The $100 Decision
How $100 a Month Becomes Six Figures (And Why That’s Only Half the Story)
In the last two posts, we talked about something uncomfortable.
First, we talked about choosing what not to do — because freedom is often found in what you decline.
Then we talked about survival mode — and how addition rarely gets you out of it. Subtraction does.
Today, I want to show you what happens when subtraction isn’t just about relief…
but about direction.
It starts with $100.
Over 20 years, that $100 can quietly turn into something very close to $100,000.
There are three ways it works in your favor.
Most people only see the first one.
Benefit #1: Compounding (The Part Everyone Likes)
Invest $100 per month
for 20 years
at 10% annual growth
Plug that into a basic compound interest calculator and you get:
$76,670
Over those 20 years, you only contributed $24,000.
Time did the rest.
You didn’t hustle for it.
You didn’t need a secret stock tip.
You just let repetition do what repetition does.
Boring is wildly underrated.
But this is only half the story.
Benefit #2: Moving the Finish Line Closer
Now let’s look at the other half.
Suppose your monthly expenses are $5,000.
That’s $60,000 per year.
In the financial independence world, there’s a simple guideline called the 25× rule.
(It sounds mysterious. It’s not.)
It just means this:
If you have investments equal to about 25 times your annual expenses, you can withdraw roughly 4% per year and sustainably fund your lifestyle.
So:
$60,000 × 25 = $1,500,000
That’s your finish line.
Now reduce your spending by $100 per month.
Your annual expenses drop to $58,800.
$58,800 × 25 = $1,470,000
That single $100 decision moved your finish line $30,000 closer.
Now combine the two effects:
• $76,670 gained through investing
• $30,000 shaved off your target
That’s over $100,000 of total impact.
From something that costs less than most people’s monthly phone bill.
And we still haven’t talked about the part that matters most.
This Isn’t About Coffee. It’s About Priority.
When people hear examples like this, they assume the message is:
“Fine. I’ll stop buying coffee.”
That’s usually where the eye roll happens.
But coffee isn’t the issue.
The real issue is this:
If financial freedom isn’t emotionally bigger than the inconvenience required to reach it, then every $100 change feels like sacrifice.
And when something feels like sacrifice, we tell ourselves stories.
“I don’t have the discipline.”
“I’m not wired that way.”
“Maybe I’m just lazy.”
But most people aren’t lazy.
They just haven’t made the destination bigger than the friction.
So instead of asking:
“What should I cut?”
A better question is:
“What do I value less than financial freedom?”
That’s where the leverage lives.
A Real Example From Our Life
Erin and I didn’t grow up dreaming about living in a multifamily building.
We didn’t picture sharing walls and living in close proximity to tenants.
It wasn’t exactly on our vision board.
But we valued financial independence more than we valued having a traditional single-family home.
So we bought the multifamily.
That decision lowered our housing costs and added rental income.
It wasn’t glamorous.
It wasn’t something we mentioned at dinner parties unless someone asked where we lived.
It was just aligned.
And here’s the key:
It didn’t feel like sacrifice.
Because we had already decided what mattered more.
Once the priority was clear, the tradeoff made sense.
Benefit #3: Identity
The compounding matters.
Shortening the distance to freedom matters.
But the real shift is psychological.
When you consistently redirect $100 toward something that protects your freedom, you build evidence.
You prove to yourself that your long-term values are real.
And once that identity locks in, $100 rarely stays $100.
It becomes $200.
Then $500.
Then bigger structural decisions.
That’s what happened to us.
Not because we were extreme.
But because once freedom became the priority, the tradeoffs stopped feeling like deprivation.
They started feeling like design.
Where This Actually Happens
Financial decisions aren’t made on spreadsheets.
At least not the ones that stick.
They’re made around the kitchen table.
Subtraction isn’t punishment.
It’s alignment.
Money is just the practice that protects time.
$100 is just the practice.
Practiced long enough, $100 becomes six figures.
Practiced long enough, it becomes freedom.