
Your Friends Are Probably Not Financial Guru’s
So everything and everyone has gone crazy. We are now in what is known as a bear market. I’m currently typing this post in my RV laying in bed and it’s March. I look around me and I am so grateful to be on this journey. The weather is starting to get warmer which is fucking awesome for full-time RV living. Now I can hang outside more and enjoy it. I really hate the cold so this is a huge win for me. Check out my Monthly RV Costs. Be careful as your friends are probably not Financial Gurus.
As I open my social media accounts I see what I like to call a Shit Storm! Everyone and anyone seems to be losing their minds and letting emotions get the best of them. I’m pretty used to seeing this as I am sure we all are. But this time I am seeing it in the Financial Independence (FI)/Financial Independence Retire Early (FIRE) groups and community I am part of. I joined these communities around 2016 and got serious with them around 2017. As I look around the community they have exploded with growth. Of course, with growth comes people in all different situations and at different milestones of their journey. Which is what makes the community so helpful.
Be Careful Not Everyone Is A Financial Guru
I have friends that literally know nothing about finances sharing posts about the stock market going down. I see people sharing unhealthy posts about how 2 years of returns wiped away in less than two weeks. Let me tell you something about these people. They have a very unhealthy relationship with money. These people have very little knowledge about finances. Want to get better with investing, check out my Financial Coaching here. Also, my wife is super hot, so there is that. My opinion is these people are not winning in the wealth-building game and will continue to lose and lose big. These are the people that will have to continue working the 9th Ring Of Hell I like to call a job, the hamster wheel, blood-sucking Corporate America or you know whatever you like to call it. Either way, they have to trade their time for dollars and have no plans to change that and in some cases not even a shred of hope of changing it.
Let me be the first to say They Are Not Your Financial Guru!
Listen To Those Who Can Walk The Walk
I do consider myself educated in finances but I don’t know everything and never will pretend to. I think by having this blog and sharing it to the public has kept me transparent and above all else has helped keep me accountable to what I preach to everyone. It has also allowed for others to see me grow on this journey and grow my wealth inching closer to the end state of FIRE. Where I will finally be able to stop trading my time for money. Am I better than these fear-mongering people I talk about? No, I don’t think so. I just think that I take responsibility for my future and actually took the time to educate myself on finances. Mix that with I take consistent actions to better my position in the future and you have the perfect storm for success.
I say all of this as I have out of nowhere been getting messages like crazy from people asking me what should they invest in during this time.
I’m starting to see a lot of people looking to get rich quick in this down market. Is it possible I suppose so? Yet my thinking is true wealth is not built quickly nor is it built in such an emotional fashion. You see wealth is built on years of making consistent right choices to better your position. It’s a slow process and to me, this is the winning strategy. Nothing against these people as it’s a start in a direction even though not the best direction.
My advice to them is always simple, slow, and boring. Basically, I’d be surprised if any of them even listen to it.
Always Do Your Own Research
Yet these people still seem to think I know exactly what to invest in when it comes to a single company. Like somehow I have the key inside information on what company will not only survive this but thrive after this. Let’s not even talk about them understanding that if they did make money off of this gamble there are tax implications on this money. I’m seeing two groups here. One group knows very little and they want to become the next Wolf On Wallstreet as a day trader. The other group knows very little and wants to sell all their investments because they are scared of “losing” it all.
Yet few people even understand the statistics behind trying to time the market. How it is what I call statistical suicide to try and time the market. That every study has proven without a shred of doubt you are statistically better off keeping your money invested and just keep consistently investing in the long term. Yet who wants to or has time to read studies on finances and who wants to wait to build wealth right? Those that have a long term goal and plan do and do very well when applying these simple yet boring principles.
I think more people need to stop and really educate themselves on finances by getting back to the basics.
FIRE Investing Books
For this I have a few books I suggest for everyone to read. Here is a full list of books that helped me build over a quarter-million dollars in liquid assets.
These books are a very solid start to building your wealth foundation. They are by no means the end all be all. There are more books I typically recommend for different things but these I believe break down the facts very well and show how simple the math and statistics are. We must start with the basics and build a solid foundation. Another way to look at it you must crawl before you walk and walk before you run. Far too often I see people try to get ahead of themselves and it has yet to play out well from my experience.
I’m still on my journey and learning new things all the time. I still am making adjustments to my financial future. Personal Capital really helps me stay focused on my financial goals. I try to make sure that I have flexibility in my plan and pivot when I need to adjust to current situations. I think being able to stop and pivot when the need arises is a unique and powerful tool.
The End State
My end state for this post is I hope that everyone does not just see something on social media and take it as the gospel. Those people start to really care enough to research for themselves take this time and start picking up a few good books. Start to plan out your financial future because no matter what crisis happens next you will be better prepared this way. The only fact is that there will be another recession or crisis as this is a very normal cycle. Learn from this and really take action from here in every way that you can. Understand to focus on what you can control and ignore what you can not.
Build a financial strategy that you can stick to no matter what chaos is happening.
Make sure your strategy has multiple safeguards built into it so you will be ok in any situation or at least in a better position. Keep it simple something that well is probably boring. Because the simpler it is the easier it is to keep doing. Consistency and time are huge factors when building wealth long term. Learn to be flexible as I’m sure somethings will change during your journey. Adopt to these situations and come out on top of them vs letting them push you off the journey.
Enjoy the journey and make it your own! Your journey might not look like others and that’s ok. Shit, I don’t know many people who live in an RV full-time use a 2003 F150 to pull their RV and drive a 14-year-old daily driver. But that is part of my journey and what might be great for me might not for you. The end-all is not just becoming wealthy. It’s choosing long-term happiness, health, relationships, and ultimately you choose how you want to spend your time. Remember not everyone is Financial Gurus.
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This is such a good post and I couldn’t agree more with the sentiment! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Thanks for reading it!