In this episode of the One of a Kind Financial Show Daily, host Mike Milligan recounts how his grandmother’s small‑scale collard‑sandwich business in Laurel Hill, North Carolina, taught him foundational financial principles that shaped his firm, One Oak Financial. He describes the humble “collard sandwich” – deep‑fried cornbread stuffed with collard greens – and how his grandmother, widowed in her 60s, turned it into a survival enterprise without a bank account. While helping her count cash as a teenager, Mike learned two core lessons: every dollar must have a job, and money without purpose will find its own, often undesirable, use. These lessons underpin One Oak Financial’s “one‑of‑a‑kind financial plan,” which aims to give each client a personalized, purpose‑driven strategy covering retirement income, tax efficiency, long‑term care, and legacy planning. Throughout the segment Mike invites listeners to call or text for a direct conversation, cites his media appearances, and provides the required regulatory disclaimer that the podcast is for educational purposes only and not financial advice. The tone is narrative and persuasive, emphasizing resilience, personal legacy, and the uniqueness of each client’s financial story.
Chapters
Be one of a kind with Mike's Plan.
Welcome to the One of a Kind Financial Show Daily. It's Thursday, and this is Mike Milligan, your host. As we come quickly to the end of the week and soon the end of March, I wanted to share another segment from the One of a Kind Financial Show that we did this weekend. See, the One of a Kind Financial Show, I don't often get to tell my story of legacy. Earlier this week, I mentioned my grandmother, Walter and Elizabeth Calder, in the context of memorializing Chuck Norris. And I want to today tell you how One Oak Financial was built from college sandwiches to the one-of-a-kind financial plan. I tell this story, um, about being with my grandmother and, uh, down in Laurel Hill, Warrenburg, North Carolina, and how she was my first client and what a college sandwich really is, all the way to the dining room office we had created. Enjoy this segment from the show. And as always, you are one of a kind.
Welcome back to the One of a Kind Financial Show. I'm Mike Milligan, the founder of One Oak Financial. Typically Gary Nolan, our consumer advocate, is with me on the show every week, but this week he's taking the week off. Uh, today I want to take you back to where this whole thing really started. A little dining room table, a lot of hard work, and something my family called collard sandwiches. See, when people hear certified financial planner or founder of a firm, They usually don't picture collard greens and cornbread. But my story doesn't just begin on Wall Street. It actually began in a little town called Laurel Hill, North Carolina, watching my grandmother build a tiny business, one collard sandwich at a time. See, she didn't have a bank account, but she had a vision, a skillet, and a work ethic that would put most corporations to shame. She also had something that was absolutely a necessity. She had to innovate out of desperation because my grandmother lost the love of her life after 50 years. She found herself suddenly alone early in her 60s, and she had to dust off, get moving, and build something for herself because she wanted to live another 30 years, which by the way, she did. Every day when I was young, after school, I'd sit at her dining room table and help her count cash. Literally every dollar came from collard sandwiches and a dessert she made called chocolate cakes. I was acting as her little CFO, her chief financial officer, long before I knew what those initials actually meant. So you're probably wondering right now, You know, what is a collard sandwich? Well, let me paint the picture. It's homemade cornbread that's deep fried, split open, and stuffed with collard greens, vinegar, and spices, then pan fried simply, soulfully, and it's unforgettable. She sold them to local workmen at lunch and eventually at festivals, convenience stores, and small restaurants around town. It wasn't fancy, but it was hers. She treated every sandwich Like it mattered. Like it mattered because it did. It was her survival mechanism. See, she became an entrepreneur in her mid-60s because she did not have a retirement plan. At that table, when I was young, in my teen years, I learned 2 lessons that still drive One Oak Financial today. Number one, every dollar has a job. Number 2, if you don't give your money a purpose, It will find its own. It's usually not the one you wanted, by the way, when it finds its own. Granny would ask me, how much did we make today? But the real question is that she was really asking that I've learned later in life is, what can this money do? Well, it paid the light bill, it paid for groceries, we used it at church, and we used it for tomorrow. And that mindset is exactly how we approach planning with our clients now. We don't use words like cash flow planning or capital allocation or asset allocation model forecasting. Now, we do those things in the background, but we take these irregular, uncertain, non-everyday terms and turn them into predictable life, income you can't outlive, Investments that help you sleep at night, a long-term care plan that will actually help you end life with dignity, a legacy plan that I love you, while along the way, try to avoid as much tax as possible, legally avoid as much tax as possible. See, One Oak Financial has the backbone of my grandmother. Her spirit is here with us because those little small-town wisdom nuggets that she gave me along the way, are ever-present at One Oak Financial. Matter of fact, it's how I built the— it's how I wrote the book, The One of a Kind Financial Plan. It's how I live my life daily. See, One Oak Financial is here to help you build something in retirement like we built for my grandmother. If you want to talk with me today, before I finish this segment, I want to give you the phone number for you to call in right now. You can call in at 757-403- 5078. You will get me directly this weekend as I'm manning the phones for our company, as, uh, as my— most of my team's out enjoying this beautiful spring weather, uh, getting some cleanup done around their home and taking the weekend off. And I'd love to be able to speak with you directly. So you can call that number again at 757-403-5078 or text the word ideas to 600-700 for a quicker response. So Let me connect that college sandwich story to you. A lot of people listening right now are in a version of that same story. Maybe you're running a small business, maybe you're juggling multiple jobs, or you're trying to figure out retirement after a career of just making it work. You might feel like you're stuck in survival mode, but what my grandmother showed me is that even if your start is humble, you deserve a one-of-a-kind financial plan. Not a one-size-fits-all product. If people wanted a one-size-fits-all product, they could have easily gone to McDonald's and gotten a Big Mac or Hardee's and gotten a cheeseburger or the Pizza Inn and gotten a pepperoni pizza. What people wanted was something unique and one of a kind. And I think we're all that way, right? That is why I built One Oak Financial, one of a kind financial, to put purpose behind every dollar, just like we did at that dining room table. but with modern tools, tax strategies, and a full planning team behind you. Most of the financial world is designed around products and quotas. We flipped that and designed our firm around people first, their stories, and written plans that are clear, simple, and actually get used. That little college sandwich business in a small town in America eventually turned into a career where I've been blessed to teach, At ODU, to build this firm in Norfolk, Virginia, and helping people all across the country, and to share these ideas on platforms like CNBC, Fox, ABC, and NBC, and here on the radio with you every weekend. But every time I'm behind a mic or across the table from a client, I can still see that stack of bills on Granny's table and feel that responsibility to make every decision count. Around here, we say, be one of a kind. And for me, that's not a slogan. It's a promise that your life and your story, your money, are going to be treated as uniquely as those collard sandwiches that built my foundation. Your investments, your tax plan, your retirement income, your legacy, we put all of that into one written one-of-a-kind financial plan so you can stop guessing and start living. So if this story resonates with you, if you're tired of feeling like just another account number, and if you want a plan that actually reflects your life, I'd love to invite you to start a conversation with our team at One Oak Financial. It begins with a phone call to 757-403-5078. Uh, I want to hear your story. Then from there, you know, if we need to hop on a Zoom call or we need to get you in the office, we can start building your one-of-a-kind financial plan for your one-of-a-kind life. See, from collard sandwiches to comprehensive planning, the goal is the same. Never waste a dollar. And most important, never miss a moment.
This has been the One of a Kind Financial Show Daily with your host, Mike Milligan. I hope you enjoyed that segment from last week's solo episode of the One of a Kind Financial Show. Just as a reminder to reach out to us, you can do that at Also at www.oneoakfinancial.com. That's the number one oakfinancial.com. I am an investment advisory representative with Advisory Alpha LLC, registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Ideas by Mike doing business as One Oak Financial is an unaffiliated entity of Advisory Alpha LLC. This podcast is done for educational purposes only. Please consult with a licensed financial professional. A tax advisor, or an attorney before making any decisions around investing, taxes, or estate planning. For more information about our firm, please go to our website or reach out to schedule a one-on-one consultation with me personally. We'll see you tomorrow.
Be one of a kind with Mike's Plan. In a face shot growth, take a stand. Visibility, strategy, take the lead. Transformation's yours, fulfill the need. Mike's got the way to help you rise and stay. Leadership impact you'll find in your one-of-a-kind mind. Be one of a kind, take the flight. Mike's the guide, you'll shine bright.
