Though this is Principle 2, it’s probably the most important principle of the group. It’s certainly the most ignored principle of the five, but it’s the one principle that people have the most control over and the one that can make the greatest impact on their financial futures. Principle 2 is, quite simply:
Minimize Expenses
You’ve probably heard the saying that you should “live on less than you make”. It’s a true saying, but unfortunately one that many people don’t follow. But we’re not going to let that stop us from sharing hundreds, if not thousands, of ways that you can minimize expenses, cut spending, and save money. In fact, I wrote a book about this (my only book to date – I’m so proud of it!) because this topic is so important. If you stick around, you’ll get all the knowledge from the book without having to pay for it. Now that’s saving money!
Click here to read about Principle 3.
The best way to minimize the expenses is to DISSAPEAR the disposable income.
I do that by paying myself first: sending as much money as I can to my brokerage account, forcing my checking account to be as close to 0 as I can confortably be. That way I feel like I don't have a cent to spare.
BTW, Where do you sell the book?
Posted by: Jose Anes | June 02, 2005 at 01:49 PM
Jose -- I don't sell the book at this point. We printed and sold/gave away over 100,000 copies and I'm in discussions with another company about printing and distributing the next round. Thanks for asking!
Posted by: FMF | June 02, 2005 at 01:55 PM
I feel this principle is the one that most people agonize over... because it's hundreds and hundreds of daily decisions (unlike income for instance where you only make a few key decisions). My advice is to make as many decisions on autopilot as possible. But - check your direction occasionally.
Posted by: Bill McCollam | April 05, 2009 at 12:16 PM