Wealth Today

This lesson seems to be one of the longest in the book. It’s a very thorough lesson on the value of home ownership and does very nicely explaining a potential buyers options. Mr Chilton stresses that owning a home may not be for everyone. He states the importance of making sure you’re saving your 10 percent first and meeting your other financial obligations, including saving for retirement and protecting your estate with insurance, before committing to the purchase of a home. This has probably been the most comforting book supporting my decision to not immediately purchase a home. I’m not quite sure I’m ready for the financial impact. He states that while it’s not exactly all that much more, it does have considerable costs. He explains PMI, FHA and VA loans. For more about mortgages, he suggests The Common Sense Mortgage by Peter Miller. He discusses the advantages of condo ownership. He explains that it may not benefit to prematurely pay a mortgage, but also explains why a shorter term can save thousands. He makes it clear that if you’re obligated to move within the next one to two years then after fees and expenses, it may be more costly to purchase a home compared to renting. He explains the tax benefits of home ownership. With so much information, it’s easy to forget that the main lesson of this chapter is to carefully consider buying your own home and make an informed decision.

The third lesson from The Wealthy Barber is to make sure to take care of retirement. This is separate from paying yourself first. This is making sure that you’re able to afford your desired lifetime upon retirement.

David Chilton says it best in this quote:

Your years in retirement should be among the best years of your life, so you owe it to yourself to do everything possible now, without crippling your current standard of living, to enable you to enjoy them to the fullest.”

Chilton advises using IRAs, CDs, and 401k as vehicles in the financial planning for a wealthy retirement.