George Kamel - I Ticked Off A Million People...

Episode Date: March 15, 2024

💵 Sign up for EveryDollar today - Create a free Budget!  In today’s video, I respond to the haters who gave me grief over what I think it means to be middle class. Plus, you’ll learn what you can do if you're still struggling to make ends meet.   Next Steps 📗 Order George Kamel’s new book, Breaking Free From Broke. The YouTube Short That Started This Mess  How I Went From Broke to Millionaire in Under 10 Years Offers From Today's Sponsors DeleteMe: This episode is sponsored by DeleteMe. 🔒 Remove your personal information from the web at JoinDeleteMe.com/George and use code GEORGE for 20% off 🙌   🎙️ The Ramsey Show   🍸 Smart Money Happy Hour 💡 The Rachel Cruze Show 💸 The Ramsey Show Highlights 🧠 The Dr. John Delony Show 💼 The Ken Coleman Show 📈 EntreLeadership   Ramsey Solutions Privacy Policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Well, it's Friday, and you know what that means, I've ticked off another million people in the comments section. What was it this time? Did I tell someone not to spend half a million dollars on a wedding? Nope, been there. I'm sorry, hold the phones. You said $500,000 for a wedding? Did I tell someone to sell their horse?

Nay, tried that one. There's other horses out there. It doesn't even know your name. This time, all I did was give a dose of reality to the middle class, and the haters came out of the woodwork. There were over 1,000 comments, and it says, And it seemed like most people just wanted to tell me why I was wrong. So in today's video, I'll tell you what it really means to be middle class,

and I'll respond to some of the haters who trauma dumped on the comments section like they did to Elmo when he just simply asked how everyone was doing. Give the little guy a break. He was just checking in. He's three and a half years old for crying out loud, perpetually three and a half years old. I'm sorry, Elmo. You deserve better.

We will do better. Anywho, before we get to it, do me a face. and subscribe to this channel, like this video, and share it with all of your friends who can tell you exactly how to get to Sesame Street without Google Maps or printing on a MapQuest, if you know you know, Grandma. All right, the first thing we need to do here

is ask the question, what does it even mean to be middle class in today's world? Is there an official definition? Is there a certain salary range that puts you there? Well, there's not really a clear definition that everyone agrees on, so it's kind of hard to say exactly what it is. Kind of like the brown stuff at the end of the buffet, Golden Corral.

Jury's still out on that. Some people say middle class is determined by income, and they define it as the middle three-fifths of the people on the nation's income ladder. So the first fifth would be considered lower class, the top one-fifth, upper-class, and everyone in between is middle. That's how middle works. Because every... For our purposes, we're going to go with the Pew Research Center's definition of middle class,

which is having at least two-thirds of the national median income all the way up to two times the national median income for your household size. And that group makes up half. of the U.S. population. Now, I know that sounds a little complicated, but you don't need to worry about doing the math because they have a handy-dandy little calculator that you can use to see if you're considered middle class based on where you live. And we'll get to that in just a moment. But first, let's take a quick look at the clip that made so many people lose their minds in the first place. How absurd is the statement that $100,000 salary is the new watermark for middle class? If you're drowning in payments, you'll never have enough. Right. If you have the average car payment, which is over $700, you've got the average student loan payment over $400, you're drowning in credit card debt, which could easily be $100, $200, $300 for the minimum payment. You start to add all of this up on top of a mortgage that you weren't ready for. Right. Because you said, well, I'm paying $2,000 in rent. Why not pay $2 grand for the mortgage? Right. Except it's not apples to apples. Home ownership has a lot more expenses built in that that make it wildly expensive. So when you add in all that, all of a sudden you go, $100,000 is not enough. And we see the stats. You know, people making six figures, a third of them live paycheck to paycheck. Yeah.

And you're going, if I made six figures, I would never... Listen, lifestyle creep is real. Because guess what? You have to play the part of the six figure salary. I got to say, like that guy. Weird hand gestures. Some going on in the face region, but he had good things to say. And for that, I commend him.

And here's the thing. A lot of people in the comments did not understand that when I said you have to play the part of the six figure salary, it was in jest. It was sarcasm. course I know you don't have to play the part. I'm saying this is what people do. They make more money and they spend more money and they prop up their lifestyle even when times get tough and then they go into debt. And I think a lot of people got mad at this video because truthfully, they're struggling with money problems and they feel powerless against it. They feel like their financial situation is entirely

due to circumstances that are beyond their control. And that's why they hang out in comment sections on the internet instead of, I don't know, doing something about it. But I already did something today. And then here I am, boldly suggesting that they have more controlled than they think, and it makes them more upset than a pit bull breeder at an HOA meeting. So they start unloading in the comments section, giving me grief. And when I say giving me grief, I mean, literally, they are going through the five stages of grief right there in the comment section for everyone to see. Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and yes, even acceptance.

Namaste. So let's classify these comments by the five stages of grief in a little segment we're calling, Where's the grief? Okay, our first comment comes from P. Cyrus. $700 a month for a car? I call BS. All right. Sounds like P. Cyrus is in denial,

which is the first stage of grief. And I get it. You don't even want to consider the possibility that I could be right about this, so if you discredit my numbers, you don't have to face the facts. But listen, I'm not pulling these numbers out of my tukas. You're watching.

In fact, I was low-balling it. The average car payment right now in America is $739 a month. And that, my friend, is a fact, not my opinion. So just because you don't have a payment that high doesn't mean that the average person doesn't. And if you think this financial picture I'm painting here is absurd, go listen to the Ramsey Show for like 30 minutes.

And you'll see this is sadly a normal situation for a lot of people. So you can question a lot of things about me, and trust me, my mother does. But don't question my numbers, because your boy is sourced. I will never doubt you again. Okay, let's look at another comment. Tyler McEacher in 3085 says, we'll ignore the fact that in the last 30 to 40 years,

we've gone from the average house costing 1.5 years of the average salary to the average house costing about five years of the average salary. But yeah, we're all lazy and irresponsible. All right, first of all, very Tyler energy here. Sensing some anger, which is the second stage of grief. I don't know if angry is even a big enough word for how I feel. So good for you, Tyler. You're one step closer to realizing I'm right.

Now look, I get it. Tyler has a point. Houses are way more expensive than they used to be. Interest rates are higher than they have been in the last several years. Your beef jerky costs about, you know, three bucks an ounce now instead of back in the day when it costs a dollar an ounce. But at some point, you gotta stop blaming the economy and the boomers and whatever else you think is holding you back and actually do something about your situation. You're not helpless.

And yes, the best time to buy a house was 50 years ago. But the next best time is now. Because if history tells us anything, houses will be more expensive five years from now than they are today. So the sooner we stop saying, woe is me, and the sooner we get financially ready to buy a home and lock in that price, the better. Because that victim mentality is not going to get you any closer to home ownership. And speaking of victims, have you ever been a victim of identity theft? Because I have. And let me tell you, it is a doozy to get things straightened out.

And that's why now I keep my personal info away from these data broker websites with a service called Delete Me. Delete Me found and removed data about me from a plethora of these sites, and they sent me an easy-to-read report outlining what they did. With my special code, you can get a one-year plan for less than $9 a month to help keep your personal info safe on the web. So go to join deleteme.com slash George today for that 20% off code or just click the link in the description. That's join delete me.com slash George. All right, let's get to the next comment about why I'm wrong about the middle class. Nocturna 83 says it also depends on where you live.

100K in New York are different from 100K in Oklahoma. And you know what? This sounds like the third stage of brief right here. bargaining. Does it? Sort of. Just go with me. I'm having fun with this thing.

So yes, you're right, Nocturna. It are different. Obviously, if you make 100,000, your money's not going to go as far in New York as it will in Oklahoma. It's not apples to apples, or big apples to, uh, I don't know, what's Oklahoma known for? Wind? It's big apples to wind. My Oklahomies, keep it breezy. Easy, peasy, lemon squeasy.

While cost of living is the main issue here, it's not the only issue. You see your lifestyle, behavior, and poor money. choices can also keep you feeling broke no matter where you live. So TLDR, you're not just entitled to live wherever you want to live and comfortably afford your best life. Sorry to hurt your feelings. I can't believe you would say that to me. All right, moving on. This next comment is from yet another Tyler. What is up with all the Tyler's in the comment section? Here's what Tyler number two has to say. I make 41,500 a year. I get home with 30,700. I have a government job with great benefits, my car payments 200, and I rent by myself. I struggle to keep one month

of emergency funds. I'm constantly thinking about a side hustle, but after work, the thought just makes me want to take a nap. I haven't left my apartment to do anything other than grocery shop or visit my dad in the hospital in two years. I'm sure that if I trim up my budget, I can save $100 per paycheck to get a mill when I'm 70, but I feel like that is stupid if you will never own a home or afford a single vacation. I think I'll just keep smoking and let the taxpayers pay for my cancer when it's over. Wow, I'm going to put this one in the fourth stage of grief, which is depression. Now, Tyler, I'm truly sorry to hear what you're going through and your dad's health. That sucks. But I got to give it to you. With your snarky run-on sentences, your next side hustle could be writing

headlines for BuzzFeed. Think about it. And it sounds like you've had a rough go of it lately, and that's not fun. And you might feel like there's no hope right now, but I'm telling you, there is a way forward. This is a season and it will get better. You just need a plan and you need to stick to it. So check out the seven baby steps because these financial steps they really work. And I know this because I hear from people all the time who have followed this plan to get out of debt and build real wealth and stop this cycle of stress and paycheck to paycheck. And it's also the plan that I use to go from negative net worth to millionaire. So check it out. I'll drop a link below if you want to learn more about those steps. Our last comment comes from

Echo Papa Stream who says, he said it, lifestyle creep. You can live a great life on 100,000 if you don't get greedy. Thank you. Thank you, comment section. We finally made it to the fifth stage of grief. Acceptance. Let's all start clapping. Thank you, Echo Papa, for echoing my comment. I couldn't agree more. Lifestyle creep is a huge problem, and that's what I was getting at with this video. And Lifestyle Creep, also a great name for an early 2000 suburban emo band. New band name I call it. Now, back to that calculator from the Pew Research Center. Let's plug in some numbers to see if the haters were right about needing $100,000 to be middle class. So what I'm going to do is see, hey, if you make $100,000 in Oklahoma versus New York City,

what does it mean for your socioeconomic class? So I'm going to go down to my Oklahomies. What's a part of, okay, Oklahoma City, and we're making $100,000, one person in my household. You are in the upper income tier, along with 18% of adults in Oklahoma City. So there you go. $100,000 in Oklahoma means you are technically upper class. Let's even increase the people in your household to two, and you become middle class. New York City coming up next, and if you don't know where that is, it's in the state of New York.

And I think that's helpful to name things after where they are. All right, making $100,000 in New York City classifies you as middle class. Now, what would it take to be upper class in an ultra-high cost of living area like New York? Let's see. Let's see if I bump it up to 130, and I'm all of a sudden in upper class. Let's see, 120. Still upper class. 110. Upper class. Let's say 105. Upper class. 103?

Middle class. Take that. So to live the upper class life, according to Pew Research, you need to make $104,000 in New York. And even then, that's upper class. And you can still live a great life in middle class. So what have I learned today? Well, I've learned that you don't need $100,000 salary to exist in today's America. Now, is it going to be easier to have a higher income, especially if you're in a higher cost of living area? Absolutely.

But there's nothing wrong with being middle class. That's just saying, I am, along with most of my peers, living a comfortable life. Now, upper class in a lot of places means you've got to be making high six figures. And the good news is you don't need to make high six figures to accomplish your money goals. And if you feel like $100,000 is not enough to live on, it could be pointing to other issues like debt, overspending, or trying to live in an ultra-high cost of living area when you don't have the income to sustain that.

So all of these things are in your control, where you choose to live, the amount of debt you choose to keep around, and your lifestyle, which is good news, because that means you can actually do something about it. Unlike who's on the presidential ballot this year, which that angry old ship has sailed, I think. What you gotta tell Joe Biven right now?

Bring me to the White House, baby. So yes, if you have the average amount of debt, the average car payment, the average student loan payment, the average lifestyle, you will feel broke. Because the average lifestyle is expensive, irresponsible, and unsustainable. Average sucks. Do not be average. Instead, live on less than you make, create a budget and tell your money what to do, increase your income, get a side hustle, even if it's just for a season to get your feet under you. Deliver the pizza, take on the overtime, cut the unnecessary expenses so that you can create some margin. And whatever you do, don't get stuck in this victim mindset like we see in the comments section. Because if you truly believe you'll never get ahead, you probably won't.

And just like Henry Ford once said, whether you think you can or you think you can't, you're right. It's either Henry Ford or Lizzo. I always get those two mixed up. Now, trust me, I understand. Not long ago, I was average in every way possible, except height, unfortunately. And being average left me broke. And then I learned to take control of my money. And I went from broke to millionaire in less than 10 years with some intentionality and a plan.

Check out this video if you want to know exactly how I did it. I'll also link it below. As always, don't forget to like, subscribe, and share this video with someone who's still going through the five stages of grief after finding out that Snoop Dog's real name is Calvin. Thanks for watching. We'll see you next time.