July 8, 2025 • 13 mins
In Part 4 of The 5 Wealth Killers No One Talks About, George Jameson, CFP® and founder of Capital Wealth Group, unpacks a tempting trap that promises big returns—but often leaves people worse off. Don’t get caught chasing the wrong thing.
Welcome to "The Retirement Guide" Podcast! I'm your host George Jameson, owner of Capital Wealth Group, a Fee Only Advisory firm. Whether you’re nearing retirement or already retired, Join me each week as we explore the world of retirement planning and equip you with the knowledge and tools you need for a successful retirement.
Thank you for tuning in to this episode of The Retirement Guide. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe & leave a review. If you'd like a free 30-minute retirement review, visit our website at www.capitalwealthplan.com to schedule.
This is for education only.It is not tax, legal, or investment advice. Before acting on any information consult your tax, legal, or investment advisor.
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Visit our Website: Capital Wealth Group
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Capital Wealth Group is a Flat Fee-Only Advisory Firm located in Columbia, SC , serving clients locally in South Carolina and North Carolina and virtually nationwide.
Any Questions or Topic Ideas? Send me an email at George@capitalwealthplan.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
George Jameson (00:01):
Hey, and welcome back to the show.
I'm George Jameson, certifiedfinancial planner and founder of
Capital Wealth Group, located inColumbia, South Carolina.
We've already unpacked some ofthe big financial pitfalls that
can quietly derail yourfinancial goals, like
overspending on housing, newvehicle costs, and high interest
debt.
Today we're going to dive intowealth killer number four, the
(00:24):
desire to get rich quick.
Now listen, I get it.
The idea of hitting it big,scoring a massive return
overnight or finding a secretstrategy to escape the nine to
five forever is very tempting,especially with social media
showing overnight successes leftand right.
(00:46):
A great example is RoaringKitty, AKA Keith Gill.
They even have a Netflix moviebased on his success.
it is really a great story.
I love the movie, but here's thebottom line.
Keith Gill's story is partresearch.
I'll give him that.
ton of risk and a whole lot ofright place, right time.
(01:14):
It was during COVID.
Our government gave out a bunchof money to everyone, and
everyone was glued to theirphones and computers and online.
It really is an incrediblestory, but definitely not a
reliable strategy for buildingwealth for most of us, trying to
(01:35):
do what he did or following himis a huge gamble.
If you're serious about growingwealth, the slow and boring
route.
Diversified investing, stayingin the market, avoiding high
interest debt is still reallythe best bet.
(01:57):
So let's talk about thepsychology behind Get Rich
quick.
The desire to get rich quickusually comes from a place of
impatience or financialfrustration.
Maybe you feel behind onretirement savings.
Maybe you just want out of therat race like most of us.
Or maybe you're simply tired offeeling like you're doing
(02:17):
everything right, but notgetting ahead.
But here's what happens.
That mindset makes usvulnerable.
It pushes people into risky,confusing, or downright
fraudulent opportunities thatpromise the world and often
deliver very little if anything,and the worst case scenario, you
(02:41):
could lose everything.
And unfortunately, these getrich quick schemes are
everywhere today.
Let's look at some of the reallybad, even fraudulent examples to
help you avoid some of these.
Number one, the secretinvestment that promises huge
returns.
(03:03):
These are usually private,non-registered investments.
They aren't regulated.
They're often pitched asexclusive, or friend and family
only deals, and they promisecrazy returns sometimes 100% or
more with little to no risk..
(03:25):
This is a major red flag.
If someone says, this isn'tsomething you can find on the
stock market, or so and sodoesn't want you to know about
this, you probably should runthe other way.
And I'm not saying that thereisn't a place for private
equity.
For some folks, but for most ofus, sticking to publicly traded
(03:50):
investments is the best way togo.
These people are counting onyour fomo, fear of missing out,
and that fear can lead youstraight into a super risky
investment or even an outrightscam.
Number two is cryptocurrencytrading scams.
(04:11):
And I'm not talking about owningBitcoin.
I'm not saying you should own itor not, but this is
cryptocurrency trading scams.
We've all seen these fake cryptogiveaways on Facebook.
Celebrity impersonators claimingso and so is giving away Bitcoin
or slick looking websites thatpromised guaranteed returns for
(04:35):
trading Or even these faketestimonials.
That promise guaranteed returnsfrom trading, cryptocurrency and
penny stocks.
These are rampant online.
There's even a growing scamtrend called pig butchering,
(04:56):
apparently, where someone buildsa fake online relationship with
you.
Often over weeks or months, andthen pitches a crypto investment
or some other crazy investment.
Once you send your money, it'sgone.
No recovery, no recourse.
So number three, fake work fromhome jobs.
These are exploding right now.
(05:17):
You'll see them on social mediaor even spam text.
Earn 3000 a week from home.
Remote assistant job, noexperience needed.
Here's how they work.
First.
They want your information.
Your address, your phone number.
They may even ask for a smalltraining fee or equipment
(05:37):
deposit, but not always.
They really want your bankinformation or social security
number, and they'll say they'llwant this information to
process, your application.
They're really just trying tosteal your identity and then in
others, you actually may startworking and then never get paid.
Don't fall for these scams.
(05:59):
Real employers won't ask you topay to work for them.
And then number four, this issimilar text message and social
media job offers.
I've seen these pop up likeweeds lately.
I get them myself texts claimingthere's a high paying job open.
And that I would be the perfectcandidate, or others.
(06:22):
Say, work from home.
Work part-time, make this amountof money You'll also see
Facebook messages outta nowhereoffering.
Some type of partnership or ajob offering.
These are almost always scams.
They prey on people who need ajob or who need more income,
(06:43):
offering high income with zeroeffort.
And then number five, onlinetrading and courses.
There's a difference betweenstarting a real business and
getting lured into a scheme,some of these influencers make
it look like you can start asuccessful online store
overnight with no experience,and you'll rake in tons of
(07:06):
profits.
What they don't tell you is thatmany of these industries are
already oversaturated and it'snot that easy.
Or they would just be doingtheir own and not bothering,
trying to scam people intopaying for their courses.
You'll often need to investmoney before you make a dime,
(07:28):
like paying for their courses.
They're usually selling you thedream more than the method, and
the list goes on and on.
These are actually pretty muchall scams.
And there's plenty of others.
Then you have the get rich quickschemes, like day trading,
(07:49):
stocks, and buying so-calledpenny stocks.
These small penny stocks areoften manipulated and best to
avoid.
For most of us.
It's best to avoid individualstocks in general, but
definitely penny stocks.
If you've ever seen the Wolf ofWall Street, it may not be that
(08:11):
extreme, but there's still a lotof manipulation going on.
So what's a smarter way to buildwealth instead of chasing the
next big thing.
For most of us build wealth, theboring, reliable way with
diversified long-terminvestments.
(08:32):
Now, I'm not saying don't go outand be an entrepreneur or start
a business, but you gotta besmart about it and don't get
conned in to all these thingsyou see on social media and
text.
But what I'm saying is with themoney you have saved is best to
(08:54):
build wealth, the boring,reliable way with diversified
long-term investments using lowcost exchange traded funds,
IRAs, 4 0 1 Ks, Roth IRAs, etcetera.
Yes, it's not flashy.
Yes, it takes time.
But the compounding effects ofsmart investing are still
(09:18):
powerful and in play today,let's say you take$10,000 and
invest it with a 7% averagereturn over 30 years, that grows
to about$76,000.
Now, you can't retire on that,but that's real money.
Compare that to putting 10,000in some of these crazy crypto
(09:41):
coins other than Bitcoin orpenny stocks because someone on
Reddit said it was going to themoon and it may go to the moon,
but it also may crash and go tozero.
Oftentimes it may go way up andbefore you know it, it's way
down.
And a lot of people lose andjust a few win.
(10:07):
But even if you got lucky one ortwo times, the chances are
you're not going to win over thelong term day trading and trying
to gamble.
So let's say you lose the10,000, so now you're not just
back to zero.
You've lost time, money, andmaybe even trust in the whole
process.
(10:29):
And now for the real estatecrowd, real estate can be a
solid investment.
No doubt.
I love real estate rental incometax advantages, appreciation.
It all sounds great, but I'veseen people jump into real
estate with no reserves, noplan.
(10:51):
And in today's high interestrate environment, it's a lot
harder to make the math work.
So don't jump into real estatejust because you saw someone on
TikTok brag about their Airbnbincome, make sure you understand
the risks, the math and theresponsibilities.
(11:13):
Now, here's some final thoughts.
The desire to get rich quickdoesn't make you greedy.
It makes you human.
But it can also make youreckless and broke.
So here's the rule of thumb.
If it sounds too good to betrue, it usually is.
There really are no trueshortcuts.
(11:35):
There are only smart habits,time and consistency.
Most of the wealthiest people Iknow didn't get there overnight.
They got there by living on lessthan they made investing the
difference and avoiding majormistakes, and doing that over
(11:56):
and over and over again.
Now, I'm not saying you can'thave dreams,.
I am saying, don't let thosedreams blind you to reality.
Because the biggest wealthkiller really isn't a bad
investment.
It is chasing the illusion ofeasy money.
(12:20):
And that wraps up today'sepisode.
Next week we will wrap up thisseries with Wealth Killer number
five and it's one of the mostcommon mistakes I see investors
make.
So stay tuned to find out.
Thanks for tuning in.
If this episode resonated withyou, share it with a friend.
Let's help more people.
Stay grounded, stay smart, andbuild real wealth over time.
(12:42):
Take care, and I'll see you nexttime.
Hey, and welcome back to the show.
I'm George Jameson, certifiedfinancial planner and founder of
Capital Wealth Group, located inColumbia, South Carolina.
We've already unpacked some ofthe big financial pitfalls that
can quietly derail yourfinancial goals, like
overspending on housing, newvehicle costs, and high interest
debt.
Today we're going to dive intowealth killer number four, the
(00:24):
desire to get rich quick.
Now listen, I get it.
The idea of hitting it big,scoring a massive return
overnight or finding a secretstrategy to escape the nine to
five forever is very tempting,especially with social media
showing overnight successes leftand right.
(00:46):
A great example is RoaringKitty, AKA Keith Gill.
They even have a Netflix moviebased on his success.
it is really a great story.
I love the movie, but here's thebottom line.
Keith Gill's story is partresearch.
I'll give him that.
ton of risk and a whole lot ofright place, right time.
(01:14):
It was during COVID.
Our government gave out a bunchof money to everyone, and
everyone was glued to theirphones and computers and online.
It really is an incrediblestory, but definitely not a
reliable strategy for buildingwealth for most of us, trying to
(01:35):
do what he did or following himis a huge gamble.
If you're serious about growingwealth, the slow and boring
route.
Diversified investing, stayingin the market, avoiding high
interest debt is still reallythe best bet.
(01:57):
So let's talk about thepsychology behind Get Rich
quick.
The desire to get rich quickusually comes from a place of
impatience or financialfrustration.
Maybe you feel behind onretirement savings.
Maybe you just want out of therat race like most of us.
Or maybe you're simply tired offeeling like you're doing
(02:17):
everything right, but notgetting ahead.
But here's what happens.
That mindset makes usvulnerable.
It pushes people into risky,confusing, or downright
fraudulent opportunities thatpromise the world and often
deliver very little if anything,and the worst case scenario, you
(02:41):
could lose everything.
And unfortunately, these getrich quick schemes are
everywhere today.
Let's look at some of the reallybad, even fraudulent examples to
help you avoid some of these.
Number one, the secretinvestment that promises huge
returns.
(03:03):
These are usually private,non-registered investments.
They aren't regulated.
They're often pitched asexclusive, or friend and family
only deals, and they promisecrazy returns sometimes 100% or
more with little to no risk..
(03:25):
This is a major red flag.
If someone says, this isn'tsomething you can find on the
stock market, or so and sodoesn't want you to know about
this, you probably should runthe other way.
And I'm not saying that thereisn't a place for private
equity.
For some folks, but for most ofus, sticking to publicly traded
(03:50):
investments is the best way togo.
These people are counting onyour fomo, fear of missing out,
and that fear can lead youstraight into a super risky
investment or even an outrightscam.
Number two is cryptocurrencytrading scams.
(04:11):
And I'm not talking about owningBitcoin.
I'm not saying you should own itor not, but this is
cryptocurrency trading scams.
We've all seen these fake cryptogiveaways on Facebook.
Celebrity impersonators claimingso and so is giving away Bitcoin
or slick looking websites thatpromised guaranteed returns for
(04:35):
trading Or even these faketestimonials.
That promise guaranteed returnsfrom trading, cryptocurrency and
penny stocks.
These are rampant online.
There's even a growing scamtrend called pig butchering,
(04:56):
apparently, where someone buildsa fake online relationship with
you.
Often over weeks or months, andthen pitches a crypto investment
or some other crazy investment.
Once you send your money, it'sgone.
No recovery, no recourse.
So number three, fake work fromhome jobs.
These are exploding right now.
(05:17):
You'll see them on social mediaor even spam text.
Earn 3000 a week from home.
Remote assistant job, noexperience needed.
Here's how they work.
First.
They want your information.
Your address, your phone number.
They may even ask for a smalltraining fee or equipment
(05:37):
deposit, but not always.
They really want your bankinformation or social security
number, and they'll say they'llwant this information to
process, your application.
They're really just trying tosteal your identity and then in
others, you actually may startworking and then never get paid.
Don't fall for these scams.
(05:59):
Real employers won't ask you topay to work for them.
And then number four, this issimilar text message and social
media job offers.
I've seen these pop up likeweeds lately.
I get them myself texts claimingthere's a high paying job open.
And that I would be the perfectcandidate, or others.
(06:22):
Say, work from home.
Work part-time, make this amountof money You'll also see
Facebook messages outta nowhereoffering.
Some type of partnership or ajob offering.
These are almost always scams.
They prey on people who need ajob or who need more income,
(06:43):
offering high income with zeroeffort.
And then number five, onlinetrading and courses.
There's a difference betweenstarting a real business and
getting lured into a scheme,some of these influencers make
it look like you can start asuccessful online store
overnight with no experience,and you'll rake in tons of
(07:06):
profits.
What they don't tell you is thatmany of these industries are
already oversaturated and it'snot that easy.
Or they would just be doingtheir own and not bothering,
trying to scam people intopaying for their courses.
You'll often need to investmoney before you make a dime,
(07:28):
like paying for their courses.
They're usually selling you thedream more than the method, and
the list goes on and on.
These are actually pretty muchall scams.
And there's plenty of others.
Then you have the get rich quickschemes, like day trading,
(07:49):
stocks, and buying so-calledpenny stocks.
These small penny stocks areoften manipulated and best to
avoid.
For most of us.
It's best to avoid individualstocks in general, but
definitely penny stocks.
If you've ever seen the Wolf ofWall Street, it may not be that
(08:11):
extreme, but there's still a lotof manipulation going on.
So what's a smarter way to buildwealth instead of chasing the
next big thing.
For most of us build wealth, theboring, reliable way with
diversified long-terminvestments.
(08:32):
Now, I'm not saying don't go outand be an entrepreneur or start
a business, but you gotta besmart about it and don't get
conned in to all these thingsyou see on social media and
text.
But what I'm saying is with themoney you have saved is best to
(08:54):
build wealth, the boring,reliable way with diversified
long-term investments using lowcost exchange traded funds,
IRAs, 4 0 1 Ks, Roth IRAs, etcetera.
Yes, it's not flashy.
Yes, it takes time.
But the compounding effects ofsmart investing are still
(09:18):
powerful and in play today,let's say you take$10,000 and
invest it with a 7% averagereturn over 30 years, that grows
to about$76,000.
Now, you can't retire on that,but that's real money.
Compare that to putting 10,000in some of these crazy crypto
(09:41):
coins other than Bitcoin orpenny stocks because someone on
Reddit said it was going to themoon and it may go to the moon,
but it also may crash and go tozero.
Oftentimes it may go way up andbefore you know it, it's way
down.
And a lot of people lose andjust a few win.
(10:07):
But even if you got lucky one ortwo times, the chances are
you're not going to win over thelong term day trading and trying
to gamble.
So let's say you lose the10,000, so now you're not just
back to zero.
You've lost time, money, andmaybe even trust in the whole
process.
(10:29):
And now for the real estatecrowd, real estate can be a
solid investment.
No doubt.
I love real estate rental incometax advantages, appreciation.
It all sounds great, but I'veseen people jump into real
estate with no reserves, noplan.
(10:51):
And in today's high interestrate environment, it's a lot
harder to make the math work.
So don't jump into real estatejust because you saw someone on
TikTok brag about their Airbnbincome, make sure you understand
the risks, the math and theresponsibilities.
(11:13):
Now, here's some final thoughts.
The desire to get rich quickdoesn't make you greedy.
It makes you human.
But it can also make youreckless and broke.
So here's the rule of thumb.
If it sounds too good to betrue, it usually is.
There really are no trueshortcuts.
(11:35):
There are only smart habits,time and consistency.
Most of the wealthiest people Iknow didn't get there overnight.
They got there by living on lessthan they made investing the
difference and avoiding majormistakes, and doing that over
(11:56):
and over and over again.
Now, I'm not saying you can'thave dreams,.
I am saying, don't let thosedreams blind you to reality.
Because the biggest wealthkiller really isn't a bad
investment.
It is chasing the illusion ofeasy money.
(12:20):
And that wraps up today'sepisode.
Next week we will wrap up thisseries with Wealth Killer number
five and it's one of the mostcommon mistakes I see investors
make.
So stay tuned to find out.
Thanks for tuning in.
If this episode resonated withyou, share it with a friend.
Let's help more people.
Stay grounded, stay smart, andbuild real wealth over time.
(12:42):
Take care, and I'll see you nexttime.
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