Hi there! I'm Nick.

Trim carpenter by day. Personal finance coach by - well, I do that during the day too.

Just gonna put this out there.

I'm not a millionaire.

I'm not a CEO.

I don't rake in $5k of passive income every month.

I'm just a guy, with a normal job. I'm a trim carpenter, to be specific. I'm the guy that builds all the fancy stuff in a new house. Barn doors, shiplap walls, built-ins, crown moulding, etc.

You know, all the home stuff you see on Pinterest.

Here's me with my trusty miter saw!

HOWEVER.

What I lack in job-sexiness, I make up for in strategy.

I have been in the work force since I was 15. I have risen to management & leadership roles in every job I've had. But, it wasn't until I was 21 that I truly began to understand how to approach my money, and how to make my job work for me.

After life dealt me a series of swift kicks to the pants, I decided that one of the defining goals for my life was to retire early. How early? I couldn't answer that. All I knew was I needed to get my financial skills in order.

So what did I do? First, I learned. I consumed as much as I could on the topic of personal finance. I hand-selected the most relevant and viable strategies to my position in life.

Then, I created an all-encompassing budget that helped me track every cent I had coming in, and every cent I had going out (what I now call The Ultimate Budget).

Next, I developed systems and habits that were easy to use and replicate, which allowed me automate bill payment, investing, saving, scheduling, routines, and more, adding up to a smooth and organized life, saving me hours each week and maximizing my income as it stood.

Ultimately, for the time being, I decided to stay put as an employee. Building a business is lucrative, and can eventually lead to great wealth, but the road to get there can be treacherous. 60 hour work weeks, potentially years of going without an income, and 0 guarantee that you will even see success. Instead, I decided to let someone else worry about those elements for now. I decided to leverage my 9-5 to work for me.

My 9-5 gave me two things: a fixed schedule, and a fixed income. Two data points that I leveraged by building around their predictability:

I knew I would make exactly $X each month, thanks to my budget. I wouldn't have a predictable income if I started my own business, especially for the start-up period.

I knew I would have 5-9 every night, plus weekends, to work on my escape from the 9-5. If I owned my own business, those hours might end up being consumed by the obligations of running a business.

I am now 24. The result in those 3 years?

I grew my net worth from $1k, to $100k+, simply by strategizing around what I already had - my 9-5.

(And I'm doing it without making my life miserable.)

This newsletter is dedicated to the Average Joe - someone who works for a living, and wants to learn how to build wealth without disrupting their life. And really, doesn't that sound like all of us?

If you want to hear more about my story, and learn how YOU can have the same kind of Growth as an Average Joe, then please subscribe to this newsletter. I post every Thursday. I'd love to share more with you!