Money used to be easy. Go to the bank, make a deposit. Maybe you had a pension. Nearly everyone in America had Social Security. How did money become dangerous? We'll sit down with Chris Varelas, the man responsible for brokering some of the biggest mergers and acquisitions in finance. Between working as the head of Citi's technology, media, and communications, and co-founding a private equity firm in Silicon Valley, Chris has acquired a special insight into just how the money game has changed, and his role in some of the biggest financial moments of the last 30 years. What problems will you encounter on your journey toward financial independence? We'll cover many of those during our headlines. While financial headwinds like expenses, loss, and taxes are roadblocks to a bigger portfolio, we'll key into the main problem nearly everyone will face: YOU standing in the way of your own success. Plus, in our second piece, we'll examine how one rogue broker singlehandedly took down his whole firm. Now THAT is dangerous. Later we'll throw out the Haven Life Line to Colton, who calls in with a question about paying off some debt with his pension. Colton recently bought a new house and is having a cash-flow crunch. He has $5000 in his pension that he could use to pay off some short-term bills. Should he use the pension, which has a lower interest rate than the bills, to pay off his debts? His pension would grow to be about $15,000 in retirement. Of course, we'll save some time for Doug's trivia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices