50 Harsh Money Truths I Wish I Knew in My 20s

I'm 42 years old and I teach people how to live a rich life. And let me be honest, sometimes you need someone to give you a gentle kick in the and give it to you straight, no matter how hard it is to hear. So here are 50 money truths I wish I knew at 2030, and even some things I have to remind myself about in my 40s. Starting with number one. You don't have all the time in the world. The longer you wait, the harder it gets. So put in the work early. If you get your 20s right, the rest of your life gets so much easier. Number two, there are no shortcuts to building true wealth. Building wealth takes time, patience and discipline. Number three, beating people over the head with more information and more numbers will not get them to change. They have to be willing and open to change and you have to connect with them. Number four, have more fun. A rich life is lived outside the spreadsheet. Money lets you have more experiences, lets you be more adventurous, more spontaneous, more generous. Money is fun. Number five, there's a time and a place. You can only do certain things in your 20s. Maybe that's backpacking across Europe. You're not going to want to do that in your 50s. So make sure you time your experiences. Number six. You don't have to get things perfect. Perfection is impossible. And striving for perfection alone often holds you back from starting. Learn. Know that you're not gonna be perfect and you'll improve along the way. Number seven, think about who you wanna be and start spending money on it now, even a little bit. For example, I wanted to be fit, so maybe I should spend money on a gym membership. Maybe I should hire a trainer once a month later I can add on more. Number eight, have a big cash reserve. So when opportunities present themselves, you, you can take advantage of them. For example, the 2009 housing crash, 2020 drop in the stock market. This of course assumes that you are already investing. I do not want to be timing the market for my primary investments. Number nine, create a tripod of stability for me. The three most important things, Healthy relationship, healthy workplace, healthy housing environment. This allows me to take on more risk in other areas, like building a business. Number 10, talk about money early in your relationship. Personally, I messed this up. 11, the more you make, the more generous you can be. Number 12, get used to waste. It's okay to waste a little bit. And as you grow, as you spend more, you're going to waste more. That's okay. Of course you should try to reduce waste. But Eliminating waste is not the point of your life. For example, me not returning a $10Amazon gadget and losing $10. That's okay. I can just donate it to someone. It's not that big of a deal. Number 13. You don't have to do what everyone else is doing. Whether it's buying a house, getting married, having kids, traveling to the same place, buying the same car. You choose your rich life. Number 14, try on the clothes you love before you look at the price tag. Number 15. This is just my own lesson. Don't use the minibar. Number 16. Expose yourself to different people, different ways of living, and different ways of using money. For example, I went to Microsoft for an interview when I was in college, and they told me I could expense anything. That was the first time I ever ordered room service. And. And I realized how magical it was to me. Same for my scholarship, which trusted us by default and let me spend money in a different way. Number 17. Be careful who you take advice from. There was somebody who once told me that the way I should manage my career is to go get a job at Procter and Gamble so I can retire 40 years later with a million dollars in the bank. I was like, what? That's it. Also, people who post on Twitter and tell me all the things I've done wrong that haven't accomplished anything in their lives. That's a whole nother story. By the way, if you enjoy people giving it to you straight, hit that subscribe button and turn on notifications so you never miss any of my new videos. Number 18, you might as well acknowledge reality. When I was in my 20s, I knew one day I was going to have a wedding and it was going to be big. I'm Indian. I want it to be huge. I want to bring everyone together. So I started saving for my wedding before I even met my wife. Number 19, monitor your language. I used to call myself just a skinny Indian guy. Or when I took a trip, I would say, this is a once in a lifetime trip. No, it's not. If I want to do it again, I can. Number 20, don't let the tail wag the dog. I don't move somewhere so I can save on taxes I choose. And then taxes are a secondary part of the decision. In fact, they're the last part of the decision. Number 21. Certain things are worth paying a lot more for. Great talent, great clothes, great experiences. You choose what's worth it. But be clear about it. Number 22, some things are not worth paying a lot for. Like 1% AUM fees from financial advisors. No thank you. Number 23 if you save money on unnecessary expenses, whether it be homeownership because you don't choose it, financial advisor fees because you manage yourself, etc. Try to invest. Invest most of the difference. That is a quick way to build a lot of wealth. Number 24 it's not normal to carry credit card debt. Just because so many people are in credit card debt doesn't mean you should be too. Now let's get to the next harsh money truth. 25. When I was younger I would have done stuff at the level I could afford. For example backpacking in Europe, staying in cheap hostels. I loved it. Now that I'm older, I have a vision of exactly how I want to do it. And if I can't yet do it that way, I would rather wait. 26. Decide where you want an unlimited budget. For me it was books. I knew that I wanted to give myself the gift of being able to buy any book anytime. So I created my own money rule around it. 27. Renting can be a better financial decision than buying. You gotta run the numbers. 28. Talking about money with your partner is not weird. Having an agenda is not weird. If you are married, you are running a business. The business of running a household together and talking about money can bring you closer together and build that connection. 29. Don't be misled by what you see. On the surface you might see someone spending a lot of money. Maybe they have secret family money. Maybe they're in debt. Maybe they can actually afford it because they make way more than you know. Most people will rarely admit it. Don't worry about it. Focus on yourself. Run your own race. Number 30 just because people say they made money on their house doesn't mean they actually did. Look, 50% of people don't even know their own household income. Most people when it comes to their housing do not understand phantom costs like fees, opportunity costs, inflation, etc. Number 31 don't talk about generational wealth when you are in massive debt. Pay the debt off first. Number 32 the second best time to start investing is today. So what if you didn't start when you were 17 years old? I wish I started deadlifting when I was 17, but I didn't. You can still start today and move closer to your rich life. Number 33 celebrate the journey or you will always feel behind. Number 34 do not be a doomer. If you surround yourself with doom and gloom you will really start to believe it. Number 35 Beware of fake metrics. Remember a few years ago when everyone was bragging about how many books a year they read or how many employees they have? Avoid fake metrics. Focus on the things that matter. Number 36. 9 to 5. Jobs are not for losers, no matter how many entrepreneurs on TikTok tell you so. Number 37. It's okay to talk about where you're struggling. I used to avoid it personally. It's still hard for me to talk about this, but people really connect to you when you share not just what's going well, but also what's hard. Number 38. What got you here won't get you there. I love the title of this book by Marshall Goldsmith. What it means is people, especially smart people, have certain skills that get them to a level. But in order to get to the next level, you often have to develop new skills. For example, being a good listener and being much more emotionally sensitive is probably the most important thing I've done in the last 20 years. Number 39. Give yourself the gift of at least one moment of true awe every year. Number 40. Don't just think of I and me. We are social creatures. How can you use your money to to affect and help the people around you? Number 41. Don't buy something just because you think you deserve it. If you can't afford it, which means you know your numbers, don't buy it. Number 42. Become an expert in leisure. I consider myself one of the world's best at leisure. I want you to be the same. Take time. Enjoy yourself. Do not be the typical American who overworks themselves, moves to Florida, gets skin cancer, then diesel. Number 43. Reframe your negative thoughts into something positive. I'm not just a skinny Indian guy. I just haven't learned the skill of training and fitness yet. I'm not lazy. I'm resting and recuperating so that when work calls for it, I'm ready to pounce. Number 44. Some people will willingly get scammed because they do not want to do the hard work they're looking for get rich quick schemes. No matter how many times you tell them it's a scam, do not be one of these people. Number 45. Double it or triple it. Whatever you think you'll spend on a big expense, a vacation, a wedding, eating out. Double it or triple it. That's probably closer to what you will actually spend when you factor in all the related expenses. Number 46. Learn the phrase no. It's okay to say no. The people around you will be okay, if you say no, you can adapt it and soften it by saying something like, sorry, I can't take that trip. I'm focusing on building my savings right now. Number 47. Take a second and appreciate people when they put in effort. For example, when I visited people's houses on my Netflix show, they were probably wearing the best clothes they own. Their house was probably the cleanest it will ever be. It looked amazing. I always took a second and appreciated them and their family. And that's what people remember. 48. If you can't pay it off the next month, don't put it on your credit card. Make a savings plan for it and then once you do it, celebrate. Number 49. Your loved ones remember who steps up when they need help. I think about book tour and who came to my events. I think about when my wife and I launched a fundraiser and who donated even 20 bucks. The those things stick with us. We remember. And number 50. Nobody cares. You know how I helped my friend get a 75% raise? I taught her that. When she went into the negotiating room, she was talking about how much work she did, how hard she works. I said, nobody cares. Your boss couldn't care less. All they care about is are you making their lives easier and are you making them money? She reframed how she presented herself and she remembered one of the key lessons of life. Nobody cares. So show them in a way that makes them care. And that is the list of 50 harsh money truths. I wish I knew when I was 20 which one of those surprised you the most. Leave a comment below. And if you are truly interested in living a rich life and you want to avoid losing millions of dollars, check out this video where I share the most common money mistakes people make so you don't make them too.