Free From Money

Ron at The Wisdom Journal outlines 12 things he learned by 42 that he wish he knew at 22. I’m past 22, but I think these tips are outstanding for anyone at any age.

Many of these ideas seem like common sense, but they are not common. Investing early is a good example. Many young people starting their career ignore their 401k accounts, putting off retirement for another time. But the longer you wait the less time you have to accumulate wealth, and the less time compound interest has to work its magic.

His money advice is spot on. There is no shortcut for to becoming rich, establish a budget, and realize that there’s more to life than money.

He also advises not buying the first house you look at, but instead waiting to get into an area you love. My wife and I have often discussed buying a house, and we both agree that we would rather rent in an area we love than move farther away to buy a cheaper house. With the recent housing bubble, many people bought houses with the sole intention of upgrading to something better later. But with prices going down, many of those folks are stuck in the houses they really didn’t like to begin with. So heed this advice, hold out for something you like instead of jumping at the first house you can afford.

An interesting companion to this comes from Consumerism Commentary with suggestions for reaching a million from the age of 25. These are a few of the steadfast rules of personal finance, including starting an emergency fund and paying off debt.

Dealing with burnout

JD at Get Rich Slowly has advice for dealing with frugality burnout. For anyone working towards living below their means, burnout is sure to set in at some point. When you are used to living at one level of income (even if you can’t afford that level of income), moving to a lifestyle of less can get you down. But these tips should help you stick with it and work towards your goals.

Buying the things you want

The Digerati Life has some suggestions for affording big ticket items. If you’re trying to live within your means, it’s not likely that you’ll have a few hundred dollars (or more!) lying around for you to buy expensive items. So it’s important to learn how to make these purchases a reality without using credit.