Mo Money

loverockchild

I just read Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki. I'm interested in increasing my asset column and decreasing my expenses. I'm 19 years old. I'm going to community college and live with my mommy. I welcome any advice or steps I can take at this point in my life.

IreneDAdler

I think some more specifics would help. Do you have a job? What kind of expenses are you responsible for? That is, do you pay your tuition? Do you pay rent to your mom? Based on what you said, it sounds like you don't have any income or any financial responsibilities, so it's probably a little premature for you to be worrying about "assets" and such.

Here's one basic concept to reducing expenses: differentiate "want" from "need." You need to buy food, but you want the newest videogame/book/movie/whathaveyou, so if you want to reduce your expenditures, you will have to keep buying food, but you can stop buying videogames/books/movies/etc.

Thanatos

Get a notebook, take a month, and every single time you spend money, it doesn't matter how much, write down the amount, and what it's for, no matter how small; it could be sticking a penny in one of those "leave a penny, take a penny" cups. Write it all down. At the end of each week, take a look and see what you're spending. At the end of the month, add it all up, and you'll probably see a few places where you can save some cash.

loverockchild

You're right, so far I'm lucky enough to have most of my expenses taken care of by my family. I do know this will not last forever. I just got a job at a thrift store today at $6.50 an hour. hey whatever, it's a start. I'm really interested in ways I can spend the small amount of money I make that will make more money, instead of give me shit i don't need. Thanks for the tip Thanatos, I'm going to do that.

Basically, Robert Kiyosaki says an asset is something which makes you money and not something that sucks money out of you. A house you live in really wouldn't be an asset for example because you're paying all the bills and you don't get any return from those payments. A house you collect rent from, or sell at a higher price however would be an asset.

Assets, I want more please

Liquid Hellz

Thanatos wrote: »

Get a notebook, take a month, and every single time you spend money, it doesn't matter how much, write down the amount, and what it's for, no matter how small; it could be sticking a penny in one of those "leave a penny, take a penny" cups. Write it all down. At the end of each week, take a look and see what you're spending. At the end of the month, add it all up, and you'll probably see a few places where you can save some cash.

A much easier way to do all of this is get a bank account with online banking and get a credit card with them. Only use this credit card when buying things no matter how little. It will all show up online and you can look at what you bought month by month. You can categorize it and assess your expenditures that way. Just make sure you can pay off this credit card each month.

Thanatos

loverockchild wrote: »

You're right, so far I'm lucky enough to have most of my expenses taken care of by my family. I do know this will not last forever. I just got a job at a thrift store today at $6.50 an hour. hey whatever, it's a start. I'm really interested in ways I can spend the small amount of money I make that will make more money, instead of give me shit i don't need. Thanks for the tip Thanatos, I'm going to do that.

Basically, Robert Kiyosaki says an asset is something which makes you money and not something that sucks money out of you. A house you live in really wouldn't be an asset for example because you're paying all the bills and you don't get any return from those payments. A house you collect rent from, or sell at a higher price however would be an asset.

Assets, I want more please

Honestly, at $6.50 an hour, while going to school, you're not really going to pull in enough to have a lot of assets. A good start, though, is to go down to a bank, and open a checking account. If you have Washington Mutuals over there, they're a good one; if not, go to whatever bank you can get a quality free checking account at. Then, go to one of the online banks (ING Direct was the one I was using until recently) and open up a savings account, linked to your checking account. Figure out what your necessary expenses are, set aside some money for fun stuff, and stick the remainder of your paycheck in your savings account.

Liquid Hellz wrote: »

Thanatos wrote: »

Get a notebook, take a month, and every single time you spend money, it doesn't matter how much, write down the amount, and what it's for, no matter how small; it could be sticking a penny in one of those "leave a penny, take a penny" cups. Write it all down. At the end of each week, take a look and see what you're spending. At the end of the month, add it all up, and you'll probably see a few places where you can save some cash.

A much easier way to do all of this is get a bank account with online banking and get a credit card with them. Only use this credit card when buying things no matter how little. It will all show up online and you can look at what you bought month by month. You can categorize it and assess your expenditures that way. Just make sure you can pay off this credit card each month.

The problem with this is that you can't use a credit card in vending machines, some fast food places, some coffee shops, etc., and that's where a really shocking amount of money can be dumped. The other advantage is that writing it all down makes you much more aware of it.

Fristle

I would say, don't forget that assets are not just possessions, like stocks, or land. A job with opportunity for growth is an asset. An education from a good school (or better, one with a reputable name) is an asset. Understanding how to interact productively with people in a professional setting is a huge asset. Marrying a smart, supportive, and loyal woman is an asset (in ways that may not be clear at first). The same thing goes for friends. The right friends are assets -- for instance if they get you a fantastic job someday.