Element Money: Retraining Your Mind
Apr. 16th, 2009 03:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sabrinamariThere are a wealth of resources with which to start re-training your mind.
I would begin by asking myself these two questions:
* How do I learn best? By listening or by reading?
* When do I have the most time in which to learn?
If you learn best by reading and you have longer blocks of time (1-3 hours), start off with books.
Some good picks (and there are many not on this list):
Dave Ramsey's "Total Money Makeover":
http://www.amazon.com/Total-Money-Makeover-Financial-Fitness/dp/0785289089/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1239907072&sr=1-1
Look for it used or even better, check it out of your local library.
Suze Orman's "The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous and Broke," (for clear, "quick and dirty" overviews of how to think about different aspects of money handling)
OR, if you feel up to starting from a deeper, more reflective place, try either "The Nine Steps to Financial Freedom," or "The Courage to Be Rich."
For a very accurate take on how a female gender role can affect women's money issues, check out "Women and Money" (but note, many men are cross-socialized and may share these issues).
If you like to read, but you only have small snippets of time available, start by reading financial blogs and magazines.
My fave blogs:
Five Cent Nickel
http://www.fivecentnickel.com/
Get Rich Slowly
http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/
No Credit Needed
http://www.ncnblog.com/
My fave magazines:
Money (Not very intimidating, and with a strong practical focus on personal day-to-day finance)
Kiplingers (Scarier at first, but will hold your attention later, when you get more interested in advanced topics).
If you learn best by listening and you have large blocks of time:
Get audiobooks of these financial books and others.
We rent audiobooks on a Netflix model at Simply Audiobooks:
http://www.simplyaudiobooks.com/
They are kind of slow and it's hard to control the order in which they send out books, but it's cost effective.
We also download audiobooks at Audible.com. This is more expensive, but they have a better selection and more choice, and they offer one free download a month.
If you learn best by listening but have small snippets of time, listen to pocasts. I like:
Brian Preston's "Money Guy" podcast (Out once a week through iTunes, or you can listen on his website):
http://www.money-guy.com/
APM: Marketplace Money (Out every Friday evening through iTunes, or you can listen on their website)
The Dave Ramsey Show (Out daily on iTunes and also carried on many radio stations, as well as on Fox Network TV)
Money Girl (Weekly podcasts of under 10 minutes, out through iTunes):
http://moneygirl.quickanddirtytips.com/EpisodeList.aspx
My take on the BEST overall strategy:
Use multiple approaches to expand and reinforce what you are learning as you go---listen to a podcast while you clean the bathroom or drive to work and read a blog post or two at lunch.
Every two weeks, start a new book while taking a long bath in the tub or lying around on the futon. Or you can listen while taking a walk.
The idea is to slowly, over time, begin absorbing a whole new way of thinking---a new worldview.
Don't rush it and don't make excessive demands on yourself...just be a sponge. Try to relax about encountering things you don't yet understand. Over time, you will come to understand them.
Oh, and if you love taking classes and/or online learning, check out Morningstar's free 'Investing Classtoom':
http://www.morningstar.com/Cover/Classroom.html
These mini classes take about 15 minutes each and the curriculum walks you through a whole investing curriculum starting with no knowledge of investing at all. You don't even need to be able to do math for 98% of the classes---because it's not about math---it's about learning new concepts and new ways of thinking.
You can even use the classes to accumulate points for free books, resources, and a free two-month Morningstar premium membership.
Little by little, you can teach yourself to change your world for the better.
EDIT: And here are a few more great blog resources via the wise suggestions of![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
bohemianeditor and pagandelight:
Two more personal finance blogs I enjoy:
Bad Money Advice, thoughtful criticisms of other personal finance gurus and bloggers (currently posting a series about Dave Ramsey's steps)
Gail Vaz-Oxlade, no-nonsense good advice about Canadian personal finance (general principles applicable to Americans, too), just finished a series on teaching kids about money. Pagandelight linked enough of her great posts that I had to subscribe myself. ;)
I would begin by asking myself these two questions:
* How do I learn best? By listening or by reading?
* When do I have the most time in which to learn?
If you learn best by reading and you have longer blocks of time (1-3 hours), start off with books.
Some good picks (and there are many not on this list):
Dave Ramsey's "Total Money Makeover":
http://www.amazon.com/Total-Money-Makeover-Financial-Fitness/dp/0785289089/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1239907072&sr=1-1
Look for it used or even better, check it out of your local library.
Suze Orman's "The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous and Broke," (for clear, "quick and dirty" overviews of how to think about different aspects of money handling)
OR, if you feel up to starting from a deeper, more reflective place, try either "The Nine Steps to Financial Freedom," or "The Courage to Be Rich."
For a very accurate take on how a female gender role can affect women's money issues, check out "Women and Money" (but note, many men are cross-socialized and may share these issues).
If you like to read, but you only have small snippets of time available, start by reading financial blogs and magazines.
My fave blogs:
Five Cent Nickel
http://www.fivecentnickel.com/
Get Rich Slowly
http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/
No Credit Needed
http://www.ncnblog.com/
My fave magazines:
Money (Not very intimidating, and with a strong practical focus on personal day-to-day finance)
Kiplingers (Scarier at first, but will hold your attention later, when you get more interested in advanced topics).
If you learn best by listening and you have large blocks of time:
Get audiobooks of these financial books and others.
We rent audiobooks on a Netflix model at Simply Audiobooks:
http://www.simplyaudiobooks.com/
They are kind of slow and it's hard to control the order in which they send out books, but it's cost effective.
We also download audiobooks at Audible.com. This is more expensive, but they have a better selection and more choice, and they offer one free download a month.
If you learn best by listening but have small snippets of time, listen to pocasts. I like:
Brian Preston's "Money Guy" podcast (Out once a week through iTunes, or you can listen on his website):
http://www.money-guy.com/
APM: Marketplace Money (Out every Friday evening through iTunes, or you can listen on their website)
The Dave Ramsey Show (Out daily on iTunes and also carried on many radio stations, as well as on Fox Network TV)
Money Girl (Weekly podcasts of under 10 minutes, out through iTunes):
http://moneygirl.quickanddirtytips.com/EpisodeList.aspx
My take on the BEST overall strategy:
Use multiple approaches to expand and reinforce what you are learning as you go---listen to a podcast while you clean the bathroom or drive to work and read a blog post or two at lunch.
Every two weeks, start a new book while taking a long bath in the tub or lying around on the futon. Or you can listen while taking a walk.
The idea is to slowly, over time, begin absorbing a whole new way of thinking---a new worldview.
Don't rush it and don't make excessive demands on yourself...just be a sponge. Try to relax about encountering things you don't yet understand. Over time, you will come to understand them.
Oh, and if you love taking classes and/or online learning, check out Morningstar's free 'Investing Classtoom':
http://www.morningstar.com/Cover/Classroom.html
These mini classes take about 15 minutes each and the curriculum walks you through a whole investing curriculum starting with no knowledge of investing at all. You don't even need to be able to do math for 98% of the classes---because it's not about math---it's about learning new concepts and new ways of thinking.
You can even use the classes to accumulate points for free books, resources, and a free two-month Morningstar premium membership.
Little by little, you can teach yourself to change your world for the better.
EDIT: And here are a few more great blog resources via the wise suggestions of
bohemianeditor and pagandelight:Two more personal finance blogs I enjoy:
Bad Money Advice, thoughtful criticisms of other personal finance gurus and bloggers (currently posting a series about Dave Ramsey's steps)
Gail Vaz-Oxlade, no-nonsense good advice about Canadian personal finance (general principles applicable to Americans, too), just finished a series on teaching kids about money. Pagandelight linked enough of her great posts that I had to subscribe myself. ;)
