From College to Covid to Recession: Navigating Finances in Changing Times with Hassan Thomas

[00:00:00] Eric Brotman: Welcome to Don’t Retire, graduate, the podcast that asks you what you want to be when you grow up so you can graduate into retirement with purpose and passion. I’m your host and valedictorian Eric Brotman, and we have an incredible guest today, Hassan Thomas. Asana is the new face of emerging FinTech and the founder of a new app called F Y I Fly, which is for your information, financial literacy and investing.
He’s also the C e O of H R T Enterprise’s, L L c, and the author of the new book. From college to Covid to recession, A guide to making and managing money during an economic downfall. How timely is that? We’ve gotten to know each other at multiple FinCon conferences over the years. He’s always the single best dressed attendee at that conference.
Uh, and he and I were both presenters at the 15th annual F P P Financial Capability Training Conference in Orlando earlier this year. So we’ve been following each other all around the us. I’m welcome to Don’t Retire, graduate.
[00:00:59] Hassan Thomas: Thank [00:01:00] you. Thank you, man. Happy to be here.
[00:01:02] Eric Brotman: This is, this is fun because now I got you in my hot seat.
You know, and we, we’ve, we’ve known each other now a bunch of years and we’ve had a lot of interactions and, and, and met a lot of, some, uh, amazing people at various places. But your story, um, and I, and I, I read the book, I have it with me and, and I wanna talk about it. But first I want to hear your story like, I, I didn’t know the part about the, the blowing out your, your, your knee on and, and, and the way your life changed and it, it was, it, it was a lot to learn about you.
It was so authentic. Would you share that story with us and how you got involved in this?
[00:01:36] Hassan Thomas: For sure man. For sure. So, 2019, man, not, not too long ago. Uh, it was my senior year of college and I played football at Maryville College and actually switched to running back my senior year and, uh, ended up getting hurt the fifth week of the season.
Uh, torn my meniscus and I was, you know, going through a lot, you know, anxiety, stressing out over that. ’cause like I said, this was my last year. Uh, [00:02:00] and of course, everybody’s goal is to play at the next level. Go professional. But I realized that that dream was over, you know? So I had to put my energy, I had to put my passion into something else, and that was financial literacy.
So I was writing my senior thesis, which is like a research paper over financial literacy. I was telling everybody, Hey, I’m about to write this paper, get an A on it, and then turn it into a book. So my cousin was like, man, that’s great. Everybody was like, that’s great. But my cousin was like, Man, you should think about starting a app.
And I was like a app. Whoa. So literally from September to, I would say December, I did nothing but research, research, research on how to create an app. And that’s why I just feel like you know the, just a quick little, little tangent. That’s why I feel like the times that we’re in today is unprecedented, man.
I literally looked up how to create an app like Acorns. You, I know you’re familiar with Acorns. Yeah, yeah, yeah, [00:03:00] yeah. So I literally, it’s a financial app that kind of allows you to spend while, or save while you spend, uh, for anybody that’s not familiar. But I looked up how to create an app like Acorns and there was a website called How to Create an app like Acorns.
[00:03:15] Eric Brotman: Well, you gotta be careful what you look up then, I guess. ’cause you’re gonna get exactly what you, what you Google.
[00:03:21] Hassan Thomas: Yes, sir. Yes sir. But I brought that up because, you know, you know, in the, in older days, you know, fifties, 67, before the internet, you couldn’t have done that. You would’ve had to go to an encyclopedia, you know, something of that nature to read or get information on whatever passion you wanted to pursue.
And for everybody listening, just know that the resource that we have today, you can and will do anything that you put your mind to. But that was just a quick little tangent. So boom. Like I said, I did nothing but research, research 2019 from September to December, and I ended up building a PowerPoint prototype.
I was in Knoxville, Tennessee. This was my senior year, and people were trying to charge me [00:04:00] $6,000 to build a prototype. I was a senior, I just got injured. I did not have $6,000 to do that. Um, so I went ahead and built a PowerPoint prototype and I used that to show at least, um, 15 different professors, administrators, um, at my school, Maryville College, and I finally got a meeting with the dean of my school for March 3rd, 2020.
I had that meeting, it went amazing. We had about five different professors in there, plus the dean, and they actually introduced me to their app development team. Now, if everybody remembers 2020, that’s when, especially mid 20 20th of March, that’s when C O V I D really hit. And that kind of shook everything up and actually cut off communication with me and the app developers for about four or five months.
I. So I was like, I’m not gonna allow, you know, um, an external factor to kind of limit [00:05:00] what I’m gonna do with promoting financial literacy. So I ended up starting a podcast called f y I Fly for Your Information, financial Literacy and Investing. We started that in August of 2020. Since then, we’ve actually been accumulate, we’ve actually accumulated 35,000 plus downloads, been listened to in 50 plus countries, and we won podcasts of the year last year at the Southern Entertainment Awards.
[00:05:24] Eric Brotman: Fantastic. And, and so now it’s, it’s not only an app and a podcast, it’s a book, it’s a brand. I mean, you’ve basically become a brand. Um, and so let, let’s talk a little bit about the book because this was a, an unbelievable opportunity for you to pivot. Sir, I mean, you had to pivot because of the, because of the injury.
You had to pivot because of Covid. Mm-hmm. Um, there’s a lot in this book, and I, I have it here as well. Um, there’s a lot in this book that is basic economics. There’s a lot that’s basic budgeting. Um, there’s a lot that just, I mean, you, you really channel the high school experience a little bit. [00:06:00] This is really written for younger people who are trying to figure this out.
Although I don’t think that’s the only audience. It could be enjoyed by anybody. Um. Mm-hmm. But just some of the basics. One of the things you talk about, you talk about the emergency fund and how you don’t like the name emergency fund. ’cause it channels negative connotation. And so you said you like to call it a peace of mind fund?
Yes sir. For the record. For the record, I’ve always called it an emergency and opportunity fund. I. Because somehow I like that. That just feels like it could be either side of the spectrum, but you’re ready for it.
[00:06:29] Hassan Thomas: You know? We’re aligned, man. Come on. Well, but,
[00:06:31] Eric Brotman: so, so, but I like peace of mind fun too, because that, that is an important component.
You talk about supply and demand. You talk about some, some of the basics of what a recession is, because I think that word gets tossed around and, and particularly young people who haven’t seen it, I mean, even. You admit freely in the book that 2008 you were, you were a young guy. I’m 10 years old. Yep.
Yeah, yeah. You’re 10 and I’m not, by the way, since you took a tangent, I’m taking a tangent. You were talking about Yes, sir. [00:07:00] 50, 60, 70 years before the internet, first of all, The internet was not that recent. Second of all, you just channeled my entire high school and college experience and looking in encyclopedias, going to libraries, photocopying stuff.
That was the research. Yeah. So I, I feel 130 years old right now and I appreciate that very, very much. So. So tell me about how the book came to be, because you, you know, for sure you, you’re trying, I know what you’re trying to do with it. You’re really trying to educate and it’s a strong mm-hmm.
Educational tool. It’s got, it’s got a workbook built into it. So there’s questions that you can go through to sort of test what you’ve learned. Uh, I was doing it on an airplane and people were all looking over my shoulder like, what is this guy studying? So hopefully they saw the book. Hopefully they snapped a picture on the sly, you know?
Yeah. So tell me a little bit about the, about how the book came to be and why you structured it in the way you did. Yeah,
[00:07:51] Hassan Thomas: man. So with my first book from College to Covid I 24, lessons Learned during the Lockdown, what I did was I incorporated [00:08:00] five lessons that I learned going from college to covid, started my entrepreneurial journey during that time, and then I included 19 lessons from my podcast guest to make 24 and whole.
Well, as you know, as we both are, we’re podcasters, we’re interviewers, we’re communicators. I wanted to keep kind of that same feel. But with this one, I needed to interview economic experts. I needed to view interview, uh, recession experts that could give me that, um, expert analysis, that expert insight that I could insert into the book.
’cause as we talked about, I was 10 years old during 2008, so that’s not. Uh, economy and, uh, recessions aren’t my specialty. You know, I, I wasn’t a, a financial literacy educator back then, unfortunately. Mm-hmm. So, um, I, I went out and sought their expert information. Got five, uh, of the greatest minds that I could find.
Um, a random nag who’s the c e o of, uh, sensei Financial [00:09:00] Education. Dr. Michael Thomas, who teaches at the University of Georgia. Um, You know, a, a, a multitude of great minds that I incorporated into the book. Mm-hmm. And as you said, this book is, you know, it seems like it’s for younger folks, the high school, college, recent grad students, but really for anyone who wants more information on recession and how it actually impacts us, that’s what I wanted.
I wanted a guide for people to make and manage money during this time, but I want them to know how. The recession affects us, how the recession, you know, how we can prepare for the recession. And that’s why I didn’t just start it off with the basic definition of what is a recession, two declining quarters of G D P.
You know, I didn’t want, I didn’t wanna start it off like that. I wanted people to know exactly how it affects them. Oh, okay. How it affects their pockets, and then what they can do to prepare. Well, it’s
[00:09:54] Eric Brotman: definitely not a textbook. In fact, it’s a story. You, you, you tell, you’re very, very open [00:10:00] about your own, your own path and how you got involved in this.
And that’s part of the things, one of the things I enjoyed the most about it was, it was very human. You know, I, I, I don’t wanna sit in my free time and I, I was sitting on an airplane, which I consider free time, and I don’t wanna read a textbook, but I thoroughly enjoyed this one. And, you know, there not only are there a lot of nuggets of wisdom, but there were, there were a couple of things that.
That made me want to just grab the fed by the throat and shake them. Okay. Yeah, because, because you put into just plain language how the government, the federal government is trying to drive consumer behavior. Mm-hmm. In, in a, on a macro level and how that affects us on a micro level. Can you talk a little bit about the, the, the, um, where, where inflation and the cost of goods and services actually hits consumer behavior?
Because I, I thought that was a really interesting take on this, and I hadn’t seen it quite that way.
[00:10:57] Hassan Thomas: Yes, yes. I was very, um, surprised [00:11:00] while I was doing my interviews to hear how everything is literally a cause and effect, you know? So, um, and especially with these last three years with C O V I D, with quarantine, with, uh, other political, um, you know, impacts, they really have shifted the way that we’re we’re spending in our consumer behavior right now.
You know, it hasn’t been a time. What since, uh, the Black Plague where people have been, you know, you know, people have been locked in the house and not been able to go anywhere. Yeah. So these last two years have prompted people, you know, have expedited people spending habits and like it’s time to get out.
You know, we’ve been locked in for these last two years. This is the first I would say. Real, real summer, you know, COVID is still around, but like, this is the first real, real summer where it feels like everything’s kind of lifted. Uh, no mass requirements and things of that nature. So everybody’s spending and you know, we have to and I under, and that’s why I said it even [00:12:00] said in the book, this is not a job I wanna have, because it seems very difficult to try to balance, you know, whether we’re gonna raise the interest rates, lower the interest rates if we lower them.
You know, now people are, uh, spending a little bit more, we raise them. People are still spending a bit more because of what we’ve talked about from the last three years. So it’s a very, very difficult situation. And, and I, and I’ve seen, I’ve studied a lot of different experts and people are, um, some people say that we will be going into a recession.
Some people that. Um, you know, especially for these last, uh, the last two quarters of 2022, um, technically we were in a recession. Mm-hmm. Know from the technical definition, um, you know, but experts are saying a lot of different things. But I’m just e excited to see where it goes, and that’s why I wanted to create this book because, If it does go bad, we have a guide.
If it does go good, we still do have a guide that allows, because I also included eight online side hustles. Mm-hmm. So people could be having [00:13:00] a extra stream of income while they’re at home, or if even if they’re working at nine to five job, come on and do your six to 12 with one of these drop shipping, uh, starting a unique blog.
Anything of that nature is also in the book. And then to round it off for the fourth chapter, we had a, how it’s, uh, how to manage that money that you just made during this, you know, downfall or recession.
[00:13:23] Eric Brotman: So there’s some generational oddities at work here, as far as I’m concerned, because mm-hmm. Um, when you look back and you look at the greatest generation, um, the greatest generation had, um, they all had pensions.
Yes. Social security was, social security was adequate to, to not only support them, but to support them during their entire lifetimes. ’cause they weren’t living quite as long. Mm-hmm. And then you move forward to boomers and boomers were, were a generation who started to lose some of those pensions. Some of ’em still have, Hmm.
Certainly the government employees do, but a lot of the private [00:14:00] employers did away with pensions during this cycle. Yeah. And boomers are gonna live longer. Than their parents did. Mm-hmm. Um, in a lot of cases, not every case of course, but in a lot of cases, but boomers are, are, they’re such a huge, huge population that almost everything in this country is swaying toward satisfying what the boomers need and want.
Right. Mm-hmm. Um, things like, uh, assisted living facilities and, and elder care type place, that’s all happening because the boomers are such a huge, uh, a huge generation. Well, you know, the, the generation after the boomers we’re, we’re proud Gen Xers. We really are. Yeah. And we’re also a small and feisty group and mostly the reason reality Bites was such a popular movie in our time is because we sorta of, we feel shafted because we’re this tiny generation between these two huge generations.
Mm-hmm. We are gonna be swung toward what the boomers need and then we are [00:15:00] gonna whiplash right back to what the millennials want because we don’t have any voting power. Wow. So if there’s a chip on my shoulder, it’s real. Yes. And but, but millennials were the ones who coined the, the side hustle. So going back to your, the book idea and having this separate piece mm-hmm.
In when, when it was the greatest generation one, one working member of the household could support a family of four. Yeah. In Gen X, it required two working parents really to, to adequately support a family of four. And that’s why we became latchkey kids. And I could tell you lots of stories about my lack of, uh, of adult supervision, but I think you’ve already guessed that from knowing me a little while.
Um, but we were, I mean, it took two, it took two, but it took two working parents, which means the kids were sort of on their own. Uh, millennials now you can’t even get by and Zs it. It’s even more, you’re a z I guess. But, um, yeah. It’s even more because now two working [00:16:00] adults can barely support a family of four without at least one having a side hustle.
Yep. So we, we went in 50 to 75 years. We went from one job supporting a family of four to three jobs, supporting a family of four. That, and, and during a time when inflation wasn’t rampant, it was in the eighties, but it hasn’t been in a long time. Mm-hmm. What do we tell? What do Gen Zs when? When I’m not invited to that party, because I’m not.
When the Gen Zs all get together and they talk shop, what is the messaging around H? How are we gonna do this? You’re all free agents, right? I. Mm-hmm. You know, you’re free agents, you’re not getting the gold watch and the company, you know, the, the company thank you letter on your 30th year. That’s just not the way the world works anymore.
Not yet. So what do you, what did, what did Gen Zs telling each other, and how do you cope with the fact that now you really don’t have the other two legs of the stool? You know, the, the, mm-hmm. The three legged stool was always government, it was social security, it was employer, it was your [00:17:00] pension, and then it was, it was your own.
Peace. Well, you guys are on your own. I mean, you’re literally a yo-yo instead of a stool, so what are you telling each other?
[00:17:09] Hassan Thomas: Yeah, man. So the, the conversations and what, but I am actually kind of happy about this because it feels like my generation is in, you know, agreeance with. We need our nine to five job and we need either our business on the side or some type of side hustle.
I am very happy to say, um, I’m one of those people, uh, especially on social media. I’m sure you’ve seen a lot of, of the experienced entrepreneurs and the ones who are already successful. Are telling a lot of their followers, um, you know, quit your nine to five. Don’t work at nine to five. Start your business, start your side hustle today.
And maybe that’s because they have courses that you can buy. They, of course, maybe, but,
[00:17:51] Eric Brotman: so not to be cynical or anything asam, but all right. Yeah, yeah. No, that’s fine. Go ahead and throw those guys under the bus. That’s fine. [00:18:00]
[00:18:02] Hassan Thomas: No, no shade. No shade, uhhuh. But, um, one, one thing that I, I’ve found is it feels like the Gen Z generation.
We do understand the times that we live in and we know that one income. It’s too close to none. We need to have some type of main source of income and that side hustle. So something that’s, uh, kind of paying our bills and then allowing us to have fun and have those experience. Because one thing I’ve noticed about my generation, no matter how much money we’re making, we’re going to eat good and we’re gonna do, we’re gonna travel and do experiences.
That’s just my generation.
[00:18:40] Eric Brotman: Well, and, and, and I don’t think that’s a bad thing. If you can afford to do it, you should. Like, I’ve seen too many people who hoard, literally hoard their wealth. Yeah. Waiting for that. You know, you didn’t like that rainy day concept in your book either, but you sort of hoard it for the future.
And then something happens, you know, your spouse passes [00:19:00] away or you’re, or you, you’re medically not able to do those things. And so the trip you plan to take for 30 years, you never take. And to me that is insanely sad. So I love the idea that the, the nine to five is to, is to build some wealth for the future and the side hustle is to play today.
Mm-hmm. If that’s truly what it is, then I feel better about it. For the Gen Zs. Yeah. Like, I felt like a lot of ’em had to do that just to pay the bills.
[00:19:25] Hassan Thomas: Yeah, so definitely that, that main income source. And of course having a roommate definitely does help. Mm-hmm. Um, but even for myself, you know, I’ve been building f y I fly since 2020, since I graduated, but I’ve worked a side hustle, um, since then as well.
You know, I’ve, I’ve actually had a, you know, side hustle, side income job since 2018, since I was in college. You know, I played football, had a scholarship and worked a part-time job. So I kept that part-time job. Um, ended up losing it, but I had other multiple positions coming [00:20:00] up. I drove DoorDash, I’ve done all of those things.
Okay. And it’s literally just, it literally just happened. And like I was telling you with the sponsorship, it just happened in October of 2022. So it just happened for me after two years of grinding nonstop, relentlessly. So that just goes to show, you know, you keep working, you have a plan, and things will eventually work out for you.
I like it. I like to call it going from glory to glory. You know, you, you succeed at one level. You, you put in the work, you put in the preparation, and you jump to the next one. You succeed. You put in that work, the preparation, that, and each level is different. One level, I would have to work on empathy. One level that I need to work on, one level I’ll work on is speaking one level in the beginning.
Stop saying your ums, don’t do the ums. You know, everything is a, everything is a progression. So for anybody listening, make that plan. Get your plan of action and go out there and make a play. It’s as simple as that. Me and my cos like to say, make a plan and make a play. [00:21:00]
[00:21:00] Eric Brotman: Well, I can assure you that our executive producer is very happy that you’re not umming and on through the show.
In fact, we probably just flagged it about four times just now talking about what not to do.
[00:21:11] Hassan Thomas: Yes, sir. Say a little easier editing for him.
[00:21:14] Eric Brotman: Well, look, you’re a, you’re a natural public speaker. I mean, I’ve seen you on stage a number of times and you have a natural energy. Um, and I, I think you have, uh, you have the combination of energy and, and leadership.
People will follow you. And I think that’s why you’ve built a following on your, on your show already, is that your, your energy’s contagious. I’ve seen it at work. Um, and, and your message is important. So it’s a great combination when you have something to say and you know what you’re talking about, and you can get people to actually listen to you, you can be an influencer and you’re, you’re certainly proving that.
Um, yes, sir. So I, I, I gotta know what’s next for f y. I fly. What’s the next I I need like an inside scoop here. Like, I gotta know something [00:22:00] you haven’t told everybody is coming so that when I release this show, it’ll be like hot news.
[00:22:04] Hassan Thomas: Okay. Okay. So we’re coming back for season four, um, sometime next year.
We’re looking to do some in-person interviews. I wanna, I’m out here in beautiful South Florida, so I, I, I know I can find me a nice spot with some water in the background and everything. So we wanna start doing those in-person interviews to really feel the energy. Gotta get you out here, my man. So we can definitely do that.
[00:22:30] Eric Brotman: But, uh, I’m happy to come to South Florida, but not in the summer. I’ll come, I’ll come in February.
[00:22:37] Hassan Thomas: Yeah, yeah. Or, or, or in, you know what, uh, November, where it’s still, it is still 80, 85 degrees out here,
[00:22:44] Eric Brotman: man. No, no. 80, 80. I, I melt when it’s 80. I, I want like 60. So
[00:22:49] Hassan Thomas: February. Got you, got you. No worries man. No worries.
So yeah, man, we’re gonna be, uh, working, working on bringing, uh, season four back of the podcast. [00:23:00] Uh, also gonna be working on my third book. We just got the second one out, but I already, I’m already in here, man, thinking, thinking about getting my, uh, third book out for next week. Uh, we’re just excited to continue to impact.
High school, college and recent grad students and whatever ways that I can, whether it be speaking engagements at colleges, high schools, um, book sales, podcast, live events, you know, anything of that nature. Mm-hmm. We’re just looking forward to, to doing it all and getting it out there, man.
[00:23:31] Eric Brotman: So tell me about your team.
’cause I know you’ve, it, it, it takes more than one person to build an empire, right? Mm-hmm. Um, tell me about the team. Tell me about the, the, the folks who work on the podcast with you. The folks who work in the publishing. Like who is your, who’s your support network? Your, your entourage. I. So
[00:23:49] Hassan Thomas: those main things honestly, are, uh, just me.
I still edit the podcast. I still do everything for the podcast. I did everything for the book. As far as self-publishing, [00:24:00] I did pay, um, a graphic designer to help out. Oh. So yeah, I, I can, I can’t bring this up. So I just paid, this is my first time actually paying a coach. So for anybody listening, um, really do invest in you to yourself, because before, um, When it was just me and I was just getting started, I don’t know, I didn’t feel that the, um, investment in the coach was, you know, um, you know, necessary.
But when you have something built up, when you’ve practiced and you need someone else’s help to reach a next level, pay for a coach, that coach will provide results. And, and not just any coach, but somewhere, someone or some, uh, person that you wanna be like or be on their level. Paying them will give you like an, I don’t know if you, if you, if any listeners have been to Disney with that fast pass when you could pay the fast pass and skip the line.
That’s kind of like Yes. What it is for paying a coach.
[00:24:54] Eric Brotman: I like that. I was at Disney very recently and uh, and the fast pass, the quick cue, whatever they [00:25:00] all call it something different. Yes. I don’t, I, I legit don’t care what it costs because waiting three hours to get on a ride makes me, makes me not very happy.
So. Makes sense. No, I like that. And, and there’s lots of kinds of coaches. I mean, there are financial coaches who we’ve seen work with, uh, with folks. In fact, when we were in Orlando together, we taught, we, we met a lot of financial coaches and financial therapists mm-hmm. And other folks who help with that.
But they’re also executive coaches and life coaches and, um, and, and, and I’m sure there are podcast coaches out there somewhere. Yep. Um, they’re definitely writing coaches. So how do you choose, how do you choose your coaching staff when you’re gonna have a staff of one?
[00:25:39] Hassan Thomas: I. Yeah, so you gotta choose what area that you’re trying to, uh, break into.
The first book, the first book that I released from College to Covid, 24, lessons Learned During the lockdown, I realized my mistake was trying to market to Gen Z, high school, college, recent grad students through social media, [00:26:00] uh, regarding the book when I was in high school, when I was in college, I never.
I repeat, I never got on social media to buy a finance book. That’s not what I was thinking about in high school or college.
[00:26:13] Eric Brotman: Yes, it is. Come on, be honest. You were nerding out on that when you were in 2008, when you were 10. You were already nerding out on that, and I know you were, you know, fool no prodigy, right?
Right. Yes. Okay. No, you’re right because that’s not where people wanna buy, that’s not what they’re thinking about.
[00:26:30] Hassan Thomas: Yeah. So, um, and, and I brought that up to say that that’s what I realized That was my initial mistake for the first book. So for the second book, I went ahead and hired a book distribution coach.
So not necessarily a writing coach, ’cause I’ve already, I’ve already had wrote the book at the time. I need, what I was focused on was getting the books into high schools and colleges where it could actually have impact. I. Where the teachers, administrators could buy the book and then [00:27:00] distribute them to the high school and college students.
It’s a pretty, uh, attractive book if, if I do say so myself. So I think, I mean, you know,
[00:27:09] Eric Brotman: listen, I, I, I, you know, just so No, but everybody knows we all have one. Then we can have fomo. Everybody wants one.
[00:27:16] Hassan Thomas: Yes, yes, yes. So, Uhhuh, um, my thing is when, when the high school college student sees it, I believe that they will be attracted to it.
It won’t be like a, a turnoff, like, what is this workbook there? So, you know, I, I, I, mm-hmm. That is my, my goal for this book. So, to answer the question, understand your goals, understand what you’re trying to do, and look, Who can get you there? Look who’s already been there, and that’s why I’m saying you paying that coach can expedite your process.
It probably could’ve took me 10 years, five years to go speak at Savannah State and Benedict College, but my book coach had connections there. Mm-hmm. So that kind of, uh, lifted me or catapulted me into those schools. You get [00:28:00] good footage of that, and now you can send that to other schools and replicate the process.
Yep. So find whatever you, whatever area, whatever niche that you want to go in, find a person that’s already doing it. We’re on social media. We already talked about the, uh, resources that are available to us nowadays. Find that person. Follow everybody in that niche, and hey, shoot ’em a dmm. Click the link in their bios, talk to ’em a bit.
Don’t just jump in and start paying them. Have some conversations, right? If they can’t get on a call with you, that is a little strange, but, but make sure you talk with this person. Uh, feel comfortable working with them. Set clear goals from, um, your, your, your guys’, uh, working together. And then I think that would be a, a great way to get started with the coach.
[00:28:44] Eric Brotman: Alright, well, I’m, I’m excited to ask you this next question. Yes, sir. Uh, because I, I, I’m afraid of the answer, and when I say I’m afraid of the answer, I, I’m, I’m afraid that my mind is gonna be blown here. So no pressure at [00:29:00] all, but what’s next for you? What do you wanna be when you grow up?
[00:29:05] Hassan Thomas: Honestly, I wanna follow, and my mom has always said it over me.
I wanna be the next Tony Robbins man. I want, I wanna be the next author, speaker, world renowned speaker. Um, my mom and a lot of, uh, I just started working with a social media manager as well that just happened. Mm-hmm. Um, and she says she sees me being more than just the financial literacy guy, you know?
Mm-hmm. She sees me being able to speak on more topics. My mom has always said that. I studied Tony Robbins. Um, she used to have a crush on her back then, but we gonna keep that. We gonna keep that.
[00:29:42] Eric Brotman: Oh, well that’s no longer a secret. Mom. Your story is out for the record. That’s gonna be the lift quote we use for the show, for the
[00:29:51] Hassan Thomas: show tile.
Say son, mom loves Tony Robbins.
[00:29:56] Eric Brotman: But, but I think that’s a great, I mean, if what you want to [00:30:00] do is motivate people to better themselves mm-hmm. And you want to do it on a grand scale. First of all, I’m glad to be able to say that I knew you when, because I know you’re on your way to that, and I’m excited for you.
Thank you. You know, people ask me when I started. You know, in this business. And I started doing the podcast and everything else, and I, I did have some media types say, well, what is your goal? What do you want? And I said, well, the world deserves better than Jim Cramer and Susie Orman. Why not me? Yeah. So I love that you’re, I love that you’re thinking that way.
I mean, I’m certainly thinking that way too. Not that any of the major news networks have called yet, though I am available. Um, so, so I love that answer. I love that answer. And I, I have no doubt that’s true. So, We need an extra credit assignment for our audience. ’cause we don’t believe in homework despite the fact that I know you could give us 27 homework assignments, no homework allowed.
Talk about extra credit. What can, what can, particularly young people, but anyone, what can can someone do right now [00:31:00] to either improve their financial literacy? Because I think that is important and people need to know how that works or to improve their financial condition of themselves or their family.
[00:31:11] Hassan Thomas: Okay, so I’ll drop some quick gems and then I have a question for you if that’s okay.
[00:31:16] Eric Brotman: It’s not okay. I’m sorry. It’s not, this is not, of course. It’s okay. Go ahead.
[00:31:24] Hassan Thomas: So as far as, uh, extra credit, I would say just start with learning. Whenever we don’t know something or we’re not aware of something, we automatically fear it.
So if we can start with learning some small gyms, whether it’s a podcast, whether it’s a book, whether it’s any type of educational resource. Tap in with that because it’s a bit different than, I feel like financial literacy, financial education is a bit different than learning about, uh, you know, uh, chemistry or learning.
I mean, if we, if you’re a chemist, of course, but if you’re, [00:32:00] uh, you know, not a chemist, not in that field. The mitochondria has nothing to do with what you’re going to be doing in life. So Wait, isn’t that
[00:32:08] Eric Brotman: biology? Isn’t that biology? Oh,
[00:32:11] Hassan Thomas: biology. Chemistry.
One
[00:32:12] Hassan Thomas: of those
[00:32:13] Eric Brotman: science, we’re gonna call it science. Yes.
That’s why we’re in finance. Okay, good, good, good.
[00:32:19] Hassan Thomas: Yeah. So whenever you’re learning this, whenever you’re learning financial education, you can literally learn. And then go earn from what you just learned. So it’s completely different because you can learn it and then apply it instantly. I. So once you learn about credit, you can go, um, download a credit app, you can go, um, you know, make sure that you’re setting up automated payments.
So you’re paying your credit bill on time and that’s raising your credit score. You can do those things and they have an immediate impact. That’s what we want at, I mean, that’s, let’s just be honest. That’s what people want. We want immediate gratification and fortunately not with investing, but [00:33:00] with a lot of other things in, in personal finance, you can learn it.
And then go get active immediately. So start there. Tap into those, um, not an emergency fund, but a peace of mind fund. Check out high yield savings accounts. Literally the same thing as a regular savings account, but you’re getting more bang for your buck. So check out a high yield savings account. You should hold your peace of mind fund, which is an, uh, normally called an emergency fund in there.
And the rest of your money should be invested making money for you. But save that, that peace of mind fund, that emergency fund, and a high yield savings account so you get more bang for your buck. And I think you should be fine starting there. Educate yourself and just continue to learn, continue to progress because this, this information will truly change your life.
[00:33:50] Eric Brotman: I, I love the, I love the extra credit assignment. I’m afraid, uh, to ask what your question is, but I’m gonna, I’m gonna give you the opportunity because worst comes to worst. We can [00:34:00] edit it directly outta the show. So what can I answer for you? Huh?
[00:34:06] Hassan Thomas: Yes, sir, man. Yes, sir. So, I just wanted to ask, you know, author, speaker, um, motivate Your Financial Coach.
All of those things both describe us, but I would like to know from your. Um, mm-hmm. You know, synopsis. What would you say has been the biggest lesson that you’ve learned that could help, um, a younger person that’s in our lane, that’s in our field?
[00:34:30] Eric Brotman: Sure. I, I, I, I will answer this two ways. The first is, you’re gonna have to have me on your show if you want to ask me that question again, and then we can talk about it at length.
Uh, but the second answer, the, the cliff notes answer, the CliffNotes answer is that I have, I have surrounded myself. People who are, um, smarter than me, more capable than I am, um, in all different walks and who are different than I am. And I’ve surrounded myself with an incredible team of humans, um, [00:35:00] at, at work personally.
Um, my network. And, and I think no matter what field you’re in, you know, it’s cliche to say it’s not what you know, it’s who you know. But cliches are cliches for a reason. Yeah. And so building a network and knowing lots of different kinds of people and feeling like you are two degrees of separation from just about anybody on the planet.
Is an amazing skill. It’s a networking skill. It’s a relational skill. And I’d say no matter what field you’re in, even chemistry or biology, since we’re not sure which is which, uh, either of those, any field in any field, that I, I think that’s the best advice I could give. And, and the thing that has propelled me has been, Just meeting people, meeting, you know, getting to know you and having, having not only some fun, but learning from you and, and growing together.
And it’s been, it’s been great to watch your journey. Where can folks check out your, your podcast? Where can they buy a copy of this book and all that good stuff before we close today?
[00:35:55] Hassan Thomas: Yes sir. Yes sir. So, uh, you guys can check out the book from College to [00:36:00] Covid to recession on after covid money book.com.
That is after, after. C ovid money book.com.
[00:36:09] Eric Brotman: Perfect. Perfect. And how about the podcast? Where’s the best place to get that?
[00:36:13] Hassan Thomas: Yeah, so we are on Apple Podcasts. We are on Spotify, and we’re actually on YouTube as well under F Y I F L I. Which stands for, for your information, financial literacy and investing.
That is f y I fly, so you can definitely check us out. We release episodes every Fin Lit Friday, and we actually just started interviewing independent artists and producers as well. Every music Monday, so you can check us out on Mondays and Fridays.
[00:36:43] Eric Brotman: Love it. Listen, this has been fun. I knew it would be. I knew that this half hour or so would fly by, no pun intended.
Definitely did. Um, but, but, uh, I, I definitely want to do this again. Uh, and if you’re recording in South Florida, as long as you don’t mind flying me down, you know, private or first class or something, I’m willing to appear on your [00:37:00] show. All
[00:37:01] Hassan Thomas: right. Hey, man, we gotta get your economy, baby. Financial literacy.
[00:37:04] Eric Brotman: Oh yeah. I keep forgetting what industry we’re in. This has been fun. Thank you for being on the show. You’ve been an awesome guest. Uh, and I, I’m excited for your message to reach a, a, a, a broader and different audience, uh, through doing this. So thank you. Thank you for doing it. Thank you
[00:37:17] Hassan Thomas: for the opportunity.
[00:37:19] Eric Brotman: I had like to thank all of you for listening and watching today. We’d love to hear from you, so please send us a message or leave us comments at don’t retire graduate.com or on social media. If you enjoy our show, don’t keep us a secret. Share it with your friends and family so they can join you on your journey to financial freedom.
And please leave ratings and reviews on your favorite podcast platforms. They are priceless to us. We’ll be back next week with another installment of Office Hours and in two weeks with another engaging guest. For now, this is your host, Eric Brockman, reminding you Don’t retire. Graduate. Don’t retire.
Graduate is part of the Evergreen Podcast Network[00:38:00]
[00:38:01] Hassan Thomas: Securities offered through kestra Investment Services. L L C KERA is member Finra, S I P C. Investment advisory Services offered through Kestra Advisory Services, L L c. Kestra as an affiliate of Kestra is, Kestra
[00:38:14] Eric Brotman: is, or KERA as are
[00:38:15] Hassan Thomas: not affiliated with Brockman Financial. Or any other entity discussed.