Testing…1, 2, 3. Can you hear me out there? You listening? Good. Ah yes, I remember it like it was yesterday.
One of the FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) Bloggers that I had been reading was featured in Forbes. I remember thinking how did he do that. Well, when you go from $0 to $400,000 in seven years that does tend to get people’s attention.
The thing that really stood out to me was that he actually got to $400,000. I just knew if he could get there, then he could get to $1 million.
That blog was called Budgets are Sexy.
I had the pleasure to not only meet J. Money, or J$ for short, in-person just a few years after that article, but also got to interview him on this blog. He’s one of the most coolest and down-to-earth finance dudes you will ever meet.
Over the years, he has given his advice on how he basically went from nothing to something.
He regularly talks about his net worth on his blog and does not shy away from telling you about the highs and the lows of building wealth.
His transparency is why people gravitate towards him. He tells it like it is. He walks it like he talks it.
One of the best pieces of advice he gave me on the road to $1 million was to max out your retirement accounts. All of them. And if you can’t do that, then save as much as you can.
What J$ didn’t know is that his blog lit a spark for me.
If he started with nothing and could go to almost half a million dollars, then I could too.
We like to call J. Money the Godfather of FIRE blogging because he started back when it was just a small niche in 2008. There is even a joke on his site where he is called the Miley Cyrus of Finance! Ha!
All jokes aside, I was paying attention. Budgets are Sexy is the personal finance blog in which it is Greenback’s Magnet yardstick for building wealth. Like Visa, his blog is everywhere my blog wants to be.
Therefore, after reading that Forbes article, I decided at that moment that I wanted to get to $400,000 too!
So I put my head down and went to work. At one point, I was investing 25 percent of my income. I lived off rice and kale. No avocado toast for me. I wanted that sweet taste of freedom.
Every spare dime was put to work in my brokerage account.
This blog is also how I keep myself accountable to reach my financial goals. It didn’t matter if I had holes in my shoes, I kept walking in then until they literally fell apart. Nothing went to waste. I was reading 10 to 20 books on personal finance a year.
I paid off my car $450 payment in 2009. Then my personal loan that was costing me $333 a month. All the hard work and sacrifices paid off when I saw that my balance had grown from $50,000 to $375,000. Then within a few months, I was at over $402,000!
It also got picked up by some other sites like Yahoo and AOL.com.
I am still increasing my annual contributions every year. I won’t stop until I reach my target: $1 million dollars!
The one crazy thing I noticed in the comments section is that there were many folks saying that $1 million will not be enough to retire.
I couldn’t believe what I was reading. I simply was sharing how I set a goal and was working on reaching it. Man, that really knocked me over. Nevertheless, I recovered quickly. You have to have thick skin once you decide to put your name or work out there.
Unlike George McFly, I can handle rejection. The point of the story was to help and inspire not to hurt and discourage.
I felt like 50 Cent on that interview he recently did on the Million Dollaz Worth of Game podcast where he says his first record deal with Shady Aftermath netted him $1 million and Dame Dash says that ain’t no money. Huh? When you go from nothing to $1 million, you bet your a$$ that is a sh*t ton of money.
50 Cent says Dame Dash has no money now and calls Dame Dash out for telling him that the $1 million he received from signing with Eminem's Shady Records was no money.
However, I digress. I just put my head down and went back to work.
No wonder people practice stealth wealth! Regardless of all the naysayers, I am still working toward my goal. Next stop on the million-dollar tour is $500,000. After that, it is $750,000. And of course, $1 million.
If being on Business Insider taught me anything, it’s not to let anything or anyone trip you up on the road to your dreams. It’s great to be acknowledged and to talk about your goals, but it’s even better to actually live out your dreams.
Here is Suze Orman’s FIRE protection gear: $5 million dollars to retire early. Really? Do tell. Care to elaborate. Absolutely.
It was around late 2018 that I heard talk of Suze Orman’s thoughts on the FIRE movement.
The rumblings in the financial blogsphere was that when Suze was asked her opinion about the FIRE movement on the Paula Pant podcast Afford Anything and she says, “I hate it, I hate it, I hate it.”
Suze told Paula Pant that $2 million isn’t enough for early retirement. At a 4 percent withdrawal rate, that’s $80,000 per year, which she says isn’t enough to protect you “when the floods come.”
“If you only have a few hundred thousand, or a million, or two million dollars, I’m here to tell you … if a catastrophe happens, if something happens, what are you going to do? You are going to burn up alive.”
The “Suze Slapdown” of ’18 was coined. And I thought watching WWE Smackdown was tough. Whew! They ain’t got nothing on Suze when it comes to laying the smackdown on finances.
She made headlines for saying that people who buy a daily latte are “peeing $1 million down the drain as you are drinking that coffee.” On Suze’s watch, spending at Starbucks SBUX is a no-no.
Let’s not drop out of corporate America on a whim and stop working. Get back to work.
Check out the tweet below that 2020 Democratic Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders tweeted out last year to see what I mean.
Wealthy TV "experts" are shaming millennials for buying coffee and avocado toast. But young people are broke because they’re drowning in debt and low wages.
The ruling class wants to divide the young and old to distract us from an economy that’s rigged for the richest 1%. pic.twitter.com/v4LCNpoExU
Suze Orman’s the sky is falling attitude about retiring early is not so far-fetched now during the coronavirus.
For anyone who isn’t up to speed on the FIRE acronym, it stands for Financial Independence, Retire Early. I am all for Financial Independence (FI).
This is me. Financial Independence: count me in!
Retire Early: slow down tito!
The focus of FIRE is to retire early by stopping the corporate grind and ending the rat race in your 30s or 40s, and not 55 or 65.
However, I am not yet ready to be put out to pasture. Luckily, other leaders in the FIRE movement gave some clarification and said that FIRE is not about stopping work, but finding your passion and earning passive income streams that keeps the money flowing.
The goal is to live life On. Your. Terms. So, I thought to myself okay. I can live with that.
Saving 25 times your current income and then retiring before age 40 without continuing to make money is risky.
The notion is that you can then afford to live off of your savings by limiting your withdrawals to just 4% of your assets each year.
Meaning if you earn $75,000 a year, then you need to save about $1.9 million before walking away from work. Money that was supposed to last starting from age 65, now has to starting from age 35.
The millennial had caught the FIRE bug and she was looking to hang it up within two years.
“Well, how much money do you have?” Orman asked. “Two or three million?”
No.
“A million?”
No.
“$250,000?”
Yes, but with some debt.
“Really?” Orman could only shake her head.
“Don’t talk to me about it. If that’s what you want to do, go ahead. But 40 years from now, I hope you remember everything I’ve said.”— Suze Orman, on retiring in your 20s
According to Suze, “time is the most important ingredient in your financial recipe.”
As financial blogger Mr. Money Mustache put it bluntly: “In the interview, Suze Orman goes on and on about what might go wrong, and how you need an incredible amount of money saved to protect you, just in case. But this thinking is completely backwards – money will not cure your fear, as megamillionaire Suze proves so clearly. Most high-income people are still within just a few paychecks of insolvency, because it is possible to blow almost any paycheck, simply by adding or upgrading more cars, houses, and vacations. Physical health FIRST: Salads and barbells every day, no goddamned excuses.”
Real estate financial expert and FIRE member Coach Carson posted some great advice on Suze’s opinion: “As Paula said after the interview, we should all make a practice of listening deeply to others (especially if you disagree). If you can reserve judgment temporarily, you can always learn something.”
Coach Carson says time not money is the most precious thing we have. The biggest regret is time wasted when people are on their deathbed. People do not wish they worked more or spent more time in that cubicle or corner office.
Very true. Washington Post financial columnist, Michelle Singletary, also weighed in on the interview. She says “let’s also put this debate in perspective. Many people aren’t saving enough to retire at all – early or late.”
I remember when my portfolio hit $100,000. It took half the time to get the next $100,000 and zoom to $200,000. Next stop, $250,000. That’s right a quarter of a million.
Then I was looking to moving on up like The Jeffersons to the tune of $300,000, $400,000, $500,000 and beyond. I only move forwards. I never look backwards. I could still work for another 30 years if I want to. Without putting in another penny, if I let this money ride I could have between $1 million and $2.6 million dollars. And that is if I stop investing. There is no way I am doing that.
I live for today. I live in the moment. I stop and smell the roses. I enjoy the present, but save like I am going to live forever.
Stop worrying about the world ending today. It’s already tomorrow in Australia. – Charles M. Schulz, creator of the Peanuts
I like to plan in advance. I have a plan to create a plan.
“If plan A doesn’t work, the alphabet has 25 more letters – 204 if you’re in Japan.”― Claire Cook, Seven Year Switch
If I want something, then I go get if. I get off my duff and go make it happen. Don’t complain. Go do something about it. To quote Mindy Kaling, “We are all just a treadmill and six laser hair removal treatments from being Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively.”
Ask for credit when you don’t need it. Credit dries up like tears in a recession. That’s just my two cents. Back in the 2008-09 recession, they cut my credit lines in half. Overnight *poof* half my credit limits were gone. Like a puff of smoke.
The thing is that work gives us something to do. It lets humans be productive.
If you have $1.5 million at age 65, you have a much shorter retirement to spend on versus at 37.
What really makes the difference is that by age 55-60 many people are empty nesters, own a home, and already own most of their possessions.
You have a lot less things to buy because you have what you need already.
When you are 35, you may still have no kids, are just starting, or have a young family. You have costs that are still rising like inflation.
Empty nesters are not worried about paying for college. Its paid for. That’s in their rear-view. Juniors 529 is spent.
If you are still raising kids, it is likely you will need a decent income and a job. Kids cost…a lot. Most people are still buying homes, cars and having kids well into their 40s these days.
One of the biggest expenses that a job helps subsidize is healthcare.
Financial blogger Financial Samurai puts this into perspective: “Just know that once you get to your target number, you might find that your needs have changed. Life is unpredictable. A job helps you subsidize health care costs that are increasingly becoming a racket IMO, but it would help reduce our $2,380/month health care bill. However, I am grateful for every day.”
You want to retire early. Here is what Suze has to say.
Orman: “It would have to be in the millions . . . You need at least $5 million, $6 million.” (She later says $10 million to account for taxes.)
FIRE proponents fired back at Orman that she has it all wrong.
Really? When a government shutdown causes people to be in soup kitchen lines, then I beg to differ. Here were some of the things I read online during the 35-day government shutdown last year:
“I only have $1.06 in my bank account. I don’t know what I am going to do.”
“I can’t pay my bills.”
“I can’t afford groceries.”
“I’m scared I won’t be able to pay my rent or mortgage.”
“I can’t miss one paycheck.”
Not even one check? Even I try to keep a minimum of $10,000 in the bank at all times in savings. Just in case sh*t happens. I need that rainy day fund because when it rains it pours. Keeping a 3-6 month rainy day fund is what helps me sleep at night.
My 1-tweet financial plan government #shutdown edition. 😉
1. Save a 9-month emergency fund 2. Instead of maxing Roth IRA use extra funds for your rainy day fund 3. Do not get any student loans 4. Do not buy a new car, home, or go on vacation until rainy day acct 100% funded pic.twitter.com/Xmslbml3qC
Now to be fair, the FIRE movement is about saving and investing your money. The more, the better. If you are practicing FIRE, then, in theory, you should be able to weather any storm.
Meanwhile, Orman isn’t sweating her emergence as somewhat of a villain in the FIRE community.
Now that COVID-19 has swept across the globe, it looks as if Suze may have been on to something when she always says, “hope for the best, but always plan for the worst.”
On one of her most recent podcasts she stated that a lot of her advice on saving that eight-month emergency fund has come to roost. She now thinks you need a 3-year emergency fund.
I have always been more about FI than RE because no matter what happens in this world, I know one thing to be sure; you will always need money in the bank.
Now I’m going to sign off on this post the same way Suze Orman ended her show on CNBC every night, “now you stay safe.”
“All the world is made of faith, and trust, and pixie dust.” ― J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan
Trust is a five-letter word. A word that is small in size, but whose meaning is of monumental importance.
Today on Greenbacks Magnet we are spilling the tea and reading the tea leaves on the topic of personal finance.
Somewhat like Jalen and Jacoby do on their podcast.
This is a no-holds barred conversation about getting your fiscal house in order.
If I had a podcast right now, I have several friends or family members that could be my partner on this magic carpet ride. Aladdin had Princess Jasmine. Jordan had Scottie Pippen. Keenan had Kel. Barack has Michelle. Oprah has Gayle. Key had Peele. Batman has Robin. Kermit the Frog has Miss Piggy. Jalen has Jacoby.
Having a partner just makes things more fun.
I ask my significant other all the time, “Are you gonna back me up?! Are you gonna be the pip to my Gladys?!” I need people with good character that I can trust around me.
It’s like my man Shakespeare says, “Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none.” ― William Shakespeare, All’s Well That Ends Well
Trusting people with your money comes with huge financial risks! And I notice it is more risk than reward. You have to be on top of things when it comes to your money.
So today, I am going to give you some real stories of private conversations I have been in, eavesdropped on, and stood witness to in hopes it might help you more easily navigate these hostile fiscal waters out here in these mean streets.
I’m doing it Jalen Rose and David Jacoby style for those of you ESPN fans out there, you know what I’m talking about.
I want you to trust my advice, and me but I also want you to verify it.
Let’s get started and dive right in.
In the spirit of Jalen and Jacoby:
Got to give the people…
Give the people what?
What they want!
What do they want?
Current events! They want you to spit that hot fire!
And in this blogs case FIRE is Financial Independence, Retire Early!
TRUST, BUT VERIFY
That is a famous quote uttered by former President Ronald Reagan during the Cold War.
He was a former Hollywood actor turned politician, which was unheard of at the time in 1981. My how times have changed.
Reagan also gave us Reaganomics, also known as Voodoo Economics, it works as crazy as it sounds. Voodoo (magic) is French in origin and hails from Louisiana around the 1700’s, which is before the Louisiana Purchase between the United States and France, negotiated by President Thomas Jefferson and Napoleon in 1803.
Therefore, the term Voodoo Economics simply means magic economics or finances (magic money).
There goes that Peter Pan quote I put at the top circling back to us as magic money is like pixie dust! It just doesn’t exist! In my mind, this is like creating money or great finances out of thin air.
It’s kind of how 50 Cent said he owed $8 million worth of Bitcoin when he owed nothing and created $8 million of wealth for himself in the eyes of his followers on Instagram because we are all just, and I roll my eyes as I type this, “living for the Gram.” I discuss fifty and the Gram on this post.
According to Psychologytoday.com, Reaganomics is this in that “the simple answer: when the outcome is essential and matters more than the relationship, use “trust, but verify.” When the relationship matters more than any single outcome, don’t use it.” Basically, if you are unsure of how to proceed in making a decision where the outcome can be life-changing, then do your research to uncover the facts before saying yes.
In my opinion, that means reviewing credit reports before walking down the aisle.
Why should I commit to someone with four felonies, two bankruptcies, a property lien and $50,000 of back taxes owed to the IRS without knowing what I am getting myself into. You would be surprised what you uncover with a simple credit report.
A woman has a right to say no or change her mind about marriage all the way until the time she is in front of the minister. It’s cool to trust your partner when they say they paid off that Neiman Marcus credit card, but request that copy of the credit report baby to verify.
WHAT IS REAGANOMICS?
Reaganomics, or Reaganism, refers to the economic policies promoted by U.S. President Ronald Reagan during the 1980s.
The economic policies of the former US president Ronald Reagan, associated especially with the reduction of taxes and the promotion of unrestricted free-market activity. “the claim that cutting taxes generates more revenue was a key element of Reaganomics”
When looking up Voodoo Economics this pops up in the search: an economic policy perceived as being unrealistic and ill-advised, in particular a policy of maintaining or increasing levels of public spending while reducing taxation. “as governor, he put into practice the same voodoo economics that he would later impose on the country as president”
I will give it to you in layman’s terms, give more to the rich and their gains of money and benefits should also find it’s way down to everyone else.
It’s the reverse of Robinhood’s theory of taking from the rich and giving to the poor, by instead giving to the rich. There you have it. I just gave you the premise of Trickle-down Economics.
WHAT IS TRICKLE-DOWN ECONOMICS?
Great question. Trickle-down economics, also called trickle-down theory, refers to the economic proposition that taxes on businesses and the wealthy in society should be reduced as a means to stimulate business investment in the short term and benefit society at large in the long term.
According to thebalance.com writer Kimberly Amadeo, Trickle–down economics is a theory that claims benefits for the wealthy trickle down to everyone else. These benefits are tax cuts on businesses, high-income earners, capital gains, and dividends. … All of this expansion will trickle down to workers.
I don’t know about that.
When I look to my left on the West Coast, I see massive homelessness.
When I look to my right on the East Coast, I see wage stagnation.
Taxes got cut, but people are in even more debt. When the top 10% of the richest American households own 84% of the stock market wealth in the country something is terribly askew.
I call gentle bullshit on all this record stock market gains that is causing the country to grow wealth for all.
It seems more that instead of lifting all boats to prosperity for 99% of the population, stocks are lifting a few yachts of the 1%.
In the illustrious words of Sheldon Cooper, pardon me, I mean Dr. Cooper, this is a bunch of hokum. I mean the term even has the word trick in it. Hello?
WHEN IN ROME, TAKE OUT MORE DEBT
I have seen stuff you would not believe people have done when it comes to their money.
I saw a couple of government workers deciding to take on an $800,000 mortgage. Don’t ask me why. After 30 years of payments, they will have paid $1.6 million for a pile of bricks they are never at because they are always at work. Then the husband loses his job and they lose the house!
If you do not have $1.6 million in retirement or other assets, then you cannot afford or should not buy a home for three-quarters of a million.
Since, many college students see their friends take out loans to fund spring break trips they feel they are entitled to do it too! I actually knew someone who got a boob job and paid off a car with a student loan refund.
I hear tons of people say they are never going to retire, can’t afford college, and will work forever but no one wants to downsize their $400,000 mortgage. If they want it, they get it. How you ask? Do what the neighbors did and take out a HELOC.
A FLY ON THE FISCAL WALL
I’m about to spill that tea so don’t blink or you might miss it!
Overheard around an office watercooler.
“I owe $100,000 in back property taxes to the IRS.”
“I am in $25,000 worth of credit card debt. I am on a fixed income. My granddaughter was supposed to use my credit card for a one-time charge to pay her auto insurance when she got a new car and then I found out she never stopped it and I paid for the whole year! When I asked her for the money back she said she didn’t have it and then told me about all the bills she has.”
A male-exotic dancer told me, “I strip because I don’t make enough at my job to live on that.”
The guy who can’t pay his child support who owns a Range Rover and house is constantly in danger of foreclosure.
A beauty salon owner who confided in me. Her child support payment is $25 a month and the father keeps quitting his job so he don’t have to pay it! At the tender age of 25, she also decided to lease a beauty shop and buy a home. She said, “It’s like paying two mortgages.”
Another friend.
“I would rather struggle today and get my forever home, than buy a starter home and have a smaller home and have to move.”
A cousin.
“I can’t make too much or they will take me off Section 8 housing.”
Just FYI, many safety net programs do not allow you to make too much or have too much in savings or assets. If you have more than $2,000 in checking, you could lose all income assistance benefits and NEVER be able to get back on. Essentially, keeping the poor trapped in a cycle of poverty.
CHANGE THE MONEY GAME
There is a saying. Control your money; control your life. When you know how money works life is easy. When you don’t, life is hard.
I read every book I can get my hands on about finance. I have learned about taxes, insurance, stocks, real estate, and entrepreneurship.
Here are a couple books I have read that changed my money mindset.
I stopped getting personal loans. It took me years to pay off a $20,000 personal loan. I took that $333 monthly payments and started saving money.
I once had a $448.65 car payment. I paid off the car and started investing that money.
I started studying the stock market.
I cut out buying clothes and all shopping and stared saving over $8,000 a year. I canceled subscriptions. Maybe Jillian Michaels may want to do the same as on her Instagram, cause you know we are all “living for the Gram,” she stated she would like to figure out how “like to get my American Express bill down.”
I only spend on things I love and I cut spending mercilessly on the things I don’t.
I transferred over $84,000 out of multiple stock funds and placed my bet on one 500 index fund.
I write money milestones.
The goal is to be a 401(k) millionaire.
By investing over 25% of my income into things like the VFINX, VFIAX, or VTSAX, I can make this dream a reality.
Milestone number one was $100,000 in Mr. Market. I hit that marker and kept on climbing.
The money starts accumulating faster like a freaking avalanche once you have that first $100k. The next stop was $200,000.
Then I started making my way to a quarter million.
I estimated that once you hit $250,000, then you can get to millionaire status in 14.5 to 23.5 years with a 6% or above interest rate. And that is without adding another dime.
Once you get to one-quarter of a million, the other three-quarters are not too far behind.
If you could invest $20,000 a year including employer match, you could be a millionaire in 10 years with a 10% return with a principal investment start of $250,000.
That first $100,000 is your capital to a better future. It plants the seed money from which the rest of the harvest will grow.
DROPPING DIMES LIKE SCROOGE MCDUCK AND OTHER MONEY HINTS
Dropping dimes used to mean putting a dime in a payphone to connect with someone.
Now it is used more figuratively than literally as in giving some knowledge in this case.
The reason I invest most of my money in index funds is this piece of advice from Warren Buffet.
He instructed the trustee in charge of his estate to invest 90 percent of his money into the S&P 500 for his wife after he dies.
Warren Buffet is worth $81 billion. Most of his wealth came after the age of 50. Buffet gained 99% of his wealth after 50. That 1% of his wealth took 50 years to build, the other $80 billion too like 25 years or less than half the time it took to get the first billion.
He had to create companies, invest, graduate from Columbia, start businesses, and save the excess for 50 years to create the other 99% of his wealth!
In farming, like 99% of the crop comes from just 2% of the seeds that survive. Every time you invest your money, you are sowing seeds for your future self.
In a book I read, they state three of their truths about money. She stated, “the Scarcity Mind- set taught me the three lessons that would eventually turn me into a millionaire:
Money is the most important thing in the world. Money is worth sacrificing for. Money is even worth bleeding for.
I want people to remember me as a full on entertainer and a good person. – Aaliyah
In case you have not already heard the news, the late superstar Aaliyah has her very own Madame Tussauds Wax Figure in her likeness from the Try Again Era.
Madame Tussauds for VIBE
Although, Aaliyah is gone she is not forgotten.
Therefore, this next post is titled in her honor. This post is named after her first ever record, Age Ain’t Nothing but a Number which is the debut studio album by American singer Aaliyah. It was released under Jive and Blackground Records on May 24, 1994, in the United States.
I learned a lot from watching Aaliyah work so hard in her youth.
Like her, I want to be remembered as well, although as a full on financial blogger and a good person.
So let’s get right to it and start talking money.
When in doubt: save.
Don’t ever let anyone tell you what you cannot do or accomplish.
People have said to me the following:
You’ve been in school forever. Are you ever going to graduate?
Are you in school finishing your associate degree, because I know the bachelor’s takes a long time so you are probably only halfway done right?
You should write a book or something? Are you ever going to do that?
It is impossible to save any money. Is it possible to save thousands?
Winning the lottery is a great way to get rich. Do you play?
You should go for the Master’s degree. Why a second bachelor’s?
Why get a 2nd Master’s degree? Why not go for the doctorate?
You really have no car payment?
You’ve gained a little weight.
You’ve lost weight.
You have been saving forever, you are not ever going to buy a home.
I laughed at all these questions and comments.
This is my life. I set the pace. No one else. I control my destiny and the outcome of my life. I control the narrative.
And just to set the record straight, I did finish my bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. So take that haters. In addition, I also bought a home, started a daily exercise routine, a health and wellness regimen, started a blog in 2016, wrote an eBook in 2019, paid off my car in 2009, don’t play the lottery, and learned to save thousands by not shopping or taking fancy vacations.
And after I paid off my car, this is how I felt. Just like Katelyn Ohashi at the ESPYs. And like in her acceptance speech that night, I too had made a reference about Cardi B.
Paying off debt and saving. This all took many years. Like over a decade to accomplish. I know folks are out there retiring at like 27. But guess what? Life is full of ups and downs, but I never let my goals be far from my mind and kept them in sight because whether you retire at 22 or 62, fiscal age ain’t nothing but a number.
Safe to say, I set out to conquer every mountain or hill that was put in front of me. Yea baby!! I feel like dancing!!!
Life is complex. No one has all the answers. No one has a crystal ball to see the future. But reading up on the past has let me make some great predictions on what I think will happen.
Financial markets are cyclical. About every 10-20- years the market corrects itself and there is a recession. Plan accordingly.
When stocks go down, buy more.
Save until it hurts. Something like 50% or more of your income.
Things will get more expensive in the future.
You can expect inflation to average at least 2-3% a year.
Investing in real estate tends to yield good results over many years.
If you do nothing else in real estate, at least purchase your primary residence.
Buying franchises is expensive.
Find your talent and exploit it for profit. If you are a good mechanic, then charge a good and fair price for your work.
Never undervalue yourself.
I truly believe optimism is the key to happiness. I am always in a good mood. Laughter is always a part of my day and life.
My mind is always full of ideas, my eyes are clear and my heart is full.
I can’t hear you!!! Say it with me now!! Louder!!! Say it like you are in a stadium full of screaming football fans and Antonio Brown is out there running drills and scoring like he did on an episode of HardKnocks! So say it loud for me! One more time for the cheap seats in the back!!!
When people start complaining, I always feel that they should also provide solutions to their problems. I believe in being solution-based.
One of the greatest joys of my life is speaking my mind. I have done this since I was a little girl. I hold nothing in or back. I am always respectful, but I set clear boundaries on how I let people treat me. I respect others so I expect the same treatment in return. Instead of holding back, I dive in. Speaking your heart is a great way to free yourself from the constraints of life. You have to tell people what you want if you ever expect to get anything. SO SPEAK UP!!
In this life, you have to keep going. There is no time to rest on your laurels. No pity parties here. If you want financial independence, then you must fight for it. You have to work your butt off for it. Even if it takes, 10, 20, 30, or 40 years. My goal is to have at least $2 million in assets before I retire. Over 10 years later, I am still working on that goal. NEVER GIVE UP ON YOUR DREAMS AND YOUR GOALS!!! If you fall down, get up! You get up, dust yourself off and like Aaliyah said, “try again.”
Best of luck to you all in your fiscal adventures.
Fashion is the vocabulary of the wealthy. – Evan R. Lawson, Royal Pains
Keanu Reeves is arguably one of the most stylish and successful actors of a generation. His latest film John Wick 3: Parabellum earned over $300 million dollars at the box office spawning another sequel from Lionsgate for a John Wick 4 coming on May 21, 2021. So if you haven’t heard the news already then you’re hearing it here first! BREAKING NEWS: John Wick 4 is coming!
His hugely successful career has made him a bankable action star with an estimated net worth of over $350 million.
Let’s find out out millionaires are minted and tailor made.
There are three John Wick movies, so I will give you three money lessons.
The Continental in New York
Lesson One: If you’re going to do something, then you may as well look good while doing it I love this Buzzfeed interview with Keanu Reeves or KR as they refer to him. It is a film about suits. A ballet of bullets. Those suits are pristine mortuary chic.
Custom made finely tuned works of art in clothe. It adds to the prestige and dark mystic of the film.
The costuming and fashion is top notch. Definitely reminds me of suits I have seen on other men that come straight from suit designer to the stars Savile Row in London England.
Savile Row, founded by Henry Poole in 1846, bespoke suits are so popular that shops in that district have received the Royal Warrant (seal of approval from HRH the Queen of England or Prince Charles) to outfit the royals and all those who wear a crown. Getting a thumbs up from The Crown of England is no small feat as you have to be the top 0.01 percent of your craft.
Savile Row is the world’s most famous suiting street as reported by Maxim where suits on Savile Row can start at $5,000.
And speaking of Maxim, the magazines late founder Felix Dennis had some great advice on money. Considering he was worth an estimated $400 million, I would say listen to what he has to say.
The top financial advice he offers is to always pay your taxes. In addition, he states the following:
“To become rich you must be an owner. And you must try to own it all. You must strive with every fibre of your being, while recognising the idiocy of your behaviour, to own and retain control of as near to 100 per cent of any company as you can. – Felix Dennis, How to get rich “
If it flies, floats or fornicates, always rent it. It’s cheaper in the long run.” ― Felix Dennis
Now back to the suits.
The suits designed for this movie are no exception. They almost take on a life of their own. This movie would make Barney Stinson (Neil Patrick Harris or NPH for short) of How I Met Your Mother proud. He was known on HIMYM for constantly wearing suits and saying suit up.
John Wick #1 or JW1JW2
One of my favorite things in this film are the manners. Everyone is respectful and well-mannered even when fighting or speaking with enemies. Parlay? haha This reminds me of that scene in the 1979 film The Warriors.
Anyway, I love a man in a suit. Any suit really. Or uniform. Uniforms means a man is employed. And a retired man means he has income. Wink, wink.
A man that can balance a check book, hang a suit (look good in it that is), and has great manners is my kind of guy! I’m just saying. Like any good host, in the film you regularly see people treat each other with human decency, courtesy, and respect.
Lesson Two: Save money and build up your savings muscle There’s my girl Halle Berry. You know in my previous post I wrote about why she and I continue to save so much.
If you want to be a fiscal gentleman or lady, you must learn to invest your money.
You have to learn to move the needle on your savings and investment accounts the same way you do when you fill up on a tank of gas.
For more info on your girl Greenbacks Magnet money tips and tricks check out my interviews on the websites Financially Alert and Think Save Retire.
That is why I started with saving $1 a day and slowly went upwards to $13,333 a year. Now that is what I call upward savings mobility. It took years to do this. You think Keanu can do all those stunts without proper training?
I once read in a magazine interview that he said to pull off The Matrix stunts he had to do two hours of stretching. It took months of work and preparation including weapons and martial arts training.
A retrospective look back at Keanu.
1999: I need guns. Lots of guns.
2017: I need something Robust… Precise.
2019: I need guns. Lots of guns.
Man has he evolved. haha
Therefore, you need to understand that it could take years to build your fortune. You must have patience or it will eat you up inside to try to get rich quick.
Lesson Three: Make sure you have a safety cushion and that people owe you a favor because time is always of the essence
One the most intense parts of JW3 is his constant looking at his watch in the beginning of the film. As time is ticking by and he is in short supply of it.
The intensity and emotions you feel in those scenes are the same way I want you to feel when it comes to paying off debt. It must go.
Another part of this film I like was when you saw he had a stash of things he needed hidden in a book at the library. This is classic if you don’t want people to find something, then hide it in the books rhetoric.
And last but certainly not least, always make sure someone owes you a favor. I am known to help people out and at times ask for a favor in return.
Life is about building relationships, or so Ryan Reynold’s character Van Wilder says; therefore, it is in your best interest to help your fellow man. There may come a time when you need to ask for help.
People are 90 percent more likely to help those that have previously helped them in the past. So if you get a chance help others because remember that time in finite and you must show people today how you feel as tomorrow may be too late.
Debt is like any other trap, easy enough to get into, but hard enough to get out of. –Josh Billings
That’s right. Avoid debt like the plague. Well there you go. The secret to building wealth is wide open. Cat’s out.
I will give you some great insight here. You cannot go bankrupt if you are debt free. When you owe $0, then you are truly free my friends.
Nothing puts people in a financial fiasco quicker than leverage.
Debt, we’ve learned, is the match that lights the fire of every crisis. Every crisis has its own set of villains – pick your favorite: bankers, regulators, central bankers, politicians, overzealous consumers, credit rating agencies – but all require one similar ingredient to create a true crisis: too much leverage. – Andrew Ross Sorkin
Let me provide you with some cautionary tales. They are truly scary. So please avert the kids eyes when you are reading this.
Okay, here it goes. I am no Chaucer, but I will do my best to make this plot jump right out to you. Hopefully it will inspire you to action. Please be forewarned. STAY. AWAY. FROM. DEBT. It has the ability to turn happy people into bitter human beings. People are more likely to tell you about their political, romantic, or extracurricular actives than they are the amount of credit card debt they are in.
Cautionary tale numero uno: Adrian Peterson. According to CNBC, NFL star Adrian Peterson made close to $100 million but apparently can’t pay his debts. The star running back is in court against a McAdoo, Pennsylvania-based creditor over failure to pay a $5.2 million loan. With interest and legal fees, the sum claimed is about $6.6 million.
He currently owes a total of $10 million in debt obligations, but recently signed an NFL contract for a two-year extension for $5 million.
Now I’m no mathematician, but if I subtract 10 from 5 that would equal 5. Meaning he is $5 million dollars short of being able to pay what he owes. This does not include any other cost of living expenses he has. In addition, Mr. Peterson is in his twilight years.
Just investing 1 percent of his $100 million in earnings, $1 million, could have netted him another cool million in investment returns if he earned 8 percent. That is without catching another pass, running an interception, or even showing up for work. He LITERALLY would have only had to keep breathing to make that money.
Losing $100 million is my worst nightmare. This is one of the worst horror tales I have ever read and that is because this is reality: Pure fact and not fiction.
Cautionary tale numerodos: Pamela Anderson. One of the most recognizable female celebrities in the world as she has graced the covers of hundreds of magazines including having the distinction of being the most photographed Playboy Playmate 1989-2016, with a record 14 Playboy magazine covers.
She too had a run in with Mister Debt. At one point, she was in $1 million of debt due to housing costs. She stated at the time that it happened to a lot of people in Hollywood. Although, she stated that she is now okay, she did state that was a very stressful couple of years.
My suggestion is this: stay away from buying huge homes. Mansions costs tons of money to upkeep.
For example, a $3.6 million-dollar mansion will likely cost you $100,000 annually for maintenance, utilities, property taxes and upkeep. Over 10 years, you would have paid $1 million dollars just to have a place to put those $500 Manolo’s.
Let’s think for a second. A $90 million-dollar mansion in Beverly Hills could cost you $2.5 million annually. Over a decade that is $25 million dollars! I am starting to see how people like Charlie Sheen, who famously once earned over $1 million per episode of Two and a half men, could end up in court stating he is in dire financial straits less than 10 years later. With expenses like these, who can save! I am also starting to see how Nicolas Cage ended up owing $6.2 million to the IRS! My last tale will surely leave you shaking in your financial boots (hopefully paid for with cash).
Cautionary tale numerodos:Johnny Depp. After earning $20 million-dollar paychecks with Pirates of the Caribbean (Disney fired him from this role in 2019), and estimated lifetime career earnings of $650 million, it was revealed that Captain Jack had a spending and debt problem.
According to CNBC, this is what Mr. Depp spent every month:
$30,000 on wine
$300,000 on staff, including 40 full-time employees
$150,000 on security for himself and his family
$200,000 for a private jet
You could support small countries on what he is spending!
For $30,000 a month on wine, it better heal the sick, make the blind see again, and wash away all sins!
This last fiscal tale truly has me quaking in my paid for running shoes.
In every story I have ever heard or read, people built their wealth by living on less than they earn.
That is how I was able to pay off $50,000 of debt and then begin saving and investing over 40 percent of my income. I did it by earning and saving one dollar at a time.
Ditch the plastic and embrace cash my friends. It seems the folks in Hollywood all have humongous mortgages that are handcuffing their wallets and keeping their financials in a tailspin. Please do the opposite and keep low fixed expenses. Thank you for listening. I’ll be here all week.
