Neil Patel reveals his personal monthly burn rate of $120,000–$180,000, breaking down his biggest expenses: whole life insurance at $25,000/month, full-time staff including a driver at $57,000/month, and private planes. Sam and Shaan compare their own spending and discuss which lifestyle upgrades offer the best return — Neil argues private planes win because they buy back time with his kids, while Sam makes the case for private chefs.
Speakers: Neil Patel (guest, digital marketing entrepreneur), Sam Parr (host), Shaan Puri (host)
Neil’s Burn Rate: The Opening Question [00:00:00]
Neil: Is it easy for you to keep your burn rate down?
Shaan: I was telling Sam — I spend like $25,000 a month now, just like… and I don’t even feel like I’m—
Sam: Shaan, you might spend more than that. If you add it up, I bet it’s more than $25k. I know how you spend.
Shaan: It might be a little more, but it’s not more than $30. I don’t think it’s more than $30. I’ve got two little kids, but they’re babies — they don’t eat food, you know? There’s diapers, sure, but it’s not them.
Sam: So is it a steep burn rate or a good burn rate?
Shaan: I’d trade with you.
Sam: Okay, gotcha. So when you say you don’t spend much, Neil — what’s your monthly burn? Because most people listening don’t talk about how much they make or how much they spend. How much you make is sometimes sensitive, but how much you spend—
Neil: Well, Neil, you actually wrote this in a blog post. You said you spend $15,000 a month — that’s all you need, you’re happy.
Neil: That was like 10 years ago.
Sam: But you used to say $15,000. Single and no kids is easy, right?
Neil: Right now, if I had to guess my burn rate — $120,000 to $180,000 a month.
Sam: What? That’s insane. How does that break down? What’s the bulk of it?
Breaking Down the Expenses [00:02:30]
Neil: So house is probably the biggest one — no wait, I have no mortgage.
Sam: So you’re spending $120,000–$180,000 without spending anything on your home?
Neil: Property tax for both my homes and HOA dues is probably close to $200,000 a year.
Sam: Okay, great. We’ve got $12,000 of the way there. All right, yeah.
Neil: Life insurance is $25,000 a month.
Sam: What? Your whole life policy?
Neil: Yeah, $25,000 to $300,000 a year.
Sam: Wait, wait, wait. What the hell is a $25,000-a-month life insurance policy? Can you explain that?
Neil: It’s just a benefit — if I die, my wife and kids get money. Like a life insurance policy.
Sam: Well, I get that, but is that normal? I’ve never heard of anyone spending that much on life insurance. Either I’m dumb or you’re dumb — who’s dumb here? Because I’ve never heard of this.
Neil: It’s like an investment account. It builds over time, so it’s not like it goes away. Most life insurance policies are for, say, 10 years, then you buy another one. Mine just keeps going. You can borrow against it. Just think of it as an investment vehicle.
Sam: So that’s $25,000 a month. Now I understand. Okay, what else?
Neil: Staff — cleaners, nannies, driver. We have a full-time driver. I think that ends up being around $57,000 a month.
Sam: $5,700? Or $57,000?
Neil: $57,000.
Sam: Why are you more expensive than Uber?
Neil: I optimize for convenience. In Vegas, I go through this company — they charge a hefty premium. But I have decals on my car, so if I do a meeting in front of a casino, the car can just stay in front of the casino. It doesn’t have to move. If I’m going to the airport, you can straight-up pull up to the plane — you don’t have to go through terminals or anything like that.
Sam: So part of your strategy, as I’m picking this up, is that you live the best lifestyle you want and it’s all expensible?
Neil: I don’t know if it’s all expensible.
Sam: Isn’t that what you meant with the decal — it’s a company car, it’s like a marketing vehicle?
Neil: There’s a limo company. If I have their windows — I pay them — I can end up parking wherever I want. Not literally wherever I want, but in most cases the car can just sit there and wait for me.
The Private Plane Question [00:06:00]
Sam: All right, what else? Do you fly private?
Shaan: He’s like, “I buy a daily Disneyland fast pass just in case I decide to go that day.”
Sam: Yeah, yeah. That’s like you have a convenience of time. What’s the number one thing where most people think it’s too expensive and not worth it — but for you, you get way more value?
Neil: I’ll give you an example from my own life. I thought I had a high burn rate — until we started talking. So this is great, I’m feeling so much better about myself. But the one thing I did was I hired a private chef. I always thought that’s the lifestyle of the rich and famous. But wow, you eat healthy, it tastes great, you don’t have to fuss with time, cooking, dishes, groceries — any of that. To me it’s a no-brainer. Anybody with any kind of money — that should be one of the first things. Fancy car later, private chef now. The reward way outweighs the cost. Most people don’t typically make that trade.
Best and Worst Trades in High-End Spending [00:08:00]
Sam: Sounds like you’ve experimented with many ways of spending money. What has been a good reward-for-cost trade that most people don’t do?
Neil: I don’t know — I’m in a bubble. I have a lot of friends who are like me, sadly, where we spend a lot and we don’t know what’s reality. I know that sounds bad to say, but it’s true.
A cook is not bad. Housekeepers are great — you don’t have to do your own dishes, though funny enough I enjoy doing that and ironing. It’s kind of meditative, relaxing. I don’t know why.
Nannies help — you get the freedom to watch your kids when you want to, but you can also do meetings and stuff.
Probably the best expense I ever spend on is private planes. Not because I like it — I don’t mind flying commercial, there’s not really any difference for me personally — but it helps me optimize for time. That way I can see my kids more. I sometimes have to do a lot of meetings for work, and going and coming back the same day, just really in and out quickly — sometimes I’ll be home quick enough to pick up my kid from school. That’s worth money.
Sam: Are you saving any money? Are you just taking a fat draw from the agency to pay for this, or are you able to expense a lot of it?
Neil: I don’t expense any of it to my company. I just personally pay for it.
Sam: So the agency is just that profitable? It’s doing that well? Or investments or savings?
Neil: I’ve done well enough in life where I’m okay.
Sam: Can we turn the ship around? We need to circle back — business term.