I met a young man last week and when he found out what I did, he asked me a great question: “What advice would you give your 30-year-old self?”
I loved it.
Before you read further, pause and ask yourself what you would say.
Here’s what I told him.
1. Know where your money is going. Control your spending.
What you spend is the only number in your financial life you truly control.
You don’t control the markets.
You don’t control interest rates.
You don’t control the economy.
But you absolutely control what leaves your checking account.
If you don’t tell your money where to go, it will quietly disappear. Every time. Financial independence starts with awareness. Not complexity. Not sophistication. Just awareness.
2. Savings are a sleep aid.
In all my decades of meetings, no one has ever walked into a conference room depressed because they had too much in savings.
No one.
But I’ve met plenty of people losing sleep because they didn’t have enough.
Having margin changes everything. It lowers anxiety. It gives you options. It gives you courage.
And here’s where most people miss it: don’t just “save.” Create buckets.
Call it escrow. Call it sinking funds. Call it whatever you like.
Put a set dollar amount every month into:
- A car fund (so you can pay cash)
- A vacation fund
- A home repair fund (because when you own a home, there is always something)
When you plan for expenses, they stop feeling like emergencies.
3. Never borrow for anything that depreciates.
Cars. Washer and dryer. Clothes. Furniture.
If it goes down in value, don’t finance it.
Pay your credit card in full every month. If you currently have debt on depreciating items, pay it off as quickly as possible.
There are really only two things that appreciate:
- You
- Your home
Borrowing to invest in yourself? Fine.
Borrowing for a home you’ll live in? Fine.
Borrowing for a business you own? That can make sense.
But borrowing for lifestyle? That’s a wealth killer.
I am financially independent today. But I would have gotten here a whole lot sooner if I had practiced these principles perfectly from age 30 on.
The basics aren’t flashy. They aren’t complicated. They aren’t fun to talk about at dinner parties. But they work.
And sometimes the most powerful financial advice isn’t about what to invest in.
It’s about how you live.
