Showing posts with label Finance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Finance. Show all posts

Friday 15 March 2024

6 Tips For Transitioning Into Retirement


It’s no secret that experiencing change can be a challenge. You’ll find this is true even when the transition you’re going through entails something long desired. The reason is, by and large, people are creatures of habit. So, when life’s rhythms get altered the upheaval can be immense.

 

The decision to bring your career to a close is one that invariably brings many feelings to the surface. Some of these feelings will be positive, and others, not so much.

 

A little bit of planning can help you through this process in as seamless and painless a fashion as possible. The following six tips for transitioning into retirement will help you on your path.

 

1.     Mitigate Financial Risks

 

Recent studies1 have shown there are five major financial risks facing retirees: policy risk, market risk, health risk, longevity risk, and family risk.  Of these, the risks that most consistently become a problem for people are longevity risk (outliving resources) and health risk (medical bills/long-term care).  

 

The good news is that these are risks you can mitigate in many ways. For example, you can take care not to underestimate how long you will live, be realistic about the expenses involved in healthcare, and acknowledge the possibility of needing assistance later in life. 

 

In addition, if you take good care of yourself (physically, mentally, and emotionally) now, you will increase the likelihood of aging with grace and potentially reduce your medical needs and overhead later.

 

2.    Be Realistic About Spending

 

Paying close attention to what you spend each month before you retire will give you a sense of your monetary needs.  If you find that they are too high, begin paring down your expenses and reducing your overhead: the fewer places you hemorrhage money, the better.  Even if you have ample resources, it’s wise to pay attention to your spending to avoid unwanted surprises down the road. 

 

3.    Practice Prevention 

 

Your health and wellbeing should have been your priority throughout your life, but as you age, it’s untenable for them not to be. The difference between enjoying your retirement, or suffering the experience, can easily come down to lifestyle choices.  

 

So, if you haven’t already, make physical activity a part of each day, aim to eat a rainbow of food, cultivate sources of creativity and joy in your life, and spend time with people you love. Doing these things could lengthen your life, prevent illness and injury, and simply help to make your life better.

 

4.    Have A Plan

 

Work consumes a great deal of time. If you head into retirement without considering what those suddenly vacant hours will look like, you could leave yourself feeling unmoored. Creating a schedule for yourself that incorporates healthy habits into your daily routine can be a game changer.

 

According to a study for Psychology of Aging, “the retirement transition is multi-dimensional. The transition involves two developmental challenges: adjustment to the loss of the work role and the social ties of work, and the development of a satisfactory postretirement lifestyle.”2  

 

Anticipating these impacts in advance, and consciously facing them through planning and preparation, increases your chances for a happy retirement.

 

5.    Learn To Relax 

 

Learning to relax may sound silly, but many people are so conditioned to be busy that suddenly having free time can lead to an identity crisis. To counter this possibility, consider beginning a mindfulness practice such as meditation. Learning to sit, be still, and reflect inward will confer myriad health benefits and help ease you into retirement.

 

6.    Don’t Wait To Enjoy

 

Life is better when lived fully. Waiting for a future date to truly savor your existence can be a monumental waste of precious time. Life offers few guarantees, so if you want to avoid regrets, then make today matter. Once retirement begins, double down.  

 

Fill your moments with things you’ve long wanted to try. Vie to expand, rather than contract, as you age. Stay engaged, keep moving, and consciously cultivate your vitality. Doing this will help you transition smoothly into retirement and, what’s more, will foster a life worth living.

 

References:

 

  1. ​​Hou, W. (n.d.). How Well Do Retirees Assess The Risks They Face in Retirement? Center for Retirement Research. Retrieved September 23, 2022, from https://crr.bc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/IB_22-10.pdf
  2. van Solinge, H., & Henkens, K. (2008). Adjustment to and satisfaction with retirement: two of a kind?. Psychology and aging, 23(2), 422–434. https://doi.org/10.1037/0882-7974.23.2.422

 


Monday 1 May 2023

Streamline Your Expenses to Prepare for a Career Change


Swapping one career for another can be incredibly stressful. That is the best-case scenario. Sometimes, the mental fatigue and anxiety experienced when considering moving to another area of employment can lead to physical and mental health problems. The last thing you should be doing is adding to your stress.

 

This means you should have your finances in order before you decide to start upon an entirely new career path.

 

You should already have a budget that you follow religiously. If you don't, start one now. Write down every single outgoing expense and every bit of income. Look for ways to streamline your outgoings, and improve your income. If there is no way you can earn more money, just cut back on your expenses. This will account for automatic savings, which can present a nice cushion if your career change doesn't offer the immediate financial rewards you're looking for.

 

When switching careers, it is common for you to have to start out earning less money than you are now. This is not always the case, but it is much of the time. Having a year's worth of living expenses tucked away gives you the peace of mind to dedicate your mental energy to succeed in your new career. You won't be worrying at the end of the month how you are going to pay your bills.

 

You may also decide to take on a part-time job to make some extra money. 

 

If you do this, try to get employment that will teach you skills and abilities useful in your new career. A part-time job makes you money two different ways. Obviously, you get paid for your labor. Also, if you are spending a few evenings each week working, those are not nights you are out and about spending money.

 

You may have an opportunity to move into a smaller home or apartment. If this makes sense for you, by all means, do it. Cutting down on your monthly rent or mortgage is a fast way to free up some substantial money. Have a garage sale, or sell some of your possessions online. If you like gardening, start a backyard garden and sell your produce at a local farmers' market.

 

If you're serious about changing careers, you don't need a lack of money to make the situation harder than it already will be. Ask yourself some hard questions about the money you spend, and see if you can generate any new income. In just 6 and 12 months you could set aside enough money to keep your mental focus on your new career, instead of worrying about your finances.

 


Monday 3 April 2023

What Are The 10 Main Difference Between The Rich & The Poor? (Infographic)

 


The Magic of Compound Interest (Infographic)

 


Monday 6 March 2023

Wondering Why You Are Not Getting Rich Quickly


The one thing I have learned, when it comes to building wealth, is the fact that there are no short cuts to instant riches. While there have been a few high profile incidents of extreme wealth being created almost overnight, as in the case of Google and a few other "instant" successes, even in these cases there has been huge risk and extensive capital expended in order to create the wealth. In fact the most important factors which lead to success in business are the willingness to assume risk, willingness to expend capital, the ability to focus on an idea and bring it to fruition and some good old fashioned luck.

 

While I'll be the first to recognize there are some people who just seem to stumble into a situation and are in the right place at the right time, or that some folks will win the lottery, sell a stock at just the right time, or buy and sell real estate for a quick profit, most people who have built wealth have done so over time. Furthermore, they approach investing with a disciplined plan and the relentless pursuit of their dream. I will focus the rest of this article on the people who build wealth through a disciplined approach. Following this model is more likely to lead to the desired goal of financial security.

 

Many people wish to own their own business and be an entrepreneur, but many of us don't have the "brainstorm idea" which leads to a blockbuster business, or one that totally changes the dynamics of a business model. Luckily, this is not necessary in order to succeed as an entrepreneur. While it would be nice to come up with one of these blockbuster ideas, there are plenty of other ways to become the owner of your own business. Purchasing an existing business is one such way to join the ranks of the business world. There are individual businesses and franchises which can be purchased outright, or financed by various means. This is usually an expensive endeavour, and usually requires leaving your full time job in order to manage the business. This also involves a degree of risk, but if you do your homework, and devote the time it takes to manage the leverage of the purchase price, plus the day to day operations, it can be an excellent way to build long term wealth.

 

If the idea of owning a business while maintaining a full time job is more your cup of tea, there are many business models which can facilitate this. Again, there is no free ride, because nobody is going to provide you with all of the tools to run a profitable business, without some cost. Unless you are strictly interested in doing a specific task at home for a fee, most of the business models I've reviewed for an at home or online business require money to be spent for hosting a site, joining affiliates and marketing. These are reasonable expectations when you utilize an existing franchise, or affiliate program. Developing multiple streams of income is very desirable and can be achieved by developing a home business along with your full time job. While your goal may be to eventually quit your full time employment, or augment retirement, developing an online or home business can be a rewarding way to be an entrepreneur.

 

So, if getting rich quickly is your main goal, then there is a good possibility you will continue to go from one "cocktail party conversation" trend to another, such as day trading or real estate flipping. We all know where those bubbles have led. This is the equivalent of gambling, and while I know full well sometimes people do quite well gambling, I don't recommend it as an investment technique. If building real wealth is your goal, then developing streams of income and systematically investing in diversified assets will lead to ever increasing equity and financial security. One day you'll look at your portfolio of investments and realize you've built wealth faster than you thought you would.

 


Wealth Building: An Advantage of Home Ownership


As you grow older, the issue of wealth building comes front and center. Wealth building simply refers to increasing the net value of your total assets. Wealth building over time is one of the advantages of home ownership.

 

Building Equity

 

Owning a home can help you build wealth in two ways. First, you build equity by paying down your mortgage. A certain percentage of each mortgage payment goes towards a reduction in the total amount owed. Typically, payments in the first few years of the mortgage are primarily applied to interest on the loans. As time passes, however, more and more of each payment is applied to the outstanding loan amount. Before you know it, the $300,000 loan is down to $50,000 and you’ve gained $250,000 in wealth.

 

Appreciation is the second wealth building advantage to home ownership. Each year, the value of your home will increase or decrease slightly based on market prices. Over time, real estate has always appreciated in value. In the current market, homes in some parts of the country are appreciating at rates as high as fifteen to twenty percent! Appreciation is a very popular subject with homeowners.

 

Wealth Building Example

 

Let’s look at a simple demonstration of how advantageous home ownership can be. Assume you buy a home in 2005 for $400,000 and, for the purpose of simply mathematics, pay no down. Over the next 10 years, your mortgage payments reduce the outstanding mortgage by $100,000 and the home increases in value to $600,000. The value of your home as a net asset has grown to $300,000 [$600,000 minus $300,000]! If you had rented during this period, you would have missed out on $300,000 in wealth. This simple example should show you the advantage of home ownership.

 

Historically, home ownership is one the best ways for families to build wealth. If you don’t currently own a home, you should start looking for one.

 


Wealth Management Solutions: Options Abound


Wealth management is a difficult concept to grasp for many people, especially in terms of investment and savings for the future. With options like stocks, bonds, 401K’s, 529’s, and more, choosing the right wealth management option can be tough at best and impossibly confusing in many circumstances. That’s why there are wealth management firms who are experts in these services and exist solely to help guide high net worth individuals through the aches and pains of wealth management and private banking, as well as educating people on where to put their money and how each investment will help their finances grow.

 

Private Banking

 

If you are interested in learning more about the various ways to invest your money or plan for retirement, you should perhaps look into private banking options. In private banking, you have a direct account manager that you can contact any time with any questions regarding your account and how your assets are being handled. There are many options for investment through private banking, and most are fairly simple to understand, making this a preferred option for many individuals who are unfamiliar with wealth management.

 

Wealth Management Services

 

For those who don’t quite understand the concept behind wealth management services are available from a number of avenues to assist in the determination of how to handle finances. Wealth management means more than sticking to a budget; it also means planning for the future, and various institutions can assist in teaching individuals how to manage their money, as well as in providing complete wealth management services.

 

Wealth Management Firms

 

Have you considered a wealth management firm? You’ve spoken to private bankers and don’t like the options they provide for wealth management. You aren’t a fan of computers, so you don’t want to invest in wealth management software. However, you need a customized solution for your assets to build at a greater rate, and you have no idea where to invest. Wealth management firms are built on the basis of helping you to follow the right avenue. With a personal advisor, you’ll be able to configure your investment options to achieve your specific goals with as much or as little input as you feel is necessary.

 

Wealth Management Software

 

You may also consider the benefits of wealth management software. Many people have a hard time managing their finances enough to plan from pay check to pay check, much less to have a goal for the future. When it comes to wealth management, most people are completely flustered by the thought of having a budget that considers not only the groceries to buy tomorrow, but also the ones you’ll need to buy after retirement in 40 years. Wealth management software is a helpful tool in building your financial plans so that you can feel comfortable with your current lifestyle, be assured that you’ll have the assets you need in the future, and can fulfil some of your dreams in the interim.

 


The Ultimate Wealth Building System


Most people search for the ultimate wealth building system for most of their lives. It may surprise you to know that you own half of it the day you are born.

 

What half do you own? It’s your ability to make money. No matter what your education level or skill level, you have income earning power. Want to hear the good news about that and how it connects you to the ultimate wealth building system?

 

It’s not how much you make; it’s what you do with it that determines your financial condition.

 

The second half of the ultimate wealth building system is what you do with the money that you earn. There is a system to controlling the flow of money to create wealth. Very rich people know this system. It works whether you are an employee who works for someone else and you are using the system to control the flow of your personal income, or if you are a business owner using the system to control the flow of the company’s income. It is an amazingly simple system.

 

1) SPEND LESS THAN YOU MAKE - Cut your expenses back to operate within your income.

 

2) PUT 10% OF YOUR INCOME AWAY IN SAVINGS and don’t ever spend it. Set aside regular amounts of cash from your income for the future - always pay yourself first and put the money in savings toward gaining financial freedom. The ultimate wealth building system requires a minimum of 10% of income into savings out of every dime you earn. Just sock it away and forget you even have it. As it builds up, move it to places that earn better interest than the bank savings accounts. This includes buying houses and commercial buildings you can rent out to make more money.

 

3) DO NOT BUY ON CREDIT - pay cash instead. Debt is a disease that you should avoid contracting. Figure out what you want to buy and put money away towards the purchase every week until you have the cash. For large purchases like cars, furniture and equipment, buy used instead of brand new. Remember, those items lose value from the moment you buy them.

 

4) FIND WAYS TO MAKE MORE MONEY - the personal cost of living goes up about 3.5% every year, so you need to make more money just to keep up. If you work for someone else, increase your value to the company by taking on more responsibility and learning to do more; then ask for a raise. Be willing to work a second job if you have to in order to get out of debt and start putting money away.

 

If you own a business, look over your line of products and services and figure out how to sell more of the profitable items. Be willing to discontinue items that are not bringing in enough profit for the time, effort and cost to sell them. The secret to making more money is pretty simple if you put your attention on it.

 

5) USE YOUR MONEY TO INCREASE YOUR INCOME - After paying your ultimate wealth building system the 10% into savings and paying your bills, use any money left over in ways that increase your ability to produce more income.

 

Why is controlling the flow of money so important? It is the energy and life blood of a business or household. It is necessary to pump it through the income producing areas first to keep it running well. Everything runs smoother when cash is available.

 

Seems simple, right? And it is simple. The ultimate wealth building system is easily learned, and can be used to gain your financial freedom. It does, however, take personal discipline and commitment to achieve the goal of financial independence so you never have to worry about money again.

 

The really great news is that you have control over this system. Done correctly and consistently, the end result is always having lots of cash on hand, all bills paid, and plenty of money in reserves to finance what you really want to do with your money; not just pay bills. How well you control the flow of your money will determine how well your company or family will survive now and into the future. Correctly applying these five steps will make this wealth building system work for you.

 


The Two Biggest Thieves In Regards To Wealth Building


The two biggest wealth thieves a person will encounter are tax deductions and lawsuits. Taxes work against you by chipping away at your wealth. These include federal income taxes (deducting up to 39% of your income), state taxes (deducting up to 9.6%), and self-employment or social security (over 15.5 %.). The average American is paying 42-55% in taxes. Ironically, the wealthiest people in the U.S. are paying only single digits taxes. Rest assured, because there is something you can do about this, and it won’t cost you the $500/hr that these wealthy people are paying for tax tips from their specialists.

 

Next, lawsuits are the other evil. This is not the slow reduction of your wealth as with taxes. It is the sudden confiscation of the money you worked hard to build. You can literally fall from the top of the totem pole to the bottom of the barrel overnight. I believe there are no winners in lawsuits because even ‘winning’ a lawsuit takes up time and money that will set you back. Once again, you can protect yourself by learning how to structure yourself properly. You can "bullet-proof" your assets. You can even avoid lawsuits all together.

 

Crucial to understanding these strategies is differentiating the concepts of asset and liability. Ask yourself the following: Is a real estate investment an asset or a liability? You may be thinking, ‘It generates income and provides equity; therefore, it has to be an asset.

 

However, the answer is more complex. You must look at how you hold title to that property. If you own it incorrectly and are not properly structured, you could be putting yourself at risk. If you have your home, your car, your bank accounts all lumped together, someone can take them all away in one sweep. Therefore, you must learn how entity structure.

 


Monday 27 February 2023

The True Determinants Of Building Wealth


Elite Formal Education is Overrated

 

There is a huge myth that going to a great school and getting a great job will help you build wealth. In reality, it’s more likely to bury you in so much debt that you’ll be close to retirement by the time you’re debt free. When I graduated from college (we won’t say exactly how long ago that was!), I had friends that had already accumulated about U.S. $80,000 in debt. And for some of those friends that went to med school or law school at my alma mater, they tacked on another $100,000 of debt, for a total burden of close to $200,000.

 

In today’s dollars, that debt would perhaps be more than $325,000. So in the first year after completing their formal education, some of my friends already had a minimum $2,000 to $5,000 monthly payment that came off the top of every paycheck. Any way you slice it, this is an enormous abyss with which to start your journey of life.

 

I know that many people will have a difficult time believing my next statement, but an examination of history will support my next assertion. The great expense tied to elite institutions serves two purposes. (1) To provide a network/structure by which the moneyed elites can retain power; and (2) To burden the non-wealthy with enormous debt. In the seminal book Education and the Rise of the Corporate State, Joel Spring wrote that ‘the development of a factory-like system in the nineteenth-century classroom was not accidental’. Russell Conwell, a member of the wealthy elite and founder of one of America’s oldest educational institutions, Temple University, voiced sentiments he believed should be integrated into education:

 

‘The men who get rich may be the most honest men you find in the community...Ninety-eight out of one hundred of the rich men in America are honest. That is why they are rich. That is why they are trusted with our money...It is because they are honest men....the number of poor who are to be sympathized with is very small. To sympathize with a man whom God has punished for his sins....is to do wrong.’

 

Elite Jobs that Build Wealth are Rare

 

In essence, elite education builds a caste system financed by debt. There are two predominant scenarios which students of elite educations face upon graduation. There are those that emerge from these schools debt-free and really didn’t need the advantage of an elite education anyway, and those whom are burdened with debt and will become cogs in the machine for the interests of the debt-free. For those that believe that they can dig their way out of this huge mountain of debt by working their way up the corporate ladder in the land of opportunity, think again. In 1965, CEO’s in America earned about 24 times as much as their employees. In 2006, CEO’s in America earned 262 times as much as their employees (Source: BBC News, June 22, 2006).

 

Furthermore, in 2005 and 2006, CEO’s from the 11 largest U.S. firms collected U.S. $865,000,000 in salary at the same time their leadership caused shareholders to lose U.S. $64,000,000,000 in company stock. Whether or not their leadership destroyed billions of dollars of wealth in the stock market was irrelevant. They were still rewarded. Such is how the modern-day caste system works.

 

Unless you will be studying engineering, law, architecture, or medicine, most formal education is not only irrelevant to building wealth, but you are certain to build it much more quickly if you become an entrepreneur and/or learn to invest properly. My opinion on formal education will only change when the majority of schools begin teaching what is truly necessary to succeed financially later in life. And that includes classes on:

 

(1) Investing in stock and non-stock assets

(2) Leveraging money

(3) Leveraging time; and

(4) Building successful networks (it’s not what you know, it’s who you know)

 

As it stands now, one can go to Harvard or Oxford, earn a doctorate, and still be ill- prepared to build wealth. Undoubtedly, the network that one builds at these types of institutions is exponentially more valuable than the education one receives.

 

Saving Money = Losing Money

 

Perhaps an even worse piece of advice is to save and put money away. Putting money away into a savings account and letting it sit there at the 1% or so interest rate that banks give these days just turns your money into dust. Consider that $1,000 in 1980 can only buy less than $500 worth of stuff in 2006 dollars, and it’s easy to see that ‘saving’ your money only loses you money. There are almost always good risk-reward investment opportunities somewhere in the world, not just stock markets. If real estate opportunities in Korea are poor, then Argentina or Iceland may be booming. It’s just a matter of widening perspectives to find them. Having idle cash sitting around and not working for you is never a good strategy when one desires to build wealth.

 

Want to find the land of opportunity? Go look in a mirror and you will have found it.

 


The Threshold Between Wealth Creation & Destruction


Wealth is simply the accumulation of money, and it can only be created by the amount of money that is received and never spent. If you want to build wealth, then anytime you receive money: don’t spend all of it. Sure it is a very simple concept, but it is very difficult to continually achieve. Luckily there are readily available allies to help you: find some compelling reasons to start saving, build it into a habit, watch the results of your efforts build, and set some financial milestones to reward yourself.

 

Setting aside a percentage of any money that you receive is the best method to follow through and build the habit of saving money. There are a few misers among us who find saving easy to do, but most people want to spend far more than is earned; let alone have the discipline of spending less than what they earn. So it starts as an uphill mental and emotional battle that gets easier by following through with the habit, and seeing the results of your effort. Spending less than what you earn every week, every month, every year, is the only way to amass money.

 

How much money should you set aside to build up savings? It should be a percentage so that you automatically move it into a separate savings account anytime you receive income, without exception. It is my experience that the range of 3% to 10% is the most successful starting percentage for people who continue saving over long periods of time. Saving only 3% is so small that it is nearly painless to even the lowest income earners (this is actually where I began years ago). Selecting a percentage under 3% accumulates to such a tiny amount of savings that I haven’t heard of anyone sticking with it. And starting out by setting aside over 10% is too painful for even high income earners to withstand, because they are so accustomed to spending on every whim. As you repeatedly save a set percentage rate, it will become more habitual, automatic and expected. Then you’ll be ready to increase your percentage rate. And the higher the savings rate, your growing pile of money will create more motivation to continue to save. This summer, I spoke with a successful saver who lives very well on only 30% of his income. Because he saved diligently to continually buy rental homes, after a couple decades he earns over a million a year in rental income by Ashville, North Carolina.

 

In the fragile first years of saving money, it can take only a single wrong financial move to wipe out everything that you’ve saved so far. And the most common wrong move doesn’t look like it when it is occurring. This draining move can also start insidiously small and build a different habit, the wealth-destruction habit. You know the problem: pay your credit card balance in its entirety, every month, without exception. As an example, if you haven’t saved money for a vacation before you depart, and then charge it all to your credit card, there is a giant probability that you won’t pay it off for a very long time. The credit card companies know this and they are extracting interest dollars from you instead of earning interest yourself. You’ve shifted to the dark side of wealth destruction where it is more common for your credit card balance to grow than shrink.

 

Let’s get back to building your wealth. Once you start setting aside the savings percentage that you’ve decided and opened a dedicated savings account, you need to closely review your account statements for motivation. Reviewing the progress that you’ve made so far you’ll see how you are moving toward financial goals can be self-reinforcing. And another motivator is rewarding yourself by spending some money on yourself when you’ve reached certain milestones. For example, you could start with a goal of accruing $500, and reward yourself with something meaningful; and then each time you double your amount of savings you get another reward. My advice is to at least begin with a savings percentage, even as small as my 3%, and allow this simple concept be of great financial benefit to you.

 


The Path To True Wealth


Many people believe that the path to true wealth begins with a huge money making opportunity. This is only partly true. While a good wealth building opportunity does come up from time to time, they are actually few and far between. Most of the people who attain true wealth are those that budget wisely, work hard, and do not live as if they were wealthy.

 

The path to true wealth begins with determination. When you are determined to amass wealth, you will be successful, even if it does not happen right away. Determination spurs will power, hard work, and pinching pennies. However, determination is not enough.

 

The next step on the path to true wealth is making a plan. The chances of finding that get rich quick scheme that everyone talks about making millions from are pretty slim. You need to make a plan for a profitable career path, business, or money making opportunity. You also need to make a plan for investment.

 

True wealth is about budgeting and investing. Do not spend all of the money that you earn. Save some back until you have enough to invest. This is actually easier than it sounds. When you have reached a lifestyle that is comfortable but not excessive, stop increasing your lifestyle. Instead, sock the money away into a savings account or money market account until you have enough to invest and try to amass true wealth.

 

You might invest in low risk, high return investments such as money market accounts, or you might invest in stocks or commodities. Investing in new and upcoming companies that are very promising, sometimes called penny stocks, is one of the best ways to invest your money and accumulate true wealth quickly. Investing the money that you do not spend is the best way to accumulate true wealth.

 

This is a perfect example of how to amass true wealth. One man started out working in a rock quarry. He moved his way up into management, then into executive management. In the early eighties, the man invested almost ten thousand dollars in savings into penny stocks in a company that many thought would never float. Later, he was a millionaire when Cellular One took off like a rocket. He took the money, reinvested it, and made yet more money. Still, the man only lived in a house just big enough for his large family. When he finally passed away, he had over one million dollars to be divided among his family, and he had not worked in twenty years.

 


The Automatic Wealth Building Habit


Can you really build wealth automatically?

 

The answer is yes...you just need to acquire a new wealth building habit.

 

You are going to love this habit because you do not even have to remember it....a banking computer remembers the habit for you! How is that possible? Read on and you will soon see.

 

Here is how the automatic wealth building habit works. It is based on the miracle of compounding interest and the amazing banking technology that is available to virtually all of us today.

 

Step 1

 

If you do not have a bank account with "Bill Pay" go to a bank that has it and open a new account. Ask them how many checks can be sent per month, can it be managed via the internet, what are the costs. Many banks now offer this service for free as a promotion to get more customers.

 

Step 2

 

Decide who it is that you want to help build wealth. Yourself, your child, a grandchild, or even a friend. This habit also works for building spiritual wealth...more on that later.

 

Step 3

 

After you open the account you now have the ability to select any amount of money that you want sent to any person or organization and at almost any time interval. Some banks even offer an unlimited amount of bills that can be sent. The banks will then mail checks at regular intervals to the people or organizations you have designated...you do not have to do anything.

 

The real power of this habit is that you are not going to be sending bills in most cases...you will be sending wealth building payments....automatically!

 

OK, before we get to step 4 let's look at the amazing power of compounding interest to see how much wealth can be built over time with this habit.

 

Here is an example of how much wealth you could build by having your billpay send just $50 per month into an account (mutual fund, IRA, etc) that has a 5% yield.

 

1 Year = $615

5 Years = $3,400

10 Years = $7,764

25 years = $29,775

 

You can learn more about compounding interest by doing a Google search on the internet. Obviously the amount of wealth you can build varies with the amounts and frequency of bill payments sent to your wealth building accounts and your rate of interest.

 

This is where research can help you, it is beyond the scope of this article to show you all the amazing possibilities that exist.

 

The beauty of the bill pay system is that it is very easy to adjust your recurring amounts up or down based on your current financial situation. As an example, you could set up your bill pay to send $12.50 each week into an account (Equals $50 per month) or change it to $15 per week for a few weeks and then back down to $12.50 at a later time. You decide exactly who gets the money, how much, and how often....you have complete control at all times. It is amazing wealth building power.

 

Step 4

 

Now it is time to set up your automatic wealth building habit using your bank’s billpay system. Get the address of the person or organization you want the money sent to including the account number. Go online and set up a new account with this information. Set frequency and amounts. Note: I have been doing this since 1992 and have multiple accounts (Charities, IRA's etc) that have received money from me every month for 14 years and I have never written or signed a single check! I know from personal experience that the system works and I have never had any problems.

 

You can get very creative with how you build wealth and who you help build wealth.

 

  • Set up an automatic bill pay to fund a child’s college education. There are many states that have plans that start with low monthly fees when the child is born or still young.
  • Set up an automatic bill pay to fund a child’s savings account, just have the money be sent to the child’s bank with their account number listed on the check memo "Deposit to account ######"
  • Set up an automatic bill pay to send a charity a payment every week. Remember that I said earlier that this habit can help you build spiritual wealth? If your church receives an automatic charity payment every week you are helping to support your church every week, even when you miss a Sunday service.
  • Set up an automatic bill pay to send money to someone in need.
  • Set up your bill pay to actually pay bills that you have paid late in the past....you may be able to save enough in prevented late fees to fund your wealth building payments!

 

The possibilities are endless.....you just need to take action and make it happen!

 


The 5 Unbreakable Laws Of Online Wealth Building


When the internet first started, few could ever imagine how far reaching it’s effects will be more than a decade down the line. It’s a fact of life now that the internet will continue to change virtually every aspect of our everyday life. As the world’s internet population keeps expanding, so does the opportunities for entrepreneurs and ordinary folk looking to escape the slavery of a nine to five job.

 

Online wealth building is for everyone. The sheer amount of opportunities presented online enables anybody to start building wealth online. There are just so many areas to explore and regardless of your level of talent, skill or interest, you will find something that suits you. Someone once said that ‘you can turn any passion into profit online’ and this is more true now than ever before. It seems like the biggest problem is not in finding a suitable program, but rather in not getting distracted by all the various options that we get bombarded with. Every single day new opportunities open up and it’s our natural tendency to get in on the action. Online wealth building however relies on focus and having the discipline to not get distracted.

 

If you are committed to building your wealth online it holds many obvious advantages. The freedom to work on your own clock and answering only to yourself are the main reasons why so many make the shift from the office to the spare room at home. Many online wealth building programs create false illusions that leave many aspiring newbies out in the cold after investing their valuable time and money. The internet is a tough world when it comes to making a living, but then again so is it out there in the ‘real’ world. Don’t expect an easy ride, but don’t be put off either. There are just so many opportunities online that you are bound to find your place sooner rather than later.

 

I would like to offer you what I consider to be the five laws of online wealth building, that can help you greatly towards creating long term success online. I would encourage you to use these laws to evaluate potential opportunities or just to evaluate your current position.

 

The Law Of Excellence:

 

Things tend to move really fast online. It is critical that you commit yourself to excellence and to always keep learning and improving. If you don’t you will most certainly fall behind. Strive for excellence. You can’t keep doing the same things and expect to improve, nor does doing more of what doesn’t work won’t make it work any better.

 

The Law Of Quality:

 

I like the term ‘wealth building’ because it implies that it’s not some instantaneous thing. Quality always gets rewarded long term and although some of the ‘get rich quick’ schemes online work, they rarely work long term. There is a big difference between making a quick buck and building wealth. Whatever you create online, strive for quality first as this will ensure sustainability in what you do.

 

The Law Of Choice:

 

Wealth is a choice. You’ve probably heard this before, but never really understood it completely. Being wealthy starts with a choice and it’s a choice you have to make daily. The internet is responsible for the largest distribution on wealth in history. The power is shifting from the big corporations to the guy (or girl) in his garage with a single laptop. You can choose to be part of this or to keep doing what you’ve always done.

 

The Law Of Persistence:

 

When it comes to online wealth building, for some the learning curve will be greater than for others. Regardless of your skill level you will face many challenges and often consider packing it in. This is where persistence and perseverance comes in. Realize that you will always meet with much difficulty before you succeed - it’s essential for your personal growth and developing to a level of success.

 

The Law Of Value:

 

Whatever you do online, be a team player! I cannot overemphasize that enough. Your wealth and success is directly proportional to the amount of value that you add to other people. If you want to be more successful, just think of how you can add more value to other people’s lives.

 

Financial success is most certainly obtainable for virtually anybody. There is however a big difference between obtainable success and sustainable success. Just think back at the story of The Three Little Pigs - you want to build your ‘house’ from brick and make sure that your success is sustainable long term. After all, who wants to quit their day job only to go back after six months?