My rich nerd,

We had a caller on our live show who lost $114,000 in 1 year, but not in the ways you think. Let's break it down.

The Stats 🔢 💸
Zac is a 28-year-old project manager in Ontario, Canada, making $9,600/mo net. Amazing income! But it gets better, then worse.

He drives a Lexus RX with a $16K loan at 6.1% and spends $4,000 a month on everything, leaving him with $5,000. Sounds great so far. However, 1 year ago, Zac had $124,000 in savings. Today, he has $10,000, but he didn't YOLO it on cryptocurrency, Fortnite skins, or gambling.

The Problem 🚨
Zac has been paying the “nice guy tax”. He cannot say no to friends and family in need. Car about to get repossessed? Call Zac. Behind on rent? Call Zac. Random crisis that somehow only gets solved with someone else's money? You already know who they're calling…and it’s not Ghostbusters.

He said it best himself: "I don't want to be nice no more." Correction: He can still be nice, BUT also set boundaries.

The Patch ✅
Ironically, his stats (numbers) are not the problem. Investing $5K per month over 30 years at a 7% average return after inflation is around $6M

Zach is not cooked. He can catch up embarrassingly fast. The hard part is having difficult conversations with family and friends. Here's a quick (general) script you can use:
“I’m really sorry you’re dealing with this. I can’t contribute money anymore, but I’m happy to help in another way, like making a plan, finding resources, helping with resumes, driving you to interviews, etc.”

The hardest part is handling pushback. You've been feeding a beast for the last year, and it may not go down quietly. Guilt trips, the silent treatment, maybe an "I thought you cared about me" or two are to be expected. You’re not a bad person. You’re setting boundaries. It’s not your job to fix people’s problems. It’s your job to support your loved ones as they fix their own problems. Once you learn this skill, life becomes much more peaceful.

Watch how Zac responds to this advice in the full conversation 👇