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Ever wondered what it is that millionaires do to be so successful? A TikToker thinks he knows the answer — but it’s probably not what you think.
“It has nothing to do with how much money they have in their bank,” said Taylor Conroy, who goes by @taylormoney.co, in a video that has garnered almost 3 million views on TikTok (1).
According to Conroy, the distinction between the average middle-class mindset and that of millionaires lies in one word — expansion.
Rather than spending your money on material upgrades or paying bills, he believes the true purpose of money is to use it to generate more money. According to him, it is “one thing that rich people do completely differently.”
In this way, he challenged conventional wealth wisdom by dismissing the routine strategy of spending money on things like “bigger houses, bigger boats, bigger cars” and then stashing the rest in a savings account.
“Only when you start to see money for what it actually is, a method of expansion … then the opportunities to make more money or expand start presenting themselves for you to take,” he explained.
In other words, it’s about mindset.
If you find Conroy’s advice compelling, here’s a look at why he might be onto something and how you can put his income-generation mentality into action.
If you’re looking for confirmation of Conroy’s advice, go no further than billionaire Mark Cuban.
In an interview with Spanx founder Sara Blakely, Cuban expressed himself in a similar way, describing how he lived “like a student” in order to invest his money for growth, with the hopes of retiring by 35 (2).
“I was determined to save money. I was determined to be able to retire. It wasn’t like I thought, ‘Okay, I’m going to be super-rich,’” he told Blakely. “I valued time more than anything. I wanted enough money to be able to travel, have fun, and party like a rock star but still live like a student. That was my motivation.”
Cuban also believes in staying away from luxury car purchases and fancy homes in order to build wealth. He told Blakely about driving “the worst possible car” with a hole in the floorboard, living on mac and cheese and living with five roommates.
“You’ve got to have discipline in how you spend your money.”
And once you’ve grown that mindset, that’s when you can start making your money grow for you.
One of the tried-and-true ways to expand your wealth is through real estate.
Traditionally, one of the most common strategies has been to buy a home to live in, let it appreciate in value over decades and then rely on that equity for retirement.
And while that might bring some long-term growth, it is not making the most of real estate to expand your wealth in the way Conroy thinks it should be done.
In fact, some experts like real estate mogul Grant Cardone think buying a home to live in is the opposite of a good strategy. In a video posted to his TikTok account, he suggested Americans rent their own housing and use the money they would have put toward a mortgage to invest in income-generating real estate (3).
“I’m not saying ‘don’t own real estate,’” he explained. “I’m saying live in a house and pay rent. Take all the money that you would have spent on that house and invest in real estate that [has] cash flows — that pays you every month.”
But buying real estate isn’t always possible for everybody. It’s an expensive investment.
However, even if buying a rental property isn’t the right move for you yet, you still have ways to invest in real estate to generate passive income and diversify your portfolio.
If you’re looking to invest in properties in a way that doesn’t require you to be a landlord or already have millions in the bank, Arrived might be the right option for you.
To get started, you can browse a curated selection of homes, vetted for their appreciation and income potential. Once you find a property that meets your criteria, you can choose the number of shares you want to buy and start investing with just $100.
If diversifying into multifamily rentals appeals to you, you could also consider investing with Lightstone DIRECT, a new investing platform from the Lightstone Group, one of the largest private real estate companies in the country with over 25,000 multifamily units in its portfolio.
Since they eliminate intermediaries — brokers and crowdfunding middlemen — accredited investors with a minimum investment of $100,000 can gain direct access to institutional-quality multifamily opportunities. This streamlined model can help reduce fees while enhancing transparency and control.
And with Lightstone DIRECT, you invest in single-asset multifamily deals alongside Lightstone — a true partner — as Lightstone puts at least 20% of its own capital into every offering. All of Lightstone’s investment opportunities undergo a rigorous, multi-stage review before being approved by Lightstone’s Principals, including Founder David Lichtenstein.
How it works is simple: Just sign up with your email, and you can schedule a call with a capital formation expert to assess your investment opportunities. From here, all you have to do is verify your details to begin investing.
Founded in 1986, Lightstone has a proven track record of delivering strong risk-adjusted returns across market cycles with a 27.6% historical net IRR and 2.54x historical net equity multiple on realized investments since 2004. All told, Lightstone has $12 billion in assets under management — including in industrial and commercial real estate.
As such, even if multifamily rentals don’t appeal to you, Lightstone could still serve you well as an investment vehicle for other real estate verticals.
Of course, one of the worst things you can do for your money is to let it sit in your checking account. With high inflation, money loses its value fast — and the average checking account offers an interest rate of only 0.07% (4).
While assets like real estate are traditionally seen as hedges against inflation, there are other ways to beat it.
For example, as he was pushing his followers to use money for expansion, Conroy advocated investments known for earning higher annual percentage yields (APYs).
Following in his footsteps, one good way to combat your dollar’s shrinkage is by earning real interest with a high-yield account. That’s because the average APY on traditional savings accounts hovered around 0.40% toward the end of 2025, while high-yield alternatives offered rates upward of 4%, according to Experian (5).
These savings accounts offer real growth, but with the peace of mind that your money is liquid and you can access it at any time.
One way you could tap into the potential of a high-yield account is with the Wealthfront Cash Account, which can help you build an investment base through a combination of high-interest rates and ease of access.
A Wealthfront Cash Account can provide a base variable APY of 3.30%, but new clients can get a 0.75% boost over their first three months on up to $150,000 for a total APY of 4.05%. That’s ten times the national deposit savings rate, according to the FDIC’s January report.
With no minimum balances or account fees, as well as 24/7 withdrawals and free domestic wire transfers, you can ensure your funds remain accessible at all times. Plus, Wealthfront Cash Account balances of up to $8 million are insured by the FDIC through program banks.
The beauty of ETF investing is its accessibility — anyone, regardless of wealth, can take advantage of it.
But you can also consider expanding your money prospects by also expanding your view of what makes a good asset to invest in and build your investment portfolio.
For instance, you probably think of art as just some canvas that makes your living room look nicer, but this asset has quietly outperformed other asset classes for years.
Having a low correlation to stocks also makes art a useful hedge against market volatility, but with the same potential for growth.
In 1999, the S&P 500 peaked, and it took 14 long years to fully recover.
Today? Goldman Sachs is forecasting just 3% annual returns from 2024 to 2034. It sounds bleak but not surprising: The S&P is trading at its highest price-to-earnings ratio since the dot-com boom. Vanguard isn’t far off, projecting around 5%.
In fact, nearly everything feels priced near all-time highs — equities, gold, crypto, you name it.
That’s why billionaires have long carved out a slice of their portfolios in an asset class with low correlation to the market and strong rebound potential: post-war and contemporary art.
It may sound surprising, but more than 70,000 investors have followed suit since 2019 — through Masterworks. Now you can own fractional shares of works by Banksy, Basquiat, Picasso and more.
Masterworks has sold 25 artworks so far, yielding net annualized returns like 14.6%, 17.6% and 17.8%.*
Moneywise readers can get priority access to diversify with art: Skip the waitlist here.
*Past performance is not indicative of future returns. Investing involves risk. See important Regulation A disclosures atMasterworks.com/cd
If you still want to invest in more conventional stocks but are looking for a less conventional way to do it, you can also consider using Acorns.
With apps like Acorns, even small amounts can grow over time by automatically investing your spare change.
Signing up for Acorns takes just minutes: link your cards and Acorns will round up each purchase to the nearest dollar, investing the difference — your spare change — into a diversified portfolio.
Using Acorns, you can invest in a dividend ETF with as little as $5 — and if you sign up today, Acorns will add a $20 bonus to help you begin your investment journey.
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