In my Money Managers interview series, I interview notable members of the personal finance community. Generally, my interviewees are bloggers or professionals working in finance. In this article I interviewed Matt, better known on Twitter as The Wealth Coach. I’m a fan of his simple, but effective, takes on major topics in personal finance. Without further ado, let’s get into the interview!
For my readers who may not be familiar with you, would you please introduce yourself? Who are you? What do you do?
I am The Wealth Coach, but my real name is Matt. I help people get started investing with index funds and ETFs, and have written an e-book on the subject. I’m also a real estate investor looking to scale and retire in 12 years.
What is your platform about, and in your opinion, what sets it apart from the others in your niche?
My platform is all about making investing simple. Nobody wants to spend hours analyzing stocks, and the reality is it isn’t necessary. Index funds are proven to beat stock-pickers the majority of the time. I want to show people that everyone can and should invest.
When and why did you start getting involved in twitter and online communities? Looking back, would you have gone about starting it differently?
I’ve only been on Twitter for a little over a year. Honestly I got started because I had plenty of downtime at my job and was looking for something positive to fill it with. When I realized there was a whole world of like-minded individuals, I was hooked.
Are there bloggers, authors, friends or anyone else who has really inspired you?
My first inspiration was probably Mr. Money Mustache. I read through every single blog post he had in a summer and was amazed at all the creative ways he had to save money, invest money and do things himself to be financially free early in life
What are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced so far, through helping people learn about finance as well as in your own personal finance journey?
The biggest challenge I see is most don’t think they can save enough to invest. I haven’t found a case yet where there isn’t $30 or more a month to invest. Some people get in their own way and once they think something is impossible, it’s impossible.
Time for a bit of a loaded question – what is your favorite type of investment and why (index funds, stocks, bonds, real estate, etc.)?
My favorite has to be index funds and ETFs just for their ease and simplicity. It really is the easiest way to get your money working for you. A close second is real estate just because of the power of leverage. I can use someone else’s money to buy an asset and then keep all the profit it makes.
At the end of the day, what is the main thing you hope your viewers learn or understand?
I want people to understand there’s a way to start building wealth. Anyone can do it if they believe they can do it, like most things in life. Most success starts by believing in yourself and investing is no different.
What’s the best piece of advice you received growing up? How did it shape you into the person you are today?
I actually received a lot of bad money advice growing up. Things like save money in the bank, stocks are risky, go to school and get a good job. I would tell everyone to look at the money advice they’ve been given and ask themselves if thst advice was given by someone in the situation they’d like to someday be in. If it was given to you by someone wealthy and financially free, it’s probably good advice. If it was given by your parents and they’ve struggled their whole lives, it might be time to rethink it
Everyone views success differently, what personal metric do you use to define your own success?
Success to me is having control over my time. Not being controlled by a boss because I need a paycheck that bad.
People tend to struggle with finding a good work-life balance, especially these days. How do you manage? In other words, what’s an average weekday like for you?
I worked very hard when I was in my 20s with no kids so that I can put in my 40 hours, let my investments work without my involvement, and spend the rest of my time with my family. But that came from 10 years of 60 hour work weeks. If you set yourself up early, you can have it all.
What’s something you’re interested in – outside of personal finance?
I love building things. I do all my home repairs and renovations. I’ve done an addition, remodeled bathrooms, kitchens. I like looking at something knowing I’ve built it. I also enjoy golf but am not good at it.
If you had to give advice to someone who has just joined the job market and started their personal finance journey, what would it be?
Find the 1 or 2 skills unique to you, and everyone has one, and use that in your job search. Get so good at 1 thing that people will pay you above and beyond others to do it for them. Focus on that one skill and continue to perfect it.
Conclusion
I hope you enjoyed learning about Matt and his views on personal finance and investing as much as I did! If you liked what he had to say and want to see more, be sure to check him out on Twitter. As always, if you have any thoughts you’d like to contribute, add a comment!
