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Posts Tagged ‘Finances’

Wealth Building in Four Steps

December 20th, 2009

First, a definition of wealth. I’m not talking about a wealth of friends, or interests, or experiences. Those kinds of wealth are wonderful, definitely. But right now, I’m talking about money – lots of money.

Exactly what “lots of money” means is subjective, but let’s say that when your annual income becomes your monthly income, you’re playing in the wealth ballgame.

Wealth building, for the most part, involves four financial aspects:
* Growing a cash machine
* Allocating assets
* Spending planning
* Managing/eliminating Debt

*Growing a Cash Machine*

This is the most important aspect of the wealth building foursome. In fact, it is the foundation for the other three areas, whose sequence depends on the nature of your particular cash machine.

You cash machine is an incorporated business, which is ideally based on leverage of your existing skill set. For example, say you are an automobile mechanic. That’s a service. How can you leverage your skills so that you have a business that makes money while you sleep? (The definition of a cash machine).

Here’s a scenario: People buying used cars come to your shop for inspection before they buy, and you realize that many of the things you check during your inspection, the consumer could easily check for themselves. You teach a class at the community college and you package the hand-outs you’ve created for the class. Make them into an ebook, hire a marketer, and voila’ you have a cash machine.

That’s simplified, but you get the idea. Wealth builders are generally entrepreneurs. Think of something similar you could do with your skill set, and grow a cash machine.

*Allocating Assets*

With the income from your cash machine, plus all your other assets, create a comprehensive plan for your assets to work for you. You’ve heard the saying, “Stop working for money and get money working for you.”

If you haven’t already put a team together to grow your cash machine, with asset allocation a team becomes critical. You’ll need advisors to set up an incorporated business for your tax strategy as well as asset protection. And, you’ll want a financial advisor to help create your overall plan.

One of your most important assets to allocate is time. Millionaires “hire” time. Invest in building yourself a team of experts and support personnel. In addition to expert advisors, hire bookkeepers, housekeepers, assistants, etc.

*Spending Planning*

When the cash starts rolling in, a common mistake is to allow spending to keep pace with the increased income. This makes for a cushy lifestyle, but isn’t part of a good wealth building plan.

When you create your spending plan, it should reflect your personal priorities. It doesn’t need to be restrictive (like a budget). Think of it more like a framework for financial decision-making that serves your long-term interests at the same time providing resources for you to enjoy the present.

*Managing/Eliminating Debt*

Once you’ve got your cash machine going, turn your attention to arriving at zero consumer debt: credit cards, mortgage, etc.

However, not all debt is bad. Sometimes, you want to leverage someone else’s money. Buying income real estate is an example of such a time. But for the most part, a focus on minimizing or eliminating debt is a sensible part of any wealth building plan.

The ultimate goal of wealth building is financial freedom – when your passive income supports your lifestyle, and you work because you choose to, rather than because you have to. Use the wealth building foursome to lay the foundation of your financial freedom.

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The Keys To Wealth Creation

November 17th, 2009

We are only on this earth for a short time and wealth creation can seem a real mystery. A lot of people apparently have no problem becoming wealthy but others struggle to make sense of how to get on their feet, let alone experience financial abundance.
No matter how discouraged you currently are about your financial situation, you too can become wealthy if you are willing to learn the keys to wealth creation.
The first step to wealth creation is to actually get some perspective. If you are reading this article on your own computer, you are really already wealthy. Compared to most of the world’s population, a warm comfortable home, plenty of good food and the benefits of a first world society are signs of great wealth.
Unfortunately, most of us take these things for granted and do not recognize them as wealth. Understandably, when we struggle to support ourselves from week to week we can feel poor. Certainly, when we are under financial stress it is hard to feel wealthy.
However, wealth is a state of mind. Our focus predicts the outcomes in our lives so we need to control the way we think if we want to become wealthy. For example, if you are always thinking about bills you’ll find it difficult to pay them. If you wallow in how bad your life is, you can become entrenched in poverty.
The way you think about wealth will determine whether or not you have any. It starts in your mind. The answer to poverty is abundance, so focus on all the abundance in your life right now. You will have to be disciplined to ignore mounting bills or insufficient income and focus on all the things you have to be grateful for.
With the right mindset, your world will suddenly present a host of new opportunities to choose from. All you have to do is open up to the possibilities and appreciate everything that is in your life already. Begin to pay attention to the good and you will see more good appearing in your life.
Wealth begins in the mind. You will find that your thoughts and emotions are the powerful creators of your life experiences. If you want to experience prosperity, take charge of your mind. Ask yourself better questions. Look positively at your current circumstances to find the seeds of future abundance.
Sometimes you cannot think prosperous thoughts until you get rid of unhelpful beliefs about wealth. Pay attention to the things you say to yourself about money and begin to turn negative statements around. Once you think prosperous thoughts and speak prosperous words you will be in a better position to become wealthy. Be patient with yourself and make one change at a time.
Once you have put your mind into the right gear to become wealthy, the next step is to deliberately look for opportunities to become prosperous and successful. Remember, we get what we focus on. Simply by focusing on opportunities, we will find them showing up in our lives.
Then we have to take action. Wealth doesn’t magically appear. We have to take the right action to create it. So, as well as discovering wealth creation opportunities, you need to take action to turn them into reality.
Perhaps your local community can benefit from a product or service you can sell. Alternatively, online opportunities for wealth creation abound. Whether you can sell your services online or market products, there is a vast potential to create wealth on the internet. Begin to focus on the possibilities.
Be proactive and be willing to continually make adjustments in your life to improve your financial position. Do you waste a lot of time in front of the television? How about reading up on internet marketing instead? Perhaps you could invest in your education instead of being the passive beneficiary of somebody else’s creativity while your watching “the box.”
This article doesn’t have all the answers. It is meant to be a gentle push in the right direction. If you use these ideas to start you on your journey to wealth, you will be well on your way to a more prosperous life.
Spiritual teachers say that the teacher appears when the student is ready. By being willing to change and looking for the answers all around you, you are showing that you are ready. You will find that people and opportunities will begin to appear in your life that will move you towards a more successful and abundant future.

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