Sunday, November 3, 2013

What have I learned about money?

money
money (Photo credit: 401(K) 2013)
I've been using money my whole life, just like you. So we're equally qualified there. What I'm doing that you may not be doing is dedicating my attention and this blog to making major money changes in my life.

My blog is here for a reason. My purpose is to chronicle and share my voyage from the same crappy financial place so many people are to where I will end up: financially resourceful, capable, equipped to live on my terms. I guarantee that that is where I'm heading. My trajectory is up-up-up.

As I'm starting this blog, I'm in a rather typical-to-worse-than-average place. My net worth is negative, I have tens of thousands of dollars in student debt (but no degree), I've filed bankruptcy once (losing my house), and I'm in process of having my second divorce. I'm 34.

At this point I have taken some solid lessons:

  • Having money is better than not having money.
  • Conventional money advice is often not so good, because it gets conventional results: not so good.
  • Student loans are a dangerous, only take them if you are practically guaranteed a high enough income right out of school to meet all your expenses and pay off loans and interest quickly.
  • Accepting help is a skill you need.
  • Use a budget or lose your money.
  • Knowing your numbers is crucial. Credit score, net worth, debt, interest rates, monthly expenses, etc.
  • A safety cushion will save you tons of cash.
  • Learning to spend as little money as possible is freeing.
  • Investments will take care of you.
  • Owning capital is the way to go.
  • Your attitude is probably a bigger problem than your income (or lack thereof).
  • Getting your hands on lots of money is the same as getting your hands on lots of ability to do what matters to you.
  • You can't win if you don't play by the rules. Know what the rules are.
  • Don't take advice from people who don't manage their money as well as you. If you don't know their financial situation, then ask or assume you can manage yourself better than they could.
  • Believe you deserve financial health, and you have the power to create it.
I just pinpointed some things I strongly believe about money, I'll make sure to expand on those in future posts, where you can read my reasoning in case you're interested. I hope sincerely that my sharing (and often over-sharing) through this site helps others to feel good about money, about life, and to make the most of their own money and life.


As I write, my net worth is -$25,466.59, assets are $29,317.46, debts are -$54,781.05. And I wouldn't know these numbers everyday if it weren't for ynab.com
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1 comment:

  1. I'd like to add that you should never sign anything without reading it and understanding it first. And it's even better to keep a copy of any agreements you sign in case you need to reference them later.

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