1
00:00:00,400 --> 00:00:03,279
Speaker 1: Welcome to another edition of Checks on the Right podcast.

2
00:00:03,520 --> 00:00:07,440
We are here with our BFF, our financial BFF and

3
00:00:07,480 --> 00:00:11,359
BFF Zach from Bulwark Capital. We're talking about gen X

4
00:00:11,800 --> 00:00:14,599
being the forgotten generation in every single way. So there's

5
00:00:14,599 --> 00:00:18,440
a new article from the Economist and they suggest that

6
00:00:18,600 --> 00:00:22,280
gen X those born between nineteen sixty five and nineteen eighty.

7
00:00:22,320 --> 00:00:24,640
I am one of those, and I feel like you're

8
00:00:24,679 --> 00:00:29,039
considered one of those. You're eighty two, right. They say

9
00:00:29,039 --> 00:00:32,679
that we might be the most overlooked and most stressed generation.

10
00:00:32,920 --> 00:00:36,439
So boomers complain. I feel like, I'm not really not

11
00:00:36,479 --> 00:00:41,200
that stressed, but boomers complain about retirement, Millennials complain about

12
00:00:41,240 --> 00:00:46,200
housing and costs of stuff. Gen Z complain about everything right,

13
00:00:47,159 --> 00:00:49,640
and then gen X is kind of in the background,

14
00:00:49,719 --> 00:00:54,079
and we're struggling because apparently during our midlife when we

15
00:00:54,079 --> 00:00:55,960
were supposed to be having our midlife crisis, and I

16
00:00:55,960 --> 00:00:58,439
can attest to this, this is when the bad stock

17
00:00:58,479 --> 00:01:02,079
markets hit, there was weak job growth. It was harder

18
00:01:02,079 --> 00:01:04,079
and harder for us to build wealth. We're stuck in

19
00:01:04,120 --> 00:01:06,879
that sandwich generation where we're caring for both kids and

20
00:01:06,920 --> 00:01:10,239
aging parents and is social security going to run out?

21
00:01:10,400 --> 00:01:13,760
So let's talk about some stereotypes of the different generations,

22
00:01:13,799 --> 00:01:17,200
like money myths about each, whether gen X is unfairly

23
00:01:17,280 --> 00:01:21,159
ignored in some of these finance discussions. But first of all,

24
00:01:21,200 --> 00:01:25,000
I want to know, like just having your practice for

25
00:01:25,040 --> 00:01:26,760
as long as you have, when it comes to the

26
00:01:26,760 --> 00:01:33,959
different generations, do you see different saving methodologies with different generations?

27
00:01:34,120 --> 00:01:36,959
Do you see a difference in the generation? Yeah?

28
00:01:37,599 --> 00:01:41,760
Speaker 2: Huge, really yeah, it's and it's and it's and it's

29
00:01:41,799 --> 00:01:44,920
really it's really interesting to me because it does not

30
00:01:45,239 --> 00:01:49,640
follow the typical arc that I think people would guess at. So,

31
00:01:49,680 --> 00:01:54,159
for instance, you know, and you talk about our certain generations,

32
00:01:54,359 --> 00:01:56,680
is gen X getting ignored? I hadn't really thought about

33
00:01:56,760 --> 00:01:58,560
in those terms, But when you put it like that,

34
00:01:59,799 --> 00:02:02,280
like to think to myself, it probably.

35
00:02:01,920 --> 00:02:04,319
Speaker 1: Is like jan from the Brady Bunch.

36
00:02:04,760 --> 00:02:09,280
Speaker 2: Yeah, Marsha Marshall, Martia the middle child, right yeah, right yeah. So,

37
00:02:10,360 --> 00:02:14,120
And here's why I say it. Everybody talks about Gen

38
00:02:14,240 --> 00:02:18,439
Z and millennials being despondent, not having hope in the future,

39
00:02:19,080 --> 00:02:25,680
having more of a cynical outlook, which typically right, cynicism, skepticism,

40
00:02:26,199 --> 00:02:29,039
all of those things are typically hallmarks of older folks, Right,

41
00:02:29,080 --> 00:02:32,479
you would usually think that there now, and there's all

42
00:02:32,599 --> 00:02:34,319
kinds of reasons that would back that up. We could

43
00:02:34,319 --> 00:02:36,159
point to that and be like, you know, home prices,

44
00:02:36,199 --> 00:02:39,680
all the things that we realize. What is interesting to me, though,

45
00:02:39,879 --> 00:02:43,400
is that Gen X by and large seems to be

46
00:02:43,479 --> 00:02:49,919
much more skeptical than the Baby boomers. Yeah, there is

47
00:02:50,000 --> 00:02:54,439
much more of a jaundiced eye around Generation X.

48
00:02:54,919 --> 00:02:55,080
Speaker 1: Ok.

49
00:02:55,199 --> 00:02:57,000
Speaker 2: And I think a lot of it has to do

50
00:02:57,080 --> 00:03:00,800
with what you just said, meaning there were so many

51
00:03:00,840 --> 00:03:05,080
Baby Boomers that OAIGHTO nine was not fun for and

52
00:03:05,240 --> 00:03:07,680
was not pleasant for, but a lot of them, and

53
00:03:07,719 --> 00:03:10,159
think about in your own personal lives, A lot of

54
00:03:10,159 --> 00:03:15,319
them were established enough to where their life didn't fundamentally change.

55
00:03:15,960 --> 00:03:20,719
Right when you look at Gen xers, I don't think it.

56
00:03:20,800 --> 00:03:22,560
I don't think it's hard to argue that we were

57
00:03:22,599 --> 00:03:28,080
by far the most impacted by O EITO nine totally Yeah, right,

58
00:03:28,199 --> 00:03:31,439
because you're earlier in your career, which by definition, you know,

59
00:03:31,520 --> 00:03:36,759
you look at corporate America, you know tenure equal security,

60
00:03:36,759 --> 00:03:38,240
meaning if you want to know who's going to get

61
00:03:38,240 --> 00:03:40,360
thrown overboard first, it's the people with the least amount

62
00:03:40,360 --> 00:03:44,719
of seniors. Totally right, You're also least likely to get hired.

63
00:03:45,439 --> 00:03:48,159
How do I know that? Try being a twenty six,

64
00:03:48,280 --> 00:03:51,479
twenty seven year old in the middle of the financial crisis,

65
00:03:51,599 --> 00:03:54,800
just starting out in the financial industry and calling people

66
00:03:55,240 --> 00:03:58,039
when the SMP is down sixty percent over the previous

67
00:03:58,039 --> 00:04:01,120
eight months, and asking them to trust you with their money.

68
00:04:01,159 --> 00:04:02,560
And then they ask you how long you've been in

69
00:04:02,599 --> 00:04:07,719
business and you say six months? Right, as you can imagine,

70
00:04:07,800 --> 00:04:09,759
that was kind of a tough sell, little bit, right,

71
00:04:09,840 --> 00:04:13,000
just a little bit, a little bit. And so once

72
00:04:13,039 --> 00:04:16,240
again you kind of look at this dynamic where gen

73
00:04:16,600 --> 00:04:20,399
X had virtually nothing to do with what ca I mean,

74
00:04:20,399 --> 00:04:22,480
if you look at the housing crisis, that was truly

75
00:04:22,519 --> 00:04:26,240
a baby boomer generation moment, meaning the legislation that enabled

76
00:04:26,240 --> 00:04:28,800
that was in the late nineties passed by baby boomers.

77
00:04:29,120 --> 00:04:32,560
Speaker 1: Right, you never hear you all. I mean, you will

78
00:04:32,600 --> 00:04:34,560
not hear the end of it from gen Z s too,

79
00:04:34,600 --> 00:04:37,439
because they will constantly blame boomers for all of that,

80
00:04:37,480 --> 00:04:39,319
and they'll be like, we can't afford housing because of

81
00:04:39,360 --> 00:04:42,240
the boomers. Sometimes they lump us in with it too.

82
00:04:42,639 --> 00:04:44,759
Gen xers are to blame for that too, like they

83
00:04:44,800 --> 00:04:46,800
have it so easy, we have it so hard. But

84
00:04:46,879 --> 00:04:50,759
do you really think that. I mean, granted, yes, I

85
00:04:50,759 --> 00:04:53,560
will put some blame on them, But at the same time,

86
00:04:53,800 --> 00:04:57,240
I do think that our generation and the generation before us,

87
00:04:57,879 --> 00:05:00,639
you know, we didn't have we didn't live in laps

88
00:05:00,680 --> 00:05:03,040
of luxury and expect a lot of things that I

89
00:05:03,040 --> 00:05:07,639
think this new generation does. So there's it's it's more

90
00:05:07,680 --> 00:05:11,279
than just one aspect that we're dealing with, you know

91
00:05:11,319 --> 00:05:13,319
what I mean, It's an onion. I feel like it's

92
00:05:13,360 --> 00:05:15,279
not just one thing. Like a lot of these kids

93
00:05:15,399 --> 00:05:17,759
are used to so many wonderful things, and they're not

94
00:05:17,920 --> 00:05:19,959
willing to give up the wonderful things. They're not willing

95
00:05:20,040 --> 00:05:22,360
to live with five roommates and have ram and noodles

96
00:05:22,360 --> 00:05:23,639
every night. You see what I'm saying.

97
00:05:24,199 --> 00:05:30,399
Speaker 2: Yeah, well, yes, there is no question about that, you know.

98
00:05:30,439 --> 00:05:32,959
And I even deal to be fair, I deal with

99
00:05:33,000 --> 00:05:34,839
that issue with my own kids, and my wife and

100
00:05:34,839 --> 00:05:36,920
I talk about all the time. One of our biggest

101
00:05:36,920 --> 00:05:40,399
concerns is are there enough struggles? Are there enough obstacles?

102
00:05:40,519 --> 00:05:40,720
Speaker 1: Right?

103
00:05:40,759 --> 00:05:42,959
Speaker 2: Because I grew up with an I grew up in

104
00:05:42,959 --> 00:05:45,879
an idyllic setting as a kid. At the same time,

105
00:05:46,279 --> 00:05:50,000
there were so many things that we were responsible for. Yeah,

106
00:05:50,079 --> 00:05:54,240
the kids today just aren't, you know. And what I

107
00:05:54,279 --> 00:05:56,240
mean by that is, let me give you a really

108
00:05:56,279 --> 00:05:59,079
small example. You want to play with your friend, so

109
00:05:59,120 --> 00:06:01,120
you got to go outside, jump on your bike, ride

110
00:06:01,120 --> 00:06:02,560
down the street, and go knock on his door and

111
00:06:02,600 --> 00:06:05,720
see if he's there. Totally just even something like that.

112
00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:07,399
Speaker 1: Totally yes.

113
00:06:07,480 --> 00:06:08,959
Speaker 2: And the reason you have to do that is because

114
00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:12,759
you tried calling him, but the phone's busy. Right somewhere,

115
00:06:12,759 --> 00:06:14,279
millennials are going homes.

116
00:06:14,319 --> 00:06:16,399
Speaker 1: What are you was talking about? Yeah? I mean I

117
00:06:16,399 --> 00:06:18,600
always telling my daughter we were raised on hose water

118
00:06:18,680 --> 00:06:24,839
and neglect. Okay, we totally loved it. We were so autonomous.

119
00:06:24,839 --> 00:06:26,959
Our parents had no idea where we were until we

120
00:06:27,000 --> 00:06:28,360
had to come in for dinner. And we were just

121
00:06:28,800 --> 00:06:35,519
hungry and dirty, you know, ye, hungry, dirty.

122
00:06:33,800 --> 00:06:39,199
Speaker 2: To live and slept like babies, right right, yeah, And

123
00:06:39,240 --> 00:06:42,040
it was that and that was a shared experience, right.

124
00:06:42,160 --> 00:06:44,680
And you look at it today and you don't see

125
00:06:44,720 --> 00:06:47,720
kids outside no, right, Like it's it really is it

126
00:06:48,240 --> 00:06:48,839
really want.

127
00:06:48,759 --> 00:06:50,879
Speaker 1: My kids outside because it's not a safe you know.

128
00:06:50,959 --> 00:06:55,040
So there again, it's like a double edged sword, right.

129
00:06:54,839 --> 00:06:58,920
Speaker 2: It really is. And then on the then, like I said,

130
00:06:59,079 --> 00:07:03,000
then you get to the younger generation too, and you

131
00:07:03,160 --> 00:07:07,399
don't ever want to tell somebody not to aim so high.

132
00:07:08,360 --> 00:07:10,879
But it's not because it's materialistic. But I want to

133
00:07:10,879 --> 00:07:13,120
look at him and go listen, guys, let me just

134
00:07:13,199 --> 00:07:15,399
let me just tell you something right now. I'm not

135
00:07:15,560 --> 00:07:18,560
telling you to lower your sights. But if you think

136
00:07:18,639 --> 00:07:22,680
that getting a job and quote unquote being successful involves

137
00:07:23,120 --> 00:07:27,079
high six or low seven figures income incomes and Lamborghinis

138
00:07:27,959 --> 00:07:31,120
like you've been lied to, I'm not saying it's impossible.

139
00:07:31,360 --> 00:07:34,920
But what I'm saying is that is a very bizarre outcome. Okay,

140
00:07:34,959 --> 00:07:37,680
the vast majority of people that you think are having

141
00:07:37,720 --> 00:07:40,720
that outcome, it is a total ruse and is a

142
00:07:40,759 --> 00:07:44,000
total fake. And you can just look at the stats,

143
00:07:44,079 --> 00:07:47,040
right if if you know in the state of Washington,

144
00:07:47,639 --> 00:07:49,959
which is higher up the deal, you know, I think

145
00:07:50,160 --> 00:07:52,360
I think the cutoff line for top one percent is

146
00:07:52,360 --> 00:07:55,160
five hundred and thirty thousand dollars. Okay, Well, five hundred

147
00:07:55,199 --> 00:07:58,319
and thirty one thousand dollars doesn't pay for two hundred

148
00:07:58,319 --> 00:08:00,480
and fifty to three hundred and fifty thousand dollars cars

149
00:08:00,720 --> 00:08:04,160
and four million dollar houses, right, It just not even that.

150
00:08:04,240 --> 00:08:06,720
And five hundred and thirty thousand dollars is an unbelievable

151
00:08:06,720 --> 00:08:07,920
amount of money to make for year.

152
00:08:07,959 --> 00:08:09,279
Speaker 1: Right, Absolutely agreed.

153
00:08:09,360 --> 00:08:14,600
Speaker 2: But these kids have just these incredibly unrealistic expectations they do.

154
00:08:14,639 --> 00:08:15,560
Speaker 1: It's very inflated.

155
00:08:16,160 --> 00:08:20,879
Speaker 2: Yeah, and I think that that is as big a danger,

156
00:08:21,040 --> 00:08:23,839
if not a bigger danger than reality on the ground.

157
00:08:24,199 --> 00:08:24,560
Speaker 1: Yeah.

158
00:08:24,639 --> 00:08:27,920
Speaker 2: Right. And what I mean by that is if you

159
00:08:28,079 --> 00:08:32,320
don't have expectations in terms of and when I say expectations,

160
00:08:32,679 --> 00:08:36,720
I had really high expectations of myself, but they were

161
00:08:36,759 --> 00:08:39,639
based around what I believed I was capable of and

162
00:08:39,639 --> 00:08:42,679
more importantly, what I was prepared to do for it, right,

163
00:08:43,120 --> 00:08:46,279
Meaning I had high expectations of myself because I was

164
00:08:46,360 --> 00:08:48,879
going into my job thinking, no one will outwork me.

165
00:08:49,600 --> 00:08:51,639
Now did people outwork I'm sure there are people that

166
00:08:51,679 --> 00:08:54,519
outworked me, but it was kind of that athlete mentality, right,

167
00:08:54,600 --> 00:08:58,519
I'm going to go after this hard. It was not, Oh,

168
00:08:58,679 --> 00:09:01,279
I'm entitled to that, that's just part of the game.

169
00:09:01,759 --> 00:09:04,080
I'm going to get that because I'm great, and that's

170
00:09:04,120 --> 00:09:04,879
what I'm gonnachieve.

171
00:09:04,919 --> 00:09:06,440
Speaker 1: I got a four year degree, so I get a

172
00:09:06,480 --> 00:09:08,200
corner office in a BMW's.

173
00:09:08,399 --> 00:09:09,399
Speaker 2: That works.

174
00:09:10,039 --> 00:09:12,039
Speaker 1: That's not how it works.

175
00:09:12,519 --> 00:09:16,519
Speaker 2: No, it it just doesn't. It just doesn't work that way.

176
00:09:16,879 --> 00:09:19,000
And the thing that you want to get across to

177
00:09:19,080 --> 00:09:21,120
them is you want to say, hey, I didn't say

178
00:09:21,159 --> 00:09:25,799
it was impossible, but it will be achieved by doing

179
00:09:25,919 --> 00:09:29,440
nothing that you think will achieve it, Meaning you need

180
00:09:29,480 --> 00:09:33,279
to become blind to everything else. You need to work

181
00:09:33,360 --> 00:09:37,840
like a dog. You need to you know, like, if

182
00:09:37,879 --> 00:09:39,639
you think it's going to get done five days a

183
00:09:39,679 --> 00:09:43,799
week for forty hours a week, you're lying to yourself, right, actually,

184
00:09:44,440 --> 00:09:46,320
you know. And you try to tell people like, hey, guys,

185
00:09:46,399 --> 00:09:49,679
light you can't cheat life, Hey, you can't cheat life.

186
00:09:50,120 --> 00:09:52,200
When you get eight billion people on the planet, there

187
00:09:52,240 --> 00:09:54,120
will be some people that just fall out of bed

188
00:09:54,200 --> 00:09:56,799
into a great thing and they take us all off. Okay,

189
00:09:56,840 --> 00:10:01,279
but that is not a replicatable journey, right, you can't

190
00:10:01,320 --> 00:10:03,399
do it that way. So and I teach my little

191
00:10:03,399 --> 00:10:06,879
football team this, guys, you will get out what you

192
00:10:06,960 --> 00:10:10,960
put into it. Period. So if you're not busting your

193
00:10:11,039 --> 00:10:14,039
tail and you're not willing to push sixty seventy and

194
00:10:14,080 --> 00:10:16,879
sometimes eighty hour work weeks, do not cry to me

195
00:10:17,080 --> 00:10:19,440
about the fact that you're not getting the desired outcomes

196
00:10:20,120 --> 00:10:25,159
and just meaning you will get out eventually. It will

197
00:10:25,159 --> 00:10:28,039
be very similar to the effort and the resources that

198
00:10:28,039 --> 00:10:31,759
you put in right, and it usually takes a lot

199
00:10:31,879 --> 00:10:35,000
longer putting in than to get out right. Usually there's

200
00:10:35,039 --> 00:10:35,879
a delay there.

201
00:10:36,039 --> 00:10:36,360
Speaker 1: Yeah.

202
00:10:36,360 --> 00:10:40,759
Speaker 2: Eventually, yep, eventually you will get an ROI.

203
00:10:40,559 --> 00:10:43,000
Speaker 1: Yeah, but it's going to take a while. I agree completely.

204
00:10:43,120 --> 00:10:45,200
Sometimes you have take zero paycheck to do it. Mack

205
00:10:45,279 --> 00:10:47,159
and I did that for like four years. We did

206
00:10:47,200 --> 00:10:49,600
that without question. A lot of people who are entrepreneurs

207
00:10:49,679 --> 00:10:52,840
understand that. I think most people who are entrepreneurs understand that, Zach.

208
00:10:53,039 --> 00:10:55,240
How can people find you? Tell them all about how

209
00:10:55,240 --> 00:10:56,639
awesome you are because you're awesome.

210
00:10:57,639 --> 00:10:59,759
Speaker 2: Well, I can tell you how easy we are to find.

211
00:10:59,799 --> 00:11:04,120
So go to Bowordcapitalmanagement dot com or Know your riskpodcast

212
00:11:04,240 --> 00:11:06,799
dot com. You can sign up there or subscribe to

213
00:11:06,799 --> 00:11:08,639
our podcast. We do it once a day. It's about

214
00:11:08,639 --> 00:11:11,159
twenty five to thirty five minutes, go over everything that

215
00:11:11,200 --> 00:11:13,840
matters in the world of finance or any politics related

216
00:11:13,840 --> 00:11:17,440
to finance or investing. And then just today did about

217
00:11:17,440 --> 00:11:19,080
an hour long interview with a buddy of mine that

218
00:11:19,120 --> 00:11:22,799
just put out a book about Warren Buffett put out

219
00:11:23,000 --> 00:11:25,840
interviews with specialists and folks in the industry about once

220
00:11:25,879 --> 00:11:28,279
a week. And yeah, between those you can find out

221
00:11:28,320 --> 00:11:30,759
everything to know about Boward Capital Management and hopefully you'll

222
00:11:30,759 --> 00:11:34,039
become a client and you know, we can all do

223
00:11:34,080 --> 00:11:35,360
a'll make a lot of money together, hopefully.

224
00:11:35,440 --> 00:11:37,639
Speaker 1: Yeah, skater around the social security all that.

225
00:11:38,000 --> 00:11:39,879
Speaker 2: Well, there you go and take advantage is so many

226
00:11:39,879 --> 00:11:42,600
of these other things right like that in these era

227
00:11:42,960 --> 00:11:45,360
of governments running out of money, there's also all these

228
00:11:45,360 --> 00:11:48,080
wonderful investments that can protect you from it and graving

229
00:11:48,120 --> 00:11:49,879
a heck of a year. And hopefully we can tell

230
00:11:49,879 --> 00:11:50,320
you why.

231
00:11:50,600 --> 00:11:52,440
Speaker 1: Yes, thank you, Zach, appreciate you.

232
00:11:52,559 --> 00:11:57,200
Speaker 2: Thank you. Investment Advisory Services offered your Trek Financial LC

233
00:11:57,320 --> 00:11:59,840
and SEC Registered Investment advisor. The opinions expressed in this

234
00:11:59,840 --> 00:12:01,960
pro grammar for general informational purposes only, and are not

235
00:12:02,000 --> 00:12:04,679
intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual

236
00:12:04,759 --> 00:12:07,080
or on any specific security. Any references to performance of

237
00:12:07,080 --> 00:12:09,360
securities so are thought to be materially accurate, and actual

238
00:12:09,360 --> 00:12:11,799
performance may differ investments involved risk and are not guaranteed.

239
00:12:11,840 --> 00:12:14,320
Past performance doesn't guarantee future results. Track twenty four three

240
00:12:14,399 --> 00:12:14,799
zero eight

