They say the first $100K is the hardest. I hit mine at 29, and I'm 36 now with about $570,000 invested. I shared the short version of how I got there in this quick video, and today I'm sharing the longer version with you.

I didn't come from money, and early on I had no real plan. I cashed out my first 403(b) when I left that job, and for a while I put in about $100 a paycheck with no rhyme or reason, just because I knew I should be doing something.

What got me from there to $100K was a handful of pieces coming together, and a lot of them were small. I'm in a giving mood today, so I laid them out below with what I did for each one and a way for you to go deeper.

Think of them as pieces of a puzzle. Each one makes the others easier, and no single piece fixes everything on its own. You don't need to go in order, Reader. Depending on where you are financially right now, your next step might look different from mine.

So I want to help you figure out where to start. If you don't know where, I have some things that will help towards the bottom of the email.

1. Believing it's possible

I had a feeling my net worth wasn't where it should be. Then I started listening to podcasts like HerMoney and ChooseFI, and hearing what was possible gave me the belief I needed to start taking the right actions. The same podcasts also gave me the strategy, which is what turned that belief into a plan. It's possible for you too, and this video on building that belief is a good place to start.

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2. Being proactive with your expenses

A lot of my progress came from keeping my expenses low, and most of what I did was small. I turned off Amazon Prime to cut back on Amazon spending, and I shop for car insurance every six months to keep that cost down. I don't pay bank or ATM fees and when I go away, I use a planned amount for spending, which makes trips a lot easier. Finding smarter ways to do the things I already do adds up quickly, and it makes the rest of money easier.

Housing is a significant part of most budgets, so if you want to start with one expense, I'd start there. Here's a video on reducing your housing expenses.

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Is there another expense you're struggling to manage? Hit reply and tell me which one, and I'll send you a resource that can help.

3. Your emergency fund and sinking funds

Your emergency fund and your sinking funds do different jobs. The emergency fund is for the unexpected, and sinking funds are for expenses you know are coming. They're separate, and each one can have its own high-yield savings account. I keep my emergency fund in a separate high-yield savings account. If you want a walkthrough, here's my video on building your emergency fund.

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4. A debt payoff plan

I've seen what a plan can do for someone who's in the middle of a debt payoff journey. A client of mine was burned out from a second job and wanted to scale back, but she didn't think she could afford to. When we looked at her numbers, paying off two of her debts freed up the equivalent of a full paycheck from that second job. If you're working on your own debt, my post on how to pay down debt without burning yourself out walks through several strategies so you can pick the one you'll actually stick with. If you'd rather watch than read, the video is right here:

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5. Investing on autopilot

Once I had a strategy, I paid myself first by automating my contributions so saving was never an afterthought. As I got more comfortable, I kept increasing them. The first $100K feels slow because your money isn't doing the heavy lifting yet, and once compounding kicks in, the next stretch goes much faster. If you want the full framework, here's my road to 100K video.

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Not sure where to start?

If every piece above feels like it could be the one, begin with the Financial Fitness Checklist. It takes 60 minutes or less and walks you through the same pieces we just covered, one at a time. At the end you get a financial health score that shows where you're already strong and where to put your attention first. It's $9.

Eager to see you thrive,

Prisca

P.S. If you'd rather get there faster, click here to book your Financial Roadmap Call and we'll talk through where you are and what you want your money to do. I've seen a client cut years off her debt payoff timeline once we looked at her numbers together, and the sooner you have a plan, the sooner the freedom shows up.

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