As entrepreneurs, we spend so much energy focused on making money that we completely ignore the work that comes after it. Managing money is a whole separate skill set and most people, including me, learn that the hard way.

Most of my mistakes could have been avoided. But I have a habit of burning to learn, meaning I have to personally experience the damage before the lesson actually sticks. Make sure to read to the end; it’s boring at first.

I started making money around 15 - 16 years old through freelance design work online. I still lived with my mom, had zero bills, and was pulling in around $750 a month. At that age, with no responsibilities, you feel rich.

The problem was I never actually saw that amount sitting in my account. Every time a client paid me, I had already mentally spent the money before it landed. iPhones, shoes, online games, PC parts. I would blow through everything the moment it came in. Occasionally, I would give my mom some cash, but most of it went toward whatever I wanted in that moment.

When you have no bills and no responsibilities, there is no reason to save. So I never did. And that habit quietly became part of how I operated with money, long after my income grew past $750 a month.

When my twin brother and I turned 18, we got an apartment together. I had just started my social media agency and was making decent money. My brother also had a good job. On paper we were fine.

Quick side note before I continue: people online love to glorify moving out the moment you turn 18. I would not recommend it. Stay with your parents for as long as you can. Only get your own place once you have a stable income and at least six months of rent saved up. Use that time at home to actually build something. The independent lifestyle will always be there. The window to build without overhead does not last forever. But if you are unfortunate enough not to have the luxury of living with your parents past 18, then you’re in another level of difficulty.

Back to the story. My brother and I had a simple agreement: we would alternate rent payments each month. One month him, one month me. It worked on paper. The issue was that I had been spending money loosely since I was 15, and making more of it did not fix that habit. It just gave the habit more room to breathe.

During Covid, my agency was growing fast because every business suddenly needed to be online. So money was coming in and I was spending it just as fast. No savings, no backup plan, just momentum.

Then at the start of 2021, that momentum stopped. Clients dropped off quickly. By March, I had no income, and it happened to be my month to cover rent. I had nothing saved. My brother also didn’t plan to cover rent, as it was my turn, as agreed. Our landlord had no patience for the situation, and we got evicted.

That was one of the worst feelings I have ever had. Not just because of the situation itself but because I knew it was entirely my fault. Every big payment I had received, I had found something to spend it on. I had never once thought about what happens if the money stops.

A year after getting evicted, I made my first million dollars. I will write about that journey separately. This article is about the financial mistakes, and becoming a millionaire did not end them.

I came up with a rule for myself. I would never spend more than 5% of my total capital in a single month. I genuinely thought this made me financially responsible. If I had $2 million total, my monthly limit was $100,000. I felt like I had a system.

What I was actually doing was giving myself permission to spend aggressively and calling it discipline.

I was buying vehicles almost every month. Used Porsches, BMWs, Range Rovers, Mercedes. I never cooked at home. Every single meal, every single day, was at an expensive restaurant with my girlfriend. I was giving away thousands of dollars monthly to the public, which helped my influence and brand, but reinforced every bad spending habit I had developed. And as my total cash grew, 5% of it grew with it. For example, if $10 million is in the account, my rule now gives me a $500,000 monthly limit to burn through.

I also bought every vehicle in cash, which brings me to another mistake.

There was someone in my country I had always looked up to, even before I started making real money. When I eventually got the opportunity to enter his circle and do business with him, I soaked up everything he said.

One of his main things was to always pay cash. Never finance. If you cannot buy it twice, do not buy it at all. He claimed he paid cash for his cars and built his home entirely with cash, no bank involved. It sounded like the ultimate financial flex, and I took it as gospel.

So I started doing exactly that. Paying cash for everything. Car dealers used to light up when they saw me walk in. And I thought that was a good sign. I thought they respected me. Looking back, a car dealer being happy to see you is not a compliment. It means you are about to overpay.

I never negotiated on anything. Whatever price the dealer quoted, I said yes and paid on the spot. I thought it was impressive. Like those gangsters in the movies. It was just my ego.

I also built out a full security team during this period. I was paying six figures a month on security. At first I felt important, like I had made it. Getting escorted everywhere, driving through traffic with a team around me, it all felt significant. But after a while, it became a cage. I could not go watch a movie with my girlfriend or take a late-night drive without it turning into a full logistical operation. I started sneaking out without telling my security team just to feel normal again.

Fast forward to 2023, and I got a reality check concerning my “all cash” mentality. I was at a Porsche showroom speccing out a Taycan, what would have been my third Porsche purchase. I mentioned my mentor to the sales rep and said I wanted to pay in full, just like my mentor.

The rep's expression changed. He was clearly uncomfortable. I pushed for the information, and he eventually told me that almost everyone finances these luxury car purchases, including the wealthiest people in the country. Only a very small percentage pays cash, and when they do, it is for specific strategic reasons. He said my mentor, the one I had been mimicking, was not among the cash buyers.

I left that showroom in disbelief. I had been paying cash for everything, convinced I was being smart, avoiding debt, following a blueprint. The blueprint was fiction. And I had no one to blame because I never questioned it or thought for myself.

One of the more embarrassing financial chapters happened during a rough patch with my girlfriend. My ego had gotten out of control. I was becoming an asshole. I would treat her like she is just a trophy. I would not take her seriously or value her opinions because she did not “accomplish” the things I did. I would treat her like an option. I would put other people’s happiness above hers. I would insult her and make her feel less. She eventually broke up with me, and she was right to do it.

At the time though, my logic was completely warped. I genuinely could not understand why someone would leave me. I was rich, I was well known, and I thought that should have been enough to keep anyone around. That tells you everything about where my head was.

Without her around, I felt empty and started spending to fill that gap. I bought a Range Rover with the license plate #1. The dopamine lasted maybe three days. I bought my mom a new van. Bought my friend his dream sports car. I gave away over a million dollars to the public over that period. I hit a sales record in one of my businesses. None of it worked. None of it touched the actual feeling.

Eventually, she came back and things slowly rebuilt. During that period, I broke my 5% rule completely, which taught me that no amount of spending fixes something that is not a money problem in the first place.

Another one of my biggest mistakes worth mentioning was not having proper banking infrastructure, as it led to my most stressful experiences. I covered this in another article. You can read it here.

The reason I am sharing all of this is to show you that I am no smarter than you. I’ve been making very stupid financial decisions since I was 15 years old. I want you to learn from this so you don’t make the same mistakes I’ve made. You’re probably wondering how the hell Markos can be this dumb. And I’ve been asking myself those same questions. But as I said earlier, I have a habit of burning to learn. Learning through failure. I’ve been lucky enough to still have the ability to learn and keep failing.

I am not sharing this to be entertaining. I am sharing it because these are the kinds of mistakes that do not come with obvious warning signs in the moment. They feel fine, sometimes even smart, right up until they are not.

Question the advice you follow, even from people you respect. Good intentions do not guarantee good information. A lifestyle that impresses other people is not the same thing as a financially sound one. And spending money to manage emotions is one of the most expensive habits a person can build.

Learn from this so you do not have to burn through it yourself.

Book a call with me directly. Bring any question, problem, or idea, and we will work through it together until you have a clear solution or an actionable plan to move forward. Nothing is off limits. Click here to book your spot.