Host John Odermatt interviews Edward Brady, a former SEC examiner with 25 years in financial oversight and author of the upcoming book “Awaken Your Financial Star.” Brady explains why people feel financially behind despite higher incomes, citing inflation and lifestyle creep, and contrasts Sylvia Bloom’s $8M savings success with Warren Sapp’s bankruptcy. He outlines practical steps like tracking cash flow, using employer 401(k) matches, and weighing traditional vs Roth IRAs based on future tax expectations. Brady presents his STAR framework—Savings, Time, Assets, Real returns—emphasizing time and compounding, and discusses matching asset choices to investment horizons rather than predicting crashes. He also shares fraud-defense lessons from SEC work, including skepticism, background checks, independent custodians, fiduciaries, and diversification across custodians, and concludes that financial progress is best measured by cash flow and freedom of choice. New sponsor alert: Jason Gagne’s Good 2GoBody 90-day beginner fitness program. Chapters: 00:00 Why You Feel Behind 00:49 Show Welcome and Sponsor 02:34 Meet Edward Brady 03:48 Inflation and Lifestyle Creep 06:48 Practical Saving Moves 08:18 Roth vs Traditional Accounts 11:07 From Military to SEC 12:51 The STAR Wealth Framework 15:31 Time and Compounding Lessons 17:54 Fraud Proof Your Money 20:44 Real Estate Done Right 24:11 Market Outlook and Horizons 33:34 Measuring Real Progress 38:20 Book Release and Wrap Up SUPPORT LIONS OF LIBERTY: Help keep this podcast going! We rely on listener support to continue bringing you content on freedom, political reform, and personal empowerment. Support us on Patreon: https://patreon.com/lionsofliberty Support us on Locals: https://lionsofliberty.locals.com/ Subscribe, rate, and review wherever you listen – it makes a huge difference! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices