A wealth-building workshop catches my eye

Never stop learning.

Photo by Morgan Housel on Unsplash

I subscribed to the popular Market Briefs newsletter sometime back in September. I don’t remember how I came across the company, but its business model caught my attention.

“Our motto is that you should read less news, not more,” Market Briefs’ website reads. “We aim to provide you a brief summary of the financial news in five minutes or less Sunday through Friday.”

The format meshed with my personality. I didn’t have to scour the internet for information. I wouldn’t be intimidated by deep dives on complex topics. Instead, Market Briefs helped me to track important news and current events through easily digestible, bite-sized portions. When I take the time to read it, the newsletter makes me smarter.

At my first FinCon in October, I listened to two guys from Market Briefs give a 45-minute presentation on growing newsletters. The session’s title: “How to 5X your revenue in five steps: How Market Briefs did it.”

Then a catchy headline on their Jan. 30 newsletter ignited my curiosity — “The end of vaping,” the headline read.

Before I reached the brief I sought — only to learn the news was about the U.K. government planning to ban disposable vapes — an announcement stopped my scroll. Market Briefs was hosting a wealth-building workshop.

“Want to see how you can turn your finances around in 2024?” the announcement read.

Market Briefs offered its CEO, Jaspreet Singh, as a guide in a free webinar last Tuesday. I registered for and attended the scheduled 90-minute call.

My biggest takeaway?

It really doesn’t take long to learn this money stuff.

I’m approaching the one-year anniversary of my first in-person financial seminar. I immersed myself into money topics for only six months prior to that event, and by the time I attended it last March I had a pretty good command of the material presented.

So you can imagine how much more comfortable I was sitting in on last Tuesday morning’s session.

But I never want to stop learning.

Market Briefs’ workshop reinforced some healthy habits, while introducing me to others. More than anything, the session strengthened my belief that financial success is attainable. Because I’m seeing that the basic blueprint doesn’t change regardless of how complicated money might seem. And it can be intimidating in the beginning.

But there are all kinds of resources and services that people offer to help you become smarter with money. Find a fit for you and fill up on the information offered.

You’ll be smarter about money in no time.

Here is a synopsis of Singh’s six-step “C.L.I.M.B.” to wealth.

1. Prepare to climb: Before starting a wealth-building journey, it’s imperative that you build a healthier mindset about money and understand how money works. Shifting thoughts such as “money is evil” to “money isn’t evil but a necessary tool” makes a big difference. Also, learn how money flows between investors, businesses and consumers and which pays the least in taxes.
   

2. Create your financial base: This is the ground floor. It requires saving your first $2,000 and paying down your high-interest debts.
   

3. Lead your money: Add structure in this step by creating a plan for earning and a sustainable spending system that works for you. Singh recommends the 75-15-10 rule, which awards 75% of your income to daily expenses, 15% to investments and 10% to emergency savings. In this step, it’s important to build the habit of paying yourself first.
   

4. Interest-free living: In time, you should have eliminated consumer debt, especially of the high-interest variety typically seen with credit cards. Singh said you become “a wealthy-minded spender” here. In other words, you will have committed to buying only what you can afford.
   

5. Multiply your money: Here’s where you start focusing on growing your money. It’s critical along the wealth-building journey because there’s a limit to how little you can spend but no limit on how much you can earn. But the key is to stick with the systems set up in step three. Any source of income, a job or career, business, investments, or side hustle, helps.
   

6. Be great: Building wealth means little if you can’t keep it. Singh’s final stage is to ensure you do that by creating an asset protection system. In this stage, Singh also stresses the importance of giving back. Once you’ve reached the top of the mountain, fulfillment comes with helping others up.

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