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Implementing a sinking fund within our budget was easily the biggest game changer when we started budgeting and pursuing financial independence .

Why? It eliminated the need to dip into savings or go back into credit card debt when one of those expenses, like booking a flight for a summer trip, came up.

Setting up the sinking funds tracker (aka non-monthly expense account) got us out of the credit card debt vortex and gave us confidence in our monthly budget . We knew we'd have enough money to save for our savings goals while also covering all of the unforeseen expenses that come up throughout the year.

One of the quickest ways to achieve financial independence and escape the rat race is by generating passive income. Diversifying your passive income stream can provide a steady flow of income in early retirement or allow you to build enough of a nest egg in order to take a sabbatical or start semi-retirement. Whether you're an entrepreneur, a freelancer, or a nine-to-fiver, learning how to generate passive income can help you accelerate your wealth-building and live life on your terms.

But when I first started my journey to building passive income, I was overwhelmed by the sheer number of books out there on the subjects of personal finance, cash flow investing, real estate investing, and starting digital businesses. I had a few passive income ideas but didn't know where to start.

So I've compiled a list of my favorite 10 books on passive income. There are multiple paths to earning passive income and almost all of them require quite a bit of active work to build up; but over time, all of these paths can be automated so you can focus on the things that matter most to you.

Ready to attract more abundance and prosperity into your life? It all starts with your mindset.

One of the key tools I used to go from being someone who was drowning in debt, living paycheck to paycheck, to becoming debt-free and achieving financial independence, was changing how I thought about money and the stories I told myself. I strongly believe that using a money affirmation can be a simple but effective tool to help shift your mindset from scarcity to abundance in order to live your financial dreams. 

In this article, I'll dive into what money affirmations are, how they work, and why you should consider incorporating them into your daily routine. 

I'll also share 100 money affirmations you can use to build better savings habits, accelerate your wealth, pay down debt and build a fulfilling, meaningful career.

So let's get started!

It was 2008, and I was a single, 22-year-old, fully employed guy living my best life in NYC. It was the 16th of the month and I had another big spending weekend with friends. Dinner with friends, followed by some drinks at B bar, and then I booked my flights for the upcoming bachelor party. I still had two weeks before I get paid but I knew my bank account was close to E. So what did I do? I reluctantly went online to check my bank account and give the balance a look through- $100 dollars left! How is that possible? How is that supposed to last 10+ more days? I still have to pay for my cable!

Do you feel like you're drowning in debt, struggling to save, and don't know where to start when it comes to paying down your debt? You're not alone. In fact, according to a recent poll done by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Center for Microeconomic Data , every US household has some kind of debt, with the national debt average reaching over $15 trillion in debt.

As someone who paid off $150k in student loan debt, I know how overwhelming it can be to manage a budget, try to save for your life goals, and get out of debt at the same time.

But don't worry, there's a simple yet powerful strategy rule of thumb that can help: the 10/20 rule.

This rule was a great gut check when I was trying to manage my consumer debt early in my career and helped me on my journey to becoming debt free. The 10/20 rule is a debt management strategy that can give you a clear roadmap for paying off your debts and achieving financial independence.

In this post, I'll explain what the 10/20 rule is, how it works, and how you can use it to create a budget and debt payment plan that works for you. Whether you're struggling with credit card debt or just looking for a better way to manage your finances and debt, the 10/20 rule can help you take control of your money and start to chip away at your debt so you can become financially free.

Struggling to save money? The envelope saving challenge can help you save 10k in 100 days!

The envelope money saving challenge is a simple and effective way to help you save money quickly and easily. This challenge involves using envelopes to allocate money towards specific savings goals and saving a certain amount each day. By following this method, you can save $10000 in 100 days, which can go towards paying off debt, creating an emergency fund, or simply just accelerating your path to financial independence and retiring early .

In this blog post, we'll explore the envelope money saving challenge, how it works, and provide tips and strategies to help you reach your savings goal. I'll also include a savings tracker fro free so you can track your progress along the way to transforming your financial life!

So by now you probably got the itch to pursue financial independence. Maybe you were inspired by the OG Mr. Money Mustache's "simple math to pursue financial independence and retiring early" post. Or maybe you've read about the FI/RE movement and the success stories of people living a radically different life and retiring decades earlier than the norm. Whatever your motivation, this guide walks through the 5 simple steps you can take TODAY to start your financial independence journey. I created this guide because when I started my journey to financial independence, I had no idea how to start, the money mindset I needed or what steps I had to take to chart my own path.

How do you know how much you need to save for retirement if you have no idea what your retired life looks like? Are you living in city or the burbs? Do you have kids, spend all year traveling, are you taking care of your parents?

The first step on your path to financial independence has to be setting a vision for what you want your financial independence life to look like. Figuring out what kind of lifestyle we want to live, helps us determine how much we actually need to have saved for financial independence and how long it's going take us to get there. So the first thing we want to do is set our vision.

One of the best vision exercises that I discovered on my journey to financial independence was from Debbie Millman, one of the most renowend graphic designers in the world. Debbie was interviewed on the Tim Ferris Show where she talked about my 10 year plan to a remarkable life. Debbie Millman's 10-year plan to a remarkable life includes setting clear financial goals, mapping out her career trajectory, and nurturing personal growth through continuous learning and self-improvement. She would give this exercise to her design students.

And so let's walk through it.

On our path to financial independence, we have had many conversations about the way we save and grow our money. However, equally important, is the way we spend our money. When I first thought about the road to financial independence, the first thought I had was, beans and rice and rice and beans. Instead of owning more “things”, shouldn't we just slash our costs so we could put those savings to work in the stock market and achieve what we really wanted; the freedom to quit our jobs and spend more time with our family? The answer is Yes. Yes of course this is true and important to keep in mind when considering purchases large and small. However, the general approach is to use self discipline by reminding oneself of these goals in order to curb spending just didn’t necessarily work for me.

In fact, while I certainly believe my time is more valuable than my things, I do enjoy owning certain things. In some cases I also believe in stretching the budget for some of these things. Perhaps it’s because it is something I will use very frequently so I want it to be of a higher quality, or maybe it’s made more sustainably, or maybe quite simply, I just like it better than a lower cost option.

I grew up in a small, tight-knit town in rural Illinois where money wasn't ever talked about at family outings or around the dinner table. A lot of people lived a middle-class life, paycheck to paycheck with just enough savings to retire at 65, rely on social security, and live a comfortable life. Financial education wasn’t taught in school. The only time I remember learning about money was from my mother who showed me how to balance my checkbook. While a masterful skill in the ’90s, it doesn’t serve me much use today (sorry Mom). However, the basic balancing of my minuscule checking account from my various minimum wage jobs gave me my first taste of budgeting.