Comments on: You’re Screwed if You Don’t Understand Personal Finance

By: YOU'RE SCREWED IF YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND PERSONAL FINANCE ⋆ Camp FIRE Finance

Thu, 26 Apr 2018 08:00:44 +0000

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By: Zach @ Four Pillar Freedom

Zach @ Four Pillar Freedom — Wed, 28 Feb 2018 13:18:05 +0000

In reply to Bruce. Great point, Bruce. Learning the basics of taxes can save you quite a bit of money as well.

By: Zach @ Four Pillar Freedom

Zach @ Four Pillar Freedom — Wed, 28 Feb 2018 13:17:25 +0000

In reply to No More Deadlines. There are sadly SO many people who play the "helpless card" and just make up their minds that finance is too hard to understand. It's amazing how simple it can be to learn the basics, though, once you sit down and read about it a little. Even knowing the basics can have a massive impact on your life. Good for you for recommending the Stock Series to a friend and helping him get set up on Etrade :)

By: Bruce

Bruce — Tue, 27 Feb 2018 09:55:13 +0000

Well done. Nicely thought out and put into words.
I would add learning basic tax rules to your list. The money saved by aggressive tax planning is “found” money, and the return is annual, once the practice is learned. A perfect, current example is the MAGI threshold for receiving Obamacare tax subsidies. By not managing income, tax credits of thousands of dollars a year can be lost.
Ignorance may be bliss, but it is a financial planning disaster.

By: No More Deadlines

No More Deadlines — Tue, 27 Feb 2018 04:50:40 +0000

Totally agree with this…
Interesting story…I have a good friend that I try to talk finance with and every time I do his eyes glaze over and he complains about not knowing anything or not having that skill set (which is such a limiting belief that’s crippling him in other areas of life, but that’s another story).

I’m not sure what he’s thinking as I always tell him I didn’t know anything either and didn’t take classes or didn’t major in anything remotely close to finance, but I realized early that this personal finance stuff matters, so I took the time and effort to learn. Sadly he still plays the helpless card, but I’ll keep trying. Conversely I have another friend who upon hearing me talk about personal finances was super enthusiastic to learn about it and I sent him the Jim Collins Stock series link and actually helped him sign up for an Etrade account over the phone, so at least I can help one guy.

By: Zach @ Four Pillar Freedom

Zach @ Four Pillar Freedom — Fri, 16 Feb 2018 23:29:33 +0000

In reply to Dave @ Married with Money.

Great point, Dave – you don’t need to understand all the intricate details, when just knowing the basics will take you a long way. It’s like the 80/20 rule – you can learn 80% in 20% of the time.

By: Zach @ Four Pillar Freedom

Zach @ Four Pillar Freedom — Fri, 16 Feb 2018 23:28:14 +0000

In reply to Wise Money Tips. Agreed! It's fine to ask for help, but at least know the basics so you don't get taken advantage of.

By: Zach @ Four Pillar Freedom

Zach @ Four Pillar Freedom — Fri, 16 Feb 2018 23:26:53 +0000

In reply to Kirk. Haha thanks for the feedback, Kirk! Luckily your daughter is still young enough to learn the basics of personal finance and experience the benefits for decades to come!

By: Zach @ Four Pillar Freedom

Zach @ Four Pillar Freedom — Fri, 16 Feb 2018 23:25:42 +0000

In reply to Amy @ fivefeetsmall. The earlier you learn these lessons the better! Makes for more time to let positive money habits compound :)

By: Zach @ Four Pillar Freedom

Zach @ Four Pillar Freedom — Fri, 16 Feb 2018 23:25:04 +0000

In reply to FIRE Chief. Thanks for the recommendation! Adam definitely has some great content around personal finance basics as well. I think as long as you start somewhere, that's all that matters. Over time, you can figure out the details as you go :)