This is me.
$20,000 in debt,
head in hands, feeling like a complete failure.
And this is me,
five years later,
a successful businessman
(bell dings) worth over a million dollars.
So, what happened in those five years
that turned me from a complete loser
into an absolute G, and how can you do the same?
(music abruptly stops) This is where step one
comes in.
You need to understand (lettering buzzes)
your debt.
As many of you know, (dramatic upbeat music)
I came from a working class background.
There was never much food on the table
when I was growing up, (film reel clicks)
let alone money.
I mean, I often relied on extra meals
cooked by my friend's mother after school.
I was a prime target for the system.
You see, they target people with poor financial knowledge
and turn them into debt slaves.
(music abruptly stops) This is how they got me.
I'd managed to save up (gentle upbeat music)
a small amount of money and decided to go shopping.
I remember spending what felt like ages,
trying to decide between two different outfits
as I could only afford one.
(uplifting upbeat music) The sales assistant noticed
my struggle and came up to me,
suggesting that I could have both outfits.
She offered a solution, signing up
for the store credit card, which would give me
a 10% discount, and I wouldn't have to pay anything
for a whole month.
As a result, I opted to
max out the credit card (bell dings)
to make the most of the discount.
(thunder crashes) I certainly didn't know
the mess I was getting myself into.
I simply made the required credit card payments every month
and continued to work my normal day job
as a carpenter. (film reel clicks)
I used to travel to work on a moped,
but after experiencing one winter,
I decided that I didn't wanna continue doing that.
I needed to get a car before the next winter arrived.
(film reel clicks) When I went to the bank
to get the car loan,
I met a very helpful guy who worked there
named Steve. (film reel clicks)
He actually even offered me more money than I needed
just in case I wanted to add any upgrades to the car
when I bought it. (film reel clicks)
I thought that was so generous and helpful.
I spent the extra money on one of the latest stereos.
It was banging, and for three months,
(film reel clicks) I had the time of my life
in my beautiful VW Gol.
Then disaster struck. (dramatic upbeat music)
The engine blew up.
I had no money, (film reel clicks)
and if I didn't get my car fixed, I'd lose my job.
I asked Steve in the bank for another loan
to buy a new engine, and he was only too happy to help.
Good old Steve.
He was like my best mate, getting me outta trouble.
Although I knew the amount I'd borrowed
was becoming quite substantial,
I avoided checking the balance
because it made me feel depressed.
Instead, I decided to work hard for the next six months
to make the required payments.
The moment of truth arrived,
and I was actually excited to see
how much progress I'd made.
It had been a tough six months, but I knew
it was all for a purpose.
First, I checked my store credit card,
and I was shocked to see that I still owed
the same amount of money,
$1,000 (bell dings)
from over a year ago.
This led me to investigate the car loans.
I still owed most of what I'd borrowed
with amounts of $6,000 (bell dings)
and $3,000. (bell dings)
In today's money,
that's over $20,000 (bell dings)
racked up in the space of just over a year
and was more than my annual salary.
This was one of the lowest points in my life.
At that moment, I vowed to myself that I would fix this
and never let myself get in this situation again.
I had truly hit rock bottom,
and I had nothing more to lose.
This is when I initiated step two,
which is cut all costs. (lettering buzzes)
Now, I know this sounds cliche,
as you've probably heard it hundreds of times before,
but if you are in a similar situation to what I was in
or even just broke and trying to become rich, then you need
(music abruptly stops) to take this
extremely seriously.
(upbeat music) First, I created
a comprehensive list of all my possessions,
expenses, and debts. (film reel clicks)
Then I sold anything that didn't significantly contribute
to my life and cut out minor luxuries
like going out for ice cream after work.
I focused all my energy on paying down the loan
with the highest interest rate,
which happened to be my store credit card.
This method makes the most sense to me
because by prioritizing the highest interest rate debts,
you are able to save more money in the long term.
Even though I wasn't spending money on my wants,
I still considered investing a small amount every month
into low cost index funds as a priority.
I knew if I was able to put away $100 per month
for 45 years, and get a 10% average yearly return,
then I'd have over
a million dollars. (bell dings)
Of course, I was just basing this
on historical returns of the S&P 500,
and it wasn't guaranteed and still isn't.
Back in my day, you had to
(film reel clicks) call up your stockbroker
to make a trade, but now it's very simple,
and it can all be done from your phone.
One of my favorite apps to use is Lightyear
because they give you access to over 3,500 stocks and ETFs
from all over the world,
all with a very user-friendly interface,
and they're kindly sponsoring this portion of the video.
Even if you're new to investing, you'll find a wealth
of data and information on brands and funds
that you want to invest in.
This makes it easier to make confident informed decisions
about your investments.
Another great thing about Lightyear is that
it's now available on the web allowing you to buy,
sell, and research stocks from the big screen.
Interestingly, Lightyear is one of the cheapest platforms
out there for long-term investing.
They're driven to keep costs low
so that more people can access their services
without eating into your returns.
I mean, check out their pricing page.
Lightyear is now available in 20 plus countries
throughout Europe, so if you're watching this
from a country that spends the pound or Euro,
it's available to you right now,
and if you sign up with my code Tilbury
and make your first trade,
Lightyear will send you a $10 fractional share
of your choice.
How cool is that?
But let me remind you,
investing always carries a risk,
and the value of any investment can decrease
as well as increase, so be sure to invest wisely,
and do your research.
(dramatic music) Even doing all of this,
I wasn't paying off my debts fast enough.
I realized you can only cut out so much.
The real key is to make more money.
That's when step three becomes important,
which is to sell your time (lettering buzzes)
and flip items.
(music abruptly stops) Flipping items is
an incredible way to generate extra money.
If you don't have anything of your own to sell,
you can always flip your friend's items
and take a share of the profit for your hard work.
Of course, make (laughs) sure to ask their permission
before you sell off any of their stuff.
(upbeat music) I first came to
this conclusion when I used my sales skills to sell my car,
the VW Gol, for more than what it was worth.
(film reel clicks) Later, I bought another car,
a Ford Escort Mark II, for a low price.
Before I knew it,
a coworker expressed interest in buying it.
He asked, "Do you wanna sell it?"
(film reel clicks) To which I replied,
"Depends how much you wanna pay for it."
He offered me nearly 40% (bell dings)
more than I paid for it, making it a no-brainer to sell.
(film reel clicks) Then I realized,
I was potentially sitting on
a gold mine, (bell dings)
so I kept buying and selling them.
I only ever bought the cars I was happy to keep.
So, if I was stuck with one for a while,
then I didn't mind.
There are hidden gems like this car dealership
all over the place.
They may be DIY stores or plumbers.
You name it, they've all got stock they can't sell.
You just have to go out and look.
Obviously, this side hustle helped pay down my debt,
but I still needed more
(clock ticks) so I started selling
as much of my time as possible.
If there was any overtime available at work,
I'll take it, and I even got a part-time job
on Saturday afternoon working in a model shop.
In the first year of doing this,
I turned my negative debt figure into a positive one.
In the process, acquired the taste for hustling.
Now,
(music abruptly stops) I wanted more.
That brings me to step four,
(lettering buzzes) become skilled.
(upbeat music) Skills are the only thing
you truly own.
They can't be taken away from you by the government
or a divorce.
They are your biggest asset,
and they're overlooked by everyone
with a get rich quick mindset.
I wouldn't be surprised if many people switch off
the video at this point.
(film reel clicks) Most people simply want
to invest their money and become millionaires
without having to do any of the work.
(film reel clicks) Unfortunately,
that's not how the real world works.
You aren't owed anything, and if you're not super rich,
you'll have to put in the hard work and long nights.
(music abruptly stops) You're not special,
but you can be in the future.
(gentle music) Working part-time
in a model shop allowed me to develop
a variety of different skills.
Once I'd mastered some of these skills,
I created a little book of contacts
of people interested in model helicopter servicing
and radio control flying lessons.
I was able to fit these side hustles into my Sundays,
but the key here is
they were paying me for my expertise and not my labor.
(upbeat music) Skilled individuals
with a strong work ethic are highly sought after,
and there are many positions available for them.
You need to find something that is valued by the market
and focus on it until you become one of the best.
Once you do, the laws of supply and demand will ensure
that money flows to you without end.
I'm talking about video editing, copywriting,
sales, property sourcing, and many more.
Just choose one and master it.
It may take knocking on 1,000 doors
to get your first big break, but after that,
you'll start to build up experience and case studies
that you can use to propel yourself forward.
This will get you in a position to follow step five,
which is buy assets. (lettering buzzes)
As I started to climb the ranks of wealth,
I noticed something.
Poor people buy expensive things
that are almost certainly gonna be worth nothing
in the future, such as designer clothes,
while rich people buy things that offer great value
for money for an almost (film reel clicks)
guaranteed return on investment in the future.
I always dreamed of being an entrepreneur,
and as I've shared many times before,
my friend actually stole my business plan.
Luckily, this didn't go very well for him,
and the shop was doing very badly.
I saw this and thought to myself,
"If I could buy that business,
"I know I could turn it around."
I was also pretty sure I could get a good deal as well.
So I negotiated a price with him
and then agreed to pay him over a six-month period.
I still didn't have enough money,
so I went to the bank to get a loan,
but this time, I knew exactly
what I was getting myself into.
It was much harder to get approved for this,
but I did manage it in the end.
But instead of thinking they're being so nice
for giving me the money and being my friend,
I viewed the bank as they actually are:
a business like any other out to make a profit.
Remember (music abruptly stops)
Steve, he's not your friend.
I managed to turn that business around
and open up more shops, start my own brand
of radio control models,
and sell all over the world and build an empire
of real estate, but if you wanna see that story,
I'll leave that video right up there,
but don't click on it just yet.
Make sure to subscribe if you wanna grow your wealth.
Okay, (clicks tongue) I'll see you over there.