🤠 How Blogging Cured Me Of a Dirty Mind

Day 34:   People Used to Journal For a Reason

by Edward Smith

08 Aug 2020

Download Your Brain and Learn to Sleep Better

In this article I'm going to talk about my personal experiences with blog writing.   If you are not familiar with what a blog is, or have never heard of me, congratulations!  You are actually reading a blog right now.   Even better, I can use this blog right now to describe what I'm doing here, and why you stumbled upon this article.   Sounds like we'll both gain something here.   Let's begin.

What is Blogging?

Blogging is about sharing written things online. The idea behind blogging is the writer writes something and then uses the blog system to post that thing online so that others can read it and consume it. Blogs usually take the format of a short vignette or online article piece. That doesn't mean that blogs only have one format though. 

Blogs can take many forms. They can be done in the style of a journal or an article.   They can even be written in the format of a notice calling others to take action.  With blogs, it's basically up to the writer to define what the blog is, and who they want the blog to target.   The blog writer defines whether the blog is for personal use or for public consumption.

The Sixty Six Day Challenger Blog

On 06 July 2020, I began writing in a blog called the Sixty Six Day Challenger.   That's the blog you're reading right now.   My goal began around the idea of changing a major habit.  To do that, I would need sixty six days of focused intention to succeed.    I decided to create this blog so that I would be forced to revisit this plan every single day and remain accountable to my plan.   

What Blogging Has Done for Me

As of this writing, today marks my thirty fourth day mark.  That means I've been writing a new article every day for the last thirty three days.    That's a lot of content.   During that time I've learned a few things, and I think the experience has taught me why why people do blogs.   

Blogging Frees Your Brain to Do Other Stuff

For the first thirty three days writing articles was super easy.  I had all of this stuff stuck in my head, that demanded to be let out.   These things would literally just pop into my brain at inappropriate times.  

I would be in bed trying to sleep, and I would find myself thinking about these things instead of sleeping.   Since I had no where to put anything, I would find myself reliving things over and over again, and the things would get louder and louder the longer I ignored them.  I was getting exhausted.   

Blogging helped me to do something about it.  I suddenly had a place to put things.  I could download my thoughts, and revisit them whenever I wanted to review them.   That was great, because I no longer had to be mentally responsible for everything and I didn't have to keep performing a mental upkeep each day.   I could delegate it to my blog and do something else with my mind instead.   

Even better, writing things down forced me to be more careful with how I organized my thoughts.  At some point I had to walk away, and each article had to stand on it's own.   If it wasn't good, I had to fix it.   This meant the writing process forced me to think about things in a deeper and more careful way.  I was under my own scrutiny, so I needed to ensure that what I was putting out there matched up with what I was actually trying to say.    

To do that, I had to be heavily involved in the article's formation and editing process.   With each blog post, I had to reread what I wrote and remove the errors that popped up.   That process could take several rounds of intentional effort and tweaking.    

That's what makes writing valuable.   When left on it's own, my head can't see the grass from the weeds.  In my head, things just bounce around and remain disorganized and cluttered.   There is never a finalization process.  With writing you can stop the spinning and lock things down.    

Conclusion

Today marks day thirty four of my Blog's journey.   Today, as I sat down to write an article, something was different.   I hit a mental roadblock.    My brain had essentially run dry of content and the noises were quiet.   

I didn't know what to write about, so I decided to reflect upon this, and write about the moment itself.   Up to this point, my blog has given me a refuge to consistently expend myself mentally.   A topic would be screaming in my head, and the blog would serve as a platform to voice that topic.

Today was different.   In writing terms, I think it's what frustrated writers refer to as a "writer's block".   Super painful if you have a deadline to meet, but for me the situation provided an insight.  My blog had diligently served as a dumping ground for trapped ideas.   Today my head was clear and peaceful.  I had dumped everything that I needed to dump.   Kind of a nice development.  

If you find you spend a lot of time wrestling with your mind, Blogs can really help you out.   The price to begin is free, but the cost to not start one can be tremendous.   Your brain needs a place to go release itself.  It doesn't like to be trapped all of the time.   

Start a blog and start writing things down today.  You may find the initial process to be a struggle, but as you keep doing it, you'll find it becomes easier, and your brain will become less noisy.   It beats waking up in the middle of the night to a spinning mind.   Start a blog.   Use it to get some sleep.   Your brain will thank you in the morning.

🤠 How to Save Money When You Have an Expensive Drinking Habit

Day 33:   Drinking Can Get Expensive

by Edward Smith

07 Aug 2020

Manage Your Coffee Addiction!

In this article I'm going to talk about the magical substance known to it's loyal worshipers and fan base as coffee.  Coffee!  Java!  Liquid Mud!  Cup of Joe! Caffeine in a cup!  Whatever you want to call it, coffee is everywhere and if you're a coffee drinker, it's going to be one of those things that can make or break your finances if you don't manage it correctly.  

Coffee Has It's Own Culture

If you drive around town, there are special coffee houses.  Places filled with knowledgeable, coffee aficionados.  You can buy special coffee grinders and coffee makers.   Coffee has it's own equipment.   When you go grocery shopping, Coffee gets it's own special section.  

The coffee itself, is flown to you from across the world.   It comes prepackaged in it's very own special container or bag.   Coffee has a presence.   People put a lot of work into presenting and selling coffee.

So what is the big deal?    Why is coffee treated this way?    If you're not a coffee drinker, the whole thing can look mysterious and foreign.   You can feel left out, and you can become curious about it.  You might even decide to try some.  That's how they get you!  

They Get You When You're Young!

I grew up in a family of coffee drinking intellectuals.   Coffee was the smart substance that my folks used to begin their day with.    Coffee was a social and thinking drink.   If you saw cups of coffee, that usually meant my parents were discussing grown up things like politics, world news or events.       

I was just a kid so I was excluded from partaking.  That of course elevated coffee to cult status.   I thought the whole thing was super grown up, and cool.   I couldn't wait to get my first cup.

When I did get my chance, I was surprised by how bitter the stuff tasted.   I was assured it was an acquired taste.  As we all know, parent taste buds are very sophisticated, and they take time to mature.  I just wasn't ready yet.   

That is why, to this day, my parents still dump pounds of sugar and milk into their coffee mugs before they venture into their first sip.  It's not to mask the bitter flavor, it's to enhance the coffee's overall complexity and taste.  Very snobby indeed.   Yea right.  You either like it, or you don't.   In my case, I happen to like coffee.

You know what I don't like?   Expensive coffee price tags.

How Does Coffee Financially Ruin You?   

It's weird, but somewhere along the way, coffee became expensive.    Gone were the glory days of cheap coffee.   

When I was growing up (in the ancient times), if you wanted coffee, you either made it at home, or you went to a diner.   Coffee was cheap, it was widely available, and it usually came the same way every time.    

Usually, you'd get handed a couple of mugs, there would be a coffee carafe, a bowl of creamers and sugars.   That was it.      

Now coffee has become fancy.  When you order it, you have to speak in code.   The coffee comes along with a string of fancy sounding expletives.   You'll hear people ordering a coffee, mocha, whip cappuccino frap, a la grande shaken not stirred with a double shot of tequila brownie mix!    It gets crazy, and to be honest I don't know how people remember it all.

I remember when coffee was cheap and simple.

Fancy Costs More Then Normal       

Fashion, convenience and snobbery all come with a price.   If you make Gucci coffee drinking a normal part of your day to day commute, that commute is going to get expensive.   You might not even understand the true cost.

Take for instance a small coffee mocha.   It tastes great.    They add in warm milk, they stir in fancy chocolate, and you get charged $3.50 a pop.   

If you're like me.  You want to go big or go home.   If you go with a large, it can be as high as $5.00.  I should have stayed home.  $5.00 is as much as what I would pay for lunch.   

What if you did that every day, five days a week?   If I went small, I would have spent $17.50 in a week not counting tax.   If I did that for fifty two weeks I would have spent $910 of my glorious dollars on something that is gone in the next hour.   

It gets worse if you go with the large.   At $5.00 per drink, doing that five days a week would equal  $25.00.   If you did that for a year, you would have spent $1,300 dollars.  

That might not seem like a big deal at first, but look at the bigger picture.   Buying coffee at $5.00 a cup comes with a hidden opportunity cost.   Opportunity cost is the thing you give up when you decide to do something else instead.   

What if you had kept your $1300 a year for ten years?   You'd have $13,000.    What if you had invested that money into a mutual fund every month, and what if that mutual fund had earned 7% with compound interest?   Instead of $13,000, you'd have $17,308.   Instead of buying fancy coffee for your morning commute you could have bought a new car for your morning commute.  

So What Can You Do Instead?      

Sometimes going with the old ways, is the better way.   When it comes to coffee, buy your coffee at the grocery store.   At my local store, a 24.2 oz tin of Arabaric coffee costs $5.99.   

That's 1.5 lbs of ground coffee that my wife and I both drink every day, multiple times throughout the day.   A coffee tin of that size lasts about two weeks, and that includes weekends.    Assuming I drink coffee twice a day, and I do it for seven days straight:  that $5.99 tin becomes a cup of twenty one cent coffee.      

That adds up.   If you spend twelve dollars on coffee tins each month, and save the other eighty two dollars.    Your decision to buy coffee tins over the next ten years, could net you a savings of $9,840 dollars.  If you invest that money into a 7 percent mutual fund that money could turn into $14,192.  You would still get your coffee every day, but you would also end up with some serious dinero.   Comprende?

Conclusion

Spending money on coffee can teach a great life lesson.  Even little things can add up if you look at them in a different way.   

If your addiction doesn't include coffee drinking, maybe you spend your money on something else instead.   For example, what if you could avoid laundry mats and iron your own clothes?  What if you cooked and ate at home?   What if you painted your own nails?   What if you shaved your head instead of paying for a professional barber?    

The world is full of luxury, but the world is also full of broke people, acting like they're rich.    Make sure you fill your financial world full of creativity, ingenuity and common sense.  Just because everyone else does it, doesn't make it smart.  When you do it, you're the one paying for it.   Make sure you understand what you're paying for, and know the cost.

🤠 How To Exercise in Only 9,000 steps

Day 32: What's More Important Than Wealth?

by Edward Smith

06 Aug 2020

Take Care of Your Health

Okay. So here is the deal. At the end of the day, if your health isn't good, your quality of life is going to suffer. Excluding those with a chronic condition, health is something you need to control, it is something you must put effort into, and it is something you must learn to master.

Money cannot, and does not replace hard work. Health is your responsibility.

Joining a Gym

When I moved out East, I decided to join a gym.

The gym was pretty close to my new house, and I thought it would be really cool to work out, bring the family along, and connect with other people from around the local community. Back in California I never really knew my neighbors. This time it would be different.

I thought it would be like joining a country club. I figured I would get to know people, I'd make friends, we would go to each other's houses, we'd eat BBQ. I like BBQ. It would be fun!

Gyms are Expensive 

It didn't really work out as planned though. The gym itself was nice, but unlike BBQ, it was really hard for me to stomach the price. I've always had a problem with paying for things that I think I can do on my own, without money. Exercise for me is one of those things I feel you shouldn't have to pay for, because exercise is something you should be getting to do for free.

If you watch little kids, they don't pay for fancy gyms. Kids run around, they climb things, they ride bikes, they stay active. No fancy equipment. I totally feel the same way. Give me a good pair of shoes, some music, and a place to go walking, and I'm good to go.

Finnish People Do Not Pay For Gyms

I blame most of my attitude on my Finnish heritage and upbringing. In Finland they have this little thing called Sisu. Finnish people do not believe in paying for something when the something can be solved using grit, creativity and common sense.

For example, if you want cardio, you don't pay for a gym, you go outside and walk. If you don't have time to exercise because you have to go grocery shopping, you walk to the grocery store. If you have to watch the kids, you bring them with you. If it's too far to walk, you take your bike. Finns get it done, and they keep the process low key.

Owning My First Indoor Track

By the time 2018 hit, I no longer belonged to my gym. I had let my membership run out. I didn't like paying for it, and I wasn't really even going. Walking outside was free, and I enjoyed it.

Flash forward to 2020, things had gotten a little more complicated. I now worked as a full time dad. The Pandemic struck. The school systems were now closed. I was stuck inside with two kids and I couldn't really take them anywhere. I didn't like being inside all of the time. I was getting stir crazy, and I wanted to go out walking.

It was during one of these days that I hit upon an idea. I was frustrated and I had begun pacing back and forth. That's when it struck me. Pacing is exercise! If I walked from one end of the house to the other and looped back, that was a lap. It was like I owned my own in door track.

Awesome! If I combined my laps together, and did them for long enough, my gym requirements were covered.

Better yet, under my program, the thing was super cheap, I didn't need to buy fancy gym clothes, I could walk whenever I wanted, and the building was temperature controlled. Perfect.

Welcome to the 9,000 Step Plan

So that's how I started up my 9,000 step plan. The goal was to walk 9,000 steps every day. 

 
9,000 steps is equivalent to about 4 to 4.5 miles. It's what my doctor recommends, and I've read articles in the past where the American Heart Association recommends adults do that.

A Call to Action: Using my Phone

My smart phone really helped, because the phone is portable, it can play podcasts, and it has an earphone jack. To make the phone work, I first downloaded a pedometer program onto it so I could track my steps.

The pedometer program works great, because I can switch over to a different program, while I walk, put the phone into my pocket and the thing keeps counting my steps even when I'm just walking around doing house work. Mundane chores suddenly have value, because they produce steps and every step is worth a point. The more points I earn, the closer to being done I am.

I also downloaded a podcast player so I could listen to radio podcasts while I walk. I just turn it on, hook up my headphones and begin. I'm no longer stuck in the house, because my mind is somewhere else. It's also cool because I learn interesting things while I do it. It seems like when you combine walking with listening you listen better. I'm guessing the process of moving stimulates your brain.
I guess that's why you see the great thinkers in movies doing that.

Zoning Out Responsibly

The earphones are also super useful, because my family gets to do what they want while I exercise, and I get to exercise while they do what they want. We're in different lanes, and the peace is kept in check. Nobody is stepping on any one else's toes.

I'm still present. I'm right there, people can see me. If they want me, they just flag me down to stop, I pause and spend time with them. If I need to take care of a problem, I take care of it. Then once everyone is happy, and things are good, I go back to exercising. Easy.

Conclusion

In this article you learned about my 9,000 step program. I highly recommend it if you're a stay at home parent, and are living life on the cheap. Walking inside can be done at any time, and it helps keep you on track, because it still works even when the outside world has gone crazy.

If the city is closed down. Go walk. If you're told to stay inside. Go for a walk. Inclement weather? No problem! Go for a walk! Who knew that living in doors came with an indoor track? No membership fees or expensive upkeep. Take advantage of what life has given you, and go take a walk today! Nobody is stopping you.

🤠 How To Use a Rainy Day Fund to Keep You From Getting All Wet

Day 31:   It's Going To Rain

by Edward Smith

05 Aug 2020

Storms Are Scary, but Planning Can Keep You Safe

On 22 July, 2020, we had a really serious thunderstorm hit our side of town.   Our city has an automatic system that warns us in advance electronically.   When something catastrophic, like a flood happens, the system attempts to alert us and keep us safe.   It doesn't always work, because we don't always listen.

The problem with the warning system, is we hear from it so often, that many of us have become complacent.   We ignore it.   We don't see the danger, so we start taking unnecessary risks.  It's not smart.  It's stupid.

I bring this up, because when the storm warning hit, I was thinking about driving to the store for some groceries.  The weather over the last several weeks has contained intermittent rain with an occasional thunder storm off in the distance.   

Not visually dangerous, but nothing worth freaking out about.  I looked outside, I saw a few clouds, I didn't see a storm.   No big deal.   

False alarm.   Except it wasn't.

Overconfidence Kills:   Storms Can Hit Fast

Within one hour, things went very very wrong.   This storm was a flash lightning storm and it came out of no where.   The wind came in at us sideways.   When it hit, the windows began popping and groaning from the pressure.   The whole house shook.   The lightning was dramatic and severe.  

It was right on top of us.   When it struck, the force would rattle the walls.   The floor would buckle    The sound was deafening.   This storm was the real deal.   The kind of storm that can kill you if you're outside.   

Luckily I wasn't outside.   I had decided to stay put for a second.   When I went to set up dinner, I noticed we had enough food around to make a meal.  I didn't need to leave the house for anything.  I was okay.     

Good planning, turns a potential disaster into an inconvenience.   It buys you safety.  It gives you breathing room.   Plans are awesome.   Emergency Funds are a plan.   They work.   Have one.

Emergency Funds

Everyone should have an emergency fund of at least three to six months worth of their normal household expenses.   This is cash money you save in your bank account ahead of time before a crisis occurs.  

When things go wrong, you won't have time to do anything then.   That's why you want to do this ahead of time.   The more risky your household's situation, the bigger your emergency fund.   This money is your shield.   It deflects things.   It buys you some time.   

This money needs to be easy to get to, but it should also be kept separate from the rest of your house.   This is money, you never touch unless an actual emergency forces your hand.

    

What Emergency Funds Can Be Used For

Emergency funds are meant for the really big nasty things that come up that can really wreck your life if not addressed.    

For instance, many people use an emergency fund to offset a job loss.   If you lost your job today, your income would likely drop to zero.   If that happened, could you still cover your basic living expenses?   For how long?   Emergency funds keep you going when your income fails.

The emergency fund steps in when life smacks you down, and you can't do things alone.   It's your back up.   In the case of a job loss, it keeps paying you like you didn't lose your job.  

You get some breathing room.   

You get a moment to lick your wounds.   You get to look for a different job.  Your house survives.  One less thing to worry about.  You get a second chance.         

Emergency funds can also be used when a critical component of your life breaks down.   For instance, if you rely on a car to get to your job, and that car stops working, it's okay.   The emergency fund has your back.  You can fix the car, and continue working.  The emergency still happened, but the crisis embedded in that thing was averted.  

Disclaimer:  The emergency fund is there for your use.   Make sure you only use it during an emergency, and always pay your emergency fund back after things return back to normal.   More emergencies are on their way.   Be prepared.   Reestablish your defensive line.   Quick!   Before the zombies come back!

    

What Emergency Funds Shouldn't Be Used For

This doesn't mean you use your emergency fund to buy a car because walking is inconvenient.   If you can walk, walk.    If you can ride the bus, ride the bus.    Big ticket wants are something you save up for.   They can take time, but you have time.

Not planning for a pair of shoes when you have a party to go to, is not an emergency.   Wanting to go out to eat because you're tired of cooking is not an emergency.   Emergencies are always serious.  If your thing isn't serious, then it's not an emergency. 

Your emergency fund is your last ditch effort to prevent a tremendously bad outcome.   It's the difference between your future's life and death.  Treat it with respect.   Leave it alone.  Let it come to your rescue.    Hopefully you'll never need it, but make sure it's there in case you do.     

Conclusion

In this article, I advised you to set up an emergency fund.    Emergency funds should be large enough to cover three to six months worth of your household expenses.   You should be able to get to them quickly.    They can be used to buy yourself extra time during a job loss, and they can be used to replace critical things when those things break down.  

Emergency funds are not for fun, and they do not work if you don't have one in place.    Create an emergency fund today.   Protect yourself.        

   

Scary things are coming.   Are you prepared to weather the storm?

          

🤠 How ETFs Allow You to Make Grand Investments For Under a Grand

Day 30:   Investing Is Less Scary Then Not Investing

by Edward Smith

04 Aug 2020

What is an ETF?

If you read my last article entitled  🤠    How to Keep Your Investments Simple and Effective, you would have learned that I was looking through different investment types and ran across something called an ETF or Exchange Traded Fund.     Your inquisitive side might be asking.   What is that?

ETFs or Exchanged Traded Funds, are basically small mutual funds that you can buy on the cheap.  ETFS do not require an initial deposit of a thousand dollars, like their larger mutual fund cousins.   The cost to start is much lower.   With ETFs You buy a share of the ETF for whatever the market states the ETF's share price is at the time of your purchase.  

So for instance, if the ETF you want to buy has a share price of $160.00 you pay $160.00, you now own a share, and that's it. When you raise up some money, you come back, find out how much things cost on that day, and if you can pay, you buy another share.   

Outside of that, mutual funds and ETFs basically work in the same way.   I think of ETFs like the child, and mutual funds like the parent.   If you inspect them under a microscope, you'll find out both the parent and child contain the same ingredients.   It's a loose metaphor but stick with me here.

Vanguard's website appears to support my parent kid idea.    For instance, I currently invest in an ETF called the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF (VTI).    This ETF mimics one of the major stock market indexes that I'm interested in following.   It's what I was going to get when I was looking at mutual funds.

If you go visit the website for that ETF you will find a link to a mutual fund called the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund Admiral (VTSAX).   So.   What is that?

It turns out those two things are mirror images of each other, except one is big, and one is small.  They invest in the same exact companies.   The math behind them is basically identical.    Works for me.

I've been investing in ETFs every month to two months ever since.  I love it.

What I Did

I started investing in ETFs about eight months ago and because I got interested in it, I have managed to save up around $2,000.   It started, because I made the decision to hold back some of my blow money, but it became bigger after that.   

My plan was to just put $100 away each month, but then I became excited about doing it.   Other money began to find it's way into the mix.   I invested my birthday money, and then I invested extra portions of my blow money when I thought I could get away with it.    I kind of went a little overboard, so I had to back up and learn to slow things down.   Investing can get really addictive.       

  

Investing is also easy.  Many companies have worked diligently to make the process accessible and understandable to the public.   If you are just starting out, I recommend you start up with a mutual fund from Fidelity, or go with an ETF with either Vanguard or Fidelity.   

Both companies have made it their mission to keep their fees low, but Fidelity doesn't set a high minimum to begin a mutual fund.  You can actually start a mutual fund with them for a dollar and begin investing today.   

What I like about Vanguard, is I know them and trust them.    They've been in the game for longer, and they never try to sell me anything.   That's why I went with a Vanguard ETF.   For me, ETFs removed the barrier to entry, and I was able to start sooner then I expected with a high quality investment.    For me, it's worked out very well.

When you start, look around.  There may be other options.  Just don't get scared by investing.  

Only invest what you can afford to lose, but don't lose because you decide to not invest.   

Conclusion

You can do this.   People have gone out of their way to make the process accessible and easy to begin.  You don't need to do anything dangerous.  You can play it safe.   Nobody is watching.   Just make sure you do it, and do it consistently.  It's worth your time.  

Be intentional and consistent.  Once you begin, leave it alone.  The point here is don't touch it.  Investments take time to grow, but they can get quite big.   Let the investment do it's job.    Your future self is counting on it.   Start investing today.

I Hope You Enjoyed This Article.

If You Did, Stop by Again.    I'll See You Next Time.       

🤠 How to Keep Your Investments Simple and Effective

Day 29:   How to Go With a Winning Combo

by Edward Smith

03 Aug 2020

Going with Vanguard

If you read my last article entitled  🤠    How to Make the Ten Year Future You, Better then the Now You! you learned that I looked at my options and decided to go with investing.  In this article you'll see what I invested in.

I started with Vanguard, because I had used them years ago, and I was familiar with how they worked, and I respected their business model.

Vanguard is known around the block as being the legendary company that began selling "no load", mutual funds.   No load mutual funds can save you a lot of money, because more of your money goes into the investment and less of your money gets used to pay expensive fees, associated with employing an expensive fund manager.   

With Vanguard your fees can be as low as a few pennies, or in some cases you pay nothing at all.       

Vanguard's founder John Bogle set things up that way on purpose.   Bogle was an investing legend, but he was also highly critical of the financial system when it came to mutual funds.    He did not believe that expensive fund managers were justified, and he took great pains to prove it.    

Bogle felt fund managers, were overpaid, they complicated the process, and that their results didn't justify their salary.   Bogle believed investing could be done by common people using a simple set of trustworthy template models and tools.   He set out to prove it.

Early in his career, John Bogle, noticed that a person could simply look at the stock exchange, buy the top companies that were listed as the stock exchange winners within a given company type, and that that person's portfolio would often perform better then the competition.   Bogle's method was filled with common sense, it was understandable, and the expensive fund managers couldn't keep up with it.

John Bogle decided to take what he learned and began creating index funds that mimicked the behaviors of the major stock exchange indexes.   These same index funds exist today and still perform marvelously.  They have proven track records of high performance, and they were what I was after.    

Barrier to Entry

What I had failed to remember, was Vanguard mutual funds can be an expensive option when you are first starting out.   Vanguard funds usually require an initial deposit of one thousand dollars or more to begin.   Because I was trying to do this with some extra blow money on the cheap, I didn't have it.   

Disclaimer:   Other companies actually let you start a mutual fund for as low as a dollar, but I didn't know that.   

My original idea was to save up the money and start with a Vanguard Mutual fund.   The waiting irked me tremendously.   I didn't like that my money was just sitting in a bank account getting eaten away slowly.   I wanted to do something about it.   Then one day I noticed something.

I was looking at Vanguard's website and noticed a link that I hadn't noticed before.   The link was trying to get me to look at something called an Exchange Traded Fund (ETF).  It was some how related to the mutual fund I wanted so I decided to check it out.

For me, ETFs were perfect.

Want to Know What an ETF is and Why I Went With One?   

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🤠 How to Make Your Ten Year Future You, Better Then Your Now You!

Day 28:   Reviewing Your Options

by Edward Smith

02 Aug 2020 

The Next Ten Year Plan    

If you read my last article entitled:  🤠  How to Stop Being a Zero and Start Being a Hero!  

You would have read how I would spend all of my money and would have nothing left over to show for it.   I could tell that wasn't a good plan and that it wasn't going to work long term, so I decided to do something about it.   This is what I did.

I decided my fifty year old self would be smarter then my forty year self.   I decided to lock myself into a ten year plan.  I would set aside one third of my blow money every month (or twenty five dollars a week).   

The idea here, was I wouldn't touch anything unless something big happened that justified the expense.   For instance I could replace my laptop if that came up, but this money wasn't for buying small stupid things like coffee or beer.

At the end of the ten years I would have arrived and I would get to use the money however I wanted.  Since I was voluntarily doing this, and it was still my blow money, I fully intended to enjoy it.   I just wanted to enjoy the something later on, and have it be bigger and more meaningful.

I was thinking once in a life time fun things.   For instance, I had lived In California for a decade and had never set foot in Las Vegas.  I had always wanted to, but I had never felt I could afford to.   By saving up, I could make it happen, if that is what I wanted to do.   Or maybe I could buy a nice car.

I also thought it might be neat to just leave it alone and have the money sit there and produce interest.  I'd be able to see it, whenever I wanted, and it would be mine.   It would be like I built my own personal passive income generating machine (completely outside of the house), which would continue spitting out some extra blow money just for my own personal use.  It would be like I gave myself a raise.   

All of this sounded really cool.

Avoiding Bank Accounts

I love bank accounts.  We run our house using them.    

Bank accounts are secure, and they make paying bills super easy.  If you want to put your money somewhere where you can get to it quickly, I highly recommend using them to run your household.   

That being said, I do not recommend them for growing money.   

     

Bank accounts have terrible interest rates, and if you leave your money in them, they can actually steal your money away from you slowly.    I wanted something better then that.  

Investing For the Win!

That led me to investing.   I wanted something safe that would give me a return around seven percent.  That meant no bonds, commodities, or CDs. I also wanted something safe. That meant no company dependent single stocks. Too much risk.

I began looking at mutual funds.   It's what my house had been using for retirement.  I was familiar with them, and I knew that they worked.   Mutual Funds allow you to spread your money out across many different companies all at once.   It's like being part of a crowd sourcing movement, except you're the one benefiting from it.  

 By joining up with a larger group, the collective can buy bigger and better things that you would never get to buy on your own, and you spread out your risk at the same time.  Mutual funds perform very well, and are very safe if you stick with them long term.  They're not risk free, but they're one of the best options you can find.    Just know what you're mutual fund is investing in, and make sure you understand it.

Want to Know What I Invested in?   

Click this Link and Check Out My Next Article.