This article is about Basics, Odds and Ends

    Earlier today, I wrote about Brett Wilder's The Quiet Millionaire. It's different than most personal finance books I've read. It's targeted at those who are further along their financial journeys rather than at those just starting out. Still, there are bits and pieces in The Quiet Millionaire that are applicable to everyone.

    I particularly liked Wilder's list of the seven enemies to financial success （which is my phrase, not his）. Over the past few weeks, I've found myself thinking of this notion again and again. He writes:

    If you want to become and stay the quiet millionaire, you must plan and manage your financial way of life…You must be proactive in order to obtain the financial life you want. By doing this, you will overcome the seven major obstacles to financial success.

    Wilder is saying that we know there are certain common barriers to wealth. These obstacles arise for everyone. Because of this, it's possible to plan in advance to cope with them. First, however, we have to be able to name these enemies so that we can prepare the proper weapons to fight them.

    According to Wilder, the seven enemies of financial success are:

    · Lack of discipline.Without discipline, it's difficult to build wealth. In fact, it's impossible to get rich - slowly or otherwise - if you spend more than you earn. The math just doesn't work. Wilder also warns against compulsive spending, and he urges readers to track where their money is going.

    · Materialism.Stuff will not enrich your life. It's so very easy to find yourself "keeping up with the Joneses", succumbing to lifestyle inflation. But materialism breeds discontent. Instead, Wilder says, focus on intellectual and spiritual pursuits to obtain fulfillment.

    · Debt.Not all debt is bad, of course. A reasonable mortgage on a sensible home is fine. But consumer debt - or a bad mortgage on a big house - is an enemy to financial success. In fact, bad debt may be thebiggest enemy to financial success.

    · Taxes.It's our responsibility to pay the taxes we owe, but we're under no obligation to pay more than that. "It is not unpatriotic to reduce paying your taxes," Wilder writes. We should instead actively work to keep our tax burden as low as possible.

    · Inflation.Inflation is wealth's silent enemy. It will not destroy you all at once. But it's always there, nibbling at the corners of your life, consuming a little cash every year. It's impossible to keep inflation completely at bay, but you can learn to mitigate its effects.

    · Investment mistakes.As many investors learned last year, poorly structured investment portfolios can be a killer. This enemy is fought through education, through an understanding of diversification and asset allocation, by taking the emotion out of investing.

    · Emergencies.The final enemy to financial success is the unexpected: unemployment, death, illness, and legal complications. Without a plan for emergencies, you leave yourself at the mercy of the fickle fates. Carry adequate insurance and maintain an emergency fund!

    I'd argue that there's at least one additional enemy to financial success: lack of purpose. If you don't know why you're saving and investing, you have no reason to do so. Without a destination in mind, you cannot set a course. The road to wealth is paved with goals.

    Note that some of these financial enemies are external and that some areinternal. Some of these enemies come from inside of us.

    I've fought all of these enemies at one time or another. I seem to have vanquished my internal foes - at least temporarily. But to ward against the external foes requires constant vigilance. And there's always the chance that an internal enemy can rear its ugly head again.

    Which of these foes is your greatest nemesis and why? How do you fight it?

    今天早些时候，我写了一篇有关布莱特王尔德写的"沉静的百万富翁"的文章。这本书跟我看过的很多个人理财书籍不大相同。书是给那些已经在个人理财的半道上的人写的，而不是给初学者写的。不过，这本书里仍然有一些所有人都可以参考的东西。

    我特别喜欢王尔德在书里列举的"财务成功的七个敌人"（这个是我的说法，不是他的）.过去几周时间里，我不停地把这些观念反复想了很多次。他是这样写的：

    "如果你想成为沉静的百万富翁，你就必须计划并且管理你的财务生活。你得积极行动，这样才能得到你想要的财务生活。通过这些行动，你就能克服这七个财务成功路上的拦路虎。"

    王尔德说的是：我们知道通往财富的路上有一些特定的障碍。每个人都会遇到这些障碍。正因为如此，我们就可能提前计划，让自己应对自如。不过，首先，我们得要能叫出这些敌人的名字，这样我们才能准备适当的武器打败他们。

    对于王尔德来说，财务成功路上的七个敌人就是：

    1.缺乏自律。如果没有自律，你就很难聚集财富。事实上，如果你花的比挣的多的话，变富是不可能的，无论是很慢地变富还是其他什么方式。这时候算账不顶用。王尔德还警告了强迫性消费的危害，他敦促各位读者要时时注意自己的钱花到哪里去了。

    2.物质至上。物质不会丰富你的生活，很快你就发现自己在跟别人攀比，开始屈从于膨胀的生活方式。但物质至上会诱发不安和惶恐。王尔德说，相反，应该注意知识和精神上的追求来达到丰富生活的目的。

    3.债务。当然了，并非所有的债务都是不好的。有一个不错的小家，供一个合理的按揭贷款，这就很好。但是，消费债务-或者供一个大房子的按揭贷款-就是财务成功路上的敌人了。事实上，不好的债务可能是最大的敌人。

    4.税务。我们有义务缴纳自己的税务，但是我们没有义务缴纳超出我们缴纳范围的税务。"减少纳税并不是不爱国，"王尔德写道。相反我们应该努力让税务越少越好。

    5.通货膨胀。通胀是财富路上的那么安静的敌人。它不会一下子把你打垮，但它会一直在那儿，在你的生活小角落里一点点啃食你的财富，每年都会消耗一些。要想完全牵制住通胀是不可能的，但你可以减轻它带来的影响。

    6.投资错误。就像许多投资者去年学到的那样，差强人意的投资组合简直就能吃人。人们通过理解投资多样化，资产分配等等技能，还有将感情因素从投资过程中剥离开这一系列的动作，使得克服"投资错误"是整个学习投资过程中的一大敌人。

    7.紧急事件。财务成功的最后一个敌人是不可预知的事物：失业、死亡、生病、法律纠纷。如果没有对这些紧急事件的计划，你可能会陷入无常之中，而毫无办法。购买必要的保险，持续对紧急基金的投资！

    我想说的是：至少还有一个财务成功路上的大敌：缺乏目标。假如你不知道自己为什么要存钱、投资的话，那你就没理由去做了。心中无目的，你就不可能给自己一个计划。要知道，通往财富的路上铺满的是目标。

    记住有些敌人是外在的，而有一些则是内在的。有一些是从我们内心深处产生的。

    我跟所有这些敌人都交锋过不止一次。我似乎已经打败了自己内心的敌人-只是短暂的。不过要战胜外在的敌人得要有持续不断的警惕。还有，内心的敌人也可能会再次抬头。

    你最大的敌人是哪些，原因是什么？你是怎么战胜他们的？