Binge read all things wealth building, debt reduction, & lifestyle.

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It's not enough just to build wealth, you have to protect it! You may not perceive yourself as having wealth, but if you have money in your checking account, a savings account, retirement account at work, car, house or all of the above - you have wealth! Let's talk about various types of insurance you should be considering to keep yourself protected. 

1. TERM LIFE INSURANCE
- If you have anyone who depends on you financially, you NEED life insurance. This can be a spouse, child, etc. Term life insurance (as opposed to whole life, universal life, etc) is inexpensive. We all feel nothing will ever happen to us, but the unfortunate reality is that it's possible. It would be bad enough for your family to lose you prematurely. Don't add insult to injury by leaving them in financial disarray. You should have at least...

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Are you wanting to "get into the market" or "become an investor", but you're not sure where to start?

IF YOU HAVE A 401(K) OR OTHER WORKPLACE RETIREMENT ACCOUNT, YOU ARE ALREADY AN INVESTOR. 

Surprised? Most people don't realize that their retirement accounts are simply a big bucket labeled with the way taxes are applied, with INVESTMENTS inside. 

Let's review a few tips to make sure you are investing well. 

1. USE TAX FAVORED ACCOUNTS FIRST
- You cannot underestimate how much taxes will affect your investments over time. 401(k) plans offers pre-tax contributions that give you an immediate tax benefit. A Roth 401(k) or Roth IRA offers tax free withdrawals in the future, but requires contributions with money you have already paid taxes on. HSAs have tax benefits as well. All of these options...

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People talk a lot about "financial freedom" or "financial independence". But what does it really mean? There are so many different variations of this out there and different people use different terms. We will keep things simple. 

Financial independence means you can live entirely off of your investments. 

Some people utilize stages to describe financial independence. One example is the following:


1. FINANCIAL SECURITY
- This means your investment returns could cover your bare minimum expenses, with no thrills or extras. Few people will quit their job at this stage (unless they have some source of additional income), but it allows you the security of knowing your investments could cover your major bills should you need them to. Some people call this "lean financial independence". 

2. FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE
-...

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The key to wealth is your overall savings rate. I say this ALL THE TIME. Recommended savings rates vary from 10% (see books like The Richest Man in Babylon), 15-20% (Dave Ramsey), and upwards of 50% (see the entire FI/RE movement). Regardless of if you are saving nothing at all, or just a small amount, increasing your savings rate even slightly will make a HUGE difference in your future.

But how do you increase your overall savings rate when you're already feeling strapped for cash?

Here are a few suggestions:

1. GET ORGANIZED
- If you're not tracking your expenses routinely, it is nearly impossible to know where you can cut expenses to increase your savings rate. A monthly budget is a fundamental requirement. 

2. PAY OFF HIGH INTEREST DEBTS
- Carrying high interest debts is the equivalent of running a race with...

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Becoming a millionaire isn't as hard as you would think. For ease of numbers, let's talk about how to become a millionaire using only your retirement accounts. This is an incomplete picture because your home and other accounts contribute to your net worth and would help push you over the millionaire net worth mark, but for simplicity we will use only retirement investing for now.


SO HOW MUCH MONEY DO YOU HAVE TO SAVE MONTHLY TO BECOME A MILLIONAIRE BY 65?


This varies depending on your current age, as one of the major contributors to the end balance is how much time you have left before age 65 for compound interest to work in your favor. Let's look at the numbers by age. We will assume you are starting with an initial investment balance of 0, and that you receive an 10% rate of return.

• AGE 25 - $171/MONTH
• AGE 30 - $280/MONTH
• AGE 35 -...

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I talk a lot about creating financial security through minimizing debt, creating significant savings as a financial buffer, etc. Another layer to the idea of financial security is creating multiple income streams. 

ONE OF THE WORST BLOWS TO YOUR FINANCIAL STATUS COULD COME IN THE FORM OF JOB LOSS.

One way to minimize the magnitude of this type of event is to develop multiple streams of income. This is something that may take several years to put into place. Creating a plan to develop this type of financial picture may be something that you start now, with the realization that it may not come to fruition immediately. 

The higher percentage of your overall income that comes from additional sources, aside from your primary job, the less likely any single event can substantially reduce your income. 


HERE ARE A FEW...