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BiggerPockets Money Podcast

193: Building a Business After Homelessness, Addiction, and Debt

BiggerPockets Money Podcast

BiggerPockets

Education, Investing, Business

4.53K Ratings

🗓️ 3 May 2021

⏱️ 87 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Part of the mission of the BiggerPockets Money Show is to share journeys from all walks of life. Our guests show that no matter where you’re at, you can reach financial freedom and enjoy your life on your terms. Today’s guest, T Christopher Colton, is a shining example of pulling yourself out of the depths and into the light. Chris never liked school, and was spanked all throughout elementary and middle school for failing to pay attention in class. He was told he needed to go to college, but didn’t have the passion for higher learning that other classmates did. He ran away from home multiple times, ended up being homeless, and addicted to drugs. He had stints as a car salesman, before going into carpentry. With the help of his wife, Chris was able to get off the streets and live a stable life with his full time income. But, he wanted more. He became an electrician apprentice and started doing side work to help pay off the $100,000+ debt he had accumulated. Thankfully, he found out about financial independence through Dave Ramsey, putting him on a path to reject consumer debt, go hard on retirement accounts, and bring in more income. In This Episode We Cover The financial danger of buying a new car, and the costs that come with it Selling everything to get out of debt fast Moving states and reducing costs of living dramatically 401(k)s, IRAs, and Roth IRAs for retirement Starting a side business and having your W2 pay for your everyday expenses Getting your children on a path to success with early financial independence And So Much More! Links from the Show BiggerPockets Money Facebook Group BiggerPockets Forums Finance Review Guest Onboarding Scott's Instagram Mindy's Twitter WECA Apprenticeship CarMax The Ramsey Show Check the full show notes here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/moneyshow193 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

Welcome to the bigger Pockets Money Podcast, show number 193, where we chat with Chris

0:05.7

Colton and hear his very different journey to financial independence.

0:10.7

And the moment that all happened, right, everything shifted because suddenly all that money

0:17.2

that I've been working for saving, grasping with my little fists, is gone.

0:20.9

Right, and it took a big shift in my mind to realize it's not gone.

0:24.5

It's just sitting in this new, safe deposit box.

0:27.5

Right, that has a roof on it.

0:29.5

Hello, hello, hello, my name is Mindy Jensen, and with me, as always, is my Blather Sky

0:33.4

co-host, Scott Trech.

0:35.2

Thanks, Roe, for keeping me in line with these intros, Mindy.

0:38.1

Scott and I are here to make financial independence less scary, less desperate somebody else, to

0:46.0

introduce you to every money story, because we truly believe financial freedom is attainable

0:51.0

for everyone no matter when or where you're starting.

0:54.0

That's right, whether you want to retire early and travel the world, go on to make big-time

0:57.2

investments and assets like real estate, start your own business, lose 100 pounds, completely

1:01.7

rebuild your financial position, or pay off $144,000 in debt.

1:05.4

We'll help you reach your financial goals and get money out of the ways that you can

1:08.5

launch yourself towards your dreams.

1:10.5

Okay, in the intro, we said we want to introduce you to every money story, and today's guest

1:20.6

definitely has a different story than you've heard before here.

1:23.7

Chris Colton is a 49-year-old electrician who dropped out of both high school and college

1:28.1

and spent some time as a homeless drug addict until figuring out that that might not be the

...

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