Financial Basics Resources

I’ve had discussions with several friends about finances lately. First off, I’m proud as hell for these friends being so forthcoming and excited to talk about finances. Obviously deciding to talk to a friend takes a level of trust so they don’t feel intimidated, like it will change the friendship and isn’t going to later cause you to ask them for money. I’m glad that friends knowing I reset/retired early and am in great financial shape means they’re willing to open up and ask questions on what they should or could be doing.

Resources I Recommend:

Facebook Groups:

Best for: For specific questions and being able to open up.

ChooseFI | Facebook: A general group for anyone interested in Financial Independence, people are at all levels of their financial journey.

Women’s Personal Finance (Women On FIRE) | Facebook: For my female friends specifically, some questions are more specific about female financial topics.

Financial Courses:

Best for: Getting more financial literacy and the basics.

Courses by Personal Finance Club, although I haven’t taken the course, I’ve met the owner and sat through some of his free topics. He’s very knowledgeable. I like that his courses are very reasonably priced and 20% of their sales goes to charity.

A Book:

Best for: Learning about your finances.

The Simple Path to Wealth: Your road map to financial independence and a rich, free life

Blog post:

Best for: A simple way to see how small changes in decreasing spending can reduce the years it takes to become financially independent

The Shockingly Simple Math Behind Early Retirement (mrmoneymustache.com)

Flow Chart for FIRE:

Best for: Simple way to see what steps to look into next for investments based on your current situation.

FIRE Flow Chart (cubeupload.com) While I don’t agree with every step of this flow chart, specifically if you should be investing into Traditional vs Roth, I feel like there has been a shift to believe Roth is always better for investments. It depends on your tax situation. If you’re making more now than you will be in retirement, then traditional 401k/IRA are better to reduce your lifetime taxes. If you’re in lower tax brackets, then investing into Roth is great. If you’re going to retire early and have years of low/minimal taxes, then performing Roth conversions in these years are great and something I’m currently taking advantage of!

There are many great resources out there for your finances. This is by no means a comprehensive list of the resources out there, but these are some of the best basics that I’ve either used myself or have heard suggested many times.