{"id":104355,"date":"2018-12-10T00:02:41","date_gmt":"2018-12-10T07:02:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/renewsblog\/?p=104355"},"modified":"2023-04-26T22:09:38","modified_gmt":"2023-04-27T04:09:38","slug":"biggerpockets-money-podcast-50-rebuilding-financial-life-after-bankruptcy-patrice-washington","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/biggerpockets-money-podcast-50-rebuilding-financial-life-after-bankruptcy-patrice-washington","title":{"rendered":"Rebuilding Your Financial Life After Bankruptcy with Patrice Washington"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Patrice Washington<\/strong> was flying high in 2006, with the multi-million dollar real estate company she had started with her husband practically printing money.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But 2007\/2008 came, and things went south fast. A high-risk pregnancy finally pushed her over the financial edge\u2014she came out of the hospital with a healthy baby, but massive hospital bills after her insurance company cancelled her policy mid-stay.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Patrice and her husband did anything and everything they could to avoid bankruptcy, a mentor told them \u201cYou can\u2019t nickel-and-dime your way out of $2 million in debt.\u201d Bankruptcy wiped out all debts, wrecking their credit but allowing them to start over fresh.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fast forward a few years, and now Patrice is America\u2019s Money Maven, teaching others how to get their financial house in order to lead their best, most satisfying lives.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bankruptcy doesn\u2019t have to define you, and this episode is an excellent example for anyone starting over.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/biggerpockets-money-podcast\/id1330225136\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Click here<\/a>\u00a0to listen on iTunes.<\/p>\n<h2>Listen to the Podcast Here<\/h2>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/playlist.megaphone.fm?e=BIGPOC2836629913&#038;light=false\" width=\"100%\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>Read the Transcript Here<\/h2>\n<div style=\"overflow-y: scroll; max-height: 400px; background: #eee; padding: 20px; border: 1px solid #ddd;\">\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><i>Welcome to the BiggerPockets Money Podcast, show number 50 where we interview the Patrice Washington.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><i>That debt kept me up. I was constantly trying to figure out what can I do. The mortgage companies that I had given so much business to, not just my own but hundreds of files, those were the same companies that wouldn\u2019t help me renegotiate my mortgages or modify my loans or anything. And I felt like a failure for sure but like what am I going to do?<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><i>And the moment we finally even after he told us that it probably took us four or five months to really pull the trigger. And the moment that we started the process, I\u2019m not going to lie that was probably the best sleep I had gotten. Not just because I had a small child, it was literally the first time I felt some sort of peace. Like okay I can move on with my life and accept that this is just a season and this should not define the rest of my life. And I just can\u2019t allow it to.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><i>It\u2019s time for a new American dream, one that doesn\u2019t involve working in a cubicle for 40 years barely scraping by. Whether you\u2019re looking to get your financial house in order, invest the money you already have or discover new paths for wealth creation, you\u2019re in the right place.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><i>This show is for anyone who has money or wants more, this is the BiggerPockets Money Podcast.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Scott:<\/b> How\u2019s it going everybody, I\u2019m Scott Trench, and I\u2019m here with my co-host, Ms. Mindy Jensen. How are you doing today Mindy?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Mindy:<\/b> Scott I\u2019m having a fantastic day. It is beautiful outside, the sun is shining there\u2019s no snow. And it\u2019s a good day to be alive. How are you doing?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Scott:<\/b> I am doing fantastic. I was excited to interview Patrice today.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Mindy:<\/b> I was so excited. So I had an email from Andre who said, \u201cYou should get Patrice Washington on the show. She\u2019s so inspirational, her story is so great.\u201d And I\u2019m like you know what, I bet we could have Patrice on our show. I\u2019m kind of a fan of Patrice Washington because I mean her story is amazing. Her story is kind of unbelievable at how high she got and how low she dropped during that horrible financial crisis that we had 11.5 years ago now.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Scott:<\/b> Yeah I thought her story was I mean her story is famous and fantastic for a reason. It\u2019s because of the extreme highs and extreme lows that she\u2019s kind of seen throughout her life. The hard times and then the big breaks and then seizing of the opportunities that she\u2019s gone after. And then all of that\u2019s of course driven by her unbelievable charisma that she brings to the table.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Mindy:<\/b> Yeah and just having that positive energy you know what, this is not going to define me. This really awful little segment of my life is not going to define the rest of my life. And it kind of has in that it inspired her to do her best work, but she\u2019s not someone who filed for bankruptcy. She\u2019s someone who filed for bankruptcy and bounced back. And is now even better than she was before. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And I think that her message of her husband worked at a job that most everybody would find non-appealing. Sub optimal at a rate that was terrible but it provided health insurance for the family and that\u2019s what they needed most. So you do what you have to do to survive and then you continue moving forward. And I really like that message that she brought today is just you don\u2019t let a bad thing keep you down. Push through it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Scott:<\/b> No I love it as well. Should we bring her in?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Mindy:<\/b> We should. Before let\u2019s hear a note from today\u2019s show sponsor.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><i>The right hire can make a huge impact on your business. That\u2019s why it\u2019s so important to find the right person. But where do you find that individual? You could try posting on the job boards but can you really be sure the right person sees your job? Instead find the right person who will help you know your business with LinkedIn.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><i>For the small business owner who is looking to expand their business in the pursuit of financial independence, hiring can be a daunting task. Thankfully\u00a0LinkedIn\u00a0is here to help and get you on the path to FI! That\u2019s why you should use LinkedIn to find your next hire, grow your business, and hit that FI number! <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><i>Most LinkedIn members have not recently visited the top job boards, but 9 out of 10 members are open to new opportunities. That\u2019s why a new hire is made every 10 seconds using LinkedIn. BiggerPockets even uses LinkedIn as part of our hiring strategy! Hurry to<\/i><\/span><span class=\"s2\"><i>\u00a0<\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/linkedin.com\/bp%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"s3\"><i>linkedin.com\/bp<\/i><\/span><\/a><i>\u00a0<\/i><\/span><span class=\"s1\"><i>and get $50 off your first job post. That\u2019s<\/i><\/span><span class=\"s2\"><i> <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/linkedin.com\/bp%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"s3\"><i>linkedin.com\/bp<\/i><\/span><\/a><i>\u00a0<\/i><\/span><span class=\"s1\"><i>to get $50 off that first job post.<\/i><\/span><span class=\"s2\"><i> <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/linkedin.com\/bp%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"s3\"><i>Linkedin.com\/bp<\/i><\/span><\/a><i>, <\/i><\/span><span class=\"s1\"><i>terms and conditions apply.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><i>Taking financial risks might make sense at the time. But when they turn into big mistakes we end up stressed and scrambling. Being good money and\u2026 processes can be tough especially if you\u2019re running a business. For business owners it\u2019s important to avoid financial mistakes and a simple accounting solution like FreshBooks can help.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><i>FreshBooks and a cloud accounting software that ensures your financials are properly tracked, organized and your business is compliant come tax time. Here\u2019s how FreshBooks helps. First it keeps you organized with smart and simple time tracking for you and your team. Second, when it\u2019s time to collect, you can create and send super polished invoices in about 30 seconds or less.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><i>It lets you record and organize expenses with a tap of your mobile camera and finally gets you paid in a snap by accepting credit card payments directly on those invoices. Best of all FreshBooks keeps you compliant with helpful reports you\u2019ll need for tax season. Right now we\u2019re offering our listeners a free 30-day trial of FreshBooks no credit card required. Go to Freshbooks.com\/bpmoney and enter BiggerPockets Money in the how-did-you-hear-about-us section.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Mindy:<\/b> Okay. Huge thanks to today\u2019s show sponsor. Patrice Washington, welcome to the BiggerPockets Money Podcast. How are you doing today?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Patrice:<\/b> I\u2019m fantastic, thanks for having me.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Mindy:<\/b> Thank you so much for coming on. I\u2019m super excited to talk to you and I want to give a shout out to Andre Morals from Toledo Ohio who suggested that I reach out to you and I&#8217;m like you know what, I should reach out to her. She\u2019s the Patrice Washington I&#8217;m super excited to talk to her. So can you walk us through where your journey with money begins?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Patrice:<\/b> Well it was 1981-no I&#8217;m just kidding. I would say my big kind of defining moment if you will actually came in my 20\u2019s and it was the thing that helped me look back on my childhood. So I want to fast forward to 19 years old getting involved with real estate, was introduced to real estate by a family member, falling in love with it and then by 21 becoming a real estate mortgage broker. So during my senior year in college I started my mortgage brokerage.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Mindy:<\/b> Oh wow.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Patrice:<\/b> And thought I would do that forever, was making great money, this is in the early 2000\u2019s when that was the thing to do and thought I would do it forever I was living the good life, the high life until 2007 when we began to feel the effects of what would become the great recession when I was on bedrest in the hospital.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">I had taken a call down the stairs 20 weeks pregnant and went into full term labor and got to the hospital and they said, &#8220;I&#8217;m sorry this baby is coming any minute now.&#8221; And I just felt like oh my gosh everything is over and all I needed to do is pray. But I prayed and ended up being admitted to the hospital. And actually stayed there for 10 weeks on hospital bedrest. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">My daughter is a fighter she held on strong. But while I was on bedrest we were starting to see the effects. So at the time I had 16 people, real estate agents and loan officers that worked in my business as well as processors and all these other people. And they were calling me left and right saying, \u201cWhat are we going to do? This deal just fell out, our client just lost their deposit, like this is happening.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Every fire that could happen was kind of happening at that point and I found myself stressing out in the hospital watching the news. And every day the banks were shutting down. And there was one day in particular around five weeks after being there, my doctor came in, she could tell where the belt around my waist they were monitoring the baby and all that stuff.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And she said, \u201cListen if you don\u2019t stop stressing out, you\u2019re going to leave here two years in a row with no baby.\u201d Because they year before I had at 24 weeks and he died after five hours in my arms. And that was it, I made a decision in that moment like I knew that my life was going to be different when I got out of there but I just made a choice to surrender.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">I asked them to take the TV off the wall because I could not focus on the mortgage industry and the real estate bubble bursting and all that. I was just trying to bring my baby into the world healthy. So after that another five weeks had gone by and at 30 weeks I had my daughter. And she stayed in the NICU for three and a half weeks.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">She was perfectly healthy, no complications with her. But I left with a healthy baby and then a healthy medical debt of about almost $400,000. And all during this time my business was not really bringing in any money. My husband and I own 13 pieces of property at the time and I had tenants not paying rent, they were losing jobs it was a nightmare. Like everything that could happen happened. And it still kind of hits me sometimes just sharing.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Mindy:<\/b> Wow. That\u2019s kind of a lot to deal with all in like the span of 10 weeks. I mean one of those things is tough to deal with. But wow. Let\u2019s unpack some of that. So you have a healthy baby, yay hurray that\u2019s fantastic. Let\u2019s talk about thee $400,000 was any of that covered with- yeah we don\u2019t have to. This is your show we can just talk about all the highs.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Patrice:<\/b> No, I mean but the beauty of the story is being able to get through the lows right. So we can\u2019t talk from mountain top to mountain op and not share what happens in the valleys. So actually I was really blessed coming out of that whole experience. So of course I didn\u2019t know in the moment that I was leaving with a healthy baby and a healthy medical debt.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">When I went into the hospital I had insurance coverage and I figured that I was fine. It was several weeks after getting home with my daughter when you get the bills like after the fact and the dust is settled, when I realized that I had that medical debt, and that my insurance had dropped me during the season of me being in the hospital.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Because apparently I had exhausted some coverage because I was a high risk pregnancy. I had my babies literally my daughter was born almost a year to the day of my son. So because I was high risk with him and then turned around and got pregnant again and ended up in this unfortunate, I wasn\u2019t necessarily high risk with her.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">But I took the fall down the stairs and that created a whole another\u2026 wheel so I got dropped by my insurance in the process. And I didn\u2019t know because no one was bringing me mail in the hospital.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Mindy:<\/b> Can they do that?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Patrice:<\/b> They did it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Mindy:<\/b> Wow.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Patrice:<\/b> It wouldn\u2019t cover anything that had to do with maternity.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Mindy:<\/b> I just don\u2019t even know where to go with that. I didn\u2019t know they could cancel your coverage halfway through. I mean I guess if nobody is giving you the mail. So how did you get through that?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Patrice:<\/b> Well actually I ended up applying for financial hardship with the hospital directly. I instantly went into reactive mode, was calling the hospital figuring out what I could do. And I called started talking to folks. And a woman who I spoke to on the phone said, \u201cWell we have some funds set aside that we only allocate to very special cases and all these things.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And I literally just told my story. It was probably like two or three pages. This who I am, this is what I was up against, here were the circumstances. I\u2019m self-employed, real estate. The real estate market is tanking, I don\u2019t have any other means of income and all these things and I ended up being forgiven. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">They have like a forgiveness program. And I didn\u2019t find out for probably like five or six months. I was just kind of still trying to deal with the rest of life and everything that else was going on. But I got a letter one day that some of the debt had been forgiven and it was about 250.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Mindy:<\/b> Okay that\u2019s a lot.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Scott:<\/b> So you still have 150k left at this point of debt that you have to pay off, is that right?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Patrice:<\/b> I did. I did give everything I could though.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Scott:<\/b> Well what was your- I mean that\u2019s much better than 400, right. But what\u2019s your position a few months later? The dust is starting to settle, you got that forgiven, what\u2019s your financial income\u2026 once you have to pay off that debt from that point on?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Patrice:<\/b> No, the dust really hadn\u2019t started to settle. It was actually really just getting started because this for me was happening my daughter was born August 2007. So as you guys know by the time we got to like mid-2008, it was really like imploding everything was really going on. So by then, I always say one of the things that I didn\u2019t know how to do at that time was ask for help.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">I was used to being this smart kid that could figure it out and make it happen. So I kept trying to shift what dollars I did have to save certain projects or maybe if I just get this done with the savings that I did have, it was like, \u201cIf I get this done then we can sell this property and get some cash out and use it to do,\u201d and I just kept robbing Peter to pay Paul.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve heard that expression and just trying to finagle things and figure it out. And everything that I tried literally failed in that season. It seemed like nothing would work. I tried to rehab a property that I had purchased after Hurricane Katrina down in New Orleans and they were still looking habitable properties at that time so that they could bring people back in Houston and Atlanta and all this stuff.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And I\u2019d dumped money into a project where the contractor stole the money. He was sending me pictures of completed rooms that were not in my building. So when my husband got there to go finally check it out inspect the work let\u2019s try to get it on the market, open the doors and the pictures we have received for the last month were not from our actual property.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">So it was literally a snowball someone said a cluster of things that happened. So it took about a year but after a year we had exhausted everything and shut the business down and went on a payment plan with the hospital for the remaining debt. And eventually ended up having to file bankruptcy four years later because I just never could get out of it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Between the mortgages and the hospital debt, it was just a losing battle. And I had a mentor finally I opened up and asked for help which is something I just was not used to doing. Besides what I did with the hospital, I didn\u2019t really feel like I had people to ask who had done more than I had done at that point. But ended up meeting someone I would consider a mentor and finally told him the whole story.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And they were like, \u201cLook, you can\u2019t nickel and dime your way out of two million dollars\u2019 worth of debt. You have all these properties that are mortgaged and you have this medical debt and you owe them a $150,000 you\u2019re trying to pay $350 a month. How long are you going to let this go on before you just start your life over?\u201d And I finally accepted it and had to file bankruptcy.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Scott:<\/b> What year did you file bankruptcy in?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Patrice:<\/b> 2012.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Scott:<\/b> Yeah. I think my research on bankruptcy is that it\u2019s something you want to try to avoid if you have 10, 20, even $30,000, $50,000 in debt. But then when you have two million dollars like the way you\u2019re talking you\u2019re piling up hundreds of thousands, millions of dollars. And it just is not possible. I mean that\u2019s intention servitude for the rest of your life.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Patrice:<\/b> Yeah it didn\u2019t matter what progress I made. Right like it did not matter what I was doing, what progress I made it was constantly like that dark shadow just like that hump on your back that you just can\u2019t get rid of. And when he finally said this to my husband and I, we were like but I have a faith based background and I had just learned that that\u2019s not what you do. Through some whatever just practices I just never thought that I would have to do that.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And because I was the one who was better off financially than most people that I knew growing up or in my immediate circle, there was a guilt and a shame associated with it. But I tell you what, for those four years I was not sleeping at night. That debt kept me up. I was constantly trying to figure out what can I do. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The mortgage companies that I had given so much business to, not just my own but hundreds of files, those were the same companies that wouldn\u2019t help me renegotiate my mortgages or modify my loans or anything. And I felt like a failure for sure but like what am I going to do? And the moment we finally even after he told us that it probably took us four or five months to really pull the trigger. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And the moment that we started the process, I\u2019m not going to lie that was probably the best sleep I had gotten. Not just because I had a small child, it was literally the first time I felt some sort of peace. Like okay I can move on with my life and accept that this is just a season and this should not define the rest of my life. And I just can\u2019t allow it to.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Mindy:<\/b> I love that comment. So I have kind of a big problem with people who use bankruptcy like Scott said if you\u2019ve $10,000, $20,000, $30,000 you\u2019re like, \u201cWell I\u2019m just going to file for bankruptcy,\u201d I\u2019m sorry that\u2019s not what it\u2019s for. But when your entire industry has crushed and you had nothing to do with it and you couldn\u2019t stop it and you couldn\u2019t foresee it, all of this, you\u2019re fighting a losing battle.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And at that point this is what bankruptcy is for. This overwhelming monumental and you still struggled for four years to try to pay it all off. But how did you get over the whole okay I\u2019m just going to do this? How did you come to terms with that? And did you and your husband have a lot- I\u2019m assuming you had a lot of conversations about this. What was your husband doing at the time?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Patrice:<\/b> My husband had actually at the time that everything happen like when we first lost everything?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Mindy:<\/b> Yes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Patrice:<\/b> At the time that all of this happened, my husband was actually my business partner. So we were best friends in college and then I guess he started liking me or something and I allowed him. He\u2019s actually my business partner so that was the other thing. Everything that we had was together in the same industry.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">It\u2019s not like I had something else to depend on. Everything that we did, we did together. And my husband actually went from we went from this seven figure business to literally scraping up change like a year later. I remember vividly shaking purses out just trying to get two dollars and change for milk for my daughter.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">It was literally that bad and my husband who also college educated and had ran a business before we even did our business together, went from tailored suits and travelling all over the place to taking a job at Taco Bell where he regularly had people who would throw food at him through the drive through window. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">That was the only job he could get after applying probably two dozen places and going all over the small area that we had moved to, he took a job a Taco Bell I won\u2019t say his salary but it was significantly lower.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Mindy:<\/b> They could not pay him seven figures?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Patrice:<\/b> They weren\u2019t, could you believe it for such hard work but they health insurance. And at the time with a small baby who was born prematurely, that was what we needed was health insurance. And he kept that job for 18 months. And during a period of that we went from foreclosing on our home in Southern California to living in this 600sqft apartment in Metairie Louisiana.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Which is where we went thinking we were going to finish the properties as I said. And then kind of got stuck in a town where we knew no one, no friends, no family nothing just the three of us the two of us and our baby. He takes the job at Taco Bell and I eventually left and went to Atlanta and lived on my brother\u2019s couch for three months. By then it\u2019s late 2008 early 2009. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Mindy:<\/b> Okay. Well let\u2019s get out of this valley and talk about the next mountain that you climbed. I mean obviously coming out of bankruptcy and working at Taco Bell, I worked at Dairy Queen which was not my favorite job ever. So I can\u2019t imagine and I was like 15 or something. That is the hardest job you will ever have.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">It seems like the more money you make the less like physically tasking the less difficult your job is to deal with. I don\u2019t know at least that\u2019s my case and yeah being at Taco Bell would be I\u2019m sure very difficult. So you went to your brother\u2019s house, you lived with him for three months.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Patrice:<\/b> I did but before going to Atlanta what got me to Atlanta was being in this apartment in Metairie Louisiana. And one day just getting to the point where I was sick and tired of being sick and tired. I mean and I think a lot of people can relate to this especially for me I felt like I was not one of those sleazy mortgage brokers that was putting people in bad loans.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">I was actually doing my due diligence and doing things the right way so I thought. And I just felt this moment, my husband had taken my daughter out and I was in bathroom looking in the mirror just having one of those moments where I finally was like, \u201cGod I can\u2019t take anymore. Why me? What did I do? I\u2019ve been a good person, I operate in integrity I treat people fairly.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">\u201cLike how does this happen? I went to school I got the good grades I was o Dean\u2019s List at the USC, like I\u2019m supposed to be smart. But how could this happen to me?\u201d and finally it started as just kind of talking in the mirror and having this conversation out loud to a full blown like bawling, snorting, crying. I don\u2019t know if you guys have ever had a moment where you just had to snort and cry. Scott I know you\u2019re 11 so maybe you haven\u2019t had it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Scott:<\/b> Not yet, next year.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Patrice:<\/b> Really you haven\u2019t had that yet and I hope you never have to but really one of those like I can\u2019t take anymore. I was broken and broken right I just couldn\u2019t take anymore. And before I knew it my knees were on the floor in the bathroom and my head was on the linoleum and I was just literally just, \u201cGod what am I going to do?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And I ended up finding a scripture in the Bible that in that moment was for me a defining moment. I feel like it saved my life. And it was Proverbs 17:16 it said:<i> What good is money in the hands of a fool if they had no desire to seek wisdom.<\/i> And that whole what good is money, like that\u2019s what I was feeling like what good was all the money that I made if this was the end result.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">I\u2019m like I\u2019m only 28 well 27\/28 years old like this cannot define the rest of my life, this is not. But I felt this urge that was like you got to tell people. You have to teach people this, you have to teach people that it\u2019s not just about money like you have to seek wisdom. It\u2019s okay to ask for help. You don\u2019t have to wait until your back is up against the wall to get wise counsel.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">I felt this flood of emotion like you\u2019re not the only one and you know that so what are you going to do to contribute to helping people? So I took that passion that I had for financial education when I was doing all my mortgage broker work I was doing a lot of speaking at churches and non-profits and all this stuff all around LA.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And I took that and said, you know what, I did lose my money in this season but my mind isn\u2019t bad. And as long as I know what I know there\u2019s got to be something that I could do to help other people. And in that moment like I made it my life and I was like, this is what you\u2019re going to do. I don\u2019t know who\u2019s going to listen, I don\u2019t know why they will listen but that\u2019s not my job. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">My job is not to force people to listen. It\u2019s to be transparent and share what my journey is. And the next morning I got up off that floor of bawling and snorting and crying and started a free blog spot where I would just teach little lessons about money or business. And that free blog spot which is still up to this day is an ugly little blog spot.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">I knew nothing about being on the internet or any of that stuff. I come from the background of running a brick and mortar business so I had no concept of it really. But I started that free blog spot and it turned into eventually writing for other websites. And then it turned into writing for magazines and then radio and then books and TV and all the other stuff. But that was the moment, being on that floor saying this can\u2019t be it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Mindy:<\/b> What is that blog spot link? I want to link to that in the show notes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Patrice:<\/b> It\u2019s seekwisdomfindwealth.blogspot.com and I leave it up in particular because I just want people to remember that you have to start somewhere. And like just don\u2019t forget, like I don\u2019t want to forget. It gets easy to get caught up because people regard me now as America\u2019s Money Maven and all this stuff.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">But I know what I was thinking in the moment that I started that. In the moment it came to me on that bathroom floor and like I can\u2019t forget that. It\u2019s why I have the compassion for people that I do.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Mindy:<\/b> That\u2019s a good point because it\u2019s really easy to sit here in 2018 when we\u2019re recording this and it\u2019s a really great economy, and thinking, \u201cOh it really wasn\u2019t that bad.\u201d Yeah it was that bad. 2007\/2008 I had a brand new baby too so my focus was a little bit someplace else. But it was a really awful time. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And to be working in this industry where literally you\u2019re suffering from the skeezy people that were also in your industry even though you kept yourself in high regard is very difficult to swallow. And that\u2019s just so easy to forget. I\u2019m sorry Scott I cut you off.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Scott:<\/b> Oh no, I think that\u2019s a great point. I was just going to kind of go and see if we can talk about kind of the nuts and bolts of what you kind of did to rebuild your position following the bankruptcy. And like what does your kind of spending look like? <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">How did you kind of go about generating more income? Where did you kind of begin reinvesting? Or rather after you have a bankruptcy there\u2019s challenges where you can\u2019t get credit anymore for a little bit. I kind of wanted to kind of walk through maybe that journey a little bit.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Patrice:<\/b> Yeah. So one of the first things that I really got clear about is the fact that I was sharing with people more and folks were trying to tell me about couponing, and using\u2026 boards and using all these different things. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">And I tried it for a bit Scott and honestly I was like you know what, with the same effort of six hours on a Sunday cutting out coupons I really could be working on how am I going to really use what I feel like I need to do in the marketplace. So instead of doing that I started to volunteer at financial education nonprofits all over Atlanta. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">Literally Googling, finding them and emailing them and saying, \u201cHey I would love to volunteer, here\u2019s my background, here\u2019s stuff I\u2019ve taught.\u201d Several people ignored me, a couple of people said yes that\u2019s all you ever need. And I really started to make a name for myself just because I was engaging and I used stories more than like hardcore point one, point two point three.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">As their curriculum outline I really tried to leverage the stories that I knew of personally or from other people along with their curriculum. And then just became known for doing that. So those types of things started to give me opportunities to make money and then I would take that money, we based everything that we used for expenses only off of my husband\u2019s income.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">And then any of those things that came up I would use towards saving and paying off debt. Those are two things I always looked at doing simultaneously. So when we did have to get another car I learned about second chance banking and second chance financing and all these things that I had never had an awareness of.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">But again it was continuing to like I got denied by the first credit union where I tried to get a car. When we got to Atlanta we had one car. And I remember taking my husband to Taco Bell 25 miles away from our house and then taking my daughter another 10 miles to a family friend, the only people we really knew there to watch my daughter, because I couldn\u2019t afford daycare at that time.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">Only to drive back to the same area to do the volunteering or the odd jobs that I had taken. So we had one car and we did that for several months and then went to apply for a car and got denied of course. And still going back and saying, \u201cHey I got the letter that I was denied, is there any chance? Is there any hope?\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">And someone at the bank saying, \u201cWell we have what we call second chance financing. You\u2019re going to have a ridiculously high rate. But at the time it was like but we need the additional car to get more money to do what it is we want to do. So I learned a lot of kind of unconventional opportunities I guess to kind of stay in mainstream.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">And I paid exorbitant amounts for several years. It\u2019s really just in the last I would say three years that I\u2019m back to having normal rates for different products. I still don\u2019t use credit cards to this day, I still only have one credit card. But the most of the debt that was included in my bankruptcy were mortgages they weren\u2019t cards and all that but it\u2019s still.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Scott: <\/b>Yeah you mentioned something earlier where you were paying off debt. Your husband was working at a job and then you are volunteering you\u2019re taking odd jobs and you\u2019re paying off debt. What debt did you kind of come out with after the bankruptcy?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Patrice:<\/b> No, so when my husband was at Taco Bell that was before 2012. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Scott:<\/b> Oh I see.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Patrice:<\/b> That was like 2011 and that was where all those jobs I was in like a million different payment plans. So it was like 350 to the hospital and it was $200 here and trying to pay off a second mortgage on this random property in Texas. And there were just a series of little things and I would just rotate. And I kept a perfect Excel sheet where I would just allocate things.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">And honestly there were some things where I was paying like $50 and $75 and $100 and whatever I could do, I just kept shelling towards it. And then in 2012, is when I learned of filing bankruptcy and that\u2019s what we ended up doing.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Scott:<\/b> Yeah so after the bankruptcy what did you guys do for work?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Patrice:<\/b> So by the time of the bankruptcy I actually was starting to do this. So I was already sharing my story so when I got off that like early 2009 is when I started the blog. So simultaneously as I was paying off debt stuff I was sharing that journey. I was sharing here\u2019s what\u2019s going on, it wasn\u2019t a pretty journey but again I was doing it more so locally and through my blog.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">And people were interested. And that\u2019s the first time I realized that people would actually have some type of interest in other people\u2019s financial woes because you gave them a sense of like hope as well that they weren\u2019t alone. And that\u2019s when I really started to use my story. So actually by 2012 I had written my first book.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">I used the collection of the blog posts to write my first book. That came out June 2012 and it was a book more so catered towards college students. And I think that was the first time that it dawned on me that again in the midst of my own pain that I could still use is purposefully. I could still use what I had experienced because there were especially younger people who I never wanted them to even touch anything I had been through.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">Knowing you\u2019re just like it was that feeling of I don\u2019t want other people to even know what this feels like. So if I can offer something that\u2019s preventative let me at least do that. But by then I had about two and a half years of creating content and trying to help other people.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Scott:<\/b> So this blog, the book all that kind of stuff, was this part of a business that you owned?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Patrice:<\/b> It became a business yeah.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Scott:<\/b> I guess what I\u2019m wondering is that you went through bankruptcy with this but they didn\u2019t come out for like the rights to your books or anything like that as part of that.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Patrice:<\/b> No. and it wasn\u2019t intentionally but the book was published after I filed for bankruptcy.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Scott:<\/b> I see okay.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Patrice:<\/b> Yeah and that wasn\u2019t even intentional it just kind of how things lined up. But yeah.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Scott:<\/b> Interesting. So it sounds like right at the time of this bankruptcy you were able to start a new job, a new business that was able to begin sustaining yourself and your family. Was your husband working at the same time as well while you were kind of recovering from the bankruptcy like immediately following that you were running the business? And then what was he doing?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Patrice:<\/b> Yeah actually so. In 2012 I was writing a book. I mentioned that I started to volunteer financial education nonprofit. So I became such a star volunteer that they actually created a position for me.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Scott:<\/b> I see.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Patrice:<\/b> So also in 2012 I signed on to be the financial management consultant at a nonprofit and I was helping people get through their own financial challenges in counselling and coaching one on one. Probably almost 200 people I left but I was there for about 18 months. So I was doing that and at the same time my husband actually was transitioning out of Taco Bell because I had been offered a job by Steve Harvey who was my boss at 18 years old.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">I was his intern. So he found out that I was in Atlanta and just position that we were in and actually offered me a job. But this is where the chase purpose not money comes in. By then I really felt like I am supposed to help other people get through these types of challenges. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">And when Steve came around and offered the job, while it was a job that I needed and my family needed and I should\u2019ve jumped on it, it didn\u2019t feel right because it didn\u2019t have anything obviously to with financial education. And I was driving there actually to accept that job when the president of that nonprofit called and said, \u201cHey we\u2019re thinking about starting the position.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">And we think that it would be great, here\u2019s what it entails. Do you want to do it?\u201d and I was like, \u201cOh my gosh. Yes like this is perfect, this is totally it for me.\u201d And then he said, \u201cBut it doesn\u2019t start for six months.\u201d Like that was the worst thing I could have heard in that moment. I was like I\u2019ve been volunteering for like a year with you guys, what do you mean it doesn\u2019t start for six months?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">But I mean I was still on my way to chat with Steve and his manager at the time. And I was going, \u201cOh my gosh my family needs this money but this is not what I really want to do.\u201d And then in midst of talking to them I blurted out, \u201cI can\u2019t do it.\u201d And when I heard it come out knowing what I\u2019d been through for the last couple of years I was like, \u201cYou\u2019re a crazy person. How can you say that you can\u2019t do it?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">And Steve, in sure Steve bashing was like, \u201cAren\u2019t you broke? Like didn\u2019t you say that you\u2019re like to rebuild? What\u2019s wrong with you?\u201d and I just couldn\u2019t do it. And I said, \u201cBut you know who would be great is my husband because the business my husband started before he joined me in real estate was in entertainment.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">And I said, \u201cYou know what Joe would be great. What about him?\u201d and they talked for a second, they looked at each other and they were like, \u201cOkay he can start on Monday.\u201d It was a Wednesday. And I was like, \u201cYou mean you want to interview him or talk to him on Monday?\u201d \u201cNo, he can start we\u2019ll make something happen for him.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">They really just took pity on us honestly but luckily we are both technically smart so it worked out. And we burned Gerald\u2019s Taco Bell uniform in the fireplace of our apartment that night. I\u2019m like, \u201cI don\u2019t think this is how you\u2019re supposed to quit a job I think you should give a notice.\u201d But he never went back, we burned all his uniforms and except for one that has clung to this day.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">And he started that next week. He started by doing very odd jobs low level kind of production assistant. And then had the opportunity to look over a contract one time that Steve didn\u2019t like understand some stuff and he just wanted an extra set of eyes. And it took several years but he worked his way up to being the president of that company. He just left the company this year but he did that for seven years.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Mindy:<\/b> Wow.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Patrice:<\/b> And I didn\u2019t take another job until the other one came available and that was during the time that I wrote my book. That was when I just started writing the book.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Mindy:<\/b> That\u2019s good. So you had some-I don\u2019t want to say time off but you had some time to really write. I want to go back to Taco Bell just for a minute because I have encountered people my whole life who will say, \u201cOh I could never do that, I\u2019m not going to work there I\u2019m better than that.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">And I love that part of your story that your husband was like, \u201cLook I need to provide health insurance for my child. So I\u2019m going to swallow my pride and I\u2019m going to go work at a job that is sub optimal at best.\u201d I love eating at Taco Bell but I could not work there. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">And I mean of course I could work there if I needed to provide health insurance for my baby and that\u2019s the only option, you bet your butt I would go there and I would work. And I would be miserable every day but I would yes sir and yes ma\u2019am every customer that came in because I would not want to lose the only job I could find in the middle of financial crisis. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">So I just want to point out that this is you do what you have to do to survive and sometimes that means working at Taco Bell. And I love your story even more now because you found this guy who was like, \u201cI\u2019m going to do it and it\u2019s going to suck for a while and I\u2019m just going to do it anyway because that\u2019s what you do.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Patrice:<\/b> Yeah it was a very humbling time. I remember he would bring home the leftover bags of like lettuce tomato cheese, you would be surprised what you can make with tortilla lettuce cheese. You can make a million different dishes and we were literally living like that several months. There were several months and at the time as well my brother had ran into a bunch of unfortunate circumstances.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">And we even took my niece in at that time as well who was already a teenager and who used to living life the way they lived life and then came to live with us and it was an entire different thing. So yeah I applaud my husband to this day for being humble enough because I don\u2019t know many people that would have done it and definitely done it for so long.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">And I was there in the Taco Bell the first time, I witnessed someone actually say, \u201cYou got my order wrong,\u201d and opening the whole the thing and chucking it, it hit him in the face. And I remember tearing up and I remember the whole process. So when people say things even to this day to us where they\u2019re like, \u201cWell you don\u2019t understand what it\u2019s like.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">I\u2019m like thank God I don\u2019t look like what I\u2019ve been through but trust me when I tell you that I do understand. And that is why I share my story so that people know that there is something on the other side when you don\u2019t give up. And when you keep going and when you keep building relationships and when you keep showing up and when you keep trying to the lesson or the blessing or whatever this experience is.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">And we just chose to see this as a time that was not happening to us, it clearly was happening for us. And we just made that distinction in our minds. We made a distinction that okay clearly there\u2019s something that I\u2019m supposed to get from this so let me not look over that or look past it. And my husband has that Taco Bell shirt and his nametag framed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">And he has this little placard or whatever on it that says:<i> This time in my life is called humility.<\/i> So for all the things that he\u2019s been able to do, for all the things that people who he\u2019s impressed, he\u2019s been an executive producer on shows and he\u2019s done all these things now, he always comes back to that. But humility like I wouldn\u2019t have been here without that season,<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">I wouldn\u2019t have had the transitions that I\u2019ve had without it. So I know that\u2019s a time that can usually rip couples apart because financial stress like that can do that. And instead we found a way to make ourselves closer, we hang in there together and we created little mantras that we made up. We would see cars going by like we had a BMW at one time, or we had a Range Rover back in the day.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">And we would look at them and smile at each other and say, \u201cBeen there, done that. On the way back.\u201d And we just had these little phrases and when on one of us was weak the other person would do little stories or we would make jokes. But we refused to let both of us be down at the same time, we both can\u2019t feel that way.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Scott:<\/b> So what was going on I guess post-bankruptcy, you\u2019re working on this business there\u2019s a nice a break from Steve Harvey for a job opportunity there, a lot of hard work perseverance. What does your personal wealth situation look like? How are you accumulating assets? Are you saving? Are you investing? What does that kind of look like and how is it accelerated over the period following your bankruptcy?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Patrice:<\/b> Yeah one of the first things that we were really clear on is that we needed to invest in life insurance again. Get a life insurance policy was like one of the first things unfortunately when everything hit the fan that was one of the first things to go. And in particular as parents we were really concerned about that. That we have a baby now and what if something happens how is she going to be taken care of? <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">So that was one of the first things. We found a financial advisor and to this day she\u2019s our financial advisor but she was an angel because I remember the first time sitting down with her and I immediately went into, \u201cWe used to have this and I used to have a million dollar and he used to have a two million dollar policy and then this happened and that happened.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">And she said, \u201cWhoa, I\u2019m not here to judge you. I\u2019m not here to make you feel bad about what you\u2019ve already experienced. I can only imagine what you already feel. I just want to help you figure out what goals are next for you and we\u2019ll just build from there. And we started with I think a $50,000 term life insurance policy. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">And now we built over the years but every three to six months she would check in with us see where we were financially. And then we would talk about what increasing that looked like. So life insurance getting back at just even the mindset that we deserve life insurance because when you go through things like that a lot of people feel like, \u201cWell I don\u2019t have enough money.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">\u201cAnd I don\u2019t have anything to leave to anyone. So I\u2019m just going to direct that bit of money somewhere else to a bill I need to pay off.\u201d But for us that was really important. And really just started saving not really getting heavily into investing. We were saving and as I do now saving with kind of sub accounts or things in mind. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">So I\u2019ve always been about kind of naming the money so we have what people would call an emergency fund. One of our first goals was getting back to having an emergency fund. I refer to it as opportunity fund. I just don\u2019t like the word emergency it doesn\u2019t inspire me, it never has. I\u2019ve never been inspired by what if you have a flat tire.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">But I was inspired by maybe one day you can write a book and get this book done or maybe one day you guys can actually take a vacation again or maybe you can save up to this. And our big thing was paying off that car that had the ridiculous interest rate, I want to say it was maybe 12 or 13% from that second chance financing that we got.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">Our big thing was like paying that off as well as just accumulating some savings. And I always tell people I know that we live in the real world accidents don\u2019t make appointments. Things came up that required the money that I thought was going to be for the book or for this or for that. But I felt like it was better to have that kind of positive spin on the saving.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">It was easier for me to get my husband on board with kind of moving money over there and being very intentional about it. And then when life happened we still had the money. No matter what I called the account, I took of care life if it came up. That was what it was. But we were really focused on paying that car off and saving initially and just getting life insurance. That was probably like my first year out of bankruptcy that was all I really cared about.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Scott:<\/b> What happened after that? What was your kind of journey with money after you kind of paid that car off and got into a better position 18 months later?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Patrice:<\/b> It was really just continuing to work with my financial advisor and hit different goals. I was very focused on investing in building the business right then. I knew I was onto something with building my brand. So we continuously hit goals for building a website, a real website not my blogspot.com or investing in a coach to help me with that self-publishing process.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">Or just doing different things that we felt like would advance the business while still simultaneously saving. And then as time went on we just continue to formalize the business by really making it a business and not a hobby. I was still working at that time, so I was working full time and doing all of this stuff in the wee hours of the morning in the middle of the night.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">And the goal became because I was not the best employee, I was excellent at my job by I was not a great employee. I had never really been an employee I\u2019d always been self-employed so kind of clocking in and clocking out was like hard. It was really hard to grasp sometimes. So the next goal for us was as Gerald was starting to get promotions, we still lived kind of at the same rate, just a little above what his Taco Bell salary was.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">And we just continued to use the money that I brought in to invest in savings as well as getting my business kind of up and going so I could create whatever that exit strategy looked like. And then Gerald\u2019s income we tried to save as much as we could after our basic monthly expenses. And then in working with our advisor we just kept going up on our life insurance.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">We had some friends who had different challenges with their aging parents so we realized we better look into long term care insurance for our parents. So we just continued to look at those buckets. Now our daughter is getting older we got to make sure that we have this by 29 plan for her. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">So we just started to continuously every three to six months like I said look at where we were and how do we direct any new income or increased income towards going straight towards those things that matter to us not necessarily upping our lifestyle immediately.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Scott:<\/b> So it sounds basically like you were living pretty lean for a while and you just continued doing that even as opportunities and circumstances got better and better. You invested pretty much everything in your business of the big opportunity and that\u2019s taken off and paid off very well for you and your family over time. And that\u2019s really how you kind of drove wealth throughout this process over the six, seven years following your bankruptcy.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Patrice:<\/b> Yeah. I mean I always say I like to stay committed to the vision not attached to how I like kind of get there. But as I started to learn more and I was exposed to more and I saw more examples of what I thought was possible, I made me dream bigger. And then the bigger I started to dream about what I could do, then I knew that I needed to this time around invest in the education to get there.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">So to be honest those first few years I probably spent more on coaching and mentorship than people would think. You would think like you don\u2019t have the money to do that but I didn\u2019t see it as optional. I knew that the first time around a part of what happened is that I didn\u2019t have people in place that I felt like I could go to, to get the support I needed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">And for me I just couldn\u2019t imagine starting something new that I really loved and then allowing myself to get back to that place of having no outside support. No coaching, no guidance. So that was a big thing for us, I couldn\u2019t start off in any huge programs. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">But if there was a $500 seminar I went to it. If there was an opportunity to join some group and just have a mastermind or something for $1,000 then yeah I was putting $200 aside from a check for several weeks so that I could invest in that. And I do believe that that is a part of what\u2019s paid off like I feel like I bet on myself. I could have just tried to stay it but I don\u2019t think I\u2019d be here.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Mindy:<\/b> So you said that you spent more on coaching and mentorship and I\u2019m assuming that\u2019s more towards the business. But what was some of the best support that you received and what are some of things you would recommend to people who\u2019re listening that are looking for some sort of financial help? Like what would be a really great first step?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Patrice:<\/b> So for the financial help, one of the things that I realized early and this came through again the mentor that I told you I spoke to, was not thinking that I needed to have a million dollars to figure out who would be on my financial team. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">Like I could have a team based on where I was which was what prompted the conversation with the financial advisor who then introduced us to an estate planner, a great CPA. So I started to not- for me it was not about seeing myself again being in that space forever. I felt like we need to start out how we want to end up and let\u2019s arm ourselves with a great team of people.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">And people kept introducing us to different folks that we could have on this team that we could interview and get to know and see if our personalities match. Because I didn\u2019t want to be in a place again where something happens I wait until my back is up against the wall to find whoever these people could be. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">And I think it took us probably two years to get to a good rhythm of like finding people that we could trust, that we felt like were not judgmental, and that they had a shared interest in really seeing us succeed and reach our goals. So if someone is going through something I would say, don\u2019t think you have to have a million dollars, don\u2019t think you have to have a six figure income to start having those conversations.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">Some things we could not immediately pull the trigger on but we met people that we felt like we had a great vibe with, a connection with. And were like okay when we hit this milestone or when this happens, that\u2019s who I want to use. That\u2019s whose support I want. And then there were some people we were like, \u201cI would never talk to them in my life.\u201d But it was great to know them at that time, right that that wasn\u2019t a fit for us.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Mindy:<\/b> Right. I like how you say that it took you about two years to find people that you could trust. And that you make it sound like it sound like it isn\u2019t just some instant snap of the fingers all of a sudden I found this great person. But we interviewed Kyle Mast who is a certified financial planner on episode 41 of the BiggerPockets Money Podcast and he had some great tips for finding a financial advisor or financial planner. How did you find yours?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Patrice:<\/b> I was introduced to her at an event honestly. She was not the first person I met. One of the first people that I met was referred to me by someone who was really further along, older kind of family friend, well established had all their stuff together for like 50 years. And they were trying to introduce us to someone who was not used to working with folks who were in our position.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">They weren\u2019t interested in working with someone like us. But they took the call, they took the meeting and I felt very judged. And I felt like there was a condescending tone behind everything. It was almost like wow, so you just let that happen? That\u2019s what it felt like. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">Then when we talked about having all these bills to pay and letting our insurance lapse, they were very judgy about it. And to me I felt like this is someone who\u2019s never been in a place where you have to decide am I going to pay rent or life insurance. So there you go. And I knew that wasn\u2019t a fit, I didn\u2019t feel great about it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">And the shortly thereafter just a friend mentioned this woman and I had an opportunity to sit down with her in person and like I said she just made me feel so okay with where I was. That as long as you have the wherewithal and the awareness that you need to start again, that you can start over and you can start small, then that\u2019s what matters for you in this season.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">It\u2019s not about comparing yourself to your old self and it\u2019s not about comparing yourself to anyone else around you, what works for you. And because she allowed me to feel that way, it made me comfortable starting over with a $50,000 policy. Who cares I had a million dollar policy before, it\u2019s less. It\u2019s gone. And I have to start with where I am and I was so grateful for that and she continues to work with us.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Mindy:<\/b> Yeah. I like that comment too that you talked to somebody and they weren\u2019t the right fit. And then you talked to somebody else and then you finally found this person that was a great fit. And I want to encourage anybody who is looking for a financial advisor or a financial planner to talk to somebody, and if you get kind of an off vibe, find somebody else. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">You don\u2019t need to sit there with somebody who\u2019s going to be judgy and saying, \u201cOh well you just let this happen, nice.\u201d Because they\u2019re not going to give you advice that you can use. They\u2019re going to always have in the back of their head, \u201cOh wow she got into two million dollars of debt and went bankrupt, whatever.\u201d They\u2019re not going to have your best interests in mind. They\u2019re not going to work their best work for you because they\u2019ve already written you off. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">And forget them, you don\u2019t want them either. Find somebody that really gels with you because this is your financial future that you\u2019re planning. And you want somebody who understands what you\u2019re trying to do and wants to help you get there. Okay is there anything else that you would like to discuss about your financial journey before we transition over to our famous four questions?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Patrice:<\/b> I would just say that one of the questions that people have asked me the most over the years now is just how did you do it. It\u2019s like how did you do it? How did you get off your brother\u2019s couch and now you\u2019re on the couch sitting next to Dr. Oz having this conversation or Steve Harvey. And the truth is that I probably have not focus as much on money as people would like to believe.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">That\u2019s the truth. I haven\u2019t felt like rebuilding has been all about the right financial advisor. Those things have been a great piece but for me the reality is there are other areas in my life that I have had to work on so that now in this space I could actually sustain the money, amass or the wealth that we\u2019re building at this point.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">So on my podcast Redefining Wealth that\u2019s what it\u2019s about. To me wealth is not just about money and material possessions. That is like one indicator but wealth is about wellbeing. And I talk about a lot of other things because I realize for example that my wealth is really being generated in creating relationships that matter.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">When I tell that story about Steve Harvey, that was in my late 20s but I met this guy at 18 years old right. It was supposed to be a six-week internship that turned into me working for him for two years. And that fast forward a decade later is a part of what has helped us get these opportunities. I didn\u2019t ask Steve to put me on radio he volunteered.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">He asked me, \u201cDo you want to release your book? Do you want to have an interview?\u201d and that interview turned into a weekly segment for four years and it wasn\u2019t because I asked for it. So I don\u2019t like for people to not think about the other areas of their lives that actually impact their money and wealth. Because the truth is that you can chase those things forever.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">You can have all of the smarts in regards to what are the best policies and what are the best products and what are the best things. But if you\u2019re not taking care of yourself, if you\u2019re not taking care of the relationships that you\u2019re fortunate enough to have, if you\u2019re not really taking care of the environment around you, there are other ways that you can lose money besides a recession.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">There are other ways that you can lose money besides a job loss and the fact of the matter is when I was working down in Atlanta with those few hundred people, more of the conversation became the other things that impact money. So people would say, \u201cWell Patrice I don\u2019t know how to budget.\u201d And then we would get into it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">And I\u2019m like, \u201cYou don\u2019t have a budgeting problem you have a people problem. You\u2019re trying to buy love and affection so you\u2019re wasting money that could go towards savings or paying off debt because you want to be big man at the bar. Or you want to impress family members or friends and all this stuff. So anything I would just say that truly I felt like I\u2019m here because one I do believe that this was my calling, it was my life\u2019s work.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">It was a super raggedy way to get there but it is what it is. This is why I have the compassion that I have. And that just don\u2019t negate the other areas of your life that do link to you producing wealth. Like don\u2019t be so caught up in working long hours and all this stuff that you don\u2019t invest in the other areas of your life. In particular your physical fitness, you mental fitness, your relationships, your spirituality. Like all those things matter. I think they play a part.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Mindy:<\/b> Yeah you said something. You said creating relationships that matter. One of my favorite things to recommend to people is to give freely without any expectation of return. Because those are the people and it\u2019s not like, \u201cOh I\u2019m going to give freely without any expectation of return but really I expect a favor, now you owe me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">It\u2019s like no, you just but when you do that then people want to give freely back to you. And that is something I think that\u2019s starting to come around a little bit more but I also think it\u2019s really overlooked by a lot of people. And that just helps. You created a relationship with Steve Harvey. If you were a really crappy intern would they have kept you after week six? No.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">They would have been like, \u201cOh all you do is nothing all day. You\u2019re going to be doing that for six weeks and that\u2019s it.\u201d Or maybe even two weeks when they discovered that- but you provide value to somebody simply because it\u2019s an opportunity, it\u2019s a job you\u2019re doing what you want to do. And then things just open up.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Patrice:<\/b> I agree. I always say there\u2019s always someone watching you who has the power to bless but who are they watching you be?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Mindy:<\/b> Oh my goodness.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Patrice:<\/b> Other times the blessing or the opportunity is not going to come from something you did for that person. But they may see it expressed in other ways out there and you\u2019re not even conscious of that. and I think that that\u2019s like the theme of my life like even in my own thing even in my own process of figuring it out, I was just committed to helping other people with what I did know.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">And I\u2019m really grateful that I didn\u2019t try to wait to become some MacDaddy expert at everything because it doesn\u2019t require that. Like if you know one thing more than someone else then I feel like at this stage in my life I have a responsibility. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">And even I felt then like I have a responsibility to share that one tidbit I know. And those things just snowball and they can snowball into something amazing and I\u2019m really grateful that I have now. I didn\u2019t set out to be this, I just set out to try to help people with my story and that was it here we are.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Mindy:<\/b> And here we are with America\u2019s Money Maven.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Scott:<\/b> I love it. I think that that\u2019s the approach to life that leads to success in every single area it just sounds like how do I go above and beyond? Right you did not get past that six weeks internship by saying, \u201cThat\u2019s not my job or I\u2019m not going to do that?\u201d it\u2019s, \u201cHow can I help you? How can I go above and beyond in every area I possibly can? And do that consistently over a very long period of time and it leads to where you\u2019re at. That\u2019s what I\u2019m hearing at least.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Patrice:<\/b> I agree. I love that, that\u2019s what I try to communicate especially to like college students when I have the opportunity to speak to young people college students, high school students. It\u2019s like telling people that\u2019s not what I\u2019m here to do is the fastest way to like do nothing after you leave here. Like go above and beyond every time. Even with my 11 year old daughter when she turns in homework I check her homework at night. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">I\u2019m like, \u201cYour name is on this. Did you do this in excellence or are you just trying to get done so you can go outside and play?\u201d like your name is on represent yourself, be an advocate for yourself. Be proud of anything that you put your name on, like go all the way don\u2019t half ass things. You\u2019re better than that. And plus there\u2019s people watching so why not show up in the best possible way?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Mindy:<\/b> That is perfect. I can\u2019t add to that at all. So we\u2019re going to now transition to our famous four questions. These are the same four questions that we ask everybody I\u2019m sorry these are the same five questions everybody. Four questions and a demand. First one is what is your favorite finance book?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Patrice:<\/b> T. Harv Eker\u2019s Secrets of the Millionaire Mind. That would be one of my favorites. It was one of the ones I discovered in college coming out of college.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Scott:<\/b> I don\u2019t know if I\u2019ve read that one.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Mindy:<\/b> I don\u2019t, I have not.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Scott:<\/b> Have you read that one?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Mindy:<\/b> No, I\u2019ve not. I\u2019ve heard of it but I haven\u2019t actually read it yet. What I should do is make a whole list of all these books that people recommend and then go read them. Some of them I\u2019ve read but most of them I have not.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Scott:<\/b> I\u2019m just so used to always having the read the book and liking books that people recommend and I\u2019ll have to go check this one out. Alright we\u2019ve probably covered this a little bit but one of the I guess several things that kind of led to the bankruptcy, what do you think was the biggest mistake that kind of went in there was maybe avoidable?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Patrice:<\/b> The biggest mistake overleveraging myself with the real estate thinking that because I could qualify for a mortgage that I could afford the property. And that was the catalyst. Had we stopped at like three properties I probably would not be America\u2019s Money Maven but getting to 13 I had no business at that time doing that. And that was the biggest mistake and if I had any regrets it would be that, it would be overleveraging myself with real estate at that time.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Scott:<\/b> I think it\u2019s a great lesson and I think that\u2019s what we\u2019re trying to prevent here with this podcast. Right the podcast of the BiggerPockets Money Podcast is to say, \u201cHey we know that you the listeners want to invest in real estate in some capacity. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">That\u2019s part of the BiggerPockets, right. Get the financial foundation in place before investing in real estate. Real estate can be a powerful tool or it can be a terrible enemy a terrible menace if you can overextend and invest outside of a position of financial strength going in.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Patrice:<\/b> Yeah and I just got back to real estate investing just in the last few years and just totally different strategies now like completely different than what I would have done before.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Mindy:<\/b> That was just going to be what I was going to ask you. Did you ever get back into real estate investing? So how many properties do you have now?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Patrice:<\/b> I have three properties but they\u2019re 50 units, a duplex-<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Mindy:<\/b> 50 units each or 50 units total?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Patrice:<\/b> 50 units total, 50 doors on the three properties.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Mindy:<\/b> Okay that\u2019s a story we should dive into on the real estate podcast maybe. Okay what is your best piece of advice for people who\u2019re just starting out? And I think we kind of covered this too but these are the famous four questions so we have to ask them all.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Patrice:<\/b> For people who are just starting out I would say giving yourself permission to move forward because sometimes we get trapped in that little loop of the story of our failure or whatever may have happened and we start to define ourselves by that. And giving yourself permission to you know it accept this is a season in my life.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">It happened but I have the right and the wherewithal and the smarts and the ability to move forward and just start over. And I think unfortunately when I look at a lot of people who I knew during that time in real estate, now everyone has bounced back the way my husband and I have. And even when I chat with people, I moved back to LA and I run into people and when even when I chat with people you could tell that they\u2019re stuck in the same story.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">And I think our biggest blessing has been to give ourselves the permission to get out of that story and move forward with our lives.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Mindy:<\/b> Yeah that\u2019s a huge one. Giving yourself permission to accept that I\u2019m not perfect. Accept that you need to accept it, this was my season and now I\u2019m done with that season now it\u2019s a new season. That\u2019s great.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Scott:<\/b> Alright. The last and most difficult question<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Patrice:<\/b> Oh my gosh. I\u2019m not a great joke teller.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Mindy:<\/b> That\u2019s okay.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Patrice:<\/b> I remember one of my daughter\u2019s jokes I would try to steal is usually-<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Scott:<\/b> That\u2019s perfect.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Patrice:<\/b> I break the ice with people by telling them something that my daughter told me but she\u2019s full of jokes but I\u2019m really not. I usually steal whatever she just told me.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Scott:<\/b> One of her jokes would be perfect.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Mindy:<\/b> Yeah one of her jokes would be perfect. Scott loves these jokes. I think they\u2019re horrible so one of our listeners sent in a list of jokes for us. One of them was what do you call a can opener that doesn\u2019t work?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Patrice:<\/b> A cant cork no I don\u2019t know.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Mindy:<\/b> A can\u2019t opener.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Patrice:<\/b> I was right.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Mindy:<\/b> You were right.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Patrice:<\/b> The line of something my daughter would say so maybe that\u2019s why I was like leaning towards it. But usually tell a funny story about things that she says to me about well I can\u2019t cook. This might be funny to something I don\u2019t know.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Mindy:<\/b> Tell the story.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Patrice:<\/b> Well cooking is not my thing, I\u2019m not very domestic. I can keep a clean home but I don\u2019t do well in the kitchen so I decided that I was going to do better in that area. And I was like you know I\u2019m going to get one of those little meal prep box things delivered to the door. Like dummy proof it\u2019s foolproof like you can\u2019t mess this up. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">Everything comes measured out and proportioned correctly and all this. All you have to do is just read, right you can read so you should be able to do this. So I did one night and I guess my daughter stomached it and then I tried to do it again the next night. And I don\u2019t know what the heck I did, I read it but it\u2019s like my mind shuts off.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">So we sit down at dinner my husband was travelling. And she leans over and she\u2019s like, \u201cMum daddy and I love you just the way you are. But you have to stop doing this.\u201d I\u2019m like, \u201cWhat do you mean? I followed the directions\u201d she\u2019s like, \u201cThis is just, you write books just go write books.\u201d But she was like eight she was so sincere.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">But she knew when we sat down she\u2019s like I\u2019m not going to take this crap another night with her. Like I\u2019m not going to eat it just to make her feel good, this is it. So those are the things that my daughter. I always tell her, \u201cI laid on bedrest for 10 weeks for you and look at how you treat me.\u201d She\u2019s like, \u201cWhatever.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Mindy:<\/b> Eight year olds are brutal.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Patrice:<\/b> They are brutal.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Mindy:<\/b> They are brutally honest. Okay now here is the demand. Where can people find out more about you?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Scott:<\/b> Tell us where people can find out more about you.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Mindy:<\/b> Tell us where people can find out more about you.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Patrice:<\/b> You can find out everything about me at patricewashington.com and you can check out the podcast Redefining Wealth there at patricewashington.com or in your favorite podcast player. And social media I\u2019m really active on Instagram and Twitter @Seek Wisdom PCW that\u2019s my little daily reminder.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Mindy:<\/b> Okay.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Scott:<\/b> Awesome. We will link to all that in show notes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Mindy:<\/b> The show notes can be find at biggerpockets.com\/moneyshow50. Okay Patrice, thank you so much for sharing your story with us today. I learned a lot about you and I guess I didn\u2019t realize that you had gone all the way into that really deep bankruptcy valley. But I mean look at you now.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Patrice:<\/b> I know, I\u2019m grateful. Thank you so much. Thank you for allowing me to share and I feel like sometimes it\u2019s not the prettiest story you know what I mean.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Mindy:<\/b> I don\u2019t want a pretty story, I want a real story.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Scott:<\/b> Yeah I think it\u2019s inspirational, it\u2019s something that people can relate to and learn from and in a lot of ways repeat a lot of what you\u2019ve done and go after it. Thank you.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Patrice:<\/b> Well I\u2019m glad.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Mindy:<\/b> I agree with that. I agree that there\u2019s going to be people who maybe aren\u2019t did you say it was two million dollars in debts, people don\u2019t have two million dollars or maybe they do maybe they don\u2019t. Maybe they think, \u201cOh it\u2019s $50,000 but to them that is their whole world and it is this insurmountable giant pile that they just can\u2019t get over,<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">And well Patrice Washington pulled herself out of even more. So if she can do it I can do it. And she had so much more to overcome and she was able to do it. I should be able to do it too. So I think this is helpful for people in so many different categories across all different spectrums.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Patrice:<\/b> I hope so. But I thank you guys so much just for the opportunity to share.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Mindy:<\/b> Thank you for coming on.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Scott:<\/b> Alright that was Patrice Washington. Mindy what did you think?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Mindy:<\/b> Oh my goodness I love Patrice. So I feel bad saying I love her story yay she went bankrupt. But like really I love the inspiration that she gives and I really love the I can do it, I am not going to let this keep me down forever positive attitude that she had that really got her through a pretty dark time. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">And like I said in the episode it\u2019s a little difficult now in 2018 to sit back and remember just how awful it was. Your mind stops remembering all those really terrible times but she\u2019s not unique in any way. There were so many people that were riding this real estate high and they were buying properties that they really couldn\u2019t afford. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">But hey the bank gave me money for it so I might as well or I\u2019m qualified for it is or I\u2019ll be able to rent it out and everything will work because it had been working for so long. And then to crash I mean that was a really spectacular crash. So just to get over that and hope right back up on the horses again is fantastic. I just love her enthusiasm.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Scott:<\/b> Yeah I thought it was fantastic and I thought her attitude was really what has kind of carried her through. Her and her husband\u2019s attitude are really what carried the family through all these difficult times all these challenges. And have led to the incredible success that she sees today and the career that she\u2019s had.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Mindy:<\/b> Yes. This episode ran a little long so I think we should get out of here. Scott are you ready to go?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Scott:<\/b> Let\u2019s do it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Mindy:<\/b> Okay. From episode 50 of the Bigger Pockets Money Podcast this is Mindy Jensen and Scott Trench and we are gone.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>[End of Recording] [1:09:59]<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Watch the Podcast Here<\/h2>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Rebuilding Your Financial Life After Bankruptcy with Patrice Washington | BP Money Podcast 50\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/iIvO6nKdR4A?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>Help Us Out!<\/h2>\n<p>Help us reach new listeners on\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/biggerpockets-money-podcast\/id1330225136\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">iTunes<\/a>\u00a0by leaving us a rating and review! It takes just 30 seconds.\u00a0Thanks! We really appreciate it!<\/p>\n<h2>Podcast Sponsors<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-102474 size-medium no-display appear\" src=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/LinkedIn-Logo-black-300x81.png\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/LinkedIn-Logo-black-300x81.png 300w, https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/LinkedIn-Logo-black-768x208.png 768w, https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/LinkedIn-Logo-black-1024x278.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/LinkedIn-Logo-black.png 1280w\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"81\" title=\"\">For the small business owner who is looking to expand their business in the pursuit of financial independence, hiring can be a daunting task. Thankfully\u00a0<strong>LinkedIn<\/strong>\u00a0is here to help and get you on the path to FI! That\u2019s why you should use LinkedIn to find your next hire, grow your business, and hit that FI number! Most LinkedIn members have not recently visited the top job boards, but 9 out of 10 members are open to new opportunities. That\u2019s why a new hire is made every 10 seconds using LinkedIn. BiggerPockets even uses LinkedIn as part of our hiring strategy!<\/p>\n<p>Hurry to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/linkedin.com\/bp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">linkedin.com\/bp<\/a>\u00a0and get $50 off your first job post.<\/p>\n<h2>Second Sponsor<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-74647 no-display appear\" src=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/freshlogo-300x225.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" title=\"\">The all-new\u00a0<strong>FreshBooks<\/strong>\u00a0is accounting software that makes running your small business easy, fast and secure. Spend less time on accounting and more time doing the work you love.<\/p>\n<p>For a 30-day unrestricted trial, go to\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/freshbooks.com\/bpmoney\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">FreshBooks.com\/bpmoney<\/a><\/p>\n<h2>In This Episode We Cover:<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Patrice&#8217;s <strong>money journey<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>How she dealt with her <strong>$400,000 medical debt<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>The reason she <strong>filed for bankruptcy<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>The importance of having a <strong>mentor<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>How she started her <strong>free blogspot<\/strong> while paying off debt<\/li>\n<li>What she did to <strong>rebuild her position<\/strong> following her bankruptcy<\/li>\n<li>The importance of <strong>humility<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>The value of creating <strong>relationships<\/strong> that matter<\/li>\n<li>Thoughts on <strong>life insurance<\/strong> policies<\/li>\n<li>Tips for focusing on investing and building a <strong>business<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>The <strong>best support<\/strong> she received<\/li>\n<li>Her advice to people who are looking for<strong> financial help<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>How she found her financial <strong>advisor<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>And SO much more!<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Links from the Show<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/seekwisdomfindwealth.blogspot.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Seek Wisdom, Find Wealth<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/renewsblog\/biggerpockets-money-podcast-41-find-certified-financial-planner-cfpkyle-mast\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">BiggerPockets Money Podcast 41 with Kyle Mast<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/podcast\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">BiggerPockets Podcast<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.paypal.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">PayPal<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.patricewashington.com\/listen\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Redefining Wealth Podcast<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Books Mentioned in this Show<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/2QeuxwZ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>Real Money Answers<\/em><\/a> by Patrice Washington<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/2KYHvJm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>Secrets of the Millionaire Mind<\/em><\/a> by T. Harv Eker<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Tweetable Topics:<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>&#8220;I can move on with my life and accept that this is just a season and this should not define the rest of my life.&#8221; (<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/home?status=%22I%20can%20move%20on%20with%20my%20life%20and%20accept%20that%20this%20is%20just%20a%20season%20and%20this%20should%20not%20define%20the%20rest%20of%20my%20life.%22%20BP%20Money%20Podcast%2050%20biggerpockets.com\/moneyshow50%20%40biggerpockets\" target=\"_blank\">Tweet This!<\/a>)<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;Don&#8217;t negate the other areas of your life.&#8221; (<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/home?status=%22Don&#039;t%20negate%20the%20other%20areas%20of%20your%20life.%22%20BP%20Money%20Podcast%2050%20biggerpockets.com\/moneyshow50%20%40biggerpockets\" target=\"_blank\">Tweet This!<\/a>)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Connect with Patrice<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.patricewashington.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Patrice Washington&#8217;s\u00a0 Personal Website<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/seekwisdompcw\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Patrice Washington&#8217;s Instagram<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/seekwisdompcw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Patrice Washington&#8217;s Twitter<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Patrice Washington was flying high in 2006, with the multi-million dollar real estate company she had started with her husband practically printing money. But 2007\/2008 came, and things went south fast. Bankruptcy doesn\u2019t have to define you, and this episode is an excellent example for anyone starting over.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":353007,"featured_media":104375,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6473],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-104355","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-biggerpocketsmoney"],"acf":[],"comment_count":0,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104355","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/353007"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=104355"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104355\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/104375"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=104355"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=104355"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=104355"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}