Soldier of Finance: Take Charge of Your Money and Invest in Your Future

ISBN-13: 9780814433287 / Angielski / Miękka / 2013 / 224 str.

Jeff Rose

Opis

Too much debt? Not enough savings? Stop your whining and get to work. It's time to become a battle-ready financial warrior, prepared to tackle any money challenge. Modeled on the Soldier's Handbook, which is issued to all new U.S. Army recruits, Soldier of Finance is a no-nonsense, military-style training manual to overcoming financial obstacles and building lasting wealth. Written by Jeff Rose, a Certified Financial Planner(TM) and army veteran with extensive combat experience, the book is divided into 14 modules, each section covering an essential element of financial success. You will learn how to: Evaluate your position and commit to change * Target and methodically eliminate debt * Clean up your credit report * Create tactical budgets * Build emergency savings * Invest for the short and long term * Determine an affordable mortgage size, insurance needs, and more. Complete with tales from the trenches and useful tools including quizzes, debriefings, and more--Soldier of Finance is the survival guide you need to face down your finances and bring order and prosperity to your life.

Spis treści

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xiii

INTRODUCTION 1
The Soldier's Handbook 2
The Purpose of Soldier of Finance 4

PA R T O N E
DISCOVERY PHASE: WHAT IS YOUR WHY? 7

1 WHY ARE YOU HERE? 8
Shaky Beginnings 10
What's Your Story? 14
What Is a Soldier of Finance? 15
Debriefing: A Soldier of Finance Success Story 15
Go/No Go 17
Summary 19

2 TIME TO ENLIST AND TAKE AN OATH 20
Soldier of Finance Creed 22
Finding a Battle Buddy 23
Identifying Blue Falcons 26
Down to Basics 29
Summary 31

PA R T T W O
INITIAL TRAINING PHASE (WEEKS 1--5) 33

3 WEEK 1: THE ARMY PHYSICAL--MEASURE YOUR DEBT 34
Your Financial Status: Stop Being in Denial 36
Debriefing: The Meaning of "Not Much Debt" 36
The Situation Report 38
P/X Rangers (or Living Beyond Your Means) 41
Summary 44

4 WEEK 2: ROSTER NUMBER--
YOUR CREDIT SCORE FOR LIFE 45
740 Is the New 720 47
Credit Scores and Your Mortgage 48
Finding Your Credit Score 49
Summary 50

5 WEEK 3: LAND MINES--YOUR CREDIT REPORT 51
My First Credit Report 53
Where to Get Your Free Credit Report 54
Carefully Verify the Information 56
Set Up Your Recon 58
Summary 61

6 WEEK 4: THE LOW CRAWL--CREDIT REPAIR 62
Stop the Bleeding 64
My Unnecessary Debt 65
Pay Down Your Debt 66
Debriefing: No Credit to Good Credit 67
Get the Most Out of Your Credit Cards 68
Watch Out for Credit Card Company Dirty Tricks 71
Summary 74

7 WEEK 5: LAND NAVIGATION CERTIFICATION--
IDENTIFY YOUR GOALS 75
Define Your Mission Objectives 77
Op Orders: How to Achieve Your Mission 79
Summary 85

PA R T T H R E E
CAMPAIGN PHASE (WEEKS 6--12) 87

8 WEEK 6: ACCOMPLISHING GOALS--
FROM CHAOS TO PRECISION 88
Into Action 89
Execute the Mission 91
Twenty-One Days to Change 93
Dealing with Setbacks 95
Review the Mission 96
Summary 98

9 WEEK 7: DESTROYING THE ENEMY--
PAYING OFF DEBT 100
Field Artillery: Matching the Cannon to the Objective 103
Ammunition for Targeting Debt 104
Debriefing: Operation Motherhood 108
Don't Be Content with Debt 110
Getting Cash Flow Positive 113
Summary 115

10 WEEK 8: SENSITIVE ITEMS REPORT--
TACTICAL BUDGETING 116
Tie Budgeting to Your Goals 117
The Sensitive Items Report 118
The Basic Training Budget: Identify Your Unnecessary Spending 120
Online Resources 122
Debriefing: Operation Budget 123
Practice Makes Perfect: Why Soldiers Drill 125
Family Battle Drills 126
Summary 129

11 WEEK 9: FRAGO--
THE SAVINGS ACCOUNTS SURVIVAL GUIDE 130
The FRAGO Fund 132
Watch Out for Imposters 134
Making the Most of Your Savings Account 135
You Are Now Ready for Anything 138
Summary 139


12 WEEK 10: MANUALS AND ORDERS--
GETTING STARTED IN INVESTING 141
Why Haven't You Started? 142
Are You Ready? 144
The Magic 10 Percent: A Guideline for Investing 145
Get the Right Advice 147
Secure Your Base of Operations 148
Summary 150

13 WEEK 11: FROM BOOTS TO HUMVEES--
BEGINNING INVESTMENT VEHICLES 152
Remember the Mission 155
Use Boots, Not Buses, for Short Distances 155
Middle-Distance Humvees: Investment Accounts
(Individual or Joint) 158
Peer-to-Peer Lending 160
Summary 162

14 WEEK 12: FIVE-TON TRUCKS AND MRAPS--
LONG-DISTANCE INVESTMENT VEHICLES 163
Take an Active Role with a Roth IRA 164
Follow the Roth IRA with a 401(k) 167
The 401(k) for Military Personnel 169
The Stock Market: Be Careful of the Risks 169
Diversify Based on the Size of Your Portfolio 171
Investing for Your Future 171
Summary 173

PA R T F O U R
CONSOLIDATION PHASE (WEEKS 13--14) 175

15 WEEK 13: BASIC HOUSING ALLOWANCE--
MORTGAGE BASICS 176
Debriefing: J. Money's House 178
How Much House Can You Really Afford? 180
What Types of Loans Are Best for You? 182
Housing Traps to Avoid 183
Summary 186

16 WEEK 14: YOUR BODY ARMOR--
YOU NEED INSURANCE 187
Auto Insurance 189
Homeowners/Renters Insurance 190
Medical Insuranc

O autorze

JEFF ROSE, is a Certified Financial Planner(TM) and an Iraq combat veteran. A regular contributor to U.S. News World Report, MarketWatch, and Equifax.com, he is the author of two popular personal finance blogs, SoldierofFinance.com and the nationally recognized goodfinancialcents.com, which has been featured in Forbes, The Huffington Post, Kiplinger, and The Wall Street Journal.