On Purpose with Jay Shetty

Jay Must-Listens: 3 Easy Money Habits That Will Change How You Save, Spend & Grow Your Money

December 10, 2025

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  • Saving is not about willpower but requires having something to save, which can be facilitated by reclaiming time from distractions and using automation. 
  • Wealth is built by owning assets (equity) rather than relying solely on salary or savings, as savings lose value due to inflation. 
  • The path to wealth involves a four-stage investment roadmap: investing in yourself first, then low-cost index funds, followed by private investments, and finally, owning a business. 
  • Treating money as a relationship that requires respect, gratitude, and open communication (like honoring the goddess Lakshmi) is essential for attracting and maintaining abundance. 
  • The practice of setting intentions and engaging in 'social experiments,' such as affirming 'I'm a magnet for money,' trains attention to notice and receive financial opportunities that might otherwise be overlooked. 
  • True wealth is defined by feeling abundant and living beneath one's means, rather than accumulating possessions, as living in scarcity while having money is a greater prison than having little. 

Segments

Realistic Saving Framework
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(00:00:54)
  • Key Takeaway: Forced savings systems, like automatic deposits, are the most reliable way to build wealth without relying on willpower.
  • Summary: Saving requires having something to save, which can be achieved by reclaiming time from distractions like social media and reinvesting it. Only 17% of Americans use automatic deposits for savings, despite it being the most reliable method. Key steps include starting small, automating the process, and letting compounding work over time.
Executive Function and Maturity
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(00:09:34)
  • Key Takeaway: Biological maturation rates cause young men to often lag behind young women in executive function, impacting discipline and academic success.
  • Summary: The prefrontal cortex, responsible for executive function (like stopping distractions to study), matures later in boys than in girls. This contributes to fewer men attending college, as women are competing against younger-maturing male peers. Women often exhibit higher EQ and greater maturity earlier in life.
Housing Crisis and American Dream
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(00:11:50)
  • Key Takeaway: Soaring housing costs and interest rates have turned the traditional American dream of homeownership into a financial hallucination for many young people.
  • Summary: The cost of an average San Francisco home relative to an MBA salary has drastically increased since the 1990s, making ownership nearly impossible. Post-pandemic, rising home prices and doubled mortgage interest rates have pushed young people toward the travel industry instead of housing savings. Recognizing agency, working hard, and building a network of advisors are crucial for navigating this economy.
Three Habits Keeping People Broke
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(00:16:27)
  • Key Takeaway: The three habits keeping people poor are spending or saving all money, blindly following the system, and failing to understand money’s dual nature as currency and store of value.
  • Summary: The ’two S’s’ (spending or saving) without a plan leads to no wealth accumulation, as saving alone loses value to inflation. Blindly following the system means not questioning the traditional path of education leading to a job. Wealthy people understand that currency is a poor store of value, prompting them to convert cash into income-producing assets.
Wealth Through Equity Over Salary
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(00:33:11)
  • Key Takeaway: True wealth is built by owning equity (profits) in a business or asset, not by earning a salary (working for wages).
  • Summary: Workers receive a salary, while owners receive profits, making ownership the path to greater financial gain. One can own a business without actively working in it, which is the goal for financial success. The traditional American dream of paying off a home to build equity is now challenged by high costs, shifting the focus to other forms of equity.
Investment Stages Roadmap
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(00:47:16)
  • Key Takeaway: The progression to becoming a financial pro involves four stages: investing in self, S&P index funds, private investments, and finally, owning a business.
  • Summary: Stage one is investing in yourself, as it offers unlimited upside; stage two involves low-cost, diversified index funds like the S&P 500, with a goal of investing at least 10% of income automatically. Stage three is private equity, real estate, or commodities, while stage four is becoming the owner by raising capital for your own business.
Avoiding Instagram Wealth Traps
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(00:50:05)
  • Key Takeaway: Chasing visible luxury, like attending events on credit, signals a desire to look rich rather than the discipline required to actually become rich.
  • Summary: Many influencers at events like Coachella are paid to attend or receive free items, while the average ticket holder uses buy now, pay later options they cannot afford. Trading long-term credit debt for short-lived social media posts is detrimental to financial health. True success is anchored in lessons learned and relationships built, not in material possessions that can be taken away.
Splurging vs. Saving Balance
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(01:13:32)
  • Key Takeaway: True wealth is appreciating life with what you have, avoiding the trap of needing possessions to feel rich.
  • Summary: The balance between comfortable spending and saving is achieved when one lives beneath their means and feels abundant regardless of possessions. Social media pressures often lead people to spend money they do not have on status symbols, incurring debt consequences. Saving and investing are prioritized to build continuous freedom rather than relying on purchases for temporary feelings of richness.
Avoiding Easy Money Traps
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(01:16:12)
  • Key Takeaway: The pursuit of quick, easy money through hacks or speculative investments often leads to painful financial losses.
  • Summary: The ego desires quick financial wins, leading to repeated painful lessons when chasing speculative opportunities like quick crypto gains. Generational wealth is typically built through focused effort, such as investing in a single successful business or a long-term stock holding. True financial freedom requires intention and planning, not just willpower or seeking shortcuts.
Relationship with Money: Respect and Generosity
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(01:04:10)
  • Key Takeaway: Showing respect to money, symbolized by picking up dropped currency, fosters a healthy, reciprocal relationship with fortune.
  • Summary: In the speaker’s tradition, money is respected by picking up dropped currency and placing it on the head, showing reverence to the goddess Lakshmi (fortune). This practice reinforces the idea that one must have a respectful relationship with money, just as with a partner, to foster love and abundance. Vulnerability and gratitude should preface any connection or request made to money.
Visualizing Money as a Person
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(01:06:37)
  • Key Takeaway: How one would treat money if it were a person reveals the underlying health of their financial relationship.
  • Summary: Listeners are prompted to imagine money as a person entering the room and describe their reaction, which exposes existing financial wounds. A healthy response involves bowing in respect, acting as a generous host, and offering assistance rather than avoidance or exploitation. Treating money poorly—avoiding it, gossiping, using it, and ghosting it—ensures it will not want to remain in one’s life.
Healing Money Wounds and Giving
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(01:10:47)
  • Key Takeaway: Increasing net worth must be matched by increasing self-worth to avoid the trap of scarcity while being wealthy.
  • Summary: If one has not healed their relationship with money, increased wealth can lead to stress, hoarding, and stinginess, creating a prison of scarcity. Giving should be done without ego; the value lies in the challenge of giving relative to one’s means, not the absolute amount. True richness comes from feeling abundant and free, allowing one to give generously with time or resources, not just money.