Most people live paycheck to paycheck because they treat saving as optional.
They believe they will save “whatever is left” after expenses.
The reality is, there is rarely anything left. Expenses expand to fill income.
Paying yourself first requires a different mindset: the belief that your financial freedom is more important than immediate gratification.
This is the part that require another brain cell.
It does not matter how much you earn. I even heard folks earning 6 figures are living like they can't afford stuffs. Definitely a mindset crippling deeper into our way of conceiving life.
This mental shift is not easy. It requires patience—the ability to delay satisfaction today for a greater reward tomorrow. When you set aside a portion of income before anything else, you are telling yourself: “My future matters.” That simple act, repeated over time, creates a foundation for wealth and security.
It is like putting your future matters on autopilot in order to achieve a needed success.
The practice works best when automated. If 10% of your paycheck goes directly into a savings or investment account before you ever see it, you won’t feel deprived. Over months and years, the numbers grow. At first, the balance may seem small, almost insignificant. But compounded with consistency, interest, and growth, the effect becomes astonishing.
This is where patience plays its role again. You must accept that in the early stages, results may be invisible. You might save $200 a month, and after six months only see $1,200—a figure that feels modest compared to your larger financial goals. But when you stay the course, five years later it becomes $12,000, and ten years later with investments, it may double or triple. The key is to trust the process.
I tried it with $LEO a while back by adding more when it was trading a mere one cent, two cents, five cents. Just see where is going lately.
When you add the right crypto to the mix, the answer you are looking for can be pretty rewarding. Let's take $BTC for example.With 40% average growth yearly you can see where I am heading. I pick 40% to low ball the ups and downs BTC does during the year. Last year it was more than 100%.
As long you stick to the plan, sky is the limit.
“Pay Yourself First” works because it acknowledges a truth about human behavior: we spend what we see. If you remove your savings portion first, you naturally adapt your lifestyle to live on what remains. But if you leave saving for last, your wants will always crowd out your needs. It has become a challenge depending on your earning. You just have to act knowing your are helping you to break the cycle where your true you is in charge.
It also builds confidence. Knowing that you are funding your future relieves anxiety. Financial stress often comes from uncertainty about tomorrow—retirement, emergencies, unexpected bills. Paying yourself first gradually eliminates that fear, replacing it with peace of mind. At first it may look daunting cause you do not see the efficacy of the plan in place, just trust you in this one, cause you may stumble from here and there.
The result always perfect itself.
Life constantly tests our patience. Emergencies arise, temptations appear, and sometimes income shrinks. In these moments, the discipline of paying yourself first feels like a burden. You might think, “Why not skip this month?” But true patience is not passive—it is active resilience. It is the decision to keep the long view even when the short view is uncomfortable.
Every dollar you save is a seed. Seeds require time, water, and care before they bear fruit. Pulling them out of the soil too early because you are impatient guarantees failure. Similarly, dipping into savings for every small inconvenience prevents wealth from blossoming. Patience is not just waiting; it is waiting with purpose.
A wall will present itself but you have to climb and stay course.
When you pay yourself first, you are not only saving money—you are buying freedom. You are creating options for your future self: the option to retire earlier, to weather storms without debt, to invest in opportunities, or to help others without sacrificing stability. That freedom is built one patient step at a time.
Who doesn't like freedom? Always time is around to bless or curse you. Just use it properly.
Only you can really discern your success. There will be noise out there. There will be fun at all time.
Society often glorifies speed, instant results, and overnight success. Yet the quiet path of steady saving rarely makes headlines. Still, history shows that lasting wealth is rarely built through luck or sudden windfalls. It comes from patience, persistence, and the discipline of treating your financial health as non-negotiable.
To “pay yourself first” is to honor the future you. It is to embrace patience as both a shield and a tool. Every time you choose savings before spending, you practice patience.
Every month you let investments grow instead of touching them, you reinforce patience.
Over years, this patience transforms into security, confidence, and eventually, freedom.
Just a thought process, with crypto, it may seems slow.
The rate of inflation, if you fully comprehend what is going on, will only go up.
You can make it easy for you by building today what can be impossible tomorrow.
The principle may seem simple, but its impact is profound.
It teaches us that true wealth is not built in a day—it is built day by day, through small acts of consistency and patience.
Do yourself a favor, pay yourself enough to generate income for your future
