All in Financial Education
The business schools reward difficult complex behavior more than simple behavior, but simple behavior is more effective.
There is absolutely no shortage of investing materials on the internet, but the problem is that there’s too much, it can be overwhelming where to even start. So to help you with that, we’ve compiled a list of resources, from YouTube videos, blog posts and books to help you navigate the world of investing. These are not your mother’s resources.
Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow.
Who is Responsible for Teaching Financial Literacy?
This has been a question that has been weighing on my mind lately. I write and read a lot about personal finances and I wanted to figure out who really is responsible for financial education. I’ve observed a great deal of fear and hesitation when it comes to financial conversations, partly because many of us are just not used to it talking about the subject and partly because many of us aren’t well informed about finances.
The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.
Happy New Year! Another year, another 365 days of well-meaning resolutions. To help you achieve your financial goals, we’ve come up with 19 actions items to take into the New Year. Yes 19! Pick one or two to focus on the first quarter, then another two for the next quarter. Do not overwhelm yourself by doing too much.
In Behavioral Economics, there is a term called the Pain of Paying in which we feel pain when we have to pay for something. Today, the Pain of Paying is harder to achieve because of new payment options that don’t allow us to experience a loss. How can we use this concept to curtail spending?
”Play is our brain’s favorite way of learning.”
I thought I would sit down and see how we can gamify the journey to FI based on existing principles of how to engineer an addictive gaming experience. A game takes effort, takes time and takes a bit of strategy. In a similar vein, managing and optimizing your finances requires as much effort especially if you want to do the unconventional and reach the level of financial independence.
“If you’ve got a billion dollars and you’re not grateful, you’re poor as hell.” - Tony Robbins
So it’s been a few days now since I left the Unleash the Power Within (UPW) seminar with Tony Robbins and I am still reeling. I’m a fan of Tony Robbins and found a lot of amazing insight from his book Money: Master the Game and from watching the Netflix documentary, I Am Not Your Guru, but nothing really prepared me to experience Tony Robbins live.
“They sit mesmerized before advertising campaigns telling them to buy trifles they don’t need using debt they can’t repay.”
In “Financially Stupid People are Everywhere: Don’t Be One of Them,” Jason Kelly opens your eyes to the debt driven world we live in and what you’re up against in society. He posits the only way to truly safeguard your own well being is to look after yourself. Provide security and ensure your freedom by following the 4 financial rules that will keep you from being financially stupid.
“It’s been freeing to focus on what works for me rather than what’s wrong with me.”
I just recently finished reading Gretchen Rubin’s The Four Tendencies. In the Four Tendencies, Gretchen Rubin, outlines four different personality types based on how each one deals with inner and outer expectations: Upholder, Obliger, Questioner and Rebel. By understanding our Tendency, we can harness that to find our own internal and external motivations.
“After you leave home, you may find yourself feeling homesick, even if you have a new home that has nicer wallpaper and a more efficient dishwasher than the home in which you grew up.”
Next week, my parents will complete the sale of their home and journey back to the Philippines. Whether they end up staying in the Philippines for the remainder of their retirement or come back is yet to be decided. For the past few months, our entire family has gone through the exercise of cleaning out the house that we’ve called home for the past 23 years.
Talking to kids about money does not make money hungry kids.
I’ve been doing a lot of reflection lately about where I first started to learn about money and how best to talk to others about money. I’ve also been doing a fair amount of research and found a few books I thought were worth mentioning if you are a parent or an adult that is looking for ways to talk about money to your kids or your students. The reality is that the money conversation should start at home. It think it is the responsibility of the parent to expose kids about money concepts, otherwise, media and peers will create money influences that may lead to a distorted money mindset later on.
“Right now, your prosperity is provided by a plentiful supply of clean air, water, food, and energy. Although some of you like to take all the credit for this, it’s really my ecosystem that does all the hard work: the plants, animals, oceans, air currents, and especially the atmosphere. Without these services, you would lose your ability to create the food and products that form your current prosperity.” - Earth, Mr. Money Mustache
My two passions of sustainable living and sustainable investing are merging as I dive deeper into making my money work for me in a way that aligns with my personal values.
“A goal should scare you a little and excite you a lot.”
This past weekend, my husband competed in his first ever half triathlon, let alone his first ever Half Ironman. To say that I am awed and inspired my him and all of the other athletes is an understatement. As I was watching the entire race play out before me, I couldn’t helping think about some of the similarities to the Journey to Financial Independence. So here are my thoughts.
"A big part of financial freedom is having your heart and mind free from worry about the what-ifs of life."
I recently came across an article written by Whitney Cummings on the last page of Money Magazine. She talks about her personal money management, but more importantly how she started substituting the word money for the word freedom. So I thought I would compile a list of phrases with this substitution. It's important to note that sometimes changing our language changes our mindset in a whole new way even if we haven't fully internalized it yet. Try these on for size. Speak them out loud. How does saying one versus the other make you feel?
“A woman’s best protection is a little money of her own.”
The gender gap is everywhere. Women are usually paid less in spite of their male counterpart doing the same job. Finance and women are also considered to be poles apart.
According to a survey conducted by Forbes, around 58% of men were of the view that their financial understanding was up to the mark, whereas only 47% of women said so.
But, the situation is changing day by day. Women are now gradually climbing the ladder and gaining financial success.
It's not how much money you make, but how much money you keep, how hard it works for you, and how many generations you keep it for.
So what exactly is the Lifetime Wealth Ratio? Well, it is an eye opening number that looks at your earnings vs. your savings.
"you must enter into a relationship
with yourself
before anyone else"
I've been trying my best to read a variety of book topics to ensure I gain some new perspectives. I just finished Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur. While's it's a book about loss and love, I couldn't help relate some of her writing to the struggle of women in managing and getting their personal finances in order.
"No one has ever become poor by giving."
A few months ago, my husband and I were invited to a birthday party for friend's 4-year-old. Given my foray into minimalism and sustainability and personal finance, I didn't personally want to give another plastic gift. I also didn't want to give another item that they would have to maintain or would end up in the landfill a few days later. So after much research, I decided to give the gift of stock.
"Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp, Or what's a heaven for?"
This past week I went to Washington D.C. to attend a real estate software conference. This was my 3rd time going and every time I leave I think my head is going to explode with all the knowledge I’ve just added. This smack in the head is my annual reminder that like Jon Snow, I know nothing. Well, not completely nothing, but probably 1% of what this software is capable of. It’s eye-opening and very humbling.
"How can we be the future if you're not going to teach us about money, which is our future?"
I don't have kids, so this will sort of be my manifesto for when I do. It will also serve as a snapshot of my thoughts at this point in my life. I know perspectives often change especially when there is an actual human being in the picture so I hope this helps me navigate how I want to raise kids that understand what money can do so that I may set them on a good financial path. These are my thoughts today. It could be different tomorrow as the world changes and I change. My husband's perspective and plans will be different. At some point, we will have to compromise as our goal, in the end, is to provide a good financial background for our future kids.
It's better to see something once, than to hear about a thousand times.
One of the biggest eye openers for me in the past few years has been the idea of travel hacking. I had my first credit card when I was a senior in college. It had a $500 credit limit. A few months later, I was already maxing out that limit. I had no concept of credit (despite majoring in Econ), let alone how to use it wisely. Fast forward a few more years, I got into more credit card debt. Thankfully, I was able to put a stop into my credit card debt and started getting wise about its use.
