Money: How to Get It, Keep It, and Grow It

It takes money to do fun things. Most of us will never sign an NBA contract or win the Powerball, so it is time to learn the basics of the financial game

By Your Bro · Tue Feb 06 2018 · Self Improvement

It takes money to do fun things, and the sooner you accept that, the sooner you can stop resenting the guys who have it. There is no nobility in being broke, just as there is no inherent virtue in being rich.

The Lottery Is Not a Strategy

Everyone tells you to be smart with your money. The problem is, most of us don't have a lot of it, and most of us don't know how to get it (except for all of you Bitcoin millionaires). The truth is, most of us will never win the Powerball, sign a $50 million NBA contract, make millions on cryptocurrency, or get a job that pays us $1 million per year. If those were the only ways to get ahead, we’d all be in trouble.

Relying on a miracle is a loser’s game. It keeps you passive. You sit on the couch waiting for the world to notice your untapped genius or for a digital coin to moon. Meanwhile, the guys who actually build wealth are doing the boring stuff. They are working, saving, and putting their money into things that grow over time. Statistics from the Federal Reserve consistently show that a large percentage of Americans couldn't cover a $400 emergency. That is a dangerous way to live. When you are one flat tire away from a crisis, you aren't a man; you are a hostage to your own bank account.

Mastering the Basics of the Inflow

So, it's important to understand how to get money and how to make more of it. This isn't about getting a side hustle that pays you three dollars an hour to deliver cold fries. It's about increasing your value. If you are easily replaceable, you will always be paid the minimum amount required to keep you from quitting. I talked about this when I discussed how AI may take your job. If you do basic work, you get basic pay.

I remember a buddy of mine back in his twenties. He spent three years complaining that his boss wouldn't give him a raise. He’d spend his weekends drinking and his weekdays doing just enough not to get fired. He eventually realized that he wasn't worth more than they were paying him. He went back to school for a specific certification, started showing up twenty minutes early, and stopped being the guy who vanished at 4:59 PM. Six months later, he had a new job and a thirty percent bump. He didn't get lucky. He just became harder to ignore.

Stop Losing the Money You Already Have

This is not going to be Forbes.com or The Financial Times, so don't get your hopes up. I'll give you the basics on how you can do the small things to keep an extra couple bucks in your pocket. That is what helps you take that awesome guys trip to Vegas or that trip to Hawaii that your girl has been bugging you about. You would be surprised how much money you set on fire every month because you aren't paying attention. Subscription services you don't use. Dining out because you were too lazy to grill a steak. Buying a car with a monthly payment that rivals a mortgage because you wanted to look successful at a stoplight.

A study by Pew Research Centers show that middle-class incomes have remained relatively flat while the cost of living—especially housing and healthcare—has spiked. This means your margin for error is smaller than your father’s was. You have to be more disciplined. Budgeting isn't for nerds in pocket protectors. It is a tactical map for your survival. If you don't tell your money where to go, it will leak out of your life like a slow puncture in a tire.

Investing Is for the Long Game

Once you have a little extra, you have to make the most out of your money by investing. This isn't about day trading or trying to find the next Penny Stock that will make you a billionaire by Tuesday. It’s about the eighth wonder of the world: compound interest. If you put money into the market and leave it alone for twenty years, it does the work for you. If you wait until you're forty to start, you are playing a desperate game of catch-up.

I’ve seen men reach their fifties with nothing but a bad back and a collection of old shoes. It’s a sad sight. They had the strength and the time, but they wasted both because they thought they’d have time to "figure it out later." Later is a trap. You should look at every dollar as a little soldier. Its job is to go out and capture more dollars. When you spend him on something stupid, that soldier is dead. When you invest him, he starts a family of more soldiers. It’s a better way to think about your spending. I've noted before that your time is bigger than money, but money is what buys your time back when you're older.

Protecting Your Perimeter

The world is full of people who want to help you spend your money. Some of them are your friends. Some of them are the people you are dating. If you are with a woman who measures your worth by the tier of Uber you call or the brand of your shoes, you are in a race you can't win. I’ve seen guys go into debt trying to impress women who didn't even like them. It’s a hollow way to live. Financial red flags are real, and if you ignore them early on, they will destroy your peace of mind later.

Keep your circle small. Surround yourself with men who are building things, not just consuming things. If your friends are always pressuring you to drop five hundred bucks at the club to feel like a big deal for three hours, you need new friends. A real man doesn't need a bottle of overpriced vodka and a sparkler to know he’s a leader. He knows he’s a leader because his house is in order, his bills are paid, and his future is secure.

Money is a tool. Nothing more, nothing less. If you don't learn how to handle it, it will handle you. It will dictate where you live, what you eat, and how much of your life you have to sell to a boss you don't like. Master the tool so you can get back to the things that actually matter.

—Your Bro