Pay yourself first

In One Sentence

The moment your paycheck lands, pay your future self first; what's left is what you live on.

Why It Matters

Most people spend first and save what's left, and by the end of the month there's often nothing left at all. All I ask is that you flip the order; that one step alone puts you on a different path. The money you save is your investing principal, and without principal, even the magic of compounding has nothing to work with. Don't look down on small amounts: big money is built from small money.

One Number

At the average Taiwanese household savings rate of 23.96%, someone with a median disposable income who works for 40 years and never touches the savings would put away about NT$3.52 million — still well short of a comfortable retirement (DGBAS 2025, author's calculations · Chapter I).

In the Book

Chapter II writes it as the savings formula: "Income − Savings = Spending." Chapter I explains that saving first and then buying assets is where putting your money to work begins.

Go Further

• Compounding The money you save is compounding's principal; the earlier you save, the longer it has to grow.
• Kim Seung-ho He calls small money "seed money," a reminder not to brush off small sums.
• Financial literacy Saving money is only the start; to reach financial freedom, you also need to understand how money works.
• Assets and liabilities Saving isn't the finish line; put the money into assets that bring in income.
• The retirement gap Saving without investing won't close the retirement gap.