This content outlines a practical, seven-step, year-long plan for individuals starting with zero financial resources to build a foundation for wealth, emphasizing discipline, income generation, and strategic saving over quick investment.
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I'm Charlie Munger. I'm 99 years old.
I've been investing for over 70 years
and I'm worth about $2.5 billion.
But here's what nobody talks about. I
once started a year with less than zero
dollars. Negative net worth, broke,
divorced, drowning in debt, and watching
my 9-year-old son die of leukemia while
I couldn't afford proper medical
treatment. That was 1962.
I was 38 years old. Rock bottom. So when
people ask me, and they do ask me,
Charlie, if you had to start 2026 with
absolutely nothing, what would you do? I
don't have to guess. I lived it. I
clawed my way out of that hole once. And
if I had to do it again today, starting
this year with zero dollars, I know
exactly what I'd do. Not theory, not
hope, not some motivational garbage
about positive thinking. I'm talking
about a specific stepby-step plan based
on 70 years of actually doing this. a
plan that works whether the economy is
good or bad, whether the market is up or
down, whether you're 25 or 55.
Because here's the truth most people
don't understand.
Starting with nothing isn't your biggest
problem. Your biggest problem is that
you don't have a plan. You're making it
up as you go. You're copying what broke
people do, wondering why you stay broke.
I'm about to give you the exact plan I
used. The same principles that took me
from negative net worth to billions. And
if you're starting 2026 broke or nearly
broke or just feeling behind,
this might be the most important 40
minutes you spend all year. Because at
the end of this, you're going to know
exactly what to do. Month by month,
dollar by dollar. No confusion, no excuses,
excuses,
just the plan. Let's begin. First, let
me tell you something that might
surprise you. If I had to start 2026
with zero dollars in my bank account, I
because starting with nothing gives you
three massive advantages that rich
people don't have anymore. Advantage
number one, you can take risks they
can't. When you have nothing, you have
nothing to protect. No lifestyle to
maintain. No expensive house you're
terrified of losing. No country club
membership you're desperate to keep.
You're free. And freedom is the ultimate
wealth advantage. I see rich people all
the time. They're trapped. They make
$300,000 a year, but they spend $295,000
and they're terrified to take any risk
because they might lose their BMW lease
or have to pull their kids out of
private school. They're slaves to their
own lifestyle. You don't have that
problem. You're starting 2026 with
nothing. Good. You can move fast.
Advantage number two, your mistakes are
cheap. If you try something this year
and it fails, what did you lose? A few
hundred, maybe a thousand. That's
nothing. That's tuition. When I make a
mistake now, it cost me millions. When
Warren makes a mistake, it costs him
billions. But your mistakes, they're
affordable. So you can experiment. You
can try three or four different
approaches to making money this year.
One of them will work and the lessons
you learn from the failures will be
worth more than the money you lost.
Advantage number three, compound
interest hasn't worked against you yet.
You know what most people don't realize?
Poverty compounds, too. If you're 45
years old, starting 2026 with zero
dollars, you've been compounding bad
decisions for 25 years. But if you're
younger, or if this is just a temporary
setback, you haven't lost much time.
Every year you waste between age 20 and
40 cost you roughly $100,000 in
retirement money. But starting right now
at the beginning of this year with the
right plan, you can make up for lost
time. Now, I need to be honest with you.
Starting with nothing is an advantage,
but only if you actually do something
with it. Most people who start 2026
broke will end 2026 broke. They'll waste
another year. They'll make New Year's
resolutions on January 1st and break
them by January 15th. They'll blame the
economy, blame their boss, blame
inflation, blame politicians.
And in 12 months, they'll be sitting in
exactly the same place wondering why
nothing changed. Don't be that person.
Because I'm about to give you the plan
that ensures you don't end up back here
next year. If you follow what I'm about
to tell you, and I mean actually follow
it, not just nod along and then go back
to your old habits, by the end of this
year, you will have money saved. You
will have income streams that didn't
exist before and you will be on a
trajectory that leads to wealth. I've
watched this plan work for 70 years. It
worked in the 1960s when I was broke. It
worked in the 1980s when my investment
firm was small. It works today and it
will work for you this year. But you
have to commit to it. Not for a week,
not for a month, for the entire year.
Because wealth isn't built in moments.
It's built in years. And this year, 2026,
2026,
this is the year you start building. So
here's the plan. Seven specific steps.
Each one builds on the last. By the time
we're done, you'll know exactly what to
do in January, what to do in March, what
to do in June, and what position you
need to be in by December. Let's start
with step one. Step one starts right now
in January, and it's simple. Stop the
bleeding. If you're starting this year
with zero dollars, it's because money is
leaving your life faster than it's
coming in. That has to stop immediately.
Not next month. Not when you feel more
stable. Today, here's what I'd do on
January 1st if I woke up broke. I'd
write down every single place money
goes, every subscription, every monthly
payment, every habit that costs money,
and then I'd cut half of it. Car
payment. If I'm broke, I don't have a
car payment. I sell the car, buy a
$3,000 used Honda Civic with cash, and I
eliminate $400 a month in payments plus
$150 in insurance. That's $550 a month I
just freed up. Over 12 months, that's $6,600.
$6,600.
That's not nothing when you're starting
from zero. Eating out, gone. I cook
every meal at home. rice, beans, eggs,
chicken, vegetables cost me maybe $5 a
day. Most people spend that on one
lunch. Over a year, that's a $4,000
swing from spending $3,000 eating out to
spending $1,800
on groceries.
Another $1,200 saved. Subscriptions,
Netflix, Spotify, gym membership,
whatever else is bleeding $10 here and
$15 there. gone. All of it. I can read
books from the library for free and do
push-ups in my living room. That's
another $50 a month, $600 a year. I'm
not telling you to live like this
forever. I'm telling you to live like
this for one year, 12 months. And in
exchange, you get your financial life
back. Most people won't do this. They'll
say, "I deserve to enjoy life while
they're broke." That's why they stay
broke. I'm 99 years old and worth
billions. And I'll tell you something,
the only thing you deserve when you when
you're broke is to stop being broke.
Everything else is a luxury you haven't
earned yet. So that's January. Stop the
bleeding. Cut everything that's not
essential. Live on less than you ever
thought possible because every dollar
you don't spend this month is a dollar
that starts working for you next month.
Step two, February and March. Two months
dedicated to one thing, earning more
money than you've ever earned before.
Here's what most broke people don't
understand. You can't invest your way
out of poverty. If you're starting 2026
with zero dollars, putting $50 a month
into index funds isn't going to change
your life. Not this year, not next year,
maybe in 30 years, but you need help
now. So, forget investing for the next
60 days. Your only job is to increase
income. If I was starting this year
broke, here's what I'd do. First, I'd
sell my time at the highest possible
rate. That means finding the most
valuable skill I have and selling it.
Can you write? Offer copywriting
services. Can you design freelance
graphic design? Can you code contract
software work? Can you speak clearly?
Cold calling for commissiononly sales
jobs. I don't care if it's not your
passion. We're not building a career
right now. We're building capital.
There's a difference. And here's the
key. I wouldn't work one job. I'd work
three. Full-time job during the day,
whatever pays the most. Freelance work
in the evenings, 3 to four hours.
Weekend gig, driving, delivery, handyman
work, whatever adds another $500 a
month. Most people will say that's too
hard or I'll burn out. You know what's
hard? Being 65 years old and broke. You
know what burnout really is? Working
until you're 75 because you didn't work
hard enough at 35. I'd work 70our weeks
for two months. February and March,
eight weeks of maximum effort. And my
goal would be to save $5,000.
$5,000 doesn't sound like much, but when
you're starting from zero, it's
everything because $5,000 gives you
options. It's your first bit of
leverage. It's proof that you can delay
gratification. And psychologically,
having $5,000 in the bank changes you.
You stop thinking like a broke person
and start thinking like an investor. So
that's February and March. Work harder
than you've ever worked. Stack income
streams. Save every dollar and hit
$5,000 by April 1st. Step three, April
through June. Now, we build the
emergency wall. Once you hit $5,000,
every instinct in your body will tell
you to invest it. Don't. Not yet.
Because here's what happens to broke
people who start investing too early. An
emergency hits, the car breaks down,
medical bill, job loss, and suddenly
they have to sell their investments at
the worst possible time, usually at a
loss to cover basic expenses. Then
they're back to zero and they quit. I've
seen this pattern destroy people for 70
years. They get excited, they invest
their first $5,000, and then life
happens and they're done. So instead,
from April to June, we're building the
emergency wall. That's $10,000 in cash,
just sitting there, boring, not growing
much, earning maybe 4% in a high yield
savings account. Most investment experts
will tell you this is stupid. They'll
say you're losing money to inflation,
and that money should be in the market.
Ignore them. They've never been broke.
They don't understand the psychology of
scarcity. When you've been broke, you
know that the worst financial position
isn't having cash that earns 4%. The
worst position is having no cash when an
emergency hits. So, for three months,
April through June, the goal is the same
as February and March. Maximum income,
minimum expenses. Keep working those
multiple streams. Keep living lean. But
now, instead of saving your first
$5,000, you're saving the next $10,000.
And here's what's going to happen by
June. You'll have $15,000 total. And
something will shift in your brain.
You'll stop feeling desperate. You'll
stop making decisions from fear. Because
$15,000 buys you time. If you lose your
job, you can survive for 3 to 6 months
while you find a better one. If an
emergency hits, you can handle it
without going into debt. This is the
foundation. This is what every wealthy
person has but nobody talks about. It's
not sexy. It's not exciting, but it's
absolutely essential. So that's April
through June. Build your emergency wall.
Get to $15,000 cash. And then only then
do we start investing. Step four, July
and August. Now we invest. But not the
way most people think. If you're
starting 2026 with nothing, you're not
ready for stocks yet. You're not ready
for real estate. You're not ready for
crypto or gold or whatever else
financial gurus are selling. You're
ready for one thing, investing in
yourself. Here's what I mean. You have
$15,000 saved. $10,000 is your emergency
fund. You don't touch that. But the
other $5,000,
that's your first investment capital.
And the highest return investment you
can possibly make right now is in your
own earning ability. If I was starting
this year broke, here's what I'd spend
that $5,000 on. One, skills that
increase my income. If I'm making $20 an
hour, I'd spend $2,000 on a
certification that gets me to $35 an
hour. Could be coding boot camp. Could
be real estate license. Could be truck
driving CDL. I don't care what it is as
long as the math works. Spend $2,000 to
earn $15 more per hour. That's a 750%
annual return on investment. Two tools
that let me earn money independently. If
I can write, I'd spend $1,000 on a good
laptop and software. If I can build, I'd
buy quality tools. If I can sell, I'd
buy inventory. The goal is to own the
means of production for my own income stream.
stream.
Three, networking and positioning. I'd
spend $1,000 going to industry
conferences, joining professional
groups, taking people to lunch who are
where I want to be. This sounds soft,
but it's not. Every major financial
opportunity I've ever had came from
knowing the right person at the right
time. Four, keep $1,000 as an
opportunity fund for deals that pop up.
Distressed goods you can flip, emergency
freelance equipment, whatever. Now, most
broke people will say, "But Charlie, I
want to invest in stocks." I know, but
stocks will still be there next year,
and you'll have more money to invest
with then. Right now, the best
investment is closing the income gap
between where you are and where you need
to be. So that's July and August. Invest
in your earning power, increase your
hourly value, build tools for
independence, and set yourself up so
that by September, you're earning
significantly more than you were in January.
January.
Step five, September and October. Now we
build the second income stream. By
September, if you followed this plan,
you're in a completely different
position than January. You have $10,000
emergency fund. You've invested $5,000
in skills and tools. You're earning more
per hour and you're still living lean.
Now, we build the thing that separates
you from everyone else. Passive income.
And I'm not talking about passive income
the way internet gurus sell it. I'm not
talking about dropshipping or selling
courses or any of that nonsense. I'm
talking about real income streams that
work while you sleep. If I was doing
this today, starting from where you are,
here's what I'd build. Option one,
dividend paying stocks. By September,
I'd have saved another $3,000 from
increased income. I'd put it into a
portfolio of boring, reliable, dividend
paying companies. Not exciting, not sexy
companies that make soap and toothpaste
and insurance. Companies that have paid
dividends every year for 50 years. At a
4% dividend yield, $3,000 generates $120
per year. That's $10 a month. Sounds
like nothing, right? But that $10 you
didn't have to work for. And next month,
you add another $300 to it. And the
month after that, another $300. By
December, that $10 becomes $40. By next
year, it becomes $200 a month. In five
years, if you keep feeding it, it
becomes $2,000 a month. That's how it
works. Option two, rental property down
payment. If I saved aggressively, by
September, I'd have $15,000 in my
emergency fund plus another $5,000
saved. That's $20,000 total. With FHA
loans, I can put 3.5% down on a small
duplex in a workingclass neighborhood. I
live in one unit. I rent out the other.
The rent from the other unit covers most
of my mortgage. I'm building equity. I'm
getting a place to live nearly free. And
in 10 years, I own a $200,000 asset.
Step five, September and October. Now,
we build the second income stream. By
September, if you follow this plan,
you're in a completely different
position than January. You have $10,000
emergency fund. You've invested $5,000
in skills and tools. You're earning more
per hour and you're still living lean.
Now, we build the thing that separates
you from everyone else, passive income.
And I'm not talking about passive income
the way internet gurus sell it. I'm not
talking about dropshipping or selling
courses or any of that nonsense. I'm
talking about real income streams that
work while you sleep. If I was doing
this today, starting from where you are,
here's what I'd build. Option one,
dividend paying stocks. By September,
I'd have saved another $3,000 from
increased income. I'd put it into a
portfolio of boring, reliable, dividend
paying companies. Not exciting, not
sexy. Companies that make soap and
toothpaste and insurance. Companies that
have paid dividends every year for 50
years. At a 4% dividend yield, $3,000
generates $120 per year. That's $10 a
month. Sounds like nothing, right? But
that $10 you didn't have to work for.
And next month, you add another $300 to
it. And the month after that, another
$300. By December, that $10 becomes $40.
By next year, it becomes $200 a month.
In five years, if you keep feeding it,
it becomes $2,000 a month. That's how it
works. Option two, rental property down
payment. If I saved aggressively, by
September, I'd have $15,000 in my
emergency fund, plus another $5,000
saved. That's $20,000 total. With FHA
loans, I can put 3.5% down on a small
duplex in a workingclass neighborhood. I
live in one unit. I rent out the other.
The rent from the other unit covers most
of my mortgage. I'm building equity. I'm
getting a place to live nearly free. And
in 10 years, I own a $200,000 asset.
Step six, November. This is the
discipline test. By November, you're
tired. You've been grinding for 10
months. You've been living lean. You've
been working multiple streams. And the
holidays are coming. This is where most
people break. They say, "I've been so
good all year, I deserve to treat
myself." And they blow $2,000 on
Christmas gifts and holiday travel in a
new wardrobe because I earned it. And
then January comes and they're back to
broke. I've watched this pattern for 70
years. November and December destroy
more financial progress than any other
months because people confuse earning
money with having money. Just because
you earn $60,000 this year doesn't mean
you have $60,000.
If you spent $58,000, you have $2,000.
That's the only number that matters. So,
here's what I'd do in November if I was
following this plan. I'd commit to
spending nothing extra. No holiday
inflation. No, this year is different.
I'd give gifts that cost nothing. My
time, homemade food, handwritten
letters. I tell my family, "I'm building
a financial foundation this year, and
next year I can be more generous, but
this year I need to finish what I
started." Some people won't understand.
Some people will judge you. Let them.
They're not paying your bills. And
here's what I'd focus on instead. I'd
review the last 10 months. How much did
I earn? How much did I save? Where am I
versus where I wanted to be? What
worked? What didn't? And I'd make the
plan for December. and beyond. Because
November isn't about celebrating
progress. November is about protecting
progress. It's about crossing the finish
line without tripping at the last
moment. So that's November. Hold the
line. Don't break. Stay disciplined
because we're almost there. Step seven,
December. This is where we plan your
next year. If you followed this plan,
actually followed it, not just thought
about it, here's where you are by
December. You have $10,000 emergency
fund. You have a second income stream
generating $50 to $200 per month. You've
increased your primary income by
learning new skills. You have tools and
certifications that make you more
valuable. And you've proven to yourself
that you can delay gratification and
execute a plan. In 12 months, you went
from zero to solvent. That's huge. But
here's the thing. You're not done.
You're just getting started because now
in December, we plan year two. And year
two is where things accelerate. In year
two, you don't have to build the
foundation. You have it. So now you can
take more risks. You can invest more
aggressively. You can start that
business you've been thinking about. You
can buy that rental property. You can
leave that job that's been holding you
back because you have six months of
expenses saved and a backup income
stream. Year one is defense. Year two is
offense. So in December, I'd sit down
and write out year two. What's my income
goal? What's my savings target? What's
the next skill I learn? What's the next
investment I make? What does my life
look like in 24 months if I keep this
up? And then I'd commit to it the same
way I committed to year one. Because
here's the truth. Most people never
start. Of the people who start, most
quit in the first 90 days. Of the people
who make it 90 days, most break in
November and December. But if you're
watching this in December and you
actually did it, you made it all 12
months. You're now in the top 5% of
people who try to change their financial
life. You're not broke anymore. You're
not desperate. You're not starting over.
You're an investor. You're building
wealth and next year you're going to
build even more. That's December. Plan
year two. Commit to the next level and
keep going. So that's the plan. Seven
steps, 12 months. Starting 2026 with
zero dollars and ending it with a
foundation for wealth. Let me be very
clear about something. This plan works.
I know it works because it's the same
plan I followed in the 1960s when I was
broke. The same principles Warren
Buffett followed when he was young. The
same approach every self-made wealthy
person I know used at some point. But
here's the thing nobody wants to hear.
Most of you won't do it. You'll watch
this video. You'll nod along. You'll
say, "Yeah, that makes sense." And then
you'll go right back to doing what you
were doing before. You'll keep spending
money you don't have on things you don't
need. You'll keep hoping something
magical happens while you do nothing
different. And next year, you'll be
sitting in the exact same position
wondering why nothing changed. Don't be
that person. If you're starting 2026
with nothing, you have a choice right
now. You can waste another year or you
can commit to this plan. Not for a week,
not for a month, for the entire year.
I'm 99 years old. I've been doing this
for seven decades. And I'm telling you,
if you follow this plan, in 12 months,
you will not recognize your financial
life. But you have to start. Today,
right now, stop the bleeding, increase
your income, build your emergency fund,
invest in yourself, create a second
income stream, stay disciplined through
the holidays, and plan your next year.
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