“You can never save your way to wealth.” That’s the message from financial journalist and entrepreneur Kalilah Reynolds (@kalilah.money).
Her recent appearance on the Koined Insights Podcast (@koinedinsightspod) is sparking important conversations about money, mindset, and long-term financial freedom.
In the now-viral clip titled “What if saving alone will never make you wealthy?” Reynolds candidly explains why conventional wisdom around working hard and saving isn’t enough—and how investing is the real game changer.
“Growing up, the lessons I learned from my middle-class parents were: work hard and save,” Reynolds shared. “By the time I was in my mid-thirties, I realized that’s not the formula. That is not enough.”
The Problem With Just Saving
Reynolds argues that saving, while important, is merely addition, not multiplication. In other words, it builds security, but not wealth.
“If we’re saving, we’re only adding,” she explained. “I save $10 today and $10 tomorrow—now I have $20. But I need that $10 to be $100. In order for that to happen, we need to multiply.”
That’s where investing comes in, whether through stocks, real estate, mutual funds, or entrepreneurship. The goal, she says, is to make your money work for you, not just to work harder yourself:
“We think, ‘I just need to work more.’ But to pursue real wealth, we don’t need to work more, we need our money to work more.”
A Shift in Financial Mindset
Reynolds, known for her clear and relatable take on finance, is part of a growing movement urging people, especially millennials and Gen Z, to rethink what it means to be financially secure. It’s not about hustle culture alone, she suggests, but about smarter strategies.
The real breakthrough, Reynolds believes, comes when people stop thinking like workers and start thinking like owners.
Why It Matters
In an age of rising inflation, wage stagnation, and increased living costs, the idea that saving alone is not enough has taken on renewed urgency. Financial literacy advocates like Reynolds are working to close the wealth gap through education and empowerment.
Her takeaway?
“We don’t need to work more. We need our money to work more.”
Watch the full clip of Kalilah’s appearance on the podcast in the video link below:
