No! Don't go in there! Daddy's working.
Jonathan: Welcome back to another edition of Daddy's Working Podcast. I am stoked today. I'm so stoked that you are here.
Today, we're going to talk about one of my favorite topics and I don't think we talk about this topic nearly enough, but I've always told you guys, this show is about the four pillars of purpose—family, faith, fitness and finances—and I don't talk about finances nearly enough, and I found that out today when I was doing my morning story on Instagram. If you guys aren't following me, it’s @riverathan. R-I-V-E-R-A-T-H-A-N. [01:04.9]
I do a morning story over there and I did a poll today. I asked everybody, “What do you want to hear more about? Faith? Family? Finances? Fitness?” and everybody wanted to hear more about finances. And so, today, that's where we're going to talk about. We're going to talk about “Daddy’s Dollars and Sense.” These are some of the lessons that, if I could give to myself when I was 17, it would be super helpful, so this might be one that you want to share with your kids. I'll keep it clean, but we're going to talk about money today and money beliefs.
I grew up with some really, really bad money beliefs and I've talked about it on other shows. My parents always told me that money was the reason we couldn't have things, and lo and behold, now that I'm in my forties, I realized money is the reason we can have everything we want. And so, I want you guys to have all the money in the world. I want you guys to make billions. This is not a zero-sum game. Money is unlimited, and the sooner you realize that, the sooner you can tap into it, so I'm hoping that, today, I'll help you break free of the bad beliefs around money. [02:16.8]
So, today we're talking about why most Americans are broke. I'm going to show you how bad beliefs show up in everything you do, and it's not necessarily your fault. It's the programming that's going on out there, but I'm going to help deprogram you and I'm going to show you why you don't have more, so we can open the floodgates of money and it can rain hundies on you. All right?
We'll talk about your financial thermostat. I'm going to tell you about my friend, Tony’s wad, and I’m going to give you a little bit of my beliefs on legacy and how you can improve your legacy. So let's dive in. [03:00.0]
God bless my wife. God bless Cupcake. When she met me, I remember one dinner I took her out to. In fact, I think it was a first dinner I took her out to. We went to this really hip Asian restaurant over in Lake Mary, fancy place, and I ordered a $100 steak. A $100 steak, and her mouth just dropped. “A $100 steak? What are you doing?” I didn't even know if I had the money to pay for it. I was using a credit card and just hoping and praying that I would have the money to pay for it, and I think that I went over my limit that night. But, hey, I impressed Cupcake and that's all that really matters, right? And I ate a $100 steak. Haven't ever had one since, and now that I have more money, I don't even desire a $100 steak. But, hey, I did it, proud of it. Won't be doing it again anytime soon. [04:00.4]
But the reason I bring this up is because I really didn't know anything about money. I had some really deeply-ingrained bad beliefs about money and it really clouded everything I did. And so, with those bad beliefs, what happened was money came to me and money went from me even faster. I believe I spent it quicker than I made it and I was always in debt, and it was a vicious cycle and I didn't know what was going on. I didn't know that I could change anything.
Luckily, I met Cupcake and, for some reason, she stuck around and for some reason she believed in me. And I watched her manage her money and she always seemed to have money, and I watched how she did it and I wanted to be like her, so she inspired me to get better with my money.
I think it was back in … actually I can look it up. No, I don't have it here. Had to be, I don't know, 2010, 2011, so quite a while ago. I decided that I was going to do something about these bad beliefs I had about money. [05:07.7]
I heard about this guy named T. Harv Eker. He’s got this book that I recommend you pick up if you haven't read it right now, and if you have read it, maybe it's time to read it again, and it's definitely one to share with your kids as well. It's called Secrets of the Millionaire Mind: Mastering the Inner Game of Wealth. This book was life-changing for me. Before this, I was over-leveraged. I was spending money before I got it and I just had terrible beliefs about money.
Inside that book, T. Harv Eker taught me something that changed my life forever. He talked about the idea of a financial thermostat and how you would have to learn to raise that thermostat to raise the amount of money in your life, because if you’ve got more money than your thermostat was set to, it would just pour back out. And I was living proof of that. I knew it. I did it all the time and I was ready for a change. [06:10.0]
So, I read his book and the big takeaway for me was his five envelope system and he had a way of separating out money, so that you used only what you had and you didn't spend anything if you didn't have it. So basic, so simple and so powerful.
I stopped depositing any checks I would get into the bank and I would start cashing them, and I had these five envelopes. I'll break down the envelopes for you very quickly.
- First envelope was 55 percent, the necessities envelope. That's rent, mortgage, food, electric, your necessities.
- The second envelope was 10 percent and this was long-term savings, your rainy day fund.
- After that you had 10 percent play, a I think before this I was spending everything on play, but 10 percent play, so whatever you want to do, fun, eating out, sports, movies, whatever. You had 10 percent to fool around with and not feel bad about. [07:10.0]
- Then there was 10 percent education which was great. How am I going to improve myself if I don't have a budget for it?
- After that, there was a 10 percent financial freedom fund, and this was investing and putting your money to work for you, so it would go out there. You could deploy it and it would come back with little friends.
- And the final one was 5 percent giving, and this falls into charity and abundance, and we're actually going to talk more about this later.
But this system revolutionized my relationship with money and it helped set me up to be a good steward of money.
There’s this weird concept, and I don't know if you've heard it before, but we are actually stewards of our money. We're caretakers. Money is here to do our bidding, and the only way money will come to us and accumulate and want to be around us is if we are good stewards of it. If not, like I said, your flock leaves you. If your financial thermostat is too low, then you're just going to let all the extra money leave. That makes you uncomfortable. [08:17.4]
And so, this system really changed my life and I started realizing that I had more than I thought, and it taught me to do more with less money. So, all of a sudden, I had a savings account. All of a sudden, I was still having all the fun, and still going out and doing all the things, and paying my bills and not overleverage on credit cards. It revolutionalized … Forget it. It made my financial game much better. Why do I try to use big words? I don't know why I do that.
Anyways, it changed everything for me. And right now, if you've read the book, like I said, go back and read it again. If you feel like you're overleveraged or overspending, this system cannot be beat and it's the foundation for everything I do today. [09:07.8]
In fact, it started out where I was putting the 55 percent into necessities and all that. I realized that I could put away even more money, and I started saving even more and still having a great quality life with less money spent, and it was amazing. So, if you haven't picked up the book, pick it up. If you have, read it again. Put those envelopes to use and you will build up your financial thermostat like I did, and it will change the game for you. You will be living a life of abundance.
So, first thing, bad beliefs about money? Get Secrets of a Millionaire Mind, T. Harv Eker, and do the five envelopes systems. Just to remind you, 55 percent is necessities; 10 percent is long-term savings; 10 percent is play; 10 percent is education; 10 percent is financial freedom; and 5 percent is giving. [10:00.0]
A while back, we were friends with this couple, amazing couple, good people, Tony and Patty. We spent so much time with them, had so many good times with them, and there's this one thing that's so memorable and almost shocking that I want to share it with you because this was a total game-changer for me. This really opened up my eyes to abundance.
We’d go out to dinner with them, and when it came time to pay, Tony would dig into his pocket and pull out this fat wad of money. Hundreds, just a stack of hundreds, and that had an impact on us. We both saw it, me and Cupcake, and we commented on it afterwards. This was when we were first hanging out with them. We spent many years with them, so the wad became a normal thing. In fact, it inspired me and I'll tell you how. [11:04.3]
I'm going to give you another book. Are you ready for this? The author of the book is Larry Winget and the book is called Shut Up, Stop Whining, and Get a Life, and I hated this book. I hated everything he said in there. Even though I knew he was right, something about the guy irritated me, but there was this one little bit and it was probably not more than a half a paragraph on a page where Larry says you need to carry a wad of money in your pocket, cash, $100 bills, as many as you can stack in there. It reminded me of Tony, and when I read it and I thought about how I felt when I saw Tony's wad, I was like, This guy is right. I need to do this.
Let me give you a quick story here. I found this on Yahoo! Finance and I will link to it in the show notes. The lead on the story is 58 percent of Americans have less than $1,000 in savings, and I've witnessed this. I've seen it firsthand. [12:09.7]
We have apartment rentals, and if somebody gets a flat tire or has to repair their car, they don't have money for rent and they're set back for weeks or months. So, I can see this happening every day in people that rent from us. And I thought, Good grief, man, people don't have $1,000 in savings or that's all they have? How do they make it? That scares the hell out of me.
So, after seeing Tony's wad, reading Larry Winget’s book and coming to the conclusion that most people don't even have $1,000, I said, “That's what I'm starting with. I'm going to have $1,000 of cash in my wallet at all times.” I still do it to this day. I still do it to this day. In fact, I shot a quick video because I wanted it to go with this, because I want you guys to do this.
I want you guys to get yourself a wad because it's going to make you feel powerful, and you can tell me all the things you want to tell me like, Oh, people don't take cash. Cash is not cool. I don't have enough. Well, get enough. Quit making excuses. There's no reason why you can't carry $1,000 in your pocket at all times. [13:14.6]
And let me tell you something. When you carry that wad of money, it's going to make you feel good. It's going to make you feel sexy. It's going to make you feel like the man. How do I know? Because I've been doing this for years. I have right now $1,800 sitting in my wallet. It feels damn good to have that in there, and to know that most people don't even have that in their savings account, and I’ve got it in my pocket and I can spend it right now if I want to. That's a feeling of power. That's a feeling of confidence. That, friends, will make you sexy AF.
So, yeah, 58 percent of Americans don't even have that. This is going to make you feel strong and powerful, and people notice. The same way that Cupcake and I noticed when Tony pulled out that wad, and I said, “I can't be left behind. I’ve got to have a wad,” people notice that and I've heard people comment on it. I've heard it. [14:03.7]
People see me pull it out, even though I'm going to use my credit card. It's wrapped in hundreds. I pull it out and people are like, Damn, how much money you got there? Woo. That's a fat wad. Hell yeah, it is. I worked for it. I earned it, and it's mine. That makes you feel good.
And the only reason I was able to do this was because of T. Harv Eker. Remember how I broke everything down and there was a 10 percent financial freedom and a 10 percent play? That money adds up quickly. You'd be surprised how quickly it adds up, and to be able to carry it in your pocket makes you feel powerful, confident, sexy.
You don't need to use credit cards all the time. Go out to dinner with your friends, buy around the drinks, pull out them hundies and everybody's going to look at you differently. I promise you this. Everybody's going to think about you differently when they see that wad of money and it's going to make you feel differently, and it's going to raise your financial thermostat. Because even when I didn't have a lot, even when I could only put $1,000 in my wallet, that's 10 $100 bills, nice and crispy, it made me feel good and it made me a better steward of money, because I always wanted to make sure I had at least that $1,000 in there, if not more. [15:11.4]
And, in fact, I've gotten to as much as $3,000, and one time, a little while back, I had this fat wad of $3,000 in there, and I saw a motorcycle I liked and I just bought it. I just bought it. It was my VTX badass bike, just bought it. I had the wad in my pocket, gave it to the guy. The guy's hands are shaking and I'm like, Dude, it's only 3,000. Give me the keys. Signed over the title. This is power, baby.
So, if you don't believe in cash, I'm urging you, start believing in it and start carrying a fat wad. It’s going to make you sexy. It's going to make you confident. It's going to raise your financial thermostat.
We’ve been talking about T. Harv Eker. Obviously, a big inspiration in my financial life and one of the foundational folks when it comes to my finances is this guy right here, and I want to read you a quote that I love from T. Harv Eker. [16:11.3]
“Money will only make you more of what you already are.”
What are you? Are you a good person? Are you kind? Are you generous? Money is going to make you a better person, kinder and more generous. Are you a jerk? Money is going to make you a bigger jerk.
So, money doesn't change you. Money amplifies you. And if you're a good person, you should have more money. In fact, you need to have more money because you are a person that's going to do good with it. And I understand that now, but I didn't understand that when I was younger.
And so, this is a key lesson in raising your financial thermostat. Having more money makes you more of what you are, and if you're a good, generous and kind person, you get to be even more generous. [17:04.3]
So, when I'm thinking about legacy, legacy is not what you do here, what any of us do here while we're on this Earth. Legacy is what we leave behind and that could be our children. That could be our charitable contributions. That could be the impact that you make in a podcast show like I'm doing right here. I might be making a huge impact on somebody or maybe you're sharing this with somebody.
But I think about my legacy and I think about what I'm leaving behind, and one of my lifetime goals, so every quarter—you guys know this—I go to coach, Strategic Coach, and part of what I do when I'm over there is just review my lifetime goals. I review them more often now, probably a couple times a month at least, but one of my lifetime goals is to be more generous and I can't be more generous if I don't have anything. So I have to strive to get more, have more, be more so I can give more. [18:05.3]
And I think about it all the time, being more generous with my fans … My family. I said my fans. I don't know if I have fans, but I don't know where that came from. Was that a Freudian slip? Being more generous with our clients, with our friends, being more generous in my faith. All of this, I think about it, and I'm always striving to be more generous because this is my legacy.
And so, it is fun. It is fun to be generous. When you can give people things that they can't give themselves or they're afraid to give themselves, the looks, the smiles, the joy that you bring to people is amazing.
So, look, I tithe to church. I'm quite … no, I'm not going to say I'm quite. I'm generous and I can be more generous. I want to be more generous, but I'm pretty darned generous already.
But even with Cupcake, and this is something she struggles with and I'm trying to help her with, but for the longest time, I don't know how long, maybe as long as I've known her, she always wanted a Louis Vuitton purse for years and would never buy one. [19:13.1]
And, recently, she had a birthday. Her birthday is near Christmas and she just told everybody, “Hey, I wanna I want Louis. I want a Louis purse. And if you guys want to give me a gift, just give me a … let's all contribute in and I can get my Louis purse.” And I heard that and I'm like, Oh yeah, I guess I could chip in. I'm like, Chip in? That's lame.
I grabbed her by the arm one day, and this was during a weekday. I grabbed her by the arm. I said, “Come on, let's go to the mall in Millennia. Let me get you your purse.” She looked at me all wide-eyed. “What are you? Crazy?” And it wasn't that much money. I think it was like 1,600 bucks. Not a lot of money, but it was to her and it was a limit to her that she couldn't pass. She couldn't cross over that threshold and I knew that she would never do it on her own. [20:00.9]
So, I said, “Forget about collecting money and all that. We don't need that. I'm going to take you. I'm going to get you the purse. You pick it out. I'll pay for it. Boom, you got your Louis.” And we did that and she was just so happy. She was like, I could have never done that on my own. I would have never pulled the trigger. Even if I got all the money from everybody, I still would have hemmed and hawed and not done it.
And I said, “I know. I know. That's why I got it for you, so you didn't have to.” And now she's like, Oh, I want a Louis wallet. I want the bigger Louis, all that stuff. I open the floodgates there, and that felt so good to be able to just say, Here. Here you go. You deserve this, baby. And it felt good to see her smile and it felt good to see her sister and mom all gawking. Wow, you got a Louis, oh my gosh. It felt really, really good.
Most people are just thinking too small. There’s more that you can do when we're talking about generosity, and if you're only taking care of yourself, you're never really going to experience this, and that's why I encourage you to give more to your family, give more to your faith, give more to your friendships. [21:11.5]
I take friends skiing all the time, clients skiing. If you're in Utah when I'm in Utah, you're coming skiing with me and I'm paying, because that's the way it is. I love it. I love having people with me and I love seeing the joy on people's faces, and I love being able to do that.
So, let's do a quick recap because I think I'm running a little over here and this is something that I'm really passionate about. It's not going to be the last time we talk about it.
Number one, we talked about raising your financial thermostat. I gave you the five-envelope system from T. Harv Eker.
After that we talked about the reason you should carry a wad. Most Americans don't even have $1,000 in their bank account, and I'm telling you carry at least $1,000 wad in your pocket. It makes you more confident. It makes you more interesting and it makes you sexy AF. [22:00.9]
And, last but not least, we talked about your legacy, what you're leaving behind, the impact you're making on people and how you can be more generous. If you have more, you can do more; you can be more; and you can give more.
So, here's the thing. I did a quick video and I shouldn't talk about this in the middle, but I'm talking about it in the end because I don't want to forget. But I’ve got a new hashtag on Instagram. Remember I'm @riverathan. #IWantToSeeYourWad. That sounds gross, but I do. I just recorded a video with my money clip and what was in it, 1,800 bucks, counting the money out and being kind of a dork, but I want to see your wad.
Go out and do this. Even if it's just 500 bucks, even if it's just 200 that you can start with, whatever it is, get some cash in your pocket. Show me your wad @riverathan on Instagram and the hashtag is #DWPodcast. All right, now that that's all over with, #DWPodcast, show me your wad. [23:03.8]
Now that we've got that over with, I want to just say thank you for listening. Thank you for tuning in. Thank you for coming on this adventure with me, and I wish you all the financial success in the world. I want you to be a billionaire. We can all be billionaires. Until next time, Daddy's out.
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