Everyday Millionaire

I grew up in sunny California. I was born and raised in San Francisco. My mother worked at a department store and my father worked as a Merchant Marine. My childhood was pretty ordinary. I remember always being surrounded by family. My cousins and I grew up like siblings. We were close in age, many of us, and always together. If there was something to celebrate, no matter how big or how small the achievement, my family gathered. We gathered at someone's home, at a park or a beach, any place that had the space to house my big family.

My family taught me a lot. I am so grateful for the love and life lessons. Even though they couldn't give me everything, the most important thing I learned was that education would be the key to any success I wanted to have. Reading became my thing. When I couldn't have my questions answered by my parents, teachers or friends, I went to the library and checked out a book on the subject.

Although, I personally never saw my parents struggle financially, money was not a subject we talked about often. My dad did teach me that saving money was important. My dad stayed away from credit cards and loans. He saved for what he wanted and paid for things in cash. My mom on the other hand was a bit different with respect to her money. She liked to shop. She loved pretty things. She worked hard and bought the things she wanted whether it be with cash or on credit.

Over the years I have struggled to get a good footing on saving. I am not by any means up to my eyeballs in debt. I live a pretty easy lifestyle. I do save and pay cash for most things I want but I also have a credit card for traveling. Finding money to save was a challenge being a single parent and trying to finish college at the same time. What I knew for certain was that I was not going to work forever. I wanted to enjoy my later years. Once I graduated from college and began working, I met with a financial advisor and learned a lot about retirement plans, pensions and investments. It was then that I realized the importance of planning for my financial future. Something I'd never heard of before.

I have read many books on finance, money planning and the future. I have lived on a budget

for quite sometime now and even though it is not always easy to do, I push myself to stick to it. Recently, I found and read Everyday Millionaires by Chris Hogan. Although there are many things in the book that I am aware of, it is still a good read. A few of the take-aways I appreciate and will add to my own plan are:

1) Be prepared for the long haul. - Getting to where you need to be for retirement takes time. There is no get rich quick scheme to get you there.

2) You do not have to do it alone. - Take time to research financial planners. There are some good ones out there.

3) Live on a budget. - If you have not taken the time to craft one, do it sooner rather than later. (This is actually my favorite! I really do love my budget!)

4) Get started! - While it is stated several times in the book to start investing early, where ever you are in life just get started. It is so true that a little can go a long way.

Money, finances and the future is not often talked about in some cultures and communities. They are also not often learned about in school. Unless it is something our parents or family members are familiar with we will not have the background knowledge to use as adults in planning for the future. Let's share what we do know and encourage each other to do better financially so that our young people understand that generational wealth is possible for them too.

Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity. - Roman Philosopher Seneco