Let’s all welcome Michael of Financially Alert. Michael is a FIRE (financial independence retire early) blogger. He retired early after accumulating over a cool million from hard work and sacrifice while building a business. Or was it two million? Can’t remember. Doesn’t matter cause he’s here sharing part of his story with us! He graciously accepted my invitation for an interview. Well Michael you have officially been Greenback’d. 🤣

Just some quick background information.

I was introduced to Michael’s blog from a Google search I did for last years FinCon, where media meets money conference.

I was unsure if I should go or what to expect.

His website kept popping up on advice when attending a conference including FinCon. It was so thorough that I decided to do what he said and I reached out to him via email to ask if we could meet at the conference. And to my surprise he said yes!

I wrote a post all about it.

See my post FinCon 18: The Recap From Your Friendly Neighborhood Greenbacks Magnet

Meeting Michael and others at FinCon

I was so nervous, but…

While in line to get my badge, I met Michael.

He was pleasant, laid back, and super down to earth. He was even kind enough to send me an email and asked me to lunch! This is what it’s like meeting Michael. We ended up hanging out for a pretty good chunk of the 2nd day of the conference.

I met so many people that I couldn’t even count! So I introduced Michael to a lot of them. We could barely keep track of so many new faces.

Michael even introduced me to the founder of FinCon, PT Money.

After the conference ended, I took his advice and reached out to people to be on the blog and send invitations. And here we are today.

Let’s go!

MEET MICHAEL AND LEARN HOW TO BECOME FINANCIALLY ALERT

Starting A Financially Alert Money Blog

1. What prompted you to start a blog about money?

I started my blog as a way to share good money habits and knowledge with those of us who weren’t given the exposure to sound financial principles. Becoming financially alert is less about a number, and more about developing a smart and practical mindset around money.  If you have the right money mindset, the mechanics are easy and your money will keep growing. I also want people to realize money is simply a tool.  It can be used for good things, and likewise bad things.  However, in my experience, those who feel in abundance are more likely to share with others who do not.

Why blog?

I've had people wonder what a blogger REALLY does? What is a petsonal finance blogger? Is that a real thing? Blogging about money.

Yes, sir. It is.

I and many others try to help people with financial literacy.

My blog is LEGIT!!! Put some respeck on my name!!!

— Miriam Joy (@mjp2520) March 22, 2019

How I feel about blogging.

“Tonight, darling, we are going to right a lot of wrongs. And we are going to wrong some rights. The first shall be last; the last shall be first; the meek shall do some earth-inheriting." – John Green, Paper Towns #papertowns

— Miriam Joy (@mjp2520) January 23, 2019

2. Any favorite finance books? How come?

Ahh… there are so many.  But, in terms of impact, Rich Dad Poor Dad really breaks things down into simple digestible concepts.  I love his cash flow quadrant which speaks to the different ways people earn money.

GBM Miriam: I am providing a copy of The Rich Dada Poor Dad Quadrant for inquiring minds!

Let’s break it down.

Once you understand cash flow, you can really begin to grow your money with intention.

3. What are you reading right now? What’s on your night stand? 

Most recently I read How to Quit Your Job with Rental Properties: Expanded and Updated – A Step-by-Step Guide to Retire Early with Real Estate Investing and Passive Income

Dustin thoroughly guides you through the real estate investing process.

GBM Miriam: And I too love to read. I am reading several books about money right now!!!

GBM Miriam: That reminds me of the real estate website Bigger Pockets. I read their book on How to Invest in Real Estate: The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Getting Started. And I did a post on it.

See my post How to Get Bigger Pockets

4. One thing people may not know about you?

I grew up wanting to working the movies as a special effects guy.  So, when I sold my business, I took some time to myself to attend a special fx class.  It was pretty fun to blow up a car – don’t try that at home kids!

Just FYI: Greenbacks Magnet does her research. I found this interview that Michael did with Physician on FIRE (POF) in 2018. It’s awesome. An excellent and informative interview.

In that interview, I read that you would like to travel to island with the amazing animals, it’s called Galápagos Islands. I’ve always wanted to go since I saw that video about it at the Virginia Aquarium. It looks so cool. And watching stuff blow up is right up my alley! No wonder we got along so well at FinCon18. This was a really good post. Thanks for sharing so much about yourself. I too noticed that PoF was everywhere. I had to step my game up because of him. 😉

I also found your post from 2016 called Opportunities in the Bag! The Fill-the-Bucket-List which discussed you watching of a professional blowing up of a car! I also saw that you attended a Date with Destiny, Tony’s 5 day seminar.

And yes ladies and gentleman, that Tony is motivational guru and New York Times best-selling author Tony Robbins! Here is the photo Michael posted on his website. Awesome right?

See Michael’s posts on his Tony Robbins seminars a Date with Destiny and Life and Wealth Mastery

How My Date with Destiny Found Me (Part 1 of 2)

Exploring Tony Robbin’s Life and Wealth Mastery – Part 1

In the second post link, you will get to see Michael swinging from a trapeze in an attempt to face down his fear, which is so Tony Robbins!!!

Fun Fact: Trapeze is a piece of equipment which is used in acrobatics. It is considered to be one of the most demanding aerial arts.  History. The art of trapeze performance was developed by Jules Léotard, a young French acrobat and aerialist, in Toulouse in the mid-1800s. He invented the flying trapeze, practising over his father’s swimming pool. A trapeze is a short horizontal bar hung by ropes or metal straps from a support. It can also be known as a aerial hoop, or fabric known as an aerial silk. 

And Michael is still inspired by Tony Robbins all these years later. Check out one of his recent tweets 🙏😉

"Trade your expectations for appreciation." – Tony Robbinshttps://t.co/ecpGOXpBfp#appreciation #financiallyalert pic.twitter.com/oK121Kkk9C

— Michael (@FinanciallyALRT) April 16, 2019

5. What’s in your wallet? How did you start building wealth? 

• $83 cash
• 4 credit cards
• 1 debit card
• fishing license
• insurance card
• coupon for bare naked granola
• drivers license
• AA card

FINALRT Michael: I started building wealth the old fashioned way… saving! As soon as I got my first job, I started paying myself 20% automatically into my savings account.  Over time it grew, and then evolved to other asset classes like stocks/bonds, and real estate.

GBM Miriam: That’s what I’m taking about!!! Take control over your finances. Control your finances, control your life. 👍

The lazy way to build a fortune: automate your savings and investments.

You can build great things when you work on things over time. Just like Voltron. 🤣I just love when things come together. Don’t you?

This is how I approached spending before I started learning about finances🤦‍♀️ 😂

Glad I grew up and out of that phase.

Oompa, Loompa, Dupity, Doo!! 🤣#willywonka pic.twitter.com/7rrCOZpcHF

— Miriam Joy (@mjp2520) March 4, 2019

I personally like focusing on starting salary. Negotiating a good starting salary can set you up to be even better down the line. Kind of reminds me of that scene in Clueless 🤔 starring Alicia Silverstone and Avengers Endgame Ant-man Paul Rudd.

Financial makeover. Who here wouldn’t do things differently if they knew then what they know now?

It’s like Cher (the real one not the one from the movie Clueless) said, “If I could turn back time.”

Speaking of Clueless…

I love makeovers!!!! So I wrote a post about having a financial facelift. 😉

See my post A Financial Nip/Tuck

Whatever you do, financially or otherwise…Own it!!!

I made it out of living paycheck-to-paycheck woohoo!!! I appreciate all the support from the personal finance blogger community. 💖Especially in doing interviews like this one. 😉 xoxo 💋 I feel the love. I felt just like Mulan. The finance community definitely made a man I mean blogger out of me. 🤣

Bonus Questions (pick any of the questions from the top or below that you want to answer) 

6. Any life or money lessons from a favorite movie or TV show you would like to share?

TV loves to glamorize our consumer culture. While it’s fun to watch shows like Million Dollar Listing, the reality is that happiness is controlled by us individually and doesn’t required luxury items. 

How can you use your money to make the biggest positive impact on your family and friends? 

Well said Michael. 👏 And excellent question.

Embarrassment of riches book portrait of Scrooge McDuck and his nephews.

See my post Money Lessons I Learned From Scrooge McDuck

GBM Miriam: I have learned to not focus on having privilege, but on doing things that help myself, my family and my community. A lesson Cher (Alicia Silverstone) started to learn as the film Clueless progressed.

While shopping with her friend Dionne (Stacey Dash), she started feeling like there was more to life than shopping, like helping others. 😉

7. If you found a lottery ticket that ends up winning $2.5 million. What would you do?

After giving a chunk to charity, I’d buy a McDonald’s franchise!  Who wouldn’t want a french fry cash machine??

16. What was your best MacGyver moment?

I recently was doing a video and couldn’t ad-lib the content to save my life.  So, I started researching ways to help me create a better video.  I stumbled upon teleprompters and was like, OMG that’s it!The problem though is that teleprompters start at $200 and go up from there.  I didn’t feel like making that kind of investment for a single video, so I put on my MacGyver hat and built my own.  I used an 8×10 frame from Walmart, a cheap 3 ring binder, some cork-board from Dollar Tree, and electric tape from Home Depot… total costs to build it – $12.84.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with MacGyver, here is some background info.

Angus “Mac” MacGyver is the title character and the protagonist in the TV series MacGyver. He is played by Richard Dean Anderson in the 1985 original series. Lucas Till portrays a younger version of MacGyver in the 2016 reboot. In both portrayals MacGyver is shown to possess a genius-level intellect; proficiency in multiple languages; superb engineering skills; excellent knowledge of applied physics; military training in bomb disposal techniques and a preference for non-lethal resolutions to conflicts. The hit television series MacGyver, which lasted from 1985 to 1992 and was highly successful throughout its seven-year run.

The character Angus MacGyver, also known as just MacGyver or Mac, was an optimistic action hero who was notable for using a Swiss Army knife instead of a firearm as his tool of choice.Young war hero Angus `Mac’ MacGyver has an extraordinary knack for unconventional problem solving and an extensive bank of scientific knowledge that he believes can best be put to use saving lives, both of which come in handy when he creates a clandestine organization within the United States government to tackle high-risk missions around the world. Working under the sponsorship of the Department of External Affairs, MacGyver quietly prevents disasters.

The character is portrayed as a non-violent problem solver and typically eschews the use of guns. Even in cases where he must resort to physical violence, or when his improvised devices are used to attack hostile opponents, he is always doing so in self-defense and, if possible, subduing or disabling rather than killing.

MacGyver is passionate about social causes, having on several occasions volunteered to help the less-privileged, showing a particular affinity for – and connection with – children. For example, he is shown to be a “big brother”, conducts hearing research at a school for deaf children, and helps out in a mountain excursion for delinquent youths.He strives to protect the environment and endangered species such as eagles, the black rhino,and wolves It was also established that he became a vegetarian at an unspecified date during the series run.

MacGyver’s persistence and the improvisational nature of his plans make him difficult to thwart, as his nemesis Murdoc pointed out, because not even MacGyver himself knows what he is going to do next. Unlike stereotypical “macho” or stoic action heroes, MacGyver exhibits grief in the face of tragedies, open fear in perilous situations, and shows pain after a fight. A sensitive character, Mac has a tendency to blame himself for personal losses and tragedies. He usually carries duct tape, chewing gum, a Timex watch, strike-anywhere matches, a flashlight, and an ID card. Yes, that’s what he uses to get out of every near death situation.

In short, he’s awesome.

17. How would you sell hot coco in Florida?

I’d add some ice and throw it in my vitamix for the perfect blended frozen hot coco!

Oh yea. As cool as ice!! 🤣

Thank you for stopping by Greenbacks Magnet!!!!

Hope you enjoyed this latest blogger interview. I try to keep it 💯here and help people improve the quality of their financial lives. Thank you for reading.

GBM Miriam: Thank you Michael for treating us all for an inside look to becoming financially alert. You’ve been a great guest!

Want more financial wake up calls from Michael. Follow him on Twitter and read his blog at Financially Alert.