Rosland Capital, a premier precious metals firm, has put together an infographic that maps out the various routes to retirement. This informational guide highlights everything from precious metal IRAs, to Simplified Employee Pensions, and Medicare benefits.

So who’s right? Believe it or not, I would go so far as to say that much of the financial information, strategies, etc. out there is good in it own way. Until discovering my own personal finance strategy,we tried a lot of different things before just narrowing it down to what has worked consistently for us. So I’m not one to say that there is one specific philosophy to follow. Heck, I even encourage you to contrast different “gurus” to see which one works best for you. Because you will find that you are able to pick and choose from different advisors and tailor it to your needs in order to reach financial freedom.

I forgot to mention that if you pay me late, you’ll owe me an additional one to three cents. Plus, I’m going to smear your name to others and tell them they shouldn’t loan you anything.

Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to talk with individuals at all walks of life. From high income to low income and everywhere in between. I have provided input to attain healthy financial goals with many of them.  I’ve also learned and experienced that not everyone will follow the coaching and/or instruction provided.  Let me share a story of one individual who comes to mind.

Let’s face it: If you truly want to get rich & achieve financial independence, it’s going to take some work! However, if I told you that you could become rich and increase your net worth (regardless of how much money you currently make) by using a tried and true formula that consists of 3 simple steps, would you believe me? Well you should, because it works!

How do I know? Because We Have Used This Formula to Continually Increase Our Net Worth Over the Past 14 years!

1.  Rich Dad, Poor Dad – Robert Kiyosaki – this book is the one that got me serious about financial education.  I would read a financial book every now and then, but not really implement what I was learning. After reading Rich Dad, Poor Dad, I began to understand why I would take one step forward towards financial freedom but then two steps back. Making more money doesn’t do anything for you if you don’t know what to do with it and how to keep it.

Primary takeaway: Definition of an Asset vs. a Liability

• Combining your finances: One of the biggest issues that the newlyweds usually face is how to handle their finances.  Most couples are struggling with this as they wonder whether or not they should merge everything and have a joint single account or whether they should have individual personal accounts and a joint account only for household expenses. A survey shows that 65% couples put their money in joint accounts and the rest of them keep everything in separate accounts. For the newlyweds, the choice should be somewhere in the middle as you should have some autonomy money.  When one spouse enters into a hefty debt load, the other spouse can use his/her funds to help the other.

On the flip side though, a lot of people feel they can "get rich quick".  By playing the lottery, gambling at casinos or partaking in other get rich quick schemes, they think there's some easy way to get a lot of money.

The different perception of getting rich vs. building wealth is the only reason I titled my book "Getting Rich is Simple...But It Ain't Easy!" instead of "Financial Freedom is Simple".  I knew the current title is likely to get more readers because people are looking for the magic pill to take, or magic wand to wave and then just watch riches fall into their lap.

Now, I know some of you may be thinking, "I don't want my kids to just inherit millions; I want them to work for it like I did" or "I don't want them to be spoiled rich kids thinking the world is owed to them".  That's understandable to feel that way.  But know that the stereotypical "rich brat" that we see on TV (e.g. Paris Hilton, Brandon Davis, etc.) is an exception, NOT the norm.

First of all, let me clear up never worrying about money again. It doesn't mean not having any money problems at all. Lord knows we get our share. But by applying the formula we describe, we can say with absolute certainly that when they do happen, we can quickly and confidently create a plan to solve the problem and keep right on moving forward on our journey towards financial freedom.

I was listening to a podcast and the host had made the statement "The Wealthy Hate Waste".  This struck a chord because I realized that wealthy people don't spend money frivolously.

You might be thinking, "What about those athletes or entertainers who buy 20 cars, 80 room mansions, in ground fish tanks, etc.?" I don't count them in the group I'm referring to because in most cases it wasn't true wealth accumulation that made them their money. They are actually just highly paid for their talent or skill, which is rightfully deserved, but to me it is not an indication of a person who has really built wealth. For a lot of those people, they are for the first time in their lives getting some money, and their lack of discipline and the euphoria of it all causes them to spend it unwisely.

Here's a quick piece of advice to all my couples out there.  Pay close attention.  It just might save your marriage!