Thereâs no way out of money. No matter what you major in from architecture to the arts, you still need it and if you believe you donât, then you will sadly die earlier than most and live a miserable life.
But who says living with less or learning about finance needs to be painful?
Sure school is pretty dreadful for most but not because we are forced to learn. We are lectured on material that wonât help us stay financially secure and achieve our goals in the long run.
English, math and some science is helpful, especially if you intend on going into those fields, but financial literacy is underrated big time and that needs to change ASAP.
Before we dissect frogs or learn about triangle corners we should know how to use a credit card properly.
Itâs not only an incentive for graduates to know how to deal with their budget and first paycheck out in the real world, it should be of interest to century old education systems because the more successful their students are, the higher rankings, larger donations, pumped up marketing, bigger budget and image they get to flaunt which allows them to raise tuition and selectivity even more!
Money Mistake
Itâs a win-win situation to teach financial literacy for both parties yet why is it seriously not taught in school still?
One: Schools seem to have no reason to make their students successful because they know we will pay no matter what and a degree will always be in demand
Two: Money is apparently inappropriate and banned from all discussion until you really need to know about it swimming in student loan debt and filing for divorce
Three: Why bother? There are already century old systems and classes in place that work just fine. No need to implement a course that is tremendously useful.
Money is the number one stressor in our ives. No matter if you live in Hawaii in the most beautiful resort or are a billionaire, itâs still a part of our lives and something we need to think about to live.
Most people donât realize that having MORE can easily be more stressful than having less.
Just think about it.
When you own more assets, you need to spend a heck of a lot of time dividing and safe keeping them.
You will no doubt have to set up trusts, either a revocable to ILIT (Irrevocable Living Trust) read here what in the world these are to make sure your real estate to investments are divided properly in case you pass so your dependents donât have to bicker on who gets what and go through probate during a stressful time.
Plus the more you have, the more familiar you better be with the tax laws, especially if you have multiple properties and businesses in various states and or countries. Then you must hire lawyers and accountants to help you pay less in taxes because the top 1% end up paying less than the bottom 99%.
You also most likely will have to hire servants to clean your golden toilets to nannies to tidy up your properties, junk and take care of your children youâre too busy to take care of making more money. You have to be aware of scams and watch out for those who try to steal your identity, secure your goods, lock them up in a safe or ship them out to an abandoned island and take care of all of the stuff you purchased so it doesnât get dusty, rotten or stollen.
Doesnât sound so fun after all huh?
The problem is we want whatever we donât have. People are convinced that that Rolex to Range Rover will make them happy until they see how often things break and are a pure hassle.
Wouldnât it be so much easier if you just lived in a 1 bed apartment living the stealth wealth lifestyle, earning a modest salary with your employer offering life/home/health insurance, retirement and vacation benefits to allow you to spend more time with your children and actually be able sleep at night not worried about your Rolls Royce getting vandalized?
Showing off only makes people angry. If you want to be liked, stay grounded and live below your means.
Trust me, youâll be happier.
Believe it or not being grateful will help you tremendously and let money work for you not against you. Less truly means more and we should focus on the people and values that cannot be replaced which include our family, health and mental sanity instead of luxury goods and what the Joneses across the stress own.
We cannot escape money because we need it to live but we donât need to use it to buy more junk, we can use it to help better our lives from the inside out.
Theses are the easiest and most cost effective ways to use your money:
-Live in a healthier, less polluted place
-Eat healthier more organic food
-Learn as much as possible through content, books and resources
-Able to afford great education, pr
-Get to expose yourself to creative smarter people
-Relax and hide away from society
But guess what? Those things you can already have and do without a billion dollars! Just use your imagination and take advantage of what you have. The less you have, the more resourceful you are.
Too much of anything is a bad thing.
Beyond that, can you think of the most beneficial ways to make your life easier?
Sure you can buy that $5k Equinox membership and plants in your house to reduce anxiety but at the end of the day, whatâs really going to propel your life is the investment you put into yourself, something that most donât realize is the best way to USE your money.
Everything else can be taken away from you.
Funny Money
It will be a problem if you let it be a problem. If youâre a day trader who insists on active stock picking to grow your wealth, good luck because 80%+ loose money, waste money, time and energy following the markets all day long for some dose of luck.
Active investing is like playing the lottery mixed with the casino.
Expect NEVER to win to keep yourself afloat.
Money will make you happy if you use it wisely. If you are savvy and want to know how money can actually make your life better besides the tips above, read here.
The easiest ways to not let money interfere in your life is by letting it work for you.
What does that mean? Not tinkering or obsessing over it, spending every bonus you make, paying yourself first (not focusing on how much you made and instead reinvesting it into your retirement plan or tax advantageous accounts such as your Roth IRA or 529 for college) and focusing on your future not WHAT you can do with it but WHY.
Dichotomy
When you compare how the richest and the poorest of the world feel, their happiness is practically the same. In fact the less you have with less comparison, the more satisfied you are.
After all , the happiest people on earth are monks. Having more will not make you feel better or leave a bigger impact. What you do with that money matters and it starts with supporting yourself first.
No one is truly happy or comfortable if they believe they will get evicted each month because they cannot pay the rent, pay for child support, health insurance and other necessities.
Security and comfort come with money and are directly correlated with what it can provide.
If weâve learned one thing during this pandemic itâs to plan for the worst hope for the best. Donât expect to always stay employed no matter how terrific you are with your work especially if youâre a blue collar worker working at McDonals and paid for your manual labor.
You will work til death as Buffet proclaims! First build up a safety net of 6â12 months of emergency expenses. You can learn how to do so here, then pay off any liabilities specifically bad debt which includes car loans, luxury goods, etc., good debt is fine such as a mortgage and student loans as it appreciates in the future unless you bail out of school and purchase a bad property in an abandoned area.
After youâre set with the basics, start investing. Let your money work for you by taking advantage of compound interest. Compound interest is interest on top of interest. The interest you already earn plus your principle are doubled. Do this through dollar cost averaging instead of lump sums (large sums of money invested) so you weigh out the volatility in the market. Get a Roth IRA and set up automatic payments from your bank account. Simple as that.
When it comes to personal spending, follow the 50/30/20 rule where 50% of your earnings are spent on necessities, 30% on discretionary wants and 20% stashed into savings. Look at what you have.
The average American has $12k worth of items in their house that could be sold if you are tight on your budget. When it comes to clothes or goods, try to buy investment pieces.
Essentials to Not Let Money Evade Your Life:
#1 Catch Up on Financial Literacy
You know the drill. With over 60% of the US population NOT invested in the stock market, they are missing out on tremendous gains.
The shareholder class which are composed 70%+ of institutional investors and roughly 30% retail investors have been part of the longest bull run in history since â08. Yes, recessions, collapses and blue swan events happen historically every 8â10 years and no one has a crystal ball but that doesnât mean you wonât earn money, even during the bearish times.
Simply invest in a low cost ETF or index fund. Literally stash a few dollars into a fund that tracks a major index such as the S&P 500 that has gained over 13% in the last year, despite a pandemic and let your money work for you.
Donât be a slave to your time. Take part in this system to gain another source of income to help you stay afloat. No matter how much experience you have, you can still loose money but if you stick with the fundamentals, diversify and risk whatever youâre willing to loose, youâll be safe.
#2 Surround yourself with smarter people
Never think youâre the smartest in the room. If you do, then you will never grow. Another tip that has helped me earn more is by listening more and speaking less. You never learn by speaking.
Overtime when you stop trying to please everyone and start digging into what you want to know, you focus on what maters most. Donât be jealous, be the average of the people you want to be with.
#3 Donât obsess over making money, focus on you
When youâre young, learning not earning is your main priority.
But youâre probably asking, then how do I pay the bills?
Although hands on experience teaches great lessons, focus on your studies and where you want to go to be best prepared.
If you solely focus on earning money when youâre young, you will get obsessed with it and tie your self worth to the number on the bank account.
Invest in yourself and others will too. You donât need to go to a top-tier school and go into massive debt or get an MBA but at least know WHY you want to do something, WHAT it involves and HOW you can differentiate yourself through earnings certifications, meeting new people and exposing yourself to different subject areas.
#4 Donât Rely On Anyone Or Any System
âBe careful who you listen toâ doesnât just apply to street smarts. In the investing world, you will soon realize that everyone thinks they are an expert. Just because you have 20 years of experience trading for a big bank doesnât mean you can predict the future.
Take everything from a 30k foot view, especially the education system. You are ultimately there to learn how to deal with people and tedious tasks. Networking, mental health and our favorite, financial literacy arenât taught so be aware of that.
Going to school is a stable path, not a guarantee. They wonât help you secure your perfect position so make sure to expose yourself to experimenting, making mistakes and meeting new people. Connections are everything.
When it comes to building a family and getting married, the worst thing you can do, especially women since theyâve done this throughout history is relying on the male of the household to keep them afloat.
What if they pass? Women live longer than men so expect them to die earlier.
Do you have a will and trust in place to smoothly transfer your assets to your kids if heâs gone?
Men have more money than women because they got started in the labor force earlier. It has nothing to do with worth. Women are slowly catching up but still not there yet making only 0.32 cents of the dollar.
Most money managers are made for men as most of their clients are men because they were the first to get started in the financial system as women stayed home.
Women have a lot of work to do to break down the gender gap and the first step is to set up an individual account, not always a joint account with your spouse, know everything he handles and to prepare for the worst hope for the best.
The worst time to change is when you are forced to.
Face it, having money is a liberating feeling but only if you use it responsibility.Â
It will only provide a great deal until it becomes a pain.
Let money work for itself that will allow you to use it wisely and not let it take control over your life.
The grass isnât always greener on the other side.
Chase impact and value not titles and things.