You’ve heard me say it over and over… and over and over… and over and over again. Creating a retirement income that rises to match your rising cost of living and lasts the rest of your life, while at the same time creating a legacy that potentially lasts across generations, is possible – even for those who begin with very modest incomes. It requires three things: savings, equity ownership, and time.
Spending less than you take in (i.e. savings) is the cornerstone upon which all elements of financial success are built. If you are currently spending more than you are taking in, then – to the extent you want to create financial success – you should be focused on increasing income/decreasing expense and eliminating all other financial distractions.
Note, the second issue is NOT “investing.” Once you’re saving, the second issue becomes owning business equity. As an entrepreneur, you may run your own business. If you are successful in that business, the value of the business asset itself will grow and be a salable asset in your future. Running a business can be incredibly good for your finances, but it is not easy.
The simpler path to owning business equity is through owning stock/shares in publicly-traded companies in the US and the world. This path is available to everyone – young and old, men and women, black and white, and all other human variations. It is available in increments of $100 directly with a company like Vanguard or $5 through many modern “app” investing platforms supporting the purchase of fractional shares. However you do it, owning business equity is absolutely critical to lifetime financial success.
The rest is a function of time expressed through the investor’s patient endurance of the unknown and mindful inaction during the worst market volatility. The longer we commit to business equity ownership without reacting to short-term vagaries, the greater our probability of success.
I subscribe to a number of newsletters and occasionally I run across something that I believe invaluably supports one of these critical elements but for which there is no link. This week I read a very good piece and I have permission to share it with you – but I cannot post it in my blog. Only subscribers to our weekly email will receive it.
Subscribe HERE in the next week and we will send it to you.
