When I was younger, I didn’t really listen in class. I’d sit there, zoned out, letting my mind drift into side quests while the teacher threw words at the blackboard. One time my mom asked, “What did you learn today?” I’d hit play on a sound recording I made during class and gave her to listen while I went off to watch SpongeBob. I was scolded and told to listen in class. The first real topic I remember learning — besides math and English — was saving. saving They said it like gospel: “Save your money.” “Save your money.” They told us stories about people who ended up broke on the streets. They said they were reckless. Irresponsible. Prodigal. And I believed them. I started saving every little thing. Birthday money. Lunch money. Random change. The little cash I could scrap together. It felt smart. Responsible. Like I was doing something good — like I was becoming a man with a plan. But looking back, saving my money was the worst financial decision I ever made. saving my money was the worst financial decision I ever made. Not because saving is evil, but because I treated it like a strategy — not a temporary measure. They told us to save money. Until I asked myself, "Why do you save money when the government just prints more money?" It makes sense to save a diamond because it's rare. It makes sense to save a relationship with your soulmate because they're rare. But why save the one thing that is printed in abundance? "Seek wealth, not money or status.
Wealth is having assets that earn while you sleep.
Money is how we transfer time and wealth.
Status is your place in the social hierarchy" ~ Naval "Seek wealth, not money or status. Wealth is having assets that earn while you sleep. Money is how we transfer time and wealth. Status is your place in the social hierarchy" ~ Naval Money is how we transfer time and wealth. Idle money means idle time, and wealth that is idle is not wealth anymore. If you're irritated by the idea of keeping your time idle and not doing anything productive with it, why are you comfortable with keeping your money idle and not doing anything productive with it? If money is storing your time and wealth, why do you save money? Why not use the money to create more wealth? If you don’t, inflation will eat it. Rich people use money. That’s how you know they’re rich. Because you can see their money working. Idle money is dying money. Idle money is dying money. Saving is not financial advice — it’s mental conditioning. Saving is not financial advice — it’s mental conditioning. Poverty Is Gravity (And Saving Is a Slow Death) Society feeds the poor different rules than it feeds the rich. One gets playbooks. The other gets platitudes. “Save your money.”
“Cut back on coffee.”
“Budget better.” “Save your money.” “Cut back on coffee.” “Budget better.” What they don’t say is this: “Build leverage.”
“Buy back your time.”
"Cultivate Specific Knowledge."
“Invest in income engines.” “Build leverage.” “Buy back your time.” "Cultivate Specific Knowledge." “Invest in income engines.” Rich people don’t play defense — they build offense. “My proceeds from the PayPal acquisition were $180 million. I put $100M into SpaceX, $70M into Tesla, and $10M into SolarCity. I had to borrow money for rent.” - Elon Musk “My proceeds from the PayPal acquisition were $180 million. I put $100M into SpaceX, $70M into Tesla, and $10M into SolarCity. I had to borrow money for rent.” - Elon Musk They use money to buy time, buy leverage, buy systems that print more money. While the rest are told to hoard coins and pray for sunny days. If you’re poor, you pay more: You pay monthly for tools and subscriptions while the rich get discounts for paying annually.
You pay interest on what you can’t afford up front.
You pay with time and energy, not just money.
You pay with your mental peace, always juggling scarcity. You pay monthly for tools and subscriptions while the rich get discounts for paying annually. You pay interest on what you can’t afford up front. You pay with time and energy, not just money. You pay with your mental peace, always juggling scarcity. Poverty is gravity. Poverty is gravity. It pulls you downward. It warps your judgment. It slows your reaction time, because everything feels like survival. You can’t afford to make good decisions — only fast ones. You’re told to save when you should’ve been taught to deploy. You’re told to save when you should’ve been taught to deploy. Saving can only preserve. It can’t build. It can’t scale. It can’t grow. Profit is not an outcome — it’s a discipline. Profit is not an outcome — it’s a discipline. It’s the result of doing small, boring, non-sexy things over and over: Giving your money a job
Reinvesting instead of retreating
Thinking years ahead while living day-to-day Giving your money a job Reinvesting instead of retreating Thinking years ahead while living day-to-day Money is not static — it moves. It flows. And if you don’t direct it, it will disappear. Silently. Invisibly. Into subscriptions, inflation, and dopamine loops. 5 Money Moves That Free You “If your money isn’t working, you’re the one being worked.” “If your money isn’t working, you’re the one being worked.” Here’s how to stop saving money like a peasant and start using it like a sovereign builder: 1. Stop Clicking the Save Button Saving as identity is a prison. You're not a squirrel hiding nuts — you're a general commanding soldiers. Save with a purpose — to deploy, to invest, to reinvest. Don’t save “just in case.” Save “just until.” Until what? Until you can buy leverage. Until you can invest in yourself. Until your cash creates cash. If you’re scared of the winter… build an antifragile career instead of saving. build an antifragile career You can just make more money instead of saving. You can just make more money And yes, I mean that literally. Not in a “manifestation” way. In a build-systems-and-sell-things way. 2. Assign Every Dollar a Job Your time already has a price. You’re just not the one setting it. If your hourly rate is $100/hour, then anything that costs 2 hours and saves less than $200 is a bad trade. "But Praise, I don't earn hourly, I'm a head honcho, I'm an Entrapranure, El Présidente." Divide what you make in a month or quarter by hours. You stop chasing discounts and start chasing leverage. If you did work for me and charged me $200, and I said I’d pay you in candy — would you collect? Then don’t spend $200 on candy. Money loves order. It loves being told what to do. Letting it sit is like letting a high-performing athlete rot on the bench. Set buckets: Reinvestment: Tools, skills, speed
Growth: Ads, hires, leverage
Survival: Basic needs, emergency reserve
Play: Joyful, guilt-free spending. Reinvestment: Tools, skills, speed Reinvestment: Growth: Ads, hires, leverage Growth: Survival: Basic needs, emergency reserve Survival: Play: Joyful, guilt-free spending. Play: A dollar with a mission becomes a weapon. A dollar with no plan is liability. 3. Buy Time, Not Things Poor people buy status. Rich people buy space — mental space, calendar space, energy space. They don't spend money on furry coats and yacht parties when they can spend it on tools that save them 300 hours. Because time compounds faster than cash. Your next level won’t be found in a new hoodie. It’ll be found in how much of your calendar you own. 4. Productize Yourself Stop chasing passive income. Start creating repeatable income: Templates
Courses
Systems
Licensing
Digital goods Templates Courses Systems Licensing Digital goods You don’t need a team or a cofounder — you need discipline to build once and sell often. Every hour you don’t spend productizing is profit you’re bleeding. The best thing to invest in as a beginner, is not ETFs, not Real Estate, not Bitcoin or whatever memecoin is hot right now, it is yourself, your skills, your knowledge, those are investments where there are no downsides. If you invest in yourself, you control the outcome. You own the failures, and you own the growth. yourself Build skills that compound over time.
Develop mental and physical fitness.
Focus on becoming the kind of person who creates success, not stumbles into it. Build skills that compound over time. Develop mental and physical fitness. Focus on becoming the kind of person who creates success, not stumbles into it. creates 5. Defend Your Beliefs Like Assets Most people’s beliefs about money come from broke parents, overworked teachers, and scared friends. If you believe saving is security, you’ll die in the same place you started. Start building a new belief set: “Money flows to clarity.”
“Profit follows priority.”
“Idle money is a sin.” “Money flows to clarity.” “Profit follows priority.” “Idle money is a sin.” Your beliefs are more powerful than your knowledge. Beliefs are self-fulfilling machines. They generate behaviours that reinforce themselves. Take pessimism: it causes bad outcomes, which validate the pessimism, even if the truth is different. You stop trying. Things fall apart. You say “See? I was right.” Poverty is often built on invisible, self-fulfilling beliefs. “I can’t charge more.”
“Money is evil.”
“I need to save just in case.” “I can’t charge more.” “Money is evil.” “I need to save just in case.” Those aren’t facts. They’re viruses passed down through broke mentors, worried parents, and play-it-safe cultures. Now flip the script: Imagine believing you could make a billion — and watching that belief pull you toward billion-dollar behaviour. That’s not delusion. That’s mental supremacy. Final Thought If you want to be rich, you need to become dangerously disciplined. Dangerous with your focus. Dangerous with your money. Dangerous with your mind. Saving is not bad. But if that’s your only move, you’re playing to not lose — and you’ll still lose. Start playing to win. If you liked this post, please like the post. Use the like button. Saving is a slow death. The alternative is to build, not hoard. Saving is a slow death. The alternative is to build, not hoard. If this essay upended your thinking, it’s only the beginning. Every week, I send out a new mental model for increasing your intelligence, creating new wealth, and making your mind your most dangerous asset. Don’t just read about it. Become it. Read the previous lessons and subscribe here: https://crive.substack.com Read the previous lessons and subscribe here: https://crive.substack.com - Praise

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The Wealth Trap: Stop Saving and Start Using the Secret of the Rich

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