Once you have your reasons for saving money and your motivation to one day retire, there’s only one thing left to do: • Start saving today! Why? One simple reason: The effects of compound interest. Simply put, when you save your money, the effects of compound interest cause your money to grow far beyond anything you could have ever saved on your own. See for yourself: … [Read more...] about When Is the Best Time to Start Saving for Retirement?
Why Do You Want to Retire?
In my previous post about why we care about money, we explored the reasons why saving money might be important beyond simply wanting more material possessions. In this post, I’d like to explore the more specific topic of why it is that we want to retire. … [Read more...] about Why Do You Want to Retire?
Happy New Year!
I hope you had a safe and happy New Year! As we start off 2012, many of us will have several personal as well as professional goals for the months ahead. I’m going to begin the New Year for this blog with a couple of series of posts that explore some of the basic principles of investing and financial education. Hopefully some of the topics we explore will provoke you to explore your own priorities as well as give you a more solid foundation to investing. Enjoy! … [Read more...] about Happy New Year!
My “Money Design” – 2012 Update
As part of my annual financial checkup, I have updated my “Money Design” for financial freedom. This is my plan to one day automate my income rather than rely solely on employment income. My plan can be summarized by the flow chart below: … [Read more...] about My “Money Design” – 2012 Update
Gambling at the Casino – Still Not Really Investing
My wife and I just returned from a short vacation to a local casino. We went there to see our favorite comedian and decided to make an overnight trip out of it. This included hitting the casino floor to test our luck. We had a great time and surprisingly won back almost all the money we started with. More than once I heard skeptics compare investing to gambling. “What’s the point? I might lose all my hard-earned money!” Yes, it is true that you could put all your money on one stock and lose it all. But that would also be a ridiculous and non-advised investment strategy. Taking a more common approach and investing in an index fund would have quite different odds. You see gambling is much different than investing in many ways: • … [Read more...] about Gambling at the Casino – Still Not Really Investing
Props to Chase Freedom’s Fraud Protection Service
I was almost the victim of identify theft. On the evening of Dec 23, I received a call from the Chase Freedom Visa Card Fraud Protection alerting me that someone had tried to buy almost $500 worth of goods from a Macy’s in California. Because I live in Michigan, the purchase was quickly red-flagged and denied. Fortunately, I was spared. The phone call with Chase was quick and painless. They asked me which transactions I’d like to dispute, closed my old account, and told me I’d have a new card with a new number within a matter of days. … [Read more...] about Props to Chase Freedom’s Fraud Protection Service
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas everyone! I’d like to thank all my readers and visitors for making this a very encouraging first year of blogging. I wish everyone the best in health and happiness! … [Read more...] about Merry Christmas!
10 Tips for Saving More Money
Saving money can be a real challenge. You know you should, but some months it feels like you’re barely making ends meet. And no matter how much you actually make, it never feels like enough. Fortunately, there are some painless steps you can take to get your savings back on track. Below are a few of my favorite tips for ways you can save more money: … [Read more...] about 10 Tips for Saving More Money
