Best Financial Advice I Received and Followed

[Bigfish]

Best Advice

When I was in my late 20's my boss told me to take advantage of the companies 403B, he said I don't care if its just $25 a may period just start".
I was married with 3 kids but took his advice and I think it was only $25but every time I got a raise I added a little more. At my next job I rolled it over and the company had an account with Vanguard so I started with index funds, so as they say "now you know what the rest of the story". Fast forward 35 years later and that $25 with gradual increases over time has grown to over 1M.
BF

 

[Car-Guy]

When I was in my late 20's my boss told me to take advantage of the companies 403B, he said I don't care if its just $25 a may period just start".

As I said in my OP, a relative told me the same thing about my company's 401k. For years, many newer employees would ask me about the company's 401k plan and investment options. I would never recommend how to invest the money in the plan, but I would always tell them to try and contribute at least as much as the company would match and more if/when they could. To my amazement, some never joined the plan.

 

[Closet_Gamer]

My parents were debt averse and people told me to get into a 401k but for the most part it was just school of hard knocks...

My folks both got very sick. Almost lost the house. We never had money. I went to a Jesuit high school and worked for part of my own tuition from age 13 on. Scraped thru college...loads of student debt. In grad school I was living on $700/mo...I had $20/mo that wasn't spoken for. I'll never forget shopping for Christmas that year...I had like $10 to spend on my fiancé...really sucked. To get married I had to ask her to help pay for even a modest engagement ring.

When we were first married >50% of our take home was going to college loans. I had a masters degree and a great job, but we were right back at having zero slack each month...I remember sitting down each month and rebuilding the budget from scratch to ensure we'd get thru the month.

First raise showed up and we said "enough of this crap" and set ourselves on a course to get out of debt...and I set myself on a course to learn everything I could about building wealth. I built endless spreadsheets and derived most of the insights about LBYM, etc...

That said, those years of living on <$1000/mo and not going into consumer debt remain the best lesson ever...

 

[rx74u2nv]

I was 24, just one year into my Civil Service career as a Computer Engineer. I was sitting next to a guy on an airplane who was 45 and retiring from the Federal Government as a millionaire. He told me to max out my TSP (401k) contributions every year and invest it in 100% stocks. I am now 34 and have been maxing out my contributions ever since!

 

[Bigfish]

I am in the medical field and have had many students over the years and my first assignment is to read a copy of the Wealthy Barber
BF

 

[outdoorgirl02]

In my first job out of college, I briefly dated the company lawyer who was about 12 years older. He explained to me what a 401k was and why I needed to participate. I went to HR the next day and started contributing from my next pay check. I am so thankful for those few dates we had

 

[freedomatlast]

Here's a few I remember reading somewhere many years ago:

- Separate "wants" from "needs".

- Don't buy new when used will do.

- Never pay interest on a depreciating asset.


Advice I would give to young folks today is always max out your 401K and invest an equal amount in after tax accounts.

 

[ggbutcher]

My dad, a banker, once said to me, "You can't worry about rates of return until you've first put a few bucks away." He was a lifelong saver and retired from the bank at the age of 50, long before ER was a forum (or even a TV show). He and mom lived well on CDs (not music) and rental income.

They taught us LBYM by example.

 

[Lucantes]

Several senior NCO's, active duty and retired from assorted branches, that I used to teach with advised me to leave the service and work overseas when I was contemplating another reenlistment in 96....that was the best piece of financial advice that I think I ever received.

 

[unclemick]

INTJ. I never listen to advice.

1. Drew compound interest curves(6, 8,10%) on sheet of K&E engineering paper for 20-30 yrs.

2. Read about Index funds and discovered John C. Bogle.

3. Much later became a 'Boglehead'.



heh heh heh - buy the haystack at the lowest possible price cause the needles are already in there. Then do nothing. Of course watching football in season and buying a few good stocks with unimportant mad money to keep the male hormones happy does help.

 

[PandaBear]

When I was finishing grad school, my aunt sat me down and taught me the "envelope system" of budgeting. I took it to heart, which enabled me to manage my money and even save on a very limited income. In the late 80's, I was taking home $800 per month as a speech therapist(making about $1000 per month. Was thrilled when I got a job in the school district and doubled my salary!!

I needed the structure this system provided and still use the concepts today. Instead of envelopes, I use many sub saving accounts at my credit union, but its the same strategy.

I had no idea about retirement savings, but learning to live well within my means was a huge lesson. All my other friends had credit card debt as the norm and were always broke.

 

[Huston55]

"When looking for a wife, look for one with at least as high as education and earning potential as you. Twice the income will make a world of difference in your life."

Spoken by the father of a college friend from the dorm while we visited their home for dinner and "a gin and tonic in the living room with the boys" during a cross country road trip. I will always remember that phrase, and the associated advice.

I took the advice (the candidate already fit the profile) and it has worked out very well for us.

-gauss

Hmmm, what's your wife say?

Did she use the same criteria?

 

[gcgang]

Don't take any wooden nickels.


Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum

 

[sengsational]

My Dad told me to look closely at how your girlfriend's mom operates in her relationship with her husband (if you don't like what you see, then you better think hard about continuing).

Part of that advice was to examine how happy the girlfriend's parents were with each other, and frankly, a glipse at how the girlfriend might look at a later age. But also within that advice was to look at if the prosective future in-laws were showing signs of money strife. Bad sign. Was the couple competing in how much they could spend on toys? Bad sign. I guess it's just a reminder that "the apple don't fall far from the tree".

 

[sengsational]

Yup. A bill comes in, I sit down and write a check, put a stamp on the envelope, it goes out the next day. Works for me.

Same with me, except it's logon to my bank's billpay, type the amount and date to pay and hit enter. So best of both worlds, methinks...having the bill off my desk, but getting a little float.

Back when working, I'd let the bills pile-up during the week and pay them on the weekend. But now, I have time to keep my desk clean

 

[Options]

Learn how to make money while you're sleeping. I did. I have. I am.

 

[Totoro]

DVDs? They still make those?

I actually still rent DVDs every so often from a rental shop.

Must be the last one in Europe.

 

[DektolMan]

my uncle taught me that there are two ways to make money. One is to work for it, the other was have your money make more money for you.

 

[Dd852]

When I was in my first "big" job, my boss pulled me aside and said "Always have a f&&k off fund". So I started!

He retired a couple years after that at 46 when he didn't get the promotion he wanted - he had some really happy years doing what he wanted before sadly dropping dead at 60.

By his words, his happy ER years, and his tragic reminder that none of us can script our own endings, he was a true inspiration to my own escape at 52.


Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum

 

[davemartin88]

Early in my career, I moved in to management. When the CEO of the small (at that time) company I worked for gave me my first bonus check, he also gave me the name of his broker and suggested I call him and invest a small amount in the market. He also told me not to worry about how little I had to invest at that point, just get started. I was a bit wary of calling but ended up being treated very well and learned a lot about money. I still have an account with that broker (although it's now his son that I deal with 98% of the time).

 

[brett]

-take care of the pennies and the dollars will take care of themselves

-it is not what you earn, but what you keep.