Living

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The following guest post comes from Lauren Davidson. The topic is dear to my heart as I always have believed that every young person should at least once leave his or her country and see some of the rest of the world.  Studying abroad has long been a popular option for college students, for good reason: it’s an exciting opportunity to not only see the world, but to immerse yourself in a new culture while getting an amazing education. During my sophomore of college, I was lucky enough to spend a semester studying in Spain. It was an extraordinary experience […]

Study Abroad Trips: More than a Just an Unnecessary Vacation

 in education / Living / Travel  tagged Study Abroad Trips by
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It’s that time of year again. The Boat show is back in Milwaukee. Why in January when the worst of winter is still to come? My theory is that it’s like “Bread and Games”;  maybe if we distract them enough with shiny trinkets, they’ll forget about the misery of minus 15 outside and stay one more generation. And it works, it reminds us there is light at the end of the tunnel. The show presents everything none of us can really afford. While in the “economic” boat section, I heard a woman say to her husband “This is just like […]

The Boat Show Extravaganza

 in Building Wealth / debt / Living / Saving by
How much do children play a role when creating budgets on your way to building wealth? I’m not talking about the $300 a month it costs to raise a child. I’m not talking about the choice between private vs public schools for the kids (The Debt Free Divas offer some good food for thought on that one) and I’m not even talking about the daunting task of paying for college, should they be inclined to attend. What I’m wondering is how much you can, can’t, should or shouldn’t “drag” your children into your plans and adjustments to life, budgeting your […]

Budgets are cool, but what about the kids?

 in Building Wealth / family / Living  tagged frontpage by
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Our path to becoming millionaires was one that took time. It took 13 years to be exact. Throughout the 13 years the following 5 steps were at the core of what made us millionaires. 1. Start early. We started our path to becoming millionaires early in our 30s. Had we started earlier we would have been in an even better financial position. The earlier you start investing the more effective compounding will be. In my article on compounding: Compounding, if you’re 25 READ THIS. if you’re not READ THIS. I work out how by saving only $300 a month at […]

5 Steps to become a millionaire

 in Budgeting / investing / Living / Saving  tagged frontpage by
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They tell you, over and over again, not to quit your day job when considering writing a Blog. With “they” I mean everybody and with “over and over again” I mean over and over and over again. I like to think of myself as someone who pays attention but oops, I did quit my day job…. It’s coming up on a year now since I quit and I have no regrets. Am I retired now? No. As financially sound as my situation is, it is not enough to retire at 44. Sooner or later I will go back to work […]

Don’t quit your day job, wait what?

 in career / Living  tagged frontpage by
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A good friend of mine posed me the question if I had some advice for all the graduating students this month. An interesting question given that I did not face the same issues and questions students in the United States face today. Before I continue: CONGRATULATIONS for those that already graduated this month and to those who soon will!! Back to why I didn’t face the same issues you do. I graduated in the Netherlands some time ago when student loans did not exist. That combined with a tuition which at the time didn’t exceed $1,200 there was no financial […]

Some advice for 2015’s graduates

 in credit / investing / Living / Saving  tagged frontpage by
In order for you to turn your financial goals into reality you need to educate yourself on yourself and your financial behavior
And as some of you jump up and start shouting “Wrong!! Zuckerberg and Gates got rich dropping out of college and by following their dreams”. Simmer down; I’m not talking about a college degree. No, not saying it’s bad as it certainly served me well but of all things a college degree can get you, financial freedom is probably at the bottom of the list. The current price of a college degree and crippling loans associated have that effect. What I’m talking about is education of yourself about yourself, education about your own behavior and specifically education about your own […]

Financial goals and plans start with education

 in Budgeting / credit / investing / Living / Saving  tagged frontpage by
As a stark reminder of why I build the nest-egg I have, I learned today that my former manager Leon Sadler is facing severe illness (pre Leukemia). He’s faced with financial needs you’d think you shouldn’t have as you’re supposedly well insured. Financial needs you shouldn’t have to worry about when so much else is going on. I invite you to read his post on LinkedIn. Crowdfunding a man’s fight against Cancer As much as I like to think I’ve financially prepared for something like this I sometimes worry no nest-egg can ever cope with something like this. If at […]

Insurance alone just won’t cut it

 in Living by
After starting this blog, one of my friends from the Netherlands asked me; would I have done the same had I stayed in the Netherlands? An interesting question that I hadn’t put much thought into. Probably, because I knew from a very young age I wouldn’t stay there. The question however could be looked at as a “would’ve/could’ve/should’ve” question. Would’ve First of all, had I stayed in the Netherlands, would I have had the desire or seen the need to become a millionaire like I did here in the States? Sure we all dream about being rich when we were […]

Would’ve could’ve should’ve

 in Building Wealth / investing / Living / Saving by