Do you feel like there are too many ideas flowing into your feed? I feel like there’s a steady shouting of ‘big ideas on investing’ from the internet, news media, magazines, friends. Already today, I’ve taken in articles from the Wall Street Journal, scanned Yahoo Finance, and when I went to Google a topic, several recommended articles all about investing popped up in my feed.
Sometimes, it’s too much. Too many calls for our attention.
This morning when I was out running, I was thinking about Suze Orman’s Seven Steps to Financial Freedom. Back in my late 20s a friend lent it to me. Quite a few of her concepts have stuck with me, and I think partly it’s due to the format of reading a book. Break it into steps, after all that was in the name, and keeping the momentum of one tome.
What I loved about the book was how much she shared about her own life, but also, I felt like on all levels there were accessible action steps. I can’t recall the exact chapters, but some little habits that really stuck with me are:
Keep the money in your wallet organized. Don’t just shove it in a pocket. For a 20 year old, at least this 20 year old, that was good advice. I was still learning, and mostly paying with cash. Suze’s point, if I recall correctly, was that you need to care about your money, and I agree. Keeping the cash tidy and knowing how much is in your wallet sets the tone.
An insight she had in the book, to generalize, some see money like a river. When they need more, they can go down to the river and get it. Others see money like a bucket of water. They don’t want any to spill. As a financial planner, I see this again and again, and it gets to the idea of knowing how you think about money so you can let go of problematic thinking.
Giving to charity was an important element of Suze’s financial planning, which I wholeheartedly agree with. The reason, like keeping your money organized, is a mindset. When you give, you take the hypervigilance off yourself and try to make a difference in the world or with others. It’s about not being self-centered.
Invest in index funds, only buy term insurance, never carry a balance on a credit card, get a will, save in an IRA or Roth IRA, are essentials, and a lot of what I talk about with young clients.
Instead of diving into my feed and the passing news each day, I think we should all step back in our financial planning and read a book. The fundamentals of good planning hasn’t changed that much, and too many voices only lead to confusion.