I genuinely think we've lost our sense of what money actually is.

Especially online.

And ESPECIALLY Gen Z — the Mr. and Mrs. Know-It-Alls. 😂

My generation has somehow become financial advisors, investment analysts, tax professionals, wealth managers and accountants all at the same fucking time.

And there's one contradiction that perfectly explains what I'm talking about.

You'll have somebody sitting at home watching a 30-minute YouTube video about investing.

They're learning about compound interest.

401(k)s.

Index funds.

Roth IRAs.

They're punching numbers into a retirement calculator thinking:

“Okay, if I invest this much every month for the next 30 years…”

And their goal?

Maybe $1 million.

Maybe $2 million.

Maybe a few million if everything goes really well.

And they'll tell themselves:

“Man, if I could retire with $2–3 million, I'd be perfectly fine.”

Which is true!

That's a great fucking position to be in.

Then they'll close the video.

Open social media.

See an athlete who's made $20 million throughout their career and suddenly:

“Ehhh… $20 million really isn't THAT much money.”

BRO.

😂😂😂

You JUST watched a 30-minute YouTube video about how you're going to carefully invest every month for the next 30 YEARS so you can hopefully retire with a fraction of that.

But somebody else makes $20 million and suddenly:

“Ehhh… that's really not that much money.”

WHAT? 😂

That's exactly what I mean when I say we've lost our sense of money.

Because somehow the value of money completely changes depending on whose pocket we're talking about.

If it's your future $2 million?

Life-changing.

Financial freedom.

Generational wealth.

Retirement secured.

“If I can just average 8%…” 😂

If it's somebody else's $20 million?

“Well actually, after federal taxes, state taxes, agent fees, inflation, lifestyle expenses…”

Here we fucking go.

And that brings me to one of the internet's favorite financial statements:

“He better invest that shit or he's gonna be BROKE.”

Okay.

Obviously investing is smart.

Obviously managing your money is important.

Obviously there are people who've made millions and eventually lost it.

But somewhere along the way, that reasonable advice transformed into:

“If you don't turn your $20 million into $100 million, you're basically a financial failure.”

Bro.

What the fuck happened?

Since When Was $20 Million “Only” $20 Million?

That's the disconnect I'm talking about.

We've become so desensitized to seeing enormous numbers online that people casually talk about money they would consider life-changing in their own lives like it's pocket change when it belongs to somebody else.

And again:

If your goal is to retire with $1–2 million?

I'm not laughing at that.

That's a fucking accomplishment.

If anything, that's why the contradiction is so ridiculous.

You already understand the power of a million dollars.

You understand how long it can take an average person to accumulate it.

You understand why you're investing.

You understand compound growth.

You understand what having a few million dollars could mean for your security.

But apparently when somebody else has ten times that amount, your brain goes:

“Meh.”

😂

$5 million?

“That's not really rich anymore.”

$20 million?

“Taxes take half bro.”

$50 million?

“If he doesn't invest he's going broke.”

$75 million in career earnings?

“That's really not that much when you think about it.”

YES THE FUCK IT IS.

😂

Can we regain some perspective?

Investing Is Smart. That's Not My Argument.

Before somebody completely misses the point:

Yes. Invest your money.

Save.

Diversify.

Plan for your future.

Don't increase your lifestyle every single time your income increases.

Don't spend recklessly because you assume the checks will never stop.

All great advice.

But there's this misconception online that money apparently stops being valuable unless you're constantly multiplying it.

If somebody earns $20 million, manages it responsibly, lives comfortably and never turns it into $100 million…

They're fine.

😂

Every dollar doesn't have to become five dollars.

You are allowed to actually use the money you worked for.

The purpose of investing should be creating security and accomplishing whatever financial goals matter to you.

Not participating in some infinite internet competition where apparently nobody is ever rich enough.

The “Better Invest or Go Broke” Shit

This phrase specifically fascinates me.

Because you'll see it underneath almost every athlete contract announcement.

Player signs for $30 million.

“BETTER INVEST.”

Player makes $70 million.

“He'll be broke five years after retirement.”

Player buys an expensive car.

“This is why athletes go broke.”

Player buys his mom a house.

Somebody somewhere:

“Should've put that into an index fund.”

😂😂😂

DAWG.

Can this motherfucker enjoy ANYTHING?

Financial responsibility matters.

But we've somehow turned investing from good financial planning into this weird moral superiority contest.

You don't know their portfolio.

You don't know what they own.

You don't know their expenses.

You don't know what businesses they've invested in.

You don't know what's sitting in trusts.

You don't know what their advisor has them doing.

You don't even know how much fucking cash they have.

You saw an Instagram picture of a Lamborghini.

That's it.

Which Brings Me to the Pocket Watching

This is where I think it gets genuinely weird.

It's not even:

“I hope this person manages their money correctly.”

It's:

“I can't wait until he's broke.”

Whoa.

😂

Where the FUCK did that energy come from?

And I'm genuinely asking.

Because I don't remember people being this comfortable publicly hoping somebody financially destroys themselves.

There's almost an excitement behind it now.

Somebody signs a massive contract and instead of:

“Damn, congratulations.”

It's immediately:

“Taxes.”

“Agent fees.”

“Family gonna take half.”

“He'll blow it.”

“Give him ten years.”

Why are you already writing this man's bankruptcy fan fiction?

😂

The Hatred Is What Makes It Different

That's what bothers me more than the financial advice itself.

Because some of it doesn't feel like advice.

It feels like projection.

There's almost this HOPE that somebody loses the money.

Because then the person watching gets to say:

“SEE! I TOLD YOU!”

And what exactly did you win?

Another human being lost everything and now you get an internet victory lap?

That's fucking weird.

You can dislike somebody.

You can think they're irresponsible.

You can think they signed a bad deal.

You can even predict that they're making poor financial decisions.

But actually hoping somebody goes broke?

I don't know, man.

That energy has gotten strange.

Maybe Contracts Should Be Private Again 😂

I'm halfway joking.

But only halfway.

Because I genuinely wonder what constantly seeing everybody else's money has done to our perception of it.

Athlete signs:

4 years / $84,000,000

Celebrity sells company:

$200 MILLION

Founder raises:

$50 MILLION

Creator says:

“How I Made $100K This Month.”

Then you scroll again.

And again.

And again.

Eventually these numbers stop feeling real.

That's probably part of the problem.

You see $20 million enough times and suddenly:

“Eh. Only $20 million.”

Meanwhile if $20 million appeared in somebody's checking account tomorrow they'd throw their fucking phone across the room.

😂

Public contracts are interesting.

I enjoy seeing them too.

But maybe having everybody's compensation turned into public entertainment has unintentionally created an entire generation of professional pocket watchers.

Career Earnings Aren't the Same as Cash in the Bank

And there's an important distinction here.

If somebody has $20 million in career earnings, that doesn't mean they currently have $20 million sitting in checking.

Taxes exist.

Agents exist.

Managers exist.

Expenses exist.

Lifestyle exists.

Investment gains and losses exist.

Different contracts are structured differently.

So yes, the actual retained amount can be substantially lower.

That's fair.

But that doesn't magically turn tens of millions of dollars of gross earnings into nothing.

Both things can be true.

See how easy unbiased perspective is? 😂

Social Media Has Destroyed Our Financial Scale

I think this extends beyond athletes too.

Normal people are watching:

Million-dollar houses.

$200,000 cars.

Private jets.

$50,000 watches.

$30,000 vacations.

People claiming $100K months.

People claiming $1 million years.

Every.

Single.

Day.

Your grandparents might've known one genuinely wealthy person.

You can watch 500 of them before lunch.

Of course that's going to fuck with your perception.

Suddenly a normal house looks small.

A normal salary feels embarrassing.

A normal car feels cheap.

A million dollars somehow feels like nothing.

And that's dangerous.

Because $1 million is still $1 million.

$100,000 is still $100,000.

$10,000 is still $10,000.

And yes:

$20 fucking million is still $20 fucking million. 😂

Money Is Supposed to Serve Your Life

This is what gets lost in all the investment talk.

What's the end goal?

Seriously.

You invest $1 million so it becomes $2 million.

Then $2 million becomes $5 million.

Then $5 million becomes $10 million.

Then what?

More?

At some point money is supposed to provide something.

Security.

Freedom.

Experiences.

A home.

Time with your family.

Opportunities for your kids.

The ability to pursue something you actually care about.

Whatever matters to you.

Building wealth is great.

But wealth accumulation doesn't need to become an endless video game where the score is never high enough.

Regain Your Sense of Money

That's really my point.

Invest.

Save.

Build businesses.

Own assets.

Learn financial literacy.

Do all of that shit.

But don't become so consumed by internet wealth that you lose perspective on what these numbers actually represent.

And definitely don't become so obsessed with somebody else's pockets that you're sitting around hoping they go broke.

You don't know their finances.

You don't know their plan.

You don't know their investments.

You don't know their obligations.

You saw a contract number and three Instagram posts.

Relax, Warren Buffett.

😂

Because when somebody can make tens of millions of dollars and your immediate reaction is:

“That's not really enough…”

while you're simultaneously building your entire personal retirement strategy around hopefully having a few million yourself one day…

I don't know what else to tell you.

We've completely lost our fucking sense of money.