Was there a specific moment when you realized this wasn't just a business thing, that people needed this personally too?

Venus Ann MichaelProfit Strategist

Money Answers Part 1 - Q&A The Money Habit reader questions a #money #monemanagement #shorts

21 Apr 2026 · 1 min

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Mike created The Money Habit after his business failed in 2008 because his personal finances were draining it. He realized business and home money were tangled together, so he built a personal-finance version of Profit First to rebuild both at once.

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Mike realized it for himself during the 2008 collapse; he saw that personal finances were draining his business, so he rolled out a personal‑finance version called The Money Habit alongside Profit First.

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So this email came in and says, hey Mike, I've followed Profit First for a bit, albeit not perfectly. I totally get it. Was there a specific moment when you realized this wasn't just a business thing, that people needed this personally too? Yeah, but you know what's so funny? I realized it for myself. When I developed Profit First, it was 2008. I had this grand collapse and I needed to restart. I also noticed that even if I improve my business, if my home finances weren't fixed, they would leech off the business. In fact, that was a major reason I failed in 2008. I was spending way beyond what I was earning and didn't have control in either aspect. So I rolled out Profit First for my business, but I rolled out a version of it, The Money Habit, for my home. I ran the two in parallel, and they weren't perfect, but I started them both back then, and I learned how to improve the systems simultaneously by working them together.