24-Year-Old Is Throwing Away His Entire Future | Financial Audit

My name is Ryan Omali. I am 24 years. old. I live in Austin, Texas. And this. is Financial Audit. What do you do for a living in Austin, Texas? So, I own and operate a video production. and marketing company called. Oh, okay. So, you own it. How long have. you been doing that? Um, probably about three years now. Me. and my buddy started in college at the. University of Alabama and then moved out. here about a year and a half ago. Why did you guys choose here? Why? Uh we do a lot of or at least we. used to do a ton of live video and.

concerts and so live music was a big. reason we moved out here and then ended. up getting a lot more into the corporate. stuff out here instead of the music. which was ironic. So how's the business doing? How how. many people are in this ownership. package? So, me and my buddy have owned. it together, and we actually have a. full-time editor who's been with us. since March of last year, and we just. offered him uh some equity in the. company uh over Christmas because he's. been so good for us. And so now it's the. three of us. Okay. And how how's the division of.

ownership? Jake has 20 or 80%, I have 20% and our. editor Ingram has 5% now. So, why is your percentage so low. compared to Jake? So when we So when. they started the company, I wasn't. actually an original founder. It was. Jake and one of our other buddies, Travis, and they started off just having. fun playing around with it in college, shooting people that were coming and. performing for fraternities. And so I. ended up meeting up with them when I was.

also looking at like an internship with. another company that was doing something. similar in Tuscaloosa. And I just became. good friends with them. and they were. kind enough when they were forming the. LLC to even offer me uh 5% equity in the. company just because I had kind of uh. become good friends with them and it was. clear that I was going to stick around. And so Jake had was pretty much the. leader of it. He was doing all the heavy. lifting, put all of his money into the. equipment and everything. And so me and. Travis were both going to take 5% which.

he didn't have a problem with either cuz. he was doing other stuff. It was more so. about just having fun what we were. doing. And then I actually got a I had a. camera, a Sony A7 III that I was able to. invest along with some other equipment. And so that's kind of how we did it. It. was based on how much equipment we had. put into it. And so that's how I got up. to 20. And if you want to invest in this. company, I don't have an option to do. that. But you can subscribe and every. subscriber helps grow this channel. So. thank you to everyone who has so far. What is your position in this company. other than just owner? Do you have a. title? Yeah. Uh we've slowly fallen more into.

roles. It used to be a little bit of. everything, but now I'm calling myself. the chief operating officer. Uh because. I'm taking care of most. calling yourself. Okay. Yeah. So I'm the chief operating officer. and really I've just been handling more. of the day-to-day operations, especially. since Jake uh started this other. company, the podcast studios. And you don't have any stake in that? No. No. I just help them out here and. there with that. So what all exactly what are what are. some of the things that your company. does? We do we specialize in video.

production and so that can be uh live. events where we've done multicam live. setups. We do recap videos. We do music. videos. And then the other side is a lot. more corporate where we do converting. advertisements, brand videos, testimonials, that kind of stuff. How much business y'all got a month on. average? Um as far as like total revenue or as. far as clients. just like different gigs. Um we probably. work with on average between three to. six clients per month.

Okay. Now what's the revenue? Revenue for us it varies but probably. averaging around. it can be anywhere from like 15 to 25k a. month. Okay. For the company. Yeah. Okay. It's a little lower than I was. hoping for. We Yeah. I mean Okay. So, are you paid. or are you getting distributions on your. ownership? We just pay out whatever we think we.

It's kind of varies. We just kind of. talk about it. Um, we're pretty relaxed. with that stuff. Um, most of the money. that we make, we put back into the. business. Whether it's reinvesting in. SEO or equipment. So, what are you bringing in a year? Um, probably average I probably pay. myself around 2500 a month. Okay. In Austin, that's okay. Yeah, surviving but doing doing fine. Do. you have another job or is this a. uh I'd make some other money uh doing.

content creation. I have uh Tik Tok and. I make some off of Instagram as well and. then. Well, you can't make much off of Tik. Tok. Tik Tok pays crap. No, I know. Nothing crazy. It's just. usually uh that's kind of whenever I. have like a viral video pop off, I'll. get like a a good thousand here from the. here and there from that. Yeah. And I've done a couple like brand deals. which. Yeah, that's where it is. That's where. the Okay, the lucrative nature is. So, it's not like a strict distributions of. like here's the profits for this month. after everything you get 20%.

No, we're we're really good friends and. we are both very committed to, you know, making the company the best thing it can. be. And I'm also just not very neither. of us are very uh materialistic and so. we've never really had a problem with. what we pay out. What are you guys' expenses on a monthly. basis? [Music]. Do. you average it out? Probably. Does that would you include uh. what we're paying ourselves or no? Before before ownership pays themselves. Um. so you can include you know paying your.

editor like that. Um I want to say probably like 6K. Okay. Five to 10K depending on the month. Somewhere around there. Okay. So you guys are really only having. a profit of anywhere from 5 to $15,000 a. month depending. um somewhere in there. Yeah, we've had. better months where we've gotten big. gigs for sure. Like we did averaging out. because you probably have Yeah, probably. around there. Not much. Okay.

Yeah. So. is the month you is the money you just. told me also including your rent? Um as far as uh the 2500 that I'm paying. you have space, right? Oh, yeah. That. includes the expenses. That does. What's your What's the rent. of this space? Um, I want to say it's like 1,800. What's the square footage? Um, I don't even know that. It's a uh. compare it to my condo. I'd say it's about two of this room. Oh, two of this room. Okay. So, it's. probably like. And it's 600.

It's in a a co-working space and we just. have a private office upstairs. But we we have our own private office. We love that. Yeah. I mean, free snacks. We love the people there. We work. um it's similar. It's called the. Cathedral ATX. It's uh over in E16th and. it's. um it's really like there's a few. private offices upstairs. There's a few. cubicles downstairs and there's a big. open space where people can come and go. and. but it's not like a film studio with. like a sound stage and. No. No.

Okay. Okay, that's making more sense. because I've been looking at spaces and. I cannot find anything even close to. that rent. Oh, well, so are for Wait, what? What do you mean film studio as in. like uh somewhere you can film? Oh, so that's the other thing. They have. that over um the podcast and photo video. studio. That's Pouch 6 Studios. That's. the one that my partner is. Yeah, but you're not a part of. No, I'm not a part of that one. Okay. I wonder what their rent is on a. monthly basis. More. Yeah. Yeah. Downtown Austin. Oh, okay. Well, yeah. It's an expensive. way to do it. So, $2,500 a month. So,

you bring out on average now. It's not. that much. What are you setting aside for taxes. because this is all just distributions. from the company? Uh yeah, I try to I uh. try to. Yes. I uh it I've had some, you know, tight months here and there, but. whenever I have uh. What is your rent? My rent is I'm paying it's $1,000 plus. uh utilities, which usually comes around. to like $150, something like that.

Okay. Okay. So, 46% of your pre-tax pre-tax, not even your post taxes, you have to. set money aside for So, more than half. of the actual money that you have access. to goes to just paying for a roof over. your head. Yes, sir. Yeah. It's not even a crazy expensive. rent for this area. Roommates or is it. one bed? Yeah, I got a roommate. See? Okay. It's not even.

We love each other though. What do you think about your financial. situation? Because you're laughing. So, I'm curious like what do you think about. your overall financial situation? I am in no place where I feel I need to. panic. Why? Um because I'm an entrepreneur and I. don't have a problem with um not seeing. immediate financial success in. something. I know this business is going. to grow and I know I'm going to take on. other ventures as time grows and as uh. we expand and I have a little bit more. time on my hands for other ventures. So,

it's one of those things where I, like I. said, I'm not a very materialistic. person. As long as I have enough money. to go out and have some friends with. friends, fun with friends on the. weekend, I'm not too worried about it. That's more important than your. financial future. Um, I wouldn't necessarily say it's more. important, but I'm not necessarily. putting one over the other. I don't. believe that I truly have to save money. at this time in my life in order to have. a successfully financial future. Go ahead and try to justify that before. I destroy that concept. I would say uh. more possibilities are open to me in my.

future. Okay. But how does that negate saving. money now? Well, I'm just saying I don't think you. have to save money at this moment in. order to make more money in the future. I understand I'm not making a ton of. money right now and I'm okay with that, but I believe I have great possibilities. in my future that just haven't reached. me yet. I just started getting into. acting a little bit. Maybe I'll land a. big role and make some money that way. Maybe I'll hit a new brand deal when my. social media uh content creation side.

takes off a little bit more. I know there's good stuff in my future. Lots of may that come with hustle. Yeah. But like do you have any like planned. objectives. and like steps that are being taken. along the way in order to hit these. large goals that we have that you can. document on a time basis of when you. think you'll be able to hit things. Yeah. So, that's definitely one thing. that I'm trying to make a bit a little. bit of a better point to do is, you. know, have those uh stepping stones and. those goals along the way. As of now,

I'd say I'm trying to get some podcast. content going while my friends have made. this studio and I believe that will help. me on my content content creation side. of things. And then as far as acting. goes, I'm just trying to, you know, get. into more things here and there um so. that I can meet more people in the. industry and find better opportunities. And then as far as the business side of. things goes, um, every month we have, you know, met new people and found a. little bit better side of success on the.

business side. And so those are just. small stepping stones, but we definitely. could be doing more and I could. personally be doing more. So if you had a dollar right now, but you could turn that dollar into $17. Okay. It's a pretty good deal. It's not a bad deal. Yeah. How would you feel about instead of that. just actively choosing not to? I think that sounds pretty silly, Caleb. That's pretty silly, but you're choosing.

not to. In this in what scenario? In what scenario? with the age you are. now versus retirement age. $1 right. there put into the S&P 500 average 10% a. year into retirement 30 years taking. advantage of compound growth as in it. continues to grow on all the growth that. has taken place in the year's period. previous. Does that make sense so far? Sorry. No, I'm you slow it down for me a. little bit. I'm not too uh financially. literate. $1 10% S&P 500. Okay. And S&P 500. the the index fund S&P 500.

Okay. You haven't heard of it? I I've heard of. it. I just I really am not too educated. on all that stuff. No, that's okay. We can go into that, but uh I don't want to um stray too far. from the example. Okay. $1 put into it averages 10% a. year. So after a year, a$110. And instead of it just growing at 10%. from the dollar, it's now growing at 10%. from the dollar10. Yeah. So it continues. to compound forever. So that $1 from. where you are now to retirement, that $1. turns into $17.45. $45.

Pretty good. And that's a guarantee. Does that change? Does that fluctuate? Well, nothing's officially a guarantee, but that's using the average of what the. S&P 500 has done since its creation on a. yearly basis. Okay. When was that created? Uh, when was that created? '8s, '90s. Okay. Good. 30, 40 years. H, let me confirm. So, I guess what? If I'm going to retire. in like 40 years, how many people have. started? How many years? I don't know. Like.

four. I said 40. Sorry. Oh, I was doing. 40. Cool. I was doing 30. Um, okay. Uh, I guess I'm just curious. and I'm just genuinely curious. How many. people have invested in the S&P when. they were in their 20s and got into. their retirement then? I guess, well, Americans suck at investing. That's why most Americans can't afford. an actual retirement. Or what's. statistic? I don't have the statistic. off the top of my head. S&P 500 created. in the 1957. I was pretty well off. But. what is it like a quarter of or a third.

of Americans can't afford a $400. emergency right now? So I wouldn't want. to compare myself to who's doing the. absolute worst. I would want to be in a. position where I'm doing better. But. this stuff that you're giving up by just. like, okay, well there's other things. If you put $10,000 in right now, it' be. worth $174,000. if I put Say it again. $10,000 S&P 500 right now, 30 years. Seems like a good deal to me. Pretty good deal. But you're literally. giving that up. Well, I guess uh I mean. I didn't even know that was a thing. Yeah. Well, let me make this other.

example. The $10,000 if you wait 10. years to just f around, you know, and. hopefully these business ventures work. out and that's cool. Entrepreneurial. spirit, it's good. Doesn't mean we uh. should all of a sudden just negate these. other avenues of taking care of our. financial future. Don't think I'm anti-. entrepreneurial. I'm all about it. I'm. doing it here. Yeah. Uh I'm also taking care of myself on the. side. for retirement. So, what $174,000? Great. If you put $10,000 in right now. that you'd save up by working hard or. you could wait a year, invest the same. $10,000. Now, because there's less time, it's only worth $67,000.

You wait a year. 10 years. 10 years. So, and you're you're assuming. this is over a 30-year period, right? Yeah. You've lost like a Well, it went. from 30 to 20 years. 30 years. cuz you waited. you waited some time. So, you lost over. $100,000. Interesting. Well, lost over $100,000 cuz you waited. 10 years to start investing. Okay. Does that make sense? Yeah. Yeah. Okay. What are your thoughts on this? Now, I I mean, I love it. I I guess. um I would ask you with what I'm making. right now, how would I go about, you. know,

Well, how many hours a week are you. working? Um on everything total? Uh yeah. Well, okay. No, no. On the. distributions of the average of $2,500 a. month. on that, how many? I guess let's see. Usually start at I guess on average like. around 50-ish hours, maybe a little bit. more. Okay. Yeah. Well, oo the return on. investment of your time is pretty not. great. Uh yeah, it's I'm happy to, you know, it's more so like.

what's the goal for this company? Cuz. now your business partner who owns the. majority share in this is opening this. other business. So, what are we doing? Um I guess uh what like a five-year goal. for us? Yeah. Well, have you guys chosen that or. are you just saying it? It's no, we we. uh need to get a little bit better about. goal setting and stuff like that, but we. we've talked about our ideas. We. Well, what's the most concrete thing we. have as of now? Um I I guess most of our goals aren't. necessarily revolving around financial.

goals. It's. Well, it's a business. Businesses have. to make money. Absolutely. And you have to survive. So, and I'm with you. I feel like our goals. are more so around things that we'd like. to shoot. We're both videographers and. that's why we got into this and we do it. because we love it. What's the goal for the business? For the business, I guess. Um, ideally. in the next 3 years we'd want to do over. a million in revenue. Okay. How. are we going from $180,000 to a million? Um, well, I think last year we did.

I think last year we did like 215. So, I. might be a little bit off with our. numbers. Well, I went on your low range. If you. went to your high range, that would. Okay. Um, yeah. Well, so one of our other. buddies, the one one of the guys that. actually convinced us to move down here, he has another video production company. that he's been running for a couple. years longer than us. And I want to say his we're uh as far as. growth has gone for us in the last three. years. We're on top of his numbers. And. he hit a million in revenue, I think, in.

his fourth year. Oh, good for him. But what are you guys. going to do? Well, so I think we're on top of his. numbers and so he's been helping us. We're on top of his numbers where he was. at when he was three years in. uh. growth. I see what you're saying. What did he. do? What happened? Um he just got a lot better at the. business side as far as um treating his. business, treating the video content. that he was making more so as video. assets as opposed to just videos. And so. he got a lot better at doing.

valuing the work that he was given. So. if he was giving it to a client that was. going to make a million dollars off of. something, instead of just charging. $10,000 for this video, he charges a. percentage. And so now suddenly he's. making $200,000 off of a project. So he got a lot better at the business. side and he's been helping us with that. And. so the business side, yeah, that's where. a lot of creatives fail. I mean, I. studied music in college and on the. music composition side, which is where I. was in, there was a lot of good. composers. A lot of people absolutely suck at the. business side. In fact, I don't know if. anyone I went to school with at the.

least spoke well on the business side. Yeah, one of my teachers did, but um I mean. maybe they just didn't, you know, maybe. they were good, but they just didn't. speak well on it. But either way, a lot. of the creative prof professionals not. good at the business side of things. And. that's what it really sounds like from. you guys, Jake, editor and you. So, I guess as far as um optimizing our. revenue, I'd agree with you on that. But. as far as business relationships and. everything on that side, I'd say we're.

stellar at that. Yeah, we that's what. separates us from most creatives. We're. always answering our phones. We're never. late. We're not We're not, you know, like I'm not feeling creative today. I. can't. Okay. So, you guys are doing the basics. We're very Yeah, we're very very good at. that stuff. Okay. Well, now it's time to go from. basics to like. medium. Yeah, I guess. So, we've we've done. we've taken some steps. We last year we. hired another uh on top of our buddy. who's been helping us. We hired a video. production company business coach. You guys are hiring a lot of people for.

$200,000. Well, he was a business coach worth the. investment in our eyes and he helped us. take that step up from um you know just. charging minimal to he he got us a. really big step up truly. Um, and so. that helped us with what, like pitch. decks and just really the whole pitch. process as far as getting our confidence. up to be able to ask for higher numbers. because that's truly what our content. was worth. Okay. Well, good. I'm glad you guys are. starting there. We Let's look at your. money, though. I need to know your.

financial situation because this isn't. an audit on your company, though. It. would be very interesting to do that. It's an audit on you. I don't know. what's in your checking account. I don't. know how much came in. I don't know. We. got screenshots. What's in your checking. account right now? Checking account right now. Um, you can look. I don't I I I want to say it's like 200. bucks right now. That's scary when things have minimum. payments. This is true. Okay. Why? Um, we I'm waiting on a couple things.

Uh, we. I guess I have that coming in tomorrow. I have a another payment of $1,500. coming in in either tomorrow or. Saturday, which is nice. Okay, so I have that and then. so for someone $200 in there, Uber. tripping's a stupid expensive way to get. around Amazon. Amazon venuing out 46. bucks, sending your dad a,000. Why is.

your dad getting $1,000? Uh, he owns the property that me and my. brother live in. Oh, okay. They just uh invested in it. Okay. Well, okay. Well, that's a good. connection to have. now. Paying off your Chase card. Probably a good thing to do. And Ubering. Uber and Uber. Very excited. Do you have. a car? Uh, I do. It's uh been uh I haven't been. able to use it for a minute just because. I need to take it into the shop. But. when I was Ubering, that was when I was. up home in Chicago. and I was visiting.

That went out 556 bucks. Paying off a Chase card, Lift Ride, Lift. Ride. You're doo going crazy. Wendy's. Hoover's cooking. Home Slice. Love Home. Slice. I'm very hungry right now. Emmo's. East Bar. Venmoing Out Money. Austin. Airport. Apple subscription. Amazon. Apple subscription. Chicago parking. Uber tripping. Oh, you're spending so. much on just getting from A to B in a.

car. Amazon. Fairgrounds. Shopify. Google. Storage, Lift Ride again, Amazon, Uber. Trip, Lime Ride, Venmo, Poppy, uh, Popeye's, Signature. IH. Oh, IHOP. IHOP. I don't think I've been to IHOP in. a minute. Is that not Signature IH? I can't imagine it is now. No, that wouldn't make sense. I feel. like I saw it like that once, but I. could be wrong. And so, yeah, I mean, you're just spending so much on getting.

around. Yeah. Um, I'd say most of those Ubers. and Lifts were probably when I was. visiting in Chicago. And then the ones. that weren't, I'd say it's when I'm out. drinking and I don't have. Chicago public transportation. Uh, I guess to get to uh. [Music]. that's not just to and from airport. That was a lot of. Oh, no. No, for sure. Uh, I'm in the. suburbs of Chicago. Sorry, I should have. clarified that. Not our credit card. What's the balance. on this credit card? Um, balancing.

credit card pro as far as like what's on. it right now. What's owed? Uh, probably like a thousand. Can you pull up your credit card? Oh, man. Here we go. More. 1,400. Dude. Yeah. Why? Oh, here we go. You don't have $200 in your checking. You have $59. Well, I've got money in my. uh PayPal and my VMO. So, I guess that's.

I was kind of throwing it together. $1,400 on your card. Minimum payments. $47. So, what's Oh, dude, this is insane. For just that. balance, which isn't even crazy in the. grand scheme of American credit card. balances, $33.16. of interest. You're losing $33 on a. monthly basis. Sorry, say that again. Interest charged because of the balance.

you're holding, $33.16 for the past. month. Oh, I don't even think I was aware of. that. Did you not even know you were getting. interest charged? Oh. Oh, sorry. I brainfire. No, I got. you. I. Okay. Misheard or misunderstood. Oh, yeah. I. only made a $40 payment there in the. last month. Dude, this is terrible. And. $30 of interest there. Really? Everything. And then Pueblo Viejo. Pretty good tacos. Pretty good tacos. But what are you doing when you already. have a balance?

Nothing upsets me more than someone. spending on a card that they should be. paying off and they're losing so much in. interest. You know, this Pablo VJO, you're losing on a monthly basis that. single that much in interest. Mhm. So, what would you recommend as far as. uh that's the first thing I should focus. on is paying that off. I don't know yet. Okay. I who knows how far this rabbit hole. goes. I don't know. I need to see what. this interest rate is. You have $50 of. rewards. You should put that on the. statement balance. Help that get this.

down. It's a good idea. 28% interest, dude. Did you know that? Yeah, I guess. So, what are you doing? Why? What's the. purpose? Why Why are you in credit card. debt? Um. I suppose Oh, boy. Where are we going. now? I was searching to see if you had Credit. Karma yet. I'm going to have you. download in a second. But why are you in. credit card debt? Um, I guess I just. didn't. because I'm paying more on that. I guess. in my mind it it wasn't any different.

than. um like when I would spend on my credit. card as opposed to spending out of my. checking because I figured I was getting. rewards back. Yeah, but you're losing 30%. So yeah, I guess that really doesn't. make too much sense, does it? No, it doesn't make sense at all. Yeah, I got no answer. No. Why are you holding a balance? Why has. this not been something you've. considered paying off? Um, to be honest, man, it's it's been a little bit just uh. paycheck to paycheck. I've been. taking what I can here and there. If we're paycheck to paycheck, we're not. be able to pay off a credit card. Are we.

in the right line of work? Are you doing. what's responsible for you? Yeah, I'm I mean, what do you mean? You're losing 30%. interest on a card you can't pay off, and you're uh more than 50% of your. take-home is going to rent. I think the. way I look at my scenario is I love what. I do every day and I'm able to pay rent. and I'm able to pay for food and. you're not able to pay for food. That's. incorrect. That's incorrect. You're. putting it all on debt. You cannot. afford food. I'm able to get food. You're able to get food by using debt.

You're not paying for it. You're using. someone else's money. I mean, I haven't used that credit card. in like I think just once in the last. like month. But if you can't pay off. that credit card because you don't have. enough money left in your checking. account, then no, you cannot afford. those things. Yeah. Um, you're only putting $40 towards it a. month. Yeah. So, I guess I could throw like. $1,000 at it next paycheck or. can you? Well, I guess can you then afford to do. things. with the other money that I'm getting? Um, I could probably start eating at. that away. What's the other money from?

Uh, just like the other things I said. Um, whether it's acting gigs here and. there and some content creation money. Nothing crazy. But. what do those bring in on average? Uh, low month, high month. So fluctuates, it's really very tough to. say. I guess in an ideal world, I could. say like maybe 500 bucks. Okay. So, do you have a savings account? Um, I do not. So, you're not setting money aside for. taxes. You said I'm trying to, but. there's no money. Uh, I guess what I've.

done in the past when I have extra money. is I will send it to one of my parents. and just be like, "Hey, hold on to this. for me." And we've. Oh my gosh. kept track through that. Yeah. Okay. Well, your credit score is okay. Love to hear that. 47. I mean, it's it's on the lower end. of Okay. It's your card. Your card is weighing it. down. Yeah. Credit card usage 93%. Does your Okay, total accounts cuz you.

just told me something that is kind of. blowing my mind. You might be on a. mortgage with your parents. and you are. Why? Why? Why? Why are you on this. mortgage? I don't know. My parents are very good. with money and they told me it'd be a. good thing to do. I think it helps with. my credit. Yes. Yes. is adding diversity to your. credit and it's showing good, but. it's risky that it's on your credit. Who.

knows what's in their will? Who knows. how this whole thing is set up? Actually, I'm curious. Um, it's risky if anything bad were to. happen to them. I don't know what would. be coming to you. Do you have any other. siblings that are on this as well? Yeah, that's not good. It would get very. confusing if the worst were to happen. It's kind of a risky situation who like. what if one person wants to sell it? What if the others don't? like what are. we doing here? Um I guess I hadn't I don't mean to. laugh. I just I hadn't considered my.

parents death as like a a thing for. this. I mean it's. it would absolutely suck. I hope it. doesn't obviously hope it doesn't happen. but. it's it's an expensive mortgage almost a. half a million. What is the what's the. what's the monthly payment? Um, the monthly payment I believe is. somewhere in the. 3,000. So, imagine for a second the horse were. to happen. $3,000 a month.

Mhm. You bring in $2,500 a month. What are we. doing? You understand the risk? I I do. I see that. What do you mean they're good with. money? What What does that mean? Go into. detail. Um, I just believe my dad is. very financially literate. Um, demonstrations of how. um, I guess I'd say he does very well at. his job. He's. taught me a little bit here and there. about investing. I'm really So,

you haven't invested a single thing? Uh, no. I I haven't I really it like. is maxed out. That's one of those things. where I'm like, I just I need to learn. more about it and I'm not really sure. what the best route to go about would. be. Okay. Okay. I know I I know I have a long way to go. with all that stuff. Um, so this is not it's not the highest risk. thing in the world that you are on this, but it is riskier than I would like. cuz anything can happen and then that's.

just is a bad situation. Then it put it. might pit sibling against sibling. I don't know. It might be worth at some point when. interest rates are low, you know, they. can refinance. Gotcha. Get you off the mortgage. Okay. Get your brother off the mortgage. I would love you for you to have um. mortgage at some point that you are. paying for your own house. Yeah. Especially with where you're at. sacrificing low you're taking low income. and so you're making well under the.

median income in Austin. You're making $30,000 a year. The median. income, I believe, is 55. in Austin. Like, you're not doing well. income wise for the city you're in. specifically. You are one of the 48.2% of Americans. who makes $30,000 or less a year. So, you're in that lower half. Okay. For individual incomes specifically. I. don't know. Yeah, it's a little risky. It'd be too risky for my blood. It is, but it is what it is. what I was happy.

with. There's nothing else that needs to. be freaked out about. This car that is. struggling, you own it. There's no debt. on it. That's good. What is the car? Uh 2005 Chrysler Pacifica. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So, you. probably need a new car. Yeah. We're uh actually looking into. that soon. I just What does that mean? Um my parents were going to come down. and visit and just talk out some. possibilities with me. But. cuz you clearly could not buy one. So, are they going to buy one for you? It's on the table. Yeah, it's on the table. It's just more.

so um I would prefer to either get this. guy fixed. The problem is it's just it. kind of keeps having issues. So. yeah, if it's not worth putting the. money into it versus how long it'll. actually go then and I'm. kind of assuming that probably not worth. it. Well, so I've got an electric scooter. that I use uh very often. Um obviously. there's times when I that's not going to. get me where I go. Sometimes I borrow my. brother's car. Um, he's been pretty. generous about me using that when he. doesn't need it.

That's good. Yeah. Well, we could get you to a place of. this this this is this is where I'm. thrown off. We could get you to a place. of great retirement. We could get you to. a place of We could even get you to a. place of managing the company's money. Well, we could get to a place where. you're able to buy a car. We could get. to a place where we grow the business. and you're able to bring home more. Mhm. I don't think we're going to get to that. place cuz I don't think you. besides I I know you're willing to work. hard for the business. I'm getting that.

vibe. The other things that you might. have to sacrifice in order to do to have. a better retirement, start investing now. or save up and get a car and cash, I. don't think you're I don't think it's. possible. Okay. Do you agree or disagree with that. statement? Um, I guess I'm willing to learn. I'm. willing to uh realize there's better. decisions that I can make. Okay. Um, as far as totally just being like,

"Hey, listen. I can't go out. I have to. do this this all in doesn't really seem. like something for me. I'd rather. So, you're not willing to sacrifice. temporarily for a better remainder of. your life?" Uh, I guess I would say if. it was like go the next two or three. years like that, then no, that's not on. the table for me. I don't think that's necessary in your. situation. You don't have like crazy. debts to pay off. Mhm. Um, I I'm all for, you know, finding cheaper ways to have fun, you. know, going to the park with my. girlfriend. That's fun, you know. Um,

doing less expensive things. I am pretty. good about like when I go out to bars, I. don't spend a crazy amount of money. Um, I've always been a person that, you. know, will just not do that if that's. not convenient for me at the time. So, I. I'm definitely open to learning a little. bit more here and there. I just truly. believe um enjoying life is more. important than anything else. And I know. that's a naive way of looking at some of. these things, but no, for to a certain.

extent, I mean, the time we're here is. only the time we're here. You want to. enjoy it. It would be irresponsible for. me on this side of the table in this. kind of context of the show to be like, "Oh, that's all that matters." The thing. is having financial security and being. able to retire instead of killing over. on the Walmart floor in your 80s because. you don't have any money. Yeah. There's a part of enjoyment of life that. comes with that. for sure. So, it's being able to. sacrifice at some point being able to. take care take take advantage of the. best years of your life of compound.

growth so that later in life you're able. to just live. For sure. I'm I'm open to that, man. I. would love to hear more about uh things. that I could do with the amount of money. that I'm making right now. Well, that's the first step. With the. amount of money you're making right now, not much. That's the issue. Cuz well, I. mean, you you could go crazy. You could. go absolutely crazy. In fact, for the. credit card, I would recommend at least. a month of you have your rent, your. food, but nothing else for a single. month. Nothing else. And.

uh what was the debt on that card? It. was like 1,200. Uh yeah, 14. Okay. It might take two months of this. or a month and a half. But every single. penny out of other than just what it. takes for you to survive, every single. penny goes to paying off that card. So, can you explain to me a little bit more. about uh So, if I get that credit card. debt down to a certain number, then the. percentage goes down. So, but but I'm saying if it's at like. 300, is that percentage of interest that. I have to pay on top of it still going. to be at what was it? 26.

Oh, the percentage of income will still. be ridiculously high. So, it looks like. you on that card there's a variable. interest rate and interest rates are. only going up at this point uh with what. the Fed is doing to combat inflation. Mhm. So. any balance on theirs is bad. Okay. Um and so I guess. the. higher the balance the worse. That's for. sure. So when when I get it down to zero. Mhm. should I when I pay it, you're saying. just pay it immediately at the end of. each month, but I can let it. So okay, this is a situation to.

situation. I love credit cards cuz I'm. someone who can manage credit cards. you. have not demonstrated in any way that. you can use credit cards and you also. don't bring in that much money which and. I think the credit card gives you a. little extra extension thinking you're. able to live a little more than you can. I think that credit card needs to be. chopped in half burned and closed after. it is paid off that's going to impact. your credit in a slightly negative way. but that is not even close to as. important as your just relative finances. interesting okay I think in response to.

that I would say I definitely. would consider myself able to use a. credit card. You haven't demonstrated. So, I uh I have not really known these. things and it's kind of I would say if. if I had someone like you to kind of. like walk me through and I probably. could have. now you know now you know the interest. and why it's so bad and how it just. compounds against you. You're losing $30. a month and you're only paying 40 so. only $10 is really going towards it. Yeah, I think I uh I think I could. probably just talk to my dad and he. could probably tell me a little bit. about it. It's one of those things I.

just haven't done. There isn't there. isn't anything more than I just said. really. as far as like uh. Do you have any specific questions? Well, I guess I'm just saying like. you're saying once I get it to zero cut. it in half. I would for your situation cuz you have. not demonstrated he if he's someone who. worships the almighty credit score then. he might be against it. I love the. credit score as well. It helps me take. advantage of cheap debt on good rental. properties. However, the negatives to you having a credit. card, which has been demonstrated to. this point, fars outweighs any impact it.

would have on your credit. Okay? And if you are able to become. financially disciplined in the future, and then get into that world again, that's fine. So, I'm saying hypothetically, I did show I did show that I knew what I. was doing and I could and I got it down. to zero. What would my steps from there. be. then? Uh, well, first of all, we're. budgeting every you know your. categories. Uh, for example, the most. basic one you can do 50 30 20 50% on. needs, 30% on wants, 20% on saving and. investing.

Okay, the 30% of your wants, maybe that goes. on the credit card and your gas, something like that. That's a good way. to start testing if you can do it. Maybe. just put your gas on it for a few months. and you're paying that off every month. You never hold a balance. You're saying, okay, but so, uh, like. pay it at the end of the month. I'm not. I don't have to like put it on and then. pay it immediately. You don't. I mean, I'm one of those crazy people that pays. my credit card every week because it. just drives me mad. But really, you just. have to pay it once per statement and. just make sure it's, you know, paid off. every time. Okay, cool. So, if I were able to do. that, that would be a good idea. Sure. But I'm just so far history has.

not shown yourself to demonstrate that. and it would be irresponsible of me on. this side of the table. Understandably, I truly didn't even. realize. I mean, I guess I kind of did. It was more so I was just like I didn't. really stop and think about the fact. that the more money on there the worse. I really I think somewhere along the. line I had heard as long as you're. paying your minimum it's not going to. affect your credit score. And I guess I. was kind of like. well no because you're over 30%. utilization and anything over that. dramatically hurts your credit score. So that's the other thing that someone.

recently told me was you don't want to. spend 30% of your of what you're allowed. to use. your utilization. Yeah. Okay. Or. especially hold balances but you're. going to pay it off every month if you. have it. So then the next thing you need. to have an emergency fund cuz you have. no baseline. You're in a slightly privileged position. where you do rent from the parents and. you're actually on that mortgage which. is a thing within itself. But because of. that, you know, you're in a slightly. more okay position. However, you having. an emergency fund would have taken care. of this car situation.

It's true. You would have been able to go get. yourself a $10,000 car if you had a. $10,000 emergency fund. M. So, in this situation, I would extend. the sacrifice for another 6 7 months. Save up $10,000 as quick as you can by. cutting back on everything. Once you. have $10,000, then I'm totally okay with. just chilling on life for a bit. But we. categorize things. We categorize our. money. I would still want 20% going to. investing of some kind. I'm cool with. you. taking the time of your life as the. investment into this company that you're.

doing. Totally cool with that. I still. want at least 20% of your money going. towards investing because you need to. take care of future you. And that's uh S&P. That's that one. I'm not going to give advice investing. advice for legal reasons on here, but. you can talk with a financial adviser. for not too much, especially for the. return that you get from speaking to the. financial adviser. What I do is I put it. into like the S&P 500. Yes. Cool. Yeah. And you can find some variety of. index funds. You can have target.

retirement funds as well which are more. aggressive upfront and as you get closer. to the the date that you selected in the. fund gets more conservative or you can. do things like mutual funds but usually. they have higher management fees as. well. Okay. Variety of options. Financial adviser. will walk you through it. But that is 20% of your post post tax. Yeah. Or even higher if you can but at. least 20%. And that's where you budget. You set aside your fund money. this is. how much I can afford to spend on fun if. I'm still hitting 20% on investing and.

then you just don't spend over that 15%. Doesn't mean you can't have fun. You. just have set aside what it is. Okay, does that make sense? Yeah, that does. I. think you should seriously consider. sacrificing not having fun that costs. money for the next half year or so just. to pay off this credit card immediately. and then save up $10,000 for an. emergency fund. In fact, you might have. to save about 10 $20,000 is because. $10,000 might be going to get a car. Okay. So, it might be a year, year and a half.

Is I guess Yeah. Can you I don't even. know how much like cars cost like 10,000. for like a reliable car. Reliable car. Absolutely. What you do if. you're getting in private sale, especially private sale, uh which is. where you can sometimes find better. deals instead of being swindled by a. salesman. uh you take it you take it to. a trusted mechanic and have them give. the thumbs up on yeah you're getting a. good deal on this car and yes it'll run. for years as long as you take care of. it. Cool. Okay, that's a good way to do. You don't just. want to take a car though because you. can afford it.

Yeah. Yeah, that makes sense. But I think that gets you into a good. place and then you can actually focus. your the thing is that's interesting. once you have an emergency fund and you. don't have a credit card that you have. to worry about paying off and that you. are setting money aside for retirement. You're actually able to focus more of. your time and mental energy into scaling. this business. Yeah. Yeah. Which is the. exciting part. for sure. Yeah. When you know you have something. to fall back on like an emergency fund. or a car breaks down, you have the. emergency fund and you have money set up. for retirement if the business doesn't. pan out, you know. Mhm. That gives you such a great place to be.

able to just take this business to the. next level. And that's where I want you. to be able to go. But right now, Uber. and Lyman, we're going crazy. We have no. investments. We have terrible credit. card debt. had terrible interest and no. car and no emergency fund. So, not a. great situation, but a relatively easy. turnaround if you're willing to. sacrifice. That sounds good to me. Yeah. Um, that's. something I'm going to have to take back. and think about. Um, and it sounds like. something I'm capable of. So, going to. have to have a good conversation with.

myself. For Ryan, it certainly comes down just. to the lack of education in our school. systems and even from people we know. about personal finances. And that's. because the people who would teach us. about personal finances in our family. most likely don't know anything about. personal finances because we do not. teach personal finances in this country. So it really come that just stems from a. place of ignorance was just not a bad. thing. But now that information is being. presented to him it's up to him to take. everything to the next level with these. kind of debts with no investing with a. very low income from this area and a.

very expensive rent for the income a lot. of other things. Hammer financial score. the debt's not crazy. So, Hammer. Financial Score 4 out of 10. Check out. all the fun things in the description, like my Instagram and Twitter. And don't. forget to subscribe.