No matter how good we are at something, there was a point in our lives when we weren’t as knowledgeable or good as we are now. In order to get better, we often had a mentor or a guru that has advised us and helped us to be better. In youth sports or academics, our mentors were probably our parents, coaches, and teachers. Not only did they teach about a sport or a certain subject, but they also pushed us to be the best version of ourselves when we were out on the field or in the classroom.
Mentors are extremely important to have.
For me, I have always had an interest in money, but I still had to start out as a learner like anyone else. Being a corporate finance major in college meant that I learned a lot of the money basics from various professors, but I feel like most of my learning about money has come after I graduated college and began to pay for more things on my own.
There is no better teacher than actual life experiences.
Beside life experiences; however, I have also been influenced by a lot of financial mentors. Some of these are people that I actually have met with, while others are just people who have influenced my thoughts and beliefs about money through a book, podcast, or a website.
Although I don’t agree with everything that these people teach, they each have helped to shape my beliefs about money.
Mentor #1: Dave Ramsey
I have already wrote about how much I respect Dave’s beliefs, especially when it comes to getting out of debt. Like Dave, I’m a huge fan of getting out of debt, whether it is debt that is on a credit card or debt in the form of a student loan or mortgage.
I also feel that getting out of debt is the first and most critical step towards building wealth. If we are out of debt, than we have a positive net worth and can begin or continue to save for important things such as travel, retirement, and our kids.
Just like it should be with any mentor, Dave Ramsey and I do not agree on everything. For instance, I strongly believe that credit cards are an important tool to build up miles and points that will help us to save money on travel or to get cash back. Although Dave is strongly against credit cards because of former life experiences that he has had, I believe in the benefits of credit cards due to the experiences that I have had.
Mentor #2: Mr. Money Mustache
Back in 2014, I was introduced to Mr. Money Mustache. I absolutely loved his blog, from his anti-consumerism mentality to his love of bikes and non-conformity. He even introduced me to travel hacking, which has saved me almost $30,000 on travel so far.
The main thing that Mr. Money Mustache, or Pete Adeney, has taught me is to look at everything in life to see if it helps to maximize happiness. If I am spending money, time, or any other valuable resource, will I get a big enough return on my level of happiness? Pete has encouraged me to spend money in such a way so that it lines up with my priorities and values. He has also shown us ways to get the best out of Life without spending too much of our Budget, which is what I am trying to do with this website as well.
Mentor #3: Paula Pant
As I began to get really involved with learning about personal finance, I began to listen to Paula Pant’s Afford Anything podcast. Through investing in real estate rentals, Paula was able to generate enough “passive” income to allow her to retire early.
Although Paula liked her job as a newspaper reporter, she realized that she would have a lot more freedom if she was able to create enough income from other sources. This freedom has allowed her to travel extensively and have a lot of opportunities that she would not have with a typical 9-5 job.
I also really like Paula’s tagline. “You can afford anything, but not everything.” What a great way to see the world from an abundance and glass-half-full mentality. Just like with Mr. Money Mustache, this has shown me that we just need to figure out our priorities so that we can spend money on the right things.
Mentor #4: Jeff Sanders
Jeff Sanders speaks on The 5 AM Miracle Podcast. Through this podcast, I have seen the importance of getting up early and setting productivity habits for early in the morning. Although I have a love-hate relationship with getting up early in the morning (probably more hate than love), Jeff Sanders has helped me to see how getting up early can positively impact my life.
I can:
- Go for a run or lift weights
- Have an early morning coffee and mini-date with my wife
- Work on freelance writing projects
No matter what I decide to do in the morning, getting up early usually makes my day a little bit better. It also forces me to be a bit smarter about what I do in the evening. I can’t spend my nights watching a late college football game if I am going to be getting up at 5 AM or even earlier the next morning.
Mentor #5: The Mad Fientist
As you may have guessed from reading about my last two mentors, I really enjoy listening to podcasts. One of my favorites is called The Mad Fientist, where the host, Brandon, speaks about how he became financially independent. Typically, Brandon talks about tax avoidance strategies, financial independence, and investing.
I like how he goes in depth to discuss some of the strategies he uses as an early retiree. I also think that he speaks real honestly about both the good things of early retirement as well as the significant challenges.
Mentor #6: Justin at Root of Good
One of my financial mentors that I have only recently been introduced to is Justin who writes a blog called Root of Good. Justin writes about how he retired at the age of 33 and how he has been able to keep expenses low even during his early retirement. He also writes a lot about how he is able to travel extensively for relatively cheap. For instance, he recently booked 2 months of lodging in Southeast Asia for around $3,000.
The other thing that I appreciate about Justin is that his family situation is relatively similar to mine. Just like me, he is married with 3 kids, and is still able to keep his expenses low enough to allow him to retire early.
Other Mentors
One of the most important things to me in every aspect of my life is to continue learning. Whether I learn through a book, blog, podcast, or in person, I know that learning and applying my learning is the only way that I will continue to grow.
I have also learned that I don’t need to agree with everything that a mentor or guru says. I have even been able to find nuggets of wisdom from people whose overall teachings I typically disagree with. The key is to try to use the best parts of each mentor’s teachings and apply them to my own situation.
Who are some of your favorite financial mentors? Let us know in the comments below.
And thanks for reading!
~Nathan
Let’s keep living a great life … with the help of money. So what’s next?
- You can travel for free by using rewards credit cards.
- You can get motivated and get out of debt.
- You can check out the next post or the previous post and continue to learn.
But no matter what you decide to do, let’s leave the ordinary behind and take action today!
