How I Got Into Personal Finance (And What Actually Matters)

Personal finance isn’t something most people are taught:

• Not in school.
• Not in most households.

A lot of people grow up:

• not realizing they need to spend less than they make
• not understanding how credit cards work
• taking on loans without fully understanding the long-term impact

And even when people try to learn:

• they get overwhelmed
• they get bad advice
• they get pulled into overly complex strategies

It’s not surprising that so many people feel stuck.

My experience with money didn’t come from one big moment. It came from a series of small moments and realizations I had as a kid and an adult.

🧠 The Problem Isn’t Just Knowledge

It’s also:

• information overload
• conflicting advice
• constant pressure to spend

Add in:

• rising cost of living
• economic uncertainty
• job instability

…and it’s easy to feel like you’re always behind.

⚠️ The Trap: Overcomplication and “Get Rich” Thinking

There’s no shortage of people telling you how to get rich.

• Real estate
• Side hustles
• Day trading
• Starting a business
• Risky investments (e.g. crypto)

Some of these can work very well, but they all come with:

• risk
• effort
• high chance of failure

There’s no free lunch.

🧭 My Starting Point

I was fortunate to grow up in a financially responsible household.

My parents:

• earned a strong income
• lived well below their means
• saved and invested consistently

That created stability.

Early Lessons

My mom often listened to Dave Ramsey's radio show in the car when I was growing up. Even though I didn't understand the specifics of the financial situations that many of his callers were coming to him with, I understood that I didn't want to be in their shoes. I think some of his core tenants of spend less than you make, save, and avoid consumer debt stuck with me.

I also had a bit of experience budgeting  I remember my dad tracking my money in a spreadsheet when I was growing up.

Anytime I wanted to buy something, I had to check how much I had, and then decide if I wanted to spend it immediately or save it.

I almost always decided to spend it immediately.

And I remember spending all my birthday money on video games one year…

      then finding out I had a negative balance next time I wanted to buy something.

👉 That stuck with me

At the time, it felt restrictive, and it really sucked.

Looking back, it taught me something invaluable early:

👉 delayed gratification often pays off in the long run

By the time I was responsible for my own finances, I was naturally following some good basic habits early:

• saving money
• tracking spending
• thinking before buying

💡 What I Got Right (and What I Missed)

When I just finished school and got my first real job, I was doing a lot of the right things:

- contributing to retirement accounts
- saving a large portion of my income
- avoiding unnecessary spending

But I wasn’t really thinking about money in a structured way.

I wasn’t:
- actively investing outside of retirement
- thinking about long-term strategy
- or trying to optimize anything

I was just… saving.

And that worked. In fact, it put me in a significantly better position than most people.

But it also meant I was leaving a lot on the table.

• I felt intimidated by investing
• I decided I would get a financial advisor "when I was rich enough" who would help me figure it all out

However, if I formed a plan and started optimizing immediately, I would no doubt have had a larger net worth, and would give myself more options to take mini-retirements, travel, or pursue other financial goals.

At the time, I thought I was doing everything right, and in some ways, I was.

👉 But I wasn’t thinking about money strategically.

🔄 The Shift

During my career break, I had more time to think and reflect (that's the whole point).

And for whatever reason, I randomly became interested in personal finance. This is where everything started to change.

At first I was just absorbing lots of content. Then eventually, I started putting enough of the pieces together.

I learned about:
- simple investing strategies
- budgeting systems
- financial independence

And what stood out to me was how simple most of it actually was.

It wasn’t:
- complicated strategies
- risky investments
- or constant decision-making

It was:

👉 consistency
👉 automation
👉 understanding a few core principles (e.g. spending less than I made)

That was the moment it clicked:

👉 personal finance doesn’t need to be complicated to be effective

🧠 The Bigger Realization

My biggest realization was that from a financial perspective, I wasn't doing anything wrong by taking that 7 month "mini-retirement". It was actually the right thing to do, because money is just meant to help us live our best life.

Money isn’t the goal.

👉 It’s a tool

A tool that gives you:
- flexibility
- optionality
- control over your time

📊 How I Think About It Now

My approach is simple:

• live below my means
• invest consistently
• avoid unnecessary complexity
• automate everything possible

What That Looks Like

• no debt
• healthy emergency fund
• simple investment strategy
• low-cost lifestyle (especially housing)
• focus on flexibility over status

I personally find comfort in knowing if I suddenly lose my job, I'll be fine for an extended period of time.

I know that if I'm really unhappy with where I'm at in life (don't like where I live, where I work, or I can make drastic changes very quickly.

👉 This is because I have a financial buffer

🧭 Where I Am Now

I’m in the accumulation phase:

• strong income
• high savings rate
• long-term focus
• still have sufficient margin for a significant disposable income

But more importantly:

👉 I’ve built a system

A system that:

• runs automatically
• requires minimal effort
• builds on my financial goals
• supports the life I want to live

And more importantly, I don’t spend much time thinking about it day-to-day.

👉 The system handles it.

🔗 How This Connects to Everything Else

This is the foundation for:

• financial independence
• mini-retirements
• travel flexibility
• pursuing interests

It’s not about optimizing every dollar.

It’s about:
👉 creating options

🧭 Final Thoughts

Personal finance doesn’t need to be:

• complicated
• stressful
• or overwhelming

It doesn’t require:

• constant optimization
• complex strategies
• or perfect decisions

Once you understand the basics:

👉 you can build a simple system that works for you

And once that system is in place:

👉 your time and energy go back to what actually matters

Because at the end of the day:

👉 money isn’t something to obsess over

It’s something to use.

✅ Action Step

Start simple:

• track your spending
• automate your bill payments
• automate your savings
• automate monthly investments

You don’t need a perfect plan.

👉 You just need a system that helps you build towards your dream financial future