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.
Financially free or debt free? Are they the same thing or is one better than another? Do you have to be debt free to be financially free? These are questions I hear a lot, and I think there’s a lot of confusion between the two.
There’s a money evolution going on inside of you whether you know it or not. We are always learning and changing. Some people make productive
The power of compound interest is undeniable. Compounding starts off slow, followed by more slow progress, and then BAM! It’s off and running and your
Scarcity exists everywhere–with time, money, ideas, a general mindset about life, and a plethora of other things. The premise of this post is that scarcity
Financial Mistakes happen. As much as we try to avoid them, they will occur. Hopefully not twice, but that happens too. It’s something everyone has
