Embark on a journey up the financial mountain with Scott Whatley, the venerated president of Paradigm Capital Group, who graciously steps into our virtual studio to illuminate the path to fiscal wisdom. Scott skillfully dissects the vital components of financial planning and retirement strategies, underscoring the immense value of being knowledgeable about one’s investments. As you listen, you'll be equipped to tackle the four pivotal financial questions that could make or break your retirement dreams. No matter where you stand on your financial voyage, Scott's expertise is a treasure trove for anyone aiming to fortify their financial stronghold.
Stripping back the layers, I get candid about my own foray into the finance realm, an odyssey that began amidst my family's economic trials during the 2000s. Raised by diligent parents who clocked in at Hormel meat packers and Shasta beverages, I was privy to the rollercoaster of financial stability and instability. These early life lessons not only sculpted my appreciation for monetary acumen but also steered me towards this very career—to offer guidance through the unpredictable seas of personal finance. Tune in for an authentic and heartfelt narrative that traces a working-class background to a life devoted to financial empowerment.
Paradigm Capital Group is focused on improving a family’s financial futures. This includes retirement planning, budgeting, estate and legacy planning, tax efficiency, college planning, social security optimization, and much more. We take a comprehensive approach when it comes to client’s personal financial plan, bringing Wallstreet concepts to mainstream America. Paradigm Capital Group has experience helping people with few assets, and clients with healthy portfolios. Giving American families a sound financial plan with total transparency.
Embark on a journey up the financial mountain with Scott Whatley, the venerated president of Paradigm Capital Group, who graciously steps into our virtual studio to illuminate the path to fiscal wisdom. Scott skillfully dissects the vital components of financial planning and retirement strategies, underscoring the immense value of being knowledgeable about one’s investments. As you listen, you'll be equipped to tackle the four pivotal financial questions that could make or break your retirement dreams. No matter where you stand on your financial voyage, Scott's expertise is a treasure trove for anyone aiming to fortify their financial stronghold.
Stripping back the layers, I get candid about my own foray into the finance realm, an odyssey that began amidst my family's economic trials during the 2000s. Raised by diligent parents who clocked in at Hormel meat packers and Shasta beverages, I was privy to the rollercoaster of financial stability and instability. These early life lessons not only sculpted my appreciation for monetary acumen but also steered me towards this very career—to offer guidance through the unpredictable seas of personal finance. Tune in for an authentic and heartfelt narrative that traces a working-class background to a life devoted to financial empowerment.
Paradigm Capital Group is focused on improving a family’s financial futures. This includes retirement planning, budgeting, estate and legacy planning, tax efficiency, college planning, social security optimization, and much more. We take a comprehensive approach when it comes to client’s personal financial plan, bringing Wallstreet concepts to mainstream America. Paradigm Capital Group has experience helping people with few assets, and clients with healthy portfolios. Giving American families a sound financial plan with total transparency.
(727)278-3645 www.paradigmcapitalfl.com
Speaker 1:
This is the Good Neighbor.
Speaker 2:
Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Mike.
Speaker 1:
Sedita, hello out there and welcome to episode 161 of the Good Neighbor Podcast. I'm your host, mike Sedita, and today we have the pleasure of being joined by Scott Wadley. He is the president of Paradigm Capital Group. Scott, how are you doing today?
Speaker 2:
Fantastic Mike, How's it going?
Speaker 1:
It is going great. I am just trucking along excited to learn a little bit more about your business. In case you don't know about our business and what we do and how Good Neighbor Podcast got started back in 2020 during COVID, when everybody had to be socially distant. The Good Neighbor Podcast was born as a way for business owners to really get their messaging out to the community and over the last four years, we've developed into a national brand. We have podcasts in South Florida, here in Tampa, virginia, atlanta, denver, and I'm lucky enough to be the guy here in Tampa that gets to talk to business owners and entrepreneurs like you. So, with that being said, just tell us a little bit first about Paradigm Capital Group.
Speaker 2:
Paradigm Capital Group is a full-service financial firm. We help clients here, not only in the Tampa Bay area but around the country as well. So when you're looking at getting up the financial mountain, we can help with that. Or even getting out, getting down that financial mountain and transitioning, you know, from from the workforce into the retirement force, we can help with that as well. Kids, college funds, you know all that kind of stuff.
Speaker 1:
So that's what I was going to say. So it runs the gamut no matter what stage you're at in your journey financial journey you guys can help them, and I'm assuming you do some sort of like client, you know not, I don't want to say I was going to say interrogation, but I, you know kind of like a client.
Speaker 2:
Sometimes it is.
Speaker 1:
Sometimes it is Kicking all the tires and like figuring out what people did for the past 20 years to get them in the position they're in or not in. So it's a lot of that interview process early on to figure out where they are and where they want to be.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, we actually call it a discovery. So, yeah, we have the discovery call or the discovery meeting and finding out exactly. You know what your needs are, you know what your concerns are, you know how can we help. You know we do a lot of education.
Speaker 1:
A lot of education because you know, we find that, no matter where you are and where you are in that financial journey, there's there's a lot of people that just aren't really educated about their money.
Speaker 1:
Their main product that I worked with was a variable annuity, which is, you know, it's more complex than your standard savings account, but it's you know. There's other stuff that's a little crazier but, depending on the annuity, whether you're guaranteed options and you know, roll ups and distribution period and all this other stuff. And I can't tell you how many times we got calls in this call center where someone would call up and say, hey, can you tell me what I have? You know, like they're invested with hundreds of thousands of dollars from their previous you know 401k that they 1035 into or rolled over into this annuity product and they have no idea what they have. Now that's probably not a good indication of their financial advisor because they're putting them in it, but there's probably some reason why they were in it. They just didn't quite understand it. So, to the point that you're making of people just not really understanding what their money is doing or what it can do, is that a pretty bad epidemic that you see regularly?
Speaker 2:
but it can do. Is that a pretty bad epidemic that you see regularly? Yeah, there's four. The four most important financial questions that everyone needs to know is, first and foremost, how much money do you need to save on an annual basis in order for you to retire at the age that you want to retire, adjusted for inflation, and your money lasts as long as you do? What's that number? Most people have no idea what that number is. Second is is what rate of return? What rate of return do you need, you know, year after year, in order for you to retire at the, at the age you want to retire, and your money lasts as long as you do? Right, and then you know the the.
Speaker 2:
The third question is so you got, you got, you got. You know how much you have to save. You've got rate of return, and then you got how long? Right, how long do I need to save in order for me to retire? If I'm saving, you know, $6,000 a year, $10,000 a year, $40,000 a year, you know, and I want to retire at this age, how long, you know, can I, you know, do that for and be able to retire successfully and be able to retire successfully? And the most important question is on the on the fourth one is if I don't make it and I don't save that much, how much am I going to have to reduce my standard of living in retirement right?
Speaker 2:
So, first and foremost, when you meet with us at Paradigm. Those are the first. Those are the first four questions we answer for you right off the bat.
Speaker 1:
And so someone comes to meet with you at Paradigm. Where are you guys located? I know you said you service all over the United States. I'm sure you're licensed in a bunch of different states. Do you guys have a brick and mortar shop or are you? You know, generally like after COVID, a lot of people just work remotely, but do you guys have a shop?
Speaker 2:
Yeah, we, we, before COVID, we definitely did. And then after COVID, we, we, we do. We have a lot of zoom online presence. We do that. I mean everyone, everyone did Right. But now we currently reside here in Wesley chapel, in the wiregrass mall, at the signature workspaces oh, okay, we're in suite two, 16. So the signature workspaces is right across from the pottery barn, the Azteca Restaurant and then the Living Room Restaurant. It's right here in that roundabout.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, right in the round. I know my buddy just opened a real estate company right in that little section right there. It's a great section, it's right like in the heart of I don't want to say Pasco County because it's not in the heart of Pasco County, to say Pasco County because it's not in the heart of Pasco County, but as far as Wesley Chapel goes, when you can go as far north as like Epperson, and as far you know west, you know as like where the outlets are, which is considered Lutz. That little wiregrass section is great. My only knock on that entire little section is parking, like do you guys have a designated and this is my, this is serious question for that particular plaza? Do you guys have any designated, and this is a serious question for that particular plaza? Do you guys have any designated parking? There's none, right, it's just wherever you find a spot when you get there.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, there's no designated parking, but typically during that 8 to 5, 9 to 5 time, monday through Friday, you'll be able to find parking. Yeah, yeah, it's kind of after that 5 o'clock, when dinner's starting and then and the weekends tends to be a little, a little tough.
Speaker 1:
Well, it's nice too. You have a lot of stuff there too. If you're in the office, you can entertain clients. If you have a man, you have places to take him. There's a bunch of good options to be around in that area, which is really cool.
Speaker 2:
Right here in the signature workspaces we actually have an event space, and if you open up the entire wall it'll fit 125 people so when is the like?
Speaker 1:
how long have you guys been there? Because that that's fairly new. I think the chamber of commerce is in that building too right, correct?
Speaker 2:
yep, yep, yep. It's been open since november since november.
Speaker 1:
so when are you know? When are we having the the paradigm capital welcome party, like the housewarming party at the at the opened up suite there we're going to open the wall and invite like 200 people and have some tequila shots, or what are we going to do?
Speaker 2:
Yeah, it's funny that you mentioned that actually. So what were some of the things that we're working up is like you know, women, wine and wealth events on something like that. Or you know wealth and whiskey events because we got, we partnered with Von Foss, which is right across the street. Yeah, great place, so they've got beautiful bourbons and whiskeys and tequilas imported from all over the world. So we definitely will be, you know, broadcasting that as soon as we lock some things down. But we'll you know charcuterie events, things like that. So, yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1:
Now, do you live up in that Wesley Chapel area? Is the commute bad for you or are you driving from you know, I don't know Ocala to come down here, to go.
Speaker 2:
I live in Epperson. Okay, yeah, cool Very cool, I live five minutes from the lagoon.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, that's not bad. I mean, that's not a bad commute. The only part about that commute that's tough is if you get caught behind somebody at one of the various traffic lights. Uh, until they started opening up these bad. Now you can come down like meadow point, right like meadow point parkways a little bit more open, but that's still like one lane um yeah, if you make that left hand turn off 54 right there by walmart, it'll take you, it'll drop you off right on 56.
Speaker 2:
And then you make that right-hand turn right past Cooper's Hawk and then yeah, yeah, yeah, right.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, that's nice. It's good that you, you know it's good. It's not like you have to. Like some people live in Wesley Chapel and work in Tampa and have to fight that commute. This commute isn't that bad right now, but the way Wesley Chapel is going, you never know. It's getting bigger and bigger by the minute. And all that stuff down 56 towards 301 is just getting bigger and bigger. New people coming in every day.
Speaker 2:
I have a developer friend, a client of mine actually, that we were talking about the future growth of this area and he was saying in the next 25 years between, say, like 52 and over here, off of 54, they're projected almost 700.
Speaker 1:
Yeah it's crazy.
Speaker 1:
It's crazy because all that stuff's building up east of where your location is. But then the other part of Pasco County that's insane is and I don't know when the last time you've been up that way 41 and 52, where the Moffitt Center is and Angeline is going in Like that whole area is just people are moving out of Tampa or moving from up north and don't want to be near the city and are close enough. But the cool thing about Wesley Chapel is there's so many amenities around there. I lived in Seven Oaks for a while and I don't really need to go any further than an eight-mile radius around that area. I mean Epperson. You guys finally have a giant Publix which is, from what I hear, is like a nightclub in there. You go in, there you got wine.
Speaker 2:
It's their beer and wine. Yeah, people go there just to hang out at the grocery store.
Speaker 1:
So tell me a little bit of your personal story. I mean, how do you have you always been a finance guy? Did you work for a big firm and then decided to go out on your own, or did you kind of stumble into this? How did you get to where you're at?
Speaker 2:
a little bit of all the above I I. The reason why I I really have a passion for this is is I saw what my parents went through in 2000. So you know, I grew up in california and both my parents worked. My dad worked for hormel meat packers, my mom worked for shasta beverages right, we weren't a rich family and, uh, you know, they were doing their thing shasta is pulling one.
Speaker 1:
That's.
Speaker 2:
That's going deep, that's like old school hey, I mean when I was younger, my mom