Get Good with Money (10 steps to financial independence)
Get Good with Money is an American book that uses a simple 10-step process created by a former kindergarten teacher who lost her nest egg, when a recession (and shady advisor) put her in a huge financial hole.
If you are in debt, call StepChange for free confidential help.
Tiffany’s main three points of advice:
- Inventory: She says that ‘you can’t beat what you can’t see’. So list every debt (with numbers, dates, minimum payments and interest rates) so you know where’s you’re at.
- Pick a payoff method: Choose from Avalanche (highest interest first to save most money) or Snowball (smallest balance first for fast wins). Tiffany says the one that works is the one you actually do!
- Track relentlessly. Keep the momentum by updating your list weekly and watching the debts go down. This will carry you through when motivation starts to wane.
The 10 steps to financial independence
- Build a budget
- Save like a squirrel
- Dig out of debt
- Score high credit
- Learn to earn
- Invest like an insider
- Get good with insurance
- Increase your net worth
- Pick your money team
- Leave a legacy
Why read this book?
Becoming financially independent frees you from being slave to big banks and money lenders, and also helps you to live a more ethical life. It’s only possible say to buy ‘two pairs of quality vegan shoes’ if you have the money to buy them. Otherwise you have to keep buying cheap shoes that fall apart, which cost more long-term.
This applies to all walks of life. To eat ‘on a budget’ means cooking yourself. And that means having the money to stock your kitchen with lots of staples. Many say that debt (not low income) is the main issue these days. Getting out of debt (like Tiffany did) empowers you to live the life you want.
Stay away from debt at all costs. Debt (not poverty) is the greatest energy of financial well-being and peace of mind. Debt causes us to mortgage our future for the present.
They will dress debt up in a suit, and call it credit. But it all comes down to the same thing. You will have mortgaged your future, to pay for your present. And that is something you never want to do. Kent Nerburn
Who wrote this book?
Tiffany Aliche is a US money budgeting teacher. She swapped hats, after she got massively into debt, after bad financial advice lost her savings. So she figured out a way to pay it all off and buy a house, and even mandated into law financial education for schools in New Jersey.
She now use she former kindergarten teaching skills, to educate others on money management, in simple ways that anyone can understand!
She has helped over two million people worldwide to pay off over $200 million in debt and save over $350 million. Many of them have been able to transform the way they think about money, and buy their own homes.
