The other day I was talking to my niece.
She just turned 17 and is getting ready for her last year of high school before heading to university.
Like most 17-year-olds, she’s excited about the future. In her mind, the path is simple:
Go to school.
Get a good job.
Travel a bit.
Buy a house.
Build a life.
Pretty normal thinking, right?
But here’s what struck me: she has no idea how much the world has already changed.
(Side note: she also never read the copy of Rich Dad Poor Dad I gave her when she was 12… shame on her. lol.)
When I gave her that book five years ago, the message was about getting ahead.
Buy cash-flowing assets.
Use good debt wisely.
Build wealth.
But things have shifted so quickly that those same principles are now required just to keep up.
Because here’s the reality: the dollar is quietly devaluing.
Every year, your money buys less.
Inflation, interest rates, tariffs — those are symptoms. The root cause is that the dollar itself is losing power.
So how do you protect yourself?
Here are five moves that I’ve seen help families keep up and get ahead in spite of devaluation:
1. Own real assets.
Cash is for liquidity, not growth. Keep a buffer, but push the rest into assets that generate income and appreciate.
2. Use debt strategically.
Productive debt tied to assets builds wealth. Lifestyle debt destroys it.
3. Structure matters more than rate.
The “lowest rate” is often the most expensive when penalties or restrictions hit. Flexibility and fit matter more.
4. Keep buffers in buckets.
· Operating Cash (1–2 months)
· Emergency Reserves (3–6 months)
· Opportunity Funds (ready when the right deal shows up)
Labeling money reduces stress and sharpens decisions.
5. Measure in real terms.
Don’t just ask, “Did my savings go up?” Ask, “Did my purchasing power go up?”
None of this is about reckless risk-taking.
It’s about positioning yourself for the world we actually live in — not the one our parents grew up in.
That’s what I help my clients with every day. Not just “getting a mortgage,” but designing a financing strategy that supports a bigger plan.
If you want to see how these five moves could apply to your own situation, I’d be happy to talk it through.
Talk soon,
— Vince
P.S. Playing the old money game feels safe. But in today’s world, “safe” is often the riskiest move of all.
