Live Like an Investor: 3 Ways to Wealth

As a millionaire mindset coach, my goal is always to get people thinking in terms of investment. Living life by design and learning how to spend selectively so that every expense produces a great return.

Return is the thing that controls our happiness. If we spend mindlessly on things that produce little return, then we take away from ourselves more than we give. But if we spend selectively on things that produce great return, then we give to ourselves more than we take away.

If you’ve been following along for Millionaire Mentor Week: Holiday Edition, you’ve probably already figured out that return for me takes shape in the form of my 7 F-Words to an F’n Good Life. When I do my annual planning, I always work through my 7 F-Words first, because I want to make sure that my finances are set up to support – or produce a return for – all of the things that matter to me (including my finances!). In other words, if an expense builds my Faith, if it strengthens my Friendships, if it makes me Feel good and healthy, then I see it as producing a great return.

So, in that spirit, here are my 3 Ways to Wealth. If you want to Flourish, if you want wealth, health, and happiness in 2016, here’s what to do to start living like an investor.

#1: Know What’s Important to You

If you followed along through Millionaire Mentor Week: Holiday Edition and powered through all of the work, you’ve already defined what’s important. You’re already thinking like an investor!

If you didn’t follow along, or didn’t have a chance to keep up, no worries. All you need is here & here. To nail the money thing, you must do this first! Otherwise money is a DRAG. Because you don’t know where to put your money to really make life rich. So start with what makes life rich. The rest will come easy.

#2: Get The Biggest Bang for Your Buck

This may sound obvious. But NOBODY does this! (Except the truly wealthy.)

This is all about spending your money in a way that builds the exact life you design (which you did in #1). So buy those shoes! If they help you to thrive. Take that trip! If it’s an investment in your productivity and happiness.

And STOP spending on all that crap that isn’t explicitly tied into your dream life. All those carry out meals that you order regularly because you don’t feel like cooking? Or those magazines you’re subscribed to but never read? Or the happy hours you go to because you have FOMO (even though your body is telling you to rest)? Whatever those things are in your life – if they’ve stopped serving you, stop spending there. And start investing in the life you want.

#3: Get a Plan

Again, sounds obvious. But it’s something many of us skip.

Put a plan into place. Create commitments that you feel really awesome about, and then design your life so you can DO IT!

I don’t care what plan it is. You may love Dave Ramsey. You may love Suzie Orman. You may love the simple 6 Secrets to Wealth that I’ve shared with you. (Personally, I like and use my own, but you’d expect that, right?!)

Whatever plan you choose, design a structure that will help you stick to it. My personal favorite is this simple:

1. Design my dream life around my 7 F words. 1-3 hours tops.
   
2. Decide how much money I need to fund them. 1 hour.
   
3. Cut out the spending that’s not aligned with my dream life. 1 hour to decide what’s not serving me; a couple days to call/cancel what I don’t want anymore.
   
4. Start investing in new places that are. Ongoing.
   
5. Check in every week on how I’m doing with my investments. 20 minutes; Am I keeping that money where I’m getting the biggest bang for my buck?
   
6. Do a quarterly check-in on my 7 F words and my investments. 1-3 hours tops.

If you think you can do those things, you’ll find yourself wealthy and happy by the end of 2016. Go ahead and set times on your calendar now. And then stick to them.

Trust me. It will pay off. How do I know? It’s the exact way I built my millions.