Early Retirement Extreme Forums

Early Retirement Extreme Forums » Introduce Yourself

1. 

   J-Ann
   

   Novice
   Joined: Jun '11
   Posts: 2

   Hi everyone. Like some other posters I had a serious awakening after discovering this website and commencing on study of finance and freedom. I'm new to it all but I can say definitively it has changed my life. I finally feel *right* inside, if you know what I mean. I wasn't insightful enough to come to this on my own and I'm ashamed to admit it's probably mainly just intellectual laziness and complacency that had me on the traditional work to 65 path. I was miserable but didn't see a way out. Thank you Jacob!

   Right now my position is this:

   -Age 31
   -Professional designation recently acquired (I'm a psychologist)
   -Boring work history including 6 years as a stay at home wife while I was married (no longer married).
   -No debt
   -Assets: 60k in RRSP's, 16k in cash account.

   I'm living on close to $1,000 a month and saving something over 1k a month, often closer to $1500 or even nearly 2k.

   My biggest concerns right now are becoming financially literate so I can invest wisely - I really don't know how to do this or even really how to start. I've been taking books out of the library but I have no background in finance and find the mass of information (much of it contradictory) very challenging. I keep reading and thinking.

   I am 31 and would like to be FI by 45 at latest, but it is complicated by my wish for children. I would like to be home with them so if I am fortunate enough to be in the right relationship and children happen, I will have to figure out how to work without impacting my family life. I am targeting my skill development towards being able to do private practice, which will give flexibility and good pay if I can make it work.

   Another thing for me right now is feeling alone with these ideas - I am blown away by how negatively people react to what seems a wonderful idea: financial independence! Freedom to work or not, to try new things, to grow... glorious! And also so threatening, obviously. People keep telling me "You just have to work until you are 65, that's just the way life is." Maybe I need new friends. :)

   And finally I will say this takes courage and sometimes I find that hard too. I'm being forced to think in new ways and it is painful sometimes to let go of formerly cherished ideas. If I live small and portable, that works with my life plan and ideals. But it means letting go of, for example, my great-granny's dining set which is a family heirloom and very precious to me. I guess most folks here will see that as silly but for me it is part of the transition and I find it painful. I know stuff doesn't make a life but anyway, I guess the point is for me it is not an instant transition. So I am grateful there is this community to share ideas with and be encouraged by. And who knows, maybe my plans will take me to a small house and I'll keep the table after all. :)

   My question for anyone interested is: can you recommend good books on coming to understand money and finance? From general to specific - what helped you? What is foundational? Any suggestions are much appreciated.

   Thanks!

   Posted 1 year ago #
2. 

   KevinW
   

   Master
   Joined: Aug '10
   Posts: 576

   I don't think I really understood how capitalism works until I read "The Intelligent Investor" by Graham and "The Essays of Warren Buffet." I'd start with those.

   After reading a lot of contradictory investing advice, I'd say this: there are many different strategies that can work. Each is based on different assumptions about how the world works, and each will appeal to people differently depending on their personality and world views. There is no "best" investing system, but there is probably a "best for you individually." The important thing is to find an approach that meshes with your personality and world view, and then stick to it.

   I use Harry Browne's permanent portfolio which is summarised in "Fail-Safe Investing" by Browne and the blog crawlingroad.com . I think "Boglehead" investing, and dividend stock income, are also fine choices.

   Posted 1 year ago #
3. 

   jacob
   

   Expert
   Joined: Jul '10
   Posts: 3,290

   I'd recommend starting with understanding the technical aspects first before delving into popularized books on successful investors favorite methods.

   All investing basically comes down to doing a discounted cashflow analysis on the cashflow of some security. Now, there are several ways of making predictions all of which are more mathematicized rules of thumb than actual science. People then write investment books conveniently leaving those parts out.

   See here
   http://earlyretirementextreme.com/startup-curriculum-for-finance-economics-investing.html

   If this is too much work (it would compare to a 2 year degree self-study), "you can take the bus" by either going with an index fund or some mechanical trading process similar to index funds but which has more of a DIY approach to it. Unless finance is inherently interesting to you, I'd say that it's not economically worthwhile to "drive stick" before you have at least six figures in investable assets.

   Posted 1 year ago #

RSS feed for this topic

Reply

You must log in to post.