Hello All,

We DINKs are back from our trip to California. It was really an interesting visit, California is a huge prosperous and picturesque state. We spent most of the time visiting family and touring some of the more scenic parts of the state.

Since we’re big into finance, we ended up discussing our blog and money a fair amount with our families. One thing I noticed on the trip was that in terms of our relatives, our more economically successful family members generally communicate more openly about money.

For example, my aunt and uncle control nearly a million dollars worth of real estate. They have a house in Marin County (if you don’t know the Bay Area in California, Marin is pretty swanky), as well as shared interests in real estate in Washington state and Mexico. Also, over the past 4 years, they’ve managed to nearly quadruple their income, from $40,000 to $140,000. In addition, they’ve got a fair amount in stocks and mutual funds. But what’s more important is that they frequently discuss money management issues.

Similarly, my moms Sarah and Gretchen are millionaires. Over the past 30 years or so, they’ve managed to acquire more than a million dollars worth of stocks and home equity. What’s also important is that my moms talk openly about money. When I was younger, they would often sit me down and help me deal with budgeting or cash management issues. Also, they have a rental property and often discussed it openly around the dinner table when we were growing up.

The main point of this that at least as far as we’re concerned economically successful couples tend to openly discuss money.

Best,

James

MANAGE YOUR MONEY TOGETHER

Here are some simple guidelines for DINKS to build wealth:

1) Collaborate: Meet regularly to talk about money, set goals together, track and monitor them.

2) Understand and respect your partner. Take time to understand your partners values about money.

3) Watch the numbers. Get a budget, monitor your spending and track your net worth.

4) Max your retirement. Maximize contributions to your tax deferred retirement accounts.

5) Invest in stock. Stocks perform better than bonds or cash.

6) Avoid high interest debt. Credit cards and title loans are financial cancer.

7) Diversify. Don't put all your eggs in one basket.

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