I listen to a ton of podcasts over the course of a week.
Most of my listening is done when I walk (I try to get in 14,000 steps a day, 7,000 minimum). Podcasts are great at making walking more interesting when my wife is not walking with me.
I listen to a lot of personal finance podcasts (of course), but also have a good number of “self-improvement” ones as well.
One of my favorites is The School of Greatness podcast by Lewis Howes. I highly recommend it. He has great guests talking about really interesting and practical topics. I always seem to get something out of every interview.
At the end of each podcast he asks the guest the following question he calls “The Three Truths” (I’ll paraphrase, but you’ll get the meaning):
It’s the end of your life many, many years from now. You’ve accomplished many things, been successful, and lived a great life. But now you’re about to die. For some reason, everything you’ve worked on (books, movies, shows, etc.) is gone. It’s been completely eliminated and no one remembers any of it. You are handed a piece of paper and a pencil and asked to write down the three truths you want to leave behind — the three things you know to be true and want to pass on to your closest family and friends. What would you write?
The guests then usually come up with some great stuff — short, sweet, and very thought-provoking.
This got me to thinking about a spin on this question. Instead of “The Three Truths”, what is the question was, “What are your three money truths — the three fundamental things you believe about money?”
What would you say?
Here are my three:
- Focus on the basics — If you want to become wealthy, simply work at earning, saving, and investing.
- Small gains over a long period of time add up to big things — Keep marching FORWARD.
- Don’t give up — If you simply stick with solid money management for long enough, you will become wealthy over time.
There are many other things I could say, of course (like “money isn’t everything”), but I think I’ll stick with these three for now. I did assume that someone wanted to know actually how to manage/handle money. But that’s the way I chose to answer. Doesn’t mean you’d assume the same thing. 🙂
So, those are my money truths. What are yours?
Mike H says
Hey, this is a good thought provoking post. Here are mine:
1. Invest in yourself so that you learn several skills in a field where you can be well compensated for your efforts. Be prepared to keep learning and working throughout your life and get comfortable with it.
2. Live as simply as you can and create a large savings rate of 50% or higher if possible. The higher the buffer the easier life will get. Try it for a few years to make it a habit and begin right out of school or when you leave home.
3. You will have time to learn to invest, so take a few years to experiment with relatively small sums before going all in.
That’s it- have fun!
-Mike
J. Money says
Fascinating question from he podcast! I’m going to have to marinate on that one…
Coopersmith says
I agree with J. Money. Ponder this more I shall…. Here are few points to ponder.
I know one is “Just because you can ( fill in the blank) , doesn’t mean you should”. Example Just because you can afford a BMW doesn’t mean you should.
Live the life you want to live, not what others are trying to influence you to live.
“Rules of thumb are dumb” A ball park rule of thumb of “You need 8 times your salary to retire” I passed that 5 years ago and whoever said that are pandering to the quick fix crowd who are looking for a quick answer. Look at rules of thumb like the saying in about gardening” When it comes to garden I am all thumbs”
Jeff B. says
I hate the “you need x times your income”. BS. You need a portfolio that will support your spending. We make a ton of money and it won’t be replaced in retirement, but we save enough so that it will be enough for us to do almost whatever we want. We “could” only spend $50K a year and never do any good traveling and quit working now, but we plan on running around the world, so we are working a few extra years to vest in our pensions so we have the guaranteed income once we are in our 60’s.
Marilyn says
Just curious, what are some of the other POD cast you listen to?
ESI says
Here are my favorites now:
ChooseFI
Masters of Money
Radical Personal Finance
Dough Roller Podcast
The Side Hustle Show
The Way I Heard It
Planet Money
The School of Greatness
Freakonomics
The Tim Ferriss Show
Rick says
I have really enjoyed “How I Built This.” Great origin stories of many companies and products.
Erik @ The Mastermind Within says
1. Personal finance is personal – there is no right or wrong answer for a given situation
2. Consistency is key to success – grow a little bit each and every day
3. Aligning your expenses with your values will bring the most happiness
FullTimeFinance says
1) determine what you value and where you want to go. Tailor your financial life to maximize these, minimize everything else.
2) invest for the long run and make minimal changes.
3) once you’ve found the path, stick with it.
Gen Y Finance Guy says
1 – You can get rich working for someone else!
2 – A high income makes financial freedom easier and faster to obtain, so be obsessed with earning more vs. spending less.
3 – You can reach financial freedom with a high income and high savings rate alone. Compounding from investments is just icing on the cake.
Rick says
1. The right partner enables every success; keep looking until you share the same dream.
2. Experiences create memories; things create landfill.
3. Keep your money until you have too much, but share yourself as you grow.
Paul says
Remember money is a means to an end.
You can’t take it with you.
(and to borrow for my last one) “Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pound ought and six, result misery.”
A.D says
1. We need money throughout our lifetime so be discipline with how we manage our money; i.e. planning, budget allocation, saving, investing, emergency fund
2. There are tons of ways to grow money so do a lot of research on which investment suits your money goal
3. Give, even if you only have a little. Don’t forget to help others who are having problems. Your donation can go miles. The reward you get will be greater
Another opinion says
1. Don’t fret over the investments you missed
2. Real estate return look better on paper than in reality
3. Buying stocks now and holding for a long time tends to work out
John Bennett says
1. Money is infinite. Your time is finite. You will need to trade some of your finite time for that money. You don’t need to trade your morals nor your relationships.
2. Having a plan and a target that you miss will still keep you further ahead than not having a plan or being completely unaware.
3. The average person is broke so don’t try to emulate them. Emulate those who are where you want to be, not just those who appear to be.