Okay, so I know the title of this post sounds negative. But let’s face it; ignorance is expensive. That’s why we always do our research before we buy something, right? We look at the reviews on Amazon or Walmart’s websites. We compare prices at two or three locations. Then we make a decision and move forward on that decision! When we take a little time to learn about what we are purchasing, we make great decisions and save a bundle of money too!. From cars and houses down to light-bulbs and household cleaners, we educate ourselves to some extent on everything we do with our money! Well…not everything…
What About Our Money?
For some reason, when we start to talk about saving, or planning for retirement, or almost anything to do directly with money, we just seem to go with the flow. We let our company, bank, stockbroker, etc., tell us how to invest or save our money. We participate in the company 401(k) – or other retirement portfolios – that they have set up. We take the advice of the banker about a CD or money market account. Or we just blindly trust that someone else has our best interest at heart and give up our hard-earned cash to this person or company. Then, we oftentimes pay fees or commissions out of our pockets for someone else to control our money – whether they make money for us or not!
Does that last paragraph sound as insane to you as it did to me? You and I are savvy consumers! We do our research while sitting at home in our pajamas. We make the best buys and save the most money. We thrive on the thrill of getting the best deal. You would never walk onto a car lot and let the salesperson tell you what to buy! Not in this day and age of the internet. No sir, you would walk on there and tell them what make and model you want. What color and features you want. And. most importantly, exactly how much you are going to spend on this vehicle because you’ve done your research! So why don’t we do that when handing over money for our future? Why do we let others tell us what financial “vehicle” we are “buying” with our retirement dollars instead of the other way around?
Three Reasons:
Feel free to correct me in the comments if I’m wrong, but I’ve found from talking to people all over the country about this subject that there are three big reasons for this. The first is that most of us feel financial issues like retirement planning, investing, understanding how interest works and related topics are too complicated for the “average Joe”. A lot of us look at finances like some sort of mystical or secret realm. That they are accessible only to the “initiated” (like brokers, bankers, and 401(k) makers). We went to school for 12 or more years, and yet we were never taught the basics of money or how simple it really can be!
The second biggest reason I hear is the assumption that we need vast amounts of capital to get personal financial education and service. We’ve probably been told by “financial advisors” before that we didn’t have enough money for them to help us. We were basically told (or taught) that we are too “poor” to get top-level financial services. Maybe not in such blunt terms, but I bet that’s the way we felt when we walked out of their office.
The third “biggie” is that people today are too concerned with either getting out of debt or staying out of debt. Now, this isn’t a bad thing. But something happens along the way. They forget to “do research” on what’s going on with their retirement money. They just click the “set it and forget it” box at work. Then 10, or 20, or 30 years down the road they’re asking why they still can’t retire. And when they do get out of debt, they don’t know what to do with that extra money. This often leads to them getting back into debt.
You’re Not the Only One!
If you just read this and felt like you fit into one of those three categories, or maybe even ALL three, don’t feel bad! So do 93% of Americans today! That is exactly why I set up this website! It’s free! It’s filled (or going to be filled) with financial education! It will be put in the simplest, most common and easily understood terms! It will show you how to use the same strategies that the millionaires and billionaires are using. But for a few dollars a month instead of millions! And I will do my best to keep things short and sweet so even the busiest of us can benefit from it!
This website is for YOU! Yes, YOU! And me, and him and her and him and him and her and her and…well, you get the idea. Ignorance is expensive, especially when it comes to trying to buy a big pile of cash for retirement. I’ve been there. I want to help you by sharing the lessons that I’ve learned. Consider me your Google, your Amazon reviews, your Kayak to the financial world. Let me help you become knowledgeable so YOU (not me) can make the best decisions for your money. I find that when people have the proper knowledge, they make the right choice for themselves. We don’t have a “money problem” in America. We have a “knowledge about how money works problem.” I hope to fix that – for free!
Financially Live – Not Just Exist!
The first two steps I would recommend you take is to first, click here to register for our free virtual Financial Self-Reliance Workshop. This class is designed to give you the basics and set you up for success if you continue to meet with us for further education. The second thing I would do is subscribe to this blog. I will post new items weekly to help further your knowledge of how money works and how you can become financially self-reliant. My goal for you, for me, for every American, is to learn to financially live – not just exist.