Saving money, investing, and financial independence
Welcome to Save, Invest, Become Free! This is a blog for those that have a strong desire to own their own time, their own life. But before you can own your life, you need enough money to buy the lifestyle you want, for the rest of your life. Until you do so, you need to sell your time and effort to others for money and your life choices will be much more limited. The way you accomplish this Continue reading “Welcome!”
I cover a lot on investing here on SaveInvestBecomeFREE (IBFREE). There is a reason for this. Savings is the only way to build your wealth but once you have quite a bit saved and plan on using that money to fund your lifestyle for a long time (maybe 50 years for a very early retiree!), good investing becomes the main factor between financial success and failure.
Your post-job, lifetime financial success depends on how you manage the money you saved.
Continue reading “Why knowledge of investing is critical for financial independence”
The American Psychological Association has ranked money as the top stressor for Americans every year since they started their survey in 2007. 64% rated money as a somewhat to significant stressor in their lives. Studies on relationships also rank money as a top reason for stress in relationships and a leading cause for divorce. Continue reading “Stress and the Role of Money”
I thought I would write a bit about investing today, including an update on some personal stock investments. As I’ve shared before, I’m a big fan of passively owning businesses (i.e. investing in stocks). Over the long-term, businesses Continue reading “Mid-Year 2017 Investment Update”
I’m a recovering pessimist. I used to joke that I am not a pessimist, I’m a realist. And the only reason I sound negative is because so much in the world is negative. There is some truth to this of course. There are a lot of problems. But there are also a lot of wonderful things in this world and those are the parts that I am recognizing and appreciating more and more as I get older (or maybe now that money isn’t a big stress?). Continue reading “The Future – Why Optimism is more Rational than Pessimism”
We often see articles on the internet about finding your passion. Usually this refers to finding or creating a job you love to do. This is a great concept although Continue reading “Earn Your Passion”
I just completed a nearly three-week global round-the-world trip for work, covering 4 different locations across Asia and Europe. I was able to fly business class from the US to Asia and stay in 5 star hotels. I had local hosts that arranged transportation and very nice dinners. It was a true VIP treatment. Glamorous right? Are you jealous?
But you know what, I would have been happier not going. Continue reading “Would you be happier if you were more important in your job?”
I found the particular method of negative visualization from Stoicism in A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy. It’s a nice book that describes the key tenets of Stoicism well. I found a lot of ancient wisdom here that is relevant today, much of which is being rediscovered in our current craze of happiness research. I also think that much of Stoicism will resonate with the financial independence, retire early (FIRE) community so I recommend taking a look.
In this article I’ll delve into a specific aspect from Stoicism called negative visualization. Continue reading “Negative Visualization – A Stoic Method of Gratitude”
