11 Ways to Gain Financial Success

                                             

"You see things and you say why? But I dream things that never were, and I say Why not?" by George Bernard Shaw or "Success is creating a state of mind that allows you to obtain anything you really desire." by Mark Victor Hansen.  I love these success quotes.

The definition of financial success varies from person to person. There is no magic number because every person’s situation and needs are different. However, basic financial success is having enough money to pay for basic necessities and bills and having money left over to pay for things you want or need such as going on vacation, home and car repairs, paying for your children’s college education, money for unexpected expenses, money to help you plan for retirement. Financial success is ultimately about how you spend your money. It involves creating and achieving your financial goals, being content with what you have and not comparing yourself to others.

Financial success is being totally in control of your finances. Financial success is not showing your success and using discipline with your ego. Poverty and financial success starts with a mindset – either negative or positive.  Financial success involves having a positive mindset and is not based on your income, how many properties you own or whether you make the Forbes List. Financial success is continually practicing good financial habits throughout your life.  Use these 11 practical methods to help you gain financial success.

1. Plan for the unknown. Create an emergency savings fund to cover all of your monthly bills and expenses for 12 – 18 months. This is your backup plan so that if a financial crisis occurs you have money to pay the costs and it prevents you from going into debt. Use what-if scenarios - have a plan A, B, C and D for unexpected events that may occur.
2. Do better than your parents.  Open an IRA and save at least 10% - 20% towards your retirement each month. Start contributing with your first job. You will need 70-80% of your current retirement salary for 20 – 30 years to have enough money to cover bills and living expenses during retirement.  Plan for your grandchildren’s retirement. Save more than you think you need to ensure you have enough for retirement.
3. Don’t be afraid to take risks. Become a homeowner while you are still single, start a business while you are single or don’t have children yet, become a franchise owner or invest in risky stocks.  Your risk tolerance decreases as you get older so take some financial risks while you are young and have more years to recover. Warren Buffet lost 50% of his wealth at an early age but regained it and then some.
4. Peer Pressure. Avoid peer pressure from your co-workers, family and friends. Many adults find themselves pressured into a lifestyle that requires them to give their family more and buy things they can’t really afford. This behavior results in financial disaster.
5. Co-sign. You can’t control what other people do. When you co-sign for a loan or credit card you are basically saying you will pay for the item because most people don’t feel obligated to pay something back unless their name is the only one on it.
6. Ensure yourself and your stuff.  Protect yourself by buying health, life, disability, long-term care. Buy homeowners, renters, car, fire, flood or other insurance to protect against loss or harm. Most people go into debt due to lack of health insurance or other insurance. Review policies yearly and keep beneficiaries up-to-date.
7. Debt. Pay off debt as soon as possible. Pay off your mortgage before you loan term ends. Pay off car loans early. Keep credit card debt at 20% or less of the credit limit.
8. Leave it alone. If you have money in a savings account, CD, money market account of retirement account leave it alone. Money is like a tree, if you take care of it will grow forever, it you touch it, pluck leaves and branches off of it , it starts to wither and die.
9. Hire a professional. If you are not an expert with managing your money then hire an expert. We hire a doctor, lawyer, mechanic or therapist to take care of us but refuse to hire an expert to help us take care of our money.
10. Automate your finances. Get organized and automated your finances. Use tools to help track your money and pay bills online or use automatic paycheck deduction. This will prevent you from paying late fees and help you easily keep track of your money.
11. Keep Uncle Sam happy. Pay your taxes. Many celebrities have lost property or gone to jail because they did not pay their taxes.  Each quarter or every six months do a check to see if you have paid enough taxes; adjust your withholdings or set aside money each month so you don’t have to pay a large tax bill at the end of the year. 

Do Your Thoughts Keep You Poor

Today's post is taken from Burt Goldman creator of the Prosperity Paradox. I thought it would provide another perspective to financial success. Enjoy!

The longer you spend doing something, the better you will become at it. That is the Law of Life.

To become an expert at whatever it is you want to do, you know that if you put in the time and dedication, you'll eventually get there. After all, practice makes perfect, right?

This rings true for almost anything in life and most professionals in any field will tell you that following this Law has gotten them to where they are today.

In Sports - During his high school years, Michael Jordan never made the school basketball team but after years and years of dedication and practice, he became the all-star he is today.

In Arts - Heath Ledger took months to study and absorb his character, the Joker, in 'The Dark Knight' and actress Winona Ryder had to dive into the psychology of disturbed women for months before starring in 'Girl Interrupted'.

In Music - The Beatles were no strangers to practice. In the earlier days of their career, they played 8 hour sessions, every night of the week without fail. Well, we all know how successful they became.

There are an endless number of fields where world-class experts will tell you the same thing. Dedication, motivation and hours of practice will make you better at anything you take on. It's common sense, right?

It is the proven formula for most things... but here lies the problem... this does not apply to making money.

The Prosperity Paradox

We spend the majority of our lives trying to make good money. Do the math - say you have already spent 20 years dedicating the majority of your time and effort into making money. At 40 hours a week, that's over 40,000 hours spent making money!

After that much time, you should already be a master at it!

Think about what your golf handicap would be if you spent that amount of time on the driving range! But the truth is, most of you will continue breaking your backs for the rest of your lives and still not get any better at making money. Why?

Money is the only thing you will not get better at with time. This is what I call the Prosperity Paradox and it exists because of the 3 great lies we tell ourselves about money.

The 3 Great Lies

1) Money = Career
Most often we think that our career path will determine how much money we will make. A lawyer, accountant and a clerk will have certain expected pay grades. We believe our chosen career always has a salary cap. But this type of thinking limits our potential to make money. The truth is that you can reach financial success regardless of your monthly paycheck.

2) Money = The Value You Give The World
You make money only by giving value to the world. This is a myth. Think about jobs that benefit no one but themselves. Casino kings, drug lords, people who cheat others of their hard earned money. All these add no value to the world. Yet, these people are living the life honest folks deserve. Then think about those who have given so much value to the world. Teachers, nurses, even garbage collectors are not anywhere close to being millionaires. So how can this statement be true?

3)Money = Hard Work
The advice from our parents "You have to work hard for your money" no longer rings true. Money does not equal hard work. Most people slog all day and night, they take on two or three jobs, eat from their desks, ruin their health, suffer from stress, and yet they are no closer to financial freedom than before.

These 3 lies are created by YOU, by society and by your misconceptions about money. In fact, money doesn't relate to any of these things! The only thing your financial success relates to is your... Prosperity Blueprint.

The Prosperity Blueprint and Your Money Mindset

Or, in other words, your money mindset. Here's a scary fact... Right now, your Prosperity Blueprint has been preconditioned to never help you get any better at making money. But it's NOT your fault! You have been misled along with millions of other hardworking people who will never escape this money making struggle. Let me tell you how it happened.

1)You were never trained on HOW to make money
It is a sad but true fact. You were never trained on how to make money. There are no classes in schools or Universities that tell you what you need to do to become a professional moneymaker. You were simply trained with the skills that would hopefully make you some money one day. You make money as a result of THAT skill.

2) You are BRAINWASHED by society
You were conditioned to have certain limited and stereotypical beliefs about money. Here are a few phrases that I am sure you have heard before whether you believe them or not: "Money is the root of all evil" "It's more enlightened to be poor than rich" "If I get rich, everyone will want something from me"

In fact, even some very famous people have cautioned us against money:

"I do not like money, money is the reason we fight." --Karl Marx
"Love and money should properly have nothing to do with each other." --John Saul, Guardian
"Surely there never was so evil a thing as money, which maketh cities into ruinous heaps, and banisheth men from their houses, and turneth their thoughts from good unto evil." --Sophocles, Antigone

3) You are influenced by BIPOLARITY within society
There are many subsections within the society: The rich and the poor. The educated and the uneducated. The urban and rural. The democrats and the republicans. These splits within our society have fortified the limitations in our self-belief system about making money, "People like us will never be rich." "People like them have it so good." These conditionings have limited your potential to make money. This is a very BIG problem.

But here is good news... Unlike the millions of others who do not know any better, you have read this and are aware of this Prosperity Paradox. And here is more good news. There is a very SIMPLE SOLUTION and that is to... Reset Your Prosperity Blueprint.

Only 5% of people have figured out how to do this and they are enjoying financial success in a way that many can only dream of. And what about the other 95%?

Because of the lies they believe in, they will always be stuck trying to make money. Now that you know the truth, will you be part of the successful minority or the striving majority?