2760: The Simple 1-4-4 Rule We Use To Grow Our Wealth to Staggering Levels by Lisa Harrison of Mad Money Monster

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[00:01:10] episode 2760. The simple one, four, four rule we use to grow our wealth to staggering levels by Lisa Harrison of madmoneymonster.com. And I'm your host and personal finance enthusiast, Diana Merriam. Now let's get right to it and continue optimizing your life. The simple one,

[00:01:34] four, four rule we use to grow our wealth to staggering levels by Lisa Harrison of madmoneymonster.com. Okay, okay. Staggering is obviously a relative term, but we like to think our wealth can reach

[00:01:49] such levels in the future. If you're just tuning in when Mr. Mad Money Monster and I started living our adult lives after college, we both started down the path of lease resistance like most

[00:02:00] people do. That means we would spend money as soon as it hit our bank accounts and we would even spend more than that. Credit cards, payment plans, and automatic billing made separating us from our

[00:02:12] hard-earned money a really easy task. In order to grow our wealth to staggering levels, we needed to change a whole bunch of stuff. First things first, we had to meet each other. After joining

[00:02:25] forces a few years ago, we pulled our heads out of our butts and got serious about our future together. That's when we committed to living a more simple and more fulfilling life. Since starting

[00:02:36] our financial independence journey a few years ago, we're constantly on the lookout for new and inventive ways to help us reach our financial goals faster. The absolute best thing we ever did

[00:02:47] to help us reach our goals is track our net worth. It's unbelievable how much this has motivated us and how easy it is. In addition to tracking our net worth, we also created our family's 144 rule

[00:03:00] to grow our wealth. The 144 rule to grow your wealth. But Mrs. Mad Money Monster, what the heck is a 144 rule? Oh my, am I ever glad you asked. Simply stated, the 144 rule is as follows.

[00:03:18] One is a single year. Four is winter, spring, summer, and fall. Order doesn't matter here. And four is one goal per season or four total each year. Obviously this rule is mighty simple

[00:03:31] to start and even easier to stick to. We all know there are things we either need to do or things we should do to keep our finances moving forward. Some things require little time and effort,

[00:03:42] while others can be major time sucks and cause for frustration. For example, setting up a taxable brokerage account that is goal-oriented, like say to buy a rental property, could be considered an

[00:03:55] easy and fun thing to do. This task can easily be checked off over a lunch break and it still counts as a task for one entire season. Other tasks, on the other hand, are a bit less fun

[00:04:09] and require massive thought and action. Think creating a will. But by using the 144 rule, you can combine the easy with the hard and alternate to give yourself ample time for completion. Winning. The ease of tracking 144 goals. The beauty of this rule is its simplicity.

[00:04:30] With everything we have going on in our lives, coming up with a detailed roadmap for financial tasks, like making sure we have enough life insurance, can seem tedious at best. Fortunately,

[00:04:42] not all tasks are tedious and not all tedious tasks need to be scheduled back to back. Big or small, tedious or fun, the point is to check a box every three months, keep moving forward,

[00:04:55] and ultimately grow your wealth. The power is all yours. And because this rule is so simple, we, and probably you, don't even need to write it down, even though we do. Since I'm a super

[00:05:07] nerd and love my spreadsheets, you better believe our four tasks have their own tab for the year. Truth be told, this is a new rule we have implemented this year and it worked out wonderfully.

[00:05:18] How we grow our wealth with 144 goals. So far this year, we've accomplished all of our goals on time. Although I must say, giving ourselves three months to accomplish each task kind of seems like it

[00:05:30] shouldn't be legal. But given we made the rule, it is. All of these combined sound really daunting. I don't know about you, but when something seems really daunting to me, I tend to push it off until

[00:05:42] it's so far on the back burner, I oftentimes forget I ever had the intention of doing it in the first place. But since we've allowed ourselves the luxury of three whole months to complete each

[00:05:53] task, suddenly daunting isn't a word I would use to describe any one of these tasks. Check out the following list for our personal goals for this year. Re-evaluate the need for continued life insurance. Transfer our taxable brokerage account to a discount broker. Increase investment

[00:06:12] portfolio contributions by $200 a month and ensure 401k contributions achieve the maximum allowable amount for the year. As stated before, the beauty of the 144 rule is not only the generous amount of time given to complete each task. It's also the vast flexibility to schedule

[00:06:31] around busy times of the year, like vacations and holidays. I mean, you really didn't think our fourth quarter goal was to transfer our taxable investment account to a discount brokerage firm, did you? Um, no. Our fourth quarter task is to increase our investment portfolio contributions

[00:06:49] by $200 a month. Easy peasy. Just the way I like it. As a wise woman once said, ain't nobody got time for that. You just listened to the post titled, The Simple 144 Rule We Use To Grow Our

[00:07:06] Wealth To Staggering Levels by Lisa Harrison of madmoneymonster.com. And I'll be right back with my commentary. For a lot of people, it can be stressful and confusing to manage their finances.

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[00:07:46] It gives you a comprehensive view of all of your accounts, investments, transactions, and more. Create custom budgets, set goals, and collaborate with your partner. And now get an extended 30-day free trial when you go to monarchmoney.com. After trying out Monarch for myself, I understand why

[00:08:06] it's the top rated personal finance app. And right now get an extended 30-day free trial when you go to monarchmoney.com. That's M-O-N-A-R-C-H M-O-N-E-Y.com. For your extended 30-day free trial. Looking to part ways with complicated, expensive, and uncertain shipping?

[00:08:30] Then give your business the edge it needs with USPS Ground Advantage shipping from the United States Postal Service. Keep everything simple with clear upfront pricing and no unexpected surcharges. Keep things affordable with some of the lowest prices out there. And keep it all reliable with

[00:08:49] on-time ground shipments. It's time to turn shipping to your advantage. Learn how at USPS.com slash advantage. USPS Ground Advantage. Simple, affordable, reliable. Setting small goals is a great way to keep moving forward. They give you clear targets and a sense of accomplishment,

[00:09:12] which can really boost your motivation. By breaking down big tasks into smaller manageable chunks, you can avoid feeling overwhelmed and stay focused. Each small win helps to build momentum, making it easier to tackle the next step. This is exactly why so many people love Dave Ramsey's

[00:09:30] baby steps for getting out of debt. However, it's important to watch how much time you give yourself to hit these small goals. There's this saying, work expands to fill the time available. And it's true.

[00:09:43] If you give yourself three months to do a five-minute task, you might end up procrastinating. It's all about finding that sweet spot of keeping the ball rolling without burning out. Set realistic but challenging deadlines for your small goals. This keeps you on your toes and ensures

[00:10:00] you're making steady progress. Also, take a moment now and then to review how you're doing. This way, you can tweak your approach if needed and make sure you're not wasting time. And that'll do it for today. Have a great day and start to your weekend.

[00:10:14] Thank you for listening, and I'll be back here tomorrow where your optimal life awaits.