“AIN’T NOTHING FREE”
The benCONCEIVABLE Financial Manifesto is very simple: Earn as much money as you can. And spend as little money as you can.
But just because it’s simple, doesn’t mean it’s easy.
1. Earn as much money as you can
My wife and I have good jobs. We work hard for big companies, and contribute to our savings plans. If we keep going like we’re going, we should be able to retire in our 60s, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But what if we could do a little better than that? What else is there?
So we’re trying to generate more income streams. Owning rental property is one. Writing online is another. I’ve started following Pat Flynn’s Smart Passive Income podcast and blog. Writing the benCONCEIVABLE blog is part of that, in several ways. I plan to use it to teach myself about online commerce. And I want to tell other people what I learn. And it would be nice if the site itself could make a little money (or at least be self-supporting). I don’t think I’ll be able to quit my day job tomorrow. But what if we could retire 5 years sooner? Or 15? We won’t know until we try.
2. Spend as little money as you can
I’m inspired by reading the excellent blog of Mr. Money Mustache. We’re pretty frugal anyway, but not nearly as badass as him. But we do a lot of the big things right. We don’t carry credit card debt, ever. But we use credit cards all the time, to collect the cash back. If we can’t pay it off at end of the month, we don’t buy it. We buy reasonable cars, and drive them a long time.
Another part of this philosphy, which is also championed by Mr. Money Mustache, is to learn to do things yourself, so you don’t have to pay other people to do them. So you’ll see some of that in this blog, too, especially if I can help you learn to help yourself. I’ve learned how to build furniture, repair appliances, even rebuilt a car engine, and you can too.
One theme that you’ll see in both of the tenets above is: learning new things. It’s good for you, and it will make you a better, happier person. So follow along and let’s see what works and what doesn’t.