Why Money Still Feels Confusing

Most of us were never taught how money actually works. We learned how to earn it, maybe how to spend it, but the deeper relationship with it, the choices, the habits, the mindset that separates the people who build wealth from the ones who wonder where it all went. That part was left out of the curriculum entirely. Today's guest made it his life's work to fill that gap. And this conversation is going to be one that you come back to. Welcome to Healthy Mind, Healthy Life, where we talk about the things that genuinely shape how we feel, how we function, and how we show up in our lives every single day. I am Archita, and I'm so glad you're here. My guest today is Tony Bradshaw, author of The Millionaire Choice, host of The Millionaire Choice Show, and founder of the Purpose of World of Life events series. With over 25 years of business leadership experience, including helping scale a company from 3 million to 125 million dollars. Tony now helps everyday people get money smart and business smart, starting with the choices they make today. We are talking about something that touches all of us, what it really means to build a healthy relationship with money and how getting that right changes everything else in your life too. So, Tony, welcome to Healthy Mind, Healthy Life. I am so glad to have you with us.

Yeah, thanks for having me on, Archie. Definitely.

Thank you for being here because this conversation is going to change a lot of things for a lot of people out there. So I'm really excited to dive into it. But before we start, there is a gentle disclaimer to the listeners. Some statements reflect personal belief and experiences and are presented as individual views, not medical advice. So listeners should consult qualified professionals for medical conditions. And now that we have this out of the way without wasting any more time, let's dive into the conversation, Tony.

Tony’s Wake Up Call With Debt

And um, before we get into the frameworks and the smart strategies, I want to go back to the beginning for a moment. So Tony, you became deeply interested in wealth building and financial literacy at a point in your own life. And that eventually led to writing the millionaire choice. So was there a specific moment, a realization maybe, or a turning point in your life that made you think that this is what I need to put into the world?

Yeah, absolutely. I I think it happened in two stages for me. So when uh you know, I grew up in a low-income family, uh, bills weren't getting paid, water was getting cut off, power was getting cut off, and then I went to college and got out of college and continued doing the same things my parents did. So I spent all my money, went into debt. And then when I got my first W-2, which was my tax form out of college, um I looked at it and I had made $39,000 and I was broke. And so I had 16, I was $16,000 in debt and um had no money in my bank account. So when that happened, I really stood up, took notice, and went, wow, this is not good. I made $39,000 last year. I literally have no money and uh and I'm in debt. So I started trying to figure out how money worked. I started learning about money. I started reading books, magazines, um, and just trying to understand what I had done wrong. And so very shortly after that, it didn't take very long, about 90 days, to go from being nut, you know, being ignorant about money and how it worked to actually understanding a little bit and making a shift. And so the shift was I went from uh spending all my money and then some, you know, an extra, but to also uh switched to saving money and investing money and uh, you know, just living money. So I basically broke my budget down into three pieces and instead of spending, you know, $3,000 a month, I actually started living off of a thousand, started paying debt with a thousand, and then started investing a thousand dollars a month. And so my main debt was uh, you know, a couple credit cards, about two thousand, three thousand dollars on credit cards. So I was able to get rid of that pretty fast. And then I started paying uh on my car to pay my car off. And so I started paying, you know, two or three car notes a month. Uh my car note was around $315 a month. So instead of paying one car note a month, I started paying two or three a month and uh was able to pay that off pretty quickly within a you know short period of time. I think it was about 18 months before I had everything paid off. And then I had $18,000 roughly in investments. And uh so most of that was in mutual funds, um, some in stocks, but mostly in mutual funds. And so that was the kind of the beginning of where things changed for me. And then at that time, I also uh when I sat down to do my plan, I'm a planner, so I sat down with a spreadsheet and I started taking this new money plan and trying to figure out what it looks like in the future. And what I figured out was that uh I could be a millionaire at some point in the future. And at that point for me was about 40 years old to be a billionaire by age 40. And I was planning to live off my investments at age 40. So instead of working a job, but actually, you know, living off of passive income. So that was the plan. That's what I worked on. Uh, I did not plan on having a wife that had $20,000 in debt. I did not plan on having six children and uh paying $1,500 for diapers for each child. So those were not part of the plan. But the the interesting thing was I was able to do enough in those early days to get moving in the right direction. And then uh it was a little bit later I went to work for a gentleman named Dave Ramsey, uh, Dave Ramsey personal financial educator, and I spent 15 years working with him uh to build his business, you know, from 3 million to about 125 million. And uh and I learned a lot, learned to learn a lot about business when I was with Dave. And then after I left Dave's, that's when the shift happened to go, hey, I'm I'm writing my own book, I'm doing my own podcast, I'm learning more about money than I did know, and then I'm teaching people what I'm learning. And that was where the really shift happened. That happened in uh 2017, and it just continues to grow. You know, we have a lot of other things that we're doing now. We have an online community that we're teaching people about money in. That's a newer thing that we just launched this year, and then, you know, of course, the couple podcasts, a couple books, things like that. But that's been my journey so far.

That sounds

The Simple Plan That Changed Everything

uh like a roller coaster uh ride, honestly. But those are some really smart financial decisions that you took, Tony. And I think all of us can learn a lot from you because I think most of us have this misconception that we really know how to manage money, but that's just not true. So many of us really don't know how to manage it. We know how to earn it, how to spend it, but how to manage it, that's something that we need to learn. And I'm so glad you're here today to teach us. And you've already started that. I think this is a great place to start this conversation. But it also brings

Why “Millionaire” Triggers Pushback

me to another point. So I'm curious, Tony. Uh, when people hear the word millionaire, there is an immediate reaction. Some people feel inspired, some feel it's not for them, but some uh feel it's almost a morally complicated word. So, what do you think is the biggest misconception people carry about what building wealth actually requires and who it's actually available to?

Yeah, absolutely. I think those are great questions, Archita. Um, you know, when you really look at how things work and how the world's designed, which is it's kind of sad, but you have uh people at the top, which are essentially the bankers. Those are the ones that own the own the real money, they're the ones that control virtually everything. Um, during war times, you have bankers on both sides, you know, for both both parts of the military. So the bankers make money off of wars. They either make it off of the side that wins or the side that loses or both. And so when you understand how the financial system works and who's actually the power behind that financial system, uh things become a lot more clear. So when you look at the central banks across the world, it's the same families that own all the central banks across the world. So they own the financial system for each country. And that means that they control the debt, they control the taxes, they control everything that has to do with money, they control it. And uh, and and that's just a hardcore fact. So you can go research that, people can look it up. And then once you understand that, you start to understand a lot more clearly how things work. So it's my opinion that the reason the world is in the state that it's in is because the wrong people control the wealth. The wrong people control the money. If you had the common people who actually understood money, who actually were taught about money in, you know, elementary school and middle school and in high school and in college, the world would look very different because people would understand wealth, they would understand how to build it, it would be very natural, it would be very ingrained in them. All right. So right now you don't have that. So you have a bunch of people that are studying math, English, and science, but almost nothing about money. So, and money is the one thing that's pervasive across all of our lifetime. So we start making it, you know, at a very young age when you start getting chores, you get starting getting allowance, you upgrade when you become a teenager, you upgrade a little bit more when you go to college or get out of college or whatever job you end up getting. And so you're gonna be making money your entire life, but you understand very little about it. And so, because of that, what happens psychologically is people that don't understand a subject matter tend to dismiss that subject matter. So they try to keep it at a distance. So when you come across somebody like me who knows a little bit more about money, they get uncomfortable having those conversations because they themselves don't have expertise in that field. It almost feels like a foreign language. It's kind of like if you've got two people, one speaks Japanese, one speaks American, they start trying to talk to each other, they it it's very uh disconnected. It's almost like, oh, I don't want to talk to you because you don't speak my language. So therefore you put people the you push people away. It's kind of the same way with money. Um, if you've got somebody who understands money and understands wealth and they're talking to somebody who doesn't, well, the person that doesn't understand it well is not comfortable with it, they tend to dismiss it or push it away. And that's really like a psychological defense mechanism that people have. And so the first thing we gotta do is get comfortable with this conversation about money. We've got to be comfortable talking about it, discussing it with people. It's very different because it's not something that you really do on a daily basis with people you meet. You don't really talk about money. You might talk about your job, you might talk about your family, but you won't talk about necessarily like finances or what you're doing with your finances. And so when you find people that actually learn to build wealth, they're very comfortable about talking about money. They're very comfortable about talking about their investments, about what they're into, where they're going, and different things like that. So it's but they're having a conversation with a group of people that understands that. And it's very, it's a very natural, it's a very natural thing. So in where I'm at with people today, um, I think that we should really start getting educated on personal finances in elementary school, you know, at five years old, you know, and then we should learn the basics by the time we're, you know, in sixth grade. I don't know how the schooling system works where you're at over in India, but whatever the school system is, you you really need to learn the basics by the time you're about 12 years old. Right around that range. And then you can learn uh kind of like middle-tier finance, where you start learning about investments. And so you're, you know, think about like age 13, 14, 15. Uh, you're starting to learn about investing more. So you're growing up with this kind of wealth concept where you're going, oh, it's just natural that I'm gonna be wealthy one day, because it's very natural from the time you grow up. So learn the basics, which is investing, not investing, sp earning, spending, saving, that's kind of like the basics. And then you get into like general investments, which would be um maybe like mutual funds, something like that, retirement planning um at a very young age. Then from there, when you get into the the uh your middle-aged uh school, you know, 13, like I said, 12, 13, 14, 15, you're learning about maybe a little bit more advanced investing. Maybe you're starting to learn about real estate a little bit, maybe you're starting to learn about day trading or stock trading, uh gold and silver in the mix of that. And then you start to get more advanced stuff when you're in high school, which would be like business. You learn about business and how to build a business. Those are the things that I think should be being taught. And then if they're being taught in school, for us adults that didn't get that shot, then we start to understand: hey, I don't even have a sixth grade financial education as an adult. That's where most people are at. Most people don't even have a sixth grade education when it comes to finances. So once you understand that, you can adopt this mindset of uh getting money smart, which is what we teach. It's you know, if you want to be good with money, then you have to learn how money really works. You have to study money. And once you we get to that, you can start studying money, reading about it, learning about it, and then you can start to grow. And that's really where I started, you know, when I was 25 years old. I didn't know anything about money. I was 25, and then I just said, hey, I need to learn about this because obviously I don't know anything about it. And I started reading magazines, reading books, and then continued to do that throughout my life. And then, you know, there's other resources available today. You can get on YouTube or, you know, podcasts and things like that. But uh, that's where you got to start. You got to start with the foundation and then grow into it. But your original question was people that are pushing back. So when I use the word millionaire around people, it's very fascinating because when I use the word millionaire around people that are abundance-minded, they get excited. They're like, oh, I know who you are, I know what you're talking about. Let me tell me more about your book. They're very excited, they're very receptive. When you get around people that are scarcity-minded, they tend to dismiss it. They've had people tell me, Oh, I don't want to be a millionaire. Well, if you don't want to be a millionaire, then you want to be broke because the average house where we live is about a million dollars. So that means you don't want to have a house because you don't want to be a millionaire. So they don't understand that, you know, there's you're saying a certain thing. When you reject the concept of millionaire, you're you're making a statement, you're making a conscious choice in your direction of your life. And that's why I think people are um, they're very averse, and some people, quite a few people, are averse to the concept of millionaire because they feel convicted. And some of it is they don't un, they just don't understand money, so they have to dismiss it. And so that's a that's a defense mechanism. It's a psychological defense mechanism. And uh, you know, there's a concept of, I don't know if you've heard this term before, but uh, you know, money's the root of all evil. Have you heard that before, Archita? Have you heard that? Yeah. Well, that's a misquote because the real quote is for the love of money is the root of all evil. So it's the love of money that's the root of all evil. It's not money, it's not the root of all evil, the love of money. So when you're pursuing wealth just to pursue wealth, or you want money just to have money, there's a lot of evil that can come out of that. And so people take that term, they misquote it, and then they internalize it themselves to go, I don't want to be wealthy because wealthy people are bad. Wealthy people are evil, and it's just not true. You know, there are there are rich people that are bad, there are rich people that are good. There are more rich people that are good than there are rich people that are bad. So you the wonderful thing is you get to choose um, you know, what kind of rich person you are if you go build wealth. You can do good things with your money or you can do bad things.

That's that's beautifully framed, and I I think that makes so much sense. I think the entire curriculum around money needs to be changed because there are just so many misconceptions around the world regarding money, and mostly it's about how evil money is. And I think people who have very little knowledge about money are the ones controlling it in the world, and that is something that needs to be changed. So, yeah, I mean, uh that the tension between choice and circumstance is so real, and I think what you're naming is that while circumstances vary enormously, thinking patterns and the daily decisions to compound over time in ways most people underestimate, and that's a very different conversation than just telling someone to work harder. Uh so yeah, I think the curriculum it needs to change, and people's mindset around um money has to change as well. So I'm really glad you brought that up, Tony.

What We Should Learn In School

Now let's let's talk about what's underneath the surface because money problems are rarely just money problems, are they? Uh, when you work with people who feel stuck financially, uh, what are the deeper patterns you tend to find and what's really going on when someone keeps earning but never quite getting ahead?

Yeah, absolutely. So one of the things I notice with people I talk to about finances and just people in general is uh most people don't have the ability to create a vision for their future. So without a vision, the you know, the Bible says that without a vision, the people perish. So you if you don't have a vision for your future, you're really not gonna go anywhere. You're kind of like gonna be stuck. And that's the word I use is you're stuck. You're kind of doing the same things over and over. You're going to work, you're earning money, you're spending money, you wait, go to sleep, you go, you get up dude all over again. Uh, my dad is 75 years old, still working full-time. So he's uh he's an older gentleman. He should pretty much be retired right now, but he's he's not, you know, and uh and he doesn't really have the money to uh to do the to retire. So, and that's because he he was stuck in a system and he kept living that same system over and over. Now, um, if you don't have a vision, you need to have one. So the first thing you do is you got to get a vision. So if you don't have the power to create a vision yourself, you have to borrow somebody else's vision. So for example, Dave Ramsey, uh, he's very big in the anti-debt space. So when people uh get a halt of Dave, they start learning what he teaches, they're borrowing his vision for their future. His vision says, hey, you can be debt free, you can live a debt-free lifestyle. And then you need to invest 15% in mutual funds in the retirement and uh and grow from there and you know, pay off your house early. So that's his vision for your life. And and it's helped millions and millions of people. But those are for people that don't have a vision for their future. In my case, I crafted a vision for myself, which was hey, I'm gonna get out of debt. I don't like debt. I'm gonna be a millionaire by the time I age 40. And then that's where my vision stopped for a while. And so when I got to that point,

Vision, Investing, And Getting Unstuck

I didn't really know what to do next. And I had needed to craft a bigger vision, which I didn't do at that time. And I have now, I do have a bigger vision now for my future, but it helps you get your bearings on where you want to go and the direction you want to go. Now, for people that don't have a vision, they're stuck in a system of doing the same things over and over. And that's like I said before, you're going to work, you're spending your money, and you're buying things that you don't need. Um, you're not really learning what it means to grow. And you might also be stagnant in your job. So, because if you're comfortable and that a lot of people are comfortable where they can pay their bills, then they get comfortable and they don't grow themselves or they don't do smart things with the money that they're making. And and the concept there is that, you know, it might be good today, but it might not be good tomorrow. So you really should prepare for something that may happen. So, for example, uh most people don't walk around thinking they're gonna lose their job. They they don't really think that way until it actually happens, and then they lose their job. And then they're doing damage control. They may or may not have savings, they may or may not have some investments they can draw on. Um, and so you've got to think that way, I think, to prepare for the future. So that's part of the vision for your future is how do you prepare for a future that is unpredictable? It could be you getting hurt and not being able to work, it could be you losing your job and not being able to have income. Uh, there's a whole lot of different things. So if people thought that way, they would actually invest their money differently, they would spend their money differently, they would they would do different things, you know. And uh the whole concept of, you know, taking every dollar you make, and this is a millionaire concept, taking every dollar you make and then invest it somewhere that's gonna go make you more money. So instead of taking that money and spending it, which is what most people do, you want to take that money and put it somewhere that's gonna make you more money. That could be buying cryptocurrency, it could be buying gold and silver, it could be buying real estate, it could be investing in stocks. I don't know if you guys have a stock market over there, but anything that could go make you more money, you know, starting a business, uh whether that's a convenience store or something that buys and sells, you know, products. But you want to get into those things that actually take your money and make more money. And if you can do that for a period of time, 10 to 20 years, uh, you're gonna end up in a pretty good place, you know, regardless of what life throws at you, whether you lose your job or, you know, become uh you know, disabled or something, whatever happens, you're gonna be more ready for it. And I think that's a concept that we all need to have. Um, I didn't really adopt that concept until maybe the last five years. Um, I should have been doing that for the last 30 years and uh and thinking that way. And uh so I was living in the state where you I just got up and went to work and I made money, I made good money. Um, I was investing my money, but I wasn't investing it with the concept that I was gonna lose my job one day. And uh and that's you know, that was a curveball. And I could have been better, I could have been better prepared for that when it happened.

That's that's definitely true. And um honestly, I think the biggest problem with people is that they don't know how to exactly plan when it comes to money. And investing is something that's not being taught to people much nowadays, but it's so important, especially in today's time. Uh and you know, the the art of passive income. And these things, I think it needs to be taught to more and more people, and more and more people need to be more aware about it. So, uh yes, I think this conversation has helped them do that exactly. So thank you so much, Tony, for educating all of us so much about money and how to handle it in the correct way. And if there's something that I'm taking from this conversation, it's that getting money smart isn't about becoming someone different, it's about making the choice one day at a time to become someone who knows better and then does better. So thank you so much for this conversation, Tony. And uh this has been so practical and so human at the same time, which is exactly what this conversation needed to be.

How To Connect And Next Steps

So for everyone listening who wants to find your books, your show, your events, where is the best place to connect with you and take the next step?

Yeah, absolutely. So uh my website, tonybradshaw.com, is where everything is. I actually have a community right now that we've launched, and we're actually taking free members in for this community. Uh, we're gonna have about 200 members in the community, and then we're gonna shut that down and start charging for it. So if there's anybody that wants to be part of this free community, you just have to reach out to me. You can reach out to me on Facebook or uh, you know, through my email on my website. And if I get your email address, I will send you an invitation for my group, and then you can join this community for free um as we get it off the ground.

Amazing. Thank you so much for sharing all of that, Tony. And we will make sure all those details are included in today's show notes so that it's just one step away, and our listeners can reach out to you whenever they need to. And thank you, Tony, and thank you to everyone who listened today. Whether you're just starting to think about this or you have been on this journey for years, here's the thing about financial health: it is part of mental health. The stress that comes from feeling financially lost touches everything else your sleep, your relationships, your sense of self. So getting money smart isn't just smart, it's an act of care for yourself and the people you love. This is Healthy Mind, Healthy Life. And if this episode sparked something for you, share it with someone who needs to hear it. New conversations come your way regularly wherever you listen to podcasts. Until next time, take care of your mind, your money, and the life you're building.