Everyone needs side income these days. Thanks to inflation and the rapidly rising cost of living, one income is too close to having none. Many people work two or even three part-time jobs if they don’t have a solid main source of income. Wealth “gurus” will sell you all sorts of complicated programs guaranteed to make you rich.
The effect of all this is PRESSURE. Pressure to make more. It can all seem complicated, difficult, and time-consuming. Luckily, there are some very simple, stupidly easy (and lazy) ways to supplement your income. Every little bit helps, even if it’s just a few dollars. Here some methods I use.
1. High Interest Savings Accounts
This one may seem obvious, but you’d be really surprised how few people take advantage of this. Even though the Federal Reserve just recently lowered rates by half a point, there are still opportunities to earn decent yields. Just go to an aggregate site like Bankrate and look under their high yield savings account section. As of now, October 2024, you can still find savings accounts with reputable FDIC-insured banks offering 4.00% to as high as 5.30% APY. Some banks even offer decent savings rates in their checking accounts, though this is not often.
Another key to taking advantage of this is to have multiple savings accounts. I do this with bank accounts in the interests of safety and diversification, should one of my accounts become compromised or I lose a debit card. But it’s also good to have at least one seperate account that you can transfer money to. This can even motivate you to save money, because you wont see it everyday in your regular bank. “Out of sight, out of mind,” as they say.
Right now, between all my accounts, I earn over $50 a month from interest. I expect to make at least $600 this year.
2. Credit Card Reward Points
This will bother the Dave Ramsey fanatics, I know. The money management radio host is famous for his devout stance against credit cards no matter what. I used to think the same way. But if you’re disciplined, and you use them for things you would be spending money on anyway, then there’s no reason not to take advantage of their cash back rewards.
My one card pays 1.5% cash back. I have a number of bills that automatically deduct from that card every month, that add up to anywhere between $300-$500. This means at the end of the month I can apply $5–$8 to my bill. I always pay my bill in full. I’m a proud “deadbeat,” as the credit card companies refer to those who never maintain a revolving balance. Even though $8 may not seem like a lot, that’s basically a free $96 or more every year, that you can make without having to really think about it. Put another way, if you saw $96 lying on the sidewalk, would you not bend down to pick it up? Of course you would.
Cash back can also help when you have a big purchase. If you were to spend $1,000 on something like a new computer, that would translate to a $15 “discount” due to the cash back feature. Some credit cards even offer higher cash back rewards with certain companies.
Again, the key here is to buy things you would anyway. Don’t just buy something to “get a discount.” That’s what gets people in trouble, and why Dave Ramsey is mostly right about avoiding credit cards altogether. But if you’re savvy and disciplined enough, there’s no reason not to look for ways to save even just a few dollars.
3. Dividends On ETFs/Index Fund Stocks
This one requires some clarification. I don’t personally buy dividend stocks. I stick to low-cost ETFs that track the S&P and Nasdaq. Namely SPY and QQQ. This goes for both my retirement accounts and my personal brokerage account.
Many people will recommend this dividend stock or that, looking only at the yield. I don’t really care. Many dividend stocks tend to go down in value over time, essentially making any gains you make from the dividends a wash. For example, AT&T (T) offers a nice 5.15% dividend, or about $.27 a share, but its stock has declined by almost 50% over the last five years. If you had bought 100 shares in 2019, you’d have made around $550 in dividends so far. But your position overall in terms of the value of the stock would be down almost $740. Meaning you’ve lost about $200 on paper. AT&T has gone up this year, but it’s long-term trend is down. This is not the case with every dividend stock, of course. Some may actually be good deals, but they’re just not for me. Do your own research here.
My personal brokerage allows me to see an estimate of future earnings from my dividends. As of now, I earn about $100 a quarter from my SPY and QQQ holdings. SPY offers a “low” 1.21% yield, while QQQ only gives a “measly” 0.61%. But these ETFs track the market, including the largest and most successful companies. SPY has gone up over 50% over the last five years. QQQ has more than doubled in the same time span. You have to look at the overall value of the asset and the risk involved in holding it, not just its annual yield. A dividend stock may offer a decent yield one year, then cut it the next. But even if SPY and QQQ were to cut their dividends entirely, they would still track their indexes. Whereas a dividend stock’s price might drop big because a flood of investors exit over its diminished yield.
Adding up these three brain-dead easy ways to make extra money comes out to almost $1,000. Or about $83 a month. That’s like getting an annual “performance bonus” from a job. A thousand may not seem like much. But it’s enough to pay rent for a month. Or get a “free” computer every year.
The best part is I don’t have to do anything really to get this $1,000. I consisently save money. I use credit cards to conveniently centralize monthly payments. I invest into my personal brokerage regularly. An extra thousand bucks is just a nice incentive for doing things I’d be doing anyway.
Breaking the golden credit shackles is like having a super power.
Made with Dream by WOMBO
Nowadays, debt has become so commonplace it’s practically considered a rite of passage. You’re an oddball if you aren’t loaded to the gills with monthly payments.
This wasn’t always the case. Many decades ago, the typical person rarely had high debt. They didn’t even have access to credit. They lived within their means, more of less out of necessity.
But now it’s become expected to go through life chained up by the golden credit shackles. People routinely have $700+ monthly car payments so they can drive to the grocery store in style. Owe tens of thousands of dollars on student loans for degrees so they can sit in front of a computer all day. Take out jumbo mortgages for McMansions. And run up the plastic for the new Air Jordans.
Sadly, many people are actually dependent on debt just for everyday expenses like fuel and food.
Many Amerians live in high cost of living areas, where rent and living expenses can comprise 50% or more of their annual budget. This makes it harder to avoid using credit to keep above the cost of living. Many blame the “necessities” of life, like a college education, or cars, as an excuse for debt. And for sure, for some people, it’s a necessary evil.
Over a decade ago I was in that camp myself. I had almost $17,000 in defaulted student loan debt. Debt for which my wages were being garnished roughly $200 every pay period to go toward a mountainous principle. I ran the numbers one day. Factoring in interest, it was going to take about five years to pay off my debt. At the time, I was only making about $35,000 a year, so these payments represented almost 15% of my annual income. For me that was big. It literally made my have to budget to the dollar. Every month. And all for a college degree I didn’t even finish.
Then there was my auto loan. That was about $280 a month. For a car I was more or less forced into buying. I lived in Philadelphia but worked in New Jersey. Not exactly a commute you can make through public transportation. Because I was financing the car, that made my insurance rates jump by almost $100 a month. On top of that, I had bridge toll to pay for the privilege of reentering the City of Brotherly Love. That amounted to $25 a week. I ran the numbers one day on all that, too. And I realized I was literally breaking even. I was going to work so I could make enough to drive a car, so I could keep going to work to pay for that car. Someone call Sisyphus and tell him he’s just been outdone.
On top of all that, my used car was a financial landmine. Every three to six months I could count on something going bust, and needing $500-$1000 or more of repairs to fix. There were the regular oil changes, annual inspections and emissions test (a requirement in Pennsylvania), and the fluctuations in gas prices.
Due to the tightness in my budget, it made it virtually imposible to save money or invest. I remember one night lying in bed feeling good for a change because I had all of $500 scraped together in my savings account. The accumulation of three months of savings. Then that week my car’s electrical system had a nervous breakdown, and that $500 flew out of my hands faster than Sonic the Hedgehog chasing after a golden ring.
:::sad slide whistle:::
But nowadays, after a lot of hard work, sacrifice, a cross-country move, and a job change into a better industry, I’m completely debt-free. I’ve been liberated from the golden shackles for over five years now. The only credit I have is a single credit card, which I use to streamline multiple subscription costs (including Medium), and make sure to pay off every month. I don’t care about reward points, airline mileage, or the fact that I can save 5% at a Ruby Tuesday’s when Jupiter aligns with Saturn.
If people expended the mental energy they waste trying to game credit card reward systems on things that would actually make them wealthy — like learning a business niche or picking up a side hustle — they likely would have far few problems. Not to mention have more money.
I’m not a Dave Ramsey apologist, to be clear. Debt has its uses. Keeping a good credit score can save you thousands on mortgages. Like most, you’ll likely need a mortgage at some point, so you might as well put yourself in the right position for when that day comes. Debt isn’t necessarily evil like the One Ring. It’s a tool that if used properly, can yield great benefits.
However, being free of unproductive consumer debt is something I embrace whole-heartedly. That means no revolving credit card debt, no personal loans, lines of credit, furniture store payment plans, most student loan debt (unless you’re pursuing a legit degree with a real ROI), no brokerage margin, auto loans, or anything else where you’re buying something that loses value. I don’t care about the Ford Expedition Road Buster 5000. I’ll drive my senior vehicle until the wheels come off.
I see the logic in the wealthy’s “Buy, Borrow, Die” tax-avoidance strategy. But there’s something very personally satisfying about powering your present and future on your own steam.
Nothing beats owing nothing.
Since becoming debt-free, I’ve observed a litany of benefits and positive side-effects in my life and in my general outlook. And if more people were aware of them, this current toxic culture of credit would evaporate.
Peace of Mind
This is the strongest benefit. Without your mental health, you’re really up a creek, no matter what else you’ve got going for you in life. I can remember at night tossing and turning, thinking about some imminent bill. Or going to the grocery store and anxiously waiting in line to see if my credit card would be approved while checking out. Or the stress of seeing my paycheck widdled down due to the garnishment, to the point where I wondered if I’d even have enough to live.
By freeing up my mental space that had been obsessed with my debt problems, I had more time to properly focus and enjoy other interests. Reading, writing, and going on trips. It also makes me less concerned when there are serious dips in the market, the threat of recession, or potential job market issues. I know I don’t carry any excess costs. It’s not hard to support yourself when you only have basic bills, like rent, food, and utilities. It’s only when you add a bunch of pointless debt payments on top that the slightest tremor in your life can cause everything to crash down.
More Money for Investments
The first step toward getting wealthy is obviously securing a form of income. Usually that’s in the form of a job or business. The second, and no less important, is eliminating all unnecessary debt out of your life. Many people are cavalier about this step. They tell themselves, “A good defense is a good offense,” and choose to plunge right into investing when they start making some money.
I understand the temptation. But the reality is investing is a long-term game with a lot of ups and downs. Debt payments are permanent, minus declaring bankruptcy or a miracle student loan forgiveness deal. The sooner you knock out a debt, the sooner your income is guaranteed to increase. But an investment is not guaranteed to go up in value, or increase your income. The great stock market bull run we had from 2009 through the end of 2021 made everyone feel invincible. Buy the dip. “Stonks” only go up. That may be true in the macro. But the micro level can still mean multiple years before seeing serious returns on your investments. Especially nowadays, as we’ve entered an era of higher interest rates and quantitative tightening.
Removing needless debt has a very positive compounding effect when it comes to building cash flow for investing, too. And that can mean helping you get to the point of financial independence a lot sooner. Supposing you were able to devote 50% of your income toward investing. How much faster would that get you to retirement, or to another phase of your life?
Motivated to Buy Less Stuff You Don’t Need
As I’ve written before, I’m a Cheap Ass Mofo. Not a so-called “minimalist.” I drive a senior vehicle, almost never eat out, and generally live a modest life. I even make my own pizza, just to avoid having to pay $7-$10 for that lickable cardboard they sell at the store.
Of couse, you can’t cheap your way to wealth. Wealth is all about growth, not just trying to live like a monk and waiting for your investments to fly to the moon. But I’ve found that since paying off a heavy amount of debt that once afflicted you prompts profound psychological changes. It’s like I’m a “debt refugee,” refusing to go back to that chaotic land of interest payments and late fees. You become more cost-conscious and aware. You start seeing the world of expenses more like Neo at the end of The Matrix. You see the innumerable insidious attempts companies make on your wallet, while often exchanging very little of value in return.
You start to become more focused on value, because you see material purchases not in terms of strict dollar amount, but instead corresponding to your labor, your time, and ultimately, your own ethical code. It’s why I rarely eat at fast food restaurants. Why would you overpay to get underfed with junk that clogs your arteries? I’d rather skip a meal, or buy one of those bland individual tuna packets.
Focus More on Experiences
Now, with all this saving money and talk of building wealth, you’d think I’d be advocating a number-crunching analysis on every transaction, down to the penny. Far from it. Once you train your mind to pre-screen out the nonsense whizz-bang marketing and promotional squawking behind many products, you start to redirect toward holistic and experiental expenditures. Toward more personally fulfilling activities. I’ve been able to go on trips back home to visit family, buy books, begin building a YouTube channel, even fulfilled a goal of sky diving, among other things, because I don’t have a giant albatross of debt hanging around my shoulders. I’m not saying you can’t do some of those things while deeply in debt. I’m saying that you want to put yourself in a position where you always have the freedom to maneuver how you want.
You Have More Control Over Your Life
Here’s the deal. No matter how well you prepare, life is going to upend you with its unpredictability at some point. A family member will get sick, or you will. You’ll have an emergency expense, like having to replace a major part in your car. Someone will trip on your sidewalk, and decide to sue you for their own clumsiness. Your partner may leave you, or tragically pass away. You’ll get laid off, or furloughed. We just saw a global pandemic and the entire economy get shut down. WWIII could hit. Who knows.
I’m not trying to sound pessimistic. I’m actually more of an optimist. But life has too many twists and turns to just blunder ahead acting as if everything will be fine. Even if you live the simplest life imaginable, you’ll still age. And age can bring complications and health issues. Staying out of debt frees up your income to enable you to better handle whatever life can throw at you.
Many people may say they don’t have a choice when it comes to debt. They have to go to that school. Buy that car. Take that vacation. And live that lifestyle they think they should. But that supposedly inevitable “that” is actually the fulcrum of the mindset shift. It is a choice. I didn’t have to move across the country and start over in a new state and a new industry. I could have stayed where I was. Broke, in debt, with little prospects. I chose not to. And it wasn’t easy. I wound up living out of my car for a bit. One day the only reason I was even able to eat was because I happened to find a crumpled dollar on the ground. The wind had blown it there. And one dollar, combined with some loose change in my pocket, was enough for me to buy two donuts at the supermarket.
Eventually it all worked out. Even though I still need to work for a living, I’m still freer than most. I owe nothing now. I hope that if you can’t already, that someday you’ll be able to say the same. 🙂
I put “minimalist” in quotes because I’ve always had a few issues with the term.
Firstly, a true minimalist possesses almost zero worldly possessions, other than the clothes on their back. That includes money, a 401(k) account, pension, etc. They live like a monk. They don’t fret about things like passive income streams or side hustles because they don’t have them.
Historically, true minimalists were pretty badass. Think Gandhi, Jesus, Socrates, or Jules Winnfield at the end of Pulp Fiction. The only things they “owned” were the thoughts in their head, and the loyalty of their followers.
But nowadays the term has been softenend, mainstreamed, watered down. Most minimalists today aren’t really minimalists. They just hate buying furniture, and evidently all choose to live in white-walled apartments, and make videos of themselves sitting on hardwood floors. Calling themselves minimalists in one breath while talking about their massive portfolios in the next. Hypocrites all.
You can’t call yourself a minimalist if you’ve got a half mil in the bank and make $3k a month from dividends, swing trading, or crypto staking. Even digital nothings like Bitcoin and the numbers in your WeBull account count as actual possessions.
I guess the term “cheap ass mofo” (CAM) is less desirable than the cleaner, more P.C. term “minimalist.” Though CAM is far more fitting.
To the degree that minimalism is about rejecting an excessively materialistic life of needless product consumption, I’m totally on board. But remember, if you own stocks, you’re still supporting the corporate power structure. You’re still an uber capitalist. So don’t try to pretend like you’re making some grand philosophical statement because you buy shit at Goodwill.
Most so-called minimalists are really just lazy capitalists under the surface. But rather than doing the hard work of building multiple income streams or a business — the real way to become wealthy — they’d rather ooze their way to F.I.R.E. (financial independence retire early) by cheaping out at every turn.
You want to be a real minimalist? Give away everything you have — I mean EVERYTHING — and go live in Kenya or Vietnam or somewhere. Most of the people in the world truly have nothing in the real sense of the word. Not the Western sense, where “nothing” just means you didn’t fill your apartment with IKEA junk. Until these so-called minimalists start doing that, they can just shut the hell up.
Being a cheap ass mofo is a little different. As a CAM, I don’t not spend money so much out of some compulsive pathological need to save dollars or virtue signal my empty apartment in the gentrified part of town. It’s more about not spending unless I believe I’m getting good value for my money. A rare thing. But also — it’s getting value while simultaneously hating the fuck out of institutions and businesses that are trying to rip you off. Which is ALL of them.
Here are a few ways I aggressively save money as a CAM:
Restaurants Suck
Restaurants are scams. Especially fast food joints like McDonald’s. They load their “food” up with sugar and fat, and then charge you a premium for an amount that hardly qualifies as “filling.” So you pay a ton for “food” that’s going to clog your arteries with Play-Doh, to sit in a dirty restaurant, and usually while getting shitty service.
That’s a trifecta of B.S.
It’s a terrible value for your money. It’s dehumanizing, too. I recently had the misfortune of having to go to a Mcdonald’s while on a road trip. You don’t even have to order at the counter anymore. You walk up to these giant smartphone screens, tap in whatever garbage you want, and then sit at a table and wait for someone to come plop it down. Supposedly this is done for “efficiency.” Yet every table in the joint was dirty and needed to be wiped down. The floor was sticky. The bathroom looked like a war zone. And this was during off-peak hours after the lunch rush, and before dinner. So even if Mcdonald’s is saving time and money, where is it going? The whole scene was near dystopian. Like something out of that movie Brazil by Terry Gilliam.
Next time, I’ll just eat tuna right out of the can in my car.
But my Mcdonald’s experience is hardly unique. This is why I rarely, if ever, eat out, and usually only when I have to travel. And even when forced, I still feel like some used-up whore who had to go back to the street corner because the rent was due, and I hate myself for days after.
Eating out is almost always a gigantic waste of money and almost never a good value either. It’s a total scam, wasteful, and unhealthy. I’ve saved probably tens of thousands of dollars by cooking for myself at home. I’m not a culinary genius. I have about ten to fifteen meals I cycle through. I even make my own pizza, because most store pizza or order out pizza sucks and is loaded up with sodium and preservatives.
Cooking for yourself is healthier, cheaper, filling, and even therapeutic. It’s the only way I fly, and it’s one of the best ways to stretch your budget.
New Cars Suck
Another HUGE way I save money as a CAM is by driving a senior vehicle. Notice I didn’t say “shitty car” or “piece of crap used vehicle,” or some other demeaning term. Older cars deserve respect, just like people. They’ve done their time, fulfilled their duty, and most importantly, survived.
New cars are like the douchebag frat party boys just out of their MBA programs that their equally douchey fathers paid for, who think they’re entitled to run your life because they once did a Powerpoint on Milton Friedman. They haven’t earned their place yet in society. They’re wet and shiny looking. They have no character. No authenticity. No humanity about them. They look nice. That’s it.
Senior cars, by contrast, have character. They’re like the grizzled combat vet who did two tours in ‘Nam, but still has the work ethic to be a Wal-Mart greeter, and shows up on time every shift. Or like my beloved grandmother, who renewed her nurse’s license at age 76, and then proceeded to work the graveyard shift reliably, without fail, for the next ten years, because retirement bored her. Senior cars rock.
I drive a stick shift 2006 Saturn Ion that has almost 180,000 miles, which I’ve had for over ten years. Saturn went out of business in 2010 after the Great Financial Crisis. So as far as I’m concerned, I’m driving a classic automobile, because they’re not making anymore of them. I call my car “Baby.” I give her regular oil changes and maintenance. She’s getting new shoes (tires) this weekend, and some brake work. I treat her right, and she continues to perform fine for me. She drove me across the country from Pennsylvania to North Dakota back in 2012. She took me on a West Coast road trip from Seattle to Los Angeles, then all the way across the country back to PA then back to ND back in 2013.
I love my car. And even though I make good money and could easily afford something newer in cash, I have no intention of buying anything. One day Baby will break down for good. And when she does, I’ll have to go out and buy something. And it’ll be fine, because Baby has paid for herself many, many times over. She’s probably saved me not just tens, but hundreds of thousands of dollars. She’s my Millenium Falcon. And when the day comes for her to take that final trip to the Big Scrap Heap in the Sky, I plan on giving her a Viking funeral with Scottish bagpipes.
You know what the average car payment is in the United States? According to Bankrate it’s $677. But there are morons out there who take out car loans that are as big as some mortgages. I saw a TikTok video recently where a guy was going around an office asking people how much their monthly car payment was. And people were giving numbers like $1,200, to almost as high as $2,000.
All that money for what exactly? A pile of shiny metal that literally shrinks in value by a third the moment you sign on the dotted line for it. Insanity. I will ride a bike or jog down the highway Forrest Gump-style than ever finance a car again.
I financed a car once. Baby, when I first got her. My previous senior car had locked up on the highway a few weeks earlier. At the time I was living in Philadelphia while commuting to work in New Jersey. I needed wheels, and I barely had any savings. So, like many unfortunate people out there, I was forced into financing a car. But even then, I had the good sense to buy something cheap and reliable. I struggled with the payment terms. I had a predatory interest rate of like 17%. I missed one payment one month when I was totally strapped. But eventually, about two years later, I paid the whole thing off, and swore never to have to go through that again.
When news reports come out about how most Americans live paycheck to paycheck, it’s no surprise why. If the average income for Americans is about $63,000 according to DQYDJ, and the average car payment s $677 as stated above, then that means the average person is blowing roughly 13% of their annual income on a vehicle. But remember, that number $63,000 is the average, and skewed by the higher earners. Most people make way less, yet still finance more car than they need. So the actual percentage in their budget people blow on cars may actually be way higher.
Alcohol Sucks
I already talked about my stance on alcohol at length in my article Why I Don’t Drink Alcohol. Check it out, it’s a banger. One thing I didn’t get into too much was the high cost of bar-hopping and clubbing. Two things that will quickly drain your account. Drinking alone or at home on a budget won’t hurt you much financially, though it’s still not something I do. But going out with friends to get smashed? Celebrating the end of the work week with a round of shots? That’s the kind of stuff that makes credit cards companies rejoice, and you cry in your vomit-stained carpet. It’s unhealthy and time wasting, of course. But also it’s usually ridiculously expensive. You’re paying hundreds for flavored liquid that will do nothing but make you make bad decisions for the next eight hours.
On top of that, people make all sorts of bad and costly impulse buys when they get drunk. Take me, for instance. Back in my Stupid Days, I had just finished my first novel, a crappy navel-gazing screed moaning about office work, and to celebrate, I got more lit than Chinese New Year. At some point during my revelry, I decided to finally act on my lifetime dream of owning an English Bulldog. So I clicked around online until I found a puppy mill, and plunked down a deposit of $1000 on a credit card. A non-refundable deposit, mind you. The whole cost was $3000. Because I couldn’t back out, I decided to hell with it and pressed on. Well, three weeks later “Bronco” was delivered to my doorway, and my “dream” quickly turned into a nightmare. That little beast chewed up every piece of furniture I had, shit and pissed everywhere out of spite whenever I left for work, humped me left and right to show dominance when I was home, and whined and complained for attention constantly if I so much as used the bathroom.
Don’t get me wrong. I loved the little dude, and I took care of him. But I had no business taking on a puppy. Especially not one that was a gremlin in disguise. Thankfully, I was able to eventually give him to a loving family with a big yard and kids. And a good lesson was learned. Don’t buy fucking animals you have no business owning when you get plastered.
I hope this article has spiked your enthusiasm for saving money with a little aggressiveness. Some anger is good, because the reality is that most of the world is trying to rip you off in one way or another. Most people inexplicably don’t guard their hard-earned money or seriously examine supposed necessities and requirements before plunking down a fortune on them. College, for instance, is mostly a scam, other than STEM degrees and the networking qualities. Almost everything you learn in college nowadays can be replaced with YouTube, online courses, coaching, apprenticeships, or books at the library. Just about entirely for free. So can most of public school for that matter. I was homeschooled myself for three years. And while I missed the socialization to some degree, public school is a ridiculously inefficient knowledge distribution system. The best kind of learning you’ll ever do is self-taught anyway, and you usually don’t do that until after you leave school.
Then you have houses. Which are not not always scams and don’t always suck, but they are certainly overrated. And the whole idea of “buying” a home is misrepresented, as you don’t actually own the home. The bank does. But even if you pay cash, you’re still paying “rent” to the government in the form of property taxes. And a house usually ends up as just an excuse to go out and buy more shit to fill it up with. Then you’ve got all the maintenance costs. Sure, you get equity. And if you live in a good area and hold for the right amount of time, you may just end up making out really well when you sell. But in the end most average home buyers just about break even with all costs factored in.
In summation, be careful out there. You don’t have to be a Cheap Ass Mofo like myself, but recognize that most businesses and instititions are not about providing you equal value for your money. They are wealth extraction systems designed to seperate you from the digits in your bank account. Too many people think it’s only carnival games or obvious boogeymen like Wall Street that are rigged. But actually everything is to a degree. So stay sharp.
Dean Brooks 