If you're new here, you may want to learn what this site is about. I encourage you to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
Tips for Financial Independence
Yesterday I described how Financial Independence is the goal of many frugal folks. We live cheaply, work hard, and save until we reach a point where we can pursue our dreams without concern for money. Mark Gallagher has posted ten tips for financial independence and a good life.
- Keep your life simple. He suggests that this is best done by being very careful with the big decisions in your life: career, marriage, etc.
- Learn what brings you happiness. Does buying the latest Thneed really bring you joy. Do you really need those Ziffer-Zoof seeds? What do you value? Learn what this is and then pursue it.
- Buy a home. Take your time. Don’t rush. Be sure every aspect of the decision meets your needs.
- Buy a car. Gallagher recommends buying a new car every 8-10 years. “Never lease,” he says.
- Never buy a vacation home.
- Never buy anything from a door-to-door salesman or a telemarketer. Awesome advice. Don’t buy anything you didn’t seek out yourself. Don’t let others convince you that you need things.
- Stay out of debt. By the time you’re 30, you should have no credit card debt. By the time you’re 40, you should have only mortgage debt. By the time you’re 50, you should have no debt at all.
- Save. Build an emergency fund. Invest for retirement.
- Downshift. When you have no debt, and when you have a nest egg that provides passive income, alter your life so that it is most fulfilling.
- Avoid divorce. Gallagher stresses that your life partner will have the greatest effect on your happiness and your ability to achieve financial independence.
Your Money or Your Life is all about the quest for Financial Independence. The book contains a plan for achieving this goal, and hundreds of suggestions to help speed you on your way.
July 18th, 2006 at 4:35 am
“2. Learn what brings you happiness.”
Remember that the best things in life are free!
And always buy a “used car” to avoid the massive depreciation of the price of a brand new car.
October 25th, 2006 at 4:42 am
Solid advice. In today’s world of debt and stuff, frugality is refreshing.
November 23rd, 2006 at 6:05 pm
Great article. Thanks. Could not resist to post the link to it on my forum.
November 12th, 2007 at 8:05 am
These tips are dead-on except for the new car one. If you must, get a car that is always at least one year old, never newer; older is better. That depreciation is awful.