Most people seem to hate talking about money, and especially investing. Anyone with a modicum of perceived expertise in the area seems to scare people. This is my experience. There is a very real “leave it to the experts” vibe to the area. This is probably the result of the financial institutions and media telling you that you can’t do it yourself. That the only thing to do is give your money to the big boys and leave them be because you wouldn’t understand anyway.
Well, I don’t believe them. It’s just good marketing. I don’t believe that having a job in corporate finance makes you a financial expert. It’s just a job. Show me their personal results as an individual out in the world making decisions with their money. Chances are, if you’re talking to some fund rep about handing over your cash for the long-term, that they have no idea what they’re talking about. They have no real education outside of what they’re peddling you. And to make the mirage complete, they’ve probably done the same thing with their money that they want you to do. It’s not wisdom, it’s because they don’t know any better either. It’s the blind leading the blind.
So you’re two employees talking to each other about giving your money away to a company. A company designed to make money by managing money. That’s the business model. The company gets your money and then treat the profits like it’s theirs but the risk like it’s yours. It’s a great business model but it is not on the same side of the transaction as you. They get paid either way.
The answer to all of this is to get yourself educated. I am not saying to do it all yourself, I simply mean don’t go mainstream, don’t be part of the masses. There are plenty of good people doing good things and putting their money where their mouth is. Learn from them. Learn from them for free. Mike Maloney, Robert Kiyosaki, Jim Rickards and Harry Dent are names I have learned from. All these guys don’t necessarily agree on everything and that’s good. And what’s more, they’re on your side. Try to read things that challenge your beliefs. And don’t put any money down without looking around for the other side of the argument.
Work from a context of what you want your life to look like.. This is Learn Money Earn Life. This place is all about earning a life that you love by learning about money and how it works. My context is that I do not want the life that most people lead. I want something better for myself and my family. I do not want the “normal” 9-5 job, corporate employee life that grinds away at you and makes you lie to yourself to fit in.
This may sound mean or antisocial, but I’m talking to myself here too. Employees like us play it safe and go for job security and benefits over risk and financial freedom. The thing is, I don’t believe these jobs are as secure as advertised. Any number of things can conspire out of your control that will leave you on the curb. I intend to control my life.
A shift in a company’s direction means the downsizing or closing of a factory or an under performing product in a different division gets decommissioned and everyone gets displaced as a result. Happens all the time and you can’t control it. I know employees who think they can’t lose their job. Yet they can be made redundant and out the door like that.
The way out is to take responsibility for your decisions.
