What Back to the Future Taught Me About Money

Let me ask you something honest: Have you ever fantasized about going back in time to get rich?

Come on. We've all had this fantasy. Go back with perfect knowledge—buy Apple in 1980, Bitcoin in 2009, Manhattan real estate in the 1950s. Perfect information, guaranteed outcomes, no risk.

I know of someone that actually pulled this off! Not in real life, just in a movie. And what if I told you that his strategy—not time travel, but his actual approach to certainty—is something you can use right now?

Let me introduce you to your unlikely financial mentor: Biff Tannen.

Your Role Model is a Bully

You know Back to the Future, right? Remember Biff—the bully who got manure dumped on him? The same guy that affectionately calls Marty McFly a "Butthead"? Well, in Part 2, something incredible happens to Biff.

Older Biff from 2015 travels back to 1955 and gives young Biff a sports almanac that he smuggled through time. This book contains the results of every major sporting event for the next 60 years. Young Biff now knows exactly what's going to happen.

What does he do? He uses this information to create fortunes. He lays bets down on sure-winners and magnifies his wealth.

He doesn't hope his bets will work out. He doesn't waste time studying charts or hiring experts. He doesn't even think about investing in anything.

He eliminates uncertainty entirely.

Biff had something we all wish we had: perfect information about the future. And here's what made him rich: he didn't just have the information, he acted on it with complete confidence because he knew the outcome was guaranteed.

By the time we see him again, Biff owns casinos, hotels, and massive wealth. He was still a terrible person, but he had figured out his financial future completely.

The key insight? Biff didn't get lucky with his bets. He eliminated betting entirely. He had certainty, not hope.

How You Actually Build Wealth (Spoiler: You're Doing It Wrong)

Now let's look at how we actually behave when it comes to building wealth. Are we anything like Biff? Not even close.

How many of you have struggled trying to figure out how you're going to enjoy life today and still afford a great life later? How many sleepless nights have you had checking your portfolio balance after a market crash, wondering if you'll have enough for retirement?

Here's what most of us do: We earn money, the government takes their share in taxes before we even see it, we pay for life, and after all of that, we save whatever scraps are left over.

And then what? We invest those savings and... hope.

Now, let me be clear—investing historically creates winners. The stock market has generated wealth for millions of people over the decades. But it comes with something Biff never had to deal with: market risk and timing.

We hope the market performs well when we need it to. We hope inflation doesn't eat our returns. We hope we don't need the money during a downturn. We hope we live long enough to enjoy it, but not so long that we run out of it.

Think about that for a second. Even with a historically successful strategy, we're still betting our entire financial future on hope and timing.

Would Biff operate this way if he had that almanac? Of course not! He'd think we were absolutely insane.

He'd ask: "Why are you gambling with timing and market cycles when you could have certainty instead? Why leave your future to chance when you don't have to?"

You've been conditioned to think that hope-based financial planning is financial planning.

But what if there was another way?

Creating Your Financial Almanac

What if you could create your own financial almanac? What if you didn't have to worry about timing or market cycles?

Here's how I think about it differently. Instead of hoping for good returns, you say: "I'm going to make this a contract. I'm willing to contribute capital just like I would with investing, but I'm going to make wealth-building someone else's contractual obligation."

Think about how contracts work everywhere else in your life.

Do you have a mortgage? You signed a contract, and you're doing exactly what your contract partner needs you to do. Are you employed? You also signed a contract and are following through on the terms. When you buy car insurance, the company is contractually obligated to cover you when accidents happen.

Contracts create obligations. Obligations create predictability.

You're already using contracts for everything important in your life. Why not use them for wealth building?

Instead of hoping for returns, what if you could make wealth-building someone else's contractual obligation? What if you could know—with far greater certainty—exactly where you'll be financially in 10, 20, 30 years?

Hope Strategy vs. Certainty Strategy

Let me show you what this looks like by comparing two approaches.

First scenario: The Johnson family saves and invests diligently for 30 years. They diversify, dollar-cost average, follow all the conventional wisdom. Some years they make 15%, other years they lose 25%. They're constantly watching the markets, worrying about timing, hoping everything works out by retirement.

When they're 65, they have... well, they hope they have enough. Maybe the market was good to them. Maybe it wasn't. If they retired in 2008, they're in trouble. If they retired in 2021, they're golden. Their outcome depends entirely on timing.

Second scenario: The Smith family builds their wealth foundation using contracts that obligate their partners to deliver specific outcomes. Their wealth grows consistently, regardless of market crashes, recessions, or perfect timing. They know with contractual certainty how much they'll have in 10, 20, 30 years.

While the Johnsons are watching market fluctuations and crossing their fingers about timing, the Smiths sleep soundly knowing their financial foundation is contractually protected. No surprises, no hoping, no dependence on market timing.

Both families contributed similar amounts. Both families will likely end up wealthy. But only one family built their foundation on contractual obligations instead of market hope.

Which family has a financial almanac? Which one looks more like Biff?

How This Actually Works

You're thinking: "Okay, but HOW? What contract creates wealth growth?"

Here's the thing—contracts can create certainty in wealth building. The one I use as the foundation for what I call the "Money Mansion" is a specialized participating whole life insurance policy. For me, it provides the insurance I need, and also gives me contractual certainty around my wealth. It's not the only way, but this is what works for me.

The big picture is this: You can create contracts around achieving specific wealth outcomes, just as you do in many other areas of your life. Your mortgage obligates you to pay; it also obligates the bank to specific terms. Your employment contract obligates you to perform; it also obligates your employer to compensate you.

You can obligate someone to grow your wealth under contract—and that changes everything.

It's really simple, though not really common in wealth planning. And it should be.

The particular contract I use provides:

• Guaranteed growth that compounds tax-advantaged

• Contractual access to capital whenever I need it

• Protection from creditors and market volatility

• Multi-generational legacy planning

• All bundled together with legal obligations, not market hope

This plan isn't designed to "beat the market" during bull runs. It also will never lose money. It's designed to create a foundation that grows regardless of what markets do. You can still invest—but now you're investing from a position of strength, not desperation.

"This Sounds Too Good to Be True"

You might be thinking: "If this was possible, everyone would be doing it."

But people are doing it, and have been for centuries. The Rockefellers, Walt Disney, Ray Kroc—and millions more. These types of strategies have been around for hundreds of years. This isn't some new financial innovation or get-rich-quick scheme.

The reason most people don't consider this approach? The financial industry profits from keeping you in hope-based strategies. They make money on fees, transactions, and managing your uncertainty. A contract that grows regardless of market timing doesn't require constant management, rebalancing, or advisor intervention.

Biff didn't play by the rules of sports betting. He rewrote the game entirely.

You can rewrite your wealth-building game the same way.

Your Choice: Hope or Certainty

You have the same choice Biff had when his future self handed him that almanac.

You can keep doing what everyone else does—earn money, pay taxes, save the scraps, invest them, and hope the timing works out for your specific situation.

Or you can think like Biff. You can use contractual certainty as your foundation. You can stop depending entirely on market timing and start building with obligations instead of hope.

This isn't about abandoning investing—it's about building a foundation of contractual certainty that grows regardless of what markets do.

Imagine sleeping soundly every night knowing that no matter what happens to the economy, no matter when you need to retire, no matter what crisis hits—you have a foundation that's growing through contractual obligation, not market hope.

Biff's almanac gave him knowledge of future events. You can create contracts that give you control over future outcomes.

The difference between hoping for wealth and building it with contractual certainty isn't luck, timing, or special access. It's simply understanding that contracts beat hope when it comes to your family's financial security.

Ready to Build Your Financial Almanac?

If you're tired of hoping the market cooperates with your retirement timeline, let's talk about building contractual certainty into your wealth strategy.

Visit getwealthedup.com to learn more about the Money Mansion approach, or connect with me here.

Your financial almanac is waiting. The only question is: Are you going to keep hoping, or are you ready to start building with certainty?

Donny Mangos is a wealth strategist, keynote speaker, and author of "Get Wealthed Up!" He helps people build wealth through contractual certainty rather than market hope.