The 2025 Northwestern Planning & Progress Study found that 69% of Americans had experienced anxiety or depression due to money worries. Many also cited rising prices, a lack of savings and economic concerns as key roadblocks to their financial security.
How To Become Rich: 9 Fastest Ways, According To Experts
For You: 6 Big Shakeups Coming to Social Security in 2025
While you can’t control the economy, you can learn and apply valuable money lessons that make your financial situation less stressful. In a recent YouTube video, personal finance expert Jaspreet Singh discussed three important concepts that can help you build so much wealth that your money worries will disappear.
Cash Is King, but Cash Flow Is Queen
Singh explained that many people don’t consider the concept of assets and liabilities when it comes to spending their cash. Many purchases, from cars and homes to jewelry and vacations, make you look wealthy, but they’re actually liabilities that take cash from you and make it harder to become rich.
For example, your home provides a place to live and may even increase in value, but you’ll need to give cash for the mortgage payment, utilities, repairs and various other ongoing costs. Plus, to make a profit from your home, you would need to sell it, which also involves expenses.
Singh explained that assets are different and regularly provide you with cash flow. He included examples like rental properties, businesses and dividend-paying stocks. While choosing these assets may require sacrifice at first, the money generated can help you live the life you want, build wealth and cover your liabilities with less stress.
“A simple rule of thumb to help you get started with this is for every dollar that you earn, the maximum that you can spend on these liabilities is three quarters,” Singh added. “Take one quarter and spend that quarter on buying assets and saving money.”
Explore More: Are You Rich or Middle Class? 8 Ways To Tell That Go Beyond Your Paycheck
Don’t Spend Tomorrow’s Income Today
Many people use debt for everyday purchases without considering that they’ll have to pay interest and hand over future income to the lender. Singh explained that it’s especially problematic when you finance money-draining liabilities, like cars. As of June 2025, Equifax reported that Americans owed $1.68 trillion in auto leases and loans alone.
Singh described how all your debt payments can add up and become a monthly cycle that is hard to escape. At the same time, you’re only helping other people profit from your struggles. Breaking free will require sacrifice and reconsidering how you buy and finance things.
To make spending decisions that increase your changes of getting rich, consider following Singh’s two simple rules:
- Unless it’s your home, don’t finance anything that won’t make you money. For example, you can skip the fancy new car, save cash for a used car and put the hypothetical car payment money toward buying assets.
- Avoid buying luxuries unless your finances are in such good shape that you would have money for five of that same item. So, if you want a $1,000 iPhone, spending $5,000 to get five iPhones also shouldn’t be an issue.
Price Is What You Pay, and Value Is What You Get
Singh described how his price-conscious family would take cheap, long flights to India when he was growing up. But now that he’s finally better off, he’s willing to pay more for flights that offer more value, such as comfortable seats, good food and nicer flight hosts.
While you should consider affordability given your current finances, you also shouldn’t ignore value. For example, if you’re digging yourself out of debt, choosing a less comfortable flight to save money can make sense. However, Singh cautioned that going cheap on some things, like an accountant or contractor, can be a big mistake if you want to get rich.
He explained, “Each one of those times, I paid a little bit of money, and then it ended up costing me way more money than if I would’ve had somebody who cost me more money in the beginning.”
To decide if a certain purchase is worth it, you can check if the expected return or value is more than the cost. In any case, Singh advised buying only what you have the money for.
More From GOBankingRates
- 3 Luxury SUVs That Will Have Massive Price Drops in Summer 2025
- Proven Ways Small Business Owners Are Protecting What They've Built
- Clever Ways To Save Money That Actually Work in 2025
- 7 Luxury SUVs That Will Become Affordable in 2025
This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Jaspreet Singh: 3 Tips To Get Comfortably Rich and Stop Worrying About Money
