If you are early on your journey like we are, I want to make the case that maybe the numbers don’t really matter right now.
Just like the 10-day weather forecast is never right, the 10-year projections won’t be right either. I can tell you firsthand that projecting can be frustrating when you have so little in savings. Conservative estimates make early retirement look impossible.
Have you ever had to sneeze while driving? It’s terrifying! You’ll have to close your eyes and convulse your body* all while maintaining safety on the road. Having a financial plan is very similar to preparing for this unexpected, horrifying sneeze.
Last week, in celebration of Halloween, I shared a tweetstorm of the scariest things you could say to a Personal Finance Geek. Maybe you read that and felt bad about yourself because you have done some of those things (or still do). DON’T. I shared the original tweets. What I did not share were all of the conversations that followed. SEVERAL of these tweets inspired responses from other personal finance bloggers that said things like “Me 2 years ago,” “…said my husband,” “been there!” or “still paying off that debt!”
We are not better than you. And you are not worse.
What day of the week would you guess searches for jokes are at their peak?
I would guess Monday. How else would you get through a “bad case of the Mondays”? Turns out, I’m wrong! Searches for jokes are at their LOWEST on Mondays! And highest on Fridays-Sundays (when I commonly search for lunchbox jokes for the kids for the week).
So what search terms are highest on Mondays?
Depression. Anxiety. Doctor.
This is devastating. Joke searches also dive after traumatic news events like bombings. This information suggests two things:
Today we have a FABULOUS guest post about paying off your mortgage. If you haven’t noticed, I am SO SICK of my mortgage. On my September plan update post, I expressed my disdain of my mortgage balance and Mustard Seed Money wrote the greatest comment about paying off his mortgage. I basically begged him to write this post. By way of introduction, Mustard Seed Money works for the federal government as an accountant and is on the way to financial independence in just a few years! When he’s not inspiring my comment section, he shares amazing wisdom over at Mustard Seed Money. And now, his thoughts:
Paying off my mortgage was the best thing that I ever did in my financial life. In the beginning, I thought of my mortgage as a necessary evil. I was pretty grateful to get a 15-year mortgage with an incredibly low 3.5% interest rate, when I purchased my home in 2004.
What is the number one reason you can’t save money? You spend it!
It’s hard not to! Everyone wants a piece of it.
“We’re just going out to eat!”
“It only costs $15!”
“You don’t want to miss out!”
You want to say: “NO YOU DUMMY, I’M SAVING MY MONEY!” But you don’t. Because you’re nice. But don’t worry. I’ve got you covered. Today, I’m creating a handy-dandy list you can print off and keep in your wallet. Reference this the next time you get a proposal to spend that hard-earned cash!
There are three ways to successfully extricate yourself from a money-spending predicament: excuses, possibilities, and alternatives.
“You must believe that your quest can be successful, even if no one else does. You can deal with setbacks, misadventures, and even disasters as long as you still believe you can see your way to the end.” – Chris Guillebeau
Today’s awesome inspiration is from Chris Guillebeau in his awesome book, The Happiness of Pursuit. I loved this book. It was all about people that went on different quests (visiting every country in the world, not speaking for years, walking across a continent, etc.) and what drove them to do what they did. It was fascinating and inspirational and well-written.
There’s truth in this one little quote. We know we should believe in our dreams, but if we don’t actually, solidly believe we can see our way to the end, we stop. Setbacks, misadventures, and disasters WILL happen. They are inevitable in any journey. The difference between those who succeed and those who fail is how deeply they believe they can succeed.
If your goals aren’t worth it, you won’t fight for them. If you don’t have confidence in them, you won’t make it. If you listen to the naysayers, you’ll never try in the first place. Believe, friends. Believe.
Happy Friday!
Love, Maggie
On Monday, we went over how easy it is to become a millionaire. Today, we’re going to look at a few people that have done it and have done it quickly!
We’ll start with Mr. 1500 Days (he’s one of my favorites!). Now he started 2013 with over $585,000. He managed to hit $1,000,000 for the first time less than two years later! Note that Mr. 1500 days uses Personal Capital as well!
When I was little, I remember being at my cousins’ house and we were having some sort of pinching fight(?) and laughing and crying and screaming. My aunt came in and yelled: “Don’t do dumb things!” and we all laughed and laughed. But the message stuck and I hear that in my mind so much that I’ve yelled it to my own children a number of times!
So what got me riled this time? The Ryan Lochte situation. I won’t go into it as I’m sick of hearing about it (though I do have to say my favorite headline has been the “Lochte Mess Monster” and his apology for his “immature tantics” made me laugh). The lesson for kids: Even if you’re hanging out with the dumb people, you’re still doing dumb things and may find yourself with your passport confiscated or with a fine for $11,000. Don’t do dumb things.
This statement applies to so many situations!
Last week, I was singing along with Katy Perry’s Roar* and with the Olympics coming up, I started really thinking about what gets me going. I’m all for singing “Dancing through the fire. ‘Cause I am the champion, and you’re gonna hear me roar!” at the top of my lungs. Now I’m watching the Olympics (obsessively) and it’s clear that to be an Olympian, that is your life. You eat, breathe, train, strategize, and compete. You break your leg? Get back out there! Your team needs you! You give yourself a concussion? Shake it off! You can still win yourself a medal! These people are passionate. They found their thing and now they’re doing it.
What about the rest of us?
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