Tony Robbins and His 7 Steps to Financial Freedom

Updated 2/7/2024

I’ve decided to take a little bit of a turn in my book readings and wanted to focus on a book that I know has motivated some people in my life to take the journey into financial freedom – Money Master the Game by Tony Robbins. In the book, Robbins outlays his list of the 7 Steps to Financial Freedom, which I always think is a bit “clickbaity,” but I will go in with an open mind.

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MONEY Master the Game Audiobook by Tony Robbins - 9781442384941 | Rakuten  Kobo United States

Why This Book?

I’ve been pretty heavy on some of the investing books I have been reading lately and decided it was time to take a step back and get to some of the basics. I think it’s a good refresher to keep some personal finance topics front of mind because these are much more controllable than some of your investments.

Sure, you can always pick how you invest, but you don’t have nearly the control over how your investments perform that you would have over how your income and budgeting perform.

In this first introductory chapter from Robbins, one thing that stood out to me was when he said, “Anticipation is the ultimate power.”

I think that this is just so incredibly true in really anything that you do. If you take the time to think ahead and anticipate what might happen, you will be much, much better.

  • Dieting – Going out to eat with friends? Look at the menu online before deciding what you will eat rather than being tempted to get something unhealthy.
  • Grocery Shopping – create a list so you only buy what you need.
  • Buying a new home – decide what your “needs” and “wants” are beforehand so you can stick to your budget and not get wrapped up in a lovely house that doesn’t meet your needs.
  • And, of course, with personal finance:
    • Save for short-term expenses coming up
    • Have an emergency fund ready 
    • Make sure you have some “opportunity” money set aside for that rainy day 
    • Plan your budget and think about any new expenses that month (such as if you’re traveling, your gas bill will go up)
    • Retirement – Tony said there’s a 50% chance one spouse will live to be 92 years old and a 25% chance that one of you will live to be 97. Do you have the money for that?

Is there any scenario where planning isn’t better? Maybe if you’re trying to be spontaneous, but that’s about it!

Tony also gave us an outline of his seven steps to Financial Freedom with a few teasers to get us excited about the chapters. I’ve included these teasers below and a few of my immediate thoughts on each:

1 – Welcome to the Jungle – The Journey Begins with This First Step

This chapter is a perfect introduction for anyone new to growing their wealth and doesn’t understand its importance or power.

Understanding compound interest is probably the best way anyone can be motivated to invest and change their life, and I am speaking from experience.

I remember listening to the Investing for Beginners Podcast, my personal favorite podcast, and hearing Andrew and Dave say that you can do nothing and earn 10% per year by putting it into an S&P 500 index.

That had me hooked.

Learning about how that 10% will keep compounding on top of the previous year’s gains got me insanely motivated that I couldn’t think about anything else. The only way that you can ever actually achieve this, though, is by creating a budget surplus – AKA spending less than you earn.

It’s a simple equation. Learn how to use it to change your life!

2 – Become the Insider – Know the Rules Before You Get in the Game

This step is so incredibly important. As Tony Robbins says, the impact that fees can have on your returns is simply outrageous. 1% might not seem like a lot, but I can tell you that it’s worth more than 1% of the total you’d have at the end of your investing journey.

In addition, one of the topics that Tony Robbins has said he will cover is the “deception or target date funds.” I won’t lie – I am PUMPED to see what this is about.

I don’t like target date funds because they require you to have bonds. They will automatically adjust your asset allocation based on your selected date.

In a vacuum, this sounds like a really good thing, but I don’t love having my asset allocations altered automatically without having at least some sort of input in the decision.

I’m not sure if this is where Tony Robbins will go with it, but I am VERY anxious to see it!

3 – What’s the Price of Your Dreams? Make the Game Winnable

Tony Robbins hinted that this game is all about creating a plan for you to be successful. Honestly, this might be the most important chapter!

Of course, all of these chapters will be important, but I think this chapter will take precedence while we go through and make our plan for success. As I mentioned previously, having a plan and anticipating the future will set you up so much more for success.

Now, I have my plan that I put in place with personal finance from budgeting with Doctor Budget, utilizing my financial order of operations, and then picking stocks that I think will be primed for years and years of success. 

I’m not foolish enough to think that everyone should have the same plan, nor am I foolish enough to even think that my plan is the best – and that’s why I am just so excited to read it.

My plan works for me – but is it the best possible plan I could have? Who knows!

Maybe Tony does?

4 – Make the Most Important Investment Decision of Your Life

This is the chapter where Tony Robbins really starts to dive into asset allocation. Now, depending on your situation, I think that asset allocation can be one of the most overhyped areas of investing, but it all depends on your situation.

For instance, a friend invests 100% in high-risk tech stocks. He lost 15% in a day (literally today) and kept buying the whole way down. He didn’t sell at all. He still loves the companies that he owns and trusts these tech companies for the long term, so he doesn’t diversify at all.

Honestly – I don’t have a problem with that as long as you have a high-risk appetite.

My risk appetite is not that high, so I am primarily in value stocks with some speculative investments as well.

If you’re the panicky type or maybe the type of person who will need this money in the next couple of years, asset allocation is EXTREMELY important!

It really just depends on exactly what you need from your investments and your situation.

5 – Upside Without the Downside – Create a Lifetime Income Plan

Man, doesn’t that chapter sound amazing?

Tony Robbins says that in this chapter, we will “explore creative ways you can stop or drastically limit losses and increase gains.” Sign me up!

Now, he also made some pretty hefty insinuations that you can have a portfolio that will capture all of the upside and essentially none of the downside, so consider myself skeptical on this, but I am going to try to withhold judgment.

I think you get the rewards you’re willing to risk for, so it seems very unlikely that there is a scenario where you can implement a plan to capture all the upside and no downside. Even if you can then you’re likely to be timing the market, but again I will try to withhold my judgment!

6 – Invest Like the .001%: The Billionaire’s Playbook

Oh man – name drop city right now! Tony Robbins gives his ultimate investing plan based on his conversations with his “12 Masters of the Game,” which includes Paul Tudor Jones, Charles Schwab, Carl Icahn, T. Boone Pickens, Ray Dalio, Jack Bogle, and others!

That is quite the name drop right there, and I know that my eyes certainly opened up when I saw this really interesting list of investing legends.

7 – Just Do It, Enjoy It, and Share It

And finally, we end it all with an action plan “to help you live a better, fuller, richer, more joyful life.”

Overall, I think I am in for a great read, and I will keep you all updated as I progress. You can see that I am extremely skeptical of some of these promises, but who knows – maybe I’ll find out I am wrong!

While you’re waiting for me to work through my readings, take a look at some of my previous reviews:

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