Turn Your Budget Stress into Spending Success

Summary

The Brian Buffini Show
Episode: Turn Your Budget Stress Into Spending Success
Date: April 28, 2026

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Episode Overview

Brian Buffini, celebrated entrepreneur and author, dives into the often dreaded topic of budgeting—reframing it from a source of stress to a pathway to spending success. Drawing from personal experience and the wisdom of mentors, Buffini lays out actionable steps and practical mindset shifts for controlling finances, building freedom, and constructing lasting wealth. The episode seamlessly blends crowd-sourced questions, personal anecdotes, and time-tested advice, all delivered with Brian’s hallmark humor and directness.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Rethinking Budgeting: Not Restriction, But Freedom

• The Core Principle: Budgets are about controlling your money, not limiting your joy.
• Brian’s Approach:
  • “A budget is just you telling your money where to go instead of the other way around.” (00:00)
  • Budgeting shouldn't feel like a punishment—“a budget isn't about restriction, it's about freedom...But let's be honest. The word budget can feel about as exciting as organizing your sock drawer on a hot Friday night.” (01:17)
• Memorable Quotes:
  • “If you don't tell your money where to go, it has a funny habit of disappearing.” (01:28)
  • Referencing Errol Flynn and A.A. Latimer: “A budget is a mathematical confirmation of your suspicions.” (00:43)
• Takeaway: Budgeting is a path to peace of mind and financial autonomy.

2. Brian’s Early Money Mistakes and the Path to Discipline

• The 70-10-10-10 Plan:
  • Live on 70%, give away 10%, save 10%, and invest 10%. (02:45)
  • Inspired by mentor Jim Rohn and “The Richest Man in Babylon”.
• Reality Check:
  • “The very first time...we were spending 106% of what we were making...because in America, it's a credit culture.” (03:18)
  • Initial Step: Stop going into debt—“From this point, going forward, nothing goes on credit. If we can't afford to pay for it, we don't buy it.” (04:08)
• Discipline Pays Off:
  • Over years, Brian and his wife transitioned from being in debt to reaching and surpassing the 70/10/10/10 target.
  • “The same disciplines that my wife and I put in place 35 years ago are the same disciplines we have today.” (06:17)
  • Automated savings, starting small (“$50 a month”), scaled up to create real wealth.

3. Steps to Build Reserves (Rainy Day Fund)

• The Hardest Part:
  • “People say the first million is the hardest...but I'll tell you something that's harder—getting the first month of reserves.” (07:27)
  • 70% of Americans lack one month of emergency fund.
• Practical Timeline:
  • For most, takes a year to save the first month; 2-3 years to reach 3-6 months of expenses in reserve.
• Investment Principle:
  • “I never invest with debt. That's how people go bankrupt...Never borrow money for an investment, ever.” (08:33)
• Book Recommendations:
  • “The Richest Man in Babylon” – George Clason
  • “Total Money Makeover” – Dave Ramsey
  • “Finish Rich” – David Bach
  • “Scrolling (on your phone) will not make you a millionaire, but reading those books will.” (09:32)

4. Practical Budgeting Tactics

• Organize Expenses:
  • Fixed, irregular, discretionary (10:03)
  • Focus on discretionary spending—especially subscriptions and recurring small expenses.
• The Annual Expense Audit:
  • “Every year we take at least one trip...set aside for us to go over the small items in our budget.” (10:26)
  • Noting the “pain” of canceling subscriptions but the cumulative savings (“$50 here, $70 there”).
• Favorite Tools:
  • Buffer family uses “Monarch” budgeting app.
  • “My kids actually turned me onto this…I love this app. It also contains your net worth, all your assets...and you get to monitor your budgeting at point of investment and sale.” (11:21)
• Philosophy:
  • “A penny saved is a penny earned.”—Ben Franklin (10:56)
  • “If you do that, you'll be on your way not just to have peace of mind financially, but ultimately build your own fortune.” (12:12)

5. Building Enjoyment and Flexibility Into the Budget

• Permitting the Splurge (Listener Q&A):
  • Family splurges are planned for—never go into debt for trips or treats.
  • “I have never regretted spending money on a trip in my life…We never went on a trip where we went into debt…” (11:44)
• Experience Over Things:
  • Invest in memories, not liabilities: “I invested in experiences together…never second thoughts.” (12:32)
  • Even splurges are “in the budget. So even though it looked like a splurge, it was part of the plan.” (13:00)

6. Budgeting For Couples and New Families

• Advice for Newlyweds:
  • Key to financial peace: “Get on the same page,” be open, merge finances.
  • “It's a very hip thing nowadays to not share finances. And I think that's disastrous, actually.” (13:27)
  • Each couple must “create your own new way…it has to be your way.” (15:58)
• Anecdotes of Different Money Backgrounds:
  • Buffini shares about blending his background (irregular income) with his wife’s (steady paycheck) to create a system tailored to their strengths.

7. Business & Entrepreneurial Budgeting: Pay Yourself First

• Listener Q&A – Buffini’s Business Blueprint:
  • All revenue goes into a business account; pay yourself a salary; set aside taxes/business expenses; bonus yourself from surplus. (18:29)
  • “What I'll have you do is every one of your commission check goes into your business account. Then you eventually pay yourself a salary. And then you'll have, you'll set aside money for your taxes, you'll set aside some of the money for your expenses. And then we'll teach you over time initially to give yourself a bonus...” (19:01)
  • “...with these bonuses, you get these larger checks once a quarter, go and invest in the very product you sell and then all of a sudden now you're cooking.” (21:05)
• Avoid Tax Surprises:
  • Many agents fall behind on taxes because they don’t withhold as they go; Buffini stresses this point for self-employed listeners.
• Long-Term Wealth Building:
  • Use bonuses to invest—especially in real estate.
  • “...help people become millionaires...not just because they end up making more money...but in how they handle the money and then ultimately how they invest...” (21:28)

8. Preparing for Retirement with Referral Business (Listener Q&A)

• Systemizing Your Business Before Retirement:
  • “First...have all your systems fully up and running.” (22:55)
  • Analyze database, average sales price, referrals, expenses.
  • Create a transition plan—takes 18 months to do it right.
  • Gradual transition: bring in another agent, introduce them to your clients, ensure a smooth handoff rather than abrupt exit. (25:13)
• Active Retirement:
  • Suggests maintaining involvement (“active retirement”) to preserve relationships and income stream.
  • “Real estate...is one of the few industries that sets up an active retirement where you can still dabble when you want to dabble.” (27:55)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “A budget is just you telling your money where to go instead of the other way around.” – Brian Buffini (00:03)
• On living beyond your means: “We were spending 106% of what we were making. So our first budget was 106, 000. And you think, how is that even possible? Well, that's possible because in America, it's a credit culture.” (03:43)
• “Nothing financially has ever made me more money than that one decision [automatic savings].” (06:46)
• “People say the first million is the hardest, and that's true. But I'll tell you something that's harder than that is to get the first month of reserves.” (07:27)
• On marriage and money: “It's very important that you, you know, you're marrying someone who's coming from a very solid family...You need to take the best of both worlds and create your own new way.” (15:07)
• On planning splurges: “Once you get to experience these things, you go, okay, this is a great thing to do, then I plan for...” (12:45)
• On referral-based business retirement: “There's absolutely no reason you can't live off referral fees. There's no doubt about it.” (25:13)

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Important Timestamps

• 00:00–02:45 – Introduction, philosophy of budgeting, the mindset shift
• 02:45–06:17 – 70/10/10/10 plan, early struggles, how to stop living beyond your means
• 06:17–09:32 – Automatic savings, building reserves, book recommendations
• 09:32–12:12 – Expense organization, annual audit, favorite budgeting tools
• 12:12–13:01 – Embracing planned splurges, travel stories, never going into debt for fun
• 13:01–17:17 – Budgeting and finances for couples, merging different approaches
• 17:45–22:16 – Listener Q&A: How to manage business, paying yourself, tax planning
• 22:16–28:49 – Retirement transition, building a referral business, “active retirement”

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Practical Steps & Takeaways

• Start with honest tracking of expenses (no shame, just clarity); categorize and cut especially discretionary spends.
• Automate savings—amount matters less than habit at first.
• Always prioritize peace of mind (reserves), before investing.
• Pay yourself first, both personally and in business.
• Read foundational financial books for a mindset reset.
• Budget for joy—plan your splurges and experiences, but never go into debt for them.
• Couples and business partners: Communicate, blend your backgrounds, build a new system that works for YOU.
• Prepare early for retirement—systematize, transition, and always keep a toe in the water if you want ongoing engagement and income.

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By the end, listeners are equipped with a clear, personalizable blueprint for reducing budget stress, shifting their mindset about money, and laying the foundation for both financial peace of mind and abundance.

Transcript

[A]

Give me just a minute. I want to help you turn your budget into a spending plan. You know, a budget is just you telling your money where to go instead of the other way around. I have never actually seen anybody succeed with money without controlling the outflow of money. Where'd it go? I have no idea. If you have no idea where your money went, you pretty soon will not have any money at all. Famous actor Errol Flynn said, my problem lies in reconciling my gross habits with my net worth. You know, he was the highest paid actor in Hollywood for over 20 years. He ended up broke. Writer A.A. latimer said, A budget is a mathematical confirmation of your suspicions. Well, we want to get you away from your gross habits. We want to get you away from your suspicions. We want to get you controlling your money. And the way to do it is to have a budget. Top of the morning to you. I'm Brian Buffini. Today we're talking about money on the Brian Buffini Show. We like to say a budget isn't about restriction, it's about freedom. But let's be honest. The word budget can feel about as exciting as organizing your sock drawer on a hot Friday night. Still, here's the truth. If you don't tell your money where to go, it has a funny habit of disappearing. So I'm going to help you take the stress and the spreadsheets with the 17 tab energy out of budgeting and replace it with a plan you can actually stick to A few smart moves, a little discipline, and suddenly your money is working for you, not the other way around. Because a bulletproof budget isn't about pinching pennies. It's about building peace of mind. And that, my friend, is worth every cent. Here comes our blueprint for success. On today's blueprint, we're going to talk about how to build a budget. My mentor, the great Jim Rohn, introduced me to a concept called the 70 10, 1010 plan. Learn to live on 70% of what you make. Give away 10%, save 10% and invest 10%. He also recommended a book. I read this book 39 years ago. It was called the Richest man in Babylon. And in that book, it says a portion of all you earn is yours to keep. Pay yourself first. So 70 10, 10 10. That was my first goal. Well, the very first thing that happened for me and my bride is when we started the budgeting process, much to my chagrin, we weren't at 70%, living on 10%, giving 10% saving and 10% investing. In fact, we were spending 106% of what we were making. So our first budget was 106, 000. And you think, how is that even possible? Well, that's possible because in America, it's a credit culture. And in America, you can spend money you don't have. Need a bed. Well, you can buy a bed and there's no payments for 12 months or 18 months or 24 months. Imagine that, sleeping on a mattress you don't even own. Pay an interest on it. You can get credit cards. Everything can be financed. Can't afford the car, Guess what? We'll give you really low payments. And the next thing you know, you're living beyond your means. Most people, they say, are living paycheck to paycheck. Probably not true, because ultimately, most of us are living on credit. So the very first time, Brian Buffini, the guy who's taught millions of people about budgeting and has helped create thousands of millionaires, the first time I did this exercise with my bride, we were spending 106% of what we were making. So the first thing we did was stop the slide. We said, okay, from this point, going forward, nothing goes on credit. If we can't afford to pay for it, we don't buy it. And we've kept that promise to each other for 34 years of our marriage since. So our first year, we were in debt. And after that first year, we have never had a balance on a credit card since. So we then got to 97,111. We were going to live on 97% of what we made. We gave 1%, saved 1%, invested 1%. Now, as people of faith, we were very committed to being able to give 10% of what we earned. And that was our first goal. So I did two things. I increased my earnings, and I maintained and even cut my expenses to the point that we got to 90, and then 3, 3, and 4. Then we got to 80, and then we got to 70, 10, 10. And then eventually, over the decades, you get to 50, 40, 10, things like that. So the bottom line is this. It doesn't matter where you start, but the same disciplines that my wife and I put in place 35 years ago are the same disciplines we have today. For example, how did we get to save and invest? Well, we made them automatic. And the very first thing we ever did was to put in an automatic withdrawal from our checking account into our savings account. And it was started out as 50 bucks a month, then it was 50 bucks every two weeks. Now, I can remember the feeling. I remember the feeling, man, 100 bucks a month is not going to do anything for us. Little did I know I was putting the disciplines and the systems in place to change my life forever. In fact, I'll tell you this, nothing financially has ever made me more money than that one decision. Because over the course of my life, all that's happened is it went from 50 bucks every two weeks to a hundred bucks every two weeks to 150 bucks every two weeks to 200 bucks every two weeks, then to thousands, then to many thousands, then to deca thousands and beyond. The same disciplines that my bride and I put in place 35 years ago are the same disciplines we have today. We made our savings automatic. And out of that savings, not only did we build up our reserves, which I'll talk about in a minute, but then we use that money also for investing. And we've made those investments. And over the course of 35 years, that constant consistent investing has turned into a fortune. It starts by first, controlling the outflow, secondly, committing no more debt. And I'm going to give you some books as references to help you here today in my blueprint. And then thirdly, putting those processes in place that ultimately all you have to do is add to it. The second thing I'd say to you is that make sure you build up a surplus of reserves. I will share with you. People say the first million is the hardest, and that's true. But I'll tell you something that's harder than that is to get the first month of reserves. Do you know that 70% of Americans do not have one month of their expenses set aside in an account? I'll tell you why it's very hard to do. And I will tell you when I'm typically coaching someone and starting from scratch, it typically takes someone a year to be able to save up one month of their expenses. But once you get to the one month, then you can get to three. It takes a year to get one month. I typically people get to that three to six months reserves within two to three years. And what that monthly reserve does for you is it gives you peace of mind. Now that I have the three to six months reserves, as I continually put those automatic deposits into my savings account. Now I invest from the savings account. Important. I never invest with debt. That's how people go bankrupt. I lost everything on an investment. That meant you lost money, you borrowed. So never borrow money for an investment, ever. Save that money, grind it out. And there's times when you might buy a house, you might buy a Big investment and the reserves get depleted, and that's okay. If you buy your first home and you go down to one month's reserves again, fine. It might take you two or three years to build up those reserves again. Couple of books I'd recommend to you again, read the book the Richest man in Babylon by George Clason. That's the book that made me a millionaire. He's a good friend of mine. His name is Dave Ramsey. We're golfing buddies. His book Total Money Makeover, I believe is the best book written to help people get out of debt and get that first month in reserves and then a nice book as well. And another good friend of mine named David Bock wrote a book called Finish Rich. Very, very good stuff. Those books should be part of your blueprint. Reading a book on your finance, instead of scrolling for five hours on your phone, let me tell you that scrolling will not make you a millionaire, but reading those books will. Here's the third thing I share with you is make cuts where necessary. So the first thing you do is you make a list of all your expenses and then you put them into three categories. What are my fixed expenses, what are my irregular expenses, and what are my discretionary expenses? Your fixed expenses might be your mortgage, your car, your property taxes, those kinds of things. So what are the other payments? You might have kids tuitions a couple times a year. What are those things that are irregular? So you have your fixed expenses, kind of something you can do nothing about. You have your irregular expenses and then you have your discretionary expenses. And this is really usually where you go to work, and this is where you tighten up. By the way, My wife and I do this exercise every year. Every year we take at least one trip where during the trip we'll go to Hawaii and we'll do our walks on the beach, we'll play golf. But during the afternoons, the time is set aside for us to go over the small items in our budget. For example, the endless subscriptions. And you find out you're paying for this kid and that kid and this Netflix and that and so on and so forth. And oh, by the way, canceling subscriptions is a royal pain in the behind. They all have AI customer service where you can never get a proper answer. But those kinds of things, saving 50 bucks here and 70 bucks there. Ben Franklin was America's first millionaire, and he said, a penny saved is a penny earned. The budgeting app I recommend and that we use in our family is called Monarch. My kids actually turned me onto this I love this app. I think it's fantastic. It also contains your net worth, all your assets. It can tell you how you're doing financially. And you get to monitor your budgeting at point of investment and sale, focus on your regular irregular expenses, make cuts on those discretionary expenses, especially your subscriptions. I'd use the Monarch budgeting app. And if you do that, here's what will happen. Not only will you have a budget, not only will you have a blueprint, but you'll be on your way not just to have peace of mind financially, but ultimately build your own fortune. I hope today's blueprint has helped you follow it. Like all blueprints, you'll construct a fortune.

[B]

You set such a good example with the way that you manage your money. But how do you like to splurge?

[A]

Yeah, that's interesting. I think, like, your mom is actually a great example of this, where she won't spend money on herself.

[B]

No, never.

[A]

You know, but we just had two new grandchildren, and dear Lord, those nurseries are false. I think if there's one, let's say the guilty pleasures, that kind of where we're after here. Yeah, I'd say the one guilty pleasure is always trips. And since you guys were young, we always took a lot of trips. And it was also helpful that kind of had my own calendar. We homeschooled. And I have never regretted spending money on a trip in my life. Now, I would also say we never went on a trip where we went into debt to go on a trip. So we never put a trip on a credit card other than the very first one to go to Ireland many years ago. And I think a lot of people will have a trip or they'll do an expense, a splurge, and then there's this bad aftertaste because then you come back, you had this great time, and it's like, now you got to pay for this. I mean, you think about Hawaii is in the DNA of our family. You know, the mixed races. They thought we were Hawaiian. You know, all the locals, we have relationships. We went to the same places so many times they view us as family. I think for all of our family, Hawaii is a special place. It has special memories. And so that was really our place. So we went on trips, we had. I invested in experiences together. And for me personally, never have I had a second thought about that. So that's. And then the next thing I would, you know, I hate to reveal the real story, which is once I got good at that, I had a budget for all our trips. Okay, so it was in the budget. So even though it looked like a splurge, it was part of the plan. And so that's why I look, we go to a restaurant, you guys know, I'll order stuff or I'll do this or I'll tip this. And it looks all very generous and easy going. It's all in the budget. Once you, you get to experience these things, you go, okay, this is a great thing to do than I plan for.

[B]

Yeah, no, I mean, Hawaii feels like our second home for sure. That's why I'm getting married there actually this year. And so with that, like my fiance and I are young and just starting our new budgets together. He's a real estate agent. Shocker. So what advice do you have for us with our budgets? How to set that up for our household?

[A]

It's pivotal, I think, you know, there's some key things you got to figure out to get married. You got to. What's your view of family? What's your view of faith? What's your view of finances? And so I think the real key is to get on the same page. You know, it's a very hip thing nowadays to not share finances. And I think that's disastrous, actually. And I'm sorry if I sound like an old codger, but you know, Zig Ziglar used to say, you're about as committed as a kamikaze pilot on his 27th mission. And I just think that's where it is. You know, we've set up all of our kids. You guys are in pretty good shape financially now. You all worked since you were very young. You all learned to save and I taught you all how to invest. And each one of you guys has your own portfolio and all that kind of good stuff. And so in each case, my kids are not usually going to marry someone who's more well off than them. And so the dynamic though is the finances are together, the two are becoming one. So we're fully committed and fully engaged, and you're fully committed and fully engaged. So I think the real key is and you know this story, but you know, I grew up without money on the south side of Dublin, and your mom grew up without money on the south side of Sumter, S.C. her dad was in the air force, so he had a paycheck every two weeks. And my dad was a house painter. When are we getting paid, George? Well, whenever the job's done, Therese. So naturally self employed people are much more free flown with when money comes in and Then someone who has a job that brings in a paycheck every two weeks, very different views towards money. And then we get married. So it was very important for me and your mom that we came up with our version of what made sense for us. I don't work in the military and I didn't bring home paycheck every two weeks. You know, in my 10 year real estate career, your mom called my commission checks paychecks. She never once called a commission check. She was always kind of hoping I'd have a steady job, even though I was making 10 times what I would make in one of those things. It was that because that was her comfort zone. But I think we developed what our way is and what our version is and even how we budget. Like, I have a system with your mom where I kind of create this package. Right, Your mom, your mom is kind of a global person. She's not really into the details. So I built a budget for her around that. That gives her a sense of freedom. She doesn't feel controlled and she blows it anyway. But it's always on someone else. It's always on kids and grandkids and stuff like that, never on herself. So I think it's very important that you, you know, you're marrying someone who's coming from a very solid family and they have their approach towards money. You're coming from a pretty solid family and we have our approach towards money. You need to take the best of both worlds and create your own new way. And it has to be your way. And this is how we're going to do it. And we take this information in. You know, people who are broke, they believe their parents are right. You know, people who are absolutely bankrupt and their parents had disasters, they'll still naturally gravitate towards that or they freakishly rebel against it. So I think you take the best of both worlds and then create your own. Obviously we've done pretty well, so I hope you do some of ours. Don't worry about it. Yeah, no, that's good. You know, I know you guys are already working on it. You're already getting your budgets together and all that stuff.

[B]

Yeah, we are. We're pretty much following the Brian Buffini plan. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's pretty great.

[A]

Yeah, well, he's, he's a great young man and he's gotten exposed to this information a lot.

[B]

He has, yeah.

[A]

So it's good. Yeah. And again, I still would say it has to be your version. You guys have to have your version of money. You have to have your version of raising your kids. You have to have your version of how you guys do life together because you're forming a new family. And so mom and I will always be your biggest cheerleaders and supporters and we won't second guess your decisions. It's like, hey, we've given you the best advice. We're here for any questions you ever have. But go do you. And you know, I'm always hopeful that one of the kids will turn out better than me.

[B]

Hard to do that. You're pretty great.

[A]

I agree. Okay. I agree. Okay, let's go. Here's the. You and I both know the truth of the story is if it was the Beverly Buffini show, now that would be a program worth watching. Let me tell you, she's the best. She is. Well, thanks for joining Coach Em. Up on the Brian Buffini show, we have Pam. Pam, tell everybody who you are and where you're calling in from.

[C]

So I'm Pam Robbins. I'm based out of North Carolina, central part of North Carolina. I've been with Buffini a couple of years now.

[A]

That's great.

[C]

For about 18 years and heard about you through Dave Ramsey because I was at Entre Leadership and you spoke. So I kind of in both.

[A]

Nice, nice. So that's my buddy. We're great pals. Great. What can I do you for?

[C]

I don't really have a question, but at a live event in Las Vegas, you were talking about our business and the financial side of our business and how a lot of us, including me, spend money as it comes in. And it's kind of a budgeting thing, it's kind of like a Ramsey thing. But like you want us to get to a point where we're not doing that, where we have a base. And you explained all of that. But I'm, I want you to explain that again.

[A]

You bet. And in fact, those Vegas events, I have one coming up in July. I'm actually going to walk you through on that July event exactly what to do with every check. So when a check comes in, I'm going to show you the money flow and how it goes into a business. And so I'll give you a context here, which is ultimately where, where you want to end up is every dollar that comes into your business, it goes into your business account first. Long term, you want to pay yourself a salary. The money flow is now. And for most self employed people when they're first doing this, the money goes into the business account and then 100% of it goes into their Home account, you know, and that's how it starts. But the more commission checks you'd get, the more referrals you get, the more the cash flow will come. And what I'll have you do is every one of your commission check goes into your business account. Then you eventually pay yourself a salary. And then you'll have, you'll set aside money for your taxes, you'll set aside some of the money for your expenses. And then we'll teach you over time initially to give yourself a bonus. At the end of the year, when we have clients who are doing with us a few years, we have them give themselves a quarterly bonus. So now imagine this. You're bringing in sufficient commission checks that you're paying yourself a salary that you live on. Now, you're great. You're a Dave Ramsey girl. You're living like no one else, right? You're living off the budget. You've got money set aside for the taxes. It's very important. Everyone in America who gets a check, their taxes are taken out for them. 50% of the national association of Realtors are behind on their taxes. And the reason is they give us the money up front, Pam. And what happens with people and money? They spend it. And then April falls around, they file an extension, but they're like, oh my gosh, I don't have the money. So the flow is this. Referrals come in, transactions happen. The money flows into my business account. I pay myself a salary. I set aside a portion for taxes, and I set aside a portion for my business to run. A business needs money to run. And then when I get above those numbers, those are the bonuses I pay myself. Typically in the first year of coaching somebody, they get that system in place, then they, whatever surplus they have to give themselves an annual bonus. Then we get to the point that they give themselves a quarterly bonus. Now, we have many people who've been with us for 20 plus years. They're doing seven figures and they're giving themselves monthly bonuses. They've learned to live off the salary, they take the bonuses and guess what they do with that? They buy real estate. They buy real estate. And that's why we've, you know, I had a documentary done on me a few years ago by basically the Irish 60 minutes and they entitled it the Millionaire Maker for this format. And we help people become millionaires not just because they end up making more money with the more referrals they get, but in how they handle the money and then ultimately how they invest in real estate. And that Dave Ramsey and I, Dave and I are very good friends. Yeah. You know, I've probably helped sell more copies of Total Money Makeover than he has. And then what I try to get our clients to do is manage their budget that way. But with these bonuses, you get these larger checks once a quarter, go and invest in the very product you sell and then all of a sudden now you're cooking. And North Carolina is a great place to invest. It is. Yep. Great. Well, hopefully that answered your question. It's great to meet you. I hope to see you at a live event soon in Maui. Yeah. Oh, you're coming to Peak Experience. Well, that is going to be an eye opening experience because you're going to get to meet 500 of the best people in the business. Just great people, great human beings who happen to be great producers. So you're going to love that. Top of the morning to you. Welcome to Coach Em Up. Tanya, you are on the Brian Buffini show. Tell everybody who you are and where you're calling from.

[D]

I am Tanya Cogdell. I am in the Carolinas, both north and south, because Charlotte is right on the border.

[A]

Love me, the Carolinas married a girl from Sumter, so I know all about the Carolinas.

[D]

You chose well.

[A]

I did. I did. So what's your question? What's one thing I could help you with today, Tanya?

[D]

So I'm going to retire in three years. I would like to have a referral business to fund my retirement.

[A]

Okay.

[D]

What can I do to maximize my time between now and then? Maximize my efforts? What should I focus on?

[A]

Great. Well, we've helped an awful lot of people like you, Tanya. In fact, we've helped people like you even find the person who would take over your business and assure that retirement going forward. Because no one's going to appreciate a referral database more than a Buffini agent that works by referral. So I think the first thing is we need to make sure that you have all your systems fully up and running. You're working by referral systems as well as your analysis of that. So how many people do you have in your database? What's your average sales price? How many referrals are coming in? How many referrals come in to close the current expenses in your business and then so creating those. Those systems and the numbers that come from those systems. If you want your business to be part of your retirement, which is what I'm hearing you say, yes, you have to systemize that and you need to put your systems in place to do so. Okay. Are you currently in the coaching, Tanya?

[D]

I am. I'm with coach Lisa.

[A]

Great. Well, Coach Lisa knows that I actually have an entire program I built on how to build your business for sale. So we actually have a. A recording that I did at the Peak Experience last year which is available to all of our coaching members. So she can walk you through it and the things that you need to install so that your business is sale ready. Okay.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

The next thing is you should start even looking now at who are the kinds of people in your marketplace that you can start to incorporate as part of your team, are connected to your business, that you can ultimately have a smooth handover. It shouldn't be, I'm out on Monday and this person's in on Tuesday. That's going to turn into nothing. So it takes about 18 months to transition. So what I would do is. Let me ask you this. Tell me the makeup of your business. Do you have an assistant? Do you have a buyer's agent? Are you just by yourself?

[D]

I'm by myself, but I do have a transaction coordinator and.

[A]

Terrific.

[D]

And I want to go back to say, this is a consumer to agent. So I would be an agent match program.

[A]

Okay.

[D]

So it wouldn't just be local, it would be nationwide. And I would have consumer home buyers and sellers call me and say, who do you have in San Diego?

[A]

Great.

[D]

So this I just refer people and watch the money going to the.

[A]

Fantastic. Well, we're. And we're a big part of that because Buffini Co. Handles those transactions all the time with our membership. So I love it. And here's the thing. There's absolutely no reason you can't live off referral fees. There's no doubt about it. But you need to find the person who's going to predominantly be the person to handle your business and handle your referrals. And so what I would do is I would start looking in your marketplace now. There might be agents who have a business in their own right that you can start to work with. And what I would do is you kind of take them for a test drive, like when you go on vacation, like who handles your business outside of your transaction coordinator? Well, I would start to partner up with an agent and see how they take care of your customers, see how they take care of your personal transactions, and see if they're a person you can really count on. And then this becomes a person over time. You go, look, this is what I'm planning on doing. Is this something you'd be interested in? And if it is, then what you start to do is introduce that person to your database over time. One of the best ways I, I introduce buyer's agents to my database was through my client parties. So I would do a big mail out and I'd say, hey, come and meet the team. We've got all kinds of cool stuff for you. And then I basically have that person on my hip all night long. As we go from person to person, this is the person's name. They're going to be involved in handling my. And supporting me in my business years to come. So when you, when you need my help, this is who's going to be helping you as well as me. And then over time, and I really like these gentle introductions over the course of about 18 months, and then you keep communicating, about every 90 days, you start saying, you know, we've expanded my business. I've got more people to help you. And so we're here now, we're operating together. And then in the last six months, you actually hold a kind of a party where you celebrate with your customers, celebrate with your relationships, and say, this is the person who's going to be doing it full time. I'm going to be taking somewhat of a step back. And so. But I'm still involved, which you need to stay involved, because people think, I just, you know, I just saw my business, here's the keys, I'm gone. It's not that kind of business.

[D]

Right.

[A]

So you'll still need to be somewhat involved. But it's like, hey, they're going to take the primary role. I'm going to take the secondary role. So your coach is going to help you with this. We have all kinds of tools to help you, the numbers you need to calculate. And ultimately, there are people who will pay you a lump sum plus a referral fee. There's people who will pay you referral fees forever. And you just have to decide how you want to go about it and how you set yourself up for your future retirement. Let me ask you this question. What do you plan to do in retirement?

[D]

I have to decide which beach or which ocean I should put my boat on.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

And I could just, you know, have a glass of wine and watch the bank account grow. Right?

[A]

Yeah. My, my encouragement is. I love the term. You can look it up. The active retirement. Okay. And real estate, as hard as it is, as difficult it is in the building of, it is actually one of the few industries that sets up an active retirement where you can still dabble when you want to dabble. You know, you can handle. Okay. This client's bought three homes for me over 20 year period of time. I'll take them, you know, that kind of thing and it still keeps your hand in the business and keeps the referrals flowing and gives you something to do because after a while like I've had buddies who couldn't wait to play golf every day and then after about 12 months they're like man, I can't play golf every day. You know what I mean? So it's good to have a little bit of something to keep you going. And real estate's a business. Think of that term the act of retirement. I can still. Glass of wine on your boat. Have a good time, do a few deals here and there. Keep your finger in the pot. That's it.

[D]

That's perfect.

[A]

Great.

[D]

Thank you.

[A]

Tanya, it's great to talk to you. Thanks for taking time to tune in with us today. It.