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Don't leave disposable income hanging around as savings in a no/low interest bank account. Invest it in an index fund with low fees (Vanguard, etc.) or better

Don't leave disposable income hanging around as savings in a no/low interest bank account. Invest it in an index fund with low fees (Vanguard, etc.) or better yet, figure out an asset allocation and invest in a few accumulating funds. A good piece of advice I picked up from Rami Sethi (when it was still worthwhile reading his blog) was think about how much of your free time per month do you spend on various activities (Facebook, Gaming, etc). How much of that free time is devoted to thinking about your personal finance? If it's less than you think you should be doing, schedule it in. Also starting reading https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/ https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/ regularly.

jazzyk 9y ago
I disagree with your statement about not having savings in a safe (usually lower-yield) account. Index funds are usually a good idea in the long term, but right now (June 2017), I would not put a penny in the stock market - it is ridiculously overpriced.
- sullenpaladin 9y ago
  Totally agree. You always need substantial cash on hand. I got caught fully invested during the financial crisis and I was not in a position to invest at all-time lows.
- UK-AL 9y ago
  People were saying that 3-4 years ago, and its gone up. Your trying to time the market.
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
  - JauntTrooper 9y ago
    January 2011 article: "Stock Markets are 'Overpriced': Robert Shiller" http://www.cnbc.com/id/41288407 http://www.cnbc.com/id/41288407 Stock markets in the developed world have risen too much, Robert Shiller, economics professor at Yale, told CNBC Thursday. On Wednesday, the Dow bounced above and below the psychologically-important 12,000 for much of the session. But stocks look expensive, Shiller said. "I would say the market is overpriced based on fundamentals … I'm talking about the US and probably Europe," he said. [The market has almost doubled since then.]
    - UK-AL 9y ago
      Exactly my point. Everybody was saying they were overvalued, and were about to crash. Yet they went even higher and still going higher almost 7 years later. Thus you can't time the market. Don't trust experts telling you to enter and exit.
      - JauntTrooper 9y ago
        Yup, I was agreeing with you. :)
pesfandiar 9y ago
In my opinion, personal finance should be as automated and mindless as possible. While you can allocate time to read about it as a form of entertainment, a good personal finance strategy is to make as few decisions as possible to avoid biases and emotional decision-making.

jazzyk 9y ago

I disagree with your statement about not having savings in a safe (usually lower-yield) account. Index funds are usually a good idea in the long term, but right now (June 2017), I would not put a penny in the stock market - it is ridiculously overpriced.

sullenpaladin 9y ago
Totally agree. You always need substantial cash on hand. I got caught fully invested during the financial crisis and I was not in a position to invest at all-time lows.
UK-AL 9y ago
People were saying that 3-4 years ago, and its gone up. Your trying to time the market.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- JauntTrooper 9y ago
  January 2011 article: "Stock Markets are 'Overpriced': Robert Shiller" http://www.cnbc.com/id/41288407 http://www.cnbc.com/id/41288407 Stock markets in the developed world have risen too much, Robert Shiller, economics professor at Yale, told CNBC Thursday. On Wednesday, the Dow bounced above and below the psychologically-important 12,000 for much of the session. But stocks look expensive, Shiller said. "I would say the market is overpriced based on fundamentals … I'm talking about the US and probably Europe," he said. [The market has almost doubled since then.]
  - UK-AL 9y ago
    Exactly my point. Everybody was saying they were overvalued, and were about to crash. Yet they went even higher and still going higher almost 7 years later. Thus you can't time the market. Don't trust experts telling you to enter and exit.
    - JauntTrooper 9y ago
      Yup, I was agreeing with you. :)

pesfandiar 9y ago

In my opinion, personal finance should be as automated and mindless as possible. While you can allocate time to read about it as a form of entertainment, a good personal finance strategy is to make as few decisions as possible to avoid biases and emotional decision-making.