What I Wish Someone Told Me About Money

I didn’t learn this stuff in school.

No one sat me down and explained how money really works—how wealth is built, protected, or lost. So I did what most people do: I learned the hard way.

But if someone had pulled me aside early on—someone who’d actually done it, built it, lived it—and handed me this list, things would’ve been a lot simpler, faster, and richer (in every sense of the word).

Here it is. No fluff. No filler. Just the real-deal money truths I wish someone told me years ago.

• Forget the Instagram nonsense and crypto-fueled fantasies.
• Real wealth-building is made up of consistent, often dull habits: earning more than you spend, -investing like a grown-up, and repeating this over and over.
• If it feels slow and steady, you’re probably doing it right.

• You could be pulling in $250K a year and still be broke if you’re bleeding cash on lifestyle upgrades, dumb purchases, or financial ego-trips.
• Wealth is measured in net worth and freedom, not how many toys you post online.
• You’re not rich if your money disappears the moment it arrives.

• Your boss? Wants productivity.
• Your financial advisor? Wants fees.
• Your bank? Wants you in debt.
• The only person with your best financial interests at heart is staring at you in the mirror.
• Learn enough to take the wheel—because outsourcing your financial future is how you end up in a ditch.

• It’s marketed like freedom—easy payments, low interest, “treat yourself” financing.
• But the truth is, debt eats your future before it even begins.
• If you don’t control it, it will quietly control your decisions, your job choices, your relationships, and your stress levels.
• Use debt like a scalpel, not a chainsaw.

• They’re only rigged against the clueless.
• The tax system, credit system, investing world—they all reward people who took the time to understand how the game works.
• You don’t need to cheat. You just need to stop playing blindfolded.

• Sure, maybe your parents didn’t teach you. Maybe school failed you.
• But you’re an adult now—and staying financially illiterate is a decision.
• The good news? You can flip the switch in one afternoon. You just have to care enough to stop winging it and start learning.

• That car, that kitchen upgrade, that latest phone—they’re nice, for about a week.
• But the ability to wake up and do what you want, when you want, with who you want? That’s real wealth.
• Spend your money building freedom, not flexing for people who don’t care.

• You don’t need a degree in finance, a mentor, a permission slip, or perfect timing.
• You need clarity, grit, and a willingness to break free from the average mindset.
• Wealth is available to anyone who stops waiting and starts moving.

• The earlier you start saving and investing—even small amounts—the more explosive the growth over time.
• But every delay? Every “I’ll start next year”? That’s money and time you’ll never get back.
• Start messy. Start small. But for the love of your future, start now.

• Wealth isn’t just about numbers—it’s about mindset.
• Most people live paycheck to paycheck because that’s what they were taught, surrounded by, and conditioned to accept.
• But normal is broke, stressed, overworked, and underpaid.
• Don’t settle for that. Step out of the crowd. Decide you’re done with “normal.”

• The truth about money isn’t complicated—it’s just unpopular.
• Because it requires responsibility. Patience. Guts.
• Money’s Dirty Little Secrets is the book I wrote to give you the advice I wish someone had given me—minus the fluff, minus the guru garbage.
• Now that you know the truth…
  

What are you going to do about it?