How to Save $100,000 by Age 25

How to save $100k by age 25 cover image: a pier off the coast of Koh Rong island, Cambodia


Every morning I roll out of bed and ask myself, ‘What should I do today?’

As I write this sentence, I’m looking out over a beautiful beach on an island off the coast of Cambodia. I don’t have a proper job, but my bank balance recently hit six figures.

I won’t lie. These factors may have contributed to my general enthusiasm about life. But there’s another reason I sometimes stare into space and smile at nothing (even if anyone in the vicinity thinks I’m a crazy person).

For the first time in my life, I have absolute freedom to only pursue the things that interest me. The last two decades have been an uninterrupted freight train of schooling and work, so it’s a pretty surreal feeling. There are moments of pure elation, and even the occasional faint trace of guilt. Did I cheat, somehow? Surely it can’t be this easy? I’m waiting for a giant skyhook to descend from the heavens and hoist me up by the seat of my elephant pants, violently jerking me back into reality.

It wasn’t until 2013 that I even twigged this was an option. I’d been working as a business journalist for a couple of years, and one of my responsibilities was researching and writing personal finance features.

I’d chosen the topic of ‘net worth’, which is defined as everything you own, minus everything you owe. Naturally I was curious what my own net worth was, so I did the math.

It was a negative number. My savings and other assets were completely wiped out by my debts – and then some. Finding out you’re worse off now than when you first entered the world as a naked, screaming, hairless maggot is kind of depressing.

 

The author as an infant.
This little idiot enjoyed eating dirt and pooed himself daily, but he was still more of a baller than me.

It wasn’t much consolation knowing most twenty-somethings were in the same boat, especially those with student loans. Unlike them, I made my living lecturing people on how to be good with money. The first penny dropped. I decided it was time to shift up a gear.

Around this time I’d also started learning about the ‘early retirement’ and ‘financial independence’ movements. It turned out there were cadres of rebels around the world who flat-out rejected consumerism. They laughed mightily at the thought of 40 years of wage slavery, and retired decades earlier than everyone else.

interviewed one of the rebel movement’s unofficial leaders, Pete Adeney, who saved enough cash to quit work at age 30 so he and his wife could spend more time with their boy.

Another penny dropped. The money habits of Pete and his peers were some next level shit. Conventional personal finance “wisdom”, like the stuff I’d been dishing out, was that you should aim to save 10 per cent of your after-tax income. These guys saved half their pay, or more – and they did it in style.


How to Win the Jackpot

The more I read, the more pennies dropped. Soon they were gushing out like I’d won the jackpot, albeit on the cheapest slot machine in Vegas.

This is the bit where I’m meant to plug my guide to red-hot growth stocks, or sign you up to some scammy forex trading course.

Jeremy, drinking whiskey in the bath: “It’s not pyramid selling, its network marketing and it’s a guaranteed money maker Mark! I’ve seen the, the charts!”

 

Sorry to disappoint, but there is no magical way of getting rich. While we’re crushing dreams, Santa’s not real, and Margot Robbie doesn’t know you exist.

The true ‘secret’ is simple:

Live on less than you earn. Save and invest the difference, and let compound interest do its thing.

I understand if you’re underwhelmed. Most people already know this, at least on some level. It wasn’t until I saw what happens when it’s put into practice that it really blew my socks off.


Geeking out with Spreadsheets

“What gets measured, gets done.”

— ANON

Slowly but surely, I reassessed every area of spending. I cut the bloat and wastage. I thought about what was really important to me, and what wasn’t.

Things really started humming along after I customised a spreadsheet to track my net worth. Every month I got a little buzz out of seeing the number climb higher and higher. I could also tell if progress was slowing, and give myself a metaphorical kick in the butt as required.

(Be sure to check out my post on Net Worth Tracking to learn more, and grab yourself a free copy of my spreadsheet.)

Journalism is not known for its lucrative salaries, and I wasn’t exactly earning megabucks. Nevertheless, a shitload of savings poured into my bank account. I needed somewhere to put it, so I started dabbling with investing. After a few initial bumps and scrapes, I figured things out and ended up doing pretty well.

My net worth kept growing, into the tens of thousands. Along the way, this happened:

Letter from the tax department: Dear Master Meadows, congratulations! You've paid off your student loan.
That’s right, Master Meadows. This letter is even cooler if you read it in Michael Caine’s voice.

In early 2015 I started fantasising about taking an extended break from the 9 to 5, or abandoning it altogether.

I loved my job, especially back when the news industry wasn’t as far down the death spiral. But my feet were itching like crazy. I’d been in the same gig for more than four years. I was losing my mojo. All sorts of personal projects were swirling around my head, but there was no time to make them happen.

So I made a promise to myself: Once my net worth hit NZ$100,000, I’d quit my job, sell everything I owned, and move overseas.

One year later, I was into the ninety thousands. I bought a one-way ticket to Bangkok and handed in my notice at work. I was walking on air by this point, and probably could have saved myself a fare by floating across the Pacific.

When the time came to board my flight, the $100,000 target was still frustratingly just out of reach. A dumb investing mistake had finally caught up with me, setting me back a couple of months. I was mildly disappointed, but too excited about starting my adventure to dwell on it.

On August 1 2016, I was sitting in a KFC in Phnom Penh, mildly hungover. As the good Colonel’s deep-fried gift to the world worked its restorative magic on my gut, I took advantage of the free WiFi to do my monthly net worth update.

The spreadsheet spat out the number $101,227, and I spat out a mouthful of Zinger burger. Halle-fuckin’-lujah! In three-and-a-half years, I’d gone from being penniless to having a net worth of six figures. I stuffed the rest of the burger in my mouth, and relished the taste of grease, mayonnaise and victory.

(Note: My savings goal was in New Zealand pesos, the currency of my home country. To reach six figures as denominated in the mighty greenback took me until the ripe old age of 26.)


What Do You Want?

“A man’s worth is no greater than his ambitions.”

— MARCUS AURELIUS

$100,000 is a nice round number, but it’s also completely arbitrary. I only chose it because it would comfortably give me enough cash to achieve my actual, underlying goals.

Believe it or not, my aim wasn’t just to lie on a beach drinking cocktails every day and posting obnoxious status updates to Facebook.

how to save $100k, travel the world, and never shut the fuck up about it
‘How’s your Monday going, losers? HAHAHAHA!’ …etc

I can confirm this is incredibly fun, but only for about three days. Down that path lies alcoholism, crushing ennui, and the leather-tanned hide of an elderly rhinoceros.

Here’s what $100,000 really bought me:

  • The joys of open-ended travel (OK, including aforementioned cocktails)
  • Helping some friends finance their businesses
  • Being able to pursue projects that I couldn’t when working full time (like this blog)
  • Free time to learn new skills and hobbies, and take existing ones up a notch

Whenever I was tempted to splurge, I reminded myself of what I was working towards.

Maybe your goal is travel, or saving a house deposit, or starting a business, or something else entirely. It doesn’t matter, as long as it means something to you.

The sum of money doesn’t matter either. The exact same principles apply whether you want to know how to save $100k or a cool million. Getting there is only a matter of time and effort – and it only gets easier.


The First $100k is the Hardest…

“The first $100k is a bitch, but you gotta do it. I don’t care what you have to do—if it means walking everywhere and not eating anything that wasn’t purchased with a coupon, find a way to get your hands on $100,000. After that, you can ease off the gas a little bit.”

— CHARLIE MUNGER

The cool thing about money is that once you have enough of it, it starts making more money all by itself.

In the first year of saving, I earned some modest investment income. The next year, I was earning interest not only on my savings, but on those earlier returns. And so on.

How to save $100k: net worth graph tracking upwards to the goal.
The magic moment. You can see a slight curve as the investment returns start to come into play.

(Check out ‘The Beginner’s Guide to Becoming a Badass Investor‘ for an animated guide on getting started with investing.)

Over longer timeframes, compound interest is crazy powerful. Let’s say my goal was early retirement, and I decided to stay in full time work to maximise my savings.

It would only take a little over two years to save the second $100k. The third $100k would come even faster still. Even if I never got a pay rise, I’d be a millionaire in about 13 years.

As it happens, at the time of writing I’m only doing a few hours of (paid) work. Nevertheless, my net worth is still growing. To build that sort of momentum takes a fair bit of initial effort.


…But it’s Not That Hard

“Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants.”

— EPICTETUS

According to the denizens of news website comment sections, anyone living frugally must be a smelly, communist, cheapskate, dumpster-diving hermit. I resent that. I always put on deodorant (to mask the garbage juice smell).

Living simply doesn’t mean being some sort of miserable tightwad. My experience was the exact opposite. Once you have the basics of life covered, money doesn’t really correlate with happiness. The best things in life truly are free, or at the very least, dirt-cheap.

It doesn’t mean becoming a monk, either. I still spent money on travel, eating out, booze, pizza, concerts, and other such awesome things. I just had to figure out how to cut costs wherever possible, and restrain myself a little. Eating at nice restaurants is a whole lot more fun when it’s a treat, not a normal routine.

A little perspective also helps. Anyone reading this is by definition part of the richest and most fortunate cohort in human history. Kings of old couldn’t dream of the technological marvels and healthcare enjoyed by even the poorest among us today. There’s more power in our iPhones than the machines that put man on the moon, but heaven forbid we don’t immediately have the latest model – you know, the one with the dancing poop emoji.


You Do You, I’ll Do Me

“Dogs bark at what they cannot understand.”

— HERACLITUS

Changing money habits takes some elbow grease at first, but once they’re locked in it’s all gravy. The bigger challenge might be dealing with the expectations of other people.

It’s tough to explain to your mates that you don’t want to do Expensive Thing XYZ – not because you’re a fun-hating scrooge, but because you have different goals and priorities to them.

Those who are most judgemental are usually the same alleged “adults” who are constantly broke and borrowing money from their mums, despite earning good salaries and having no responsibilities.

Smile, nod, agree.. then do whatever you were planning on doing anyway.

 

This is a good opportunity to practice giving zero fucks what other people think of you, which is a useful life skill in general.

It helps once you realise the most outspoken critics are slaves to their own impulses, to marketing, and to societal expectations. Their opinions are worth even less than their bank balances.


Buying Your Freedom, One Slice At a Time

“I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself than be crowded on a velvet cushion.”

— HENRY DAVID THOREAU

Life is all about trade-offs. Frugal people choose to accept fewer possessions and luxuries in exchange for more freedom and time.

Here’s an example. Would you rather buy a flash new car for $25,000, or an ugly but reliable second hand one for $5000?

To me, the answer is screamingly obvious. Saving and investing that extra $20,000 would give you an extra quarter of a million bucks by retirement. Alternatively, you could buy a couple of years of freedom right now to start a business, travel, or learn a new skill.

Someone with different values might prefer having a cool car. As long as they’ve made an informed choice, all power to them.

I worry that people don’t consciously make that choice. I didn’t even know there was one. My careers counsellor forgot to mention I could retire young, if I just rejected the bullshit ‘keeping up with the Jones’ mentality. No-one told me there was an alternative to 40 years of wage slavery, a crippling mortgage, and a big house filled with junk.

I’m not trying to tell anyone how to live, but I do feel compelled to share my own experience. My eyes were opened by people brave enough to strip down to their financial underwear in public, and I’m forever grateful to them. This is my attempt to pay it forward.

 


If you made it to the end of this epic screed, you may be somewhat aggrieved that it didn’t contain any specific tips for actually, you know, saving money. Sorry about that! This post was already pretty long, so I’ve put together another one explaining how to slash every single category of spending.


 

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Adhithya K R
2 years ago

Hey Master Meadows,

I found your page while searching for criticism of The 4 hour work week. I find your insights very valuable and they resonate with the kind of simple life I’m trying to design for myself. After three years of working in a corporate firm as a software developer, I’m trying to strike my own path as a freelance writer and software developer. Thanks for your two cents!

I’ve bookmarked many other articles on your site. Your minimal UI is a big win. Keep up the good work!

Barbara
Barbara
3 years ago

What an engaging post overflowing with abundant information that’s thought-provoking, encouraging, humorous, uplifting, empowering, inspiring and mind and heart opening (individual and collective consciousness expanding)! ^_^

Granted, referring to your younger self as a maggot (slang for a despicable person) and idiot (a stupid person)—even “jokingly”—reveals a non-beneficial habit (of inward and outward self-criticism) that stems from a core belief(s) you have about yourself that was conditioned since childhood by society (especially from your caregivers).

If you’re drawn to the above paragraph to whatever degree—despite it possibly coming off as irritating, offensive, and/or triggering—I invite you to go deeper into the rabbit hole to further explore Multidimensional You (to include the aspects of shadow self; Vickie Howie from Sedona shares profound teachings that are mind-blowing, soul-igniting and deeply heartfelt).

It’s amazing that you trusted and followed your inner guidance—to include intuition, inner-strength, and courage—to LIVE your dream life, and to BE Self-Empowered by refusing to be enslaved by society’s manipulations, control systems, rules, and regulations.

Thank you Rich for Being an invaluable gift to humanity and beyond. I wish for you to continue embracing more and more neutral aspects of your authentic, multidimensional, full-potential, WHOLE self (human self/other physical selves)/Self (Source within: integrated Mind/Heart, Soul/ Spirit, Light/Love, God/Goddess, Sun/Moon, Yang/Yin), to include NEUTRAL MONEY (friend that you don’t have to say “F you!” to, but rather, “I LOVE YOU!!!”) that can be used (not misused or abused) in highly beneficial ways for self/interconnected Life within this world and beyond. Unconditional/True Love starts from within.

Piki Dad
4 years ago

Hi Richard,

This is just the second of your posts that I’ve read thanks to the GRS newsletter. I was surprised to find that you’re originally from NZ.

I moved to Auckland with my wife in 2015 and have recently just gone over that $100K mark in a mix of ETFs and Kiwisaver. It really is an exhilarating feeling to get past that point.

Hopefully, I can get the habits embedded in and reach that mythical FI number soon.

Are you invested through NZ companies or go through others? I’m sure you do with the low cost funds, but I wonder about the other end of the barbell?

Keep up the good work.

Piki Dad
4 years ago

Superlife is awesome eh? My family is invested there as well as my 3 year old who already has $1000+ spread across a few funds.

Hope those companies do well. I’m sure I’ll read about it at some point here! Cheers

William van Roosmalen
William van Roosmalen
4 years ago

Hi Richard, thanks for sharing this with us. I have one question. I am reading Robert Kiyosaki’s book Rich Dad, Poor Dad, and thought of your definition of wealth. That being what you own minus what you owe. What do you think of Mr Kiyosaki’s definition of wealth being: how long you can survive without your job (income)? It seems like having income-producing assets is a great way to financial freedom. What are your thoughts?

Michael
Michael
4 years ago

Something doesn’t quite add up here.

From zero to 100K in 3,5 years by saving. That means you must have earned north of 200K over that time (with 50% of your income being saved. It might have been aided by some smart investments, but on the other hand you didn’t start with setting 50% aside right away, so 50% is an OK guess).

That means a monthly wage of 4762 NZ$ AFTER TAXES.

Please elaborate how you do consider this a “modest journalist salary”. Unless there is something I (and the rest of the world) does not know about the NZ economy.

(on a tangent, this sadly disqualifies your advice for 90% of the people out there. 4,7K per month/ 100K NZ$ as a saving goal is a rather astronomic amount of dough, my man. You are far from “frugal”.).

Dood Surfston
Dood Surfston
4 years ago
Reply to  Michael

Doing the math, an income on the lower end for a NZ journalist is ~$40K.
(https://www.payscale.com/research/NZ/Job=Journalist/Salary)

From that the author saves half ($20K), of with he can invest in monthly instalments of $1666. If he makes 1.6% profit on his investment per month (annual compound rate of 22%), it’s doable.

That rate is rather high for an index fund, but he does mention elsewhere about investing in venture capital.

In any case, the main thing is living someplace where rent is cheap enough to be able to save the amount he does. I’d be cautious about investing in the stock market though, he was lucky enough to invest in a period without major crashes.

Nataasha
5 years ago

Hi Richard, do you have a post on what sorts of things you were investing in or where/how to invest?

Hussein
Hussein
5 years ago

Amazing Richard this was great read…do you give one-on-one mentoring?

Mayor Adam West
5 years ago

Good read but I kept wondering, “so when the hell is he going to get into what he invested in to get the compound interest?”

I have tens of thousands just wasting away in my savings account and want to do something with it…Roth IRA? Other investment schemes?

Anyway, good on you brother. Congrats

Joe
Joe
5 years ago

When you say “a little over two years to save the second $100,000”, how does that happen–doubling your savings in under 2 years? That seems fast.

Stormy
Stormy
5 years ago

I really enjoyed reading this, you have a great writing style, I’m happy I found this blog! This really helps me to formulate a plan and reinforce some rules for myself with my finances. Being a freelancer without a typical income can make things quite difficult but it I feel a lot of the rules would still apply. Looking forward to my journey and more of your posts!

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Giovana
Giovana
5 years ago

That’s awesome, keep up the good work! My husband and I don’t have six-figure, high-paying jobs either but have made it to the $160k savings mark. It wasn’t quick but automatic deposits, slowly increasing our monthly savings whenever we got a promotion or changes jobs and investing is doing the trick. We’re now saving 40% of out take-home pay (wish it was more like 50% but living in Toronto is expensive). I guess the secret is consistency and paying ourselves first. We still get to eat out, have fun and travel, it’s just a matter of being smart about how you spend your money, where you spend it and how much you spend.

Carol
Carol
6 years ago

Just finished reading this and say awesome & congrats!! You also have a great writing style, was cracking up and learning at the same time. I agree 100% and while working on early retirement I am teaching my teenage boys what the school career counselors don’t regarding a life & all it’s b.s of keeping up with Joneses. There’s a better way to live! Thanks for sharing and baring “brave enough to strip down to their financial underwear in public”. hehe love it!

Monica
Monica
6 years ago

When you say that you have over $100K “in the bank” what does that mean? Where is the money allocated? All to investments? Some must be liquid.

Monica
Monica
6 years ago
Reply to  Monica

Never mind, just read Net Worth Tracking.

Prashant
Prashant
6 years ago

If we have $100k how do we turn that to $500k is there any easy formula without risk?

Kirsty Naish
Kirsty Naish
6 years ago

minimalism is the key to financial success and happiness. you have worked that out at a young age – wise wise young man!

That Charles Life
6 years ago

This is real impressive! I’m currently on a 2-3 year trek to the 6 digits mark. Keep it up, maybe see you in SEA one day!

Andrew Ritchie
Andrew Ritchie
6 years ago

Having a goal and an aim is key. I drink the free instant coffee in the office and bring a sandwich for lunch. The $500 a month we don’t spend each month goes straight in our travel account currently earmarjed for the Tokyo Olympics. Small things like that add up massively over time. We also follow the drive a cheap car rule.

Richard Meadows
Richard Meadows
6 years ago
Reply to  Andrew Ritchie

Awesome Andrew – sweet goal you’re working towards!

Jwadsred
Jwadsred
6 years ago

This is awesome dude!! Really keen to learn more and more! I’m 21 and already in $30,000 of debt out of complete and utter stupidity and disregard! My net worth is around -$10,000 an I really want to change things!

Can’t wait to see more on how to make this happen!!

Richard Meadows
Richard Meadows
6 years ago
Reply to  Jwadsred

Hey mate, you’ve got time on your side so don’t worry – plenty of people your age are a lot deeper in the hole than that!
More posts will be coming soon, hopefully you’ll find them useful.
cheers!

Michael Jagger
Michael Jagger
7 years ago

do you own accommodaton or rent? – btw-i’m 49 and have just started investing – never too late. It;s an emotional roller coaster but it’ll be worth it in the end.

George
George
7 years ago

Just came back from Cuba. Same eye opener, different cause. What do I really need in life? Nothing that costs much of anything. Anyone saying differently, is unaware that their opinion about your life has little effect on it (or your income). Further, it’s only something I can give myself. I never really considered investing as I always thought it required larger sums of money, but then, your perspective makes me think a little differently.

Richard Meadows
Richard Meadows
6 years ago
Reply to  George

Hey George, would love to visit Cuba – nice! You can start investing with a surprisingly small sum. All shall be revealed in the investing for beginners post, which should be published in the next couple of weeks.

Natethegreat
Natethegreat
7 years ago

Could you put up your spreadsheet that you used to calculate your net worth and track your investment earnings?

Richard Meadows
Richard Meadows
7 years ago
Reply to  Natethegreat

Yep! I’m just working on getting a custom spreadsheet put together that I can share (my one is modified from an existing template, so there are copyright issues). Watch this space!

NZmike
NZmike
7 years ago

I’m 56 and it’s never too late! an applied state of mind and focus is all….might give the Pizza buzz a miss tho!

Richard Meadows
Richard Meadows
7 years ago
Reply to  NZmike

Yeah definitely never too late! And no worries, the pizza diet is not a requirement for success. Sure is tasty though…

Pad Britt
Pad Britt
7 years ago

Can you please reveal which stocks etc you’ve invested in …?

Richard Meadows
Richard Meadows
7 years ago
Reply to  Pad Britt

I’ll be doing an investment post in the next couple of months, so watch this space.

Lana Saffill
7 years ago

You have opened by eyes big time! I thought this was going to be another one of those general financial wisdom articles too, but you have definitely inspired me with this! I look forward to seeing what other snippets of wisdom you can offer. Thank you from an almost 28 year old who is ready to get rid of shitty debt and start saving some serious moolah!

Richard Meadows
Richard Meadows
7 years ago
Reply to  Lana Saffill

Thanks Lana. Burn that debt to the ground! All the best, keep me updated on your progress.

Dionne
Dionne
7 years ago
Reply to  Lana Saffill

Definitely worth the read! Im 18 and just started saving for a house deposit, goal is to have my own house by 21! With my wage it kind of put me down abit thinking I would never get there. But your post really opened my eyes to alot more detail, will be following and looking forward to more blogs!

Richard Meadows
Richard Meadows
6 years ago
Reply to  Dionne

Hey Dionne, that would be a seriously impressive achievement, go for it! Don’t worry about your wage at all – remember, there are plenty of people out there earning six figures who blow the lot. Keep us posted!

John Samson
John Samson
7 years ago

Inspiration much..all power to you, well done.

Richard Meadows
Richard Meadows
7 years ago
Reply to  John Samson

Thanks John, much appreciated.

Genie
7 years ago

This is me! I’m so glad you’ve published this. My friends were astounded that I paid my way through university and had savings at the end of it, and that I could buy a house when I wanted to do that. I’ve been shy about saying that it’s NOT about luck, it’s been determination and focus, and a true sense of what matters to me!

Richard Meadows
Richard Meadows
7 years ago
Reply to  Genie

That’s a hell of an achievement, nice one! I’ve found that it’s best to bite my lip on these occasions and let people think what they want. Good on you for sticking to the course.

Ryan Johnson
Ryan Johnson
6 years ago
Reply to  Genie

Awesome work! 🙂

AaronZeroto100 (@AaronPA007)

I’m 28 but keen to get onto this. Picking the correct investments is the key here

Mat
Mat
7 years ago

I’m 25 and am reading this a few years too late…

David
7 years ago
Reply to  Mat

I’m almost 40 and am reading this a lifetime to late…. 😉

Richard Meadows
Richard Meadows
7 years ago
Reply to  David

It’s never too late! I mean, it might be too late to retire at 30 but that’s at the extreme end of the spectrum. The cool thing about frugality is it can make a huge difference at any point in your life.

basketcasenz
7 years ago

Excellent work. The comment about people not understanding when you wont do expensive things is so true. Went out for lunch with friends today, opted for just a bowl of fries – combination of not that hungry, and fries were the only GF offering that wasn’t $20+. They focussed on the cost and tried to bully me in to spending more. Each to their own, but my allowance is already in negatives from fries and a tea since it was an expensive cafe!

Richard Meadows
Richard Meadows
7 years ago
Reply to  basketcasenz

I know this feeling man! This is when you just have to stick to your guns and smile about it.

Nick Krause
Nick Krause
7 years ago

Richard you awesome motherfucking Dude. Good onya. Inspiring stuff mate. Keep it up.

Laurie
Laurie
7 years ago

Bullseye.

Curious
Curious
7 years ago

I’m curious about how to go about investing. I don’t mean what specifically to invest in but what is the strategy? Obviously most investments are aimed at long term growth. Is that the idea here? Or is it buying high growth stocks that you sell after a short time period? Your thoughts would be much appreciated!

Richard Meadows
Richard Meadows
7 years ago
Reply to  Curious

Hi Curious,
As a general rule, I believe the best strategy is to buy and hold low-cost, passively managed index funds. I’ll have a proper post on investing strategy up within the next couple months. Watch this space!

Ryan Johnson
Ryan Johnson
6 years ago
Reply to  Curious

Hi curious

I agree with Richard re: low cost index funds (love ya work mate!).

A great strategy for a beginner is to buy and hold low cost “index funds” over the long term. Don’t worry if that sentence didn’t make much sense 🙂 I’ll explain.

These are funds which track a market index such as the NZX50.

Doing this has lots of benefits:

– You diversify yourself in a large amount of companies
– You pay less fees as you don’t have to pay for expensive investment managers
– You don’t have to put in an outrageous amount of time and effort (i.e. you don’t have to meticulously research single companies)

Long term growth is the plan. Aim to “invest” and profit from the long term returns of companies, rather than “speculating” and trying to make a short term profit.

Speculating is a fools game as it’s unlikely that you or I can outsmart the market and you will get eaten alive by fees if you buy and sell often!

It’s key to buy and hold for the long term and buy consistently. Ideally you’d be investing every month.

Hopefully that made sense, happy to go deeper if you have any questions. I’ve also written in-depth about this on my own blog about money, I reckon it would help you 🙂

Ryan

Richard Meadows
Richard Meadows
6 years ago
Reply to  Ryan Johnson

Ryan is spot on with this. His blog is a great read too, check it out: http://ryanjohnson.co.nz/

Laura Walters
Laura Walters
7 years ago

I’m inspired and depressed all in one but I love it! Can you be my personal financial advisor? I’ll pay you in smiles 😀

Richard Meadows
Richard Meadows
7 years ago
Reply to  Laura Walters

Of course! Just promise not to tell the FMA.

Alec The Ben Lummis Appreciation Society Don
Alec The Ben Lummis Appreciation Society Don
7 years ago

Thanks, for the inspiration Rich. How’s the phantom fedora syndrome coming along?

Richard Meadows
Richard Meadows
7 years ago

It’s finally starting to fade but I can still just…feel it… m’lord

Lance @ My Strategic Dollar

HAHA definitely made me LOL

Thanks for writing such an awesome post Richard!

Britt Mann
7 years ago

richard you’re the hero we need

willstew
7 years ago

Awesome read Pizza Boy. I look forward to the next post on spending!