The Simple Path To Financial Independence | Ryan Sterling | TEDxFarmingdale

nce you have an engaged customer, reduce any friction between the customer and the sale. This is the first rule of sales and marketing. In retail, the main friction points used to be traveling to a physical store and using cash to make a purchase. This is no longer the case. With
the explosion of credit cards, e-commerce, easy checkout, and digital marketing there is zero distance between you and the sale. The easier the buying experience, the more you spend. The truth is, nobody is going to stop you from spending money in a reckless and unintentional way.
The main idea: The natural barriers that used to exist between you and spending your money are gone, and if you don't intentionally add back friction points, retailers and marketers will take your money. Ryan Sterling is the founder of Future You Wealth, a successful wealth manager, and sought-after holistic wealth coach.
Prior to starting Future You Wealth, Ryan had over 15 years of experience working with individuals and families at firms such as AllianceBernstein, Goldman Sachs, BBR Partners, and Capital Group.

[tahirisaid]

My outlook on money changed when I realized someone making $300, 000 can retire broke & someone making $80, 000 can retire a multi-millionaire. Living within your means and living a frugal lifestyle is the first step to financial independence. I just hit the one million mark last year, cheers to everyone striving to get there someday.

[tahirisaid]

I've been diligently working, saving, and investing towards financial freedom and early retirement. However, the economy's downturn since the pandemic has significantly eroded my portfolio. My question now is: Should I continue contributing to my portfolio in these unstable markets, or should I explore alternative sectors??

[enticingmay]

Live within your means, don’t spend money you don’t have, don’t fall into societal/peer pressure, and focus on your own financial journey. It’s just common sense.

[girishktyagi]

I save(MF, Stocks, Gold) 30% of my income each month as if it's a loan EMI. Now if I save anything out of 70% of my money, I use it for my pleasure, extravagance and don't even think twice! I usually end up saving 7 to 10% of my 70%. Yes, I pay loans for my home and car out of 70%. I am 39 and fully confident of retiring by 50. All thanks to the magic of compounding now I have started to get on my savings. I started saving when I was 31. The best part is that this pattern has freed me from worrying about the future and thus possibly helping me to be physically and mentally healthy as well. Because "worry" is the biggest decease of all time.

[wxqechf]

I admire the financial independence of people, But you can live better if you work a little more. After watching this I think there are people out there, on the extreme, who plan to die early just to be able to retire early. To each their own but to me, retirement isn't just about not having to work, it's about having the freedom to do whatever you might reasonably want, such as travel, buying things, enjoying life, etc. I don't think I could retire with less than $3m in income-generating investments, maybe $2m at the very minimum. I plan to work until I'm at least 45

[Michelle_Sanders]

I retired 5 years ago. My wife retired two years later also at age 60. To date, we have not touched a dime of our retirement savings. We are having zero issues living on nothing more than our Social Security. What's our secret? Simple, we retired debt-free. Just remember it matters more how much you own than it does how much you have. It's a simple plan. Take care of your debt before you retired and eliminate money worries after you retire.

[waltzwalter]

A Financial Planner told me Saving at least 15% of your income in a 401(k) can help ensure that you have enough money to retire comfortably. How can take advantage of compound interest and potentially grow your retirement savings to about $3M over time?

[rjmaas]

Having limited space in my house is enough of a friction point for me

[RetirementTravelers]

Living within your means is the key. It is sad to see so many people with high debt and no savings. Thanks for sharing some things to make people think. Hopefully people will listen to your message. Saving has always been important for us and fortunately we were able to retire at 55 and now plan to travel the world. Hopefully we can inspire others to save and invest. John and Bev

[nyccc]

Such an important topic that many people need to listen and think about! I wish they teach this stuff at school to set our young generation to a right path!!! Thank you and great job!!!

[financialsombrero]

Good stuff, great presentation delivery. Getting people to think like investors over consumers would quickly solve problems for a large segment of society.

[zozozo]

Great video! So easy to understand and so valuable! Thank you so much for your explanation!

[kenyonbissett]

My partner couldn’t stand to have cash sitting around, he would not only spend it, he would spend 2 or 3 times. That doesn’t work in the real world. So I wouldn’t spend extra money, I just got good at getting better deals and kept our “savings” in a 1 yr storage of food, in items (leds, ceiling fans, energy efficient appliances, etc) that gave us a lower cost of living. Without a mortgage we invested in our 403b and 401k and Roth IRAs to drop our taxes. We took vacations, we kayak our local river weekly, we enjoyed life and raised our family. We lived simply but fully. FI is possible on one income and one income plus 1/2 income, living life your way.

[truealifollowers]

This is basic every one need to dive deep in financial freedom

[johnalexandersanabriaordon]

Final independence = intention + ownership

[devarshiroy]

Thank you for sharing such an amazing video with us.

[mikei]

Simple but not easy. People need to have commitment and the mindset to see it through. Great talk though.

[matthewriegner]

Keeping up with the jones is the problem. Everyone is sold on this idea they can have all this stuff(media), they want all this stuff(marketing), and they can afford all this stuff(cc and debt system). Once you start to see it for yourself, you'll never buy in to it again. What people want is some security and a passion to pursue. The other stuff just gives the illusion of that.

[Riggsnic_co]

Nobody can become financially successful overnight. They put in background work but we tend to see the finished part. Fear is a dangerous component, hindering us from taking bold steps we need in other to reach our goals. you have to contend with inflation, recession, decisions from the Feds and all. I was able to increase my portfolio by $289k in months. You have to seek for help in the right places.

[EricSeth]

Great talk! Could use about an hour longer presentation on this topic.