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10 Wisdom-Based Wealth-Building Strategies

2008-06-30T00:07:00.003-07:00

"It's the business of your life?

and you're the CEO!" Gala Gorman

Imagine that you're Noah and God is telling you that you need to build the ark. You might suspect that Noah was a bit skeptical. Could it actually rain for such an extended period of time that a small ship would be required to survive the storm? According to the Bible, the answer is "Yes!"

So, when I suggest you build an ark of your own - one of the financial variety - how much convincing will you need? Fortunately, this ark won't require a that you assemble a seemingly useless structure in your backyard and it won't require a 1,000 year flood to come in handy either. This ark will be something you can be proud of and it will provide you with financial security every day of your life.

While any approach to creating financial security must suit the values and needs of the individual, these are the Top 10 Wealth-Building Strategies that I believe will ensure that you can weather any storm life sends your way.

1. Use the A-R-KTM Technique.

A. A is for Accumulating Assets. This may seem like a simple concept but in today's challenging circumstances it is much too easy to spend everything you make and more.

B. R is for Retiring Debt. Debts aren't called liabilities for nothing. You need to work towards reducing and eliminating debt when everyone else is focused on using every ounce of equity.

C. K is for Keeping Commitments. Once you make a commitment to yourself to apply the A-R-K TechniqueTM, you need to keep it! You build confidence in yourself and others this way.

2. Prepare for the inevitable rainy day.

A. Understand life's cycles. It is a fact of life that you will experience challenging times - in a way times like these are meant to adjust your course. Life's challenges are much easier to face with financial security.

B. Maintain a positive AND realistic attitude. It might not seem like positive thinking to plan for a rainy day. I believe planning and preparation are the most valuable tools you can use to deal with life's problems.

C. Develop plans for your A-R-K. You need a plan. God gave Noah a "blueprint" to build from. You need a financial blueprint. What will your ark look like when it's completed?

3. Acknowledge where your wealth comes from.

A. GUS is the source. Some call it "God", some "Spirit", others "the Universe", and still others have developed their own term to relate to. The acronym GUS (God's Universal Spirit) honors all the wisdom traditions.

B. Give back to those who gave to you - spiritually and otherwise. You might consider this tithing. Tithing is your way of demonstrating your faith in an endless supply.

C. Subscribe to the Universal Law of Use. This universal law applies to every department of your life. Get rid of clutter and anything else that isn't serving a purpose. One person's junk is another's treasure.

4. Develop sufficient liquid resources.

A. Cash is King! I can't stress enough the value of having funds readily available that can be accessed without a significant reduction in value. This is the "hull" your ark is built on.

B. Calculate your cash reserve requirement. Do you know how much you would need to meet your minimum financial responsibilities for a period of six months?

C. Define "liquid". Liquid resources are assets that can be converted to cash without penalty or market fluctuation. You need a six month cash infusion plan that is easy to execute in an emergency.

5. Understand real estate investments.

A. Own your home "free and clear". Mortgage brokers encourage you to borrow every dollar you can - especially with interest rates at historical lows. With this approach, you'll forever make house payments!

B. Use conservative values for planning purposes. With real estate, values can fluctuate dramatically based on factors completely out of your control. How much would you realize if you HAD to sell?

C. Are you prepared to run a business? Owning real estate (unless it's your personal residence) requires you to run a business that you may not consider a valuable use of your time.

6. Understand equity market investments.

A. Evaluate your risk tolerance. Investment advisors typically discuss the concept of risk with their clients, but don't face reality. Investments come with a significant chance that value will decrease significantly.

B. Accept that the stock market is illogical. There are many "systems" available today that purport to make the market predictable. The truth is there isn't much logic behind market values.

C. Fund managers are paid even when they're wrong. Most mutual funds underperform the market by 3%. This is in part due to the fact that fund managers are paid handsomely whether they perform well or not.

7. Know the value of your income stream.

A. Build a sellable business. When you're ready to "retire" will the work you've done to build your business have lasting value, with or without you there? With proper planning, your business is a valuable asset.

B. Create lasting value from your career/job. If you aren't working in your own business, you can make the most of the income stream from your paycheck and benefits. Take advantage of employer-sponsored programs.

C. Supplement with investment income. Your investment strategies can generate additional cash flow if required. Depending on the phase of your financial plan, you have the option of adding to useable resources.

8. Limit your "use" assets.

A. Depreciating assets are necessities or luxuries - maybe both. In most geographical locations, a vehicle is a necessity. Does your vehicle meet your transportation needs or does it satisfy a desire?

B. Know the hidden costs of expensive "toys". We all have them - assets that are nothing more than grown-up toys. You need to know what those toys really cost to maintain.

C. Money buys experiences. When people are surveyed about what makes life more satisfying, the answers vary. Consistently, people agree that they enjoy traveling, dining and the outdoors. It takes money to have fun!

9. Set goals.

A. Have a target you're moving towards. Without a comprehensive plan, you will have difficulty adjusting when you face life's challenges - financially or otherwise.

B. Define your wealth-building strategy. Once you know where you want to end up, you can determine which strategies should be implemented to meet your goals.

C. Embark on the journey. Just get started! Realize that you will have setbacks, but you will never get there unless you start rowing in the direction you've determined you want to go.

10. Protect what you've built.

A. Buy insurance for predictable losses. Property insurance protects some of your assets, but you should also consider the risk of losing your income stream. Life and disability insurance can provide added protection.

B. Add layers of protection for unpredictable losses. There are many ways to protect assets from the uncommon disaster - a lawsuit or other occurrence. Asset protection tools can help you rest easy.

C. Create a succession plan. Whether you own your own business or want to provide for your family in the event you are unable to do so, any effective financial plan should consider succession.

You might be feeling like a sound financial plan leaves no room for fun or enjoying life's pleasures. On the contrary, your plan should serve your individual needs and put you on the path to financial freedom. If you dream of driving a luxury vehicle or taking a cruise around the world, your plan should factor in the costs so you know you are creating a financial future that is real and lasting - not just a "mirage".

Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955) called compounding interest the 8th wonder. It can work for you, or against you. When you invest it works for you. When you borrow it works against you! There is a reason God told Noah to take a male and female of each species aboard the ark?to multiply. That is what compounding interest does for you and your financial ark. Creating a wisdom-based financial plan can help you put the 8th wonder to work for you.

About The Author

The Top 10 Wisdom-Based Wealth-Building Strategies have been developed from the A-R-K TechniqueTM (ARKTM) which is at the center of Gala Gorman's Wealth Management services. Your FREE ARKTM Assessment is available at http://www.GalaGorman.com.

By Gala Gorman, PhD CPA CFP

Have You Ever Had That Feeling?

2008-06-30T00:07:00.001-07:00

Have you ever had that feeling where you could not wait to go to sleep because you were so anxious about tomorrow? You were so excited and your heart was beating so fast that as much as you tried you could not go to sleep? So you just lay in bed imagining what you would do the next day. Imagine that you were thinking about what you would do with the money you've made that day and how much more you will make tomorrow. Have you ever had that feeling?

Imagine having just launched your own financial comeback. I'm talking about paying off everything! Yes, including the house. Just think you could be a day or two away from having an extraordinary life. Believe me it could happen. I've seen fortunes created in a matter of hours. For some people just having a few extra thousand dollars would change their life forever. How would you feel if you could give them a few thousand dollars and it not have a negative impact to your finances at all? Have you ever had that feeling?

The key to wealth-building is finding a way to get the edge. The edge means seeing opportunities where others see difficulty. For example, most people are aware of the surge in the price of gasoline. They are complaining about the price hike. I instead look for an opportunity in the situation. Another way of putting it is to turn lemons into lemonade. Crude oil, which gasoline is derived from, offered a $6000 profit in one scenario this month already. Have you ever had that feeling?

It's no secret that the price of gasoline is going to go even higher. You may as well make a fortune from it and at least be able to afford to put gasoline in your vehicle. Imagine not having to worry about the price you pay at the pump for gas. Have you ever had that feeling?

Building a string of financial successes takes education and a keen sense of perception. Educate yourself and change your perception and you could be on your way to a financial breakthrough. I am willing to educate and mentor a limited amount of people on how to profit from this extreme situation developing in the price of gasoline. I will teach you everything you need to know to position yourself to make money.

Visit www.themoneymotivator.com to order the Money Tracks Program today and get that feeling!

By David D. Wells

Residual Income - 3 Ideas for Long Term Profits

2008-06-30T00:06:00.019-07:00

A residual income is one that comes in no matter what--even when you are not working (or can't work.) It's something all of us will someday want and possibly need.

There are several paths to creating a residual income. I am going to quickly give you three ideas on how to get it done:

1. Invest small amounts of money over a long period of time.

Doesn't sound to exciting, huh? Well, just take a trip in a time machine with me...

Imagine your parents had begun putting away just $1 a day into a fund for you since the day you were born. If they had followed some simple rules, here is what you would have:

? At age 20 - $ 38,171.10
? At age 30 - $ 161,834.23
? At age 40 - $ 662,120.60
? At age 45 - $ 1,334,221.99
? At age 50 - $ 2,686,057.96
? At age 55 - $ 5,405,082.95

I think we'll stop there--you get the point.

What if you're 30 and haven't been doing this? Start today and you will have another $327K by the time you hit 65--put away $3 a day and you could have an "extra" million.

If you want to really see how exciting this concept can be, I have a report by Bob Allen on the specifics you can download as my gift by Bob Allen Report

2. Use other people's money to leverage wealth.

If you never use other people's money to help you build wealth, you will limit your wealth potential.

The amount of money you have to invest in a new venture is always limited--the amount of money other people have to invest in that same venture is virtually UNLIMITED.

Gary Halbert, the master copyrighter, uses this technique. Whenever he takes on a new client, he gets an up-front fee and 5% of the gross revenue from the promotion. So, he gets the benefit of the sales generated by a huge investment of capital on his client's part--and it continues to come in after he has already completed the work.

Keep in mind that 5% of $1,000,000 in sales generated by his work is much more than 100% of his $15,000 fee.

3. Create strategic alliances.

Have you ever noticed that the same people seem to be on the "inside track" when it comes to new products online--and that often you seem to be the last to know? Here's why:

There are a relatively small group of people who have large lists and have created strategic alliances with one another. When a new product is about to be launched, they get on the phone and put together a promotion that allows them to be first to the marketplace and get the lion's share of the profits.

But before you think, "Well, I can't get into THAT club," let me point something out: Joe Kumar, a kid from Singapore, did what almost no one does--he simply asked for admission.

And he got in, resulting in about $100K in sales his first full month of promoting.

To see more about Joe's story at 30 Days

Get on the phone, give a call to some "big names" on the Internet. You might just develop an alliance that will put you on the *inside* rather than out in the cold.

There are many ways to build a passive income. Three are detailed above--there are many others. Find one that fits you and pursue it. It's worth the effort.

By Kevin Bidwell

Residual Income - The Myth

2008-06-30T00:06:00.017-07:00

"Join our program and retire in 3 months..." yeah, right.

We all want to get to a place where we have ongoing, hands-off income that continues without us having to work for it. These ads play into that desire by offering us the promise of "easy continuing income."

The reality is often far from the sales pitch.

The first step in developing an ongoing, residual income is to dispel some of the myths surrounding the sales hype.

Here are some of the most common myths about creating a residual, ongoing online income:

Myth One: Put up a Website and Sit Back and Collect the Checks.

Those of us who have run Internet businesses for a while can tell you: Making a good living on the Internet requires marketing, customer service and order fulfillment. Either you have to do it yourself or you need to hire someone to do it.

Either way, having a website and selling your own products is often far from the "laying around on the beach while collecting your checks" image.

Myth Two: MLM/Networking Income is Residual Income.

Almost always a part of the sales pitch in networking is "creating residual income." While that is *possible* with MLM, it is very difficult to maintain. Here's why...

MLM income is built on three basic factors: new purchases by retail customers, the recruiting of new *wholesale* customers and the ongoing purchases by both groups.

In order to have an ongoing "residual" income, you need to recruit, train and motivate a sufficient number of *leaders* who will then continue the process in growing numbers.

This is rarely the case.

Instead, top leaders have found it is easier to build a large list of MLM "junkies" who they then take into one program after another. If you stopped joining new programs, your income would also dwindle within a few months.

Myth Three: Just Build Your Business and Hire People to Run It for You.

This does work, but it is often more of a nightmare than a dream.

At various times I have had anywhere from 0 to 15 employees. I have had many friends and clients with much numbers up to 1,000 employees. We all have the same opinion: Unless you have enough employees and profits to hire top quality managers, employees are a constant headache.

If you DO build a big enough, profitable enough, business and if you have the right personality, then building your business and hiring people to run it is a great idea.

Myth Four: Developing A Residual Income is Easy.

I don't want you to fall for this one, either. Developing a residual income will take some perseverance. The steps to getting it done are not difficult, but it requires one thing many people will not put in--consistency. If a person does the right things, day after day, they will create an ongoing, growing income. If they try today, then one day next week, then one day a month later, they are unlikely to ever get there.

Developing a residual, on-going, hands-free income is worth the effort. Avoid trusting in these four fantasies, get ready to work and you can have a supplemental income in no time at all. Keep it up long enough and you can eventually retire.

By Kevin Bidwell

Residual Income - Part Three Finding Leaders

2008-06-30T00:06:00.015-07:00

In my last article on Creating Residual Income I mentioned that employees are a pain.

That wasn't completely accurate. To be more accurate I should have said, "MOST employees are a pain."

In addition to the "regular" problems of payroll, sick time, legal issues, etc., there is the bigger issue that EMPLOYEES ARE LOOKING OUT FOR THEMSELVES, NOT FOR YOU.

Which means they need constant supervision and encouragement to make you the largest amount of money possible. It's just the way it is.

But there is a better way...

I went to college selling vacuum cleaners door-to-door. Yup, door-to-door. I didn't do it because I always enjoyed it-- sometimes it was raining or cold or BOTH--I did it because of this wonderful little thing called COMMISSION.

Every time I sold a vacuum cleaner I got paid $120. Not bad for a college student in 1982. Most weeks I sold 2, some weeks 3. Part-time, maybe 20 hours a week.

I knew I had the skills, and I was motivated by the money. No one had to tell me to work. No one had to tell me to not spend my day sitting in a coffee shop. The only way I made money was to sell, so that's what I did.

What would it mean to your online business if you had super motivated people selling your products or services? People who ALREADY KNEW how to sell? People who ALREADY had built a loyal following of visitors and subscribers?

Let me tell you: Just one of those people will sell more products for you than 100 "regular" people. And they will do it with half the time commitment on your part.

In the online business we call them SUPER AFFILIATES.

Recruit enough of these SUPER AFFILIATES and you can retire.

But what if you don't have your own product or service to sell?

This can be even easier...but I will save that for my next article.

In the mean time I have put together a page with four tools anyone can use to find these PRICELESS individuals. One of them is so OBVIOUS you will be amazed you didn't think of it yourself...one of the others is so POWERFUL I was able to identify 127 super affiliates for my own site in just 10 minutes.

By Kevin Bidwell

Who Wants To be A Millionaire?

2008-06-30T00:06:00.013-07:00

How many people search Google, Yahoo and MSN each day for the terms - make fast money online, get rich quick, or make money online? Or how about Who wants to be a millionaire?

Thousands! Thousands upon thousands, each and every day.

I wonder why?

Well, I'll let you in on a bit of personal stuff here. When I bought my first computer 5 years ago, the first word I typed into a search box was money ? yep, that's all, just "money"? and in Google search, there are 230,000,000 results - (that's 230 million)

And so began my exploration of tens of thousands of money making websites on investment schemes, scams, frauds, HYIP's, bank debentures, loan programs and, well, you name it? if it's out there, I've found it, and likely tried it.

Occasionally I made some money, but more often I lost. However, I have never once complained about losing money to a HYIP. I was brought up in a gambling family, and I learnt to gamble at a young age. In fact I've made a living out of betting on horses and dogs from time to time.

Since being online I've learnt to recognise a scam. It's not easy, and the people who develop and promote them get more sophisticated every year.

One of the craziest online money games I took part in was called E-Biz Ventures or e-bizz. You gave them your E-Gold, and 4 day's later they gave it back to you plus 100%? yeppers, that was fast money, they doubled it in 4 days. And this went on from sometime in late September 2000 until just 2 day's before Christmas the same year. It lasted three months.

Three months of doubling investments every 4 day's or so. And this all took place virtually without a glitch. It says as much for e-gold's automation as anything else.

By early December there were Audio chatrooms filled to capacity 24 hours a day, with people telling their story, answering questions, helping new people get started, all the while driving the frenzy? then the authorities stepped in and arrested the bloke running the show. It has been estimated that there was over $10 million revolving through E-Gold every 5 to 6 days by that time.

If you wanted to get involved in E-Biz, the most important person in your life was an E-currency Merchant? a market maker.

E-currency merchants convert your hard currency, like Dollars and Euro's, into E-currency's like E-Gold, eBullion, Netpay and Intgold. These people are the middle-men who fund your e-currency accounts for you, so you can take part in online commerce without a credit card. If you want to put $100 into your E-Gold account, you give them about $105. They place $100 worthy of e-currency into your account, and cop the $5 for their effort.

Likewise, if you want to cash out of your e-currency account, you give the e-currency merchant about $102 worth of E-Gold, e-Bullion or whatever, and he cut's a check for you for $100, keeping $2 for himself? so he made money both way's. About 7% on a round trip in and out of your e-currency account. If you were using a credit card to fund your account, they charge around 15%!

OK now? how would you like to get a bit of that action?

Well you can? but it's not easy, unless you have someone to lead you through your first few trades.

Building Wealth by Paying Yourself First

2008-06-30T00:06:00.011-07:00

When I look around at all of my friends, and a lot of my family, I see a lot of people living from pay check to pay check, under monetary stress. These same people watch the Calendar for payday like a hawk. Pay their bills, and then open up the spending flood gates, before they know it, they are itching for their next pay check. These same people are the people who don't think they make enough money to build future wealth. They are wrong.

The way I save money, is by paying myself first. I have automatic deductions come out of my bank account on the 15th and 30th of every month, which I put directly into a mutual fund for safe keeping. I take a small portion of my pay check, roughly 10% and put it away. This may not seem like much, but over time it adds up.

In addition, with mutual funds you will have the benefit of compound interest on your side. You should EASILY be able to achieve 8% interest on average in a good a mutual fund, often times more. That's $800 a year on $10000!

Once you start, you will be addicted. Watching your funds grow is incredibly addictive and will inspire you to invest a larger percentage as your income rises. If you have debt, put a portion of this percentage towards the debt and a portion into your mutual fund, so you have something positive to reinforce your automatic deductions.

The bottom line is this, if you have the money deducted in advance (and pay yourself first), you won't miss it and you can go ahead and spend what's left of your pay check week in and week out. You will be investing in your future wealth, and your mind will be at ease that you aren't wasting your life in the rat race and never progressing.

Ryan McKenzie

7 Golden Rules to Financial Prosperity

2008-06-30T00:06:00.009-07:00

Not Enough Money?

I believe that most people haven't got enough money for everything they wish to have - the more you have the bigger your plans, and you have a feeling that you have less and less money.

Whether you have lots of money or just so-so, you need to economize and take proper care of your money ie your income, expenditures, savings and investments.

Below I give you 7 Golden Rules to a Financial Prosperity:

1) Always have several streams of income: never rely on one income from one source only.

2) As soon as you start to earn, start to put aside a certain amount to create an automatic money source: I remember I have always had my own portfolio since I was a child, and can tell you that I needed it several times. Even if you have property, you may find yourself in a situation when you need fast cash. In such a situation, you will not sell your property, but you can sell part or even the whole of your portfolio.

You don't need to start your portfolio with thousands of dollars, you can develop it.

You only need to set a rule that you won't touch it when you don't need it, and keep it for vital urgencies. To buy a better car or a bigger house is not an urgency.

3) Always take care of your money personally: it's not necessary to do everything personally as soon as you can afford it but never allow any other person to have a right to handle your money without your knowing, or your express approval. If you think that you don't have time to supervise this or that it's not important, you will have to find it later for much more unpleasant things when you lose your money.

Many of you will 'hate' me for what I'm going to say now and I will receive lots of disapproving messages but I have to say it: don't even allow your spouse to do this - love and money is not the right association, and I know what I am talking about. Keep these apart.

Don't supervise your investments and expenditures only - Always strictly collect your money. Never allow people to owe you - again: with no regard to how much money you have, always demand every dollar you earn to be paid to you.

4) Strictly distinguish between expenditures and investments: it's very easy to put everything as cost or overhead: don't do this. Apply an easy rule: expenditure or cost is money thrown out of the window - you can't expect any return money on it, while investment is desirable (of course, not every investment is desirable): this should bring you more money, more property able to make you more money - the only questions you should carefully consider are whether you can/should afford such an investment at the moment, how much you're going to get back, how fast and whether it is acceptable.

5) Keep your expenditures at the minimum with no regard to how much money you have: expenditures are killing for everyone. It's useless to tell you stories about big fortunes lost by unwise costs. I'm sure you know many yourself from your neighbourhood.

6) Avoid loans, don't borrow if you don't know for sure you can repay. Never purchase anything on future incomes or promises.

Just a little example: if I have a notice that a payment is on its way to my account and I need the money today for some reason (however, I can't see any reason like that :-) - never mind), I can borrow. But, if I think I will sell 1,000 books next week, I mustn't borrow.

7) You must always earn more than you spend. In case you don't earn more than you spend, then you must spend less. In other words, you must always be in green.

If you think that you must swap your car every six months even if you should borrow, then it may easily happen that you won't drive anything in a very short time.

I don't want to waste hours of your precious time by long essays on savings and wise advice. Just adopt one principle and whenever you want to do something with your money (- whether it's thousands or millions or just a couple of bucks), just think about it: take care of the pennies and the pounds will take care of themselves.

About The Author

The article may be reprinted or used freely as long as it is in its entirety incl the resource box below:

By Irena Whitfield

Cutting Costs Can Significantly Increase Your Income

2008-06-30T00:06:00.007-07:00

As a work at home Mother, I know the value of a deal. Any smart business person knows that the best way to make money is to SAVE money.

Recently my husband quit his 9 to 5 salaried career to work from home with me. In order to afford this we had to take a good long look at our typical expenses and determine what we could do to cut our costs.

We quickly realized how much money is spent to make money. A quick peruse through our refrigerator revealed a lifestyle of haste. Almost our entire diet consisted of prepared foods. We made a pact to take turns cooking meals and freezing leftovers to see how much money we could save.

What we found out is that it was actually easy to cut our grocery bill in HALF on a consistent basis, simply by preparing our meals! It may not take a rocket scientist to figure that one out, but it was shocking to us to see how much money we had been spending simply for the convenience of quick meals to support our unbalanced, quick paced lifestyle.

Food that may have been wasted in the past is now the source of one or two more meals. We freeze a lot of food so that it doesn't feel so much like eating leftovers and when we shop we look for deals. We actually find that we eat healthier then ever and certainly enjoy the quality of our meals more.

One of my favorite ways to save money is using online coupon codes. When I have to purchase any item for my home office, birthday gifts, clothing for the kids, etc. I always do a search for a coupon code first. You would be amazed at how many merchants that you shop from on a regular basis actually offer coupons for free shipping, 10 - 20% off your entire purchase, etc.

To use a coupon code, simply visit a website that carries them such as http://www.promotionhub.com and locate the store that you plan to shop at. If there is a code noted, make sure to copy it down in case you are asked for it when you go to pay for your order. Generally though, the coupon code is embedded in the link you click and you will receive the discount simply by arriving at the website through that link.

Another tremendous source of savings? gasoline! My husband had been commuting two hours a day, five days a week. The gas tank was filled on a weekly basis. Since he has been working from home, we fill the tank only on very rare occasions. Our trips are short and infrequent.

We also became acutely aware of our energy usage. Turning off lights became religion. Warm clothes is mandatory before even considering turning on heat.

Cutting expenses is an extremely viable way to help make your real dreams a reality. For us, it was that both of us could be 'work-at-home parents'. To me, that is the ultimate American Dream. To you it may mean saving money for a vacation you never thought that you could afford, or paying off debt that could otherwise have taken years.

Find ways to cut your expenses and you have instantly increased your income! Happy Savings!

By Lori Redfield

Top 10 Secrets of Getting Rich!

2008-06-30T00:06:00.005-07:00

As many people have observed, "Success leaves clues." If you want to achieve extraordinary success in the coming year, study the experts, do what they do, and modify their techniques to suit your particular situation. It's easy!

Well, maybe not easy, but there are basic fundamentals. In the belief that we all need to be reminded of them regularly, here are some of the secrets that have helped me and my clients over the years:

1. Focus on values. I've known people who made some money, but I've never known anyone who got rich without examining their own values, priorities and beliefs. Start by writing down a list of things you value, things you believe, what you want, and what you plan to do with this incredible life you have. Start with your values.

2. Get a life. Before you can handle great wealth, you must make room for it. This is the old, "if you build it, they will come" model. Trying to squeeze success, wealth, fame or fortune into a small life won't work. Create a life first; the lifestyle of your dreams will follow.

3. Eliminate clutter. Trying to create success and achieve wealth while your life's a mess won't work. Success requires clear priorities and a passionate commitment. Simplify your life. Eliminate the excuses. Clean up everything that distracts you from reaching your most important goals.

4. Specify your results. Nobody can hit a target they can't see. Define your outcomes and set clear, achievable results in advance. Know what "success" looks like! Have measurable, specific outcomes and determine that you will achieve them!

5. Burn your ships. There's an ancient story about a Greek general who landed his troops on an enemy shore, then burned his ships. He wanted to make it very clear: Retreat and failure were not an option! Leave no room for failure.

6. Put in more than you take out. No one will pay you more than your services are worth! Get clear about that! You just can't fool people very long. Your services and your results must be far more valuable than the small fee you charge. Some people will rip you off; the rest will make you rich!

7. Live below your means. Rich people know this. Wealth is accumulated, re-invested, used wisely and given away. It is never spent! Let the millionaire athletes and folks who win lotteries buy the fancy cars and flashy jewelry. If you want to achieve great wealth, live simply, invest wisely, enjoy it all!

8. Get rich slowly. The key to great wealth is to minimize income, while maximizing your assets. Income is taxed. Income gets spent -- think about all the cars, boats, diamonds and houses people with huge incomes like to buy! Investing in assets that are hard to spend (buildings, stocks and bonds, collectible art, etc) creates wealth that is not taxed, and isn't spent on a casual impulse.

9. Pay lots of taxes. No, I'm not talking about paying more than you owe, but pay every cent the law requires. Rich folks don't haggle over nickels and dimes, they invest to make millions! If you can legally avoid taxes, do so! Use the law to your advantage when you can. But juggling the books to hide income or save a few bucks, wastes your time, wastes your energy, creates fear of getting caught, and makes you cheap. Don't do it!

10. Give it away. You can't take it with you when you die, and money is not attracted to the selfish, the miserly or the mean. If you would attract money to your life, be clear about what you want to do with it. Contribute to charities that will use it for good. Make the world a better, richer place and you'll create wealth that will last for generations to come. Your children will thank you!

by Philip E. Humbert

The Top 10 Steps to Becoming a Millionaire

2008-06-30T00:06:00.003-07:00

There is perhaps no more important decision than to take charge of your own financial future. We live in a world of opportunity, and yet most Americans are buried in credit card and other debt. We are surrounded by people who are getting rich, but most of us are running in place. If you can read this, you are literate, have a computer, you are part of the "wired generation". You can become as financially independent as you wish to be. Here are the Top 10 keys to your financial success:

1. Decide to be financially successful. This is different than wishing, hoping, wanting or even desiring to be rich. Make a commitment that this is going to happen! Financial independence is not an accident or matter of luck, and it usually requires some inconvenience. Have you decided to achieve this goal?

2. Understand how money works. Most of never studied finance or investing in school. Most of were never even taught to balance a checkbook! To master anything, you have to understand it. Read. Study what successful people do. Take classes.

3. Master your relationship with money. Some of us spend for excitement, to show off, to prove we can. Some of us are addicted to spending, and some of us are just careless about it. Whatever your relationship with money, understand it and develop a relationship of respect, appreciation and gratitude. Use your money, rather than allowing it to run your life.

4. Set specific goals. They should be challenging, but not unbelievable, just out of reach but not out of sight. Challenge yourself to be out of debt by a specific date. Make a commitment to saving an exact amount each month.

5. Develop a budget. A budget is a set of dreams and aspirations. It's how you really, really want to use money to benefit your family and run your life. Budget to buy the things you really want, and to eliminate the "impulses", the toys that waste too much of our income. A budget is a map to your destination. Have one and use it!

6. Reduce spending. Yes, this comes after making a budget, because when you begin getting control of your money (rather than the other way around) you have powerful new reasons to reduce expenses. Most self-made millionaires live far below their means! You should to.

7. Begin investing. Most of us spend or speculate. Both are roads to disaster! Invest in things you understand. Invest cautiously, wisely, and regularly. The objective is not to "make a killing", but to get rich over time. Know and obey the distinction between gambling, and putting your money to work for you.

8. Increase assets. Most people try to increase their income, and that's a mistake. Making more money means paying more taxes. It takes time and hard work. And, when wealth arrives in the form of cash, it's easier to spend. Millionaires buy stocks and buildings, they invest in assets that will make them rich - and that are hard to spend on a whim!

9. Reduce taxes. Most Americans pay more in taxes than for food, clothing and shelter combined! It is your largest expense! The poor and middle class don't realize how much they pay because it's deducted from their pay check. The wealthy know there are legal and appropriate ways to shelter income, to invest in socially-responsible ways, and that the tax code encourages this. Learn the tax laws and use them for your benefit! (Yes, it's the most boring reading you'll ever do, and worth it!)

10. Use your wealth wisely. Someone once said, "The reason most of us aren't rich is that we'd spend it all on ourselves." Give. Share. Help others. When you use money to make a difference, to have a positive impact, you get the chance to do more. Being greedy and selfish will not draw money to you. Investing in your community, will!

To begin your education about money and becoming a millionaire, I highly recommend several books on the subject. Two of the best are: "The Millionaire Next Door" by Thomas Stanley and William Danko, and "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" by Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter.

by Philip E. Humbert

One Pipeline Is Worth A Thousand Paychecks

2008-06-30T00:06:00.001-07:00

It is with great pleasure of having you here at this hour. Let me get it straight and be honest with you at the very outset. First of all, I'm not going to sell you anything here. And second of all, if you are hoping that you could learn some tricks to earn Quick & easy Money, you are definitely in a wrong place.

What I'm offering you are some personal story and lesson which I hope you will find it useful and beneficial to your well-being - be it financially or spiritually. Below is an article which I wrote to an online magazine, some time ago. The response was phenomenal and overwhelming. I hope you will enjoy reading it.

The Power of Dream

Have you ever dreamed of being financially free seomeday ? Yes, let me repeat, FINANCIAL FREEDOM. I bet some of you do. However, I believe only a handful of you would actually commit yourselves into making your dream comes true. Instead of committing to pursue your dream, you would just sit back and do nothing about it. Am I right to say that most of you have no confidence of yourself , let alone your dream?

"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." - Eleanor Roosevelt

Well, some people will doubt it and think that being financially free seems to be an impossible dream to attain. - Never ever doubt about yourself !- To have financial freedom is not impossible and is within your reach if you possess the fundamental understanding of how wealth is created and accumulated.

By the same token, the depth of your financial knowledge and planning will determine your financial future whether you will retire broke, debt-ridden or leave a huge amount of wealth for your dependence. The choice is yours because you are the navigator of your own destiny.

As Burke Hedges the author of the book The Parable of the Pipeline eloquently writes , " becoming a millionaire is a matter of choice, not chance ."

How to Be Financially Free

Most of you must have heard of people saying; you either be a professional or run your own business to earn BIG INCOME, right? It is true to a certain extent, however, a profession per se does not guarantee you a better financial future. Why? Because no matter how much you earn as an engineer, a manager, an accountant, an architect, etc. you will still depend on a paycheck or a fee for a living. Think about it, the moment when you stop working, your income will stop flowing in and the next thing you know, your bank-savings is drying up.

Thus, being a professional with a big income is never going to make you financially comfortable. You will never make your family safe and secure. Burke Hedges calls this group of people a "bucket carrier". He writes, "as long as you carry buckets, you have to show up and do the work in order to get paid."

Does it sound familiar to you? This is how the rat-race world works. Instead of working for the money as Robert T. Kiyosaki, the author of the best selling book Rich Dad and Poor Dad pointed out, "we should make the money work for us." What a brilliant saying!

So how do we get out of this rat-race world? The answer is we need to start thinking on how to make the money work for us. Have you ever heard of the concept of leverage? It is a concept that is widely applied in all fields of work including the financial world. So what is it all about?

What is leveraging?

Leverage is a phenomenal concept that has been known to people throughout the ages. The root of the word leverage, lever is originated from an old French word that means, "to make lighter." Say, if we want to move an object, which is many times heavier than us, what do we do? That's right. We place a rigid bar on a pivot to lever it and the object becomes so light that even a child can lift it easily.

"Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world." - Archimedes

This is the power of leverage. In today's financial world, we apply the same principle of leverage to time and money, and the outcomes are exponential. Leverage allows people to work smarter, not harder, and it is the reason behind the creation of so many millionaires in the last century.

Leverage: The Source of Residual Income

Residual income, which is also known as passive or recurring income, is an income that will continuously generates inflow of money to us after the initial effort that we have put to work or money we have invested in an investment fund. Alternatively, if you are an inventor, your residual income will basically derived from the rights and patents of something you have invented and used by others. The same goes to an artist or a musician.

Two Types Of Leveraging

Leveraging Money

Have you heard of Warren Buffet? Yes, the second richest man in the world and a legendary figure in the stock market that earn his living by leveraging other people's money and as result he made himself and his investors rich in the course.

Check this out. One share of Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway stock was worth around $19 in the mid 60s and by the end of 1998, the value of that single share has shot up to $70,000. Say, if you have invested $ 10,000 back in 1965, your investment at the end of 1998 would have been worth a whopping $ 51 million. WOW ! That's unbelievable. The money was left to compound by itself as time went by. That's how money-leverager makes their millions.

Nevertheless, most of these 'money-leveragers' would only get to see their wealth touches the million-dollar mark only after they have reached their 50s or 60s. Though it's a long wait before they could see the result, it is worth the wait anyhow. Wouldn't it be great to be a money-leverager?

Ok, let's be honest to ourselves. Not everyone of us has the patience to wait, not to mention, some of us even find it hard to come up with the initial capital to invest. So, if we don't have the money, what do we have to leverage then? The answer is TIME !

Leveraging Time

A day has 24 hours and all of us regardless whether we are rich or poor, have that same amount of time in a day. Time helps us to level the playing field. We can no longer give ourselves excuses not to be rich. We have been given an equal opportunity in this era where every one of us can have easy access to information and knowledge on wealth building.

All we need to do is to leverage an iota of our leisure time and spend it wisely to build our pipeline that will continuously pay us day and night. Always remember - pipelines are no longer an affair of the rich. Pipeline belongs to people who believe they CAN do it.

Why Leveraging Time Not Money?

"Life is a waste of time; time is a waste of life; so why waste your time when you could be having the time of your life?" - Unknown

Why leveraging time not money? Well, if you were a money leverager, you wouldn't be reading this article in the first place. You would probably talking to your broker looking for stocks to invest or busy looking for real estate properties to add to your investment portfolio. Right? So I believe you are here because you do not have enough financial means to leverage money to build pipelines of ongoing residual income. ( Admit it, I won't tell anyone. )

Up to this point, I hope you understand the difference between leveraging time and money. Let us put aside the latter and pay more attention on the concept of leveraging time as we have mentioned earlier that building pipelines through leveraging time is within everyone reach.

In the next few years from now, believe it or not, many millionaires will be created through Internet marketing - either selling your own or other people's products. ( What if I could show you how to start an Internet Business in less than 24 hours, and see profits by next weekend - would you be excited? - keep reading if you want the answer) Internet marketing gives you the edge over other types of businesses because it is not limited by boundaries and physical limitations. It is accessible 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.

Do you know that a recent report has shown that e-commerce revenue has trippled in the last 5 years ? And it has been forecasted that transaction from online buying would reach up to trillions dollars in the next 5 years.

Ok, so much of the hype and yet you're still not convinced that people do make money via internet. Would you believe if I tell you that I could earn U$ 2K-3K a month for having only to spend 30 minutes a day online? Well, the rest of the day I spend on reading and working - yes, I still work because I "want to work" and not I "have to work". There's a big difference here. With some extra cash in hand, I invest some in stocks and Real-Estate. Well, as the saying goes, "Never put all eggs in one basket."

Hey, why don't you go have a look at what I have on my websites? Please go to:

www.archbrowser.com

or www.archiquotes.info

ArchiQuotes.Info was started as a hobby. Like you perhaps, I did not know how to create website at first - it's not hard to learn though. Anyway, there are ways to earn some extra cash through internet. You don't have to create a website on your own. I can assure you that Donald Trump of the Apprentice reality show, knows nothing about computer-aided drawing (CAD) software and yet, still able to build a business empire related to buildings. The reason being, he has MONEY! Like I said earlier, you need to find something - a tool - to make the wheel cart moving. Once you've got it moving, it'll be so much easier to keep it going. That's physics - the law of inertia. YOU have to start the initial drive!

What I'm going to share with you is something personal - You and Me. But first of all, I want to thank you so much for bothering to read so far. Words of Advice: if you are a type person who has no determination to succeed, please do not read further or attempt to try it. If you insist you want to try, good. Welcome to the BIG THINKER group. You will see result in less than a month provided that you put 101% effort in what you are doing.

I owe much of my online success to one person that is, none other than the foremost online guru, Corey Rudl. I believe some of you must have heard his name or read his book. He is the Grand Strategist of all Internet Business and Internet Marketing.

To win a war, you need to have strategies in place - echoing the wisdom of ancient Chinese sage, Sun-Tzu. Likewise, if you want to succed online, you need strategies. There's an old saying that say,

"Don't Reinvent the Wheel."

That's right. You are lucky because you don't have to start from scratch. Corey Rudl has put in place all the strategies for everyone who wish to earn some extra cash or - let me be a little bolder - earn a six figure income! If you are serious about going online to make some extra cash, look no further. Corey Rudl's is a proven internet marketer - he earns U$ 7.8 million a year. Is that convincing enough for you to start an online business?

Perhaps, some of you will comprehend what I've written here and proceed to set your own financial goal. Others may just call it a quit before even trying it. Whichever path you decide, always bear in mind this saying by Napolean Hill, "winners never quit, and quitters never win." All success begin from a very small step of faith in yourself. Let me end by giving you an old chinese proverb,

"A journey of a thousand miles, start with one steps."

Believe me, one pipeline is worth a thousand paychecks. Start building one now.

by EdChew

A New Paradigm Shift In Earthly Wealth

2008-06-30T00:05:00.019-07:00

Hello,

If you dont understand this yet, or have not heard of opportunity investment, you are about to venture into a new life for yourself and your family.

My own fiscal transformation occurred several years ago, yet its not over yet, I've just begun.

Let me ask you, if I told you that money was laying around waiting for you to pick it up and stuff it into your childrens education account, would you believe me?

On some level I think you know its true, money is abundant on this planet.

Let me awaken a sleeping giant in you. I say this with complete frankness, you can TAKE what you need in this life time and you dont need to learn or try or work hard or any other silly diversionary objective within a specified number of months.

Money is spare, it sits waiting everywhere we look. I call it "excess intrinsic value" Well, I didn't coin the phrase, but thats what I call it.

Hayden Mullers excellent work introduced me to this concept and others. These revelations changed my life.

Im not talking about metaphysical, wishy washy concepts about belief and faith. When you see things in the right light, the way every other "high net worth individual" see's it.....you see things as they really are.

I was a fool for many years, working and slaving rediculous hours every day for another mans comfort and benefit. But without an alternative, thats all I had. My wife and I were happy, but I dare say not as happy as my boss and HIS wife and family were.

Im not saying quit your job this minute, but there will come a time very soon, where that will be your only logical decision.

Today, however, you will learn and absorb what you as yet dont perceive correctly. First and foremost that money is spare everywhere around you.

This grass roots phenomenon is sweeping the world. Its a quiet equalizer. Ordinary people like you and me are taking what they need to live well without the need to work and slave for another man for even a single more day.

The wealthy are noticing, but theres nothing they can do, nor do they care. How can they fault people who utilize the self same methods they themselves used to make their own fortunes in the first place.

There is enough dollar wealth on this planet for each and every soul on earth to own a New York apartment building each. 5 billion inhabitants, $100 million each, you do the math.

Yet so many have nothing. I mean nothing at all. They must work there fingers to the bone on a daily basis. Just to survive. Why is that?

Can we blame the rich? The politicians?

No, do we blame ourselves? NO!

Ignorance is the one and only evil on this earth. Its the scourge of this world and for lack of a few simple pieces of infomation, millions go without a real life.

Yet, as stated, theres a surge of new wealth emerging from the ranks of ordinary people like you and me. Real wealth, not just an uptrend in the value of the family home.

People are living in large homes, going on decadent vacations, sending their children to good schools and growing a life together that is free from lack in any way.

The best part is that it's not through sweat and toil, that was the old way. The way our grandparents did it. The revolution is growing. Pinnacle wealth is a thing of the past and the greedy few that hoard and dominate the planets resources are shedding their power and yielding to the many that demand a reasonable "cut" for themselves and their own families.

We are doing it with our minds.

We are doing it with our witts.

We are doing it with a few simple concepts, and a safe and sensible approach.

Most of all, we are doing it very rapidly indeed.

Learn more today, visit us at the link I present for you below.

By Martin Thomson

What is Your Creative Retirement Plan?

2008-06-30T00:05:00.017-07:00

The idle are a peculiar kind of dead that cannot be buried."
Oriental proverb

One thing is certain - when you do not have a creative challenge during your retirement years, the idleness and its accompanying despondency blots out any chance for happiness and contentment and can even encourage an early death.

We spend a great deal of time on our retirement financial planning thinking if we have a roof over our heads and food on the table we're all set. But no matter how big or small the roof or how limited and abundant the food, without a creative challenge to fuel your mind and spirit, the money is meaningless.

There's a story about US President Calvin Coolidge. He died at the early age of sixty. He had an office but little or nothing was accomplished there - few came to visit. At his home, he had no hobby or interests. So empty was his life he used to go down in the cellar to watch the handy man throwing coal in the furnace.

In Michael Connelly's novel "Lost Light", the hero, a Los Angeles cop describes his retirement.

"?.I was now retired. I was supposedly comfortable. I had a house with no mortgage and a car I'd paid cash for. I had a pension that covered more than I needed covered. It was like being on vacation. No work, no worries, no problems. But something was wrong and deep down I knew it. I was living like a jazz musician waiting for a gig. I was staying up late, staring at the walls and drinking too much red wine. I needed to pawn my instrument or find a place to play it."

That is not a good place to be.

When fuelled by continuous creative challenges, the ability to originate new ideas does not diminish with age. When you think of your retirement years, remember age is just a number - health, heart and mind determine age.

In his book, "Staying Young Beyond Your Years", Dr. Howard Wilcox Haggard notes that many people have acquired the habit of NOT learning - they allowed themselves to get out of the habit of learning.

Don't fall into that trap. If you are planning for your retirement remember - to be a happy, contented and creatively-active older person is to make yourself a happy, contented and creatively-active younger person.

If you are retired NOW is the time to step up to the plate and go for a creative homerun. Create a life work that pops you out of bed in the morning.

Here are a few extras - retirement add-ons that wrap a blue ribbon around a happy, contented and challenging retirement.

See don't just look - study the beauty that surrounds you. Take time to sit on a park bench or on a lakeshore and play the "Positive Game". Make a mental list of all the positives around you - the laughter of children playing - a couple holding hands - the structure of a flower - the movements of a bee.

Spend time with the younger generation - their youthfulness will rub off on you. My grandchildren keep me young in mind and spirit.

Exercise is vital - even a daily thirty minute hike works wonders. Play the positive game on your walk. I download motivational books and listened to them on my portable CD player while I'm walking.

"Do not act as though you had a thousand years to live"
Marcus Aurelius

By Dave Wright

Re-discovering the Fundamentals of Financial Planning

2008-06-30T00:05:00.015-07:00

To lose weight in the 80's, we went on low-calorie diets. In the 90's, we switched to low-fat diets, and now, in the 21st Century, we are completely convinced that it's all about the low-carb diet. What ever happened to just eating healthy?

In a culture where everyone is looking for shortcuts, it's not often that you see something about fundamentals. Well, take note of the following three basics of financial planning, because it may just be what's been missing from your 'plate.'

1) Have a goal in mind! Savings are only as useful as your desire to apply them to a specific purpose. If your goal is a new home, great; if it's to send the kids to Fordham, even better; and if it's retirement, terrific. Once you have the "why," you must determine "how much," and "when." These two variables will determine how aggressive you must be, as well as how much of a present sacrifice you'll need to make in order to reach your goal.

2) Spend less than you earn! If you're a bit late in the game with this one, then the first order of business is to minimize your debt. The common American philosophy is to spend first, and save what's left. Contrast this with the Eastern tendency to invest first, and spend what's left. Can you guess which approach is more likely to lead to wealth? Many people will admit that it is unreasonable to buy a 50" plasma television if the only way to pay for it is with a monthly installment plan. Why then don't we apply the same philosophy to buying a home? When considering rent versus a mortgage, it is generally advantageous to have the mortgage. However, replacing the five-bedroom home with a nine-bedroom home before the five-bedroom has been paid off simply doesn't fit the model.

3) Invest monthly, and start now! $1,000 invested monthly is a heck of a lot easier than $12,000 at year's end. Add to that the concept of dollar-cost averaging and more often than not, you'll also earn more over time. Finally, because of compounding, the sooner you get started, even at a small amount, the less time it will take to get wherever it is you want to go-even if that includes a stop along the way for a low-carb tofurkey salad.

By Matthew S. Clement

What Do You Mean By Diversity?

2008-06-30T00:05:00.013-07:00

The word 'diversity' is a unique one. It can represent many things, depending upon its context. To work in a diverse workplace is to have all genders and ethnicities represented. In another example, people strive for diversity within their leisure activities, while at the same time seeking consistency (yes, that is strange).

Used to describe your financial affairs, diversity is equally important, and I'd be happy to share why this is so. Have you ever met someone who said, "I invest all my funds in small tech stocks?" I have, though they're not as vocal about it these days! The same can be said for those who favor healthcare, real estate, junk bonds, emerging markets, or their bedroom mattress! Every segment of the market has short-term and long-term cycles and fluctuations, and no one is immune to them.

I favor nothing! No segment of the market is more or less important-they all have a role. I manage assets like I feed ducks-everyone gets some, but no one gets too much. Handled mathematically and reviewed regularly, there is, in my opinion, no better way to approach the issue of long-term growth.

(If you happen to have any fat ducks in your portfolio, I would recommend you put them on a diet.)

By Matthew S. Clement

Top 7 Ways To Get Rich

2008-06-30T00:05:00.011-07:00

Want to be one of the lucky ones on the road to riches, want to be on the freeway to financial freedom, on your way to wealth?

Here are the top 7 roads to riches, the top 7 easiest and fastest ways to acquire wealth ...

Inherit it
This is how today's old money families got their wealth. In the 1800's and early 1900's, before anti-trust laws, income taxes and political correctness, America's finest families built empires and amassed great wealth; in industries such as oil, banking, newspapers, sugar, transportation, land, bootlegging and even prostitution. And that original wealth was passed down to succeeding generations. The number one easiest and fastest way to acquire wealth is to inherit it. Unfortunately, inheriting wealth is mainly a matter of blood; you have to be born into the right family.

Marry it
If you can't inherit it the second easiest and fastest way to acquire wealth is to marry someone who is already wealthy. And sometimes that person may even be kind, generous, compatible and loveable. And, if not, divorce can pay off handsomely. Just remember to get married (and divorced) in a state that has favorable community property laws.

Work for it
If you can't inherit wealth and can't marry it then you can work for it. People rarely get rich having a job. Rather, they build a company and own it. And then often take that company public, collecting hundreds of millions, or billions, of dollars in doing so.

Or, they invent something useful and valuable which greatly benefits society, such as explosive devices like dynamite, or the paper clip or the thigh master or eBay.

Win it
If you can't inherit wealth, can't marry it or can't work for it then maybe you can win it. Lotteries abound, paying out multi-million dollar jackpots, and eventually someone always wins them. Unfortunately, you have a greater chance of being struck by lightning then winning the lottery. But, hey, it only costs a buck!

Steal it or deal it
If you can't inherit wealth and you can't marry it, work for it, or win it then maybe you could steal it or deal it.

You could become a CEO or chief financial officer for a big cash-rich company, cook the books, steal millions of dollars, buy a $20 million dollar home, lie to the feds, and hope you don't get caught, convicted and sent to Club Fed. I don't recommend anyone try to get rich this way.

Also not recommended is to deal it; to become a drug lord and generate hundreds of millions of dollars in cash dealing heroin, crack, meth and other non-FDA approved goodies and wholesaling it to pushers who will gladly resell it to anyone to wants it, ranging from children to movie stars. After all, aren't drug dealers just supplying what people want; even if it creates crime, ruins lives, kills people or could put you in jail for the rest of your life. Not a legal (or moral) way to get rich.

Gamble for it
If you can't inherit money, can't marry it, can't work for it, can't win it, can't steal or deal it then maybe you could gamble for it. Over 50 million people play poker. A few even make millions of dollars at it. You've seen them on television, winning or losing upwards of a million dollars on the turn of a card. Looks easy, doesn't it? They don't look so tough on TV; I bet any decent poker player (like me for instance) has a good chance of beating them on a lucky day. So maybe you could simply plunk down $3,000-$25,000 per tournament entry fee, or get a backer, join the World Poker Tour, win a few tournaments and get rich! Or maybe, in reality, the average amateur poker player has a snowball's chance in hell of getting rich that way.

Invest and get rich
If you can't inherit wealth, can't marry it, can't work for it, can't win it, can't steal or deal it or can't gamble for it then maybe you can invest and get rich. There are 2 good ways to invest and get rich; the real estate market and the stock market.

According to historical data, over time, real etate goes up a average of 10% a year. So getting rich in real estate tends to take a long time. And also requires a large down payment. Hard to get rich quick that way.

On the other hand, the stock market can be a good way to get rich. Stocks can go up dramatically over a relatively short period of time and make you rich but you have to have the money to invest and you have to pick the right stocks at the right time.

To recap how to get rich:

1. inherit it

2. marry it

3. work for it

4. win it

5. steal it or deal it

6. gamble for it

7. invest for it

These are the top 7 easiest and quickest ways people can get rich. How will YOU do it?

By Alan Korber

Spiritual and Emotional Money Goals: The Keys to a Financially Free Future

2008-06-30T00:05:00.009-07:00

Are you setting the right money goals?

Most people believe having more money would mean having more security. Right? Wrong. Having more money is only one goal we need to achieve in order to be financially free. Increasing our internal ability for abundance is the goal we need to meet first.

The problem with only pursuing wealth externally and not internally is that our hidden, limiting beliefs about money can wipe out our savings, our line of credit at the bank, and the $5 we borrowed from a friend to put gas in our car.

Having more security is not something that can be determined or created by how much we earn, how much we save, or how much we own. Security is an internal barometer of how much we trust ourselves to be able to handle difficult circumstances.

In order to do this, we must set result-oriented goals (the vacation, the new house, etc) as well as clean up any negative internal programming we have around money.

Let's try an example. Say that you do get that raise, or get some unexpected windfall of cash. You think your all set. And then in a matter of 30 - 90 days, you're back to where you started. What happened? One of two things: Either you have spent your cash on something you thought would bring you more security, or, in the case of a raise, you have also raised the level of your debt so that while you are now making more money, you are also spending more money.

How do you know what your internal money goals are? The first thing to do here is to look at your relationship with money for the past 10 years. What patterns do you see creeping out? Are their any serious financial challenges? Is there a pattern of high peaks and low valleys? What does your money history tell you about your internal relationship to money?

Set A Goal To Create A NEW Relationship With Money

Then take this information you have just gathered and consider it. Develop 3-4 internal money goals that will reflect a change in your relationship to money. If you've had a "love-hate" relationship for example, what can you do to change that?

Here are a few examples to get you started:

Forgiving yourself for past money mistakes or bad decisions? Building your level of trust and deserving with money? Having your own relationship to money instead of your parent's? Eliminating money patterns that produce "scarcity thinking?"

By creating result-oriented goals around money combined with spiritual and emotional-level goals around money, we can begin to exact change in our relationship to money - and have MORE of it!

By Bernie Cardell

A New Economic Policy

2008-06-30T00:05:00.007-07:00

Anyone knows that material wealth is measured in goods: apples, cars, shoes, sheep, etc. When the number and the quality of these things increases, wealth increases.

But economists disagree. They say they can make wealth by destroying goods or by producing fewer goods of poorer quality.

If we would use the technology, labour, and resources that are now available to us, the entire planet could enjoy an amazingly high standard of living. But the experts say it wouldn't be good for the economy. Why?

Because the economists work for the rich and not for the poor. They are only interested in higher profits for the sellers... even if it means fewer sales at a higher price.

Businessmen may make more money by destroying half their crop and tripling their prices. Half the population may go hungry, but economists will say they have increased the wealth of the country. Do you see a flaw in their thinking?

The flaw is that they have confused money with wealth. And hardly anyone in the world dares to correct that error. But think about it: You can't eat money. It will not keep you warm. It is only useful if you can trade it for something else.

But if we continue with our present economic policies, there will be less and less to trade it for.

WHAT IS MONEY?

Before money existed, people were still greedy. But there were limits to their greed. When you traded chickens for sacks of wheat, there were limits to how many chickens you could carry home, house, and maintain.

True, some had more than others, but it was unthinkable that any one person could have a million (much less, a billion) chickens in their back yard. And, if others in your village were starving while you had even a thousand chickens, it was hard to convince the others that you were entitled to a thousand times more than they had.

Then someone invented money. It was easier to carry, store, maintain, and especially easier to hide. With enough money, you could own the world, without actually putting it in your back yard.

Poor people could work in your factories, shop in your supermarkets, do business in your skyscrapers, even drive on your roads in cars financed by your banks, and never feel angry about how unfair this is.

Now the rich control the media, education, religion, even the government. They have brainwashed us into believing that they have a right to destroy the world in order to increase their wealth. We now think that whatever is good for BHP is good for all of us.

Worse still, we have all been tricked into playing their game. We now believe that money is the key to happiness. The entire human race has lost touch with reality in our obsession with money as an end in itself. This is madness!

WORK VS. PLAY

The struggle for more money does not only hurt the losers - the poor. It also hurts the winners, by making their work life a miserable existence... a rat race!

Musicians, actors, athletes, and kids play. Others work. But what is the difference? The general rule is that "players" do not receive wages for what they freely choose to do, and "workers" do. And with increased leisure, people are learning to make "play" out of many activities.

Prisoners study law; grandmothers take up flying; uni students enter campus politics; businessmen start hobby farms. And they do this with no promise of pay for their efforts. Are they working or are they playing?

They are "plorking" (pronounced plurking). Plorking is a combination of playing and working. It means being creative, productive, or useful without being concerned about receiving money for it.

Some people enjoy their jobs and would not trade them for anything. These lucky plorkers (who just happen to be paid for it) are more reliable, more dedicated, and more contented than their workmates.

If everyone did the things they wanted to do, everyone would be more productive, and society would be richer for it.

But the money myth has convinced people that they must spend their lives making money rather than being happy and productive.

People who cannot find a way to make money (or who aren't interested in making money) are made to feel they are useless. Worse than that, they are told that they have sinned against the world that feeds them until they begin to make money again. No thought at all is given to how creative, useful, or productive the non-wage earners may be.

If players are the best workers, then more effort should be made to encourage people to play, instead of condemning the few who do.

WHERE DO WARS COME FROM?

To most people, we fight wars because people in another country are evil and we (the good people) must stop them. But it isn't really that simple.

Remember that people in the other country are being told the same things about us!

Greed is the great weakness of capitalism; but it is also the great weakness of socialism. Both sides are trying to destroy the other for the same reason... greed. Wars are just an extension of the greed that operates within every strata of society. But it is easier to see the utter foolishness of such motivation when we look at the devastation of war.

Tragically, the rich on both sides do not fight their own wars. Instead, they sacrifice the lives of the poor in their quest for more power.

The same conflicts go on within our country, in the form of running battles between employers and employees. And it even operates on the family and individual level in the form of almost constant arguing and malice.

Hatred between the sexes, racism, generation gaps, are all self-destructive. And they all come from a desire to explain the emptiness greed has left in our own spirits, by blaming someone else.

For your own sanity, for unity in your family, for prosperity in your country, and for the survival of the human race, someone must begin to declare war on greed... before we all destroy ourselves!

A NEW MOTIVATION

Although there was a lot of criticism of the space race during the 1960's and the 1970's, it was fulfilling a human need in a much more positive way than Vietnam. Kennedy's Peace Corps offered hopes of being an even better alternative to war. (Of course, these programs were only as successful as the zeal of the masses allowed. Personal inventiveness, adventure, and love do not depend on support from the government.)

The human spirit enjoys a challenge. If we are not actively building, we are actively destroying. Too often we think the way to build ourselves up is to tear someone else down.

What is needed is a vision and a commitment that are both positive and complete. We believe the goal must be total love... for all mankind. Our aggression must be directed against the lies and deceptions that are destroying the world (but not against the people who tell and believe the lies).

We are talking about more than nice words for a political platform or a new religion. We are talking about a community of people who refuse to let money be a motivation for their daily living... people who actively seek every day to use all of their skills, energy, and resources to express love for others.

In time we hope to see this spirit of love spread and affect others. Real love is much more than emotional thrills; it is capable of ushering in a whole new world order. In fact, we've found it is more powerful than life itself.

A few of us have begun to work for love rather than for money. We have given up everything we own and we are prepared to die for love.

We have already found that such commitment pays dividends in terms of inner fulfilment, increased awareness, and a zest for life. We believe we've hit on the answer to the world's problems.

THE SOURCE

This is always the hardest part to get across: The things in this booklet really came from the teachings of Jesus Christ. That's right; we're Christians.

Please don't confuse us with all that passes for Christianity today. Jesus said some amazing things, if people would just take him seriously. He called this new economic police the "good news of the kingdom of God."

It's important to bring God into it for a couple of reasons.

For one thing, if we're not careful, we can end up letting go of money and then fighting over the things it can buy. Just as goods are more important than money, so God is more important than the goods. He's the source of all true wealth.

The obvious argument, "If we don't look after ourselves, who will?" has an answer when you bring God into it. If you're working for love, you're working for God. It becomes his responsibility to look after your material needs. And we've found that he does!

Also, God comes into it when you try to decide the best way to go about loving others. Only he knows the future, and he explains a lot about the overall plan in the Bible.

Some good places to start if you want to study the source of our theory and the source of real wealth, are the 6th chapter of Matthew (2nd half mostly) and the 4th and 5th chapters of James (first couple verses of each especially). We have a lot of other study material too if you are interested.

THE COST

It's not realistic to expect that the rest of the world will quickly accept our new economic policy. People have been conditioned against it for too long.

To really change the world, you have to change the hearts of people, and that's a very tall order. But never underestimate the power of one life. People like Gandhi, Socrates, and Jesus Christ have had a mighty influence on history because they believed some things were more important than even life itself.

Just one such individual in the world today could make a big difference; and two or three... or even a dozen might be enough to start a spiritual revolution that could change the entire world.

There have been armies of people who were willing to kill for what they believed in. Why not an army of people who are willing to die for what they believe in?

We can give our lives by dying quickly for this new world order, or we can give our lives a day at a time by labouring patiently and faithfully to bring a little light to a dark world.

Remember that if you change even one small part of the world, you have still changed the world. Much change is very slow and gradual.

We have learned that the message we preach often causes people to act in irrational anger. Sometimes they themselves do not know why they are reacting in the way they are. But if we are sure that our motives have only been to show love, then even a hateful response should be encouraging; it proves that we are getting through.

When they have done all they can to stop us, and we still continue to love, they will know then that love is stronger than hate.

By Dave McKay

What Are Your Beliefs About Money and Wealth?

2008-06-30T00:05:00.005-07:00

What is your attitude towards having wealth? Do you believe it is possible to have anything that you want? Or do you believe that wealth and prosperity are reserved only for those other "lucky" people in this world...? Alright then, please pay attention to this:

There Is No Such Thing As Luck

Take a good look at what you have today; look at how much money you have, your possessions, and your investments if you have any. Are you satisfied, or are you just going through the motions, and settling for second best? Look around at everything you have right now?and then look in the mirror. Because....

Everything you have right now, YOU have created.

Now, this might be a totally foreign concept to you; if so, I want you to open your mind and consider what I have just told you. Maybe it will be a hard thing to accept at first, but once you do, I promise that you will unleash an invincible force within you. When we're not getting what we truly desire, it's much easier to blame outside forces than to look inside ourselves?.but by blaming others, we give away our power! The honest truth is that what you put your attention on expands.

Do these sound familiar?

The rich get richer and the poor get poorer

There's never enough to go around

I can't afford that

Our family has always been poor - it's in our blood

Money is hard to come by

That's the way it's always been

What other negative belief systems are holding you back? Whatever your situation is, you will always get what you think you deserve. Have you heard stories about people who rise from a life of misery and poverty and win enormous sums of money on the lottery, only to become flat broke again after a couple of years? At the end of the day, It all comes down to attitude.

What is your attitude towards wealth and prosperity? Do you believe that it has never been in easy reach? Write down your beliefs. Doing this will help you to find what parts of your subconscious mind are stopping you from achieving success and living the life of your dreams. Make a commitment to change your beliefs; it's all up to you. If you want to be wealthy, you need to leave behind your old attitude and develop a new way of thinking. Open your heart and be willing to receive prosperity and abundance, and it will be yours!

***

You are licensed to publish this article free of charge, on condition that the author's name is included, and the link to her website remains visible and clickable to human readers.

***

By Sonia Devine

WARNING: The Biggest Lie About Social Security

2008-06-30T00:05:00.003-07:00

Like I said, If you are poor and on social security do not, and I repeat do not read this article.

Why? Cause I am going to blast the recent article that was in USATODAY on August 16, 2005.

The one that read "Millions of Americans get by on Social Security alone".

Stand back... I warned you.

Here goes...

What the hell are you people thinking. And by 'you people' I mean you poor dumb ass non success driven, slacker, good for cat food people.

WHY DON'T YOU HAVE ANY MONEY?

What comes out of your mouth will now be an excuse...Plain and simple. Because I was a homemaker or a farmer, or I didn't work much, or I was this or I was that.

10.6 million Americans live on Social Security alone. It makes me sick. The U.S. is the land of opportunity and some people can't even feed themselves.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?

If we were still living in the trees in Africa and hadn't evolved yet, your ass would have starved off a long time ago.

Only the strong survive.

Now that can be strong willed, strong minded, or any sort of strength where you aren't going to allow yourself to eat cat food.

Here's part of the article I laugh at:

"For some of the elderly, just admitting they need the help is tough. They are proud people, says Hulsey. They want to live independently for as long as possible....One reason they hold on: They don't want to have to depend on Medicaid, the governments health program. If they get Medicaid, they can't have much else. Johnson says that in Oregon, if you go on Medicaid, the state can get reimbursed by your estate when you die, leaving your heirs with little.People want to leave an estate when they pass on, Johnson says. They hold on to the deseperate last."

Okay...now 99/100 when you die and you're only living on Social Security, you don't have an estate. Your heir's will get stuck with the bill.

Now I am done ranting.

While it may be too late for those 10.6 million Americans who live on Social Security, it's not too late for some of us. I urge everyone to read about building wealth and then take action to do it. I don't want to read in the newspapers about you too.

Social Security should be used to pay for your green fees.

Yours for success

By Owen Stobbe

If You Know These 5 Wealth Secrets Then You Are Probably Already A Millionaire

2008-06-30T00:05:00.001-07:00

Wealth Secret 1 - Decide Your Outcome Right Now.

Unless you are incredibly lucky you will not be successful straight away. In fact you will inevitably face many challenges which will test your character. One way of overcoming these challenges is to know what you are striving for. If you don't have a clear outcome then you may give up at the first setback.

If instead you imagine yourself with $1 million in the bank, a Ferrari on your driveway etc. etc. then these crystal clear images will help you overcome adversity and spur you on.

Wealth Secret 2 - Commit To Growing (Your Brain).

Spend some money on some products that will help you learn new things. There are some amazing books out there that will inspire and motivate you in your quest for personal wealth. You need to look upon this as an investment not as money going out the door.

You cannot just keep doing things the way you always have been because nothing will change that way. Learn from people who have been more successful than you. Take inspiration from them. Most of the successful people in the world today devour new products, ideas and teaching even though they are already successful.

Wealth Secret 3 - The Most Successful People Have Often Been The Biggest Losers.

It is said that the inventor of the light bulb, Thomas Edison, tried 10,000 attempts until he struck success. That meant he failed 9,999 times! Most people try something once before giving up, can you imagine most people even trying 50 times, I can't.

Wealth Secret 4 - Failure Doesn't have To Exist.

If something doesn't work out the way you wanted then you have found one way which you can discard, you are closer to success. Now take that knowledge and try again but in a different way - and keep trying and trying until it does.

Wealth Secret 5 - Provide Some Value (Do Something!).

It's easy for many people to try take shortcuts to success by doing little or even trying 'scams'. You can't expect people to pay you vast sums for not doing anything or not offering some value or improvement to their lives. If you can save people time they will gladly pay you vast sums. If you can write a great book people will pay you vast sums. If you can save people money they will pay you vast sums. If you don't provide anything of value - then you won't get anywhere.

Find even more wealth secrets on Mark Eastwood's website ChooseWealth.com

By Mark Eastwood

The Truth About Setting Up A Wealth-Pump Business: The Passive Income Myth Exposed

2008-06-30T00:04:00.023-07:00

In theory the idea of generating additional (and passive) business revenue from books, CD programmes and eBooks couldn't be simpler. Find a market. Create a product. Watch the money roll in while you play golf, pamper yourself, shop for shoes, go fishing or enjoy a little R&R.

The reality though is a little (I'm under-exaggerating here) different.

To make income from products genuinely passive there are steps in the process that you can't afford to miss out. In fact the first phase of setting up your passive stream of cash requires hard work, persistence and intelligence. You'll have spent a lot of time, effort and money before you can truly say the money coming in is truly coming in of its own accord.

So here's the myth:

Passive Income Is Easy Income

This dangerous myth has been shamelessly propagated by (almost) all the people selling "Passive Revenue How To Products" out there. What's worse is that they promote this myth in their own interests. You see, if they told you the truth. If they actually said that implementing their fool-proof programme means working your nuts off and taking a financial risk then they wouldn't sell so many of their programmes.

The truth is - us humans love the word EASY. "Easy" sells. But nothing really worth having (as life often proves) comes without a price. So in this case, unless you're extremely lucky, you're going to have to push that passive income vehicle up, an often, very steep hill before you're going to enjoy coasting along watching the money roll in.

It's Not Really All That Passive Anyway...

In the diagram below you'll see that there's a lot of effort involved to get your product off the ground. During this time you (or your publisher) will be spending time and money. But even after you reach the top of the hill (the tipping point) you still need to be active to a certain degree in order to profit. When you're coasting along at full speed you need to steer clear of obstacles. If you forget about looking after customers or collecting the cash then your income vehicle will crash. And you can forget about making any money!

The Active Steps

Gain Real Experience

Despite what people may say - if you're planning on producing a "how to" information product you'd better know what you're talking about. This does not mean attending courses or reading books (which means you'll just be regurgitating) but actually knowing (from hard experience) what it is you're talking about. If you're ethical, authentic and genuine, then you wouldn't even dare to claim you know something when you don't. But plenty of people still do it!

How many people do you see selling "Get-Rich-Quick" programmes who are flat broke? How many tell you how to make a fortune on the Internet when they can't even do it themselves? Too many!

If we can see through their lies then it goes without saying that if you bluff it you'll get caught out eventually too.

So rule number one. If you don't know about it (from real experience) then don't write about it!

Identify An Opportunity

It amazes me, but some people even forget (or skip) this vital step and wonder why they never make any money. You've got to find a community or group of people who will share the problem your product can solve.

It's your job then to identify a genuine NEED and market for your product. What pain relief can you bring with your knowledge? What expert information can you share on a popular hobby or pastime? What challenges, problems or dreams do people have that you can genuinely help them with?

Create A Valuable Product

This is the point where you leverage your experience, expertise and knowledge by turning it into a system which can then be recorded and delivered without you needing to be there. You can convert this system into a book, eBook, audio programme, video etc.

A valuable product must be able to deliver on a promise. It must be well put together and it must be unique. What's your unique spin on the subject? What results can people genuinely expect from applying your knowledge?

It's also a false economy to create audio (thinking that it's easier) for a "how to" product, with steps to follow, when a more appropriate media would be a book or eBook. Audio is great for motivation or self-help. But not so good for step-by-step stuff like DIY, Car Maintenance or How To Draw. So don't think in terms of what's the easiest thing for you - think in terms of what's the most effective way to communicate what you know.

Also, forget the "Interview An Expert" model. It's just a cheap (and blatantly easy) way to make a quick buck without coming up with a single unique thought yourself.

Promote It Like Mad

Even if you've been published by someone else - it's still your responsibility to get the word out there. For instance, if you have a mailing list then tell them about it. Your publisher is unable to do that for you. If you're communicating using blogs, chat rooms or forums (where your knowledge is being openly displayed) then mention your book. If you're still trying to sell higher-value products and services then use this as your lower-cost way in. For lots of idea on promoting things like mad on a budget buy The Gorillas Want Bananas or Lean Marketing Toolbox.

Don't sit on your bum when it comes to promotion whether you're doing it yourself or being published. If you're not making any money and you're doing very little about it then you only have yourself to blame; your publisher can only do so much on your behalf and is likely supporting another 100 people just like you. What's your excuse - you only have yourself to look after.

The So-Called Passive Steps...

Collect and Account for Money

It doesn't matter how great the product is, how hot the market it or how much promotion you do. If you don't have a system for collecting money then you're not making any income (passive or not). Be sure to have systems in place from the outset and account for everything. You don't want to lose all your profits to the tax man.

Deliver Excellent Customer Service

Again, your job is not over until you have a happy customer. What extras and bonuses can you give? Have you got the basics right? Is your delivery process as slick and efficient as it can be? Unhappy customers will want their money back and will tell their friends to steer clear so don't crash, due to a sloppy business model, when it should be plain sailing.

It's Never Passive Forever

Eventually, after all your hard work is done, sales will decline. So make it a habit to keep on promoting. It never stops. To mistake "passive income" with "passivity" is to see all your hard work come to nothing. Take responsibility and make it pay.

By 'Dangerous' Debbie Jenkins

The TRAP Behind Websites With INSTANT Searches for Unclaimed Money

2008-06-30T00:04:00.021-07:00

There is no questioning that the amount of unclaimed money or property being held by both State and Federal agencies is staggering and growing each year - current estimate is believed to be in excess of $40 BILLION.

On the prowl for new sources of revenue, cash-strapped States are pouncing on UNCLAIMED PROPERTY by shortening the 'dormancy' period of most abandoned property and strictly enforcing their statues for holders or companies to transfer over these funds to the State's custody. If a state audit discovers the company has been laxed or under reported these funds face stiff fines. As a result in the past few years, millions of unclaimed accounts worth over a $ billion are transferred to the States each year.

With all that said, the emergence of Unclaimed Money web sites have appeared on the Internet hoping to gain from such. Some are legit and do offer a valuable service and information to assist one in locating an unclaimed or lost asset. However, many offer a useless, misleading and costly service especially those that market themselves as "FREE" and "INSTANT" searches.

Here is the 3-prong trap and how it works:

There is NO National database for unclaimed accounts. Every State has its own Unclaimed Property Division and each Federal agency handles its own unclaimed accounts. All of the former and many of the latter have online databases for one to search.

The web sites have collected a few millions names with unclaimed accounts from States' online databases that can be readily done with software that converts the online information into their own database. With more than maybe over 100 million unclaimed accounts nationwide, processing only 5 million accounts, their database will likely have 90%+ of all American last/surnames.

One is asked to insert your name into their search box?and the "Instant' result says there is i.e.) $25,000 of unclaimed money in your name. Well, there can be many/hundreds of others with your name and their software generates varies spellings or numerous first initials to inflate the dollar amount. I.e.) if your name was Cathy Stevens, the dollar amount would include - C. Stevens, Kathy Stevens, K. Stevens etc. trying to lure you into subscribing.

The 2nd tier of the trap is more serious. They purport that they normally charge i.e.) $29.95 for a single search, but a special promotion allows unlimited searches for 30 days for only $12.95 - a deal right?! First of all, to conduct a thorough search, one needs to be checking regularly to find any lost asset. Their database is maybe 5% of all accounts and likely never refreshed - too timely and expensive. And no incentive, they have 90% of all surnames.

It gets better/worse. If one does not read the terms and conditions, you will be charged $29.95 at the end of the 30 day period if you do not cancel the subscription. Based on one's credit card billing cycle, one may not see the second charge (assuming you forgot to cancel) in your statement until still another $29.95 is charged to your credit card.

Last, some of these services purport a 100% money back guarantee. One gets his subscription back if the State says the unclaimed account found in their database is not yours? Their database information was lifted from the State's database. The information that accompanies the unclaimed account will definitely tell one if it is yours. One only gets a refund if the State refuses to return your rightful account. That is not legally possible. The guarantee is worthless. Plus any written correspondence to the State could take 4-6 months to confirm that the unclaimed account was never yours.

Here are the sites that offer such services. They mask themselves under various URLs, but appear to be the same according to 'Whois'.

www.cashunclaimed |
www.cashclaim |
www.Lost-Money.CashClaim.com |
www.USunclaimed.com |
www.Unclaimed-Prop.CashClaim.com |

There are sites out here that offer a valuable service for assisting one in locating unclaimed or lost assets just be cautious of these common and costly traps. The only thorough way to locate one's unclaimed property is to regularly check with all databases for the States in which one has ever lived or worked in, as well as, other Federal databases.

By Thomas Tuke

Before There Was Wall Street, There Was Gold.. & when Wall Street is gone, there will still be Gold

2008-06-30T00:04:00.019-07:00

Paper burns and large companies can go bankrupt, but if you want a piece of the solid rock, go for Gold. Financial experts agree that the rising value of gold, which has climbed since 2001 to a 16 year high of $456 (U.S.) an ounce, is going to be spurred on in 2005. Precarious world situations, from political turmoil to flailing currencies, are taking a toll on the trade markets. The cry for stability and future security is high on the priority list for North Americans and can also be heard pulsating around the globe. Gold, along with the precious metal industries, is emerging as a reliable anchor for many investors at home and abroad.

In his well documented publication '15 Reasons To Own Gold' analyst John Embry, from the Sprott Gold & Precious Metals Fund, states that on a global scale, "Gold as Money is Gaining Credence." Indeed, many countries including India, China, Russia and the Middle East are moving towards a secure hold on gold supply and a serious interest in the incorporation of gold into their monetary systems.

Economist Dr. Gary North overviews the many ways to buy gold, and advises people that when looking to invest, "Promises to pay are never as reliable as gold in hand." Whether conscious or subconscious the public mind seems to agree with this persuasion. The growing trend towards gold can be seen at the grass roots level with the consumer demand for fine jewelry. According to The World Gold Council, the demand for jewelry is rising faster than the production of gold.

The jewelry industry, though generally steady in its revenues, has been more of a 'buyers market' in past years, with highly competitive price war campaigns and marketing strategies. These tables may now be about to turn, as the increasing demands on the gold market are expected to affect retail prices within the year. Tom McDonald of goldmisers.ca says, "Now is the time to buy!" Gold Misers is an online jewelry outlet which sells high quality fine jewelry at wholesale prices to the public. "Being at the root level of the jewelry industry it's easy to see the coming market trend. I would advise anybody to invest in a little golden nest egg."

By Beulah Morgan Gold Misers

Wealth And Your Net Worth

2008-06-30T00:04:00.017-07:00

Most people know it's important to keep and organize all of your vital financial information. But knowing you should and knowing how are two different things!

Once you know the reasons for being very organized with your financial data (and keeping it all in a very safe place) I hope you will put organization on your net worth building to-do list (at or near the top).

You need to be able to see your financial strengths and weaknesses quickly. If you are an active investor, it's even more important that you do so. Time wasted on missing data and lost tracking information is money lost.

Also, keeping an accurate and up to date personal net worth statement (personal financial statement) can help you get loans or other financing more quickly.

It would be well worth the effort to be able to give your financial institutions information they need at a glance. And your needs for the same ability to query your net worth and data associated with accounts, investments, in and outgoing money, and other important data are very important.

Be sure and carefully consider all portions of your net worth. Often forgotten components of your net worth are listed below in a handy checklist to get your data system in order and on track.

Cash on Hand and In Bank
Notes Payable
Marketable Securities
Non-Marketable Securities
Securities Held by Brokers
Restricted or Control Stocks
Partial Real Estate Interests
Owned Real Estate
Loans Receivable
Life Insurance
Other Assets
Accounts Payable
Amount Due to Brokers
Unpaid Income
Taxes
Other Unpaid Taxes/Interest
Other Debts
Debt on Real Estate Equities
Real Estate Mortgages

Make sure you know what you're really worth. The only way to calculate your net worth accurately is if you track everything above.

On your road to a high net worth you can make fewer pit stops if you have a plan and the data to support your investment decisions and abilities close at hand.

Make use of spread sheet software and programs like Quicken to keep your net growth on track. The reports you can run are invaluable for seeing where you've been and how far you've come with your portfolios, mortgage, taxes, and other important information.

An investor who knows their history can better project growth and find weaknesses in their portfolio that they can improve upon.

Organization is the bedrock of those with strong net worth. It is a common thread that connects all successful investors, active or passive.-

By C.C. Collins

Virtual Millionaire Strategy Exposed

2008-06-30T00:04:00.015-07:00

Let's begin this lesson with a definition of the term "Virtual Millionaire". This is an expression, known to the CPAs, but unknown to the general public. Why? It's because the bank does not want you to know. Here is why...

Virtual Millionaire - An individual that has zero debt and a passive or near passive income of at least 60,000 a year.

For example, if you had $2,000,000 in the bank earning 6% interest, you would have $120,000 of yearly income. This income is known as "PASSIVE" income. It is called passive because you weren't active I the production of this income. In other words, you did not work to get it. Yes, you worked to save the $2,000,000, but the income from the $2,000,000 keeps coming in without work.

A person with $2,000,000 in the bank could spend 6 months traveling the world and they would still make $120,000 each and every year and still have their $2,000,000 in the bank.

Before developing this further, there is one other critical point to make. Most folks have ZERO concepts of millionaire and their lifestyles. If you were a retired multimillionaires with $2,000,000 in the bank and this money was your entire life savings, would you spend your $120,000 yearly income and ALSO spend part of the $2,000,000?

If you are like most folks, you might have the conception that millionaires that spend money hand over first as if there no limit to how much they could spend!

The person with the $2,000,000 in the bank knows that if they spend more than their $120,000 income, next year they won't have $2,000,000 to produce an income for future years. It will be less. Guess what? If they don't have $2,000,000 to produce income, then they will no longer have the $120,000 in income, unless the interest rate goes up.

For some time, I tried to get my mind around this while concept of wealth as it relate to quality of life. I have determined, without question, that it isn't having an immerse amount of money to throw away that provides a high quality of life. It is known that you would always have a very good income and that you could virtually anything you would ever want to do with your time and your life that produces the very highest quality of life (This doesn't take into account spiritual or health issues.)

My friends, that is true wealth, or as a mentioned in the introduction, this is "Financial Wellness". In my previous experience with my wealthy clients, I didn't appreciate the fact that multimillionaires, for the most part, don't spend all that much money in a year. Their FREEDOM come and go almost at will has a near- magical impact on quality of life. That's really living "Well".

Based on my observations and experiences of working with the wealthy, I made a decision to focus my business in a different direction. I decide that I would pursue the creation of passive. "INCOME", not the Creation of wealth or "Assets".

You see ? if you can produce $60,000 in a year in dependable passive income, this would be the equivalent of having $1,000,000 in the bank at 6%.

I determined that it would be much easier to create the lifestyle of a millionaire by focusing on creating income. So, I have done my best to become an expert in this very different way of thinking about the financial independence.

There are four ways to achieve financial independence. There is the traditional way, which is to work and save in a attempt to accumulate assets that will one day take care of your income needs. Some inherit it from someone else. A handful will win the lottery. And, finally the Virtual millionaire or "income" approach.

I want to suggest to you that the Virtual millionaire approach is not only far easier, but much more enjoyable in the process.

Consider this for a moment. If you are going to stay in the traditional way of thinking about financial independence, recognize that as folks work and save, they far too frequently deprive themselves of enjoying their life NOW.

I have seen folks so obsessed with saving money for some future unknown use that they become slaves to the future and have virtually no life, here and now. However the vast majority of people can't save. They go deeply in debt and the high cost of interest makes it almost impossible for them to dig out of debt in order to finally begin a savings and investment program.

I want to suggest that for many of you it is far better to hire yourself and invest in your own company instead of buying stock in someone else's company. Instead of trying save and invest to grow assets that you can some day live off, build your own business to produce an income that you can live off NOW and later.

My contention is that it is far easier to become a virtual millionaire than it is to achieve financial independence the traditional way. When you make a serious effort, you can achieve the extremely fast. By fast I mean a few years.

The virtual millionaire advantages are many. At the end of one year you won't need any encouragement to continue. You will be so excited that you will be unstoppable.

In summary, I want to encourage you to concentrate on becoming a virtual millionaire. It is far easier to produce the income of a millionaire than it is to create the assets of a millionaire. Remember? millionaires DON'T spend their assets, they spend their income. It is the income that provides that quality of life.

I want you to think what your life would be like if you were totally debt free and you have at least $60,000 a year coming in year after year. You would be amazed at how much more joy you would have in your life.

The exciting thing is that there is nothing to stop you from working as hard as you choose to continually grow your income. With my approach, you still get to enjoy your life NOW while also preparing for early retirement.

Just for the record, if you develop your own business to the point that it is providing with a dependable $60,000 annual income then YOU ARE ALSO AN "ASSET MILLIONAIRE".

The reason that is true is that, in the world of accounting, you don't just place values on things; you also place value on "stream of dollars".

This is exactly what annuities are all about. Every day millions of dollars are given to annuity companies in exchange for an income for life. These people purposely save their savings for an income the they can't outlive.

The virtual millionaire approach places all the emphasis on creating a "Business Annuity" Let your business produce the income stream you will need for debt elimination and for early retirement. When you do you will join the ranks of those who have achieved true financial wellness.

That's it for today. I hope you've learnt the basic concept of financial planning.

I will be in touch if you enroll to my monthly newsletter.

Lesson 1 - Why Arent You Wealthy?

2008-06-30T00:04:00.013-07:00

We will start the Financial Fitness System with the assumption that you are out of shape financially or you would not have decided to subscribe to the course. So, again, why aren't you wealthy? There are some exceptions, but for the majority of the world it's the same reason. You did not choose to be wealthy, that's it, end of story. We told you this would be simple!

Now for those of you reaching for the mouse to delete this lesson, stop a minute and think about it, why aren't you a doctor assuming that you are not a doctor, or for that matter why aren't you a sanitation worker, broker, baker, or candlestick maker assuming those aren't your professions? It's because you chose to be something else. Sometimes this choice happens on a whim or by default when we fail to choose. Even if your chose not to decide what you will become, you still have made a choice!

The simple truth is there are no secrets to becoming wealthy. There are however a set of specific steps to becoming wealthy that are sometimes so obvious they get overlooked. If you decided to read 10 biographies of 10 of the wealthiest people you have ever heard of, and outlined the steps they took to become wealthy, you would soon discover the common denominators of their success. Wealth is available to everyone, regardless of education, background, age, race, or any other excuse you may have heard in the past. Wealth plays no favorites, it only responds to a specific set of actions.

What if it were that simple? Good news, it is!

So why aren't you and the majority of the population wealthy? Remember wealth is available to everyone, and creating wealth is simple, however, creating wealth is not easy, or everyone would be getting wealthy.

Creating an absolute abundance of income in your life is not some specially guarded secret formula that only a select few are clued in on. In fact the bookshelves are lined with true stories written by wealthy people who cant wait to tell you how they did it! In this course, we have drawn from the top minds and mentors among the wealthiest people in the world, to bring you a concise summary of the basics of becoming wealthy.

There are only 2 things that can prevent you from becoming wealthy:

1 - You don't know how - (Yet!)
2 - You are unwilling to apply what you know.

In the next 9 days we will take care of the "I don't know how" but only you can take care of reason #2.

Success leaves clues. Over the next few days, the Financial Fitness System will simply point out the common denominators of creating wealth, then show you how you can immediately apply that knowledge. Before we are through, you will have the ability to act on this new knowledge and be well on your way to creating financial abundance in your life.

Here are the key points to remember from today's lesson:

Wealth is a choice, not a chance.
There are no secrets to wealth.
Wealth follows rules.
The rules are simple, but not easy.
You can learn the rules.
You can follow the rules, or choose not to.
Realize that it's your choice.
Your Next Step!

What You Need to Do NOW

A dream without action is a fantasy... a dream with action becomes a goal!

Today's lesson has been brief, you now know you have the power to choose to become financially fit. Before we dive in to wealth strategies in the next lesson, it's important to determine if you want to create wealth and why.

Again we will assume you have the desire to better yourself financially or you wouldn't be here. We will provide the knowledge but only you can provide the action. So with that in mind, in each day's lesson you will have very short Action Steps to complete, and a daily audio lesson to listen to as homework assignments. Today you will complete your first Action Step. Don't panic it's simple, but like building wealth, some of the answers may not be easy. You see how this works?

Today we begin at the beginning, your present Financial Condition. Just like stepping on the scale or staring into the mirror, it may be slightly unpleasant, or not what we would like, but it is, what it is!

The sooner you have an accurate picture of where you are financially the sooner you will be on your way to becoming financially fit.

Take out a sheet of paper and spend some time answering the questions in the Action Steps Area below. Put some real thought into your answers. This exercise will help begin to create the determination you will need to finish the course. If you are one of few who are financially fit, you should find your answers satisfying. However, if you are like the other 97% of the population, you may find your answers somewhat disturbing. That's okay... a little discomfort often fuels bigger change.

Tomorrow we learn the "Commodity of Kings" the fundamentals of wealth. Just like every good coach we are starting with the fundamentals, that's where we will begin your wealth training. For today just complete the action steps and rest easy. Nine days from now, your entire financial outlook will be much healthier!

Action Step 1:

After you finish Lesson #1 sharpen your pencil and write down the answers to the following Financial Fitness questions. Start a FFS journal for your daily action steps and notes. Designate a separate notebook for all your FFS content. You may want to print each lesson and include them in your FFS journal for future reference. On day 10 you can look back and see just how much you have accomplished in just 10 days.

"The most important questions are those we are afraid to ask ourselves."

Q: What is the total amount of assets that you have accumulated so far in your life?

Include cash, savings, checking, money market accounts, the current value of any stock or mutual funds you may own and the dollar amount of the equity in your home.

Q: What is the total amount of liabilities that you have accumulated so far in your life?

Include your mortgage balance, your credit card balances, student loans, personal loans from family or friends, automobile loans, overdraft protection, loans against insurance policies or any other money that you have borrowed but have not yet paid back.

Q: Subtract your total liabilities from your total assets, and write down your "Net Worth." (this number can be, and sadly all too often is, a negative number)

Q: Assume you lost your job or primary source of income today, and you were unable to find work of any kind, and had no friends or relatives to depend on for help or support of any kind. How long would it be before you become homeless?

Q: Assume that you earn income, save money, spend money, and borrow at the same rate you do today. At that rate how soon can you retire and maintain the same lifestyle you have today?

Q: Are you where you thought you would be at this point in your life financially?

Q: Why or why not?

Q: Where would you like to be financially?

Q: What are your currently doing to get there?

Q: Without change, how do you expect to achieve your financial goals? (the lottery or inheritance, are not valid answers)

Q: If money were no object, where would you live, and why?

Q: If money were no object, how would you spend your time each day?

Q: If things stay just the way they are today, financially, is that good enough?

Endowments and Endowment Shortfalls - What You Need To Know

2008-06-30T00:04:00.011-07:00

Endowments and endowment mortgages have received a lot of bad press in recent years, amid concerns over falling policy values and accusations of endowment miss-selling.

This article attempts to answer some of the questions and concerns you may have about the way endowments work, what's happening to them, and what you can do to ensure your mortgage is paid off at the end of the term if you have an endowment mortgage.

What is an endowment mortgage?

There are two basic types of mortgage. The first is a repayment mortgage, where you make one monthly payment to the lender which is part interest and part repayment of the original capital.

Then there are interest-only mortgages, where your monthly payment to the lender is just the interest on the original loan and the mortgage debt remains unchanged. You then make separate payments into an investment scheme (such as an endowment), with the idea being that at the end of the mortgage term this investment will have grown sufficiently to repay the mortgage.

An online mortgage calculator can give you an idea of the difference in payments to your lender between an interest-only mortgage and a repayment mortgage.

Interest-only endowment mortgages were very popular in the 1980s and 1990s and were often chosen in the belief that the endowment would end up being large enough to clear the mortgage and still leave a tidy sum of money left over as a bonus.

How do endowments work?

An endowment is a long-term savings policy, typically running for ten to twenty-five years. An endowment plan has what is known as a "sum assured" value. If the policyholder dies during the life of the endowment, it pays out the sum assured. In the case of endowments linked to mortgages, the sum assured is equal to the size of the mortgage. The payout in the event of the death of the policyholder is guaranteed but, if the policyholder survives, the final value of the endowment at the end of its term is not guaranteed.

Endowments can be unit linked, which means that you buy units in a fund, or they can be "with profits".

How does money grow in a with profits endowment?

There are two ways in which a with profits endowment can increase in value. Firstly, the insurance company may add a bonus to your policy each year. This is known as a reversionary bonus and is usually a percentage of the amount of profit made by the fund over the previous years.

The amount added in this way may only be a small amount. However, once added, these bonuses cannot be taken away - hence the name reversionary bonus - and will belong to you when the policy matures.

Then there is the terminal bonus. This is a separate sum of money which the insurance company can add to your endowment policy when it matures. These terminal bonuses are discretionary and may not be applied at all.

What are the advantages of with profits endowments?

The idea of a with profits endowment is to smooth out fluctuations in the stockmarket.

With a non-with profits endowment, your investment is linked 100% to the stockmarket. Therefore, there is always the possibility that the investment value could fall just at the time when you need the money.

By using with profits endowments, insurance companies get round this problem by giving you a slightly smaller percentage of any fund growth as an annual bonus and try to smooth out future annual bonus declarations.

The point of this is to try to ensure that, no matter what happens to the returns of the fund, you are guaranteed a certain minimum amount when then endowment policy matures.

Why don't you get the entire year's gains as a bonus?

On the one hand, the insurance companies and their fund managers want you to have as much security as possible - hence the reversionary bonuses which cannot be taken away at a later date.

On the other hand, they are also trying to maximise long-term growth by investing your money in stocks and shares, property, gilts, and cash. All of these involve a degree of risk.

What is the problem with endowments?

Anyone taking out an endowment policy, whether on a with profits or unit linked basis, has to be given a written illustration by the insurance company of how much the policy might be worth at maturity. When providing these illustrations, insurers have to make an assumption as to the rate of growth per annum that will apply to the money you are paying into the endowment. This assumed rate is known as the projected rate, and there is no guarantee that this rate will be met in reality.

Until a few years ago, the projections were usually based on a mid-range growth rate of 7.5% per annum. In the early 1980s, the assumed growth rates used in the illustrations were even higher. Therefore, the monthly endowment premiums were low by today's standards, because they were set to reflect these high projected growth rates.

Interest rates and other economic factors, such as stock market growth and interest rates, are much lower now than they were in the 1980s and 1990s, so it has now been necessary to reduce projected rates of growth for people taking out a new endowment policy today. As a result, the monthly premiums for a new endowment policy today will be higher than they were in previous decades.

How does this affect existing policyholders?

Because actual growth rates have been lower than the projected 7.5% rate, an endowment policy taken out in the 1980s or 1990s may now not be worth enough at maturity to pay off the interest-only mortgage to which it is linked.

Insurance companies are therefore assessing the state of people's policies and contacting them to advise what action they should take now to avoid a potential shortfall at the end of their mortgage.

How will I be affected?

In most cases, if you took out a with-profits endowment in the mid-1980s or earlier, the fund should be sufficient at maturity to pay off the mortgage. This is because the money in your endowment policy will have benefited from the higher rates of interest and better stock market growth of the 1980s.

But, the shorter the length of time your endowment has been running, the greater the potential for a shortfall at maturity.

It is impossible to predict exactly how large this shortfall may be, as so much depends on future fund performance between now and the time when your endowment matures. Insurance companies are trying to assess the issue by looking at how much has been accumulated in your fund so far and making more conservative estimates about future growth.

What can I do now?

There are a number of options:

1. You can increase payments into your existing endowment policy (subject to Inland Revenue rules), or take out additional endowment policy with the same insurer or a different insurer. However, you may decide you don't want to be tied into another endowment.

2. You can ask to extend the term of your endowment policy, subject to your mortgage lender agreeing. This is probably not a good idea if it means your policy would continue beyond your retirement age.

3. You can set up an additional investment, such as an individual savings account (ISA). An ISA may be cheaper and can offer a wide range of investment choices to suit your attitude to risk.

4. You can ask your mortgage lender to switch part of your mortgage (equivalent to the projected shortfall on your endowment) to a repayment mortgage. You can get an idea of the costs of the new repayment part of your mortgage by using an online mortgage calculator.

5. You can use any other spare lump sum to pay off part of your mortgage. You will need to check first to see if this would make you liable for any early redemption penalties from your lender.

Which is the best option?

Everyone's situation is different, and everyone has their own particular preferences. If you are unsure what to do, you should take professional mortgage advice to help you review your options and come to a decision as to what to do.

Should I just cash in my endowment?

This would almost certainly be a mistake. Many endowment policies are structured such that the management charges are highest in the early years. If you surrender the policy early on, the amount you get back may well be less than the amount you have paid in up until now.

Also, you need to bear in mind that a large proportion of the final value of a with profits endowment depends on its terminal bonus. The size of this bonus will not be known until the policy matures.

So, the best strategy is normally to keep the endowment in place. If you need to cut down on your monthly outgoings, you can leave a policy "paid up" (although you may incur penalties for doing this). This means that you do not pay any more money into the endowment, but leave it to mature on the original date for a lower amount. If you do this, you will need to make sure you still have sufficient life cover to protect your mortgage.

It is possible to sell endowment policies on the second-hand endowment market. The amount you get will depend on the policy and how long it has left to run. Again, this is an area where you would be well-advised to talk to a professional before taking any action.

Please note that this article is for general guidance only and does not constitute financial advice. You should seek professional advice with respect to your own specific circumstances.

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By David Miles

How To Get Paid Instantly Via Stormpay? Try Online Rewards Programs

2008-06-30T00:04:00.009-07:00

E-currency is very popular on the Internet today. People use different electronic funding companies, such as Stormpay, E-gold, Paypal, Moneybookers and the list goes on. E-currency helps us to pay for online products and services; it also saves us a lot of time.

The problem is -- how to get paid instantly via Stormpay, E-Gold or any other e-currency that's out there?

Online companies that trade "real" money for e-currency usually charge quite a large commission, and as there are more and more websites where e-money is accepted, people seek places to get paid by Stormpay daily, or even immediately.

There are a couple of rewards programs on the Internet that will let you get paid instantly via Stormpay or E-gold. However, first you must dedicate some of your time selecting offers that will pay you instantly into your reward program account. When you complete instant offers, some of them may also require your credit card numbers to be on file.

Most of the offers are great trial deals. And, once you've earned a payout minimum, you can request your payment by Stormpay, E-gold or via check. Keep in mind though, that before processing the payments, the rewards companies will usually verify your member account by phone. This is done in order to protect advertisers against fraudulent activities.

So, if you would like to get paid instantly via Stormpay, Paypal or E-gold, always check out reward companies first before using e-currency traders' services. Take the opportunity to save yourself extra time and large commissions.

By Gerardas Norkus

The Top 10 Steps to Extraordinary Personal Wealth

2008-06-30T00:04:00.007-07:00

I recently came across startling figures about the average American's finances. Only 4% of us have significant savings when we hit age 65, and a majority of Americans have less than $1000 in savings. Perhaps even more troubling, nearly one-fifth of us have a negative net worth, meaning that we owe more in debt than the total value of our combined assets. In a land of wealth and opportunity, and in an age of unlimited freedom, attaining wealth is primarily a matter of choice and determination. The following are my suggestions for rapidly increasing your personal income and wealth.

1. Develop a healthy awareness of money. Most of us either ignore our cash flow and don't have a budget, or we think of money as a "problem". Instead, begin thinking of it as energy, as a resource and as a tool to be managed and used wisely.

2. Develop a healthy desire for money. Money is neither evil nor the source of happiness. It is a tool that can be used well or badly, but most importantly it can be used to achieve many of life's dreams and priorities. Having more of it increases your choices, and your responsibility.

3. Develop a healthy personal foundation. It is difficult to attract or keep money if your life is in chaos. To achieve significant wealth, pay attention to your attitude, your relationships, your values and your integrity. Money tends to flow to those who are prepared to handle it well.

4. Resolve ALL addictions. Substance abuse will obviously undermine any real ability to attract and manage large amounts of money, but other addictions are equally dangerous. Addictions to shopping, drama and excitement, to power or sex or a need to have the newest gadget will all destroy freedom of choice, and your ability to handle money responsibly.

5. Spend less than you make. An obvious point that most of us ignore. Have and use a budget, track your cash flow, decide what you need compared to what you want. Unless you use credit cards as a tool to monitor your spending, avoid using them at all. If you're living on credit, juggling one card against another, get professional help!

6. Save a significant amount. Most experts recommend paying yourself first and saving anywhere from 5% to 20% of your income. The amount or percentage that you save is probably not as important as the principle. If at first you only save 1%, make that deposit every single week, do it without fail, and congratulate yourself! Even 1% is a great beginning!

7. Cut your spending by 25%. That's a huge amount! For most of us, it's also entirely possible. Take your lunch, buy less junk, rent a movie instead of going to the theater, make a picnic instead of dinner at a restaurant, re-cycle and repair rather than throwing things away and buying new. Live cheaper, simpler and closer to the earth.

8. Learn the principles of investing. Most community colleges have courses on investing in stocks, real estate, commercial property and even collectibles. Pick your preference, study hard, buy smart, and let your money work for you rather than you always working for money. But, never try to get rich quick! We're talking about investing, not speculating.

9. Develop long-term passive income. Whether this is interest from bonds, profits from a business, or residuals from your last TV commercial, develop assets that will generate positive cash flow for years to come, whether you are working or not. Rental property has been a favorite, but so are stocks and mutual funds.

10. Develop wealth consciousness! This is a conscious, specific desire to be aware of money, to have money, and to use money to reflect your values and your priorities. Some of us virtually choose poverty because of our refusal to take responsibility for how we handle money. Others, live as misers and never use money to expand their horizons and develop their lives. You can decide to have a healthy, exciting and profitable relationship with money. Choose wisely. Start today!

by Philip E. Humbert

The Top 10 Steps to Becoming a Millionaire

2008-06-30T00:04:00.005-07:00

Ben Franklin Didnt Quite Get it Right

2008-06-30T00:04:00.003-07:00

When Ben Franklin said "a penny saved is a penny earned", he didn't quite get it right. Actually, a penny saved is worth more than a penny earned. Do you find this statement shocking? I am about to prove to you that what I'm saying is true.

Most people erroneously believe the best way to strengthen their financial health is to increase their income. On the contrary, saving money by cutting costs will get you there quicker. You see, it's very simple. When your income increases (with some exceptions like the part of it you put into your 401k), that extra money is taxed. On the other hand, any amount you save by cutting costs is not taxed. Therefore, $20 saved by cutting costs is worth more than a $20 increase in income.

The following (although over-simplified) example will illustrate this principle. Let's suppose that Jack and Cindy have identical jobs and incomes. Let's also suppose they shop at the same grocery store and pay about the same amount for groceries each week. Now, Jack gets a $20 per week pay increase and Cindy does not. However, at about that same time, Cindy finds a new grocery store where she is able to save $20 per week on her grocery bill. Assuming nothing else has changed, Cindy is now better off financially than Jack, even though she did not get a raise and he did.

How can this be? It's because Jack has to pay taxes on his $20 raise but Cindy does not have to pay taxes on her $20 grocery discount. Assuming Jack is in the 25% federal tax bracket (and disregarding any possible increase in his state or local taxes), he will be able to put only $15 into his piggy bank each week whereas Cindy will be able to put the whole $20 a week into hers!

Bottom Line: It is more blessed to receive a discount than to receive an equal amount in a pay increase!

By Terry Mitchell

Four Pillars of Creating Wealth

2008-06-30T00:04:00.001-07:00

Some people in this world are thinking that their poor financial condition today is their destiny. They keep telling themselves that they'll never get rich in this lifetime. Are you one of those people? If you are, it's a good thing that you find this article, because I want to personally give you four pillars of creating wealth that are being done by many rich people in this world.

These rich people just know how to get out of their financial problem and start to create wealth. They are just like the rest of us, they don't have a special talent, and they are not good looking people or movie star either.

So, you start to wonder how they can become wealthy, rich and even financially free.

Here are the secret they know that most of us have heard about. The problem is laid on all of us. We usually just let the information passing us, and we don't do anything about those information. Now, it's the time for me to remind all of us, and start to do something about it.

The first pillars that we might want to do is own a business. Here is the tricky part, owning a business give you a financial freedom, but it also can give you a new headache. What I meant is that every one of us needs to run the business that has a system. This system has to be created in such a way that make the business can run without the constant intervene from us. I will suggest you to read an excellence book about it called "E-Myth revisited" by Michael E. Gerber.

If you want to start with a business that already has proven system, you might want to consider a franchise. A good franchise usually will provide you with a proven working system to their franchisee. So, the franchisee can start their business smoothly and quickly.

The next one on the list will be real estates. A lot of American nowadays is enjoying a big raise on real estates value in the past couple years. Some of them have multiply their asset by double in these couple years alone. The tricky question is how they know that their property value will be going up. Well, the answer is they don't know either. It's just a pure luck, that's what I think. This won't make anybody to achieve financial freedom.

What can make everyone to achieve financial freedom in real estate is by buying a real estate with somebody else money. Yes, with somebody else money. Here is the story I got from a janitor in San Francisco. He works as a janitor but he owns 2 houses in San Francisco. You might ask how he can do that. The answer is he bought his house on a mortgage with a very low interest income. He splits the house into two rooms that he rented out for two families that has to pay him rental fee each month. With that money he can finance his mortgage with somebody else's money. Smart, isn't he?

Ok, the third one is through investment. A lot of American lost his money in stock investment in 2000. When all those dotcoms companies felt down, so did American. So, the question is whether it's save to put your money to investment. The answer is yes. We all have to learn from mistake, not running from the mistake. We all know that a lot of people are blindly put their money in those dotcoms companies. So, next time you need to invest you better learn the company first.

There are a lot of tips that are available from the experts about how to choose the right investment. They all offer you with different solutions, so it's depend on our judgments which one you think is the most trustworthy.

Ok, you might want to scream by now, all of those above investment need a lot of money to invest in. You will start to tell me that your saving is very low; you have debts to pay, etc. I know that most of us don't have that kind of money in our saving. So, is it impossible for us to create our wealth? The answer again is No.

Here comes the fourth pillar. Thanks to technology that now we have the internet. With the internet we can create a low cost business with unlimited income. Yes, you have heard about it, but have you start to do that? With internet business, a lot of people have earned tons of money from it with very small cost. Comparing to those three pillars I mentioned above, this pillar is definitely has the highest return.

You have to try to find a perfect internet home business for you. You should do the researches before you decide to join and work for the company. You can find literally thousands of company that offer you with this kind of opportunities.

Now, I have mentioned all four pillars to create wealth. I have left you with no excuse from creating your own wealth, unless you don't want to achieve your own financial freedom. So, I'll leave all the options to you. You are the decision maker, and you are the only one can decide your future from today.

By Yochention Saritoh

Who Else Is Tired of Life Punching Them in the Face?

2008-06-13T22:20:00.001-07:00

Remember the bloodied face of Randall "Tex" Cobb?

He was a boxer who fought in a championship bout against then heavyweight champ Larry Holmes in June of 1982. It wasn't pretty.

He was beaten so badly his face was barely recognizable after the fight.

As a matter of fact, it was so gruesome that Howard Cosell, the famous sports broadcaster who announced the fight, vowed never to do another boxing match after witnessing such an atrocity...and he didn't.

But "Tex" never went down. Despite the pummeling which featured repeated direct blows to his face, he never hit the canvas. "Tex" Cobb refused to lay down and quit.

"Tex" became something of a cult hero after that performance. He actually became a movie star of sorts. He's made dozens of TV appearances and you may have seen him in such classic films as "Raising Arizona," "Police Academy 4," "Naked Gun 33 1/3," "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective," and many more.

So what's all this got to do with you? Plenty!

Well, how many times has life "punched you in the face" repeatedly?

- You've made plans and then at the last minute your boss needs you to stay late.

- Your relationships may be strained because you work too much.

- Then you don't get a raise for all those late nights because the economy is bad...you're told you should be happy to have a job (what a bunch of B.S.!).

- And somebody else gets the promotion - not because they deserve it - but because they're a butt-kisser and you refuse to play that game.

Do you know what I mean? Surely something like this has happened to you. It's happened to me more times than I care to remember.

Everybody knows life's not fair. Bad things happen to everybody - short or tall, fat or skinny, married or single, male or female.

Disappointment, failure, and loss have no favorite targets. Everyone has an equal opportunity to experience these things. And the good news is this: just like failure...

SUCCESS PLAYS NO FAVORITES

We all have an equal opportunity...no matter what your current situation.

You see, it's not what happens to us that determines success or failure. It's how we respond to the things that happen to us (especially the hardships) that determines our success.

We're surrounded by opportunities, we just have to open our eyes and embrace them. Who would've thought that "Tex" Cobb would be on the silver screen after being knocked senseless on national TV?

That's happened to countless others (both literally and figuratively)over the years and they had the some opportunity as "Tex." They just didn't recognize it and more importantly - they didn't take action to make a positive change in their life.

Well, now you've got another opportunity, another choice to make, another fork in the road.

If your life is perfect in every way, this isn't for you...

But if you're like most people, you know life has more to offer...so if you're tired of being "punched in the face" and you're ready to take control, I can show you several opportunities within your grasp and you can just pick the one you like best. Is that fair?

By Robert Phillips

Finding Financial Freedom

2008-06-13T22:08:00.003-07:00

Do you ever get this in your email box: Find Financial Freedom! Make $150,000 from home in the next 90 days! How about 10 times a day?

Every time I get one of these, I think to myself, "Hmmm, Financial Freedom. I already have financial freedom, even though it doesn't look like what these emails promise me."

Financial freedom is a buzzword for our generation. It is the pursuit of literally millions of people. So what is it? Is it that elusive? Can anyone get it?

Let me start by saying that this article will not be about how to earn money, or even more money. Rather, it will be about how to find financial freedom, which may or may not involve making more money.

Financial freedom - here we go!

The first step in finding financial freedom is to realize that financial freedom has absolutely nothing to do with how much money you have or make. What? Exactly. Financial freedom is something that goes on inside of you. This is why someone who makes very little can be happy and someone who makes a ton can be extremely stressed out over his or her financial situation. So the first step is to realize that financial freedom is more about our attitudes toward money than about the amount of money.

"Okay Chris, I'm with you. So what are the attitudes that provide financial freedom?" Here are a few that keep me in financial freedom.

I do not have to worry about money. I used to catch myself saying, "If I had more money, then I wouldn't have to worry about ..." But do you know what? I don't have to worry anyway. I can control my income. I can control my outgo. I can make choices that can alleviate any of my worries. I also realized that things always work out. So why worry? I choose not to worry.

I can be happy regardless of my financial state. I know people who are worth hundreds of millions of dollars and I know people who don't have two nickels to rub together. Some are happy and some aren't. And none of the people who have a lot of money say to me, "Chris, I've become so happy since I got money." They were happy before they had money and they are happy now that they have money. Their happiness has nothing to do with the money. I think it was the Billionaire David Geffen who said, "Anyone who says that money will buy them happiness has never had any money."

Money will be a means to an end, not the end itself. Another way to look at it is that money will be a tool to build the house, not the house itself. I would set some financial goals if I were you, but go beyond that to know what greater purpose there will be when you reach them. What will the house be that you will build with that tool?

I am free. I am free to earn - some people think it is bad to earn more money. It isn't. I am free to save - some people believe it is bad to save. It isn't. I am free to give money away - some people feel they will be better off hoarding it. They won't. I am free to spend - some people believe that they can't spend anything on themselves. They can. We are free to make choices. That is financial freedom. One of my favorite quotes is from Charles Wesley, "Earn all you can, save all you can, give all you can." That will keep you in financial freedom.

Some other principles for financial freedom...

Debt is the primary freedom killer. Want financial freedom? The first thing you should do is to get out of debt. That is priority number one. One of the reasons I have financial freedom is that I have no debt other than my house payment. And I work hard to manage myself and our home to keep us that way. For years I drove an old junker car, and while I looked bad, I had financial freedom that others who were in debt didn't have! There is an old proverb - The borrower is the servant of the lender. Who has freedom? The lender. Who doesn't? The borrower. Develop a plan to get out of debt!

Embrace delayed gratification. Here is the principle: Buy it now and struggle later. Another principle: Delay it now, invest the money, and have all you want later on! And you won't even have to touch the principal! We tend to think that having it now will bring enjoyment, but unless you can do it and not cause yourself financial stress, you will actually get more from waiting to buy it later!

Have more by managing better. The fact is that most of us earn enough. What would be beneficial would be to set our priorities and live by a budget. As we get control, our budget will loosen up a bit and we will find ourselves enjoying it more. Money that is already there can be your answer if you put it to work for you.

Spend some time thinking through your attitudes about money. You may be surprised at how you can change a few, look at things a little bit differently and begin to enjoy true financial freedom!

By Chris Widener

Could a Roth IRA be Better Than a 401(k)?

2008-06-13T22:08:00.001-07:00

Very few people whom I know are familiar with the benefits of the Roth IRA. It was named for the late Senator William Roth of Rhode Island, who proposed it. It is similar to a traditional IRA except contributions are never tax-deductible. Contributions to traditional IRAs are sometimes deductible or partially deductible, depending on your income and whether or not you have a retirement plan like a 401(k) at work. With Roth IRAs, individuals are limited to incomes of $95,000 ($150,000 for couples) to be eligible for full contribution amounts.

However, unlike the traditional IRA, you can withdraw your contributions from a Roth IRA at any time, at any age without penalty. Earnings are not taxed if you wait until at least age 59 1/2 to begin withdrawing them and have held your Roth IRA for at least five years. With a Roth IRA, the contributions are taxed without any deferment, but they grow tax-free and the gains are never taxed (see above). With a 401(k), contributions are tax-deferred, but eventually the contributions and gains will be taxed. By the time most people retire, the earnings from their retirement accounts will far exceed their contributions, due to compounding. With that in mind, one could make the case for a Roth IRA possibly being better than a 401(k).

Here's an illustration. Let's suppose that over the course of 25 years you contributed a total of $75,000 to your 401(k) and your employer kicked in $30,000 during that same period for a total of $105,000. By the end of those 25 years, your compounded gains (assuming you're getting a decent rate of return) could total $500,000. When you retire, you will eventually pay taxes on the entire $605,000 as well as the gains you receive from it after retirement. Now, let's assume that, instead of contributing to your 401(k) for those 25 years, you contributed only $50,000 to your Roth IRA (without a matching contribution from your employer, of course). The assumption is also that you would not be able to contribute as much because you are using post-tax dollars for the Roth IRA vs. pre-tax dollars for the 401(k). However, because you generally have more investment options with the Roth IRA money than with the 401(k) money, you are likely to find a better rate of return. With that in mind, let's say your compounded gains could total $400,000. When you retire, you could have the entire $450,000 as well as the gains you could receive from it post-retirement, completely tax free!

As you can see, it is possible that many people could come out better putting at least a portion of their retirement funds into a Roth IRA. Judge for yourself. I actually contribute more to my Roth IRA than I do to my 401(k). I put just enough into my 401(k) to get my employer's maximum matching contribution, and that's all. However, I'm not a financial advisor and I don't play one on TV, so check with your financial advisor to see what would be right for you. For more information about the Roth IRA, see the following link: http://www.rothira.com.

By Terry Mitchell

Real Estate Stories that Show You How!

2008-06-13T22:07:00.005-07:00

Let's begin easing you out of the pits. I mean, comfort zone! I'm going to slowly and methodically give you as many little sparks and insights to the relatively simple ways that ordinary people use real estate to achieve extraordinary results.

Stories are the best spark plugs. They let you casually observe from a safe, secure and understandable view point. I will write to answer most of the questions that I feel I myself would ask if I was reading what you are about to read.

I want you to know something from the very start of this report and that something is this: I care about you and I sincerely mean that. I really do want you to move to a new comfort zone, one that is pleasurable and free from fear. A place where you realize you have the power to achieve greater things than you currently can imagine.

It's possible for you to start being a more powerfully directed purpose-driven individual who is well organized and on track to higher achievement. You will change and grow, slowly and steadily with every page you read. With every thought and insight you gain, your desire and courage will grow as well.

Napoleon Hill wrote one of the greatest books of all time. It's called "Think and Grow Rich." The essence of that book, the secret it reveals time and again is this: you must develop a burning desire.

Don't put this book down thinking the previous statement is cliché and that you already knew that! I am simply leading you to my next point, the next point being is - your desire needs a starting point. So to start developing desire, my secret is you must have a purpose. Why do you want to pursue real estate? I know what you're thinking: to make money, to have security, to feel useful and appear successful. Good points. I agree you can have all of that and more if that is what you desire.

Now here is something that comes before any of those things you desire. What is the purpose of all those things? Purpose, purpose, purpose?you need to first define purpose before you get the things. My purpose, or so I thought early in my career, was to move up to a nicer house and have my first house become my first rental property. When I moved up to the next one, I quickly learned as soon as I rented it out, I was in some way responsible for creating happiness and security in the life of another person that was of no relation to me.

It soon was evident to me how the choices I made in choosing that first property either would help me or hurt me in my quest to succeed in the real estate investment business.

All of it is cumulative, everything you do and how you do it adds up. It compounds itself and it either makes your life easier or more difficult. I am going to give you experiences that you can learn from that will make your life easier; I am going to show you how. That is my purpose.

The book that gave me the unknowing courage to take my first steps in real estate was a book called "How I Turned $1000 into $3 Million in real estate in my spare time" by William Nickerson. He was a master storyteller and by osmosis, after reading his book, I found myself gravitating towards the real estate classified section of my Sunday paper.

Eventually I leapt and my life had changed. It was an FHA foreclosure, a two-bedroom, one-bath home with a built-in, screened-in pool, with a Jacuzzi and a built-in sprinkler system. I bought it for $46,000 and used the HUD 203K rehab program to fix it up. I spent $16,000 to update and make repairs. They then gave me one loan for a total of $62,000. It took me three months to complete it and I was in; I had done it!

My life changed, I learned, I took the leap. From then on I had confidence. I had already had my first home but now I had two. Well, I was in the Coast Guard and wouldn't you know, three months later we moved. Uncle Sam took me out of St. Petersburg, Florida and dropped me in Kodiak, Alaska, for my next tour of duty.

Well guess what? I was armed with ambition, courage, confidence and just enough knowledge to be considered dangerous, so I bought a duplex as soon as I came ashore on Kodiak Island. Now I had three dwellings and my relationships and responsibilities were growing with my new tenants counting on me to provide a clean, functional and pleasing environment for them to exist in.

It looked like this: My mother rented my first house and an elderly couple rented the second one and my duplex came with an existing tenant who was a hospital administrator, so I was lucky. I was able to ease myself into the role of landlord without getting burned early in my career. I now had two houses and a duplex in the span of about one year. My brothers and some other family members took notice and were pretty well dumbfounded.

They couldn't figure out how I had, all of a sudden, become a real estate wizard.

It felt good to make that change in so short a time.

I got that from reading a book! And that my friend is how you are going to do the majority of everything you do in real estate, by reading and taking steps towards duplicating the success of others in a repeatable pattern. The key is to understand that you can do it if you read the right books and apply the very basic formulas that are handed to you. There lies in: Magic Bullets in Real Estate

This is a common man or woman's real estate manual. William Nickerson never gave me anything so easy as "Magic Bullets!" So I learned trial by fire and it has been very gratifying. I've since went on to collect 17 properties, 23 tenants, 2 real estate licenses in Florida and Alaska, an assistant appraiser's certificate and over a hundred books on real estate. I just kept learning and growing and gaining momentum for the last 13 years. I am still in the Coast Guard, too, and I work at Alaska One Realty in my spare time. In two more years, I will be retired at the ripe old age of 42. Sounds like a sort of fairytale, doesn't it? Don't let me fool you. It's hard work and I'm still not a millionaire, but I want you to have the truth, so I will be honest with you every step of the way.

I know why I am not a millionaire and here is why. I would periodically sell property that was going up in value and paying for itself through the rent checks. But being in the Coast Guard would dislocate me every four years, so I found myself selling out in order to avoid being what is called "an absentee landlord."

This is an important lesson for you. It has prevented me from becoming a millionaire up to this point. The lesson is: find an area on this planet that you could and will live in, and stay close to it. Don't move more than 10 miles from your farm area. The farm area is where all your properties are located. Long distance "land lording" is tough! It can be done but you lose the ability to control the situation compared to if you were there. I've served my country and saved people's lives, so for me it has not been in vain. I have no regrets but if you don't have to leave your area of expertise, don't!

The networks you build and the contacts you build, in the process of "doing" real estate, are so valuable that when they are no longer at your disposal, it puts you at a serious disadvantage.

Not to mention when you move you have to acclimate yourself to an entirely different market, build new trust-based relationships and start all over again. It's like a treadmill you'll be running and running, however it gets you nowhere.

I've used it to my advantage. I have been forced to accelerate my abilities to rapidly duplicate my success whenever I am moved, but it is still an uphill battle. My point: Don't move too far from your farm or your network of bankers, appraisers, carpenters, tradesman, real estate, friends, tenants and so on. Once you have the skill you can duplicate your success anywhere you go but if you don't have to go?enough said on that!

I like to say, "Don't sell the goose to get the eggs." What that means is if you need money to buy more property, use equity lines from other property to do it. You will get the same amount of money or more by using an equity line as if you sold it. However, you get to keep the asset and the money! I go into this in "Magic Bullets," so I won't drone on here. Just know you don't have to sell your property to get the cash out of them.

So here we are. You know a little bit about me and you may have picked up a nugget or two. Let's find a few more.

There once was a man who wanted to buy some investment property, so what he did was look at growth patterns. You should do this too, by going to your city's planning and zoning department. You can see growth patterns and you definitely want to buy property that stands in the way of growth.

This is how he used what he learned. He saw that city planners had decided that a new artery (highway) would benefit their city by creating linkage to another city about 100 miles away, so being a smart investor he only went as far as a ten mile limit to be able to be close to his investment.

Now on average, new growth will radiate out from existing prosperous cities in the direction it is planned at a rate of about one mile per year. So our smart investor had a 10 - 12 year plan to cash out in about 10 - 12 years.

What he did was buy, I believe, 10 acres of commercially zoned property very cheaply because there was no demand at the time. He bought it, fenced it in, put up some lights and a gate, and held onto that little bugger. Now that new highway was coming his way and the good folks, through their taxes, were paying to have it built.

It didn't take long for the heavy equipment to start cutting a swath towards his fenced-in storage facility and when they got close enough to him, he started renting out a secure area for everything, from road cones to generators to backhoes. You name it - it was stored there. This more than paid his land off.

Now the men and their equipment eventually moved on further down the trail but they left a finished highway behind them. And guess what? Low and behold, people started driving on it, and then started buying property to build houses on to get away from the city. Since the new highway was a straight shot into town, ten miles out was breeze.

Well, of course, here comes the herd and everyone is just populating the whole darned area. And within ten years, residential housing surrounds Mr. Investor, and can you guess what he's got? Yep, a prime piece of commercial property, 10 acres large.

So in accordance with his 10-12 year plan, he sells his storage facility to make room for the new office/business park complex for over $2,000,000. That, my friend, is vision, and the sooner you get a clear picture of what it is that you want to specialize in, the sooner you can retire to the islands.

How hard was that? Don't tell me you can't do it, you can! I'm here to help you. I'm going to give you secrets no one else dares. Do you ever wonder why people won't tell you the secrets? Of course you already know this but I'll tell you anyway. It is because they are operating on a scarcity mentality, as though there won't be any left for them. Or if learn something and act on it, you will get ahead and have a great life. Well, misery loves company and silent oppression is the rule.

Here's a little story that poor quality real estate agents won't appreciate either but I'm going to tell it to you anyway. The reason I can tell it is because there are some great real estate agents out there who absolutely don't fear what I am about to tell you and would let you know it if they were in my position.

Here's the deal: Some agents want to be like the Wizard of Oz. They want to create the appearance of marketing and transacting real estate as being technical and very legal, a deep dark mystery. Well, it's not! The truth be told, you can write a contract on a napkin and it would stand up in court. I will emphasize here that you write on that napkin along with the terms of your agreement, "The terms set forth on this here napkin are subject to my attorney's approval."

An attorney will cover you completely for around $750.00. Prices may vary, however that is an average home transaction. There is a lot I am leaving out here but my point is this: If you own property, you can sell it anyway you want. "Magic Bullets" will teach you. Let's move on.

Exposure is the key to finding buyers and sellers in real estate. If a property is priced fairly and everyone who is looking for that type of property knows that it is in the availability pool, it will be found and the transaction will proceed as advertised. Price it right, advertise it properly and let the lawyer take care of the details. No commission, just a flat fee. Period.

Now that I have that off my chest, I will tell you a story about Dan, a 21-year old friend of mine, and his wife and their new baby. He's a hardworking guy who does his work without complaint and all the other "workers" pick on him for working so hard. Can you believe it? The other guys are so insecure and lazy that they make fun of a guy who is doing the work of three men, mainly of the three who are ridiculing him. Well, believe me, this doesn't go unnoticed by me and I take him under my wing. Dan wants to buy a house, so I begin the process of saving him years of trial by fire and save him $25,000 at no charge. That is because he deserved my help.

Anyway, here is the story: I began with him by asking him what type of home he thought he would be comfortable with and a price range. He indicated a 3-bedroom for around $100,000.

Knowing what he wanted and knowing the area, I was able to take him shopping for the house he was looking for. Now I always go after the "For Sale by Owner" homes first because I know they won't be adding any commission figure into their price, because they won't be paying one. So at 6% of $100,000 he will get $6,000 more "house" for his precious dollar.

I also told him besides the "For Sale by Owner" homes, we would be looking at oddball discount companies that help distressed sellers further part with their money and property. The mentality of a seller who uses cheesy companies to help them sell their property is pennywise and pound-foolish. If you're going to use professionals, then get a professional.

So off we go. After a day or so, we have found our house. Sure enough, El Cheeso Inc. has a sign on it. The screen doors are flapping in the breeze, the weeds are dancing on the lawn, but this house is indeed a 3-bedroom, 2-bath, 1-car garage with a fenced yard and it's selling for $110,000. Well, due to the fact that there is a divorce in progress, and a new girlfriend who doesn't like the place, and El Cheeso Inc. giving no representation, I negotiate for Dan and he gets it for $99,000. What's so great about this deal is this exact same floor plan in another house was for sale down the street, on the same street, for $25,000 more.

The moral of the story is good things come to those who deserve it, and that is another key to real estate. You must work hard so others will take notice of you and help you succeed.

Here's a beauty for you. This is about being in real estate circles and keeping your eyes and ears open and often times your "yapper" closed. This is the story of Brian and Julie. Here we have two hardworking souls. They have been married for 20 years and they have weathered the storms of matrimony. Julie works at a real estate office as an office manager. No real estate license, but she works at an office that sells a lot of waterfront property. So we are talking about location and being in the right place at the right time, and here comes a seller in the door of the office stating she is going to sell her older waterfront home. She is willing to take $180,000.

Julie tells Brian, they look at it and sure enough, this pearl is right on the water. She's a gem waiting to be polished up, so Brian and Julie sell their condominium and move in. Well, they aren't making any more waterfront property, so Brian goes to work polishing this jewel up.

Now, they have bought this house under market value in an appreciating market. So about one and a half years later, this property is worth over $350,000 and still climbing. Well, Brian is no dummy, so he gets to know his neighborhood. He strolls, takes walks and notices, you guessed it, a vacant, neglected jewel on an inside double lot. He tracks down the elderly lady, who is living with her sister, through the county records office and buys the house, including the extra lot, for a total of $120,000. Now Brian can walk to his new "jewel" and he starts polishing it. The neighbors start noticing and are amazed at his deal. He has offers of $180,000, $200,000 and $60,000 for just the lot. You name it. Now that the exposure is there, everyone wants a piece of it.

Well, this is what Brian did. He rented his first house out, moved into the second one and used plans that I gave to him to build a third house on the vacant lot, using the equity he accumulated from the first house that went up so much. And here's how this thing shakes out: $180,000 for his first house and it's value goes up to $365,000; he picked up the next jewel for $120,000 and he paid cash using the equity from the first house. Now he takes out a new mortgage on his second house for $120,000 and builds a third. The value at last count was $815,000 and he owed a grand total $300,000. That's a half million-dollar profit in 5 years!

Now what does this story tell us? #1 - it says, "work hard"; #2 - keep your eyes open; #3 - use equity lines; #4 - don't sell; #5 - learn how to be a landlord; #6 - be in locations that appreciate; #7 - buy things that are limited in availability; #8 - know how to research owners and repair property; #9 - get your partner's help (spouse); #10 - use knowledgeable friends to help you see potential (I gave him the plans and advised him not to sell anything!).

Can you get any more lessons out of this story? I'm sure you can. Just read it again and think on it. Jot down your ideas and put them to work. Real estate is not that hard, folks! You can do it. With a few magic bullets, some spark plugs and a good mentor to show you how, you can do it too!

Let's you and me talk for just a minute here, OK! Have you ever been really good at something and been able to step back and see the whole thing for what it is was? You just know exactly how to do it and you can see the end result clearly in your mind before you start. It's predictable to you. It's almost second nature, so you are comfortable doing it. It's almost become boring to you; your comfort zone is such that you can do it in your sleep.

I've gotten that way with certain types of real estate and I see people everyday that are so afraid of taking the first step that they are literally paralyzed. They make excuses and put it off, and rationalize and live a quiet life of desperation. They don't trust themselves and as a result of the unknown they can't trust anyone else either. This is a vicious cycle because the longer they wait the more it reinforces their beliefs.

I just want to grab them by the collar, take them to the bank and make them tell the banker, "Pre-qualify me!" Then walk them out the door and show them how to do something that will change their life forever, and that is to buy the first property, and then a second. Then their fear is gone and they grow to be of service to everyone who is ready for their assistance.

Let me tell you this: After you finish reading the rest of this report and you read the "Magic Bullets" book, your fears will be subdued and you will do something and your life will change. If you cannot succeed with what I am intent on showing you, then something is not right. I believe your desire would be your major obstacle, so if that's the case, read "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill and come back to me then.

Let's get back to real estate education, shall we? Do you know who the largest commercial real estate owner in the U.S. is? It's McDonalds Corporation. Yep, and on top of that, they also have the most valuable locations for their type of business. The research they do on demographics and traffic counts is unparalleled!

If you were ever going to open a fast food restaurant, just put it near a McDonalds. You would survive just on the volume of people who flock or pass by the location that McDonalds has already decided meets all the critical data to support their restaurant business. Your restaurant, if you had good food and service, would flourish. Just sell something a little different than McDonalds. That's leveraging someone else's expertise in evaluating a location for a certain type of real estate.

Now that is a principle and principles are like natural laws. A natural law always works in every situation in its own way. It's like gravity - it always works! Here on earth, anyway.

So in real estate it doesn't matter what type it is, whether it's commercial, residential, industrial or recreational. Look for signs that serious market studies have been undertaken by major operators and buy things that can flourish in the presence of those concerns.

For instance, let's use Home Depot as an example. If Home Depot decides to build on a site, every residential lot within a mile of that new center will be bought up as soon as the Home Depot commits to build! Why?

Because smart investors know that Home Depot has done the market study and the area will be a prosperous one.

On top of that, it will provide jobs, it will pay taxes, it will provide materials to actually build the neighborhoods with, and people will shop there once their houses are built. The same goes for Wal-Mart, Lowe's and other smart business concerns.

You may or may not have noticed this but take a look the next time you are driving around. Here is what you should see. As you drive into cities from the suburbs, you'll notice donut shops, gas stations with convenience coffee centers, bagel shops, and etcetera, on the side of the road that people travel to on their way into the city to go to work. These are morning activity business centers. Now on your way home, out of the city, you will see restaurants that cater to the evening meal crowd: KFC, Taco Bell, Subway and Pizza Hut. That's because people don't go there for breakfast. They get it on their way home, outbound from the city at night. If you put your restaurant on the wrong side of the road, you could be making a huge strategical error. Think!

Location, location, location as they say, are the 3 most important things in real estate. That is a very true statement. With residential property, that boils down to safety, security and convenience. So buy homes in good neighborhoods, cul-de-sacs preferably. No noise or through traffic, no escape routes for thieves, and a private setting, where kids play in the street without getting run down.

Security = close to hospitals, police and fire protection for obvious reasons.

Convenience = stores, gas stations, restaurants, small businesses, parks and recreation and access to major highways to circulate or evacuate if necessary.

You might get a great deal on a piece of properly but if it takes you a half hour to get a loaf of bread. What kind of resale will that great deal offer? Another great deal may back up to or face a busy street. That's often a poor choice as well?noise, pollution, the loss of privacy and curb appeal are all factors here.

The two best types of property to buy are:

1. Property that no one else knows is for sale! Why? Because you have no competition.

2. Property no one wants! You just have to figure out why people don't want it.

If you can turn that lemon into lemonade through some problem solving, that

jewel may just shine because you used the right magic polish.

In real estate, you get paid when you solve problems. That is a fact!

Here is a golden nugget for you. If you do this, it will catapult your real estate investment career. I guarantee you will gain more insight to real estate by doing this one thing than just about anything else you could possibly do. The golden nugget is this: Take a real estate appraisal course. It will fly by, a few weekends and it's over, but the perspective and the information you gain from the class is priceless. It gives you vision, ideas and understanding. You will have an edge over every other investor who has not done it.

I had an instructor, who by some stroke of luck, I was privileged to be taught by. His name is Steven V. and he is truly a genius. This guy could make millions if he applied himself to real estate investment but he chooses to teach and give back to others in that way. He is very comfortable in life and money is a by-product for Steven. When I finished the class, I had appraisers wanting to hire me to go to work. Now I don't want to work as an appraiser. I just want to think like one and that is why I took that four-weekend course. That class taught me more than both of my real estate licensing courses combined. The reason for that is real estate classes deal with state laws, contracts, regulations and ethics. Appraisal focuses on evaluating real estate and that is what you want to learn as an investor.

A real estate license can actually hold you back from being a savvy investor and here's why: #1 - You have to announce to every seller that you are an agent. It's an ethics rule and a disclosure law. Well, now the seller is on guard for all kinds of reasons and you waste precious time overcoming negative reactions. #2 - When you go to sell your real estate, the same things apply but add to that scenario the fact that if you make large profits on property that you sell, people can come after you, saying you took advantage of them because of your expertise. And they win!

So you don't need to go to college for 4 years and you don't need a real estate license. What you do need is a guy like me to convince you to go to appraisal school and read books like the one you have now.

Then go out and do it, using a lawyer to protect you every step of the way. Again, here is a good point to make. Simply weave into every agreement or offer you make the following statement: This entire agreement is subject to my attorney's approval. I can't stress that enough. That's one line of text. That covers it all. It gives you time to investigate deals. It protects your interests and keeps you from getting burned in this business.

Here are a couple more beauties that I use to protect myself and you should too. These are used with initial purchase offers:

1. Willing to pay X amount of dollars or appraised value, whichever is less. (That says, "I'm only going to pay so much but if the appraisal is lower than

what I offered, than I am going to get it for the lower price. I don't get

burned!) 2. Subject to my partner's approval. (My partner was always my wife, and if she

didn't like it, the deal was null and void, cancelled, over, kaput, finito.)

Now nothing says my partner wasn't my dog, so if there's no fire hydrant, well the deal could be off.

Those are examples of escape clauses that could be abused to the point of being called "weasel clauses." Don't be a weasel! They give you a short period of time to have the option to buy something first with the right to cancel the deal, contingent upon something or someone else's decision.

I use them to protect myself and to get a little time to do my research on the property. Don't use them to unfairly tie a seller's hands. Be fair and try to move quickly when you do employ them. What you are doing is creating a short time, zero-cost option to buy real estate. Here is a little trick and I don't use it very often but it can be used in a fair manner so I will give you the nugget. When you write an offer to purchase property, on the top line of the contract is a line that indicates who the buyer is. On that line in certain cases, I will write my name plus the words or assigns, like this: Buyers: Dan Auito or assigns

What that word "assigns" does is this: it allows me to sell by assigning my right to buy the property to someone else. Dirty dealers will take advantage of people with that word if they can get away with it.

Here's where I would use it. In real estate, a lot of bargain hunters look for distressed property. You know, the fixer-uppers, the abandoned, condemned, fire-damaged stuff. I go a step further and look for distressed sellers such as death, divorce, relocation, but a lot of times I don't specialize in that type of property.

That's OK because if it's a steal and I get it for 40 - 50% off, I will assign it to someone who does deal in that type of property and make a profit by assigning it.

I'll always ask the distressed seller if that is a problem and if it is, I will buy it outright, then flip it but it costs more to do that. So I'll explain this to the seller and get their permission to use it. I don't slip it in on them. You will have a miserable existence if you practice real estate by deceit. Natural law will crush you; play fair! Purpose, passion and desire cannot be achieved or acquired by deceit. That's a quotable quote. I hope you remember it.

Let's get on with another story. This illustrates another fine example for you. This story is about a family who had business interests outside of real estate investing and as a result of the successes of their other businesses they had fairly large sums of money to play real estate like a monopoly game. Power can be dangerous in the wrong hands!

So here we go. This flush with cash family sees an opportunity to take advantage of an overlooked or left alone market. That market is the old-fashioned trailer park, or shall we say Mobile Home Park.

Anyway, the way most mobile home parks came into existence was this: Usually a man of integrity and strong work ethic coupled with a love for his fellow man would buy a piece of land suitable to the placement of mobile homes. As people moved in, he and his wife would welcome them and the neighbors would greet them and the community would become established.

The private owner would dig his own sewer lines and cut his own roads and landscape the park. Maybe put in the clubhouse complete with a swimming pool, shuffleboard, pool table and meeting hall. As time marched on, the residents bonded with each other and a family-friendly community took root. Well this man of integrity had a problem. Since all of his tenants are his friends, he is pressured not to raise the lot rents with inflation.

So the rents over the years are kept very low in the park and now this man and his wife are getting old. Perfect timing for our investors to come knocking and offer our private aging park owner a 2 million dollar price for his 10 acres of mobile home lots. This is a once in a lifetime offer and many park owners cashed out.

What people didn't see was these investors were systematically and methodically doing this all over the place and once they cashed out as many mom and pops as they could, they lowered the boom.

Now they the investors had control of many parks in the same areas and they started raising the lot rents. You see, they didn't have any emotional ties to the residents and they didn't live there, so it was a straightforward business deal: either pay the new higher rent or move.

The residents said, "To hell with you new owner, we are moving." "Well, fine, go ahead," they said. Now the residents started calling around to find another park with low rents but guess who owned those? Yep, our investors did, and those lot rents were going up too. So the mom and pops who didn't sell were full and it would cost on average of about $7,000 to relocate to another park even if they could find a vacancy.

The old folks who had it so good for so long were faced with a new reality and that was that they had no choice but to pay up or move, and moving, in many cases, wasn't an option. These investors exploited a complete segment of the market and made millions and millions in profit and continue to do so today.

It wasn't long after this happened that you started seeing signs saying, "This is a resident owned community." People eventually got smart and started buying that little lot that their trailer was sitting on and they began paying association dues for the clubhouse and security and grounds, maintenance and road repair. The good ole days are nothing but a fond memory.

Life goes on but America did not change for the better as a result of these types of people. Their only purpose was to make money; I believe they will die alone and in misery as a result of their way of life.

So I ask you again, can you be passionate and put your heart into investing in real estate by investing the way our corporate investors did? I think not. Money is no good when you get it by deceitful ways. I encourage you to work at balancing your objectives. Lease optioning, flippers?you are walking a fine line.

Here's a flip side to communal living. This story is a happier scenario, so let's have a little joy here. I once lived in Key West and I lived off base. Well, I thought I lived next door to Noah, and it sounded as though he was building another ark. All summer long, hammers and saws seemed to be making some type of racket, so naturally being the neighbor I was, I got to know the man next door. He never went to work and I asked him one day, "Don't you have a job and he kind of grinned and put his hammer down and this is Mark's story.

Mark and his brother were from the Northeast and they had a 30-room boarding house for college kids there, at something like $300.00 a month. That was about $9,000 a month and they made the parents responsible for the rent payments. Mark would spend his time with his family in the Keys for the nine months that school was in session. His brother was a local up North and he took care of the toilets, faucets, doors and windows. Yes, they had their very own animal house going on there, but Mark factored in the abuse and would spend 2 - 3 months a year, putting the animal house back together while the animals went home for summer break.

Mark only worked three months a year and the house (ark) that he built next to us was a masterpiece; it was beautiful. He was a master craftsman and he loved his work and spent a lot of his time with his family in a wonderful climate. Makes you kind of jealous, doesn't it? Well, don't let it because you can do it, too, but you must get started. Mark was 45 when I met him. I believe he was 25 when he got started, so my advice to you is to get started now!

By Dan Auito

The Wealthy Mindset

2008-06-13T22:07:00.003-07:00

What is the difference between wealthy people and poor (even average) people? It is not all the money that wealthy people have and the average don't, nor the luxury, nor the lifestyle. It is their mindset.

A few lucky people have won a lot of money and become wealthy overnight but in short time many of them have returned to their prior financial condition too soon. There is no trace of all the riches they have once

won. Very few of them can stay wealthy long enough to actually improve their quality of life.

Why? Because it is not the money and the luxurious lifestyle that make people wealthy. It is their mindset.

Real wealthy people act differently upon the big cash they can get their hands on and upon everything else pertaining money and possession. And this is because they think differently from most average people in the first place.

Let's think this through and discuss the way average people think?

As soon as they can get their hands on a big fat check, average people would almost immediately go shopping. Buy the latest model car, luxurious home, or spend it on renovation, once-in-a-lifetime luxurious vacation? blah blah blah.

They think that in order to really become wealthy, they have to possess all the stuff that wealthy people would have, travel to places wealthy people would go to, drive the cars wealthy people would drive or live in big mansions where wealthy people would live.

Real wealthy people can afford all the above simply because they have higher purchasing power. Most of us, on the other hand, would think that by having all those above we just might be considered as 'wealthy'. We tend to think that to become wealthy we have to 'act' or 'live' like those who in reality are.

Ironically, the fact is to become wealthy we have to 'think' like real wealthy people.

Once again I must say that it's the mindset that makes people wealthy. It's neither their possessions nor what they spend their money on.

Most of us go shopping while holding on to this principle: Buy now, struggle later.

When wealthy people go shopping they think: Delay it now, invest the money, and have all you want later on! They embrace delayed gratification.

Generally, too soon, the average people would end up in debt due to their principles of immediate gratification. And in most cases their debt worsens. Car loans, furniture loans, education loans, home loans, credit cards? and who knows what else.

As the story continuous, I believe, it becomes more and more familiar to the vast majority: In order to pay off all the debts, they become slaves of their own jobs after they realised that they had been "slaves of their own debt" for some time.

To them, a job becomes a necessity as opposed to a choice. It is chosen based on how big the salary is to pay off their debt, instead of on the satisfaction the job provides.

Can these people retire early? No. In fact, they wouldn't even dare to think about it! They are too deep in debt to quit and to just come and go almost at will.

On the other hand, not only do the wealthy know the negatives of being in a debt, they also know precisely the advantages of being debt-free. By being debt-free, they have more money to save.

The more money wealthy people have, the more they can invest in their own businesses. Exactly these businesses are their assets that generate life-long passive income for them. True wealthy people have known for decades that having traditional jobs would NEVER make them rich. It would make their bosses rich for sure but there is no way acquiring real wealth merely by trading time for money.

Can business owners retire early? Yes. Having your own business means having passive income for life (more likely even longer than that). If you work consistently on growing your business, you will come to a point where your passive income exceeds your daily living cost.

If this happens, you can choose when to work, where to work or what. Your choice of jobs will not be limited by how much money they provide. Moreover, a job for you would be more of a choice than a necessity. Even if you chose not to work, you would still have money coming in from your business.

This is what real freedom is and this is exactly how wealthy people think!

Ironically, I have met some people who sneer at the idea of investing in a business. For some reason they think that people who are interested in investing must be so much in love with money, or even slaves of it.

Most average people think that business owners must have become wealthy by the drive of their greedy, selfish minds. They tend to think that business owners must be slaves to their money and riches that they could actually have riches so abundantly now.

The truth is their mindset is exactly the opposite.

Exactly because of UNSELFISH reasons, business owners set up their businesses in the first place.

By having their own businesses which generate passive income for them, they have quality time to spend with their loved ones.

They are not too busy to go to their daughter's first dance recital or to show up at his son's birthday party.

They are not too busy to spend a one-week holiday with their spouse. They are not too busy (nor too broke) to be involved in voluntary social work.

The average traditional worker, on the other hand, would not be able to just go and have a holiday anytime he pleases. He has a too tight schedule to come to his daughter's dance recital or his son's 6th birthday party. And, hey, he's too busy (and too broke) to do voluntary social work! He needs jobs that pay well and social works just won't do.

Well, who is the selfish one now?

Most importantly, because the businesses wealthy people own generate passive income not only throughout their lives but also throughout the lives of their children and grandchildren, business owners prove themselves even more UNSELFISH than the average people do.

People with typical jobs will either retire broke or die poor, leaving their families with nothing (if not with their remaining debt).

By having the right mindset, you will not only be able to have abundant riches, but also a great chance to live abundantly: do all the things that provide satisfaction, spend quality time with you family and friends, and have all the time and money to voluntarily help other people and make your part of the world a better place to live.

Above all, having the right mindset will give you a chance to care and provide for your family even after you leave this planet.

Are you ready to adopt the wealthy mindset?

By Dinar P. Wiria-Atmadja

The Wealth Connection - 2 Steps to Brighten Your Golden Years

2008-06-13T22:07:00.001-07:00

Estimated Reading Time: 4 minutes -- Envision your life 10 or even 20 years from now. Where do you plan to be? What are you doing and with whom?

Most of us between the age of 35 and 50 years hope to be retired to some degree in 15 to 20 years or less. We see ourselves living on retirement funds enjoying life and family. I have never had a client tell me they see themselves penniless or sick. Yet, these same clients fail to have a full plan.

They may have a retirement fund at work and other investments but how are these performing? Did you plan a financial foundation? What does your Wellness Investment program look like?

Many people tell me they don't have a financial foundation program or Wellness Investment program in place. Regardless of age and health it is never too late to start planning. It is better than no plan at all. In this article I will give you 2 of the 21 most important Wealth Connection Steps I offer in my online course.

Ask yourself, how does wealth connect to your health? Does it at all? Today most people would agree that finances play a part in how we feel. Lacking funds can add stress to one's life and play a major part in your health. Ill-health can rapidly eat away at savings if you do not have a wellness plan other than health insurance.

In fact, I advise you rethink health insurance. What I mean by this is that it is what it says it is. Health insurance is for ill-health issues. Only a few "health insurance" programs are wellness insurance.

Health insurance also dictates the kind of care you can receive. Wellness insurance on the other hand is still an emerging system. A few companies do offer these types of plans and we do not endorse any insurance company as my job is to educate you a bit and you must look at what is right for your specific needs.

The wellness insurance programs I have seen work like this. The self employed or business can purchase these programs. They have major medical benefits for hospital and sometimes prescription drugs. They also have a "fund" where part of your premium goes that earns interest. That's right interest. You can use this money for any type of care you desire including alternative medicine of your choice. Any funds you don't use in a given year stays in your personal account earning interest year after year. At a certain age you can take this money out and use it. I have seen accounts that reach 30k and more. Why buy health insurance you do not use?

Step One

Look into Wellness Insurance programs. Only purchase from a known insurance company. One whose name you have heard of in the past that offers regular polices as well. It is buyers beware market so do your research.

Step Two

What amount do you personally put into your saving account each week? Most people say I have it drawn from my paycheck. This is not what I mean. Think about how much you spend each day on simple things like coffee or food. Can you spare $5.00 per week? I have only met one person who said they couldn't even save this much. Six months later this person who didn't become a client phoned me and said they had been doing it and it really worked. Here's the plan short and sweet - I go into more detail in my online program. Contact my office for more details of how to receive a free 7-part on line e-course.

Each week whether you have your paycheck direct deposited or not; have as much as you can afford withdrawn from your account and placed in a savings plan at an investment firm like Charles Schwab. Use who you wish and make sure they have an automatic withdrawal program and that the funds go into a savings program.

Every quarter double the amount you are putting in. If you find you really aren't missing this money from your daily life; double it every month. Don't be surprised if you start looking forward to saving and adding more to how much you 'put away' each week.

Once this account is equal to 6 months income we move this money into a different type of account I go into future foundation steps in the online program. But we keep putting funds into the savings.

What happens is we have at the base a 6 to 9 month savings account earning a bit better than a bank savings account. Next level is a certain type of money market with the same amount of funds earning a slightly higher interest rate, and so on up through Our Wealth Mastery program.

Point in fact, recently "Today on MSN" offered a glance at the habit of millionaires. Simple foundational planning won hands down.

Bonus Tip

Invest in your wellness. Visit an alternative doctor like a NCCAOM licensed acupuncturist. This ensures you are seeing someone who has completed an accredited program at an Oriental Medical College. Many acupuncturists are licensed through medical doctor or chiropractic programs. These programs lack in training and number of hours to meet. Make sure your practitioner is an active member of The National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. Even if you love your doctor, choose a NCCAOM acupuncturist for this job - after all would you take your child to a gynecologist just because they deliver babies?

Or if you own a Porsche would you take it to a Honda dealership just because you also own a Honda. No, we take our loved ones and possessions to the experts. Do the same with your health.

Why do I suggest an acupuncturist? They are trained in wellness care and health care. Oriental Medicine practitioners know how to work with all types of illness and keep you well. Plan ahead even if you feel great get an evaluation now and follow a wellness program so that you continue to feel great into your golden years.

A wellness program may simply mean visiting your acupuncturist and massage therapist one time each month. Add up the dollars you save by not getting sick. Invest this savings in your financial foundation.

If you have health issues, think how you will be in 10 years from now if you keep ignoring and minimizing your health, using drugs or having surgery without exploring other options. Acupuncture is virtually painless and offers greater relaxation than even massage.

By Dr. Debra Novotny L.Ac D.Hom ND

Why Get Rich When You Can Be Wealthy?

2008-06-13T22:05:00.001-07:00

"Any fool can rich, the wise get wealthy." Chris Widener

Getting rich is the main goal for a lot of people. That is unfortunate however, because there is something so much greater than simply the accumulation of money. Now don't get me wrong - I am not saying people shouldn't have large sums of money. In fact, I believe greatly in the power of money for good when in the hands of the right people. I think money is simply a tool that people can use to do great things - or bad things.

What is unfortunate is that so many people give up so much else in life in order to get those large sums of money.

First of all, let me explain my quote about rich fools. Just turn on the TV or read a popular magazine and you will find lots of rich fools. You will see people with tons of money but who have no happiness, have drug problems and who leave behind them a string of broken relationships. These people are rich, not wealthy.

Rich people are people with lots of money. Wealthy people are people who are rich in life. This would include financial stability and freedom, but goes deeper into spiritual health, emotional and relational health, and of course physical health.

I think getting rich is easy. It is simply a discipline that anyone can do if they so choose. There are many examples of people who have made very little money who have left vast fortunes. Spend less than you earn, save more than you spend. Put what you spend into an interest bearing investment. Do this over a long period of time and you will get rich.

Wealthy? That is something altogether different. I have found that in most cases you must give up some wealth to get the riches. I know many rich people and very few of them are people who I would call wealthy. Most of them sacrificed their families, their health or their relationships as they pursued the accumulation of riches. The fact is that it takes time to make money. And every moment of time you spend in the pursuit of money is a moment of time taken from something else that would make you wealthy in life.

So let me ask you: Are you on the fast track toward riches? Or are you on the long-track toward true wealth?

Are you being wise with your finances so as to secure long-term financial stability and independence? I hope so, because that is certainly a part of being wealthy.

Are you investing in those closest to you? I hope so! The fact is that when you lay on your deathbed, it won't matter how much money you have. The grim reaper doesn't need any more money and so he can't be bought with yours! The only thing that will matter are those faces that surround you, the looks of love they give you, and the memories you have of good times spent with them.

Are you taking good care of yourself physically? I hope so because if you don't, you won't get the mileage out of it that you were intended too! Physical health is part of being wealthy!

Are you taking care of your spiritual life? I hope so because I don't think there are any more important questions we can answer than those who's answers will play themselves out for eternity. In my mind, spiritual questions make all the others seem like child's play.

Are you taking good care of yourself emotionally? I hope so because it is your internal state that will give you the energy you are looking for to live long and the peace to enjoy that life of yours.

All in all, I have decided that I don't want to stoop to being rich. That is too low of a goal for me. I want to be wealthy - financially yes, but not to the exclusion of my body, soul and spirit. Not to the exclusion of deep and meaningful relationships with my friends and family.

How about you? Will you be rich or wealthy?

By Chris Widener

Wealth Creation and Mortgage Planning - Two Great Tastes that Taste Great Together

2008-06-13T22:03:00.001-07:00

What if I were to tell you that almost everything you have been told about what to do with your home has been absolutely wrong and that one of the worst ways to build wealth is through your home? And what if I further went on to show you that anyone who perpetuates this myth probably is not your best source for accurate financial information?

Most of you right now are looking at the byline a couple of times to see if this article is REALLY being written by a mortgage person. Some of you have taken this as final, unequivocal proof that all mortgage people really do sit around a big table of tea cups wearing hats with fractions on them! No you are not in Wonderland but if you keep reading you might find many of you have been for a long time now.

One of the buzzwords or catch phrases floating around the financial circles is "wealth creation." This has gained prominence due to the ability of the planner or agent to broaden their focus on overall wealth with their clients instead of just return on a particular investment. While a holistic approach is a very good one, what wealth creation strategies often lack are a defined strategy for accomplishing well, wealth creation! These plans often fail or vastly under perform because they don't properly account for one of the biggest parts of the wealth picture and that's the home!

WHAT DID HE SAY?

Now that's not a typo and I didn't contradict myself from the first paragraph. You see, most people believe their home is something completely separate from the rest of their financial planning. It's this sacred cow that's over in the green grass munching away while everything else in their financial life is trying to figure out how to grow without the food it needs. The sooner people realize that EVERYTHING they do is an investment decision , the better off they will be. The implication of your decision is not simply what you obtain by your action but what opportunity you give up.

So, back to wealth creation and mortgage planning. In borrowing some thoughts from a great financial partner of mine, Brent Gilmore, we can summarize what we typically look for as far as characteristics of a good investment as:

something that earns us a good return based on our risk

is liquid if we need it

is not subject to additional restriction to access it once we have it

is not at risk of loss.

The reality is your home is absolutely not the definition of a good investment. The reasons are fairly clear if we break them down. What if I told you the MAXIMUM return you could make on the purchase of your home was 0%?

Here's where we hit the rabbit hole.

First we must explain the difference between return of investment and return on investment. Return OF investment is simply getting back the money that you put in. Return ON investment is difference between the end value of your investment and the amount you invested.

Whether you pay cash for your home or pay nothing down, your home mortgage will be worth the exact same in 1 year, 5 years, 10 years or 30 years. It is true that if values keep going up you will make a positive return ON investment but that is independent of the return OF your investment. Even that fact has some doubt clouding it, but that's another article.

PAGING CHICKEN LITTLE

Now let's step back from all of the sky is falling stuff and clear some things up. Your house may well continue to appreciate in value, especially in a strong local economy like Columbus . But appreciation as I showed you above has absolutely nothing to do with return OF capital . Remember that if you bought a $300,000 house today, paid cash for it and turned around in 1 year and sold it for $350,000 you would have experienced the same appreciation as if you had put $0 down to buy the house. Your $300,000 was invested in an asset that yielded 0% during its use.

The key to this is that when you pay your mortgage you "choose" to invest the money in your home instead of in other options that could return you more . Lets Consider the consequences of not being able to pay that mortgage one day:

Will the bank give you back the money you paid on the mortgage and all of the appreciation when they sell your house in foreclosure?

Will they lend you more to help you get back on your feet at terms as good or better then you have now?

And will they do it without asking you to prove your ability to repay the new loan when you couldn't pay the old one?

Sounds silly, but this is what happens all the time.

Now wait, you say, I have a paper that shows me that if I pay twice per month I will pay off my mortgage 8 years sooner and save $84,000 in interest! You are right, you will. BUT is it a good choice if that money that you borrowed at 4% (After factoring in tax savings on the interest) could be returning you more, guaranteed , elsewhere? Consider other factors as well:

Are you making those payments and carrying "bad" debt like credit cards at 15%?

Are you finding it hard to put in enough in your 401k to even get the match your employer offers?

Are you funding the Roth IRA or the kids 529 college savings plan?

We aren't even touching on the implications of eliminating or reducing your tax deduction and increasing your overall tax burden.

TO PAY OFF OR NOT TO PAY OFF , THAT IS THE QUESTION

Let's look at the positive outcomes of paying off your mortgage versus keeping it.

You no longer have to make a mortgage payment to the bank every month.

You might have less to pay at retirement.

And that's about it. Now, notice I didn't say anything about the myth that you finally "own" your home. In truth you never do, you always have to pay taxes on it and it is always at risk of loss through various means including but not limited to:

Taxes

Creditors

Casualty Loss

In just about any analysis where someone is using the money that they would otherwise use to pay down the principal of their mortgage for other means of wealth creation, the other 'means' come out ahead every time. The requirement here is to spurn our human instinct to consume and to use this money effectively.

Notice that this is the key to wealth creation. If you can't conquer that human instinct nothing else matters. What this allows you to do is to use dollars you are already spending and inject them into the system to your advantage.

The simple truth is that paying off your mortgage is purely an emotional decision that we have been trained to believe is what we are supposed to do, but if you understand the implications of the decision and can act accordingly, that choice is usually incorrect.

DON'T PAY ATTENTION TO THE MAN BEHIND THE CURTAIN

Now you say, this is just a clever trick by another mortgage guy trying to make money off of me. Well, typically consumers refinance every 3 years and many times that is because they need money . But clients who have invested that money into the other elements of their financial plan are much less likely to refinance for need reasons.

People borrow for car expenditures, home improvements, college expenses, trips or to pay off that credit card debt they said they would never run up again. People who are planning for these expenses and finding tax preferred or tax free ways to fund them with the money tied up in their home have little need to make decisions based on these "needs".

OK, GREAT . NOW WHAT

There are all kinds of different mortgage products and programs that can make a consumer's head spin. The important thing to keep in mind is that most of them are wrong on almost all levels. If you are looking for wealth creation a home is a great part of that plan if used correctly. That does NOT mean you go out a get an interest only ARM so you can buy a $400,000 house when you otherwise could only afford a $200,000 house.

For many families they want to invest in the college savings. They want to have more than $50,000 in life insurance that their employer gives them. They want to protect against disability or job loss. They want so many things but don't know how to find it in the pool of money that they currently have available. Does it mean they give up? Often, that is the case but it doesn't have to be.

It means that you look at opportunities in the equity that isn't doing anything for you now and put it to use along with reallocating dollars you are already spending. The mortgage vehicle you use is independent of this choice and only your situation will determine which one is best for you. For most this is all that is necessary to see a million dollar or more difference at retirement. For others who are closer to an age where you will cease to earn income it is necessary to change current spending habits along with these measures.

These ideas that I have very briefly touched on are ones that need to be explored on an individual and ongoing basis with a team of financial professionals who understand how to help make this work for you. This is not one of those "plans" with steps that you can follow from a book on your own and in 20 years a golden goose lays you some precious eggs. Coordinating 401(k), Roth IRA, investments, permanent life insurance, wills and trusts is something that needs much more discussion than is prudent here and frankly with people who are much more qualified to tell you than me.

It is time to think of your mortgage and your home as more than the place where you and your family make great memories. If you allow it to work as part of a total responsible financial philosophy it can be an incredible wealth booster. With so many choices in all areas of finance it is imperative that you find a group of professionals that hold those same beliefs and values. Easier said than done, I know. I know because that is exactly what we have been doing for over a year in Columbus exclusively for our clients.

This, admittedly, is not for everyone and some of you might have even stopped reading by now because you think I am obviously out of my mind. That's ok, because changing that human instinct to hurry up and pay down a mortgage is difficult. But for those of you who have had their eyes opened, hopefully I have provided you with enough food for thought that you're starting to reconsider how your mortgage is working for you.

By by Jeff Blovits

Use Feng Shui Coins To Increase Your Income

2008-06-13T22:02:00.013-07:00

Feng shui coins can allow you, among other things, to increase your income. By keeping three coins tied with a read thread, you would protect your already existing income as well as increase it. According to Chinese traditions, three coins tied that way symbolize prosperity and income protection.
By carrying these three tied coins with yourself you could attract personal wealth, as well as by using these feng shui coins in your house would bring prosperity and wealth for all its occupants. Number three symbolizes heaven, man and earth united, and it is a lucky number as well.
Carrying them with you would also attract helpful people to you and receive help when you need it. You can also give feng shui coins to those you love as a present; it would be a symbolic, creative and helpful gift to give. You can combine the coins representation with different numbers symbolism, achieving this way, different desired effects.
According to feng shui specifications, the best house area for placing feng shui coins is the northwest. According to the bagua map, the northwest of any space corresponds to the prosperity life area, and therefore, placing feng shui coins there would be very helpful and beneficial. You can also use them in order to protect or increase the income at a business by placing these coins by the cash register or any other place containing money.
It is also important to know where your feng shui coins come from, since they would also contain energy of the place or people who had them before. The best place where to acquire these coins is at a very prosperous or wealthy place. This way, your feng shui coins benefits and their positive effect on you would be maximized.
You can also use feng shui coins according to its main element, metal. When any spot at your house or working space lacks of metal element, placing these Chinese coins in it would be a great way to add that element and create harmony at the same time than protecting the incomes and maximizing the good luck.
By Jakob Jelling

Is Accumulating a $1,000,000 Net Worth Easy? Yes and NO

2008-06-13T22:02:00.011-07:00

Is accumulating wealth as easy as following a 3-step plan? Yes it is and no it isn't. As with many things in life, accomplishing a goal such as accumulating one million dollars (or even $100,000) depends on your desire, your personal choices and your daily actions.

Let's start with one example on how you might miss this goal. One of the first components of successfully meeting any goal is to have the desire (or a compelling reason). You've probably thought about losing weight, running a marathon or accumulating a great deal of wealth.

However, the 'want', 'wish', 'dream' or 'thought' is often not enough to propel you to take continuing action steps to successfully attain your goals. Even if you take the first action step, your ability to sustain enough motivation to meet your goal may soon disappear after a few months or possibly after a few days. Until you create and internalize a 'compelling reason' (true desire) to meet a specific goal, it will be difficult to meet your goal. You have to make this desire a 'must-have' instead of just a 'want'; you need a compelling reason to meet your goal. You need to create a true desire.

The simple part of accumulating wealth is many people have already succeeded in meeting their wealth accumulation goals. I have personally accomplished my net worth goals on two separate occasions and in 3 years I expect to reach my next net worth goal. I started with a net worth of a negative $10,000, mostly consisting of personal credit card debt. Meeting my net worth goal wasn't easy; but I created a compelling reason, made some personal financial choices & took specific, daily actions to make these goals.

Many other people from all walks of life, with all types of educational backgrounds are also very successful in meeting their net worth goals. Since it has been done many times before, setting and making your own personal wealth accumulation goal can be very attainable.

Let's say you determined that accumulating a $100,000 net worth is one of your personal goals. If you've created a compelling reason (a true desire), then you're ready to proceed forward to accumulating $100,000 and probably, much more. If you've not made it a 'must' goal and you are still only dreaming about accumulating $100,000, then you're not ready to start. You're not ready to take the second action step. This first step is critical - you must have a "compelling reason" to make your goal.

Anthony Robbins has made a living by proving that success starts with a strong desire. Check out a product review of his latest - Get the Edge program at www.your-key-to-success.com.

Ok, let's say you have now created your own personal compelling reason to attain your goal. You're ready to get started with the second action step. What are the key elements in meeting your wealth-accumulating goal?

1. Your income must exceed your expenses

2. You will invest your excess funds

3. You will be patient and let the magic of compounding work

1. Your income must exceed your expenses: This is a simple mathematical statement. However for many people, this is the most difficult step to overcome on a consistent basis. It is all about your choices. If your income does not exceed your expenses, you have to make a choice. You will need to cut your expenses, increase your income or if you are really ambitious and have that 'compelling reason' to accumulate wealth, you'll choose to do both.

In my personal situation, I focused about 70% of my energy on cutting expenses & 30% on increasing my income. I decided to spend less on clothing, entertainment, dining out and I also cut coupons to help reduce grocery bills. I decided to live within my personal financial situation. I decided to spend less than I earned. Remember, you have a choice.

A. Do you have a compelling reason & discipline to accumulate wealth?

OR

B. Do you lack the discipline and have an immediate gratification need so strong that to satisfy your need, you need to purchase the newest fashion, go to all the home football games, dine out 4 nights a week, etc? It's all about choice.

2. The second step to accumulating wealth is to invest your excess funds. You need to invest your excess funds to meet your personal financial goals. Investments can range from real estate, stocks & bonds, CDs or possibly investing in a small business. Whichever route you choose, create a systematic approach to investing, change direction if necessary, but don't stop.

Investment diversification is important to help ensure that you can ride through the normal up-and-down cycles of the stock market or the real estate market. Personally, I started with investing in a 401K, then stocks and bonds and eventually real estate. While other young people decided to spend all their weekly paycheck, I made a choice to first, put a few dollars away each week into a 401K and other investment vehicles. I 'paid myself' first and then I spent money on the other entertainment activities. See some of the investing books at the end of this article.

3. The last step is the magic of compounding. You'll often hear the phrase, "The rich get richer." While this phrase can mean different things in different situations; in the context of compounding it has a major impact. Let me share a few examples on how you can accumulate $1,000,000, based on average investment return of 10% (stock market average).

Let's say you are 40 years old and you have $20,000 to invest. To accumulate $1,000,000 by the age of 65, you would need to contribute $567 per month.

If you're 30 and have $5,000 to invest, you'll need $218 per month to reach $1,000,000 by age 65.

Let's say you are only 20 years old and you have no money to invest. You can start with absolutely $0 and still only have to add $94 per month to reach that same $1,000,000 goal by age 65.

Wealthy individuals understand the benefits of compounding. Here are examples that show how the rich get richer.

A. If you have accumulated $10,000 and your investments yield a fantastic 20%, you will have earned $2,000 for that year.

B. If you have accumulated $100,000 and your investments don't do as well and you only earn 10%, you still outpace the person with only $10,000 and you'll earn $10,000 for the year.

C. OK, let's say you met your goal of accumulating $1,000,000 and your investments do even worse at 3% for the year. You will still make over $30,000 for the year. If your investments performed well (10%) you will have made an unbelievable $100,000 for that year.

There it is. The 3-step plan for meeting your own personal wealth accumulation plan. Whether it's $100,000 or $1,000,000; you have the potential to attain your personal wealth accumulation goal as long as you have a compelling reason (a true desire), you make the right personal choices and you take daily actions towards this goal.

Is it easy? - Not necessarily

Is it possible? - Absolutely yes!

Take Action Today!!

First, set aside 30 minutes or 3 days and create a compelling reason to set your own personal net worth goal.

Then, set a specific net worth goal for 3 months, 1 year, 5 years and 10 years. Not sure what your goal should be. It doesn't matter right now. Just set a goal and change it as needed - you'll probably change it upward.

Next, take $10 out of your wallet or purse - TODAY - and deposit it into your new "Wealth Accumulation" account. You've just now taken the first steps and are now on your way to meeting your goal. You'll be amazed at what you can accomplish!

To start your wealth building education, there are many great books on the specific subject of accumulating wealth and you can search your local library as an inexpensive and resourceful first action step. In addition, check out some of these titles listed below. You can find these titles and many more online at Amazon.com, Books-a-Million or Barnes & Noble.

The Automatic Millionaire, The Finish Rich Workbook, Smart Couples Finish Rich, Smart Women Finish Rich - by David Bach

Multiple Streams of Income, Creating Wealth, One Minute Millionaire - by Robert Allen

Rich Dad Poor Dad, Rich Dads Guide to Investing, Own Your Own Corporation, Rich Dads Retire Young Retire Rich, Real Estate Riches - by Robert Kiyosaki

The Laws of Money, 9 Steps to Financial Freedom, The Road to Wealth, The Courage to be Rich - by Suze Orman

The Truth about Money, Ordinary People Extraordinary Wealth - by Ric Edelman

Secrets of Six Figure Women - by Barbara Stanny

The Savage Truth on Money - by Terry Savage

The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need - by Andrew Tobias

The Millionaire Next Door, The Millionaire Mind - by Thomas Stanley

The Intelligent Investor - by Benjamin Graham

About The Author

By Mike Matthews

It Adds Up

2008-06-13T22:02:00.009-07:00

Loose change that is, if you want a easy way to start saving a little extra money these 5 tips show you how to do just that.

One or all will fit your needs so there is no reason not to get started today. By the end of this article you could be on your way to saving for your next vacation or special gift you may have wanted.

Getting started or should I say keeping it up is the hardest part. But you can do it all it takes is a little dedication.

Tip 1

It should be no surprise that you should start with your loose change. You have heard that saving loose change quickly adds up, it really does.

Here's what you can do to start today, when you get home after a long days work. Find a jar or large container that will be used for loose change only. Empty you pockets, jackets, pocketbook, and car of all loose change.

Put it in the container or jar you have ready. This is your project, so tell no one this is the first step you should take to be sure it will work. Do this everyday single day, or at the end of the week if that is easier for you to maintain. I prefer to do it daily. After you fill your jar, forget about, that's right don't think about it anymore until its time to put your loose change in for the next day or end of the week.

Tip 2

If you see this is not working, its ok you can move up to one-dollar bills. Of course one-dollar bills will add up quickly. Use the same technique as above, at the end of the day or week take all the one dollar bills you have in your pocket and put them away.

If one-dollar bills, still is not to you liking no problem continue on to tip 3 for yet a better way of adding your savings up.

Tip 3

By now you should know where I am going next, you guessed it five-dollar bills. This one is the best, this will add up even faster. Instead of saving your loose change, or one-dollar bills, go with five-dollar bills. They will ad up five times faster then one-dollar bills. Or if you are able to do all three by all means give it a try, I wait till the end of the week to for this one that way I don't end up having to go to my can during the week for lunch money.

Tip 4

Enough is enough, this one can be added to what you decide to do or you could just replace this tip with one of the above already suggested. We all have to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner while at work everyday. So for those of you who eat out during these times, you should really reconsider. Bringing in lunch and dinner depending on when what shift you work can save you hundreds alone everyone month.

If you work during the day, you could eat breakfast at home; bring lunch, and have dinner when you get home. Depending on your schedule of course. This can be done for any shift during the day as well. You can make the necessary adjustments according to your needs. The money you would spent on breakfast, lunch or dinner can now be saved; or you can use it to be buy groceries to start your brown bagging it project.

Tip 5

Last but not least, this tip has been around for years many of us don't practice it as much as we should. Take the advice of Financial Planners and save between 10-15% of your check. Everyone has heard the saying, pay yourself first. If you can do this in place of one of the above tips you will be well ahead of many.

If you go with this option the one thing you must do for this to really work is to have your bank deposit the money into a saving account automatically; now this means you can't touch it either that the purpose of setting it up for automatic deposits. If you have direct deposit check with your bank to see if they can deposit 10-15% of your payroll check to a saving account. This way it's done for you, without having to do anything more then filling out the form to start the process.

None of these tips are new, nor are they some special formula to make sure you continue to practice them. It does take dedication, determination and a will to want to save for something you want. The top three are easy and should not really make too much of a difference in your daily routine.

Push come to shove you could use the extra you save for the house, family night or just to get you over till your next payday. Make no mistake I do all of the above except the last one, which I must say I am working on, I use the extra I save for the house so that I have to run to the bank when I need cash right away.

By Michelle Cobbs

Methods Of Raising Instant Cash

2008-06-13T22:02:00.007-07:00

The inability to come up with the necessary cash when suddenly presented with a "can't miss" opportunity, is one of the most frustrating experiences anyone ever live through. Yet, there are literally hundreds of ways to raise unlimited amounts of cash in an hour or less! You may not be aware of many of these cash-raising methods we're about to describe for you, but they are all legal and any one of them could be the answer to your money needs the next time you have an opportunity to get in on the ground floor of a sure-fire winner. The important thing is to be aware of the possibilities, and then to position yourself to use them when the need arises.

Almost everyone uses plastic credit cards in place of money for the purchase of many of the things they want and need. Most people aren't aware though, that in addition to merchandise and services, you can also buy money with these credit cards.

The "Cash Advance" privilege of these cards is actually the best and easiest way to raise cash - immediately and with no questions asked. Generally, most people can write themselves a check for at least a thousand dollars against these credit cards and with no questions or quibbling relative to the amount requested. With an American Express card, you can even write yourself a check for $2,500 with no argument. Now then, if you have 10 of these credit cards, and you needed $10,000 - all you'd have to do would be to write 10 different check for $1,000 each - a $1,000 check against each of your credit cards with this cash advance privilege - present the checks at each of the banks sponsoring the credit cards, and you've got the $10,000 you were needing.

Besides the no-fee cards such as MasterCard and Visa, there's a growing number of travel and entertainment cards such as American Express, Carte Blanche and Diners Club.

Your annual income and credit rating has to be higher than for many of the others, and they charge you an annual service charge for the privilege of using them, but the amount of cash you can draw against them is much higher. For instance, with an American Express "Gold Card," you can draw up to $5,000 in instant cash, immediately with no questions asked. In addition to the "cash advance" privileges of most credit cards, most modern bank accounts include an automatic overdraft provision. This amounts to the privilege of your being able to write a check for more than the balance you have in the bank, and the bank honoring your check by merely loaning you money to cover the amount of the check.

In effect, this is an immediate and automatic loan to you - without questions. Most of these "check guarantee" accounts will cover you up to at least $1,000 and if you have 3- such accounts, you can write three $1,000 checks, and be on your way with whatever you need instant cash for . Another source of money is your circle of friends and relatives. Therefore, it's always to your benefit to make friends, encourage them as necessary, and keep them believing in you. One of the easiest of all money-raising ideas to promote amongst your friends and relatives is the sale of "private stock" in your idea or project. For instance, if 100 of your friends and relatives were to give you $100 each, you'd have $10,000 with which to either jump into or launch a new venture.

And by-the-way, it's always important to have at least 3 people you can count on to co-sign a note or loan for you if the need should ever arise. Loans against life insurance policies are another source of "no questions asked" instant cash. You simply borrow against the cash value of the policy, and in most cases, the interest you pay is far lower than against other loans, plus you never have to pay it back nor will your insurance policy lost value, so long as you keep the interest payments up to date.

Still another avenue to explore is the feasibility of using your insurance policy as collateral when you don't seem to have enough unassigned collateral otherwise. If you're buying the home you live in, and have a conventional home mortgage, you can often-times borrow against the equity you've built up. Generally speaking, if you buy a home for $50,000 - live in it and make regular payments on the mortgage for 10- years - the value of your home has probably increased to the neighborhood of $100,000 and conceivably, you could borrow $50,000 against your equity. In these times of tight money, this is a most intelligent method of coming up with the cash you need to start a new business.

There's also a lot of possible instant cash just lying dormant in people's attics, basements and garages. Go through all the things you've got stored - you may find valuable heirlooms, priceless antiques and collectibles that other people are looking for, and willing to buy from you. And, don't forget all the money you've loaned out to friends, neighbors and/or relatives over the years - check your memory and get in touch with these people - ask for repayment.

Finally, if you're wanting to start a business, and you've got your business plan all together, don't be afraid to take it in and show the people at your commercial bank. These banks - as opposed to regular savings banks - are always on the lookout for new businesses to invest in, and are willing to take risks they'll welcome you with "open arms" and can really help.

By Darryl Power

How To Be A Millionaire - The Top Secret Of Wealth Creation

2008-06-13T22:02:00.005-07:00

Have you any idea how many people search Google every single day for terms such as, "make fast money" or "get rich quick"?

Intelligent, motivated people, just like you and me? It's veritably FRIGHTENING.

Some do it for a laugh.

Some do it because they have a wealth creation product for sale, and some do it for the same reason as they type into their search engine box "For the love of God, please help me!" - because they're desperate and at their wit's end.

There is clearly some secret about the processes of wealth building and wealth creation, about how someone can start with nothing and ends up becoming a millionaire.

This isn't about hard graft, studying laboriously or being ultra clever. It has NOTHING to do with deservability, good looks, being lucky or a whiz at making money. I don't have to tell you this because you know that, you can see it all around you, every day.

Being A Millionaire Is A GOOD Goal!

The first mistake in a way is to get confused between the idea of "being a millionaire" and "making money".

You can make money in all sorts of ways - robbing a bank, running a string of prostitutes, scams and con tricks, selling drugs, killing your old mother for the insurance money.

But that's not what people mean when they wonder, "How can I become a millionaire?"

I think what they mean is, "How can I start a course of events that will lead me to becoming truly WEALTHY, INDEPENDENT of others and the vagaries of life, and claim my own personal FREEDOM to be and do as I want."

This is a desire which is inborn and natural to HUMAN BEINGS - as they grow up and become adults, they NEED TO become the lords and ladies of their own domains, the rulers of their own kingdoms and the masters of their own destinies.

That people are driven by desperation into crime and the proverbial "get rich quick" schemes EVENTUALLY is just a sign of what a profound need and DRIVE that is to human beings.

Contrary to many falsely interpreted ideas from fable and religions teachings, it is a GOOD THING for people to strive for that freedom, that actualisation and that space they need to become themselves, step into their true lives and MAKE A LASTING CONTRIBUTION not just to their own pockets or their direct heirs, but to humanity itself.

"I Need To Make Money ... Fast ..." When it comes to the point where someone has the credit sharks circling and they are so stressed and totally desperate that they will just cling to ANY thing that seems to be a life raft, even if it turns out that the log which was supposed to hold them above water and save their lives was actually a poisonous snake, that is not something new.

Things have been going on FOR A LONG TIME for a person to finally reach that point.

Politicians with a vested interest and philistines will often say that people are lazy and stupid, and that they want everything for free.

I'm sorry, but that is not my experience AT ALL.

I have dealt with people from all strata of life, and they all want to DO SOMETHING MEANINGFUL with their time, and they all want to be REWARDED for this with good things and good feelings.

They ALL have wishes and needs of personal actualisation but just simply don't know what's going wrong, why what they are trying to do isn't working to make them become rich, make them become wealthy, and thus FREE and happy.

Conflicts About Wealth Creation

The problem with people and the real true reason why someone who really wants to be a millionaire can't seem to get it going as it should is that they THINK too much.

That is not just the case with wannabe millionaires of course, but with everyone and all of the time - people come equipped with this super-fast computer brain that runs, day in, day out, at light speed and produces all manner of conflicting instructions, commands, ideas - CHAOS, in other words.

This doesn't just bugger up all manner of decision processes completely, but it also often produces total stalemate in the form of procrastination - a person might desperately need money, really want to make money, even enjoy making money and STILL they can't get themselves to pick up that phone and call a client or prospective business partner.

How are you supposed to become a millionaire with all of that going on?

It's impossible, isn't it.

Millions Upon Millions - Again And Again

Make no mistake - being a millionaire isn't like winning the lottery and HAVING a million all of a sudden.

That just makes you into a muppet with a million FOR A SHORT TIME, just wait for it, a fool and their money are soon parted - and deep down inside, you know that.

There's more to the question as how one gets to be a millionaire than just a bucket of money.

It's an attitude, it's a state of being, it is something that can't be taken away from you - to be a millionaire, you don't have to have a million just yet. It's a question of knowing how to make money, how to handle it, leverage it, have it be a tool for your success and your pleasure not just once, but TO REALLY GET IT HOW IT ALL WORKS and then APPLY IT, day in, day out.

That's what being a real millionaire is all about.

The MindMillion Secret

Now listen.

I've written a book called MindMillion, and I want to sell it, of course. I want people to buy it and READ IT, and then go on to USE IT for it was intended to be used - namely to go out, change your stars and become a real, actual, MINDMILLION millionaire.

That's I want, that's why I did it.

But I will tell you one thing right here and now, what the real difference is between "the poors" and "the riches", the losers and the real millionaires. It is a measurable and practical, statistical relationship that holds true regardless of whether you're a Muslim in India, a Buddhist in Sri Lanka, a Rasta on Jamaica or a Christian in Massachusetts.

The real difference is FEAR.

In order to be successful and get to be rich you need to be FEARLESS.

If you don't have a "rich daddy" who will sort out your messes and pay your bills for you, then you need to be fearless in order to make cool, calm decisions; to jump over your own shadow to do things that are difficult or hard if necessary; to take risks and opportunities as and when they arise, without hesitation, with extreme responsiveness; to come back fighting when you've had a crash; and you need to be able to stand up against the shadows of your own failures of the past and doubts for the future.

The less money you have, the less you can AFFORD TO BE AFRAID - because that's stress, and stress makes you stupid.

The more stress, the more stupid and unpractical the decisions we make, and the worse our situation becomes - causing ever more stress and fear. That's the real truth about the poverty spirals that intelligent people find themselves trapped within.

Even if you don't go on to buy the immensely reasonably priced book, MindMillion, and do the full range of exercises therein properly and as they were designed to be, take note of what I've said about FEAR and start working JUST with that and nothing else.

Get yourself a good anxiety protocol such as can be found on The Sidereus Foundation or download a FREE functional EFT Demo here.

Notice when you're getting "stress stupid" - just so afraid of whatever that you're making really terrible decisions, buy into "get rich quick schemes" or fall prey to con men, take out disastrous overpriced loans and all those sort of things that real intelligent people just do when they are FRIGHTENED HALF TO DEATH.

For the love of God, calm yourself down and do not act until your thoughts have cleared and you can think again.

There are many sharks out there, ready and waiting to feed on people who are stressed and desperate. PLEASE take note and be careful.

Whoever you are, whether you're young or old, no matter what race or shape or size, no matter what your education, you're a person and you have a head on your shoulders.

This head contains a brain that has more neurons in it than there are stars in the visible sky, and the possibilities of connections between them are to all intents and purposes INFINITE.

You can use this for all sorts of things, including for how to get rich, making cash, getting yourself out of debt quickly and eventually, to become a REAL honest self made millionaire.

It'll work for you - but only if you are calm and collected.

As I've said, I've worked with many thousands of people over the years on just these sort of wealth creating issues, and not being "stress stupid" any more really is the master key to forward movement.

Buy the book if you've got the money and the will. I know it will help you sort yourself out and move forward in the right direction. There's a lot more in there than "just" thinking clearly.

But either way, promise me and yourself that you won't make any more financial decisions, goals or plans unless you are calm and completely fearless.

You'll start making IMMENSELY SUPERIOR DECISIONS right away, and that's a fact.

With that alone, you'll get yourself sorted and eventually, you WILL make your fortune.

Good luck to you, whoever you may be.

Have my most sincere blessings.

And NOTHING would please me more than if you were to turn it around and really create and build your own wealth, and become a real, true, SELF MADE millionaire.

All the best,

By Silvia Hartmann

How To Get Investors And Bankers To Part With Their Money For Your Business

2008-06-13T22:02:00.003-07:00

Time and time again entrepreneurs are losing out on getting the capital they need because of making basic mistakes in their pitch. It's great to have a magic product and tons of enthusiasm, but it's not enough. Follow these five rules and see your success rate climb.

1. Look like someone who can make money.

At the start of the presentation walk in vigorously and shake hands. Look them in the eye. Look at all people on a panel. Dress formally - dark suit, white shirt/blouse, black clean good-quality shoes and smart accessories. For men a yellow/red tie with no patterns and women - good quality jewellery - not overdone. Forget the crap about being yourself. You may be a creative or software or artistic genius and work in your shorts and t-shirt. If you dress like this in the presentation you'll loose.

2. Show tons of energy and excitement.

It's not naive or stupid to show excitement - you must. First of all investors are buying you and your belief that the venture will work. They're looking for passion - that burning desire that will carry you through when times get tough. Do not memorise a set speech. Talk from the heart - explain why you love what you're doing. Talk quickly and loudly (but not too quickly and loudly). Gesticulate and smile. Move about a bit. Take the time to set up your display, visual aids - don't rush. If you're afraid of presenting get help.

3. Tell and show exactly what your product/service is.

Explain clearly what your product/service is or does in one sentence. More importantly, explain exactly in one sentence why people will buy it. What benefits does it give purchasers? Use samples - give them something to see/touch. Do not use jargon, acronyms or technical terms. Keep slides and posters simple and limit to three. Give some numbers regarding market size and expected sales.

4. Listen, listen and listen and be polite

During question time show you are listening. Acknowledge good points/comments and show you can take criticism. You're asking people for money so be polite. Do not interrupt. Don't show them you think they're stupid. Avoid responses like "You are entitled to your view". Investors are looking to see if you can take advice.

5. Give confidence by explaining away problems.

Every new venture will have problems. Prepare by thinking of all the things that could go wrong or could hinder progress. Have answers/solutions. Pick the top three problems and raise these in your talk. Investors want to know you have your head screwed on and feet on the ground.

By Dr Bill

Top 7 Lucrative Paper Businesses You Can Run

2008-06-13T22:02:00.001-07:00

Why not run a lucrative paper business? Paper businesses do not require large investments of capital for expensive equipment, inventory, and buildings. Many paper businesses can be run from your own home. A paper business is a business that can be operated mainly using pieces of paper, such as contracts, invoices, shipping documents, et cetera. Here are seven excellent paper businesses that you can operate.

1. Consulting: Consultants charge large fees for their knowledge, expertise, skills, connections, experience, and other assets. This business can be operated from home with little more than standard office equipment and supplies. Consulting is a paper business because your product is an intangible service. Your results are often summarized in a written, paper report and you use written contracts to protect your interests.

2. Finding: A professional finder finds something needed by a business or individual for a finder`s fee. The finder doesn`t invest in product inventory because he`s not selling it. He simply collects a fee for arranging to introduce a buyer to a seller. The finder conducts his business using contracts and other written documentation.

3. Drop Shipping: Another business (or method of business) where you don`t invest in product inventory or retail space is drop shipping. When your customer buys from you, perhaps through the mail, by phone, or on the Internet, you simply contact your supplier, who then ships the order to your customer. Your paper business involves taking the order, billing and collecting from your customer as well as ordering, giving shipping instructions, and paying your supplier.

4. Affiliate Programs: With affiliate and associate programs, you collect commissions from the sale of other peoples` products. Again, you have no investment in product inventory or expensive facilities.

5. Webmastering: Another knowledge-based paper business is webmastering. Whether you design websites, perform Internet marketing, or render other needed services, your business is again mainly intangible services backed up by paper records and contracts.

6. International Trade: Many times import and export transactions can be conducted on a commission basis. It is also possible to buy, sell and ship merchandise without ever having even seen it. Letters of credit, bills of lading, and other agreements are needed in this paper business.

7. Licensing: Instead of trying to finance the manufacturing and marketing of your invention, why not license it to a company with the expertise and capability required? You will then receive royalties in return for your idea. As well, you could become a licensing agent, arranging licensing deals on behalf of other companies and individuals, taking a percentage of sales as compensation.

J. Stephen Pope

Create Tax Savings And Transfer Wealth To Your Child With A Roth IRA

2008-06-13T22:01:00.007-07:00

Parents must give serious thought to protecting their family through estate tax planning. While life insurance and trusts should be a part of every plan, Roth IRAs can be a simple tool for passing money to your child on a tax-free basis.

Roth IRA

First, we need a quick summary of the Roth IRA. A Roth IRA is an after-tax retirement vehicle that produces huge tax savings because all tax distributions are tax-free. That statement can a bit confusing, so lets break it down. The downside of a Roth IRA is the fact that contributions are not tax deductible as with traditional IRAs or 401(k)s. The upside of a Roth IRA, however, is that all distributions are tax-free once the person reaches the age of 59½. So how can you use a Roth IRA to pass money to your child?

Opening A Roth IRA For Your Child

One of the biggest keys to retirement planning is "time". The more years you spend saving money for retirement, the more you should have when that blessed day arrives. Imagine if you had started saving for retirement when you were 16. How much bigger would your retirement nest egg be? What if you purchased Microsoft stock in 1990 and watched it split eight times? Okay, that was painful example if you missed that opportunity. Nonetheless, why not do for your child what you didn't do for yourself?

The fundamental goal of estate planning is to pass as much of your estate as possible to your family on a tax-free basis. You can transfer relatively small amounts of money to your child now. If you have a 16 year-old child with a Roth IRA, you can contribute $4,000 in 2005. That $4,000 is going to grow tax-free for 43 years and be worth quite a bit. A ten percent return would result in the account growing to roughly $200,000 and the full amount would be distributed tax-free. There are other practical advantages to opening a Roth IRA for your child.

As a parent, it is vital that you teach your child the value of money. Opening a Roth IRA gives you the opportunity to sit down and teach your child the value of saving and investing, instead of yelling at them to clean their room. While a parental lecture on the need to save money would typically meet with glassy eyes and yawns, your child's attitude will undoubtedly change when you are talking about their money.

Work and Maturity Issues

Before you rush out to open a Roth IRA for your child, you must determine if your child is eligible to open an account. To open an account, your son or daughter must be working at least part time for an employer that reports their wages to the IRS. Hiring your child to take out the trash each week is not going to cut it, nor will this strategy work for your 5 year-old. Many teenagers, however, have summer jobs that should suffice for IRS consideration. To avoid any trouble, you should consult with your tax advisor.

A more sublime issue concerns the maturity level of your child. Keep in mind that the Roth IRA will be opened in their name. Your son or daughter will have the legal right to do what they will with the account. It is strongly suggested that you clearly explain the consequences of taking money out of the account [taxes, penalties, being cut out of the will, forced to eat healthy food, grounded for life, etc.] but the decision lies with them. As difficult as it is, try to be objective in evaluating how you child will react to knowing the money is sitting in an account. If you have doubts, you should probably investigate other tax saving strategies.

Opening a Roth IRA for your child can be a very effective means of transferring wealth to your child and teaching important life lessons. If your child exercises restraint, your relatively small contribution to their Roth IRA can grow into a sizeable tax-free nest egg.

By Richard Chapo

Principles to Ensure a Fantastic Financial Finish

2008-06-13T22:01:00.005-07:00

Most people want to get to the end of their lives and be able to live comfortably, take care of themselves and leave something for their children. These are admirable goals and very achievable - especially if you have a good plan! While I am not giving specific financial advice, these are the principles I live by and believe can bring anyone to a fantastic financial finish! As always, check with a financial consultant before taking action.

Aggressive in the Beginning, Conservative in the End. The way finances work long-term is that you want to maximize your returns when you are young, while tolerating more risk because over the long-term you will recoup any losses you may incur because of the risk. This is why when you are young you can get more aggressive. You have more time to let your returns accumulate. However, the older you get, the more you want to be transitioning into more conservative, capital-protecting investments. This way short-term market fluctuations won't affect your day to day living situation. I personally, at 33 years of age, have my investments in very aggressive stocks and mutual funds. I may be down 10 percent one year but up 80 percent the next. Over time the investment make more gains than losses. I have 30 years before I need to be more conservative. As I get older I will shift into stocks and mutual funds that may only give me 7-20 percent a year but will assure me of less risk. This idea lets me get as much as I can while I am young and can afford risk, so that when I am old I can draw a lower percentage off of a bigger net dollar amount.

Use Insurance. I am not an insurance salesman, but I could be! When my dad died when I was 4 years old, he was making $89,000 a year (In 1970). That's pretty good! He had $30,000 of life insurance. That's pretty bad! For a very nominal fee, he could have protected his family and left them with a couple of million dollars to maintain their current lifestyle. For many, you will want insurance to protect your assets you will be passing on to your loved ones. Don't let the government get too much! Find a good insurance agent and they will help you out. Also, make sure you have all the right kinds of insurance: Life, health, disability etc. All of these tragedies can drain your long-term financial health.

Use a broker. The brokerage business is going through a radical transition with the onset of the Internet and that is good. It will make them sharpen up a bit, drop their fees and offer more in return. For a while I was anti broker but now I have come full circle and realize that it is good to have somebody watching your investments for you. Just be sure to tell them that you want them to be proactive with your account and communicate with you regularly. This way you get the benefit of their expertise. If you want to keep an online brokerage and trade stocks, that's okay. Give your self a little to play with and leave the rest to the professionals.

Start Early. Even if you can only put $10 a month away, do it. The law of compounding interest is simply amazing. If you put it away early on, at least you give yourself something that is growing. And if you have kids, consider giving them a head start by putting some away for them. The 20 years it grows before they take it over will mean a lot to them.

Be disciplined. There are primarily two ways to be disciplined if you want to have a fantastic financial finish: Disciplined in controlling your spending and disciplined in saving or investing. This means that you commit to spending less than you earn. Add it all up. Are you spending less than you earn? Or are you going deeper into debt? Also, are you putting something away each month? You may think that you don't have enough to put away. Even if you can only put away $10 a month, you should be saving and investing.

Stay Out of Debt. Debt is an absolute killer. It will kill your future, it will kill your balance sheet, and it will kill your emotional health. If you can live absolutely debt free, I would advise it. Most people should only have a house debt. "But I wouldn't have the car I want!" you say. The question I would ask is "Do you want one of the cars you want now, with a debt coming due every month and causing pressure, or would you like to buy any car (or two or three) you want later on out of the interest your investments are throwing off - and pay cash, with no debt?"

Delay Gratification. This is the key to staying out of debt and to accumulating what you will need later on to maintain the lifestyle you desire. You have heard the old saying, "A penny saved is a penny earned." Well the truth is that a penny saved, and invested for a number of years is more like ten pennies earned! Don't get me wrong, I don't mean to live life as a pauper. In fact, when I get a big check or extra income, I give ten percent away to charity, spend ten percent on things my family would like (in other words we splurge), and the rest we save and invest. This allows us some "extras" but causes us to delay gratification that we could otherwise have if we spent the other 80%. In the end, I will be glad that I invested that money.

Read up. I would encourage you to learn about money and how it works. Even if it doesn't particularly interest you, you need to know how it works in order to manage your affairs. Know the basics of saving, investing, interest rates, stocks, mutual funds, and the power of compound interest. If I had to pick a beginner magazine that is well written and very good information, I would suggest to you Smart Money, published by The Wall Street Journal. Pick one up at the newsstand and then you can subscribe from there.

In closing, let me say that I think anyone can have a fantastic financial finish! It is simply a matter of applying these principles over the long-term and watching your money grow. Every now and then you read an article about someone who never made more than $15,000 a year and yet left an estate of millions. Get behind the scenes and you find that they saved, invested, and watched their spending.

Here's to your Fantastic Financial Finish!

By Chris Widener

The Financial Equation that Will Set You Free!

2008-06-13T22:01:00.003-07:00

I have a good friend who works in an area of the US that has more than its share of poverty. He called me the other day with a very broken heart. He was feeling badly for the people around him who simply do not allow themselves to get set free financially. I could feel the pain he was feeling because I too, very often wonder why it is that some people experience financial independence and others do not. It really is a mystery.

But how to get financial independence is not a mystery!

Rather, financial independence is a very simple thing. Truly! It is hard work and takes time, but the process is very simple! In fact, financial independence can come from following a very simple plan. All of the books on financial independence can ultimately be boiled down to this basic equation. It is an equation that is as simple as it gets. In fact, it isn't even a multiplication problem, it is an addition equation! And we all learned addition in the first grade! Just as 1 + 1 = 2, so does this POWERFUL yet SIMPLE equation add up to your financial independence!

What is this equation? Get ready, your life is about to change forever if you will allow yourself to understand and live by the simplicity of this equation. Here it is:

Smart Decisions + Good Math = Financial Independence

Let's break it down and take a closer look. First the Smart Decisions, then the Good Math.

Smart Decisions:

Go to college. Get educated. I know that somebody will say, "Yeah but most of the people on the Forbes 400 never went past high school." Well so did most of the people on the welfare line! Most people aren't Bill Gates or Sam Walton. Most people who earn between $100,000-$150,000 a year are college graduates. "But I'm forty! I can't go to college." Yes you can. You will be 44 when you get out and have 21 years of a much better income. The fact is that most good jobs and careers go to those who have educated themselves. It is still the surest way to a long-term large income. Still don't want to go to college? See the last item under smart decisions.

Get better training. At the very least go get some training in your specific area of expertise. The promotions will go to those who are the best trained, so become the best trained! Take a course, even if your employer won't pay for it, because eventually they WILL pay you for it!

Work hard. I have found that the many hundreds of high achievers who I know personally who have become and are becoming financially independent are hard workers. Every one of them works long hours. They sacrifice for the security they are shooting for and have attained. I know, we all get emails that say, "Financial Independence in 10 hours a week." Let me ask you, do you know anybody like that? I don't. No one. Even the success stories you here in the get rich quick industries show you that they worked HARD!

Develop yourself. Become a better person. Better people get better jobs and get paid better dollars! Make sure that every day you are becoming a person who is on the growth track, raising yourself to a higher and higher level with each and every passing day! Eventually your development will catch up with you and your income will soar!

Stay out of debt. This is the smartest decision you will ever make. NO Debt! You know what? I have ONE bill I have to pay every month. That is my mortgage. But that's a debt! Well, without getting into an argument, I consi der it a forced investment with the added benefit of providing me and my family with shelter! I do not consider a mortgage a debt. I mean car debt, stereo debt, and consumer debt of all kinds. It is possible. It can be done. And it will provide you with financial freedom!

Own your own business if you can. So you don't want to go to college. Okay. Or maybe you did go to college and you just want to make sure that you make as much as you can. Well, the smart decision is to own your own business. Most millionaires in America are the people who own their own businesses. It will take a lot of risk, a lot of hard work, and many ups and downs, but owning your business gives you the opportunity to accumulate great wealth, because the profit is all yours. There are plenty of opportunities to own your own business and I would encourage you to strongly consider the alternative for many reasons, of the best of which is the opportunity to achieve financial independence.

Good Math:

Spend less than you earn. One plus one equals two. We learn that very early on. Eventually, we learn negatives and we learn that one minus two equals negative one. Simple right? Yet many people live their lives in such a way that they spend more than their income and destroy their opportunity for long-term financial independence. There are two things you can do to make this "good math" work for you. You can increase your income so that it outpaces your spending, or you can decrease your spending. You increase your income by making the smart decisions listed above. You decrease your spending by making hard choices. One of these must be done if you are going to achieve the kind of long-term financial independence you desire.

Put money away into investment vehicles on a regular basis. If you are going to achieve financial independence, you will have to put away money regularly. This is the math principle of addition. Don't laugh: most people don't get this. Or if they do, they don't practice it! Whether it is every paycheck, or the first of the month, or quarterly, or however you can do it - DO IT! When you hit 65 years of age, you will be glad you did. And if you put away enough and into the right investments, you may just be thankful a lot sooner than that!

Let your interest accrue. This is compounding and it is powerful! If you earn twelve percent on your money every year, do you know how soon it will be until you have twice as much as you started with? At first thought you may assume that it is one hundred divided by twelve, or eight and a third years. Not true. There is an investment rule that is called the rule of 72. That is, divide 72 by what average interest you make and that is how many years it takes to double your money. In this case, at twelve percent, your money doubles every six years! This works because you earn twelve percent on not only the original amount but the interest you earned as well. Start with $100 and the next year you have $112. If you take the $12 out then you will only make twelve percent on $100 again. If you let it accrue, you will make twelve percent on $112. This will cut almost two years off of the time it takes to double! Where the real power comes in is over longer periods of time. Let's say grandma dies and leaves you $25,000 when you are eighteen. You can do any number of things with that money.

1. Buy a snazzy car. Not a good idea, though most eighteen year-olds would do just this. 2. Invest the money and take out the interest every year. This is nice. It throws you $3000 every year and over forty-two years you make $126,000 for doing nothing and you still have $25,000! 3. Here is the real deal! You leave the money alone for forty-two years at twelve percent (about the long-term average for the stock market). At the end of that time you decide to retire and go to the investment summary to see how much you have. What do you find? You find that your money doubled seven times and that leaves you with 3.2 million dollars! Can you retire on that? You bet you can.

You can achieve financial independence. You can live the life you have always dreamed of. You can have a life where you have enough at all times, especially in the end. It is possible. You just have to make smart decisions and use good math!

As a refresher, here they are again:

Smart decisions:

Go to college. Get better training. Work hard. Develop yourself. Stay out of debt. Own your own business if you can.

Good math:

Spend less than you earn. Put money away into investment vehicles on a regular basis. Let your interest accrue.

By Chris Widener

Who Else Wants To Know Oprahs Secrets To Wealth & Success?

2008-06-13T22:01:00.001-07:00

Before I had a lot of money, I was really quite happy," said Oprah Winfrey. "And I will tell you this--you may not believe it--I never would have gotten the money if I wasn't happy to begin with. I never would have gotten it."

I've noticed that we're a culture that doesn't stop long enough to enjoy its finances. We're so far off into the future, envisioning the cash that we're going to get, we're never here long enough to enjoy it. Here, however, is home.

All of us work many hours for profit, yet when it comes in, and we open up our purse to spend it on what we like, how much time do we spend enjoying our acquisition?

The other day I got a beautiful armchair. The first time I saw it, I fell in love. I just had to take it home. It was big, a shocking pink color, and broad. When I sank in it, it supported me just perfectly. Visions of many hours in the bookstore, a good book on my lap, a comfortable armchair surrounding me drifted into my mind. Now, every time I sit and read a book on that chair, a deep sigh of contentment rises out of me.

To almost everyone, it's just an armchair. But to me, it's an experience of exquisite laziness.

I deliberately chose to appreciate what I have.

And because of that appreciation, I'm sending a powerful message to my subconscious mind. "Yes, this is what I want. Thank you for giving me the currency to get this chair."

What's the reaction of my subconscious mind? "Oh, so that's what he likes, let's see if I can get him some more prosperous ideas."

Our appreciation helps us make money. We set up a vibration within us that vibrates to the world. Like my friend, Kim, said, it's as if you've set your tuning fork to vibrate with other tuning forks out there.

Consider your positive feelings an investment.

But don't take my word for it. Ask Oprah.

Oprah Winfrey attributes her wealth to being happy. She didn't feel happy because she was prosperous. No, no, no?she got affluent because she was happy.

Why do so many people adore her? What makes her ratings shoot through the roof? Yes, you got it-it's that charming smile, the warm camaraderie she throws around her guests, and the cheerful banter with which she talks to her audience.

If Oprah were a grouch-she wouldn't be Oprah! And she wouldn't be rich, either.

Oprah knows how to romance money.

Wealth loves happy people.

Why? It's because money like everything else is energy. And we receive the energy we transmit. Hit the right note on your tuning fork and you get in harmony with other forks of a similar vibration.

One way of throwing your energy off-track is to be unbalanced-to spend so many hours working that you're in a perpetual state of fatigue and low mood. If you're unbalanced, you're out of touch with what you want, and you're getting what you don't like.

If working hard had anything to do with money than a ditch digger should be rich. I've received plenty of free money just because I've been at the right place at the right time. When I'm vibrating with money, I get to pick notes off the ground or to win a prize or to just be gifted. Sometimes, I just get wonderful ideas that then translate into money.

Romancing money is a little like a love affair-you never know when your darling is going to be charming and merry or, ahem, a little difficult. However, if you're charming and merry, you've set the right tone for an enchanting relationship.

By Saleem Rana

The Commodity Of Kings!

2008-06-06T01:00:00.000-07:00

What is "The Commodity of Kings"
"Power is simply "the ability to act." Since ancient times, power has been the commodity of kings. Power originally came to those who were strongest physically. Later, it came to those who had a special heritage through royalty. More recently, it came to those who had the greatest wealth or capital. Today, those who possess specialized and valuable knowledge have the greatest capacity for power." Anthony Robbins - from his book Unlimited Power
Specialized and valuable knowledge.
In lesson 1, we learned that there are only two things that can prevent you from becoming wealthy. You don't know how, or you are unwilling to apply what you know. Today we will dive into reason number one.
Simply put, chances are, you were never taught how to become wealthy. Think for just a moment, what is it that separates you from the Donald Trumps of the world or for that matter any mega-wealthy person?
Is it time? No! we all have the same 24 hours in each day. As you will learn, how you spend your 24 hours will make all the difference however.
Is it a privileged background? Not at all. Remember rags to riches require rags to begin with.
Ah Ha! It must be education! Absolutely not! At least not in the traditional sense. When we think of education most of us think about going to school, graduating, possibly attending college or graduate school so we can graduate and get a good "JOB". Traditional education teaches us to become a productive part of the workforce, but in no way teaches us the basics of wealth! You may remember going to algebra class, or studying a foreign language, or history, or economics.
How many times have you gone to Wealth Building 101, or advanced personal financial success? Never we suspect, and if you happen to have attended classes you feel were teaching wealth building, doesn't it make sense that your instructors should have been wealthy? Were they?
Did you know that Fred Smith, founder of Federal Express, received a "D" on his term paper. The one that outlines the worlds first overnight package delivery service! AKA Fed_Ex
Avis of AVIS car rental, McDonald of McDonald's hamburgers, Colonel Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken, Lear of Lear Jets, Henry Ford, and Abraham Lincoln all have one thing in common - They never graduated HIGH SCHOOL!
So much for traditional education!
The fact is, the specialized and valuable knowledge of wealth building is self taught. The good news is it's simple to understand and enjoyable to learn, and if you apply that knowledge, you will begin to create wealth.
Welcome to your first day of class, wealth building 101.
How did the majority of people who are wealthy get that way?
If you knew you had a 74% chance of wining would you buy a lottery ticket? Millions of people line up each week to purchase lottery tickets for their chance to become wealthy. However, according to the U.S. department of Health and Welfare, less than 1% of all wealth in America was created by lottery winners.
What if you could Beat The Odds!
74% of all wealth in America was made just one way; by starting and owning your own business. If you own your own business, the chances of you becoming wealthy are 284% grater than any other way wealth is created. This includes all other methods of becoming wealthy, from Pro sports figures, to astute investors, to lottery winners! It makes absolute sense that if you goal is to become wealthy, you must have your own business!
So we have now learned that the greatest opportunity to become wealthy is through owning your own business.
The second set of specialized and valuable knowledge is an entirely new way to look at your personal finances.
Robert Kiyosaki in his blockbuster #1 best-selling book developed a completely new and simplified way to understand your personal spending and earning patterns, and how they lead you closer to or farther away from becoming wealthy. To explain these cash flow concepts in more detail.
The following information is gathered from his book Rich Dad Poor Dad - What the rich teach their kids about money that the poor and middle class do not! and Robert's website: http://www.richdad.com
Financial Statements
Rich Dad said, "The riskiest investor of all is a person who is out of control of his or her personal financial statement. These are people who have nothing but liabilities that they think are assets and as much in expenses as they have in income and whose only source of income is their labor."
Understanding your Financial Statement is the foundation for taking control of your personal finances. Rich Dad believes the relationship between the Income Statement and the Balance Sheet was everything. What is the first step to financial freedom? Take control of your Financial Statement.
Cash Flow Pattern of the Poor (or a young person still living at home): The poor spend every penny they make and they have no assets or liabilities, only expenses. The cash flow is limited to income and expenses and the cash flow pattern of the poor reflects income from a job that is used to pay expenses like rent, food, clothes, transportation and taxes.
Cash Flow Pattern of the Middle Class: Individuals in the middle class accumulated more debt as they become more successful. A pay raise qualifies them to borrow more money from the bank so they can buy personal items like bigger cars, vacation homes, boats and motor homes.
Their wage income comes in and is spent on current expenses and then on paying off this personal debt. As their income increases, so does their personal debt. This is what we call the Rat Race.
Cash Flow Pattern of the Rich: The rich have their assets work for them. They have gained control over their expenses and focus on acquiring or building assets. Their businesses pay most of their expenses and they have few, if any, personal liabilities.
An individual's cash flow pattern may show a combination of these three types. Which pattern does your financial statement reflect? What story does your financial statement tell? Are you in control of your expenses?
As you can see, the poor, middle class and rich, have dramatically different cash flow patterns. The poor and middle class work for income and either spend their money on necessities or servicing and ever increasing debt load; while the rich have their money or assets work for them, and re-invest their income into additional income producing vehicles.
Part of becoming financially fit it to get the ball rolling. You may be asking yourself, "How can I invest the income I make into income producing assets when I spend most or all of my income already on necessities and debts?"
In tomorrow's lesson we will show you how to immediately put additional cash in your pocket, this month, without changing your job, asking for a raise, or taking profit from any business you choose to start! In fact tomorrow we will show you how it's possible to fund your first income producing asset with cash left over to help with the monthly budget!
That's all for today's Lesson.
Here are the key points to remember from today's lesson:
Where building wealth is concerned, a formal education is not necessary, and does little to prepare you to become wealthy. 74% of all wealth in America was made just one way; by starting and owning your own business.
Your greatest opportunity to become wealthy is through owning your own business.
The poor, Middle Class, and the Rich, have dramatically different cash flow patterns and spending habits.