Time with Naval, automation, books, net worth tracking, and so much more.

Do you ever find yourself dragging your money tasks from month to month without tackling them?
By postponing your investments from month to month, year to year, youâre missing the most important principle for accumulating wealth.
Just like successful investor Naval Ravikant said:
âAll the real benefits in life come from compound interest.â
If you donât know how to tackle your financials, itâs likely because youâve ignored some of the fundamentals.
Here are seven priceless yet invaluable gifts to give yourself that will improve the way you manage your money.
1) The Best Way to Learn from Successful Investors
You make all financial decisions in life. So, the best way to make better investment decisions is by knowing how the most successful investors play the money game.
Thatâs what Benjamin Franklin meant when he said: âAn investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.â
And books are the single best way to learn from the most successful investors. Books are affordable and accessible wherever you are.
Reading gives you access to the smartest money minds. You can pick whatever investor brain you like. By learning the principles that guide top investorâs decisions, youâll find yourself on the fast track to making better money choices.
So, which books should you read?
I started with the free audio-book of âRich Dad Poor Dadâ on Spotify. Then, I ordered more fundamentals, like âThink and Grow Rich,â The Intelligent Investor, and âThe Millionaire Next Door.â
However, if Iâd start again, Iâd go for entertaining, short, and applicable books first, like âI Will Teach You to Be Richâ by Ramit Sethi.
What you can gift yourself:
Your life, your rules. The books I love might not be the ones you like. Choose the brains you want to borrow and read what fits your lifestyle.
To find a book you want to read, visit your favorite library, bookstore, or browse through popular finance books GoodReads sections.
But whichever book you choose, remember even the best books are worthless unless applied. Summarize your learnings and reflect on them, for example, by sharing your new knowledge with co-workers and friends.
2) Book a Counseling Session with a True Expert
Did you know that most financial consultants are salespeople?
I didnât. In 2016, I asked my bank advisor for financial advice. He told me to start saving on a building loan contract. And so I made my first uniformed investment decision.
Bank consultants and many other financial experts earn money per product they sell. And because they earn commissions, youâll understand why they likely direct you to expensive products like loan contracts, bloated funds, life insurance, and so on.
What you can gift yourself:
Donât ask a bank advisor or an insurance rep for money advice. Instead, get a fee-only adviser who is a fiduciary. He will put your financial interest first.
If youâre living in the states, you can find these advisors on the national association of personal financial advisors; in Germany, itâd be this one. You can find the perfect match if you google for fee-only financial advisors.
In an introduction call, ask questions like: How do you make money? Is it through commission or strictly fee-only? Have you worked with people in similar situations? Whatâs your working style?
3) Three Hours With Naval Ravikant
Tim Ferriss described Naval best, writing:
Sure, heâs the CEO and a co-founder of AngelList. Sure, he previously co-founded Vast.com and Epinions, which went public as part of Shopping.com. Sure, heâs an angel investor and has invested in many mega successes, including Twitter, Uber, Yammer, and OpenDNS, to name but a few.
Thatâs all great, of course, and it shows Naval is a world-class operator instead of an armchair philosopher.
But I donât take his perspectives, maxims, and thoughts seriously because of the business stuff. There are lots of miserable âsuccessfulâ people out there. Be careful about modeling those, as you will get all the bathwater with the baby.
I take Naval seriously because he:
â Questions nearly everything
â Can think from first principles
â Tests things well
â Is good at not fooling himself
â Changes his mind regularly
â Laughs a lot
â Thinks holistically
â Thinks long-term
â AndâŠdoesnât take himself too goddamn seriously.
And Navalâs investment principles reflect his personality.
One of my favorite lessons from Naval is to find a way to detach your income from your time investment. He tweeted, âYouâre never going to get rich renting out your time.â
The most profitable income is the one that doesnât pay you for your time but for your scalable creations, like text, code, voice, video, or sound.
Rich people got wealthy by establishing systems that make money independent from time. Just like Warren Buffett said, âIf you donât find a way to make money while you sleep, you will work until you die.â
What you can gift yourself:
Naval is literally the smartest investor I know. Luckily, he launched his own podcast.
In this three hour audio, you find a collection of every episode he recorded on the topic of money, wealth, and investments. I promise three hours with Naval will be one of the worthiest investments you ever give to yourself.
4) Gift Yourself a Way to Track Your Wealth
Your net worth is the best number to measure your wealth. If you want to become a better money manager, tracking it is essential.
Your net worth is what you own minus what you owe. Itâs your assets minus your liabilities.
Itâs a reflection of your financial habits. Just like James Clear put it: âYour outcomes are lagging measure of your habits. Your net worth is a lagging measure of your financial habits.â
Whether youâre earning $1k or $10k a month, you may not like your financial situation. And thatâs okay. But while having a net worth of zero is no obstacle in becoming wealthy, not knowing about your net worth is.
What you can gift yourself:
Set up your net worth planner, or use apps like mint. Once you set up youâve filled your net worth tracker, revisit it once a month.
When you look at your numbers over some months, youâll see powerful patterns and the effects of cutting expenses, earning more, and investing wisely.
I go through my net worth once a month. In the beginning, I didnât like it, but once I saw my money growing, it became a habit I enjoy. Every month I set aside 15 minutes and update the sheet.
Gifting yourself a net worth tracker is priceless yet invaluable on your journey to long-term wealth.
5) Make the Right Choices Easy by Using Automation
Increasing your financial wealth isnât solely about how much you make. Itâs also about how much you save.
Earning $1.000 or $10.000 a month wonât increase your net worth if youâre spending all of it on consumer goods like food, clothes, beauty products, cars, furniture, hairdressers, phones, and travel.
Your salary wonât make you rich, but your spending habits will.
People who spend 100% or even more will never accumulate wealth. So, smart investors save before spending.
The more you invest each month, the faster your money will grow. And by automating your investments, you donât have to remember to save every month.
What you can gift yourself:
Set up a default option that automates your investments. Determine a fixed savings rate and set up a system that transfers your income to the right buckets.
Ramit Sethi, a personal finance advisor and Standford graduate suggests, using 50â60% for Fixed costs (rent, utilities, debt), 10% for Investments (401(k), Roth IRA, ETF saving plans), 5â10% for saving goals (vacations, gifts, house down payment, emergency fund) and 20â35% for guilt-free spending money (dining, drinking, movies, clothes, etc.).
Whatever you do, donât save what is left after spending but spend what is left after saving. By gifting yourself the automation setup, youâll consistently get the basics right.
6) Freedom From Stuff You Donât Need
Did you know that 50% of the more than 1000 millionaires surveyed in âThe millionaire next doorâ never spend more than $400 on a suit, $140 for a pair of shoes, or $235 for a wristwatch?
They could buy expensive things, but they donât. Because what made them rich in the first place is spending money on things that matter and investing the rest. Conscious spenders care about the value of something rather than the price.
As Ryan Holiday put it: âMental and spiritual independence matters little if the things we own in the physical world end up owning us.â
New things cost money. And to earn money, you work. And to work, you give away your life. So, in the end, what you exchange for new stuff is your time on this planet.
What you can gift yourself:
Gift yourself mental freedom and stop buying things you donât need. Instead, spend more time on the things that matter. Give yourself quality time with friends. Initiative get-togethers and weekend reunions. Start to meditate.
And, remind yourself that you have enough, do enough, and are enough. No material possession can help you feel inner wealth.
7) Gift Yourself Free Subscriptions to Superb Blogs
By now, you know about the great ways to take your money management from good to great.
And while most of the gifts require either time (reading books, listening to Naval, automation, net-worth tracker), or money (fee-only consultation), this last option is great for people without much time or money.
Free subscriptions to high-quality money blogs are a great way to receive easy-digestible regular insights.
What you can gift yourself:
Find two to three trustworthy blogs and gift yourself a subscription to their newsletters. Hereâs a selection of my favorites:
- Morgan Houselâs blog on psychology and money
- Mr. Money Mustace on financial independence and retiring early (FIRE)
- Dan Solinâs newsletters about flaws in the investing industry (e.g., âCracks in the Robo-Advisor Facade,â or âFind the Courage to Be Different.â)
- Ron Lieberâs money column for the New York Times
- Madame Moneypenny (German only) on ETFs and investment tips
The Bottom Line
When I first tapped into the world of personal finance, I read as many books as I could. I went to seminars, joined masterclasses, and watched online courses. I saved 7,000⏠for my emergency fund, tracked my net worthâs development, and set up an automated investment plan.
But managing your money isnât complex long, or exhaustive. You donât have to do all these things to improve your money management.
By gifting you one or two things, you can level up your financials. Just like Naval said: âMaking money isnât a thing you doâââitâs a skill you learn.â
This article is for informational purposes only. It should not be considered Financial or Legal Advice. Not all information will be accurate. Consult a financial professional before making any major financial decisions.