Money as a Tool
Stop chasing money as the goal; use it as an instrument for the life you actually want.
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~ongoing to results
- Steps
- 3
- Confidence
- 90%
Larsgaard's core philosophy is that money is a tool, not a goal. When money itself becomes the objective, you land on a treadmill where more is never enough and happiness stays out of reach. By reframing money as an instrument that helps you achieve the things you genuinely care about, you put it in its proper place and can actually feel satisfied. This mindset shift underpins every practical hack in the episode. It is the difference between grasping and directing.
Origin
Larsgaard's fixation on money came from childhood trauma: watching his parents fight over money and declare bankruptcy when he was twelve, including a repossessed Dodge Durango vanishing from the driveway. That experience taught him he never wanted money to be a looming problem, which over time matured into seeing money as a tool rather than an end in itself.
Core principles
- 01Money is an instrument, not a destination.
- 02When money is the goal, satisfaction is always one purchase away.
- 03Put money in its proper place beneath the things you actually care about.
- 04Reframing money as a tool ends the hedonic treadmill.
How to run it
- 1
Catch the goal-money frame
Notice when you're treating money itself as the thing to accumulate ('I've got to have more of that') rather than as a means.
Pro tip The tell is a purchase you can't tie back to any stated life goal.
- 2
Define what you want money to do
Sit down and articulate the specific things you care about that money can enable — time, optionality, security, generosity.
- 3
Put money in its place
Subordinate money to those goals so spending and earning decisions get made on purpose, not by default accumulation.
Watch out Skipping this leaves you optimizing a number with no destination, which never feels like enough.
In the wild
Larsgaard and Altmix built How To Money to full-time income, then deliberately chose a 'posh schedule' to spend time with their kids and community instead of grinding for more growth.
→ They enjoy the fruits of their labor rather than chasing endless income, treating money as the tool that bought flexibility.
Common mistakes
Making money the scoreboard
Treating net worth or income as the goal itself guarantees dissatisfaction because there is always a higher number.
Is it for you?
Best for
People who earn well but feel money will never be 'enough'.
Not ideal for
Those in genuine scarcity who need concrete tactics before mindset work.
From the transcript
“money is a tool and I think for so many people feel like money is the goal and if money is the goal you're never…”
“if you can see money as what it is it is a tool to be able to help you achieve those things that you care…”
From the episode
Joel Larsgaard & Matt Altmix: Our Top Personal Finance Hacks for Millennials
Joel Larsgaard & Matt Altmix