The purpose behind DIY Money Plan is to provide a positive impact on the do-it-yourself community. I hope this site fosters a community of like-minded people who become inspired by the collective experiences and knowledge of those contributing to this site.
“Plans fail for lack of counsel but with many advisers they succeed.”
Myers-Briggs labels me an INTJ, the rarest of 16 personality types, and considered the architect personality. My personality will certainly be reflected throughout this site but one of my overarching goals is to simplify the complex world of finance.
To bring order to our financial conversation lets first address the three areas of personal finance.
Plan
An aspect of personal finance that isn’t always clearly defined is planning. Investments and insurances are tools. How these tools are utilized constitute a plan. The purpose of a plan is to utilize these tools to maximize your likelihood of success in accomplishing your ideal outcome.
“If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail”
The tools made available in the financial industry are vast and complex. I maintain an open mind about these tools. It’s human nature to form mental biases about financial products and label them as bad or good. Every person’s situation and life experience is unique. The best tool for one person will be the worst tool for someone else. Some jobs require a hammer, and others a saw but no two jobs are always alike.
Often, some of the lowest hanging fruit in a person’s plan is to improve tax efficiency. Because of this you will see a heavy emphasis on taxation. I considered creating a separate page on taxation because of how integral it is in most financial decisions but decided to hold off until more content is published. I’m not an accountant, although I’ve contemplated it a few times and is still in the realm of future possibilities.
Protect
The more life experience I gather, the more I realize how fragile life can be. Your financial plan can quickly unravel if you’re dealt a bad hand. You should protect your plan against events than could derail it, but not necessarily from speed bumps that slow you down. Nobody knows what challenges they will face but protecting your plan almost always involves insurance.
I hope your attention hasn’t been lost because I also believe in making
efficient financial decisions. I don’t want anyone overpaying for
insurance. The types of insurance you should consider include auto, liability, health, home, life, disability, and extended care.
Until you’ve accumulated enough assets to self-insure, you should consider these tools a necessity to your plan. In most cases it is a selfless act to insure against these things so think of your family.
Invest
Investments are the engine of financial independence, which is why they are so exciting to discuss. There’s no limit to how deep we could dive into this topic. Time is a very limited resource and I would rather spend time refining a financial plan than attempting to identify a winning stock among the thousands of publicly traded companies. The lowest hanging fruit for your plan often involves improving efficiencies.
“Do something today your future self will thank you for.”
A person could easily spend all the hours in their day trying to manage the specific holdings in their portfolio. Investments have been simplified through exchange-traded funds, index funds, and mutual funds. Choosing the right mix of funds is a more manageable approach and my personal preference.
Noteworthy Information:
Advice: Your situation and experiences are unique and unknown to everyone but yourself. Information discussed on this site is for informational purposes and should not be interpreted as personal advice.
Charitable Mission: DIY Money Plan does not currently generate revenue from advertisements or affiliate links. I have a very transparent personality and will clearly communicate a future change to this. Should this site begin generating revenue, I intend to donate half the profits to a charitable mission.
Thanks for visiting this blog. Now that you’ve finished reading the above information you should direct yourself to the Core Competencies page.