The Great-Sex Financial Portfolio
Fund the basics, invest for resilience, and treat quick fixes as speculative
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~ongoing to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 98%
Rubin explicitly uses financial literacy as a framework for sexual wellbeing. The checking-and-savings layer contains the fundamentals: education, nutrition, exercise, sleep, communication, and relationship safety. The 401(k) layer represents investments that may compound over time, including appropriate medical care, pelvic-floor health, mental-health or sex-therapy support, and mutually wanted devices. The crypto layer represents heavily marketed injections, cosmetic procedures, supplements, and other high-variance promises. Rubin does not say every advanced option is bad; her rule is not to start there or put everything into it. The mechanism is sequencing. Stabilize the foundations, invest in durable support, and only then evaluate speculative additions. Because she says great sex is individual, the portfolio must be built around each person's goals rather than a universal script.
Origin
Extracted from The Diary of a CEO
Core principles
- 01Fundamentals support every later intervention
- 02Long-term health and communication compound
- 03Novel products cannot repair neglected basics
- 04Great sex differs between people and couples
- 05Biological and psychosocial factors both matter
How to run it
- 1
Audit the cash accounts
Review the basics Rubin names: education, nutrition, exercise, sleep, communication, and safety. Identify which neglected foundation is most likely to constrain the rest.
Pro tip Start with the smallest foundation that both partners agree is weak.
Watch out No sexual goal overrides consent or safety.
- 2
Define great sex locally
Ask each person what they enjoy, want, and hope to get from sex. Rubin stresses that one person's definition is not automatically another's.
Pro tip Have the conversation outside the bedroom rather than during sex.
- 3
Build the long-term account
Consider durable supports such as appropriate clinical care, pelvic-floor assessment, therapy, and mutually wanted exploration. Select only what addresses an identified need.
Pro tip Use qualified specialists for pain, dysfunction, or persistent symptoms.
Watch out Do not assume one discipline can diagnose every cause.
- 4
Cap speculative exposure
Evaluate products or procedures only after the foundations and relevant health questions are addressed. Demand evidence and realistic expectations rather than advertising promises.
Pro tip Ask what problem the product solves that the earlier layers did not.
Watch out A quick fix may delay diagnosis of pain or dysfunction.
- 5
Rebalance together
Review what improved, what did not, and what either partner now wants to change. Keep the portfolio responsive to health, life stage, and relationship context.
Pro tip Use a short recurring check-in rather than waiting for a crisis.
In the wild
Illustrative example: a couple considering an advertised injection first notices that pain, poor sleep, and unspoken preferences are the real constraints. They pause the purchase, seek an appropriate assessment for pain, protect sleep, and begin a calm conversation about what each person enjoys.
→ They direct effort toward identified causes before paying for a speculative add-on.
Common mistakes
Starting with crypto
Rubin's analogy warns against making a promoted supplement, injection, or procedure the first and only intervention.
Defining success for your partner
The transcript repeatedly says people experience pleasure differently, so the portfolio needs explicit mutual input.
Reducing everything to psychology
Rubin argues that communication matters while biological causes and clinical assessment must not be minimized.
Is it for you?
Best for
It is best for consenting adults who want a broad, non-prescriptive inventory of factors shaping their sex life.
Not ideal for
It is not a substitute for medical assessment, trauma-informed care, consent, or urgent support in an unsafe relationship.
From the transcript
“I actually use financial literacy sort of as a framework in how we talk about good sex.”
“Those are the basics. Everyone needs money in their checking and savings account”
“Don't do everything and don't start with crypto.”
From the episode
Dr Rachel Rubin: "I'm Filled With Rage!" Your Doctor Was Never Taught About Women's Bodies!