You struggled for years with money like I did and have decided to turn around your situation. Great first step! You’re reading the personal finance classics like The Millionaire Next Door, The Richest Man in Babylon, Rich Dad Poor Dad, and the Total Money Makeover. Maybe you’ve even read my book Cash Uncomplicated.
It’s a great position to be in. All consumer debt has been paid off, or never existed in the first place. You’re doing well in your career, invest 10 percent or more of your income, and have plenty of savings in your emergency fund. You also own your own home and don’t plan on moving anytime soon. You’re at a point where you have a surplus of money coming in every month.
I hear it a lot—investing is risky. Yes, investing definitely is risky. You can lose money investing short-term. It’s agonizing to think that you can work hard at your job, do what you believe is the right thing, and actually lose some of that money if you were to pull it out.
One of the most common fears for people in personal finance is losing their job. A job loss can happen for any number of reasons. Company down-sizing, poor performance, disruptions in the industry, reductions in state and/or federal funding, and countless other ways.
There’s a misconception that saving money is boring and that savers are missing out on a lot of fun. Spending money on trips and fast cars is seen as exciting while saving is seen as well, not so exciting. Boring even. In a vacuum, I guess there’s something to this. But in real life, you can do both.
We hear the message all the time—save money. Although that message is frequently given, there’s rarely a reason or a why given behind it. For some people, it may be obvious why they are saving, but for others, not so obvious. A couple in their mid-30’s with a family of four has different reasons for saving than a 22-year old fresh out of college.
There’s an idea in personal finance that for the average person to obtain wealth, they need to cut a bunch of things out. Maybe it’s because cutting spending is the lowest common denominator, or the easiest thing for people to relate to. I’ve frequently heard statements equivalent to a crash diet:
I read the book Rich Dad Poor Dad for the first time about ten years ago. Since that time, I’ve re-read the book at least a few times. Each time I’ve read it I’ve picked up something new. Definitely one of my top books of all time.
For new investors especially, it can be intimidating to start investing. One of the myths I write about in The 12 Money Myths You Should Ignore is that investing is only for the wealthy. In that post I write about the stereotypes of wealth and investing—images of yachts, helicopters, and 10,000 square foot mansions. While it’s true that rich people do invest, it’s also true that anyone can invest.
A few weeks back I published a post about making your own coffee titled Brewing Your Own Coffee: Can it Really Make You a Millionaire? One of the biggest clichés in personal finance is the idea that making your own coffee can make you a millionaire, or at the very least, save you a lot of money.
Over the weekend my wife and I took the kids camping to Anza Borrego State Park, about an hour and a half outside San Diego.
When people talk about money, they usually bring things up like budgeting, debt, retirement, interest rates, etc. Which are all important topics. Not too many
Leveraged debt. The very word strikes passion and controversy. There are two main camps: adamantly for it or against it. Very few people are in
I don’t know why, but the other day on the way to work I was thinking about this house that was listed in Pacific Beach
