Child Star Finances (w/ Josh Peck)

Josh Peck joins Haley to discuss what he earned starring on The Amanda Show and Drake and Josh, his experience being the breadwinner of his family as a child actor, not getting residuals, brand deals, his monthly overhead, staying successful in an evolving media landscape, and so much more. Plus, a special summer travel edition of the market report. Stay rich! Financial Tea with Mrs. Dow Jones is a Sony Music Entertainment production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us at @sonypodcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Haley Sacks?

  Okay, so I just gave my apartment a major refresh and hands down, the hardest thing to get right was the rug. I just couldn't find one that fit right. And I really wanted something that pulled the room together because like a rug is a big deal. But then I found Ernesta and Ernesta's amazing, you guys. It makes designer quality rugs custom cut to the exact size of your space. So it actually fits instead of almost fits and looks great the first time. Like in the past, I've just defaulted to stock sizes when buying rugs. And also like when you're in a New York City apartment, that really just doesn't cut it, but they're all weirdly shaped. But with Ernesta, you can send photos and dimension to Ernesta's design team and they help you get the size exactly right, completely free

• 0:44Haley Sacks?

  of charge. Hand selected by design experts, Ernesta rugs are beautiful, they're durable, and they're made for the way you actually live. Cut, finished, and delivered in as little as two weeks. Visit ernesta.com and order five samples for only $10 and you will get $50 toward any rug of your choice. That is E R N E S T A dot com. Okay, we all love to romanticize being your own boss, but even when you have a team, you still end up being the bookkeeper, the marketing department, and the person rearranging appointments at 11pm. And that work isn't just annoying, it is expensive. And it's especially taxing for businesses that run on appointments. So if you own a business

• 1:27Haley Sacks?

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• 2:07Speaker 01

  We started out making $3,000 an episode on the Amanda Show. And then by the time we finished Drake and Josh, so that was like 60 episodes total for the whole show. The average rate per episode was about $15,000. So over four years, we wound up making about 900 grand. But

• 2:26Speaker 01

  I think we probably between agent manager and taxes, we cleared half of that.

• 2:31Haley Sacks?

  Yeah.

• 2:31Speaker 01

  And then.

• 2:32Haley Sacks?

  And you're working so much.

• 2:34Speaker 01

  Working so much. And so really, we were making about 125,000 a year.

• 2:41Haley Sacks?

  This is Financial Tea.

• 2:46Haley Sacks?

  Okay, guys, welcome back to Financial Tea, the podcast where I teach you how to build wealth with a side of market drama, money scandals, and of course, financial pop culture. And today we have Josh Peck in the stew. We're in Los Angeles, our first California episode. Josh Peck, welcome to Financial Tea.

• 3:06Speaker 01

  What an honor. I'm so glad to be here. And LA, LA looks good on you.

• 3:10Haley Sacks?

  Thank you so much. You've really only seen me with LA on me.

• 3:13Speaker 01

  I think it's the right, I think it works.

• 3:15Haley Sacks?

  We can be in a community. But first, let's get into the MDJ market report. What's up, sippers? Welcome to the MDJ market report where I tell you the stories you need to know to see where the money is moving this week. And today is actually a special summer travel edition. I've just been getting a ton of questions about how to get away this summer. Get those, you know, cute Instagram pics by the beach without going absolutely completely broke. I know it's something I'm thinking about too. I had such a crazy year. I'm trying to take vacation, but damn, those flights to Europe will get you. Like, it is insane how much money everything is.

• 3:53Haley Sacks?

  And by the way, just to do a quick state of the summer travel union, literally airfares have gone up by 26.7% and lodging is up 30%. So you're not imagining it if you think that things are so expensive. And that's why 90% of millennials and 77% of Gen Z are actually choosing to stay in the US and road trips are becoming super popular. So like, if you have hurt stock, I'm jealous of you because everyone's going to be renting cars. So yeah, this market report is going to be all about what's happening economically that will affect your summer travel. And then I'm just going to give you tips for how to still get away despite it, how to deal with friends with money. If you have any other questions, let me know. But yeah, you deserve to have a break, even if things are more expensive.

• 4:32Haley Sacks?

  So 78% of Americans are going to take a trip this summer, which is way up from 2025, which was only 61%. But honestly, what made me pee in my damn pants while I was researching this segment. Is how people are getting creative. Like, you know, you might want not want to do a road trip. You might actually want to go away internationally, which is great. And there are ways to do it on a budget, but you are definitely going to have to skip Western Europe. And that is why we are seeing bookings to the Czech Republic up 149%. You know what else is up? Bookings to Kyrgyzstan. Those are up 135%. Catch me in Kyrgyzstan,

• 5:11Haley Sacks?

  guys. Australia is up 58%. But the ultimate crown goes to our friend Krakow, Poland, where a pint of beer will set you back less than $3. So everyone is popping off in Poland this summer, guys. We're having a Poland girl summer. See you there. See you in Kyrgyzstan. Like, go for it. Live, laugh, travel somewhere random where your dollar goes far. Speaking of which, let's go through my best money-saving travel hacks. So I sort of just got at this, but number one is yes, go to destinations where your dollar goes far. So like, avoid the Amalfi Coast and Mykonos at all costs. Go to Poland, go to Czech Republic, go to Kyrgyzstan. Like, you can go to these other cities that will give you that European vibe

• 5:55Haley Sacks?

  without requiring a second mortgage. I do this a lot in Greece. I go to Greece every summer, but you will never catch me in Mykonos. You'll never catch me in Santorini. I go to these random ass small islands. It is very inexpensive to get lodging there. The food is reasonably priced. Of course, the flight to Athens is expensive, but just going to lesser-known places in a known place is a good idea. Okay, my other really good tip, I do this with airfares all the time, and you can do it with hotels too, but book refundable rates early just to secure your spot. Like, I do this all the time, booking flights, especially with points. It's really easy to cancel them. You just get the points back.

• 6:34Haley Sacks?

  But I heard about this app called PriceSync, P-R-I-S-Y-N-C, and they will help you like, check the listing before the trip. You can also just manually do this. And then just keep an eye on it and see if they do slash the price. And if they do, cancel the original booking and just rebook at that cheaper rate. It's such a good hack. And like I said, I always do this with airfare, and I'm going to start doing this with hotels too. Because when I was in Bermuda, oh my God, I went on a vacation to Bermuda, and I got price gouged at the Rosewood. So honey, you better be using PriceSync. Number three. Book a chic, affordable Airbnb a few blocks away from the hotel that you really want to stay at and then use Resort Pass to buy a day pass to that hotel that you really want

• 7:19Haley Sacks?

  to go to. And these are like $30 to $40, but you will get full access to their pool deck, the lounge chairs, the poolside service. We actually did this in Bermuda at the Rosewood because I couldn't get a room. We were there from like 8 a.m. to literally 9 p.m. and we had a really weird loser hotel, but it didn't matter because we got the same luxury experience as people paying like two grand a night to sleep there. And then we just didn't have to spend that much. Food is so expensive at those hotels too. So it just cuts the cost down of everything because you're going to have lunch, but you can't afford lunch and you know, to buy a bed. And then also I would say like this is the summer of road trips. I am scared of doing a road trip with more than one person. Like I wouldn't want

• 8:03Haley Sacks?

  to be smushed in the back of a car with so many people. But you know, flights are so expensive right now. Definitely look into just driving. There's so many cool routes and it's going to save you so much because airfares are so freaking expensive. Like I'm so upset that Spirit is gone. We need more budget airlines. And then I also just wanted to talk quickly about traveling with friends because I know this game so well. I've gone on trips with my girlfriends for the last like four or five summers and we've never had an issue with money. And so I think the biggest thing is just to make your budget upfront. I always have used an app to track expenses. I will literally pay for Splitwise. I just cancel it right after the trip. It's worth it. So you've got the pro experience. I think the biggest thing is just don't assume that everyone has the same amount of money

• 8:48Haley Sacks?

  to spend. Like for me, when I started to do better financially, I would tell my friends like, oh, I will pay for the nicer room for us. I'll pay for the difference if you will, you know, book the trip and plan everything. And so, but even if they weren't down for that, like there was never any shame about someone having a different kind of budget. And I will say that you also need to always settle up before the flight home. I always think that it's the best thing to do is the night before the trip ends, where you're ready. Have a little bit of anxiety about going home like and you're packing and you're, you know, thinking about all the shit that you've been forgetting about. Don't wait until you're rushing through airport security or you're distracted or you're back at work. Just do it while you're together, split everything. It's so much easier. You can talk about it face to face. And I will

• 9:33Haley Sacks?

  also say be careful about who you go on vacation with because if it's awkward to discuss money with someone before the trip, it's going to be even more awkward during the trip. Okay, now let's get into today's episode with the incredible Josh Peck. I was obsessed with Drake and Josh growing up and it has been such a pleasure to get to know Josh. Like he is truly an incredible human and he was so open. We talked about everything from growing up at Disney Star, what it really looked like for him to be the breadwinner of his family as a child and also the actual finances of Drake and Josh because it's a little ugly. Okay. Love you guys. Stay rich.

• 10:10Speaker 02

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• 10:39Haley Sacks?

  So I always do rapid fire questions at the beginning. So like watch out they're coming. Yeah. So smart content. I know how it is. So watch out they're coming. First of all, Josh, what was your best and worst purchase of the week so far? Early.

• 10:52Speaker 01

  I mean, we're just starting.

• 10:53Haley Sacks?

  Only Tuesday.

• 10:54Speaker 01

  Geez Louise.

• 10:55Haley Sacks?

  I know.

• 10:56Speaker 01

  I'm going to see my mother in Florida, you know?

• 10:59Haley Sacks?

  Oh, that's a big one. You gotta go see mama.

• 11:01Speaker 01

  The Jewish mother meetup in South Florida. And I, you know, it's crazy. You know, the Strait of Hormuz, no good.

• 11:08Haley Sacks?

  The Strait of Hormuz. It all goes back to the Strait of Hormuz.

• 11:11Speaker 01

  Not good. And I do, you know, I am an avid follower of you. So no, if you're going to buy a flight right now.

• 11:17Haley Sacks?

  You gotta use your points. You gotta use them.

• 11:19Speaker 01

  But I was actually able to find a nice flight and it's a red eye.

• 11:23Haley Sacks?

  Okay.

• 11:23Speaker 01

  Are you ready for this? You tell me.

• 11:25Haley Sacks?

  Okay, you tell me.

• 11:25Speaker 01

  Financial guru.

• 11:26Haley Sacks?

  Okay.

• 11:26Speaker 01

  Cause I do separates. I do, you know, sometimes you gotta separate it. Can't find it in a round trip.

• 11:30Haley Sacks?

  Oh, I always do separate.

• 11:32Speaker 01

  Right.

• 11:32Haley Sacks?

  It's very smart.

• 11:33Speaker 01

  Better.

• 11:34Haley Sacks?

  Yep. Yep.

• 11:35Speaker 01

  I found a one-way flight LA to Florida, Delta, first class. It's 690.

• 11:43Haley Sacks?

  Oh, that's great.

• 11:44Speaker 01

  Great.

• 11:44Haley Sacks?

  Oh, my God.

• 11:45Speaker 01

  I feel great about it.

• 11:46Haley Sacks?

  I mean, even like, whatever, if you're taking the red eye, you're so, to me, I'd rather fly well at a weird time.

• 11:52Speaker 01

  Totally agree.

• 11:54Haley Sacks?

  You're Josh Peck to me. You're just, you know, greatest guy in the world, media darling, like favorite Instagram follow, so, so funny. But obviously you started on all of our favorite show, Drake and Josh. So you are a very first child star in financial tea. So how much did you actually make on Drake and Josh? Like, did you have visibility into your paycheck and to where it went? Like,

• 12:15Speaker 01

  I mean, I came from like a lot of financial insecurity growing up. I had a single mom, only child, and we sort of vacillated between being lower middle class and then being broke. But she worked in sales, so sometimes we had like a great year and I was getting like a new pair of Jordans. And then other times I was like calling my grandma to, you know, help us pay for dinner because we had like $0. So then when I started working and on Drake and Josh specifically, and I've talked about this, and it was funny because when I was writing my book, I was much more, I wasn't very transparent with the financials of it. And my friend, Ryan Holiday, who was sort of like my book,

• 12:56Haley Sacks?

  I love him.

• 12:56Speaker 01

  He's the best.

• 12:57Haley Sacks?

  Yeah, the, like, all of his books.

• 13:00Speaker 01

  The Stoic books.

• 13:00Haley Sacks?

  Yeah, the Stoic books are so amazing.

• 13:03Speaker 01

  He, two of his biggest notes, because I was like, Ryan, I don't want a ghostwriter, but I need like a producer.

• 13:09Haley Sacks?

  Yeah.

• 13:09Speaker 01

  Like someone to send pages to and you can guide me. And one of his biggest notes was like, I would be honest with how much you made. He's like, because to not is to not bring people in fully and to give them the full picture.

• 13:24Haley Sacks?

  Yeah.

• 13:25Speaker 01

  And I talk about this, so I think we made, we started out making $3,000 an episode on The Amanda Show. And then by the time we finished Drake and Josh, so that was like 60 episodes total for the whole show. The median rate, like, right, the average rate per episode was about $15,000. So over four years, we wound up making about 900 grand, but. I think we probably between agent manager and taxes, we cleared half of that.

• 13:52Haley Sacks?

  Yeah.

• 13:53Speaker 01

  And then.

• 13:54Haley Sacks?

  And you're working so much.

• 13:56Speaker 01

  Working so much. And so really, we were making about a hundred twenty five thousand a year. People always will say like, well, compared to so many other tougher jobs, like who are you to say anything? And I go, I'm not. The only reason I say it is because no one assumes that, um, you know, or I should say, but people always assume that it's so much more. And why would you ever have to work again? But of course, if you made the salary of a dentist or something like that, you couldn't just stop working after four years.

• 14:24Haley Sacks?

  Yeah, a hundred percent. And I want to get back to your money story because, you know, like you said, your family didn't have money, but then suddenly as a kid, you became sort of like a breadwinner. So how did flipping that financial dynamic in your household sort of affect your mindset towards money? And affect your relationship with your mom?

• 14:45Speaker 01

  I just think in general, like it's, uh, if you have it ingrained in you that you never want to be broke again, you will run like your pants are on fire for, for as long as you can. And I, I have, and I saw that in myself forever. It's just a deep financial insecurity that drove everything I did. And would force me to be very obsessive in bad ways about, you know, these small little microtransactions. Where I was like, really not good at looking at the big picture of things because I was so obsessed on just month to month expenses. Cause I couldn't get over, uh, when something would, you know, I would, I would punish myself if, if, for some reason I got a late charge of twenty dollars or something.

• 15:30Speaker 01

  Cause it just felt so irresponsible and God forbid I should go back. My buddy, Robert, has this quote. He says, if I get a parking ticket, I go, all right, well, I took one for the team today. Like someone in the world was going to get a parking ticket.

• 15:41Haley Sacks?

  I love that.

• 15:42Speaker 01

  It's my turn. And, and thank God I have the means. And hopefully someone who doesn't have the means didn't get that ticket today. Cause they were busy right in mine.

• 15:50Haley Sacks?

  That's beautiful.

• 15:51Speaker 01

  So I have a better perspective now, but like at twenty, a parking ticket would have floored me. A speeding ticket?

• 15:58Haley Sacks?

  No.

• 15:59Speaker 01

  A $500 ticket, I would have been devastated, like weeks or days, but like to like climb out of that hole of like how irresponsible and now what and.

• 16:09Haley Sacks?

  You held yourself to this really high standard, which is so funny because it's like the work that you do is so joyful and like brings so much levity to people's lives. And you make so many people laugh and happy, but then it's like the other side of it is sort of like, you know, you're being really hard on yourself about the financial part of it.

• 16:26Speaker 01

  Yeah, I think it was, um, I just, when we finished doing the show when I was 19 years old, I had like a little bit of a runway. But I had to get to work because that certainly wasn't enough money supporting my mom and I for four years. To kind of not have to worry after another year or two.

• 16:43Haley Sacks?

  You sort of touched on this, but of course, like, like you said, everyone who sees you starring on a huge Nickelodeon show like Drake and Josh, they're gonna assume that you're set for life. They don't understand it.

• 16:53Speaker 01

  Sure.

• 16:54Haley Sacks?

  But so what does it actually look like now? Are you earning any residuals? How much is that?

• 16:59Speaker 01

  No, there's no residuals on kids TV.

• 17:01Haley Sacks?

  Wow.

• 17:02Speaker 01

  From back then at least.

• 17:03Haley Sacks?

  Wow.

• 17:04Speaker 01

  It's okay. But yeah, there was, it was when the final episode, we were done.

• 17:08Haley Sacks?

  You were done?

• 17:09Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 17:09Haley Sacks?

  And did you know like anything about the terms and negotiations for that early acting work? Like, were you involved at all? Like you said, it went up to 15K by the end. Like, was that just sort of, okay, this is what it is? Was, were you privy to like, you know, any of those talks? Because now you hear about, oh, the Friends cast all negotiated together and like.

• 17:31Speaker 01

  Right.

• 17:31Haley Sacks?

  But on Gilmore Girls, they didn't. And so they got screwed. And so, you know, but I feel like none of the child actors did that.

• 17:38Speaker 01

  Yeah, it was a different time. And I think it was, there was only one sort of, um, there was only one place to do it, right? I remember growing up and watching shows like All That and.

• 17:49Haley Sacks?

  Oh, such a good show.

• 17:50Speaker 01

  Keenan and Kel.

• 17:51Haley Sacks?

  Yeah.

• 17:51Speaker 01

  And dreaming of being like, wow, like there seems to be one place where. Kids are getting to act at a higher level. And so I think we all sort of accepted that it wasn't as though we could then go to five other networks or go to YouTube or somewhere else and say like, well, if you don't give me the opportunity, I've got a bunch of different avenues. So it was sort of like, take it or leave it.

• 18:13Haley Sacks?

  But in the same way, I talk a lot about like investing in your human capital and your skills. And it's like, even though you don't have residuals, you got something so valuable from the show, which is that you are burned into the culture. And like, it's earned. Like, I think that even if you hadn't been on the show, just because of who you are, you would have found this huge career in media. But there is something to be said too, for the fact that like, you have been in our lives since for so long that now like when people see you, there's this familiarity and it like, has put you in this different level of like social media.

• 18:46Speaker 01

  Yeah, I, I, I feel very lucky that at that age I had to figure out what was next. And I think the reason why I've been lucky enough, and I give Drake a lot of credit too, as far as like expanding his career and how successful he's been in music and touring and whatnot. And same thing for me, whether it was getting to do, you know, Oppenheimer or

• 19:07Haley Sacks?

  Ice Age.

• 19:07Speaker 01

  Ice Age, or I, you know, I did this show called Grandfathered where I played John Stamos's son on, on Fox, which I just wish I could tell Chubby Josh it was all going to work out.

• 19:18Haley Sacks?

  Yeah, that's amazing.

• 19:19Speaker 01

  But yeah, I wonder if I would have had that same drive and desire if I knew that I had a really soft cushion to fall back on.

• 19:26Haley Sacks?

  I love that. And do you think about that with your own kids, like in terms of generational wealth? Like, are you scared to give them too big of a cushion because you don't want them to not have that grit?

• 19:36Speaker 01

  Well, there's that Buffett quote, right? Like, give them enough so they can do anything.

• 19:40Haley Sacks?

  Not enough that they can't do anything.

• 19:42Speaker 01

  Right.

• 19:43Haley Sacks?

  Yeah.

• 19:43Speaker 01

  And so I want to make sure that they never have enough to do nothing. But I also, I want them to be passionate in whatever they do. I want them to know that the true, you know, virtuous jobs that unfortunately don't pay in our society, like that they can choose that as an avenue and hopefully I can subsidize them in some way, because they're meaningful and important jobs, but.

• 20:07Haley Sacks?

  Which honestly, I feel like it's better than like even like my parents. Put my sister through med school.

• 20:12Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 20:13Haley Sacks?

  And I'm like, putting a doctor in the world is like, what a great use of money.

• 20:18Speaker 01

  What a gift.

• 20:18Haley Sacks?

  Yeah, what a gift. Like, do whatever you need to do to keep this girl working, because it's like, we need doctors.

• 20:25Speaker 01

  Looking at my kids, five, 29, every month and knowing that, you know, I'm able to put a little money away every month.

• 20:31Haley Sacks?

  Yeah.

• 20:31Speaker 01

  Through beautiful compound interest.

• 20:33Haley Sacks?

  I love it.

• 20:33Speaker 01

  And the wonderful Vanguard Fund.

• 20:35Haley Sacks?

  Oh, heaven, a VLO.

• 20:37Speaker 01

  That they'll be, you know, 18 and have money to go to a four-year, if that's what they choose, like, it means everything.

• 20:44Haley Sacks?

  And how did you gain that financial literacy to, you know, even know about 529? Were people brought into your life to help you manage your finances? And even now, like, who's on the team?

• 20:56Speaker 01

  You know, I'll give a lot of credit to my mom, who, early on, I think, just sort of the stakes and what she was going through as a single mom, trying to navigate the world. She wasn't as good with money as she was sort of later in her life. And I think there was just a bit of survivor mode, which is understandable. And, and so, but then she was incredibly helpful for me with navigating that stuff, putting great people around me. I have an incredible accountant, and I have a big brother from the Big Brother Foundation since I was young.

• 21:25Haley Sacks?

  I love Big Brother.

• 21:26Speaker 01

  It's the best, since I was eight years old, and he was the best man at my wedding, Dan.

• 21:29Haley Sacks?

  Wait, really?

• 21:30Speaker 01

  He's the best guy I know, and he-

• 21:32Haley Sacks?

  I love that.

• 21:33Speaker 01

  He writes books on finance, so.

• 21:35Haley Sacks?

  Oh, my God.

• 21:36Speaker 01

  He's been incredibly helpful. So I would say like, that triangle of my mom and a wonderful accountant, shout out Andrea, we love you, and Dan, I've been really lucky. But I've also been like, growing up the way I did financially, like, it clicked for me immediately, where I was like, ah, got you, like, index funds.

• 21:54Haley Sacks?

  Yeah.

• 21:54Speaker 01

  Like, 5% to 7% interest.

• 21:57Haley Sacks?

  Yeah. Don't get rich quick.

• 21:59Speaker 01

  9% on a great year, maybe.

• 22:01Haley Sacks?

  Yeah.

• 22:01Speaker 01

  And like, buy things that you cannot look at for the next 30 years. And like, not have to look at it every day. I was like, oh, good old fashioned, boring investing. Sounds right up, sounds really hot.

• 22:12Haley Sacks?

  Yeah, though, that's how I am, too. I'm like, it couldn't be me when people talk about like, getting rich quick and all this, like, I mean, you must get a lot of deals of angel investing and- Be part of this company.

• 22:21Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 22:22Haley Sacks?

  And so, but you're more.

• 22:23Speaker 01

  I never do it.

• 22:24Haley Sacks?

  Yeah.

• 22:24Speaker 01

  I'm missing out.

• 22:25Haley Sacks?

  Yeah.

• 22:26Speaker 01

  I, uh, here and there, I mean, I'm, I'm starting to maybe like dabble slightly in that, but, and look, I see people all around me who've taken big swings and have done really well, but I'm like, it's also, I think like the theme of our conversation has been like taking that silver lining and, and treating it as the blessing in, in the sense of these things, these hardships, challenges that we go through. And I, I had to make sure my mom was okay my whole life. So I couldn't like, at 19 and 20, take the same swing as like a YouTuber that I'll see.

• 22:56Haley Sacks?

  Yeah.

• 22:57Speaker 01

  Who might become a millionaire like that, but it's like, but they didn't have to worry. They knew they could always sleep on someone's couch.

• 23:03Haley Sacks?

  Yeah.

• 23:04Speaker 01

  I knew I could, but my mom can't. Like she's 70.

• 23:07Haley Sacks?

  Yeah.

• 23:08Speaker 01

  So I knew that I had to keep my shit together as much as I could.

• 23:12Haley Sacks?

  Yeah. You wanted stability more than you wanted like these to get rich quick.

• 23:17Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 23:17Haley Sacks?

  Yeah. I love that. I completely relate to that. And I also think that like, there's no right financial, there's, okay, there's a financial book that I love called, that everyone's read, called the Psychology of Money. And in the book, it's the whole thing. He's telling you all the things to do, the index funds, emergency fund, how to pay off debt, why you are the way you are, you know, the whole gamut of a finance book. And then the last chapter, he explains that he doesn't do all this stuff. That actually what makes him and his wife feel comfortable, it's like have a little too much in savings.

• 23:50Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 23:51Haley Sacks?

  And like to, you know, maybe like they don't take that much risk. And like, just because of who they are, they've found a financial life that feels really safe for them. But it's not necessarily the one that's the most optimized, but it's the one that works for whatever traumas they're bringing in, which we know your, your relationship with money is separate. I'm, you're seven years old, so we carry a lot of baggage.

• 24:13Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 24:14Haley Sacks?

  So it's about figuring out how it works for you the best.

• 24:17Speaker 01

  I'm the same way. Like knowing that I have a bit of liquidity for like those rainy day moments.

• 24:21Haley Sacks?

  Yeah, it probably makes you feel really good.

• 24:23Speaker 01

  And sometimes I'll talk to like my financial advisor and he'll start glitching. He'll be like, it's just sitting there.

• 24:28Haley Sacks?

  Yeah.

• 24:28Speaker 01

  I'll be like, you better believe it, Richard. And he'll be like, what treasury bonds? Can we buy some treasury bills?

• 24:35Haley Sacks?

  Yeah, he's dying to.

• 24:36Speaker 01

  Nope, you better keep your hands off, Richard.

• 24:39Haley Sacks?

  You have a really long term, reasonable outlook with money. I'm assumed you've been in your fair share of rooms like filled with rich celebrities. So what do you think is sort of the worst financial advice that celebrities give each other or take?

• 24:53Speaker 01

  To give each other, I'm not sure. I mean, we had Mr. Beast on the podcast and he was like, if you make your personality your thing, like getting that Lamborghini or getting that fancy prize. Like, first of all, best case scenario, you get it and then it's going to become something else.

• 25:09Haley Sacks?

  Yeah.

• 25:10Speaker 01

  It's just not going to live up to the hype. But I would say like, I just don't think there's any world where you need to posture in any, like or peacock in any way anymore.

• 25:22Haley Sacks?

  Yeah.

• 25:22Speaker 01

  In my particular business, like, I don't think you need the watch. I don't think you need the car.

• 25:27Haley Sacks?

  Yeah.

• 25:28Speaker 01

  I don't think you need, there are other businesses. I guess if you're a realtor, you should have a nice car ideally.

• 25:33Haley Sacks?

  Oh, yeah, because you're maybe you're driving people around.

• 25:35Speaker 01

  Yeah, I guess you don't want to like pull up like in a 98 Accord, even though that would be sick. Like you show up to like a listing in a 2001 Mitsubishi.

• 25:44Haley Sacks?

  I'm sort of obsessed.

• 25:44Speaker 01

  I'm buying from this guy.

• 25:45Haley Sacks?

  Yeah, I'm like, they got value. That's what I care more about. It's like, does this person know a dollar?

• 25:51Speaker 01

  And there's also like such like you can dress beautifully for like inexpensively and it's.

• 25:57Haley Sacks?

  I mean, Mango, Mango.

• 25:58Speaker 01

  Come on.

• 25:59Haley Sacks?

  Gotta love a little Mango.

• 26:00Speaker 01

  Quince.

• 26:00Haley Sacks?

  Quince, oh, great, great podcast sponsor. We love them.

• 26:04Speaker 01

  Last thing that, that rich people are buying it. What do you need multiple homes for? Can't live in all of them.

• 26:09Haley Sacks?

  Can't live in all of them.

• 26:10Speaker 01

  It's going to become such a stress.

• 26:12Haley Sacks?

  I know, I really, that freaks me out more than anything, Josh, is being cash, poor, house, rich.

• 26:19Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 26:19Haley Sacks?

  And I see it all the time, even with people who have one home, because in New York, it's so, I mean, it's expensive here, but like it's, and to do the renovation and on the Upper East Side now, it's like this whole peacocking of renovations. Everyone's talking about how long the renovations take. Oh, my renovations, four years, they're delayed. Oh, it's going to be five. Like, it's like this, they want you to know that how much renovation they're doing. And I'm like, it couldn't be me. I want to rent in New York forever. I fucking love renting.

• 26:46Speaker 01

  And what's the maintenance in like, all these buildings? We're talking about four or $5,000 a month maintenance?

• 26:51Haley Sacks?

  No, it's so crazy. And I'm like, why wouldn't I rent and invest my money? And then maybe I'm gonna buy a house that's like, a second, a second home, but like, you know, a

• 27:00Speaker 01

  In a tax incentive state.

• 27:01Haley Sacks?

  That's what I was thinking. I'm like, Pennsylvania, bring me there. They've got lower tax rate. And it's like, go there on the weekends and like, it's, you know, will be great. But like, even there, it's like, I'm not gonna do the whole thing.

• 27:11Speaker 01

  And it's also the stress of you get that place and then it's like, we're not there. It's just sitting.

• 27:18Haley Sacks?

  And what about the air conditioner?

• 27:19Speaker 01

  Who's watching it?

• 27:20Haley Sacks?

  Yeah. Who's there?

• 27:21Speaker 01

  It's a fucking money pit.

• 27:22Haley Sacks?

  But in the same way, when you get to a certain level, like for rich people, they, when you're really rich, you're trying to figure out how to spend your money in the most incentivized way. And real estate has a lot of tax advantages and it is something that is, uh, your incentivized, it's good to pass down to heirs. So I think that for really rich people, a lot of times, the way that you see them spend money is less even about like, peacocking and more about like, how can I spread my wealth out so that I, because income is the worst kind of money to have. Income is so easily taxed. So you want assets because assets only get taxed really when you sell them.

• 28:02Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 28:03Haley Sacks?

  So the more that you can have your money in physical things or even stocks, whatever, that's really good.

• 28:09Speaker 01

  Yeah. Yeah, it makes sense.

• 28:10Haley Sacks?

  Yeah. But I think that like for, like for me, I would, I don't, I'm like, couldn't be me. Okay. So what's a financial habit that you sort of kept from your struggling years that you feel like still serves you today?

• 28:21Speaker 01

  Again, like silly things like convenience charges and whatnot. Like, I think I'm pretty, I try to be pretty on top of that. And I, I just don't change my lifestyle much.

• 28:31Haley Sacks?

  Like even if you make money, you never increase.

• 28:34Speaker 01

  I know, I absolutely increases. I mean, look, I, I started making money when I was a single guy. Now I'm married with three kids.

• 28:41Haley Sacks?

  Three is a lot of kids.

• 28:42Speaker 01

  And I still have a Barbara. I still have a mother.

• 28:45Haley Sacks?

  Yeah, you got a mother. She's in Florida.

• 28:47Speaker 01

  She's okay. And she deserves a good life. And I want to make sure. She's always taken care of. So yeah, I have a, I have a healthy overhead, but it doesn't feel like, I feel like our luxuries, like if we have someone who maybe helps out with the kids for a couple of hours during the week or whatever, like that allows, you know, my wife time to take care of herself and not feel inundate, you know, constantly inundated and allows me to work. So like those kinds of luxuries, I think as opposed to like something incredibly showy or material.

• 29:16Haley Sacks?

  Yeah, like the one you're buying back time.

• 29:18Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 29:19Haley Sacks?

  Which I really think is the best way to use your money.

• 29:21Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 29:21Haley Sacks?

  So what would you, what do you think is your like overhead per month?

• 29:24Speaker 01

  My overhead per month? I don't know. Probably I had like 30 to 40,000 maybe a month, somewhere in there.

• 29:32Haley Sacks?

  And how much is it like per kid? Like, do you know when you have a kid, like, oh, it's going to increase it this much or it's not that linear?

• 29:38Speaker 01

  Well, you know, because I, I think the big expenses come with childcare in the form of like, you know, either if you have someone who helps when you have a bunch of kids and or just preschools are expensive, right? Like even like my kids are in public school, but like, which was important to me.

• 29:55Haley Sacks?

  Yeah.

• 29:56Speaker 01

  But, you know, usually preschool isn't free anywhere. So that's going to run you, you know, at least, I don't know, two grand a month.

• 30:05Haley Sacks?

  Yeah. And in New York, it's insane.

• 30:07Speaker 01

  Yeah, easily between a grand and two grand a month.

• 30:10Haley Sacks?

  Yeah, that's so much.

• 30:11Speaker 01

  Well, the private school hustle is bananas.

• 30:13Haley Sacks?

  Yeah. I think it's really great that you're just like out of that.

• 30:16Speaker 01

  I feel lucky in that way. And look, we, we moved to a place where like the taxes and the living reflects, like it's not, there's no free lunch, but it was like, I really wanted to have my kids grow up in, in a way that allowed for them to be exposed to everyone as opposed to just like an elite few.

• 30:35Haley Sacks?

  I know. That's what I struggle with on the Upper East Side too, where I'm like, I love being by the park and I love like that area, but I also hate that it's a bubble. It's how I feel about members clubs too. I'm like, it's great that like you're in this members club, but then you're so isolated with who you can meet. And to me, like my favorite people are like weird comedians. Like I started my career doing improv, I'm sorry, like comedy stand up. I know.

• 31:01Speaker 01

  What do you ground?

• 31:01Haley Sacks?

  I know. UCB even worse.

• 31:04Speaker 01

  You were UCB?

• 31:05Haley Sacks?

  I was at UCB.

• 31:05Speaker 01

  Great. I bet you were great.

• 31:07Haley Sacks?

  I mean, I don't know. I'm hoping there's no.

• 31:09Speaker 01

  Performances?

• 31:10Haley Sacks?

  Yes, I'm sure. I was like in a bad study. I was loving it, but like, those are still a bunch of my friends. And it's like, like, we've taken completely different paths in life and like, I like, I would never meet them if I was in a bubble.

• 31:22Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 31:22Haley Sacks?

  You know, like, it's like, those are the people who expand your world and who are like, who connect with you on a different level versus what you have. What a boring thing to be friends with someone based on like, your socioeconomic status. I would rather connect with someone about anything else, what books I read, what, how, like, mostly vibe. Are you funny? That's really it.

• 31:41Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 31:41Haley Sacks?

  Yeah.

• 31:42Speaker 01

  I find people constantly need others to, people need new people in their lives to be pre-qualified.

• 31:49Haley Sacks?

  I agree. That's such a good way to put it.

• 31:51Speaker 01

  And I'm like, just live a little bit.

• 31:53Haley Sacks?

  Yeah.

• 31:54Speaker 01

  Like, have that conversation at the supermarket, like, meet someone.

• 31:58Haley Sacks?

  That is true, but you know where the one place I don't think it works is dating.

• 32:03Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 32:03Haley Sacks?

  Because I think that with dating, actually being pre-qualified is helpful because if you're gonna build a life with someone, it sort of helps if someone has like a similar life to yours.

• 32:12Speaker 01

  Sure.

• 32:13Haley Sacks?

  You know, where like, I've tried to date people who are like, really different than me and like, want really different things. Cause I'm like, oh, this is interesting. Like, they're expanding my worldview, all of this. But then it like, actually becomes that like, your idea of the future is so different than theirs that like, it's never going to match up.

• 32:27Speaker 01

  What have you found was sort of one of the worst traits that someone you dated where it immediately just kind of messed things up between you two?

• 32:37Haley Sacks?

  When people are like, and I hate when people complain about their jobs. I understand that a lot of jobs suck and like, I'm not saying that you can't complain, but it's like, when you, like, I wouldn't want to listen to someone for the next 40 years, talk about a life, complain about a life that they're not making any effort to change. You know, like, I understand that we all have to do every, like, do things that we don't want to do to get paid. And I, but like, when, like, I dated this doctor who I feel like was really like gaming the system, like, like not going into work sometimes. Cause he was like, they don't pay me enough, like, duh, duh, duh. And I just was like, sort of. Like I didn't love that. You know what I mean? I was like, I don't like.

• 33:13Speaker 01

  He like works in an ER.

• 33:15Haley Sacks?

  Yeah, no, he literally worked in the hospital. And he'd be like, yeah, I was woodworking today. And I was like, did you have work? And he was like.

• 33:20Speaker 01

  I left my pager at the gym.

• 33:23Haley Sacks?

  Yeah, someone needed you. Yeah. So I was like, okay, great that you're like getting yours. But also like, I'm not a badass in that way. Like, I'm like, I dot my i's, I cross my t's. Like, I want to do the best job that I can at what I do. Like, that matters to me. And no matter what you're doing, be the best that you can be. And I think also, like, if you're gonna have kids with someone, like, that's who you want to have kids with is someone who's like bringing that energy, even if they're not making as much money as you. As long as they're like passionate, you know?

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• 34:53Haley Sacks?

  You got married relatively early by Hollywood standards.

• 34:55Speaker 01

  Super young. I mean, we met when I was 24, she was 20.

• 34:59Haley Sacks?

  That's crazy.

• 35:00Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 35:00Haley Sacks?

  So what was like your financial alignment strategy with your wife when you were transitioning from dating to marriage? Like, did you combine assets? Do you keep things separate?

• 35:10Speaker 01

  Yeah, everything is combined, sort of very, very standard.

• 35:13Haley Sacks?

  Yeah.

• 35:13Speaker 01

  But, um.

• 35:14Haley Sacks?

  No prenup?

• 35:15Speaker 01

  No prenup. What's great about my wife is that she grew up like in a, in a nice way, but like nothing like crazy over the top, but I don't think she ever had to worry and had any financial insecurity, which is also a gift I'd like to give my kids. Like,

• 35:30Haley Sacks?

  Sounds like you are.

• 35:31Speaker 01

  I don't think it's a bad thing.

• 35:33Haley Sacks?

  Yeah, I don't think I have it. I don't, I think that's a real gift to not have that stress.

• 35:36Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 35:37Haley Sacks?

  Being a kid is hard enough.

• 35:38Speaker 01

  It's totally hard enough. So it was interesting because like in, you know, she's not about, she grew up in a beautiful home. So it wasn't about the things, right? Like her standard of living was lovely and nice, but like it was never about a fancy car or the belt buckle, or like whatever the things that I grew up caring about.

• 35:58Haley Sacks?

  Yeah.

• 35:58Speaker 01

  She has made me so much healthier when it comes to money. It's kind of crazy.

• 36:02Haley Sacks?

  I love that.

• 36:03Speaker 01

  She doesn't have any of my isms. It's so annoying.

• 36:05Haley Sacks?

  I love that.

• 36:06Speaker 01

  It's a different way of looking at money and life.

• 36:08Haley Sacks?

  What do you think her ways are? Like what has she taught you?

• 36:10Speaker 01

  Sometimes she'll call me and be like, I'm about to go spend $300. I'm like, live, live a little.

• 36:16Haley Sacks?

  Live a little.

• 36:17Speaker 01

  And like, obviously like that's, you know, like it matters to her when she's going to go and spend some money and whatnot. And she's thoughtful about it, but she doesn't have any of that, like those deep fears that are irrational.

• 36:32Haley Sacks?

  But it's also interesting that you know they're irrational.

• 36:34Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 36:34Haley Sacks?

  When you see, I mean, there's a lot of portrayals of couples on social media and how they deal with money. And it's sort of like this joke of, you know, the wife pranking her husband by being like, I paid the mortgage and him being like, oh wow, like funniest joke ever. You know, like those videos where it's like the woman is sort of like, I went to Target, like I slipped and fell and like spent $5,000. Whoops, honey. Like, don't look at your credit card bill.

• 36:55Speaker 01

  At Target? How could you?

• 36:57Haley Sacks?

  How could you?

• 36:58Speaker 01

  Take you all day.

• 36:59Haley Sacks?

  I know.

• 36:59Speaker 01

  You'd have to like 10 carts.

• 37:01Haley Sacks?

  I mean, a lot of people will clear their schedules.

• 37:03Speaker 01

  I love Target. A Target run at like nine o'clock at night?

• 37:06Haley Sacks?

  That there's

• 37:06Speaker 01

  It's a real dream. You don't know from that because you're a city girl.

• 37:09Haley Sacks?

  No, but I grew up, I had a house, double house, I had a house in Bedford. And so we would go and they had really good snacks.

• 37:15Speaker 01

  What a gift. Just walking the aisles in a nice Target with a fountain beverage.

• 37:19Haley Sacks?

  Yeah, a fountain beverage.

• 37:20Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 37:21Haley Sacks?

  That's heaven.

• 37:22Speaker 01

  And just throwing stuff in the cart because why not?

• 37:25Haley Sacks?

  Why not?

• 37:25Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 37:26Haley Sacks?

  Yes. You know, it does add up, but like, who am I? And I'm buying art supplies, by the way.

• 37:31Speaker 01

  Come on.

• 37:31Haley Sacks?

  Am I ever using them? No, but I'm going to buy like 1,200 different markers.

• 37:34Speaker 01

  This canvas.

• 37:35Haley Sacks?

  Yes, I need it. I need it.

• 37:37Speaker 01

  You never know.

• 37:37Haley Sacks?

  Brings out the artist in me. But so do you feel like on the way that social media portrays like relationships and money? Like, how do you feel about that?

• 37:44Speaker 01

  I don't know. I feel lucky that my wife's like, I don't want to be in your social media for the most part. Like, we're not a social media couple. I don't show my kids.

• 37:52Haley Sacks?

  When you show your wife, though, rarely, do you feel like it outperforms?

• 37:56Speaker 01

  No, here and there. I mean, like, people enjoy seeing it and she has her own, you know, social media profile. Like, I actually think she wouldn't mind if I asked her more, but I'm like conditioned in a good way. Like, she's not going to do sticky bits with me.

• 38:08Haley Sacks?

  Yeah.

• 38:08Speaker 01

  Because she has like healthy boundaries. I'm like, what are those?

• 38:11Haley Sacks?

  Yeah.

• 38:11Speaker 01

  Like, yeah, like, I don't recognize them. I'm like, um, you know, they're about to yell action. Get on your mark. And she's like, I'm a whole person. Like, I did not grow up the way you did. And it's healthy. And she's like, and in so many business decisions I make where, you know, something will be a good rate, like something that could be some good money.

• 38:31Haley Sacks?

  Yeah.

• 38:32Speaker 01

  Just long term, it's just like, it's not a net positive for where I'm trying to go or what I'm trying to do. And she'll be like, for what? Like, we're okay.

• 38:39Haley Sacks?

  That's so good. So she also teaches, she teaches you the value of enough, but also how to say no.

• 38:43Speaker 01

  Yeah, which is everything.

• 38:45Haley Sacks?

  Yeah, literally.

• 38:46Speaker 01

  For someone like me.

• 38:47Haley Sacks?

  So you support your family financially. Obviously, it's like a, takes a village to raise three kids. And like, you know, equal partners, all of that. But you also support your mom. And it sounds like you have really good boundaries with your mom, with your wife about, or like a good relationship with your wife about sharing money. But like with your mom, do you ever feel like you have to be like, she needs to call you and be like, Josh, I'm about to spend $300?

• 39:07Speaker 01

  You don't know Barb.

• 39:08Haley Sacks?

  I want to know Barb. Is Barb out there just like swiping the card?

• 39:12Speaker 01

  Livin', no. She's super respectful because she knows, she was there for every second of it. I'm surrounded by people who really understand where we all came from.

• 39:20Haley Sacks?

  I love that.

• 39:21Speaker 01

  It's a pleasure and she's 82. She had me later in life.

• 39:25Haley Sacks?

  What a gift.

• 39:25Speaker 01

  She's turning 82 on Wednesday. I'm gonna go see her.

• 39:28Haley Sacks?

  So sweet.

• 39:28Speaker 01

  And, uh, and so let her enjoy.

• 39:31Haley Sacks?

  Let them.

• 39:31Speaker 01

  So if she wants to order avocado with her Cobb salad, let her.

• 39:35Haley Sacks?

  Let her.

• 39:36Speaker 01

  Come on.

• 39:37Haley Sacks?

  Come on.

• 39:38Speaker 01

  I'm like, get the good lox. You don't have to get the Costco lox. Costco has great lox, but I'm like, if you want to get the higher end Nova for your bagel, live a little.

• 39:48Haley Sacks?

  How does the money compare as an influencer versus an actor?

• 39:51Speaker 01

  When I was 15 years old and started making money on Drake and Josh, it was sort of like, uh, I was like, okay, this, this gives me a lot of power, like, and it gave me a lot of security. And I was like, I'll never, I'll do everything within my power to be able to provide for the rest of my life.

• 40:08Haley Sacks?

  I love that.

• 40:08Speaker 01

  It was a terrible feeling as like a little kid where I was like, I saw my mom struggle, but I couldn't do anything about it.

• 40:13Haley Sacks?

  Yeah, you should call grandma.

• 40:14Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 40:15Haley Sacks?

  That was the only lever you could pull. Then you were like, wait, I am the lever.

• 40:18Speaker 01

  I am grandma.

• 40:19Haley Sacks?

  I am grandma.

• 40:20Speaker 01

  Grandma energy.

• 40:21Haley Sacks?

  Grandma is me. Yeah.

• 40:22Speaker 01

  And then I went through, you know, again, it was spending a lot of my twenties with that financial insecurity because I had a little bit of a cushion, but it was constantly, you know, praying that the next job was gonna bring something in so that I could add to that cushion or at least not have to deplete it too much. And then when I started on social media, it was the first time that I could like do a job and work at something and make money pretty instantaneously.

• 40:47Haley Sacks?

  Yeah.

• 40:48Speaker 01

  And it was revelatory.

• 40:49Haley Sacks?

  Yeah.

• 40:49Speaker 01

  I'll never forget it. It was 2014. I'd never been on vacation. I was 27 maybe. And I was dating Paige, who's now my wife, and, um, I'd gotten really big on Vine.

• 41:01Haley Sacks?

  Oh, I was big on Vine too.

• 41:02Speaker 01

  R I P.

• 41:02Haley Sacks?

  Yeah, R I P, but it broke us all.

• 41:04Speaker 01

  The best.

• 41:05Haley Sacks?

  Yeah.

• 41:06Speaker 01

  And I got my first.

• 41:07Haley Sacks?

  You must have been huge on Vine.

• 41:08Speaker 01

  I was the number one person on Vine.

• 41:09Haley Sacks?

  No, you weren't.

• 41:10Speaker 01

  Well, yeah.

• 41:11Haley Sacks?

  That is insane.

• 41:12Speaker 01

  And then King Batch beat me and he deserves it.

• 41:14Haley Sacks?

  He deserves, wait, number one on Vine? Holy shit.

• 41:17Speaker 01

  I was the number one person on there and I remember.

• 41:20Haley Sacks?

  Were people monetizing Vine?

• 41:22Speaker 01

  Well, uh, it, the first brand deals came about.

• 41:25Haley Sacks?

  Wow.

• 41:25Speaker 01

  I remember it was in July. And it was July of 2014 and I got this brand deal with this dating company called Badu.

• 41:33Haley Sacks?

  Okay, Badu, of course.

• 41:34Speaker 01

  Of course.

• 41:34Haley Sacks?

  Of course.

• 41:35Speaker 01

  And they were like, we'll give you five grand to make a vine. And I was like, and they were like, we'll PayPal you. And they were in Europe and I'm like, this probably is not going to turn out.

• 41:44Haley Sacks?

  Yeah.

• 41:45Speaker 01

  Okay, worst case, I spent an hour making this video and they don't send me the money and I'll take it down. And it hit, like, I posted it and within an hour, it hit my PayPal. And I was like, huh. And they were like, you want to do like a couple more this month? And I was like, huh. And it was, and I remember within that month, I made like $20,000.

• 42:06Haley Sacks?

  Fuck, yeah.

• 42:07Speaker 01

  From social media. And I called my wife and I was like, let's go to Bali.

• 42:11Haley Sacks?

  I love that.

• 42:12Speaker 01

  Her boss was going to Indonesia and was like, we know it really well. Like, do you want to come with us? And I was like, ah, like, so expensive. And, and I like, never felt comfortable to leave LA. I'm like, what if I get an audition? And like, that's the one, right?

• 42:23Haley Sacks?

  Yeah.

• 42:24Speaker 01

  And I was like, let's go, let's go, let's do it.

• 42:26Haley Sacks?

  Wow.

• 42:27Speaker 01

  So I feel very grateful to have, to have social media because it made me confident to marry my wife.

• 42:33Haley Sacks?

  Wow.

• 42:34Speaker 01

  It made me confident enough to have kids. Cause I knew that always being at the mercy of the gatekeepers, maybe I'll get that TV show. Maybe I'll get that movie and it'll be a great financial hit, but it could be a year in between, two years.

• 42:47Haley Sacks?

  So hard.

• 42:48Speaker 01

  But this, it's like, if I continue to work at it all the time, like data has shown that something comes up every couple of weeks, every couple of months. And it's, it's everything.

• 42:56Haley Sacks?

  So how much now do you get for brand deals?

• 42:58Speaker 01

  It vacillates, but sometimes it can be five figures, sometimes it can be six figures. It depends.

• 43:02Haley Sacks?

  Hell, yeah, we love it. I know there's, it's so, and it's, but it's not easy money. Like Josh, you're making so much content and it's so funny. So like, what's your process there? Like, is it just your brain? Like, you've just always had this like genius for the social content or like?

• 43:18Speaker 01

  I keep it up. I always do it. There's certainly people that are like way better than me. And I also sometimes go, you're going to be 40. Like, give it up, kid. But like, people wanted, people enjoy it.

• 43:28Haley Sacks?

  You're not allowed to quit. I want you to be Barb's age in doing it. I need the videos.

• 43:32Speaker 01

  I would love to be, but it's, you're so right. Cause I, you know, you'll hear people go. Whether it's actors or social media people and they're like, well, this one deal netted me X, you know, I made $50,000 for, you know, this two weeks in this movie, right? And people go like, are you kidding me? Like, I have to spend an entire year to make that money. And I'm like, well, yeah, but

• 43:53Haley Sacks?

  It is an entire year to make that money.

• 43:55Speaker 01

  It was 50 weeks of them getting no work and, and a million auditions and a million failed attempts and

• 44:02Haley Sacks?

  Their mom driving them to auditions when they were little and like, just like, from, like, it's so much human capital built. And like, I know, I feel like that too. The, that's what, I feel like you're the same where you started young enough where it wasn't this like defined career, the influencer thing at least, or like, and now it's so interesting to see people like pursue it, just like, I feel like on the preface of the fact that like, it is higher earning or whatever, but it's like, it doesn't really make sense to me because it's not, the money is like, it doesn't, the amount of time and effort that you have to put into it, it's like, you have to really love it. How do you think about diversifying your income streams? Because you have your podcast, you have social media, you have reels, you have your house.

• 44:46Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 44:46Haley Sacks?

  You have, and you're doing acting still. So are you thinking about like, any others? Like, what's like your number one?

• 44:54Speaker 01

  I would probably say, yeah, the, the podcast is great, social is great. And then

• 45:00Haley Sacks?

  Josh has the best podcast. It is so funny.

• 45:02Speaker 01

  The Good Guys Podcast.

• 45:03Haley Sacks?

  It's so good. It's literally

• 45:05Speaker 01

  We loved having you.

• 45:06Haley Sacks?

  But the girlies love it.

• 45:07Speaker 01

  I'm so glad.

• 45:08Haley Sacks?

  It is really like, it's just, it's a treat.

• 45:11Speaker 01

  Yeah, we try to be girl, girls, guys.

• 45:13Haley Sacks?

  No, you are girls, guys, but also you're just like, have the best energy. And you're so funny.

• 45:18Speaker 01

  We're basically like two old Jewish men.

• 45:20Haley Sacks?

  You are.

• 45:20Speaker 01

  Thirty something bodies who just

• 45:22Haley Sacks?

  You, you need your own Curb Your Enthusiasm. Like, it's sort of that vibe.

• 45:26Speaker 01

  It's fun. We have a great time and we get to have on great people and just complain.

• 45:30Haley Sacks?

  Yeah.

• 45:31Speaker 01

  It's a wonderful complaint.

• 45:32Haley Sacks?

  I love it.

• 45:32Speaker 01

  But yeah, I would say those are sort of the major things. And then, but then, you know, as far as I did this show on Disney Plus for a season called Turner and Hooch. And that was a few years ago. And that was like this great, you know, year of making like steady income.

• 45:47Haley Sacks?

  Oh, yeah.

• 45:47Speaker 01

  That was like a nice like weekly paycheck. So You know, showbiz can be great. It's just you want to make sure that you have something to pay for the times where it gets slow.

• 45:57Haley Sacks?

  In the book, I talk a lot about like, if you have unstable income, like whether you're in show business or maybe you have your own business where you are getting paid like every two months or something, like understanding what your average is.

• 46:10Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 46:11Haley Sacks?

  That you need to live and like then, you know, still creating like a salary system for yourself, because I think it's really confusing otherwise to like feel safety. If you're just always having inconsistent income and then you have those periods without it, like you need to like be good about having your savings and like spending within your means.

• 46:30Speaker 01

  I just think like, don't adjust your lifestyle for a really long time. Like if you start making money, like whatever you needed to do to survive, like within reason, like, you know, pick those small ways to upgrade your life, but like, don't overhaul it. Like I've seen it happen so many times.

• 46:46Haley Sacks?

  Yeah.

• 46:46Speaker 01

  So many people I've come up with and worked with and like they had one or two great years of money and then they bought a house that reflected those years.

• 46:54Haley Sacks?

  Yeah.

• 46:54Speaker 01

  And I'm like, what are you gonna do if it gets tight? Like, I can't, I, I'm too neurotic, but like, I didn't buy, you know, I didn't buy a house till I was, you know, 37 years old, 36 years old. And I knew that God forbid, like, everything fell to shit, like I could sustain it for a good amount of time.

• 47:13Haley Sacks?

  But what's also cool too is I love that you took the power back and you have the social media to like, make money from your pocket.

• 47:19Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 47:19Haley Sacks?

  And I, I think it's so interesting that you had that fear of leaving LA. Like that comes so much from like needing to provide and like you, you're, you know, what do you say? Like, once you were broke, like you're gonna run like your pants are on fire to never be broke again. And that's so interesting.

• 47:36Speaker 01

  It's also a version of what's important to you, like now, especially with kids. Like, had I not done the social, I do get offered things that would take me away for a month or two that I'm not terribly passionate about. That would be a good way to make income, but I'm like, but.

• 47:49Haley Sacks?

  You do a brand deal from home.

• 47:50Speaker 01

  I have to spend two months doing something that I feel like isn't great.

• 47:53Haley Sacks?

  Yeah.

• 47:54Speaker 01

  And so I feel lucky to be able to kind of pass on those and make money in other ways.

• 47:58Haley Sacks?

  I love it. So let's do a few more rapid fires and we'll wrap it up.

• 48:02Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 48:02Haley Sacks?

  So what was the first rich person thing you bought when you felt successful?

• 48:06Speaker 01

  Taking that vacation to Bali was kind of it. And I didn't have to sweat it. And we flew, I don't mean to brag, premium economy.

• 48:14Haley Sacks?

  Oh, hell, yeah.

• 48:15Speaker 01

  We were doing just fine.

• 48:17Haley Sacks?

  Okay.

• 48:17Speaker 01

  That's right.

• 48:18Haley Sacks?

  You got that extra leg room.

• 48:19Speaker 01

  I checked a couple of extra bags.

• 48:20Haley Sacks?

  Oh, did you?

• 48:21Speaker 01

  Just for the fuck of it.

• 48:22Haley Sacks?

  Just for the fuck of it. You needed it in Bali.

• 48:24Speaker 01

  Sure.

• 48:25Haley Sacks?

  What's the most expensive mistake you've ever made?

• 48:27Speaker 01

  Oh, I got some good advice on something that I invested in years ago. And then I just like never checked back in. And I literally wrote it all the way up and wrote it all the way down. Like, I didn't lose my principal, but like, I could have exited.

• 48:41Haley Sacks?

  Sold at the top.

• 48:42Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 48:42Haley Sacks?

  Yeah.

• 48:43Speaker 01

  And I like literally just like, like a full arch.

• 48:48Haley Sacks?

  Maybe that's why we need to just be passive investors. Um, if I secretly audited your bank statements, what would surprise people the most?

• 48:55Speaker 01

  Oh, this was a good example. We were at, my wife and I were getting a membership at Costco because we were using like my old family membership for years.

• 49:04Haley Sacks?

  Love.

• 49:05Speaker 01

  And the woman was like, uh, you spend a lot at Costco? And I was like, I don't know, reasonable amount. She's like, because we have the higher end membership that you get 2% back.

• 49:13Haley Sacks?

  Wow.

• 49:14Speaker 01

  At the end of the year. But it's like 150 as opposed to 100 or whatever. And I was like, I said, well, let me look at your account. She's like, oh yeah, you spent $9,000 at Costco last year.

• 49:23Haley Sacks?

  Oh, my God.

• 49:23Speaker 01

  What? I was like, I did? And like, it makes sense now when I think of kids and, and gas for the cars. And like, there's just so much stuff. All the hot, $1.30.

• 49:33Haley Sacks?

  Yeah.

• 49:34Speaker 01

  So good.

• 49:35Haley Sacks?

  So good.

• 49:36Speaker 01

  They got rid of the onions and the accoutrement.

• 49:38Haley Sacks?

  That is, that was the most important part for me. It's like a frozen yogurt with no topping.

• 49:41Speaker 01

  What do they call it? A loss leader? Like it's.

• 49:43Haley Sacks?

  Yeah, yeah, it's a loss. It's like a, like something that gets you in the store. I think it is a loss leader.

• 49:48Speaker 01

  Yeah, like he's willing to take a loss on it.

• 49:50Haley Sacks?

  Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 49:51Speaker 01

  They'll never raise the rate.

• 49:52Haley Sacks?

  Yeah, he shouldn't. We need it. Okay, well, Josh Peck, you are a dream. This was so fun to have you on the financial team.

• 49:58Speaker 01

  This was so wonderful.

• 49:59Haley Sacks?

  You are the best. Thanks for your financial transparency.

• 50:02Speaker 01

  No problem.

• 50:03Haley Sacks?

  And for just being the best.

• 50:04Speaker 01

  I couldn't, I do listen to the pod and so I was like, I gotta come with the numbers. Otherwise, people are gonna be like, you weren't transparent enough. But what can you do?

• 50:12Haley Sacks?

  You were so transparent.

• 50:13Speaker 01

  Ish.

• 50:14Haley Sacks?

  I think you were. You gave us a lot. Are there any numbers?

• 50:16Speaker 01

  I wish it was messier.

• 50:17Haley Sacks?

  Yeah. That's the issue, Josh, is you're, you're too good. Like, it's like you live within your means. Your kids go to public school.

• 50:23Speaker 01

  I know, it's so annoying.

• 50:24Haley Sacks?

  You like, take care of your mom. Like, you like, don't, like, I feel like you probably drive a very, like, dependable car.

• 50:29Speaker 01

  I drive a Model Y Tesla.

• 50:31Haley Sacks?

  But you know why? Because you prioritize security.

• 50:33Speaker 01

  Hey.

• 50:34Haley Sacks?

  And I, so I think that you spend exactly in line with your values and like you're not here to like peacock or anything. You just never want to be broke again and you want to give that stability to your kids and to your family. Stay rich, my love.

• 50:46Speaker 01

  Stay rich.

• 50:54Speaker 04

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