3337: The Triforce Of Wealth by Craig Stephens of Retire Before Dad on Intentional Living & Spending

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[00:00:38] This is Optimal Living Daily, The Triforce Of Wealth by Craig Stephens of RetireBeforeDad.com

[00:00:45] and I'm Justin Malik.

[00:00:47] Welcome back to our usual Sunday bonus episode where I share an episode from one of the other podcasts

[00:00:52] in the Optimal Living Daily network, usually overlapping with the kinds of themes that come up here.

[00:00:57] And today's episode comes from Optimal Finance Daily.

[00:01:00] You can follow or subscribe to that show wherever you're hearing this if you enjoy what you're about to hear.

[00:01:05] So with that, let's get right to the post and commentary from Diana as we optimize your life.

[00:01:15] The Triforce Of Wealth by Craig Stephens of RetireBeforeDad.com

[00:01:22] After two years of begging, I finally received a classic Nintendo NES game console from Santa in the 6th grade.

[00:01:32] One of the original video games for the system was the masterpiece The Legend Of Zelda.

[00:01:38] The Zelda franchise is an enduring global video game phenomenon enjoyed by gamers worldwide.

[00:01:45] To date, Nintendo has produced 18 titles in the series for its various consoles.

[00:01:53] A reoccurring storyline in the series revolves around the Triforce,

[00:01:58] which is made up of three singular golden triangles called the Triforce of Power,

[00:02:04] the Triforce of Wisdom and the Triforce of Courage.

[00:02:08] The protagonist of the series, Link, goes on journeys to retrieve the pieces of the Triforce from various bad guys and hiding places

[00:02:18] and goes on to save Princess Zelda.

[00:02:21] When all three pieces of the Triforce are combined, they create an inadvertent triangle in the middle.

[00:02:28] If an individual acquires all three pieces of the Triforce and assembles them,

[00:02:33] that person, good or evil, will be granted any wish they desire for the remainder of their life.

[00:02:40] So long as they keep all three Triforces together.

[00:02:45] The Triforce of Wealth

[00:02:46] It's often said that building wealth is simple but not easy.

[00:02:51] Most of us intuitively know and understand the keys to building wealth because they're simple,

[00:02:57] but we struggle to implement them in our lives.

[00:03:01] Three singular Triforces must be assembled to create the Triforce of Wealth, if you will, to be truly wealthy.

[00:03:09] Earn more, the Triforce of Power.

[00:03:13] Spend less, the Triforce of Wisdom.

[00:03:16] And invest the surplus, the Triforce of Courage.

[00:03:21] No one Triforce is self-sustaining.

[00:03:23] Like a three-legged stool, all three must remain intact to achieve financial wellness, happiness and everlasting wealth.

[00:03:33] Earn more, the Triforce of Power.

[00:03:37] He or she who possesses the Triforce of Power, the ability to earn a high income,

[00:03:43] shall be granted an unlimited amount of mystical power.

[00:03:47] This holds true in society as those with high incomes can purchase material objects that mystify their neighbors and colleagues.

[00:03:55] This power is unlimited for as long as the Triforce of Power remains in possession.

[00:04:01] But with great power comes great responsibility.

[00:04:05] Danger is possible if the Triforce of Power falls into the lap of evil.

[00:04:10] The Triforce of Power alone does not make the powerful complete.

[00:04:16] Spend less, the Triforce of Wisdom.

[00:04:20] He or she who possesses the Triforce of Wisdom, judicious frugality, is also granted special powers.

[00:04:28] These powers include the ability to see one's future, of prosperity,

[00:04:32] and mastery of using penetrating vision to identify the foolish spending behaviors of mortals.

[00:04:40] More importantly, those who have obtained the Triforce of Wisdom spend their gold on necessities and objects that bring them joy and camaraderie,

[00:04:50] not on articles and gadgetry meant to exhibit opulence.

[00:04:54] But the wisdom of eternal frugality alone is not enough to bestow wealth and happiness upon a worthy saver.

[00:05:03] Invest the surplus, the Triforce of Courage.

[00:05:08] He or she who possesses the Triforce of Courage to steadfastly invest undeterred by external forces,

[00:05:16] displays confidence and unflappable persistence in times of prosperity and despair.

[00:05:22] They fear not fluctuations in economic conditions and never heed the advice of unproven philosophers or practice the witchcraft of deviance.

[00:05:34] Those who demonstrate acumen and sound judgment over long periods of time,

[00:05:39] even in the face of dragons and talking heads and bloggers, shall prevail.

[00:05:45] The unwise shall fail.

[00:05:47] But the Triforce of Courage alone cannot satisfy the heartfelt intentions of pursuers of wealth.

[00:05:55] The Assembled Triforce of Wealth.

[00:05:57] Those who obtain all three Triforces will be granted as many wishes as they desire until they die,

[00:06:05] so long as they retain the Assembled Triforce of Wealth.

[00:06:09] The Assembled Triforce of Wealth requires balance and resistance to temptation.

[00:06:15] Those who overindulge the Triforce of Power will forget the wisdom of frugality and become careless with their surplus.

[00:06:24] Over-reliance on the Triforce of Wisdom may cause one to forget the importance of income

[00:06:31] and lead to uninspired courage when one should be investing with fortitude.

[00:06:37] And Triforce of Courage may severely punish the arrogant and overconfident investor.

[00:06:42] It becomes weak when it lacks a sound foundation of income and cash flow,

[00:06:48] fostered by the preceding two Triforces.

[00:06:52] It's the Zen-like balance of the Assembled Three Triforces which makes a man or woman truly wealthy

[00:06:59] by way of financial wellness, happiness and contentment,

[00:07:03] and the ability to bestow peace and good deeds upon others.

[00:07:07] Earn more, spend less, invest the surplus.

[00:07:10] Then rescue the princess.

[00:07:17] You just listened to the post titled, The Triforce of Wealth by Craig Stevens of retirebeforedad.com

[00:07:25] What a great analogy!

[00:07:28] Though I've never been one for video games, I thought this article was really fun.

[00:07:32] I think what makes these various forces even more powerful is the asset of time.

[00:07:38] The way you handle your money over time has a profound effect on your results on multiple levels.

[00:07:46] For instance, it takes time to increase your income.

[00:07:50] When you're first getting started in your career,

[00:07:53] time brings experience and enhanced skills that will allow you to earn more.

[00:07:58] But don't let the prospect of a higher income in the future distract you from proper money management today.

[00:08:05] This was my error in my 20s.

[00:08:09] I assumed I'd be making so much more money in the future that I could deal with my debt more easily later.

[00:08:15] But here's the thing, earning more is only one part of the equation.

[00:08:20] You don't all of a sudden learn money management skills when your income increases.

[00:08:25] Once I came to my senses, I found it helpful to front load my saving and investing efforts

[00:08:32] during a time when I made a six-figure salary.

[00:08:35] I invested 60% of my income for about six years, which led me to reach Coast-Fi status,

[00:08:42] meaning that I have enough in my retirement vehicles that it will grow to what I need in 30 years for traditional retirement.

[00:08:50] And I saved a healthy emergency slash opportunity fund,

[00:08:55] which I define as two years of living expenses liquid.

[00:08:59] By front loading my efforts for a certain period of time,

[00:09:03] I have the opportunity to relax a bit on saving and investing

[00:09:07] and explore other options that perhaps won't earn as much money.

[00:09:12] Similarly, with expenses, it can take time to build up your frugal muscles

[00:09:17] and make adjustments on the biggest areas of your budget, like your housing and transportation.

[00:09:23] If you can focus on 1% improvements every month,

[00:09:27] then over time that can add up to a significant reduction in your spending.

[00:09:32] And of course, time when it comes to investing is a powerful builder of wealth due to the magic of compound interest.

[00:09:42] Time in the market is known to produce much better results than timing the market.

[00:09:47] So don't delay, invest early and often.

[00:09:52] And that should do it for today.

[00:09:53] Have a happy rest of your day,

[00:09:55] and I'll see you on the Thursday show tomorrow where optimal life awaits.