STOP WORKING

There are so many people that dread the Monday  thru Friday work grind, or what ever their shifts are. When Sunday night comes around we hear oh man it Monday tomorrow. Why don't we ever oh man the weekend again? This is because so many of us grow up and find ourselves in a job that we dislike with co-workers or customers that get on our nerves. Why don't we quit that job and do something we enjoy. Sure we initially began doing our jobs because that what we had to do or wanted to do. If we are enjoying what we do than the people that we will be around will be more enjoyable and the work will be more rewarding.
Within this YouTube video by Dirty Heads this guy is on vacation every single day because he truly enjoys his occupation.

Do what you enjoy and never have to work again.

Emotions

Within this past month the Dow Jones Industrial Average has taken a wild ride goin up and down, however for the most part this ride has been in the negative territory. This has also been true for the S&P500, and the NASDAQ. This is scary for a lot of investors. There are a lot of investors that are letting their emotions get the best of them and they sell most if not all of what they have invested. There is a saying that Baron Nathan Rothschild was first credited with saying, "the time to buy is when there's blood in the streets." This saying is telling us that we should take our emotions out of the picture and if the masses are selling that is the time to capitalize. 
Invest for the long term and not just the short term. For as far as I know no one has a crystal ball that we can see as to when is the best time to but and sell is. Therefore being that we are investing for the long term we not use dollar cost averaging. We diversify within in the different sectors and classes why not also diversify in time. The hardest part of this is continuing to invest in the scary times. However in the scary times those are the best times to invest because those are times that will produce that most capital gains in the long run. 
Take the love out of money. "Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."" (Hebrews 13:5 NIV). Within this passage we see that we should not love money but rather we should put our hope and Love in God and that we should be content. 

Tips:
1) Take emotions out of investing. 

2) Invest for the long term. 

3) Utilize Dollar Cost Averaging. 

Extra

This is great news that the IRS has decided to allow the contribution limit for individual retirement accounts to increase to $6,000 for the year 2019. In past year this contribution limit has been set at $5,500. There for they increased it by $500. This extra five hundred dollars may not seem like a lot however after multiple years and with compounding interest this little bit extra can add up to a lot of money. For example if someone in their mid twenties started maxing out there individual retirement in 2019 with the limit of six thousand by their mid sixties they would have approximately $240,000. But wait how will you be able to retire with only that? Keep in mind we in this example we did not calculate in the compounding interest and the market ups and downs. Now if someone were to contribute the limit of six thousand for a every year for a 40year time. After compounding interest assuming a 9% return on investment that person would have a approximately 2million dollars. Sure the markets may go up and they may fall hard but even if you end up with just a million that is more that before. Also if someone is so worried about the markets falling that they do not contribute at all then they will not have any for retirement at all. How foolish is that to not be prepared?
Who is eligible to contribute to an individual retirement account? This simple answer is anyone who has earned income.
Keep in mind that individual retirement accounts are not the same as employer sponsored account. There are many different employer sponsored retirement accounts. If your employer offers one really take a look into it and consider this accounts. They are great if the employer is matching. It would be foolish not to take this matching contribution for this is free money. Also take a look if you can as to what type of accounts the employer sponsored plan is going. A lot of times they automatically just put the money into a simple money market account. This money market account are alright to hold money temporary however for the long term they do not produce a lot of return.

Here is the formula to calculate the future value of a set amount: FV=PV(1+i)^n

Here is a compound interest to play with:
 http://moneychimp.com/calculator/compound_interest_calculator.htm

Also here is the link to the IRS site that states about contribution limits.

https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/plan-participant-employee/retirement-topics-ira-contribution-limits

Money Apps

We all like saving a little money when we can, and majority of all of us have smart phones. So why not use our smartphones to our advantage to save money or make a little extra money. I am not advocating for Starbucks, however if you are the type to go to Starbucks regularly, try downloading there app. The Starbucks app does not save you alot all the time, however they will send you promotional savings at times. For example occasionally they will let you know when they have buy one get one free or half off deals. They also provide a point system where when you get so many points you will be able to redeem a free item.
For those people who are on the computer alot try utilizing the Microsoft bing search engine. When you search, you will also collect points. With these points you will be able to redeem them as gift cards. If you redeem for a Starbucks gift card, you will be able to credit it to the Starbucks app.
Another fast food app that can save a little money is the Wendy's app, I'm sure other fast food joints have something similar as well. With the Wendy's app occasionally there will have deals where you can get a free burger with any purchase. This is a great deal when they also have the frosties for 50cents, after tax you will be able to get a burger and a frosty for just over 50cents after tax.
Alot of families shop at Walmart, and if you do try using the Walmart saving catcher app. When you check out you will need to scan the register then it takes about two to three days for the app to process your receipt. After it processes your receipt if there is cheaper prices for the items bought in local stores, then the app will credit you the money.
There are many other app that could potentially save you money or even make you a little money.

Filling Space

People tend not to like space that is empty. May it be in their home, their cars, or with in the. We tend to try and fill that empty space with things majority of the time. Is it because we are trying to impress others with our fancy objects? These things are only materialistic and will not last. ¹⁹"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal." (Matthew 6:19). We'll tend to do this a lot when we buy a new house or a larger apartment. There is a lot of empty space so we try and fill it. A new sofa and new bigger TV to watch from the new sofa. But in reality do we really need all these new things. How will all these things really benefit us? Sure we need the necessities but what do we really benefit from the luxury items. Instead of filling our lifes with meaningless things we should try and spend time with those people that matter in our lives, building strong relationships that will last a life time. We should also strive to constantly to grow in knowledge. When we buy items to fill empty space, we are also taking away from time and we are also taking away from future money that can grow.

Generosity

Generosity or the act of giving back. It is good to give back to the world that we live in. Some call this random acts of kindness. The scouts call this "do a good turn daily." When we give back we can do this in acts or giving monetary value to a charity or church. This should be from the bottom of our hearts and not forced or cohoused. The Bible says that we should give first before doing anything else. "Honor the Lord with your possessions, And with the first fruits of all your increase." (Proverbs 3:9) As we give and tithe we should do so generously and before we take our portion. It is good to be cheerful as we give unto others for this will bring blessing and cause happiness. "So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver." (2 Corinthians 8:7)

References: NKJV Bible

The BIG 30

This is how much you should have saved by age 30: How to catch up https://a.msn.com/00/en-us/BBQeVk6

On top of having a decent nest egg saving by the time of age 30 one should also have a good emergency fund. This emergency fund is all depended on the persons circumstances. However strive for 3 to 6months for married people, and 6 to 12 months for single people.
If you have to choose between funding your retirement nest egg or funding your emergency fund, you should choose to fund the retirement account in a Roth IRA. The reason for this is because of the compounding interest is a powerful thing.Compound interest is the most powerful force in the universe." (Albert Einstein). The more that is in the account to compound the interest the better. Also the sooner the better. The reason why a Roth IRA is good just in case one does not have a fully founded emergency fund is because the principle with in the account can be with drawn without any penalties. This is not recommended however. 

Status

A new job, a new location, meeting new people; means a new suit or new car right? So often we feel that in order to fit in we need the newest and best things. This is what is also known as acting rich and in reality being poor. Instead of buying a new suit just because theres a new job try getting a used one or one that on special. Attorneys are really bad at this. When we think of Attorneys, we also picture them with a nice fancy car and a fancy new suit. They also just got out of law school and they'll tend to have a lot in student loan debt. So they don't have the money to buy the things to fit in so they end up putting in on credit cards or car loans. They are trying to fit in. We not let your work show? Sure they need a suit but do they really need a thousand dollar suit. Sure they need a car but do they need a hundred thousand dollar car. Why not pay off that student loan debt first. Yes, I may be picking on Attorneys however this is only an illustration. People now adays act like cowboys with big hat that in reality have no cattle. They try to fit in. Take a look at Bill Gates, Jeff Bizzo, or some of the other millionaires. Do they look like they are millionaires with what they wear? No they are very modest in their appearance. They know that their money can be used as better assets else where.

Consumeristic Society

In Today's society is one of consumerism, a society that has a spending problem. This is also a big case of I want it now so they get it. The emotional pain of waiting, deferred gratification, is to hard for some people to bear. The banks have given the ability to spend without having any emotional detachment to what people are departing with. People are spending money that they do not have in order to impress people of whom they do not know. They when there is an emergency they have nothing to cover them in there time of need. One survey according to GoBankingRates says that more than half of Americans have less than $1,000 saved. This is not if but rather when will something happened. The days on earth are not always sunny. Rather than spending the banks money and then paying them back alot of interest why not collect on some interest. There is a term called opportunity cost. This term means that when one gets some they are also giving something up. So when someone spends money they are losing out on the money that their money could have made for them. It is crazy when someone spends money on a credit card and they don't pay it off at the end of the month. A single purchase of a latte that they have to have could end up cost way more. So pay it off or just pay cash. Here are two tips:
1) Save at least $1,000. For an emergency because one will come. Preferably save 3 to 6 months of living expenses for married couples. Or 6 to 12 months for single individuals.
2) Pay off all debts! Without any debt there is a great freedom. "⁷The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender." Poverbers 22:7

https://www.gobankingrates.com/saving-money/savings-advice/half-americans-less-savings-2017/

Wild Rollercoaster

For those that look at the stock, they know that there are many ups and downs. Some days the Dow Jones industrial average will climb up 800pionts and other days they plummeted in a downward deep dive. Some people say that bonds are better and safer bet. However when one looks at bonds they also go up and down every day.
Now instead of looking at them every day or hour we pull the timeline back to multiple years. What you'll see is more of a steady line moving up. The reason for that is because when we invest in stocks, we're investing in business and the people who run them. That being said if one invests in a single stock, their whole hope is on that one business and the people who run it. This is extremely risky. For this reason it is recommended to diversify their portfolio. Some tools that help to diversify are index and mutual funds. Basically in these types of funds the investor is investing in an entire group of businesses. For an example the Standard and Poors 500 index fund (S&P500) is an index fund that measures the growth of Americans top 500 companies. There might be one company that does really poorly one day however and hopefully the other 499 will be doing well.