The only useful pieces of advice I found when I was into reading these were from Ramit Sethi.
A lot of his stuff is fluff but three that stuck out and helped me a lot in life were:
- Automate your finances. Autopay for bills, try to get them to happen all at the same time of the month so that you know when 95%+ of your bills are paid, deposits should go to savings and investment accounts as soon as possible and preferably before it even makes it into your checking account to begin with.
- It is far easier to make more money than it is to cut enough expenses to make a real difference in your life. Cutting expenses and sticking to personal austerity measures is also mentally exhausting whereas earning more tends to be energizing. I know this piece isn't for everyone. It worked well for me but one size doesn't fit all and I absolutely don't advocate side hustle culture as the end goal of personal finance. In my situation I went from working a more traditional role 70-80 hour weeks with constant office drama to consulting 40 hours a week and earning substantially more.
- You define what rich means in your life. Prioritize the stuff that's really important to you (even if it's something extravagant like a personal chef or chauffer) and don't bother with the crap that isn't as important. For me this manifests in having groceries delivered, a service pick up the dog poop from my yard, etc. because I put a high value on my personal time. Areas I don't really give a damn about/don't spend on include my car. I work from home, my only driving is to and from daycare. I feel absolutely no pressure to buy up from my 2015 Subaru while most of my neighbors have 6 figure vehicles.
TaliesinsEnd t1_j1wevu3 wrote
Reply to comment by julian_devid in Guys, in your experience, do personal development books really work? by julian_devid
The only useful pieces of advice I found when I was into reading these were from Ramit Sethi.
A lot of his stuff is fluff but three that stuck out and helped me a lot in life were:
- Automate your finances. Autopay for bills, try to get them to happen all at the same time of the month so that you know when 95%+ of your bills are paid, deposits should go to savings and investment accounts as soon as possible and preferably before it even makes it into your checking account to begin with.
- It is far easier to make more money than it is to cut enough expenses to make a real difference in your life. Cutting expenses and sticking to personal austerity measures is also mentally exhausting whereas earning more tends to be energizing. I know this piece isn't for everyone. It worked well for me but one size doesn't fit all and I absolutely don't advocate side hustle culture as the end goal of personal finance. In my situation I went from working a more traditional role 70-80 hour weeks with constant office drama to consulting 40 hours a week and earning substantially more.
- You define what rich means in your life. Prioritize the stuff that's really important to you (even if it's something extravagant like a personal chef or chauffer) and don't bother with the crap that isn't as important. For me this manifests in having groceries delivered, a service pick up the dog poop from my yard, etc. because I put a high value on my personal time. Areas I don't really give a damn about/don't spend on include my car. I work from home, my only driving is to and from daycare. I feel absolutely no pressure to buy up from my 2015 Subaru while most of my neighbors have 6 figure vehicles.