Tag Archives: long-term thinking

Warren Buffet: How a Sixteen Year Old Turned $5,000 into almost $1B

Almost everyone has at some point heard of the famous figure Warren Buffet. However did you know that Warren’s success didn’t just start as an investor. Mr. Buffet actually began making strides towards his massive fortune in his high school years.

In high school he was making more than a lot of his teachers by running a pinball machine business and delivering papers. At the age of sixteen he had amassed five grand. $5,000 at his age would be the equivalent of around $60,000 today! He was just sixteen.

While most of us can’t redo our high school years, childhood or even college experience, we can chose to adapt many of the principles that Warren did in his younger years and implement them long term.

There are three things that we can use from Warren’s life to make changes today:

  1. Win Friends and Influence People

Warren implemented (not just read) this book. Simply reading it and taking daily action to change behavior and habits can go a long way in making your life a more successful one.

2. Understand the time value of money

Warren, even in his teen years, didn’t squander his cash on toys, games or nice clothes. He understood that a dollar today could be worth $30, $100 or (in his case) $1000 in the future.

3. Be entrepreneurial

This doesn’t mean you need to start a company or quit your day job. Just like Warren, you can figure out creative ways to make side money. If Warren Buffet at the ages of 13, 14 and 15 could figure out how to make side money, then you, as an adult can figure out how to do the same.


Warren Buffet is extraordinarily rich. I can’t tell you that you’ll be as rich as him. I can’t even guarantee that you’ll have $1M. But I can guarantee that you’ll grow as a person and become richer then you are now if you implement these three steps.

Try them, you may find that they actually work.

Three Ways You can Make Side Money This Year

Most folks in the U.S. struggle with money. Whether that means they don’t know what to do, or they don’t have the discipline to do what they know. Whatever the reason, there’s no doubt that often an extra flow of income can help bridge the gap between making your goals and falling short.

The following are three ideas of ways you can make money this year and every year after:

Plasma Donation

This is often one of the toughest ways to make money, especially for those who faint a the sight of a needle. I know for me personally I used to literally walk out of movies that had needle-type medical scenes.

However this past winter I have been overcoming my fear and at the same time making decent money! I have made about $300 in the past month with limited time commitment as well as gaining confidence in myself. (Not to mention plasma donation is literally saving lives.)

I have found you can make about $40 to $45 per day on average for just an hour or two, depending on where you go and the bonuses they provide.

Online Ads

If you have a blog, youtube channel, or some other form of online website, you are able to add ads and make the site profitable. This obviously doesn’t happen over night. But given some time, you will be able to make some extra cash.

I have recently set up an Adsense account and am working on creating an extra income stream from writing.

Online Resale

If you’ve ever gone to a thrift store, or bought something on craigslist you know that it’s possible to buy online and resell for a profit. While there are no guarantees, it’s definitely possible to develop a niche and eventually make decent money with limited time commitment.


There are no clear answers to the income question. Ultimately income alone won’t improve your finances. Managing the money you have is a first step. But for many people extra income is a massive boost. For those people this might be the push that you need.

3 Things Young Adults can do to Prepare for Their Future

As millions of young adults enter the workforce, finish education, and begin a life of financial responsibility, there are many of us who have a lot of uncertainty for the future.

The following are three key things to anticipate for the future:

An Older, More Diverse Population

Let’s face it, as time progresses there will be more and more old folks in the economy. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing (after all, someday we’ll be those old folks), but this is just one more thing to anticipate in the future.

In addition, there will likely be more ethnical and gender diversity. More and more women will enter the workforce, as the population of African Americans, Hispanics and Asians increases in the U.S..

These are all positive changes. Not only will we be experiencing more diversity of creed, religion, nationality and ethnicity, but we will also be seeing more and more women in the workforce. This is all at a time when we are living longer and longer.

More Technology and Automation

Unless, in the unfortunate event the world enters WWIII, we will likely see continued progression of technology both in terms of software, like AI and automation and in terms of machines and physical advancement.

Key areas to keep and eye on are in the medical field, biotech, vehicle automation and AI. These massive changes will likely lead to an ever-evolving need for labor. Automation will likely destroy certain jobs forever, while technology will create new demand and new industries.

Potentially Higher Taxes

At this moment taxes are historically low. After the tax cut of 2018 there are many economists and financial advisors anticipating higher taxes in the future to cover our increasing deficit. While there is no crystal ball that can see the future, we do know that it’s unlikely for rates to stay this low forever.

That said, it would be prudent to plan for this by utilizing tax-advantaged accounts like Roth IRA’s and Roth 401K’s.


Preparing for the future doesn’t have to involve knowing all the details. While you don’t have to know everything, you should prepare for what’s likely to happen.

The advice contained in this blog is meant to be taken at the reader’s discernment. Talk to your financial planner to see how the advice may or may not apply to you. Ultimately you are fully responsible for your finances so make sure you have someone who is willing to walk with you on your journey.

Getting on the Grid: The Importance of Communication







What is Personal Finance

What is personal finance? And Why does it matter?

Those are two very interesting and important questions to ask as one either begins their life as adults, or being asking questions they’ve never approached before. For the past five months or so, this blog has predominantly been centered around personal finance, both the investing side, as well as the money management side.

I realized that before I continue this journey with all of you, I need to take a moment to explain what Personal finance actually is. Personal finance clearly deals with how individuals manage their money.

While the topic briefly touches on the analysis and performance of businesses and organizations for investment purposes, it predominantly centers around the individuals’ approach to managing each dollar in and each dollar out.

Personal finance answers questions like:

What are my financial goals? What use do I have for money? What should my investment approach be? How much do I need to be saving? How large should my house purchase be? Should I buy this trinket or save the money?

Many of these questions are simply answered through quiet reflection or by asking your friends and family for feedback. However, some of these more complex questions like how to invest your money, or how to craft a financial plan can often be better answered by a financial advisor.

Why does personal finance matter? 

There are three basic reasons why you should pay attention to your finances:

1. Money has impact

2. Money can be complicated

3. Money is emotional

While we of course don’t have the time to go into the details of Personal Finance in one blog post, I hope this gives you a great picture of what this topic is all about.

Meeting A Different Donald: Real Estate and Ways to Invest

Most people, if not almost everyone, has heard of Donald Trump. As the 45th president of the United States, he has been a real estate developer and the previous host of the Apprentice show.

But have you heard of Donald Bren? He grew up as the son of two relatively successful parents. His father was a movie producer and real estate developer like him. His mother was a civic leader. After majoring in Economics and Business a the University of Washington, Bren attempted at Skiing in the Olympics but had to quit due to an injury. In addition, Bren became an Officer in the U.S. marine Corps.

After that he took a $10,000 loan out in 1958, he began developing and flipping homes until he had built up a business which he sold. He started another one, sold it, and then took the proceeds to buy a third stake in the Irvine Company. He eventually bought the outstanding ownership and now has a net worth of over $16 Billion.

Donald Bren took one path to real estate. But there are others. I want to briefly cover the three main ways you can approach real estate investing.

1. Direct Investment

A direct investment in real estate, like what Donald Bren did, involves purchasing property either directly or through a business entity. Either you focus on property appreciation, resale, or cashflow. With these metrics in mind, you seek to partner with others to produce above-average returns over the long-term. This is what Bren did.

2. Indirect Investment

The second, more modern way to invest in real estate is less direct. With an indirect investment you buy a company that invests in real estate. Usually this is either a REIT (real estate investment trust) or some sort of real estate syndication.

3. Hybrid

The last option is some sort of mix. It involves partnering with others so that you own the real estate but you don’t necessarily control management of it directly. An example might be a partnership between a handful of people in which you own, say, 20% of the upfront investment. You put a shared investment with say, 2 other people. One person is in charge of management, and the other two people sit passively by but provide the capital.

A hybrid between direct and indirect is usually less risky but also less financially rewarding if your investment becomes a success.


Part of investing in real estate is understanding yourself. How much involvement do you want? Often the answer is not much, but for those adventurous few, you never know, you might become the next Donald Bren.

Acquiring a Domicile: How to Rent an Apartment

Most people have or will rent at some point in their life. What often comes up is concern about rising prices or lack of adequate amenities. These issues will always be a concern. However the following steps will help prepare you for a move into someone else’s rental.

1. Determine your Renting Criteria

As soon as you decide that you want to rent, you need to determine what you’re after. What kind of budget are you looking at? What square footage? What types of Amenities do you want? What are your needs verse what are your wants? In which location specifically does this rental need to be?

Answering these questions will give clarity, allowing you to start the next step…

2. Narrow Search to 10 Rentals

As soon as you’ve determined your renting criteria you will be ready to begin screening. Similar to how a landlord screens potential tenants, you will be screen potential landlords. Find ten places that most closely meet your criteria.

Some places you can find rentals include:

Pad Mapper, HotPads, Lovely, Trulia and Walkscore

3. Visit Your List and Come Prepared

With your list in mind you can begin visiting each one. To come prepared, bring a checkbook, wallet, or some means of payment in case they want to charge you for an application fee. Also bring proof of income such as a pay stub or other documentation. Lastly, you’re going to want a photo ID.

At this point you should be well on your way to both knowing which locations fit your needs, and entering yourself into the landlords application process. Assuming you meet the rental criteria, you will probably get one of your applications responded to within a week or to.

You’re on your way! I hope this helps you on your rental journey.

Dollar-Cost Average or Lump Sum into the Market?

Dollar-Cost Averaging is the process of purchasing securities over an extended period of time with the same dollar amount each time. Lump Sum investing on the other hand, involves just putting all your money into the market at once.

For example if you’re wanting to invest $100,000 should you put it all in the market all at once or over a few months? Many people might suggest putting it in over a period of time. However my suggestion is that for most cases, the opposite is actually the wisest move. Let me explain.

If you were to run with the $100,000 example, a simple dollar cost average might look like putting $5,000 in the market for 20 months. The other scenario is just putting the $100,000 in right now.

In most cases putting everything in is a better move because on average, the market goes up most of the time. So if you dollar cost average, you’d, on average, be missing out on the growth by keeping your money out of the market.

In the smaller percentage of times that the market goes down directly following investment, then dollar-cost averaging can make sense. For example if the market has been Bullish for many years with PE ratios climbing, looking at dollar-cost averaging can make sense.

Before I finish, please click here to take a look at a blog page that covers many investment topics. He has a post from early this year that covers this topic concisely: Exploring Dollar Cost Averaging Verses Other Strategies

Thanks, hope you have a great day.

Becoming the Squirrel of Personal Finance: 4 Places to Stash Your Cash

Most folks around the world understand the concept of saving more; you can only increase savings when you either increase income or decrease spending. However if instead of investing, what if one were to put the money into savings? Where should they put it? That’s what I’d like to explore.

When considering where to put your savings there are two main factors: Risk of Inflation, and Risk of the Need for Capital.

Risk of Inflation:

When you put money into savings there’s not really a real risk of losing your money to a drop in the stock market. That’s a good thing. But the risky part is that with slower interest and growth on your money, you’ll have a harder time keeping up with inflation. Often the savings interest won’t even be enough to cover the different.

Therefore with saving there is always a risk your purchasing power can do down.

Risk of the Need for Capital:

What if you put money in a CD (Certificate of Deposit) and find out a few days later that you need the money for an emergency?

First, at least some of your money should have been in a liquid asset for emergencies. But secondly, if you have to take the money out, a CD will usually penalize you. So you should always be aware of the chance you’ll need the money and what you’ll do if you do.

With those to risks in mind, the need for capital and inflation, let’s explore the options for saving:

Conventional Saving Accounts

These usually command the lowest interest rates because of the relative liquidity of funds.

Online Savings Accounts

These are online accounts that you set up in which you usually receive higher rates of interest because there isn’t any brick and mortar building to maintain.

Certificates of Deposit

These are the best for funds you’re sure you won’t need for a short period of time. For example if you know you’re going to purchase a car in 3.5 months, then maybe taking out a 3 month certificate of deposit isn’t a bad idea if it gives you are larger return of interest.


Decide your reason for saving and how much liquidity you’ll need. If you can stomach tying up your money for months or even a year at a time, maybe a T-Bill or CD is worth it. Otherwise, consider a regular bank account or Money Market.

Trimming Your Body and Your Budget

What’s more important than money? I can think of a few things: Relationships with yourself and others and your health. Often when people try to get in shape they spend a lot of time or money trying to set up the best equipment. I understanding wanting to set yourself up for success, but if you can’t afford expensive equipment don’t buy it before you even know you’ll stick with it!

The Surviving Millennial has a great blog post about reducing your fitness budget. Check it out!

Here’s the post:

Fitness At Home

I’d like to share a few points I have used in my own life to reduce exercise expenses. I am currently at a University that has a gym. Using it regularly, I have come to realize that access to exercise equipment is truly a blessing. I know this “free” equipment won’t be around forever.

Here are some exercises I’ve used that don’t cost a dime:


Jumpking Jacks




Another factor that can play itself out in both budgeting and exercise is concern over other’s behaviors. Maybe you are worried what people will think, or possibly even what they’ll say about what you’re doing. The bottom line is that both budgeting and fitness are hard things to do regularly. If you can get over other’s opinions about what you’re doing, and if you are able to exercise your finances and your body, you’ll be headed in the right direction towards achieving your goals.