You’ll Never Be Rich. Not With That Lifestyle.
Let’s break it down.
Say you’re bringing home $55,000 a year after taxes — that’s about $4,583.33 per month.
Now let’s look at your monthly bills:
- $1,750 (rent/mortgage)
- $450 (car payment)
- $230 (car insurance)
- $200 (utilities)
- $80 (internet)
- $150 (phone)
- $350 (groceries)
Total: $3,210
Leftover: $1,373.33/month
Looks decent on paper. But here’s where most people screw it up:
That leftover $1,300? It disappears.
Not into investments.
Not into savings.
Not into debt payoff.
It dies in Target runs, Amazon carts, takeout, streaming subscriptions, gas, random birthday parties, and “treating yourself” because you had a rough week.
Consider this:
- Food Delivery: The average person spends $118/month on food delivery services.
- Dining Out: Americans spend an average of $166/month per person on dining out.
- Streaming and Subscriptions: One in four Americans spends over $100/month on streaming and subscriptions.
- Gas: Americans spend an average of $204/month on gas.
- Debt Payments: The average American spends about 11.3% of their income on debt payments.
- Childcare: For those paying full-time childcare, the average cost is $631/month per child.
- Emergencies: Most Americans can’t afford a $1,000 emergency expense.
- Vacations: The average cost of a one-week vacation in the U.S. is about $1,986 per person.
And the truth is:
You will never be rich living like this.
Not because your income is too low,
but because your life costs too damn much.
The Fastest Way to Get Rich?
Do what no one else is willing to do.
Live in your car for 12 months.
Buy a plot of land and park an RV on it.
Move in with family.
Split a 3-bedroom with 5 roommates.
Sell the car.
Use public transit.
Eat rice, beans, and eggs.
You want to make real progress? Slash your lifestyle to the bone.
Force your income to be 80% profit. Not 20%. Not 10%. Not “whatever’s left.”
Here’s what that looks like when you’re serious:
- Max out your 401(k).
- Max out your Roth IRA.
- Max out your HSA.
- Throw $500+ a month at debt.
- Build an emergency fund in 90 days.
- Stack cash. Invest it. Repeat.
Most people don’t want this life.
They want the idea of being rich — not the pain it takes to get there.
But the ones who do the radical stuff?
The ones who are willing to look crazy now?
They retire at 40.
They travel while everyone else works.
They own their time.
So here’s the truth:
If you want to make it big fast, you have to do what looks small now.
That’s the cheat code.
Your Homework:
Don’t just read this and move on.
Pick one of these books — just one — and actually read it this month. Take notes. Highlight. Let it mess with how you think about money.
- The Millionaire Fastlane by MJ DeMarco
- Set for Life by Scott Trench
- Your Money or Your Life by Vicki Robin & Joe Dominguez
Thanks for reading.
Appreciate you taking the time