686. Expert Interview: Building Wealth and Independence with Peace of Mind

Chad Free

Chad Free is an entrepreneur who took two companies to a seven-figure market. A graduate of Clemson University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications, with an emphasis in business, sales and marketing, he’s the owner of The Free Group, LLC, and best-selling author of “Wake Up Your Retirement: A Guide to Make Your Financial Dreams a Reality.” As a wealth strategist, his company provides strategies that focus on the client’s needs and addresses their concerns about increasing taxes, market volatility and out living their money. He understands the burden and pressure that come from handling finances. So, he wrote the book, “Wake Up Your Retirement,” to give individuals hope and confidence that they can increase their wealth.

Building Wealth and Independence with Peace of Mind

“The old way of retiring is like a three-legged stool. You had company pensions, Social Security, and personal savings. People realize that company pensions don’t exist anymore. That used to be your guaranteed lifetime income. Added to that, we are living a lot longer. A lot of Americans are more scared of outliving their money than they are of dying. That’s one of the challenges I address in my approach to building wealth and independence with peace of mind.”

Why Is This Important?

You don’t have to be rich, but if you understand how money works, there is an obvious correlation to happiness. “Two recent polls, one by Gallup and one by USA Today, were taken completely independently of one another. The Gallup poll said that the United States is ranked 14th in financial literacy and in understanding how money works. The USA Today poll measured the happiest countries in the world. Would you believe that the United States of America was also 14th? A similar correlation between financial literacy and happiness was found among most of the other countries surveyed. Financial literacy is a key component of peace of mind and happiness.”

What Are the Key Lessons Learned Here?

“The number one priority is that everybody needs to start out by assessing where they are. An assessment will show you what is your retirement gap. We look at your expectations to see how they line up with where you are right now. Through questions and conversations, we figure out how to find the money to bridge the gap in your retirement. Even more important, we help you develop a plan so that you will have a flow of money that you can’t outlive.”