The 3 Keys to Financial Independence
Today we are seeing more self made millionaires than ever before. Today it is easier than you might think to accomplish your goals.
From my studies of successful people, my work with different individuals and my own experiences I have found 3 simple keys to financial independence.
• Spend less than you earn
This is so obvious but most people live paycheck to paycheck hoping to win the lottery (even if they don’t buy tickets) without a thought of building their way to financial independence. Read the Rest of This Article »
10 Inspirational Quotes to Apply To Your Finances
EVERYONE likes handy little money-saving tips, but getting control of your finances sometimes takes much bigger ideas.
Why not take these ten inspirational quotes and apply them to your finances?
“Worry, like a rocking chair will give you something to do, but it won’t get you anywhere.” – Vance Havner
Most of us are guilty of worrying about money, and whilst it might be justified in some circumstances, the actual worrying won’t solve any problems – and worse still, it can be bad for your physical and mental health. Read the Rest of This Article »
Distinguishing Between Price and Value
If a book costs $50, is that good value?
Your first response might be “no way!” It seems like a lot of money for a bunch of pages bound together.
If a book costs $2, is that good value?
“Hell, yeah!” That’s a bargain-basement price.
The problem is, the price of those books doesn’t necessarily bear any relation to the value which the books have to you. A textbook packed with useful information for college might be well worth $50. On the other hand, a trashy, badly-written novel might not be worth even $2 – especially when you factor in the time cost of reading it. Read the Rest of This Article »
1 Simple Decision That Gives You Financial Independence
A recent survey showed that 60% of us don’t keep a budget. Close to 20% hasn’t a clue where their money goes each month, yet 43% do spend more each year than they earn. Almost a third pay no attention to interest rates on their credit cards, even while carrying an average debt of $15,000 per household.
How can this head-in-the-sand approach to managing money end in anything other than disaster? Look at our economy over the last two or three years and the answer is obvious: it doesn’t. You can’t ignore the basic laws of economics. You can’t spend more than your take in without paying the consequences. Read the Rest of This Article »
A Foolproof Guide to Avoid Soul Crushing Debt
This guest post was contributed by Jane Sanders, who writes about debt management and other personal finance topics at DebtManagement.net.
“A man in debt is so far a slave” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
One of the greatest hardships a person can face is being burdened by debt. In addition to paying off the original loan, interest (often at extremely high rates) continues to add to the total, making the ultimate pay off far higher than what was borrowed in the first place.
Having debt robs a person of freedom. They can’t leave a job they don’t like to pursue a new career, bad credit often prevents them from buying essentials like a home or a car, and it hangs over them for years, chipping away at the amount they can spend and save. It also creates stress, because someone with a great deal of debt is only one misfortune away from bankruptcy.
Fortunately, debt problems are completely avoidable. All it takes is an understanding of the seriousness of debt and some personal restraint. Read the Rest of This Article »
3 Ways to Curb Your Impulse Shopping Online
Over the past few years, most of us have got used to shopping online. It doesn’t seem odd to us that some stores – Amazon most famously – exist only online, with no high street presence. And many of us buy everything from our groceries to our music on the net.
Online shops are open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, even on holidays. Some purchases – music, ebooks, movies – can be bought and downloaded straight to your computer, at any time of the day or night. Is it any surprise that we often end up shopping by impulse?
You know how it goes. Perhaps you read a book review, click on a link to Amazon, and find yourself with that book in your shopping cart before you even pause to think. It takes mere seconds, and no more effort than a couple of clicks of your mouse, to buy something online. And although the shop is virtual … your money isn’t.
Here’s how to break free of impulse shopping online: Read the Rest of This Article »
Money Myths That Keep You From Making Big Money: Myth 6
“Buy Now, Pay Later!”
This is a huge money myth that seems true, because it is so big and pervasive. The real truth about this belief system is that it is designed to create perpetual consumers! The truth is really pay now and pay later. First you pay by subtly extending your indentured servanthood another three years, five years, or in the case of a mortgage, 30 years.
The same competitive system that is most likely your employer is part of the same competitive system that loans you the money to buy the house. The banking system loans you the money as long as you stay on the job (you have to show them your W-2, right), and “the job” keeps you in the workforce, and by keeping you in the workforce the banking industry gets to make the interest. You actually end up paying now, and paying later. Read the Rest of This Article »
Money Myths That Keep You From Making Big Money: Myth 5
“It Takes Money To Make Money!”
No. It doesn’t.
Again, with this statement we believe that we are dependent on those who are sitting on a mountain of money. It takes an investment to make money or create wealth. An investment can be time, resources (the use of a PC), home- office space, automobile, learning, training, energy, love, planning, practicing—all these can be money-free investments.
This myth is perpetuated by existing Power Brokers (I have nothing against them), who invite you to feed their dream. If you dare to try to break away to build your own personal dream, they’ve got it covered. If you are breaking away from indentured servanthood, at least they can loan you the money and earn the interest for it. Read the Rest of This Article »
10 Money Myths That Stop You From Making Big Money: Myth 1
PickTheBrain is proud to present a 10 Part series, written by Deborah S. Nelson of Author Your Dreams.
Money Myth 1: “I Can’t Afford It!”
Can’t afford It.” How many times do we repeat this in a day? It has been astutely stated, “possession is nine-tenths of the law.”
It is also the basic tenant of advertising that by repeating something over and over again, it becomes truth.
Let’s face it: 50 years ago, no one needed deodorant. Mankind survived for thousands and thousands of years without it. Suddenly in the past 50 years, deodorant is an absolute necessity in polite culture.
So how did that happen? Repetition creates reality; and using mass communications, repetition created the “deodorant reality” for millions of people. Read the Rest of This Article »
Financial Help for Women: 5 Strategies You Must do in the Other 8 Hours
Image courtesy of Marie Claire/Bill Diodato
In a divorce, a woman’s life is turned upside down — nearly everything about her existence changes, but for the man, the most he has to change is his phone number and address. Most women who left the workforce to raise a family are at a significant disadvantage and find it difficult as they try to re-enter the workforce they left years earlier. I don’t have marriage advice, but if you do a few simple things in the other 8 hours, you can survive a divorce and get back on your feet as quickly as possible.
I’ve been thinking a lot about my own experience growing up in a single parent home (my mom raised five kids after my father left) recently because a very good friend of mine and her two young boys were just abandoned. One day they were a family and the next her husband was leaving her for another woman. She is now struggling to survive. Not only is she trying to deal with the emotions of the situation, but she has to raise her two boys and find a way to pay the mortgage.
Added to all of this, in many families women are now the main bread winner and this trend is certainly on the rise. Now more than ever women have to take responsibility not only for the family, but for the finances, too.
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