Hello friends and welcome back to the Product in Public newsletter, where I give you an inside look at how I help companies attract capital and build better products.

Before we get to today's newsletter, here’s some of the content I’m consuming that you might find interesting.

What I’m consuming

• My wife and I are constantly on the lookout for shows to watch together. We don’t always have the same interests, but when we find a show that we think the other will like we encourage each other to try out the first episode together. This week I have two shows to share that you might enjoy.
  • Shogun (FX) - this is a best-selling novel by James Clavell. I’m particularly drawn to this show because of my time living in Japan.
  • Beacon 23 (Amazon) - a space-based show starring Lena Headley (Cersei from Game of Thrones) and Stephen James (I didn’t recognize him, but he seems to be an up-and-coming actor) about a remote star base. That’s all I’ll say about it. It’s worth the 25-minute rule (I watch/read/listen to content for 25 minutes before deciding if it's worth further investment).

I wanted to build 100 financial plans. I’ve built 10x that.

Back at the turn of 2023, I set a goal to help 100 people build a financial plan.

The older I get the more I realize that money is an integral part of our lives, no matter how much we all wish that weren’t the case.

Seriously, I’d love for money to not be such a determining factor in all of our lives. The reality is that money is something that all of us have to deal with. Whether you are independently wealthy or you eschew all material possessions to become a monk, there is no escaping the need to have resources, largely in the form of money.

Just this week I was having a similar discussion with my “brother from another mother”, Josh.

We were hanging out over coffee comparing notes about life, and money was a common topic.

I was sharing how no matter how much money I make, it never seems enough. Interesting, I can point to a specific point in my life when I began thinking that way. Our daughter was about nine months old and I had been laid off, for the second or third time. That’s the day that something switched in me and I decided I would never be reliant on one income. To this day I run myself ragged trying to get ahead.

Money 💸

My friend was talking about his recent divorce and the role money played in their split. I won’t go into the details, suffice it to say that there are a lot of issues. Most notably infidelity on her part.

But, my friend was quick to point out that he thinks that happened because of the stress that their joint financial decisions played in their marriage. He wasn’t trying to justify what she did, only pointing to a contributing factor.

Money 💸

Why am I sharing all of that? Because money can play two roles in your life. It can empower you or it can make you feel like a prisoner.

What’s the distinction?

Having a plan.

When it comes to being either EMPOWERED 💪 or trapped 🪤 by your financial decisions, the difference between the two is having a plan in place.

That includes:

1. having a budget that you follow, even when that sucks.
2. thinking like the rich do, by tracking asset growth versus income.
3. knowing just how big of an emergency fund you need.
4. having the right amount of insurance in place so your family members aren’t left without means.
5. understanding just how much $ you will need at retirement.

Because I want you to feel EMPOWERED 💪 versus trapped 🪤, I put together a free financial planning kit.

My original goal for 2023 was to help 100 people. Just 100.

I almost 10x that in 2023, ending the year having helped over 920 people build a financial plan, and just a few months into 2024 I’m proud to say that I’m at 1030 people helped.

Never being one to settle, I decided to up the ante with my goal and reset my target to helping 10,000 people build a financial plan.

But, I’m not done there.

I want to up the ante even more.

I’m looking to add content to the course. So, if you have a question about budgeting, financial planning, investing, or something else money-related, I’d love to help. You can send me a private message to jonathan@jonathanmillspatrick.com and I’ll do my best to point you in the right direction.

If you'd like to build your own free financial plan, just click the button below.

I’m wondering if you’d be willing to help me hit that goal and share this article with the people in your network.

Listen, I know that talking to other people about money is a delicate subject. You don’t need to feel that pressure. Simply, send them this article, tell them you enjoy reading my posts, and that you think this one might help them.

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