Bryan C. Fleming

Interview: Ben from Money Smart Life

Ben is the author of Money Smart Life. If you haven’t heard of his blog you should certainly add it to your reading list. I’ve personally found his articles both interesting and thought provoking. By reading his answers to my questions I feel all of us in the Million Dollar Savings Club will gain a bit of insight.

I had the chance to ask Ben a few questions, here’s what he had to say:

What made you decide to write about Personal Finances?

My blessing has been the great role models I’ve had when it comes to handling money. No, not Warren Buffet or Dave Ramsey. My parents and grandparents taught me the value of a dollar and how to use money wisely. I’ve been on the right track financially pretty much my whole life thanks to them.

I see a lot of people that didn’t have the advantage of growing up with good financial mentors. I saw them making poor financial decisions and I wanted give them the help that I’d had and make a difference in their life. Writing about personal finance online seemed the best way to spread the word to a wide audience.

What was your biggest Money Managing mistake?

I’m sure I will make more mistakes in the future but to date it was my investment choices during the dot com tech bubble. I was caught up in the tech craze and lost around $5000 investing in B2B companies that are now worth nothing.
On a positive note, I’m actually glad for the error because it taught me a good lesson. At a relatively young age I learned the dangers of speculation and the benefits of diversification and valuing a stock appropriately. Now I just have to make sure that lesson sticks with me throughout my life.

How long have you been saving money?

When I was in 5th grade, my best friend and I started making money by selling candy. The neighborhood kids weren’t allowed to visit the gas station down the hill but we did anyway and loaded up on Now & Laters. We’d buy them for 10 cents, and then sell them to the other kids for 20 cents. I saved all the profits because I wanted to buy a Nintendo.

How much money did you accumulate before you stepped back and said “Wow. This is powerful stuff”?I started asking for shares of Wal Mart stock for birthdays and Christmas when I was in elementary school. Fast forward to my junior year of college when I was about to propose to my girlfriend and needed to buy an engagement ring. I couldn’t believe how much diamond rings cost (diamonds are a total scam if you ask me and a recent topic in the personal finance blogosphere).

I started asking for shares of Wal Mart stock for birthdays and Christmas when I was in elementary school. Fast forward to my junior year of college when I was about to propose to my girlfriend and needed to buy an engagement ring. I couldn’t believe how much diamond rings cost (diamonds are a total scam if you ask me and a recent topic in the personal finance blogosphere).Where was I going to come up with thousands of dollars? I was overjoyed when my parents forwarded me a letter one day from the brokerage. I looked at the value of the stock I had accumulated and couldn’t believe it. I sold some to buy the engagement ring and had plenty left over. I think that was when the power of compound growth first really hit home.

What the biggest thing you’ve given up in order to save more money?

My site, Money Smart Life, is all about being smart with your money but also enjoying your life. In my opinion life isn’t about how much money you have stored in a bank but rather how many good memories you have stored in your head. That being said, being smart with your money will give you more freedom to create memories of your choosing.
When I make a money compromise I don’t see it as giving something up, I see it as a trade off. You may be giving something up now but it will pay off later in life when the dollars you saved have grown to multiple times their original value.

What advice can you give to the readers of Million Dollar Savings Club who are just getting started?

Getting started is one of the most important steps so kudos for that. The best tip I can offer is to find something that inspires you, something that you really care about. For example, my inspiration is my family, I want to provide for them and give them a good life. When you get discouraged or thrown off track, because we all do, come back to the thing that inspires you. Learn from your mistakes and use your inspiration to start trying again, this time twice as hard.

I’d also advise to stick with the basics, I talk about some of the basic principles of being financially healthy in my Financial Checkup series.

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