What Tim Ferriss Wishes He Knew About Money In His 20s

by Libby Kane



Tim Ferriss, entrepreneur, public speaker, angel investor and author of the #1 New York Times bestseller "The 4-Hour Workweek", has shared some important personal finance advice with us.

When he was asked about what he wishes he'd known about money in his 20s, he said:

"In your 20s, optimize for learning, not earning.  Work directly under or with master deal-makers, and acquire skills.  This is particularly true for negotiating and hard skills like coding."

"What would you rather have: $20,000 more per year in your 20s, leading to making $100,000 to $200,000 a year in your 30s, or a lower-paying job from 20-25 - but one like a real-world MBA you're paid for - leading to making million in your 30s?"

"It often comes down to prioritizing skill acquisition over immediate post-college earning.  McKinsey or Goldman can be seductive, but it's easy to get trapped in a 20-plus-year path of paying for a bloated lifestyle that is always a bit more expensive than the year before.  Serfs can become self-made kings, but consultants tend to remain consultants.  The one true job security is a superior skill set."

Want to find out what other successful people wish they'd known about money in their 20s? read more

Seven Smart Investments You Can Make With Just $25 A Week

by Libby Kane

Even if you only have $25 a week, you can still make your money work for you.

How? Over on Quora, a user asked the community what they would recommend he do with his limited cash, and they were full of ideas.

Here are our favorite answers:

How to Invest Like A Rich Guy

by Paul Merriman

From time to time over the years I've been invited to talk to high-school students about financial matters. I always enjoy this opportunity to learn from them and - I hope - teach them some important things.

One question I often ask is:

"Would you rather invest like a rich person or a poor person?"

Of course they always choose the first option.

I use this question to introduce a couple of important concepts: Mutual funds versus individual stocks and index funds versus actively managed ones. High-school students, most of whom have little or no exposure to investments, have no trouble comprehending that a wealthy investor will own thousands of stocks, while a poor one might own only a few.

My point: Buy a handful of individual stocks, and you will be following the poor person's example. On the other hand, if you buy mutual funds - especially index funds - you will be investing like the rich investor.

As it turns out, the divide between poor investors and rich ones is deeper than I had thought.

A recent article published at TheWeek.com summed it up this way: "Rich people prefer productive companies while the poor prefer gold. That's bad news."