No wonder, there is not another WB made following his tips. So, my suggestion is to throw away the tips and take big risks if you have the appetite.

Thanks.

No, both are consumption (not investment) expenditures.

Residential real estate over the long term has returned about 1% over inflation – at best, it is an inflation hedge, not an investment.

Minimize both expenses (for most households, they are the top 2 consumption categories) to free up capital for investment.

Warren Buffett’s first wife, Susie, died several years ago of cancer. At the time of her death, they had been living apart because she wanted a life and a career of her own. It was an amicable separation. When Susie discovered she was ill, it was Susie who encouraged Warren to date his present wife. True, Warren and Anid lived together before they got married, this relationship had the blessings of all concerned.

Seems like that might be painful for his wife and some family members.

Funny. But We really do save a lot when we mind our small expenses. What I concretely recommend is to have a container where you could put,not just your loose change, but the money you would’ve spent for buying a small item or for getting a more expensive item. The funds from that will then be placed in your investment account. That’s a good practice.

Borrowing on a house (appreciating) and borrowing on a car (depreciating) are two different issues.

Now to the comment:

Warren Buffet is a financial hero to many. He is the man when it comes to stocks. I have chosen to follow a different path to him by investing in my blog and other forms of making money online, but you can still learn so much from him.

It is good to learn from other people mistakes but it is even better to learn from other people’s successes

As for the Buffett and luck conversation that’s sprung up, I’d have to say that even if his riches were all made on luck (which I don’t think is true), he’s a damn genius at PR. Either way, this dude was going to make it big in some way.

“Be willing to be different. Don’t follow the herd. Do what is best for you and your situation.”

Frugality, budgeting, saving, minimizing expenses, increasing income–they all can be major components of getting one’s finances right.

But…we’re more likely to stick with a plan that actually works for us if we focus on a few big impactful things and really stay with them.

For each of us, those few principal things might be different. The key is to figure out, through trial and error, what really does work for our situation and is likely to be something we can continue doing.

For example, I simply don’t have the energy and devotion to stick to a budget that tracks and governs every single penny (or dollar) that I spend.

But, I do draw up a basic budget each month of all of my major expenses (with due dates), giving, debt reduction, savings, and other stuff. I cross each one off as I pay it.

That way I force myself to take care of everything major without succumbing to the agony of carrying a notebook and pen everywhere to write down the 25 cents I spent on a gumball.

In short, my plan works for me.

To add to J.D.’s comment, and to yours, there are certain areas of the market that are highly “efficient,” meaning that all of the information available about stocks are already priced into those given stocks and that any given investor could not, therefore, gain an advantage over any other given investor.

Large cap stocks, for example, are highly efficient because an enormous amount of information exists about them. I could teach my 4-year old son how to determine if Wal-mart is a “buy” a “sell” or a “hold.”

Small-cap stocks, however, are less efficient because there is less information readily available about the smaller companies. A small-cap fund manager can, therefore, add value (alpha) and outperform the indexes more easily, albeit with more time and resources, than a respective large-cap stock manager.

Imagine if you found a “short-cut” on your way home from work. It would be only a matter of time before all of the other drivers discovered this short-cut, which would then diminish and eventually remove any reason to take this “short-cut” because it is now filled with cars. Small-cap stocks and lesser-known companies are “short-cuts.” You just have to look for them because other “drivers” are not…

Buffett has said that he could make more money (and has in the past) if his assets under management were lower. For example, it is easier to double $1 million than it is to double $1 billion over the same given time frame. The reason for this is that larger positions move markets (as his stock purchases normally do) and by virtue of Berkshire’s size, Buffett is unable to navigate through the markets as easily.

You are not completely wrong Corey. It’s just that you are not completely “right” either. Visit my blog and find my email if you would like to learn more…

Kent @ The Financial Philosopher

Thanks for the post,
MiningOilGasGuru

He is a lucky guy who has the smarts to become successful. I like his advice, it’s simple and effective so anyone can do it.

I think Buffett would agree that the markets are generally efficient, but he’d argue that there are sometimes breakdowns in this efficiency. He looks for these breakdowns.

I think he would also agree that some of what he’s accomplished is due to luck, but he would argue that much of it is due to patience and sticking to a defined set of rules.

It’s important to note that he urges 99% of the population to NOT follow in his footsteps. He urges them to invest in index funds.

I admire Buffett’s post-wealth stances, especially his vocal opposition to dynastic wealth and the repeal of estate taxes, though.

Let’s see, who owns a majority share in Coca cola…

http://www.btgnow.net

“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” ~ Seneca