Personal Finance Archives - Page 11 of 11

The Best Personal Finance Tips

This list is a recollection of all my posts and I have selected the best personal finance tips of all time. I am looking back and analyzing those little things that made an impact in my life financially speaking. I want all of my readers to take a second after reading this list, and just pluck out those things that resonate with your life and your money habits. I am really anxious for the next few months as I am looking to expand on my personal finance capacity by reading more and asking for advice from older wiser individuals with greater experience in this field. What does that have to do with the best personal finance tips I will share with you today?

Well it all comes down to what I know regarding Personal finance, and I can either stop learning or continue to learn. That means staying current with the best money management topics. Which in turn will help me share more with all of you guys in the future. If I learn more, then I can reciprocate that back towards you with great content.

See below for The Best list you will ever come across regarding money management and personal finance:

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Money Habits I am Doing Right

Life is a balancing act.

Many times I think back and I re-read some of my past blog posts and think to myself I might have used some harsh words to incite change upon myself and my readers. But my intentions were not to scold down or to say you are doing very badly at money management skills. I get caught up at times with my own short comings that I am my own worst critic, and I admit I use it to fuel the fire for this blog with great content. This time I am trying something different, and it is a post that probably has been around the block more often than not. But I am still going to share with all of you, what things I have been doing right financially speaking. I will answer for you all the money habits I am doing right.

When I do things right I am actually happier, because these things are in my happy go lucky financial rule book. No not really a book, but just good ideas I have in my mind at all times. Did all of you know that finance and money management is 80% behavior and 20% math? If you can maintain this balance in life you will always win with money. Given this I am going to share with you all the behavior rules I use in my life to stay in my personal finance lane.

Money Habits I am Doing Right:

1. I write this blog which keeps me accountable for my actions. (I can’t Believe it’s 1 Year already)

2. I am saving a good portion of my income. (About 15% soon to be about 20%)

3. I am on top of my investments and assets. (Mostly monthly and sometimes daily.)

4. I am thinking in a long term perspective for my money. (Not what can I buy with my next paycheck mindset)

5. I take the advice of other PF blogger’s / financial guru’s if it benefits me or awakens a need to an improvement change.

6. I look at time in a productivity mindset and look to maximize my efforts. (Always finding a balance between family and work)

7. I hate debt and am working on eliminating my school loans while not going into any other future debt.

8. I am always looking for a new book to read on finance as I still find it intriguing to expand my personal finance horizons.

9. I am excited to help others improve while helping myself become a better communicator. ( Face to Face and written)

10. I see options and opportunities that investing gives me now and can give me in the future. (Passive Income)

These are some of the things I am currently doing to better myself every day and improve my finances. I hope I can lead by example with these steps and help any willing person with a desire to improve their personal finance picture in these uncertain economic times. Will these steps increase your income? No, but with time and effort it can help anyone improve financially and with goal setting. Behavior modification is not very easy, including how to manage finances. That can be one of the most important things you can do to help yourself achieve life’s basic money goals. Goals were made to be accomplished and surpassed.

In an uncertain world we have to do our best to help us be better prepared if another recession, depression or emergency were to occur in our lives. A layoff or a reduction in income can pop up at any time for anybody working for somebody else. Can you live on less than you make if it were to happen to you today? If you can just get over living the paycheck to paycheck syndrome you have succeeded in a personal goal that many people find too daunting. I will do another post in the near future and list all the bad things I am doing because nobody is 100% perfect in this life. But remember to keep striving to achieve a better more balanced you in this life.

What are some of the things you are doing right with money behavior that you would like to share?

Rich Uncle EL

Pic is credited to the movie called Man on Wire.

Spending is not the root of Happiness

spending money is not the root of happiness — Hey you if you spend more than you made today, it doesn’t make you any Happier.

I have come across a few people who like to live for the Now in life. They are always going out and doing everything in their power to be present at numerous events while negating their future security. I ask myself when I see this happening, what kind of void are those individuals trying to fill? Don’t get me wrong I enjoy a good party from time to time when it’s important to me, but all that spending those people are doing strikes me as a red flag. Twenty years later those people are going to be wondering and most likely regretting why didn’t I prepare for my future.

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Richer by 288 Times

Have a 150 grand lying around?

Can you believe this? The Super rich have 288 times more savings than the normal American. Compound that by 4% and you have a pretty decent interest income. I must say I didn’t fully agree with all the hoopla surrounding the top 1% and all the wall street protesters, but the facts are very clear and right in front of our noses. The Super rich are richer by 288 times the median income. How can the top 1% be so abundantly prosperous and the average person not be? The economic system if taken to extremes will not sustain another meltdown.

Did you know that the system is based on good faith and that most of your money is not all accounted for in banks or brokerage firms. Let me explain a little further for those of you who do not know. Most financial institutions use about 80-90 % of your money to lend out to others or to re-invest again for their future gain. If the system were to collapse it could be the end of monetary policy as we know it. The actual figure the computer displays out to you and millions others just like you, is a figment of your imagination because guess what, you’re actual money is the mortgage of some other person and the bank is the administrator of your assets and another person’s debt.

I am not telling you all this so that you can run over to the bank tomorrow and hit the eject button on your money, but to get you to think a little bit about what is actually occurring behind the scenes. Things are not as rosey as the media is making it seem. One day it’s OMG we might go into another recession and the next day the media is all about how great of an economy we have. They can not seem to make up their minds or just maybe the powers from above and the ultra rich are making the media outlets run the happy go lucky stories so that a political / monetary uprising do not occur.

Richer by 288 X the median Average article: Net Worth Article

So if you can sit down and digest the article you just read in the link above about the super rich and the income disparity affecting our nation, How do you feel? Do you now feel a bit of compassion for the wall street protesters? Do you even care that somebody has 288 times more savings than you do?

RichUncle EL

Pic above is credited to Icon Airplane Co. Toys of the Super Rich!

Time is Money

Have you heard this saying before? If you answered yes then you are not alone, this phrase is one of the most popular phrases of our time and for many decades. Benjamin Franklin is quoted as the originator of this quote. But do you take it for what it is literally or do you really grasp the meaning behind it? I have this exact quote up on this website if you look 45 degrees to the right you will see a cool watch with money representing the old adage of the phrase.

Even if you are not obsessed with the meaning like I am, I think we all can use our time more effectively. Can I ask you a simple question? What would you be doing right now if you did not have to work for earned income from a job? If you ask me that question I would probably be doing something relating to sports. Biking, running, swimming, strength training, basketball, even rowing for gosh sakes, all of these activities is what I would do be doing. I would alternate each one of these every day until my bones yelled at my brain to stop the torture I am placing on them. I am exaggerating of course, as I am a family man and I will definitely spend the majority of the time with them, I cannot be that selfish.

At times I wonder when I am at lunch all those guys I see on random occasions, bike riding around town as if they are already in the retirement stage and can do as they please. Well if you plan now early in life you can realize it sooner than later, because you guessed it, Time is Money and money can buy you time. Freedom from being tied down to a desk, from scrubbing a deli counter, or from doing the myriad of jobs in this world. The ultimate Freedom is a sweet pleasure only a few folks and retirees can speak of. But you might say to me, RichUncle EL I like my job and I’ll say to you, more power to you and ask you, but would you do it if you had an income stream of 5 grand a month from investments? What will be you’re answer? You will never know because you are not taking the steps to gain the freedom to live your life the way it is supposed to be. I see people who waste funds living great now, but how long will that last or how long will you have to work later to pay for your retirement because you live extravagantly now.

The average person works about 35 to 45 years and then retires tired and jaded because it took so long to be free. Now why would anybody want to be so far away from freedom for the majority of their life? If you could make or take a few small steps now that may potentially save you 15 years later, why wouldn’t you do it? Most people get corporate jobs to gain financial freedom, but does it really buy you that freedom if you do not take advantage now.

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Personal Finance

What does this title mean to you? Do you want to know what it means to me? It means being in control of your financial life. The standard definition by Wikipedia is:

Personal finance is the application of the principles of finance to the monetary decisions of an individual or family. It addresses the ways in which individuals or families obtain, budget, save, and spend monetary resources over time, taking into account various financial risks and future life events.

I think that definition in its entirety said exactly the same thing I said in the sentence above just with a bit more fluff. Being in complete control over your finances is proving to be an extremely difficult task, as people every day are taking a step forward and two steps backwards. A shift in how we handle money needs to be taken into serious consideration because people still have not gotten the memo. Granted nobody is perfect and we all make mistakes in life, you and I are included. I am still paying for student loans that I did not want to take out, but did allow me to graduate within 2.5 years from beginning to end. Those student loans are the only thing left on my list of life debts and they are not cheap as interest charges are 6.8% of the total. I hope I can stick to my goal of paying it off in two years.

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