Millennials see life hacks in every aspect of life.
Capitalism has long been bolstered by business and educational paths structured to ensure a steady and predictable climb. However, millennials are increasingly debunking tradition for the lure and impromptu nature of hacking their way through life.
Look no further than financial literacy hacks to improve outcomes for the next generation. While the term ‘hacking’ emerged in MIT sixty years ago, before digital computers, according to Joseph Reagle, author of Hacking Life, today ‘hacking’ refers to a philosophy that explores the mechanisms behind any system and optimizes those mechanisms for the benefit of the user.
Many young people feel inadequately prepared from an education system that has fallen behind in furthering financial literacy inside curriculum models. Adding to the issue is the growing number of Americans beginning to question the value of going to college as they consider the high debt and costs. While some schools are accelerating their approaches in K-12, according to the National Education Association (NEA) findings, only half of the nation’s schools require a financial literacy course.
As younger generations search for answers to a less predictable financial future, they are increasingly turning to alternative outside resources in the form of ‘hack’ experts to gain some footing. Tyler Bossetti, the co-founder of 0 Percent, is one such individual that is offering financial learning on leveraging credit and other financial advice to a generation in need of hands-on solutions.
After dropping out of college to work in a mortgage company, he parlayed an eight-figure 4,000 plus real estate transactions into his present business, 0 Percent. With a wide range of available videos at the ready, Bossetti is coaching thousands of clients on creating generational wealth through real estate investing.
His efforts are helping emerging generations rewrite the establishment's narrative – by increasing self-education in areas that bring independence.
Early Shaping
Rod Berger: Talk about your background and how it shaped your path to where you are now with 0 Percent?
Tyler Bossetti: It’s about self-education. My father passed away when I was eight and I didn’t have contact with my father’s side until I was 18. At the moment of reconnection, my grandfather on my dad's side immediately began instilling good values, beliefs, and the need to open my horizons. Ultimately, he taught me financial literacy, specifically how credit works.
Believing credit is the foundation of people's finances, I dove into self-education, understanding credit for mortgages and the little nuances. It can be the difference between not only getting qualified for a loan but getting qualified for better terms that can save hundreds of thousands, and millions of dollars over your lifetime.
Learning About Credit
Berger: How did that idea of understanding credit expand into other areas of financial knowledge?
Bossetti: I started to explore social media, like travel hacks, using credit for travel. But then it got really exciting for me and I started connecting all the dots. To be financially independent, cash-flowing assets, such as passive income exceeding our expenses, are necessary. I believe that the best asset class, when it's all said and done, is real estate.
It made me look into ways to use credit (a.k.a., other people's money) to get qualified to do everything in life, such as rent, get a car, student loans, and even travel for free. But better yet, I became excited about learning how to use credit, specifically business credit, to 100% finance real estate deals.
I became obsessed and I still am to this day with learning how things work when it comes to money. Growing up with hardships, as most people have experienced, I found it funny that we're all working to make money, but do we know how it works in the first place?
Technically, money is credit when it's printed off. So again, I think credit is the foundation of people's finances. It affects everything we do. Hence, crypto and these other cool things are popping up to disrupt the current financial system built on credit.
Hacks for Leverage
Berger: Your generation seems to be very adept at finding ways around traditional means that my generation didn't even know. Does the concept of hacks give you ideas on tackling life? Maybe someone with your talent might look at deconstructing things to see if there is a more productive way of doing things through ‘hacks.’
Bossetti: It’s human evolution. In my opinion, as humans, we ideally become more efficient and effective with time, energy, effort, and money. Our generation looks at social media and crypto credit in these hacks—it’s how can we leverage these tools to accelerate our growth personally, professionally, and financially.
Most people work manufacturing jobs from where I’m from in Dayton, Ohio. It’s a great paycheck, but they're putting their health at risk, their life at risk to do these very daunting tasks every single day, and they can't control their income. But if they could understand how credit works and accumulate a couple of rental properties, maybe in 5-to-10 years, they could reach financial independence in half the time it would take to retire.
I think the world's backward in looking at how money works, the belief systems, and the education system. Now, sure, there are good core principles of being prudent and frugal, absolutely. But most businesses fail because they use their own cash. Most people are paycheck to paycheck because of high-interest debt. What if we could use low interest 0% capital to eliminate bad debt, use that capital to scale business ventures, and create passive streams of income?
Take, for instance, when your car breaks down (not if) but when things go wrong, at least you're putting it on credit, on other people's money at low interest, or 0% interest.
In addition, we're likely entering a pretty brutal recession and it’s beneficial to have a stockpile, a line of credit that you can lean on to accumulate even more assets at a discount.
I view these hacks, such as traveling for free, etc., as a positive consequence of accelerating your lifestyle and growth.
I grew up in the cornfields of Ohio, where most people think they have to break their backs to get things they want to increase their lifestyle or standard of living. In reality, you're doing yourself a disservice by not learning and educating yourself. It takes consistent education but it doesn't have to be painful.
Education of Self-Education
Berger: There appears to be many more of the younger generation considering leaving higher ed for other paths. We're seeing that people are starting to question what should they be studying, thinking about credentials, and different ways to acquire knowledge as opposed to the traditional way. What do you think we need to do in schools to adopt the Bossetti mindset to better prepare students moving forward?
Tyler Bossetti turned his own challenges into learning opportunities for himself and others.
Bossetti: I don't know if the current education system will ever solve that. As strange as it might seem, I'm actually super lucky that I grew up with life adversity, a little bit of chaos in the household, limiting beliefs around money, and the pain of my father’s passing.
Most things that people have a passion or a desire to do are typically wrapped in previous pain. We can turn that pain into our purpose. I became obsessed in middle and high school with building generational wealth because I saw the value of what money can do.
I do believe that structure is very good. In my opinion, you can Google anything you want to know. At least 99.9% of the information needed is on social media, Google, or YouTube. That being said, connecting all the dots is a little painful.
It’s why I believe in the courses that people are putting out. Like anything in life, there are some bad apples in every industry. But ultimately, I think that if I was in high school, and I knew I wanted to be a successful entrepreneur, and I discovered who Grant Cardone, Tyler Bossetti, or Tai Lopez (some of the influential people) were, I would have bought their course in a heartbeat because it gives you structure. It gives clarity and transparency to the successes, failures, and lessons that individuals like ourselves have learned along the way.
It’s good to have an A to Z plan. It's not always perfect, but course material structure helps cultivate a community culture where you can learn with others and network. It comes down to the right information and people.
Berger: Do you find it would be effective for schools to teach an entrepreneurial mindset and reframe some of the approaches to alter the way of thinking for students?
Bossetti: I don’t know if there will be a massive shift in education; maybe it will, and that would be awesome. Number one is understanding what is money. Why is it important? How does it work? When do I need to start implementing credit that will lead to assets vs. liabilities?
Courses in high school and college teach you the nuances, but in reality, I believe the learning lies in understanding personal and business credit. Then, from there, you can learn to automate and delegate. Taxes might be complicated, so you bring on a great CPA. You start bringing in those pillars once you start comprehending the foundation of financial literacy.
Berger: What is the moral of your story?
Bossetti: This might seem aggressive and I do not mean to offend but I believe I’m the underdog that ended a peasant mentality. Most people are operating their life with victim beliefs, which I uncomfortably refer to as a peasant mentality.
I wake up sometimes, or at least every day, and there's a part of me where that little victim mentality comes out. That's my core foundation, an underdog. If you're male, female, whatever gender or skin color, and whatever happened to you as a kid, most of our problems and our limited beliefs have a direct correlation to family trauma.
It’s about mastering those uncomfortable things. I lost my father early, and every day became unpromised with many hardships. But it taught me how to make money, how it works, how to keep it, compound through taxes, and leverage using lucrative tools.
That's what my story is all about. Whether you are at the top, in between, or at the bottom, you’re an underdog. Most generational wealth (over 70%) returns to poverty in the second generation. So, if you are a child or twice removed from that generational wealth, and your family still has it, congratulations, but guess what? Time's ticking, so you still need to move with a mentality that you're the underdog. The odds are against you.
Bossetti serves as a conundrum to higher education and traditionalists—technically, a college dropout turned business owner collapsing generational timelines and accumulating transformational wealth while educating the next ‘class’ of students along the way.
How will higher education and corporate America better serve the ‘Bossetti’s’ of the world? Will areas of study change course, leaning more into the application rather than theory? Will career ladders be replaced with personalized professional opportunities that allow for input and U-turns?
The sands of time will not wait for the legacy inside western institutions of higher education and the private sector to create meaningful adaptations. Early career professionals are just fine hacking their way through life – with or without the support and an underdog mentality to boot.
Interviews have been edited and condensed for clarity.
