Recently I wrote about wealth building as being simply a process. Basically you first learn to turn your savings into more money and then you simply repeat the process over and over until you are wealthy. I sometimes forget that this type of thinking is lost on most of the people I work with.
I found myself a bit put out recently, when a couple of my co-workers were not as excited about a story I shared with them, about the sale I'd made of some rebuilt computers. One went so far as to comment, "Interesting story, " while rolling her eyes to express her true lack of interest.
O.K., so rebuilding 3 junked computers, and reselling them to double my money is of little interest to anyone but me. Maybe I am a little boring at times. What I didn't convey along with the story is what really excited me about the project. And that is, the fact that I doubled my money doing something I like to do. Although I have no formal training in computers and software, I have always been fascinated with solving programming conflicts and hardware malfunctions. What is even more exciting to me is that I always learn something new each time I repair another computer. This time around I learned how to fabricate a hard drive cage when I was unable to find a replacement part and I also took a computer that showed no signs of life and restored it to perfect working order.
But I guess the real point here is that if I were more concerned with telling a story that would catch and hold someones interest, I should make sure to point out the real reason behind my excitement. The fact that I doubled my money in less than a month is exciting enough, but the real story is that this is money that goes straight to my investment program. So not only did the investment double in one month, but the initial investment and the profit from that investment have been converted to dividend paying stocks. Now I will keep earning money off those 3 computers indefinitely! So what started out as a ho-hum story about making a few bucks, becomes a story about creating a cash machine that keeps churning out income year after year. It's almost like creating something from nothing. I took 3 junk computers, of no use to anyone and turned them back into useful products. The money I earned, plus my initial investment are now hard at work earning me even more money, but with no further physical effort on my part.
It's all part of the process of building wealth. You learn to make money and then you put it to work, so eventually, you don't have to work anymore.
Showing posts with label Wealth building. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wealth building. Show all posts
Monday, April 12, 2010
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
BUILDING WEALTH IS SIMPLY A PROCESS
Do you sometimes think it a cruel twist of fate that some people build great wealth while others have so little and can never seem to get ahead? It simply is not true. Wealth building is a process, much like baking a cake. When you want to bake a cake, you get out your favorite cookbook or go online or search favorite family recipes for the cake that your wanting to prepare. Then it's a simple matter to follow the recipe and directions until you've prepared the finished product.
Building wealth is basically the same. You do your research, find out how others have made their money work for them and you do the same. Once you've found a recipe or plan for making your work for you and earn more money, it's a simple matter to keep repeating the process or plan until you've made yourself wealthy.
Some good starting points: Live below your means. Pay yourself first. Learn to make your money work for you, instead of always working for money. Realize that there is truly "nothing new under the sun" in the sense that what others have accomplished can be learned and duplicated. So search out a process for making money that works for you and keep repeating it. It's as simple as that.
Building wealth is basically the same. You do your research, find out how others have made their money work for them and you do the same. Once you've found a recipe or plan for making your work for you and earn more money, it's a simple matter to keep repeating the process or plan until you've made yourself wealthy.
Some good starting points: Live below your means. Pay yourself first. Learn to make your money work for you, instead of always working for money. Realize that there is truly "nothing new under the sun" in the sense that what others have accomplished can be learned and duplicated. So search out a process for making money that works for you and keep repeating it. It's as simple as that.
Friday, December 18, 2009
Financial Plan For 2010
As the new year approaches, I'm finalizing my financial plan for 2010. I wrote back in November that I was considering selling some stock to pay off credit card debt. I've changed my mind after reading in one of the "Rich Dad" series of books, by Robert Kyosaki, that the rich do not dip into savings to pay off debt or meet cash shortfalls. That defeats the whole purpose of "paying yourself first". So instead I've decided to use a percentage of the dividend income from the stocks to pay off the debt and reinvest the rest to continue building my portfolio, while reducing debt. I should be completely debt free by the end of next year, which will allow me to increase my monthly investments by 300%.
The real point here is that I'm trying to get away from the poor persons mentality of always paying everyone else before paying myself. By continuing to pay myself, even when my cash flow is tight, it makes me look for ways to increase my means. In other words, I'm a lot more motivated to look for ways to increase my income, to cover my expenses.
I used to invest any money I managed to save after paying everything else. Now I consider my monthly investments a part of my expenses. The way I see it, if I'm willing to work so hard to come up with the money to make car payments for 3 or 4 years to buy a depreciating asset, shouldn't I be even more enthusiastic about working for a better future for myself and my loved ones? I've really shifted my thinking regarding saving and investing. It's no longer money I manage not to spend, it's money I've budgeted, the same way I budget to pay for a car or anything else. Only I'm paying for a better life!
So I'm finalizing my wealth building plan for 2010 and looking forward to another great year of adding income producing assets to my investment portfolio. I'm setting some ambitious goals and working on a plan to get there.
The real point here is that I'm trying to get away from the poor persons mentality of always paying everyone else before paying myself. By continuing to pay myself, even when my cash flow is tight, it makes me look for ways to increase my means. In other words, I'm a lot more motivated to look for ways to increase my income, to cover my expenses.
I used to invest any money I managed to save after paying everything else. Now I consider my monthly investments a part of my expenses. The way I see it, if I'm willing to work so hard to come up with the money to make car payments for 3 or 4 years to buy a depreciating asset, shouldn't I be even more enthusiastic about working for a better future for myself and my loved ones? I've really shifted my thinking regarding saving and investing. It's no longer money I manage not to spend, it's money I've budgeted, the same way I budget to pay for a car or anything else. Only I'm paying for a better life!
So I'm finalizing my wealth building plan for 2010 and looking forward to another great year of adding income producing assets to my investment portfolio. I'm setting some ambitious goals and working on a plan to get there.
Friday, October 9, 2009
The Simple Way to Wealth
Do you want to become wealthy? Most anyone would answer yes to this question. Yet it has always been a simple thing to build wealth, but so few people seem to realize it. Either they've never been taught about finances or they're too interested in instant gratification and put wants before wealth. Whatever the case may be, it is truly simple to build wealth by following a very simple plan.
What is this plan? Think of it as the 10-20-70 plan. That is, from any income you receive, 10% goes into savings and investments, 20% is budgeted towards reducing and eliminating debt and the remaining 70% is for living expenses. You "pay yourself first" 10% of everything you earn before you pay anything else. This is money you keep for yourself, for building your future wealth, not to be used for any other purpose. The 20% for debt reduction goes towards paying off credit card bills, auto loans etc.. The remaining 70% of income is for living expenses. If you can't afford something you want out of the 70%, you simply do without until you can afford to pay with cash. This is not some new or revolutionary idea, it's been around for years. But it is a proven plan and is simple enough for anyone to follow.
So there you have it. The simple way to build wealth. With this plan, anyone can eventually become quite well off. It takes time and discipline, but is well worth it in the end. The younger you start, the better. I only wish I'd had someone to explain this to me when I was younger, I'd be much better off today. But no matter your age or financial status, if you make up your mind to improve your financial situation and you start following this plan today, your guaranteed a much brighter future.
What is this plan? Think of it as the 10-20-70 plan. That is, from any income you receive, 10% goes into savings and investments, 20% is budgeted towards reducing and eliminating debt and the remaining 70% is for living expenses. You "pay yourself first" 10% of everything you earn before you pay anything else. This is money you keep for yourself, for building your future wealth, not to be used for any other purpose. The 20% for debt reduction goes towards paying off credit card bills, auto loans etc.. The remaining 70% of income is for living expenses. If you can't afford something you want out of the 70%, you simply do without until you can afford to pay with cash. This is not some new or revolutionary idea, it's been around for years. But it is a proven plan and is simple enough for anyone to follow.
So there you have it. The simple way to build wealth. With this plan, anyone can eventually become quite well off. It takes time and discipline, but is well worth it in the end. The younger you start, the better. I only wish I'd had someone to explain this to me when I was younger, I'd be much better off today. But no matter your age or financial status, if you make up your mind to improve your financial situation and you start following this plan today, your guaranteed a much brighter future.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
No One Has All The Answers
I recently read a post on another investment blog which I thought was very insightful and informative. Following the post was a comment from one of the readers criticizing the suggestions as too simplistic and suggesting that they would not work. First of all, the article was only meant to be taken as a guideline, or starting point. There were a lot of practical suggestions for setting criteria when choosing stocks for investments. The critic said it made them angry when people say that if you follow their suggestions, you will be a successful investor. I read the post and I saw no such claim, so I'm not sure what they are harping about.
The bottom line is, no one has the perfect system for investing. If they did, I doubt they'd share it so freely. The reason that I write about investing is to share my ideas, not to suggest that everyone else follow what I'm doing. Hopefully the reader will find their own path to success at building wealth and if anything I suggest helps them, great! Any time I read anything about investing, I try to apply the material to my situation. Many times I find something useful, sometimes not. What I have found is that the more you know, the easier it is to adjust your investments to help reach your goals. So I keep reading, applying things I learn and sharing some of the more successful approaches with others. Feel free to follow my advice or ignore it all together.
The bottom line is, no one has the perfect system for investing. If they did, I doubt they'd share it so freely. The reason that I write about investing is to share my ideas, not to suggest that everyone else follow what I'm doing. Hopefully the reader will find their own path to success at building wealth and if anything I suggest helps them, great! Any time I read anything about investing, I try to apply the material to my situation. Many times I find something useful, sometimes not. What I have found is that the more you know, the easier it is to adjust your investments to help reach your goals. So I keep reading, applying things I learn and sharing some of the more successful approaches with others. Feel free to follow my advice or ignore it all together.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Recommended Reading
Came across an excellent blog from the Phillipines tonight. Read a fantastic article about wealth building and am looking forward to reading more. If you'd like to check it out, the link is:
http://www.millionaireacts.com/
http://www.millionaireacts.com/
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Personal Wealth Is Not All About Money
I recently read this quote on wealth and thought it an appropriate reminder that true wealth is not all about money. I thought I should share it with my readers.
Wealth Comes In Many Forms
My mentor, Bob Proctor, once said, "Don't cry over anything that won't cry over you." People will often create tremendous suffering for themselves just because they're in debt or have lost money. They'll generate intense feelings of anger, sadness, and fear, all of which are destructive and actually make it more difficult for them to regain the wealth they lost. Because they're upset, they may fight with their spouse over money or become severely depressed, not realizing that the power to create abundance for themselves once again is always available to them.When you understand that money is simply one form of the tremendous force known as abundance or wealth, and that you can always receive riches from our ever-giving Universe, it becomes easier to let go of negative feelings about money and the destructive belief that material wealth is more important than other manifestations of abundance.
Ask yourself how much money you would take in exchange for your eyesight and your abundant health. How much would I have to pay you for you to give up your relationship with the person you love the most? My guess is that your health, your eyesight, and the people you love are far too precious to trade for any amount of money.If what you receive isn't money, open yourself up to it with gratitude and joy. Allow your creativity to flourish and you can discover ways to convert the abundance into the form you could most use right now.Wisdom and knowledge are types of abundance that we often overlook.
An antiques dealer I know often purchased items from homeless people who brought him furniture and other objects they'd found in the garbage.He was always gracious and kind to them, and one day one of his regular sellers, who was a homeless man, noticed that the dealer had recently acquired a gold record by a celebrity."You have that underpriced," he said. "I used to work in the music business. I know."The antiques dealer listened to what the man had to say and decided to take his advice and quadruple the price. A few days later, the dealer's dentist came in, got very excited about the gold record, and said, "Listen, I'd love to own that, but I don't have that much in cash to spend. How about if I do that dental work I recommended to you, in exchange for the gold record?"The antiques dealer was able to pay for expensive dental procedures he needed and couldn't afford, because he valued the abundance that came to him from an unexpected source and converted it into something he could use.
Peggy McColl
Wealth Comes In Many Forms
My mentor, Bob Proctor, once said, "Don't cry over anything that won't cry over you." People will often create tremendous suffering for themselves just because they're in debt or have lost money. They'll generate intense feelings of anger, sadness, and fear, all of which are destructive and actually make it more difficult for them to regain the wealth they lost. Because they're upset, they may fight with their spouse over money or become severely depressed, not realizing that the power to create abundance for themselves once again is always available to them.When you understand that money is simply one form of the tremendous force known as abundance or wealth, and that you can always receive riches from our ever-giving Universe, it becomes easier to let go of negative feelings about money and the destructive belief that material wealth is more important than other manifestations of abundance.
Ask yourself how much money you would take in exchange for your eyesight and your abundant health. How much would I have to pay you for you to give up your relationship with the person you love the most? My guess is that your health, your eyesight, and the people you love are far too precious to trade for any amount of money.If what you receive isn't money, open yourself up to it with gratitude and joy. Allow your creativity to flourish and you can discover ways to convert the abundance into the form you could most use right now.Wisdom and knowledge are types of abundance that we often overlook.
An antiques dealer I know often purchased items from homeless people who brought him furniture and other objects they'd found in the garbage.He was always gracious and kind to them, and one day one of his regular sellers, who was a homeless man, noticed that the dealer had recently acquired a gold record by a celebrity."You have that underpriced," he said. "I used to work in the music business. I know."The antiques dealer listened to what the man had to say and decided to take his advice and quadruple the price. A few days later, the dealer's dentist came in, got very excited about the gold record, and said, "Listen, I'd love to own that, but I don't have that much in cash to spend. How about if I do that dental work I recommended to you, in exchange for the gold record?"The antiques dealer was able to pay for expensive dental procedures he needed and couldn't afford, because he valued the abundance that came to him from an unexpected source and converted it into something he could use.
Peggy McColl
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