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Welcome to the

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Alox.com podcast. The

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place where future billionaires

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come to get

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inspired. You know, you

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don't go from broke

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to billionaire in one straight swoop.

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There are layers to this, and

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the first one being upper middle

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class status. In other words, being

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in the top 20 to 30%

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of the population. Think of this

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list as checkpoints, things you achieve

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as you move in the right

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direction. So here are 15 signs

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that you are in the upper

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middle class, and you know, interestingly

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enough, they're not all about money.

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Number one, you have another source of

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income other than your main one, but

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you would struggle to live off of

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it. Now most people work for money,

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but the rich make their money work

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for them. This is pretty well known

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by this point. So what if you're

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in the upper middle class? Well, you're

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somewhere in between. You do still rely

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on your main source of income, your

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job, but you probably have money invested,

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which brings you some income. It might

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be in property that you're renting out,

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you own stocks that pay dividends, you

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post content to make money from ads,

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you have something that brings in additional

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revenue. It's not enough to fully rely

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on it, but you're familiar with the

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process. And this is what sets you

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apart from the rest. You know what

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it takes because you already did. it.

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You made something out of nothing which

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might be small right now but you

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know you can scale up. Number two,

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you're probably highly educated from

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a good university. Maybe. Now

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traditionally the upper middle class

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has been associated with high

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levels of education. There's a

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good chance you're a lawyer,

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doctor, a dentist, an architect,

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an engineer or an executive

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for a corporation. These jobs

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require... formal education and lots of

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it. A university degree and maybe even

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postgraduate studies too. And if you don't

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have a formal degree then you have

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real-life education from years it took you

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to make your business successful. The point

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is you invested quite a lot of

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time and resources into your personal education

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and it's gotten you this far. You

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can tell the difference between who really

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knows what they're talking about compared to

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who's there for the Instagram pick and

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the social cloud. Number three, you like

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what you do and you take pride

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in it. A lot of people spend

2:34

their week waiting for the weekend. Because

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that's when their life is any kind

2:38

of meaning. But you probably don't have

2:41

this problem because you're highly qualified. And

2:43

that means you're probably motivated by what

2:45

you do, even passionate about it. And

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you enjoy it. An architect will be

2:50

passionate about buildings from the design side

2:52

and the math side too. And the

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owner of a local business will be

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passionate about the business they've built up.

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There is a strong correlation between life

3:02

and happiness and being engaged in activities

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that match your abilities and challenge you

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appropriately. And this gives you a competitive

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advantage because you actually like what you're

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doing. Number four, you're mobile. You've moved

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around more than others. A lot of

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people grow up in one place. They

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find a job there, they get married

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and settle down there, all in the

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same location. That's because it's the easiest

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option. But you don't exactly take the

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easiest path either, do you? You embrace

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challenges, and one of the challenges that

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you're bound to benefit from is changing

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location. This could include moving far away

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to study at the best university you

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could get into, and when you're asked

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to do a transfer at work, possibly

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to a different country, you jump at

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that opportunity. Why? Well, because you know

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what it will bring to you professionally

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and also what you'll learn about the

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world outside of the bubble you grew

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up in. And having more knowledge of

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the world will broaden your... horizons. And

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you know this leads us perfectly to

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the next item on our list. Number

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five you have a high amount of

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cultural capital. Now this might be a

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new term to you, but it's a

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concept everybody is aware of at some

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level. So cultural capital means your broader

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knowledge of the world, knowledge that you

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can apply to your work, your social

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interactions, and your free time pursuits. This

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knowledge makes you stand out from the

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crowd, but not just that, it makes

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you socially more mobile too. It could

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include what you know about arts and

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literature, and how you talk or dress

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in a way that makes you come

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across as sophisticated without being pretentious or

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fake rich. It could include your well-honed

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communication skills, you're articulate, you get your

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point across, and people like to hear

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you talk. Number six, you can

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identify and appreciate quality and utility.

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People are often obsessed with branded

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goods. They spend so much of

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their lives buying things they don't

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need to impress people they don't

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like, with money they don't even

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have. A lot of people fall

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for this trap. But not you.

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You learn to appreciate what quality

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actually is. Long-lasting utility. All of

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your things have purpose. There's a

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good reason they're there. They keep

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you creative, productive, and authentic. Number

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seven, you don't buy things on

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credit. Now this relates to our

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last point too. A lot of

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people want to have things they

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just can't afford. It makes them

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feel more secure and gives them

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the illusion that they belong to

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the social group they aspire to,

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when in reality they can't quite

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reach. And so they go into

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debt making a payoff between the

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illusion of wealth and months or

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years of installments to pay it

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off in the future. Now if

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you're upper middle class this probably

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isn't true for you. You see

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credit as a financial instrument to

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increase your wealth. Number eight, you

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go on holiday to expensive locations

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but you... shop around a bit

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for deals. So nowadays, more than

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any other time in history, people

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have a wider number of holiday

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destinations to choose from that are

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within their budget. But there are

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a few desirable spots that are

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out of reach for most people's

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pockets. And while a lot of

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people can afford to visit other

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continents once in a while, it's

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strictly once in a while. And

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dream destinations like Bali, Thailand, or

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Mexico are probably a rare, even

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once in a lifetime treat. For

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the upper middle class, these dream

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locations are... more accessible and may

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feature on your list of regular

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getaways rather than one-off dream holidays.

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And when you go there, being

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the culture vulture that you are,

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you're likely to interact with the

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locals. You'll try the local food,

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you'll learn about it, all the

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while increasing your cultural capital even

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further. Number nine. You've got a

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network of influential friends and acquaintances.

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You're the average of the five

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people you spend most of your

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time with. And as a member

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of the upper middle class, you

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mix with quality people. People who

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are equally educated, sophisticated, and have

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prominent positions in society. These are

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the people that you mix with

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naturally. You meet them through work,

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at social events, maybe even on

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the golf course. You gravitate toward

7:09

each other, and as a result,

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you're well connected. You've heard the

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expression, it's not what you know,

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it's who you know. Well, the

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upper middle class knows a lot

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of things and have a lot

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of connections too. And the people

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you know, lawyers, executives of companies,

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local business owners, these are the

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kinds of people who can make

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things happen when you need them

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to. Number 10. You've got a

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good understanding of how money works.

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You understand that every 10 years

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your money is worth around 25%

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less. And you know how that

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happens. You're well aware that your

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government isn't going to be able

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to cover state pensions in any

7:47

meaningful way in the future. You

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know when and how to use

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banks. These are just a few

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of the things. you're well aware

7:55

of, things that other people never

7:57

get to think about. And if

7:59

this is an area that you

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want to become even more knowledgeable

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ends when February begins, so you

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know what to do. I'll see

8:50

you on the inside. Number 11.

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You've got a financial advisor, although

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you probably call them more than

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they call you. You're good with

8:58

money, but you're not necessarily an

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expert in the field. But what

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you do know is when you

9:04

need an expert's help, especially with

9:06

something as important as money. Most

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people in the middle class don't

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have a financial advisor because they

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don't have enough investments to warrant

9:14

having one. But like the truly

9:16

rich, you do have one. The

9:18

only difference is the truly richer

9:20

at the top of every financial

9:22

advisor's list of people to call.

9:24

You're not their top priority, so

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you call them more often than

9:28

they call you, but you know

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they'll still come through for you

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and make good on your investments.

9:34

Number 12. You've got a healthy

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lifestyle. You make smart choices. These

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choices have gotten you to where

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you are. And you make the

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same kind of smart choices about

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food, exercise, and anything else that

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affects your health. You're less likely

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to smoke or binge on junk

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food. You probably have a membership

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at a gym or other sports

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club. And of course, private health

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care. You know that to perform

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your best. You need... to be

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healthy, so naturally you prioritize your

10:02

health. Number 13. You are privately

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educated, and if you moved into this

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group, your children probably will be. Now

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of course, the top 20% of earners

10:11

want their children to stay in

10:13

that bracket. So you'll want to

10:15

give them whatever opportunities you can

10:17

to do this. And paying for

10:19

private school is one of the

10:21

best ways. Now we mention that

10:23

most of the upper middle class

10:25

need to be highly educated to

10:27

do the jobs they do. And

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that's reflected in the fact that

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you value education and you'll spend

10:34

a significant portion of your money on

10:36

it as a result. Number 14.

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Your children can afford the unpaid

10:40

internships. Now your kids won't be born with

10:42

a silver spoon in their hand, but

10:45

they'll probably afford some time to figure

10:47

out who they are and what they

10:49

want to do in life without the

10:51

pressure of the immediate future. They can

10:53

spend a summer making no money but

10:55

learning a lot. They'll probably join team

10:57

sports because you know that getting along

10:59

with people is a massive competitive advantage

11:01

later in life. They'll probably afford to

11:03

try as many things as possible because

11:05

you've got them covered. And number

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15, you're comfortable with who you are

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and where you are. You're happy with

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where you are and you don't have

11:14

anxiety about it. You don't overanalyze it.

11:16

And you don't need to give yourself

11:19

a label to increase your perceived worse.

11:21

You know you have enough and you

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know you also have all it takes

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to level up, if that's what you

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desire. Being content with where you are

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doesn't mean you always have plans for

11:32

more and bigger achievements in life, but

11:34

it does mean you don't need to

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pretend to be something that you're not,

11:39

or obsess about where you are on

11:41

the social ladder. You have a sense of

11:43

well-being with who you are. And of course,

11:45

for those of you who always stick

11:47

with us until the end, we've got

11:50

a bonus for you, and today's bonus

11:52

is you are valuable to society. No,

11:54

usually there are two types of people that

11:56

end up in the upper middle class. Those

11:58

who can build things and... those who can

12:00

fix things. since since most people can't

12:02

be bothered to do either of those

12:05

things, there's always room at the

12:07

top for those who do. those who do.

12:09

top of that, knowing how to build

12:11

or fix things is also a is

12:13

for achieving financial freedom. If there's

12:15

one big takeaway from this video, it

12:17

big takeaway As long as you learn

12:20

how to create, long as how to build,

12:22

how to improve, and how to

12:24

make the lives of those around you

12:26

slightly better, around you slightly better, the reward you.

12:28

you. We'll see you you next time, next

12:30

time, then. Take care, my friend. care, my

12:32

was a great podcast today, wasn't

12:35

it? Thank you for spending some time

12:37

with us and taking another step

12:39

toward improving the way you look at

12:41

life. If you're hungry

12:43

for more, you can always go

12:45

to our website, more, you can .com, to or

12:47

subscribe to us on YouTube. The

12:50

entire YouTube. The .com team wishes

12:52

you a very productive

12:54

day. day.