What are the ten most important things about personal finance that someone without a finance background must know?
I have no financial background and I have achieved financial independence. This is what I have learned.
1. Focus on how to increase your income.
2. Spend less than you earn.
3. Don't align your spending level with your earnings.
Once you've achieved a comfortable standard of living, don't match your spending to your earnings.
I don't feel like I've deprived myself. I have adopted a minimalist strategy that works well for me. The material brings me only ephemeral joys. Learning, relationships, sports, bring me a sense of long-term satisfaction.
I call it the IG/FG, which means Infinite Growth on your non-material things, and Finite Growth on your material things.
4. Choose an investment strategy and stick with it
The easiest way is to index the markets through ETFs. Passive method.
"Before you start trying to pick individual stocks and/or fund managers ask yourself this simple question: “Am I Warren Buffett?” If the answer is “no,” keep your feet firmly on the ground with indexing.”-JL Collins
I did these two mistakes (individual stock/fund manager) before discovering the ETF
5. Invest the difference in ETFs
Seek to minimize your bank fees by choosing a suitable broker.
6. Simplify your ETF strategy.
An ETF that indexes the world diversifies you enormously and simplifies the process.
"Simple is good. Simple is easier. Simple is more profitable.”-JL Collins
7. Invest automatically (monthly/weekly)
Create a process, so you don't forget and you don't try to time the market ( not a lot of people can do that see below the quote of Jack Bogle)
"I’ve been in this business 61 years and I can’t do it. I’ve never met anybody who can do it. I’ve never met anybody who’s met anybody who can do it.” – Jack Bogle.
8. When the markets go down and you can afford it, invest more.
I have gained years in my quest for financial independence by following this method.
The key is to be mentally prepared when the markets are going well. It's always hard to invest heavily when everyone is screaming that the world is going to end.
9. Don't follow the markets daily.
When I look at the markets on a daily basis it scares me. When I look at them over 10 years it makes me strong.
10. This has been my recipe for financial independence
It has the advantage of being accessible to (almost) everyone.
"I don’t favor indexing just because it is easier, although it is. Or because it is simpler, although it is that too. I favor it because it is more effective and more powerful in building wealth than the alternatives.”-JL Collins
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