If you took all the personal finance advice out there and distilled it down to three things to remember, you’d likely end up with what Barry Ritholtz recently laid out in a (paywalled, ugh) Bloomberg column:
1️⃣ Spend less than you earn;
2️⃣ Prioritize investing for your future;
3️⃣ Figure out what matters to you, and spend accordingly.
Number 1 has proven especially hard for a whole lot of people. Even the people with a whole lot of money. We live in a culture of more, we’re surrounded by #humblebrags, and chasing more leaves people with less.
Case in point, Rihanna.
RiRi sued her financial advisor in the 2010s after coming close to bankruptcy because she’d overspent. Her advisor clapped back with, let’s face it, some obvious advice worth reading everyday:
“Was it really necessary to tell her that if you spend money on things, you will end up with the things and not the money?”
Start celebrating the things you’re not buying. Use this “time on the inside” to reset and boost your savings where you can. Remember that you don’t need riches to start investing, you just need time. And when in doubt, take a moment, and revisit Rule Number 3.
1, 2, 3.
