Some money concepts can be pretty confusing. Through a series of posts I call Unmuddling Money, these confusing concepts are related to everyday things making them easier to understand. For a bit more fun, I use (E) rated and (R) rated analogies for most topics too.
are everywhere. If you think about a normal day in your life, you’re using money, in some shape or form, for a lot of stuff! If you stop to grab a cup of coffee on your way to work or fill up your gas tank on your way home, you’re being exposed to more concepts than you might think.
Sure, some of the basics are easy to understand. If you make $800 this week and you spend $900, that’s not good. But when you stop and think about it, the basic money concepts only get you so far. For example, do you know that compound interest is one of the strongest forces to help build long term wealth? I’m guessing many of you aren’t exactly sure what compound interest is…and that’s ok (for now).
all overwhelmed most days with the regular pace of life. Work, school, kids, spouses, exercise, social gatherings…the list goes on and on. When is it that we’re supposed to stop and learn about these complicated, and boring, money concepts? Even if we find the time, WHY should we take it to learn more about money and finances? It’s simple really, and Henry Ford said it the best – “if you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.”
to keep your head above water financially speaking? When you think about budgets and accounts and spending, do you get overwhelmed? Have you thought about changing how you go about spending and saving money but just don’t know where to start? I totally understand! And, even if you’re ready to truly dig in to start learning, where do you go? Google spits out millions of options in less than a second.
Retiring by 45 is a resource for you! I started out on my personal journey several years ago with the goal of retiring by the time I reach 45 years old. I still have a few years left to reach my goal and I’ve made A LOT of progress. This website and my experience are unlike a lot of what you’ll find out there. I write about the thinks that I know, that I have lived, and that have worked for me in my journey to get off the work treadmill and spend more time doing the things I want.
to any of the things I share. There is experience and results that sit behind the information though. I have worked in businesses big and small. My paychecks have gone from barely making enough to live in a one-bedroom apartment with a 10-year-old car to living in the nicest neighborhood in the city driving a brand new Tesla (with my job paying for it)! How did I do this?
would get you to click on a button about now and then get you more excited on the potential of making money quickly. That’s not this site. I’m going to share my stories with you. The Unmuddling Money posts you’ll find below will help you learn more about these complicated money concepts in fun and quick ways. I am not going to ask you to buy anything. I simply want to help you learn more about money so you can have more of it?
DISCLOSURE: THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS, MEANING I GET A COMMISSION IF YOU DECIDE TO MAKE A PURCHASE THROUGH MY LINKS, AT NO COST TO YOU. PLEASE READ MY DISCLOSURE FOR MORE INFO.
Well, my website, retiringby45.com talks a lot about how money works and how people can set themselves up to retire before being too old to enjoy it. What I’ve realized is that so many people are struggling to live day to day and don’ have access to practical tools, ideas, and experience to put them in a position to even start thinking about saving for retirement.
I believe that as people work their way into a better financial position, good things happen. Stress levels come down, enjoyment of life goes up, and people are enabled to do more of the things they want to do. I’ve spent two decades around people in businesses big and small doing things they have to do to get by. Life should, no, needs to be about more than just getting by! And, whether right or wrong, money enables people to have a choice.
various money concepts puts you on a path to a better financial life. If you don’t understand money, you won’t be able to make and use it in ways that benefit you beyond right now. As you learn more, you’ll see how it becomes realistic to have a different life even if you don’t make millions. Oh, and by no means am I saying you can’t make millions. You’ll just be better equipped to hang onto those millions if you visit this site on a regular basis.
I have been online writing blogs and creating websites for over five years now. While I’m not a financial advisor or an accountant, I happen to love numbers. I also have a Psychology background which comes in handy. People make the world go ’round and the money follows. As I talk about various money concepts, I communicate them in a way that makes WAY more sense to people! Other sites make the mistake of getting too far into the weeds before relating basic and foundational concepts to people. It’s kind of like having a conversation in a different language before you even know how to say hi.
We’ll start there. And what you’ll find in the Unmuddling Money series is a small step in the right direction. I take complicated money concepts and explain them using everyday things like eating, beer, and exercising to explain how the concepts work. These fun analogies help to make understanding money and potentially complicated topics much easier. From there, you can start to use the concepts in your life. Maybe that leads to saving an extra few hundred dollars a year or maybe it leads you to investing your money differently.
The point is, it gives you more information and more of an understanding so you can be proactive on how you think about, and manage, money. Things won’t necessarily click overnight. Your financial situation also won’t necessarily change overnight. What can happen though is that you build more of a knowledge base and confidence around money. From there, good things can happen!
you will find a handful of posts for both the Unmuddling Money (E) Rated versions of topics in addition to the Unmuddling Money (R) Rated version of topics. I typically will take a money concept, say Debt, and I will write an (E) Rated version as well as an (R) Rated version of the topic. So, what’s the difference you ask?
(E) Rated is really for anyone that has an interest in learning about these money concepts. I may relate a topic to bagels or putting gas in a car. The topics are covered in a lighthearted and all audience appropriate way. Now, the (R) Rated versions on the other hand are designed for a more mature audience that has a sense of humor. You’ll find that I ask you to verify your age as you click through to the (R) Rated posts just to be sure you are validating you’re old enough (mature enough and have a sense of humor) prior to reading the content.
By designing two different versions, I’m optimistic that more people can connect with the content and LEARN about these money concepts. Because if you don’t understand the concept, there is no way that you can use it for your advantage!
there are thousands of ways to make money. While some of the other areas of my site talk more about how to make more money, I truly believe it is critical that people understand some basic money concepts as they work on making more money. Without the understanding of money and how it works, it is way more difficult to keep more of what you earn. It’s also way more difficult to get to financial freedom or to be in a position to retire early if you don’t understand some basic money concepts.
One more thing I should call out. I do drop in some affiliate links from time to time. My wife and I are frugal. We think and research quite a bit before we go buy something. When I see and/or use something that I think adds value, I’ll call it out for you to take a look at. If you like what you see and you think it helps, great! If not, skip over it and just keep reading. With that said, let’s jump into simplifying some of these complicated money concepts with the Unmuddling Money posts!
What Is Compound Interest? (E) Rated Compound interest is one of the coolest things in all of numbers! Wikipedia says that compound interest is the addition of interest to the principle sum of a loan or deposit, or in other words, interest on principle plus interest....
What Is Interest? (E) Rated Well, when we’re talking about money and finance, interest is the price you pay to borrow money. On a side note, interest could also be the amount you make from lending somebody money as well but we’re going to focus on the cost side in...
What Is An Account? (E) Rated While it is very possible you’ve heard the term Account before, I thought I’d take a minute to explain just exactly what an account is. If you go out to your favorite search engine, you’ll likely find something that talks about assets,...
What Is Compound Interest? (R) Rated Compound interest is one of the coolest things in all of numbers! Wikipedia says that compound interest is the addition of interest to the principle sum of a loan or deposit, or in other words, interest on principle plus interest....
What Is Interest? (R) Rated Well, when we’re talking about money and finance, interest is the price you pay to borrow money. On a side note, interest could also be the amount you make from lending somebody money as well but we’re going to focus on the cost side in...
What Is An Account? (E) Rated While it is very possible you’ve heard the term Account before, I thought I’d take a minute to explain just exactly what an account is. If you go out to your favorite search engine, you’ll likely find something that talks about assets,...
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