The Rich Get Richer and The Poor Get Poorer

We've all heard the statement, "The rich get richer and the poor get poorer." This has been especially true in the past several years and may be even more true in the years ahead. But have you ever asked why this is the case? It is simply because the rich keep doing what makes them rich and the poor keep doing what keeps them poor. I saw a video on Youtube recently and the guy was talking about when he realized what he was doing wrong. He said he realized at the early age of 24 that it is ALWAYS possible to spend more than you make. If you always spend more than you make, you'll always be broke.

If you're tired of being one of the poor, and believe me I'm very tired of it, then you have to change the way you think about money and the way you act upon your thoughts. I had to get over my little pity party and get away from the victim mentality of "I'll always be poor." You'll always be poor if you keep doing the things that make you poor.

A lot of people think, "If I just made more money." Well you first need to be able to handle the money you do have. Do you want to have more and possibly even be one of the rich getting richer? Then you need to take control of your finances and stop spending more than you take in. Once you've accomplished this simple rule, then you can put your excess money to work. When your money works for you, that's that much less work you have to do yourself. John D. Rockefeller once said that the only thing that made him truly happy was the dividend checks he got every month. I can relate to that! I've worked hard all my life, starting at age 5, but never really had anything to show for it until the past 10 years or so. Now the money comes in every month in the form of dividends and interest and you can't imagine how it makes me feel to know that I didn't have to do any physical labor to earn it. I'm still a long way from being one of the rich. But I have every confidence that the more I learn about handling my finances, the more money I will make and the less I'll have to physically work for it.

If this sounds good to you, then take a look at your personal circumstances. We can all find reasons or excuses why we can't put any money aside to invest, or why we can't improve our situations. It's when you STOP making excuses and START looking for ways to improve your situation, then your life will change. It may not be easy and you might not like all the changes you have to make, but believe me, it will be more than worth the effort. Don't wait for a bailout from the government, help yourself to a better life!

So Far, A Terrific Tuesday!

Monday was good to everyone in the stock market, with over a 200 point increase in the Dow. I was a little worried today when I saw stock futures were lower, although I have to admit I expected that to happen after such a good day yesterday. As it turns out though, both of my accounts are up, so I'm feeling pretty good about my stock picks right now.

My Top 10 Holdings and Percentage of Portfolio:

Universal Insurance Holdings (UVE) 21.6%
British Petroleum (BP) 9.1%
AT & T (T) 7.1%
BDMXX Money market account 5.8%
Veolia Environmental (VE) 5.1%
AFLAC (AFL) 4.6%
Euroseas LTD (ESEA) 4.4%
Merck and Company Inc. (MRK) 3.9%
General Maritime (GMR) 3.3%
Sysco Corp. (SYY) 3.3%

I'm thinking I probably need to sell a few shares of UVE to decrease my exposure, but I may increase other holdings instead, which would reduce the percentage of UVE in my overall portfolio. I think at the current price, UVE is still a good buy. They seem to be a very well run small insurance company with a promising future.

My money market account is not usually in the top ten holdings. I currently have extra cash due to recent stock sales. I'll be re-investing that money soon.

Stock Portfolio Update

With such a crazy market since the first of the year, it's easy to just sit on the sidelines and wait for more stability. Always the bull, when it comes to the stock market, I can't help but see opportunity everywhere! My IRA account, which I opened in December, is up 14.5% for the year. AFLAC (AFL) was my best purchase for this account, up an astonishing 67% since my original purchase. I think it will go even higher. Advance America Cash Advance (AEA) earned me a whopping 97% gain for my regular investment account.

So even though it's been a rough ride for the first five months of the year, as far as I'm concerned, it has presented us with a very rare opportunity to make some marvelous short term trades and fantastic long term investments.

I don't want anyone to get the idea that my life has been smooth sailing through this economy. My job shut down on January 10th and I'm still looking for work. I've had to cut back on the amount of money set aside for investing and I've practically stopped buying anything aside from the basic necessities. But I've been through much worse and this too will pass.

Don't Take My Word For It

O.K., so I've been writing since January about how this is the perfect time to get in to the stock market, albeit on a very selective basis. I always search for investments that provide current cash flow and the possibility of future capital gains. For anyone who thought that I couldn't possibly know what I was talking about, check out this article from the Rich Dad Blog by Robert Kyosaki:

When Pessimism Prevails, It's Time to Get Rich

If you go back and read some of my articles for this past year, you'll see that I've been saying basically the same thing Mr. Kyosaki is talking about in this article. I've read most of his books and he is by far my favorite author when it comes to investing, so I was pleased to see that his most recent post is validating a lot of the things I've been writing about. So, don't take my word for it, read what someone who's already made millions has to say.

Buy Property With Little Down And Small Payments!

For those of you who, like myself, are interested in buying property but would like to find deals that require very little money up front and small payments, you might want to check out this website:

http://www.landsalesco.com/

It looks like a promising resource for finding affordable properties. I wasn't able to locate any property in Missouri that I was interested in, but you can sign up for property alerts. So I'm looking forward to seeing the deals they have available in the future.

I'm not interested in buying property just for the sake of owning it, like everything else I put my hard earned money into, I want property investments to provide income. I'm always looking at rental properties, with an eye toward investing. So far I've yet to take advantage of any of these, although I have come across some great deals. I am currently in the process of positioning my other investments to throw off more cash so when the right deal comes along, I'll be in a position to take advantage of it. I don't want to do more and more work, I want my money to work for me so I don't have to work so hard. Like I tell my friends and co-workers, I don't live to work, I work so I can have a nice life.