As we release the very first episode of our new TV show to audiences this Saturday, I reflect on the year-long journey it took to create it.
A big part of why this season is so good is our celebrity investor Blair McDonough.
You might remember Blair from the very first season of Big Brother, or perhaps from Neighbours. He is a likeable, easygoing and down-to-earth guy. He is also a devoted dad and husband.
Blair got the opportunity to meet some highly skilled and experienced money managers on the show. To his credit, he showed up every time with an open mind, and a desire to learn. He asked our big research house chief executives questions about how to trust the industry, and learned through a heartbreaking story what can happen if your kids get sick.
This was not your typical TV experience for Blair, and what I really admire about him was he was able to show up authentically and admit he needed help.
In his own words: “we hold our cards close to our chests when it comes to money.” Nobody wants to reveal how much they really have or don’t have. But Blair knew that going through this process was going be a once in a lifetime experience, and he didn’t want to let that pass so he took the risk and opened up.
He revealed his financial situation, talked at length about his property strategy, and sat through a session with our financial planner, Simon Clifford of Adviser fp, where he learned both his short-term cashflow issues, and the long-term numbers he needed for retirement.
Watch the first episode of Learn from the Money Masters free here.Simon contributed a chapter to our free eBook. Click here to read it now. Download the full eBook here.
People usually assume that celebrities have lots of money. Many also think they have most things figured out. Blair was honest enough to talk about the realities of acting as a career, and the roller coaster ride of doing this while also raising a family. As he talks, it is very easy to identify with Blair, as what he reveals is so relevant to so many of us: he did not know how much money he needed to pay for the life he wanted for his family.
He also didn’t know how much cash flow he needed over the next twelve months with his wife going on maternity leave. The numbers, while sobering for him, were the start of his learning journey. Blair realised his focus needed to change, and that he could learn new strategies that could help him achieve the life he was dreaming of.
Everyone who Blair met on the program genuinely enjoyed spending time with him. They did their best to answer his questions in an easy to understand way, and provide him with some great insights into how to make money make money. Most of all, they all wanted to see him succeed, because he is an incredibly likeable character. For our experts, Blair represents the average Australian that the finance industry serves. Their passion for what they do shines through in their master classes as they clearly enjoyed speaking about it and sharing their knowledge.
Everybody wanted Blair to succeed. And by episode six you can see an enormous shift in the way Blair now sees the world and his financial future.
It gives me great satisfaction to know that Blair and his family will continue to benefit from the lesson he learned on the program. I hope thousands more Australians can watch his experience and do the same.
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