The Money Systems Running While I Sleep (And Made Me $500 Last Month)

Welcome back to the Money Growth newsletter—I'm really glad you're here.

Each week, I share real, practical strategies I’m using to grow my wealth who’s learning this all by doing. No jargon. No hype. Just honest, tested steps toward financial freedom.

We focus on five key areas that I believe build long-term money confidence:
💸 Money Basics | 📈 Growing | 💡 Saving Hacks | 🚀 Side Hustles | 🧠 Mindset

Welcome back to Money Growth—the no-hype, no-jargon newsletter for building long-term wealth with real systems that work (even when you're not watching them).

This week, I’m diving into the actual tools, habits, and mindset shifts that have helped me:

• Build wealth on autopilot

• Save without relying on willpower

• Turn my small newsletter into a $500/month income stream

• And finally ditch the belief that “I’m just not good with money”

If you’ve ever felt like managing money takes too much effort—or that you’ll “start when life calms down”—this issue is for you.

Let’s break down the quiet money systems doing the heavy lifting behind the scenes.

Let’s get into it.

"Pay Yourself First" — The One Rule That Changed Everything

When I first heard the phrase “pay yourself first,” it sounded like one of those vague financial clichés. But once I understood what it really meant — and automated it — everything shifted.

Here’s the truth: you don’t build wealth with willpower. You build it with systems. And the most powerful system I know is this:

Not after. Not “if there’s anything left.” Not when you're feeling motivated.

This principle works because it flips the script. Most people pay bills, do the food shop, make a few impulse buys, and then try to save. But what usually happens? Life gets in the way. There’s nothing left to save.

💡 Why Paying Yourself First Works

It’s not just good advice — it’s behaviourally smart. Here’s why it sticks:

• It removes decision fatigue. You don’t have to choose to save every time. The system does it for you.

• It adjusts your lifestyle naturally. You learn to live on what’s left, just like you already do after paying bills.

• It builds momentum. Watching your savings or investment accounts grow feels like a reward — and that encourages consistency.

⚙️ How to Automate It in 10 Minutes

You only have to make a decision once. Here’s how to set it up:

1. Choose your percentage. 10% is a classic start. If you’re new to this, try 5% and nudge it up over time.

2. Split your paycheck automatically. Most banks let you send a portion of your salary into another account. Or, set up a standing order for the day after you get paid.

3. Send it to the right place:

   • Savings pot (e.g., emergency fund in a high-interest account like Chase or Monzo)

   • ISA or SIPP for long-term growth

   • Investments (e.g., Vanguard, Freetrade, Plum — just make sure it’s something you won’t dip into)

4. Rename your accounts. Try “Freedom Fund” or “Future You” instead of just “Savings.” It works.

🔄 Real-World Example: The Power of 10%

If you earn £2,500/month after tax and put away 10% (£250) automatically:

• After 1 year: £3,000

• After 5 years (at 5% interest/investment return): £16,575

• After 10 years: £39,065

That’s without thinking about it. No budget spreadsheets. No guilt. No stress.

🛠️ Bonus Tip: Combine This With a “Spending Floor”

Once you’ve paid yourself first, you still need to avoid lifestyle creep. One thing that helps me is setting a weekly spending floor — a baseline you commit to not going below for savings or investment. Treat it like a non-negotiable bill.

What Gets Measured, Grows

There’s a quote I keep coming back to in my financial life:

And it’s never been more true than with money.

You can’t grow wealth in the dark. If you’re not measuring where your money is going—or how it’s growing—you’re just guessing. And you can’t fix what you can’t see.

This doesn’t mean you need to be a spreadsheet wizard or check your accounts daily. It means having a simple, repeatable system for checking in, spotting patterns, and adjusting course before small leaks become major drains.

🧠 Why Measuring Is the Foundation of Wealth

1️⃣ Awareness changes behaviour
Just tracking your spending or checking your net worth monthly makes you more conscious of your decisions. It’s not about guilt—it’s about clarity.

2️⃣ You spot leaks early
A forgotten subscription, rising utility bill, or lifestyle creep all show up when you track. Catching these early can save thousands over a year.

3️⃣ It builds momentum
Seeing your savings grow—even slowly—is motivating. You don’t need massive wins. You need visible progress.

4️⃣ It’s empowering
Most people avoid their finances because they feel out of control. Measuring gives you back that control—on your terms.

🛠️ How I Measure My Money (In 20 Minutes a Month)

I do a Money Check-In at the end of each month:

• 📊 Net worth: One row per account (ISA, SIPP, mortgage balance, crypto, cash)

• 📥 Income: Total after-tax money in

• 📤 Savings/Investments: % saved/invested (target is 30% overall)

• 📉 Big expenses: Anything weird, unexpected, or creeping up

That’s it. Four numbers. One snapshot.

I log it all in a simple Google Sheet with auto-formulas to show trends. No fancy dashboards. Just a monthly pulse check.

The 24-Hour Rule That Stopped My Impulse Spending

Let me guess: you’ve checked your bank balance and thought, “Where did all my money go?”
Been there. For years, I wasn’t bad at saving—I was bad at not spending.

It wasn’t the big purchases that hurt me. It was the daily little leaks: £12 here, £27 there. Amazon, ASOS, “treat myself.”
Sound familiar?

Then I discovered a simple rule that helped me plug the gap without feeling deprived:

That’s it. No fancy app. No spreadsheet. Just time.

🧠 Why It Works

Impulse spending is emotional. You’re bored, tired, or chasing a dopamine hit.
The 24-hour rule inserts space between urge and action, which is often all you need.

Here’s what happens:

• The emotion cools down.

• You realise you don’t really want it—or you find a cheaper/better version.

• You buy with intention, not reaction.

I started keeping a “cooling-off” note on my phone titled:
“Things I Wanted to Buy Yesterday”

Most of them? I never came back to.

🛠️ How to Put It Into Practice

✅ Create a Wishlist Note
Whenever you feel the itch to buy, write it down. Add the price. Sleep on it.

✅ Set App Reminders
Use a banking app like Monzo or Emma to flag "unusual" spending, so you spot patterns and can hit pause before spending repeats.

✅ Use a Holding Account
Move “fun money” to a separate space (e.g. Starling Spaces, Chase Pots). It’s still your money—just behind one extra decision layer.

✅ Give Yourself a Monthly Treat Budget
Allocate guilt-free money to spend how you like—but still run it through the 24-hour filter. You’ll be amazed how often you still choose not to buy.

💡 Real Results

After 3 months of using this rule:

• I cancelled 3 auto-renewing subscriptions I hadn’t used in weeks.

• I cut impulse spending by ~£150/month.

• I still bought the things I loved—but with zero regret.

And that’s the point: this isn’t about never spending. It’s about spending better.

How I Earned $500 Last Month From My Newsletter (Without Selling a Product)

Let’s get real for a second: newsletters aren’t just a creative outlet—they can become an actual income stream. And not by spamming people or launching a course.

Last month, I turned over just over $500 from this very newsletter—mostly through two quiet revenue streams:

1. Boosts (Beehiiv’s built-in ad marketplace)

2. Premium subscriptions from readers like you

No hard selling. No products. Just sharing what I already write each week—with a few smart monetisation systems layered in.

🧠 Why Newsletters Are the Perfect Side Hustle

Newsletters are compounding assets. Every issue you send builds trust, grows your audience, and increases your future earning potential.

Here’s why I love this model:

✅ You own your audience
No algorithms. No reach limits. When you send an email, it lands.

✅ You choose your income model
Ads, affiliates, subscriptions, services—you can test what works best for your content and readers.

✅ You grow as you go
I started small. The $500/month didn’t come from a big list—just from being consistent, useful, and honest.

💰 Breakdown: How the $500 Happened

Here’s a transparent look at how I made money last month:

Boosts are basically newsletter ads—you pick what to promote (e.g. other high-quality newsletters), and Beehiiv pays you when readers subscribe via your link. It’s passive, easy, and completely optional.

Premium subs came from readers who wanted more value, tools, and templates from my content—and wanted to support the newsletter’s growth.

And I’ll say this clearly: I didn’t need a huge list. Just a few hundred loyal readers and consistent publishing.

🛠️ How to Start Monetising Your Newsletter

If you’ve been thinking about writing a newsletter—or already have one—here’s how to get started with this model:

1️⃣ Use a platform built for growth
I switched to Beehiiv because it makes monetising simple. No coding. No integrations. You can launch free, grow fast, and scale with ads or subscriptions when ready.

2️⃣ Enable Boosts
Once you hit 1,000+ subs, you can turn on Boosts and start earning ad revenue by promoting other newsletters. It takes less than 5 minutes to set up.

3️⃣ Add a Premium tier
Offer deeper insights, templates, or tools behind a paywall. Even 10–20 paying readers at £5/month = recurring income.

4️⃣ Be consistent
The real trick is to keep showing up. Even one great post a week is enough to build trust—and trust is what converts.

And if you’re not on Beehiiv yet and want to try this yourself, here’s a 20% discount on your plan (and yes, I earn from this too, but I use it daily and would recommend it either way):

Stopped Saying “I’m Bad With Money”

For years, I had a quiet script running in the background of my life:

It wasn’t dramatic. It wasn’t even conscious most of the time.
But it showed up in my behaviour—procrastinating on pension decisions, ignoring budget apps, feeling ashamed when I looked at my bank account.

Then one day, I heard a sentence that stopped me cold:

You can have the best spreadsheet, the best savings account, the smartest investing plan—but if you still believe you’re “bad with money,” you’ll self-sabotage it all.

🧠 Money Mindset Is Identity Work

Here’s the truth most people avoid:

Your results come from your identity, not your income.

If you believe you’re someone who can build wealth—slowly, steadily, wisely—you’ll take actions that reinforce that identity.

And those actions create results. It’s not magic. It’s psychology.

🔁 The Identity Upgrade: Who I Became

I stopped telling myself I was bad with money.

Instead, I started saying:

And here’s what changed:

✅ I tracked my net worth monthly
✅ I set up auto-investments—even small ones
✅ I learned to look forward to pay days, not fear them
✅ I rewired how I saw myself: not a scrambler, but a steward

🧠 Try This: Rewire With Reps

Here’s a 3-minute weekly exercise I still use:

1️⃣ Affirm your new identity
Write a sentence like: “I’m a calm, consistent investor.” Or “I’m a builder of long-term wealth.”

2️⃣ List 1 action that proves it
What did you do this week that backed this up? Even if it’s tiny—like checking your pension balance or saying no to a purchase.

3️⃣ Visualise your future self
Picture the version of you five years from now—stable, confident, financially at peace. Let that version guide today’s actions.

Thanks for reading

Disclaimer:
This newsletter is for educational and informational purposes only. I’m sharing my personal journey, not offering financial advice. Always do your own research and speak to a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions or taking financial action.