I was going thru my twitter feed and saw this
LOL. She must be a 30 year old mother. :)
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| via @hecklerforever |
LOL. She must be a 30 year old mother. :)
My Twelfth Book
If you have been following my blog, you know that one of my goals for 2013 is to read at least twelve books. I love reading books. However, I realized I have not been reading and learning as much as I can so I decided to put a number for two reasons
- To set a goal
- What gets measured gets done
The Four Hour Workweek by Tim Ferris
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| via CreativePenn |
Nobody has asked yet but majority of books that I have read are books that were recommended by someone I know or from people I follow in twitter. This book was recommended by Pat Flynn of Smart Passive Income. He shares that this book was one that pushed him to leave the corporate world and start his own business.
The book advocates shortening the work hour period from the regular 40 hours a week to 4 Hour Workweek. While some of the items are doable in United States, the advice and setting might not work here in the Philippines.
Nevertheless, i picked up some learnings which I am sharing below
Retirement is Worst-Case Scenario Insurance Flawed
The author explains that majority of us saves for retirement thinking that it is the goal. He adds that doing all the hard work so one can retire comfortably is a flawed argument because of the following
- It begins that we dislike what we are doing
- Most people will never be able to retire
- If the math works, how sure are we that we are going to enjoy retirement
Being an advocate of personal finance, I have started saving money for retirement. A small portion of my income goes to my future fund. Reading his book and learning about his thoughts about retirement, I can't help agree.
I started saving for retirement with a thought that by the time I reached retirement, I will be happy. I have discounted the fact that I currently enjoy what I am doing. Sure, it stresses me out every now and then. Sure, I have to do this even if I don't want to. However, I enjoy what I do. It is important to save for retirement but it is also important to love what we do now. We should not wait for retirement age to enjoy life.
Money Alone is not the Solution
If only I had more money is the easiest way to postpone the intense self-examination and decision making necessary to create a life of enjoyment.
This second advice resonates with the retirement explanation. Given what we have now, plan and do something that will help us enjoy life. It is important to have big goals but the author sends a reminder that while we are on the road to meeting our goals, we should not forget to enjoy the journey.
When I started managing my finances, I have the initial impression that I have to postpone all the enjoyment so I can live a better life tomorrow. Now, I know that is not necessarily true. We can and should have "mini-retirements" throughout life instead of hoarding the recovery and enjoyment for the fool's gold of retirement.
I now understand the reason why 10% of my savings should be play account.
Things in Excess Become their Opposite
Too much, too many and too often of what you want becomes what you don't want.
Quick Summary
- Retirement is Worst Case Scenario - Enjoy the Now
- Money Alone is not the Solution
- Things in Excess Become Their Opposite
Round-Up
I am glad that I completed one of my goals for 2013. In fact, i have read more than twelve books if you will include the fictional ones.
I completed the first two books of George R.R. Martin's series "A Song of Fire and Ice". For the less nerdy, these are the novels where the HBO's "Game of Thrones" series is based.
What's next? I might reread some of the books before starting on new ones. If you know a book or have read one, please tell me so I can consider reading it. In fact, if there's a book that you really want to read but do not have the time, let me know and I will read it and summarize it here just for you.
For those who missed the series, I am sharing for the last time the list of books I have completed in 2013
The Happiness Project
The Secrets of the Millionaire Mind
