This millionaire says one simple move will put middle-class Americans on the path to making millions

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A viral TikTok by a user dubbed “Taylor Money” 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 (1).

According to Taylor, 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, Taylor believes the true purpose of money is to use it to generate more.

“Only when you start to see money for what it actually is, a method of expansion… a vehicle for your own expansion, then the opportunities to make more money expand, start presenting themselves for you to take,”  Taylor explained in the December clip that has garnered almost 3 million views.

Pushing his followers to use money for expansion, Taylor advocates investments known for earning higher annual percentage yields (APYs). While the average APY on traditional savings accounts hovered around 0.40% towards the end of 2025, high-yield alternatives offered rates upwards of 5%, according to Experian.

If you find Taylor’s advice compelling, consider some of these ways you can put that income-generation mentality into action.

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Real estate

“Middle-class people use money as a way to build credit so that they can buy bigger houses, bigger boats, bigger cars, whatever,” Taylor said. “That’s not the function of money.”

If buying a home isn’t the right move for you, there are still 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.

Backed by world-class investors, including Jeff Bezos, Arrived allows you to buy fractional shares of vacation and residential rental properties without all the work hassle that comes with having tenants

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.

Read more: Warren Buffett used 8 solid, repeatable money rules to turn $9,800 into a $150B fortune. Start using them today to get rich (and stay rich)

Invest in the stock market

One of the easiest ways to invest is to open a self-directed trade account with SoFi.

This DIY approach allows you to invest with no commission fees, plus for a limited time you can get up to $1,000 in stock when you fund a new account.

SoFi is designed to help you learn investing as you go, with real-time investing news, curated content and the data you need to make smart decisions about the stocks that matter most to you.

Invest outside the stock market

You probably think of art as just some canvas that makes your living room look nicer, but art has quietly outperformed other asset classes for years.

Art is part of a $1.7 trillion asset class according to Deloitte, which is roughly half the size of venture and private equity. Contemporary art has outperformed the S&P 500 by 131% for the past 26 years, and it has a near zero correlation to stocks according to Citi. Having a low correlation to stocks makes art a useful hedge against market volatility.

Masterworks makes it possible for every savvy investor to access an asset that has previously been limited to the ultra-wealthy. Instead of buying a single painting for millions of dollars, you can now invest in shares of individual works.

Simply browse their impressive portfolio of paintings and choose how many shares you’d like to buy. Masterworks will handle all the details, making high-end art investments both accessible and effortless.

Masterworks has distributed more than $65 million back to investors. New offerings have sold out in minutes, but you can skip their waitlist here.

See important Regulation A disclosures at Masterworks.com/cd

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TikTok user @taylor_money_ (1)

This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.