Something very frustrating has been occurring as I’ve been looking at different sources of information related to my plan to retire early, which at this point is about 14 months away. Whether it’s via blog website or YouTube videos I keep finding the content of influencers who all push the fallacy that good debt can help accelerate your path to wealth. My experience as someone who has gone from $0 to a net worth approaching $2 million (with no debt) is that using debt in an attempt to build wealth will only slow you down from achieving true financial independence. Most of the people whose content I’ve seen identify themselves with the so called FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early) movement and have not yet achieved the FIRE they so desire.

Now I’m a ways down the road of life from the people whose content I’ve seen recently and I know about the debt pitfalls because I’ve experienced them. Yes, I’ve used debt in my life. I’ve had credit cards. I’ve had car loans. I’ve had mortgages. I’ve tried all the credit card tricks like transferring balances to 0% interest cards for a period of time and charging things so I could get points or miles. To name a couple of tricks that credit card companies use to get people hooked on using their cards. But in the end I realized that the purpose of all debt is to help you buy things you really can’t afford, which helps other people build wealth. But not you! Even mortgages, which I’ve had and think can be useful, can be quite destructive as people often use them to buy houses (or condos) that are too expensive in the hope that they can catch up on payments later or sell the property later when values rise. If they rise. And they don’t always rise as people found out in the 2008-9 housing crash. My experience simply has been that debt causes people to overextend themselves and gets people playing games (like accumulating points, miles or cash back bonuses) that distract from true wealth building.

Continue reading “Falling For The Debt Trap” →

In my earlier post as part of my financial literacy series I wrote about opening a brokerage account, which then allows a person to invest (for the long term) or trade (for the short term) depending on their level of knowledge and appetite for risk. Since this series of posts is about financial basics I wanted to share a few tips on how a person can invest safely. These tips are based on my experience of investing in brokerage accounts (including retirement and non-retirement) for 25 years. I know that some people who are impatient in terms of their desire to build wealth will scoff at my advice but I do know whereof I speak.

Early on when investing I did things the risky way because it’s what I thought all the big shots in investing did and I found out quickly that for every win that makes you money doing risky things there are bigger losses ahead. In addition to that if you use your brokerage account in a risky way you are exposed to the silent killer known as stress. Stress creates a vicious cycle whereby you’re likely to make more and more questionable decisions that lead you to financial disaster. Thankfully, my desire to avoid heavy losses and the stress that comes with them tempered my desire to get rich quick and for at least 25 years I’ve been investing safely using the tips listed below.

Continue reading “Safe Investing Tips” →

In my previous post meant to help people attain basic financial literacy I covered basic banking products, which are the foundation of wealth building. In this post I’ll expand into the world of brokerage accounts. Brokerage accounts are exciting on one hand because they are a critical wealth building tool. On the other hand, they can be very dangerous because if one uses a brokerage account in the wrong way then that person can create financial misery for themselves. My goal with this post is to help you understand the safe way to utilize a brokerage account so that it truly is the vehicle that will ultimately ensure your financial success over the long-term.

When I wrote about banking products I mentioned how they are safe products that can return between a little more than 0% to around 4% (as of early 2025) without risking the capital that you put into those products. Brokerage products have the capability of earning you much more than 4% a year and also open you up to the possibility of earning dividends, which can really accelerate your wealth building process. On the flip side, brokerage products do not guarantee your initial capital so it is possible to lose some, or even all, of your investment. That doesn’t stop millions of people from transacting brokerage business daily and as long as you don’t act foolish you can build a very solid nest egg as long as you exercise the winning traits of patience and discipline.

Continue reading “Opening A Brokerage Account” →

This is the third post in my financial literacy series. The first two posts can be found here and here. In this post I’ll provide overviews of the most basic banking products, which are checking accounts, savings accounts and Certificates of Deposit (CDs). Having an account at a bank is the foundation of wealth building so it’s important to know your options as well as the pros and cons of each product. In this post I lay out those pros and cons. Before I continue I do want to remind you that work on increasing your income as well as living on a reasonable monthly budget are critical in giving you a chance to use any financial tool effectively. So always consider how well you’re addressing your income and budget as part of any solid financial plan.

A checking account is the banking product that is most useful and also most widely used by everyone who earns a living and pays bills. Checking accounts today differ quite a bit from the accounts I dealt with in my post college years due to the advent of debit cards and easy online electronic transfers. The good news is that checking accounts have become much more flexible than they were in years past. Checking accounts allow customers to gain access to their funds in multiple ways, which is the reason why they are best used for the direct deposit of your paychecks and for paying your regular monthly bills. As the name implies checking accounts allow customers access to physical checks that can be written out and given to someone as a form of payment. The honest truth is that in 2025 people don’t write many checks but there are some instances where it’s useful to have access to a check to pay for something. So it’s good to have the option. Much more common with checking accounts are transactions that occur via debit cards tied to your checking account. A debit card can be used like a credit card to pay for something, either in-person or online, using funds from your checking account. In addition, a debit card can be used to withdraw cash at an Automated Teller Machine (ATM). Finally, it’s possible to link your checking account (either directly or via your debit card information) to automatically pay bills online or transfer money. As you can see checking accounts are important because they offer extreme flexibility in terms of moving your money to where it needs to be.

Continue reading “Basic Banking Products” →

My prior post regarding the virtues of attaining financial literacy has energized me to go deeper into the basics of personal finance so that you may benefit from my experiences (including failures) regarding wealth building. Briefly, in my mid-50s I have a net worth approaching $2 million having started from scratch and received no inheritances or large gifts from anyone. I’m 100% debt free and living in a condominium that I own outright. Honestly, 10 years ago (immediately following a difficult divorce) I couldn’t have imagined that I’d be in this financial position, which I’m very happy with. If you would like to know how I got here then please read the next few posts which will be on the topic of personal finance and wealth building. The focus of this post will be the cornerstone of wealth building and that’s your monthly budget. A monthly budget is not a sexy or exciting financial concept for most people. Most people consider a budget to be a financial albatross. Then again, most people are not achieving their financial goals…if they have financial goals at all. This is supported by data from the 2023 Federal Reserve  Report on Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households which revealed (here) that 51% of adults do not have the cash to cover a $400 emergency expense and that 52% of adults have less than $2,000 in savings.  

A good monthly budget that you stick to is the cornerstone of a solid financial plan and a successful financial future. A budget is not a financial albatross. Quite the opposite. It’s a road map to wealth. Follow the budget and you’ll find success. Go off the map and who knows where you’ll end up. People who live without a budget often find that they’re confused as to where their money is going. Eventually they get frustrated with the lack of control they seem to have over their money. This can turn into a vicious cycle where a person who is frustrated decides to avoid really looking at their finances for fear of what they might find out. Which only makes the situation worse. After a certain amount of time things may get so bad that a person either has a breakdown or a break through. I had the latter over 20 years ago. What I know now is that neither of those situations need to occur as long as you embrace the idea that a budget is important and get to work on one. Budgeting can be quite complicated as life becomes more complicated. That’s a great reason to start a budget when life is simple because the practice of maintaining a budget when life is simple and the numbers are small will make maintaining that budget much easier when life is more complicated.

Continue reading “Creating And Sticking To A Monthly Budget” →

I was recently approached by a family member who wanted my opinion on whether they should hire a financial advisor and give that person the power to make investments on their behalf. This person is relatively young (under 40), had recently been promoted to a higher salary position and is the sole breadwinner for his small family. I asked what prompted the question and he said that some co-workers were advising him on the issue. As a self-made millionaire I definitely have my own thoughts on the topic so I was glad that he came to me for advice before making a decision to turn over his financial future to a paid advisor.

Knowing the basics of his situation, which is a lot like mine was when I was his age, I was able to point out a few things which I think are worth sharing here. First off, it’s worth it early on in your life to invest your own time and effort to understand investing. If for no other reason than there are countless horror stories from people who turned over control of their financial life to an advisor…who then screwed those people over! Bernie Madoff is an infamous name that people will probably recognize and he used a broad, worldwide network of financial advisors to propagate what turned out to be a multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme. Most people who invested with those advisors knew nothing of Madoff, but the advisors knew. Those advisors later admitted that they didn’t really know what Madoff was investing in. That’s not to say that all financial advisors are foolish or crooks. Just to point out that if you manage your own investments then you’ll know what you’re invested in and you’ll know that you’re going to act in your own best interests.

Continue reading “Attaining Financial Literacy Is Worth Your Time And Effort” →

I couldn’t believe it when earlier this year I checked my retirement accounts and found that their total value had eclipsed one million dollars. Being a superstitious person (the kind who won’t mention during a game that a pitcher is throwing a no-hitter) I reveled over my fortune for about two minutes and then put it out of my head for a little while. As in for a day when I checked my accounts again after the following days close. Still over a million! The number was exciting to see as the one million dollar amount has been drilled into my head since I was a kid via the culture (with game shows like Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?), politicians (always talking about taxing millionaires and having them pay their fair share of taxes) and family (telling stories over coffee and Sambuca about some distant family member or friend who had struck it rich). In practice what a million dollars in my retirement accounts mean to me now is that a) I’m not likely to be eating lots of canned food when I eventually retire; and b) My mantra of patience and discipline when it comes to money is paying off.

Honestly, I’ve been a bit reticent about writing about this milestone for a couple of reasons. First, due to the superstition that I mentioned above. In fact, in the months since the number topped a million there were a couple of stock market dips that took my retirement account values below that mythical threshold. The values have since recovered and are now above one million. Second, because I’m not one to brag about my finances. On the other hand, I’m compelled to write about my situation because I know there are many people who desire to build financial wealth and they would like some insight regarding how it’s done. I also know that I wish I’d had the kind of guidance that I can offer now many years ago as I might even be in a better financial position to day. So (as the kids like to say) no brag, just fact.

Continue reading “401K Millionaire Advice” →

You can have more than you’ve got because you can be more than you are.

Jim Rohn

One of my favorite quotes from the legendary motivator and sales trainer Jim Rohn sets the tone for this post. Most people want more of many things, especially money, yet they struggle with how to achieve that. You can be more, Jim Rohn exclaims. And if you are willing to be more then you can have more. It’s a call to self-development. How many people will answer that call? Mr. Rohn used to talk about three percent of people having library cards. Of course, that was before the internet. Still, I bet today about 3% of the people who use the internet use it to develop themselves.

Continue reading “The Secret To Having More” →

If I had to choose a single task that facilitated increases in my financial wealth over the years it would have to be the fact that I created a monthly budget and stuck to it. All of the other things that I’ve done to build wealth, including saving, investing, increasing my income and keeping my lifestyle in check, have surely contributed to my increase in financial wealth. But it’s the budget that’s held everything together.

Before I had a budget written out (typed out actually in a spreadsheet) money came and went willy nilly. Some money went here. Other money went there and rarely did I know why. Some months I saved, invested and paid down debt. Other months I didn’t. At that time any progress that I made in terms of wealth building was slow as molasses. A budget is easy to create. The power of the budget is not so much in the list of budget items themselves but in the fact that a budget causes you to make deliberate decisions regarding how money is spent.

Continue reading “The Budget As Cornerstone For Wealth Building” →

How many times have we heard things like the following statements?

• Money is the root of all evil.
• If you’ve got your health you’ve got it all.
• It’s always the same thing. The rich get richer.
• Money ruins friendships and relationships.

The attiudes mentioned above are frequently reinforced in the news, in the media, in movies and on social media. But are they realistic perceptions of money’s place in our lives? For as long as I can remember it’s been cool to deemphasize financial wealth as a wonderful thing. At least among the people I’ve been around. Sure, I’ve known people who seemed very comfortable flaunting their wealth but those people have represented the exception to the rule. Almost everyone I know, even those who I know are very well off financially, downplay the importance of the wealth they have in their lives.

Continue reading “Money Isn’t Everything But It’s Important” →