Steven here from munny.club, a weekly newsletter where I share a different perspective on personal finance concepts. If this doesn't interest you or you don't find it valuable, you can unsubscribe at the bottom of this email. If you have feedback, just shoot me a reply!
If I asked you to save an extra $5 this month, that would be pretty easy. You could hopefully find $5 somewhere to put into a savings account and forget about it. But what if I asked you to save an extra $500? Or $5,000? This would require a whole new level of thinking. For some people, this might seem impossible because it's more than they make each month. Instead of just cutting back, you would need to think about how to earn more or other tactics.
One of my favourite money writers, Ramit Sethi, has this interesting idea that I want to talk about today. He says we should "stop asking $3 questions and start asking $30,000 ones".
At a high level, focusing on $3 questions is where you're spending a lot of time and effort trying to answer a question with very little payoff.
"What's the best credit card for me to use?"
"Should I switch savings accounts now that Company X offers a higher rate?"
"Should I buy this book?"
By comparison, a $30,000 question has the potential to materially make an impact on your financial future.
"What can I learn as a new skill to earn more?"
"How can I negotiate a lower mortgage rate?"
"How can I set up an automated savings system?"
Incremental improvements are often a result of tweaks to what we are currently doing. Dramatic improvements require a fundamental shift in how you think about the problem. I use this at work when we think about growth for clients. Growing 1x vs 10x requires a drastic shift in your focus and thinking.
This model is valuable in two ways: thinking bigger unlocks new ideas, but also don't focus on meaningless details. Instead of spending 2 hours comparing accounts, try spending 2 weeks learning something new that will help you earn more or live a better life.
What should this newsletter cover next?
Reply to this email or leave a comment. Tell me what money things you have on your mind.
I read every reply. Thanks!