Personal Finance

A lesson that was ingrained in me by my parents at an early age was the importance of saving money. I bought my first mutual fund at age 18 and saw it soar in value through college. I also learned the time value of money. The idea that money available at the present time is worth more than the same amount in the future, due to its potential earning capacity. This core principle of finance holds that, provided money can earn interest, any amount of money is worth more the sooner it is received.

I am extremely lucky because Lediya and I believe in the same financial philosophy: save as much as you can as early as you can to take great advantage of the magic of compounding. Compounding, in a nutshell, is basically when interest you have earned on your savings earn interest themselves, thereby increasing your saving's value logarithmically.

Because of our hindsight back in our early twenties, both Lediya and I are in excellent shape for a comfortable retirement.

I just thought I'd share a personal finance book that I read a few years ago. It's called "Get A Financial Life: Personal Finance In Your Twenties and Thirties" by Beth Kobliner. It's a great resource for twenty- and thirty- somethings who need information on a wide variety of topics such as insurance, retirement, investing, home ownership, and taxes. It's a great read.