Justin Stoddart
Welcome back to the Think Bigger Real Estate Show. I'm your host Justin Stoddart and I'm very excited about this episode today, because I think it solves a big problem not only for real estate agents, but for your customers and for America as a whole. There's no doubt that debt is a growing epidemic in our country, and that far too many people in general live off debt. And today we're going to be talking about how you as a real estate agent can start to get more control over your personal finances, so that you can act more as an advisor to your clients. Again, the goal been helping you be an expert and be able to command being a well paid professional. So before we get into that, before I introduce today's guests, I'm going to just reiterate the purpose of this show, which is to help you think bigger because when you think bigger, your actions start to follow suit, and your opportunities and life. Again, follow that and my aim and passion is to help you have a life of great impact, which all require you to start thinking bigger.So, let me begin by introducing a good friend of mine. His name is Rod Cummings, I've known Rod for years. He's an entrepreneur, a professional, someone who I greatly admire and respect that he reached out to me to said, "Hey, Justin, I have a solution for real estate agents that they need to know about." And so I said, hey, let's bring him on the show. I agree with you that that is something that would be a benefit to them for their own life, as well as for helping you be a real differentiator in the marketplace. So I want to introduce Rod Cummings. Thanks for coming on the show today, my friend.
Rod Cummings
Oh, you bet. Thank you for having me on today, Justin. And it's awesome. I, the show that you created, I've watched some of your previous episodes and the impact you're bringing to the real estate marketplace is incredible. So thank you very much. Appreciate it.
Justin Stoddart
Right. So let's get into this topic. Obviously, you kind of you brought it to my attention. Not that I wasn't aware of the problem, but but kind of a solution. Talk a little bit about what we're going to cover today. And who you've brought along with you to help kind of have some additional experts helping us get kind of to the bottom of one way to go about doing this?
Rod Cummings
Well, absolutely. Well, about a year or so ago, I got involved with the two gentlemen that are on the screen here. They are currently associate partners with a company called Symmetry Financial Group and they're also advisory board members and they're very much involved with the launch of a new initiative within Symmetry called Debt Free Life. And when I was exposed to the program, back in February, I got extremely excited about it. And over the course of the last several months, they have been involved in the implementation of it. And when I learned about your podcast, I thought and what's happening the Portland market with the explosion in the real estate, and of course, the associated debt that goes along with it. I thought, Wow, what a better way than to jump on the show with you and explode expose the Portland Realtors and the Portland market to this opportunity and see where it goes.
Justin Stoddart
You know, I appreciate rob you know, it's an interesting from my vantage pointin that I get the chance to work with a lot of different real estate agents. And I think from the outset, people think that if you're a real estate agent that you're rich, right, maybe you drive a nice vehicle, maybe you, you know, people see your signs and stuff around, they see you selling homes. And there's just an assumed this assumption that real estate agents, you know, don't have any concern with money. And I know firsthand because you know, I deal with some, even some great agents who, who struggle with this, and I think everybody struggles with what is the best option for your money. Debt can be a real killer. And so I really appreciate you bringing this to my attention.
Rod Cummings
You bet. You bet. Well, I'll just let you know that both Matt and Brad will be involved the rollout of this new initiative, Debt Free Life, but they've actually had some examples of working with clients that have already put this into practice. And so I can't wait for you to hear what they've been able to do in this short period of time since this initiative launched and the impact that they're having both with in their own businesses and helping other agents like me, you know, able to bring this to the marketplace around the United States. So I'm excited to be to have them on the show today.
Justin Stoddart
Awesome. Well, they look a little bit of like, I don't I don't think that they're related. Haha... I just want everyone to know that's actually not a mirror image, these are actually two separate human beings.
Rod Cummings
I was wondering. Yeah, so we've got Matt Smith and his brother Brad Smith, as you can tell identical twins.
Justin Stoddart
I love it. I love it. Very good. Welcome, gentlemen. Thanks for coming on the show today.
Matt & Brad Smith
Appreciate it, Justin.
Justin Stoddart
Yeah, so let's let's, you know, let's kind of dive into this topic here. You guys probably have some specific stats on on debt. And again, I'm not just picking on real estate agents. This is you know, nationwide. Let's talk a little bit about this debt epidemic that really plagues our our country.
Matt & Brad Smith
Yeah, is an epidemic. I know that firsthand. Personally, I closed the business end of 2012 and I left that business with a lot of debt. And I know firsthand that it affects your stress level, your anxiety, your sleep, it affected my relationships with my family and my spouse, and you know, virtually every aspect of life. And so, you know, we're very passionate about helping people get out of debt, educating people. And we have very specific tools that help people accelerate their debt without spending anything more than they're currently spending. And I want I want to ask any listeners this question, and I want you to think about if you were to ask your clients this question, if I could show you a way to pay off all of your debt in less than your mortgage without spending anything more spend, is that something you'd be interested in seeing? I haven't yet met a person say no to that. And realtors are in a unique position that they're every client that they have versus unless they're paying cash is getting ready to go on debt and it is a thought it is a concern for a lot of people. And and other realtors are always looking for ways to add additional value to their clients to position themselves and differentiate themselves in the marketplace.So that's what we do when we work with realtors and mortgage brokers, with their clients and with themselves to help them pay off debt in an affordable way. Interesting.
Justin Stoddart
I love the topic. Let's Let's ask Matt, would you add anything to that? That that you would say that would kind of open people's eyes is maybe why this is such an important topic?
Matt & Brad Smith
Well, yeah. I'm getting some feedback. I don't know if you guys you're hearing that but maybe, sorry to pick on you. But I guess on your end, maybe you want to make sure everyone can hear what we're talking about. Is that better? A little bit. Okay, I've got my speakers as low as I can still be able to hear you guys.
Justin Stoddart
So, we'll take it, we'll take it. Yeah, I mean, we're in the insurance and finance, business. So we're always looking for ways to add additional value solve additional problems. Similar to you guys. I love I love how you intro the ...
