The one thing I miss the most from being away from the blog lately is hearing everyone’s stories and how they’ve figured out not only how to overcome such trials, but to then thrive!! And this guest poster today had my attention right from the start learning that he was once part of the unhoused community I’m deeply involved with today.

So I’m excited to share this post from new (I think?) financial blogger Early Retirement Earl! Thanks for taking the time, brother – and congrats!

*******

When I was homeless at 19 after my mom died, I never would have imagined I would be semi-retired by 52 and sitting on a $3 million dollar empire of dirt.

But here I am.

I didn’t get here because I was a math genius or because I had a 30-year vision board. I got here because I spent two decades in a blind, exhausted grind, woke up at 40 with a limp and a corporate headache, and decided to stage a 10-year sprint for my life. I realized I was killing myself for a corporate machine that didn’t care if I lived or died. I decided to stop limping and start sprinting.

This is the story of how a kid from a small town in New Jersey clawed out of poverty by sheer will, then discovered the math he needed to build a Freedom Fund bridge – escaping a grind that was destined to put him in an early grave. This isn’t a story about early retirement. It’s a story about a Late-Starter who realized the corporate machine was a funeral procession and decided to jump out of the casket.

The Zombie Years: The Power of the Accidental 401(k)

For 20 years, I was a retail grinder. I pushed carts, I managed stores, I dealt with the public. I was paycheck-to-paycheck well into my 40s. I had the standard American habit of spending exactly what I made and, like most people, I got myself into debt.

But I had one saving grace: Fear. Because I had been homeless twice, I was terrified of being old and broke. So, I checked the box. I auto-enrolled in the 401(k). I didn’t know what VTSAX was. I didn’t know about asset allocation. I just knew that if I didn’t put money in the lock box, I’d be living off of Pop-Tarts again at 70.

While I was busy surviving, the math was busy working. Between 1994 and 2014, I wasn’t an investor; I was a zombie. But by 41, I looked at my balance and realized I had nearly $200k. The market had been doing the heavy lifting while I was dealing with shoplifters and inventory audits.

The Mid-Career Pivot: Breaking the 401(k) Cage

By June 2019, I hit a milestone I never thought possible: Half a Million Dollars.

I was 45 years old, staring at a 401(k) balance of exactly $500,000. My wife, who is younger and actually likes her career, was right on my heels with her own accounts. I sat down with a calculator and ran the projections to age 59.5—the standard finish line. I realized that if I didn’t contribute another red cent and the market continued its historical average, my $500k would balloon to over $2 Million by the time I was eligible to touch it.

The math told me I was already a future multi-millionaire. The mirror told me I was a current slave.

I didn’t need more money in the cage for my 60s. Old Man Earl was already taken care of. I needed a key to the front door now. So, I did the unthinkable: I dialed my 401(k) contributions down to the bare minimum. I kept just enough to capture the company match, but every other dollar was redirected into my taxable Freedom Fund. Most experts call this a mistake because you give up a tax break. I call it an Escape Fee. I traded a tax deduction today for the liquid power to fire my boss at 52.

The $11-a-Day Lifeboat

In 2016, my world shifted. My daughters were born, and suddenly, my vices weren’t just bad habits—they were threats. I was a smoker, burning through a pack a day at $11 to $12 a pop. I was spending nearly $4,000 a year to stay stressed and sick.

In 2018, after the birth of my son, I quit. But I didn’t just stop buying cigarettes; I started buying Freedom. I redirected that $11 a day into an index fund.

The Math of the Vice:

• Daily Savings: $11
• Annual Investment: $4,015
• Total over 7 years at 9% growth: $39,145

That’s an entire year of my current household essential expenses bought back with money I used to literally set on fire.

The 2020 Turbo-Boost: The $100k Injection

By 2020, the Sprint was on. When interest rates hit the floor, most people saw a chance to buy a new SUV. I saw a loophole. I did a cash-out refinance on my New Jersey home at 2.75% and pulled $100,000 of equity out.

I took that $100k and dumped it into my taxable Freedom Fund. I let it sit in the market while it was running red hot. That move, combined with paying off $20k in credit card debt from fertility treatments, changed the math forever. By 2024, my Freedom Fund alone hit $300k.

The Rule of 55 Bridge

Most people think they have to wait until 59.5 to touch their money. If you’re 45 and miserable, 59.5 feels like a life sentence. But the IRS Rule of 55 says if you leave your job in or after the year you turn 55, you can tap your current 401(k) penalty-free.

I’m 52. My $350,000 Freedom Fund is the bridge that covers my $50k annual income gap for the next few years until I hit that magic age. It’s what allowed me to walk away from my $110k job in 2024 and start working part-time for my kids.

Why I Call it an Empire of Dirt

People hear $3 Million Net Worth and they think of Ferraris. To a guy who was once so poor he stole 5 bucks from a lost-and-found for gas money just to get to work, that’s not wealth.

Wealth is being the guy at the bus stop when my kids get home. Wealth is not having to swallow humiliation from a landlord or a regional manager ever again. My Empire of Dirt is just a shield. It keeps the rain off my family and the stress off my heart.

The Bottom Line for the Late-Starter

If you’re 40 and broke, stop whining about the system.

• Nuke the debt: It’s financial opium. Kill it.

• Build the Bridge: Your 401(k) is a cage. You need liquid cash to buy your Gap Years.

• Kill the Vices: Your $11/day habit is a year of your life. Which do you want more?

You don’t need 30 years to win. You need one focused, brutal, 10-year sprint. I’m living proof that a retail grinder can claw his way to freedom.

******

About the Author: Earl Owens is a 52-year-old dad of three who walked away from a 32-year corporate grind in 2024. He went from homeless at 19 to a $3M net worth through grit, a 10-year sprint, and some calculated mathematical pivots. You can follow his ongoing “Empire of Dirt” chronicles at EarlyRetirementEarl.com

[This post, Homeless Twice, $3M Net Worth at 52, was first published by J. Money on Elite Edge Money]

Comparing yourself to others is harmful and self-destructive. 

But LET’S DO IT ANYWAY haha!! Because it can also be very fun and interesting.

Though seriously, when we look at others, we usually see the best version of them and compare it with an average version of ourselves. It’s unfair and inaccurate. So keep this in mind as you read through the below stats. You could be a statistical outlier, and that’s OK! (I am, in many ways.)

I found the following statistics while tooling around on the Rich Habits website. The site founder, Tom Corley, has surveyed hundreds of extremely wealthy and poor people throughout his life to better understand their habits.

What I like about studying habits is that it’s less about the current position that someone is in… Rather, it paints a picture of who they are over time and where they’re likely headed.

Here are 10 habits of millionaires. And for funsies I added commentary on the ones I do/don’t relate to (spoiler alert: I have 7/10 of these habits currently ).

Habit #1: 88% of Millionaires Read 30 Mins or More Every Day

As far as comparisons go, I’m off to a bad start! :( If I’m being honest, I’ve probably only gotten a couple hours of reading in during the past few weeks. Wait, can we include blogs and reading finance news on the Internet?… If so, I definitely do that 30+ mins each day!

Here’s more breakdown on the 30 mins reading per day:

• 63% listen to audiobooks during their commute.
• 79% read educational, career-related material.
• 55% read self-help books, articles etc.
• 58% read biographies of successful people.
• 94% read current events.
• 51% read history.
• Only 11% read for purely entertainment purposes.

Habit #2: Most Millionaires (67%) Watch Less Than 1 Hour of TV Daily

Furthermore, 63% of wealthy people spend less than 1 hour daily “surfing the Internet.”

Well, I guess I FAIL in this category, too. Wife and I usually spend about 1 hour watching TV each night, maybe a little more if we’re hooked on a fun series (like our most recent fav, Ted Lasso). But, this TV habit will be kicked shortly when we invite a little one into our home and all our free time disappears! ;)

Habit #3: Most Rich People (86%) Like What They Do for a Living

Woohoo! I definitely align with this one. I love what I do for work currently – and so does my wife!

Probably the most interesting thing I learned about this survey question is how the financially struggling people answered… While most “rich” people liked what they did, 96% of “poor” people said they did NOT like what they did for a living.

Surprising? Not surprising? Maybe when you have financial stability it changes the way you perceive your work?

Habit #4: 76% of Millionaires Exercise at Least 4 Days a Week

This makes sense. What’s the point of accumulating a bunch of money if you’re not healthy enough (or alive) to enjoy spending it!? Investing your money coincides with investing in your health.

My wife and I work out at least 4 times a week. Lately, it’s been more like 6 times a week! (Again, this habit will probably go out the window when we have kids haha.)

Habit #5: 67% of Millionaires Said They Were “Frugal With Their Money”

Other frugal stats for millionaires:

• 30% of wealthy people clip coupons
• 8% shop at thrift stores!

This dispels the myth that rich people splash around money without thinking. It’s actually the opposite… Most wealthy people are quite intentional with spending, looking for added value and discounts wherever possible. My wife and I are proud to say we align well with this spending habit. We love us some Goodwill bargains.

Habit #6: Most Wealthy People (55%) Spend Less Than $6,000 on Vacations Each Year

Ah, crap. Not only did my wife and I blow $8k+ on vacations last year ($4k on our Hawaii trip alone), but this year we’ve got $10k in our travel budget! Oooops.

But, this is a habit I’m OK not conforming to. Vacationing is something I want to incorporate more into my life, not less. Well, that’s how I feel today… Maybe I’ll be singing a different tune later in life.

I’m curious to hear what your average annual travel budget is.

Habit #7: Wealthy People Do Not Buy Lottery Tickets (94%)

Only 6% of surveyed wealthy people buy lottery tickets. Whereas, 77% percent of survey respondents who struggle financially play the lottery weekly.

My wife and I don’t play the weekly lotto. But we love going to Vegas every now and then and playing craps (at the cheapest table we can find). Gambling can be fun… But not as a lifestyle!

(Ooooh this reminds me, I have to write a post about a book I read called The Luck Factor which has a great section on “lucky” people and how they pick lotto numbers.)

Habit #8: 81% of Wealthy People Use Credit Cards With Reward Options

Yep, yep, yep! Credit card rewards are a no-brainer. Wifey and I have a handful of rewards cards that give us cash back, travel points, and other free goodies – all for doing regular spending. (We pay off our CC balances every month before any interest kicks in, so these rewards are technically “free.”)

Habit #9: Most Millionaires Buy Used Cars

Even though they can afford to buy new cars, 87% of wealthy people said they never purchased a new luxury car in their lives. 44% said they purchase a used car every 5 years.

We found our 2010 Prius about 6 years ago on Craigslist. Still runs great! In fact, it’s about to hit the 100k mile mark soon and join the mileage-high club.

What are you driving these days?

Habit #10: 65% of Millionaires Have Built 3 or More Streams of Income

This is kind of obvious when you think about it. Most people with a net worth over $1mil would have their assets and income diversified somehow. Stocks, bonds, REITs, rental real estate, home equity, side hustles, business ownerships, W2 incomes, Social Security etc.

My wife and I have more than 3 streams of income and plan to always have our nest egg spread out across multiple investments. This is a habit that was drilled into me at a young age – never put all your eggs in 1 basket!

*****

So, there you have it. Millionaires read a lot, are fitness freaks, they don’t watch TV, never go on vacations or do anything fun…. They are like boring, frugal robots. (And if you don’t follow along, you’ll be financially doomed!) Just kidding. Like I said at the beginning – these are great habits to reflect on here, but don’t take them all too literally.

What do you think? Notice any familiar habits with your own life?

Have a great week ahead,

Joel

P.S. Extended reading if you’re interested:

• 16 Habits That Transformed 177 Ordinary People Into Self-Made Millionaires
• Everything I Was Taught About the Rich Was a Lie
• RockstarFinance: Rich Habit Series, 20 x posts by Tom Corley!

[This post, 10 Millionaire Spending Habits — How Do You Compare?, was first published by 5am Joel on Elite Edge Money]

Dang! How expensive is dating these days!!? I just learned that the average date in the USA costs $102 … That’s average across all U.S. states, but where I live in California, singles apparently shell out an average of $226 for a date night. Ouch

My poor wife… The last time I spent $226 on a single date night was… well, ummmm… I can’t even remember a time. Truth be told, we actually have more fun the less money we spend. Frugality can be a turn-on!

Granted, these average spending stats were from before the pandemic, and a whole lot has changed in the past few years. Even so, I think now that things are opening up again and people are itching to get out of their house, maybe they’ll be spending even more on dates in 2021.

Cheap and Fun Date Ideas to Try This Summer

If you’re like me and prefer to keep the dating costs down, here are some free or cheap date ideas to try this summer … that are all more adventurous than the ol’ coffee shop or happy hour standbys.

1. Rent a Private Pool ($30-$100)

Check out this website called Swimply. It’s like AirBnB, but for backyard pools. You can rent them out by the hour, or by the day!

Before picking up your date, tell them to pack a swimsuit and towel. They’ll probably think you’re headed to the beach or a public pool … but the date surprise comes when you rock up to a massive fancy mansion and relax in a private hot tub for the afternoon!

2. Test Drive a Tesla (Free)

Last time I checked, Tesla is still offering free test drives out of their retail stores. 

For the surprise element, just tell your date you’re headed to the mall to walk around and grab some ice cream. Then when you walk past the Tesla store, surprise them with a P100D test drive! Just remember, don’t get tricked into buying the car afterwards!!! 

This is actually a really cool way to see how your date reacts to fancy items. Do they really expect you to buy fancy stuff like that? Or are they more impressed with your sneaky methods of getting free rides without actually spending a cent?

3. Mystery Chalk Chase Adventure (Under $5)

All credit to Date Night Wingman for this fun idea. Here’s what you do…

• Grab a box of colorful chalk from the store, as well as some candy or chocolate.
• On the morning of your date, go to a local park or public area and hide the candy/chocolate in a sneaky hidden spot. This will be the surprise your date will find.
• While walking home, use the chalk to draw a series of arrows and clues on the sidewalk. Draw your date’s name, some funny jokes, and colorful hints to find the treasure.
• When your date starts, tell them you’d like to go for a walk… Then “accidentally” stumble across your own lengthy treasure hunt!

Another idea is to build the treasure hunt *with* your date. Making a fun adventure for strangers or friends together is a great bonding activity.

4. Rock Painting in the Park ($20-$50)

I’ve been rock painting for years. I use these Posca Pens (I know they’re kind of expensive for paint pens, but they are worth it if you take care of them!!) and for the rocks I just use whatever I find on the beach. The flatter and smoother the rocks, the better!

For your date, you can head to a botanical garden, peaceful park or look-out somewhere, and just chat while drawing rock art. Simple, cheap, and fun! When you’re done, spend some time walking around and leaving the rocks in random places around the neighborhood. Spreading joy together is really fun.

5. Geocaching Date (Free)

If you haven’t heard of it, “Geocaching is an outdoor recreational activity, in which participants use a GPS receiver (or mobile device) and other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers, called “geocaches” or “caches,” at specific locations marked by coordinates all over the world.”

Geocaching is popular with families and the kid set, but it can also be a fun date idea for a couple.

You and your date can search for nearby caches and use the clues to find hidden “treasures” in your city. It’s actually a fun way to learn more about where you live. When you find an item (typically a small toy or colorful memento) you can swap it out with a different item (maybe a painted rock you made earlier!) for the next stranger to find.

It’s free to sign up for geocaching.com and download the mobile app for IOS or Android phones.

6. Tree Climbing (Free)

If you’re the outdoorsy type, you might want to see how your date handles a good ol’ fashion tree climb. Are they clumsy? Scared? Or are they a natural climber who could help save a cat one day? These are important things to know about a future partner.

Head out to a park with some strong and tall trees. You could bring a picnic dinner to enjoy under the tree, or if you’re an expert climber, you could even try and EAT WHILE UP IN THE TREES!!??

If you can’t find any good climbing trees around your area (can someone please create an app that maps out nearby climbing trees already!!??) you could consider picking up a slack-line rope, which is a fun balancing activity.

7. Schedule a Brewery Tour (Under $50)

A lot of local microbreweries offer tours of their facility (mostly for free!) and they’ll give you a rundown of how beer is made behind the scenes. If a brewery doesn’t offer a public tour, try calling them during off hours and asking if they’ll give you one anyway. Most people that work in breweries are enthusiasts. And enthusiasts love to share their passion with new people!

Depending on the location, you’ll probably want to plan on tasting a few beers, or buying a small souvenir afterwards. Even if the tour is free, it’s nice to spend a few bucks and support the brewery.

The same goes for small wineries, which will often give you a free vineyard and cellar tour with a paid wine tasting.

8. Estate Saling or Flea Market Wandering (~$20)

My wife and I love looking through other people’s junk. Haha. Actually it’s more about hunting for rare and interesting things. Garage sales, thrift stores, and estate sales are fun places to explore as a couples activity.

One great idea is to challenge your date to a “best gift under $10” competition. You both enter the estate sale with the goal of buying the other person a gift for under $10. You can grab multiple items if things are cheap, or try your hand at negotiating if what you want is over $10. You compare gifts afterwards and get to take home fun mementos from each other. :)

9. Sing King Karaoke (Free on YouTube)

This might be a better date night idea for couples who know each other a little bit already vs. a first date activity. It takes a lot of courage to sing in front of strangers!

Instead of heading out to a Karaoke bar or an open mic night (which is still a cheap-ish fun date night), you can set up a private karaoke theatre at home. Sing King Karaoke is a free YouTube channel that you can broadcast to your TV and search hundreds of thousands of sing along songs.

10. Backyard Bowling (Free)

Find or save up 10 large empty coke bottles. Fill them with a few inches of water and use these as your bowling pins. Set them up at the end of the driveway, or along the sidewalk for a FREE date idea!

My friends and I play this all the time. For a ball, we let everyone choose their ball of choice (You can choose from a soccerball, basketball, baseball or even a massive yoga ball!) and keep score with sidewalk chalk.

I know a bunch of bowling alleys are still closed due to the pandemic, and the ones that are open can be quite expensive. Why not stay at home and have a cheap/free bowling date?

11. Play Flingy Dingy (Free)

Flingy dingy is a game you can play at the beach, a park, or really any wide open area — check the alcohol regulations there, though.

It starts by drinking a few beers, then stacking your empty cans on top of one another, making a small tower. Once the can tower is set up, take 10-15 steps backwards, and then take turns throwing a frisbee at the beer cans to see who can knock them over first.

Each time you knock the cans down, step farther and farther away to make it slightly harder each round. New empty cans can be added to the tower as the drinking continues.

I’m almost certain this is how yard games like Kubb got started.

12. Join a Team Sport or League Together ($10-$100)

For couples who are past the initial dating phase, joining an amateur league or team sport can be really cheap and fun! My wife and I have been doing beach volleyball in the summers for the past 5 years. It costs about $60 per person and the season runs for about 2 months. 

Although it’s a team sport, my wife and I think of volleyball as a regularly scheduled date night. We play together, celebrate together, and get fit together.

Check out the message boards at your local YMCA, community center, or local Facebook groups to see if there’s a new sport you and your partner want to try. Even if you have zero experience, it can be really fun.

My wife’s killer serve! Also a killer sunset that night!

Indoors alternative: If you’re not into sports, see if you can grab some other friends to form a regular team for trivia night at a dive bar. You can even win prizes at some of those. Or if the bar has the equipment, get a regular ping pong, shuffleboard, or board game competition going with your mutual friends for a game night. As long as you stick to the cheap drinks, playing games at the bar won’t set you back too much. (To save on drink costs, you and your friends can always host game nights at home, too. The point is to just have fun with your date and your friends on a regular schedule.)

Cheap Dates Are Still Fun Dates

Romance isn’t determined by the activity you’re doing. It’s determined by the *way you act* during an activity.

It’s nice to splash around money sometimes and buy experiences for dates, but there’s also no shame in spending zero dollars and thinking way outside the box to show someone a good time.

Hey, frugal people — let’s hear your favorite cheap date idea!

Adiós amigos,

– Joel

[This post, Tight-Ass Date Ideas to Try This Summer, was first published by 5am Joel on Elite Edge Money]

He’s back! The infamous J. Money who started this sexy blog over a decade ago has emerged!

And he’s here today to tell us all about his new project that launched last week — All-Star Money — as well as what the heck he’s been up to the past nine months!

Below is my Q&A with J. Money which covers some work stuff, personal stuff, and other random things. But if you’ve got a question for him → just slap it in the comments below and he’ll reply!! Now is your chance to ask this legend anything!!

*****

JOEL: Duuuuude, welcome back! How’s semi-retired life? What have you and the fam been up to!?

J$: Helloooo!!! Feels good to be back! And really surreal being interviewed on my OWN blog which really isn’t my own blog anymore, haha… (though not as weird when I first interviewed myself 12 years ago! ;))

But yes! Things are well!! The babes are safe and not really babes any more (2, 6 and 8!!!), my wife transitioned to full-time teleworking since Covid and loves her job (which is good because I’m never having a “real” one again, lol), I’ve crawled back into productivity again after taking a break for most of the year, and my 2 year old dog is probably the happiest of all constantly being surrounded :) 

But BOY DO I MISS COFFEE SHOPS!!! And seeing people!! And even waiting in long ass lines to pick up my kids from school! Haha… But you know, the least of the world’s problems…

JOEL: Must feel weird not blogging anymore, after doing it almost daily for an entire decade. Do you miss it? Tell us how you really feel…

J$: I don’t miss it all. Is that bad?! I miss the *thrill* of seeing something I’ve created and all the good people and community here, but the “writing thoughts out” part I don’t ever think about at all. 

I used to be SOOOOO real and raw and didn’t give a crap about what people thought, but now all I want as a 40-year-old is peace and happiness! :) I’ve lost that edge to make writing interesting so I’d suck as a blogger now, lol… And I certainly don’t crave attention like I did back in 2008!! 

Which actually makes this new gig of curating again so awesome. Not only do I get to stay in the community I adore so much, but instead of blasting out my own thoughts all the time, I get to blast out *everyone else’s!* And get paid for it! All the while staying behind the shadows and being stealthy.. It’s a dream job for this old man, and I gotta give a shout to The Motley Fool crew for not only giving me this opportunity, but for believing I can pull it off again and not allowing me to slip into the ethers of retirement, lol… So thank you, Fools!!

JOEL: So, what’s this new site about — All-Star Money. How is it helping the world?

J$: Yes! It’s great, and sooooo much cooler than what we originally had planned. It delayed us a few months, but for what we launched with and where we can take it, it was totally worth it.  :)

You can find it here – AllStarMoney.com – and in a nutshell it’s a curation site similar to Rockstar Finance back in the day, only in a much prettier package! We scan over 1,500 personal finance blogs a day, and then feature our Top 3 favorite articles on the homepage (and in our daily newsletter) in hopes it helps people get inspired and improve their $$$.

We cover everything from budgeting to FIRE to investing to minimalism and all other everyday decisions to best maximize life, and similar to Rockstar we watch ALL bloggers, big or small, and totally independent of race, sex, preference, location or any other factors that may limit someone’s reach.

If an article is GOOD/juicy/helpful/entertaining/thought-provoking – we’ll feature it!

Someone once commented years ago that it’s like “a museum for the best financial articles” and I’ve always thought that was a great way to describe it :)

JOEL: My friend just started a new FIRE blog last week. Can you read and promote her stuff? 

J$: Haha… Sure!! Every blogger produces a gem or two at some point! :) And actually the BEGINNER bloggers are usually the best because they haven’t been jaded by SEO or monetization or negative feedback yet and are always SUPER creative!

So tell your girl to submit her blog! → allstarmoney/bloggers

And that goes for ANY bloggers reading this so we make sure we’re following you… Just so long as your site is mostly financial or relating (minimalism, lifestyle design, etc.. We’ll also have opportunities soon for freelancing gigs, connecting with the media, and a bunch of other collaborative and sponsored projects. And of course, the Motley Fool is always looking to acquire new blogs too, so if you’ve ever considered selling your blog and even continuing to write for it! (the fun parts!) be sure to give them a shout.  ;)

Here’s what my transition out of the blog looked like for any new readers here… Honestly couldn’t have asked for a better process. (And before you ask – I don’t regret it an ounce!)

JOEL: So cool! What else can we expect in 2021? I heard a rumor you were gonna make some video blogs or something…

J$: You know, at some point last summer we were producing 4-5 of them a week as we got rollin’, but then w/ the website changes we were making and the realization I accidentally gave myself “a job” again, haha, we decided to hit pause and focus on getting the MVP out (minimum viable product). That said, we still have all those videos in the archives and will be reviewing all ideas again now that we’re live, so you never know what’ll come out of it. :) 

Some of the things 100% on our radar are better customization of newsletters (what if you can import all your favorite bloggers in there so you just get ONE main email every day instead of 13?! (Shout out to my partner in crime, Nate St. Pierre for this one!)), expanding into all the other “social” channels out there instead of only focusing on blogs all the time (so old school now!), and a slew of other items to better expand what we’ve already proven a decade ago… It would be super cool to have another community component too like we used to have with the Rockstar forums, and maybe even our own mini conference to party like it was pre-2020 again.

So we’re definitely brewing on things!

I’m also still rockin’ PF Swagger that’s basically a curation of financial merchandise, so if you’re ever in the need for kick ass shirts or stickers that spread the financial gospel, be sure to check it out! You can wear cool $hit AND support the small businesses in our community! :)

PFSwagger.com/

Here are a few of the recent collections to the site (click image to checkout):

JOEL:  BTW… I never got a chance to thank you for handing over this blog to me during the shittiest year in recent history. How generous of you. Just kidding… I guess my question is: A lot has changed over the past nine months in personal finance → What new trends are you seeing in the PF blogging world and what does the future look like for the FIRE movement?

J$: HAH! I was actually thinking about that the other day! What a crazy time to be writing about money, especially when so many people are suffering all over the place :( So I definitely admire the crap out of y’all as I’d be so self-conscious now! But of course the show must go on and people will ALWAYS need good solid advice no matter what’s brewing, so I am glad to see people are still writing and sharing their ideas all over the place like yourself. It’s been especially interesting reading about meme stocks and bitcoin and Lord knows what else is sitting on the horizon! Haha… So at least I didn’t leave you with a total mess. ;) 

As for changes in the PF community, it’s honestly a lot of the same stuff that was happening 8 years ago when I started curating – and even decades before that as well! Money doesn’t change much, though you do see more EXTREMES being passed around the media more – specifically with FIRE – and blogging monetization has gotten pretty bad where I can’t even READ some blogs anymore without ads being smacked in my face left and right! But overall I’d say it’s a net gain with both advice and all the financial movements that’s since popped up. 

There’s also a ton of sites and communities now focused on minority money and LGBTQ+ money and female empowerment money and a host of others that weren’t around nearly as much 12 years ago when I first came onto the scene. All of which adds so much more value and connectivity in our space which is awesome to see! So the PF world is expanding more and more, and I’m sure it’ll only continue doing so. :)

JOEL: Will we be seeing you at FinCon in Austin this year? You still rocking a mohawk?

J$: You will! So long as I can get my shots in! I love my online family but won’t dare hop on a plane until we’re all shielded up from that Evil C… What a jerk it is!! ;)

And – I still have the ‘hawk, though it hasn’t seen the light of day in approximately 10 months… What’s the fun in spiking it up if no one can see it?! And I’m not hating on the savings from it either, haha… I swear we’ve already saved $300 in hairspray alone!! Someone stop me!!!

Here’s basically what I look like every single day, only picture a million kids running around me and asking a billion questions:

(Me and my (only) girl)

JOEL: Sorry if this is rude, but I got to ask… How’s your Net Worth doing? Does it start with a number 2 yet!!? It’s OK if you don’t wanna answer, but people ‘been asking!

J$:  Rude?? Come on now! If you can’t share $$$ here where the hell can you?! :) Though while I can tell you the #’s are climbing compared to where they were upon my disembarkment, sadly I gotta keep my promise to not disclose the actual #’s like the heyday of yesteryear.

That said, I updated the old graph to give you a better idea:

No 2 in the number, at least out in front, haha… but yeah – can’t complain. All the work of Past J. Money continues to pay off while I’m lazying around! And while I have since diversified a little bit by adding in some bond and international flair to the mix (VTIAX, VBTLX) we’re still 100% into index funds. No GameStop or Bitcoin for this guy!! How boring!!

Oh, and we’ve also now got our wills AND trust completed!! I’m turning into such an adult!!! ;)

In other random news, I’ve also started a few new habits I’m proud of in my never ending quest for self-improvement:

• I’ve cut down my coffee intake to only ONE cup a day! (*Gasp!*) – basically just to see if I can do it and not die – and I’m still alive!

• I’ve started doing laundry for the entire family EVERY SINGLE DAY! – I found out my wife REALLY doesn’t like doing it, so in an attempt to be a better husband I’ve taken over such things and oddly enjoy it?

• And then one I’ve recently just started last month: I’m now making dinners every Friday! – which may seem lame to those cooks out there, but as someone who’s never really been good at it  – or enjoyed it – I’m forcing myself to try until it sticks so I can knock off even MORE tasks my wife doesn’t enjoy… I do a lot for our family, but food prep outside of PB&Js has never been one of them.

And then of course all the old habits are still engrained after all these years too… like waking up at 5am on weekdays, not opening up my laptop on nights and weekends, drinking plenty of water every day, and a number of other smaller – yet super impactful – changes over the years.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned it’s that you sure can make ANYTHING a habit if you care enough to! And that very much includes financial habits as well. I think we’re on year 11 of maxing out our retirement accounts, which that alone would give you a million dollars over time!! It’s not fancy!!

JOEL: Well, I gotta say, we miss you dude. Welcome back and we look forward to watching your stuff over at All-Star Money!

J$: Thanks man! I miss you and everyone too!!! (Okay, well not you since we talk every week, but definitely everyone else reading this!! :)) And I really gotta thank you again for not only taking the reins here, but also CONTINUING THE ENTERTAINMENT as you dispel the financial nuggets on the blog… I’ve always felt it’s so much easier to learn when you’re tricked into it, and I’ve personally been enjoying your articles ever since I first saw them 3 or 4 years ago… Particularly the 5 AM ones! So please keep adding those to the world – it’s so refreshing through the madness!

And for anyone else who would like to stay in touch if we’re not already, you can find me at @eliteedgemoney on Twitter or sporadically sending out newsletters from JMoney.biz…. You can sign up to them here: jmoney.biz/newsletter. And then here’s my email too: j {at} jmoney {dot} biz too.

Hope everyone’s well!! Stay in touch please!! :)

***** 

OK peeps, it’s your turn…  In the comments below: ASK J$ ANYTHING…

[This post, J. Money Is Alive! And He Launched a New Curation Site… All-Star Money!, was first published by 5am Joel on Elite Edge Money]

Stumbled across this listicle and wondered if we’re all on the right trajectory or not ;)

19 Things Future Multimillionaires Do in Their 20s via Inc.

How many of these can you confidently check off??

1. They develop multiple income sources
2. They take action (and sometimes, they fail)
3. They make sure that they own their time
4. They network, a lot. (And they do it both ways)
5. They think strategically
6. They shoot higher than seems reasonable
7. They learn to sell
8. They try to be good friends and colleagues
9. They invest
10. They watch their spending
11. They learn to negotiate
12. They find mentors
13. They invest in education
14. They refuse to become slaves
15. They volunteer to do more
16. They work their butts off
17. They embrace entrepreneurship
18. They have fun and adventures
19. They believe they can do this

I didn’t turn on the FIRE until I hit my 30s, but I did at least get started around 27…

Here are the ones I can say I def. did, as well as those I most def. did NOT ;)

Time to go down memory lane!

Stuff I did in my 20s:

• They develop multiple income sources (Yup! blogs, hustles, 9-5)
• They take action (and sometimes, they fail) (I think trying 37 different jobs should qualify ;))
• They network, a lot. (And they do it both ways) (Not sure what “both ways” is, but I def. made it a point to chat with as many awesome people in the community as I could. And still do to this day, really. Technology allows for even the most shy of people to connect easily these days!)
• They think strategically (more so in the *financial* aspect than the business one, but yes.)
• They try to be good friends and colleagues (ALWAYS. Biz/life/money no fun if you don’t have anyone to share it with!)
• They invest (100%. It’s honestly the foundation of our entire wealth! Got in the habit of maxing  out 401(k)s/IRAs in our 20s and it’s been one of the best things we ever did for our money (and much harder to TAKE OUT AND SPEND too! Haha… Probably the reason it stuck! :)))
• They watch their spending (Down to every penny there in the beginning! You have to know what you’re dealing with before you can strategize!)
• They learn to negotiate (only at yard sales ;))
• They find mentors (Never “official” ones, but I def. found those I wished to be more like and built relationships with them so I can ask them millions of questions :) Which they were gracious enough to answer – thank you, everyone!!)
• They invest in education (You have to!! Not necessarily “traditional” education, but always smart to keep yourself abreast of your industry/interests/skills you want to one day have)
• They volunteer to do more (Most blogs are all volunteer work )
• They work their butts off (Totes)
• They embrace entrepreneurship (Double totes. (TWOtes?))
• They have fun and adventures (If you’re not enjoying your life the money/career doesn’t matter)
• They believe they can do this (Or at least can *pretend* enough until you pull it off! :))

So what’s that? 15 out of the 19?! That’s not bad!

Here were the ones I DIDN’T learn to do in my 20s, and only half of which I’ve since fixed:

• They make sure that they own their time (Back in the day the Work and Money owned me!! Even if you’re “successful” with stuff, you’re still a slave to it if it’s all you think about.)
• They shoot higher than seems reasonable (I’ve never been really good at “shooting for the moon” though I see the power in it. I tend to just do what seems *fun* at the moment and then see how far I can take it…)
• They learn to sell (Oh hell no, haha.. much to the demise of both my wallet and my projects! :))
• They refuse to become slaves (see bullet point #1 up there)

Of course, things like how you were raised, where you were raised, and a myriad of other factors not in our control also play a large part here, but still a fun list to go down and see how you fare…

And even more so – how you’re faring NOW if you’re well past your 20s!! All these points are still very valid whether you’re 27 or 67! The important part is that you’re aware and *working towards it* today. It’s not a race to see who can reach financial freedom first…

So what did you future multimillionaires score?! :)

[This post, 19 Things Future Multimillionaires Do…, was first published by J. Money on Elite Edge Money]

Good morning!!

Was talking back and forth with a reader of the blog here, and the more we got into it the more I realized just how powerful his story is.

Many of us come from a solid upbringing with plenty of opportunities to easily take advantage of, but Miguel here is proof that even without any privilege you can still succeed – and well!!! – with good grit and determination.

Here’s his story of how he went from nothing to millions, all by the time he reached his early 40s. I hope it inspires you in some small way!!

(And if any of y’all would like to share your story/net worth with us, I’d love to hear it too because I’m no longer allowed to share my own anymore and we need to keep the $$$ train going!!! You can easily shoot me a note here!)

Show ’em how it’s done, Miguel…

*******

Hello,

I am a legal immigrant from Guatemala on my own since age 15. While in high school, I knew that I had to continue my education if I wanted options aside from the few limited possibilities that I had available.

I worked hard to stay focused in keeping my grades up, applying for every program possible to help me. During my college time in the mid to late 1990’s, I came across a few financial magazines and books which inspired me to seek out ways to start building my net worth.

As a sophomore in college, I began by buying a severe fixer upper home for $7,500 (monthly loan payment was $150, taxes around $800 a year). Also during college I worked part time jobs, which kept me afloat but kept me stuck financially especially with the home maintenance expenses. The home I bought was a huge learning experience about how difficult it is to take on work that you know nothing about.

After my college graduation in 2000, I sold the home for $41,000. Most of the money went to pay off loans I had taken to stay afloat during school and to pay for the home renovations. Although I did not come out with a large sum of money from the sale after paying off debt, I learned a lot about fixing homes, which would help me in the future.

After graduation, I moved to a bigger city and tried a couple of jobs before settling in a federal one, climbing the ranks through the years. I began to save as much as possible early on, starting with 5% pretax deductions (to get the 100% match), and eventually reaching my goal of maxing out to $19,000. I have kept the funds in the stock market without touching it, buying low during bad years and doing great through stock market highs.

As I gained knowledge, I adapted and did the following:

• Bought reliable used cars at discounted prices through private sellers (having them inspected by mechanics and negotiating rock bottom prices)
• Annually review companies for lower insurance rates
• No cable or landline! We try to avoid reoccurring memberships or monthly fees that trickle down our savings.
• Cook most meals at home. When we get take out we usually get it from ethnic restaurants where the food goes along ways at a reasonable cost.
• Began a Roth IRA in my early 20’s contributing the maximum through today (<– that alone will get you to a million dollars over time!!)
• Very rarely buy anything “new” – most of my furniture comes from local ads or consignment stores (including electronics)
• Bought cheap fixer uppers in good neighborhoods, slowly moving up by taking principal from one to another
• Without exception always pay off our credit cards in full every month. Points earned automatically go to an investment account (see Fidelity credit card)
• Save for retirement in ETF’s (why pay mutual fund fees when most cannot even match the S&P benchmark?)
• Always looking for ways to save and finding ways to earn money on the side by subscribing and learning from financial blogs like J. Money!
• Most importantly, keeping track of all expenditures and savings in a notebook. Tracking my net worth and investment performance while continually setting higher goals

Aside from that, I also gained tremendously by having found a wife with a similar mindset and focus. I remember hearing from women while dating on how odd it was that I would bring up financial questions, but I knew that compatibility on that is essential (financial problems are the #1 reason for divorce after all).

I remember meeting a woman that had $150,000 in student debt and over $10,000 in credit cards but only earned $30,000 a year. I thought – Am I going to have to pay for that, and how long would that take? Most surprisingly was that she spent as if she earned four times what she earned thinking she would marry someone that would eventually pay off her debt (well that would not be me!).

I was very fortunate to have found a woman that had similarly worked as hard as I have, and who carried no debt with similar savings as mine. Although our strategies were different, we were able to align and coordinate to mutually agreed goals, constantly learning from one another.

Our summary net worth is as follows:

Home Value: $625,000 – Paid in full! This is our final home for the long run because buying and fixing homes gets old after several homes, and this is of course before we downsize to something smaller in retirement.

CD savings: $120,000 – We buy CD’s for emergency savings because they provide at least 2% interest, and we have applied the laddered CD strategy so money is available without much penalty if we truly need it.

Bank Savings: $10,000 – We keep a modest amount that, although does not provide much interest, is there for any immediate emergency and is quickly accessible.

Pre-Tax Retirement Savings: $1,200,000

Roth IRAs: $100,000

College Savings: $40,000 – We have just one child.

Vehicles: $30,000 – Both Japanese models, bought used through private parties after mechanic inspections.

Cash, coins, etc: $5,000

Although we put a big emphasis on savings, we are not by any means “misers.” We believe in keeping a careful balance, enjoying travel and things that makes us happy now because after all, we do know how long we are going to live.

Now in our early 40’s, our goal is to retire by age 50.

******

I asked him about his debts since in his first email to me he mentioned he was “almost” a multi-millionaire (and clearly these numbers above add up to over $2,000,000), and here’s what he said… Chock-full of even more insight!

******

Yes, a multi-millionaire, but just over – and because the market has been shaky it is why I have not really solidified the “multi-millionaire” status. Whenever I have hit a milestone, it seems surreal and yet I don’t feel any different inside except at times fear of loss and thought of how to retain what I have.

I tend to be very hard on myself, always thinking of what I should have done (and should be doing) a lot more in life. I also have a hard time dealing with the imposter syndrome or whatever it is as I am not sure how else to explain it.

Otherwise to address your question, we do not have any debts.

Our cars are bought used and paid in cash after we have saved for them (my Toyota for example has been an amazing truck with very few issues for 11 years and purchased used).

We did of course have a home loan mortgage. I applied various strategies to keep a low mortgage; applying the principal from the previous home fully to the next, avoiding paying closing costs, and buying the cheapest house on the nicest neighborhood (with good schools because that helps retain the value!), that needed work and strongly negotiating a price as low as possible.

In keeping the costs of buying low for example, I found after much research that Pentagon Federal credit union would pay for the closing costs (up to $15,000) if one would use their agents and closing company (which was not a problem and a no brainer). That saved us $40K in three homes that we bought/fixed and sold. Every home that we fixed up was in a real estate market that fortunately did well. We paid off the last mortgage after heavily sending everything possible each month. A big sacrifice, but it gives us a great sense of peace knowing we are just liable for taxes, insurance and maintenance.

As I mentioned, we put everything on credit cards but we don’t spend on unnecessary things. We never buy the latest electronics, and keep our monthly costs low. Our cards are paid in full every month – we use them because we get cash back and the cash back money is automatically invested through Fidelity, which I transfer to my daughters’ college education fund.

Our goals have also been helped from my wife who recently started earning a higher salary (it does not bother me that she now earns more than me, the more the merrier!), and she did her education in Europe so it was free.

When we met, she only earned around $35K but had no loans of any kind; she drove a used Toyota Echo without any options. :) I had college loans because I did not have anyone to help me with my tuition, but I paid them off in full. I also went to a state university where the tuition was very low.

We are both immigrants, arrived to the US without any money, did not receive any help from anyone, and used our education and hard work to help us propel to good paying jobs.

******

For more posts divulging peoples’ money, click here.

[This post, Meet Miguel – an Immigrant Who Became a Multi-Millionaire Without Any Help or Money, was first published by J. Money on Elite Edge Money]

INSIDE: We finally made millionaire status!!! Here’s how the last month went and what the future holds for these Net Worth Reports.

And there it is!

11 years and 139 reports later, we’re officially members of the Double Comma Club! We have made millionaire status. Wow!

It’s pretty hard to believe since I’m still that same 25 year old party boy in my mind scraping by for beer money, haha, but I guess it just goes to show that when you put your energy towards something, good things happen :) Even when you can’t connect the dots at the time.

But check out these dots!! They tell a good story when you take a step back and look:

Lots of ups and downs there, along with some leveling off in the middle which wasn’t the most exciting, but as you can see the longer we kept with it the higher it eventually grew. And of course it’s not stopping there!

I don’t know what we’re doing with this influx of $200,000 cash yet (what was left of the sale more or less after paying out taxes and my silent partners), but it’ll probably be invested somewhere once I’m done staring at it ;)

Which is rule #1 when you come into a ton of money – JUST LET IT BE AND ENJOY!!!! No need to rush and put it right to use, just soak it in and appreciate it for a bit!

What Does Millionaire Status Mean in the Future?

So that’s all I’m doing at the present moment – really stepping back to enjoy the WHOLE journey up to this point, and what it means to both me and my family and the future goals we have. It’ll be interesting to see how it speeds things up over time, but for now we hit pause and just *appreciate*!

[Here’s a deeper dive into *how* exactly we got to this spot over the years FYI,
for those newer to the site: 7 things we did to grow our money]

But while all this is so incredible and I’m beyond proud to hit such the millionaire status milestone, it’s also a very sad day for me today – and the future of this blog, really – because it comes with a caveat that’s been brewing for quite a while…

And that’s the fact that these net worth reports have increasingly made my loved ones nervous with each passing month it grows :( Who now request I respect their wishes and finally stop making them public – something I’ve pushed back on for years since it’s the whole foundation of our site here (transparency and numbers!!!) but which I can’t selfishly continue any longer, now that these numbers have grown to what they are.

So as much as it PAINS me to say this right now, and it really does pain me, this will be our last official net worth report shared on this site :(

139 months in a row and now that I’ve made millionaire status, it comes to an end, ugh…

I’m trying to console myself in that this is yet another step towards being a Better Human Being, but so far it hasn’t helped much… And only adds to the big moves this year that I wouldn’t have done otherwise.

Oh well. More money more problems, right? And it’s not like I can’t find a *different* way to share our progress here every month, though I’m still at a loss as to how since I’m not one for subtlety ;) Any ideas you might have for me?!

It really IS a good day here though so I won’t stew on it too much, just wanted to keep you in the know as I always have and we’ll figure it out as we go…

In the meantime, we did it!! Now to party like true millionaires however true millionaires party! Haha…

I literally haven’t done a thing yet to commemorate it, so I’ll take all ideas you might have for that too ;)

Here’s the breakdown of how August’s money went:

[As part of our Net Worth Series, where we share our real life #’s in hopes it motivates YOU to track yours as well – no matter how awesome or scary it is! What counts most is consistency and letting *time* do its thing. As evidence of this exact report today :) Hope it helps!]

CASH SAVINGS: $254,516.97 (+$205,388.77) — BOOM! You don’t see that every day! Or at least I don’t! And is the result of getting acquired last month after accounting for taxes (an insane amount) as well as paying out my silent partners from a few years back who owned a minority share of the blog. It doesn’t look nearly as exciting as the actual *sales price* I got, haha… but $200,000 is still $200,000, and the plan is to put it to work of course so it feels like I got multiples more for the blog ;) So time to scout for opportunities!! Especially as the recession hits!

BROKERAGE: $0.00 (n/a) — A fat goose egg for now, but may just be where those opportunities lie in the coming years…  And you can guess what fund it’ll probably go into, unless the Mrs. convinces me paying down the mortgage is a smarter play – what would you do?!

THRIFT SAVINGS PLAN (TSP): $22,652.97 (+$450.04) — Keeps going up when things are automated!! (And when you don’t have too much in there yet to be trounced by market swings! ;)). This year marks the 3rd year the Mrs. has been fully employed after getting her PHD, which has contributed significantly to our finances as well as the lifestyle we’ve crafted for ourselves. So as much as I/we may forget, there’s really TWO OF US here in these net worth reports vs just me! Something to keep in mind when you’re comparing your own journeys!

ROTH IRAs: $165,677.51 (-$3,206.93) — Nothing too exciting with this guy – just the markets doing their thing last month without any contributions on our end (yet). If we’re allowed to contribute to it this year (i.e. don’t go over the income limits) we certainly will! One of the best things we’ve continued to do with our money!!

SEP IRA: $608,750.85 (-$12,493.65) — Same with this area too… No new changes, but will be filling ‘er on up at the end of the year once we get our taxes straight (and know exactly *how much* we’re allowed to contribute too, since it fluctuates with my self-employment income).

Here’s a quick look in the meantime of how our investments have gone since moving over to Vanguard a few years back… All in VTSAX still:

HOME VALUE: $337,000.00 (n/a) — Keeping it as-is until 6 months have gone by, and will then hit my realtor for a good estimation as I like to do. Which always comes out a lot more reliable than following the Zillows and what not! Though of course you only TRULY know what a house is worth on the day it goes to sell ;) I.E. the amount someone is willing to pay you for it at the time!

CAR VALUES: $9,035.00 (+$58.00) — Month two of our cars gaining value as if they’re side hustlers, lol… Though at one point we DID actually have a good car hustler!!! Remember my dearest, Frankencaddy?? How I miss that girl, *tear*… Would love to be rollin’ around in her again :(

Here are the values per KBB of our two current cars… Still haven’t gotten that minivan I promised my wife yet, but it’s on the radar.

• 2008 Lexus RX350: $6,783.00 (+$15.00)
• 2005 Toyota Corolla: $2,252.00 (+$43.00)

MORTGAGE: $266,032.27 (-$992.74) — Another cool $1,000 right off the debt! We continue to pad each month’s payment as if we were still paying our old rent money, so we really don’t notice much difference at all… And reminded every month just how much a difference it is moving to a lower cost of living area too! Which proved to be both a financial and a lifestyle upgrade! Something I don’t recommend without the latter, btw… Saving money is fun, but not at the expense of your happiness. If you love where you live then stay put!! ;) You can find ways to cut back in other areas.

And that’s our last detailed net worth report, wahhh…..

Total change in net worth this month: +$191,188.97

Gonna have to screen shot this one as it’ll probably be the most I’ll ever see in my lifetime ;) But still a great accomplishment! Even though it felt excruciatingly slow at times!

Here’s a look at the last 12 months as well, which by and large held steady outside of the latest boost:

Pretty wild delta though! A difference of $350,000 from top to bottom over the year! And hopefully stays that way for a while ;)

And then lastly, our latest kids’ net worth reports...

That maybe I can keep sharing instead since they’re not old enough to tell me no? ;) That’ll be a challenge going for a million again! Haha…

And there it is folks…

From $58,769.65 in January, 2008 to $1,131,601.03 in August, 2019. It’s been a helluva adventure, and I’m so glad to have shared it with you!!!

Thank you for always supporting this series and not throwing shade when others have misconstrued the intention (I swear I only share them to inspire others, not feed my ego!! Haha…), and I truly do hope they’ve helped you in some small way over the years.

This stuff doesn’t happen overnight, but it DOES happen when you constantly make moves every day! You just have to stand back and see what a beautiful picture you’ve been painting! :) And hopefully I’ll be back to painting with you some more as soon as I can figure out a better way to do so…

In the meantime, keep on going and tracking that money so that you can also see your millionaire status!!

One of the best things I’ve ever done for mine, and I’ll continue to do so until the day my fingers fall off…

Thank you for all your support over the years, and we’ll be back tomorrow for another – much less dramatic! – blog post, haha… I swear I’m clean out of these now! ;)

Yours in money,

[This post, Net Worth Report #139: $1,131,601.03 (We did it!!), was first published by J. Money on Elite Edge Money]

Morning, friends!!

I’m packing up for our yearly financial blogging conference this morning (FinCon – will you be there??), and every time I reach for my suitcase I’m reminded just how nice it is to be a minimalist :)

The old me used to spend hours trying to figure out what to bring and what not to bring (because you need to prepare for ALL the possibilities and feelings and weather of course!), but these days I literally just walk into my closet, pick up everything on my shelves/racks, and then literally just dump them all into the suitcase and I’m done.

BOOM!

Because the only clothes I have left are the ones I love and use every single day! And when you narrow it down to the essentials it magically takes up much less space – even allowing for all your hair accessories so you can still rock your fully quaffed ‘hawk ;)

But I tell you all this not to brag or steal from the fashion bloggers out there (okay, maybe I want to brag a little bit – but only because my wife is tired of hearing about it!!), but I share because this simplicity can improve the effectiveness of so many other areas in our lives too – particularly finances.

• What do you think is easier to maintain: 8 checking accounts or 1?
• How about credit cards? Would you rather keep track of 8 or 2?
• 37 investment funds or 3 investment funds?
• 4 brokerage accounts spread out everywhere or condensed into 1?

So many areas where the sheer number of accounts alone can cause you to give up!

I’ve talked about this before, but one of the biggest moves I’ve made in my finances over the years is simplifying them all down to as little accounts needed as possible. I can tell you where every last dollar of mine is snuggling, and in the off chance something happens to me one day my wife and other family members will easily be able to find it too.

• I have one credit card for our family
• One checking account for our family
• One savings account for our family
• One main place where all my retirement money is (Vanguard)
• One main place where all our insurances are (USAA – which also houses all our banking accounts)
• And then one main place where all my biz $$ is (Capital One – only because USAA still refuses to offer business accounts!! I raise my fist at you, sirs!!)

In other words, I basically have one main account for anything needed, which is typically housed under one main financial institution for even greater efficiency!

I don’t reap as many rewards and bonuses as others do (no fancy cash back or free miles to travel the world), but the peace of mind and ease of use is more than enough reward to keep me happy, and even more so – SANE.

The same mentality goes for general *life goals* too. I read somewhere once that the average person can truly only work towards one main goal at a time effectively, and anytime you start throwing on extras the odds of failing in *ALL* of them increase dramatically. Which still doesn’t stop any of us from trying because we’re wired to go for ALL THE THINGS!, but something still to be cautious of at least, especially if you’re not happy with the progress you’re currently making (or not making). Provided of course whatever I read back then was *right*, and you never do really know since I did read it off the internets ;)

Another known fact (this time from ME, so you know it’s accurate – hah!), is that it only takes ONE thing to become a millionaire over our lifetime too!

You can do more to speed it up and get there even faster, but if you literally just did one of these things year in and year out there’s no way for you NOT to amplify that wealth enough to hit the double comma club… Even if that club won’t be as exclusive as it is now with inflation and yada yada yada…

Those “things”?

1. Maxing out your ROTH IRA every year ($6,000)
2. Maxing out your 401(k)/TSP/403(b) every year ($19,000)
3. Paying off your entire mortgage and saving all future payments ($100,000? $300,000? $500,000??)
4. Saving 50% of your income over your lifetime (assuming you work most of your life)
5. And then of course, winning the lottery… you’re surest bet ;)

Now some of these are a lot harder to hit than others of course, looking a you #4!, but the fact of the matter is any of these will snowball that wealth to glorious heights and it’s not that complicated in the least. It’s when you start getting crazy and trying to cut corners that often lands people in trouble!

And even if you can only hit these goals *some* of the years and not every one, it’ll still amplify your finances enough to keep you motivated! Especially when you see all that compounding at work! Because once that money’s *invested* it keeps compounding and compounding and then the compounded monies start compounding making even more compounded babies! It’s a compounding orgy!! (Am I allowed to say that now, Motley Fool??)

You ever hear of the magical penny? It’s like that, only with a little toned down rate of return ;) Here’s what a penny adds up to after doubling for only 31 days…

Isn’t that insane??? $10 MILLION DOLLARS after only 31 days of doubling?? I couldn’t believe it until I saw it, so I had to make my own spreadsheet (above) to really prove its accuracy.
And yup! It sure is accurate!

So all this to say that it doesn’t take a complicated plan to hit your financial goals. And in fact, the more you can simplify it the easier it just may become as you get rid of all the extra noise and can clearly see the picture before you! We’ll all hit our numbers on our own pace, but the path to get there has been relatively the same for thousands of years.

Spend less than you earn, save/invest the rest, let it compound and never touch it.

You stick to that and there’s no way you fail.

For further reading on some of these concepts:

• 8 Ways to More Minimalist Money
• Where All My Bank Accounts Are
• The Power of Doing Just *ONE* Thing
• How 1 Penny Doubling Every Day Turns Into $10 Million by Day #31.

If you’ll be at FinCon this week make sure to come find me!!!

And for everyone staying behind, we’ll still be serving up some juicy articles here, so it’ll be a party wherever you are ;) And I’ll even give you a sneak peek of what’s to come:

• Tomorrow: how a friend became more frugal after having acne!
• Friday: how my friend’s ex-fiancé spent all their rent money on weed (!!!)
• Monday or Tuesday, depending on how much I party do “work” this week: the net worth report that may or may not go over a million dollars…

Fun days ahead – not gonna wanna miss them ;)

[This post, The Beauty of Simplicity, was first published by J. Money on Elite Edge Money]

Found this list skimming through some old journals last night and couldn’t help but smile :)

First – because it’s just so dang nerdy!!

But second – because it’s amazing what can happen when you actually put things down on paper and then GO FOR IT.

We’re still a ways away from hitting that Double Comma Club, but it’s fun to see how many of these we can now cross off after 11 years of paying attention. Something I completely owe to this financial community here which really woke me up and forced me to realize just how important this stuff is. Especially in getting started *early*!

Here’s a copy of the game plan from all the way circa 2008:

Fun to see that top half there when I was scheming to eek out every last dollar from that insane 401k plan back then, as well as other things I’ve long since forgotten:

“Brother’s condo investment” – This was actually a loan I gave my brother when he first bought his condo, but I guess since there were monthly payments coming in to me every month it *felt* more like an investment, haha… He eventually paid me back in full earlier than expected, so I probably only made like $20 of interest off it ;)

“$1 a (work) day” – This was one of my earlier experiments to try and save even more every month, and my guess is that I chose to only do this on *work* days since it fit my daily routine of reading blogs in the morning while at work, and also while I had spare change on me from eating out almost every single day ;) I would have been better off just saving the lunch money, but hey – baby steps! And it opened up the gates to dozens more challenges over the years which I still to this day enjoy doing…

“Save all bonuses” – I’m still rocking this bad boy, though it’s more like saving “extra money” that comes in vs “bonuses” since my current boss is a real a-hole and never gives me any… ;) (for those new to the site, my boss is ME, haha…)

“Years to 1 million” — 25!! Wow!!! Crazy to see how drastically that was cut down over the years, even with contributing much less than $37k most times… Who knew we were right around the corner from one of the best comebacks in the stock market’s history though! Something I purely lucked out with on that one… (though at least I was smart enough to be investing when everyone else was freaking out! Haha… Another benefit of paying attention to money blogs back then! :))

“Current age: 28” — Oh to be in my 20s again! Haha…. I’d give most of it all up to gain 10 years of my life back ;) So long as I can keep my memories and kids! Something good to keep in mind whenever you catch yourself comparing your $$$ to others though – especially to millionaires and billionaires. They may have more money than you right now, but they’re also decades older!! And I bet if you ask them to trade it all back they’d say yes in a heartbeat too.

*****

The second half of this page is also pretty interesting – at least to me ;)

Check out this list of “2008 goals” I was aiming for as if I could really pull them off that year, haha…. (PS: I didn’t!)

Emergency fund: $5,250 — That $5,000 was ALWAYS the hardest for me to hit! It just seemed like so much money at the time, and then as soon as I started investing it only made it harder since more of my money would end up going there instead… Probably because it was much more fun to do than just add it to “savings” :)

Pay off all credit cards: $2,000 — I was never horrible with my money before stumbling across finance blogs, but I wasn’t ever *great* at it either. I was closer to Even Steven with things, with some months having extra money, and others down a few hundred… When I scribbled this one it looks like I was currently down, probably with the upcoming wedding just around the corner…

Net worth: $100,000 — The 2nd hardest number for me to hit! But boy does it speed up from there once you cross that threshold, wow… Here’s a post I wrote on it once which explains why I think that is (and still do to this day): Why the first $100,000 is the hardest

Read more financially — Still doing that one to this day! But have to remind myself that just because you *learn* something, doesn’t always mean it’ll have any real effect on your life/finances. In order for that to happen you actually have to TAKE ACTION or it’s just stuck there in your head! So if there’s something you’ve been over-educating yourself about lately, please for the love of all momentum, DO SOMETHING about it right now!! Yes you’ll probably mess up and it’ll be scary and weird and unnerving, but better to be living it out in the real world than in your head all the time! Some things can only sink in once they’ve become a reality!

Will — And speaking of realities, this is still the ONE major fail in our financial lives, although I swear to you it’s on our list to knock out next month as soon as we’re moved in… You might recall I got serious about this a year ago with Baby Dime coming into the picture, but alas we didn’t want to deal with the hassle/costs of setting it all up only to re-do it again when we moved states, so we decided to risk it for one more year and then knock it out ASAP once the deed had been done. Quite literally ;) And now we’re 3 weeks away to that so you can hold me accountable so long as I still remain alive!!! Knock on wood!!!

Manage both incomes — This one took us a few years to finally get around to, but we did end up combining it all and it’s been rolling smoothly ever since :) Mainly because I *love* managing our money and my wife *doesn’t’* haha… I don’t know what would happen if we both wanted to be in control?!

And that catches us up to today!

A lot has changed over the years, but a lot hasn’t as well.  I still max out my retirement accounts every year because it’s the foundation of our wealth (as long as you do just that one thing you will be fine over the years!!), but long gone are the credit card bills or even drooling over what it would be like to be a millionaire one day.

Having more money is nice, but what’s nicer is waking up to your ideal lifestyle and not even thinking about the money! Which is ironically where we’re at now!

So that’s the biggest takeaway here, at least for me… Realizing that I now focus much more on my LIFESTYLE than I do the bank account, even though of course it’s still humming there on the side…

I really do think this line I often repeat here is incredibly true: Life > Money > Things! Teen-me wanted the things, 20s me wanted the money, and now 30s me very much just wants to enjoy The Life :) We’ll see what 40s me wants around the corner, but I can tell you it won’t be chasing the money anymore, that’s for sure…

If anything, I’ll probably be chasing my youth!! Haha…

[This post, My Original Millionaire “To-Do” List!, was first published by J. Money on Elite Edge Money]

A friend of mine passed me this link on how much you need to be “wealthy” in America (shocker: it’s in the millions!), but the stats that were included were the real gems here…

It comes from Charles Schwab’s second annual “Modern Wealth Index” survey, and I challenge you to really think about this and then compare to your own lists at home :)

But first – the “number” you “need” to be financially comfortable in this great country of ours? Which as we all know is nonsense if you’re completely omitting the *expenses* side of the equation??

To be financially comfortable in America today requires an average of $1.4 million, up from $1.2 million a year ago, according to the survey. The net worth needed to be “wealthy”? That’s an average $2.4 million, the same as last year in the online survey of 1,000 Americans between age 21 and 75.

Don’t tell Mr. Money Mustache or 80% of all other early retiree bloggers this ;)

The article then goes on to list the rankings of what people feel “wealth” means to them:

• 28% Living stress-free/Peace of mind
• 18% Being able to afford anything I want
• 17% Loving relationships with family, friends
• 14% Enjoying life’s experiences
• 11% Having lots of money
• 7% Having good health
• 2% Being charitable
• 3% Other

I’m actually surprised at the first one as I always thought I was unique in saying “peace of mind” myself, but I’m glad I’m not the only one as it really is the key to happiness! When you’re stress-free it means ALL the areas in your life are going pretty well! Health/love/career/money – you name it. You either have to be high or delusional if you’re feeling content when any one area is majorly jacked up, haha… And unfortunately money doesn’t solve everything.

The article then listed out all the things that people said made for a “rich daily life”, which was equally interesting to see:

• 62% Spending time with family
• 55% Taking time for myself
• 49% Owning a home
• 41% Meals out/meals delivered
• 33% Subscription services (Netflix/Spotify/etc)
• 29% Grooming/pampering
• 27% Having the latest tech gadgets
• 22% Shopping at specialty grocery stores
• 21% Having a busy social life
• 21% Driving a luxury car
• 17% Gym membership/personal trainer
• 12% Using a home cleaning service
• 10% Using car service/not public transport
• 4% Other

There’s literally only three on that list that I personally only care for (spending time with friends and family, taking time for myself, having a busy (fun!) social life), but there was also a handful of things left out that I’d def. list: coin collecting, reading, going on walks – or hell, just not having to think about money at all! Wouldn’t that be nice? Just waking up and doing whatever you want without having to worry or think about $$$ in the least? (It would probably also mean this blog would cease to exist, but hey – pros and cons ;))

I was also surprised that “owning a home” was so high on the list too. I know a lot of people love owning, and rightfully so, but wow does it beat out a lot of the other things listed there! Def. seems that people have their priorities right though looking at that top section!

The real question now is whether people are *actually putting their money/time* towards them?! It’s easy to say what’s important to you, but a whole other to actually follow through with it :)

For today only though I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt, haha…

Here’s the article again if you want to dive in deeper: How Much Money Do You Need to Be Wealthy in America? And then here’s my feisty response to all these “how much you need” calculations that come up over time that never cease to amaze me: Finally – The Magic Number You Need to Retire!!

Where do you fall on these lists? Would you rank your priorities similarly to those above? How do you gauge “wealth” in your lives?

The beautiful part is that we’re all allowed to use our money however we well please, but if you’re not happy with where it’s gotten you so far, I do hope you’re brave enough to stop and switch gears. And you know we’re all here to help and encourage you when you do!! We love this money stuff!

So keep on pushing for what you want over there… Doesn’t matter what it is, just so long as you’re inching closer to it!

[This post, What Does Wealth Mean to You?, was first published by J. Money on Elite Edge Money]