I met a guy one time that worked in construction for 50 plus years and was literally a walking miracle. Over his lifetime, he was hit by a car as a child, struck by lightning as an adult, had a dirt trench collapse over him almost suffocating, and fell off a ladder in his 50s that caused him to have to learn how to walk and talk again. Not to mention the emphysema and COPD from smoking he has now at 64. Now some of those weren’t all within his control but the point is if he can come back from all those difficulties, some of which probably should’ve killed him, anyone that puts in the work and is breathing right now can pursue whatever it is they want to pursue.
Maybe you’re down and out right now with your funds. Maybe you’re well off compared to most. Maybe you’re just looking for a book to put beside your bedside table. There’s something in this book for you.
It may be one thing you didn’t know about money that’s the key to unlocking some more of your financial potential. That’s what you’re after. You’re on a treasure hunt looking for that one thing with your finances to open the next chapter. It’s probably in this book somewhere but I want to make sure you know, to make it short and to the point, money is not that thing.
You’re on a pursuit not knowing what you’re looking for, but you are searching for knowledge. Am I saving and investing too much? Am I spending too much in retirement? The questions will never end just so you know. There is no ending the pursuit of financial IQ and know how. The industry is always changing but the principles of money stay the same. The pursuit of knowledge can be a devastating trap to become entangled in especially in our culture of information on demand.
The problem becomes knowing when enough is enough about the financial industry, how money operates and just live your life. It will steal your time that you can’t get back, be the mistress that lures you away from the present and leaves you overanalyzing all things money, financial industry, and DIY money topics. Let me spare you from the bondage of constantly seeking more and more financial knowledge. I can help save you time with your money and win with it, but just know when you get to where you’re going with your money, you will still be searching. When you hit your financial independence status, you’ll still desire more financial achievement if you’re attempting to use money to fill a void in your life. The goal is knowing what is enough, when you can stop, and how you can use your resources to help others not as fortunate or for whatever cause you decide to use it for. For some, they’ve been using their resources to help others all throughout the journey. Others will hit their financial independence and must completely reframe their mind, go through a process of self-discovery, and then use their funds accordingly. The question is once you reach that level of success you were after, will you use your wealth for noble causes and charities or will you spend it on the pleasures of this life. It’s your life and your money. You get to choose.
I want to set you free from the sole pursuit of money, the endless cycle of financial overanalyzing, and get you back to the here and now to enjoy today with your friends and family. I hope you find what you’re looking for but for me it was a better understanding of myself and my values. If you want to speed up the process of winning with your money this is a great book to learn a few of those strategies. It’s not written for the entry level DIY’er.
There’s plenty of those basic finance books and glossary full of money books to read and learn from at the back of this book. Most of us weren’t taught how to earn, manage, or leverage money and we have very few opportunities in life to get ahead with money. Some may receive sizable inheritances; others will have to start from 0 and be self-made. Others will receive gifts from family while they’re still living or win a lawsuit and have a windfall come your way. The reality is, it’s not these windfalls that propel our finances ahead. It’s the many other decisions along the way. Not the Starbucks coffee small decisions but the big decisions like college, auto purchases, career choices, family expenses, business planning, caring for aging parents, raising a family.
There’s so many phases of life and each phase brings new financial decisions that must be navigated. Navigated correctly and you’ll stack the odds of financial success in your favor. Navigated incorrectly, and well you get the picture. To avoid the missteps of money, the first step is realizing there’s an entire education system missing from teaching this content. Whether that’s by design or whether personal finance has just been considered less important in school curriculums, who knows really? Usually, personal finance is self-taught by the school of hard knocks. Sometimes you’ll have to pay for the answers. If you’re struggling to find the resources to pay for knowledge, financial literacy non-profits are a great place to start. Not having the financial education foundation begins the compounding of money problems showing up in the form of excessive student loan debt, high interest car loans, too much credit card debt, marital stress of money, hidden spending habits, and the worst fruit of all, not enough retirement savings.
Every aspect of money from the behavioral side to the relational, and technical side all have to come together consistently over time to form your financial life. Truth be told, it’s pretty darn hard to bring all those choices into alignment and win with money consistently. Bring in another person and it’s next to impossible to move through this life without some financial tension. Consistently making good decisions over and over again is what moves the financial pulse bar. The compounding effect of good financial decisions. Some of the decisions like buying a house, paying off student loan debt, or investing in a startup will be determined by decisions you made years before. The 2nd, 3rd, and 4th consequences of a decision made a long time ago. The point is we don’t have many opportunities to get ahead so we must make the most of our financial decisions along the way. When an important financial moment comes our way, we know what to do, how to do it, and why we’re doing it.
We all have our vices whether it’s sugar, shopping, restaurants, or another form of self-indulgence. These can be good ways to reward ourselves but when they get out of control, it’s a vicious cycle that can be hard to stop. The key to winning the long-term battle with money each month is managing the small decisions but nailing the big financial decisions. Don’t let these small decisions carry forward beyond that day into daily habits. Every day is a new opportunity. 30 days each month is 30 new opportunities to make better decisions. Focus on the wins and eventually, these wins will compound into MASSIVE RESULTS.
Having an outside set of eyes serves as a valuable opinion that could find missing dollars or prevent unnecessary spending. You’ll need enough financial knowledge to make good financial decisions to live your desired level of financial success and how you define it. Anything beyond that is icing on the cake so to speak. There’s a sense of freedom that comes with understanding how money operates. Whether it’s behavioral money psychology, budgeting hacks, insurance product knowledge, real estate strategies, portfolio strategies, or anything else, you’ve already reached a point of financial independence. You’re no longer dependent on someone else to give you fish. You’re now the teacher showing others how to fish for themselves and where to fish at. Since you’re already to the point of making the most of your financial life just remember not to let money drive the bus. If you want to make a career change, do it before you regret it when you’re financially stuck by some obstacle. Take some risk, but not too much. That’s helpful right? Generic, catch all phrases? After all, we don’t get back yesterday and time’s a ticking. Money is just a means to an end. You can’t take it with you, and you need it while you’re here so that means you’ve got to find some balance.
You must balance what you want now with what you need in the future and only you can decide what that balance is going to look like. Sometimes you can find that balance on your own, sometimes you need someone to help you. It’s the same with healthy living balancing rest and stress or health and wealth. Balancing taxes with financial fees and behavior decisions. There’s so many give and take see-saw choices it can get confusing very quickly. This book will help you balance the weights of the many different directions your financial life is being pulled in and help you win the race whatever you decide it needs to look like. I’m just going to be real with you based off what I see firsthand in the economy, from inside of the financial industry, and firsthand personal experiences with money. This book isn’t mean to offend anyone that has experienced certain unavoidable financial circumstances. Financial consequences are not cut and dry, black and white, this or that. There are always variables, always moving parts, always values, biases, and personal desires at play. Sometimes financial decisions are very clear like do this or experience the consequences.
Here are 4 areas that have a high probability of you savings a substantial amount of money as soon as you do them. Change your phone carrier because they’re always creeping up on price. Change your home, renters, and auto insurance to a different carrier because insurance companies don’t care about loyalty. Change your internet provider subscription because they too don’t care about you. And last but not least, go through your transaction history and cancel your subscriptions that you’re not using like Apple subscriptions and other entertainment subscriptions that aren’t being used. Those 4 areas will probably save you thousands immediately this year. Just wait until you learn about the rest of the financial industry and where you can immediately find lost dollars.
Dad jokes are the best and here’s one that specifically talks about the financial industry. Why don’t cows have any money? Because farmers milk them dry. A lot of the financial industry is built around lack of product transparency, consumer unawareness, and a lot of times consumers that just don’t care about stewarding their resources even if it would put them in a better place. Hopefully, by the end of this book, you’ll have a few financial concepts to look into, savings that you found in your personal financial situation, and a better understanding of steps that you need to take to better your personal finances
Intro to Divided Money Book – Available for Purchase
Welcome to Divided Money Book where I share tips & helpful information about all things finance.