Dad Reacts To My Frugal Lifestyle

What's up you guys? It's Graham here! So, I thought I would do something entirely different today and bring my dad on the channel. He's the one you've seen reacting to my Tesla Model 3 and also to a Tesla Model X going 0 to 60 in 2.6 seconds. He's the one everyone said should start his own channel just reacting to things.

So today, we're gonna be doing just that. We're gonna ask him all the questions you wanted to know about my past, my upbringing, and his advice for just anyone watching. For anyone who wants to be a part of this in the future, just go ahead and add me on Instagram so you could throw your questions into the mix as well. Because I have a feeling if there's enough demand for videos like this, I will bring my mom on as well.

So anyway, with that said, make sure to destroy the like button and let's bring my dad here on the channel.

So the first question is: What does your dad do for work?

Basically, from a young age, I chose to work in film animation and ended up at Walt Disney Feature Animation here in Los Angeles. I worked there for 14 years. I left after Lion King, sort of graduated from that to move on as an artist. I wanted to express myself, and now I'm working on my own projects, my own movie projects, and writing. So my whole life has really been in the entertainment business.

Another person asked: What was Graham like when he was younger?

When he was younger, he was a very curious kid. One of the things he loved to do was, we had a piano in the house; he loved it. At two or three, he started plucking away on the piano. We took him to have him evaluated by a concert pianist, and it turns out Graham had perfect pitch when he would play a note back at five. So he was playing Mozart and all sorts of stuff, but he got bored of that.

But one of the things he really liked growing up was when I was out shooting movies and I was across the country on location or New York or wherever I was, I would send Graham balloons. Graham loved balloons; skies—it's one of his favorite things. The other thing he really liked—one day I came home, maybe he was about four or five, six—he loved Christmas lights.

But the problem was, it was July! So I allowed this; I thought, you know what, this is a creative kid. I thought, what's the big deal? This is his room; he can do whatever he wants. So from then on, it was always, “Can I have some more lights? Christmas lights and stuff like that?” So we ended up with strings and strings of different colored lights. That's what he was like—it was a good kid, good kid—no problems growing up. Just trying to keep track of a very strong-willed young boy.

So the next one is a really, really popular one. I think probably one in five people ask this question: How did you react when your son didn't go to college?

Oh yeah, I can remember that. My initial reaction was, I was really disappointed. He was educated; mine—he used the same tactic: “I'm gonna go to Pepperdine. I'm gonna go to business school." And then he said one day, “Dad, I'm not going to college.” I was pretty disappointed. I thought, I started to worry about what you were gonna do. Then I set some guidelines: If you're gonna live at home, you have to have a job.

So then one day he came in and said, “Dad, I'm gonna be going into real estate.” Well, that's—you're 18—you need a license! 18-year-old selling real estate in Los Angeles? That ain't gonna happen! How are you gonna make this work? So again, I just gave him the space, like I had all the way, to let him figure it out, and he did. The next thing I know, he said, “Dad, I have a mentor,” and it looks like it worked out.

Okay, then leading from that, someone else asked: What's the best way to instill a good work ethic into your kids?

I think what I did is I just really listened to Graham at a young age, where his... I encouraged his creativity and curiosity. We did a lot of things; we went to a lot of museums. Growing up, I grew up in a family of worker bees. So I had instilled in me a strong work ethic, and as an example, I would take Graham to my work. He knew what work was when I would take him to the studio.

That also helped Graham know that work wasn't supposed to be a bad thing, that it was like a good thing. He saw what my rewards were; where he saw me working hard, then at the end, we’d have, you know, a wrap party or he would see the film up on the screen. He thought, "Oh, there's the finished work" where he saw a process of Dad going to work, and this is what happened at the end of the day.

There's no free ride in life, and I think I instilled in Graham that it's up to you to make your own way and I think he got that. Him and his mom and I were expecting him to do something; there was an expectation that he had to meet. There was no free ride.

Here's a very similar question that someone else asked: What is the most important piece of advice you have so that I can raise my son to be successful like yours?

I think the main thing is, you know, I come from an art community. As an artist, I really, really encourage parents to listen to your kid. Just listen. They're separate from you. I would say they inherently know where they're gonna go or where their curiosity is gonna go, and you don't know exactly where it's gonna lead. Their imaginations are gonna ignite.

So I think, give your kids lots of good experiences and introduce them to the world. Make it a place where if the world isn't a scary place, but something they have a place to fit into. But I would have to say that listening to your kids is crucial. Not to say that you're gonna force your will on them, but I encourage them to be positive, and I think that will go a long way.

You know, if your kid says one day, like at eight or nine, “Gee, I really like to write,” but you're a family of mathematicians or you work in manufacturing or you're bankers or lawyers or real estate agents, and you have a kid that's very creative and you don't quite understand that, make room for that. Make space for that to grow, and when that happens, you'll never know that will definitely support their inner world. I think it ends up showing in expressing itself in the outside world later on.

So, what was something I did as a kid that annoyed you?

Oh wow, okay let me make a list here. I hate to say this, but I mean it's as simple as—he just really didn't like to clean his room. I mean that really annoyed me! I thought that he needed to take responsibility at least for that space, and I did let him have that, and it was a mess.

So, at some point, you just have to let them sort of dwell in their messiness. He was very stubborn. I think there were times when we were in department stores and he would like to have a ball, or he wanted that ball; he already had five balls at home. He wanted, but this ball was a different color. So yeah, he was taken out of some stores kicking and screaming and making a fuss and put in the car. That annoyed me, because he wasn't afraid to express himself in public. As you can see, this has continued to express himself to the world.

So that was a negative, but now he's turned it into a positive.

So what was the funniest memory of myself as a child?

It was when he was four years old; he was in the car seat. We were driving up to the store and he was coming with me. I thought—I got in the car and said, “Oh gosh, I forgot my glasses!” And Graham said, “Why do you need your glasses?” And I said, “Well, I need my glasses because if I don't wear them, everything out in the world kind of looks fuzzy and out of focus.” And then Graham said, “You mean fuzzy like a bunny rabbit?” And I said, “Yeah, yeah. That's a pretty good answer! Yeah, it looks fuzzy like a bunny rabbit.”

Another one asked: What was the biggest life lesson you gave to Graham growing up?

I think the biggest life lesson I gave to Graham was, “Never ever give up.” I think that was from day one. Graham would get frustrated with stuff, and I would always come in and say, “Hey, what do we do? We never give up.” I think that's the one thing we pass on. Maybe that's where the work ethic comes in—where he somehow ties that in with his own mind: He never gives up on something. And that's the truth! He's like a bull in a china shop when he gets something in his mind—it’s done.

Someone else asks: Have any of your son's habits rubbed off on you?

Probably a couple of things. Money. I was sort of never really paid much attention to money or how it's invested or all of that stuff. I think that's really helped me now; maybe I'm more conscious of it. As an artist, I'm not into, like, it's like if I make it, then I take that money and I put it into what I'd like to do or projects, or whatever—invested in myself. But I think that rubbed off on me.

Another one asks: At what point during Graham's career path were you most concerned about his future, if at all?

This is basically my own fear—obviously not Graham's, but I think it's when he bought and invested in his first property. I really got worried; I thought he was in over his head, and I thought, “Oh, if then I'm gonna have to bail him out, it's all gonna be a failure.” But, he was stressed out on that first real estate deal.

I think that's when I thought after buying that first house—he was what? 20 years old? He was way over his head, and I thought, “Oh my God, this is all gonna fall apart! What are you doing? Why don't you save your money? What are you investing in a house? You're gonna put all your money in a house.” But then he would give me the other side of the argument about, “Dad, it's an investment property in that area—it's going up—it's a good investment for me.”

But you're not gonna have much money left over—think of your future! Then he said, “This is my future.” So, this was a lot of back and forth. But I guess maybe a lot of that stuff was my own fear, because obviously the rest is history. So I've learned not to bring my own fear into this for him. But again, it was just a father thinking about, “Well, okay! Got it. We’ll pick this kid up off the ground and you know, we’ll have to figure out something else to do. We'll start all over again."

So, is your dad just as frugal as you are?

Now the best question on the whole list here: Absolutely not! I'm exactly the opposite! As an artist, that's the last thing on my list—is long-term planning with money.

So I'm very shocked, actually, that I have a son who's very conscious of money and how to spend it, how to save it, how to use it. I have a complete opposite view of that! So I have no clue where this comes from, but I like to live, and I like to spend it, and that's just the way it is.

We’ve got another one here: How do you feel about Graham's frugal lifestyle?

Sometimes, I wish he would loosen up a little bit with his money. But in this sense—not the sense of just spending on frivolous things or whatever—but I think sometimes I sort of, you know, tell him, “Go have fun a little more.” I mean, I'm always telling Graham, “Hey, I need to, gee, I think I’m buying a new TV,” but Dad, do you really need a new TV? You just got that TV five years ago!

But Graham's got lines going! "But Dad, you can live with that! You can live without the look. You can live with it! That's not that bad." Yeah! So, you know, he's talked me out and he's actually made sense! And it’s actually delayed—when we talk about things, if I run stuff by him—and actually, I guess his frugality has impacted my life because it makes me rethink about things that I might want to buy.

Or if I ask him about a credit card, he suggests all my credit cards, and everyone that I have that he suggested has worked out for me big time—from air miles to rebates to how to work something and how to get extra money out of like a bank card. And I get bonus points—I'd never thought of that stuff! He made me aware of all of that.

So, I would say his frugalness has rubbed off on me.

So someone else wants to know your answer to this: Is mayonnaise an instrument?

Mayonnaise an instrument? That's a tough question! No, mayonnaise is not an instrument!

Growing up, what did you think Graham's career was going to be?

Oh, growing up, I thought definitely Graham's career was gonna be within marine biology. He was interested in fish from about eight years old on. He was really into saltwater fish, so I thought for sure he was gonna go into marine biology or something to do with the research of animals and science.

Then he went through a period where he was playing instruments. Like, he was always good at piano, always good at musical music. So I thought either music or marine biology was gonna be his main force. But I had no idea that it would end up being real estate slash entrepreneur—you know, any of that at all.

So, thank you guys so much for watching! I really hope you guys enjoyed this type of video! You have to tell them, by the way, to smash the like button—they haven't done that!

All right, tell them to destroy the like button.

Okay guys, you ready? Get that hand! Figure some mash the like button—boom! And then tell them to add me on Instagram.

And you know what? I want you to plead to all you guys—seriously, please, please add Graham to Instagram! He's got lots of great stuff! I follow it; lots of fun stuff on there.

So again, Instagram: Graham Stefan debates. Okay, go! Till later guys, so much for watching! I'll be back!