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The Guidelines

Steps to Financial Freedom

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Nope, that line is total bullshit.

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Guidelines for Saving Money, Eliminating Debt, and Building Wealth

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A couple highlights before you dive in.

  • Some people like to have a full understanding before diving into something - I have provided links to more details and reasons for the 'why' of each guideline especially for you.

  • Other people just like to see the high-level information and want to move on - that is why I laid this out in a concise summary form with no added bullshit in the beginning. Except for this, but this is needed.

  • Finally, outside of numbers 1 - 3, which I feel strongly are essential before moving on, 4 - 10 are relatively interchangeable. People have their own financial goals in life and should cater their wealth building towards that.

 

There is no "right" answer to building wealth, only guidelines on how to do it. If you have any questions about how these guidelines can be incorporated into your life, please do not hesitate to reach out.

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1. Create a Budget

  • This is the foundation of all good financial plans. Some are more detailed than others, but how else are you going to accomplish your goals if you don't know what you make, spend, and keep?

  • Want to know more? --------> Reasons & Tips

  • Good with it? Then keep going.

 

2. Save $1,000

  • Do your best to save $1,000 and build a little nest egg before doing anything else.

  • Want to know more? --------> Reasons & Tips

  • Good with it? Then keep going.

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3. Pay Off High Interest Debt: Credit Cards & Personal Loans

  • High interest loans will erode your ability to save and invest. You'll never outperform a 25% interest rate charge by investing. Get rid of it.

  • Want to know more? --------> Reasons & Tips

  • Good with it? Keep going.

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4. Save 3 - 6 months of expenses in a savings account.

  • You need to have a robust savings account to protect against something bad happening.

  • Want to know more? --------> Reasons & Tips

  • Good with it? Keep going.

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5. Save for retirement by funding an IRA (401ks, 403bs, etc.)

  • Pick a monthly amount that you feel comfortable with and put that money into an IRA. Start investing for your future.

  • Want to know more? --------> Reasons & Tips

  • Good with it? Keep going.

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6. Buy Term Life Insurance

  • Protect your assets in the event the worst thing in the world happens to you and your family. This also can be done much earlier in the process (click here to learn more).

  • Want to know more? --------> Reasons & Tips

  • Good with it? Keep going.

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7a. Fully fund your IRA

7b. Save for your children's college fund.

  • I'm good with either decision. Also, some people don't have kids, so there's that.

  • Want to know more? --------> Reasons & Tips

  • Good with it? Keep going.

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8. Buy permanent life insurance

  • This step is a bit controversial and I'm 100% okay with you skipping this step - but it's a part of my process so I'm putting it here.

  • Want to know more? --------> Reasons & Tips

  • Good with it? Keep going.

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9. Invest in index funds or real estate (or crypto, I guess)

  • If you're at the point where you have fully funded all the previous steps and you still have money to play with, then start investing it further to build wealth.

  • Want to know more? --------> Reasons & Tips

  • Good with it? Keep going.

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10. Pay off all your debt

  • Pay off your house, your cars, student loans, and anything else outstanding to live a debt-free life. This step is also optional if you rather use the money to invest.

  • Want to know more? --------> Reasons & Tips

  • Good with it? Good.

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Okay, now that you've been through the 10 Guidelines, here is how it works. 

  1. You can stop here and implement this into your every day life. Nothing further is needed.

  2. Maybe you feel like you want to dive in further - I respect that.

    • You can click the Desktop Version button below and buy the latest version for $10. It's a really good deal.​

    • ​You can also buy the latest version of all the Excel calculations that coincide with the Guidelines for $5 - another good deal.​

    • The desktop version will be best viewed on your desktop (hence the name).

  • Or....​​

    • You can click "Reasons and Tips" on any one of the 10 Guidelines and buy the dynamic version for $25.

    • This is constantly updated with new and better information so you'll always have the latest version. Forever.

    • Along with the website view, this also comes with the Desktop Version.

    • This also comes with the Excel calculations included, which is also updated constantly. And you'll also get this, forever.

    • This also comes with all of the client stories that I post to Instagram and TikTok with the ultimate flexibility to customize to your specific situation.

    • It also comes with the latest version of The Budget, which is worth the price of admission alone.

    • The dynamic version can be easily viewed on your desktop (best version) or on your mobile (still pretty friggen good).

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Both are great options, but as your phantom financial advisor, I'd opt for the dynamic version 10/10 times. Just my opinion.

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