As I mentioned on Friday, there is currently a sale on the Millionaire Money Mentors (MMM) membership. If you want to take advantage of it, go here or to read the announcement post see Millionaire Money Mentors Black Friday Sale 2023.
I have mentioned a few times that my goal with MMM is for every member to get their money’s worth out of the membership.
But that’s the minimum, least acceptable outcome for me.
What I prefer is that members (and mentors too) get at least 10x on their costs in savings, additional income, net worth growth, time, happiness, etc. This is what I’m really shooting for. If we “fail” and “only” hit something like 5x, I can live with that, which is why I like to aim high.
But what can be done to make 10x happen?
That’s the subject of this post. I’m going to give five key ways that members can get exponential value out of the forums. Whether you’re thinking about joining the forums, new to them, or have been there since the beginning, this post should offer some valuable insights for you.
You Are the Difference
Before we get into my five ideas, let me state what may seem obvious but must be mentioned so we’re all on the same page:
You are the key factor that determines whether or not you’ll get value out of the membership.
Said a bit differently: If you consistently use the membership, you will likely receive many times the value out of it.
MMM is just like any other membership you might pay for — the gym, a streaming service, Costco, etc. If you take advantage of what the membership offers (assuming it’s a need you have), it’s well worth the money — likely worth it many times over. But if you don’t use it, then it’s basically worthless.
For example, I belong to a gym. I am there six days a week for at least an hour. It’s a pricey membership relative to many other things we could spend money on, but I use it and I’d much rather pay the gym than the doctor! (BTW, I have a trainer on top of the gym membership.) In addition, being healthy makes everything else in life better and I like how I feel when I’m exercising. So overall, I get way more out of it than what I pay.
It’s well worth the cost…because I use it.
That said, I know people who belong to the gym and hardly ever go. They pay for a membership, but for one reason or another they don’t use it. How are they supposed to get value out of something they don’t use? It’s pretty difficult.
I can be like this too. At the end of last year I joined two membership sites with the intention of using them regularly to improve an area of my life. But they required time I didn’t want to invest so I’ve mostly ignored them the past few months. Needless to say, I won’t be renewing them this year.
On the other hand, I added a subscription for the Wall Street Journal a couple months ago and have been loving it! I use it every day and thus am getting way more out of it than the cost. I know I could get it for free from my library, but that forces me to jump through hoops every three days to “renew” and who has time for that? It’s much better for me to pay the subscription and use/enjoy what they have to offer.
So just like with anything else you buy or subscribe to, your participation is vital to your success with an MMM membership. It’s the foundation of getting value.
That’s why for the purpose of this post I’m going to assume you’re willing to use it. I can work with that. It sets the stage for 10x value.
BTW, this doesn’t mean you have to be on the forums 24 x 7 either. I think you’ll want to check in at least every week and that will be enough, but it also depends on your depth of engagement when you do check in, so there’s not one recommendation that works in every case. More on these issues below.
Given that you’re going to participate, how can you use the membership to get more value out of it? Here are the five things you can do…
Ask
The first step is to ask. Specifically ask the mentors and members for specific feedback based on your situation.
It could be a job change you’re considering.
It could be a retirement planning question like, “Do I have enough?”
It could be a personal question like I had not too long ago — how to deal with a parent’s bad medical diagnosis.
Literally you can ask the group anything and based on past experience you’ll get many responses from people who have been there and done that.
You’ll also receive a lot of questions and several suggestions to think about/consider from a variety of perspectives (no, we don’t all think the same way — far from it.)
This was the main service the membership was built upon when I first imagined it, and it’s been invaluable in many cases. Just one right word from the correct mentor can do something like, uh, help you earn an extra $100k!
Of course not everyone will get those sorts of results, but if some feedback “only” nets you $10k, that’s pretty good, right? 😉
Read
When I started the forums I didn’t really think about how it would become a content-generating machine.
I’ve had websites for almost 20 years now, so I know a bit about content. But who knew we could generate so much so fast on all things financial?
Perhaps you’re the sort of person who doesn’t like to “put themselves out there” so asking might not be your cup of tea. No problem, we have you covered.
If you simply read the threads, comments, articles posted (many members read widely on money topics and post good articles they find — then we discuss them), and so on, you will have a tremendous amount of knowledge for consideration and application.
You’ll get posts from different perspectives and new ideas which include broad, practical knowledge and experience. There’s a reason there’s a saying “the rich get richer.” It’s because they share information like this with each other. That’s why just by reading you can 10x your membership!
BTW, for perspective there are over 1,300 articles on ESI Money. There are over 9,000 threads on MMM. Lots and lots to read…
Connect
Everyone wants community…yada, yada, yada.
I have heard the “we all want community” refrain for a long time.
I didn’t really get it. I don’t need a community. I have my family, friends, and, of course, my trusty cat. 😉 I don’t need a community.
Well, it turns out that while I didn’t need it (or at least I don’t think I did), I do enjoy it. I like having a posse of money nerds who I can chat with about vital personal issues or light-hearted ones like who’s the greatest NBA player of all time.
And better yet, out of that have come some really great friendships — some that are online, some in person now and then (like at our annual conference — it’s in April 2024 if you want to attend as a member, spots are still open), and some in person on a regular basis.
I know people have developed personal friendships, mentorships, and all sorts of connections on the forums and, surprisingly to me, it’s become a bedrock portion of what the forums offer.
Most people know no one they can really talk to about financial issues, so if you get nothing out of the membership other than connecting with others over a “taboo” topic, it will be a big win for you.
Discuss
Obviously the forums are set up specifically for discussion. However, many prefer just to be readers and forego the chatting.
But if you want to really super charge the value of the membership, you need to jump in now and then and talk to the group.
And you’ll find that people there want to hear from you. They may not agree with you but they do want to hear your thoughts. (And they will be respectful even in disagreement.)
And there’s a big benefit to you in participating as well — writing out your thoughts helps you think through issues and solidify your plans. Believe me, I know this for a fact. One of the biggest benefits to blogging has been what it’s done to focus my thinking and getting me to take action on what’s really important.
Plus if you don’t discuss you miss a huge benefit of the forums over reading books, articles, etc. — the chance to interact with people around a given issue.
And the discussions are pretty good. For example, here are some of the topics we’ve discussed lately:
- What Are You Doing to Get/Stay Healthy?
- Regrets in your later years
- Anyone Use Mint?
- Why Do People Follow Fake “Experts”?
- The Benefits of Stealth Wealth / Stealth Frugality
- Making a Stink Bid in Real Estate
- Why aren’t investors selling stocks for bonds?
- Dave Ramsey Being Dishonest
- Warning signs with elderly parents
- Top struggles AFTER achieving FI
Some have wondered why the comments at ESI Money have dropped. It’s because the best commenters from ESI Money are on MMM. And they are way more active than they ever were on ESI Money!
Learn
If you apply yourself to the forums, there is so much you can learn and then apply to make your life better.
There are new concepts, ideas, tips, tricks, etc.
Now you may think you already know it all, but let me assure you — even pretty advanced members of the forums can learn something.
Case in point, here are five big moves I made because of MMM.
If I am learning a lot (and the list above is only five — I have way more learnings than that!), I’m sure others might pick up a tip or two here and there. 😉
Some Odds and Ends
Those are my five keys to 10x your use of the site, but let me leave you with a few other thoughts…
First, are your finances worth an investment of $300 a year? Is your life worth that?
As I noted above, the rich get richer because they have friends who share tips, insights, knowledge, etc.. I know as I progressed up the net worth ladder and changed my circle of friends, I got exposed to increasing levels of opportunity.
Second, consider what you might pay a financial planner PER HOUR X TIME and compare that to the cost of MMM. Now being part of MMM is not meant to replace having a planner, but do you think it might make the time with your planner shorter and/or more effective? Do you think it can give you some ideas to discuss with your planner or ask them? And if you don’t have a planner, do you think it could do the same for you?
Third, and this is for those having trouble finding great retirement activities: Being part of the MMM could count as one of your activities in retirement…just in case you’re looking for ideas. 😉
And finally, how many friends do you have who are as experienced as 150 mentors with $750 million net worth? Where can you get this sort of knowledge and access elsewhere? Where else do you get to be part of a Super Money Mastermind?
Final Thoughts
If you read this entire post and decide it’s just not for you as you can’t/won’t invest the time and effort, then you should not join.
But if you are willing to put a minimal amount of effort into making your finances and life better, being part of the MMM can have a tremendous impact for you.
If you don’t believe me, just read the testimonials others have shared about MMM.
If you’d like to join you can do so here. We’d love to have you!
Zac says
Did the 2024 MMM meetup (alliteration alert) ever finalize on a date and time? I was following the post about it on the forum but haven’t seen an update. I’m definitely interested.
ESI says
Yep. It was announced at the end of September here:
https://forums.millionairemoneymentors.com/t/2024-mmm-conference/8283/217
Bo says
Hi ESI,
congratulations on the idea and execution of building such a community.
I have no doubt that someone could extract 10x the value of the subscription if he is willing to put in some work.
My personal indecision on joining was always the fact that the members are mostly from the USA and consequentially also the content is US related. (I think you confirmed this in some previous post, when someone raised the question).
Do you see this changing in the future? Are there more non-US members that joined in the last year? (‘m interested in content that is relevant for Europe.
Thanks!
ESI says
There are more…but most content and discussion is about US issues.