Happy Monday,

Angelo here! Welcome to New Money, where we go over weekly tips to help you build your wealth, one dollar at a time.

Today’s edition:

• The $10K strategy that changed my entire financial life

• How to use this milestone as your wealth launchpad

• Bull market enters year four, bank earnings, and more

Read time: 4 min 30 seconds

💰 Wealth Tip of the Week

When I finally saw that five-figure number in my account, it didn’t feel how I expected.

No champagne moment. No fireworks. Just me staring at the screen, thinking: that’s it?

But a few weeks later, something changed. I wasn’t panicking every time I swiped my card. I stopped checking my bank app five times a day. 

For the first time in my life, I felt...calm.

The $10K mark isn’t just a number. It’s the moment everything shifts. 

Your mindset, your confidence, and your entire relationship with money.

Here’s exactly why and how the $10K strategy can change your life too.

1. It’s your first real mental win

You can read every book and watch all the YouTube videos about money, but nothing hits like seeing five figures in your own account.

That’s when it stops being theory and becomes proof. 

Psychologist Albert Bandura called this self-efficacy: the moment you stop doubting and start believing your actions make a difference.

Your brain goes, “Wait… I can actually do this.” 

Suddenly, you stop chasing “get rich quick” hacks. You stop feeling guilty for every small purchase. You start feeling in control.

It’s your first real taste of confidence.

2. You’ve earned breathing room

Before $10K, every surprise expense feels like a crisis.

Car repair? Stress. Medical bill? Stress. Friend’s wedding invite? Double stress.

You see it everywhere, in money forums, even in real life. 

Someone gets a $600 car bill and suddenly they’re choosing between rent and repairs. That’s because according to Bankrate, more than half of Americans can’t cover a $1,000 emergency.

After $10K, those same things barely shake you. You’ve got a cushion now, a small layer of protection between you and chaos.

And that peace of mind gives you something huge: mental space to finally focus on the big levers like earning more, investing smarter, and actually building wealth.

3. The habits fuel your momentum

No one “accidentally” saves $10K. As Aristotle said, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”

Your $10K didn’t come from luck. It came from repetition. 

You got there because you built a system that works. Maybe it’s automating transfers, budgeting smarter, or saying no when it matters. 

To go from $10K to $100K, you don’t need a new plan. You just keep doing what already works with more consistency and patience.

Steady habits can snowball into ridiculous growth over time.

4. Compound interest finally starts to feel real

Here’s where it gets fun.

$500 at 7% earns you $35.
$10,000 at 7% earns you $700, all for doing nothing.

Even Albert Einstein called compound interest the eighth wonder of the world.

And honestly? He wasn’t exaggerating.

Your money’s working while you’re cooking dinner, scrolling TikTok, or doing absolutely nothing, and that’s when you realize compounding is the real cheat code.

If you want to see how fast compounding stacks up, check out this simple calculator.
Try plugging in your own numbers, and it’s weirdly satisfying watching the curve bend upward.

5. You finally start thinking bigger

Here’s what changes at $10K: your money finally has weight.

Before, every dollar felt like survival mode. You hesitated to invest because even $100 felt like a gamble.

Now you can finally fund your Roth IRA, buy full shares of an index fund, or start that side hustle you’ve been dreaming about. 

And the best part? The stress starts to fade.

You’re not rich yet, but you’re free enough to breathe, think bigger, and make moves on your own terms.

Your Action Plan

If you're under $10K right now, don't panic.

Your job is to:

1. Build the right system - Automate savings, investments, and bills. Set it once so money moves where it should without you thinking about it.

2. Lock it in place - Remove temptation before it starts. Keep your savings separate from spending money so you never have to rely on willpower.

3. Get there fast (but steady) - Funnel every extra dollar into your plan. Small, consistent moves beat random bursts every time.

And once you do? You're going to look back and laugh at how hard it felt.

$10K is your first major win, and it's more powerful than most people realize.

Because after this, everything starts to skyrocket.

The habits you build getting to $10K are the exact same habits that will take you to $100K, then $500K, and beyond.

So start today. Build your system. And watch what happens.

📉 Market Recap

Check out some of the biggest stories shaking up money, markets, and momentum this week.

• Fed’s Rate Cut Hint: Cheaper loans, pricier groceries?

• Trump-Xi Trade Deal: iPhones stay Cheap, food costs may dip

• Government shutdown could become the longest in history, but markets stay steady

• Gold surges to $4k, but then dips a few days later

👀 In Case You Missed It

Want to know the 9 habits that got me to $600K by 24? I'm breaking down everything in this vid

See y’all next week 🫡

- Angelo Castillo

Disclaimer: This is not financial advice or investment recommendations. The content is for informational purposes only, and it should not be considered as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

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