Financial Mastery for a Dream Lifestyle with Justin Buonomo

Financial Mastery for a Dream Lifestyle with Justin Buonomo

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I am your host, bringing you your daily dose of inspiration, motivation, and education. I'm really excited today because we've got a guy that you're probably going to see a lot more of. Someone who is a CEO and founder of a company that is helping business owners. A great topic for us business owners—to get our mindset right around money, grow, protect, and build our businesses.

Justin Buonomo, good to have you on the program, man. How are you doing?

I'm doing well, my friend. You're an absolute legend. I enjoyed our conversation before we hopped into the recording, and I am extremely pumped to be here. So thank you for having me.

Yeah. What's funny is, I usually bring guests on, and I'll put this big bio together. Trust me, I want people to understand who you are and where you're from. But as we got going, I felt the same way—it’s like, man, we're not going to have enough time for all the amazing stuff that we're going to be talking about.

Just so everyone knows, you are an absolute stud. You guys are killing it. You're the CEO and founder of Journey to Financial Freedom, which is a company designed to help CEOs, business owners, and high achievers build their dream lifestyle through financial mastery.

And the reason this topic was attractive to me and why I wanted to bring you on the show is that so many people get into business and finance to grow and make money, but they forget that lifestyle was the whole reason they were doing it. And they don’t achieve a lifestyle if they just become a business owner.

Do me a favor and give everyone a quick synopsis of who you are, what you’re really about, and where you came from.

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Justin Buonomo’s Background and Journey

I appreciate that, man. I actually came from a background where my parents were successful individuals—the cream of the crop, both high school stars, really good-looking individuals. And yet, they filed for bankruptcy for the second time by the time I was 10 years old.

This was back in the late ‘90s, and at the time, they were making almost $150,000 combined. Despite that, they still filed for bankruptcy. I remember being 10 years old and losing everything because of that. They got a divorce. We lost both cars, our house, and I even had to give my dog away, George, because the two rental properties we were moving into wouldn’t allow pets.

At that moment, I made a promise to myself: One day, when I can control it, I’ll never have to worry about money ever again.

Fast forward a bit. I turned 23, finished my master's in healthcare management with a focus on finance, and got a job at Johns Hopkins Hospital. It was a position I had no business being in—I think they were just really desperate, and it had been open for a year. I was crazy enough to take on this really big role that no one else wanted.

Inside of that position, I got a very large salary and a lot of financial responsibilities for the hospital. Based on my training and salary, I realized that if I stayed in this corporate world, climbed the ladder, and developed the way they wanted me to, my income was only going to increase.

So I had to make a decision: I needed to learn how to manage money correctly.

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Founding Journey to Financial Freedom

I built a personal system that ended up working for me and some friends. Back in 2020, I started my own company, Journey to Financial Freedom, where we now do financial coaching for business owners.

As I was telling you before the show, we take an approach that I think makes us so successful and has helped our company grow to seven figures in just our second year of business. And a lot of our clients have done the same.

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The Two-Bucket Approach to Financial Coaching

We teach finances in two buckets:

You can fake it for a little bit. You can budget and save money for 90 days, but if your belief system around money is negative, that’s going to dictate your behaviors long-term.

So we change that belief system with our clients. And then, once they have a solid foundation, we shift our focus to their income.

Because here’s the truth: It doesn’t make sense to teach people how to make $20,000 more a month if they can’t handle their current situation correctly.

Once we put that foundational work in, we shift our focus to income growth—turning their business into what we call their Financial Freedom Vehicle.

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Turning Your Business into a Financial Freedom Vehicle

Our goal is to get business owners to financial freedom. The simplest definition of financial freedom is owning assets that generate enough passive income to cover your expenses and lifestyle, whether you choose to show up or not.

Your business is an asset—so we teach clients how to turn their business into their primary wealth-building tool.

Money is just a tool. Freedom is the goal. I don’t care about money itself—I care about the opportunities, reduced stress, and peace of mind it provides for you, your family, and your business.

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Final Thoughts and Takeaways

George Wright III: Guys, listen. There’s a lot of wisdom in everything Justin just said. If you’re listening to this, take note. Your business should be built intentionally to support your lifestyle.

You don’t have to grind yourself to the ground to create success. There’s a way to build wealth and freedom simultaneously.

Brother, we’ve got to have you in our Mastermind Academy, but I know we’re short on time. So, if there’s one last takeaway or tactic you could recommend to business owners who want to break the cycle and start moving toward financial freedom, what would it be?

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Justin Buonomo’s Advice for Business Owners

Two things:

George Wright III: Man, that’s gold. We’re going to put a bunch of links in the show notes so people can get connected with you. Where can people find you online?

Justin Buonomo: Instagram: @Justin_Buonomo

George Wright III: Guys, connect with Justin. This has been an amazing conversation, and we’ll definitely have him back. It’s never too late to start living the life you’re meant to live—but you have to take action.

Thanks for tuning in!