TORONTO — Money can be complicated, but it doesn’t have to be! This week we’re talking about building a wealthy lifestyle with the founders of wealth-building platform, Earn Your Leisure. They shared financial tips, and advice, and even spilled the tea on some of the money mistakes they made in early adulthood.
“It started in the classroom with young adults, and realizing that there wasn’t anybody that was teaching these type of topics, and knowing how vital they are to the future,” shared Earn Your Leisure co-founder, Troy Millings, who worked as a teacher.
Millings explained that they had the opportunity to teach financial literacy in the summer and that soon expanded into something bigger.
“People gravitated towards it because nobody had broken things down and spoken in a language that we speak in. So, that’s how it was birthed.”
Making Mistakes With Your Money
Earn Your Leisure co-founder Rashad Bilal shared some advice for avoiding a common financial mistake: live below your means.
“I think it’s very very important, no matter what your means are. You could be making a million dollars a year and spending one point two million and be in debt, or you could be making $50,000 and spending $50,000 and [be] in trouble,” Bilal said.
“So having that financial discipline to stay below your means, I think it’s difficult, and I think that’s probably the hardest thing that most people struggle with.”
But in a society where many people are embedded in consumer culture, how can people change their mindset from spend, spend, spend to save, save, save?
“Retraining your mindset is extremely important. That’s why we have [slogans like] Assets Over Liabilities. Putting these types of slogans out there in the universe and making it cool for delayed gratification, making it cool to put money into investments as opposed to buying a Chanel bag or sneakers,” Bilal explained.
He shared that he believes that from childhood, most people are trained to spend money, but not invest it. This is something that the Earn Your Leisure team is looking to change. But how do they break this cycle?
“I think we break it through education and showing that people only buy into delayed gratification if they think there is a reward for it,” Bilal shared, using the example of religion.
“People buy into religion because they fully believe in heaven.”
“If they didn’t believe in heaven it’s harder to pitch somebody on the idea of being a great person on Earth, and you may never see the reward for it.”
But the founders of Earn Your Leisure use real-life examples and pathways to show proof of different ways to achieve wealth.
Financial Advice From Earn Your Leisure
The co-founders of Earn Your Leisure explained that having a plan is important to stack your cash.
“If you don’t have a financial roadmap, you’re going to get lost,” Millings said.
“We see that all the time. People will get money, or get success, or have a certain income and then it will be gone because there is no roadmap and there is no discipline.”
The duo also debunked a common myth: you don’t have to leave your 9 to 5 in order to build your wealth and earn your leisure.
“You definitely can still work a 9 to 5, but I think life is about progression. So if you’re in a 9 to 5 there’s nothing wrong with that, but how can you progress up that corporate chain if that’s your goal?” Bilal explained.
“Education, networking, having a clear vision, and asking. You have to be a thorn in the side [of people], a closed mouth doesn’t get fed. And if you become complacent, then you’ll stay stagnant.”
Bilal explained that sometimes that means finding a new job and building a new network. It can also mean diversifying your income.
“You can be an entrepreneur at the same time as being an employee. And you can be an investor at the same time as being an employee,” he continued, adding that you can make investments, and continue to grow your wealth while working a 9 to 5.
Bilal and Millings share stories from their own financial experiences and take us down the path that birthed Earn Your Leisure on this episode of The Brandon Gonez Show! Did you learn something new? Let us know in the comments!
