Chief Change Officer
#328 Collin Plume: Ownership, Not Optics—Teaching Real Wealth to the Next Generation
Sun, 27 Apr 2025
In the second half of his conversation, Collin Plume moves beyond financial products into financial legacy—sharing how Gen Xers can teach resilience, ownership, and critical thinking to the next generation. From diversifying income streams to protecting family futures with real assets, Collin reveals why wealth isn’t about a flashy portfolio—it’s about building something that lasts, even when systems shift. For Gen Xers tired of flashy advice and ready to raise wiser, stronger humans, this episode delivers the quiet tools for lifelong financial independence.Inflation, Instability, and the Fight for Financial Control“Gold has kept up with the cost of living for over 150 years.”Collin explains why owning tangible assets isn’t just smart investing—it’s a fight for personal freedom and future-proofing your life against system shocks.Diversification Isn’t Optional Anymore“The mistake isn’t just losing—it’s being stuck in one idea forever.”He shares why today’s market demands diversified thinking, constant learning, and rejecting loyalty to any one asset class—including real estate.Retirement Will Never Look the Same“People aren’t retiring—they’re reworking life.”Collin talks about the shifting realities of work, aging, and how side gigs, flexible income, and purpose-driven work are rewriting retirement for Gen X and beyond.The Rise—and Risk—of Finfluencers“Algorithms reward appeal, not expertise.”He calls out the dangers of taking financial advice from unverified influencers, and why critical thinking is the real currency in today’s information economy.Teaching Kids the Real Value of Money“Experience and education over stuff.”Collin shares how he’s raising his three kids to value assets over toys, experiences over things, and knowledge over hype—with gold and silver as real-world teaching tools.______________________Connect with us:Host: Vince Chan | Guest: Collin Plume --Chief Change Officer--Change Ambitiously. Outgrow Yourself.Open a World of Expansive Human Intelligencefor Transformation Gurus, Black Sheep,Unsung Visionaries & Bold Hearts.14 Million+ All-Time Downloads.Reaching 80+ Countries Daily.Global Top 3% Podcast.Top 10 US Business.Top 1 US Careers.>>>140,000+ are outgrowing. Act Today.<<<
Chapter 1: Who are the host and guest of this episode?
Hi, everyone. Welcome to our show, Chief Change Officer. I'm Vince Chen, your ambitious human host. Our show is a modernist community for change progressives in organizational and human transformation from around the world.
I used to work in Los Angeles for TCW Asset Management, where I managed billion-dollar funds for institutions alongside the bond king, Jeffrey Gundlach, focusing on bond and credit portfolios. Today, I'm meeting someone else from LA, but with a different angle on investment. Precious metals like gold and silver.
Our guest, Colin Plume, is here to talk about something often overlooked and undervalued. But don't worry, this isn't a sales pitch on buying gold or silver. Colin and I will dive into more personal topics, family, parenting, retirement, and the sense of control over personal finance, as well as financial education for future generations.
So if you have kids, care about your financial future, are looking after elderly family members, or are simply concerned about financial and family planning in general, join us and get inspired by Colin's journey in building wealth from scratch. This is part two of our two-part series on Colin and his golden rules of people-focused finance. Let's get started.
So the desire for control often comes from a lack of trust and confidence in the system.
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Chapter 2: Why is owning tangible assets like gold and silver important today?
And I think when you look at The idea of the dollar itself, the return is so low in the bank also relative to what you can make out there. This year, gold is up 27%. The banks are paying 4% in the bank right now. They're only paying that 4% right now because they know that there's so many other investments out there that yields a much higher return.
And so with inflation being something that everybody is talking about, everyone's talking about the price of energy and the price of food and all of these things have gone up. They've skyrocketed over the last few years. People also are saying, I can't make 4% in the bank. And I think the returns of the banks in the US are going to continue to go down.
I would not be surprised if we see 3% savings returns by next year and even lower. So the other idea, too, is I just can't leave money in the bank because I need to keep up with my quality of life. And I think that's the thing about gold.
If you go back over time, if you go back the last 150 years, gold has been able to keep up with inflation and the cost of living in a way that most other items have not. And that is also the big idea with investing for retirement is you want that same quality of life in retirement that you have while you're working.
That's why you're working so hard is you wanna be able to have the things in retirement. And yes, you may have to downsize your living to afford to live as long as you may live. With that being said, the idea is you want items that are gonna keep up with the cost, the increasing costs of everything that's going up out there.
And so that's another reason why a lot of people, if they were hitting very heavy in cash, they've been looking at gold and silver as another way because they need to make better returns. And obviously nobody has a crystal ball of where things will go. But typically during heavy inflationary periods, gold has performed very well.
You can see the late 70s, early 80s is a perfect example when inflation was in the 14 to 16% range and gold was keeping up with that and outperforming those numbers.
Yes, inflation, the common enemy we all face. But what other concerns should people be thinking about?
That's another reason that a lot of people are diversifying. And that's a big part of my philosophy, Vince, is keeping your options open in terms of investment and also being willing to learn about different investments. That's the thing that will really separate people today and for the next 20, 30 years is not being stuck on some of the old ideas.
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Chapter 3: How does diversification protect your financial future?
And so I do exactly what I tell people to do and I am diversified. And that makes me feel more comfortable is not having all my eggs in one basket. And I think that's the thing that I would say to people is the most important is be willing to learn about a new investment or a new strategy every year, whether you decide to do it or not is up to you. But I think being willing to learn about it
is important. It will help you and it'll keep you sharp. And I think the idea that you can just rely on a financial advisor or a stockbroker to make all the decisions for you is not a way for success. I think that they have a very specific job. They have certain items that they can put you into or sell you into.
And if you only rely on them, you could be missing out on some tremendous opportunities in other investments that are out there. And so the goal I think today, and this is the thing I tell people about gold and silver, the great thing about owning gold and silver is that you are in control of it. You're the boss. The downside to owning gold and silver is that you're the boss.
So you're the boss of both sides. And for some people, that's what they want. And for other people that are afraid of it. But I think ultimately when you're talking about your future and your finances and all the things that you've worked so hard for, Ultimately, you do want to be the boss and you want to dictate your future yourself and be in charge of it.
And I think that's the big shift that's happened in investing over the last 20 or 30 years. People now, people on the internet, people on YouTube that are talking about finances, and it's really shifted from... the financial advisor model to, hey, I can learn stuff online. I don't have to just trust my financial advisor. I can learn on my own. I can go to YouTube.
And I think people that are doing that and that are learning about new investments are really benefiting from all the information that's out there.
You've mentioned the word retirement a few times now. Well, this podcast isn't specifically about retirement. A lot of what we discuss, like career change and navigating through this era of change and uncertainty, ties into that. Even the whole notion of retirement is evolving, with AI set to reshape many aspects of work and career development.
the idea of what retirement looks like is shifting too. Now, for those who still have a stable job and income, would you say in preparing for whatever that version of retirement might be, Diversifying or investing in gold and precious metals could serve as a haste against income uncertainty. Have you worked with clients in this situation before? And what advice do you give them?
Yeah, I think being diversified in a retirement. I think your question is interesting in that retirement is changing in that people are working longer and I think it's great that they're working longer. I recently was on a work trip and I jumped into an Uber with my A gentleman who sold a business, was successful, but he felt like he was too young to retire. And so he was driving Uber.
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Chapter 4: What is changing about retirement and how should we prepare?
That brings up another opportunity for a longer-term strategy, especially for people with continued income. It's definitely healthier, both physically and mentally, to stay sharp, to stay engaged, even part-time. Studies show that after a certain age, while exercise is crucial for physical health, keeping your brain active is just as important for mental and physical well-being.
Earning extra income, even part-time, helps with that. And of course, some of that extra income could go towards investments, like you mentioned. But it's also about maintaining control. Control over your life, your mobility, and what you want to achieve before the final days. I think we all, at the end of the day, want to own our lives and have control over them.
And one of the tools to do that is money. Now that you've touched on retirement, there's another trend, the rise of financial influencers. These days, anyone can learn about finance and investments online anytime, anywhere. On one hand, these influencers help democratize financial information and make advice more accessible. But on the other hand, there are concerns.
questions about their qualifications, the accuracy of their information, conflicts of interest, and the fact that some may lack formal financial education or ethical standards. Some may promote investments for personal gain without proper disclosure. With so much information out there, What's your take on this rising force of influencers?
And how would you advise listeners who are navigating through all this to make smarter decisions?
I think thin influencers are, I would say that there's It's good and bad in that the good part about it is you can get access to a different style of learning that probably wasn't there before. For instance, if you wanted to learn about Tesla.
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Chapter 5: Why is having multiple income streams crucial in later life?
You used to go online and look at the stock and read the prospectus and make your own determination, or maybe you had a stock broker tell you their thoughts. But now you could go to YouTube and look up Tesla and you could get different sides of the story and different ideas of what's going to happen or thoughts from that influencer and you could learn about the stock in a different way.
Because for many people, learning in that way with video is much easier than reading a perspective. So in some ways, it's really good. And even for me, when I wanna learn about something, obviously in the financial realm that I don't know, I will go to YouTube first, and then I will go and try to get information or a book or do research in many different ways.
The bad thing is that they think they are authorities and people believe they are authorities. And a lot of times it's just their opinion or even worse, they're getting paid to tell you something. And so one area that I know that a lot of people got is, that lost money was the NFT market, which was a derivative of the crypto market was this NFT craze.
And people saw influencers like Jake Paul and a lot of these, or Logan Paul, I can't remember, one of the Pauls, that created these NFTs and they said that they would do these certain things. There's other ones out there that have done this too. There's hundreds, probably thousands. And a lot of times they were getting paid either to create that product or promote that product.
And there was really nothing behind it. And a lot of people took their word at face value. The big thing about when you're getting into investing or you're doing any kind of money, you gotta spend some time and do research and check different sources. The problem today is that people will, if they like an influencer the way that they talk, they'll take their word for it.
And unfortunately, the algorithms of these social media, it's not based on who's giving you the best information or someone that's the most credible information. it could be either that they paid to get in front of you, number one, or two, they could have just presented the video in a way that is the most appealing to people.
And so the problem is that people, and they've done studies about this, and they've done it on Google too, is that people think the things that pop up on social media or on Google searches, they think that those are the authorities. And actually, it's just based on the algorithm of that social media platform.
So you may watch a video about Bitcoin from a person that just made the most appealing video and maybe isn't the most knowledgeable on the subject. So it's like what we used to do when we used to do research is that you want to check multiple sources. getting information from one place and then trying to back check it in multiple other places.
If people did that, I think they'd be in a much better place. But unfortunately, people do see these influencers and they take it on face value. When we advertise with influencers, we really tell people to do their research on us and do the research on precious metals too.
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Chapter 6: What are the risks and benefits of financial influencers?
there's the question of how they will make use of it as they grow up. That leads us to financial education and literacy, which I believe is lacking in today's society, especially for younger people. So as a professional investor who helps clients day in and day out, also as a father of three, How are you preparing your children for their financial future?
How do you nurture the ability to become critical thinkers, independent decision makers, and financial literate individuals so they can make informed decisions when the time comes?
I think the most important thing, Vince, is when you're raising children is having a what my wife and I call is a united front in that we have the same. I think the most important thing as a person today, when you pick a partner, is you have to align on financial values and goals. So much of what happens to relationships is because people are not aligned on those things.
My wife and I had, and I think our values are so similar, even when we first met, is because both of our families lost the majority of our wealth and had to start over. So we both have this fear that, in us of what can happen when you're not diversified. Both of our families were not diversified. That has led us to where we are and what we have built and what we teach our children.
And correct, I have gold and silver set aside for each of my children Obviously the same amount because everything has to be equal. For anyone that has children, they know that this is the most important thing. I talk to them all the time about money and what things cost. And I talked to my oldest son recently about the mortgage. I explained to him what a mortgage is.
He had some very interesting questions about... how it works and why. And I didn't get into the specifics of what the dollar amount is because it's not important. I want him to understand at an early age, he's eight years old, the twins are going to be six. I want them to understand the cost of things. And we talk to them every day about it.
Whether we give them a toy and when the toy breaks, we've had some very... serious conversations about them being reckless with money. And I think that the mistake people make is they think that kids today don't know or they don't understand. And they do know and they do see the way that you're treating money.
And if you go to Disneyland and you are buying them everything at Disneyland and you're being frivolous, and I'm just using Disneyland as an example because it's such an overpriced place. And it's such a capitalistic suck. The average two or three days at Disneyland, you can spend two, $3,000 in a second.
And I want them to understand that these things come from the idea that you have to understand what things cost and you have to be careful. And it's important for me to do that. And I do it with my employees to a certain extent too. We have a Slack channel and I put ideas in there for them of ways that they can cut costs or save money.
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Chapter 7: How can Gen Xers teach the next generation about real wealth and financial control?
And so my training for my children is that not everything is necessary, that you don't need these things. And the things that we value, the things that we do spend money on, is travel and experience. I think the number one thing I can give to them is seeing how different parts of the world live and how different people live. And so that's the one thing that we're willing to spend money on.
But everything else is... not necessary and so my financial hopefully gift to them is that learning from other people in the world focusing on education we obviously spend a lot of money on their education and giving them all the tutoring and all the things that they need to learn but everything else all the other stuff is irrelevant
And that's really, as a father, that Sharon and I, as a family, as a unit, that we really focus on is that learning and educating, these are the things that you're willing to spend money on because they will help you, shape you as a person, make you a better person, educate you.
Maybe you'll learn about a new business opportunity or maybe you'll learn about something in your soul that is important. But everything else, all the other stuff... is just, it's just eventually just becomes junk. And I think that as a father and as an educator of people in finance, focusing on what's important is the thing that leads to a happy life.
And I think that's why I've shown them their gold and silver. And I said, these things are worth value. They're gonna be worth value. These are items, these are assets. In the future, if you want to start a business in your 20s, you can use this gold and silver to start a business.
If you need it at some point in your life to help with your family, these assets, these gold and silver, these coins, these small pieces of gold and silver will be worth thousands and thousands of dollars. I showed my son a kilo gold bar that I acquired many years ago, maybe five years ago. And when I bought it, it was worth $60,000. It was a kilo of gold. Today it's worth over $80,000.
and his mind seeing that the idea that it went up twenty thousand dollars over the last five years and i said with this eighty thousand dollars i could pay right now for two years of your college depending on where you go and he really was able to internalize that that this asset
Yellow metal could pay for him to go to college potentially for two years right now, or it could help him start a business or anything. This is the education that I am trying to impart on my children, our employees, and also to clients and people out there. And I can't even tell you how many times...
over the last eight years since we started Noble Gold, that I've had people come, grandparents come and buy gold and silver for their grandkids instead of buying some Christmas present that they're not going to need. And I can tell you that in the future, those grandkids are going to benefit much more than the toy that they could have bought.
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