Lately I have a new hobby
My spare downtime has been dedicated to reading a lot of blogs and checking out a lot of library books about investing because, well, I like money, and I want more of it! With a topic as important as financial future, I of course also looked for the advice of my network.
Crowdsourcing for advice
One of my favorite resources came to my attention after I posted on Facebook a general question about mutual funds. I asked if anyone who considered themselves informed cared to talk to me about them. Soon afterward a friend of mine messaged me and referred me to this awesome blog, called Mr. Money Mustache, that he was following. He told me it was written by a man who was able to retire in his 30s and live happily with his wife and child by living frugally and making wise investments. My friend loved the sound of this, and being 24, he was on the path to his own early retirement by following MMM’s advice on “early retirement through badassity”
Well, I’m afraid early retirement is too late for me. Since I spent my 20s and half of my 30s as a stay-at-home mom, I have only begun to contribute to a 401K. At this point I am hoping to be able to retire on time! But I was intrigued so I checked it out. MMM pretty much verified everything I had been reading about in regards to investing your money, he endorsed putting your most of your money in an low-cost fund like Vanguard and just let compounding work its magic. Albert Einstein, who is considered to be a kind of smart guy once said, “Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it … he who doesn’t … pays it.”
Real talk
As I cruised through his site I found a page where he listed all the organizations he uses and likes so well that he refers them to his readers. Some were affiliate sites where he received a kickback for bringing in referrals, and some were just businesses he felt were worthy of brand advocacy, we all have brands we love and tell our friends about.
And then it hit me, again, the power of referrals at scale, 1:1 and 1:???. First of all, my friend referred me through a Facebook post to this website, and then the website is chock full of great information and referrals to bring your retirement goals to the next level.
The world has grown smaller with social media and the ease to which you can receive quality referrals from people you trust. I can’t image this is a trend that will recede, but instead grow.
