Compound Growth

Episode 15- Wealth, Work, and the Shifting Meaning of Success

• Compound Growth • Season 1 • Episode 15

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In this episode of Compound Growth, Wheeler and Colin dive into a wide-ranging conversation on how our views of money, work, and success have evolved over the decades. They begin with a lighthearted (and slightly chaotic) story about home construction gone awry—illustrating how coordination, communication, and planning are as critical in life as they are in building a house. From contractors and designers to clients and advisors, they draw parallels between home projects and navigating complex financial or life decisions.

The discussion then shifts to a deeper exploration of generational attitudes toward wealth. From the stability-focused 1970s, to the flashy status symbols of the 1990s, to today’s Gen Z and Millennial emphasis on freedom and experiences, the hosts unpack how cultural, economic, and technological shifts have reshaped financial aspirations. Along the way, they address the widening wealth gap, job market challenges, the romanticized view of entrepreneurship, and the role of social media in distorting expectations.

Finally, Wheeler and Colin debate whether wealth itself is inherently “bad” or whether systemic issues are to blame for growing economic discontent. They share personal insights on navigating the “K-shaped” economy, why traditional career paths may no longer be the safest bet, and how finding in-demand skills—whether in trades, corporate roles, or investments—can be a way forward. This thoughtful and candid episode blends humor, personal stories, and practical advice, leaving listeners with a clearer view of how to think about money, work, and success in today’s rapidly changing world.

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Credits:
Created By: Wheeler Crowley and Colin Walker
Production Assistance: Tori Rothwell
Editing and Post-Production: Steven Sims

So, I had a meeting this morning.Yeah.As you know, I have, um, a house project I'm working on.Mm-hmm.By house project, I'm building a house.And, uh, we hired some people to do different things.So we have our general contractor, and then we have designers.And the designers are going in and helping us, like, with the tile and the lights and the floor details, and making sure the framing, like, lines up in a way where things are flush and aligned and it looks good.That's right.What I failed to realize was we have conversations with our GC- Yeah.and then we have conversations with the designer.So the designer has put in all this work and the GC puts in all this work.Mm-hmm.And then today, we were like, "Let's unify."Today is unification day.Oh, no.SoWe sit down and, um, the meeting was only scheduled for, like, an hour.And we're like, "The designers have all these drawings of these things that we wanted them to do," and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.And the, the GC is like, "Well, you have a beam going through here."And it's like, so it throws off the entire thing.Or he'll be like, "Well, yeah, this door doesn't lay out this way because there's a structural element here, and you can't do that with this, or you can't do that with this," and blah, blah, blah.So we literally sat down and we're all excited.We have, like, these photos that we're like, "Yes!"Like, "This is gonna be awesome."And then we, like, sit down, and then it's basically like aI don't wanna say a meltdown argument for an hour and aBut it was us mediating, like, between the 2 sides of like a, "Well, we want this tile here, so it looks like this.""Well, that's not possible, or that's gonna cost more money because of this, or I'm gonna have to build this thing over here."And then like, Kailee and I are literally just sitting there, like, eating donuts and, like, having coffee and just, like, making earrings while we're, like, going through all of this.At least you had snacks.We had snacks.But I'm just like, "Holy crap."Like, "There is so much going on right now," and I don't even know what people are talking about.Yeah.And they're like, "Well, what do you think about this and this softening detail over here, and if we pull the paneling through this section?"And I'm like, "Guys," like, "can you just, like, do it?"And this takes me back to last time when we were having the conversation.Mm-hmm.Your Money Rules- Mm-hmm.about keeping things easy.Keeping things simple.Keeping things simple.Yeah.And I wonder, you know, sometimes you bring people into your life to make things simple.Now, no one, I think, would say that building a house is a simple thing.No.But with that being said, um, I do think at some point, they're gonna get along, they're gonna chisel through each other's walls, and on the other side, it's gonna be glorious.I would lower your expectations.That's probably fair.I mean, it's funny 'cause I've talked to you'Cause we did our r- our kitchen renovation.Mm-hmm.Um, what was that?4 years ago.Yeah.And I remember saying, "Don't use the designer I used," which you didn't.No.But I said, "Don't use the designer I used.The designer was horrible," or whatever.And my knocks on the designer, um, among the many, one was that he didn't seem to factor everything in- Mm-hmm.like a general contractor would, right?Or like he, he s- made assumptions, and then we had the same situation where the designer and the general contractor were butting heads and pointing fingers and blaming each other, not just in one meeting, but throughout the process.The entire thing.Right.Yeah.So that's when I say lower expectations.This doesn't necessarily get to be a one-time-only, and it, it could be, it could be.I doubt it.But it's, it's funny because I feel like the only way to, to prevent this is to have it coordinated from the start.Like, they should be working together the entire time.100%.And this is, likeOne thing I noticed really clearly on as we get these renderings and the designs unbelievable.Yeah.We're like, "This is gonna be sick."And then I show it to Steve, and Steve's like- Steve's the contractor.Steve's the contractor.Yeah.And Steve's like, "What are you thinking?"And I'm like, "You guys should talk."Yeah.So, like, we're leaving there, and, um, we're heading out from the meeting because it's already over.Yeah.And I was like, "Guys, I gotta go.""See you guys later.I'll leave you guys to it."And, um, you know, the GC was like, "Oh, well, you know, can we have a few meetings?'Cause we talked about a lot today."And I'm like, "Yeah, sure.But I think you guys should go to coffee."Yeah, you guys talk first.So I'm like, so I'm, like, setting them up on a date- Yeah.like a blind date- Yeah.'cause I'm like, "You guys need to become best friends."Yeah.Okay.And when you guys, when you guys are friends, things are gonna be great.But, um, yeah, there's synergies between things, and I was thinking about this on my way over here becauseTying this into client situations, like, coordination, like- Yeah.is everything.Yeah.And whether we're working with, like, a wholesaler on investments or a CPA on tax front or an estate planning attorney on the actual estate plan or, you know, any sort of legacy planning.Yeah.Like, if people don't play well in the sandbox together, then that leads to a rough client experience.I, I agree with you, and I think actually it goes just, like, one step beyond that.It's how your brain works too, like if- Yeah.the, the problem with your designer and your contractor is their brains don't work the same way, so they're not anticipating the same problems.We're doing just a small pro- well, small, it's relatively a small project.We're not building a house, we're just doing a deck, a 3season porch- Yeah.like, renovation.We're not evenI was thinking, I'm like, "Did we pull permits?Do we need to pull permits?"This, we didn't, I don't know if that happened or not.Um, butWe'll let him deal with that.Yeah.Welcome to The Compound Growth Podcast with Collin and Wheeler, where we talk all things growth.From financial growth to career growth, personal development to societal progress, we explore how each layer builds on the next, compounding over time to shape who we become.Each week, we break down complex ideas and emerging trends into clear, actionable insights, because growth isn't just about numbers, it's about understanding the world and our place in it.The information in this material is for general information only and is not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual.Investment advice offered through Integrated Partners, doing business as CoFi Advisors, LLC, a registered investment advisor.Integrated Partners does not provide legal, tax, mortgage advice or services.Please consult your legal tax advisor regarding your specific situation.Past performance is no guarantee of future results.All investing involves risk, including loss of principal.No strategy assures success or protects against loss.The economic forecasts set forth in this material may not develop as predicted and there can be no guarantee that the strategies promoted will be successful.To reflect back, for the people that don't know the story about the Boston architect.Yeah.So I was interviewing people to help us with a house, and, um, I had a conversation with a gentleman at a firm that was out of our price range, but it was- we just had a chat.And, um, he was saying, like, the most valuable thing you can do in terms of planning, not just your home but also, like, your future life is to sit down and envision what your perfect day is.Yeah.So he was like, "You know, when you sit down or when we sit down with our clients, we hand them all a diary.And you and your wife do it separately and we even give one to the kids."Right.And he goes, "I want you to wake up every day and imagine what it feels like to go through your house."He was like, "When you wake up, what's the first thing you look at?What side of the bed do you get on?Do you turn on a light?Where is the light switch?Do you walk to the bathroom first?Do you go into the kitchen?Are you going to wake up kids?Do you let the dog out?Where does your dog sleep?"And he was like, "That's your morning routine.What does the afternoon look like?Are you going out and doing stuff or do you have dinner?Do you have friends over?Where are you having them over?Are you playing in a pool?Are you chilling in the living room playing games?"And I'm like, wow, that is such a good exercise because as you think about your perfect day, you could be that way with your house.But it's the same thing with clients and retirement too.Yeah.People are always like, "Well, when do you wanna retire?"Maybe the question should be, "What does your retirement actually look like?"People always say the same thing.It's always like, "Well, I wanna travel more or I wanna do more golf or I wanna spend more time with the grandkids."But, like, what does it actually look like?It's a really good point, and I- I do think, though, when I'm just hearing you rattle off everythingI had 2 thoughts.1 Mm-hmm.is, it's a really good thing my child didn't fill out a diary of what a home renovation should look like because- I'd hop on a slide, into a ball pit.How did you know?That's exactly what she's gonna say.I- my diary would be very similar.But also, I- I feel like, um, it's overwhelming, right?Like if you're- if you're a client and we're asking theseWell, we wouldn't do it that way, but if- if you're asking these questions of a client, like, I think they're really worthwhile questions.You shouldn't have immediate answers, right?It's- Of course.it's go fill out that diary at home.Yeah.Right?Yeah, well, it's like The Art of War, you know, everything's won or lost in the planning.Mm-hmm.And if you can, like, come up with a really great plan for whatever it is, whether it's a house or a vacation or retirement or whatever- Yeah.I- I feel like it's, like, that's gonna be super valuable.At least I know it has been for me.Yeah.I think it makes a lot of sense.It's- it's nice when you have that opportunity to think things through.Yeah.I feel like slowing down and pausing to think things through can be so valuable because otherwise you have a lot of unintended consequences, and that's what I feel like my life is full of, is unintended consequences.Unintended consequences.And I did not think all these steps through.I'm learning chess.I'm learning to play chess, right?I love chess.I playyeah, as you but- Right, yeah.So I, like, I get the value of thinking a couple steps ahead and, like, maybe training your brain to think that way, but I still feel like there's naturalLike, it's, uh, you know, at 4343?Almost 44 years old here, um, I think, yeah.I'm a- it's a little late in the game to be retraining my brain to think that way.I feel like you should, like, learn chess when you're three and maybe that will help you think about unintended or intended consequences a little bit more thoroughly.Maybe, yeah.Maybe it's better to have the, kind of, the framework in the beginning.But it's almost like, um, when we talked with AndreWhen she came in, she talked about the input to ChatGPT.Right.And like what outcome do you want?Yeah.And if you know what outcome you are trying to get to, it's much easier to form a plan.Yeah.I, but I think that one of my thoughts during that conversation was that that's a very, it's an oversimplification.Like, the thought that we get to control the outcome, like, we're not God creatures, like we don't get to control the outcome.We have intended outcomes.We have like- Mm-hmm.here's what we're hoping will happen.But I feel like, and you know, this transitions into the conversation that we're having today, so much of what's happening in our country and in our, our economy and the state of the world that we're living in right now is the result of unintended consequences.And when you're taking time to think things through, that can help.But I feel like frequently the best intentions lead to unexpected, certainly unintended, consequences.Most communistic parties, most genocides, most horrible things that happen in the world started with great intentions.Oh, maybe.I don't know.Sorry, that'sSome of those genocides gone, I'm not sure.I guess, uh, it, it depends on your opinion of a good outcome.Right.And that's the thing.We're often living in other people's good ideas.Well, that's, that's what I think makes it so overwhelming and so, I think, suffocating to a degree.Because the, and this is why when I was a kid, I was like, when I, when I learned about our political system and like- How little control you have.how little control I have.The fa- the fact that we have the electoral college- Yeah.and like, I can vote how I wanna vote, right?And you can vote the same way and like 38 of my friends can vote the same way.But only f- only one actually gets to make the real vote.Yeah.So I, and you know, I'm oversimplifying that as well.But it feels more and more and everything is out of my control.And then my reaction to that was to s- to retreat from it to a degree.It was like, Well, I'll focus on what I can control, right?Yeah.And try to make a difference in the, like, little areas where I can.And now that's feeling more like it's not enough.What I will say is historically speaking, looking back at my life, whenever I put a plan in place to try to achieve something, it's typically happened.Mm-hmm.And sometimes to the extent of even more so than what I had planned.Oftentimes, like if I go down a road and if I have expectations of X, sometimes I'll get Y and Y is even better.Mm-hmm.So I have found that, um, where I fail the most is when I don't have a plan.You know, it's like, what's that saying?If you don't have a plan, plan to fail?Sure.Uh, so if you don't have a plan then that's like kind of, to me, where I always fall astray.But whenever Kaylee or I, or I have put some sort of plan in place, while it may not be exact, it does generally create a guideline and a road that we tend to go down.Well, I, I think it gets you- It's, it creates action.Yeah.I, one of my favorite little, like, phrases right now is directionally accurate, right?Like, it gets you moving.Very much so.Yeah.Right?Like, you have to start the journey.You can't control the destination necessarily, but you can, you know, control some aspects of the journey.Yeah.It's like golf.Like, if you're aiming down the fairway, it may not land in the fairway, but it should be close.Yeah.But, um, don't aim behind you.Yeah.I was playing hockey once with a client actually, and uh, he was like, Hey, you know, if you want the puck to go over there, you should aim your stick in that direction.I was like, Oh, really?Is that what I should do?I should just, like, aim it.Like, Yes, thank you for telling me that- Yeah.very logical thing.I recognize I didn't aim.I, I accept your criticism of my passing ability.Um, but yeah.I think that's, what's tough is that it's not just your plan.It's not just my plan, right?Like, it's a nation of 1000000, right?And nobody has the same plan.This is my big problem with politics though is, um, I don't enjoy watching the news and I don't enjoy getting into it because I just recognize I can't control that that much.Sure.Versus like a house.Yeah.You know, like I can control that.Like even if people don't get along, you know, you can make changes, butYou can impact it more.I can impact it more.I don't know if control is even the right word.It's like you can make an impact on it.You can make a significant impact on the destination that you're trying to get to.Right.Versus there are certain things where, is it worth putting stock in?Um, I would argue no in some cases, other people are completely on the other flip side of that- Yeah.that like, like you should really care about it.And that's a personal preference and opinion to be honest.But I have found that personally to me, making plans and going down a path is directionally accurate, as you said.Yeah.Yeah.When I was a kid, I had a tradition, like a nightly routine of I would like sit on my mom's lap and watch the news.Mm-hmm.Right?That was something that like we just did everyWell, probably Monday through Friday.Probably not on the weekends.But we would, we would sit there and watch the news.And now I can't imagine putting my daughter in front of the TV to watch the news.In fact- No.when, whenever that's happened, we're like dismayed by what she sees.Right?We don't want this.She should change the channel.Yeah.And I gotta wonder like what I was taking in when I was 5, right?I'm not sure really what I saw there, uh, because like, you know, everythingThere's always rose-colored glasses, right?Yeah.Um-I don't think you watch the news for fun.Like, I actually sometimes, uh, you know, on election night I'm, like, curious, and, like- Oh, it's-you know, there's like a- It's kind of the best- Yeah.election night.Like, even if it doesn't go your way, it's, like, very exciting.Yeah.It's, it's kind of like there's a, it's like aIt's not a game, it's a competition, whatever it is.But I'll, I'll- It is.It's like watching the Super Bowl.But it's not likeI, I think some, frequently election nights have, have been very upsetting.But what I'll do is I'll bounce back and forth between coverages to make it a little bit more entertaining.Right?And I'll, and I'll watch, like, this ridiculous map that this person's standing in the middle of to talk about this, like, one group of, of voters in Alabama or whatever.Like, it'sThe gamification of it is, is very silly.You wanna know what election night is like?It's like watching the Super Bowl on several different channels where everybody has a different score.Yes.Everybody has a different score.Everybody has a different score for the same game.They're commentating on different games- Yeah, exactly.and they're cheering for their different fan bases.Yeah.And, and, like, yeah.And, and then they have people on the field interviewing the players.Interviewing the players mid-play.Yeah.It is.I, I think it'sI don't know.Sometimes it's like a, maybe a morbid fascination, but I am fascinated by- Yeah.by election night.I, I totally agree with you.It is, umStepping back, it is kind of fun watch.When you're in the midst of it, man does it get heated.Yeah.But- Yeah.Yeah, good times.But we don't, I don'tI think the, back to your point about, like, it's not fun, it's not fun.No, of course.Like, I, I don't think anything about the news is fun.No.Right?I don't think anyone turns on the news to have a good time.Yeah.But I, I- Maybe I'm wrong.Yeah.But I feel like it's very helpful to understand where people are.Mm-hmm.Right?So one of the things that I was gonna bring up today isActually, a client brought up something.Um, he was listening to our podcast, and, um, as is normal for him, he was agreeing with most of the things that we were saying, which I always appreciate.Appreciate, yes.Very positive feedback.Um, but he was like, You know the thing that you guys were talking about in the history of, like, the economy, when we went back through the- The Social Security?Not the Social Security, but, like, just when we went through the different phases of the US economy.Okay.Right?Yeah.He was, said, That's the Polanyi pendulum.And I'm like, That's what now?I've never heard of this.So I looked up this Polanyi pendulum thing.Um, and it's, it was an idea put forth by a guy named Karl Polanyi- Of course.Named after himself.which makes, makes sense.Yeah.But essentially the concept is that markets swing between market liberalization and social protection.Hmm.Right?So when we talk about the Roaring 20s, right, and the robber barons and everything that was going on there, and then you have the Great Depression, and on the other side of that you have- Yeah.the New Deal.Right.Right?That's essentially it.It's, it's liberalized markets that are essentially unconstrained or less constrained, and then something goes wrong and then social protection comes in.Right?And when you have a situat- situation like we're in right now, where the pendulum might be at an extreme, we might be at, like, one of those big e- you know, economic points in the American history and we might not.Like the 70s, kind of.Right.Yeah.Or the, you know, the Great Recession.Yep.Right?Um, if you're at that place, then if we're at an extreme end between marketization and we'reessentially is saying we're ripe for reversal, right?You have now new movements, like the Democratic Socialist Party- Mm-hmm.right, which is putting somebody like Mamdani in place to potentially be the mayor of New York as- Right.a socialist of the- Which is a huge shift.Right, exactly.And you have these kind of extremes, these things where people move back.You know, when you talk to a lot of people who voted for Trump, they said, Well, I just wanted something different.Mm-hmm.Right?Which I always thought was funny because that was the last time we voted for Trump, not the second time you vote for- Yes.or the third time-in some cases.But, um, and then you talk to the, the, uh, the Mamdani voters, some of the voters will say that they don't necessarily agree with some of his ideas- But they want something different.They want something different.Right?And I think the wanting something different is the point.Yeah, I totally agree.I, um, I'll say without getting political or anything like that, I do think that the majority of the reason why people voted the way that they voted was to either, um, they didn't want change or they did want change, is the way that I- Sure.personally look at it.And I think if you're the type of person that looks at a lot of systems right now and views them as being broken, I could see that as you wanting change.Mm-hmm.You know, like, I can resonate with that.If you're in New York, you don't like the way that things are going right now, you're not unhappy with it, of course, you're gonna want change, and that's a great thing to run on, and you'll probably get a lot of traction with that, to be honest.I think that's probably how Trump got a lot of traction too, is just pointing out, like, "You want change and you want things to be different, like, I'm your guy."Mm-hmm.Then you have the other side who is just like, "Things are really good right now.Like, let's kind of keep it going," type of situation.So that right there splits a huge divide and you can get voters either way.Yeah.Whether they're right or wrong.I think that was true the first time, I really do.Uh, I think that's how he rose to popularity.Mm-hmm.Right?I don't think when I, when I talk to the majority of the people, uh, y- that voted one way or the other, there are a lot of people who voted for Trump that still say they wanted change.Mm-hmm.Right?A lot of people who voted for Kamala weren't trying to keep a status quo.They were fearful of that change that's coming- Sure.and it's, it's kind of like they, they, they think that there's change that's necessary.It was a type of change that was- It was the wrong change.Yeah, that's- Is what they see.what they saw, right.Yeah.So I think the bottom line is that the country's shape-shifting again right now.So, okay, so this branches into our conversation that we are talking about having today.Which is, is the current view of, I'll say, younger generations, and I guess that includes my generation- Yeah.So we'll say Millennials and Gen Z-ers.Not the old guys like me.No.Yeah, aren't you a Millennial?Are you on the cutoff?No, no, no.We're, like, in that little, like, little bubble where we're not Millennials, but we're not Gen X.We're like this special little- The Millennials will adopt you.No, no, no.I feel like you're at heart.You're, you're young.I'm young at heart.My Whoop age is very young.Exactly.Yeah.According to your Whoop, you are a Millennial.That's, that's fair.Okay.So a Whoop Millennial, that's what you are.Um, anyway, is it such the case that there is a shifting mindset, especially compared to what was their prior?And I just want to take you through a few different things- Yeah.beforehand.So I did some research on this last night, and I was thinking, "What is the difference in terms of people's views of success with money as we go back throughout all prior generations?"Not all, but I'll say the last 50 to 60 years.Okay.So looking at my parents, you know, the people right before and after then, and then us and younger generations.So 50 years ago, in the 1970s, the majority of people thought success was, with money, was stability.Okay.So to you, money is stability.Owning a home, having a pension, climbing the corporate ladder, American dream, very predictable.Mm-hmm.People wanted predictability after World War II.And you saw that because the American dream was sold to basically everybody at the time."It should look like this.""It should look like this.This is what you want."Mm-hmm.You know, you want that family, you want the picket fence, you want the house, all that stuff.Yeah.And that was really sold and had a lot of traction.Fast forwarding, that had a hold for a very long time.Then you had the '90s.So then you had Wall Street, think MTV Cribs.You know?Yeah, yeah, yeah.Money is success- Yeah.at that point.So it was very flashy.You know, you had like Mercedes-Benz and Ferrari and Lamborghini coming out with crazy cars that were selling.Market was booming.It was doing pretty good.So to most people, being rich was just cool.Like, that was the goal, was to be rich in the '90s.And then you had, like, think about, like, Vanilla Ice and, like, that whole Miami phase and everything like that.Mm-hmm.Then moving on today, I'll say, and I'm curious to get your take on this, I agree with this, that most people, Gen Z and Millennials see money as freedom.It's not just a flex, but it's freedom.So to them, according to the survey, they value experiences more than things, financial independence over status symbols, and that's where we are now, but it's a pretty big shift if you look at the last 50 years.Yeah, it certainly sounds like a massive shift.Um, you know what, what's funny though?I, I look at these things and how theyI think it's a really good, point of reference when you think about MTV Cribs.Mm-hmm.And what was that representing, right?And I think there was some sort of, you know, there's a cultural aspect of that where theyou know, what the rise of hip hop culture can impact the perception of what's cool, right- For sure.and what you do with your money.Yeah.And that was certainly something that you saw in the late '80s into, into '90s with the, the Rise of Cribs and MTV in general, right?Yeah.Uh, but at the same time, if you go back to the movies of the '80s, right?As I always go back to movies.But if you go back to movies, when it was c- when it was put in front of younger audiences, the bad guy was always wealthy.Right?Right.Yeah, I think ultimately when you have concentrated wealth, it's going to continue to grow in scale, so it's really difficult to trim that down.Like, if you've got $100 1000000, a 6% rate of growth for you means that, what is that?Divided by 72, so call that, you know, we'll say 12 years.So, in 12 years your 100 million becomes 200, and then another 12 years after that it becomes 4, then call it a billion.But, um, when you have that concentration, compound growth is gonna take care of it to a certain extent.Right.And I think that's kind of leading to why we have this K-shaped economy that we're in right now.It's, I feel like we're at this point where you're either a stock owner or you're not, to, to some degree.It's- Right.the haves and the have-nots have been amplified more than ever before in history, not just because we h- you know, we all of a sudden have people who have a billion dollars, but, you know, there were always a, as we've discussed, there's always been, like, wealthy people in this country, you know, they weren't technically oligarchs but they, you know, we've always had- We've always had disparity, yeah.very wealthy, very peop- powerful people, and we've always had disparity.And there have been times where that shrunk, but it was never equal, right?We were never all the same.You, you, the problem is, though, the, the gap has b- is the widest, really, that it's ever been, and it's the most in-your-face it's ever been.And we need to have, like, we have this just kind of constant reminder, if you don't have money, that you don't have money, right?And that would make you resentful.Yeah.Last night, Kaylee and I were chatting.She is, um, looking for an assistant because she's taking on more and more clients, and it's an LNA, a licensed nursing assistant, is what she's searching for.And the hospital that she works for is having a very, very hard time getting LNAs- Yeah.because they have to go to school for it.So, it's not a big program.I think it's, like, 3 months.Um, but you have to go to school for it, you're trained on it, and then, you know, they follow Kaylee into all the appointments, they do the notes, they help her with the procedures, all this stuff, and that's great.They are starting the LNAs at the hospital and, um, her boss came in and mentioned this to her the other day, that she was just like, We're never gonna find anyone for this position.Kaylee was like, Why not?She goes, Cause you can make more at Dunkin Donuts.Really?And she was just like, I literally just got my coffee this morning, they're offering 20 bucks an hour, we're paying less than that.Oh.And I'm sitting here and I'm listening to this, and I'm like, How is that possible that $20 an hour is like what we're paying someone in the healthcare sector in Dunkin Donut?And I mean, Dunkin Donuts, like, I don't know anything about, like, kind of the- The work.the work there or anything- Yeah.like that.But, um, if you're in that position, like, I could totally see you being resentful.Like, if you wanted to do this program, you're trying to get ahead, you're trying to get into healthcare, and then you come out and you're making less than you were at a fast food chain, you know, why do it?Right.And I could see someone being like, Yeah, I don't think billionaires should exist.I think that's the thing.Yeah, resentment.Uh, there's a certain amount of schadenfreude involved, too.Like, I don't want you to be successful because I'm not successful.And I can't get there.Right.Now, we're not billionaires, right?No, of course.I have already said on this podcast-I'm not likely to ever be a billionaire.Ditto.Um, but, you know, I can certainly put us in the haves and not the have-nots.Mm-hmm.I think if you, if you're honestly just, like, reflecting on the fact that we are business owners, we're invested in the stock market, right?Uh, you know, we're, we're 2 white men living in America and we live in New England, which is a pretty good part of the country to live in.Right?We're, we're really well off, all things considered.Yeah.I think when you look at my start, like, my start was too much student loan debt, right?Uh, coming from a single income home, not like, we were not very well, we were not well off at all.We were lower middle class, and I've worked my way up, and I'm very fortunate.You mentioned earlier in the podcast that whenever you put a plan in place, things tend to work out, and that's why you've adopted that mentality, of put a plan in place and go down that path.Mm-hmm.So, it's, it's easy to see from our standpoint why we wouldn't have a problem with like wealth in-equity in the country.Like, you could say, Well, these things are working out.I don't really see what the problem is.Right?But I can also recognize the fact that if you are a young person starting today, and you took on all those student loans to go get that job at the hospital, and now you're not being compensated enough b- for those student loansYou know, they say, I've heard this a number of times, but, you know, age 18, you can't buy a beer, but here's $200,000 in student loan debt.Yeah, and a car loan.Right, and a car loan too.So, you know, we, we burden people with debt very early on, then we don't pay them enough money to live where they wanna live, and you get a situation like we have in New York where we haven't elected a socialist mayor yet in New York, but he's the front-runner for the Democratic party.It's probable.Yeah, it's, it's really looking that way.And you can see why people are disenchanted.You can see why they feel like a change needs to come and everything is stacked up against them, and they have to point the finger somewhere because that's just human nature.And so they point the finger at either wealth or, you know, the, uh, the, the-party that they don't agree with.Right.Um, which frequently is tied together, right?Like, it's, you know, the Republicans, Democrats, both of them have a lot of money behind them, right?Yeah, I mean, you could say one party is the billionaire's party, but studies have shown that that's pretty equal across the board.There's a lot of, there's a lot of influential, very wealthy- People on both sides.And the whole political system- Yep.kinda sucks.It does.Well, what is it now, like, $150 million is what it costs to run a decent presidential campaign?That's not even to win, but that's just what it costs.So, how- Yeah.is anybody supposed to pay for that?You don't.Right?Unless you're well off or you have very, very well-off friends.You have influential backers.Correct.And they have needs that need to be met if they're going to pay for your presidential campaign.You wanna know what's interesting about this?And, um, I've thought about this, and I think we've chatted about this before.But there's a problem with wealth now, which is visibility.Mm-hmm.And to me, like, the internet has done a lot to decentralize the way that we can make money.People can come online now, become influencers, or do dropshipping, or figure out ways to make money online, and that's fantastic.However, at the same time, it can also be a little poisonous and discouraging.Like, if you are someone who's trying to get ahead and working really hard, and then you hop on your TikTok or Instagram or Facebook or whatever.And you see a young person who's maybe doing things on the internet that they're not supposed to, and they're making millions and millions of dollars.Yep.And then you're like, I feel like crap about myself because why aren't I in this position?Should I just go and do this?And I think the visibility of the internet and kind of what it's pushing forward really skews people's expectations of reality.And when we talk through this with a lot of our clients who have been very successful, they never got wealthy quickly, you know?None of them.It took a very, very long time for them to get wealthy.Yep.Now, the expectation is, is that everybody's rich and in their 20s and 30s, and driving G-Wagons and making a ton of money, and flying in these fancy planes.And it's unfortunate that the framework that people have right now for their money and their life and everything might be a little askew.Yeah.I agree with that.I think it's damaging, right?It certainly can influence the way that you think you should see, you should live, right?Mm-hmm.You should see yourself in their shoes.But at the same time, it's easy to create or make social media or the internet a scapegoat, when in reality, we do have a faltering system.I mean, we can talk about the jobs data and whether it's reliable data or not.But it's the same data that's always been there.They counted it the same way.It's always been done the same way.Nothing changed there.Nothing changed.And just because we didn't like the data, we can't just, like, pretend it doesn't exist.It exists.And the data, looking back, shows that we have fewer job openings, fewer hirings.Mm-hmm.And that we have, yeah, I think it was like 30,000, uh, people a month job openings created a month over the last 3 months on average.Yep.That's the type of number you see in or around a recession.Yet if you look at the stock market, it's at all-time highs.And it keeps going up.Right?Because we've got this K-shaped economy.Yeah.And what I didn't know, what I realized recently, is that there were tw- I think it was 22%.There was a 22% increase in, uh, bankruptcies, business bankruptcies last year.Year over year.Interesting.Now, that's not, like, the highest it's ever been.The highest it's ever been was, like, 2009.Just in 2024 in general, though, is this high.2024 up from 2023.Okay.The highest since 2017.Most of those are smaller businesses, right?So, we understand in our positions that owning a business is often a good way, a reliable way to increase wealth, right?Mm-hmm.A lot of business owners that we've worked with increased their wealth via owning a business.Right.Right?But if that's not working, if it's harder to do that now and it's easier to just latch onto, you know, corporate America and stock options and being, playing that game instead, you can easily see how people who would have owned a business in the past and aren't anymore, or they, they, business failed, or it's not even just, like, the internet or social media impacting the way they see the world, it's literally their life experience.Yeah.I, uh, often have friends come up to me and say, you know, Oh, I wanna start this business, or something like that, or they have this idea, and I'm always like, Don't do it.Okay.Why?Don't do it.Don't start a business.Because, A, it's incredibly risky.2, it's extremely expensive.Everybody always underestimates the cost, and I don't know if this is true or not, but my guess is probably what happened with a lot of those businesses is they probably came out when rates were low.Mm-hmm.Like, a lot of them probably launched when rates were low, and it probably became increasingly expensive to run that business over time- Mm-hmm.which probably caused them to close their doors.You know, a lot of people were expecting rates to drop last year, and a lot of people were expecting rates to drop even before then, which they never did, you know?The rates have pretty much been completely unchanged for the last year and a half.So if you were expecting that and if you were relying on that to take out a loan or to hire more staff or whatever it might be, it's extremely expensive to do that now.So for me, I think, personally, there'sIf you wanna be successful, I think the stock option game, having good habits, developing a good plan, saving, doing all the right things will absolutely get you there.You don't have to start a business.But I think the internet often romanticizes a lot of things about business owners and startups and everything like that, which I think is fantastic, um, but with that being said, it is risky, it is expensive, it's gonna take up a lot of your time.There's gonna be heartache probably in it too.It's tough on families, it's tough on marriages.Yeah.And, like, you have to be prepared for that, and if it doesn't work, was it worth it?Because if your outcome that you're trying to receive, going back to the outcome, like, if you're really just trying to do this to be wealthy, there are other ways to do it now.And just like you were just saying, with the stock option game and all these other things, like, can you get into a great company?Um, but right now, it is tough.Not many companies are hiring like they used to be.I don't even thinkI hear your point about the number of, of influencers out there that make things look better than they are.Mm-hmm.Or they make things look easy.I don't think the majority of people are even trying to be wealthy at this point.I think they're just trying to feel less poor.Well, yeah, I think what most people probably want, according to this, and I agree with it, I mean, most of the young people that we're talking to now are getting to a point where they just wanna be financially independent.Yeah.Like, that's really, I think, what people want.Yeah.And- I mean, we had a, we had a new client come in who just finished, was it vet- veterinarian school?Mm-hmm.Right?She had $400,000 in debt.Yep.And she's making decent money, but she wants to buy a house, and she wants to pay off these student loans, and she wants to save for her retirement- Yeah.and she literally can't do it all.We c- uh, we were unable to open- Make the math work.an account for her, and I just said, Just, let's just focus on, like, building out a debt repayment plan and figuring your way out of this, because, by the way, most of these loans are in forbearance, and you're not even paying on interest right now.She was, she had $400,000 in student loan debt, and her monthly payment was $148.Yeah.That's not gonna d- it's- You're always gonna have this- I ran the calculation, and I was like, said, Hey, ChatGPT, how long is it gonna take to pay off the loans?And ChatGPT was like, I can't calculate that.That is impossible.That's impossible.You can't do that.You don't.Yeah.We were talking, um, Tori and I were talking before you got in today about salaried positions versus, uh, hourly positions because now- Mm-hmm.that you don't have to pay taxes up to a certain income limit on your overtime income.Right.Maybe being hourly is a little bit more of a benefit.And frequently, salaried positions for entry-level positions are, you know, overworking people- Mm-hmm.really trying to get as much productivity out of them as you can, and you're getting them some basic, bare bones benefits - Yeah.that they don't really need.Like, you know, Hey, here's healthcare insurance, and you're like, Well, I'm 22, I'm really healthy, this is probably the one time in my life that I don't- I don't need it.necessarily need health.Right.No, I think everybody should have healthcare.But, um, I think that it's an easy, affordable benefit to offer, um, for, I don't wanna call it slave labor, but it's-uh, it's very, very lowly.Minimally paid labor.Labor.Um- Which, by the way, even the slaves in Rome were paid.Did you know that?I did not know that.Being a slave in Rome, you still received a salary.Really?Yeah.Well, that's kind of like when you're in jail, you make money, but, like- Right.you know, not a lot.Yeah.You get, like, a penny a license plate or whatever it might be.That's not a real stat.Don't quote me on that.Um, but I think it's, uh, going back to the ultimate question here, is wealth inherently evil?I don't, I don't think it is.I think that the systemsThis, this K-shaped economy that we're living in right now, it started in 08, really, more than any time, I think, before then, because that's where we kind of recreated this monetary system, and we, you know, we bailed out corp- We, we made corporate America the safest place to be.Totally.Right?Absolutely.And now if you want to play the game, as we like to say, that's the, to your point, the safest path.Yep.And that isn't available to everybody.It's not.I wasI told you my fridge broke, right?Yes.So going back to that renovation from 4 years ago, I have a brand new fridge, and it's not cooling in the fridge.Just out of warranty.It'sActually, it turns out, it's within like the 5year internal cooling system warranty.Oh, perfect.It's actually what's kind of screwing me over right now, because I don't want to pay for this repair, so I'm going through the warranty.But GE, who provided the fridge, I scheduled an appointment with them.This stuff happened after I talked to you, so you don't know all this yet.Right.So IYou know, Sunday evening, I spend hours trying to figure out what's going on with my fridge.I eventually say, I'm not going to do this anymore.I'm going to call for help.Right?So I can't do that on Sunday, cause it's a Sunday.So Monday, IEven though this is a conglomerate, they don't have anybody to help you on Sunday evenings or any time except for Monday through Friday from 8:00 to 5:00 Eastern.Despite the fact that they, they're employing hundred thouns- hundreds of thousands of people globally.Well, the problem is they're not employing enough.Because I schedule an, uh, appointment, the earliestOn Monday morning, I schedule an appointment.The earliest time that they can get somebody out there to fix my fridge is Thursday.Right?I'm sitting here with you guys at work on Monday afternoon.I get an email, Thank you for rescheduling your appointment.I didn't reschedule my appointment.I didn'tWhat are you talking about?And they pushed it out to next Tuesday.So I'm like, Okay.Your fridge will be fine.So I go back online, because I spent 45 minutes trying to talk to somebody to see if this was under warranty and, like, schedule an appointment.Never happened.So I had to go online to do this, because I couldn't get through, like, the chat phone bot.Um, so I go online, I schedule an appointment for Friday, right?And then I get another response, The tech in your area is on vacation.You cannot get service this week.And I said, Well, that's not gonna cut it.And also, by the way, I'm not home next week.This is our one family vacation to the cabin up, that we're doing this, this summer.So I'm, I'm not there.I can't get this fixed next week.But because there's one tech in the service area, there's nobody else that can help me.It's GE.It's a massive company.Now they're partnering with a smaller company to, like, actuallyTo do the tech and service.provide the service.I mean, yeah.But they can't get somebody.Now, I'm in a good situation, where I have a backup fridge.Like, I have the fridge in our basement that, like, we keep our, you know, freezer stuff or, like, my beer.Or, like, just like backup stuff.So I can, I can handle this situation and I'm fine.I spent 45 minutes on the phone with them yesterday, seeing if I could kind of push up the service to some point where actually it helps me.And it got nowhere, except for finally, they said, Yeah, this is a really bad situation.We're really sorry.Would you like a coupon for a mini-fridge?I'm like, Your solution for me is a stipend?Is for me to buy more stuff from you?Yes.Yes.Like, Here's a discount on another product that we're going to sell you that is not really gonna help.So again, I'm in a better position.I can navigate this fine.A lot of people can't wait a week for a refrigerator to work.They can't afford to go out to dinner instead.They can't afford for all this food to go spoiled.Yeah, all those groceries that they just bought are now spoiled.Yeah.So all that mo- that paycheck's out the window, and the solution is to go buy another fridge at a discounted price that isn't gonna fit all the stuff that they really even e- It's like a college dorm fridge.That's rough.That's pretty terrible customer experience.And they can'tEither they can't affo- it's GE, so they can afford to hire a different tech or whatever.They'll be fine.But maybe they can't find one.Maybe there aren't enough techs.It's very possible.Well, I mean, we talk about this, going back to the trade schools.I mean, if you really want to make a lot of money, go into the trades right now.I meanIt seems pretty reliable.It seems like a pretty reliable bet at the moment.There's a shortage of electricians, shortage of woodworkers.Like, I was talking with a guy that's building our, um, kitchen cabinets.He has, like, 7 jobs right now that he's working on, and they'reLike, my house is tiny in compared to, like, all these other ones.And he's just like a 3man shop, and he just bought a warehouse inI mean, he's been doing the woodworking for like 10 years now, but, umThis is someone who's probably making, like, an absorbant amount of money- Yeah.building cabinets.And, like you can find ways to, to make it work.Um, because we talked about this too, like, you know, Dunkin' Donuts and McDonald's and these jobs that they're paying $20, they weren't meant to be career-defining jobs.Right.They were meant to be jumping off points.They're, they're holding points.They're helping you pay the bills while you figure out the next thing, ideally.Exactly, yeah.I sent you a, uh, video last week- Yeah, yep, yep.I think it was.Um, I'm a big YouTube guy, as you know.And, uh, there was a video that I thought was very interesting and I'm glad you watched it.Mm-hmm.Where there were 20 Gen Z-ers?It's called, yeah.Yeah, Gen Z-ers.They were like early to mid-20s and, um, they were in a room and the guy who started Morgan & Morgan- Mm-hmm.I believe it was, the huge law firm, he's worth several billion dollars, was sitting in a chair and they all were standing around him and they were all able to ask him one question.And the positioning was he was sitting in front of them, with his back- So he couldn't see behind.to them.Yeah.So he couldn't see behind.And I would encourage anyone that's interested in this to go check it out on YouTube.I thought it was very interesting.What were your takeaways?Uh, my takeaways were that there was a lot of disparity in the questions.Yep.There were people who it didn't matter what he said, their minds went in before.But, at the same time, Iwhile I, I agreed with a lot of, like the policies that the, you know, the Morgan & Morgan guy laid out, I also found him to be a little disconnected 'cause he was like, "Eh, I don't really, you know, spend an exorbitant amount of money.I, I mean I guess my private jet is a little bit of a luxury."And I'm like, "Well, it's not just your private jet.It's that $5,000 suit you're wearing.It's your, it's your house in Maui-" It's your 3 houses.Yeah.Your house and the jet.Your house in New Hampshire, exactly.And plus- Yeah.like, yeah, you know, it's, uh, I think that one of those guys said, like, "Well, you know, billionaires are all bad," but he's like the lesser of the billionaires, or whatever it might be.Right.I think he's a person.And he has a lot of opinions and he's done things that I agree with and done things that I disagree with,But, the majority of the people who went into that conversation I think went in there expecting to, like spit roast a, a billionaire.Right.And maybe it was harder to do that when they saw that he was a person.I think, to me, something that really came across was that people came in there with an agenda.Yeah, sure.100%.Like people had already come in there forming an opinion.And, which brings me back to I wonder where they got that opinion from.Right.And when you come in there having an opinion and the person isUh, I'll say he was a pretty nice guy.You know, he had good responses to the majority of the questions.Was he out of touch?Sure.Yeah.I don't know if you saw this, this was a long time ago, but, uh, I think it was Bill Gates who was on Ellen DeGeneres, maybe it was Oprah, but she was quizzing him on how expensive things were.Oh, yeah.Uh, did you ever see this?No, but I've seen variations of it.Variations of it.And she was just like, "Okay, how much is a gallon of milk?"And he was like, "Um, 18 cents."They did that scene in, in Succession, basically.Yes, they did.But, you know, of course these people are gonna be- Yeah.out of touch.Yeah.So then I wouldn't expect him to necessarily know these things.Sure.But I think, um, to me, if you became a billionaire tomorrow, I wouldn't think of you as a bad person.And in the same- Just because I'm a billionaire.Just because you're a billionaire.Yeah, agreed.And in the same way that, um, if these people were friends who were interviewing this Morgan & Morgan guy, like if one of them became a billionaire, that would also make them a bad person.I think the expectation is though, uh, that in this day and age, like a lot of people just see money and hate it.And maybe I'm, that's a wrong assumption, but from what I saw in that video, that's what really came across to me is like people kind of came in with preconceived notions, which of course you're gonna have your own opinions on things.Yeah.Uh, but that was a little bit fascinating to me.And I think most of them did walk away, exactly to your point, saying, "This is an actual person."Well, I think what'ssometimes people are just a personification of the problem, right?And there is a problem.I think we can all acknowledge that there is wealth and equality in this country and a lot of people are struggling, and it's not just that they can pick themselves up by their bootstraps and solve their own problems.Right.But, it doesn't make the otherIt, everybody just wants to point fingers.Mm-hmm.And I'm, I'm not going to feel guilty because I've worked hard to put myself in a position for success financially, right?But I also am going to feel, if I makethe more money I make, the more I'm gonna wanna help people.Mm-hmm.And I think that's something that you've talked about- Yep.a couple of times in this podcast, and it's what the, the Morgan & Morgan guy talked about as well.Um, but there's only so much we can do individually.There's only so much that billionaire can do.And he can do a lot more than me, but it's still limited because it's a societal, national issue that needs to be solved.And every time we see, you know, uh, uh, a socialist get elected mayor or something like that, that's meant to address local problems, but those local problems are just smaller versions of a national issue.Yeah, I mean, I think it's the system that's the problem.It's not the people that necessarily benefit from the system.There are people that benefit from the system, for sure, that help create it.Yeah.With that being said, though, you have crippling student debt, cost of living has absolutely exploded.job security is gone, social media makes comparisons constant.Mm-hmm.So you have all of those things going on.They watched their parents kind of sacrifice everything, you know, when they were growing up to get ahead, you know.I know when I was growing up, my dad worked very hard to get ahead, but he wasn't around, you know.Like- Yeah.you know, he was working 60 hours a week, and on Saturdays too, you know.Like, majority of my time was spent with my mom- Yeah.growing up.And, um, I'm not, like, upset about it, you know, because we were very fortunate that he worked really hard.Um, but still with that being said, you know, you have your parents that worked really hard, and then they got laid off in 2008.Mm-hmm.So they lost their job security, and then you're back to square one on the corporate ladder again, so you have that going on too.And then you have a lot of people upset on the political climate.So I understand why the framework feels broken right now, and I could see you being discouraged.Um, but there are ways, I'll say, to get ahead, and it just may not be the traditional way that people thought of before in the past.Yeah, I agree.I just, I don't know, like it's, I feel like we've sat here today and we've kind of like talked about a lot of problems, identified problems, and we've talked about why people feel a certain way, but we're not positing solutions.And I think this is something that we kind of run into a lot, you know.When you hear people talk about things, you hear Bernie Sanders talk about things, or you hearI'm not sure, I, I try not to listen to some other peoples talk about things.But in general, I, you know, you hear solutions occasionally from either side, but they're short-sighted.They're not, they're not playing the second and third derivative, just like we've talked about.Like they, they are ripe for, you know, unintended consequences, and at the same time, if you look at this country right now, if this country was a product or a service, or just a company, right, you would look at this from the outside looking in you'd say, "Well, that's ripe for disruption."Mm-hmm.Right?So let me ask you this.If you weren't a financial advisor.Let's say something happened, Financial Advisory ceased to exist tomorrow- Yeah.what would you do?You know what's interesting?I think that that answer changes a lot.I think it's, you know, how much do you wanna take on?Mm-hmm.And whenI was talking about this with Jess last week.You know, if you were to go into politics, let's say I went into politics, right?I am putting my family at risk.I am setting up my wife and my daughter for a lot of disruption- Criticism, sure.Th- Even perhaps bigger risks.You put yourself out there, you know, the, the, the nail gets hammered.Mm-hmm.Right?The nail that sticks out gets hammered.Yeah, exactly.So, I think that that's the situation that we're in politically right now, and it's, hasn't always been that way.So, while I would like to say I would, you know, "I'll go into politics and try to help," um, I think the system's broken.You don't have money, though.And I don't have the money either, so I think we'd have to reform campaign.Yeah.Um, but, I don't have the money, and I don't have the influence, so I'm not going to be able to make that difference.But maybe I'd try to focus something a little bit more local and start somewhere.So would you start a business or would you join a company?I would probably not start a business.Yeah.Um, I wouldn't join a company either.I don't, you know, I, I feel like I don't have a business idea so I'm not going to start a business just for starting a business.Right.Right?I don't know.You?Um, I would go into the trades.I would.I would like to learn, I would probably learn a skill that people need and that I find valuable and that's not easily replaceable, and that's what I would lean into.And I think, um, when I've talked to young people, that's usually the advice that I give them.Yeah.Um, a lot of people go into tech and programming and things like that and that's fantastic, but if that's where everybody's going, maybe you should go somewhere else.I think it's a good point, and I think that the face of technology and, and that type of opportunity is changing.I think your answer is very, like, productive.It's basically like, "Well, I need to get money and I need to solve for a problem, so I'm gonna go find a job."Whereas mine is a little bit like, "Man, everything sucks."And I don't mean to come across that way.it's happening and where people are coming from.And it's worthwhile to me to hear those stories out and to follow along, because otherwise, we can become disconnected.I don't think our practice is going around, going, you know, going away tomorrow- Mm-hmm.like you've posited.Um, so it's more probab- probable than not that we are going to continue to be financially successful in the system that's been set up for us.If we continue to invest in the market, the market's gonna go along and doing its thing.It's going to correct at some point.It might go into a prolonged bear market, and then it will continue doing its thing again.That's the country that we're living in right now until something changes.So we're playing the game the right way.My concern is really how you help people who aren't in a position to do that.I think, umYeah, I agree.I agree with most of it.IWhat I will say is I think that we are going to be in this framework for a long time, and I think it's set up in a way that obviously the people who created it and the people who are at the top are gonna want it to continue.Because it benefits them.So if you can get into it, and I'm not saying go buy a home, but if you can invest in the stock market, you can put some things in place so you can benefit from compounding growth, there could be a recession right around the corner tomorrow, but we'll come out of it, and itthere will be continued growth.So- Yeah.with that being said, there is that aspect of it.Um, but if you do feel as if you're in a rut, maybe it is time for a change.And whatever that change might look like, it might be out of the box.You know, if, if something was to happen tomorrow and if I wasn't able to do this, I don't know exactly what I would do, but that's where I would probably start, is I would probably try to think of some things that people really need that are in short supply, and then I would try to go and leverage that.Um, perfect example, a GE technician.Yes.I think there's an opportunity there- Yeah.uh, for sure.When it comes down to it, sometimes it requires out of box thinking if you're really trying to get ahead.And, um, some of the people that we have and we've seen have fallen into businesses and opportunities that they never originally set out to be in in the first place.Yeah, yeah.People have different, different options in front of them, right?Different resources that they can lean on.But whatever resources you have, you have to try to marshal them to work on your behalf.And I think one of the best things that we can do right now is recognize that stocks are working right now.Mm-hmm.You know, I'm notTh- this is not investment advice.Uh, but if you have long-term plans, then stocks are likely going to continue to be a good way to solve for those plans.If you're worried about a, an economy or a country that is ripe for disruption, then maybe set some of those resources, if you can, towards something a little bit more securely reliable on a day-to-day basis.I think the near term liquidity is what's gonna be the most important thing for people over the next couple of years and let the long-term problems work themselves out, because you've got time to let them work themselves out.Yeah, and just make sure your cash is earning interest.Yeah.High-yield savings accounts.Don't put it in an area where it's earning 0, please.Yeah, don't do that.And don't do that in your Roth IRA.No, absolutely.All right.All right, thank you, guys.Thanks all.That wraps up episode 15 of Compound Growth.Today we covered a lot of ground, from why the trades may be the future of our economy to imagining the paths we might have taken if we weren't in financial advising.We explored how calls for change often lead to seeking the exact opposite of the status quo and what those major shifts can mean for the country as it continues to shape-shift.And perhaps most importantly, we unpacked how the younger generation is redefining what wealth looks like and what that could mean for the generations to come.Thanks for joining us in the conversation.If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe, share it with a friend, and keep the dialogue going.Until next time, keep growing in more ways than one.Compound Growth with Wheeler and Collin sponsored by CoFi Advisors.Reach out today.Yay!