Table of Contents
Acknowledgments xi
About the Author xiii
Introduction xv
Part I: Track Your Money 1
Chapter 1: Who I Am: My Journey 3
Chapter 2: The First Step 15
Lesson 1: The Psychology of Money 15
Lesson 2: Looking into the Mirror 20
Lesson 3: Changing Your Habits 23
Lesson 4: Building a Support Team 28
Lesson 5: Staying the Course 31
Chapter 3: Evaluate Your Financial Situation: Getting Organized Through the Balance Sheet 37
Lesson 1: Know Your Starting Point 38
Lesson 2: Evaluate Your Debt and Focus on Your Goals 39
Lesson 3: The Breakdown of the Balance Sheet in Steps 41
Lesson 4: Understanding Your Net Worth 45
Chapter 4: Craft a Plan: Create Your Budget 49
Lesson 1: The Importance of Crafting Your Plan 49
Lesson 2: Organizational Tips for Tracking Your Money 56
Chapter 5: Getting out of Debt: The Triumph Before the Real Storm 61
Lesson 1: Say No to Spending 61
Lesson 2: Amortization Schedules for Debt Payoff Success 62
Lesson 3: Stay on Track 66
Part II: Grow Your Money 69
Chapter 6: Setting the Stage for Your Investments 71
Lesson 1: Compound Interest 72
Lesson 2: Investing 101: Understanding Stock Market Basics 78
Lesson 3: Understanding Types of Asset Classes 82
Lesson 4: Breaking Down Equity Asset Classes 87
Lesson 5: Diversification 89
Lesson 6: Target Date Fund Diversification 93
Lesson 7: Single Asset versus Mutual Fund versus Index Fund versus Exchange-Traded Funds 94
Chapter 7: Formulating Your Investment Plan 101
Lesson 1: Where to Buy Asset Classes 101
Lesson 2: Types of Investment Accounts 102
Lesson 3: Fees: What They Are and Why They Matter So Much 121
Lesson 4: When to Invest 128
Lesson 5: How Much to Invest 129
Lesson 6: Risk Profile for Investing 130
Lesson 7: Investing Framework 132
Part III: Protect Your Money 137
Chapter 8: Build Your Moat 139
Lesson 1: Protecting Your Money Through Insurance 140
Lesson 2: Protecting Your Money Through Tax Diversification 149
Lesson 3: Protecting Your Money Through Tax Planning and Tax Preparation 150
Lesson 4: Protecting Your Money Through Wills and Trusts 151
Lesson 5: Protecting Your Money Through Durable Powers of Attorney 154
Lesson 6: Protecting Your Money Through Credit 156
Chapter 9: Budgetdog, My Money Mindset, and My Passion 161
Chapter 10: Logan Lee, an Unimaginable Reality: My WHY 167
Conclusion 173
Glossary of Common Investing Terms 177
Resources 187
References 189
Disclaimer 191
Index 193