At the end of the day, there are only 4 things you can do with money. You can either spend it, save it, invest it, or give it away. From my experience, every stage of the wealth building journey must involve a combination of all 4 of these options, which is why I have chosen to call them my 4 pillars. Although the balance of these pillars will change with your situation, understanding the purpose and pitfalls of each is critically important.
Pillar 1 : Spend
- If you’re like me, spending is what comes to mind first when you think about payday or finding some extra cash. The idea of being able to spend more is often what drives us to want to build wealth. Understanding how to spend with intention and purpose is a fundamental skill of wealth-building. A genuine purpose of money is enjoyment, and there is a correct balance for everyone between spending and the other 3 pillars.
Pillar 2: Save
- Saving has two primary objectives: provide for future goals and eliminate unforeseen challenges from halting your wealth building. If you make anything short of 7 or 8 figures, you already understand that if you want a new car or tropical vacation, you have to plan ahead to save the money to fund these goals. The other important role of saving is to ensure your wealth building isn’t paused or reversed by life’s emergencies. Exercising saving in the form of an emergency fund is imperative to control the uncontrollable variables along your journey.
Pillar 3: Invest
- You could save 90% of your income, but if it’s sitting in a checking account making no interest, it won’t efficiently build wealth. Investing usually where personal finance gets most technical and confusing. Terms like mutual fund, IRR, and diversification can turn people off from ever wanting to get started. However, through this blog I hope to break down these concepts into manageable steps and actions anyone can understand, as wise investing has the power to make or break your financial future.
Pillar 4: Give
- Giving is often a financial afterthought. Many would recommend you get your first 3 pillars in line first, then begin giving. However, all advice on this blog is framed under the standard that giving is the most important use of your wealth. Regardless of what you believe, you know you can’t take your house, car, or bank account with you. Through personal experience, as well as countless testimonies, giving will have a more profound and fulfilling impact on your life than any other use of money. Because of this, the ultimate purpose of my advice is to help you gain the ability to give in extraodinanarily generous ways – financially, but also with your talents and time.