I'm starting to write about money.
Not affiliate-stuffed credit card listicles dressed up as advice.
Not "the one weird trick your bank doesn't want you to know."
I mean how the system actually works from the inside.
What I do with my own money.
The math nobody shows you because it's boring and doesn't sell a course.
This is the personal finance layer of Own or Be Owned — understanding the machinery well enough that it works for you instead of on you.
The background
I've spent the last 7+ years inside fintech. Building the infrastructure. Working with banks, lenders, and the companies that sit between you and your money.
I've seen how 0% APR promos actually get priced on the other side of the spreadsheet.
I've seen how underwriting decisions really happen — and why two people with the same credit score get completely different outcomes.
I've seen what the spread looks like on every "free" financial product you've ever used.
Most people writing personal finance content online have never built any of it.
They read a press release and turn it into a thread.
I'd rather tell you how the machine actually works — and then tell you what I do with that knowledge in my own life.
What this looks like
Three kinds of posts, all living at founderreality.com/money:
Inside the Machine
How financial products actually work from the operator side. The mechanics. The math the marketing hides. Why certain cards, loans, and accounts exist and who they're really designed for.
Founder Money
Money topics specific to founders and people with lumpy income. Business cards that actually make sense. How to think about runway when your income isn't a paycheck. Personal vs. business finance when you are the business.
Honest Numbers
What I actually do. The cards I carry, the accounts I use, the mistakes I've made, the math on my own life. No fake frugality. No fake luxury. Just the receipts.
What this isn't
Not financial advice. Not a course. Not a newsletter funnel for a $1,997 program.
I'm writing this because I know something most people writing about money don't, and because my audience — founders, operators, people trying to build something they own — deserves better than what the personal finance internet currently serves them.
If something I write is useful, use it. If it's not, close the tab.
First post is about what actually happens on the other side of a 0% APR offer. Coming next week.
— George