In this episode of the Be Wealthy Podcast, Brett Tanner and co-host Katelyn Mitchell break down one of the most important concepts in wealth building: The Path of Money.

Brett walks through how wealthy people think about income, cashflow, reserves, investing, and the compounding machine that ultimately builds long-term freedom. Using real examples — including short-term lending deals, mid-term investments, and legacy real estate — Brett shows how anyone can move from human-capital income to capital-asset income.

This episode goes deep into cashflow systems, passive vs. active investments, creating a wealth plan, managing reserves, and understanding the psychology behind spending, saving, and investing. It’s a complete roadmap for anyone serious about achieving financial independence.

• Every dollar needs a job - The foundation of wealth is assigning purpose to every dollar — spend, donate, hold (reserves), or invest.
• You cannot build wealth without paying attention - Most people lose money because they don’t track their burn rate, rates of return, or monthly net worth. Pay attention.
• Human capital → Capital assets → Cashflow - The wealthy move from earning money with time (job/business) to earning money with money (assets).
• Reserves = Freedom + Peace - Everyone needs 12 months of burn rate saved before heavily investing — your “Don’t Get Hurt Plan.”
• Cashflow is more important than net worth - Two people can have identical wealth but completely different lives depending on what produces their income. Cashflow wins.
• The wealth machine must be passive + uninterrupted + compounding - Uninterrupted returns, passive investments, and compounding velocity accelerate financial independence.
• Learn your forever assets early - Start studying commercial or legacy assets today — opportunities go “on sale” during market cycles.

00:00 – Introduction & Brett’s fishing story

03:00 – What “The Path of Money” actually means

05:00 – Human Capital vs. Capital Assets explained

10:00 – Velocity of Money: Using cashflow to grow faster

14:00 – Compound interest: Working for vs. against you

16:00 – Moving from surviving → thriving → investing

20:00 – The Four Decisions: Spend, Donate, Hold, Invest

23:00 – The 12-Month Reserve Rule (Don’t Get Hurt Plan)

26:00 – Using high-yield savings for short-term money

28:00 – The difference between lending vs. owning assets

33:00 – How to properly calculate returns & avoid “lazy” investing

40:00 – Cashflow vs. Net Worth — The real difference in lifestyle

47:00 – Brett’s real Starbucks deal case study (Mailbox Money)

53:00 – Why your wealth plan must use 10-, 20-, and 30-year timelines

57:00 – Passive vs. Active: Why passive wins long-term

1:03:00 – Studying forever assets (commercial real estate)

1:20:00 – Building the snowball that leads to financial freedom

1:23:00 – Final lesson: Pay attention to your money or lose wealth

– Path of Money (from Gary Keller)

– Velocity of Money

– Human Capital → Capital Assets

– Cashflow vs. Net Worth

– Forever Assets

– High-yield savings accounts

– Sweep accounts for automatic 3–4% returns

– Private lending and short-term notes

– Long-term real estate and commercial properties

– Average Sucks – Michael Bernoff (micro-transfers strategy)

– Compounding...