The Simple Path To Financial Independence | Ryan Sterling | TEDxFarmingdale

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Published 2021-01-21
nce you have an engaged customer, reduce any friction between the customer and the sale. This is the first rule of sales and marketing. In retail, the main friction points used to be traveling to a physical store and using cash to make a purchase. This is no longer the case. With
the explosion of credit cards, e-commerce, easy checkout, and digital marketing there is zero distance between you and the sale. The easier the buying experience, the more you spend. The truth is, nobody is going to stop you from spending money in a reckless and unintentional way.
The main idea: The natural barriers that used to exist between you and spending your money are gone, and if you don't intentionally add back friction points, retailers and marketers will take your money. Ryan Sterling is the founder of Future You Wealth, a successful wealth manager, and sought-after holistic wealth coach.
Prior to starting Future You Wealth, Ryan had over 15 years of experience working with individuals and families at firms such as AllianceBernstein, Goldman Sachs, BBR Partners, and Capital Group.
Ryan earned a BA in Economics from Carleton College, and an MBA with a specialization in Investment Management from Vanderbilt University. He is a CFA® Charterholder and a member of the CFA Society New York. In addition, Ryan teaches financial literacy at the Bronx Youth Center and his work has been featured in numerous media outlets including: Business Insider, CNN Money, and HuffPost. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx
All Comments (21)
  • @donnazunna3502
    I retired 5 years ago. My wife retired two years later also at age 60. To date, we have not touched a dime of our retirement savings. We are having zero issues living on nothing more than our Social Security. What's our secret? Simple, we retired debt-free. Just remember it matters more how much you own than it does how much you have. It's a simple plan. Take care of your debt before you retired and eliminate money worries after you retire.
  • @girishktyagi
    I save(MF, Stocks, Gold) 30% of my income each month as if it's a loan EMI. Now if I save anything out of 70% of my money, I use it for my pleasure, extravagance and don't even think twice! I usually end up saving 7 to 10% of my 70%. Yes, I pay loans for my home and car out of 70%. I am 39 and fully confident of retiring by 50. All thanks to the magic of compounding now I have started to get on my savings. I started saving when I was 31. The best part is that this pattern has freed me from worrying about the future and thus possibly helping me to be physically and mentally healthy as well. Because "worry" is the biggest decease of all time.
  • @enticingmay435
    Live within your means, don’t spend money you don’t have, don’t fall into societal/peer pressure, and focus on your own financial journey. It’s just common sense.
  • @user-wx7qe4ch9f
    I admire the financial independence of people, But you can live better if you work a little more. After watching this I think there are people out there, on the extreme, who plan to die early just to be able to retire early. To each their own but to me, retirement isn't just about not having to work, it's about having the freedom to do whatever you might reasonably want, such as travel, buying things, enjoying life, etc. I don't think I could retire with less than $3m in income-generating investments, maybe $2m at the very minimum. I plan to work until I'm at least 45
  • @waltzwalter
    A Financial Planner told me Saving at least 15% of your income in a 401(k) can help ensure that you have enough money to retire comfortably. How can take advantage of compound interest and potentially grow your retirement savings to about $3M over time?
  • @financialsombrero9097
    Good stuff, great presentation delivery. Getting people to think like investors over consumers would quickly solve problems for a large segment of society.
  • @nyccc11
    Such an important topic that many people need to listen and think about! I wish they teach this stuff at school to set our young generation to a right path!!! Thank you and great job!!!
  • @zozozo11
    Great video! So easy to understand and so valuable! Thank you so much for your explanation!
  • @rjmaas
    Having limited space in my house is enough of a friction point for me
  • @RetirementTravelers
    Living within your means is the key. It is sad to see so many people with high debt and no savings. Thanks for sharing some things to make people think. Hopefully people will listen to your message. Saving has always been important for us and fortunately we were able to retire at 55 and now plan to travel the world. Hopefully we can inspire others to save and invest. John and Bev
  • @taofik37
    This is one of main goals...I´m on!
  • @mike330i
    Simple but not easy. People need to have commitment and the mindset to see it through. Great talk though.
  • @kenyonbissett3512
    My partner couldn’t stand to have cash sitting around, he would not only spend it, he would spend 2 or 3 times. That doesn’t work in the real world. So I wouldn’t spend extra money, I just got good at getting better deals and kept our “savings” in a 1 yr storage of food, in items (leds, ceiling fans, energy efficient appliances, etc) that gave us a lower cost of living. Without a mortgage we invested in our 403b and 401k and Roth IRAs to drop our taxes. We took vacations, we kayak our local river weekly, we enjoyed life and raised our family. We lived simply but fully. FI is possible on one income and one income plus 1/2 income, living life your way.
  • @EricSeth
    Great talk! Could use about an hour longer presentation on this topic.