Inspired by a tweet that I'd read elsewhere, I decided to adapt the content and pen this.
Best way to solve money problems at home is simply to earn enough. Make enough money and you'll never have any disputes.
Use credit cards for day-to-day expenses. They rack up a ton of points which can be used towards discretionary shopping.
Doesn't matter how much you save for retirement - the moment you stop working, you'll worry about running out of money.
Better to spend money on stuff that you like than spend on stuff that you don't need.
Eating out does not imply a luxurious way of life. Some people call this the "rich life". We splurge on eating out but save on fancy houses, cars and other stuff.
Property today is no longer a good store of value. There are numerous costs - agency fees, duties, illiquidity, uncertainty over its appreciation in the long term. There are much better alternatives out there to give you a steady 5-6% annualized return over 20 years.
Educate yourself on where to put your money. Financial markets are way more sophisticated as compared to 30 years ago. Today we have the ability to invest in stocks globally, a wide range of ETFs, index funds, etc.
Worst way to earn an income is to work for a living.
Learn to develop multiple income streams as you progress in life - the old school saying of "get a good education, get a good job, start a family, etc..." is out-dated.
Invest in yourself. Wealth will take care of itself after that.
Don't underestimate the power of compounding.
A single investment (no matter how small) can change the course of your finances drastically.
Aside from learning how to manage money, learn how to write and code as well.
Sales is everywhere - learn how to sell and money will take care of itself.
Money will only motivate you so far. If you are not doing the things you love to do, you'll burn out. 100% guarantee.
The moment you feel that you pay someone more than what they owe you, you'll most likely end up spending the bulk of time chasing them for what they owe you.
Most people who trade stocks lose money. Don't get sucked into speculation.
The minute money is too easy to be made, it's probably time to get out.
99% of people who post images of their income online are not telling you something. Really rich and secure people don't flash their wealth and call themselves rich - not unless they are trying to sell you something.
People who tip you off on a stock nearly always have something to gain from doing so. Don't be stupid and listen to everything they say. Use your own discretion to decide for yourself. Most of my losses are attributed from listening to others.
Don't be envious of those who are ahead of you. You don't know what they've gone through.
Bankers are not your friend. They do not care about you. Relationships are booshit. They are only as nice to you as the amount of assets you are banking with them.
Don't keep too much of your assets in cash unless you know how you are planning to use it. Invest, even if it is a small amount.
Reaffirming point #36 in my forty takeaways last year:
Most of the people around me keep trying to tell me what's good for me or how I should use my money and resources without really wanting to listen to what I really want to do with them.
Their great plans are manifested in the monologue they have with me on whatsapp / wechat. From these conversations, I can tell that they want me to 'agree' with them. And agreement means I nod, concur and tell them that what they say is correct.
However, my points of view, my current circumstances are irrelevant.
Never judge someone until you've walked a mile in their shoes. So why should anyone impose what they think I should do just because it has worked for them, without truly being in my current position and going through what I have gone through? It's really absurd that these same people claim to have high EQ but they'd never really demonstrated empathy and asked me the simple question of: "What are your plans?"
The last few weeks had been a huge tailspin for me. I relate it to a multitude of challenges compounded upon each other - first, the physical distancing barrier, then the business-cultural aspect of it and then the technicalities of the underlying business. To add on, although the world of investment and banking is not unfamiliar to me, the scope of publicity and investor relations work remains an uncharted territory.
Compared to 5 years ago (or even 15 years ago), perhaps the biggest difference is that the mindset that one takes into any job, any role, any engagement.
Never take on a job purely because of money. This might be one of the most important starting points in terms of getting the right mindset. Money is of course important but the experience of taking on the engagement should enable you to grow as a person, forge new relationships, learn new things that you never knew before, and naturally add to your professional credentials. To add on: Never switch jobs solely because the pay on the other side is higher. The "intangible assets" that you give up from making that move might cost you a lot more in the future.
Never wear your designation / rank like a "political shield" or a "badge of honor", and let it get in the way of what you should be saying and doing. Most of the people that I know like to flaunt their status of being a VP, Director or being in C-suite roles. That kind of ego wears off fast when things go bad. The ability to be hands-on and execute will eventually outlive ego.
Never stop moving or learning.
Towards the ending scenes in the movie, The Martian, Matt Damon (as Mark Watney the astronaut) talks to a class at NASA saying:
At some point, everything's gonna go south on you and you're going to say, this is it. This is how I end. Now you can either accept that, or you can get to work. That's all it is. You just begin. You do the math. You solve one problem and you solve the next one, and then the next. And If you solve enough problems, you get to come home.
He didn't survive the journey back home by squatting in space, flaunting his celebrity status as an astronaut and griping about how people back on earth could have done better in trying to rescue him. Whether it is a Fortune 500 company, a small medium enterprise or a start up company, the most basic mission of any organization is just "getting things done."
A true entrepreneur - whether he/she is running his/her own business or working in someone else's organization - doesn't care about pride or rank. He/she just cares about getting the job done and getting paid for it. Unfortunately, 99% of the people out there aren't entrepreneurs, so they make up excuses saying that they aren't paid enough for what they do or getting the corporate title they want.
And for all the people out there who think that they are "too senior" to be hands-on or doing grunt work: I still take a lot of pride in being able to build a three-statement financial model from scratch. I consistently do this during the classes that I teach at SMU and remind everyone that it is really not that difficult.
If you refrain from revisiting the basics every now and then just because you think you are "too senior" to be working on models, you are going to regret it much later on in life with that kind of mentality. Keep telling yourself that you are too good or qualified for any job or you should be getting more credit for your work and you'll also find yourself in a lot of trouble when you get older.