The Essence of Personal Finance and How To Achieve Financial Freedom...
To achieve financial freedom, you have to live according to a basic truth. It is a simple equation:
You Must Spend Less Money Than You Earn!
This gives you margin.
Having margin, regardless of your income level, will give you financial freedom.
The difference between what you earn and what you spend will determine how much financial freedom you will experience.
If you spend all the money that you earn, you are on the brink of trouble. You will live in constant stress.
If you spend more money than you earn, you are in trouble. You live will be in a constant state of distress.
For a more detailed Information on Financial Freedom, visit the Site below at : www.financialfreedomtrail.com
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Friday, May 2, 2008
Nine Truths That Can Set You on the Path to Financial Freedom
#1: Change the Way You Think About Money The general population has a love / hate relationship with wealth. They resent those who have it, but spend their entire lives attempting to get it for themselves. The reason a vast majority of people never accumulate a substantial nest egg is because they don't understand the nature of money or how it works.
Cash, like a person, is a living thing. When you wake up in the morning and go to work, you are selling a product - yourself (or more specifically, your labor). When you realize that every morning your assets wake up and have the same potential to work as you do, you unlock a powerful key in your life. Each dollar you save is like an employee. Over the course of time, the goal is to make your employees work hard, and eventually, they will make enough money to hire more workers (cash)
When you have become truly successful, you no longer have to sell your own labor, but can live off of the labor of your assets.
#2: Develop an Understanding of the Power of Small AmountsThe biggest mistake most people make is that they think they have to start with an entire Napoleon-like army. They suffer from the "not enough" mentality; namely that if they aren't making $1,000 or $5,000 investments at a time, they will never become rich. What these people don't realize is that entire armies are built one soldier at a time; so too is their financial arsenal.
A friend of mine once knew a woman who worked as a dishwasher and made her purses out of used liquid detergent bottles. This woman invested and saved everything she had despite it never being more than a few dollars at a time. Now, her portfolio is worth millions upon millions of dollars, all of which was built upon small investments. I am not suggesting you become this frugal, but the lesson is still a valuable one. Do not despise the day of small beginnings!
#3: With Each Dollar You Save, You Are Buying Yourself FreedomWhen you put it in these terms, you see how spending $20 here and $40 there can make a huge difference in the long run. Since money has the ability to work in your place, the more of it you employ, the faster and larger it will grow. Along with more money comes more freedom - the freedom to stay home with your kids, the freedom to retire and travel around the world, or the freedom to quit your job. If you have any source of income, it is possible for you to start building wealth today. It may only be $5 or $10 at a time, but each of those investments is a stone in the foundation of your financial freedom.
#4: You Are Responsible for Where You Are in Your LifeYears ago, a friend told me she didn't want to invest in stocks because she "didn't want to wait ten years to be rich..." she would rather enjoy her money now. The folly with this school of thinking is that the odds are, you are going to be alive in ten years. The question is whether or not you will be better off when you arrive there. Where you are right now is the sum total of the decisions you have made in the past. Why not set the stage for your life in the future right now?
#5: Instead of Buying the Product... Buy the Stock!Someone once asked me why they weren't wealthy. They always felt like they were putting money aside, yet never seemed to get any further ahead. The answer is simple. I told them to stop buying the products companies sell and start buying the company itself! A survey of America's affluent (those who make over $225,000 a year or own $3,000,000 in assets) revealed that 27-30% of all the income the wealthy earned went into investments and savings. That isn't a result of being rich, that is why they are rich. When the pain of getting out of the bondage of financial slavery is greater than the pain of changing your spending habits, you will become rich. Either change, or be content to live as you are.
#6: Study and Admire Success and Those Who Have Achieved It... Then Emulate ItA very wise investor once said to pick the traits you admire and dislike the most about your heroes, then do everything in your power to develop the traits you like and reject the ones you don't. Mold yourself into who you want to become. You'll find that by investing in yourself first, money will begin to flow into your life. Success and wealth beget success and wealth. You have to purchase your way into that cycle, and you do so by building your army one soldier at a time and putting your money to work for you.
#7: Realize that More Money is Not the AnswerMore money is not going to solve your problem. Money is a magnifying glass; it will accelerate and bring to light your true habits.
If you are not capable of handling a job paying $18,000 a year, the worst possible thing that could happen to you is for you to earn six figures. It would destroy you. I have met too many people earning $100,000 a year who are living from paycheck to paycheck and don't understand why it is happening. The problem isn't the size of their checkbook, it is the way in which they were taught to use money.
#8: Unless Your Parents Were Wealthy, Don't Do What They DidThe definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. If your parents were not living the life you want to live then don't do what they did! You must break away from the mentality of past generations if you want to have a different lifestyle than they had.
To achieve the financial freedom and success that your family may or may not have had, you have to do two things. First, make a firm commitment to get out of debt. To find out which debts should be paid off before you invest and those that are acceptable, read Pay Off Your Debt or Invest?. Second, make saving and investing the highest financial priority in your life; one technique is to pay yourself first.
Purchasing equity is vital to your financial success as an individual whether you are in need of cash income or desire long-term appreciation in stock value. Nowhere else can your money do as much for you as when you use it to invest in a business that has wonderful long-term prospects.
#9: Don't WorryThe miracle of life is that it doesn't matter so much where you are, it matters where you are going. Once you have made the choice to take control back of your life by building up your net worth, don't give a second thought to the "what ifs". Every moment that goes by, you are growing closer and closer to your ultimate goal - control and freedom.
Every dollar that passes through your hands is a seed to your financial future. Rest assured, if you are diligent and responsible, financial prosperity is an inevitability. The day will come when you make your last payment on your car, your house, or whatever else it is you owe. Until then, enjoy the process.
Cash, like a person, is a living thing. When you wake up in the morning and go to work, you are selling a product - yourself (or more specifically, your labor). When you realize that every morning your assets wake up and have the same potential to work as you do, you unlock a powerful key in your life. Each dollar you save is like an employee. Over the course of time, the goal is to make your employees work hard, and eventually, they will make enough money to hire more workers (cash)
When you have become truly successful, you no longer have to sell your own labor, but can live off of the labor of your assets.
#2: Develop an Understanding of the Power of Small AmountsThe biggest mistake most people make is that they think they have to start with an entire Napoleon-like army. They suffer from the "not enough" mentality; namely that if they aren't making $1,000 or $5,000 investments at a time, they will never become rich. What these people don't realize is that entire armies are built one soldier at a time; so too is their financial arsenal.
A friend of mine once knew a woman who worked as a dishwasher and made her purses out of used liquid detergent bottles. This woman invested and saved everything she had despite it never being more than a few dollars at a time. Now, her portfolio is worth millions upon millions of dollars, all of which was built upon small investments. I am not suggesting you become this frugal, but the lesson is still a valuable one. Do not despise the day of small beginnings!
#3: With Each Dollar You Save, You Are Buying Yourself FreedomWhen you put it in these terms, you see how spending $20 here and $40 there can make a huge difference in the long run. Since money has the ability to work in your place, the more of it you employ, the faster and larger it will grow. Along with more money comes more freedom - the freedom to stay home with your kids, the freedom to retire and travel around the world, or the freedom to quit your job. If you have any source of income, it is possible for you to start building wealth today. It may only be $5 or $10 at a time, but each of those investments is a stone in the foundation of your financial freedom.
#4: You Are Responsible for Where You Are in Your LifeYears ago, a friend told me she didn't want to invest in stocks because she "didn't want to wait ten years to be rich..." she would rather enjoy her money now. The folly with this school of thinking is that the odds are, you are going to be alive in ten years. The question is whether or not you will be better off when you arrive there. Where you are right now is the sum total of the decisions you have made in the past. Why not set the stage for your life in the future right now?
#5: Instead of Buying the Product... Buy the Stock!Someone once asked me why they weren't wealthy. They always felt like they were putting money aside, yet never seemed to get any further ahead. The answer is simple. I told them to stop buying the products companies sell and start buying the company itself! A survey of America's affluent (those who make over $225,000 a year or own $3,000,000 in assets) revealed that 27-30% of all the income the wealthy earned went into investments and savings. That isn't a result of being rich, that is why they are rich. When the pain of getting out of the bondage of financial slavery is greater than the pain of changing your spending habits, you will become rich. Either change, or be content to live as you are.
#6: Study and Admire Success and Those Who Have Achieved It... Then Emulate ItA very wise investor once said to pick the traits you admire and dislike the most about your heroes, then do everything in your power to develop the traits you like and reject the ones you don't. Mold yourself into who you want to become. You'll find that by investing in yourself first, money will begin to flow into your life. Success and wealth beget success and wealth. You have to purchase your way into that cycle, and you do so by building your army one soldier at a time and putting your money to work for you.
#7: Realize that More Money is Not the AnswerMore money is not going to solve your problem. Money is a magnifying glass; it will accelerate and bring to light your true habits.
If you are not capable of handling a job paying $18,000 a year, the worst possible thing that could happen to you is for you to earn six figures. It would destroy you. I have met too many people earning $100,000 a year who are living from paycheck to paycheck and don't understand why it is happening. The problem isn't the size of their checkbook, it is the way in which they were taught to use money.
#8: Unless Your Parents Were Wealthy, Don't Do What They DidThe definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. If your parents were not living the life you want to live then don't do what they did! You must break away from the mentality of past generations if you want to have a different lifestyle than they had.
To achieve the financial freedom and success that your family may or may not have had, you have to do two things. First, make a firm commitment to get out of debt. To find out which debts should be paid off before you invest and those that are acceptable, read Pay Off Your Debt or Invest?. Second, make saving and investing the highest financial priority in your life; one technique is to pay yourself first.
Purchasing equity is vital to your financial success as an individual whether you are in need of cash income or desire long-term appreciation in stock value. Nowhere else can your money do as much for you as when you use it to invest in a business that has wonderful long-term prospects.
#9: Don't WorryThe miracle of life is that it doesn't matter so much where you are, it matters where you are going. Once you have made the choice to take control back of your life by building up your net worth, don't give a second thought to the "what ifs". Every moment that goes by, you are growing closer and closer to your ultimate goal - control and freedom.
Every dollar that passes through your hands is a seed to your financial future. Rest assured, if you are diligent and responsible, financial prosperity is an inevitability. The day will come when you make your last payment on your car, your house, or whatever else it is you owe. Until then, enjoy the process.
DIVORCE: ITS CAUSES IN AMERICA
The Causes of Divorce In America today, one of many people’s main life goals is to marry the first person they fall in love with, live happily ever after, and skip gleefully away to live the American dream. However, millions of married couples quickly find themselves turning to divorce as an answer, to ending the fairy tale they had once dreamed. Many people would ask “why?” the perfect couple would choose such a negative ending to their once happy marriage. In some cases, many couples have to question their own motives for divorce. Although there are many alternate roots to fixing the simplest problems that may occur in a marriage, for some, simple does not always mean easy. It is certain that the cause of divorce varies from couple to couple, yet lack of communication, money and children, is among the most common causes of divorce. Lack of communication in a marital relationship, is one of the most common causes of divorce, because when two people lack communication, they are unable to solve problems that may occur in the marriage. Many married couples think that the minor problems that occur in their marriage, are insignificant, and are not worth talking about; however, they fail to realize that even the smallest things can cause conflict between the two when they are not able to solve them through communication. Many couples lack communication when it comes to making decisions about shared finances. This can cause financial issues to arise, and arguments to escalade in the marriage. Many couples also lack communication when it comes to making decisions for their children. When one spouse does not agree with a decision made by the other spouse, then an argument can occur, and result by one or both parties sharing a feeling of resentment against the other. Lack of communication in all areas of the marriage, can cause strain on the relationship. It is common for many couples to subject themselves to the distractions of everyday life, therefore leaving very little time for communication. This can cause marital problems to be over looked, triggering a range of feelings to explode in the marital relationship, and result in divorce. Another common cause of divorce is money. Many people say, “Money is the root of all evil,” as in a marriage it can be the root of all problems. When one spouse makes all of the financial decisions, and the other spouse does not agree with the decisions that he or she is making, then conflicts can occur between the two of them. Financial obligations that accompany the birth of a child can also cause conflict between the two, when they are not financially prepared for the increase in financial responsibility, which a couple gains when having children. This financial responsibility can affect the marriage drastically, when what seemed to be enough for the two, is not enough to provide for a family. For many married couples, an over-spending of funds by one or both partners can occur. This situation can put the couple in debt, and the debt can become a burden hovering over the marriage. No matter how much love that two people have for one another, it takes money to live a normal life. Lack of money can cause conflict in a marriage, sometimes escalating in intense arguments, and resulting in divorce. Children are also among one of the leading causes of divorce. Many couples would believe that having children comes with the territory of being married, however, for some having children not agreed upon; can cause a light to burn out in their marriage. Children factor in to the financial stress of a marriage, as well as the lack of communication in a marriage. Children require a lot of support from both parents, and when only one parent is working, the amount of support coming in, is sometimes not enough. This situation causes many married couples to argue over financial issues. They also argue over the decisions made for their children, when one of the partners does not agree with the other in certain situations. This causes them to resent each other, and puts the marriage in jeopardy. Children also require a lot of nurture, and though needed by both parents, normally only one has time to give them the full attention that they need. This often causes spouses to become jealous, because they feel that they are no longer getting the attention that they were once use too. This can often lead to adultery among one or both partners, as the feel they are no longer important to their spouse. Many couples experience this conflict in a marriage, and as a result, they turn to divorce as a way out of an unhappy situation. Divorce, no matter the reason, is never easy. Whether a couple’s decision to divorce is for the good or bad, it is certain there are many affects that it has on the couple’s individual lives. Many people experience depression, lose property, and find themselves in single parent households, because of divorce. Nevertheless, millions of married couples today, lack the knowledge of how to deal with marital problems. Many couples often go through their marriage ignoring the fact that Problems can and will arise. They tend to take their marriage for granted. Even so, it is certain that no one ever expects the worst to come out the marriage. Many fail to realize that lack of communication, money, and children, is among the most common causes of divorce.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
