Money Mastery: How To Manage Your Money Today for Tomorrow

By E. G. Bell

Don't know how to money? Want to be better with money? Learn actionable techniques that can help you master your finances. Topics include: debt management, budgeting, investing basics, and much more. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: INTJ Publications LLC
• Release date: Mar 13, 2022
• ISBN: 9798985947106

E. G. Bell

E.G. Bell has been an educator at a local community college for over fifteen years. Because there isn't a standardized financial literacy curriculum in high schools, Bell has decided to write accessible financial advice books for teens and adults. When not writing about personal finance, Bell enjoys sipping cold brew coffee and reading. 

Book preview

Today’s young adults have many challenges unique to our generation. We're the most educated of any age. We’re also the most plugged in. Yet we're crippled with debt (primarily due to our education) and struggling to make ends meet. We grew up during the Great Recession era and then lived during a pandemic. This means we know we can't trust our government, banks, major companies, or anyone with our money (or at all). (Why else would dystopian fantasies be so popular for our youth?) Pensions, for the most part, are a thing of the past. Some of you may be lucky enough to find a job, probably in the public sector, that offers a pension or some retirement plan. But no matter what our employers provide, we're on our own. It's up to us to find work (or invent a career), pay off our debt, and still, somehow, manage to save and invest enough money to last through our retirement. No pressure, right?

What about retirement anyway? Many of us are just starting to work a real job. Some of us are still in school, working many part-time jobs. The student who doesn't have at least one position is an endangered species. We expect to work for most of our lives. To most of us, retirement seems so distant it hardly seems natural. But it is, and we're faced with the task of preparing for a future we can barely imagine. 

So what do we do? We'll do what we do best: learn from the mistakes of the previous generations and try to avoid making different mistakes. We’ll have to work hard, (and intelligently) live below our means, avoid debt, and prepare for our own futures. This is an enormous personal responsibility, but it also frees us. If we know we're responsible for our lives and accept that responsibility, we're free from the illusion that anyone will protect us, financially or otherwise. If we accept that we're on our own, then we can plan, protect our own interests, and even prosper.

This book can't do this work for you, but it can get you started on the path toward financial freedom. It can't change how you think, but it can make you think, even if you don't always agree. I'm not a financial wizard: I’m an educator and a debtor inching my way toward financial freedom. What I can offer is advice I’ve learned through my journey. In this book you’ll find a step by step guide with advice that you can read in any order that is relevant to your specific situation. The ebook version has active links on the table of contents page, so you can navigate between sections.

Thank you for including me on your journey to financial independence and prosperity.

Good hunting!

E. G. Bell

Calculate Your Net Worth

To get to your destination, you must know your starting point—and where you want to go. We'll start with identifying your current situation. This might be painful, but it is necessary as the first step to financial freedom.  

Let's start with the most crucial question. What is your net worth? If you don't know, then you'll want to calculate it. A simple spreadsheet works fine. You can set up a basic formula that adds all your assets: cash, investments, savings and checking account amounts, home values, and/or car value, etc.

Then subtract your debt: credit cards, student loans, car loans, total mortgage, etc. The total (positive or negative) is your net worth. A template is provided in the appendix.

If your net worth is negative, you know you have some work to do. We'll focus on doing that work together in the following steps.

If it's positive, then you're off to a good start already, and your goal should be to stay that way and grow your