What Codie Sanchez Got Wrong About Her Best Investment — and What It Actually Reveals

When self-made millionaire Codie Sanchez revealed on the “On Purpose With Jay Shetty” podcast that her greatest $1,000 investment wasn’t in stocks or businesses but in a sauna and cold plunge, it sparked an interesting debate. Most people heard “health investment” and thought she was just preaching wellness clichés. But there’s something deeper here that applies whether you’re building wealth for yourself or raising kids.

The Money-Energy Connection Nobody Talks About

Sanchez’s actual thesis wasn’t about being a “tech bro” obsessed with biohacking. It was simpler: better physical condition = more mental clarity = better decision-making = more income. She bought a sauna and cold plunge for roughly $1,000 each on Amazon and noticed her daily energy levels improved dramatically. That extra energy in the morning, she claimed, compounds through the entire day and directly impacts how much work she can accomplish.

This is where most people miss the plot. They hear “buy expensive wellness gear” when the real lesson is: where you invest your initial capital matters less than understanding your own performance metrics. For Codie Sanchez and her approach to family wealth, this means teaching kids that taking care of your body isn’t indulgent—it’s infrastructure for productivity.

Why Your Sauna Doesn’t Have to Cost $1K

The genius part of Sanchez’s message isn’t “go spend money on luxury items.” It’s that health investments don’t need to be expensive to be effective. If you’re skeptical about dropping a grand, consider that consistent habits cost almost nothing:

Daily practices that cost zero or minimal dollars:

• Morning walks or runs (free)
• Meditation apps with free tiers (free to $10/month)
• Eight hours of quality sleep (free, just requires discipline)
• Drinking water instead of sugary drinks (saves money, improves health)
• Journaling with a notebook (under $5)
• YouTube workout videos (free)
• Intermittent fasting or dietary shifts (potentially cost-saving)

The through-line isn’t “expensive wellness,” it’s “consistent wellness.” Whether you’re investing $1,000 or $10, the ROI comes from showing up daily, not from the price tag.

The Wealth Lesson Nobody Expects

Here’s what makes this insight valuable for long-term wealth building: the people who become millionaires tend to be obsessive about their own optimization. They treat their bodies like business assets. Codie Sanchez isn’t unique in this—it’s a pattern among founders and high performers.

This matters especially if you’re thinking about generational wealth and how you raise kids. The wealthy don’t just teach their children about stocks and real estate. They teach them that personal performance—physical, mental, emotional—is the foundation for everything else. You can’t think clearly if you’re exhausted. You can’t take calculated risks if your body is compromised. You can’t lead effectively if you’re not modeling discipline.

The reframe: Stop thinking of health spending as consumption. Think of it as capital expenditure on the most important asset you own—yourself.

Whether that’s a $1,000 sauna or a $0 morning run, the mechanism is identical. The wealthy understand this intuitively. The rest of us are still trying to optimize without first fixing the engine.