Epic Real Estate Investing - They Nuked the Middle Class (And They're NOT Done) | 1469

Episode Date: April 17, 2025

This episode delves into the profound and largely unnoticed economic shifts that have devastated America's middle class over the past few decades. Matt explains how stagnant wages, skyrocketing living costs, and policies have created a downward spiral, trapping the middle class in a cycle of work, debt, and decline. He explores the factors contributing to this crisis, including the U.S. education system, job market, and debt structures. The episode also critiques recent trade policies and their potential impacts, advocating for asset ownership and financial strategies to regain control in a rigged economic system. Join us for an unflinching look at the harsh realities facing the middle class and strategies to navigate these turbulent times. Get your copy: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qphrbEFWF8iolcTwluOpKeOuyWc5rWy1/view Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is Terio Media. Hey, strap in. It's time for the epic real estate investing show. We'll be your guides as we navigate the housing market, the landscape of creative financing strategies, and everything you need to swap that office chair for a beach chair. If you're looking for some one-on-one help, meet us at rei-i-a-s.com. Let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go.

Let's go. It didn't happen overnight. No bang, no alert. no red button. But something devastating has already gone off in America, and it hit the middle class like a nuclear bomb. Wages, frozen. Savings, vaporized.

Costs skyrocket. The worst part, you didn't even notice, because this bomb was silent, and now the damage it's everywhere. And here's a harsh truth no one wants to say out loud. If you're poor right now, there's a real chance you'll stay that way. forever. That's not pessimism. That's policy. Since 1979, middle class incomes have grown at half the

rate of both the poor and the rich. You're not just stuck. You're falling behind both ways. From 1971 to now, the percentage of Americans in the middle class dropped from 61% to 51%. Millions of families falling down, not up. And the income they hold, falling every decade. This isn't a bump in the road. This is a complete rewrite of American life. The latter, your parents told you to climb, it got pulled up. Middle class income grew around 40% since 1980, but housing up over 500%. Healthcare doubled in a decade. Education, up over 600% more than incomes. You're not bad with money. You've been outpaced by design. A couple weeks ago, Trump proposed a 10% universal import tariff. At the same time, we will establish a minimum baseline tariff of 10%. You notice that on the chart?

Economists say it could cost middle-class families $3,800 a year. That's a full month of take-home pay for a lot of people. Gone. And just this week, financial commentators sounded the alarm. 401ks are down 10 to 20 percent. Millions lost. If that continues, Trump's entire political capital could vanish. Everything now hinges on whether this is a bluff or the opening move of a global trade war. So yeah, boom. And now the bomb might be going off again, just in disguise. Because last week, Trump pulled a wildcard move. He paused tariffs for 90 days on most countries, but jacked China's to 125 percent, effective immediately.

U.S. President Donald Trump, he has announced a tariff pause. It's a 90-day pause on tariffs on 10%. In fact, at the same time, there has been no relief for China. The result? Markets exploded. The NASDAQ had its biggest gain since 2001. The S&P, since 2008. Tesla, up 23% in a day.

Sounds great, right? But here's what they're not telling you. This isn't relief. It's reaction. A temporary sugar high, while inflation, trade wars, and borrowing costs are all still boiling underneath. This pause just bought time, not safety. And if the tariffs snap back, the middle class gets hit with higher prices.

Again, food, fuel, housing materials, all of it. And once again, they'll say it's just the economy. But you and I both know this is a rigged game. Let's stop pretending this is bad luck because the system is doing exactly what it was built to do. Keep the poor poor and keep the rich rich and trap the middle in an endless loop of work, debt, and decline. Let me break it down. The middle class is trapped by three invisible walls.

First, school. An education system designed to kill creativity and reward obedience. It doesn't build leaders. It builds rule followers. Second, work. A job system modeled after 1900s factory lines, soul draining, security free. And third, debt, mortgages, student loans, credit cards,

all engineered to keep you working. a lifetime without building wealth. It's not a ladder. It's a hamster wheel. You know, a few years ago, I had lunch with a guy who helped design the back end of the student loan system. It was fascinating conversation. I mean, he wasn't some conspiracy in that either. He was a legit insider, smart, quiet, polished. And I asked him, why is the system so stacked against normal people? And I had no idea what he's going to say. I don't even know if it is, but I just wanted to get his reaction. And he looked at me and he said, because middle class struggle is fuel. The whole machine runs on it. If they get ahead, we fall behind. That line hit me hard, and I haven't forgot it.

The system isn't broken. It's feeding. And here's the sickest part. People could have stopped it, but they didn't. Because when a system feeds this well, no one wants to shut it down. It doesn't malfunction. It performs. And they want you to think it's your fault, that you didn't work hard enough. You didn't save enough. You didn't budget better. But this wasn't a mistake. This was engineered. Recovery isn't for you.

It's for them. They don't force you into the cage. They let you choose it. From 2000 to 2014, the middle class shrank in 203 out of 229 major metro areas. In manufacturing towns, jobs fell by up to 51%. Meanwhile, tech hubs and financial centers got richer. If you're not in one of those zones, the bomb hit you twice as well. hard. 65% of middle-class Americans say they're struggling. Seventy-three percent say they can't save.

Some have just $125 left at month's end after doing everything right. This isn't about money. It's about dignity, freedom, control. Meanwhile, online, everybody's living their best life. Nobody wants to see you working. They want to see you spending. Work is invisible. Flexing is king. Now listen, Trump has a plan, and I'm a believer, and I'm a supporter. And I'm a support. order. And I'm hoping he gets it right. He wants to bring jobs back. He wants to reshore factories, break the cycle. And my prayers are with him. And maybe it'll work. Maybe. God willing, but fingers are crossed. But don't bet your life on a maybe. You need a plan B. Now. Right now, world leaders are blown up Trump's phone. 50 countries knocking, trying to cut deals. This isn't just policy. It's

poker at the global level. And if he pulls it off, we could see, the biggest U.S. export boom in history. But if this goes sideways, if tariff stick and inflation surges, the middle class gets newped again. So what do you do? You own assets. But first, understand the trap most people fall into. They don't own real estate. They sign up for a 30-year job.

Most people move every five to seven years. And every time that they do, the mortgage resets. And thanks to amortization, they've mostly just paid interest to the bank. bank. You didn't buy a house. You bought a payment. You bought obedience. That's not ownership. That's renting from a lender. The right property sets you free. The wrong one locks you in for life. Now, you own assets. You control income. You stop trading hours for dollars. That's real estate. The right way. Rents, they rise with inflation. Debt gets cheaper. Taxes lower. Cash flow monthly. Shane, a guy in my Mastermind Group traded his beat-up house in San Francisco for 20 rentals. Now he makes $20,000 a month.

While he sleeps, Omar, a student of mine, retired by 40 with $8,700 a month because he stopped playing defense. They stopped listening to people who said, it's too risky. The real risk, plan it's safe. Now, let me guess. Some finance bro is in your ear saying, just keep dollar cost averaging. Stay calm. The market. It always recovers. And yeah, historically, That's true. But recovery only helps the people who buy during the crash, and that's never the middle class. While you're panicking, they're buying your fear at a discount. They scoop up assets, use leverage, and they stack income. You just write it out. Because that's what you were told to do. Don't panic. Keep contributing. And no one's blaming you for that. Meanwhile,

your fund manager just took 1% off the top. Again, let's be real. Dollar, cost averaging isn't a wealth plan. It's a coping mechanism. The rich don't diversify. They dominate. They don't stay the course. They build the course. And if you don't figure that out, you'll keep missing every opportunity they feast on. We just had another one slip right underneath our nose. We've been conditioned to think like a prisoner. Save instead of build. Diversify instead of go deep. Play it safe instead of take control. That's not safety. That's sedation. Hard work used to be noble. Now it's invisible. And get this, since 1970, American workers have become nearly five times more productive, but wages flat. That split wasn't an accident. It was a

decision. They realized they didn't have to pay you more. They just had to sell you harder on why it's worth it. People don't respect effort. They envy ownership. And ownership, that's the playbook. leverage, debt, cash flow, not magic, just method. Here's what to do. Educate yourself, pick your strategy, start small, stack experience, join a network already playing the same game, and never stop moving because the bomb already dropped, but you, you're still standing, and if you can see the truth, you can escape the fallout. You've got 12, maybe 18 months, maybe, before this explodes again, because here's what's coming. The Fed is cutting rates. Not because things are good, but because the pressure's too high.

They need to buy time. But when rates hit zero again, and they will, inflation won't creep back in. It'll blast back in. And the rich, they'll be fine. They already own the assets. But the middle class, still sitting in cash, they'll get nuked. Again, they call it the great meltup, and you don't want to be holding the bag when it hits. This time, you saw it coming.

This economy, it's the Titanic. Don't rearrange the deck chairs. Don't try to save it. Find your lifeboat. And that guy I had lunch with. I haven't spoken to him since. But what he said changed how I see everything. And if you want the same steps,

the step by step that I use to build cash flow, there's a free guide linked below, the frustrated investors guide to passive income. This economy was never meant to set you free. It was designed to feed on your effort, your dreams, your belief that things would just work out. And now that you know the truth, what are you going to do with it?

Don't just survive this economy. Beat it. I'll see you next time. Take care. And that wraps up the epic show. If you found this episode valuable, who else do you know that might too? There's a really good chance you know someone else who would. And when their name comes to mind, please share it with them and ask them to click the

subscribe button when they get here and I'll take great care of them. God loves you and so do I. Health, peace, blessings, and success to you. I'm Matt Terrio. Living the Dream. Yeah, yeah, we got the cash flow. You didn't know, home for us, we got the cash flow. This podcast is a part of the C-suite Radio Network.

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