Charlie Munger once revealed ‘the iron rule of life’ to survive anything — and it could make you rich. Do you use it?

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When he passed away at age 99, Charlie Munger, close associate of Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway vice chairman, was fabulously wealthy. But in his youth, Munger suffered devastating setbacks and losses that would have broken most people.

"The iron rule of life is [that] everybody struggles," Munger told CNBC's Becky Quick (1) in his final television interview.

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He wasn't speaking abstractly. At age 31, Munger buried his 9-year-old son, Teddy, who died of leukemia, according to Janet Lowe's 2000 biography, Damn Right! Behind the Scenes with Berkshire Hathaway Billionaire Charlie Munger (2). He also faced financial hardship after a bitter divorce. Munger told Quick he was devastated but determined not to let the grief consume him completely.

"The great philosophers of realism are also the great philosophers of what I call soldiering through," he said. "If you soldier through, you can get through almost anything. And it's your only option … You can cry all right. But you can't quit."

This iron rule of perseverance could easily apply to your personal finances. Here's how "soldiering through" could potentially make you rich.

In 2026, financial hardship is pretty much the norm. A whopping 95% of Americans believe the country is suffering an affordability crisis, according to a Harris Poll cited by The Guardian (3) and 57% believe the overall economy is getting worse.

Nearly 83% of U.S. adults reported feeling financial stress, strain or uncertainty that impacts their health, according to Edward Jones (4).

In short, if you're feeling bleak about money, you're far from alone. But succumbing to this despair could do more harm than good. Whether you start doomspending, borrowing to cover gaps in your finances or speculating recklessly to get ahead, you could do serious harm and derail your long-term financial future.

Instead, evidence suggests that Munger's "soldiering through" approach is much better during times of volatility and crisis. For instance, analysis by Capital Group (5) suggests that investors in the S&P 500 have a 26% chance of experiencing a negative return if they hold for under a year, but that probability drops to just 6% if they hold for 10 years.