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.

Show Notes:

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<3:53> Headlines

• Financial Headwinds For Today’s Investors (Forbes)
• Midsize broker-dealer in Atlanta to shut down (InvestmentNews)

<22:44> Chris Varelas

A big thanks to Chris for stopping by the basement today. You can find Chris’s book wherever books are sold, or through his website: HowMoneyBecameDangerous.com

<58:35> Doug’s Trivia

• What NFL team was actually the first to end a season undefeated?

<1:04:46> Haven Life Line

• Colton calls in with a question about paying off bills with his pension. He 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. The pension would grow to about $15,000 in retirement. Should he use the pension, which has a lower interest rate than the bills, to pay off his debts?

Want the guys to answer your question? You can call into the Haven Life Line and get your question answered on-air HERE.

Join us Wednesday!

You’ll DEFINITELY want to tune into our Wednesday show. We’ll be covering some of our favorite interview moments from this past year.