# Financial Tip: He educates aspiring millionaires—on financial planning, wealth management, and risk mitigation strategies.

An episode of [Money Making Conversations Master Class](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1264705641), 16 Dec 2025, 35 min.

Audio: https://podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/b1db7263-d1a3-4d00-8976-af62012aab44/0f573739-7ac1-4709-baab-b3b5014c17eb/audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=35a10561-3e1b-4d05-a529-af62012aab6a

Listen and subscribe to Money Making Conversations on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, www.moneymakingconversations.com/subscribe/ or wherever you listen to podcasts. New Money Making Conversations episodes drop daily. I want to alert you, so you don’t miss out on expert analysis and insider perspectives from my guests who provide tips that can help you uplift the community, improve your financial planning, motivation, or advice on how to be a successful entrepreneur. Keep winning! Two-time Emmy and Three-time NAACP Image Award-winning, television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald interviewed Mark Mascarenhas. Purpose of the Interview The interview aims to educate listeners—especially entrepreneurs, small business owners, and aspiring millionaires—on financial planning, wealth management, and risk mitigation strategies. It emphasizes the importance of discipline, clarity, and professional guidance in achieving financial success and sustaining wealth across generations. Key Takeaways • Financial Planning is Foundational • A written financial plan is the first step before any investment portfolio is built. • Success is defined individually—financial, health, or lifestyle goals. • Diversification & Risk Management • Digital assets like Bitcoin should only make up 2–3% of a portfolio for high-net-worth clients with high risk tolerance. • Fear and greed drive markets; advisors help clients maintain discipline. • Long-Term Care & Insurance • Planning for long-term care is essential, typically starting in your 50s. • Term life insurance early locks in health; whole life policies provide stability and living benefits. • Tax Strategy • Use tax-loss harvesting, asset location strategies, and estate planning to minimize tax burdens. • Estate planning focuses on transferring wealth tax-efficiently to future generations. • Millionaire Mindset • Millionaires are clear, disciplined, optimistic, and collaborative. • 74% of millionaires work with financial advisors vs. 34% of the general population. • Power of Compounding • Compounding interest is the cornerstone of wealth accumulation—requires patience and discipline. • Avoid lifestyle creep and impulsive spending, especially for younger millionaires and influencers. • Fiduciary Responsibility • Advisors act in the client’s best interest; success is mutual. • Trust and transparency are critical in client-advisor relationships. Notable Quotes • On Risk & Bitcoin: “You could potentially double your money, but you could also potentially lose 70% of it.” • On Financial Planning: “Every dollar needs a job description.” • On Millionaire Mindset: “Successful people view us as CFOs—they’re the CEOs.” • On Compounding: “If you could win 72% of the time, would you play that game? Yes. That’s the stock market.” • On Retirement Success: “Living the same or better lifestyle in retirement than you do today while working.” • On Fiduciary Role: “We make more money when the client makes more money.” #SHMS #BEST #STRAW Money Making Conversations Master Class with Rushion McDonald is America's premier entrepreneurship, business leadership, financial literacy, and wealth-building podcast featuring successful entrepreneurs, executives, founders, celebrities, and industry experts sharing actionable insights for professional and financial success. Business Podcast Entrepreneurship Small Business Business Growth Financial Literacy Wealth Building Black Entrepreneurs Minority Business Leadership Executive Leadership Business Funding Marketing Strategies Personal Development Startup Advice Sales Training CEO Interviews Founder Stories Professional Development Economic Empowerment Business Success Networking Brand Building Innovation How to start a business Small business funding Entrepreneur success stories Business leadership podcast Wealth building strategies Black entrepreneur podcast Minority business development Marketing for small…

## Transcript

[0:00] Speaker 1: Welcome to my show. I'm Rashon McDonald, a host of
[0:02] Speaker 1: Money Making Conversations Masterclass, where we encourage people to stop
[0:06] Speaker 1: reading other people's success stories and start planning your own. Now,
[0:10] Speaker 1: you don't want to miss an episode, so please take
[0:12] Speaker 1: a moment right now to follow or subscribe to Money
[0:14] Speaker 1: Making Conversations Masterclass. It's free. You can follow me on iHeartRadio, app, Spotify,
[0:20] Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your podcast. New
[0:23] Speaker 1: Money Making Conversations Masterclass episodes drop daily. I want to
[0:27] Speaker 1: keep you on alert because my guests provide tips on
[0:30] Speaker 1: how you can uplift your community, improve your financial planning, motivation,
[0:34] Speaker 1: or advice on how to be a successful entrepreneur. Now,
[0:38] Speaker 1: let's get this podcast started. My guest Wall Street experience
[0:41] Speaker 1: spans more than fifteen years, including investment consulting for some
[0:45] Speaker 1: of the largest asset managers in North America. He is
[0:49] Speaker 1: a profit wealth consultant for Haven Wealth Advisors, is a
[0:53] Speaker 1: leading national firm dedicated to helping clients grow and protect
[0:57] Speaker 1: assets while minimizing risk and maximizing multi generation of wealth.
[1:02] Speaker 1: Please welcome to Money Making Conversations Masters Class. Mark Mascarenas,
[1:06] Speaker 1: how you doing sir.
[1:07] Speaker 2: I'm doing well, Rashaan, thank you for having me.
[1:10] Speaker 1: Well. You know, when I see multi generation, I see wealth,
[1:13] Speaker 1: I see millionaires. You know, this is money making conversations
[1:16] Speaker 1: massic class. So, Mark, I don't know what shows you've
[1:18] Speaker 1: done before, but I think you're on the right show today,
[1:20] Speaker 1: my brother, I feel like.
[1:22] Speaker 2: I'm there, So I appreciate you having me.
[1:24] Speaker 1: Well. First of all, you know, we are every year.
[1:26] Speaker 1: You know, everybody wants to win the lottery, everybody wants
[1:31] Speaker 1: to get wealth immediately. But what we're talking about is
[1:37] Speaker 1: a plan. And with that being said, tell us a
[1:40] Speaker 1: little bit about your background. Mark.
[1:42] Speaker 2: Yeah, so I grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, and my
[1:47] Speaker 2: dream was really always to work on Wall Street. And
[1:50] Speaker 2: I had the opportunity to play college soccer at a
[1:53] Speaker 2: university called Buckdale University up in Pennsylvania, and I did
[1:58] Speaker 2: know that a lot of alumnially ended up on Wall Street,
[2:01] Speaker 2: and so spent four years there. And my first job
[2:06] Speaker 2: was at a firm called Lehman Brothers.
[2:08] Speaker 1: Rashon.
[2:08] Speaker 2: I don't know if you remember that firm from the
[2:10] Speaker 2: financial I do, and it was quite an experience. I
[2:16] Speaker 2: was on the trading desk during the whole financial crisis,
[2:20] Speaker 2: and so as a young professional, you know, I learned
[2:24] Speaker 2: risk very quickly seeing it happen in real time. And
[2:29] Speaker 2: after the financial crisis, I continued my work with a
[2:32] Speaker 2: firm called Barclay's Capital that purchased Lehman's assets and worked
[2:38] Speaker 2: in Toronto. In our office, I was advising pension funds,
[2:41] Speaker 2: hedge funds, what we call smart money quote unquote, that's
[2:46] Speaker 2: moving the markets every day. But it was always my
[2:49] Speaker 2: dream really to work with high net worth individuals, and
[2:53] Speaker 2: so moved back to Atlanta in twenty fifteen and joined
[2:58] Speaker 2: Haven Wealth Advisor as really the CIO investment consultant, working
[3:04] Speaker 2: with a lot of self made millionaires, business owners. And
[3:09] Speaker 2: really I've been able to utilize my background on the
[3:12] Speaker 2: investment side and incorporate that into financial planning and providing
[3:16] Speaker 2: sound advice to individuals.
[3:19] Speaker 1: Well, ask me, is Mark, are you are a person
[3:22] Speaker 1: who conversation in the world or ventures in the world
[3:24] Speaker 1: of cryptocurrency and bigcoins.
[3:27] Speaker 2: I am familiar with it, yes, And in fact, our
[3:30] Speaker 2: firm is now allowing bitcoin and advisory accounts, and so
[3:38] Speaker 2: you know, I am I'm well versed in it, and
[3:40] Speaker 2: I could, you know, speak a little bit about that
[3:42] Speaker 2: as well.
[3:43] Speaker 1: Well, let's let's start there, because I'm going to be
[3:45] Speaker 1: honest with you, I'm a person that's confused when it
[3:47] Speaker 1: comes to that world. I'm a traditionalist. I know what
[3:51] Speaker 1: an IBM stock he is. I know what a target
[3:53] Speaker 1: stock is, I know what a own depot stock is.
[3:56] Speaker 1: I've been I've had enough experts on this show in
[4:00] Speaker 1: a big corn arena. And then we knowed our current
[4:03] Speaker 1: president is always talking about cryptocurrency. So how does that
[4:07] Speaker 1: work for the investor and how does one get into
[4:10] Speaker 1: the conversation with somebody like you.
[4:14] Speaker 2: Yeah, so I think like every asset class, bitcoin is
[4:18] Speaker 2: considered digital currency. And so when we think about how
[4:21] Speaker 2: we build portfolios, we want to stay diversified. No one
[4:25] Speaker 2: wants to put all their money in one asset class,
[4:27] Speaker 2: whether that's an individual stock a cryptocurrency, and so when
[4:31] Speaker 2: we think about the place in the portfolio for digital assets,
[4:36] Speaker 2: it's really for I would call sophisticated investors that have
[4:41] Speaker 2: a high risk tolerance, that have stable net worth. A
[4:45] Speaker 2: lot of those are the millionaires, and then we typically
[4:48] Speaker 2: don't want to put more than two or three percent
[4:50] Speaker 2: of someone's investment portfolio in this type of an asset.
[4:54] Speaker 2: It's just very hot, it's very highly volatile, as you
[4:58] Speaker 2: could look at the charts historically, and it's not a
[5:01] Speaker 2: great fit for most of our clients. But I understand
[5:05] Speaker 2: the individuals that do want to invest in it. So
[5:07] Speaker 2: that's what I would say about that.
[5:09] Speaker 1: Well, you know, Mark, like anybody, when they see it rising,
[5:12] Speaker 1: they see it. How do you how do you protect
[5:16] Speaker 1: your clients? You know, like I said, they you know,
[5:18] Speaker 1: like you said two percent, they see the growth, then
[5:21] Speaker 1: they want to put more. How do you stop them
[5:24] Speaker 1: from like, Okay, okay, we're winning here, but you don't
[5:27] Speaker 1: want to see the downslair outside of the laws? How
[5:30] Speaker 1: do you protect your clients?
[5:31] Speaker 2: Yes, it's great question. So it's hard to explain to
[5:35] Speaker 2: an individual. You know, fear and greed really drive the markets,
[5:39] Speaker 2: and that's that's in the stock markets, it's in every
[5:43] Speaker 2: asset class. And so what we try and do with
[5:46] Speaker 2: our clients is create a mindset around Okay, you could
[5:50] Speaker 2: potentially double your money, but you could also potentially lose
[5:54] Speaker 2: seventy percent of it, And so that risk parameter helps
[5:59] Speaker 2: them understand is this a good fit for me? Can
[6:02] Speaker 2: I stomach losing seventy percent of my money in this
[6:06] Speaker 2: one asset class. And once you frame it like that,
[6:09] Speaker 2: a lot of people view it as almost the you know, gambling,
[6:13] Speaker 2: you know, And so I think that helps to frame
[6:17] Speaker 2: the conversation. And you know, if someone is still wanting
[6:21] Speaker 2: to own it, we will, you know, make sure that
[6:25] Speaker 2: the rest of the portfolio takes a little bit less
[6:28] Speaker 2: risk or lowers the volatility to offset what we're doing
[6:31] Speaker 2: in the digital currency side. So it's all relative, and
[6:35] Speaker 2: you really have to stress the downside when you're talking
[6:39] Speaker 2: about digital assets and cryptocurrencies.
[6:41] Speaker 1: Let me reintroduce everybody. I'm talking to Mark. He's a
[6:44] Speaker 1: private wealth consultant for Haven Wealth Advisors. Mark, we have
[6:48] Speaker 1: a year. Can you tell my audience are do you
[6:52] Speaker 1: advise people per quarter, per month, what they do at
[6:56] Speaker 1: the top of the year, what they do in the
[6:57] Speaker 1: middle of the year, what they do at the end
[6:59] Speaker 1: of the year. How does that work with you? And
[7:01] Speaker 1: you're sitting down with various clients, are being introduced to
[7:05] Speaker 1: a new client who wants to advise and to come
[7:07] Speaker 1: into your firm.
[7:09] Speaker 2: Yes, great question. So our motto with Haven Wealth Advisors
[7:13] Speaker 2: is helping clients live a great life financially and achieve
[7:17] Speaker 2: their definition of success and success is different to everyone.
[7:20] Speaker 2: Some people with financial success, others it's health success. For us,
[7:25] Speaker 2: we really want to work with our clients from a
[7:27] Speaker 2: holistic perspective. So to answer your question, we believe financial
[7:31] Speaker 2: planning or having a written financial plan, is the first
[7:35] Speaker 2: step towards anything. We won't even build an investment portfolio
[7:40] Speaker 2: until we've established a written financial plan with our client,
[7:43] Speaker 2: and we will review that plan at the beginning of
[7:45] Speaker 2: every calendar year just to make sure there's no changes,
[7:48] Speaker 2: any big expenses, anything that we need to know about.
[7:51] Speaker 1: For the year.
[7:52] Speaker 2: Throughout the course of the year, though, they will interact
[7:54] Speaker 2: with various partners on our team. So I'm the investment specialist.
[7:58] Speaker 2: I meet with all of our clients once twice three
[8:01] Speaker 2: times a year to talk about portfolio strategy. How have
[8:05] Speaker 2: we built the portfolio to align with your financial plan,
[8:09] Speaker 2: and how what changes are we making throughout the year
[8:11] Speaker 2: to you know, work with what's going on, say interest
[8:15] Speaker 2: rates or inflation, or trade or tariffs. These things impact
[8:21] Speaker 2: their portfolios and so my role is to constantly adapt
[8:25] Speaker 2: and evolve as these things happen. And so we think
[8:28] Speaker 2: of the client holistically. Between financial planning investments. And then
[8:33] Speaker 2: the last thing is really risk, and we category as
[8:37] Speaker 2: risk really on the insurance side, and that's protecting gets
[8:40] Speaker 2: the unknown, whether that's life, you know, a sudden death
[8:44] Speaker 2: in the family disability insurance, if you get in a
[8:48] Speaker 2: car accident that's not your control and you can't work anymore.
[8:51] Speaker 2: And then what's what's become more prevalent lately is this
[8:54] Speaker 2: idea of long term care insurance. We're living longer as humans,
[8:58] Speaker 2: and we're starting to see that maybe some things are
[9:02] Speaker 2: going to impact us and that we have to be
[9:04] Speaker 2: in long term care facilities. And unfortunately, Rashan, these facilities
[9:08] Speaker 2: are expensive and they're getting more and so we have
[9:11] Speaker 2: to plan for that, which maybe we didn't have to
[9:13] Speaker 2: plan for twenty thirty years ago.
[9:16] Speaker 1: I'm glad you brought that up, Mark, because that's the
[9:19] Speaker 1: rollover dice that I didn't expect. And how's that happening?
[9:24] Speaker 1: You know, growing up, all you heard was social security.
[9:28] Speaker 1: Get sixty five, you know, and retire. Now you get
[9:32] Speaker 1: to sixty five, you realize there's nothing to live off
[9:35] Speaker 1: of at sixty five that the government will give you.
[9:38] Speaker 1: Then I'm looking at parents, my parents that need my assistant,
[9:43] Speaker 1: But I didn't see that coming. It's almost I was
[9:45] Speaker 1: planning for my retirement but not planning for their care.
[9:49] Speaker 1: That's a shock that we're all living with right now.
[9:52] Speaker 1: How did that happen? Mark?
[9:54] Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean there's various things that have taken place
[9:58] Speaker 2: over the last twenty or thirty that have led to
[10:01] Speaker 2: where we are today. But I think when we work
[10:03] Speaker 2: with our millionaires, the questions that they're asking are a
[10:06] Speaker 2: little bit different than what I guess the average American
[10:09] Speaker 2: is asking these days. So let me just give you
[10:11] Speaker 2: an example. Our high net worth clients are typically asking
[10:15] Speaker 2: questions like, is it possible that I could outlive my savings?
[10:19] Speaker 2: How will taxes impact me in retirement? And then how
[10:22] Speaker 2: can I plan for potential long term care needs? So
[10:25] Speaker 2: I would summarize all three of those questions. Is taking
[10:28] Speaker 2: control of your own financial situation? I'm in control? How
[10:32] Speaker 2: do I adapt to these areas? The flip side is
[10:36] Speaker 2: most Americans are really worried about exactly what you said.
[10:39] Speaker 2: Will social Security be there when I qualify for it?
[10:43] Speaker 2: How much money do I actually need a retirement? Because
[10:45] Speaker 2: inflation keeps going up and my paycheck isn't necessarily keeping
[10:49] Speaker 2: up with it. And so those are things I would
[10:52] Speaker 2: say are out of your control and that you would
[10:54] Speaker 2: worry about. And so I think getting back to what
[10:57] Speaker 2: makes a self made millionaire, it's taking control of your
[11:01] Speaker 2: own financial destiny. It's having clarity and discipline around what
[11:06] Speaker 2: it really takes to be retired and how do I
[11:09] Speaker 2: get there.
[11:10] Speaker 1: Well, here's the question, what is the millionaire to you?
[11:13] Speaker 1: And what because you know you have insurance policy million dollars,
[11:17] Speaker 1: you can be a millionaire. To have this conversation with you,
[11:20] Speaker 1: let's define what a millionaire When you say, and I'm
[11:23] Speaker 1: not trying to give away asset reports here, but when
[11:27] Speaker 1: you say it and my clients hear it, are my
[11:29] Speaker 1: listeners here? They need to have a clear understanding when
[11:32] Speaker 1: they contact you. This is the parameter.
[11:36] Speaker 2: So most of the what I would call millionaires are
[11:40] Speaker 2: really defined as not outliving your savings. And so I
[11:44] Speaker 2: would say it's a different number for everyone. It really
[11:48] Speaker 2: depends on your spending. And our senior partner, Mac likes
[11:52] Speaker 2: to say, you know, every dollar needs a job description
[11:57] Speaker 2: and we have to, you know, make sure we build
[12:00] Speaker 2: the portfolios that will be there and be able to
[12:03] Speaker 2: provide the rates of return for your spending habits. Everyone
[12:07] Speaker 2: talked about the four percent withdrawal rule, but if you're
[12:10] Speaker 2: withdrawing seven or eight percent, you're eventually gonna round of money.
[12:14] Speaker 2: And so our goals is really really to have you
[12:17] Speaker 2: live the same, if not better life in retirement that
[12:21] Speaker 2: you do today while you're working. That that would be
[12:23] Speaker 2: my definition of successfully retired is living a same or
[12:27] Speaker 2: better lifestyle in retirement that you do today while you're working.
[12:31] Speaker 1: Well, you know, the interesting thing about living a life
[12:34] Speaker 1: is in retirement is a living life? Are you living today?
[12:39] Speaker 2: You know?
[12:39] Speaker 1: Because again if you if you live in a life
[12:42] Speaker 1: especially you have eight million dollars in the bank and
[12:43] Speaker 1: you live in all of four percent of that, Well,
[12:45] Speaker 1: guess what when you retire, you go away or you
[12:48] Speaker 1: die that eight million dollars. So I kind of want
[12:51] Speaker 1: to live my life. I want to like I would
[12:53] Speaker 1: like I want to put a little bit more than
[12:55] Speaker 1: that four percent. I'm the seven percent guy, seven percent
[12:58] Speaker 1: guy Mark. So with that being said, I want to
[13:02] Speaker 1: know how I can balance that, And that's what we're
[13:04] Speaker 1: talking about on this interviews. That balance. Let's talk about taxes,
[13:08] Speaker 1: because that's my that's my enemy, you know, my enemy
[13:11] Speaker 1: is the tax man. And when I come to you,
[13:14] Speaker 1: how do you protect me from the tax man because
[13:16] Speaker 1: he's killing me every year?
[13:18] Speaker 2: Mark Yes, and uh Rushawan just to tell you, I
[13:22] Speaker 2: haven't met one person that likes to pay taxes, So
[13:24] Speaker 2: you're not You're not the only person. You know. I
[13:27] Speaker 2: think there's things that you can control every day. And
[13:30] Speaker 2: when we build portfolios, we're really conscious around where we
[13:35] Speaker 2: put the put the investment assets based off of are
[13:38] Speaker 2: they taxed this dividend income, do they get capital gains treatment?
[13:42] Speaker 2: We do a lot of tax loss harvesting and non
[13:45] Speaker 2: qualified accounts. So these are things that we would say
[13:48] Speaker 2: are in our control every day to help you offset taxes. Now, millionaires,
[13:54] Speaker 2: the biggest question is really the estate tax and transferring
[13:59] Speaker 2: that wealth to their kids and grandkids in a tax
[14:02] Speaker 2: efficient manner. And so that really goes back to having
[14:05] Speaker 2: a financial plan. There's various tools and products that we
[14:09] Speaker 2: utilize that can help you, you know, move some of
[14:13] Speaker 2: those assets out of your state from a tax perspective,
[14:17] Speaker 2: and so that is really something that over the last
[14:20] Speaker 2: five years we've really been working a lot more with clients.
[14:23] Speaker 2: Is this whole idea of how do I transfer my
[14:26] Speaker 2: wealth in a tax efficient manner. So I think that's
[14:29] Speaker 2: a great question.
[14:31] Speaker 1: Well, you know the thing about it is that you know,
[14:33] Speaker 1: I will send a series of questions, and they were
[14:35] Speaker 1: a really good questions. I want to ask some of
[14:37] Speaker 1: them because I think they are reflective of my thought process,
[14:40] Speaker 1: because people who have money think a certain way, and
[14:43] Speaker 1: people who don't have money or want to have money
[14:45] Speaker 1: thinks a certain way. And one of the questions is
[14:47] Speaker 1: that's start off was seventy percent, seventy four percent of
[14:51] Speaker 1: millionaires collaborate with financial advisors compared to just thirty four
[14:56] Speaker 1: percent of the general population, which I'll tell you thirty
[14:59] Speaker 1: four percent was shockingly high. I didn't believe that was
[15:02] Speaker 1: that high. So let's explain to everybody what a financial
[15:05] Speaker 1: advisor is and why is it such a disparity between
[15:09] Speaker 1: people who have money and people who don't have money
[15:12] Speaker 1: but aspire to get money.
[15:15] Speaker 2: Yes, I think it goes back to really the mindset
[15:19] Speaker 2: of millionaires. They're very clear, they're disciplined, they like advice,
[15:24] Speaker 2: and they're optimistic. And so when we think about that
[15:28] Speaker 2: number that you threw out, the seventy four percent working
[15:31] Speaker 2: with advisors, they view us as part of their team.
[15:35] Speaker 2: We're basically the CFOs and they're the CEOs. To put
[15:38] Speaker 2: it another way, and you know, successful people they utilize
[15:44] Speaker 2: fitness coaches, all kinds of self help needs because they
[15:48] Speaker 2: know they can't do it on their own. And I
[15:49] Speaker 2: would say financial planning is one of those areas that
[15:53] Speaker 2: it's probably not most people's core competence. They are very
[15:57] Speaker 2: good at other things. They've obviously been able to make
[16:00] Speaker 2: a lot of money being skilled and talented in something,
[16:03] Speaker 2: but not everyone's good at everything. And so I think
[16:06] Speaker 2: having retirement confidence, being able to put your you know,
[16:11] Speaker 2: wealth in someone else's hands that has done this. It's
[16:14] Speaker 2: scary at first, but I think that the data shows
[16:18] Speaker 2: you that over time it builds confidence, and it's repetition
[16:22] Speaker 2: and it's disciplined, it's savings, and so I think, you know,
[16:26] Speaker 2: that's the most valuable part of an advisor is we
[16:28] Speaker 2: are that coach or part of your team, and we're
[16:31] Speaker 2: helping you not make mistakes. And so that's how I
[16:34] Speaker 2: would I would do you a financial advisor.
[16:36] Speaker 3: Please don't go anywhere, We'll be right back with more
[16:39] Speaker 3: money making conversations, masterclass. No need for you to do
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[17:05] Speaker 3: Master Lass with me Rashaun McDonald.
[17:07] Speaker 1: I remember when I went from just a regular tax
[17:11] Speaker 1: person to an actual CPA and I freaked out on
[17:17] Speaker 1: the tax bill. You know, but in this business, you
[17:21] Speaker 1: have to spend money to keep money, just not make money,
[17:26] Speaker 1: just to keep your money. And then the process of
[17:28] Speaker 1: keeping you money, then you go and make more money,
[17:31] Speaker 1: or you invest, or you collaborate in situations that spend
[17:35] Speaker 1: your spend, allow you to spend your money wisely. And
[17:38] Speaker 1: when I did, you know what keeps getting missed in
[17:41] Speaker 1: this whole operation is that is people want to make money,
[17:46] Speaker 1: but they tend to block out. And I think that's
[17:49] Speaker 1: what the thirty four percent is. They don't understand the
[17:52] Speaker 1: value of a financial advisor. What cost you but he
[17:57] Speaker 1: will benefit you? And that keeps that to four percent
[18:00] Speaker 1: numbers so low. And like I said, that number is
[18:03] Speaker 1: shockingly high to me. I thought it'd being the low teens,
[18:06] Speaker 1: be honest with you because of the fact that how
[18:09] Speaker 1: do you make that next step? Mark, How does one
[18:12] Speaker 1: make a next step to call you to contact you?
[18:14] Speaker 1: So that percentage that want to be in the millionaire
[18:17] Speaker 1: club is stuck on the financial commitment that they have
[18:20] Speaker 1: to make to be in that club.
[18:23] Speaker 2: Yes, I think it's a two way street. And so,
[18:27] Speaker 2: like with anything, you have to want to commit. We
[18:30] Speaker 2: have most of our clients, so we meet with probably
[18:34] Speaker 2: thousands of prospects throughout the year, but we don't on
[18:37] Speaker 2: board all of those to become clients because one of
[18:40] Speaker 2: the things that we don't want is someone that comes
[18:43] Speaker 2: on board, works with our team and doesn't listen to
[18:46] Speaker 2: any of our advice. And as fiduciaries, we have to
[18:50] Speaker 2: do with in your best interest, and so we really
[18:52] Speaker 2: want to work with clients that we can be equally
[18:55] Speaker 2: yoked to and help them over time. And so I think,
[19:00] Speaker 2: you know, how can you get in touch with us?
[19:02] Speaker 2: I would say online, if you look at Haven Wealth
[19:05] Speaker 2: Advisors in my name, Mark Mascarinus, that takes you to
[19:09] Speaker 2: our website. So that would be the first step and
[19:11] Speaker 2: then I'd be happy, you know, to schedule an introduction
[19:15] Speaker 2: meeting and tell you the various ways that we work
[19:18] Speaker 2: with clients, and it can be in different ways. Our
[19:21] Speaker 2: business owners we have a different relationship with then say
[19:25] Speaker 2: high net worth clients that have inherited their money from
[19:29] Speaker 2: their parents or grandparents. It's a totally different financial plan
[19:33] Speaker 2: and the way we work with them. And so we're
[19:36] Speaker 2: open to all successful people. But I think the key
[19:38] Speaker 2: thing with all of our clients is they trust us
[19:41] Speaker 2: and they appreciate what we do. And I think that's
[19:44] Speaker 2: really important when we think about a client relationship.
[19:48] Speaker 1: And the words you just say that, I think it's
[19:49] Speaker 1: really important that we need to bring to the fuductioniary
[19:52] Speaker 1: because that means that you, the client win. That's how
[19:55] Speaker 1: you win. Explain everybody what that means.
[19:59] Speaker 2: Yes, and so if the client, so, the way our
[20:04] Speaker 2: relationship works is, you know, we make more money when
[20:07] Speaker 2: the client makes more money. You know, as a fiduciary,
[20:11] Speaker 2: we have to do what's in your best interest. So,
[20:13] Speaker 2: going back to your bitcoin question at the beginning, it's
[20:16] Speaker 2: not a good idea to put more than two or
[20:19] Speaker 2: three percent in your money, even though the client says
[20:22] Speaker 2: I want to do that, because I don't look at
[20:24] Speaker 2: an orange, and I don't want to go to jail,
[20:26] Speaker 2: so I have to do what's in my best interest.
[20:29] Speaker 2: You know, what's what's in the client's best interest, and
[20:31] Speaker 2: so I think that mindset, establishing that trust is really important.
[20:36] Speaker 2: And then once the client sees the process and starts
[20:40] Speaker 2: to see how the rates of return work, both in
[20:42] Speaker 2: good markets and bad markets, how we adjust the financial plan. Unfortunately,
[20:47] Speaker 2: we've had several death claims and long term care issues
[20:52] Speaker 2: that have come up this year, and just seeing how
[20:54] Speaker 2: we handle that. Clients really appreciate it, especially during their
[20:58] Speaker 2: worst periods of time when they've suffered a death in
[21:01] Speaker 2: the family or realize they have long term term care event.
[21:05] Speaker 2: They really depend on us and we don't want to
[21:07] Speaker 2: let them down.
[21:09] Speaker 1: Well, it was really important as we talked through this
[21:11] Speaker 1: conversation with Mark about financial planning financial live advisors, they
[21:15] Speaker 1: state planning. But the one thing I know is that
[21:18] Speaker 1: it's about clarity. And like one of your questions was,
[21:21] Speaker 1: eighty eight percent of American millionaires have good clarity on
[21:24] Speaker 1: exactly how much they can spend now versus what they
[21:27] Speaker 1: need to say for later. What are you saying that?
[21:30] Speaker 1: Explain it to me?
[21:32] Speaker 2: Yeah, So what that really means is those eighty eight
[21:36] Speaker 2: percent most likely have a written financial plan, and so
[21:40] Speaker 2: think of it as a glide path. And when we
[21:43] Speaker 2: run our financial plans, we're using relatively conservative rates of
[21:47] Speaker 2: return five six seven percent, and we can model that
[21:51] Speaker 2: out based off of what your anticipated spending habits are.
[21:55] Speaker 2: And so that visibility and that clarity is what tells
[21:59] Speaker 2: clients and given year, Okay, if I want to go
[22:01] Speaker 2: on this vacation, I know I can do it because
[22:04] Speaker 2: their financial plan says I can. In a bad financial year,
[22:09] Speaker 2: maybe they don't go on that cruise, maybe they drive
[22:11] Speaker 2: to the mountains, and so they get that clarity every year.
[22:16] Speaker 2: And so that would be what I would say for
[22:18] Speaker 2: the retired folks. And then the accumulators are the emerging
[22:21] Speaker 2: affluent as we call them. Saving is important, not spending
[22:26] Speaker 2: all your money, identifying how to save. Do I how
[22:29] Speaker 2: much do I put in an IRA A WROTH account?
[22:32] Speaker 2: How much do I put my four to OHO one
[22:33] Speaker 2: K taxable account? And so during the wealth accumulation stage,
[22:37] Speaker 2: it's really about telling them how much to save so
[22:41] Speaker 2: that they can get to that millionaire status and be
[22:43] Speaker 2: successfully retired.
[22:45] Speaker 1: Yeah, here's the interesting conversation. Mark is about because of
[22:49] Speaker 1: the era we live in, social media, YouTubers and all that,
[22:53] Speaker 1: millionaires a lot younger, Yeah, which means that when you're
[22:58] Speaker 1: a lot younger and you're getting money, you don't look
[23:00] Speaker 1: at forty and you don't actually see forty, You actually
[23:03] Speaker 1: don't see fifty or sixty. You can have a general
[23:06] Speaker 1: tendency to live your life today and not worry about
[23:10] Speaker 1: long term care. Now, with that being said, how do
[23:14] Speaker 1: you look at the new millionaire that you're dealing with
[23:17] Speaker 1: now versus the millionaire that was being born or created
[23:21] Speaker 1: ten years ago?
[23:24] Speaker 2: Great question, And Rashaan, I throw athletes in nil money
[23:27] Speaker 2: in there as well, because they're getting paychecks more than
[23:33] Speaker 2: a lot of people in the forties and fifties right now,
[23:35] Speaker 2: and they're in high school or college. So, you know,
[23:39] Speaker 2: I think it's a couple of things. So the first
[23:41] Speaker 2: is just getting money in an early age. It's tough
[23:44] Speaker 2: because they haven't had that education. A lot of universities
[23:48] Speaker 2: and colleges don't even teach how to save money and
[23:51] Speaker 2: manage money, and so I think it's a lack of
[23:53] Speaker 2: education at an early stage. But the second thing is
[23:56] Speaker 2: I feel like the next generation is really into experiences,
[24:00] Speaker 2: and that's what social media, you know, always comparing yourself
[24:05] Speaker 2: to people maybe you know in your social circle, or
[24:07] Speaker 2: maybe people that you don't know, and you just want
[24:09] Speaker 2: to be like them. And it's creating this dangerous lifestyle
[24:13] Speaker 2: creep where people keep spending more money and more money
[24:16] Speaker 2: and not saving because they want to keep up with
[24:18] Speaker 2: whoever they're following on Instagram. So I think those two
[24:23] Speaker 2: things are something that need to be addressed. And so
[24:27] Speaker 2: when we meet with our clients and their kids, the
[24:31] Speaker 2: number one question is can you provide some ideas or
[24:34] Speaker 2: meet with them on how they can, you know, be
[24:36] Speaker 2: financially disciplined. And that's so that's one area that we
[24:41] Speaker 2: work with the kids of our clients is just really
[24:43] Speaker 2: educating them on how to save money, why it's important,
[24:47] Speaker 2: the power of compounding, so that you know that one
[24:50] Speaker 2: hundred dollars thing you're about to buy, if you were
[24:52] Speaker 2: to compound that at five percent over twenty years, it
[24:54] Speaker 2: becomes a lot more expensive.
[24:56] Speaker 1: I tell you that that word was used to make
[25:00] Speaker 1: in my thirties and I didn't understand it. I wish
[25:03] Speaker 1: I would have heard it a lot clearer. Can you
[25:05] Speaker 1: explain to everybody who's listened to power of compounded interest?
[25:10] Speaker 2: Mark, Yes, the power of compounding is really how millionaires
[25:15] Speaker 2: become millionaires because they're disciplined. So they're putting money in,
[25:19] Speaker 2: they're saving, they're not pulling it out, and the market
[25:22] Speaker 2: just let the market do its thing. I think the
[25:24] Speaker 2: statistics are seventy four seventy two percent of the time
[25:28] Speaker 2: the stock market is higher in a given year. And
[25:30] Speaker 2: so if you were to go to a casino and
[25:32] Speaker 2: say I could win seventy two percent of the time,
[25:34] Speaker 2: would you play that game. Yes, you have to be patient,
[25:38] Speaker 2: you have to be disciplined, and during that other thirty
[25:41] Speaker 2: percent of the time when the market is down, you
[25:43] Speaker 2: still have to be patient, and you have to be
[25:45] Speaker 2: willing to add more money into the portfolio. And over time,
[25:50] Speaker 2: you let the rates of return five, six, seven, eight,
[25:53] Speaker 2: ninety ten just keep compounding, adding on to each other.
[25:57] Speaker 2: Where I think it gets a little bit dangerous is
[26:01] Speaker 2: people have a great year, they go and spend whatever
[26:03] Speaker 2: they made in their portfolios, and that's really set them back.
[26:07] Speaker 2: It's that is not compounding, That is spending what you gained.
[26:10] Speaker 2: And so we're trying to teach people just pretend like
[26:13] Speaker 2: that money doesn't exist, and just wake up twenty thirty
[26:16] Speaker 2: years from now and you'll be very surprised.
[26:19] Speaker 1: And that's why the discipline and that's word I've used
[26:22] Speaker 1: to You've used it a lot. And you know we
[26:24] Speaker 1: look at uh, we look at our age, you know.
[26:27] Speaker 1: I how we look at life at thirty is different
[26:31] Speaker 1: from fifties to sixty. And let's talk to as we
[26:33] Speaker 1: close out this interview, Let's start talking about age because
[26:36] Speaker 1: we use the word long term care, yes, and what
[26:38] Speaker 1: age do you start thinking about long term care? Because
[26:42] Speaker 1: that's a lifestyle that you plan for. You know, that's
[26:45] Speaker 1: not a lifestyle. Because I repeat this to everybody who's listening.
[26:49] Speaker 1: Social security is not an asset. It is a disappointment
[26:54] Speaker 1: if you if you think that is something out there
[26:57] Speaker 1: waiting for you when you hit a certain age in
[26:59] Speaker 1: this country, there's nothing. So this conversation I'm having with
[27:02] Speaker 1: Mark today is important because it's about planning and having
[27:06] Speaker 1: the discipline to plan. And with that being said, I'm
[27:10] Speaker 1: just trying to stay on this age curve because I
[27:13] Speaker 1: was told in my twenties what to do Mark, and
[27:16] Speaker 1: I didn't listen, and I did some partial investment in
[27:20] Speaker 1: Merrill Lynch and when I took my thirties, but it
[27:23] Speaker 1: was no discipline tied to it. You know, I removed
[27:26] Speaker 1: it when I needed it. And so that's a discipline
[27:28] Speaker 1: you were talking about the lack of consistency. If I
[27:31] Speaker 1: just kept it in there, my life would be different
[27:34] Speaker 1: if I would have just kept it in there. So
[27:36] Speaker 1: let's talk about that financial discipline mark, and also those
[27:39] Speaker 1: tent poles that come along every decade, ten years.
[27:44] Speaker 2: Yes, So what I would tell people starting, you know,
[27:46] Speaker 2: coming out of college or even before that, if you
[27:50] Speaker 2: have the ability to save and put money away, it's
[27:53] Speaker 2: really accumulating wealth in the investment accounts and you know,
[27:57] Speaker 2: just letting it, letting it ride, keep adding to it
[28:00] Speaker 2: every month or whatever frequency. That's what we call wealth accumulation. Now,
[28:04] Speaker 2: on the risk side of the insurance side, certain milestones,
[28:08] Speaker 2: if you will, on the age are pretty relevant. So
[28:11] Speaker 2: I would I always encourage all of our clients, you know,
[28:14] Speaker 2: even at the youngest, maybe twenty one, twenty two years old,
[28:18] Speaker 2: get some term life insurance policy. What that does is
[28:21] Speaker 2: it locks in your health at that age, and so
[28:25] Speaker 2: you have that policy, it stays with you. And so
[28:29] Speaker 2: if something were to happen. That's a way for a
[28:32] Speaker 2: death benefit to be paid to a loved one if
[28:36] Speaker 2: something were to happen. So getting term locked in early
[28:39] Speaker 2: while you're in good health is a really important step.
[28:42] Speaker 2: The other thing that's really important is disability insurance. I
[28:45] Speaker 2: think it's the statistics around thirty to thirty five percent
[28:49] Speaker 2: of people are likely to get in a disability type situation.
[28:54] Speaker 2: And why that's important is that if you're disabled and
[28:57] Speaker 2: can't work, you've now taken away your income iterating years
[29:01] Speaker 2: between now and retirement, and how are you going to
[29:03] Speaker 2: cover that cash flow? And so disability insurance really covers
[29:07] Speaker 2: that if you can't do your job, and so that's
[29:10] Speaker 2: really the second thing. And then to answer your question
[29:13] Speaker 2: of long term care, I would say probably in the
[29:16] Speaker 2: fifties age fifties area, because that's when it's I think
[29:21] Speaker 2: still affordable and you're not having to pay a lot
[29:25] Speaker 2: of years of premiums until you were to have to
[29:28] Speaker 2: use it. So typically we're looking at long term care
[29:31] Speaker 2: when clients in their mid to late fifties. That's what
[29:34] Speaker 2: I would say around that.
[29:35] Speaker 1: Well, that was gonna be my last question mark, but
[29:38] Speaker 1: you hit the insurance. But know me, you said term
[29:42] Speaker 1: life insurance. I'm a whole guy. I'm a universal guy
[29:46] Speaker 1: because you know four percent. You know that was got
[29:49] Speaker 1: me in there. When when everything bottomed Eye of ver
[29:52] Speaker 1: Shawn's money was still making four percent, I was a
[29:54] Speaker 1: happy camper. Now did you hear people like I won't
[29:59] Speaker 1: say any name, tell you those may your money on
[30:02] Speaker 1: the Holy Universal is a waste of time. So I'm
[30:06] Speaker 1: coming to you. You've said the word. You said the
[30:09] Speaker 1: word term life insurance. I understand that. Well, is there
[30:12] Speaker 1: a scare tactic with people who tell you to stay
[30:14] Speaker 1: away from a hole or universal? Or can you educate me?
[30:18] Speaker 1: And when people come to you, how do you talk
[30:20] Speaker 1: to them about insurance? Is it tied just to state planning?
[30:24] Speaker 1: How is it done? Yeah?
[30:26] Speaker 2: So I think the way I look at TERM and
[30:28] Speaker 2: the way we work with our clients on term is
[30:30] Speaker 2: it's a low cost way to basically lock in good health.
[30:34] Speaker 2: And with all most term policies you have the conversion
[30:39] Speaker 2: period down the road, and so it gives you optionality
[30:42] Speaker 2: down the road. If you do want to convert to
[30:44] Speaker 2: a whole life policy, you have that and your health
[30:47] Speaker 2: class stays the same. When I think where whole life
[30:50] Speaker 2: comes in, and I personally have a whole life policy,
[30:53] Speaker 2: and so I'll just give you my own experience. I
[30:56] Speaker 2: view it as you know, a one of those break
[30:58] Speaker 2: glass in case of emergency, the type buckets. Not only
[31:02] Speaker 2: does the death benefit of the policy stay with me
[31:05] Speaker 2: beyond when the term would normally expire, but it provides
[31:08] Speaker 2: me with living benefit. And so I have cash values,
[31:11] Speaker 2: as you mentioned, that are compounding, you know, as long
[31:15] Speaker 2: as Northwestern Mutual pays the dividend, and so think of
[31:19] Speaker 2: that as you know, a stable asset and every year,
[31:24] Speaker 2: if they were to pay a dividend, it's just going
[31:26] Speaker 2: to compound and grow over time. And I personally like
[31:29] Speaker 2: it because when I look at bonds, they fluctuate. I mean,
[31:33] Speaker 2: look at twenty twenty two, bond market was down thirteen
[31:36] Speaker 2: fourteen to fifteen percent in a year. So it's hard
[31:39] Speaker 2: to in my experience, it's hard to argue against something
[31:43] Speaker 2: that has been pretty stable and continue to grow over time.
[31:47] Speaker 2: And oh, by the way, it provides me, my wife
[31:50] Speaker 2: and kid with a death benefit if something were to
[31:52] Speaker 2: happen to me. So I'm a proponent of it.
[31:55] Speaker 1: Absolutely. You keep dropping these little buzzwords. I'm trying to
[31:59] Speaker 1: end it as in view dividend payments now Prudential. My
[32:05] Speaker 1: best friend in college, he gave me a Prudential insurance
[32:10] Speaker 1: and he don't even work with Potential anymore. I think
[32:12] Speaker 1: he was just I was just a guy.
[32:13] Speaker 2: You know.
[32:14] Speaker 1: They say, when you do something, you sell to your
[32:15] Speaker 1: family members and your friends and then you just get
[32:17] Speaker 1: out And I'll be getting a diffidend payment at least
[32:22] Speaker 1: twice a year for least thirty years. What are the
[32:27] Speaker 1: benefits of that and how can one seek out those
[32:31] Speaker 1: opportunities when they come to talk to you.
[32:33] Speaker 2: Mark, Yeah, So when we meet with a prospect, we
[32:36] Speaker 2: do what's called a FactFinder, and so that is really
[32:39] Speaker 2: asking a lot of in depth questions around their personal
[32:42] Speaker 2: financial situation. What's important to them, what are their financial goals,
[32:46] Speaker 2: what are they concerned about? And that's where insurance really
[32:49] Speaker 2: comes in. A lot of people are concerned about early
[32:51] Speaker 2: death and what is my loved one going to do
[32:53] Speaker 2: when I passed away? Am I gonna outlive my money?
[32:57] Speaker 2: So long term care? What if I got in a
[32:59] Speaker 2: car accident, I can't go to work, disability? And so
[33:02] Speaker 2: it comes up in conversations as part of the financial plan.
[33:06] Speaker 2: But We don't lead with insurance. If it fits within
[33:09] Speaker 2: the individual's financial plan, we recommend it, and that individual
[33:14] Speaker 2: can still say no. We have clients to say no
[33:16] Speaker 2: all the time, but we provide a reason to do
[33:19] Speaker 2: it and what our rationale is, and so we view
[33:23] Speaker 2: it as a valuable part of a comprehensive financial plan.
[33:28] Speaker 1: Wow, he has Wall Street's experience. It spans more than
[33:30] Speaker 1: fifteen years. He's a consultant, private wealth consultant and having
[33:34] Speaker 1: wealth advisors. More importantly, you did a stutter on any
[33:39] Speaker 1: question I asked you some questions. Wasn't even on this
[33:41] Speaker 1: piece of paper here, Mark, And I appreciate you responding
[33:44] Speaker 1: because of the fact that you know on my show
[33:46] Speaker 1: Money Made Conversation. I want people to do their research,
[33:50] Speaker 1: I want people to contact you, but more importantly, I
[33:52] Speaker 1: want to give them options, and that's why I brought
[33:54] Speaker 1: you on the show. Option to make an opportunity to
[33:58] Speaker 1: live better. And also I feel boxed in because they
[34:02] Speaker 1: being in the day with mass commercials on TV, and
[34:04] Speaker 1: those are not always the best plan to pursue. But again,
[34:08] Speaker 1: your honest conversation will go a long way to driving
[34:11] Speaker 1: traffic and honesty and long term care in the Financial Areada.
[34:15] Speaker 1: Thank you for coming on Money Making Conversation Masterclass.
[34:18] Speaker 2: Well, thank you Rashaun for having me, and thank you
[34:20] Speaker 2: to all listening for your time today.
[34:23] Speaker 1: Thank you for listening to this episode. No, I need
[34:25] Speaker 1: for you to do me a favor right now to
[34:28] Speaker 1: follow or subscribe to Money Making Conversation. It's free and
[34:32] Speaker 1: you can find it on the iHeartRadio app, Spotify, Apple Podcasts,
[34:37] Speaker 1: or wherever you get your podcasts. Please do me that favor,
[34:41] Speaker 1: follow or subscribe money Making Conversations. Keep winning

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