Thank you for all the advice. There are a few points I definitely agree with, like, "is this a need or want?". I think everyone struggles with that. I think people need to get rid of things like cable and cell phones. Cell phones are everywhere if you ever need to make a phone call. You hardly ever find yourself actually needing one. You don't miss what you've never had is something that people need to think about. Virgins don't miss sex. People who've always had the basic channels don't miss cable, and people who have never had cell phones don't miss those. That ends up saving you at least 100 dollars a year. For 40 years? It builds up.
Also, I don't think turning to a financial advisor is nessecary. That's just like people who pay the money to go to a gym when all they have to do is exercise on their own. It's just an avoidable expense if you take the time to go through your own finances, which you seem to be doing quite well, considering all the books you've read on the subject.
Another thing I agree with is taking a percentage of your income to save every month. 10% was mentioned in
The Richest Man in Babylon. I think you could probably manage to save more than that, depending on how many children you have. I save the majority of what I make, most of the time 80%, but I don't have kids or an expensive house. I don't buy junk food either, and sometimes it is difficult, but it can be done. Apparently a kid costs 250,000 dollars by the age of 18.
Also, as I mentioned in another thread, paying with cash really is the best route, because once you've spent all of that, you may want to turn to your credit card and end up spending much more than you would have originally. The only problem with that is that credit cards are a good way to build credit, so if you can manage to budget and use a credit card, great, but I have not personally found that to be an easy task.
And my grandpa was raving about
Rich Dad, Poor Dad. He loved it, but I'll recommend your books to him, since they sound better. His main point about that book, though, is that it is better to be on the employer end than the employee end because you have complete control over your schedule, how much you make, and how much your employees make. He owns a real-estate company, so he definitely agrees with Kiyosaki, and highly recommended that book to me. Anyway thanks again, it was nice of you to take the time to give us point-by-point summaries of the books.
