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Tell me a story. How has the IWillTeachYouToBeRich blog
changed your attitudes or behavior about being Rich? One specific example
would be great. |
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I learned about Vanguard from your site and the difference
between an index fund and mutual fund (... and the importance of looking at
the cost of a fund in addition to its performance). |
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Hmmm. Can't think of any. |
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-figuring out what's important for me and worth spending
money on versus the things I was spending on juse
to 'keep up' with other people. |
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never too early to begin. earlier is better. |
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Ugh...I can't perform on demand! |
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I would say that reading IWTYTBR makes me really consider the
viability of certain technical ideas in the marketplace. As a technically oriented person I find
myself easily sliding towards the mindset of a product being better due to
technical advantages. Clearly this
isn't the case. Where's the Sega DreamCast now? I
remember reading this article on slashdot back in
2001 [http://apple.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=01/10/23/1816257&tid=107] and thinking -
'Yah, it doesn't do Ogg'. Of course then I got an iPod. And then a mini. And then a nano. And the wife
got an iPod video. The entries I
like best cause me to get out of my comfortable tech mindset and to consider
products and ideas from the financial side and even with respect to the full
range of the marketplace. |
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It hasn't changed my attitudes or behaviors toward being
rich, but is has provided a
refreshing read from someone who shares closely parallel views
on personal financial management. |
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I've really made it a goal to start saving. There was one column about three or four
months ago that really got me thinking about saving and, since then, I've
been trying to arrange things (adjust my lifestyle, pay down my debt) to get
to a point where saving is practical and realistic. |
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Enh, I'll be honest, I've been lucky
enough to have a friend who motivated me to start an IRA and get credit cards
and build credit and do all the stuff you suggest, so I am not sure that
iwillteachyoutoberich has really concretely affected me personally. But it's
definitely good to have that reinforcement, and it's a good resource to point
other people towards. (I know that
doesn't really answer the question)
I really liked the one entry about how people enoy
the idea of being rich, but not the actual work required, and the guest post
you quoted where the one guy talks about how people love the idea of writing
novels because they think it's all about witty banter and mint juleps and
typing away on a Remington and not actually work. (Though, this was more
apropos for me in realizing why I thought I wanted to write a novel, and not
why I wanted to be rich) |
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Much more conservative about my spending. I think twice
before ever expenditure, deciding if it's really worth it, and if it's within
my budgets (which I just now started to put together thanks to you). |
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I'm not yet rich, but it's changed my attitudes about how
I could get there. If nothing else, I'm at least thinking about what's ahead
of me for the next 20, 40, 60 years. |
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My wife and I have totally changed our financial outlook
on life since we read your 'new years financial butt
kicking' series. We now have our money
flowing out from checking and into ING and from there we have a steady flow
into an eTrade IRA trading account. (We didn't have anything beyond our bank
checking account before -- you really did kick our butts). What I'm looking forward to most now is
teaching my 2 daughters what you have taught my wife and I. 'Ramit' has become a household name with us
(and specifically, the phrase, 'Well, Ramit says ... ') You rock Ramit. :-) |
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Other than providing some inspiration, I don't know. It's
a blog, not Revelations. |
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i definitely put way more into my
retirement fund now than i did previously. i also maintain a separate
mutual fund and an auto-debit ING account, which helps since money that's
harder for me to get to is money that's harder for me to spend. |
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I always have a desire to be rich, but your blog has
helped me realize how to do it - investing and managing my money using my
brain. |
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I opened a Roth IRA account. |
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It's shown me how easy it can be to improve your financial
situation simply by doing a little research |
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#NAME? |
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I have learned to spread the retirement investment gospel
to my friends and family. I've already
recommended your site to my younger brother, who just graduated college this
year. The site has inspired me to be
more educated on finances and to take a more active role in preparing for my
financial future. |
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Finances, frankly, scare me. Taxes intimidate me (and I'm
still on the EZ form). My dad and boyfriend talk of investment returns and
stock options and my head spins. I want to run and avoid it. I don't make
much money. I don't keep an accurate track of my finances. I try to live as cheeply as possible and save as much as possible. After
that, I'm clueless. What I get from your posts is a bit of confidence and
power. I can take small steps to do one thing better and one thing new and so
on. And it even makes sense. It seems practical to my little life with my
little income, savings and bigger future needs.. |
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Being rich doesn't really mean having zillions of dollars,
but having the confidence & sense to make the right decisions that you
can feel good about on a continuous basis. |
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My finances are /still/ messy, but they are getting
better. Separating accts and noticing some of the crap I spend my hard-earned
cash on has been the biggest change. Cutting some of the fat=more to savings. |
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I am probably not your typical reader. I am 48 years old, married with four
children. However, I do enjoy your
blog. My son found your blog and
worked with Chris Yeh's Printer's Ink Project. Keep
up the good work. |
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I was a well-paid software engineer who got unexpectedly
laid off one year after marriage. Both my wife and I never gave much thought
to saving (apart from automatic 401K deductions and maximum employer
matching), and we both had the dreaded credit card habit. Our entire wedding,
honeymoon and moving expenses were all on credit lines. We were,
unfortunately, quite typical of the young thirty-something professionals who
were terrible at managing money. On
the side, however, a friend and I had been starting some business ventures in
the marketing and advertising world, so instead of looking for a new job
after my layoff, I put my faith in this new business venture as a full-time
occupation -- very risky, seeing that I was already about $60,000 in debt
with no real savings! But, we have practically no overhead -- we maintain no
office space and work out of spare rooms in our respective homes (and, of
course, a percentage of our domestic expenses are written off to the
company). Also, our wives have maintained good jobs with decent income and
full benefits like health care.
Under legal advice (and second opinions from family friends who are
business lawyers) both my business partner and I declared bankruptcy.
Fortunately, I was able to declare just myself and keep my wife's credit
history pristene.
While money has been tight from time to time, we have managed to meet
all our obligations (sometimes through the generosity of family), and I
wouldn't trade the experience for the world. I have really, really learned
what is important to spend money on and what is not. I gave up credit cards
years ago now (just after the layoff but well before bankruptcy), and no
longer make any frivolous purchases. I can still buy a treat from time to
time, but I think long and hard about whther it
will be something that gives true and long-lasting pleasure. For the longest time -- and I still don't
know why -- I was very much in denial about the problems I was in, and
avoided doing any sort of money management or real and responsible
stewardship of my money, even long after the bankruptcy. But, by keeping
IWTYTBR and other sites on my daily RSS feeds (I also include 'Get Rich
Slowly', Lifehacker and 43Folders), I not only get
a regular feed of tips and encouragement, but it's also become a conscious
decision to keep proper stewardship forefront in my thoughts and
actions. Our business is showing
great growth spurts in the second half of this year, and money will be a lot
easier come by. As we will soon actually be able to have our hands on surplus
money for the first time in three years, I am now prepared to be much wiser
and better able to prepare for our future.
My wife has been a little behind me in the learning curve, but I have
been sure to be a gentle and loving example without pushing her too hard. At
the beginning of last month, I got her started on writing down and tracking
all her own personal expenses in preparation for better money management on
her part. And just a couple of weeks ago -- and this was totally her idea and
decision -- she turned all her credit cards over to me to keep so she would
no longer be tempted to impulse buy beyond her means! I see a bright and happy future ahead --
one that I might very well not have had if had not been for the financial
hardships of the last few years.
Bryan Pack
iwillteachyoutoberich@slippyvillage.com http://www.slippyvillage.com/ my company: http://www.wildernesspros.com/ |
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It's a process - the articles on entrepreneurism
were great. |
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It gave me an idea for a basic banking model. I was always kind of curious and hesitant about
banks, but that article kind of cleared it up for me. I'm young and don't have a job yet, so when
I do start making money, I will have a better idea of what to do with it. |
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I like the persistence and dedication found in 'you need
to start saving and investing yesterday' posts. and the budget
ones. not
much of a story, but those are the two things that are important to me, and IWillTeachYouToBeRigh reinforces that. |
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The blog has taught me that I can be rich. But also took
away a huge chunk of glory from being rich. Not that I mind that. But I do
notice that I now find money, or being rich, to be a lot less important. More importantly it has taught me the
importance of experience/value/etc over money. A bit ironic, eh? I'm this guy from |
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The message 'start investing now!' was really pounded into
my head after reading a couple hours worth of material. |
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Sorry, I haven't got time to think of any! |
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It's inspired me to get my net worth info together, bite the
bullet and do the calculations. It's also inspired me in general to think
about my motivations regarding money. |
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Well, you made me max out my ira. Thanks. |
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Mmm...seeing importance of mutual
funds / indexes over pure stocks. |
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It has motivated me to seriously think about opening up a
Roth IRA account and look into mutual funds |
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I learned being rich is not hard, there are certain steps
one must take and they should do alright |
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Just remembering that I'm not the only one trying to crawl
out of the debt hole. |
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I've learned that it never hurts to ask. I recently had a
$300 phone bill, after I thought I'd signed up for a special calling plan. It
was my second statement, but the first time I noticed the absurd
international rates I was paying. Guess I should have read my first phone
bill more carefully. I didn't have much if a case other than my word, but I
called my provider and explained that I'd requested the plan but was being
billed the maximum. In 5 minutes, my bill was adjusted at 12 cents a minute,
down from $6-10. |
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Sort of what I mentioned ealier
about the kicking your ass post - I've found that I really try to start
projects and do things that will make a difference in a year or two. To be honest, nothing has really panned out
that way yet, but the post changed the way I look at things, and I think
that's far more important than my temporary lack of success. |
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It hasn't really. It is very much in line with what I see in
other places, such as 'The Millionaire Next Door', and with what common sense
tells me. |
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I have just started subscribing so am unable to say for
certain. |
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It can be done, it's all in your ability to stay focused
and strong. |
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It's all about attitute. I'm 50 and still trying to figure out to
make it happen, but I enjoy the process more now... |
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My behaviors have changed in that I have created a budget,
tracked all my expenses, opened a savings account, and am looking to open a
Roth IRA in the near future. All this
was because I discovered your blog earlier this summer. |
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I am not sure if it changed it, but it definitely helped
to solidify the thought that you must define what rich is in your mind. If
you constantly compare yourself to Bill Gates or Warren Buffett
as 'rich' well you will probably be seriously dissappointed,
but if you put your goal up there excluding winning the lottery you will be
more apt ot stay on focus and have increase chance
of felling you accomplished somthing. |
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It's not much of a story, but I wouldn't be using ING
Direct had it not been for IWIllTeachYouToBeRich. It's still too soon so see how it will
affect me overall, however. |
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Helps me keep a positive outlook by being a) positive, b)
reasonable, c) straight-forward. |
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I'd always thought retirement accounts were for old folks,
but since your post on them, I've gotten off my ass and opened a Roth IRA.
I'm a graduate student looking at several more years of grad school and surviving
on fellowhips, but you've got me thinking seriously
about my financial future and I am now one of the most financially prepared
physics grad students that I know. |
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Not applicable. |
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Well, I have to say not at all. I already had an abundance
mindset before starting reading, so, like say, the value I derive is
confirmation, sharing, and sometimes a different shade of approach to
matters. Thanks for writing! I
especially enjoy when you exclaim, 'I love it!' |
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I started a Roth IRA after reading an article about it on
your site (I'm 20). |
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Your blog has taught me that money is extremely
important. Now, whenever I want to buy
something, I ask myself twice if I really need to buy whatever it is I want
to buy. |
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Sorry - nothing specific, just a great place to reinforce
my beliefs about savings and how and where to spend money. |
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Hasn't changed, but reinforced stuff that was already
there. Gave me stuff to talk about with friends. |
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Reading your blog has gotten me more serious about
investing, even though I have only taken simple steps. Even my parents told
me I was too young to be worrying about saving lots of money now. I have
started investing in my 401K, have more money in savings than most 23-year
olds, and also bought a small townhouse 6 months ago. I also hope to start
making other small investments this year and learning about the stock market,
where I have been completely clueless up until recently. I think seriously
about small expenses like eating out that really eat up the paycheck of
20-somethings and try to limit those, but am also finally going to go
backpacking in Italy in a few months (if not now, when?). |
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I liked the advice on setting up accounts to manage the
flow of money. I followed that advice
and I feel it's really helped me. |
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After reading your blog, I decided now was the time to
start an online children's clothing store.
I read about how important it is to create your personal brand, and
I'm trying very hard to do that. I really
suck at talking to people, though, so it's proving more difficult than I
thought. Hey, maybe you could help me
learn to how to feel comfortable promoting myself? I'm too modest for my own good. |
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- Your budgeting practices, specifically the buckets
method of budgeting, made my monthly budgeting infinetly
easier. Thanks! |
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Mostly it's just made me want to get out and experience
more now that I'm young. I'm 21, still
an undergrad, and have already saved about $35,000 in stocks and other
securities. I'm in a fraternity, in
Navy ROTC, and involved in a bunch of other organizations, and still have
time for friends and fun. It's
definitely possible. I appreciate that
you teach people that. |
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I don't know. But
there's one concept that I've recently learned and I feel you understand more
than most other people. Knowing the magnitude and frequency of a mistake is
almost as important as not making the mistake. This is similar to your 'don't
focus on minutae' posts. Just getting money
invested is way more important than trying to find the best invesment vehicle. Similarly, spending money at a
friend's birthday party is fine, because the situation comes up so
infrequently. I strongly believe that it's much easier to evaluate a decision
if I know how much better the best choice is, rather than only knowing which
choice is best. |
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Sorry, that will take more than 3 minutes of my time. |
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It gives me faith that young people have the potential to
control their finances and take risks. |
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*Be interesting by being interested: I do this at parties
more now. I used to talk too much about myself especially because I work at
Google so everyone is curious about me.
*Just do it now: I fixed my toilet flusher instead of just waiting and
doing it later: later was worse than now. I also just do it with taking out
garbage, etc. Small stuff, but it feels good not to procrastinate. |
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I only found the site three days ago, but it has already
changed my attitude towards saving and investment. I just graduated from college this past
April and hadn't given any thought to financial planning yet. Your site woke me up, and I am very
appreciative of that. I will take the
first step of opening some accounts after I move this week and will continue
from there. |
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Yet to find one that changes my attitude or behavior. |
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in terms on finance, it hasn't changed my behavior any. i already knew the benefits of compounding interest, so i was already saving in my early twenties. although the most recent series, 'it only
gets tougher', has been helpful. as i'm about to
enter the 30s, the series has made me aware of things i
used to do but would now think twice about (like spending the nite w/ bunch of friends just throwing around ideas). it
has made me aware of those things and select those few that i still want to do and make time for them. |
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i want to open an IRA or a mutual
fund |
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I take comfort in the fact that other people my age lack
the financial knowledge I do. With a
Bachelors and Doctorate from two top 20 schools, you would think that a basic
working knowledge of finance would have been imparted somewhere along the
way... I'm not putting blame on the
schools, I just wish there would have been more opportunities for a financial
education to accompany my formal education... |
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It has helped me, along with some other resources, to see
how wealth comes through making smart decisions and saving on a regular basis
rather than through making a huge paycheck or striking it rich (like through the
lottery!). One of your stories once
encouraged me to call my credit card company. For 5 minutes worth of work, I
got 3 late fees knocked off, a finance charge credited back to me, and my
zero-percent APR restored. I made like over 150 bucks for those 5 minutes! |
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To put money away first since time is the most important
factor, not what funds/stocks to research...you can always do that after. |
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Have none |
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Simply put, i can be RICH. |
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I think this website has basically convinced me that I am
the only person who can provide for my own well-being in the future. It would
be nice to think that I'm going to inherit money, but that's not going to
happen. Several years back, I was
talking to my good friend Mike, who comes from one of |
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I don't expect to be 'struck' rich but I also thought
perhaps it wouldn't happen for me.
Reading your blog has given me a faint spark of hope that if I play my
cards right I can actually BE RICH. |
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I've added more books on personal finance to my Amazon wishlist and realized that I don't want to live in an
upscale area. People on the east and
west coasts seem to spend much more on normal living expenses. |
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One thing it has taught me is how smart it is to save
early (e.g. 401k) |
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Spur of the moment - a week in advance - I decided I would
go on a 11 day mission trip to |
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After i read a few blogs i took the advise i opened a
Roth account (with ING) and opened a scottrade
account. Now i have to figure out on how to use it. |
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One of my major personal finance decisions/achievements
has been to keep track of everything I spend, which I've been doing
rigorously since February 24 this year.
I think I remember that decision was influenced by your writing at the
time...actually I've just checked and you wrote the 10 Things About Yourself
That Would Surprise You post two weeks prior to that, and You Spend Even When
You Don't was about that time too. And
you've always advocated knowing how much you spend. It's been a very valuable thing for me,
knowing how much I spend, and in which categories. I'm a computer programmer, so I have it all
in Excel (Date, Amount, Description, Category, Subcategory) with some macros
to break it down for a summary. As a
result I know I spend œ32 per day, including œ11 on rent, œ6 on food, œ4 on
health-related stuff, œ2.50 on girlfriend-related expenses, etc. I can predict very accurately my upcoming
spending, which I couldn't before. At
œ32 per day, I'm investing/saving 70% of my income (I'm at a highly
successful rapidly-expanding work-all-the-time internet/financial services
software company.) Also a while back I decided movie ticket
prices were way too high, and it's much better to hire a movie for œ1 and
have five people watch it at someone's house for an average price of 20 pence
each, rather than all spend 5 times œ6.50 = œ32.50 on a product that isn't
much better and in some ways is worse.
Was it you who first brought that up?
It might have been NevBlog, or someone
else. Unfortunately none of my friends
agree (they're almost all rich because they're almost all work friends
because we have no time for another social life). I also remember, back in 2004, Cook At
Home You Lazy Bastard made me start cooking most of my meals (at the work
kitchen actually, I work late). You
were also a major influence in my decision to finally get organized and
invest in stocks. I got started with
that in August-November 2005. I
think also you've influenced me to think more about compounding interest. I mean I always knew about it and had made
my own Excel models myself. But like
yesterday my girlfriend was telling me about a friend of hers (aged 20) who
had gotten œ1,000 in debt by spending it all on makeup. Makeup!
Apart from thinking, oh my god is that girl dumb (though, to be fair,
also hot), I also thought, œ1,000 invested at 8% for 31 years is œ10,000,
i.e. you you'd retire about a year earlier.
(But of course she might be losing even more than that if she's in
credit card debt at like 20% or something.)
I think about interest and prospective retirement a lot, partly
because my job takes ridiculously long hours and I sometimes want to leave,
and if I'm willing to live frugally - and childless - for the rest of my life
I could retire in three years at 25.
(I probably won't though, but it'll be great to have the option.) |
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It's not as hard as you think. |
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The website hasn't really changed my behavior much, since
I've learned a lot about saving money from my mom, who's a bookkeeper and
amateur finance maven. But it does
make me feel less stupid for being a 21-year-old with 3 Roth IRAs. |
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I finally got my act together to open a savings
account. Next step is setting up an
automatic monthly transfer. |
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i guess it has actually just
reinforced how I was feeling about things. People don't much like talking
about their finances with each other, but your blog is more like chatting
with a friend over a cup of coffee. Ok, more of an expert friend, but
nonetheless, comfortable and helpful. |
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I'm keeping track of what I spend to determine a budget
and have an actual desire to invest! That doesn't really answer the question
but I just thought I'd throw that in there. I never planned on this site
being a get-rich-quick scheme, and I always knew it takes time (usually) |
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your blog has gotten me to track my finances. I have yet
to do much more than that (But everytime I read I
am reminded to send a check into my Roth IRA which I average about once every
other month of actually doing..). I'd like to get a better hold on my
finances and invest and all, but I'm in the living 'paycheck to paycheck'
category that you don't really talk about all that much. |
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i've just graduated and it made me go
and look at lots of different accounts and possibilities than just accept my
previous bank account |
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I now have some guides to point friends to so I can back up
my crazy financial opinions. I also have information and motivation to start
investing, basically learning from those who've been there already.. |
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I work as an analyst in the investment banking field and I
work on assisting other companies with their financial needs and advise
them. However; I take little to no
time to prepare for my own financial future.
Your website was a nice wake-up and a great just do it attitude. |
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no stories. I'm not rich yet...but I do save more! |
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I've got a better idea of how to start planning for my
future, and where to start saving. |
|
Before I read, I was already really interested in personal
finance and stocks. Your stock
articles have made it really easy to focus in on certain things. |
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i started using the budget
template...made me think more abt saving |
|
Got me to go to ksblog (and
others). I also like hearing about the
situations others get themselves into and the ways they scratch their way
out. |
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I'm 24, started reading iwtytbr
when i was 23 and, although kinda
late(ish) am alreading
socking away cash for the future instead of spending it on the crud we're
supposed to buy nowadays. Thats my plan to be rich.
Not super-meger-uber-rich, but for a rich future
for me. |
|
Nothing specific yet to share. Right now, the 'It Never Gets Easier...'
series is a bit too wordy, a bit too touchy-feely for me. I've been spending more time on GetRichSlowly for now. |
|
Immediacy--everyone screams 'start investing now!', but
that is not often accessible to younger investors. Yet your 'lesser' goals (simpler ways of
pragmatic frugality) put your concepts within reach of everyone. So since it's possible to start now, more
people (myself included) have! |
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Frankly, it made me realize that I already AM rich. Wish I had a specific example for you, but
I don't. Keep up the good work. |
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To be honest, I just started reading this blog last
week. So far, I'm a big fan. I have been unusually money conceous for my whole life, so it's totaly
right for me. The bit about IRA's etc. was very
informative. I am still trying to
really figure out what my finacial situation is,
but once I do, an IRA will be one of the first things I take care of. |
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That I should be more conscious about my personal financial
situation. |
|
... |
|
I quit and started my own business. Which isn't
specifically what you suggested, nor is it entirely your fault. I also stopped drinking Starbucks. |
|
You helped me not feel bad about the money I spend on my
hobbies, as they make me feel good and make my life better, just like your
salsa and nice pens. |
|
Not to take life for granted and to live it to the
fullest. Your attitude about what you write on your blog shows that you really
do care about making a difference in others lives and that is one thing I
will take and apply it to my life. |
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It hasn't changed it really, mainly because I've tried to
be in tune with what really matters in life (family, career, personal wants
and pleasures in that order) |
|
Reinforced my idea about barriers and positive attitudes. |
|
One thing that stands out to me is when you wrote in your
newsletter about total cost of ownership. I had never thought in that way
before about buying an item. For example, everyone always advises to buy a
used car instead of new, but they often don't factor in the extra costs, like
higher maintenance, more likely to need expensive repairs etc....or with
electronics-for example, a digital camera. You may get the camera for a great
price, but you generally do not think about all the extras you need to get to
make the camera work....by the time you are done, you can spend quite a bit.
But by looking at the total cost of ownership, you can make decisions on what
to sacrifice (Do I need a 2 gig card or can I get by with a 1 gig? Do I
really need that extra battery?). Good stuff and definitely unique. |
|
I opened an Ing account. I registered a domain name to start my own
business. Not much story yet. Fixing some debilitating aspects of my mind
before hittting it hard. |
|
None |
|
N/A |
|
I started building my personal financial plan and could have used additional feedback
from other people. This site has helped
me take other things into perspective when it comes to planning. |
|
Started to use Quicken, I was good with my finance but
didn't know where my cash was going. Now I know! |
|
It helped me understand IRAs and money markets a lot more clearly
and thus, sound much smarter to my friends. |
|
I've recently realized how attainable wealth is. Your blog: 1. reinforces that belief; 2:
provides concrete ways to realize the accumulation or wealth. The first thing I read on your blog was
'the world's easiest guide to retirement accounts'. I knew that retirement accounts are
excellent (we max out our Roths every year). This post reinforced this behavior, and
provided me with other insights to further increase my wealth. |
|
Well it got me to start a financial blog, College Student
Financials, www.hberry.net, and it got me to stop pissing money away and save
money. I also finally opened a stock brokerage account and invest some hard
earned money. |
|
I'm sorry to say that I don't have any at the moment. |
|
none yet |
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It's got me off my ass |
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Its great to forward hint to people that finance is like
learning a martian language |
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nothing real concrete yet, i've
always know the basics from my frugal parents...just never really acted, as i'm still young and have been spending what i earn traveling the world. now i regret a
bit not putting more away than i did when i was in my early
twenties and working towards the end of the dotcom boom. |
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I don't have a specific example, but I will say that I see
my financial future more clearly now as a result of reading this blog. Now
I'm much more aware of my potential, especially being a 25 year old who is
more capable of taking risks. |
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slow is better. |
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Nothing noteworthy |
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I can't recall a specific story right now, but at least I
no longer feel weird about worrying about my retirement at the age of 23 =) |
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I've actually got 2 since I've been meaning to write you
for a while. 1) I really enjoyed
your discussions of credit cards, rewards plans, and savings accounts. Before reading that, I only ever shopped
with an ATM card, used cash liberally, and kept the bulk of my money in a
checking account. Now I've switched
everything over to a CitiBank cash rewards mastercard that give 5% back on grocery store, gas, and
restaurant purchases and 1% back on everything else. In cash.
Not some intangible points that effectively equate to making unnecessary
purchases. I almost never use cash and
opened a Scottrade account which houses all of my
longer term savings. I pay my credit
cards off immediately every month, effectively making free money off my
credit card while building credit instead of using my ATM card. Also I've taken my girlfriend through a
similar process, moving her out of high interest credit card debt to a 0% APR
balance transferred account that is simlar to my
own. Both of these things I can
say very surely are a direct result of reading IWillTeachYouToBeRich. Thank you. 2) Recently, I've been faced with the
issue of where to draw the line of saving as much money as possible or just
saving a healthy amount. It really has
been affecting my quality of life to think every time I make a purchase or
eat out that I could be saving money by not buying or eating more
cheaply. This is on top of the very
healthy amount that goes into my 401K, ESPP, and personal savings which will
eventually probably be a Roth IRA but is now just a Scottrade
Account. It really had seeped into my
entire existence and was starting to affect my social life as I became more
and more obsessed with amassing wealth in the most effecient
way possible. Through reading
articles such as your used vs new car one and the
discussions of budget creating, (as well as dicusssions
with my peer group) I've come to realize that not all money is meant to be
saved. Realizing that I need to set
money aside as disposable income and be comfortable with what I save has made
me much happier. I feel that your
consideration of not only healthy money saving habits, but also personal
happiness gained from careful outlays of money has helped me to define and
understand my own value system much better.
I know for a fact that I will become rich someday. But it's not worth being miserable on my
way there to make it happen another year earlier. |
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I now pay more attention to where I put my savings. |
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Helps reinforce the financial 'habits' that I already know
but should be doing. It makes me feel I
am on the right track. |
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I put money in an index fund. |
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x |
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It made me realise that there's
nothing special about rich people, and that anyone can be one! There's no
reason why I shouldn't, one day, be a rich person! That was a fundemental change in my attitude that empowered me to
apply to, and be successful in my application for an IT job at a large bank
in |
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It changed my attitude on my personal finance and investing. I reorganized my personal financial picture
after reading and taking the advice from a few of your articles. Thanks! |
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i now want to desperately start a
ROTH IRA. but am so poor working in the non-profit museum world so it's
tough. |
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Not yet... |
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Really not that much, I'm a little older and was pretty
fiscally responsible before. |
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24 year old junior doc here. Started reading when I had just finished
med school and was thinking about how to use my wage. I think the main things
I picked up from the site are 1. best to start investing young, 2.
compounding interest is good, 3. i ought to have a
reasonable tolerance to risk, 4. roughing it a little now, in terms of life
style, should pay off big later. I
now have a pension, cash ISA, FTSE Index tracker in an equity ISA, invest 25%
of my salery, and save 25%. I drive a 12 year old
crappy car and don't intend to take out any loans anytime soon. I don't worry
about money. Ta for the help Ramit.
Top chap! |
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No specific examples. |
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I've been reading only for about 2 months. It hasn't had
much of an impact on me other than raising a few fundamental questions that I
had overlooked....like the one on financing children's education - I had
worked very hard to put significant sums of money, but yet not asking myself
the validity of the assumption that I absolutely had to put away money. |
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Your retirement plan summary (the exact title of the blog
entry escapes me) was the best, most easily read and understood explanation that
I have read to date. I forwarded the
link to that blog entry to many people who have thanked me. |
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There is nothing off the top of my head that I can thing
of, other than, being rich seems like an attainable goal for me, now. |
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I've re-emphasized my need to keep my budget and finances
straight and have started to actually save money each paycheck, rather than
consistently 'lose' money to debt and frivolous expenses. |
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Some more concerning attitudes about money responsability and fun...hard to explain - the 'do it now
or never' and the risk thinking are good examples (and the 3 minutes are
counting) :) |
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Story: I used to go to the Coffee Bean every day. Moral: Surprisingly bad long-term effects,
though minimal financial impact in the short-term. |
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A good amount of information I already knew, I suppose I
have good saving habits already. But
one thing I didn't know was about IRA's. I just opened up an IRA last week. |
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none, I still think being rich is fantastic, and that I can
get there. |
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I didn't know jack about personal finance. I'm not a moron, I never left a balance on
my credit cards, tried to save as much as possible, had a rudamentary
budget, etc, but it was mostly shooting from the hip. I started working at a private equity
investment firm in |
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I consolidated and closed 2 of my credit cards and reduced
my monthly bills quite a bit by doing a monthly expense and balance sheet.
I'm also saving more. |
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I already kept track of my finances in Quicken, but I have
totally overhauled my debt and my payment plans for that debt while setting
aside money for investment. I've also
become far more conscious of what I'm spending my money on. I appreciate that very much. I've just started recording my financial
and personal status on my blog on a monthly basis:
http://evanrose.com/?entry=354 |
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I like the ING Direct tip - i
did not know about this service. I have been looking for something like this.
More tips about online finacial tools, banks,
savings tools, etc. would be great. |
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Not specifically about being rich.. but I've become aware of when I put up
barriers instead of remove them. Even
just for little things.. I'll identify
something that I know to be a good thing to do, and then just get started on
it, with the idea in the back of my head that if I encounter a barrier along
the way, I'll deal with it then, instead of having possible barriers prevent
me from even starting. |
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Just in my spending habits. Before I would go out every week for happy hours and definitly on the weekends, spending money consistently. Instead now I budget myself, allowing myself treats to go out every couple of weeks and on some week |