Showing posts with label savings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label savings. Show all posts

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Learn to Save Your Hard-Earned Money


Another way to become wealthy is to save a certain percentage of your monthly income whether from your salary or from your small businesses. It may not be that much initially but overtime it would grow into a considerable amount. Then you can invest your money in more profitable business endeavors. Saving money is at the heart of all of your financial goals. Want to get out of debt? Want to save for retirement? Want to just make ends meet each month?

Saving a part of your income each month is one of the most important things you can do. It is widely recommended that you should save from 10 to 20% of each month's salary or income. While the specific amount saved will vary depending upon your unique circumstances, the important thing is to save, and save regularly.

You are going to have to learn to save money. It can be hard to learn, but is actually quite easy once you get the hang of it. Here are a few tips for you to get started.

First, you have to start organizing your finances. This will help you in seeing your true financial situation. How will you be able to get out of debt if you don't know how much debt you have? How can you save if you don't know what you are spending? Gather all of your financial documents and calculate what your monthly bills are. Take the time to create a budget. Be honest and include everything -- otherwise your budget won't work.

In order to truly budget, you are going to have to know what you spend each month. This helps you see where all the money is slipping out. You can use a computer and personal financial software or a small notebook. The key is to write down every penny you spend. This sounds time consuming, but can be a lot easier if you simply get receipts for every purchase. Then write them down every couple of days. Anything you don't get a receipt for you will need to write down immediately.

Now the savings begin. You look at what you are spending and see where you can cut things. You may need to be extreme and cut out everything but the necessities. Satellite TV and cable can go. You can reduce your cell phone plan and use it for emergencies only. You can look for ways to reduce your utilities and grocery bills. If you are buying coffee each morning, stop buying it and make it at home instead.

If you have your paycheck direct deposited into your account, have your employer split it and deposit a portion into your savings. This can be $10 or $200. It doesn't matter. The idea is to start saving money. When it is automatically put in your savings and you never see it, it becomes quite easy to forget about it. If you get a raise, have the amount of the raise put in your savings each month. When you never see the money, you learn to live without it. It is the easiest way to save.

If you want to protect your budget from disruptions, you need to start a savings account that will handle your annual expenses. These are the things that don't come due on a monthly basis. You need to save for Christmas, holiday spending, birthdays, annual insurance premiums, property taxes and other annual events. By saving this amount, you won't stretch your budget beyond its limits later.

With the same idea in mind, you should start contributing something towards an emergency fund. You never know when something will break down. When it does, it usually puts you in a financial pickle. You can avoid the stress to yourself and your finances by having an emergency fund. Most financial advisors recommend that you have at least three months of expenses in the fund. Don't let this discourage you. Put anything you can in there. Even if it isn't a full month's worth, it will help out in an emergency.

This is ironic. One of the best ways to save money is to get out of debt. And that is why you start saving money in the first place. So I guess you could say that by getting out of debt you can save even more money. Think of how much you are paying in interest. That amount could be going into your savings and earning you interest. Instead of paying a lender, the bank could be paying you. It is important to get your debt paid off first, then work on your savings.

Don't focus on trying to save a certain percentage of your income unless that goal drives you to save. The key in the beginning is to save as much as possible. Have goals that you are working towards. Budget wisely and make saving a habit. It will pay off in the long run.



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Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Why The Rich Get Richer and The Poor Get Poorer


I'm sure that you have heard the old saying that goes, "The rich get richer and the poor get poorer". Well, there's a reason why the saying exists, and that's because it is 100% true. The rich do get richer, and the poor do get poorer. But why is that?

First lets take a look at why the rich get richer. The rich have their money working for them. So, they don't need to work in order to make money. Their investments provide them with capital gains or passive income. The rich focus primarily on "capital gains" and "passive income" instead of "earned income". The rich are constantly creating and building assets with the money they have. They create or build more assets to provide them with more sources of passive income. The rich don't need to worry about layoffs or taking days off because they don't work for their money. Remember, passive income is the key to becoming wealthy.

The poor on the other hand focus too much on "earned income". The main source of income for the poor is "earned income", and it usually remains the same amount for a long period of time. In the meantime, the expenses of the poor generally increase over time. A new child comes along, medical bills need to be paid, gasoline prices keep going up, taxes go up, etc. And while all this is happening, the amount of money from a poor persons earned income remains that same. That's why the poor get poorer. The make barely enough in earned income to cover their expenses. The rich on the other hand make well more than enough in passive income to cover their expenses.

If you focus too much on "earned income", you can start making the transition to financial freedom by learning to invest for capital gains and passive income. The poor just keep getting poorer because most of them are afraid to make the leap from earned income to passive income. They are addicted to their earned income, and jump for joy whenever a raise or promotion comes about. Don't become addicted to earned income.


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Thursday, August 27, 2009

Three Simple Steps to Becoming Wealthy in No Time

1. Believe In Yourself

Most people just accept as fact that they will never be wealthy or rich. This belief alone keeps most people from ever achieving their dreams. It makes sense, right? If you don’t believe you can make loads and loads of money, you will not even bother to try. If you have tried to become wealthy in the past, only to find that it didn’t happen, then this is likely your problem. You “tried” but didn’t really believe you could do it. You may believe that other people can do it, but just not you. This is the lie that you must stop believing right now.

2. Work For Yourself

Yes, this means start your own business. Why? Because you decide what you’re worth, and you pay yourself accordingly. You also own any and all residual income streams, so you have the option of getting paid whether you personally work or not. Remember, the wealthy do not work for money, and they do not trade hours for dollars.

3. Learn to Sell

The word “sales” immediately turns off 99% of people with a pulse. But the truth is you already have learned to get pretty good at selling. If you have a job, you had to sell yourself as a worthy employee. If you are married, you had to sell yourself as a worthwhile spouse. I know, a lot of you are thinking, “Well that’s different!” Not really. You had no problem selling yourself because you knew down in your gut that you had something of value to offer. No fakery, no pretending. Good selling is about conveying value to someone else and helping them see how your product or service can help ease their pain, increase their pleasure, or eliminate their fears. This is why I offer one warning about sales: Only sell something you wholeheartedly believe in.


I told you it was simple! But I want to retouch on one thing, and that is the idea of residual income. Anyone can earn a high income by putting in hard work and long hours. But unless you have plenty of time to enjoy your income, you are not truly wealthy.

True wealth comes when you have high income that you do not have to work very long or hard for. This is what residual income is, and it is the foundation of lasting wealth. You will only find residual income in two places: Investments and Businesses you own.

You are familiar with residual income from dividend-paying stocks. The problem is that the residual income from stocks is very low. You might have to buy $100,000.00 worth of stocks just to earn a residual income of $1,000 a month. That’s pretty pitiful.

With your own business, on the other hand, you can earn many times that amount with a very small investment, provided you know how to sell.



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Why Some People Become Wealthy?


The only difference between a rich person and an average-income guy is the amount of money they own. And because money is a material thing that can be earned and accumulated, practically everyone can become wealthy. In fact, almost all people can become millionaires and this is not wishful thinking. With proper dedication, perseverance, money management, and a bit of luck, you have the capability to accumulate tons of money so you can barge into the exclusive millionaire’s club. So here are some practical and doable ideas on how to build your wealth and become a successful millionaire.

First, you need to earn an income. This is the most basic building block for growing your personal wealth. Without an income, it would be impossible for you to accumulate money and achieve millionaire status. It does not matter whether you’re just an average earner or below average income. As long as you have a steady source of income, then you are on your way to become wealthy. Most people who become millionaires started by finding ways how to earn a decent income. In fact, some of the most successful self-made millionaires started as an ordinary employee doing mundane day jobs. The key however, is to set a goal for yourself. You need to look for ways how to grow your current income in order to reach your million dollar milestone.

Second, you should not live beyond your means. This is an oft repeated cliché and it may sound a broken recording already. However, financial experts are always repeating this advice because this important wealth building principle is commonly violated by most people. It is not surprising to see some people suffering from debt problems because they spend money beyond the capacity of their income. If you want to get rich and follow the examples of successful people who become millionaires, then you have to take this cliché seriously. Never spend money that you do not have. Never borrow if you do not have a clear plan on how to repay the debt. By imposing strict financial discipline on your spending habits, then there is no reason why you can not achieve millionaire status. Money management therefore should become second nature to you.

Lastly, you have to invest wisely and try everything within your means to grow your personal finance. This step is probably the most difficult to do because it is risky and full of challenges. Investing however is the key to getting your first million. You can not possibly get rich if you will not invest in some form of venture. Even winning the lottery requires some investment on your part. The important thing is that you need to have a solid investment plan so you can take into account the risk factors as well as your earning potentials. All successful entrepreneurs who become millionaires have invested wisely and there is no exception to this. You can follow in their footsteps so you can also get your first million dollar earnings.



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Tuesday, August 25, 2009

You can be Wealthy - Self Control


Self-control is what you need to cut your expenses to just one-tenth of your earnings while at the same time go into a venture which makes your money work for you and multiply itself on a continuous basis.

However, you must be careful to invest in a secure business that will not disappoint your objective. Be smart. plan on what investments or businesses you are going into. Do your homework. Investigate and ask questions.

Self-confidence is what a loaded credit card should do for you first and foremost, just like putting money in your purse. However, do not treat such money like a loss money, money you are simply holding to give away for one reason or the other. Because sooner or later you must give all or some of the money out, it is very important that you have a source of reoccurring income, not only for reloading your credit card, but to act as a money bearing tree - as source of wealth unlike wages.

You may be struggling at first on how to grow your money or how do you plant a money tree so you can achieve your financial freedom you always dreamed of. Think, open your mind, imagine and you will find the answer.

Okay, think of what is it that the banks do to have so much money. I will tell you. Banks take deposits for safe keeping and collect interest on them for their services. Now, can that alone make banks as rich as they are? No. The real source of bank profits are not mainly from the little interests they accumulate but from the multiplier effect generated when the interests accruing to the banks are lent out to borrowers who in turn pay interests to the banks for loans. The profits from this source is uninterrupted for every bank, because lending money to customers is an on going business for banks.

As a bank deducts interests from its customers it gives same out to other eager customers and the stream of interest for the bank becomes a powerful current, not only increasing the bank's capital base but always increasing the bank's earning power. Credit card companies also get wealthy collecting little interests which they in turn invest wisely for the same multiplier effect discussed above.

Imagine also how much you will be worth now if at birth your parents had signed up with a foremost multi level marketing company where you now have a huge network of down lines on whom you earn bonus for the purchases they have ever made and still make.

Money for use is not wealth. Wealth is the aggregate source of income that continually flows into your account such that your expenses never catches up with it and depletes it. This is the kind of income everyone should aim for, an income that does not stop because you are ill, on holidays or engaged in other activities of life - Affilliate marketing is one such business, because one calculated action can bring recurring in come for a long time.

Think about an investment that will without fail generate a sustained and considerable turnover and income stream like interest do for credit card companies and banks. Little steady income from a particular investment will soon grow into a huge reservoir of cash…and if you are able to create multiple income streams then your status as a wealthy person will be eventually realized sooner than later.

I have surely in my years spent considerable amount of money. Now consider how rich I would be today if I had applied the principle I propound here by just investing one-tenth of all the millions I have so far spent, in a business or businesses that continuously bring back to me, no mater how little, return on my investments.

The incremental effect on money wisely invested is so dramatic even when the income comes in trickles. So also is the effect of regular commission checks from affiliate programs.

Remember to invest wisely though, not all investments bring about gain. Men have invested huge sums of money that got lost in business. Invest your penny wisely and it will soon bear pounds. In the case of affiliate marketing, be careful, all that glitter are not gold.

Paid employment yield predetermined short term income, but since you were appointed the tendency is that you will one day be disappointed for one reason or the other. Think about it and make an investment that will continuously funnel income your way. Have you heard that a stitch in time saves the shirt? It sure does.


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