The Mortgage Grind: Balancing $100M Volume with Family Life

Welcome back to Mortgage Daddies. Today, we are gonna talk about just life in general, being an adult, kids, marriage. You know, all the things we’re so good at. Yeah, I think we have to, s- s- stay away from talking about mortgages and finance. Like, quite honestly, we talk about this all the time. We actually really dislike talking about mortgages and finance because that’s what we do all day. And one of the things I think that, you know, goes unnoticed is that we do have families and we do actually enjoy our- our kids and our spouses, um, but it’s hard, right? Mm-hmm. We’ve bounced this off behind closed doors, I’m like, “Dude, like, when do you see your kids? “He’s like, “Oh, between these hours every single day. “And I think it’s important for everybody out there, uh, you know, to- to take the time and, you know, really prioritize being home. Having a little bit of a set schedule, like, I definitely think that’s helped me over the last, call it, 2 or 3 years, where I’m like, “You know what? I’m gonna be home 2 days a week at this hour. “And then magically, somehow, sports have kicked in and they’ve definitely kicked in for you over the last 12 to 18 months because you used to never go home until- Mm-hmm. 8:30, 9:00, and now it’s kind of actually, uh, fun. Today’s Thursday, so I think it was Tuesday, I walked out of my office about 6:30, 6:45. Not to leave, but I walked out and, uh, no one was in the building. And I looked down at your office and, I don’t know, for the last, like, 5 years I’d look down at your office, the light would be on, there’d be some noise outta there. And it made me feel good that you were gone. I’m not- I’m not saying that you should stay here til 8:00, but I have noticed that, you know, you’ve- you’ve been out of the office earlier. You know, you still come in at the ass crack of dawn-kinda like- I mean, earlier now, but yeah. Yeah, I mean, it’s, um- The, uh, kids’ sports stuff is insane. I mean, it’s the juggling act of that. And I don’t- I don’t like to miss that. You know, I think- Yeah. like, that’s something that’s only, uh, gonna be around for so long, you know. Most people’s kids are not gonna be professional athletes, you know, you’re not gonna be watching ’em on Sunday or on the TV. So, you knowAnd I think people get a littleI think, you know, I- I’ve realized this too is, we get a little too involved in it because you want ’em to be the best and, you know, that competitive edge of your own takes over. And it’s like, it’s very easy to kinda, like, want more from them than maybe they necessarily want. And you- you know, people put their kids in so much shit now. Oh, yeah. You know, it’s crazy how- how much there is. But trying to balance that and get to the practices and get to the games and coaching stuff, like, you know, m- most weeks now with basketball in full force, 2 nights of practice for one of his leagues. And this is just one of my kids, you know? Mm-hmm. And I think that’s where, like, life changes a lot, like, when they’re little and everyone’s like, “How do you do this? “I’m like, “I don’t know. My kids are all little. “Like, I don’tThey don’t do anything. They’re with the mom. Yeah. They’re with the mom. They don’t go anywhere. But then once sports kicked in, it’s like, all right, now, like, I’m there at everything and, you know, you gotta balance that a little bit. But you just move your schedule around and figure it out. Yeah. I meanAnd I just don’t like missing that stuff. It’s fun. Now, I remember somebody telling me, and I- I can’t remember who it was so don’t hold me to this. We don’t get this opportunity again, right? I have one son, I have one daughter. I’m only gonna be able to go to his games, his sports. And I mean, l- let’s really think about this. How old is Austin now? 10? He just turned 9. 9? So he’d started really in the last 12 to 18 months, year, year and a half of playing, like, competitive sports. Uh, you know, baseball, basketball. Same thing with Liam. He started at that- that same age. dude, we only get that period of time from, like, 8 to 18? And they don’t want us coaching after, like, high school, right? So my son just started- Well, really it’s probably middle school ’cause once they go to high school you- you’re playing. You know, now you’re not really going to the practices, you’re just going to the games. Yeah. So you really have from when they’re, like, 6, 7 To 12, 13. To 12, 13. I mean, it’s a short window of time. Yeah. You know, but, uh, it- it’s fun. I mean, it’s- Sure. a great time, you know. We get to spend a lot more time together because of it, you know. driving, talking while you’re driving to the games or the practices, you know, having conversations about things and, you know, it just gets you a- a lot closer. But, you know, it’s a- it’s a lot to balance, for sure. I feel like you have that come to Jesus moment a few times in the car every 6 to 12 months where you as the dad or the parent have that, like, light bulb goes off in your head. You’re like, “I’m only gonna have this conversation once with them,” right? And then, “I’m not gonna have this conversation again unless it comes back up. “But you’re like, “That was probably something that’s gonna change my life. “Like, we don’t get those- those opportunities and, you know, we’re talking about this today on the podcast to get it out there to everybody who isAnd no matter what industry you’re in, if you can make the time, figure it out, change around that schedule, wake up earlier. I was just reading something, I was just telling Craig off camera, you know, I’m- we’re now waking upI’ve always woke- I’ve always woke up 5:30, 5:00, 5:30, 6:00. Uh, pretty lazy in the morning. I- that’sI realize I’m on the Instagram and the Facebook and I’m waiting for my wife to bring me coffee and it’s likeNow I’m just like, “You know what? “”I’m gonna put my feet on the ground. “Yeah, my wife brings me coffee every day. Now she brings me coffee, but now I got the to-go cup already. That’s why you’re not- Get out. seeing that coming in because I realize I’m gonna change around. There’s a lot of stuff that you have to do at your house, right? You- you- you- you’re doing a lot of construction at your house. You have 4 kids. Things are gonna get banged up. You’re gonna have to do stuff around the house. Between the hours that we work, then you’re throwing the kids into sports, I’m looking around and I’m like, “I haven’t closed my pool, I haven’t done this, I haven’t cleaned out my closet in like, I don’t know, 3 years. “And I’m looking at pants that I hope I’m gonna fit into again and I’m like, “It’s time to donate these. Like, somebody else can wear these before they’re just disintegrated into nothing. “And so now I’m waking up 5:30, 6:00. Still 6:30, I’m, I’m rolling out and I just wanna go outside do something, get my body moving. I think, you know, I watched, uh, I went to get my physical and Dr. Perkawa, uh, told me to watch Blue Zones. Have you ever watched Blue Zones on Netflix? No, what’s it about? It’s very wild, very wild. So I’m, I’m like 4 episodes and there’s not many of them. But the blue zones are different parts in different parts of the world, they call them blue zones, um, where people live the longest. Oh. They live until like 100, 110. And surprisingly enough, there’s a blue zone in like California, not too far, a couple, maybe 2 or 3 hours ou- outside of LA. But it just talks about like the things that are helping people live to 100-plus years old and, you know, we’re talking about making time for our families and family is being one of those things, right? Spending time with your kids, maybe taking care of parents as they get older, bringing them closer to you. Um, and just what they eat, right? Like, what we put in our bodies. And I know I’m gonna hear this from everybody who’s watching this that knows me, I love McDonald’s, it’s my favorite thing. He maybe went to McDonald’s right after his physical. I did not do that, John. I definitely did that right after my physical. He’s like, “Oh, you look, everything looks great, yeah, do your blood work, yeah. “I drove myself right to McDonald’s. I was like, “I deserve a treat. “But, um, it talks about like, you know, what, what they put in their body, the, the, the quality time they have with their family, um, you know, what they do for exercise, right? Like, it made me think, ’cause I have, you know, at any given point, at least 2 gym memberships going. Um, you know, I am a, uh, a proud member of the YMCA next door. I walk in, you know, once every 12 to 18 months, renew it, pay for it in advance for the full year and I never walk back in there. I even have the towel service. Never used the towel before. I saw these funny billboards the other day. You know that Anytime Fitness company? Yeah. Uh, so they had billboards and it’d be like, “Thanks Vern for your un-” “you know, your, your membership and not showing up. You funded this billboard. “Yeah. “Your, your membership that you don’t show up to funds this billboard. “Yeah, it’s, it’s pretty wild. It’s pretty wild. But, um, that, that Blue Zones is, is I think why, after I had my physical, that I’m waking up in the morning and doing these activities is all of these people do activities or physical activities, but they’re just walking. crouching down. And it talks about like the average person in this, in maybe n- worldwide, but, you know, talking about, you know, uh, United States, what do you do from the point where you wake up, you’re laying down for, I like 6 to 7 hours of sleep minimum or I’m very crabby. So I lay down, then I shower, then I get in my car, which I’m sitting in, and then I get to my office and I sit in a chair all day. And maybe I walk to the bathroom. You don’t get off the ground very often. Yeah. I mean, you just w- I w- I think I watched this a while back and a lot of the cultures were, you know, cultures where they sit around a table on the floor. Yeah. Or their beds are on the floor. So just having to get down and get up- Yeah. is something that most adults or Americans don’t, don’t do. Yeah. You know? And, you know, different, different parts of the blue zones, they’re planting their own food. They have to go out and garden, they have to weed that. So just those movements are basically like going to the gym. It’s like, I’m gonna pay for a gym membership but not do anything, so why don’t I just wake up an hour early, go outside, move around, clean stuff up that I need to do anyway that I used to, I, I used to not do. Probably pay somebody to do that. But it’s even like the landscaping piece, like I s- I see myself now, I’m like, I was like cutting a tree down that was, that, that had fallen. I’m like, “That’s a lot of exercise. “Mm-hmm. Feels good though, once you start doing it, right? I, we’ll see how long this lasts. I like to do everything for about, I don’t know, 3 to-8 days and then that’s over with. So, but I think definitely like, you know, back to like just spending time with your kids, you do it a lot, I do it a lot. I just wanna keep increasing that time because they’re gonna be out of the house soon and it will be a different relationship we have. Then I can come back to work and, and work whatever I’m, I’m, I’m used to working, that’s 50 or 60 hours a week. But I don’t think it’s worth missing a basketball game or a baseball game or a playoff game. Like, I see too many parents that aren’t able to make it. And listen, they all have their own thing, they all have their own careers. I’m not judging anybody by any stretch, but can you change that up? Can you wake up earlier? Can you get that other task done throughout the day? Yeah. I, I think it’s just so easy with how busy everybody is now and, you know, most households, multiple people have to work, so it’s just constant. And it’s a lot easier to just let your kid play on an iPad and, and- Yeah. be out of your hair for, you know, those 2 hours so you can relax and not do anything. But trying to spend time to like’Cause I know my kids, like if I tell them to go outside, they’ll be outside for 10 minutes, they’ll come back in and they’ll be like wantin’ to d- go back on their iPad or do something else. But if I go out there with them, they’ll be out there forever. Or if they have friends over, they’ll go outside forever. They’re gone. So I love it when my kids have friends over because they’re outside and they’re gone f- you know, and they’re playing and they’re doing what I did as a kid. Like we, we didn’t have iPads. I really was never even a big video game person. Manhunt. Manhunt, kickball, flag football- Yeah. whatever. We were just constantly outside when, when I was a kid, like nonstop. And now, you know, it kills me when the kids are inside and I get home and I’m like, “Emily, did they go outside? “She’s like, “Uh, they did this, uh, blah, blah, blah. “I’m like, “Yeah, like” But if we can get them outside or go outside with them, you get to spend time with them, you get to do things with them. Whether it’s doing shit around the yard or playing catch or doing whatever, you know, it- it helps. But then when they have friends over, it makes it easy because they can go do those things together. So, you know, I- I really like when they do that, like they get to have their friends over or play ’cause they’re not just sitting around, you know, playing video games or on their iPad all day long. And big shout-out to Craig Snell over here. He goes to Pinehurst, he’s a big golfer, everybody knows that, to watch his, uh, Mortgage Daddies. Goes to Pinehurst, comes back home, he’s like, “I made an amazing purchase. I bought a golf simulator. “Everybody who knows me and watches this show knows I, uhEspecially if you watched the Dean Snell episode, you know that I am not a good golfer and I don’t even actually really enjoy it, ’cause I’m not good at it. So I’m very competitive. I’d rather just not do it. So now my son just texts and calls Craig to go over to his house to use his golf simulator with him and his son. I’m like, “I’m away,” and he’s like, “Yeah, I’m at Craig’s house hitting some golf balls. “I’m like, “How did you get to Craig’s house? “He’s like, “Oh, I texted him. “I’m like, “What is happening right now? “I went and picked them up. I’m like, “So listen-” The other day I made it. We got Uncle Craig in the background taking care of all this. Yeah. I like having the stuff at the house that’s fun because it gets, you knowI, that was like my goal is to try to get everything at my house that I would want and to make it fun so then we never have to like leave or go do something. Because I know like, “Oh, are you tired? “Like, “Do you wanna go to the driving range? “It’s like, okay, a 15, 20-minute ride. You come back and probably not gonna do that very often, you know. But having a golf simulator allows us to go out there for, even if it’s 20 minutes and mess around on it. Or, you know, having a pool at the house to be able to do things. Like the- they’re only young for so long and the memoriesAnd, and I think like too, you know, when you grow up, you have your traditions with your family and stuff. But then it’s tough. Like, you know, you’re- you’re married to somebody, they have their own traditions, they have their own family, you’re trying to figure out time. Like I think it’s important to, like, make your own traditions and things that you do with your own family- Yeah. and your own things, you know, every year. And we’ve started to kind of do some of those things which is nice. Like, you know, we never used to do anything on Thanksgiving, uh, on Christmas Eve. Now we do Christmas Eve at my house. Everybody comes over. You know, it’s fun. It’s something that we continue to do now. Yeah. It’ll be, I think, the third or 4th year that we’ve done it. We play games. We- we have a good time with it. Friends come over too. Family comes over. Some friends that are family now come over and it’s justIt- it makes it fun, you know. You’re not go- bouncing between like 3 houses. You know, I was talking to somebody the other day. It’s like okay, their parents are divorced, divorced again, brothers have different mothers or fathers and it’s like they’re go- trying to go to 3 or 4 different houses. It- it’s tough, you know. I think- Holidays become stressful instead of enjoyable. Yeah. I think that’s good for your kids too because now we’re setting a precedent that after they go and start their own families, you already have Christmas Eve at your house so now they have to come to your house and you’re able to see your kids. I mean, I’m always likeI’m always thinking longterm, like a long play. It’s, uhLuckily, you have a wife, and I know Emily pretty well, my wife Sue, they are big fans of traditions and things that they like to do with the kids. And God bless both of them because I am glad that I typically do not partake. I’m- I’m there physically, mentally not so much on the pumpkin carving. Like it’s something going on every- every couple weeks at my house, I feel like. And I’m like, “Why do you keep doing this to yourself? “And she’s like, “It’s just a good tradition. We only have it so now. “Now I find myself, “I guess I’ll be home for pumpkin carving,” or, “I’ll be home for this one,” and I’m like, “This is painful,” right? ‘Cause I didn’t grow up with any of those type of things. Um, and it’s as simple as rightLike last night, I realizedI had like one of those, like, light bulb moments whereHow many peoples, like, sit down at the table and eat, like with their kids or their significant other? I’m not home a lot. And when I am, like they usually already ate. So I get, everybody gets home late last night and my daughter’s like, looks at me and she’s like, “Dad, will you sit at the counter and eat with me? “And I’m like, “Oh my God, like I should probably do this a little bit more-” “often as opposed to like just worrying about that. “But those are like little things. And then she talks about her day the entire time, right? I don’t know. I mean, obviously I know your daughter Peyton, uh, but have you noticed like our daughterLike my daughter just won’t s- I hope she doesn’t watch this. She just doesn’t stop talking. Like I heard- It’s funny how they talk so much, and the boys it’s like you ask them, like, how their day is. Good, good. Yeah. Like Paula was over th- when Emily was away last weekend, she was helping, uh, you know, get the kids off the bus or whatever when- before I got home from work. And she’s like, “Austin, you know, how- how was school? “”What’d you do? “”Nothing. “”How was this? “”Good. “Like it was all one-word answers. But Peyton, like you get her going- 8 hours, the whole day of school. Oh, yeah. She willIt won’t stop. And she wants to tell you things. Like she’s like trying to tell you things, you know, about her day. And the boys are like, yeah, no, they don’t care. Yeah. In like 15 years, I’m gonna just look at my daughter and I’m gonna do everything that she’s put me through. And by the way, I love you for it. Don’t- don’t get mad. But I’m gonna call her and just be like, “I have a question. “”I have a question. “Like, sh- that’s how she starts every con- “I have a question. “And then it’s, like, a 5minute question, and I’m like, “W- where was the question? “It’s just a statement about your day at school and taking a pop quiz. Could not wrap her head around why they have a pop quiz at school, and that was, like, the bad part of her day. So, like, every night we’d do, um, Bojha rose, right? Thorn, stem for the next day. And every single day, it’s something about school that she didn’t like. And I’m like, “That’s just school. Like, a pop quiz or a test? Like, that’s school. “She’s like, “I wanna go to work with you and Craig and Auntie because it’s fun. “I’m like, “This is not fun. “Like, adulting is not fun. Like, I wanna go back to being, like, 13 years old, especially with what our kids have, golf simulators, basketball courts. I’m like, “You guys have the best lives. “Like, “I’m- I’m a little jealous. “What doIOne thing I always think about with- with kids now, and- and even, like, 34 and I’ve seen younger kids who- who finished high school. I feel like a lot of kids, like, never leave their house. Like, they stay with their parents for so long, or maybe their parents, like, necessarily- don’t necessarily get them, like, super ready for life- Yeah. outside, because they do everything for their kids. And I’m not, likeI think it was a rude awakening for my kids this weekend. And anytime, like, I get on a little bit of a rant-or whatever with my kids- I know where you’re going with this. And Mom’s not home this weekend to do every little thing, so IThe type of person with my kids is I don’t do it for them. I tell them to do it and then make sure they do it, meaning, like, whether it’s shutting the lights off. Me and my daughter have this constant battle about the lights in the bathroom because, “Oh, I d- Well, I didn’t go in there last. “I’m like, “Do it,” and then I’ll just stand there and watch, and- and she went in the bathroom and didn’t shut the lights off. Even if you didn’t, if you walked by it, you shut it off. Yeah, or putting your stuff away or, you know, getting ready for school, or whatever it is. Like, too ma- I- I personally think too many parents, like, try to make it too easy for their kids, or they do everything, or they’d rather just do it because they don’t want the fight or the battle. But I think that fight or that battle or, you know, that gets kids ready for life, because there’s not gonna be somebody that’s gonna be, you know, putting their clothes away, or- or cleaning up after them, or shutting the lights off after them. And, you know, onceAnd I think, like, once you get out of high school or you get out of college, or whatever you do, and you go live on your own, it’s like a rude awakening that you now need to go do all these things. Yeah. And so many kids probably don’t know how to do laundry, don’t know how to iron clothes. Like, when I was a kid, my momWe used toI used to have to do my own laundry, cook. You know, how many kids don’t know how to cook because their parents don’t wanna spend the time, or they don’t wanna, like, fight with them? But it’s part of growing up and getting them ready for life and teaching them the things that school doesn’t necessarily teach you. Yeah. No, uh, I think we have the same wives. Every single time she goes away- I think it’s a mom thing, right? It is. I- I- I’m gonna blame the moms-on this. Uh, and Auntie is in the room here, soMy wife goes away, and she deserves to go away. 100% go away. I don’t mind when she goes away, right? Like, I can handle the kids, contrary to everybody’s, you know, belief system. I do not like it when I’m all by myself, but, you know, I can- I can suffer through. There’s a lot of DoorDashing, but you’re 100% right. Like,She’llSh- I think she went girls’ trip during the school year last year or the year before, and I remember a- coming into the office and asking you. I’m like, “I woke up on Monday,” and I’m like, “Guys, what are you having for lunch today? “They’re like, “I don’t know. “I’m like, “Do you guys buy lunch? “Like, I didn’t even know. Yeah, I know. I- Like, “Did you guys buy lunch? “I have that same problem, too. “Did you guys make lunch? “And they’re like, “Mom makes us lunch. “I’m like, “What does she make you? “And they ran down the list of, like, different stuffs they make her. I’m like, “All right, that’s good. “I’m like, “So you guys, there’s the refrigerator. You know where your lunch boxes are. Pack your own lunch. “It was a little eye-opening. I didn’t do it. I refuse to do that. Like, starve. Like, I’ll give you the 3 bucks or whatever it is for school bu- for lunch. It was- it was cool to see them working as a team, though, because my daughter’s a little bit more like my wife. And she would make Liam’s lunch, but then Liam would have to do something for her to kinda offset. And honestly, when my wife goes away, pretty well-oiled machine. I’m gonna have to pat myself on the back. Like, the kids make their lunch. And it was good for her to go away because now we’ve gotten to the point, last night she made dinner. Liam is up, just- he just wants to eat steak, like, 5 nights a week. He came home. he made himself 2, 2 steaks by himself. And I just told my wife, and I remember having this conversation a while back, I’m like, “When’s he gonna learn how to do this,” right? Like, “Just let him make it. “And I get where she’s coming from because, like, he’s 14 years old. Cooking a steak on the stove is not the cleanest thing in the world. No, makes a mess, yeah. And she has to clean that up because he, he’ll clean it up to the best a 14-year-old boy can do, to, he might as well just not touch it ’cause it smears everywhere, this grease. She’s worried about grease fires. And I, I get it, but I’m like, “We have to let these guys fly,” right? They haven’t gotten to the point where we can, uh, let them do their own laundry. I don’t think my wife will pull that trigger for- No? for a while. Peyton knows how to do laundry. Not the boys, but Peyton does. I mean, I think the boys would just wear the same socks. Like if Liam said, “You have to wear the same clothes,” he would not care. Yeah. Yeah, Austin gets ready for school on a mic. He’s like at this, like, in between size, and like whatever, I don’t know-what size that he is, but smalls, medium. And the smalls are like up here-but the mediums are like super baggy. And I’m like, every day he puts on clothes, I’m like, “Dude, go change. “Like, “You have high waters on right now. “Yeah. “You gotta, like, change it up,” or, “You have a green sweatshirt on and you have red sneakers. “Like, “Go fix that. “”You look like Christmas right now. “It’s good watching the evolution as, as, as they get older ’cause I honestly don’t remember being 11 or 13 years old. I start remembering about 15, 16. And now my son now comes downstairs yesterday in the morning, “Dad, do you have any, uh, extra deodorant? “I’m like, “No, I have the same amount of deodorant that comes in my”I’m not sharing my deodorant even with my son, so. Maybe, maybe I’m not a big fan of that, the OCD kicks in, but I’m like, “Here you go, I have a brand new one just for you. “He’s like, “Yeah, yeah. Can you order me some more of this stuff? “A year or 2 ago, did not care about deodorant, he didn’t care if he was wearing mixed, m-uh, mismatched socks. Now, I’m looking at him and he’s all, like, cleaned up, everything fits. I’m like, think he’s hit the lady stage now. I think it’s definitely important to try with your kids to get them to do things that they’re gonna need to learn how to do. And I think kids at a younger age can do things a lot more than what parents think that they can do, and they just overly, likeI even go to basketball and I’m, like, watching these parents or stuff, like, put their kids’ stuff in their bag and, like, pick up everything after. I’m like, “What is wrong with you? “Tying their shoe. Like, yeah, but d- Tying their shoes on the court. They’re 9 years old. Wild. Like, they can’t, like, put their bag or pick up their stuff. Like, I will just stand there and be like, you know, “Austin, you just took your shoes off, you threw your Crocs on the, on the, half on the court. The bag’s hanging over,” I’m like, “Pick this up, like, put it away. “Like, constantly, like, stay, trying to stay on top of them to do things. Not because I can’t do it, butAnd part of it is I don’t wanna do it, but also, like, they need to learn that they need to sh- Like, my mom was constantly all over us, likeAnd my mom, you know, my dad lived in California most of my life, so my mom was, couldn’t do every- Yeah. I mean, she did a lot for us, but like, she made us do things. And honestly, I think that, like, made me more ready for life, where when I moved out, like, I was able to do things. And then, well then you’re getting to the point where you start living with somebody else and now you figure out, like, who’s doing what, and that’s fun. Yeah. Like I, I have conversations with some of myI started very early in life with kids, and, and with Emily, so we kind of got through that early on. And then you see other people where either they’re having their first kid or they’re starting to live with their significant other for the first time, and it’s like those crazy little battles. It’s like you kinda gotta figure out the roles in life of, like, who’s gonna do what. Like, either, you know, somebody cooks, somebody cleans, or somebody does laundry, somebody does other things. Like, you figure those things out early on so you don’t have those constant fights and battles about everything. And I think that you can do the same thing with your kids. Like, figure it out- Mm-hmm. set rules. But you gotta hold them accountable to it. Too many times they say to do this or say to do that, and then they’re doing it for them. Like-YouI’m not gonna do it if you’re gonna do it for me. I mean- Mm-hmm. I will say one thing that we as dads have brought to the table, and I see it in your kids and I definitely see it in, in my son, maybe a little bit in my, in my daughter, she’s starting to come around. But, you know, schools don’t teach our kids financial literacy or entrepreneurship or, you know, how to make money, or how money works, right? Like, how to invest money. Like, I try to tell my kids, “If you guys started investing now, and you started a little business and you put $100 away per month, like, do you know what that compound looks like when you’re 62 years old, ready for retirement? “And, uh, it was a, it was a proud moment, like, when my, my son, everybody knows, flips sports cars and he does well with that. But then, you know, seeing Peyton, your daughter, start, like, her nail business online, I’m like, “Oh my God, she’s starting a nail business at 11 years old? “Like, dude, that has to, as a dad, in business for yourself, entrepreneur, built your own brand, your name, that has to put, like, a little twinkle in your eye. You’re like, “All right, now she’s got a little me. “And I’m right, they’re gonna be all right. “Yeah. And she, she’s very independent. I mean, and I think it, we’ve just always kind of had her do things, so she’s likeYou know, she pretty much takes care of herself, gets herself ready, does everything. Do- makes her own lunches, does everything she needs to do and she’s in 6th grade. And then you talk to the parents and it’s like, “Your kid can’t even wipe his own butt, you know at this age. “I, I don’t remember being in 6th grade, right? I mean, I remember, like, in 6th grade, I feel like I knew how to cook, I was mowing the lawn. Like, I knew how toYou know, my, my parents were divorced, so it’s like you were almost like the man of the house. Like, I was the oldest, and it’s like you had to take care of stuff. You kn- n- you made sure your room was clean, that, stuff was put away, lights were definitely off. Now I see that, and I’m like, I justAt this point I’m almost giving up on any of that, you know. The other day I, I’m like, “Liam, can you come outside and help me? “Dude, I had to put together a bagger on a, uh, riding lawnmower with my son and have him use, like, wrenches and ratchets. It’s the only way they’re gonna learn though. Yeah, I know. But you know what? I w- I reverted back and I had to think. My wife would just do it for them. I found myself doing that and I’m like, “No, you have to finish this one up. “Like, it’s gotta be s- it’s gotta be super tight. I’m just sitting there, I’m like, “That was painful. “Like, something you can do in 20 seconds, it took him, like, 5 minutes. But, but if I, if he doesn’t struggle for that 5 minutes, he’s never gonna learn. Mm-hmm. Right? Just simple, you know, flipping the, the, the, the ratchet over from, you know, tightening and, and, and loosening up the bolt. I’m like, “This is painful. “I’m like, “This generation is gonna be tough unless they, unless they kind of pull it together. “But, you know, we’re lucky enough to, to have the ability to stay home and s- watch our kids grow up as much as we possibly can. ‘Cause it’s gonna be over quick. I w- I was scrolling through my phone earlier this morning, and the other night I sent you guys that picture of, uh, of an old employee that we used to work with. So I’ve been just going through, um, like a Google Drive and I’m finding, like, all these old cell phone pictures that were dumps. Don’t suggest keeping those on your, on, uh, in a drive or anything. I should’ve deleted them. I’m deleting a lot. But you, you look back and you’re like, “Holy shit. Like, it’s already been 8 years, 9 years since this photo of Liam or somebo- you know, one of your kids, were, were taken. “You’re like, “He’s closer to being out of my house. “Like, I got 3 years left. He’ll be 15 in, in 2 weeks. I got 3 years before he either goes off to college and, um, you know me pretty well. He will not beAnd this is going on the record, Liam, so if you’re watching this, you will not be unemployed, not going to school at 18, 19 years old living at my house. Like, there’s no chance. Go live with your friends, find a girlfriend. You are not living in my basement, you’re not living in your bedroom. I have a cushy life now. You are gonna learn it the hard way. We’re just counting down the days until that house is empty. I already told them, like, they’re not even gonna know. They’re gonna come back for Thanksgiving break, my daughter will go to college at a, hopefully it’s more than, like, 50 miles away so she has to live on campus or get an apartment. I don’tI, I joke around with my wife, doesn’tI don’t think she believes me, but as soon as my daughter is out of the house, For Sale sign. I’m not telling them it sold. 0. 2 bedroom, maybe a s- studio, condo somewhere. No pool. I’m not taking care of pools, lawns, nothing anymore. And I tell my wife this all the time, I’m like, “When they’re gonna come back to this, my house, it’s not gonna be there. It’s gonna be a whole different family living there. “Not even gonna tell them, huh? I’m actually just looking forward to doing this because I’ve been telling them that I was gonna do this. And I might just have it, like, recorded. I might have, like, secret cameras up because I just wanna see their faces. Like, “Dad wasn’t joking around for the last, I don’t know, 15 years. “I’m like, “You’re not living with me past, like, the eight”And listen, I was out of the house at a young age, so I think that’s the only thing I know. It’s okay if they pop back in for a month, 3 months here and there, right? If they break up with a girlfriend, they ha- they’ve, they’ve, they fall on some hard times. But you’re not living at my house, 25, 28 years old asking me for Apple Cash and, “I’m going to eat with my friends and I need some money. “I’m like, “Nah, not happening. “No, absolutely not. I do not thinkI, I, you know what, I think that just depends on how you, how you raise them. If they’re independent and they’re, you know, capable and you make them driven to wanna, teaching them the importance of money and working and working hard and, you know, figuring things out. Like, you, you can’t just give your kids everything that they want. I mean, I don’t say we don’t spoil them. I spoil my kids way more than, you know, I’Cause, and it depends, I think, like, how you grow up kind of- Yeah. depends on how you parent, you know, unfortunately. And I think, like, now a lot of the people that are becoming parents, their parents did a lot for them. Like, it was a lot different than before. So, it’s just getting softer and softer and softer. And curious to see how this all pans out. But, you know, I, I don’t know. I, I think there were so many kids when I was growing up that, like, were just douche bags, right? And they just weren’t good people. They were punks or whatever it was. And, and I justTo me, the most important thing is just to make sure that, like, my kids are not those kids. And they’re respectful and they’re nice. And, you know, Emily is, like, super proud of Peyton right now because she’s in 6th grade. Girls get nasty, like, at that age. Oh, yeah. And, like, Peyton’s not afraid of going against the grain. Like, if they wanna, like, on Halloween, a bunch of them went out trick-or-treating or whatever. And a couple of the kids were trying to, like, walk down the middle of the street just to be punks, right? Just to be an inconvenience for the cars, just to just be like those kids that I’m talking about. And Peyton refused to do it and then left, called us-and came to meet us and went trick-or-treating with her little brothers because she didn’t want to be around that. That’s awesome. And I think, like, that was, like, awesome- Yeah. you know, to deal with. And you’re like, “Yeah, doing a pretty good job. “Both of our daughters are in 6th grade and, umYeah, this is, this is, uh, for all the parents that- Middle school sucksdon’t have daughters in 6th grade- Yeah. Like, um, my son went, I mean, he went through middle school. I’m sure he had his ups and downs. But as dads to sons, like, you’re like slapping them on the ass. You’re like, “Hey, listen, everything will get better. You’re at a little awkward stage these days. “Now my daughter comes home, she’s like, “This person picked on me and this did this. “And I’m, like, sitting there and I’m like, “I’m gonna fight everybody. “Then in the back of my head, I’m like, “They’re gonna be best friends in, like, 3 more days,” right? Like, so you have to just take the ups and lows. they’re going through all kinds of stuff. But yeah, no, you’re 100% right. Like, I would, I would not wanna be a middle school coach. That was the worst. I rem- I hated middle school. Like, it wasHigh school was a lot better. Middle school was like, I dreaded going to school. I alwaysAnd I never was, like, super crazy about school at all. No, no. I think just, like, having to sit there and listen to things you’re not interested in. And I think that’s why, you know, I like working a lot more because it’s something that I enjoy, you know? Yeah. Even when I got into the fire department, like, I never mind going to work because I enjoyed it. Like, you’re doing what you wanna do. And I think that’s important to try to, like, get your kids through school but, like, understand, like, once you’re done, like, find something that you actually like so the rest of your life is not miserable. Yeah. Going to work and punching a clock and sitting there trying to kill time. I think that’s the only thing I wish for my kids, is they find something that they really are passionate about that they really like and just go for it, right? Like, I’d rather see them fail 50 times. I think it’s Gary V. , it could be Joe Rogan that talks about. It’s like, you should fail as many times as you possibly can and try everything you can because you don’t have a career at 30 or 25 years old. Like, you think that’s what you’re gonna do, but then you’re miserable at 32. Like, I hope my kids grow up to know, “I can change my career at 32 or 35 or 38 years old, 40 years old. “If you’re not passionate about it, you’re gonna be miserable. Like, the average, uh, life expectancy is what? Late 70s, mid 80s at this point. Do you really wanna live the other 40 or 50 years of your life absolutely miserable punching that clock in whatever job that is? I just hope they find something and, you know, they’re, they’re passionate about. That’s why when I watch Liam flipping these sports cards and asking me to borrow money and pay it back, like, I am happy about it. But then I’m like, “Is this a real thing? “Right? LikeAnd then I talk to people who own card stores, right? Like, I have a loan officer I’m talking to out in Las Vegas right now, um, about joining Milestone. Her family owns a sports collectible store. And then my, I tell my son about it and he’s like, “Yeah, I follow them on Facebook. I’ve done deals with them before. “I’m like, 14 years old. “I’m like, “How do you know these people? “But it’s wild. That’s awesome. Um, yeah, I mean, well, it’s c- fun to see, like, the changes. And also, just, like, as you grow, like, as an adult, like, when you start parenting, you’re likeI think you looked at your parents growing up and you’re like, “They know everything. “Or, like, you’re really just figuring it out- Yeah. at the end of the day. And trying to make it work and trying to figure out life at the same time you’re trying to teach your kids life. And it, it’s definitely, uh, an interesting thing. But I wouldn’t change it for the world. It’s fun. And for the grandparents out there, I can’t wait. Everybody’s like, “I don’t wanna become a grandparent. “I think whenYou had kids. You’re the first one in your family to have kids, right? I think when you had your first kid, your parents secretly sat down and were like, “All that shit Craig gave me, all that trouble, all the late nights, all the lies, or coming home late, or fighting about going to school, game’s on. “I think it’s, like, their evil vindictive way that you can send your kids over to, to see your dad or your mom come back and they spoil them all day. They were in the pool, they gave them all the candy, all this other, did everything that you didn’t want them to really do. And they’re like, “Hey, good luck. Go on back home. “Remember that, Craig? When you didn’t come home until 3 o’clock in the morning? Oh. So I can’t wait to be a grandparent ’cause I am gonna go ham. Good luck. I mean, ho- uh, with that being said, hold on. Please be in your mid-20s, 30s. Like, don’t rush this. I’m, I’m not trying to be a grandparent in the next 10 years. I don’t think a lot of people are even having kids in their early 20s anymore. No, no. It’s wild. LikeI don’t think some of them are capable of it. It would be scary to watch. We were just, uh, we just did that, th- the company meeting out in Michigan and there was that, uh, 1, one of the loan officers. I think he said his oldest kid was 33, 34, and he has a- And he just had new ones. Yeah. and had, like, another, you know, a 4yearold at home. Like, dude, I don’t know if I could do it. I meanStarting over? Yeah, no way. Olivia’s 11. If I walked home and Sue told me she was pregnantI remember I almost choked out when she told me I was having one. If she told me I was having one now, I don’t know. I think this might end it. At least it wasn’t twins. Oh. Forget about it, bud. All right, my man. Well- I appreciate it. It was fun. See you guys next time.