Your 90-Day Wealth Action Plan: What To Do Next

A $340,000 difference.

That’s what we calculated for a Gilbert family last month — the gap between what their retirement could look like with a clear 90-day action system versus continuing to “wing it” with good intentions and scattered efforts.

Three hundred forty thousand dollars. Give or take.

And look — I get it. You’ve probably read a dozen articles about financial planning. Maybe you’ve even done some of the work. You’ve got the 401(k). Maybe some term insurance. Perhaps you’ve had a few conversations with your spouse about “the future.”

But here’s what I’ve noticed after sitting across the table from hundreds of Phoenix Valley families…

Most people have a destination. Almost nobody has a system.

So let’s fix that. Right now. In the next 10 minutes.

What Are the First 3 Things You Should Do This Week?

Not next month. Not “when things calm down.” This week.

Thing #1: Pull your numbers together in one place.

I’m talking about a single sheet of paper — or a Google Doc, whatever — that shows your total income, total fixed expenses, total debt, total investments, and total insurance coverage. Five numbers. That’s it.

You’d be shocked how many people earning $150,000+ can’t tell you these five figures off the top of their head. I couldn’t either, back when I was $42,000 in debt working as a semiconductor technician. (Might’ve been closer to $44K actually — my wife would know the exact number. She tracked everything while I was pretending the problem would fix itself.)

Thing #2: Identify your biggest wealth leak.

Once you see the numbers, something usually jumps out. For me, it was $547/month on a vehicle I didn’t even like that much. For a Chandler family I worked with recently, it was $250/month going to a life insurance plan that was bleeding cash value — they had no idea the fees were eating their “savings” alive.

Your leak might be different. Subscriptions. Dining out. Insurance products you bought because someone at the bank suggested them. Whatever it is — you can’t fix what you can’t see.

Thing #3: Schedule one honest conversation.

Either with your spouse, your advisor, or both. Not a full financial overhaul — just 30 minutes to look at those five numbers together and ask: “Are we happy with where this is headed?”

That’s week one. Three things. Doable in a few hours total.

How Do You Audit Your Current Financial Situation Honestly?

“Honestly” is the key word there. And it’s harder than it sounds.

When I was drowning in debt, I told myself all kinds of stories. “We’ll catch up when my next raise comes.” “The car payments are an investment in reliability.” “At least we’re not as bad as [insert neighbor here].”

All garbage. All excuses.

Here’s the audit framework I use now — both for myself and for clients:

The “If I Died Tomorrow” Test

Would your family be okay? Not emotionally — that’s a different conversation — but financially? Would they be able to pay off the house? Fund the kids’ education? Maintain their current lifestyle for at least 5-10 years?

If you hesitate on any of those… that’s information.

The “Where’s It Growing” Check

Look at every account you have. What’s the fee structure? What’s the average annual return over the past 10 years? Is your money actually working, or is it sitting in a 0.4% savings account or getting eaten by 2.5% expense ratios inside some insurance product?

A Mesa family came to us last year with $320,000 spread across four different accounts. When we dug into the fees, they were hemorrhaging roughly $7,200 per year in expenses they didn’t even know existed. That’s hypothetical future dollars — compounded over 20 years, we’re talking about potentially hundreds of thousands in lost growth. (For illustrative purposes only — your actual results may vary based on individual circumstances and market conditions.)

The “What’s Draining” Inventory

Debt, subscriptions, recurring charges. Pull your last three months of bank statements and highlight every outflow that doesn’t put food on your table or a roof over your head. No judgment — just data.

The goal isn’t to feel bad. It’s to see clearly.

The Moment Everything Changed For Me

I was driving to fix something I had no business trying to fix — couldn’t afford professional help — when I heard Dave Ramsey on the radio.

“You don’t have an income problem. You have a behavior problem.”

That hit me like a freight train. Because I’d been blaming my paycheck — I was a semiconductor technician, not exactly rolling in it, but enough with structure to do pretty well with — when the real issue was how I managed money. Or didn’t manage it, more accurately.

I’d been in the Navy. I knew how to follow a plan and execute. But nobody had ever taught me a plan for money. And I certainly wasn’t teaching myself.

That’s when I realized: knowing what to do isn’t the same as having a system to actually do it.

Over the next three years, I paid off all $42,000 of consumer debt, and then started building real wealth. I wanted to pay it forward so I got licensed as a financial advisor — started part-time while keeping my day job. Made $10,000 in year one. Then $30,000. Then $128,000 in 2024, all part-time, while raising three daughters with my wife.

The destination didn’t change. I always wanted financial freedom. What changed was the system — the 90-day cycles, the weekly check-ins, the specific actions that kept me on track when life got chaotic.

What Conversations Should You Have With Your Spouse and Advisor?

This is where most plans die. Not from bad math — from avoided conversations.

With Your Spouse:

You need to get on the same page about three things:

1. What does “enough” look like? When could you both theoretically stop working and be okay? What’s the number? Most couples have never actually discussed this.
2. What are we willing to sacrifice in the short-term? Dining out? New cars? Private school? There’s no wrong answer — but there has to be AN answer you both agree on.
3. Who’s responsible for what? Who tracks the budget? Who reviews the investments? Who handles insurance renewals? Undefined responsibility equals no responsibility.

With Your Advisor:

If you have one. If not — well, we should probably talk. But assuming you do:

1. Ask them to explain every fee you’re paying. In dollars, not percentages.
2. Ask what happens if you die tomorrow — walk through the exact scenario.
3. Ask what the one thing you could optimize right now is. If they can’t answer clearly, that’s information too.

How Can You Build Sustainable Momentum?

Here’s where most financial content falls short. They give you the “what” without the “how to keep doing it.”

Picture this: It’s 90 days from now. You’ve made real progress — paid down debt, redirected money to investments, had the hard conversations. But then life happens. A car breaks down. The holidays hit. Work gets crazy.

How do you not slide backwards?

Weekly 15-Minute Money Meetings

Same day, same time, every week. My wife and I do ours Sunday evenings after the kids are down. We review what came in, what went out, and what’s coming up. Fifteen minutes, max. It’s not about perfection — it’s about awareness.

90-Day Financial Sprints

Pick one major goal each quarter. Just one. Pay off a credit card. Max out the HSA. Review and optimize insurance. Get the estate documents done. One thing, done well, compounds into dozens of things over a few years.

Quarterly Advisor Check-Ins

Even 30 minutes every three months keeps you accountable and catches drift before it becomes disaster. Most of our clients tell us this is the single thing that made the difference — not the fancy strategies, just the consistent check-ins.

What Happens Next

Alright, you’ve got the framework. You’ve got the action steps. But I know how this goes — you read something useful, feel motivated for about 48 hours, then life takes over and nothing changes.

So let me make this concrete.

Option 1: Grab the Ultimate Wealth Starter Toolkit

It’s a complimentary guide we put together that walks you through exactly what we covered here — worksheets, templates, the whole thing. No cost, no obligation. Download it, use it, share it with a friend in Tempe or Scottsdale or wherever. [DOWNLOAD THE TOOLKIT]

Option 2: Schedule a Quick Insurance Review

Many clients start with just a 20-minute review of their current insurance — costs nothing, and you’ll know within that call if there’s money being wasted. We see it more often than you’d expect.

Option 3: Book a Full Consultation

30-45 minutes. Not scary. Not judgmental. Just clarity. In your first consultation, you’ll walk away with:

• Complete snapshot of your current financial position
• Insurance assessment — what you need, what you don’t
• Two to three tax optimization strategies for your specific situation
• Written summary you can take home and review
• Clear next step — whether that’s working together or not

Most clients know exactly where they stand within the first week of working with us.

Our Guarantee: And here’s my guarantee: If you leave our first conversation without at least two actionable insights you can implement right away, then I’ll buy you coffee or take care of a lunch for you for wasting your time. That’s how confident I am that this will be worth at least 30 minutes of your day.

We limit new client consultations to 8 per month to ensure everyone gets the attention they deserve. Capital Choice manages over $1 billion in client assets — that doesn’t happen by rushing through meetings. As of this writing, we have 3 spots remaining for January.

When someone becomes a client, they get direct access to our team — Chris, Trent, and Bill — with 75+ years of combined experience. We’re in the Phoenix and Mesa offices or available by Zoom, whatever works for your schedule. Plus our 20+ five-star Google reviews aren’t there by accident — we actually return calls.

Coming Up Next

Alright, you’ve got the plan. You’ve got the action steps. But here’s the final piece most people miss: ACCOUNTABILITY.

How can you increase your likelihood of actually following through?

That’s what we’re covering next — and it’s the difference between planning and DOING.

[Read Part 20: The Accountability Factor: Why Most People Fail (And How To Make Sure You Don’t)]

Disclaimer: This is general information for educational purposes only and does not constitute personalized financial advice. Hypothetical examples are for illustrative purposes; actual results will vary based on individual circumstances, market conditions, and timing. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal. Results not typical. Individual outcomes vary. Consult licensed professionals for your specific situation.