One of the reasons I write so often is because I remember being upset that there weren’t resources out there for me as a kid. One of the literary techniques I use (especially on the articles that generate millions upon millions of annual page views) is this: I write the article as if I were writing a letter to myself, at 10 years old, sitting in the library in Savannah, Missouri reading through Value Line reports trying to figure out what the hell all of the numbers meant. Since there weren’t people in my life that were involved in finance, I had no background in formal GAAP accounting or anything so that means that I often avoid the trap of “assuming” knowledge. I could have saved myself *YEARS* of effort had a lot of this groundwork been explained to me. It also led to some interesting gaps in my education (being able to do pension accounting adjustments before fully understanding stock options, for example, which was completely backwards).

For example, when you read a financial story, you’ll be surprised how often you see stuff like, “Company XYZ pays a $4 dividend.” Yet, when you read elsewhere that most dividends are paid quarterly, that doesn’t make a lot of sense. The author if assuming the reader knows that the annual dividend is divided into 4 equal parts and shipped every 3 months at most companies, so $1 per quarter in this case, or $4 per year. I try to avoid that as much as possible unless it is an article that builds upon an earlier one.

By stripping out the built-in assumptions, I found that a lot of people realize that Wall Street and investing isn’t hard, it’s just that the people who are involved in it want to make it seem that way so they can charge ever-increasing fees to handle your money.

I just recently discovered your blog via the great “How to Get Rich” series you wrote for about.com. You are an inspiration to me, seems to me we are a lot alike, except you have taken action and had laser like focus on your goal. I, like you, used to sneak investing books while i was in classes, even at college. I have modest goals of just initially making enough income to replace my day job, through real estate, ecommerce, or other. I am 27, working for a real estate developer, learning while getting paid.

I have dabbled in some online ventures, and am getting more serious in that arena. Like you I studied Joomla and other CMSs, and also ecommerce stuff. Your ability to explain things financially is truly a gift. I appreciate you putting in the hours to explain what it takes (its really not rocket science) to get money to work for you.

I cam from the mid-west, loved ducktales for similar reasons you do, and was entrepreneurial early on in my life, im excited to stumble across someone so similar that has achieved a very similar life goal as becoming financially independent at as early an age as possible.

Thanks for the inspiration Joshua.

Thank you! It always means a lot when readers write in and let me know what helps them. (Knowing that it helps people is inevitably the reason I start writing again after I go away for a few months because I’m tired don’t ever want to publish another blog!)

I know exactly what you mean about sacrificing the next years to get where you want. Let me share something with you from experience, though: Figure out how to make money from something you love doing (trust me on this) and that you can turn into a viable business and you will find that suddenly, you don’t “work” anymore. Yes, your net worth grows and there is more cash in the bank if you do it correctly, but you can’t wait to turn the key in the door of your office, or factory, or workshop each morning when you get out of bed. Turning on the lights should be like unwrapping a gift on Christmas morning as a kid. I wrote about this the other day in Business Should Be Fun.

I know that sounds unattainable but, believe me, I know first hand it can happen and I know many people in my life who are finally at that point. Don’t do a job you hate just to build up your net worth. Warren Buffett says that approach is like, “saving up sex for old age. By the time you get there, you won’t be able to enjoy it.”

Then, you get to the point where you don’t want to retire because your whole life is structured around doing what you want. I know a grandmother that wanted to help raise her granddaughter. She loved jewelry. So, she opened a charm bracelet store and jewelry store and the baby spends the days with her, putting on jewelry and playing.

In other words, the BUSINESS exists for HER, not the other way around as so many people let happen.

I have family members who are in the military and have told me the same thing. One of my relatives joined the Air Force after graduating high school and saved everything he could – maxed out the TSP plan, Roth IRA, etc. He used to “collect” shares of Berkshire Hathaway Class B back before they split to see how many he could own by the time he was done with his 6-year enlistment. Whenever they’d get a bonus, or combat pay, or anything involving a lump sum or raise, his friends and colleagues would immediately go sign a lease on a new car. He lived in a $300 a month apartment and slept on an air mattress. They said the same thing to him that they said to you – told him he was cheap and that it didn’t make any sense.

When he left the service, he enrolled in college to take advantage of the GI bill, and continued to put all of his savings into investments because I had sat down with him and showed him that if he could have $100,000 in his accounts by the time he turned 30, he’d be rich even if he never saved another dime. For instance, by the time he was Warren Buffett’s age (79), at 10% compounded, he’d have $10,671,895 in liquid cash and securities even if he had never saved another penny. Of course, no one wants to wait that old to be rich, but this would be in addition to anything else he had amassed in his life – a 401(k) at work, a house, any personal investments, etc. I’ve called this the “reserve fund” or the “stupid fund” because even if he lost his mind completely and utterly failed at everything he ever did (not likely) he’d still retire rich. Thus, it’s “stupid” or “failure” insurance.

It does give me hope that there are people as intelligent as you out there doing what is necessary. I try to explain to people it doesn’t take a huge income to get rich, just a lot of time and a good savings habit. (A high income is just jet fuel on the fire). Above all, avoid wipe-out risk. If one of your investments were to implode because of a black swan event, always keep yourself in a position where it elicits nothing more than an eyebrow raise until you can finish having your morning coffee and take the time to study what happened so it isn’t repeated in the future. Those things, taken together, have some pretty powerful results. That’s why one of my favorite quotes of all time is from Buffett who says, “It simply isn’t necessary to do extraordinary things to get extraordinary results.”

It would make you sick to drive around a military base. Unlike most jobs where salary is a taboo subject, I know exactly how much everyone in uniform is making. (Google: military pay calculator) I see individuals who make roughly half of my 1LT salary driving 50-75K vehicles with another 5-10k in rims and accessories. The usual story for these individuals is to save a year’s worth of tax free income from a deployment and use it as a down payment on one of these cars. The remaining balance is usually financed at 7-30%(!). I’ve been called ‘cheap’ numerous times for driving an 02 Camry while my contemporaries stroll around in their 3 series leases.

Additionally, you would be equally amazed at how few service members take part in the SDP (Savings Deposit Program). The government provides a guaranteed 10% for up to 10k for service members deployed in hostile environments. Have you ever heard of a better investment? 10% Guaranteed by the US government? As a financial management officer, it was part of my responsibility to promote the program and I was amazed time and again how hard it was to sell.

Some people just don’t get it- and it seems they never will. You’re articles and books have had a positive impact on my life and I often find myself referring friends, coworkers and subordinates to check them out once my patience has reached its end. Thanks for everything and I look forward to the opening of your fund.

-Austin