For years now I’ve had this idealistic vision in my head that someday when I reach financial freedom and retire early that I’m going to become a money coach. There’s just one problem … I’ve never actually been a money coach – to anyone ever. That creates a little bit of a situation for me. How can I really know if that’s what I want to do with the rest of my life if I’ve never actually gave it a try? What if I test it out and find that its not for me? What if I’m no good at it? Or more realistically - what if I find out all this (what I think is) great advice I have to offer is really nothing more than superficial tips that barely scratch the surface? Perhaps I’ll find that I need to dig deeper into certain topics to really be … [Read more...] about I Want to Be Your Personal Money Coach – A Free Giveaway
Lifestyle
Never Let Anyone Compromise Your Goals in Life
My wife and I have been having a lot of discussion lately about some of the changes we want to make that will help us reach our goals in life sooner rather than later. Don’t worry – there’s nothing wrong with us or our marriage. But for reasons I won’t get into publicly, let’s just say that the working-world has decided to pose some complicated challenges that would otherwise make it take longer to get there. Since going down this path of reaching financial freedom, we’ve both been so completely infatuated with the goal of getting there. We’re seduced by the thought of what our lives will be like when we do. Unfortunately though sometimes even though you think you’ve got all the pieces to your life in place, things beyond your … [Read more...] about Never Let Anyone Compromise Your Goals in Life
Even Though I Want Financial Freedom, I’ve Still Got a Long Ways to Go
Recently when I was asked to do an interview with the Mint website, it got me thinking a lot about how much I want financial freedom and where I’m at so far with my own savings goals. So I decided to try this fun game - You can try it too. Pretend you decided to stop working tomorrow and were going to live off of absolutely nothing else other than your financial assets (and good looks) for the rest of your life. Call it an early retirement. Call it what you will. The magic question would then be: How much money would you be able to pay yourself each month? How Much Money Would You Need? In the past I’ve determined that my magic number to reach financial freedom was somewhere around $5,000 per month. In other words, if … [Read more...] about Even Though I Want Financial Freedom, I’ve Still Got a Long Ways to Go
Want to Know How to Sell Things Online Fast? Just Ask My Wife to Put It on Facebook!
This week, thanks to my wife, the MMD household made a ton of money on the side. But this wasn’t our usual passive income or blog revenue. Nope. This was different. This week my wife completely schooled me in the art of how to sell things online fast – all by using Facebook! Who knew these days that’s all it would take. I can still remember the days of the dark ages (i.e. about 20 years ago) when I used to go looking through the newspaper (remember those?) classified to find guitar gear. In more recent years I’ve really been a fan of using Internet sales sites like Ebay and CraigsList. But even those sites were a huge improvement, they still had their own fundamental drawbacks. Fortunately things like high-speed service and … [Read more...] about Want to Know How to Sell Things Online Fast? Just Ask My Wife to Put It on Facebook!
How Do You Keep Yourself From Becoming Who You Don’t Want to Be?
Have you ever looked at someone and just plain thought to yourself: That’s who I don’t want to be in 20 or so years from now? Recently I was re-reading a great book “The 4 Hour Work Week” by Tim Ferriss. One of the thoughts that stuck with me was his conversation in Chapter 4 about how he and a friend keep trying to avoid becoming that “old, fat, bald man in the red convertible”. To them, that was the epitome of a pathetic, wasted life. It was their stereotype (and we all know someone like this) of a broken middle-age man making his last desperate effort to experience life when he had already wasted too much of it working long hours in the office missing out on the prime of his youth. It was someone who waited too long to see … [Read more...] about How Do You Keep Yourself From Becoming Who You Don’t Want to Be?
Learning About Yourself and What You’re Really Capable Of – Through Travel
One of the most over-looked and under-appreciated arts around is that of travel. Every year 1.5 billion fly somewhere. Some people do it well. Others completely freak out. The interesting thing about when you travel alone is that it really gives you the opportunity for learning about yourself and what you’re really made of. You’ll find out just how brave or scared you are to try new things. You’ll also find out how resourceful you are when it comes to un-foreseen challenges and bumps in the road. How Traveling Leads to Learning About Yourself: I’m reflecting on this subject after having recently had the privilege of traveling overseas to the UK for a business trip. This was actually my third time traveling to England … [Read more...] about Learning About Yourself and What You’re Really Capable Of – Through Travel
When Conventional Wisdom About Money Clashes With Conviction
My understanding and beliefs about money began at the same place most do - with one’s parents. My parents' handling of their personal financial life was truly a work of art. Transferring money from one budget envelope to the next to meet a need, hitting all the local auctions and thrift stores, and using the credit card for emergencies were all the norm in our household. One can’t help but carry those same patterns of behavior into early adulthood. Parental modeling of behavior has that much impact. So after college, I tried to follow the conventional wisdom about money by being as frugal and disciplined with spending just the same as it was instilled in me during childhood. I also became more in tune with what society had to say … [Read more...] about When Conventional Wisdom About Money Clashes With Conviction
Why Is It Important to Save Money Instead of Enjoying It All Now?
The life of a child is so simple relative to that of an adult. I realize this over and over again whenever I go out to the store with my; especially my 8-year-old son. He has a severe problem where the second he gets a dollar, he has to spend it! It doesn’t really matter on what. He just has to spend it. “Do you really need it?” I’ll ask him. “I thought you were saving your money for the bigger one?” He might try to argue. He may even try to justify making this purchase. But as his parents we still challenge him because we know that it will be a very important lesson to understand why it’s important to save money for the things we really want later in life. … [Read more...] about Why Is It Important to Save Money Instead of Enjoying It All Now?
