I get asked now and again what steps I would recommend for someone just starting out who wants to become wealthy. At the same time, I look back over my life and see money milestones, mistakes, and successes. It's been good overall, but there are certainly things I would do differently. So I thought I'd address both of these in a single series. In this set of posts I … [Read more...]
Archives for March 2017
More Evidence that Financial Advisors and TV Personalities are Not Experts
The more I write about various so-called financial "experts" (who are not really experts) the more it seems I run into additional examples of their non-expertise. In the latest example, I was listening to the Masters of Money podcast (I enjoy and recommend it!) interview with Joe Saul-Sehy from the Stacking Benjamins podcast Joe spilled the beans on both financial advisors … [Read more...]
Explaining Early Retirement to Strangers
Last fall I shared responses I received from people when I told them about my early retirement. These were family members and friends -- people I know well (of course.) They know me and our family and while they may have been surprised, it wasn't a total shock given what they know about us. But there's an entirely different dynamic when you explain early retirement to … [Read more...]
My Jobs, The Blame’s on Me
Last time I shared some of my career history and left off when the dot com bubble burst. Today I continue this series by giving details on the next position I held. As you recall, I made the shift to the head of marketing for a sister company when the dot com I was working for went under. The company was what I'd call a smaller mid-sized company ($300 million in sales) that … [Read more...]
An Example of Stacking Discounts
I recently had an experience that perfectly illustrates the concept of stacking multiple discounts so I had to share it with you. I'll first detail the transaction itself and then list the savings methods used in this purchase. Of course this process can be used on a variety of purchases (and I often stack multiple discounts), but this one is especially good. Nike … [Read more...]
The Simple Path to Wealth
Not long after I wrote The Only Five Money Books You'll Ever Need, I ran into a book that's worthy for consideration into the top five (which, as you know, doesn't happen that often). It's one of the best new books on finances I've read in a long time, so I thought I'd tell you a bit about it. I'd also love to hear your thoughts if you've read it. The Simple Path to … [Read more...]
Millionaire Interview 6
Here’s our latest interview with a millionaire as we seek to learn from those who have grown their wealth to high heights. If you’d like to be considered for an interview, drop me a note and we can chat about specifics. Today's post comes from fellow blogger Max from Max Your Freedom. My questions are in bold italics and his responses follow in black. Let's get … [Read more...]
How to Grow the Value of Your Career by 50%
I ran into an interesting set of comments by Warren Buffett the other day that I found very compelling -- and just HAD to share them here. Buffett was talking to a class of college students at Columbia University in 2009. While there he discussed the value of a career. Of course he put the comments in terms only he can -- as an investment with a specific value. The Value … [Read more...]
Spending $4k at a Moment’s Notice
Question: When is an 18-year old furnace most likely to stop? Answer: Once the outside temperature drops to zero. This is the story of how we had to make a multi-thousand dollar decision very quickly in a 55-degree home. History of Our Furnace As most of you know, we moved to Colorado in the fall of 2015. When we bought our house we had it inspected (of course). Part … [Read more...]
Help ESI Money Move to the Caribbean
That headline got you, didn't it? :) Well, the truth is I do need some advice and thought you would be the perfect ones to ask. Here's our situation: The cold gets to us every winter. It's just too cold for too long. We used to take cruises for 7-10 days in the winter when we lived in Michigan. But with our kids' crazy work schedules, that was not realistic this … [Read more...]
