THE FINANCIAL SYSTEMS THAT KEEP US POOR
Do you feel like debt consumes your life? Are you searching for a way out that doesn’t simply require you to work harder for more hours?
Today’s guest has always felt differently about money since inadvertently starting his own business at age 17. Earning money without a degree helped open him up to a new possibility that changed his career path forever.
Today’s guest is Jaspreet Singh, a business owner, investor, and YouTube sensation. This episode is a fascinating discussion about what keeps people poor, the rule of debt, what you can do with your credit card debt today, the psychology of investing, an abundance versus poor mindset, and so much more!
If you feel overwhelmed by your current financial situation, this episode is for you! Let’s jump straight in.
Who Is Jaspreet Singh?
Jaspreet Singh, otherwise known as the Minority Mindset, is a qualified attorney, investor, and CEO of both Market Briefs and Market Insider. Although he didn’t receive any formal financial education, he is on a mission to make financial education fun and accessible. His brand has helped countless people get out of debt, start investing, and create a plan for building wealth.
Jaspreet has always thought about money differently, starting in high school. He worked at Indian weddings and became friendly with the DJs, many of whom pushed him to host a teen party for his friends. As someone who didn’t party, drink alcohol or even smoke, Jaspreet started university with a different mindset.
Needing something to do on Friday nights, he decided to bring the teen party business to college. At 17 years old, Jaspreet knocked on every club, bar, and restaurant door, asking if he could host a party. Some demanded $10,000, others $20,000 — but that didn’t stop him. Eventually, some said they simply wanted half of the cover charge, and Jaspreet was in business.
While making a little bit of money and some spare cash, he started investing his time in reading business books. Almost every business book says wealthy people invest in real estate. Right after the 2008 crash, while studying for his medical college admission test, Jaspreet started looking at real estate in between study sessions. On August 22nd, he took the medical college admission test and, a day later, closed his first real estate property at just 19 years old. It was an $8,000 foreclosure on a property worth $150,000 just a few years earlier.
Jaspreet leased it for $600 a month and, even though he had been an entrepreneur, was exposed to the idea of using his condo to generate passive income. Jaspreet asked himself, “Why am I working so hard in school?” Ironically, the answer was so he could become a doctor to make money. So, started Jaspreet’s journey to revolutionize financial freedom.
To kick things off, let’s understand the system that keeps people poor.
What Keeps People Poor
To understand your circumstances, you need to understand the system in which you are operating. Jaspreet gives us an excellent breakdown of why financial literacy isn’t more widespread.
“The banks profit when you’re financially uneducated because they’ll keep you saving money in the bank. If the banks lived by their advice, [they] would be losing money. When you deposit $1,000 in the bank, that cash is a liability for the bank. An asset is something that puts money in your pocket. A liability is something that takes money away from your pocket. When the bank has your cash, it’s a liability, [and] they want to get rid of it as fast as possible. The way they do that is by lending it out because it’s an investment for the bank.” – Jaspreet Singh
Your cash is losing value to inflation every day you keep it in the bank, and you’re becoming poorer each day. Consider the interest you get for saving your money in the bank compared to the interest they charge you on your credit card.
“They want to keep you spending money on their credit card because now they’ll earn 18-25% in interest every time you spend a dollar. Governments want you to be financially uneducated because you remain an employee when you’re financially uneducated. Who pays the highest taxes? Employees and consumers — everybody knows that rich people don’t pay taxes.” – Jaspreet Singh
Hearing how the rich don’t pay taxes makes many people angry, but Jaspreet explains that it’s because we don’t understand why and we get angry at the wrong things and for the wrong reasons.
Luckily, we are here to learn and change that. Let’s hear about Jaspreet’s rule regarding debt.
The Rules of Debt
If you are uncomfortable about understanding debt — either using it in the right ways or eliminating debts — then you can’t build a solid foundation that will support your financial growth. Jaspreet’s way of thinking about debt is simple:
“The first thing is: Never finance anything that isn’t going to pay you. Gucci, vacations, car[s] — stop financing these things [that] aren’t paying you. People get upset when I say your car because [most ask], ‘How am I supposed to buy a car without a car payment?’ Don’t buy a hundred thousand [dollar] car unless you have the money in the bank to buy it. Go buy a used car [in] good working condition with cash.” – Jaspreet Singh
You might think that’s easy to say until you make a lot of money, but even when Jaspreet made a million dollars in a year, he was still driving a car he paid $500 for — even his employees had better cars than him!
“I fell into this trap. When I was 17, I started making a little money doing my side hustles. The first thing I did was put new rims on my car. Then I put tints on my car. I put a new sound system in there. The next thing I was going to do was put Lamborghini doors on my Toyota. [My friend] sat on the phone with me for 20 minutes, convincing me not to do it. Luckily I didn’t, and I’m really glad I didn’t. I looked cool. My car was cool. And that’s where all my money was going.” – Jaspreet Singh
We all can fall into that trap when we don’t have sound principles in place. When Jaspreet had a thousand dollars in the bank, he bought a thousand-dollar watch! That’s why he believes his mindset shifted after reading money books to educate himself, which helped him turn 180 degrees.
“I don’t want to spend [on] anything unless it’s making money. I’m saving [and] investing my money as much as I can. I’m trying to build my business. I’m running my shoes into the ground — they have holes in them! I’m not going to make those same mistakes again, and you have to break out of that [spending] mindset. The first time I made a hundred grand a year, I was living in an apartment paying $400 a month, including my water, electricity, cable, gas, internet, everything. I didn’t have a room. I slept on the living room floor. I had a little mattress. I used to pull that into the living room, put that down, go to sleep at night, wake up, fold up the sheets, put them away, and drag that mattress back into the hallway because I realized the power of compounding your money. I realized the power of putting your money into the right assets.” – Jaspreet Singh
After being forced to look at the inefficient way he was using money, Jaspreet studied how to use money better and understood the power of creating a powerful foundation for his future. Instead of blowing all the money he made wastefully and making everybody else rich, he focused on investing in himself.
In order to do that, let’s hear how Jaspreet recommends shifting from a poor mindset to an abundant one.
An Abundant vs. a Poor Mindset
When he was 20 years old, Jaspreet decided to get his real estate license so that he didn’t have to rely on others when working on his own deals. While helping a couple look for their dream home, he learned a valuable lesson by showing them houses.
“We finally found them a property. It was [within] their budget [and] had everything they wanted. [They] were ready to go forward but had one condition — they wanted [me] to put half of a commission in the deal. I said, ‘Why?’ They said, ‘You’re 20 years old, and we don’t think that you should [get] $12,000 worth just signing the papers to help us buy this home.’” – Jaspreet Singh
Jaspreet may only have been in college, but he firmly believed in the work he had put into the deal. There was no way he would agree and only make $6,000. He walked away, and a month later, they still hadn’t closed the deal on the house, and they lost out.
They called him back up because they found another property and wanted him to show it to them. But he declined.
“That was what a limiting mindset is. You’re looking at what somebody else is making instead of what you could get. [It’s like] counting someone else’s money instead of seeing what you get yourself. You’re jumping over dollars to pick up pennies.” – Jaspreet Singh
What an important idea for us to focus on. Stop worrying about what’s going on around you and focus on yourself and the value you get.
The second part of that is a growth mindset.
“I talk about living below your means, which is important, especially when you’re in the early phases of trying to build your wealth. You need to be saving [and] investing your money. Let’s say you’re putting aside 25% of your income. If you’re making $40,000 a year, that’s $10,000 put forward to savings and your investments. What happens to most people is you want to get more aggressive and try to squeeze more pennies out of your pie. You try to go from saving 25% to 30% and 35%, but there’s a limited pie, right? What you should be doing is thinking, ‘I’m making $40,000 saving and putting aside 25%. Maybe I can do more. But the bigger thing is how do I go from $40,000 to $400,000 and keep doing what I’m doing?’ You’re still only living off 75%, and you have the same percentage, but it’s so much bigger. It’s that growth mindset.” – Jaspreet Singh
You might be asking how you’re supposed to go from $40,000 to $400,000, which is a great question! The first step is understanding it’s possible. Then you start learning, and then you start doing.
You will make mistakes along the way, and that’s okay — you learn from mistakes and fix them. You can start building a growth mindset and understand that growth IS something you can do today — no matter where you come from, what you look like, or your background.
Why You Should Listen to This Jaspreet Singh Podcast Episode Right Now…
Guys, there was such great wisdom shared in this podcast, and I just couldn’t fit it all in here. I highly recommend you head over to Episode 1,257 to listen to it all and hear Jaspreet Singh share his wisdom in great detail to help you build your wealth.
If you’d like to start investing and don’t know where to start, connect with Jaspreet on Market Briefs, where you can sign up to receive a daily finance and business newsletter intended to keep you educated and entertained. They break down the top news stories every morning and deliver them to your inbox for free.
It’s been a fascinating conversation with Jaspreet Singh, and I asked him the final question I pose to all my guests: What is his definition of greatness?
“Always striving for better. Always wanting to be a little bit better every single day.” – Jaspreet Singh
If you liked this episode, we would love it if you could tag Jaspreet, @minoritymindset, and me, @lewishowes, on Instagram with what stood out most to you. Also, please consider giving us a 5-star rating on Apple Podcasts because they help spread these messages even further!
This episode is for you if you’re looking to start building your wealth today! So join me for Episode 1,257 of The School of Greatness, and start the journey of financial freedom you’ve been dreaming of!
To Greatness,
Some Questions I Ask:
- What is the main system that keeps people poor?
- What are the things we wish we learned about money growing up?
- What do we need to know about debt?
In this episode, you will learn:
- The difference between Tax Avoidance and Tax Evasion.
- Why it’s important to question the status quo.
- How to manage debt.
- And much more…
Show Notes:
Transcript of this Episode
Music Credits:
MUSIC CREDIT
Kaibu by Killercats
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