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Let me tell you something that will change your life if you let it sink in. The richest people in the world are 75% entrepreneurs, 15% investors, 7% inheritors of wealth, 3% athletes, entertainers, and artists, 0% employees who just earn a salary. So, if you want to know how to manage your money like the 1%, you have to understand what those first four categories have in common. So, let's think about it. Entrepreneurs own businesses. Investors own assets. Rich kids own trusts. Finally, athletes, entertainers, and artists own rare skills. So, it's clear. If you don't own something, you are what's owned. That's the secret most people miss. So, how can you start
owning things like the 1%? Well, you need to follow the 25-15-50-10 rule. I designed this rule so that anyone, no matter what their income, can manage their money like the top 1% because the truth is it's not about how much money you make, it's about how you manage what you make. I'm not just some YouTuber. I've actually used this rule for decades and it's enabled me to become a multimillionaire, even though I started out with no money and no qualifications. So, let's get into it. The first 25% of your income should be going towards growth. This is the 25% that works for you. By growth, I don't mean some kind of mindset nonsense about growing as a person with the power of meditation. I mean using this money to
buy things that increase in value. You see, when most people get their paycheck, they pay the bills and then blow the rest on useless things they don't even remember buying. This is exactly why 99% of people are trapped owning nothing of value. The truth is this is all by design. The system wants us rich for a week, then skint by the end of the month, waiting for the next payday, so we've got no breathing room and then we're forced to work even harder next month just to keep up. This is effectively modern-day slavery. Just think about it. Slaves used to work every day with no pay, but they got free food, shelter, and water. Today, people work nearly every day and get paid.
However, their money is mostly spent on food, shelter, and water. The only thing that has changed is the illusion of freedom. Once you understand this, you can start fighting back by taking that first 25% of your income and putting it straight into assets. This is anything that grows in value over time and puts money in your pocket. The idea is that while you're out working, these assets that you own are working for you in the background. Eventually, these assets could even make you more money than your day job. You might think you don't have enough money to invest in assets. However, you need to find the money because the sooner you start, the better. Let me show you something that
will blow your mind. This is Billy. He started investing $200 a month at 20 years old. And this is Phil. He didn't start until he was 30, but to catch up, he invested $300 a month. Now, let's fast forward it to when they reached 60 and they both stopped investing. Now, I'm going to give Phil a walking stick and I'm going to give Billy some glasses. Right, that's better. Now, let's add up how much each one saved. Billy put in $200 per month for 40 years, so that's a total of $96,000. However, Phil put in $300 per month for 30 years, which is a total of $108,000. So, Phil ended up with more money, right? Because he saved more each month.
Well, not exactly because they were investing instead of just saving. If we assume an average annual return of 10%, which is the average return of the S&P 500 over the last 100 years, then the numbers start to look a little bit different. Phil's investment would be worth $678,146. Not bad. Whereas, Billy's investment would be worth a staggering $1,264,816. How crazy is that? Billy invested $12,000 less, but ended up with nearly $600,000 more, all because he started earlier. That's the power of compound growth. That's why you should start now, even if it's small, because waiting will cost
you more than you think. But, how can you actually get started? Well, step one is to select your growth assets. There are loads of ways to grow your money, but not all of them carry the same risk or reward. So, I like to think of them as a scale from relatively safe and steady to high risk, high reward. At the lower risk end, we've got index funds. Honestly, this is where most people should start. You're not trying to pick winners, you're just buying a slice of the whole market, like the S&P 500 I mentioned before. You don't need to check charts or time the market, you just let it sit there and grow quietly in the background. Then there's real estate. That could be rental property if you've got the money or
REITs if you haven't. REITs lets you invest in real estate without buying a property. It's kind of like buying a small share in a building with a bunch of other people. In the middle is skills. Learning a skill that makes you money is hands-down the fastest return on investment you'll ever see. I'm talking about things like copywriting, editing, sales, coding, anything you can actually use to bring in income. Unlike stocks or property, no one can take it away from you. However, it does take more time to learn and that's why it's higher up the risk scale than the other two. Further up, we've got online businesses, stuff like drop shipping and selling digital products. These can pay
off big, but they take a lot of effort and you've got to be ready to fail a few times before you find your feet. Then we get to individual stocks. I know it's tempting to try and pick the next Tesla, but unless you've done your homework and you really know what you're doing, you're basically just guessing. So, if you're going to do it without learning the specifics, keep it small and treat it like a hobby, not your main strategy. And right up the top is alternative investments. I'm talking Bitcoin, Ethereum, NFTs, gold, wine, sneakers, you name it. Can you make money with these? Absolutely. Can you lose it overnight? Also, absolutely. I've played around with some of these, but I never risk more than I'm willing to lose.
These are your moon shots, fun to try, but not where you'd build long-term wealth. So, if I were you, I'd start with the stuff that actually builds a foundation, which are index funds and high-income skills. Then, as you grow more confident, you can start dabbling with the rest. you know what to invest in. Now, we've got to talk about how to invest because if you're doing it through the wrong kind of account, you could be handing over thousands in unnecessary tax without even realizing it. That's why step two is to set up tax-advantaged accounts. Right, let me show you the smart way to legally save as much money as possible. Before we dive in, remember I'm not a financial
advisor. I'm just sharing what I've personally done over the years. Okay, let's start with the UK. One of the best options is the stocks and shares ISA. You can invest up to £20,000 a year and anything you earn is tax-free. You can set one up on platforms like Trading 212. All you have to do is select the stocks and shares ISA when you sign up. Since I was planning to talk about Trading 212 anyway, I reached out to see if they'd be interested in sponsoring this portion of the video. They agreed and are also giving away a free fractional share worth up to £100 to anyone that uses the code Tilbury when they create an account. You can also invite your friends and once they fund their accounts, you'll both get a free
fractional share. If you're working a 9-5, you've probably got access to a workplace pension. Usually, you'll put in 5% and your employer will match with 3%. That's basically free money. You don't pay any tax on the money it earns while it's growing, you only pay tax when you take it out later on. If you're in the US, your setup's a little bit different. The Roth IRA is one of the best accounts you can open. You invest money you've already paid tax on, but every penny it earns grows completely tax-free and when you retire, you can take it out with zero tax. The limit on this account is $7,000 a year if you're under 50. Even billionaires use this account. Peter Thiel, one of the guys
behind PayPal, reportedly turned his Roth IRA into over $5 billion. He did this by investing in early-stage, high-growth companies including PayPal and Facebook, which then increased in value significantly. Then there's the 401k, which is basically the US version of a pension. The money you put in comes out of your paycheck before tax. It also grows over time without being taxed while it's invested and if your employer offers a match, definitely take it. Now, I know a lot of you aren't in the UK or USA, so here's a list of all the tax-advantaged accounts I could find. Hopefully, you can find an account in this list that lets you take advantage of the tax savings your country offers
you. The problem is lots of people open up these accounts, put their money in every month, and don't actually invest in anything. That brings us on to step three, actually start investing. All right, so now you've picked your growth assets and you've set up your account. Whether you're on Trading 212, Vanguard, or something else, it's time to actually put your money to work. The best thing you can do is set up a monthly transfer that goes straight from your bank account into your investment platform, ideally on payday. That way, you never even see the money sitting in your account and get tempted to spend it. Once it lands, you don't need to
mess about with charts or try to time the market. Just look for some index funds. One of the most popular methods is to build a free fund portfolio. The first fund is normally a US stock index fund, which basically invests in lots of US-based companies like Apple and Amazon, for example. The second fund is an international stock index fund, which is similar to the US-based one, but instead it covers companies outside the US. And the final fund is something called a bond fund, which helps provide stability as they're generally less volatile than stocks and can help smooth out the ups and downs of the market. Let me show you how to set something like this up on Trading 212. If you haven't
already signed up, then I'll leave a link in the description. If you've already signed up within the last 10 days, you can head over to the promo code section of Trading 212 and enter the code Tilbury to get a free fractional share worth up to £100. This is a nice boost to get you started with investing. Then go over to pies and then click the plus icon. Now you can select whatever stocks you want to include in your pie. For our US stock market fund, let's search for the S&P 500. This Vanguard one should do nicely. If you're based in the US, then you can also pick the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund, known as the VT Sax. This fund is like owning a tiny piece of 500 of the biggest, most famous companies in
America, like Apple, Amazon, and Coca-Cola. By the way, look out for the terms accumulation or distribution in the brackets. Personally, I always go with accumulation as it reinvests your dividends back into the stock automatically. Then let's go and search for our next one, which is our international fund. For this, let's select iShares MSCI World UCITS ETF with the ticker IWDA and tap add to pie. This fund is like having a collection of companies from all around the world. It includes big businesses in places like Europe, Japan, and Canada. Now for our bond fund, let's search for iShares USD Treasury Bond 7-10 Year UCITS ETF with
the ticker IBTM and tap add to pie. This fund is like lending money to the US government. They promise to pay you back with a little extra, which helps you keep your money safe and steady even if stocks go up and down. Right, now those are added, we can click the arrow to go to the next step. On this page, you can adjust the percentage allocation of your money to each fund. If you go with an aggressive approach, this involves investing more in stocks, which can grow faster, but can also go up and down a lot. For example, you might choose an investment mix where 90% of your money is in stocks and only 10% is in bonds. This setup has the potential for big returns, but also comes with sharp ups and downs in the
short term. If you prefer slightly less risk, but still want a chance for higher returns, then a slightly less aggressive approach might suit you better with around 80% in stocks and 20% in bonds. Don't get put off by the terms aggressive. It's all down to your age. As a general rule of thumb, the older you are, the more bonds you should have. So let's make the S&P 500 60%, the iShares World Fund 30%, and the bond fund 10%, and click next and then auto invest. This value projection is really awesome as it shows you how much money you could make based on historical averages. Of course, when you invest, you can get back less than you invested as investments can rise and fall, but
it's still a great way to get an idea of how much you could make based on data-backed projections. Once your investing is automated, your job is simple. Stop fiddling and go and make more money because the truth is, the people who build wealth aren't the ones picking the fanciest stocks. They're the ones consistently putting in more over time. That means your focus should now be on increasing your income so you can increase your investments. This is where the skill building I talked about in step one really starts to come into play. If you haven't yet learned something valuable, do it as a side hustle, bring in more cash, then feed it straight back into your investments.
The next 15% of your income should be going towards stability. This is the 15% that keeps you in the game. A lot of people don't realize that not all your money should be thrown into growth investments or spent. Some of it needs to be set aside to protect your progress. I wish someone had told me that when I was younger because I had to learn it the hard way. I didn't grow up around money, so when I turned 18 and needed a car to get to work, I didn't have any savings set aside. So I did what most people do. I took out a loan and bought myself a solid little German whip, a VW Golf. I even got a new stereo with the extra cash the bank gave me. And for about 3 months, I felt like I was on top of the world. Then out of
nowhere, the engine blew up. I had no backup, no safety net, and no clue what to do. And on top of all this, if I didn't get the car fixed, I'd lose my job. So I borrowed even more, which piled on more debt, more pressure, and more stress. To me, that car didn't just break down, it broke my finances and it set me back a whole year. If I just had 15% tucked away for stability, I'd have been in a completely different position. Most people don't have a money problem, they have a stability problem. One unexpected bill and it all falls apart. Even if you are investing, you'd be forced to sell your investments at a bad time, which may lead to a loss. That's
why you need a margin for error built into your life. Let's get into how you do it. Step one is to calculate your stability fund. To do this, you first need to list out your core expenses. These are things like your groceries, rent, utilities, transportation, and any essential services like your internet connection, which you might need for work, not for Netflix. All of those things combined should give you a total. That number is called your monthly baseline. Let's say that adds up to 1,500 per month. Now take that number and multiply it by 5 months. This will equal the ideal stability fund that you should be aiming to save. So in this example, that should be $7,500.
So each month when you get your paycheck, 15% of your wages should be going towards building up this figure. You might be thinking this is quite extreme, and I admit it is on the more cautious side. However, I know from experience that when life hits, it usually comes all at once without warning. So if you only have a couple of months saved up, then you won't be as bulletproof. Step two is to store it correctly. Now that you've worked out your stability fund, don't make the mistake of parking it in the wrong place because where you store this money is just as important as having it in the first place. And for that reason, I've got three rules I always stick to.
Firstly, it must be easy to access. This money should be available within 24 hours max, so don't lock it up in some account that penalizes you for withdrawing early or won't let you touch it for 5 years in return for a bit more interest. I've seen people lose their jobs not be able to access their stability fund. That defeats the whole point. When things go wrong, you need speed, not some nonsense waiting period. Secondly, it must be zero risk. This is not money you invest, gamble, or chase returns with. Whatever you do, and I mean whatever you do, do not put your emergency fund into the stock market, not even the safe stuff because when an
emergency hits, the market might be down. The same goes for crypto, long-term bonds, or anything else that's meant to grow over years. Thirdly, it must always earn. Although this isn't your growth pot, that doesn't mean it should sit in a dead end account doing nothing. You want it somewhere that earns a bit while it waits without any risk. This is because if you leave it somewhere with zero interest, then it will be eaten away by inflation as money gets less valuable over time. That's where high-yield savings accounts come in. As I filmed in this video, you can get savings accounts with 4 to 5% interest rates and with no penalties if you need to dip into it. I'll leave some
banks in the description. I'd recommend checking out SoFi, Ally, and Marcus by Goldman Sachs as they're offering decent rates and they're FDIC insured, so your money's safe. Step three is to stack it quickly. Most people think it takes years to scrape together a decent stability fund, but if you play it smart, it doesn't need to take anywhere near that long. When I was building up my savings, I used three tactics that stacked on top of each other. Using them all together helped me really accelerate how fast I could save. Tactic one is called the paycheck sweep. This is when you take 15% of your income the second it lands and move it straight into your emergency fund. You can automate this
with a direct debit or scheduled transfer, so it's completely hands-off, just like we did with the 25% that goes towards growth. Tactic two is the replacement promise. This is a promise you make to yourself that if you dip into your stability fund, you immediately replace it. Let's say you knock off your wing mirror and it cost $250 to fix. That's fine. That's what the fund is for, but the next time you get paid, you top that $250 straight back up like it was never gone. Tactic three is the save by spending hack. This one might sound a little bit crazy, but you can do it by using round up apps. These round every purchase up to the nearest dollar and drop the difference into your savings. So, if you spend
$3.60, it rounds up to $4 and puts that 40 cents away. It sounds small, but it adds up fast and you won't even notice it. The other way to do this is with cash back. So, if you're using a cash back credit card and paying it off in full every month, then take those rewards and put them straight into your stability fund. Once your stability fund is fully stocked, you've got two options. You can over roll that money into growth or you can shift it into the final 10%, which we'll talk about later. The next 50% of your income should be going towards your essentials. This is the 50% that feeds you, not your ego.
Surprisingly, over 60% of Americans earning over $100,000 a year still live paycheck to paycheck, as most are too caught up in trying to look rich instead of actually becoming rich. This shows that you can be on a great salary and still feel broke every month, because it's not about how much you earn, it's about how much you waste. Let me show you what I mean. This was me age 20 and that's my mate. On the surface, he looked like he had everything. Designer shirt, expensive watch, was always out spending. I was the opposite. Baggy top, cheap watch, just the basics. Sure, my fashion sense could have been better. I could have at least picked up some inexpensive smart clothes, but I was
young, so cut me a piece of slack. But here's what people didn't see. He had $43.20 in his account and a few credit card payments overdue, whereas I had $1,000 plus quietly sitting in investments and a decent stability fund. I'd learned from my experience with my car loan disaster and I'd worked extremely hard to build my money back up, which meant cutting out any unnecessary spending and looking like this. Although this might not seem like a lot, remember money was worth a lot more back then. This $1,000 was a start and that's the part most people miss. Wealth isn't what you see, it's what you don't see. I get it though. It's easy to justify the upgrades by saying things like, "I need a safer car. This new
house is closer to work and I deserve a nice meal out." But that's exactly how lifestyle creep starts. So, how can you keep this under control? Well, step one is to get clear on your essentials. A lot of people aren't going to like this one, because what many people consider essentials nowadays are actually just luxuries. Essentials are the things that keep you alive and functioning. That means your rent or mortgage, groceries, utilities, transport, insurance and clothes. Not the latest designer drops, just what you absolutely need. Now, let's talk about what doesn't count. Takeout isn't essential. Neither is the Amazon subscription you forgot about, the gym you haven't visited since January or the stack of streaming
services you keep meaning to cancel and the list goes on. If you're using a gym, that's a different story, but so many people sign up for stuff they never use. That's why one of the easiest things you can do to free up money is to go through your bank statements and cancel anything you're not using. Just think to yourself, if it's not helping you live, work or stay healthy, it probably doesn't belong in your 50%. So, why do I recommend capping it at 50%? Well, because the average person is already spending 60 to 70% of their income on what they think are essentials. So, by locking in your lifestyle at 50%, it forces you to actually eliminate what you don't need. It also changes your mindset from wanting to spend more of
what you earn to wanting to earn more and increase your income, which is always something you should be doing. Step two is to shrink the two key categories. So many people talk about cutting out the little expenses like Starbucks coffee. Honestly, I'm guilty of saying this myself. However, if you want to make the biggest impact, then you first need to focus on the two key categories. Let's start with housing. For most people, this is the biggest expense, but it doesn't have to grow with your income. Always renegotiate your rent when the lease is up. Most landlords would rather keep a tenant than go through the hassle of listing, cleaning and showing the place again.
Even a small reduction or freeze can save you thousands. If you want to go further, think about house hacking. That could mean renting out a spare room, splitting a place with mates or even moving back with your parents while you build your buffer. If you can manage to limit housing to half of your essentials fund, then that's a pretty good place to be. Now, let's talk about transport. Car payments are one of the biggest wealth killers. People lease brand new cars for the monthly status hit and end up paying for years on a depreciating liability. That's why I always recommend buying used, reliable cars that have
seen the majority of their depreciation, at least until your income can support a nicer car. By that, I don't mean if you can just about afford it, it should be under half of your essentials fund. In walkable or city areas, you could even consider getting rid of the car entirely, as it can free up hundreds of dollars per month. Because it's not just the car payments you save, but also the insurance, maintenance and parking charges. All added up, this can be a big saving. Once you've got those two areas under control, that brings me on to step three. Use rules, not willpower. When you're tired, stressed or even just bored, your willpower disappears and that's exactly why the top 1% don't rely
on it. Instead, they build systems that make the right choices automatically. When I was building my wealth, I had a simple system that kept me on track. Every time I was tempted to buy something and wasn't sure if it was essential, I'd run it through a few key questions. These questions stopped me from buying things I didn't need and helped me stay focused on the bigger goal. So, firstly, ask yourself, is this an impulse purchase? If the answer is no, then buy it. It's likely something you've been thinking about for a while and if it fits into the essential categories we discussed earlier, then it's a no-brainer. However, if the
answer is yes, then it's time to use the 7-day rule. The trick behind this is pausing for 7 days before you buy anything. Then after those 7 days are up, ask yourself again if you still want it. Most of the time, the answer will be no. That's the funny thing about waiting 7 days. You often forget all about it, as the excitement has faded and it wasn't that important to begin with. But if after 7 days, you still want it, it's time for the next question. Are you buying for the brand or the value? If the answer is the brand, then don't buy it. You're likely being drawn in by great marketing. If it's an essential, then there will be an unbranded alternative that will do the job just as well, if not better. This is
where most people mess up. Wealthy people don't throw money at brands because they like the marketing. They really think about the value. So, what does value really mean? Well, if you buy a $60 pair of boots and wear them 100 times, that's 60 cents per wear, good value. But if you buy a $200 pair of designer trainers and wear them twice, that's $100 per wear and going too cheap isn't smart either. I mean, a $5 shirt that falls apart in the wash is still a waste of money. So, don't chase brands, chase quality. So, if you answered value, that brings us on to the final question. Will this improve your life? If the answer is yes, a conscious, intentional purchase, go ahead. But if
the answer's no, it's probably just about impressing someone, killing boredom or chasing a dopamine hit. It's not worth your money. Once you go through this process a couple of times, you'll be able to decide if something's worth buying or not without even consciously thinking about the questions. They just get your mind working in the right way. Remember, it isn't about being tight, it's about being intentional. The last 10% of your income should go towards rewards. This is the 10% that keeps you sane. Let's be honest, money isn't just about growth, stability and essentials. You're allowed to enjoy it, too. Most people skip this entirely and
then wonder why saving feels so pointless. As I've gotten older, I've realized it's the little things that refuel you and remind you why you're doing all this boring money discipline stuff in the first place. This is backed up by the facts. 92% of people say they overspend after intensive saving sprints, because saving without joy starts to feel like a punishment very quickly and that's exactly why this 10% exists. Not as an excuse, it's a strategy. Kind of like having a cheat meal. It's a thing that makes your whole financial diet comfortable and most importantly, sustainable. But to maximize its impact, you have to be strategic with how you use it. So, step one is to make it guilt-free. To make
something guilt-free, you have to see the value in it. The truth is, you can spend your 10% on whatever you like. However, some categories are more valuable than others, which should make them more guilt-free. The first category is vacations, such as trips away or just weekend getaways. This is valuable because you're buying memories that last forever. It's also a great way to de-stress. When I was building up my businesses in my younger years, I completely ignored the importance of vacations, which led me to becoming very sick. The doctors diagnosed me with stress-induced shingles. They recommended I took a vacation, and that's when I went on my first ever ski trip. I had a great time. Since then, I've made it a priority to take a
vacation every year. Instead of seeing it as a waste of time or money, I now see it as an investment in my health because it helps me stay sharp and more importantly prevents me from burning out again. Next is hobbies. This could be painting, gaming, photography, flying model aircraft, the list goes on. This is valuable as it keeps you passionate. You don't always do what you love for work, so by doing it in your spare time, it helps keep your spirits up so you can work harder for longer. Next is nights out. Dinner, concerts, and experiences. This is another thing I ignored in my early years, and it was a big mistake as I ended up losing most of my friends. Having a strong social network is so important, especially
nowadays. Finally, we have gifts. Now, I'm not talking about for yourself, but for your loved ones. This is another one I overlooked. You can see how most of the stuff I teach in these videos comes from me learning from my mistakes. Back when I was focused on chasing my goals, building businesses, and growing investments, I often forgot birthdays and special occasions. I was so locked in on the future that I overlooked what mattered in the present. The truth is, I never really cared much about receiving gifts. There's not much I wanted. But, it wasn't until I married my wife and we started exchanging anniversary gifts that I finally understood. Gifts aren't about the item, they're about the
thought, the connection, and the relationships they strengthen. Step two is to preload the fun. I'd recommend opening a separate bank account and call it your joy jar. This doesn't have to be with a new bank. You can actually have multiple current accounts with the same bank and have them all appear on your mobile banking app, which makes things very simple. Then set up an automatic transfer of 10% of whatever you make to be deposited into this account every single month. So, if you make $2,000, send 200. If you make 10,000, send 1,000. It doesn't matter how much it is, the percentage is what keeps it sustainable. Just make sure you don't cheat. You can't just top the account up
from growth, stability, or essentials when it gets low. If you hit zero, you have to wait until next month. When you know this fun money is limited, you look to maximize it in the best possible way. This is exactly how you protect your goals without feeling like you're missing out every time your friends suggest dinner or you pass something in the shop that you really love. Step three is to prioritize experiences. If you don't have a particularly large joy jar at the moment, please prioritize experiences above anything else. People always say to me in the comments, "What are you saving for? Bro is going to die with all his money." And I get it. From
the outside, it might look like I'm depriving myself, but I'm really not. I just spend differently to most people. I don't need a garage full of cars or shelves full of designer gear. That stuff might look rich, but it doesn't feel rich to me. My 10% goes on things I'll actually remember, such as a ski trip with my wife, a great day out at Universal Studios with my son, meeting you guys in New York, and a weekend away golfing with my mates. So, there you have it, the complete 25-15-50-10 rule. If you want to know how to make $10,000 as a student, then I'm going to leave that video right up there, but don't click on it just yet. Make sure to subscribe if you want to grow your wealth, okay? I'll see you over there.
