Jinlu's Blog

Anyone watching Game of Thrones? Many people love stories about Kings and Queens. I’ve got another story for you today. Once upon a time, there was a King. He hosted a chess tournament for farmers. That’s weird, I know.  But he did it anyway. One of the farmers won. The King asked the farmer what he wanted as his prize. The farmer said, “I just want some wheat and I don’t want much. I want one kernel of wheat on the first square of the chess board, 2 kernels on the second square, 4 kernels on the 3rd square, 8 kernels on the 4th square, and so on.” The King said “That’s easy!” and he happily agreed.  One of the King’s advisors said to the King. “Your grace. We cannot afford that. To fill the last square, the 64th, there will need to be 1.8 times 10 to the 19th power kernels of wheat, which is 740 thousand billion lbs.” The King got mad, and he said: “Burn them all!” Oh, well. He didn’t really say that. I guess I watched too much Game of Thrones.  But the King was very angry,

I am very interested in economics, finance, and investment, and have learned these for a couple of years in my spare time. The main purpose of learning them is to improve my personal financial situation. The other day, I took the CFP (Certified Financial Planner) sample quiz and correctly answered 7 out of 10 questions. Not bad. I have summarized the basics of personal financial planning, 12 main points in total. As a tribute to Jordan Peterson's 12 Rules for Life , I call it 12 rules for Personal Finance. 1. Set your goals . It could be to secure a financial future, to retire early, or even to achieve financial freedom. 2. Budget . Spend less and save more. 3. Increase your income . Invest in yourselves, e.g. get continuing education or professional certificates for career advancement. 4. Get out of Debt as soon as possible. Especially the high-interest debt, such as credit card debt. 5. Set up an emergency fund which can last 6 months without employment. 6. Boost your c