The Richest Man in Babylon

What book could you read over and over again?

If you are anywhere near the Twitter account for Thrifty Investing or on the blog, then you’ve read about this book before

I absolutely love this book and everything it teaches you. The book is set in old Babylon, a fictional city with the richest of people.

Someone wants to learn how to become rich, so they speak with the richest man in Babylon, hoping to get insight. What they end up getting is information that is absolutely priceless!

It’s completely changed the way we handle our finances, our money, accounts, bills, paychecks, and investing.

This book is packed with so much knowledge about paying yourself first, compounding interest, and so much more.

This book is worth reading over and over again because of the information that is covered can change your life, and you may have missed something the first time or two.

I also love this book because it’s set as a story, not just spitting facts and figures, but stories that are very relatable.

With this unique way of teaching the audience about money, you are reading a story about someone who is doing the same thing you will be. And because it’s a story rather than a book of facts and charts, it reads so smoothly.

If you haven’t already, it’s my number one book to recommend! So read it!

How To Get Started Investing

We live in a wonderful time where information is at our fingertips. We have the internet, apps, and the smartphone to run it all from the palm of our hands. You no longer need to call up your broker and pay huge transaction fees, just to buy a few shares. With better access to the internet, faster speeds, and better developed apps, you can now do all of that without the call or visit to the broker.

The investing world, especially to the retail investor, can be daunting. Where do I get started? Which stock do I buy? Which app is better than the others? Well, that’s what I have designed this website and these posts for. To help gain an understanding of what’s out there and what to avoid.

I have been using applications like Webull, SoFi, Public, M1, Fundrise, Coinbase, and Fidelity. I use all of these apps to manage different portfolios as well as different investing vehicles. Webull is my main trading account. I was able to get started by utilizing their Fractional Shares option, where you can actually start with as little as $5. I opened up a SoFi account because I really liked what they had to offer, giving a robo-advisor, active accounts, and crypto. I also use their credit card, because you can use their reward points to purchase shares of stock, which has been extremely useful to get some extra shares.

Public I have a smaller amount on, but run a different portfolio than Webull or SoFi, and M1 is my robo-advisor where I let them do all the buys and sells. I put money into the M1 account every week, and they initiate the buys and sells if needed. I really enjoy having the hands off, and see how well the robo-advisor does against active portfolio management. Fundrise is strictly for Real Estate and I’ve always wanted to be in real estate. It gives you the opportunity to be a real estate investor, without having to physically own or maintain a property. It’s great for getting into the real estate world with a bit less risk than doing it all yourself.

That leaves Coinbase for all of my crypto needs. Coinbase is helpful because of Staking, where you can actually earn more of that coin while you hold it, but it does restrict you from selling what is staked. That is the intention, buy and hold the coin, instead of trading often. The last application I use is Fidelity. I use fidelity because of their low cost, passively managed index funds, or ETF’s. The FZROX has a 0.00 management fee and the FZAIX for the low cost S&P 500. I also have opened up an account for my daughter, and with the DRIP program as well as the low cost to the funds, she has a huge head start into becoming financially free.

Whatever application you use or portfolio idea you have, most of these apps can help you towards your financial goals. Make sure you know what investing products you are looking for before signing up and creating an account, make sure the app has everything you are looking for. SoFi, Public, M1, all have DRIP, the Dividend Reinvestment Program. This is when you gain a dividend from a company, it automatically purchases that same amount from the company, adding to your current position. This is huge for the compounding wonder of the world!

If you are looking to get into bonds, you can use Webull, SoFi, Public, M1, or Fidelity to start investing in Bond Funds. They are ETF’s filled with bonds. They may be corporate bonds, municipals, or government bonds, but you get a basket of bonds rather than picking individually. Selecting bonds can be difficult at first without knowing what you’re looking at, and the bond funds are a bit more attractive. They can give you a piece of the market you are specifically looking for that has a basket of bonds, rather than the focus on one. You can capture emerging markets, municipalities of your choice, or corporations to get that risk and reward going.

One other option I know about if you want to select individual bonds or wanting to purchase directly from the US Government, the Treasury Direct. https://www.treasurydirect.gov/ – Once you have an account created and a bank account set up to be used, you are ready to buy directly from the US Government, and you know that US Treasury Bonds are one of the safest investment due to the government not defaulting on their bonds.

I hope this helps you when you are trying to decide on what app to use or how to use it. You can get started with as little as $5 since the Fractional Shares and no trading fees. This world has become better for us retail investors and it’s time we all take full advantage!

Bond Buying In This Environment

If you have been reading or listening to any sort of financial news in the past year or so, you know that inflation had hit a pretty high point. So high in fact, it’s incredibly hard to leave the store, any store, without spending $100 or more. It’s impacting the wallet, the bank accounts, and the overall mood of buyers everywhere.

The Fed has made it a goal to reach our normal inflation rate of 2%, and so far the increase in interest rates have helped bring down inflation. Whether there will be more rate hikes in the next few weeks, I’m not too sure, but I know they’ve stated that the fight is not over, and that could mean another hike or two can be expected.

These interest rate hikes are hurting the businesses, as it’s more expensive now to borrow money. This means a slowdown, which may sound bad, but it helps in the fight against inflation. It’s strange to think that the economy slowing down is a good thing. Or people losing jobs might also help bring inflation down. With businesses slowing down, producing less, investing less into the future until interest rates come back down, it means less jobs available within that business.

I think I am spiraling at this point, but the main take away would be that with inflation and rising interest rates decimating stocks and real estate, where do you put your money to grow? A few big bank interest rates are an absolute joke, while some banks like SoFi will give a higher APY, to park your money with them. But the problem is, with those interest rates, they are still under what inflation is currently at. So you may be wondering, how do I protect and still grow my money.

Parking your money in those accounts with higher APY is still better than doing nothing with it. Keeping in a regular savings account gets you nowhere, money market funds aren’t much better, and keeping your money under the proverbial mattress, is even worse. Your money can’t work for you if you don’t put it to work somewhere. A CD wouldn’t be a terrible option. Obviously your money is parked for a few years, depending on the CD length of time, but at least it’s earning money.

Another option, I am sure you’ve heard of, is Bonds. US Treasury Bonds. One of the most secure, safest, ways of parking your money with some really low risk. There may be some better options for you at the US Treasury, as they are trying to keep up with inflation. There are bonds called TIPS, Treasury Inflation Protected Security. These bonds help protect you against higher inflation, while trying to give you a decent interest rate. It may not grow your money, but it may be able to help keep your buying power.

Bonds are a great option, and I know they typically say that when Interest Rates are growing, bonds are typically not the best financial vehicle, but when you think about inflation heading lower, eventually those interest rates will have to also head lower. When that happens, you may see better rates of return happening with your interest rates. Locking higher interest rates on your bonds may also be a great way of growing your money while we are in limbo of interest rates and inflation.

I am currently reading Bond Investing for Dummies and trying to learn the ins and outs, but it’s a lot of information. I never knew there were so many types of bonds, Government, municipal, corporate, emerging markets, and the list goes on and on.

One thing I am trying currently is a bond ladder with 4 week T Bills. With that, and the reinvestment, my money is growing. Not excessively, but it helps lower the burden of inflation.

I would strongly suggest looking into the Bond Market, and particularly with the US Treasury. https://www.treasurydirect.gov/ – They have many different Bond Types, dealing with interest rates and how long you would like to park your money with the US Government. There are penalties to pulling money out before the bond matures, like removing half of all interest that was gained during the life of the bond. So you really want to look into how long you are willing to sock that money away, and what interest rates would allow you to grow your money, after inflation has taken a hit and interest rates start coming down.

I know I have thrown a lot around, it’s generalized information because I am still looking into this information as well. I am no expert, but I am hoping I can point you in the right direction. Make an account on TreasuryDirect.gov and put your bank information in. Start buying bonds as soon as possible, especially look at TIPS and long term rates.

My hope is to push you towards a different option if Stocks and Real Estate just aren’t working out right now. The market will come around, it always does, but you still want to protect yourself during the down trends. Buying stocks during the down trend is a great time to get a deal, but it won’t help you grow that money until the market turns around. Be aware of all financial products and vehicles to get you to your investment goals!

What Did I Want To Be When I Grew Up?

Daily writing prompt
When you were five, what did you want to be when you grew up?
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This is an interesting question as I approach the ripe old age of 36. When I was five? Good grief, I don’t know if I remember anything at five. This is a financial site and I’ll try my best to loop this around, bear with me!

When I was younger, my calling was to be a Magician! How amazing to do magic tricks in front of audiences, and get paid for it! I spent a good bit of time in my childhood practicing magic, but there was always something else on my mind.

Growing up as the youngest of three, I was given hand me downs and whatever else was left. It’s not a bad thing, its a great way to save money for a family, but being a kid and seeing your siblings get something new, it bums you out a little bit. Now, being a kid, you don’t understand finance, you don’t understand that you’re growing at excessive rates, you don’t understand that saving money on clothes can add money elsewhere, maybe a vacation. Since I didn’t know any better, I developed a voice in the back of my head. “One day I’ll be rich!”

Now, being rich is a very general term, because I consider myself to be rich, because of the things I’m thankful for. My wife, my daughter, my family, and friends. These are the things life is all about, and I’d like to say I hit the jackpot when it comes to these wonderful people. But as a kid, knowing that money was not an infinite source, my idea of rich is to be wealthy with dollars!

Obviously life and time spent in your late teens early twenties, you tend to not follow the path your younger self would have been proud of, but I feel back on track with my younger self now. I have made huge advancements in making sure I have a retirement, and actively working towards an early retirement. My younger self would say, “you aren’t rich, but you’re getting there!”

So, besides being a magician, I’d like to think that my younger self always wanted to be an investor. My family and myself have been making that Investor decision for a few years now, and it’s one of the best things we’ve ever done as far as thinking of our future and our child’s future.

What about you? Did you have a clear goal or career you wanted when you were 5?

Something Most People Don’t Understand

Daily writing prompt
What’s something most people don’t understand?
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Since we’re called Thrifty Investing, we’re going to talk about something within the investing and financial world that most people don’t understand, The Economy.

What do we really know about the economy? Obviously if you are an economist, you know a bit more about this subject, but what about the rest of us? We watch the news as they talk about the economy, but do you understand what they’re talking about?

This is why I picked up a few books on the economy.

1. Macroeconomics for Dummies

2. Cartoon Introduction to Economics, Volume I: Microeconomics

3. The Cartoon Introduction to Economics, Volume II: Macroeconomics

When studying the economy, you have Microeconomists that study human behavior and how it relates to a bigger picture, then you have Macroeconomists who study the bigger picture.

I enjoyed learning more about Macroeconomy, as that seemed to deal more of what is being talked about on TV and the news. GDP, CPI Data, Unemployment Rates, Inflation, interest rates. These figures or numbers that come out once a month or more give a cause and effect to the market.

To understand how they all correlate, you need to understand what each of these items means, how does it apply to the market, and when does that data release? Although I have read a few books and learned a few items, there is still so much to learn. I am still trying to sort out what is good data, what is bad, and sometimes good data can come in at the wrong time, same with bad data can come in at a good time. All of these items reflect how the market will react.

When we have these numbers release, it causes hedge funds and investment funds to look at the market with either a sell or buy signal. Is it a bear market or a bull market? Well, when the data agrees with the economists and hedge funds of the world, they make those decisions which help push the market into the red or green. I know I am generalizing here, but unless you read, learn, and study the economy, who really knows. I think that is also my point, do you understand the economy?

What do you think is something most people don’t understand?

How Technology Has Changed My Job

Daily writing prompt
How has technology changed your job?
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The longer you live, the more advancements in technology you witness. When I first started in IT, I was in High School, and WiFi was just starting to take off in the residential with Wireless A, B, and eventually C. I remember my blue dual antenna Linksys like yesterday! Now that was an absolute amazing piece of hardware.

I’ve been at my IT job now, 8 years and High School was a long long time ago. Technology has enhanced and changed so much over the years and has been incorporated within my job to make things more accessible, no matter where you are. We’re able to access our remote tools from anywhere as well as the PC or Server that needs assistance as long as we have WiFi, Ethernet, or carrier data. The speeds of wireless and data now make it seamless and allows us to help out immediately instead of having to send someone on-site.

Before the pandemic, I worked in an office, but occasionally worked from home. All of my tools are online, so we are able to connect in from anywhere. During the pandemic, we were all sent home, sent company PC’s and peripherals, and set up to be full time. After the pandemic, I am still at home. It’s undeniable that having all of my tools online and being able to work remotely, should allow me to work from anywhere I want, as long as I am getting my job done. I’ve been home since March 2020, I’ve been one of the lucky ones who do not have to return to office.

If I could go back and tell my IT High School self about all of the advancements, I’d surely be shocked by everything. Smart Phones, working remotely, Cloud? These are huge advancements that really have changed how quickly we are able to get a business up and running or fix issues that are impacting their day to day.

Instead of spinning up physical servers, or setting up Exchange servers, everything is now set up in the cloud. Data, accounts, domains, environments, all stored and accessible in the cloud. This allows workers to use Remote Desktop, Citrix, or other Remote server applications to run their business. VPN’s have also become a huge priority since everyone is remote. You need a line of defense, no matter the device. Some companies even allow BYOD, Bring Your Own Device, and we can configure it to the companies needs.

I know I am generalizing here, but with so many things being virtual and in the cloud, the speeds of the hardware we are using to access those items have increased to levels I would never have thought of. Even using Artificial Intelligence to help support a business or find flaws in the system are being employed. It’s all mind bending to think about the past, Windows 98 se, Windows 2000, Windows XP! But when you live through it, it all seems so gradual that you almost don’t even notice.

I also know that my younger self would go absolutely crazy to see the Smart Technology I have in my home. Video Doorbell, wireless security cameras, thermostat that is accessible from anywhere, and lightbulbs you turn on with an App!

Now, to switch things up, Thrifty Investing would not exist without the advancements of technology. Smart Phones and Apps are the entire reason why this site exist. If I didn’t have these apps, where would I learn to invest, where would I get my foot in the door, and how expensive would it be?

If we didn’t have these apps, Public, SoFi, M1, Fundrise, Webull, where would we be for retail investors? Would we have to pay some broker large sums of money to buy and sell, making it almost impossible? What about decentralized money, Crypto. Where would it be without a smart phone to access the app to buy it?

I use these apps every day, whether I am buying, selling, adding to a position, dollar cost averaging, or checking news on my list of stocks. I don’t have my laptop with me all the time, no need to when I have it in my pocket. If we didn’t have that, I’d have to lug around my laptop, just to check the information I want to.

Googling anything is at your fingertips. Knowledge is at your fingertips. If you are interested and want to learn more about a subject, you just search and find information that helps build your knowledge. This is how I got started in investing.

I want to use these advancements and technology to create a better life for my family. Fintech has given myself a huge leg up in the investing world, allowing my family to participate in the game and hopefully create a more financially free and stable life!

How has technology changed your life or job?

How Often Do I Say No?

Daily writing prompt
How often do you say “no” to things that would interfere with your goals?
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These writing prompts are an excellent form of introspect. I would say that I rarely say no to anything that may help myself and my family achieve our goals. We have been on the same page regarding our retirement as well as our investing goals, so there isn’t much room to say no.

We put money into the market every week. If there is an opportunity, we put more money in where we think it will have the biggest impact. We keep the communication open and we regularly look at upcoming bills, account status, and what we want to afford.

If you would have asked me this question 3 years ago, I would say it would have been often that I’d say no. Live in the moment, no need for savings, lets buy everything we want! Credit can be paid off later! Those are the wrong things to say, and after reading and learning and noticing how we were handling our finances, we weren’t thinking much about our future. You may not think of what life will be like 30-40 years down the road, especially if you just entered the workforce, but you need to know that everything you save or invest now, compounds into much more than what your traditional 401K would offer.

We had trouble affording vacations, or hosting parties, and could hardly imagine a world without debt. When we became pregnant and our daughter was on the way, we realized that we had to make a better life for her. We had to do better with our finances, budgets, and INVESTING! Learning so much from these books, especially The Richest Man in Babylon, (favorite book BTW) we learned that we needed to pay ourselves first, live within our means, and pay for everything including bills with the other 90%.

Fast forward to today, we hardly every say no. We know that the more we do now, the easier our future and our retirement will be. My advice to you, don’t say no! Buy less toys, spend less on vacation, eat at home, and use that money to build yourself a new life.

Thrifty Investing

Hello and thank you for taking some time to read about changes made to this site. For the last 2 to 3 years, I’ve been reading and learning about the financial world. I’ve been reading not only books about the stock market, but also about the Economy in a whole. Learning about the bigger picture helps out when you are absorbing so much. It helps put things into perspective and gives you a reason to why, instead of just blindly investing.

At this point in my life, I am wanting to find a way to get to Financial Independence. It’s something very important to me, as I feel this is the best way to eventually have more time with my family. Allowing us to travel and experience more than a typical 9-5 would. This is why I started to learn how to invest, what apps to use, how much do I need to get started, and how do I even get started.

On this site, I talk about a few of the apps I use and will be updating the site to include all of the apps I use. We live in a great time right now where the stock market and investing opportunities are at our finger tips. 24/7, we can check our accounts, dig into news on our favorite stocks, and even buy or sell no matter where we are, as long as there is an internet connection.

This also might be a bit intimidating. Investing without knowing what you are doing, looking for, or learning about investing makes it more like a gamble. We work hard for our money and we do not want to gamble with it. That is why I started this site. I wanted a place to type up my thoughts on books and strategies I’ve read about. I want to share my knowledge with other curious investors who may be new to this as well.

Being thrifty is all about utilizing what is at your disposal. If you have a smartphone with WIFI or data, then you are basically ready. You could purchase fractional shares for as little as $5, and most apps allow this. This is a great way to start owning a business you’ve really enjoyed. Companies you love, you can own pieces of, so why not get started. $5 to some is a lot, but in the grandness of Compounding wealth, if you can spare it, and as often as you can, you’ll have full shares in no time. You’ll have voting rights, possible dividends, and then you can see that small nest egg getting bigger and bigger. Allowing retirement to see a lot less daunting.

The Thrifty Investor is always looking for an easy and accessible way to get started, even if we don’t have a ton of start up money. We look for high yield, low risk investments, good companies to buy and hold, and of course taking advantage of DRIP (Dividend Reinvestment Program). We need to always be on the lookout for deals, whether it’s a company’s stock is an attractive price, bonds are yielding more, or if a new REIT or ETF has come into the market.

The Thrifty Investor will use all items at their disposal, so keep an eye on the apps I have listed on this site as well as the ones I’ve blogged about or have articles written about. These apps have been absolutely crucial to getting started, learning, and achieving more than my 20 year old self would have thought I’d be capable of.

Please, tell us your Thrifty Investing ideas!

A Secret Skill or Ability I Wish I had

Daily writing prompt
What’s a secret skill or ability you have or wish you had?
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I enjoy these writing prompts! It gives me something to think about for the day. I have a skill in which I have a pretty good memory for remembering movie quotes, actors, actor’s voices, and the catalogue of movies and TV shows they’ve been in. I am also really good at picking out faces in movies and TV shows of actors that may have been unknown at the time.

Now this writing prompt is about a “secret” skill or ability or one I wish I had. I’ll tell ya, I wish mine was a photographic memory. I’m not sure I’d tell anyone, just keep it a secret and blow everyone’s minds with my memory. Basically, I’d mostly use it for financial markets, reading books on finance, and studying charts for stocks I’m researching. It would also be really nice to have that for 10k’s and all of the financial documents used for researching the company you are possibly buying.

As far as other skills or abilities that might be in the running, I would probably pick woodworking. I have so much respect for the world of woodworking and would love to be able to pick that up and build something extravagant, or make modifications to my home and landscaping.

I’m not sure of anything else at this moment, but having these writing prompts really gets my brain working in the morning.

What are the skills or abilities you would choose?

What I Wish I Could Do More Of

Daily writing prompt
What do you wish you could do more every day?
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What a question! I wish I could do more for my family in the pursuit of financial freedom. All of this financial stuff takes time and dedication, so if I could, I’d do more of it every day. It seems if I did do more of something, it would be to add more time to my day, then I might be able to fit more in, but I probably would become just as distracted as I am through a normal day. I would love to say that I would pound through books and consume crazy amounts of content, but in reality, most of that time would still be spent looking at the Dungeons & Dragons campaign we currently have running.

Other answers would be to do more traveling every day, eat more healthy options every day, get off my butt and workout more every day. This question has a multitude of answers, and is now starting to make me feel like I don’t take enough advantage of a normal day! I am going to go make a list now of all the things I want to do today, and maybe I’ll make more lists every day and accomplish more tasks every day.