Think about how many years of your adult life you spend accumulating enough money in order to have financial security and the lifestyle you desire when you stop working for money. You do your best, save as much as possible, live within or below your means, fund your retirement accounts, maintain a low cost, well diversified investment portfolio, and then the big day arrives, and you say adios to your job, career or business.
Suddenly, all those years of saving and accumulating come to a screeching halt and instead of being in the accumulation phase, you now move into the distribution phase with your money. On paper, theoretically, this all makes sense, right? Your nest egg now needs to last your entire lifetime. No worries, right?
I am pro-dream. There, I said it.
John Bogle, the founder of Vanguard, recently conducted an extensive interview with a financial insider publication called Money Management Executive. In this no holds barred interview, Bogle shares his opinions and wisdom on index funds, ETF’s and alternative investments and how they are being used and marketed to the public.
The following definition of ‘fiduciary’ is taken from the Center for Fiduciary Studies, fi360 website:
Like most financial advisors that have been in practice for over ten years, I have my fair share of clients that are millionaires. So with that said, what makes our millionaire clients different than your “average run of the mill” millionaire client? The answer; the majority are frugal and proud of it.
If you’ve read the best-seller, The Millionaire Next Door, you know many of the people portrayed in the book are, relatively speaking, pretty frugal. Keeping that thought in mind, and based on years of observation, below are the seven most common frugal habits of Spiritus millionaires.
In the hyper consumer society we live in today, buy now, pay later has become the norm. Saving enough money for a secure retirement all too often takes a back seat to the immediate gratification of purchasing the shiny object in the window. Practicing the concept of delayed gratification - fuhgeddaboudit.
If you’re like most people near or currently in retirement, you’ve spent most of your adult life managing your personal finances to the best of your ability. You’ve witnessed your share of stock market crashes, often referred to euphemistically as “market corrections”, you’ve saved and hopefully invested well, and you’ve done what’s needed to have a nest egg large enough to never have to worry about running out of money during retirement.
If you’re a fan of the New York Times bestselling book Your Money or Your Life - Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence, it’s likely that 'achieving financial independence' (FI) part of the title that initially sparked your interest in deciding to read this seminal book on money.
But whatever the reason, as you find yourself dreaming and visualizing about financial independence you may also feel burdened and thrown off track by obstacles that are in the way of becoming FI. As you sit in yet another two hour commute to get to a job that drives you crazy, as you go through the third re-org in two years or get your fourth new direct report in two years or feel those crappy Sunday night blahs as you think about going to work Monday morning - as crazy as it sounds, these are all blessings in disguise.
