Image Source: Shutterstock When people think of reality TV wealth, they often assume it comes from fame alone—but Lisa Vanderpump proves that’s only part of the story. Behind the glamour of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and Vanderpump Rules sits a carefully built business empire now valued at roughly $90 million. That number isn’t just TV money—it’s the result of decades in hospitality, strategic branding, and relentless expansion. Now, in 2026, she’s making one […]

What if your financial challenges aren’t just about money? After more than two decades of working with clients (and doing my own inner work), I’ve come to understand something that completely changed the way I approach personal finance: Your relationship with money is not one-dimensional. It’s multi-layered. In fact, it can be understood through the four elements of money: Earth, Water, Air, and Fire. Each element represents a different aspect of your financial life: practical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual. When you understand how these elements work together, you begin to experience a level of peace, confidence, and clarity with money that most people never reach. But here’s the problem: Most financial advice only focuses on one or two of these elements. And for a long time… I did, too. What Are the Four Elements of Money? The four elements of money are a framework for understanding your complete relationship with money: Earth – The practical and physical side of money  Water – The emotional side of money  Air – Your thoughts, beliefs, and money mindset  Fire – The spiritual energy and purpose behind your money  Most people are trying to fix their finances by working on just one of these layers. But true transformation happens when all four elements are working together. Let me walk you through each one and share the evolution of my work along the way. Earth: The Practical Foundation of Money When I first became a financial coach, I was focused almost entirely on the Earth element. Back then, I introduced myself as a Dave Ramsey Certified Financial Counselor. With my background in accounting and my natural ability to spot patterns, I was, and still am, exceptional with numbers. The Earth element of money includes: Cash flow planning  Debt reduction  Saving and investing  Insurance, taxes, and estate planning  These are the foundational pieces of your financial life. The goal of the Earth element is to build structure and stability. It’s about creating consistency with strong financial habits and systems. This is what I call Provider Money—the part of your finances that creates safety and support. And let me be clear: You cannot succeed with money if you ignore this element. But here’s what I quickly discovered though coaching lots of smart people: They knew what to do… and they still weren’t doing it. That realization led me to the second element. Water: The Emotional Side of Money The Water element represents your emotions. If you’ve ever felt stressed, anxious, avoidant, or overwhelmed about money, you’ve experienced the Water element at work. Early in my career, I noticed that my clients weren’t struggling because they lacked knowledge. They were struggling because they were fighting against the tide of their emotions. You can have the best financial plan in the world, but if your emotions are running the show, that plan is going out the window. This realization led me to step into a new identity: the Financial Lifeguard. I started saying, “I help

There’s a temptation to boil personal finance down to calculators and spreadsheets. Can I retire? Should I do Roth conversions? When should I take Social Security? Many say “find the right retirement calculator” or “put together a spreadsheet” and use that to make the decision. I’ve thought about this issue often during my career as […]

Look, I want to say I’m shocked. I really do. But when a federal jury officially rules that Live Nation and Ticketmaster operated as an illegal monopoly and were overcharging fans for years, the only surprising part is that it took this long! If you’ve bought a concert ticket, lets say in the last decade, you already know in your gut something was way off. You’d find a ticket listed at $75, get all the […]

Morning!! Got a great guest post for ya today, coming from one of the OG crew members of Rockstar Finance – Steve Adcock 🙂 Man I miss that site sometimes… And I just learned that Apex Money just recently said farewell as well So it’s ripe for another one to come into the space if anyone’s ever thought about making one! I’d be happy to brain dump on you if you are 😉 Enjoy this article on Steve’s 6 financial rules he lives by every day… #6 is my favorite. ******** My wife and I became millionaires in our 30s, and no, we didn’t inherit a pile of cash, win the lottery, or sell a startup for millions. We became millionaires the boring, old-fashioned way. Today, I’m sharing the six simple money rules I live by every single day. These rules are what made us millionaires. And most importantly, why we still are. They are not fancy. They are not trendy. They just work. #1. Keep 6 Months of Expenses in Cash This is the rule that lets me sleep at night. Life is unpredictable. Jobs disappear (especially these days). Cars break down. Kids get sick. Water heaters explode at the worst possible moment. When you have six months of expenses sitting in cash, none of that becomes a crisis. If you don’t have money set aside for an unexpected expense, build your emergency fund starting today. Your future self will thank you. When I say an emergency fund, I’m not talking about six months of your income. I mean, six months of what it actually costs you to live. Rent, groceries, insurance, gas, the basics. When you have that cushion, you stop living in fear of the next surprise. You stop making decisions from panic. You stop feeling like one bad week could ruin everything. We keep our rainy day fund in a HYSA (high yield savings account), so it’s easily accessible, accrues interest, and isn’t subject to the stock market’s ups and downs. Cash is boring, but boring is underrated. #2. Invest at Least 20% of Your Income This is the engine that builds wealth. If you want your future to look different from your present, you need money growing in the background. Not someday. Not when you “feel ready.” Right now. The nice thing is that investing doesn’t need to be complicated. My wife and I invest primarily in index funds, which are diversified portfolios of shares in some of the best companies around the world. No listening in on earnings calls. No worrying about price-to-earnings ratios. No finance degree required. Index funds make investing easy. (J$: This is what I do too ) Twenty percent might sound like a lot, but it becomes normal once you automate it. Treat it like a bill. The money leaves your account before you have a chance to spend it, and over time, it starts to stack up in a way that feels almost unfair. The market does the

One of my favorite deal apps, Shopkick, suddenly went dark on March 26. This seems to have been a shock to employees who were laid off without warning. For app users, it was more than a shock: It was a betrayal. All our points simply vanished. DF and I had about $72 worth of scrip between our two accounts; we’d planned to cash in this summer for garden supplies and other do-it-yourself items. After the […]

If you’ve been following my blog, you’ll know that our en bloc journey has been a rollercoaster of emotions. Back in January, I wrote about our relaunch, hoping we’d receive one big angpow to usher in the Year of the Horse. Well, the angpow arrived a little late, but it’s massive. Loyang Valley has officially been sold for $880 million to a SingHaiyi Group-led consortium! It was literally third-time lucky for our aging but charming 362-unit estate. After 8 long […]

If you’ve been following my blog, you’ll know that our en bloc journey has been a rollercoaster of emotions. Back in January, I wrote about our relaunch, hoping we’d receive one big angpow to usher in the Year of the Horse. Well, the angpow arrived a little late, but it’s massive. Loyang Valley has officially been sold for $880 million to a SingHaiyi Group-led consortium! It was literally third-time lucky for our aging but charming 362-unit estate. After 8 long […]