Charles Farrell
As I wrote in my review of “Your Money Ratios”, Charles’ book sings to me. Charles has the ability to simplify complicated financial topics for the average reader to understand. His book is seriously one of the best books I’ve read on personal finance in a long while.
One of the keys to progress is learning from experts in their various fields. Charles is gracious enough to answer some follow up questions I’ve been burning to ask after reading his book. This will be a two part post due to the 2,800 word length of the interview. In part I, we discover Charles’ motivation for writing his book, strategies for early retirement, and his conservative and debatable 50%/50% investment split between stocks and bonds. In part II, we discuss the much maligned 401K, personal income taxes, why Social Security will survive, and why the flat tax is the right way to go! Please enjoy!
WRITING “YOUR MONEY RATIOS”
Question: Was there a particular lightning bolt reason why you decided to write this book? For aspiring authors, what suggestions do you have to get your worked published in this ultra competitive field of business?
Answer: I wanted to write a book that would help average readers understand the most fundamental and critical relationships among one’s income, capital and debt, and how those things must be managed throughout your working career to build financial independence. So I took what are often quite complicated topics and figured out a way to present them in a very simple format that anyone can follow. I would like more people to enjoy the benefits of financial independence, and I hope this book does that.
As far as writing, all I can say is write about what you believe in. Hopefully, if you believe in it strongly enough, you’ll develop some expertise and then seek out ways to spread your ideas. Try to develop some niche that is reflective of your expertise. So I developed the ratios and they came out of my background in tax, finance and also working with individuals.
Think about what you do that is a little different and try to focus on that unique nature of what you do. It is a tough slog because the field is very crowded and often the least valuable information gets the most press. But you have to accept that reality and still push ahead. And then you need a little luck. Your message has to somehow get into the hands of people who appreciate and understand it. And that is hard to predict, which means you need a little luck to get it out there. So if you are going to pursue that path, I think you need to accept those realities of the marketplace.
EARLY RETIREMENT Read more…
“If there’s a mile long track, and the first lap you travel 30 mph, how fast do you have to travel on the second lap to average 60 mph for both laps?” asks the stuffy man in the corner office.
I thoroughly dislike watching CNBC for investing purposes due to all the noise. When the markets are up, they bring on every single pundit to talk about how the market is going higher. When the markets are down, they bring on all the bearish pundits to tell you why the world is coming to an end. I remember when the S&P hit the ominous 666 level earlier this year, they brought in a “famed” technical analyst who said to expect S&P 200 by year-end. What was her name again? I forget. Watch CNBC for entertainment purposes mainly, and a little bit of learning. Don’t watch CNBC to get rich.
