Seven Money Milestones: Building and Protecting our Wealth with Troy Holt

[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 in valedictorian, Eric Brotman, and today I have a true kindred spirit as a guest. Troy Holt is a certified financial educator.
He’s a registered financial consultant, and he’s the host of the Troy Talks podcast. He’s also the Chief Encouragement Officer, which I love of a financial consulting firm. He focuses on empowering and educating individuals and small business owners. On wealth accumulation, preservation and debt elimination, and he’s on a mission to eliminate financial illiteracy, particularly in the African American community.
Troy, welcome to Don’t Retire, graduate. I’m so glad you’re here.
[00:00:49] Troy Holt: Eric a again, uh, thank you for this opportunity. I’m, I’m truly honored. Uh, you know, we are counting the same industry, so, uh, I’m, I’m, I’m honored to be here. [00:01:00] So I’m, I’m truly grateful. Uh, I listened to the podcast and I enjoyed it. I, I, I even like the, uh, the office hours that I, I, I really like that where you drop a little nuggets answering questions.
So thank you again for this opportunity.
[00:01:13] Eric Brotman: Oh, well you’re welcome. And now that you’ve buttered me up, you can pretty much have anything you want the rest of the show. That’s perfect. Um, I’m with you. I think financial illiteracy is a, is a plague. It’s a, it’s something that we have to, to have to root out and it, it, it’s a very hot potato, whether you do it in schools, how do you do it in homes?
You know, adults don’t know how to do this, so they can’t possibly teach their kids how to do this. Um, but you’ve put together, not only did you write a really great book, but you put together a website. With, um, which is sort of how money works and you’ve got money, milestones, and what I like about what you put together is it is linear.
So it’s step one, step two, step three. It’s incredibly accessible. This isn’t something that, uh, that you, that you need to be a money nerd or [00:02:00] a financial wonk to enjoy, right? This is something really accessible to everybody and so I, I’m hoping we can go through that a little bit today together. I’d like to first, uh, start with how you got into this business and, and how you became, uh, how you became passionate about financial literacy as a, as a cause too.
[00:02:19] Troy Holt: Yeah. So, uh, first of all, let me uh, be transparent here. I didn’t write the book and then I didn’t create the web website, but the company that I am associated with, uh, this is all their marketing and, and it, and it is great cuz it’s, it’s great. Mm-hmm. Education. And entertainment. And so how I got in the industry, uh, so I may be telling my age, but it was some years ago.
Um, I, I was looking for a change. I had, uh, recently got out of the military and then I was doing some civilian contractor work and I wanted to, uh, uh, do a career change. And one of the things that I seen, uh, Eric was, it’s kind of funny. I seen that the guys that carried a briefcase in, well, the suits tend to make the most money in [00:03:00] it, and, and they didn’t have to go out and do manual labor.
So that was kind of got my attention, you know? Mm-hmm. And so a friend of mine told me about an opening at, uh, uh, American Express Financial Advisors. It’s now Merit Prize. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Uh, and so I went there and, uh, I, uh, had, had, we studied for the series seven, uh, and the, and the, uh, insurance license, the series seven, uh, I failed every practice test.
I remember I had a friend of mine who we met. He had just retired from the military and he wanted to quit. We doing all these practice tests, so I failed every practice test. And he wanted, he wants to quit, and then he said, uh, man, Troy, man, I’m failing all these. I said, no, we can’t quit. And so, uh, uh, kept going on.
We had a little young guy who was laughing at us. He just graduated from college with a finance degree. He’s laughing at us, struggling to, to, you know, to, to, to, to get these tests. We both end up going in there, passing the test and ended up getting a license. And then the, uh, young man, he ended up failing.
And so it was something that’s Yes, yes. Right. Yeah. That’s good.
[00:03:58] Eric Brotman: Well, that’s cause you, that’s cause you [00:04:00] studied, you studied, right, right,
[00:04:02] Troy Holt: right. Yes. And it was one of those things that, uh, I was just passionate about. You know, I, I grew up in housing projects and my family was poor, uh, and I wanted to make a difference and, and make an impact and do something different in my family.
And so now I’m at a point where, uh, more I’m more chasing, uh, uh, when I was younger, I was chasing success. Now I’m chasing significance. And so I want to leave a legacy. I wanna leave an impact when, when I, when I die and people come to our funeral, I want them to say, Detroit. Always try to make an impact.
And so that’s kinda where I’m at. Uh, now in my, in my life, my journey, my career is wanting to make an impact. All right.
[00:04:40] Eric Brotman: And I, I hate to to date you, but, but you, you’re, you’re not only a, a dad, you’re a grandfather too. You’ve got grandkids, right? I,
[00:04:47] Troy Holt: I sure do. I have three, uh, grandsons. We see, uh, nine, eight, and five.
[00:04:52] Eric Brotman: Okay. So are they all local to you? You’re in Florida. Are they all local to you? Yes, yes. They
[00:04:57] Troy Holt: all here in Florida with me.
[00:04:59] Eric Brotman: Yes. Oh, that’s [00:05:00] awesome. So there’s your significance, a yes. Yes. You know, and then, then the impact you can have on the community is, is sort of the, the, the other significance cause of what you do for a living?
Yeah. I mean, I, I think people get, um, I, I think some people get into the financial industries for all the wrong reasons. And it’s funny because a lot of times what attracts people to our business is this idea that you can make a lot of money. Right. Sure. But the, but the ones who really stay and really are at this, and I, I’m, I’ve been at this almost 30 years, so I don’t know how long you’ve been doing this, but.
The ones who stay are the ones who really do feel like they can make a difference. It’s not about the money. It, it’s one of those things where you can make a good living in a lot of different ways. But this is a way where we actually get to make a difference in people’s lives every day. And it’s incredibly enriching and, and I’m glad that you feel that way.
Now. Financial literacy is important. At all levels, but particularly for young people to avoid getting into trouble in the first place. Uh, and one of the [00:06:00] milestones that, that, uh, your group talks about is in fact, um, dead elimination. But, but you say start first with milestone one and before you even get started, Sort of find a navigator, find a co-pilot, work with a professional.
Why, why do you think that’s important? Other than the fact that we are professionals? Um, other than the self-serving obvious fact. Um, why do you think folks need a financial advisor or consultant in order to to, to get on this path?
[00:06:27] Troy Holt: Great question. So number reasons, number one is, uh, does a, does a doctor perform surgery on himself?
Does a lawyer perform? Hopefully not. Correct? Correct. Yeah. Uh, yeah, hopefully not. Does a lawyer, does a lawyer go in the courtroom and represent themself even though they’re a lawyer? Even if it’s another lawyer, he’s going to get someone else who has some experience and expertise, especially if it’s not, he is not, is not area law.
Then also we have a lot of, uh, miscommunication. You know, there’s some great information out there. Uh, but, uh, it’s a [00:07:00] lot. And then navigating through the mis, mis, um, misinformation. So I think. People that have somebody who has some experience and some knowledge can guide them and help them not make the pitfalls of uh uh, D D I D IY and also the misinformation.
So I think it’s port important to have that, uh uh, That person to guide that. And I tell people too, when I’m in a, in, in a, uh, client relationship with them, Hey, you still the driver? You know, I’m, I’m gonna make recommendations. But you still can say no, you know, and I’ll voice. I say, well, I don’t like that, but, uh, I recommend you do this.
But you still, they still in control that they can say yes or no.
[00:07:40] Eric Brotman: So I, I, I think that’s an important fact that ultimately we may be navigators, but it’s, it’s not our money, you know? Correct. And we, and, and to be dispassionate about it is important. And I don’t know about you, but I actually, my wife and I have a financial advisor we work with who isn’t me.
Right. Because not only, not only is it hard, it’s kind of like an editor. It [00:08:00] can’t. Edit their own work. If you write a book, you can’t edit your own book. Somebody else has to read it because your brain is seeing what you think you wrote or what you meant to write. Right? Not necessarily what’s on paper.
And I think it’s the same thing with, with, uh, the financial piece. It’s the accountability of why did you do this? We could rationalize any kind of behavior. All of us can, we’re human. Correct, correct. Um, and so I, I do think that that’s valuable. So let’s, let’s walk through some of these because mm-hmm. Um, I, I, I think you, I, I think you gave a compelling reason why, why people really do benefit from having some kind of financial advice.
Now, one of the challenges is financial advice isn’t one size fits all. Um, correct. There are lots of terrific firms out there who say, oh, we can’t wait to talk to you, but not unless you have $10 million or a million dollars, or whatever it is. Um, and so there’s, there’s. Kind of a loathing, I think, at times of, of folks in the financial business because you can make somebody feel real small, real fast just by saying, sorry, you don’t meet our profile.
Sure. Um, you know, I don’t know about you, but I get all the mail [00:09:00] at home from the solicitations of financial advisors who really are wasting their money cuz they don’t know what I do for a living. But that’s beside the fact. Right? And it all says, Hey, if you have half a million dollars, we’d like to talk.
Well, isn’t that convenient? Yeah. Where, where were you when I was 20 grand in debt and needed help to get myself going. Right. Yeah. Right. So, so, so milestone one. Is to get financially educated. Right? And, uh, uh, and, and I know you have a resource for that. Uh mm-hmm. How, what are the places? How do you know what’s, what’s real and what’s not?
Because I, when, when I was a kid growing up, um, we knew it was true. If it was on tv, I. And of course I say that as a joke now it’s, well, if it’s on the internet, it must be a fact. Uh, and hopefully everyone knows better, but it’s the same idea. Yeah. So how do you, how do you decide what is really good, objective, helpful advice, and what is either a thinly veiled sales pitch or we’re just plain wrong?
[00:09:55] Troy Holt: Well, you kinda said it, you know, uh, earlier, uh, basically there’s no cookie cutter [00:10:00] approach. Uh, everybody’s situation is different. So it’s sitting down with somebody who is not trying to just sell you products, but to, you know, help. You know, first of all, educate you. One thing, uh, I like about, uh, the seven money milestones, uh, and the whole how money works, it teaches strategies and principles.
It doesn’t. Mm-hmm. Uh, it doesn’t push products. It’s, it’s, it’s teaching these strategies and, and, and principles. You know, milestone number two is proper protection. Number three is emergency fraud. You know, do those are. Principles that everybody can, uh, uh, incorporate, uh mm-hmm. Whether they have a, um, uh, advisor or not.
You know, they can, they technically can do themselves, you know, debt management, cash flow building wealth and protective wealth. All those are just, just principles, just strategies and education. And then you get more in details once you find out. More about, uh, the, the, the, the, the client. I tell people, there’s two things When I’m working with clients, I say, number one, for [00:11:00] me, uh, it is, uh, and I say, excuse the terminology, but for me, when I work for you, it’s not a one night stand.
It’s a long-term relationship. I, I do tell ’em that.
[00:11:10] Eric Brotman: All right, well now we’ve gone beyond PG straight to at least PG 13.
[00:11:15] Troy Holt: Okay. Right. Uh, and I tell them, you know, that, you know, it’s all about everybody’s different. Their goals is different. So, uh, so we can’t always just pitch products because we really have to find out what that particular client le and then things change, you know?
Uh, People get married, they get divorced, they have children. Um, their needs change, their goals change. And so you have to constantly, sometimes you have to change the plan because, uh, life change and life hits us sometime. And so it, it, it’s just, you know, helping those navigate through that. So when I say the, the one I stand a long-term relationship.
I wanna see their grandkids, uh, or, or go to college and they let me know, Hey, they send me pictures. Mm-hmm. Uh, because mm-hmm. Cause my philosophy [00:12:00] is people over, uh, profits, relationships over, uh, revenue and impact over income. And I think as we, as advisors, if we keep that mindset, we can make an impact with people along with making the, the income.
[00:12:14] Eric Brotman: Now, what, what kind of things do you do, um, when there are folks who really can’t afford, you, can’t afford to work with you in a, in a consultative way? Do you point them at these resources? Are, are there other places where you suggest that they go to get some basics? Do you talk, I mean, do you know financial coaches and financial therapists and, and all these other kinds of resources that are out there?
How, how do you determine whether you can help somebody or whether maybe. Maybe you might do more harm than good by, by engaging because of the cost of working with you.
[00:12:47] Troy Holt: Yeah. So, you know, one of the things I tell people, if I can’t help you, I won’t hurt you. And so there sometimes there are people that you know that they just not in a position, uh, you know, and so what I try to do is try to guide them [00:13:00] and give them, uh, different resources or opportunities.
Uh, you know, maybe it’s, uh, they don’t have, they don’t make enough income. Maybe they working part-time. And so, you know, I try to say, Hey, you know, have considered. Uh, maybe a job if, if you got a job you’re looking for. If I know somebody, I could maybe, uh, introduce you. Referral, um, because I believe that if I stay with you when you have nothing, And then you get a big inheritance or you win the lottery, then you’ll remember me, um, because I I was with you when you have, have nothing and I didn’t treat you differently.
Uh, and I believe that, uh, if we keep that mindset, people, well, well, Troy, you was with me when I didn’t have nothing and now I have something and I want to, I wanna come and work with you. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
[00:13:45] Eric Brotman: Well, and, and that’s the kind of, that’s the kind of relationship building, and that’s the kind of dignity that you can provide, uh, in a relationship with any human being.
So, I’m with you. So, financial education, we covered. The next one is protection. Now protection means a lot of things to [00:14:00] different people. To some people it means a helmet. To some people it means a seatbelt. To some people, it means, uh, insurance or other kinds of, of risk management. Mm-hmm. What do you, what do you think are the maybe two or three spots where families or couples or even individuals are least prepared, um, from a protection standpoint?
[00:14:20] Troy Holt: Well, first of all, I think one of ’em is, is life insurance. Uh, where people are either uninsured or uh, uninformed. They say, I have it on my job. They don’t realize that on the job, uh, most of the time they’re renting it. Mm-hmm. Versus owning it. Uh, and they should have something outside of the job. But also one of ’em that a lot of people don’t think about is disability.
We are more likely to have a disability than we, cause we’re only gonna die once, but we may have multiple times. Well, I hope so. You know, you’re right. Yeah. Yeah.
[00:14:48] Eric Brotman: I, I don’t wanna do that over and over again.
[00:14:51] Troy Holt: I know, right, Eric? Yeah. But, uh, disability is a, a, a big one that, you know, people miss out, you know, because, uh, [00:15:00] it, it provides income protection, but also long-term care, which is really Finn the beats.
A huge issue. Mm-hmm. Uh, cause baby booms are retiring, the cost of healthcare is going up. Uh, and uh, that’s just a big issue. When I was, uh, when I first started American Express, uh, the big issue was retirement, you know, uh, and retirement planning. And they, what they talked about long-term care, but I don’t think people really.
Uh, took in consideration the cost of healthcare mm-hmm. Was gonna be so significant. And I think that has blown a lot of things outta proportion because a lot of seniors now are spending a lot of money on healthcare. Oh yeah, I’m safe for retirement, but I didn’t realize my healthcare was going to mm-hmm.
You know, call, you know, and so, so those, I, those are the three areas I think is very, very important that people are looking at force risk management.
[00:15:47] Eric Brotman: Okay. All right. Now I, I can’t argue with any of those points. I think that makes sense. None of us realized Yeah. Uh, how expensive it would be to get older and how long we might live.
Right. You know, I think a lot of the [00:16:00] programs and systems in the United States were set up based on a certain life expectancy that hasn’t really been, uh, adjusted for decades. You know, you look at Social Security, for example. Social Security was designed to be for the absolute extreme elderly. It was supposed to be a safety net if you outlived your money basically.
Right? And, and now you know, there’s people claiming at 62 who could live another 50 years. Um, yeah. And, and, and that ultimately doesn’t work. The math won’t work, correct. We’re living too long. Um, and the cost of healthcare is not the same as the cost of groceries. I mean, some of it’s technology, some of it’s, uh, we could, we could beat on some insurance companies if we wanted to for driving prices up and also, Uh, some of the tort reform and the lawyers, and, I mean, there’s lots of reasons why healthcare in this country is, is a mess.
Um, there’s no one, one culpable party for sure. But, uh, I’m with you now. You talk about an emergency fund and an emergency fund. This is your [00:17:00] sleep at night fund. This is your, uh, and, and you reference the three little pigs. Uh, and the one with the brick house, as I recall, did better than the other two. Um, right.
How big, how big should an emergency fund be? What is there a rule of thumb? Because. I think every family’s different and it’s hard to say, oh, here’s the number, or here’s, here’s a number of months, but what, what do you tend to use as a barometer?
[00:17:22] Troy Holt: Yeah, well, the rule of thumb is, uh, three to six months of, uh, uh, income, uh, you know, put away.
Uh, but it could be different for others. Some it could be more, some could be less. Uh, but, uh, I think they said, uh, 40 f I think the number says 44% of of Americans don’t have $400 for, uh, don’t. For emergency, a $400 emergency. Right. Uh, which is huge. Yeah. Uh, 4 40, 40 4% don’t have enough cash to ca uh, cover a $400 emergency.
So I think that’s huge. Uh, and, you know, uh, you talked about this, I heard this on with the interview with, uh, Julian and, uh mm-hmm. And his wife. Mm-hmm. You know, uh, [00:18:00] one of the big things, emergency fund, I tell people that one of the simplest and, and smartest things they can do is pay themselves first.
Mm-hmm. Uh, and you agree with that, Eric, too? You know, you’ve been Oh, absolutely. Cpu, yeah. Pay, pay yourself first. And I tell people, and, and what I, what I try to get to them. Uh, yeah. We want you to get to three to six months, uh, uh, amount. I said, but. The, the, the, the mindset and the discipline is just a start.
Whether it’s a dollar. Whether it’s $10. Mm-hmm. The amount doesn’t matter. It’s you getting the discipline and the mindset to start. Mm-hmm. And I said, then the amount will come because you in the habit of doing it, and now you can set it up where it’s automatic. And so I really try to emphasize people in that, you know, for that merchant fund, start uhhmm, uh, setting aside, even if you have to.
Use it. I remember, uh, years ago when I was putting, uh, money and preparing myself 10, I would’ve to use it cause I didn’t have enough money. So I would’ve to pull it out, little savings account and use it. But I [00:19:00] discipline myself and I kept doing, and I still do it today, I still pay myself 10% now. Now I’m a, I’m a, um, a man of faith.
So, so God gets his first and then mm-hmm. Then I get mine. Uh, uh, uh, so, but, but, but you know, some people, they don’t, they don’t, uh, uh, worship God and they don’t. Give ’em like that. I understand. But they need to pay themselves, uh, starting out. Mm-hmm. I think it’s very
[00:19:21] Eric Brotman: important. No, well it, it is. And that’s why they called it an emergency fund cuz when it comes up Correct.
We need to have it. I, I think, uh, something like half of all Americans are one missed paycheck from a serious problem. I mean, really serious problem. Yeah. And true. Uh, and that’s not good. And so that, that gets us to milestone four. Mm-hmm. Which is debt management. Um, yeah. You, you know, debt, debt is, um, it’s an albatross.
It is, uh, yeah, it is like weighing yourself down. Um, what do you tell folks who are in debt first? What do you tell folks that are in debt? Um, that’s manageable. And then what do you tell folks in, in debt that [00:20:00] is frankly unmanageable and, and, and can’t be resolved? How do you, how do you delineate between those two kinds of folks?
[00:20:06] Troy Holt: Yeah, though it is tough, you know, because you know, you, Hey, can you create more cash flow? Can you cut back expenses? You know, really dig deep and look at your spending habits. I remember, uh, uh, I wasn’t tracking, uh, during covid. I wasn’t tracking. Uh, Uh, my, uh, uh, funds, uh, during Covid, uh, right around the, uh, high, uh, height of Covid.
And I remember it was, uh, November, uh, around Thanksgiving and I looked at my, uh, my food bill. It was $1,200 and I was DoorDash and a lot. I’m like, this is crazy. Cause you know, I never was spend like that, but, you know, with Thanksgiving also, so, you know, we spent food for that and so, so Uhhuh staying on top of it and tracking it.
Uhhuh, you know, uh, it, it, it is important. And so sometimes, you know, you can, you know, try to give people some advice, you know, [00:21:00] uh, I like the Dave met, uh, Dave, uh, Ramsey, uh, snowball effect. Mm-hmm. But some people may be a avalanche, but you know, some people, sometimes it’s, it is a matter of their spending habits.
They need to stop. Uh, Uh, buying things on, on credit. Uh, if it’s not an, uh, if, if, if it’s a liability, if it’s not an asset, stop buying those things. Uh, maybe cut up those credit cards sometime. You know, you gotta make tough decisions, uh mm-hmm to get people like that. And so to help people to get them out of debt.
Uh, can they refi, can they, you know, uh, can they, you know, do different things. So, so there’s solutions out there. They might not want to hear them, but sometimes it’s really tough when people have a lot of debt.
[00:21:41] Eric Brotman: So that brings us to cash flow because arguably it doesn’t matter what you’re doing. If you spend more than you make, you will eventually have a problem.
And if you, um, if, if you’re not saving enough and you spend more than you make, it’s like pouring money into a bucket. But having a hole at the bottom of [00:22:00] the bucket bigger than the spout at the top, it’s not gonna work. So there’s only two ways I know of to increase cash flow. Right. You can either, you can either increase revenue or income, or you can decrease expenses.
Right. Is there a third one that I don’t know. I mean, guys, I guess refinancing, you can adjust certain things, but, but what do you tell folks where cash flow is the issue? Are you, are you saying get another, uh, get a side hustle or a second job, or, or work more hours? Or are you saying, um, you know, let’s, let’s stop buying some of the things you’re buying that aren’t necessary.
What, what is the, uh, what’s the best approach there?
[00:22:36] Troy Holt: I can’t say what’s the best approach, but I think all the, the above because it depends on who the, who, the, uh, cus the client is. Uh, but I will say is, uh, I think one thing Covid taught us was that, uh, uh, many of us need to have more than one stream of income.
And not just rely on the job, have some type of side business side [00:23:00] hustle. Mm-hmm. Something that, you know, in the event of something happened, you still got a stream of income coming in. So we can get people to change that mindset. Mm-hmm. Uh, I, I remember working with American Express, they taught us a lot, uh, how to find money.
You know, uh, especially when we trying to get people to start setting up a plan. You know, some of that look, look at, look at your cell phone bill. I worked in the wireless industry for a number of, number of years. Mm-hmm. And sometime the cell phone bill, uh, you can find some money there because maybe they have a old phone or have the old line and they’re paying, uh, insurance.
Look at your, uh, deductible on your, on your, uh, your homeowner’s insurance, on your auto insurance. Maybe we could free up p. Some money there for some cash flow. Mm-hmm. Even, uh, you know, uh, there’s, uh, I work with a lot of single mothers many times, uh, and sometimes they get an eight, $9,000 income tax. You know, you and I know is really you giving the government your money for free.
Mm-hmm. But I try to tell them mm-hmm. Hey, take. 2000 of that and, and drop it in maybe, uh, uh, an IRA or [00:24:00] uh, or, or a Roth or a life insurance policy instead of spending the whole thing because you, you gonna need it. And then you can set up the child, uh, for, uh, a generational of wealth, you know, start putting it away.
So, so different things like that. So maybe. Let’s get a little bit more talk to hr. Let’s get a little bit more money in the, instead of getting a $8,000, maybe you get $6,000. We get an extra a hundred dollars a month cash flow coming in. So there’s different things, but are people willing to do that? One of the things I, I really find, uh, uh, education is great, but then you have the other challenge of implementation.
[00:24:35] Eric Brotman: Oh yeah, yeah, no question. And people love tax refunds. Tax refunds, you’re right. It means that you’ve given the government an interest free loan for sometimes up to 15 months. Um, but people are very afraid of getting a letter from the IRS that says, you owe us money. Whether it’s a, whether it’s. A hundred thousand dollars or a nickel.
Nobody wants a letter from the IRS in their mailbox. Right? True. So there they, you know, I think the perfect tax plan is [00:25:00] one that ends in a zero at the end of the year where you’re, I agree with you. Yeah. Right. You, you’re either paying something but it’s diminimus or you’re receiving something, but it’s de minimus and you don’t have to worry too much about it.
So. Alright, so now cash under control. We’ve got debt under control, we’ve got an emergency fund, we’ve got some protection in place. Now we’re ready to build wealth. Yeah, the word wealth means a lot of things to a lot of people. What does the word wealth mean to you?
[00:25:27] Troy Holt: The word wealth means to me is, is not just, uh, money.
It, it, it covers so many things. It be, it could be wisdom, it could be knowledge, uh, but it’s also assets, uh, income producing assets and not just, uh, you know, uh, we look at entertainers and we look at athletes. Uh, that’s not wealth. They’re just rich. But wealth is something that can pass on for generations.
You never have to touch. Uh, the principle, and we know there’s big families like the Rothchilds and Rockefellers and stuff. That’s, that’s wealth. And, and there’s an old saying, uh, [00:26:00] wealth is quiet and rich is loud, so we know you, you don’t even know these people that got all this wealth, you know? Oh, yeah.
So that’s what I, you
[00:26:07] Eric Brotman: know, now you’re, you’re from Tennessee. You’re from Tennessee, but in Texas they call that big hat, no cattle. Those are the folks driving the fancy car who couldn’t come up with 500 bucks if they had to. Right. Um, you know, it’s kind of funny. Uh, but, but it’s, but it’s also true. Rich is loud.
I like that. Yeah. Um, you know, the idea, the difference between rich and wealth was something I, I quote the great philosopher Chris Rock, in my book, when he talked about wealth being relative, he said, if Bill Gates woke up tomorrow with Oprah’s net worth, he’d wanna jump out a window. Yeah, so true, true.
That’s how relative wealth is. Um, I have a, a good friend, a good, uh, friend who’s from Bulgaria who says, it’s a Bulgarian proverb, whether it is or it’s not, that says, uh, being wealthy is just doing better than your neighbor. So everybody’s got a different, everybody’s got like a different, uh, a different, uh, way to look at it.
So, all right. The last thing is now you’re building some [00:27:00] wealth. You’re investing in different ways. You’ve got some income producing assets, some passive income to go with whatever. Whether you’re blessed with a pension or not, most people don’t anymore. Um, whether social security exists in its present form, by the time my children and yours get to the point where they’re collecting, who knows?
But now you gotta protect that wealth, and that means a lot of different things. What do you mean when you say protect wealth?
[00:27:25] Troy Holt: Well, let me give some, uh, high profile, uh, people that, especially in my community, are remembered. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And you and some, and some also, you know, Aretha Franklin? Mm-hmm.
Prince. Mm-hmm. Chadwick, Chad, Chadwick, Bozeman, all them, uh, were, uh, uh, millionaires, uh, e even D M X. And they had all this, uh, uh, uh, money accumulated, but they had no estate plan. Mm-hmm. They had no wheels. They had no trust. Everybody, uh, maybe not need a trust, but everybody should have a will. And I tell people, I said, most of us, many of us, and most of us do not like the government involved.
[00:28:00] Mm-hmm. So you got two options. You got the government to dictate to where your assets, uh, assets go, or you can dictate to your, uh, where your assets go. So if you allow the government, uh, uh, if you want the government, then just don’t have a will and the government can dictate. And if you, uh, have one, you can dictate where you want your want, your assets
[00:28:18] Eric Brotman: to go.
That’s a pretty compelling way to look at it because the government can’t manage a post office with the greatest monopoly on the planet. So I’m Right. So I’m with you. I feel, I feel that a hundred percent. Yep. So we’ve been through the seven steps. Um, we’ve been through the seven steps. I, I think it’s really, I think it’s really terrific and I think you’re, you’re doing a lot of good for a lot of people, and, and I, I, I applaud you for that.
Uh, I gotta ask you now more introspectively. Um, you talked about, you, you talked about having an impact and you talked about, uh, some significance. What do you want to be when you grow up? What’s, what’s, what’s that look like?
[00:28:55] Troy Holt: You know, I wanna be, one of my ultimate goals is to, uh, [00:29:00] Be full-time in the ministry and, and, and.
Mm-hmm. And that’s just to, just to have the freedom to just strictly ministry and mm-hmm. Uh, money generating income is not an object. It’s, it’s all just ministry. Mm-hmm. And I guess that would be what I want to be when I grow up, just to be able to have the full-time access to ministry, to be able to, uh, we, uh, our, our church, our pastors doing some missionary work over in Tanzania, and so if I need to go over there, You know, I can go over there, don’t have to worry about, uh, what’s going on here, go over there and maybe a month over there so that, that’s what I wanna be when I grow up.
[00:29:36] Eric Brotman: All right. Well, I have no doubt that that’s where you’re headed, because thank you. If you’re following you, you’re following your own steps and you’re taking good care of people, then you will in fact build wealth and, and putting yourself in position to do that. I have no doubt that that’s in your future and I wish you well with it.
Um, we need an extra credit assignment because I don’t know anyone who likes homework, my kid included. But extra credit assignments. I don’t know about you, but I always did ’em. [00:30:00] Cause I, I figured those were free points on the test. Right. Free points are good points. Yeah. What would your extra credit assignment be for folks who spend a half hour with us today?
[00:30:09] Troy Holt: My extra credit assignment will be for those that are listening and who have not implemented pn, them say first to start paying themselves first. That would be the extra credit assignment. Mm-hmm. Uh, for them to start now. Whether it’s a dollar or whether it’s $10 start, because if you can’t do, uh, $1, you definitely can’t do $10.
Mm-hmm. So wherever you start, And just continue to do it. And eventually it’ll grow. It’ll, and, and you’ll get the mindset. It’ll it become a part of you. It’ll become a habit. Uh, and I, I think, uh, that will be, and I would add to that, uh, read Atomic Ha Atomic Habits. I can’t remember the author’s name. Okay.
Uh, but a great book, uh, atomic Habit. So that would be a second part to that because he talks about those habits.
[00:30:58] Eric Brotman: Two extra [00:31:00] credit assignments. Is one too many? Yes. You have to pick one. No, I’m only kidding. Um, listen, there, there’s there. You talked about wealth and wealth of wisdom and wealth of, of experience, and you definitely have both.
Troy, this was awesome. Thank you so, so much for joining us. Where can folks check out more about you?
[00:31:15] Troy Holt: Yes, uh, you can find out more about me, uh, at troy ho.com. Uh, that is my website, troy ho.com. I’m very active also on LinkedIn, so if you want to connect with me on LinkedIn, I’m also active on LinkedIn.
[00:31:28] Eric Brotman: Excellent. We will put your contact info on our show notes when the show goes live. Uh, I thank you for joining us. It’s been a pleasure and it’s, it’s good to keep doing the right, keep doing, keep doing the right thing. I can tell that you’re making a difference in people’s lives and that’s important to, to you, to them, and to the, to all of us in the communities.
Thank you for doing what you do.
[00:31:47] Troy Holt: You’re welcome. Thank you so much, Eric. I really appreciate it. I’ve enjoyed this, uh, conversation with you.
[00:31:52] Eric Brotman: Absolutely. I’d 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 [00:32:00] retire graduate.com or on social media.
I. If you enjoy the show, don’t keep us a secret. Tell your friends and family so that they can join you on your journey to financial freedom. Please leave us ratings and reviews on your favorite podcast platform. Those 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 Bratman, reminding you don’t retire, graduate.
[00:32:35] Narrator: Securities offered through Ketra Investment Services, L L C, Ketra I s Member Finra, S I P C, investment advisory Services offered through Ketra Advisory Services, L L c Ketra A s an affiliate of Ketra is, Ketra is, or Ketra as are not affiliated with Brotman Financial or any other entity discussed.