How to Invest Money for Beginners

Everything you need to know about getting started with investing. Find out why you shouldn't leave your money in cash, learn how and where to invest, and find out when to invest.

How I became a millionaire & things I learned along the way

My net worth from 2002 through 2017

Something remarkable happened to me on January 24, 2017. When I looked at my assets, like my bank balance, my condo, my investments, and subtracted my liabilities, like my student loans and mortgage, my net worth came out to $1,000,378.46. I was officially a millionaire at 33 years old.

I first started tracking my net worth in 2002 during my freshman year at the University of Michigan. At the time, my net worth was only $5,279.59! I was very proud of having close to $6K to my name. Little did I know that 15 years later this number would be 200 times greater. With $6K, I could buy just about anything I needed (I wasn’t even thinking about a car or a house at the time!). I kept the money in a checking account that was paying a stingy 1.5% or so. Sadly, this rate wasn’t even enough to cover inflation!

Invest $81K per year -- with much of it sheltered from taxes

Find out how to invest $81K a year, with much of it sheltered from taxes

When I first started working, I knew about my company’s 401K and I also took advantage of a Roth IRA, but beyond that I didn’t do much else. Little did I know, the government offers many generous ways to save and invest money in a way that minimizes your tax bill. 

Worst investing advice ever!

The top ten worst investing advice ever.

These days, everyone is an investor and thinks they know more than a thing or two about the market. There isn’t a class you can take in school on how to appropriately manage your finances or clear guidance on when to invest in a 401k, SMA, IRA, CD, ETF, IPO or use a CPA.

It feels at times like you need an adviser for your financial adviser! Because of all this confusion around the acronyms of investing, there has been an embarrassing amount of misguided investment guidance to try to simplify investing to the everyday man.

The Perpetual Money Generator

The perpetual money generator in action

What if I told you that there exists a machine that could generate never-ending wealth? Even as you grow older, this machine would continue spitting out more and more money. You could go on vacations, buy groceries, shop for new outfits, yet you’d still have enough money that you would never need to devote a moment worrying about these purchases. Most importantly, you would never need to worry about running out of money again. Talk about some peace of mind!

Former military homes at Fort Lawton in Seattle’s Discovery Park stand to net developer over $10 million profit

Home in Montana Circle

In February 2015, the US Navy and a subsidiary of Cleveland-based Forest City Enterprises sold the historic homes at Fort Lawton for $10.5 million to Rise Properties Trust, a Canadian based firm that invests in Seattle area real estate.

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery

Safeway is one of the largest American supermarket chains with revenue over $36 billion (2013) and 2,200 locations. Saveway, in the Pioneer Square neighborhood of Seattle, WA is not one of those many locations.

Can a pay raise be a bad thing? Absolutely… and here’s how to evaluate your raise.

Every year, many employees receive a pay raise or a “merit” increase. Some are even so unlucky as to receive no raise at all. Receiving a raise at first glance appears to be a wonderful thing. You’re bringing home a bigger paycheck, allowing you to buy more of what you want, or to save more for retirement. What could possibly be bad about that?

Boost your investment returns with an ESPP

Participating in your company's ESPP plan offers to boost your retirement savings

Very few things in life are certain and investment returns are no exception. Whenever I find an opportunity for practically free returns, I like to jump at the opportunity, whether it’s taking free money from casinos, earning cash back on credit cards, or making use of an ESPP.

If you work for a medium to large sized corporation, chances are that your company offers an ESPP, or an Employee Stock Purchase Plan. If you’re not already investing cash into your ESPP, you absolutely should do so right away.

Popular Celebrity Net Worth

Celebrity Net Worth

Successful careers in sports, acting, singing, or business can lead to tremendous amounts of wealth and celebrity status.

Do you ride the elevator or take the stairs?

Elevator vs. stairs

I work in a 13-story building in Bellevue, WA called the Bravern and my office is on the 10^th floor. Rather than taking the elevator, I take the stairs every morning. Each floor has approximately 20 steps, meaning that I climb about 200 steps every morning on the way to my desk and another 200 steps down in the evening. Not only does this healthy routine get my heart pumping in the morning, but it also helps wake me up. In a sense, it’s my coffee in the morning that gets me going. This also helps me accumulate physical activity throughout the day.

Ridiculous Ways to Save Money #3

Making money is hard, which is why saving money should be a priority.  Here are another five ridiculous money saving tips to get you on the path to saving!

1. Camp out instead of staying at a hotel

Motel 6 may be cheap, but camping is even cheaper. Five to six nights at a campsite is the equivalent of one night at a cheap hotel.  Campsites typically offer shared bathrooms and showers. Even better, drive to a remote location and pitch your tent for free- just be careful to stay away from private property and keep your food away from bears. A night under the stars sure beats an old dingy hotel room any night.

Celebrating 20 years in business... for the last 3 years

The Uptown China Restaurant celebrates 20 years in business

The restaurant business is notorious for rapid openings and just as rapid closings. TV shows like Kitchen Nightmares and Restaurant Impossible show us time and time again the difficulties of keeping a restaurant afloat. It's no wonder then that the Uptown China Restaurant in the Queen Anne Neighborhood of Seattle has made a big deal out of its 20 year celebration, one which it has been celebrating for the last 3 years as of 9/2014.

The secret to investing at the optimal time (hint: the best time is now)

A market timing strategy that even a monkey can do

An old adage in investing is to buy low and to sell high.  It seems so simple that even a monkey could do it. Unfortunately, if it really were that simple, most of us would not be working anymore. All sorts of books promise to teach you how to time the market. One titled Market Timing for Dummies promises to teach you how to “use a wide away of market-timing tools” to help you “make money in any market”.  Despite the complexity of timing the market, one simple strategy will help you come out ahead all the time.

Sleepless in Seattle houseboat fetches over $2 million

Sleepless in Seattle houseboat

Floating near the west shore of Lake union is 2460 Westlake Ave North, better known as Sam Baldwin's houseboat in the 1993 romantic comedy Sleepless in Seattle, starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan.

Was Seattle’s Great Wheel a great investment or a colossal blunder?

Seattle's Great Wheel at Pier 57

Rising 175 feet over Elliot Bay, Seattle’s Great Wheel occupies a dominant spot on the ever-changing Seattle skyline. Since opening at Pier 57 in June 2012, the Great Wheel has secured a spot as one of the most popular tourist destinations in Seattle by promising a fun ride with spectacular views of the city, the Puget Sound, and beyond.

You won’t believe what my realtor sent me

Kevin - congratulations! You have been in your condo for six years as of June 30! Just closed on a unit in the other stack for less than you paid. Crazy market!  Did the building next door take away your view? Hope all is well.  Congrats! Roger.

In 2014, I celebrated six years in my condominium in the Belltown neighborhood of Seattle.  I purchased my condo in June 2008 for $327,000, not long after the US entered a severe recession due to the bursting of the housing bubble in mid-2007. At the time, I thought it was an ideal time to buy since housing prices had already started plummeting and the US government offered a first time home buyer credit, which would make the purchase price more affordable.  Although housing prices had started to decline, I knew that historically inflation adjusted housing prices had climbed steadily since at least 1970 and housing seemed like a safe investment. I also figured that rents were only slightly less than a monthly mortgage payment, so I would be better off buying.

How to become a billionaire without founding a company or inheriting your wealth

At Unlimited Net Worth, I aim high and am serious about growing wealth.  Rather than simply aiming to become a millionaire, my ultimate goal is to become a billionaire in United States dollars (it would be cheating to use some other high inflation currencies, like the Zimbabwe dollar, where you can obtain a $100 billion note easily).  Why aim so high?  In high cost cities like New York or San Francisco, one million simply doesn’t go as far as it used to. 

Do you hate junk mail and telemarketers? How to hit them where it hurts.

Junk mail continues to annoy

Junk mail
Although junk mail has subsided somewhat in recent years as retailers have shifted to email and other digital forms of marketing, it’s still an annoyance and a waste of paper.  In the same spirit as with telemarketers, increase the cost of their campaign by sending back the return envelopes empty. They’ll have to pay for receiving the envelope and you’ll do your part to support the United States Postal Service.

Double your 401K contribution limit

The IRS limits employee 401K contributions to $18K/year. If you work in corporate America, your company likely offers you the ability to contribute to a 401K plan. If you’re already contributing, you’re off to a great start. If you’re maxing out your 401K plan by contributing $18K a year and you’re not sure what to do with the rest of your income, there is now a new way to double your contribution to $36K/year.