You have problems if you focus too much on money or too much on production.
If you focus too much on money, all you think is "get money, get money, get money." You borrow as much money as you can. You convince people to pay you for services or goods you have not produced. You gamble or invest hoping you will get money without having to work for it.
For example, the manager of a computer company is more concerned about selling computers than making computers. She buys huge advertisements, hires excellent salespeople and pays them big commissions. Because her company cannot make enough computers, and the ones they do make are bad quality, she gets fired by the owner. The company has a horrible reputation and closes down.
If you focus too much on production, all you think is "produce, produce, produce." You build your product or provide your service without any attention on money. You think, "If I just do nothing but produce, I'll eventually get some money."
For example, a dentist loves making people's smiles look perfect. He hates asking for money. So he works hard fixing people's teeth, but never collects his fees. He does not focus enough on money and goes out of business.
"When either money or production get out of balance one has trouble. All production and no money is as bad as all money and no production.
"This also answers the world mystery of booms and depressions which, unsolved, drove the whole field of economics into a mad subject."
"Well-paid delivery in high quality is the correct answer. Only then can a boom continue."
"There are no shortcuts to honest prosperity." -- L. Ron Hubbard
ALL MONEY, NO PRODUCTION
As you may have noticed, too many people have gotten stuck on getting money and not production.
For example, Fred hears how people are making money by buying houses and then selling them for a big profit. Fred also learns he can borrow a great deal of money, even though he doesn't make enough money to pay it off. He is convinced, "I'll just buy this big house with this big loan. I'll sell it in a year and make a big pile of money, just like everyone else."
Joe owns a company that has a $1 million retirement fund. Hundreds of workers have given part of their pay into this fund. Pete convinces Joe to give him the $1 million so he can turn it into $2 million through big house loans. Pete gets a big commission from the bank for getting Joe's $1 million.
Barney owns an investment company. He tells the mortgage company, "Let me take control of your $100 million in loan accounts. I have investors who will give us $150 million as they think real estate will keep going up. You and I will each get a $2 million commission!"
Fred can't pay back his loan and no one will buy his house, so he goes bankrupt. Pete's plan completely fails wiping out Joe's company retirement fund meaning Joe has no money for his workers' retirements. Pete has earned a bad reputation and cannot get a job. Barney asks the government for $150 million to bail him out.
ALL PRODUCTION, NO MONEY
When farmers produce too much food, it goes to waste. They do not ensure people will pay before planting or they do not know how to sell the food after it is harvested.
When computer programmers create web services that no one wants, they might have to live in their parents' basements. Programmers who find out what people will buy before creating their web services can live in big houses.
When car manufacturers keep building big cars and trucks when people want hybrids or electric cars, thousands of gas guzzlers sit in parking lots.
Putting as much attention on money as you put on your product or service ensures you will prosper.
RECOMMENDATIONS
To succeed, you need to do two things: 1.) Produce high-quality goods or services and 2.) Get paid well for it. Both things.
For example, if you cut hair for a living, figure out how to produce the highest-quality haircut possible and how to get paid a proper fee for it. If you focus too much on money and charge too much, you'll lose your customers. If you focus too much on great haircuts, you won't collect enough and you'll be broke.
What do you produce? Is it really valuable? If not, what do you need to change to make it so?
If your services or goods are valuable, are you earning enough money from them? If not, what do you need to change so you get paid properly?
If you do both things, you will have a boom. If you do not do both things, you will have a depression.
Produce a valuable product or service, make sure you get paid adequately for it and enjoy a lifetime of success.
"There are no shortcuts to honest prosperity." -- L. Ron Hubba
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Managing a personal investment fund
There are many ways in this life to achieving your investment goals and living out your dreams. In other words, different strategies can be employed to getting desired results. It all depends on the characteristic of the individual involved and some other things that we need not bore ourselves with right now. I have however discovered that setting up a personal investment fund is one good way.
Most investors might already be operating one or more personal investment fund(s) knowingly or not. This piece I hope, would however give you a clearer picture.
Simply put, a personal investment fund is a pool of money (capital), set aside to be invested in selected securities (stocks) based on achieving a particular goal over a period of time. Just like mutual funds, the kind of stocks purchased depends on the purpose of the investment and the time frame within which to achieve the goal. That is to say, the key factors to consider here are time, purpose and risk appetite.
This is just similar to what mutual fund managers do. They pool funds together for the purpose of managing an investment and investing on the behalf of others. The fund is usually given a name which defines the kind of stocks bought and its exposure to risk as well as the kind of returns expected. The profit from the investment is then spread over the total number of units of shares allotted to subscribers.
How to start the fund.
When starting your personal investment fund, always have a purpose in mind. What exactly are you out to achieve which has prompted your desire to run this fund. What is the ultimate goal of the fund? Once that has been defined, you then go on to set aside funds to commence the fund. Depending on the end result you are expecting, set aside some funds to begin with. Investment is all about growth so it is expected that the money will grow with time if properly managed. You might have the lump sum at hand, or you might need to save up the start up amount over a period of time before commencement.
Once the money is ready, you can then proceed to open an exclusive stock account where the money would be invested and monitored. The fund is different from your other investment activities, so do not put the money in the same stock account you have existing. Once this has been done, you can go ahead to purchase stocks you have singled out based on research and valid information.
Characteristics of the fund manager
Unlike the mutual funds where a third party decides what to buy, you are the fund manager in this case. This therefore means that you are responsible for the decisions made concerning the fund. The following traits would come in handy.
1. Intelligent: you need to be intelligent when selecting stocks. There’s no need selecting a long term stock to fund a medium term goal. You need to think through every action and its consequences before taking action. Seek advice when need be but the decision is always yours to make.
2. Disciplined: there’s a high possibility that things would not go how you expect them. You however need to be disciplined to follow investment principles regardless of whatever happens. following principles is what guarantees results
3. Patient: just because a stock activity did not go according to how you expected does not mean you offload. You need patience when managing your fund. As long as you have followed principles, things would be okay.
As you have seen, setting up a personal investment fund is interesting, fun and simple. You can have as many as possible but I advise you start with one and succeed at it so you will be motivated to move higher.
Most investors might already be operating one or more personal investment fund(s) knowingly or not. This piece I hope, would however give you a clearer picture.
Simply put, a personal investment fund is a pool of money (capital), set aside to be invested in selected securities (stocks) based on achieving a particular goal over a period of time. Just like mutual funds, the kind of stocks purchased depends on the purpose of the investment and the time frame within which to achieve the goal. That is to say, the key factors to consider here are time, purpose and risk appetite.
This is just similar to what mutual fund managers do. They pool funds together for the purpose of managing an investment and investing on the behalf of others. The fund is usually given a name which defines the kind of stocks bought and its exposure to risk as well as the kind of returns expected. The profit from the investment is then spread over the total number of units of shares allotted to subscribers.
How to start the fund.
When starting your personal investment fund, always have a purpose in mind. What exactly are you out to achieve which has prompted your desire to run this fund. What is the ultimate goal of the fund? Once that has been defined, you then go on to set aside funds to commence the fund. Depending on the end result you are expecting, set aside some funds to begin with. Investment is all about growth so it is expected that the money will grow with time if properly managed. You might have the lump sum at hand, or you might need to save up the start up amount over a period of time before commencement.
Once the money is ready, you can then proceed to open an exclusive stock account where the money would be invested and monitored. The fund is different from your other investment activities, so do not put the money in the same stock account you have existing. Once this has been done, you can go ahead to purchase stocks you have singled out based on research and valid information.
Characteristics of the fund manager
Unlike the mutual funds where a third party decides what to buy, you are the fund manager in this case. This therefore means that you are responsible for the decisions made concerning the fund. The following traits would come in handy.
1. Intelligent: you need to be intelligent when selecting stocks. There’s no need selecting a long term stock to fund a medium term goal. You need to think through every action and its consequences before taking action. Seek advice when need be but the decision is always yours to make.
2. Disciplined: there’s a high possibility that things would not go how you expect them. You however need to be disciplined to follow investment principles regardless of whatever happens. following principles is what guarantees results
3. Patient: just because a stock activity did not go according to how you expected does not mean you offload. You need patience when managing your fund. As long as you have followed principles, things would be okay.
As you have seen, setting up a personal investment fund is interesting, fun and simple. You can have as many as possible but I advise you start with one and succeed at it so you will be motivated to move higher.
Friday, November 6, 2009
Money Management Advice
Money Management Advice That Can Change Your Life
The 12 Steps to Financial Freedom Course Will Begin Your Exciting Journey on the Financial Freedom
The True Characteristics of Money...
Perception vs. Reality
Financial Freedom Step # 1...
Realistically Assess the Current Situation
Few people fully understand the characteristics of money. Because they have many misconceptions about money and finances, they end up in a poor financial condition.
Sadly, many do not even realize where they realistically stand and have no idea how to improve their condition.
The first personal finance step to achieve financial freedom is to realistically assess the Current Situation.
Here is the reality:
• Many experts believe that 90% of divorces are rooted in financial problems
• The life savings of the average 50 year old is $2,300!
• The average American works 20% more today than 20 years ago and has 32% less free time
• 48% of 4,126 male executives surveyed saw their lives as “empty and meaningless” despite years of professional striving
• In 1980, U.S. household debt stood at 65% of annual disposable income … today it is 100%
• Current bankruptcy rates, per capita, are higher than during the Great Depression
• In the last 4 years, more Americans declared personal bankruptcy than graduated from college … 1.4 million!
• It seems … our high standard of living has not led to a high quality of life
Let’s take a look of two extremes of people and their understanding of the characteristics of money…
The Country Preacher Who Fully Understood the Characteristics of Money
Ron Blue, an author and financial planner from Atlanta, was approached by an 80 year old retired pastor, who wanted his counsel, because he was admitting his wife to a full-time nursing care facility and wanted Ron’s help in making sure his finances were in order.
Ron sat down and asked the man some questions and discovered that he had been a pastor his entire working life, serving in mostly remote country churches.
In his entire career, he had never earned more than $8,000 per year. With the high cost of nursing care, Ron was concerned. He then asked about the man’s debts and assets.
What he heard will never be forgotten . . .
The man said he had no debts, because he never wanted to miss paying his bills, and for assets, he listed the following: In his wife’s name there was $250,000 in cash, CD’s and money market funds.
In his name, there was $350,000 in cash and cash investments, and in addition to the $600,000, when he had retired 20 years earlier, he had purchased some stock that was now worth $1,001,063.
Ron simply said, “You do not need my help … I need yours!”
This man knew how to achieve true financial freedom.
So the question is, how did this happen?
When so many people who make a lot of money and have considerable earning potential are deeply in debt and in financial trouble … how could this “poor country preacher” be so financially secure?
Obviously, the amount of income had little to do with financial freedom!
The “Successful “ Dentist Who Didn’t Understand the Characteristics of Money
The story of the successful dentist is one where the dentist made a lot of money and spent lavishly on those things that would cause others to view him as successful ... cars, homes, vacations, clothes, etc.
He made everyone think he had achieved financial freedom.
However, the debt he had accumulated got so overwhelming that when he crashed they put him on a debt repayment plan that would take him past his 100th birthday to pay back.
The point being the contrast between reality and the perception people had of what success and financial freedom looked like.
One of the Key Characteristics of Money…
The “Law of Guaranteed Wealth”
Following the law of guaranteed wealth can help you achieve financial freedom.
The law of guaranteed wealth states:
If someone consistently and for a long period of time always spends less than they make, then they will be building savings every year which will continue to grow and will result in wealth.
The definition of wealth is accumulating assets and growing your ownership (in a purely financial perspective).
What is the Foundation of the Law of Guaranteed Wealth?
The foundation is character … character is revealed in the “5 Jewels of Financial Health”…
• Contentment
• Patience
• Self control
• Discipline
• Generosity
The Formula for Financial Health is similar to the formula for a healthy, successful athlete:
Body + Desire + Training Methods + Daily routine + Courage = Healthy Physical Condition
Money + Desire + Knowledge/Information + Discipline + Courage = Healthy Financial Condition
Post this to the bathroom mirror!
We cannot make real progress in improving our financial health … until we have a realistic understanding of our current condition … and set some goals for improvement
So, what do we do now?
Commit to live by “The Law of Guaranteed Wealth” and to start to pursue “The 5 Jewels of Financial Health”.
Step #2 Money and Possessions …
Understand that Happiness is not Related to Having Things
While many people think that more money and possessions will bring them true happiness, that is not really the case.
The following examples, case studies, survey results and quotes from people with great material wealth will change your perspective.
Lessons from a Navajo Boarding School about Money and Possessions …
What is the relationship between money and possessions and happiness? … In 1969, author John DeGraaf taught briefly at a Navajo Indian boarding school in Shiprock, New Mexico.
His third grade students were among the poorest children in America, possessing little more than the clothes on their backs. They had few toys or other sources of entertainment. Yet, John never heard the children say they were bored. They were continually making up their own games.
At the age of ten, very happy and well adjusted kids. They were happy even though they had little money and possessions. It did not matter to them and they did not know or care otherwise.
That Christmas, John went to visit his family. He remembers the scene, a floor full of packages under the tree, his own ten year old brother opened a dozen or so of them, quickly moving from on to the next.
A few days later, John found his brother and a friend watching TV, the Christmas toys tossed aside in his brother’s bedroom.
Both boys complained to John that they had nothing to do. “We’re bored,” they said.
For John, it was a clear indication that happiness does not come from money and possessions, or “stuff,” even though powerful forces in our society keep trying to persuade us otherwise!
Founder of Domino's Pizza sees "Things" in Proper Perspective
Thomas Monaghan, founder of Domino’s Pizza, in 1991, began to suddenly sell off many of his prized possessions, including three houses designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, 30 antique automobiles, (1 costing over $8 million), his Detroit Tigers baseball team and a multi-million dollar house not yet completed.
He was quoted as saying, “I sold them because none of the things I have ever bought, and I mean NONE of them, has ever really made me happy.”
A Doctor's View on the Disease of "Possession Overload"…
Dr. Richard Swenson, who lives in Wisconsin, concludes from him medical practice … “Many of my patients are suffering from a disease I call ‘Possession Overload’ … the problem of dealing with too much stuff.
This is the kind of problem where you have so many things you find your life being taken up maintaining and caring for the things instead of people.
He says there is an addictive quality in consumerism.
The tragedy of wanting something badly, getting it and finding it empty!”
Results of a National Survey on Money and Happiness …
With Surprising Results!
Seminar leaders Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin refer to a Money and Happiness Survey they have conducted over the years to allow people the opportunity to rate on a scale of 1 to 5 the degree of happiness they experience in their daily lives.
With one being very unhappy and five being very happy, over 1,000 participants averaged consistently between 2.6 and 2.8 (which is below the mid-point of 3.0!)
What was interesting is that when correlated to income level, the people making the most money were less happy than those who were making less money!
But … when each participant was asked how much money it would take to make them happy, it was always, “More than I have now, “ by a factor of between 50% and 100%.
You see the problem here? The perception of reality did not match reality! The very thing (more money) that everyone thought would make them happier … actually had the opposite result!
Has There been Progress Since 1958 … and What do we Mean by "Progress?"
In 1958, economist John Kenneth Galbraith described the U.S. as an “affluent society.” Back then :
• 9.5% of U.S. households had air conditioning
• 4.0% had dishwashers
• Less than 15% had more than one car
Yet, in 1980 … air conditioning was up 500%, dishwashers were up 700% … and yet polls showed that Americans felt significantly less well-off than they had 22 years earlier!
What is the Connection Between the "Feeling of Affluence" and our Overall Happiness?
1957 was the year when the most people surveyed described themselves as being “very happy.”
Since that time, the figure has declined and never reached that point again.
Since then, in terms of Gross National Product, we have twice as much prosperity as we did then, yet the feeling of affluence and happiness is lower now than it was in 1957.
Could there be a connection between the increase in prosperity and the decrease in happiness?
This is just the opposite of the conventional wisdom about money and possessions.
Seeing Advertising for What it Really is … How does it Affect our Happiness?
A large part of the blame for our decreasing happiness must be laid squarely at the feel of the advertising industry!
Advertising … whether it is TV, magazines, billboards or the Internet, has as it aim the constant promoting of dissatisfaction.
When you have bought into the idea of being dissatisfied, you will desire their product in search of finding that satisfaction!
If money had anything to do with happiness, why are there so many divorces? The average income of divorced couples is 20% higher than the national average!
Couples with more money and possessions do not have more happiness, they have less, and divorce at a higher rate.
________________________________________
Three Voices of Experience Weigh in on Money and Possessions and Happiness:
• Benjamin Franklin on money and possessions … “Money never made a man happy yet, nor will it. There is nothing in its nature to produce happiness. The more a man has, the more he wants. Instead of filling a vacuum, it makes one.”
• John D. Rockefeller on money and happiness … “I have made millions, but not one of them has ever made me happy.”
• Andrew Carnegie on money and happiness … “Millionaires who laugh are rare, very rare indeed!”
Post this to the bathroom mirror!
Money and Possessions have never produced genuine happiness … and in reality… history has proven the opposite to be the case.
So, what do we do now?
Take 15 minutes to list the things in your life that have given you the maximum amount of genuine happiness.
Look closely at how many have nothing to do with money and possessions … and commit to make “having things” a smaller part of your life in the future.
Step #3 Understand that Possessing Money and Wealth has Nothing to Do with Self-Worth
How much money and wealth you possess do not defined your value as a person. Neither does you income level.
Money, wealth and income do not make you more important or deserving.
Financial freedom lecturer, Joe Dominguez points out that there are people who do vital and meaningful work and are significantly underpaid (i.e. teachers), while others make huge sums of money for work, that in the long run won’t make a difference in anyone’s life.
Don’t fall into the trap of measuring your own or anyone else’s self worth by income level, position, or wealth.
The Dangerous Change in the Role of Money and Wealth …
• Shift from assigning economic value to assessing individual self-worth
• Provides emotional security
• Attempts to meet essentially Psychological and Spiritual needs
• Materialism has grown to symbolize key drivers in our emotional lives
o Conquest
o Status
o Success
o Achievement
o Self-worth
o Favor in others’ eyes
• Advertising’s foundation preys on the epidemic of low self esteem!
o Marketing industry born in 1923 … on "selling hope"
o Desire to keep up with the Jones
o Pathological buying rooted in shaky self-images
• Shopping often becomes an escape from reality and an exercise in power
• Fleeing to the mall when things get out of control at home or work
• The pursuit of wealth has replaced traditional sources of emotional support
o Family … neighborhood … civic affairs … church … and even mates
o More and more jobs tend to focus on the benefits of materialism, power, position and the ownership of things as a measure of success
• The culture of Materialism is dangerous to the very relationships which provide our self-worth
By What Do We Measure People’s Worth?
Author Laurie Beth Jones makes this thought provoking point...
"When we measure men in terms of their money, and women in terms of their looks, we have a long way to go in creating a sense of values for our children."
Do we really want to live by a value system like that?
What unit of measure do you use for yourself and others?
Post this to the bathroom mirror!
Our culture of materialism will try and convince you that your self worth is directly tied to your money and wealth … don’t believe it!
So, what do we do now?
Discuss with two or three close friends the reasons why you are important to each other.
Take 10 minutes to list the specific reasons why you are attracted to others who are close to you.
How many relate to money or wealth?
Step #4: Don’t Allow Money and Possessions to Take Control of Your Life
People easily make the sometimes fatal, (yes fatal) mistake of letting money and possessions rule their lives.
Even if this doesn’t kill you, you can make the huge mistake of placing relationships above money and possessions. It boils down to what is truly important to you.
Learn from the mistakes of others…
The Franklin Expedition of 1845
Men Died Trying to Save Their Money and Possessions
Author Annie Dillard writes about the ill-fated Franklin Expedition of 1845 in her book "Teaching a Stone to Talk."
Two ships set off from England to explore the Northwest Passage near the North Pole.
They left incredibly unprepared.
Though their ships were laden with fine china, expensive goblets and solid silver tableware and even had a 1,200 volume library on board ... they left with only a 12-day emergency supply of coal for the steam engines.
Quite predictably, they met with disaster.
The ships became stuck in the ice. As it expanded, the ice crushed the wooden hulls and forced the crew to abandon ship. After several months of being stranded, Lord Franklin died and the rest of the men decided to split up into small groups to head in various directions to try and find help. Sadly, no one survived.
When the rescuers came by later to try and ascertain what had happened, they were heartbroken by the reality.
In one case, they found two officers who had traveled in the bitter cold 65 miles from the mother ships. These two officers had pulled an enormous sled they had crafted over these incredible mounds of ice.
They had labored for 65 miles pulling this sled, but died not far from the base camp where they would have been saved.
Had they left the sled behind, they most likely would have made it to the safety of the base camp.
Do you know what the rescuers found on the sled? ... The ship's silverware, some china and a large number of gold coins!
In the face of fighting for their very survival ... they could not let go of the "stuff" ... and it cost them their lives!
As sad as that story is ... The question for each of us is ... "Do we find different ways to do similar things in our own lives? Do we have trouble letting go of the very stuff (money and possessions) that endangers our wellbeing?" Each of us must answer that question and respond ...
The 200 Pounds of Gold … What is Really in Control?
John Ruskin recounts this story ...
"In a shipwreck, one of the passengers was found at the bottom of the ocean with a belt fastened around him with 200 pounds of gold on it. “
As he was sinking, ... did he have the gold ... or did the gold have him!
How Often do we “Break Expensive Vases?”
A toddler got his hand stuck inside a very expensive vase.
They tried everything to get him free ... from oil to Vaseline to WD-40 ... all to no avail.
Finally, when nothing worked they were forced to break the vase ... only to discover the boy had found a penny in the vase and refused to let it go.
Think about it ... have we broken expensive vases because we refused to let go of the "penny?"
When it comes to money and possessions... Who is really in charge?
1960 Quote from John Steinbeck Regarding Money and Possessions
Is he correct? … can it happen to us as individuals?
“Strange species we are, we can stand anything God and Nature can throw at us, except for plenty. If I wanted to destroy a country, if I wanted to destroy a nation, I would give it too much and I would have it on its knees, miserable and sick.”
Dr. Michael Lerner reports that money and possessions can cause depression, rather than happiness…
“The rate of clinical depression in the U.S. today is 10 times what it was before 1945.
As Americans become more obsessed with pursuing affluence, depression, anxiety and low self-esteem follow.”
He concluded, “Those individuals for whom accumulating wealth was a primary aspiration were associated with less self-actualization, less vitality, more depression and more anxiety.
This demonstrates the negative consequences of having money as an important guiding principle in life.”
Ask Yourself this about money and possessions…
“If there is any possession I can’t live without, I don’t own it … it owns me!”
Bill Hybels, speaker, author and pastor of the most influential church in America has given me a good perspective on money and possessions…
He says that he never buys anything of such value that he would ever hesitate to willing loan it to someone.
How often we acquire possessions we value so highly we end up spending enormous amounts of time and money maintaining and securing them, but would never share with others.(I learned this lesson from owning a boat)
Even if we did share the item, we would worry more about it than the person who borrowed it.
Post this to the bathroom mirror!
The power of money and possessions to take control in our lives is a strong and powerful force! We must be on our guard daily to “keep in control”
So, what do we do now?
Find someone else you trust, and agree with them to regularly hold each other accountable to help you both stay free from the controlling power of money and possessions.
Step #5 Flee From the Monster of Materialism
The insatiable quest for money and possessions is known as materialism or affluenza.
Step #5 in our Keys to Financial Freedom course will expose the monster of materialism and show you how to defeat affluenza.
Signs of Affluenza and How the Monster of Materialism is Capturing Us
• Americans were polled in 2000 and 34% of them said shopping was their favorite activity … only 17% listed “being out in nature”
• A poll of teenage girls found 93% rated shopping as their favorite activity … fewer than 5% listed “helping others”
• Americans spend far more money (23% more) on shoes, jewelry and watches each year than on higher education
• In 1986, there were more high schools than shopping centers … Today, shopping centers outnumber high schools by 2 to 1
• Another recent study showed that while the average American can identify fewer than 10 types of plants, he or she recognizes hundreds of corporate logos!
• Advertising has as its main goal to “fuel the problem”
o Since 1985, advertising directed towards children increased from $100 million to $1.5 billion!
o For the first time in history, children are getting more information from entities trying to sell them something than from family, school or religious organizations
o By the time a teenager receives his high school diploma, he has been exposed to well over 1,000,000 advertisements.
o The advertising industry spends over $500 per person each year trying to sell you “stuff”
o Advertising attempts to throw us off balance emotionally … then promises to fix our problem with a product … this is actually a direct ploy to manipulate us. Do we even recognize it?
• Some compulsive buyers … suffering from affluenza, have a form of addiction where shopping gives them a “high” they compare to drug experiences
• The problem with addiction to “stuff,” the addict never reaches a point of having “enough”
• Only 25% of mall shoppers actually come with a specific product purchase in mind. The rest came “just to shop.”
• In 1960, the “self storage” industry was basically non-existent. Today, there are over 30,000 storage facilities as we spend $12 billion per year to store all the “stuff” One of my friends owns several self storage facilities.
She says, with disbelief, “I’m getting rich by people storing stupid stuff for stupid reasons! They’d be much better off just getting rid of it”
Insatiable Thirst for More Money and Possessions Leads to These Symptoms of Affluenza:
• Valuing things over people
• Resistance to share with others
• Loneliness
• Anxiety
• Waste
• Crime
• Restless unease
• Injustice
Post this to the bathroom mirror!
Building our lives around the goal of acquiring “more stuff” …
Leads to harmful effects on the things of real value in our lives
So, what do we do now?
Get together with someone you know well and identify those specific places in each of your lives where the “Monster of Materialism” may have gained a foothold in your life.
Step #6 Live Your Life with Integrity and Honesty
There are far-reaching benefits of living your life with integrity, honesty, and credibility.
They play a large part in allowing anyone to achieve financial freedom.
It is well worth the effort to live your life this way.
While we expect these virtues in others, we often find it difficult to live honestly and with credibility in our everyday encounters.
• A recent survey by Starwood Hotels & Resorts showed that 82% of CEO’s admitted to cheating at golf. The same percentage hate others who do the same thing!
• We live in a society today that has bought into the idea that “Character, honesty and integrity aren’t really that important.” In fact, many would conclude that credibility and character put a person in a position to be taken advantage of! Nothing could be farther from the truth!
• The often admired and highly acclaimed company that could do no wrong... A well-known author wrote in his new book published in the year 2000 about one of the world's most respected and highly acclaimed companies.
This company was so successful they were pilling up the awards and gaining world-wide recognition.
o They were number 25 on Fortune's All-Star list of the world's most admired companies in 2000
o They were number 29 on Fortune's list of the fastest growing companies in 2000
o They were named five times to Fortune's list of the most innovative companies from 1996 through 2000
o They were twice named as one of the one hundred best companies to work for in 1999 and 2000
o They were named by Forbes Global Business as the world's leading power company in 1999
o They were honored as having the best Sales force in America by Sales Marketing Management in 1999
And the awards went on and on...
Do you know what company this is? ENRON! This admired company lost it all ... everything the leadership and employees achieved was gone ... over a lack of character and honesty!
• The example of Babe Zacharias
Major General Perry M. Smith tells in his book, "Taking Charge" about an incredible woman, Babe Zacharias. Babe was a champion sportswoman in the 1932 Olympics.
Babe, later a professional golfer, once penalized herself two strokes after the round she was playing was over. The penalty cost her first place in the tournament.
Why did she do it? It turns out; she had accidentally played the wrong ball.
Later on a friend asked her why she penalized herself when no one saw it and no one would have known.
Babe simply said, "I would have known."
Babe willingly paid a considerable price ... because personal integrity was more important to her than winning a golf tournament. Integrity was at the very core of who she was!
We need to ask ourselves ... is integrity at the center of who WE ARE? Do we do the right thing when no one else is looking and no one else but us would ever know?
• Credibility is established as a pattern over a long period of time . . .
MJ and the referees...
An NBA referee recounted this true story about Michael Jordan. During one close game, Danny Ainge, playing for the opposing team against Jordan and the Bulls, made a shot near the 3-point line. The officials only gave Ainge two points for the basket since none of them was sure he was beyond the arc.
During the next timeout, one the referees asked Jordan whether the opponent's shot really had been a three-pointer.
Jordan, without hesitation, indicated that it had indeed been beyond the line. The officials then corrected the score and awarded Ainge the extra point.
Solely on the strength of Jordan's personal integrity, the game officials changed the score of the game. In this case ... Jordan did not do the more beneficial thing ... he did the right thing!
• Simply stated … “Character matters!” There is a direct and undeniable link between financial health and character and integrity. You simply cannot have one without the other!
• Universal principle that others will judge us by . . .
“If you can be trusted in small matters, you can be trusted in larger ones … and if you cannot be trusted in small matters, you will not be trusted in larger ones”
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Post this to the bathroom mirror!
The temptation to “cut corners” and act dishonestly is often present! However …
a lack of honesty and integrity will rob us of financial health.
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So, what do we do now?
Find someone you trust, and ask them to help you identify areas in your life where you sometimes act with less than complete honesty and integrity. Then make a personal commitment to improve.
Money Management Advice...Dealing With Debt
Money Management Advice Concerning Your Debt
Ways to Manage Money…Eliminate Debt and Live Debt Free
Step#7 in our Financial Freedom Course will teach you ways to manage your money to eliminate debt.
If you examine the average American family, their debt burden has become severe. Many families are stressed and burdened by debt. It can overwhelm them.
Many have fallen into the debt trap.
Without realizing it, they suddenly find themselves in a financial crisis with debt and do not even know how it happened.
Worse yet, they don’t know what to do.
As Henry David Thoreau said, they lead “lives of quiet desperation”
They need genuine, effective money management advice.
How about you?
Does this describe your situation?
Dave Briggs, money management expert, can help you. For over 20 years, he has shown thousands of people wise ways to manage money.
We will examine the poor money management habits that many people practice.
We will look at the causes of this so you can prevent it. Most importantly, we will give you a system so you can become and remain debt free!
First, let us look at the typical American family and their financial situation...
Debt and the American Family
• Credit card debt has nearly tripled in the last 11 years
• The amount spent using credit cards has risen 26% recently
• 70% of all credit card holders do not pay off their balances each month … of those people, the average balance in 2001 was $8,367. In 1990, credit card debt averaged $2,985 … balances have nearly tripled!
Dave’s money management advice: pay off more that the minimum balance every month. (We’ll show you how)
• 81% of all college students have credit cards with an average balance of over $4,000.
Dave’s money management advice: Don’t incur any credit card debt in college
• Among those who carry a balance on their credit cards, nearly half made only the minimum payment in 2001.
• A credit card with a balance of $3,000 in which only minimum monthly payments are made would take 32 years to pay off … even if no more charges were added! This means if you pay only the minimum balance, it can take you most of the rest of your life to eliminate the debt.
• A family living off credit cards will pay an average of 26% more, than the same family paying in cash!
Dave’s money management advice: Pay for purchases using cash, Not credit cards.
• Personal bankruptcies in 1980 hit 250,000 in the U.S. Last year they exceeded 1.4 million … a nearly 500% increase in just 21 years … mostly caused by a misuse of credit cards and debt.
• Bankruptcy rates today are higher than they were during the Great Depression
• For a person in their thirties, every $1,000 of credit card debt accumulating interest will cause the card holder to forfeit $1,000 in retirement income every year for as long as they live! Bad ways to manage money.
• 23% of after-tax income goes to paying interest on consumer debt. Bad ways to manage money- we will show you a plan to change this.
• Studies have proven that people are likely to spend twice as much for and item if they can use a credit card rather than with cash.
• Debt is like volunteering for a pay cut.
For example, if someone just out of college buys a modestly priced car and has a payment of $250 per month.
That means that he will have $250 less per month for things like insurance, food, utility bills, and entertainment.
He also will have to earn $340 each month to end up with the after tax amount of $250 to make that car payment.
Credit versus Debt
It is important to understand the difference between credit and debt.
Credit is money owed while you are in control. In other words, you have the choice whether to pay it off or keep it.
For example, you buy some land for $15,000 with credit (a mortgage) that is worth $20,000. You have the choice to sell it at anytime for a profit and pay off the mortgage.
Debt is money owed and other people are in control. You do not have the freedom to eliminate the amount that you owe at any time. For example, credit cards. A more accurate name for them really should be “debt cards”.
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Post This to the Bathroom Mirror:
“Debt keeps us paying for pleasures we have long since forgotten and luxuries we scarcely have time to enjoy” (Anonymous)
Step #8: Simply Put, the Best Strategy to Save Money is to Save Before You Spend
You Need a Strategy to Save Money
Learn How to Save Money
Americans Have Lost the “Habit” of Saving
They no longer know how to save money …
• Most Americans are two paychecks away from being homeless … because of consumer debt and a lack of financial reserves.
• 60% of all families have so little in the way of savings that they can only sustain their lifestyles for about 30 days if they lose their jobs
• A strange irony at work in America … the more incomes rise, the less we save! In 1980, the national savings rate was at 10% of income. In the early 90’s it slipped to 4% and today it is virtually zero! … all in a little more than 20 years!
A Strategy to Save Money is an Absolute Must to Obtain Financial Freedom and Health
• Savings keep us from making bad choices out of desperation … which often results in more debt
• Savings provide financial freedom from the trap of living paycheck to paycheck
• Able to enjoy the benefits of significant future purchases …
o College
o Home down payment
o Auto
o Travel … etc.
Saving Can be Easier Than You Think!
• Law of Guaranteed Wealth
The law of guaranteed wealth states:
If someone consistently and for a long period of time always spends less than they make, then they will be building savings every year which will continue to grow and will result in wealth.
• Small difference between Surplus and Debt … what would you do with $41,000?
The difference between over-spending $3.25 per day and under spending $3.25 per day in just 10 years at and average of 8% interest is over $41,300!
This is the difference between buying your lunch versus taking your lunch ... or simply staying away from fancy coffee shops! The truth is ... we can all do this!
Critical definition … Saving versus Hoarding
• Saving = positive element of financial health
• Hoarding = negative element decreasing financial health
Specifically …What is the Best Strategy to Save Money?
• Must realize that saving is more important than “having things”
• Must really believe in the benefits of saving and practice the habit of saving before spending
• Must be
o Regular
o Planned
o Predictable
o Automatic- have the money taken out of your paycheck for savings before you even receive it
• Use a third party for discipline, convenience and accountability
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Post this to the bathroom mirror!
Without adequate savings, we quickly lose control of our finances and it prevents us from attaining financial health
So, what do we do now?
Begin immediately to establish a “third party” savings routine that will ensure success by creating accountability.
Giving Away Money
Step #9: Don’t Neglect the Importance of Sharing with Others
Giving Away Money is Good for Your Financial Health and Heart
Donate to Charity to Help Others as Well as Yourself
• A willingness to share and be generous is a key indicator of our personal financial health
o I know of no case where a person who has been stingy, selfish and unwilling to share with others … has a satisfying and healthy financial life!
o “Giving away money is a powerfully effective antidote for controlling materialism and greed in our lives”!
• The desire to give away money and share freely really matters in determining the quality of our lives!
o There is a direct correlation between voluntary expressions of giving … and higher levels of contentment, happiness and personal satisfaction
o The people who have joy in sharing are driven by an “internal desire” … people who complain and struggle with giving are often driven by “external pressures” that force them to give out of expectation, obligation or coercion
• The “inverse wealth effect”
o From 1980 to 1992, the number of millionaires in the U.S. increased 4 times
o During that time, the average giving by people earning above $500,000 dropped by 67%
o In 1990, Americans with incomes below $10,000 gave 5.5% away, those above $100,000 gave 2.9%
o As we get wealthier as individuals, we get stingier and less willing to share with others! Less willing to donate to charity. Giving away money becomes harder. Perhaps a major factor in the increasingly higher incidents of unhappiness and discontent today?
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Post this to the bathroom mirror!
“Giving is a powerful antidote for controlling materialism and greed in our lives”
Financial health depends on our willingness to share with others.
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So, what do we do now?
Challenge yourself to look around for people and organizations in need … and commit to increase your willingness to share in the coming year. Both giver and receiver will benefit!
Live By Your Own Personal Values and Yardstick - Step 10
Your Personal Values and Ability to Live By Them Will Determine How Much Financial Freedom You Enjoy.
Use Your Values, Not Those of Others to Measure Your Satisfaction
• Americans are in the top 1% of the world’s population in terms of worldly possessions! Every one of us is wildly wealthy by the “average world’s standards” … we just don’t recognize it!
• If you look at the representative “Global Village”, see how the rest of the world is like compared to what we experience in the U.S.Of 100 people:
o 50 would be malnourished
o 70 can't read
o 80 live in substandard housing
o 6 have half the world's wealth and they live mostly in the U.S.
o
• America’s 102 million households currently consume more stuff than all other households throughout history put together … and we keep consuming because we think it is normal!
• Then and now … from the late 40’s to today … the average size of an American home :
o 750 sq. ft. 950 sq. ft. 1100 sq. ft. 1350 sq. ft. 2300 sq. ft
o Today … many homes have garages larger than entire homes in the 1950’s
o We have just reached a milestone in the U.S. … more cars than registered drivers!
• The majority of Americans have lost any concept of personal willpower to resist spending :
o In 1999, Americans spent $200 Billion on holiday gifts … more than $850 per consumer!
Yet pollsters are told that Americans want less emphasis on holiday spending and gift giving … a third cannot even remember what they gave their spouse the previous year … often forgetting before they are even finished paying for it! What does that say about your values an d the values of others?
• John Stuart Mill …“Men do not desire to be rich, only to be richer than other men. As soon as rich becomes available to the likes of us, it will no longer be rich.”
Think about your values regarding pursuit of wealth.
The Question Regarding Your Values Is …
Do you use an internal yardstick to measure the quality of our decisions which is based on what makes the most sense from a wise personal standpoint .... or do you use an external yardstick that drives financial decisions based on what external forces want us to have or to be?
• We have defined our personal values and lifestyles using an “external” yardstick … society, advertising, family expectations, friends, etc. But, values and lifestyle must be defined using an “internal” yardstick for us to ever enjoy the benefits of financial health.
o External forces are always acting in their best interest, not yours!
• External versus internal yardstick using the example of an automobile:An internal yardstick would consider the need for wise transportation.
o Is the car a good value?
o Does it fit the size of my family? < /LI>
o Does it get good gas mileage?
o Does it have a good repair history?
o Can I afford it?
o Etc.
An external yardstick would consider external forces that other people think are important.:
o Will it impress the neighbors?
o Does it make me look successful?
o Does it make me feel powerful when I am behind the wheel? < /LI>
o Does it have all the latest features?
o Is it the newest most up to date model?
o Etc.
• By the time we are age 20 … we have watched over 1 million commercials … each one pushing an external yardstick on your life and influencing your values.
o It is a fact … people who watch a lot of TV have highly inflated views of what the “average American” has. Since their own expectations have been inflated, they spend more and save less. TV has a huge impact on your values
The story of the three builders speaks directly to the issue of “What are your values and yardstick are you using?”
There is a story about a man who was walking by three stone workers going about their labors.
He asked each one of them what they were doing ...
One man said he was, "Working at chipping away stone."
The second man said he was, "Working to earn money to support his family."
The third man said he was, "Building a magnificent cathedral for the glory of God."
Each man gave a correct answer ... but their perspectives were different based on the personal values and "yardstick" they were using to measure their efforts.
It is the same with us...
The yardstick whereby we measure our efforts will determine our perspective. Are we investing our lives "chipping away at stone," or are we "building magnificent cathedrals?"
Live by the “Principle of MAX” … Maximum Acquisition eXperience
Understanding this is important to understanding your personal values and how you spend.
MAX is the point at which the greatest enjoyment of possessions is reached on a scale of the quantity of possessions.
In essence it is the point where there is the highest ratio of "joy to stuff." Or your personal values v. stuff
If you were to graph on a scale using two axis called "Enjoyment of possessions" and "Dollars spent" and then tracked from zero the movement of a line as more dollars are spent and enjoyment of possessions increases ... there will be a point where as more dollars are spent, the enjoyment of possessions actually goes down.
The graph will look different for everything possession acquired.
For example ... the first newspaper purchased will increase the joy of acquisition as money is spent.
But, with every additional newspaper, the joy decreases because there is no additional joy in having two identical newspapers.
As you acquire more newspapers, having them becomes a burden and joy decreases. So, MAX occurs at the point of acquiring one newspaper.
Another example would be TV's. As you acquire your first TV, enjoyment increases.
It may increase a little with a second TV and might even increase slightly with a third TV.
However, there will be a point reached where each additional TV purchased will decrease your enjoyment of acquisition as you end up having more TV's than can be watched and more TV's to store and have to decide what to do with.
Clothes or shoes are another example. There is a point at which you have just the right number of shoes for MAX ... once you get beyond that point, every additional pair of shoes decreases your enjoyment per dollar spent because they take up too much room and you are always tripping over them in the closet, etc.
We all need to find MAX in our lives with the possessions we have. Examine your personal values.
Most Americans today have long since passed MAX and are on there way to "less happiness for every additional purchase made."
Each of us must be aware of our need to strive to live at MAX so we can derive the maximum satisfaction from the least amount of money spent.
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Post this to the bathroom mirror!
If you do not pro-actively define your lifestyle based upon your own personal values and internal yardstick … the world around you will define it for you!
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So, what do we do now?
Set aside a day and make a list of every case you observe where some external entity tries to determine for you what personal values and lifestyle yardstick you should use.
Then ask yourself what areas of your life are presently defined by external yardsticks rather than internal yardsticks and your personal values.
Personal Money Management Skill: Budgeting. Step #11
Successful Personal Money Management Is only Possible with a Budget
Budgeting is Simply Developing and Living by a Personal Spending Plan
A budget or a spending plan is essentially a “mirror of your life” expressed in terms of where you invest your “life span energy”.
This is expressed in terms of dollars and cents.
A budget provides the framework for a workable, comfortable, rewarding, goal oriented spending plan that brings your “life in balance”.
Author and speaker, John Maxwell, has the best definition of a budget that I have found:
"A budget is people telling their money what to do instead of wondering where it went."
This is a cornerstone of personal finance and financial freedom.
Why is Personal Money Management So Important?
The average American family’s spending statistics are deteriorating rapidly. They lack personal finance skills.
This is mostly due to runaway spending.
As a society, we have no margin- that is we often spend more than we earn. Often this is unintentional, but living in negative negative margin causes us great distress.
If we operated on a cash-only basis, spending more than you earn would be impossible.
The way we are able to sustain our overspending is by using credit cards. This modern convenience has enabled millions of people to slide into financial chaos.
The easy consumer credit makes it all too easy to overspend.
Before we know it, we are caught in the debt trap - and escape is difficult. (Don’t worry- we’ll show you how to escape.)
Without budgeting, money management is impossible because you simple don’t know how much you are spending and where the money is going.
You need to know where you stand financially. You must know your exact financial situation because that is what you want to improve.
There is no way to measure improvement if you have no way of keeping score.
The goal of personal money management is to live where your income is greater than your expenses. This is margin.
You’ll be happy if you can spend less than you earn.
Margin gives you financial freedom.
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Many people are living in stress because the spend the same amount that they earn.
You will be miserable, even distressed, if you spend more than you earn.
Here's a way to get REAL control of your spending
Without keeping score (a budget), you will never know this happiness.
Budgeting will enable you to move to a lifestyle with margin.
When you master personal money management, you will be able to manipulate your spending such that you will be in control of your money, rather than you being enslaved to it.
This is true financial freedom.
This personal finance truth is critical to understand, because to most people, budgeting brings up thoughts of unpleasant scarcity and deprivation.
Yes, there may be delayed gratification involved, but this will lead you to freedom rather than bondage.
However, without knowing, tracking, and managing your money, personal financial freedom will be impossible to achieve.
Not only that, but without having a budget, you will ALWAYS be stressed about money.
Why?
Because if you don’t really know how you stand financially, you won’t ever be able to feel truly relaxed, secure or even wealthy.
Having a budget with both adults in the family’s involvement keeps you aware of how you are doing.
Without a budget, you’ll never know where you really stand financially. You won’t know if you can afford things you want or need to pay for.
You’ll never have extra money unless you budget. It just slips away, vanishing into places unknown.
Why Most People Ignore Personal Money Management
The problem is that most people think they have a good "feel" for where their money goes.
This false belief makes them think that they don’t need any personal money management.
They think that they are basically doing "OK".
However, the reality is that the vast majority of them have their credit cards maxed out and spend 4-5% MORE than they earn.
As we explained above, without knowing how you stand financially and having no personal money management plan leaves you miserable.
What is their flawed personal money management strategy? What do they do next that can make matters worse?
They consolidate their loans or refinance their homes and have a renewed false sense of security.
But, here is the huge trap of doing this…
Without beginning a responsible personal money management plan, they continue on the wrong path with the same bad habits.
This cycle continues and they just end up deeper in debt.
Please don’t let this happen to you.
Follow the trail of financial freedom.
It all begins with responsible personal money management- a budget or spending plan so you can be in control of you finances instead of enslaved to your debt.
Finding Your Life Purpose and Living By It...
...Step 12 to Financial Freedom
Why Finding Your Life Purpose Gives Your Life Meaning
Living by Your Purpose in Life Will Help You in All Areas Including Finances
• Few people ever take the time to seriously consider the questions:
“What gives life meaning to you?”
“Does your financial footprint reflect that?”
o How we spend our money is a direct reflection of our personal values. What are those values? What is your purpose in life?
o “Show me your checkbook or Master Card statements … and I will know who you are and what your values are.
o We all need to honestly face the questions …
Take time to list, in order of priority, what you truly value. Then list, in order of amount spent, where you spend your money.
Do the lists correlate?
If not, why?
• Kirby Jon Caldwell, “The two most important days in a person’s life are, the day he was born, and the day he discovers what he was born for!”
Finding your life purpose.
o To be fulfilled … to have a chance at financial health and a balanced and joyful life, we all need to have a sense of purpose in life.
o
• Money, in its simplest form, is something we choose to trade our “life energy” for. Life energy is the allotment of time and resulting opportunity that each of us has on this earth. That's why finding your life purpose is important so you can live according to your purpose and values.
o The key questions is … “What are we trading that precious and limited gift for?”
o A personal reflection on a powerful corporate executive...
Was it worth it?
When I first moved to Virginia a number of years ago to join one of the manufacturing facilities of a large multinational corporation, I arrived to discover the plant was run by a very imposing and somewhat intimidating leader.
Over the years this manager had made quite a name for himself. He was respected and feared by all the co-workers I knew.
He drove one of the world's most expensive Italian cars ... a $175,000 Ferrari, and he frequently tested the limits of its incredible horsepower and made sure everyone knew he owned the "best thing on wheels."
His power, perks and position made the up-and-coming future executives long for the day when they might climb the corporate ladder of success and be just like he was.
He was the model of the corporate American dream come true.
His story made a huge impression on me as a young executive ... but not for the reason you might expect.
Some ten years later, this local icon retired from the company. To my surprise ... no one cared!
He moved out of state and built a luxurious retirement home.
Four years later, he died.
When news of his death reached those he used to command ... no one cared.
The man who just a few short years ago held the very pinnacle of power and influence ... passed from this world a forgotten and lonely man.
Such is the way of a man who invests his life in pursuits that have no real and lasting value!
What do you think ... was it worth it?
Was his life a success?
Did it have purpose? Do we admire him?
Think about this is terms of your own life and finding your life purpose...
• Grandma’s two rules of Monopoly
o Acquire, acquire, acquire
o When the game is over … everything goes back in the box!
• When someone asked J.D. Rockefeller’s accountant how much he left behind when he died … the accountant simply said, “All of it!”
Finding Your Life Purpose – it’s Good For Your Health
Psychotherapist Douglas La Bier found that focusing on money, position and success at the expense of personal fulfillment and meaning, had led 60% of his sample of several hundred to suffer from significant cases of depression, anxiety and other job-related disorders.
Finding Your Life Purpose - it’s Good for Your Relationships
“Every week, American parents spend, on average, between 6 and 7 hours shopping … and roughly 40 minutes in quality family time playing with their kids!”
Finding Your Life Purpose - it’s Good for Your Soul
Psychologist David Meyer says … “More than ever, we have big houses and empty homes, high incomes and low morale, secured rights and diminished civility.
We excel at making a living but fail at making a life. We celebrate prosperity, but yearn for purpose in our lives.
We cherish freedoms, but long for relationships.
In an age of plenty, we feel spiritual hunger and we are empty inside.”
Finding Your Life Purpose - When You Do, You Will Need Less Money to Be Happy
Author Taichi Sakaiya says … “The more real wealth we have … friends, skills, libraries, wilderness and afternoon naps … the less money we need to be happy.”
• External wealth vs. Internal wealth …
o External wealth (the world’s orientation)
Money, Possessions, Status & Power
o Internal wealth (the spiritual orientation)
Peace, joy, happiness, contentment & satisfaction
• Jim Elliot … “He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” We are told in the Bible to lay up treasures for ourselves that will make us “rich” from a spiritual perspective, which will last, rather than an earthly perspective, that won’t.
o We often can get our heads around this concept, but we find it very difficult to translate into the way we live our financial lives day by day. What will it take for us to change to reflect our purpose in life?
"Challenge yourself with these questions …”
Have you honestly approached the subject of Finding your life purpose?”
For what purpose are you living your life?
Each of us will live out that mission, or life purpose either on the “offensive” or the “defensive” … for each one of us is charting a path toward eternity.
For those of us who have thought about our Life’s purpose …
"Does the way we spend our money line up with that mission?"
"Are the daily expenditures of our “Life’s energy” consistent with the goals, dreams and visions of the future in the context of the purpose of your life?"
Contentment, peace and joy can only follow when we know our mission and purpose in life and align our expenditures of Life’s energy accordingly!
Every Human Being Craves to be Seen and to Feel Significant.
All of us need to feel as if our lives matter, that there is meaning in our lives.
People often turn to money and possessions as a means of “filling that hole” when life has no purpose.
However, we were created to have meaning and significance by God, Himself, who created us and desires for us to find that meaning in spiritual, not material things.
The God of the universe views us as unique and valuable individuals …, which provides the basis for us to have purpose and meaning apart from our money and material possessions.
Tragically, one who fails to realize that, will spend a lifetime pursuing, and ultimately failing to find, significance in material possessions.
It is possible to have a measure of “financial health” apart from the divine guidance and wisdom of God. Your personal “books” can balance, you can have money in the bank and the bills paid on time. Your financial future can be secure with 401K’s and pension plans.
But … venturing out from financial health to a daily life of Peace, Contentment, Satisfaction and real Joy … comes only with God’s wisdom and guidance and a desire to discover what it is He has for us as we live out His purpose for our lives.
The Bible talks about a man in the 19th chapter of the book of Matthew who desired to know God and have eternal life …
• He spoke with Jesus and was invited by Jesus to follow him … but was confronted by a choice
o He had to choose what was more important in his life … his possessions or an invitation to follow God
o Sadly, the man walked away from all that God had to offer him … to pursue his possessions and his wealth
The most significant danger of wealth and possessions … is their ability to keep us from seeing that which is of real eternal value.
They can blind you from finding finding your life purpose, understanding it, and pursuing a relationship with God … who desires to know us and bring meaning to our lives.
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Post this to the bathroom mirror!
"When your days on earth come to an end and your whole life flashes before you, will it hold your interest? How much of the story will be about moments of grace, kindness and caring? Will the main character, you, appear as large and noble as life itself, or as tiny and absurd as a cartoon figure, darting frantically among mountains of stuff? … Will you have the hope of eternal life, or will your possessions have been a barrier to knowing God?"
It is up to you and me to write that story from this day forward!
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So, what do we do now?
Step #12 Finding Your Life Purpose … and Living by It!
Money + Desire + Knowledge / Information + Discipline + Courage = Financial Health
__________________________+ Divine Guidance & Wisdom = Financial Peace, Contentment & Joy
Completing the Formula for Financial Health
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
POSITIONING YOURSELF FOR SUCCESS
Laws are powerful. Probably man’s greatest discovery is to know that there is tremendous power in the universe and that these powers are controlled by certain laws. For example there is power in the wind and there are laws that control movement in the wind. The eagle uses this power to fly over mountains. Aircrafts use this power to fly thousands of kilometers over oceans and across continents. There is tremendous power in water. There is so much power in the river it can turn a turbine and generate electricity. There is tremendous power in the soil. There is tremendous power all around us.
For example, there is the law of gravity - anything that has mass, occupies space and that is within the earth vicinity would be attracted to the center of the earth. That translates to things falling to the ground. If you throw an apple up it will not continue to go up it will come back down. That is a law.
Every law has a condition. When we satisfy the conditions of these laws the power in these laws are released to aid us achieve our goals and our aims. A law therefore is a fact, a universal fact that holds true everywhere on planet earth. These laws make success predictable for us. Just like you don’t need a prophet to know that if you throw an apple up it would come down, the same way you can predict success for your life when you satisfy the laws of success.
There are certain things we must know about laws. Laws make life predictable and they make success possible. Our world is a highly organized place. It is not a confused place. Laws take our lives out of the realm of chance and put them in the realm of choices. For example, if you choose to jump from a ten storey building you know that you are coming down. Your success becomes predictable and becomes a matter of choices not chance.
Secondly, laws provide a fair play ground for all. Laws have no respect for age, for sex, for social status. If a poor man jumps from a ten storey building he is coming down. If a rich man jumps from a ten storey building he is coming down. The implication of that – you have equal chances of succeeding on planet earth as anybody else who may have succeeded.
If a poor man plants maize at the right season it will grow. If a rich man plants maize at the right season it will grow. So dear reader, you must understand that when you begin to obey the laws of success you step out of the realm of mediocrity into the realm of power, and the laws result in miracles when we obey them. For example, if I jump from a ten storey building, from the moment I jump unseen forces take control of my body and bring me down towards the earth.
You put a seed in the soil. Unseen forces enter that seed and then grow a miracle literally out of that seed. When you obey the laws of success you experience miracles. I should also add , that there are different laws that govern different areas of life. All you have to do is to make a commitment to obey the laws of success.
Now, the first law, the law of vision:. This law says that what you see inside today is what you will see on the out side tomorrow. To operate this law you must dream, you must visualize, you must engage your imagination. You see it’s a law – as a man thinketh in his heart so is he. Your mind is the film in the camera. Whatever images are printed on that film will be printed out for you on the photograph. Same thing for your mind. Same thing for that picture inside you. Life will take the picture inside you. There is an invisible power that prints out the picture that is in your heart. So to change your life, you must change your thoughts, change your vision. That is the law of vision.
Secondly, there is the law of confession: it says what you say is what you see. This world was framed by words. Your own world is also framed by your own words. To change your life you must change your words. You must always remember that words are seeds. The realities of your life today is the harvest of the seeds you sow with your mouth yesterday and the realities of your life tomorrow will be the harvest of the seeds you are sowing with your mouth today. To change the direction of your life, you will have to change your words.
When I began to tell people that I am successful, I am not a failure, I am prosperous even when those things are not yet real in the physical, I got to realize that you are not suppose to say what you see, you are suppose to say what you want to see. This is because what you say is what you will eventually see. When I change my language everything else changed around my life - that is the law of confession.
And then there is a law of desire – this law says success is for the hungry, you must be hungry, you must be thirsty. Success does not come to those who wish, success comes to those who want it so bad they can’t stand it. That is how El Williams an insurance magnate in the United States puts it. He says I want it so bad I can’t stand it. You must really, really want it and proof of desire is pursuit. If you really want it go after it.
Steven R. Covey said in the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People that the more society align themselves with these laws the more successful they become. Societies fail when they do not align themselves to the laws of success. Therefore, aligning with the laws of success makes success a possibility in your life not aligning with them is a guarantee for failure.
Our next law of success is the law of preparation: this law says that success happens when opportunity meets preparation. If you are asking for one million naira, the big question is what will you do with it? if you have to think for more than one minute to know what to do with it you are not yet ready for it.
The principal word for preparation is planning. There are no people without opportunities in this world. We only have people who are not prepared for their opportunities. Studying is also essential to preparation it helps us to acquire knowledge and to develop skills and specialization in preparation for our opportunities.
Another law – the law of attraction: this law says that all human beings are living magnets. We have the power to attract and we have the power to repel. We can attract people, opportunities, favour, wealth and so on. Every magnet has a magnetic field created around it and the magnet gives out radiation. What we radiate determines what we attract. So, dear reader, your radiation is determined by your attitudes, by your thoughts and by your emotions.
When your thoughts are positive, filled with joy, peace, abundance you attract opportunities for abundance into your life but when your thoughts are filled with sorrow and pain, difficulty and impossibility you repel miracles and attract unfortunate circumstances. So dear reader, change your thoughts, change your emotions, get excited, expect the best, expect miracles. You will begin to attract favour and riches into your life.
One very important law of success is the law of action. This law says that nothing moves until you move it. In our world nothing moves of itself, things don’t happen by themselves we must make them happen. If you see anything that is moving, there is a force that is moving it. Therefore, don’t wait for success to come to you - you have to go to meet it. Don’t wait for things to happen to you, you have to make things happen. In fact you have to happen to things.
There are very important things to note, to take action; you must overcome fear, you must develop courage, you must conquer the fear of criticism - ‘what will people say?’. Dear reader, they will talk anyhow. If you succeed they will talk. If you fail they will talk. Since they are going to talk anyway why don’t you give them something good to talk about? Succeed. Take a bold move and let God help you to succeed.
You must also deal with procrastination; you will never do anything if you do not make up you mind to do it. Don’t push till tomorrow what you can do today. Action delayed is destiny delayed and destiny delayed is the devils delight. Make a move today.
One other very important law is the law of persistence. You must continue to try. Things don’t always work out first time, you must understand that. Accept it as a reality of life and the way to overcome that barrier is for you to do it again and again and again and again, changing your approach each time until finally you succeed.
Finally the law of harvest. This law says that whatever we sow is what we’ll reap. You sow corn you reap corn, you sow guinea corn you reap guinea corn, you sow guava you reap guava, you sow mango you reap mango. That also dear reader, affects every other area of our lives. It affects our relationships. You sow love you reap love. You sow hatred you reap hatred. You sow money you reap money. You sow favour you reap favour.
For example, there is the law of gravity - anything that has mass, occupies space and that is within the earth vicinity would be attracted to the center of the earth. That translates to things falling to the ground. If you throw an apple up it will not continue to go up it will come back down. That is a law.
Every law has a condition. When we satisfy the conditions of these laws the power in these laws are released to aid us achieve our goals and our aims. A law therefore is a fact, a universal fact that holds true everywhere on planet earth. These laws make success predictable for us. Just like you don’t need a prophet to know that if you throw an apple up it would come down, the same way you can predict success for your life when you satisfy the laws of success.
There are certain things we must know about laws. Laws make life predictable and they make success possible. Our world is a highly organized place. It is not a confused place. Laws take our lives out of the realm of chance and put them in the realm of choices. For example, if you choose to jump from a ten storey building you know that you are coming down. Your success becomes predictable and becomes a matter of choices not chance.
Secondly, laws provide a fair play ground for all. Laws have no respect for age, for sex, for social status. If a poor man jumps from a ten storey building he is coming down. If a rich man jumps from a ten storey building he is coming down. The implication of that – you have equal chances of succeeding on planet earth as anybody else who may have succeeded.
If a poor man plants maize at the right season it will grow. If a rich man plants maize at the right season it will grow. So dear reader, you must understand that when you begin to obey the laws of success you step out of the realm of mediocrity into the realm of power, and the laws result in miracles when we obey them. For example, if I jump from a ten storey building, from the moment I jump unseen forces take control of my body and bring me down towards the earth.
You put a seed in the soil. Unseen forces enter that seed and then grow a miracle literally out of that seed. When you obey the laws of success you experience miracles. I should also add , that there are different laws that govern different areas of life. All you have to do is to make a commitment to obey the laws of success.
Now, the first law, the law of vision:. This law says that what you see inside today is what you will see on the out side tomorrow. To operate this law you must dream, you must visualize, you must engage your imagination. You see it’s a law – as a man thinketh in his heart so is he. Your mind is the film in the camera. Whatever images are printed on that film will be printed out for you on the photograph. Same thing for your mind. Same thing for that picture inside you. Life will take the picture inside you. There is an invisible power that prints out the picture that is in your heart. So to change your life, you must change your thoughts, change your vision. That is the law of vision.
Secondly, there is the law of confession: it says what you say is what you see. This world was framed by words. Your own world is also framed by your own words. To change your life you must change your words. You must always remember that words are seeds. The realities of your life today is the harvest of the seeds you sow with your mouth yesterday and the realities of your life tomorrow will be the harvest of the seeds you are sowing with your mouth today. To change the direction of your life, you will have to change your words.
When I began to tell people that I am successful, I am not a failure, I am prosperous even when those things are not yet real in the physical, I got to realize that you are not suppose to say what you see, you are suppose to say what you want to see. This is because what you say is what you will eventually see. When I change my language everything else changed around my life - that is the law of confession.
And then there is a law of desire – this law says success is for the hungry, you must be hungry, you must be thirsty. Success does not come to those who wish, success comes to those who want it so bad they can’t stand it. That is how El Williams an insurance magnate in the United States puts it. He says I want it so bad I can’t stand it. You must really, really want it and proof of desire is pursuit. If you really want it go after it.
Steven R. Covey said in the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People that the more society align themselves with these laws the more successful they become. Societies fail when they do not align themselves to the laws of success. Therefore, aligning with the laws of success makes success a possibility in your life not aligning with them is a guarantee for failure.
Our next law of success is the law of preparation: this law says that success happens when opportunity meets preparation. If you are asking for one million naira, the big question is what will you do with it? if you have to think for more than one minute to know what to do with it you are not yet ready for it.
The principal word for preparation is planning. There are no people without opportunities in this world. We only have people who are not prepared for their opportunities. Studying is also essential to preparation it helps us to acquire knowledge and to develop skills and specialization in preparation for our opportunities.
Another law – the law of attraction: this law says that all human beings are living magnets. We have the power to attract and we have the power to repel. We can attract people, opportunities, favour, wealth and so on. Every magnet has a magnetic field created around it and the magnet gives out radiation. What we radiate determines what we attract. So, dear reader, your radiation is determined by your attitudes, by your thoughts and by your emotions.
When your thoughts are positive, filled with joy, peace, abundance you attract opportunities for abundance into your life but when your thoughts are filled with sorrow and pain, difficulty and impossibility you repel miracles and attract unfortunate circumstances. So dear reader, change your thoughts, change your emotions, get excited, expect the best, expect miracles. You will begin to attract favour and riches into your life.
One very important law of success is the law of action. This law says that nothing moves until you move it. In our world nothing moves of itself, things don’t happen by themselves we must make them happen. If you see anything that is moving, there is a force that is moving it. Therefore, don’t wait for success to come to you - you have to go to meet it. Don’t wait for things to happen to you, you have to make things happen. In fact you have to happen to things.
There are very important things to note, to take action; you must overcome fear, you must develop courage, you must conquer the fear of criticism - ‘what will people say?’. Dear reader, they will talk anyhow. If you succeed they will talk. If you fail they will talk. Since they are going to talk anyway why don’t you give them something good to talk about? Succeed. Take a bold move and let God help you to succeed.
You must also deal with procrastination; you will never do anything if you do not make up you mind to do it. Don’t push till tomorrow what you can do today. Action delayed is destiny delayed and destiny delayed is the devils delight. Make a move today.
One other very important law is the law of persistence. You must continue to try. Things don’t always work out first time, you must understand that. Accept it as a reality of life and the way to overcome that barrier is for you to do it again and again and again and again, changing your approach each time until finally you succeed.
Finally the law of harvest. This law says that whatever we sow is what we’ll reap. You sow corn you reap corn, you sow guinea corn you reap guinea corn, you sow guava you reap guava, you sow mango you reap mango. That also dear reader, affects every other area of our lives. It affects our relationships. You sow love you reap love. You sow hatred you reap hatred. You sow money you reap money. You sow favour you reap favour.
Financial Planning
Do You Dream of Financial Freedom or Lay Awake at Night Worrying About Money?
Are You on the Trail to Financial Freedom or the Path to Financial Failure?
A Warning About Your Financial Future and Essential Personal Finance Skills to Protect You...
Do you and your spouse quarrel about money?
Many experts believe that 90% of divorces are rooted in financial problems.
Are you burdened with debt?
In 1980, US household debt stood at 65% of annual disposable income. Now it is 100%.
When your credit card bill comes, are you ashamed and afraid to open it?
How much savings do you have?
The life savings of the average 50-year-old is $2300!
Contrast your lifetime savings to your lifetime earnings. You will be shocked when you realize how much money has passed through your hands, yet how little of it you have kept.
Are you and/or your spouse working so much that you have to outsource the care and raising of your children?
Can you afford a college education for your children? For even one of them?
Is your job secure?
How long can you sustain your current lifestyle if you lost your job due to a:
• Merger
• Bankruptcy
• Downsizing
• Layoff
• Outsourcing
• Health Problems
Is money a daily struggle? Is it so tight that any unexpected expense is a burden to your family?
Do you pray that the furnace/roof/car/refrigerator will last a little longer because you have no idea how to pay for it when it fails?
Are your financial pressures so bad that you're considering giving up and declaring bankruptcy?
Current U.S. bankruptcy rates are higher than during the Great Depression.
Each year, more Americans declare bankruptcy than graduate from college! These bankruptcies put an even greater burden on everyone else.
According to a "USA Today" survey, the biggest fear in America is running out of money in retirement...
Face the Facts:
"You and No One Else Are Totally Responsible For Your Financial Situation!"
If you continue much longer on your present path, not only will you never achieve financial freedom, but financial ruin lies ahead.
Many people are dangerously close to financial disaster!
What about your retirement? Do you dream of financial freedom for your golden years?
You, not anyone else or the government, are totally responsible for how well (or poorly) you live in your golden years.
Are You Depending on the Government for Life Support?
Are thinking that the government will take care of you in your retirement?
If so, then you are headed for a rude awakening and a major downgrade of your lifestyle!
The days of expecting the government to take care of us are over!
Are you counting on Social Security?
Even if Social Security exists in the future, it will certainly be something less than it is now.
Medicare, if it still exists, will be limited also.
How reliable are corporate pensions? Just ask the hard-working folks at Enron or United Airlines.
Do you dare wager that your employer will still be there to take care of you for 20, 30, or 40 years after retire?
You probably have a long list of things you're looking forward to do it when you retire:
• Travel
• Visiting grandchildren
• Going back to school
• Moving
• Starting a small business
• Playing golf
• Buying a boat and fishing
• Pursuing earlier dreams they were quenched or forgotten by the busyness of life
Whatever your dreams are, they will take money...
This site is about actions you can take now to make your financial position as strong as possible.
We will show you the path to financial freedom.
The Shocking Reality About “Retirement” in America...
When Americans reach age 65, after working hard for 40 or more years, only 1% will be wealthy.
Only 4% of retirees will have adequate investments or savings to actually retire at some level of comfort.
Do you really think you'll be in the top 1% or 4%? ...
...Or will you be in the 95% that is Vulnerable?
You don't want to be in this 95% !
Of this unfortunate group, almost two thirds, 63%, will be forced to depend on Social Security, relatives, or charity to house and feed them.
Even with help from Social Security (as it exists now) and pensions, a recent study found that the average American is on track to replace just 60% of his or her current income in retirement.
Think of that statistic this way…How long could comfortably live if you suddenly lost 40% of your current income?
3% of retirees must keep working, often in minimum-wage jobs alongside of teenagers! Do you aspire to be a Wal-Mart greeter at age 80?
Both U.S. Department of Labor and insurance industry statistics show that these numbers have been consistent for the last 50 years.
What is the one thing that these unfortunate 95% all have in common?...
...They never thought they'd end up like this!
The ignorance and denial of this problem is so prevalent that 74% of American baby boomers believe they are financially prepared for retirement!
While they believe they are on the right track, here’s the reality:
• 59% expect to carry debt into retirement
• 46% have less than $50,000 saved
People are living a lot longer now, which only makes matters worse.
The Smart Question to Ask Yourself is: “What Can I Do Now to Make Sure I'm in the 5% Group and Not the 95%?”
This site will answer that question for you. It contains the steps to put you in the very best financial position possible.
We will show you how to make it happen- how to achieve financial independence.
What Everybody Should Know...
About How To Achieve Financial Freedom
Financial Freedom means that ultimately you are in control of your money, rather than it controlling everything you do.
Think about it, there are really only two options, either you take control of your money...
Or, if you are like the vast majority of people, your money controls you...
Which is true for you?
Does money control you?
You will never achieve financial independence without taking control of your money.
If you need to take control of your money, you've come to the right place.
The Essence of Personal Finance and How To Achieve Financial Freedom...
To achieve financial freedom, you have to live according to a basic truth. It is a simple equation:
You Must Spend Less Money Than You Earn!
This gives you margin.
Having margin, regardless of your income level, will give you financial freedom.
The difference between what you earn and what you spend will determine how much financial freedom you will experience.
If you spend all the money that you earn, you are on the brink of trouble. You will live in constant stress.
If you spend more money than you earn, you are in trouble. You live will be in a constant state of distress.
Our culture and easy consumer credit have many people spending more than they earn, not less.
Most Americans have 4% negative margin. Every month, they spend an average of 4% more than they earn!
How does that happen? How can they be so ignorant of their perilous position?
Here's how (this may be true for you)...
They believe that they have a good “feel” for where their money is going, so they never track their expenses or have a spending plan. (We will teach you how to do those things).
They think that they are “OK”, but the reality is quite different. (See "Using the Right Map" below)
Even with this 4% negative margin, they continue to overspend by using their credit cards.
Then, the credit cards get maxed out, so they either consolidate their loans or refinance their homes to "start over".
But, if people never change the bad habits that initially got them into this dangerous position, it only gets worse…
The cycle begins again with them going even deeper into debt.
Because of living in negative margin, many people are only one or two paychecks away from financial disaster.
Then, when the storms of life come, people with no margin are in real trouble.
Are You Prepared for the Inevitable Financial Setbacks?
...Financial Curve Balls
Life is messy. There are going to be troubles in your life. No one is immune from the curve balls that come your way.
Any of these can make you fall into financial disaster…
• Loss of job
• Divorce
• Medical problems
• Children
• Automobile accidents
• Death or disability of the income earner
• Pay cuts
• Retirement plans eliminated
• Corporate downsizing or reorganization
An event like any of these can quickly place a person in a position where he feels he is drowning financially.
Unfortunately, most people aren’t prepared to deal with these curve balls.
The curve balls also pay a toll on our families.
Finances are the leading cause of fights in families. That leads to marital breakdown and divorce. Divorce only makes the financial situation worse.
When these troubles come, and they will, it is much better for you to be on the Financial Freedom Trail than if you weren’t.
If you have adequate margin in your finances, you will be in a much better financial position to weather these storms.
This will lower the impact of these events and reduce your anxiety. Your savings (we’ll show you how to build an emergency fund) will give you time to deal with it.
Personal finance is all about manipulating, or controlling your finances to give you the greatest degree of margin.
No matter where you are right now on your financial journey, the information on this site, if applied, will move you further in the direction of financial freedom.
Even if you are in Distress or Stress, we can help you move to a place of margin.
Each step you take along the Financial Freedom Trail will put you closer to your goal to achieve financial freedom.
That way, when you encounter any of life’s inevitable setbacks, you will be better positioned to endure them.
The site is unlike any other, because we will help you with all these areas.
Within the pages of this site, you will find proven steps, skills and strategies that will enable you to…
• Spend less and save more, thus giving you more margin.
• Make more money, thus giving you more margin.
• Reduce, and ultimately eliminate debt. Eliminating your debt burden reduces your expenses, thus giving you more margin.
• Know where you stand financially and effectively manage your money to continue to gain more margin.
• Create or increase your savings so you can weather life's inevitable financial storms
These key ingredients will help to achieve financial freedom.
Why Financial Freedom Trail is Different…
For the first time on the Internet, personal finance and financial freedom expert, Dave Briggs, is sharing his wisdom and ”Keys to Financial Freedom” curriculum.
Coming for a prestigious corporate finance position, Dave has spent the last 20 years teaching financial freedom seminars, training leaders, writing and counseling people on personal finance.
Combining with him is Paul Myers, home and Internet Business consultant.
Together, we will share our years of knowledge and experience to show you personal finance skills. These tools and skills will enable you to gain the greatest margin possible and thereby achieving financial freedom.
What this Site is Not…
• How to Get Rich Quick. That doesn’t exist.
• Easy Directions to Easy Street. This takes discipline and work, but Financial Freedom is attainable.
Most People Are on the Financial Disaster Trail and Don't Even Realize it!
Most people are on the wrong trail!
Warning: If you are on the wrong trail, no matter how fast you have been traveling, you'll never arrive at the desired destination.
We'll help you achieve financial freedom by giving you the right map...
Using the Right Map
Most people have the wrong mindset about money and don’t even realize it. Their relationship with money is not based on reality.
Here’s a good illustration to help grasp this concept…
Imagine yourself driving in Philadelphia, on a dark, rainy night. There is lots of traffic and you are tired. You are using a map, but you know that you are lost.
Things just aren’t making sense. 9th Street isn’t where it is supposed to be. The map shows the street you are on as a through street, but you just reached a dead end!
Despite your best efforts using the map, you are still hopelessly lost and can’t seem to get your bearings anywhere.
If you had the sense to look up at the corner of the map you were using, you would have discovered the problem…
You have the wrong map!
You were using a map of Pittsburgh and trying to navigate from it in Philadelphia!
You were trying to navigate a different reality and didn’t even realize that you were using the wrong map.
Financial Freedom Trail is the Right Map.
Proof that many people (especially Americans) are using the wrong map...
Look at the percentage income that people save in different countries:
• China........30%
• India.........20%
• France.......11%
• America.....-.5%
See the negative margin in the U.S?
Financial Freedom Trail is the Right Map.
As a personal finance counselor, one if Dave’s greatest frustrations is that people come to him that are literally bleeding to death financially, and don't even realize it. They seek a band-aid while they really need a tourniquet and major surgery.
For years, they were on the wrong path and didn't even pay enough attention to see all the warning signs. That path leads to disaster, and they don't know it.
The good news is that this is preventable and reversible.
This site is your resource to get you on the right track and keep you there.
"Financial Freedom Trail...
You've Finally Found the Right Path, Let's Get Started!"
You now have the right map pointing you to the right trail.
That trail, if you choose to follow it, is the best path to achieve financial freedom.
Some things here will challenge your thinking and habits. After all, it is bad thinking and habits that have people trying to live in negative margin.
Changing thinking and habits will bring you out of the pit and into financial freedom.
This process will grow and stretch you. That's a good thing. It's a process, a journey.
One step at a time, we will help you down the Financial Freedom Trail. By walking with us down the Financial Freedom Trail you will become a different person. You will change your perspective on money along with your habits. Your priorities will change, leading to prosperity and financial freedom.
An added benefit is that you will become a person who can help others in this journey and leave a legacy for your family.
Your stress level will be significantly reduced. No more sleepless nights worrying about money.
After you master these skills, even if you lost everything, you would have the confidence and ability to gain everything back. That gives you real freedom and peace of mind.
In life, things have a tendency not to happen. While we will teach you how to achieve financial freedom, it's up to you to make it happen.
A Chinese proverb wisely states: "The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step."
We'll help you with the steps.
The sooner you get on the Financial Freedom Trail, the more likely you will have financial freedom in the later years of your life.
Let's take the first step and begin your journey on the...
Are You on the Trail to Financial Freedom or the Path to Financial Failure?
A Warning About Your Financial Future and Essential Personal Finance Skills to Protect You...
Do you and your spouse quarrel about money?
Many experts believe that 90% of divorces are rooted in financial problems.
Are you burdened with debt?
In 1980, US household debt stood at 65% of annual disposable income. Now it is 100%.
When your credit card bill comes, are you ashamed and afraid to open it?
How much savings do you have?
The life savings of the average 50-year-old is $2300!
Contrast your lifetime savings to your lifetime earnings. You will be shocked when you realize how much money has passed through your hands, yet how little of it you have kept.
Are you and/or your spouse working so much that you have to outsource the care and raising of your children?
Can you afford a college education for your children? For even one of them?
Is your job secure?
How long can you sustain your current lifestyle if you lost your job due to a:
• Merger
• Bankruptcy
• Downsizing
• Layoff
• Outsourcing
• Health Problems
Is money a daily struggle? Is it so tight that any unexpected expense is a burden to your family?
Do you pray that the furnace/roof/car/refrigerator will last a little longer because you have no idea how to pay for it when it fails?
Are your financial pressures so bad that you're considering giving up and declaring bankruptcy?
Current U.S. bankruptcy rates are higher than during the Great Depression.
Each year, more Americans declare bankruptcy than graduate from college! These bankruptcies put an even greater burden on everyone else.
According to a "USA Today" survey, the biggest fear in America is running out of money in retirement...
Face the Facts:
"You and No One Else Are Totally Responsible For Your Financial Situation!"
If you continue much longer on your present path, not only will you never achieve financial freedom, but financial ruin lies ahead.
Many people are dangerously close to financial disaster!
What about your retirement? Do you dream of financial freedom for your golden years?
You, not anyone else or the government, are totally responsible for how well (or poorly) you live in your golden years.
Are You Depending on the Government for Life Support?
Are thinking that the government will take care of you in your retirement?
If so, then you are headed for a rude awakening and a major downgrade of your lifestyle!
The days of expecting the government to take care of us are over!
Are you counting on Social Security?
Even if Social Security exists in the future, it will certainly be something less than it is now.
Medicare, if it still exists, will be limited also.
How reliable are corporate pensions? Just ask the hard-working folks at Enron or United Airlines.
Do you dare wager that your employer will still be there to take care of you for 20, 30, or 40 years after retire?
You probably have a long list of things you're looking forward to do it when you retire:
• Travel
• Visiting grandchildren
• Going back to school
• Moving
• Starting a small business
• Playing golf
• Buying a boat and fishing
• Pursuing earlier dreams they were quenched or forgotten by the busyness of life
Whatever your dreams are, they will take money...
This site is about actions you can take now to make your financial position as strong as possible.
We will show you the path to financial freedom.
The Shocking Reality About “Retirement” in America...
When Americans reach age 65, after working hard for 40 or more years, only 1% will be wealthy.
Only 4% of retirees will have adequate investments or savings to actually retire at some level of comfort.
Do you really think you'll be in the top 1% or 4%? ...
...Or will you be in the 95% that is Vulnerable?
You don't want to be in this 95% !
Of this unfortunate group, almost two thirds, 63%, will be forced to depend on Social Security, relatives, or charity to house and feed them.
Even with help from Social Security (as it exists now) and pensions, a recent study found that the average American is on track to replace just 60% of his or her current income in retirement.
Think of that statistic this way…How long could comfortably live if you suddenly lost 40% of your current income?
3% of retirees must keep working, often in minimum-wage jobs alongside of teenagers! Do you aspire to be a Wal-Mart greeter at age 80?
Both U.S. Department of Labor and insurance industry statistics show that these numbers have been consistent for the last 50 years.
What is the one thing that these unfortunate 95% all have in common?...
...They never thought they'd end up like this!
The ignorance and denial of this problem is so prevalent that 74% of American baby boomers believe they are financially prepared for retirement!
While they believe they are on the right track, here’s the reality:
• 59% expect to carry debt into retirement
• 46% have less than $50,000 saved
People are living a lot longer now, which only makes matters worse.
The Smart Question to Ask Yourself is: “What Can I Do Now to Make Sure I'm in the 5% Group and Not the 95%?”
This site will answer that question for you. It contains the steps to put you in the very best financial position possible.
We will show you how to make it happen- how to achieve financial independence.
What Everybody Should Know...
About How To Achieve Financial Freedom
Financial Freedom means that ultimately you are in control of your money, rather than it controlling everything you do.
Think about it, there are really only two options, either you take control of your money...
Or, if you are like the vast majority of people, your money controls you...
Which is true for you?
Does money control you?
You will never achieve financial independence without taking control of your money.
If you need to take control of your money, you've come to the right place.
The Essence of Personal Finance and How To Achieve Financial Freedom...
To achieve financial freedom, you have to live according to a basic truth. It is a simple equation:
You Must Spend Less Money Than You Earn!
This gives you margin.
Having margin, regardless of your income level, will give you financial freedom.
The difference between what you earn and what you spend will determine how much financial freedom you will experience.
If you spend all the money that you earn, you are on the brink of trouble. You will live in constant stress.
If you spend more money than you earn, you are in trouble. You live will be in a constant state of distress.
Our culture and easy consumer credit have many people spending more than they earn, not less.
Most Americans have 4% negative margin. Every month, they spend an average of 4% more than they earn!
How does that happen? How can they be so ignorant of their perilous position?
Here's how (this may be true for you)...
They believe that they have a good “feel” for where their money is going, so they never track their expenses or have a spending plan. (We will teach you how to do those things).
They think that they are “OK”, but the reality is quite different. (See "Using the Right Map" below)
Even with this 4% negative margin, they continue to overspend by using their credit cards.
Then, the credit cards get maxed out, so they either consolidate their loans or refinance their homes to "start over".
But, if people never change the bad habits that initially got them into this dangerous position, it only gets worse…
The cycle begins again with them going even deeper into debt.
Because of living in negative margin, many people are only one or two paychecks away from financial disaster.
Then, when the storms of life come, people with no margin are in real trouble.
Are You Prepared for the Inevitable Financial Setbacks?
...Financial Curve Balls
Life is messy. There are going to be troubles in your life. No one is immune from the curve balls that come your way.
Any of these can make you fall into financial disaster…
• Loss of job
• Divorce
• Medical problems
• Children
• Automobile accidents
• Death or disability of the income earner
• Pay cuts
• Retirement plans eliminated
• Corporate downsizing or reorganization
An event like any of these can quickly place a person in a position where he feels he is drowning financially.
Unfortunately, most people aren’t prepared to deal with these curve balls.
The curve balls also pay a toll on our families.
Finances are the leading cause of fights in families. That leads to marital breakdown and divorce. Divorce only makes the financial situation worse.
When these troubles come, and they will, it is much better for you to be on the Financial Freedom Trail than if you weren’t.
If you have adequate margin in your finances, you will be in a much better financial position to weather these storms.
This will lower the impact of these events and reduce your anxiety. Your savings (we’ll show you how to build an emergency fund) will give you time to deal with it.
Personal finance is all about manipulating, or controlling your finances to give you the greatest degree of margin.
No matter where you are right now on your financial journey, the information on this site, if applied, will move you further in the direction of financial freedom.
Even if you are in Distress or Stress, we can help you move to a place of margin.
Each step you take along the Financial Freedom Trail will put you closer to your goal to achieve financial freedom.
That way, when you encounter any of life’s inevitable setbacks, you will be better positioned to endure them.
The site is unlike any other, because we will help you with all these areas.
Within the pages of this site, you will find proven steps, skills and strategies that will enable you to…
• Spend less and save more, thus giving you more margin.
• Make more money, thus giving you more margin.
• Reduce, and ultimately eliminate debt. Eliminating your debt burden reduces your expenses, thus giving you more margin.
• Know where you stand financially and effectively manage your money to continue to gain more margin.
• Create or increase your savings so you can weather life's inevitable financial storms
These key ingredients will help to achieve financial freedom.
Why Financial Freedom Trail is Different…
For the first time on the Internet, personal finance and financial freedom expert, Dave Briggs, is sharing his wisdom and ”Keys to Financial Freedom” curriculum.
Coming for a prestigious corporate finance position, Dave has spent the last 20 years teaching financial freedom seminars, training leaders, writing and counseling people on personal finance.
Combining with him is Paul Myers, home and Internet Business consultant.
Together, we will share our years of knowledge and experience to show you personal finance skills. These tools and skills will enable you to gain the greatest margin possible and thereby achieving financial freedom.
What this Site is Not…
• How to Get Rich Quick. That doesn’t exist.
• Easy Directions to Easy Street. This takes discipline and work, but Financial Freedom is attainable.
Most People Are on the Financial Disaster Trail and Don't Even Realize it!
Most people are on the wrong trail!
Warning: If you are on the wrong trail, no matter how fast you have been traveling, you'll never arrive at the desired destination.
We'll help you achieve financial freedom by giving you the right map...
Using the Right Map
Most people have the wrong mindset about money and don’t even realize it. Their relationship with money is not based on reality.
Here’s a good illustration to help grasp this concept…
Imagine yourself driving in Philadelphia, on a dark, rainy night. There is lots of traffic and you are tired. You are using a map, but you know that you are lost.
Things just aren’t making sense. 9th Street isn’t where it is supposed to be. The map shows the street you are on as a through street, but you just reached a dead end!
Despite your best efforts using the map, you are still hopelessly lost and can’t seem to get your bearings anywhere.
If you had the sense to look up at the corner of the map you were using, you would have discovered the problem…
You have the wrong map!
You were using a map of Pittsburgh and trying to navigate from it in Philadelphia!
You were trying to navigate a different reality and didn’t even realize that you were using the wrong map.
Financial Freedom Trail is the Right Map.
Proof that many people (especially Americans) are using the wrong map...
Look at the percentage income that people save in different countries:
• China........30%
• India.........20%
• France.......11%
• America.....-.5%
See the negative margin in the U.S?
Financial Freedom Trail is the Right Map.
As a personal finance counselor, one if Dave’s greatest frustrations is that people come to him that are literally bleeding to death financially, and don't even realize it. They seek a band-aid while they really need a tourniquet and major surgery.
For years, they were on the wrong path and didn't even pay enough attention to see all the warning signs. That path leads to disaster, and they don't know it.
The good news is that this is preventable and reversible.
This site is your resource to get you on the right track and keep you there.
"Financial Freedom Trail...
You've Finally Found the Right Path, Let's Get Started!"
You now have the right map pointing you to the right trail.
That trail, if you choose to follow it, is the best path to achieve financial freedom.
Some things here will challenge your thinking and habits. After all, it is bad thinking and habits that have people trying to live in negative margin.
Changing thinking and habits will bring you out of the pit and into financial freedom.
This process will grow and stretch you. That's a good thing. It's a process, a journey.
One step at a time, we will help you down the Financial Freedom Trail. By walking with us down the Financial Freedom Trail you will become a different person. You will change your perspective on money along with your habits. Your priorities will change, leading to prosperity and financial freedom.
An added benefit is that you will become a person who can help others in this journey and leave a legacy for your family.
Your stress level will be significantly reduced. No more sleepless nights worrying about money.
After you master these skills, even if you lost everything, you would have the confidence and ability to gain everything back. That gives you real freedom and peace of mind.
In life, things have a tendency not to happen. While we will teach you how to achieve financial freedom, it's up to you to make it happen.
A Chinese proverb wisely states: "The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step."
We'll help you with the steps.
The sooner you get on the Financial Freedom Trail, the more likely you will have financial freedom in the later years of your life.
Let's take the first step and begin your journey on the...
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