"A 21 year old tradesman on 150k a year ...."
150k A YEAR !?!!, yeah working 3 jobs and 25 hour shifts each day.
21 year old tradesman, who by that age is probably just recently finished his/her apprenticeship is never going to earn that much money. I know, because I've held many and similar jobs in the past and I'm well aware of the pay rates in the industry.
Your friends are just blowin smoke up your a$$.