To me, the minimalist home sounds depressing.
While I don’t want huge uncontrolled piles of stuff cluttering my home, I don’t think I would be happy with a house as stark as he depicts it.
No thank you, I don’t mind dusting my stuff, I’m not that lazy.

Ah! My dream is an uncluttered house. I appreciate the tips - 15 minutes a day is an accomplishable goal.

I agree with Kathy! I would feel so lonely and isolated and generally unhappy in a minimalist home. Same thing with an amazingly clean home, like those show homes, or my aunt’s place.

Give me a cluttered bookshelf and some well worn couches any day!

From the 401k link:
“People think of their 401(k) as being for retirement, so they want to put investments in it that are suitable for retirement–long-term, but reasonably safe. At the same time, they might have a brokerage account that’s not a retirement asset, where they feel free to make short-term trades with the hope of a big killing. That’s not the right way to look at compartments.

You only have one asset allocation, and it covers all the compartments.”

I’ve heard this before, but I’ve never heard a good explanation. Why shouldn’t you allocate assets within each compartment separately? Does that increase risk? Lower the amount you make?

If you have multiple accounts/compartments with different time horizons, why not allocate assets seperately?

You probably already know, but decluttered speaking is also a thing of beauty. 40 basic methods seems a lot to me, but perhaps if you chunked them into 3 or 4 memorable categories that would work. It seems you may also be weaving them into a story which could also help to make them make sense. Any which way, happy speaking!

Congrats on the speaking gig!

Yeah, 40 methods seems like a lot to me too, unless they’re chunked into categories (a few overall principles and then specific expressions of that principle, maybe?) For something like personal finance, it would also seem to me that you’d want to include a lot of stories and anecdotes about how these methods work and to demonstrate what a difference even a small reduction in spending can make. These you wouldn’t put on slides at all, but they would take up a significant portion of the hour.

I also find that giving out handouts is really useful too, because the listener has something to write on and take home with him. Forty methods is a lot to remember.

Something that you should also keep in mind would be women’s concerns. Especially with things like wardrobe, dry-cleaning, and makeup, women have different concerns than men, which you may not even know about. As a woman, I appreciate it when someone addressing a mixed group of professionals acknowledges that we exist, even when it’s a one-sentence, “I’ve never had to face these things myself, but according to my wife/friends/whoever …”

Congrats Trent, that’s great.

Trent, congratulations on the speaking gig, as well as the article on MSN Money today. I’ve seen a few of your articles on there now. :)

I think the topic for your speaking gig sounds like a great idea. A lot of young people, especially new professionals, feel under pressure to keep up appearances. Since they are now professionals, they have to dress, act, and drive the part. You’re very organized, so I’m sure you can help a lot of people find a way to make a good balance between saving, paying down debt, and maintaining appearances. Good luck. :)