Michael Ryan Money

Simplifying Money, Empowering Lives
📖 Creator of
financial planner
Featured in Forbes, WSJ & more

[Michael Ryan Money @M_Ryan_Money]

Seen the flip side too over 30 years.
Same is true on the advisor side. I’ve seen a lot of people pay for advice & still have major blind spots.

Great advisors stand out because they’re so rare. The tough part is sorting them from the ones who don’t know what they’re doing.

[Mark Cecchini, CFP® @markcecchini]

I have been doing this job every day for the last 13 years.

All ages. All tax brackets.

I have met ~maybe~ 5 people (ever) who were DIYing their finances and doing everything right with limited gaps or blind spots.

Five.

[Michael Ryan Money @M_Ryan_Money]

A10 Stop trying to look like you've got it figured out. Being financially boring and hard to break is quieter, and it actually works.
#CreditChat #FinancialWellness

[Michael Ryan Money @M_Ryan_Money]

A10 The financial advice I wish someone had given me after graduation? Stop trying to look financially okay. Start becoming financially hard to knock over.
#creditChat

[Michael Ryan Money @M_Ryan_Money]

A10 Financial peace doesn't usually start with earning more. It starts when you stop paying for an identity.
If you want to think through the behavior side of this:
#CreditChat
https://t.co/o2tKpjy1aX
https://t.co/87AcP9kqT1

[Michael Ryan Money @M_Ryan_Money]

A9 If your job offers a match, find that number this week. That's not trivia—that's part of your actual paycheck.
I wrote about some of this here:
#CreditChat
https://t.co/k42wiEErx1
https://t.co/1QA2cw6MBl

[Michael Ryan Money @M_Ryan_Money]

A9 Retirement feels irrelevant when your first 401(k) contribution looks microscopic. I get it. You're making $35K, the match feels like nothing, and you've got student loans breathing down your neck.

#CreditChat

[Michael Ryan Money @M_Ryan_Money]

A9 And honestly? Pretax deductions help because you barely feel it leave. The match is literally free money—and yes, "free money" usually is a scam, but this time it's not.
Small. Automatic. Boring. Powerful.
#CreditChat #RetirementPlanning

[Michael Ryan Money @M_Ryan_Money]

AMEN!!!

[Dr. Barbara O'Neill, CFP®, AFC®, CRPC, CPFFE @moneytalk1]

A8: Not contributing enough to get the maximum 401(k) plan match, which is like walking away from free money. #creditchat

[Experian @Experian]

A7. Many employers look for candidates with some on-the-job experience. Working during school can help you build transferable skills, income stability, and early financial discipline. #CreditChat

[Michael Ryan Money @M_Ryan_Money]

A8 I've seen people wreck their credit in the first six months not because they spent money, but because they committed to recurring money without thinking.
If credit is already tight, start here:
#CreditChat
https://t.co/GZVpatrzi0
https://t.co/oNcCYcWvOg

[Michael Ryan Money @M_Ryan_Money]

A8 The biggest new grad money mistake is not overspending. It's making monthly commitments during the emotional high of the first paycheck.
New apartment. New city. Need to feel like an adult.
#CreditChat

[Michael Ryan Money @M_Ryan_Money]

A8 Next thing you know, you're financing a personality: Starbx, gym membership you'll use "this time," nicer apartment because you finally can.
1 time spending is loud. Monthly spending is sneaky. And it compounds.
Wait 72 hours before adding anything that repeats.
#CreditChat

[Deacon Hayes @deaconhayes]

A8: Common financial mistakes include lifestyle inflation, skipping a budget, and carrying credit card balances. Keeping expenses low early gives you more flexibility and options later. #creditchat

[Dr. Barbara O'Neill, CFP®, AFC®, CRPC, CPFFE @moneytalk1]

A6: Salary is important but benefits like 401(k) match and health and life insurance often have a larger long-term impact.#creditchat

[Michael Ryan Money @M_Ryan_Money]

A7 My son worked through school, and watching him come out the other side not afraid of actual humans was worth more than the paycheck.
Reliability under pressure travels better than potential ever will.
#CreditChat

[Michael Ryan Money @M_Ryan_Money]

A7 You figure out how to handle difficult people, awkward emails, bad days, chaos, and failure. And you survive it. That builds earned confidence. And employers feel the difference between "potential" and "I've already proven I don't fall apart."
That's not nothing.
#CreditChat

[Michael Ryan Money @M_Ryan_Money]

@Jennifer_Wwhite HAHAHAHAHA

[Michael Ryan Money @M_Ryan_Money]

A5 Most budgets fail because they're built for a month that never happens.
No surprise medical bill. No weird Target spiral. No "why is my car making that sound?" No emergency. Just this perfectly predictable month where everything goes according to plan.
#creditChat

[Michael Ryan Money @M_Ryan_Money]

A6 Compensation is not what they hand you. It's what they keep you from having to pay alone.
I wrote about this when people ask what to do with a raise:
#CreditChat
https://t.co/grXmhLOSxC

[Michael Ryan Money @M_Ryan_Money]

A6 Here's what I see grads get wrong: they compare job offers like it's just salary versus salary.
The real question is never "Who pays more?" It's "Which job makes my money less fragile?"
#Creditchat

[Michael Ryan Money @M_Ryan_Money]

A6 Health insurance. Retirement match. HSA. Tuition reimbursement. A commute that doesn't eat three hours a day. Benefits that actually let you breathe.
I've seen people turn down a $10K raise for a job with a real 401(k) match, and you know what? They were right.
#CreditChat