Tag Archives: Peter Lynch

Financial Freedom, Financial Independence

The road is paved with financial hurdles

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Like I said, I didn’t learn about investing until I was in my 20’s. So guess what? I was broke! Every dollar that came in went out.

It wasn’t until I saw a Kiplinger magazine on the boyfriends table and read it that I started to understand what it meant to manage money. Like a lot of folks I did not grow up learning about finances. It was not taught in school. And it was not talked about much at home.

Pretty much everywhere I went money was a taboo subject. I learned so much about money in that one article that I was hooked. I went to the library and checked out about five books on personal finance.

I know in the beginning it was a lot of Suze Orman and people I saw on television like celebrities whose books I read. Then I moved on to money experts like Peter Lynch, Warren Buffet and John Bogle. I also found books by money bloggers.

I remember over time going from $5,000 to $150,000. I increased my 401k contributions every year and eventually got to saving over 25% of my income! I knew that it was not enough to just open an investment account. I had to also invest that money.

A huge misconception is that if you open a brokerage account for Roth IRA then you are investing. Wrong. You have to tell the money where to go. If you don’t, its like putting popcorn in the microwave, shutting the door, and then saying to the microwave now pop without setting the timer telling it how long to actually cook the food.

I didn’t know this either. I just did what my 401k told me to do. Pick a fund. And that’s okay. You are just getting started.

What really helped me go from $0 saved to slowly making my way to over $250,000 in investments was watching a show on CNBC it was called…The Suze Orman show.

Financial Freedom

Patience is the key to wealth

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The key to everything is patience. You get the chicken by hatching the egg, not by smashing it. – Arnold H. Glasow

I read that the average age of a millionaire is 62.

That means most will not reach the millionaire milestone until after age 50.

Therefore, you will need to treat your working years as golden nuggets of knowledge and labor in which each year of work gets deposited into your wealth accumulation bank.

If you start your 401(k) at the age of 25 and invest consistently, this would require that you save and invest for a minimum of 26 years to reach the millionaire ranking through this vehicle alone.

A $1-million-dollar nest egg can generate $50,000 of income on a 5% return.

Since, $50,000 is around the average earnings of many workers, a $1-million-dollar money bucket keeps raining enough dollars on you to walk away from work if you are earning this much or less.

As long as you only spend the interest, and not the principal.

NOW, WAIT IT UP 

In order to get to this badge of honor, financially speaking, you will have to learn the art of waiting.

Waiting to buy a home.

Waiting to buy a new car.

Waiting to start a family.

You see what I mean.

Nothing comes without first understanding how to manage your time.

Patience is key.

Think of patience and investing like the letter and the stamp. One does not work without the other.

Consider the postage stamp: its usefulness consists in the ability to stick to one thing till it gets there. – Josh Billings

Life is complex. Situations may arise that will make it harder for you to reach your financial goals.

Remember this: It’s not the situation, but whether we react (negative) or respond (positive) to the situation that’s important. –Zig Ziglar

In my experience, optimism, truth, and positivity attract money to you.

Warren Buffest said, “The Stock Market is designed to transfer money from the Active to the Patient.”

We may all get the same 24 hours, but what we do with it is what matters the most.

Consider this quote. Everyday is a bank account, and time is our currency. No one is rich, no one is poor, we’ve got 24 hours each. – Christopher Rice

Therefore, manage your time wisely.

You do not have to move so fast. Slow down and focus. Distractions do not yield results only focusing does and that takes patience.

STOCKING UP ON STOCKS

The stock market has averaged returns of at least 9% over the last 90 years (1928-2016).

The shorter the time your money is invested so too are the amount of the returns.

You need a longer time horizon to invest to reap any rewards.

Here are some questions and answers when it comes to investing in the stock market.

Why should I buy stocks?

“If you don’t play you can’t win.”– Judith McNaught

How do I decide if I should invest in the stock market?

If you don’t feel comfortable owning a stock for 10 years, you shouldn’t own it for 10 minutes. – Warren Buffet

How do I decide what stocks to buy?

When buying shares, ask yourself, would you buy the whole company? – Rene Rivkin

How long should you hold a stock?

“Our favorite holding period is forever.” – Warren Buffett

Don’t you have to be really smart to invest in the stock market?

Everyone has the brainpower to follow the stock market. If you made it through fifth-grade math, you can do it. – Peter Lynch

Aren’t stocks risky?

“The biggest risk is not taking any risk… In a world that’s changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks.”– Mark Zuckerberg

Ask yourself, what is my risk level?

If you have trouble imagining a 20% loss in the stock market, you shouldn’t be in stocks. – John Bogle

Should I avoid stocks?

Why not go out on a limb? Isn’t that where the fruit is? – Frank Scully

Where should I invest my money?

“Consistently buy an S&P 500 low-cost index fund.”-  Warren Buffett

What should I do once I invest money?

Investing should be more like watching paint dry or watching grass grow. If you want excitement, take $800 and go to Las Vegas. – Paul Samuelson

Check out books by quoted authors here on Amazon.

 

I say this when it ultimately comes down to investing or not investing; if you feel you can only afford to lose $5, then that is your risk level. When you pass that mark, whatever it is, it’s gambling.

And nothing is riskier than doing nothing except gambling.

Buffet once called a bad period the “Financial Pearl Harbor” during a terrible time in the market.  Guess what? He still held on to the bulk of his portfolio and is one the richest investors in the world.

So understand that you have to pursue wealth.

It is not simply going to come to you.

You have to do something.

As in life, you have to give to get.

Winston Churchill said, “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”

Think like this: If your ship doesn’t come in, swim out to meet it! – Jonathan Winters

And remember this: “A ship in harbour is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.” – William G.T. Shedd

So know this, it’s not what you make, it’s what you keep.

When it comes to investing, just do your research, do your best, and have fun.