Heard of Money Rules?
Crazy to you. Tailored to us.
Welcome 👋🏽
I do a series called Money Mastery, where I share actionable ideas on retirement, capital allocation, and lessons I’ve learned from others that have had a big impact on my life.
One of those lessons is a concept called “Money Rules” that I took from NYT Best Seller Ramit Sethi.
You see, just because you have money doesn’t mean you’re good with money. I’ll come back to this.
⚠️ DISCLAIMER ⚠️
The content provided by PROJECT 10X PTY LTD (Filip Brnadic) is for educational purposes only and is not financial or investment advice. PROJECT 10X PTY LTD is not a licensed financial adviser under Australian law.
Investing involves risk, including the potential loss of all funds. Seek independent advice before making any financial decisions.
Now, I first came across Ramit through my friend Ryan, who introduced me to the hit Netflix show “How to Get Rich”.
To be honest, my initial thought was..
I mean, a Netflix show? Teaching me about money?
What’s next? A comedian teaching me about spirituality?
But then I remembered the biggest financial mistake of my life.
I remember that day like it was yesterday. It was 2014, and I was studying with a few friends at the University eLab, as I did most evenings. Right before we were about to go for “smoko”, my good friend Kush started talking about this new technology called Bitcoin.
What did I do?
Well, I was 24. Take a guess.
I knew better. I disregarded what he had to say, and it probably ended up costing me 8 figures.
I wasn’t going to make the same mistake again.
So, I watched the Netflix show anyway, and within the first episode I was hooked.
Those who know me know that once I encounter something I’m interested in, that’s it. I’m done for. It’s all I can think about. It’s all I consume for months on end.
That’s what happened with Ramit’s content.
I finished the Netflix show, read his NYT best seller and consumed every single one of his YT podcasts.
Remember when I said that just because you have money doesn’t mean you’re good with money?
Well, through his podcasts, I got a glimpse into the minds of hundreds of couples, rich and poor, business owners and employees, retirees, and those just starting their careers.
I realised that you could be 60 years old, worth over $6M and still be spending like you’re on the bones of your arse.
I realised that you could be in your mid-thirties and worth over $1M and still too stingy to get yourself a $15 gym membership.
I consumed over 500 hours of content 👇🏽
You might be wondering “what caught your attention about his content and not some other personal finance guru?”
I’ve read a bunch of personal finance books. It was in through one ear and out through the other.
Most likely because I’m a brainlet 👇🏽
But, what caught my eye was that his teachings were more about our psychology with money and less about some magical one-size-fits-all set of rules to follow.
The more I listened, the more I saw myself and Alina (my wife) in the couples he interviewed.
I realised that there was a reason I would get frustrated with Alina for coming home with $80 worth of baby clothes after buying $100 worth of clothes the week before.
Maia (my daughter) had more clothes than Alina and I combined, and she hadn’t even been born yet!
Alina be like.
This would typically lead to an argument; we would resolve it, and a few months later, it would happen again.
The reason was a scarcity mindset.
I was a product of my upbringing.
I grew up in a lower-middle-class family who emigrated to Australia when I was 5 years old with just the clothes on our backs. Naturally, if you grow up with a lack of resources, you end up believing that the resources you do have must be conserved and used strategically.
Alina (my wife) was also a product of her upbringing.
Every Saturday, Alina and her sister would head to the markets with Mum. They were on a mission. The mission was bargain-hunting for clothes and knickknacks. They would spend hours rummaging through the racks, doing laps around the markets to find the best deals. That was their outing, their happy place.
As you can see, we were on a collision course from the moment we met. We just didn’t know it at the time.
So, why am I telling you this?
Because Ramit's content helped us recognise this and overcome it.
One of the most important things we learned and apply to this day is “Money Rules”.
It is a set of rules that helps you create the life you want to live. You define your money rules and tailor them to your values and priorities.
Everyone’s money rules will be different. In fact, my Money Rules will probably sound ridiculous to most people. Their Money Rules will sound ridiculous to me. That’s ok. That’s the point.
Here is a high-res version of our Money Rules.
Here is a Canva link you can use as a template to make your own.
Our money rules are stuck to our fridge.
They are a daily reminder to build a life that makes us happy and not do things because it’s the social norm.
If you’ve been reading long enough, you’ll know we rent our place, and we’re constantly reminded that “you're paying someone else’s mortgage”.
That’s ok. As you can see, owning a home isn’t part of our money rules for now.
Unique experiences and the outdoors are, so we’ve done just that.
In the last 12 months, we’ve skied the Caucasus mountains in Georgia.
Snorkelled the Great Barrier Reef.
I’ve honed my go-carting skills.
and we got out to breakfast every weekend.
because that’s what we love to do. That’s “Our Rich Life”.
We’ve even added a rule that stops me from feeling frustrated by the miscellaneous shopping trips because, at the end of the day, it does not matter. It doesn’t cripple us financially. It doesn’t affect our net worth.
After all, we should be coming up with our next six-figure play, not bickering about three-figure nothing burgers.
If money is a sore point for you or your partner, I’d encourage you to make your own "Money Rules” and listen to Ramit’s content.
At worst, you get to laugh about where your priorities differ - but I’m guessing you’ll get much more out of it than that.
That’s all for now.
I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.
Catch you next week.
✌🏽
Filip Brnadic