Have a read, and consider if these principles might be useful for you too.<\/p>\n
<\/span>About me<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\nFor context, here\u2019s my personal situation. So you understand where I\u2019m coming from.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m 37 this year. I work a full-time job (which is challenging but I love) for 45-50 hours\/week. In terms of position, you could call me a \u201cSenior Manager.\u201d<\/p>\n
I paid off my\u00a0student loan<\/a>\u00a0before I turned 32. The only financial commitment I have is my home loan. (I drive a second-hand car which I paid for in cash.) I\u2019m blessed enough to not have any other expensive health or family-related commitments.<\/p>\nMy wife works full time and has a good income too. We\u2019re planning for kids soon.<\/p>\n
We\u2019re financially stable, but far from financial independence or early retirement. At the current rate (projecting kids), I can retire by 55. If that sounds reasonable to you, here are my money principles:<\/p>\n
<\/span>1. Keep expenses as low as reasonably possible<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\nI\u2019ve learned to not want much. If you\u2019re not very particular, Malaysia is an economical place to live. So apart from my apartment \u2014 which is middle-class comfortable, not luxurious \u2014 I don\u2019t have any other big recurring expenses.<\/p>\n
In terms of food, I would be satisfied eating at your regular\u00a0mamak<\/em>\u00a0most days (though I\u2019ve learned not to for health reasons, and am blessed to have married a brilliant cook).<\/p>\nThat being said, \u201cas low as reasonably possible\u201d doesn\u2019t mean aiming to save money on everything.<\/p>\n
So while you\u2019ll find me driving an\u00a0old MyVi<\/a>, I\u2019ll also happily treat my wife to some fine dining, buy friends a round of drinks, or get a nice guitar for myself.<\/p>\nRamit Sethi<\/a>\u00a0said it best:<\/p>\n\u201cSpend extravagantly on the things you love, and cut costs mercilessly on the things you don\u2019t.\u201d
\n<\/em><\/p>\n<\/span>2. Be excellent at work<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\nManaging expenses (linked to desires) is one part of the picture. Increasing income (linked to work) is the other important one.<\/p>\n
Sensationalized articles might suggest that everyone needs to quit their job and start a business to earn good money. But the more I learn, the more I think entrepreneurship isn\u2019t for everyone.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s much that can be found in a \u201ctraditional\u201d career path.<\/p>\n
All the major income increases in my life have happened via internal promotions. I\u2019ve tripled my salary before. I\u2019ve also doubled it within a year.<\/p>\n
You don\u2019t have to play politics or be an a**hole to get ahead. What you do need is to be\u00a0excellent<\/em>\u00a0at your work, and have great communication skills. I\u2019m also always looking to build meaningful relationships.<\/p>\nI believe in working for\u00a0passion<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 as long as you take a practical approach, and not the oversimplified BS that everything will be perfect just because you\u2019re passionate about something.<\/p>\nTruth: if you love your work, you\u2019ll likely (no guarantees) be better at it than everyone else who\u2019s\u00a0meh<\/em>\u00a0about their job. Even when you fail, you can learn faster and bounce back.<\/p>\nUse these advantages to make more money \u2014 whether it\u2019s your day job, side hustle, or your own business.<\/p>\n
<\/span>3. Have enough emergency funds<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\nEmergency funds are one of those things everyone talks about, but are still underrated.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not so much the funds themselves. It\u2019s the peace of mind you get from knowing you\u2019re secure financially. This allows you to make better money decisions, and take\u00a0calculated risks<\/a>\u00a0to earn more money (e.g. quitting your job for a better one, starting a business, or investing in a high-risk-high-return asset).<\/p>\nI keep my emergency funds in my fully-flexi home loan account \u2014 meaning I\u2019m still \u201cearning\u201d good interest on them.<\/p>\n
Aim for 6-12 months worth of living expenses. If that sounds too daunting, just aim for improvement every month.<\/p>\n
<\/span>4. Protect the downside<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\nSh*t happens.<\/p>\n
Unexpected health issues can even doom the best financial plans.<\/p>\n
So make sure you\u2019re insured. Make sure you have a will to take care of your family in case anything bad happens.<\/p>\n
Most of us focus on the upside in life, and rightfully so. We want to play aggressive offense because that\u2019s where the fun is. But without\u00a0defense<\/a>, you risk not even reaching the end.<\/p>\n![\"money](\"https:\/\/static.imoney.my\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/09192121\/manage-my-money_2.jpg\")
<\/a>\u201cRisk is what you don\u2019t see\u201d \u2013 Morgan Housel<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/span>5. Invest responsibly<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\nWith a good income and low expenses, what do I actually do with my money?<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s the fun part: I try to invest and give away (Principle 8) as much as reasonably possible. I\u2019ve got a full article on how I invest\u00a0here<\/a>, but here\u2019s a summary:<\/p>\n\n- Never borrow money to invest<\/li>\n
- Invest most funds in SAFE assets (protect the downside). Most of my money is tied up in Malaysian EPF retirement funds. My aim is to not touch them till I retire.<\/li>\n
- Allocate a bit to high-risk-high-return assets. This is my investment in Bitcoin and crypto \u2014 the asset class I understand the most. It has paid off handsomely.<\/li>\n
- A simple analogy for how I invest is a barbell (inspired by\u00a0Nassim Taleb<\/a>). Lots of safe stuff on one side, not much in the middle, and a chunk in high-risk-high-return assets.<\/li>\n
- Invest for retirement, decades away. I\u2019m not looking to cash my money out anytime soon. This allows me to ignore short-term price movements. I didn\u2019t sell when Bitcoin crashed from 20K to 3K in 2018. I won\u2019t sell if it crashes from 40K to 6K in 2021.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Warren Buffett once said about investing:<\/p>\n
\u201cOur favorite holding period is forever.\u201d
\n<\/em><\/p>\n<\/span>6. Automate as much as possible<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\nWhen I was in my mid-twenties, I was a control freak over my money. I would spend downtime at work filling up complex spreadsheets tracking my investments, savings and expenses.<\/p>\n
As you can imagine, it took up a lot of time. Though I didn\u2019t mind because I found it fun.<\/p>\n
As I got older with more responsibilities, the time I could spend on manual tracking disappeared. Nowadays, sometimes I find myself paying credit card bills late. The 25-year-old me would be dismayed.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve turned to technology to help. I now use\u00a0robo-advisors<\/a>\u00a0to invest and apps to track my expenses. I try to keep 100% of my transactions online, and make use of automatic deductions.<\/p>\nThere\u2019s a time factor in everything we do that often gets ignored. The author Annie Dillard once wrote:<\/p>\n
\u201cHow we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.\u201d
\n<\/em><\/p>\nAutomating money tasks allows me to focus precious time on people and things I love.<\/p>\n
<\/span>7. Have fun \u2014 you\u2019ll be good at what you enjoy<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\nYes, I\u2019m still the finance geek who once built compounding spreadsheets for fun. But I\u2019ve learned a good life is where you focus on what you really enjoy and try eliminate (or outsource) the rest.<\/p>\n
In recent years, my money \u201cfun\u201d has been less about squeezing money and more about growing money.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve given up keeping up with the best deals, and aiming to collect the maximum number of credit card points. I\u2019ve stopped agonizing over tiny expenses.<\/p>\n
My dream isn\u2019t to be the guy who gets the best discounts on everything anymore. My dream is to be the guy who tips everyone generously.<\/p>\n
Focusing on things I enjoy has led me down a rabbit hole of adventure. Somewhere along the way, the hours I spent trying to juice loyalty reward points shifted to studying and experiencing the fascinating world of\u00a0cryptocurrencies<\/a>.<\/p>\nToday, I work full-time in crypto. The more I learn, the more it continues to fascinate me. It pays the bills too. I can afford to tip more now.<\/p>\n
<\/span>8. Optimize for meaning<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\nWhat good is all the money in the world if it doesn\u2019t bring value to your life? As much as I like seeing the dollar value of my investments go up, money itself is just a tool.<\/p>\n
Whether that tool makes your life better depends on how you use it.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve found these to be the most\u00a0meaningful<\/a>\u00a0things to do with money:<\/p>\n\n- Saving and investing \u2014 creating financial security for my family<\/li>\n
- Buying time: outsourcing tasks I hate to do myself (e.g. housework)<\/li>\n
- Investing in my passions: books, music, sports<\/li>\n
- Buying presents (and meals) for family and friends<\/li>\n
- Giving to charity. Giving to support and help others<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
My financial advisers have asked me to consider the amount of giving (~26% of my gross salary), as it looks high.<\/p>\n
But based on the amount of joy it brings \u2014 I hope I can earn more so I can give more.<\/p>\n
<\/span>9. Keep learning<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\nLife is a continuous journey of learning. To stop growing is to die.<\/p>\n
I read from a variety of sources \u2014 primarily blogs, online publications and\u00a0FinTwit<\/a>. Much of what I learned about money, I learned from free websites. I\u2019m also trying to read more\u00a0books<\/a>, as they get to a level of depth you won\u2019t find online.<\/p>\n(Nothing against video and podcasts for learning, but I\u2019ve found reading to be significantly faster.)<\/p>\n
How I manage my money today is very different to five years ago. I expect it\u2019ll change further over the next five years.<\/p>\n
Can\u2019t wait to see what I discover.<\/p>\n
My wife works full time and has a good income too. We\u2019re planning for kids soon.<\/p>\n
We\u2019re financially stable, but far from financial independence or early retirement. At the current rate (projecting kids), I can retire by 55. If that sounds reasonable to you, here are my money principles:<\/p>\n
<\/span>1. Keep expenses as low as reasonably possible<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\nI\u2019ve learned to not want much. If you\u2019re not very particular, Malaysia is an economical place to live. So apart from my apartment \u2014 which is middle-class comfortable, not luxurious \u2014 I don\u2019t have any other big recurring expenses.<\/p>\n
In terms of food, I would be satisfied eating at your regular\u00a0mamak<\/em>\u00a0most days (though I\u2019ve learned not to for health reasons, and am blessed to have married a brilliant cook).<\/p>\nThat being said, \u201cas low as reasonably possible\u201d doesn\u2019t mean aiming to save money on everything.<\/p>\n
So while you\u2019ll find me driving an\u00a0old MyVi<\/a>, I\u2019ll also happily treat my wife to some fine dining, buy friends a round of drinks, or get a nice guitar for myself.<\/p>\nRamit Sethi<\/a>\u00a0said it best:<\/p>\n\u201cSpend extravagantly on the things you love, and cut costs mercilessly on the things you don\u2019t.\u201d
\n<\/em><\/p>\n<\/span>2. Be excellent at work<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\nManaging expenses (linked to desires) is one part of the picture. Increasing income (linked to work) is the other important one.<\/p>\n
Sensationalized articles might suggest that everyone needs to quit their job and start a business to earn good money. But the more I learn, the more I think entrepreneurship isn\u2019t for everyone.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s much that can be found in a \u201ctraditional\u201d career path.<\/p>\n
All the major income increases in my life have happened via internal promotions. I\u2019ve tripled my salary before. I\u2019ve also doubled it within a year.<\/p>\n
You don\u2019t have to play politics or be an a**hole to get ahead. What you do need is to be\u00a0excellent<\/em>\u00a0at your work, and have great communication skills. I\u2019m also always looking to build meaningful relationships.<\/p>\nI believe in working for\u00a0passion<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 as long as you take a practical approach, and not the oversimplified BS that everything will be perfect just because you\u2019re passionate about something.<\/p>\nTruth: if you love your work, you\u2019ll likely (no guarantees) be better at it than everyone else who\u2019s\u00a0meh<\/em>\u00a0about their job. Even when you fail, you can learn faster and bounce back.<\/p>\nUse these advantages to make more money \u2014 whether it\u2019s your day job, side hustle, or your own business.<\/p>\n
<\/span>3. Have enough emergency funds<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\nEmergency funds are one of those things everyone talks about, but are still underrated.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not so much the funds themselves. It\u2019s the peace of mind you get from knowing you\u2019re secure financially. This allows you to make better money decisions, and take\u00a0calculated risks<\/a>\u00a0to earn more money (e.g. quitting your job for a better one, starting a business, or investing in a high-risk-high-return asset).<\/p>\nI keep my emergency funds in my fully-flexi home loan account \u2014 meaning I\u2019m still \u201cearning\u201d good interest on them.<\/p>\n
Aim for 6-12 months worth of living expenses. If that sounds too daunting, just aim for improvement every month.<\/p>\n
<\/span>4. Protect the downside<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\nSh*t happens.<\/p>\n
Unexpected health issues can even doom the best financial plans.<\/p>\n
So make sure you\u2019re insured. Make sure you have a will to take care of your family in case anything bad happens.<\/p>\n
Most of us focus on the upside in life, and rightfully so. We want to play aggressive offense because that\u2019s where the fun is. But without\u00a0defense<\/a>, you risk not even reaching the end.<\/p>\n<\/a>\u201cRisk is what you don\u2019t see\u201d \u2013 Morgan Housel<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/span>5. Invest responsibly<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\nWith a good income and low expenses, what do I actually do with my money?<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s the fun part: I try to invest and give away (Principle 8) as much as reasonably possible. I\u2019ve got a full article on how I invest\u00a0here<\/a>, but here\u2019s a summary:<\/p>\n\n- Never borrow money to invest<\/li>\n
- Invest most funds in SAFE assets (protect the downside). Most of my money is tied up in Malaysian EPF retirement funds. My aim is to not touch them till I retire.<\/li>\n
- Allocate a bit to high-risk-high-return assets. This is my investment in Bitcoin and crypto \u2014 the asset class I understand the most. It has paid off handsomely.<\/li>\n
- A simple analogy for how I invest is a barbell (inspired by\u00a0Nassim Taleb<\/a>). Lots of safe stuff on one side, not much in the middle, and a chunk in high-risk-high-return assets.<\/li>\n
- Invest for retirement, decades away. I\u2019m not looking to cash my money out anytime soon. This allows me to ignore short-term price movements. I didn\u2019t sell when Bitcoin crashed from 20K to 3K in 2018. I won\u2019t sell if it crashes from 40K to 6K in 2021.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Warren Buffett once said about investing:<\/p>\n
\u201cOur favorite holding period is forever.\u201d
\n<\/em><\/p>\n<\/span>6. Automate as much as possible<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\nWhen I was in my mid-twenties, I was a control freak over my money. I would spend downtime at work filling up complex spreadsheets tracking my investments, savings and expenses.<\/p>\n
As you can imagine, it took up a lot of time. Though I didn\u2019t mind because I found it fun.<\/p>\n
As I got older with more responsibilities, the time I could spend on manual tracking disappeared. Nowadays, sometimes I find myself paying credit card bills late. The 25-year-old me would be dismayed.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve turned to technology to help. I now use\u00a0robo-advisors<\/a>\u00a0to invest and apps to track my expenses. I try to keep 100% of my transactions online, and make use of automatic deductions.<\/p>\nThere\u2019s a time factor in everything we do that often gets ignored. The author Annie Dillard once wrote:<\/p>\n
\u201cHow we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.\u201d
\n<\/em><\/p>\nAutomating money tasks allows me to focus precious time on people and things I love.<\/p>\n
<\/span>7. Have fun \u2014 you\u2019ll be good at what you enjoy<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\nYes, I\u2019m still the finance geek who once built compounding spreadsheets for fun. But I\u2019ve learned a good life is where you focus on what you really enjoy and try eliminate (or outsource) the rest.<\/p>\n
In recent years, my money \u201cfun\u201d has been less about squeezing money and more about growing money.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve given up keeping up with the best deals, and aiming to collect the maximum number of credit card points. I\u2019ve stopped agonizing over tiny expenses.<\/p>\n
My dream isn\u2019t to be the guy who gets the best discounts on everything anymore. My dream is to be the guy who tips everyone generously.<\/p>\n
Focusing on things I enjoy has led me down a rabbit hole of adventure. Somewhere along the way, the hours I spent trying to juice loyalty reward points shifted to studying and experiencing the fascinating world of\u00a0cryptocurrencies<\/a>.<\/p>\nToday, I work full-time in crypto. The more I learn, the more it continues to fascinate me. It pays the bills too. I can afford to tip more now.<\/p>\n
<\/span>8. Optimize for meaning<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\nWhat good is all the money in the world if it doesn\u2019t bring value to your life? As much as I like seeing the dollar value of my investments go up, money itself is just a tool.<\/p>\n
Whether that tool makes your life better depends on how you use it.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve found these to be the most\u00a0meaningful<\/a>\u00a0things to do with money:<\/p>\n\n- Saving and investing \u2014 creating financial security for my family<\/li>\n
- Buying time: outsourcing tasks I hate to do myself (e.g. housework)<\/li>\n
- Investing in my passions: books, music, sports<\/li>\n
- Buying presents (and meals) for family and friends<\/li>\n
- Giving to charity. Giving to support and help others<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
My financial advisers have asked me to consider the amount of giving (~26% of my gross salary), as it looks high.<\/p>\n
But based on the amount of joy it brings \u2014 I hope I can earn more so I can give more.<\/p>\n
<\/span>9. Keep learning<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\nLife is a continuous journey of learning. To stop growing is to die.<\/p>\n
I read from a variety of sources \u2014 primarily blogs, online publications and\u00a0FinTwit<\/a>. Much of what I learned about money, I learned from free websites. I\u2019m also trying to read more\u00a0books<\/a>, as they get to a level of depth you won\u2019t find online.<\/p>\n(Nothing against video and podcasts for learning, but I\u2019ve found reading to be significantly faster.)<\/p>\n
How I manage my money today is very different to five years ago. I expect it\u2019ll change further over the next five years.<\/p>\n
Can\u2019t wait to see what I discover.<\/p>\n
That being said, \u201cas low as reasonably possible\u201d doesn\u2019t mean aiming to save money on everything.<\/p>\n
So while you\u2019ll find me driving an\u00a0old MyVi<\/a>, I\u2019ll also happily treat my wife to some fine dining, buy friends a round of drinks, or get a nice guitar for myself.<\/p>\n Ramit Sethi<\/a>\u00a0said it best:<\/p>\n \u201cSpend extravagantly on the things you love, and cut costs mercilessly on the things you don\u2019t.\u201d Managing expenses (linked to desires) is one part of the picture. Increasing income (linked to work) is the other important one.<\/p>\n Sensationalized articles might suggest that everyone needs to quit their job and start a business to earn good money. But the more I learn, the more I think entrepreneurship isn\u2019t for everyone.<\/p>\n There\u2019s much that can be found in a \u201ctraditional\u201d career path.<\/p>\n All the major income increases in my life have happened via internal promotions. I\u2019ve tripled my salary before. I\u2019ve also doubled it within a year.<\/p>\n You don\u2019t have to play politics or be an a**hole to get ahead. What you do need is to be\u00a0excellent<\/em>\u00a0at your work, and have great communication skills. I\u2019m also always looking to build meaningful relationships.<\/p>\n I believe in working for\u00a0passion<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 as long as you take a practical approach, and not the oversimplified BS that everything will be perfect just because you\u2019re passionate about something.<\/p>\n Truth: if you love your work, you\u2019ll likely (no guarantees) be better at it than everyone else who\u2019s\u00a0meh<\/em>\u00a0about their job. Even when you fail, you can learn faster and bounce back.<\/p>\n Use these advantages to make more money \u2014 whether it\u2019s your day job, side hustle, or your own business.<\/p>\n Emergency funds are one of those things everyone talks about, but are still underrated.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not so much the funds themselves. It\u2019s the peace of mind you get from knowing you\u2019re secure financially. This allows you to make better money decisions, and take\u00a0calculated risks<\/a>\u00a0to earn more money (e.g. quitting your job for a better one, starting a business, or investing in a high-risk-high-return asset).<\/p>\n I keep my emergency funds in my fully-flexi home loan account \u2014 meaning I\u2019m still \u201cearning\u201d good interest on them.<\/p>\n Aim for 6-12 months worth of living expenses. If that sounds too daunting, just aim for improvement every month.<\/p>\n Sh*t happens.<\/p>\n Unexpected health issues can even doom the best financial plans.<\/p>\n So make sure you\u2019re insured. Make sure you have a will to take care of your family in case anything bad happens.<\/p>\n Most of us focus on the upside in life, and rightfully so. We want to play aggressive offense because that\u2019s where the fun is. But without\u00a0defense<\/a>, you risk not even reaching the end.<\/p>\n \u201cRisk is what you don\u2019t see\u201d \u2013 Morgan Housel<\/p><\/div>\n With a good income and low expenses, what do I actually do with my money?<\/p>\n Here\u2019s the fun part: I try to invest and give away (Principle 8) as much as reasonably possible. I\u2019ve got a full article on how I invest\u00a0here<\/a>, but here\u2019s a summary:<\/p>\n Warren Buffett once said about investing:<\/p>\n \u201cOur favorite holding period is forever.\u201d When I was in my mid-twenties, I was a control freak over my money. I would spend downtime at work filling up complex spreadsheets tracking my investments, savings and expenses.<\/p>\n As you can imagine, it took up a lot of time. Though I didn\u2019t mind because I found it fun.<\/p>\n As I got older with more responsibilities, the time I could spend on manual tracking disappeared. Nowadays, sometimes I find myself paying credit card bills late. The 25-year-old me would be dismayed.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve turned to technology to help. I now use\u00a0robo-advisors<\/a>\u00a0to invest and apps to track my expenses. I try to keep 100% of my transactions online, and make use of automatic deductions.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a time factor in everything we do that often gets ignored. The author Annie Dillard once wrote:<\/p>\n \u201cHow we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.\u201d Automating money tasks allows me to focus precious time on people and things I love.<\/p>\n Yes, I\u2019m still the finance geek who once built compounding spreadsheets for fun. But I\u2019ve learned a good life is where you focus on what you really enjoy and try eliminate (or outsource) the rest.<\/p>\n In recent years, my money \u201cfun\u201d has been less about squeezing money and more about growing money.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve given up keeping up with the best deals, and aiming to collect the maximum number of credit card points. I\u2019ve stopped agonizing over tiny expenses.<\/p>\n My dream isn\u2019t to be the guy who gets the best discounts on everything anymore. My dream is to be the guy who tips everyone generously.<\/p>\n Focusing on things I enjoy has led me down a rabbit hole of adventure. Somewhere along the way, the hours I spent trying to juice loyalty reward points shifted to studying and experiencing the fascinating world of\u00a0cryptocurrencies<\/a>.<\/p>\n Today, I work full-time in crypto. The more I learn, the more it continues to fascinate me. It pays the bills too. I can afford to tip more now.<\/p>\n What good is all the money in the world if it doesn\u2019t bring value to your life? As much as I like seeing the dollar value of my investments go up, money itself is just a tool.<\/p>\n Whether that tool makes your life better depends on how you use it.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve found these to be the most\u00a0meaningful<\/a>\u00a0things to do with money:<\/p>\n My financial advisers have asked me to consider the amount of giving (~26% of my gross salary), as it looks high.<\/p>\n But based on the amount of joy it brings \u2014 I hope I can earn more so I can give more.<\/p>\n Life is a continuous journey of learning. To stop growing is to die.<\/p>\n I read from a variety of sources \u2014 primarily blogs, online publications and\u00a0FinTwit<\/a>. Much of what I learned about money, I learned from free websites. I\u2019m also trying to read more\u00a0books<\/a>, as they get to a level of depth you won\u2019t find online.<\/p>\n (Nothing against video and podcasts for learning, but I\u2019ve found reading to be significantly faster.)<\/p>\n How I manage my money today is very different to five years ago. I expect it\u2019ll change further over the next five years.<\/p>\n Can\u2019t wait to see what I discover.<\/p>\n
\n<\/em><\/p>\n<\/span>2. Be excellent at work<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n
<\/span>3. Have enough emergency funds<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n
<\/span>4. Protect the downside<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/span>5. Invest responsibly<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n
\n
\n<\/em><\/p>\n<\/span>6. Automate as much as possible<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n
\n<\/em><\/p>\n<\/span>7. Have fun \u2014 you\u2019ll be good at what you enjoy<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n
<\/span>8. Optimize for meaning<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n
\n
<\/span>9. Keep learning<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n