My friends call me Jeff. Guess that means you can call me Jeff, huh? :)
I'm the creator of this blog and glad you found me.
About Jeff
I'm a self-proclaimed numbers geek.
I even began the wooing of my future wife by offering to show her how to use a financial calculator. True story.
I talk about money issues A LOT on this blog. Do I have credentials? You betcha!
Street Cred:
- Lost $5,000 investing in a penny stock. That's one way to learn!
- Didn't invest my emergency fund into GE stock that could have made me $75,000. Would-a, should-a, could-a!
- Did
suckerconvince over 140 people to write about the Roth IRA on the same day all because I danced to LMFAO. - And I'm pretty sure Dave Ramsey thinks I'm nuts.
Okay, maybe that's not the street cred you were looking for.
How about this: I'm a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional (if it has a trademark it has to be legit, right?), the CEO of my own wealth management firm and wrote a best-selling book on personal finance.
Does that help?
If not, then you'll have to settle for the fact that I'm obsessed with In-N-Out Burger, can deadlift over 500lbs, and may have threatened to punch some other financial advisors in the face.
Why You Are Here
(rant: seriously… upside capture what?)
These BIG words make me want to puke because 99.9% of the population could care less.
That's why I'm here. And that's why I'm excited and grateful that you are here.
My mission, should you choose to accept it, is to help you gain full control of your money situation so that one day you can experience what financial independence truly tastes like.
And my friends, it tastes delicious!
Ready for a true taste for financial freedom?
Grab our Money Dominating Toolkit by clicking “Sign Up” below.
Finance Degree
equals Investing
Knowledge Fail
Back in the day…..I graduated with a Finance degree and still couldn't tell you a thing about investing.Did you catch that? A FINANCE degree.
If I didn't know a thing about investing, how is someone majoring in <fill in the blank with any other major> going to figure it out?
Hint: they're not.
My parents had always told me to save. Did I listen? Of course not.
They always encouraged me to save, but never really showed me how.
Since they never showed me how, I dismissed it and focused on more important things. You know like music concerts, Taco Bell, and working out. Priorities people!
I Don't Want to Be Them
Six months into my career, not much changed. Sure “I thought” about investing and did put a measly 3% into my 401k, but it still wasn't a priority.
That is until a client meeting that changed my life.
The meeting was with a couple who were in their early 60's and thought it was time to finally meet with a financial planner. After the usual pleasantries, we got down to business to see how I could help them.
In the meeting I learned how concerned they were about retirement. They knew they had social security in a few years but weren't confident it would be enough. To make matters worse, their entire life savings was just over $30,000.
No pension, small social security checks, and $30,000 in investments is all they had.
They were stressed and it was evident.
After talking more they shared their two main regrets that I can still hear today:
We wish we would have saved more.
We wish we would have started earlier.
Those two simple items that they had neglected their entire lives was now smacking
them in their face and their gut.
I wanted me to offer reassurance, but it would have been a lie. They left my office with
the same helpless feeling as they had arrived.
WAKE UP!
It's funny how our parents can tell us to do something 1,000 times over, but we always dismiss them. Seriously, mom and dad? What do you know?
Immediately.
The first thing I did was put the most into my 401k as I possibly could. I also started a Roth IRA with $50/month.
Overall, I think I was saving around $200/month. That might sound like a lot to some people; especially if you are in your 20’s and just starting off, but consider this:
My starting salary was $18,500. No I'm not missing a “zero”. I also got 50% of any commissions and fees generated.
If you're thinking I've just been upgraded to VIP status, put your caviar dreams away. That increased my total GROSS income from my job (you know, before the IRS gets their greedy deserving hands on it) to just over $23,000.
#baller
If you're wondering how I was able to save $200/month making what I did, here's your 1st lesson at no charge (donations are welcome).
I drove a grandma car (literally). After my “Nanny” passed away, I inherited her 1998 champagne colored 4 door Chevy Lumina.
Whatcha you got on that, Bieber?
I was already driving a Pontiac Grand Am that was fully paid, and I could have easily have traded both of them in and upgraded to the BMW that I lusted over. Yeah, it's weird. I know.
I was tempted for a minute, but thanks to awesome finance professor that gave me some invaluable advice. I didn't.
Instead I sold the Grand Am, used the cash to pay off some debt and then drove “The Lu” for the first several years of my career.
While it seemed insignificant at the time, I'm now able to reflect back at that moment and realize it was a pivotal point in my financial life.
Have you had that pivotal point in your life? If not, let's find it together.
### Here's “The Lu” in all her glory:
So Why Good
Financial Cents?
- Confused on how to start investing?
- Don't know how to open a Roth IRA?
- Stumped on how to save for your kid's college?
- Clueless on how much life insurance you need to buy?
- Getting started with your 401k have you feeling overwhelmed?
Before you jump off the ledge or just give up and go on a reality TV binge to drown your money sorrows away……CHILL!
I've got your back. 🙂
But the ONLY way that things are going to change is that you have to want more. Are you ready to rise up and join the Money Uprising Movement (MuM)?
