Pay Yourself First: A Millionaire's Roadmap from David Bach

What this episode is about

This episode distills practical money strategies from David Bach, focusing on building wealth through disciplined saving, smart investments, and the mindset shift of prioritizing ongoing financial habits. It highlights Bach’s approach to the Automatic Millionaire concepts and actionable steps to create lasting financial momentum.

Key takeaways

• Financial freedom isn’t just wealth, it’s freedom from financial fear that unlocks bigger life choices.
• David Bach reframes money as a spiritual practice: tithing and giving back amplify long-term wealth.
• The ‘because’ drives impact: purpose-led finances unstick people’s learning from paycheck-to-paycheck pain.
• Legacy isn’t only inheritance; it’s teaching others to become financially autonomous, creating compounding social wealth.
• Technology makes wealth education global, but real change hinges on timeless clarity: purpose, process, and generosity.

Who speaks in this episode?

• David Bach (Guest) · 21 min speaking
• Mick (host) (Host) · 5 min speaking

What is discussed, and when

1. 0:00 – 5:00: David Bach, The Automatic Millionaire, Automatic Millionaire, God
2. 5:00 – 10:00: financial freedom, The Automatic Millionaire, Automatic Millionaire, David Bach
3. 10:00 – 15:00: Roth IRA, The Automatic Millionaire, Investing, Automatic Millionaire
4. 15:00 – 20:00: McDonald, Pay Yourself First, Live Rich Now, Shake Shack
5. 20:00 – 25:00: Automatic Millionaire, Live Rich Now, The Automatic Millionaire, Financial Adviser

Notable quotes from "Pay Yourself First: A Millionaire's Roadmap from David Bach"

• Episode with New York Times best-selling author David Bach, author of The Automatic Millionaire. That book has sold over two million copies and we break down some really cool…

  about The Automatic Millionaire · at 0:01

• Believe when I free people financially and when I help people free themselves, then they can hear the word of the higher power. Because I think what happens, this is just my…

  about Higher power · at 3:56

• The money away. And I said, Well, that's the whole point, right? like it the whole point of financial freedom is to be so abundant that you can also give it back and help other…

  about financial freedom · at 5:21

• People think anymore. There's just something funny that happens around your 50s where you're like and so I've just I always ended my speeches on saying God bless you. I've been…

  about God · at 6:56

• You today you can start investing your change. it's never been easier for anybody to start investing.

  about Investing · at 10:19

• Putting them on the payroll. But eventually when they get their own jobs, they'll start paying themselves first automatically. And the conversation I have with my children is…

  about Pay Yourself First · at 13:10

• The Wall Street Journal, circled the stock symbol MCD, took me down to a brokerage firm, and helped me buy my first share of McDonald's. And that single lesson changed my whole…

  about McDonald · at 15:44

• Created a piece of artwork that says live rich now just got put in my kitchen. So live rich now means it's actually not about the money. It's actually about what does it mean…

  about Live Rich Now · at 20:06

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

• David Bach — Person · Main guest · 5 mentions · first at 0:01
  He shares his personal 'because,' faith-driven motivation, and core financial framework (automation, paying yourself first, investing early) centered on his book and mission to help people achieve financial freedom.
  Hey everybody, this was an amazing episode with New York Times best-selling author David Bach, author of The Automatic Millionaire. That book has sold over two million copies and we break down some really cool financial.
• Mick Hunt — Person · Host · 18 mentions
  He hosts 'Mick Unplugged,' guides the conversation around purpose ('because') and practical money actions, and commits to buying and giving away copies of the guest's book.
• Roger Sitkins — Person · Mutual connector / referenced friend · 1 mention · first at 1:29
  He is credited as the mutual friend who introduced the host and David Bach, enabling the episode.
  We met through a really good mutual friend of ours, Roger Sitkins. So, shout out to Roger Sitkins for this episode. I'm truly honored to have you on.

Books & papers

• The Automatic Millionaire — Book · Core referenced book / central framework · 9 mentions · first at 0:04
  The episode repeatedly references the book's principles—automation, paying yourself first, investing early, and giving back—framing it as a life-changing guide and the reason for the guest's current media tour.

Companies & orgs

• McDonald — Company · Illustrative example company · 3 mentions · first at 15:16
  David Bach recounts a formative childhood lesson from his grandmother using McDonald's stock to teach the difference between consumers, workers, and investors.
• Shake Shack — Company · Illustrative example company · 1 mention · first at 16:11
  David Bach uses it as a modern parallel to his McDonald's story: his children liked Shake Shack, so it became their first stock, reinforcing early investing lessons.
  My kids like Shake Shack. Their first off was Shake Shack, right? So, these are the lessons that you think it's a one-time lesson, but here I am.
• University of Miami — Organization · Referenced institution (host's family context) · 1 mention · first at 13:45
  The host mentions his youngest son is in grad school there, prompting a real-life action: opening a Roth IRA after reading the book.
  This book and one of the books that I gave was to my youngest son who's in grad school at the University of Miami.

Concepts & topics

• financial freedom — Concept · Core topic · 4 mentions · first at 5:24
  Defined as freedom of time and choice rather than just wealth; David Bach frames his life's purpose as helping people become financially free so they can pursue their calling.
• Investing — Concept · Core topic · 3 mentions · first at 10:19
  Presented as accessible to ordinary earners and even children; the discussion emphasizes starting early, using index funds, and automating contributions.
• Pay Yourself First — Concept · Core principle · 3 mentions · first at 13:14
  A central behavioral strategy: automate saving/investing so the individual gets paid before expenses; framed as the foundation of becoming an 'automatic millionaire.'
• Automatic Millionaire — Concept · Core framework/identity · 10 mentions · first at 0:06
  Used as the label for the method and outcome—ordinary people building wealth automatically through consistent habits and automation.
  Paid off their debt and they were financially free. And so what you know the automatic millionaire book was about how ordinary couples, ordinary people built financial freedom…
• Roth IRA — Concept · Key tactic / tool · 4 mentions · first at 11:36
  Used as a concrete vehicle for building long-term, tax-advantaged wealth; David Bach describes opening Roth IRAs for his children and the host does the same for his son.
  Through in the book you know funds to use realistically he's going to have over $10 million in a Roth IRA when he turns 60 taxree I mean you want to talk about a great way to start your life and so you know he is going to be.
• Live Rich Now — Concept · Core theme / philosophy · 3 mentions · first at 19:38
  David Bach reframes 'rich' as gratitude, presence, and relationships rather than consumption; positioned as compatible with saving for the future.
• God — Concept · Personal belief / motivational anchor · 2 mentions · first at 2:24
  David Bach grounds his purpose in faith, describing gifts from God and spiritual moments that shaped his mission and even the book's ending on giving back.
• Financial Strategies — Concept · Core topic umbrella · 1 mention · first at 0:12
  The episode is framed as breaking down strategies and tips—especially automation, paying yourself first, and simple investing approaches.
  Has sold over two million copies and we break down some really cool financial tips, some investment tips, some strategies. Hearing David's Because is so gamechanging. So, I'm…
• Higher power — Concept · Spiritual framing concept · 3 mentions · first at 2:41
  Used by Bach to describe a universal spiritual source; he links financial freedom to being able to 'hear' one’s calling from a higher power.
• Legacy — Concept · Core topic (intergenerational impact) · 2 mentions · first at 0:54
  Appears in the framing of Bach’s impact and in the discussion of giving children a head start (Roth IRA) as a form of passing legacy.
  Of financial wisdom. He is a true innovator who has revolutionized the way millions approach their wealth and legacy. He is an author of multiple New York Times bestsellers. He…
• Financial Tips — Concept · Episode framing topic · 1 mention · first at 0:10
  The host introduces the episode as delivering actionable tips; Bach provides examples like paying yourself first and starting Roth IRAs early.
  Of The Automatic Millionaire. That book has sold over two million copies and we break down some really cool financial tips, some investment tips, some strategies. Hearing…
• wealth — Concept · Core topic (framed as tool vs complication) · 1 mention · first at 0:54
  Discussed as something that can either create freedom or complications; contrasted with ordinary-income wealth building and values-based living.
  Unplugged. And today's guest is a titan of financial wisdom. He is a true innovator who has revolutionized the way millions approach their wealth and legacy. He is an author of…
• Spiritual Moment — Concept · Personal turning point · 1 mention · first at 3:04
  David Bach describes a spiritual moment while teaching an investment class that clarified his calling to teach financial literacy and freedom.
  Teaching investment class where I was a financial adviser, but while I was teaching this class, I literally had like a spiritual moment where I was just This is what I'm meant to do.
• tithing — Concept · Giving-back principle · 1 mention · first at 4:53
  David Bach says he felt compelled to end his book with a chapter on tithing/giving, tying financial freedom to generosity and purpose.
  Automatic millionaire book and it was done. And I woke up 3:00 in the morning and it was like I had this dream that I had to end the book on tithing. had to end the book on…
• Compound Interest — Concept · Supporting financial mechanism · 1 mention · first at 11:26
  Used to explain how small daily savings can grow into millions over decades, especially when started young and invested in broad markets.
  Reading my books, before the updates. in the book, I use all these examples of compound interest. I show things if you save $10 a day or $20 a day, what that can be worth in…
• S&P 500 — Concept · Example investment benchmark/vehicle · 1 mention · first at 12:32
  Used as the illustrative index for long-term investing inside a Roth IRA to demonstrate potential multi-million-dollar outcomes.
  Saves $20 a day now we just max we just do a Roth IRA for the rest of his life till he gets to a sick and we put it in an index fund like the S&P 500 and I go through in the…
• Financial Adviser — Concept · Guest’s prior professional role (referenced) · 3 mentions · first at 3:01
  Bach references being a financial adviser when he taught an investment class and worked with clients (e.g., teachers) to illustrate practical outcomes.
  Seen how money doesn't always free people. And on the other side of that, I know, when I was a financial adviser, I worked with teachers, and I had a lot of teachers. People…
• Investment Class — Concept · Origin story context · 1 mention · first at 2:53
  Bach’s calling is tied to teaching an investment class decades ago, where he realized he was meant to educate people about money.
  Was blessed because I figured it out at a young age. I had a moment when I was teaching an investment class like 33 years ago. It kind of gives me chills to think about this…

Places & events

• Florence, Italy — Place · Guest location (where recording occurs) · 2 mentions · first at 3:21
  David Bach mentions he is in Florence during the interview, reinforcing the theme of freedom and lifestyle design enabled by financial independence.
  Right? We're having this amazing ability now where we can speak from anywhere in the world. And I'm in Florence, Italy. I don't actually even know where are you? Where are you located?
• Greenville (North Carolina) — Place · Host location · 1 mention · first at 3:24
  Mentioned to highlight the remote nature of the conversation and modern ability to connect from anywhere.

Full transcript with timestamps

0:00 Hey everybody, this was an amazing episode with uh New York Times best-selling author David Bach, author of The Automatic Millionaire. That book has sold over two million copies and we break down some really cool financial tips, some investment tips, some strategies. Hearing David's Because is so gamechanging. So, I'm not going to delay this one. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the amazing, the brilliant financial strategist himself, Mr. David Bach. This is make unplugged. Let us uncover the because that thing that drives you. That thing that fuels you. I'm ready if you are.

0:42 Let's go. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to another exciting episode of Mick Unplugged. And today's guest is a titan of financial wisdom. He is a true innovator who has revolutionized the way millions approach their wealth and legacy. He is an author of multiple New York Times bestsellers. He is a speaker who transforms lives. And he is an authority whose insights are not just impactful, they are truly gamechanging and life-shifting. Please join me in welcoming the visionary, the transformative, the brilliant Mr. David Bach. David, how you doing today, brother?

1:18 Wow. Well, Mick, you come over my house any day with that intro. It's nice to see you. Thank you.

1:23 No, I am I am honored to to have you on. We met through um a really good mutual friend of ours, Roger Sitkins. So, shout out to Roger Sitkins um for this episode. I'm truly honored to have you on.

1:35 Thank you. He's a good man and it's it's an honor to be on. As I told you before we started, he speaks super highly of you. So, that is why I'm here. It is is my pleasure and looking forward to helping your guest cuz I know you've got he's he's told me you have an unbelievable community. Congratulations to you for this podcast and this show.

1:50 No, thank you for that. And and when you have amazing guests on like yourself, it makes it easy to to have a community because every episode is truly about my guests and the amazing things that they've done in their career and the impact that they made of others. And that's why again I'm I'm honored to have you on. You know, David, I start every show by asking my guests one simple question. And that question is, what is your because that thing that's deeper than your why? I like to call it your true purpose. So if I were to say, David Buck, now in 2026, what is your cause?

2:20 Why do you continue to do the things that you do? Yeah, it's a beautiful question to ask. Uh, so I believe in God. We'll start there. And I I think that everyone is put here with a gift from God. Whoever your God is. I know it's not always politically correct to say the word God on a show, but like everyone's got I I think most of us all have a true north. Um, I really believe we're put here with a gift from a higher power. And I I think the hardest thing in life is to figure out for some people what that what that is, what that calling is. I was blessed because I figured it out at a young age. I had a moment when I was teaching an investment class like 33 years ago. It kind of gives me chills to think about this, but I had a moment teaching investment class where I was a financial adviser, but while I was teaching this class, I literally had like a spiritual moment where I was just like, "This is what I'm meant to do."

3:08 Like, like if if I could just teach people to be smarter with money because I love, you know, you and I are getting to talk over over, you know, online, right? We're having this amazing ability now where we can speak from anywhere in the world. And I'm in Florence, Italy. I don't actually even know where where are you? Where are you located?

3:24 Greenville, South Carolina. Okay. So, you know, we're doing this over Zoom, right? But like in the old days, like I would be in a classroom and I would love that moment where I could see people's eyes get it where you're like, I just I just said something and they got it, right? They understand. I can tell I'm changing their life. And so I think that my purpose has been and I've been doing it for 33 years is to free people financially. And it's I actually think I was put here to free people financially not for the money's sake, not for the stuff's sake. I believe when I free people financially and when I help people free themselves, then they can hear the word of the higher power. Because I think what happens, this is just my belief, is I think when people are struggling and living paycheck to paycheck, they're in so much pain and they're so financially imprisoned that they can't always hear

4:13 their calling. And so I just think that I happen to be put here. I don't know why. I think that's what I think this is what God put me here to do. And I'll tell you, you know, cuz nobody ever starts these shows with this kind of a question. This book, The Automatic Millionaire, why I decided to put it out for 20 year anniversary edition. Uh I want my because was I wanted to reach one more generation one more time before I retire. This is it. I'd like you know I'm doing the mic drop here. This is the end of my my journey of 33 years of teaching. But I will tell you an amazing story. This is not a story I've talked about before. I I I can't remember ever sharing the story. Finished the automatic millionaire book and it was done. And I woke up 3:00 in the morning and it was like I had this dream that I had to end the book on tithing. had to end the book on giving back. It gives me chills. And I woke up and I went over to

5:02 the computer in kitchen area and I'm typing away and researching what what you know this chapter be about. And I wrote this whole chapter at the end of the Automatic Millionaire book on giving back. And I turned it into my publisher and my editor was like, "Your book's called The Automatic Millionaire. You can't end it on telling people to give the money away." And I said, "Well, that's the whole point, right? like it the whole point of financial freedom is to be so abundant that you can also give it back and help other people. So that's been my because

5:32 that's an amazing story and that's something as much as I've been a huge fan of you even before Roger introduced us and he was like hey have you heard of of David Bach? I'm like uh yeah he goes he's a good friend of mine. Let me do an email introduction. like I I've I've loved how you don't shy away from your faith and I think that's why I'm bonded with you as well because I I believe in the same thing for the person that's watching or the person that's listening and they're and aspiring whatever it is that they're trying to become. Why is it important if you are a believer that you don't hide your faith? Because I think sometimes naturally we feel like we're going to get judged or people are not going to want to do business with us because we do carry our faith forward.

6:15 You know, even though I just opened up and shared like something so personal, I don't go around telling people that they should be sharing their faith.

6:23 Okay? I actually don't because I'm not I'm not a preacher. I don't know that that's my role. I think

6:30 what's really important is that you live an authentic life. There you go. I think living a true authentic life, authentic whatever that means for you,

6:40 right? And I think one of the things that happens as we get older is that hopefully our life becomes more and more authentic, right? Like in a beautiful in an ideal world, we'd be authentic in our 20s and our 30s, but you know, life is one of these things as you get older, you if you have older grandparents, you notice they don't really care what people think anymore. There's just something funny that happens around your 50s where you're like and so I've just I always ended my speeches on saying God bless you. I've been doing t speeches for 33 years and people are like why why do you end your speeches on saying God bless you. I'm like I don't know why.

7:11 That's just what came out the first time I started talking as I am with God bless you. So, I've had a lot of spiritual moments in my life that have really made me a deep believer in a higher power. And I I don't think there's anything wrong with sharing that. And if you feel that way, it's okay for you to share it.

7:32 Like, why should you go through life and not be who you really are, right? Agree. Totally agree. And that's why again like you, I don't I don't know if you need to necessarily force faith or force belief on people, but I also don't hide from it, right? So like if I if we're at a lunchon and I pray before my meals, I'm going to pray before my meals, right? Like if if I see something and I'm like, okay, I might have done it this way because, you know, my faith teaches me this, like I'm also going to say that. But I I don't force that on people. So I totally get what you're saying there, David. Your work often centers on empowering individuals to achieve financial freedom, right? What does true financial abundance mean to you beyond just the monetary figures?

8:16 It's freedom, right? It's literally the freedom to do what you want to do the way you want to do it, how you want to do it. So, you know, I'm doing you're my fifth podcast today and you were and you were put on today's podcast. First of all, we were introduced and this is the only day of the month I'm doing podcasts. And like you you also have a schedule because you've got freedom and I told my team I'm not doing any more shows until May. And I have the freedom to be able to decide exactly how I want to live my life. Now I I created that freedom, right? So like, you know, I will go spend the month of March skiing in Switzerland and I live in Florence, Italy, and I'm, you know, for all intents and purposes, I consider myself retired at this point. This is like for me putting out the automatic millionaire is basically like a way to get back.

9:00 It's like a charity project and I created that financial freedom. It wasn't handed to me. But I think what I've been very conscious of is using money as a tool to make my life as free as possible. And the interesting thing, Mick, what I've seen is that money doesn't always make people free. I have a lot of wealthy friends and a lot of my friends, the wealthier they get, the more complications they create. And you know, I have so many friends who sold businesses and then they start another business, they never stop working. I have friends that, you know, they have one home, then they have two homes, and they have three homes, and they have a plane. And these are sort of like obnoxious conversations, but like I've seen how money doesn't always free people. And on the other side of that, I know, you know, when I was a financial adviser, I worked with teachers, and I had a lot of teachers. People always say

9:47 teachers don't make a lot of money and they don't make a lot of money. But I had a lot of teachers that were financially free. That they had saved and invested automatically for 30 years and they would come into my office and retire in their mid-50s and they had bought an you know small home and they paid off their debt and they were financially free. And so what you know the automatic millionaire book was about how ordinary couples, ordinary people built financial freedom on an ordinary income. And that to me is the whole secret, right? Like so many people who are listening, they think I have to be I have to make a lot of money to become an investor. That's not true.

10:19 You today you can start investing your change. You know, it's never been easier for anybody to start investing.

10:25 Yeah. I love that. And I I love I love the message and the intent. And you know, like right here, I have my copy that you and your team were gracious enough to send me of the book. And I already had a copy, but what I actually I had multiple copies. So what I did was I I gave a few copies that I had already to some family members and they've already been asking me questions like one just the fact of what you just said that investing doesn't have an age requirement or a dollar amount right and I think it's really important for people to understand just that concept as well like could you talk to us about you know the one-step plan to to live and finish rich like give us a couple of insights of things that we could do day to be on the path to being the automatic millionaire.

11:12 I love that you're you're sharing this with younger people. That was my whole purpose. So, like I I've got two kids, right? 22 now. Jack's 22 and my younger son's James is 16. Now, they started reading my books, you know, before the updates. Uh in the book, I I use all these examples of compound interest. I show things like, you know, if you save $10 a day or $20 a day, what that can be worth in decades. I show you how it can be worth millions of dollars. And I talk about, for example, opening up a Roth IRA. So, let me tell you how you can teach how you can make your kids multi-millionaires, right? So, anybody's listening, everybody wishes they had started younger. Help the people you love start younger. So, like my my boys, James said to me when he read the automatic millionaire and he read it at 12. He's like, "Dad, with this IRA account, you've got this example here in the book and the person starts at 19.

11:58 I'm 12. What happens if I start now?" And I was like, "Well, you'd have a whole lot more money." And so he's like, "Okay, well, how do how do we do that for me?" So I said, "You know, you bring up a good point. I opened one for your brother at 15, but I could open one for you at 12." And so, you know, like you have your own business. I have my own business. I put these kids on the payroll. I opened up Roth IAS. And James, you know, basically by he's he's now got I'm just giving you like real life examples of things you can do for your kids. I started James with a Roth IRA at 12 years old. this kid if he just saves $20 a day now we just max we just do a Roth IRA for the rest of his life till he gets to a sick and we put it in an index fund like the S&P 500 and I go through in the book you know funds to use realistically he's going to have over $10 million in a Roth IRA when he turns 60 taxree I mean you want to talk

12:47 about a great a great uh a great way to start your life and so you know he is going to be provided he you know and I'm going to I'm going to keep doing this for him and helping him for the first 10 years. But I'm I'm teaching him to fish, right? Like teach the kids to fish now. Help them fish. Like right now, I'm throwing the rod and I'm baiting it and I'm helping them pull it in because I'm putting them on the payroll. But eventually when they get their own jobs, they'll start paying themselves first automatically. And the conversation I have with my children is you have to pay yourself first. When you earn money, whether you're self-employed or you have a job, you have to keep the first hour day of your income automatically saving that money for the rest of your life. If you do that, you'll never worry about money again.

13:37 That's a genius tip. Those are genius tips. And what's funny is because of this book and one of the books that I gave was to my youngest son who's in grad school at the University of Miami. and he asked that same question about Roth IAS and he goes, "So, Dad, we haven't started this yet. Is this something that I should look at?" And we immediately just went and did it. Like, there was no questions asked. So, so that was his Christmas gift this year. So, believe it or not. Believe it or not, because of you.

14:03 By the way, by the way, by the way, I I'll tell you true story. My kids opened up their Christmas gift. This was wrapped. They were kind of like, "Oh, God. Seriously, Dad? I'm giving a book." And then I'm like, "And there's a little note in there. you're getting a Roth IRA contribution this year and they were like, "Oh, well that's cool." You know, so yeah,

14:21 I think for for everybody that's listening, especially parents with kids, I can promise you there's no greater I I shouldn't say no. There are a few greater Christmas gifts that you can give your children than contributions to a Roth. Like I I promise you because it's the gift that continues to give and grow. And so like it doesn't matter what that number is, it grows so much exponentially over time that your kids will thank you probably when you are no longer here. Like that contribution is going to mean so much more. And it's a way you pass legacy, but then also the importance of what it means to your children. So Dave, thank you for bringing that into part of my tradition now.

15:00 I love that. Well, you know, what you just said, Mick, is is so true. like I I am a product of my grandmother who taught me how to buy my first stock at age seven and you know she and so so that that experience changed my life because at 7 years old my favorite restaurant in the whole world was McDonald's and I love to play Monopoly and we're at McDonald's cuz my parents would never take me but she would take me to McDonald's and I'm having my Big Mac and she you know my French fries and my apple pie and she says you know I'm going to teach you today how to play Monopoly for real. She said, "There's three types of people. Those like you who come here and spend money, you eat, you spend, you're called a spender, consumer. Those who work here for minimum wage, have a job, and those who own the place, they're investors. And I'm going to teach you how to own this place." And she took me home, opened up

15:44 the Wall Street Journal, circled the stock symbol MCD, took me down to a brokerage firm, and helped me buy my first share of McDonald's. And that single lesson changed my whole life because that started at seven. And it it's like we're wearing glasses right now, right? It's like you all of a sudden know that the whole world is available to invest in instead of just being somebody who spends money or works somewhere. That lens changes your life. And I did the same thing with my kids. My kids like Shake Shack. Their first off was Shake Shack,

16:14 right? So, these are the lessons that you think it's a one-time lesson, but here I am now spent the last 33 years teaching lessons that started with my grandmother. Um, you know, I've got 10 New York Times bestselling books out. It started because my grandmother at McDonald's said, "You can be an investor. You can start now."

16:33 Absolutely. Absolutely. And, you know, I want to highlight a couple of things in the book. One of my favorite chapters, and we're going to get to my favorite chapter, but one of my favorite chapters is chapter three, learn to pay yourself first. There's so much wisdom in that chapter that I think it's really important. I'd love for you to kind of highlight that chapter a little bit for the viewers and listeners because that that chapter made me reflect and really put some different practices in place and and I've been doing well for a long time and I think I still learned a few things conceptually there.

17:06 Yeah. So the idea behind paying yourself first and it's really like an idea that's been around for a long long time. I probably it more than most people but the idea is when money comes in the first person who gets paid is you. And typically what happens when money comes in is everybody else gets paid first and you get paid last. So the government when you earn a paycheck, the government pulls money out of your paycheck and they do it automatically. They don't say, "You know what, David, Mick, what you guys should do is you should budget and save money and then send us a check." They only say that if you're an entrepreneur, which hurts a lot of entrepreneurs, by the way, because they don't always save for taxes. But everyone else, their money is taken automatically. The government did that because they knew Americans couldn't save money to pay taxes. And the government couldn't run if they didn't

17:51 take the money automatically. Then the states started taking money automatically. Then the gyms were the first companies to take money automatically from you besides the government because the gyms found out people would go sign up for a gym in January and they'd stop going in February. So if they didn't get your automatic ability to pull the money out of your checking account, they were not going to be able to stay in business. Then everybody else started doing that. the phone companies, rent, mortgage, utilities, everybody takes your money automatically. I'm holding up a phone for those of you who are listening and I say, you know, phones are money magnets.

18:24 They automatically help you save an invest. They automatically pull money out of your pocket. Today, you're having money automatically pulled out of your pocket by a bunch of different companies. So, paying yourself first is you change the way you think about your money. You basically say, you know what, I'm going to be selfish here. Like if if I'm gonna work 90,000 hours over my lifetime, and that's what the average person works, 90,000 hours over your lifetime. It would be a shame to get to your 60s and have nothing to show for it. And so my message has been the first hour a day of your income is your freedom money. That's the money that pays yourself first. The second hour of your day of your income, if you're going to go past that, and I talk about it in the automatic miller book, is security.

19:05 You save 30 minutes a day to build a security account. emergency purposes and then you bu and you save another 30 minutes a day of your income for your dreams. You do those type of things. Those are the three places to automate your money and you're done. You just go back to doing what you do, focus on your career, focus on your income, focus on your family, and everything will work in the background.

19:23 Amen, brother. Amen. So, my favorite part of the book is when you start answering questions, right? It's like you're you're answering the questions that you always get and and you're putting your logic behind it. And I thought it was a brilliant concept uh for you to do that. And and one of those questions talks about your mantra of live rich now and and you were talking about how you get the question, well David, is it possible to live rich now and in the future and more importantly like how do you start to prepare yourself for that? So I'd love for you to break that down of how you can live and I'm using air quotes live rich now and also prepare yourself to live rich in the future.

19:59 I can totally This is one of my favorite questions. By the way, Mick, later give me your number. I'm going to send you personally a picture that I just had created a piece of artwork that says live rich now just got put in my kitchen. So live rich now means it's actually not about the money. It's actually about what does it mean to live a rich life? Like what's actually most important to you? You you started off by asking me my what what's your because what does it mean like you wake up today what does it mean for you to actually live a great life? What does that look like? I meditate a lot. I wake up in the morning, I meditate and I meditate in the morning and then I listen I I I do a meditation this morning from a guy named very famous person named Sagguru and and and this is just kind of like today's answer right so I'm listening to this meditation I do my morning meditation and I watch a short little video from

20:42 Sagguru by the way there's a great app you can download this app it's that's available for free it's got all these little videos in it so I watch this video and he says you know when you wake up the first thing you should be like is like a little kid like, "Oh my god, I woke up. I woke up. How amazing is it? I woke up." Then imagine if you did that and then you went downstairs and you saw your wife or your kids and you're like, "You woke up, too. Oh my god, we both woke up." Okay, like that's an example of living rich. I came downstairs, I told my wife that story, and I gave her a big hug and a kiss and I'm like, "I woke up and you woke up." Millions of people didn't wake up today. And we get caught up in this world of like all these things we think we have to have be and do to live rich. And it's a lie.

21:26 You're alive today. You're healthy. You're here. You got somebody in your life you love. You should when this podcast is done and the show is over, you should go tell them I love you. Like you're alive and I love you. Man, this is so cool. We're both here. We're both getting to do this thing called life. That's what Live Rich Now looks like. Now people are like, "This guy's freaking nuts." No, I'm not. Like seriously, there there are people who are not going to wake up tomorrow. You know, I'm 59 years old. I've had three best friends die in the last 3 years.

21:53 Three best friends under the age of 57. Average age of widowhood is 59. We the men, we don't make it as long as the women do. And so every day above ground is a blessing. And man, if we don't wake up and treat it like a blessing, then we just lost out.

22:06 That's right. That's right, man. Dave, one, I could talk to you forever. I I want to do something because I believe in the book so much and and everybody that's listening, you know that I always do this with books that I love. I'm gonna buy 20 copies and you tell me where you want me to buy them. I'll buy them on Amazon if you'd rather it be Amazon, but I'll I'll buy 20 copies. And the first 20 people that message me automatic millionaire, you're going to get a copy of the book because it's important. It needs to be a part of your daily reads. I will tell you what it has changed for me is that I do read the book or different pieces of the book multiple times a week because I will hear something or see something on TV. If I'm watching, you know, anything on an advisory level or financial level, I'll go to the book and say, "Okay, what would David really do in this scenario?"

22:56 Right? And it it might sound cliche to a lot of people, but I it's true because there's so much wisdom in this book that I don't need financial advice from everyone. And and I'm not saying Dave is a financial adviser, so that's definitely not what I'm saying. What I'm saying is there's enough pieces in this book that can help you along your journey. No matter if you're new or if you're seasoned, there's advice. So I think David, I need to do that because it means something to me. It can help me. Trust me, it can help anyone. So

23:25 thank you. Means a lot. I love that. And by the way, for 21, 22, and 23, I'm sure you can get the book in the library. Like for someone who's like, I don't have enough money to buy the book. Go to the library. Libraries are still there. They're still giving books away for that you can borrow for free. And you know, books change. Here's the thing about books. A book like The Automatic Millionaire can change your life. But at the end of the day, you actually have to change. You know, your life changes when you change. And so, you can listen to the show, you can get excited, get motivated, you can hear a great idea, you can read a book, and you have to do it. Everything I've spent my life doing is about action. It's about It's about getting you to take action because without action, we were just a form of entertainment. And I don't actually I mean look I love being entertaining but at the end of the day I really want you

24:07 to change your life. That's that's why I did this work. Right. Right. That's why because

24:12 No. Cool. I I love it. I love it. I love it. I love it. All right Dave. Where can people find and follow you?

24:19 Thank you first of all. Love being with you. This is really fun. Uh they can come over and visit me at davidbach.com. So go to davidbach.com. Everything's on my website. I'm on social media, Instagram, Facebook. But just come on over to the website, check it all out. And yeah, it's really been and I've got and I've done a lot of podcasts. So if people want to watch more shows, they can go to YouTube, they can find all kinds of shows with me.

24:38 There you go. And I'll have links to everything in the show notes and descriptions. David, again, honored to have you on. Thank you for the wisdom. Thank you for what you've done um in my household that you didn't even know that you were doing. I'm truly I'm truly am I don't even know the right words. Like to say I'm honored doesn't do it justice. To say I admire you doesn't do it justice. just know there's a special place in my heart for you.

25:03 Thank you. You you you just touched my hearts. God bless you. Thank you. And um I really enjoyed this. Have and continued success. Keep doing this because you're doing a lot of good work and and so keep it up.

25:13 I appreciate you more than you know. And to all the viewers and listeners, remember your because is your superpower. Go unleash it.

25:20 You've been plugged into Mick Unplugged. Don't just listen, take action. Rate and subscribe. Follow me on social and get the full experience at mickhuntofficial.com. Keep building, keep leading, and most importantly, keep dominating.

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "Pay Yourself First: A Millionaire's Roadmap from David Bach"?

David Bach (Guest), Mick (host) (Host).

What is "Pay Yourself First: A Millionaire's Roadmap from David Bach" about?

This episode distills practical money strategies from David Bach, focusing on building wealth through disciplined saving, smart investments, and the mindset shift of prioritizing ongoing financial habits. It highlights Bach’s approach to the Automatic Millionaire concepts and actionable steps to create lasting financial momentum.

What is mentioned in this Mick Unplugged Podcast episode?

27 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including The Automatic Millionaire, David Bach, Mick Hunt, financial freedom, Investing, Pay Yourself First. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "Pay Yourself First: A Millionaire's Roadmap from David Bach"?

The episode runs 26 min; the transcript is about 5,636 words in 52 timestamped sections.

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