I'm About "Winning" At Money

What does it mean to win?

Winning is simple. It's the opposite of losing.

A loser fails in almost every way. He or she makes stupid decisions.. . gets taken advantage of... is ignorant... and typically goes along with a loser crowd instead of thinking intelligently and independently.

A loser goes to a job he hates everyday solely because he has a car payment, a mortgage to make, or a student loan he is forced to pay till he dies. A loser frits his money away by constantly giving in to the temptation to buy whatever his neighbors or friends have, even when he knows in his heart he really can't afford it. A loser has serious medical conditions, or some other emergency, but has no money to pay for it, and no savings to fall back on. He ends up like the Monopoly Guy right here. Not a pot to piss in.

Most people I know are failing in at least a few of these ways, even though they have a sweet, high-paying job and tons of money flowing into their bank account each month. Among my group of friends and co-workers who are in these traps, I've noticed an unusually a high correlation between "losing" at money and having high stress levels, experiencing marital problems, being depressed, not being happy--and generally just sucking at life.

Does any of that appeal to you?

But what if things were different? If the monopoly guy were "winning" instead, what would he look like?

He'd be smart enough to avoid the pitfalls that are set up to take advantage of consumers in the world. He'd be making all the right choices and avoiding doing things that make him poor, desperate, and unhappy.

He wouldn't have to worry about a paycheck.  He'd be able to choose on any given day whether he will work or not, without repercussions. He'd have enough money that he would have complete financial peace of mind, no matter what happens--extreme medical conditions, job loss, financial system meltdowns. He'd have a life of low expenses, and no debt--including a mortgage. A life where he could work any job he wants, without worrying what it pays.

And he'd be able to get there when he's still "young" by almost any standard.

From my perspective, the purpose of life is to learn and to be happy. Of course, having lots of money won't make you happy... but if you can master money, you can at least make sure this is one less thing you have to worry about in life--and it's a big one. Much bigger than you think. And not having to worry about it opens up windows of opportunity for you to live a full life, on your terms, not someone else's.

Mastering money takes some work... but it's easier than you think. With a few basic ideas, some good habits, and a changed mindset about a few things, you're on your way to early retirement... that's the goal. And don't think for a second it's going to take you 40 years. The math says otherwise. But we'll get to that later.


Here's a warning, though: If you follow this blog, you'll find your perspective on money and wealth might change drastically. You'll learn how to spend less, save more, invest better, live better, feel better, and be happier. You'll go from being the financial loser among your friends, to being the financial superhero everyone looks up to.


Oh, so you think you're already a financial superhero? Then, jump right into some heavy lifting with my investing section.

For those of you that aren't money superheroes yet, we might as well stop philosophizing and get going. A good place to start is here with my epic first blog post.


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