David Bach

Most people don’t know this rule exists.

If you’re married and you sell your home, you keep up to $500,000 in profits completely tax-free.

If you’re single, $250,000 tax-free.

No capital gains. Nothing.

And here’s where it gets really powerful.

When you buy a home, you’re not just getting a return on your down payment.

You’re getting a return on the entire value of the property.

Put down $250,000 on a million-dollar home. Finance the rest.

Your return is calculated on the full million.

That’s the power of leverage that nobody teaches you.

In Austin, people bought homes for $500,000 that are now worth over $2,000,000.

$2,000,000 homes that are now worth $6,000,000.

Not because they paid cash. Because they put down a down payment, financed the rest, and let the asset do the work.

Then they sold. Kept the equity. Paid back the mortgage. And walked away with life-changing tax-free money.

You can do it again. And again. And again.

I broke this down on the .inc podcast with because this is the game the wealthy have been playing for decades.

And there’s no rule that says you can’t play it too.

The updated Automatic Millionaire is out now – link in bio. ❤️

If budgeting worked everybody would be rich.

But they’re not.

Because budgeting is about restriction. And restriction requires willpower. And willpower runs out.

Here’s what actually builds wealth in America.

Two things. Just two.

Real estate and stocks.

That’s it.

If you don’t own one of those two things you are not on the escalator. You are watching it go up without you.

Everything in this country – the tax code, the laws, the system – is designed to make those two asset classes go up in value.

The people getting richer every year own real estate and stocks.

The people falling behind don’t.

It’s not about budgeting. It’s not about cutting lattes.

It’s about learning to think like an investor.
Save automatically. Let compound interest do the work. Get into the game.

I said this on because too many people are playing by the wrong rules.

The updated Automatic Millionaire is out now – link in bio. ❤️

Most people come into work and pay everyone else first.

The government takes their cut. The bills get paid. And whatever’s left – if anything – goes to you.

Here’s what I want you to do instead.

Come in pi**ed off.

Walk in the door and say “You know who’s getting paid first? Me.”

That first hour – 9 to 10am – that income is yours. It goes straight into your 401k or your IRA before the government can touch it.

That’s not a loophole. That’s the only legal way to not pay taxes on your income.

One hour a day of your income saved automatically.

That’s the formula for financial freedom. Whether you make minimum wage or six figures.

The average American makes about $27 an hour.

One hour a day. Paid to yourself first. Every single day.

And here’s what I told the – you’re richer than you think.

You don’t need a lot to get started. You can start with a dollar a day automatically invested into a diversified portfolio. Apps like Acorns make it simple.

This used to be impossible 20 years ago. Today anyone can do it.

This isn’t just for people who went to college. It isn’t just for people who are already rich.

It’s for anyone.

If you can save a dollar a day you can start building wealth today.

The Latte Factor is out now – link in bio. ❤️