I paid myself $3.3M last year (behind my tax report)
Summary
TLDRIn this inspiring video, the creator reflects on his journey to earning $3.3 million in 2023, detailing his income streams, personal expenses, and tax strategies. He emphasizes the potential of entrepreneurship and shares insights on financial optimization, while also discussing the reality of wealth, the importance of finding meaningful work, and the pursuit of a fulfilling life beyond material success.
Takeaways
- 😲 The speaker made $3.3 million in 2023, which they find surreal and exciting to share.
- 💼 The majority of their income, around 80%, comes from entrepreneurship through their business Appsumo.
- 📈 They emphasize the importance of sticking with a business for the long term, as their significant income came after 15 years with Appsumo.
- 🏠 The speaker's W2 income from Appsumo includes a base salary and a distribution of profits, amounting to $1.7 million.
- 🎥 They received $1 million from Appsumo to sponsor their YouTube content, showcasing the value of content creation.
- 🏦 The speaker discusses the reality of not having all their income in liquid cash and the impact of taxes and expenses.
- 💸 Taxes are their largest expense, taking about 40% of their income, highlighting the importance of tax optimization.
- 🏡 Living in a $2.5 million house incurs significant annual costs, including maintenance and insurance, which are part of increased expenses with wealth.
- 🔑 The speaker values the unlimited income potential of entrepreneurship over capped returns from traditional investments like real estate.
- 💡 They share insights into tax strategies such as conservation easements and art donations, and the concept of 'box options' for tax benefits.
- 💰 The speaker reflects on their relationship with money, emphasizing the importance of feeling worthy and finding fulfillment in work rather than just wealth.
Q & A
What was the speaker's total income in 2023?
-The speaker made $3.3 million in 2023.
What is Appsumo, and how much did it contribute to the speaker's income?
-Appsumo is a business the speaker is involved in, and it contributed $2.7 million to the speaker's income through a base salary and distributions.
What is the speaker's base salary at Appsumo?
-The speaker's base salary at Appsumo is $250,000.
How did the speaker diversify their income streams in 2023?
-The speaker diversified their income streams through W2 salary income, YouTube sponsorships, real estate, equities, and other investments.
What was the speaker's main expense in 2023?
-The speaker's main expense in 2023 was taxes, which amounted to around $1.12 million.
What tax strategies did the speaker consider to optimize their tax liability?
-The speaker considered tax strategies such as conservation easements, art donations, box options, and energy credits to optimize their tax liability.
How does the speaker feel about their journey to making $3.3 million?
-The speaker feels that the journey was long and involved many failures and strategic investments, but ultimately it was rewarding and made them smile.
What is the speaker's perspective on money and personal worth?
-The speaker believes that while money can make one feel better about themselves, it does not equate to personal worth, which must come from within.
What advice does the speaker give for achieving financial success?
-The speaker advises finding work that one loves and getting better at it over time, as this can lead to significant financial success.
How does the speaker view the relationship between money and happiness?
-The speaker views money as a means to support the life one wants to live, rather than as an end goal, and emphasizes that happiness comes from living the life one desires, not from the pursuit of money alone.
What is the speaker's approach to personal finances and spending?
-The speaker's approach to personal finances involves having enough cash to live comfortably without worrying about money, focusing on what is good for customers, the audience, and the team, and enjoying the experience rather than just accumulating wealth.
Outlines
💰 Journey to $3.3 Million Income
The speaker reflects on their financial journey, revealing they made $3.3 million in the previous year. They express the surreal nature of this achievement and outline their intention to discuss their income streams, personal expenses, business overheads, tax strategies, and the reality of such earnings. The speaker emphasizes their entrepreneurial path, detailing the evolution from 9-to-5 jobs to multiple business ventures, including Appsumo, which contributed significantly to their income. They also mention the importance of not just making money, but doing meaningful work that one enjoys.
📊 Breakdown of Earnings and Expenses
This paragraph delves into the specifics of the speaker's income, including their W2 salary from Appsumo, sponsorships, and investments in real estate and equities. The speaker discusses the fluctuation in income, particularly the significant drop from Appsumo in 2021 due to poor decisions and excessive spending. They also provide an overview of their expenses, highlighting taxes as the primary cost, followed by team expenses, housing, insurance, and wealth management. The speaker also touches on tax optimization strategies they've considered or used, such as conservation easements and art donations.
🚀 The Philosophy of Wealth and Spending
The speaker shares their perspective on wealth, emphasizing the limitless potential of entrepreneurship compared to traditional employment. They discuss their approach to tax optimization and personal finance, including the absence of strict budgets due to their substantial wealth. The speaker also explores their spending habits, focusing on areas where they are willing to splurge, such as hiring assistance, technology, and commemorating significant life events with luxury items like Rolex watches. They contrast this with areas where they remain value-conscious, like everyday purchases. The speaker concludes by advocating for a life where money supports one's desires and lifestyle, rather than being the sole focus.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Entrepreneurship
💡Tax Report
💡Income Streams
💡Tax Strategies
💡Expenses
💡Wealth Management
💡Investment
💡Salaried Income
💡Business Overhead
💡Personal Expenses
💡Financial Goals
Highlights
The speaker made $3.3 million in 2023 and shares a detailed breakdown of their income streams, personal expenses, and tax strategies.
The journey to financial success included multiple business failures and strategic investments.
The majority of income, around 80%, comes from entrepreneurship, emphasizing the high returns on self-investment.
In the first year of Appsumo, no profit was made despite generating $300,000 in revenue, highlighting the importance of reinvestment.
The speaker's base salary from Appsumo is $250,000, with additional profit distributions based on company performance.
Sponsorships from Appsumo for YouTube content generated an additional $1 million in income.
Diversified income included real estate equities and investment distributions, showcasing the importance of multiple revenue streams.
A significant portion of income, approximately 40%, went to taxes, illustrating the financial impact of tax liabilities.
The cost of running a YouTube channel and email list through an LLC is around $500,000 annually.
Living expenses, including housing, insurance, and wealth management, add up to significant annual costs.
The speaker discusses tax optimization strategies, including conservation easements and art donations, to reduce tax liabilities.
A personal finance approach is shared, focusing on having enough cash to live comfortably without the need for further income.
The importance of finding work that one loves and the potential for it to become lucrative is emphasized.
The speaker reflects on the psychological aspects of wealth, including feelings of worthiness and the relationship with money.
Splurging on experiences and items that bring personal joy, such as Rolexes for commemorating milestones, is discussed.
The speaker chooses to invest in convenience and time-saving measures, such as hiring staff, rather than material possessions.
A reflection on the transient nature of external success and the enduring value of finding internal fulfillment and purpose.
The speaker encourages viewers to pursue entrepreneurship and to live the life they want, supported by money, not dominated by it.
The long-term growth of Appsumo is highlighted, showing that success was not immediate but a result of persistence.
Transcripts
last year I made $3.3 million and this
is my 2023 tax report that I'm going to
break down with you it's insane it's
insane to even say that number out loud
it feels surreal I'm like who are we
talking about I want to go into detail
on my income streams personal expenses
business overhead some Tax Strategies
and the overall reality of what it feels
like to make $3.3 million so that you
can do it too it still feels crazy to
say this but when I think about my
journey of my 9 to5 jobs building
multiple businesses tons of business
failures strategic Investments bad
Investments that got me to this point
makes me smile like I made it but I'm
not making this video to brag I didn't
have some special VIP Lane to get to
this point and I would say for a long
time it felt like everything that I got
close to was taken from me Google job
Microsoft job Facebook job mint exit I'm
making this video to inspire you and
show yall what is possible if you go
down the path of Entrepreneurship
because there is no better return than
on the investment of yourself and
Entrepreneurship you can make three .3
million or more let's break it down my
first year I made nothing from appsumo
even though we generated $300,000 in
Revenue all of it went back into the
business or hiring people and so forth I
just wanted to make $3,000 a month so I
could work on the beaches of Thailand
that is all I wanted I could live I
could eat and I could save a little bit
to live my dream life doing work that I
wanted to do I was able to stick with
the business for 15 years to be able to
get to this point where I took home $3.3
million now but I don't actually have
$3.3 million in cash let's just say
right here and we're going to talk about
taxes we're going to talk about expenses
uh and things of that nature but it's
been it's been a long fun Journey could
I ever imagine making this amount of
money no but it's sure as hell sweet and
you can do it too so let's do a revenue
breakdown show me the money show me the
money Jerry you guys are way too young
to know about that
movie show me the money so first off I
made $1.7 million in my W2 salaried
income from appsumo it's not as
straightforward as that my base salary
is 250,000 which is really good now only
if we have profit at the end of the year
do I get a distribution and so we pay
everyone in the team we pay the
leadership team we take everyone all
expenses paid to Mexico we invest in ads
we buy servers and then if there's stuff
left me and my partner Chad get a
distribution and so my distribution was
around $1.5 million now next up I get a
million dollar from appsumo to sponsor
all the content you're seeing here on
YouTube so that's another million now
the other $600,000 that I made last year
is a combination of real estate equities
and some distributions from Investments
I don't think it's as important in this
video I think if you look at the numbers
like the majority 80% is from
entrepreneurship so we'll we'll focus a
little bit more on that so that's where
the $3.3 million comes from now the
revenue streams have been interesting
appsumo money is all over the place
right so what does that mean in
2021 I made 97 ,000 so that's that's a
big decrease from the almost $3 million
that I got last year uh from appsumo so
what happened Co happened a lot of bad
decisions happened we hired a lot of
people we spent a million dollars on
Black Friday marketing which was a total
waste and it was my idea I would say the
maintainance is more of a thought about
opportunity cost and what is the best
use of your life for generating Revenue
doing what you want to do I I've noticed
with the real estate stuff you can get a
5% return a year on this real estate or
maybe it appreciates 10% ABS suumo
started with $50 and I was able to
generate almost $3 million cash for
myself and I'm not taking as much as I
can and and I don't say that arrogantly
I could definitely take more but I think
I'm taking a pretty great amount uh and
everybody else at the company is doing
well whereas in real estate a lot of
that stuff is capped all right expenses
break down the number one expense you
guys can all guess it it is Mr
government a lady would never be so rude
taxes number one that's 40% of around 3
million so that's $112 million just in
taxes then I have half a million dollars
in the team cost I told you appsumo
sponsors into an LLC that all the money
that takes to run this YouTube channel
or my email list at noah.com or all the
social content that's
$500,000 a year so now you're like holy
so that 3.3 is now down to about
1.5 then this house I live in a $2.5
million house this house alone without
water without internet without the
cleaner without the gardener without the
pool person uh is $120,000 a year the
costs add up you have insurance costs
for when you get to different levels of
wealth you have umbrella insurance so I
have insurance that covers if someone
trips in my house right there's there's
more costs for that that go up I have a
wealth adviser that's in the five
figures a year I have a personal
bookkeeper that's another five figureure
expense a year I would say that there
definitely a significant amount of
expenses that just go up uh when you
start making more money and and you want
to have more conveniences and comfort uh
it makes me feel sad and and really
tough for a lot of people people out
there but it also makes me feel
optimistic that through entrepreneurship
and through starting your own businesses
there's no cap to your income there is
unlimited income for entrepreneurship
whereas in a salary job it it can be
limited taxes uh so I put out a book
maybe we'll make it free for this video
how do I approach tax optimization my
tax liability in 2022 was 300,000 my tax
in 2021 was 1.1 million I think
government's inefficient so I'm not as
excited to give them my money I'd give
it to private businesses when I had more
free time I was doing a lot of tax
optimization so conservation easements
it's when you buy land and then you say
you're not going to build on it and the
government gives you a tax credit and
then I did Art donation so you buy art
you donate it somewhere you get another
tax credit those are little gray zones
uh there's new ones that I've considered
which is like uh box options Boxx so if
you buy t- bills you get taxed at
ordinary income but if you buy box
spread you can get taxed at a lower
income rate rate other ones I've
considered is Energy Credit buying so
you can buy energy credits today yes
look that up you can buy them for 80 but
you get $100 worth of tax credit so you
get a 20% uh discount on your taxes now
I just don't have time for all that
stuff you know I'm married I'm trying to
do be a good father good be a good
husband I'm trying to make sure I have
time to do this content run app suumo
and the amount of money I'm saving to me
doesn't seem worth it but there's tax
strategists out there I think in my
personal life and this is a f
fascinating point in my personal life I
don't really have budgets which is is
luxury I don't have a lot of modeling or
how am I trying to retire and these
certain things cuz I just have so much
money honestly and I don't mean that
bragging but you can get to that point
too whereas in our business at appsumo
we have models and budgets and a whole
team dedicated to every single penny and
I like the fact that I can not have to
worry about that or have to figure out
how to optimize my taxes with you know
more questionable activities I don't
know I guess I'm rich I never thought
I'm I'm a rich person or not a rich
person I I think what I I try to think
about is like when I'm at the restaurant
just treating everyone equ and I will
say there are times candidly where I
might go on YouTube and I look and
they're like here's what top 1% make and
I go there and it makes me feel worthy
when I feel like wow I'm making in the
in the top 1% cuz I think I've felt So
Unworthy in this whole journey for so
long like oh I don't think I'll be able
to do it how do I finally make money I'm
going to ruin it all and so it is it is
a form of of comfort I think what I'm
thinking about is like how much do I
really need and what do I really want to
spend my days doing and I think this is
kind of the counterintuitive thing about
entrepreneurship whereas if you actually
do the thing you really like doing and
you you keep getting better over a long
period of time you'll actually end up
making the most amount of money so I'm
really trying to dial back in less how
do I get more views here how do I get
more Revenue there just like what do I
think is good for me what do I think is
good for our customers good for the
audience good for our team and we enjoy
and I think that will benefit uh a lot
of people down a longer period of time
the way that I thought about my finances
and you know personal spending is that I
want to basically have like enough cash
I want to have enough cash to live
forever and so I did analysis with uh
with my wealth managers and I basically
never have to make another dollar and I
can spend 20,000 a month until I'm 90
and that that actually gave me that was
really relieving think about for
yourself like what is your spending
habits and then if you mapped it out to
90 you know I think there's a great book
die with zero by Bill Perkins and he's
talking about like don't spend it at 90
when you can't really enjoy it as much
as you can enjoy it today and so really
finding that right balance where can you
save yourself time can you pay for
convenience can you enjoy the experience
now whereas when you're 65 retired
finally being able to tap into your 401k
you really physically can't do stuff
like my back is hurting I'm 42 you know
like I have to go to physical therapy
and all and it's like oh man this
is what they talk about and when you're
when you are younger you don't give a
about it when you are older you're
like oh I should have spent it then so
thinking about our my priorities in my
personal spending getting out of the tax
stuff it's easy for me to gift give I
think that was my dad's love language
and uh I love like spoiling my wife I'm
excited to get my daughter the nicest
things possible I'm happy to treat my
brother to things take my I took my
parents on a nice vacation last year I
think I'm still value conscious right
I'm still like oh that those glasses are
10 bucks or let me try to find a coupon
just more now I'm more aware of how much
time I'm spending looking for that
discount like heck think about it I got
most of my money from a deal website
check it out abs.com I love saving money
I I love being value driven uh it
doesn't mean I want to just go waste it
what areas am I willing to splurge I
probably Splurge more on hiring people
right cuz I think I run a company we
have 100 people there and so I'm kind of
used to hiring and and having people
help me so like an EA Two Chiefs of
Staff I'm trying to get a PA you know
just having more assistance I I'm
willing to spend because it saves me
time and and peace of mind I I think
food I'm not really splurging but I
don't really look at the menus as much
technology like I just buy the latest
laptop I don't even think I literally if
there's a new Macbook Air it's instab
maxed out it's like $3,000 and I know
that could be a lot for you but that's
literally the cheapest investment in
something that can generate Millions if
not billions I do fly mostly first class
but I use points so I I feel like when
people Flex fly first class like using
points yeah spend this $8,000 on a
ticket and you'll you'll say think
differently cuz it is it is a lot of
cash to fly first class I splurge
sporadically on Rolexes to commemorate
moments like when my buddy sold his
company when my buddy got his house when
I got my wife you know it's just moments
to kind of recognize that that makes me
feel special when I got my pilot's
license when I came back to CEO of
appsumo and you know you'll see them in
some of the videos and it's just a nice
like you know wrist tattoo there's also
things I just don't care about like I
don't have a Ferrari I could buy
Ferraris I could buy some of that stuff
I haven't really cared I think one of
the things about wealth is shame and
feeling like we have to show off which
most people who are showing it don't
have it or we need to show it to others
versus showing it to ourselves I'm
trying to think of when I finally got
like a Million Dollar Payday at the end
of the year it's definitely
underwhelming from an external success
blah blah blah it's super cool but it
just goes to the bank it's like I worked
my ass off I'm really proud of my stuff
and then like the numbers transferred to
here and I'm like that's okay so I don't
think that that's as magical as I think
people imagine I think the magical part
is finding the work that you love to do
and it turns out maybe you can get paid
to do that and I think a lot of people
don't realize that you know no amount of
money is going to make you feel good
about yourself I really wish it would
I'll tell you making a lot of money
definitely makes it easier to like
yourself more but it just doesn't you
know you're not going to feel worthy
until you feel worthy about yourself and
think about the things you do that make
you feel worthy maybe it's going for a
walk maybe it's reading maybe it's being
a good person maybe it's falling through
and making something you said you would
do maybe it's being on time uh those are
things that make me feel worthy maybe
that's a lot of what the money is about
is just feeling proud of you are and
that is the scorecard externally but
finding your internal scorecard of this
money I think everyone has a money
relationship which is really fascinating
it's not that one is better or worse and
and evolves over time evolves how much
you have it evolves what's important to
you uh evolves how where you came from I
think it's sad sometimes how much we
make money this all everything and maybe
yes I have it a little bit of it or I
have a lot I don't know it's all
relative but it just seems sad to like
separate relationships or separate
friendships or separate how you want to
be living your life and I would say the
wisest thing is find the life you want
to live and find money to be able to
support that make that your living I
think when I look around my house or I
look around my life you know detached
from the success externally detached
from having to achieve I feel really
grateful I know that I was playing
pinball earlier today but I was always
earning and making money but I never
enjoyed it I was just like you know and
I think a lot of these videos are like
how I got rich in 40 days how I have
this giant mansion ass thing but it's
like how do people enjoy it normally
like a normal real human I wish everyone
gets out there and is living the life
they want making the amount they want
seeing how money supports you not you
just working for the money the money
needs to work for you I think being
entrepreneur has been an awesome part of
making money because I think you look at
money a lot as return on investment like
when you're entrepreneur you're like how
much does it cost what does it make me
and that is sometimes harder when you're
in your personal life cuz you're like
okay what's this vegetable and how much
is it going to benefit my health really
stick with it you know like if you look
at the appsumo journey I made almost Z
for myself first year I think it's 50 to
70 the second year then it was like 100
for the next 3 to 4ish years and then
only finally in like the last you know
half of appsumo the past like six seven
years have I been making like 1 million
2 million 3 million and so it's it's
sticking with it I feel comfortable
experimenting sharing my income and if
negative things and security risk
increase then I will definitely pull
back from doing something like this the
the benefit to me is that I think it's
inspiring that people there's going to
be one person out there watching
thinking hey I can do it too maybe it's
going to be in software like Noah did
with appsumo maybe it's going to be in
car washes maybe it's going to be a food
delivery business but huh that seems
like a pretty cool life and like there's
and it is you know buying whatever
pinball machines you want or being able
to eat wherever you want or travel
whenever you want and and having those
options is is priceless and so being
able to share how I was able to get here
be able to share what it looks like it's
been amazing to get to to the point I'm
at and I I hope for you there's going to
be one of you out there that that'll
choose to take action today uh to be
able to get there and maybe beyond all
right y'all love you smooches
[Music]
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