Is the American Dream Dead? (With Freddie Smith)

Summary

Podcast Summary: Is the American Dream Dead?

The Personal Finance Podcast — Andrew Giancola with Freddie Smith (May 20, 2026)

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Episode Overview

In this timely and energetic conversation, host Andrew Giancola talks with Freddie Smith—advocate for financial literacy and author of the soon-to-be-released book, Generation: How Millennials and Gen Zs Were Robbed of the American Dream and How We Can Fix Our Futures. Together, they challenge perceptions about the current state of the American Dream, explore the generational wealth divide, and break down the real-world hurdles facing millennials and Gen Zers. They delve into wages, cost of living, housing, and Social Security, and offer actionable advice for listeners aiming to thrive financially despite systemic headwinds.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Redefining the American Dream

• Freddie’s Take:
  • The "old school" American Dream—buying a home in your 20s, starting a family young, and having financial stability—is largely inaccessible to today’s typical worker.
  • "I think for the typical worker these days, it's definitely dead. I think it needs to be redefined." (Freddie, [06:03])
  • "Even the first time homebuyer is 40... It just seems to be like a two decade sacrifice for most people to achieve some of those pillars." (Freddie, [00:00] & [06:03])

2. Generational Comparison & Wealth Divide

• Millennials and Gen Z vs. Boomers:
  • Boomers had cost of living and wage levels much closer together—40-50 hour work weeks could yield homeownership, savings, and stability.
  • Freddie: "For the 40k, 50k, 60k person in their 20s, it's going to be a harder road than it was for the boomers. Just because cost of living is like this and wages are like this. So it's going to take a much longer sacrifice." ([07:29])
• Why Older Generations Don’t Get It:
  • "Because apartments were never 2000 for them, it's almost like, well, that can't be true...I like to try to keep it light because some people really go after the boomers, and I do with facts. I never attack them personally, but they do have a stereotypical kind of energy about them that we just want to shake them a little because they're in charge of a lot of these companies that are responsible for wages." (Freddie, [09:20])

3. Why is Everything So Unaffordable? Structural vs. Temporary Problems

• "At first I was hoping it was just a temporary problem. I truly don't believe that the cost of living is going to come down in a meaningful way...Will healthcare, housing, daycare and college significantly come down 30, 40, 50%? No." (Freddie, [11:50])
• The best hope: systemic changes, especially around taxation, rather than expecting corporations to massively raise wages or costs to drop.
• Importance of legislative advocacy: "We need to start pitching the politicians and looking for people who truly understand why the system is broken and how we can get money back into the middle class folks hands." (Freddie, [11:50])

4. The Middle Class Divide

• Freddie identifies three broad middle-class groupings—largely defined by era and circumstances:
  • Boomers: Own homes outright, little/no student loans or daycare costs. Monthly essentials $600–$700.
  • Gen Xers: Bought homes later but locked in lower prices/rates. Moderate costs.
  • Millennials/Gen Z: Face high housing, student debt, and daycare. Essentials can cost $3,200+/month; "This millennial couple needs $75,000 just for the big three, where the boomer couple in the same neighborhood right next door needs $20,000 to live." (Freddie, [23:24])

5. Livable Wage in 2026

• Estimated at about $30/hour on average in the US ([18:51]).
• Most “essential workers” (EMTs, teachers, service workers) earn $40k–$60k/year, often requiring second jobs just to cover basic expenses.
• "Why have we created a system that makes an EMT have to go and do that essential job all day and then drive Uber on the weekends just to pay the bills?" (Freddie, [19:17])

6. Advice for Listeners: Raising Incomes and Navigating the System

• "The best thing you can do right now is focus on a skill set that can make you more money. I don't think you can save your way to success anymore." (Freddie, [55:30])
• Andrew adds: "You can only cut back so much, but you can increase your income, you know, exponentially." ([56:17])

7. Housing—Buy or Rent?

• To Buy in 2026:
  • Can you comfortably afford (not qualify for) the payment, after including all costs?
  • Will you keep the house for 7–10 years? If not, you may lose money ([32:41]).
  • Owning can be a great “forced savings” but may not always outpace investing, especially if you’re highly disciplined.
• Renting:
  • Could be a smart long-term plan if excess funds are consistently invested—but predicting future rent is tough ([36:19]).
• On new housing supply:
  • Building more could help "in theory," but community design and housing quality matter. Flooding the market faces resistance from existing homeowners worried about declining values ([42:23]).

8. Social Security Realities

• Funded by current workers—payouts are not strictly from an individual’s lifetime contributions.
• The reserve fund may be depleted by 2034, after which “the boomers and the silent generation will either have to take a 20% pay cut, or they'll have to raise taxes or borrow that money to fund that 20%.”
• Freddie speculates that Millennials/Gen Z may see a form of universal basic income in the future, "I just can't see a world where I can't see it after 30, 40. But I don't think...we won't get money. They're not going to leave us hanging out to dry." ([50:19])

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Declining Living Standards:
  • "What we're going through is a decline in living standards. People are just losing quality of life." (Freddie, [27:43])
• On Migration as a Survival Strategy:
  • "I kind of don't even like the advice that I gave, but I like to try to come up with some solutions...why should that person have to go move away from their friends and family?" (Freddie, [29:44])
• On the Wealth Divide:
  • "When you run the numbers over 50 years, the top 1% kept 20% too much money. That is the only difference of why we don't have a thriving middle class today." (Freddie, [29:44])

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:00] — Opening by Freddie: Is the American Dream dead for typical workers?
• [06:03] — Freddie’s nuanced definition of the American Dream in 2026
• [07:29] — Comparing boomer-era affordability with current realities
• [09:20] — Why boomer generation struggles to empathize with today's unaffordability
• [11:50] — Structural vs. temporary unaffordability, need for systemic change
• [18:51] — The 2026 livable wage: what it is, why most workers don’t earn it
• [23:24] — The three middle-class groups and their divergent financial realities
• [27:43] — Declining living standards, adaptation, and migration
• [32:41] — Should you buy a home in 2026?
• [36:19] — Is renting viable long-term?
• [42:23] — Could more housing supply fix the crisis?
• [50:19] — Will Social Security still exist for Millennials and Gen Z?
• [55:30] — The #1 piece of advice: Grow your income, focus on skills

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Closing Rapid Fire (Selected Q&A)

What makes you come alive?
"Collaborations, working with a group of people and community and building something together." —Freddie Smith ([56:43])

Biggest fear around money?
"Not having enough...to pursue an idea or opportunity that I know would be good for my soul." ([57:02])

Best money advice ever received?
"Investing in yourself is gotta be the greatest money advice." ([57:57])

What does wealth mean to you?
"Wealth to me is having the freedom and the financial capability to explore opportunities and ideas that set my soul on fire." ([58:35])

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Further Resources

• Freddie Smith’s Book:
  Generation: How Millennials and Gen Zs Were Robbed of the American Dream and How We Can Fix Our Futures – available for pre-order.

• Find Freddie Online:
  TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook (@freddiesmith)

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This episode is a can’t-miss for anyone who’s felt the squeeze of rising living costs, wants a realistic assessment of their prospects, or is ready to act on creating a new, more achievable version of the American Dream.

Transcript

[Freddie Smith]

I think for the typical worker these days, it's definitely dead. I think it needs to be redefined. If you look at the boomer generation, they were able to achieve parts of the American dream in their 20s where now even the first time homebuyer is 40. So it doesn't mean that you can't achieve it. It just seems to be like a two decade sacrifice for most people to achieve some of those pillars. But why have we created a system that makes an EMT have to go and do that essential job all day and then drive Uber on the weekends just to pay the bills? And those are 911 operators, ambulance drivers, school teachers, the people that if they all stopped working, the world would shut down. They're the ones being left behind that I'm trying to fight for because they're making 40 to 60k and they're going to be forced to have to work a second job. So right now I think we're going through this phase where we're just losing quality of life.

[Andrew]

On this episode of the Personal Finance

[Podcast Host/Announcer]

Podcast, Is the American Dream Dead?

[Andrew]

We're gonna ask Freddie Smith.

[Podcast Host/Announcer]

What's up everybody and welcome to the Personal Finance Podcast. I'm your host, Andrew, founder of MasterMoney.co and today on the Personal Finance Podcast, we're gonna be talking to Freddie Smith about Is the American Dream Dead? If you guys make sure you join the Master Money newsletter by going to MasterMoney Co newsletter. And don't forget to follow us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or whatever podcast player you love listening to this podcast on it. If you want to help out the

[Andrew]

show, consider leaving a five star rating and review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite podcast player. What if the system was never designed for us to win?

[Podcast Host/Announcer]

Today's guest is Freddie Smith and this conversation is going to challenge everything you

[Andrew]

think about hard work, opportunity and whether the American Dre is still alive.

[Podcast Host/Announcer]

We are getting into a generational wealth

[Andrew]

divide and why millennials and Gen Z

[Podcast Host/Announcer]

are not just struggling because of avocado toast. Freddie breaks down the price inversion between luxuries and necessities, why wages stopped keeping

[Andrew]

pace with the cost of living and what a livable wage actually is in 2026.

[Podcast Host/Announcer]

And why the middle class is fracturing into three very distinctive categories. We're going to get into housing and is buying a home still a viable investment? What does it actually cost to afford a house? And if he cannot buy, is renting okay long term? And then we tackle retirement because the

[Andrew]

traditional playbook may not work anymore.

[Podcast Host/Announcer]

We dive deeper into Social Security and what is happening with Social Security and

[Andrew]

how we need to think about our money moving forward and what you can do right now. Even though the system is stacked against you, this one is going to hit.

[Podcast Host/Announcer]

So without further ado, let's welcome Freddy

[Andrew]

to the personal finance podcast

[Podcast Host/Announcer]

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[Andrew]

So, Freddie, welcome to the Personal Finance podcast.

[Freddie Smith]

Thank you so much for having me, man. I'm excited to be here. We found out we're pretty much neighbors Tampa and Orlando. So I love it.

[Andrew]

We're going to do something soon here in the future in person. We have to, because I think that is, that is way too close to not do something in person for sure. So I'm really excited to have you here because you have some really engaging stuff that you've been talking about over the course of the last couple of years. And I think it's one of those areas that most people feel the weight of this. Most people feel the struggle that they are going through, you know, throughout their everyday life, just in the way that the economy is operating, but in addition, just the way that they are trying to think through and manage their finances. And that's a big, big topic that I would love to dive deeper on this today. But the first question I have for you is, is the American Dream dead?

[Freddie Smith]

I think it's nuanced, I would say the old school American dream, how a lot of us millennials thought of the American dream of buying a house in your 20s, married with two kids, a white picket fence, tire swing and a golden retriever in the suburbs. I think for the typical worker these days, it's definitely dead. I think it needs to be redefined. But I think you can still achieve the American dream. It's just kind of an unreasonable timeframe now. And I think that's the big difference. If you look at the boomer generation, they were able to achieve parts of the American dream in their 20s, where now even the first time home buyer is 40. So it doesn't mean that you can't achieve it. It just seems to be like a two decade sacrifice for most people to achieve some of those, those pillars. So I think that's where the frustrating part lies.

[Andrew]

And I think it's been a big shift for a lot of folks. Even for me, when I bought my first home, it was 2014. And I remember buying that house as a, you know, the house now was probably worth, you know, right around $400,000. I bought it for 100,000. Do I mean, it dramatically shifted just over that timeframe from 2014 to 2020 and everything in between. As we saw this this big overall shift.

[Podcast Host/Announcer]

And I want to talk about the

[Andrew]

baby boomers a little bit here as we kind of go through this today,

[Podcast Host/Announcer]

because I think a lot of baby

[Andrew]

boomers out there and a lot of folks maybe listening, their parents don't understand what's kind of going on right now. And they're like, why aren't you just, you know, working harder or doing some of this stuff? So what privileges did some of the baby boomer generation have that maybe millennials and Gen Z simply just don't have today?

[Freddie Smith]

I mean, the most apparent thing is that the cost of living and wages in the 60s, 70s, 80s, even in the 90s were closer together. So everything made sense that if you truly did put in 40, 50 hours a week of work, you could grab a house, you could have a little bit of a savings, drive a used car, get some Christmas presents, play a little T ball, you weren't rich, they were paycheck to paycheck as well. But they had a family, a house, they owned some savings, a pension. A lot of them did. So I just think for the typical world worker, you had access to the American dream much sooner and the cost of living and wages were closer together where now again, American dream is still accessible. If you're making 2, $300,000, you're going to be living a great life in America right now at 2, 300. But for the 40k, 50k, 60k person in their 20s, it's going to be a harder road than it was for the boomers. Just because cost of living is like this and wages are like this. Yep. So it's going to take a much longer sacrifice to try to obtain some of that. And, and I think that's what's going to start changing our culture because we're no longer going to be like, oh, let's buy a house at 28, it's going to be like, hey, let's get married later, let's have kids later, let's get a house later. And I think there's going to be a lot more exploration and exploring opportunities and ideas for our generation because I think the old way is just kind of, you know, not as accessible.

[Andrew]

There's a lot of, you know, a lot of outdated advice that a lot of folks have gotten from their parents. And there's a lot of shifts in the way that we need to operate with our money and our fin finances and the way we need to think about money and what I've seen across the board, and I know you have a lot of followers and Listeners who have kind of talked about this to you as well, where they say, hey,

[Podcast Host/Announcer]

some of these older generations just do

[Andrew]

not believe the economy is harder today. Why do you think that is? Why don't you. Why do you think that a lot of, like, the baby boomer generation just doesn't understand what is happening today?

[Freddie Smith]

I think just because they never truly had to go through that in their life. They went through hard times where things were tight. But even when I've spent, and so has many of the people who follow my. I mean, countless hours trying to show the information, and they always seem to just come with the solution that will work for the individual, but not for the group. So it's like, oh, I, you know, I. I can't afford 2000 rent. And they're like, well, find one for 1500. And it's like, okay, fair enough. But there's six in the whole city. That's 1500. So what about the 300 people looking for the apartment? Like, that's the disconnect. For some reason, it seems like the boomers are really. It's hard for them to kind of believe a reality that wasn't in their lived experience. Like, because apartments were never 2000 for them, it's almost like, well, that can't be true. And you're like, but look at Trulia. And they're like, no, no, we'll find one for 1200. And I'm like, that's one. There's 300 of us looking for an apartment right now. So it's just this fun banter back and forth. I like to try to keep it light because some people really go after the boomers, and I do with facts. I never attack them personally, but they do have a stereotypical kind of energy about them that we just want to shake them a little because they're in charge of a lot of these companies that are responsible for wages. They're responsible in politics. Like, 60 out of a hundred senators are boomers. 40% of the House are boomers. Five out of nine of the Supreme Court justices are boomers. And we've never had a Gen X president. Like, the past 30 years has essentially been minus the Joe Biden four years, which he's close to a boomer, even though he silent generation, the last 30, 40 years has been run by boomers. And so we need them on our side to understand this. And so that's kind of the work we're trying to do is like, how do we bridge this gap of two different realities?

[Andrew]

And I agree with you I think the biggest thing is kind of coming together and educating them with facts. Because overall, if you start to kind of lead with tension or lead in a way that kind of creates conflict, it's just nothing's ever going to get done. And I think that's what I love about what you're doing and some of the stuff that you guys are working on right now. And really you have a book coming out that I think that book is going to be very powerful just to educate people on exactly what's going to happen in terms of how we kind of think about that. And it's going to be a really, really important thing overall. So when we think about this, overall, we have this big issue right now where there's been a big difference between, you know, other generations and how affordable things are and the millennial generation and what we're having to deal with right now. Why is everything so unaffordable right now? Is there, is this a temporary problem or is this a structural one?

[Freddie Smith]

At first I was hoping it was just a temporary problem. I was a little, not naive to it, but just new to it. Three years ago when I started seeing the housing price and I said, well, this has to be temporary. Like, prices go up and down, this is probably going to come down. And when you started to, like, look at the facts that you're like, oh, it's really not going to like. I truly don't believe that the cost of living is going to come down in a meaningful way. And I think that's where we need to start. And it's not depressing, it's just the truth. So we can work around it. Will healthcare, housing, daycare and college significantly come down 30, 40, 50%? No. And if it did, we have a disaster on our hands if we have that big of a crash. So if the cost of living isn't going to come down that much and wages aren't going to go up, well, then what are we left with? So I'm starting to think outside the box of like, I think the system itself needs to change with AI coming. And I think we need to focus more on alleviating the tax burden on everyday Americans is where we should focus our energy. Because I think it's more likely to change the tax code in this country and fix that to help middle class people keep more of their money to get ahead than it will be to force corporations to double people's pay or to make apartments 800 overnight. Like, I see the structure changing being a better option, but also letting people Know, you can't hold your breath waiting for the United States government to change the taxes for you to get ahead in life. So it's got to be a balance of trying to take personal accountability of what you can do to make more money and pay off debt. But also we need to start pitching the politicians and looking for people who truly understand why the system is broken and how we can get money back into the middle class folks hands. Because it's going to start creating a little bit, no, not depression, but just like a loss of hopelessness. Like if you're 17 years away from buying a house, it's like sacrifice is cool, instant delayed gratification is cool. But 17 years, it's a little much.

[Andrew]

Absolutely. And I think overall this is one where, you know, we're looking deeper and I think it's a very interesting, you know, observation from you to kind of think through the tax structure and the way that we're looking at this. Is there anything that you think people should know about that in terms of, you know, pitching their, their senators or pitching people in their area of like some of the things that may be coming up down the line that we can do to kind of help with that situation, or are there things that you feel as though people should kind of know about going forward so that we can try to make a change or try to make a difference? Like you said, I think it's balanc. The things you can control, which is, you know, you're investing, making sure that you have, you know, increasing your income over time. That's one of the most powerful levers that you can pull, obviously, in addition to making sure your debt is paid down. But are there things maybe that are currently outside of our control that we can kind of work towards together as a, as a unit to try to help push forward within legislation?

[Freddie Smith]

I think there's, there's some talking points where if I was running for politics I could have like three bullet points that would sound good, like a lot of politicians do. But as you extrapolate that out, it's really a full system change. Like I'm, I'm. If you talked to me a year ago, I would have had different, like here's a couple of things, like banning stock buybacks would be a win for the people. I think that's a little ridiculous that they still allow that to happen. That should be going to wages and it would just feel good to mend this, this divide between the rich and the poor. Things like stock buybacks, getting rid of super PACs, where these rich folks are able to basically buy elections. I was team bring back pensions for a minute but the way that work is going to evolve, I don't think people are going to stick to a company long enough for pensions, work as much anymore. And then basically just figuring out a way again. How can you incentivize people to pay people more money? And if we can't do that then there's going to be the only thing to do is then to cut the taxes for the working class people. So I think that's where we're at. But the whole thing that I try to educate people on is painting a picture of for instance that we bring in 5.2 trillion in tax dollars but we spend 7 trillion. So I show here's the deficit going on the American, the US Amex card, you know, the debt, the 40 trillion, here's our deficit. So when the politicians are saying we're cutting our deficit, they're not reducing our debt, they're just spending less on the credit card. And I try to like break down numbers to show people here's how that works. So if a politician's implementing let's do a 1% wealth tax, we can clap. It's kind of a little virtue signal. I'd vote for it. But you're going to generate $100 billion, we spend 7 trillion. Why are we focused on a 1% wealth tax when that will truly do nothing? It'll just be a political win. So that's what I try to be different about is look at the politicians both sides of the aisle and say even raising the federal income tax on the highest earners, if you run the math, it's not going to help. All you're going to do is punish like heart surgeons and small business owners. You're not going to touch the 200 million plus people that people are trying to siphon some of that wealth from. So I just try to break it down in every single angle. Talking about stock buybacks to talking about you know, everything that created the wealth divide, inflation, borrowing money, how it's, you know, hurting our purchasing power. And with all of that to put a button on it, I'm just right now all in on throwing the tax book out completely and, and, and reef and figuring out a new way to do it. Because I think that's truly the only way to help the, the working class in the middle, in the midd middle class at this point.

[Andrew]

Absolutely. There definitely has to be some sort of restructuring the way to think about that. And we even look at like healthcare and some of those areas, too. I think it's just really, really important that we kind of dive deeper into that. So that. That's wonderful for sure.

[Freddie Smith]

And it's, it's practical, too, because when you think about AI coming, I want to celebrate it. I'm a tech guy. I want to celebrate like, I want a drone to deliver me a burrito. I'd be down for that. Like, let's see the technology. But if you look at the past 50 years, the GDP per capita has gone up, the productivity has gone up, and the wages have not. What do you think is going to happen in 10 years when I. I mean, the productivity is going to be astronomical and the history has shown us they're not going to share those gains with us.

[Andrew]

Right.

[Freddie Smith]

So if we can change the tax incentive to line up perfectly where you can, you know, we can get. It'll be kind of too long to go into, like, what my idea is, but even like a gross revenue tax of some sort of. But something that can siphon a little at the point of sale so that you can get rid of some of the loopholes and things can be more transparent as we're starting to grow so much wealth in this country, like, we're going to make so much money, and it would just be awesome if 20% of it would actually trickle down to the middle class.

[Andrew]

Right. And that's the big thing. And, you know, for the longest time, I was the person who was like, hey, money's not political. Money's not political, but it's becoming increasingly more political as time goes on, especially since COVID And I think some of the stuff that we have seen over the course of the last couple of years. Years, we are really. It really is impactful in terms of, you know, some of the changes that need to be made and some of the things that we need to have done. So it's going to be very interesting overall, for sure.

[Freddie Smith]

Yeah.

[Andrew]

One of the things I love that you talk about is you talk about what a livable wage is. What do you think a livable wage is in 20, 26?

[Freddie Smith]

I would. I would say average. I get a lot of comments that are, you know, it's people. Because you live in different parts of America. It's much different. But I would say, on average, taking the averages across the board, I would say about 30 bucks an hour.

[Andrew]

And how far off are most people from. From actually earning that? Like, what do most people actually earn right now? In. In addition to kind of thinking through, well, is this way Off. How do we fix this problem?

[Freddie Smith]

Yeah, well, I mean, I mean if you look at some of the, again, if you're looking at the average, if you're looking at the median, if you're looking at the average person in general, but I would say the heartbeat of America, what I call the, the typical worker, the essential worker, they're making anywhere from 40 to 60k. Like if you drive around Tampa, you drive around Orlando and you look at Ace Hardware, you look at Publix, you look at Starbucks, gas stations, school buses, ambulance drivers, like, like America. Like the people building the road. Like, like the most essential typical workers are making 40 to 60 grand. And that was enough money 30 years ago to have the American dream. Now, unless you're 57 and you're making 60k, but you bought a house in 2002 or 2015 or, you know what I mean, where you got in and your kids are grown, you're not burdened with daycare or college or housing. 60k is okay. If you're a 27 year old with student loan debt and you're making 60k in like a place like Tampa or even Orlando, it's going to be tough. You're going to need a second job to move your, to move ahead. But why have we created a system that makes an EMT have to go and do that essential job all day and then drive Uber on the weekends just to pay the bills, not to get a pool, not to go on vacation, just to pay the bills. And that's the most frustrating part. And, and one little statistic I think is interesting for people to look into. If you look at an EMT, I, I did this comparison from 1996. Two EMTs in 1996 could fall in love and their income together was greater than the median household income. So this essential job with two of them falling in love were more than the median was enough to purchase an average house, raise a family, healthcare was affordable and they could do that. Like how beautiful. That's the America I'm talking about. Today, EMTs together make about if they got married, make about 90k, which is the median household income. But adjusted for inflation, that income has gone up 0% in 30 years for EMTs. So they've had a 0% wage increase in 30 years where housing's up 50%, cars are up 60%, healthcare is up 200%, college is up 100, 200% depending on when you look at it. So those are the kind of things that I point to of like when people say, oh, the System's not broken, just work harder. It's like, I mean, this is just 30 years. We don't even have to talk about the boomers. This is 30 years. And those are 911 operators, ambulance drivers, school teachers, the people that if they all stopped working, the world would shut down. They're the ones being left behind that I'm trying to fight for because they're making 40 to 60k and they're going to be forced to have to work a second job. And so unless you can alleviate all their tax burden or they can somehow start making, you know, 30 to 50% more, that's what we're trying to solve right now.

[Andrew]

And I think about this a lot for a lot of listeners right now. When you see essential workers like this and you see this, where the essential work that we need to have happen, the folks who are working jobs that need to happen, happen, like you said, EMTs and teachers and, and folks in that, that area who cannot afford to buy a house. That's where, you know, the, the alarm bells need to start going off. And that's where I think there's a big difference maker there. I just think about myself growing up like my mom was a teacher for 30 plus years. My dad worked at a, like a, he owned a small grocery store and like we were able to afford and, and buy a house during that time frame. And then as time has gone on, the same exact jobs probably would not be able to buy a house in today's day and age. And I think this is the, the biggest problem that Freddie and I are trying to talk about right here is, is most people need to realize that the alarm bells need to be going off. People need to understand what is happening here because if this gets progressively worse, we are in a world of trouble. And I think that is a big overall arching, you know, emphasis of what kind of is happening there. Now we're looking at the middle class here and we see, you know, a lot of these middle class jobs there. There's a lot of pressure coming from all different directions. Throw on top, you know, the price of, of gas right now and all these other things that's even, you know, throwing more fuel on the fire. But you talk about the middle class and I love this, I love when this down. You talk about the middle class being divided right now and you have kind of like three different divisions that you talk through. Can you explain why the middle class is divided?

[Freddie Smith]

Two things. The middle class is divided based on just when you were born. So again, somebody who Worked at a grocery store or owned a small grocery store in the 80s, could have purchased a house, raised a family, upgraded to a second house. That house is now worth $800,000. They got a few hundred thousand in their 401k, they're worth $1.3 million. And they worked at a grocery store, which is incredible. That's the American Dr. Dream. Wouldn't you come to a country that you could work at a local grocery store and end up with $1.6 million in an $800,000 house with four beds, two bathrooms and a pool? That's the American dream, where now it seems like you have to become an extraordinary human being with extraordinary skills. Like you have to make like 2,300,000 to now purchase the home next to the middle class boomer who worked at the grocery store. So the grocery store boomer is now living next to a lawyer, which it has nothing to do with the human value of it. It's just the skill set of going to a job that takes two weeks of training compared to someone who has to spend 12 years of training to do that. So it just depends on when you were born. But the big three is what I define as the biggest separator is if you're a millennial or Gen Zer, you're most likely dealing with high housing costs, whether it's rent or a mortgage. Then you're dealing with your student loans and you're dealing with daycare. So you could have three neighbors living right next to each other. One has a house paid off. So property taxes, homeowners, insurance, let's just say is 6, 700 bucks. No college, no daycare. So their big three is 700 bucks a month. The Gen X are living next door. Could have bought a little later, maybe even how you you talked about buying in 2014, around like 2:20, I think was around the median household income. You got yours for a little cheaper, you were saying. But now your house has probably doubled and so did many other people. So. But you have a low interest rate. You bought it, your loan is small compared to the millennial who's buying the 450 house today right next door. So you can have three people living right next door with totally different payments. 600, 1500 and 3200, same exact house. And then you add in college and daycare. This millennial couple needs $75,000 just for the big three, where the boomer couple in the same neighborhood right next door needs 20,000 to live.

[Andrew]

Exactly.

[Freddie Smith]

So that's the middle class being divided to me is that when we grew up as millennials, there was kind of like this socioeconomic feel where you would go to your friend's house, and when the dad was a plumber, the whole neighborhood was like a plumber, a firefighter, a nurse, a doctor. And then you had. Or not a doctor, but a nurse, but then you had, like, the richer neighborhoods and people, like, now the whole middle class, because the middle class no longer really exists. It's like upper middle class. Like, you have to be upper middle class to be middle class.

[Andrew]

And I think that's the big area, which I love when you break these down, because I think that's the big area for most people is a lot of folks right now are struggling with these high, these high housing costs. And a lot of times they're looking at either, you know, they're paying rent right now, and they're. They have no control over that in terms of what is happening and when their rent increases and those types of things. But addition, the one big one, and this is almost the silent one that you, that I love, that you emphasize, is daycare. So, like, daycare is one of those things where it can, if you have one or two kids in daycare, it can cost you thousands of dollars every single month. I mean, it'll cost more than your mortgage or your rent will if you have multiple kids in daycare. And I think that is one where you start to add in some of these other things. In addition to. We have tons of listeners who have student loans who are going through this process of trying to figure out what to do with those student loans. The rules change every single year, and they're just trying to figure out, hey, how do I get these things paid off? That's the big thing I want to do. And they're getting hit in all directions,

[Podcast Host/Announcer]

and it is one of the, the

[Andrew]

biggest struggles that we see across the board. So I, I love that you break those down, because I think, you know, between these, these different areas, in addition, if somebody makes a mistake or they, you know, they buy a brand new car, for example, now they have a car payment, all this stuff just starts to really unravel very, very quickly. It's no wonder that a lot of folks in the millennial generation cannot build wealth. And I think that's the big. The big key here that I think a lot of us need to kind of look at and break down. And when it comes to wages, you know, they have not kept up with the pace and the cost of living over the course. You know, of the last couple of years, when does that gap become impossible to close? Is there a point in time where you think that does become impossible? Or is there a way that we can kind of come back from this? And is it the age of AI and the infrastructure that we're building out right now, now?

[Freddie Smith]

I, I think right now we're just, we're going through a, what would you want to call it? I'd say like a decline in living standards. I think people, like human beings are very good at adapting and sometimes that we can be taken advantage of. And that's what I kind of think we're feeling right now, where people are just like, yeah, you know, $20 an hour isn't that much anymore, but just live with two roommates and it's, it's just like, okay, okay, you know, I have some cool roommates, that's fine. And it's, it's like, well, what about like Thanksgiving, you know, our apartment's 900 square feet. How are we gonna have people over like my parents used to, and the dog in the backyard and the kids playing and it's like, well, just, just, just don't, you know, just give up. Like, people are starting to just lose. So right now I think we're going through this phase where we're just losing quality of life. And I think the next step, before there would ever be like a revolution is I think people are going to start to migrate. That would be some of the advice I'd have for certain individuals. If you can't live in a city, think about going somewhere for two, three years. Like I was even looking at places where my cousin lives in Pennsylvania. There's like a three bedroom house that's not bad for twelve hundred dollars to rent. And I'm like, imagine getting like minded people and say, let's just go to PA for two years, live in this place with all three of us. So that when we're roommates and making the sacrifice, living in the snow, we're pack, we're getting rid of our debt, we're packing our savings account to then go back to Tampa or go back to wherever with money to get our, our job and to get, and to get going. But I think people are going to have to make those sacrifices in their quality of life and that's where we're going to be. Is that, was that what you were asking me about? Where do you see it as when people can't afford stuff? Is that where we were going with that?

[Andrew]

Exactly. And I think that's kind of where I think people just have to make sacrifices that right now, unless something changes, they have to make sacrifices that, you know, most people are not willing to make in order to kind of achieve parts of this American dream that we are trying to all get to. I think that's the big thing that a lot of people think through.

[Freddie Smith]

They are. But, but okay, so yeah, here's where I was going with that. Is that the, the, the frustrating part however, is that you shouldn't have to do it.

[Andrew]

Right?

[Freddie Smith]

I think that's my other argument with, you know, somebody like, I keep using Tampa because you were right here. But if you grew up generationally in Tampa and you've got your parents, your grandparents, your best friends, your girlfriend, your husband, your whatever, I kind of don't even like the advice that I gave, but I like to try to come up with some solutions. But people know that. What a shitty thing to think. Leave everyone you've known and go to Ohio and live in a town where you know no one so you can rent for 900 bucks, right? Like, why is that the advice? Like, I try to push back. I'm like, but they went to college, they have a degree, they're, they're making 62,000. They're not a bum. Why should that person have to go move away from their friends and family? So again, like, that's what makes me think, like, what the hell happened? And that's why I'm pointing out all the holes that led to this. But yeah, I think we're gonna deal with the lower quality of life for a little while. And if AI doesn't come in and mass produce things that are super cheap or something, then I think you're going to get people who are perturbed and we don't want to get there. No one wants to deal with a revolution or civil unrest. But I don't think the people in charge, I think they think they can just continue to get away with it. But eventually people are going to snap nap when they have nothing left to lose. Right now people are making just enough to feed their kids and pay their bills so they can't jeopardize striking or doing anything like that. But once people are below their means, where they can't survive, you're going to see people go to the streets and it's like, how sad to have to get there when all you have to do is make some policy tweaks and put people first instead of the shareholders and just make things better. Because again, as I went through all these numbers I'm not one of the people that say that billionaires shouldn't exist or that I hate capitalism. Billionaires can exist. I like capitalism. But when you run the numbers over 50 years, the top 1% kept 20% too much money. That is the only difference of why we don't have a thriving middle class today. They just kept 20% too much. And so why can't we tweak that and try to make a change moving forward rather than wealth confiscation? And again, I go back to my tax thing. That's what I think's the most realistic. But, yeah, that's where we're at. I think people are going to do fine for a while, but as soon as people can't afford anything and they're already working two jobs, then you're going to see some civil unrest, and that's just going to be unfortunate.

[Andrew]

So if someone is getting to the point in time now where maybe they're making a little more, they found a way to kind of build up a little bit of wealth. They have some cash savings on hand. They're thinking through, hey, I want to do some stuff to combat against maybe some of this stuff that is happening. I want to make sure that I'm growing my income, I'm growing my money over time. And they're starting to think about buying a house. I know you have some, some background in real estate, and I think this is, you know, a topic that I know you talk about a lot is buying a house in 2026. Is that a good investment?

[Freddie Smith]

Again, depends on your trajectory of, of life. I would say the, the simplest answer to if someone should buy is if you can answer these two questions. Number one, can you comfortably afford the monthly payment that you actually did the math on, not just what Zillow or a prequal shows you? Like, what does it really cost? Did you factor in security? Did you factor in pest control? Did you factor in the maintenance? Did you factor in X, Y and Z? Okay, 3,000amonth. You can afford that. Comfortably not qualify, afford. Yes. And are you willing to keep this house for seven to 10 years? I think those are the two most important questions in 2026. Because with the closing costs, with the cost of living, if you move to a Nashville and you're like, I'm going to buy a house, and you don't even know if you like Nashville, and you try to turn around and sell that in three years, you're probably going to lose money. So I always tell people, can you afford it? And are you Going to keep the house for at least seven to 10 years to give it time to appreciate doesn't mean you have to live in it. You could rent it out and upgrade if you make more money, but just don't buy a house and have to dump it in three years because you're going to lose your ass in 2026. So that would be my advice when it comes to is it a good investment? It just depends on the question, because is it a good investment? Meaning will the money you put into your house today outperform the stock market in 30 years? Probably not. Is it a good investment because it'll be a forced savings account? You're going to build equity and just feel like you're making progress and building memories? Yes, if you look at the investment that way. But I've ran the numbers because you know how people always say, oh, you gotta rent. Like some of the gurus are like, rent. You're throwing money away on a house. If you really run the numbers, they're not wrong. If you are a disciplined investor and you will not waiver for 30 years the person who buys a house today versus the person who invests, the person who invests will have more.

[Andrew]

More.

[Freddie Smith]

But how do you know for 30 years that you're always going to be renting lower than you should, that you're actually going to put every penny into it? Because the first thing to go if things get tough is your investment. If you're trying to invest like 2,3000amonth or something crazy and something happens. So that's the risk. So to sum this all up, in 2026, if you've got the down payment, if you're educated, if it's not going to make you house poor, and if you're still going to be able to reach your investment goals, meaning you're not going to sacrifice your investments just to have a house. If you can do it all and you can afford it and you're going to keep it, it's still tried and true. But to go into it blind or to think it's going to make you rich by getting a primary home, that that's where you have to really run the numbers. But it would be just an individual nuance question to each person. Like, if I knew their trajectory, what their goals were, I could probably tell them this is probably the route to go. But just as a general statement, I still think homeownership works, but it's just much more of a serious decision now. And you have to be really educated on all the Steps.

[Andrew]

And you are speaking my language on that. Because the number one thing we tell people to do is run total cost of ownership before they even consider buying a house. And it's amazing how many people don't run the numbers on the biggest purchase of their entire life. I think it's one of those things that can absolutely put you. You could become house poor very quickly. If you don't run the numbers on, on your housing and understand, you know, total cost of ownership and every cost associated with that, you buy it.

[Podcast Host/Announcer]

For those out there who are saying

[Andrew]

to themselves, I'm not even close to being able to afford a house yet. I've run total cost of ownership before. I've looked at this in a number of different ways. Is renting a viable option long term? Like, do you think that is something that someone can do, you know, throughout their entire life and be a. Okay.

[Freddie Smith]

I mean, I guess that's the, that's the question, you know, how can we predict what the rent prices will be in 30 years? I think if, if you were just to look at the past 30 years and you look at it now, it can be a little scary because could the average rent be 5 or $6,000 when you're ready to retire? Sounds ridiculous, but I think if you asked a boomer in the 80s when they were paying $200 and you said, you know, people are gonna be spending two grand 40 years from now on rent, they'd be like, no way. So could it really be maybe five or six thousand? That's, that's the, that's the toss up, you know. But if you're gonna rent, make it count. Like really make sure you're taking your leftover money and investing it or investing in yourself to create more income. But it's just sad that housing now has to be like a financial decision and an investment decision instead of just like, shelter, I'm going to pay for shelter. You now have to think about how much you're going to spend, what you're going to sacrifice, what you're investing. But yeah, that's the one thing we can't really predict is what the rent prices will be. So that's why I think people gravitate towards the house because eventually it's paid off. Off, and it'll be a lower burden for retirement. But if you can, I don't think it's the end of the world because rent's cheaper in a lot of places right now.

[Podcast Host/Announcer]

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[Andrew]

A lot of folks say the housing issue has to do with a supply shortage. Do you think that building more housing would help solve some of this problem? Because we have a lot of boomers who are kind of sitting on houses and they're kind of sitting in this spot where they're not willing to sell their house for certain prices. So do you think if we build more housing, we could solve some of the housing problems?

[Freddie Smith]

I think yes and no. I think the real estate market in general is turning very localized. The more research that I'm doing. I think some places there's prices that are declining a little. I think some places are still getting multiple offers. And I don't know, it almost just sounds like a political statement. You know, it just sounds good, like we need to build more housing. And I'm like, but what housing are you building? Like we know in Tampa and Orlando, like, like, like what are you really building?

[Andrew]

Right?

[Freddie Smith]

It's just four walls and a roof. Like my wife and I bought a new, a new construction. It's crazy. Like it's just so, it's just, they just put bricks around it and a roof on it. Like luckily I know how to do some of the work inside, so I spruced it up myself. But like they're not really building anything like remarkable anymore. You know, it seems more of like a profit driven machine. And will they do tiny homes? Will millennials and Gen Zs purchase tiny homes when they can rent something nicer for cheaper? I don't know. What's your, what's your take on that? Do you feel that the housing would, that the supply would help again? Theory, sure.

[Podcast Host/Announcer]

In, in theory, sure.

[Andrew]

Because obviously supply and demand, you know, regularly, if we look at there's a very high demand for people who want to buy houses and if we can find more affordable housing that gets built, obviously there's going to be more people that are able to buy a house like for. I'll give you an example. So like I have a friend who has been waiting to buy a house and trying to increase income over time and there have been some new developments that have been opening up in the Tampa area, for example. So he's actually been able to find some of these new developments are some of the best prices out there. And a lot of times they may not be the highest quality in some of these areas, but some of the builders building and he could buy a five bedroom house for about $380,000. Well that I think is one of those areas where there are more millennials that could afford something like that in, in some of these different housing situations. But what is the quality of the build? What is the quality of the house? How long can you live in that house? Those types of things are still questions that I can Guess need to be answers. I live in a. I built a house as well, and I think it's one where I so happy with that decision. I did that in 2020 during the Middle of COVID I'm so happy with

[Podcast Host/Announcer]

that decision, but it was the right

[Andrew]

time to do it. Nowadays, since 2020, it's been a big shift and a big difference for a lot of folks.

[Podcast Host/Announcer]

And so as we start to see

[Andrew]

the expansion of potentially more housing because a lot of millennials can't afford the. The price of houses that are already in existence, I think that could be something where some folks could look, especially if they are developing in new areas. There's a lot of new areas, at least where I am, you know, outside of the city city that are starting to expand and expand rapidly where they are, you know, building these amazing communities and infrastructure. And I think that's a cool way to do it. But if people are just throwing up housing just to. Just to throw it up, hoping people will come, I think that's the, the negative way to do it. It's almost like building up these communities that people actually want to live in so they can live like what we're talking about, the American dream, and maybe

[Freddie Smith]

make it a little more appetizing too, for the new generation. I don't, you know, not. Not so much like more communal in some ways way, like some of these cookie cutter neighborhoods, which I love. I'm very blessed to have great neighbors. It's so new and clean and awesome, but it's also just very, you know, I call it like an apartment home. Like it's an upgrade from the apartment, but it's just basically like just a house that's 10ft from the other house. And you know, would it attract more millennials if they took the time to put in like a communal garden or put in, you know, more. Not. Not artificial turf for their dogs, but like a dog park and make, make the. The living in this particular neighborhood, even if the houses don't have that much gingerbread or it's a little cookie cutter. What if the experience in the community was set up to. To bring more community? Maybe that would be more attractive if they could invest a little money to do that to get people to buy. But I think it has to be more unique. And then also the trouble that we're having is that the boomers and all the Gen Xers too, a lot of their wealth is tied up in houses, housing.

[Andrew]

Yes.

[Freddie Smith]

And the last thing they want to do is allow new developments to come in and I understand, you know, they don't want their, their house to drop 200k, but if you were to flood the market and get the money to flood the market with housing, you're going to be battling the homeowners who are like, I don't want my house to go down 200k. So I think it's going to be this tug and pull where the boomers are going to eventually, in 20 years, 15 years, it's going to be like a crazy two decades. But they're gonna eventually get rid of these bigger houses or these older houses. And I think either the millennials will take it over and live in them, or we will accept less money. But right now, I think that's the battle. Cause who's gonna vote to go, yeah, yeah, let's bring in 1200 new homes and ruin the housing value. I think even Trump mentioned that in a press conference like a month ago where he was like, you know, people's wealth is in their homes. I don't want to do anything to hurt their value. And I'm like, I mean, I get it, but how are you going to make housing affordable while also keeping the housing currently priced at what it is? Unless they're tinier homes or you start, like you said, building further out where it's a little inconvenient. So it's cheaper at first until they start building around it. But this is the speculation. I mean, I, I've. I could talk for hours on all the speculation of housing because it's just interesting as hell in all different areas. But I don't know. I still don't know if. To go back to your original question, I really don't know if supply would make that big of a difference, if they would ever actually do it in a meaningful way. I guess that's the thing. Will they build some houses? Sure. Would they flood a market? That's what we'd have to wait and see.

[Andrew]

And I agree with you. I think that's the biggest thing is these have to be built in a way that it is a community like the one that I live in. We have everything from. We have four dog parks, we have three pools. We have all these different, like, football fields and soccer fields for kids to play. All the community events are like, all there. We have all this really cool stuff in this community, like parks all over the place. And so they developed it in a way where, like, we even have, like, a local place where people can go and eat and hang out, and there's bars there and all that. Kind of stuff. And it's really, really cool the way they did this. Yeah. And that's what I think you have to do if you're going to build these a little bit farther out. Make it a place where people want to go. Make it a place where people want to spend time and kind of be together. We just hang out with our neighbors outside all the time. And it's, it's very cool to kind of see that community come together. That's how you can do it the right way. And I think the problem is a lot of, a lot of these builders will just start to slap homes in locations that don't have any amenities or anything extra that people are actually going to want to do. And they're going to regret. They're going to regret that decision, you know, because they're going farther out just for a cheaper price.

[Freddie Smith]

Yep. And there's no. Dude, there was even my, my, my brother in law and sister in law live in a. They live in Winter Garden. I don't know if you're familiar with the Orlando area, but they live in Winter Garden and their community built a school and a grocery store in the community and has all the stuff you just mentioned. And everyone drives golf carts around to drop their kids off. That's how we all have this thing. So it's like, oh, you have. They made all these friends trick or treating. We go there every year. It's sick. I'm like, this is amazing. But I go, oh, that's so appetizing to move there. Because you're getting more than just this. Because that was my point. If you're going to spend 400 on a house, how cool if it's in a community. So you're getting lifestyle with that high price just to get a box in the woods for 400, it's like you gotta have community with it to make it worth the millennials who can afford it, you know?

[Andrew]

Exactly. Exactly. So I think that's the big key and we'll kind of see what happens here. I know a lot of people are kind of, they're battling back and forth and debating would housing expansion be something that would help. And it's left to be seen, which I think will be very interesting. The other thing that a lot of people rely on, a lot of baby boomers right now are relying on this because they built up almost too much wealth in, in some of the houses for, for some of them out there is Social Security. And you talk about Social Security in some of your videos and kind of the conversation to have. And they have been saying that Social Security is going to go away for decades and decades now. But what do you think about people and how they think through Social Security? What do you think is going to happen? Do you have any ideas around that? And can people rely on it? I'm more so in the camp of like, hey, focus on the things you can control. Make sure you try to invest in your retirement accounts and, and try to do some of these things. But what do you think about, about Social Security going forward? Is that something that's going to be around?

[Freddie Smith]

I think it was a noble idea at the very beginning. Just like many programs that we have in America. I think it was. It was led with a big heart. And I think at first people go, this is going to be great. Because Social Security started off with just 1% for the employee and 1% for the employer. And it's like, okay, well, we can help people retire with dignity. Not a big deal. Then they added in Medicare, also important. But now we're up to 15.3% for payroll. And for anyone who might not know, because it took me years to understand all this, but, you know, payroll tax is 15.3%. The FICA that you see on your paycheck is half of the payroll tax, and then your employer is paying the other half. So there's 15.3% going towards Social Security and Medicare. Well, we have so many boomers. Boomers have 70 million of them alive and well. They're the damn near the biggest generation millennials. There's about 70 million of us, too. But they're all about to retire higher. And Social Security is not what I thought, where all the money that's being taken out of your paycheck is going into a fund. Like imagine the boomer fund that the government has at a bank account and all the boomers who paid into it are just getting their check. It doesn't work that way. It's a pay as you go system. So our FICA is being taken to fund 80% of the boomers and silent generations Social Security checks. So without us working, they would run out of money. Money. But we're not putting it in for our own. We have to rely on our kids and grandkids to keep working so we can get our Social Security. So that's kind of like the shaky part because it's turned into something else. But here's when we're going to figure out about Social Security because there is a reserve that is paying out 20%. So the workers pay 80%. There's a reserve paying 20. The reserve is set to run out in 2034. So in 2034, the boomers and the silent generation will either have to take a 20% pay cut. Cut, or they'll have to raise taxes or borrow that money to fund that 20%. So I think that's going to be the first contention where we're going to have a big discussion about Social Security. But again, with AI, I think it's going to be much simpler in the future that everything turns into some sort of basic income just to clean all this up. Like the idea that you've got so many segmentations of welfare and Social Security and all this stuff, it's like they could just simplify all this to a basic income and get rid of all of it. And it's just one check that you can give to people. If AI gets that productive, I feel like that might be more of what our generation will get is some sort of universal basic income more than a Social Security check. I just can't see a world where I can't see it after 30, 40. But I don't think. I think people get nervous because they think, oh, does that mean I'm paying in and not going to get anything? No. But I don't think it's going to be exactly what we've been seeing for 50 years. There's just too many flaws. So I think something will change, but I don't think we won't get money. You know, they're not going to leave us hanging out to dry.

[Andrew]

Right.

[Freddie Smith]

But it's going to change.

[Andrew]

But it's definitely going to be a shift. And I think most people just need to make sure that as long as you're focusing on what you can control, which is your own retirement, that's going to be the big key. And then Social Security can be that benefit on top that can help bridge the gap between what else is left, I think is the big important thing. Because even thinking through this as you were talking, I was thinking through, well, even the millennial generation, they're having less, you know, children than the baby boomer generation did. That means less workers are coming into the workforce to help pay for Social Security. It becomes this cycle that becomes one of those things that probably is gonna be more and more a problem.

[Freddie Smith]

Sustainable. Yeah, they. I think. I think, if I remember correctly, I want to say there were 12. I think it was like in the 50s, maybe there were 12 workers for every one beneficiary. Now, I think there's two workers for every one beneficiary. So you know what I mean? So it's like, what? So unless AI or massive immigration is going to create that, you know, that workforce. But again, why Social Security is under attack? Like, all of these things just make sense. You already have so many millennials who don't have enough money at the end of the month to take responsibility for their own retirement, and yet they're seeing 7.65% being taken for the future that they don't even know what it's going to look like. And it's like, if we could just have that extra 7.65% now to invest ourselves or pay our bills. But then people are saying, well, what happens if everyone's broke in 30 years with no retirement? And it's like, people are struggling now. Guys like, you gotta, we gotta make decisions to help people now. And we'll get, we'll, we'll figure it out in the future. But, but yeah, if you have the funds, I would 100% invest more because Social Security, I don't think is going to cover much, especially if you don't own a home. Can you imagine?

[Andrew]

And I think that's the, that's the big key, is most people need to focus on, on their own retirement. I'm going to ask you one other question before we get into the rapid fire here. So what are some of the top things that maybe millennials that are listening right now or Gen Z listeners can do right now to get ahead in an economy despite the system kind of working against them right now? Are there anything that, that you have found across the board, maybe from some of your followers or listeners that have kind of been, been helpful for them at this stage?

[Freddie Smith]

Just to be super blunt, and I, I, this, this sounds like, like boomer advice because it doesn't solve the problem for all Americans. But if there's somebody who's ambitious, who, who's like, I can't be in the rat race. I got to figure this out. The best thing you can do right now is focus on a skill set that can make you more money. I don't think you can save your way to success anymore. Have an emergency fund, invest, but your income growing your income is going to be air quotes. Easier than trying to downgrade your lifestyle and cut out coffee and go live in a tent somewhere and save that extra 800 bucks. It's like, go make the extra 800. It's going to be simpler than trying to continue to cut because life is just so expensive. But that will work for many, but again, it's not practical for all Americans.

[Andrew]

And I think that's the number one lever that you can pull is that income lever. It's the number one thing to focus your time and energy on. And it's the one area that can really just make that dramatic impact every single time that you try to cut back. You can only cut back so much, but you can increase your income, you know, exponentially. And I think that's really, really important for most people to note. Awesome. So I'm gonna jump into just a couple of other rapid fire questions that we ask a lot of our guests. So the first one is, what part of your work or life makes you come alive?

[Freddie Smith]

I would say interacting with others, collaborating is, even doing this like, is so fun to me. Just chatting it up. Yeah. I would say collaborations, working with a group of people and community and being around others and building something together.

[Andrew]

What is your biggest fear around money?

[Freddie Smith]

Not having enough of it to pursue an idea or opportunity that I know would be good for my soul and my life and having to pass on that opportunity because I didn't have the funds available. That happened a few times in my life.

[Andrew]

I love that one. That's a great one. I think it's one where a lot of. We've seen this, where a lot of folks who can't take. I remember this when I was younger too. People who can't take advantage of opportunities, a lot of times it's because they don't have cash on hand to be able to do it. And I think that that's a, that's a big one. How do you plan to level up your finances this year?

[Freddie Smith]

The advice I gave a little earlier, 100% focused on continuing to build skill set, continuing to collaborate, continuing to earn more income, to open up more doors for me to expand and chase those opportunities and ideas. So I would say I'm at the level in my life or my stage right now where elevating my income is my most important stuff. Step.

[Andrew]

What is the best money advice you've

[Freddie Smith]

ever received for the subset of people who are business owners, salespeople and creatives? I think investing in yourself first, I think for everybody. But investing in yourself is gotta be the greatest money advice because again, it goes back to being able to build income or being able to have that network. The opportunity is endless when it comes to investing and becoming the best version of yourself. So I would say that's the greatest starting point for everyone, is put it all back into yourself till you can create Something.

[Andrew]

The last one is my favorite one and it is what does wealth mean to you?

[Freddie Smith]

Kind of a theme here. I kind of like this. I've figured a lot about myself just in these questions. Wealth to me is having the freedom and the financial capability to explore opportunities and ideas that set my soul on fire.

[Andrew]

I love that. That's a fantastic answer.

[Podcast Host/Announcer]

Well, Freddie, thank you so much for

[Andrew]

coming on the show. Can you tell people more about your book when it and more about, you know, you, your social channels, everything else that you have going on?

[Freddie Smith]

Yeah. Well, first of all, thank you for having me on. Huge fan of your, your work. I love fellow creators that are all in the same space. I think we're all doing something very unique and us collaborating, I think is awesome. And yeah, for the past three years, I've just been kind of figuring out all this stuff and trying to hold politicians accountable. And I, I've been making videos on TikTok and YouTube and Instagram and Facebook and just building a really great community, trying to give a voice to everybody who's struggling right now. And it ended up landing me a book deal a couple years ago. I actually got a copy here. It's called Generation How Millennials and Gen Z's Were Robbed of the American Dream and How We Can Fix Our Futures. Basically a preview was the conversation that we just had today, a lot of that about Social Security and the Federal Reserve and the wealth divide and the national debt and the, the boomer generation, the Gen X and millennials and the livable wage. And so everything is broken down in the book of how we basically got led to this point in our American history here, of why is the middle class struggling and what we can do about it. And even my tax plan I threw in there because it's what I'm most excited about right now. So just some ideas just to get people's minds to think and what they can do to move forward in this crazy world that we're in. And that's where I'm at right now. So I'm just continuing to grow my podcasts, my socials, my book. It's kind of all going together and just continuing to meet awesome people like Andrew here where we can collab and shoot the shit and help people out.

[Andrew]

Awesome. Well, thank you so much, Freddy. We will link all those up down below in the show notes as well. We'll link the book and everything else so that people can pre order it and really excited. Thank you so much for writing it and kind of spreading this message. I think It's a really, really powerful thing. So thank you again for being here, Freddie. We truly appreciate it.

[Freddie Smith]

All right. Thank you.