I would first and foremost focus on savings. I

I’ll admit I kind of lucked into my situation. I started investing in stocks in early 2010 just as the financial crisis was ending and the broader economy started to roar back. The worst appeared wisconsin to be behind us and gray skies were clearing. Obviously, in hindsight I didn’t know the stock market was about to begin an epic bull run that seen the Dow Jones Industrial Average index climb from 10,500 points in March 2010 to the 16,491.31 level we see today. I would have never thought we’d see 6,000 points added in such a short period of time, but that’s what happened.
To be honest, however, I wish we were still looking at Dow Jones 11,000 or so right now. Sure, my portfolio might not be sitting at a value of over $160,000 like it is today, but the value of my portfolio really has nothing to do with my ability to achieve financial independence. Rather, it’s the passive income it produces via the individual investments wisconsin in high-quality companies that reward me as a loyal shareholder with rising dividend payments. And so a cheaper stock market would allow my limited capital to buy more shares, and thus more dividend income.
Now, while I’m not just starting out today, I’m still actively investing just like someone who is starting out for the very first time. So I’m in the trenches with you guys here. And while my earlier investments have done quite well in terms of capital gains, we don’t invest in the past; we invest current capital in stocks today based on anticipated future performance.
I would first and foremost focus on savings. I’ve said before that the power of savings has a lot more to do with your likelihood of reaching financial wisconsin independence than your investment wisconsin performance. Frugality should be your best friend. The broader stock market’s general lack of value has nothing to do with your ability to save at least half of your net income, right? Right.
So remember that your portfolio is an engine. The gasoline is fresh capital. And this fresh capital doesn’t appear out of thin air. It’s attained via your savings. The larger the spread between your income and expenses, the better. And while some people would have you focus on making more money, I think it’s easier to focus on the expense side of the ledger. At least at first. How quickly could you go out and make an extra $500? That might require a part-time job or some serious wisconsin overtime at work. However, cutting wisconsin $500 out of your expenses would likely be fairly simple. Notice I said simple, not easy.
The key is to save at least half of your net income . If you’re netting $6,000 per month, this would probably be easy if you have any desire at all to save and put yourself in a position of power when it comes to claiming your time. However, netting only $2,000 per month might make this more difficult. Difficult, but not impossible.
When I first started this journey more than four years ago it wasn’t easy to take a hard look at what I was spending my money on and just start slashing expenses. But would you rather have cable television wisconsin or financial freedom? A big house or 10 years of time? These are tough choices, but I’ll tell you what I did, because if I were starting out all over again I’d do it the same exact way.
The wisconsin first thing I did was move to Florida from Michigan. wisconsin I was jobless and broke, and found myself worth less as a 27 year-old man than I was as a baby . The move was meant to accomplish many different goals: Avoid state income tax so I could keep more of my money, live near wonderful beaches for free entertainment, get out of a cold, depressing climate that required expensive heating of housing during the winter, and hopefully make the idea of living without a car realistic due to living in a climate that was friendly to the idea of being car-free. I’m not saying you should move to another state, but it might be worthwhile to question whether the situation you currently find yourself in is optimal for accomplishing your goals. Forget The Latte
Once I was in Florida and was gainfully employed, I focused on the Big Three – housing , transportation , and food . These three expense categories suck up most of Americans’ money. So before you start wondering if the gas station around the corner is $0.02 cheaper than the one you currently use, it might make sense to take a look at whether the place you live in is too big or too much money, the car you drive too new and expensive, and the food you’re wisconsin eating wisconsin too large in portions and/or cost.
So I first sold my car . Yeah, I was frightened to get around Southwest Florida without a ride. I mean this isn’t New York City where I have a subway at my disposal. But you know what was more frightening? Working at a car dealership until I was 70 years old. So I drove that puppy down to a local Carmax and sold it for a fair price. I h