I recently traveled for work, from Los Angeles to Mississippi. The evening prior to my return was a beautiful gulf coast evening. The air was crisp and cool, the beach was almost empty, the sun reflected a deep red off the water, and as I strolled along I couldn’t help but envy how relaxing everything felt. It was a completely different feel from that of Los Angeles. There were no car horns, no road rage, no concrete highways 8 lanes wide, and best of all, no traffic. Oh, and this was a Thursday….

Hey all you financial fanatics!! By this point I hope you’ve read the first two parts of my little Getting Your Financial House in Order segment (Renegotiate/Cancel Everything and Budgeting). I hope you’re running a good and tight budget, scrutinizing all purchases, and learning to handle money like Yoda handles a light saber! Yeah…I just made a Star Wars reference. Don’t act like you don’t love it.

As you do start to build up savings, knowing what to do with the money is as important as initially saving it. For example,

• In the late 1990’s, you could have rushed out and invested in Beani Babies. That’s right!  Those plush little things were the biggest damn craze since sliced bread. What a debacle that was!
• Maybe you just love tigers and boxing. So why not follow in the footsteps of the Former Heavy Weight Ear Eating Champion Mike Tyson, and pick yourself up a few Bengal Tigers? That’s a great investment…..right?

If you’ve read the last couple blog posts, you may be thinking, “If I make all these spending cuts, life’s gonna suck!” I’ve actually heard people say it, that living within your means is boring; they’d rather enjoy life now while they’re young, and worry about the debt later. Making the choice to live a lifestyle that’s in direct contradiction to probably 75% of your neighbors, friends, and family isn’t an easy choice. You’ll get comments like,