Not sure if you’re on track to become wealthy? The Rule of 72 can help!

The Rule of 72 is a simple mental math shortcut that estimates how long it could take your money to double. This is what it looks like…

72 ÷ interest rate = years to double

It’s simple, it’s easy, and it might change your life.

Here’s how…

Let’s say you’re done living paycheck-to-paycheck and you’re ready to build wealth. You’ve downloaded a budgeting app, and you’ve set aside $150 each month to save. Look at you! That’s a massive step towards building wealth.

But now you face a dilemma—where should you stash that money each month?

Your checking account? A savings account? Retirement accounts? NFTs? Each person you ask has a different opinion, fully backed with anecdotal evidence.

But have no fear! Enter the Rule of 72. It’s your gleaming sword that can slash through false perceptions and help you conquer your savings goals.

Let’s say for the time being, you’ve kept some money in a “high-interest” savings account earning .5%. How quickly will that account double your money?

Simple—plug that interest rate into the Rule of 72, and you get…

72 ÷ .5 = 144 years to double…

That’s right—your money will take 144 years to double with your current savings strategy. Yikes! That’s enough time to move from steam power to SpaceX.

But that’s not all—that interest rate leaves you helpless to inflation, which as of the writing of this article is about 3.25%.1 Luckily, you can use the Rule of 72 to discover when inflation will double the cost of living. Just replace the interest rate with the rate of inflation, and you get…

72 ÷ 3.25 = 22 years

Think of it like this—in 144 years, your money would double once. But the cost of living would double 6 times. Without the Rule of 72 to reveal this truth, your savings strategy might erode your wealth instead of increasing it!

But suppose you found an account with a 6% interest rate. Plug that into the Rule of 72, and you get a very different result…

72 ÷ 6 = 12 years

Over a 45 year career, your money would double roughly 3 times. The cost of living would only double twice. So your wealth would be above the rising tide of inflation.

The Rule of 72 isn’t a guarantee of success. After all, past performance can never guarantee future results. But the Rule of 72 can estimate if your savings are on track to become wealth, or if you’re heading towards financial disaster. Use it often, and discuss your findings with a financial professional.

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Warren Buffett didn’t become a billionaire overnight. Instead, he leveraged simple concepts over decades to build a vast fortune.

These are the same concepts you can use too.

To demonstrate this, let’s review the history of Buffett’s wealth…

Buffett started growing his money at age 11. He bought three stocks at about $38 a piece.¹

By the age of 30 he had become a millionaire.²

He didn’t become a billionaire until age 56.³

But the vast majority of his wealth wasn’t created until he was past the normal retirement age.

Over the next 36 years, his wealth surged to over $100 billion.⁴ If you include the $37 billion he’s donated,⁵ his net worth increased over 10,000%.

That’s a staggering figure.

And it’s all because he leveraged two simple concepts—the Power of Compound Interest and the Time Value of Money.

The Power of Compound Interest explains the exponential growth of Buffett’s net worth. Buffett used money to earn money. The more money he made, the more he could also earn.

By the time he was 57, he had $1 billion at his disposal to build further wealth. In short, he unlocked a virtuous cycle of growth leading to greater growth.

But it’s the Time Value of Money that explains Buffett’s massive success.

Compounding requires time to get the maximum benefits. The longer money compounds, the greater its ability to build wealth.

And Buffett started compounding early. Very early. Age 10, to be precise.

What if he had started later? Let’s suppose he started at age 30 with $25,000, earned 22% annually (Buffett’s career average), and retired at age 60 to play golf.

His net worth in this scenario? $11.9 million. 99.9% less than his current value.⁶

The takeaway? Be like Buffett.

That doesn’t mean going down the finance nerd rabbit hole. It definitely doesn’t mean adopting the Oracle of Omaha’s diet of fast food and soda!

Instead, leverage the Power of Compound Interest ASAP. Then, be patient and let the Time Value of Money work its magic over years and decades. And rest easy—you’re following in the footsteps of the greats.

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Your knowledge of how money works can make or break your relationship.

Not only can financial illiteracy cause soulmates to fight about money, but it can negatively impact your relationship in other ways.

Are any of the following consequences of financial illiteracy occurring with you or your significant other? Read on for some ways to avoid them.

You’re always on edge about money… and it shows. It’s no secret that money problems cause stress. And prolonged stress, no matter your mental strength, will eventually impact your mental health.

The financially illiterate are often destined for a life of struggle.

How could they not be? They haven’t been taught how money works, yet they desperately need this knowledge to succeed. The results are predictable—foolish financial decisions that, over time, can generate significant money problems and subsequent stress.

Eventually, prolonged financial stress will shape your actions. That could take the form of chronic anxiety, a quick temper, or even indulging in unhealthy coping mechanisms. And those, given time and lack of attention, will erode your relationship.

Conversations about money will be tense because you don’t have a solid basis of knowledge about your finances. Too many feelings of uncertainty and worry can cause words to be exchanged with fear, anger, or blame. They are bound to hurt. And like that, financial illiteracy has caused a rift in your relationship.

You avoid talking about money with your significant other. If you have enough arguments about money, you may decide it’s no longer worth it to “go there”. And it makes sense—financial illiteracy induced stress can make money conversations tense and unproductive, to say the least.

Financial illiteracy can directly disrupt your ability to communicate. The same underlying factor is at play—you don’t have the proper skills to talk about money in a healthy manner.

Soon, every discussion about the family budget degenerates into an argument. The topic of money becomes a lightning rod for blame and accusation. It’s easy to fall into this pattern. But it does nothing but hurt your relationship, because you’re both losing.

The result? You talk about your finances rarely, if at all.

You’re making financial decisions without your partner. All those failed conversations about money can leave you and your partner feeling isolated. Eventually, you may find yourself making critical financial decisions without consulting each other because it’s just too difficult when you try.

This is called financial infidelity. It represents a deep breach of trust. And it can have devastating consequences for couples.

Why? Because it seems selfish and sneaky. It raises questions like, What could your partner be hiding? Why do they need a separate bank account all of a sudden? Where did half of our savings go? Secrecy could be concealing a secret life of spending that will eventually undermine your family finances.

Trust is easy to lose, but difficult to regain. It could be a long time before you trust each other with money again.

These are just some of the insidious ways that financial illiteracy can harm your relationship. In order to have a healthy partnership, both parties need to know how money works. That way, you’re more likely to fight about putting pineapple on your pizza than how you’ll afford retirement.

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The scandal of the American financial education system is that there is no American financial education system.

It doesn’t exist. And millions are suffering for it.

As it stands, only 21 states require financial education courses to graduate high school.¹ But that number is a mirage—60% of students in those states haven’t actually taken the classes!²

Simply put, almost no one in America is learning how money works. And it’s wreaking havoc on the lives of millions.

Would these statistics even exist if schools empowered students with financial literacy? You be the judge…

• $167 billion wiped out by foolish investments in meme stocks in early 2021³

• Over $1 trillion lost to volatile cryptocurrencies in a single week⁴

• Over $1 trillion in student loan debt shackling Americans⁵

• 1/3 of millennials believe they’ll never have enough saved to retire⁶

These numbers tell a story.

Students go through high school without hearing a peep about how to manage money or build wealth. 

They sign off on student loans without being taught how debt can devastate their future.

Graduation comes around, and they start living paycheck to paycheck. How could they not? It’s all they know.

And then, no surprise, they’re suckered into get-rich quick scams that promise wealth but only deliver crushing losses.

Do these scenarios hit a bit too close to home? If they do, then know this—you cannot rely on the powers that be to show you how to change your story.

If you were let down by your school system—and even if you weren’t—ask me for a copy of How Money Works: Stop Being a Sucker. It may be the knowledge you need to turn your financial situation around and change your future.

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Women earn 83¢ for every $1 earned by men.¹

The median annual salary for men is around $61,100. At 83¢ for every $1 earned by a man, the median annual salary for women is around $50,700.² For someone taking care of a family, how significant do you think that extra $10,000 would be?

By the time a woman reaches age 65, she will have earned $900,000 less than a man who stayed continuously in the work force.³ Consequently, retired women receive only 80% of what retired men receive in Social Security benefits.⁴

Women tend to be the primary caregivers for their children, parents and partners.¹ So women end up taking time away from their careers to care for loved ones. These career interruptions can significantly impact women’s chances to climb the corporate ladder – promotions, raises, bonuses and full retirement benefits.³

Since women earn less, we have less money to set aside for our financial goals. Of the Americans who live paycheck to paycheck, is it a surprise that 85% are women?⁵ As a result, women own just 55¢ for every $1 owned by men. We accumulate only half of the wealth accumulated by men.⁶

We may not see the gender pay gap or the gender wealth gap close in our generation. But women can change the financial trajectory of their lives by learning how money works and applying the 7 Money Milestones. By understanding and paying attention to all of the things that make up our financial picture – Financial Education, Proper Protection, Emergency Fund, Debt Management, Cash Flow, Build Wealth, and Protect Wealth, we have the power to take control over our financial future and create equal wealth for ourselves.

And, women need to think about their career decisions. We should consider choosing a career that pays more to women and men equally. With a company that doesn’t penalize women for time spent taking care of loved ones. A place where women can create equal pay for ourselves.

Women have made a lot of progress in pursuing higher education and professional careers, but we’ve only made incremental progress in our finances. If we want to bring about profound change, we have to make it happen for ourselves. We have the power to close the gap in our lives for ourselves and our families.

— Kim Scouller

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Need cash flow? Consider reducing your largest expenses.

Housing, transportation, and food consume more than 60% of the average American’s income.¹ If you’re willing to cut costs in those categories by just a fraction, you could save far more than eliminating smaller budget items. Think of it like this—cancelling a few unused online subscriptions is a good start, but it might not save you nearly as much as downsizing your apartment!

Here’s how it works…

You’re ready to get your financial house in order, attack your debt, and start building wealth. Let’s say you earn about $70,000 per year. $40,000 goes towards housing, transportation, and food, you spend $5,000 on non-necessities, and the rest goes towards insurance, healthcare, and education.

Looks good, right? But when you crunch the numbers, you realize you can’t put away enough each month to reach your savings goals. What a momentum-killer! How are you going to free up cash flow?

By totally eliminating non-necessities like coffee from the shop and streaming services, you could get back $5,000 dollars a year.² Not bad, but not great either.

Or—to save twice as much—you could scale back your housing, transportation, and food expenses by 25%. It might seem radical, but it’s worth considering if it can help get you to your goals.

The takeaway? Before you hack away at your lifestyle, consider your non-discretionary spending. It’s an aggressive strategy, but ask yourself if there are ways you could slash your rent, mortgage payments, car payments, and grocery bill. If so, take advantage of them—they could free up far more cash flow than by just cutting non-necessities.

Not sure how to cut back on your top expenses? Stay tuned for creative strategies for reducing your spending on housing, transportation, and food. Articles that outline how you can save money on the largest items in your budget are on the way!

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Do you send in more than the minimum payments on your credit cards each month? (The correct answer is ‘yes.’)

If you are making more than the minimum payments now—you’re thinking like the wealthy!

A minimum payment is the lowest amount you can pay on your credit card bill without suffering a late payment penalty. We all know making minimum payments may be necessary for a short period if you’re freeing up cash flow to pay down a bigger, more urgent bill. However, paying just the minimum for the long haul can lead to long-term negative consequences.

Just like any time you have to deal with challenges in life, considering long-term consequences is vital to success. It can wake you up from thinking and acting like a sucker with your money. It can give you the laser focus needed to pay off debts so you can start building wealth. What’s at stake? You know, just your future.

So what are those looming, long-term consequences of making only the minimum payments on your credit cards?

Consequence #1: You end up paying mostly interest forever. OK, maybe not forever, but it will feel like it. By making only the minimum payments over a long period of time, you’re basically giving the credit card company free money—your money. You’re not even paying down the principal for the item you originally purchased with your credit card. You’re basically paying a subscription to the credit card company for holding your debt—a monthly service for which you get nothing.

Here’s an all-too-common example:

Let’s say that an unexpected expense tightens your budget. As it stands, you owe $10,000 in credit card debt at a 20% interest rate with a minimum payment of 2%. In order to cover the basics like housing, food, and medicine, you drop your credit card payments to the minimum amount of $200 monthly.

In this scenario, it will likely take more than 30 years and interest payments of over $35,000 to fully eliminate your credit card debt. The credit card company becomes richer, and your financial future is squandered.
 Consequence #2: You can hurt your credit score. When you hold high debt on a credit card for a long period, even if you’re making minimum payments on time, your credit utilization ratio (or the percentage of available credit you’re using) can rise. If it remains above 30% of your credit card limit for long, your credit can take a substantial hit¹—hurting your ability to borrow for a car, education, or home mortgage—and hinder qualifying for lower interest rates on those loans. This all equals financial limitations for your future—less cash flow, higher interest payments, less money to save for the future.

Consequence #3: You never start saving. Today, the responsibility to save and build wealth falls on the consumer—that’s you! Your 401(k) and Social Security check may fall dramatically short of providing the income you need for the lifestyle you want during retirement. The earlier you start saving, the better chance you have of closing the gap on the money you need for the future. Paying minimum payments on your credit cards is a dangerous habit that can prevent you from saving enough.

You don’t have to fall victim to these consequences. You can create a strategy to knock out your credit card debt by paying more than the minimums. How much more? As much as possible—until your credit card debt is gone. That big sigh of relief and your new ability to save will be well worth it!

An important caveat: Paying the minimum on a credit card while you build an emergency fund or pay down another debt can be advantageous, as long as you’re working with a licensed and qualified financial professional to reduce debt methodically.

Learn more about reducing debt in the book, HowMoneyWorks: Stop Being a Sucker. Email, text, or call me to discover how you can get a copy ASAP!

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Inflation is financial erosion, a slow and steady force that eats away at the value of money—YOUR money.

Here’s how it works. The trend is that over time, the prices of goods and services tend to rise. As a result, the purchasing power of your paycheck, your savings, and your retirement income is reduced.

The sucker ignores inflation—an abstract concept they may feel they have no control over. But the wealthy understand inflation and prepare for it—calculating the impact into their budget, their future purchases, and their retirement goals.

Here’s an example that drives it “home”…

Let’s say that in 1980 you received a $100,000 inheritance check. You were diligent enough to put the money into an account earning 2% annual interest. Your hope was that one day it would grow and be enough for you to afford a $200,000 dream home—a brick estate with a one acre yard, five bedrooms, three garages, and a pool in the back.

After waiting patiently for 40 years, retirement has arrived. The growth of your inheritance money had exceeded your goal—you now have over $220,000. Time to buy your dream home!

But while you waited, inflation was growing too. It increased at the average annual rate of 3.1%—more than tripling the average costs of goods… and houses.¹

Your $200,000 dream home with three garages and a pool in the back is now for sale at over $600,000.

The takeaway is that you can never ignore the impact of inflation on your goals for the future. You need to know how it could impact the value of your 401(k), the equity in your home, and the death benefit of your life insurance policy.

If you haven’t factored in the impact of inflation on your dreams for the future, there’s no time like the present. Consider scheduling a conversation with your licensed and qualified financial professional today to discuss strategies to beat inflation!

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Most people don’t know how money works.

In 2018, a global survey asked over 100,000 people in 15 different countries 3 simple questions about interest, inflation, and risk diversification. 70% failed to answer all three basic questions correctly.1

The cumulative effect of that lack of knowledge can result in some sketchy decision making. So are you wondering how you’d do? See if you know the answers to the following questions…

• How much interest will you pay over the life of your car loan? • What about over the life of your mortgage? • How much life insurance do you need to protect your family financially? • How much do you need to save for retirement? • Are you on track with that? • If you’re not on track, at what age will your money run out? • How much will Social Security pay you each month? • How much monthly income will your 401(k) provide? • How old will you be when it runs out?

If you can’t answer questions like these, ask yourself if you’re like so many others who assume there will always be enough and hope everything will turn out OK.

How is that possible?

A lifetime of wild guesses and blissful ignorance explains why so many people facing retirement panic when they see how little they’ll be forced to live on for the rest of their days. Is this true for you? If so, you could find yourself saying “Wow! I thought it’d be a whole lot more.”

It’s time to face it. You’re a sucker.

Does that offend you? Good, it should. Let it be a wake-up call. When you don’t know how money works, you can be taken advantage of time and time again.

You’re a sucker. Own it and you’ve taken the first step toward not being one.

Being financially illiterate sucks. But knowing how money works will help you transition from sucker to student and from student to master. The whole point is never to be fooled again.

Not by banks.

Not by credit card companies.

Not by online offers.

Not by employers.

Not by family or friends.

Not even by the number one person in your life responsible for making money—YOU!

But how do you transition from sucker to student? Well, every student needs a teacher. YouTube videos and online tutorials are great if you need a quick fix around the home. But unless you’re REALLY handy, would you try to tackle a major plumbing job in your house based on a video you watched online? Of course not. It’s too involved and too important. You need someone with experience who does that sort of thing for a living—in other words, you need a plumber. In the long run, your personal finances are even more important than a busted pipe in your home. That’s why it’s critical to work with a licensed and qualified financial professional, who can help you repair your finances and keep them flowing smoothly.

Also, consider shadowing a money mentor. Who do you know that’s financially successful? Become their friend so you can discover what they did (and do) right. Observe their daily habits and how they make decisions. What time do they wake up? How do they use credit cards, if at all? Where do they put their money? Do they make financial decisions with their partner or separately? What you could learn from a financially-savvy friend could pay dividends down the road.

And if you need a beginner’s guide, consider the HowMoneyWorks: Stop Being a Sucker book. It’s a super-readable crash course on the basics of financial literacy that you can read in an hour but think about for a week. Just ask me how you can get a copy!

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It’s a fact—the wealthy start their own businesses.

Here’s a breakdown of the top ten richest people in the world…

One investor.

One sports team owner.

One heir.

One business magnate.

Six entrepreneurs.¹

That’s true further down the totem pole as well. Fidelity Investments research revealed that 88% of millionaires are self-made entrepreneurs.²

Why? Because businesses can create wealth that equals or surpasses savings, often in a quicker time frame.

Here’s how it works…

Let’s say your ideal retirement income is $5,000 per month. Just enough to rent a beachside condo, enjoy a night on the town once in a while, and visit the grandkids whenever you want.

But where will your retirement income come from? Not a job—remember, you’re retired!

Standard procedure is to save a nest egg and live off the interest. In this example, you would have to save $1.4 million at 5% interest to generate $5,000 monthly income.

That goal is fine if you’re 25 with enough cash flow to put away some each month. But what if you’re closer to retirement? You simply don’t have the years needed to unleash the power of compounding interest to grow your savings. You need retirement income, and you need it now.

That’s where starting a business can help.

As the business grows, the hope is that your income will too. If and when you reach your target income, you should have a strategy in place to step away from active operational management of the business and still enjoy cash flow. After all, you’re the one who took the risk of starting it!

This concept is called Wealth Equivalency. Simply put, building a business can create an income stream equal to living off the interest of your savings.

That’s why the wealthy start businesses. They know it’s an opportunity to create an income that’s equivalent to saving millions for retirement in a much shorter time frame.

So here’s the question—which one is more feasible for you?

Saving a nest egg that generates a $5,000 monthly income?

Or building a business that generates a $5,000 monthly income?

If you’re young, the answer might be saving. With time and compound interest on your side, you can build the wealth you need to retire with confidence.

But if you need income NOW, consider imitating the wealthy and starting a business. It may create an income that rivals saving on a far more realistic timetable.

Best of all, with the right mentorship and strategies, entrepreneurship doesn’t have to be a leap of faith. In fact, it can leverage skills, relationships, and hobbies that you already have!

If you want to learn more about creating a sustainable income for retirement, let’s chat. We can review your situation and see what strategies you can leverage to face the future with confidence.

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The holiday season is an ideal time for your kids to learn, teach, and model how money works.

Yes, the long lines and Black Friday stampedes have become synonymous with the worst of consumer excess and foolish spending. But with its joy and light, the holiday stretch also brings high expectations to give generously. That’s a noble cause if you know how money works, but it can be a slippery slope if you don’t. Having a giving spirit is an admirable trait and considering the needs of others should be part of every family budget if possible. However, overspending on gifts, no matter how good your intentions, can throw you drastically off course financially, stealing from your future and creating hardship for years.

The holiday season is a great opportunity for families to discuss when to give with a heart that’s three times bigger—AND—how to make money decisions like the wealthiest Who in Whoville.

Here are 5 surprisingly simple ways for families to teach and model essential lessons for children about how money works this holiday season.

Give your child cash… and teach them to save it.

Opening up a card is always a bit of a letdown on Christmas morning… unless it contains some cold hard cash! Gifts of money are perfect opportunities to teach children about the importance of saving. Before they blow their “present” on a new toy, in-app purchases, or candy, sit down and have a money conversation with them. Explain that the dough Santa left in their stocking has the power to grow and grow via compound interest. You don’t have to be a grinch and make them hoard all of it. But you might be surprised at how eager they are to save once they discover the growth potential of their money to help them purchase something even bigger and better down the road.

Help your child with their holiday budget

This process starts well before the leaves change colors and snow covers the ground. Collaborate with your kids to guide them in deciding how much they should spend per person over the holidays. Help them develop a post-holiday budget as well. Work with them to nail down a percentage of any holiday cash gifts they’re comfortable saving (20% is a good starting point) and hold them to it! Don’t be discouraged if they give you a low number. That money has time to grow and could still make a difference for their long term goals like buying a car, paying for their education, purchasing a home, or even saving for retirement.

Wants vs. Needs

Explain to your kids that the holidays are not about things. They’re about remembering what really matters, like relationships, family, memories, and traditions. Model self-control for your kids this season. That might mean foregoing luxury gifts, especially those that depreciate in value. Practicing financial discipline not only sets a great example for your kids to follow later in life, it’s also good for them in the short-term. Removing the stress of overspending and holiday debt can open the door to realistic expectations, peace of mind, and meaningful experiences. And for your family, a light-hearted mood during the season of giving will be worth its weight in gold.

Show your kids how price tags really work

Price tags are liars. The true cost of that $500 you spent on trinkets, toys, or tech will be far higher if you factor in future earnings had you saved that money. Make sense? This is a radical shift in thinking—a wealthy way of thinking. Giving is good, but consider also teaching your kids that when you buy something you’re also giving up the time value of that money—its potential to earn more money for you over time. Teach them that one day they may be able to have far more by being smart with their money now.

The real spirit of giving

The subtitle of the HowMoneyWorks book is Stop Being a SUCKER—not Stop Being a GIVER. No one wants to turn their kids into little Scrooges. Once they have the knowledge to start building wealth, they have the potential to give back in ways that would have been impossible for someone trapped in a cycle of foolish spending (which includes giving gifts they can’t afford). Teaching your children how money works means positioning them to have more for themselves AND to provide more for others. They’ll be able to give—and receive the joys of giving—for a lifetime.

Ask me how you can get a copy of HowMoneyWorks: Stop Being a Sucker. It explains these concepts in a way that makes it easy for you to teach your kids all about how money works.

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College can be a lot of things. Fun. Scary. Exciting. Confusing.

But one thing is for certain—it’s that time of life when students finally break away from their parents and start making their own decisions—like how to spend their money.

And it turns out they have no clue what they’re doing in that department—statistically speaking.

Only 25% of students entering university have had access to any previous financial education.¹ Is not knowing how money works the major reason why freshmen blindly contribute to the $1.75 trillion of total student loan debt that exists?² Of course it is. But taking on giant loans without understanding the full magnitude of their decision isn’t the only financial mine lying in wait for undergrads. According to a College Finance survey,the average college student had $3,280 in credit card debt.³

Massive student loans and thousands in credit card debt don’t position students well for post college success, prompting many of them to take a job they don’t care about, in a field they don’t want, for a boss they don’t like. The obligation to make debt payments, which the student once thought was far in the future, now robs them of their freedom to explore, grow, and develop.

If only they had been given a true financial education in high school—or even before, they would have learned the following financial literacy basics for college freshmen…

1. Manage your debt.

Student loans help millions of students fund an education that, on average, is worth about $2.8 million over the course of their lives.⁴ But it’s important to highlight that debt is nothing to take on lightly. Many students are unaware of the heavy burden they’re acquiring in the form of student loans and credit card balances.

The company Student Loan Planner reports that roughly 90% of borrowers experience significant anxiety due to their loan burden.⁵ Couple that with a 2015 survey by Equifax that revealed 55.7% of students listed ‘student loan debt’ as their top reason for not being able to afford their first home.⁶

Along with student loan debt, the average college student holds a credit card balance of over $3,000. Credit cards for students are often justified as a necessary lifeline to cover living expenses. In reality, they’re often used for frivolous, impulse purchases that contribute to 49% of students being saddled with permanent credit card debt in addition to their student loans.¹

If you can’t avoid using student loans and credit cards to afford your education and living expenses, follow these guidelines to help remove debt swiftly after graduation. With your psychological and financial future at stake, the key is to reduce your debt before an onslaught of new expenses (i.e., your mortgage, children, car payments) make it even harder to pay off.

First, get a part-time job or side-hustle if you haven’t already. Second, identify your credit card with the lowest balance. Third, put as much of your income towards eliminating that debt as you can. Once that’s done, move on to the next lowest card. Repeat until your credit card debt is a hazy memory.

2. Identify a money mentor.

There are two ways to gain wisdom. You can either make mistakes or learn from someone else’s. Finances are no different. Never again will you have such a perfect opportunity to find a money mentor than when you’re attending university. It’s like a learning shortcut where you get access to a whole lifetime of experience without a lifetime of making mistakes. You just have to keep an open mind and be willing to establish a real relationship with someone with financial know-how.

Your money mentor could be a parent, a grandparent, an uncle or aunt, the parent of a friend, a professor, or even a responsible upperclassman. Once you’ve identified your mentor, ask hard questions about how to spend and manage money. Pick your mentor’s brain for how they built their wealth, mistakes they made along the way, and advice for specific challenges you face. Show them your budget and have them hold you accountable for your spending decisions. Be willing to put in the work of being open, scheduling and spending time with your mentor, and implementing their advice. The connections and networks you build today will serve you long after you graduate!

3. Start building wealth NOW.

Look at your bank account. Then look at your income. They might not seem like much, but they’re the humble beginnings of your future wealth—if you play your cards right! Your money has more growth potential right now than it ever will again. Allow me to demonstrate.

Let’s assume you’re 20 and want to retire at 67 with a million dollars. You find an account with a 9% annual interest rate, compounded monthly. It would only take saving $113 per month to crush that goal. What’s more, you wouldn’t have to increase your saving as you get older to retire as a millionaire. Want to retire with more? Increase it. If you start saving $226 each month now—without ever increasing the amount—you’d have $2 million. If you’ve got the flow, and you want $4 million at retirement—make it $452 each month. Starting young is the most affordable way to build wealth with compound interest.

What if you didn’t start young? What if you decided to wait until you’re 35 to start saving? Those 15 years of procrastination means you’ll have to stash away $451 monthly just to reach your million dollar retirement goal. $452 monthly now for $4 million or $451 monthly starting at 35 for $1 million. You don’t need the wealth of a king or queen to enjoy the freedoms of royalty in retirement—if you start building wealth NOW. It’s your decision whether time robs you or robes you. Even if you start saving with less than these amounts, start the habit now to set aside a regular sum of money for your future.

4. Use a budgeting app.

Budgeting is important. It can also be a huge pain if you don’t know what you’re doing. Punching in numbers, setting up spreadsheet formulas, and stressing if that pizza delivery tip counts towards groceries can make tracking your expenses such an aggravating process that you don’t even bother. Fortunately, there are some excellent apps and websites out there that can take the hassle out of money management. Mint and Pocketguard, for example, are free budgeting apps that sync to your bank account and credit cards to allow for real time updates to your spending and saving goals. And it’s all conveniently located on your phone, just a few taps away. Scrap the spreadsheet, do a little research, and download a headache-reducing app ASAP.

A financial education isn’t like a sociology or history class. Those last for a few months, you learn tons of facts, you pass a test, and you move on with your life. Learning how money works is a lifelong process that will impact almost all of your daily decisions and future experiences. Few other skills will open your eyes to the exciting possibilities that life can offer. So hit the books (the How Money Works, Stop Being a Sucker book, to be precise) and start being a student of personal finance TODAY.

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Women earn 82 cents for every $1 earned by a man.¹

As women, we take time away from our careers to care for children, parents, and partners. Interruptions like these can significantly impact a woman’s chance for promotion, ability to earn higher income levels, and—for some women—vesting in full retirement benefits.²

The COVID-19 crisis has made it even harder for women. Without childcare, mothers of young children have had to reduce their work hours 4-5 times as much as fathers, widening the gender gap in work hours. It may seem small or even temporary now, but it heralds a big step backward in the progress women have made in gender equality at work. Fathers—on the other hand, who continued to work full hours during the pandemic, will likely benefit from upcoming promotions and raises over the next couple of years.³

Talk About Money

If we want change, we need to start having open conversations about money. We should talk with our friends and co-workers about money over lunch. We should talk to our families and our kids about money at dinner. We have to talk about the things we’re concerned about, and stop keeping silent because we’re embarrassed, guilty, or ashamed. Have you thought about these questions:

• Can I make more money?
• How do I stop living paycheck to paycheck?
• What’s the best way to reduce my debt?
• Do I have enough money to retire?

As women, we’re comfortable talking about anything and everything with our friends—except for money. It’s that one boundary we rarely cross. The majority of women would rather talk about their own death before they’ll talk about money.⁴ When women start asking questions and talking openly about things that are important to us, the world changes. There is power in our words and intentions.

Save More Money

From a financial perspective, women say their biggest regret is not investing enough money. We hold back because we don’t feel like we know enough.⁵ Banish the doubts and do 2 things. First, start your journey to learn how money works. It’s not as complicated as you may think. Focus on the basics like the power of compound interest, the time value of money, and the Rule of 72.

Second, develop the habit of setting aside money every day or every week. This can be money from your current discretionary income. If you don’t think you have any extra income, then find it by reducing your expenses or create it with an increase in your income. Skip the latte, bag your lunch, or cut out something extra in your day or week. Without taking into account any potential growth from investing, the chart below shows how saving a little bit every day can add up over time.

The Next Normal Doesn’t Have to be the Old Normal

We may not see equal pay or equal wealth in 50 or 100 years or more. The traditional workplace is outdated. We can’t expect the Next Normal to be any different from the Old Normal unless we each take steps to bring about change for ourselves. It all starts with bringing our concerns into the light with real questions and open conversations.

— Kim Scouller

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Let’s get right to it. Here’s question one: Are you building wealth?

If you answered, ‘yes,’ good for you! Now, let’s get a little more specific… Are you building enough wealth to afford the lifestyle and independence you want until the end of your life?

If you’re like many Americans, you can’t answer that question for two reasons. First, you haven’t calculated how much wealth you’ll need. And second, you don’t know if you’re saving enough now. Have you run the numbers on your 401(k)? You might be shocked at how fast it might run out in retirement. What about Social Security? Any clue how much that will add up to? If your future financial security hinges on these two income sources, you might freak when you realize how little you’ll have to live on each month.

61% of Americans across all ages fear running out of money in retirement.¹ And it’s no wonder! We’re living longer than ever, meaning we need enough savings and passive income to last what could be 20 years (or more).² Being able to jazzercise and waterski with the grandkids at 75 is great—unless you’re broke.

Rather than thinking like a sucker and assuming you’ll somehow have enough for the future, it’s time to start thinking like the wealthy. They don’t put their heads in the sand and “hope it all works out”. Money—to them—isn’t anything to be ignored. They learn everything they can about how it works and start developing strategies to make it last. To the wealthy, money is not boring, mysterious, scary, or frustrating. They consider the lifestyle they want and then backwards engineer how to get there, by making money work for them.

To the wealthy, money equals possibilities, goals, gifts, and solutions to problems. Once they have the knowledge, they do everything they can to take control of their future. Money becomes wealth.

But if you don’t know how money works, your money can also become… someone else’s wealth.

Here’s question number two: How do you think about money? Do you think about money like a sucker? Or like the wealthy? It’s not a criticism. It’s a choice.

If money still seems mysterious, confusing or intimidating to you, take these two steps immediately…

Read the book, “HowMoneyWorks, Stop Being a Sucker.” (You can contact me to get a copy.) Then, sit down with a financial professional and find the answer to question one, “are you building enough wealth to afford the lifestyle and independence you want until the end of your life?”

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How much cash do you have left at the end of the month after you’ve covered the essentials AND treated yourself? (I’m guessing not much.)

Wish your paycheck went a little further? You’re not alone—not by a long shot. Most Americans are living paycheck-to-paycheck and saving little to nothing. So how do you increase your cash flow so you can stop living in the Sucker Cycle and start saving and investing more?

In the book, HowMoneyWorks, Stop Being a Sucker, we attack this challenge head on in Milestone 5 of the 7 Money Milestones.

Here are a few tips to get your cash flowing towards your future…

Redirect your cash flow

There are a million little things that siphon away your paycheck. Credit card debt, monthly subscriptions, and your fast food habit all chip away at your income. This “death by a thousand cuts” is a foolish spending cycle that prevents you—and countless other suckers—from creating an emergency fund, protecting your income, and building wealth for the future.

That’s why it’s so important to make and maintain a budget. It’s like a map of where your cash is going. Once you have that knowledge, you can figure out where you need to dial down your spending and start redirecting your cash. Don’t get too detailed. You don’t need to get overwhelmed by spreadsheets. Try creating a one-page list of expenses, freeing up as much cash as possible. Take your budget to your financial professional and discuss how best to use this available cash.

Open up new income streams

Budgeting and cutting back on spending might not be enough. Life throws plenty of unexpected (and expensive) problems at us that might not have a budgeting solution. You may need to look for new income streams to maintain the lifestyle you want while also saving for the future.

You’d be surprised by how many possibilities there are to create additional income streams—many of which offer the chance to make money from home. Maybe now is the time to discover that your favorite hobby or area of interest is actually a way to earn some cash. That could look like a side hustle or weekend gig, but you might find that your skills and ideas are full-time business opportunities just waiting to happen! Research which of your ideas and skills are in demand, figure out how much time and effort it will take to get started, and decide how much time you’re willing to commit. (It could be easier than you think!)

Increasing your cash flow can open up a whole new world of opportunities. That extra money you have from cutting back on takeout and streaming services could be how you fuel the power of compound interest and finally start saving for retirement. That several hundred dollars you bring in from teaching guitar lessons each month could be how you pay off your credit cards and free up even more cash. There’s no doubt your options can really open up once your cash starts flowing!

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If you feel like your finances are teetering on the edge of disaster, there’s a likely culprit—financial illiteracy.

Do you agree or disagree with these statements?

1. I am one recession away from financial disaster. 2. It wouldn’t take much to derail my retirement strategy. 3. There’s a fine line between grand financial finale and grand financial failure.

The statements are adapted from research designed to test relationship security. They aren’t dependent on your income or savings level. Instead, they measure something far more relevant—how you feel about your finances.

And if you’re like many, you agree with most, if not all of those statements. It’s an indication that you feel financially insecure. And there’s a reason for that…

It’s because your finances are in grave danger.

It’s not your fault—nobody taught you how to create financial security. In fact, you may not have learned the basic building blocks of growing wealth, much less how to protect against losses, inflation, or tragedy.

So is it any surprise that your finances feel like a house of cards? And since you’re an intelligent, normal human, you can feel the looming threat of collapse. It weighs on you, makes you anxious.

And it should—your feelings are a blaring alarm announcing that your situation is precarious, and you need to act.

But you can’t respond to danger until you identify what’s wrong. And the greatest enemy of your financial security? Financial illiteracy.

Think about it—would your finances have reached this point if you knew how money worked? Of course not!

If you knew how to actually build wealth and avoid financial blunders, you likely would have chosen a completely different path.

So the antidote to your feelings of financial insecurity is simple—learn how money works. Then, apply your knowledge. You may be surprised by the new sense of security that appears in your life.

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Millennials, this one’s for you—a low interest rate DOES NOT balance out a high home price.

Millennials face a dilemma—pay greater home prices now but at lower interest, or hope that interest rates increase in the future which historically has lowered home prices.

Some Millennials are choosing to face the housing market head on, while others are waiting things out.

So which camp is “right”? And, if you’re a Millennial, which camp should you join?

The answer: None of the above. The real question is—and has always been—can you actually afford to own a home?

Let’s do the math…

Suppose you live in a fantasy where the housing market is semi-normal somewhere in the world. You have two potential homes in the running—one in the suburbs, the other in the city.

The suburban home costs $300,000 with a 30-year mortgage at a rate of 6%.

The city home costs $500,000 with a 30-year mortgage at a rate of 2%.

One Sucker sees a lower interest rate and ignores the price tag, while another Sucker sees the lower price tag and ignores the higher interest rate. Both think they’re getting an historic deal.

But get this—the monthly payment will be almost identical for either house.

The wealthy realize that high prices and high interest rates have the same result—you pay more for your home, and the bank profits.

Instead, the wealthy ask themselves questions like…

Can I afford my monthly payment?

Have I saved enough for an adequate down payment?

Will I have enough left for furniture and repairs?

Have I factored in the cost of property taxes and HOA fees?

The takeaway? The wealthy don’t lose sight of what matters most—their cash flow. Just because interest rates are lower doesn’t mean you’ll be able to make the monthly payments.

Do your homework.

Use a mortgage calculator.

Research your potential new neighborhood for any HOA fees or other costs you might incur.

Figure out how much you can afford to spend on monthly payments as a part of your overall budget.

Meet with your licensed and qualified financial professional to talk about your overall financial picture and how your new home will fit in with your current situation and your retirement strategy.

It’ll save you heartache—and maybe some money—in the long run.

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It’s a fact—consumers prefer long-term care riders to stand-alone long-term care (LTC) insurance.

In 2018, 350,000 Americans bought long-term care insurance.¹

84% chose linked-benefit coverage. In other words, their LTC insurance was a rider on a life insurance policy or another financial vehicle.

Only 16% chose stand-alone LTC insurance.

If you had to guess why riders won out, what would you say?

• Because LTC riders are often far more affordable than stand-alone insurance?²

• Because LTC riders aren’t subject to steadily increasing premiums?³

• Because stand-alone LTC insurance is growing harder and harder to qualify for?⁴

If you guessed any of the above, you’d be right! They’ve all contributed to the rising popularity of LTC riders.

For many, LTC riders are a no-brainer. If something’s more affordable, easier to qualify for, and less subject to change, wouldn’t you prefer it, too? And considering that 70% of people age 65 and older will need LTC, it’s a form of financial protection everyone should explore.⁵

That’s not to say an LTC rider is the perfect solution for your situation. If you don’t need permanent life insurance, then a stand-alone policy may be the way to go. That’s why it’s critical to meet with a licensed and qualified financial professional—they can evaluate your situation and what tools and strategies best meet your needs.

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It’s official—Millennials are serious about building wealth.

According to a recent study, Millennials (ages 25 to 40) have an average of $51,300 in personal savings, while their retirement accounts have an average balance of $63,300.¹

That’s far higher than it was just a few years ago. In 2019, they had saved just $23,000 for retirement.² They’ve nearly tripled their wealth in less than 3 years!

It’s no surprise. Few generations have gotten kicked in the pants quite like Millennials. Between recessions, pandemics, frenzied housing markets, and international instability, they’ve learned that wealth isn’t a luxury—it’s an absolute necessity.

But Millennials still have a long way to go before they retire wealthy. Here’s what they need if they’re going to arrive at their long-awaited destination…

Millennials must know—and use—the Rule of 72.

The Rule of 72 is a simple mental math shortcut that estimates when your money will double, given a fixed compounding interest rate. Here’s what it looks like…

72 ÷ interest rate = years to double

It’s simple, it’s powerful, and it might change the course of your financial future.

Let’s say you’re 35 years old with $60,000. That’s a solid start. But how can you turn $60,000 into $1 million by age 67?

Think of it like this—you need to double your money just over 4 times to reach $1 million.

Now, subtract your current age from your retirement age. That’s how long you have left to build wealth.

67 - 35 = 32 years

So you have 32 years to double your money just over 4 times. In other words, your money needs to double every 8 years.

Now it’s time to use the Rule of 72, but with a slight twist—swap the interest rate with the years for each double.

72 ÷ years for each double = interest rate needed

Plug in your numbers, and you get…

72 ÷ 8 years = 9% interest rate

In this scenario, you’d need just over a 9% interest rate to retire as a millionaire.

Armed with that knowledge, you’ll be better able to see through gimmicks like a “high-interest savings account” that offers .06% interest. You’ll also be left with just one question—where can you find an account with 9% interest?

Answer that question with your financial professional, and you’re on the right track for retiring wealthy.

Try the exercise above with your age and personal savings. What was the result? Then, contact a financial educator who can help you fine-tune a strategy to reach your retirement goals.

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No one has money. You may think other people have money, but they don’t.

For each generation, it’s the same.

They don’t get taught how money works from K-12.

High school graduates head off to college. They don’t learn how money works there, either.

College graduates enter the workforce and start earning a paycheck… and spending their paycheck.

Soon, they enter a cycle of foolish spending. Earn a paycheck. Spend a paycheck. Earn a paycheck. Spend a paycheck.

They join the hundreds of millions living paycheck-to-paycheck. Always spending. Barely saving, if at all.

When retirement finally arrives or accidents or illness occur later in life, a terrible realization dawns on them…

They have no money.

According to a recent survey…1

◼ Gen Z adults have saved an average of $37,000 for retirement ◼ Millennials have saved an average of $63,300 for retirement ◼ Gen-Xers have saved an average of $98,900 for retirement ◼ Baby Boomers have saved an average of $138,900 for retirement

Only Gen Z and Millennials are even close to being on track for retirement. Gen-Xers and Baby Boomers fall short of bare minimum savings by over half.

It’s not for lack of income—many Americans make enough to put their money to work.

Rather, it’s because they lack knowledge. They just don’t understand how money works beyond earning and spending.

The takeaway? If you’re a Gen-Xer or Baby Boomer, the time to start building wealth is now.

But for your income and skills to translate into wealth, you need tools. You need concepts like…

◼ The Power of Compound Interest

◼ The Time Value of Money

◼ Wealth Equivalency

These concepts will help you answer questions like…

◼ What interest rate do I need to close the gap between my savings and my retirement goals?

◼ How much do I need to save each month to retire with $1 million?

◼ Should you save a nest egg or start a business?

If those are answers you need to get, ask me how you can learn. I’d be happy to introduce you to resources that can set you on the right path towards discovering how money works and building wealth.

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