Book report: Cary Siegel, Why didn’t they teach me this in school?

99 personal money
management principles to live by. 2013.

Most important ideas of the book:

Life

First, you must be aware that each decision that you take for your future will affect your financial
plans and objectives. That includes the friends that you choose along with your life, even your
future wife. Please select wisely, avoid several expensive divorces and keep close to those who
inspire you and could make a great business partner. Remember that, if you decide to have a
large family with children, this will force you to have a conservative profile when investing in any
opportunity.

It is a fact that in this society based on the consumer, people relate their wellness to what they
can obtain, and people fall into buying things they cannot afford. The author mentions that one
of the most essential principles is to “always live below your means”. Prioritizing your spending
will allow you to save a lot of money. Also, taking care of your belongings will prevent you from
wasting more money.

Spend more time on planning and learning about your finances. You will understand that
becoming rich is not something that happens overnight, it could be in this opportunist days but
the fact is that 99 percent of millionaires earned their money over time. Start setting realist long
and short-term financial goals. Net worth.

Budget & Saving

It is crucial to managing a really good budget in accordance with your income. Save and later try
to invest intelligently. Principle 13 supports this idea very well and gives the reader plantates to
use in their own life. Making a written budget and read evaluate it every month is actually one
of the most important tips that this book can give. I personally made one of these and as I
progressed I started noticing many incomes and outcomes I never contemplated before.
Spending

Most of the times we as social beings tried to follow what others do and that can affect your
finances. That's what principle number 24 explains. The following principles are related to the
budget and saving because people rarely consider this “tiny” costs that end up affecting you later.
And then the number 29 is awesome, I already knew this but like everyone else I forget what is
really important when I buy something, the author made some pretty awesome declarations like
buying really high-quality things that are actually important, this will save you money and
aggravations later.

Debt

Credit cards fall in this section and with solid reasons. Many young people fail on not getting
debt, we are constantly buying things and spending never knowing how much this is going to
affect my personal finance. Debt is bad in every meaning of the word if you have one you should
definitely get rid of it as soon as possible, credit cards are debts so never get one after college is
an excellent tip. When you get your first credit card try hard to never fails on paying the bank, it
will be on your financial record.

Investing

Do not fall on the idea Avoid to invest with family and friends, many of the times this just does
not work.

Housing

If you decide to rent a space to live, it is recommended that its costs aren’t greater than your
gross income. Do not buy a house until you settle on an e
When you acquire a house, your down payment should be at least 20% of the purchase
price<Mortgage monthly payments have to be considered on your budget and it does not have
to exceed 28% of your Gross Salary. 15 year

Insurance

Health and automobile insurance are important, you are always exposed to accidents. Do not
gamble on this, health care especially could be expensive. Choose the ones with a greater
deductible, therefore the monthly premium will be lower.

Quick tips

Have two banks account for your normal spending and the other for keeping all the percentages
of your income sources mentioned in your budget.

Topics that were interesting for you and why

It's actually amazing that this book has almost a hundred principles dedicated to personal finance.
I liked that the 99 principles are sectioned in general topics so you have an idea of what the
principle is about. I’ll take the principle number 2 which makes sense to me, getting divorce is
really common these days and I personally don't see myself married because of many causes, but
also because of what the principle mentioned about getting divorce o being married to a person
that doesn’t share you financial mindset wherein both cases you will end up spending a lot of
money that you probably don't even have. I also agree with the principle number 52 of being
aware of getting rich fast, there are a lot of marketing in the media that tries to sell you the idea
of getting a lot of money in a short period of time, this means high return but high risk too so in
simple terms as a person with financial knowledge this is pretty nonsense for me and most of the
times this ends up being a fraud.

I can relate the budget section of the principles with what I have seen in class, manage your
money is critical especially if you are not economically settled. Being aware of your expenses so
you can save in proportion of your income, I appreciate that the author gives percentages of
savings and investing according to what affects your salary or income in a positive or negative
way

What changes based on the ideas of the book will you implement?

Since at his point I have pretty clear my life goals and which decisions I will have to make in the
future to get them, I know that I have to start with getting together a really good budget.
Nowadays, I consider that I have a good managing of spending on my necessities. However, I
should keep a more detailed track of this. In this way, I will generate a better discipline, and most
importantly, I will start keeping records of another type of expense. As every little extra food,
going out, laundry, hygiene products, among others/

Even though, I have spoken with my closest friends that an important factor for us to become
close was that, despite the budget of each, we are not into wasting a lot of money in parties,
restaurants, etc. Although, we agree that we spend in those little things that you do not keep
track of and, sometimes, we fall on consumerism and buy things we are not supposed to afford.

I already learned the hard way not to fall on the idea of getting rich quick. I started to trade in
forex and in a month, I already doubled my account. I got really thrilled with the idea that if I
keep the same performance buying bigger contracts I will earn great amounts of revenues, but it
supposed greater risks, so I have lost lots of money.

I consider investments as my future principal income. Therefore, at this point in my career, forex
trading is going to be my priority in terms of assets, since in this way, I will be able to keep my
mind focused on getting knowledge, through college and internships, to apply on my professional
life.

Due to the above, I would like to get an internship in a construction company or a Real Estate
company as a project analysis assistant. I will be able to get valuable projects for the organization
employing my expertise in data analysis and stock predictions and acquire experience in the real
estate industry, an area in which I want to take part as an investor in the following years.
My idea of a business that could generate enough profits for covering the expenses of the lifestyle
that I seek is related to basic needed agricultural products; such as sugar cane, wheat, rice, among
others. The goal is to have an Ecuadorian based company in Quito which will have as main
customers to merchandisers that work inside the main supply centers of the country. In this way
you secure monthly sells by contract. It is an area where my father is involved, therefore I can
get great contacts. Also, it is a job that does not require a large team for running smoothly, by
obtaining a good manager, accountant and salesman you could start with large sales by leaving
the transportation duties to another enterprise. I firmly believe that this is a company that could
be on track within a maximum of two years. The goal is to earn in dollars and live in Mexico.

Finally, after all those projects, I want to encourage young entrepreneurs to reach their
aspirations by providing them, not only financial support but also the assistant on how to manage
their own successful company by themselves. Being a startup investor, principally on
sustainability projects, is my way to provide the world something that, in some cases, has never
been given to me.

Is the book related to class?

Personal development, either intellectual or in a professional career, is related to how we

manage our resources. I consider this book teaches us how we can save money by spending
intelligently and effectively, take control and constantly check over bank accounts and manage
our weekly or monthly budget for all the necessities. Lessons focused on investments, expense
prioritization and high deductible insurance options gave me a new perspective, even options
that I didn’t know about, to apply from this moment.

On the other hand, the Personal Finances class teaches me how the money saved should be
invested. Cetes, bonds, and market share have appeared as new options to get cash for cash. I
had not thought in my retirement, my companies and other investments have always been my
main income prospect. So have new options and found a way effective way to use my resources
is and will be very helpful for me.
Good finance management comes from savings and smart spending, I consider this book and the
whole curse are part of a unique value chain, of which, through rational thinking, I will be able to
take the best of both to make a bright plan for my personal and professional future.