Last January I loaned money to a friend who was in financial crisis: Her vehicle was about to be repossessed. The transaction troubled me for a number of reasons, which I detailed at my personal website in a post called “I’m not a payday lender. But I play one on TV.”
During my trip to the East Coast I spent part of a weekend with “Monica” and her family. (Names have been changed to protect the profligate.)
When we made a Wawa* run, Monica didn’t want me to pay for my own Tastykake.** She threw it in with her own order, which totaled a little more than $34 and which included a coffee cake, a box of doughnut holes, and a $2-plus bottle of iced tea.
I started to feel uneasy. In the next 24 hours, the following additional red flags flew:
Monica bought about $100 worth of maternity clothes for her married daughter, who right now is still as thin as a candidate’s promise.
They have satellite television and DSL. Her kids have cell phones with text packages.
She mentioned she was planning to buy a snow blower, which after their military discount would run “only” about $1,000. (This despite the fact that she lives in a state where it doesn’t always snow in the winter and the fact that she has three healthy teenagers.)
Monica also mentioned that her van was about to hit more than 200,000 miles. Her daily commute is about 50 miles each way.
You know what wasn’t mentioned? Paying back my $800.
An Unsustainable Way of Life
This isn’t just a cranky post about being a human ATM. I knew when I gave them the money that I stood to lose it. Actually, I don’t think I will. It took 18 months for the first loan to come back, one $50 check at a time, but ultimately it was paid in full.
After making the second loan I mailed a personal finance book to Monica and her husband, “Gordon.” I also suggested tracking expenses in order to plug money leaks, and urged them to contact a debt management program through the National Foundation for Credit Counseling.
My note concluded, “I know it’s not easy to take a critical look at your life and to realize that no matter what happened in the past, you are responsible for the present. Change is never easy. But no one will help you except you.”
Monica wrote back, promising they’d work to cut expenses. She said she’d already advocated dumping the TV and cell phones.
Nine months later the television is still on, the teens are still texting, and Monica and Gordon are still living an unsustainable, paycheck-to-paycheck lifestyle. Here are a few more details, to show you just how deep their denial runs:
Company-wide layoffs are looming at Monica’s workplace.
Gordon has lower-back issues and is in his early 60s, so there’s no telling how much longer he’ll be able to keep his job.
Neither one has any retirement savings.
They don’t have an emergency fund. In fact, they have no savings at all.
That’s right: no cash is being set aside in case that layoff materializes or for when the vehicle finally dies. But there’s money for satellite television, texting and doughnut holes. Maybe a snow blower, too.
Treats Before Necessities?
I’d hoped that the first crisis — nearly losing their home — would force them to wise up. It didn’t. Want to know the reason they needed the second loan? They couldn’t make the van payment because it had taken all available funds to pay…
…wait for it…
Bounced-check fees and Catholic-school tuition for their youngest.
They had money to buy technology and other treats, sprinkling NSF checks along the way, but not for an essential recurring expense. Without a vehicle, Monica couldn’t get to work. But they didn’t think about that.
I worry deeply about their future. It’s a pretty safe bet that more things will go wrong. When does something not go wrong when you own a home and are raising three teenagers?
And when it does, they’ll be right back in oh-shit-now-what mode.
No More Bailouts
In that “payday lender” post, I wrote that I could no longer loan money. But I also admitted that I wasn’t really sure what I’d do if she called again, frantic for cash.
Now I’m sure.
Let me be clear: I’m not suggesting you abandon people who through no fault of their own have wound up holding the gooey end of the lollipop. For example, every other week I send $50 to my 88-year-old aunt. She uses the money for medical co-pays.
That biweekly payment is a line item in my budget. What isn’t in my budget any longer is bailouts. I’m a freelance writer who funds her own retirement and insurance and makes regular charitable donations. And at nearly 54 years of age, I have finally given myself permission to enjoy some of the fruits of my labors (frugally, of course).
It’s important to care about your fellow man. But not if you’re enabling rather than helping.
I’m Not the Loan Arranger
If my friends ask for help again, bailing them out won’t really help them. It would just allow them to postpone, yet again, the very hard and very necessary work of changing the way they spend.
I’m done. Maybe you should be, too. The next time you write a bail-out check, swearing it will be the absolute last loan? Make it stick. Frame it any way you like, but tell your sister/son/frat buddy that you can no longer afford to do this.
Maybe it’s that your own financial stability is at risk. Maybe it’s that you’ve given and given and nothing has changed. Maybe you want to use your money on something for yourself once in a while.
Whatever the reason, state gently but firmly that your career as loan officer is over.
You could find some other way to help, such as:
Offering to loan your personal-finance books
Helping to create a workable budget
Pointing out sites where people can learn smarter spending habits, such as Get Rich Slowly (duh) or MSN Money’s Smart Spending blog
If need is imminent — not much food in the house, kids need glasses — direct them to my previous GRS piece, “Unemployed? Underemployed? Here’s how to get help.”
If a relative or friend is a financial train wreck, you owe it to yourself to get off at the next station. It will be one of the hardest things you ever do — and probably one of the most necessary. For your sake, and for the other person’s, close the bank and keep it closed.
Readers: Have you had to cut off a family member or friend who needed rescuing but wouldn’t do much to help himself? Was it tough? Did you offer any non-monetary help, and did the person ever wise up?
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A business degree can open up doors to many different career paths and can give you the skills you need to be successful in the world of business. However, not all business degrees are created equal. There are a variety of different business degrees available, and each one has its own strengths and weaknesses.
A business administration degree gives you a general introduction to the business world and teaches you the basic skills you need to be successful in the workplace. In addition, it provides a foundation for further study in specific areas of business such as accounting or marketing.
The value of a business degree depends on a variety of factors, including what you hope to gain from the degree, your field of study, and your career goals. However, there are some things to consider when making this decision.
According to PayScale, the average ROI for a business degree is about $1 million. This number takes into account both the cost of getting a business degree and the increased earnings potential that graduates typically experience.
While many jobs require at least some level of post-secondary education, not all jobs require or even prefer candidates with a business degree specifically.
In this article, we will highlight everything you need to make a decisive decision for you.
Why a Business Degree?
There are many reasons to get a business degree.
For starters, they offer great flexibility and come with an abundance of valuable career resources. Additionally, business degrees can lead to even more opportunities in the business world.
Finally, it’s important to note that getting a business degree is very profitable and attractive.
Is a business degree worth it?
There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question.
A business degree can be an excellent investment if you are looking to start or grow a business or are interested in finance, accounting, human resources, or marketing.
Finally, think about the cost of tuition and other associated expenses.
What Can You Do with a Business Management Degree?
Business management degrees can prepare students for a variety of careers in the business world.
Some possible careers include:
Business analyst
Accountant
Human resources manager
Event planner
Marketing manager
Operations manager
Financial analyst
Business owner
A business management degree can open up a variety of doors for you! You can go into many different industries and have a number of career options available to you.
Business management degrees provide opportunities in growing fields like finance and marketing. In addition, business and financial operations occupations are projected to grow on a national level more than other careers.
This means that if you have a business management degree… You will be entering an occupation that is expected to have continued growth in the future.
Types of business degrees
First, consider what type of business degree you want.
There are three options:
Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA): This is a general degree that provides students with a broad knowledge of business. It includes subjects like management, accounting, economics, and marketing. Perfect for those who want managerial positions or start their own company.
Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration (BABA): This degree consists of business subjects along with humanities and social science courses. This type of degree may be a good option if you want to pursue an international career.
Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA): This type of degree has a strong analytical and math-oriented focus. It’s excellent for careers like financial analysis.
Once you have decided on the type of business degree you want, consider your field of expertise.
Do you want to work in finance? Marketing? Human resources?
Each field requires specific skills and knowledge. So, make sure the degree you choose will provide you with the necessary training. This would be your minor (area of expertise).
Just remember… Each different types of business degree offer students a variety of opportunities. Thus, can help students develop the skills they need for success in the workplace.
Getting A Business Degree
So why should you consider getting a business degree? First and foremost, they offer great flexibility in careers.
Additionally, most programs come with access to a wealth of career resources that can help you land your dream job after graduation.
And finally, having a business degree is highly profitable and attractive in the current job market.
Whether you’re just starting out in your career or looking to advance further, getting a business degree is an excellent choice.
They provide students with valuable skills for entry-level positions that are highly sought after by employers. Plus, an accredited program will likely lead not only to an invigorating educational experience but also to a job that meets your needs and drives your passions
Is Business a Good Major?
There are associate’s degrees, undergraduate degrees, and graduate degrees in business administration available at schools across the country. Which one is right for you? That depends on your goals and what you want to study.
If you’re not sure what you want to study, or if you want to explore your options before making a decision, consider an associate’s degree in business administration first. This type of degree can give you a basic understanding of the field. Then, it can help you decide if you want to continue your education or go into the workforce directly.
If you already know that you want to study business administration at the undergraduate level, then look for a school that offers a broad range of courses in this area. So, you can gain exposure to as many different aspects of the field as possible.
If you’re interested in pursuing a career in business administration but want to take your education one step further, consider a graduate degree in business administration. This type of degree can prepare you for management-level positions and help you stand out from the competition.
Pros of getting a business degree
A business degree can give you many advantages in your career!
Help you advance in your career.
Give you the skills you need to start your own business.
Teach you how to manage a company effectively.
Help you develop marketing and sales skills.
Pursing a business degree may lead to a rewarding educational experience! As well as a career that meets your needs and drives your passions.
In addition, there are plenty of accredited colleges and universities that offer online business degrees. These choices are often convenient and affordable.
Pro #1 – Versatility of a business degree
A business administration degree program can provide a diverse range of career options and prepares students for success in any industry.
Business administration courses are foundational for a variety of careers.
Core coursework in areas such as:
Finance
Accounting
Marketing
Management
These areas of study teach students how to think critically and make sound decisions in a variety of business scenarios.
In addition, many programs offer specializations or concentrations in specific fields such as:
Entrepreneurship
Human resources
Information technology
Thus, allowing students to focus their studies on an area that interests them.
Business graduates are well-prepared to take on a variety of roles within organizations. Plus can usually find jobs with good pay and benefits.
And because the skills learned in business school are applicable in so many different settings, graduates typically have multiple career options available to them if they decide to change jobs or careers down the road.
Pro #2 – Advancement Opportunities
Employers respect and value a business degree from a well-respected school, which can open doors to advancement opportunities.
With a business degree, you can move up the corporate ladder more quickly or start your own successful company.
In addition, a business degree gives an individual the ability to understand the latest changes in the business world and understanding of new strategies, insights, and ideas that can improve a company’s performance.
Business degrees are necessary for individuals who want to stay ahead of the curve in their industry.
If being successful in your field is important, then getting a business degree is essential. Additionally, new opportunities are presented to you.
Pro #3 – Higher Salary
A business degree can lead to a higher salary than an undergraduate degree for the same job.
The impact of your salary depends on a number of factors, including your school, the chosen field, your position, and your past experience.
Many business administration graduates specialize in a discipline, which leads to different salaries for those same careers depending on the discipline.
For example, if you are making a $45k salary a year, then a business degree might help you increase to $60k a year.
Pro #4 – Career resources and networking opportunities
To make the most of a business degree program, consider taking advantage of your school’s unique resources, including career centers and alumni networks.
Then, you are able to use their resources to open the door to a variety of job opportunities.
The career resources will help you find internships and jobs. While the networking opportunities will help you connect with professionals in your field.
Business management degrees can also benefit from extra-curricular activities like clubs and networking events.
Pro #5 – Transferable skills
Business is present in nearly every modern industry. That means degree holders have the option to apply their business degree to just about any area of industry.
Thus, provides skills that are in high demand in the workforce, such as critical thinking, problem-solving, decision making, communication, and leadership skills.
Professionals with a business degree have many options for employment and provide a competitive edge in the job market.
Cons of Getting a Business Degree
A college degree is still the gold standard for obtaining good employment. However, it is no longer the only way to achieve success.
Though there are many benefits to getting a business degree, there are also some potential drawbacks you should consider before making your decision.
Con #1 – Cost of the degree
One such drawback is the cost of tuition and other associated expenses.
The average tuition for an in-state student at a public university is $10,388 per year, and the average tuition for a private university is $38.185 per year (source). That doesn’t include room and board, books, supplies, or other fees. If you’re attending school out-of-state or out of the country, your costs will be even higher.
You can apply for scholarships and grants, take out loans, or work part-time while you’re in school. But no matter how you pay for it, the cost of a business degree is significant.
Con #2 – The job market doesn’t have enough jobs
Getting a business degree isn’t always the best option for career advancement.
There are disadvantages to getting a business degree, such as lower unemployment rates and higher wages compared to other occupations.
Even though a bachelor’s degree in business is required for many jobs in the industry. If you’re interested in pursuing this path, it’s important to make sure you choose a program that will prepare you well.
Con #3 – Certifications are better
Certifications can also help you learn new skills and stay up-to-date on the latest trends in your industry. This comes without the time and money needed for a degree in management.
In fact, both Microsoft and Google have stated that certification for hiring for jobs is more important than a college degree (source).
For example, getting certified in specific areas can help you become an expert in a particular field and make you more marketable to employers.
While both can lead to a variety of career opportunities, you must decipher which is best for your situation.
Con #4 – You don’t need a business degree to work in business
A business degree is not always necessary to work in a corporate setting.
While getting a business degree can help you learn about the inner workings of businesses and how to run them effectively, you can also learn the same skills with hands-on job experience.
In fact, many people who work in business don’t have any formal education in it at all. There are a number of things you can do to gain the skills you need to work in the business without getting a formal degree.
Con #5 – Not Needed to Start Your Own Business
Most importantly, a business degree may not be the best route for you if you want to start your own business.
A business degree won’t give you all the skills and knowledge you need to succeed as a small business owner.
Many times, the best lessons are taught through hard work and perseverance.
Con #6 – Not Truly Prepared for Career Path
Another potential downside to getting a business degree is that not all degrees offer the same level of preparation for specific careers.
So, it’s essential to do your research and choose a program that will give you the skills you need to pursue your desired career path.
Con #7 – Time Consuming
Finally, getting a business degree can be time-consuming and require significant dedication. So make sure you’re ready for the challenge before embarking on this journey!
How to decide if getting a business degree is worth it for you?
There are a few things you should consider when making this decision:
What industry do you want to work in?
What is the job market like for business degrees?
Will you be able to get scholarships or grants?
What are the salaries for business degree holders?
What are the opportunities for advancement for business degree holders?
Will you be able to work while your degree?
What are the costs of getting a business degree?
It is important to remember that business degrees are not just useful for starting a company! They can also lead to lucrative careers in other fields such as finance or law.
So if you’re still undecided on whether or not getting a business degree is worth it for you, consider all of the possibilities!
Tips to Ask Yourself Before Enrolling in Business School
A business degree can be expensive, but it may offer opportunities for career growth and earning potential that outweighs the initial investment. You must weigh the pros and cons carefully before making a final decision
When making the best decision for you, there are many factors to consider, such as time commitment, cost, and potential return on investment.
Tip #1 – Consider your goals and objectives.
What do you hope to gain from a business degree? Are you looking for career advancement opportunities, or do you want to learn more about business fundamentals? Knowing what you want out of a business degree will help you narrow down your options.
Tip #2 – Do your research.
There are many different types of business degrees available. So be sure to compare programs and find one that fits your needs and interests.
In addition, you must consider if an accredited online college or university offers a program that meets your needs.
You need to research the university’s accreditation status so you can know what that means for you when looking for work after graduation.
Finally, think about what you want to do with your degree. Find a program that will give you the skills and experiences needed for your desired career field.
Tip #3 – Ask around.
Talk to friends, family, and colleagues who have pursued a business degree. They may have valuable insights that can help inform your decision.
Do you regret getting a business degree?
Personally, I do regret getting my undergraduate degree in marketing.
I don’t think that was the best field of study for me. Plus my college at the time refused to teach social media marketing, which was brand new and my degree was quickly outdated without the proper skills.
The college experience was absolutely amazing and I grew as a human being. But, I truly believe there was a better degree for me to start out with.
However, if you were looking for a business degree with a focus such as finance, accounting, or computer information, I think those are more highly specialized to off a better benefit.
What Business careers look appealing to You?
A business degree can help you move into a different career field and earn more money.
In addition, a business degree can build a solid foundation of skills and knowledge for you to build your own business. However, there are many other ways to learn about business, so it is important to research the different options and find the best one for you.
There are many different types of business degrees available. As such, it can be difficult to decide which one is right for you.
This decision is not the same for everyone as we all have our own upbringing and experiences. Every single person you ask will tell you something different and whether their business degree was worth it to them.
Business education can be expensive, but there are many resources available to help you finance your education. There are also many benefits to earning a business degree, so weigh all the factors and make the decision that’s best for you.
Know someone else that needs this, too? Then, please share!!
When I first started getting into blogging several months ago (keep in mind that last summer I didn’t even know what a blog was….yes, I’m serious), I spoke to another Certified Financial Planner who had been blogging for about a year. He gave me some good tips and told me to have a successful blog that you have to network with other blogs. One of the blogs he told me to check out was Moolanomy. At first, I was like Moo-Law-Uh-What? But then I finally got to check out Pinyo’s blog and I was really impressed. He has tons of great information on personal finance and incorporates very useful and easy to read charts to illustrate his points effectively. Here’s our interview:
You stated that one of the reasons for starting Moolanomy was to build an alternative income stream to make up for your wife’s income. You even mentioned that one of your goals was to fund your child’s 529 plan. Have those goals grown as expected?
I see you’ve read my blog quite thoroughly — I am impressed. As for alternative income streams, I had a few web sites before Moolanomy and knew how much work it takes to run a successful web site. All I can say is the blog has done well beyond my original expectation. Before starting Moolanomy, we relied on part of my wife’s income to cover our expenses and planned savings. To accommodate her maternity leave, I would either have to (1) earn more, (2) spend less, or (3) save less. I certainly didn’t want to save less, and I was sure that we would be spending more after the baby is born. So the only option left was “earn more”. In retrospect, I am glad I started Moolanomy. This year, I believe that alternative income from all of my web businesses will be about 17% of my total income. By the way, my wife is back working so the extra income is really nice, especially in this economy.
As for 529 Plan, it was doing well until the stock market went south. However, I am currently sticking with my original plan to contribute $425 a month to the plan. Once I have a chance to re-evaluate our financial goals, I may be adjusting this number after the new year.
Do you ever foresee blogging being able to be a full time profession?
I am a strong believer of diversification, including income diversification. I don’t think I would quit my current job even if my blog income exceeds my salary. As much as I like blogging, it’s based on a technology that’s changing fast. Think about it. Where was blogging 5 years ago and where do you think it will be 5 years from now. Would you risk your career and marketability on something that could disappear tomorrow?
I enjoy the extra income and could probably blog full-time between jobs. However, I think I would soon find another job, or start some sort of business on top of blogging. So no, I don’t see it as full time profession for me.
Knowing what you know now about blogging, what are three tips you would give a new blogger that wants to become the next “Moolanomy”.
As mentioned earlier, making money blogging is conceptually “simple”, but it’s not “easy”. If I count all the hours I poured into Moolanomy, I think I am still making just above the minimum wage. However, once you get it going, the income is semi-passive and you’ll eventually recoup your investment. As for three specific tips:
Make sure you love the subject you’re blogging about. You’ll be writing a lot of articles about the subject, so don’t write about something that will turn blogging into another “job”.
Make a lot of friends. If you think networking is important for success in real life, it’s even more important for blogging.
Look at blogs you admire and ask the blogger specific questions. I think this is by far the best way to learn. Sure, there are a lot of information out there, but it’s confusing. However, a few good friends can bring you up to speed real quick.
With the creation of the M-Network, how has that helped you with growing your readership on your blog as well as increasing your knowledge in personal finance?
I think creating M-Network was one of the main contributors to my success with Moolanomy. Initially, we did a lot of linking back and forth among each other which really helped build our readers base. We don’t do that as much now, but we are still doing a lot of information sharing and work together on a few initiatives. For example, we recently released a free eBook called Money Saving Tips for the Holidays Guide eBook and we recently just released The 12 Days of Christmas – Personal Finance Style 2008 series. Other than that, the main benefits are the the teaching, ideas, leads, and intels that we offer each other. Also, it’s great to have a group of supportive people that you can bounce your ideas off, or help you get out of tight spots.
Lastly, we are planning to launch a network feature in 2009 that I am really excited about…stay tuned!
What’s your goals with “Moolanomy” in the next year?
Honestly, I have been slacking in this area. I haven’t set a goal for my blog for a while now, especially because I have been more focused on my job and family. I know that I want to keep blogging in 2009 for sure, but I may be slowing down my pace and supplement my content from other contributors. In fact, I just quietly added the Contribute feature to my blog.
I guess, the only SMART goal I have is to have 35% of my total income coming from Moolanomy in 2009.
Since your creation of “Moolanomy”, what has the been the most pleasant surprise and/or surprises?
I think the biggest surprise is that I can actually earn serious income with the blog. But I think the best thing about this experience is the opportunity to meet a lot of people and establishing a few good friendships along the way. Even if I stop blogging now, there would be a few people that stay on my list of friends into the foreseeable future. Additionally, I learned a lot about financial concepts and ideas over the year and a half blogging about finances. I guess you’ll can’t help but learn a few things by writing about a subject every day.
Thanks to Pinyo for taking time to answer my questions. If you haven’t checked out his blog yet, you must. Here are some of my favorite posts from his blog:
When you’re a pilot, buying life insurance is a bit complicated.
Many companies will see your occupation and worry that it’s too dangerous for them to cover.
I guess you could say the insurance industry also has a fear of flying.
As you know, flying a plane responsibility is not a dangerous activity. Statistically, you are safer flying your plane than driving a car.
Fortunately, there are so many highly rated insurance companies in the U.S that understand this point. With the right company, not only will your job not be an issue, it might actually work out to your advantage.
Problems for Pilots
In order to buy life insurance, you need to fill out an application describing your current situation. This is so companies can measure your risk as an applicant. Insurance underwriters not only consider your current health but also several other factors. Your job is an important part of this analysis.
Many companies consider flying to be an excessively dangerous activity. This is true for both commercial and private pilots. When you mention you are a pilot, there’s a good chance you’ll get rejected from many companies. Should you get a policy, the policy might charge extra because of your job, the same as if you were in poor health or had a bad habit like smoking.
Another issue is a regular insurance company may exclude aviation from your policy. This means that if you die while flying, your policy won’t pay the death benefit. These rules are unfair and you should not have to put up with this treatment.
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How the Right Company Can Help
When it comes to aviation, not all risks are equal.
What is your level of experience?
How much training do you have?
Do you fly commercially or recreationally?
What types of planes do you fly?
All these factors make a big difference and should be considered for your insurance policy.
An insurance company that specializes in pilot life insurance understands this and will be sure to collect this information. This process ensures that you will get a fair review and will get the coverage and rating you deserve.
In addition to all of the factors listed above, the insurance company is still going to want to know general information about your health and medical history. The better your health is, the more likely you are to get cheaper insurance premiums.
The more experienced the insurance company is with covering pilots, the better your chances of getting affordable rates and getting the coverage your family needs. They understand that flying an airplane is a perfectly safe activity and it isn’t going to cause your monthly premiums to cost a fortune.
Getting life insurance for your family shouldn’t break your bank every month. Your life insurance should be there if you ever need it, but it shouldn’t stretch your finances until then.
Special Insurance Benefits for Pilots
Your being a pilot could actually work out to your advantage. As you know, not everyone can become a pilot, especially a commercial one. It takes a fair amount of training and education to get a license. In addition, you need to be in decent health to fly a plane commercially.
As a result, pilots as a group are healthier and live longer than the general population. Insurance companies that realize this give out discounted policies to pilots.
Another benefit of a good pilot policy is that it will be portable to all jobs. If you get a policy through your work, it might only cover you at that airline. Should you change companies or move to another field, you’ll lose your insurance. With a pilot policy, that won’t happen.
Importance of a Broker
The pilot insurance market is quite large. The best company for your needs depends on many different factors like the type of aircraft you fly and the amount you fly per year. To get the best rate, you need to find a company that matches your situation. However, finding a good match can be very time-consuming.
Working with an insurance broker, like our company, saves you this headache. Our representatives understand the pilot insurance market. They can quickly match you up with the companies that make sense for your situation so you can easily track down the best rate.
Be Sure to Review Your Coverage
If you already have life insurance, congratulations! You’ve taken a big step towards protecting your loved ones. It would still be a good idea to contact our services for a policy review though, especially if it’s been a few years since you bought your policy.
Has your life changed over the past few years? For example, have you had more children or bought another house? Through our free review process, we’ll make sure that your coverage keeps up with your ever-changing life. Not having enough life insurance can be as detrimental as not having a policy at all.
It could leave your family with more debt than they have the resources to pay off, which can put a serious financial strain on your loved ones after you passed away. There are dozens of different factors that could impact your life insurance needs. We can make sure that your plan is up to par. We’ll also make sure that your current policy doesn’t have any of the problems or exclusions because of your status as a pilot.
Regardless if you fly for your job or you fly for fun, you can get affordable life insurance. Your job or hobbies should never keep you from getting quality life insurance protection. A lot of pilots assume they will never be able to buy a life insurance policy they can actually afford, but that’s not true.
Being a pilot is only a problem for life insurance if you don’t plan properly. Make sure you are prepared to get the best possible coverage.
This weekend, I turn 27. I’m excited for 27, and I think it will be a great year.
This year, I’ve decided to sit down and reflect on the past year, and my whole life. Many things have changed over the years, especially over the past few. Usually I just let my birthday fly by, but doing some self-reflection is always a good idea.
I’ve made mistakes over the years, and I’ve also made good decisions. I’ve learned a lot of valuable life lessons, and now I am happier than ever.
While I am not perfect and don’t have a perfect life, life is good and I am very fortunate. I have great friends, a great family, a happy marriage, wonderful dogs, a business that I love, a life of travel, and more.
Here are 27 life lessons I’ve learned in the first 27 years of my life. While some may seem obvious, others may not, but everything below is what made me who I am today. Plus, you may learn something new or something may just “click” after reading my list. Enjoy!
1. Value your time.
When I was younger, a year seemed like an extremely long time. Now, it seems like years go by very quickly.
Time is important, and you should value it. Instead of spending your time doing something you dislike, you should make a goal to change the negative things in your life to something you enjoy instead of waiting decades.
2. Never compare your beginning to someone else’s middle.
Comparing yourself to others can sometimes give you motivation to work harder, but you also don’t want to be unrealistic or get frustrated.
You should always give yourself time with a new task, and don’t think of yourself as a complete failure just because you’re not at the same point as someone else.
Everything takes time, and practice makes perfect.
One of the great temptations for us as leaders and dreamers is to compare the start of our new adventures to the middle of someone else’s. You work on your first book and pick up Max Lucado’s 14th book and say, ‘Mine isn’t as good.’ You post your first blog post and look at Michael Hyatt’s 100th and think, ‘Mine is nowhere near as great as that.’ You give your first speech and watch Ken Robinson’s 1,000th at TED and think, ‘I’m not great like that.’ – Jon Acuff
3. Create a plan to reach your dreams and goals.
You aren’t going to magically reach your dreams and goals unless you create a plan to reach them.
What do you often dream of? Maybe you want a certain career, you want to travel, or something else.
Whatever you want to do, why not create a plan so you can reach your goal? You might live in regret until that happens! You only live once, so a good first step is creating a plan to achieve your dream.
4. Be positive.
I say this in many of my posts, but I truly believe in it. It’s also something that I think more people need to work on.
Being positive can completely change your life. This means you should laugh more, smile more, be happy with yourself (this is very important!), quit being jealous, complain less, have a better outlook on life, and more.
The power of positive thinking may help you:
Find another option or route
Feel motivated, so you can keep on pushing
Move on from your past mistakes
Convince yourself that you can improve your situation (career, financial, family, etc.)
Reach for your goals
Be happier
Related article: Why I Believe Being Positive Can Change Your Financial Situation And Your Life.
5. Learn something new as often as you can.
Back when I was in school, I hated learning new things. Yes, that’s how most children and students are. However, I still remember one day in college when I was a freshman, a man in his 60’s was in one of my philosophy classes. We all asked him why he was there, because, as young 18 year olds, we all thought school was such a drag. He proceeded to tell us how learning and school were the best things in life and that one day, while maybe not right now, we would realize that.
Well, now I know.
I enjoy learning new things more than ever. I’m constantly reading and learning about new things, whereas before I probably would have laughed at myself.
There is so much to learn in the world, and it is so easy to do so. There are classes, articles, great books, and many more things that are so easily accessible in this day and age.
6. Stop living in regret.
You can’t change the past, so there is no point in dwelling on regret and letting it negatively impact you. Instead, you should learn from your mistakes and move on.
7. Don’t care about what anyone else thinks.
This is one that took me awhile to realize, but thankfully I truly believe it now. You should do things for you and not let other people’s opinion’s rule your life.
Do what is right for you!
8. Live life to the fullest.
No matter who a person is, what they are currently doing, how much money they have in the bank, and so on, everyone can start living life to the fullest.
You just never know what may happen in the future, so taking advantage of the time you have now is very important. No one ever wants their life to flash before their eyes and wonder whether their life was meaningful or not, whether they had a good time, or whether they regret past decisions.
And, yes, you can live a great life on a realistic budget.
9. Cherish moments with loved ones.
Now that we travel full-time, we don’t see family and friends as often as we used to. In fact, we haven’t been “home” in over 6 months.
I’ve always cherished the moments with those that I love, but now I make sure to make each trip even more special.
You should never take a moment for granted with those that you love. This will sound very doom and gloom, but you just never know what may happen to you or them. Plus, spending time with your loved ones is always a great time, so why not just do it more?!
10. Make time for fun.
All work and no play is never good for anyone.
You should always make time for the things that you love, even if it’s just a few hours each week. This can help lift your mood, increase your motivation, and more.
11. Excuses are just that – excuses.
Many people make excuses for why things aren’t going their way. Yes, sometimes you may find yourself in a bad situation, but it doesn’t mean that you’re not in control of your own destiny.
Don’t let excuses hold you back. Instead, take action in your life and overcome the obstacles in your path.
12. Do what YOU want to do.
What makes you happy, excited, joyful, and motivated? That’s what you should be doing with your life (as long as it’s legal)!
If you want to live a life of adventure – Go for it.
If you want to start a family – Start planning one.
If you want a better job – Get one.
If you want to change the world – Do it.
13. Less is more.
The idea that less is more is something I think about nearly every day.
When we recently got rid of the majority of our belongings to move into our RV full-time, I truly realized how less is more. We had so much junk that we had never touched, and it wasn’t contributing to the improvement of our lives in any way.
Having less stuff is great for many reasons:
Less clutter
We can give more attention to what truly matters
Less money spent on things that don’t matter
14. Laughter is the best form of medicine.
Laughter and happiness can pretty much cure anything. Next time you’re feeling down, try to find a way to laugh. It will help!
15. Help others as much as you can.
Helping others can completely change your life and change other lives as well. Whether you do something big or small, do something! The smallest gesture can make someone’s day and completely change how they feel.
Here are a few ways to help others:
Smile and say hello to everyone you cross paths with
Donate items from your home
Donate blood
Encourage someone who is struggling
Foster an animal
Become a Big Brother or a Big Sister
Volunteer
Read more at 58 Random Acts Of Kindness.
16. Sometimes you just have to go for it.
You’ll never know what the outcome is if you don’t just go for it. Instead of constantly thinking “what if,” you may just want to take the leap and finally try it out.
17. Dogs are awesome.
Here’s proof.
18. Gain control of your financial situation.
Money is not everything, but being in a good financial situation may make your life easier.
You should pay off your debt, earn more money than you spend, stop keeping up with the Joneses, save for retirement, and so on.
Gaining control of your financial situation is important because you won’t feel as stuck when it comes to money. And then, you may be able to do more because you won’t be held back by monetary problems.
This may help you to reach your dreams, such as traveling more, following your passion, be less stressed, and more.
19. You can say no.
You don’t have to say yes to every single request. Saying yes can be great if you have the time, but saying yes to everything can also cause a lot of stress and lead to people taking advantage of you.
Sometimes you have to evaluate your options and possibly say no.
20. Gossip stinks.
Gossipping doesn’t help anyone.
If you don’t like someone or you don’t like what they’re doing, why should you spend your time thinking about them or talking about them to others? That is just a waste of time!
21. Don’t let life pass you by.
It can be really easy to let life pass you by. Before you know it, years or even decades may be gone.
Too many people have the mindset of “Oh, in 10 years life will be so much better because of this and that.” And then they just let their lives go by without ever thinking about the present.
Well, what about now?! 10 years is a long time! Reaching a goal is great, but during the present you should try to fit in some happiness as well (on a budget, of course).
22. See the beauty in everything.
There are beautiful things all around us. Instead of seeing the bad in things, try to see the good.
23. Kill them with kindness.
Being kind to others is always important, even when a person is being negative, hurtful, or difficult.
Whenever someone is being difficult in my life, I almost always attempt to kill them with kindness.
And, I’ve found that it works 99% of the time.
24. Be open to new things and tackle your fears.
When was the last time you did something new? So many people live inside their comfort zone when they actually need to branch out every now and then.
Yes, stepping outside of your box can be tough, but what if it completely opened your eyes and changed your whole outlook on life? Wouldn’t that be amazing?
Related: 10 Daily Challenges To Improve Your Life
25. Balance is important.
You can’t do everything 24/7. You need some sort of balance to stay sane.
26. Be confident.
Being confident can help you succeed in life. If you don’t believe in yourself, then who will?
27. Money is just money.
Too many people let money take over their life in ways that don’t bring them any joy. Yes, you need money in order to pay bills and to survive, but it is just money.
Instead of letting money take over your life, you should use it as a tool to help improve your life. Instead of thinking about money in a negative way, think about it in a positive way and take actions to improve your financial situation.
Do you feel like you are stuck in a never-ending debt cycle?
Perhaps you keep getting out of debt, only to fall back into it shortly after. That is what a debt cycle is, and many people fall into this cycle and can’t seem to get out.
Falling into debt over and over again can lead to insane amounts of stress, unhappiness, sadness, and feelings of hopelessness. No one wants to experience these feelings.
But, I want to tell you that it IS possible to get out of the debt cycle.
Today, I will help you finally escape the debt cycle so that you can live the life you want.
Face your problem
Before we continue, you need to realize why you keep falling into a debt cycle. You should think about the answers to the questions below:
Do you feel like you deserve everything you buy?
Are you trying to keep up with the Joneses?
Do you have an emotional spending problem?
Are you afraid to face how much debt you have?
Do you feel like debt makes things seem more affordable?
Are you unprepared for emergencies?
Do you truly understand how debt and interest rates work?
Are you living paycheck to paycheck?
Do you live beyond your means?
Do you have credit card spending problems?
To get out of a debt cycle, you need to realize why you keep falling into debt. By understanding why you are falling into debt, you can begin to prevent yourself from falling back into a debt cycle.
However, until you dig deep and realize this, the debt cycle will never end.
Side note: I highly recommend that you check out Personal Capital if you are interested in gaining control of your financial situation. Personal Capital is very similar to Mint.com but 100 times better. Personal Capital allows you to aggregate your financial accounts so that you can easily see your financial situation. You can connect accounts such as your mortgage, bank accounts, credit card accounts, investment accounts, retirement accounts, and more. And, it is FREE.
Add up your total debt
This is related to facing your problem, as adding up your total amount of debt will help you realize how to gain control of your debt. This will help you to truly understand how much debt you are dealing with.
Plus, most people have no idea how much debt they have. By adding it up, you will have a more realistic view of your debt problem.
Create a budget
Most people have student loans, credit card debt, a mortgage, car loans, and sometimes many other forms of debt. However, not many people have a budget.
According to a survey done by Gallup, 68% of households in the U.S. do not have a budget.
Budgeting can help you take control of your financial situation so that you can stop the revolving debt cycle.
Read more at The Complete Budgeting Guide: How To Create A Budget That Works.
Pay off debt
In order to get out of the debt cycle, you’ll have to pay off your debt!
No surprise there.
Paying off your debt can lessen your stress levels, allow you to have more money to put towards something else (such as retirement), stop paying interest fees, and more.
Read more at How To Eliminate Your Debt.
Create a vision board
Having your financial goal displayed in front of you can make it that much more real, plus it’s nice to have a constant reminder of what you’re working towards.
Various ways to make your financial goal visual include:
Create a graphic that demonstrates your financial goal. I did some research and found a blog post on A Cultivated Nest about many creative ways to do this.
Keep a picture of your goal on hand. You could even go all out and create a vision board on Pinterest, or you can create a poster board of all of the things that debt freedom will allow you to do.
Write down what debt free life will be like for you.
Start an emergency fund
An emergency fund is something that everyone should have. However, according to a report by Bankrate.com, 26% of Americans have no emergency fund whatsoever. This same report found that only 40% of families have enough in savings to cover three months of expenses, with an even lower percentage having the recommended six months worth of savings.
This is scary to me, as having an emergency fund can greatly help you get through hard and unexpected situations that may arise.
An emergency fund can help if you:
Lose your job
Have your hours cut back
When your car breaks down
If you have a medical expense, and so on.
Plus, an emergency fund can help you get out of the revolving debt cycle. This is because if an emergency does arise, you won’t be forced to rely on debt in order to solve your situation. Instead, you’ll have your emergency fund to bail you out!
Read more at Everything You Need To Know About Emergency Funds.
Spend less than you earn
Too many people live paycheck to paycheck. This can lead to credit card debt, high interest rates, and more.
You should always be spending less than you earn. If you aren’t, then you need to find ways to cut your budget and/or increase the amount of money you earn.
Save more money
Finding ways to save more money may allow you to pay off your debt a little faster, improve your financial habits, help you reach your dream sooner, and more.
Read more at 30+ Ways To Save Money Each Month.
Make extra money
I believe that earning extra income can completely change your life in a positive way. You can stop living paycheck to paycheck, pay off your debt, and more, all by earning extra money.
In fact, because of extra income and my blog, I was able to pay off $38,000 in student loans within 7 months, leave my day job in order to pursue my passion, travel full-time, and more!
Making extra money can do something similar for you as well. It can help you break out of the debt cycle as you’ll be able to put more money towards your debt, and you will be able to spend less than you earn.
Related articles:
Try using just cash
If your problem with debt is that you don’t know how to correctly use credit cards, or credit cards or too tempting for you, then you may want to get rid of your credit cards and try using cash.
A cash budget is when you pay for the majority of your purchases in cash. Of course, there are certain expenses, like a mortgage payment, that you may not be able to do that for or that you may not want to do that for. For the most part, any and almost all spending is done with cash when a person is taking part in a cash budget.
A cash budget can help because:
It forces you to think about where your money is going
It can prevent impulse shopping and clutter
Spending actual cash “hurts” more than spending money with a credit card
Don’t keep up with the Joneses
Whether you are a young child and want that new toy everyone is playing with, or if you are a parent and are feeling the need to upgrade your house, car, etc., everyone has experienced wanting to keep up with someone else.
The problem with this is that keeping up with the Joneses can make you broke and fall into a revolving debt cycle.
When trying to keep up with the Joneses, you might spend money you do not have. You might put expenses on credit cards to, in a pretend world, “afford” things. You might even buy things you don’t really care about. The problems can go on and on.
This can then lead to a lot of debt and potentially set your financial goals back years, if not decades.
You should stop caring about what other people are buying, and, instead, only do what makes you happy.
Are you stuck in the revolving debt cycle? What are you doing so that you can get out?
My monthly Extraordinary Lives series is something that I really enjoying doing. First up was JP Livingston, who retired with a net worth over $2,000,000 at the age of 28. Today’s interview is with Jeremy, Winnie, and Julian, also known as the family behind Go Curry Cracker.
With the goal of traveling around the world, Jeremy and Winnie were in their 30s when they retired around six years ago. Their 3-year-old son travels with them and has already been to 29 countries as well!
They were able to do this by saving intensively – over 70% of their after-tax income.
In this interview, you’ll learn:
How they retired in their 30s.
What made them want to retire early.
How they live comfortably, rent houses with private pools, fly business class, and travel a ton – as opposed to the myth that early retirees are boring and just eat beans and rice to survive.
How they decided on the amount they needed to retire.
What they do about health insurance in early retirement.
And more! This interview is jam packed full of great information!
I asked you, my readers, what questions I should ask them, so below are your questions (and some of mine) about their story and how they accomplished so much. Make sure you’re following me on Facebook so you have the opportunity to submit your own questions for the next interview.
Related content:
1. Tell me your story. When did you retire and HOW?!
We are Jeremy, Winnie, and Julian, also known as the family behind Go Curry Cracker!
Winnie and I retired about six years ago with the goal of traveling the world. Traveling more in retirement is a pretty common goal, so I suppose the interesting bits are that we were still in our 30s and our 3-year-old son has now been to 29 countries.
What made our location and financially independent lifestyle possible was a decade of intensive saving – we were literally saving 70%+ of our after-tax income. Instead of buying stuff or experiences, we were investing in our future freedom.
Alas, we had already succumbed to some lifestyle inflation so we sold the house and moved into a small apartment, sold the car and started walking and riding bicycles, and turned our home kitchen into the best restaurant in town.
Unwinding lifestyle inflation is a huge mental challenge, but we both grew up on the edge of poverty so we had some experience with prioritizing purchases and finding solutions that didn’t require money. Nowadays, our investments pay all of our bills, and we could buy a house, buy a car, live a typical life… we just happen to not want those things.
Instead, for the past many years, we’ve basically spent the summer in Europe, autumn in the US, and winter in Asia. It’s not quite a perpetual summer vacation, but close.
2. Was early retirement always something you were striving for? What made you want to retire early?
Prior to 2002, we were both essentially following the normal life script – go to school, get good grades, get a job, etc… Maybe the only unconventional thing is I had student loan payoff as the #1 priority. Every story I heard about debt while growing up had a tragic ending, so I wanted to be debt free ASAP. I even cashed out all of my vacation time for five years or so to get extra pay. We also did crazy things like using 0% interest credit card offers to accelerate student loan payoff. Literally every extra penny went to the student loans.
When I finally got my head above water, I took a vacation, my first as an adult. After three weeks of scuba diving, fresh seafood, and tropical drinks, I looked back at where life in the real world was headed and thought, “This is it? This is the American Dream?”
Within six months the house and car were gone and the early retirement plan was underway.
3. Would you say that you live comfortably?
If by comfortably you mean do we rent houses with private pools, fly business class, and enjoy an occasional Michelin Star restaurant, then yeah, that sounds about right. Combined with 52 weeks of vacation per year and full autonomy, we are probably at an above average comfort level.
That may sound a little smug, for which I apologize, but I think it is important to truly understand the power of deferred consumption. We can only live as we do today because we didn’t live like this yesterday.
By living well beneath our means for just a small part of our total lifetimes (10 years +/-), something many would consider “uncomfortable”, we are now able to live well above the standards of even high-income households – just without the need to consume all of our waking hours with a high-income job.
In summary – yeah, life is good.
4. What career did you have before you retired? Did that career help you to retire earlier?
Winnie was a Program Manager for a large PC company, and I was an Engineer at a large software company.
I do wish we had those insane technology salaries that I sometimes hear about in the news, but our average combined income over our hardcore saving years was only about $135k. I guess I should have studied harder.
I think more than the job, my degree helped us retire early. I basically applied engineering principles to our finances and our lifestyle, trying to optimize for quality of life and low expenses. I then used that same mentality in designing our investment portfolio (100% index funds) and minimizing our taxes ($100k income with $0 income tax.) If I had studied art history or interior design, I probably would have thought about these things from an entirely different perspective, perhaps one that required more expensive furnishings.
5. What advice do you have for the average person that doesn’t make six figures a year who wants to retire early?
The core principle to follow is living well beneath your means, aiming for at least 50% savings rates. Or in 1950s parlance, live off one income and save the other. This recipe for financial success has worked for much of recorded history.
Of course, this is easier when making $100k than it is when making $10k, all else being equal.
For many average income households, it helps to change perspective: It isn’t that we can’t afford to save 50%, it is that we can’t afford our current lifestyle.
This is where we were when we got started, and some tough choices are ahead… it is necessary to either earn more, spend less, or wait (much) longer. Or all 3.
For households with incomes well below average, such as our families when we were growing up, it is absolutely necessary to grow income. Public assistance can help for a while (I’ve eaten a fair amount of government cheese), but ultimately skill development and probably even relocation to a job center are necessary.
6. Do you still earn an income in retirement?
We do. With all of this free time, it is fairly difficult to NOT do something that brings in some extra cash.
Last year Winnie published her first book (in Mandarin / Chinese) which was on the bestseller list in Taiwan for a while. About three years ago, Go Curry Cracker accidentally started to earn some affiliate income. I now actually try to run the site as a business, but limit myself to just a few hours per week.
I also employ a pretty aggressive long-term tax minimization strategy, which saves us thousands of dollars every year in taxes. I suppose that can also be thought of as extra income. We’ve actually reported about $100k annual income each of the last five years with income tax bills of $0.
For anybody who is interested, I do publish our full income statements and tax returns (business and personal) every year (linked to above). A lot of people have found those helpful to optimize their own finances.
7. How did you decide how much you needed to retire?
We set a target to have an investment portfolio worth 25x our desired cost of living in Seattle, where we were living at the time, although we were spending much less to turbocharge our savings.
25x is just the standard 4% Rule, which (in oversimplified terms) says you can annually spend an inflation adjusted 4% of your portfolio, probably forever. So, say if you wanted to spend $40k/year, you would need $1 million. That was our minimum.
When we hit that target, Winnie stopped working, and I continued on for about three more years, during which we were just living off dividends, so we were essentially investing 100% of my paycheck.
We also wanted the portfolio to continue to grow so we could leave a bit of a legacy, so even after we stopped working, we wanted to continue living beneath our means. We did this by living large in Mexico and Guatemala rather than Paris or Tokyo. And as luck would have it, the stock market performance over the past five years has been pretty good, so our portfolio just continues to grow, and we can’t spend it fast enough.
8. What sacrifices or hard decisions did you have to make?
This may sound cliché, but I don’t think of anything we did as a sacrifice – we just employed a suggestion my grandmother used to make all the time, “Hey there, you hold onto your britches now young man!” Roughly translated from the original Minnesotan, I think that means “slow down.” In other words, hold off on the lifestyle inflation for a while.
When people rush out to buy their dream house (with rented money) or a new car or a big vacation, they are sacrificing their future for immediate consumption. We just waited a little longer, and along the way we discovered that none of those trappings of success have any real meaning to us.
But of course, when society and advertisers are screaming at you that you need to consume and upgrade, it can be difficult to pause and reconsider. We avoided a lot of that by not owning a television and using the great outdoors for entertainment.
9. What do you do about health insurance in early retirement?
For many years, we were self-insured and just paid cash for any medical needs. We paid $3 for a doctor visit in Mexico, $20 for some dental care in Thailand, $50 for a chest X-ray in Taiwan, and $90 for a visit to the emergency room in Portugal. Medical tourism is your friend. What we weren’t spending on health insurance, we invested in more index funds, building our own healthcare fund.
If we were in the US, we would buy health insurance on the State or Federal Health Exchanges. The US health system is all kinds of messed up, so without insurance you are only one minor incident from total financial devastation.
As of about six months ago, we are now all covered by the Taiwan national health system, which is a single payer universal healthcare provider. We pay about $25/person/month for great coverage, which includes dental. (Hot tip: marry somebody from a country with a good health system.)
10. Will you be planning a place for your child to make long term friendships and connections? Do you plan to continue travel when your child is school age?
We like the idea of homeschooling up to age 10 or 12 or so, but we are still figuring it out. Even so, it probably won’t be all or nothing (Julian is enrolled part time in a Montessori pre-school now.)
The pros/cons of life-in-place vs nomadic living is such an interesting discussion for us, because we are inherently a global family (our nuclear families are spread across 2 countries, 3 States, and 6 cities) and despite our very different backgrounds, we independently concluded that the idea of “home” for us isn’t really a place.
Our thinking comes from our existing communities – Winnie grew up in a big city (Taipei), and she has friends from back in the 3rd grade who all have kids around the same age as Julian. When we are in Taiwan, we all get together and it is like they never missed a beat. It’s a beautiful thing.
I grew up in a small town in Minnesota, and 99% of my childhood / high-school friends and family moved away for college and career. There is literally no one place I can go where all long-term friendships and connections exist, and yet I have them, just spread around the world. It’s also a beautiful thing.
We try to get quality time with all of our family every year, which is much easier now that we don’t have jobs. 2 years ago, we had 4 generations together for a week on a lake, with Grandma, my parents, my sister and 2 brothers and spouses, and their 9 kids. This year we took my Mom and Grandma on an Alaska Cruise, and also spent a couple weeks with all of Julian’s cousins. Next year will be something special again, and we all stay in touch via Skype. We also plan on having more kids, which means sibling connections.
What we do will change and evolve as we learn more and figure things out, but overall, we’ll listen to our kids, make sure we have regular quality time with family, and stay connected with friends and family via Skype. And everywhere we go, we build community with friends, family, and other adventurers. I think it will be the same for the next generation.
11. What hardships come up when traveling with a child and what do you do about it?
The hardships of traveling with a child are largely the same as the hardships of parenting. Kids have needs and wants, and if they aren’t addressed in a timely fashion then chaos ensues. As with most things, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure – and even then, things go awry.
Where most families have to balance child rearing with a career and fixed schedules, we have a great deal of flexibility. Seldom are we schedule driven, and when we are (e.g. a flight departure time) we avoid other commitments. We also aren’t doing the quick 1 week vacation thing, with a lot of time getting from A to B and a whirlwind of tours and activities; that’s much too intense and exhausting. We are more so living our normal lives, just in different locations. We play at the park daily, take naps, explore by foot, and enjoy the local delicacies. If we are having too much fun at the park, we can always see the museum tomorrow. Somehow, we usually manage to see the highlights.
Since we aren’t always in one location with a regular schedule, we focus on having routine in the absence of routine. We have regular toys, regular nap time, and a bedtime ritual which involves a bath, songs, and books. Plus we all co-sleep, so we are together 24/7. It’s hard to provide a stronger sense of security than parental presence.
It all seems to be going well; Julian is a happy, healthy, normal kid. He loves being outside exploring, enjoys meeting new people, and is always ready for the next plane, train, or automobile.
12. If you were starting back in the beginning, what would you do differently from the beginning?
We made a lot of mistakes… buying a house, buying a car, spending money without a long-term plan, but I don’t know if I would change any of them. Those mistakes helped us grow and appreciate where we are today. For example, we are Renters for Life, but we probably wouldn’t really appreciate the total joy and financial advantages that come with not owning a deteriorating wooden box.
If I could go back in time and tell my younger self, “Hey, read this Go Curry Cracker blog, you’ll learn a lot!” we could probably have become Financially Independent 3 to 5 years earlier. That’s a lot, considering my entire career was only 16 years, but it’s not that that much in an 80 – 100 year life span.
But, what I would do differently:
invest only in index funds from the beginning
not waste my time dabbling in rental properties
always live within biking distance of work and prioritize biking and walking
always rent
learn to cook well sooner
start travel hacking sooner instead of paying for vacations
13. Lastly, what is your very best tip (or two) that you have for someone who wants to reach the same success as you?
Design your life so that saving a high percentage of income is the natural and ordinary outcome.
Aim for saving 50%+ of after-tax income, and minimize taxes
With the housing market so competitive, and properties often going above asking, getting a mortgage can be a little more stressful.
One major component of the mortgage approval process is determining the collateral value of the subject property, otherwise known as the appraised value.
A bank or lender generally won’t approve you for a home loan without getting an independent appraisal first, at your expense.
Simply put, they want to know that the property you’re buying or refinancing is actually worth what you or the seller think it’s worth.
Even if you’re a stellar borrower with an excellent credit score and tons of money in the bank, a valuation issue can sink your loan approval.
While this typically isn’t a problem, it can muddy the waters if the appraisal happens to come in low.
The good news is we’re in a rising real estate market, with home prices experiencing their best annual gains in decades. They’re also at new record highs.
This means even a bid over asking could easily come in at value when the appraisal is conducted.
But what if it doesn’t? Often, the home buyer would need to make some adjustments to their financing to “make it work.”
The most common tactic is to put more money down to keep the loan-to-value (LTV) ratio at its original level.
Unfortunately, this isn’t always an option if a buyer is light on cash, and home sellers (or at least their listing agents) know this.
This is why they favor cash buyers over those who need a home loan to get the job done, and may balk if you request an appraisal contingency.
Introducing the Better Appraisal Guarantee
Keep all your locked-in loan terms (interest rate, APR, cash to close, etc.) regardless of the appraised value
Must be a conforming purchase loan on a primary residence with a loan amount below $822,375 and a minimum 10% down payment
Buyer must use a Better Real Estate agent or partner agent and get their mortgage from Better
May also qualify for up to 1% of the purchase price in lender credits to offset closing costs
To level the playing field somewhat, Better Mortgage has launched their “Better Appraisal Guarantee.”
In short, they’ll honor the monthly payment, mortgage rate, APR, and cash to close reflected on your valid locked Loan Estimate (LE), regardless of what happens with your appraisal.
For example, if you offer $600,000 for a house and put down 10%, and the value comes back at $550,000, Better Mortgage will still honor your locked mortgage rate and all the details behind it.
In this scenario, the LTV would actually rise from 90% to about 98%, which would generally require you to bring in more money at closing.
If you didn’t, either the loan wouldn’t get approved or at minimum you’d now need to pay private mortgage insurance (PMI) and the mortgage rate would theoretically be higher to compensate for greater risk.
Aside from these buy-side advantages, the seller would also benefit because you wouldn’t need to retool your mortgage. And as such, could close without delay and no concessions on their end.
In a sense, this would align it somewhat with the certainty of a cash offer (minus the rest of the mortgage loan process), which could also give you an edge in a bidding war.
This is similar to other products out there like HomeLight Cash Offer and BoardRE (now known as Accept.inc).
The caveat is that this new feature is for Better Mortgage customers who also use a Better Real Estate Agent or a Better Real Estate Partner Agent.
Like other companies, Better is trying to control more of the home buying process than just the mortgage piece via their “Better Real Estate” division.
To sweeten the deal, Better is also offering up to 1% of the home sales price in lender credits if you use Better Mortgage and a Better real estate agent.
In order to qualify, it has to be a conforming purchase loan with an amount less than $822,375, with a down payment of at least 10% on a primary residence.
To sum things up, if you don’t already have a real estate agent and like Better as a mortgage lender, this could be a pretty exceptional value-add.
Of course, always put in the time to shop around with other lenders and real estate agents to ensure it’s the right fit.
Read more: Get Up to $6,000 in Amex Statement Credits If You Use Better Mortgage
If you are looking for ways to make extra cash at home on a flexible schedule, then I recommend checking out Branded Surveys.
This honest review of Branded Surveys is going to explain what Branded Surveys is, how Branded Surveys works, and how you can make extra money on Branded Surveys each month.
Now, I do want to start by saying that Branded Surveys will not make you rich. No survey site will do that. But, you can easily earn a little extra money in your spare time from home.
The PayPal cash and Amazon gift cards that you can earn from survey sites can help you to have a little bit extra spending money, but still not have to sacrifice too much of your time. Plus, you can take surveys while you’re watching TV or doing some other task that does not need your full attention.
All you need is an internet connection and a device (phone, laptop, computer, or tablet).
In today’s Branded Surveys review, you are going to learn about one of the most popular survey companies – Branded Surveys.
Branded Surveys has already paid out over $37,793,794.07 to their members.
Plus, it’s free to sign up and only takes a few minutes to get started answering surveys.
This Branded Surveys review is going to answer common questions, such as:
Why does Branded Surveys pay you?
How do I earn points on Branded Surveys?
How much money can you make using Branded Surveys?
What kind of questions are asked in paid online surveys?
Can you make $1,000 each week from surveys?
My Branded Surveys review is going to answer all of those questions, as well as talk about paid online surveys a little more at the end, in case you have any other questions about them.
Get the inside scoop below on this online survey site with this in-depth Branded Surveys review. Learn about the platform’s features, earning potential, and user reviews to decide if it’s the right online survey site for you. Read now to make a smart decision and start earning extra cash and gift cards right away.
You can sign up for Branded Surveys here and receive a free 100 point sign up bonus.
Branded Surveys Review
What is Branded Surveys?
Branded Surveys is one of the most popular online survey platforms and they were started in 2012.
Branded Surveys pays you to take surveys, and they have over 3,000,000 users. You can sign up for free and get paid through cash or redeem your points with over 100 different gift card options.
On Branded Surveys, you can make around $0.50 to $5 for each survey you take (depends on the length of the survey).
Branded Surveys is available to people in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
Also, you only have to be 16 years old to answer surveys on Branded Surveys, whereas most other online survey sites ask you to be 18 years old.
You can sign up for Branded Surveys here and receive a free 100 point sign up bonus.
Why does Branded Surveys pay you?
Branded Surveys and other market research companies pay you to answer online surveys because they are collecting research.
Companies hire market research businesses to learn what real customers, like you and me, actually think of their products and business. They can use the survey data that is collected to improve their product and business, or even create a whole new product that better suits the needs of their customers.
What kind of questions are asked in surveys?
Are you wondering what kind of questions you might be asked when you answer paid online survey sites?
Well, the type of questions that you receive can vary depending on the survey, but generally, they ask for your opinions on products or services, your preferences on certain topics, and sometimes even personal information such as do you have a dog or children.
For example, here are some survey questions that you may see:
How often do you go to a restaurant in a month?
How important is the price when considering a particular product or service?
What features do you look for when purchasing a _____?
How often do you use a ______?
What is your annual income?
How do you usually spend your spare time?
Have you recently purchased any new electronics or appliances? If so, what did you buy and why?
Do you usually research a particular product before buying?
How often do you shop for groceries each month?
How many hours per week do you spend watching TV shows or movies?
As you can see, they are easy. It is not rocket science!
These are just a few examples of the kind of questions that you may see when you answer a survey. Some surveys may be more focused on a specific product, whereas others may want to learn more about you.
Many times they simply want to just learn more about you, because this can help them figure out why you need a certain product or service.
How does Branded Surveys work?
The sign-up process is easy for Branded Surveys. Here are the steps:
Sign up for Branded Surveys here and receive a free 100 point sign up bonus. You can create a log in or log in with just your Facebook account.
Then, you will be asked to create your profile. This is so that they know what surveys to best match you with. Here, you will be asked your age, if you have children, what your education level is, and more.
Once you match with a survey, you will receive an invite from Branded Surveys that you can take. You will receive survey notifications in your email inbox or by logging into Branded Surveys and looking at your dashboard to see what surveys are available.
Complete the survey and earn points
After you have enough points, you can redeem your points for payout options such as cash or gift cards.
And that is all!
It is easy.
How to earn points on Branded Surveys
You can earn survey points in four main ways on Branded Surveys. The ways include:
By taking surveys. When you first create your account, you will earn points by simply building your profile. After that, you will earn points by answering real surveys.
Inviting friends can earn you 50 points once your referrals earn a silver badge. You will receive a referral link to share.
Answering the daily poll will earn you 5 points. These polls take less than a minute to answer and are asking you a very easy question.
Branded Surveys also has a leaderboard for whoever gets the most points on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. For daily leaderboard winners, you get 50 bonus points. For weekly leaderboard winners, you receive 200 points. For monthly leaderboard winners, you get 300 points.
Unlike other survey platforms, Branded Surveys sole focus is just surveys. They’ll even give you bonuses for answering the most surveys!
How much is 1,000 points on Branded Surveys?
Each point on Branded Surveys is worth $0.01.
1,000 points are equal to $10.
500 Branded Surveys points are equal to $5.
Once you have earned a minimum of 500 points, you can redeem your points for rewards. Or, you can save your points and get a bigger reward.
How fast can you make money on Branded Surveys? How much money can you make using Branded Surveys?
On Branded Surveys, you can make around $0.50 to $5 for each survey you take.
Each survey on Branded Surveys typically takes around 5 to 20 minutes to complete. Before you start a survey, Branded Surveys will tell you the estimated amount of time – so you can see before you begin if you think it is worthwhile. Remember, this is just an estimate and sometimes you may spend more time or less time answering a survey.
How many surveys can you do a day on Branded Surveys?
If you are invited to a survey and start it before it becomes full, then you can do as many surveys as you want on Branded Surveys.
The main Branded Surveys problems are that you may not qualify for a ton of surveys, or you may be disqualified from taking a survey. This can be annoying to some people (this is typically the most common area for Branded Surveys complaints), but survey companies do this for a reason. Survey companies often send shorter surveys to see if you will qualify for a full survey. This is to ensure that you are a good fit for the survey.
Can Branded Surveys be trusted? Is Branded Surveys a scam?
Yes, Branded Surveys can be trusted, and they are not a scam.
You can find other reviews of Branded Surveys at Branded Surveys Trustpilot. There are over 74,000 Branded Surveys reviews there with an average score of 4.2 out of 5 stars.
Also, in case you want to look for even older Branded Surveys reviews, Branded Survey used to be called Mintvine.
The Branded Surveys mobile app is available in the App Store as well as the Google Play Store. Or, survey takers can answer surveys right from their desktop computer or laptop.
This is the Branded Surveys dashboard when you first sign up.
Does Branded Surveys actually pay you?
Yes, Branded Surveys does actually pay you. Branded Surveys payout options including being able to receive payment via bank transfer, which is done via direct deposit within just 1 business day.
Or, you can choose to get paid via PayPal cash.
They also have gift cards to places such as Airbnb, Amazon, Apple, Barnes & Noble, Best Buy, Delta Air Lines, Disney, Kroger, Lowe’s, REI, Sephora, Starbucks, Target, Walmart, and so many other retailers.
There is also Branded Pay, which is another way to get cash directly to your bank account. You will receive your payment in around 48 hours.
Another option that they have is you can choose to donate your earnings to a charity.
What is the Branded Elite program?
Branded Elite is a special loyalty program offered by Branded Surveys. It is their way of rewarding members for consistently answering their online surveys with the opportunity to earn more points.
Throughout each month, as you take surveys on Branded Surveys, you can get to the Bronze, Silver, and Gold badge levels. You can pass through each level after completing at least 12 surveys each week and you will be awarded bonus points weekly (on top of what you are already earning for taking each survey).
Here is more information on each tier and the extra points you can earn:
For the Bronze level (you reach the Bronze badge once you complete 2+ surveys each month), you will receive a 5% bonus once you complete at least 12 surveys each week.
For the Silver level (you become a Silver member once you complete 10+ surveys each month), you will receive a 10% bonus once you complete at least 12 surveys each week, a 12% bonus once you complete at least 20 surveys each week, and a 14% bonus once you complete at least 30 surveys each week
For Gold members (you reach the Gold tier once you complete 25+ surveys each month), you will receive a 15% bonus once you complete at least 12 surveys each week, a 17% bonus once you complete at least 20 surveys each week, and a 19% bonus once you complete at least 30 surveys each week.
Is Branded Surveys free?
Yes, Branded Surveys is free.
Legit survey sites are always free. I don’t know of any legitimate survey sites that charge you money to sign up. And, they shouldn’t!
Branded Surveys is free – they don’t charge you to sign up, take surveys, or stay a member.
Can you make $1,000 a week from surveys?
No!
If you are looking for a paid survey site to pay you $1,000 a week, you will not find that because it does not exist.
Legit survey sites do not make you any promises to make you rich. They exist to give you some spare spending money in a flexible way, and that is all.
You will most likely earn around $10 or less to answer surveys in your spare time.
How much can you realistically make with surveys?
You will most likely earn less than $100 a month by taking surveys. They don’t take up a lot of your time, and they are not a scam.
If a paid survey site says you can make $1,000 a week, I would be extremely cautious because I have not heard of this yet.
To make the most money by taking online surveys, you will want to sign up for as many survey sites as you can.
Do survey sites actually pay you to take surveys?
Yes, websites do pay you to take online surveys. The paid survey sites below may pay you in gift cards, PayPal cash, and even by check.
Over the years, I have received over 110 gift cards to places such as Amazon, checks in the mail, and PayPal cash for answering online surveys.
There are many other legit survey sites that will pay you as well. I recommend signing up for as many as you can because they all have different surveys that they invite you to, so this can increase the amount of money you can make taking surveys.
Below are some other popular survey sites that I recommend:
American Consumer Opinion
Survey Junkie
InboxDollars
Pinecone Research
Prize Rebel
User Interviews – This one pays the most, with many paying over $100 an hour.
What other reviews on survey sites do you have?
If you are looking to learn more about each online survey website, I have in-depth reviews on several of them. You can find them below:
Branded Surveys Review – Is Branded Surveys Legit?
I hope you enjoyed this Branded Surveys review.
If you are looking to earn a little extra money but you do not want to commit to a lot of hours or another job, then answering surveys at home may be an option for you to look into.
Plus, Branded Surveys is available to people in the U.S., Canada, and the UK, for anyone 16 years old and older.
Branded Surveys is a legitimate survey platform that pays you to complete surveys, and that’s their only focus. They have plenty of surveys for you to answer. There are a lot of ways to redeem your points, such as many different gift card options and even straight cash.
So, if you are looking for a survey company to join, then Branded Surveys is a survey site definitely worth considering.
You can sign up for Branded Surveys and receive a free 100 point sign-up bonus here.
Do you take online surveys? What other questions do you want me to answer in my Branded Surveys review?
We all know that saving money is important, and asking yourself “how much money should I save?” can be a difficult question to answer when beginning. Being a personal finance expert, I am asked this question a lot.
Between saving for emergencies, retirement, vacations, etc. there are a lot of things to consider. And, knowing how much to save is something that many people don’t often talk about. When it does come up, it can seem like there is no straight answer.
I’ve talked a lot about savings on this blog, and in my post 56% Of Americans Have Less Than $10,000 Saved For Retirement, I stated that 56% of Americans have less than an average of $10,000 in retirement savings and 33% have no retirement savings at all. This is something incredibly important to address!
Other interesting statistics mentioned in this article include:
42% of millennials have not begun saving for retirement.
52% of Gen Xers have less than $10,000 in retirement savings.
About 30% of respondents age 55 and over have no retirement savings whatsoever.
Nearly 75% of Americans over 40 are behind on saving for retirement.
There are many reasons for why a person may not save money each month, which I discuss further in the article.
However, one of the biggest reasons I’ve noticed is that people don’t realize that they should be saving more – because they think they’re “invincible” (they think they don’t need to save at the moment, they think they’ll never leave their job, etc), because they truly do think that they are saving enough money, or because they are so overwhelmed by the idea of saving money that they just don’t save any money at all.
Really, all of these reasons get back to the question I began with, “how much money should I save?” If you find that you are asking that question and not getting any straight answers, I am here to help you figure that out today.
Articles related to “how much money should I save?”:
So, how much money should I save each month?
According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, the personal savings rate has averaged around 5% in the past year, and averaged 8.33% from 1959 until 2016.
There are a lot of people that think saving between 1% and 5% of their income is enough to be on track for retirement.
Sadly, it’s unlikely that amount will be enough to retire.
While 5% is better than nothing, just one small emergency each year could easily and completely wipe out that savings.
Further, saving just 5% means it will take you a very long time to retire.
With just a 1% savings rate, it would take you 98.9 working years until you reach retirement.
A 5% savings rate means that it would take you 66 working years to retire.
A 20% savings rate means that it would take you 37 working years to retire.
A 50% savings rate means that it would take you 17 working years to retire.
A 75% savings rate means that it would take you 7 working years to retire.
So, by saving more of your money, you are likely to retire sooner. Makes sense, right?
Related content: Do You Know Your Net Worth?
Now, all of those statistics are dependant on how much you make, but for the average person, I recommend saving at least 20% of your income. That would still be around 37 years of working.
However, there is no perfect percentage.
If you have a high income, then you should probably save more of your income so that you aren’t just wastefully spending your money. For example, we save over 80% of our income each month after personal and business expenses.
On the other hand, if 20% just seems like a crazy high percentage for you to save, then just start somewhere, anywhere! Saving something is better than saving nothing (please head to the section below “Still think you can’t any save money?” for more information).
And, everyone has different financial goals. If you want to retire early, then you’ll most likely have to save more than 20% of your income.
Recommended reading: The 6 Steps To Take To Invest Your First Dollar – Yes, It’s Really This Easy!
Think about your goals when understanding “How much money should I save?”
One person’s answer to “how much money should I save?” will most likely be completely different from the next.
Due to that, your savings percentage goal can vary depending on your specific goals. Retirement calculators can be great and all, but you really need to make sure you are thinking about your own goals.
Remember though, it’s not always just about retirement. There are other things in your life that you may want to save for.
When asking yourself “how much money should I save?” you will want to think about your:
Short-term goals – What are you saving for that you may purchase in the next year? This could be a vacation, an event you want to attend, holiday gifts, etc.
Mid-term goals – Think of a goal that you want to reach in the next decade. This may include saving for a down payment on a house, buying a car, building up an emergency fund, etc.
Long-term goals -This will most likely be your retirement goal, paying off your mortgage completely, etc.
Yes, that’s a lot to think about. And, this is why I always recommend saving as much as you realistically can.
Pay yourself first.
To make reaching your savings goals easier, I recommend starting to pay yourself first.
If you are unfamiliar with the idea, it’s basically setting aside money in savings before you pay any other bills. I also know someone who pays themselves first by putting extra money towards their debt before paying any other bills.
Paying yourself first before you pay your monthly expenses may be a scary thought. No one wants to over withdraw from their checking account or be unable to pay their monthly bills.
However, your future is just as important too, so it is much better to think about saving money as a need instead of something that can be pushed aside. Or, you can look at it this way, saving money is a bill you pay to yourself.
Paying yourself first becomes the first thing you do with each paycheck – you don’t even pay your other bills first. When you turn savings into a budget line item, rather than just putting what’s leftover into savings, it really can help you save more money. Yes, it may be difficult at first, but you will get used to living on less money.
For this to become part of your answer to the question “how much money should I save?” you may have to do some cutbacks with your budget or find ways to make more money. But, by only having a limited amount of money to spend each month, you will find that you are more closely watching your spending.
This may allow you to really see what is a need and what is just a want.
Here are my tips so that you can pay yourself first:
Take a look at how much you are currently saving and spending each month. Start tracking your spending a little more closely and see how much of that is actually unneeded. Calculate how much money you should be saving each month and set that aside at the beginning of each month.
Make it automatic. To make it easier and to simplify your finances, you may want to autopay a certain amount of money for savings each month.
If you feel uncomfortable with paying yourself first, then you may want to find ways to cut your budget back or make more money.
Still think you can’t save any money?
Okay, so now you may be thinking “How much money should I save, if I don’t have much money?!”
Thinking about that recommended 20% savings number can be frustrating if you are already having a hard time paying your bills and/or living paycheck to paycheck.
However, I recommend saving as much money as you realistically can. This may be nowhere near 20% at first, heck, this might not even be 5%, but any little bit will help. If you are not able to save that much, just save something! Start with $25 a month if you have to – seriously, every little bit does help.
Even if it’s just $1 a day, set that amount aside and start saving it.
So, no matter how you are doing right now, just start with something, no matter how small. Then, work your way up until you are saving a percentage of your income that you are happy with.
Start small and work your way towards your savings goal. And, if you are currently paying off debt, keep in mind that it counts too! Just keep moving in a positive direction and keep getting closer and closer to reaching your financial goals.
Remember that 5% of your income most likely won’t be enough for the average person to retire, so you will want to continue to improve that percentage well into the future so that you will be able to retire one day.
I understand that some people have financial situations in which they may not be able to save as much money as they would like. Living paycheck to paycheck, being in medical debt, or having a major unexpected expense can wreck a person’s financial situation and their goals, and I understand that.
However, you will need to find a way out of that. To find a way out, you may want to find ways to cut your spending, make more money (learn ways to make extra money), and more. You will have to challenge yourself, and it may not be easy. However, it will all be worth it once you reach your financial goals!
By spending less money, you’ll decrease the amount of money you need for the future, including money for emergency funds, retirement, and more.
Just think about it: If you are currently living a frugal lifestyle, then you will be used to living on less in the future. This means that your saved retirement amount doesn’t need to be as large, which means it may be easier to reach that savings goal.
Also, if you start saving now, you can take advantage of compound interest, which I’ll talk about next.
Here are some great articles that I recommend reading that will help you learn how to save money and make extra money:
The power of compound interest.
Saving for retirement as soon as you can is a great thing, especially because of compound interest.
With compound interest, time is on your side- meaning you should start saving money as early as you can.
Compound interest is when your interest is earning interest. This can turn the amount of money you have saved into a much larger amount years later.
This is important to note because $100 today will not be worth $100 in the future if you just let it sit under a mattress or in a checking account. However, if you invest through your retirement account, then you can actually turn your $100 into something more. When you invest, your money is working for you and growing your savings.
For example: If you put $1,000 into a retirement account with an annual 8% return, 40 years later you will have $21,724. If you started with that same $1,000 and put an extra $1,000 in it for the next 40 years at an annual 8% return, that would then turn into $301,505. If you started with $10,000 and put an extra $10,000 in it for the next 40 years at an annual 8% return, that would grow into $3,015,055.
So, if you are wondering “How much money should I save for retirement?” you should also focus on the reasons for saving for retirement now, such as:
It can help make sure you aren’t working for the rest of your life.
You can retire sooner rather than later.
You can lead a good life well after you finish working.
Compound interest means the earlier you save the more you earn.
You won’t have to rely on your children or others in order to survive.
As you can see, learning how much money you should save, such as for retirement, is very important.
Side note: I recommend you check out Personal Capital if you are interested in gaining control of your financial situation. Personal Capital is similar to Mint.com, but much better. Personal Capital is free, and it allows you to aggregate your financial accounts so that you can easily see your whole financial situation, including investments.
So, what’s your answer for when a person asks “How much money should I save?” What are you currently saving for? What percentage of your income do you save?