38 Weeks to Get Rich
Welcome to the “38 Weeks to Get Rich”, where each week we’ll break down a section from Naval’s iconic tweetstorm and interviews on the topics of wealth, freedom, money, status, and happiness.
The full PDF is available here.
What follows is my summary & key takeaways to help you digest the 127 page document.
Week 7: Live Below Your Means for Freedom
People living far below their means enjoy a freedom that people busy upgrading their lifestyles just can’t fathom.
People living below their means have freedom.
Don’t be in a rush to upgrade your lifestyle. If your income has increased (new job, promotion, raise, side hustle, etc.) try to keep your lifestyle and expenses (house, car, clothes, etc.) the same as before. You’ll find that by not spending the money you’ll actually be “buying” freedom.
Freedom is found in the margin (or space between) your income and your expenses.
Imagine you land a job that pays $1,000/hr. That’s awesome, right? Chances are you didn’t leave a $20/hr job to go straight there. For most people, there’s a decades-long process of ladder climbing. And during that climb, people upgrade their lifestyle because they think they can afford it.
And that upgrading of the lifestyle kind of ups what people consider to be wealth, and so they stay in this wage slave trap.
“The three most harmful addictions are heroin carbohydrates and a monthly salary.”
– Nassim N. Taleb
Ideally, you’ll make your money is lumps.
This is how the tech industry works. Where you (or your company) don’t make any money for ten years, and then suddenly at year eleven, you might have a giant payday.
When this happens your lifestyle doesn’t have a chance to creep up. And after a few of those you basically say, “Okay, now I’m done. Now I’m retired. Now I’m free. I’m still gonna work because you got to do something with your life, but I’m gonna work on only the things that I want, when I want.”
And so you have much more creative expression, and much less worry about money.
Even if you can’t make money in significant lumps, you can still choose to live well below your means if you also work on increasing your income. It’s rarely pleasant, nor is it easy; but it’s not complicated.
If you need help, consider this course to help you create and stick to a budget that’s below your means: https://wealthof.gumroad.com/l/budget-for-the-life-you-want
Next week we’ll cover chapter 8, and learn the best ways to create value for others.
If you enjoyed this, invite someone to join the program, they can register their email here: https://mailchi.mp/a51b9c3424e0/38weekstogetrich