• We explore how poor financial literacy leads many students to take on unnecessary debt without understanding return on investment.
• Shellee argued that college is a business decision and should be evaluated like an investment, with scholarships, fit, and outcomes prioritized over name recognition alone.
• Many students are not ready at 18 to make high-stakes decisions and why exploration through service, internships, and extracurriculars matters.
• The value of college branding versus actual educational and career outcomes are debated, with examples showing that different paths work for different students.
• Shellee outlined key timing considerations, including the critical importance of middle school and early high school years for maximizing opportunity and financial aid.
• Parents were encouraged to stay actively involved in guiding their children rather than leaving major financial and life decisions to teenagers.

Today's Panelists:

• Kirk Chisholm | Innovative Wealth
• Barbara Friedberg | Barbara Friedberg Personal Finance
• Phil Weiss | Apprise Wealth Management

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For more information, visit the show notes at https://moneytreepodcast.com/college-without-crushing-debt-shellee-howard-784

We're in the middle of a run it hot economy. Today our discussion ranged from geopolitics into markets, including precious metals. Silver's recent surge is best understood as a reversion toward historical gold–silver ratios rather than a knowable fundamental catalyst. Silver's parabolic move looks unstable compared to gold's healthier, slower uptrend. But no one can truly know why prices move, so investors should be clear about why they own precious metals since that purpose should drive allocation size and risk tolerance. We also talk macro conditions, the U.S. may be pursuing an "inflationary boom" or "run it hot" strategy to offset high debt and valuations, which would favor real assets like commodities, gold, and real estate over long-duration bonds. It's important to manage fear, avoid extreme predictions, stay diversified, and pay close attention to structure, incentives, taxes, and shifting global leadership rather than relying on narratives or past performance.

We discuss...

• Precious metals are a key focus, with gold behaving in a steady, healthy bull market while silver experienced a sharp and unstable surge.
• The gold-to-silver ratio was discussed as historically stretched and now reverting toward long-term norms, helping explain silver's outperformance.
• Silver was highlighted as both a monetary metal and a critical industrial commodity listed by the U.S. government as strategically important.
• The parabolic nature of silver's recent price action is risky and vulnerable to sharp pullbacks or policy interventions like margin hikes.
• Investors should define why they own precious metals—portfolio balance, trend participation, or protection against monetary risk.
• Fear-driven investing and "end of the world" thinking are harmful to rational portfolio decisions.
• The idea of an "inflationary boom" or "run-it-hot" economic strategy was presented as the likely policy path forward.
• Big tech is increasingly fragile and potentially misaligned with an inflationary-growth regime.
• International markets were noted as having recently outperformed U.S. equities despite America-first political narratives.
• Valuations in U.S. equities were described as high and structurally fragile, even as the bull market remains intact.
• Technicals and momentum are dominating fundamentals in the current market cycle.
• Tax considerations are an often-overlooked but critical factor in portfolio construction and asset selection.
• Bitcoin's unique tax treatment and classification as property offer planning advantages versus securities.
• Be wary about complacency, overconcentration, and narrative-driven investing in a late-cycle market.

Today's Panelists:

Kirk Chisholm | Innovative Wealth
Douglas Heagren | Mergent College Advisors

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For more information, visit the show notes at https://moneytreepodcast.com/run-it-hot-economy-783

Jon Ostenson is here today to share secret franchising profits for investors in 2026! Jon tells about his journey from corporate consulting into franchising and explains why non-food franchises can be a compelling, tax-advantaged path to business ownership, offering proven models, franchisor support, and built-in peer networks that often outperform startups or buying existing businesses. He compares franchising with starting or acquiring businesses, highlighted the appeal of "non-sexy" but durable industries resistant to trends and disruption. Jon also talks semi-passive ownership models, scaling through multi-territory ownership or acquisitions, and more that make franchising an attractive option for professionals seeking diversification, cash flow, and long-term growth.

We discuss...

• Jon Ostenson describes his transition from corporate roles at into franchising, ultimately building a consulting business that helps investors identify and enter non-food franchise opportunities nationwide.
• Franchising is a tax-advantaged alternative investment that can complement traditional assets like stocks and real estate within a diversified portfolio.
• Jon argued that boring, essential service businesses often outperform because they are less vulnerable to consumer fads, Amazon disruption, or near-term AI displacement.
• The concept of semi-passive or executive-model franchising was explained, where owners hire managers to run day-to-day operations while remaining hands-off with proper oversight.
• Success in semi-passive ownership was tied to having both a strong operator in place and a capable franchisor providing ongoing support and systems.
• Area developer and master franchise models were discussed as less common today, with most growth occurring through multi-unit franchise ownership.
• Jon identified people skills, sales experience, and humility to follow the system as the most consistent traits among top-performing franchisees.
• Franchise peer networks are a built-in mastermind that accelerates learning, best practices, and operational improvements across markets.
• Franchising is not passive income, but it can be made semi-absentee with the right structure and expectations.
• Franchising is a practical, scalable path to entrepreneurship for professionals seeking cash flow, control, and long-term wealth outside traditional investments.

Today's Panelists:

• Kirk Chisholm | Innovative Wealth
• Barbara Friedberg | Barbara Friedberg Personal Finance

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For more information, visit the show notes at https://moneytreepodcast.com/secret-franchising-profits-jon-ostenson-782

Today we have your 2026 predictions. We also cover the volatile 2025 year-end and share the extreme moves in precious metals and global geopolitical shocks as a case study for how investors should think: not politically or emotionally, but by watching price action and sector reactions. Low holiday liquidity amplified market swings, but that real signals came from how energy, materials, small caps, and international markets responded. We also think that despite macro unease, debt overhangs, and geopolitical reshuffling, the data still point to a broadly bullish environment, with diversification, attention to relative performance, and humility toward market signals being far more important than predictions.

We discuss...

• Precious metals led early-year performance, with platinum, silver, and gold behaving very differently despite being in the same sector.
• Investors should respond to global events by asking how markets interpret them, not by reacting to political narratives.
• The U.S. seizure of Venezuela's president is a geopolitical shock with significant implications for energy markets and global power dynamics.
• Oil service and infrastructure companies briefly surged as markets discounted future Venezuelan production, though sustainability remains uncertain.
• China is a key indirect loser due to rising effective energy costs and margin pressure in its low-margin industrial economy.
• Geopolitical moves are increasingly overt, signaling a reshuffling of the global financial and political order.
• Have caution because investor intuition is often wrong, and there are historical examples where markets moved opposite of popular expectations.
• Price action was repeatedly emphasized as the best indicator of what informed capital is actually doing.
• Early 2026 performance showed leadership from small caps, microcaps, and value stocks rather than mega-cap technology.
• Materials, industrials, and energy outperformed in the first week, while tech, utilities, and communications lagged.
• The "Magnificent 7" were noted as early underperformers, challenging the assumption that they always lead markets.
• Defense stocks strengthened following signals of increased U.S. military spending.
• Healthcare and other previously beaten-down sectors were flagged as areas worth watching.
• Be caution against passive overreliance on the S&P 500 due to concentration risk and historical periods of long underperformance.
• While risks are elevated, market signals remain broadly bullish and investors should stay adaptive rather than predictive.

Today's Panelists:

Kirk Chisholm | Innovative Wealth
Douglas Heagren | Mergent College Advisors

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For more information, visit the show notes at https://moneytreepodcast.com/https://moneytreepodcast.com/2026-predictions-781

Arrash Yasavoli discusses how you should jump on investing in bitoin in 2026! Arrash's path from data engineering at LinkedIn into quantitative trading, crypto, and building Glitch, a SaaS platform that gives broader access to advanced trading strategies gives a unique perspective into possible 2026 investing plans. We also talk Bitcoin's role as a potential store of value, the divergence between Bitcoin and altcoins, the growing importance of real utility and valuation in crypto projects, the rise of ETFs and stablecoins as bridges to mainstream adoption, and more.

We discuss...

• Crypto's transition from a speculative and "scammy" perception toward broader legitimacy through regulation, ETFs, and institutional adoption.
• Bitcoin is increasingly viewed as a store of value similar to gold rather than a scalable transactional currency.
• Bitcoin's fixed supply and resilience through multiple market cycles were highlighted as key drivers of long-term investor confidence.
• Bitcoin's historical growth rates are unlikely to persist, with future returns likely slowing and volatility remaining high.
• The growing divergence between Bitcoin performance and stagnant altcoins was identified as a sign of increasing market maturity.
• Many altcoins from earlier cycles failed due to hype-driven models that never delivered real value.
• The current crypto cycle was compared to the post–dot-com bust era, where focus shifts from excitement to sustainable business models.
• Regulatory clarity, including frameworks for crypto and stablecoins, was viewed as a major catalyst for continued adoption.
• Whether investors should trade or hold crypto, with emphasis on patience and fundamentals over speculation.
• Future crypto valuation models were described as moving toward revenue, profitability, and clear value propositions.
• Arrash outlined his work on BitTensor, a blockchain designed to create and trade real digital commodities.
• Crypto's long-term value lies in practical applications that quietly use blockchain under the hood rather than hype-driven narratives.

Today's Panelists:

• Kirk Chisholm | Innovative Wealth
• Barbara Friedberg | Barbara Friedberg Personal Finance

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For more information, visit the show notes at https://moneytreepodcast.com/investing-in-bitcoin-in-2026-arrash-yasavolian-780

There are a lot of year end surprises in store with the 2025 wrap up. The year has come to an end and we are here to discuss everything from year-end reflections and personal anecdotes to a broad market outlook. We focused on the recent surge and volatility in precious metals, especially silver, explaining how futures-market leverage and exchange rule changes (like margin requirement hikes) are used to cool speculative excess, why parabolic price moves are unhealthy, and why investors should be cautious in the near term even if long-term fundamentals remain bullish. We also talked government fraud, rising debt costs, aging demographics, deglobalization, and higher-for-longer rates, arguing that bad asset allocation now carries real risk and diversification with assets like precious metals still matter.

We discuss...

• We challenge simplistic economic cause-and-effect narratives, arguing that inflation, tariffs, and monetary policy outcomes are highly contextual and often misrepresented by official government data.
• Past periods of QE and low inflation were cited to illustrate how money printing can offset deflation rather than automatically cause inflation, reinforcing skepticism toward consensus forecasts.
• Large-scale government fraud is pervasive, rarely punished, and structurally embedded, with the prediction that no high-level figures will face consequences in ongoing public scandals.
• Precious metals, particularly silver, were a major focus due to extreme recent price volatility, including sharp multi-day gains and losses while most investors were disengaged over the holidays.
• The mechanics of futures markets were explained in detail, emphasizing how leverage works, why margin requirements matter, and how exchanges can legally change rules to stabilize markets.
• Recent increases in margin requirements for silver, gold, platinum, and palladium were highlighted as a deliberate attempt by exchanges to flush out speculative leverage and cool "animal spirits."
• Governments and exchanges can escalate interventions dramatically if needed, including forcing cash settlement or changing delivery rules, which would materially alter market dynamics.
• Banks' growing discomfort with holding U.S. Treasuries and their shift toward gold are a quiet but significant signal about long-term confidence in fiat systems.
• The contrast between gold (central-bank owned) and silver (primarily investor and industrial owned) explains differing market behaviors and intervention risks.
• The hosts argued that the era of "cheap mistakes" is over, meaning poor allocation decisions now result in permanent capital loss, not just missed opportunity.
• AI enthusiasm should be thought of skeptically as large language models are becoming commoditized quickly, lack durable moats, and resemble past tech bubbles.
• Be cautious, diversify, be skeptical of narratives, have respect for market structure, and prepare for a year where volatility exposes complacency.

Today's Panelists:

Kirk Chisholm | Innovative Wealth
Douglas Heagren | Mergent College Advisors

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For more information, visit the show notes at https://moneytreepodcast.com/2025-wrap-up

Elliot Holland joins us to explore the realities of building and sustaining a high-quality, trust-driven professional business in an era dominated by AI hype, declining marketing efficiency, and algorithmic noise. We discuss skepticism around AI's real-world impact especially in high-stakes financial decisions. We also talk marketing and content strategy, why sensationalism and clickbait may win algorithms but will always repel discerning clients. We also unpack our frustrations with modern marketing platforms like Google, Facebook, and HubSpot as they grow increasingly expensive and benefit from opacity while delivering lower-quality data. The most important thing is authentic conversations, patience, and thoughtful content aimed at a small, qualified audience that can outperform viral reach.

We discuss...

• Sustaining a professional services business increasingly depends on trust, judgment, and human relationships rather than scale, speed, or technological hype.
• There's septicism that AI will meaningfully disrupt high-stakes, people-to-people work, arguing it is largely rebranded machine learning with limited real-world adoption so far.
• Discerning clients value nuance, experience, and improvisational thinking that cannot be captured in static data sets or automated workflows.
• AI is a productivity aid for summaries and surface-level tasks, but not a substitute for deep expertise, critical thinking, or accountability.
• YouTube and podcasts are trust-building tools rather than growth hacks, with success measured by client conversion quality instead of view counts.
• Algorithms reward "nonsense about nonsense," making platforms misaligned with professionals selling high-trust, high-ticket services.
• Marketing metrics such as views, impressions, and engagement were described as misleading compared to tracking clicks, conversations, and actual revenue outcomes.
• Google, Facebook, and HubSpot are operating as "confuse-opolies," benefiting from complexity, opacity, and user lock-in rather than clear results.
• The rising difficulty of marketing has forced business owners to either deeply understand marketing themselves or risk wasting capital on underqualified vendors.
• Elliott explained restructuring his marketing around specialized vendors, strict performance accountability, and personal ownership of customer persona definition.
• Long-form, unscripted conversations often deliver more value than polished, optimized content designed for algorithms.
• Future marketing success will favor authenticity, clarity, and long-term relationship-building over funnels, gimmicks, and viral reach.

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For more information, visit the show notes at https://moneytreepodcast.com/ai-hype-and-clickbait-are-failing-elliott-holland

Today we're sharing the tax loss selling secrets you need to know before 2026! We also talk understanding personal strengths and psychological limits in investing. It's good to avoid shiny-object strategies like day trading and prioritize risk management through diversification. We explore how market structure, valuations, and historical data suggest future returns may be lower and more volatile, making stress-testing portfolios and aligning risk with temperament essential. Remember long-term success comes from discipline, education, adaptability, and thoughtful strategy rather than chasing returns in overheated markets.

We discuss...

• Successful goal-setting focuses on small, repeatable actions over time rather than unrealistic short-term outcomes.
• Investors must design strategies that align with their psychological makeup, risk tolerance, and time availability rather than copying what appears profitable for others.
• Stop-loss orders can be dangerous in volatile or less-liquid markets due to slippage and market maker behavior, often leading to worse-than-expected exits.
• Markets can remain expensive longer than expected, making flexibility and balanced positioning more important than precise market timing.
• Concentration in high-performing assets like AI stocks or precious metals can lead to severe losses if momentum reverses sharply.
• Historical examples showed that long periods of weak or flat equity returns are normal following valuation extremes.
• Diversification across asset classes, regions, and styles was highlighted as essential for retirement sustainability and long-term wealth preservation.
• Static portfolios such as traditional 60/40 allocations were questioned, with an emphasis on active monitoring and adjustment as conditions change.
• Precious metals typically move in sequence, with gold leading, followed by silver and then platinum, often ending in unsustainable parabolic moves.
• Misuse of statistics, such as confusing average with median net worth, can distort perceptions of wealth and financial reality.
• Investment performance should be evaluated using geometric averages rather than arithmetic means to reflect true compounded returns.
• Emotional states like greed and fear often peak near market extremes and should signal the need for reevaluation rather than increased risk-taking.
• Political, macroeconomic, and election-cycle dynamics can temporarily suppress or amplify commodity prices, particularly in energy markets.
• Long-term success in investing depends less on prediction and more on preparation, adaptability, and disciplined execution of a well-structured plan.

Today's Panelists:

Kirk Chisholm | Innovative Wealth
Douglas Heagren | Mergent College Advisors

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For more information, visit the show notes at https://moneytreepodcast.com/tax-loss-selling-secrets-777