Imagine looking back on your life and realizing every financial decision you made set you up for long-term wealth and security.

No scrambling to pay off debts.

No regrets about missed opportunities.

Just a solid foundation that gave you freedom and options.

That’s exactly what I achieved by following simple, disciplined steps—and now, I’m sharing them with you.

These aren’t complex investment strategies or get-rich-quick schemes.

They are practical, actionable habits that anyone can implement.

From mastering financial literacy and budgeting to avoiding lifestyle creep and prioritizing smart investments, these principles allowed me to build wealth, gain financial confidence, and eliminate financial stress early in life.

If you’re ready to take control of your money and set yourself up for long-term success, keep reading.

Your future self will thank you.

If you’re really ambitious and want to learn EXACTLY what I did during each decade of my 20s, 30, 40s, and 50s and get ALL of my financial recommendations—for every decade—for the rest of YOUR life, join me today at 11 AM CDT.

I’m sharing 34 of the most prudent steps you can take to ensure your financial future with members of my Leadership Coaching Program.

They’re getting a detailed breakdown of everything they need to do from getting started in the right place, building their wealth, planning for retirement, and living the good life in their golden years.

Membership is required on this one.

If you want to check out my awesome program and join us today, head here.

Otherwise, enjoy this lesson on eight steps I took to put myself on a path for financial freedom!

8 STEPS THAT TRANSFORMED MY FINANCIAL FUTURE

1. Became Financially Literate: I spent time every week learning about economics, personal finances, investments, and other elements related to overall financial success. I subscribed to major magazines such as Kiplingers, Money, Smart Money, and others like them. (Some of the publications are no longer in print or produced but the point still stands.) I was 30 years old when The Millionaire Next Door book was initially released, but I’ll include it here. Read. Read. Read.

2. Made a Budget and Stuck to it: I created a budget of all of my expenses and made sure to live within the budget. I lived well below my means and that enabled me to save a substantial percentage of my income (which was not all that high).

3. Invested First: I invested first. I maxed out my 401(k) to take advantage of the pre-tax contribution. I was paid on the 7th and 22nd of every month. On those two days, I automatically drafted money directly to the mutual funds I was investing in. (I didn’t invest in stocks directly until I was in my 30s.)

4. Goal Saved Separately: If I had a short-term goal I wanted to save for, such as a vacation or new car, I created a separate savings account and automatically drafted money into that savings account on either the 7th or 22nd of each month. This money was not “invested” so much as it was saved and earmarked for something specific. I also did not want this money to be subject to the volatility of the stock market.

5. Lived Below My Means and Avoided Lifestyle Creep: This is worth mentioning again. While I created a budget and ensured I had room to save first, as well as have entertainment dollars to go out with my friends, I lived below my means and continued to live below my means as I got pay increases and overtime pay. Throughout my entire 20s, my expenses never increased even though my compensation was increasing annually. Over the course of my 20s, my compensation tripled from the initial compensation I had as a 22-year-old new professional. All of those pay increases essentially were invested.

6. Accumulated Zero Debt: Other than the first car I purchased, which I paid off in three years, I didn’t take on any debt. No home. No extra carrying cost for credit cards. Nothing! To me, debt provides the most inertia when you’re trying to accumulate your first $1 million. In fact, debt is what holds most people back their entire life because they’re buying things they cannot afford and living off the credit that will eventually come due.

7. Established Credit: As I mentioned, I did get a car loan and have a couple of credit cards. I paid everything on time and I paid my credit cards off each month so I could establish credit (and perhaps earn travel points!). I knew this would be important when I eventually wanted to buy a home or something of that nature.

8. Invested in Building My Skills: During the 1980s and 1990s, we did not have the learning opportunities in the easy-access form we do today. Even so, I read a lot of books and took training courses within my organization to grow my skills. I was constantly looking for extracurricular projects to work on to build more skills and establish my reputation within the organization. I genuinely believe these efforts put me in a better position to get paid more in advance more quickly.

HOW DOES MY LEADERSHIP PROGRAM WORK?

If you like this itty-bitty newsletter lesson, you will love the deeper dives I take every month on how to build a rewarding career and fulfilled life. I do that in my Leadership Coaching Program and it costs less than a regular cup of coffee each day.

Here’s the quick rundown…

Schedule, Attendance, Replays: I meet every month with members to teach them my latest strategies covering Wellness, Organization, High Performance, Communication, Relationships, Building Teams, and related topics. Active members can attend the live sessions and get the replays.

Workbooks, Mega-Library: Members get access to the full library of video-based lessons plus workbooks which include recaps, thought-provokers, and challenges to practice and implement the skills. Glance inside the library here!

Enrollment Options: There are a few enrollment options including monthly and annual memberships and you can join for literally as little as $0.81/day.

Bonuses: All members get access—for FREE—to my Career Accelerator Program ($497 sold separately). Annual members also get my Goal Setting Masterclass (sold separately for $297) and Productivity Challenge ($397) completely FREE.

Why not check out the program, register, join me today, and position yourself to make 2025 your best year yet?

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WHO IS THIS DUDE?

Andrew LaCivita, a globally-renowned career and leadership coach, is the founder of the milewalk Academy®. During the course of his distinguished career, he has impacted over 350 companies, more than 100,000 individuals, and spanned nearly 200 countries, helping them unlock their full potential. He is an award-winning author who gained international recognition with his groundbreaking books, Interview Intervention: Communication That Gets You Hired, The Hiring Prophecies: Psychology behind Recruiting Successful Employees, and The Zebra Code: A Step-By-Step Guide to Mastering Career Skills That Make You a Standout Professional. These seminal works, along with his celebrated vlog, Tips for Work and Life®, consistently earn top spots on reputable, worldwide lists which rank the best career advice books and blogs. Andrew remains actively engaged across various social media platforms and shares his expertise through his weekly Live Office Hours on YouTube every Thursday.